NewsletterSummer Term 2014

‘…..individual success for every child…..’Taken from The Mead School

Mission Statement

The Mead School

Dear Parents

We have enjoyed a longer Summer Term than many schools and as I reflectand review the last 11 weeks, I am absolutely delighted for so much hashappened that it is proving almost impossible to do it all justice within thesepages.

INSPECTION – 17 – 20 JUNE 2014We are hugely looking forward to sharing our report withthe world but particularly with you, our parent body. I amhoping this will happen within six weeks of the inspection,ie. 1 August. Until that time I am unable to share thejudgements but suffice to say that I and all the staff havebroad grins, the inspectors were bowled over by yourchildren (indeed Year 1 hijacked the Reporting Inspector’smeeting with them) and one fabulous phrase “promoting aspirit of enquiry’ was cited - most importantly 100% ofMead children recorded that they like school! Nothingelse matters.

ACADEMIC NEWSThe final destinations of our leavers are on the website together with the Year6 Sats’ results. We are incredibly proud of everyone of these children whohave completed their Mead journey and will, I know, now go on to forgeexciting new futures at a plethora of secondary schools. We look forward tohearing their news and future successes.

INSPECTIONSFor interest – I have been asked to chair the ISA’s(Independent Schools Association’s) InspectionCommittee as from September and to sit on the ISI(Independent Schools Inspectorate) Board. Withall the current press and pressure surrounding ISIand Ofsted I suspect there are some interestingtimes ahead!

BUCKINGHAM PALACEAs a final ‘hoorah’ to my three years asan Honorary Officer for ISA, I was absolutelythrilled to receive a gilt-edge invitation to theQueen’s Garden Party on 10 June. (The invite stillsits on my mantelpiece despite the event beingpast!) It was an incredible occasion, a hugehonour and highlit by meeting a Mead Parent –Stewart McIlwham on the lawn!

MANDARINThank you to those parents who attended the Mandarinmeeting last month. Marcus Reoch of ‘Dragons in Europe’gave an inspirational presentation and introduced our newteach Fen Burley (Yáng láoshí). An hour later we were allinspired and excited for the children as they start theirMandarin lessons in September. There will also be anopportunity for a weekly adult lesson. Please let Elizabeth inthe Office know if you are interested.

FRENCHWe are delighted to welcome Stéphane Carnoy to The Mead family inSeptember. Stéphane has been teaching at St Andrews International Schoolin Malawi and is now returning to England with his family. We look forward tohis enthusiasm and energy! He is also a trained chef – an interestingcombination!

WRAPAROUND CAREWe have become increasingly aware that wraparound care for our youngestpupils (Kindergarten and Reception) is becoming increasingly important andvaluable. As from September we will be ensuring our Early Years children areable to be in school seamlessly from 7.45 am to 6.00 pm with EYFS staff.Please contact Elizabeth for further details.

CUPSWe display our Prizegiving cups together with photographs of prize winners inthe display cabinet on the downstairs landing. We would like to remind thisyear’s winners that we would like all cups/silverware returned to us engravedin September, together with a named photograph of the current winner inorder that we can display them. This way the whole school is able toappreciate the different accolades to which they will be able to aspire in thefuture.

READING LISTSEach Key Stage 2 Teacher for the next academic year (Year 3 to Year 6 nextterm) has devised a reading list for their class, a copy of which you should findin your envelope. We cannot over stress the value of keeping the readingroutine going throughout the holiday and we are confident that every child willfind something on the list which will appeal to them. We do rely on yourcommitment and encouragement in this so please help us to help yourchildren. Should your child really enjoy a book which is not on the list pleasetell the class teacher as these lists are constantly evolving.

SPONSORED FAMILY CYCLE RIDE/PUSH IN AID OF THE ROYALNATIONAL CHILDREN’S FOUNDATIONCalling all children, parents, grandparents, dogs, relatives, friends!

This will take place on Sunday 28 September along the ‘Forest Way’ fromGroombridge to Forest Row. Please see the enclosed letter and sponsorshipform for further details.

UNIFORMWe are very proud of our uniform which looks smart whilst also beingpractical. Please be aware of the details within the list and ensure allnecessary items are purchased through DJ Uniforms. This includesBoys' trousers, shirts /blouses and girls' hair scrunchies / bands. Pleasealso ensure every item is also clearly and permanently named.

Legionnaire CapsWe are well aware that these are too small for many of our Key Stage Twopupils. DJ uniforms are on the case.

PC VERNON BARKER TALKSAs part of our PHSE (Personal, Social and Health Education) we haveorganised talks to raise the children’s awareness of issues such as ‘strangerdanger’, bullying, drugs, etc. This year PC Vernon Barker, Safer SchoolsPartnership Co-ordinator visited The Mead to talk to Years 2 to 6.

The School Council have had another busy term.The first mission, as always, was to explore the school and report any newmaintenance issues. The Council’s main concerns were the missing ropeladder in the Mead Lodge, holes in the fence and the lunchtime balls beingpumped up. Some actions were of coursetaken immediately and a few have beennoted and presented to management.We now have new containers on theplayground and also new equipment inthem. As always, some items have beenlost over the last few weeks but thecouncil have done a fantastic jobsupervising the use of equipment andensuring it is returned at the end of eachbreak.

The Council have also reminded each year group of the school ‘Indoor Rules’.They took a copy around each class, asking them to agree and sign thedocument, which was then laminated and displayed in every classroom.Their final mission will be to help supervise a ‘Netball challenge’ during theTeddy Bears’ Picnic.

I have had a great team this year and I hope that next year can equal or bettertheir performance.

Thank you. The School Council

This year the school signed up to an exciting project. It is based around theseabird colony on Burhou, looking back towards Alderney. The project followsthe seabird season with two live webcams from the heart of the colony. On thewebcams you are able to see Puffins, different species of Gull and the oddrabbit or two hopping about.

The project also runs an exciting cross curricular education project. This offersschools the opportunity to bring the fascinating life of the puffin live into theirclassrooms. I have been presenting weekly updates in assembly looking atthe island and the progress of the puffins. We have found out somefascinating facts about puffins, gulls and also the rare blonde hedgehog thatlive on the island.

We have also been able to post our questions to ecologists working on theisland itself through a school blog. It was very exciting to see our questionsanswered by real experts.

We had unfortunately not seen too much action on the web cams untilrecently. This is due to the fact that the eggs have only recently hatched. Thepuffins are now busy bringing sand eels back to their pufflings in the burrows.The ecologists on the island have so far confirmed that twelve of the burrowshave chicks in.

I would encourage you to have a look at the website over the summer periodas we are breaking up just as things are getting interesting.

http://burhou.livingislands.co.uk/ Username: mead1Password: plumage435

Thank you, John Agnew

READ ALL ABOUT IT!!

This has been an incredibly positive term within ourschool libraries. I have been thrilled to see the levelsof determination and gusto shown by so many of theschool librarians to do the best they can within theremit of their role.

