Room of the Week: Boys' Dorm: Ethan, Ashim, Dipraj, Abin  
Boarder of the Week: Samiksha Pakhrin  
 
What a busy couple of weeks it has been with the summer term launching straight into summer sports, in spite of the best efforts by the climate to put us off! Last weekend was the Bank Holiday weekend, and the children were very excited to be able to have three days at home-they came back refreshed and eager for the rest of term. The weather has unfortunately not been on our side, but nevertheless we have managed a couple of evening swimming sessions in the outdoor pool. It is such a privilege to be able to offer this facility and so much healthier for the children to be active in this way in the evenings. The boys played their first two cricket matches this week, enjoying the glorious sunny afternoon on Saturday out on the school field. The remaining boarders also took advantage of the break in the rain, and went to Boughton park for games and fun. On Sunday the morning was so crisp and bright that we were tempted outdoors and played ball games on the grass until it was time for church. We had a new football that needed testing (works fine!),and Prisca and Jean set a new record for the number of continuous hits with the tennis ball. After church we went to Ashford to see the Avengers Assemble 3D. Fantastic special effects and amazing super-heroes kept us thoroughly entertained for a few hours. Discussion of who was the best hero was fairly heated on the way home!

Room of the Week: Beach Hut: Jean and Angela  
Boarder of the Week: Sydney Smart  
 
Wet April showers were the order of the day this week! The week began with Jean's birthday celebrations, (which included a pass-the-parcel and a frantic chocolate dressing-up game) and finished with our usual relaxed movie night on Friday. The wet weather continued throughout the week which was frustrating for our sports teams who were confined to indoor activities, but this still gave them valuable skill practice. Saturday morning clubs saw several boarders departing for the farm, suitably coat and booted, where they were kept busy mucking out the animals and helping in the woods. There was a very muddy load of laundry that came back with them! Saturday afternoon was still wet and windy but brave Mrs Cross and Mrs Tobin took our children into Canterbury anyway so that some of the essential supplies for the term could be purchased-toiletries and tuck! The bedraggled party came back to hot showers and hot chocolate and were soon fully recovered. The boys had been really looking forward to Sunday, when we were due to go to Brands Hatch to watch the Motor club championships. Having resolved not to let the weather put us off, we arrived there mid-morning and joined the handful of stoic supporters to watch what turned out to be quite exciting racing, since the track was very slippery and the drivers needed all their skill to keep going in the right direction! However, after a few hours, with 'dry' pit stops to the shop or restaurant, we were decidedly cold so headed back to school. Once we were home, the sun emerged and it turned into a glorious afternoon, so everyone played outside for a while and then we finished the afternoon with a fiercely fought quiz, which team Fun Gang won, but only by 2 points!

Room of the Week: Circus Room: Matvey, Prasanna, Prajwal, Thiery  
Boarder of the Week: Dipraj Jimee  
 
After a foggy start to Saturday morning, the weather brightened for our cross country runners for the last event of the season. Anna, Matvey, Prasanna and Prajwal all competed very well and were cheered on from the sidelines by the rest of the boarders! In the afternoon an excited party went to Herne Bay leisure centre to enjoy and hour or two of fun in the pool'the slide was great entertainment and everyone had a good time. After shopping for refreshments we still had time for a play in the park in the beautiful evening spring sunshine. Sunday morning came sooner than we thought, with the clocks going forward for summer time ' after a mad rush to get ready for breakfast, Mr Vanderpuye loaded us all into the big coach with the senior boarders and we were off to Hastings for the day. Although the weather was cloudy in Canterbury, down on the south coast we enjoyed warm sunshine and sea air. A game of mini-golf (won by Ethan the master player!) was followed by rides on the seaside funfair, including a ghost train that had to be ridden several times to fully experience enough thrills! Dozy children and staff were brought back to the senior school for dinner and we all fell into bed after showers. This week we will have Analisa and Ashim's birthday dinners to finish the term ' Happy Easter everyone, and see you in April!

