HM Letter to Parents May 2018

HEADMASTER’S LETTER MAY 2018

T0 PARENTS

Dear Parents As I write this, the Trinity Term is in full swing. Pupils are very busy inside and out of the classroom and the sun is shining. We and they are extremely fortunate to have these opportunities and what follows are some highlights from the last few weeks showing how many pupils have engaged with some of what is on offer.

Contents Page 1 Page 2

Page 5 Page 6

BBC Radio Essex Summer Ball The Big Chill Williams Project Visit by Matt Dickinson Biology Challange ISFA Final Cricket

Page 7

Cricket

Page 3 Page 4

Tom Atkinson Page 8

Girls’ Sport

Page 9

Girls’ Sport International Success for Adrianna Wojtyna

Page 10

Trip to Krakow and Auschwitz

Page 11

Music

Page 12

Chigwell School Young Musician of the Year Competition

Page 13

Drama

Page 14

Expedition Training Weekend in the Peak District

Page 15

School Gallery Exhibition 'Mainly Landscapes' by Mr Paul Eardley

Page 16

Careers Convention

Page 17

Speech Day Sixth Form Induction Days

Page 18

Driving and Parking on the School Site

Page 19

Positive Mental Health UCAS Evening Staff News And Finally

Page 20

Message fron the Chaplain

BBC Radio Essex Charlotte James-Pajwani and Pavan Bhangal both attended BBC Radio Essex

recently to be interviewed about the potential lowering of the voting age to sixteen.

They represented opposing

points of view with confidence and coped with some tough questions.

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Summer Ball A ticket order form and details of the

event and tickets are selling fast. Please

of Saturday 7th July have been sent out

Secretary, on 020 8501 5711 for more

contact Mrs Tina Page, the Ball

Summer Ball to be held on the evening

information.

by e-mail. This is always a very popular

The Big Chill In January, Mrs Emma Rea began a new

£900 raised from a single cake sale at the

Robert Swindells, a book about a

from the sponsored Big Chill reading

class reader with form 8E: Stone Cold by

end of the Lent Term and nearly £1,500

teenager called Link and the often

event over the Easter holidays – an

inescapable cycle of homelessness, where

extension of the Senior School English

those affected can, often through no fault

Department’s Wider Reading initiative.

of their own, find themselves living on the

Given that a donation of £1,000 covers the

streets for months at a time with no

full costs of providing the basics at the

money, little food and no access to basic

end of a young person’s journey from

hygiene. Our pupils in 8E were deeply

homelessness to their first tenancy, the

affected by the book, not least by the fact

generosity of Chigwell pupils and their

that Link was only slightly older than they

parents and relatives will have directly

are, and they undertook to mobilise their

impacted the lives of some of the most

KS2 and KS3 peers to raise as much

vulnerable young people.

money as possible for Centrepoint, a

More events are planned in June and an

charity that seeks to break the cycle of

update will be provided in the end-of-term

homelessness for young people.

letter, together with a grand total raised

There followed one of the most successful

for Centrepoint, but in the meantime we

individual charity fundraising campaigns

would like to express our thanks for your

in the School’s recent history, with nearly

support with this campaign.

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Williams Project There have been two interesting

Williams Project sessions this term. Mr Matthew Slocombe, former Chigwell

teacher and current doctoral student at

Birkbeck University, described how the brain creates neural networks to develop

language

and

meaning,

enabling us to share our thoughts.

Professor Charlie Laderman, O.C.,

author of Donald Trump – The Making of a World View, spoke on why we shouldn’t be surprised by the US

President. Please do encourage your sons and daughters to give WP a try.

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Visit by Matt Dickinson

Writer, documentary film maker and explorer, Matt Dickinson, shared his passion for challenging landscapes when he spoke to pupils earlier this month.

Biology Challenge

Chigwell biologists from Years 9 and 10 recently took part in the Biology Challenge, an online competition run by the Society of Biology open to all schools in the UK. The team of six produced some impressive results for such a small group, achieving three silver medals, two bronze medals and one highly commended performance. Connie Duggan, Hanna Johal and Toby Jefferson won the silver medals; Matthew Punt and Nayan Bhudia won the bronze medals, and Benjamin Duffee was highly commended.

