April's Monthly Newsletter

A NOTE FROM THE HEADMASTER, Mr Duncan Giles

I am very happy to introduce this newsletter and share with you the many fabulous things our students and teachers are organising.

It is wonderful to see so many activities take place out of school, Barcelona is indeed our classroom too. My father taught me from a young age his admiration for the work of Joan Miró and I was very happy to see J1 students visit his museum as I was to enjoy their own interpretations of his work. To see students of such a young age capture his vitality and use of colour is quite marvellous. My thanks to Miss Linda for leading such a great project.

Kensington School is lucky to have students who are very engaged with a number of worthy causes. The EcoCommittee have been excellent in raising awareness to environmental concerns and to spend a morning with Forms 1, 2 and 3 and help in undertaking a forest clean was a highlight of the term and an experience I hope all involved thoroughly enjoyed.
I would also like to express my thanks to the Charity Committee for leading the fundraising efforts on behalf of 'Save the Children'. over 1000€ was raised through the bake sale and the non-uniform day. The school will match the amount raised and I am proud to confirm that the school and its wider community will pledge a grand total of €2200 to this very important cause.
This term sees the return of the summer public examinations. I know how hard students have been working towards their all important GCSE and A Level exams and I wish them every success. We are confident that their efforts will return their just reward.

Finally, we continue to seek ways to improve our existing facilities and I invite all parents to visit our new Early Years area. The school now boasts a purpose built area for this year group, a new 'garden' area and vastly improved play area for our youngest ones to enjoy. Please note that all parents are welcome into the school for morning drop-off.

Junior School

J1

Junior 1 children have been learning all about the famed artist Joan Miró. He was a painter, sculptor and ceramicist.

He was known for his use of simple shapes, bright colours, and the symbolic meaning of his artworks. His art is often described as being child-like, dream-like, and playful. J1 students have been attempting their own Miró inspired work with spectacular effect in the classroom.

His work is classified as Surrealism. Surrealist artists, such as Miró, Dalí, and Breton, wanted to show our dreams and unconscious thoughts through art, creating unexpected and irrational images.

Miró didn’t like the conventional painting methods, believing they resulted in staid and conservative work. He wanted to make changes to the established ways of creating and thinking about art, and to innovate.

He began making art in his childhood and continued throughout his life, using new styles, materials and ideas into his old age.

Junior 1 students enjoyed a guided tour of the museum and were able to experience first hand the work of the great master. The outdoor space has a number of his sculptures which our students have been able to recreate using plasticine.

Joan Miró was born in Barcelona, Spain in 1893. He died in 1983 at the age of 90 in his adopted city of Palma de Mallorca.

More information on the artist and the museum can be found at: www.fmirobcn.org

J6

Every Easter J6 hold the great Egg Drop competition. Students design and create devices to carry an egg from our school rooftop safely to the ground. The competition is all about science and in particular friction.

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Charity Committee

On Friday 8th April, the Charity Committee hosted an Easter Egg-stravaganza, where various activities took place to celebrate the end of the Spring Term and to raise money for Save the Children International.

Kensington’s bakers were especially busy and our first bake sale in several years was a huge success, with a wide variety of delicious cakes, cookies, muffins and sweet treats being created and enjoyed. Throughout the week, students from Early Years to the Sixth Form also participated in a ‘Guess the Eggs in a Jar’ competition, with winners taking home all the chocolate eggs in the jar.

Students donated money to come in non-school uniform, featuring 'a touch of spring'. Overall, the day was a huge success and the school raised an incredible 1,100€, a figure which has been generously matched by Mr Giles, to bring the grand total up to 2,200€ for out chosen charity, Save The Children International.

Senior School

F2 & F3

Spanish language students in Form 2 and 3 went to the ‘Teatro Catolico de Sants’ to see a dramatisation of Miguel de Cervantes’ “Don Quijote de la Mancha”. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615. It is considered a founding work of Western literature and is often labeled as the first modern novel Don Quixote is also one of the most-translated books in the world.

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Sports Day

In late March the Senior School organised the annual Sports Day. This was held at the excellent facilities the school uses weekly at L'Hospitalet Nord. All students upon arrival at Kensington are placed in one of three houses; Lancaster, Middlesex and Victoria. Throughout the year, the PE department organises a wide range of sporting activities with house points awarded. These are tallied up and a final combined Junior and Senior House champion is announced at the final assembly of the year.

The Senior School sports day naturally contributes to this, but it is also an excellent example of the whole school coming together through sport. Events are varied, from traditional track and field events to fun activities that test skill, strength and endurance. It was very good to see students from all year groups coming together and offering congratulations to a winner or a gently pat on the back in commiseration if the result was not as expected. This sense of camaraderie and fair play is key to our schools success and to see it on display was especially rewarding.

The result on the day was very close, with Victoria only taking the title by the narrowest of margins.

The Final Scores

Eco Committee

Forest Clean up

Kensington School is fortunate to be located near an area of natural beauty, the Collserola park. There are many access routes and the one through the Finestrelles water depository is only a short walk from the school.

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Danish School Visits Kensington

On the 6th of April, the Eco-Committee had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know a group of Danish students from Frederiksborg Gymnasium located in Hillerød, who came to Barcelona to get inspiration for ways to make their school more eco-friendly.

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