Our 1st school talent show took place on Thursday 8th July 2010. The children who took part were not only talented but brave and professional as well. Acts varied from singing to street dance, drumming to drama. The final act were the VH rock band who recieved a standing ovation. It was a successful and most enjoyable morning. Well done to all of those who took part - you were all amazing.

After their success last March in the regional heats of the Music for Youth competition, 54 Choristers and 8 members of staff headed off to Birmingham this week for the National Final. 23 Choirs from all over the country performed on the magnificent stage at Birmingham Symphony Hall. Our Choristers rose to the occasion as always, winning the Trinity Guildhall Junior Choirs Award for 'an excellent and totally committed performance from a very accomplished choir'.

You may remember back in March when Reception were busy planting radishes, lettuce and peas. Earlier this term we enjoyed eating the lettuce and radishes. Unfortunately though our peas took a little longer to grow. However, today we were fortunate enough to get a bountiful harvest of fresh pea-pods. We all enjoyed popping the pods and eating the sweet, delicious peas.Yum!

I (Mette) have been so lucky to join the Reception Class this term. I have been here as an exchange student and have, before coming here, been studying on Christ Church University. This week is activity week and I have had the pleasure of teaching the children all about Denmark. We have among other things been learning about Vikings. During the week the children have had fun making their own Viking helmets and Danish flags.

The Nursery and Infant departments had a wonderful week exploring water. Our events began with Mrs Laslett's wonderful water workshop. We spent the morning finding out all about water, for example floating, sinking, water density, surface tension and the cycle of water. The hands on investigations and experiments really bought science alive. Mr Greenhill-Jeffery joined us also later in the week with his selection of drums, we enjoyed singing traditional seaside songs, pirate shanties and we even choreographed our own rain dance! All week we played outside and experimented with water under the gazebos. The week concluded with our department trip to Minnis Bay, we had a fantastic day enjoying a sandcastle competition, picnic and ice-cream, and hunting in the rockpools.

One sunny Wednesday the Nursery packed their picnic lunch, boarded the School mini bus and travelled to Joss Bay, Kingsgate.

We set up camp on the sand and enjoyed a day of building sandcastles, splashing in the sea, having a picnic and lovely lollypops. On the way home we went past Manston airport to look at the aeroplanes before returning tired but happy to Nursery.

Race: 100yds
Position Name Time
1 Holly Fielder 13.3
2 Henry Martin 13.6
3 Charlie Griffiths 13.9
4 Ben Waters 14.1

Race: 100yds
Position Name Time
1 Henry Todd 13.6
2 Timothee Lavnois 14.0
3 Natasha Curtis 16.4
4 Lois Evans 17.1

Race: 100yds
Position Name Time
1 Freddie Entwhistle 13.8
2 Henry Martin 14.1
3 Tiree Daly 15.0
4 Tom Evans 15.8

Race: 100yds
Position Name Time
1 Jonas Zahn 14.07
2 Seth Gauton 15.7
3 Geogia Walden 16.1
4 Joe Hearnden 16.3

Race: 100yds
Position Name Time
1 Fraser Coupe 14.2
2 Molly Shipton 14.9
3 Hazel Allen 15.2
4 Emma Newson 15.6

Race: 100yds
Position Name Time
1 Angus White 14.2
2 Sam Waters 14.5
3 Oliver Rule 14.8
4 Jamie Crocker 15.3


Race: 100yds
Position Name Time
1 Emily Barlett 14.3
2 Sara Cundy 15.0
3 Ellie White 15.3
4 Theo Wilkin-Miralles 16.5

Race: 100yds
Position Name Time
1 Ethan Hope 14.8
2 Josie Lee 15.2
3 Louis Barton 16.2
4 Alex Hunt 16.5

Race: 100yds
Position Name Time
1 Mikey Howarth 14.8
2 Grace Frearson 15.2
3 Lucy Prior 16.8
4 Martha Lawford 17.7

Race: 100yds
Position Name Time
1 Ester Laffey 15.4
2 Henry Townsend 15.5
3 Ailsa Naylor 15.6
4 Oliver Weston 15.7

Race: 100yds
Position Name Time
1 Joey Laffey 15.7
2 Aimee Plumb 16.0
3 Harvey Barton 16.3
4

Race: 100yds
Position Name Time
1 Dulcie Noble 16.0
2 Alex May 16.3
3 Toby Hutchinson 16.8
4 Jean Foley 19.4


Race: 100yds
Position Name Time
1 Harry Foalds Brant 16.4
2 Callum Creed 16.9
3 Billy Evans 16.9
4 809 17.4

Race: 100yds
Position Name Time
1 Isaac Bartlett 16.7
2 Melinia Wilkin-Miralles 17.2
3 Sydney Smart 17.7
4

Race: 100yds
Position Name Time
1 Joe Blackwell 16.7
2 Reeses Robinson 17.1
3 Sam Newson 17.7
4 Roxanne Cook 18.0

Race: 100yds
Position Name Time
1 Ellie Laffey 18.0
2 Daniel Gent 18.9
3 Phoebe Walking 22.1
4

Race: 100yds
Position Name Time
1 Finley Hambrook 18.3
2 Lydia Goston 18.5
3 Abigal Hope 19.1
4

Race: 100yds
Position Name Time
1 Chloe Plumb 18.6
2 Charlie Williamson 20.5
3 Evanthe Murray 20.9
4






Race: 600m
Position Name Time
1 Henry Martin 2.06
2 Oliver Rule 2.07
3 Holly Fielder 2.08
4 Jonas Zahn 2.12
5 Ben Waters 2.21
6 Isaac Bartlett 2.23



Race: 600m
Position Name Time
1 Henry Todd 2.11
2 Henry Maylam 2.18
3 Freddie Entwhistle 2.20
4 Ethan Hope 2.21
5 Tiree Daly 2.27
6 Oliver Weston 2.28
7 Timothee Lavnois 2.37
8 Henry Townsend 2.41

Race: 600m
Position Name Time
1 Barnaby Blackwell 2.13
2 Angus White 2.15
3 Fraser Coupe 2.17
4 Mikey Howarth 2.18
5 Sam Waters 2.24
6 Hazel Allen 2.27
7 Harriet Adley 2.31

Race 600m
Position Name Time
1 Jamie Crocker 2.20
2 Harvey Barton 2.26
3 Joe Hearnden 2.28.
4 Emma Newson 2.32
5 Grace Frearson 2.33
6 Sara Cundy 2.40
7 Theo Wilken-Miralles 2.53

Race 600m
Position Name Time
1 Ester Laffey 2.26
2 Aimee Plumb 2.34
3 Louis Barton 2.35
4 Ailsa Naylor 2.36
5 Luke Martin 2.38
6 Dulcie Noble 2.49
7 Alex May 2.55

Race 60m
Position Name Time
1 Holly Fielder 9.2
2 Henry Martin 9.4
3 Charlie Griffiths 9.6
4 Jonas Zahn 10

Race: 60m
Position Name Time
1 William Newman 9.3
2 Barnaby Blackwell 9.9
3 Ben Waters 10.2
4 Mikey Howarth 10.7

Race: 60m
Position Name Time
1 Freddie Entwhistle 9.4
2 Henry Maylam 9.6
3 Ailsa Naylor 10.5
4 Henry Townsend 10.8

Race: 60m
Position Name Time
1 Seth Gauton 9.6
2 Luke Martin 10.4
3 Jamie Crocker 10.6
4 Harry Lee 10.9

Race: 60m
Position Name Time
1 Angus White 9.7
2 Molly Shipton 10.0
3 Hazel Allen 10.2
4 Beatrice Vincent 11.2

Race: 60m
Position Name Time
1 Alix Jones 9.7
2 Oliver Rule 9.9
3 Hannah Griggs 10.1
4 Fraser Coupe 10.4

Race: 60m
Position Name Time
1 Henry Todd 9.8
2 Tom Evans 10.0
3 Louis Barten 11.2
4 Alex Hunt 11.5

Race: 60m
Position Name Time
1 Emily Bartlett 9.84
2 Harriet Adley 10.1
3 Grace Frearson 10.4
4 Amelia Howarth 10.5

Race: 60m
Position Name Time
1 Tiree Daly 9.9
2 Ethan Hope 10.2
3 Josie Lee 10.4
4 Ester Laffey 10.6

Race: 60m
Position Name Time
1 Sam Waters 10.0
2 Isaac Bartlett 10.2
3 Sara Cundy 10.7
4 Joe Hearnden 11.2



Race: 60m
Position Name Time
1 Timothee Lavnois 10.3
2 Aimee Plumb 10.7
3 Luke Martin 11.2
4 Lois Evans 11.6

Race: 60m
Position Name Time
1 Toby Hutchinson 10.4
2 Oliver Weston 10.4
3 Joey Laffey 10.7
4 Natasha Curtis 11.0

Race: 60m
Position Name Time
1 Lauren Williams 10.6
2 Alex May 11.4
3 Jean Foley 11.8
4

Race: 60m
Position Name Time
1 Harry Foalds-Brandt 10.8
2 105 11.2
3 Reese Robinson 11.4
4

Race; 60m
Position Name Time
1 Billy Evans 10.9
2 Joe Blackwell 11.2
3 Ellie Laffey 12.0
4 Sam Newson 12.2

Race: 60m
Position Name Time
1 Lucy Prior 11.05
2 Felicity Bore 11.2
3 Ellie White 11.4
4 Theo Wilkin -Miralles 11.9

Race: 60m
Position Name Time
1 Melinia Wilkin-Miralles 11.6
2 Sydney Smart 12.0
3 Isaac Bartlett 12.3
4

Race: 60m
Position Name Time
1 Sasha Newman 11.9
2 Daniel Gent 12.8
3 Abigal Hope 14.2
4 Phoebe Walking 14.6

Race; 60m
Position Name Time
1 Roxanne Cook 12.0
2 Finley Hambrook 12.4
3 Lydia Goston 12.6
4 809 12.9

Race: 60m
Position Name Time
1 Chloe Plumb 12.5
2 Charlie Williamson 13.5
3 Evanthe Murray 14.3
4 Eden Robinson 14.8

Race: 200m
Position Name Time
1 William Newman 31.9
2 Harvey Barton 37.4
3 Emily Bartlett 37.7
4 Hazel Allen 38.5

Race: 200m
Position Name Time
1 Holly Fielder 33.3
2 Henry Martin 34.2
3 Alix Jones 34.5
4 Seth Gauton 37.5
5 Angus White 39.0

Race: 200m
Position Name Time
1 Jonas Zahn 34.7
2 Barnaby Blackwell 35.3
3 Oliver Rule 36.4
4 Ben Waters 36.8
5 Fraser Coupe 37.8

Race: 200m
Position Name Time
1 Henry todd 35.5
2 Freddie Entwhistle 35.9
3 Henry Maylam 36.5
4 Josie Lee 40

Race: 200m
Position Name Time
1 Tiree Daly 37.2
2 Ethan Hope 38.8
3 Tom Evans 41.8
4 Henry Townsend 43.8

Race: 200m
Position Name Time
1 Molly Shipton 37.5
2 Mikey Howarth 37.8
3 Graces Frearson 39.2
4 Jamie Crocker 55(fell)

Race: 200m
Position Name Time
1 Sam Waters 37.8
2 Amelia Howarth 39.4
3 Sara Cundy 40.6
4 Joe Hearnden 41.9

Race: 200m
Position Name Time
1 Georgina Walden 38.8
2 Harriet Adley 41.0
3 Felicity Bore 42.5
4 Theo Wilkin- Miralles 44.6

Race 200m
Position Name Time
1 Natasha Curtis 39
2 Aimee Plumb 40.1
3 Alex Hunt 42.3
4 Louis Barton 44.5

Race 200m
Position Name Time
1 Ester Laffey 39.4
2 Oliver Weston 39.7
3 Ailsa Naylor 40.4
4 Lauren Williams 40.6

Race 200m
Position Name Time
1 Harry Foalds Brandt 40.3
2 Joe Blackwell 41.9
3 Billy Evans 42.1
4 Callum Creed 42.4
5 Reese Robinson 43.9
6 Sam Newson 45.1
7 Roxanne Cook 47.6
8 Alice Vincent 49.1
9 Lydia Goston 51.2

Race 200m
Position Name Time
1 Joe Laffey 40.4
2 Toby Hutchinson 42.1
3 Luke Martin 42.9
4 Melania Wilkin-Miralles 44.7

Race 200m
Position Name Time
1 Timothee Lavnois 44.0
2 Alex May 46.7
3 Jean Foley 48.5
4 Sydney Smart 48.7

Race 200m
Position Name Time
1 Ellie Laffey 45.5
2 Abigal Hope 49.4
3 Daniel Gent 49.6
4 Finley Hanbrook 50.
5 Sasha Newman 50.8
6 Chloe Plumb 51.1
7 809 51.6
8 Charlie Williams 56.7
9 Eden Robinson 60.4
10 Phoebe Walking 61.4

