The first batch of photographs ordered through from VanCols have been distributed to students this week. If you would still like to order a photograph, you can do so via their website. The cut off date for free delivery has now passed but you can order them to be delivered to your home address. Students were given a card with a code to enter when placing the order-if this has been misplaced, you can contact the admin email address to request it. 

Although we do appreciate that circumstances can mean families have to pick up and drop off their children by car, the school remains committed to encouraging students to walk or cycle to school. We work closely with local neighbourhood and community groups and would ask once again that families are considerate when driving to, and parking near the site.  At these times, local roads are frequently gridlocked with no safe passable spaces given the number of cars parked across driveways. Your support by arranging pick-ups/drop offs some distance from the school would be much appreciated. Thank you.

We are delighted to promote the details of an events at one of our fellow schools in the trust. Wheatfields Fireworks Extravaganza is taking place on Sunday 3rd November at Wheatfields Junior School  with gates opening from 4pm and the display starting at 5.10pm. You can book tickets using the QR code above and come along to support the school.

From Mrs Brearley

As a school, we are committed to finding the most effective ways to communicate with our parents and students. We would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to respond to our short survey in order to help us improve our digital content. Thank you! Digital Content Survey . 

As mentioned in the Headlines, we are delighted to welcome our Exchange students from Europa School this week- they have a fantastic itinerary planned and you can follow all of the news (and anything MFL related) on X, SandringhamMFL. We look forward to reporting more next week. 

We would like to provide more shade and a more attractive backdrop to our Upper car park, so are looking for any young specimen trees that any families may have, but don’t have the space for e.g. unwanted saplings or potted trees. Please contact the admin email address if you are able to help and we will be in touch to arrange this. 

For those unable to attend the Year 9 Information Evening, a copy can be found here. 

Important upcoming dates are as follows:

• 23rd of October: World of work (guest speaker event)
• 15th of November :Battlefields trip
• 27th and 28th of November: Pastoral Review Day
• 30th of January- GCSE options booklet is published
• 25th of February- Year 9 options evening
• 5th of March – Year 9 parents evening and the options choice deadline
• 16th of June - E Week residential - Isle of Wight

Two of our lovely students, Ani K and Alexa H in 10N have written the following about their fantastic experience of the German exchange.

We really enjoyed having our German exchange partners over here in England last week and we hope they did too. While we were stuck at school the German students got to go to Harry Potter World and on a very rainy tour around St Albans, and we had a pizza and movie night in the Sandpit on Wednesday after school. We took them to all of our lessons on Thursday so they could see what Sandringham is like and we spent fourth session getting to know everyone else on the exchange, and on Friday we got to miss our lessons for a trip to Oxford, where we walked around the town and went inside Trinity College to see what the university and its colleges are like. Our very nice tour guide, who was also a student, told us about stories between the colleges and the rivalries between them. 

On Saturday, the only day we had nice weather, we went on a bus tour around London to show the German students the famous sights, we had food at Borough Market, went on a boat trip down the Thames and went shopping in Oxford Street. On Sunday we did the St Albans Treasure Hunt, which was a fundraiser for our local charity Youth Talk - we didn’t win but we did get a free tote bag. 

We had an amazing week with our exchange students and even though we were nervous about meeting them at first we got on really well and the time went by so fast - now we can’t wait to go back to Germany!! 

Wir würden diesen Austausch auf jeden Fall jedem empfehlen, der darüber nachdenkt, und wir danken Frau Kincaid für die Organisation all dessen. :)

The below article is written by Evan  L-O in 8J. We hope that it inspires other people to get involved with helping in their local community. 

On Sunday, my family and I took part in the first ever Great St Albans Challenge. It was a charity event in support of Youth Talk and involved going around the city centre, solving clues and earning points, starting and ending at the Cathedral. Using an interactive app, we had to use different skills to solve the clues: general knowledge, history knowledge and geography skills. The course took 2.5 hours and at the end, we gathered at the Cathedral for the results. There was a talk from the organisers with information about Youth Talk, then there were presentations by special guests, local Olympic athlete Phoebe Gill and the High Sheriff of Hertfordshire, Annie Brewster. The winners were those with the most points gained at the end. Over 450 people took part (around 80 teams), and it was great to see the community spirit. The event raised £7,689.82 in total that day. It was a very enjoyable event, with the bonus of the funds going to charity, and we look forward to taking part again next year.

The Puzzle of the Week is a Mathematics challenge run weekly. This week's puzzle is shown above. For every entry you will receive 1 house point, if you answer correctly you will win 2 house points 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?

