Today’s league table sees Johnson remain at the top, however it is still tight behind with the competition remaining wide open as we draw closer to Half Term. It is worth noting that Shakespeare have climbed from 8th Spot at Christmas to 3rd this week! Well done to Miss Fryer and Shakespeare. 

FRENCH: Le mot de la semaine : ignorer/ ne pas coopérer

GERMAN: Die Wort der Woche : abblocken/ abwehren

SPANISH: La palabra de la semana : obstaculizar/ estorbar

Thinking questions :

1. Sometimes when seeing new vocabulary there are similarities between English and the foreign language – how can this help you in your language learning? These words are called cognates.
2. Some languages have a lot more words than other languages. How does this happen? What might it mean about people’s perception of the world if they speak one of the languages with very few words? Or a lot of words?

A4 in the Humanities block is named after Christina Rossetti, one of the most vital English female writers of the 19th century who is famous for her  poems exploring unattained love, death, spirituality and gender issues.

Born in England on 5th December 1830, Rossetti was the youngest of a family of extraordinarily gifted people including: her poet father Gabriele, older brother William (who became the founding member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood art movement) other brother Dante Gabriel (who became a famous artist) and sister Maria (an author of a respected study of Dante.)

Rossetti showed a flair for writing from an early age, with her grandfather (who owned a private press) printing her first collection of poems entitled Verses aged just 12. A few years later however, she suffered a nervous breakdown and this was reflected in many of her poems such as 'Remember Me' which featured themes of sadness, death, and loss.  Around 1847, she began experimenting with styles writing sonnets, ballads and hymns and by the age of 32, Rossetti published her first full collection of work entitled 'Goblin Market and Other Poems'. This work established her name as a prominent Victorian poet. Her poems were inspired by her real-life volunteer experience at St. Mary Magdalene Penitentiary and she often explored issues of repressed sexuality and sisterhood through a combination of fantasy and moral allegory.

Rossetti was quite outspoken for a woman of her time, criticising issues such as slavery in America, animal cruelty and the exploitation of girls. On December 29, 1894, Rossetti died after suffering a recurrence of Graves’ disease and a new diagnosis of breast cancer. After her death, her poem In the Bleak Midwinter became known after Gustav Holst adapted it into a Christmas carol. The Victorian period witnessed huge changes in thinking about women’s roles in society and through her poetry, Rossetti explored this, making her one of the most important female writers of her time.

Virtual Work Experience

There are a lot of opportunities for virtual work experience during the upcoming half term and beyond. The following websites hosts a number of placements in different industries for students aged 14-19. Placements are free, but students will need to apply for each one.

Speakers for Schools: Further information and registration can be found here: https://www.speakersforschools.org/experience-2/young-people/

SpringPod: Further information and registration can be found here: https://www.springpod.co.uk/virtual-work-experience/

NHS: For students interested in a career in health care and medicine:https://nhstalentacademy.org.uk/work-experience/

https://academy.healthierfuture.org.uk/work-experience-and-volunteering

Over the last two weeks, all Year 8 students have planted trees to complete our planting project on site. We now have a total of 840 trees planted! Well done to all of the Year 7 and 8 students who have taken part, and also to the Year 12 and 13 students who have supported us each day and the Year 10 and 12 Prefects who are currently watering the trees to ensure that they can thrive in the summer months. We hope that this planting will offset some of our carbon emissions and increase biodiversity and habitats on the site.

We are hoping some of our KS3 students will enter this year’s Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition. This is the world’s oldest international writing competition for schools, established in 1883 and with thousands of young people taking part every year, it is an important way to recognise achievement, elevate youth voices and develop key skills through creative writing.

This year the theme is COMMUNITY AND THE COMMONWEALTH. With the global spread of COVID-19, we've seen the lives of many Commonwealth citizens affected. However, through adversity, societies came together and stories of growth, community and hope continue to emerge.

