HM Letter to Parents February 2016

HEADMASTER’S LETTER

FEBRUARYÂ 2016

T0 PARENTS

Dear Parents No doubt many of you will have noticed that the Sixth Form Centre continues to rise from the ground on Top Field and we are very pleased with the progress that has been made so far. Hopefully the project will continue to follow the programme because we are keen to have the new centre ready for September.

Pupils have been as busy as ever, and I am pleased to be able to share with you some of the achievements that have taken place over the last few weeks.

Contents Page 1

David Gibbs

Page 2

Recent Press Coverage on the Independent Sector

Page 3

Drama

Page 4

Music

Page 5

Girls’ Hockey Football

Page 6

Netball

Page 7

Boys’ Hockey report

Page 8

Linguistics Olympiad Festival of the Foreign Word

Page 9

University News

Page 10

Rotary Youth Speaks Poetry by Heart Summer 2016 Public Exams

Page 11

Cambridge Schools Debating Competition British Biology Olympiad 2016

Page 12

National Safer Internet Day Old Chigwellians Inspire a New Generation of Artists School Shop

Page 13

Careers Howard & Mitchell Essay Prize News from Chigwell

Page 14

Digital Leaders Staff News Wonderful Weaving Art Workshop Bad Weather

Page 15

Sixth Form Induction Football

Page 16

Message from the Chaplain

David Gibbs As I emailed recently, very sadly David

broadened, teaching on Saturdays

Gibbs who was Headmaster here from

ended and new subjects such as A level

1996 to 2007 passed away in January at

P.E., Government and Politics, and

the age of 68. He leaves behind Philippa

Spanish began.

However, David’s

who was heavily involved in the life of

greatest

is

the Chigwell community during David’s

intangible in that it was the care and

time here, and their sons Matthew and

sensitivity which he showed to the

Tom, who left Chigwell in 2009 and

Chigwell community, pupils and staff.

legacy

perhaps

more

2011 respectively. A family funeral took place on Wednesday and we will be

David will be greatly missed and it is very

holding a memorial service on Saturday

sad that he has not enjoyed the long and

14th May at 2pm. We anticipate that a

active retirement he deserved.

large number of people will want to

thoughts and prayers go to Philippa,

attend this, such was the impact David

Matthew and Tom.

had here and elsewhere as a teacher, Headmaster, Governor, Education Officer at the Skinners Livery Company (20072014), and trustee of various charities.

When David arrived here, having been Housemaster at Haileybury, Chigwell was a 7-18 boys’ school with girls in the Sixth Form. Full co-education began in 1997 and it is now hard to imagine Chigwell any other way, such has been its success. The science department was extended, the music department was refurbished,

ICT

was

developed,

Radley’s Yard was purchased, and the Drama Centre was built – all on David’s watch. Academic results improved, the extra-curricular programme was

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Our

Recent Press Coverage on the Independent Sector You may well have read articles in the

The reality is that, rightly or wrongly,

national press in response to the

former independent school students

comments made by Lord Lucas, editor of

receive a disproportionate number of

the Good Schools Guide, in which

places at top universities and are

Chigwell is featured.

Lord Lucas has

subsequently over-represented in top

speculated that the rise in standards in

professions and FTSE 100 board rooms.

maintained sector schools will threaten

Independent school pupils account for

the survival of some independent schools.

7% of GCSE entrants but gained about one third of GCSE A or A* grades (73% of

As I write, we are poised to send out

Chigwell GCSE grades were A or A* last

offers of places to children hoping to join

summer compared to 21% nationally).

us in September. Applications for places

The best schools also offer excellent

here have risen again. However, like any school,

we

must

never

pastoral care, a wealth of extra-

become

curricular

complacent; all children in all sectors

opportunities,

encourage

pupils to question, to appreciate the

deserve the very best education possible

spiritual side of life, to develop values for

and all schools must continually review

life, to develop the whole person and to

what they do and make improvements

instil a real sense of purpose so that

as necessary. I hope we do that.

school leavers can lead really purposeful lives in a highly competitive world.

