22nd March 2016 Easter Greetings It does now seem if we have turned a corner with lighter evenings and slightly brighter days. Our youngest members of the Simon Balle community are back on their “welly walks” into the woods and spotting daffodils and snowdrops. We are currently teaching them some of the important values we expect all of our students to know and practice- respect and appreciation. Sometimes our older students need to be reminded of these and even at times parents. I do hope you will support us working with our local community and respect traffic rules. As many students live locally I am mystified as to why parents have to bring children to school by car and pick them up. If travelling, why not collect them from town rather then on site? Simon Balle is a school that has a clear vision and set of values and perhaps at times we need to remind all of our families of this as their first open day may now be some time ago. Our school is about developing young people to be independent and creative thinkers, to aspire to the highest standards both in terms of academic and personal behaviours and to be accepting of others. We want young people who are honest, positive and happy to serve the wider community. Thankfully I am surrounded by so many like spirited young people who are eager to grow, develop and give. Please as parents continue to spread these important values, including kindness and thoughtfulness which do need to be taught at home. Then the world will be a better place and of course we feel supported at school. We continue to be the first choice for so many families and once again we are over subscribed for September both at secondary and primary level. Our new senior student leadership team are beginning to take up their roles and James Pooley and I will shortly appoint a group of year 10 prefects. We shall shortly be planning our 60th birthday celebrations and I would like to mention that if you are an ex student and would like to help or attend any of the events planned please email 60th@simonballe.herts.sch.uk Please pass this information to any Simon Balle Alumni you know! Hertfordshire this year is celebrating the Easter weekend and then returning to school until Friday April 1 st. This will be a normal working day. We return to school on Monday 18 April to start the summer term. Alison Saunders—Headteacher ———————————————————————-
The level of school traffic entering Balls Park continues to rise and we have received complaints from the residents. Balls Park is private property. Please do not use the Red Lodge access road for school drop off/pick up. Only residents and visitors should use the London Road entrance gates, and the Red Lodge exit gates. Balls Park is not open to the general public for vehicle access. We always consider our neighbours and would therefore ask you to make alternative arrangement when dropping off/ picking up. Thank you in advance for your co-operation. Madeleine Harman—School Manager
End of Spring Term th
On Thursday 24 March the canteen will be providing an Easter lunch for all our students. Meal of the day - Roast lamb with all the trimmings plus a dessert will be available for £2.30 and our two reception classes will be coming over to join us. British summer time begins on Easter Sunday so remember to put your clocks forward one hour! th st Can we just remind you that school will run as normal Tuesday 29 March to Friday 1 April and we will finish at the normal time on Friday (3.25pm)
Dates for your diary nd
Y10 geography field trip Gym and dance evening GOOD FRIDAY – SCHOOL CLOSED EASTER MONDAY – SCHOOL CLOSED Stevenson’s uniform sale (3pm to 5.30pm) END OF TERM – NORMAL FINISH TIME
rd
Wind and Brass concert 7pm in hall Y7 parents evening String Recital 7pm in hall BANK HOLIDAY INSET DAY Singing Evening 7pm in Larch Centre Start of public exams th 6 form ball
Tuesday 22 March rd Wednesday 23 March Friday 25th March th Monday 28 March Thursday 31st March st Friday 1 April
Saturday 23 April th Tuesday 26 April th Thursday 28 April nd Monday 2 May rd Tuesday 3 May th Thursday 12 May th Monday 16 May th Friday 27 May
Key Stage 4 Leadership This term the Headteacher and I launched the prefect system to the current Y10 Students. This gives students the opportunity to develop their leadership skills and give something back to the school. Prefects are role models and will contribute to the wider school community – they will have a duty and be expected to take on a number of responsibilities across the school. Many students in the year group are already excellent role models and support the school in a number of ways and should be applying for this position of leadership. The first part of the process is to write a letter of application addressed to Mrs Saunders outlining why you would like to become a Prefect. This must include skills and qualities that you think you possess and would help you in your role.What experience you have had which may help you in your Prefect duties. How you can have an impact on the younger years. st
The deadline for letters in the 31 March, please encourage your sons and daughters to apply. James Pooley – Head of Year 10
New Head Girl and Head Boy announced for 2016-17 Chloé Lake – Head Girl 2016-17 My previous schools: I am originally from Florida and so I began my education at Jensen Beach Elementary School shortly followed by Stuart Middle School. Then, I moved to Yorkshire where I studied at the Elizabethan Academy for 2 years before moving to Hertfordshire where I started at Simon Balle School in year 10. Subjects studying: Currently, I am studying Art, English Literature, French and Government & Politics. Hobbies/interests: I am interested in a variety of activities: I play football inside and outside of school and recently, I set up a girls rugby team at Hertford Rugby Club. I’m also an avid reader (who likes writing poetry and creative writing) with a passion for languages and art. Motivation for wanting to be Head Girl: One of the main reasons why I felt motivated to become Head Girl was so that I could reciprocate what Simon Balle has given me over the past few years as well as build upon the foundations already in place within the school. Moreover, I’d like to use my own experiences in leadership to encourage more students to take advantage of the plethora of opportunities on offer to them so that they can expand their horizons. What I want to achieve in the role: As Head Girl, I would like to guarantee the continuation of the school’s positive ethos and at the same time promote more independent learning and the importance of languages early on in the primary school. Additionally, I want to ensure that the SSLT becomes better known around Simon Balle so that students can approach us with any questions more easily. Future ambitions: In the future, I aspire to go to university, predominantly in the hopes of doing a joint honours degree possibly with law and French/Spanish.
