From the Heads
Welcome back everyone! We do hope you had a wonderful break with family and friends and are feeling refreshed for the year ahead. This term is set to be jam packed with activities and events across sports, music, drama, dance and academia. We are proud of the broad and varied programme we are offering our students and the opportunities this will create for them.
Everyone has returned in good spirits and is raring to go. We have already held a general knowledge quiz and a Skip to be Fit competition this week and some of our children have sat the national Townsend Warner Paper in History. We’ve had planning meetings with our PFA too regarding some very exciting upcoming social events which we are looking forward to. Coming up, we have Burns Night and a feast of Scottish music, dance and food. Some of our children will either be jetting off to experience life on slopes during their ski trip whilst others will be enjoying warmer weather in South Africa during the cricket tour. Pre-Preps will have their time to shine during the annual school production and we will be holding a music soiree to showcase a range of talent. Towards the end of the term we will hold the Elocution Cup for poetry recitals and there will be various class trips and sporting fixtures.
As always, our social media channels are the best way to keep abreast of what the pupils have been up to and the electronic calendar has details of all internal and external events. We wish you all the very best for 2023 and we are so excited to see what this year brings for the future of the school.
Mr Gavin Franklin and Mrs Jo Parpworth
School Last Week
House Logos
We are delighted to unveil the logos for our new House System: Joss, Kingsgate, Viking and Stone. House captains reviewed a range of fantastic designs created by children from Year 4 upwards and then selected their chosen designs. We think they are very eye-catching!
Stone – Anaia Beckett (year 8)
Kingsgate – Grace Flowers (year 8)
Viking – Sunny Zhao (year 8)
Joss – William Franklin (year 8)
Skip2bfit
We were delighted to welcome Haddon Dene old boy, David McCormack, back to lead this superb initiative, promoting physical activity and healthy living within the school environment with a specific focus on skipping. Each year group took part in the event, climaxing in a two minute challenge of completing as many skips as possible to (motivational) music. This extravaganza of skipping took place in the sports hall, overseen by Mrs Crompton and Miss Dyer. The children engaged superbly and much fun was had by all. The top performing pupils in each year group were as follows:
Year 1 – Arabella Dolan-Crowley (75 skips)
Year 2 – Lucas Alifrangis (138)
Year 3 – Lucio Corbani (156)
Year 4 – Darcey Page (144)
Year 5 – Stan Shoring (215)
Year 6 – Ava Harris (205)
Year 7 & 8 – Rio Goddard (274)
Some staff, namely Mrs Crompton, Miss Dyer, Mrs Brown and Mr Franklin, also attempted the challenge. Fortunately for the Headmaster, the staff results have been “misplaced”. Very well done to all of the pupils for engaging so wholeheartedly with the event and our thanks go to the Skip2bfit team for visiting our school.
WHD Challenge
The first rounds of the WHD Challenge took place on Friday afternoon. There were two timed inter-house matches, with questions on a variety of topics, including some on current affairs. There was a representative from each year group, to make up the team of four.
The first was between Stone and Joss. Stone held a convincing lead through the match and finished winning 330 points to 225. Individuals who scored well for the house were: Raf with 130 and Theo with 120 for Stone and Max and Ava who scored 60 each for Joss.
The second match, between Kingsgate and Viking, was a slightly one-sided affair, with Kingsgate leading well throughout and finishing with a score of 360 to Viking’s 195. Individual high scores were achieved by Freya – 100 points- and Ralph – 110 points – for Kingsgate and Felix – 90 points- and Olivia – 80 points – for Viking.
In the finals, on the last Tuesday of term, Kingsgate will play Stone, for the trophy and Viking and Joss will thrash it out for 3/4 places.
Teams:
Joss – Max Miller, Wilbur Henry, Ava Harris & Felix Agnew
Kingsgate – Grace Flowers, Freya Ralph, Ralph Wainman & Genevieve Frogley
Stone – Raf Cable, Tate Sheppard, Asa Foster-Troy & Theo Alifrangis
Viking – Reuben Carss, Felix Butterfill, Olivia Dilkes & Reuben Young-Gadd
School This Week
Six of the best
Last term was an incredibly productive time in the art studio and with so much brilliant work made, across all year groups, choosing just two was a near impossible task. However, Mr Parfitt has chosen:
Francesca Forrest in year 6 for her beautifully realised Autumn themed wallpaper sample inspired by Victorian designer William Morris.
Genevieve Frogley in year 5 for her fabulous surreal collage and painting inspired by artists Hannah Hoch and Rene Magritte.
Well done to these very talented artists.
Burns Night Dance Rehearsal
In preparation for Burns Night next week, this afternoon (Tuesday 17th January) we will be holding two Scottish dancing rehearsals:
Year 4, 5 and 6: 4pm – 4.40pm
Year 7 and 8: 4.40pm – 5.10pm
The school bus will run as usual at 5.15pm to Brenley Corner/Long Reach.
