We enjoyed two particularly special assemblies this week. Year 6 shared favourite memories of their time in Prep with their teachers, friends and parents, causing a few tears and lots of laughter. Listening to these confident, wonderful young people made us truly proud and excited for their futures. Nursery and Reception followed on Thursday, delighting us all with their learning, songs and stories. We are very proud of you!
We also had the privilege this week of meeting the incredibly inspiring Claire Danson, a Paralympian. After being crowned European Triathlon Champion, Claire's life changed dramatically in a training accident and she now trains for the Paralympics with the British Cycling team. Following an afternoon of activities on Wednesday, she shared her remarkable story of survival and unwavering determination with Key Stage 2 children from Kent College and surrounding local primary schools.
We look forward to the much anticipated Early Years Sports Day on Thursday 4 July, and Key Stage 1 and 2 Sports Day and Prize Giving on Friday 5 July. Please complete the forms by Monday (see the calendar for links).
Everyone is invited to attend the end of Summer term Community Communion Service at St Peter's Old Church, just next to the Kent College campus. Service starts at 8:00am and will end in time for students to arrive at school. Staff, students and their families are all welcome to attend. Please have Prep students accompanied by a parent or guardian for the service. No religious affiliation necessary to attend! Come and see what worship is all about at KC. Chaplain Katie
I want to be a doctor!
It was an absolute pleasure to participate in the assembly last week sharing with the children a little about what my job involves as a doctor. Dr Jay Halbert.
We were thrilled to welcome Dr Halbert to our Assembly last week. We explored together why we might need to go to the doctor, where they work, some of the tools and tests they might use to determine what the matter is, and some of the treatments that may be helpful. Dr Halbert was particularly impressed by how well-behaved, engaged, and enthusiastic all the children were, right from Reception to Year 2. There were lots of thought-provoking questions, including how it feels to be a doctor. While the children were exploring other professions that help people, such as teachers and firemen, they mentioned their parents and how they help people. This was particularly touching to Dr Halbert, and he would like to thank everyone for inviting him to participate in the assembly, which he enjoyed tremendously!
What happened in School this week?
Early Years Assembly
We have been working hard over the past two weeks getting ready for our Early Years assembly. Each of the children chose their favourite thing from the past year to share with everyone, including some of our favourite songs! The children were amazing and we are so proud of them!
Reception
It has been a very exciting week in Reception. The children were very excited when they arrived at school on Monday morning to discover that three of the butterflies had come out of their cocoons and were flying around the butterfly garden. On Tuesday afternoon we were amazed as we watched the last butterfly emerge from its cocoon. It was wonderful to watch! Then it was time to say goodbye and the children were both happy and sad to watch them fly away. What an amazing journey our tiny caterpillars have been on over the past few weeks!
Year 1
Year 1 are very excited to be joining the rest of the Prep School for Sports Day this year! They have been practising their running, throwing, and jumping in readiness to compete for their houses alongside Year 2. They are going to be running a full 200m relay for the first time, as they have impressed the PE staff so much with their determination and speed.
Year 2
Year 2 have been busy with their DT project. This week they investigated different types of boats, learning about their shapes, sizes, and functions. They explored how boats float and move through water, discovering how design helps a boat to float. After gathering this knowledge, the students applied their findings by building their own boats out of LEGO.
Year 3
Year 3 welcomed their new pupils for September 2024 and they had so much fun illustrating their initials and learning all about what to expect when they move up to Year 3 in September. We can't wait to welcome you! Miss Lamb and Mrs Till
Year 3 have enjoyed learning about time and can now tell the time to the nearest 5 minutes. They had fun playing ‘time dominos’ where they matched different analogue clocks with the correct written statement.
Year 4
This week, Year 4 have embraced the hot weather and incorporated it into their learning. In Humanities, we have been studying the layers of the rainforest and deforestation. This led to conversations about climate change, which linked nicely to our current heatwave.
As part of Computing, we coded the BBC Microbits to show and measure the temperature and then went outside to find the temperature of different surfaces. The children measured two natural surfaces and two synthetic surfaces. The grass recorded a temperature of 31 degrees, whilst the brick wall was 50 degrees. These results are being shared with the Office for National Statistics, who are collecting data from schools across the country.
We will be using what we have found out to inform our choices of materials when designing a city of the future. Finally, with the hot weather, the classroom was becoming stuffy, so we put down tools and ventured to the forest to finish our Maths lesson by making symmetrical pictures from nature.
Year 5
Wednesday was loaded with enrichment this week. During assembly the year group met with their Buddies to read in the morning shade. Reading on swings, slides and grassy banks is a marvellous thing to do.
In lessons, before lunch, the class joined pupils from Pembury Primary School to take part in Modern Foreign Language Workshops. Spanish infiltrated art and cookery whilst chemistry was dominated by French. The event ended with a series of games where the two schools, blended into teams, competed as 'France' and 'Spain'.
The fun did not stop there as the afternoon welcomed a visit from Paralympian, Claire Danson. An inspirational day!
Year 6
Having performed a truly memorable Leavers Assembly on Monday, Year 6 have continued to be very busy this week. On Tuesday we went down to the forest to perform scenes from ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream.’ The whole year group acted beautifully and found a variety of props from their woodland surroundings. They embarked on the Confidence Course once more and then worked hard to perfect their watercolour skills back in the Art Room.
Gardening Club this week
In Gardening Club this week, we had a fantastic time finishing our mosaic plant holders.
They look absolutely stunning! We also made some delightful bird feeders, which we hung in Jenny's Garden. We're eagerly looking forward to seeing the birds have a feast. It's wonderful to contribute to the beauty of our garden and provide a treat for our feathered friends! We can't wait to see what they think of their new dining spot.
Book reminder!
Sport News
Congratulations to our fabulous gymnasts who competed in the Southeast Regionals at Guildford Spectrum over the weekend. This was their first attempt at competing at this level, and they delivered an impressive performance.
Alivia and Emilia both secured 2nd place in their respective categories, earning silver medals and qualifying for the next level of competition. Hanna finished in 3rd place and Jendayi achieved a commendable 4th place. Congratulations to Jessica, Olivia W, Olivia L, Charlotte, and Cyra for their efforts and achievements! Your hard work and dedication paid off, and you all made significant contributions to the team's success.
The Wellbeing Hub
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West End Workshops
I am excited to announce that this Summer I will again be running two Musical Theatre Workshops with West-End principles at Kent College. Olivia
The first workshop is for students who will be in Years 5-8 next year and will focus on material from The Greatest Showman, The Addams Family, Frozen, Hairspray and Wicked. The second workshop is for students who will be in Years 9-Upper Sixth next year and will focus exclusively on Les Miserables. At the end of each workshop students will put on a performance for family and friends to showcase the material they have learnt over the course of the workshop. This will be an excellent opportunity for our students to once again work with talented West End performers.
Leading the workshops will be: Olivia Safe (Olivia McGibbon) Singing Teacher at Kent College
Olivia studied at the prestigious Wells Cathedral School, Somerset where she was awarded a full scholarship as a specialist musician. She then went on to receive a full scholarship at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Since Guildhall, Olivia has played many roles including the leading role of Christine Daae in Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera at the Haymarket Theatre (West End).
Musical Theatre Workshop Years 5-8
- Dates: 27th – 28th August 2024
- Times: 9:30am – 3:45pm (both days)
- Location: Kent College (Countess of Wessex Theatre)
- Fees: £170 (sibling discount available, please email for further details)
- How to sign up: Please note that places will be limited for both workshops. To secure your place(s), please email oliviasafe@hotmail.com