Congratulations to all who took part and well done for maintaining the School’s high level of success in this competition..

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ISFA Final

A combined U16/15 team travelled to St George’s Park, the Football Association national centre for the final of the ISFA U16 shield. The boys were given a tour of the facility and played well against a strong side from The Priory School, Edgbaston. Despite coming second on the day, the team should feel extremely proud that they reached the final and also of the way in which they played with such commitment. All of those who travelled to watch the match were impressed by the way in which the team behaved and thought that the boys were excellent ambassadors for the School.

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Cricket

Although Chigwell had its fair share of bad weather during the start of the season, our ground staff have worked wonders to ensure that our students still managed to get outside to play fixtures on our beautiful fields. The highlight of the season was the victory against Colchester Royal Grammar School, where Chigwell beat Colchester by 33 runs.

Chigwell also pulled off a great victory against City of London beating them rather convincingly with some brilliant individual performances. However, Chigwell were rained off against Mill Hill, Haberdashers and also Forest when the match was abandoned three quarters of the way through the second innings. The 1st XI have won 2 matches, lost 2 matches and had 2 matches abandoned due to the bad weather. However, Chigwell have been blessed with some wonderful individual performances in the 1st XI by the Middle Sixth, Lower Sixth, Upper Fifth, Lower Fifth, and amazingly with one Remove player. Chigwell has used 25 different players in the 1st XI this season and they are only halfway through the season. On a positive note, playing younger players is a good indication that we have a good base of strong cricketers moving up through the school age groups.

There has been success for both of the Chigwell U15s cricket teams. The highlight of the season was against Brentwood School in their annual T20 fixture. The U15A and U15B showed plenty of grit and determination to beat Brentwood. The U15A team produced a very convincing win by piling up a large total and then bowling Brentwood out for less than half the total. The Chigwell U15B team produced a brilliant win.

Brentwood needed 10 to win in the last over but they only managed to scrabble 4 runs for a Chigwell victory.

I have been very impressed with the development and the enthusiasm of the U14s squad. The season has brought the team together and given them the confidence to go out and play some entertaining cricket. The highlight of the U14s was the victory against Boswell School in the Essex Cup. Chigwell restricted Boswell to only 89 runs in their 20 overs and they knocked off the total in just under 10 overs. Chigwell will now meet Forest in the next round of the Essex Cup. The U13s are a powerful year group with plenty of solid cricketers coming through.

In terms of success, they have only lost three matches this season and that has been between both the A and the B teams. The U13s are still in the Essex Cup

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Cricket

and they are due to play against Westcliff School or Hall Mead in the next round. I am sure they will have a successful season with so many hardworking players in the year group.

will be a great team if they continue to concentrate and work hard.

Although the U11s have struggled to produce a victory this season, they have been very impressive in terms of development and team spirit.

Performances have shown that the U11s are improving and really starting to understand how to win. In time, the U11s

The U10s have been the most successful year group throughout the School. They have had 100% success in terms of victories and they have also been very committed to training and practice sessions. With such a strong up and coming year group, I am certain Chigwell cricket will go from strength to strength.

The U11 girls played their first match against Brentwood this season. It was so good to see the girls playing in two matches and performing with the bat and ball in a competitive cricket match. For many of the girls it was their first ever match and this was surprising considering the quality of the skills they demonstrated when batting and bowling. The U11 girls’ team will have one more match after half term; let’s hope they have fun and enjoy themselves.

The U12s had a reasonable start to the season. They have played some great cricket as a team and showed plenty of character and maturity. The highlight of their season was against Forest, where Chigwell won in a close match beating Forest in the later stages of the game.

Let's hope the U12s can keep up that fighting team spirit during the summer.

Tom Atkinson

We send our congratulations to Tom Atkinson who recently played in the Essex Open. This golf tournament includes golf professionals and good amateurs. Tom was the youngest player in the field but came in a creditable tied 53rd out of 71, beating several professionals. It was a great experience for him, which he thoroughly enjoyed and which will hold him in good stead for the future.

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Girls’ Sport The U14 and U15 rounders teams have played a few games between them, and have had a mixture of results. The U14s lost to Forest early on in the term but have made good improvements since then, which will hopefully result in a better performance in their forthcoming fixtures.

