autumn 2011 newsletter 2

Autumn Newsletter 2011 no 2

Newsletter No.2 Autumn term 2011 The Headmaster writes ………

The summer feels like it is well and truly over! I have heard weather forecasters say that there is snow

predicted in October this year. As a result we are fully stocked up with salt and are ready for action, but

should it snow hard please be aware that we have a few spaces available in our boarding houses. It may make

a lot of sense (saving dangerous travel, saving fuel, and letting you children have enormous fun) to speak to

Mrs Ward to see where the gaps are and pre book a place should the snow materialize.

On a different note I am always happy to give senior schools advice – the norm is early on in Year 6, but if you

are thinking of some of the more popular schools you really must see me before then. For schools like Eton

you must be registered before the age of 10.5, and that sort of time frame is not unusual for many others.

The early bird catches the worm! So, please do see me early even if it is just to kick start your thought

process.

At the start of term we put in place some staff changes down in the Pre Prep and Nursery, due to Sara

Wheatley’s sick leave. Sadly for medical reasons Sara has decided that it would not be wise to return to work,

so those temporary changes we put in place, will now become permanent.

Finally, the lost property in the school has been much better since the new changes to the changing rooms

and timetable but there is still a lot of missing property out there. The Parents’ Forum have asked that I

declare a parental amnesty and that any kit that may have found its way into your home, be returned into the

school. No questions asked – please just drop it off in the Reception area. Many thanks.


Academic notices:

Pre Prep New Staff

Liz Scott is part time Year 2 teacher and is job sharing with Mrs Humpleby, who

has returned from maternity leave.

Grace Gladwin is a graduate from Sheffield

University, who is training to be a teacher and

is helping out in the Pre Prep this year.

Di Lee is our new swimming teacher and has

taken over Mrs Knowles’ swimming lessons as

she has decided to retire from her role. As you will know from previous

emails, Di is a nationally ranked Triathlete and knows her strokes!

As mentioned above Sarah Aitken has now been made

Head of the Nursery on a permanent basis.


Year 5 Geographers Visit Heights of Abraham

Taking full advantage of the Indian summer, we ventured to scenic Matlock Bath to learn more about the local landscape and what better way to travel than cable car! On arrival we headed to Masson Cavern, where Sarah our guide, took us down into the limestone caves. The children were very inquisitive and had many questions about the minerals we saw and how the miners worked from as far back as 500 years ago. Finding pieces of calcite became everybody’s aim, both in the caverns and once we came back to the surface. We even searched the old spoil heap! Returning to base camp, we had a quick play on the other facilities. Back at school, we will be writing up our findings.

Alison Whawell

History

The history department has got off to a flying start this term. Firstly we welcomed Mrs Parsons (Head of Sixth Form at Birkdale) to talk to the pupils about Dunkirk. This was a great success and really involved the children in hands on discovery of the past. More recently we took the Year 7’s to Leeds Armoury, where they handled weapons and armours as well as learning how to sword fight! We will also be taking the Year 6 pupils to Abbeydale later this month to see 19th century industrial Sheffield first hand! Richard Mace


Girls’ Games All the girls have been working hard in their training sessions and we have been developing stick skills, fitness and game strategy in the games lessons. Every girl in Years 4 through to 8 has now played for the school in a fixture, with the Under 10s having to wait the longest for their first match. In their first game of the season on Wednesday they showed that all that training had paid off, defeating Hill House 4 – 1, in an exciting match played on astro. The Year 3 girls have all made tremendous progress and after mastering the basic hockey skills are beginning to learn how to use them in a game situation, in preparation for their triangular hockey fixture with Foremarke Hall and Grace Dieu on Saturday 12th November. The Under 9s remain undefeated; they beat Barlborough Hall 3 – 2 in the game they played on Wednesday, well done girls!

