This week's Student Spotlight is on Lauren P in Year 9, who has been nominated by Mrs Bradley for being "a bit of a superstar and genuinely lovely!" During lockdown, Lauren helped to raise money for Wood Green Animal Shelter and also took part in several open water competitions. Here she is, preparing for her charity event for the Isabel Hospice later in May where she will swim in 9 degrees water! 

She is also a county swimmer in the regional team for Harrow and does Athletics, Tennis, Rounders  and Hockey after school as well as Music Tech. We think that Lauren is a fantastic example of a someone who goes above and beyond in the classroom, on the sports field and in the community and we are really proud of her. 

If you would like your son/daughter to be featured in the Student Spotlight next week, please email details to Melissa.holian@sandringham.herts.sch.uk

Dance Clubs are back and you can now sign up via SOCS . They are for all year groups and are held every week. Please sign up and come along!

Year 7 Dance: Monday 3.10-4.15 (Gym)
Year 8 Dance: Monday 3.10-4.15 (DC1)
Year 9 Dance: Wednesday 12.20-12.55 (DC1)
Year 10 Dance: Thursday 3.10-4.15 (DC1)
Year 12 Dance: Wednesday 3.10-4.15 (DC1) and Thursday 3.10-4.15 (DC2)

UAL Future Creatives are running some more fantastic art classes for teens and younger children. Courses last 1-6 weeks and are a mixture of after school, Saturdays and during the school holidays. Please see the picture above for more details or go to https://www.arts.ac.uk/study-at-ual/short-courses/future-creatives 

On Tuesday 27th April, Martijn van der Spoel came in to talk to the students about the most effective revision methods they can use to prepare for exams. As always, it was an informative day and gave students a chance to reflect on what they need to take forward into their GCSEs in 2022. 

In addition, there was a virtual parents’ information evening on the same day highlighting the strategies shared the students and key information about upcoming dates. We hope that parents and students found the sessions useful. 

Every week the Mathematics Faculty publish a puzzle for you to try.  For every entry you will receive 1 housepoint, if you answer correctly you will win 2 housepoints and if you are the fastest person to answer the puzzle correctly then you will win 5 housepoints!  To enter, simply scan the QR code and fill out the google form.  Good luck!

Written by Jenny Wick on behalf of Fo$S

Thank you to all who came along and donated to the uniform sale on Saturday which helped to raise an amazing £1118! All the proceeds go to Fo$S and supporting your children so thank you very much.

We are always on the lookout for new Fo$S members so please keep an eye out on the Sandprint for details of the next meeting or message us when announcements are made of events, if you can offer to help. Thank you again.

Student Success:

Congratulations to Bella P in Year 11 who passed her Grade 5 singing exam with a merit!

Arts Award:

Ms Beaton will be running two support sessions on Thursday 6th May – one at lunchtime and one after school, to support any students that have not completed their bronze/silver portfolios and wish to be entered for the award this term. There are a large number of Year 9 students who started the bronze award during Year 8 and then due to school closures and many arts activities pausing have been unable to finish their portfolios yet. In most cases it will only require a small amount of work to finish these off and we can support students to do this during these catch-up sessions. If you wish your son/daughter to be entered, their completed portfolios MUST be submitted to me by Thursday 13th May in order for moderation to take place by the end of this term. Please encourage them to attend one of the catch up sessions with their portfolios.

Sadly there is a growing trend of young people being contacted online by adults who try to manipulate or groom and sexually exploit them. Gurls Out Loud is a campaign from the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) aims to empower young people to block, report and tell someone if they are asked by an adult for sexually explicit images.

This new platform has been designed in a way which is simple, intuitive and “speaks to” young people - https://gurlsoutloud.com/.

If you have any questions regarding the intervention classes that your child has been signed up for, please contact intervention@sandringham.herts.sch.uk with the details and someone will get back to you as soon as possible. 

Many thanks to those who have already been bringing in items for the the FEED collection. We really appreciate your efforts so please continue to bring them to your form room.

