19 September 2014 - King`s Hall School

King’s Hall School
Prep Newsletter
Edition 30
19th September 2014
___________________________________________________________________
HEADlines
My mother is beyond three score years and ten and whilst I, of course, remain her son, I am also a husband, father
of three and a respected Headmaster (ahem!) with a good few years experience of life. It can feel odd, then, that
she still feels the need to offer me the benefit of her wisdom. When I point out that she doesn’t have to worry as
much anymore she replies that she can’t help it and explains that she would feel guilty if she didn’t: she bears a life
long responsibility towards and love for me. My point is that it can be true to say that parenthood is one long guilt
trip. ‘Should I have done, this?’, ‘Did we make the correct choice?’, ‘I wish I had done that.’, ‘Have we been too
harsh/soft?’, ‘Is it too late to change this?’. It can be quite a challenge and I offer this link to an article not
suggesting that is to be read as a ‘Parental Handbook To Success’ but merely as an interesting read on the possible
implications of our comments that one might absorb and reflect on. It comes from this months Attain magazine
and is written by the President of The Girls’ Schools Association. Click here to read it.
It is always so nice to receive emails and comments from visitors to the school and this time we have had plenty
about how well run and how happy an occasion our Show Jumping event was last Sunday. It is another example of
where I am grateful to the team efforts of those at King’s Hall from staff, parents, support teams right through to
the children themselves: the weather was kind, too.
Justin Chippendale
Inter-Schools’ Show Jumping Event
King’s Hall was shrouded in mist on the morning of the Show Jumping, moved to a Sunday this year.
Fortunately it was quick to lift, leaving a bright day, albeit rather damp under foot to begin with.
The Clear Round jumping ring was very popular, with riders taking the opportunity for a last minute practice.
Class 1 started promptly at 10am with the riders having to negotiate a course of 12 jumps, including a double
and some scary fillers! The second half of the course was timed, so the winning rider would have to go both
clear and fast. The King’s Schools Taunton Hawkes team were first to venture out. Sophie Minchin, riding
Jack Fiddler was first to go, followed by Lizzie Chetwode on Toffee – who achieved the fastest clear in the
class. Kitty Chapple rode a lovely quick round on Volvo, followed by a steady clear by Jemima Kite on
Patchwork. With the best three riders’ scores/times to count, the Hawkes set a standard that proved to be
unbeatable gaining them 1st Team place in the class. 2nd Team place was to go to the King’s Schools Taunton
Kites, consisting of Maggie Rundell on My Friend Ben, Lucy Mowat on Poppy and Eve Thomas-Everard on
Tango, who all went clear, but with a slower combined time. King’s Schools Taunton had further success in
the class with the Eagles team: Lucy Buckley (Juno), Jess Highton (Polly), Lara Chapple (Seren) and Lucy Kite
(Milkshake) coming 3rd and the Kestrels 4th (Molly Landau on Chubby, Tilly Williams on Seamus and Jemima
Rundell on Manny).
Class Two – same course, higher jumps and even scarier fillers – particularly the red and blue King’s jump!
More success for the King’s teams, with the Ospreys and Harriers achieving 2nd & 3rd Team places respectively.
Karis Chambers lead the way for the Ospreys on Milo, followed by Ellie Clist riding Carnsdale Court Jester. Jess
Highton, clung on like a limpet to Polly when she put in a stop at the King’s fence, full credit to Jess for not
exiting out ‘the front door’! Sophie Minchin was the fourth rider and her pony Jack Fiddler did not disappoint.
The Harriers jumped as a team of three, Maggie Rundell on My Friend Ben had a fast round, followed by Lizzie
Chetwode on Woodrow Lucy - who again out rode the opposition to gain the fastest clear of the round. Lara
Chapple rode well on Seren to help the team to their 3 rd place.
Class Three saw a change of course and higher fences. Teams from King’s Hall, Taunton, Queen’s and
Wellington contested this class, along with half a dozen individual riders. The King’s Schools Taunton
Peregrines were first to attempt the new course, and in style set a target that was not to be beaten, winning
them 1st place – Karis Chambers on Milo achieved a very good time, and 3rd place individually, followed by
Lizzie Chetwode on Woodrow Lucy, who just pipped them to gain 2 nd place individually and last to go for them
was Thomas Daniel, riding Tosca, whose clear round helped gain the team the title.