About half those applications to join us come from children at local primary

Like Lord Lucas, I am delighted if all

schools, and I am delighted that they do so.

schools are improving.

I was lucky enough to go to an independent

Every child

deserves the best and competition

school with an award, having been at the

between schools is healthy.

local primary and I am convinced that my

We will

continue to provide the very best

secondary school helped me enormously.

opportunities we can for Chigwell pupils

There are excellent independent schools

and, as always at this time of year, I am

and excellent state schools, but I believe

sorry that we are not able to offer places

that families who choose Chigwell make

to even more.

the necessary sacrifices in order to give children the very best life chances, as my parents did for me.

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Drama The term got off to a great start with a fascinating visit to the Young Vic to see an expressionistic production of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” very much enjoyed by the Middle Sixth.

Next, the Staff Panto! With a full cast of sixteen staff including teachers and support staff, songs, dance and much slapstick, full houses were entertained with a really good, fun panto. Over £2,000 was raised for Children in Need and The Timothy Pruss Memorial School in India. A good time was had by all!

Chigwell School English Department presents

Measure for Measure

On 28th January the Upper Fifth attended a performance of “The 39 Steps” at the Cambridge Arts Theatre.

This was very much a spoof version of the 1935 film adaption by Alfred Hitchcock of the original novel.

Finally, the English Play this year was “Measure for Measure” by Shakespeare, performed on 10th & 11th February in the Drama Centre. This was a traditional costume production, with Elizabethan costumes chosen from the Royal National Theatre. A Level students enjoyed a great opportunity to explore their English literature set text on stage.

Wednesday 10th and Thursday 11th February 2016 7:00pm £5 on door

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Music The next musical evening is the School’s Chamber Concert including the Senior String Orchestra, String Octet, Brass Ensemble, Saxophone Group, Flute Group, Clarinet Ensemble and vocal ensembles. It will also feature the Chapel Choir accompanied by strings and continuo in J.S Bach’s opening chorus Ich elender Mensch, wer wird mich erlösen from Cantata BWV.48. The evening is free of charge and tickets are not required.

The Chapel Choir continued their programme of concerts and evensongs at St. Paul’s, Goodmayes on Sunday 31 January. The programme included Karl Jenkin’s Locus Iste, Hubert Parry’s I was Glad, Charles Wood’s O Thou the Central Orb, Charles Villiers Stanford’s Magnificat in G with soloist Kate Hawes.

The Choir gave their first performance of Kenneth Leighton’s Nunc Dimitis from Collegium Magdalenae Oxoniense displaying the intricate interplay and relationship between the organ (Simon Winters) and voices. The Preces and Responses were the setting of Humphrey Clucas; our Head of School Max Albert acting as cantor with clearly detailed lines.

The Annual Choral Concert will again be held in the fabulous venue of Christ Church Spitalfields, on Saturday 19th March at 7.30pm. The programme features the winner of the School’s Young Musician of the Year Competition 2015 Gopal Kambo (who is now reading Music at St. John’s College, Cambridge where he is also a Choral Scholar), in Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No.1 in Db Major Op 10. The choral work is Rossini’s over-exuberant orchestrated setting Petite Messe Solonnelle. Details regarding tickets have gone out through ChigwellPost and are available through the Eventbrite website https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/ or search for London Spring Choral Concert. It is likely that this event will sell out relatively quickly, so do not delay. We will be unable to offer tickets once we have reached capacity.

We have had two fabulous Prom Concerts from pupils in the LII and UII. It never ceases to amaze us how our pupils take to the stage with consummate ease and with bright smiles on their faces. We have witnessed such an enormous variety including performances on; voice, violin, viola, cello, piano, flute, guitar, saxophone as well as some home-grown ensemble performances which have captured the imagination of the audience, especially Coconut Man, with flower garlands too!

