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
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N ATIONAL S CIENCE W EEK 2014 With Science Week over, Simon Balle will now be able to reflect on the range of exhilarating activities and events that have been held.
S CIENCE W EEK WILL ‘ RAISE THE PROFILE OF S IMON B ALLE S CHOOL ’ WHILST ‘ INSPIRING AND BENEFITTING STUDENTS ’. M RS K ELLEWAY — H EAD OF S CIENCE
The activities have fluctuated from pig dissections to crime scene investigations to static electricity investigations. Mrs Kelleway, the Head of Science, ex p res sed t h at Science Week will ‘raise the profile of Simon Balle School’ whilst ‘inspiring and
benefitting students. successful event to this Science Week has c e l e b r a t e certainly been a extremely welland success with a large a t t e n d e d amount of students popular week next turning out to the year. scheduled events. One student stated that ‘Science Week was excellent, and there were brilliant activities which inspired us all’. Simon Balle hopes to host yet another
A N INTERACTIVE S PEAKER ’ S C ORNER On Friday 14th March Speaker’s Corner was given by Simon Balle Alumni David Newstead. However, David did not give his lecture within the confines of the Library, but from his home via Skype – the connection proving very successful. David gave an appraisal about
his life at Simon Balle and how much he’d enjoyed science. He went on to comment on his passion for Quantum Physics and how he studied this and used it to his advantage to land a job at Jaguar Land Rover. David’s talk was very thorough and
he gave many tips on presentation skills. Students asked David many relevant questions which he answered with confidence. Overall it was a fantastic presentation which has kick started the first of three Speaker’s Corner events for Science Week. We look forward to the next lecture…
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O PTIMISM BEATS THE H OLOCAUST Optimism beats the Holocaust On Thursday the 6th of March 2014, we had a visitor come to speak to our sixth form. His name was Freddie Knoller – he was a survivor during the Holocaust. Even though Freddie is 93 years old, he managed to speak continuously
for 90 minutes. Those 90 minutes gave us an insight to the hardship and pain that he had to endure, and told us all about his secret life on the run from the Nazi’s. After this, Lily, Louise and Alex along with Amy Beadle, spent 20 minutes having a small lunch with Freddie and his
close friend Alex. This gave us a clearer perspective on his opinions on the Nazis, Freddie also explained that his optimism was the only thing that kept him alive, as well as his courage and determination.
“Those 90 minutes gave us an insight to the hardship and pain that he had to endure”
M EETNG F REDDIE K NOLLER : A H OLOCAUST SURVIVOR Science teacher, Mr. Jones, reflects on his experiences of having witnessed a momentous speech delivered to Simon Balle’s sixth form students. Freddie Knoller’s tales of suffering and resilience affected all of those who listened to them, as Mr. Jones explains.
Why is it important that Freddie spoke to the sixth form?
I think it is really important because we actually experienced it and very few people actually experienced the Holocaust and are here to tell their story, and hearing someone’s real history makes it a lot more, well, real! Looking at the stories in the text books or watching a movie gives you a good idea about the Holocaust, but hearing a first-hand story makes it that much more appealing, and having Freddie here makes it that much more interesting.
What was the main message you got out of Freddie’s speech?
It made me realise just how long a period of time before the war actually anti-Semitism was occurring, and how their lives were going on before the Nazis sort of invaded and just how long it lasted for, as well as how barbaric some of the conditions were. You learn it from the films, but actually hearing it first-hand makes it special.
What would you like the students to take away from the talk?
A signed copy of his book (laughs). No, I would like them to take away a better understanding of just how horrible that situation was, and understand that people in particular government regimes can start doing things that are completely and utterly barbaric in the sense that they think they are doing their duty to their country, and doing as they were told. Obviously they needed to realise what was going on, and not to always do everything that they are told and to think and use their own conscience and understand what is right and what is wrong.
What effects did Freddie have on your opinion of the Holocaust?
