Today is the last day to purchase tickets for the Christmas Lunch, being held on Tuesday 14th December (Y7 & Y9), Wednesday 15th December (Y8 & Y10) and Thursday 16th December (Y11, Y12, Y13). Tickets are available to purchase until the end of today via Parentpay at a cost of £3.75. Tickets will not be issued after this time. If you need a login reminder for your ParentPay account please contact Finance. There will be food available from the new canteen at lunchtime on all these days if students would like to purchase lunch.

Mrs L Earley

A huge thank you to everyone who donated on ParentPay to Children in Need for the non uniform day. It was great to see Mr Gray and student Jack B get into the spirit on the day. We raised a fantastic total of £3,140 and the final overall total revealed on the night was an enormous £39,389,048, which beat last year’s total of £37million. These vital funds will all go towards helping disadvantaged children and young people across the UK and your support is greatly appreciated. 

Mrs R Ellis

We had a very successful Book Fair this year, with students and staff having a lot of fun entering competitions and browsing. The Book Fair raised commission for the LRC as well and we will shortly receive a voucher for £340 to buy books

The competition winners were:

Wordsearch: 1. Daniel S 9S, 2. Mimi G 9N 3. Sam R 8S

Table:            1. Hafsa K 10A 2.Franky D 8S 3. James W 11H

Book Covers 1. Luke C 9S 2. Becca B-S 8H 3. Ethan W 7H

Hidden Santas 1. Emily S 9T  2. James W 9F 3. Eve T 9E

The staff competition was won by the Resources Team and second prize went to the Science Technicians team. Well done, everyone.

Ms J Kirby

We have our ‘Into the 6th Form’ evening on 11th January so please save this date if this will be of interest to you. 

We were thrilled to hear that Oliver G in 8N performed at St Albans Cathedral last Saturday evening. He had a fantastic evening singing with the PQA Academy choir supporting the band, G4. Oliver sang with the group and performed with the choir for a few songs. What a great experience Oliver and well done on all the hard work it takes to be selected for such an event.

Christmas is coming to Sandringham School tomorrow, Saturday 4 December, with a Christmas Fair for the whole family. The Fair will have a Bucking Reindeer, live music, face painting, a wide range of craft stalls and more. There will be pizza and sausages, as well as festive drinks and snacks, and an opportunity to buy second hand uniform.  

Raffle tickets will give guests a chance to win a wide range of prizes including wine, a meal out, kids activities, personal training vouchers, a dog grooming hamper, signed books and more. (Winners will be drawn randomly on Monday 20 December.)

The fair is run by FO$S. Friends of Sandringham School to raise money for equipment and items that enhance the learning environment of the young people at the school. Sponsored by Frosts Estate Agents and run by FO$S, Friends of Sandringham School, the fair will take place at Sandringham School, the Ridgeway, from 11am-3pm on Saturday 4 December. The attached flyer also tells you more- We hope to see you there!

This Monday, 6th December at 7pm, we have our annual Carol Service at St Saviour's Church. This is a fantastic event with over 50 of our students reading and singing, along with several staff members and Governors. If you would like to buy a ticket, you can do so here We welcome you to join us at St Saviours Church, 25 Sandpit Lane, St Albans, AL1 4DF for what is set to be a fantastic, festive event.

 

This week’s whole school theme celebrates the Jewish holiday, Hanukkah. The eight-day Jewish celebration known as Hanukkah or Chanukah commemorates the rededication during the second century B.C. of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, where according to legend Jews had risen up against their Greek-Syrian oppressors in the Maccabean Revolt. Hanukkah, which means “dedication” in Hebrew, begins on the 25th of Kislev on the Hebrew calendar and usually falls in November or December. Often called the Festival of Lights, the holiday is celebrated with the lighting of the menorah, traditional foods, games and gifts. We hope that by learning more about different religious celebrations, we will have a more united and tolerant school community. We encourage you to speak to your Jewish friends and ask them how they are celebrating Hanukkah this year - Happy Hanukkah!

Miss K Wills

Non-fiction November, organised by the Federation of Children’s Book Groups, is a month-long celebration of all things factual. The LRC has an excellent range of non-fiction books and fantastic online resources for all year groups. We have also recently acquired a number of new non-fiction books with a focus on relevant, contemporary issues and hidden voices – aimed at older students wishing to explore a particular topic in greater depth. Whether working on a project, wishing to further their knowledge on a specific subject, or simply looking for a good and informative read, students are welcome to browse and borrow our selection of non-fiction.  

