HM Letter to Parents February 2017

HEADMASTER’S LETTER FEBRUARY 2017

T0 PARENTS

Dear Parents Once again, the first half of term seems to have passed in a flash.

A great deal has happened both in and out of the classroom, and I continue to be impressed by just how much Chigwell pupils contribute. What follows is a taste of some of those contributions.

Contents Page 1

Universities News Swimming Success for Sisters

Page 2

Dance Showcase

Page 3

Drama Howard and Mitchell Essay Competition

Page 4

1st XI Girls’ Hockey

Page 5

1st XI Girls’ Hockey

Page 6

Boys’ Hockey

Page 7

Boys’ Hockey

Page 8

Girls’ Netball

Page 9

Music

Page 10

Music British Biology Olympiad

Page 11

Festival of the Foreign Word Payaam Kapur

Page 12

Charity Postcard Show Learning + Drugs and Alcohol

Page 13

Assassination for Charity Digital Awareness Summer 2017 Public Exams Support for Safer Places News from Chigwell The School Shop

Page 14

Careers Convention Bad Weather

Page 15

Sixth Form Induction And Finally

Page 16

Message from the Chaplain

Universities News

Swimming Success for Sisters

Congratulations to the Middle Sixth

students who have received a range of excellent university offers. As of a week

ago, 470 courses had been applied for.

From these applications, 66% had led to

offers, 9% had been declined and 25% are awaiting decisions.

Amongst those offers were nine for Oxford

or

Cambridge:

Rachel

Bu

(Engineering, Trinity College, Oxford),

The Iley sisters (Jasmine Upper Fifth,

Newnham College, Cambridge), Marija

Two) continue to impress in the pool

Emily Fourth Form and Isabel Upper

Emma Cadman (Natural Sciences, Marinovic College,

(Law,

Murray

Cambridge),

with a string of successes in the water.

Edwards

Kathy

At the second weekend of the Essex

Peng

County Championship, Jasmine sits way

(Economics, Murray Edwards College,

ahead of the other competitors on points

Cambridge), Julia Kotowska (Medicine,

and won an abundance of gold medals to

St Catherine’s College, Oxford), Lauren

add to the tally this weekend. She hopes

Keiller (Medicine, Hertford College,

to continue this run of good form and

Oxford), Michael Chamberlain (History &

clinch the title in a couple of weeks.

Politics, St Edmund Hall, Oxford), Lewis

Emily

Wait (Spanish & Linguistics, Exeter College,

Oxford),

Payaam

achieved

a

British

record,

swimming the fastest of all time since

Kapur

records began, in the 50m backstroke

(Physics, St Peter’s College, Oxford).

and clinched the gold medal in the U13

event. And not to be out done by her big sisters, Isabel won gold in the 50m

backstroke in the U12 category. The girls continue with the county champions

over half term and we wish them all the best in aiming for the title of county champions.

1

Dance Showcase

The 2017 Dance Showcase saw over

All of the money raised from tickets

twenty-four acts with a variety of

charities; Smiles with Grace and

eighty Chigwell pupils perform a total of

sales is being split between two

dancing styles in the Drama Centre.

Chigwell Riding Trust. We are delighted

Pupils performing had an age range of

that a total of ÂŁ534.00 was raised.

five up to sixteen and performed styles from ballet, tap, modern, jazz, Indian and contemporary. choreographed

The groups all

their

routines

themselves and delighted the audience with their array of talents. A group from

the Pre Prep opened the show with a

spectacular Indian Dance. This was then followed by a range of dances from

pupils in the Junior School. The audience were then treated to a fabulous

ensemble from Grace Copsey followed

by a solo performance from her brother Josh; both experienced and talented

dancers. A beautiful ballet piece came

next from two of our Year 3 girls (Rosalie Aitken and Grace Thompson) in striking costumes. The show included two performances of Revolting Children

from the show Matilda. The first

performance, by Honey Harrison-Maw and Olivia Boreham was not only danced

but

also

sung!

