newSBytes 3rd April 2014

3rd April 2014 We end the Spring Term on a very busy note with a number of fieldtrips and visits as well as internal exams. Although we appear to have ‘missed’ the typical winter weather, the term has had its own share of opportunities and challenges; wind and rain, exams, staff absence, musical events, trips and competitions.

I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of our Governors and staff, to record our thanks to Shirley Taylor our Bursar who is retiring after working here for the past 8 years, after having been a parent of two past students. Shirley has done a fantastic job and has led the school Finance Team during a period of rapid change. We shall miss her wisdom greatly and wish her a healthy, happy retirement.

We also are advertising again for a number of posts – please see below.

THIS ISSUE:          

End of Term PSA News Science Week Review Hertford and Ware Sea Cadets House Plays Hoo’s Kids Book Fest Art and Design Department News Readathon PE News Uni-fest Review

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY: 4th April

End of term

We welcome the following staff to our team at Simon Balle:  Tania Noxon – One-to-One Tutor  Lianne Law – Science Technician

22nd April (Tues) Start of Summer term.

Thank you again for all your support. May I wish you all a very restful break.

training

6th May

6th—9th May

Alison Saunders

VACANCIES We are currently looking to appoint a Maths teacher and a Lead Science teacher (Chemistry) both to start in September. If you, or someone you know would like to find out more about these opportunities please email recruitment@simonballe.herts.sch.uk

School closed to students—staff Y7 Osmington Bay

26th—30th May Half term 4th July

Staff training day

9th July

Y6 into Y7 Parents Evening

Please see posters at the end of this newsletter giving details of special Shakespearian menu to celebrate Shakespeare’s 450th anniversary.

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The PSA have joined ‘Give As You Live’ http://www.giveasyoulive.com/join simonballepsa which means that with a couple of mouse clicks you can help donate while you shop online. More information can be found on the PSA’s new facebook page https://www.facebook.com/simonballepsa

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Congratulations to Mr Nunes and Ms Sinitalo who were the winners of the Y10 parents evening raffle.

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Thanks to all everyone who contributed any old/unwanted currency - we now have 2 full buckets to exchange and will let you know how much this has raised in a later newsletter. The collection will end this week.

SCIENCE DEPT 17th -21st March saw SBS celebrate and embrace Science and Engineering week with a range of activities organised outside Science lessons for all students.

Lunchtimes were packed with practical demonstrations and hands on activities including a rocket launch, pig dissection (carried out by Vets from RVC), honeycomb making and chemistry explosions.

A group of Year 10 students visited the Institute of Education to listen to a series of lectures on forensic analysis, hunt for alien life and the preservation of ugly animals.

All Year 10 students had a week full of Forensic Science lessons carrying out detective work using fingerprinting, blood spatter analysis and chromatography Past students attended (or by Skype !) Speaker’s Corner to discuss why they chose “A” Level Science subjects and University choices. Students were able to ask questions and get a better understanding of taking Science beyond GCSE. 6 Year 10 students competed in a competition at GSK against local schools and came 2nd in the morning session.

Well done!!

There were quizzes, assemblies, a treasure hunt and Science taught in other subjects. The English dept were the winners and creatively included the use of the periodic table into poems.

It was an exciting week enjoyed by all and we are already planning for next year.

Carolyn Kelleway

HOUSE PERFORMANCES – 20TH MARCH 2014 We started our evening really well with Rib House and ‘Peter Pan’, directed by Lewis Tuson, Georgia Griffiths and Beth Doyle. We had lots of great comedy here. A special mention to Smee and Hook (Luke Leishman and Alex Willis) – I particularly liked the timing of the ‘plank’ gag. There was some really confident work throughout and a good level of audience participation. Congratulations also to Molly NesbittLarking and William Ormsby for their sustained and enthusiastic work.

Charlotte Yates gave a sterling performance as Wendy – especially of note as she was feeling very poorly with laryngitis.

Next a big well done to Beane House for a wholly key stage 3 devised production of ‘The Jungle Book’. The concept and the costumes were great and wonderful to see so many Y7s taking part. What a lovely herd of elephants! Great cameo work from Lulu Sutton and Emily Ibbotson.

Good use of the space and an excellent ‘surprise’ ending in the tiger song. A very promising directorial debut from the Year 9 team of Emma Butcher, Izzy Sutton, Clara Weller, Hannah Foley and Phillipa Shattock.

