hm letter to parents december 2014
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ÂTRANSCRIPT
Contents
Page 1 Middle Sixth Interviews
Page 2 Trip to Vietnam
Page 3 Modern Foreign Languages
Page 4 A2 English Trip to Stratford-upon-AvonModel United Nations Conference
Page 5 Visit to OxfordThe School Shop
Page 6 Girls’ SportPage 7 Girls’ SportPage 8 Boys’ SportPage 9 Boys’ SportPage 10 Boys’ Sport
Visit of David AubornPage 11 The Annual Eren Pars Football Match
School Choir Brings Festive Cheer To Dream Factory Children Page 12 RemembrancePage 13 DramaPage 14 Friends of Chigwell –
A message from Purnima Sen (Chair of FoC)Page 15 Les Misérables
Page 16 French PlayEpping Forest Debating Competition
Staff News
Bad Weather
Page 17 Read to Feed
Page 18 Evensong at Westminster AbbeyHigher and Extended Project Qualification Projects
Page 19 Junior School ConcertPage 20 Reminder - Start of TermPage 21 Chapel
Middle SixthInterviewsChigwell hosted mock interviews for
Middle Sixth students recently. Over
thirty parents, Old Chigwellians and
friends carried out the interviews and
every effort was made to ensure that
they were as realistic as possible. The
feedback from all concerned was very
positive. The following week we were
joined by students from Beal School for
the second year of mock medical
interviews. Beal and Chigwell staff, and
O.C.s with medical backgrounds spent a
busy evening interviewing medical
applicants from both schools. Again both
interviewers and interviewees very much
enjoyed the process and took a great deal
away from the event. Mr Andrew Long,
Head of Sixth Form, has asked me to pass
on his thanks to all those who helped by
acting as interviewers.
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Trip to VietnamA number of Lower Sixth students,
together with Reverend Simon Paul and
Mr and Mrs Boughton, spent part of half
term travelling through Vietnam on a
history tour to widen their understanding
of the country.
In Hanoi they visited the “Hanoi Hilton”,
where American airmen who were shot
down during bombing raids, were held in
a former French prison. The students
experienced Hue, the ancient capital of
Vietnam, the 17th Parallel, the border
between North and South Vietnam, and
the Vinh Moc Tunnels where a whole
village lived underground to escape the
bombing. They also experienced the
wonders of Halong Bay and they travelled
to Hoi An, stopping at American machine
gun posts and then on to Ho Chi Minh
City. Here they travelled to the
spectacular Mekong Delta where they
journeyed by boat up the river for lunch
and a visit to a local market. The final visit
was to the War Remnants Museum. The
pupils learnt that Vietnam is a stunningly
beautiful country, the people are warm
and welcoming, the culture is rich and
varied, and the country is changing and
developing rapidly.
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Modern ForeignLanguagesIt has been a very busy term in the
modern languages department. In the
first week of half term, the Lower Fifth
and Upper Fifth hispanists visited sunny
Benalmádena on a tuition homestay trip.
There has also been a trip to the
European Parliament’s London offices
with the Upper Fifth and Middle Sixth
modern linguists for a talk and activities
about the role of modern languages in
the organisation’s work. And finally, this
year’s Mandarin clubs started in
November, for Lower One and Upper
One and the Lower Sixth, on Thursday
afternoons.
A2 English Trip toStratford-upon-AvonFourteen Middle Sixth English students
travelled by train to Stratford-Upon-Avon
to see John Webster’s “The White Devil”,
an A2 set text, at the RSC Swan Theatre.
For the examination, students have to
compare this dark and bloody Jacobean
revenge tragedy with Milton’s Paradise
Lost, and the production certainly
conveyed the fallen world of the Italian
court. In modern dress and with a
decidedly feminist agenda, they watched
the story of Vittoria Corombona’s
adultery and subsequent death, acted out
in a world spinning out of control. The last
laugh was, literally, given to the chilling
child-prince, all set to take over the
throne; he prodded the corpses on
stagewith his foot, leaving the audience
thinking that things could only really get
worse. Organised by Ms Sarah Bell, the
trip was most successful with the
performance being both lively and
provocative. As well as being able to soak
up the ambience of Shakespeare’s
birthplace, students will be so much
better prepared to be able to write about
the play in the final exams.
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Model United Nations Conference Eight Chigwell students from the Upper Fifth and above attended the annual Model
United Nations Conference at Benenden School recently. The two School delegations
represented Iran and Luxembourg, and our students were with over two hundred others
from a wide variety of schools. The conference is a role-playing exercise that simulates
the day-to-day work of the UN.
