Victorian Day was sunny and bright, and our Year 6s all looked the part as they set off for Stibbington. Upon arrival, they were introduced to their teachers, Miss Flack and Mr Hendon, and each pupil was given the persona of a child who lived in the village during the Victorian era.
After an initial whole school introduction to this year’s theme for Anti-Bullying Week, ‘Power for Good’, each year group spent time discussing what it means and how we can keep this important message at the heart of relationships in school all the year round.
With one eye
on our PSHEE scheme and another on promoting the importance of fundamental British
values, Year 6 invited Andrew Limb, Head of Corporate Strategy at Cambridge
City Council, to come into school to give his perspective on rights and
responsibilities, voting, elections and decision-making in local government.
His fascinating and informative talk covered topics such as constitutional monarchy, when our parliament was first established and who can and cannot vote in elections in this country. He even pointed out that we belong to a country where people like to talk and hold discussions, with which Year 6 certainly agreed!
As part of their unit of study on Christian places of worship, the two Year 3 classes each made a visit to Emmanuel United Reformed Church, which is just a short walk from school.
Before reaching their destination the children were impressed by the exteriors of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Peterhouse College and Little St Mary’s Church. As they settled down for an introductory talk with Penny Flynn, an elder of the church, the children showed great interest and gradually the questions, which they had thought of back at school and on arrival, were answered.
Junior School Hockey
It seems like a long time ago when the girls’ pre-season hockey camp marked the beginning of the hockey term. Since then the action has arrived thick and fast, and the rising levels of skill, tactical understanding and composure have supported the hard work and team spirit of the teams to produce some fantastic results.
The style of hockey on display has been free flowing, concise and aesthetically pleasing. Throughout the year groups the girls have not struggled to create chances, which is a great sign for future years. However, in the world of sport, results do not always go your way and there have been some narrow defeats, missed opportunities in front of goal and frustrating mishaps at the back. It is therefore pleasing to note the evident determination and positive attitudes of the girls that have led to growth in sporting character and ultimately produced a winning season.
There have been numerous highlights throughout the season across the year groups and it has been pleasing to see a good number of parents supporting the girls from the sidelines. A special mention should go to the U10A team who are currently on course to complete an undefeated season. They have to negotiate a tricky rearranged fixture away to Bedford Girls’ School on Saturday, but if they can do this it will be a fantastic achievement.
All girls are to be commended for their approach to the season and many have left the PE department with some difficult decisions to make before Junior School Sports Awards in the summer.
I was privileged to be able to spend a most inspiring three days in Oxford attending an advanced level training course on Philosophy for Children. Having facilitated P4C for a few years now, this was a wonderful opportunity to gain an even greater understanding and appreciation of the theory and practice behind this pedagogy. Three leading P4C experts at the helm combined with the wealth of backgrounds and experience of the eighteen delegates, who had come from as far afield as the USA and the Philippines, in thought provoking and lively debates into philosophical concepts such as childhood, ethics and politics in education.
Just as engaging in discussion as a community in the classroom helps the children articulate and develop their thoughts, ideas and opinions, these rich and valuable discussions were shaping mine. P4C is not only fun but it gives opportunity to discuss the meaningful, deeper issues that we all wonder about. I have returned to the Junior School with lots of ideas, which I can't wait to share with the children.
Marcelle Dobson
Junior School PSHEE Coordinator
On 18-19 November, I had the privilege of attending an event organised by the Royal Society, titled "Cutting Edge Classrooms". I was invited to participate as part of the Junior School's membership of the Associate Schools and Colleges Scheme, which the world's oldest and most prestigious scientific organisation has set up to facilitate links between academics and teachers and to allow teachers to share best practice in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) education. The scheme forms a central plank of the society's strategy, set out in its "Vision" document, to promote STEM education, in order to ensure the UK's future in science and technology.
