newSBytes 6th July 2015

Dear Parents,

6th 2015 July

Our newsletter this month, continues to demonstrate just how many different events are taking place and just how many different students continue to be involved. Time and time again, people ask me about our ethos and there is so much that supports this vision of “an all round, holistic education”.

The Fun Run this year was for many the best yet. Another hot summers’ day with parents, staff and students all entering into the spirit and taking part. This year we welcomed around 20 of our new Reception parents and their children who, whilst not taking part in the race enjoyed the space and the opportunity to be part of the school. There is a more detailed account later in the newsletter but thank you for the monies raised. This will be used by our very committed PSA to pay for one of our minibuses and also the training for and purchase of two defibrillators.

THIS ISSUE:  Headteachers Introduction  Uniform updates  Last day of term finish times  Fun Run  Exams  Primary Phase Update  Hertford Hockey Austrian Tour  MFL Vocabulthon  Year 11 Awards Evening  6th Form  PSA  Year 12 work experience  Food Tech Spanish day  Library and English  Year 13—’39 Steps’  Writing Olympics  Art Exhibition  Music  PE

Transition Activities During the month of June, we have offered all new Year 7 parents (currently Year 6) the opportunity to spend an evening together with teachers from Simon Balle, to do an activity. The purpose of the evenings is to get to know the school and to meet with other families who will be joining us. Over 135 of the 174 families have signed up and have taken part in cooking, sports activities, drama, music, art, geography, PRE, English, the library, maths, IT, science and MFL. This programme is unique to Simon Balle and we know that when we have asked our students about what helps them to settle so quickly, they refer to these evenings with deep fondness. A big thank you to all staff who give up more of their precious time, to our own student leaders who help us on the evenings and to the new families themselves for supporting their children.

Just to remind Year 6 into Year 7 parents that an important information/ welcome evening will be held at 7pm in the main hall on Wednesday 8th July. We urge all parents and students to attend as students will learn their new form groups and information about going into Year 7 will be given then including the Phasels Wood trip in September.

July 9th is transitition day for all Year 6 students to attend their new school for the day.

As you have been aware it was an extremely hot last week, please ensure your child has a water bottle they can fill up at break times, sun creams hats etc.

Alison

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY: Term Dates Summer Term : 20th April to 22nd July Half Term :

25th-29th May

July Mon 6th Tues 7th Wed 8th Thurs 9th Fri 10th Thurs 16/17th Wed 22nd

Year 12 Art Trip Summer Concert Year 6/7 parents evening Year 6 Transfer Day Rock School Gig—7pm Non-uniform day Year 12 Haworth Trip American Visitors Music Tour END OF TERM

Stevenson Stevensons, our school uniform supplier, will be at Simon Balle on 13th and 14th July from 3.30pm to 7pm.

Please come along to the school hall to buy school uniform for the next academic year. Please not that if your child is going into Year 10 in September, they will need a maroon jumper or cardigan.

Lost Property Unfortunately our mountain of lost property continues to grow! Please can you make sure your child’s uniform is clearly labelled to give us a chance to repatriate them with their items of lost shoes and clothing.

Non uniform day Friday 10th July 2015 The Make-a-wish foundation exists for one reason – to grant magical wishes to children and young people fighting life-threatening conditions and our Y9 students picked this as their charity for 2015.

The foundations story started in 1986 and it first year granted four wishes.

As word spread about their work, more and more people began coming forward to volunteer their time. In the second year 13 wishes were granted. By the end of our fourth year, with the support of a growing team of passionate volunteers, they had granted 100 wishes. Last year the foundation granted over 9,000 magical wishes.

The wishes give seriously ill children the chance to do something extraordinary. For many children, a wish is an opportunity to do something they never thought possible when life is tough. Children's wishes can range from being a princess for the day or meeting their hero, to going on a once-in-a-lifetime family holiday.

We would encourage students to bring a minimum of £1.00 to support this 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

End of Term Finish Times Please note the finishing times for each year group on the last day of term - 22nd July.

