Weekly Newsletter Friday 2nd February 2024

 

A year at St Michael's banner

From the Head

Dear Parents,

St Michael’s team spirit has been strongly evident this week as pupils have embraced rehearsals and auditions for our upcoming House Competitions. We look forward to seeing 32 children take part in our House Drama Duologue Finals next Monday which, once again, promises to be a brilliant evening of theatrical talent. Meanwhile, we apologise if you now have a Beatles song stuck in your head as children across Prep and Pre-Prep prepare for our House Music Competition after half term! It has been brilliant to see strong teamwork and ambition in the pupils as they prepare for these exciting events and it is always fantastic to see children working together across the year groups. 

On Monday, 3M were the final class to take part in Rocks Day which was much anticipated following the super reviews from their peers in 3P and 3KD. The pupils got stuck into the activities with our guest Mr Berry, showing lots of enthusiasm and an eagerness to learn as they posed inquisitive questions throughout the day.

On Wednesday, our U13A girls were once again victorious in their netball, dominating the Hazelwood Versatility Tournament. Meanwhile, a team of our U10 boys made us proud at the Tonbridge School Rugby Festival which they thoroughly enjoyed.

We have ended the week with our Year 2 Matball Tournament which was a fantastic event. Thank you to all of the parents who came along to cheer on our teams and of course Mr Davies, our Year 2 teachers and Sports Team for their organisation and umpiring of the event.

Best wishes,

Nik Pears

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From the Head of Pre-Prep

Zerrin Leech

Dear Parents,

This has been the week of coughs and colds so if you have a poorly child, I hope they start to feel better soon. Please rest assured that we wrap the children up well at playtime and insist that children wear their coats. We are trying our best to oversee handwashing on a very regular basis and we are coaching children on how to throw tissues in the bin! If you have given your child Calpol in the morning we really need to know this. No Calpol is administered by us before 12.30 without contacting you first so we can ensure we are not over-medicating a child. Please keep your child at home if they are unwell.

I am sure you are all becoming familiar with the words of Yellow Submarine. This is our song for our House Music competition which will be judged on Thursday 29th February. It is an internal event and not one we are inviting parents to watch. However, there will be photos. Pre-Prep haven’t joined in with Prep for a Music competition for several years so it should be fun.

Next week is a four-day week for the children as Friday 9th February is an inset day for staff.

On Thursday 8th February we will all be able to wear our “own clothes” for a donation to MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières) who help with lifesaving medical care around the world. This is all except Year 1 children, who will be able to dress up as pirates for the day as they celebrate all the work they have been doing on pirates this half term.

Overheard in Pre-Prep:

Teacher: "It is raining so you will need to wear your coat."

Child: "It's ok, I can handle the rain!"

Have a lovely weekend,

Zerrin Leech

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St Michael's Challenge launch

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Following the launch of the 2023/24 St Michael’s Challenge in assembly this week, it is now time for Years 3 to 6 to get thinking about which topic they will pick for their presentation. The aim is for a confident presentation (that will be timed, no more than 5 minutes) so children should choose something they are interested in.

The first mentor session is on Monday 5th February where teachers and the Year 7 and 8 mentors will help with planning their idea. For those who might need an idea or a suggestion, please head to our website (linked below) where you can find five suggestions to get you thinking!

If you have any questions after Monday’s mentor session, please let you child’s mentor or Mrs S Clarke know. We can’t wait to see what the children present on.

Please click here to view the launch letter and suggested topics

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House Drama Duologue Competition 2024 Finalists 

We were delighted to see so many Prep children taking part in the Inter-House Drama Duologue Competition heats this week. Please find below a link of the Finalists who we look forward to seeing perform on Monday 5th February at 6pm (drinks served from 5.45pm).