Huge thanks go out to the team of organisers who made the event such a success – course builders,
commentators, stewards, caterers.......... to mention just a few.
Class 1
Teams:
1st King’s Hall Hawkes - Sophie Minchin, Lizzie Chetwode, Kitty Chapple & Jemima Kite
2nd King’s Hall Kites - Maggie Rundell, Lucy Mowat & Eve Thomas-Everard
3rd King’s Hall Eagles - Lucy Buckley, Jess Highton, Lara Chapple & Lucy Kite
4th King’s Hall Kestrels - Molly Landau, Tilly Williams & Jemima Rundell
Individual:
1st Lizzie Chetwode
2nd Kitty Chapple
3rd Jemima Rundell
4th Molly Landau
Class 2
Teams:
2nd King’s Hall Ospreys - Karis Chambers, Ellie Clist, Jess Highton & Sophie Minchin
3rd King’s Hall Harriers - Maggie Rundell, Lizzie Chetwode & Lara Chapple
Individuals:
1st Lizzie Chetwode
Class 3
Teams:
1st King’s Hall Peregrines - Karis Chambers, Lizzie Chetwode & Thomas Daniel
Individuals:
2nd Lizzie Chetwode
3rd Karis Chambers
Assembly – SWR Waste Management
SWR, who are our waste disposal experts, spoke to our children in
assembly on Tuesday morning about what it actually is that they do. The
presentation lasted around 25 minutes and explained to the children all of
the aspects that relate to recycling. Dan Brown, who’s Father had founded
the company some 15 years ago, gave the talk and answered a multitude
of questions at the end. The children clearly enjoyed it a great deal and
we have attached the PowerPoint to this newsletter for your information and to inspire still more debate in
this area of interest.
SWR Waste
Presentation.pptx
Operation Christmas Child – Christmas Shoeboxes 2014
Time to Pack!
King’s Hall would like to collect shoeboxes this year. You can still cover boxes with wrapping paper if you wish
or there are specially made flat pack card boxes that can be used which you can collect from school.
For more information about what can be packed in the boxes please go to www.samaritans-purse.org.uk
Please bring your filled boxes to the Pemberton Room or give to your class teacher.
Thank you.
Academic Life...
Design Technology
The Design Technology department has been buzzing with excitement as the pupils embark on their projects
for the Michaelmas term. We have Year 3 making chocolates and the packaging for them, Year 4 making Jitter
Bug robots, Year 5 doing some electronic circuit programming to make a steady hand game with a "twist",
Year 6 making E-Textiles Frankenstein monster toys that actually “ROAR”! And Year 8 are making MP3 Docking
stations…..
Let us not forget Year 7 though….They have been embarking on "The Great British Make Off”! In Design
Technology they are getting involved in an exciting new competition which is being spearheaded by the
Design and Technology Association. Working either in teams or as individuals, students have been asked to
take part in a challenging design brief inspired by Britain’s latest sporting passion: Cycling.
Entrants will respond to the brief and use whichever materials and resources are most appropriate for
research, design and communication of their ideas. “King’s Hall pupils will be focussing on the product design
area. A submission of a 2 minute video to explain what the idea is and how the idea can be made will be a part
of the final submission.”
Parents are also encouraged to get involved and help their children with this, as this is an excellent
opportunity for them and the school. Winners will earn the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spend a day
working with a major UK designer or product developer to refine their design concept. Winning designs will
form part of a national exhibition run by the Design and Technology Association.
Please visit the school website and http://gbmakeoff.co.uk/ for more information.
___________________________________________________________________
French
Parents often ask how they can help their child with their French. Here are some great ideas to help your child
with learning vocabulary. Which one works best for you?
1* Make a word
search with your
French words. List
them underneath in
English.
2* Do a mime for
your word with a
partner. When s/he
guesses the word,
you have to spell it.
3* Arrange your words 4* Write your words
in alphabetical order.
on cards. Select 6 to
put on a bingo grid.
Turn cards over one
by one. If you have
word and can spell
it, you can cover it.
5* Write your words
in different fonts and
colours.
( French / English)
6* Sit back to back
with a partner and
test your words.