The U15s started their rounders campaign by convincingly beating St. Edmund’s at home, both teams winning by a significant margin. Buoyed by these victories, they then travelled to play Saffron Walden County High. This proved to be a tough fixture, with the home side demonstrating their refined skills and superior tactical understanding of the game, the result was unfortunately a loss to both teams.

The summer term is always the favourite term for any games’ department, because it signifies the start of rounders, football, cricket, tennis and various other activities in the glorious sunshine. Unfortunately, the start of this Trinity Term has seen the dreaded ‘April showers’, which has resulted in a quiet start and meant many girls’ fixtures have been cancelled.

In addition to their rounders, the U15s have been fortunate enough to play one of the few tennis fixtures that went ahead this half term. There were several pairs that turned out and competed against Bancroft’s School and though many are not natural tennis players, this year group’s sporting prowess and athleticism shone through, and they had a very successful evening.

The weather has had an impact on a number of girls’ tennis and rounders fixtures this term. Fortunately, the weather did not affect the most significant fixture of the term, House Rounders. In a closely fought affair, with a lot disagreement regarding the numerous rules of the game, Penn’s was victorious having not lost any of the games.

With little to report in the way of senior results, thankfully the Junior School have had more luck with the weather and they

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Girls’ Sport

In addition to rounders, football is becoming an increasing popular girls sport at Chigwell. The numbers attending the football clubs after school has been impressive and the coaches have commented on the talent that is coming through the ranks. There has only been one fixture this half term, which was the U13A and U13B against Queenswood School. This age group in particular, has been consistently turning out in number to train and was rewarded with two victories.

With many more fixtures to come after half term and with the weather on our side, we hope to have more results to report on.

have played several rounders and football fixtures. The most significant of these fixtures was the inaugural U12 and U13 Rounders Tournaments at St. Edmund’s and Haileybury. On what was a stunning Bank Holiday weekend both A and B teams in the different age groups enjoyed great success. The U12A teams came 2nd overall and the U12B team won their tournament.

The U13A finished 3rd, to some very strong teams and again the U13B team won their tournament, with an excellent performance from Olivia Nicolas as both batter and fielder.

International Success for Adrianna Wojtyna

Lower Sixth student Adrianna Wojtyna, came second in the 27th Dr İbrahim Arikan International Research Projects Competition in Turkey recently. This is a competition organised annually by the MEF Educational Institutions in Istanbul. Every year, about thirty international teams are selected to present their results at the finals, held at the MEF University and young researchers from all over the world have the opportunity to present their projects, to talk about their results and to discuss different scientific methods. Adrianna’s research “Detection of bacteria E.coli with biosynthesized silver nanoparticles as SERS substrates" gained an impressive second place in the chemistry category of the competition. The distinguished jury was made up of representatives from technological companies, visitors, and professors. Adrianna commented that the experience was a great example of how broad the impact of science can be. Not only does it allow us to discover the unknown, but also to learn about new cultures, as well as to become more open-minded people.

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Trip to Krakow and Auschwitz Thirty three pupils have just returned from a trip to Krakow and Auschwitz. Over three very intensive days, they had to digest huge amounts of information about the monumental tragedy of the Jewish community in Poland, not only visiting Krakow but also the salt mine and most importantly Auschwitz.

observations; some were horrified by the amount of hair they saw in Auschwitz concentration camp, small shoes left behind and the enormous space that the whole camp covered; others were deeply touched by the pictures of prisoners, children holding hands while walking to their deaths.

Their guide took them into the largest death camp in Europe, showing and explaining the remaining evidence of the genocide committed by the Nazis. One day was spent visiting Krakow’s castle and old city where pupils learnt of Poland’s complicated history and the power of religion in this country, which still influences the national mentality.

This all amounted to a deeply emotional and educational trip, greatly complementing the material covered in history and religious studies back at Chigwell School.

One of the main parts of Krakow is the Jewish district, once lively and thriving, now melancholic but popular among tourists. Across the main river is an area where the Jews were herded into a ghetto during WW2. Pupils soberly watched the square where over a thousand men, women and children were massacred in the final “liquidation” of the Krakow Jews in 1943. Empty chairs in the square serve as a powerful reminder of the people who never sat there.

