7th July 2017
July Newsletter The end of term is in sight and yet so many events still to happen. In many ways this is an exciting time for so many students as they finish exams and begin to look forward to a new stage, albeit a new year group, new options or new pathways. We continue to work very closely with parents at this time of transition and a big thank you to those who have recently written in, sent cards or made donations. This year we suggested to year 13 leavers that parents might want to donate a book for the library, through an amazon wish list. We are grateful to those who have used this but it was suggested to me that others might like to do so even if not in year 13 so I attach the link to the list below for anyone who might like to do this and thank you in advance. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/registry/wishlist/GIRPMALLWLIJ/ ref=cm_sw_em_r_wsg_YCcezb9AEJF5Q_wf Uniform Can we remind parents of our uniform regulations and the need for all students to wear correct uniform. We have tried to make our rules, gender neutral and there is a choice between: Black regulation trousers (not skinny, canvas, studded trousers) and a regulation kilt (which should not be rolled over and be just above the knee) A cardigan or jumper- school colours and badge A white shirt (long sleeved or short sleeved)- tucked in A school tie Black flat leather shoes Haircuts- natural colour, not closely shaven, tied back if over the eyes We deem these rules to be reasonable, smart, affordable and practical.
Dates for your Diary
Monday 10th July— Sports Day Tuesday 11th July— Y10/11 Carers Fair Thursday 13th July— New Y7s Transition day Academic Awards Evening Saturday 15th July— Slice of Summer Fete 1-4pm Saffron Sounds music performance Monday 17th July— Y8 Maths Challenge day Tuesday 18th July— RIB House trip to Thorpe Park Final Newsletter published Wednesday 19th to Monday 24th July—Music Tour (Ghent) Friday 21st July -
End of term, all classes to be dismissed by 12:30
Friday 1st September— INSET Day Monday 4th September—All students return to school
Finance Information FAO parents/carers of students taking music lessons, From September 2017 we will no longer be able to accept childcare vouchers in payment for music lessons. We can still accept vouchers for before and after school clubs but changes to the rules surrounding childcare vouchers mean that we cannot use them for music lessons at present. Kind regards The Finance Office CHANGE REGARDING LIBRARY OVERDUES (Years 7-13) All Library books need to be returned by Monday 17th July please unless special permission has been granted. We currently deal with a large number of overdue library books and to manage this we are introducing (with immediate effect) one negative house point if the book is not returned by the date stamped in the front of the book. Students have been informed and will receive timely emails. If the book remains overdue the second email will explain that the student receives a further 2 negative house points and the final email requests payment for the book. Any queries about this please email me at library@simonballe.herts.sch.uk Thank you for your support. Janet Syme (Librarian) Careers Fair Tuesday 11th July from 1pm onwards Y12 – 1pm-2.25 Y10 – 2.25-3.25 Parents are welcome from – 3.25 – 4pm
Sixth Form Induction Days On Thursday 29th and Friday 30th we welcomed 146 students to our 6th Form Induction. The two days included a wide variety of activities designed to ensure students can make the most positive start to Year 12 in September. To support students in making the most informed decisions in selecting their subject options they attended Subject Briefings from teachers; these gave them a clear picture of the specification and topics as well as a taste of lessons. They could also visit the Year 12 student marketplace where students could talk honestly about their studies and show examples of the work they do. In order to get both external and internal students ready for 6th form life in the Simon Balle community they were asked to complete challenges, get started on their summer bridging work and take part in an alternative sports day. Students heard from Mr Coy, the new Head of Sixth Form, Mr Klippel and Mrs Saunders about our school ethos and the challenges of entering key stage 5. They also had tutorial sessions outlining the new vertical form system in the 6th form and some of the structured support and expectations our school offers from our Lesson 5 programme.
It was great to get feedback from students who found the subject briefings and talking to Year 12 students really helped them to make informed decisions and feel more confident about joining the 6th Form in September. They seemed to quite enjoy the pizza lunch too! Thanks to all of the staff and students who helped to make the days a great success. We look forward to welcoming our new students in September.
Big Bang Competition 2017
On the 28th of June the Science Department took three year 8 groups and 2 year 9 groups to the Big Bang East competition which was held in the Anglia Ruskin University campus in Chelmsford. The National Science and Engineering competition is a celebration of STEM (Science, technology, engineering and mathematics) in schools and the students were there showcasing projects they had been working on in the STEM and Industrial Cadets Clubs this year. All the projects were chosen and designed by the groups and included the titles ‘Does sleep affect performance in school and can mindfulness help to improve this?’ and ‘Should you buy branded or non-branded cereals’ amongst others.
The groups had to present their research to a set of judges and they competed against hundreds of other students. There were some very interesting projects on display this year but our students did a fantastic job and we had many visitors to our stands all interested in the research that had gone on. The day was a huge success and we were awarded two prizes during the prize giving. Year 8 Students Michael Crisp and Thomas Bashforth were given the Environmental prize for the project ‘Where have all the slow worms gone’ and year 9 students Olivia Rider, Alice Gower, Lucy Martin, Sam Medway-Smith, George Gallop and Louis Broad won the Chemistry prize for their project ‘Piezo Crystals and how they could be used to generate renewable energy’. Both groups won £200 in prize money and have been invited to the National competition which takes place in Birmingham next year. The science teachers would like to thank all the students for all their hard work this year and we can’t wait to see what they can do next.
District Athletics overall champions On Friday we competed in the District Athletics championships at Wodson. This is an event which we have won the overall award four out of the past 6 years. In the end we won our 5th overall title in 7 years. Over 80 students competed on the day and put in some phenomenal performances with 15 students becoming district champions and the Y8/9 team also winning the team award. Albert Nwahba ran 10.8secs in the 100m to break the District record by nearly half a second and as a result of this was awarded male athlete of the day. Trixie Wraith in the 800m ran 2.22 breaking a District record that stood since 1978 and she was also awarded the female athlete of the championships. Fantastic performances from two exceptional athletes. On Monday night the U16 girls competed in the County Plate final and finished 7th overall against some very strong competition with Trixie Wraith (800m) and Eleanor Bayford (Shot Putt), both winning their events. On Tuesday the U16 Boys competed in the County final and finished 5th overall ahead St Clement Danes, Parmiters and Richard Hale Schools. Albert Nwahba in the 100m and George Jones in the 200m both won their events yesterday in 11.4 and 23.7 respectively.
Sports Day – Monday 10th July Period 1 – 3 Inter-house field events, tennis, volleyball and tug-o-war Sports Afternoon from 1pm onwards