Fortnightly Newsletter Friday 17th May 2019 FROM THE HEADMISTRESS Dear Parents, This time of year can bring many changes: sunshine, showers, new flowers and plants, cooler clothes and maybe even an ice cream or two in the recent sunny spell. Whatever the weather, the Summer Term at Feltonfleet is a special place. Light mornings and evenings mean that our days are long and allow us to make the most of our beautiful campus. The cricket season is in full flow with dozens of matches having already been played by both girls and boys, and the site is awash with outdoor activities. The Pre-Prep seasonal hats and sun cream have been in evidence as the pupils’ learning has found a more permanent home outside. The Lower School have been busy making the best of the site and cartwheeling their way through break times. It has been a more focused and testing period for Year 5 & 6, yet they have engaged positively with exam week and left this morning full of excitement for their Isle of Wight weekend adventure. 'Loud',‘ upbeat’ and ‘exhilarating’ are the words to describe the atmosphere in the Ashbee Theatre during this week’s rehearsals for the Jazz Night next Tuesday. Listening to the Middle and Upper Choirs pouring the song Our House by Madness into the corridors was spine -tingling! Over the past seven days our community has raised over £14,000, a brilliant community effort. On Friday evening, the annual Royal Marsden Quiz Night was supported by enthusiastic parents who quizzed and danced until midnight. On Sunday over 70 Feltonfleet pupils took part in the Restless Development Triathlon hosted by Charterhouse, and on Saturday, a group of Year 5 pupils and their dads undertook a 70 km sponsored bike ride, including an overnight camping adventure, to support the Royal Marsden Hospital. Such opportunities allow pupils to put our core values into action and look to the needs of others. It has been a great couple of weeks. As we head towards the half way point of this exciting term, I will leave you with some of the pupil’s reflections on why this term is so special. I hope you all enjoy a lovely weekend. Shelley Lance 1 REFLECTIONS ON SUMMER TERM Summer term is an amazing part of the year, with so much to look forward to, from the shining sun to spending the evening playing in the woods in Boarding. As a Year 8 pupil, I can say on behalf of I like the summer Year 8, that this is our favourite term with so because it’s hot, many great things planned after CE, like the Italy flowers bloom and I trip and the weeks of fun planned into the Leavers like learning Programme, which conclude a successful, fun and Tamara G, Year 2 hardworking time at Feltonfleet. I specifically love this term because we get to see our hard work pay off in our CE results (hopefully) and I get to be a part of the Fathers vs Sons cricket match and Well I like everything! Matthias K, Year 2 the Boarders barbecue. I also love our summer uniform and being on the fields and playing sport in the lovely sunny weather. Henry M, Year 8 There’s a huge playground to play in! Because it’s very nice in Erin M, Year 2 the summer, tricky maths and the flowers bloom. Happy H, Year 2 I like the summer term because there The Summer Term is my favourite because in games are challenges and also treats!. Exams we play cricket which is lots of fun and a bit later in were challenging but they are followed June we go to Bushcraft. The weather is sunny and by the Isle of Wight trip this weekend. I sports day will hopefully be too! It’s a wonderful also look forward to the afternoon when event. At the end of Year 3 we also get to go to we all get together as a community to West Wittering beach which I can't wait for. The best have an ice cream, not just because of part about the Summer Term is that the sunny the ice cream but because of the weather makes everyone smile. Will T, Year 3 memories it creates. Amy v R, Year 6 INSIDE THIS ISSUE Pre-Prep News 3 Music News 12 What’s coming up? 18 Lower School News 4 Sleep Hygiene Seminar 13 Weekly Bulletin 19 Middle School News 5 Other News 14 Notices 20-21 Upper School News 6-7 Pupil Achievement 15-16 Sports News 8-11 Headmistress Awards 17 2 PRE - P R E P N E W S Collaboration and communication are essential life skills, and in our Pre- Prep we build in lots of opportunities for pupils to engage in activities to promote teamwork, speaking and listening. Pupils learn to listen, not just to their teachers, but more importantly, to each other. Listening and taking account of what someone else says or thinks is not always easy, especially as human beings are born egocentric and remain this way until they are at least three years old. From then on, it’s a gradual process, learning that conversation is a two Cross key stage collaboration and peer support in way activity and by asking questions of each other and Maypole practice Year 2 and Nursery listening to our peers we can actually extend our own understanding. The most simple and enjoyable way of promoting this is playing board games and this is an area we have been promoting in child-led, discovery and communication sessions. Children set up their own games, explain the rules, take turns, learn to win, lose, make mistakes and help each other. At the end of a session they take responsibility for packing away their games carefully for next time. In Reception, children have games groups for their communication session and they are now highly competent at collaborating effectively with Collaboration and conversation in Year 2 Maths minimal adult intervention. The adults can then interact more specifically in games that promote language development and the extension of vocabulary and sentence structure. Reception collaborative communication development playing ‘the category game’ Collaborative IPC work in Year 2 Amanda Burton Smith Head of Pre-Prep 3 LOWER SCHOOL NEWS This week in IPC, Year 4 pupils have been continuing their Unit of Study, They Made a Difference. They worked together to match scientists with their area of expertise or discovery and carried out more in-depth research about a chosen scientist. Do be sure to ask them about Marie Curie, Isaac Newton and Jane Goodall, amongst others! Year 3 have been putting their cartography skills to the test, as part of their IPC Unit, Explorers and Adventurers. Their knowledge of the world and the voyages of discovery that have taken place is increasing weekly. Our After-School Club programme is in full swing, making the most of the glorious weather this week. Cricket is the highlight of the sporting week for many of our pupils and their enjoyment and progress in our Cricket Club is clear to see. We have some serious cricketing talent among the Lower School boys and girls - watch this space! Forest School Club is hugely popular and our pupils have been honing their skills in our woods, with some of them taking the exercise extremely seriously, by donning full camouflage at the end of the day. It has been a chance for pupils who do not regularly spend time together to meet, have fun and share a common interest. Elizabeth Cherry Head of Lower School 4 MIDDLE SCHOOL NEWS FOCUS ON EXAMS - WHY, WHAT AND HOW? This week saw the pupils in Middle School sitting their Summer term exams. There was a certain frisson as Years 5 and 6 filed into the Sports Hall on Monday morning, but the revision sessions planned in between exams, along with mindful breathing exercises, helped to settle the nerves. The session led by Amanda Wright last Friday provided a suitably calming steer and an opportunity to answer any questions the pupils had. These exams serve partly as a summative assessment of the pupils’ knowledge and understanding, adding to what we already know through class work, prep and ongoing assessments throughout the year, but more importantly, they give the children the experience of sitting some tests over a few days in a formal setting as part of their journey into senior school beyond Feltonfleet. The pupils coped extremely well across the week. Here are some of their reflections: It was spooky and tense, as you have The whole process was okay, I found the exams easy to to keep silent, but it but some of the last understand, but some is actually nicer than questions were quite hard. It questions confused me a you think it is going made the day feel quite bit. It was not as bad as I to be. Year 6 long, but overall I enjoyed thought it was going to it. Year 5 be. Year 5 It was challenging and made you work for WHAT NEXT? something. You stress at the beginning but After a week of exams, the Middle School are spending an adventure actually it’s quite fun. weekend on the Isle of Wight. We look forward to hearing all about it. Year 6 Simon Pomeroy Assistant Head Teaching & Learning 5 UPPER SCHOOL NEWS FOCUS ON ART - TACTILE AND MESSY Year 8 discovered that working with clay becomes a whole body experience, encouraging both gross and fine motor development.