On Tuesday this week, the Music faculty staged their summer concert. This was a wonderful evening of high quality musical performances and was a fitting farewell concert for our Year 13 musicians. The concert featured a number of new ensembles including a super Year 7 band and our Alumni group which performed for the first time. It was really lovely for our younger students to see and hopefully be inspired by performances by older students and former students as well. Congratulations to everyone who took part, and we wish all our music students going away to France on our European music tour this weekend a wonderful trip.

Thank you so much to our incredible Dance faculty team for inspiring current students and visiting Alumni students with their wonderful workshops! Students were able to learn South American Dance, Street Dance, and take part in male/non-binary and Pointe workshops. There was also the Courtney Creative sessions and a CAT connect free workshop. It was great to see students of all ages and abilities working together to create some fantastic choreography. Well done everyone! 

A huge thank you to Mrs Kelly and the Arts Team for their amazing work on a wonderful week celebrating all things Art. The programme included History lessons discussing protest music, English celebrating "The Writing on the Wall", D&T looking at Digital Design Galleries, Geography students entering photographs for the Trying to Build a Better Future competition, Media putting on a Film Club open session and Business and Economics classes studying Art in Advertising. The MFL team looked at the role of Art in Cultural Heritage, Mathematics put on Pi Club, Science stitched the periodic table, PRE enjoyed a philosophical Art discussion and Photography classes took part in a Wild Life Photography competition. Our lunchtime Sanctuary club looked at create Art with Nature, the Warhammer group looked at painting techniques and there were also workshops led by the Arts Award team, Trestle Theatre, Technical Theatre Club and various Dance activities. In the evenings, we had the fantastic Immerse Dance show and the beautiful Visual Arts and Music Summer Showcase. Something for everyone! So much planning goes into these theme weeks so thank you to everyone involved and we hope that students were inspired by the activities. You can see further details in separate articles elsewhere in the Sandprint.

Calling Year 7 Parents/Carers. Today is the deadline for the Work Exploration Day Form. Please let us know where your student will be based on 14th July using this form

Well done again to Miss Wills and all of Hepworth who have now built a lead of over 1100 points. This can all change even just next week as we see two of our biggest House events in the next 7 days- Sports Day and the Charity Run. A reminder that you can still donate here. We look forward to reporting more on these events next week! 

Tickets for the Jubilee Afternoon Tea, being held on Wednesday 13th July are now available to purchase via Parentpay at a cost of £3.50. Please buy tickets via ParentPay by Tuesday 7th July. Tickets will not be issued after this time. If you need a login reminder for your ParentPay account please contact Finance.

There will be no other food available from the canteen at lunchtime on this day so please ensure students either purchase something at morning break, or bring their own lunch on the day if they are not having Afternoon Tea.

Well done to everyone who took part in the amazing Dance show, Immerse this week! It is so great to be able to put these shows on again and everyone who took part did themselves proud. 

We were delighted to welcome over 300 students to our Sixth Form Induction this week on Wednesday and Thursday, including over 100 students who will be joining us from other schools. The students experienced sample lessons and heard all about life in the Sixth Form. They were really enthusiastic and excited to look at their next steps beyond Year 11. We wish them all the best of luck as they wait for their GCSE results and hope that they have a great holiday after working so hard! Sixth Form staff will be on hand on results day in August for advice in the Sixth Form centre.

Auditions for the Whole School Show are taking place on Monday 11th July. Please see the poster attached for more details! 

In honour of the wonderful activities taking place over Arts week this week Mr Lacey and the PRE Ambassadors turned their hands to some Philosophical Art discussion. Each looked at a piece of Art selected by Mr Lacey and reflected on their own interpretation before sharing their ideas with the group. As always this led to some healthy debate, and the discussion flowed into some interesting areas such as whether ignorance is bliss, and whether you should lie to people to protect them.

If you are interested in this kind of discussion feel free to come along to C4 on Thursday lunchtimes to join in!

Thank you to Nabeel K who has sent us this summary of his E Week trip!

On Monday 13th of June at 3:00am, I woke up to get ready to leave the house as I had to be at Sandringham Crescent for 4 am.  I was expecting everyone to be tired, but all students were packed with joy and excitement. After a long coach journey, we finally boarded the ferry. After an exhausting journey we were finally at the hostel and had a basic dinner. After dinner, we got ready for the beach but it was cancelled as the tides were high. So i got ready for bed then got into bed, wrapped my blanket around me and dozed off, ready for day 2.

