Year 7 had a fantastic day for ELD spending their time Battle of the Poets. Rayyan J in 7F said the following about his experience:
At the start, we we were given four different words and had the think of other words which rhymed with them. Then we went to another room and were given different pieces of poetry to perform in groups. It was fun as we had to think of ways to make our poem sound interesting. The third part was a challenge to write a haaiku poem- ours was about our feelings towards poetry and again, we performed it to the bigger group. After this, we went to the Sandpit Theatre and had a talk by Harry Baker (a world champion poet) who read us some of his own poems including “The A to Z of Time and Space” which was really clever and gave us some good ideas. The final part was to write our own poems which would be performed in front of the whole year group at the end of the day. Our group wrote about Oranges but the winner in our form was a poem about a flea who wanted to buzz like a bee. The most fun part of the day, was finding the winner and Harry Baker creating a poem on the spot with words we had given him. He managed to compose a brilliant rap about polar bears, oranges, wonky carrots, potatoes, waffles and English breakfast. It was really inspiring and also funny. It was great to have a chilled day working with my form, having fun and making poetry more enjoyable.
Mrs A Meager
Year 8 had a fantastic “musical in a day” themed ELD combining art, music, dance and drama to get a rousing performance of the Lion King in the Sandpit Theatre. Xander P in Year 8 said of his experience: “I took part in the Drama group. Initially we did some warm ups and then we got into groups and had to work together to act like an animal. We chose an elephant and it was fun to come up with ideas of how to show this. We then performed small sections of the Lion King using a script. Some people learnt face painting and other practised their scene. At the end of the day, the whole year group got together and performed as a group. Some had been learning the drums and the dance group performed along to this. Others had learnt “Can you feel the love tonight” and “I just cant wait to be King” which had been pre recorded to go over the acting. The art team had created some stunning backgrounds and the tech team were great at working the spotlights and making the performance look dramatic. The best part was the performance at the end and getting to work together as a form and year group. I learnt some new drama skills and this was my favourite ELD so far.”
Ms M Holian
Year 9 students went to IMW Duxford yesterday for an enriching ELD experience to learn more about role of aircraft in twentieth century British and European history. Students had the opportunity to learn more about Duxford’s role during the Battle of Britain as a vital airfield to repel Luftwaffe attacks, and witnessed a re-enactment of the wartime operations room in action. They were then able to explore the wartime aircraft and learn more about the observation stations, wartime emergency services and shelters that kept British civilians safe. Additionally, students learnt about the American involvement in Europe in the later part of the twentieth century with an introduction to the Cold War and exploring the bombers and spy planes that were stationed and used by the American Air Force. Finally, students were able to engage with a range of STEM content, including the principles of flight, aviation technology and a tour around Concorde.
It was a wonderful opportunity for the year group to expand their knowledge and appreciation of both their History and STEM disciplines and we hope that they enjoyed the day.
Miss A Constable
As mentioned in the Headlines, we are delighted to announce that Sandringham has been placed 67th in the top 200 Sporting Schools of the year 2023 by School Sports Magazine. This is a huge leap from our rating of 163 last year and is based on our national finals and regional finals success in cross country, tennis, netball, athletics, basketball and our strong seasons in football. This means that we are now in the top 20 state schools in the country for our sport, an impressive feat which is a huge testament to our amazing students who are showing hard-work and commitment in sports across the board. As always, they are supported by our hard-working PE department who work tirelessly to put on training sessions, arrange matches and support our students inside and outside of school hours. Finally, this couldn’t be done without the parents who drive their children around the country and stand on the freezing sidelines to support them- so we appreciate you all immensely as well. The sporting season is already well underway with some impressive results so far and we look forward to reporting even more success as the year progresses, but more importantly, we hope that students continue to enjoying sport at Sandringham School and all of the physical and mental health benefits that it provides.
