Dear Parents, We were tremendously proud of all your children today as the whole school gathered in the play-ground to observe the two-minute silence for Remembrance Day. After a special Remembrance assembly, the Juniors joined the Infants and the whole school community as we stood in total still-ness and silence, in concentric circles. We were fortunate to have Miss Pritchard, the trumpet teacher, there to play the Last Post for us, which she did very movingly. It was good also to have one of our governors, Mrs Sue Ouseley, with us to mark the occasion. Earlier on, Miss Pritchard gave a demonstration in assembly of the trumpet, showing the children what a great sound can be made on this instrument. She is offering a few taster sessions so that the children can see if they like it and we are hoping that as many children as possible will take it up. You will be receiving a letter about this. I am delighted to announce that we have appointed Miss Rachel Williams to take Mrs Barnard’s class while she is away on maternity leave from January. Miss Williams is an experienced and tal-ented teacher with whom I have had the pleasure of working previously, at Bute House, and I know that the class will take to her very quickly. She is currently in New Zealand and is already communi-cating very closely with Mrs Barnard and Mrs Morris so that the transition works smoothly all round. We will arrange for a date early next term when parents can also get to know her. Now that the Nursery is back in its proper home, we would like to trial using the front door of the school for all comings and goings apart from pick-up for Nursery Yellow in the afternoon , which is too congested with all the other classes leaving at the same time. Therefore from Monday 14th No-vember Nursery Red should arrive in the morning and leave at lunchtime through the front door. Nursery Yellow should come in at 12.30 through the front door but go home through the back gate. We will see how this works and decide whether or not to make this a permanent arrangement. Please do feed back to me to let me know it is working. A note about the thorny issue of homework. We would like to stress that children should only spend the time allotted for each individual piece of homework. If they have not finished by that time, they should stop and write a note for the teacher making this clear. It is important that the teachers know how much work the children are able to complete in a given time, and we do not want children spending hours and hours each evening working when they also need time to eat, rest and relax. This is important. I know that sometimes children carry on simply because they are enjoying a particular task, and occasionally this is a positive thing, but it is necessary to get the bal-ance right. Thank you for supporting us in this. We had a wonderful day last Sunday at the Royal Albert Hall with Years 5 and 6, taking part in a concert of massed school choirs for Barnardo’s. We spent the whole day in this wonderful venue and had the chance at lunchtime to play with the autumn leaves by the Albert Memorial. The sound produced by this vast number of children was powerful and moving and I hope that the children will always remember their experience of performing on this world-famous stage. They behaved beauti-fully all day and were a real credit to the school. Many thanks to Mrs Mogilner, Mrs Morris, Miss Storrar, Miss Bauman and Miss Sidey for giving up their Sunday to support the children and in par-ticular to Mrs Thompson for preparing them so well. She and Miss Bauman were on stage through-out with the children and demonstrated an impressive hand- jive as well as singing all the songs with them. I wish you all a peaceful weekend. Anne Dobell

Temporary nanny needed over Christmas period. Exact dates are flexible but would ideally be 2-3 full days per week for week starting 12th, 19th December and 2nd January. We are based in Kew and have a 4 year old boy and his little sister who is nearly 2. Please contact Essie on 07960 588 542 if you might be interested. Many thanks in advance, Essie Barnett (mother of George in Nursery Red)

Monday 14th November

Year 1 walking to Kew Village for a Geography Field Trip 9.00am

Tuesday 15th November

Year 2 Outing to the Barbican 8.20am

Wednesday 16th November

Replacement Session for El Club Espanol 3.30—4.30pm

Thursday 17th November

Year 3 Netball A and B Teams v Kew Green Prep Away Year 4 Football A and B Teams v Broomfield

2.00pm 2.00pm

Year 4 French Workshop in the Sedum

Friday 18th November

Year 5 Cake Sale Infant Disco in the Sedum

Parents to collect their children at 2.50pm and then please bring your child to the Sedum.