Last week we had a visit from Sarah Singlehurst, Director of Girls’ Sport at Uppingham, who had kindly offered to come and take a training session in order to continue to forge links between our schools. All the Year 6 and 7 girls were involved in the session, on one of the hottest afternoons of the year and really enjoyed trying some new skills, such as open stick and reverse stick rollouts; the aim being to keep possession of the ball and move it safely away from an opponent. The girls worked very hard and a rosy glow was brought to the cheeks of all who took part.

The Under 11a girls played in the Foremarke Hall Hockey Tournament at the weekend, on another very hot afternoon. The girls gave us all plenty to cheer about throughout their matches and quickly adapted their game and stance to suit the faster pace of the astro. For the majority, this was their first tournament experience, and they learnt a lot and really gelled as a team. Their stats were: played 5, won 2, drew 1 and lost 2, with them narrowly missing out on a place in the semi-final. Thanks to everybody who came along to cheer the girls on. Congratulations to the 1sts hockey team, runners up in their first tournament of the season and now champions of Wednesday’s tournament at Denstone College - well played everybody! Next week is a busy one, with 6 teams in action on Wednesday and 4 teams on Saturday. We also wish our Under 11, Under 12 and Under 13 girls the best of luck in the Regional IAPS Hockey Tournaments at Repton on Thursday and Friday next week. Watch this space!

Donna Brailich


Year 8 French Trip The Year 8s have returned after a wonderful week in Magny, Burgundy. Amongst some first class French lessons the boys and girls got a taste of the French culture and cuisine. Each day was packed with various activities, with all of the pupils really throwing themselves into the French way of living. Learning about the smaller villages was a success, with the children walking around the small town of Avallon finding answers to their quiz sheets, exploring the medieval castle building project at Guédelon and having a lovely outing to Vermenton market.

During the afternoon activities they learned to kayak on the river Cure, climbed to alarming heights across seemingly impossible cables and zip wires, dined in local French restaurants and created mosaiques. Each evening before bed the boys and girls added to their journals, including what they had learned, aspects of the day they most enjoyed, new words and phrases they had picked up and a general summary of their various trips. It certainly was a trip to remember and a big thank you to Mr Salt, Mrs Taylor and Mr Donaldson who made this opportunity possible.


Extracurricular notices:

Worksop College Prep Schools’ Choral Day - Thursday 29 Sept

32 members of the Chapel Choir travelled to Worksop College to take part in their Prep Schools' Choral Day on Thursday 29 September. After a long day of rehearsals, interspersed by refreshments and lunch in the blazing sunshine, the day concluded with a Service of Celebration based on the theme of St Michael and All Angels (whose Saint's Day it was). The choir joined forces with several other Prep Schools and Worksop College’s Chapel Choir to make a beautiful sound in Worksop's gorgeous chapel. Our thanks go to the staff at Worksop, and especially Tim Uglow, the Director of Music, for a wonderful day of music-making.


Boarding

Please can parents be aware of the following dates:

Friday 14th October at 5.30pm in the Foster Common Room

“What goes on Upstairs” a presentation by Mr Mace on

boarding at the school. This will be followed by a tour of the

Houses by those who would like to see the accommodation.

You will also be able to speak with some of the Houseparents.

Friday 14th October – Monday 17th Trial Boarding Weekend

These can fill up fast so do contact Mrs Ward (The

Headmaster’s Secretary) to book a place for your child.

Harvest supper

Thanks to everyone who contributed goods for our Harvest services: these have now been delivered to the

Cathedral Archer Project. It was lovely to have so many parents with us for the service, and to hear Tim

Renshaw from Archer speaking about their work amongst the homeless. The Harvest supper that followed

was a lovely S.Anselm’s community event, well worth repeating! Thank you all.

Helen Lings

Bus Routes

It would appear that some parents are not fully aware of

the three bus routes that we operate. There is one that

comes from Ashbourne (via Tissington and Alsop), one

from Sheffield (via Fulwood, Dore, Hathersage), and one

from Darley Dale (via Rowsley). In these eco friendly

times it makes a lot of sense to use these either every day

or for some school runs during the week. If you would

like further information about these and the costs then

please do get back in touch with the school. We can and

do make small detours to come and pick pupils up if at all

possible.


