3th june 217 weekly newsletter from the headmaster www ...€¦ · lower sixth - camping at school!...

Weekly Newsletter from the Headmaster www.shebbearcollege.co.uk

30th June 2017Issue No 140

Dear Parents,

The campus has been relatively quiet this week with so many pupils out and about on activities.

However, the Prep School came alive on Wednesday evening with a music and drama event that showcased the many talents of our pupils and underlined to me what a delightful experience our younger children have at school. The main stars of the evening were our Year 6 pupils who are preparing for Senior School. There was a great deal of talent on show, but there was also real guts and I particularly enjoyed watching Rory Teegan overcome his nerves and visibly grow in confidence as he performed his magic tricks.

It is of course that time of year where we reflect and celebrate what has happened. The Boarders’ Extravaganza was another example of this and once again the spirit in our boarding houses was captured in their film competition. You can view these films now on YouTube. The judges gave the title to Ruddle on the night - but do you agree?

Another rite of passage this week was the Form Five Prom held in Bude. This was the must attend event for all of our intrepid youngsters who have just finished their GCSEs - they even missed ‘Love Island’ to be there. You can see how splendid they look and it sets a challenge for the Sixth Form who will attend the annual Rounsefell Dinner next Tuesday evening. Otherwise the scene is set for Speech Day on Thursday where our guest speaker will be Paul Lockyer, former President of the OSA, who missed last year because his wife was in labour - let’s see what excuse he finds this year.

Simon Weale

Our Fifth Form Prom was a wonderful event that took place in Bude on Thursday evening



On Monday, Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 all took part in Circus Skills workshops. They worked on a wide variety of circus activities and skills and their day culminated in a show performance in front of parents at the end of the afternoon. The day was a great success and all of the children gained a tremendous amount from it. Steve Eldridge, from Circus Skills, who ran the day said: ‘Thanks for inviting me to the school. Your pupils were so engaged and motivated. I am very impressed by their enthusiasm and ability.’

Timed to perfection, as the Tour de France begins tomorrow, our Year 5 children are enjoying their second day of Bikeability today, albeit in rather wet conditions.

I hope you have a good weekend.Matthew Foale

News from the Prep SchoolDear Parents,During this final full week of term, the classrooms and corridors of the Prep have reverberated with the sounds of drama and singing rehearsals, culminating in a quite superb Summer Prom of Drama and Song on Wednesday evening. The children did a magnificent job and there is clearly a lot of talent and stage presence among the performers in Years 3-6. It was a big night for all of the children, not least for our Year 6 pupils, as they are soon to leave the Prep to begin the next phase of their education at the Senior School in September. My thanks to all of the children for their dedication and commitment and of course, to all of our staff for helping in a variety of roles, both in rehearsals and on the night. The retiring collection, in aid of the charity ‘Toilet Twinning’, providing clean water and sanitation, raised £184, which will allow almost an entire school toilet block to be built in Uganda. Thank you.

Our Year 6 class enjoyed a day at RMB Chivenor last Friday, for the Armed Forces Education Day. The day was a great success, with displays and exhibitions, as well as plenty of opportunities for the children to get ‘hands on’ with a range of different military themes and activities. The same children had their leavers’ day out at Crealy yesterday, which was an opportunity for them to enjoy some time together outside of school, as they approach their final few days at the Prep.



Cricket Opportunity for MillieOn Saturday 8th July, Millie will have the opportunity to attend an ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup match between Pakistan and New Zealand at Taunton. She will be involved in the ceremony for the national anthems, as well as a cricket demonstration. Millie has been asked to attend by the Devon Cricket Board.

Pre-Prep Bake OffAs it was Pre-Prep’s final baking lesson for the term on Thursday, we decided to make it a special event. We made and baked a Victoria Sponge in readiness for afternoon tea and hot chocolate. Yummy!

Events in the Prep School next week:Monday 3rd JulyPre-School and Years 1 and 2 to ‘The Big Sheep’‘Forest School Day’ for Years 3-6Year 6 Leavers’ Barbeque (5.15pm)

Tuesday 4th JulySports Day (picnic lunch from 12.15pm and events begin at 1.00pm)

Wednesday 5th JulyYears 3, 4 and 5 to ‘The Milky Way’Last swim for Years 1 and 2Final day of the term for Pre-School and Years 1 and 2

Thursday 6th JulySpeech Day (10.30am)Term ends

International Summer SchoolOur Summer School pupils enjoyed a trip to Bristol this week. They were able to walk across the Clifton Suspension Bridge before taking a trip around another of Brunel’s amazing engineering achievements, the S.S. Great Britain, where they had a taste of life as a passenger on one of the first ocean liners.

