On Wednesday this week, twelve Sixth Form students performed at a prestigious local recital at St Peter’s Church in St Albans. The students prepared an hour long programme of music which featured largely soloists but also a couple of small ensemble items. The students were fantastic ambassadors for the school and the audience were impressed and thoroughly enjoyed the music they had prepared.

This week we have another half term virtual work experience opportunity to share.  This one is for students (Years 10 – 13) interested in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) careers:

GSK Virtual Work Experience: Monday 24th October to Thursday 27th October 2022
GSK's Virtual Work Experience 2022 will provide GCSE and A level students (Years 10 to 13) with the opportunity to:

•Learn about how GSK takes products from molecule to market
•Learn about different career opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths
•Gain job application hints and tips
•Gain an industry-accredited Bronze Industrial Cadets Award

 Applications will close on Wednesday 12th October 2022 at the latest. Sign up here

Airbus: For those interested in a future career in Aerospace Developments/Engineering, please see this useful page from the Hertfordshire Opportunities Portal (HOP): Employer Spotlight Airbus

As you can see from the pictures, Ms O'Neill and the Forensic Science Module students have been having an interesting time looking a Blood Spatter Analysis and Crime Scene Investigations this term. Students have a chance to choose from a variety of modules in Year 9 including Forensic Science, Debating and Horticultural Studies- all of which are a great way for students to find out more about subjects they have not previously studied or are thinking about studying later on. Thanks to Ms O'Neill for the great photos! 
 

A reminder that next Friday, 14th October, HPV Vaccinations will take place in school – all Year 8 students will need to be called out at some point throughout the day.

You may have seen on our @SandringhamMFL twitter page, the Spanish Exchange students from Colegio Internacional Europa have had a great week here at Sandringham School. They enjoyed a warm welcome from Mr Gray, Ms Baikie and Ms Unsain in the Sandpit Theatre on Tuesday, followed by lessons including cookery. On Wednesday they headed to St Albans to enjoy the sights including the cathedral,  today they are off to Harry Potter World and this weekend they will be enjoying the sights with their host families. We were also delighted to be presented with a beautiful weather vane gift proudly displayed in Main Reception. We would like to thank parents/carers for being so hospitable and both our students and the Spanish students for making the week such an enjoyable experience.

Well done to everyone who entered last week and got the answer right! This week's puzzle is shown above. For every entry you will receive 1 house point, 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 house points!  To enter, simply scan the QR code and fill out the google form.  Good luck! Why not play at home and see who is the quickest to get the answer?

We have several vacancies available if you would like to join our fantastic team of staff and support staff. Please see here for more details 

This week’s whole school theme recognises Black History Month. October is Black History Month in the UK and this year's theme is 'Sharing Journeys' - an exploration of the lives and stories of the people who came to Britain in the 19th and 20th centuries and helped lay the foundations of today's diverse Black British Community. The students had an excellent whole school assembly from Director of Learning for History, Ms Constable,which got them to reflect on the work of a range of inspirational black people and consider how they could show pride in their identity. During October there are many events to celebrate Black History Month, across the country special classes and celebrations are arranged within schools and African and Caribbean societies at universities put on special events and lectures. Museums and art galleries have special themed exhibits, and there are also many special themed shows about Black History Month on the TV and Radio. We encourage everyone in the school community to get involved with as many events as possible. 

The Year 13 Weather Monitoring group are passing on the baton in order to focus on their A Level exam preparation. They have recently been training the next generation of volunteer programmers to take the project forward. In the past year Devayan P, Henry O, George A and Sam P have installed weather sensors on the roof, set up wifi and a server to receive the weather data, and have written a professional looking website to display it. The picture shows one member of the group training the new cohort of Year 10/11’s in the coding behind the website. We will bring news as the project develops!

In the LRC, the friendly team believe autumn is the perfect time to curl up with a good book. Students can search new stock on Mysandtorm, Accessit Learning Resource Centre, Quick Lists, New Books Autumn 2022. All books can be reserved online and collected at break, lunch or after school. They have something for everyone, and our team of librarians are always happy to offer recommendations. They love to hear what students are reading and enjoying and can even include your review in our book of the week feature. 

We are delighted to feature Goergia T this week, who was selected to run for the East of England in this years London Mini marathon over the weekend. Georgia had a great time, staying in London with her team and running the mini marathon itself of 2.6km along the iconic route. She finished 69th overall , so top 1/3 out of over 200 who started the race. After being out with injury for three months, she was glad to be running again and her highlight was meeting Eliud Kipchoge at the finish line and him signing her team t shirt!! Well done Georgia on being selected and such a fantastic achievement. 

