December 2010

Inside this Edition

Students become cabin crew for the day Harry flies into the UK senior squad Our new Equestrian Team do us proud!

Mr ArmstrongHarris doesn’t feel the cold!

Cerise Fund Raising Green Notes Musical Miscellany Charities War Poetry Snow Days Dylan William Governors‟ News Clothes Show Oliver!

Public Speaking Friendship Behind the Scenes German Exchange Eagle Radio Car Bosham Art BP Victory Girls‟ Football German Market Daily Mail Vase National Gymnastics Judo Champion Boys Football District Cricket Sports Ambassadors Equestrian Team Netball Champions Hampshire Cricket

3 3 4-5 6-7 7 8-9 10-11 12 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 18 19 20 21 21 22 23 23 24-25 26 27 27 28 28

Dates for your diary Public speakers do us proud

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Watch out for articles penned by our new Rodborough Reporters.

These budding journalists, from Years 8 to 10, are coached by Mr Sturdy.

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20 Dec Carols @ Milford Church 7pm 21 Dec Last Day 1pm finish 25 Dec Happy Christmas 01 Jan Happy New Year 05 Jan First Day of Spring Term 13 Jan Y11 Parents‟ Evening 4:30 20 Jan RS Factor Semi-Finals 5pm 02 Feb RS Factor Finals 7pm 03 Feb Y8 Parents‟ Evening 4:30 08 Feb Y9 First Aid Training Day 14-18 Feb Work Experience Y11 21-25 Feb Half Term 19-27 Feb Ski Trip 28 Feb INSET – No pupils in school

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ADULT AND COMMUNITY LEARNING COURSES RODBOROUGH SCHOOL – SPRING 2011

Spanish – Level 1 - Term 2 Course No GTB1002G Monday Evenings 17/01/11 to 04/04/11 11 Weeks Time: 7.30 pm – 9.00 pm

Spanish – Level 4 – Term 2 Course No GTB1016G Monday Evenings 17/01/11 to 04/04/11 11 Weeks Time: 7.00 pm – 8.30 pm

Italian – Level 1 – Term 1 Course No GTB1001G Monday Evenings 17/01/11 to 04/04/11 Time: 7.30 pm – 9.00 pm

Italian – Level 3 – Term 2 Course No GTB1000G Monday Evenings 17/01/11 to 07/03/11 7 Weeks Time: 7.30 pm – 9.30 pm

French – Level 1 – Term 2 Course No GTB3000G Wednesday Evenings 19/01/11 to 06/04/11 11 Weeks Time: 7.30 pm – 9.00 pm

French – Level 2 – Term 2 Course No GTB4000G Thursday Evenings 20/01/11 to 07/04/11 11 Weeks Time: 7.30 pm to 9.00 pm

Curtain Making & Soft Furnishing – All Abilities Course No GTB2001G Tuesday Evenings 18/01/11 to 29/03/11 10 Weeks Time: 7.00 pm – 9.00 pm

Oil & Acrylic Painting – Beginners ******New Course******* Course No GTB2000G Tuesday Evenings 25/01/11 to 22/03/11 8 Weeks Time: 7.15 pm – 9.15 pm

Please note that ALL courses STOP during half term, 21/02/11 to 25/02/11 Thank You

Rodborough’s 60th Birthday We will be celebrating Rodborough‟s first 60 years with a

‘DIAMOND BALL’ on Saturday 8th October 2011 … so keep this special date in your diary free.

Tell all your friends, family and past pupils and watch this space for more information.

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Printing Money

Reporter Joe Ellis, 9RE

The first commercial business run in the school by pupils is proving a big hit.

Cerise is a school-based printing business providing canvas prints, cards and posters to pupils and staff and their friends and families. The team is made up of Mrs Dockar, Mrs Ellis and 15 dedicated pupils from Years 10 and 11.

They run the Cerise centre from the DT block during break times and after school, partly as a way of raising funds but also as a way of developing their creative skills.

The team have already produced Christmas cards, large posters from photos for use around the school, and a variety of canvas prints. Cerise, formerly known as Eduprint, is confident that many people will be interested in the products because of their very competitive prices.

Michael Evison, one of the students involved, said, “At the beginning we made a lot of changes, experienced real pressure and produced great profits.

At the very start of the year we had no idea what we were being thrown into and how serious and timeconsuming Cerise would be. Luckily it only took a few weeks of choosing a logo to show us what we had signed up for and how hard it is to set up a business.”

The first term saw them “thrown right in at the deep end”, said Michael, because of the surge of seasonal events. “We immediately had to work together as a team or we would fail to make a profit or meet the demands.”

Mrs Ellis said, “Cerise creates the opportunity for Rodborough pupils to learn through creative printing with a unique introduction into the world of business and at the same time raising funds for the school”.

One customer, a local wedding organiser, was delighted when she realised that she could fulfil her dream of advertising her work on canvas throughout her studio because of Cerise‟s low pricing.

Friends‟ Tombola Success

Chocolate Anyone?

Friends of Rodborough worked hard to promote their Chocolate Tombola in October. Pupils, parents and staff brought in huge quantities of chocolate and Friends sold tickets from Reception during the lunch breaks.

An impressive £274.65 was raised by this popular initiative and morale (in the staff room as well as around the school) was raised into the bargain.

Thank you, Friends, for all the work that you do to help us - whether it is raising money for all our „little extras‟, serving drinks on Awards Evening or forming working parties. What would we do without you?

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Swooshes and Blooms: Green Notes

Reporter Mr Ewing This term just gone has seen most of our energy focused on improving the school site.

A team of Eco and Geography prefects have been hard at work weeding the Memorial garden near the Art block. This is an ongoing labour of love as any new garden is susceptible to weeds. I am pleased to report that the team has done a good job and we have held the weeds at bay for the winter at least. But we are under no illusions that the same job will have to be done again come spring…

Our next big task around the school has been a programme of daffodil bulb planting. 40 kilos of bulbs, to be precise! We have planted round the front of the Library block and along the front drive again. Next year we would like to plant crocuses to give more interest to the school in February but, as yet, finding bulk bags of crocus bulbs has been difficult. If any parents know where we can get hold of crocus bulbs in 5 or 10 kilo bags then we would love to hear from you!

Our final big push on the school site has been the completion of the „SWOOSH‟ art installation along the front drive. This project has taken over a year from conception to completion and has involved the school council and all of last year‟s Year 8 along the way.

The SWOOSH is the first phase in our plan to improve the Rake Lane entrance of the school into a more attractive area. The project was inspired by a Dutch landscape artist, Lucien den BAARN by Lucien den Arend Arend‟s sculpture „BAARN‟ (Man in the Environment) which was Image from StIves.net shown at The Tate in St Ives.

This sculpture featured a row of poles which had been painted white. We were impressed by the sculpture‟s impact and also liked the theme of man and environment. Sustainably forested chestnut poles were ordered, dried and stripped of their bark by teams of Year 8 students before being arranged, sentinel like, along the driveway. Over the summer term many people wondered what the poles were for. But this term all has been revealed. Taking the Rodborough logo „swoosh‟ as our motif, we have replicated the original white of the St Ives sculpture.

The „swoosh‟ of Rodborough logo fame was chosen to represent the widening opportunities that Rodborough offers its pupils as they grow and develop. With that in mind we had many discussions about whether the „swoosh‟ should widen out as you come into the school or as you go out. There‟s nothing like a good argument!