Room of the Week: Jungle Room: Jean and Angela  
Boarder of the Week: Ashim Thapa  
Our youngest netball players were busy on Saturday with a netball tournament occupying all Jean and Angela's attention and energies. They played very well, and certainly deserved their lunch! Other boarders did some artwork or went to the Farm to help with clearing out the ducks and chickens-muddy work but great exercise. Saturday afternoon the weather turned a bit gloomy but we were soon brightened up by the amusements on Herne Bay seafront, where this time Matvey was the lucky winner of yet another enormous inflatable ball! A run along the seafront helped to blow away the frustrations and we were ready for our dinner when we got back. Sunday morning was Mothering Sunday, and the children all joined in at St Peter's church, making flower posies for the ladies in church. They also made some lovely decorated hearts to take home to their own families at the end of term. After lunch we set off for Folkestone Ski Centre, where we spent an hour sliding down the ski slope on rubber tyres. Since every slide required a walk back up the hill with the tyre, an hour was plenty of time and we were exhausted! The cafe at the sports centre provided us with some welcome refreshments and we passed another hour happily chatting over the feats of daring down the slide and enjoying our treats(thanks, Jean, for sharing your scrumptious chips!)

Room of the Week:Circus Room: Matvey, Prasanna, Prajwal, Thiery  
Boarder of the Week:Prasanna Rana  
Spring was definitely in the air this weekend! Saturday morning was bright and sunny for the annual Kent Junior Schools cross country event held at the university. In a frenzy of speed and determination, hundreds of junior school pupils from the region raced around the very large field, with some impressive displays of fitness. Mrs Humphreys was there to cheer on the Kent College team, including the three boarders taking part, Prajwal, Anna and Matvey. Anna`s team came away with medals, but all the runners played their part in a great school performance. Later in the day Mrs Tobin took all the boarders to Kearsney Abbey to take advantage of the mild weather. We fed the swans, played in the grounds and had an adventurous walk through the trees and over the stepping stones through the river. After such an active and physically demanding day on Saturday, Sunday proved to be a more relaxed time, with church in the morning followed by a trip to the cinema to watch Journey 2: The Mysterious Island. It was a real treat to be entertained by the amazing 3D effects for a couple of hours, and we all agreed that simply sitting down was welcome! Having said that, when we called in at Herne Bay park on the way home there was still plenty of energy left for an hour on the playground equipment in the last of the evening sunshine.

Room of the Week: Beach Hut: Samiksha, Sydney, Anna  
Boarder of the Week: Yuhan Liu  
 
This week saw some of our netball girls playing in the IAPS Netball tournament, leaving school at 7.00am for Brighton, and representing the school in several tough matches over the course of the day. This meant that by the time we got to Friday evening we were all ready for a chilled out movie night! However, children being what they are, Saturday morning dawned on renewed energies and enthusiasm. Mr Carter put some of the boarders through a lively badminton session, while others worked on their dance at Dance Club. Victorious hockey boys returned at lunchtime, with Prasanna being a goal scorer on his first outing with the team-well done! Mrs Tobin took everyone into town on Saturday afternoon and almost every shop on the High Street received some attention-isnt the looking the best bit, anyway? Difficult decisions were made-tuck or stationery?-before satisfied children made it back to the boarding house for dinner. Sunday`s weather forecast was not great, but we boldly decided that it would not stop our plans! After lunch we drove down to Sandwich and loaded up into the Sandwich River Bus. Our captain, Colin, did his best to keep us out of the wind, but we were still fairly damp by the time we got to our destination, Richborough Roman Fort. We had a good look round this interesting ruin, drawing some of what we saw, and imagining ourselves as Roman legionaries, defending the coast against invaders. Unfortunately the weather was not on our side, and after a drink and a snack, we got back in the boat to go home. Another rather wild and windy ride took our bedraggled party back to the bus and it was straight into the showers when we got back to the boarding house! This was the first time we had visited Richborough, and we all agreed that the weather made it a bit more of an adventure than we would have liked, but that it was worth another visit on a sunny day!

Room of the Week:Jungle Room:Jean, Angela  
Boarder of the Week: Anna Gurung  
Our first weekend back after the half-term was as busy as ever! Saturday morning there were enthusiastic participants in Dance and Ceramics, as well as Farm Club, which some of the boys thoroughly enjoyed-using their manly strength to cart wheelbarrows of hay and sweep out the pig pens. The weather was gloriously warm and sunny and they arrived back glowing with energy and colour from the outdoor physical activity. The afternoon saw Anna and Analisa set off with their team for a Netball match, whilst the other boarders were taken to Brockhill Country Park by Mrs Cross. This is a fantastic open space, with lots of areas for ball play and running around, as well as a woodland and a lake for exploring. We tried to master the art of boomerang throwing, with varying degrees of success! Sunday morning we were up and excited early'Madam Tussauds was on the programme for the day. After breakfast with the senior boarders, we loaded up the coach and were in London before midday. It was once again bright blue sky and sunshine, so we took our pack lunches to Regents Park, where we enjoyed some time in the play area and ate our sandwiches. Then it was time to go in and we all wondered who we were going to see as we climbed the spiral staircase up to the first room. Well we certainly weren't disappointed! All our favourites were there, and the many recent additions to the displays, such as the new Chamber of Horrors, and the excellent 4D movie, combined to give us plenty to look at. Highlights for Mrs Humphreys included having a photo with Johnny Wilkinson (or his model) and being sprayed with water during the 4D movie and almost jumping out of her skin. We were all able to purchase a memento of some kind in the shop before we drove home for a roast dinner at the senior school. A long day, but so enjoyable, with well-behaved children having a good time! There will be plenty of photos for parents to see in your end of term envelope.

