14th June 2017
Dear Families Thank you once again for your great support and interest in the life of the school. In these demanding and challenging times, to receive so much encouragement and praise, goes along way. We know we are on a journey and never “get it all right” but there is strength together. I was overwhelmed by the response from my “extraordinary” letter informing parents of our staffing vacancies. We received a number of supportive emails and offers of help if we did not manage to appoint. Indeed we are still pursuing some of these but the wonderful thing was that we appointed a Spanish teacher, a parent who was in fact looking for a permanent post (unbeknown to me!) – so thank you! Thank you too to the “Super-mums” and the “Sat ur-dads” in our Larch Centre, who once again performed miracles in transforming our play area into a wonderful creative space. Special thanks must go to Eileen for her expertise and ideas. Do go back to the blog and see what happened. It was even more special when the reception children invited me to a “wedding” which took place under the newly erected arch. The children were dressed as guests, bridesmaids, musicians, obviously the bride and groom and even a vicar! All in the splendid garden! We soon will be counting the Sainsbury’s vouchers- please look in your bags and purses, and ask your family and friends if they have any more lying around and send them into the front office. We hope to get sports equipment and cooking utensils for both age ranges.
It was with great pleasure and a real privilege to attend the “Annual Meeting and Civic Reception” for the induction of Hertford’s new mayor on Thursday 18 May. A formal event, with much pageantry and history, set within the beautiful paneled Council Chamber, with formal music played by our very talented Simon Balle String Quartet. Every year I am reminded of just how strong a community Hertford is and how deep are its historical roots, referred to by Lord Salisbury (Hatfield House). This deep sense of community is what we are passionate about at Simon Balle and are always seeking ways to both develop and promote this. All at Simon Balle therefore wish the new Mayor, Councillor Mrs Susan Dunkley, a successful and happy year. We look forward to welcoming her to our events and to getting to know our community. I would also like to thank the previous Mayor, Councillor Dr Linda Radford, for all her support and friendship over the past two years and we hope Linda will still come and see us!
Dates for your diary 19th June Globe theatre trip (Y8) 20th June Cuffley camp trip (Y1) Y12 exam week 23rd June Non uniform day (RSPCA) 26th June Return to normal timetable Y7 exam week 28th June Art exhibition 29th & 30th June Y12 induction 30th June Y11 awards ceremony in hall 3rd July INSET day Y12 internship week Larch centre sports afternoon 5th July Sports presentation evening 10th July Sports afternoon 11th July Careers fair for Y10s and Y12s Larch centre open evening for parents 12th July Transition evening for new Y7s 13th July Transition day for new Y7s Academic awards ceremony (All Saints Church) 15th July Larch centre ‘A Slice of Summer’ Grand summer concert – ‘Saffron Sounds’ 6.30pm 17th July Stevensons uniform sale 3pm to 7pm – dining room 18th July Stevensons uniform sale 3pm to 6pm – dining room 19th July Larch centre picnic (pm) 21st July End of term – early finish (details to follow)
IMPORTANT NOTICE TERM DATE CHANGE Please note that we will finish on WEDNEDSAY 20 DECEMBER 2017 and NOT the 21 . As usual we will finish early and details will be published nearer the time. TH
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Non uniform day RSPCA Friday 23rd June 2017 Our Y8 students have voted to raise money for the RSPCA, a unique animal welfare charity. The RSPCA is the oldest welfare charity around and were the first to introduce a law to protect animals and they work hard to ensure that all animals can live a life free from pain and suffering. Through campaigns they raise standards of care and awareness of issues for the animals who have no voice. The charity pushes for laws to be changed, improving the welfare of animals on farms, in research labs, in the wild, in paddocks or in homes. They aim to stamp out animal abuse and the RSPCA officers tackle neglect and cruelty at every level including large scale, serious and organised cruelty. Animals can rely on the RSPCA to rescue them, rehabilitate them wherever possible, provide them with the very best veterinary care and to find them new homes, either through rehoming or release. We would encourage students to bring a minimum of ÂŁ2.00 to support this very worthy charity. Students should dress sensibly and not wear anything which may be deemed inappropriate (please note that girls must not wear shorts). Those who come to school dressed inappropriately may be sent home to change. Mike Moss Deputy Head
Quiet sensory garden We have recently been talking to a number of students who have told us that they would like a quiet peaceful outdoor space in which to sit and spend time. This they believed would fit in well with the school’s emphasis upon wellbeing. The area identified was the courtyard which is outside of the library and R1. Recently enclosed with the creation of the new corridor, the area will be accessed via the library. We have successfully been awarded a small grant to develop this as a sensory area and along with funds raised by our PSA, we are now in the process of creating a special place with plants, garden furniture and ornaments. This area from now on will be able to be used by a small number of students as a peaceful place. It’s use will be monitored by library staff and leaders, alongside staff who are on duty in the science corridor. The area will no longer be available to other students who wish to use this as a social area. Staff too are invited to use the garden and we would be grateful if you could remind students of the purpose and also keep an eye out to make sure it is used well.
