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A Message from Mrs Knox

Together, we have navigated an interesting final term but we are so proud of the whole school community for showing such resilience, hard work and sense of togetherness. Parents, pupils and staff have risen beautifully to the challenge with such positivity and an ongoing ‘can do’ attitude. To our Year 11 parents and pupils, this is not a final farewell. We will join together next year to celebrate our wonderful Year 11 pupils and acknowledge their time at the School.

We were so pleased this week to join Camilla Phillips, incoming Chair of PADoK, Sarah Smith and Claire Read to say farewell to Sarah Trotman, PADoK Chair, extraordinaire. Sarah has been a truly inspirational Chair and we thank her so much for her dedication and time as well as her enormous enthusiasm supporting our parents, pupils and our School. Thank you Sarah. We will miss you.

Thank you so, so much for the number of kind emails and cards we have received this week and of course, the incredible “thank you” banner from the parents and pupils.

It is now time for a well-earned Summer break. School resumes for all pupils on the 3rd September and we look forward to welcoming 36 new children and their families into the Duke of Kent School community. See you then.

Mrs Knox

Year 6 Final Assembly

Year 6 produced a wonderful performance in their Final Assembly, live streamed to their parents, on Wednesday morning. They began by thanking their teachers, and handed out some awards, too - most notably the Mary Poppins Award for Mr Herbert and the Man vs Predator Award for Mr Allen. They then each spoke about another member of Year 6, and until Wednesday morning, none of the pupils knew who was going to be saying something about them. It was heart-warming to hear the recognition of each others' achievements,  skills and personalities, and examples of how the pupils have inspired each other. Parents had their say too, providing lovely testimonials for their own child which - if the children's own words hadn't already - caused many a tear to well up, at home and in school!

Pupil achievements were further celebrated with the award of subject prizes, and they were each presented with a parting gift of two books, highlighting the theme of empathy - something all of the Year 6s have shown towards each other this year. After Mrs Knox paid tribute to the children and wished them well with some wise words as they head to Senior School, the children performed the leaving song that they wrote themselves. Well done, Year 6, you will be missed in Prep School next year, but you have certainly left us with many memories - including yesterday's assembly - to cherish.

Here is a link to the Year 6 Final assembly :

https://youtu.be/7dtlOAgC7Is

Mr Wright and Mr Ellarby


Virtual Sports Day

On Monday we very much enjoyed hosting our first Virtual Sports Day. This was a very different event to the one that usually takes place. However, this did not hinder the enjoyment , enthusiasm and sheer determination that the pupils (and staff) displayed. So many pupils were involved; almost all of the Prep School took part either at school or at home, over 80% of Years 7 and 8 and we had multiple entries from Years 9-11! 

Miss Vickers’s found talking for two hours on the live stream surprisingly easy and so many staff helped with the scoring or recording results. It was fantastic to see the photos and videos that were sent in from everyone.

The scores were very close throughout and the final results were as follows:


1st -Armstrong
2nd -Hillary
3rd - Chichester
4th - Whittle


Congratulations to Armstrong and well done to everyone that took part.

On behalf of Mr Green, Miss Vickers and myself, I would like not only to thank everyone for their contributions on Sports Day but also for all of the brilliant work that you have done throughout the Summer term. We wish you all a fantastic holiday and look forward to seeing you in September.

Here's a montage of video clips submitted for our Virtual Sports Day. Click the link below:

https://youtu.be/eeDfiQ_whmA

Mr Herbert

House Photography Winners

With a scramble of last minute entries, this years Duke of Kent School Photographer of the Year competition was up in the air until the very last moment! But here are the results.....drum roll.... 

 

In first place for the Senior School is Maddie I. with her innovative take on the selfie. Runners up are Kai G and Violetta P who both take an, innovative, experimental approach to photographic composition.

In first place for the Prep School is Tom who's action shot takes the idea of the portrait photograph in a fascinating direction. Runners up are Will M and Freddie P who really captured the contemplative side of their recent nature walks. 

Congratulations to all our winners and runners up and a huge well done to all those who entered. As our guest judge Giles Duley said in his message to you all; 'every photograph is important'. 

This year we opened the competition up to staff as well as students. The winner in the Staff category is Miss Vernon with a ridiculously cute shot of her cat! Well done Miss V!

This summer, whether you are having a vacation or a staycation, keep finding interest in the world around you, keep allowing people and places to inspire you and, most of all, KEEP TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS!

You can see all the photographs taken by clicking the link below:

https://www.dukeofkentschool.org.uk/photo-gallery?pid=3&gcatid=2&albumid=31

        Mr Watson

Duke of Kent School's Got Talent

Our House Talent Competition proved to be a popular and closely fought event, with a wide range of talents on display. We had tricks with pets, impressions, comedy, magic, singing, animation and more!

Judges Miss Vernon, Mrs Hopwood and Mrs Monk had a tricky job separating the entries and there were only a couple of points in it between first and second in both Senior and Prep school.