Article from Mrs Cooper

Are you passionate about STEM and Sustainability? Imperial College London are running a new competition where teams will need to create a 5 minute film, showcasing their project. The main aim of the project is to develop a new and innovative scientific solution to one of the United Nation’s Global Goals for Sustainable Development. To find out more information, join the STEM Google Classroom!

Keep an eye on the google classroom as there will be lots of other opportunities advertised throughout the year!

Join us using the class codes:
Years 7, 8 and 9: u5zobuf
Years 10, 11, 12 and 13: cm5iwdb

This week we have been focussing on the Whole School Read. Every year we choose a book which all students and staff are encouraged to read, and discuss. When students have read the book they will receive a bespoke badge from the LRC which proves they have read it, and acts as a prompt for others who have read the book to discuss their ideas. This year the Whole School read is ‘Escape Room’ by Christopher Edge.  A brief synopsis of the book reads "From a cavernous library of dust to an ancient Mayan tomb, a deserted shopping mall stalked by extinct animals to the command module of a spaceship heading to Mars, the perils of The Escape seem endless. Can Ami and her friends find the Answer before it's too late?” Alongside this students received a thought provoking assembly from Ms Jackson who explored one of the main themes within the book, Artificial Intelligence. We encourage all students to get their hands on a copy and read it.

DSPL7 and Vista St Albans are hosting coffee mornings with a school and SEND Family Worker to help support parents/carers of children with SEND, diagnosed or not. This is an informal and safe place for parents/carers to share information and chat. The DSPL7 SEND Lead will also be available for discussions. There is no need to book to attend the drop in.

• 9th October  Elaine Bridle -ADHD
• 27th November Collette Garland – EBSA
• 29th January Lyndsey Hooper – Mental Health Support Team
• 19th March Faye Den Heijer – Ask Sali
• 7th May Clare Tominey-Smith – Challenging behaviour at home
• 25th June Niamh Cooper – First Steps ED

Time: 9:15-11:00 am Venue: The Hub, Fleetville Junior School, 228 Hatfield Road, St Albans, AL1 4LW. 

Individual appointments: Running alongside the coffee mornings, there is also the opportunity to reserve a 20-30 minute appointment to speak to the professionals between 9:30am – 12:00pm.

To book an appointment please email admin@dspl7.org.uk

Year 8 have taken over this week to bring you all the latest news about how rehearsals for the Whole School Show, Harry Potter and The Cursed Child, are going. 

• “The rehearsals have been thoroughly enjoyable and the ensemble have played a crucial role in the development of many of the scenes, such as the wand dance and the Hogwarts montage. The ensemble is heavily integrated in the cast so if you take part in the WSS, you will feel important and recognised.”-Max
• “The Whole School Show has been a spectacular experience and it's an amazing chance to show your drama and acting skills. Although I have only been in the ensemble, I have been involved in many scenes and had a lot of fun”-Ernie
• “Whole school has been the highlight of my Mondays. I look forward to it all day. It is a  big commitment, but it’s worth it”-Luca
• “It’s been a great honour to be in the whole school show as it was so hard to get in. I’ve loved every bit of it”-Oliver
• “In my opinion, this is a great show and fun thing to do in your spare time.I have made some friends along the way, and is the best way to socialise with other people.”-Daniel
• “The Whole school show is a great way to use your acting skills in a brilliant and imaginative play, this show is brilliant a great new way to bond and explore drama”-Theo

We are currently looking for a Family Support worker and Sixth Form Learning Mentor to join our fantastic school. More information is available on our website here.

Please share with friends who may be interested.

Hepworth maintain their lead this week with a total of 3,144 house points. Turing are second and Austen take third place. In terms of individual house points, well done to Luca F (8E) who gets the ePraise badge for highest house points in a week (this is a new badge which will be awarded weekly and appear on students' ePraise profiles.) 

This week also saw our first house event: Year 7 Speed stacking. The exciting competition took place on Monday where teams of 8 completed an individual, paired and team stack. The lowest time overall took the win and it was great to see so many Year 7 students competing and supporting their houses. The results were 1st Hepworth, 2nd Austen, 3rd Johnson, 4th Turing 5th Newton 6th Fawcett 7th Elgar and 8th Shakespeare. 

UPCOMING EVENTS  

• Friday 4th October – STEM/Library House competition in the LRC
• Friday 18th October - Last form standing
• Year 8 Spelling Bee – TBC
• Year 7, 8, 9 and 10 house netball - TBC

Emotionally Based School Anxiety Coffee mornings

The EBSA coffee mornings are for parents who are currently not attending school because of their school related anxiety. This event is being run by DSPL7 with Services for Young people, and young people are also welcome to attend. This is a drop- in session with no need to book.