5
Visit to Oxford A group of Upper Fifth GCSE German
pupils visited Oxford recently. They
started with a tour of St. John's College
with two current Oxford students and in
the afternoon they were invited to visit
the exhibition 'Germans in Britain', which
gives an overview of German migrants in
the UK and their contribution to British
society. Our pupils then had a chance
to discuss the issue of migration with
two professors from Oxford University
before watching a film about the
'Kindertransport', trains evacuating
German and Austrian Jews in the build-up
to WW2. The film was introduced by the
producer himself, whose father was on
one of these trains. The main theme of
the afternoon was the question of
identity and how far this is an issue for all
migrants in our globalised world.
The School ShopThe School Shop will close on
Wednesday 17th December and re-open
on Monday 5th January 2015.
From Monday 5th January to Wednesday
7th January the shop will be open from
10am to 3pm, and thereafter the normal
opening hours will be 12 noon to 5pm.
Girls’ SportChigwell girls have enjoyed one of their
most successful seasons of hockey. The
1st XI achieved their best ever finish at
the U18 Essex tournament, only losing
out to Coopers, when they conceded a
single goal in the last thirty seconds of
the match. Following this, confidence
in the squad was high and the girls went
on to beat Bancroft’s, Brentwood and
St Edmund’s, they drew against Forest,
and have only lost one match since the
October break, which was against Mill
Hill. Notable performances have come
from keeper Hannah Leiper, Captain
Georgia O’Connor and midfielders Alice
Melvin and Megan Wells. We also must
congratulate Hannah, Alice and Megan
on their continued involvement with
their respective age groups of Tier 1
JRPC. The 1st XI finished off their
season with the annual match against
the staff team, when the result was a
respectable 2-2 draw, pleasing for all
those involved!
The 2nd XI girls finished the season on a
high with a win against Forest. They
have made significant progress and
therefore it was great to finish the
season with a victory.
The U14As have been undefeated all
season, winning eight out of nine
matches and a 2-2 draw. The girls have
notched up a staggering thirty-three
goals and only conceded five. The A
team has been regularly rotated with a
large squad playing every fixture. They
travelled to Bedford to represent Essex
at the East of England round. They
beat Kings Ely 2-1, Sutton Valence 2-0
and drew 1-1 with Bedford Girls’ School.
They faced Felsted in the final and lost
3-1 in a well-fought match. The girls
were disappointed not to have
progressed to the Nationals, but were
extremely pleased with their efforts
and achievement at such a prestigious
tournament. Many girls have alternated
between the U14 A and B sides which
has developed the standard of their
hockey. The B side had a number of
fixtures throughout the term and made
fantastic progress throughout the
season as a squad. Further hockey
honours outside of school go to Venetia
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Girls’ SportBailey, Charlotte James-Pajwani, Chloe
Stack, and Stevie Southall who have all
been selected for U14 JRPC Tier 1, and
Zoe Wright who has been selected for
the county side, U14 JAC.
In the Junior School, hockey continues to
go from strength to strength with both
the U13s and U12s doing very well at the
IAPS tournaments. The U13 squads have
always been a keen and enthusiastic
bunch of girls but have recently added an
element of strength and competitive
drive to their game too. They have had a
good run of results recently and we are
proud to have two girls involved with
county from this year group, Eleanor
Ahern (U13 JAC) and Kitty Howson (U13
JDC). At U12 level, the school regularly
had twenty or more girls turning out for
after-school training.
Boys’ SportThe second half of the football season
has continued to be very busy with large
numbers of boys involved. The 1st XI
played the Corinthian Casuals at the end
of half term and won 3-0. They then
continued in winning fashion after half
term by beating Highgate (3-0),
Kimbolton (2-1) and Aldenham (5-1)
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Boys’ Sportwhich meant they had won seven
games in a row, a feat which has not
occurred for a long time. Unfortunately,
a poor performance against Brentwood
followed and they were comfortably
beaten 3-0. Hampton are always one of
the strongest opponents and Chigwell
put in a credible performance losing
4-2 after being 1-0 up. The 1st XI then
hosted a team from Greenhouse, a
charity based in South London, which
aims to give opportunities to
disadvantaged youngsters through
football. It was a fantastic event which
saw Chigwell run out winners. However,
what was more important was the
social side, which saw the players
from very different backgrounds mixing
freely in the Dining Hall after the match.