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Girls’ Hockey now spent most of the remaining half camped in their defensive half. With 3 minutes to go, Zoe Wright and Georgie Batt linked up well from a free hit in the ’25 and found Stevie Southall who drove into the D. A smart pass to Chloe Stack, who rolled her defender brilliantly, saw her shoot precisely into the bottom corner. The girls sprinted back to the centre, ready to re-start in the hope of getting an equaliser. Chigwell forced the Millfield girls back into their own ’25 again, but Millfield defended strongly, and with Chigwell pushing so many players forward, they were caught on the break with the home side sprinting down the other end of the pitch with the ball and scored a 3rd. A little deflated and tired, Chigwell were unlucky to see a 4th go in moments before the final whistle. An extremely close match, despite the score line, and the Chigwell girls were unlucky not to have progressed to the next stage of this prestigious competition.

The U15 girls travelled all the way to Somerset to face Millfield in the quarter finals of the Independent Schools Hockey Cup. The game started at a high pace and the physical intensity was more like a club game rather than a school match. Chigwell stood firm and defended stoutly with some excellent play by Stevie Southall, Venetia Bailey and Zoe Wright at the back. It took a broken down short corner, which the Millfield forward struck sweetly on her reverse stick, from a narrow angle, into the bottom corner to give the home side a 1-0 lead at half time. The second half was a different matter.

Chigwell enjoyed far more possession and played some great hockey in the Millfield half.

Charlotte James-Pajwani and Chloe Stack put the West Country girls under some pressure with some great skilful runs. But whilst pushing forward, Chigwell were caught on the break and Millfield extended their lead with a tapin at the far post. Undeterred, Chigwell continued to push for goal and Millfield

Football The U16/U15 team beat Harrodian School in the quarter finals of the National Small Schools Cup. The team gained victory by 3 goals to 2. The semi-final will be away against Bournemouth Collegiate School. Congratulations must also go to Tommy Redhead and Alec Osborn for their inclusion in the full national ISFA teams. Both boys will be touring over the Easter break. Elliott Betts has also been selected to represent the Hert’s and Essex U13 team who play in the festival at Shrewsbury in March.

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Netball the game in coaching format. This was a fantastic tournament and involved all of the Chigwell U9 girls and many of the U8 girls as well.

The netball term started off with over fifty girls in the senior teams competing against New Hall as part of pre-season training. The squads demonstrated great strength and determination to start the season off on a high and this was certainly portrayed on court by the superb team performances. Since then the senior girls have played a number of matches with fantastic results against Joyce Franklin, Saffron Walden, Bedford Modern and Latymer Upper. The U14 squad is so far unbeaten and once again they have worked well as a group, in preparation for their tour to America in October.

We are looking forward to the rest of the season ahead and the number of tournaments that are taking place after half term across the age groups.

The junior teams have also played a number of matches this half term and it has been fantastic to see so many girls across the year groups having the opportunity to represent the school. The U12 and U13 squads started off their term with matches against Forest and New Hall, again with new members of the school joining the teams with ease and confidence. The U10 and U11 squads have played many of the local schools and they have continued to improve and enjoy their sport, many of whom are preparing for the IAPS tournament after half term. The highlight so far, has been the introduction of the U9 Netball festival which involved ten local teams.

The teams played on adapted courts in order to benefit their future development and were introduced to

6

Boys’ Hockey Report the boys’ game has shown significant developments, whilst the togetherness of the squad and willingness to improve is first class. The 2nd XI, continuing their excellent form from last season, remain undefeated and have been an example to all senior teams with regular movement between the two senior squads now being common practice. In the middle school the U15s and U14s remain competitive and have grown in confidence as the season progresses. Most notable were impressive performances against Harrow and Forest and we also wish the U14s well in the forthcoming county tournaments.