The

second

was

performed by Eve Nikookam, Aleeza

Choudhry and Holly Zrinzo, bringing the show to an energetic close.

2

Drama

The drama department got the term off

Next, the Lower Fifth dazzled us all with

theatre: the Upper Fifth went to the

between

seven short devised pieces performed

to a great start with two trips to the

25th

January

and

27th

January. This was a wonderful festival

Gielgud Theatre to see the highly

of drama, created by the pupils

acclaimed “The Curious Incident of the

themselves and exploring a wide range

Dog in the Night-Time”, adapted for the

of themes such as refugees, suicide,

stage by Simon Stephens and based on

war, friendship, family, drugs and

the novel by Mark Haddon; the Middle

pregnancy. Candidates offered acting,

Sixth went to the Theatre Royal,

light, sound, costume and make-up

Haymarket, to see the RSC production

across a range of styles and genres and

of “Much Ado About Nothing”. These

to an outstandingly high standard. Well

were great shows which the students

done to all involved.

thoroughly enjoyed.

Howard and Mitchell Essay Competition The annual Howard and Mitchell Essay

In the Mitchell Essay competition, the

take place at 5:30pm on Tuesday 14th

wrote on: From Gutenberg to printing

winner was Zuzanna Borawska who

competition winners’ presentations will

organs - the amazing story of 3D

March. This year’s winner of the Howard

printing.

Essay competition is Olivia Mendel

Highly commended were:

Thomas Marshall: Fracking - is it safe?

Portnoy, who wrote on: To what extent

and Jada Coker: Why are old cells more

was the improvement of treatment of

susceptible to infection and disease

patients in Bethlem Royal Hospital, from

than young cells?

1815-90, due to the York Retreat? Highly

commended were: Michael Chamberlain:

Can Afghanistan be considered a graveyard

All are welcome to join us for Olivia’s

García Márquez’s use of magical realism

congratulations go to all twenty-six

and

for an empire? and Lewis Wait: Is Gabriel

Zuzanna’s

presentations

students who submitted essays.

comparable to fantasy in English literature?

3

and

1st XI Girls’ Hockey

and

James-Pajwani to make the score 1-2.

an end last week when they lost 1-3 to

penalty corner and Alice Melvin came

The

senior

girls’

prolonged

Shortly afterwards, Chigwell won a

successful hockey season finally came to

close to equalising with her drag flick

Reed’s School in the final eight teams of

effort rattling the cross bar.

the National Independent Schools Hockey Cup.

woodwork of the opposition’s goal took

Motivated by a large

another battering as a well worked left

crowd that turned out to cheer them

slip corner from Stevie Southall came

along, the girls approached the game in

close as it hit the far post.

a confident and energetic manner. But it was the Surrey side that took the early

The second half saw Chigwell enjoy a

advantage going 2-0 up in the first 15 minutes.

The

large amount of possession and time in

Undeterred, Chigwell then

the opposition’s half and the energy and

enjoyed a large amount of attacking

effort the home side exerted was

pressure of their own and soon clawed

faultless

their way back into the match with a super reverse stick from Charlotte

4

throughout

the

match.

Chigwell created ample opportunities

This marks the end of their season,

many

successful 1st XI side in the school’s

which has been recorded as the most

and were unlucky not to equalise on occasions,

but

an

in-form

history: Essex Outdoor U18 Champions;

goalkeeper for Reed’s School kept a

Essex Indoor U18 Champions (for 2 years

narrow lead for her side. It was the

in a row); Semi Finalists at the U18

opposition who made it count when

Regional outdoor championship; and

they scored late on in the game with a

Quarter Finalists of the ISHC.

counter attack, killing the game off at 13.

The final whistle went shortly

afterwards and a strange mix of

disappointment but pride was seen on the faces of the Chigwell ladies, knowing

that they could have given no more to the match.