On Tuesday next week, we will be celebrating Burns Night in the usual way with haggis, neeps and tatties, followed by Scottish dancing in the Old Hall. Pupils in Years 4 to 8 are warmly invited to attend the event and parents are asked to complete THIS short google form to confirm their child’s attendance. Pupils should wear Best uniform for the evening (boys: white shirt, tie, navy jumper and trousers and girls: kilt, white blouse and navy cardigan). The evening starts at 5.15pm and children in Years 4 to 6 can be collected at 6.45pm. Children in Years 7 and 8 can be collected at 7pm. Further details will be sent to parents later this week.
Year 8 Scholarship Assessments
We begin the scholarship season and wish our Year 8 pupils all the very best for assessments that will take place this term at various Senior Schools. Our Year 8s are being prepared by staff for assessments and interviews in art, drama, sport and academics. We wish them all the very best and hope that above all, they enjoy the scholarship process experience.
Year 7 and 8 Vaccinations
On Friday morning, the NHS Vaccination team will be visiting WHD to administer flu (Year 7 and Year 8) and HPV vaccinations (Year 8). A polite reminder that if you wish your son/daughter to receive the vaccination(s), please complete the online consent form sent by the NHS nursing team. Vaccinations cannot be administered without prior consent from parents. Thank you.
Pre-Prep Values Awards
Reception | Tereza for settling into a new class. Dominik for fantastic progress in phonics. |
Year 1 | Roly Hulme for Enjoyment. Roly is one of the happiest children in the class, he is caring, funny, always willing to learn and finds something enjoyable in everything he does even when he’s unsure about lessons or daily tasks. Felicity O’Dell for Respect. Felicity is always ready to learn, tries her best in everything that comes her way and is always ready to listen to adults and her peers. Arabella Dolan-Crowley for Kindness. Arabella has been an absolute superstar this week, always ready to help, thoughtful and tidying up after others. Rez Gardner for Courage. Rez has shown real courage during swimming. Rez has improved so much, his confidence growing every time he enters the pool, never giving up even when he’s tired and taking on board everything that is asked of him with a smile. |
Year 2 | Marlo Montila for his positive attitude towards his work, always delivered with a huge smile. Aziza Foster-Troy for demonstrating excellent WHD values, particularly RESPECT and KINDNESS to her peers. |
Year 3 | Alex Johnson – kindness. Alex has been really kind in the classroom by offering to help other children with their cutting out as he had finished his. Teddy Lawson – resilience. Teddy has come back with a hugely positive attitude towards his learning. He not only achieves his given task but is also completing a given challenge. |
Values Awards
Year 4 | Juelle Simpson – for showing great determination and courage to face any challenge this term. |
Year 5 | Sophie Spencer – for showing kindness to others |
Year 6 | Rupert Russell – Courage – literally throwing himself into contact rugby |
Year 7 | Platon Shatokhin – for such an enthusiastic start to the term, he is always ready to learn |
Year 8 | Anaia Beckett – for her kindness and support of her peers. Anaia has also shown great maturity and resolve in her work. |
Team of the Week
Each week, a group of pupils is invited to meet with Mr and Mrs Franklin in the library at break time to enjoy some squash and snacks prepared by the catering team. This week, they very much look forward to seeing the Year 3 class, who have coped so well with their classroom move this term. Well done, Year 3!
Future events
Role Models: Parent Webinar – How to develop confidence in children
Following the success of their previous webinar ‘Building a resilient family’ in November last year, which had over 1000 registrations, Role Models is hosting a further free parent webinar on ‘How to develop confidence in children’ on Tuesday 28th February at 7.30pm, hosted by their Head of Education, Laura Kay.
A 45 minute online talk, followed by Q&A, exploring how to develop a child’s confidence, nurture their curiosity and encourage a healthy responses to challenges. Throughout their childhood, children are building their internal picture of how they view themselves; their self-esteem, self-efficacy and mindset are being shaped. What can we do to positively impact these important life skills?
Register using this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/2116734542976/WN_sH5PwupeSeChzFQb01eF5g
School Calendar
Please click here and scroll through for the most up to date calendar of events for the term.
Matches This Week
2.15pm start unless otherwise stated
Wednesday, 18 January
Gymnastics Festival Yr2 (a) 9am at Callis Grange
Rugby v SLC: U11 A Boys (h)
Rugby v SLC: U11 B Boys (h)
Netball v Northbourne Park: U11 A Girls (a)
Netball v Northbourne Park: U9 A Girls (h)
Thursday, 19 January
Rugby v SLC: U9 A Boys (a)
Rugby v SLC: U9 B Boys (a)
Saturday, 21 January
Cross Country Kent Schools: U12 Boys and Girls (a) 11.30am
Netball v Junior King’s: U13 A Girls (a) 1.45pm
Netball v Northbourne: U13 B Girls (a) 2pm
Please always refer to the website calendar as it is the most up-to-date place to check for fixture changes and locations.
If your child has been selected for a fixture, we will communicate with you prior to the fixture with information regarding the recommended pick up time from Wellesley HD.
Matches Last Week
Rugby v Junior King’s: U13 A Boys | Lost 5-6 |
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