1. education
2. school

FRIDAY 27th MARCH 2015
WEEKLY NEWSLETTER FROM SOUTHBOROUGH HIGH SCHOOL
WORD FROM
THE HEADTEACHER
Niall Smith
CALENDAR
Fri 27 Mar
Break Up at 12.50pm
Mon 13 Apr
Professional Learning Day – School Closed for
Pupils
Tues 14 Apr
8.40am School Starts, Y10 & 11 Prince’s Trust
Group to Royal Marines Barracks
Year 6 Friendship Day
I was delighted with last Saturday’s Friendship Day
when we welcomed 114 of the students who will be
joining us in September, as well as their parents. The
emphasis, as always on Friendship day, was on building
the relationships which create really good transition from
primary to secondary school. A great start to the boys’
careers at Southborough!
Fri 17 Apr
DofE Silver Award Assessment at Surrey Hills
(to 19/4)
Wed 22 Apr
GCSE PE Moderation
Thur 23 Apr
4-7pm Y8 Parents’ Consultation
Fri 24 Apr
FOSH ‘Pig Racing’ evening
Wed 28 Apr
RAG Week
We are in the middle of RAG Week, which is our
annual charity fundraising week, led by the Sixth Form.
This year’s charities are Ronald McDonald House and The
Children’s Trust Tadworth. Please give generously!
Kind regards,
Mr N. Smith, Headteacher
Have a great holiday!
Y10 & 11 Prince’s Trust Group Visit to
Brooklands Museum
Thur 30 Apr
4-7pm Y7 Parents’ Consultation, Junior Maths
Challenge
Mon 4 May
Bank Holiday
Wed 6 May
International GCSEs begin
Fri 8 May
6th Form Study Leave Starts
Sun 10 May
Trip to Basketball Match at the O2
Mon 11 May
GCE/GCSE Exams begin (to 24/6)
Tues 12 May
P6 Whole School Reading
Wed 13 May
Y10 & 11 Prince’s Trust Group visit to Science
Museum
25-29 May
Half Term
Mon 1 June
8.40am School Starts
MESSAGE FROM THE MET POLICE: Dear Reader
We hope you are all well and looking forward
to the Easter Holidays.
Whilst we hope you all have a fantastic time
off, we would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone to remain vigilant and report anything suspicious to Police by calling 101 if it is not
an emergency, and 999 in an emergency.
With the warmer weather approaching and
lots of fun activities starting over the holidays,
some groups of people plan criminal activities
around this time.
We are aware that there is a fun fair and circus in Old Deer Park due to start on Thursday
and carrying on into the holidays. Please can you
remind pupils and staff to have fun but take care
and always remember their personal safety.
Should anyone become aware of any 'planned
criminal activity' over this period, please inform
the police.
Thank you for your time, and enjoy the break.
Kind regards Sophie Brown PC124VK
2
The GRIFFIN
27 March
KAZZUM THEATRE COMPANY
On Saturday 21st March a
selection of students from Year
8 to 11 gave up their precious
weekend to witness a theatrical
and technological experiment,
the culmination of our work
with Kazzum theatre company
on their #Retold project. Since
September, students have participated in a number of workshops experimenting with Drama and technology. This was
used by Kazzum as a springboard for their production,
which told the story of refugee
Sen; her journey to England
and her subsequent fate.
Southborough acted as a
'hub' audience, with the production live-streamed to us. At four
points in the action, we were
given choices and had to decide
what would happen to Sen. For
example, when soldiers invaded her village we had to decide
whether Sen should hide or try
to escape. Our classroom was
live streamed back to Kazzum
where the actors could see what
we had decided. However, the
interactivity didn't stop there!
Members of Kazzum also
helped immerse our students in
the experience by allowing us
to share Sen's journey. On her
birthday party poppers were released over the lads and cake
offered to help celebrate. We
were also plunged into darkness
as Sen escaped the detention
centre with disorientating torch
light swaying across the space.
There were some great movement set pieces and the use of
the hand hold camera to give a
first person experience to our
hub was really inspired. At the end students were
asked to evaluate the experience which will then inform
how Kazzum engage with
young people. For me, the
most interesting aspect of this
whole project has been getting a glimpse into the future
and how theatre might best
utilise technology to tell stories in new ways and take their
audiences to new dimensions.