He reaffirmed what I already knew from text books, films and study, and it was interesting to hear first-hand accounts on some actual issues – like he was in a farm and he stabbed a German man because he was German, and because they were responsible for his incarceration. It clearly wasn’t that farmer’s fault and he probably had nothing to do with it but in Freddie’s opinion he was. The farmer had a poster of Hitler in his rooms; clearly he still followed that ideology, so Freddie stabbed him. There was no kind of remorse, there probably ought to have been but Freddie wasn’t thinking like that at that stage. The cannibalism in the camps, when they were left without food for months on end towards the end of the war, that was really shocking – I had never really considered that aspect of it before.
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SCIENCE WEEK—WHAT A BLAST!
Y EAR
NINE STUDENTS WOWED BY FIRE
Oliver, our Library Correspondent from Y9 reports: On Friday 21st March the Library was treated to a talk by a panel of five Sixth Formers who are interested in pursuing a career in Science. Each Y13 talked about what they study and what they hoped to be as an adult. The students talked with passion in
their voices as they explained about their career choices and how they would use Science to consolidate their choices. They also gave useful advice about the different Science courses at Universities and work experiences. Overall it was a great presentation which ended Science Week on a good note.
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A LUMNI GOES ALL - OUT FOR K EECH H OSPICE During April, alumni Mark Channing arranged a 5-aside charity football tournament at Simon Balle in support of local charity, Keech Hospice. The organization is a hospice providing palliative care to adults and children suffering from long-term illness within the Beds, Herts and Bucks region. A competition which attracted ex-students, friend s and cu rren t members of staff, the afternoon in itself managed to raise an impressive total of £400 from entrants as well as additionally-donated prizes from sponsors and donators. As Mark commented, ‘Most surprisingly, it was the staff team who claimed all bragging rights by winning the competition!’ A photograph of the successful
team, including current members of staff Mr. Finch, Mr. Preshous, Mr. Grinter, Mr. Carter and Mr. Kay is shown. Incredibly, though, this was not Mark’s only commitment to supporting Keech Hospice during the month of April. A week later, demonstrating his dedication to the charity, Mark completed the gruelling London Marathon in the warm Easter sunshine. Considering that it was the alumni’s first attempt at a 2 6 -mile even t, he completed the course in a
commendable time of 4 hours 22 minutes. It is yet to be seen whether Mark will be taking part in next year’s event but, to date, he has already raised over £3800 for the local charity. Congratulations, Mark, and best wishes on your future commitments! To donate to the cause, please access www.justgiving.com/ markchanninglondonmarathon.
Winners: The successful teachers’ team celebrate a well-earned victory.
W E NEED YOUR HELP . With members of the alumni, such as George Ezra (pictured) being involved in such a variety of careers, it is likely that you or somebody that you know has a story to tell. We are looking for input from Simon Balle alumni of the recent past or not-sorecent. With over 500 members of the Alumni
LinkedIn page, it would be brilliant to use this as a forum to discuss and share experiences of your time at the school. What was your favourite or most noteworthy trip? Which subjects did you love and why? Who, in that friendship group of yours in Year 7, are you still in touch with?
If you, or anybody you know of, would like to contribute to this alumni publication, please contact the Alumni page on LinkedIn: search for Alumni Simon Balle. You never know—in our next e-zine it could be one of your stories here!
Pride: Mark snapped on Tower Bridge.
I N T E RV I E W I N G H E A D O F M U S I C , M R . T AY L O R Q1. How long have you been head of music at Simon Balle? I have been head of the music department here since 1999. This is my 14th academic year. Q2. What major changes have happened to the department while you have been here? We had a major extension to the building in 2007, which included putting in a second floor. Other than that it has been a gradual development of increasing the number of people doing music lessons -nearly a third of students now - and just doing more music making.