Junior Finalists 

Dover: Evelyn and Saskia: The Little Princess 

Rochester: Jacob and Matthew: Peter Pan 

Leeds: Erin and Theia: Winnie The Pooh 

Windsor: Teddy and Sofia: Hedgehog and Hare 

Rochester: Ellie and Marianne: The Witches 

Dover: Isla and Elodie: The Glass Slipper 

 

Senior Finalists 

Windsor: Iris and Scarlett: The Ugly Sisters 

Leeds: Hugo and Tara: Great Expectations

Windsor: Florence and Matilda: The Tempest 

Dover: Isabel E and Sophie: Romeo and Juliet 

Leeds: Clara and Sophie: The Dumb Waiter  

Rochester: Belinda and Georgia: Romeo and Juliet 

Rochester: Isabelle D and Isla: The Parent Trap 

Windsor: Jack and Emile: The Exam 

Dover: Maggie and Anouk: Light Burns Blue 

Leeds: Amelia Rose and Rayaan: Danny-King of the Basement Flat 

Guest judge announced!

We are excited to welcome our guest this year; bringing experience in yet another performing arts field to St Michael's to judge the competition.

Alex Hogg

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Alexandra Hogg is a British-French actress who has worked extensively specialising as a voice actress and puppeteer, with much experience in children’s television and radio in the UK and France. She played some of the female Voice Trumpets in the original series of Teletubbies and was puppeteer and voice actress for the character of Tilly in Rosie and Jim/ Tots TV which aired on CITV and CBBC in the 1990s. She was a lead vocalist with the swing band, The Fabulous Swinging Chandeliers and runs a specialist actors’ casting agency.

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Online Safety Day 2024

National Online Safety

On Tuesday 6th February we will be joining schools and youth organisations across the UK in celebrating Safer Internet Day 2024. 

Safer Internet Day is a global campaign to promote the safe and responsible use of technology, which calls on young people, parents, carers, teachers, social workers, law enforcement, companies, policymakers and more, to help to create a better internet. This year the campaign will be focusing on change online, this includes covering:

  • Young people’s perspectives on new and emerging technology
  • Using the internet to make change for the better
  • The changes young people want to see online
  • The things that can influence and change the way young people think, feel and act online and offline

Using the internet safely and positively is a key message that we promote at St Michael’s and celebrating Safer Internet Day is a great opportunity for us to re-emphasise the online safety messages we deliver throughout the year. 

We would be delighted if you could join us in celebrating the day by continuing the conversation at home. To help you with this, the UK Safer Internet Centre have created some free activities and information for parents and carers which are available at: saferinternet.org.uk/SID-parents

Whether you have five minutes to start a conversation or more time to spare, there are top tips, quizzes and films which you can use at home with your child.

If you would like further information, have any concerns or questions about keeping your child safe online, please remember to visit the Online Safety section of our school website. Don’t forget, if you have a serious concern at any time, the Online Safety page contains the CEOP report button. This will take you directly to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre with just one click, where you can receive the help you need.

Mr Baird (Designated Safeguarding Lead) and Mrs Robertson (Head of Computing)

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World Book Day in Prep: Thursday 7th March

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The joy of books and reading will be at the heart of our World Book Day celebrations in the Prep School on Thursday 7th March. Children in the Prep School will not be asked to dress up. However, if they would like to get their creative juices flowing, they are invited to enter our World Book Day wooden spoon competition, in which they need to create a favourite character from a book out of a wooden spoon and craft materials. There will be two categories: Junior (Years 3, 4 and 5) and Senior (Years 6, 7 and 8). Book tokens will be awarded to the winning entries. Wooden spoons should be given to Mrs Yarrow in the library or to Mrs Andrade. The deadline is Wednesday 6th March. 

There will be a whole host of book-related activities taking place on the day itself.

Happy reading!

The English Department

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Whole School Charity Day – Thursday 8th February

Globe illustration

Our next scheduled Charity Day on the last day before half term will be in support of MSF (Medecin sans Frontiere/ Doctors without Borders). 

This organisation continues to support the civilian population at the centre of the conflict in Gaza. They remain impartial, having offered assistance to hospitals in Israel to treat mass casualties (the offer was declined) and continuing to operate in hospitals and health centres located in and around Gaza itself, treating Palestinian civilians. 

The work carried out is dangerous and three doctors have lost their lives working for MSF in Gaza since the start of the conflict. 

A link to the MSF charity website page regarding the conflict can be found here.

For all the children at St Michael’s, the charity day will consist of a ‘home clothes’ day (not for Year 1 as they will already be in costume for the day), with the children bringing in a donation. A guide for any donations is £2. This should be given to the Form Teacher in morning registration. 