We are looking forward to our first student house competition next week, Last Form Standing. Year 7 tutor groups have been busy practising their songs and will be battling it out in the Sandprint Theatre from 1pm on Monday 10th October. Students and staff are welcome to come along and support their houses. We will update you on the winner next week!

Year 11 geographers travelled to Preston Montford Field Studies Centre in Shropshire from 28th-30th September to complete their compulsory fieldwork as part of the GCSE specification. The weather on the trip was for the most part fair, with students building important skills to use in different environments that will build into future careers. On Wednesday, students completed urban fieldwork in Shrewsbury town centre, examining the effectiveness of traffic management schemes in reducing congestion. On Thursday, students spent the whole day in the Shropshire Hills AONB examining the change in channel and valley characteristics on the Ash Brook in the Carding Mill Valley.  

As always, the students engaged positively with tutors and each other on the trip, working hard to prepare themselves for their Paper 3 exam. A big thank you goes to Mrs Kitley, Miss Borman, Miss Pratley and Mr Swann for their time and effort ensuring the trip was able to go ahead and that students were supported in their studies whilst away. Lastly, a big thank you to all students from Mr Miller! 

Every year at about this time, the staffroom is filled with the comforting aroma of home baked cakes and biscuits in support of MacMillian Coffee Morning. This year was no exception although we decided to hold it on a Monday instead of a Friday which allowed it to roll on to Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. There was an amazing selection on offer, probably inspired by The Great British Bake off, and staff were abled to fuel themselves for the day as well as raising money for a good cause. Last year we raised £260 and I am delighted to say that this year we have raised £350.60 to support this worthwhile cause. Thank you to all the staff who provided such delicious baked goods and thank you to those who enjoyed eating them while donating valuable funds.

Fawcett extended their lead again this week with 3,324 points overall but Shakespeare have had a fantastic week, narrowing the gap with over 400 points this week alone. Special mention goes to Thanisk K from 7N with the most points this week (11) and to Oliver L in (8H) who has a whopping 52 house points overall. A big thanks to all the teachers who have been giving out house points to make the total over  21,500 points awarded so far this year. Elgar won week 1 of the ‘Maths house puzzle’ with 14 points (please see Puzzle of the Week to enter this week's) and next week we have two house events so it's everything to play for:

• Year 7 ‘LAST FORM STANDING’ on Monday 10th October
• Year 7 ‘Speed Stacking’ on Tuesday 11th October.

This is our new apprenticeship display in the Sixth Form Centre!  We are continuing to increase the awareness of apprenticeships and providing specific support, advice and guidance to students considering pursuing an apprenticeship as a post-18 option. We have also highlighted a few of our apprenticeship alumni who students have enjoyed hearing about. If you'd like to find out more, you can do so here. Thanks also to Ms Warris for the fabulous new board in Reception featuring the destinations of our A-Level 2022 cohort. Students are welcome to take a look at both for inspiration for their next steps. 

On Tuesday, over 20 students from Years 12 and 13 sat 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 90-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 Mathematical Challenge are designed to make students think. Most are accessible, yet still challenge those with more experience. 

Students that perform well are awarded Gold, Silver or Bronze certificates, with the best performing students being invited to take an additional challenge, including being invited to participate in the British Mathematical Olympiad.

Best of luck to all those that took part. 

This week we also feature Morgan W-J in 7A who gave up his time on Saturday to help his friends raise £120 for Guide Dogs at a tombola in Tesco (Ware branch). His family have previously been a Boarder family for Guide dogs and they have also re-homed Guide dogs. Morgan is often involved in raising money and supporting  the Guide dogs charity and he had a great day raising funds for this vital cause. It is fantastic to see our students giving something back to the community so well done Morgan! 

If you would like to nominate someone for the Student Spotlight, please contact melissa.holian@sandringham.herts.sch.uk with any details and/or photos to include. 

FRENCH: Le mot de la semaine: rejeter

GERMAN: Das Wort der Woche: abweisen

SPANISH: La palabra de la semana: repudiar

Thinking Questions

• What are the effects of globalisation on the languages spoken across the world?

This week's book of the week is The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin. After her best friend dies in a drowning accident, Suzy is convinced that the true cause of the tragedy must have been a rare jellyfish sting— things don't just happen for no reason. She crafts a plan to prove her theory, even if it means travelling the globe. Annie M in 7J, who has recently read the book said: 'I really enjoyed this book, especially the flashbacks where we learn what happened between the two friends. This is not a 'they lived happily ever after story' but I liked that as I felt it was true to life.'

