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A message from Mrs Knox
 The school has been extremely busy this week starting with our very successful Open Morning where we welcomed over 35 families to the school. As usual, parents were extremely complimentary about the tour guides and really enjoyed seeing the school in action. They particularly commented on our warm community and vibrant learning environment.
Years 7, 8 and 9 are to be commended on the House debating competition where they confidently debated a wide range of topics. The pupil who passionately debated in favour of teachers not being replaced by AI certainly won me over!! The Pre-prep and Prep LAMDA showcase yesterday was simply super with pupils demonstrating confidence and impressive performance skills. It was wonderful to see so many smiling faces as they shared their poems and short scenes with such enthusiasm.
Finally, we said a sad farewell today to Miss Walpole after 25½ years at our School. She has been such a dedicated and inspiring member of our school community, leaving a lasting impact on generations of pupils and colleagues alike. We wish her every happiness in the next chapter of her life. Have a super half term break.
Mrs Knox
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House Debating
 What a fantastic day we had on Wednesday 11th February, listening to all the incredible motions in our House Debating Competition. Under the adjudication of Mrs Tuite, Miss Allsop, Mrs Knox and Mr Wright, the Houses in Year 7, 8 and 9 persuaded, pondered and perfected their arguments, much to the awe of the audience. A special thank you must go to George Swiffen and Will Marshall who stepped in at the last moment to represent their House due to one of their team members being unable to participate.The winning Houses were as follows: Year 7 Hawk ( Andoni S, Rowan B and Layla B), with their motion: ‘Is living in the countryside better than the city?’; Year 8, Hawk (Halle S, Ben B and Jasmine W), their motion being: ‘Should homework be abolished?’ and finally Year 9, Buzzard (Henry S, Leo B and George R) arguing whether the freedom of the press is a positive or negative attribute to society. Huge congratulations to the winning Houses and to everyone who took part.
Mrs Punter
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Year 5 Assembly
 This week, Year 5G led a thoughtful assembly on the theme of spring — a season of renewal, growth and fresh starts. The students reflected on how spring encourages us to pause, consider our progress and set realistic, achievable targets, both in school and at home. They reminded us that meaningful change happens gradually, through small and steady steps. The assembly also celebrated the signs of spring in the natural world, highlighting local wildlife and the important role each species plays in a healthy ecosystem. Pupils shared ways our school will support nature after the half-term break, including planting pollinator-friendly bulbs and enhancing habitats around the grounds.
The presentation concluded with an engaging spring quiz, enjoyed enthusiastically by all. A fitting end to a positive and inspiring start to the season.
Mr Gritton
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It's been a highly creative week across Prep and Pre-prep, with Year 6 leading the way. In Art, they made some superb pinchpot monsters from clay - ready to be glazed soon - and, in Drama, they devised scenes using non-naturalistic devices such as freeze frames and placards. Reception pupils, too, showed real artistic flair inspired by their studies of Australia; they made aboriginal style animal paintings, traditional soda bread known as 'damper', and then rewarded themselves with a tasting as they listened to the dream-time tale of Tiddalik.
Year 5 showed off their own story-writing skills, completing their retelling of Rose Blanche's life and in Music they finished off their time in the Punjab region, perfecting their chaal rhythms and their bethke, dhamaal and bedi dance moves - just in time for our very colourful disco! In Science, Year 6 analysed the impact of temperature on the speed of dissolving, whilst the Year 3s had great fun finding out how far a wooden block could be propelled by an elastic band - a decidedly controlled experiment, Mrs Lock assures me!
I'd like to end with two notes of thanks. Firstly, to our fantastic pupils who were so welcoming towards our many visiting families on Open Morning, and secondly to Miss Walpole. Yours has been quite the contribution to our special community, Lisa, and we wish you every happiness in the future.
Values Certificates: Effort for Max L, Mila S and Alaska
Reading Certificates: Bronze for Georgia Car, Charlotte L, Max L and Henry P; Gold for Greg O, Harry S and Elodie Y; and Platinum for Harry S
Stars of the Week:
Nursery: Hector N for displaying great focus and motivation throughout the day and with maths and phonics in particular. Well done
Reception: George R-K for super effort and determination in reading.
Year 1: Angus T for his kindness around the classroom towards his friends and staff.
Year 2: Roman N for developing careful and thoughtful writing skills, with neat letters and correct punctuation.
Mr Wright
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The Senior School has enjoyed a lively and successful week, with pupils taking part in a wide range of activities and celebrating many achievements.
On Tuesday, we were delighted to welcome prospective families to our Open Morning. Visitors had the chance to experience our school in action, guided by our excellent Senior School tour guides. They represented the school superbly, and we received extremely positive feedback from parents, who were impressed by the confidence, enthusiasm, and pride shown by our pupils.
Wednesday saw the much anticipated House Debating Competition between Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9 take place. It was a closely fought and engaging event, with pupils presenting thoughtful, persuasive arguments and speaking with confidence. All participants should be congratulated for the respectful and supportive atmosphere they created throughout the competition.
Alongside these events, pupils have continued to demonstrate outstanding commitment to their learning and to one another, earning a remarkable number of merit points for their effort, kindness, and positive attitude in lessons.
Congratulations to the following pupils who have achieved the next milestone of 25 merit points: Ivan K, Henry S, George S, Charlotte C, Knysna G, Caleb M, Henry O'B, Wolf R, Lewis S, Henry M, Ben O, Theo C, Jack M, Lucy P, Jack P, Francesca R.