It has been another very encouraging start to the boys’ hockey term across both the senior and junior age groups. In the Junior School the vast majority of pupils in the Third and Fourth Form have had the opportunity to represent the School in the well-established triangular tournaments against Bancroft’s and Forest, hosted at Old Loughtonians Hockey Club. Under floodlights, over sixty boys played competitive fixtures at the start of term and the positive results continue to highlight the strength in depth of our pupils. A special mention should also be made of the U13s who finished a commendable fourth out of nine teams at the Essex U13 tournament, whilst the U12A team, representing the school a year up, performed admirably and gained valuable experience for next year’s competition. This year has also seen the KS2 hockey club launched after school each Thursday. The number of pupils in attendance continues to grow each week and offers pupils the opportunity to learn through games on the astroturf. One of the teams that has benefited from this club is the U11s and we would like to wish theme best of luck in their upcoming IAPS and Essex tournaments.

In the Senior School, the 1st XI have produced some excellent displays to date without necessarily achieving the results they perhaps deserve. Following the South Africa Hockey Tour last summer

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Linguistics Olympiad attempted the most demanding components of Round One at Advanced Level which is sat as an exam and can lead to the award of certificates by the national organizers and the chance to participate in later stages of the competition.

Chigwell students from Year 8 to 13 spent the afternoon grappling with the knotty linguistic problems posed by this year’s UK Linguistics Olympiad recently.

Our youngest pupils were faced with French, German, Spanish, modern Irish, Chinese and Amele – a language spoken by only a few thousand people in Papua New Guinea. At Intermediate level Chinese and Amele were also on the menu along with Kaqchikel (spoken in Guatemala) and Estonian. Meanwhile, a small number of Sixth Formers

Festival of the Foreign Word Earlier this term, the MFL department organised the inaugural Festival of the Foreign Word, a competition for the Dales’ MFL Reading Prize, which is presented at Speech Day. The event was judged by guest of honour Sir Richard Dales, who alongside his work as a school Governor and his long career in the diplomatic service had a very personal attachment to the speech day prize which was donated by his father in the 1940s. We are grateful to Sir Richard for his involvement with the competition as well as his words of encouragement to all Sixth Form students of MFL. Being able to read and present in a foreign language opens a door into another culture and all present were treated to a variety of excellent

presentations and performances ranging from 17th century French drama to a modern German novel. Many congratulations to Laurence Brooks, who won the competition, performing Segismundo’s soliloquy from La vida es sueño by Calderón de la Barca, a fantastic tale that asks the central question, if life is a dream, as well as exploring Spanish identity in the 17th century. Many congratulations also to Neha Patel, reading Le Monologue d’Harpagon by Moliere , who won second prize. We hope that the high standard of this year’s performances will inspire future generations of Lower Sixth students to participate.

8

University News Although some students are still waiting for their university offers, we have been very pleased with the offers that have come through so far. Our aim is that students are accepted on the courses that we all feel are right for them, and that they go on to achieve the necessary grades. Amongst the offers received are nine from Oxford and Cambridge, and many congratulations go to: Bianca Andrei (Natural Sciences, Trinity College, Cambridge), Anna Chelchowska (Medicine, Worcester College, Oxford), Hana Edwards (Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Trinity College, Cambridge), Rhea Gupta (Classics, Clare College, Cambridge), Faith Inch (English, Murray Edwards College, Cambridge), Ben Kennedy (Philosophy, Politics and Economics, St Hilda's College, Oxford), Neha Patel (Modern and Medieval Languages, Downing College, Cambridge) Harbir Sahota (Mathematics, Jesus College, Oxford) and Kejing Zhong (Economics, Newnham College, Cambridge). We look forward to receiving further news from universities both in the UK and abroad.

9

Rotary Youth Speaks

Poetry By Heart

Three teams from Chigwell took part in this event on Thursday evening, two in the Intermediate section and one in the senior category. In this last category, Michael Newman (Upper Fifth) gave the audience an insight into whether the money spent on finding the Higgs’ ‘boson’ was well spent; he was introduced with style by Ziyad Chaudhary (Removes) and thanked in equal style by Tom Lockley (Upper Fifth).

