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A Message from Mrs Knox

Today, we wished good luck to our Year 11 pupils on their final day of school. It was a joyful occasion as the Senior School and Year 6s joined in to wish them well with songs and poems. The recital by Year 6 of the poem: "Today is your Day" by Dr Seuss was so moving and beautifully read. We are very, very proud of each of our Year 11s and wish them the best of luck with their GCSEs which start on Monday. Today, we also said farewell to Mrs LaCroix who leaves us after almost 11 years at Duke of Kent School and thank her for her dedication to the pupils and for inspiring our mathematicians over the years. I also take this opportunity to congratulate Mrs Southee and Mrs Punter who have been appointed Joint Heads of English, Mr Wyllie who has been appointed Head of Careers and Mr Lodge as Coordinator of SMSC and Fundamental British Values. I wish them well in their new roles. 

Finally, please click below to see all the pictures from our Coronation celebrations last week:

Coronation Photo Gallery

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Knox
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School Menu for Next Week

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Year 3 Assembly

On Thursday, Year 3 presented a reenactment of Rome's invasion on Britain in their form assembly. Emperor Claudius, having received advice from his senators, Asparagus and Ludicrus called on his army to attack Britannia. Whilst they were ultimately successful, the Celts (under the leadership of a rather fierce Boudicca) certainly gave them a good run for their money. Huge congratulations to all the children who gathered together some wonderful props and costumes and learnt their lines so responsibly.

Mrs Nicholson
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The competitions are well underway! Congratulations to Ruby and Violet W, Manon A, Alexander I and Penny A for winning the Coronation Cupcake Competition. Everyone who took part earned 3 House points and should be proud of what they produced. It made the judging very tricky! The Prep and Senior students have had their knowledge of famous mathematicians tested by the latest House quiz. The results were very tight and will be added to next week’s leaderboards. The House Chess competitions in the Prep School are hotting up as they move out of the group stages and into the finals. The Senior students are playing their first matches in an effort to earn those valuable House points and the Chess trophy! 

The race to be crowned House of the Year is a close one again! Buzzard currently has a clear lead over Hawk, who has been pushing them all year. However, Hawk must be wary of Kestrel, who is gaining on them and could soon retake second place. Peregrine has made a very strong start to the term, and if they continue that momentum, they could easily find themselves back in the mix!

You can use the link to open the Google Site for Duke of Kent School House System to see upcoming events and the latest scores!

https://sites.google.com/dokschool.org/dokhousesystem/home

Mr Gritton

Jazz Night

What a night of jazz we had last Friday! The PA Hall was converted into a jazz club (with the help of the wonderful PaDoK - thank you), I got to live out my annual fantasy of being a jazz club owner for the evening, and we were beautifully entertained by some of London's premier jazz musicians.

The band were swinging and played a wonderful mix of tunes from the thirties, forties and fifties, treating us to jazz standards performed to an incredibly high standard. The atmosphere in the room was just as it should be at a jazz club - hushed but engaged - and the applause at the end of each tune was raucous!

Special mention must be made of the three pupils and one ex-pupil who also performed with the band. Izzy P sung a beautiful version of Georgia, Maddie I played and sung a wonderful version of Dream A Little Dream, Johnny M wowed us with his tenor sax playing on Skylark and it was lovely to welcome back Kora Williams who sang a fab version of Fever. What an experience for these young musicians to play with the pro's - an evening they will never forget.

It was a full house and thank you to all that came along and soaked up the amazing atmosphere and music - I wish we could host these every week!

It is worth exploring the websites and socials of the musicians that played:

Louise Messenger  - what a singer! https://www.louisemessenger.com/

Sandy Burnett on bass - https://www.sandyburnett.com/

Pat Levett on drums - https://patlevett.com/

Dave McEvoy on piano - https://davemcevoymusic.com/

Olly Wilby on sax

Mr Rye
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In Nursery this week, the children were amazed to learn more about beetles. Their 'creepy corner' display is already looking great, populated with a trail of fantastic looking jewelled beetles! I wonder what insects they'll put under the microscope next week! Reception, too, have been admiring and appreciating the smaller things in life, focusing not on beetles, but their colourful cousins - ladybirds! These much loved mini beasts have been lending a helping wing with the children's counting in 5s and 10s, thanks to their spotty patterned backs. Colour has inspired Year 2's learning, too, through the vibrant paintings of Wassily Kandisky. 