I would like to say a huge thank you to the adultlibrarians who have tirelessly given up their time tooperate the Fiction library at lunchtimes in order thatpupils can browse and share books from our extensivelibrary.

I am tremendously looking forward to repainting theFiction Library at the start of the Summer holiday. Allthe entries to the mural and library design competitionhave been proudly displayed on the library notice

board (situated outside the music room.)

The final design has not yet been decided upon and so I am unable toannounce who will see their work up on the walls of the library but please dowatch this space!

Isobel Feaver

I.S.A. ART COMPETITIONIt was on an extremely hot afternoon, the 11th June, when a few of the staffset off for the annual ISA Art Competition. This year the hosts were Gad’s HillSchool who boast, among many things, that the old part of their school wasonce home to Charles Dickens!

There seem to be more and more entries each year especially KS1 and KS23D work and, as usual, the standard was breathtaking.

We were absolutely thrilled therefore with the following results:

Sophie Ovenden: Highly Commended for her beautiful church.Joshua Davies: 2nd place for his Batik parrot picture.Joshua Davies: 2nd place for his photograph of a bird of preyYear 6: 2nd place for their Lino print wallhanging.

Well done to everyone whose work was taken. You may not all have beenplaced this year, but your work definitely drew some very positive comments.

Thank you Mrs. Ovenden for driving us. It was great fun arguing with your SatNav!!

Debbie Latty, Art Dept.

WORLD CUP CARD/STICKER SWAPThis term saw the excitement of the World Cup arrive at school (not onlyin Mr Agnew's classroom). Many children took part in the card andsticker swap sessions in the outdoor classroom. All children enjoyed thisopportunity to exchange swaps with their friends and increase theircollection. I look forward to doing it again in four years time!

GREEN TEAMAs always the Green Team have been working tirelessly to organise the paperrecycling and food waste at the Mead. We'll be back in September with ournewly elected team to encourage you all to Walk to School, Switch Off onSundays and recycle unwanted clothes!

Thanks for your continued support,

The Green Team

SENSATIONAL SCIENCEOn Tuesday 13th May Mr and Mrs Wood returned to The Mead and delivereda Sensational Science Show! This year the theme was ‘Incredible Machines.’

We discussed many concepts includinghow ‘The Ancient Greeks’ almostinvented the steam engine, how objectscan roll uphill and why objects travellingat a certain angle show mathematicalpatterns. We were all left completelypuzzled as to how the tap on stage waspouring out water when it was clearlynot attached to anything and was onlysuspended by string!

As normal the children were completelyengaged and amazed throughout the showand we are looking forward to more of thesame next year.

Mead Maths Whizzers!

This term has once again seen a very large number of Mead pupils work veryhard and with such dedication on their Maths Whizz accounts; it is always ajoy to see the confidence and ability of individual pupils blossom as a result ofnot only the excellent mathematics they receive at the Mead but also as aresult of regular usage of this online programme!

This term also saw the launch of the exciting design a toy / pet for the MathsWhizz shop; the winner of this would have their design made into a ‘real’ pet,ready for sale during the Summer holidays in the Whizz Shop. The WhizzProfessor and I were incredibly impressed with everyone’s entries andalthough he would have had a tough decision to select the final winner I would

like to say congratulations once again to Woody Robertson. His design, of askateboarding parrot was chosen by the Professor and I am certainly lookingforward to seeing this in the Whizz Shop over the break!

I have really enjoyed giving out the gold, silver and bronze certificates eachweek to every year group! Please do encourage your children to keep up theirweekly usage on Maths Whizz over the long holiday as this will keep theirMathematical confidence ticking over until the start of a fresh new academicyear in September.

Should you have any queries or questions regarding Maths Whizz over theSummer break, please email me on ifeaver@themeadschool.co.uk or contactMaths Whizz directly via their website http://www.whizz.com.

Isobel Feaver

FRENCHDuring the Summer Term in French we have been learning about food. Theolder students have worked really hard creating their own menus. The hungrycaterpillar story in French was really interesting. Listening to how Frenchchildren read it made this easier for us to recognise and to pronounce newwords and terms. The youngest children have learnt about colours and thedays of the week. All of us have had a lot of fun doing role plays, singing andplaying games like bingo to help us understand and remember all the newvocabulary we have seen.

One of the highlights in French this term has been the French Day with ourpain au chocolat sale raising money for WaterAid. We learnt and played aFrench game called “petanque” in the field and we all enjoyed a lovely mealcooked by our amazing catering team.

It has been an honour for me to teach each one of your children. I am reallyproud of the confidence they have shown and the progress they have made.

Mademoiselle

PERFORMING ARTS - DRAMA AND DANCEWe started this term by throwing ourselves into rehearsals for ‘Pepys’ Show’and the children have been FANTASTIC! Year 6 have taken on the main rolesand I have been delighted with the enthusiasm and hard work they haveshown. They have really worked as a team and truly been a joy to work withand I shall miss them next year.

LAMDAAfter a very long wait we were finally able to celebrate a fantastic set ofLAMDA results. 30 children were entered and the results were 11 Distinctionsand 19 Merits. Special mention must go to the following who receivedexceptionally high marks: Sam Tavares who gained 92% for his Grade 1 SoloActing exam and Alfie Johnson who gained 91% for his Grade 3 solo Acting.Well done everyone.

Following on from the exams we welcomed the parents to the outsideclassroom for Year 3 and 4 and the dining room for Years 5 and 6 to enjoy anextract of what the children had performed in their exams. The childrenperformed their exam pieces with incredible confidence and were also for thefirst time able to show other work that they had been doing during theirlessons.

If you wish your child to start LAMDA lessons in September then please letme know. My school e mail is: thall@themeadschool.co.uk.

MODERN AND TAPThe Mead’s first ever Modern andtap exam session took place onTuesday 1st July and we welcomedMrs Fletcher to the school. 29children were entered from Year 1 –Year 6 in Primary Modern, PrimaryTap, Grade 1 Modern and Grade 2Modern. The children looked greatand approached their exam withtrue professionalism. Well done!

SUMMER FAYREFor the first time The Mead Dancers all had the opportunity to perform in theSummer Fayre which the children did brilliantly. Unfortunately we weren’t ableto show any tap due to the grass but we saw some beautiful ballet fromReception, Year 1 and 2 which was led brilliantly by Miss Emily. We were thenshown a snippet from Primary Modern, Primary Tap (in bare feet!), Grade 1Modern and Grade 2 Modern. The Year 6 Jazz students entertained us withtheir Great Gatsby number and we welcomed back past pupil Mia Biggs toperform for us.