Before returning to Shebbear, they raced against the clock at Teamsport Go Karting, where Alex (Russia), Mathieu (France) and Patrick (Germany) made up a truly international podium.

Andy Bryan



Sixth Form Preparation DayParents of Fifth Year pupils will have received an email last week regarding our Sixth Form Preparation Day. This takes place on Monday 3rd July where pupils will be provided with all the information that they will need about Sixth Form life, to ensure they hit the ground running in September. Pupils are expected to attend in smart business dress and should report to the Sixth Form Centre at 8.30am.

The Induction will finish at 5pm, though pupils and their parents are invited to join the Sixth Form team in the Sixth Form Centre for refreshments at 4.15pm before they depart.

Jamie Sanders

Lower Sixth - Camping at School!This week the brave Lower Sixth survived two nights under the stars as well as a thorough guide to university applications.

Monday morning was spent discussing the benefits and drawbacks of going to university, especially the impact of how modern computerised systems could influence the demand for certain jobs in the future. It was highlighted that the average person could have up to 35 different jobs in their lifetime, with many of them not yet existing today. Following on from this we had an in-depth examination of what makes a good CV and how to stand out positively.

For the rest of the day teams set up camp with all its luxuries to then enjoy a very competitive game of softball; the rules of which were questionable. To finish the day we faced a meat feast of a BBQ and an evening round the campfire toasting marshmallows.

Up early the next day teams took to the coastal path. Starting out at either Morwenstowe or Duckpool, teams walked (or ran) into Bude ready for a refreshing smoothie and swim! After leaving Bude slightly sunburnt and tired we crashed out at school. In the evening the we set out for an all you can eat curry at the Bay of Bengal in Holsworthy, followed by a surprise birthday cake for Hugo! For the final night, rain replaced clear skies whilst the next morning dripping tents filled the Sixth Form. However despite the change in weather, we all had an enjoyable time cooling down from exams.

Thanks to Mr Sanders, Mrs Aliberti, Mrs Cardoo and Mr Rogers for organising everything as well as ‘manning up’ and mostly camping with us! Camping at school? - not too bad!

Heather Mathews

Form 3 Activities Trip to MountbattenOn Monday, 25 members of the 3rd Form set out on an energetic week of watersports at the Mountbatten Activity Centre in Plymouth. After arrival, exploring the centre and lunch, the first activity of kayaking was underway. We were split into two groups, one of which paddled around Plymouth Sound and the other group headed up the River Plym. At the end of the session the two groups joined together for activities with the kayaks. Monday evening after dinner, the group went to Batten Bay for a swim in the chilly waters. Following a cooked breakfast, stand-up paddle boarding was the order of the morning. One group started on single paddle boards and the other on larger paddle boards with 6 people on each, swapping halfway through the morning. The larger paddle boards caused feelings of light hearted competitiveness with races between the two boards (I’m very happy to say our team won the race). Sailing was the activity chosen for the afternoon. Some chose to sail in Hawk 20’s with instructors and they sailed up to the Tamar Bridge. Others (including myself) sailed in pairs in Laser Picos, expertly lead by Miss Body. With the help Hazel Coward and me at the helm we successfully managed so sail around the course that Miss Body had set, including for me a spine-tingling moment of being able to sail in front of Smeaton’s Tower.

We woke to a wet Wednesday morning, however spirits still remained high throughout the group. Again we were spilt into two groups. In the morning one group windsurfed and the other canoed and then swapped in the afternoon. I struggled with windsurfing, however there were others to whom it came naturally. Despite this, it was an activity that was enjoyed by all. The Final activity, canoeing, brought the activities to a relaxing end. Wednesday evening was enjoyed by watching matches of a stand-up paddle boarding polo tournament. Thursday morning was spent in the Barbican by most trying to find the nearest MacDonalds to bring the week to a close.

A large thank you is needed to be given to both the team of instructors working at Mountbatten Activity Centre and Miss Body and Mr Deakes for making the trip a success and enjoyable for all. I would also like to thank Miss Body and Mr Deakes for giving me the opportunity to support the group and complete part of my Gold D of E.