3.00 – 4.30pm

Saturday 19th November

Junior Disco at the Barn Church 5.00 – 7.00pm

NOTICES

DATES FOR YOUR DIARIES

REVISION MORNING FOR YEAR 6 Please note that Mrs Austin, Mrs Lovell and Mrs Dobell will be offering a special exam revision

morning for Year 6 on Monday 2nd January from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

ALERT TO PARENTS While walking to school this week with their nanny, a couple of children in Year 1 were spoken to

in Cumberland Road by a man who offered them each a tin of Coca-Cola from his rucksack and was

fairly insistent. The drinks were declined and nothing further occurred, but this behaviour could be

considered as inappropriate. The police are aware. I have heard nothing further so far, but it might

be wise to keep your children close by you just in case. We have alerted The Queen’s School of this

and I will of course keep you informed of any further developments.

Friday 18th November Infant Disco in the Sedum 3.00—4.30pm (children to be accompanied by an adult) Saturday 19th November Junior Disco at the Barn, Atwood Avenue 5.00pm—7.00pm (children to be accompanied by an adult)

KINDERGARTEN—YEAR 4 OPEN MORNINGS 8.20—8.40AM

Monday 21st November Year 3 2B and 2M (1st half of the register) Tuesday 22nd November Kindergarten 2B and 2M (2nd half of the register) Wednesday 23rd November Year 4 1B and 1M (1st half of the register)

Extra Lessons for Year 6 finish today Thursday 24th November 1B and 1M (2nd half of the register) Last Fencing, Cookery & Keyboard Ensemble Club Friday 25th November Secret Santa (in school) Swimming Gala v Latymer Years 3—6 at 4.00pm Monday 28th November Last Debating Club Last Junior Choral Club Performance to parents El Club Espanol at 4.10pm Performance to parents Jazz Dance at 4.15pm Tuesday 29th November Last Arts and Craft, Table Tennis, Multi Fit and Computer Clubs Wednesday 30th November Last Games, Little Golfers and Orchestra Clubs Thursday 1st December No Games or Swimming Years 3—6 Christmas treat to a production of ‘The Railway Children’ at Waterloo station. Children leave school at 1pm will return to school at approximately 6.00pm. Please note the late collection

INFANT HOUSE CHRISTMAS SHOWS Friday 2nd December Nursery Red Show at 10.00am (All Shows are in the Sedum) Kindergarten Blue Show in the Sedum at 11.00am Year 1M Show at 12.00pm Kew Sparkle at 5.30pm (please see attached letter)

INFANT HOUSE CHRISTMAS SHOWS Monday 5th December Kindergarten Green Show at 10.00am (All shows are in the Sedum) 1B show at 11.00am Nursery Red at 1.30pm Wednesday 7th December School Carol Service in St Anne’s Church, Kew Green at 6.00pm—children arrive at the church at 5.30pm Thursday 8th December Games as usual, no swimming Infant Christmas Treat in school for Nursery—Year 2 Nursery Yellow End of Term at 3.30pm Friday 9th December 12.15pm End of Term

DATES FOR YOUR DIARIES

Year 6 As part of Year 6 Comprehension work, the children were given a passage from a

Common Entrance paper to read and to devise their own set of questions for a given mark scheme. The questions were truly thought provoking, indicating a good understanding of the original passage. Some of them were worthy of a GCSE paper! The children then an-swered each other’s questions and the consensus of opinion in the class was that Year 6 would make a challenging set of examiners for the Common Entrance English syllabus at 11+. Examples of some of the questions follow:

Discuss the comment, “Humiliation disguised as a privilege.” Consider the words, “Mothball was a starring role,” and discuss using evidence to support your answer.

Well done, Year 6.

On 7th November, the Debating Club explored a rather contentious issue! The motion for the debate was: “This house believes that children should be able to choose their own reading books.” This proved to be an extremely entertaining debate and was very well researched by both teams. On behalf of the motion were the following points:

Children will be more motivated if they can choose books that inspire and in-terest them.

Pupils are responsible enough to choose a challenging book; perhaps in consulta-tion with the teacher. Children should not be forced to read ‘boring’ books that do not capture their imagination; this can switch them off reading and make them reluctant readers.

