Ever since I was young, there has been one Christmas carol that has remained a firm favourite: Silent Night. I find it an incredibly beautiful song, even though I am not particularly religious, because of its gentleness at a time when – from Black Friday through to the January sales – the world seems to go slightly (massively) bonkers. By contrast, the carol combines of a simple melody with lyrics designed to instil a feeling or restfulness. My favourite of these is in the second line, which says’ “all is calm, all is bright”. As well as talking about silence, the song mentions peace, tenderness, mildness, purity, radiance and grace. How could it not be a restorative for the frazzled spirits that come from the supermarket, the shopping mall and the 24/7 world of television and the internet that dominate our lives today? The 200 year old carol has a peculiar origin story. The writer, Josef Mohr, had watched a Christmas play at a friend’s house one night in 1818 and, walking home, looked down on upon his snow-covered village from on high. Inspired by the beauty of this, he decided to put the lyrics he had written for a play in 1816 to music, but had one massive problem: the church’s organ was not working. Consequently, he worked with the organist, Franz Gruber, to come up with a musical arrangement that didn’t need the pomp and majesty of that instrument. Within hours, using only a guitar as backing,

they had put words and music together and the rest, as they say, is history. Only sixteen years later, it was played for the Prussian King who liked it so much that he ordered that it be played every year. As I have said, it is the gentleness of this song that moves me at this time of year. As we near the end of the longest term of the year, it is the peacefulness of the holiday season that I most crave and that I most wish for my colleagues, for our students and for you, their loving families. Gift-giving can be great fun. Family get-togethers generate fond memories. Christmas and/or New Year parties can make us hoot with laughter. But all of them add to the exhaustion with which we begin midwinter break. So, find time for yourself during this holiday. Find time to sleep. Find time to read. Find time to walk, like Josef Mohr. Find time to play music, like Franz Gruber. Find time to be the tender, radiant and graceful you. And when you have done so, come back to us safe, sound and rested in the new year. Merry Christmas. Keven Bartle Headteacher

#44. All is Calm. All is Bright.

So similar to Canons and yet so different. A classroom in Peru, 2017.

No. 245

19th Dec 2017

What’s going on at the

As its name suggests, our EcoPatch is an area at school where we can find out about our ecology - The animals and plants that live around us and how we all interact. But what goes on there during winter when it’s too cold to grow things?

Created in 2013 from an overgrown patch of waste ground, hidden away behind our gym, it is now a little haven for local wildlife as well as a small allotment, complete with polytunnel, where fruit and vegetables are grown for study during the warmer months. But when it’s winter we still need to look out for our essential eco partners. Next to the

vegetable beds is a mature hedgerow, with trees and thick undergrowth, a natural sanctuary for our local wildlife. Shivam from 7V continues the story. “We made bug hotels so that the insects that hibernate could stay safe during the winter” and for the birds… “We also made fat balls for them to eat and hung them at the EcoPatch. It was great fun but smelly as we put dried worms in the mixture alongside seeds and vegetable fat!” So it is pretty quiet at the EcoPatch right now, but it’s all just asleep and waiting for spring.

Containers filled with straws, twigs and grasses offer plenty of shelter for hibernating insects.

Wed 20th Dec End of Term - Students dismissed at mid-day.

Thur 4th Jan SPRING TERM STARTS - registration for ALL students at 08:45am.

Fri 5th Jan GCSE KS4 Option MOCK exams commence.

Mon 15th Jan Holocaust Memorial Day

Thur 25th Jan Year 11 PTCE (Parent Teacher Consultation Evening) 4:30 - 6:30

Community

Heartbeat

Initiative

Update

Citizens Advice As you may know we extended the original trial with CAB this year with sessions now running twice a month on a Tuesday. Appointments happen in our Seclusion room, which is very close to our main reception and suitable for the confidential nature of the consultations. The sessions are in high demand and are normally fully booked up with a few days of the dates being released. So far 26 families have used the service. Big thanks to our great Receptionists, Miss Edwards and Miss Weston, who have taken on the CAB booking task with their usual professional efficiency. Also to Mrs Khimani, who looks after the Advisors upstairs, and J’Don Campbell from Year 13 who acts as the Reception contact for the after school appointments.

ESOL Lessons for Parents & Carers These are continuing this academic year on a Tuesday morning in Room 5. We have a core of about ten parents who regularly attend and enjoy these sessions very much. Huge thanks to Mrs O’Sullivan who professionally prepares and delivers the actual ESOL lessons.

Computer Lessons for Parents & Carers This is a new initiative that started two weeks ago. Running on Friday evenings, 6:00 - 7:30 in our Library, the lessons are delivered by a qualified IT teacher. So far there have been 15 parents attending. Huge thanks to Library Assistant Mr Josh Paras for hosting the events. Also thanks to Sacad Muhumed 11B who has volunteered to help.

Karate Classes These are continuing for Year 7 students on a Monday after school in the school hall. We have 15 students signed up and they will be taking their first belt examinations very soon. Sunday 17th December sees us host our first Karate competition which will see a number of local clubs compete and we hope that some of our Year 7 students will be competing.

Canons Cricket Academy These are now on a winter break, having been delivered over the summer months every Saturday morning as well as a 4 day camp during the summer holidays. It will start up again in the spring.

First League Win

London Bees 2 - 1 Oxford United

With a goal at the very beginning, an equalizer at half time and the winner in the closing seconds, our London Bees played a fantastic, non-stop, end to end game to beat Oxford United and record their first league win of this season. The extremely cold weather kept all but the most loyal fans away but they are always pleased to see, and hear, our young supporters cheer them on when playing at home over at The Hive. Time for a rest now with their next game not until January 7th, away to Aston Villa.

Students. Have you entered the

easy-peasy competition

in the latest copy of

The Canon?

20 SIMPLE QUESTIONS,

one relating to each page of the magazine. The answers are all in there.

A big pouch of chocolate for the first correct answers out of the hat.

Pick up your copy of

The Canon from the library

and get winning.

ISSUE 9 OUT NOW

Bandaged and frozen, defender Rosie Lane shows her own kind of spirit and resilience.

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- IMPORTANT -

When we had to close the school last week, due to the unexpected snow,

text messages were sent to ALL parents and carers telling them of this,

BUT NOT EVERYONE RECEIVED THIS IMPORTANT INFORMATION!

Many of the mobile phone numbers we had on our records were out of date!

Please make sure you let us know if you have changed your mobile number.

We MUST be able to contact you quickly in an emergency or if your child is

injured or becomes unwell!

HAS THE SCHOOL BEEN CLOSED? You can also check on our website or

our official Facebook page.

GCSE Students Don’t forget you can access all the

great content available at

GCSEPOD.com

Sign in using your school .310

username and password,

or register if it’s your first visit.

Tons of revision resources and pods

to watch online or download

and watch later.