As a reminder of the details...We are working with FEED again this month to organise a collection of non-perishable food items for those struggling to meet their needs in the St Albans area. This year has certainly been challenging and we would love to get as many donations as possible. Donations of packets, tins, toiletries are all welcome but nothing perishable please. This is a house competition - so please do the best you can, and lets hope we can beat our School record of 2068 items.  

More important than beating records however, is a chance to make a difference to the lives of people from St Albans. You can find out more information here 

Hay Festival has announced its free Programme for Schools, 24th - 28th May 2021. Five sessions will be broadcast daily and parents, teachers and young people can register. 

https://www.readingzone.com/news/hay-festival-free-programme-for-schools-and-homes/

Keep Reading!

A polite notice to parents:

As part of our sustainability efforts, we are encouraging students to walk or cycle to school where possible. Not only is this a chance to encourage more physical exercise and reduce impact on the environment, but it also minimises traffic around the area. If you do need to drive your children to school, please could you ensure that you adhere to the parking restrictions on local roads such as Skyswood Road and The Ridgeway and are mindful of residents who live nearby (being careful to not park over drives.) Thank you very much for your co-operation. 

E1 in the Science Block is named after Frederick Sanger, who was the first person to obtain a protein sequence, and thus pave the way for DNA sequencing leading him to be described as the 'the father of genomics.'

Born in Rendcomb, Sanger was taught by a governess before attending a Quaker boarding school and then going on to Cambridge University to study Science. After studying the make up of proteins for over 10 years, he discovered the polypeptide chains of bovine insulin, A and B which proved that proteins have a defined chemical composition. This discovery was crucial to the subsequent research of DNA by Watson and Crick and led to him being awarded his first Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1958.

In 1977, his team introduced a faster and less laborious "dideoxy" chain-termination method for sequencing DNA molecules. This major breakthrough in DNA research earned him his 2nd Nobel Prize in 1980 and the method was used to sequence the entire human genome in this century.

On 4 October 1993 Sanger opened the Wellcome Trust Genome Campus which employs over 900 people and is the largest genomic research center in the world. He declined the offer of a knighthood as he did not wish to be addressed as "Sir" but later accepted the award of an Order of Merit.

Sanger died on 19 November 2013 aged 95 leaving behind him a legacy of pioneering work on the biological building blocks of life which made him one of the most important scientists of the 20th century. Ever modest to the end, in his obituary he described himself as "just a chap who messed about in a lab" and "academically not brilliant".

A gothic classic, written by Mary Shelley in 1818, ‘Frankenstein’ tells the story of gifted scientist Victor Frankenstein who succeeds in giving life to a being of his own creation. However, this is not the perfect specimen he imagines that it will be, but rather a hideous creature who is rejected by Victor and mankind in general. The Monster seeks its revenge through murder and terror. On the ‘Sandringham Reads’ list for Years 9 and above, ‘Frankenstein’ is a thrilling exploration of what it means to be human, the conflict between good and evil, nature and nurture. Read more about the novel here.

FRENCH: Le mot de la semaine : la malveillance

GERMAN: Die Wort der Woche : die Boshaftigkeit

SPANISH: La palabra de la semana : la malevolencia

Thinking questions :

• All three translations this week are feminine nouns – why do some languages have masculine and feminine nouns, or even neuter in German, whilst others don’t?
• What is the impact of having nouns with different genders? Does this affect the cultures that speak these languages? Does it affect the knowledge shared via these languages?

Today’s league table sees Johnson remain at the top, however it is still tight in behind them with Austen, the Shakespeare and Newton hot on their tails. We look forward to updating next week with results of the House Quiz and an update on House Points.

From Monday the canteen are introducing a new sandwich deal which offers students a sandwich or panini, with a Viva milkshake for £2.50.

This is an additional offer to the existing meal deal (which will continue to be available.) The meal deal offers the hot main meal and a set dessert for £2.45.