Year 7 Year 8 Year 9

12.35pm 12.30pm 12.25pm

These year groups will finish the day with form time and will be dismissed by their form tutors.

Year 10 and 12 will be dismissed straight from their end of year assemblies.

Book Covers As a school, we would like all students to have book covers as they will protect their books and keep them in a presentable condition. We have found some clear book covers that we think are suitable, at a reasonable cost.

Parents of students Year 7—10 have already received an email with payment details. If you have not yet purchased you child/ren’s covers for next year please can you do so by Thursday 9th July. Thank you.

Mrs Adshed

Fun Run 2015

On another glorious June day the entire school turned out for the Simon Balle Annual 5K Fun Run. This has become our major fundraising event of the year but more importantly it is a real showcase for the type of school Simon Balle is. Another lovely day where the whole school joins in and celebrates together. So far we have raised an amazing £5065 with gift aid to be added to this. The fundraising this year will help finance 2 defibrillators—something we hope we never have to use—as well as the hire costs of one of the school minibuses.

This year we also invited also invited along the students/parents who will be joining our new Reception classes in September. After watching the elite race and the year group starts with Mrs Oakenfull, they had their own mini-games. It was a great way to introduce these students into the Simon Balle community.

Exams All certificates for summer 2015 exams will be available for collection after 1st November 2015. Unfortunately it is not possible for us to send certificates to you by post as they have to be signed for . However, if you would like to arrange for a family member to collect you certificates on your behalf, please can you email the exams office to give permission before they come on wainl@simonballe.herts.sch.uk The exams office is open between 9am and 3pm to collect any certificates.

Please note we are only obliged to hold certificates for one year after the issue date and after that time they can be destroyed.

Primary Phase Update The last few weeks have been extremely busy. I have thoroughly enjoyed visiting the children in their current nursery settings and getting to know their likes and interests. We are now officially full and the class lists are being finalised!

I have enjoyed shopping for furniture and resources to fill the classrooms. A big thank you to the parents and staff at Simon Balle, who have kindly brought in their nearly new toys and books, which are all in fantastic condition.

Simon Balle enjoyed their annual 'Fun Run' and this year we were joined by some of our new children and their families. What an afternoon we had! The sun was shining and the children enjoyed meeting new friends. They were warmly welcomed by the Simon Balle community. It won't be long before they get to join in the run themselves.

I have been into the building again and I am so impressed with the changes that I see each and every time I go. Some classrooms are completely finished and others just need their finishing touches. The playground was being laid today and the external works will continue over the next few weeks.

I am happy to announce that the majority staff have now been appointed for September, including a Receptionist and one Teaching Assistant.

We have finalised the information for the New To Reception parents meeting on 6th July and look forward to meeting all of you at 5:00pm, followed by tea and coffee in the main hall.

Enjoy the lovely sunshine.

Ruth Oakenfull

Hertford Hockey Club Austrian Success On Thursday the 18th of June, we travelled to Klagenfurt, Austria to take part in the United World Games, which is a huge tournament, hosting a variety of sports and open to countries all over the world. We travelled with Hertford Hockey club, and entered two under 10 mixed teams, one under 12 girls and one under 14 team girls.

The tour lasted four days, including three days for the tournament. On the second night, we took part in the opening ceremony, where we walked out as a team into the main stadium, in front of thousands of people, followed by all the other countries taking part. This was one of the highlights of the trip, and something we will never forget!

Overall, the tour was a great experience, and a huge success. This is because we got to play against many other countries which we have never done before. As well as this, the under 14 team welcomed three girls from India onto our team as they were unable to field a whole Indian team.

Out of the four teams, we bought home three medals. The under 14s gained bronze, under 10s took silver and the under 12s picked up a well earned gold. We are certainly looking to return next year, hopefully encouraging more English teams to join us as we were one of only two teams representing England, the other being a small orienteering team.

We would like to thank everybody who helped organise the trip, and Simon Balle for their support and giving us time off to take part in this unique event.