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Staff INSET day reminder

A reminder that the last day of school for the children before the February half term break is next Thursday 8th February 2024. 

Friday 9th February is a staff INSET day and the children should not come in for this. 

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Golden U9As triumph in St Michael's Netball Tournament

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St Michael's held its annual U9 A&B Netball Tournaments on Thursday 25th January; the standard of netball from these 8 and 9 year old girls was outstanding.

Our U9A team played very well in their group games, winning them all with relative ease. They beat Hazelwood 5-1, Derwent Lodge 3-1, Rose Hill 3-1, Sevenoaks Prep 3-1 and Ashford Prep 4-1.

In the Semi-Final they faced Walthamstow Hall. This was a fantastic match with our girls coming out as eventual winners - winning 3-2. This took them onto the Final where they played Hawthorns. Once again, a closely fought match brought out some great skills and a fighting spirit from our girls and they came out as winners of the tournament, winning 4-3. Huge Congratulations to the girls on this great achievement!

Mrs Wade, Sports Coach

U13A netball winning streak

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Congratulations to the U13A netball team who achieved yet another netball victory this week at the Hazelwood Versatility Tournament.

It was a fun afternoon where the girls had to switch round positions on court every time a goal was scored. We played Hawthorns beating them 4-1, Holmewood House winning 6-2, Hazelwood beating them 5-2 and the afternoon culminated in a draw against Sevenoaks Prep 3-3.

The girls had so much fun and enjoyed playing in different positions, trying to shoot a goal when some of them are not used to it!

Well done to everyone on another fantastic success.

Mrs Denton, Head of Girls' Games

Exploring rocks and fossils!

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It was 3M's turn to enjoy an immersive day of rock discovery on Wednesday as the children took part in a range of hands on activities to broaden their understanding of petrology.

Led by the enthusiastic Mr Berry from The Education People, the pupils observed rock particles and learnt challenging vocabulary, as well as making their own volcano and metamorphic rock replicas.

U10s tackle Tonbridge Rugby Festival

Rugby

Photographs by Russell Harper (Tonbridge School)

On Wednesday, our U10A team participated in the Tonbridge Rugby Festival, marking the conclusion of their rugby season. Despite facing limited opportunities to play rugby this year due to weather conditions, the boys performed admirably, showing improvement in every game.

While initially struggling against some larger schools in the early matches, by the third game, they found their stride. They secured a victory against the B team from Dulwich Prep, London, and achieved a heroic draw against the New Beacon A team. The day was filled with great rugby and the boys demonstrated significant improvement. Congratulations to all the players for their outstanding effort and performance. Well done, boys!

Mr Thomas, Head of Boys' Games

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Pictured above: Tonbridge School Headmaster James Priory with two Tonbridge School students (formerly St Michael's) and Year 5 pupil, Nik.

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Rihaan S for beginning to make more effort with his learning activities

Max M for trying hard with his independent writing and having good ideas

Theo A for listening carefully and trying hard in all of our learning activities

Dilly E for working so hard on his reading skills

Sofia B for showing a good understanding of doubling using ladybird spots

Hugo A for using his Phonics to spell words and beginning to use finger spaces

Millie W for impressive reading skills, consistently using expression throughout a piece of text

Luca A for confidently applying his knowledge of number bonds in our Maths lessons

Poppy R for being an excellent role model in our Religious Studies lessons, demonstrating great maturity

Nikita V for consistently working with focus and determination to produce work of a high standard

George P for getting started and then working independently in class

Thomas R for a careful pencil drawing of a pirate ship

Florence J for producing a beautiful timeline about the events in Neil Armstrong’s life

Dylan B for carefully finding change for different items when spending £2

Hugo E for excellent Maths work, using number knowledge when solving money problems

Ethan M for his enthusiasm and sharing of facts when learning about Neil Armstrong

Billy C for working hard in Maths to give change

 

House Point Certificates 

Leeds: Reuben S and Aliénor D 

Windsor: Elise A

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Players of the match - week commencing 29th January

Team 

Name 

Reason 

Rugby

 

 

U13 Senior 1st team

Charlie W

Demi W

Both voted for relentless tackling and running with the ball.