A steady hand and a good eye have given the notion of movement and “swooshiness” to the sculpture, which really catches your eye as you drive in and out of the school!

As with all good projects with phases this project has a long way to go. Phase 2 involves looking at the area between the bus shelter and the railway sleeper beds. Once again we will involve our new Year 8 in this project but first we need some good ideas! So, if anyone has an inspired plan for this area, please let Mr Ewing or Miss Wheeler of Scupt-It know!

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Ten out of Ten

Reporter Caleb Jan Rowan 9CS He‟s struck again – and this time there is no holding back.

Mr Ewing has seized the latest opportunity to drive Rodborough forward into a greener future. On 10th October, we joined in the 10/10/10 campaign with thousands of schools and families across the country to try cutting our carbon footprint by 10 per cent.

Our school began the hefty work of planting as many new trees as physically possible, some students getting roped into digging up and replanting the Memorial Garden. But that wasn‟t all. To generate our own power right here in school we have entered a bid to be awarded some solar panels for mounting on the roof.

Numerous students rose to the challenge of whizzing on to the school website to write up their own thoughts on why we need solar power here at school. If the judges think that our reasons are good enough, we could soon be making our own electricity.

Here are a few entries from our forum (you can see many more online): Solar panels are a truly fantastic opportunity for any school. I feel that our own school should have the panels, as part of our push to become a much greener school. Over the past couple of years, we have cut down our electricity usage, and increased recycling and reusing. However, our school still uses a lot of energy and with solar panels we could finally reach a point at which we become almost totally independent. Also, Waverley and the whole area of Surrey uses very little green energy, with Image from these solar panels, we could become a beacon of hope, a www.solarpowerauthority.com leader of a new way of living in the area. Finally, with our area being so sunny, compared to other parts of the country, we feel that we could create a constant useable supply of energy, to help us to finally become carbon neutral.

ElliotTh7 14 Oct 2010 09:00 I think that our school should have Solar Panels because it would benefit us all. I think that even though our school is already really eco friendly, it would help even more to have amazingly good solar panels. If our school would be so lucky as to win I think that our carbon footprint would reduce massively. I think that Mr Smith, Mrs Hines, Mrs Spencer and you, Mr Ewing, have worked so hard to make our school an eco friendly place, the least they deserve is to win that money to change our school for the better. I think our school should be picked because our pupils work so hard to make this school eco friendly that this would be the icing on the cake!

Thank you and I hope you pick Rodborough School for this amazing opportunity.

AbigailGo10 09 Oct 2010 19:43 I believe that it is incredibly important for our school to receive solar panels - because we are in the perfect location, in the south of the country with thousands of square feet of south facing roofing. Our school has a reputation for making small changes to create a big impact. A couple examples of this are paper recycling in every classroom and stickers on light switches to remind you to turn them off. Solar panels are a constant visual reminder about the importance of living ecologically and would serve as an example to others in the community, including students. Energy that depends on light is perfect for our school, because most of demand for electricity is in the daytime. Our school has dreamed of installing solar panels for many years and learning about renewable technologies has been a focal point of our eco-week for a long time. Solar panels would be a fantastic addition to our roofs and would, hopefully, encourage other schools (and homes) to follow suit.

RedCo7 15 Oct 2010 13:25

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Musical Miscellany Pepperpot Jazz

Reporter James Knatt

Jazz Band has recently been playing a variety of gigs all over the local area, including, most recently, at the Pepperpot, Godalming. Despite extreme cold and frosty conditions, a large audience turned up on the 4th December to hear us play for Godalming‟s annual Town Day; a free event held in the High Street.

Dressed to impress (despite the cold) in full Rodborough uniform with tinsel accessories, we opened the show with style – introduced by the Mayor and Town Crier. Our repertoire proved popular with the large crowd who stayed to listen to a wide variety of our Christmas favourites, as well as some of our more „traditional‟ songs, including Green Onions, Gerganza, Caravan and Sing Sing Sing, despite the sub-zero conditions. We played for our full hour and were very well received by the local audience and gained lots of positive comments. Many of the band members had solos, which were enthusiastically received.

Thank you Mrs Yeadon for setting this up and thank you Godalming; we‟ll be back next year!

Secretts Jazz

Olivia‟s Winning Christmas Card Design Reporter Liam Cole

Rain was the challenge at the Secretts gig in mid November as the rain poured down on the “heavy duty” gazebo where over 30 of us crowded in to play. We were playing for Secretts on their annual food tasting night and, while we never actually saw any of this food, the smells coming from the mulled wine stand were very tempting! We played a vast array of songs including: Green Onions, Sir Duke, Stand By Me and many more. Good solos from Sammy Johnson, Chris Ford, Johnny Ford, James Knatt, Patrick Ellis, Dan Moore and Mr Loveday enriched the performance.

Sadly, however, the rain had the last laugh as the encroaching floods were getting too close to the electrical equipment for comfort, forcing us to close a few minutes early!

Thank you Mrs Yeadon and Mr Loveday for organising the gig.

Rodborough Young Musician 2010

Reporter Jonathan Feasey

This year‟s competition involved a wide range of instruments. Ranging from Brass to Strings, multiple groups arrived and prepared.

Starting with the Juniors‟ Class, participants performed their pieces in turn, in front of a large and appreciative audience of teachers, parents and locals who expressed their appreciation at the end of each performance with loud and motivating applause.

The Ensemble and Seniors Classes followed, equally appreciated by the enthusiastic audience.

When everyone had played their pieces it was time for the judges to make their decision.

The Juniors‟ Class was won by Poppy Jackson with Ellie Page as runner up. Chris Ford won the Seniors‟ with Jay Nicol and Daisy Leishman as runners up.

I was then surprised and delighted to find that I had won the overall competition and receive the title, Rodborough Young Musician 2010.

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Christmas Concert

Reporter Alex Bignell It‟s that time of year again! The music department started the season with their annual informal Christmas concert, held in the dining hall where the Wind and Jazz Bands, together with String, Vocal and Guitar Groups, each played well-known Christmas pieces. Favourites included „Frosty the Snowman‟, „Christchurch Bells‟, „Troika‟, „Christmas is here‟. Classic (maybe not so Christmassy) tunes, „Sir Duke‟, „Sing Sing Sing‟ and „Hawaii Five-0‟ were just as popular with our audience. The evening was a great success and was followed by slightly-too-many mince pies and mulled wine (for the adults). We would like to thank everyone who came and supported the music department in this year‟s Christmas concert. Don‟t forget that there will be another concert, our Carol Service, at Milford Church next week.

Player of Distinction

Phoebe‟s winning Christmas Card Design

Congratulations to Tom Archer (Year 11) who, very impressively, gained Distinction at Grade 8 Drums.

This is a tremendous achievement.

Well done Tom!

Charities at Rodborough In the run-up to Christmas we all try to consider those less fortunate than ourselves.

This half term has seen two major charity initiatives: Children in Need and Samaritan’s Purse ‘Operation Christmas Child’.

We held a number of activities for Children in Need and divided the proceeds between Children in Need and School Council.

Inspired by the recent release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, a number of students were sponsored to dress up as characters from the books. Sponsored silences were also very popular and some students raised extremely impressive sums – 7JMB‟s Hannah raised an amazing £84.88 and her friend Isabel (also 7JMB) raised £64.78 – what a pair!