5

Boys’ Hockey

It has been a frustrating start to the

extra-curricular club run by Mr Tim

affecting many of the boys’ fixtures and

In the Senior School, the middle school

Watson and Mr Chris Gladman.

boys’ hockey season with the weather training sessions at the start of the term.

have led the way in terms of their

Despite these challenges, in the Junior

performances.

School the vast majority of pupils in the

tense end to the county competition.

local fixtures against Bancroft’s and

The boys ended the tournament in third

These were hosted at Old Hockey

Club

place despite being tied on points with

and

Felsted

highlighted the strength in depth of the

the

Essex

conceding a goal all day. The U15s have

U13

also established themselves as an

tournament, whilst the U12A team,

extremely competitive team and have

representing the School a year up, performed

admirably

and

the best results out of all the teams this

gained

term. A special mention should also be

valuable experience prior to next year’s

made of Joseph Ahern (who has been

competition. In addition, the Lower Two

invited to attend one of the newly

and Upper Two boys have benefited

established

from an increased number of fixtures local

matches

on

England

Hockey

Performance Centres) and Oliver Betts

this year with the entire year groups playing

Following

difference despite not losing a match or

finished a commendable fourth out of at

Bancroft’s.

teams, the boys lost out on goal

should also be made of the U13s who teams

and

goalless draws with the aforementioned

two year groups. A special mention nine

narrowly

regional rounds of the HA Cup after a

opportunity to represent the School in Loughtonians

U14s

missed out on qualification for the

Third and Fourth Forms have had the Forest.

The

(for his county selection). At the top end

Friday

of the School, the 1st and 2nd XI have

afternoons against New Hall, Bancroft’s

had a tough start to the season with

and Woodford Green Prep with several

several fixtures cancelled. Despite this,

more to come following half term. At the

the 1st XI have made positive strides

lower end of the Junior School it has also

forward and are making up for lost time,

been pleasing to see so many pupils

their performances improving with

attending the Thursday after school

every fixture.

6

Boys’ Hockey

7

Girls’ Netball

The netball term has been very successful

The U11 and U12 squads will be taking

tournaments still to come. The U14s and

as the IAPS competitions taking place

part in the Bancroft’s Tournament as well

so far but with many competitions and

towards the end of term, where we as a

U15s started preseason with a flying start

school will be looking to attend the finals

against New Hall and then continued to

again this year. The U10s continue to play

do well with closely fought matches

very well and they are currently unbeaten.

against St. Edmund’s and Haileybury. The

Chigwell is also hosting an U9 and U10

U15s faced St. Catherine’s School, Surrey,

Festival involving lots of girls in both of

in the Independent Schools Netball Cup

the year groups. The seniors also have the

(ISNC). This was a wonderful game to

Kelsall Tournament next term which they

watch with such entertaining and fast

are looking forward to competing in

court netball played throughout. Chigwell

following previous success.

unfortunately lost the game by seven goals. Nonetheless, they played very well

and special mention must go to Sam

Thank you to all of the parents who

performances on the day. Following on

term; it has been lovely to have so much

supported all of the teams throughout the

O’Connor and Ellie Ahern for their

team spirit on the side lines.

from this, the U13s took part in the quarter-finals of the ISNC at home against

James Allen’s Girls’ School. Again, this was a great game and the girls played

well. Chigwell has never had two teams reach such stages of the cup before, so

this was a real achievement. Despite their

loss, the U13s went on to win their own

tournament against local opposition, which again shows great determination and attitude from the squad.

8

Music

In just a few weeks, the music

The Shepherd’s Song and to finish with

exceptional musical performances with

Beethoven’s 5th Symphony.

department

has

produced

an arrangement of the Finale from

three

opportunities for so many in the School.