Miss E Critchley

We know that families continue to get their children vaccinated and the full guidance around the process can be accessed via the link below. It is worth noting that if your child has tested positive for COVID-19 and is not at high risk from COVID-19, they need to wait 12 weeks before they can have a COVID-19 vaccine. You can read more information here

 

 

Mr M Nicholls

Next Friday, 10th December, is Christmas Jumper Day in aid of Save the Children. Students are invited to wear a Christmas Jumper into school and donate £1 via ParentPay for this very worthwhile cause. Please note, however, that ParentPay will be closed from 6pm on Monday 6th December for 10 hours for maintenance.

In other news, our chosen charity for Charity Day on the last day of term (Monday 20th December) is WWF. This was decided by a student vote and we look forward to having lots of fun events on the day whilst raising money for this vital charity. 

Virtual Employer Encounters – Webinars for students

Hertfordshire opportunities Portal (HOP) continues with their webinars aimed at students featuring interviews with local employers. The next two insight talks will be:

2nd December – Careers in Financial Advice

9th December – Careers in Dentistry

To register for the live virtual talks, please complete the form here. All previous webinars are available to watch at the above link.

“You’re Hired!” Careers Event – Sandringham School

We are still very short on volunteers for our next careers event, Year 11’s “You’re Hired!” on Thursday 20th January. If you can join us for the day and help with either Mock Interviews, Interview Debriefs, or CV Surgery, then please email Binh Tang, Careers Coordinator at admin@sandringham.herts.sch.uk.

Ms B Tang

A huge thank you again to everyone involved in the Sound of Music production. We had some wonderful feedback from parents, visitors and the glowing report from one of our Governors.

"It was a fabulous production: we all enjoyed it. I was very impressed that the school could have produced such a polished performance in such a short period of time. The principal actors were really accomplished, utterly convincing and some of them had really beautiful voices. The set design was really accomplished and imaginative.

I think that the thing that impressed me most however were the musicians who played almost continuously throughout the two hours of the performance. It is remarkable that Sandringham have musicians able to accomplish such a feat. The Sound of Music depends on its soundtrack of music throughout and I can only imagine that the musicians were exhausted by the end of it. They were so good that it was at times easy to forget that the musicians were also children."

Don't forget, you can order copies of the official photos taken here.

As mentioned in the Headlines, on Thursday we celebrated the success of our KS4 cohort of 2021 with a small awards ceremony in the Main Hall. Deputy Lieutenant, Marion Brown, gave some inspiring words to the students and this was a lovely chance to celebrate the success of students in individual subject areas, and also to the wider life of the school. Special mention goes to the following students below for their dedication in what has been a difficult two years. 

Character Award 2021: Wesley M

Contribution to Sport: Ivan R

Contribution to Arts: Annie F

Greatest Achievement at KS4:James B/Samuel P

Outstanding Achievement at KS4: Christy S

Well done to Johnson who have had a great week to put themselves top of the pile again, with Hepworth, Austen and Turing not far behind. 

Mr A Cracknell

With the shorter week last week to make time for Pastoral Review Day and no whole school assemblies, we chose to focus on an important theme for the whole school - Happiness. Happiness is used in the context of mental or emotional states, including positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. It is also used in the context of life satisfaction, flourishing and well-being. Last week, the students were asked to reflect on what made them happy and whether we as human beings need to be in the pursuit of a goal to feel fulfilled or if it's possible to be content with yourself without constant challenge. We encouraged everyone to find their own happiness and take a well-earned break last weekend.

Miss K Wills

A final call if you would still like to order the Whole School photograph via the Tempest website. The link below takes you directly to the photographs and will allow you to browse the different products available and place your order.

 https://htmp.st/261351-28

 

On Wednesday 1st December, Year 8 had the privilege of watching a three-man performance of A Christmas Carol. Due to restrictions, we were unfortunately not able to watch this last year, while studying this novella, but this year we were entranced by this performance which was held in the Sandpit Theatre by a professional acting company.

Emily H from 8J wrote the following review: "I would definitely recommend this show to a friend. It was impressive as the three actors multitasked in order to play multiple roles; it was well put together and very entertaining for the audience. There were multiple humorous references made in addition to the meaningful plot of cherishing Christmas. My favourite part was the impressive costumes and accessories for the Three Spirits, and I enjoyed the creative use of props in the limited space. There was a minor glitch with the lights at the start, but, in all, I think that my classmates were as satisfied as I was, and I would certainly say that it was a performance worth watching."

Quantum Theatre are returning to perform again for Year 7 on Thursday 9th December during session 5. Year 7 are currently studying this classic by Dickens and the performance will be a brilliant way to conclude this topic.

 

Mrs A Cuneen

We have the following vacancies currently available- please click on the links for more details.

Computing Hub Administrator

Teacher of Music

Sixth Form Attendance Officer

Sandringham Research School Lead

Mrs K Ward

Last month over 40 students in Years 12 and 13 took part in the Senior 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 Senior Mathematical Challenge is a 60-minute, multiple-choice competition aimed at students across the UK. It is open to all students in Years 13 and below.  This was 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 Senior Challenge are designed to make students think. Most are accessible, yet still challenge those with more experience. 

