Introduction - Head of Senior School€¦ · models in the senior school. They have been at the...
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newsletter Issue No 10 | 2014-15 | Friday 6 March 2015 Follow us on Twitter: @SPFSchools Page 1 Dear Parents, Last week I had the privilege of giving the closing vote of thanks at the end of the soloist concert. Throughout the evening I listened to the wonderful performances and repeatedly tried to compose my closing remarks, unfortunately with each new performer I dismissed my words as unworthy of the soloists talents. At the end of the evening I stood, a little lost for words, and instead of delivering a well rehearsed statement I gave my heartfelt thanks for the spectacular evening. Our students never cease to amaze me at their dedication to their studies, their extra-curricular activities and to each other. Our Head Girl’s team, Rachel Howe, Ella Rene, Eve Kerins, Sharnika Mathialagan, Henriette Topel, are important role models in the senior school. They have been at the forefront of a wide variety of school events, they represented Year 11 in the Year 7/8 inter house Spelling Bee and have provided a platform for the student voice at the Student Forum meetings. I have been very impressed with the team’s dedication to their role and ability to inspire those around them. On Wednesday this week they met with a reporter from Tatler magazine and described their Stephen Perse experience. Having only known the girls since September it was fascinating to hear them speak fondly of their school adventures. In the next few weeks we will be electing the new Head Girl and her deputies and Rachel, Sharnika, Eve, Henriette and Ella will pass the baton and responsibility to the new team. On behalf of the Senior School I would like to thank them for their hard work and dedication and wish Year 10 good luck in the upcoming elections. This term the Cabinet of Curiosity was inspired by the crime writer Margery Allingham. As part of the exhibit there is a display giving an insight into the Year 9 Critical Thinking unit on forensics and we have welcomed curators from the University of Cambridge Department of Spanish and Portuguese from their recent ‘Wrongdoing in Spain and England in the 19th Century’ exhibit. Many students came to speak to the curators about the artefacts and their work in cataloguing these types of documents for researchers to access around the world. Our next exhibit will take its inspiration from the recently felled beech tree. We would like to display an array of wooden curios and artefacts as part of the exhibit. If have anything that you would be willing to lend to the Cabinet for the duration of the exhibition please contact Mrs Wall or Miss Atkinson at the senior school. We do have a museum grade cabinet to display delicate items. Introduction - Head of Senior School SPORTING NEWS FLASH - STOP PRESS - SPORTING NEWS FLASH - STOP PRESS Our U11 netball team have made it to the IAPS National Finals! Read the full story here!
Transcript of Introduction - Head of Senior School€¦ · models in the senior school. They have been at the...
newsletterIssue No 10 | 2014-15 | Friday 6 March 2015
Follow us on Twitter: @SPFSchoolsPage 1
Dear Parents,
Last week I had the privilege of giving the closing vote of thanks at the end of the soloist concert. Throughout the evening I listened to the wonderful performances and repeatedly tried to compose my closing remarks, unfortunately with each new performer I dismissed my words as unworthy of the soloists talents. At the end of the evening I stood, a little lost for words, and instead of delivering a well rehearsed statement I gave my heartfelt thanks for the spectacular evening. Our students never cease to amaze me at their dedication to their studies, their extra-curricular activities and to each other.
Our Head Girl’s team, Rachel Howe, Ella Rene, Eve Kerins, Sharnika Mathialagan, Henriette Topel, are important role models in the senior school. They have been at the forefront of a wide variety of school events, they represented Year 11 in the Year 7/8 inter house Spelling Bee and have provided a platform for the student voice at the Student Forum meetings. I have been very impressed with the team’s dedication to their role and ability to inspire those around them. On Wednesday this week they met with a reporter from Tatler magazine and described their Stephen Perse experience. Having only known the girls since September it was fascinating to hear them speak fondly of their school adventures. In the next few weeks we will be electing the new Head Girl and her deputies and Rachel, Sharnika, Eve, Henriette and Ella will pass the baton and responsibility to the new team. On behalf of the Senior School I would like to thank them for their hard work and dedication and wish Year 10 good luck in the upcoming elections.