Many thanks also to the Drama
department for supporting this
event. 27 March
The GRIFFIN
3
FRIENDSHIP DAY
AT SOUTHBOROUGH
As a relatively small school,
one of our biggest strengths is the
positive relationships that we develop between staff and our students. No student is overlooked
and every student matters. And
when – five to seven years later –
our students leave Southborough
to move on to university or the
workplace, they leave as well educated, well rounded, confident
and happy young men.
At Southborough, we understand that the sooner our students get the opportunity to
meet staff, other students and
get to know their new surroundings, the quicker they settle in
and feel happy. And evidence
clearly demonstrates that happy,
settled students are more likely
to do well on both an academic
and personal level.
On Saturday, the school hosted ‘Friendship Day’, a particularly
special date in the school diary
that is designed to make new
students who are due to join us
in September 2015 – along with
their parents – feel, well, at home
at Southborough!
One hundred and fourteen
boys and their parents were given a warm welcome by Headteacher Mr Smith and staff and
were soon involved in a wide
range of fun and innovative activities ranging from clay modelling, cookery, table tennis,
languages, guitar playing and
Maths games. Parents and prospective students even found
themselves taking part in some
Scottish country dancing in the
main school hall!
A range of delicious refreshments were served to guests and
they were given an ideal opportunity to chat to other families and
make new friends. Year 7 and 8
Southborough students were on
hand at all times to show families
around and encourage visitors to
take part in the activities. They
were amazing ambassadors for
the school!
One parent commented: “This
has been such a lovely morning.
My son feels much more at ease
about moving up to senior school
now. He really enjoyed meeting
current students and staff, who
were all so friendly and warm towards him. He’s made one or two
new friends, too.”
Many thanks must go to all
those members of staff and students who generously gave up
their Saturday morning to make
the day such a success – and to
Office Manager Mrs Bell in particular, who was responsible for
organising the event behind the
scenes and making sure that everything ran smoothly on the day
itself.
4
The GRIFFIN
27 March
JOHNSON TREBLE FIRES
TEACHERS TO VICTORY
Andy Taylor Memorial match:
Teachers 7 -6 Year 13
A controversial last minute Mr.
Johnson goal gave the teachers
a hard-fought victory over Year
13 in the annual Andy Taylor
memorial football match. With
time running out Johnson powered a shot towards goal that
keeper Pararajasingam could
only parry. The big stopper then
appeared to handle the ball just
outside the area. A waiting Johnson flicked the resulting rebound
into an empty net but there was
some confusion as to whether
referee Marku had already blown
up for a penalty. The goal stood
and a gasping group of teachers
were left to savour a memorable
victory.
This match marked the first
time the annual Rag Week event
has been held on the school’s
MUGA. The Year 13’s started
brightly with the lively Kieran
Rowkins powering home a stunning volley. The teacher’s team
reacted quickly with the rotund
pair of Scales and Johnson combining on the edge of the box
for Johnson to slot home.
The teachers’ team were
competing well with the athlet-
ic Mr. Jordan marshalling the
back line, the lithe Mr. Sanders proving to be a dependable
outlet.
Rowkins proved to be a constant thorn in the teachers’ defence and it was the Year 13s
that went in 3-2 up at half time.
The second half proved to be
just as competitive with midfield linchpin Scales finishing off
GEORGE BRIGGS
RUNS FOR CHARITY
Mrs Briggs, mother of George
(7MIL), wrote last week to tell
us: “On Sunday (22/3) I am doing the 14 mile Marsden March
walk. I just wanted to let you
know George will the doing a
5 mile walk from King George’s
playing fields in lower Morden to
the Marsden in Sutton, as part
of the Marsden March. I didn’t
ask George to do this with me,
he offered, so as you can imagine I am immensely proud of
him. “
Afterwards, George said, “I
have raised £155 so far by running only 5 miles for the Royal
Marsden Charity. I have had a lot
of support from my friends and
family, and some help from my
mum’s friend and her daughter
and my mum, as they ran with
me. At the end I got a big bar of
Cadbury’s chocolate and a milk
shake from the Royal Marsden
team. I also received a medal at
the finish.” Well done, George,
we are very proud of you too.
a 10 pass move for the teachers
that had the assembled crowd
in raptures.