Lucie Blackman, Gemma Moses, Elizabeth Moore, Leah Hawkins and Monique Gettings

MFL Vocabulathon Students in Years 7-9 have been competing in the MFL Vocabulathon house competition, in which they were tested on 50 words studied this year in their respective foreign language(s). Winners from each class received 3 house points, 2 points for second place, and 1 point for third place. Below is the breakdown by house, as well as the names of winning students from each class. Congratulations to the winners and all students who took the competition seriously and tried their hardest.

Winning students Rowena Carr 7A Joseph Williams 7B Joseph Smith 7L Charlie Brett 7M Alex Bartlam 7M Anthony Corbett 7N Daniel Charles 8B Jessica Martin 8B Marc Ainge 8L Katherine Searle 8L Amy Chen 8R Maddie Irons 8N

Madeleine Durbin 8R Emily Pavlou 8M Sarah Greaves 8R Jean Nwahba 8A Gemma Moses 9B Jack Skelton 9A Beth Emsley 9L Matteo Tontodonati 9A Jack Stodel 9B Oliver Canham 9M

Overall house points Beane Ashbourne Mimram Lea Rib New

36 33 24 23 21 18

Year 11 Awards Evening What a fantastic evening was had by Year 11 students and staff on Friday 24th June.

Our PSA did a superb job in transforming the hall, organising and supporting the event financially. A big thank you to all the staff that contributed before and supported on the evening.

Our students looked amazing and many were very emotional about leaving. All expressed their thanks to the staff at Simon Balle School for making 5 years memorable and preparing them so well for the next step in their lives.

It was a lovely way to finish a year and celebrate all the hard work these students have put into the last 5 years.

James Pooley (aka Gary Barlow!)

External Students Welcome Evening On Thursday evening a group of Year 11 students, who will be joining our 6th Form from other schools, had the opportunity, along with their parents, to familiarise themselves with our school. While their parents were invited to listen to a short presentation on some of the practicalities of Key Stage 5 and how the next two years will pan out for their children, some of our student leaders from year 12 presented their perspective on life in the 6th form. They also initiated a quick-fire, ‘speed-introduction’ exercise allowing each student to meet a number of others who will be joining next year.

Thank you to the student leaders who worked hard to organise this evening and who were so keen to help our new students settle quickly and feel more comfortable about joining us in September.

Next Steps for 6th Form Year 12 students are currently in the process of deciding on and preparing for their next steps after 6th form. Our focus therefore is to provide them with the opportunities to make informed choices and gain an awareness of different potential pathways towards their futures. As part of this process Year 12 students boarded a double-decker bus last week and headed for the UCAS Convention held at Anglia- Ruskin University in Cambridge. At this event there were over 140 exhibitors including universities from all over the country and overseas along with other institutions offering opportunities for young people.

For many students this was a first visit to a university and a real ‘eye-opener’ as to what is available and where. Our sixth formers had the opportunity to attend lectures on particular subjects or on more general aspects of university life. Crucially, they also had the chance to meet current university undergraduates and admissions tutors and to ask questions about entry criteria for specific courses, career pathways, student facilities and the financial implications of university study.

Many students were very enthusiastic about the visit which has given all a broad perspective on continuing into Higher Education and hopefully it will help them in making decisions for their future. Many students have also attended University Open Days all around the country where they are able to get a more in-depth insight into the institutions that may make up their chosen options when they apply to UCAS in October/November. Within school we will be supporting student through this process and helping them to write their own personal statements which are a vital part of applying for a university place an apprenticeship or in making a job application.

Steve Preshous Director of Sixth Form

PSA If you are looking to 'refresh' your child's uniform the PSA will be holding a 'nearly new' uniform sale in the Dining Room from 3-5pm on Thursday 9th July. Please also use this time to drop off any clean uniform you no longer need.

Year 12 Work Experience This year I am proud to report that a record breaking 100% of students took part in the year 12 work experience programme. From its launch in January students worked tirelessly to secure placements across a variety of industries and professions with some travelling as far afield as New York and Bermuda.

For many students the work experience week was the first time they had ventured into the world outside of school, providing new skills and confidence in their ability to progress on to university or employment after sixth form.

