Headlines PressTales Issue 20, 10 November 2017 Dear Parents/Carers The first PSHE day for Year 11 took place on Friday 3 rd November. Following an assembly, a number of students went to Herts Regional College and others stayed in school to hear about A Level subjects that they may not know about already. In the afternoon the girls had a session on study skills, and were provided with ideas on how to revise for their exams. From conversations I have had with the girls, they thoroughly enjoyed the day and gained a lot from what was on offer. Thank you to all of the staff who enabled this day to happen, in particular, Denise Read and Jane Fry. Our Sixth Form Open evening takes place on Wednesday 15 th November, starting at 7pm. We welcome all Year 11 students and their parents to have a look at what our Sixth Form has to offer. Thank you to all parents who have been able to attend the relevant Year Information evenings since September. The Year 9 evening on Tuesday 14 th November is the last one. We are grateful for the feedback that we have received through the questionnaires that parents have completed on the evenings. We would like to thank the Presdales PTA for agreeing to fund new outdoor benches that we will soon be purchasing. These will go in the void at the back of the mansion by the canteen and should provide seating for around 70 students. There are plans to try and cover this area in the future. The PTA have been busy planning the Christmas Fayre that will take place on Friday 24 th November and we would all appreciate your support either through your attendance or through purchasing raffle tickets. The PTA have secured a number of quality prizes this year and it would be wonderful to sell all of the raffle tickets. Students are still picking up a huge number of reward points; 2476 in the week of 30 th October. The most common consequences being given out are for lack of homework and lack of equipment. Please could you support us by ensuring that your child has the relevant books in their bag the night before, and that they have completed their homework on time. We have started to investigate online systems that will inform you of when homework has been set, what it is and when it is due. Finally, I would like to thank all of the students and staff involved in the performance of Macbeth at the Hertford theatre last week. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend due to another school event, but I have been informed that the performance was outstanding. I am looking forward to seeing an excerpt of the performance in the Creative Arts Showcase next week. Thank you for your continued support Kind regards Matt Warren Headteacher Sixth Form Open Evening Wednesday 15th November 7pm to 9pm Following the introduction of the reward system, we would like to congratulate the following forms for having the highest points in their year so far: 7SH 8LC 9JP 10AW 11AL 12NG 13DS Rewards Well done!
Transcript
Headlines
PressTales Issue 20, 10 November 2017
Dear Parents/Carers
The first PSHE day for Year 11 took place on Friday 3rd November. Following an assembly, a number of students went to Herts Regional College and others stayed in school to hear about A Level subjects that they may not know about already. In the afternoon the girls had a session on study skills, and were provided with ideas on how to revise for their exams. From conversations I have had with the girls, they thoroughly enjoyed the day and gained a lot from what was on offer. Thank you to all of the staff who enabled this day to happen, in particular, Denise Read and Jane Fry.
Our Sixth Form Open evening takes place on Wednesday 15th November, starting at 7pm. We welcome all Year 11 students and their parents to have a look at what our Sixth Form has to offer.
Thank you to all parents who have been able to attend the relevant Year Information evenings since September. The Year 9 evening on Tuesday 14th November is the last one. We are grateful for the feedback that we have received through the questionnaires that parents have completed on the evenings.
We would like to thank the Presdales PTA for agreeing to fund new outdoor benches that we will soon be purchasing. These will go in the void at the back of the mansion by the canteen and should provide seating for around 70 students. There are plans to try and cover this area in the future. The PTA have been busy planning the Christmas Fayre that will take place on Friday 24th November and we would all appreciate your support either through your attendance or through purchasing raffle tickets. The PTA have secured a number of quality prizes this year and it would be wonderful to sell all of the raffle tickets.
Students are still picking up a huge number of reward points; 2476 in the week of 30th October. The most common consequences being given out are for lack of homework and lack of equipment. Please could you support us by ensuring that your child has the relevant books in their bag the night before, and that they have completed their homework on time. We have started to investigate online systems that will inform you of when homework has been set, what it is and when it is due.
Finally, I would like to thank all of the students and staff involved in the performance of Macbeth at the Hertford theatre last week. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend due to another school event, but I have been informed that the performance was outstanding. I am looking forward to seeing an excerpt of the performance in the Creative Arts Showcase next week.
