SIMON BALLE CONNECT-ED Simon Balle remembers School takes part in WWI centenary commemorations On Tuesday 11th November 2014, a special service was held on the Simon Balle playground as students and teachers alike gathered to pay respect to our fallen soldiers. The school was, of course, joining many other organisations that marked this Armistice Day which held extra significance, being 100 years on from the beginning of World War I. The ceremony gave students, through the entire school in Years 7-13, the chance to reflect on the sacrifices made by those who have been killed or injured while serving their country. Lead by Mr Grantham, an assistant head teacher, there were readings from several sixth formers and Molly Nesbitt-Larking, a Year 9 student. The event was of particular importance to the Year 9s, who had been to visit the war graves in Belgium earlier this term. Also part of the service was the laying of two wreaths, and I was particularly privileged to have been given the honour of helping lay one.
It was a very emotional moment for everyone, many of whom will have lost distant relatives in the past to war. During the ceremony, and afterwards, the mood was understandably sombre but a great deal of dignity was shown. It was an opportunity for some to learn new things, while others just took time to pay their respects. We will remember them. To watch the full time lapse video of the Armistice Day service, visit http://www.simonballe.herts.sch.uk/armisticeday-remembrance-ceremony/ Alex Willis (Year 10)
Open Morning: yet another success The students proved to be great ambassadors for the school, both by assisting within departments as well as ‘touring’. But, most importantly, they showed their willingness to support the school out-ofschool hours.
Mrs. Saunders delivers another inspiring speech. Saturday 27th September saw Simon Balle's annual Open Morning. Like last year’s Open Morning many potential students and their parents arrived to view the school. Students were resourceful in touring families around the school and the departments were full of helpers to make sure that the morning ran smoothly and efficiently. The main hall was host to visitors arriving to hear Mrs Saunders' speeches it was a tight squeeze but everyone was catered for. The visitors were amazed at the music department's professional performances which could be heard throughout the course of the morning, in addition to the Science department's displays and experiments which were being held for the visitors. In fact, all of the departments proved to be successful in showing the visitors what they, and the pupils, are capable of achieving. This is something which the school is immensely proud of.
Many congratulations to all of the students and members of staff involved, who worked together in ensuring that this was another successful Open Morning; we hope to welcome as many of the visiting children as possible to the Simon Balle community in the years to come.
We look forward to next year’s Open Morning!
To read Mrs. Saunders’ Open Morning speech in full, please visit http://www.simonballe.herts.sch.uk/htopen-morning-speech/ Oliver Murphy (Year 10)
House plays provide light entertainment once again Rib House emerged victorious from House Plays 2014 on another pulsating evening of competitive drama in the school hall. It was yet another brilliant showcase event for the reformed house system as, for the first time in a while, all 6 houses were able to put together a performance. The casts were big and many students joined me in coming to support their friends, with the added incentive of a House Point being received for attending! All of the performances were of a really high standard and were genuinely appreciated by the impressively large audience, with comedy coming regularly for those that came from far and wide on a blustery Wednesday evening. Matthew Davis of Mimram, whose performance started with their much-loved House Play chant, won the award for best newcomer. Also, the audience, as ever, were allowed to choose their favourite act and voted for New's comic take on Hansel & Gretel, perhaps partly down to Reece Debnam's sensationally humorous entrance as the Wicked Witch. There was more success to come for New as Libby Freeman won the award for best overall performance, which was thoroughly deserved.
The big result was in the hands of a judging panel made up of Mr Moss, Mrs Cornell and Mr Kay. They voted in favour of Rib who put on a stunning adaptation of "The Little Mermaid" and cited numerous examples of fantastic drama techniques as their primary reason. The house plays were, as ever, a splendid evening of entertainment and I am sure that everyone who came will have gone home with a great big smile on their face — like I did.
The winning team, Rib, enthralled the crowd with their mighty performance For more information about the House Plays, visit the Simon Balle School website.. Alex Willis (Year 10)
The British Library To supplement my studies as an A-Level English literature student, I recently took part in a trip to the British Library. The library has the impressive status of storing every book ever written, tucked away in its vast underground storage. The purpose of the trip was to experience their new exhibition entitled ‘Terror and Wonder: The Gothic Imagination’. The Gothic is a key part of my studies in English Literature, so I was eager to find out more about the topic.
The exhibit gave me the opportunity to get an up-close look at some classic gothic texts such as ‘The Castle of Otranto’ by Horace Walpole.
It also gave me a clearer understanding of those fundamental aspects of a Gothic novel, such as madness and the idea of the ‘divided self’. Overall, this was an immensely enjoyable and informative trip, that will no doubt help me as I continue to study this fascinating genre. Nick Jenkins (Year 13)
Library in the past: Nick Jenkins (Year 13) remembers... The library has changed a lot over the years; it hasn’t always been the large, open area it is currently. Before its redesign, it was a rather cramped area and it was also difficult to find the books that you wanted. A particular memory of mine from the past of the library was the ‘reading awards’. I believe it was the precursor to the current ‘Accelerated Reader’ system. It was an activity that was completed during weekly library lessons in English. The idea was you had to read a particular type of book then answer a few questions on the book; you could submit it to get a merit. For example, to get my ‘Gold Award’
I had to read a book from a list of quite complex books. I remember choosing to read HG Well’s ‘The Time Machine’. The reason this sticks in my mind is because it became a very competitive thing to see who could get the most reading awards. I remember a friend of mine took out a book entitled ‘Bread and Pizza’ in order to complete a nonfiction reading award. Every week we looked forward to the library lesson, not least to see who would win the most awards by the end of term and receive a lot of merits!
