KC News Round Up Friday 5th July 2024

Year 7 have spent this week on their residential trip to Ashburnham. They have taken part in a variety of fun team-building activities such as kayaking, bushcraft, cycling, archery and raft building. Great fun had by all!

Year 8 History Trip to Chatham Dockyard

On Friday, Year 8 visited Chatham Historic Dockyards to consolidate their knowledge of the British Empire. They also experienced what life would have been like on a Cold War submarine and were shocked to learn that men did not wash for three months and only had one change of clothes. They toured a World War II ship, HMS Cavelier, and saw the very cramped living conditions that soldiers had to endure. Finally, they took part in a workshop and worked as a team to produce their very own piece of rope. Overall, it was a very enjoyable day and everyone learnt a lot, including the staff.

Pembury Photo Competition

Recently two of our students were awarded Runner-Up in their age groups for the Pembury Council Big Green Week Photo Contest. They are Marja in Year 7 and Marta in Year 9.

Here is a message from Pembury Council for the students about their submissions:

"Their work impressed our panel of judges, and the photos will be included in the next edition of the Pembury Village News. We appreciate the time they put into their submissions, and we hope they take pride in their accomplishment. Their participation has greatly contributed to the overall success of the competition, and we are excited to see more of their work in the future."

Year 9 Classics Lesson

This week Mrs Hayes borrowed a suit of replica Roman centurion armour from the University of Sussex. Students have been using it to learn about the life of a Roman soldier and how much weight they had to carry on their 20 mile a day marches.

Mr Mossman and Chaplain Katie also enjoyed trying on the armour.

Empowering Girls Webinar

Year 8, 9 and 10 Computer Science students enjoyed a webinar with the Women at Deltek group on Wednesday, focusing on the vital role that all can play in empowering the next generation of female leaders.

With the aim to engage more girls in the STEM subjects, and to drive the uptake of STEM-related degrees and careers, Mrs Connolly wanted to highlight the amazing work available as females in the highly male-dominated professions across STEM, and particularly computing. Currently, less than a quarter of university students studying Computer Science or related degrees in 2023 are female, and Mrs Connolly, along with the speakers from Deltek are keen to change this.

Year 9 Carnegie Book Awards

Students in Year 9 have spent the last two terms reading the shortlisted books on the Carnegie Book Awards for children and young people. In total they read 153 books from the shortlist of eight, with Arabella and Emily reading all eight. Elodie wrote the best book review, and Mya and Florence wrote the best creative response. All five winners were presented vouchers by Mrs Waller, our Librarian who also helped organise the event. Mrs Bell's class read the most books at 68. All of Year 9 were treated to an ice lolly for their efforts!

Year 9 Concert

KC Prep pupils were invited to a concert showcasing our talented Year 9 musicians. From singing and instrumental to original composition they performed brilliantly and received a standing ovation.

Bronze Star French Awards

The French Department have set up the Bronze Star Linguist Badges to recognise, reward and celebrate their students' hard work and effort this year.

The following students have been awarded the Bronze Star Badge:

• Year 7: Zarina, Ruby, Caitlin, Marja, Rosie, Eve, Annalise, Jessica, Elowen, Tuana, Rosie, Emily, Violet and Isla
• Year 8: Livvy, Sienna, Lola, Rosa, Noreen, Lucy, Sofia and Louise
• Year 9: Arabella, Poppy, Keira, Harriet, Donna, Florence, Isla and Elodie
• Year 10: Elsie, Charlotte, Elsa, Claudia, Lucy and Sophie
• Lower Sixth: Mireya and Momo

Congratulations to all!

Lower Sixth Geography Trip

The Jurassic Coast, Dorset, was a fantastic location for the Lower Sixth Geography residential field trip. The trip started on Tuesday with a swim at Studland Bay and an investigation of the sand dunes. On Wednesday, the amazing coastal landscape was explored through two hours of coasteering at Lulworth Cove and swimming under the arches at Stair Hole. We walked to a viewpoint to see Durdle Door and the beautiful beaches. On day three, the students completed a 5km kayak to Old Harry Rock. The weather was amazing and many wonderful memories were made.

"My favourite part of the trip was coasteering. It challenged me and took me out of my comfort zone. But I loved every minute of it !" Ella

"I thoroughly enjoyed the geography trip as it allowed me to get closer with my classmates and have fun whilst also learning about geography. Thank you for a great trip." Freya

National Prep Schools Track & Field Athletics Championships

Students in Year 7 and 8 went to Birmingham this week for the National Prep School Finals, where they performed brilliantly. Not only did Year 7's Seren win gold in the shot put, making her the National Shot Put Champion, she also won silver in the javelin. Erin came 10th in the 200m with a PB, Jess came 12th in the javelin, Eve was 12th in the discus and Emily was joint 11th in the high jump. Additionally the U13 4 x 100m relay team came 12th and the U14 team came 7th. These are fantastic results and we are very proud of you all.

Combined Events Championships

Congratulations go to Matilda in the Lower Sixth, who won the South of England Combined Event Championships recently with 4689 points, and will go through to the National Finals in September. Best of luck!

Capel Primary School Sports Day

Thanks go to Charlie, Ella, Katie and Nia in the Lower Sixth for helping staff at Capel Primary run their sports day. The Head from Capel has emailed to say how fantastic they were. Mrs Hughes thanks you for being such fantastic ambassadors for the school.

Diana Award

We were thrilled to have been selected to host the Diana Award Anti-Bullying Ambassador Training workshop and on Thursday KC students, were joined by representatives from a mixture of ten other independent and state schools.

The Diana Award's Anti-Bullying Ambassador Programme equips students and staff with the tools needed to tackle bullying behaviour. Through engaging activities and discussions, participants become Anti-Bullying Ambassadors, leading their own campaigns against bullying. Sponsored by Nationwide Building Society, Facebook, and the Department for Education, this youth-led initiative aims to transform school environments by empowering young people to address and prevent bullying effectively. The Year 9 and Year 10 students who have taken part in the training, will be our Anti-Bullying Ambassadors and will help foster a safer, kinder school community.

Mock General Election