Day 2: I woke up still thinking I was at home but I was still in my room. We ate toast and cereal for breakfast and I was surprised that there was not a croissant in sight! We then headed off to the town of Dinan. When we got there we answered questions in the booklet and went to the church which was huge with lots of colourful paned windows mainly telling the story of Jesus. We then made our way to St Lunaire where we had lunch and walked on the beach.  We visited a house and whilst we were standing outside Mr Gray told us a ghost story!  We also went to Côte d'Emeraude (Emerald Coast) where we went rock pooling . Although I didn’t catch any fish it was nonetheless still fun trying to!  After dinner we went to the beach where once again, I stood in the tide staring into the sunset.

Day 3: First thing we visited the hyper market where I stocked up on snacks. We then drove to the oyster farm and the moment and I could tell the moment we arrived due to the smell! We were shown how oysters were harvested and we watched a film about the history of oysters. We were then allowed to try the oysters and there were some mixed reviews. So I passed on the oysters.  We then left to go to the beach and have lunch after which we made our way over to the cider factory.  The fun part was tasting the apple juice as since it was so hot the apple juice was quite refreshing.  After dinner at the hostel we went to the beach and played beach ball. 

Day 4: We went to the aquarium where I saw a shark.  In my opinion, it was the best aquarium I have seen in a long time. A few hours later we arrived in the town of Cancale were we had lunch then walked around seeing the sights. My friend and I interviewed a shopkeeper on a break and a lovely couple. We practised our French but the shopkeeper knew English. Then we headed back over to the hostel for one last dinner in St Malo. We packed our bags and went to bed early this time as it was going to be an early start. 

Day 5: At 6am we were ready with all our bags and suitcases ready for a 14 hour journey. I was a bit homesick by then so I was glad I was going home.  We arrived back at Sandringham’s entrance were everyone’s parents gathered.  I then got off the bus and waited for my mum and she was happy to see me after being in France for a week.

On Monday 4th July, we have twelve students from QE2 Boys' School coming to watch the popular German Film "Sorry Genosse" with some of our students.  The afternoon will involve meeting at 1pm for a brief introductions and then the showing of the film from 1.15-2.45pm. This is a fantastic opportunity enjoy the cultural experience of watching a film in German, an opportunity to practise your language skills and also a great chance to meet students from another school. It may be of particular interest to our Year 11 students or those currenlty studying German. Katrin Hood (a German teacher who taught and Sandringham) will also be attending for those who would like to catch up with her. If this sounds like something you are interested in, please contact the admin email adress or speak to Ms Kincaid as soon as possible. 

This week’s whole school theme is Fit 4 Life week in preparation for next week. Fit 4 Life week has been a staple part of the school calendar for many years. It places an emphasis on the importance of physical activity for mental and physical health and encourages students to increase their participation in sport and exercise. The students received an excellent assembly from PE teacher Mr Chopra which advertised all of the additional activities that are running next week. This includes both Sports Day on Wednesday and the Charity Run on Friday. We encourage all students to walk or run the 7km and raise as much money as possible for our two charities Macmillan Cancer Support and Motor Neuron Disease. The link is here.

FRENCH: Le mot de la semaine- illusoire

GERMAN: Das Wort der Woche- illusorisch

SPANISH- La palabra de la semana- ilusorio

Thinking Questions

•   The English, French and Spanish translations are all very similar – why might the German be different?
•  How do languages evolve over time?

‘Refugee Boy’ is a story told through the eyes of 14 year old Alem. Alem's father is Ethiopian and his mother is Eritrean, and there is a dangerous conflict raging between the two countries. For his own safety, Alem's father brings him to England to escape the dangers at home. At first, Alem is delighted to be having a holiday with his dad, until he wakes up one morning to find his father has left him in England alone. Benjamin Zephaniah has created a character in Alem, who despite all that happens to him, maintains a shining spirit of courage throughout. This is a powerful and thought-provoking novel that demands to be read by all students. Read more about the author, Benjamin Zephaniah, here

I is for… illusory  [adjective]

Definition: Based on illusion; not real.