More information on the menu can be found here: https://sandringham.herts.sch.uk/catering/

Year 7 put their French and role-play skills to excellent use this week, creating their own ice cream parlours.  Pupils wrote dialogues, gathered props, dressed up and produced some lovely scenes in which they ‘bought’ different flavoured ice cream, sorbets and crêpes, along with all the toppings.  If only they had been real!  Bravo 7A, Mrs Sweeney says "Je suis vraiment fière de vous!" 

Year 10 Bronze

Preparation has begun in earnest for the first Bronze expedition which will take place on Saturday 15th-Sunday 16th May. Face to face training started the week and in addition, students are completing 5 online modules.

Year 11 Bronze and Silver

All Year 11 participants who have yet to complete their Award have been emailed this week with advice on what they need to do to achieve their Bronze. We are hoping that once the internal assessments are over, participants will take the opportunity to complete outstanding activities.

Mrs Cuneen also shared information with participants about moving on to Silver on their Bronze Google classroom. They need to register their interest by Wednesday 5th May via a google form which has been shared with them. They will then be enrolled and can start working towards their Silver activities. We are hoping to run a Silver Practice expedition Friday 18th-Sunday 20th June 2021 with the Qualifying expedition taking early in the Autumn term.

Year 12 Silver

All Year 12 participants who have yet to complete their Award have been emailed this week with advice on what they need to do to achieve their Silver.  Those who have moved onto Gold will be completing their expedition section by combining their Silver Qualifying with their Gold Practice expedition taking place in May. For the remaining year 12 Silver participants, we are planning to run an expedition from Saturday 10th-Monday 12th July 2021- further information to follow later this term. They have been emailed and asked to complete a form registering their interest in completing their Silver expedition section.

Year 9 Bronze enrolment

We are planning to launch the Award with year 9 next month. The information evening will be delivered virtually and Mrs Cuneen will be delivering an assembly to the year group. Details on how to enrol will be emailed out following these presentations.

Any questions, please email dofe@sandringham.herts.sch.uk

For this week’s whole school theme, we looked at what it means to be a World Class Student. Ms Baikie delivered a fantastic presentation, calling on Ms Finlay’s previous ideas of redefining World Class so that it becomes less about being the best or the smartest and more about encouraging qualities of creativity, growth, perspective, learning and sustainability. Students were asked to reflect on their own strengths as well as the things they need to improve on and think about how they will get there. The team would still like your videos on why you think you are a World Class Student so please continue to send them to worldclass@mysandstorm.org. Videos should be around 30 seconds, and be filmed wearing your school uniform and finishing the sentence “I am a World Class Student because...and I will be….” Many thanks to Jamie L, Melanie B, Kristian H, Jessica R and even Mr Gray for their entries so far. We look forward to receiving more of them by next week and to sharing more articles and news with you on the upcoming Symposium on 1st July.

Last week over 120 students in Years 7 and 8 took part in the Junior Mathematical Challenge run by the UK Mathematics Trust.  The aim of the UK Mathematics Trust is to advance the education of young people in mathematics. The Junior Mathematical Challenge is a 60-minute, multiple-choice competition aimed at students across the UK. It is open to all students in Years 8 and below.  This is a fantastic opportunity which offers students the chance to develop their mathematical problem-solving skills. It encourages mathematical reasoning, precision of thought, and fluency in using basic mathematical techniques to solve interesting problems.  The problems on the Junior Challenge are designed to make students think. Most are accessible, yet still challenge those with more experience. The highest-scoring students are invited to take part in follow-on rounds. Best of luck to all those that took part!

We have been contacted by Mrs Solanski (a mum at the school and owner of the Quadrant Pharmacy) to be advised that the Quadrant Pharmacy is now able to supply free NHS lateral flow testing kits for any member of the public that wish to use them.  Government guidelines suggest that all households with school age children should be testing twice a week alongside the children, so if you would like to collect some free lateral flow tests, you can do so from the Quadrant Pharmacy, or most other pharmacies in the area. This saves time if it is more local for you than Westminster Lodge and money if you have been requesting kits to be posted to you. 

Sustainability Plan

As you are aware, we have been working on sustainability at the school for some years, but we have taken some significant steps forward recently and have put together a plan to incorporate multiple aspects of what it means to be a sustainable school. The plan is displayed in the document attached.