Year 5 have had a busy week, tidying up the grounds with a litter pick in Endeavour Award, as part of their 'Community Service' badge, and also analysing the results of their germination experiment. You'll read more about Year 3's Roman themed Assembly elsewhere in this Bulletin and, likewise, the Year 4 trip to the Isle of Wight will feature in next week's update. Suffice to say, the children have done themselves proud in these pursuits. Next week is Revision Week, and whilst we'd encourage pupils to begin to get into good habits of reminding themselves of what they've learned this year with some independent revision, we strongly recommend short, purposeful sessions, to help the children feel prepared. Hopefully having their exercise books and Revision Booklets to hand will help. If you have any questions or concerns, do email your child's Form Teacher. Have a lovely weekend - and don't forget the children need to be in School on Monday!

Values Certificates Awarded This Week:

Responsibility for Arthur H and Penny A 

Effort for Mac Y and Bea T-R 

Stars of the Week

Reception: Eliza H for such tremendous effort in reading and independent writing - you always try your best!

Year 1: Archie H for his wonderful attitude to learning.  Archie is always putting so much effort into everything he tries.

Year 2: George F for being an absolute spelling whizz and listening attentively on the mat.

Mr Wright

We say farewell to our Year 11 cohort today as they head off on their study leave, and it is hard not to reminisce on the huge impact they've had at the school. With a number of them being with us since Pre-prep or Prep school, it would be difficult to find a teacher in the school who does not have a story and a memory involving some of the cohort. They will be missed! Nonetheless, I have no doubt they will do themselves proud over the upcoming exam period and look forward to the many celebrations and events they will be attending in the coming months.
 
The changeable weather has put paid to so many sports fixtures in the last weeks which I know has been hugely frustrating for the Games staff and pupils. Fortunately, the ISA Senior London South Athletics competition was able to take place on Tuesday and it was wonderful to hear not only of the fantastic results that so many of our pupils obtained but also of the etiquette, support and behaviour that was on display. Well done to all those that took part!
 
Thursday saw our Year 10 Sixth Form Information Evening in the Old Hall and Meetings Room, with six schools and colleges attending. The options after Duke of Kent School look endless and it was wonderful to discuss these preferences and choices with parents and pupils alike. A tricky decision no doubt. 

Huge congratulations go to Arthur D-K (Y8) who became only our second ever recipient of a Celebration Badge to commemorate him gaining 100 Merit points this academic year. Those also being rewarded for their efforts this week, achieving either 25, 50 or 75 Merit points and therefore attending Celebration Snack Break are Tansy-Bela T and Esme W (Year 7), Tildy C, George C, Ethan K and Mercy M (Year 8) and Maggie B, Alex K, Oscar M, Daisy N, Annabel O, Florrie P, Jamie P and Leo T-R (Year 9). They will all receive a prize and a lunch fastpass to miss the queue - well done to all of you!

Mr Wilson

House Drama

The annual House Drama competition will be launched next week!

Mrs Honey will be setting a task in the House Classroom with all the information on it, so watch out for that next week. 

Basic rules are as follows: there are categories for pupils from Years 3 and 4, Years 5 and 6, Years 7 and 8 or Years 9 to 11. Entries can be monologues or duologues (duologues must consist of two pupils from the same House) and the entries must be between 2 and 5 minutes in length. 

The judge will be a professional practitioner working in the industry who will also give a workshop on the day of the finals, which are on Tuesday 6th June at 5pm in the PA Hall. Watch this space for more info!

Jazz success

Congratulations are due this week to three of our GCSE Music pupils who took part in our jazz evening last week. Maddie I, Izzy P and Johnny McM. all sat in with the band and played a standard each. They all sang or played beautifully and it was lovely to watch them step up and partake of this brilliant opportunity. As part of a stretch and challenge programme this was great but as pure entertainment it was the tops!

LAMDA Showcases

Next week we have our LAMDA showcases - a great opportunity for parents to come and see what the LAMDA pupils are preparing for their forthcoming exams.

