prep for the week issue 1820

Prep for The Week Issue Number 1820 26 February 2016 1

Issue Number 1820 – 26 February 2016

Prep for the Week

In this week’s issue… Headmaster's Blog and Commendations Personal Achievements in Skiing A View from Coach House LAMDA Showcase Kingfishers, Lower and Middle School News House Baking Letter from the Library Townsend-Warner History Prize 2016 Boys' and Girls' Sport Calendar and Notices

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Follow us on Twitter:@CheltPrep

Tickets for the school production of Joseph and the

Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat are now available

to collect from The Prep Reception, for shows on

Tuesday 15, Wednesday 16 and Thursday 17 March,

at 19.30 in the Prep Assembly Hall - don't miss out!


Dear ParentsAs we look ahead to the final three weeks of this short but busy term, I offer pupils and parents a few nuggets of advice:

1. Keep the energy up! There is plenty still to inspire pupils this term, from World Book Day and the school performance of Jospeh, to the Hockey and Netball tour to Guernsey, History trip to Kent and House Music competitions.

2. Be kind to one another – the kind and generous nature of boys and girls at The Prep always impresses both staff and parents, but could you go the extra mile in the next few weeks? A small, random act of kindness could make someone’s day.

3. Look challenges squarely in the eye, remembering to always ask for support from friends as well as teachers, should you need it.

4. Learn from failure - children who demonstrate tenacity in the classroom will reap the benefits elsewhere in life, so don’t be disheartened by a set-back at school.

Mr Jon Whybrow

Headmaster's Blog

Personal AchievementOn Friday 19 February 2016, Harry Richardson and younger brother, Joey, took part in the ESF flèche giant Slalom race. This was Joey's 1st race, which he was very excited about and was aided by Harry who had participated previously. The boys had been working hard in the build-up to the event and this certainly paid off as both boys were awarded bronze medals, with brilliant times. Harry and Joey are now determined to get the silver medal at Easter! Good luck boys!


A View From Coach HousePupils who visit Coach House have mild specific learning difficulties such as Dyslexia, Dyspraxia or Maths learning difficulties. We aim to teach pupils learning skills and strategies, which they can apply in their classes and in exams. Promoting pupil self-confidence and boosting self-esteem are fundamental to our learning objectives.

We are exceptionally lucky to work with pupils from Years 3 to 8: one of the most enjoyable aspects of what we do! Coach House lessons are varied, and could include everything from helping a pupil to decode strategies for reading, to practising using imaginative vocabulary, learning about place value in maths or developing revision or touch-typing skills.

As is true of all teaching and learning across The Prep, the aim of Coach House is to help pupils to enjoy learning, achieve their academic potential and develop confidence to become independent learners. To this end, support for learning is fully incorporated within teaching and learning practices across the school. Coach House staff contribute to INSET days as well as organising Learning Lunches, conducting lesson observations, and offering advice about pupil needs, pre-teaching concepts and vocabulary. We also maintain a detailed learning support database, which staff have access to, and organise exam access arrangements.

Through specialist assessments and multi-sensory resources, Coach House staff are able to address specific target areas. Younger pupils reinforce learning through games, making Coach House an enjoyable place to be! Should we require it, we have excellent links with external independent Educational Psychologists, Speech and Language Therapists and Occupational Therapists who can do further in depth assessments and provide valuable advice to both parents and staff.

An important part of our role is to meet parents regularly to review pupil progress, discuss any concerns and agree plans to mutually support the pupil. Learning Support Workers (LSWs) form an important part of the Coach House team, offering both 1:1 and general support to pupils across the

school, as well as running maths clubs, spelling lessons and 'Chill and Chat' groups. Handwriting Club also runs every morning in Coach House and is much enjoyed by pupils who attend – not only do they develop their handwriting but they also participate in fun, fine motor activities to develop hand strength. New this year has been the introduction of dedicated LSWs attached to the Maths and English Departments in Lower School and Years 5 to 8, thus providing greater consistency of support to both pupils and staff.

