Rodborough Chronicles March 2014

Inside this Edition

STOP PRESS!

Year 7 & Year 9 County Shield Finals Following the Yr11 defeat in the County Plate Final earlier in the week (back page), hopes were high that with two teams in Shield Finals three days later, Rodborough Rugby would have at least one piece of silverware for the trophy cabinet at the end of the season. Sadly, this was not to be the case.

The Year 7 team found themselves against Edenham High School from Croydon. In a game where Rodborough appeared to be a slightly better organised side, unfortunately every error was punished by the much stronger, bigger and faster Edenham players. Two late tries from Rodborough brought a degree of respectability to the score line but we were well beaten 49 – 21 at the final whistle.

Meanwhile on an adjacent pitch our Year 9 team were playing Woking High School.

This proved to be a much closer game that could have gone either way at half time.

However, as the game progressed, the heavier Woking forwards gradually broke down our resilient defence and the game finished 27- 10 in Woking’s favour. Heads should be held high, however, since in Yr7 and 8 this team did not win a game.

Having finally found some winning ways they are now starting to play with confidence and self-belief.

Three finals and three sets of runners-up medals! According to the organisers, though, we are the only school in Surrey to feature in three matches this week so well done to all concerned. Could I also say a big thank you to all the parents who came to support and help with transport at the Shield Finals who I may have missed amongst the thunder, lightning, hail and torrential rain at the end of the day!

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Summer Production Alumni Chelsea’s Choice Musical Miscellany Robots to Chandler Green Notes Grow Project Poetry Games Rotary Writers Romeo & Juliet Army Museum Shakespeare Intro.

Wales Field Trip Wicked Hands-On Geography Careers & Work Exp. Awutu Fundraising Equestrian News Sailability Award Ski Trip Report Swimming Gala Netball Marathon Update Rugby

2 3 4 4 14 24 5 6 7 8 9 9 10 11 12-13 14 15 16-17 18 19 20 21 22 23 23 1 & 24

Dates for your Diary

4 Apr Mufti Day 4 Apr Term finishes at 1 pm 05-21 Apr Easter Holidays 07-09 Apr Berlin Trip 22 Apr Summer Term Begins 24 Apr Y10 Prefect Application Deadline 28 Apr D of E Presentation Evening – Surrey Sports Park 29-30 Apr Y9 Exams 30 Apr Parents’ Meeting with Governors 1 May Y7 Parents’ Even 4:30 2-9 May Y10 Exams 5 May Bank Holiday 8 May – 18 June GCSE EXAMS 10-11 May Y10 D of E weekend 16-23 May German Exchange 26-30 May HALF TERM PAGE 1 OF 24

Adult and Community Learning Courses Rodborough School Summer 2014 Spanish – Level 2 – Term 3 Course No GTN4001G Thursday Evenings 08/05/2014 to 17/07/2014 10 Weeks Time: 8:00 pm – 9:30 pm

Please note that ALL courses STOP during half term week from 26 May 2014 and MAY DAY 05/05/14

Italian – Level 3 – Term 3 Course No GTN1001G Monday Evenings 12/05/2014 to 21/07/2014 11 Weeks Time: 7.30 pm – 9.00 pm

Soft Furnishing Curtains/Blinds & Home Textiles Course No GTN2000G Tuesday Evenings 06/05/14 to 1/07/14 8 Weeks Time: 7.00 pm – 9.00 pm

Italian – Level 5 – Term 3 Course No GTN1000G Monday Evenings 12/05/2014 to 21/07/2014 (excluding 02/06/2014) 8 Weeks Time: 7.30 pm – 9.30 pm

Please note that ALL courses STOP during half term week from 26 May 2014 and MAY DAY 05/05/14

For more information please contact Centre Manager, Surrey Adult Education, 25 West Street, Farnham, GU9 7DR Tel 01483 518558 Email: farnham.aec@surreycc.gov.uk Web: www.surreycc.gov.uk/adultlearning

Little Shop of Horrors 10-12 July 2014

Update from Mrs Bearman

The auditions for ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ took place at the end of February and the production team was really impressed with the overall standard of singing and acting making the job of selecting the cast very difficult.

However, after much deliberation, the cast was chosen and preparations for the show are now underway. Rehearsals will start in earnest after Easter and pupils and staff are anticipating an exciting and hectic time.

CAN YOU HELP? Putting on the show is a great experience for everyone but it also involves massive amounts of preparation. The Production team is looking for help with costume making, set-building and painting, collection of props etc., so if you think you can help in these or in any other way, please contact Mrs Bearman or Mrs FjordRoberts as soon as possible either by email (info@rodborough.surrey.sch.uk ) or through reception.

Any help will be greatly appreciated

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Alumni – our regular feature about past Rodborough students…

This half-term we find out about former Rodborough student Florence Knight …

When 11-year-old Florence joined Rodborough in September 1998 she couldn’t have dreamed what the future might hold in store.

Florence and her sisters are remembered by their former teachers for all the right reasons!