Miscellaneous section:

Wood for Bonfire night

S. Anselm’s would like to request good quality, dry wood – pallets are ideal

– for Bonfire Night. Please contact Mr Newton, our Facilities Manager, if

you have any.

Staff Car Park

It has been increasingly difficult for staff to find parking space in the Staff Car Park in the morning. Would

parents please use the main car park at all times.

Car Parking on Match Days

If you have a 4x4 and can park in the field opposite the School we would appreciate it. We try and keep some

spaces free for those coming in (during matches) to pick up children from the Pre Prep and Nursery. It is

generally less satisfactory if these little ones have to be escorted across the road to the field because there are

no parking spaces left in the main car park.

DVDs Request

Donations of DVDs (certificate 12 or below) to the Boarding Houses would be

gratefully received. Many thanks.

Sports Day error

Amid all the excitement of the final race deciding the outcome of the House event, we have to admit a

mathematical error was made in totaling up the individual scores in the Boys’ event. On the day we awarded

the Junior Victor Ludorum to Ali Campbell, when in fact it should have been shared with Tom Drury as well.

We have subsequently given Tom another trophy in Assembly, but I would like to apologise for the error on

the day.


Macmillan Cancer Care

The Macmillan Biggest Coffee Morning held at school last Friday was a great success, raising £566. It was

wonderfully well attended by parents of both Pre Prep and Prep children; there were so many enthusiastic

comments that we would love to make this a permanent fixture in the school calendar as it raises funds for a

great cause and offers parents a chance to get together and have a quick snack prior to collecting their

children for exeat. Thank you to all those who so generously contributed.

Earlier in the year, on Saturday 23rd April, a Peak District North to South sponsored bike ride from Holmfirth to

Ashbourne totalling a distance of 52 miles was completed to raise money for both Macmillan Cancer Care and

the National Hereditary Breast Cancer helpline, in memory of Judy Grice who died in August 2010. Helen Lings

and Michelle and Simon Northcott organised a non-uniform day at the school with a visiting speaker from

Macmillan Cancer Care, who gave a morning assembly talk boosting our total collection to £2,500.

Riders: Alison Whawell Tim Grice Rob Scothern Chris levick Andy Parry Derek Brock James Hall Roy Stevenson Richard Newton Julie Greatorex – support driver Bill Kirkham – support driver

Reflections Magazine

An advertising opportunity has arisen for parents with large and small businesses. Reflections magazine, a

good quality magazine that targets potential customers in the Derbyshire area, is going to produce a multi-

page profile of S. Anselm’s in November or December. They have promised us some discounted advertising

rates if you were to get in touch with them and mention S. Anselm’s. Mike Snow, or senior advertising

executive Carol Silcock, can be contacted on 01246 550488. They can offer the following discounted rates to

associates of S. Anselm’s.

Full page advert £625 + VAT

Half page colour £350 + VAT

Quarter page colour £195 + VAT

Eighth page colour £110 + VAT

Sixteenth page colour £60 + VAT


Forthcoming events to be aware of:

11th October Year 6 History Trip to Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet

14th October 5.30 pm - What Goes on Upstairs? An Introduction to Boarding for Parents and Children.

14th October 9.30-11.30 am Nursery & Pre Prep Open Morning

15th October 9.30-11.30 am Prep School Open Morning

16th October Informal Concert, Hargreaves Hall

17th, 18th & 19th October Pre Prep Parent/Teacher Meetings

20th October Effort and Attainment Grades

20th October Half Term Starts at 1.00pm

5th November Charity Christmas Fair and Guy Fawkes/Bonfire Night

autumn 2011 newsletter 2

Documents

autumn newsletter

time year

new changes

autumn term

new swimming teacher

pre prep new staff liz

mrs ward

mrs humpleby