On Tuesday 19th of March, King’s College Soto 6C students entertained parents and teachers alike with their eye opening play about the environment. In a theatrical way, students showed their parents about the detrimental effects of some human waste management habits on the environment. The overall lesson was that everyone must look after our environment in order to leave a clean, safe planet for their children and grandchildren.

On the 12th of March, Pablo Paramo returned to King’s College Soto to talk to our students about waste management. His compelling visit to Reception in January focused primarily on recycling but this time he educated our Year 6 students on the detrimental effects of the use plastic. Plastic is an incredibly useful material, but it is also made from toxic compounds known to cause illness, and because it is meant for durability, it is not biodegradable. The excessive use of plastic is killing animals; causing air, land and sea pollution as well as being very expensive to clean up. Mr. Paramo provided our shocked students with practical solutions to a more sustainable use of plastic like shopping with reusable bags, getting rid of plastic bottles and getting involved in plastic clean-ups among many others. We would like to thank Mr. Paramo for coming in again and presenting this crucial information in a student engaging way. One of King’s College’s core values is respect, and this extends to respect for our environment and nature, so it is imperative we provide our students with the resources and knowledge to look after our planet!

On the 12th of March a representative from the Real Federación de Natación Española visited King's College Soto to educate our Year 5 students about Water Polo. The morning started with a talk about Water Polo technical theory, focusing particularly on how to hold and swim with the ball, as well as positioning and shooting. Then, like ducks in water, it was time for our Year 5s to take a plunge and carry out some drills. Students swam back and forth, perfecting their swimming with the ball, passing and shooting. The morning ended with a competitive match that drew 2-2 with a goal in the very final minute! King's College Soto would like to thank the Real Federación de Natación Española for a very enjoyable and educational morning.

      

                                                                                                                                 Everything in the Time Capsule and Chest was carefully chosen to reflect school life as we know it and predictions as to what the future has in store for King’s College students. The Secondary School Council created a video tour of the school which was saved on a USB stick with an attached QR code. So that the children in 2044 could understand the life of a 2019 members from all walks of the school (students, parents, teachers, Nexalia, Administration etc.) buried letters describing life today. Year 5, with their Rainforest Topic in mind, made a set of Top Trump cards of animals in danger of extinction. Raquel passionately probed the audience, “Will these animals still exist in 25 years or will they be history, like the dinosaurs?” The audience replied with silence. Conversely, Year 6 dreamed of a future with initiative and excellence, both values taught at King’s, burying cards with potential inventions the future may bring. “Only the future will tell,” declared Rafa.

   

Students wanted to reflect the current school culture with items that make the King’s experience one of a kind. For example, our signature tie was buried as well as badges showing varying positions of student responsibility, Mr. Stearman even donated a school trophy. “Will King’s College still be performing so well in Sport?” cheekily probed Rafa, preemptively challenging future generations. The Primary School Council thought it was important for 2044 students to understand what entertained the children of today and therefore included things to touch and play with. The chest  included toys typically found in our break times like beyblades, spinners, yoyos, cards and chess sets. Our students predict  there will be radical change even in the most basic necessities of modern society. Thus, Euro notes and coins were also buried. “We doubt physical money will be anywhere except a museum in the future!” In addition, a model of a typical car of today was buried in the chest. “We know electric cars are already taking over...but will Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, flying cars, be coming in?” joked Raquel to a crowd of wistful giggles.

Finally, School Council Representatives wanted to capture the present moment, particularly all the fantastic projects King’s Soto are taking part in. Students buried a drawing of the school entrance, a school Newspaper, a King’s College Yearbook full of photos showcasing the many events we have at our school, as well as a Class Book to reflect the value we place on PSHE and wellbeing.        

“Will we be invited for the grand opening? We hope so. Will our treasure survive the years? We hope so,” confessed Raquel. “Only the future will tell!” As Sir Roger ceremoniously buried the capsule he was met with a round of applause by a delighted crowd of smiling teachers, students and parents - proud to be part of such a historical event for the school and certainly looking forward to a piece of that cake!  

Last week at King’s College Soto, Years 4, 5 and 6 hosted auditions for World Vision - our incredibly popular talent show. Students performed a wide range of acts like magic, singing, bongos, piano and dance routines. Some of the acts had been rehearsing for months! Teachers were amazed by the level of talent among our alumni and it was a tough decision to select an act from each House, in each year group, that will perform at the World Vision show at the end of Enrichment Week! Well done to all the students who took part and good luck to the finalists!