At Rodborough, her favourite subjects were Art and Food Technology subjects in which Florence showed flair. Her teachers vividly remember their shock at the terrible road accident in Haslemere that lost Florence her father when she was just 17.

It was a food and wine course at Leith’s, paid for with her father’s legacy, that helped Florence forge her career. After a great deal of hard work and additional training Florence has risen through the ranks to become the highly respected Head Chef at Polpetto’s Berwick Street restaurant.

Florence, whose father had his own advertising business, has been noticed both by the industry and by the press, becoming something of a celebrity chef.

She has cooked for one of Elton John’s balls and has recently been chosen to open Art14, the art fair that showcases London’s most in-demand chefs.

Florence has had a really busy year that has included:  Getting married  Setting up home with her husband and refurbishing a house  Setting up a new Polpetto restaurant in Soho  Writing and publishing her first cook book, ‘A Cook and Her Cupboard’  Opening Art14  Being interviewed for feature articles in the national press  Working in television

Thank you Florence for giving us an insight into what you have done since leaving Rodborough.

You are warmly remembered by many ‘old’ staff and we wish you well for the future.

Do YOU have a story to tell? What have you been up to since leaving Rodborough?

Please do get in touch and let us know as we would love to make this a regular feature!

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Chelsea’s Choice

Chelsea's Choice was a moving piece of theatre about a girl who was sexually abused and the consequences of that abuse. It made us aware of how badly young people can be treated by others including paedophiles. It was a very worthwhile, thought provoking experience.

Grace McDade and Holly Griffiths Chelsea’s Choice is a very powerful performance by a drama group called Altergo. This drama was seen by pupils in both Year 9 and Year 10 and it went really well! Chelsea’s Choice is based on a true story and was written to bring awareness to those who don’t know about sexual exploitation of children.

The performance was funded jointly by Surrey County Council and the Police and was a really good Theatre in Education performance, which will be really helpful as we start our GCSE Drama performances based around the theme of online safety. The acting performances were really strong and the overall structure of the piece gave us some really good ideas – as well as helping us to keep safe online!

Isobel Heap Here are some quotations from Year 10 Drama students:

“It was very powerful.”

“How does this sort of thing happen?”

“I learnt loads.”

“It was really helpful to learn about this!”

“I changed the settings on Facebook as soon as “It really concerned I got home!” me.”

So there you have it, you come out of the show feeling that you have learnt a lot, feel safer and know how to avoid getting into bad relationships.

A Night to Remember

Reporter Mrs Yeadon

On Tuesday 18 March, 30 Rodborough students boarded a coach to G-Live in Guildford to perform as part of “A night to Remember” a joint Waverley Federation Schools and Godalming College event. Rodborough’s vocal group

joined with singers from Gleblelands, Broadwater and Woolmer Hill to give an excellent performance, singing a range of popular pieces to the appreciative 750 strong audience.

Our Jazz Band then joined up with Woolmer Hill’s and produced an energetic set with many brilliant and polished solos from Jonny Ford, Reuben Puddephatt, Zach Wright and Ted Hayes and brave debut solos from Elizabeth Knatt and Holly Giles.

Many of our instrumentalists then joined Godalming College’s Concert Orchestra during the second half to perform with many previous Rodborough students. The Concert Orchestra programme included several popular film and jazz numbers.

The whole evening culminated in a “flash mob Chameleon”, kicked off by our Jazz Band and finishing with everyone up on stage playing, “You can’t stop the beat” - a rousing end to an excellent concert.

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Robots travel to Chandler

Reporter Mr Walker

Five outstanding Year 10 computer scientists shared their knowledge of robotics with ninety eager Chandler students on Tuesday 4th March.

Together with Mr Walker they led three sessions on controlling robots - using the Thymio machines from Rodborough’s Computing department - with the oldest students in Chandler Primary School.

Ollie, Laura, Ellie, James and Owen helped their groups write programs that made the machines flash and beep before moving on to an obstacle course challenge and, finally, a demanding and highly competitive Sumo wrestling competition.

Chandler made everyone feel very welcome including an introduction to the resident newt population and a walk across the playing fields that has left us all with mud-caked trousers but also slight jealousy that we can’t spend our break times playing in tree houses any more. They also lent us a Mensa puzzle book at lunch time which proved that none of us was quite as clever as we thought. The standard of programming from the Chandler students was excellent and, in the course of an hour, all groups were competently writing programs using well thought out strategies. The Sumo bouts were particularly keenly fought with no small measure of previously latent aggression being shown by Rodborough and Chandler students alike. Ellie’s teams favoured a more reserved strategy that proved successful in the second session. James, whose earlier group had won convincingly, was disowned by the last group of the day following a comprehensive loss and was in danger of leaving the school to a chorus of boos having gone from hero to zero in five short minutes.

Ollie’s team stepped up and took the final spoils. Many thanks to Chandler for letting us spend the day with them and in particular the five students who made the day such a success for all involved.

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Green Notes Spring has definitely sprung at Rodborough!