Joe Vinton – Head Boy 2016-17 My previous school: Six years ago I completed my primary education at Abel Smith School in Hertford. Subjects studying: I am currently studying English Literature, History, Geography and Drama at A level. Hobbies/ Interests: My hobbies include sports like running and swimming as well as arts such as acting and creative writing. Filmmaking is a centric passion of mine and I revel in reading which in turn feeds my desire to enter the writing/directing side of cinema. Motivations for being Head Boy The qualities of diligence, tolerance and resilience that I now possess are assets I strongly attribute with my school’s teachings and ethos. I am extremely grateful for what has been given to me and in turn I wanted to express my gratitude as an ambassador for Simon Balle. I genuinely feel that it is my responsibility to give something back to our school and I felt that the best way to do so was as Head Boy.
What I want to achieve in the role I hope to develop the Student Senior Leadership Team along with Chloé this year. Our SSLT will work closely together, utilising our individual talents in order to provide students with more opportunities further afield. I also want us to develop Simon Balle’s connections with other schools, universities, charities and local youth groups thus enabling younger students to get more from their time at school. Future ambitions I hope to go to University in order to study English Literature. This will propel my long term goal of pursuing a career in the Film/ TV industry, whether it be acting, directing or writing. Student Leadership at Simon Balle Many of our students are keen to put something back into their school and as a result we have developed a Senior Student Leadership Team that offers a range of opportunities and responsibilities. Aims of Student Leadership: To empower students to work in partnership with staff and each other towards shared goals.
To provide opportunities for students to develop leadership skills through a variety of roles which impact positively on learning, teaching and well-being for students at Simon Balle School.
We are delighted to announce the SSLT for 2016-17: Abi
Cousins
Ashbourne
House Captain Co-ordinator
Dominic
Rugg-Gunn
Ashbourne
STEM Ambassador
Matthew
Day
Ashbourne
House Captain Co-ordinator
Scott
Davis
Ashbourne
Student Leader for KS3
Yasmin
James
Ashbourne
Journalism & Publicity Leader
Natasha
Hill
Beane
Charity Ambassador
Chloe
Pitch
Beane
Primary Link Leader
Sophie
Tarry
Beane
STEM Ambassador
Daniel
Fellows
Beane
Digital Leader
Josh
Moses
Beane
Sports Ambassador
Emilia
Holden
Lea
Charity Ambassador
Stacia
Read
Lea
Student Leader for KS3
Edward
Brown
Lea
Digital Leader
Sean
Harris
Lea
Student Leader for KS4
Callum
McKeown
Lea
Global Links leader
Victoria
Hill
Mimram
Sports Ambassador
Lilli
Canham
Mimram
Community Leader
Katie
Kelson
Mimram
Teaching & Learning Ambassador
Matthew
Parris
Mimram
Parliament & Year Councils Leader
Joseph
Vinton
Mimram
Head Boy
Gwilym
Turner
New
Music Ambassador
Libby
Harding
New
Global Links leader
Emily
Hook
New
Community Leader
Connie
Pope
New
Charity Ambassador
James
Rider
New
Teaching & Learning Ambassador
Emily
Free
Rib
Student Leader for KS4
Chloe
Lake
Rib
Head Girl
Imogen
Welch
Rib
Primary Link Leader
Oakley
Hunt
Rib
Parliament & Year Councils Leader
James
Madell
Rib
Music Ambassador
Steve Preshous – Director of Sixth Form
ASSOCIATED BOARD EXAMS
SPRING 2016
Congratulations to the following students that the following Associated Board results NAME TOM THORNTON JOSIE PEARSON JOSHUA GREEN MARCUS LOWE JAMES MILROY MAX MERRETT POPPY NEWMAN GRACE STANBROOK HANNAH FREDERIKSEN JESSICA MARTIN LUCY MARTIN TRIXIE WRAITH ANNA BEAVEN SARAH GREAVES NANCY WAUGH ANYA DAAR KATIE KELSON SOPHIE NOXON
FORM 12N 8L 8A 9B 8L 11L 7L 8A 8A 9B 8B 8A 9R 9R 9M 10B 12M 13N
INSTRUMENT CLARINET CLARINET CLARINET CLARINET SAXOPHONE SAXOPHONE SINGING SINGING SINGING SINGING SINGING SINGING SINGING SINGING SINGING SINGING SINGING SINGING
GRADE 3 4 5 5 2 5 1 1 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 8 8
RESULT PASS PASS PASS PASS PASS MERIT MERIT PASS PASS MERIT DISTINCTION PASS MERIT PASS MERIT MERIT MERIT PASS
Hertfordshire Catering Limited HCL awards – shortlist announced The shortlisting task was a difficult process with an unprecedented number of excellent and comprehensive nominations and we are delighted to announce that our Canteen Manager, Lorraine Gregory, has been short-listed in the HCL th Manager of the Year category. The overall winners from each category will be announced on Thursday 28 April at a special awards ceremony at the Hilton Hotel, Watford. Congratulations to Lorraine for getting this far and we wish her every success at the Hilton.