PANTO SUCCESS!Six boys from The Mead were entered into the Pantomime audition this year.Peter Pan will be running all over the Christmas period at The Assembly HallTheatre in Tunbridge Wells. 60 boys from various stage schools and agencieshad been invited to audition. For five of our boys this was their first everprofessional audition and they were up against boys who have been doing itall their lives! The producers were looking for two teams of eight boys to takeon the roles of ‘Lost Boys’ and John and Michael. After reading for theproducers, (and quite a lot of sitting around! ) our boys were finally called in tobe told they had all been offered roles! I’m not sure who was more excited, meor them! Sam Tavares, Jo Price, Xavier Lake and Alex Maltby will beperforming as the lost boys. Tom Price was offered the role of Michael andAlfie Johnson the role of John. We will be doing a school trip at the end ofnext term to support the boys and to get us all into the festive mood!Congratulations boys – I’m very proud of you all.

BALLETMiss Emily has continued her fantastic Jazz and Ballet lessons this term.Parents were warmly welcomed on Monday 30th June to the ‘open’ session tosee the lovely work being achieved.

May I remind you that If you wish your child to start Ballet (Kindergarten –Year 6), Modern & Tap (Year 1 – Year 6) or Jazz (Years 5 and 6) then pleasecomplete the form enclosed in your end of term pack or contact the schooloffice.

It only remains for me to wish you all a fantastic summer holiday and lookforward to seeing you all in September……… Nativity here we come!!

Miss VictoriaMUSICThis has been a term ofperformances!

Early Years set the tonein May with a lovelyprogramme themed onNature with songsabout the sun, frogsand caterpillars!

Next came KS1. Year 1 no doubt felt they had less to do than Year 2, havingjust started recorders this term. Year 2 were able to demonstrate theirconsiderable musical skills on violin, cello, piano, recorders and drums withtwo children from year1 playing piano and violin solos. There were of courselots of songs too.

In the same week as the inspection we not only had AB exams for piano,violin, cello, recorder and singing (a week earlier than planned) but we alsohad the Junior solos’ concert. This was very full with many children wanting toplay. Lovely piano solos were interspersed with violin, cello, flute, recorder,and clarinet solos. I was very pleased to hear one of the clarinet beginners(Xavier Lake) and two girls from Year 6 (Imogen Tait and Charlotte Morgan)who were late beginners on violin, play very bravely. It’s never too late to learnan instrument!

‘Pepys’ Show’ has taken up a great deal of time this term. All year groupshave enjoyed their songs. Year 6 started at the end of last term andimmediately were taken with the songs and have brought much energy andcommitment. There have been beautiful solos from Alfie Johnson, CharlotteMorgan, Ben Tunstead, Alice Parker, Imogen Tait, Hannah Skelly, Ben Averilland others . Orchestrating parts for the band always takes much of my

precious time at a busy time of the year. Lucy MacIntyre on flute and RachelLaing on violin with ex-Meadite Paul Forster on drums are the extrainstrumentalists in the band this year.

Talking of ex-Meadites, Luke Navin, who has won an organ scholarship toOxford this year, played a solo piano recital at Worth School in May, includingsome of his own compositions. Olivia Ziani continues to do brilliantly on violinand piano winning prizes and Grade 8 Distinctions on both instruments andenjoying Saturday Music school in London. Grade 8 also achieved by EdwardPreston Bell (cello) Catherine and Elizabeth Millar, (cello and violin), CharlotteDixon (violin) and Paul Forster (saxophone). Elizabeth Morgan is a choralscholar at Mayfield.

Please let me know of other successes.

Music at Prizegiving has involved everyone but in particular, the Choir, in areflective two-part song, the orchestral players with rousing Patriotic tunes anda Year 6 String Quartet playing a Bartok arrangement of a Slovakian Folk-song.

Thanks go to all peripatetic teachers for the wonderful job they do, for theirpatience and skills, with special mention of our new clarinet teacher, HelenParsons, who will be getting married at the same time as Prizegiving.

If you would like your child to start an instrument please contact me as soonas possible.

We offer recorders in small groups from Year 2, violin, cello, flute, clarinet,cornet, trumpet, French horn, trombone,guitar, drumkit and piano. Drums,guitar, woodwind and brass we recommend from Juniors upwards.

Have a wonderful holiday and keep singing and playing, and listening!!

Mrs. Stuart-Pennink - Director of Music

Newsflash: The Choir have beenaccepted to sing at a Young VoicesConcert.at the O2 in January.

KINDERGARTENIt hardly seems like two seconds since we were both sitting down to write ourcontribution to last term’s newsletter, but as we look over our diary entries forthe past few months, we seem to have packed a lot in!

The glorious weather has been a massive bonus this term, as we joyfullyswapped our wetsuits and wellies for sunhats and suncream. LowerKindergarten has been very busy tending to their crops of vegetables, herbsand flowers. The children can’t wait to enjoy the fruits of their labours,

particularly the potatoes! Talking of gardening, an enormous well done tothose in Upper Kindergarten who have managed to nurture the sunflowersthat were planted in class before Easter and sent home – judging from photos(thank you!) some are doing very well!

The swings, sand pits, tree house, jungle area, bikes and scooters remainperennial playground favourites, but have been joined with all manner of otheractivities and play opportunities as the weather remained dry. We are blessedin that our inside classroom resources are largely duplicated outside, and thefresh air and light definitely add another dimension to our play and learning.

Sports Day was a huge success, every one of our little ones competing totheir full potential and enjoying every minute! Another annual favourite, ourSpring Music Concert was also enjoyed by many of our families, as webeamed with pride sharing songs, actions, artwork and dances. A massivethank you to both Mr. Leroy and Mrs Pennink for their hard work, care andsense of fun in the run-up to both events.

The anticipation of Father’s Day was hugely exciting, as we revelled in makingsweet treats (Lower Kindergarten) and giant rosettes (Upper) to take homeand hide before the big day. Giving is clearly a more exciting prospect thanreceiving for all our amazing children.

The whole of The Mead School’s Early Years department (Kindergarten andReception) recently enjoyed our third and final visit of the year to HargateWoods as part of our new forest school initiative. This has been a massivesuccess, not least in the visible growth in children’s confidence and physicalabilities with each visit, and we look forward to continuing and expanding nextyear.

At time of writing, Upper Kindergarten are busy re-reading favourite storiesfrom our year together (of which there are many); we’ll be taking a vote andcrowning our absolute favourite soon – but Hungry Hen, My Big Shouting Dayand Bob, The Man From The Moon seem to be hot favourites. We’ve alsobeen busy taking individual photographs of our absolute favourite thing aboutschool (a toy, a friend, an area, an activity, a meal … could be anything at all!)and are creating a very interesting display with the prints.

A great highlight this term has been the joy of watching as LowerKindergarten’s frogspawn turned into tadpoles and then baby frogs, soon tobe released into our school pond. The children have watched with awe andwonder as this transformation has taken place – not least the new childrenwho’ll be joining Kindi in September, and who come in once a week forsettling-in play sessions, and who rush to the tank as soon as they arrive,keen to see what has happened since their last visit!