Mr Sturdy was sponsored to dress up too – demanding extra money before he would don his wig!

Many form groups raised impressive sums from cake sales and other enterprises including lolly sales.

Funds received so far amount to £1,504.19 – it‟s not too late to What price silence? add to this total!

Our other major charity initiative was Samaritan‟s Purse „Operation Christmas Child‟‟. Coordinated by our Senior 6 Prefects, Pupils in Years 7 & 8 brought in a variety of items from stationery to toiletries and toys to pack into shoe boxes for children in developing and war-torn countries. The boxes were attractively wrapped and stickers attached to indicate whether the box was suitable for a boy or a girl, as well as the suitable age.

58 boxes were handed over to the charity as the snow started to fall but the response was so great that we needed to ask the charity to return on a second day to collect another 13 boxes!

Loading our boxes

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War Poetry Year 9 have been studying the poets of the Great War and remembering Armistice Day by writing Great War poems of their own.

Our selection includes competition winners Olivia, Lizzie and Wesley …

Raindrops

In No-Mans Land

I watch the raindrops trickle down the window I hear the letterbox bang.

A damp, yellow envelope falls on the mat The warning-bells in my head clang.

I watch the raindrops trickle down the window I look at the desolation outside, And I think „my god, did he die for this?‟ For I know what that envelope does hide.

I watch the raindrops trickle down the window Oh, how will I ever know What happened in that godforsaken place, That hell where all men go?

I watch the raindrops trickle down the window And I know I must start again, start again, as he would want me to, But what does remain?

Who is to stop it hurting?

To keep me together, to stop the pain?

Who is there to make it better?

I've been ripped apart…by an unopened letter.

Olivia Coleman

Red Red is a colour of war, Red is a colour of pride.

Red is the colour of victory, but grey is for those that have died.

Grey is an absence of hope, Grey for a world steeped in fear.

Grey is the motto of those who lie still, but red is for the ones that are here.

Stumbling, The incurable sick, Lost in the vile sludge.

Desperate The helpless beggars, Call out for helpIn the open fire.

Choking The gas creeps closer, A mist of death on the horizon.

Stumbling Sore with fatigue, The writhing yell and drown.

Gargling and guttering, Coughing and cursing, Glory begins to fadeIn the obscene scenery.

Dreams begin to die, Plunging forever downwards, Spreading like a bitter cancer.

Ecstasy.

As they unboard ship, returning to their loved ones.

Awarded for bravery, Greeted like saviours, Triumphant.

As the real heroes, Absent of love Lie all alone, In No-Man‟s land.

Lizzie Rose

Red is about giving your all, red is the colour of the fray.

Red is a national spirit and fight, But grey is what we have today.

Grey are the thoughts of the damned, Grey is a war that is true.

But grey is an inconvenient truth, Because your country really needs you.

Wesley Saunders

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Condemned

We

Down in trenches thick with mud, Crawling through entrails limbs and blood.

The smell of death now fills the air, As we‟re sent over the top without a care.

Gun held out as I run so fast, Shouting and shooting, how long will this last?

An unknown substance splatters on my face, This vast place of hell, an unforgiving place.

I fall to my knees my legs are so weak, Moaning and writhing, unable to speak.

Thoughts of home start to fill my mind, Thinking of loved ones I left behind.

My body is hurting, my life almost gone, I pray to God I wont suffer too long.

I close my eyes to all that‟s around, It‟s so quiet I can hear no sound.

My heart has stopped I‟m free from my pain No war for me, no not ever again.

Rachel Vickery

Over the Top Over the top To stare at death in the face And taunt him with our endless effort Don't look Just run The Jerry are our prize Our men fall To the stuttering machine guns And to the never ending rifle fire The shells unforgiving The Gas merciless Humanity driven from the deepest soul The stench of death thick in the air As the nameless fallen rot British and German rot together The young cry for their mothers The old stare blankly into space They say one more push I just wish for the end.

Tom Page

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We are the evacuees , packed up, dreading it all, strong as can be, where we‟re going, dull or cool.

We are the war veterans, raring to go, fierce like lions, facing the foe.

We are the pilots, of the humming planes, below taking place are riots, on the dusty terrains.

We are the bombs, scream as we fragment, gas used in the Somme, we are an evil tyrant.

We are the guns, shudder as we fire, killing men and their sons, we will never tire.

We are the war fight, men and women alike, battling for what‟s right, with all of our might!

Henry Copp

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Snow Days

Reporter Mrs Howick

It might still have been November but that didn’t stop the snow!

Hazardous road conditions and dodgy boilers kept the school closed for a couple of days but, with the magic of modern communications, we managed to keep in touch with one another! A forum was opened for pupils to contribute poems, photos, creative writing and accounts of how they were spending their day and, within minutes, poems started flooding in. Thank you so much for your contributions – they certainly cheered us all up as we worked on all those little things that need to be done when the school is closed!

Here are a few examples of the responses that we received: Sharne was first, posting this poem at 7:52 am!

Swiftly followed by Jessica at 8:03 am ..

A Snow Sunset Snow Snow on the ground Sun is sinking down down down Trees trees covered in white People gasp at the sight

Snow See the snow drifting like feathers, down, down, down.

See the covered windows like a, Gown, gown, gown

Snow Snow on the ground Animals scurry all around Snow Snow in your hair Stiffness and cold in the air

Hear the excited voices, run, run, run.

Hear children playing. fun, fun, fun

Snow Snow on the ground People sledding down down down Hot cocoa and coffee inside Why not go for another sled ride

Touch the cold wet snow, seize, seize, seize.

Touch the new snowman.

Freeze, freeze, freeze.

Snow Snow on the ground The sun has set past the ground Lights light up the city bright People every where say what a sight

Smell the hot chocolate Stir, stir, stir Smell the warm fire purr, purr, purr.

… Lucy at 8:04 am

And Maya at 8:08!

SNOW Snow is falling all around I'm listening for people, but not a sound I'm going inside for a mug of tea and now that the warmth is inside me I'm going back outside to see what I can see The snow is falling on my head now I feel like going back to bed " I want to stay out here" That‟s what I said I no longer feel like going back to bed The snow is falling down my back maybe I'll collect it using a sack Luckily I'm wearing my big warm mack Now I'm getting cold its my nice warm gloves that were sold People kept telling me that 99's too old!

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SNOW DAY As I awoke, the temperature fell, And my heart shone like the sun we missed well.

Snowflakes falling onto the ground, When they settle, I can't hear the sound.

The heating on and the fire up high, I look into the dull grey sky.

I think of everything I could build, As my fingers get awfully chilled.

My friend has a snowball, ready to throw, Then the back of my head was covered in snow.

Once it's over, I remember the day, When we had fun, and we would play.

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Toran amused us with his Limerick …

… and our photographers were out and about just before 9 am.

The snow is beginning to lurk and FaceBook is going berserk with fights in the snow and sledging to go it's a shame we have to do work. … Lizzie‟s terrier was generally considered really cute!

Jade brought us this snowy scene and a photo of her dog … … whilst Molly went for an arty look …

By 3 in the afternoon the light was better … for Tilly and Kira who sent these snow scenes …

… and the poems kept coming – including this one from Rosie: BEAUTIFUL SNOW Soft as the fall of a beautiful thought, Or a leaf on the stream, White as the robe by purity wrought, Bright as the flow of a dream.