Placements were found in a range of professions including: Physiotherapy, Accountancy, Film Production, Photography, Journalism, Engineering, Teaching, Graphic Design, Events Management and Law. Students joined companies like ESPN, Morgan Stanley, Barclays Bank, GSK, Herts Constabulary, River City Studios, Paramount Studios, The Barts & London Medical School as well as local charities.

On their return all students completed a self- evaluation which highlighted the power of networking. After completing a successful week many have been invited back to spend more time with their placement in the summer providing further opportunities to explore a potential career. From students responses it is clear to see that this week really has helped them make some important decisions about their future.

Placements too were asked for feedback and once again our students came through with flying colours with particular praise for their attitude to work and willingness to take on any duties asked of them. All of them praised our students with statements crediting them as ‘excellent ambassadors and an absolute credit to your school’.

Well done year 12!

Julie Calder

Food ¡Una clase de cocina española!

Esta mañana un grupo de estudiantes en año 9 tuvo una experiencia bastante diferente. En vez de escribir, ¡decidimos tener una fiesta de comida española! Los estudiantes entraron en la sala de cocina donde recibieron dos recetas diferentes.

Una mitad de la clase tuvo que preparar churros con chocolate, un plato típico de España, un poco como buñuelos largos. Los otros grupos cocinaron unas tortillas de patatas. Primeramente los alumnos prepararon los ingredientes frescos pero tenían que leer las instrucciones en español (¡y a veces en ingles si era absolutamente necesario!). Para crear un ambiente cultural, mientras que cocinábamos, escuchábamos música tradicional. Después podíamos probar la comida típica del país y discutir y hablar sobre el sabor de estos platos (¡en español, por supuesto!)

Nos lo pasamos bien y nos gustaría agradecer a Señora Ellis, Señora Jones y Señora Nwahba por toda su ayuda.

A Spanish Cooking Class!

This morning a group of Year 9 students had quite a different experience. Instead of writing, we decided to have a Spanish food fiesta! The students entered the food room where they received two different recipes. Half of the class had to prepare ‘churros with chocolate dipping sauce’, a typical Spanish dish a little like long doughnuts. The other groups cooked typical Spanish potato omelettes. Firstly the students prepared the fresh ingredients but they had to read the recipe instructions in Spanish (and sometimes in English if it was absolutely necessary!). To create a cultural atmosphere, whilst cooking, we listened to traditional music.

Afterwards we were able to try the local food and talk about the tastes of these new dishes (in Spanish, of course!)

We had a great time and we would like to thank Mrs Ellis, Mrs Jones and Dr Nwahba for all of their help.

Library and English Department News Transition Evenings Over 2 evenings recently the Library welcomed 20 new Year 7 students and parents in an informal session. After light refreshments our Librarian distributed a welcome pack and spoke about the many literary/library events and opportunities available here. The students were put into small groups to play the Reading Game (by Carel Press); an opportunity to look at different genres of books and judge them together. It was a fantastic way to start getting to know our new students and help them to feel at home here.

Carnegie Discussion Afternoon for the Book Club On Tuesday 16th June 2015 members of the Simon Balle Book Club travelled to St Edmund’s College, Ware to discuss and debate nominations from the Carnegie Book Shortlist.

The Carnegie Medal, awarded annually, was established in 1936 in memory of the Scottish-born philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie (1835 - 1919). A self-made industrialist who made his fortune in steel in the USA, Carnegie’s experience of using a library as a child led him to resolve that “If ever wealth came to me that it should be used to establish free libraries.”

We met with other schools and after a lively discussion, voted for our favourite book on the list. I cast my vote for More Than This by Patrick Ness. We also played a game of quingo.(A mix of a quiz and bingo.)

The afternoon was very interesting; it was a chance to listen to other students evaluate and review the same books that we had enjoyed as a group. Other people didn’t always like or appreciate a book in the same way that I had but this event gave us the freedom to express our opinion.

Simon Balle made a good contribution to the event and we would like to thank Mrs Townsend, Mrs Mayo and Mrs Syme for organising Book Club and helping us to enjoy books even more.