However, two winners were chosen and they are:

In the Prep School, Levi L with his wonderful stop-motion film called ' A Sunday Drive' and in the Senior School, Maddie I with her brilliant cover version of Jessie Ware's song 'Alone'. Both these videos can be seen in the Final Assembly which was emailed to parents yesterday.

Well done to all the pupils who sent in their entries. I suspect this may well become an annual event!

Mr Rye

Prep and Pre-prep News   

Our final week of term has seemed as busy as any other, and an especially important one for our Year 6s, who had their final week in Prep School, and our Year 2s, who had their last lessons in Pre-prep. Year 6 celebrated with a Final Assembly, which you can read more about, below, and Year 2 were invited to afternoon tea with Mrs Knox to acknowledge their achievements and say farewell to those pupils leaving Duke of Kent; we wish them all the very best. We've also enjoyed having Year 3 back in School, and Miss Nott has been delighted to see them return with such enthusiasm for their learning, even after such a busy and tiring term. And so to a well-earned rest, for all of our Pre-prep and Prep pupils and their families - have a fantastic summer and we look forward to seeing you again in September!

Value awards for this week are:

Effort - Vir O'R and Quentin J

Mr Wright

Performing Arts News

Wow, what a term it has been! We have managed to keep the Performing Arts going despite not being able to actually perform anywhere! We are all so proud of the pupils and the way they have risen to the challenge so a huge thank you to them, and of course to you for your ongoing support.

The version of 'Three Little Birds' that we have managed to put together is a wonderful thing and if you did not see it today on the Speech Day video then I highly recommend you watch it. A YouTube link will also be emailed out to all parents today.

The last Performing Arts event of term was the release of our third school album, recorded across the last two years and all done here at school (and some at home this term!). It features ensembles and soloists from across the Prep and Senior school and is a lovely listening experience.

It can be downloaded from here and we suggest a donation to the charity we are supporting this term 'Music for All'. 

https://www.dukeofkentschool.org.uk/news/?pid=5&nid=4&storyid=50

Duke of Kent School Album Volume III

www.dukeofkentschool.org.uk

And finally, the last Fizz T.V video is out now!! This week we meet the magical Fizzy Unicorn....a disco diva who loves to groove.

https://youtu.be/xnjahg0bW3Q

Fizzy Unicorn

The last member of Fizzland we meet today is of course the magical Fizzy Unicorn. No one knows how old she is or what her name is but boy can she sing and da...

youtu.be

Have a lovely Summer.

Mr Rye 

E-Safety Tips

As we come to the end of another year I want to revisit a topic that is always a hot issue: screen time and how technology can affect our mental and physical health.  While the lockdowns and restrictions have not made the issue any easier, it is worth remembering that technology can also be a force for positive change and help. I'm sure many of us have seen the trend of online exercises classes growing like never before, and using the Internet as a form of escapism has helped many of us cope with staying indoors all day.

Thankfully, there is also a wide variety of apps and devices out there that we can use to make our devices a bit more like productive tools and less like social media machines.  Below, I will include a few links to pages outlining useful apps for measuring sleep and mental and physical health that should be hopefully be useful to many of you as we enter the summer break.

That's it from me as this is also my last e-safety bulletin at Duke of Kent.  I have enjoyed informing you all about e-safety and technology issues and I hope you have found my posts helpful and informative.  Have a safe and enjoyable summer!

Here are the links:

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/jul/04/struggling-for-shut-eye-in-lockdown-sleep-tracking-devices-may-help

https://www.nhs.uk/apps-library/category/mental-health/

https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/best-health-apps/

 

Thanks for reading! 

Mr-Win-Pe

Pause for Thought

As we come to the end of a very unusual term it is with happy memories that I move on. I move on to concentrate on Parish Ministry with a view to having my own church to serve in the future.

The three years that I have spent as your School Chaplain has been a huge blessing to me and I have learnt so much.

I will miss you all but carry you with me in my heart.

With every blessing

Rev Kia

PADoK News

It has been a very strange term for PADoK but we hope you have been able to stay in contact with each via one of the many Zoom parent get togethers.

My last job of the year and my last job as PADoK Chairlady is to announce the winners of this terms 100 club draw


1st prize - £225

The parents of Henry and Eva P, Year 7 and Year 10

2nd prize - £135

The parents of Alessandro P, Year 7

3rd prize - £90

The parents of Harry A, Year 7


Thank you so much for having me as your PTA Chairlady. I wish Camilla Phillips all the best of luck when she takes over in September.


Sarah Trotman

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We're looking forward to our virtual Speech Day taking place at 2pm today. It will be an opportunity to reflect on the year, hear from our Head Boy and Head Girl, Mrs Knox and our Chairman of Governors #SpeechDay2020 #EndOfTerm #TheDoKWay #DoKLife #School https://t.co/snkYBa67YM
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Whittle are officially this year's House winners Congratulations to the whole of Whittle! #DoK #HousePoints #EndOfYear https://t.co/ZMCqA9SoxK
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