March's Monthly Newsletter

Welcome to Kensington's March newsletter edition of the academic year 2021/22

WELCOME FROM THE HEADMASTER, Mr Duncan Giles

As we approach the end of our second term, I would like to thank all students, parents and teachers for the warm welcome I have received this year at the school.

It is during this time that we begin to look ahead to and plan for September. We are looking at how we may continue to improve for next year, both with work to be done to the school and also potential changes to the curriculum offered. As you will see, we have also included the recent parent survey results in this newsletter and thank you to those who took the time to complete it. The results were very encouraging in all areas although there are some points in which you believe we could do better. We now look at ways as to making sure that is the case and early in the new term we will arrange an information morning for you which will allow us to review the survey together and answer any questions you may have.

I was happy to meet some of you during our two coffee mornings last month. We hope to be able to continue with events like these and the end of term celebrations will be another opportunity for us to get together in an informal environment. Please come and visit our ‘Egg-stravanganza’ on Friday!

A sense of community is essential in any school and welcoming you back through the doors is a priority for us. We have made some changes to the start of the school day and as of Monday 25th April, we invite Junior School parents to accompany their children to their classrooms. The end of the day will remain unchanged for now with teachers bringing students down to the gate.

We hope you all have a well-deserved break this Easter, but remind students in examination classes that this is also the time of year when they must make the most of their final preparations for the GCSE and A Level exams which begin on 9th May. We ask students to avoid the temptation to see the next two weeks as purely a holiday as this time should be put aside for essential revision and preparation for these all important exams. Students will have benefited from the bespoke revision sessions organised by the school and should liaise with their subject teachers in order to make the most of this two week period.

I hope you enjoy this newsletter which has a new shorter format with direct links to our website. Please visit the ‘Latest News’ section of the website to keep up to date with the many activities and events we regularly organise.

On behalf of all the staff at Kensington School, I wish you a very pleasant Easter and look forward to seeing you again next term.

Yours faithfully

Duncan Giles

J1 & J2

Last week the children in J1 and J2 took part in a glass fusion workshop with a specialist from ‘Aventurina’ who visited the school.

On a base made from recycled windows, they stuck on fragments from glass bottles and then decorated with powdered glass of different colours mixed with glue. With these materials they could achieve very different effects.

Students Study Dutch Artist Van Gough

The children in J2 have been learning about Dutch artist Van Gough and have been working within their Art studies to try to reproduce his artwork and style of painting.

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J3

Science

Junior 3 students have been studying the structure of Earth as part of their ‘Rocks and Soils’ topic. Students went on a trip to Caldes de Montbui, a town with numerous hot springs where mineral water comes out of the fountains at a temperature of 74ºC.

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J5

In Spanish, Junior 5 students have been working on ‘Climate Change’ this term. They have talked about what climate change is, its causes and consequences and more importantly, what we can do to reduce it.

Students then produced a poster on the topic which will be displayed around the school as they raise awareness of this most important issue.

Find attached a video with some of their work.

A NOTE FROM THE HEAD OF JUNIOR, Mr Matthew Kelly

Whilst the statistics tell us that we have seen just four sunny days in March this year, spirits have not been dampened in the Junior School and learning and activities have continued with great enthusiasm. Thankfully, this period of rainy weather has coincided with the Junior School weekly assemblies being able to return to the gym, for the first time in two years, which has added to the sense of normality slowly coming back into everyday school life. This has also been reflected by the long awaited return of a large variety of after school activities, with Junior School children now having the opportunity to bake, play frisbee, build lego, play table tennis, make arts and crafts or participate in drama activities after school. These have been extremely popular and we look forward to continuing to expand our range of after school activities on offer in the future.

J1 and J2 have had a particularly creative month in March; they began the month with a joint glass workshop in school, led by 'Aventurina', where they learnt about how to recycle glass and created their own colourful glass plates from tiny pieces of recycled glass. J2 then followed this with a trip to the Van Gogh museum, to see first-hand some of the work and styles they had been studying and replicating in class. J1 have been learning about one of Barcelona’s great artists, Joan Miro, whose sculptures and work can be seen across the city. They had a wonderful trip to the Miro museum on Montjuic, to see some of his work up close.

The Early Years pet topic has been a very exciting one for the children this term and at times it seems Miss Wendy and Miss Jenny have turned the classroom into a wildlife park. The children have been visited by a turtle, two dogs, some goldfish and appropriately, with Easter just around the corner, Mr Voller’s pet bunny rabbits. The children have had a wonderful opportunity to learn about animals and how to look after them.