Overall the school was awarded 2 Gold, 23 Silver and 14 Bronze winners.  Special mention goes to Omar P (13F) for best in Year 13 and Henry M(12E) for best in school.

Also, Henry M (12E) and Ralph W (12E) were both gold winners and were invited to participate in the additional challenge. The Senior Kangaroo Challenge is a 60-minute Challenge consisting of 20 problems. Unlike the Senior Mathematical Challenge, the answer to each Senior Kangaroo problem is a positive number less than 1000. Achieving a high score requires engagement with the problems, without the benefit of five options to choose from. Congratulations to all those that took part. 

Mr K Mauldridge

DANCE UNIFORM HAS NOW ARRIVED! Please come and collect your uniform at lunchtimes or during your clubs and lessons. 

Velocity 2022 news!

We are so excited to have our annual dance show, Velocity, return this year. It is not too late to get involved! Join one or more of our dance clubs to take part in a performance or if you are interested in costumes and props, come and talk to the dance department. 

Tickets are on sale now! Please visit the Sandpit website to book. We strongly suggest booking your tickets early to avoid any disappointments. Letters with more information have gone out about rehearsals, dates and ordering of items. Please complete the google form on the letter for consent and ordering items.

A prop plea! If you or anyone you know has wooden tables or wooden chairs that they wouldn’t mind lending for the show, please get in touch with the dance department as we are currently on the lookout for these props for the show!

Miss A Davies

A huge well done to our Year 12 Young Enterprise - Lucidity, for their impressive display at the Harpenden Christmas Carnival. Their wellness company homemade and sold five different wax scents alongside wax melt burners. Not only did they make a great profit, their excellent customer service was commented on by the judges and were praised for their innovation, winning an award to reflect this! Lucidity will be trading at the Sandringham FO$S Christmas Fair, watch out for their stall on Saturday! Do follow @sandringham_lucidity to follow the teams journey! 

Miss K Clark

A huge congratulations to the five Sandringham School Students, Ariella F, Aatiqa S, Beth Y, Franky D and Emilia H, who have had their crime scene mini saga stories published in the Young Writer’s Unsolved Anthology pictured above. It is lovely to see your work in print. All five stories are full of suspense and intrigue, and each shows a flair for language and originality. Well done all for being picked from such a large number of entries- this is a fantastic achievement and we are really proud of you. 

If you would like your son/daughter featured in the Sandprint, please email melissa.holian@sandringham.herts.sch.uk with any details and/or photographs. We would love to hear from you.

 

We have just updated our school Travel Plan to assess the situation around our site and travel to and from the school. This considers aspects such as safety and sustainability, to try and ensure that we can foster positive habits and consider our local community. It includes the latest travel surveys for both students and staff and key actions for the school to take forward in trying to maintain safety and improve sustainability. With such a large site and school population, our actions and decisions about travel can make a really big difference to the local area and to reducing our carbon footprint. We encourage all stakeholders to read the plan and consider their own part in continuing to develop improvements. You can find more details on our website here.

Mrs K Mouncey

What makes us brilliant? What makes us deadly? What makes us Sapiens? Yuval Noah Harari challenges everything we know about being human in the perfect read for these unprecedented times. Earth is 4.5 billion years old. In just a fraction of that time, one species among countless others has conquered it: us. In this bold and provocative book, Yuval Noah Harari explores who we are, how we got here and where we're going.

Ms K Bulbeck

FRENCH: Le mot de la semaine- évoluer

GERMAN: Das Wort der Woche- sich entwickeln

SPANISH- La palabra de la semana- evolucionar

Thinking Questions

• Here all three translations are similar to an extent. Can you think of some recently learnt vocabulary for your studies that is similar to the English? How do we end up with cognates in languages?

Miss F Baikie

E is for evolve [verb]

Definition: To develop gradually.

Example: The festival evolves gradually every year as new traditions are adopted.

Synonyms: Emerge, Expand, Mature

Antonyms: Lessen, Decrease, Diminish

Etymology: From the Latin ‘evolvere’ meaning to unroll. From the prefix ‘ex’ meaning out and ‘volvere’ meaning to roll.

On Monday 23rd November, the Year 7 hockey team played against Parmiters. The team played some excellent hockey, working hard to pass the ball in to space. The team deservedly won 3-1 with excellent goals scored by 3 different players, along with excellent defence and goal keeping at the other end of the pitch.

Miss V Borman

Congratulations to the girls U16 Table Tennis team, who won the County Tournament by 1 point!