Spencer Quance, Lower 6th



Video Conferencing Human Rights IssuesMrs Usher has prepared students over a period of time with dialogue skills to video conference. We have had two video conferences recently, both on the subject of human rights. 3BU and 3AS have been looking forward to participating in a video conference for some months now, and have worked with Mrs Usher and Mr Steel in tutor time on their dialogue skills. They have worked specifically in Religious Studies on human rights, freedom of speech, and the advisability or otherwise of potential legislation against hate speech in the UK.

The debate in the video conference was with a school in India, and two schools in the Ukraine. Debate was wide ranging, at a very high level, and centred around three questions: What is hate speech, and what examples of it are you aware of? Do religions have a role in creating or controlling hate speech? How can hate speech be challenged at government level and also at the level of the ordinary person?

We discussed the political aspects of hate speech, and covered attitudes in the Ukraine towards the Russians, the role of President Putin, the role of UK political parties, as well as the question which fired every single person up - what role should world leaders like President Trump play in this?

The WORLD AIMS group have also worked with Mrs Usher more recently specifically to video conference on the topic of hate speech. Participants gave up their lunch-break to talk with students from New York. They were Lower 6th students Helen Dalton, Emily Shepherd and Elizabeth Patrick. Form 4 students included Jess Alexander, Caspar Griffin, Eddie Hill, Patrick Faulkner and Douglas Willis-Butcher. One confident Form 2 member of World AIMS, Alex Ward, also participated in dialogue with the Sixth Form college students from New York.

This was a video conference which saw all participating students making significant and lengthy contributions, dialoguing with a small number of students, and with just one other school involved it leaves few places to hide, and our students certainly rose to the challenge. This video conference was less wide-ranging, as the facilitator did not push into the political dimensions, but was interesting on the topic of personal examples and what can be done about it.

There is another video conference scheduled, on the theme of the power of storytelling.

Barbara Usher

Video Conference article by Jabez Kent (3AS) On Friday last week, the Forms 3AS and 3BU participated in a video conference where we were joined with a handful of schools from Ukraine to India. The main topic of discussion was of the theme of Hate Speech, a topic very relevant at this moment.

A variety of subjects were brought up, including a contribution that came from a Ukrainian school detailing the hate speech being used between Russians and Ukrainians that has escalated since the Kremlin annexation. A girl from an Indian school shared her opinions about hate speech saying that since India is a very multi-religious country, that it is important to her for people to respect each other’s differences.

The main speakers that took part in the conference were Samuel Odlin, Archie Boycott, Cameron Young, Findlay Irish and myself, although all students were involved in the preparation. Despite at first encountering some technical difficulties, the video conference was an overwhelming success, and as a result the mediator allowed the conference to go on for much longer than was originally planned.

Many thanks to all the students involved and we hope we can do further conferences in future.

Toilet Twinning UpdateMany thanks to all who contributed to the retiring collection after the Prep School concert on Wednesday. An amazing £184 was donated, which is a fantastic start (We need to raise £240 to help build a whole school toilet block). Two other fund raising events planned for this term are: A car boot sale on Tuesday lunchtime, organised by Mrs Usher’s tutor group (any donations of items for sale can be dropped in Mrs Usher’s room on Monday or Tuesday am) and a cake sale during Wednesday break, organised by Mrs Douglas’ tutor group (any donations of cakes or biscuits that we could sell would be greatly appreciated). Thank you for your part in making a difference to a school community in Uganda.

Lindsay Douglas

Medical Centre StaffOur Medical Centre is staffed by a dedicated team of two nurses with a wide variety of experience between them.

Rebecca Odlin is the School Nurse Lead and has been working at Shebbear College since February. Rebecca has a wealth of experience working with children and young people. She originally trained and qualified as a registered sick children’s nurse in London in 1999 and also gained her degree BSc(Hons) in Nursing Studies. After moving to Addenbrookes Hospital (Cambridge) and working in paediatric surgery and then paediatric oncology, Rebecca

was awarded a place to undertake specialist training to become a School Nurse and move into the community setting. Gaining her second degree and Specialist School Nurse qualification, Rebecca worked as a School Nurse in Cambridgeshire, led a School Nurse Public Health team in South Molton and Chulmleigh and prior to her appointment at Shebbear College was the Specialist Community Public Health Nurse for school aged children in the Holsworthy learning community.



