Edition 2
Connect-Ed C ALENDAR L ETTER FROM THE H EAD : T HE ‘H EART ’ OF S IMON B ALLE
T HURSDAY 26 TH J UNE – 6 TH F ORM ART EXHIBITION
People are naturally curious about who Simon Balle was. In fact there is very little information beyond the fact that he was one of two Deputies (M.P.s) elected to Parliament to represent the borough in 1298. He reputedly owned Ball’s Park, adjacent to our school, thus giving the schools its name. Once at a Department for Education conference, I was greeted as the Headteacher from Simone Ballet School! Where this came from I simply do not know. These days we just call ourselves Simon Balle and our character or ethos has almost taken on that of a mythicized person. Our vision and ethos talks about what we want our students to be like as we live out our motto “creating tomorrow’s citizens today”. We want people who are curious, passionate
about their learning, resilient, tolerant and accept others for who they are. Excellent communicators, cr eati v e th i n k er s, contented confident people who make a real difference to their communities. Once I asked a group of year 7 students to imagine what Simon Balle would have been like? “A sort of Robin Hood” one student said. “An explorer” another replied. And when I look at the list of our Alumni, the imagination leaps forwardDoctor, Teacher, working in the creative media, Journa l i s t, Des ig ne r, Musician, Charity worker, Banker, Scientist, Consultant, Human Resources… Our education system is experiencing some of the most rapid changes we have ever seen. It is therefore so important to hold firm to our vision and values. As school leaders we are currently debating what our curriculum should be like, in the light of the new national curriculum and the changes to the examination system. Of course it is not
only about knowledge. If we are to achieve our vision, it is equally important to consider how and when we teach those all-important skills so vital for an “allround education”. We need therefore not only to look at what happens in formal lessons but also to all those other learning experiences which all students throughout time hold dear. The trips and visits, the sports activities, musical events, year trips, clubs and themed days. Equally, I am always hearing how so many of our ex students keep in touch with their school pals. Believe me, in my experience, this is not common. So why does this happen here? I believe that this is the very Spirit or Heart of Simon Balle- it lives on through the lives of so many of our alumni. This is why I wanted this edition to focus upon this aspect of our work. Holocaust Memorial Day is an important part of this, and this is why I have asked that our young journalists report back on our 2014 remembrance.
3 RD J ULY – S PORTS P RESENTATION T UESDAY 8 TH
JULY – MUSIC SUMMER CONCERT
18 TH -23 RD TOUR
JULY –M USIC
CONTENTS
S CIENCE W EEK H OLOCAUST M EMORIAL D AY
2– 3
S CIENCE WEEK
4
A LUMNI UPDATES
5
Interviews: Head of Music and Nicky Barton, OXFAM
6– 7