Each pupil will perform one of their pieces and it is brilliant practice in preparation for the exams. Monday 15th May is for Year 7 and 8 at 6.30pm in the PA Hall and next Thursday 18th MAy is for Years 9-11, also starting at 6.30pm in the PA Hall. It is also a great chance for parents to meet our lovely LAMDA teachers Mr Forrester and Miss Elder. See you there!

Mr Rye

ISA Senior London South Athletics  Regional Qualifier

On Tuesday 31 pupils travelled to Bromley to compete in the ISA Senior London South Athletics Regional Qualifier. It was great to see all the pupils apply themselves fully in their events competing against other schools. Everyone performed very well and should be proud of the distance or time they recorded. Congratulations to Rose S, Oscar H, Emily B, Rufus B, Isaac P and Ollie K as they all qualified to represent London South at the ISA Athletics Nationals Finals in Birmingham. 

Mr Green

Girls' Cricket: U12 v. Farlington

On Wednesday the U12 girls braved the sporadic rain and headed out to play a game of cricket against Farlington School. We were up to bat first and were off to a flying start with Izzy N scoring 8 runs in the first two overs. Poppy F and Sascha H were up next scoring 11 runs between them! 4s were being scored all over the place with Holly R, Tansy T and Esme W all scoring 4 runs. We ended our batting overs on 288 runs, a massive total to beat! Moving on to bowling and the consistency of the balls was great. Erin C came through in the last over with 2 wickets to allow us to win the game! Fielding was very thought out with the girls working well together to prevent the other team getting runs with Molly F and Isla W making some great stops and preventing 4s from being made! The girls played great together, and I’m glad the weather held out!

Miss Arnold

Girls' Cricket: U10/11 A’s v. Pennthorpe

On Wednesday, the U10/11As ventured to Pennthorpe for what turned out to be a sunny afternoon despite some ominous clouds! Rebekah S stepped up to captain for this match and chose for us to field first. Our first bowlers were Lola C, Rebekah S and Nora H. Despite the Pennthorpe batting pair getting a few 4s, we warmed up quickly and Rebekah managed to get a wicket. Nora's bowling also showed great speed and accuracy. Grace M then bowled first to the next batting pair, quickly getting a wicket and keeping their runs for that over down to 2. Lois M and Jas W also showed consistency and pace with their bowling for the next two overs. Ruby W was up next and had a great over, taking two wickets in just six balls. She also took another wicket in the penultimate over with Pennthorpe's final pair. At the end of their batting, Pennthorpe had reached 165 runs. All to play for! 

Our first batting pair was Lola and Rebekah, who worked well together to build up the runs, and Lola C managed to tap away two 4s and get us off to a good start. Lois M and Grace M were a very well matched pair, both hitting a 4 and getting a total of 8 runs each. Ruby and Jas showed great teamwork in the next pair, reading the game well and cleverly getting lots of single runs, with Jas W also hitting a great 4. Finally, Nora stepped up to bat and showed great pace and coordination, hitting three 4s and a 6. Together with Lola C, they managed to get a brilliant 23 runs for their three overs. Our total came to 161 runs, so we narrowly lost by just 4 runs but it was a great game that really highlighted just how much the girls' have developed both their bowling and batting and understanding of the game. 

Mrs Vermeulen

Girls' Cricket: U10/11 B’s v. Pennthorpe

This Wednesday, the girls U10/11 B team travelled to Pennthrope for an away match. We were first to bat, with Bea T-R and Charlotte C up first and scoring a fantastic 25 runs over 3 overs, followed by Amelie C and Hope who were communicating well and running whenever possible. After our innings we had a total score of 236 and all to play for. The girls took it in turn to bowl, with one over each, giving everybody their opportunity to shine! Penny A and Manon A bowled beautifully, while Millie W, Charlotte C and Holly B worked well together, communicating as a team. Due to the outstanding fielding, their final score was 207, with Holly catching 3 people out! Well done everybody, it was a thrilling watch!

Mrs Turnball

10 Top Tips for Safely Using Smartwatches

Wearable tech is increasingly big business. More than 170 million smartwatches were sold globally in 2022, for example, with Apple biting off the largest chunk of the market (26% - some distance ahead of Samsung, in second with 9%). That's partly because they have more than 21,000 apps available for their devices, allowing users to customise their smartwatch experience.