Thank you for your continued support
Kind regards
Matt Warren Headteacher
Sixth Form Open Evening
Wednesday 15th November
7pm to 9pm
Following the introduction of the reward system, we would like to congratulate the following forms for having the highest points in their year so far:
7SH 8LC 9JP 10AW 11AL 12NG 13DS
Rewards
Well done!
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Presdales PTA
What an exciting month ahead. There are lots of events at school this month that we are looking forward to taking part in. And then the big one……
Presdales Christmas Fayre 24th November 2017
3.45-5.45pm
Please come and support this exciting event! This year we are excited to have a Christmas themed photo booth for all to enjoy. Also, there will be plenty of stalls, gifts, crafts and, of course, refreshments for all!
We will be holding the Raffle draw at 17:00 - join us to have your pick of the prizes.
There will be plenty more prizes on the day to choose from, including:
marquee hire worth £450 (Toby’s Tents)
midweek lunch/dinner including a bottle of wine at The Fox and Hounds
Niko Brown children’s workshop voucher
£40 voucher for Kings Mead
£50 hairdressing voucher at Johnson Blythe
Please look out for raffle tickets in your daughter’s bag; the tickets will be coming home soon.
Please return stubs and money to school as soon as possible. If you require more tickets, please contact us via email [email protected] or our facebook page. If you are unable to sell these raffle tickets, please return them to school ASAP.
Wednesday 15th
Nov: Six Form Open Evening, where we will be happily providing tea, coffee and a tuck shop throughout the evening. Thursday 16
th Nov: Creative Arts Showcase, at which we are excited to
be offering a bar facility this year. A refreshing glass of wine or a cold beer could be waiting for you at the interval! Thursday 23
rd Nov: Night at the Movie’s Concert – tea, coffee & nibbles
will be provided during the interval.
1st
Standon Calling weekend family camping ticket – two adults & two children 2
nd Afternoon Tea for two at Hanbury Manor
3rd
One Hour Family photograph session with 8x6 framed print
Big Sisters/Brothers play a vital role in the support of the year 7 and 8 year groups as mentors, assisting with the settling in process. As well as aiding form assemblies and charity events such as cake sales.
Year 7
Stephanie Ciarla Alicia Higgins Chloe McNamara Charlotte McCollum Hannah Naylor-Stewart Mia Petre Tom Hurst Noah Fulton Abi Ross Jasmine Mitchell Jessica Moore Tasha Cove
Year 8
Mollie Higham Harriet Taylor Tabatha Tyler Lauren Baldock Rebecca Ali Jessica Portch Emily Lewis Louise Davis
Sabrine Mahmoud Tara Petty Nuwandi De Silva
Big Brothers/Sisters 2017-2018
Tickets are now available to purchase at a cost of £3.50 per ticket. Payment can be made either as an online payment via Wisepay or cash (to be handed in to Mrs Eyre in a envelope marked with your daughter’s name and form and lunch choice).
THE DEADLINE TO PURCHASE TICKETS IS THURSDAY 7TH DECEMBER.
ONLY CHRISTMAS LUNCH WILL BE SERVED ON THAT DAY.
Christmas Lunch - Thursday 14th December
Choice of Main
Traditional Roast Turkey with Stuffing,
Roast Potatoes, Carrots, Peas,Sweet corn and Pigs in
Blankets
Or Roasted Vegetable & Bean Crumble
Choice of Dessert
Warmed Mince Pies or Chocolate Fudge Cake
(Both Served With Cream)
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Four Year 12 and 13 students volunteered to take part in this Year's Mathematical Olympiad for Girls, run by the UK Mathematics Trust to encourage enthusiastic young female mathematicians. They all worked extremely hard for two and a half hours to produce some thorough and well-written solutions, clearly showing their logical thinking and mathematical arguments. Matilda Pitt (Year 12), Charlotte Petty (Year 13) and Anna Bridgeman (Year 13) all received certificates for their participation, and Eleanor Mackay (Year 13) received a Certificate of Distinction.