The overarching aim is to aim for carbon zero by 2030, inline with a national campaign for schools; ‘Lets Go Zero’, which we have just signed up for. We will be working towards each of the strands identified on our plan to put in place tangible actions. For example, we have already made a great start on ‘Biodiversity’ with the tree planting this year, with Year 8 about to plant 420 more in May!

In coming months and into the next academic year, we will highlight more work which we are undertaking in each of the areas and we will measure our progress against these going forward. Parents, carers and others in our local community are a key part of these actions and we would love your support!

Air pollution survey

Air pollution around schools is a very concerning issue which is affecting the health of children and young people. We have been approached by the University of West of England to take part in a quick survey about the issue to contribute to possible solutions to the problem and we would be grateful if you could take 5 minutes to complete it. Both students and parents can complete it individually. This link is here

A few Year 12 students at Sandringham, who are passionate about the game of Chess, have started up their own club! Fortunately, there have been many members so far, but this means there are not enough boards for everyone to play on. In the near future, the students have the aspiration to open up the club to younger years however, this will not be possible without acquiring more boards. Please, if you have any spare boards laying around or sets that you have never got round to using, the students at Chess club would be ecstatic for board and pieces donations! If you're feeling generous then please drop them off to reception or your young person can donate them to Miss Clark's office. Thank you! 

Congratulations to Mrs Beaton, Director of Learning for Music, who has been shortlisted for Teacher of the Year in a Secondary School. The awards team will virtually visit Sandringham on May 12th to meet Emma and some of her colleagues and students. The competition had an incredible number of entries this year so this is an impressive achievement to be awarded as a finalist.  Emma is such a passionate teacher who goes above and beyond for her students and as such, thoroughly deserves to be shortlisted. We wish her all the luck for May 12th. 

Students should continue to use a lateral flow test twice a week (Sundays & Wednesdays.) These tests are to be used for people who aren’t displaying any symptoms of COVID-19, but who may still be spreading the virus. Students should complete the two stages of result confirmation as outlined below:

–         Report results to the NHS via this website HERE

–         Let the school know via this google form: HERE

A reminder that if your child does receive a positive result they, and anyone who lives with them, should self-isolate immediately and they should get a PCR test to confirm the result. They should continue to self-isolate until they get the result of the PCR test and then follow the advice given when they get the result.  Full guidance can be found here.

If a student is unwell and showing COVID symptoms listed HERE  Fever (37.8 or higher), Fatigue, Cough or Loss of Smell then they must have a PCR test booked via the NHS, HERE .

Year 9 Kneehigh Performances

This term Year 9 have been exploring Modern Theatre through its many guises. One particular theatre company of interest is Kneehigh, who create impressive pieces of theatre that focus heavily on storytelling. They are famed for their inventive use of live music, puppetry, dance, physical theatre and ensemble casts (to name but a few!). Our wonderful Year 9 students have been set the task of re-creating an iconic moment from a film of their choice in order to make a Kneehigh inspired performance. We can't wait to see what they produce for their assessment pieces in the coming weeks. Good luck to all!

M is for… malevolence [noun]

Definition: The state or condition of being malevolent; hostility.

Example: His eyes were glowing with malevolence.

Synonyms: Malicious, Sinister, Vicious

Antonyms: Benevolent, Friendly, Kind

Etymology: From the Latin word ‘malevolentia’ meaning ill-will, dislike or hatred.

In this article by Tilly Risby, she looks at how we can promote World Class values outside of the classroom. She looks at the effects of the pandemic with startling statistics from the University of Sheffield such as a threefold increase in feelings of depression and anxiety problems since March 2020. The lack of travel has meant that world class traits such as communication, confidence and creativity have been stilted and looks at ways in which we can rebuild those skills again. Now that some lockdown restrictions have been eased, she discusses how we can overcome these changes as a society, readapting to the prospects of ‘normal life’. "Courage and discipline: ‘world class’ qualities," she writes, are "becoming more prominent amongst all of society and will help everyone to grow and move forward from the hardship of the last year." 

