May's Monthly Newsletter
Welcome to Kensington's May newsletter edition of the academic year 2021/22
A NOTE FROM THE HEADMASTER, Mr Duncan Giles
Dear Parents,
The end of term is always an exciting time in schools, whilst you naturally celebrate the achievements of the year gone, you must also plan ahead and prepare for the next academic year.
We have had much to celebrate this past month, mainly the return to normalcy with the summer GCSE and A Level examinations giving students the possibility to showcase their efforts in the usual manner. My thanks to them for their hard work and commitment and to their teachers as well. We have already met with students in Form 3 and Form 5 as they make the all-important choices towards their own GCSEs and A Levels.
Earlier in the month, Kensington welcomed inspectors from the National Association of British Schools in Spain. The inspection cycle has changed and these are now due every four years. I attach a copy of the inspection report for your consideration and am pleased to confirm that the school received full authorisation for four years. The report as you will see is positive, though there are some key development points that we will work to address in the coming year.
The Senior Leadership Team at the school is meeting to implement some of the recommendations within the report and we will share these with you as soon as possible.
June will see a welcome return to the Junior and Senior school summer camps, Junior school performances and the end of year celebration assembly at the Sarria theatre. I look forward to seeing many of you there.
Finally, the school recognised the significance of HM Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee last week. As you know, we were very honoured to welcome her to Kensington in 1988 to formally open the new school building; it was a memorable occasion.
We are delighted to share some photographs of that day with you.
Her Majesty's Platinum Jubilee 2022
As The United Kingdom joins together over the next four days to celebrate Her Majesty's Platinum Jubilee, Kensington School looks back at our own personal connection with HM Queen Elizabeth II.
Junior 1 Students study famous artist, Joan Miró
Junior 1 children have been learning all about the famed artist Joan Miró. He was a painter, sculptor and ceramicist...
J2
Science
Towards the end of last term, the children in Junior 2 students discovered a mysterious egg in the garden. They were not sure what kind of animal might have laid it so they asked Miss Barnes, the Biology teacher, to come and see it...
The Students also took a trip to Cervantes park which was linked to their Science work on animals and their habitats with the aim of the children identifying and classifying a variety of small animals in their micro habitats.
The children observed closely, using magnifying glasses and bug pots and have also been very interested in learning about the life cycle of a variety of "minibeasts".
As of their Science work on living things and their habitats, the children in J2 also had a wonderful day out in the woods of the Collserola Park. They took the bus and then train to the Baixador de Vallvidrera.
After arriving, the children began exploring and using the natural materials that they found to build their own constructions. They found some large "stones" with footprints and leaf prints of the animals and plants that live in the woods, which they identified using photographs.
After visiting the visitor centre to find out more about the inhabitants of the park, the children had a picnic lunch before setting off to find tadpoles at the Font de la Budellera. The children have been learning about the life cycle of the frog and were fascinated to examine the tadpoles' stage of development before returning them safely to the pond.
J5 & J6
Spanish
A Spanish trip was organised for students in Junior 5 and Junior 6 this month to visit the Labyrinth Park in Horta. Here, they were learning about the history of the park and the art sculptures on display and practicing their Spanish language skills through giving directions and descriptions in Spanish.
Junior School Sports Day
Sports day at Kensington school is all about participation and teamwork. Students, parents and staff a like had a wonderful day down at our local sports facility outside in the spring sun.
Not only that, several longstanding school records were broken by current Kensington students.
Congratulations to everyone who took part, thanks go to the teachers and parents for all their support and CONGRATULATIONS to our house winners this academic year!
I was extremely happy about the medals we received as a team. But the best feeling out of everything was sprinting towards the trophy and celebrating with all the members of Middlesex.
Maxton
The end score was an overwhelming victory for MIDDLESEX, congratulations!
I was obviously very excited as a house captain,I spent much time thinking about all the activities. I thought a lot about teamwork to lead my team to the win. The sports day was a rollercoaster of emotions! It was a privilege to be the House Captains of the winning team this year - Go Middlesex!
Sofiya
F4
Spanish
Students in Form 4 have read the book Marina by Carlos Ruiz Zafón and this term they have done the literary route to experience the different places where the action takes place.
Ultimate School League
Kensington School has been participating in the Ultimate Frisbee School League since 2016. This league has grown from having three different tournament days throughout the school year with a handful of teams to five tournament days each school year with over 16 teams and over 140 players between the ages of 10 and 18 years old.
The Ultimate Frisbee School League is organised jointly by the CEEB (Consell de l’Esport Escolar de Barcelona) and the FCDV (Federación Catalana de Disco Volador). Our PE department strongly recommends the sport for its core values. It is a self-refereed game, the spirit of the game is as important as the result and the teams are always mixed gender.
Kensington School teach Ultimate in Junior 5 all the way through the Senior School as part of the curriculum devised by the Head of PE, Mr Vanderhayden.
Scores from the competition are included below, well done everyone who took part!
During the last week of term there are a number of fun activities and trips organised for all classes and on Thursday 23rd June we will celebrate our final assembly.
Check out next month's newsletter on Friday 29th June to see what we have been up to celebrating the end of a fantastic academic year!
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