Reporter Mr Ewing

Walking around the site this month the daffodil display has been just fantastic. Years of work by eco prefects and agricultural studies students has paid off with great looking daffodils all around the school. Our new Arts & Crafts garden has started to burst into life and is looking good thanks to the hard work of some of our Duke of Edinburgh students led by Frazer Ebel.

Work on the pond began on a wet weekend in November 2013

The pond slopes gently with the deepest point in the corner of the field.

The good spring weather has also given the new pond a chance to dry out. Surely this is not good news- the last thing you want is a pond drying out? But in our case it was what we needed as we had not managed to get a liner in the pond before this winter’s record breaking rainfall.

Luckily the dry spell has given us the window we needed and a team of expert pond liner fitters led by the knowledgeable Mr Drew have been hard at work laying the liner and landscaping the edges of our new Rodborough wildlife pond.

I can also confirm that when I looked at the pond today it not only had a liner but was starting to fill up with water!

Being a wildlife pond we want to fill it naturally with rainwater and that is what is happening.

The pond has been a great project inspired by Morgan Masters (Year 11) and will provide a lasting legacy to the school for my great team of Eco Prefects. So, once again, thanks to Morgan, Ryan, Jose and Sam for giving up free time and weekends to make the pond project a reality. We might have to wait a while for the pond to mature as an ecosystem but at least the pond is a success story that should now hold water!

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Grow Project

Reporters – Year 8’s Welly Warriors

Our ‘GROW’ allotment is now well on its way after lots of hard work from the ‘Welly Warriors’.

Work started on the GROW project this week. Mrs FjordRoberts went to a local store to pick up 12 bags of 120 litre compost which were very heavy. The Welly Warriors were out in the wind and a bit of sun on Thursday and Friday last week.

Miya Halsey The action began at form time on Thursday 20th March. We started by pegging out the bags, so that we could see where we wanted to put them. The wind blew the bags everywhere so we used our resourcefulness and found twigs to poke them into the ground. Being resilient, we wheeled the compost in 120 litre bags to the front of the school.

Polly Chapman On Thursday a massive bag of red seed potatoes arrived; Mr Ewing said they came from Scotland but I am not sure! The potatoes are now chitting in egg boxes in our form rooms. Each tutor group will have their own bed to grow spuds in. We are going to see who can grow the most, who can grow the biggest and who can grow the silliest looking potato.

Jacob Glover & Charis Hedgecock Chitting....What is that all about?

It’s what you do first.

Put the potatoes in an egg box, rose end up. This is where the sprouts will grow for the potatoes to grow on.

Then you put them in some light but not too hot, no radiators or anything and not in the dark otherwise the bits get too long.

Then, next week we can start to plant them a layer at a time in the potato bags that we have on the front lawn.

There were loads of worms in the top soil but that is good as it means the compost and topsoil will be even healthier.

Admit it - if you want more wedges you have to grow lots of potatoes. Ooh and we could make chips too. Not very healthy though. Maybe with salad! Amazing!

Polly Grant

I love being with my friends and being outside doing one of the things I enjoy: gardening. I loved wearing my wellies around school as it made people ask why and I could explain what we were doing. I wear my green Welly Boot Badge so that people can see I am involved in this exciting project. I am really proud to be a Welly Warrior and to be We found this week very interesting - I didn't know there was making a difference at so much to growing potatoes!

Polly and Karla Rodborough. Jasmine Hawkins We have spent sunny lunchtimes coming together as a team and working as the Welly Warriors.

Come and say hello to us with our Green Welly Badges and we will tell you all about our exciting project. Keep calm and grow spuds!

Felicia Ediagbonya RODBOROUGH CHRONICLES

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The Poetry Games

Reporter Polly Grant

It was incredibly exciting to discover that some Rodborough students had their poems chosen to be published in “The Poetry Games: Essex, Kent & Surrey”, a book of different poems compiled from the very best competition entries.

The aim was to write a poem about something important to you. All the poems were different in their own special way and it’s very exciting to get your poem recognised from hundreds of others!

Four entrants (Beth Bridger, Izzy Barnett, Jenny O’Mara and I) received a letter home to notify them that their poem had been selected for publication. It was very exciting to learn that a copy of the book will be held in many libraries around England and Ireland!

It has inspired me (and possible other pupils!) to write more and it’s showed us that getting things published is not an impossible goal!

My poem appears below – I hope that you enjoy it!

She Runs by Polly Grant Four paws flaw as the beast clambers over the tree’s rotting frame As she clambers not thinking of what’s behind her.

She cries out in hope that sometime soon That the horns that ring out behind her like a death call, fall silent.

And the dogs that are in a frenzy to stop their blood-thirsty call.

But it doesn’t. The thunder keeps on coming, And the hooves and paws keep on following And even though she runs on the wet, slippery ground Nothing can stop the red hunted beast.

She is hunted by her own type But they don’t mind, for she’s prey to them.