PSA News The PSA are in need of gifts for their raffle prizes. If you have any unwanted gifts such as wine, chocolates, toiletries or gifts sets you would like to donate to the PSA please contact them on psa@simonballepsa.org.uk, or bring it to the main school office. The PSA will be holding a second hand uniform sale on Thursday 13th July from 3pm-4pm. This will be located in the Sixth Form block.
Attendance at school Attendance is a key issue in all schools and it will be once again debated at the Full Governing Body meeting on 19 June. Our attendance figures are good but we believe should be higher and we know that students who miss days of their schooling, for whatever reason, are usually less successful. We will be introducing a new system from September and we will communicate this to all parents. As you may be aware the legal implications on attendance are now quite clear and it is important for parents to realize that taking time off is so longer acceptable. I am frankly quite appalled by the number of holiday/ family days requests I am receiving. Taking your children off school is illegal. Although we have to date not issued fines, we will be considering this. Parents are muddling up “exceptional requests� with quite simply personal desires. However more of this later this term, where we will explain our new systems. May I remind you however of the term dates for 2017-2018, so that you can plan your holidays, and also tell your relatives so they too avoid booking time off during term time.
E-Safety workshop for parents Recently, the Larch Centre parents attended an E-safety workshop to share the importance of internet safety and also guidance on how to keep our children safe. It was an informative evening where key messages were shared as well as the use of apps that offer further guidance. It is advised that all parents look at these and review security settings at home on EVERY family device. For further information visit: http://www.excite-ed.co.uk/parents-support
Slice of Summer: The Larch Centre will be holding a ‘Slice of Summer’ fundraising event this year on Saturday 15th July. Please come along to show your support and enjoy a burger from the BBQ, a Pimms from the bar or try your hand at the fete style games. Maybe you have other family members who would enjoy a bounce on the bouncy castle or their face painted. Please help us to spread the word and we look forward to seeing many of you on what is set to be a fantastic day!
Music at the Larch Centre Reception and year 1 students have been treated to a different musical performance from upper school students each Wednesday in their music assembly. Last half term was a showcase of our fabulous singers and saw vocal performances from students from year 7 to year 13. This included solos by Ada Karaman Y7, Poppy Newman Y8, Emma Belsey Y10, Alysha Hutchings 12 and Holly Dear 13. Having been inspired by these great performers, reception and year 1 have produced some stunning performances of their own songs - The Daffodil Song and Cuckoo! Cuckoo! They even came up with their own actions. Well done to all! Miss N Iles
PE Leadership Once again this year the PE department has been heavily involved in a leadership programme for the students. Much of this goes on within PE lessons, starting in year 7 and culminating in year 10, where all the students follow a leadership course with the final moderation taking place in local primary schools. This year we were delighted to work with year 1 through to year 6 at Hertingfordbury, Hertford Heath, St Josephs and our own Simon Balle year 1’s. Standards have been incredibly high and we have been so impressed with how our students have conducted themselves, planning, running and supervising a session that were enjoyed by the younger students. On a regular basis we have also provided leaders to help run primary school events including athletics, hockey, cricket and rugby. This term we will be supporting Morgans , Millmead and Amwell View sports days for the third year running.
County Athletics Championships On Saturday, five Simon Balle athletes competed at Jarman Park at the annual Herts Schools athletics championships. All five performed very well. Trixie Wraith was the performer of the day coming 2nd in the 800m in a time of 2.25.4 in blustery conditions. She ran a strong race just missing out on the national entry standard. Jean Nwahba threw just under 11m in the shot to finish 4th, his brother Albert ran well to make the 100m final, finishing 6th in 11.73. Elsa Barnfather was unlucky to miss out on the Hurdles final with a time that would have put her in the top 5. However, in the Javelin Elsa threw 27.06 to finish 5th in the county. Well done to all who competed and especially to parents who supported the event.
