Prayer for the Week Volume 3, Issue 10, 14 November 2014 'Prayer is not overcoming God's reluctance but laying hold of his willingness' Martin Luther King Rev Warner Sunday 16th November, 6.30pm, Catholic Mass, Non uniform From the Headmaster A big big thank you to the PSA and all those involved in organising the fantastic Christmas Fayre on Saturday. The range of stalls and gifts was excellent and it was wonderful to see so many people supporting the great event with the result that the PSA raised in excess of £3,000 which I know they will put to good use supporting the school. Congratulations to Watts House on winning Inter-House Improvised Drama last Friday. It was a real treat to once again see so many wonderfully talented performers take to the stage. On Sunday we had a very moving Remembrance Service in school with Mr Waters preaching on the theme of ‘service beyond self’ and sharing examples of the wonderful contribution that hundreds of our students have made as part of our project to commemorate 100 years since the outbreak of World War One. Tuesday, Remembrance Day, was marked with two minutes silence, reading of the great prayer and playing of the last post in three different locations around school. Given that there are over 1300 students and hundreds of adults in school at this time it is quite breath taking that the whole school is silent and still throughout as we congregate together to remember those who have fallen and the sacrifice that was made. I was really proud of the students on Tuesday for their exemplary attitude and behaviour. Year 8 parents evening was once again very well attended and the feedback on the progress that Year 8 is making is very positive indeed. Mr McGovern, Headmaster LETTERS COMING HOME VIA PUPIL POST THIS WEEK IMPORTANT NOTICE ALL WEEKEND FIXTURES CANCELLED due to waterlogged pitches RUGBY VS ST COLUMBA AND LAX VS HABS PLEASE REMEMBER… Bah Humbug! St. George’s School proudly presents A little bit of Dickensian spirit to get you in the mood for Christmas. Performances are on Thursday 20th and Friday 21st November. Doors open at 7.oo p.m. for mulled wine and mince pies so pop the dates in your calendar! Tickets are selling like hotcakes and available to purchase via parent pay Exam Certificates Exam certificates from the summer are now available. Students still at the school should have collected theirs this week. Those who have left should arrange to obtain them as soon as possible. There are 3 options available: 1. Come into school to pick them up. Please sign in at Goddard Reception first. 2. Give a signed letter of authority to someone else who will pick them up for you. 3. Send in the cost of posting them by a tracked service - £8 for UK addresses and £12 for overseas Mr McGillivray, Exams Officer and Educational Visits Co-ordinator Direct line: 01582 716242/716272 Direct fax: 01582 461825 Mobile: 07580 950031 E-mail: [email protected] or click here for exams information page International Week St George's International Hat Days! Monday 24th - Thursday 27th November The international committee is running an international week at the end of the month. Each day is themed to a different area in the world Monday/The Americas: Tuesday/Asia: Wednesday/Africa: Thursday/Europe Activities will be running at lunchtime based around these regions. St George's International Hat Day! Everyone in the school is being encouraged to wear a hat from somewhere in the world on the Thursday 27th. These can be homemade or bought. In an ideal world the students will know which country their hat comes from and maybe something about that country! Students who wish to wear full international traditional dress from a country they have a link with on this day are also being allowed to do so, they will have to register their name when a member of the international committee goes to their tutor base. It would be great to see as many different hats and countries represented as possible on this day so please encourage your child to come in wearing a hat! Mrs Howard, Head of Geography CAREER OPPORTUNITIES Apprenticeships and Engineering Training programs Advanced Apprenticeship The National Grid Advanced Apprenticeship is an award winning programme which mixes both college studies and on the job training. After successful completion of the programme the Advanced Apprentices will hold an industry recognised qualification and gain valuable experience to prepare them for their future career within National Grid. Click to view more information Engineer Training Programme This programme is a great alternative to University as students will study