Turbo Javelin Yr6
Position Name Distance
1 Seth Gauton 20.80
2 Alix Jones 17.12m
3 Harry Lee 16.63m
4 Felicity Bore 13.65m
5 Fergus Carver 13.37m
6 Amelia Howarth 12.68m

Turbo Javelin Yr5
Position Name Distance
1 Jonas Zahn 17.19m
2 Henry Martin 17.44m
3 Oliver Rule 16.33m
4 Charlie Griffiths 15.27m
5 Jamie Crocker 14.95m
6 Mikey Howarth 14.57m
7 Molly Shipton 13.65m
8 Hannah Griggs 13.43m
9 Fraser Coupe 12.60m
10 Emma Newson 12.34m
11 Joe Hearnden 12.10m
12 Sara Cundy 11.46m
13 Ben Waters 10.42m
14 Theo Wilkin-Miralles 10.32m
15 Isaac Bartlett 10.26m10
16 Sam Waters 9.90m
17 Martha Lawford 8.80m
18 Angus White 8.61m
19 Holly Fielder 8.52m
20 Lucy Prior 8.09m
21 Grace Frearson 7.82m

Turbo Javelin Yr4
Position Name Distance
1 Henry Maylam 19.46m
2 Henry Todd 18.33m
3 Louis Barton 14.25m
4 Henry Townsend 12.22m
5 Timothee Launois 11.78m
6 Ethan Hope 11.65m
7 Freddie Entwhistle 11.01m
8 Alex Hunt 10.73m
9 Tom Evans 8.73m
10 Georgina Walden 6.81m
11 Lois Evans 6.75m

Turbo Javelin Yr3
Position Name Distance
1 Alex May 12.21m
2 Tiree Daly 11.20m
3 Joe Laffey 10.37m
4 Ailsa Naylor 10.05m
5 Aimee Plumb 8.83m
6 Luke Martin 8.27m
7 Sydney Smart 7.16m
8 Jean Foley 7.05m

Long Jump Yr6
Position Name Distance
1 Alix Jines 3.65m
2 Amelia Howarth 3.10m
3 Harvey Barton 3.05m
4 Seth Gauton 2.90m
5 Felicity Bore 2.65m
6 Fergus Carver 2.60m
7 Harry Lee 2.60m

Long Jump Yr5
Position Name Distance
1 Holly Fielder 3.35m
2 Jonas Zahn 3.28m
3 Charlie Griffiths 3.25m
4 Fraser Coupe 3.10m
4 Mikey Howarth 3.10m
6 Molly Shipton 3.08m
7 Georgia Walden 3.05m
8 Harriet Adley 3m
9 Angus White 3m
9 Hannah Griggs 2.95m
10 Henry Martin 2.90m
11 Jamie Crocker 2.85m
12 Grace Frearson 2.80m
13 Joe Hearnden 2.70m
13 Beatrice Vincent 2.70m
15 Ben Waters 2.65m
16 Sam Waters 2.55m
17 Sara Cundy 2.50m
18 Ellie White 2.45m
19 Martha Lawford 2.30m
19 Lucy Prior 2.30m
21 Theo Wilkin-Miralles 2m

Long Jump Yr 4
Position Name Distance
1 Henry Maylam 3.44m
2 Henry Todd 3.25m
3 Freddie Entwhistle 3.10m
4 Henry Townsend 3m
5 Timothee Lavnois 2.90m
6 Tom Evans 2.83m
7 Natasha Curtis 2.70m
8 Isaac Bartlett 2.44m
9 Ester Laffey 2.40m
10 Lauren Williams 2.30m
11 Louis Barton 2.15m
12 Alex Hunt 2.10m

Long Jump Yr3
Position Name Distance
1 Tiree Daly 3.15m
2 Dulcie Noble 2.70m
2 Alex May 2.70m
4 Aimee Plumb 2.55m
5 Luke Martin 2.50m
6 Joey Laffey 2.30m
6 Sydney Smary 2.30m
7 Ailsa Naylor 2.10m
7 Jean Foley 2.10m

Alix Jones and Lizzie Neal won the IAPS South East shot putt and javelin championships respectively. Both narrowly missed breaking the area record with their performances and travel to the National championships next week to compete against the best performers from all over the country. We wish them every success in joining the long list of Kent College medal winners in these championships.

A number of outstanding performances in the annual cricket challenge match between Mr Sweet's and Mr Carter's teams saw a feast of under eleven cricket being enjoyed by a large crowd of over 300 parents and friends on the school's annual Parents Day. Perhaps inspired by the speech of Mr Carter in the morning his players dominated the game from the start and what is traditionally a very close match saw Mr Carter's team emerge victorious on this beautiful sunny day.

Saturday 19th June 2010
This was a new venture for the Choristers. A concert with the award-winning Betteshanger Brass, (director Mr Cutting, our brass teacher). A wide variety of pieces by each group separately included the James Bond Theme, with one of our Year 5s playing solo cornet. This was followed by the Choristers, accompanied by the Band, singing 'I dreamed a dream' from Les Miserables and 'Come then, let us all be merry' from Smetena's The Bartered Bride. The concert was such a success we are already planning the next collaboration!

The Kent College Football scarf made up of over 100 panels made by the pupils of the school is held up by the Infants and Juniors.

The 1 Goal campaign which is part of 'Send My Friend to School' is backed by many footballers and commentators. It aims to remind world leaders of the fact that there are over 70 million children world wide not in school. World leaders promised in the year 2000 that they would strive for all children to be in school by 2015. It would be great if a lasting legacy of the World Cup was that more children were able to go to school across Africa.

I must begin by thanking all the parents in years three and four that I have met with this week for all the very positive comments about the school and the educational experience that we are providing. I was delighted to hear that so many of you share the enthusiasm and excitement for the new curriculum that we are planning for the next year which will enable us to improve further the education that we are able to give our children. As a school and a community we are continuing to move forward and provide our children with the opportunities that they will benefit from throughout their lives. Every day should be exciting and special for our children and this week has been very busy with a variety of challenges. Our science week has seen the children enjoying many different scientific activities in a variety of places. After visiting a year three classroom, I had no idea that one pond could contain so many different things!

As I mentioned in my last letter we have been completing our end of year assessments and the results have been finding their way onto my desk. I must congratulate our year five children who have achieved outstanding results; I look forward to receiving the results from the other year groups in the next few days. All the results will be included on each child's end of year report which you will receive on the last day of term and I thank all the teaching staff who are working so hard at present to write such comprehensive reports. However it is a relatively easy task because the children are working so hard and achieving so much it is easy to find so many positive things to say. As always, I will be available through most of the summer holiday should anyone wish to discuss any aspect of their child's report with me.

Next Saturday is our Parents Day celebration and I hope that everyone is able to attend for some of the day. After a relatively formal morning parents are invited to picnic in the grounds and there will be musical and sporting activities throughout the afternoon. Dr Lamper will once again present our prizes and Leavers award and we will be celebrating the achievements of all our leavers. I will do my best not to speak for too long but our children and teachers have done so much through the year it is very difficult for me to be brief!

This Saturday sees another athletics meeting and all children are welcome to come along and compete. I find these very enjoyable and very impressive mornings and would encourage everyone to come along and enjoy the school on a Saturday morning. Last weekend was our sports tour to Norfolk and I would like to congratulate the forty children who went on their performances and their exemplary behaviour. I enjoyed my visit although it was rather chilly eating fish and chips on Cromer beach!

Once again the weather got the better of our recital evening but it is the first time that I have known wind stop play! The children will get the chance to perform in my garden on the afternoon of Parents Day whilst their parents get the opportunity to judge my gardening skills! Saturday evening sees our year five and six choristers performing in Deal with a brass band which should provide a great challenge for the performers and great entertainment for the audience

Once again I have had occasions to be very proud of our children who continue to make such an excellent impression on all the people they meet. Having spent a very busy half term accompanying our choristers to the Loire region of France and our Year Five pupils to Northern France on two very different types of school trip, I am happy to report that they have represented their school, their parents and themselves excellently. They were a pleasure to accompany and it has been wonderful to see them achieve so highly when challenged and behave so considerately between the main focus of the trips. There are brief reports of both trips on the web site and displays will be exhibited in school for all to see.


I am delighted to inform you that I have appointed Mrs Lucy Jennings to the teaching staff for the next academic year. Mrs Jennings is relocating back to Kent and I am pleased that she is able to join our team. Consequently the arrangements for next year will be:


Reception: Miss Moxon, Miss Watts plus a teaching assistant

Year One: Mrs Fitzgerald plus two teaching assistants

Year Two: Mrs Parker plus two teaching assistants

Year Three: Mr Buckley and Mrs Shopland

Year Four: Mrs Appiah and Mrs Jennings

Year Five: Mr Corrigan and Mr Knowles

Year Six: Mr Baldwin and Mrs Tingey


Specialist teachers will continue to be utilised as they have been this year with the additions that I was delighted to share with you in my last letter. We will be reorganising the classes as they go into Year Three and Year Five. We will continue to set children into ability based groups for Maths and English in Years Three to Six. I will be writing to all parents with the class information in the near future after full consultation with teaching staff, who have now completed our end of year assessments that form a part of our individual pupil tracking system; these will be reported in our end of year reports. These track performance in reasoning skills alongside progress in Maths and English through the course of the academic year. This enables us to set realistically challenging individual targets for each child to work to achieve and ensures continuity and progression through the school.


I have been very impressed with the quality of applications for our house parent's position and will be interviewing soon, I will then be in a position to announce my arrangements for the increased boarding house staffing next year. We will also be carrying out an exciting re-organisation and refurbishment of our boarding facilities. These will enable us to improve even further our boarding experience which has already been judged outstanding in all aspects by Ofsted this year.


We will be organising Summer Capers for the first two weeks of the holiday which will be similar to previous years. I can also recommend the course at Kent College towards the end of the holiday that Mr Robinson is organising. My children attended this last time it ran and thoroughly enjoyed it. I wish that this sort of opportunity had been available to me when I had been at school!


I am looking forward to my parental consultations which will be taking place over the next two weeks. I hope that everyone is as excited as I am about the development of opportunities for our children. I believe that this will enable us to continue to offer an education that is valuable and relevant to our children and preparing them thoroughly for the challenges ahead of them in our rapidly changing world. This will be done whilst retaining the traditions and values that are so important for our children. We are all keen for them to develop the qualities and life skills that will serve them throughout their lives. Whilst starting the races at our recent Saturday morning athletics meeting I looked around and was so impressed to see so many of our teachers giving their time to enable the meeting to run so well, I was delighted to see so many parents there supporting all the competitors. I was equally impressed by our children who were full of enthusiasm and keen to do their best regardless of who they were asked to compete against. In every event there can only be one winner, whether you win or not, if you are prepared to work hard, focus and give your all, you will emerge improved. If you don't push yourself to improve, you will stay where you are. I know which one I am going to be!




NOTICES

Suzuki Violin Play together

The next Suzuki Play Together is on Tuesday 15th June at 8.30am in the Music Studio.

All are welcome to attend. Refreshments will be served in the Library afterwards.

Lydia Greenway, the Ashes winning England cricketer visit on Tuesday afternoon to lead coaching sessions for all the junior girls in our school. The afternoon was a great success and builds on the popularity of the after school girls cricket club that is available to all girls on a weekly basis. Mr Carter headmaster who also takes the girls cricket club said it was wonderful to see interest in the game growing with both boys and girls enjoying the opportunities. It is not surprising that Kent College has provided the captain for the County Under eleven girls for the last two years.

Sunday
We were woken early with the sound of rain falling onto our tents and the rain got heavier through the morning. However, we did not let this deter us and activities continued. In fact we were able to organise an additional activity of dragon boating. I am reliably informed that the water in the lake was warmer than the air so falling in was a bonus! Evening saw 'Acorn has got talent', I was impressed by the juggler but the children thought Jonny Acorn was the act to go through to the final although I was rather shocked at his table manners! As darkness fell, it was time for bed and packing our belongings for an early start to travel to Belgium for a day in a theme park.

Monday

Every one was up early and on the coach to Belgium and a day at Plopsaland theme park. A park where the children had to decide whether they rode the roller coasters, water flumes and the ride that looked extremely frightening or followed more gentle pursuits to achieve their pleasure. At six o clock we arrived back at school, tired but happy and achieved so many things that we felt would be beyond us. Unfortunately I was unable to solve the mystery of the member of staff that snored. I did give it my best shot but every time I woke to investigate they went quiet! My thanks to all the children and the teachers for making the trip so enjoyable and successful.

Check out the video on the right.

