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January 14th 2011
FROM THE HEADMASTER
ANYONE FOR TENNIS?
Welcome back to the Spring Term - no signs of
Spring yet, but I am sure that we will make the
most of our early evenings as they get longer.
It remains rather too dark in the mornings for
my liking and, having talked to the boys and
girls, I know that many of them are finding it
tough to get out of bed in this gloom - a sure
sign that they relaxed and enjoyed themselves
over the holiday. I hope that you had an
enjoyable festive period, reading our excellent
Junior Tauntonian magazine...
The community has been devastated by the
news that Chris Walsh, a former TPS pupil
and Old Tauntonian who left Taunton School
in 2009, was killed in a car crash in France
over the holidays, whilst travelling to a family
skiing holiday. Family, friends and former
teachers will come together at his funeral on
Friday morning, to be held at Taunton School’s
Chapel. Chris was studying Osteopathy at
Southampton University and undertook a
gruelling swim across the English Channel for
charity last year; it is terribly sad that his life
has been cut so short as he had such an enormous amount to offer the world. Our thoughts
are with his family at this tragic time.
Tennis Tuition
County Number 1, Nirva Patel 5Y
entation entitled ‘Understanding Children’s
Emotional Development’. Those of you who
attended the pre-term lecture by Gary Wilson
on ‘Raising Boys’ Achievement’ have commented to me how useful they found it and I
am sure that February’s session will be equally
thought provoking. You are also more than
welcome to attend two PTA coffee mornings,
due to take place in the Boarders’ Lounge
at 8.20am on January 24th and March 14th.
I would like to bring to your attention a few
The PTA have also organised a Quiz Night and
key events in our calendar. There are two maSupper on Friday 11th February, as well as the
jor productions this term, with Year 4 pupils
annual Heads’ Supper on Friday 25th March
performing ‘Cinders’ just before half-term, and
- fine, fun evenings where you can enjoy the
Year 8 pupils performing ‘The Pressing Times
company of other parents and members of
of Horace Nelson’ during the last week of
staff.
term. Our showcase Performing Arts Evening
on March 8th is entitled ‘In The Quay of Sea’.
You will shortly be invited to the Parents’ EveOn Monday, 7th February, we hold a demnings that happen at various points during the
onstration of TPS Royal Academy of Dance
term. For parents of those in Year 8, we will inexamination work, shortly followed by a TPS,
troduce you to information about the ‘transfer
Pre-Prep and Nursery Royal Academy of Dance
to Taunton School’ at the beginning of March.
Experience on 9th February. These events
Parents of those of you who have children in
will, I am sure, give your sons and daughters
Years 3 and 5 will enjoy a moment of peace
further opportunity to challenge themselves
as your children head off on their brief, but
in different ways - they will also be encournonetheless exciting, residential excursions
aged to take part in story writing sessions,
later on in the term......
World Book Day, Public Speaking competitions, informal concerts, sports matches and
Final preparations are being put together for
tournaments, our boarders’ services, pupil led
a small group of Year 8 pupils to venture to
assemblies and all the other activities that fill
Gujarat province in India at half-term with Mr
our days here at Taunton Prep School.
Williams and Mrs Patel - this ‘reconnaissance’
On the evening of Thursday 10th February,
trip is, hopefully, the first of many trips to the
I encouraged all parents to attend a presarea, where we hope to establish both educa-
www.tauntonschool.co.uk
www.tauntonschool.co.uk
Congratulations to Nirva Patel who this week
in the Bath Tournament became the tennis
County number 1 and South West Regional
Number 2.
On Saturday mornings there are a few places
for any children from Year 1-5 who are interested in playing tennis. Sessions last approximately one hour and LTA approved mini red,
orange and green balls are used dependent
on age and ability. If you are intererested
please contact Tim Drew (LTA level 2 coach)
on 01823-433211 or email
[email protected]. Courses run
during term time.
If there are any adults interested in tennis
and would like to improve their game please
contact Tim Drew when a suitable time can
be arranged.
tional and community links in years to come.
May I wish those of you who I have not yet
seen in person a very Happy New Year. An
exciting term lies ahead for your sons and
daughters and I look forward to seeing you
here in School at some of these events please also feel free to attend my Tuesday
morning Headmaster’s Surgery sessions at
8.20am in the Library, for an informal chat and
a cup of tea or coffee.
Jimmy Beale
Very well done to Harry Jeffrey-Jackson (Year 7
Roberts) who has raised approximately £2000
for the Marion Evered Trust Fund by having
his head shaved. Harry’s 2 year old sister,
Olivia, is receiving treatment for Leukaemia.
Harry wanted to do something to support this
worthwhile charity.