towards a fully funded Foundation degree at the same time as gaining valuable on the job training. Not only will they avoid the cost of University, they will earn while they learn, various benefits are also offered. Click to view more information Further information about our programmers and how to apply online can be found using the following link: http://careers.nationalgrid.com./apprentice-engineer-training-programmes/ WW1 CENTENARY Thank you so much to those hundreds of St George's students who made a real effort to show a commitment to the sacrifices of those who gave up so much for their country one hundred years ago. I hope that our act of collective commemoration has helped our students to reflect on not only what they already do, but also what else they can do to help others in their community. Here are a few of the many memorable acts of service that our students showed: "I would like to thank Nathaniel for all his hard work at our recent children's event. He was great with the children, encouraging them and joining in with everything." "Robert is a member of the WGC Air Cadets and has been voluntarily selling poppies on Saturdays" Robert Ariss "My Mum teaches English to Muslim ladies in St Albans who don't know any English, at a toddler group. I went to help with the Arts and Crafts. I showed the ladies how to make bookmarks and coasters" Alanah Tinnion "George came down to volunteer his time to help in a tennis session for 8-9 year olds. He was enthusiastic and helped the boys who attended. Thank you for your help." George Wren "Thank you, Hannah, for visiting Year 6 and delivering a presentation on the subject of life at secondary school - a fantastic idea as the children are preparing for this transition." Hannah Hansom "My family and I ran a MacMillan coffee morning and raised over £150 for charity" Joe Middleton "Aaron undertook the selling of raffle tickets in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital. He went around the neighbourhood to maximise sales for a great cause." Aaron Holloway "Roberta baked a cake for the residents at Holly Lodge. It was enjoyed by all." Roberta McGuiness "Thank you for giving up an afternoon to pick litter at Manland Primary School" Amy Molyneux "Christopher spent a day at our school, the Abbey CE VA Primary, working and supporting our youngest children. He was spectacular!" Chris Upton "James kindly swept up the leaves on my drive which was a great help and much appreciated." James Cromack "Many thanks for the Food Bank posters - looking forward to using them!" Georgina Harris "Thank you so much for teaching an old lady how to use a computer. You spent many days with me and were very patient!" Alex Cregan A collection of £37.81 for Cancer Research Joe and Dan "My name is Alfons Wesolowski and I am a 99yr old WW2 veteran. My great nieces Jessica and Ella McGuinnness have cooked me home made meals and cakes. This is a great help as I cannot get to the shops now. I especially loved Jessica's cottage pie!." "I would like to thank Laura for all her hard work creating posters and artwork for LAMP. We really appreciate the time she has given up and her creativity." Click here to view facebook David Waters, Head of History YEAR 9 WW1 STUDY DAYS On Tuesday and Wednesday Year 9 marked the end of this year’s remembrance event with a pair of study days, one making sculptures of animals thanks to Darcy Turner’s creation which allows students to turn rolled up newspaper into struts which they can assemble into sculptures. The Grant Quad is currently filled with animals of all shapes and sizes (though mostly quite large) which were assembled, Meccano-like over the course of the two days. Students on their way to lunch currently share their journey with deer, a giraffe, at least one elephant and various insects. The other half of the year carried out a study day on World War 1 in which Andrew Spooner delivered a detailed exposition of the life of a soldier on the Western Front, assisted by a range of original artefacts which he has collected. Students now know the difference between one end of a Lee-Enfield Short Magazine rifle and the other, and have picked up a range of specialist knowledge to accompany that. Highlight for some was watching their friends trying to handle a rifle, which to the uninitiated, is not as easy as it looks. They have also been given the opportunity to explore these for themselves, discovering the horror and the heroism of the Great War. Great thanks are due to the various departments of the school who have given up their time or rooms to enable this to happen, with particular thanks to