The 1st XI finished the season with a
disappointing 1-0 loss to Forest, but
nonetheless this was a fantastic season.
The 2nd XI have again been competitive,
securing draws against Highgate and
Kimbolton, fine victories over Aldenham
and Forest and a narrow 3-2 defeat in the
last minute against Brentwood. The U16s
were knocked out of the ISFA Shield in
the second round after they were heavily
defeated by an impressive Harrodian
side. Senior House football was played in
a competitive nature with over eighty-
five boys representing their House.
The U15s have been much more
competitive this year. The U14A team
have continued to play some fine
football and were involved in an epic 4-4
draw with City of London which was
played in an excellent spirit by both
teams. They beat local rivals, Forest,
and also secured a 1-0 victory against a
very strong Hampton side. The U14B
team have been a credit to the School as
they have had a large number of boys
(and one girl) represent the School. They
have had some great games including
wins against City of London and
Kimbolton. House football saw every
boy in the Removes and Lower Fifth
represent their House and saw
Lambourne as victors. Alec Osborn, Jake
David and Tommy Redhead attended St
George’s Park in the last week of term to
represent the
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Boys’ SportIndependent Schools against academy
sides including Watford, Leicester City
and Derby County.
In the Junior School, the U13s have had
lots of football and are certainly making
improvements as a year group. Both teams
try to play the game in the right spirit as
opposed to focussing purely on the
outcome of matches. The vast majority of
Third Form boys represented the School
when we hosted Mossbourne Academy
from Hackney. The Third Form have been
attending training in droves and they are a
keen and enthusiastic year who will
continue to go from strength to strength.
At KS2, a large number of boys were
involved in Futsal matches at the
Copperbox arena with Woodford Green
Prep and Forest schools. Futsal is a game
which originates from Brazil and is played
with a heavier ball and thus focusses on
skill and technique. The Lower One and
Upper One boys have been exposed to a
number of Futsal sessions during their
games lessons and during the KS2
football club which as always is well
attended every week.
Visit of David AubornArtist David Auborn led a drawing
workshop as a part of the Art+
programme. During the session, the
pupils learned about different drawing
and painting materials, practical
approaches and conceptual strategies
connected to how a drawing may be
made. Ideas relating to abstraction and
also David’s own work were also
explored and the exhibition of David’s
work, ‘Micro and Macro’, which is
currently on show in the school gallery,
was a great inspiration too. It was a
thoroughly exciting and challenging
day and the pupils made some great
experimental work.
The annual Eren Pars football match was
played recently in memory of Eren O.C.
who passed away in May 2012, when he
was just twenty one. He was a keen
footballer and the match is played in his
memory each year between two Chigwell
Sixth Form teams. This year, the excited
crowd of pupils, staff, parents and friends
of Eren saw a closely fought game which
the Middle Sixth eventually won on
penalties. The Eren Pars trophy was
presented by Eren’s mother to the
winners. Mr and Mrs Pars made a
generous donation, £2,500 of which will go
to the Smiles with Grace Charity which
was the one chosen by the winning side.
Members of the Chapel Choir provided
festive music when children who have
received 'dreams' from The Dream Factory
charity were given an extra treat at an
early Christmas lunch at The King William
IV pub in Chigwell. The charity's founder,
Avril Mills commented that: "The Chigwell
School Choir were fabulous.”
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The Annual Eren Pars Football Match
School Choir Brings Festive Cheer To DreamFactory Children
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RemembranceThe School came together to remember
those who died in armed conflict. We do
this each year but as we marked the
anniversary of the start of the First World
War this year, the act of remembrance
was particularly important. As always, at
eleven o’clock on the 11th day of
November, the entire school community
observed two minutes’ silence. We
remembered all those who were killed in
the two World Wars as well as those who
continue to die, or indeed to survive with
physical and/or emotional injuries in the
cause of peace for others.
As you will know, our Chapel was built as
a memorial to those who were killed in
World War I and the names of those who
died in that and the 1939-45 conflict are
recorded on brass plates. In addition, our
School Archivist, Mrs Marian Delfgou,
has produced panels which tell the
stories of fourteen Old Chigwellians who
fought in World War I, most of whom
died but some who survived. Her
research has been carried out using
records in the archives, including letters
from these young men sent home from
the front.
This year, our traditional advent service
took a slightly different form, although
the contributions by the choir were of the
typically high standard. Through the
service were a mixture of readings,
focusing on the tragedy of war and the
lessons that we can learn. Thank you to
all of those who supported the occasion.