This year’s East London contest was held in the Romford Library with eight competitors and an enthusiastic capacity audience. Chigwell’s Will Weightman was judged the winner and will go on to take part in the regional finals in Cambridge on March 17th. The adjudicators were fulsome in their praise of Will’s performance and wished him all success in the next round. The national finals will be held in Cambridge on March 18th.

In the Intermediate competition one of the Chigwell teams was chaired by Tilly Scarbrough (Remove), who won best chairperson for her introduction of Ife Oyewole (Remove) who spoke about his experience as an entrepreneur. Luke Mulholland (Remove) thanked Ife. The other team, chaired by Kiran Patel (Third Form), also did well with Bella Stolar (Third Form) being adjudged best vote of thanks in this part of the competition. Josh Hart (Remove) was the speaker with the subject being the car industry and the move to electric cars. Josh was particularly impressive in the way he handled not one, but three, questions from the assigned Rotarian.

Summer 2016 Public Exams Would parents of pupils in the Upper Fifth and Sixth Form please check the current exam timetable and exam entries for their child on Chigwell Gateway via the Pupil Profile. Any changes in the spelling of the name or date of birth need to be brought to our attention, as well as any other errors or omissions. Please do not worry about any exam clashes as these will be dealt with at a later date.

10

Cambridge Schools Debating Competition Three Chigwell teams entered this annual competition, held this year at the New College of Humanities in Bedford Square, Bloomsbury. There were three rounds before the final with the Chigwell A team winning two and coming second in the other, placing second out of the 41 teams competing. The B team managed a creditable 2nd place twice, coming 18th overall. The C team were not as fortunate but debated well and no doubt learnt a lot. At the end of the day the four top teams debated against each other in a sparkling and impressive

debate about the place of PMCs (private military companies) in modern warfare.

Marija Marinovic and Ben Kennedy will go on to compete in the finals rounds in Cambridge on 28th February.

British Biology Olympiad 2016 Congratulations and well done to: Anna Chelchowska and Julia Kotowska – Gold Medal (top 6.6%); Lauren Keiller – Silver Medal (top 9.5%); Jada Coker, Michael Scott, Emma Cadman, Andrew Voong, Kayden Chahal – Bronze Medal (top 15.5%); Zuzanna Borawska, Rohan Chandra, Tanu Kugathasan, Rahul Aggarwal, Kian Nikookam, Zayan Uddin – Highly commended (top 16.7%); Evey Zheng, Tamra Paul, Iva Mohora, Anatoliy Tiavlovsky – Commended (top 16.7%).

The Biology Olympiad is an online quiz run by the Society of Biology for students in Years 12 and 13.

Approximately 7,200 pupils took part in the competition this year including a team of twenty one from Chigwell. The results were very good with eight of the team achieving medals.

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National Safer Internet Day Tuesday 9th February was National Safer Internet Day. We spoke to the students in assembly and in their tutor sessions about positive digital citizenship and learning more about e-safety issues. The following link was sent to all pupils and we recommend that parents also take time to look at the advice on the website. There are lots of useful tips and recommendations for parents on how to encourage and support your child’s safe use of the internet. http://www.internetmatters.org/safer-internet-day-2016/

Old Chigwellians Inspire a New Generation of Artists The Art and Design department were delighted to welcome back Old Chigwellian Ryan Peterson recently. At Chigwell, Ryan studied art and design at GCSE and A level before continuing his studies at Central St Martins in London.

Ryan very kindly agreed to speak to our pupils about his experiences as an art student and also his recent activities as a photographer. A selection of Ryan’s fashion photography is currently on show in the school gallery in the exhibition ‘4 Years’. His work is being exhibited alongside the fashion designs and garments of Naomi Cooper - who is also an Old Chigwellian.