The staff who accompanied the trip were proud of the pupils who displayed good manners, courtesy and maturity. They had different opinions and different

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Music

The opportunities that present themselves at this school are undeniably wonderful and the Choral Concert is an example of this. Children as young as eight can perform alongside students in their final year, staff, parents and professionals, performing music of the highest quality and historically of the most prominent and high rate in our Western European culture.

Songs of achievement continued with a quartet of pupils in their final year; Kate Hawes, Maddie Lovett, Sarina Rattan and Yasmin Antoniou, singing Schubert’s Gott ist mein Hirt, accompanied by strings and harps.

Such was the sound coming out of the church during the afternoon rehearsal that members of the public passing the doors returned in the evening to buy tickets and see the concert. One such appreciative gentleman moved to tears, commented that if he had children, he would have ensured they attended Chigwell School as never before had he heard or believed it possible for a school to produce a standard so high and of such quality.

The Finale of the Choral Concert, that of the final movement of Beethoven’s tumultuous 9th Symphony, was so powerfully charged with emotion, extremes of dynamic, timbre and joy “freude”. It was befitting that our soloists; Eleanor Janes, Daniela Thomas, Alex Garziglia and Matthew Duncan, in this performance were teachers of the school and that their pupils were in the choir, singing alongside.

The Lower One and Upper One Prom Concerts have been a resounding success. They give pupils a wonderful opportunity to perform in a supportive and engaging setting, whilst also allowing them the delight to listen to some of the more senior musicians performing at the start of these concerts, namely Josh Copsey and Georgia Reid.

The evening also gives an opportunity for the winner of the previous academic year of our Young Musician of the Year competition, to present a full concerto.

Rowan Jones, who is now studying clarinet at the Royal Academy, gave a beautifully poised performance of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A. The detail in the classical architecture of this iconic work for clarinet was aptly mirrored in the beauty of the Hawkesmoor interior design of Christ Church.

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Chigwell School Young Musician of the Year Competition The Young Musician of the Year Competition demonstrated that commitment, hard work and talent add up to stunning performances by our pupil musicians. Lucas Abrami-Gill attained the top award, followed by Edwin To and Georgia Reid, for ‘highly commendable.’ Adjudicator, Michael Howard, said the quality of performance on the day from all musicians, not just those who made it to the final, was a wonderful spectacle and advertisement for Chigwell School and that we should feel really proud.

pieces played. Director of Music, Mr Howard Ebden, remarked that these events don’t even begin to reveal the capabilities of our musicians. “The vast majority of performers play three or more instruments, each with its own demands of time and skill to master, the tenacity required for these young people, to be so dedicated to their music was palpable on the night.”

Mr Ebden also noted that putting the competitive aspect aside, the day enabled every pupil to demonstrate real success and quality in their work. “To us, they are all winners who should be proud of their own individual performances.”

Thirty-seven pupils participated through the entire day, with a total of sixty-seven

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Drama

This term the Key Stage Two Play was a modern version of “Sleeping Beauty�. Over forty children participated in this glitzy and upbeat piece that was highly entertaining for all who attended the two nights just before half term. Congratulations to Dr Mireille Zrinzo, Miss Klairi Prokopiou and Mr Ed Gamwells for directing the cast so well and creating a colourful and entertaining design.

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Expedition Training Weekend in the Peak District On Friday 27th April, a group of 15 pupils from the Removes, Lower Fifth and Upper Fifth set off for a training weekend in preparation for the trip to Nepal this coming October. The group, who are all trekking to Everest Base Camp over Michaelmas half term, camped for two nights near Bakewell, and took part in a range of activities to ensure that they are fully equipped and well prepared for their forthcoming expedition. Pupils set up their camp (in the dark), cooked using trangias and completed a seven hour hike through the hills and valleys of the Peak District. All pupils were put to the test when they had

to climb up a steep, narrow crevice in Stanage rock; a task which required logical thinking and a great deal of team work Everyone on the trip performed exceptionally well, especially given the weather conditions, and following valuable discussion sessions with their guide for the Nepal expedition, all are now fully prepared and very excited about their forthcoming adventure.