Talking of which, our weekly Tuesday afternoon ‘Transition into Reception’sessions have been a great success this term, as existing Upper Kindergartenchildren have played alongside new friends who’ll be joining in September, intheir soon-to-be new classrooms and their soon-to-be new teachers (whilstthe current Reception classes are out enjoying their swimming lesson). Thisis a hugely beneficial opportunity – the children’s happiness and self-confidence is paramount to us all at The Mead, and a smooth and comfortabletransition at every key change is paramount.

This is a very bitter sweet time of year for us both; sweet in that we look backwith so many fond memories of our time with the children over the past year,and bitter as we prepare to say goodbye, and wish all the children well withtheir next big step. We both wish you all a very happy, safe and sunnySummer holiday.

Jane Ovenden & Aveline Archer

RECEPTION INFANTSThe Reception Infants returned this term to plant strawberry plants, carrotsand lettuces. We have been nurturing them ever since. This year we havehad an influx of slugs, snails and woodlice!!! We have worked hard grindingegg shells in our pestle and mortar and sprinkling the mixture over our beds toprotect our produce. We are looking forward to our annual ReceptionSummer Salad.

The Early Years Children performed to family and friends in our EYFS SpringConcert sharing a selection of songs with actions we had learnt andenjoyed. We had a special visitor from the Courier to come and take ourpictures and we were thrilled to see ourselves when we appeared in theFriday 6th June Tunbridge Wells edition.

Our Early Years Inspector was made most welcome by the ReceptionChildren who on her arrival showed her the way to her ‘special chair’ andintroduced themselves to her, in true Mead manner, by saying all of theirnames.

This term we have investigated a number of stories looking at characters,plots and settings. These have included the traditional story of ‘Jack and theBeanstalk’ and ‘STUCK’ by Oliver Jeffers. This inspired us to write our ownReception stories. The result has been two very individual and uniquestories. Everyone worked hard to use their phonetic knowledge to writesentences and create, with the water colours, illustrations to accompany thewriting on the page.

Both Reception classes have proudly read their stories to Kindergartenhopefully inspiring the next generation.

Just as this goes to print our caterpillars from Insect Lore are climbing to thetop of our pot to pupate. We hope for a fast Caterpillar Metamorphosis as wewould love to see the butterflies emerge before the end of term.

To our special friends who are leaving us, Harriet and Tom, we thank you andyour families for your friendship and wish you luck in your new countries andschools. We look forward to welcoming you back on visits home andpermanently in three years.

It is the time of Season just like in the lyrics of The Byrds song ‘Turn! Turn!Turn!’ for us to turn and move on, a time to laugh and a time to weep as wesay goodbye to our current Reception children and parents. We both lookforward to watching from a distance the learning journey continue throughoutThe Mead.

Thank you to the Children of Reception 2013/14 with love Mrs Hunt andMiss Peace

YEAR 1What a busy and fun year we have had. Everyone has made so muchprogress in all areas of the curriculum and worked so very hard.

In Literacy we have written stories about fantasy worlds, thinking aboutsettings, main characters and story lines. We have learnt how to answercomprehension questions, construct proper sentences and punctuate longerpieces of independent writing.

In Maths we have learnt how to find the capacity of a container using arbitraryunits, we can double and half numbers, identify the tens and units part of atwo digit number, follow and complete different number patterns and find thetotal of a shopping bill and calculate the change.

In History we have been comparing seaside holidays in the past to those wehave now. We have talked about bathing huts, metal buckets, paddling in ourclothes and eating fish and chips. We visited Hastings where we travelled onthe funicular and enjoyed an old fashioned ice-cream.

In Geography we have looked at different bread, fruit and vegetables fromaround the world. We know how to find places on a world map and we havelearnt how different countries have different climates.

In Science we have grown our own sunflowers and potatoes and found ourfavourite crisp flavour. We also visited Wakehurst Place where we hunted fordifferent mini beasts in our pond dipping session. We also learnt about soundand how we hear things. We explored our school environment for sounds andwe found out how different instruments are played. The best bit was playingthe instruments softly, a little louder and really loud.

In Art we have studied the work of William Morris, Andy Goldsworthy andGeorgia O’Keeffe. We have made our own Art in nature using pastels, paintand leaf templates. In Design and Technology we have been looking atmovable pictures and we have made Father’s Day cards and magic seasidepictures with a boat sailing on the waves.

In RE we have looked at different aspects of the Jewish religion and why theyare important. We have also thought about places of worship and can nowidentify both the exterior and interior features of a church.

The children’s books are filled with interesting pictures; wonderful facts andtheir heads are still humming the songs from the summer show.

We hope you have a wonderful summerholiday and we look forward to seeing you inSeptember when we move in to Year 2 workand another chapter of school life.

Mrs Morgan & Mrs Moral

YEAR 2Another hugely busy and frantic term! We have learnt all about FlorenceNightingale in history, Habitats in science and Buildings in art. We've plannedand written stories, recounts and poems and (amongst other things innumeracy) learnt different methods of adding and subtracting two and threedigit numbers. We've had a French Day involving lots of pain au chocolats,African art days, followed the World Cup and made our own Matisse mural,lots of rehearsing for the Summer Show...not to mention a week longinspection! (Our 'Inspectors Chair' was a resounding success!) Phew! Oh andof course we were extremely proud of our Woody for winning the Maths WhizzCharacter competition!

As always your children have been a complete delight and pleasure to teachand their enthusiasm and exuberance never fails to put a smile on my face! Ifeel lucky to have taught them this year and say goodbye knowing that theyare ready, willing and excited to move up to Year 3.

Have a wonderful summerCaroline Seymour

YEAR 3What a wonderful year we have had! We have been delighted to see how thechildren have blossomed and flourished. They have really grown inindependence and confidence and we have no doubt that they will be veryhappy in Year 4. The highlight of our term has been the visit to MichelhamPriory where Alison, the lovely Education Officer, regaled our children withstories and facts from Tudor times. As always the picnic featured prominentlyin the children’s account of the day! We were also blessed with glorioussunshine which made the outdoor activities a huge success.

Bushcraft provided an excellent bonding experience for the new classes goingforward into Year 4, and we hope that you will not hold us responsible for thestate in which we returned your cherubs! We too were not sorry to get into along hot bath on Sunday night.

Finally we would both like to thank you all very much indeed for the wonderfulevening you hosted for us, and for the huge spoiling and beautiful flowers.We have really enjoyed this year with your children.

We hope that you all have a very enjoyable and hot summer break.

Rachel Crouch and Jill Faure

As part of Year 3’s formal letter writing, they were required to write aletter of complaint!

YEARS 3 & 4 BUSHCRAFT TRIP

It's been intenseNever ask someone to do what you wouldn't doyourself

I've written before about the huge benefits of theintangible learning which occurs when you take learningoutside the four walls of the classroom. I'm just back froma weekend with The Bushcraft Company, where 41children, three adults and one big child spent two nightsand three very full days having the chance to really startthinking independently, getting to know one another far better and joiningmore pieces of life together.