Q4. How have teaching methods in Music evolved over time? The big change has been the increasing use of technology which is excellent because it motivates students and makes us more inclusive. We have also implemented a greater use of target setting in lessons. Q5. What has been your proudest achievement while working here? It probably was building up the team ethos in such a way that I won the teacher of the year award for Secondary schools in the Eastern region during 2007. It was a fantastic achievement for me personally but was equally down to the brilliant team we have in the department. Q6. Do you have a fondest memory of your time as head of music? Nothing really stands out, so probably all the performances that the students achieve year after year. Q7. What is the most challenging thing you have found to be while running the department? Maintaining the high standards we set ourselves each year. Q8. What are the plans for the future?
Q3. Has the school’s attitude to music changed while you have been here? If so, how did it happen?
To try and ensure that music remains as popular and as important to the school as it has ever been.
This school has always had a long tradition of supporting music but, having said that, it has improved in the 15 years I have been here. As a school, we have become much more proactive and more inclusive and these things, in turn, have led to a higher standard of performance.
Big Band in full swing: in March, a tremendous audience of 250 people were treated to an evening of impeccable musicianship. The talent demonstrated by the upper school students left Head of Music, Mr. Taylor, ‘in awe’. Rock School takes over Hertford Corn Exchange: in April, several bands from the school performed at the town’s music venue for their termly concert.
Alumni in the Spotlight Niki Barton, a student at Simon Balle School from 1992 until 1998, reflects on her career successes since leaving the school, and her fondest and most memorable experiences as a Simon Balle student. What do you do now? I work for Oxfam in the Fundraising Division. I’m the Head of Emergency Fundraising. Disasters can strike at any time, so my job is to make sure that all our fundraising teams are prepared and know what to do to launch an appeal quickly. When an emergency strikes , I coordinate the appeal to make sure we raise as much money as possible to fund our response. For example, in November last year, super-typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines; we launched an emergency appeal within hours and raised £5m in just over a month. We’ll use that money to support more than 600,000 people who lost everything in the typhoon with emergency aid (water filters, soap, tarpaulins, latrines) and with long term support to help them rebuild their homes and businesses (repairing fishing boats; clearing fields blocked by fallen trees; replacing rice seeds lost in the storm so farmers can plant new crops). What is your fondest memory of your time at Simon Balle? I loved being part of house plays and end of year musical productions. My favourite project was a residential weekend away spent creating our own play about the issues surrounding HIV and AIDS. We improvised, wrote, produced and directed it ourselves. We had loads of fun in the process and, when we presented it back at school, it even made the local paper! How did your choices at Simon Balle shape your future? The most important choice was spending so much time in and out of school hours on drama and music projects and exams. It gave me the chance to meet people I wouldn’t normally work with (from different year groups and sets, for example) and to try new things – including things I wasn’t particularly good at, which helped build my confidence. I do regret giving up German and not studying French after school; I underestimated how valuable speaking a foreign language is and I wish I studied harder to become fluent in at least one other language. What advice would you give to your 12 year old self? I would tell myself to try not to be so insecure. I spent a lot of my teenage years worrying about whether I was fat, whether I fitted in and whether I was doing well enough at school. But, with hindsight, I was fit, healthy, I had wonderful friends (many of whom I’m still friends with now) and I learnt loads at Simon Balle. What advice would you give to those leaving Simon Balle at the end of Year 11 or 13? Whether you’re at school or not, there’s still a lot to learn. It might be accumulating knowledge, learning practical skills or just adapting to new situations. If you’re open to learning, listening to feedback from others and changing your behaviour, you’ll progress more quickly. What do you miss most from your time at the school? Seeing my friends every day – now we live in different parts of the country, and we have jobs and family commitments that mean we can’t meet up as often as we’d like. We still talk about school whenever we do meet up though. In three words can you sum up the qualities of the Simon Balle Student? Ambitious, respectful and fortunate.
If you’re open to learning, listening to feedback from others and changing your behaviour, you’ll progress more quickly.