Welcome Back & Happy New Year
Welcome back and a very Happy New Year to you all. Although it has been a short week, it has been a very positive one, and wonderful to see the children back in school, full of enthusiasm. They have quickly settled back into routines and it has been lovely to see classrooms buzzing with energy once again. We are very much looking forward to another happy and successful term ahead. Please do take a moment to look through the dates for your diary to see what’s coming up over the weeks ahead.
Welcome back! What happened in School this week?
Caterpillars
We have loved seeing each other again and listening to what amazing things we did over the festive break. For our topic the children have enjoyed listening to the story of The Three Little Pigs, joining in with repeated phrases and talking about the different houses.
Butterflies
The topic in the Nursery is Animals this term and we have started our topic this week, learning about Artic Animals. We have been learning about Polar Bears, Artic Hares, Huskies, Seals, Snowy Owls, Penguins and many more animals that like the cold. We made some lovely creative penguins for display and have thoroughly enjoyed playing with the pretend paper snow.
Reception
The children in Reception have been really excited to be back together after the Christmas holiday. They have shown photographs and talked about their Christmas and New Year celebrations. This term we are learning about how New Year is celebrated around the world and how it is often a time to look back at what has happened during the year and look forward to the coming year. Each of the children thought about something they would like to get better at this year as their New Year resolution.
Year 1
This term Year 1 have a new class book called "Iggy Peck, Architect!" We spent our first lesson talking about what an architect does and looked at some buildings from around the world. We will be linking this story to our work on London, so we also explored some of the most famous buildings in the capital. Our favourite activity was investigating different materials and trying to create our own buildings from things in our classroom!
Year 2
Although it has been a short week, Year 2 came back after the Christmas break and hit the ground running! In English the students used iPads to research different London attractions and collect information that they'll use later this term to create factual writing. Then in Science we started looking at Biomes and how they help plants grow, especially when it's cold! To test this they've planted some seeds, some in a make-shift greenhouse and some not, and each week we'll measure how much they've grown.
Year 3
In Drama, Year 3 have been exploring the art of mime! Working in groups, they were challenged to act out different scenarios without using words, leaving their classmates to guess the action. Can you tell from the photos what they’re doing? Some of the mimes included missing the bus, playing football, baking cakes, and even a trip to the dentist!
Year 4
Year 4 have had a fantastic start to The Spring Term. They have been working like Trojans; recapping the story of Shackleton, mastering the art of mathematical factors, discovering their new (quite tricky) spelling lists, studying Celtic Art and practising their songs for the upcoming Young Voices at the O2! What a busy week. We ended the day with parsnip picking in the Prep vegetable garden!
Year 5
Launching themselves into the Spring Term, Year Five have embraced all their learning in these first three days, eager to explore, question and think. The most exciting lessons have been linked to our new text; Percy Jackson - The Lightning Thief. Chapter one was action filled with our twelve-year old hero vaporizing a strange 'teacher', Mrs Dodds. Year Five were suspicious of this character's actions and motives which were vastly opposite to the hero himself. In their latest English lesson, each pupil created an ode to Mrs Dodds. They focused on abstract nouns, adjectives and similes. Here are a few lines from the children's impressive ideas.
Oh hag, You are a bringer of agony With your unfathomable powers and talons of terror. As evil as a spiteful hound Hag: despicable, vile hag How petrified are we. No-one is comparable to you, not one soul You are death in times of hope; deep dark despair in a land of love A heartless, dark Hag
Year 6
Happy New Year from Year 6! We have made a great start to the term and have really enjoyed exploring Rain Player in our lessons, using the text to develop our reading, discussion and writing skills. In Science, we have begun our exciting new topic on circulation and started discovering the fascinating Shang Dynasty, exploring what life was like in one of the earliest Chinese civilisations.
Ava, Mya and Maia donated a portion of their Big Business takings to the Heart of Kent Hospice. Their entrepreneurial spirit shone through as they created and sold beautiful loom bands to their school friends, and their generosity has made a real difference. The hospice team were incredibly appreciative of this thoughtful gesture. What excellent purposeful citizens you are!'' Mrs Hall
Dates for your Diary
Showtime Saturday 7th February
Join us for a lively and creative morning of music and song in the Theatre, led by our Director of Performing Arts, Mrs Helen Bruce. It’s a fantastic chance to reconnect with our specialist teachers and see firsthand what inspires the performing arts experience at Kent College. This event is designed especially for our Nursery and Prep-aged pupils and promises to be an enjoyable and engaging start to the day.
The Wellbeing Hub
Spring term content line up: This term The Wellbeing Hub will be covering a range of topics relevant to the whole school community with blogs, podcasts, teaching resources, and a monthly webinars. Log into your account to get full details on the various topics.
- January - Friendships and relationships
- February - Anxiety
- March - Families
- April - Neurodiversity
Have a wonderful weekend!
This newsletter is exclusively intended for the Kent College Community. All photographs featured herein are the property of the school and are used in accordance with our photographic permission policy.