R is for repudiate [verb]

Definition: Refuse to accept; reject.

Example: She has repudiated policies associated with previous party leaders.

Synonyms: dismiss, renounce, revoke

Antonyms: accept, allow, approve

Etymology: From the  Latin word ‘repudiare’ meaning divorced or cast off.

This week saw another win for the U19 Performance squad, this time in the Sister in Sport National Cup, beating Cedar Upper School 51-33. OPM - Katherine M & CPM - Maddie B

The U15 Netball team also did brilliantly winning 41-9 in round 1 of the county cup. OPM - Millie W & CPM - Charlotte H.

There was an excellent game of Netball for the Senior Team, who beat SJL in the District League. OPM Ida S who was outstanding in defence.

And our U16 Netball team also had a great match with a win in round 1 of the district cup over NBS! OPM - Martha D & CPM

Wednesday evening saw some fantastic Table Tennis on display from both the U16 boys and girls this evening in the District Championships, with the boys taking 3rd position and the girls coming 1st, meaning they progress to the County round of the National Competition. Well done to everyone involved! 

On Monday, the Year 7 B team put in a solid performance against Laureate Academy in the County Cup resulting in a 2-0 win. They now progress to round 2. MOM Elijah B for his composure and strength at CB.

Our U13 Girls Football team also showed great form in the opening round of the ESFA competition with a comfortable win 7-3 against Stoke Newington School. Well done team!

The Year 10 boys progressed through to RD2 of the County Cup after beating Verulam 4-1 at home. And finally our Year 8 team put in a brilliant performance against Haileybury Turnford School with a 13-2 win seeing them through to the next round of the national cup. Some lovely football played at times and some well taken goals. MOM Will A

Please see above for all of the fixtures this week. You can follow @SandringhamPE for score updates and photos.

On Saturday our various rugby teams took on Samuel Ryder. They Year 7 boys showed real promise in their first ever rugby match for the school but ended up losing 7-3 . Toby R, Lucas H and Samuel A-A with tries for us. Year 8 lost to a strong Samuel Ryder side but great play and attitude from the boys, fighting until the last minute. MOM Mo M. Year 9 also made an excellent start to the season beating SRA to kick the season off with a win. The U15 boys also had a win.

The Year 10 Rugby team won their first competitive rugby match this week vs Beaumont in the 1st Round of the Nat Vase. A very close, well fought game saw trys from Mattis W x2 Sebbie L & Mackensie B-G. 

Sandringham students put in some great runs yesterday at the District Athletics hosted by Verulam School. There were wins on the board as well as some Cross Country debuts. Well done team! 

Welcome to THE DARK ROOM – the world’s only live-action, text-based adventure game. It’s strange, insane and addictive – it’s a choose-your-own-adventure, so choose it!

How do you play? The audience is trapped in a retro videogame with a sadistic end-of-level boss. Choose your options, survive the abuse simulator that is the improv comedy overlord John Robertson, and escape to win £1000 – or, be brutally murdered by the rest of the crowd!

Tickets £10.00 – £12.50

John Robertson’s terrifying, live-action videogame 'The Dark Room’ now comes with a family-friendly flavour! Part stand-up comedy show, part theatre; all interactive and insane - this award-winning, genre-defining, mixture of improv comedy and retro gaming all combines to become a deranged rock n’ roll game show – now suitable for ages 11 and up. Families will find themselves trapped inside a live-action videogame!

‘You must see the Dark Room at least once in your life’ ✭✭✭✭✭ The Sun

‘Genuinely irresistibly dangerous’ ✭✭✭✭ The Stage

Tickets £8

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!

“Absolutely Incredible” – BBC Three Counties Radio

“Hilarious, Modern… an absolute delight” - Bedford Today

Tickets £12.50-£15

Tickets are available now at www.hanselandgretel.co.uk

Little Red Riding Hood’s friend arrives to tell us the story but has a problem, there are no pages in the book! He tries to tell the story and we meet Red Riding Hood’s mum, dad, and grandma but he keeps getting the story wrong. So, Cinderella arrives to help, dancing a conga with her Jack’s Baked Beans Band and suggests auditions to find the Wolf to end the story.

There is lots of participation in this theatre show, with the audience becoming Cinderella’s backing band, auditioning to be wolves, helping Red Riding Hood’s dad cut down trees and dancing a conga.Tickets £7/£5

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