Her red tipped tail that flies behind her back And she never knew what happened There’s no more to remember, everything’s forgotten And the bloodhounds rip at her flesh, their teeth gone rotten From countless murders of their own kin And they roar with pride with the catch of their enemy.

The horses follow after with the creatures that are mounted on them Are the creatures that are feared by all - the men.

They hop down from the saddles on their stallions They pat the bloodhounds’ heads with pride And they look at the fox before them that had just died, And the youngest of the humans is forced down beside her dead carcass And now his hand is covered in blood He paints a cross on his head, a tradition to them.

And that day no one will know what happened.

Because to everyone else, it was just another fox.

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Rotary Writers

Reporter Miss Webb For the past few years, Rodborough students have taken part in the Rotary’s Young Writer competition, setting the standard amongst young people in Godalming. This year was no exception and a large number of students in years 7, 8 and 9 submitted entries under the given guidelines: to write a story around the concept “what a difference that made to my life”.

On Wednesday 26th March, Rotarian Tim Kendall (local co-ordinator for the competition) and the Rotary Club president Michael O’Sullivan visited the lower school assembly to award certificates to the winner and two runners up.

Our congratulations go to Stanley Brooks and Ben Hart for writing excellent pieces which won them the runner up title and, most especially, to the outright winner Lola Wright whose piece earned her glowing praise from the judges… not to mention a beautifully framed certificate and a £25 gift voucher!

Lola’s submission will now be entered into the next round where she will be in competition with entries from other schools across the whole of Surrey! We wish her the very best of luck and hope to be able to update you with her further success in future issues of the Chronicles.

Well done to everyone who took part – we hope you’ll get involved again next year!

Romeo & Juliet

Year 8s were treated to an abridged performance of Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet by the Box Clever Theatre Troop. This is what they thought:

"In their recreation of Romeo and Juliet, Box Clever did a superb and very intelligent job of showing the story in their style.

The acting was amazing and the story was really interesting and easy to follow." Henry Cook

"The performance was very funny though my friends and I all turned away when they kissed!" Zoe Owlett

"The performance was engaging and intriguing. The conscience helped us to understand different points of view in the play." Evelyn Miller

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National Army Museum and War Horse

Reported by Year 8 boys

To support their recent studies on World War One in English, a group of Year 8 boys recently visited the National Army museum in London followed by a trip to the New London theatre to see War Horse. The boys wrote reports and reviews after the trip, extracts from which are included below: “In the army museum we saw improvised explosive devices (IEDs). This is how some members of the army are being killed in Afghanistan. In the World War One area we walked through a model trench, saw machine guns, artillery canons and shell launchers.” Jacob Key “When we were going round in our groups, we got to see all of the guns and a tank but the best bit for me was going into the trenches and dugouts to see what they had to live in while the war was going on…

When we were in the theatre I was obviously excited to see the play but I did not realise that we would be so close to the stage. We were right at the front and near the German trenches. We were so close to the stage we could touch it!” Liam Clarke

“A scene I particularly liked is when Joey transforms from a little delicate foal into a life size tank of a horse. I liked this scene especially because the stage brimmed with smoke and the horse started running dramatically running around, perilously close to the edge of the stage; it was all mysterious then suddenly a big horse appears on the stage and the little foal disappears.” Josh McIntyre

“In the heart-pumping production War Horse, music is used that chills you to the bone. What I mean is it is very dramatic for example when the cavalry charge is happening there is tension created by the music.” George Horn

“When we walked through a reenactment of a typical street in Afghanistan we had to spot the different types of homemade explosive devices and we could feel how nerve-wracking it must be for all the soldiers walking these streets.” Jack Matthews “War Horse the play is a thrilling yet moving experience of the bond between Joey the amazing, strong, fearless horse and his owner Albert Narracott who are separated by the First World War.” James Ruben “The main attraction is the horses.

They’re puppets made of bamboo and are operated by levers and the sound the actors make is mind blowing. We were at the front so we got the full force of it.”

Jamie Irvine

“If you had an idea to make War Horse into a play, nobody would agree with you. They would say that it is impossible as you need horses on stage. This impossible book adaptation is directed

by Tom Morris and Marianne Elliot.” Alex Smith

“Overall I think that this play is the best play I have ever seen and is a definite ‘must-see!’”

Charlie Prichard

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Introducing Shakespeare to Year 7 Year 7s were treated to a presentation by Box Clever Theatre Company to introduce them to Shakespeare. This is what they thought:

"It helped me to learn the language of Shakespeare." Charlotte Cranfield

"Outstanding performance! It was very engaging and brought it to life."

Raph Tarry

"I thought Box Clever was great fun and a good way to help us remember about Shakespeare. I am excited for the next time they come!" Isabelle Jay

"I really enjoyed it and learnt a lot of great new, exciting facts. I hope they come again!" Elsbeth Horgan

"It was fun learning because there were a lot of quizzes. It included Drama as well as English." Toby Onabanjo

"I'm really looking forward to starting Shakepeare because of Box Clever."