The following points were made in opposition to the motion: Children could access inappropriate reading material if not vetted by a teacher/responsible adult. Inevitably, some children will select texts that are insufficiently challenging. A wide and rich exposure to the finest children’s literature is essential for literary development; omitting this may leave some children with gaps in their knowl-edge.

The motion was carried by 12 votes to 1. The result certainly provided food for thought; however I will be surprised if we alter our school reading policy! This would certainly be a matter for debate...

Headteacher’s Commendation

Congratulations to the following children, who received the award this week: Freddie W in 3S for thinking before he writes.

Lauren B in 3S for writing extended answers in Comprehension. Joel F in Year 6 for excellent effort in Comprehension.

Katie L in Year 6 for excellent effort in Comprehension.

Well Done!

On Thursday 10th November, Year 5 boys battled a great match against Heathfield House. Heath-field only brought 8 players to the match so all the year 5 boys had to split into two teams, one team played the first half and the other played the second. The game started off with a toss, I was captain and I won it. I chose to let Heathfield begin the match. The formation started as Charles in goal, Graham, Matthew and Sebastian in defence, George, Noah and Robert in midfield and me up front. Mr Flood blew the whistle to start as we were all tense with anticipation - I wasn’t here last year but Heathfield beat Kew College 6-0! Heathfield were knocking the ball around nicely but George made a fantastic interception and passed it down the wing to me. The first promising chance of the game was when Heathfield sent in a flying cross but pushed it wide. Charles kicked the ball downfield, followed by some great passing by Graham and Noah who then nodded it to George. Unfortunately George lost the ball however he got back up and made a brilliant tackle. The tackle ended up in a foul and Charles signalled for a three man-wall. The shooter shot the ball as fast as a bullet and luckily wide. While Robert ran and got the ball, Charles and Graham swapped kit so Graham was now keeper and Charles changed to defender. Just then a powerful cross from one of their wingers flew in a cross and the ball bounced of Robert and into the net. As we believed we were still in the game we retrieved the ball and jogged back to our positions. I passed to George who was ready to battle out the rest of the match. Rapidly, a boy called Noah from Heathfield zoomed into position and made a great tackle, followed by some fancy footwork which ended up in another fantastic goal. We were running out of ideas and energy! As we were 2-0 down, hope wasn’t on our side as soon after their captain scored a screamer as the ball flew past Graham and into the back of the net! The Heathfield net was untouchable as their defence got stronger and stronger, as we were looking for some last minute chances. As Mr Flood blew the final whistle we walked off the pitch, pleased that we had tried our best but disappointed that we lost. Well Done to everyone who played: George, Noah, Graham, Matthew, Charles, Sebastian, Robert and me!

Patrick 5S

Congratulations to our Golden Sentence winners this week!

Year 3: Kiera Uma Sule-Shingadia (3B)

Year 4: Jessica (4L) Benjamin (4L) Amelia (4L)

Year 5: Ruby (5S) Lily (5S) Bella (5L) Jessica (5L)

Year 2: Rosemarie Egelie (2B)