         

For the past few weeks at King's College Soto, Reception has been learning about the Chinese New Year. To explore this fascinating culture, students had a visit from some of our parents. Mrs. Duan and Mr. Xu Zheng educated Reception students on how the Chinese New Year is celebrated. Captivated students learnt that each Chinese New Year starts an animal´s new Zodiac Year and that 2019 is the Year of the Pig! Furthermore, students learnt that the majority of the decorations for this 15 day celebration are red, as the colour is said to bring good luck, happiness and prosperity.

Then it was time for Reception to take part and celebrate! Students ate noodles, made dǒulìs (Chinese hats) practised Chinese calligraphy and greeted each other with enthusiastic nĭ hăo´s. The festivities culminated with a large parade, students had made a large dragon, so they carried the red, fiery beast and passionately chanted gōng xǐ gong xǐ (The Chinese New Year Song)! At King's College Soto one of our Core Values is Open-mindedness, a willingness to be receptive to new ideas without prejudice. Learning about The Chinese New Year promotes open-mindedness, expands our students’ worldview in a fun, interactive way and further integrates some of our international students by exploring and celebrating their native culture. 

This week at King’s College Soto it was Storytelling Week. Our Theatre and Drama Club took this opportunity to perform a series of fairy tales and legends across Primary.  EYFS and Reception were entranced by a remix of classic fairy tales like ‘The Three Pigs’ and ‘Tinkerbell’, starring our very own TinkerBell, Mrs. Parfitt from 3P! Meanwhile, Key Stage 1 and 2 all enjoyed a performance of the ancient English folklore “Dick Whittington and His Cat”: the tale of a stratospherical rise from a poverty-stricken childhood with a fortune made through the sale of a cat to a rat-infested country. We would like to congratulate and thank the Drama Club and Mrs. Parfitt for their outstanding performances throughout the week.  

Last month our students took part in the COBIS Mangahigh Mathematics Challenge. Competing against all of the 257 COBIS schools, this competition was designed to engage students with Maths through a games-based learning approach. Combining Technology and Mathematics, students completed activities, to score individual points, which in turn contributed to their school's tally. King’s College Soto came 10th overall and many of our students won medals for their Maths skills.

                                                        

Last Friday, our Year 3 King’s College Soto students visited La Granja de los Cuentos. The purpose of the trip was for students to spend the day in nature, learning about plants, animals and ecosystems.

Our students played with the ponies and horses at the farm and even got to interact with the most dangerous animal on the farm, the goat! Students marvelled at the orchards, abundant with fauna and vegetation from all over the world. The day finished with a special performance about the beauty of nature which left some kids astounded and others slightly terrified of the bears in the show!

At King's College Soto one of the values we work hard to achieve is wellbeing, both for ourselves and those around us. Creating an appreciation for nature in our students is one way to promote future generations of environmentally friendly adults and  also helps our students learn to enjoy the simple beauty and pleasure found in the natural world.

This month at  King´s College Soto we celebrated Growth Mindset Day. On this day, we educated our students on the idea that intelligence can be developed rather than it being set in stone. The day was packed with lectures and activities promoting this groundbreaking ideology. A King's student can learn anything they want to because their effort and attitude determine everything.

Furthermore, the Growth Mindset is ingrained in our teaching ideology, particularly in the way King's teachers give feedback. By praising student effort and the strategies they used over their intelligence, we give students a template of behavior to follow.

Read more about the Growth Mindset here https://www.theguardian.com/…/research-every-teacher-should…

It is on these cold winter days we are grateful students at King's College Soto are warm, happy and safe, but we must also consider those who are not as fortunate. As a result, our Secondary  School Charity Committee have launched the Spread the Warmth initiative, which involves donating things that may keep a child warm this winter like blankets, coats, gloves, mittens and hats etc. All items will be taken by our school charity Bomberos Ayudan and distributed to the homeless, in the poorest parts of Madrid. A growing pile of blankets is located just outside the auditorium and we welcome donations until the 8th February.

A big thank you to the Secondary students who have launched the initiative this week in our Primary assemblies and, in advance, to all of our King’s’ families who choose to participate.

Spread the Warmth this winter!

Tuesday was a special day for Reception at King's College Soto. We had a visit from Pablo Paramó, a proud parent, as well as a representative from Saica Natur - a UK based sustainable recycling and waste management company, who inspired our Reception students to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle! Students discovered that we can make cars and even aeroplanes from recycled cans. Then, students had a go at recycling in their classroom & were given stickers to put on their bins at home. Respect is a core value at King's College, this includes respect for the environment. Creating a ´green´ perspective  for our students by informing them about sustainability from the early stages of their education is paramount to our mission in building brighter futures for our alumni.