Calm as a sleeping infant's breath, Cold as the brow just touched by death, Falleth in many a graceful wreath Gently, the beautiful snow

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… and this from Caleb: WINTER The Cold, my breath coming out in a frozen mist, In a world of white on white, a still silence Suspended in an existence of stillness.

Fairies, dressed in flowing gowns dance around me, Their feet making swirling shapes, the stars glow In the crown of the King of Winter.

My voice, breaking the wall of loud silence Fills the empty road, the lonely street As we run back to the safety of home.

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Boring at Borehamwood?

Reporter Robyn Bellinger Education guru Dylan William‟s exciting and thought-provoking „classroom experiment‟, recently shown on BBC 2, introduced new teaching techniques different to the standard „hands up‟.

One was „lollipop sticks‟. Students of Hertswood School, Borehamwood, had their name inscribed on a lollipop stick which their teachers selected at random when asking questions. But this was not without its difficulties.

More able students found it difficult not only being unable to answer a question when they knew the answer, but also having to be stuck if they didn‟t. One girl went as far as to stealing her lollipop sticks from the pots, because of her fear of losing her intelligent reputation.

The less able students also didn‟t warm well to the new technique. They had to pay more Dylan William poses with pupils from attention because of the constant chance of Borehamwood being chosen. At the end they enjoyed the chance to express their views rather than being overshadowed by higher ability students.

Teachers too weren‟t keen at first. However, once everyone got used to the idea the „no hands up‟ policy was a success. Lower ability achievers managed to learn more than they did usually and higher achievers learnt that by giving everyone the chance to participate, everyone improved regardless of ability.

Other techniques that Dylan used were: „traffic light cups‟ and miniature whiteboards, similar to the pages in our planners at Rodborough; students assessing their teachers; a ten-minute exercise session at the start of the day (which we also do at school), and „secret student‟ in which a student was picked without their knowledge to represent the whole class, who is rewarded or punished according to the behaviour of the individual. This technique encouraged the class to use peer pressure to improve the behaviour of every student.

At the end of the experiment the students of Hertswood School concluded that they had learnt double what they would have usually. The headteacher was so impressed that she decided to roll out the rules to all classes.

It wasn‟t boring; but was it truly revolutionary? Should we adopt even more of these techniques here at Rodborough? Talk to a teacher near you – let them know what you think!

Photograph from BBC

Governors’ News

Mrs P Ward, Clerk to the Governors

Following a recent Staff Governor election, Mr R Elkins has been re-elected for a four year term of office from September 2010. Congratulations to Mr Elkins and we look forward to working with him over the next four years.

The Governors, at their meeting on 17 November 2010, decided that Part 1 of our Full Governors‟ Meetings should be open to the public as in previous years. If any parent wishes to attend a meeting they should inform the Clerk (Mrs P Ward in the school office) beforehand so that the necessary arrangements for catering and seating can be made.

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Clothes Show

Reporter Mrs Bullen

Very early on a cold and frosty Saturday morning, 44 intrepid Years 10 & 11 Textiles students set out for the 2010 Clothes Show Live at the NEC, Birmingham.

The aim of the outing was to further their knowledge of the textiles industry and they were also eager to broaden their retail skills!

“It was amazing! I loved it all and would definitely do it again!”

“I loved the shopping, the show & the great deals!”

Highlights of the day included meeting TV celebrities Gok Wan (How to Look Good Naked) and Craig (The Essex Way); as well as numerous ‘hot’ male models!

Judging by the excited chatter and animated comments from the girls on the way home, together with the staggering quantity of BAGGAGE carried onto the coach at the end of the day, a great time was had by all!

“It was a great experience! I would definitely recommend it to a friend!”

NOT SO GOOD:

The Crowds Not enough

WE LOVED:

The Dancing The Catwalk The Shorts The Models

Maps

“It was extremely busy but fun none the less.

It was an entertaining show and Gok was fabulous!”

“The music was amazing and so were the models!”

“It was amazing. The clothes were gorgeous and the male models were LUSH!”

“There were fantastic bargains!”

Images from Clothes Show Live

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Oliver!

Year 8 were given the opportunity to travel to the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, to see Oliver! Unlike Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, they managed to keep clear of the tuition fees protests and had a brilliant night out. This is what they thought: “A fantastic opportunity to see such a witty play, great characters and beautiful scenery” Ella Dibb “… a once in a lifetime opportunity … an excellent trip … we all had a superb time” Tim Feasey

“The singing was amazing and the set was incredible – I loved the way the buildings moved to give a different perspective!”

Genny Goddard

“Everyone jumped when the Policeman shot Bill and I thought it was quite disturbing when Bill killed Nancy.”

Lorna Greenan

“The moving scenery created an amazing atmosphere” Francis Hedgecock

“Oliver was the best performance I have ever watched at the theatre.

The character Bill Sykes was really dark and hateful.”

Connor Lucas

“Humorous, yet touching.

A brilliant trip” Emelie Kilduff

“The scenery was fantastic!”

Amy Goldup

“Not at all what I expected – it was far better” Sophie Richardson

“I jumped right out of my seat when they fired the gun!”

Paul Jackson

“A masterpiece!”

Max Szczepanski “The show was AMAZING! My favourite characters were Nancy & Bullseye.

Bullseye was really well trained!”

Bethan Hubbard

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Images © Catherine Ashmore

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Homework Elephant Stomps to Victory

Reporters Annie Simons & Megan Gray Is the Easter Bunny causing childhood obesity? Is it dangerous to let Father Christmas into your house? Do we need more fantasy figures? Wouldn’t everybody like to have someone to clean for them, do their homework and make them stick to their New Year’s resolution?

These questions were answered by Rodborough‟s public speaking team when it beat Broadwater to win the Surrey Schools Public Speaking Competition on 18th November.

Rodborough entered intermediate and senior teams, also competing against Priorsfield and Godalming College.

The subject for the intermediate Rodborough team was „Fantasy Figures‟ and they invented three new characters: the Homework Elephant, the Cleaning Angel and Mother Resolution. The senior team spoke about the dangers and advantages of social networking, while the Broadwater seniors gave some very thoughtprovoking speeches about honour killings and the death of common sense.

Joss Eyton-Jones (Year 8) was the main speaker for the junior team and spoke with confidence and clarity. Praise Gunje (Year 9) charmed the judges as the chairperson and Annie Simons (Year 9) summed up the speech perfectly as the proposer of the vote of thanks. Michael Evison (Year 11) was the senior team‟s chairperson and he introduced the topic very well with his public speaking talent. Kate Amy (Year 11) was praised for her speech which was entertaining and delivered with conviction. Alex Bradbury (Year 11) was an amusing proposer of the vote of thanks and delivered a balanced summary.

Praise later said, “I really enjoyed participating in the competition and I think that I‟ve learnt a lot from it, especially about speaking skills. I‟m really nervous about the next round, but I had so much fun last time it will be great, whatever the results are.”

Katie Baxter, who supported our teams from the audience, said, “All the teams were really good and very entertaining.

I found the Rodborough junior team extremely funny. There was never a dull moment.”

While Rodborough won the junior section, Godalming College came first in the senior section with Priorsfield runners up.

Rodborough juniors are now through to the second round where they will be competing against schools from a wider area.

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What is Friendship?

Year 9 Poetry Competition As part of their tutor work on relationships, Year 9 have been exploring the nature of friendship. Many chose to write poems for their poetry competition. Well done everyone!

