

Newsletter
1st May 2020

HEADlines
by Justin Chippendale
We’re going to try and keep as many things as routine as possible and our Newsletters fall into that category.
You will see that we have altered it slightly but it still contains a good range of material to give an insight to what is happening out of our eyesight. We are so grateful to parents, guardians and whoever else is supporting the children to access their learning and I know that much of what is happening would not be possible without your input.
We are, consequently, overlapping in each other’s arenas and one parent was having to protect their interests recently as a child was tasked with rooting through the recycling to gather material for a science discussion. The child duly went around gathering items and was seen in a live Teams lessons with their stash on show. After a little while an adult hand appeared from stage left of the screen, took away the champagne bottle that was there and could be heard off-screen saying ‘That’s a full one!’.
In the vast majority of cases, the children remain their usual upbeat, enthusiastic, willing and energetic selves which is such a tonic (not quite time yet!) and a reminder of the carefree fun that children add to the world. I know that one of the collective comments from the staff, in virtually every case, is how wonderfully polite, helpful and responsive the children are. I know from experience that this is not always the case with every child, every time within our own families but as pupils of King’s Hall they are certainly putting their best feet forward in engaging to the best of their ability with their remote learning.
Bravo to everyone, have a good weekend and bon courage for next week’s endeavours – where we end on Thursday with some simple, optional VE Day offerings – more to follow early next week.

This Week in Pre-Prep ...
by Claire Luckhurst
It has been another busy week of ‘remote learning’ in Pre-Prep where we continue to be thrilled with the level of engagement our families are showing. Staff continue to work incredibly hard to respond quickly to all the children are sharing and, after speaking to most families this week, I am aware of how much this is valued. So many parents commented that the children ‘light up’ upon hearing their teacher’s voice. The Pelican Gallery at the end of this week’s newsletter is a mere snapshot of the wonderful work that is being carried out from our youngest 2-year-olds in Nursery through to our OAPs in Year 2! Well done everyone in Pre-Prep!

This week's Thoughts for the Day
The beauty on our doorstep
Mr Watson, Deputy Head Pastoral
Trying something new whilst in lockdown
Mr Thomas, Math Teacher & Y7 Form Tutor

Headmaster's Commendations
in chronological order
22 April - 1st May
Quincy Ching | EAL |
Auggie Cheong | EAL |
Adam Lowery | Art |
Maddie Dorse | Art |
Sid Dorse | Art |
Wilbur Mack | Art |
Molly Steedman | Art |
Jinesh Ashok | Art |
Willow Simpson | Art |
Willow Simpson | Art |
Henry Walter | Art |
William Budge | English |
Zach Vukusic | History |
Jago Barclay | History |
Thomas Watson | Art |
Francesca Lloyd | Art |
Charlie Sidhu | Maths |
Frankie Rifaat-Whitehouse | Maths |
Carter Jobson | English |
Zhiesy Li | English |
Henry Li | English |
Natasha Douglas | Art |
Teddy Ambler | Art |
Felix Bennett | Art |
James Lang | History |
Camille Lefrancois | History |
Martha Jones | Art |
Theo Jones | Art |
Herbert Yu | English |
Theo Hammond | English |
Martha Jones | English |
Wilf Gostling | Geography |
Will Geddes | Maths |
Theo Lamey | Geography |
Tilly Hulme | Geography |
Lizzie Roe | Geography |
Frankie Rifaat-Whitehouse | English |
Isobel Mott | English |
Mabel Rice | English |
Alfie Lovegrove | English |
Alice Lang | English |
Muriel Foster | English |
Matthew Harber | English |
Maurice Speyer | English |
Tilly Hulme | English |
Nick Watson | English |
Mrs McDermott and her tutor group have been having a busy week ...

A Few Words from ... Gus Gompels
This term's Head Boy
Over the
past week, I and my fellow classmates have been starting to get to grips with
online learning. Although we are in unfortunate times, I think a lot of
positivity can be taken from our situation as well. It is true that there is
nothing like having a teacher with you in a classroom to help and guide you,
but online school does give a lot of benefits. For example, writing pieces of
work has never been easier, writing a piece of work on Word, for example, gives
you access to things like grammar and spell checker, you can change font and
colour, you can add pictures and annotations to your work and this gives students a
whole new level of creativity to use to their advantage. Another benefit is that
that creating online work takes no resources like ink or paper, just a few
pixels on a screen and writing is also so much quicker as you are not held back
by things like neatness or an achy hand. Overall, I think that there are a lot
of positives to be taken from the predicament we are in and It is in times like
these that we must look for these positives and use them to our advantage.

Snoops' Diary
by Snoops the Dog

Dear Friends
It seems like a long time since I’ve seen you all but I know you’ve been busy doing your lessons at home.
I’m starting to get used to the online teaching now and I’ve joined in a few lessons. My favourite was the Year 4 Book Club which was all about A Bear Called Paddington. I do think Paddington and I have quite a few things in common.
As you have probably guessed my favourite subject is drama. I know I was prone to a little boasting when I was in the full throws of acting in my part as Toto but a lot of people recognised my talent and overly praised me. This week I have been concentrating on some assignments from Mrs Keirle and I’m hoping she’ll be pleased with my work. I have been adapting parts in great movies so that I am the lead role. Take a look at my role in Paws this week!
See you soon everyone and have a lovely weekend.
Love Snoops x
P.S Did you know it’s my birthday this month?

Our favourite boarding pooch, Snoops, is fast approaching his 3rd birthday!
To celebrate the occasion, we would love for you to send us your photos, videos and birthday wishes for a chance to feature in our special #HappyBirthdaySnoops video. All submissions should be sent to khsnews@kingshalltaunton.co.uk by Monday 18 May 2020.
You may choose to bake a cake, design a card, or create your very own music video; whatever your style, we are sure Snoops will love it!
We look forward to seeing your entries.

Henry creates epic dictionary for favourite fantasy author
Top fantasy author, Ian Livingstone, received a special surprise from one of our pupils earlier this week. Inspired by his favourite book series, Fighting Fantasy, Year 3 pupil Henry D set out to create a dictionary that paid homage to some of Livingston’s most memorable monsters.
Please click here to read more
A Bear Called Paddington
by Michael Bond
On Monday afternoon an enthusiastic group of Year 4 bookworms grabbed their marmalade sandwiches and headed onto Microsoft Teams for our first ever virtual Book Club meeting. Snoops even dropped in with Mrs Willmott to see what was going on! We all chatted about the story, swapped our favourite funny episodes and the children took part in a Paddington-themed quiz. Several book clubbers had spent time creating their own alternative book covers too. Lots of fun was had by all and everyone agreed that A Bear Called Paddington is the perfect lockdown reading!

It is crucial that we keep spirits high over this difficult period. Physical and mental health are so important, so look out for tweets which will give you all some ideas. Keep exercising, keep eating well and look after each other.

Do you Have a Story? Get in Touch!
Has your child achieved something that you'd like to share with us? Email our marketing department: khsnews@kingshalltaunton.co.uk with your news and photos!