Special thanks must go to the
eager Year 7s and various members of the public who were able
to return the many balls that
went careering over the perimeter fencing during the match. At
least the teachers were able to
have a much needed breather!
27 March
The GRIFFIN
5
YEAR 10 SOUTHBOROUGH
STUDENTS LEARN VITAL
FIRE-FIGHTING SKILLS
Recently, six of our Year 10
students – namely students Bilal Chattun, Jordan John Nsumba, Samuel Sobkow, Kci Aboim,
Nourredine Aitouarab and Branden Okyere - were lucky to take
part in a special Jack Petchey
initiative called-the ‘London Fire
Brigade LIFE’, a four day course
where each young man got the
chance to learn vital life skills including fire safety, team building
and search and rescue techniques
in challenging environments. Each
working with a mentor from the
Fire Service, the boys also learnt
how to use the fire equipment.
Just as importantly, though,
the students gained valuable life
skills and learnt that there was
certainly more to being a firefighter than they had ever imagined. They all agreed that they
had nothing but respect for these
men and women who risked their
lives day in, day out. In addition,
Jordan Nsumba commented that
the experience taught him the
importance of team work and Kci
Aboim agreed that he now felt a
lot more confident on a personal
level.
On the last day of the course,
these students then got the
chance to put their learning into
practice and take part in a mock
rescue. Suffice to say, the students were highly successful in
their ‘rescue’ attempt. Onlookers – actually the parents, friends
and members of the Fire Brigade
– congratulated them accordingly.
This was then followed by a
special ‘passing out’ ceremony that marked their successful
completion of the course. Feedback from the Fire Brigade was
extremely positive and the boys
left with certificates, information
packs, photos and some very
special memories. Mrs Clements,
Year 10 Pastoral Officer, felt so
proud of the boys, she cried!
Bilal won the Jack Petchey
Award for Student of The Week, a
very special accolade as it was his
peers and staff who voted for him,
demonstrating how much they
valued his commitment, team
work and exceptional behaviour.
Well done to all our students who took part. You were fantastic!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads
to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road
that leads to life, and only a few find it."
As we move towards Holy Week and the commemoration of important events in he life of Christ, we
recall the thought-provoking text from Matthew's Gospel.
6
The GRIFFIN
27 March
Book of
the week!
Border Crossing
MUSIC
CLUBS
MONDAY: 12.50
by Rosie Thomas
On 6th September 1997 a
convoy of 100 classic & vintage cars set out on a race
from Beijing to Paris. It was
a rerun of the first ever international motor rally which
took place in 1907. One of the
competitors was Rosie Thomas, (an author whose climbing novels I have enjoyed)
and her co-driver Phil Bowen
(a Himalayan Mountain Guide
whom she had recently met
on Everest), nearly 20 years
her junior.
Together they buy a Volvo
Amazon and rebuild it in readiness for the punishing adventure. The book charts the
story of the race, the scenery, the cars, their relation-
ship (with all the usual “man
& woman in the front of a car
arguments”) and the struggle
they have to come to terms
with their affluence in sharp
contrast to the local poverty.
In the dangerous world of motor sport, it is not long before
tragedy strikes causing fatalities amongst the local people
and the competitors. Rosie is
forced to work out her motives and her thinking is all
the more sharpened when she
has her own near-death experience far from home and the
security of her family. A refreshingly honest look at the
relationship between men,
women, money & cars!
Mrs Smart
SAINSBURY’S ACTIVE KIDS
We are now collecting these vouchers in order to obtain
free PE kit for the pupils. In previous years we have been
able to send off for some fantastic equipment. So please
do bring in /send in your vouchers to reception. Please ask
neighbours, relatives and friends for their vouchers to help
us get as many as possible. Many thanks in advance for
your help.
MUSIC 1 – YEAR 7 ‘PLAY TIME’
For those who would enjoy getting
together with others on a variety
of instruments and producing performances of various songs.
TUESDAY: 12.50
MUSIC 1 – JAZZ BAND
at present we have 3 trumpets
1 saxophone, 1 cornet and 1
trombone. Any competent brass/
wind players (at least Grade 2)
would be very welcome!