Both Apple and Samsung’s products, of course, lean towards the higher spec end of the market – usually with price tags to match. Sourcing a less expensive alternative, however, often also means inferior safety features to protect young wearers. That’s just one of the potential hazards highlighted in our guide to smartwatches. In the guide, you'll find tips on a number of potential risks such as location tracking, causing distractions at school and the danger of theft.

Click on the link to find out more information about "10 Top Tips for Safely Using Smartwatches".

Also, Internet Matters is a great website that can help you deal with online issues, give you advice for different age groups, and give you step-by-step guides for setting controls for different devices.

Mr Boden
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Today our Year 11’s have had their final ‘normal’ teaching day at school before starting study leave and embarking on their remaining GCSE examinations. For some this represents the end of a significant (if not all) of their school life. We will miss them and (even if they don’t realise it yet) they will surely miss many elements of their life at The Duke of Kent School.

It’s important that as chapters of our life close and make way for the next exciting chapter, that we make peace with the ending. I would encourage the Year 11’s to go and do those things for the last time, say the things they want to and accept the closing of this page. It is important they feel ready to end and move forward - we hope we have prepared them for that. 

For them and many of our pupils, the prospect of exams is looming. In order to try and manage what can be an anxious time it is important to remember that anxiety is actually our body’s early warning system, designed to protect us.

If we listen to our body’s anxiety rather than shutting it down we can instead embrace some coping, calming behaviours and protect ourselves from those feelings overwhelming us.

Ways to calm this stress and anxiety are:

  • Breathing techniques - 

  • https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/relax-breathing.html

  • Exercising - walking, nature

  • Break from screens

  • Socialising - breaks, school friends

  • Watching a film/reading a book - diversion

  • Self soothing - music, smell, taste, textures, image

For further advice on dealing with exam stress visit https://www.studentminds.org.uk/examstress.html

Mrs Douglas

For all Duke of Kent School Community members carrying a prescribed adrenaline pen for allergies, please be aware of the announcement this week regarding the recall of all Emerade branded adrenaline pens.  See the Allergy UK website for more details (link below).  Mrs Sarjant has notified the parents of any pupils with Emerade pens at school - replacement Epipen or Jext pens should be supplied to school at the earliest opportunity please (but pupils can access our spare Epipens in the meantime).

https://www.allergyuk.org/news/emerade-auto-injector-recall/

Please can parents of pupils in Years 8 and 9 who have given consent for their child to have their second HPV Immunisation at school next Thursday morning (18th May), please ensure their child attends school in a short sleeved shirt, blouse or school games top for ease of access to upper arms.  Please contact Mrs Sarjant by the end of Wednesday if your child needs to attend the immunisation sessions early due to needle phobia: csarjant@dokschool.org.

For parents of pupils attending the various residential trips this summer, please be aware that medications will only be administered during the trip if we have the appropriate parent medication consent form.  Please be aware medicated creams such as Eumovate also require parental consent.  If your child has commenced a new medication or cream since you submitted the medical form for your child's trip, please contact Mrs Sarjant.  A medication consent form can be found in "The Medical Room" area of the school website.  This particularly applies to Years 5 and 6 with trips coming up soon after the half term break.

Hayfever update: Pollen levels are moderate. Oak is the main tree pollen currently airborne.  There's also a little early season grass pollen and fungal spores; mainly pleospora.  Please can pupils medicate with antihistamine before attending school if relevant!

Well done to Year 6 for having a go at some CPR (basic life support) practice with Mrs Sarjant this week.  A hugely important skill, which I would encourage all parents to familiarise themselves with.  It's always best in a life and death situation to be able to have a go, then to do nothing at all, but as Year 6 will tell you, you MUST check for danger first before putting your own life at risk!

https://www.sja.org.uk/get-advice/first-aid-advice/unresponsive-casualty/how-to-do-cpr-on-an-adult/

This week we have had two un-named salbutamol inhalers handed in to the medical room (unclaimed at the time of writing).  Please ask your child to check they have their inhaler with them if relevant?   All pupils with asthma are asked to carry their inhaler at all times and their inhaler should be named please, so we know who to return it to if it is lost and found.  Thank you!

