Newsletter

19 JANUARY 2024

It was lovely to see the contagious enthusiasm as our pupils returned from the Christmas break. In no time, they seamlessly immersed themselves in lessons, activities, fixtures, and House competitions and not even the freezing temperatures could dampen their spirits. I love the Spring term and as we embark on this second chapter of the school year, we look forward to a broad range of educational activities, engaging lessons, class trips, and extracurricular clubs designed to spark curiosity and foster different interest areas.

We are delighted to extend a variety of parent workshops across all stages, including Pre-Prep Bug Clubs, Phonics & Reading, Look at My Learning, Parents Evenings, BOFA & Maths and Y5 & Y7 Science Practicals,. Please do seize these opportunities to delve deeper into your child's learning journey. The teaching team would be delighted to have you join.

In addition to a packed fixtures and House Competition programme, we eagerly look forward to the Pre-Prep Spring Assembly, the outstanding Year 4 Lion King Play, and the fantastic Year 7 musical "Joseph" at the end of term, always an outstanding collaboration between the Drama and Music departments. On the social calendar, the Friends of Feltonfleet will be organising the School Discos and the annual Feltonfleet Quiz, promising a brilliant evening following the tremendous success of last year

We are excited about the weeks ahead and look forward to sharing more of these wonderful experiences with you. In our start of term assembly I talked about the importance of laughter, highlighting its health benefits including boosting the immune system, how it diffuses frustration and anger and has an incredible ability to create lasting bonds between people and in uniting a community. Charlie Chaplin said ‘A day without laughter is a day wasted”. This term is going to be full to the brim of learning and laughter; what a brilliant combination and a certain recipe for success.

Have a lovely weekend.

We’re very proud to announce that Mrs Jessica Hunte, our Lead for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, has been awarded a Master of Research in Education. Jessica’s final dissertation examined the perceptions of Inclusive Practice among our Feltonfleet Early Years Teachers.

The return to spring term has brought with it some weather that is most definitely recognisable to the Pre-Prep pupils as ‘winter’. In their outdoor discoveries they have marvelled at the icy sculptures created overnight on bushes, benches and in more purposeful compositions such as the Nursery water tray full of frozen gems.

The Christmas Tree that adorned the hall before we broke up was lovingly reinstated in the Forest School and promptly repurposed as a rocket, with calls of ‘Hop on! We’re blasting off to the Moon’!

In Early Years Digital Learning, Reception children have been exploring their own preferences for audio books or paper books, learning to be discerning users of technology for specific purposes of choice.

The Nursery children have been learning to program the Code-a-Pillar with instructions of movement, turns, eating and sleeping. Having each had a turn of coding, they were delighted to see Code-a-Pillar wiggling across the floor.

Year 1 have been developing their understanding of two digit numbers using concrete and pictorial representations of groups of tens and ones. Maths involves practical activities with manipulatives to offer the children opportunities to learn with creativity, cutting and sticking in pairs to create their own representation of numbers in pictures.

Year 2 have presented the models they made as part of their home learning project to create their dream home. Having crafted their models from materials found at home, Year 2 pupils have each taken the floor to present and justify the features of their homes to fellow classmates as their audience.

Focus on english

In English lessons, Year 3 pupils have explored the similarities and differences of myths and legends. They have been enjoying reading a variety of stories and traditional tales, looking closely at key vocabulary which helps distinguish stories into their different genres. Their lessons over the next few weeks will focus on the legend of The Pied Piper, culminating in the pupils writing their own versions. Knowing the imaginations of the pupils, I’m sure we’re in for a treat - perhaps we’ll read about The Vicious Violinist or The Funky Flautist!

With a crash and a smash, the Iron Man arrived at Feltonfleet, making an awful mess all over the Headmistress’ lawn! As an exciting introduction to our new book, the Year 4 pupils were asked to investigate what was on the lawn and predict what might have happened before the title was revealed to them.

The pupils donned their best reporting hats and wrote an article for the local paper, explaining what had happened and even got to interview some members of staff who were eye witnesses!

The Iron Man, by Ted Hughes, will form the basis for this term’s creative English lessons. The pupils will develop their descriptive skills, by rewriting key parts of the story using differing perspectives and alternative endings.

A visit to the chocolate factory

To support Year 4's IPC topic of 'Chocolate', we visited Temper Temper Chocolate Factory this week, to learn more about where chocolate comes from, how it is made, and most importantly, taste test some delicious varieties of chocolate. The pupils made their own florentines and truffles, using milk, dark and white chocolate and a variety of different toppings. They also learnt lots about the 'bean to bar' process, how to grind cocoa beans into cocoa powder and blind taste-tested different chocolates with and without added ingredients. Our Year 4 pupils had a fantastic day and they even brought home a bag of chocolatey goodies, all of which they created themselves in the chocolate factory kitchens. Clearly some of our pupils were born to be chocolatiers! Watch out Willy Wonka!