Saturday was an excellent day. The sun shining so brightly, the lake even appeared appealing! The rafts were built and floated successfully before the piratical staff engineered a man overboard situation which was enjoyed by all. Meanwhile the kayaks bobbed about on the surface whilst occasional Eskimo Rolls entertained the audience on the side. The high ropes proved a challenge but the view from the top was stunning [so I am reliably informed!]. Our fencing and archery skills showed that the spirit of the traditional British longbow men is still alive and well in Canterbury. Evening was a barbecue in the sunshine followed by a walk (to the ice cream shop). A good night's sleep was then had by all as we woke wondering what Sunday would bring.

The sun rose at six o clock and soon after a number of our children followed and headed for the shower as the lake shimmered in the background. Breakfast buzzed with tales of the French cafe from Friday night whilst the children talked with excitement as to whether they would be raft building or fencing whilst others ate their corn flakes looking longingly at the volleyball court or the cricket pitch where the night before Mr Sweet had been dismissed for a first ball duck. Our first twenty four hours have passed with the children ensuring that so far everyone has had a great time. Read in tomorrow's report news of the high ropes, kayaking, fencing, archery and raft building. Also, who won the green shorts in the Ardres open and which is the teacher who snores!
Saturday saw us enjoying a full and active day in the sunshine. The rafts that we built floated on the lake. The kayaks capsized regularly but that was half the fun. The high ropes were high and frightening but the view from the top was excellent (so I am told). The archery and fencing showed that the traditional British fighting skills developed by the longbow fighters of the middle ages still thrive. An evening barbecue in the sunshine followed by a good night's sleep meant we were ready for a new day of challenges.

As Headmaster, I am delighted to be in a position to share with you the exciting new developments that I will be carrying out from September. These changes are being made to enhance the curriculum that we will be providing for our pupils next year. These changes, which have been developed with the teaching staff and approved by the Governing Body, will enable us to prepare our children to achieve even greater success as they proceed through compulsory education and into adult life.

These changes will mean children in the junior section of the school will accelerate their academic progress by:

* Spending significantly more time studying the core subjects of English and Maths and having more of these lessons scheduled for the morning.
* Spending significantly more time studying Information and Communication Technology which will better equip them with skills to increase their rate of progress across the curriculum.
* Spending significantly more time studying a language and be offered a choice of languages from Year Five.
* Continuing to receive the full breadth of curricular and extra curricular opportunities that they receive at present.

These changes will mean children in the Infant section of school will also accelerate their all round progress by:

* Having more lessons available to see specialist teachers.
* Having longer spells where the form teacher can plan their class timetable without the need to timetable specialist lessons.


To enable these changes to take place I will be making slight alterations to the timings of the three lessons taught in the juniors between break and lunch time. At present there are three 35 minute lessons but these will become four 30 minute lessons and lunch break will be reduced from 75 minutes to 60 minutes. Science will be reduced from four lessons to three, as nationally it will no longer be a core subject at this Key Stage, there will be exciting additional opportunities for cross curricular science provided. Our own senior school Kent College (and I assume other Senior Schools) are responding to this change by increasing their science provision in Key Stage Three.

I do want to continue to provide children with plenty of opportunities for free play but do not want to change the length of the school day. To enable the children to have a lengthy play at lunch time and an even healthier diet we will be changing to a cafeteria system for lunches from year one onwards. This will enable us to provide greater choice and our catering and teaching staff will be able to monitor better what each individual child is eating.

All these exciting changes will allow us to provide an even better, age appropriate education that reflects the changing needs of our world whilst retaining the traditional strengths and values of our school. I am sure that you will agree with me that this is an important academic development for our school and each individual child within it. If anyone would like further information, I will be delighted to meet you individually to discuss any aspect of the enhanced curriculum.

Choir Tour: Monday: Forty three children and eight teachers arrived back at school safely to be met by their parents, many of whom had accompanied them into France to watch their performances. An excellent time had been enjoyed by all involved and their performances have been outstanding. We hope to publish a full set of pictures and recordings were made at three of the concerts and will be available.

The experience has seen the children and teachers grow in confidence and their performances have reflected the hard work they have put in, in preparation. As for your diarist, it is three days at home before I go back to France for a four day outdoor adventure trip! My sincere thanks to all for the choir tour, I hope that you enjoyed it

Saturday: A standing ovation greeted the final piece of our performance at The Chateau de Loches. Performing in almost the exact place that Joan of Arc persuaded Charles the seventh to proclaim himself King of France and repel the English invaders our Choristers struck a retaliatory blow for our nation with the power of their singing. Performing a mixture of pieces ranging from Benjamin Britten to Les Miserables our children showed their talent, versatility and stamina, whilst Dr Lamper beamed with pride amongst the appreciative audience before discussing the musical technicalities of the performance with the very proud Mr and Mrs Spencer.



Sunday brought the busiest day so far with a bus trip to Angers where we formed the choir for the morning service at Angers Cathedral. A service conducted in French with a congregation numbering over a thousand, neither of which disturbed our choir who once again performed impeccably! A break for lunch saw us watching but not participating in the Angers sports development day, followed by a concert performance in the Cathedral that once again brought a huge ovation from an appreciative audience. Evening brought our traditional annual talent show which once again confirmed how talented our children are and also our teachers. Barry Chaplain Manilow opened our show impressively and unaccompanied with one voice singing in the darkness, dancers, singers, pianists, jugglers and saxophone players followed before Mr and Mrs Spencer brought the show to a conclusion with a rendition of 'Don't put your daughter on the stage', Mrs Pearce made a very convincing Mrs Worthington whilst her daughter did look a little familiar! The evening concluded with the hotel informing us that we had been their best ever group booking.

Friday: Breakfast, rehearsal and on the coach to Future Scope, 43 children, 8 adults and 15 thrill rides to enjoy and endure! All too soon Poitiers Cathedral was calling and an audience was waiting. Casuals were replaced by neatly pressed school uniform and shoes so shiny even Mrs Spencer was impressed. A one hour programme showed that the hours of preparation had been well used and the audience were duly impressed. Meanwhile the Chaplain worked on his alternative diary, Mrs McGibney kept spirits high with impressive optimism at all times and the coach driver realised that the narrow streets of Poitiers that had welcomed Richard the Lionheart were not so suited for twenty first century coaches!

Nursery and Reception enjoyed a wonderful morning on the athletics track. Mr Sweet had arranged a variety of physical fun games for our youngest members of the school to enjoy. The children showed off their talents in such events as the 'little long jump', 'the ball throw' and 'turbo sprints'. Other events included a challenging obstacle course, early driving skills with the 'go weelies' and finally the team heat race events. It was a delight too, to welcome some of our very youngest friends from our parent and toddler group, some very capable athletes for the future. The morning was a huge success and many thanks goes to all of the parents for their support, especially also to the children for sharing their morning. Mr Sweet we thank you for organising our Sports morning. We all look forward to next year. The photos and video that were taken will be available here on our website shortly. Please check in with us again, we hope to have them all available for you, so you can see your little ones in action again by the end of the week!

Friday morning saw the whole party rising early for a rehearsal prior to returning to our coach and completing the short journey to Poitiers. This gave us time to contemplate the previous day which had comprised a two hour wait in the rain outside Vernon Holme followed by an eight hour coach journey! All the children behaved impeccably throughout the ordeal and have risen brightly and enthusiastically this morning ready to face the challenges ahead. Our first performance is at six today in Poitiers Cathedral, if it is as good as the rehearsal that I can hear as I type, it should be a stunning performance!

On Sunday the Vernon Holme boarders took advantage of the wonderful weather and headed up to Whistable beach. Swimming, playing on the beach and ice creams were the making of a great day and just one of the many boarding trips that the children takes throughout the year!

Thanks to the recent good weather our boarders at Vernon Holme have been enjoying the use of the outdoor pool. By having Mrs Carter and Mr Neales as lifeguards at the school the children can now make use of the pool on hot evenings.

On Saturday the 22nd of May Kent College Junior School held another open athletics day at the fields of Vernon Holme. After the last event had been called off due to the poor weather we were all pleased to wake up to sunny conditions and a warm day.

Almost a hundred children from around the area turned up to take part in the track and field events arranged for all ages between infant years and Year 6. There were some brilliant long jumps, big throws and very hard fought races and everyone showed the true spirit of competitiveness which we loved to see.

There were some exceptional performances in both track and field events noticeably from Henry Maylam in the sprints, Henry Martin over 600 meters and Holly Fielder in both the long jump and the track events.

Thanks to all the staff and parents who came to help a support the children and big thanks to Mrs Carter for organising the event.

The Year 6 Red Maths group have been putting their maths skills to practical use over the past few days and, for some, this has been paying dividends. For others the vagaries of the London Stock Exchange have taken their toll, and the decision to invest heavily in Aran jumpers and woollen mittens has proven costly. We have been using a secure online site designed specifically for children to 'trade' stocks to keep our information up-to-the-minute, and follow the gains or losses of our portfolios. One of the boys, pictured, is indeed 6th in the country in the league table of successful dealers already, having made a phenomenal £8.12 profit during a single maths lesson; a 2.56% return on his investment. All of our results are being analysed using the skills we have learned and honed over the last years and it is very pleasant to see the way in which the group has thrown themselves into the task. We will be continuing our trading and analysis for the rest of term, and I am looking forward to see the how we fare.

STOP PRESS

I am delighted to inform you that since our Maths lesson ended a certain young gentleman's shares have suffered heavily, and I predict that by the end of games today I will be back ahead of him. If anyone would also like to join me in investing The Chocolate Teapot Company Plc, I fully believe we could push the prices up and make a healthy mutual profit

We are taking our topic of 'Transport' very seriously. Recently the children have been investigating different modes of transport.
This week we have been looking at trains using 'The Train Ride' as our focus. To make our story come alive, we took our
school mini bus to Margate Station.
After buying our tickets and finding platform 4, we boarded the high speed train back to Canterbury West. On making sure we all had a good window seat, we were able to excitedly report using the words in our story 'What shall I see? and 'That's what I see.

On Sunday 23rd May, the Parish Church of St. Mary and Eanswythe in Folkestone was treated to a real feast of music at the Eucharist to celebrate Pentecost, courtesy of the Kent College Choristers. They sang a new mass setting by the contemporary composer John Tavener, composed just four years ago for the boys at Westminster Cathedral. This was challenging stuff, much of it unaccompanied in three parts with some very modern tonalities. Their singing of the Psalm to Anglican chant was particularly beautiful and they raised the roof with a rousing descant to 'Love Divine'. Other music included 'Behold now praise the Lord by William Harris, 'How like an angel' by Malcolm Archer, (soloists Kirsty and Danni O'Neill), 'The Lord Bless you and Keep you' by John Rutter, (soloist Jessica Steele), and 'Creator Spirit' by Alan Ridout.

The choristers can be heard in our own school chapel this Tuesday, leading the worship for the Confirmation Service with the Bishop of Dover, and next weekend they will be singing in Poitiers and Angers Cathedrals and the Chateau at Loches.

Tumble Tunes Every Tuesday and Thursday term time only
Doors open 8.30am for children to have a Tumble on our soft play equipment.
Approximately 9.20am a small snack followed by a Music session led by one of the Early Years team. This session includes instruments, singing and musical movement.
Everyone is welcome.

Also, Story and Rhyme Time; Every Monday term time only.
Doors open 8.30 for children to share books.
Approx 9.20 a small snack followed by story and rhyme time led
by one of the Early Years team. The session will finish with the opportunity for children to have a tumble on our soft play equipment.
Once again everyone is welcome.

One Tuesday the 18th May a small group of year 2,3 and 4 went across to Dulwich Prep in Cranbrook to represent the school in an Atheoretic's match.
The year 4's got school off to a brilliant start in the 600m with Henry Todd leading all the way to finish and then in the girls race Isabelle Osmond gaining a great second place in an exciting sprint finish to the line.
In the sprints races almost every race seemed to end with a battle right up to the finishing line.
In year 2 Harry Foalds- Brandt took the honours over 50m and Michael Webb followed with a win in the 150m. and an excellent 2nd in the girls 150m from Reece Robinson. Not to be out classed the year 3's took victory in the 150m with Tiree Daly and then the year 4 followed with wins from Henry Maylam over 80m and Freddie Entwhistle over 200m.
In the relays All the boys teams calmed victory and the girls fought hard but were just beaten into 2nd or 3rd by some very good sprinting from the other schools..
Both Mrs Carter and Miss Watts had a very enjoyable afternoon and would like to praise all the children involved in both their achievements on the day and their behaviour.

Fri 28th May 6.00pm Concert in Poitiers Cathedral
Sat 29th May 5.00pm Concert in the Chateau Courtyard at Loches
Sun 30th May 11.00am High Mass in Angers Cathedral
Sun 30th May 3.00pm Concert in Angers Cathedra

As the seasons turn from Spring to Summer our school becomes such a wonderful place for our children to grow up in. I love to see the contrast of purpose and concentration when I am watching lessons and then the sound of laughter as the children spill out into our idyllic grounds to play at break and lunch times. I will no doubt soon be able to add to these the sound of shrieks and splashing as the swimming pool is about to open. As a very average and now reluctant swimmer myself my sincere thanks go out to all parents who have volunteered to undertake our poolside safety/lifesaving course which will enable us to open the pool for recreational swimming through the summer.