Notable

The Lent Term started with the rousing

distinguished

concert celebrations on 5th January. exotic

and

the

evening

posthumously

a great night of brilliant music. The gave

of

musicians

our

rounded

Schumann’s Widmung and later in

the audience knew that they were in for Choir

two

School showed his versatility singing

suggestive

“Bacchanale,” from the First Orchestra, Chapel

from

the evening off; Henry Bird, Head of

From the first note of Camille SaintSaëns’

solos

performing published

Waltz Op.69, No.2.

wonderful

Chopin’s

B

minor

Rowan Jones

demonstrated why she has been

performances of Felix Mendelssohn’s

awarded a scholarship to study at the

There Shall a Star Come out of Jacob,

Royal Academy of Music with a

The Three Kings – P Cornelius Soloist:

rapturous,

Lucas Abrami-Gill and Rise Up Shephard

virtuosic

and

dazzling

performance on clarinet of Solo de

and Follow – J Rutter Soloist: Oliver

Concours by André Messager.

Jackson. The rising power and expertise

Years 5 and 6 travelled to the 02 Arena

of the Big Band produced a set of colour and intrigue with The Creeper, Birdland,

to take part in Young Voices. Music was

giving Middle Sixth soloists Tom

normal and scheduled choir rehearsals,

rehearsed over three months during

Song for my Daughter and Skyfall,

culminating in an evening performance

Marshall and Rhea Patel a chance to

of an enormous massed-voice choir

shine. The Flute Ensemble gave breath-

concert of almost 7,500 children in front

taking renditions of Dance of the Reed

of family and friends. After a three hour

Flutes and in stark contrast Over the Rainbow.

rehearsal led by the conductor, Mr David

The final ensemble of the

Lawrence of the Young Voices band, the

evening, the Wind Band, finished the

children were more than prepared and

evening with a complete display of

full of excited anticipation as the sell-out

colour and style in the Overture Antares,

9

Music

concert began with a striking light

most incredible of sounds using only

some fantastic singers and dancers

street dance specialists ‘Urban Strides’,

their voices. Equally dynamic were the

show. This year the choir were joined by

known for their motivational and

throughout the show including Natalie

innovative moves.

Williams, the soul/jazz artist and X

Factor’s guitar slinging performer

We look forward to the Chamber Concert

Tabby O’Callaghan who raised the roof

on Thursday 23rd February in New Hall

with his Rock Medley. The ‘Beatbox Collective’

both

enthralled

and the Spring Choral Concert on

and

Saturday 25th March at Christ Church,

mesmerised in their ability to create the

Spitalfileds.

British Biology Olympiad

Students achieved excellent results in

came in the top 15% and achieved a

competition, which is run by the Society

Nikookam,

the

recent

of Biology.

Biology

bronze medal. Rohan Chandra, Kian

Olympiad

Hussain,

Leah

Redmond, Adam Goriparthi, Kush

Over 7,500 Sixth Form

Thakaria and Aleksandra Lopuszko

students took part from schools all over

were

the UK, including our team of twenty-

highly

commended.

Congratulations go to all who took part.

one. The results this time built on the

high standards achieved in the past and included three gold medals.

Raabia

Emma

Cadman, Julia Kotowska and Zhiyu

Zheng came in the top 6% of candidates

and were awarded gold medals; Lauren

Keiller, Rahul Aggarwal, Iva Mohora,

Yifei Zheng and Zuzanna Borawska

gained silver medals because they were

placed in the top 10%; Michael Scott

10

Festival of the Foreign Word Six A level foreign linguists recently

reading of two fables by Jean de la

Word.

led the judging, assisted by MFL

took part in the Festival of the Foreign The competition requires

students to give a public reading in a language they study, along with a brief English commentary, and the winner

Fontaine. Governor, Mrs Isobel Peck, teachers Mr Paul Fletcher and Mr Simon Coppell

receives the Dales Reading Prize on

Speech Day. This year, Maddie Prior (Spanish), Sai Hindocha (Spanish),

Lewis Wait (French), Rhea Patel

(German), Daniel Trickov (German) and

Rada Daleva (German) all gave readings of a very high standard. However, it was

Lewis who was awarded the prize for his

Payaam Kapur

You may remember Payaam who left the Middle Sixth last summer. He opted

to take a Gap Year before going to

university this coming autumn and he

was selected for a Gap Year Commission with the Army at Sandhurst. Payaam has had intensive training since the

start of September and he was kind

enough to invite two other teachers and me to attend his Passing Out Parade just before Christmas.