Here are a selection (including our two winning entries) for you to enjoy …

Friends

Friendship

Friends are there through ups and downs They‟ll love you forever, and they‟re always around Friends are there through highs and lows If you‟re sad about something, they‟ll always know Friends are there if you‟re wrong or you‟re right No matter what happens, they‟ll hold your hand tight Friends are there when it‟s dark and when it‟s light They‟ll never let you down, and never have a fight Friends should be loving and never a bore This poem is about what friends are for.

Friendship is trust Friendship is care Friendship is memories Friendship is fair

A True Best Friend I don‟t think I‟ll ever write Something as good as a friend, Someone who stands up for you, All the way to the end.

No matter if you‟re scared or shy, They‟ll always be of help, They‟ll come running from miles afar, To answer your cry and yelp.

The moral of the poem is Who cares about the trend?

The one thing you‟ll ever need, Is a true best friend.

Marshall Coope

Friendship is help Friendship is fun Friendship is loyal Friendship is the one Friendship is laughter Friendship is true Friendship is joy A friend like you.

Beth Lloyd-Perks

No matter how much trouble you‟re in, You can count on them being there, They‟re the best thing a guy can get, From here to anywhere.

Friendship is compliments Friendship is safe Friendship is warm Friendship is faith

Samuel Waterfall

What Friends are For? Friends are there through ups and downs They‟ll love you forever, and they‟re always around Friends are there through highs and lows, If you‟re sad about something, they‟ll always know Friends are there if you‟re wrong or you‟re right No matter what happens, they‟ll hold your hand tight They‟ll never let you down, and never have a fight Friends should be loving and never a bore This poem is about what friends are for Anon

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All in a Day’s Work –behind the scenes at Rodborough

Reporter Joe Ellis A little-known but very important person about the school is Mr McPhail, who has been Facilities Manager at Rodborough since September 2006.

He took some time out of his busy schedule to talk to Chronicles.

“So Mr McPhail, thank for agreeing to be interviewed.

What is a typical day at work like for you?”

“A typical day for me at Rodborough would be overseeing caretaking staff and building contractors plus having meetings and dealings with Surrey County Council, trying to secure funding for our school projects. Quite often it also involves responsive day-to-day maintenance issues such as running repairs and setting up for events like the recent Open Evening and Awards Evening. I am also the school‟s Health and Safety Coordinator so sometimes I report defects back to the head teacher.”

“Is this what you did before you came to Rodborough?”

“I was the senior maintenance man for McNicholas Engineering, covering all aspects of buildings and highways maintenance, before going on to the Adult Education Service, where I looked after several of their buildings. This made full use of my carpentry, mechanical engineering and Health and Safety qualifications. In addition I also taught a number of maintenance classes for adult education.”

“Has the school changed since you joined?”

“Rodborough has changed a lot in the short time I have been here – all for the better in my opinion!”

“There‟s certainly been a lot of work going on around the school site lately.

What improvements have been made?”

“Improvements to key outside areas include new tar-paving and car-parking, cladding to buildings plus security lighting, not forgetting the memorial garden. New boundary fencing has also been put in place around most of the site. Inside there have been lots of redecorations and refurbishments to areas such as the dining hall, the PE changing and shower facilities and a new entrance foyer to the main building. Also, new heating systems have been installed in the admin building, humanities building and art block. Then of course there is the stuff you don‟t really see such as the upgrading of wiring and renewal of old galvanised pipe-work - all to comply with modern safety and energy regulations.”

“Wow! That sounds like a mammoth task. Is that all, or are there more plans for future?”

“Plans for future works are on an ongoing rolling programme, intensifying the Energy and Carbon Footprint programme to hopefully involve solar technology and renewable energy such as biomass boilers to replace our old oil powered ones. We„re also continuing with the redecoration rolling programme to all areas in the hope of making it a much nicer environment to teach and learn in.”

“What things could pupils do to make your job easier?”

“Maybe respect their school surroundings a little more sometimes?”

“What were your own school days like?”

“I grew up in Doncaster, South Yorkshire but I don‟t think my school days were as tough and demanding as yours‟ are today, judging by the homework my children get. I have three children – two girls and one boy, aged 19, 12 and 10 respectively. And a lovely wife too! My favourite subjects at school were Woodwork and Metalwork and PE. My worst were Maths and Science, because we didn‟t have anyone as much fun as Mr McKenna-Slade or Mr Sturdy!”

“What do you enjoy when you are not at work?”

“I don‟t get much free time but when I do I enjoy watching sport on TV and listening to music (Blondie is my favourite). I do like sport and, indeed, played football up to Conference League level and took part in Boxing – but not any more: too many aches and pains, I‟m afraid!”

“Thank you very much for talking to us Mr McPhail.”

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Twins Anniversary

Reporter Sian Hine The 25 anniversary of Rodborough‟s German Exchange programme is being celebrated in the best way possible – with the biggest ever number of participants that anyone can remember.

Twenty-four students are taking part with pupils from a grammar school in Mayen, about 30 miles from Bonn. The exchange is run for Year 10, who look after the pupils in their own homes for a week and then go to Germany in the spring. th

Whilst here the German pupils visit places of interest such as Hampton Court and some of London‟s tourist attractions, as well as participating in local life such as a Godalming quiz.

It‟s not all fun and games though, as the German pupils get to experience four periods of a Rodborough day to find out what school life is like in England. Our pupils also get the chance to interview the German pupils in languages lessons.

Miss Morgan, who organises the exchange, believes that the trip is invaluable for pupils and a fantastic opportunity for both the German and English students. „The trip is always good,‟ she said. „It‟s a really good life experience for the people involved to meet people that they wouldn‟t normally meet.‟ This year is extra-special as it sees a dual anniversary: it is also 30 years since the twinning of Mayen and Godalming.

When Rodborough goes to Germany, our pupils will get the chance to visit a slate mine as well as a historic city like Cologne. The Roman city of Trier is also on the itinerary, as are activities with the exchange partner‟s family.

An eye-opener for our pupils will be the chance to experience some bilingual lessons in the German school. Many of our students probably couldn‟t imagine Mr Ewing or Miss Sarell teaching their subjects in German or French.

Famous for a day Eloise (Year 8) first wrote to The Eagle when still at junior school but, not one to give up easily, she kept trying. Her persistence paid off and The Eagle’s radio car, driven by presenter Sky, arrived outside Eloise and brother Charlie (Year 7)’s door on Friday 12 November to bring them both to school in style.

They were joined by Jake (Year 10), who kept Sky on the right track by navigating from the back seat.

The journey was soon over but the car was enthusiastically greeted by an enormous crowd who waited for the live radio link to provide an earbursting Rodborough Cheer.

Many lucky pupils also received Eagle Radio car stickers.

Thank you to Sky and the Eagle Radio team for making this possible.

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Village Art

Reporter Sian Hine

Bosham is a village on the south coast of England notable for being the burial place of King Canute‟s daughter and for flooding every high tide.

It has also been the destination of the Year 10 GCSE art field trip at the start of October for the past 15 years.

Head of Art Mr Cross explained, “As a peaceful, self-contained village Bosham is an ideal place for our students to collect coursework ideas for their Environment unit which is a project based on a given environment.”