A sample question from this year's competition is:
A positive integer is said to be jiggly if it has four digits, all non-zero, and no matter how you arrange those digits you always obtain a multiple of 12. How many jiggly positive integers are there?
The Individual Senior Maths Challenge took place on 7th November for all the Year 12 Maths students and volunteers from Year 13. We await the results of this.
Mrs Rachel Rugg-Gunn
Mathematical Olympiad for Girls October 2017
Homework Club has many regular attenders using the opportunity to get on with their homework straight away at the end of the day. This is a great habit to get into and helps students to stay organised. It can also mean students (and parents!) have a more restorative evening without undone homework hanging over them. Some students come on most days, others pick the one day a week where they will really benefit.
The homework club is available on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from the end of the school day until 4.30pm. It takes place in room 30 so that students have computer access if needed, as well as tables with plenty of room to spread out books and papers. The club is open to all year groups, from Year 7s getting used to dealing with homework in their first year, to Year 11s and gearing up for mock exams.
Homework Club
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Trip To Russia
The Russian trip in October half term was an absolutely amazing experience. As a year 12 student studying A level Russian, I found the history and culture we learnt about extremely interesting, and relevant to the course which I am studying. The highlight of the trip for me was the overnight train from Moscow to St. Petersburg as it was a completely new experience for me and something I would definitely like to do again. St Petersburg is an architecturally older city than Moscow and contains so many beautiful palaces; however, I preferred the more modern architecture of Red Square, St. Basils being a beautiful structure. I would really recommend the trip to anyone who gets the opportunity to go, whether they study Russian or not.
Claudia Holmes, Year 12
Going to Russia was probably one of the coolest things I’ve done. The trip as a whole was brilliant whilst being super cold. Personally, I had a clear favourite part, visiting the local school in Moscow. It was an insight into the lives of a different culture and a chance to use some of the Russian I had learnt. We talked to one another in both Russian and English and trying to break the language barrier cracked me up. I had other highlights such as: the circus, the night train and the folk show. It’s a great trip and I’d recommend it to everyone.
Shauna Concoran-Snowden Year 11
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Years 13, 12 and 11 studying A level and GCSE Drama and Theatre were lucky to catch Frantic Assembly on tour with their award winning physical theatre performance. "Things I know to be True" is about an ageing family where parents are coping with allowing their children to grow up and make their own mistakes. The family experience some devastating truths that Frantic Assembly communicate in moving physical theatre sequences with their iconic lifts. The Drama students must watch live theatre as part of the GCSE and A level courses, as it enhances their knowledge. There is also a section of their examinations where they have to write a live theatre evaluation. The students have also studied Frantic Assembly as part of their own devising study and were really impressed to see Frantic Assembly professionally. Students have returned to class brimming with analysis and evaluation that they are now using for revision of their Component 3 examinations. The students were a credit to the school and we all enjoyed a great afternoon of theatre. Thank you to the staff that helped to make the trip possible, including Miss Chapman who joined us! A quote from a year 12 Live Theatre Review draft,
Miss Mack Head of Drama
Drama Theatre Trip to Colchester Mercury Theatre to see "Things I know to be True"
"To be an audience member in this elegant
performance of life is a privilege. I would highly
recommend going on this journey with the Price
family."
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On Wednesday 11th October, 36 textiles students and 3 teachers travelled to the Textiles exhibition at Alexandra Palace, London. We all arrived with our shopping list for future projects and we were not disappointed by the wide selection of fabrics, decorative textile components, wools, sewing machines and patterns. In fact there were 400 stalls for us to view and collect ideas. Once we had purchased our fabrics, we visited the exhibitions from 20 professional textiles artists, which this year included a collection of unique designer handbags embellished by a leading embroidery company “Hand and Lock”. The work by graduate students and their sketch books allowed us to see the amount of work involved in textile degree courses. Some of the work was amazing. We viewed the latest trends in knitwear on the fashion stage and were able to develop a wide range of skills via the expert tuition available on stalls. Some of us tried to learn to knit but need a bit more practice before we can start knitting a jumper! We had a great day and collected lots of ideas for future projects.