He has since

completed a month with the Army in Scotland before being transferred to Kenya until he goes to university.

11

Charity Postcard Show The

art

and

design

department

‘We have been incredibly impressed by

presented an exhibition of works

the high standard of work entered into

competition.

creativity is clear to see throughout the

resulting from the charity postcard The

exhibition

the show. The attention to detail and

was

organised by Miss Molly Wragg as an

exhibition.

effort to help raise funds for the school

everyone who took the time to enter

trip to Ghana which will take place in April.

A huge thank you goes to

and donate.’

All of the monies raised from

donations and sales will be used to buy

equipment, teaching aids, books, crafts

and games to aid our pupils’ voluntary work with underprivileged children in a school in rural Ghana.

The exhibition was stunning and the

response from both pupils and staff was very pleasing. Molly commented that

Learning +

Drugs and Alcohol

parents and students in Year 7 and above

will be talking to pupils in the Lower

Mr Chris Lord would like to remind all

On Monday 20th March a visiting speaker

of the opportunities available under the

Fifth, Upper Fifth and Lower Sixth about

Learning+ programme. These include

the dangers of drugs and alcohol. There

helping to produce a school journal, an

will also be a presentation to parents at

academic lecture programme, essay

6pm, and further details will follow. We

competitions, email news groups and

hope that as many parents as possible

philosophical discussions. Full details are

will be able to attend because this is an

available under the Academic button on

important issue.

Gateway:https://gateway.chigwellschool.org/learning

12

Assassination for Charity

Students in the Middle Sixth have raised ÂŁ600

for

charity

through

Support for Safer Places

their

participation in the annual Assassination

Competition orchestrated by Mr Shakil Chaudhary.

The

winner

announced at the end of term.

will

be During the annual charities’ week, pupils

Digital Awareness

Following on from the excellent Digital Awareness sessions for pupils, staff

and parents and my subsequent

letter, you may find it useful to see the

resources

on

this

site

http://www.gdst.net/parents/live-my-

digital which give guidance on six areas of risk linked to social media.

Summer 2017 Public Exams

Please can parents of pupils in the Upper Fifth and Sixth Form 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.

raised money to pay for a Christmas Eve

trip to the pantomime for over forty families supported by Safer Places. This

local organisation works with men, women

and

children

who

find

themselves in need of a safe place to live because they have suffered as the result

of domestic abuse. Kimberly Bull and

Emily Long spoke in assembly to Senior School pupils about the work of the charity as well as explaining more about the various faces of domestic abuse.

News From Chigwell

The latest edition of News From

Chigwell is available on our website here

The School Shop

Please note over the half term break the

School Shop will be open from 10am to 3pm on Tuesday 14th February and Wednesday 15th February.

13

Careers Convention

We are holding our annual Careers

School, or indeed contacts from outside,

7pm to 9pm. The convention is primarily

students about their area of work and

Convention on Thursday 20th April from

would be interested in talking to our

aimed at our Year 11 pupils to help them

career path, we would love to hear from

make informed choices when choosing

you. The evening also provides a chance

their A level subjects and planning for university

and

a

career

to showcase companies or organisations

beyond.

and network with other professionals.

However, Chigwell Sixth Form students

Please contact Miss Roxanne Darkin at

are also strongly encouraged to attend.

rdarkin@chigwell-school.org for more information or to nominate new volunteers

Bad Weather

As always, in the event of heavy snow or ice please consult the school website (www.chigwell-school.org)

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.