Alexandra Heal (9B) Summer Reading Challenge 2015 – Participate or Volunteer Once again Year 7s may call into their public library and take part in the Summer Reading Challenge over the summer break. Also, public libraries are appealing for students aged between 14-24 who have 12 hours or more free this summer to act as volunteers helping out with the scheme. This is an ideal opportunity to get experience for your CV and to find out more please go to www.readingagency.org.uk/readinghack Book Reviews from Staff and Students Here are a few ideas of books that parents may enjoy reading alongside their children. All books mentioned are available to loan from our school library.

‘Private’ by Kate Brian I think that the reason I liked this book was that the main character, Reed, had lots of problems and she just powered through them. Unlike most books I did not relate to Reed, but this was not a problem. Normally I enjoy the book more if I can relate to the main person, yet in this great book it did not make any difference to my enjoyment. If I could improve one thing it would be for the writer to tell me where Thomas, Reed's boyfriend went because the book did not say. BL4.6 (Isabelle Moulder 7M) Born to Run by Michael Morpurgo This is a very exciting book. I really enjoyed all of the adventure in the book. Whenever I turned a page, I was looking forward to what happened next. I think people will enjoy this book.

BL 5.2 (Fraser Angus 7M)

Gangsta Granny by David Walliams This book is about a young boy who believes that his Nan is a gangsta. His parents are freakishly in love with ballroom dancing. Every Saturday they drop him off at his Nan’s so they can go dancing. He and his Nan try to rob the Crown Jewels but it goes wrong! Read the book to find out what happens in the end. BL 4.8 (Daniel Saunders 7N) Mortal Chaos by Matt Dickinson This amazing book is about the butterfly effect. This is where a little thing can make a big difference. I think others would like this because it is very exciting. You cannot wait to find out what happens next. It was very intriguing and I guarantee you will finish it within a few days. BL 6.4 (Archie Andelin 7M) More Than This by Patrick Ness If you’ve read Patrick Ness before you will know what to expect from ‘More Than This’. It is a disturbing story set in a future where the online world has a different and more disturbing role than it does for us now. Without giving anything away, the mysterious opening gradually builds to a fast-paced, thriller-style suspense story that leaves you challenged and with unanswered questions. I recommend it if you liked The Hunger Games trilogy or the Divergent series. BL 4.9 (Ms Ellis) The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern “The circus arrives without warning… It is simply there when yesterday it was not… The towering tents are striped in white and black, no golds or crimsons to be seen… But it is not open for business. Not just yet.”

Delve into the magical world of Le Cirque des Reves (The Circus of Dreams). Experience the different tents, made by two magicians competing in a contest based on their magical abilities.

Two people thrown together by their teachers but the contest does not only involve the competitors, everyone involved in the circus is part of the game. But these games have happened before and only one person can survive. How will the circus carry on?

Prepare to be mesmerised by the range of characters and how their part in the circus means the circus is not only their livelihoods but their lives.

This book will captivate your imagination and make you never want to put it down as on the next page the fates of the circus occupants await. BL 6.5 (Miss Wigmore)

Year 13 Trip to ‘The 39 Steps’ at the Criterion Theatre, London, 23rd June As the grand finale to their seven years of studying English, the Year 13 English Literature students visited the Criterion Theatre in Piccadilly Circus to see an imaginative reworking of John Buchan’s classic spy thriller, ‘The 39 Steps’. The original novel, published during the First World War, features the exploits of Richard Hannay, the archetypal hero with a stiff upper lip, who finds himself single-handedly trying to prevent military secrets passing to a foreign power and having to extricate himself from one sticky situation after another.

In the production at the Criterion Theatre, however, the story is transformed from a tale of derring-do to a play rich with laughter and invention. Just four actors take on a variety of roles (in some cases having to have a conversation with themselves when they are, simultaneously, two different characters), ladders and planks become the Forth Bridge and bodies and snowstorms suddenly descend from the Heavens.

The production’s supposed amateurishness, with phones not ringing on cue and the train from London to Scotland represented by a child’s toy train scooting across stage, is all part of the fun. Year 13 declared it hilarious and a fitting end to their English studies.

