Grab your devices and calculators – the House Maths Challenge is happening on January 27th. Put your skills to the test and earn some House points along the way. Everyone’s invited, so gather your friends and join in for some fun as you tackle some tricky maths problems.

Volunteers needed! British Science Week is fast approaching, taking place from 7th - 16th March, and this year’s theme is ‘Change and Adapt’. We’re looking for dynamic guest speakers who can bring this theme to life through talks, workshops, or any other creative ideas that explore how science influences change and adaptation in our world. If you or someone you know has expertise in this area and would like to get involved, we’d love to hear from you so please contact Mrs. Cooper at jacksonk@mysandstorm.org. This is a fantastic opportunity to inspire the next generation of scientists and thinkers.

 As we go into 2025 Hepworth are back on top! The race for second place is tighter than ever, so keep up all the great work as it could change in the blink of an eye.

1. Hepworth 10,250
2. Austen 9523
3. Newton 9522

Special mentions this week:  

• Hayley M (7H) (11) – Most points this week
• Hepworth for winning this weeks house points – 372
• Hepworth for leading this months house points - 376
• 7A for the highest average points in their tutor group (91.1)
• 9E or the highest quiz score total – 76/100

Looking forward to seeing which house can pull out all the stops to get to the top!

This week, we are thrilled to shine the spotlight on Teresa L in Year 8 for her outstanding achievement at the Global Dance Open in Birmingham, held on January 4th, 2025. Teresa participated in the Teen (12-14 Years) Solo Ballet - Repertoire category and brought home an impressive 2nd place! The Global Dance Open (GDO) is an international dance competition that brings together talented dancers from across the globe. It's known for its high level of skill and artistry, and Teresa's performance stood out amongst many talented young dancers. What an amazing achievement, and it is a testament to her hard work, dedication, and passion for ballet. Congratulations, Teresa! If you are interested to fnd out more on the Global Dance Open, visit their website here.

We love showcasing students who go above and beyond, so please do send any submissions with a few lines and/or photographs to the admin email address with the title Student Spotlight. We look forward to hearing from you and celebrating their achievements.

This year we are going to be running parent information sessions delivered by professionals from outside agencies that are centred around various pastoral related issues.

We are delighted to bring you Sandringham Seminars 3 on Monday 3rd February at 5.30pm, with a delivery from Rhodes Wood Hospital and Elysium Healthcare. Rhodes Wood is an expert in the field of supporting young people with extreme mental ill health, and we are very fortunate that they have agreed to deliver this seminar. Rhodes Wood Hospital is a specialist Inpatient Eating Disorder service for children and young people aged 8 up to 18 years based in Hatfield. They aim to identify and understand the symptoms, patterns and origins of psychological distress and help patients manage their condition. The services emphasise not only the mental wellbeing of young people but also their educational, emotional and physical needs. 

This 1 hour session will be held at The SandPit Theatre, Sandringham School at 5.30pm Monday 3rd February. If you would like to book tickets to hear from Rhodes Wood, please book them here. There are 250 tickets available, so please do sign up quickly to avoid missing out.

We were delighted to be selected by Trinity College, as part of our role as a Trinity Champion Centre, to participate in a photo shoot to celebrate our best practices across the Arts and Arts Award. Photographer Arif Gardner managed to capture some wonderful images of our students participating in Arts activities throughout the day. The day highlighted the exceptional breadth of opportunities our students are able to experience. In just one day, Arif was able to capture students participating in our whole school show dress rehearsal, music lessons, Arts Award club, photography club, textiles club, Art club, GCSE Dance lessons, and Art lessons. All of our students were a credit to the school, and it was incredibly impressive to see them eager and proud to participate in the event. Trinity was delighted with the outcome and will share them nationally to inspire other centres to engage in the Arts and Arts Award. Thank you to all of the Arts team for facilitating this opportunity and thank you to our students for their exceptional diligence. A special thanks to Arif Gardner for capturing such lovely photographs and for making the experience so enjoyable for all involved.

British Mathematical Olympiad. In November, six students from years 12 and 13 sat the first round of the British Mathematical Olympiad. The British Maths Olympiad Round 1 is a 3.5 hour Challenge consisting of 6 questions. Entry to the British Maths Olympiad Round 1 is by invitation based on a qualifying SMC score, or by discretionary entry. Around 1000 students qualify from the SMC each year. Three students achieved distinction in the Olympiad with 2 students achieving a merit. Special mention goes to Will M who was best in year 13 and Vovo Z who was best in school. Huge congratulations to everyone involved.

Get that brain back in gear - students are invited to click the link and take part in the House Quiz – test your knowledge and earn points for your house.

Supporting Links is offering a FREE in-person six-week "Talking Teens" course designed to help parents and carers navigate the challenges of parenting 12-19 year olds. It's open to all parents, carers, grandparents, and guardians in Hertfordshire,and will be held on Wednesdays, 7.00 - 9.00pm, from 26th February to 2nd April 2025 at the Gade Community Room, Oakleaf Primary School, Hemel Hempstead. The course will explore the teenage brain, explaining the physical and emotional changes that influence behaviour. It delves deeper into the connection between behaviour and difficult feelings, offer practical strategies for maintaining strong communication, discuss understanding and navigating risk-taking behaviours along with providing effective techniques and tools for conflict resolution. Don't miss this valuable opportunity to gain insights and connect with other parents and carers. For more information and to secure your space please click the links provided.