Coffee mornings take place at The Pioneer Club, Heathlands Drive, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL3 5AY, at the community café, Suet Yard.

Sessions run from 9:30-11:30 on the following dates:

• Tuesday 8th October 2024
• Thursday 21st November 2024
• Wednesday 22nd January 2025
• Tuesday 11th March 2025
• Wednesday 14th May 2025
• Thursday 19th June 2025

We have had a busy September in the Music Department, and have enjoyed welcoming back our musicians, as well as meeting our new starters in Years 7 and 12. Our first few events are around the corner with Year 7 performing in their form groups to the rest of the year in the Sandpit Theatre as part of our annual ‘Last Form Standing’ House competition on Friday 18th October. Students have made a fantastic start to learning their class songs and we can’t wait to hear them!

Our Autumn Concert is also coming up on Wednesday November 20th. It is worth noting, that the start time this year is at 6:30pm. The concert involves our music ensembles and choirs and the students involved will be given a letter next week during their rehearsals.

Above is a list of all the fantastic extra curricular music clubs. New members in our groups are always welcome, so please do come along and try!

A group of Year 11 students visited Oaklands College this week, to find out more about the courses on offer there post GCSE.  Students were lucky to go on a tour of the campus and find out more about subjects areas of their choice, for example, Fashion, Construction and Business.  Thank you to Oaklands for hosting our students, we are sure that they gained a lot from the visit.  For anyone interested in finding out more, Oaklands will be hosting open days on 9th November (Welwyn campus) and 16th November (St Albans campus).  More information can be found here.

As per the letter sent out this week, we will be holding a Movie Night on Friday 11th October in The SandPit Theatre from 6-8pm to finish the week of fundraising activities for Austen and Elgar. Students across all houses in years 7-10 are invited along to watch the movie in the company of their friends.

Tickets are on sale via ParentPay at a price of £6 per person which will include a bag of ‘pick N mix’ and a drink. As well as the included refreshments students will be able to purchase additional refreshments on the night. Due to limited seating available in The SandPit Theatre we will be closing the ticket sales once the maximum capacity has been reached. Greater donations are welcome and would be appreciated as they make such a huge difference to our chosen charities: Youth Talk, Herts for Refugees and Unicef.

As a school, we raised over £20,000 last academic year, with around £6,500 coming from these charity weeks so we encourage students to come along, enjoy a night with friends whilst also donating towards some fantastic causes. 

A reminder that Monday 7th October at 6pm sees our first session titled ‘Challenging Behaviours’  by Fiona Haynes.

Fiona works for the Links Academy Trust supporting students across Welwyn, Hatfield, Hertsmere,  St Albans and Harpenden. Her skill sets covers working with students experiencing trauma, undiagnosed SEND, behavioural influences, and working with parents, school staff and other professionals. Fiona has worked with us for many years supporting managing students with behaviour issues, mental health and SEND. She delivers staff training, workshops with students and advice to staff when requested.

You are invited to a relaxed style presentation with Fiona where she will be discussing the work she does in schools and with parents and sharing her years of experience. Toward the end there will be a question-and-answer session.  If you would like to book tickets to hear from Fiona, please book them here. 

On Tuesday, students in Years 12 and 13 took part in the Senior Mathematical Challenge run by the UK Mathematics Trust.  The Senior Mathematical Challenge is a 90-minute, multiple-choice competition.

This was an excellent opportunity for students 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. 

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

Please see the flyer above for a fantastic initiative from local charity, St Albans Community Pantry for a great way to buy/sell unwanted clothes sustainably. We hope you are able to go along and support this event

FRENCH: Le mot de la semaine: éloquent  

GERMAN: Das Wort der Woche: redegewandt

SPANISH: La palabra de la semana:  elocuente

Thinking Question:

• Many people think of German being a harsh sounding language. From these words, would you agree?

As mentioned in the Theme Week write up, our Whole School Read, Escape Room, was launched this week. Below is a brief synopsis and comments from one of our students.

When Ami arrives at The Escape, she thinks it's just a game - the ultimate escape room. Meeting her teammates, Ami learns from the Host that they have been chosen to save the world and they must work together to find the Answer. But as he locks them inside the first room, they quickly realise this is no ordinary game.

Mia in yr 9 who has recently read the book comments, ‘This book was very dramatic. It kept me on the edge of my seat.’