7* Write out your
words, cut into parts
that help you to learn
them and put them
back together.
8* Play pairs – put
your words on card.
Match French to
English.
9* Draw a picture of
the word that your
partner says.
10* ‘Write’ a word
on someone’s hand/
back which they
have to guess.
11* Illustrate each of
your words with a
picture.
12* Play hangman
with a partner using
your words.
13* Invent your own
activity to practise
the words. Give it to
a friend to do.
14*Make posters of 15* Paint your words
the words to stick up with paint (in the
in your bedroom.
book) or water
(outside).
16* Write your
words in colourful
bubble writing.
Geography
The first half of the Michaelmas Term is a particularly busy time for the Geography Department, when we take
advantage of the late summer weather to venture out of the classroom to carry out our fieldwork. The
children in Year 5 have been at Kilve this week where they have been using maps and photographs to help
them recognise and understand the scenery around them.
Next week the Common Entrance classes in Year 8 will be going to Blue Anchor to study the coastal defences
and to carry out some firsthand investigations on the pebble ridge.
A little later this term the Year 6 geographers are due to carry out a simple river study on The Quantocks. The
current dry spell may mean that they will have to move location, as it looks as if the upper reaches of the
stream they usually study is too dry; now who could have imagined that back in the winter when we were
under so much flood water?
Updates for the statistical minded: The weather station has churned out lots of data during the summer: The
hottest day this year was 24 July when the thermometer reached 29°c, August was the second wettest month
of the year so far – 143mm and as of Thursday we have not recorded a single drop of rain in September. (It’s
not looking good for Year 6 and their river!)
News from Year 6
Year 6 have been settling into the new academic year and enjoying all the different opportunities that this
brings with it. Question, what do you get if you cross 'The Great British Bake Off' with a King's Hall Science
Prep? Answer, an amazing range of 'Cell' cakes! Pictured are just a few of the pupils culinary skills for you to
feast your eyes on and I'm informed that they tasted as good as they looked!
From the Library
There is great excitement in the Library about our new story comic, The Phoenix.
If you pop into the Library during morning break or at lunchtime, you are likely to find several pupils with their
faces buried in an issue of the magazine, reading funny stories like Bunny vs Monkey, Evil Emperor Penguin,
Squid Squad and Looshkin. Listen carefully and you may well hear them chuckling to themselves as they read!
This is what some of our pupils have to say about The Phoenix:
“soooooo funny!”
“really funny and different to other magazines”
“reading – but not hard work!”
“they are really funny and they make me laugh”
They are kept on the magazine display spinner in the Library and a new issue comes out every Friday, so come
and take a look for yourself.
Out of the classroom...
Orchestra Concert Coming Up.....
Music on the Quantocks have kindly made 40 free seats available for children at Orchestra West's next
Taunton concert on Saturday 4 October featuring Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto with international soloist
Tamsin Waley-Cohen. The Mendelssohn is a terrific piece – a perfect introduction to concerto repertoire – and
the orchestral music by Debussy and Fauré comprising the rest of the programme is beautiful. It is a fantastic
opportunity for children to hear a full orchestra live, possibly for the first time.
The concert will be at St James’ Church and if you would like to request any of these seats, please email Mr
Dayus-Jones as soon as possible. There is also a further discount for pupils’ parents which gives a 33%
discount off seats priced £21 and £18 up to a maximum of four tickets. Other available ticket prices are £8 and
£15, and more information can be found on the Music on the Quantocks Facebook page.
Whole School Photograph
This week saw the children and staff of King’s Hall School involved in the biannual ‘Whole School
Photograph’. The staging was erected early on Tuesday morning in front of the main school.
Before
At 9.30am the children began to fill the staging area with Year 8 at the very top and Nursery sat at the
very bottom.
After
At 10.15am the photographer, children and staff were ready for the picture to be taken and we hope that
everyone was smiling. It was a lovely event, with every member of the school in attendance. We all look
forward to seeing the finished result!
The first few days at Kilve Court
Day 1
The children were very excited on arriving at Kilve Court. After a quick lunch they unpacked in their bedroom
and hurried down to activities. Some children started on the low ropes, another went to shoot air rifles while
the last group went to Kilve beach to use compasses and maps. The first evening activities were multi sports
in the dark. Night skittles, bee bag targets, wellie wanging and much more, as I write this the children are
drifting off to sleep in their dormitories.