Special recognition goes to those who have reached over 100 merit points and received their badges: Charlie B and Eva W
A huge well done to those that have reached over 200 merit points: Halle S, Jenson P, Henry S and Henry R
An exceptional congratulations is also extended to Benedict L who has passed the 300 point mark and have been awarded his well deserved recognition badge.
Mr Wyllie
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 This week in school we marked Children’s Mental Health week with a Wellbeing Day on Monday. Pupils attended an assembly considering the importance of finding ‘a place to belong’ whether that is a physical location, certain people or an activity that they feel accepted, welcome and safe.
During the morning, pupils from 3-9 took part in a range of activities including, making playlists, yoga, mindful art activities, lego building, orienteering and nature walks and rocket making. Years 10 and 11 had the opportunity to join rock painting, yoga, origami, board games and mindful colouring during their lunch break. Many pupils also joined in decorating our window-filled link with glass pens whilst considering - ‘Where do I feel is my place to belong?’ and ‘What helps me feel a sense of belonging?’ - brightening up the space on these currently grey days.
Pupils thoroughly enjoyed their activities and I have already had requests for time to engage in them again!
 On Tuesday, I took 6 of our Year 9 Peer Mentors to a Young Pastoral Leaders event at Seaford college. The pupils had a fantastic opportunity to hear about the mentoring programmes in other schools, create inter school teams where they built towers and created a ‘Dragon’s Den’ style pitch for their ultimate peer mentoring initiative (money no object)!
The pupils were a credit to the school and all presented well to the large assembled audience. They enjoyed learning more about the Emotional Freedom Technique (tapping) and particularly enjoyed the fidget toys and teddies they were gifted!
Mrs Douglas
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 On Thursday afternoon, all pupils in Years 3 and 4 took part in their annual House Hockey Tournament. The weather stayed dry, allowing us to enjoy a wonderful afternoon of hockey. Pupils played a series of small-sided matches (four or five a side), with the Duke and Kent tournaments taking place simultaneously on quarter-sized pitches on Wilsons’ Pitch.
As always, it was fantastic to see the teamwork and positivity shown by all teams. It was particularly pleasing to see the progress made throughout the afternoon, with pupils making excellent tackles and beginning to link their passes together with greater consistency.
Well done to everyone involved! The final standings were: 1st Hawk, 2nd Kestrel, 3rd Peregrine and 4th Buzzard.
Mrs Monk
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Top tips for Parents & Educators: VPNs
With more young people turning to VPNs to mask their online activity, it’s vital that parents and educators understand both the benefits and the risks. While VPNs can improve privacy on public Wi-Fi, they can also be misused by young people to sidestep safety filters and access harmful or age-inappropriate content.
This week’s guide explains the dangers of untrustworthy providers, malware threats, and the false sense of security that VPNs may give children. It also shares top tips – from checking devices to having open conversations – so adults can guide safe and responsible online behaviour.
Click the link to learn more about "VPNs".
Mr Monk
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After half term year 10 pupils will be engaging in some PSHE lessons with Mrs Sarjant, Mr Herbert and Mr Wilson about cancer. A reminder that as a school we have a strong association with Sarcoma UK. Please follow this link; all donations are much appreciated! - https://sarcoma.org.uk/
Thank you to those of you who have returned residential trip forms for years 4, 9, 10 and 11. Please can any outstanding forms be sent in by the end of the half term holiday. Other year groups will be receiving forms after half term.
The School Nurses
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PADoK News
PLEASE SAVE THE DATE – Friday 12th June – Hurtwood Polo Club
PADoK is gearing up for a one-night-only Summer Party to celebrate 50 years of Duke of Kent School. Expect big energy, great food, and a night worth dressing up for.
Live music from The Accidentals and delicious food from Man with a Pan.
or.
If you would like to reserve your tickets email padok@dokschool.org with your child’s name and year group.
PADoK Clubs:
PADoK Meeting – Tuesday 24th February – 08.30 – 10am
We will be holding our second meeting of the Spring Term, please do come along if you are interested in getting involved in PADoK or simply to see what it is all about. You are most welcome.
Second-hand Uniform Shop
Open on Wednesday 25th February from 3pm – 4pm.
Duke of Kent School Singers – Thursday 08.20 – 09.00
Our next singing session will be Tuesday 3rd March. We think we have chosen a song to work on. Next Tuesday with Cathy, Come sing with us and discover how much fun singing can be!
When: Every other Tuesday from 08:20 to 09:00 & every other Thursday from 08.20 to 09.00
Where: Meetings Room off Old Hall. Contact Cathy Williams -padok@dokschool.org
PADoK Book Club – Meet up on World Book Day
We have chosen a new book “Before the coffee gets cold” by Toshikazu Kawaguch Before the Coffee Gets Cold is a 2015 novel by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. It tells the story of a café in Tokyo that allows its customers to travel back in time, as long as they return before their coffee gets cold.
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Empowering Her Exhibition
Duke of Kent School families are invited to a special viewing of Duke of Kent School's very own parent, Caroline de Peyrecave’s exhibition. Please see @cdepeyrecave_portraits for more details and RSVP to caroline@carolinedepeyrecave.co.uk to receive more info.
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Senior School optional hoodie
The Senior School hoodies have been redesigned by members of the School Council and the finished product can be seen below. 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 and have a look.
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School social media
At Duke of Kent School we have three social media platforms; Instagram (dukeofkentschool), Facebook (Duke of Kent School) and TikTok (DoKSchool). 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.
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