WEDNESDAY: 12.50
MUSIC 1 - UKULELE CLUB
If you have already played or you
would like to improve your skills,
come along to make music!
THURSDAY: 12.50
GARAGE BAND CLUB
All year groups welcome. Learn
how to REALLY make tunes with
Garage Band and Logic!
FRIDAY: 12.50
MUSIC 1 – SINGING CLUB
Singing for everyone – all ages
welcome!
MATHS CLUBS
The maths department offers help after school on Tuesdays, Wednesdays,
Thursdays and Fridays. Please come along. If you’d like to develop your thinking
skills, why not join us at chess club or puzzle club?
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Maths help
for Y11
Thursday
Chess club
(B7)
Maths help
for Y11
Friday
Maths challenge club
(B5)
Maths help
for Y11
Maths help
for Y7-10
(B8)
(B6)
(B5)
(B5)
Puzzle club
Maths help for
Y7-10
Maths help
for Y7-10
Maths help
for Y7-10
(B5)
(B5)
(B7)
(B8)
Lunch
After
School
27 March
The GRIFFIN
RAG WEEK
7
On behalf of everyone in the
Sixth Form, we’d like to say a
very BIG THANK YOU to EVERYONE who contributed to making
this year’s RAG WEEK such a
resounding success. The cakes
that you baked and sent in
were ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS
and the pocket money that you
spent on our various events and
MUFTI Day was much appreciated, too! It’s still too early to
say how much was finally raised
so look out for a full account
in next issue’s Griffin! In the
meantime, we hope you all have
a wonderful Easter Break. Thank
you, again! THE 6TH FORM RAG
WEEK TEAM.
WEEKLY FIXTURES LIST - W/C MONDAY 13th APRIL
Fixture Y8/9 Hockey v’s Oxsted – Away
Date
Staff
16/4/15
Mr Cooper
MENU w/c TUEDAY 14th APRIL
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Professional
Shepherd’s Pie
Roast Chicken
Sweet & Sour
Battered
Learning Day
Veggie
Veggie Quiche
Chicken
Pollock
Shepherd’s Pie
Roast Potatoes,
Veggie
Vegetable Kievs
Peas & Carrots
Yorkshire
Sweet & Sour
Chips
Raspberry Jelly
Pudding & Gravy
Rice
Peas
Mixed Veg
Sweetcorn
Rice Pudding
Chocolate
Rice Krispy
Sponge Cake
Cakes
Jacket Potatoes, paninis, bakes beans, salad, fresh fruit and a variety of sandwiches and rolls are also served
every day.
FACILITIES FOR HIRE
ELEGANT AND SPACIOUS HALL
IDEAL FOR WEDDINGS, PARTIES, CONFERENCES, ETC.
DIRECT ACCESS TO A SUNNY COURTYARD WITH MATURE SHRUBS
ASTROPITCH
AND
OTHER SPORTS
FACILITIES
MODERN DINING HALL WITH AN ADJACENT CANOPIED AREA
GREAT FOR OUTDOOR DINING
FACILITIES HIRE TARIFF
(FROM JANUARY 2015)
FACILITY FOR HIRE
MONDAY TO SATURDAY
non-alcohol, per hour
Hall
alcohol, per hour
SUNDAY
non-alcohol, per hour
alcohol, per hour
Main Hall size is 64ft x 40 ft which can accommodate 500 seating capacity or 200 with tables &
chairs.The use of parking facilities at the front of the building is included in the price.
£70.00
£80.00
£85.00
£95.00
Additional parking
£10.00
Dining Hall +
Canopied area
£15.00
The dining hall measures 72ft x 48 ft and can accommodate 200 people in this area to eat.
£50.00
£60.00
£65.00
£75.00
£110.00
£130.00
£120.00
£130.00
Hall+Dining Hall
+Canopied Area
Gyms
We have two large gymnasiums available which can be used for a variety of sport including
netball, football training etc
£25.00
£28.00
£18.00
£20.00
Classrooms
Sports Field
(Sundays only)
£25.00
Astropitch
£35.00
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT US ON 0208 391 4324
£45.00