Newsletter

At the start of the week, my point in assembly was to make sure that the children use their eyes and ears to the full when in lessons - basically concentrate! The active process of focus through our senses leading to absorption of information for future recall. I didn’t position it that way!   I put some close-up pictures of landmarks, food and sports equipment on the screen as well as playing some everyday sounds for identification.  It was good fun, I did relate it to the fact they must have retained that knowledge through eyes and ears and hopefully helped them see the significance in a playful way.

I then headed over to meet the Head of North Town Primary school, he’s a fun chap and was certainly upbeat despite expecting a visit from the Inspectors any week. As I made my way to the main office entrance I walked by a group of Early Years children splashing around and came relatively close to a good spraying myself - they naturally thought it very funny.

Tuesday evening saw more fun, and a good deal of apposite nervousness, as a huge number of talented children gave lovely age and stage performances at the Lent Concert.  Such a wonderful range to behold, all under Mr DJ’s benevolent guidance and founded on good, honest commitment and practice from the children. There’s a reward as a spectator on at least two levels at such events: the musical treat, obviously, but also the joy of seeing the sense of increasing achievement internally realised by each child.

There is more music fun to be had at the end of this term with the energetic House Music competition for all Prep children. I hope you have the morning of the 24^th March locked away in your diaries and will join us at 10am for a toe-tapping, bouncy way to head into the Easter break.

Yesterday morning I had fun in Nursery 2, subitising numbers and sounding rhyming words – a good test for them at their age. Fun abounded last night at the Friends of King’s Hall quiz where adults also had a proper test for their age.  Lots of giggles, the usual frustration at near misses, the odd family disagreement, the delight of getting a difficult question correct, some questionable sit-down dancing to the music round and overall a brilliant shared evening of laughs and geniality. Huge thanks to the team for their background work and to the Chief Pelican for collating questions and compèring with his usual amiable aplomb.

Whilst writing about the Friends, the main purpose is to provide some social opportunities to meet under the banner of King’s, such as last night.  Alongside that, some funds might be raised either for an external charity or to support a ‘nice to have’ addition to the school itself.  On this subject, I don’t know if you’ve ever visited the Enhancing King’s page on our website where there are opportunities to support such items if they take your fancy.  Here’s the link – Enhancing King’s. Equally, if there’s something you don’t see there but wish to support then come and see me - don’t be shy!

Final ‘fun’ for Friday is to say have a fabulous week over the half term break. Please make sure the children get some rest as well as relaxing and having plenty of carefree laughs: tiredness is a key contributor to illness, poor mood and inefficiency – definitely NOT fun!

Despite what felt like a very long January (was it really only 31 days long?) this half-term seems to have whizzed by and we find ourselves at the half-term point for this Lent term.  It has been another busy one with my personal highlight having been watching the children perform in their respective class assemblies; I am very much looking forward to the final one of the ‘assembly season’ just before we break up for Easter from Nursery.  I am predicting highlights for next half-term to be our STEM week, World Book Day and, of course, the Great Pre-Prep Pancake Day Race!

If you require day prep provision for your child after half term please book them in using the link below. The booking form will close at 9.15 am on Monday 20th February; if you need to make a late booking or make any changes after this time please let us know by emailing SchoolOffice@kingshalltaunton.co.uk.   

If your child uses School transport and you need to make any changes next week please email Transport@kingshalltaunton.co.uk to let us know.

Hello,

I hope you all have had a brilliant half term and ready for a small break. This half term I really enjoyed playing hockey with the B team, we are getting better overall as a team. Another highlight was going on the geography field trip to Holford river, my favourite bit was measuring the velocity of the river with a rubber duck.

This half term break, I am going skiing with my family and cousins and I am very excited. We are going to La Tania in France which means I can practise my French and eat croissants and baguettes.

Next half term some Year 8 have their 13+ scholarship exams this is including academic, art, drama, sport, music, performing arts and DT. Good luck to everybody who is taking part in these exams.

