Thank you to Herts Garden Design for their donation of a FREE garden design consultation. One of our many amazing prizes on offer.

They are an award winning architecture firm with over 20 years’ experience in the residential and education sectors. A team of architectural designers that are interested in the connection between inside and out and the impact that space can have on your mental health and well-being.

Find out more about their beautiful projects here.

Thank you to GABY Massage & Beauty for their donation of a:

-Sports Massage treatment with BEMER vascular therapy

- Luxury facial treatment with head and neck massage

Gaby is a qualified and experienced Level 5 Sports Massage Therapist with a proven track record of clients achieving peace and physical contentment through effective massage techniques. 15 years of experience and a qualified Beauty Therapist as well, makes these sessions a must not miss if you're the lucky winner.

Find out more about all the treatments on offer here.

Supporting Links is offering a FREE in-person six-week "Talking Teens" course designed to help parents and carers navigate the challenges of parenting 12-19 year olds. It's open to all parents, carers, grandparents, and guardians in Hertfordshire,and will be held on Wednesdays, 7.00 - 9.00pm, from 26th February to 2nd April 2025 at the Gade Community Room, Oakleaf Primary School, Hemel Hempstead. The course will explore the teenage brain, explaining the physical and emotional changes that influence behaviour. It delves deeper into the connection between behaviour and difficult feelings, offer practical strategies for maintaining strong communication, discuss understanding and navigating risk-taking behaviours along with providing effective techniques and tools for conflict resolution. Don't miss this valuable opportunity to gain insights and connect with other parents and carers. For more information and to secure your space please click the links provided.

Well done to all the amazing students who took part in the House Choreography Competition 2025. Students were given the stimulus of getting ready for a special event to help them create a 2 minute piece of choreography. With over 20 entries, we were blown away by the talent and hard work shown by everyone. Congratulations to Varvara, Charlotte, Skye and Chelsea for being our top 3 entries.

*PLEASE READ*

The attached letter has some important information for parents from the Hertfordhire & West Essex Integrated Care Board.

With A&E departments in our area currently under pressure, it's important to get the right care for your child quickly. If you're concerned about your child's health, start by visiting the 111 online service here for children aged 5 and over, or call 111, speak to your GP, or visit a local pharmacist. They can help assess the situation and guide you to the best care, including whether A&E is necessary.

For more detailed advice, the Hertfordshire and West Essex Healthier Together website offers reliable information on common childhood illnesses, with clear "traffic light" guidance on symptoms. This can help you understand how serious your child's condition may be and what steps to take.

 HOUSE POINTS

Hepworth remains on the top spot so far this year. The gap between second and third has opened up a little this week, but its still a very close race.

1. Hepworth 11,343
2. Austen 10,817
3. Newton 10,644

Special mentions this week:  

• Tom G (9J) (13) – Most points this week.
• Johnson for winning this weeks house points – 693.
• Johnson for leading this months house points - 1544.
• 7A for the highest average points in their tutor group (102.6).
• 9E & 9H the highest quiz score total – 88/120.
• Well done to all that entered the House Photography competition – Results to be announced next week!
• Congrats to Skye & Chelsea (J), Charlotte (E) & Varvara (E) for finishing in the top 3 of House Choreography.

It's been a really creative and successful week for everyone, well done all.

As part of our ongoing efforts to raise funds for our school charities, we are excited to announce our upcoming school raffle. This will take place from the 3rd – 7th February 2025. Throughout the year we raise money for Unicef, Youth talk, and Herts for Refugees, and we are proud of our continued support of these amazing charities. We are reaching out to families for support, and would greatly appreciate any donations of raffle prizes or contributions such as: gift vouchers, discount codes for local businesses, hampers or non-perishable food items, gadgets, signed memorabilia, and any other unused items you think would make great prizes. If you would like to make a contribution, please email David Keenleyside by Friday 24th January 2025.

We had a fantastic day on Thursday at Imperial War Museum Duxford with all of Year 9 for our History and STEM ELD. Students enjoyed exploring Concorde, learnt about the history and operations of aviation engineering, watched a re-enactment in the operations room that was used during the Battle of Britain, saw the enormous B52 bomber and Blackbird, and even a section of the Berlin Wall in the US museum. Staff at Duxford commented how excellent the students were all day. Well done Year 9 and thank you for a fantastic day!