At the end of the Autumn Term our talented young linguists in Year 4 brought some popular stories to life in French! These videos offer a delightful glimpse into their French project, and showcase their impressive language and story telling skills.

Following their comprehensive iPad Induction Programme, Year 6 pupils have opened their Computational Thinking & Programming curriculum with enthusiasm and creativity. Coding in a text-based programming language (‘Swift’) for the first time, and inspired by the increasing prevalence of Chatbots around us, they considered how to use basic inputs and outputs to structure algorithms designed to create conversational style interaction with their computer …pupils have opened their Computational Thinking & Programming curriculum with enthusiasm and creativity. Coding in a text-based programming language (‘Swift’) for the first time, and inspired by the increasing prevalence of Chatbots around us, they considered how to use basic inputs and outputs to structure algorithms designed to create conversational style interaction with their computer …

This short video offers a taster of their endeavours, showing both their coding and the resulting output. Coding like this was once the early beginnings of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms that are sweeping the global stage today.

For the Computer Scientists reading our newsletter, these foundation projects encompass the first five of our series of Coding Concepts: constants & variables, inputs & outputs, data types, strings & concatenation, conditional statements.

Graham Starkey

Springing into Creativity: A Look Inside the Design and Technology Worksho

As we approach the vibrant season of Spring, our Year 8 students have channelled their creativity to design and make products that encourage wildlife into our gardens, using renowned artists and architects as inspiration.

The students analysed existing products and the works of artists and architects like Monet, van Gogh, Renzo Piano, Zara Hadid and Norman Foster, whilst also consulting ChatGPT for key features to include.

Sketching and designing play a crucial role in shaping these ideas. Using orthographic perspective, the pupils have developed their concepts, envisioning products such as bird boxes, bird feeders, hedgehog houses, toad abodes, and butterfly houses.

Pupils have developed their confidence and competence to use workshop machinery such as the Hegner saw, pillar drill, disc sander, detail sander, and laser cutter.

The deadline is upon us—February half term. This timeline aligns perfectly with the anticipation of Spring, a time when birds begin nesting, and small animals emerge from hibernation.

There is an infectious enthusiasm in the workshop which is always a hive of activity, buzzing with determination as pupils make progress on their projects. We are extremely proud of their progress and achievements.

Beth Day

Ensembles & Choirs

Playing music together isn't just fun; it fosters connection, enhances communication skills, and promotes a sense of community. Research shows that group music-making improves emotional well-being, reduces stress, and boosts overall cognitive function.

We have many ensembles and choirs, who have all started rehearsals this week. See a list below and get in touch if you would like more information: chris.andrews@feltonfleet.co.uk.

Chris Andrews

World Millionaires’ Breakfast

At the end of last term we were delighted to welcome several pupils to the library in the morning to enjoy some hot chocolate and millionaires shortbread in order to celebrate achieving 1 million or more words read. Well done to all involved and we hope to see more children joining the millionaires club at the end of this term.

Francesca Kinghorn & Emma Burnside

Congratulations to Evie G (7JCr), Maxi K (7BDa), Matt K (7BDa), Harry R (7CCo) and Mason W (7BDa)

The trials of Apollo the Hidden Oracle

By Rick Riordan

Are you ready to dive into a world of fantasy adventure and demigods and Greek Gods that have been sent down from Mount Olympus?

Lester Papadopoulos from the outside looks like a normal teenage boy that falls into dumpsets a lot. But on the inside, Lester is Apollo the God sent down from Mount Olympus as a punishment. He has to restore all the Orcales. While doing this he meets his best friend Meg. Meg is actually a demigod and when she is not off saving Apollo’s and running from her evil Stepfather. In this book Apollo finds friendship, an attempt at love and a new found family. I highly recommend reading any of Rick Riordan's books.

Recommended for Years 4 - 8.

BOARDING HOUSE CHRISTMAS PARTY

On the last night before the end of term the boarding house came together to celebrate what had been a fantastic first term. We had a massive 92 boarders attend the party and enjoy the festivities. The evening started with an hour of activities before an epic meal of fried chicken, pigs in blankets, chips and BBQ beans all followed up by chocolate brownies. A huge thank you to our catering team for putting together such a fantastic spread. We then had our traditional Kangaroo court, all the pupils got into the spirit of fun in this event and justice was doled out as the court saw fit! We then split into groups for the Christmas Grab, where each pupil went home with a small gift from the boarding house. Another big thank you to Matron Karen for sourcing and wrapping 100 gifts for this event, no mean feat! We then finished with a movie before bed. It was an incredible evening and seeing our boarders so happy and together was very special.