This term the Cabinet of Curiosity was inspired by the crime writer Margery Allingham. As part of the exhibit there is a display giving an insight into the Year 9 Critical Thinking unit on forensics and we have welcomed curators from the University of Cambridge Department of Spanish and Portuguese from their recent ‘Wrongdoing in Spain and England in the 19th Century’ exhibit. Many students came to speak to the curators about the artefacts and their work in cataloguing these types of documents for researchers to access around the world. Our next exhibit will take its inspiration from the recently felled beech tree. We would like to display an array of wooden curios and artefacts as part of the exhibit. If have anything that you would be willing to lend to the Cabinet for the duration of the exhibition please contact Mrs Wall or Miss Atkinson at the senior school. We do have a museum grade cabinet to display delicate items.
Introduction - Head of Senior School
SPORTING NEWS FLASH - STOP PRESS - SPORTING NEWS FLASH - STOP PRESS
Our U11 netball team have made it to the IAPS National Finals! Read the full story here!
newsletterIssue No 10 | 2014-15 | Friday 6 March 2015
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Reading is a wonderful pastime. Yesterday the Senior School students and staff dressed up as their favourite storybook character to celebrate World Book Week. Prizes were handed out to individuals who were caught in the act of reading! It was a fun celebration of one of life’s simple pleasures.
This Wednesday our Year 10 netball team had a resounding victory over St.Mary’s School 28-14. Tomorrow we will have twelve teams competing both at home and at Stamford School in netball and hockey matches. We wish all of our teams fun and ask that if you are near Latham Road between 10:00 and 12 noon and have five minutes, or more to spare, to come and cheer our girls on.
With kind regards,
Mrs Alison WallHead of Senior School
Introduction - Head of Senior School
A selection of photos from World Book Day
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With British Science Week fast approaching (13th-22nd March) the Senior School is getting geared up with the following exciting science-themed events:
1. Year 8 Science Sleepover. This year’s theme is The Sciences meet the Classics and the sleepover is happening this evening (Friday 6 March).
2. Year 9 are looking forward to their Maths & Physics trip on Friday13 March to the Royal Greenwich Observatory for a Study Day.
3. Partial Solar Eclipse viewing is being organised for whole Senior School on Friday 20 March.
To find out more about what’s happening on our doorstep during Cambridge Science week click the following link: http://www.sciencefestival.cam.ac.uk.
Our recent exchange trip to Japan provided a fantastic opportunity for some members of Year 10 and the Lower 6th to experience life in a Japanese family and take part in lessons in a Japanese school.
We were able to visit important Buddhist temple sites and Shinto shrines and to learn something of the significance which these have in society.
In addition, we visited Hakone, a mountain village near Mount Fuji where we enjoyed the pleasures of bathing in hot natural spring water in a hotel spa. We were also able to go up to the volcanic areas above Hakone and saw steam spurting out of the rocks.
Our visit was completed by a trip to Tokyo where we marvelled at the art treasures in the Edo Museum and afterwards had the chance to make our own artificial food using a special liquid and hot water!
All in all this proved to be the most marvellous cultural and linguistic experience which will stay in our memories for many years to come.
Japanese Exchange 2015
Science Week
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On Wednesday 25 February seven Year 9 girls from the STEM group went to the Cambridge Science Park to visit high tech electronics company FlexEnable. This trip was part of the 10 week Go4SET project running this term.
FlexEnable is a company that is developing cutting edge ultra-thin, flexible screens for portable applications such as tablets, watches, displays etc.
The students were even allowed in the “Clean Room” where much fun was had putting on the very extensive protective clothing and then being washed with nitrogen!
The Go4SET project will now come to a climax at the Celebration and Assessment Day, which is to be held at Selex, Luton on Friday 20 March 2015.
Go4SET is a national scheme for students interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and is organised by the Engineering Development Trust (EDT).
Year 9 STEM trip to Flexenable
Congratulations go to Francesca Töpel in Year 8 and Melissa Dix in the 6th Form who have both been selected to compete for Cambridgeshire in the English Schools Cross Country Championships being held in Blackburn on Saturday 14 March.