As well as being the first edition of 2025, this week’s Sandprint is the first produced by Mrs Dowling who has taken over the role from Mrs Holian as editor and publisher. Mrs Holian has done a brilliant job celebrating the successes of the school community and keeping us updated on news and events for the past few years and we are very grateful to her for all her hard work. Good luck to Mrs Dowling who will be continuing this excellent work!

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?

As part of our ongoing efforts to raise funds for our school charities, we are excited to announce our upcoming school raffle. This will take place from the 3rd – 7th February 2025. Throughout the year we raise money for Unicef, Youth talk, and Herts for Refugees, and we are proud of our continued support of these amazing charities. We are reaching out to families for support, and would greatly appreciate any donations of raffle prizes or contributions such as: gift vouchers, discount codes for local businesses, hampers or non-perishable food items, gadgets, signed memorabilia, and any other unused items you think would make great prizes. If you would like to make a contribution, please email David Keenleyside by Friday 24th January 2025.

Sandringham School has a vacancy for a Teaching Assistant and Teaching Assistant (Visual Impairment Support)

If you would like to join our team of passionate, dedicated staff, visit here for more information and to apply.

We look forward to hearing from you.

As we continue through the cold winter months, the government have provided schools with information to share with families with regard to NHS guidance and UKHSA advice to parents to know when a child is too ill for school. We would encourage all families to click on these links and read the information to support maintained attendance at school whenever possible. They provide parents with a few simple steps and reminders to help reduce the spread of any bugs, and hopefully make the next few months happy and healthy for all.

Year 11 students and their families are invited to the "Into the Sixth Form Information Evening" on Thursday, 16th January. This event will provide valuable insights into the Sixth Form, including opportunities to speak with subject teachers, current Sixth Form students, and gather detailed course information.

There will be a Headteacher presentation at 5:30 pm for tutor groups AHJN, and a second session at 6:15 pm for tutor groups EFST. Following that, attendees can visit subject-specific talks and ask questions about subject choices and life in the Sixth Form.

Students are encouraged to bring their subject information booklet, provided in the Year 11 trial exam result packs, and wear non-uniform attire. Due to expected high attendance, we recommend families walk to the event as there will be no parking available on the school site.

Please note, there will also be a compulsory Sixth Form Induction for students offered a conditional place in June 2025 (25th-26th).

We look forward to seeing you there!

·  FRENCH: Parodie

·  GERMAN: Parodie

·  SPANISH: Parodia

THINKING QUESTION:

More often than not, the Spanish and French translations look and sound very similar; this week's words are almost identical. Is this because they all come from Greek, which is part of the Hellenic branch of the Indo-European family, rather than from Latin, the basis of Romance languages like French and Spanish?

BOTW this week is Divine Rivals – the first book in the Letters of Enchantment duology.

Eighteen-year-old Iris dreams that one day her writing will make a difference. A war between gods is raging, and she’s landed a prestigious job at the Oath Gazette. But at home, she’s barely holding it together. Her brother is missing on the frontline. Her mother is lost in a haze of addiction. And each night Iris pours her heart out in letters to her brother. Letters that will never be answered. Or so she thinks… Her letters have made their way into the hands of the last person Iris trusts: Roman Kitt, her cold, unforgiving rival at the paper. When he anonymously writes back, they forge a magical connection that will seal their fate forever.

This is proving to be a very popular series here in the LRC One of our year nine students wrote the following review:

“This is a really great book and is full of romance, action and set in a fantasy world. I really got hooked reading this book and in the action scenes I really felt like I was there watching it. This is a great first book to the Divine Rivals duology and great if you love romance, but don't want a book solely about it and want a bit of fantasy too!”

P is for… parody [noun]

Definition: An imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect.

Example: The film is a parody of the horror genre.

Synonyms: Imitation, Spoof, Caricature.

Antonyms: Flattery, Truth, Praise.

Etymology: Derived from the Greek parōidía, “a song sung alongside another.”

A busy start to the year for our sports teams. Good luck and looking forward to seeing all the results on the socials and in next weeks edition.

Congratulations to the U16 team who progress into the next round of the county cup after beating Croxley Danes 5-4 with and important penalty save. 

U18 National Tennis: A closely fought group match v's Berkhamsted which required a tie breaker, with Sandringham eventually coming out on top. Click here for footage of the winning singles match shot. 

A solid performance from our Year 7 team against Roundwood, ending in a 38-20 win in the District league. Points shared amongst players with some impressive finishing. Rasmus D takes MOM for his 8 points and good ball handling skills.

The Year 11 boys team also came out victorious in a challenging and competitive match away to Lampton. The boys kept their heads and closed out a 1 point win with some excellent defensive work. Onto the national quarter finals!

Great start to 2025 for the Basketball teams.

Award winning production company, Limitless Productions, are back in St Albans and this time they've got backup!

Welcome to the wild streets of 1920s New York, where gangsters run the show in Bugsy Malone! Join the charming Bugsy as he dives head-first into a thrilling turf war between rival gangs - Dandy Dan’s slick crew and Fat Sam’s lovable misfits. With whipped cream pies flying and laughter echoing, Bugsy navigates chaos while trying to win the heart of the dazzling showgirl Blousey Brown.

As the stakes rise and friendships are tested, Bugsy must step up to save his pals and outsmart the competition. Bursting with catchy tunes and high-energy dance numbers. From the team behind 'Little Shop of Horrors', 'Grease' and 'The Addams Family', this musical is a rollicking adventure not to be missed!

Tickets are on sale here and cost from £17.00