Day 2
The day started at 5.30am with noise from the dorms. The boys have been outside playing football since
6.30am.
Please read next week for a full report from Kilve.
This term’s Head Boy is Joe Messenger
After a weekend full of activity with the boarders, which included The Moscow State Circus, Quad biking, Zoorbing and
lots of lovely food, it was back to the normality of the school week. The senior pupils were involved in organising the
Whole School Photograph on Tuesday which was followed by our first Town Time of the year. We had heard much
about Town Time from the previous year’s pupils and it certainly lived up to expectations. A full block of sporting
fixtures for boys and girls took place on Wednesday in which we learnt a tremendous amount about the games we play.
Friday’s weekly hymn practice was a little quieter than usual as Years 4 and 5 were away at New Barn and Kilve Court
respectively. We are looking forward to the Long Weekend followed by another full and fruitful week at King’s Hall.
Sport Action and News...
Rugby
U10’s at the Millfield Tournament
On Saturday the U10 boys played in a tournament hosted by Millfield and started well in the first game
against Blundell's. Unfortunately, in the second half a much more physical and fired up Blundell's side won the
game. The next match was against Bristol Grammar School and saw a much more even contest, neither side
giving an inch until the last play of the game, where Johnnie Lawson Johnston’s fine solo effort gave us the
victory. Always, the team to beat, Millfield, was our third encounter, which saw our best team performance of
the day. We scored some great tries, which resulted in a comprehensive victory. A win against All Hallows
could potentially have seen us placed amongst the medals, however, with the last play of the game and the
scores locked at 2-2, a fantastic covering tackle on Cassian McLoughlin saw the ball placed agonizingly short of
the whitewash - Freddie Millard duly picked up and was once again thwarted by an outstanding tackle.
Well done to the boys for all their efforts, there were some excellent individual performances as well as team
performances.
1st XV against Perrott Hill
On a hot day King’s Hall were under pressure from the start with Perrott Hill taking an early lead. After a
few wise words form captain Lorcan McLoughlin the boys started to show a little more determination and
confidence. A number of good breaks from Tom Flavin and Joe Gill started to make inroads into the
Perrott Hill defence. Starting the 2nd half at 10 - 0 meant that King’s still had a real chance. Some more
positive rugby from Joe Messenger and Archie Wright showed some really positive signs. Unfortunately
some weak play in the contact area led to turnovers and breakaway tries to which King’s had no answer.
A well taken try by Lorcan after an excellent break and support from Joe Messenger and Ben Luxton gave
King’s Hall hope of a fight back. Unfortunately, late tries from Perrott Hill put the game beyond doubt.
2nd XV against Perrott Hill
Although the 2nd XV narrowly lost to Perrott Hill, the game did have many positive aspects for the team.
The large squad (20 boys played some or all of the game) meant that some invaluable experience was
gained and it was encouraging to see the boys pass the ball with confidence and accuracy. Michael Bray
crashed over powerfully from close range but our 3 other tries, 2 scored by Matthew Harrison and 1 by
Archie Wright, were the results of decent spells of play during which we held possession of the ball and
recycled competently. There are, of course, things to work on; we let a couple of quick Perrott runners
get a start and found it hard to tackle them in full flight – we, therefore, need to impose ourselves upon
the opposition and defend more aggressively. We also need to get runners out more quickly to support
our players as they break. We have a great deal of thinking to do before next week.
U11A against Perrott Hill
On a beautiful afternoon, the U11A team produced their best performance of the season so far. They played a
running rugby style with good speed and support play from all the players. The forwards were far more
together as a group, providing quality ball for the backs to use; many passages of play involving backs and
forwards in combination. At half time King's were 21-0 ahead with tries from Charlie Sharland, Tom Small and
George Thomas; all converted by James Rew. The second half continued with great effort and endeavour,
producing 2 further converted tries for Tom Small and George Thomas. Special mention has to be made of
the pack, as they all stepped up their game to play with greater speed and mobility.