The girls have competed in numerous rounds to reach this stage of the competition and will be up against the best cross country runners in the Country so it is a fantastic achievement and an honour to represent Cambridgeshire at the Nationals.
Both competed for the Stephen Perse Foundation at the district schools cross country trials, which led to their selection for the Cambridge County Team. They competed at the Cambridgeshire County Schools Cross Country Championships and were subsequently also both selected to represent Cambridgeshire at the Anglian Championships.
Fine performances led to their selection as part of the Cambridgeshire team. This is an even greater achievement as both girls are only in their first year of their particular age category.
English Schools Cross Country Championships
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Maddie Foster (Year 11), along with a team of six other girls aged from 15-18, has been attending the Lee Valley White Water Centre every Wednesday evening since June last year and during this time they have become a very competent team of white water rafters.
Last weekend Maddie and the rest of the team took part in a selection race which was hosted at Lee Valley White Water Centre where they competed with other teams for the chance to represent Great Britain in the forthcoming International Rafting Federation World Championships which will take place in Indonesia at the end of this year.
It was a tough competition at Lee Valley that included sprint, head to head and slalom on the first day and endurance on the second day; and because there were no other women’s U19 teams competing, the team were set the goal to beat the women’s adult team, Red Rose, in order to make Team GB. They not only succeed with this - they also managed to beat several other adult teams as well!
We are delighted to report therefore that due to their speed, water skills and teamwork the team have been invited to represent Great Britain as the first ever U19 GB Women’s Youth Team to compete at the World Championship. There will be 5 GB teams competing this year: the senior men’s and ladies team, the masters team and the U19 girls and boys youth teams.
Maddie and the rest of the team are now looking forward to competing at the R6 World Rafting Championships in Indonesia this December.
Here are some pictures from the GB tryouts weekend - the photo bottom right shows Maddie competing on the boys team for sprint because they were down a paddler! More information about the upcoming event can be found here.
Year 11 student qualifies for GB Rafting Team
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The Spring Concert takes place on Tuesday 24 March at 7.30pm, and features performances by the Symphony Orchestra, Concert Orchestra, Big Band, Year 7 Choir, Middle School Choir, Middle School Chamber Choir, Jazz Singers and Senior School Chamber Choir.
If your son or daughter is a member of one of these groups they will have already received (or will do so shortly) a letter with full arrangements for rehearsals. Everyone is welcome and complimentary tickets are available from reception.
Spring Concert at West Road Concert Hall
Please note this addition to this year’s concert calendar; this concert will involve those students in Years 10 - Upper 6 who are members of the Singers.
Choral Concert at St John’s College Chapel, Wednesday 29 April, 8.00pm
IB visual Arts exhibitionIB Visual Arts Exhibition Private View
Friday 20 March 6.00pm-8.00pm
Visual Arts CentreCoronation Road
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The Roy Burrell sports awards evening is an annual event named after a deputy Headmaster from a local school, who was passionate about sport. The evening is about celebrating the excellence, participation and sportsmanship of Year 11 students from in and around Cambridge.
This year, Stephen Perse Foundation was represented by no less then 17 students, who have reached County level or above in their chosen sports. They were:
Trinity Hales, Lucy Duncan, Victoria Neild, Lara Neild, Rachel Howe and Freya Watrasiewicz for Cricket
Ellie Smallwood, Coco Anderson, Emma Scott and Isabelle Hogarth for Equestrian
Anna Banks and Juliet Tyndal for Hockey
Harriet Lander for Netball
Madeleine Foster for Kayaking
Camille Redfern for Rowing
Zhiyi Jiang for Swimming
Henriette Topel for Dance, Cross Country and Hockey
Congratulations again to such deserved winners.
Roy Burrell Sports Awards
The 8th of March (International Women’s Day) is an official holiday in Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, China (for women only), Cuba, Georgia, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Madagascar (for women only), Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nepal (for women only), Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Zambia.
The tradition sees men honouring their mothers, wives, girlfriends, colleagues, etc with flowers and small gifts. In some countries IWD has the equivalent status of Mother’s Day where children give small presents to their mothers and grandmothers.
This week our Year 9 made beautiful cards for mothers in Russian.