Example: She knew the safety of her room was illusory.

Synonyms: False, Misleading, Unreal

Antonyms: Genuine, Honest, Truthful

Etymology: Derives from the Latin root ILLUSORIUS ‘illudere’ literally meaning to play with.

On Thursday 9th June, Ralph W, Dorka M and George A experienced a trip to Fitzwilliam College in Cambridge. This is what they said about this world class opportunity:

Ralph:  “It was useful for making a decision about which college to apply for as we got a good sense of the college atmosphere and what factors to consider when choosing a college like what facilities they have. We also got to meet some students and ex-students who shared their advice on how they had applied and how they had been successful. Finally, we looked around central Cambridge a bit to get a sense of the city and the older colleges.”

Dorka:  “I found the atmosphere and environment very welcoming and friendly, and learnt a lot about what the university is looking for in a potential student. Aside from good academics, it’s important to apply for a subject there that you genuinely love and could actively engage in conversation about. Furthermore, we received lots of information about time management at university, accommodation- for example Fitzwilliam college provides student accommodation for all 3-4 years of their undergrads- and about the extra facilities on site at Fitzwilliam college, such as the library and music rooms.”

George: “We went in the middle of term time, so it was perfect to see what daily life was really like for Cambridge students there. We also had the chance to talk the Head of Modern Languages at Fitz. He told us all about reading personal statements, and the interview process; what he looks for, and what stands out. It was a very informative day, and super fun!”

Congratulations also to Rachel C in Year 7 for her submission to the annual “Talk-Off” competition. She prepared a three minute speech on the topic of ‘How World Class students can use social media as a force for good’. We also wish Oliver S in year 7 the best of luck as he attends the World Class School’s Symposium next Wednesday 6th July as a nominee in the Student Character Award.

This past weekend saw Rosie and Harrison compete in the #playyourwaytowimbledon Herts county finals round. Both individuals competed well and did themselves proud! Well done Rosie and Harrison.

The U15 Girls tennis team also beat Habs 12-0 in an impressive display! And it was a mixed bag vs Beaumont this week. The girls lost and the boys won. Some excellent tennis played across all games.

Well done to the Y10 and 8 Boys tennis teams as well. On Thursday they played at the County tennis finals. This is a huge honour as a result of winning their respective County leagues. The Y10 boys reached the semifinal stage and came up against Monks Walk School. A tough contest saw us lose the fixture, but with some superb tennis played. Our Y8 team got through their semifinal with a comfortable win over Watford Boys. They then came up against Haberdasher in the final, hot off the back of a recent regional final success. It was a very tight and long match with some of the highest standard of tennis seen in a long time. The match result came down to the finest of margins in every single rubber. Eventually Habs got the better of us to take the title, but with 3 Year 7 students in the team, this bodes well for next year. Well done to all the teams, including the girls Year 10 team who finished as runners up also, but played in a round robin format instead.

The U13 and U15 netball teams are currently in Loughborough for the World School Games Tournament. At the time of publication, the U13s had won their first game 17-8. Good luck everyone! More updates to follow next week!

The Year 8 Rounders team played in the District Tournament on Tuesday. Without exception, the fielding and batting were superb. Their decision making, team work and enthusiasm was exemplary and the team won 6 of their 7 matches. They are to be congratulated on finishing second in the District and their positive attitude throughout

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!

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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

The Sandpit Theatre present their Premiere Professional Pantomime!

A fun-filled, sugar-fuelled, family-friendly pantomime adventure that reminds us ALL not to take candy from strangers (even if they wow you with a fabulous song and dance number!)

Join ‘Hansel and Gretel’ in a new take on an old favourite; with tasty tunes, magical mayhem and colourful characters (including a 7 foot yeti!) it’s simply not to be missed!

Chuckl. In association with The Sandpit Theatre bring you the very best in live stand-up comedy.

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

The line-up includes Jo Caufield (Have I Got News For You, Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow) / Sarah Keyworth (Live at the Apollo, Comedy Central's Roast Battles) / Martin Westgate ("...hope he gives up soon before he starts costing me work." - Gary Delaney) / Nelson Gombakomba (Leicester Square New Comedian of the Year Finalist).