EXPRESSIVE ARTS
CLUBS
Artistic Achievements
Photography club starts on Monday 17th January. Pupils should make sure that they have 5
favourite pictures that they have taken and a
digital camera. Parkour and Vewdo Boarding
will start in a few weeks’ time. For fencing
club, your child must collect their letter from
the office and please pay the required £30 to
the School office as soon as possible. Thank
you.
Exciting art news....last September we were invited to submit six A3 2D pieces of work to the
Somerset Schools Art Competition at the Brewhouse. This competition is open to all schools
of all ages in Somerset; state and independent.
Of the six submitted, five were selected to be
professionally framed and displayed at the
Brewhouse. An entry from Pre-Prep was also
selected.
Caroline Tucker
The lucky winners are:
Hera Bradly
Jemima Austin-Smith
Annabel Flook
Ben Fletcher
William Doherty
Amelia Panayiotides
The exhibition was great; we had a prize winner! Congratulations to William Doherty, 6R.
I hope that many other families will find time
to visit the Brewhouse to view the exhibition,
which runs for a further few weeks.
Well done all.
This week, they were invited to a preview of
the exhibition where prizes were presented to
the category winners.
Sue Roper
Instrumental Lessons
Dance Lessons
I would like to take this opportunity at the
beginning of the term to inform of the term’s
notice that is required for the cancellation of
lessons. Visiting Music/Dance/Speech and
Drama Teachers, unlike other teachers are not
paid a regular wage. Their income fluctuates
according to the amount of hours worked.
I would also like to let you know that we are
tightening up on monitoring children attending instrumental lessons and either myself or
Mrs Beale ,who is the Music Administrative
Secretary, will be communicating with parents
if children miss their lessons. Our academic
teaching staff are very supportive in allowing
children to miss lessons in order to attend
Music, Speech and Drama or Dance lessons,
so long as children take the responsibility to
catch up on any missed work. We will insist
that pupils take their pupils planners along
to such ‘extra’ lessons – there are spaces in
planners for pupils to indicate that they have
requested permission from their teacher for
any missed academic lesson.
It will also be the responsibility of Visiting
Music Teachers to go and find the children if
they have not turned up for the lesson. This
scenario is not ideal as much time is wasted,
but it shows that we all have the same goals
and that we want the children to achieve as
much as they possibly can.
Practising at home is a must. It is a waste of
time to have lessons if there is no follow up
work at home. Practising is vital to success.
Thank you for your support in this area.
www.tauntonschool.co.uk
SKI TRIP 2011
If you know of anyone in the school community interested in coming on the trip, there
are still a number of places available. Please
contact David Rookes as soon as possible.
Plans are now being finalized for our 2011
trip. I have again managed to secure a competitive deal for this trip and hope to take as
many children as I can.
We are returning to Saalbach/Hinterglemm
again as the service we had at the youth hostel was excellent. This location also offers large
We also offer individual Dance lessons.
areas of marked piste with excellent beginner
Whether your child is interested in Ballet, Jazz, slopes, intermediate runs and some challengContemporary or Tap dancing, our specialist
ing black runs for the advanced. They have
dance teacher Ms Natasha Huckle will be able good skiing above and below the treeline on
to accommodate.
wide, open slopes to suit all abilities.
May I bring to your attention that the afterschool Group Ballet Classes carry a small
charge of £5 per lesson.
Could I also bring to your attention that if a
child is sick and at home, we still unfortunately have to charge for any missed lessons.
Details:
•Date: 1st April – 9th April 2011
•Venue: Saalbach/Hinterglemm
•Transport: Luxury Coach
•Cost: £750.00 [This does not include pocket
money] (Adults £850.00)
The full price includes:
•Travel in a luxury coach [toilets, air conditioning, video/DVD, reclining seats etc.]
•Full board
There is a Choral Society Concert on Sunday
13th February at 7.30pm in the School Chapel. •Full ski pass [including ski bus if needed]
•Ski tuition [4 hours in total per day. Children
Carmina Burana will be performed and the
only]
Cantabile Choir from the Prep School will be
•Ski and boot hire
involved in the performance.
•Inclusive entertainment package [bowling,
swimming, local attractions]
The Royal Academy of Dance Examinations
will be held on Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th •Full ski insurance
March and NOT as published in the calendar
David Rookes
26th and 27th March.
Dates For Your Diary
Jayne Hornsby
PHOTOGRAPHS
Late Orders
Should you wish to order any Sports Teams,
Choir or Orchestra Photos; please drop into
Taunton Prep School main reception. Thank
you.
Will Sykes-Photographer
Introducing Roberts House Captains...Atlanta
Allen-Skinner (Captain) Archie Burton (Vice)
RAISING BOYS’ ACHIEVEMENT - A lecture by Gary Wilson
We were delighted
to welcome Gary
Wilson, one of the
country’s leading
authorities on raising
boys’ achievement.