E is for ... eloquent [adjective]

Definition: Fluent or persuasive in speaking or writing.

Example: The student gave an eloquent speech.

Synonyms: Articulate, Persuasive, Powerful

Antonyms: Weak, Unenthusiastic, Ineffective

Etymology: From Latin ‘eloquens’ (having the faculty of speech) the present participle of eloquor (“to speak out”)

Our Year 7 students had their first taste of representing the school for rugby on Saturday against Samuel Ryder. There were some brilliant individual plays and collectively as a team they worked well to secure an 8-1 win with tries spread across the team. MOM James D.

Year 8 also saw some great play across the squad for a number of boys vs Samuel Ryder, including some debutants who reacted well to the task. The match was an impressive point fest ending in a 50-40 win to Sandringham.

Our Senior Team also had a great game vs Haberdashers which sadly ended in a loss. They'll be back in action against Samuel Ryder next week.

Please see above for our upcoming fixtures. Good luck to all of our teams!

After this week's cross country event in the rain, the results for the county round are in:

• Junior boys - 2nd
• Inter boys - 2nd
• Senior girls - 1st
• Senior boys - 1st

We await results from the other county event and will see how many of these teams progress.

Congratulations to Phoebe H & Grace B for their selection into the @hertscricket squads for the year. Two brilliant cricketers who continue to work hard and fully deserve this achievement! Well done! 

Phoebe said of her experience so far "I played for County last year and it was an enjoyable experience. Our toughest opponents were Bucks. We have had our first training session for this year and start matches around April time. I enjoy bowling and am looking forward to improving my batting next year ." Grace said "I have been playing cricket since I was around 8 and enjoy it. We are training with the Year 9s this year which is a good experience. I am looking forward to the season ahead."

Well done to all of our amazing netball teams who performed brilliantly in the County tournament at the weekend. Our U16 squad came second and are through to the Regionals, our u19 just missed out on a final place by 2 goals against a strong Haileybury side, and U14s put in a brilliant effort in their first ever county tournament. Amazing work girls! 

A pleasing effort from our four U16 table tennis players this week at the District tournament. A 3rd place finish for our boys who just miss out on the county finals. Well done everyone.

A good win for the Senior boys basketball team in their first game of the season against Dame Alice Owens this afternoon. Great to have the team back together and a first win for the boys

In other netball news- our U13A team performed brilliantly this week bringing home the first win of the season of 19-9 vs Sir John Lawes School. Well done to Eliza P for receiving the player of the match. 

And some excellent work from our Year 10 netball team securing a win against RPS. POM Aoife C for her brilliant work in defence!

And finally, a great effort from our Year 7 netball players this afternoon! It was the first time representing the school for a lot of them, which they can all be super proud of! Lots of great play as well as giving us things to work on in training… looking forward to seeing what’s to come.

We are super proud of the determination and perseverance shown by our senior girls squad earlier in the week. After being 2-1 down at half time the girls came out on top securing a 5-2 win. POM went to Marelie R for 90 minutes of hard work in midfield.

Our Senior boys football team also continued their national cup run this week with a 1-0 win away from home vs Forest School. Another goal for Butler, clean sheet for Vicente L and Michael B was today’s MOM.

Following the fantastic success of ‘Hansel and Gretel’ & ‘Rapunzel’ our creative team are back with a Brand New pantomime adventure based on the classic tale.

 Puss In Boots and the Pea Green detective agency are ready to save Pantoland from a terrible threat!

The Hickory Dickory Dock clock has been stolen and someone is messing with the pantomime timeline. The police are struggling to sniff out a suspect and things are getting stranger by the hour! Join Puss In Boots on their epic quest to bring the time thief to justice. This sword-swinging, paw-scratching, time-stopping pantomime is an action packed treat for all ages!

Tickets are on sale here and cost from £10.00

Time for dancing, drinking and the search for true love. The club's getting hot but out in the cold the Bouncers are ready for anything. Meet Ralph, Judd, Les and Lucky Eric as they relive a night in a London disco in the 80s in an outrageous celebration of the UK nightclub scene.

This production of John Godber’s ‘Bouncers’ has seen huge success at multiple Drama festivals across the UK. Most recently at the UK’s largest festival, the National Drama Festival in Coventry. Previously, the show has seen multiple awards at the Welwyn Youth Drama Festival, placing first and winning multiple awards for elements of the show, as well as sold out performances across Hertfordshire. Now, the Bouncers are on their way to St Albans.

Tickets are on sale here and cost from £12.50