Third up we had Mimram House and their ‘Aladdin’. This performance hit us instantly with its energy, striking costumes and make-up. Jess Miller gave a clear narrative opening (superb diction – well done). The whole performance had stacks of energy, volume and a high level singing ability. Well done to all the leading characters (Elspeth McClymont-Cornell, Erin Lawson and Rachael Janes). We had a strong vocal and appropriate physical performance from Mollie Lawrence and a fabulous, sustained tiger in Sarah Kenway. This whole performance was all extremely slick and well choreographed. We also saw an outstanding performance from Tom Collins as the Genie and we must give a special mention to Louis Farrelly for his impressive flapping and deadpan comedy. A large cast representing the whole school. Well done to Jazz Nesbitt-Larking, Charlotte Janes, Charlotte Adams and Lara Shilston.

New House then gave us ‘School of Rock’. This was a great concept that used the stage space very effectively. Tom Byrne (director who had to step in at the last moment) performed really well and held the piece together. A lovely strong entrance by Tom and then a strong rapport with Libby Freeman who played Miss Mullins well with a combination of an ‘uptight’, yet sassy Head Teacher. Well done to all the cast in the classroom. They were all completely focused and each developed a unique character. Sofia Rolph was excellent as the ‘Groupie’ and Caitlin McSherry great as the ‘comic’ Whitney – brilliant. A high energy ending. Well done to Tom Bryne, Lauren Cooper and Ellie Simpson.

A big thanks also to Ellen McLeod and her Musical Theatre group and the Year 9 Dance club for adding to the evening’s entertainment.

Prizes: Best House Performance – Mimram Audience Appreciation – Mimram Individual performance – Luke Leishmann (Smee – Peter Pan) Individual performance – Tom Collins (Genie – Aladdin) Sarah Cornell

HERTFORD AND WARE SEA CADET OPEN DAY 12TH APRIL 2014 I am writing to let you know that your school’s nearest Sea Cadet Unit, Hertford and Ware Sea Cadets Spencer Street, Hertford SG13 7AH currently has spaces available for new cadets aged 11-18. If you think that some of your students would be interested in finding out about the Sea Cadets and how to join, I would like to invite them to our upcoming open day on 12th April 2014 from 1000hrs until 1600hrs at our unit (we are all CRB checked and have undergone safeguarding training).

Information about the Sea Cadets: Sea Cadets meet twice a week and, during the summer when all the sailing and boating activities get started, the unit will be out on the water most weekends too.

Young people can take part in all kinds of competitions from power boating and sailing, to football, music and drill, plus learn nautical skills as they complete their training. Not only will it be fun, but the new skills will definitely give them a head start in life and boost their confidence.

What we do: Adventure Training, Camping, Canoeing, Cook/Steward, Communications, Diving, Drill, First Aid, Field craft, Kayaking, Marine Engineering, Meteorology, Mountain Biking, Mountain Leadership, Navigation, Physical Training, Rowing, Sailing (including offshore), Seamanship and much more.

All of our training courses are designed to stretch and develop our young people and provide them with new life skills. They are carried out by highly qualified instructors who are either employees of the charity or volunteers.

Please can this be forwarded to your pupils/parents. We are also looking for adult staff.

Kind regards, PO Helen Scholes Hertford and Ware Unit

READATHON Well done to Year 7 on raising over £1,982 for the sponsored reading event ‘Readathon’ last month. This is a tremendous achievement, particularly in these difficult economic times, and reflects all the hard work of the students and the support of parents. Thank you to everyone who raised money, which goes to support two charities; CLIC sergeant, which works with children and young people with cancer, and Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity, which helps seriously ill and disabled children.

It was a great collective effort, with many students raising tens of pounds, but the following students and form merit an especial mention: Grace Davis: £146 Jessica Martin: £80 Kallie Batchelor: £65 Maisie Hummerston: £60 Millie Shanley: £55 Emma-Jayne Belsey: £50 7DAB: £666 Mr Davies

NEWS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF ART AND DESIGN As we near Easter the students in the Art and Design department are busier than ever. Years 11, 12 and 13 are now working furiously towards their impending exams.

MR TRUEMAN’S TOP TIPS FOR EXAM SUCCESS EXAM TIMETABLE GCSE ART Mon 28 and Tues 29 April.

AS ART Wed 30 April A2 ART Wed 30 April, Thurs 1 May, Fri 2 May AS PHOTOGRAPHY Thurs 1 May A2 PHOTOGRAPHY Mon 28 April, Tues 29 April, Wed 30 April

Make sure you use your time over Easter wisely - you all know what you should be doing. By now you should be fully into exploring and developing your ideas for your final piece. Plan your time - think about what are you going to do on each of the exam days.