The event took place in the stunning surroundings of Chicheley Hall in Buckinghamshire, a former stately home, part of which is now run by the Royal Society as a conference and social venue. Clearly, a lot of work had gone into preparing a stellar line up of speakers and providing plenty of opportunities to share ideas. Teachers from a wide geographical range and representing every phase of education were treated to fascinating talks by some of the leading researchers in fields including drug development, atmospheric chemistry and astrobiology. Each talk was followed by a discussion period, during which we had the opportunity to speak to the scientists themselves, and then share ideas with fellow teachers about how we could translate what we had learned about in the talks into tangible activities back in our schools.
In order to ensure that the conference would result in actions which will promote STEM education, and spark the kind of excitement about discovery that will help nurture the next generation of scientists, engineers and technology entrepreneurs, the second day culminated in each the attendees writing an action plan, setting out concrete proposals for how to take forward the exciting research findings we had learned about, and turn these into activities in which our pupils can participate.
All the participants went away buzzing with excitement and energised to share what we had learned. I am sure that this is a gathering which has sowed seeds that will help inspire many young minds throughout the country to learn more about the exciting possibilities which science and technology are opening up all the time. Personally, I have come back with a range of ideas to share with Junior School pupils, so with no astrobiology pun intended: watch this space!
Gordon West
Junior School Science Coordinator
I am sure many of you enjoy the programme ‘Strictly Come Dancing’. Did you watch it when Ed Balls danced the Salsa Gangnam Style? I wonder who your favourite couple is?
I absolutely love the show and this is how I got into Ballroom and Latin American dancing. When I was only six, I dreamed that one day I could be a professional dancer like Janette Manrara and Natalie Lowe. We tried finding a local Ballroom dance class but there are not many around. Ballroom dancing as we know it today originated from dances held in the royal courts back in the 16th century and has only recently come back into fashion due to the show’s popularity. We did some research and found The Studio at Flint Cross near Royston, where I go twice a week to dance. It is so much fun.
Tuesday afternoon’s Junior Inspire Event really lived up to its billing, with a truly inspirational talk entitled, ‘What do scientists really do in their work?’ by Dr Emily Camm from the Department of Physiology, Development & Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge, who is also the parent of one of our Pre-prep pupils.
Dr Camm gave her Year 6 audience a unique insight into the daily tasks carried out by a research scientist, looking at her varied weekly schedule of activities. This includes practical tasks like collecting tissues for research studies and preparing chemicals for experiments, using computers for data analysis and statistics, administrative tasks like reviewing PhD applications and progressing her own career, and teaching responsibilities like lecturing, supervising undergraduate practical classes and marking essays.
It was really helpful for the girls to gain more of an insight into the links between what they learn in Science at school and what happens in the real world of research. For example, Year 6 have recently been learning about dissolving, something which Dr Camm puts to good use in making up solutions in the lab, and they get lots of practice at recording and presenting results from practical activities in the form of data tables and graphs, which Dr Camm uses on a regular basis in processing her results for publication in scientific journals.
On Thursday 1st December we performed in
the Drama Club showcase. The Year 6s who attended the club were divided into
three groups and each group acted out a different scene from ‘Peter Pan’. The
club was run by some Year 10 and Year 11 students, supervised by Miss Wood.
They made the performance a fun experience and enjoyable for everyone,
including the performers and audience. Personally, my favourite parts of the
showcase were the movement sequences in each scene because they were exciting
to do and watch, especially the fighting sequence. Florence
In our Drama Showcase we performed extracts from ‘Peter Pan’. Each group had a movement scene to act out and they were all put to music. In the actual performance we had costumes to wear and props to use. It was really fun and the Year 10 and 11 students were helpful and kind. Madeleine
I really enjoyed taking part in Drama Club this term as we had two Year 10 students and one Year 11 helping us. I loved playing the part of Michael in the showcase as it was really fun. I got to wear my dressing gown and the games we played were fabulous! ‘Peter Pan’ was such good fun and I wish I could do it again as I liked learning how to fly! Lara
To support their
topic on the Romans, Year 4 visited Colchester Castle Museum on 1
During the course of the day, the pupils had the opportunity to engage with interactive museum exhibits in the galleries. The simulated chariot race proved to be very popular. The children also worked together to complete the challenge of building a Celtic roundhouse, a Roman villa and identifying and sorting Roman artefacts.