English as an Additional Language (EAL) is also part of Coach House, led by Mrs Williams. Cheltenham Prep values its international students and is enriched by cultural and educational diversity. Some international pupils, for whom English is an additional language, may require additional support in developing proficiency with the English language. The EAL department assesses proficiency and delivers a programme to develop students’ confidence and competence in speaking, reading and writing the English language. These lessons are taught in an exciting and interesting way that promotes opportunities to develop language skills which pupils are able to apply to everyday school life.

Mrs Gill Barrett, Director of Learning


Archie McNeill for independently producing a PowerPoint presentation on The Royal Pavillion

Harry Dawson for producing independently a PowerPoint presentation on how Henry VIII built up the Royal Navy

William Davey for taking photographs of The Tower of London and sharing them as well as facts on the mystery of how, why

and when the princes died

Jamie Reid for excellent independent research on Hawaii

Headmaster's Commendations

The Prep’s first LAMDA showcase performance, which took place just before Half Term, was excellent! All the actors put

on a very entertaining show.

This performance will be a regular slot in the calendar each term, so look out for details of the next showcase!

... camera...Lights... ... ACTION!

Year 6 have just finished making their fish hot

plates, and they will be taking pride of place in their kitchens! Here are two excellent examples.


KingfishersLast Half Term, Year 1 designed and made their very own moving vehicle masterpieces.

Staff challenged the children to think carefully about the materials that they could use to create a vehicle and how they were going to assemble them to achieve the desired outcome. It was lovely to see the children sharing ideas, helping each other and working together. Their teachers were very impressed! The children thoroughly enjoyed sharing and playing with their final models.

In a dramatic turn of events, this week Year 1's teddy bear went missing. Was he kidnapped? Lost? Or off being mischievous somewhere...?In an effort to discover the bear's whereaboutsYear 1 boys and girls ventured out to Bath Road on a treasure hunt.

It seems the fluffy friend had been up to all sorts of mischief and the trail of clues led us through banks, post offices and cafes, all the way to a bakery, to find him!

Teddy was so grateful for being rescued by the children that he treated them all to a biscuit! He is now looking forward to visiting the children in their own homes at the weekends and seeing what other adventures are to be had.


Lower School

On Tuesday, Year 2 pupils joined Lower School for the morning in preparation for their transition in September.

It was a wonderful morning with the Year 2 pupils finding out as many facts as possible about the staff and Lower School in general. They are very excited about the prospect of gaining a plus, finding out more about Mrs Mackman’s interest in watching rugby, being part of a House, using the iPads each week, taking part in Wake & Shake and a whole lot more!

Throughout the morning the Year 2 pupils mixed with those currently in Year 3 and took part in Wake & Shake: this is where the pupils use ipads to video their own jokes and facts. They also made their own flag bunting and created wordles about Lower School. They also stayed for break time in the Lower School and really enjoyed this. It was a brilliant morning and hopefully the Year 2 pupils now know more about Lower School, ready for September. There are more transition activities planned for the Summer Term, which we are all looking forward to.

We wanted to know how far away people travel to Bath Road and which shops were the most popular. The only way we could find out this information was to ask them.

It was such a lovely opportunity for all of the children to take a closer look at our local area and to carry out a shopping survey. The children were well behaved, polite and courteous. We received many compliments about how well they presented themselves and represented our school in the community!

In Geography this week, Year 3 took a field trip to Bath Road. We were investigating the type of customers and the types of shopping going on in our local area.

We discovered that the Bath Road shopping area was used mostly by those people who either live or work locally.


Middle School Well done Year 5 pupils, who have been performing their 'sports acrobatics' routines to the rest of the class in gymnastics lessons.

In Year 5 Geography this term, we’ve been looking at water use locally and around the world. This week pupils were lucky enough to have Rod King from the College Estates Department show them water around the school. We started with the water coming into school, where it goes, how big the pipes are, how it’s used, and then (the fun part) where the waste water goes! The children enjoyed looking at the route of water once the toilets had been flushed, and gained a better appreciation for not blocking them! The rainwater tanks were also inspected and the children soon realised where a huge amount of their tennis balls ended up, once they’d travelled from the roof, along the gutters and down the pipes!


