This week we focus on six students who have been working hard to helped to transform the student garden: Jessica R, Aiden O’B, Ash W, Erin T, Archie W and Angelina K. 

These students are part of the Sustainability Club and they have given up breaks and time after school to clear the overgrown ground, carry out pond dipping and identify different insects and animals living in the pond within the student garden.

The plan is to help with biodiversity by planting wild flowers within the garden, and DT staff are currently helping to build bug hotels as well. The group will also grow their own fruit and vegetables while protecting the wildlife in the garden, ensuring the newts and frogs still have the dense brambles and bushes for protection against predators. They are hoping to purchase a polytunnel and equipment through Fo$$ to protect the fruit and vegetables during the cold. Any money generated by the eventual sale of produce will go back into the Sustainability Club for the student garden and future sustainability projects.

We are incredibly proud of these students and if you would like to donate any old garden tools, ends of garden supplies (seeds, compost, mulch etc) or expertise to help them, they would gladly accept them so please contact Miss Malone with any offers. 

If you would like your son/daughter to feature in the Student Spotlight- please email melissa.holian@sandringham.herts.sch.uk with any details. 

Given the recent Covid-19 updates on social distancing restrictions from the Government, Leadership at Sandringham have reviewed the remaining events of the Summer Term and updated the calendar accordingly. Please see the image above for a summary of any changes. 

The East & North Hertfordshire Hospitals’ Charity is running a charity event on Sunday 11th July called the Herts Health Ride which will follow beautiful circular routes through the charming Hertfordshire countryside surrounding their hospitals. You can challenge yourself to take part in their 25k, 50k, 100k routes or child friendly track around the Estate. All riders will receive an NHS medal at the finishing line and complimentary refreshments will be provided on routes.

This charity works to transform care by funding the  best medical equipment, research, training and facilities for their patients, visitors and staff. It supports four hospitals local to our area (Lister, New QEII, Hertford County Hospital and Mount Vernon Cancer Centre) and the money will go towards providing emergency care to children in our area.

We hope you can support this worthwhile cause and if you would like to join in or find out more information, you can do so here 

Ex-Sandringham student Esther Gibbins is researching the use of water sources in urban gardens for her Global Wildlife Health and Conservation MSc at Bristol University, and as such would like your help in a quick survey. Some respondents will also be asked if they'd like to be involved as citizen scientists in the second part of the project, which involves carrying out wildlife observations in their gardens. As we are becoming increasingly aware, encouraging children to engage with wildlife and conservation has benefits not only for our natural world, but also our mental and physical wellbeing so we hope you can take the time to complete the survey and get involved with some of the activities she suggests.

Oaklands College are running support session for children with special education or additional needs on 25th June 2021 from 9.30-11am via Zoom. It will include transition support and talks from the SEND team at Oaklands. For more information and to reserve a place, please email meadowsa@mountgrace.herts.sch.uk

Unfortunately a lot of students have been really suffering with bad hay fever this week.  Please can you ensure your child takes the correct medication before they come to school and have a water bottle with them.  Don’t hesitate to contact Student Services if you would like us to hold spare medication for your child, but please be aware that the school can not administer any hay fever medication unless you have provided it yourself.   

We are so excited to get started on our plans for the next school show! Auditions are on Monday 5th July in The Sandpit. All students wishing to audition should attend the main cast audition from 3:00-3:45. Anyone who would like to audition for a principal role should stay til 5:00pm that day. Please be assured that plans have been made to ensure that students can remain safely in their year group bubbles throughout the duration of the audition. Please sign up to SOCS in advance to register and join Google Classroom for audition materials in advance using this code: tnohd3z

If you'd like any more information, please speak to Mrs Hardacre. We can't wait to see you there!

The lateral flow tests provided to all students are to identify people who are asymptomatic, if you  have any concerns about your child you should book a PCR test.  Tests are easy to book via the below link and results come back very quickly

Lateral Flow Tests: 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 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.

We are delighted to share with you some recordings made by our Sandringham Band and Junior Choir. These two ensembles have been rehearsing weekly but due to current restrictions were not able to be part of our live summer soiree. We didn’t want you to miss out on seeing and hearing their work this term so please click here to enjoy their performances.

In other news, Philomusica is a St Albans Area Youth Orchestra run by Herts Music Service. They play music to a very high standard and enjoy concerts and performances in many prestigious venues. The approximate standard for this orchestra is Grade 6. If you are interested in auditioning, please click here for further information. We would really encourage our more advanced musicians to consider auditioning for this ensemble.

Don't forget, you can also buy tickets for the  Summer Soiree concert on Tuesday 29th June! This event is an outdoor concert making use of the fantastic new covered area near the Sixth Form block. Tickets are being booked and managed through the Sandpit Theatre box office as usual. It will be a socially distanced event and feature the Jazz band, Senior choir, Jazz combo and various soloists and smaller ensembles. It promises to be a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the musical achievements of our senior school leavers in particular so we hope you will join us for what promises to be a special evening as it will be our first face to face concert for almost 18 months.

