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I write this, unusually, on a Wednesday evening as I am going on the Year 3 trip to Oaker Woods tomorrow and Friday. Year 4 are also off to the Old Chapel tomorrow and there is an air of excitement about the place! Our children seem to love residentials and I

know Year 2 are still talking about the Malverns experience. It’s good to get away, enjoy the great outdoors and see the children visibly develop and grow as they encounter new places, experiences and challenges.

It is perhaps with trips in mind that we chose independence as one of our Growth Mindset words for this term. The other is curiosity and I talked about this through the story of Banting and Best, discoverers of insulin, in assembly on Monday. I encouraged the children to be curious in their thinking and inquisitive about the world; to ask how something works, why we do something a certain way, why an author uses a certain word, why front crawl is quicker than breast stroke and why the First World War started. As we sat in the Chapel yesterday, I asked the Pre-Prep children what questions they might have about the space and their responses reflected their age and curiosity from considering the building’s age, the story in the stained glass window, the reason for candles and whether or not the piano was painted. With the Juniors, we considered moral questions and, within our curiosity, wondered why so much money had been pledged to the rebuilding of Notre Dame whereas some of the Grenfell families are still waiting to be rehoused. I love seeing the natural curiosity of children; it is especially apparent and often charmingly articulated in children of 4 to 11. Thereafter, teenage apathy, ‘too cool for school’ and perhaps a more cynical view of the world can make natural wonder harder to see! Please do continue to nurture your child’s natural curiosity and perhaps do some early planning for next week’s GYM homework!

Sometimes we can take our surroundings and experiences for granted. Generally our children are grateful for what they have; we do confidence but not arrogance! On Tuesday at 5.30pm, 20 of our Year 5 and 6 children performed Evensong in Worcester Cathedral. They did a splendid job and I was proud to be there. The following morning, at 9am, our Juniors were back in the Cathedral for the Foundation Eastertide Service. As part of this, the senior wind band (16 to 18 year olds) performed Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture. It was a rousing, spectacular and moving performance and must have dazzled and inspired many of our children. The great pity was that our own wind band, guitar group and string group missed it as they were back at base with their own rehearsals. So we are going to see it again, this time with Pre-Prep too, next Wednesday morning! It’s great to be our own school but it’s also great to be part of a foundation!

Monday 6th May King’s School Worcester Charity Walk 6KB depart for Old Chapel Tuesday 7th U8/U9 Boys’ Cricket v RGS Springfield (H) LAMDA Platform Chapel 4pm

Wednesday 8th 6KB return from Old Chapel 6DB depart for Old Chapel U10 Girls’ Cricket v Winterfold (H) U10/U11 Boys’ Cricket v RGS Springfield (H) Thursday 9th Friday 10th 6KB return from Old Chapel

QUICK LINKS:

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: Friday 3rd May 2019

From the Head Pre-Prep News Notices

WEEK AHEAD FROM THE HEAD

VISIT

WEBSITE

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THIS WEEK IN PRE-PREP

We began today’s assembly with Mr Braithwaite telling the story of the Hare and the Tortoise, as a reminder of the importance of steady and consistent effort.

Growth Mindset certificates were awarded to our new starters, Ava and Peggy, for super flexibility in adapting to new routines, to Rosie for independent working, to Marnie for flexibility at playtime, to Lily G for concentration and also Lydia for perseverance in maths. Magnus has had a fantastic first week of term, with a certificate from Rugby Tots, commendation for his work in maths and excellent effort in his swimming lesson.

Well done to Sufiyaan who earned a gold times table award and also to his younger sister, Eshal, who received a certificate for her efforts at last term’s residential visit to Malvern. 5D have been taking the mysterious story of Flannan Isle as inspiration in their English lessons, and Piper, Freddie, Molly, Henry G, James D and Luke did some super work. Our Chamber Choir were congratulated on their wonderful performance at Evensong in the Cathedral on Tuesday.

William G took part in a karate competition, winning an individual bronze medal and a silver team medal. Clarisse passed grade 3 clarinet, George G passed grade 2 piano, Matilda passed grade 4 flute, Sonali passed grade 2 singing and Xander passed grade 1 piano. Hattie passed grade 3 musical theatre and Sophie put in a super solo acting performance at the Worcester Competitive Arts Festival.

CELEBRATION ASSEMBLY

It was lovely to hear Pre-Prep come back talking so excitedly about their Easter holiday, and so keen to find out about what they will be learning about in the final term of this year.

All of the children have started their Forest School sessions this week. Reception went hunting for sticks around the school grounds to use for their fire and made some banana boats which were made from bananas, cereal, chocolate powder and syrup. These were baked over the fire until the banana became warm and gooey. These weren’t the most popular treat that we have ever baked, but all of the children tried them and some discovered a new love for cooked bananas!

Year One enjoyed a trip to Worcester Woods on Tuesday afternoon for their Forest School session. The woodland was filled with beautiful bluebells and all of the children enjoyed climbing trees, making dens and hunting for minibeasts. During our visit we were invaded by caterpillars of all sizes and colours. The children were amazed to see them hanging down from threads that appeared to be from the sky!

On Friday afternoon, Year Two finally had good enough weather to burn their Great Fire of London house down. The children had used a variety of skills to make their house, including completing their own wattle and daub. We tried to recreate the circumstances around the start of the fire and saw how quickly the house burst into flames. It was a great way to mark the end of a fantastic topic.

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Recent letters: Please visit www.ksw.org.uk/letters-to-parents for details of all letters issued this week.

Team sheets: Please visit www.ksw.org.uk/team-sheets to view team sheets for the week ahead.

Latest News: Worcester Cathedral Evensong

Happy Birthday: Many happy returns to Phoebe E, Oliver H & Lily-May L.

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