It is official: Cheltenham Prep has some outstanding young bakers! Staff were amazed this week by the number of entries to the House Baking competition (231 entries in total across the school!), and also by the quality of the entries. Many were of a very professional standard, as the photographs here show.

Kingfisher pupils decorated shortbread biscuits with Olympic rings, various sports, medals and even some designed as sportsmen and flags. Lower School met the challenge of cupcakes well, by decorating them as tennis balls, or using a Rio carnival theme, the Olympic rings, some carefully frosted in multicolours, some designed to show the Brazilian flag and others showing swimmers and other Olympic sports. Middle School went to town in terms of their Victoria Sponge cake decoratons: there were swimming pools, divers, horses, Olympic flames, flags, race tracks, stadiums, a boxing ring, beach volleyball and even a weight lifter! What wonderful, imaginative designs. Upper School had the hardest task of all: making a 3D bread sculpture. They met the challenge admirably. There were fantastic examples of Olympic rings, multi coloured dough, a tennis raquet, statues of Christ the Redeemer, medals, hockey sticks, Olympic flames, mascots and various boats, including a fully manned rowing boat! How impressive! We have some very talented pupils, so well done to all.

The tasting has been done (a tough job for Mr Webber, as you can see here!) and final judgements have been made. It was very difficult to decide on the winners, given such an excellent array of entries. Prizes will be awarded in Assembly next week for Lower School, Middle School and Upper School and for Kingfishers in their Assembly shortly.

House Baking


Letter from the LibraryHere are just a few reminders about World Book Day next Thursday!

1. Don’t forget to dress up!

2. Egg Head entries should be taken to your form room or the library by Monday 29 February. All entries must be clearly labelled with your name and year group.

3. Have you been reading in wierd and wonderful places? Don't forget to send any Extreme Reading photos to Mrs Dawson by Monday 29 February.

Kingfisher Book SwapThank you to those Kingfisher children who have already brought books in so they can take part in the book swap on Friday 4 March. Taking part is voluntary but if you would like to get involved then bring in a minimum of 2 books to your class teacher before Friday 4 March.

Will you have a go at the design a National Book Token competition? There is an under 8 category and one for 8-12 year olds. Find out more details in the library from Monday 29 February.

Townsend-Warner History Prize 2016

The Townsend-Warner History Prize is over 125 years old and is one of the oldest institutions in the preparatory school world! Consisting of two papers, one demanding list of 100 questions with one-word or one-sentence answers from world history, and one two hour paper in the form of essay questions. The latter allows candidates a wide choice so that they can write on what they know, but also potential to show analytical skill and historical imagination.

After a relaxed Christmas break and a quiz devised by former candidates Duncan Pinchen and Maximus Morris, the 22 Cheltenham Prep Upper School candidates sat Paper 1 in January. We can only commend their dedication to the challenge: meeting during break times over the last term, candidates learned about different parts of History that the syllabus does not cover and practiced their Historical general knowledge.

17 of the candidates did extremely well and will receive certificates of participation. Congratulations to: Charlie Anton-Smith, William Bradley, Seb Burden, Tom Buxton, Dekhan Dodo, Fionnuala Dowling-Membrado, Holly Ellis, Anna Forde, James French, Jess Hale, Peter Marstrand, Francesca Pinchard, Oliver Schallamach, Denis Solovyev, Rory Southall, Anabelle Wells and Grace White.

Three candidates scored highly and just missed out on an invitation to sit Paper 2; George Hardy, Molly Krauer and Rory Maddinson.

However two exceptional candidates have qualified to sit Paper 2. Louis Dessalles was placed 201st nationally with a score of 46/100 in Paper 1. Charles Hellens was placed 16th nationally with a score of 71/100. In a particularly difficult year of the competition (this year, 250 pupils nationally qualified from Paper 1 to sit Paper 2), these are incredibly impressive scores!

The whole process has been a lot of fun, especially the break time quizzing, and the results are all fantastic achievements of which the pupils should be very proud.

Best of luck to Louis and Charles who sit Paper 2 this week!


