newSBytes Dear Parents,
23rd September 2014
THIS ISSUE:
Stevensons After receiving several comments and emails from parents, my school manager Madeleine Harman and I met with the managers of Stevensons uniforms. Perhaps we had ill prepared them for the fact that this year was an extraordinary year for the kilts as three year groups needed them as opposed to the “normal” two years. They simply ran out of a certain size in late August. In addition we have uncovered some confusion over the summer shirts for boys, which really were only introduced for the summer term and then until Open Day. Stevensons therefore had not anticipated that parents would purchase these in late August. We are reviewing this for next year and will update you in March. Please note that this week is the last week for summer shirts without ties. On Saturday at the Open Morning, all boys must wear ties and formal shirts.
Stevensons Uniform Open Day Sat 27th House System Year 7 Induction and Learning Skills Behaviour Policy, SMHW and iPads Food Technology Sports Results Commemoration of WW1 at SBS Music News and Events Welcome from the PSA Library and English Darcy in Downing Street ….finally time to switch your Utilities?
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY: Tues 23rd Sep 6.30pm
Y9 Expectation Evening
Sat 27th Sep
Open Morning
OPEN MORNING
Mon 29th Sep
Inset Day
As you are no doubt aware our Open Morning is on SATURDAY 27th SEPTEMBER. This is a very important day in the school calendar and we expect all our students to come along and be involved either as guides for our visitors or demonstrating in departments.
1st/2nd and 8th/9th Oct
Y9 History Trip to Belgium Battlefields
Mon 6th Oct 7.00pm
PSA AGM
Students will finish school on Friday 26th at 1pm to allow staff to set up displays etc. The timetable for Friday is as follows :
Tues 7th Oct 7.00pm
Y7 Core learning Evening
Tues 14th Oct
Y11 Expectations Evening
Thurs 16th Oct
Y10 & 13 Theatre Trip to Macbeth
Thurs 23rd Oct 7.00pm
House Music and Classical Guitar Platform
Mon 27th to Fri 31st Oct
HALF TERM
We have also arranged for Stevensons to come into school slightly more often during the late spring and summer terms.
8.45 to 9.35 9.35 to 10.25 10.25 to 10.45 10.45 to 11.35 11.35 to 12.10 12.10 to 13.00 13.00
Period 1 Period 2 Break Period 3 Lunch - reduced service Period 4 Dismiss
On Saturday 27th students should arrive in school (drop off swimming pool car park) from 8.15am with Years 7 to 9 assembling in IT3 and collecting their name badges and Year 10 upwards should assemble in the staffroom and collect their name badges. Students are expected to wear smart winter school uniform. Students can be collected from the swimming pool car park from 12.15pm onwards however one of the many advantages of holding this event on a Saturday morning is that the majority of our students will be able to walk. Monday 29th is an Inset day and staff will be in for training, school will resume as normal on Tuesday 30th September. Alison Saunders
ASHBOURNE
BEANE
LEA
MIMRAM
NEW
RIB
Simon Balle School House and Reward Systems History of the Houses Further to our news in July’s newsletter, we hope that by now everyone has heard how we have re-launched our house system. With great enthusiasm, the students along with the House Leaders in Year 13 are accumulating points eager to push forward. There has been a house system at Simon Balle for many years. For a long time there were only five houses, named after local rivers, matched to the five forms in each year group. Interestingly students were not taught in form groups and six classes were formed of a mixed ability nature. This proved to be difficult for many reasons and so we created six forms, and a sixth house was formed - New House, which is named after the New River designed by Sir Hugh Myddelton and opened in 1613 to supply London fresh drinking water from the River Lea. At the point when we successfully were accredited with Specialist School Status (Humanities, 2004) we balloted students to see if they would prefer to change the names of the houses. Options included famous people and countries. However the Rivers remained - Ashbourne (this is the brook running near Ashbourne Gardens), Lea, Beane, Mimram, New and Rib. House points When a student is given a House point it will count towards their total and that of their house total. It is important to point out that any behaviour points that a student receives will reduce the total for them, their form, their year and their house. There are many types of House points that a student can be rewarded, both within and outside of the classroom, to enable it to be multi-faceted and inclusive. Please see the reward pyramid on the school website for more information. Students should see their subject teacher if there are any problems with house points appearing on the system. What do students receive for getting house points? Running alongside the reward pyramid are certificates students will receive for collecting a certain number of house points – Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum Club and Diamond League. There will be an end of year formal award ceremony where students who have received the most House points will be automatically invited. There will also be other rewards towards the end of year…more to come on this!