This Summer Term promises to be very busy which is just the way a school should be providing a rich variety of opportunities for all our children. I will endeavour to keep everyone fully informed about all these exciting activities both inside and outside the classroom. As you know I am convinced that children are learning and growing at all times and in this rapidly changing world we live in the ability to be confident in our decision making, empathise with the views of others and face up to challenges are vital skills for our children to learn. We live in an information rich society. In my view the key to success is how we use this information, developing the ability to make judgements and knowing right from wrong. I am looking forward to my meetings with parents over the next month where I will be explaining the exciting developments planned for our children and our school over the months and years ahead. Without wanting to wish our Summer away we are already looking forward to the next academic year and I will be able to confirm our teaching plan for next year at the start of June. Until the last week I thought it was always difficult being a Head teacher, looking at your options to organise change and set up strong, positive structures that are going to enable your school to develop over the following year. The post election discussions and decision making have made me realise how fortunate I am to have time and such good support from all members of our community. Mrs Fairhurst, Mrs Butler and Mrs Freeborough have all been very considerate in giving me plenty of notice that this will be their last term with us which enables me to plan carefully for the future.

This is also the time of year when I am convinced that I have got one of the best jobs in the world. I am surrounded by wonderful children, incredibly hard working staff and such supportive parents, all in such a beautiful environment. It is a very busy time and the weeks ahead see both the children and their Head enjoying a variety of opportunities and activities. I am looking forward to joining the Choristers on their annual tour. This sees our coach heading down through France and our choir performing in a range of venues. After two days at home I am off again to France with our year five children on their camping and outdoor pursuits trip. This will mean that over the past five years I have taken trips of children to France, Italy, Germany and Belgium. Whilst I have enjoyed these trips immensely I have not been able to make the most of them by my inability to speak a foreign language with confidence. Whilst my French is significantly better than Mr Sweet's (whose knowledge of the language seems to have been learned from watching past episodes of Only Fools and Horses!) I have great admiration for people who can speak more than one language. I am always in awe of our Choristers who are able to take part in Services in major European venues that are being conducted in a European language.

Returning to home matters can I draw everyone's attention to Saturday 26th June which is the date of our Parents Day which I hope all members of our school community can attend. I always feel that this is a very special day in our school year. I do often say that everyday should be special in a child's school life and whilst every day is not reported on our school web site, I would like to draw people's attention to the Nursery, Infant and Junior School latest news where many of our exciting activities are reported.

In year 3 we have enjoyed a very exciting and interesting topic about India through our geography, music and dance lessons. So, we decided to share it with the rest of the school.

We dressed in typical Indian costumes and paraded into assembly with the girls carrying water containers on their heads. We then surprised the audience by tipping the pots on the Infants! They were empty. Water is far too precious to waste on children, especially when you have had to walk back from the well with it on your head!

We celebrated the colourful Holi festival with a song and dance, while our own Indian band played the music. We then shared some of the facts we had learnt and were delighted when Mrs Fitzgerald told us later how much Year 1 had enjoyed it and how many of these facts they had remembered.

The whole school then took part in a meditation class in honour of one of our favourite reading books, Grandpa Chatterji by Jamilla Gavin. We set off on a blissful journey ending in a field of swaying poppies - all was calm.

This didn't last long. Our finale was a fabulous traditional Indian dance in which we all took part. It was a struggle for some of the audience not to join in too! All that was left was to invite our parents back to class for some very Indian Darjeeling tea and some very English biscuits. What a perfect start to a Wednesday.

Following their performance in the Regional Heats of the National Festival of Music for Youth, Kent College Choristers have made it through to the National Finals in Symphony Hall Birmingham on July 6th. The judges made particular mention of their rendition of 'Oh Soldier', complete with costume and actions, and have asked them to include this song in their programme at the National Finals.

Mrs Carter, Mr Knowles and 28 pupils from Year 4 to Year 6 set-off from Vernon Holme in the minibus with several cars of accompanying parental supporters, to travel to Dulwich College.
Our hosts provided an exciting programme of events such as 800m, 600m, 400m, 200m, 150m, and sprints of 80 and 100 metres. The afternoon was brought to an exciting conclusion with oval relays.
Our teams performed with great spirit and enthusiasm and a fair degree of success, particularly in Year 4.
Our thanks to Mrs Carter for her organisation and also to the parents who came to support our team and drive all that way!

Kent College Junior School was invited to join the Lord Mayor of Canterbury to mark the end of his year in office and as a way of thanking schools in the area for raising money in December 2009 towards his charity. (Lord Mayor of Canterbury's Christmas Gift-Fund).

On arrival at the Tower House we were greeted by the Lady Mayor and shown into the main reception room where all the regalia of a mayor was laid out.

The Lord Mayor then gave a fascinating historical explanation and insight into the life of a mayor and the highlights included allowing the children to feel the weight of the 'mace', 'ceremonial sword', 'Mayor's Coat' and the '12th Century Horn' (used to call officials to a meeting). Our own Daniel Smythe was the only pupil in the entire room to muster a superb sound from this historical artefact!

Following refreshments and an interesting question and answer session the Mayor took us around his office and showed us interesting features such as arrow slits in the tower wall and an 18th century chair in his office.

The tour ended with us all thanking the Lord and Lady Mayor for their time and hospitality as well as an excellent year in office!

London County hosts 'The Canterbury Festival' for Under 12's
By Neil Burns on April 7th, 2010
As an organization, London County Cricket Club was delighted to host 'The Canterbury Festival' over the Easter weekend for County Under 12's. The Special Event gave us great pleasure in providing an opportunity for a minimum of 44 young cricketers to participate in the inaugural event. It proved to be an ideal way to begin the London County Colts project for talented young cricketers with such a successful launch.

Cambridgeshire, a Kent XI, London County Colts, and Norfolk were the featured teams.

Event Director Richard Baxter deserves fulsome praise for his vision, his industry, and his management of both people, and process. Such a combination of skills ensured we had a superb tournament and a memorable event. In addition to Richard's indispensable contribution, other parents, and key staff at Kent College were also major factors in making 'The Canterbury Festival' so successful. Despite conceiving an idea of staging an event against the odds in terms of inclement weather, its success became a triumph for human spirit.

One of the biggest thrills for me, was the integration of all the teams on a social basis, highlighted by the impromptu game of football with 'pick-up' teams on the campus at Kent College during one of the evenings. The superb dining facility (and excellent food) also provided a wonderful forum to bring people together as our point of convergence.

Seeing fathers and sons staying together at a school campus and engaging in a range of conversations highlighted the value of a process which brings people together for a few days within a confined space, but with an informal 'feel'. Such experiences can leave a lasting impression and offer some cherished memories in years to come.

It is always a pleasure to see young cricketers play with skill, joy and competitive spirit. The three days at Kent College, Canterbury provided the backdrop for a pre-season event for young, county age-group standard players. The vision for London County Colts is to be a Development XI for cricketers under the age of 13, who want to play quality cricket on good grounds, in order to understand more about their all-round potential, both on, and off the field.

The standard of play was good, especially the fielding. Cambridgeshire looked a well-organised and highly-competitive unit, which explains why they have only lost one match (in two years) out of their last twenty, before this tournament. Their left-arm pace bowler Tom Cox was selected as one of the most promising young cricketers on show over the Easter weekend by the other team managers. Norfolk's wicket-keeper/batsman Sam Hunt, and Kent's Ed Solly were the other two recipients of cricket books as their prizes for their performances which singled them out as highly promising talents.

London County Colts Captain Amar Virdi led his team to victory at 'The Canterbury Festival' by scoring 49 (as the opening batsman), to secure a one-wicket victory in the play-off decider against Cambridgeshire on the final afternoon. The finale was played out in front of players from all four of the competing teams, their respective coaches, parents and additional spectators. It was the perfect conclusion to a most enjoyable few days. It kept everyone fully engaged right up until the decisive final blow by London County Colts' Arthur Godsall which cleared mid-on and allowed Arhtur and his partner Josh Selvey to put on an undefeated 10th wicket partnership of 12 runs and emerge victorious.

The tension which precipitated the climax of a gripping match challenged everyone's temperament, not least those directly involved in the heat of 'the battle'. Whatever level of personal experience any adult has in the world of performance, I imagine the anxiety of observing one's offspring having to 'face the music', is infinitely greater. Likewise, the joy that one must experience should they succeed in such circumstances, must touch any parent on a very deep level, possibly more than anything else experienced as a performer themselves.

Arctic temperatures, strong winds, intermittent rainfall, failed to dampen the spirits of everyone involved in what was an inspirational experience for all of us who believe in the power sport has to unite people for a greater good. Cricket is a wonderful vehicle to help people to understand more about how to contribute effectively to a collective effort, as well as challenging each and every player physically and mentally to summon a peak performance when the moment arises for any player to respond to an important situation. There can be no more dramatic situation (and no greater test of a player's temperament) than a match held in the balance, knowing that the result will determine a tournament, where only one wicket remains and a handful of runs are required. When the sun came out to grace the occasion in the final hour, one sensed that a more powerful force was celebrating the success too.

I feel inspired by so many elements of a wonderful experience this Easter. The game of cricket will remain healthy for years to come so long as we have young players with talent, ambition and respect for its history, spirit and ethos. As the late, great, Sir Donald Bradman once said:
''May cricket continue to flourish, and spread its wings '
the world can only be richer for it''

Thursday
Today Year 6 visited St. Catherine's Lighthouse at the southern tip of the Isle of Wight. We climbed to the top of the tower and marvelled at the revolving lantern which floats on over a ton of mercury and magnifies the light from a 400W bulb to such an extent that it can be seen 30 miles away, the second furthest of any lighthouse in Britain. Later on we visited Alum Bay and The Needles, where we enjoyed a boat trip to view these famous chalk stacks and their lighthouse from close quarters. Tomorrow we will be visiting the Isle of Wight Glass studio and a shipwreck museum before catching our ferry back to the mainland at 4.00p.m.

Some reflections from Year 6 pupils………
I particularly enjoyed the visit to Osborne House where every room contained a different ceiling which had extravagant patterns and designs. In the Meeting Room, there was a picture hung on the wall of Queen Victoria and when you walked from side to side it seemed as she was always looking at you. Also within that room was a fantastically decorated tall clock made entirely out of porcelain. Most of the other rooms in the house had priceless furniture and portraits, as well as gifts from the public including statues, portraits and ornaments.
Natascha Kuhnen

I enjoyed Dinosaur Isle and sleeping in the same room as other people. I was a bit homesick at the beginning but the rest of the trip was fine and Dinosaur Isle was amazing! There were teeth from all sorts of dinosaurs and it was hard to believe they were all so old. Now talking about old, the trip to Osborne House was amazing as well. There were paintings and all lsorts, there was even a painting of the dog that was believed to have been in her majesty's lap when she died. It was called Turri and was a small terrier. Queen Victoria loved her dogs - she even had 4 collies!
William Stratton

I found Osborne House amazing; I particularly enjoyed looking at the many dazzling Victorian artefacts, namely the expertly painted portraits, the carefully and thoroughly worked on furniture and the wonderful, large, and beautiful gardens. I am so happy we travelled to Prince Albert, Queen Victoria, and their children's holiday home in East Cowes. I wish I had a house like that, never mind holiday home!
Amelia Howarth

The tour round St Catherine's Lighthouse was one of the highlights of the trip for me. When we first got to the lighthouse, 6TB went for a walk down a county path were we looked at the erosion in the cliffs, then we walked back to the lighthouse where we swapped with 6AT. When we first went into the lighthouse we listened to Ken who told us about St Catherine's Oratory, and how the lighthouse used to be a lot taller and skinnier. Then we went on a tour of the lighthouse, and were told about the light which we weren't allowed to look at for long. Then we went back down before leaving for The Needles.
Felicity Bore

I enjoyed the whole trip but my favourite part was the sand shop. We had an ice cream and then we went into the shop where we were given plastic models of the Isle of Wight. We filled them up with different coloured sand and made sure they were right at the top. Then we took it to a man or lady behind a counter. They put water in it to make the colours brighter and then used modelling clay to seal it, before putting it on a stand. I really enjoyed making it and hope to do it again.
Stephanie Huxtable.