Sports

Girls' Team of the Week – 4th VII Netball

The Fourths were on excellent form right from the first whistle in their match against Wycliffe. Hungry for the ball, The Prep found their team rhythm quickly and took advantage of prompt centre passes which soon enabled the girls to be 3-0 up in the first quarter. A slightly more confident Wycliffe came back in the second quarter and their faultless footwork enabled them to keep possession and, once in their D, achieve some great goals. Not ones to be easily put off, the Fourths continued to use their speed and agility to their advantage, making some wonderful interceptions and demonstrating confident ball control. Wycliffe continued to fight back valiantly in the third and final quarters but the shooting accuracy of our Fourths was too strong and the girls finished the game with a 16-5 win. The best teamwork of the season so far, confidence is high and the girls are looking forward to their next match.

Boys U10C Hockey at the Cheltenham Festival

Wednesday afternoon saw the U10C team step up a grade to take on the Richard Pate U11C and our own U11C. The team has really grown as the season has progressed and their focus on high team involvement and strong work ethic has begun to pay dividends. Our recent focus has been on staying low in the tackle and this was used to great effect in the first match against Richard Pate. The boys' defence was resolute and the whole team worked very hard, but our achilles heel struck again - we were unable to get the ball in the back of the net and fell to a 1-0 loss. The team then took the field against our own U11C and gave heart and soul to the performance with the titanic struggle finishing 0-0. It has been great to see the team's defence and unity really build over the last few weeks and we will now continue to work on shooting skills before the next game. Well done boys!

Girls' Netball ResultsTEAM OPPOSITION DATE SCORE RESULT1st VII Wycliffe Wed 24 Feb 12 – 18 LOST2nd VII Wycliffe Wed 24 Feb 19 – 6 WON3rd VII Wycliffe Wed 24 Feb 9 – 9 DREW4th VII Wycliffe Wed 24 Feb 16 – 5 WON5th VII Wycliffe Wed 24 Feb 7 – 10 LOST6th VII Wycliffe Wed 24 Feb 6 – 1 WONU11 A Wycliffe Wed 24 Feb 6 – 8 LOSTU11 B Wycliffe Wed 24 Feb 10 – 5 WONU10 A Wycliffe Wed 24 Feb 17 – 4 WONU10 B Wycliffe Wed 24 Feb 4 – 1 WONU9 A Wycliffe Wed 24 Feb 11 – 1 WONU9 B Wycliffe Wed 24 Feb 9 – 2 WONU8 A Wycliffe Wed 24 Feb 7 – 0 WON

Boys' Hockey ResultsTEAM OPPONENT RESULT1st VII Severnside Tournament 2nd VII Severnside Tournament U11A Cheltenham Festival FestivalU11B Cheltenham Festival FestivalU11C Cheltenham Festival FestivalU10A Cheltenham Festival FestivalU10B Cheltenham Festival FestivalU10C Cheltenham Festival Festival

For girls' news, fixtures and

updates, follow us on Twitter!

@cheltprepgirls

For boys' news, fixtures and updates, follow us on Twitter! @cheltprep_boys


CalendarSunday 28 February 201611:30 Boarders' Trip to Combat Splat, paintballing. (Full and Regular Flexi-Boarders Only)

Monday 29 February 2016, Week 9, 29 February - 6 March LAMDA Examinations (Lake House) Cancelled Lower School English Speaking Board Examinations Cheltenham College 13+ (Year 8) Academic Scholarships (College)13:15 Departure for Year 2 Boys and Girls Hockey Festival at Dean Close (A): Start 13:45. Pick up 15:30

Tuesday 1 March 2016 LAMDA exams (Lake House) Cancelled Lower School English Speaking Board Examinations Cheltenham College 13+ (Year 8) Academic Scholarships (College)10:30 Year 5 trip to Synagogue in Cheltenham