In these times of inclement/adverse

weather parent and pupils are reminded of the need for sensible footwear in

This event has been a great success in

order to minimise the risk of slips or trips

the past but we are always keen to have

whilst making their way to and from

new volunteers so we can represent the

school. If your child is in any doubt of

broadest range of expertise as possible.

what would be deemed suitable, they

If parents from any section of the

should liaise with their Tutor.

14

Sixth Form Induction

And Finally

day will be on 4th July when students

over the last half term and thank you in

A reminder that Sixth Form induction

As always, thank you for all your support

will be given a taste of the work that

anticipation of your help over the

they will be covering in their chosen A

coming weeks.

level subjects. This is an important day

I hope the half term

break provides the opportunity for some

in itself but also the occasion when a

relaxation although I am aware that

unit of A level work is set to be

older pupils will want to carry out some

completed over the summer holidays.

revision. In addition, trips are taking

This work will then be reviewed with an

place to India to visit the Ashram and

initial assessment early in September

Tim Pruss Memorial School, and to

2017.

Hamburg for the German Exchange. We

look forward to hearing about these and wish all those involved a fulfilling and safe journey.

With best wishes Yours sincerely

Michael Punt

15

Message from the Chaplain I wonder if you have ever had an epiphany moment.

The third epiphany is about our relationships. "No

differently; a moment when everything changed. We

life and death. In one of his first acts Jesus calls his

A moment when you suddenly saw your life live in a society that presents us with a vision of how

to be successful and how to be happy. This is

reinforced by social media where we like to demonstrate how effectively we fit into this society,

how successful we are and how happy we are. And yet we also live in a society where many are not

happy and do not see themselves as fulfilling a rich and full experience of life.

In Chapel we have been thinking about key epiphany

moments in our lives. Moments when suddenly you are released to live life differently. The first epiphany is based on the rather odd life of John the Baptist

who, we are told, wore camel's hair clothes and ate locusts and wild honey. This man would not have fitted comfortably into our media obsessed age and yet he reminds us that conformity is not for everyone.

The first epiphany is to be released to be yourself. To

realise that trying to be what you are not only leads to unhappiness.

The second epiphany is about life itself. "The best

things in life are free", goes the Luther Vandross and

Janet Jackson song. Jesus turns the water into wine; however, pure water is better than the finest

man is an island" wrote John Donne in his treatise on disciples to work with him. He knew that in order to fulfil his mission he needed a team around him. And

yet he does not just choose likeminded individuals, he chooses people who will argue and disagree.

Matthew the tax collector, working for the Romans,

is confronted by Simon the Zealot, who has been working to drive the Romans out of Palestine. The

third epiphany is the revelation that the most

creative teams are made, not by everyone being the same, but by the creative challenge of being different. There is serious concern that society is becoming increasingly polarised. Social media has

had the effect of allowing us to find plenty of people that agree with us whilst we avoid those who disagree. The third epiphany liberates us to realise

that difference and debate is the very heart of our

growth in understanding, and, at the very heart the development of wisdom.

I thank God for the fact that Chigwell is a place where

we can encourage everyone to realise their individual

voice. Where education can be seen as a precious gift.

And, where difference leads to creativity, wisdom and understanding.

Champagne. Our five senses, the simple pleasures of

life and the joy of human love are treasures that no

money can buy. The second revelation is to the

Father Simon

beauty of a sunset and the majesty of a simple flower.

Liberation to see this has the ability to set us free

from chasing after the latest gadget in order to enjoy what we already have. Liberation to see that "the best things in life are free".

16

TERM DATES 2017 Half term: Saturday 11th February to Sunday 19th February Term ends: Wednesday 29th March Trinity Term First day: Wednesday 19th April Half term: Saturday 27th May to Monday 5th June (INSET Day Monday June 5th) Term ends: Wednesday 12th July Michaelmas Term First day: Wednesday 6th September Half term: Saturday 21st October to Sunday 5th November Term ends: Wednesday 13th December