Charlie Chennell Even the Box Clever Company themselves said that Rodborough is one of their favourite schools to perform at as the students are so responsive, inquisitive and engaged.

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Fabulous Field Trip

Reported by Mrs Howick & the Year 10 Geographers

The Year 10 Geography Field Trip to Wales set off with a record number (86) of keen students this year on two coaches with 9 members of staff to the modern Margam Field Studies Centre near Port Talbot, South Wales. Fears of flooding, blizzards, snow drifts, extreme cold or driving rain all proved groundless as we were blessed by glorious warm Welsh sunshine for the duration of out stay.

We were busy every moment – measuring footpath erosion in Margam Park on Friday, investigating the impact and management of tourism in the Brecon Beacon National Park and Brecon Town on Saturday, measuring and learning about sand dunes on the stunning Nicholaston Burrows beach on the Gower Peninsular on Sunday and, finally, learning all about sea defences at Porthcawl on Monday. Evenings were busy with bowling, navigating in the dark and proving correlation using statistics!

The purpose of the trip is to give students the opportunity to study Geography in its natural setting and to provide lasting memories. Judging by the students’ comments here it would appear that we met our goals!

It was a great trip and I learned a lot about sand dunes and erosion.

It was good fun walking and the place we stayed at was really nice and modern.

We enjoyed the night hike because, although we got lost at the start, we made it round in the end and, luckily, it was really hot the whole time we stayed.

Most memorable were: the beach, the cake, climbing a mountain, being woken by honking geese!

We learned: that long walks make your legs hurt, that the sea is cold in March, that Hannah is NOT a mornings person, how to use ranging poles and clinometers, how to use Spearman’s Rank.

The hiking was fun and, as a reward, you got to see spectacular views.

I would recommend this trip to all future Year 10 Geography students.

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We had a great time in Wales & learned lots – just wish it had been longer. Good times!

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I think that getting to the top of the mountain is my best achievement so far!

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Our favourite part of the trip by far was the half day we spent on the beach. This was because of the perfect weather and the free time playing football and rounders. The stunning views of the limestone cliffs only added to the brilliance of the trip.

Thank you for taking us.

It was ALL great! We will remember it forever!

The food was amazing and the views on the walks were unforgettable!

Seeing things we have learned about in lessons such as sand dunes, sea walls etc. have helped my understanding.

Visiting the town of Brecon was a great experience – hearing the locals speaking Welsh and looking through their tiny touristy shops.

We all had a really good time as there were lots of fun activities and it was a really good experience!

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The best moment of the trip was at the beach because the weather was amazing!

This was a really good trip – the best I have been on so far. I’ve got to know lots of people better and had so much fun going on walks, which I’ve never done before!

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Although the trip was exhausting I would definitely do it again!

This trip was well worth it – especially the selfaccomplishments you gain after climbing the glacial mountain. The BEST view and feeling!

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Wicked!

Year 10 & Year 11 Drama students had the opportunity to see Wicked at the Apollo Theatre on 4th March.

Wicked is the musical phenomenon that has taken the world by storm. Telling the stories of the witches’ lives before Wizard of Oz, Wicked gives us further insight into why the wicked witch, Elphaba, became the character we know!

The songs are now world famous, with the original Broadway cast recording, starring Broadway queen Idina Menzel, selling millions.

Reporter Hannah Hassell www.wickedthemusical.co.uk

The most famous song is ‘Defying Gravity’ in which www.wickedthemusical.co.uk Elphaba confirms her wickedness by flying high above the stage, grasping her broomstick, creating a stereotypical image of a witch.

That’s not all. There is a love triangle between Elphaba, Galinda and Fyero at Shiz University.

The whole spectacle is ‘Wicked’ and smothered in green.

It is a wonderful, heartwarming show that completely alters your perspective of the Wizard of Oz and the Wicked Witch of the West.

Trust Year 10 and 11 Drama students when we say this show is absolutely fabulous and it is definitely worth going to see! It is a great night out for all of the family and you will be swept away for a broomstick ride with Elphaba and Galinda.

Music Exam Success

Congratulations to Ella Hargreaves for passing her Grade 6 Piano exam with Merit.

Please also see STOP PRESS on back page …

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Hands-On Geography for Year 9s Pupils in year 9 are currently learning about ecosystems in their Geography lessons and were visited by Zoolab and some of the animals that are found in tropical rainforests including a giant snail, hissing cockroach, millipede, tree frog, tortoise and snake. They learnt about how these animals have adapted to live in different layers of the rainforest and were able to touch and hold them if they wanted to.

“The workshop gave a lot of information about rainforest animals and was an enjoyable experience.”

“It was very interesting and there was a great selection of animals to hold and observe.”

“It was fascinating to learn about how the animals have adapted to the different layers of the rainforest – it was well explained.”

“The corn snake comes from the desert – not the rainforest and is adapted to blend into its environment.”

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Year 9 Careers Fair at the University of Surrey

Year 9 attended a Careers Fair at the University of Surrey in February to help them make informed options choices. Here’s what they thought of the experience: “Although I’m still not quite sure what I want as a career, I now know which subjects will keep all my favourite options open!”