After graduating from Central St Martins Ryan has recently worked with the photographer Nick Knight and he will now be continuing his own career as a photographer at i-D Magazine. It was fantastic to see Ryan and hear him talk

about his work and the passion he has for art and design.

Pupils studying GCSE and AS art & design visited a number of important galleries in London to gather research material for their exam projects. As well as seeing artworks by leading UK and international artists, the pupils also had the opportunity to view the work of Old Chigwellian Pandora Lavender.

Pandora’s work was featured in ‘New Contemporaries’ at the Institute of Contemporary Arts. This is a very prestigious exhibition which features the work of some of the best young artists in the country. Mr Edwin Aitken, Head of Art and Design, commented that it was a very rewarding day and it was also fantastic to see an ex-pupil making such a great start to her career as an artist.

The School Shop The School Shop will be open from 10am to 3pm daily over half term

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Careers willing to represent their area of work, we would be delighted to hear from you.

Please contact Mrs Sue Lee (slee@chigwell-school.org)

On Thursday 21st April, we have our annual careers convention. The aim is that pupils in the Upper Fifth and Sixth Form have the opportunity to talk with representatives of different career areas.

We try to put together as broad a range of businesses and professions as possible, and therefore if any parent would be

In addition, if any parent would be willing to offer work experience to older students, please contact Mr Jack Twinn, Head of Careers (jtwinn@chigwell-school.org).

Howard and Mitchell Essay Prize Sixth Form students submitted well researched and maturely argued essays for entry in the Howard & Mitchell Essay competition. For the Mitchell Essay (science topics) the runners up were Anna Chelchowska: "Reversing aging – an unrealistic dream or a near future?"; and Ayesha Elahi: "Sunshine and Health”. The winning essay was: Lara Hobbis: "Should the germ line genetic modification of humans be allowed in order to treat or prevent disease?"

For the Howard Essay (humanities) the runners up were Hana Edwards: "Time watches from the shadow/And coughs when you would kiss' (W.H. Auden). Discuss the treatment of love and time in literary writing”; and Rhea Gupta: “To what extent was Socrates guilty of 'Impiety and the introduction of new divinities?”; but the winning essay was by Autumn Foord: “To what extent has the portrayal of mental illness in literature differed in representation over time and how has it impacted modern perception?"

Autumn and Lara will present their essays and answer questions on Tuesday 23rd February. Congratulations to all Sixth Formers who took part in the competition and thanks to the judges: Mrs Emma Rea, Mr Simon Pepper, Mr Shakil Chaudhary, Mr Bryan Porter, Dr Graham Dixon (Governor) and Mrs Deborah Cohen (Editor of Science Radio at the BBC).

News From Chigwell The latest edition of News From Chigwell is available on our website: Here

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Digital Leaders well as other features on their tablets, to collaborate with each other and their teachers, and refer to online textbooks from resources like Kerboodle.

Digital leaders Amani Rashid, Zachary Maignen and Henry Scott from the Removes, and Lucy Chillingworth, Olivia Storey and Brooke Newton from the LVI delivered impressive presentations, and took questions, on how they use tablets in their learning to teachers who came to the School’s staff teaching and learning skills session on Monday evening, 8th February. Roles were reversed as they taught the teachers: they showed how they use Microsoft Sway and OneNote, as

Staff News

Wonderful Weaving Art Workshops

We send our congratulations to Ms Charlotte Nairac and her husband Mr Jamie Sliwa on the birth of their son, Gregory James.

Mrs Claire Tilbrook is running four weaving workshops next half term. If anyone has any old balls of wool,

Very sadly, Chris Davies who taught the French Horn from 2003 passed away last week following a battle with cancer. Our thoughts go to his wife Lucy and their children.

ribbons, threads and old CDs please give them to Reception. The CDs will be used to weave on, so it does not matter if they are scratched!