Overall, the weekend was cold, wet and muddy‌ but enjoyable and worthwhile!

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School Gallery Exhibition 'Mainly Landscapes'

by Mr Paul Eardley We are pleased to announce the opening of the current exhibition in the School Gallery, ‘Mainly Landscapes’ by Head of Science and Biology, Mr Paul Eardley. The exhibition displays a range of oil paintings that explore both familiar and fantasy landscapes as well as abstract compositions. His use of colour and detail create beautiful content and interesting concepts. The exhibition showcases seventeen pieces of work from the large collection that he has created over the years. Exhibiting the work from a member of staff creates an interest and enthusiasm, allowing the pupils to recognise creativity from a contrasting background.

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Careers Convention Students in Year 11 and the Sixth Form attended the annual careers convention recently.

Parents, friends and Old Chigwellians represented a wide variety of career areas sharing their expertise and experience. It was particularly good to welcome back Old Chigwellians who have recently graduated and they could, therefore, share their experiences of both university and the competitive world of employment. Thanks go to all the representatives that gave up their time to make the evening such a success and they in turn praised the politeness and focus of the students who asked them questions. If other parents would like to represent their areas of work or would be prepared to offer work experience, we would be delighted to hear from you – please email rdarkin@chigwell-school.org

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Speech Day The programme for Speech Day and its related activities will follow the usual format: Friday 6th July

2.15pm Pre Prep, Lower I and Upper I Service in St Mary's Church 3.30pm Pre Prep, Lower 1 and Upper 1 Garden Party

Saturday 7th July 9.45am Junior School Service at St Mary's Church

11.15am Senior School Service at St Mary's Church

2.30pm Speeches and Prize Giving in the Marquee The Guest of Honour at Speech Day this year will be Mr Sharath Jeevan who left Chigwell is 1994. He studied Economics at Cambridge University and went on to work with the Strategy Consultants Booz and Co. before moving to be Head of Social Ventures at Ebay and senior manager at NGO Action Aid. Five years ago Sharath founded the charity STIR Education which seeks to bring networks of teachers together across the developing world to improve standards in schools. STIR now works with 75,000 teachers and 2.6million children through three thousand teacher networks in India

and Uganda. Sharath has also gained a Masters degree and an MBA, and was recently awarded an Honorary Doctorate for his work in education. We look forward to welcoming Sharath back to Chigwell.

The preacher at the services on Saturday morning will be The Reverend (Colonel) Mark Christian FRSA, CF who was Brigade and Divisional Senior Chaplain in the Royal Army Chaplain’s Dept. He was also a Household Division chaplain, serving with the Grenadier Guards. The preacher at the service on Friday afternoon will be our school Chaplain, the Reverend Gary Scott.

Sixth Form Induction Days

A reminder that there will be two Lower Sixth induction days as follows:

• Tuesday 3rd July – Academic Induction (all day). Students will meet with A level subject teachers and receive work to complete over the summer. They should wear sixth form uniform.

• Tuesday 4th September – Team Building (all day). This is a non-uniform day.

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Driving and Parking on the School Site I should like to remind parents of the arrangements for driving and parking on the School site, further details of which are set out in the Parents’ Handbook.

Demand for parking is high and with limited parking available there is no easy solution to a large number of cars arriving at the same time. In order to ease the traffic flow there are staggered arrival and pick-up times for each section of the School. Additionally, we have a number of staff to assist with parking.

their children off outside Stanmore House, the Sports Hall, Hainault House or anywhere on the entrance and exit roads as this can block other drivers’ views of students who are crossing and put them at risk.

Parents are reminded that the barrier to the School car parks is not raised until 7.30am, please do not block this entrance before this time.

All adults have a responsibility to watch pupils in the car parks and roads around them. Drivers are requested to be extra vigilant of our very young pupils. Pre Prep pupils should walk their scooters around the car park and remain with their parent or carer at all times. Please do not rely on site staff to supervise children as their primary job is to manage parking and security. Given the limited nature of on-site parking, parents of younger children are reminded that, once you have collected your child, you should make every effort to leave the school site as quickly as possible so that parking spaces are freed up.