Year 5 and 6 Trial Night

We are hosting a Year 5 and 6 boarding trial night on Monday, January 22nd. There are still a few spaces left for those who may wish to give boarding a try. If this may be of interest, please do get in touch via email over the weekend on james.thompson@feltonfleet.co.uk.

UPPER SCHOOL SKI TRIP TO ALPENDORF 2023

This December saw the much-anticipated return to Alpendorf for the Upper School ski trip. The weather conditions were perfect, meaning the pupils made brilliant progress in their skiing and enjoyed every second of being in the picturesque Austrian Alps. All pupils made it up the mountain every day, displaying a strong sense of commitment and resilience in what was an action-packed week. In addition to the skiing, pupils and staff also enjoyed cricket in the sports hall, trampolining, bowling and fantastic quiz night.

girls’ sport round up

The beginning of the netball season has been marked by enthusiasm, teamwork, and bitterly cold weather. All year groups have actively participated in fixtures, showcasing their dedication and skills on the netball court. The matches have been characterised by numerous goals, reflecting the girls’ commitment and hard work. It's evident that the girls are not only enjoying the sport but are also making impressive progress both as individuals and as teams. The season is off to a promising start!

On Saturday 13th January the U11A team were hosted by Danes Hill at their hotly contested netball tournament. In particularly cold conditions, with only two training sessions under their belt the girls took to the court to face some of Surrey’s best teams. In all they played five tough matches, showing improvement every time they took to the court. A big well done to the girls.

Ben Baldwin

BOYS’ SPORT update

It’s been awesome to have all the boys back on the Rugby fields this term. Even with the cold weather, we’ve seen some well fought fixtures with our U8s, U11s and our rescheduled Upper School House Matches.

Our U8s travelled to Downsend for some TAG rugby, which saw our B team come out triumphant, and our A & C teams giving maximum effort in such harsh weather conditions. Also against Downsend, we host the U11s on the first day of the new term. Their boys had the benefit of returning back to school a week earlier and were up to speed. All the boys played with passion and a great attitude, which saw our D team the only victors. Speaking to staff, it was clear that the Feltonfleet boys gave their all and played with a real determination and I know they will bounce back at the next opportunity.

Saturday 13th saw our Upper School come in to compete in the House Rugby competition. It was a brilliant morning played in great spirits, despite the cold. It saw the Tigers take the top prize! This will be added to the scores from the Lower School and Middle School, the overall winner will be announced in Assembly and points will be totalled into the overall House Competition.

Andrew Rishton

Our Science Lab was full of excited parents, ready to learn some of the science skills their children experience. We shared with the Year 5 Parents, a typical Science Lesson. The emphasis on both content and practical skills is crucial for fostering a deeper understanding of science.

It was fantastic to have the engagement of the Year 5 parents enjoying a practical science lesson at Feltonfleet School! The parents carried out a number of practicals. We continue to build on the practical experimental value of Feltonfleet School. The chemistry question was ‘How do we separate rock salt?’ Exploring separation techniques for rock salt and using Bunsen burners adds a hands-on dimension to the learning experience.

It is great to build on this initiative to strengthen the connection between parents and the science education journey.

Julia Crowe

Mrs Lance set the children a challenge to tackle over Christmas, which was to write a ‘recipe’ for a happy, peaceful or exciting new year. The response has been phenomenal!

The children’s ingredients ranged from 2x Zara shopping sprees to a palmful of love; 1kg of sunshine to 80g courage; lots of cuddles to 2 mugs of respect. Methods involved setting up a ‘fairy catch’, jumping into a rainbow, eating gingerbread men, bringing joy to others who need it, and endless calls with friends. From the mouths of babes often come gems of wisdom.

Below are a few of the entries that truly inspired us. Thank you to all the children who took the time to contribute their ideas.

Pre-Prep

Emilia I (Y1 Beach) for her increasing confidence in assembly

Middle School

Monty C (5HMr) for his positive outlook and for showing great kindness to his friends

Lower School

George Q (4MSm) for being a fantastic role model to his peers and embodying the school's four core values.

Upper School

Louie M (8DHi) for being so positive and friendly in all his interactions and for always being able to put a smile on someone's face!

We’re celebrating Charlie WP this week, who has joined the England U15s Football Camp! Huge congratulations from all of us at Feltonfleet!

Please send your news, or any feedback, to ​marketing@feltonfleet.co.uk.