The food was amazing - cooked in a variety of ways, and almost always in aFarm-To-Fork way, so the pan-fried salmon was deboned and prepared in

front of us, each stage being explained carefully and logically. The pizzas(cooked in 90 seconds in a 900 degree pizza oven) took longer to preparethan to heat (and were amazing), and the multitude of diets ably catered for!

The activities were funl and demonstrated the constant openness to keeplearning new things. Activities should be fun - whatever is viewed asdangerous about fun learning, there is nothing better than hearing laughterwhile children are also learning the dos and don'ts of the recovery position, aswell as explaining why snapping a bone "back into place" is perhaps not thebest medical advice! Making an arm sling with a jumper in 60 seconds wasalso a revelation to this 28 year old!

I also failed in a way that the children didn't. The great joy for a teacher intaking your class away with other new leaders is seeing their charactersemerge. It's impossible to predict who will rise to any challenge, and whostruggles, and this is possibly the best way of seeing the true nature of achild's participation, learning and engagement with the world around them.I've never eaten a fish eye before (nor, if I'm honest, will I), and when 21children enthusiastically put their hands up to volunteer sleeping outside in thewoods under a single sheet of tarpaulin in a shelter they had single-handedlymade, when it was starting to rain, I felt more than a little guilty that I retired tomy large but lonely tent with a camp bed.

Two joys - visiting those shelters on the Sunday morning at 6.30am, with alight sky and light rain, and seeing those beautiful, eager children all stillsleeping, nestled together like a litter of puppies. Fine, I admit it, I got quitechoked up.

The other great joy - swimming in a freezing muddy lake with a group of thechildren, after realising I was watching them do something I'd never donebefore. What an amazing experience to actually try something new and feelthe excitement and exhilaration which they did at the same time. More of thatplease.

Assessments - none. Marking - zero. Writing - minimal. Learning - enormous.Growth of character - off the scale. Memories - forever.

YEAR 4Stephen and I cannot quite believe that we have spent a school year with yourchildren as it has literally flown by. We will both miss them all! They havebeen a fun, talkative and energetic year group and kept us on our toes. I haveenjoyed teaching maths, literacy, SPAG and science this year.

Let's start with maths. My group started without confidence and believed thatthey could never grasp the mathematical concepts. In fact many of them hadjoined the "I can't club". I am very proud of all of them and, whilst it still maynot be their most favourite subject, we have together demystified maths. Theyare no longer afraid to put their hand up and have a go and I am celebratingtheir achievements. Their time with me culminated in a trip to Sainsbury’swhereby they utilised many of their maths skills and also learnt a few life skillssuch as budgeting and finding value for money. Thank you Mum for helpingme out and thank you maths group for your excellent behaviour and mannerson that day.

In literacy we have explored many topics covering fiction and factual writinghowever it is the poetry for which I will remember 4B as they have producedsome excellent work and we have looked at a range of poetry styles includingperformance poetry.

For my SPAG group I would hope that they will continue to remember all ofthe punctuation, grammar, spellings and definitions and use them in theirwriting and they will rarely write the word "said".

We have done so much in science this year and I have been struck by theenthusiasm and determination of Year 4. Recently we have been creating ourown crystals from salt, bicarbonate of soda and sugar (the most popular asthe children got to eat it) and viewing their size and shape in smallmicroscopes (a fantastic piece of equipment Mr Agnew). Year 4 haveachieved amazing results in their topic assessments and I am very happy tobe returning to teach science to the new Year 4 in the Autumn. Thank you forbringing in your scientific items throughout the year.

Well it just leaves me to say well done to all Year 4s and thatMr.Agnew and Mrs Fever are very lucky teachers! Have afantastic holiday you deserve it.

Mr Lockyer & Mrs Biggs

YEAR 5This term has raced past in a flurry of hard work, activities,opportunities and Drama rehearsals!

Mr Agnew and I have been delighted by the positive attitude adopted by allmembers of Year 5 this term. The children have worked with such enthusiasmin all aspects of our studies. Friendships have flourished, targets have beenachieved and aims met.

Within Year 5 Literacy, our differentiated SpaG sessions have furtherdeveloped the children's understanding of more sophisticated punctuation; thechildren have examined the use of clauses and developed their understandingand use of a range of connectives amongst many other activities.

Everyone has examined and practiced writing invarious forms and for many purposes; they havewritten in the style of a known author; studied theeffect of changing viewpoint as well as studying andcreating their own narrative poetry and Kennings.

In Numeracy we have explored aspects of algebra;reviewed our knowledge of measures andconversions and built on our understanding ofproportion and ratio especially when solvingproblems. The children have also worked diligentlywithin specific weekly sessions designed to exploreand tackle a range of 11+ practice questions.

Beautiful birds of paradise have risen phoenix-likefrom the children’s Art sessions; life cycles of variousinsects and a study of plants undertaken in Scienceand the children have completed their local historytopic and explored aspects of Ancient Egyptian lifeand culture in History.

Well done Year 5, we wish you a happy and peaceful Summer break.Mr Agnew & Mrs Feaver

A piece for RE by Alexander Maltby, Year 5:

‘Hello I am David and this is my story.

I am the youngest of my 7 brothers, I know, right 7! Well that doesn’t matteryou see I’m really tough. I look after my father’s sheep and I’m really good atit because every once in a while a lion or bear or some other annoying animalcomes and tries to kill my sheep! I know it’s really mean so what I do is I killthem, well yeah, it sounds a bit harsh but it’s the only thing to do. Well,enough about my back story, look down and read my front story.

I was sent by my father to go bring my brothers some food because they’re inthe army. So I’m getting my brothers some food when a massive guy from theother army bellows “Send one of your men to fight me, if I win you become ourservants but if you win then we become your servants”. So I was like, I haveto fight this guy because I’m super tough and all, and I’m pretty sure I canbeat a giant so I go to the king and ask him if I can fight and he was like “Noyou must wear armour and have a sword” and I thought that his was prettyrude so I just decided that I would go out and fight him with my trusty sling.So I go to the river, get 5 stones, because 5 is my favourite number, and thegiant says “Ha, ha, has, this is my challenge”. So he starts wittering on and Ijust throw my stone at him, it hits him and he dies. So I was really chuffed!And then the other army just ran away. So I’m happy about that, then later Ibecome king, imagine that!

NOT SUCH A COMMON MORNING!On Friday 20th June, Greg Clark MP for Tunbridge Wells and Minister of Stateat the Cabinet Office came into school to talk to Year 5 and Year 6 pupils.This proved to be an incredibly interesting and eye opening change to thepupils usual Friday timetable.

Greg’s visit gave Mead pupils a wonderful opportunity to discover more aboutNational Government and the duties and responsibilities of an MP. The talkserved to enrich and broaden Year 6 pupils’ current studies of NationalGovernment and allowed Year 5, currently investigating democracy and LocalGovernment, a valuable insight inside the work of Westminster.

The pupils were captivated by the talk given by Greg; the detailed descriptionof the duties of an MP combined with an excellent overview of many aspectsof Parliamentary life added an extra special dimension to their learning thisterm.