The deadline for entries is 30th June 2020 and the essay titles are as follows:

1. The year is 2050 and you’ve been asked to write about the coronavirus pandemic for a museum. What story would you tell?
2. Tell a story of how you, or someone you know, helped others during the pandemic.
3. ‘We will be with our friends again. We will be with our families again. We will meet again’ – HM Queen Elizabeth II After the pandemic, you are seeing a friend for the first time. What new hobbies would you share with them?
4. What did you miss most during the pandemic?

One Winner and Runner-up will be chosen from each category. Winners and Runners-up will be brought to London for a week of educational and cultural events, culminating in a special Awards Ceremony. A number of Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards will be given in both the Senior and Junior categories, rewarding excellence in writing. All entrants will receive a Certificate of Participation.

If you are interested, please speak to your English teacher.

The Bronze Award was launched to our Year 9 students on Wednesday 19th May via a virtual presentation and assembly. You can view it here or via the Year 9 Google classroom. The enrolment fee is on ParentPay and the enrolments will be processed over the next couple of weeks. We hope you find the information useful and reading about the recent expedition in the other article here inspires other students to join this worthwhile experience

Reading can often give students empathy for the characters, which turns into empathy for people around them. There are many books in the LRC which can help you to do this, for example the book 'The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh' by Helen Rutter, which focuses on a boy with a stutter. Though the stutter may be obvious to everyone, the emotions caused by this may go unnoticed so through this book readers are invited to consider how the boy is feeling. Another book which invites us to consider how we treat others is 'Wonder' by RJ Palacio. This was our first Whole School Read and has been very popular since. It is about a boy with a facial disfigurement and how he copes when he first goes to school and endures bullying. Again, readers are drawn into thinking about how the boy may feel and how our words can impact others greatly.

These books and others which focus on 'Hidden Voices' can be found by going to MySandSTORM > Accessit Learning Resource Centre and searching for “Shelf Help” in the Quick Lists or a general search for specific situations. They are enjoyable texts to read and can also be used as a springboard for thoughts and discussions on how we can have more empathy for others. We believe that this quality is so important and encourage all of our students to think about how they can be World Class citizens by considering their actions and the impact that they have on the wider community around them.

Last week saw 130 members of Year 10 embark on their first Bronze expedition. They were divided into two cohorts and completed the venture in small groups of between 4-6 and due to COVID restrictions, the walking was done over two days. Saturday started early with the Blue cohort arriving at staggered intervals at Redbourn common and setting off to walk back to schools on routes which passed Redbournbury Mill and after crossing the Harpenden road looped around Heartwood into Sandridge and then back to school. Once there, the participants used the camping stoves to prepare a hot meal and then learnt the important art of washing up and cleaning the pans until they shone. Meanwhile the Green cohort had an equally early start from either school or the Jersey Farm shops , leaving at staggered intervals to walk mostly north via Wheathampstead, Water End and Ayot St Lawrence to end up in Gustard Wood

On Sunday the cohorts swapped locations and did it all over again. We were extremely lucky with the weather as it didn’t do what it was forecast to do and after a soggy start on Saturday, the days were mostly dry with the odd shower. I personally was quite relieved that we weren’t in tents on Saturday night to experience the torrential downpours and the thunderstorm. Conditions underfoot were less favourable and I expect there was a lot of mud on boots which came home with the participants.

The Bronze practice is always a huge learning experience and it was clear that this was the case on this occasion too. Navigation theory is an integral part of our training but you only really learn to map read when you can apply what you see on the map to your surroundings. It became apparent over the course of the two days that some groups did this better than others. Those who initially didn’t use their primary tools of navigation( the map and their eyes) found themselves, at times, “temporarily misplaced” -the groups never get lost on DofE because they always end up where they should be , even if it takes them a bit longer. However the navigation skills improved over the course of the two days, helped along by the practical training provided by staff as each group was supported by a member of staff for a section of their route.

As always the students were a credit to the school, with lots of members of the public commenting to staff about how great it was to see young people out and about and how friendly they were. I would like to take this opportunity to say well done to our students and a MASSIVE THANK YOU to the 20 members of teaching and support staff who gave up their personal time at the weekend to make this expedition happen. As well as supporting the students in practical ways, they also took lots of photos, all of which I have uploaded to the Bronze Google classroom so the students care show them to parents/carers.