Upcoming Events to Earn House Points
30 September - House poster competition for House Music (All) Every two weeks - Humanities Eye Spy (All) 10 October Belgium & Duxford (Yr9) W/b 13 October - House Sport (All) W/b 13 October - Art logo competition (Yr7) W/b 20 October - Creative response to WWI poetry in English (Yr9) 23 October - House Music (All) 24 October - Book festival's writing challenge End of half-term - Accelerated reader (Yr7-8)
Further details of events can be found on the House and Rewards noticeboard by reception. House captains (Year 13 SSLT) will also regularly promote upcoming events in their Houses so students know what is coming up. James Kay Where can I view my child’s rewards? Please regularly check Go4schools with your child to see if any House points or behaviour points have been added. House league table
Top 5 students (Both taken on Friday 19 September)
Harriet Kealy 11M
12 points
Benjamin Kenway 8A
11 points
Jean Nwahba 8A
11 points
Luca Philippou 8N
11 points
Sophie Tarry 11R
11 points
Year 7 Induction and Learning Skills Starting secondary school for some students can a be a daunting process. With the increase in homework, number of class books and finding your way around a new school can make the transition harder. So this year we have made changes to the primary transition programme. On transition evening not only did the current Year 7’s find out what form they were going to be in and meet their new form tutor, students were also set the task of reading the book ‘The Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas’ and completing a piece of work from the summer takeaway menu. Year 7 rose to the challenge and all students completed at least one of the tasks set - some even all 4 tasks! Instead of jumping straight into the new curriculum, students were taught two weeks of lessons based on the novel in English, Geography, History, PRE, Music and Drama. The students work was written in their scrapbooks so that they only had to look after one book for all their six subjects. A variety of different tasks were completed from looking at the accuracy of the text, how the author created the characters, and how countries have changed and the relationships between the characters. The work was completed to a very high standard and students were able to make references to the book throughout. To continue helping students settle in smoothly, homework was only set in these subjects during the first two weeks, which allowed them to steadily get used to the increase of homework. Congratulations to Year 7 on an excellent start to Simon Balle School! I look forward to seeing them showcase their hard work in assembly and at the core learning evening on the 7th October. Hannah Ahmet
Positive and Negative Behaviour Points—on As you will be aware from previous newsletters, as part of our drive to share relevant information with parents and the re-launch of the house systems, you can now access behaviour points for your child(ren) online. The positive and negative behaviour points are rewarded along with details of any awards or sanctions (incl. detentions). Whilst these have been accessible on the Go4Schools system, we became aware that the emails to parents saying that new points had been posted were not working properly. This situation has now been resolved and emails are sent to the address we hold for you. The email will tell you that new positive and/or negative points have been added. You can access details (including details of an detentions for negative points) on the system. As it is web based, it can be accessed on mobile devices also. Thanks for your continuing support in this new development and if you change your email address then please let us know as soon as possible.
IPads Just to let you know what parents of students in Year 7 and Year 10 already know—that our iPad ‘one person one device’ scheme has started and those students have been issued with their devices. There is growing evidence of the benefits that having responsibility for and access to these devices in and outside school can have a beneficial impact on learning. It obviously takes time for the idea to bed-in fully, with staff and students and they are trying all sorts of uses for the devices across the curriculum. The lessons we learn will help us when we hope to move forward next year with another cohort of students. I will keep you up to date in future editions of how the iPads are being used and the impact they have. We already also encourage sixth formers to use their own devices and this will develop as the students in Year 10 move up the school.
Show My Homwework (SMHW) A quick reminder that all homework set now appears on the show my homework system which can be accessed from a link on the school website. If parents cannot access the site then they should contact the school to get details re-sent or support on how to log on. Students experiencing problems should initially consult their tutors and then, if necessary, the network office or Miss Philpott in the main school office. There is an iOS and android app available that can be used by students and parents. Email reminders can also be sent to parents. For Apple users, if you go to the app store then you can search for it under iphone apps—it can also be downloaded on iPads. Sometimes students will also be asked to submit their homework electronically via the SMHW system. When a homework is set it will tell them when it is due in, if it is to be submitted by hand or electronically, how long it should take and if there are supporting files and/or websites. Thank you for your continuing support. Andrew Grantham
Design and Technology Department - Food Technology and Catering Students have made an excellent start to the term and have already produced some superb culinary creations! We are anxious to cater for the needs of all students when working with food. We are aware that a number of students in school suffer from allergic reactions to particular foods/ingredients. If your child suffers from and food related illness or allergy please could you let me know via email jonesl@simonballe.herts.sch.uk including any details of medication that students need to take in the event of such a reaction. May I also remind parents that we do not use any nuts (whole or ground) when cooking in school and ask students to refrain from using them in their practical work.