Caroline Reed has recently joined Shebbear College as a School Nurse. Before commencing her nurse training, Caroline worked as a support worker within learning disability and challenging behaviour units and also gained experience working with autistic children.

Caroline qualified as a registered general nurse in September 2003 and her first post

was on an emergency medical unit at the Royal Devon and Exeter hospital.

From there, Caroline went on to work at the North Devon District Hospital within trauma and orthopaedics. Prior to her appointment at Shebbear College, Caroline worked in the day surgery unit, where she has been for the last 8½ years, nursing a wide age range of patients from 6 month olds, through to elderly patients and also gaining experience and knowledge within the recovery areas and caring for patients during anaesthetics.

Rebecca and Caroline are looking forward to continuing to develop the medical centre provision over the coming months. The medical centre can be contacted via:

Email: [email protected]: 01409 282003

A Request from our Uganda TeamWe desparately require duffle bags, kit bags and suitcases, ideally about 60 litre capacity, to transport all the charity items kindly given to us for people in Uganda. If you are able to donate any old baggage that you no longer need we would be very grateful. We regret that we will not be able to bring them back from Uganda.

Uganda Team

Science TextbooksPlease may we remind pupils and parents to return all science textbooks before the end of term. Thank you.

Stuart Clewley

Next Week in the Senior School:Tuesday 4th July7.00pm - Sixth Form Rounsefell Dinner

Thursday 6th JulySpeech Day - 10.30am startArt ExhibitionBuses depart at 2.00pm

Friday 7th July8.30am - Boarders’ DepartStaff INSET

Sports Fixtures:Please note that an updated list of sports fixtures for the week ahead is posted on the school website every Monday morning. This can be found under the ‘News’ drop-down menu entitled ‘Sports Fixture Updates’.

Speech DayA reminder that all parents are invited to Speech Day on Thursday 6th July. Speech Day starts at 10.30am in the Sports Hall, followed by drinks and canapes. School closes and buses depart at 2.00pm.

Cricket

1st XI v Mount KellyThe 1st XI played their first match for almost a month on Saturday and comfortably reversed their previous result against Mount Kelly.Batting first, and with in-form batsmen Eddie Jones and Mitchell Proffit dismissed cheaply, it was skipper Jabez Weale (69) and Justin Gilliland (66) in a stand of 126 which saw the side set a target of 205 in 35 overs for the home side to chase down.

Then the bowlers did their job - there were wickets for Jabez (1-9), Ethan Solomon (2-35) Mitch Proffit (1-35), Jed Foster (2-10) and James Edge (2-8) - and the home side were dismissed for 125 in the 27th over.

Andy Bryan

U12/13 v Mount KellyOn a very damp day, the spirits and commitment of the players were tested as Mount Kelly travelled to Shebbear to play in the final Saturday block fixture.

Kelly won the toss and wisely chose to bat first. Luke Maxa (2-20) and Jemima Vereker (1-28) opened up with their usual devastation and after six overs Kelly had lost 3 wickets and only scored 24 runs. However, their number four and five batsmen proved a little tricky as our bowlers could not find the right length, the partnership went on to score 80 runs and this helped Kelly set us the challenging score of 155 runs to win.

This proved to be an almost impossible task on a wicket that was now very wet and torn up from our bowling, and subsequently very slow scoring. The Player of the Match award was split between Jemima Vereker (14) and Harrison Mitchell (11), who did their best in challenging conditions, but both were unlucky to be out - Harrison hit his stumps and Jemima, after thinking she had scored four runs, was caught by an exceptional one handed diving catch at cover. We went on to score 90 runs for 6 wickets.

I have been so impressed with how the team has improved this season. Jacob Luxton and Luke Twyman have made huge progress and are now regular players in the side. Captain Luke Maxa has matured throughout the season and led his troop well, and Jemima Vereker has been outstanding with bat and ball. Personally, I have really enjoyed watching their progress and there are a number of talented cricketers for Mr Bryan’s senior teams next year.

Jamie Sanders



Picture this ... Fifth Form Prom see more photos on our Facebook page



Picture this ... see more photos on our Facebook page

3th june 217 weekly newsletter from the headmaster www ...€¦ · lower sixth - camping at school!...

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