The U18 Girls football team were knocked out of the ESFA today losing 5-2 to William Borlase. Disappointing to go out with players missing due to injury but congrats to the opposition for a fantastic performance. OPM - Millie F & PP - Katie W

The U16 boys football team also kept up their 100% record this season after a fantastic home win to qualify for the last 32 of the national cup. A 3-0 win under the lights vs a strong Great Marlow School. Goals Latter x2 & Warren.

A shortened results summary today as Mr Cracknell and the team are on their way to Newquay for an event!

Monday 22nd November :

1st XI Girls Football V William Borlase L 5-2

Y9 Girls Football V SJL W 3-0

Y7B Football V Monks Walk L 3-1

Y7 Hockey V Parmiters L 2-0

Tuesday 23rd November

 Y10 Basketball V Samuel Ryder L 3-1

 Y9 Girls Football V Goldington Academy W 3-1

Y9 Netball V Bedford Girls W 24-11

 Y9 Netball V Samuel Ryder W 32-13

Monday 29th November

Y11 Football V Great Marlow W 3-0

Y9 Netball V St Albans High School L 26-19

Y8 Rugby V Katherine Warrinton W 55-5

Y7 Rugby V Katherine Warrinton W 25-15

Wednesday 1st December

 1st XI V Dame Alice Owens W 3-1 On Pens

Y10 Netball V Kings Langley W 30-3

Y7 Netball V SJL W 12-2

Thursday 2nd December

 Y10 Football V Kingsdale L 5-1

Y8 Football V Parmiters W 5-2

Y11 Netball V Redborne Won

For more news, fixtures, team sheets and results don’t forget to follow us @SandringhamPE on Twitter and at www.sandringhamsport.co.uk

Mr A Cracknell

Mr A Cracknell

The U14 netball team had their best performance of the season so far beating Samuel Ryder Academy 32-13! OPM - Charlotte H & CPM - Sophia P.

They also won in the SNS Plate 24-11 over Bedford Girls School. OPM - Charlotte H & CPM - Lizzie S.

 

The Senior Boys swim team enjoyed a day at the Olympic Pool at the National Schools finals last week. We were up against some very tough opposition but the boys were superb. Well done

Mr A Cracknell

Grab your wands, don your house robes, and apparate yourselves to the box office! A very magical improv show awaits...

The smash hit Spontaneous Potter is an entirely improvised Harry Potter comedy play, based on an audience suggestion of a fanfiction title. Hilarity ensues as an entirely new Potter adventure is magically improvised on the spot - with live musical accompaniment!

Running Time: 60 minutes

Tickets: 2:30pm - £12 / £10 or 7:30pm - £16 / £14

Miss A Carter-Downing

Chuckle. In association with The Sandpit Theatre bring you the very best in live standup comedy.

Enjoy some of the biggest names in comedy along with our favorite handpicked artists.

Tonight’s lineup includes Sandringham School alumni Nick Helm (Live at the Apollo, 8 Out of 10 Cats) / Esther Manito (Live at the Apollo) / Ben Norris (Mock the Week, “. unbelievably brilliant” - Jason Manford) / Mark Row (A1: The Long Road to Edinburgh on Amazon Prime)

Please note the lineup maybe subject to change.

Tickets are on sale now for just £16.50 each

Miss A Carter-Downing

Welcome to our 20th anniversary year as we celebrate The SandPit Theatre turning 20 years old this December!

We can’t wait to see you back through our doors and we have some exciting shows and films coming up for you this season!

All the latest performances are on our website, www.sandpittheatre.co.uk, and you can keep up to date with what’s going on by giving us a follow either on Instagram & Twitter or give us a like on Facebook, just search for The SandPit Theatre!

Miss A Carter-Downing

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 Government guidelines, you must wear a face covering while attending The SandPit Theatre and must present a valid NHS COVID Pass or proof of a Negative Lateral Flow Test if aged over 18, unless you are exempt as stated in these guidelines. If you do not wear a mask or do not have a valid NHS Covid Pass/Lateral Flow Test result, you will be refused entry and your ticket will be forfeited.

Our Bar will be open during these performances 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, Wednesday & Friday. Alternatively, you can call us on 01727 799565 or visit www.sandpittheatre.co.uk

Miss A Carter-Downing

For many years no-one was interested in the art of the Impressionists. Artists like Monet, Degas and Renoir were vilified, attacked, and left penniless as a result.

Some collectors we may recognize and some we may not, but Hansen amassed a remarkable collection housed at his summer home, Ordrupgaard, on the outskirts of Copenhagen. Exhibition on Screen tells his fascinating story and, with exclusive access to a sellout exhibition at London’s Royal Academy, brings the extraordinary collection to the big-screen in glorious high-definition.

Tickets £8/£6

Miss A Carter-Downing