Three key areas of the locality – the harbour, the church and the village – provide different inspirations for the students to interpret the environment. “Sometimes people have come up with some surprising ideas, such as focusing their attention on the ice creams and sweetshops, for example,” says Mr Cross. “Three or four years ago it rained all day and everyone sheltered in the church, so people looked more at the carvings there.”

“It will be interesting to find out what this year‟s emphasis will be. With better weather, more people sat outside and so there appears to be a better selection of drawing and studies this year.”

“Pupils now go back into the studio and produce a body of work based on their experiences,” continues Mr Cross, “working towards a twodimensional outcome in paint, mixed-media or print. They also look at selected artists such as Roy Lichenstein or James Rosenquist, and use the style and imagery of those artists to inform their own designs and outcomes.”

One year 10 pupil explained how important the trip is for GCSE pupils. “It was an excellent opportunity to expand our horizons. We took a number of photos and used them for our environmental books. The smoothies were great too!”

Reflecting on how important the trip was to her GCSE coursework, Year 11 pupil Francesca Winter found last year‟s trip invaluable.

Exhibition of of GCSE GCSE work work inspired inspired by

by Bosham Bosham Exhibition “We used all the resources we collected in our environment books. These resources became the main focus for my final environmental piece. We spent most of the day taking pictures and looking for inspiration, which Bosham had plenty of. It was a valuable trip towards art work in GCSE and I thoroughly enjoyed the day.”

Thank you Mr Cross for organising it for us.

Disclaimer

The articles contained in this school magazine and are intended to celebrate and provide information about recent school events. Many of these articles have been written by students.

Articles may not, necessarily, reflect the views of the Management Team.

All articles and graphics are copyright Rodborough, unless otherwise indicated.

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Sailing to victory with BP A top competition, run by one of the world‟s largest companies, has been won by Rodborough for the second time in succession.

Every year a group of Year 9s from every school in the southeast of England are invited to take part in a challenge that varies with each competition. This year‟s task was to design and make a boat. The Year 9s that took part were Liam Cole, Alex Curry, Phoebe Ploegerts, Theo Puddephatt and Elliott Thornton. They were accompanied by Miss Winn and Miss Sterling.

The competition was judged on the speed of the boat and the quality of team work. Rodborough took 2nd place in the speed section but, combined with their team work they went home as champions. They were rewarded with an exclusive opportunity to watch the building of the Olympic Park in London – the new facilities for the 2012 Games – of which BP is a sponsor.

Reporter Zak Lawrence 9CS

Images from BP

Hitting the Right Note

Reporter Caleb Rowan Over one third of our pupils attended this year‟s Awards Evening on 11th November to be recognised for their dedication to different aspects of Rodborough life. Achievements were rewarded with trophies, vouchers and certificates.

Celebrating the diverse range of talent and academic prowess on show, headteacher Mr Smith said, “It is very exciting that we can celebrate students‟ achievements and have a special evening dedicated to their success.”

The occasion provides a boost to the morale of the whole school and afterwards students feel motivated to do their bit and work that extra bit harder. One awardwinner said, “It encourages pupils to work harder for themselves and for others around them, not only in the school community but in the wider community as well.”

Many of the awards, trophies and vouchers were kindly sponsored by local businesses such as Innovate Services, which runs the school‟s catering operation.

Innovative Award Congratulations to our catering team who have just won the Innovate “Catering team of the Year” at Innovate‟s annual dinner.

Mouth-watering examples of Innovate‟s fare, photographed at our 2009 Awards Evening

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Football Catch-up

Reporter Miss Shephard The U14 football team made a fantastic start to their season by winning their first two league games. Their first victory was 3-1 against Woolmer Hill followed by 4-2 versus Broadwater. If they are able to maintain this form in their final league match versus Glebelands they will be eligible for a Image from place in the semi-finals. Much of the credit for the Milford Pumas team‟s rapid improvement from last year must go to the regular training and matches enjoyed by the many who play for Milford Pumas at weekends. Joining local teams is always productive. If anyone would like to find out more about local teams please come and see me or check out Pumas‟ website (www.milfordpumasyouthfc.co.uk) for more details.

Our U16 Girls team entered the National Cup. Their first game, at home v Woking High, was a close one going down to penalties with Rodborough coming out on top. Their next round, versus a team from Sutton, saw Rodborough on top for a large proportion of the game. A late goal from Sutton took the game into extra time but this time they weren‟t so lucky with their penalty shootouts.

The U16 6a-side team travelled to the new Surrey Sports Park for this year‟s tournament. It was a good turnout with 16 teams competing. Our girls reached the semi-finals v Weydon where again they were on top but a lapse in concentration let in a sloppy goal. Rodborough were awarded a penalty but a good Weydon save meant they lost the game and the opportunity to progress to the county finals. Let‟s hope the team is more focused and are able to retain their District Champions crown later in the year!

***German Christmas Market Trip*** STOP PRESS***

This year‟s German Christmas market trip seems to have been as successful as ever. Here are a few (sleepy) comments!

“Everywhere you looked there was something different…”

“I felt very German, eating currywurst at the Christmas Market!”

“The pupils were very good and should be proud of themselves” Mr Elkins

“The tour round Kolner Dom was really interesting – I didn‟t know the 3 wise men were buried there!”

“That was a looong day … … and the hot chocolate was delicious!”

“The markets were great with lots of craft and food stalls, fairy lights & Christmas trees…!”

Images from www.germany-christmas-market.org.uk

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“Danke Miss Gubbels, Mr Elkins, Miss Lee & Miss Morgan … and our brilliant bus drivers.

It was a brilliant trip!”

PAGE 21 OF 28

Daily Mail Vase

Reporter Hugh Brashaw

After the near miss of last year‟s season, the Year 10 rugby team were determined to put all to rights and succeed this season.

With this in mind we entered a new competition, the Daily Mail Cup, a national competition open to both private and state schools. Our first game was against Tiffin, a grammar school from Kingston upon Thames with a strong rugby tradition. Despite a gallant performance from the team, we came away second best. An excellent performance from Joe Ferguson was the highlight for the Rodborough team. As first round losers we are automatically entered into the Daily Mail Vase competition.

“We took the Our next game, versus Howard of Effingham, was back in the SWSS competition open to Surrey state schools.

Unfortunately Rodborough put their worst ever performance and were defeated by Howard, a team that they had thrashed previously. We were not making the start that we needed!

game to them and came away with a fine win…”

Next up was versus old adversary George Abbot, again in the SWSS competion.

Rodborough returned to their winning ways and saw off stiff competion.

Excellent performances included William Powell, George Tomes, Sam Gravestock, Tom Hothersall, Harry Barney and Tom Rathbone.

Our next opponent was the Royal Alexandra and Albert School in a friendly game. They have always been tough opposition; however, Rodborough stepped up to the mark again with a competetent performance and were unlucky to come away with only a 5:5 draw. Excellent performances included Hugh Brashaw, Sean Burton, Ollie Whiteman, Max Onabanjo, Alex Kiddier, and Robbie Campbell.

Salesian College, a private school was our next Daily Mail Cup competition adversary. We took the game to them and came away with a fine win. Excellent performances included James Gorringe, Matt McConnell, Matt Wythe and Charlie Butterworth.

Finally, the Daily Mail cup saw us up against Amery Hill, a state school from Alton. Rodborough battled through a tough game and scored some excellent tries to come away with a win. Tries included an interception by Sean Burton as well as Tom Hothersall‟s kick ahead, which was neatly caught by Torin Davis, who was returning from injury.