If you are taking A2 Art or Photography you may wish to leave yourself half a day at the end of the exam to tidy up sketchbooks.

And remember ‌.

THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO SHINE!!!

SIXTH FORM TRIP TO THE LONDON GALLERIES On Monday 31 March 2014 many of the Year 12 and 13 Art and Photography students took advantage of the trip organised for them to visit a couple of London galleries.

First of all they visited the Tate Modern where many then soaked up the Richard Hamilton exhibition. As much of his work is mixed media there really was something for both the art and photography students.

Many found it wonderfully inspiring and rich with ideas which lent themselves to their projects. After lunch on the Southbank, the party set off for the National Portrait Gallery. Here there was the opportunity (taken up by many) to visit the David Bailey exhibition. An iconic photographer, this really was a wonderful chance to take in a large body of his work. All in all it was a very successful day out!

REVIEW OF UNI-FEST On Saturday 29th March I had the privilege of attending Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge. The University was hosting its annual Open Day, resulting in a range of activities and events being held there for students aged 6-16 to participate in. The University itself was very modernistic and had a range of useful facilities on offer. Throughout the course of the day students who studied at the University gave lectures to parents and children about life at University and the different courses available all of which were very useful and interesting to listen to. Tours of the Anglia Ruskin Campus were provided to families so that they could get an idea of what a University is like and what it involves, along with tours also came demonstrations of different equipment and facilities students could use to study and complete assignments with.

Overall it was a fantastic day and I recommend to anyone who is reading this, that when another opportunity like this arises you take it because it is a really helpful event that can help you determine what career path you want to follow, and more importantly what University you want to attend.

Oliver Murphy Y9

MUSIC NEWS For newsletter from music We are finishing a busy term with yet more exams and concerts. Our Musical Theatre candidates secured 2 merits and 7 distinctions, really outstanding results. We also had a very successful Trinity visit last week, with three keyboard and piano players scoring over 90%. This week we held our first Trinity Rock & Pop exams for guitars and vocals and again we are delighted with the fantastic results achieved. Congratulations to all the candidates who have worked so hard, and thanks for the support from their teachers and families in preparing for their exams.

Our first Strings and Singing Concert was a huge success. Around 180 people packed out the hall to enjoy performances from the orchestra, string ensembles and our three choirs, Melodic Minors, Coro and Take Note adult choir. Highlights included Vivaldi’s “Spring” featuring soloist Matt Waters on violin. The concert concluded with a mass performance of “Sing” and “Somewhere Only We Know”, specially arranged for all our groups by our talented musician in residence Keith Willis.

This week we held our termly Rock School gig at the Corn Exchange, a great night with so much energy and enthusiasm from all our bands. It’s great to see our younger performers developing their skills and stagecraft, inspired by our more seasoned bands who are constantly growing in ability and showmanship.

So much has been achieved this term alongside meeting coursework, recording and performance deadlines, and we wish our AS and A2 musicians the very best of luck for their recitals this week. Their preparation has been supported by music teachers, staff and families – so many people constantly working together so that we can achieve all that we do!

A reminder that next term begins with our Wind and Brass Concert in the school hall on Saturday 26 th April and our Summer Concert at Broxbourne will be on Tuesday 8th July.

MUSICAL THEATRE EXAMS NAME TOM COLLINS GEORGIA MCINTYRE JAZZ NESBITT-LARKING SAM VECK KATE HOARE KATIE KELSON SIMEON MUNRO

