Kingswood News
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KINGSWOOD NEWS Spring 2018 NEWS & NOTICES March 27th 2018 Dear Parents Kingswood House School, 56 West Hill, It was a great privilege to attend the Spring Concert last week, which you will no Epsom, Surrey, doubt read more about in the ensuing pages, and I commend the Reception, Year 1 & KT19 8LG Year 2 boys for their fantastic singing. It had a lovely welcoming theme running through it and I feel that in this way it embodied the family values and friendship on School Office: offer at Kingswood House. At the end of a busy term, it is all too easy to forget all the 01372 723590 wonderful individual and collective achievements of our boys- but if they are tired, as [email protected] Sports Line: many are at this point in the academic year, a reminder of how much they have 01372 746590 progressed and how much they have to look forward to, is often a good starting point. At the other end of the age range, we enjoyed a fantastic inaugural Sixth Form Open Study Centre: Evening on Friday with a range of independent, maintained and vocational providers 01372 746594 for the boys to meet. www.kingswoodhouse.org Congratulations to Sam Fowler and Rohan Bogues who have been appointed Year 10 Mentors after a robust interview process with myself and Mr Brooks; this is a significant position of responsibility at the top of the school and will be the foundation for a new mentorship programme across the year groups. Next term will see the new building take shape and it will be symbolic of the school’s commitment to developing its facilities, thereby matching the outstanding teaching and co-curricular opportunities that already exist. On a related note, we are sorry to be saying goodbye to Sarah Carpenter who leaves Like us on facebook for pastures new with our best wishes. Equally, we offer a warm welcome to Miss Kingswood House School Bernice Forbes, who will take over responsibility for Form 4C for the summer term. Miss Forbes is an experienced primary teacher with recent experience at both Banstead Prep and The Priory and she is looking forward to meeting parents, having already enjoyed a day last week with the boys. Follow us on twitter In September, I am delighted to announce the appointment of Miss Zoe Smith as a permanent replacement. Miss Smith will join us from All Saints Primary School in @kingswoodhouse Carshalton where she has spent two years working across Key Stage 2, prior to which Follow Mr Murphy she obtained a strong degree in Education from the University of Hertfordshire as well @KHSprep as a PGCE from St Mary’s University, Twickenham. Interestingly, Miss Smith’s talents extend beyond the classroom as she is a keen rugby player and coach, currently representing Wasps Ladies RFC in the National Premier Division. We offer both ladies a warm welcome to Kingswood House. Easter is traditionally associated with hope, and, likewise, spring with vitality– so I wish you all a restful holiday and trust that you will return to school feeling refreshed and excited about the summer in store. It promises to be a wonderful term ahead. Yours sincerely Duncan Murphy Headmaster Year 4 The boys in 4C have been working on collage techniques in Art. They used threads and felt to make an Athenian owl and they designed and made their own theatre mask to link with their work on the Ancient Greeks. The writing focus this term has been on Legends. After reading and discussion elements of legend stories and exploring a text in Guided Reading, the boys then used the story structure to write their own legend story. Here they are reading their published stories to each other. Mrs Carpenter Reception, Years 1 and 2 visited Leeds Castle The boys had an exciting tour of the castle and took part in a story time workshop. Miss Walliss Year 6 Trip to the Science Museum Year 6 had a fantastic day at the Science Museum. In the morning, we explored parts of the museum including the 'Energy Hall', the 'Space Gallery' and the interactive gallery 'Who am I?'