The trip was a wonderful opportunity to learn about all of the things on the Isle of Wight. Highlights of the trip included; fossil hunting on Sandown Beach with Dinosaur Isle, moving back to Roman times at Brading Roman Villa, and being a Victorian servant with the frightening Mrs. Pilkington at the magnificent Osborne House! The one, single downside was not getting the chance to visit Waltzing Waters, which was described as the 'Eighth Wonder of the World!' My friend Fergus Carver and myself saw the advertisement on a map of the island, and the jokes with Mrs. Tingey and Mr. Baldwin began from there onwards. If I visit the island on a trip in the future, that will be my number one attraction on the list. The whole trip was fantastic 'and I have loved every minute!
Robbie Whittaker

With the sun shining brightly, the temperature rising rapidly and the children returning looking so smart in their summer uniform we are hoping to open the swimming pool very soon and keep it open until September. Children from years two to six will start their swimming lessons next week and the year one children will start later in the term.

We also aim to open the pool after school each evening and during the holidays for family recreational swimming. To do this we need volunteers to qualify as pool side safety officers and are looking for parental volunteers to do the training which will be financed by the friends of Vernon Holme.

If you wish to do the training please fill in the form, copies of which are available from the school office. You will need to be a competent swimmer and the training takes approximately two half days and we will organise that in school. I thank you for considering this, the more people that we can train the more often we can open the pool. If you would like any further information speak to Mrs Carter or me and we will be delighted to help.

Our Year 6 pupils began the term a day early, leaving school at 08.00 for a week long educational visit to the Isle of Wight. By 11.30 we were boarding a Wightlink ferry at Portsmouth and heading for an afternoon visit to Dinosaur Isle at Sandown and hunting for fossils on the nearby beach.

Today we enjoyed a busy day at Brading Roman Villa followed by a session about habitats and rock-pooling on the beach at Ventnor. Unscheduled, but equally interesting was watching a real life rescue by Coastguard helicopter from the beach at Ventnor. Tomorrow we will be at Osborne House, Queen Victoria's island holiday home for a full tour and then to learn about life as a servant to the Royal Household with the formidable Mrs. Pilkington! The week continues with further opportunities to learn about the history, geography and geology of the island as well as the invaluable experience of getting on together in a different environment.

A highlight of today's visit to Osborne House on the Isle of Wight was an opportunity to learn how to succeed as a servant in the Royal Household, working below stairs for the formidable Mrs. Pilkington. Once they had passed various cleanliness tests, pupils were tutored in the finer arts of bed making, silver polishing, table laying and various other household duties! They entered into the spirit of this and most proved themselves very capable and worthy of a position at Osborne for which they would have been paid the princely sum of 3 pounds per year! Some parents may be interested in the photographic evidence of just how adept their children have become at these tasks!

Boys and girls prepared for the new cricket season with top coach Chris Stone on a four day course. The course was the finale to all our Easter break activities and gave the children the opportunity to practise all aspects of the game. Chris Stone provided each child with individual attention and expert knowledge of the game. This invaluable experience and chance to refine their cricketing skills will really help each player, from novice to accomplished, as they will be able to use their developing skills throughout this term's cricket season. The first game of the season will be on Saturday 1st May with a six a side tournament for all the year five and six players. For those preferring tennis there will be a tennis competition in school at the same time.

As an American student teacher at Vernon Holme, I had the great pleasure of playing the role of an ethnographer from 22 February to 26 March 2010. I can honestly say that I have experienced the most growth as an educator during my time working at this wonderful school. My goal, coming into the school, was to experience as many of the school's cultural and educational practices as possible in order to incorporate what I learned into my teaching practices upon my return to the United States. Over those five weeks my goal was achieved with the support and enthusiasm of the staff, students, and parents as I observed countless classes, planned and delivered lessons, and attended many extracurricular activities. I found it particularly meaningful that I could connect my students at Vernon Holme with my students at Myers Elementary school in the United States via pen pal letters and skype interviews. Now, I believe it is my turn to write a letter:

Dear Vernon Holme community,

You have created such a wonderful learning environment. The grounds are stunning, students are given ample opportunity to be recognized for their talents, and most importantly you work together to ensure that the school is a positive place to learn. I immediately felt like a part of the community, regardless of my differences.

One of my favorite classes to observe was design technology. In the United States we do not have this class. It was truly wonderful to watch the students think creatively and act on their ideas. I also loved that in all the classes the students worked on activities connected to real life, such as going outside and studying the architecture of their own school, creating a fact sheet for younger students, and submitting short stories for a book that will be sold to raise money for cancer research.

It was a real treat to interact with the students during activities outside of the classroom as well. I loved watching the students' charismatic performances at the music concert, proof-reading the student newspaper, trying my hand at bowling and batting during cricket club, listening to students read with expression at the verse speaking competition, and discussing similarities and differences between the United States and England with students between classes.

Of course, interacting with parents and teachers was just as wonderful. The Wine and Wisdom that the school organized proved to be a great way to develop relationships. I was happy I could help with the question, 'What is the smallest state in the United States?' (Rhode Island)

All of these experiences helped me to see what a school needs in order to benefit students to the highest degree possible. Vernon Holme has definitely become a second home for me. I want to thank you all for the advice, laughs, and reflections that we shared. Sincerely, Courtney Knowlton

Kent Under 11 Girls cricket squad prepare for the season ahead in the idyllic surroundings of our Junior School pitch. Coach David Sear said, "This environment encourages the girls to believe they can improve with hard work. I am looking forward to watching the girls produce a high standard of cricket throughout the Summer."

Thirty children took up the opportunity to come into school for a day of specialist athletics coaching taken by three international athletes. The children were joined by Michelle Robinson who is the second best ever British female triple jumper and has represented Great Britain at Olympics. Michelle joined us for the master class day and offered the children expert coaching in the long and triple jumps. Matthew Robinson, renowned Welsh Rugby International and Minor Counties cricketer also gave of his time supporting the children in sprint and hurdle tactics. We are also fortunate to have Mr Robinson regularly available to support and advise our athletes as he recently joined the Kent College staff. Throughout the day all the children rotated in small groups, laerning new skills and enjoying each of the events. Kath Carter, Commonwealth Games Representative and UK 1500 metre Champion, was inspiring and superb in her instruction and tuition of middle distance running. Mr Stuart Earl our School Governor, and also county javelin and high jump representative guided the children expertly in each of the throwing events. The day was fantastic and enjoyed so much by all those who took part. Every child left with wonderful enthusiasm and refined skills in sprinting, middle distance running, jumping and throwing. They will be able to put these skills into practice at our first athletics open meeting which will be held on Saturday May 8th at 10 a.m. All children of Infant and Junior age are welcome to come along.

Once again our holiday activity course proved very popular. Many of the children could not bear to be away for too long so returned to school for a week of activities or even just a day. Children from all year groups enjoyed the wide variety of artistic and sporting activities interspersed with visits to the school farm. Our early risers had the delight of being looked after by Mr and Mrs Carter in their home. Most chose to play Mario car with Mrs Carter rather than discuss the previous evening's football over a cup with their headmaster!

Two intrepid year six boys, Robbie Whittaker and Fergus Carver have been inspirational in their organisation of a charity Easter egg hunt for the school on Wednesday 31st March. The charity that they chose was 'Footprints' who support disabled children and their families throughout Kent.
The winning team consisted of Lizzie Neal, Sophie Wilson, Felicity Bore, Lilly Wren, Amelia Howarth and Tom Burns.
The hunt was thoroughly enjoyed by all and the event has raised £50 for the charity. Well done boys and to all who took part.

Congratulations to all Members of our School Community
On behalf of all the staff can I take this opportunity to congratulate all our children on their achievements this term which have been wonderful to observe. Their enthusiasm for school and the awe and wonder that we see from them every day has been positively uplifting for me during a cold and wet term. They have been inspirational to us all and I hope sincerely that we have been inspirational for them. Reading through the 'Latest News' for the term has reminded me just how busy everyone has been. I would like to thank all our parents for their support this term, without this wholehearted support our achievements would have been much more difficult to reach. I would also like to thank our support staff for their superb efforts to make sure that the school has been able to remain open and offer the wide variety of opportunities to our children that we pride ourselves on throughout the extremes of weather we have faced.

For those of you who cannot bear to be away from school for even a week we have holiday activities throughout the vacation and I look forward to being involved in the delivery of some of these activities. For those of you who can stand to be away from school for a few weeks, I look forward to welcoming you back into school on Tuesday 27th April. Remember that I do believe we can influence the weather and if we all wear summer uniform it will make the sun shine!

I wish you all an enjoyable holiday.
Mr Carter

Year 2 have enjoyed a fantastic topic this term about London. We have been learning about the Great Fire of London and brought this important part of our history to life by making houses typically found in Pudding Lane! Ed Stratton had the dubious honour of his house being chosen as the baker's shop where the fire first started in 1666.

Blue Watch Fire Fighters from Canterbury Fire Station came to the school on Monday 29th March to start the fire for us and be on hand in case it needed to be put out! We were amazed at how quickly the fire spread and before long the whole of Pudding Lane was gone!

As an extra treat, Blue Watch showed us lots of equipment on the fire engine and we all had a go on with the water hose! The fire fighters finished off their visit by giving us a safety talk about the dangers of electrical fires. This linked well with our science work this term about electricity.

Year 2 have concluded their topic work this term linked to the history of London and a study of London landmarks by a visit to The Tower London and a River Thames trip. We spent the morning being amazed at the sparkling Crown Jewels in the Jewel house and impressed at the wonderful collection of armour in The White Tower. We looked at the memorial on Tower Green to all those who had been beheaded and watched the ravens and Yeoman Warders ( Beefeaters ) who are such an important part of this historical building.

In the afternoon, we went on a river trip and saw many interesting landmark buildings such as The London Eye, The Houses of Parliament, St Paul's Cathedral, The Globe Theatre,The Gherkin and The Snail which is the new GLC headquarters. We had a great day out!

In Year 6 the theme for PSHE this half of term has been 'It's good to be me!' The pupils decided that they would like to base their assembly on this theme too. Much thought went into considering which particular talents to showcase and this resulted in a varied and entertaining assembly. Poems, narration of stories written in English lessons, an acted excerpt from My Fair Lady and a selection of musical pieces kept the audience focused and enthralled for considerably more than our allotted twenty minutes! Special congratulations to Sapphire Blackburn who amazed us all with her singing (thanks to accompanists Mr Buckley and Fergus Carver.) The highlight of the morning however was the six drummers who beat out a very catchy rhythm on timps, floor, and the legs, backs and seats of chairs. The infants were captivated and many played 'air drums' along with the performers!

'Tumble Tunes' our school Parent and Toddler group is now in its second successful year at Kent College. Our sessions offer an informal introduction to the Kent College family and are regularly attended by babies and toddlers alongside their Parent's, Grandma's and Grandpa's. The group is incredibly popular and offers a friendly, welcoming and supportive environment for all.
The tiny tots enjoy a tumble on our soft play equipment which encourages the development of their co-ordination and motor skills. They also develop spatial awareness and turn taking.
Following the 'tumble,' a session of interactive songs and action rhymes follows. There is also an opportunity to explore a range of musical instruments. Adult participation is welcome too!
Songs and rhymes assist in promoting young children's language development, awareness of number and turn taking through the use of music.
'Tumble Tunes' is the perfect opportunity for adults and toddlers to participate in musical activities and to meet and make new friends.
New parent's and their little ones are always welcome, sessions run on Tuesday and Thursday mornings throughout the school term. Please contact the school office on 01227 721864 if you would like to find out more about our thriving Early Years Department and join in the fun of Tumble Tunes.

On a beautiful sunny Friday morning the Nursery travelled by school mini bus to Kent College Farm. We were greeted by 'Farmer Rob' who introduced us to the animals. We particularly loved the cute fluffy bunnies and helped to feed them. We were asked to name a new born lamb, her twin was called Dotty, we practised our rhyming words and named the lamb 'Lottie'! When we returned to Nursery we made a book to remember our visit to the farm.

On Sunday 28th March, at 6.15 (or 5.15 for those who had not yet put their watches forward), our intrepid Choristers and several loyal members of staff boarded a coach, (driven by our brass teacher Mr Cutting!) - destination Milton Keynes Theatre, for the Area Selection Stage of the BBC Radio 3 Choir of the Year Competition. On arrival the Choristers donned their brand new waistcoats and after a warm-up session strode onto the stage with great confidence. The audience were clearly impressed with their performance but would the judges be??
At the end of the morning our Choristers were thrilled to be awarded 'Choir of the Day'. It was then back on the coach for a celebratory meal at Burger King before the return journey.
Their recorded performance now goes through to the National Selection Stage. If they are successful in this they will be invited to the Category Finals in Birmingham next November.

Since half term we have much enjoyed having Miss Courtney Knowlton, a student from Arcadia University in Philadelphia, working with us in Years 5 and 6. She arranged for our pupils to write to children at a school in Philadelphia. On Tuesday there was great excitement as Year 6 had an opportunity to talk to their pen-pals using Skype on sound and video.

This is how Robbie Whittaker reported the activity:-

On 23rd March 2010, Year 6 Red Group, had a chance to talk to their American Pen-Pal friends!