Further up the school, J3 continued their exploration of all things Roman with a visit to the Caldes de Montbui, experiencing what it would have been like at a Roman bath and even getting a chance to use the thermal waters to wash some dirty laundry; always a useful skill to have! J4, meanwhile, visited the Museu de la Ciència i de la Tècnica in Terrassa, to get an insight into what life was like in the past and how it might compare with life today.

With Easter just around the corner, we look forward to celebrating with a range of fun, creative and charitable activities across the Junior School. As we come to the end of another long and busy term, I would like to take the opportunity to thank all parents for their ongoing and continued support and wish everyone a safe and enjoyable Easter Holidays.

Senior School

F1

Spanish

¿Cómo será mi vida cuando tenga 30 años?

This month Form 1 have been working on the past tense in their Spanish class. They have been learning about how their lives have changed over the years. As a result, they have produced a poster where they have explained how their life was when they were little, and how their life is now.

Students Posters

PSHE

What a beautiful spring day it was for Form 1 to head off into the hills for a morning of outdoor learning!

In keeping with their current PSHE topic "Healthy Lifestyles" students walked the 1.2km to the forests of the Parc de l'Oreneta, after which the fun really began.

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Finalist in ‘4Voices’ Public Speaking Competition

We are delighted to share the news that Form 5 student Teresa has been selected as a finalist in the inaugural ‘4Voices’ public speaking competition. This will be on 30 April 2022. Teresa recorded and submitted a short application video on the theme of 'Making a difference' and was chosen as one of the 12 finalists for this competition from a pool of almost 50 entrants from schools across Spain.

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F5

Geography

The Form 5 geography students undertook fieldwork at Gava sand dunes last Friday. Fieldwork is an important part of the IGCSE geography course and students will be required to answer questions on coastal fieldwork theory and techniques in their final exams. During the day, students collected data beach profiles, longshore drift, sediment variation along a transect as well as conducting wave counts to determine wave types along the beach. This data will then be analysed back in class.

Revision Workshop

During the last two weeks of March all students in Forms 5 and above sat mock exams in the gym. Mock exams are crucial preparation for their up-coming GCSE, AS and A level exams that will start in May. Not only do they give students experience of the actual exam environment, they also give guidance as to what topics the students need to concentrate their revision on in the important weeks before the official exams. To help students prepare for these exams, we organised a Revision and Support Strategies Workshop consisting of three sessions.

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Sixth Form

Geography

Fieldwork is an important part of the IAL Geography course. Assessment of the entire course is based on four examination papers. One of these papers is centred largely on questions based on fieldwork methods and theory

On Friday 4th March, the Lower Sixth Geography students went on a fieldwork excursion in Barcelona. The purpose of the excursion was to investigate the impacts of the ‘Superblock’ scheme implemented in the Poblenou district of Barcelona. They collected data to help them to determine the impact of the scheme on traffic flows and environmental quality in the area. This data included traffic flow counts, carbon dioxide readings, decibel readings, environmental quality survey data, and photographs from various sites within the ‘Superblock’. They then went to another block in the Eixample district of Barcelona and gathered data so that comparisons could be made between the ‘Superblock’ site where traffic is managed and a ´normal´block where traffic is relatively unmanaged. The data collected will be presented and analysed back in class over the next few lessons.

More information on this development scheme from the Barcelona city council can be found at:

https://ajuntament.barcelona.cat/superilles/en

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Biology

A Level and IGCSE biology students enjoyed a day out at Gava Sand Dunes last week on a field trip to study succession and measure abiotic factors. Small groups worked together to investigate the change in vegetation from the youngest to the most established sand dunes using a transect.

They were able to identify species using apps and estimate percentage cover using quadrats. They also used handheld electronic devices to measure factors such as wind speed and humidity. The A Level biologists also studied the change in biomass of the stone pine trees across the dunes and then applied statistical tests to establish a correlation. We enjoyed lunch at a nearby cafe and the rain held off making for a successful and enjoyable way of bringing the specification to life!

Intermediate Maths Challenge

The Intermediate Maths Challenge organised by the United Kingdom Mathematics Trust is aimed at students in Forms 3, 4 and 5. The challenge lasts 1 hour and has 25 questions designed to challenge and test the students’ problem-solving skills.

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Parent Survey 2022

A big thank you to all the parents who took the time to complete this years Parent Survey and for sharing valuable feedback on how we can continue to enhance our school to provide the best educational experience for your child.

We are delighted to share the results with you:

Kensington Parents Coffee Morning

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Next Monthly Newsletter Issue - Friday 29th April

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