Hockey
1st VII Blundell’s Tournament
A really good team performance, from a feisty goal keeper to all of the outfield players, we acquitted
ourselves really well. In the first match, against Truro, we dominated play, but were unable to hit the target,
despite at least 8 shots within inches of the goal giving us a 0-0 score. A better performance in the second
match gave us a 2-0 victory against Mount Kelly, with goals from Karis Chambers and Ellie Cooper. St. Peter’s
gave us a much harder challenge, with Christa Arliss, in goal, needing to be on top form and Ellie Cooper
putting away a shot that gave us a valuable 1-0 win. Our game against Clifton was closely fought, with both
Goal Keeper’s having a lot of the action and in the last few minutes, Clifton capitalised from a penalty corner
which gave us our only loss of the day 0-1. Wellington Schools B team were given a tough time as our
strength in depth really showed during our 6-0 win against them. A hattrick from Karis Chambers and goals
from Lucy Buckley, Ellie Cooper and Eliza Chippendale were a good return from a clinical performance. Our
final game in the pool, was a ‘must win’ against Blundell’s to see us through to the play-off stage for medals. A
super goal by Eliza Chippendale, gave us the 1-0 win we needed. Finishing in 2nd place in the pool, our goal
difference took us into the play-off for 3rd/4th place against Taunton Prep. Two goals from Lucy Buckley gave
us a very much deserved 3rd place in the tournament – well done girls!
2nd XV against Hazelgrove
The girls went 1-0 up within minutes with an Ellie Carrow goal but were level at 1-1 by half time. The team
were playing well and looked like they were on the verge of scoring several times more! We need to learn not
to be nice to the opposition Goalie - our hits at goal were far too gentle! Hazlegrove had a strong second half
as we gave them a little too much room to play in. After somewhat of a lull, Kitty Chapple finally started
asking for the ball more frequently and scored a beauty to reignite our team into action again! All in all this
has been a promising start to the season. We need to work on strength of pass and quicker decision making,
especially from free hits! The Players of the Match were Kitty and Maggie Rundell.
Results round up ...
Rugby
Hockey
Saturday 13th September
V Llandovery Prep
1st XV
Lost 5 - 27
Saturday 13th September
V All Hallows
U11A
Lost 5 - 12
Saturday 13th September
Millfield Tournament
U10A
Won 2, Drew 1,
Lost 1
Wednesday 17th September
v Perrott Hill
1st XV
2nd XV
Colts A
Lost 5 - 34
Lost 25 - 29
Won 35 - 0
Saturday 13th September
Blundell’s Tournament
1st VII
3rd Place
Wednesday 17th September
v Hazelgrove
1st VII
2nd VII
3rd VII
4th VII
5th VII
U11A
U11B
Lost 2 - 4
Lost 2 - 4
Lost 1 - 7
Lost 1 - 3
Lost 0 - 2
Lost 0 - 3
Lost 1 - 2
The Boarders’ World...
What a busy weekend your children have had and how lucky are they! On Saturday night after toasting
marshmallows over a camp fire in the afternoon, we took the children to The Moscow Circus and I have to say
it was fantastic, the trapeze artists were phenomenal and the guy juggling footballs (up to 8 footballs!) and
doing football tricks had the children watching in total awe.
Having enjoyed our Sunday morning Full English breakfast, it was off to North Devon for a day of Quad biking.
As you can see by the photographs they loved it, I even believe there was a bit of road rage happening! As a
special treat the owner let the Year 8s and Mr Roodt have a go at Land Zoorbing and the screams and laughter
were heard over most of Devon!
Hobbies & Activities – so much fun!
Photography
On a Tuesday afternoon a number of our children take part in Photography Club and explore the many
areas of this topic. They look at taking the actual photograph, cutting it, formatting it and printing the
final version. A large number of the photographs in this week’s newsletter have been taken by the
children who attend this hobby, with a particular mention for Oliver Baines. We hope you enjoy looking at
them!
Cross-Country Running
‘There is no better feeling than running through the woods, as fast as you can, trying to get to the finish
before everyone else!!’ This was a quote from Ben Luxton after this week’s hobby on Tuesday afternoon.
The children had stepped up their training to incorporate rougher terrain and more complex circuits in
readiness for competitions later in the half term. Years 5 and 6 runners will be competing at the King’s
College cross country event on September 29th whilst our older runners have an ESAA qualification event
in early October. There are places available for more runners so please come along and join in!!