Mr D Keenleyside
Thank you to everyone who supported Fo$S at the Christmas Fair last Saturday. The event was a great success and, as Mr Gray mentioned, we raised around £4,500 for the school. We could not have done this without all the help from our volunteers and everyone who came to the fair. So a big thank you.
If you weren’t able to make it on the day or didn’t have the chance to buy a raffle ticket, then there is still time. Tickets can be bought on ParentPay for £1 each by clicking on the link ParentPay. We have some great prizes including Pub in the Park tickets, a wine and dine hamper,a pamper hamper and a fitness hamper.
All money raised from the Christmas Fair and the raffle goes towards supporting the school and its students. Many Thanks the FO$S Team
Since the start of term, thirty Year 9’s have taken part in the sports leaders module. This included learning how to deliver PE activities, and observing lessons. This week, the pupils successfully delivered football, netball and basketball lessons to Year 7’s. Well done to you all! It is great to see older students setting such a fantastic example to their younger peers and learning new leadership skills in the process.
For those new to the school, we have our very own fantastic podcast with hosts Assistant Headteacher Mr Cracknell and Year 13 student Ryan D. Each episode, they interview members of staff around Sandringham School and cover the stories, news and events of the week. Our second series of podcasts has now started, with a quick check in with the hosts and we have more exciting guests lined up for the coming weeks. Previous episodes include interviews with Performance Director for Year 11 Mr Bailey, Chair of Governors Professor Cox, Director of Teaching School Hub, Ms Taylor-Paul, Deputy Headteacher Dr Creaby, ex Head Students Shiam and Maddie and acting Deputy Headteacher Mr Allday. You can find SandCAST where you get all of your other podcasts. We hope you enjoy listening.
Mr A Cracknell
We would like to highlight two excellent services which parents and students can access for support with their mental health and well-being.
First Steps (who work closely with CAMHS, ED and NHS links to support young people who are struggling with eating difficulties, disorders, low self-esteem and poor body image) provide an excellent variety of resources. They have recently received funding for the Hertfordshire area and can offer free support to any students who may have struggles around their eating or low self-esteem. Young people can either self-refer or can be referred by someone else through their website www.firststepsed.co.uk. This is an excellent service for those experiencing difficulties, so if you would like to find out more, please visit the website or speak to Mrs Coyne in the SLA.
The Sandbox by Mindler is also an excellent free, NHS funded service to support children and young people in Herts with their mental health and well being. It offers access to internet enabled Cognitive Behavioural therapy, one to one support from professional therapist by texts, phone, online chat or video calls. Signing up is easy and doesn’t require a referral from a professional. You can visit The Sandbox website or click here to find out more details.
It has been a very busy week for netball with matches and tournaments galore.
We were super proud of our amazing squads who took part in the Anne Miles County Tournament this week. The U16s finished shield runners up – 6th in the county! Extremely proud to coach such talented, hard working and supportive young people. Fantastic performances from Mia O & Hannah G but POT goes to Millie W for outstanding defending! Our U19 finished Cup runners up – 2nd in the county! They won the hearts of the tournament with their semi-final performance demonstrating belief, determination and outstanding teamwork. They move on to represent Sandringham at regionals – POT – Maddie B. And the U14 PS were named winners of the shield competition – after some incredible play and interceptions at crucial points throughout the day. Coach’s POT – Ella CL
And we were very proud of the U14B Team who came 2nd in their District Tournament, having to play against many other A Teams! Well done girls! (full report on this under NETBALL NEWS 2) And a runners’ up prize for the U14 Netball team in the District Tournament! POT – Katie J
In individual matches- we saw a win for the U19 Netball Performance squad in round 1 of the county cup 39-27. POM – Alice W. And a second win of the week for our U16 girls as they took on a strong St Michaels side. Goals from Becca S & Hannah G. A huge well done to the U14 PS with a win in their county league game vs RMS! OP – Lexi K, CP – Aoife C
Miss K Wills