PE NEWS Football Update On Friday the Year 8 boys played Sandringham School and WON 4-3, a wonderful result for all individuals—well done! Other games played so far in the National Cup 1st IX 1-3 Harlington Upper school Y9 0-3 v Bridge Academy
Extra-curricular Sports Clubs Sports clubs have started very well this term with big numbers attending all clubs from swimming, netball, football and rugby. On Thursday the HAWCS Satellite Athletics club at Simon Balle started again with the focus on Cross Country until half term. The dates for the upcoming District Cross Country League are as follows; Weds 1st Oct – Barclay Park Thurs 9th Oct – Broxbourne Tues 13th Oct – Barclay Park
On another note congratulations to Jean Nwahba who represented the Hertfordshire County AAA at the U13 Inter County Match on the 27th July at Kingston upon Thames in the shot. Jean threw close to 10m and finished 2nd overall in competition which included the Counties from all over the South of England.
Herts and Ware Aquathlon This year’s Aquathlon was due to take place on Monday 22 nd September at Simon Balle School. The Aquathlon consists of a 150/200m swim and a 1km run. Unfortunately it had to be postponed but will be re-scheduled for the middle of October.
1st XV Rugby The Rugby season kicked off on Wednesday with a visit to Roundwood Park School, Harpenden. The boys performed very well, however were beaten by a very strong Roundwood team. The boys now play Sandringham on Wednesday and Freman College the following week. Well done to man of the match Lewis Tuson who showed great leadership.
@sbspedept We now have a new Simon Balle PE Department Twitter account, please follow and you’ll receive updates on all our fixtures, match updates, sports trips and curriculum developments. If you have any questions please contact brennand@simonballe.herts.sch.uk
THE SIMON BALLE Sept - Oct ½ Term PE EXTRA-CURRICULAR PROGRAMME 2014
MONDAY
Lunch-time clubs 1:25pm - 2:05pm Tues 1:25pm – 1:50pm Y9-10 Girls Rugby (KA)
After school clubs 3:30pm-4:30pm Y7 & Y10 Netball (MR/HA)
Y9 Rugby (JP)
Y7 Football (TJ) Y8 Rugby (DB)
TUESDAY WEDNESDAY
Basketball (Y8 & 9) - Gym Senior Football (JP)
Y8 & 9 Netball (KA & LEJ)
Y7 & 8 Girls Rugby (KA)
Y9 Football (JP) Y7 Rugby (TJ) Girls Cricket - Gym
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
Y9 Football (JP)
Swimming (KA)
Y10 Football (TJ)
Senior Netball (NJT & LEJ)
Y11 Football (DB)
Kick-Boxing – Gym (LB)
Y8 Football (DB)
Girls Football (PC) – All Years
Y7 Basketball - Gym
Rugby Y11 & Senior (DB & TO)
Commemoration of World War One at Simon Balle School, 2014-15 During this year we have planned a wide variety of events and learning experiences to mark the anniversary of the start of World War One. We want: To honour the sacrifice made by previous generations To connect historical events with our lives today and understand the nature of change To reflect upon and learn about the real meanings of unity and challenge in our lives To learn about some of the consequences of WW1 in terms of art, music, literature, medicine, technology, society and the ‘modern age’ Please let us know if you have any memories, artefacts or other stories tp share with us—Liz Ellis Here is just a sample of what is planned: Science
PRE (Philosophy, Religion and Ethics Dept) D&T
Fritz Haber and the development of ammonia A child’s diet in 1914 and 2014. Using technology/science ethically Machinery: design, flight, machine guns.
Textiles
Change in battle dress, fabric development
Food
Rationing (cross curricular with Maths)
Maths
A Maths lesson in 1914
Geography
A shopping basket in 1914 – how much? Human geography of Hertford, 1914 – how has it changed?