the Drama and PE departments, and to staff who have helped to supervise each activity. Click to view photos on our Facebook page. Mr Muriss, Head of Grant House LAX LAX News On Saturday we had 4 teams out playing against St Helen's School. Following an early morning pitch inspection the girls arrived at school ready to pick up where they left off before half term. Results were as follows 1sts - Won 12-8. U15B - Lost 5-4 (playing at St Helen's A team) U13A - Won 15-2 U12A - Won 11-3 Particular congratulations to the U12 team as this is their first win of the year with Jaala Sutherland being picked as MVP and Millie Martin scoring 6 goals. As well as the A team playing we also ran our own inter-school match between some of the U12 players. Due to other schools not being able to field a C team at this level it has meant that a few of our matches have been cancelled for the girls. The match on Saturday meant that all 68 girls in Year 7 who have been attending training have now played in a match. Congratulations to Georgia Wells and Ake Kibona on being selected as MVPs on Saturday Miss Sayers, LAX Specialist CONGRATULATIONS TO… Invitation only - Diving Success Henry Biggs Year 10 Grant House A great opportunity for Henry, who was very lucky to be invited to a national diving competition during the half term in Southampton. During the events he achieved a silver medal on 1m and bronze on 3m. He also came 4th on platform. Well done Podium Place Chloe Alvis Year 12 Goddard House A fantastic performance Chloe gave last weekend whist representing the national squad for the British Judo Council. Chloe was part of a 24 strong squad who competed in the Den Helder Open in Holland. This is a very prestigious competition, attracting some of the best judo players from across Europe. Chloe was placed second in the senior ladies Dan grade category. This achievement goes along side the two gold medals from the previous weekend at the Southend International competition. This is another high level competition for Chloe who represented Redbridge Judo Club, where she trains for the British Judo Association, for more information about St Albans Judo Club please visit www.stalbansjudo.org.uk Well done DATES FOR YOUR DIARY… PSA Christmas Dinner Dance to be held on Saturday 29th November 2014 Click here to download ticket details. GEORGIAN ASSOCIATION AUTUMN REUNION Saturday 13th December 2014 SCHOOL ARCHIVES open between 2.30 and 4.45p.m. LACROSSE Georgians vs School Team from 2.00p.m. approx. CAROL SERVICE at 5.00 p.m. followed by mulled wine & mince pies We look forward to seeing you there PSA NEWS The latest edition of the PSA newsletter is now available to view and download from the school website—please click here. You can contact the PSA at [email protected] MEDICAL To all parents of current Year 11’s. Meningitis C vaccine that was offered during Year 10, there will be another opportunity on March 10th 2015. There is an explanatory letter & consent form on the website via this link Please print and complete the consent from & return to the School House as soon as possible. CONTACT DETAILS Please ENSURE your MOBILE NUMBER is current Click here to access form to notify us of any changes Reminders and forthcoming events See the news and events section on the school’s website: News and events STUDENT ABSENCE call the absence telephone line 01582 765477 or email [email protected] Please state the pupil’s name, year group, tutor group and reason for absence School Website Click here Finance Matters Click here Contact Details Click here Don’t forget to like us on Facebook. It is a great way of keeping up with news and events at school and the more we have online presence, the more people will be aware of cyber communication and how to keep each other safe https://www.facebook.com/stgeorgesharpenden Sat 15 Rugby v St Columba's 1st 2nd U14A and B (Home) U15A and B, U13 A and B, U12 A and B (Away) Lax v Habs, 1sts, 2nds, 3rds, U15A and B, U14A and B, U13A and B, U12 A,B,C, (Home) am Sun 16 Junior praise service, 6.30pm, non-uniform Mon Tues 17 18 House Girls' Football all week Year 7 RE trip to places of worship, half year group PSA Meeting, Go2, 8pm Wed 19 Year 7 RE trip to places of worship half year Thurs 20 Year 11 study skills am; Indoor Lax Tournament, 1sts, 2nds, at SAHS 4.15pm Fri 21 Questions or comments about the e-newsletter? Email us at [email protected] St George's School, Harpenden Academy Trust is a company limited by guarantee and registered in England and wales. Registered number: 08092358 Registered office: Sun Lane, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 4TD