“I liked the way that the stallholders made sure that you got involved.

They were really helpful and encouraged me to ask questions.”

“I now know exactly what I would like to do when I’m older and exactly what I have to do to achieve my goal!”

“Every stall seemed to have someone who knew the answers to any questions you wanted to ask.”

“It was possible to get advice from people who had been in your situation. The day was very practical –‘hands on’.”

“It was useful being able to find out about so many different careers. The wide range of stands covered so many possibilities.”

“The day was brilliant! It helped me to connect GCSEs to the bigger picture. I discovered that I would love to become a forensic scientist – something I’d never considered before the fair.”

“I now have a clearer view of what opportunities are available and what jobs might suit me best. I also learned what qualifications I will need. I liked the interactive areas as they got you involved and gave you a taste of what different jobs would be like.”

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Year 11 Work Experience

Year 11s spent the week before February Half Term out and about on Work Experience.

The placements were with a very broad cross-section of businesses from multi-nationals to selfemployed individuals and the jobs were equally varied.

Thank you to all businesses who gave time to look after one of our Year 11s and to give them such a valuable insight into the world of work.

Here are just a taste of the students’ experiences: IT Dept – Costain “It was good to be treated as an adult. I took part in a variety of new, exciting tasks and learned many new skills”.

TP

Urban Outfitters “I enjoyed learning about fashion and everyone was great to work with.” HW

“I loved every second of my placement, which has informed my future career plans.”

Guildford Heating “I went out with different employees on different jobs. Everyone was really friendly, making sure I was busy and learning something. “JB

Euphorbia Design “I enjoyed learning about the design process for a garden and all the stages that you have to go through.” FS

All Saints Infant School “I enjoyed working with children and teaching practical sessions like science.

It was really rewarding to watch the children learn.” HM

Godalming Muesum “I learned how to work a till and catalogue data.

I realise that I am not suited to a cataloguing job!” IL

Kyan Media “I enjoyed the independent and creative work but found the long days (09:00 – 18:30) hard!”

AP

Sightline “I enjoyed working on an IMAC and editing a piece of advertising film.” PJ

“It was a valuable experience. I gathered many important skills that I will use in my future career and life.”

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White Pharmacy “My favourite part was designing and coding a website.” TF

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Awutu Valentine

Reporters Emily Gardyne & David Carter The Valentine Cake Sale was a fund raising event involving lots of Year 9 students taking advance orders for and making and decorating Valentine's Day cakes.

The cakes were brought into school on the last day of the February half term where a production line packed them into boxes ready for delivery.

The cakes were bright and colourful with a "Valentine" theme; Eleanor and Alice made "Love from Year 9" tags to decorate the boxes.

This innovative sale raised £390 for our chosen charity – the AwutuWinton School in Ghana and we had lots of fun in the process!

Outstanding Year 11s Nineteen of the most diligent Year 11s were invited for Tea and Cake to celebrate their outstanding Attitude to Learning throughout the spring term.

All pupils had received ATL 1s and 2s in each subject they study. Mr Smith was there to congratulate them on their hard work and commitment which, at this crucial time in Year 11, is an excellent achievement.

Teen Aid Concert

Reporter Mrs Ward

On Tuesday 11 March, staff and pupils showcased their talents to an appreciative audience in the annual Teenaid concert.

Many thanks to everyone who took part and gave us such an enjoyable evening of music, drama and dancing. Particular thanks should go to the organisers and comperes - Ella Hargreaves, Ted Hayes, Curtis James, Shannon Lee and Ellie Page from Year 11, supported by former pupil, Alex Harvey, Mrs Bearman and Mrs Yeadon.

A profit of approximately £474.47 was made from the evening which will be added to our fundraising for the Awutu-Winton School in Ghana.

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Equestrian News Horse Trials

Reporter A Perry

Year 10’s Bella Perry has an exciting eventing year ahead of her as she works to consolidate her position at BE90 before competing in the Regional Under-18 competitions which are at BE100 level.

Bella and KP have been training hard and attending training clinics to improve their technique.

Bella’s first affiliated competition of the 2014 season was on 22 March at Munstead Horse Trials in Godalming. Excellent cross-country and show-jumping phases made up for a slightly disappointing dressage score giving Bella a great start to the eventing season.

Dressage International Team Debut

Reporter Olivia Moriano

I’m very proud to be able to announce that I will soon be making my international dressage debut as I have recently been selected to represent Italy at Pony FEI level.

It has taken lots of hard work, dedication and hours of practice to get this far and realise my dream of earning the Italian shield on my jacket.

Master Alexander (my 14hh Dutch Warmblood pony) and I have put our all into every competition – fighting to lower our scores to the level required to be considered to represent Italy.