This year we are going to be running parent information sessions delivered by professionals from outside agencies that are centred around various pastoral related issues.

We are delighted to bring you Sandringham Seminars 3 on Monday 3rd February at 5.30pm, with a delivery from Rhodes Wood Hospital and Elysium Healthcare. Rhodes Wood is an expert in the field of supporting young people with extreme mental ill health, and we are very fortunate that they have agreed to deliver this seminar. Rhodes Wood Hospital is a specialist Inpatient Eating Disorder service for children and young people aged 8 up to 18 years based in Hatfield. They aim to identify and understand the symptoms, patterns and origins of psychological distress and help patients manage their condition. The services emphasise not only the mental wellbeing of young people but also their educational, emotional and physical needs. 

This 1 hour session will be held at The SandPit Theatre, Sandringham School. If you would like to book tickets to hear from Rhodes Wood, please book them here. There are 250 tickets available, so please do sign up quickly to avoid missing out.

Thank you to Heartwood Homes for their donation of a £50 Odyssey voucher. One of our many amazing prizes on offer.

About them:

Based near Sandringham, Heartwood Homes are an award-winning local independent family run agency that challenges the usual perception of estates agents – deliberately different.

Their service is friendly and consultative and have recently been recognised in the British Property Awards. They were awarded GOLD WINNER for Best Estate Agent in St Albans for 2024, 2023 & 2022 and also Hertfordshire for 2023. 

Find out more about them here.

This year, all of our Year 8 students took part in our annual ELD Day- Musical in a Day- Matilda! Students made an exceptional effort throughout the day bringing the musical to life for a full performance in The Sandpit which took place during session 5. This was an opportunity for all of our students to experience an opportunity to participate in the Arts and learn more about Creative Careers and our Arts Award programme. All of our teachers across Music, Dance, Drama, Visual Arts and our Technical Theatre team made a truly outstanding effort to ensure our students had the most engaging day creatively, and also produced an outstanding performance during the afternoon. We would like to thank our Arts team for ensuring students were able to have this truly unique and special opportunity and thank all of our students for their excellent effort on the day.

Thank you to Beth Sellars for her donation of an adult golf lesson at Redbourn Golf Club.

Beth is a PGA teaching professional with over 10 years’ experience in the golf industry. After working closely with the best coaches in the world, Beth was awarded the PGA coach of the year in 2022. Beth coaches golfers of all abilities, from beginners to tour professionals, and also works closely with Hertfordshire county squads.

You would be very lucky to get some tips on your swing from her.

The Puzzle of the Week is a Mathematics challenge run weekly. This week's puzzle is shown above. For every entry you will receive 1 house point, if you answer correctly you will win 2 house points and if you are the fastest person to answer the puzzle correctly then you will win 5 house points!  To enter, simply scan the QR code and fill out the google form.  Good luck! Why not play at home and see who is the quickest to get the answer?

This has been an exceptionally busy week for Team Drama with a number of exciting opportunities.

National Youth Theatre (NYT)

On Monday, we were proud to welcome NYT back to Sandringham for another year of auditions. The National Youth theatre are a prestigious company who focus on enabling students to participate in professional productions around the UK. For successful students, they will be enroled onto the summer course, where they will have an unparalleled experience of working in the industry. Students participated in a workshop and then completed a one-to-one monologue audition with the NYT associate. They were incredibly pleased with the standard of work and were impressed by how many students put themselves forward.

Industry Talk

A number of students attended an industry talk with Mrs Hardacre where they learnt about different pathways into Drama schools and universities. Drama Alumni students from East 15, Guildford School of Acting, LAMDA, LIPA and Rose Bruford all gave up their time to submit a video with their top tips on progressing to Drama schools. It's lovely to hear from these students and to share how well they are doing after their time at Sandringham.

Paperbirds and Splendid Theatre Workshops

On Wednesday, we invited two fantastic theatre companies to work with GCSE and A Level Drama students who have recently begun their devising process. It was brilliant to see how maturely students worked together when learning new techniques. We can't wait to see how these new skills will be implemented in their exam pieces. Well done to all involved!

Matilda in a day!