Boarding Blog 6.02.12  
 
Room of the Week: Circus Room: Matvey, Prasanna, Thiery, Prajwal  
Boarder of the Week: Matvey Skirda  
 
SNOW!  
The last weekend before half-term was marked by a very satisfyingly heavy fall of snow-perfectly timed for weekend play! We enjoyed some sledging, snowball fights and just general larking about-snow angels were made and half snowmen built. Before the heavy snow on Saturday night, we managed a quick trip into Canterbury to do a bit of shopping, coming back with bouncy balls and boomerangs, not to mention a few new hair accessories. Sunday dawned on a magical landscape of winter white, and the boarders couldn't wait to don coats and gloves and tumble out into it. Hot chocolate warmed us all up at breakfast before we left for Sunday service as usual. On Sunday afternoon we went to Herne Bay to the swimming pool-we had almost the whole pool to ourselves as it seemed everyone else was outdoors! The children had a brilliant afternoon on the slide and using the floats and inflatables. Then there was still time for a bit more sledging and play when we got back to the boarding house. The radiators have been working overtime drying out gloves between-times! We finished our weekend with a lovely hot dinner at the senior school. A perfect ending to this busy half-term.

Room of the Week: Beach Hut: Samiksha, Anna and Sydney  
Boarder of the Week: Ethan Brien  
 
Another busy weekend, with the added stress of Kent College entrance interviews! All the Year 6 boarders were smart and confident for their interviews, and declared them to have been not as bad as expected. As a treat and a welcome release of pent up emotions, we went to Ashford to do ten-pin bowling, thoroughly enjoying the afternoon of some good, and some not so good, bowling skills! Saturday night was the usual mix of dvds or leisure time, giving us all a chance to unwind and chat over the week. The senior boarders were all busy packing their kit bags for the new week, and the younger boarders caught up on some reading. Sunday morning we attended church as usual, where a new cross donated by Kent College to the church hall was dedicated in a short ceremony. After a delicious Sunday roast at the senior school, we went to Herne Bay, where we had a wonderful time on the seafront, using our pennies in the amusement arcade and freezing hands and ears in the park! Laden down with an assortment of bouncy balls, windmills and other prizes, we got back to the boarding house for fantastic hot tomato soup and a bit of computer time before bed. It is hard to believe we only have one more weekend before half-term, but it's true. Summer will be here before we know it!

Boarder of the Week: Jean Foley  
Rooms of the Week: Girls Dorm & Beach Hut: Analisa, Prisca, Shreyashi, Garima, Madison, Anna, Samiksha, Sydney  
 
This weekend started energetically as usual with Matvey, Anna and Prasanna taking part in the cross country race, with the other boarders cheering them on! The senior girls had a netball match in the afternoon,so the remaining boarders went to Boughton Park to play on the swings and stroll to the village shop for treats. Then it was back to help the senior girls get ready for a birthday party-so much to beautify, so little time! Mrs Humphreys whisked them off to join the birthday girl at her house, and the rest of the boarding house settled down to watch Lord of the Rings. Sunday was another peaceful and relaxed day. Several boarders were home for the weekend, so it was just a small group that went to church and lunch. The weather was still very mild, with sunshine peeking out from behind the clouds, so we drove down to Folkestone and parked by The Grand on the clifftop. A short walk down the hillside brought us to the superb coastal park playground, which unsurprisingly on such a good day, was packed full of families enjoying an afternoon of fresh air. When we were tired out, we took a sea-view table at the Mermaid Cafe for hot chocolate (staff) or ice-creams (children!). We walked along the beach a little way watching the sun go down, and then climbed back up the hillside to our bus. After welcoming back all our returning boarders, we retired for a well-earned sleep. A wonderfully relaxing, outdoor weekend!