This short guide provides tips about how children preparing for or going through, the transition to secondary school can best be supported by their parents and carers. It includes guidance that explains why the transition can be difficult for some children, and practical advice such as talking and connecting with the new school, as well as suggested resources that children and parents, and carers may find useful.
Following the Digital Birds & Bees presentation and Q & A with Jessica Hawley, the Rap Project has some top tips and resources for talking to your children about sexual wellbeing and practicing discretion online. Available through the parent dashboard – Curriculum information.
Exam time is upon us once again. Year 8 will be taking their Common Entrance during the week of the 7th June and we wish them every success. They have all worked really hard and thoroughly deserve to do well. Year 5, 6, and 7 boys will be taking GL assessments and end-of-year subject exams on the week of 21st June 2021. For some parents and boys, this time can be stressful. Below is the advice given by Mr Gill to the boys during today’s assembly. Exams are a useful indicator of progress but they are not the only indicator and can not be taken alone. Below is a little explanation of the tests and some advice about the coming exam week.
GL assessments
The GL assessments are tests that are run twice a year and are mainly for internal use. Once in Sept/Oct and then at the end of the year. Boys are tested in English, Maths, and Science and their results are presented as standardised scores against the national average. Teachers will use these tests to see the year in year progress of the boys.
End of Year examinations
Subject teachers will be setting revision homework in the weeks leading up to their examinations and lessons after half term will be mainly revision lessons to help prepare your sons.
However, some of you may wish to help your sons prepare further for their subject exams. Below are a few simple ideas which you could use to help. The most important thing is to make a timetable and to try to stick to it. Revise in small, concentrated chunks of time with plenty of breaks, snacks, and a day off. Here is a link to
the Oaka Revision Booklet Mrs Stringer’s 10 top techniques techniques Top Keble Revision Tips: 1) Start early 2) Do a small amount every day: short chunks 3) Set yourself a goal or target for each subject 4) Reduce lots of information to key points only 5) Write flashcards 6) Put a whole topic or unit on a mind map 7) Read or say aloud and recall 8) Badger someone at home to test you 9) Be active when revising, don’t just sit and look at pages 10) Exercise and sleep well Above all: have a positive mindset and say to yourself, I can do this!
Quizzes are also a good way to revise: both making and answering the questions. The boys can make their own quizzes in Google by using a Google form ( they have this in the apps on the drive) as they revise and then a few days later by testing their knowledge by completing the quiz to see what they have remembered. See attached a video showing how to make a google quiz.
The Quizlet website is free and boys can make their own flashcards and then test themselves through games. They can use their school Google login to sign in via the google option. The site can be found at https://quizlet.com/ some boys are already using this site. It has also been downloaded to the boys’ iPads.
Remember: start early, keep to the timetable and be active in your revision. All revision lists can be found on the parent dashboard. https://kebleprep.co.uk/parent-dashboard/
The Five-day Walking Challenge 2021: Walking Superpowers
Dear Parents,
Keble will be taking part again in the Walking Challenge.This year’s challenge will focus on the walking superpowers that benefit individuals, communities and the planet. Please visit https://www.livingstreets.org.uk/walk-to-school if you would like to find out more information.
Each day pupils will be introduced to a brand new ‘Walking Superpower’ taking the form of a fun comic-book inspired design.
Walking has so many benefits from physical to mental wellbeing; aiding concentration and creativity and creating safer, less polluted and more welcoming streets. All that makes for a happy, healthy child set up for success in and out of the classroom.
Through the week, pupils will be introduced to the Walking Superpowers who will teach them all about these benefits and reinforce the power of walking, superhero style!
Junior School House Poetry Competition, Friday 30th April 2021
Congratulations to all the boys in our Junior School; you recited your poems fantastically well!
The finalists performed their poems magnificently in front of the two separate Junior School bubbles last Friday afternoon. The boys spoke clearly and expressively, with such confidence; the standard was excellent. Our judge, Mrs Maloney, had a tricky job selecting the winners!