Art
Propaganda
Music
War Artists War time songs
PE
Resilience Tactics PE in 1914-drills
English
Football Match to commemorate Christmas 1914 WW1 poetry study
History
Book Week Writing Competition Battlefields Tour
Drama
Book Week focus on WW1 texts – library display & presentation Visiting drama group
Learning Skills
Family history research/a Hertford street in 1914 – census materials,
Library
ancestry. Reflection & discussion:: Personal histories from the German side - loss, separation and reconciliation. Speaker’s Corner – skype with a Conservation Officer from the War
Canteen
Memorials Trust 1914 lunch on 11th November
MFL: German (RT)
Music There are often not enough words to describe how good music can be and what an effect it can have. The Big Band on Saturday night summed up all that is great about Simon Balle and this was the perfect example of the Simon Balle student in action. Professional, working as a team, outstanding quality, enthusiastic, hard working, popular, perfectly behaved - the list goes on. They performed for the Wodson Park 25th Anniversary celebrations on Saturday, not starting until 9.30pm. The reception they received was totally amazing. One school, one state school, with a professional standard band. This is an incredible achievement. Important council people and local decision makers were there as well, celebrating Wodson Park, hearing Simon Balle in action, appreciating how good the music was and what our students and school can achieve. The students had a fantastic time and were an inspiration. Congratulations to students who took Associated Board exams at the end of the summer term (see below) and also to Rebecca Spooner whose Trinity flute exam result was delayed – well done on achieving a merit at Grade 3. NAME
FORM
INSTRUMENT
GRADE
RESULT
RUBY VOSS
9M
‘CELLO
1
MERIT
DUSTY FLUNDER
8A
FLUTE
1
DISTINCTION
JESSICA MARTIN
8B
FLUTE
2
DISTINCTION
EMILY MOORE
8B
FLUTE
4
MERIT
MOLLY NESBITT-LARKING
9R
SAXOPHONE
1
MERIT
MADDY DURBIN
8R
SAXOPHONE
2
MERIT
JESS MILLER
10M
SAXOPHONE
4
MERIT
FENNER BROOKS-SKEET
10L
SAXOPHONE
5
MERIT
ANNA BEAVEN
8R
SINGING
1
DISTINCTION
NANCY WAUGH
8M
SINGING
2
MERIT
ROSE SHEPHERD
10N
SINGING
4
MERIT
Welcome to Simon Balle PSA Our main aim is to raise funds to provide additional facilities or equipment to support the school and students. In our last financial year we pledged £15,000 towards the refurbishment of the school hall and over £5,000 in a multi- year commitment to fund one of the new school minibuses. We are always looking for new ideas and help with fund raising, if you can help in any way, from donating a raffle prize or maintaining the PSA garden to helping to organise a new event we’d love to hear from you. Please drop an email to psa@simonballepsa.org.uk.
Library and English News Please follow us on Twitter @SBS_Library for resources advice and news of events.
Lower School Book Club This has started with an excellent response from students but there is still time for Year 7-9’s to join if they are available on a Wednesday lunchtime. Please come along to the Library at 13.30 for interesting sessions led by Mrs Townsend from the English Department. By joining the Book Club you get a chance to read recently published books and review them for the Red House Children’s Book Award. In the Spring we shadow the prestigious Carnegie Medal and we go on lots of trips. Last week members of Book Club visited Haileybury where popular writer, Charlie Higson gave a lively talk to students about his writing. Do come along to Book Club if you like books and talking about them!
Roald Dahl Day Quiz Congratulations to the team of Ben and Oliver from Year 8 and Louis from Year 7 who won our annual Quiz at the beginning of term. Thanks to all the 8 teams who entered the event about Roald Dahl’s life and his novels. As was fitting the winners won lots of chocolate!! For those of you who remember our old Library you might also recollect that we once held a booksale to raise money for Quentin Blake’s museum of illustration. This has now opened in the newly developed King’s Cross area of London and is named the House of Illustration. Mrs Syme was fortunate to visit it during the summer and the first exhibition there is Quentin Blake: Inside Stories showing until 2 November. For more details please go to http:// www.houseofillustration.org.uk/ or call into the Library to see the exhibition publication and postcards.
MOOC Many of our EPQ students tried their first MOOC or Massive Open Online Course during the summer holidays. They followed the University of Southampton’s free course entitled ‘Developing Your Research Project’ and learned many valuable tips and skills. For more information please go to https:// www.futurelearn.com/courses. There is a 3 week (3 x 3 hours) online course starting soon to help people wanting to write the perfect CV or improve their online profile: ‘How to Succeed at: Writing Applications’ (The University of Sheffield, 6 October). This would be a good idea for sixth formers applying to University.