Even before this year’s Taunton Festival had come to an end, the Lent Concert arrived with hardly a moment to regroup! Providing an opportunity for some performers to repeat their well-prepared Festival offerings and for others to give first airings of pieces, the 100+ minute concert featuring roughly 60 children highlighted the very best of King’s Hall and nearly more than 30 pieces were performed. Among the many excellent solos were terrific ensemble offerings from the Orchestra, String Group and Senior Choir, and the evening was enjoyed enormously by a supportive, packed audience. Everyone involved should be congratulated on their terrific contributions. 

The full programme for the concert can be found below

Over the last couple of weeks, a number of pupils have taken part in this year’s Taunton Music Festival. The children acquitted themselves wonderfully and received universally positive feedback from the adjudicators. Standout performances came from Thomas McH who came second in two of his piano classes, Amelia L who came second in two of her piano classes, Henry T who won the Beginner Strings class, and Nathan M who won the Beginner Woodwind class. 

Well done to everyone who took part! 

The Pupil Council invite you to get involved on Thursday 23rd March for a suggested donation of £2 or more if you wish the children will be able to wear home clothes to school for the day in support of the amazing work the RSPCA provide. Make a difference to animals housed locally at West Hatch Animal Centre. Here are a few photos of some of the animals currently at the centre.

Please click below to see this week's sporting updates via our King's Hall Sport Twitter feed.

The pistol shooting team from King's Hall have had a very busy but productive week.

On Tuesday Tabitha and William Thompson along with Jessica Miller represented Kings Hall at the National Schools pistol shooting finals in the junior age group (Years 6-8).The competition was held at Cannock. The team represented the South West region after qualifying in first place at the qualifier. There were 60 competitors from all over the UK, including teams from Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Kings Hall team shot extremely well with Jess finishing 6^th (qualifying for the final shoot out) Will 16^th and Tabitha 26^th, meaning the team won the overall competition beating the next team by an amazing 19 points.

Jess then shot in the final shoot off between the top 8 in the first round. She shot brilliantly showing real composure under extreme pressure. She finished a very commendable 4^th overall.

A brilliant time was had by all and let’s hope we can take a bigger team next year to defend the trophy.

It is at this time in the year when I start planning the sailing program for the Summer Term.  If you have a child in Year 5 –8 that you think would like to sail each Wednesday, please could you contact me as soon as possible. The cost of each session is usually £15 to £20 ahead depending on numbers.  There is no previous experience necessary as the children are taught by RYA qualified instructors during the term your children will receive qualifications as they reach the appropriate standards. Places are limited so if you would like to find out more information and sign up please do email me.

For ages 10-14

10:00am - 3:00pm

Run at King's College, the Flourish hockey camps are for those hockey players who want to take their hockey to the next level and have a focused attitude towards doing so. 

The course will be led by England Hockey Level 4 and Great Britain Advanced Coach Programme qualified coaches with a wealth of experience in the talent pathway. All staff have an enhanced DBS check and hold first aid qualifications. The camp will focus on each individual player. They will be supported through various sessions focusing on pitch-based technical and tactical scenarios. 

Players will be encouraged to develop their own action plan going forward. You will need to bring your own packed lunch, snacks and plenty to drink. You will also need to bring appropriate clothing for the weather: indoor shoes, your own sticks, shin pads and gum shields (compulsory). Goalkeepers will also need to bring their own kit.

For Children aged 8 - 15. This exciting new residential camp at King's College is designed to help players develop their skills and techniques in a broad range of sporting activities, whilst having fun and making new friends in a safe and supportive environment. Over three days, children will gain access to a team of experienced coaches and have the chance to explore some of our wonderful facilities, including the state-of-the-art Sports Performance & Cricket Centre, netball and tennis dome, as well as sprawling sports pitches. 

To register or find out more visit the website www.kings-taunton.co.uk/events or email or phone Admissions - 01823 328204

A leaflet containing more information is available by clicking the link below