Craft Hobby
In Craft this term we have been honing our sewing skills, making these cute Russian dolls from felt. We
have learnt to do a simple running stitch with tiny stitches and some of us have had to learn how to
thread a needle and tie a knot in our thread! We will be doing a variety of things over the term - next
week is sketching.
Climbing Hobby
Saturday morning Mrs Farmer took some of our pupils to King’s College Climbing Wall, where Miss Cargen had
rigged up the top ropes for our students to warm up, climb and play games such as blindfolded climbing and
cat & mouse! There was a bit of friendly sibling rivalry between Michael and Isobel Burger and of course the
competition heated up!
During
Saturday
afternoon
Mrs
Farmer
and Mrs Foster took some of our boarding pupils to the pioneer’s camp to play capture the flag and toast
marshmallows. Our two Spanish students said that, “This is amazing we never do anything like this at home!”
as you can see from the photo Millie Masters is a marshmallow expert, with two skewers and 6 mallows!!
Mmmmmmm!!
Things you didn’t know about ...
Mr Alan Feaster
Isabel Burger
Marketing Co-ordinator
Y8 pupil
How long have you been at King’s Hall School? Tell us more about your arrival.
I have been at King’s Hall for 2 years.
King’s Hall has been my only school. I joined in the
I worked at King’s College for 4 years before I arrived
Michaelmas term of 2005. I was in nursery with
here, but fancied a change that would be more
Mrs Masters’.
challenging for me.
If you were going to write a book, what would you call it and what would it be about?
I would call the book ‘The truth behind a Policeman’.
If I could write a book it would be called ‘Moon
This would be a behind the scenes look at what
Raider’ and it would be about an astronauts’
happens in the Force.
expedition on the moon. On arrival they find an
alien settlement on the dark side of the moon and
learn of their plans to invade planet earth.
What do you like most in a friend?
To be there for you and listen
In a friend I most like their trust, friendship,
kindness and ability to share.
If you could try out any job for a day, what would you like to try?
Photography – It is a real passion of mine and a great
If I could try any job for a day I would love to be a
picture is so uplifting.
journalist. It would be great to travel around the
world writing about events that are happening.
What is / was your favourite subject at school?
Getting in trouble and sitting outside the heads office. When I was younger my favourite subject was Art
Beside this I would have to say it was Maths. It was
because I could make paint-splatter pictures. Now
the subject I excelled in the most.
my favourite subject is DT, making and designing
my own things like lamps or speakers.
Which three people, dead or alive, would you have to a dinner party if you could? Why?
My sister - She died when she was far too young and I If I could have any three people at a dinner party I
would love to catch up on news.
would have –
Adolf Hitler - I do not agree with what he did, but he
My Granny and Grandpa because they live so far
was a very interesting man.
Cameron Diaz - How could you not want to have
away I hardly see them.
dinner with someone as beautiful as her.
Amelia Earhart because I admire her courage to try
a new challenge, no matter what the
consequences.
What takes up most of your time in the day?
Working - running around King’s Hall doing everything School work takes up most of the time in the day.
that is asked of me. Looking after my grandchildren
when I get home is very enjoyable and I see a lot of
them which is nice.
If someone asked you for a random piece of advice, what would you say?
They must be daft or escaped from a mad house to
I would tell them to throw themselves into every
ask me in the first place!
opportunity that comes their way while they still
can.
What is the first thing you do when you get home after school?
Have a cup of coffee and be attacked by my grandson
The first thing I do when I get back from school is
who always wants to play.
have a snack and do my prep.
Do you like to plan things out in detail or be spontaneous? Why?
Plan - it drives me crazy if things don't go to plan.
I like to plan things out in detail because then I
know exactly what to do.
What one thing have you not done that you really want to do?
Fly in a World War 2 Lancaster bomber.
I really want to swim with dolphins. It looks like so
much fun and they are so graceful.
Would you rather have the ability to fly or be invisible? Why?
Invisible – Who Knows, I may get a little bit of peace
I would rather have the ability to fly because I
and quiet!?
could then see amazing views that I couldn’t see if I
was on the ground. I could also soar over the
ocean, which is another thing I have always
dreamed of doing.
www.kingshalltaunton.co.uk