We hope to continue on top form into the remainder of the season, so watch this space for future reports. ***STOP PRESS***

Congratulations to Year 10 Rugby team (U15) who won their match (36:14) against Abbotsfield Boys School at Hillingdon, taking them through to the 6th round (last 32 nationally) of the Daily Mail Vase. Good Luck!

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National Success for Harry Gymnast Harry Carter (11SP) took time out in November to compete in the Men‟s Artistic Gymnastics British Championships. On the first day he competed in the British Youth (U16) Championship, where he won Silver Medals in both Rings and Vault and a Bronze Medal in the Parallel Bars event. Harry missed a Bronze medal overall by only 0.15 marks, ending the day as Medal line up for the youngest boy to qualify for the Men‟s Vault Youth Rings Event Masters!

There was no time for Harry to rest on his laurels, however, as the following day saw him competing again, this time against our British Senior Team on the Vaulting Horse. Once again, Harry performed exceptionally well, ending the day 6 th overall (his competitors were our top, world class vaulters). Harry has his sights firmly set on the Olympics. He tells me that 2012 will probably be a little too soon, as male Gymnasts don‟t usually find their best form until their midto-late 20s – but that doesn‟t mean that he isn‟t doing his best to make that games! Enormous dedication is required of anyone competing at this standard. Harry trains for 27½ hours each week and is thankful to his mother for all the time and energy that she devotes to his sport.

Good Luck Harry – we are all very proud of you!

Images from Mrs Carter Information from Witley Year 7 pupil becomes Surrey Champion 2010 Yamabushi Judo Club Rodborough students Jay Gore, James Hearsum and Leigh Mansfield fought in the 38Kg and 34Kg classes of the Surrey Judo Championships at Redhill on 17 October 2010. These Year 7 boys belong to the Witley Yamabushi Judo Club who entered around 15 of their club members in the championships.

Competition at this level is very fierce as Surrey has a particularly high number of National Standard players. All Rodborough boys fought very well giving performances to be proud of.

Leigh Mansfield gave Witley Yamabushi Image from Witley Yamabushi Judo Club Judo Club‟s performance of the day by fighting his way through a packed weight group to the final and going on to win the Gold Medal and title, „Surrey Champion 2010‟ for his 34Kg weight group.

Witley Yamabushi Judo Club have asked me to let you know that they are very proud of all the students and thought it important the Schools know that some of their students are training and competing outside the school environment. If you are interested in joining the club please ask Jay, James or Leigh or speak to Mrs Howick who can put you in touch with the club leaders.

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Rodborough Boys’ Football Results 2010/11 Year 11

v

Broadwater

Drew 0-0

MOM – Mark Lyall

Year 10

v

Broadwater

Won 8-1

MOM – Calum Roots

Year 10

v

Woolmer Hill

Won 3-0

MOM – Michael Ryan

Year 7

v

Woolmer Hill

Won 4-3

MOM – Rory Cole

Year 8

v

Woolmer Hill

Lost 3-5

MOM – Tom Berrill

Year 7

v

Kings College

Won 11-0

MOM – James Watts

Year 9

v

Kings College

Won 5-3

MOM – Charlie Cook

Year 11

v

Kings College

Lost 2-3

MOM – Jono Hill

Year 10

v

Kings College

Won 4-2

MOM – George Tomes

Year 10

v

Glebelands

Won 4-1

MOM – Robbie Campbell

Year 11

v

Glebelands

Won 6-0

MOM – Kieran Lyall

Year 7

v

Broadwater

Won 3-1

MOM – Callum O’Donnell

Year 8

v

Kings College

Won 4-1

MOM – Sam Brashaw

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

For

Against

13

10

1

2

57

20

Top Goal Scorers 2010/11 Name

Year

Kieran Lyall Sean Burton George Tomes Charlie Welch Max Onabanjo Lewis Sheppard Luke Sewell Jack Johnson Rory Cole Tom Berrill Sam Brashaw Sam Schofield

Goals

11 10 10 7 10 7 10 7 7 8 8 9

6 5 5 5 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2

Name James Watts Nyasha Gunje Will Butterfield Alex Kiddier James Pawsey Adam Jones Liam Beswick Andy Ayerman James Fearon Michael Ryan Jordan Fontaine Own Goal

Inter House Football

Year 7 7 11 10 8 10 9 9 9 10 8 8

Goals 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Reporter Mr Farrell

The hotly contested Year 7 inter-house football tournament was won by Wells house.

The winning team comprised: Jack Johnson, Harry Johnson, Ben Mitchell, Jack Welland, Owen Gorringe & Callum O‟Donnell; with top goal scorer Jack Johnson scoring 7 goals!

Winter Cricket Nets to hire at Rodborough School They are available for community use during evenings and weekends.

Our facilities can be hired out on a casual basis or as a block booking.

Please contact Stacy Lee (01483 411134) for more information

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Boys’ Football Report

Reporter Mr Farrell

Rodborough‟s football teams have made a strong start to the 2010/11 season. Collectively they have won 9 of their opening 12 matches, drawing once and losing only twice. They have scored 53 goals already and conceded just 19. Each team is in a strong position to qualify for the play-offs and each stands a chance of reaching the District Final.

Last year‟s losing finalists, the Year 10s, have made perhaps the strongest start, winning four out of four.

Their victories have been convincing and they finally seem to be showing signs of fulfilling their potential.

They thumped Broadwater 8-1 in their opening match, a team they had never beaten before. Captain George Tomes continues to lead by example and has weighed in with his fair share of the goals, as has Sean Burton.

Defensively the team is in good shape too with Michael Ryan and Calum Roots performing consistently well.

If effort and determination were the primary factors in deciding the success of a football team then the Year 11s would surely be County Champions. The one thing they lack as a team is luck, something which always seems to go against them. Losing to King‟s College with the very last kick of the game and drawing with Broadwater after having a last minute winner disallowed are typical examples of this. They did manage to comfortably beat Glebelands with Kieran Lyall scoring five. Their re-arranged match with Woolmer Hill is a must win game. Failure to do so will mean it will also be their last.

The Year 9s have strength in depth. For each position there are at least two “Excellent players competing for a place in the starting line-up. They have been team spirit unfortunate as a team to have had a couple of matches postponed but they amongst the boys will be rearranged so hopefully they won‟t miss out in the competition. A and cohesion on similar story is true of the Year 8s who have played only one match due to the pitch play a large part in their cancellations. They are going to need to train hard if they are to progress to success …” the play-offs having lost that game. They have the players to do it if they can gel as a team and play to their potential.

The Year 7s have made the perfect start to their Rodborough football careers. They have won their opening three games and a win against Glebelands in their final match will mean they finish top of the group going into the play-offs. Rather like the Year 9s there is plenty of competition for places. Up front Charlie Welch has bagged five goals, Lewis Sheppard looks like an accomplished striker and Blessed Gunje has a great left foot. In midfield, Jack Johnson has captained the side while his brother Harry has confidently marshalled the defence. Rory Cole has been consistently impressive, a real talent. They have scored 18 goals in 3 matches, conceding only 4.

In conclusion, each team has played themselves into a great position in which to progress to the play-offs. The excellent team spirit amongst the boys and their cohesion on the pitch play a large part in their success and credit must go to Milford Pumas, whose players form the backbone of each Rodborough Team.