. The boys thoroughly enjoyed developing their knowledge and learning new, exciting facts in each of these sections. We then made our way up to the Wonder Lab where we started with a Rocket Show! This was brilliant! They saw rockets (made from Pringles cans!) being launched into the air, exploding and travelling across the room. Next, we had an session to explore the Wonder Lab. There were live shows and so many interactive experiments to try. A particular favourite were the slides exploring friction! After lunch, we had another hour to explore the museum and then time for the gift shop! Thank you to the boys who were excellent ambassadors for the school and to Mr Russell, Miss Black, Mrs Long, Mrs Sharpe, Mrs Else and Mrs Kitchen for helping make the day so enjoyable. Miss G McSweeney A Dragon’s Den in Year 7 Sixth Form Evening This term, Year 7 boys have been studying Energy. This is a Last Friday, we welcomed several schools photo of the boys in 7L preparing for a “Dragon’s Den”-type and colleges to our first Sixth Form Evening. competition. They gave a useful insight into a variety of They had to work in groups to design an energy efficient independent, maintained and vocational kitchen appliance and pitch it to “buyers” from “John options. Lewis” (Mrs Callaghan and Mrs du Plessis). Box Hill School Hampton Court House School The boys had to design the product, produce a business Epsom College NESCOT College plan and a personal background story as well as being ready to answer some tough questions. Epsom & Ewell High School Ewell Castle School Radnor House School Mrs Callaghan Godalming College Glyn School St John’s School Taunton School Claes Oldenberg Ben Choy and Alex Bentall, Year 5, enjoyed showing their study of Claes Oldenberg , American sculptor, with a Pop Art theme. The boys have been creating pretend ice-creams using different glues and adhesives. The class enjoyed pouring glue and paint from a great height to create a realistic chocolate sauce effect. Mr Bailey Kelvedon Hatch In Year 9, we have been studying types of ionising radiation. Recently we went on a trip to the “Secret” Nuclear Bunker at Kelvedon Hatch in Essex. It is a large underground bunker and was maintained during the Cold War. It was a potential regional government headquarters that would have been used in the event of a nuclear attack. The bunker would have held hundreds of selected military and civilian personnel who would have been tasked with organising the survival of the population and continuing government operations. Since being decommissioned in 1992, the bunker has been open to the public. The bunker is built 38 m underground and the entrance is through an ordinary looking bungalow. The bunker had air conditioning and heating, its own water supply (mains water and its own deep bore hole) and generators, and was equipped with many types of radio and telecommunications equipment. The boys very much enjoyed the fact that the bunker has been left pretty much exactly as when it was in use. Boys saw the blast doors, hospital, dormitories, operations room, the BBC radio booth and telephone exchange. They ate lunch in the canteen and tried on old uniforms and gas masks. As well as being able to see all of this, the boys also saw films that would have been shown in the 1960’s to the public to advise people of what to do in the event of a nuclear war. Mrs Callaghan Many people know that every week my classes have to learn French vocabulary for a very important test in which they have to score at least 50% to pass. 6R take this prep very seriously! This is what I am now greeted with every Thursday when I arrive at the French room! Madame Taylor Let’s go fly a kite ... 7L have now finished their kite project. They were give the challenge to build a kit from recycled materials so they chose bin liners and kitchen plastic aprons. The boys soon found out that accuracy and balance played a key part in how a kite flies, or not! One boy was heard to say ‘ how long is the piece of string’ which led to an interesting discussion in the classroom! Mr Bailey Year 9 Science The boys were learning about organic molecules and carbon chains. They used molecular modelling kits to make models of various molecules, including ether (that had an anaesthetising effect on Jack, as can be seen in the photo) and propanone (nail polish remover) that is being hand-modelled by Harry. Mrs Callaghan Spring Concert Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 put on a magnificent Spring Concert for their Parents, Mr Murphy and our Chairman of Governors, Mr Shipley. All the children were in good tune and full of Easter cheer. Mrs Watkins and Mrs Roberts Senior Lecture The European Space Agency The evening was great. We all learned so much and found it all very riveting. Dr Maroothynaden’s job sounds so interesting and I did not realise that space could be so exciting. The lecture helped us understand about space travel and the village on the moon, and how it will impact on the future. Dr Maroothynaden spoke with confidence and clearly knew a huge amount about the subject, as well as how to keep us all engaged. Many of us are now considering a career in the space agency in various capacities, and we are now all more aware about space, how satellites work and the different jobs you can do.