FORM 10LMC 10LMC 12SC 11CAK 13MT 10JN 12AMP

GRADE 5 5 5 5 8 8 8

RESULT MERIT MERIT DISTINCTION DISTINCTION DISTINCTION DISTINCTION DISTINCTION

TRINITY EXAMS NAME

FORM

INSTRUMENT

GRADE

RESULT

ROSE SHEPHERD

9GS

BASSOON

4

MERIT

ADAM GILL

12JL

CLARINET

6

MERIT

MATT PARRIS

10IW

JAZZ CLARINET

7

MERIT

SARAH BENHAM

13EO

FLUTE

6

PASS

CHARLOTTE JANES

12SC

FLUTE

6

PASS

JOEL PATTISON

7SHW

GUITAR

1

DISTINCTION

JAMES OSBORNE

9MD

GUITAR

4

PASS

OLLIE FYFE

13SR

GUITAR

8

MERIT

OLIVER MURPHY

9MA

KEYBOARD

1

DISTINCTION

JAMES HUNT

10JM

KEYBOARD

2

DISTINCTION

JESS GRAY

7CT

PIANO

INITIAL

DISTINCTION

REBECCA BURNSIDE

8DA

PIANO

3

PASS

VICTORIA BOULTON

13EO

PIANO

6

MERIT

JAKE PRESTON

8JT

SAXOPHONE

4

PASS

MARCUS ROSSI

13MT

JAZZ SAX

6

MERIT

ALEX THOMSON

12SDP

JAZZ SAX

6

DISTINCTION

ALEXANDRA LATIF

12LJ

SAXOPHONE

8

PASS

JUDITH PICKETT

13RT

SAXOPHONE

8

MERIT

SAM SWINDELL

13HA

JAZZ SAX

8

PASS

WILLIAM BUTCHER

11SW

TRUMPET

7

MERIT

TRINITY ROCK & POP EXAMS NAME

FORM

INSTRUMENT

GRADE

RESULT

JAKE ALDRICH

7SHW

GUITAR

2

PASS

OLLIE CHARLES

9KH

GUITAR

2

MERIT

CHARLIE STOKES

9KA

GUITAR

2

MERIT

KATE WOOD

10IW

GUITAR

6

MERIT

CERYS GREENFIELD

9GS

VOCALS

2

MERIT

BETH DOYLE

12GJ

VOCALS

4

MERIT

KITTY COLLINS

11SEM

VOCALS

4

PASS

MAISIE PARCELL

8JT

VOCALS

4

DISTINCTION

TAYAH SMALLSHAW

9KA

VOCALS

4

PASS

LAUREN COOPER

12LJ

VOCALS

5

PASS

EVE PITCH

10VC

VOCALS

5

DISTINCTION

FLORENCE FYFE

11JM

VOCALS

6

DISTINCTION

GEORGINA FAWBERT

12SDP

VOCALS

6

MERIT

ELSPETH MCCLYMONT CORNELL

11BF

VOCALS

6

MERIT

OLIVER TYCER

12LJ

VOCALS

6

MERIT

HARRIET GRIFFITHS

12JL

VOCALS

7

DISTINCTION

RACHAEL JANES

11BF

VOCALS

7

MERIT

LIBRARY AND ENGLISH DEPARTMENT NEWS CARNEGIE AND GREENAWAY SHADOWING GROUP Our Book Club of approximately 8 members has now started reading the shortlists for the Carnegie Medal and the Kate Greenaway Medal. For details of the books please go to http://www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/home/ index.php These prestigious awards are voted for by a panel of librarians but book clubs around the country read the books enthusiastically and contribute to a website (more details later). The SBS Book Club is particularly enjoying the picture books (Greenaway shortlist), quite a contrast to some of the demanding Carnegie titles which often cover serious topics. If any student in Y7-9 would like to join our enjoyable Book Club with Mrs Townsend please come along to the Library on Wednesdays from 13.45 CONGRATULATIONS TO Y7 STUDENTS Well done to Y7 students on their great achievement with Accelerated Reader. Since September Y7 students have taken 1722 online quizzes on the books they have read. Of these they have passed 1465 quizzes.

Compared to this time last year the figures show a huge improvement – 1212 quizzes taken 2012/13 and 887 in 2011/12. Keep up with the good work!

THANKS TO OUR ALUMNI The Library is very grateful to 3 alumni who have given their time to present at Speakers’ Corner to promote Science Week recently. David Newstead, from Jaguar Land Rover, launched the Science theme, enthusing students to take up Science and talking about his path from School, through University and into a Science career.

Last week Jane and George Cameron spoke to our students and staff about studying Science at University and how various GCSE and A level options at school lead to a wide range of Science courses.

DATE FOR YOUR DIARY I would like to draw your attention to the flyer in newSBytes promoting ‘Hoo’s Kids Book Fest’ on 11th May 2014. This is a fantastic, local literary event held at Luton Hoo’s Walled Garden and is packed full with visiting authors and illustrators. There is always a good atmosphere on the day and I would encourage you to attend – a great experience for all the family.

BOOK REVIEW Adventure Island: The Mystery of the Phantom Lights by Helen Moss Jack and Scott are normal, teenage boys living in London with their dad.

But when it is the school holidays they stay with their aunt on Key Island.

They meet up with local girl, Emily and her dog, Drift to find out about the mysterious light on the moors. Also, what has happened to Emily’s friend Grandma Doctor Armitage?

If you love Enid Blyton’s Famous Five or Secret Seven series you will love these up-to-date adventure books. I loved it!