At the end of the competition, the boys enjoyed listening to two poems recited by Mrs Lauder: ‘The Teacher’s Day in Bed’ by David Orme and ‘I’d Rather Be In Bed’ by Kenn Nesbitt.
The results were as follows:
First place:
Reception: Ethan Adams
Year 1: Oscar Chakraborty
Year 2: Jastej Khanuja
Year 3: Maxim Haring
Year 4: Ellis Hatch
Runners up: Karan Morjaria, Zachary Mechoub, Elijah Philips, Rorden Kelly, Sean O’Connor, Aaryan Bhavsar, Carrick Bourke, Rayyan Ahmed, Haaris Bostan and Luke Florides.
After totaling up all the points, the winner of the Junior School House Poetry competition was Bedivere (Red House).
Thank you to all the boys, parents and teachers for making this such a successful event. Recordings of both events can be found in the video library. Click here to go to the parent dashboard page. Please put in the password to open the dashboard page. Once through it will give you the link and the login details for the video library. The video libary allows you download a copy should you wish to keep it or allow family to have a copy.
Family Links is a national charity and training organisation dedicated to the promotion of emotional health at home, at school, and at work. They are offering a series of webinars on Emotional Health Training for parents. Please click the link to access the webinars.
Their vision is for every child and adult to be able to realise their individual potential, enjoy positive relationships and live healthy and fulfilled lives.
Their mission is to deliver training programmes, based on the Nurturing Programme, that build and sustain emotional health and relationships in families, schools, and workplaces.
Our emotional health is our ability to look after ourselves, to manage ourselves in times of challenge, and to sustain our healthy relationships with those around us. This ability provides the foundations for good mental health and wellbeing, resilience, and motivation.
These 60 minute webinars aim to support you in your parenting journey and to improve family relationships and wellbeing. We provide 10 minutes for your questions at the end.
You will be able to ask questions via the chat feature but will not be identifiable to other parents on the webinar.
Most of us still remember how difficult it was to settle down to revise each day for exams, especially if it was sunny outside!
We hope that this revision guide will help a little. The most important thing is to make a timetable and to try to stick to it. Revise in small, concentrated chunks of time with plenty of breaks, snacks and a day off.
Try to reduce big topics to key points only on a mind map, bullet points or flashcards. Then verbalise these key points and expand them to an adult or record them to listen back to.
Explaining out loud to mum, grandma, the cat helps you to remember the learning.
Quizzes are also a good way to revise: both making and answering the questions.
Remember: start early, keep to the timetable and be active in your revision.
Most importantly, keep things in perspective and try not to make your child anxious even if you are finding it stressful!
At Keble, we are celebrating our differences something we are keen all our boys learn to embrace. Here are two clips about Autism that you may find interesting, especially watching Greta Thunberg who calls her Autism her superpower. It is very important that we celebrate these differences and build a climate of tolerance.
Greta Thunberg video as an inspiring person with ASD
The school Eco-club meets each Monday at lunchtime with Mr Noone, as a way to empower and encourage the boys to participate and take up meaningful environmental activities and projects. It is a forum through which our boys can reach out to influence and engage their parents and the rest of the school to promote sound environmental behaviour. Last week the boys in the Eco Club presented one of their ideas to the senior school during an assembly. As a team, they are exploring ideas of how they can improve the school site.
Since the assembly the Eco club has now finalised its plans to develop the space behind the Harper Building into a wildlife garden with bird feeders, pollinating plants and bug houses. To raise funds they will sell something every other Monday after the Easter holidays. Last week they sold chocolates and made over £60.
Well done boys on coming up with a fabulous idea! I am so glad after all the questions about chocolate you managed to use it to raise such a good amount of money for your cause. We look forward to seeing the transformation of the area behind the Harper Building.
Keble Prep has shown once again that when we come together we can do great things. The Keble community has raised a fantastic amount of money for Comic Relief which will make a huge difference to people living incredibly tough lives.
Many thanks to all whose generous contributions made this possible. In Mr. Gill’s assembly this week the boys watched a thank you video from Comic Relief enabling them to see how their day of fun has helped others around the UK and the wider world.