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DramaJust after half term, we hosted E15’s
Second Year Expressionism performances.
This was a double bill of truly
experimental, modern drama involving
dance, physical theatre, rap and live
music. All students taking GCSE and A
Level drama attended and thoroughly
enjoyed the shows. Following on from
this, the Middle Sixth performed their
two devised pieces based around the
themes of Desensitisation and Ethnic
Cleansing. These were two highly
inventive shows that mixed styles as
diverse as Berkoff, Artaud, Brecht and Le
Coq to make a striking double bill of
modern experimental theatre.
The Lamda Showcase at the end of
November dazzled us all with some
fantastically polished monologues and
duologues; particularly outstanding
were Tess Kelly and Venetia Bailey, and
Tom Lockley was awarded the prize for
Highest Lamda Mark 2014.
Finally, the Senior School Play, “The
School for Scandal”, was performed to
audiences who enjoyed the flamboyancy
of the 18th Century with wigs, frills and
snuff taking! This was a marvellously
staged traditional drama that
delightfully recreated an age of wit,
gossip and scandal.
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Friends of Chigwell –A message from PurnimaSen (Chair of FoC)With a fantastically successful Fireworks
Night on the 7th of November, a super
fayre, the school discos in December, the
Memphis show in Town, the drinks bar at
the School Play “School for Scandal”, it
has been an absolute whirlwind of a term
for the FoC. However, when I reflect on
what we have achieved, I am really proud
that the FoC team has worked so well
together. We have treated each and
every event as a learning curve. We have
run retrospectives at meetings and
drawn educated conclusions on what we
have got right and what we have not. For
example, we are constantly trying to
make the fireworks event better and
better, and this year having the food in
the Dining Room was a huge triumph and
so was the idea of setting up half of New
Hall with tables and chairs for people to
have a place to sit. Running two bars,
two bbq’s and multiple counters for
coffee and mulled wine, meant that we
never had long queues and people did
not have to wait for ages. I know this
seems sometimes like “just a PTA” but
we want to practise what we preach to
our children and that is to treat every job
with equal importance and no matter
how small or how insignificant it may be
– if it’s got to be done then it’s got to be
done well.
So, as I write this, we have still three
evenings left to serve drinks at the Les
Misérables musical evenings but already
we have made a total profit of about
£8,500 this term alone! We have, also,
this term donated about £600 towards
the Pre Prep outdoor drawing and picnic
tables, and now look forward to the
Headmaster’s recommendations of
where he would like the rest of the
money to be donated at the Junior and
Senior Schools, so watch this space.
As always, this year the support from all
parents attending the events, all the
teachers and the support and ground
staff has been overwhelming. My team
has been an absolute triumph and I could
not ask for a better group of people who
not only give up their time but make it all
look so much fun.
I would like to finish my 2014 update
with a big ‘Thank You’ to all involved
for helping us make the Friends of
Chigwell such a successful fund-raising
organisation. And to everyone as well – I
wish you all a very Merry Christmas and
an excellent New Year.
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Les MisérablesIn the last few days of term, the concert
production of Les Misérables, took to the
Chigwell School stage. More than
seventy pupils worked for a large part of
the term to produce stunning
performances in New Hall, superbly
decorated to transport the audiences
from 21st-century Essex to 19th-century
France. The performances included a
charity matinée to raise money for
Smiles with Grace, and each
performance had a unique cast in order
to offer several pupils the chance to take
the principal roles. Congratulations to
everyone who worked so hard to make
this an excellent production which will
undoubtedly be rememberd by all those
who saw it or indeed were part of it.
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French PlayThe Onatti Production Company visited Chigwell to perform their amusing two-hander
‘Erreur d’Identité’ in which the proprietors of a run-down country hotel receive an
unexpected guest and get more than they bargained for. The two principals played all
the parts with tremendous energy in a succession of garish wigs and costumes. Despite
the sophistication of some of the French, the twists and turns of the plot were
surprisingly and delightfully clear, supported as they were by vigorous mime and non-
verbal communication. Not a word of
English was spoken even by the two
audience participants! The play was
really well received by the children of
Years 7 and 8 and we hope to welcome
the company again in the future when
they will once again do their bit to
promote this beautiful language.
Epping Forest Debating CompetitionCongratulations to Tom Lockley and Angus Brown who gave a fantastic performance in
the recent Epping Forest Debating Competition.