Now that we have been given the heads up to be in the Italian squad, we know that it won’t be long before we are asked to travel around Europe to compete against other countries’ top riders. This really is a dream come true as ever since I very first started dressage I have wanted to compete at the highest possible level and to be a big achiever. It has been a long journey. I have represented the Southern region in national competitions for six years. My successful selection for the England Home Internationals team last year also led to an invitation to attend National GB training in Birmingham through the winter. This was a fabulous opportunity and I now realise that when you put hard work into something you love the rewards can be great!

I also realise that none of this would have been possible without my small army of supporters: family, friends, trainers, team members as well as the staff at Rodborough, who have allowed me time off for training and competitions. Thank you for enabling me to enter another exciting chapter in my dressage career.

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Sailability Award

Reporter Ella Hargreaves

Over the past 2 years I have been a volunteer at Frensham Ponds Sailability.

Sailability offers those with learning, physical disabilities or long term illness the chance to sail individually or with a buddy.

Specialised access boats make the sport accessible to those who may need support in many aspects of their day-to-day lives.

Sailing gives them freedom and independence - something most of us take for granted but rarely experienced by those we support.I became involved with the charity two years ago as part of my D of E ‘service’ and, since then, have helped on Saturday mornings during the season (AprilNovember). Chairman, Kate Richardson, has recently set up a youth group and I am one of the group leaders. This has given me the opportunity to coach and run sessions and also to sail with the disabled young people. I have found it extremely rewarding to watch everyone’s progress over the weeks.

Interested?

Need more information?

Speak to Ella or check online… sailfrensham.org.uk On Saturday 8th February 2014 I attended the National RYA Sailability Conference in Cambridge.

During the day I met many people from other Sailability groups across the country as well as the Chief Executives from both the RYA and Sailability. I really enjoyed learning more about the charity in a wider context, outside of Frensham, gaining an understanding of how we can improve our own club.

At the evening dinner, guest speaker, Gerry Hughes, spoke, via his interpreter, about his single-handed around the world voyage - the first ever for a deaf sailor. Even though he wasn’t able to hear me, I was fortunate to be able to express my congratulations through his interpreter after his presentation. Gerry is a true inspiration and shows how, no matter how difficult a situation may be, hard work can help you achieve your goal.

After the meal, I was presented with the RYA Sailability Youth Volunteer Award for my work at Frensham Pond. It was such an honour to win this award and I hope that it encourages more young people to get involved with the charity.

If you are interested and would like to find out more about Sailability then please don’t hesitate to speak to me. There are many different roles so - it doesn’t just have to be for those keen on sailing, anyone can get involved!

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Ski Trip 2014: Stubai not Dubai!

Reporters Mr Walker & Miss Morgan

Friday 15th February saw 35 students defy floods and high winds to leave soggy Surrey for the annual ski pilgrimage to the Stubai Glacier in Austria. Thankfully the ferry was running so we arrived in the Tyrol Valley in good time: fit, eager and raring to get on the piste.

Conditions varied through the week from gorgeous blue skies to tricky whiteouts and a fresh dump of snow during the penultimate night gave us dramatically different snow for our final day (most of which was spent horizontal in the waist-deep powder).

Every student in the three ski groups and the snowboard group significantly improved their skills and, by the end of the week, the beginners were on red runs, the middle skiers were plummeting down the 12km ‘Home Run’ and the upper skiers were taking on quite frankly terrifying black runs (in the teachers’ opinion – the students loved it; the infamous Run 13 or ‘The Wall’ was closed on the final day to much lament among the students and heart-ratelowering relief to all over 16s).

The top awards were earned by Ella Hargreaves (top skier), Dan de Caestecker, Simon Peppitt and Ollie Jones (most improved skiers), ‘Big Stu’ Stallard (top boarder) and Eoughn Marshall (most improved boarder) and a special mention to Ewan Collett for his amazing array of evening knitwear.

Racing honours were also handed out and the competitive finale of the slalom race was summed up by Joe Reynolds: “Great until I lost both my skis and my pride”.

As well as six full days on the mountain there was also a keenly fought bowling tournament (well done Ted Vorley), swimming races, snow bathing, Innsbruck sight-seeing, pizza restaurantgoing, Monika’s home cooking and hospitality and no small measure of fun.

The ski trip will, of course, run again next year so collect a letter from Mr Lee now!

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Swimming Gala

Reporter Holly Giles

Twelve students from Years 7-10 represented Rodborough at the Senior Schools District Swimming Gala in Farnham on 18 March 2014. The Gala consisted of 39 races, all of which were swum to a high standard.

One of our best swims of the day was the Year 8/9 medley relay (four lengths, each of a different stroke). This was swum by Milly, Polly, Charis and Lola. They swam brilliantly and won their heat, adding numerous points to our total.

With such a small team, Rodborough didn’t have enough swimmers to swim many of the relays competitively. We still, however, swam them for fun. Max, Ben and Noah did this brilliantly in their relay and, although we could not gain any points for their swim, they came second in their heat and swum fantastically. This was repeated by the two Year 10/11 girls (Tallulah and Holly), who swum their relay and won their heat by a considerable margin!