Year 12 Geography Trip
On a wet and windy Monday morning, Year 12 geography students didn't think that life could get much better. Oh how they were wrong! After a three hour long bus journey we were greeted by the natural beauty of one Lulworth Cove, before trekking over and across the famous hills of the Jurassic Coastline to reach the quite magnificent Durdle Door. We analysed the various physical processes and wondrous features that were along the coast, by taking pictures on Miss Ahmet's favourite app, 'Skitch', as well as using our prior knowledge to recognise the features we have learnt. Mr Preshous did all he could to ruin the natural beauty by taking numerous 'selfies' with the famous arch, but it did not appear to diminish the morale in the camp. We then returned to the cosy coach for a short trip to our accommodation for the week (YHA Youth Hostel), which was very well maintained and all staff were always at hand when needed. After a crazy Monday night in the classroom, everyone was up for the day ahead. We travelled initially to Lyme Regis, where we ate fudge and proceeded to carry out our surveys, which included questionnaires and footfall surveys. After consuming our fudge we moved on to the next town of Charmouth followed by West Bay and Chesil Beach, continuing to collect data
Luke Wilde and Maddy Twyning (Year 12)
and discovering more about the ideas of 'Crowded Coasts' and 'Rebranding'. That evening brought about the dreaded psychology test for some whilst others got on with other work, which proceeded by some celebrations for one of the three birthdays on the trip. The morning after the night before saw some very tried faces trundle their way down to breakfast looking forward to a day out in the town of Boscombe and Bournemouth. This was the urban side to the trip, we followed a very similar structure to the previous day, carrying out surveys and questionnaires to the locals in order to gain a further understanding of the rebranding taking place. We also got a bit of free time to parade through the town, and take a walk around and admire where and what had been rebranded and certain areas where this was still happening. Thursday involved a trip to Studland Bay, a place recognised for its outstanding beauty and diverse ecosystems. However we arrived rain-suited and wellie-booted to measure the young sand dunes in harsh and brutal conditions. Miraculously results were much better than expected and, when drawing graphs later , everyone had extremely good data backing up how hard we worked all week.
‘Much Ado about Nothing’
In order to supplement our study of Shakespeare's renowned comedy 'Much Ado About Nothing', AS Level Drama and English students were given the opportunity to see the play performed at Hertford Theatre, on Thursday 20th November. The adaption was set in the aftermath of World War One, and was brilliantly directed by Simon Balle's very own, Mrs. Cornell. The AS Level English Literature syllabus requires knowledge of a variety of different interpretations, and this version did not disappoint.
Shakespeare's comedy about the gilded youth of Messina and the trials and tribulations throughout bled wonderfully through the emotive performances (some of which were given by A-Level Drama students themselves); nuanced lighting; elegant costumes and fiery repartee. The radical twist on the context modernised the baseline text, portraying the independence which enflamed the souls of women after the atrocities of the First World War, which was echoed by the play’s female protagonist, Beatrice and her characteristic "Wild heart". This production breathed new life into the fading relevance of Shakespeare in contemporary society, echoing the importance of the social messages which he strived to embed in all of our thoughts and actions. Callum Morris-Horne (Year 12)
‘Macbeth’ Trip ‘Macbeth’ is a Shakespeare play following Macbeth - a warrior who is told by some witches that he will become King of Scotland. After trying to deal with what he has been told, he decides he must do whatever he can to fulfil what the witches told him. The play opens and on stage are men dressed in full military uniform, is this actually Macbeth? But then they begin to speak the original Shakespearean lines word for word; this production is a modern version of the Shakespeare play.
This has become increasingly common for productions of Shakespeare, I recently saw a production of ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ set in World War 2. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against this style of play and I understand why it is done: to try and appeal to a younger audience and get more young people to understand Shakespeare. I just feel that this production lost a little something by not being a traditional, faithful reproduction of the original play. But overall I don’t think it really matters where you set a Shakespeare production as it is Shakespeare’s words that matter and the impact they have. Nick Jenkins (Year 13)
Poetry-by-Heart competition It was with great pleasure to hear from Chloe from Year 8, Bailie, Emily and Grace from Year 7, who on Friday 28th November, recited their favourite poems in the Library to an audience of students and staff. Each student recited their poem with great enthusiasm and confidence. After each recital Melanie Taylor, this year’s Writer-in-Residence, asked the students to explain why they chose that poem. Once the students had finished, Mrs Syme and Melanie recited their favourite poems to the audience.
The event was a great success and enjoyable for the students and staff present. Each student who took part will receive House Points for their contribution to the event.
Oliver Murphy (Year 10)
Calendar Date:
Simon Balle welcomes its Writer-in-Residence.
Event:
Friday, 6 March
Big Band Evening
Thursday, March 26
Rock School Concert
Saturday, March 28
Spring Concert Strings & Singing
Friday, March 13
Red Nose Day Non Uniform Day
Tuesday, March 31st
Stevensons Uniform Sale in school
Saturday, April 25
Wind & Brass Concert
Simon Balle School is proud to have welcomed its Writer-in-Residence, Melanie Taylor, to the school this academic year. Having played an integral role in introducing this year’s first annual Writing Challenge Competition—the topic for which was ‘Home’ - Melanie then judged the entries by Key Stage 3 students, alongside two other esteemed judges. Currently, Melanie, who has previously worked with young people, is hosting a weekly writers’ workshop. Aimed at allowing Key Stage 3 and 4 students to hone their writing skills and practise different types of writing, the students involved are receiving invaluable support from a successful writer. Long may Melanie’s influence on aspiring Simon Balle authors continue! Mr. Brinicombe