By William Y8 Janet Syme

SIMON BALLE CONFIRMED AS COUNTY SPORTSHALL ATHLETICS CHAMPIONS Two weeks ago Simon Balle competed at the County Sportshall finals and were involved in a 3 way draw with Hitchin Boys and Nobel. As a results of Albert & Jean Nwahba’s exploits we won 5 events which gave the boys the title of County Champions. Well done to the boys for their hard work this year. They now go through to the Regional Finals.

SPORTSHALL ATHLETICS DISTRICT LEAGUE MATCH Last week Simon Balle’s Year 7 athletes competed at a one off District league match. Both teams performed very well with both teams winning their respective competitions. Well done to the Year 7’s as they remain unbeaten this year in Sportshall Athletics.

Girls Football success Girls football goes from strength to strength at Simon Balle School. The Year 10 girls won their 4th District League in a row and have only conceded 3 goals overall, well done girls. On Friday the Year 7 girls also became District champions when Sheredes conceded the game, this is a great achievement as none of the girls currently play club football outside of school and is testament to their hard work in training.

On Tuesday the girls participated in the District 6-a-side competition at Turnford School. The girls went unbeaten through the tournament going on to beat Presdales in the final on penalties.

Another trophy for the Y7 girls a few days after being crowned champions at eleven a side they have just won the district six a side being unbeaten all the way through the competition and to top it off we beat Presdales on penalties in the final , not a bad haul for our first season, two trophies.

YEAR 11 COUNTY CUP FINAL Good luck to the Year 11 Boys who play Queens school in the County Final on Thursday 3rd April 7.00pm kick off at the Letchworth County Ground.

SPORT RELIEF 2014 AT SBS We had a very successful Sport Relief at Simon Balle school this year. Students attended school on Friday in sportswear and everyone contributed at least a pound towards Sport Relief – helping to raise awareness of the challenges faced by children living in poverty. Assemblies were run throughout the previous weeks to promote Sport Relief and as a consequence the students responded fantastically raising just over £1000. All students had the opportunity to run or swim a Sport Relief mile. Everyone had a target, some to run a fast time, others to complete the distance.

In the Y8 competition Lea triumphed by only 13 points ahead of Beane. The quickest male time of the day was Kallum Titchmarsh running a time of 5 min 55secs representing Lea. The quickest female of the day was Abbey Clarke who ran 7min 7secs representing Ashbourne. We also had a number of students who swam a mile individually or as a team. A group of 9 Year 11’s swam over 4 ½ miles between them. On day the overall swim total was 18.41 miles with even some our local primary schools contributing to the overall distance. Well done to all who participated.

SARAH O’BRIEN officiated at the swimming part of the "Clash of the Titans" event at the Aquatic centre for Sport relief on Friday 21st March. Sarah also successfully competed at the Herts swimming gala on the same weekend, a busy girl.

GOLF SUCCESS On Monday of this week Louix Monk represented the school in the Hertfordshire Schools Golf Championship (for very able golfers) and shot level par 69 to finish second. He will now go through to play for Herts in the SE regional champs at Letchworth on May 30.

Mr Pooley MARTYN BERNARD, WORLD CLASS HIGH JUMPER VISITS SIMON BALLE SATELLITE ATHLETICS CLUB Last week we had a visit from Martyn Bernard, British international who won a silver medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and a bronze medal in the 2007 European Athletics Indoor Championships. Martyn proved quite the inspiration for our athletes as they had the opportunity to ask Martyn questions and then received a coaching session from him. A thoroughly enjoyable evening was had by all.

GIRLS RUGBY

On Friday 28th March Y7/8 combined and Y9 girls’ rugby teams played in the Herts Girls Rugby Festival. For the Y7 /8 team this was their 2nd time playing rugby and the Y9′s played in their first ever match. The girls played well and represented the school brilliantly.

The Y7/8 team really improved throughout the tournament with a some close games and a great win against Edwinstree.

The Y9′s had a tough group but after a hard first game against St Mary’s they then went on to win convincingly against Roundwood Park School. The girls then went into the semi-final playoff’s for the Shield trophy where they just missed out on a place in the final losing in extra time.

The girls were a credit to the school and the effort and time they put into their training was brilliant. Well done to all the girls.

Miss Ansell THE HERTS & WARE SCHOOL SPORTS PARTNERSHIP AWARDS 2014 The Herts & Ware School Sports Partnership Awards takes place on Thursday 3 rd April at Sele School. Below are the individuals and teams who have been nominated to receive an award on the night.

Award 7. KS3 Effort/Improvement 9. KS 4-5 Sports Leader / Coach 11. Elite Performer 12. Team of the Year

Name of Nominee Jacob Fenwick Molly Smallwood-Conway Sarah O’Brien Y11 Boys Football County cup finalists