Mr Davies

The Writing Olympics at Simon Balle Last week saw the first ever Writing Olympics held at Simon Balle School. Students from Years 7-9 took part in a variety of events to test their writing skills, earning house points and prizes along the way. Monday’s event was the ‘Sprint’ – a test of the fastest writers both by hand and on a keyboard. On Wednesday, ‘Gymnastics’ took over as students filled a side of A4 paper with comedy writing in a variety of genres to show their agility and imagination. On Thursday the library was filled to capacity for the ‘Archery’ event – the test of precise, accurate handwriting. In Thursday’s form lesson, all students took part in a ‘Hurdles’ writing challenge with ‘reveals’ at key points that students had to include in their story (Year 7); there was a ‘Heptathlon’ of seven different written tasks in a short time for Year 8, and a ‘Relay’ for Year 9 where teams of four had to take over from each other and complete a story in a limited time. The quality of the entries was very high, as you can see in the pictures.

The full results are given below. Well done to all those who got involved and we look forward to our elite writing athletes performing again soon!

Liz Ellis Event Sprint

Year Group 7

Hannah Frederiksen

Ashbourne

Tom McGill

Rib

(Handwriting)

8

Jean Nwahba

Ashbourne

Lucie Weller

Lea

9

Nathan Gibbs

New

Amy Rowe

Rib

Sprint

7

Lewis Head

Mimram

(Keyboard)

8

James Cachin

Ashbourne

James Allen

Rib

9

Oliver Canham

Mimram

Phoebe Ford

Rib

7

Oscar Collins

Beane

James Threlfall

Mimram

8

Lewis Bell

Rib

Isabella Christie-Hobbs

Beane

9

Michael Sim

Rib

Alex Murphy

Ashbourne

7

Grace Stanbrook

Ashbourne

Alice Gower

Ashbourne

8

Abby Morgan

Lea

Charlotte Osborne

Lea

9

Shelley Earl

Beane

Adam Tridgell

New

Hurdles

7

7B

Beane

7A

Ashbourne

Heptathlon

8

8B

Beane

8L

Lea

Relay

9

9N

New

9M

Mimram

Gymnastics

Archery

Winners

House

Runners Up

House

ART EXHIBITION

Thursday 25th June – 2nd July Exhibits in place, music playing, refreshments ready, spotlights on……welcome to the grand opening of the Art department’s annual Exhibition!

The entire art department was transformed into a large Gallery space to showcase a fabulous selection of GCSE work alongside all of our amazing A Level Art and Photography work. This year we were delighted to be joined by the Technology department who displayed a number of interesting textiles as well as an assortment of design work which included some eye-catching lights.

The live music was provided by ‘The Otus Mojo and the Gravy Sisters’ band who delighted guests with some lovely music, helping to create the perfect atmosphere in which to enjoy looking at the various displays.

The evening was well attended and the department would like to thank all of the parents and friends who came, their support and subsequent kind messages are greatly appreciated.

Following on from the opening night, all of our younger students have had the opportunity to visit the exhibition and enjoy the visual feast, hopefully inspiring the next generation of artists. The exhibition came to a close on Thursday 2nd July.

Well done to all of our students and best wishes from the Art department as you embark on the next stage of your journey.

Music News Inspiring younger musicians is very much part of our ethos – the Big Band played at Millmead School’s fete on Saturday, creating a great atmosphere in the sunshine. Our Mangroove brass band have also been “on tour” wowing pupils at six primary schools with their loud and energetic music. As always our musicians were fantastic representatives of the school, reliable and committed and keen to share their enthusiasm for music.

We continue to strengthen our primary links with a workshop for wind and brass players this week, 50 pupils from local primary schools have signed up to take part!

Ensemble playing is such an important part of learning an instrument and we are delighted to offer this opportunity.

We finish the term with a number of events, including a guitar recital this week, then our summer concert, Music for Youth festival and rock school gig next week (posters below). Please be aware that the summer concert is usually sold out in advance and tickets are unlikely to be available on the night.