The American students are from Myers Elementary School, Cheltenham, Pennsylvania, USA.

My Pen-Pal, Elijah likes Hot-Dogs, and doesn't like Cauliflower - I don't blame him!

Elijah also plays the piano, and enjoys it when he plays 'Mary had a Little Lamb.'

Wall Park is Elijah's favourite place to visit in Cheltenham, as it has two playgrounds, a Skateboarding Park, and a Tennis court. He really likes the Tennis Court, as tennis is his favourite sport!

Elijah has one sister, named Breia, and a brother Xavier.

Having the chance to talk to my Pen-Pal was really special to me. We have written letters to each-other, and found out some information about our Pen-Pals, but after today's experience, everything seems real. It was a great thing to do, and I would like to thank Miss. Knowlton, for organizing this, and Mr. Jeffery, for installing Skype, it took a while to organize, but it was worth it in the end!

Robbie Whittaker

Young musicians from Years 1 ' 8 entertained a full house with a real feast of music at the annual Spring Concert at Vernon Holme on Thursday 18th March. The Suzuki Play Together, String Group, String Quartet, Violin Duos, Magic Flutes, Flute Trio, Clarinet Club and Recorder Ensemble all performed with great enthusiasm and a high standard of music-making. The Junior School Orchestra's rendition of The Muppet Show Theme was a real hit, as was 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious' sung by the Junior School Choir. The evening ended with a performance by the Kent College Choristers in preparation for their appearance in the Area Selection stage of the BBC Radio 3 Choir of The Year competition at Milton Keynes next Sunday.

On the 27th of March, Mark Shopland and Fraser Craig from Kent College along with 13 other members of Leeds Metropolitan University Hockey Team are raising money for Help for Heroes by cycling 220 miles from Canterbury Cathedral to the Eiffel Tower in Paris over 3 days. The trip will incorporate 2 famous sites, travelling through Dunkerque and The Somme famous for their roles during World War 1 and World War 2. If anyone would like to support our boys then give generously at www.justgiving.com.leedsmetmenshockey

Thankyou and Good Luck boys!!

As part of the ongoing 125 celebrations at Kent College we have looked at roller coasters as these were invented during the life of the school. The children in years 3,4 and 5 took part in a Design Technology workshop to build their own roller coaster. Each year group was put into two teams to construct a simple track out of a range of materials. At the end we tested both tracks and compared the fun that the passengers on the roller coaster would have had. The children worked really hard and produced some ingenious designs!

What a day! With just a touch of drizzle at the beginning of the morning and at the end of the day, the weather held out to give us a great day of sport.

Photo's: www.dephoto.biz/netballandfootball

The girls, kicked off, or should I say centre passed the first of our two events, in the morning. It was great to see so many schools there supporting the event and in total there were 12 teams battling it out for the title. St Faiths, Sutton Valence and ourselves, all entered two teams, which doubled the chances of success.

However, it was not to be, and even though we battled hard neither of the Kent College teams made it to the semi-finals.

Instead, a new name went on the trophy, as Dulwich, deservedly so, won the competition with a resounding victory in the final against Sutton Valence.

Then literally as one tournament finished, another started, as it was the turn of the boys in the football competition.

Unfortunately, there were only three schools, including ourselves, participating in this event. It was a great shame, but I'm sure the numbers will be as good as the girls in 2011.

So Kent College, St Faiths and Northbourne Park, with a team in the Cup and the Shield, competed for the honours. In a very exciting afternoon, it came down to two closely fought finals, between St Faiths and us.

In the Shield, the boys tried their hardest, particularly as they were playing with one less player, against a well drilled St Faiths' team. We almost took the lead, against all odds, but a well-timed lunge from a St Faiths' defender prevented a James Smythe rocket rippling the back of the net. After that, it was all St Faiths and they came away with a well deserved 4-0 victory.

Then it was the Cup. In the group stages it had been a 1-1 draw and it had been a very tense affair. This game was no different. Neither team could get a hold on the game in the early exchanges, but as time went on St Faiths began to dominate and we were exposed at the back on a number of occasions. Eventually, our resistance broke down and St Faiths took the lead, and from then on the tired bodies of the Kent College team could not get back in to the game and it was no surprise that another goal was conceded before the final whistle. It was the right result, in my opinion, and St Faiths took the trophy by two goals to nil.

I'd like to thank all the boys and girls who played on Saturday. They demonstrated the kind of commitment and passion that will be necessary for further progress in the future! Well done to you all.

Once again this has been a very busy, very exciting and very successful term for all members of our school community. The variety has been wonderful but this is key to our children receiving the experience that I believe is the key to their future success in this rapidly changing world that we live in. As I write my radio is talking about return to recession, growing unemployment and increased conflict around the world. I worry that that is going to be the inheritance our children receive from my generation of 1950's babies. However I balance that with my experience last Saturday at the Primary Schools' Cross Country where over 1500 children gave their all, pushing themselves to their athletic limits. I heard the cheers as they encouraged their friends to compete all the way to the finish. The previous Saturday I accompanied our Choristers to the Music for Youth South East festival and saw them perform with such excellence and discipline that will surely see them qualify for the national finals. I looked at our children's results in the Kent College Entrance exam and saw how well they had performed academically and once again over 50% of our children have been offered scholarships to our Senior School. My worries start to disappear because with these life skills our children have a good chance to put right the mistakes of my generation.

To help ensure that our children receive the best possible chances for the future I do try to keep up with developments in education and also developments in our society in general. I am a voluntary school inspector for the Independent Schools Inspectorate and it appears with sixteen years experience and fully up to date training record that I am being used with increasing frequency. Whilst I do not like the fact that this takes me out of our school, it does keep me at the forefront of Independent School educational developments. It was with great interest that I recently helped inspect one of the top academic independent schools in my home city of Cambridge. Going back to a city I left thirty four years ago emphasised to me the changes that have taken place in our world since I put on my cap and blazer all those years ago to take up my place at a selective boys grammar school. A decision my parents made with good faith but one that I today believe severely limited my career and life opportunities. The cattle market is a multiplex cinema, many of the green fields that I used to run my cross country races on are built up with high tech industry, the colleges that make up the university still stand but are fully international communities, my old school is now one of the top sixth form colleges in the country but still gets out performed by its Independent rival in all aspects of education. We at Kent College have to be aware of these changes, our education has to respect our traditions but be geared to preparing our children to succeed and achieve happiness in this new world of ours in a way that enables them to have faith, have beliefs but understand and be considerate of those who believe differently.

Mrs Jenner and 3LS are enjoying a French lesson in the library where there is a display of all the new French books.
Children are now able to borrow from an extended selection of French fiction and non-fiction books.

Reception enjoyed a trip out to our local garden centre. As part of our growing theme we have been busy at school planting lettuce and radish seeds, also peas and a variety of flowers. Our trip to the garden centre provided the opportunity to investigate the many things needed to tend your garden. We were also able to practice our reading skills as we looked for vegetable, fruit and flower seed packets. We even helped an elderly customer find the leek seeds she was looking for. Using our clipboards we each wrote a list of items we saw that we thought would be good for our own garden centre at school. We also complimented our writing with simple sketches alongside each item. It was great fun and a practical way to secure and further develop our learning. Within the classroom we have adapted the role play area into our own garden centre and used the knowledge we gained from the trip to price items for sale and even offer visiting customers planting advice! Outdoors in the classroom courtyard we have planted more seeds and will watch them grow over the forthcoming months. Next term we hope to make a healthy salad from our harvest.

A few weeks ago the U11 girls were crowned County Champions after a closely fought 2-0 win against local rivals Kings. As a result we qualified for the Yazoo National u11 Schools Championships East Region Finals held at Queenswood school, the same venue at which the girls competed in the National IAPS u11 regional tournament. The tournament was a round robin between 5 schools representing their counties. The girls remained defiantly unbeaten throughout the tournament, twice coming back from being a goal down. The opening game saw us dominate a Bishops Stortford side, but we were unable to make a break through. All the games were very close and the girls must be given credit for their tenacity and commitment. At the half way stage we were lying in second place, but the post lunch games saw us in contention to win the tournament. Amelia Howarth, playing in goal, made some crucial saves late in our matches to keep us in contention- well done!! This coupled with staunch defending by Felicity Bore and Amelia Waitt meant stood a great chance if we could score. Going in to the final a draw might have seen us through and a win would definately have. Despite going a goal down the girls dominated Barnardiston and soon pulled a goal back. Needing one more goal to ensure victory, a penalty corner was awarded as the hooter went, which meant we had one last chance to score. Sadly we were unable to but still awaited the final results and positions. As it turned out, we were even on points with Town Close (who we had earlier beaten) but they popped us to the gold medals by having a +1 superior goal difference. Nevertheless second place and silver medals was a great way to finish the season. Credit must go to all the girls, but Lizzy Neal and Lilly Wren showed particularly good commitment, and Sophie Wilson scored crucial goals. Well done girls!!!!

Last week both our U11 and U9 boys hockey teams took part in the annual Sutton Valence Hockey tournament. Expectations were high as the U11 have won the tournament for at least 5 consecutive years now! Despite it being a very cold day, the boys made a fantastic start, winning their first game 5-0 in 8 minutes ' very impressive! This was followed by another solid win before a couple of losses...meaning we were lucky to scrape through the group having scored more goals that the other team we were level on points with. Credit must go to our strikers, and in particular Bill Cain who had some spectacular back stick strikes. The semi final was a tense affair, with Daniel Smythe making one world-class save in goal ' well done! It also marked a rise on confidence by James Meakin, that was carried in to the final against rose Hill who had easily beaten us in the groups stages. The final was however a comfortable game, with James Meakin and Harry Lee scoring two excellent goals! Well done boys and congratulations on another victory!

The U9 tournament the next day was very similar ' with the boys making a great start. Freddy Entwistle was particularly prominent with his goals. Sadly the boys faded away a bit but were once again lucky to scrape through to the semi finals. The heroics were not to be repeated and we lost 0-1 to the eventual winners Rose Hill. The most encouraging aspect of the day was to see the boys develop the game and I am sure that in the coming years they will be very successful.

Well done boys!

Monday - Wii Sports Competition (alternate with board games and whiteboard colouring).

Tuesday - Music and Dancing in Music Room
- Colouring and Card Games

Wednesday - Trip to Asda/McD's for Icecream.

Thursday - Everyone to Spring Concert after tea.

Friday - Choice of:
1. ICT room
2. DVD

Saturday - Girls at Netball (am).
- Boys ceramics and cricket.
- Walk or Snappy's depending on weather.

Sunday - Church, St Peters
- Lunch at KC
- Cinema at Ashford

Over 1500 children from eighty schools took part in the annual Primary Schools' Cross Country organised by Kent College over the fast, undulating course at the University of Kent in Canterbury. Michelle Robinson the Olympic triple jumper was in attendance to make presentations and encourage the competitors around the course.
The first race for year three boys saw an outstanding performance from Hayden Wood of Minterne Primary School set the standard for the following races whilst the team event was won by Merton Court School. The final runners had hardly finished before the year three girls were off and running, this time Aimee Plumb from Kent College led the runners home but just failed to lead her team to victory with Spring Grove School achieving the first of their two team awards. Arguably the best race of the day was the final year six girls race which saw Alessia Russo from East Farleigh just beat Kelsey Fuss from Upton school to become the champion. Organiser Kath Carter, a teacher at Kent College and herself a retired international middle distance runner commented, 'Each year there seem to be more schools, more competitors and the standard of performance improves. All the competitors can be proud of their achievements today. We are trying very hard at Kent College to improve standards of athletics in the area and it was good to have Rebecca Weston, herself a former winner, who has gone on to achieve junior international status here today as a hare. All primary children who are interested in athletics are welcome to come along to compete at our athletics meetings at Vernon Holme on Saturdays 8th and 22nd May and Saturday 19th June.'

Results

Year Three Boys
1. H Wood: Minterne
2. T Halliday: Wingham
3. J Witt: Minterne

Teams
1. Merton Court
2. Minterne
3. Wingham

Year Four Boys
1. K Clay: Wingham
2. Z Jefferson-Pillai: Ashford Friars
3. H Todd: Kent College

Teams
1. Wingham
2. Kent College
3. Ashford Friars

Year Five Boys
1. T Kendrick: Crockham Hill
2. M Sheaf: Anthony Roper
3. H Kahl: Reculver

Teams
1. St Margaret's
2. Kent College
3. Anthony Roper

Year Six Boys
1. A Kinloch: Upton
2. J Langthorne: Minterne
3. T Agbppla: Wingham

Teams
1. Upton
2. Minterne
3. Willesborough

Year Three Girls
1. A Plumb: Kent College
2. M Wesley: Merton Court
3. D McCartney: Minster

Teams
1. Spring Grove
2. Kent College
3. Merton Court

Year Four Girls
1. M Tomlin Wingham
2. L Parrish: Upton
3. A Saliba Williams: Spring Grove

Teams
1. Wingham
2. Spring Grove
3. Kent College

Year Five Girls
1. E Cohen: St John's
2. H Griggs: Kent College
3. H Fielder: Spring Grove

Teams
1. Spring Grove
2. Upton
3. Gad's Hill

Year Six Girls
1. A Russo: East Farleigh
2. K Fuss: Upton
3. E Neal: Kent College

Teams
1. Ashford
2. Upton
3. St Margaret's

Pictures from the event at:
http://www.dephoto.biz/pages/ordering/Default.aspx?Path=Running\Kent%20Primary%20Schools%20Cross%20Country%20Championships\2010

These are the children having a taster of the game of pop lacrosse during Wednesday after school activities. Great fun!