To finish off a bumper week of activities in Drama (and the Arts), we saw the whole of Year 8 come together to produce and perform Matilda the Musical... all in one day! Team Drama were sensational and worked so hard to create a polished and engaging performance. We were stunned by how quickly the show came together and really enjoyed spending the day with all arts disciplines. Thank you for your focus, courage and bravery in performing! We hope you enjoyed the day as much as we did.

On Thursday Year 11 attended their You're Hired! ELD.  Every student experienced an interview with a local business professional.  In addition, they attended presentations about Elstree Screen Arts Academy, West Herts College, Computercenter on apprenticeships, Herts Services on interview skills, and they had the chance to try out their practical skills with Oaklands College representatives.  The students were also able to meet Sandringham's Sixth Form team to find out more about life in the Sixth Form.  The students made us proud with their interview skills and enthusiasm for the day. A huge thanks to all of the volunteers who came in to help, including many Sandringham parents, as well as the Herts Services and College staff.  We could not have run this event without you!

Thank you to Harpenden Town FC for their donation of FOUR TICKETS to a home game.

They are a popular local football club for men’s, women’s and U18’s. Founded in 1891, they play their football in the Spartan South Midlands Premier Division. Step 5 of the non-league pyramid. They are a very family orientated club with very close links to Harpenden Colts.

Find out more about the club here.

Emotionally Based School Anxiety Drop-In Sessions.

DSPL7 and Services for Young People, in partnership with The Pioneer Club, are offering free drop-in support sessions (booking required) designed for parents/carers and young people in Years 7-11 facing challenges with school attendance related to Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA). Please do come along to The Community Café, Suets Yard at The Pioneer Club, Heathlands Drive, St Alban, AL3 5AY, between 9:30-11:30am. Sessions are taking place on the following dates: 22nd January, 11th March, 14th May, and 19th June. Further information, including contact details can be found in the flyer.

Thank you to the Signing Company for their donation of THREE free signing classes.

The Signing Company was born out of desire to make this skill accessible to all, from babies to 101. They believe that even with the most basic signing knowledge, everyone has the opportunity to communicate more effectively in everyday life.

The learning of British Sign Language (BSL) always takes place in a fun and stimulating environment.

Find out more about the great work they do here.

Are you passionate about teaching? Do you want to make a change in your career? Sandringham School are currently seeking passionate individuals interested in English, Maths, Science, Computer Science and Business/Economics to join their Secondary Train to Teach program. Since 2004, Alban TSH has been offering high-quality Initial Teacher Training (ITT) in collaboration with local schools. This partnership ensures exceptional placements and ongoing support for trainees.

What do we offer our trainees?
🔹 Flexible Routes: Tuition fee paying, postgraduate teacher apprenticeship (PGTA), and salaried training options
🔹 Funding: Scholarships and bursaries worth up to £28,000 (tax-free)
🔹 Training Options: Full-time and part-time pathways to suit your schedule
🔹 School Placements: A variety of placements in our partner schools across Hertfordshire
🔹 Immersive Training: School-based training with one day a week protected for reflection and learning
🔹 Expert Support: Continuous support from the ITT team and school-based mentors
🔹 Research-Informed: Training based on evidence-based practices
🔹 Nationwide Network: Be part of a cohort of like-minded individuals from across the UK

If you or someone you know is interested in pursuing a rewarding career in education, please contact us at teaching@albantsh.co.uk for more details or apply via the QR code on the leaflet. 

National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) 2025 is taking place from 10th February and is the UK’s biggest event in the Department of Education apprenticeships and skills calendar. The theme this year is ‘Skills for Life’.

We are celebrating the value, benefit and opportunity that apprenticeships bring and have picked out a few virtual events you can access each day, which can be found in the careers section of the school website. Aimed at Years 10, 11 & 12, the week sees a mix of talks, events, and advice from key figures and a range of employers to help you see how apprenticeships can help develop skills and knowledge required for a rewarding career. You can keep up to date by following Apprenticeships on X and Apprenticeships on LinkedIn, and for more information click here.

SANDRINGHAM IS IN THE TOP 200 SPORTS SCHOOLS IN THE COUNTRY!

Once again Sandringham has made the School Sports List 2025 and we could not be prouder of this brilliant achievement.

The School Sport Magazine's Top 200 Sports Schools list changes every year, with new rules for qualifying. Schools get ranked not just for excelling in one sport, but for doing well across lots of different sports. The top 40 schools are in the top 1% nationwide, the top 100 are in the top 2%, and the top 200 are in the top 4%. To make the list, schools usually need to get quite far in several national competitions across different sports. There are up to 20 sports and more than 120 competitions included.