The castle itself is built on the site of the Roman Temple of Claudius. The children walked down the many steps into the vaults to learn more about Boudicca’s revolt against the Romans and the burning of the Temple by the Celts.
In keeping with The Royal British Legion’s request that schools, colleges and clubs commemorate the sacrifices of those who fell at the Battle of the Somme in this centenary year, we made this period of the First World War our focus when we gathered for our Remembrance Assembly on 11th November.
Mrs Vagh, 6A’s class teacher and our English coordinator, opened the assembly with a fascinating presentation about the immense contribution of Ulstermen to the battle, which raged from 1 July until 18 November 1916. We learnt of the heroic endeavours of Irish soldiers and also, very sadly, that there was not a street in Belfast which did not suffer a loss at the Somme.
As a special mark of respect this year we invited Claudia, a Year 11 student from the Senior School, to play The Last Post before our two minute silence at 11am and The Rouse afterwards. Claudia professed to being quite nervous but is to be congratulated on playing extremely well.
We agreed to draw portraits of ourselves and put them on the art gallery area. This will help us introduce ourselves to one another and set the stage for a place of learning that values everyone’s individuality. A list of adjectives that defines each child's personality underlines each portrait. Each of the pupils defined themselves with a few adjectives and wrote it on a caption under their own portrait.
Year One did their assembly about Animal Kingdoms. Children designed their own animal masks and sang a song inviting others to go to the zoo with them.
Then they shared all their knowledge about the Woburn Safari animals reading big posters aloud. We learned lots of new facts about them! They used labels and captions to summarise the information.
We started talking about how we feel when people do not follow our class rules. We wrote down the first feeling that came to mind when asked the question. Children wrote that they would feel sad, but would still act respectfully.
This sparked a conversation about resilience. We discussed why it is important to be resilient and think for ourselves and not follow the crowd. Mindfulness listening was introduced to the class to see if this could help us calm down and think about our behaviour. Year 1 thinks that including a mindfulness practice in their life just might make them a little more resilient!
A few weeks ago I was given the incredible opportunity to have a Skype conversation with Sandra Smith, translator of Suite Française by Irene Némirovsky.
This novel is not only a definite favourite of mine, but is also the focus of my French Extended Essay. It was incredible to speak with Sandra about Némirovsky and her immense talent as an author.
She explained in such amazing detail Némirovsky’s experiences and life; information which at times was passed on from Némirovsky’s daughter, Denise Epstein, who Sandra got to know during her work with Suite Française.
To hear about the opinions and experiences of Némirovsky’s daughter was incredible; her opinions on her mother’s work provided me with a fascinating and very real insight into the reasons behind Némirovsky’s literary choices.
Two 6th Form students and a student in year 8 at the Stephen Perse Foundation – a forward-thinking, co-educational Cambridge independent school – have achieved a musical hat-trick of distinctions. The talent, hard work and commitment of Naomi Choy, Valeriya Kopanitsa and Juliette Richards has resulted in Trinity College London awarding three distinctions in their recent Performance Diplomas.
Valeriya, an accomplished pianist, and Naomi, a talented saxophonist, both undertook ATCL Performance Diplomas. A post Grade 8 level qualification, this Diploma is equivalent to the performance component of a first-year undergraduate degree course.
Talented pianist Juliette, at 13 years of age, gained her distinction in the LTCL Performance Diploma with a mark of 96 out of 100. This outstanding achievement follows Juliette's distinction in the ATCL (the first of the performance diplomas) earned at the age of 11. The LTCL is the second of three levels of performance diplomas and is equivalent in standard to the performance component of the final year in a full-time undergraduate course at a conservatoire or other higher education institution.
A representative from the University of Buckingham will be visiting the Sixth Form on Monday 3rd October, at 4:15 pm, to give a talk about their MB ChB programme.
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