Bad Weather As always, in the event of heavy snow or ice please consult the school website for confirmation of arrangements for the school day. We would always be very reluctant to close the School, but are mindful of the safety of pupils and staff.

14

Sixth Form Induction itself but also the occasion when a unit of AS work is set to be completed over the summer holidays. This work will then be assessed with an initial assessment early in September 2016.

A reminder that Sixth Form induction day will be on Tuesday 5th July when students will be given a taste of the work that they will be covering in their chosen AS subjects. This is an important day in

Over half term pupils from across the School will be travelling to Iceland, CERN in Switzerland, Paris, Hamburg and India. We look forward to hearing about these trips on their return but I am very grateful to staff who have made these opportunities possible. Amongst everything else that will be going on over half term, I hope you have some time to relax and I look forward to seeing you again shortly afterwards.

With best wishes Yours sincerely

Michael Punt

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Message from the Chaplain “Blue Monday” is meant to be the worst day of the

3. Take a reality check. Are you working too hard?

year. Depending on your opinion it is usually around

Is it time to rebalance life and build some fun into

the third Monday of January; but research shows

each day? Or, is it time to stop putting off that task?

that most Mondays in January are not filled with joy.

The lesson of the wonderful staff pantomime “Peter

This compares with June which is reported to be the

Pan” is that life is an amazing adventure. The

happiest month. It is certainly true that January

Darling children head off to Neverland for adventure

weather is usually cold, wet and windy, with short

with Peter Pan. We all need adventure, laughter,

days and long nights. The fun of Christmas and New

company and fun. Without it life loses its magic. But

Year are over and it is a long time until spring

Peter Pan refuses to leave Neverland, he refuses to

heralds warmth and sunshine. For our students

grow up and deal with responsibility. Without

January is tough because the reality of public

responsibility we are stuck in childhood, without fun

examinations suddenly comes into view, allied to all

life loses its spark.

the work that is associated with preparing for them and all the pressures of success or failure.

4. Lastly, be yourself. Trying to be something that you are not never works. We all face challenges in

This half term, in Chapel services, we have been

life and no one has all the answers. Embrace who

looking at a “survival guide for January”. Thoughts

you are and don’t try to copy others. Stand up for

that help us to prosper in this dark and cold month.

what you believe in, speak out for what you feel is

So here is some advice to help us all survive:

important. The greatest challenge of education is to set you free to think for yourself, to question others

1. Look up at the stars and not down at your feet.

and to refuse to follow the crowd.

January may be a dark month but January is also the time when the stars are at their brightest. It is no

So here is my survival guide for the darkest times of

coincidence that the Wise Men were called wise

the year: Look up not down, look forwards not

because they alone looked up and saw the star rising

backwards, make time for fun and adventure, and,

in the east. Winter is a time to look beyond

be true to yourself.And may God lead and guide you

ourselves, not a time to be buried in our own

over the coming year so that you may know his

problems.

presence, his peace and love in all that you do.

2. Look forward not backwards. New Year’s resolutions soon fall into dust but the New Year is a perfect time to reset the compass, to get rid of old habits and take on new challenges. It is often the old habits that stop us seeing the new opportunities.

Ditch those computer games, ditch the endless

Father Simon

checking of mobile phones, look up and outwards not down and inwards.

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Term Dates 2016 Michaelmas Term Staff meetings and INSET on Monday 5th and Tuesday 6th September First day: Wednesday 7th September Half term: Saturday 22nd October to Sunday 6th November Term ends: Wednesday 14th December 2017 Lent Term Staff meetings and INSET on Wednesday 4th January First day: Thursday 5th January Half term: Saturday 11th February to Sunday 19th February Term ends: Wednesday 29th March 2017 Trinity Term (Easter Day is 16th April) First day: Wednesday 19th April Half term: Saturday 27th May to Sunday 4th June INSET Day Monday June 5th Term ends: Wednesday 12th July