Mr Williamson from the Kent Hospitals Trust, Mrs Griffths Chairperson of the Friend's of Vernon Holme and Mrs Stratton the events co-ordinator joined the school for Monday morning assembly. The Friends of Vernon Holme were delighted to present a generous cheque to Mr Williamson for five thousand three hundred pounds. The money raised by the parent's and friend's of Vernon Holme will be used by the East Kent Charities Trust to invest in the latest breast screening equipment for the Kent and Canterbury and William Harvey hospitals. The hospitals Trust is aiming to launch an early breast screening unit with women having the opportunity to be screened at the younger age of 40. Our invited guests also enjoyed the music recital performed by the Junior String quartet and an enjoyable sermon by Dr Glass and his puppets. The whole assembly made for a very positive start to the new week.

Linked to our 125th anniversary celebrations, 6TB recently undertook an interesting piece of first-hand research. This was to make a transcript of a hand-written diary of Neville Cooper, kept when he inherited Vernon Holme following the death of his father, Thomas Sidney Cooper in 1902. The diary records his work to create a beautiful garden and tree collection as well as his health problems and struggle to keep the house running in the depths of the 1930's depression.

Robbie Whittaker reports: It was a great experience to be able to read this deeply emotional and personal diary. In 1931 Nevill wrote 'I was pleased with the new rockery and waterfall, it is only the loss in dividends and the terrible new taxation that dwarfs everything, and I fear I may have to give the dear place up...' We then had the task of transcribing the hand-written diary to a computerised version so that others can read his words more easily. Some of the entries about his health and fears led Lizzie and Felicity to comment that 'It was strange and even spooky to read his thoughts from so long ago.'

Year One would like to say a really big THANK YOU! to Dr Glass for coming to visit us and help us with our re-enactment of a Baptism. Each child took part in the service and had a very special role to play. Kent College is a loving, christian family of which we are all very proud to belong to!

As part of working in partnership with our Reception parents Mrs Seery, Jake's mum joined our class to share with us, why and how she and her family celebrate St David's Day. The children were introduced to some simple Welsh language and even learnt to say good morning and good afternoon in Welsh. The children have since loved responding to the register in Welsh! They each made their own Welsh flag and enjoyed the pictures of the dragon. Mrs Seery is a highly talented musican and also taught us a popular Welsh song, which we all sang along to whilst she played her guitar. Before she left Mrs Seery kindly gave the class gifts of a fresh leek and some potted fresh daffodils, these take pride of place in our classroom. We have loved looking at the daffodils and have begun to use them as part of our still life paintings. The children have really captured the beauty of these Spring flowers. We are most grateful to Mrs Seery and Jake for sharing with us their Welsh roots.

As another part of our 125th birthday celebrations the children in our infant department helped to plant two small willow trees at each end of the infant school building. Everyone tied a colourful ribbon on the trees to mark the occasion. We hope that as the trees grow and we watch the blossom and catkins come and go, we will remember all the important and interesting things that we have done to help celebrate such an important birthday at our school. Let's hope that the willow trees will still be here in another 125 years time!

We were all touched by the suffering of those involved in the Haiti earthquake disaster and as a school wanted to do what we could to help. Mrs Davison (Mum of in Ben Year 2 and Francesca in Year 1),came up with a simple yet wonderful idea to raise money and awareness within the school. With the skills of Hayward Designs, who kindly offered their services for free, we reproduced an emotive image, one in black and white and the same image again in colour. The black and white image was gridded into 100 squares. We then offered the opprtunity to purchase a coloured square which lay over the corresponding black and white square. Within a week we had converted the black and white image into stunning colour. Along with our non-uniform day, money raised came to just over 400 pounds, all of which is being used to support some of the people directly devastated by the earthquake. Our thanks is extended to Mrs Davison and Mrs Swain for their wonderfully effective idea. The children too are thanked, as indivdually they saved their pocket money, undertook extra chores and kindly donated their small savings to the people of Haiti. We achieved in our small way the aim of bringing some colour back into Haiti.

Kent College won the county schools under eleven hockey championship beating local rivals Kings, Canterbury two nil in a hard fought final. They now go on to represent Kent in the East of England Championships.

Since the wonderful celebration of the school's anniversary in the cathedral we have turned our thoughts to the last 125 years in a variety of ways. As part of the English curriculum, pupils from Years Two to Six have chosen poems to read in class competitions from which finalists were drawn for this event. The children were asked to link their poems to an event or era of the last 125 years. Each spoke with confidence and expression, the calibre of presentation was extremely high. The invited judges had quite a challenging time when considering their verdicts. We especially thank Mr Shipton a former School Chaplain and now our school Governor for generously giving his time to share this afternoon with us. It was a great afternoon enjoyed by the children,parents and staff.

26 children from Years 5 and 6 joined the Year 7 and 8 Kent College Choristers for the regional round of the Music for Youth Competition at Tenterden on Saturday 27th February. They received a superb report from the judges who wrote about their 'excellent stage manners', 'excellently projected words', excellent touches in Soldier, Soldier, with first rate part-singing and whistling', and 'what a versatile choir you are!'. We now have to wait until all the other regional heats are over before we find out whether we are through to the National Finals, which take place at the beginning of July in Symphony Hall, Birmingham. Well done to you all!

A team of ten children travelled to Malvern College to challenge the terrain, the weather and the best runners Prep Schools could provide from throughout the country. An excellent performance from Lizzie Neal saw her finish in sixth position. The boys' team were led home by Henry Todd who has two more years in this age group. Team coach Kath Carter, an ex international athlete herself commented how proud she was of all the competitors to run so well in such difficult conditions.

The overall strength of sport at Kent College was demonstrated when a netball team severely weakened by the loss of several key players who were representing the school in a national choir competition reached the semi final of this prestigious competition. Coach Samantha Freeborough said, 'Our policy of encouraging all our girls to attend after school clubs ensured that we were able to put out a team that worked hard for each other and supported each other at all times, the girls can be delighted with their efforts'

Lizzie Neal a Kent College pupil and Kent Cricketer had the thrill of meeting England and Kent cricketer and World Cup and Ashes winner Lydia Greenway. Lizzie hopes to follow in a tradition of Kent College Junior School pupils being leading players for the county. Last year saw Marina Barwick captaining the Kent girls under eleven team and William Heywood being vice captain of the boys team. Eventually all three hope to emulate Lydia's achievement of competing at the very highest standard.

On February 26th 2010 the Nursery and Infant Departments buried their time capsule in the school grounds as the finale to our school 125th birthday celebrations. The capsule contains a collection of paintings, photographs and written work by each of the children. It is all stored in a durable conatiner that will keep all the memorablia safe until it is all discovered some time in the distant future. Despite the cold whether all the staff and children gathered around the pergola, the hole was dug and together to children lowered the capsule into place. Perhaps it will be a Kent College pupil of the future who discovers and digs up our time capsule in another 125 years!

Emma Newson and Oliver O'Shea modelling the new chorister outfits that are in production at the moment, ready (hopefully!) for their first competition on the 27th of March.

The new equestrian facility is growing in popularity with students from both Kent College and Vernon Holme.
The new home bred limousin cross sussex cattle calves are growing fast, in preparation for the Kent Show in July.
Grooming is an important part of caring for your horse!
Students teach their animals to walk wearing a halter ready for the show ring.

The first half of the Spring term has been fantastic throughout and the final week was no exception. Just before half term we all celebrated the 125th Anniversary of the school, with a week full of themed activities, games and events. We all took part in whole school assemblies with each year group taking a turn, from Reception to Year 6. Each presented to parents, staff and all the other children a part of history from the last 125 years. Reception dressed up as astronauts and told us all about the first men on the moon, Year One were Innuits and polar explorers and told us about the first explorations of the North and South Poles. Year Two wore crowns and read some of their own history work linked to the Coronation. Finally our senior pupils impressed the audience with a rendition of Beatles songs.
The week concluded with a huge party for everyone. We had an amazing cake and our school chaplain had just enough puff to blow out the 125 candles! It was lovely to see our oldest children sharing the celebrations and supporting our youngest school pupils. After such a busy week we are all looking forward to the half-term break. A happy holiday to everyone!

In Year 3 we have been choosing poems about school to perform as part of our 125th year celebrations. We thought about how to dramatise them and used props and costumes to bring them to life. They covered every topic from parent's evenings, bad behaviour and daydreaming to grumpy dads and what happens to boys when they become men!

It was a bit scary performing them to the whole school and parents, but as usual, once we got going we had a great time. In the end, we felt we did a really good job and everybody laughed and seemed to like them.

The Cathedral stood before us. It was waiting, waiting for Kent College. Dr. Glass had arranged sunny weather for our big birthday party, and as the service started I noticed the sun peek through the great, stained glass windows, lighting up the instrumentalists who were busy filling the air with important sounding noises during a Fanfare.
'Lord for the years' was almost immediately belted through the Cathedral as Mr. Spencer hit the notes like never before! I remember standing and straining my voice in the last verse as the rest of the Choristers and I were leading the descant.
The opening prayer was split into four readers, Amelia from my class read very well. Annabel Jones, a year 4 pupil, read her competition winning prayer, and I felt the adrenalin pump through my body as I was reading a part of the next speech.
Daniel Westcott, a year 10 pupil, started with 'It has been 125 years'. My longest bit was complicated, I had to pause after each line as representatives from each activity would stand and show themselves to the large congregation of roughly 1,500!
The reading went well and I was proud when I had finished, but also relieved! Next on my list, after the choristers' piece 'Behold Now Praise the Lord' (which was evident why they were in the finals of BBC Choir of the Year), was the 'Jubilate Deo', which involved both the Choristers and the Senior Choir. The Choristers in the parts of joyous Latin, filling the cathedral with immense noise, and with the Senior Choir on top, I think it would have been heard within a five-mile radius!
The service was finished at around 3.30pm and my Granny and I drove up the hill for a tea at Kent College ' I took a liking to the sausage rolls rather quickly! The whole afternoon was a worthy celebration of 125 years of Kent College.
Here's to the next landmark!

It is not every year that a school celebrates it's 125th birthday and recently Kent College in Canterbury gave thanks in style.
The entire school (all 650 pupils plus staff) were transported by coach into the centre of Canterbury where over 1,000 people gathered in the Cathedral for a special service. From the Nursery to the 6th form all pupils attended and over 200 of them took part in the worship by singing in choirs, marching with banners, playing in the orchestra or reading. The school was joined for the occasion by some important guests including Lord Griffiths (who preached), Baroness Richardson (Chair of the Methodist School's Board of Management), the President of the Methodist Conference, Revd. David Gamble, the Dean of Canterbury and the Lord Mayor.

The current Head Master of the school (Dr. David Lamper) was joined by three previous Head Masters (Gino Carminati, Ed Halse and Roger Wicks).

The Head Girl of the school, Anna McGibney, said during the worship that in its 125th year the school was certainly not standing on its laurels. Individual MacBook computers were being rolled out to every pupil in the Senior school and from September the school offers the International Baccalaureate alongside A Level. Chaplain of the school, Revd. Dr. Paul Glass, said, 'Today has been a fantastic celebration of who we are ' a school with it's roots deep in our Methodist heritage.'

In early January when the snow came rolling in, Kent College remained open throughout. It was on the very worst day of the snow that only a few pupils were able to safely get into school. Mr Carter declared we have a day in the snow! Learning through play at it's best! The snow covered football pitches were the setting of sledging races, snowball battles and a canvas for the many snowmen that were built (Mr Carter even enjoyed a chat with one of them!). The children had an absolutely wonderful day and it was a great way to start the new term and new year.

We left school on Friday the 15th at about 2:30 in the direction of Essex where our first game was played against Felsted. The boys were a little out of form from the Christmas break and it was evident with both the A's and B's losing in the very cold conditions. We then headed to the Holiday Inn in Ipswich for some well deserved dinner and a good night's sleep.