International Women’s Day | 8 March
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The Boy Who Fell IntoA Book
Stephen Perse Foundation presents
by Alan Ayckbournwith kind permission of Samuel French Ltd
Thursday 19 & Friday 20 March 2015Senior School Hall 7.30pm
Adult tickets £5.00Concessions/students £2.50
The Boy Who Fell Into A BookThe Boy Who Fell Into a Book(Performed by Years 7 & 8)Thursday 19 & Friday 20 March 7.30pm Senior School Hall
One young reader becomes so embroiled in the story of his detective novel at bedtime that he somehow ends up inside the book. His adventures are only just beginning: caught up in the book’s central plot he finds himself pursued by baddies and, along with detective Rockfist Slim, journeys through a whole world of different books on his shelf, including Grimm Tales, Kidnapped and Chess for Beginners.
Tickets go on sale at senior school reception on Monday 9 March, £5 for adults and £2.50 for concessions - please collect an order form from Mrs Hopwood at Senior School reception.
Sixth formers performed a hilarious double bill of very different plays on Friday 27 February in our senior school hall. The Physicists, a dark, thought-provoking and rather philosophical comedy was stylishly directed by U6 Jil Moessler and performed by members of the L6; Faith Beach directed U6 students in a riotous interpretation of A Servant to Two Masters, full of slapstick and visual comedy. Photos from the performances can be found on our Flickr Gallery.
We would like to extend a huge thank you to all members of our U6 who have contributed to Drama productions, performances and enrichment projects over the last two years, as performers, directors, workshop leaders, producers and even audience members.
Sixth Form Double Bill - a riotous evening of comedy!
Year 7 Parents Coffee MorningOur next meeting is Friday 13th March at
Waitrose Trumpington.
All Year 7 parents who want to join us for a coffee and chat are welcome after school drop off.
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Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, 21st April, at 8pm (contact Leonie Hyde, 01223 842727). We will discuss ‘An Englishman in Madrid’ by Eduardo Mendoza and ‘The Hourglass Factory’ by Lucy Ribchester.
We always have a lively discussion and are keen to welcome new members. If you are interested in finding out more, please contact Martha Crouch for details (07768311015 or email [email protected])
Book Club
Ski Trip 2015During February half term, 26 Year 9 Senior School students set off on a ski trip to Gstaad, Switzerland. Only this year was a little different to previous years, as they were accompanied by 24 very excited Year 5 and 6 students from the Junior School.
The journey was a long one, but all the students stayed in good spirits and we arrived at our hotel at 2am ready to drop into our beds. The hotel staff were very welcoming and soon all were asleep. We awoke to beautiful scenery and lots and lots of snow! As soon as we were able the next morn, we hit the slopes.
The week went by without injury, and all students improved their skiing techniques. They got up rearing to go each morning and were a pleasure to look after. The evening entertainment was met by an equal measure of enthusiasm. There were activities such as toasting marshmallows on an open fire up the mountain, to swimming, to a quiz evening and a film night. The highlight of this though, has to be the disco on the last evening, whereupon a Year 9 group challenged the younger students to a ‘dance off’. It was such fun and so good to see the younger ones stepping up to the challenge!
The final day skiing was a time for the slalom races. Everyone took part and tried their hardest to whizz down the slope at top speed. The staff were so proud of all of the students, as they continually cheered and encouraged each other on, both then and throughout the week.
To see a full gallery of photos and videos from the trip
please click here to go to our Flickr page.
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Book for Inspire Me now!Don’t miss our ‘Inspire Me’ event on Wednesday 11 March, 7.30-9.00pm. If you would like to change the world, this event is for you!
These events are a great opportunity, and we have some brilliant speakers to share experience and inspiration for careers and working in third sector, charities and development. Anyone wanting to volunteer, work in international development or just hear how the sector works should come to this event.
Hear inspiring stories about working in the charitable sector, with a guest presentation from Dame Fiona Reynolds DBE on our history of fundraising for Barnardo’s and why it is so important. More information on that event is here.
Please use the SchoolPost response form, that anyone who hasn’t replied should have been sent earlier this week, or email Melissa Santiago-Val to reserve a place.
We look forward to seeing you there!