Our team may have been small but it included some very talented swimmers who showed their skills in races, relays and a squadron. We all had a great day, which ended with a great result for our Year 7 team who won their age group! Well done!

We would like to enter the gala again next year and hope to take a larger team. So, all you keen swimmers, keep your eyes on the lookout for next year’s competition!

The Rodborough Swimmers: Lola Wright Callum Gregory Charis Hedgecock Noah Lewis-Brown Holly Giles

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Josie Beagley Millie Puddephat Ben Wagner Tallulah Smillie

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Year 7 Netball District Tournament On Wednesday 12 March Rodborough Year 7 A and B teams competed in the District Tournament at Broadwater School.

The A team played 5 matches in total beginning with St Peter’s against whom we won 2:1. Next up were Guildford County – another win 3:1. The third match was the end of the group phase vs Howard of Effingham, who we beat 6:3 to take us into the semi-finals where we met and beat our own B team 4:1.

The final was against Howard of Effingham and, despite a close match, we couldn’t match our previous score, losing 1:3.

We were pleased with the overall result and hope to compete again next year.

Reporters Josie Beagley (GA) & Lola Wright (WA/WD) The B team played lots of different schools including The A Team The B Team Broadwater, Glebelands, Josie Beagley Rachel Bartley Christ’s College and, in the Lola Wright Sadie Lawrence semi-final, Rodborough A Amy Butler Kezi Cook team.

Amy Mc Rae Hannah Adams After losing to our As we went Abi Barrass Caroline Miller on to finish 4th – a great Tilda Hughes Emily Silvester achievement!

Isabel Johnston Emma Tomlinson Well played everyone!

Molly Churaman Reporters Rachel Bartley and Emily Sylvester Reporter Mr Honeysett Early on Sunday 2 March, eight teachers from Rodborough arrived at the Madejski stadium in Reading for the start of the annual half-marathon.

Reading Marathon Update

Following a chance conversation between Mrs Extance, Miss Mills and Mr Honeysett back in September, the idea of running the Reading half-marathon began to evolve. More teachers expressed an interest and different charities and projects were discussed.

By the time the race started, parents, staff and students at Rodborough had pledged over £1,000 to help raise money for the LRC refurbishment project, the Awutu school in Ghana and the school allotment initiative.

The weather was windy and cool at the start but the rain held off making conditions for running ideal. The teachers had prepared well over the last few months despite the poor weather and all of them completed the course in the times that they had targeted. A special mention to Mr. Williams who ran the course in an astonishing time of 1 hour 30 minutes!

All of the teachers made it into school on Monday albeit looking a little sore and dazed!

A huge congratulations to Miss Mills, Mr Loveday, Mrs Fjord-Roberts, Mr Williams, Miss Mackay, Mrs Extance, Mrs Reynolds and Mr Honeysett.

Thank you so much for the money you have committed to this sponsored event - it is really appreciated. There is still time to pledge your support as the donations link on Wisepay will remain open until after Easter! Thank you if you have already helped us to reach the magnificent sum of £1,577.43 so far! Can we double our target and reach £2,000?

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Surrey Rugby Plate Final

Reporter Miss Morgan

Our Year 11 Rugby team played in the Surrey Plate final at Cobham Rugby Club on Monday 24th March.

They took on the strong, statuesque Saint John the Baptist team and did so with grit and resolve; it was very impressive.

Their supporters remarked at their sportsmanship and sheer determination to tackle hard and not let the margin in tries and conversions deter them from sticking in the game.

The Year 11 Team James Steward (C) Jonny Powell Ben Sheppard Rhys Kelly Stuart Stallard Freddie Blagden Callum August Harry Davies Frankie Hedgecock Dom Romana (Y10)

Jordan Fontaine Elliot Sellar Jacob Scully Conner Allison James Boxall George Lillywhite Jack Miller Ben Murphy Jack Johnson (Y10)

Special mention must go to the try scorers: James Boxall and Ben Sheppard.

Rhys Kelly was quick footed and agile, James Steward (C) was relentless in his running at the opposition and Jack Johnson tackled hard and low to win the ball back on many occasions.

Thanks from the Year 11 boys to Jack Johnson and Dom Romana of Year 10, who contributed excellently to the squad. The final score was 52-10 to SJB.

It was an emotional and cheer ridden 'last mini-bus' ride home for the departing Year 11 team, who returned proudly with medals and in high spirits.

The team would like to thank Mr Lee for his hard work and commitment to them and their training over their time at Rodborough- Thanks Sir!

! STOP PRESS ! – GODALMING MUSIC FESTIVAL SUCCESS STORIES

Congratulations to Elizabeth Knatt who achieved a distinction in the recorder solo class and gave an excellent recital from memory in the recent Godalming Music Festival. Also congratulations to Zoe Owlett who also gave a lovely recital in the same competition. Jonny Ford performed an excellent recital and won the coveted Festival Cup. Finally, congratulations to Holly Giles who competed in the Hart Male Voice Choir Young Singer Competition and was commended.

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