This week sees the start of our fabulous two week Arts Festival, with the theme of celebration. After a disrupted year we thought it was the perfect opportunity to celebrate the ARTS and for students to take part in a variety of activities during the festival, expressing themselves creatively and trying something new. Students were given the opportunity to discuss ’can anything be art?’ and this has led to an interesting debate amongst the students, before signing up for an array of workshops and events taking place over the two weeks. 

This week over 40 students in Year 7 took part in a Street dance workshop led by company dancers Jasmine R and Jess P. The Year 7 students were fabulous and picked up the dance choreography extremely well. Well done to all involved and we hope you enjoyed the session. The street dance club led by Jasmine and Jess will start up again in September, so remember to look out for notices. 

Don't forget as well, as part of Arts Week, you can watch live theatre FREE from the National Theatre Collection. Simply log on to the link below and use our unique Sandringham code to access all the plays and musicals. National Theatre Collection - Username: 4Ks&1Gr&. Happy watching!

https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/

We are pleased to announce a fantastic Football Camp being held at Sandringham School this summer. Run by JP PRO Football, sessions for children aged 5-13 will take place from Monday 2nd August to Friday 6th August. The image attached has more details so please contact them if you would like to sign up.

Sandringham School is now on Instagram! You can follow us for information on events, trips, job advertising and whole school news. Please join us here: https://www.instagram.com/sandringhamsch1/ to keep up to date with all of the exciting things going on at our school.

Year 8 into 9 modules

Over the last couple of weeks, we have been gearing up for Year 8s to select their modules for Year 9.  Last week saw the Year 8s introduced to the modular curriculum in their assembly.  Yesterday, we hosted the Module Fayre in the Hall where Year 8 got the chance to find out more about each module from the teachers.  This is a really exciting time for students as they begin to shape their curriculum and we hope they are enjoying reading through all the information and discussing their preferences at home.  A reminder that the deadline for choices and reserve options is Friday 2nd July. We look forward to seeing what they pick!

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!

In the LRC we have a fantastic range of non-fiction as well as our fabulous fiction selection. Whatever your subject choices or personal interests are, you'll find something to enjoy so come and browse our shelves or search the Accessit Learning Resource Centre app via MySandstorm.  

With the Euros in full swing, we thought students may be interested in a topical new book that has just arrived by the inspiring Marcus Rashford. Before he was a Manchester United and England footballer, and long before he started his campaign to end child food poverty, Rashford was just as average teenager from South Manchester. Now he wants to show you how you can achieve your dreams and make a difference. You are a Champion; how to be the best you can be, is a positive and inspiring guide to life and we know it a book that a lot of our students will enjoy!

There is an exciting opportunity for Sandringham students to take part in a German Summer School in July. Open to students in Years 9, 10, 11 and 12 the programme is FREE of charge and is on Zoom from 26th-30th July 2021. 9.30-11am.

The Programme consists of the following topics: Language Learning and Brain Research, Building sentences, Exploring literature, film and culture, Developing and honing skills in oral language, speaking and listening and German and the world of work. This is a fantastic chance to improve your German and to meet other learners in a similar position to you so please do consider taking part if you can and contact Mrs Webb if you are interested. 

Future Creatives are running camps this summer to keep students busy and creative through the holiday in St Albans. The company provide inspiring art and design short courses for young creatives aged 7 to 17. Taught online and face to face across the UK, students learn from qualified teachers and experienced industry professionals. Courses cover everything from cartooning and sculpture to graphics and screen printing and the following courses are available.

Art and Design Workshop in St Albans for 7 to 11 Year Olds

26/07/2021 – 29/07/2021 Monday to Thursday – 9.30am to 12pm

Art and Design Workshop in St Albans for 11 to 17 Year Olds

26/07/2021 – 29/07/2021 Monday to Thursday – 1pm to 4.30pm

Launched earlier this week, Children in the UK who are worried that nude pictures and videos may end up online will be able to report the material to help prevent it from being uploaded in the future. For the first time, young people will be able to flag the content with the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) via a tool on Childline’s website before it has appeared online.

Under-18s will be able to flag the material via the “report remove” tool, described by the IWF as a “world first”. Analysts at the internet safety charity will then review the content and create a unique digital fingerprint known as a hash, which will be shared with tech companies to help to prevent it from being uploaded and shared. Young people must verify their age but do not need to share their real name with Childline or the IWF. Anyone who makes a report should receive feedback on the outcome in one working day.

More information about this service can be found on the Childline website - Childline website

We have an exciting opportunity for a finance and administration Apprentice to work in our busy school. The role will be working in both the finance office and in administration, starting 1st September 2021. To find our more visit here

Last Friday, 28 Year 11 students set off for their Silver Practice expedition. This would be their first residential DofE expedition as they completed their Bronze doing two day walks in the Autumn. The weather was not kind for the first day and the paths were wet, muddy and very overgrown. Despite this however, all groups finished day 1 in good time and set about pitching their first DofE camp. A lot of pasta was cooked and we were pleased to see that they remembered the importance of scrubbing the trangia pans till they shone.