You can read the full article here, and browse the rest of the website for other interesting articles and events coming up.

It has been another busy week of sports clubs with over 100 students turning out for cricket practice last week and the Performance Netball Squad getting in some early morning training sessions. Don't forget you can sign your child up via SOCS. It is great to see students enjoying physical exercise together again.

Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake comes to cinemas with a fresh look for the 21st century and is as bold and beautiful as ever. This thrilling, audacious and witty production is perhaps still best known for replacing the female corps-de-ballet with a menacing male ensemble, which shattered convention, turned tradition upside down and took the dance world by storm. Tickets £13.50/£10

Hailed as a masterpiece of 21st century dance, Akram Khan’s Giselle comes to cinemas for the first time, giving ballet fans the opportunity to see this award-winning production on the big screen.  One of the greatest romantic ballets, Giselle has been re-imagined by celebrated choreographer Akram Khan and English National Ballet. Tickets £13.50/£10

Matthew Bourne’s Romeo and Juliet is a passionate and contemporary re-imagining of Shakespeare’s classic story of love and conflict is set in the not-too-distant future in the ‘Verona Institute’. Here ‘difficult’ young people are mysteriously confined by a society that seeks to divide and crush their youthful spirit. Our two young lovers must follow their hearts as they risk everything to be together. Tickets £13.50/£10

Hot of the press! We are pleased to announce two new screenings of Funny Girl The Musical and Riverdance 25th Anniversary Show along with our previously announced screenings. We look forward to welcoming you back through our doors very soon and remember we are a socially distant venue so seats will disappear very quickly so don’t miss out and get your tickets now!

Following Government guidelines, you must wear a face covering while attending The SandPit Theatre unless you are exempt as stated in these guidelines. If you do not wear a mask you will be refused entry and your ticket will be forfeited. Our café will be open during these screenings for drinks and snacks but please note we will only be accepting card payments. Alcohol is available for sale 30 minutes before the shows begin.

The box office is open from 11.30am – 3.30pm Monday to Friday. Alternatively, you can call us on 01727 799565 or visit www.sandpittheatre.co.uk

Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers are among his most famous works and are some of the most iconic paintings in the world. In an extraordinary exhibition, the Van Gogh Museum took a new revealing look at the five publicly owned versions of sunflowers in a vase. And once again, the Van Gogh Museum opened its doors exclusively to Exhibition on Screen. Tickets £7/5

The new 25th Anniversary show catapults Riverdance into the 21st century and will completely immerse you in the extraordinary and elemental power of its music and dance. 25 years ago, 7 minutes changed the face of Irish dancing forever. The Eurovision interval act performance gave millions of people a new and exciting glimpse of the future of Irish dance. Now 25 years later, composer Bill Whelan has re-recorded his mesmerising soundtrack while producer Moya Doherty and director John McColgan have completely reimagined the ground-breaking show with innovative and spectacular lighting, projection, stage and costume designs. This powerful and stirring reinvention of the beloved family favourite is celebrated the world over for its Grammy Award-winning music and the thrilling energy of its Irish and international dance. Filmed live at the 3Arena Dublin, the exact spot where it all began, the 25th Anniversary Gala Performance will bring Riverdance to the big screen for the very first time! Tickets £13.50/£10

Following its record-breaking, sell-out run in London’s West End and national tour, the critically-acclaimed musical Funny Girl comes to a cinema near you, featuring Sheridan Smith in “an unforgettable star turn” (The Times). Funny Girl is semi-biographical, based on the life and career of Broadway star, film actress and comedienne Fanny Brice (a role made famous by Barbara Streisand on Broadway and in the 1968 film adaptation),  and her stormy relationship with entrepreneur and gambler Nick Arnstein.

Praised by critics as having “irresistible charm, wit and warmth” (Metro), and hailing Sheridan Smith as “the greatest star by far” (The Daily Telegraph), Funny Girl features a host of iconic and timeless musical numbers including “People,” “I’m the Greatest Star,” and “Don’t Rain On My Parade.” Tickets £13.50/£10