We are hoping to run the Bronze Qualifying as a full expedition with overnight camp on 18/19th July. Further details will be sent out next half term.

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!

Barracudas Activity Day Camps, the UK’s favourite school holiday provider for children aged 4½ to 14 years will once again be open at Sandringham School this summer. They are looking forward to a summer of fun with 80+ exciting activities including fencing, archery, swimming, football, arts and crafts, dance and much more! Ofsted registered and high staff to child ratios, plus parents of Sandringham School receive an extra £10 off per week if they quote code HSCH20 at the time of booking.

Open summer 26th July – 27th August.

Book now at www.barracudas.co.uk or call 01480 467 567.

This week we focus on Lulu H in Year 7 for her amazing charity efforts. For the recent FEED collection, Lulu brought in a fantastic 47 items and when I spoke to her recently she said "Covid has had such a massive impact on the world and like in so many other areas, people going hungry has also increased so I wanted to help out." Lulu is also passionate about animals and donates regularly to the RSPCA and has contacted them to be a volunteer. "It is important to focus on these charities" she said "as they may not be issues that you think about every day, but by donating you are helping them to change the much bigger issues around the world." Lulu is currently enjoying being back in the ice rink and competes as a figure skater, but would also like to work for the RSPCA when she is older. 

Thanks again to Lulu for her wonderful FEED contribution which will help those who are struggling. It is lovely to see many of our students being aware of the needs of their wider community and trying to make it difference. If you would like your son/daughter to be featured in the student spotlight, please contact Melissa.holian@sandringham.herts.sch.uk

A huge thank you for your donations for the Non Uniform Day last Friday. You have helped to raise £2103 to help buy urgent equipment in India to help with the Covid-19 crisis. Whilst the United Kingdom is experiencing an easing of restrictions and the return to some forms of normality this week, this is not the case for other parts of the world and we really appreciate you contributing towards helping those in a more difficult situation. Thank you for your continued support.

We would like to remind everyone about the importance of regularly testing for COVID using the Lateral Flow tests provided to all students, testing should ideally be done every Sunday and Wednesday.  It is important to highlight these tests are for people with NO symptoms, and cannot replace a PCR test.  If a student has a positive result from a lateral flow test you should inform the school via the absence@sandringham.herts.sch.uk email address and take the child for a PCR test as soon as possible. 

When to Book a PCR Test

If a student is showing symptoms such as:

• a high temperature, a new, continuous cough, or a loss or change to their sense of smell or taste

They must get a PCR test as soon as possible, you can book via https://www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test   Please do not use a Lateral Flow Test as a replacement for a PCR test if someone is displaying any COVID symptoms.  

Please let the school know when the result of this test is received by using the email address above, title your email  COVID Notification. When emailing us to report a PCR positive test result, please include the following information in your email as this will help us expedite the track and trace process. 

1: Name of student and tutor group 2. Date of onset of symptoms (and type of symptoms) 3. Date of positive test & isolation dates 4. When the student was last in school 5. Mode of transport when last in school 6. Any specific issues or concerns     

Full guidance can be found here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/testing-and-tracing/what-your-test-result-means/

This week for the whole school theme, we recognised Mental Health Awareness Week. Mental Health Awareness Week took place this year from the 10th to the 16th May. The focus was to immerse yourself in the '5 Ways to Wellbeing', while reconnecting with nature across the week. Students received an excellent assembly from the student Equality group, who have worked tirelessly to raise the profile of positive mental health across the school. Students also wrote positive messages on ribbons that will be placed around the school to spread a feeling of positivity amongst the school community. We encourage you to take some time for your mental health this week by spending time with friends and family, doing some exercise, getting some well-deserved rest or spending time reconnecting with nature. 

Congratulations to our amazing Year 12 Drama students on their assessed performances on Wednesday evening. It was fantastic to see the Sandpit Theatre back in action and all of the students have worked so hard this year. We are incredibly proud of them. 