Day 2 was much drier and although it was a longer day in terms of distances covered, the views from the top of the Downs were spectacular. Camp 2 was equally successful and we were really impressed by their organisation, tidiness and teamwork. There were a few showers overnight but the students were all so tired I don’t think they noticed. Day 3 started overcast, turned showery, the mist rolled in over the top of the Downs and the temperature dropped but we ended the day in sunshine. The confidence of the groups strengthened over the course of the expedition and by day 3 they were hardened expeditioners, paying close attention to navigation and working as teams to get to the finish point.

This was a challenging trip in so many ways for the students -for many it was the first time away from home since before the pandemic started and in addition thye walked around 50 miles over 3 days with fully laden rucksacks. Mr Allday, Mrs Ellis and myself were so impressed with their positive attitude and it was a pleasure to spend time with them. We are looking forward to taking them to the Peak District in two weeks time for their Qualifying expedition.

Wednesday 23rd June was Thank a Teacher Day and we received the very lovely message below from a parent. Here at Sandringham we know that all of our teaching staff, support staff and Leadership work really hard to ensure that students here receive the best pastoral and academic support so it is great to know that parents feel we are doing a good job! Thanks to Mrs B for sending in the feedback.

"I hope this message can get to my children's teachers. I can't possibly single one out, but wanted to say a HUGE THANK YOU on Thank the teacher day for all the hard work, care and kindness shown to Dillon and Bea B. You are all amazing people, and as a teacher myself I understand the daily demands upon you, especially this year! Keep doing what you're doing and know we VERY MUCH appreciate you." 

It is the mid-1800s and as slavery looks to be coming to an end, Sethe is haunted by the violent trauma it wrought on her former enslaved life at Sweet Home, Kentucky. Her dead baby daughter, whose tombstone bears the single word, Beloved, returns as a spectre to punish her mother, but also to elicit her love. In its refusal to shy away from the horrors experienced by Sethe, ‘Beloved’ reflects the countless - often unspoken - atrocities committed by whites against people of colour throughout history, whilst also interweaving ideas of motherhood, family, folklore and community, creating a narrative that is never less than utterly engrossing.

Told with heart-stopping clarity, melding horror and beauty, Beloved is Toni Morrison’s enduring masterpiece, and was the winner of the 1988 Pulitzer Prize and a finalist for the 1987 National Book Award. Dedicated to the ‘Sixty Million and more’ Africans and their descendants who died as a result of the slave trade, the novel remains both a mesmerising family story and a landmark depiction of the legacy of slavery, both on individuals and America’s national psyche. Read more about this novel, suitable for Year 11 and above, here.

FRENCH: Le mot de la semaine : un culte

GERMAN: Die Wort der Woche :   Die Verehrung

SPANISH: La palabra de la semana :   el culto

Thinking questions:

• All nouns in German are capitalised (yes! Even in the middle of a sentence!) – why do you think this might be?
• The French, Spanish and English words are all very similar this week – how do you think this happens? Why are some languages more similar than others?

C is for… cult [noun]

Definition: A small group of very devoted supporters or fans, sharing a belief.

Example: Is the cult of exercise bad for us? 

Synonyms: Band, Clan, Clique

Etymology: From the Latin word ‘cultus’ meaning worship.

A huge thank you to the Year 7 students photographed who have been helping with the introduction speeches for the Year 6s students coming to Sandringham in September. This has certainly been an unusual year for our new intake and it was a lovely opportunity from them to talk about their experience. We are so proud of their resilience and Leadership were impressed with the professionalism they showed when talking about their year. They definitely showed World Class qualities so thank you to these students for offering up their time. And to all of the staff who have been working hard to ensure a smooth transition for our new students.

A huge congratulations to Lily David in Year 12 who has been selected as a finalist in the Talk Off competition of the World Class Schools Symposium on Thursday 1st July.  The results will be announced LIVE on the day we wish her lots of luck. As previously mentioned, the event contains sessions for students from LinkedIn, Accenture, Trinity College Cambridge, and Motivational speaker Tej Samani. There will also be an opportunity to learn how to become a WCSQM ambassador. Anyone can pre register to watch the event live or afterwards here and here. We hope you join in to the informative sessions and are able to tune in during the event or afterwards to support our students and staff who have worked hard to make what is sure to be an informative and exciting event.

Monday 28th June:

Y8 Girls Tennis V Berkhamsted (A)

Friday 2nd July: 

Y8/9 and 10 District Athletics Championships @ Woodside stadium

Well done to the Y/78 and 9/10 boys and girls athletics teams who were over at Woodside Stadium on Wednesday for the English Schools Track and Field Cup. It was a super day of athletics with some of our students competing and winning at the one of the highest stages of schools athletics against some of the strongest individuals and school teams. Highlights for the girls include Annabelle N in the girls 800m, Jasmin R in the 100m, Harry and Ben W in the boys' hurdles and Sebbie L in the triple jump and 200m. Well done to everyone that competed and good luck in next week’s District champs. 

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.

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 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!

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.

Tickets £13.50/£10

Sandringham Music Faculty presents: Summer Soiree! This is an outdoor concert below the new Sixth Form Canopy, behind The SandPit Theatre, featuring live performances from soloists, choirs, and orchestras in the summer air!

Tickets £5/£3

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