Thank you to all of the students and parents that continue to take the opportunities on offer, and our amazing PE staff for creating these and making sure you are involved in such positive sporting experiences. 

After the first successful Open Morning Tour for Sixth Form, we are looking forward to welcome prospective Sixth Form students to our final Open Evening Tour next week. If you would like to view any more of the information, you can do so here. Important dates to note are as follows:

28th January 2025: 9am – 10.30am: Open morning tours.

7th February 2025:  Deadline for Sixth Form applications.

25th & 26th June 2025: Compulsory Sixth Form Induction.

Thank you to Ben at BW Boots UK for his donation of a £50 voucher to spend on football boots.

They specialise in the rarest and most classic football boots on the planet. At BW Boots UK you’re given the opportunity to get your hands on both new and used boots that you never thought you’d see again, at affordable prices. They are highly respected amongst players from grass roots, right up to the professional game all around the world.

Find out more on all they have available here.

At the stroke of midnight on the dawn of December, five-year-old Finn Albedo is found frozen on a pedestal of ice. His heart is beating, he is smiling, but no one can wake him. Finn’s big sister, Bianca, suspects that the tall mysterious stranger who first discovered Finn knows more than they will admit? Bianca's quest to discover the truth and rescue her little brother hurls her into a fantastical winter wonderland, full of beauty, danger and irresistible spirit animals, where all is not as it seems.

Kyra J has recently read the book and feels that “Everyone should read this winter story. It has elements of mythology, mystery and glitter!”

·  French: courant

·  German: weit verbreitet

·  Spanish: extendido/a

THINKING QUESTION:

All three languages have very different translations this week. Why do languages have such differences, when sometimes they can be so similar?

R is for… rife [adjective]

Definition: (especially of something undesirable) of common occurrence; widespread.

Example: Male chauvinism was rife in the entertainment industry.

Synonyms: Alive, Plentiful, Abundant

Antonyms: Limited, Uncommon, scarce

Etymology: Derived from the late Old English rȳfe, probably from Old Norse rīfr meaning ‘acceptable’.

Congratulations to our U14PS who beat Stephen Pearse School in their SNS round. Amazing effort from everyone.

Also a great game for our U14B team against SJL this week. Some lovely passages of play down the court and great improvement as the match went on. POM - Lucy B & Amelia C.

A great Yr 7 game v's St. CC this afternoon with the hosts edging ahead in each quarter, resulting in a 68-48 loss. Pleasing to see more debutants on the court and more ball movement in offence. Krzysztof  W picks up MVP. Onwards and upwards for this team!

Yr 10 Football. Sandringham exit the NC having made it to the last 32. A valiant effort away against Rutlish School, with the boys in red deserving of more. A 3-2 loss with goals from Will A & Nathan P. The game could have gone either way, but focus now turns to the District Cup ahead where we can make a impact. A goal highlight for anyone that didn't see it on X.

Given our place in the Top 200 Sports Schools in the country this year, it's no surprise it's another hectic week ahead for the sports teams. Wishing you all the best of luck.

Sandringham School Dance Department formally invites you to attend ‘Velocity 2025: The Oscars’. As you walk down the red carpet, you will be taken on a journey through time to the beginning of Hollywood film industry and the first Academy Awards to end with our version of Oscars 2025. Book your tickets here, but hurry as there are only a few left.

Award winning production company, Limitless Productions, are back in St Albans and this time they've got backup!

Welcome to the wild streets of 1920s New York, where gangsters run the show in Bugsy Malone! Join the charming Bugsy as he dives head-first into a thrilling turf war between rival gangs - Dandy Dan’s slick crew and Fat Sam’s lovable misfits. With whipped cream pies flying and laughter echoing, Bugsy navigates chaos while trying to win the heart of the dazzling showgirl Blousey Brown.

As the stakes rise and friendships are tested, Bugsy must step up to save his pals and outsmart the competition. Bursting with catchy tunes and high-energy dance numbers. From the team behind 'Little Shop of Horrors', 'Grease' and 'The Addams Family', this musical is a rollicking adventure not to be missed!

Tickets are on sale here and cost from £17.00