Once described as a perfect teen adventure novel, ‘Scythe’ is set in a conflict free world where humans have conquered death, and elected Scythes must cull the human population. Citra and Rowan are teenagers who have been selected to be Scythes' apprentices, and despite wanting nothing to do with the vocation, they must learn the art of killing and understand the necessity of what they do. Only one of them will be chosen as a Scythe's apprentice and as Citra and Rowan come up against a terrifyingly corrupt Scythedom, it becomes clear that the winning apprentice's first task will be to kill the loser. Watch more here: https://youtu.be/HPZPY8UWhSk

We would like to celebrate the achievements of Year 9 who have produced some fantastic work for their recent Visual Arts module. They were given the opportunity to experience the wider possibilities beyond the curriculum and explore different textile techniques, fashion design, photography and much more. As you can see from the pictures, they produced some amazing results and it was wonderful to see them expressing themselves creatively and having fun. 

S is for… stonewall [verb]

Definition: To refuse or fail to answer questions, to do what has been requested, especially in order to delay or prevent something.

Example: They stonewalled until they could come up with a response.

Synonyms: Rebuff, Filibuster, Resist

Etymology: From the Middle English word ‘stonwal’ meaning stone wall. This meaning derives from the metaphoric use of a stone wall as an act of obstruction.

The WCSQM are running a competition called "Better Yourself By...."  Participants are asked to write and record a short speech (no more than 500 words) about a subject of your choice, with the winning entries being read at the World Class Symposium on Thursday 1st July. Some of the suggested topics discussed by Ms Finaly and Mrs Baikie in their recent assemly were Better Yourself By: self improvement, greater pride, celebrating others, being more community focused, or coming out of your comfort zone. 

The assembly included lots of top tips on effective speech writing such as having a clear structure, being memorable, thinking about the tone and using a strong opening and ending. The World Class Schools team have a real focus on taking responsibility for your actions today in order to make a brighter future and look forward to seeing your entries. You can submit them to worldclass@mysandstorm.org by Friday 18th June at 4pm. 

As we mentioned last week, WCSQM have partnered with LinkedIn and some of the largest companies who recruit new employees through this online platform. They are offering students in Years 11-13 sessions to support them in building a successful online profile that would appeal to companies and support students to craft their journey in becoming more employable. The sessions are:

Year 11 – 16th June 4pm-5pm,

Years 12 and 13 – 17th June 4pm – 5pm

The link to all information, including registration etc is here 

This week saw the start of the Athletics season. There was a Year 7/9 match on Wednesday and a Year 8/10 County League match on Thursday. Both matches were down at Westminster Lodge in some cold conditions, however it was great to be back on the track after almost two years. The Year 7/9 match was excellent with some great performances from our new Year 7 Athletes. The pick of the evening must be Jasmine Rance in Year 7 who broke the school 100m record for girls with a time of 13.6. Well done to her and we look forward to the her bright future in the sport. The boys were also as impressive and the Year 7 boys racked up a number of wins across the track and field.

On Thursday in our first County League match, the teams were strong. Again, the girls performances were outstanding with Maddie Brown taking a superb victory alongside Zoe Hilton in the Year 10 and Year 8 1500m. The performance of the afternoon arguably came from Sam Philpott in the Year 8 boys 300m. In his first outing he took the win in 42 seconds comfortably beating off some stiff competition. Well done to all 8 teams across the two days. Next week sees the Year 8/10 teams out again on Wednesday.

Mon 24th May –    Y9 Cricket V Beaumont (A)

Weds 26th May –  Y8/10 County League Athletics @ Westminster Lodge

Thurs 27th May –  Y8 Cricket V Watford Grammar

                              Y8A Boys Tennis V St. Albans (A)

                              Y8B Boys Tennis V St. Columba’s College (H)

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 

We are open! We look forward to welcoming you back through our doors and remember we are a socially distant venue so seats will disappear very quickly so do not 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

We now also sell and accept Theatre Tokens. You can use these tokens to purchase tickets for any of our shows or buy them as gifts to be used at over 260 venues nationwide and in the West End all while supporting theatres including us!

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

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

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

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

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