Design and Technology Trip to the Knit and Stich show
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On Wednesday 1st November, a cast of 27 Presdales students put on a thrilling 30-minute adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth at Hertford Theatre. The production was directed by English teachers Miss Chapman and Ms Hobbs, with the support of Miss Garrett. The cast included an array of very talented year 8-11 students, starring Micaela Addison-Kemp (Macbeth), Emily Murphy (Lady Macbeth), Holly Davidge (King Duncan), Maddie Drake (Malcom), Anthe Beston (Macduff), Safi Sipi (Banquo), Evie Moorhead (Lennox) and Seona Colligan (Ross). Special mention should also be given to the three witches, played by Maddie Hunter, Madeline Watson and Emily Patrick, for their spine-tinging performances and superb characterisation of the three weird sisters.
If you did not get a chance to watch the performance, we are delighted to be performing a 15-minute extract of the play during the Creative Showcase on the evening of November 16th.
Photographs are taken by Anna Thompson (Year 13)
Presdales School performed Macbeth at Hertford Theatre
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There are a few places now available on our February 2018 ski trip to Switzerland. If your child is in years 8 to 13 and might be interested please contact Mrs Eyre via email ([email protected]) for further information.
Ski Trip - February 2018
Photos from last year’s ski trip to
Switzerland
Please be aware that if you send in your reply slip without
making a payment your child’s place is not secured.
If you have any difficulty paying a full deposit for a trip,
please enclose an accompanying letter with a smaller deposit.
Year 11 French and Spanish Revision Guides - Forms and money due by Wednesday
15th November.
Year 13 Sociology Trip (Monday 20th November) - Voluntary contribution of £22 please.
Year 9 RE Trip (22nd/23rd November) - Voluntary contribution of £17.50 as soon as possible please.
Year 10 Skills London Trip (24th November) - Voluntary contribution of £15 as soon as possible please.
Year 8 & 9 German Trip (29th November to 2nd December) - Parents Information Evening on 16th November from 6pm until
6.30pm in the lecture theatre.
Under 14 Netball Tournament (Saturday 27th January 2018) - (Selected Students) Regional hoodie available to purchase for
£24. Available in XS, S, M and L.
Ski Trip (February 2018) - Ski Information Evening on Monday 20th November at 4pm in the Hall. Could students taking part,
please return their medical consent form, a photocopy of their passport and EHIC card, together with a passport size photo, to
Mrs Eyre in the school office before 20th November. The balance for this trip needs to be made by the end of November 2017.
French Exchange - Next payment of £145 is now overdue.
Year 7 Little Canada Trip (March 2018) - The final payment of £125 is due by Friday 15th December.
Year 9 Trip to Rome (March 2018) - Places confirmed. Payment Schedule:
Deposit £100 already paid £200 due by Friday 18th November 2017
£155 due by Friday 15th December 2017 £140 by Friday 19th January 2018
Year 9 Trip to Cantabria (June 2018) - Places confirmed. Payment Schedule:
Deposit £100 already paid £150 due by Thursday 9th November 2017
£150 due by Thursday 7th December 2017 £150 due by Thursday 1st March 2018
Trips & Reminders
Further to Mrs Willett’s letter of 2nd November, we would be grateful if you could please complete the short questionnaire (www.surveymonkey.com/r/tcbc_student_msp). And
please don’t forget about the photo competition and the prizes for the activity booklet and scrap book/diaries!
Year 9 have been studying the work of graphic designer 'Krisjana S Williams'. They have captured her vibrant colour style in a wide variety of mediums. Here are just some of their butterfly illustrations showing intricate wing detail.
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Congratulations to:-
Year 7 - Sophie Christer Year 8 - Georgia Bellis Year 9 - Rachel-Leigh Foskett Year 10 - Sarah Budd Year 10 - Maisie McAllister Year 10 - Charlotte Ells Year 11 - Amber Dunstan Year 11 - Alessia Mariotti Year 11 - Natascha Wiesner Year 12 - Meredith Freeman Year 13 - Niamh Jones
Photographer of the Month Year 12 - Rosie-Beth Stewart Year 13 - Rozelle Nortje
Well Done From The Art Department!