Congratulations to our Rock and Pop candidates on their exam results and good luck to all those who are still preparing for music exams later this term – Trinity, Associated Board, Musical Theatre and Diploma exams.

TRINITY ROCK & POP EXAMSSUMMER 2015 NAME

FORM

INSTRUMENT

GRADE

RESULT

JAMES ASPINALL

11R

BASS

4

PASS

JAMES RIDER

11R

BASS

6

PASS

REISS ALLINGTON

7A

DRUMS

INITIAL

PASS

ALEX BARTLAM

7M

DRUMS

INITIAL

PASS

ARCHIE GUIVER

7B

DRUMS

INITIAL

PASS

HARRY BLAKE

7R

DRUMS

1

PASS

HARVEY SANZ

8B

DRUMS

1

MERIT

ABBIE GEERING

8B

DRUMS

1

MERIT

FINLAY SMITH

7M

DRUMS

1

DISTINCTION

ISAIAH CORALLINI

10A

DRUMS

3

PASS

WILLIAM ORMSBY

10R

DRUMS

3

DISTINCTION

LEAH WILKERSON

10A

DRUMS

3

PASS

KRISTIAN BAYFORD

12N

DRUMS

8

MERIT

SAM VECK

12M

DRUMS

8

PASS

SAM BAXTER

9M

GUITAR

4

PASS

ED BROWN

11M

KEYBOARDS

6

MERIT

SARAH GREAVES

8R

VOCALS

3

PASS

PHOEBE BEDFORD

9M

VOCALS

5

MERIT

TOM COLLINS

11A

VOCALS

5

PASS

NOEMIA MCAULEY-HOLLIS

12L

VOCALS

8

PASS

ALEX SALTER

12B

VOCALS

8

PASS

PE NEWS Simon Balle athletes become overall District Champions!

Year 7 District Athletics Champions Senior Girls District Champions

Albert Nwahba on the way to winning the 200m Sophie Rawlinson on her way to winning the 1500m Callum Scutt winning the Senior Long Jump with 6.67m Congratulations to all athletes who took part in the District Athletics Championships on Friday 26th June, as a result of some fantastic performances and everyone making it to their events, Simon Balle became overall District Athletics Champions for the 3rd time in five years. Only 2 points separated Simon Balle from Broxbourne School 999-997 points which made it all the more important that athletes made their events. On the way to winning Simon Balle also won the following team awards; Overall Girls winners Minor (Year 7) overall champions Senior Girls champions Our performances of the day came from Sophie Rawlinson (Year 12) who won the 1500m as well finishing 2nd in the 800m. Callum Scutt (Year 12) won the 100m and the Long Jump with a jump of over six metres. Jean and Albert Nwahba both won their respective events, 300m & 200m. Lily Jones (Triple Jump) and Louise Reilly (High Jump) also became individual champions.

Well done to everyone for all their hard work and commitment.

District Athletics Combined Events The District Combined events took place at Wodson Park on Thursday in glorious conditions. Simon Balle were represented in all age-groups and had a very successful day. Jean Nwahba (Year 8) won the Junior individual award even though he was competing against Year 8 & 9 athletes. Elsa Barnfather (Year 7) performed strongly to finish second overall. These two are definitely multi event athletes in the making. The team results are as follows: Minor Girls – 2nd place Junior Girls – 3rd place Junior Boys – 2nd place Jean Nwahba (1st) and Elsa Barnfather (2nd)

Minor girls (2nd)

Junior girls (3rd)

Minor boys

Junior boys (2nd)

County Athletics League Simon Balle have had another successful year in the County Athletics League with three teams qualifying for the finals. After 6 rounds this was an excellent return and just shows what a talented group of athletes we have.

Finishing league positions were as follows; U14 Girls—8th U16 Girls – 9th U14 Boys – 3rd U16 Boys—8th

The U14 Boys competed in the Cup final on Tuesday and finished 8th overall in Hertfordshire out of close to 50 schools, which was a fantastic achievement. Performances of the night came from Jean and Albert Nwahba.