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District Cricket Round up

Reporter Mr Farrell

Rodborough‟s cricketers had another successful season in all district competitions.

The four cricket teams (U12, U13, U14, U15) played a total of twenty matches between them, winning a stunning nineteen games and losing only once. All four year groups finished top of their leagues without losing a match. This ensured a play-off final place for each of them against the top placed side in the Guildford half of the draw. This just so happened to be The Howard of Effingham school in each year group.

The current Year 8s had the toughest opposition and eventually lost their final having been given a target of 157 to win by Howard of Effingham (whose opening batsmen scored 91). They‟ll be sure to bounce back next year to try to settle the score.

Year 9s also had a tough final but eventually emerged victorious, winning by 2 wickets. A strong batting display by Scott Tilson and Jesse Lewis was backed up by consistent bowling from Ben Starbuck, Jonah Lucas and Charlie Cooke.

The Year 10 final went Rodborough‟s way again. Howard batted first and were 129 for 8 at the end of their 20 overs. Torin Davies, Josh Heslop, George Dukes and Matt McConnell took the wickets. Torin then batted strongly making 66 not out, ably supported by McConnell who made 43. Rodborough eventually won by 7 wickets.

Year 11 Champions A special mention must be made of the Year 11 team. Since arriving as Year 7s in 2006 they have only ever lost one cricket match, which was when they were in Year 7! They have proved to be some of the most consistent all-round sportsmen that Rodborough has produced in recent years.

Their commitment, effort, sportsmanship, attitude, behaviour and their competitiveness is an example to others. They play hard, they play fair and they play to win. This attitude is epitomised by their captain George Dale whose leadership is faultless. As a team they possess the full range of qualities needed to be successful. Their bowling attack and fielding ability is as consistent and as accurate as you can get. James Berry and Luke Thurley provide the pressure; George Dale and Kieran Lyall are fast and hostile while Greg Lyall and Harry Phillips induce confusion in opposing batsmen with their deceptive spin.

“… some of the In bat they are as equally effective. George Stow‟s batting packs a serious punch, Berry and Dale are masters of most consistent all-round their craft and Kieran Lyall is usually good value for sportsmen that money when the chips are down. In the final they Rodborough has produced restricted Howard to 59 for 7 off 20 overs. Greg Lyall and Harry Phillips took two wickets each, Thurley and in recent years …”

Dale took one apiece. This also included a stunning piece of fielding to run out Howard‟s most threatening batsman.

Rodborough‟s innings was a relatively comfortable affair.

They reached Howard‟s total with the loss of only one wicket, George Stow made 18 before being caught. James Berry steadied the ship and racked up the runs required for victory.

They are deserving champions, in every sense.

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Young Ambassadors attend PLT Conference

Reporter Miss Mackay

Young Ambassadors, Amber Walker and George Tomes represented Rodborough at the Primary Link Teachers‟ Conference at Surrey Sports Park in September. The purpose of this conference was for School Sports Coordinators to help coordinate Primary PE. All Young Ambassadors from across Surrey attended the event and it was an opportunity for Amber and George to meet others and talk with them.

Olympian Steve Parry In the morning we received a talk from Trevor Smith from the Youth Sport Trust about how PE in schools has changed in the last 10 years and how it will continue to change over the next few years.

Following a quick break for refreshments and an opportunity to stretch our legs, we had an inspirational talk from Olympic Swimming Bronze medallist Steve Parry. He spoke about his experiences as an Olympian and how he dedicated his life to training and succeeding. He was highly Photo www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk entertaining and kept everyone‟s attention!

After lunch the Young Ambassadors had the opportunity to learn more about their roles and develop them through some workshops. This was finished off with an energetic session run

by GUGA – Get Up, Get Active, where on several occasions Amber and George put their aerobic talent to the test and put all 60 Young Ambassadors through their paces!

Well done Amber and George, you are a credit to yourselves, to Rodborough and to the Waverley & Ash School Sports Partnership.

NSEA at Rodborough

Reporters Megan Hurley & Emily Weeks

This summer a few brave souls decided that Rodborough should join the National Schools Equestrian Association (NSEA), which holds regular rallies and competitions in various equestrian disciplines. A small group of enthusiastic riders – of very mixed experience and ability met up early in September.

Since the Rodborough Riding Team has been formed, we have ridden at three competitions. Our first one was very successful as the team came 4th out of 13 other teams and Katie did extremely well getting a 5th individually. Even more exciting: we beat one of our biggest rivals, Cranleigh School, who have their own riding department! We came 6th in our second event against tough competition. Our third event went well with Helena and Tasmyn competing in the first class, and Emily joining them in the second class where they came 5th as a team with Emily placed 2nd individually.

The current members of our team are: Katie Sellar, Megan Hurley, Helena Davies, Emily Weeks, Bella Perry, Charlotte Cruickshank and Tasmyn Prytherch. Even when we didn‟t do so well we all enjoyed ourselves very much and had a really good time.

We would love to have more members. Anyone who enjoys riding and has access to a horse or pony should definitely get in touch and have a go!

Come and see us to find out more or talk to Mrs Willis in the English Department.

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Year 11 District Netball Champions

Reporter Miss Shephard The Year 11 netball girls had a good start to their season, beating Broadwater 56-2. They also attended The Royal School‟s Versatility Tournament where they put in some good performances against many local private schools. A practice match v current District Champions, Weydon was arranged, with the Waverley and Guildford District Tournament in mind, to help the girls to deal with the psychological pressures of highly competitive games. The teams were evenly matched making the game a real battle with the teams swapping leads throughout. In the last quarter, however, the pressure got to Rodborough affecting their game and they lost 16-12.

The Waverley and Guildford District title has been a real tussle against Guildford County for our Year 11 girls throughout their time at Rodborough. Always finalists, our girls have steadily closed the gap, year by year. County took the title when they were in Years 7 & 8 and, by a single goal, Year 9. Last year the Rodborough girls stole the title for the first time. Hungry to retain the title and prove that the previous year hadn‟t been a fluke, the girls were prepared to give their all.

The tournament was to be played as a round robin with 12 minute games. Rodborough started with a bang playing some exceptional netball with strong defence and flowing attack beating George Abbott 19-1, King‟s College 15-0, Christ‟s College 12-0, Broadwater 14-1 and Glebelands 9-3.

The last match, with everything to play for, took the game to Guildford County, also unbeaten in their round robin!

With five fantastic matches behind them, they only needed to keep their nerve against old rivals, County. The game started badly with County overturning possession on our centre pass and taking the lead.

“an incredible performance by an incredible group of girls”

This was the moment - would the girls choke or rise above their difficulty?

Remembering the lesson of their „friendly‟ against Weydon at the beginning of the season, the girls gritted their teeth and played with great determination and desire, turning over the ball time and again in defence and converting this advantage into fluid attacking play. Before long they had equalised and, gaining in confidence, stormed ahead to win by a convincing 6-1 to retain their „District Champions‟ title.

This was an incredible performance by an incredible group of girls, well done you made us all very proud.

Congratulations to Scott Tilson, who has been selected by Hampshire Cricket Board to join their Emerging Players Programme (EPP). This programme is designed „for those players identified as having the necessary aptitude, attitude and athleticism to be potentially future elite cricketers.‟ Supported by funding from the English Cricket Board, Scott will receive a 1:1 Academy session each week and an EPP group session every other week. Good Luck Scott!

RODBOROUGH CHRONICLES

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