Wednesday 2 March 2016 Cheltenham College 13+ (Year 8) Art, Drama and Design Technology Scholarship (College)10:30 Departure for Port Regis 7s (A): 1st VII. Start 12:30. Pick up dependent on progress. Cancelled13:45 Departure for Netball v St Edward's (A): U10A, U10B, U11A, U11B. Start 14:30. Pick up 16:3014:15 Hockey v Bromsgrove (H): U11B VII, U11C VII, U10B VII, U10C VII. Pick up 16:1514:30 Netball v Prior Park (H): 1st VII, 3rd VII. Pick up 16:1514:30 Netball v The Dragon (H): 2nd VII, 4th VII, 5th VII, 6th VII. Pick up 16:1515:00 Hockey v Bromsgrove (H): U11A VII, U10A VII. Pick up 16:1515:00 Hockey V Dean Close (H): U9A VII, U9B VII, U9C VII. Pick up 16.3015:15 Departure for Netball v St Edward's (A): U8A, U8B, U9A, U9B. Start 16:00. Pick up 17:30

Thursday 3 March 2016 World Book Day06:30 Departure for IAPS Regional Netball (Kingsmead School): U11A. Start 09:00. Pick up 18:0008:30 Year 7 Overnight History Trip to Kent (Battle of Hastings and Canterbury Cathedral)16:00 Cross Country League Race 3 (H): Years 4-6. Pick up 17:0018:00 Athens, Persia and Rome Houses Year 8 Trip to Zizzi, Cheltenham. Pick up 20:00

Friday 4 March 201605:30 Departure for Year 6 mixed Hockey and Netball Tour to Guernsey06:30 Departure for IAPS Regional Netball (Kingsmead School): 1st VII. Start 09:00. Pick up 18:0008:00 Friends of The Prep Coffee Morning (Drawing Room)14:15 Chapel (parents welcome)15:15 Football v Berkhampstead (H): U9A VI, U9B VI, U9C VI. Pick up 16:3018:00 Year 7 return from Overnight History Trip to Kent18:30 FoTP Race Night

Saturday 5 March 2016 Year 6 mixed Hockey and Netball Tour in Guernsey Music for Youth Regional Competition (Town Hall)10:00 Departure for The Downs Wraxall 7s (A): 1st VII. Start 12:00. Pick up dependent on progress10:30 Open Morning for Prospective Parents until 13:00

All changes and additions to the School Calendar appear in pink.


Sunday, 6 March 2016 Music for Youth Regional Competition (Town Hall)12:00 Boarders' High Ropes Team Building (Full and Regular Flexi-Boarders Only)14:00 Year 6 mixed Hockey and Netball Tour returns from Guernsey. Pick up 14:00


Tuesday 15 March, Wednesday 16 March & Thursday 17 March at 19:30 in the Prep Assembly Hall

Tickets available from Reception

..It was red and yellow and green and brown and scarlet and black and ochre and peach and ruby and olive and violet and fawn and lilac and gold and chocolate and mauve and cream and crimson and silver and rose and azure and lemon and russet and grey and purple and white and pink and orange and blue

Florence Piggott


Parents' Netball Training

with CC Foxes

now taking place at Cheltenham College

Sports Hall, every Friday during term time at 09.50

Uniform Shop

Please note that the current term time opening hours are:

Wednesdays 13.30 to 16.00Fridays 13.00 to 15.00

To make an appointment, please contact the Shop Manager, Emma

Collings, on either 07770 678698 or [email protected]

Charles Martin 8Elie Haugen 10Molly Krauer 12

Happy Birthday to the following pupils this week!

NOTICES

www.cheltenhamactivitycamps.co.uk

JOIN THE FUNCALL OR GO ONLINE FOR DATES & BOOKING01242 705 551

l Over 20 exciting games and sports, including arts and crafts.

l Fun filled days, for boys and girls aged 4 ½ - 14 years.

l Childcare Vouchers accepted.l Delivered by outstanding, highly

qualified and experienced staff.

l A full range of flexible packages, offering unbeatable value.

l Ofsted registered.

Tuesday 29th March – Friday 8th April 2016AT CHELTENHAM COLLEGE SPORTS CENTRE

Cheltenham Activity Camps are the number 1 provider of Multi-Sport & Activity Camps in Gloucestershire

Well done to everyone who took part in the House Baking competition this week - the results were mouth-watering and

impressive!

prep for the week issue 1820

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