Uniform st
Our uniform suppliers, Stevensons, are next in school on Thursday 31 March from 3:00 – 5:30 in the dining room. Please remember that boys can wear their summer shirts for next term.
Reminder of correct secondary uniform: BOYS Shirt and ties – Ties to be worn up the collar with the school logo showing. Shirts must be neatly tucked in. During the summer term boys are allowed to wear summer shirts (with logo) and no tie. Jumpers – Jumpers must be worn, but if it is warm in class they may be removed Shoes – Black leather
GIRLS Skirts/Trousers – We have made a change to our school skirts. From September 2014 girls will wear either tartan kilt or black trousers. Kilts should be knee length or just above the knee. School skirts can be bought from Stevensons in varying lengths (eg 18” 20” etc) to ensure correct fit. Tights/socks – Plain black tights or under the knee black socks. Over the knee socks or socks with embellishments (eg ribbons) are not acceptable Shoes – Black fitted shoes. They should have a small heel and support the foot. Pumps are not suitable school footwear Makeup – Make up and nail varnish should not be visible Jewellery – One pair of plain stud earings. Rings and bracelets should not be worn unless it is a medical bracelet
Primary and Sixth Form information can be found on the school website
Give As You Live Campaign
You may be aware that there are various cash-back schemes which enable you to claim money back on online purchases, did you also know that you are able to direct some of this cash-back towards charity donations?! As a registered charity, our PSA (Parent School Association) are signed up to one such scheme called ‘Give As You Live’ and many online retailers will donate a percentage of online purchase values to the PSA. Please be aware that there are no extra charges to you if the retailer makes a donation! If you would like to participate in this scheme, all you need to do is install a taskbar on your web browser by following the simple steps below. Once installed, you can then shop as normal and whenever you visit a site offering donations you will get a message asking if you’d like to activate retailer donations. Give as you live set-up steps: 1.Go to www.giveasyoulive.com and click “Sign up”. You can sign up with your email address or with Facebook. Click “Select Cause” 2.Search for “Simon Balle School” and select “Simon Balle PSA” as your cause 3.Activate your account 4.Once your account is activated, log in to Give As You Live and install the Shopping Bar 5.The Shopping Bar appears at the top of your browser. Click here to search for retailers and start shopping through Give As You Live! Thank you for your support
Simon Balle All-through School has bagged a share of a £11.5million carrier bag charge fund We are delighted to announce we have bagged £8,000 from the Tesco Bags of Help initiative. ‘We are really pleased to have won funding from this Tesco initiative as it will allow us to clear our pond and create an outside teaching area. Our science department in particular will make good use of this facility and our younger students will be able to go pond dipping. Teaching outside the classroom is very important as it makes learning relevant, nurturing creativity and imagination. It also develops an interest in the environment and wider surroundings.’ Alison Saunders, Headteacher Caroline Silke, Head of Community at Tesco, said: “Bags of Help has been a fantastic success. We have been overwhelmed by the response of our customers and the feedback has been brilliant. We can’t wait to see the money being put to use bringing these projects to life. Nominations for the next round of the initiative will open on April 18th and we look forward to helping a further round of groups and projects bag their share of the bag charge fund.” Tesco estimated that around eight million votes were cast in stores across the UK. Groundwork’s national chief executive, Graham Duxbury, said: “We have been delighted to have been involved in the Bags of Help project. It has been wonderful to follow the projects through the application process to the final announcement. This is money which will go directly back into the communities up and down the country creating places to meet people, be active, play or simply relax. This initiative is really putting something back into the local environment, transforming greenspaces and helping the community at a grass-roots level.” Nominations and applications for the next round of Bags of Help funding will open on April 18. As well as applying direct, suggestions for projects can also be nominated by people living locally.