Issue 9 www.thecedarsschool.org.uk 19 September 2014

FROM THE HEADMASTER A very warm welcome to you all, whether your son is

new to the school or returning for his second year. It

was good to see so many of you at the recent information

evening and I am looking forward to working in partner-

ship with you over the months ahead.

We have all been delighted with how well our new stu-

dents have settled into the school - they all seem to get

on well together. Having more students and teachers

around has been a positive experience and I feel that we

have taken a significant step forward this September.

A busy term lies ahead of us. On Monday the tutorial

system swings into action and you will receive notification

of your son’s tutor any day now. On October 2nd, new

boys will learn which house they will belong to for the

rest of their time in the school. House flag designs are

complete and we eagerly await our first flags.

Rugby fixtures are approaching fast and, though there was

a delay with the fixture list this term, dates are still being

added on an almost daily basis. Because of the fixture

delay we did not produce a Michaelmas term dates card

so please check dates on the website or via the Parent

Portal.

We have an Open Evening on Wednesday 1st October

and an Open Morning on Saturday 11th October. A num-

ber of boys will be involved and so I would ask you to

keep these dates free if at all possible - we will confirm

who will need to attend early next week. Both of these

events are crucial to our continued success and I know

we can count on the boys to give good account of them-

selves and their school.

There have been several new developments this term, all

of which seem to be working well. No doubt your sons

will have told you about the new catering arrangements

and you should also be aware of the Parent Portal and

Show My Homework website. Any feedback on these or

other aspects of the school is always welcome.

With best wishes,

NEW TEACHERS AT

THE CEDARS

Mr Ionut Bradu has

taught in both England and

Romania and he brings

some excellent experience

to The Cedars having

worked previously in

King’s College School

Wimbledon among other

places. Mr Bradu is a ver-

satile musician, playing gui-

tar and piano to a high standard, and is an accom-

plished choirmaster. He married in August this

year and is working towards a second music de-

gree in his spare time.

Mr Pablo Hinojo is a

native of Catalonia who

has now lived in London

for many years. After

gaining First Class Hon-

ours in History at Lon-

don’s School of Oriental

and African Studies, he

completed an MA at

King’s College, London. He then started working

for a charity for three years. After a brief spell at

the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Mr

Hinojo felt the lure of the classroom and em-

barked on a PGCE at the Institute of Education in

London, qualifying earlier this year. At the risk of

embarrassing Mr Hinojo, we are able to report

that his PGCE thesis was of such quality that per-

mission has been sought to use it as an exemplar

for future trainee teachers. Alongside his other

impressive accomplishments, Mr Hinojo is very

likely Catalonia’s only Real Madrid supporter!

PARENT WORKSHOP On Tuesday 23 September at 7.30pm we will be

holding our first Parent Workshop of the year

with guest speaker Marjory Clarke and the theme will be ‘Families at Table’. We would encourage

as many parents as possible to attend.

FAMILY

DEVELOPMENT

FOUNDATION (FDF) On Thursday 9 October at 7.30pm we will be

hosting the FDF launch. FDF provide parenting

courses focusing on practical steps that can im-

prove family life. The first FDF course at The Ce-

dars will run in the Hilary and Trinity Terms. Fur-

ther details of FDF can be found at:

http://www.familydevelopment.org.uk/

PHOTO GALLERY The new outdoor table-tennis tables have proved

a massive hit with the boys!

Year 7 (above) Year 9 (below)

Dr Anthony Radice

gained First Class Honours

in English and American

Literature at Manchester

before going on to further

study and research at

Leeds where he was

awarded a PhD in Ameri-

can Literature. He has pre-

viously taught in several

schools including Stowe and Woodbridge and has

spent time in the Civil service. Dr Radice has a

young family in Oxfordshire (he commutes three

times a week) and his wife is expecting their fifth

child later this year.

A man of many talents, Mr Paul Moloney has

degrees in Pure and Applied Mathematics and As-

tronomy, Religious Education and Systematic The-

ology. He has taught extensively in the UK, Spain

and the US, including at

the London Oratory

School, St Michael’s Cath-

olic Grammar (Finchley)

and a school in the

Bronx! He has a wide

range of interests and is

currently learning the

Irish language.