My day out to no.10 Downing Street in support of By Darcy Brennan, Year 9 Friday 12th September 2014 turned out be a very thrilling and eventful day; that being because my family and I were offered a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ invite to No.10 Downing Street in support of this years’ Jeans for Genes Campaign. Having accepted the invitation and confirmed a date with Samantha Cameron (for those of you who don’t know, she happens to be the prime minister’s wife) I decided to tell my friends, who took the decision to spread the news round practically the entire year at my school! To begin my remarkable day, we travelled to our hotel which was situated on Northumberland Avenue next to Trafalgar Square. I arrived at the hotel with my mum Denise, step-dad Paul, younger sister Lois and not forgetting the star of the show my very brave, incredible little brother Billy (who is Lois’ twin)! We met up with Samantha Carlisle from The Sun newspaper and Caroline Harding founder and CEO of Genetic Disorders UK – Jeans for Genes; my mum and step dad were interviewed about Billy’s story and the difficulties of living with a child with a genetic disorder before we set off for our visit. One of my most favourite highlights of the occasion was when we were going through the main gates and security, there were lots of tourists who were taking pictures of us, it felt as if we were famous and had paparazzi following us! As soon as we reached the very famous door, I recognised the house from reading about and seeing it in the newspaper and on the TV. It was immensely exciting but also nerve wracking all at the same time! “Knock, knock.” That was Billy knocking on the door with the famous lion’s head knocker, more than anyone it was his day and therefore his privilege! As we entered into the very grand old town house built in the late 17th Century by Sir George Downing we were greeted by our tour guide who had a very funny sense of humour indeed. My first instincts were to examine the room and identify any historical pieces of furniture or pictures. I couldn’t believe what was in front of my eyes; I didn’t expect it to look like this! Outside the house appears to be of a modest size (although very grand) but inside it was a whole lot different. It is in fact, two inter-connected houses – one on Downing Street and another, grander house at the rear which overlooks Horse Guard’s Parade. In the main entrance hall sat in the corner is a very old leather Chippendale hooded chair; the base of the chair has a small draw where during the winter months (before modern hearting was installed) hot coals would be placed to warm up the seat for the attendants who had to sit outside. I mean, how cool is that! All seven of us eager people were lead into the hallway. There were two different, unusual distorted, modern sculptures; one had been positioned there by Margaret Thatcher herself!
We were taken to the Cabinet room – this room is probably the most important room in the house as it is where all the Government’s most senior ministers – the cabinet have met since 1856. It even has two doors with a space between them to sound proof the room so no one can listen at the door! We all got to sit in the Prime Ministers chair which is the only one in the room with arms on it. All the chairs round the huge cabinet table are Victorian and have been in use since the days of Gladstone and Disraeli. During the Second World War, Winston Churchill wrote and delivered many of his most famous speeches from here, including the radio broadcast at the end of the Second World War – I can’t believe I got to sit in the same seat he sat in and be in the same room. After a long period of time exploring every inch of the cabinet room and having memorable pictures taken, we were finally escorted to the main staircase of No.10. I particularly enjoyed seeing this part of the house because the wall encircling the staircase held chronological portraits of all the past prime ministers with their names proudly presented beneath and entitling their years in which they had governed . It is now a continuous cycle of portraits that must be submitted only whenever a prime minister leaves. The design of the staircase has a special name ‘Cantilever’ meaning a staircase without any visual support – it was stunningly beautiful. We were then escorted to my favourite room of all ‘The Pillared Room’. My mouth dropped, it was so gold and gleaming it made my eyes water and my jaw drop! The stunning room consisted of four large golden-marble pillars, a grand set of posh, fine-looking green furniture and chairs. The selection of expensive furniture were encrusted in silky/satin textured metallic green material and complimented with Indian patterns and legs coated in real delicate gold leaf. I questioned the tour guide “Can you give me an exact price of how much this set of furniture is worth?” I received an answer of a shocking total of £4,000,000! Several pictures within the room portrayed kings, queens and other relatives of royal blood, which includes the original ‘Rainbow Portrait’ of Queen Elizabeth the 1st. One of my many favourite historical portraits! It is specifically said in the programme “In 2012 David Cameron hosted a lunch in the room to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen. Past Prime Ministers John Major, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown were also in attendance on this occasion.” My mum and I sat in one of the green sofas which are over three hundred years old. Finally, we were guided to the ‘White Drawing Room’ to meet Samantha Cameron for tea and cakes. We were seated upon the sofa and politely offered tea or juice and mini cupcakes, which were deliciously posh! The cakes were specially made gluten-free for both my mum and me and decorated in blue fondant icing jeans to compliment the Jeans for Gene’s theme perfectly. The topic of the conversation was about the Jeans for Gene’s campaign and how other parents cope with children with genetic disorders, including my little brother Billy Mitchell. Samantha Cameron talked openly and frankly about her experience of bringing up Ivan who also had a genetic disorder but who tragically passed away in 2009. Once we had finished our tea, cakes and chatting, we were all photographed for the campaign that was in The Sun newspaper on Tuesday 16th September, 2014. We had a great time at No.10 and were so happy to have been given such a unique opportunity to help raise awareness of children born with genetic disorders and hope that by doing so it helps us raise lots of money for Jeans for Gene’s day on Friday 19th September 2014.
….and finally
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