Have a great weekend everyone,

The School Nurses

PADoK News

PADoK Summer Event - Saturday 17th June 7pm - 11pm

We are incredibly excited to say that you can now book your tickets for the Party in the PADoK!  padok@dokschool.org

Including:

Live music and dancing, Complimentary glass of Pimm’s, Hog Roast and vegetarian opinion and choice of salads, strawberries and cream, dress: festival vibe (glitter a plenty) - prize for best festival look, dancing shoes or wellies a must!

It will be a cashless bar

All for only £35 a ticket

We will begin the evening on the back terrace and lawns so why not bring a picnic blanket and enjoy your meal looking out over the amazing views on a beautiful sunny evening, British weather allowing!!!  We will then head into the PA Hall to dance the night away to the brilliant Accidentals.

Book you tickets at padok@dokschool.org with your child’s name and year group and any dietary requirements please.

Cancellation by 1st June 2023

Second Hand Uniform Shop

Open Wednesday 17th May – 3pm – 4pm

Duke of Kent School Singers – Thursdays 08.20 – 09.00am

As always please do remember that there is never any pressure to perform, no set plan to unless we want to. Our focus is always on enjoying singing and getting the most out of our time together 

Huge thanks to all who come along and make the sessions so much fun. The group is a very fluid mix of past and present parents. Everyone is welcome to join at any time, and we have a WhatsApp group you can dip in and out of as you’d like to. Please feel free to contact me directly if you are interested or have any queries rhodricathy@sky.com.

We would absolutely love to have some male voices coming more regularly. If you’re out there even slightly thinking about it, please come along and give it a go! 

PADoK Core Control: Strengthen your body, Improve Your Health with our Physio-Led Stability Group.

Thank you to Sarah Smith who ran the class last week as Julia was away!

We have some exciting news to share with you! Our core control group is back and stronger than ever! We had some new joiners this week who were eager to get started to resolve back pain issues and some old-timers who are getting refreshed on the foundations of our core muscle group exercises.

We know how busy life can get, so we've made sure to keep things simple and efficient. We've limited the number of exercises we do to ensure that everyone can practice them at home with ease. That way, you can continue to strengthen your core even when you're not in class!

But don't worry, we haven't sacrificed any of the intensity or fun that makes our core control group so great! We've got a ton of exciting exercises planned for next week that will have your abs burning and your core feeling stronger than ever before!

So if you're looking to take your fitness to the next level, come join us at our core control group! We promise you won't regret it!

We would love to see you on a Friday morning 0830-0900 for a quick weekly input!

PADoK Walk

Next walk Friday 26th May, 08.30 Car Park 3, Pitch Hill

We will try to find another date before Friday 26th on another day of the week. 

Everyone welcome.

PADoK Book Club  – The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce

PADoK asked our Reps for their thoughts on what should be this term’s Book Club choice and the majority voted for “The Music Shop” by Rachel Joyce.  It has been described as an unforgettable story of music, loss and hope. Fans of High Fidelity, meet your next quirky love story.  Rachel Joyce has established a reputation for novels that celebrate the dignity and courage of ordinary people and the resilience of the human spirit. . . . But what really elevates The Music Shop is Joyce's detailed knowledge of--and passion for--music.

Even if you are unable to join us when we get together at the end of June to talk about the book in person, we would love it if you read the book and sent in your thoughts for us to share when the Book Club gets together again.

Mrs Phillips

Senior School Optional Hoodie

The Senior School hoodies have redesigned by members of the School Council and the finished product can be seen above.  They have done a fantastic job at putting this design together and now finally getting to see the finished product.

This new hoodie is available from Stevenson's on their website: https://www.stevensons.co.uk/.  There is also the option to have your child's initials printed onto the front of the hoodie for a slight additional cost, something we would advise to avoid mixing up tops with other pupils. This hoodie is not an essential item of School uniform, so there is no expectation for pupils to have it.

If you wish to see the sample, please pop into the Main Office to see me and have a look at the new hoodie.

Mrs Woolgar
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School Social Media

At Duke of Kent School we have three social media platforms; Instagram (dukeofkentschool), Twitter (@DoKSchool) and Facebook (Duke of Kent School). All of our social media accounts are public.

We recommend following all three accounts to receive push notifications with news, updates, educational articles, interactions with other schools, communities and public figures.

        

Mrs Woolgar
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