Thank you for sending your children in to school so beautifully presented on Thursday this week, ready for the last part of filming the new Prep video. We are looking forward to sharing it with you! It has been wonderful to watch the children enjoy sunny playtimes in between great learning this week - please see news of their activities in the Newsletter below.
Safety around School
Parents are kindly reminded that the drop-off zone is not a parking area. It is essential to keep this zone flowing smoothly for everyone’s convenience and safety, particularly the children who use the school mini bus. Pupils need to be able to step onto the pavement from the mini bus, not onto the road. When cars are parked in the drop off zone, they prevent the mini bus from unloading in it which impacts the children's safety. Thank you for your support with this.
What happened in School this week?
Reception
The children in Reception had a wonderful time at Blackberry farm this week. Our morning began with a tour of the farm and Owen, our farmer, took us to meet lots of animals. There were goats, and pigs and sheep, cows and llamas and alpacas, ponies, a horse, kids, and donkeys. The children enjoyed feeding the animals and some of the animals were greedier and friendlier than others! The children went on a tractor ride around the farm, which was very bumpy but lots of fun. We also met some small animals: two rabbits, some guinea pigs, a tortoise and two rats. The children enjoyed learning about each of the animals, stroking and holding some of them. After lunch, the children had the chance to play on the play equipment before our journey back to school.
Year 1
The children in Year 1 enjoyed releasing five red admiral butterflies as part of our show and tell session. It linked well with our new half term theme of 'Changing Me' and life cycles in PSHE. The children enjoyed exploring various life cycles.
Year 2
On Tuesday morning Year 2 headed to Pizza Express in Tunbridge Wells. As part of DT, the children each had the opportunity to create their own Margarita pizzas, learn where the ingredients come from and explore the kitchen. They then enjoyed eating their creations in the park.
Year 3
As part of our DT topic on pneumatic toys, Year 3 have been planning, designing and constructing their own animal themed pop up toys. Using balloons, plastic tubing, syringes and lots of creativity, we were really pleased with our final products.
Year 4
This week 4B have been busy getting their assembly up and running. They have used their English lessons to write adaptations of The Great Kapok tree, which will be part of the assembly and spent Art lessons making beautiful head-dresses, ready to be worn at the ‘Rio Carnival’. On Wednesday, which was World Environment Day, they joined a webinar with a number of children’s authors who write about the environment. Their favourite was Dr Huw Jones and his obsession with protecting penguins and puffins. This week in Outdoor Learning, Year 4 experimented with making buttresses and using triangular shapes to make tall structures. As you can see they were very proud of their efforts.
Year 5
Wellbeing is always a focus. It is part of our PSHE programme but also woven through our daily lives in school. Year 5 undertook their Wellbeing Survey this week, being asked about their sleep, friendships and the care they receive at school.
Plant and animal life cycles have filled science lessons. Year 5 have realised that life cycles differ greatly and that both animals and plants have adapted to their environment and feeding habits. How would birds fly if their young developed internally? Do all plants produce flowers to help reproduce? The questions were excellent, as was the children's thinking.
Year 6
Freshly returned from their half term break, Year 6 have had an extremely busy week. In English they have been researching facts about William Shakespeare in preparation for our new topic: ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. Did you know, for example, that the exact birth date of Shakespeare is not known, but it is believed to be 23rd April, 1564? Or that he is thought to have introduced or invented the words: dwindle, gossip, swagger, rant, fashionable, lonely, freezing, bloodstained, coldhearted, majestic, amongst others?
Athletics practice has been a focus in P.E. whilst in German and French we have been expanding our vocabularies. In maths, the children have put fractions, decimals and percentages to one side and started to study geometry and position, while in humanities they examined the life of Fu Hao and her lasting legacy for the Shang dynasty. Most exciting of all however, has been the time spent on the upcoming Year 6 assembly! This week the children have written the script and begun practicing the poem and song that they chose for it. Please put it in your diaries, because hopefully it will be a memory to treasure for ever….
Enrichment
Our after-school clubs continue to offer a diverse and enriching experience for all, blending valuable skill development with fun and creativity. Among our sporting clubs, football remains a favourite, fostering teamwork and physical fitness. Lego Club stimulates imagination and problem-solving skills, while our new big wooden blocks for outdoor creativity have become a hit, allowing children to construct and explore in our expansive outdoor space. This term also marked a milestone for our budding gardeners in the vegetable gardens, as they joyfully harvested their first crop of potatoes. The Forest School Club provides an excellent opportunity for children to connect with nature, promoting environmental awareness and outdoor learning. These activities not only enhance academic and practical skills but also contribute to the holistic development of our pupils.
BIG GREEN WEEK
June is a BIG month at KC and we have a lot of things going on. I just wanted to highlight some that you might be interested in from the Chaplaincy. Pembury Council is celebrating Big Green Week from June 10-14 and we are invited! The great BIG Green Week is the UK's biggest ever community action to protect nature. More details to follow. Chaplain Katie
Grab your cameras and enter the Nature Photo Contest. Do you have a favorite photo of nature around the school (or Pembury Parish) that you'd like to show off? You could win a £15 Amazon voucher! Click here for the details.
KCPPA Summer Fete Information
Calling all families, friends, and neighbours!
Mark your calendars for Saturday 15th June as it is time for the KCPPA Summer Fete and it’s going to be an unforgettable day of fun and laughter! Book your Tickets NOW!
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