Albert ran 24.3 secs in the 200m to win comfortably against some very stiff competition. He backed this up with 3rd place in the Discus. His brother Jean was drawn in lane 8 in the 300m. He went off very quick to finish in 2nd place and won the Shot Put with another fine throw of over 12m.

The Plate final took place on Monday night where the U14 Girls and U16 Boys were representing Simon Balle.

The positions were as follows; U14 Girls – 7th U16 Boys – 8th Congratulations to Lily Jones and Louise Reily who have been selected to represent Hertfordshire in the Inter-County Championships. Lily will be competing in the Triple Jump and Louise will be competing in the High Jump as well as the 300mH. Good luck to both girls.

Tennis Update District Tennis On Friday 19th June SBS entered Y8, 9 and 10 Boys teams into the District Tennis Competition. The boys played well against teams from Broxbourne, Chauncy and John Warner. Results were as follows; Y8 - Runners Up Y9 - District Champions - They go on and represent Lea Valley at the Finals day in July @ Queenswood school Y10 - Runners Up

Congratulations to the boys who finished 4th in the Herts schools finals on 2nd July at Queenswood

Cricket News Congratulations to the following teams who have qualified for the semi-finals of the District League; Y7 Boys v Broxbourne Y9 Boys v Richard Hale (the winners will play Broxbourne) Y10 Boys v Richard Hale Year 7 Cricket The Year 7 Cricket team are through to the semi-finals of the district cup! After beating Turnford they played a very close game against Richard Hale. There were some impressive batting performances with Aiden Read retiring on 50 n.o. In the end it came down to the final over but Richard Hale just managed to chase down the target.

This left the boys needing to beat Leventhorpe Wednesday 1st July. The team managed to produce a fantastic bowling display with wickets from Alex Bartlam, Freddie Welch, Owen Hedge and Archie Worrall. Needing just 70 to win, the team managed to chase down the total in 12 overs to make it through. The team will now face Broxbourne in the semi-final.

Year 8 Boys The year 8 boys unfortunately were beaten in the quarter final of the District cup by Broxbourne, however Sam Willis making his debut for the school performed very well hitting a number of 4’s.

This week the boys played in the Olly Horslen Memorial Trophy. There were 4 boys per team and our Y8’s scored 44-0 off 6 overs to come within 6 runs of the record. However they were beaten by a strong Richard Hale team who scored 58-1 (54) to beat the record by 4 runs. Well done to Arthur Twyning, Noah Osborn, Jack Smith and Finlay Cattermole.

Y9 Cricket Last week the Y9's played St Georges in the 1/4 final of the County Cup. The boys bowled and fielded really well and took 4 quick wickets, an excellent bit of fielding from Aeron Phipps got one of their key players out.

Unfortunately we fell 40 runs short of the total but an amazing achievement reaching that stage of the competition.

Year 10 Cricket After beating Chauncy in their opening game, the Year 10 side required a win against Turnford to make the semi-finals. They started well with the ball and managed to bowl the opposition out. The team made a slow start with the bat but soon found their rhythm. Freddie Devonshire-Helps was the man of the match impressing with the ball and scoring 25 n.o. to win the match. The boys will now play Richard Hale in the semi-final.

Cricket Leaders Well done to the Y8 & Y10 leaders below who officiated at a recent Primary schools District event.

Tag Rugby @ Herts School Games Y7 and Y8 girls took part in the Herts School Games at Wodson in the Tag Rugby competition a couple of weeks ago. The girls played some great rugby as well as scoring some memorable tries! Well done to the team.

Sports Day

Sports Day at Simon Balle was a highly successful day with fantastic weather conditions and as a result, records tumbled as you can see from the results table.

The day began with Year 7-9 Field events, tug-o-war and Volleyball. In the afternoon from 1pm until 3.30 the track programme took place with some fine performances witnessed. Going into the final relay races there was only 10 points separating the top three places. However Ashbourne took the overall honours winning by only 5 points. The atmosphere was fantastic with thanks to the musicians for their accompaniment to the races. Thank you to all staff and students who supported this event results table.

Sports Presentation Evening will take place on Thursday 10th September 2015 from 6.30pm. Invitations to follow at the end of term.