Presdales School Artists of the Month - October
Rozelle Nortje
Amber
Dunstan
Maisie McAllister
Sophie Christer
Georgia Bellis
Sarah Budd
Charlotte Ells
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Niamh Jones
Meredith Freeman
Rosie-Beth Stewart
Art Staff and Art and
Photography Prefects
Art & Photography Prefects: Erin Hartnett Sude Horoz Olivia Allen Abigail Baker Imogen Dear Grace Stansall-Seiler Amy Pozzilli Meredith Freeman Phoebe Taylor Morgan Bennett
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In May, James Ecclestone and Sam Collins from a local business the ‘Grown Up Chocolate Company’ ’(www.thegrownupchocolatecompany.co.uk) were invited in to discuss the possibility of working with our GCSE Design and Technology students. It was inspiring to hear how James developed his company from an idea to what it is today, in just 5 years! Some of their customers include BP, Ocado and Virgin Atlantic, and they have plans to develop further.
The Grown Up Chocolate Company (GUCC)
The Grown Up Chocolate Company are offering Presdales parents and staff the opportunity to take advantage of 10% off online chocolate orders using the
code presdales10 at checkout!
What does a head chef do?
Head chefs oversee restaurants’ staff, food and budgets.
Your day-to-day duties could include:
planning menus
making sure food is of the right quality and price
managing stock
ordering food from suppliers
controlling a budget and keeping accurate records
managing health and hygiene procedures
organising the staff duty rota
recruiting, training and developing staff
Annual Salary?
£16,000 to £50,000. These figures are a guide.
How many hours would I be expected to work?
Between 40 hours, though could be longer.
Most head chefs work their way up from kitchen assistant to trainee chef, then section chef. You could prepare for this role by taking a course in professional cookery that combines classroom-based study with practical experience and placements. You could also take an advanced level apprenticeship. The Hospitality Guild has more information about becoming a head chef.
Design and Technology
Design and Technology Career of the Month - Head Chef/Concept Chef
Well done to our netball teams who played against Chauncy this week. Our Year 11s won 20-7, Year 9s won 20-16 and our Year 10s unfortunately lost 24-16.
Thank you to the Year 12 Sports Leaders who helped at Wodson Park with a primary school event this afternoon. You were fantastic with the children and your help was greatly appreciated! Well done!
Sport Leaders
On Saturday 21st October, Isabelle Henn in Year 9 represented Hertfordshire and played in the East Region Satellite tournament. She led the team as captain to win the tournament! Congratulations Issy, this is fantastic news!
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Congratulations to our U14 basketball team who won their matches and are through to the county round.
Unfortunately the U12 basketball team lost their game but are still through to the next round which will also be at county level! Well done team!
The U13 handball team won their matches and are now through to the county round. A special mention should be made that our students played the John Warner boys team who were double their height and only lost by one goal! Impressive effort girls!
Our U15 handball team won their matches and are also through to the county round. Brilliant news!
November 13th Nov : Year 7 A&B, Year 8 A&B, Year 9 & 10 Netball v Broxbourne @ Wormley, 4pm 15th Nov : GCSE Handball Assessment 16th Nov : School Games U14/U16 Badminton @ John Warner, 4pm 20th Nov : GCSE Handball Assessment 21
st Nov : Year 7 A&B, Year 8 A&B, Year 9 & 11 Netball v John Warner @ Wormley, 4pm
23rd Nov : Years 8 (C Team) & 10 Netball v Simon Balle (A), 3.45pm 24th Nov : Years 7 & 8 Football Cup @ Stevenage 1pm - 4pm 27h Nov : Senior County Cup Hockey v DAO (A), 3.45pm 28th Nov : Year 8 County Cup Netball v Tring (A), 4.30pm
30th Nov : School Games Table Tennis Tournament @ Haileybury Turnford, 4pm
December 4th Dec : Senior County Cup Hockey v Hitchin @ Hitchin Boys School, 3.45pm 5th Dec : School Games Finals 5th Dec : Year 10 County Cup Neball v St. Albans High (H), 4.30pm 7th Dec : Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 Netball v Goffs @ Wormley, 4pm 8th Dec : SHAll Combined events (Years 9 and 10) @ Simon Balle 11th Dec : Swim Gala @ John Warner