Luckily, there was plenty of time for questions at the end. I was veryimpressed by the intelligent and well considered questions asked by childrenfrom both year groups as well as the knowledgeable input contributed by thepupils during Greg’s talk when they had the opportunity to describe theprocess of law making and other aspects of National and Local Governmentwhich they had studied.

Isobel Feaver

WE SUMMIT 2014We were thrilled to be given the opportunity to attend the WE Summit at KentUniversity in Canterbury on Friday 4th July. The Mead was one of only ahandful of schools to be invited to this event and the children from Year 5 andYear 6 who attended came away inspired and full of ideas.

The Free The Children charity was set up to make a difference to the lives ofthose children who live with or in conditions that are harmful or detrimental tothem in some way such as emotionally or physically. The organisation aims toempower youngsters from schools such as ours to believe that they CANmake a difference to the lives of other children less fortunate than themselves.

The Summit consisted of a number of structured workshops. These wellplanned activities guided the pupils through the process of considering theirown individual talents, then consequently listing issues that they felt theywould like to support and raise funding for in order to facilitate change forother children in need.

The concept of GIFT + ISSUE = CHANGE was the simple equationunderpinning much of what we planned and discussed.

Building new schools in other areas of the world, helping the homeless in theUK, combating bullying and raising funds for guide dogs were amongst manyof the causes that were identified by our pupils during the Summit, that theyfelt that they would like to help.

The day culminated with all the participants coming together in one of theUniversity’s lecture theatres; selected groups of children had the opportunityto share with the assembled audience their ideas and identified issuestogether with their rationale behind their choices.

I was so proud of all our children, not only because oftheir exemplary behaviour and participation throughoutthe entire day but also because of the confident andcompetent manner in which those selected pupilsdemonstrated such eloquence and commitment whenspeaking in front of the large auditorium of their peersfrom other schools.

Being a Global Citizen is not an easy and effortless roleto take on; Mead pupils recognise this and are takingincredibly positive steps to work towards helping thosenot just in their locality but also those who exist acrossour planet.

Well done Year 5 and 6! Isobel Feaver

YEAR 6

Smiles Thoughts

To see them, to feel them, Thoughts can be…To embrace them. A masterpiece in the makingSmiles are gold dust, A disaster waiting to happenA reward for success A loud banging sound inside yourheadOr a friendship fulfilled. A spark of light in the darknessSmiles are Our own personal worldOne million different ways A cause of great sadnessTo cheer up your day. A time to be silentSmiles you earn, An electrical buzzYou seek then you find, A tiny bud waiting to burstLike lost treasure A room full of wordsWaiting to be found.Smiles are your aim, Thoughts can show you…Your ambition, The path to a world of wonderYour curiosity kept alive. That the answer has always beenthere

The way when you’re unsureBen Tunstead The right against the wrong

Thoughts are…Friendly and funnyHorrible and hurtfulWonderful and wiseStupid and sillyPrecious and perfect.

Charlotte Morgan

Year 6 have had a wonderful, action-packed final term. They started by takingpart in the Kent Safety in Action morning, working their way around ninedifferent scenarios which included railway safety, electrical safety, farm safetyand road safety, together with some basic first aid. The children were dividedinto teams and competed for points against the other eight schools attendingon their morning. We were very pleased when the ‘Tree’ team from the Mead,won their morning with 86 points!

Many of Year 6 have completed Bikeability training this term and are proudlywearing their badges. They also took part in the Tunbridge Wells Tag RugbyFestival, with the A team coming third in their group.

May saw all Year 6 sitting SATs tests and we had numerous visits by Year 7Tutors from the various secondary schools the children will be going to inSeptember.

In June we had a visit from PC Vernon Barker who spoke to the childrenabout drug and internet safety; we also had a visit from Tara Hayward whogave the children her famous ‘Tara Talks’ about what happens to their bodiesas they are growing up, and how to deal with all these changes.

July saw a visit to the WE Day Summit in Canterbury; the children are, quiterightly, very proud of the fact that WE Day attendance is by invitation only, andYear 6 certainly view this as one of their best achievements of the year.

Of course, normal lessons have continued alongside all these other activities,and in Creative Writing they spent time looking at, and then writing, metaphorpoems. They have produced some truly wonderful work and we have includeda small selection to give a taste of the breadth of thinking and ideas of whichthey are capable.

Well done all of you. A fantastic year!Heather Waight and Debbie Latty

Year 6 TutorsHOUSE NEWS

ChalybeateChalybeate have all worked extremely hard this term and in spite of being thesmallest house, have done very well gaining Good Works and NO minuses!Well done to everyone for winning the swimming gala and to Imogen Tait forwinning the Hicks Diving Cup.

Many thanks to all of you for your contributions to Water Aid. We have raisednearly £700 so far, which is well on the way to our target. Please encourageyour children to keep on saving until the end of the year.

It is always sad to say goodbye to the Year 6 children who this year haveworked so hard for Chalybeate. We wish them every success in their newschools.

Samantha Begeman Joshua Davies Caroline MillsCharlotte Morgan India Shaw Alfie JohnsonJamie Phillips Imogen Tait Ben Tunstead

Mrs Waight, Mrs Crouch, Mrs Morgan, Miss Peace & Sandy

WellingtonWellies have had a brilliant term The fantastic final tally of our money-raisingfor Sports Relief was £1840.67.A huge thank you to all who contributed.We have not done badly on the house points front but we were simplyeuphoric when Wellies won Sports Day. Mrs. Feaver and Mrs. SP have beenat the school for ten years and this has never before happened!We made up a new acrostic poem which goes:WellingtonEnjoyLearningLivingInteresting, investigatingNurturingGivingTrustingOriginalNever giving up!We have had a terrific Year 6 (or J4 as they prefer to be called) who havetaken it in turns to be House and Sports Captains. Thank you and good luck,Biff, Alice, Zoe, Harry Josh and Ella.

Have a wonderful, relaxing holiday everyone!

Helen Moral, Isobel Feaver & Sarah Stuart-Pennink

ThackerayThis term seems to have been busier than ever! Well done to all of ThackerayHouse for doing their absolute best at the swimming gala and sports day thisyear. We were so proud of them all. We didn’t win on those occasions, but wehave been leading in the weekly house points and, at the time of going topress, it looks as though we will win the House Shield this year. Fantastic!

Thank you to all our families and friends who have continued to give unfailingsupport throughout this academic year. It is always deeply appreciated.

We would also like to thank our outgoing House Captains, Chloe Joseph-Horne and Victoria Hettrich, and our Sports Captains, Chloe Boakes and BenAverill. You have all done a wonderful job this term.

We wish our Year 6 (J4!) leavers the very best at their new schools. It hasbeen an absolute pleasure to have you all in our house. Please come backand visit!