U13 Senior 2nd team

Isaiah V

Scoring three tries.

U11B

Nathaniel O

Lex B

Scoring four tries.

Getting much more involved and scoring his first ever try.

U10A

Whole team

Resilience in their tournament.

U10B

Charlie C

Leo H

Robert M

Scoring three tries.

Great attacking play and great tackling.

Great running with the ball and great tackling.

U10C

Lawson B

Great handling and passing.

U9A

Henry M

Walter M

Scoring three tries.

Dynamic and direct running.

U9B

Cian C

Great all round play.

U9C

Louis L

Excellent running and passing.

U8A

Harry B

Incisive running and determination.

U8B

Matthew D

 

Jack T

Excellent running with the ball and tackling.

Great support play and tackling.

U8C

Albie C

Good running and positive attitude.

U8D

Edward H

Constant running and pressure in attack and defence.

Netball

   

U13 Senior 1st Team

Whole team

Winning the Hazelwood U13A Versatility Tournament.

U13 Senior 2nd Team

Belinda B

Playing well in the tournament and showing some great attacking play.

U11A

Amelia B

Voted by opposition and also for excellent feisty play.

U11B

Amelia N

Olivia G

Voted for by opposition.

100% effort and implementing coaching advice.

U10A

Grace P

Iris L

Voted by opposition.

Good attacking play.

U10B

Sophie N

Voted by opposition.

U10C

Olanna E

Voted for by opposition and for good passing and interceptions.

U9A

Sophia E

Elodie B

Voted for by opposition.

All round great play.

U9B

Louisa R

Voted for by opposition.

U9C

Erin O

Voted for by opposition.

U9D

Aadhya S

Voted for by opposition.

U8A

Saskia E

 

Alice H

Voted by opposition and great attacking play.

Great defending and marking her player.

U8B

Isla P

Ella F

Voted by opposition.

Great spacing and dodging down the court.

U8C

Beatrice B

Charlotte D

Good attacking and two goals.

Good defending.

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Hive

In the Breakfast Club this week children had opportunities to make cheese rarebit crumpets and had fun catching up with one another over card games and table football.

In the Hive, we made cheesy snakes and caterpillars. The children loved making the dough and decorating them with raisins for eyes. They have also continued to make hats using the circular knitting machine, as well as creating lots of wonderful drawings for our competition.

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Adam and Hugo's Canterbury Cup victory!

Canterbury hockey cup victory


Congratulations to Hugo M and Adam J who were part of the Sevenoaks hockey team to win the U10 Canterbury Cup last Sunday 28th February.

Playing against top teams from across Kent, London and Surrey, the Sevenoaks club won 6 games and drew 1, leaving the team in top position by an impressive 6 points for which Adam and Hugo were the top goal scorers.

Well done to the boys and good luck for the upcoming Kent Cup!

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International Club explore the North Downs

International Club

Members of the International Club enjoyed a glorious, sunny walk around Kemsing last Friday.

Thank you to Cheryl Chatwin who led the group on a circular walk. We were treated to lovely weather and beautiful scenery (once we made it up the hill!). We enjoyed drinks and food at a local cafe afterwards. Thanks to everyone who came.

The International Club

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Please click the above banner for notices including:

P & F Carnival Ball 2024 - book now!

St Michael's Cookbook competitions

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Otford Village Fete 2024 programme competition

Copy of Rocks Day collage

Otford Village Fete is delighted to invite St Michael's pupils to take part in their 2024 programme cover competition!

Children are tasked with designing a cover for this year's event programme based on the theme of this year's fete, the union between France and the United Kingdom.

Children of all ages are invited to take part and the winning drawing will take pride of place on the programme. Prizes are available to the winner and runners-up. 

All entries should be submitted to St Michael's Pre-Prep Office or Prep Office by Tuesday 19th March 2024 at 9am

For more details about the competition, please click here. 

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Half Term staff sports camps

Mr Thomas' February Half Term Hockey Camp

Mr Thomas will be holding his Half Term Hockey Camp at Hollybush Hockey Pitch on:

Monday 12th February

Tuesday 13th February

Please click here to book.

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Follow us on social media!

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Make sure you are following St Michael’s social media channels for important updates and content throughout the year.

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