There are a number of car parks for normal daily use: visitors and resident members of staff may use Front Quad, and sixth formers should use the Drama Centre car park. When dropping off or collecting children, parents are asked to use the Hainault House or Drama Centre car parks or Roding Lane. The Sports Hall Car Park should not be used by parents in the morning as it is a designated staff car park. The two parking spaces in the Junior School car park marked as such are for the use of disabled people only. Any non-disabled motorist parking in a bay reserved for disabled people is misusing that space.

Finally, the School asks all parents to cooperate by turning left as they leave the Junior School exit, then using the nearby roundabout to head back towards Vicarage Lane or the village if necessary.

Avoiding a right-turn on to the High Road does have a positive effect on traffic flow around the School, to the benefit of all who use it.

There is no parking at the Pre Prep or in the road leading there; parents should not use this road at any time of the day.

In the best interest of everyone, parents are requested to drop off their children in the car park and not on the approach road. On no account should parents drop

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Positive Mental Health

And Finally

Over the last couple of months, two of the most powerful and memorable talks on mental health issues I have heard, have been delivered here. Covering anorexia and self-harm, and drawing deeply on personal experience, both were delivered highly professionally to Senior School pupils by two members of the Lower Sixth.

The message from both was that it is always best to talk to someone if you have concerns. Please reinforce that message with your sons and daughters because we would always do our very best to provide support.

I hope you may be able to have some time off over the Bank Holiday weekend and that the half term brings a break for most pupils. Some will be in the midst of preparing for exams and I hope that thorough, structured and calm revision now will bring results later. Remember, we are here to help if needed.

Pupils return after half term on Tuesday 5th June as staff have INSET on Monday 4th June.

With best wishes Yours sincerely

UCAS Evening

Lower Sixth students and their parents attended a useful evening to launch the process for university applications.

Students will continue to receive advice and have access to resources which will include details of how to apply for degree level apprenticeships which have become a little more popular in recent years.

Michael Punt

Staff News

We send our congratulations to Mrs Emma Stoker and her husband Jean Philippe on the birth of their baby boy George. We also send our congratulations to Miss Emma Taylor and her partner Russell on the arrival of their baby boy.

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Message from the Chaplain It seems remarkable that an academic year can pass so quickly. We now find ourselves in the last term, planning end of year services and saying goodbye to the Middle Sixth as they begin study leave. There has been a flurry of activity in the chapel as we prepare for a refurbishment during the summer. Much thought has gone into how we use the building and in particular how it can contribute to the life of the wider school. The building will be rewired, redecorated and have new lighting installed. This will enhance our daily services as well as offering scope to use the chapel for music practice, recital and performance. A major rebuild of the pipeorgan will also make a significant contribution to music and singing as well as enhancing the opportunities for our organ scholars.

As always the school community has been heavily involved in chapel activities. Abi Whelan spoke about issues involved in Mental Health Week and Ziyad Chaudhary talked about Islam and some misconceptions people may have. Members of the Islamic Society have also spoken about Ramadan which started this month.

Keeping the chapel looking smart always relies on the help of students. A work party of Sixth Form girls recently spent their lunchtime polishing the silver, replacing candles and generally tidying the place.

Ben Punt and Jake Smyth (Y8) have also volunteered to do a daily check of votive lights and be responsible for keeping the brasses gleaming. I am grateful to them all.

Have a happy half term break.

The Chaplain

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2019 TERM DATES 2018 Lent Term 2018 meetings and INSET on Monday 7th January Staff Trinity Term First day: Tuesday 8th January Half term: Saturday 26th May to Sunday 3rd June INSET Day Monday June 4th Half term: Saturday 16th February to Sunday 24th February Term ends: Wednesday 11th July Term ends: Wednesday 3rd April Michaelmas Term Staff meetings Trinity Term and INSET on Monday 3rd and Tuesday 4th September First day:Day is Wednesday (Easter 21st April) 5th September Half term: Saturday 20th October to Sunday 4th November First day: Wednesday 24rd April Term ends: Friday 14th December

Half term: Term ends:

Saturday 25th May to Sunday 2nd June INSET Day Monday 3rd June Wednesday 10th July