That only leaves us to wish you all a happy and relaxing summer break. Welook forward to seeing you in September.Happy holidays! Thackeray House Staff

FRIENDS OF THE MEADIt has been a positively triumphant summer term for the FOM, withthe focus this term being the climbing wall funds. The fundraising beganin the form of the Mead car wash, which was a huge success, raising animpressive £415. It was a lovely morning which saw lots of children aswell as adults washing cars and delicious hot dogs and cakes were awelcome refreshment after all the hard work. We had a couple of icecream sales at pick up which the children really enjoyed; thank you forsupporting these.

The finale to the term was the Summer Fayre to which we are extremelygrateful to you all for helping us raise £2500, which is a fantastic

total. The climbing wall will go up on 16th July, so the children will beable to look forward to using it in September.

We hope you all have asuperb summer andmany thanks for yourongoing support of theFOM.

Philippa and Donna

PHOTOGRAPHY CLUBThis has been the club's inaugural year and has proved very popular amongstthe Junior children. We have used a wide variety of photographic mediumsfrom the traditional cameras to Iphones and Ipads creating some stunningimages and entertaining videos. At our recent photography exhibition parentsand teaching staff were very impressed by the range of photographs ondisplay. Mrs Culley will be using some of the shots for the school website andplease see below a small selection of our work. I hope that many of thecurrent Juniors and new members will join me in the Autumn Term and createsome exciting photos! Well done Photography Club!

COOKERYIn Cookery club this term we have learnt to whisk cream, decorate biscuits,cut and peel fresh fruit, break eggs, roll and cut out pastry and so much more.

We have made fresh fruit salad, chocolatebrownies, raspberry towers, sweet lemonflowers, pizza snakes and chewymarshmallow bites.

We know about wearing aprons, washinghands and best of all clearing up our messwhen we have finished.

The children are in fact really good at washingand wiping up now and I would like to requestthat they keep up the good work during thesummer holiday too.

Have a super summer, Mrs Morgan

ABSENCESCan parents please phone into the school office by 9.15am should a child notbe attending school.

CONTACT DETAILSCan all parents please ensure that Elizabeth has your up-to-date contactdetails including e-mail addresses.

THE PERFECT AND ACCEPTABLE PENCIL CASEThe number and size of each child’s pencil case(s) tends to grow and multiplythroughout the year, finally reaching unmanageable proportions! Oncechildren enter the Juniors they need to provide their own well-stocked pencilcase. The “perfect” pencil case is outlined below and we ask for youassistance in ensuring these criteria are consistently met.

One sensible pencil case 30cms2 x blue handwriting pens2 x pencilsenclosed pencil sharpenerrubber30cm ruler

glue stickscissorscalculatorcoloured pencilsoptional: gel pens/felt pens

Also: Collins Pocket English Dictionary – colour edition - £7.99

Years 5 & 6 protractorCompassesFountain pen and cartridgesInk eraserOxford Concise Dictionary

NB Tippex is banned throughout the school.

PERMISSION SLIPSIt is vital that we receive permission slips before taking children off the schoolpremises. However, in a community school like ours that can lead to a swampof paperwork. To simplify and reduce the number of permissions slips which

are sent out each year, we are enclosing one permission slip valid for theyear which will cover any walking trips undertaken from school, i.e. journeys toand from King Charles the Martyr Church, Trinity Arts Theatre, etc. Pleasereturn to your child’s class teacher on the first day of next term.

THE OFFICE MANAGER’S BITHaving been thoroughly scrutinised over the past few weeks I can stoplooking over my shoulder to check the whereabouts of inspectors and lookforward, towards the Summer holiday works and how we plan to furtherimprove the school over the next few weeks. This will be an exciting time aswe further the Mead’s educational offering with the introduction of Mandarinand welcome our new Modern Foreign Languages teacher, Stéphane Carnoy,into our school. The effect of the improvements made in the workingenvironment for the Drama and Dance departments last Summer can be seenthroughout the school in the children’s reactions, always my acid test. I willagain liaise with our new teachers to ensure they have the environment inwhich they need to ensure they are able to provide your children with the bestteaching in Modern Foreign Languages.

Next term The Mead will benefit from a new climbing wall (two sided with lotsof added extras) thanks to the FOM. A new entry system and front door tothe school, but this will not mean you lose our morning greetings. We willhave refurbished washrooms throughout, with the addition of a locker systemto reduce the ability for kit to grow legs. A tranquil area for the older pupils isbeing created to allow them space from the hub-bub as is sometimes neededfor them. Two new huts on the field, to replace the old, to help with generaland sports equipment storage at the school. The top floor of the building willsport a new look and we continue to invest in the Wi-Fi within the school to aiduse of the latest educational tools available to us. The general maintenanceof the school will of course continue.

The term has seen a new member of staff in the shape of Nigel Wheeler(maintenance), who we welcome on to our team. Nigel has a wealth ofexperience and was thrown straight in at the deep end with his first week onhis own being the inspection week. He has come out the other sideunscathed and is a very welcome addition to our team.

The support staff were favourably commented upon by the Inspectors. This, Iwelcomed, as it has not gone unnoticed by myself for some time and allowsanother voice to sing their praises. Anita and her team continue to sustain usevery day being ever resourceful in providing healthy, delicious and variedfood choices for the children. They continue to have a 5 star rating from theFood Standards Agency and well warranted it is too. David and Margaretremain in the heart of the school keeping all safe and sound. Daudacontinues with us coming into the school every evening to sweep away thedebris of the day.

Please accept the termly reminder, that invoices are due on or before the firstday of next term i.e. 4th September 2014. Do use electronic transfer wherepossible and remember that the transfer may take three working days and toreference your payment with your child’s name.

Fees for the year 2014 / 2015As previously reported the fees for the coming academic year are:Kindergarten £1,625.00, Reception Infants, Year 1 & 2 £2,990.00 and Years 3to 6 £3,315.00.

Other activities are being charged at the following rates:

The school continues to be one of the most affordable schools in the areawhilst at the same time, offering an outstanding standard and breadth ofeducation within its well-known and family-orientated environment.

We continue to offer over 20 after school clubs and supervised prep sessionsavailable to all children in Year 3 and above free of charge, a feature uniqueto the Mead. These are:

Art, Choir, Cricket, Computer, Construction, Debating, Drama, Eco,Filmmakers, Football, Geography, Hockey, Masks & Crafts, Netball, Papiermache, Photographic society, Public speaking, Reading group, Rollerblading,Rugby, Sewing, Sport, Textiles, Verbal and Non Verbal Reasoning and Video.

ParkingPlease remain vigilant in regards to the parking around the school as we haveconstant reminders from the council in this regard. Please also respect therule of not entering the car parking area in your vehicle at any time. This is forthe safety of our staff and children.

Policies and ProceduresPlease may I take this opportunity to remind you that any policies andprocedures you may require to view are shown on our website. If for anyreason you do not find what you are looking for there, do not hesitate to askeither Elizabeth or myself and we will guide you.www.meadschool.info/policies/It just remains for me to wish you a very Happy Summer break.

Rebecca Hall, Office Manager

SCHOOL POLICIESIn response to the latest legislation, I set out below how you can accessvarious items of information.