Mr Javier Portal is an experienced teacher of

biology who has previ-

ously taught at the pres-

tigious Retamar school in

Madrid. During his

teaching career he has

also found time to write

textbooks for the Inter-

national Baccalaureate

and a large number of

original research papers;

in addition he has been

closely involved in the International Biology Olym-

piad for the last few years. He has a wide range of

interests outside of school including football, ten-

nis, mountain hiking, playing the guitar and Rioja

wines; he is about to complete a PhD in biology

education.

Year 7 hard at work in Geography

CHAPLAIN’S CORNER Riches for God

Nothing is too much for God

John 12:3 «Mary took a pound o f costly perfume made

of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her

hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume».

But Judas thought it to be too much for Jesus. Among

the poorest of the saints, St. John Vianney put his parish

in debt with his purchase of cloth of gold vestments. He

set himself the task of replenishing what he called, in a

touching phrase, "the household furniture o f the good

God." Thus it came about that the goldsmiths and embroider-

ers of Lyons had the amazing experience of seeing a

country priest, wearing a shabby cassock, rough shoes,

and a battered old hat and who seemingly had not a coin

in his pocket, ordering the most expensive articles in

their shops. Only the best was good enough for his little

village church.

St. Francis of Assisi wrote to the priests: «I beg you, with

all that is in me and more, that [...] chalices, corporals, ap-

pointments of the altar, and everything that pertains to the

sacrifice must be of precious material. And if the most holy

Body of the Lord is very poorly reserved in any place, it should

be placed in a precious location».

Blessed Teresa of Calcutta had no problem with donat-

ing a prize to purchase gold tabernacles for her con-

vents.

St. Josemaría said "The day I see a man offering the

woman of his love a present of bags of cement and a few

iron bars as a token of his feelings for her..., that day I

may decide to do the same with our Lord who is in

Heaven and in the Tabernacle."

The playground is now buzzing with activity and

seems more alive with an array of sporting activi-

ties. We are very pleased to see how well the

boys are getting along in all year groups.

Did it go through the hoop?

Year 9 pupils enjoying table tennis!

KEY DATES

for your diary Tuesday 23 September

Parent workshop: Families at Table

(with guest speaker Marjory Clarke)

Friday 26 September

School CLOSED

Wednesday 01 October

Open Evening—6.30pm

Friday 03 October

U12 Rugby v Wallington Grammar (a) - 2.00pm

Tuesday 07 October

U13 Rugby v worth (a) - 2.30pm

Thursday 09 October

Family Development Foundation (FDF) - 7.30pm

Saturday 11 October

Open Morning—10.00-1pm

Monday 13 October

U12 Rugby v Woodcote (h)* - 3.30pm

Tuesday 04 November

U13 (a), U14 (a) Rugby v Woodcote—3.30pm

Monday 10 November

Parent/Tutor fortnight

Tuesday 11 November

U13 (a), U14 (a) Rugby v St Olaves—2.30pm

Monday 17 November

U13 (a), U14 (a) Rugby v Dulwich College—2.30pm

Tuesday 18 November

U13 (a) Rugby v Dulwich College—2.30pm

Friday 21 November

U12 (a) Rugby v Dulwich College—2.30pm

Friday 28 November

U12 (a) Rugby v Trinity—2.30pm

Tuesday 02 December

U13 (a), U14 (a) Rugby v Wallington Grammar—2.00pm

PICTURE OF THE MONTH

Year 7 pupils

‘Sharing a joke’

EUCLIDEAN

SOCIETY The Euclidean Society meets on Mondays (Room

G2) and is open to all pupils. Last week we

looked at the ‘1089 Trick’ and have started to an-

alyse Pascal’s Triangle, drawing out the Powers of

Two. Triangular Numbers, Square Numbers and

the Fibonacci Sequence—all of which will be use-

ful for Mathematics in future years as well. A

Maths Clinic is available on Wednesdays during

lunch-time (again in G2) for pupils in all year

groups to pop-in and obtain help with topics/

problems in Mathematics.

Paul Moloney—Teacher of Mathematics

ABSENCE EMAIL

Just a small reminder for the new term, if your child is

off sick, please phone or email the office at:

absence@thecedarsschool.org.uk. Should your

child be off school for a number of days, this should be

followed up by another email or letter on the day of

their return, covering the total number of days of ab-

sence.