Royal Albert Hall Concert On Sunday 6th November Year 5 and 6 travelled to the Royal Albert Hall. When we arrived a great deal of excitement filled the air! We were going to sing in a concert, with thirty two schools and one thousand two hundred other children! We entered the colossal building and were overwhelmed by the size. We sat down in our seats and a lovely lady called Susannah Edom (our conductor) came on to the extraordi-nary stage, and ran through the songs with us. We added some brilliant actions to some songs and we really enjoyed it. There were some amazing soloists who sang a couple of the songs and we all thought they were fabulous. After we had run through half the songs we all plodded off to our dressing rooms to have lunch. Soon after lunch was finished we headed out of the enormous hall and into Hyde Park to stretch our legs and breathe in some lovely fresh air. We franticly ran around and were reluctant to go back in again. Unfortunately we had to go back inside for more rehearsals. We bounded up the stairs and had soon settled our energetic selves back in our comfy seats. Susannah had soon en-tered the stage again and told us that we would be singing a new song from Grease. After the rehearsal had finished a lady called Jen appeared and announced that we would be wearing black Barnardo’s T –shirts. However, everyone got more jumpy as the show would begin about twenty minutes after we had finished our supper! We changed into our fantas-tic T –shirts, we headed for the stage, filled with excitement, biting our nails at the same time. The parents flooded into the enormous hall attracted by the familiar faces of their children. The nerves hit us, the hall went silent and the spotlight shone on our terrified faces and we began the show. Our voices spread around the hall like an angel’s chorus in heaven. In between songs some beautiful dancers glided gracefully across the shimmering stage. Songs went by and we gradually began to build confidence and it all started to show. After each song finished a lady swept onto the stage. We couldn’t believe our eyes. It was Kirstin O`Brien from CBBC! She travelled round the stage asking various children about their won-derful experience in the Royal Albert Hall that day. The concert went on and on until we were asked to sit down and relax. However while we were, a girl called Florence appeared on the stage. The spotlight settled on her and the crowd fell silent once again. She did some absolutely fantastic opera singing to “You Raise Me Up”, we were all amazed by her high pitched voice and finished the show brilliantly. Feeling great we headed to our dressing rooms for the last time and collected our belongings and sleepily, strolled, proudly back to our parents to go home to our warm beds. Everyone enjoyed the experience and we look forward to sharing it again with year 4. By Lily and Olivia P, 5S

57 Nights

(This refers to the 57 consecutive nights of bombing during the Blitz)

My heart skipped a beat when the siren sounded, I jumped from my bed and dashed down the stairs. Closely following my family into the darkness, To get to the Underground was my only care.

Hunched over against the dusty tunnel wall, My pulse was pounding. My stomach was fluttering. Huddled together in this deep makeshift shelter, Amongst old men snoring and mothers muttering.

In the early hours the sky became quiet. Restlessly we waited for the ‘All Clear’. What destruction had the bombing caused? To lose our home was our greatest fear.

As dawn broke we inspected the damage. Fires blazing, cries from the rubble. Firemen fought to save what remained. Never had I seen the world in so much trouble. Georgina Year 6

Dulce et decorum

Bang! Men fell like dominoes. Many slipped in the sticky, toffee-like mud. They shouted desperately, cursing their opponents. Men and teenagers shivered in the bitter cold. Soldiers turned away from the piercing sound of gunshot. All were screaming through the blinding smoke. One man drove the giant tank with no option. For some it was their last few moments. For others they would hope to survive to the next battle. And how dare we say with such confidence, Dulce et decorum est pro patria Mori. Honor Year 6

The Homecoming

As the screeching train came to a halt Hundreds of happy, gleeful faces came pouring out of the bustling carriages, Eager to see their wonderful families. Shouts of happiness and joy echoed through the crowded station.

I desperately search for my own beloved family. Suddenly I spot some familiar faces, But they seem so different. I do not feel part of my nearest and dearest. My children have grown older and it seems Like I have never met them before.

I still have terrifying nightmares of then I was in the horrific war. It feels like I am reliving it all over again, Those tremendous booms and bangs They felt as if there was an earthquake When they hit the ground. I still don’t know how I will cope. Sebby Year 6

Gas Attack

Rats scurry hurriedly over sore-infested bodies, Waking from violent dreams, reality more dreadful, More petrifying, less comprehensible than any night-mare. Impatient bullets race towards soft flesh, Men wade through the knee-deep stench of murky flood water. Anguished cries ring out. ‘Gas, gas!’ Wafts of pungent pineapple and pepper break free From enemy lines, in an advancing yellow green march. Tight, claustrophobic breaths gasp for clean air, to no avail. Gas relishes death, enveloping and suffocating life. Stricken corpses in agonising postures become an Endless feast for the trench rats. Katie Year 6

Afghanistan Men trapped in the prison of their uniform, The heat becoming unbearable. They slump to the ground, Fainting. Screams ring out as yet another unfortunate Soul is blown up by a roadside bomb, And for what? A brave young man not ready to die, Taken abruptly from this nasty world. For the soldiers this tragedy is just a normal day. How dare the colonel poison their minds, With such a vicious and wicked lie, For your country it is sweet ad fitting to die. Luke Year 6