1. The school contact details are: The Mead School, 16 Frant Road,Tunbridge Wells, TN2 5SN, telephone 01892 525837 and email isoffice@themeadschool.co.uk and I, Mrs Angela Culley, am Head.Since I am also the Proprietor, the above addresses and contacts canalso be used as the Proprietor’s contacts.

2. You will receive a statement of the Mead School Ethos and Aims in thepre-joining information.

3. The Mead School Safeguarding & Child Protection Policy can be foundon the Mead School Website and is also available on request from theSchool Office. No complaints requiring a panel hearing have beenreceived in the past three years.

4. We are required to inform you that the following policies are availableonline and in the school office should you wish to see them:

a. The School's policies on and arrangements for Admissions,Misbehaviour and Exclusions

b. Educational and welfare provision for pupils with statements andpupils for whom English is an additional language

c. Curriculum Policyd. Policy to promote good behaviour and set out sanctionse. Anti-bullying strategy and health and safety provisionf. Academic performance during the preceding year, including the

results of any public examinationg. Complaints procedure, and the number of complaints registered

under the formal procedure during the preceding school yearh. The number of staff at the school, including temporary staff, and

a summary of their qualifications

5. For current parents, the following are sent at the appropriate times: Written reports at the end of the Autumn & Summer Terms. Termly Parent Consultation meetings. A copy of any ISI (Independent Schools Inspectorate) Inspection

report by the date specified by ISI. Newsletters.

If you require clarification of these policies or others, please do not hesitate toask Mrs Culley, the School Office or the Director of Studies, Mr Lockyer.

SPORT REPORT – SUMMER 2014

155 swimming badges were won this term across the school and heartfeltcongratulations go to all pupils who earned their badge.

Swimming Gala Results:

House House Totals1st Chalybeate 942nd Wellington 763rd Thackeray 63

Football:Under the direction of Finn Bradley (Team Manager) and the two Captains,Jamie Phillips and Ben Averill J4 (Year 6), for the third time in a row won theMead Cup.

Sports DayNo bad weather this year and sports day was fantastic.Great participations from all children, ex Meadites, Teachers and parents.Summer Fete was also a great success.One of the closest ever with only 4 points difference between each house.Thank you to all parents for their support.

House House Totals1st Wellington 2332nd Chalybeate 2293rd Thackeray 225

CricketDue to a very short ½ term, Onlyone match for each year group wasplayed.U11: win 304/228 at Sacred heartWadhurst.U9: won 266/239 at Fosse BankU10 Girls: Finish fifth in a 14 teamfestival at Bells Yew Green.

WindsurfingThis was a new experience for mostYear 6’s (Some have triedwindsurfing in UKSA last yearduring summer holidays) and asuper day.The weather was on our side, the wind was light and the sun was shining.Every one manged to sail.We hope that this taster day has given them the motivation to carry on thisgreat sport.

TennisFantastic progress has been made by all children who showed so muchenthusiasm.Mrs Morgan’s beginners’ group have made great progress.For the intermediate level, a lot of children are now ready to move to theadvance group next summer. Thank you Mrs Feaver.

The Tennis Cup has been awarded toBen Averill.

Summer HolidayThursday 17-Sunday 20 July.

This year, 34 children and 4 teachers will be travelling to Outdoor Adventurenear Bude.

Some Activities: Surfing, Body boarding, Archery, Climbing, abseiling, Coastalwalking, Beach games and many more.

I am looking forward to going back in France with Acorn next year, leavingTuesday 21 July and returning Friday 24 July 2015. This was a great successwith camping and activities around a lake near Calais.

Thanks to all for the huge improvement in naming sports kit this year. Thishas resulted in lots of ‘good works’ being allocated across the three houses.

A big thank you goes to all parents for supporting our teams and helping uswith transport.

Wishing you all a sunny summer!Pierre Leroy and the PE department.

Matches Autumn Term 2014DATE BOYS (FOOTBALL) GIRLS (NETBALL)WED10 Sept.

No Match No Match

WED17 Sept.WED24 Sept.

No Match No Match

WED1 Oct.

14h30 U11 NetballAt skippers

WED8 Oct.

U10/U11 8 a side FootballAt Fosse bank

Thursday9 Oct.

14h30 U9 Football 6 a sideHome against Beechwood.

WED15 Oct.

U11 football at Beechwood?

Thursday16 Oct.

14h30 U9 NetballAt Skippers Hill

WED22 Oct.WED29 Oct

Half Term Half TermWED5 Nov.

Mead School ISA tag Festival

WED12 Nov.

14h30 U11 Football 7 a sideHome against Skippers Hill.A team first half and B team

second half.WED19 Nov.Thursday20 Nov.

14h30 U9 Football 7 a sideAt Skippers Hill

MON24 Nov.

Y3 – Y4Inter House Football

Y3 – Y4Inter House Netball.

WED26 Nov.

Y5 – Y6Inter House Football

14h30 U11/U10 Netball homeAgainst Sacred Heart Wadhurst

WED3 Dec.

U10/U11 6 a side Football HomeAgainst Sacred Heart Wadhurst.

Y5 – Y6Inter House Netball.

WED10 Dec.

No Matches No Matches

KEY DATES FOR AUTUMN TERM 2014

Thursday 4 September Start of Autumn TermFriday 5 September First Junior SwimTuesday 9 September First Infant SwimWednesday 10 September Kent Selection Tests - 11+

First Kindergarten SwimWednesday 24 September No Kindergarten Swim24 -26 September Year 6 study trip to the Isle of WightSunday 28 September Charity Cycle RideThursday 9 October Open Day 10am – 12 noon & 2.15 – 3.15 pmSaturday 11 October FOM Barn Dance – to be confirmedThursday 16 October Young Shakespeare Company performing to all

Juniors and holding workshopsThursday 23 October Individual pupil photographs to be takenFriday 24 October Break up for half-term at 12 noonMonday 3 November Return to school after half-term (exam week)Wednesday 5 November ‘Steps in Time’ – historical presentations to

Years 4, 5 & 6Monday 10 November Grandparents DayTuesday 11 November Infants to finish swimming badgesWednesday 12 November Phonics & Transition EveningFriday 14 November Children in Need DayTuesday 25 November Parents can view Infants swimmingFriday 28 November Inter House fun races in Junior swimmingTuesday 2 December Infant mini swimming racesWednesday 3 December Happy Puzzle Company visiting school

Last Kindergarten swimFriday 5 December Last Junior swim (fun swim)Monday 8 December Choir singing to King Charles FellowshipTuesday 9 December Last Infant swim (fun swim)Wednesday 10 December Carol Service at King Charles the Martyr

Church at 6.00 pmFriday 12 December Break up for Christmas Holidays at 12 noon

With every best wish for a wonderful Summer Break and to our leavers asthey prepare for new adventures. We look forward to welcoming everyone,existing Meadites and our many new families, back to school on Thursday4 September for another exciting year at The Mead.