Healthy Living Week

For many students at King’s College Soto, the penultimate week of term brings an end to challenging exams, tests and assessments. Therefore, Healthy Living Week was welcome like a cold glass of water after a leisurely stroll through the Sahara. This shift in curriculum from rigorous and efficient academia to the promotion of healthy food, exercise and mindfulness meditation teaches our students that the driving forces of life are not just academic or athletic achievements - developing healthy habits and leading a healthy lifestyle  are also part of the equation. 

Throughout the week, each morning began with a ́Wake up and Shake Up ́. With summer on his mind and a spring in his step, Mr. Simmons brought the beats and choreographed bite sized intensity workouts. The Bring Sally Up  squat challenge felt like a lead injection and had legs quivering, whereas the Cha Cha Slide energised our students and had teachers swimming in nostalgia, reminiscing a night or two at the disco. Students would then walk up to their classrooms to partake in either some yoga or meditation, with the purpose of grounding the body and centering the mind for a productive morning of study. Among many other health-conscious activities, the curriculum for this week incorporated tips for wellbeing and tackled certain questions like how much sleep should one get, sugars and fats in certain foods, amounts of exercise required for a healthy lifestyle and fused them into subjects like Mathematics, English, Science and PSHE.  

At King’s College Soto healthy eating falls at the top of our priorities when it comes to the welfare of our students and we already invest heavily on aiming to provide our students with an abundance of fresh fruit and hearty school meals. Nonetheless, Healthy Living Week was a great opportunity to improve our service and to explore further options King’s might offer in future. For example, on Tuesday, King’s students could help themselves to fresh orange juice and rye toast with ‘tomatina’ for the primary breakfast.  Furthermore, rows upon rows of fresh exotic fruits like watermelons, melons, pineapples, oranges and mangos was gobbled up by smiling faces each morning patio. 

On Friday it was time for the annual Danceathon that culminates Healthy Living Week. The whole of Primary gathered in the spacious Sports Hall. Rows of children moved to the rhythm in unison like a flash mob in Times Square. The dancefloor trembled as students stomped away, dancing energetically  until their little legs would no longer allow. There was a special performance from Mrs. San Roman, who gracefully danced a Sevillana followed by an intimidating Haka from all the Year 3s;  an invigorating Nae Nae from the Year 5s; and a choreographed rendition of Cake by The Ocean from the Year 6s.  King’s College Soto would like to thank our teachers for putting this wonderful week together and our students for joining us in the movement for a healthier and happier life. 

 

 Spanish Day

On Wednesday 19th of June at King's College Soto, it was the Spanish staff ́s turn to take reign of our eager Year 6 students, who felt elated to be going on a tour of the capital city of Madrid.  Dropped off at the Royal Palace, our Year 6s, who were slathered in sunscreen and shaded by caps, met with a group of professional tour guides that would unveil the fascinating facts and mysteries found in the city our students are growing up in. The first stop was outside the Royal Palace, and, with an excited glance at the police horses, they set off on a tour around the bountiful Asturias region of Madrid. Our students marvelled at all the historic buildings and monuments on display. Their curiosity was met by that of the tour guides, who asked the group challenging questions they then had to research on class Ipads. After a couple hours of discovery it was time to stop off for Merienda at one of the paradisiacal gardens of Madrid. Underneath the shade of lush trees and exotic vegetation, our students sat by a murmuring fountain and enjoyed traditional ham, tomato sandwiches as well as a selection of fruit. Yet exploring had to continue and so it did. Our students made their way to the Royal Palace where they were unexpectedly met by the royal parade. Year 6s could not believe their eyes! What an exhilarating bonus to this tour, standing a few meters from a waving King and Queen! King's College Soto would like to thank our Spanish staff for organising this marvellous trip and we hope the students had a great time. 

 

Year 3 Riaza Residential 

Our Year 3 children spent a week in a beautiful country house called La Casona del Prado in the small village of Riaza (Segovia). 

The week has been filled with many exciting activities and songs led by a group of experienced monitors who encouraged the children to participate and play collaboratively, offering an opportunity to create stronger relationships across the year group. 

In addition, the children visited a cave “La Cueva de los Enebralejos” which reinforced their previous learning from early this year about the Stone Age. Here they designed their own necklace from beads and natural materials and explored a typical Stone Age village, learning about their diet, musical instruments, hunting and their daily life. 

The evenings were spent enjoying the big open field and feeding their curiosity about the nature that surrounded them there at Riaza. 

After visiting the village, the children had a picnic and played in a spectacular park filled with many games. 

The final night was celebrated with a party and theatrical performances organised by the monitors. Each group prepared and performed their own unique show. What a wonderful way to end such an incredible experience!

 

Year 3 Sports Day 

On Wednesday the 12th of June at King's College Soto , the sweltering heat could not melt the excitement of the Year 3 students for their Sports Day. News of the Year 4, 5, and 6 annual Sports day that took place last month had awoken the green eyed monster within the younger ones,  so there were many appeased expressions on the astroturf, happy to finally have their own personalised Sports Day. In preparation for this anticipated event, Mr. Simmons had set up a complex rotation and point system that meant each student gave an equal contribution for their House. There was certainly a somewhat light hearted approach to the events, with Cricket Wicket, Exercise Ball Relays and Frisbee on the roster - our students took it very seriously nonetheless. Assisted by the ever-helpful Year 6 students, the Year 3s frantically threw frisbees through hoops, relay-raced on bouncy balls, dribbled past cones and dunked on mini- baskets.  A competitive day full of rosy cheeks and sweaty scalps brought a narrow victory for Crown House! Green shirts danced joyfully on the field, delighted that their efforts had got them the win. We would like to thank Mr. Simmons and our Year 3 teachers for designing this enchanting Sports Day and all of our Year 3s for giving their utmost effort. 

 

Year 6 Graduation

Transition from Primary to Secondary is a memorable, albeit slightly intimidating, process. To celebrate this moment, the Year 6s ended their year with a spectacular performance in the auditorium, highlighting their memories through various sketches for the parents. 

As part of a wider performance, each class took us on a chronological journey throughout their time at King's. During the play, each class had grandparents reminiscing to their grandchildren about their ́School Daze ́, whilst set 70-odd years in the future. Hence the story was told through a series of hilarious flashbacks, accompanied by upbeat music and expert choreography directed by the children. Clearly, collectively the children had been making every effort when practising, as the quality of their performance would not be out of place in a Secondary show. A special mention must go to 6M ́s hysterical sketch, which centred on Mr McDonald ́s comedic scenarios of life as a teacher 

The performance was also dotted with solo recitals of personal, hand written poems about their journey through the Primary school. Although there were moments of laughter, the evoking words resonated feelings of nostalgia with our audience, and prompted even a few tears. Overall, Year 6 stunned us with the sheer level of professionalism in both their acting and singing. 

We wish them all the best next year in our Secondary department and look forward to celebrating their successes.