County Athletics League The athletics season is now in full swing with 5 rounds of the County Athletics league complete with one round remaining. This takes place at St. Albans with Simon Balle in a strong position going into the final round. The current standings are as follows; U16 Boys – 4th U16 Girls – 7th U14 Boys – 10th U14 Girls – 14th The top 4 schools go into the County Cup final on Tuesday 4th July and the 5th to 8th place teams go into the Plate final to be held on Monday 3rd July. There has been many excellent performances so far this season which include Jack Francis (800m – 2.32) who beat a strong field last week to record a good win, Trixie Wraith (800m) a regular winner this year as well as the following athletes recording school records so far; Year 8 – Shot Putt Year 8 High Jump Year 9 Javelin Year 9 200m Year 9 800m Year 10 Shot Putt Year 10 100m Year 10 200m Year 10 400m Year 10 High Jump Year 10 4x100m team
Scarlett Williams Jasmine Bidwell Elsa Barnfather Julianna Glinkowski Trixie Wraith Eleanor Bayford Albert Nwahba George Jones Jean Nwahba Richard Timpson Albert Nwahba Jean Nwahba Finlay Cattermole George Jones
Our remaining athletics fixtures this year as follows; Weds 14th June - County League, Round 6 (St Albans) Fri 30th June – District Athletics Championships (Wodson) Mon 3rd July – County League Plate Final (Jarman Park) Weds 5th July – District Combined Events (Wodson) Thurs 13th July – Nicky Morris Challenge (Wodson) Tues 18th July – Bruce Longden Challenge (Wodson) Cricket News Congratulations to the Year 10 Boys who have reached the District semi-finals. Their results so far have been; V John Warner – win V Levanthorpe – Loss V Freman - Draw V RHS – 8 wicket loss The Year 8 team lost to RHS in the County cup, however beat Goffs by 120 runs in the District. The Year 8’s have two more games in the District cup who play Sele on Monday and Robert Barclay. The year 9 cricket team has been progressing well and have made it through to the District Cup Semi-Finals. The team have beaten Chauncy and John Warner in the group stage with some notable performances from Charlie Ingram (scoring plenty of runs) and Elsa Barnfather (taking many wickets). The team competed in the County Cup second round narrowly missing out to Bishops Stortford High School and have also beaten Sele recently in a friendly. Girls Calypso Cricket On Tuesday the Y8 and Y9-10 cricket teams participated in the annual district calypso cricket tournament. The Y8 team played a round robin tournament winning all games convincingly. Bowling and batting were excellent with Kathryn Rollins captaining the team brilliantly. The girls won the tournament undefeated.
The Y9/10 team played group and from went into the knock out stages. The girls won all their group games convincingly with some excellent batting and bowling. They then beat JWS in the semi-final before playing Presdales in the final. The game went to the final ball of the last over with Presdales winning on the last ball. Although the girls were very disappointed, their fielding was outstanding. The final score was 49-50. Elsa was an excellent captain and the girls really performed.
Rounder’s News The Year 9 girls competed in a District Rounder’s tournament last Thursday, winning 3 out of their 5 matches. The girls’ fielding was excellent. The Year 9 and Year 8 girls then played Presdales on Monday with the Y9's winning by a half a rounder and the Y8's winning by one rounder. Upcoming events Weds 5th July – Sports Presentation Evening Mon 10th July – Sports Day Thurs 13th July – East Herts Sports Awards
Celebrate National Clean Air Day – Thursday 15 June 2017 Air quality is so important as it affects everyone’s health, especially that of children as their lungs are still developing. Air quality in Hertfordshire really needs to be improved. For more information have a look at www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/cleanairday What difference can you make? Try and make as many of your journeys sustainable by walking and cycling. When using a car, turn off the engine when you are not driving – it not only improves the air but saves money as well. Help celebrate the day by wearing something green and tell your friends and family about it and make your support on this important day and in the future, matter.
GlaxoSmithKline Cricket Ground, Park Road, Ware, SG12 0DP
Entry costs:
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ES LL S C A CE A R RA R FO T ’S T L IR DU EN R SH A D T- HE IL L H A FT C IC O N S H ER EC H T IS N FI
Venue:
10K: £12 affiliated, £14 unaffiliated 10 Mile: £12 affiliated, £14 unaffiliated
Ware Joggers Present...
THE WARE FESTIVAL
OF RUNNING Sunday 9 July 2017 th
Incorporating the Ware 10 Mile (now in its 9th year), the Ware 10K and FREE children’s races. The races are run across mainly flat and traffic free scenic trails and parkland surrounding Ware. Race Sponsors...
On-line registration only at: www.ware10s.co.uk See website for further information & full terms and conditions Prizes for 10K & 10 Mile races: Mens: 1st/2nd/3rd •1st 40+•1st 50+•1st 60+•1st 70+•1st 80+ Ladies: 1st/2nd/3rd •1st 35+•1st 45+•1st 55+•1st 65+•1st 75+ Team prizes: 1st Mens and 1st Ladies (3 to score) Individuals are eligible for one prize category only.
Profits to: Herts Air Ambulance and Teens Unite
Registered Charity Number 1108989.
Registered Charity Number 1118361.