Having spent the day
providing inspirational training for staff in
different parts of the
school, Gary spoke
to a packed hall of
parents and teachers from around the
county. His practical
advice centred on
how to ‘hit the right
buttons’ for boys
from pre-school to
early adulthood with
the aim of ‘turning
out decent young
men’ who achieve
their potential.
Having identified 28
(and rising) barriers
to boys’ learning,
including early language development,
low self-esteem and
lack of good male
role models, Gary
spoke about some
of the ways in which
parents and teachers
can work together to
encourage a ‘caring
masculinity’.
The best approach to
homework, how to
encourage reading
and ways to communicate effectively with
boys, even during the
often trying adolescent period, were
all covered by Gary
during his humorous
HELP!
Request from the Games Dep.
Please can the games
department ask for
your help with the
following areas:
children can do this
for themselves.
WOOLLY HATS and
GLOVES
OFF GAMES & PE
A reminder that
if your child is off
games, or PE they
must come to school
with a note which
explains how long
they will be off for.
The note should be
shown to the pupils
form or house tutor
in the morning, and
then taken to their
PE/ Games lesson
and shown to their
member of staff.
SHOE LACES and TIES
Please could all
parents help the PE
department speed
up changing times by
practising the tying
of shoe laces and ties
at home. It is hoped
that by Year 4 most
With the rather
cold, snowy weather
expected again over
the next few months,
pupils are welcome to
wear hats for games.
These should be navy
or royal with no obvious logos. For netball
generally gloves are
not worn for matches, but in practice
sessions gloves with
grips on, or fingerless
gloves will be allowed
when staff feel the
temperature outside
warrants them. Pupils
are also welcome to
bring additional layers
to go under tracksuits
when it is cold.
Thank you.
Lucy Gardner
www.tauntonschool.co.uk
OCCASIONAL BOARDING
We offer occasional boarding to any pupils
who might need to stay in School for a night
or two during term time. The charge for this
facility is now £25.00 per night - this is remarkably good value for supper, bed and breakfast,
especially when one considers the amount
of fun that is had by the residents of Thone
House - the opportunity to complete prep,
plenty of activity and lots of other children of
a similar age to play with. If you are interested
in finding out more about boarding on a temporary basis, please contact the school office
in the first instance, or email Cat Rexworthy
([email protected])
and thought-provoking lecture. His final
statements, ‘Boys
succeed when...’
(please see website
for full summary of
Gary’s talk) outlined
10 practical considerations for parents
of boys to help them
to achieve their best.
As one parent said
after the lecture, ‘If
only I had known all
this years ago!’.
Vicky Pugh
SCHOOL EXAMINATIONS
As the pupils prepare for their exams, we
are supporting them in school with guidance about revision. Additionally, Years 7
and 8 have attended a presentation on Exam
Strategy. Revision lists and exam timetables
have been given out. We want the children to
take their exams seriously but not to become
anxious. A balanced, sensible approach is
what is needed at this stage. Please let your
child’s Form or House Tutor know if you have
any concerns.
Equipment for Exams:
In addition to a pen, sharp pencil, rubber
and 30cm ruler; a compass, protractor and
coloured crayons are needed.
Jimmy Beale
ISI INSPECTION
Early warning - TPS is shortly to be inspected
by ISI (The Independent Schools’ Inspectorate). As part of that process, they will want to
gauge the feelings of parents regarding our
provision and, as soon as we are notified of
the date for that inspection, I will write to you
(the letter will come home via book bags) with
a password for the ISI portal - the questionnaire will need to be completed online.
Jimmy Beale
costume room, and also helping to sort out
the costumes.
Please contact Mrs Hornsby at
[email protected]
Staying In Touch
Senior School parents please keep your eyes
open for notices and announcements on the
new PTA noticeboard outside Marshall - just
by the uniform shop! We will, of course, still
be communicating with Prep and Pre-Prep
School parents via the noticeboards in the
Weirfield corridor and in the Nursery playground.
More information from Kate Adams:
[email protected]
Quiz Night 2011
COMING SOON....
Sign up now for this fun evening! Play as a
family, or get friends together! See the fullpage advert attached.
Year 6 History visit to Tutankhamun Exhibition,
Dorchester.
6J & 6W Monday 24th January
6R Tuesday 25th January
Costume Revamp
Senior Cross Country Trials:
Friday 28th January 11.30 - 12.30pm
Can you spare some time to help Mrs Hornsby
re-vamp the Prep School's costume department during the February half term? Assistance is needed with creatively designing the
Junior Cross Country Trials:
Friday 28th January 3.30- 4.15pm
www.tauntonschool.co.uk