The next morning we woke early and set off for Abbey School in Woodbridge. The game was a great improvement from the day before with the B's just going down in a hard fought game in which Alex Jones was a key player. The A's did very well to secure a 2-2 draw with some great play by Jonas Zahn on the right wing. After the game we headed back to Ipswich to watch the Ipswich vs Coventry football game which was a thrilling game with 2 goals in injury time securing a 3-2 win to the locals.

Sunday morning the boys woke looking forward to the tournament ahead. We arrived at Framlingham College and got straight in the action with the A's going down 3-1 to Harleston Magpies and the B's losing heavily against a very tough opposition (Cambridge - who eventually went on to win the day). The next games for the A's were much better winning 4-1 against Brandeston (our hosts) and 2-0 against Ipswich, with some excellent attacking by Bill Cain and James Meakin and wonderful defence by Fraser Coupe. The B's lost both their remaining games but clear improvement was evident in each game. The A's managed to win their group and advance to the semi-finals against Old Loughtonians. It was a tough game and they ended up being beaten 4-1 by a very good opposition. In the end the A's finished fourth in the tournament and had a lot of fun throughout the whole tour. The day was a great success and a good chance for the boys to develop their skills for the upcoming season.

As part of our topic 'All about me' the Reception class visited the new Estuary View Medical Centre in Whitstable. We met Dr Ribchester and Nurse Debbie who showed us around the centre. First we went to the Treatment Room where Nurse Debbie showed us how to bandage an arm and make a sling. We then visited the Operating Theatre and found out the importance of washing our hands and why doctors wear gloves. After a drink and a snack in the scenic Conference Room we went to the Doctors Room. Dr Ribchester showed us how to listen to each others heart beat and we all got the chance to see inside someone's ear. A fun and informative time was had by all and we have created our own doctors surgery in our class to practise all our new skills.

Firstly a sincere thank you to all our pupils, staff and parents this term for not only their support during the various charity events we have organised in school but for also raising impressive sums of money for each worthy cause.

Each event has been tremendous fun whilst at the same time very meaningful in terms of knowing what we are raising money for!

Our Carol Service Collection will be shared equally between the Lord Mayor of Canterbury's Christmas Gift Fund (delivering over 600 grocery parcels to needy families and the elderly in Canterbury) and the sponsorship of Dulki,the girl we support throughout the year,who lives in a village in Sri Lanka.

This term we managed to raise: £178.10 for Children in Need, £100+ for Orchid Charity, £144.10 for Perthes along with the 109 boxes donated to Operation Christmas Boxes.

Colin Knowles
Assistant Head

Year 3 made a special visit to the school library to select stories to share and read to the younger pupils in Reception and Nursery. Year 3 made wonderful Book Buddies, they had really thought about the selection of stories and books to bring that were most appropraite and engaging for the young audiences. The Junior children shared their stories with great maturity, capability and wonderful animation, some pupils even acted out the simple story to really bring it to life! The Early Years children were totally enthralled and thoroughly enjoyed reading with their Year 3 friends. It was an enjoyable morning for all.

Friends of Vernon Holme Christmas Fayre was a big success with everyone enjoying the stalls and opportunity to get some early Christmas presents. Father Christmas also made a suprise visit.

Year 3 and 4 were riveted, when the author Jack Trelawny recently visited to tell them about his books. As well as reading passages from his first book, 'The Crystal Pool', which is part of a trilogy, he told the children all about his life as a writer. He used the interactive white board to show how he gets inspiration and how he develops ideas into stories. At the end of his talk the children had chance to ask questions to help them with their own story writing.

Everyone enjoyed the morning and there was also the chance to buy books that were signed by Jack Trelawny and personally dedicated.

Over half term many children managed to finish the first book and are keen to read the next five that he has written for children!


Alison Appiah Year 4

Dave Lee was delighted to be presented with a generous cheque from Dr Lamper at the Junior School Assembly. All the money was raised by Vernon Holme parents and friends at the recent and highly enjoyable Ball.

The Football team take the Molten League Championship

What a season so far! The Spring Grove tournament won for the fifth consecutive season and now success in the first ever Molten League Championship, with two league games left to play.

The League title was decided last week with two outstanding performances.

The first was against Junior Kings, whom we had previously beaten 1-0, in our first encounter.

It was a physical game and after some early scares we started to dominate the game. Eventually we took the lead and from there we grew in confidence and continued to pile on the pressure. In the end it was a convincing 3-0 win and we were one game closer to the title.

On the Saturday, we played Northbourne Park, the only team that could mathematically claim the title from our grasp.

As yet, we had only met them in the Spring Grove Tournament semi-final, where we had won 2-0. However that was a game over 8 mins! It was clearly going to be a far harder task in the longer format.

Once again the game was extremely competitive. We closed down our opponents exceptionally well and we made it incredibly hard for them to play any football at all. This was a good Northbourne Park team, yet we restricted them to very few chances. In attack, we kept the ball intelligently and some of the passing and movement was sublime to say the least. The boys had saved their finest performance of the season for this important game and they thoroughly deserved the 3-0 victory, securing the Molten League with two games left to play.

A big well done to the following players: Bill Cain, Alix Jones, Harry Lee, James Meakin, James Lake, Fraser Coupe, Jonas Zahn, Jamie Crocker, Finn Quealy and Danny Maguire.

These named, were the boys who played during the course of the season, but our success on the field has been dependant upon the hard work displayed by all the boys in year 5 and 6.

So a big thank you to you as well.

How it was won:

Kent College Junior 6 v 1 Wellesley House
St Edmunds 3 v 4 Kent College Junior
Junior Kings 0 v 1 Kent College Junior
Wellesley House 1 v 4 Kent College Junior
Kent College Junior 3 v 0 Junior Kings
Kent College Junior 3 v 0 Northbourne Park

Year 4 visited Bedgebury pinetum for a day of team building, increasing their thinking power and fun! We played 4 games which tested our ability to listen to each other and work together. We had problems to solve and we had to try hard to complete the tasks as a team. In the afternoon we went orienteering and had to read a map, find clues and collect numbers. We were allowed to run through the beautiful forest and explore all the different trees and landscape. Everyone worked well together and each team reached their goal - to be a team. Bedgebury is a wonderful place to visit and we all had a fantastic day.

The children in Year Three have been learning about the Celtic invasion of Britain. In order to bring to life the idea of tribal living we planned and carried out our own invasion of the neighbouring classroom. This invasion involved the acquisition of next door's most valuable asset, namely Mr Buckley (oh and his comfortable chair!).

We are crusaders
Celtic invaders
With woad painted skin
-no trace of a grin
as we attack, steal and pillage your tribe.

We plot, we scheme
We can be very mean
And take your most valuable things
Ferarsome and strong
Join our throng
Or face the trouble it brings

After a very sunny and warm Monday games lesson, we woke up on Wednesday to a rather cold and miserable day ' not the weather you want for a hockey tournament. To add to that many girls called in sick that morning meaning we had to adjust our team for the day and call up a few girls to make their debut for the A team. They responded magnificently to the challenge and went on to win the tournament! A squad of 8 was down to the bare minimum of 7 in the final as the brave Hannah Griggs, coughing and spluttering lasted until the very last game, one very tough girl! She did however ensure we got through the group stages with some fantastic goals! We went undefeated the whole day, twice having to come back from a goal down in an 8min game ' great spirit! Having won our group with closely fought matches again Wellesley House and Loose, we faced Dulwich in the semi final. We utterly dominated this game and although goalless after golden-goal extra time, we went through on a superior penalty corner count. Although not the best way to win, we were up 5 corners to 0 ' showing our domination and deserved progress (it also saved the girls from the inevitably painful penalty flick shoot out!). In the final we were up against our hosts Sutton Valence. By this stage the girls were shattered having played 6 games within a few hours, and Anya Sochacka doing particularly well to stay focussed as she had little to do with a solid defence in front of her. We took an early lead in the final and were pegged back as SVPS drew level to take us in to another period of golden goal extra time which didn't produce any goals or penalty corners until the very last play of the game. We were awarded a much deserved corner as the full time buzzer went…in hockey you have to complete the corner before the game is over. Unfortunately we didn't score but as the game was over and we had more penalty corners than the opposition, we won! Not the greatest manner of victory but once again deserved as we did dominate the game. Particular mention must be given to Lizzie Neal who worked tirelessly and received numerous commendations from mother schools about her attitude and skill level. Well done girls!

Exciting news! Riding lessons at the Kent College farm will be starting during the Half Term break. After much preparation and planning we are now able to offer riding lessons to pupils of Kent College. These riding lessons are available for all levels of rider from complete beginner to those that are more advanced and will be given by Beatrice, our farm manager, who is a fully qualified riding instructor. Please contact Beatrice by email (bboyle@kentcollege.co.uk) if you would like to get involved in any equine activities up at the Kent College Farm.

Kent College Junior choir and instrumentalists visited St.Johns Alms houses and Hospital with Harvest festival goods yesterday. An appreciative audience of 25 elderly people listened to a programme of choir pieces and soloists. The children then delivered Harvest Festival produce to each resident individually.

The U11 A and B teams travelled to Bishops Stortford College to play against Bishops as a warm up for a tournament on the Saturday featuring many leading independent schools such as Greshams, Felsted College, Bishops' Chigwell and local rivals Kings! Both teams had a shakey start on the Friday, losing easily to our hosts and struggling to gel as a team. A good night in the hotel was obviously worth it as the Saturday was a different story ' with both teams finishing third in their respective groups, a very impressive result given the size of many of the other schools involved.

In the B-team tournament, we opened up with a 0-0 draw against Felsted mainly thanks to some resolute defending by Sara Harris and Hannah Brett. The next game was played at the opposite end with Rebecca O'Shea leading the team to a 3-0 victory against Chigwell with her goal scoring heroics! Our hosts were up next and must have been expecting an easy win after Friday's experience - something they didn't get! After a battling performance they just managed to grab a last minute goal to give them a narrow 2-1 victory. The final games was a 2-1 loss to Greshams as our legs tired!

In the A-team tournament we only conceded 2 goals in 6 games! We opened with a 0-0 draw with Felsted as both teams struggled to get going, but we then had comfortable 2-0 win against Chigwell as the girls got in to their stride, with Lizzy Neal in particular working tirelessly in midfield. The next game was once again against our hosts who we lost to 2-0 despite tenacious defending by Ella Williams and Felicity Bore. We followed this up with a 0-0 draw against Greshams and also finished with a 0-0 draw against Barnardiston: a game that ended with us hitting their post at the final whistle. In between these two games we played our local rivals Kings and came away with a 2-0 victory, marked out particularly by Hannah Griggs' weaving runs into defence and her goals.

All in all it was a fantastic tour and time away, with the girls showing great maturity on and off the pitch, representing the school well! Thank you to both Mrs. Freeborough and Mrs. Carter for all their help.

H. Pearce

Briefly, the charity ORCHID is the only UK registered cancer charity to focus entirely on the male-specific cancers and in particular, funds are essential to promote research, education and awareness. It is vital to recognise the symptoms of disease early and at least 37,00 men will be diagnosed with a male-specific cancer this year! Each man a husband....son...brother....grandfather and friend!

We felt as a caring community that we could at least support this wonderful gesture by holding a bring and buy cake sale in our school, which was scheduled for Wednesday 23rd September. Briefly, the charity ORCHID is the only UK registered cancer charity to focus entirely on the male-specific cancers and in particular, funds are essential to promote research, education and awareness. It is vital to recognise the symptoms of disease early and at least 37,00 men will be diagnosed with a male-specific cancer this year! Each man a husband....son...brother....grandfather and friend!

A group of our Junior School pupils and their parents signed up to take part in a charity cycle ride in the New Forest on Sunday September 20th 2009 and cycled 18 miles through this lovely environment to help raise funds for this charity. This school group have been training for this event on a regular basis since May.

The sale duly took place as the photos clearly illustrate and sincere thanks go to all those families that provided cakes; to all pupils that bought cakes and to the Year 5 and 6 pupils for running the stalls with such natural entrepreneurial skill! A total of just over 100 pounds was raised.

Thursday 10th September - Year 2 visited St Nicholas church in Harbledown today as part of our curriculum work for RE and geography. We are learning about external features of a church and local places of interest. The church is very old - built in the 11th century as a hospital for lepers. We were really lucky to arrive just before a church service was about to start and Reverend Ron invited us to look round the inside of the church where we saw the stone font, beautiful stained glass wondows and a man ringing the four bells!

We also saw the well near to the church where water from a spring was used for its' medicinal properties to help treat the lepers. This well was also visited by The Black Prince in order to help with his ailments.
The year 2 children did some very interesting sketches of the lovely windows,flint walls,tombstones and bell tower. With the sound of the church bells and singing from the congregation wafting around the churchyard, we certainly had a really enjoyable morning.

Mrs Cronin, Mrs Parker, Mrs Fairhurst and Mrs Curd

Children have to opportunity to come and do Touch Typing on a Tuesday lunchtime. Toby can be seen here - what amazing concentration!!