Staff News As we reach the end of term, we say
farewell to two members of staff. Ms
Marcia Teichman is leaving us to take up
the post of Head of Chemistry at Bolton
Boys’ School and we wish her and her
family well in their new home. Ms Andrea
Gehrke is expecting her second baby in
the New Year and we send her our very
best wishes and look forward to hearing
news of the new arrival in due course.
Bad Weather As in previous years, in the event of
heavy snow or ice please consult the
school website (www.chigwell-school.org)
for confirmation of arrangements for the
school day. We would always be very
reluctant to close the School, but are
mindful of the safety of pupils and staff.
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Read to FeedPupils from right across the School have
taken part in Send a Cow’s sponsored
reading scheme ‘Read to Feed’. They
spent two weeks being sponsored to read
for pleasure in order to raise money to
provide cows and other farm animals to
help African families. Send a Cow lifts
families out of poverty for good by
teaching them how to produce food from
small plots of unproductive land and by
providing livestock. We have raised
£1,700 which will provide two cows,
goats and chickens; thank you to all
families who have helped us achieve this.
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The Chapel Choir led Evensong at
Westminster Abbey, which has the
highest gothic vault in England, and they
opened with the introit, O bone Jesu,
before embarking on the Rose Responses.
The coming together of the great Abbey
organ and the voices of the Choir in the
opening and resulting exclamations of
Stanford’s Magnificat in C and later in the
Anthem, Like as the Hart, by Herbert
Howells was unforgettable. Thank you to
all of those who supported the occasion.
Members of the Upper Fifth and Middle
Sixth recently presented their Higher
Project Qualification projects, and
Extended Project Qualification projects.
These qualifications, taken in addition to
GCSE or A level subjects, are designed to
broaden horizons beyond the confines of
the standard curriculum and encourage
independent research and thought. EPQ
and HPQ students undertake a research
topic of their choice and they develop
skills including the use of academic
journals, keeping an academic log, and
formal report writing.
HPQ projects included: Recent
Developments in the Treatment of
Parkinson’s Disease (Ben Sanders),
Women in Physics Professorships (Emma
Cadman), the Impact of the Illuminati on
Popular Music (Olivia Mendel Portnoy),
King Ludwig II of Bavaria: Mad or
Misunderstood? (Henry Bird), and the
Development and Use of Nail Varnish
Over the Last Century (Jada Coker).
Some of this year's EPQs included: The
Feasibility of Nuclear Fusion as a Power
Source in Space (Theo Gheorghiu), The
Evaluation of the Duckworth-Lewis
Method in Cricket (Hugo Blogg), and
Analysis of the 1945 Labour Government
(Margaret Oki).
Higher and Extended Project Qualification Projects
Evensong at Westminster Abbey
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Junior School ConcertThe Junior School Michaelmas Concert
was enjoyed by a packed audience of
parents and pupils and provided us with an
opportunity to ease gently into the festive
season. There was a performance of
‘Frosty the Snowman’ from the trumpet
group and a rousing finale from the Glee
Club with their performance of a
Christmas Medley, specially arranged by
Miss Laura Thomas. The quality of each
performance was impressive as each
soloist and ensemble took to the stage.
The audience enjoyed a rich and varied
programme which included works by
Telemann and Donizetti, Gershwin,
Sondheim and John Williams. Other
groups performing were the Cello Group,
Saxophone Group, Percussion Groups,
the Junior Orchestra and the Second Form
Boys’ and Girls’ Choirs. Well done to pupils
in the Junior School for a super evening.
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Reminder - Start of TermPlease note that because we end this term midweek and the Lent term starts for
pupils on Thursday 8th January, we will be starting with
week B when we return.
As all of the above suggests, many pupils have
had a very busy term and a large number will
be feeling tired. Whilst those facing public
exams in the summer will want to use some
of the holidays to carry out important
revision and consolidation, I hope all
pupils manage to have some rest and
relaxation too. I also wish you all
a very happy Christmas and I
look forward to seeing you
again in 2015.
With best wishes
Michael Punt
Chapel
Remembrance has been a central focus to this
second half of the Michaelmas Term. Our
Centenary Remembrance has focussed on the
eighty Chigwellians that were killed during the
First World War. One of those individuals was
Herr Sommermeier, a language teacher who
taught at Chigwell briefly in 1913. He fought
for Germany and was killed in 1914. He clearly
left his mark upon Chigwell as the school had a
day of mourning in memory of him. This death
helps us to reflect upon the tragedy of the First
World War and so many other conflicts. At the
start of Advent, on 1st December, we
remembered the moment when on Christmas
Day 1914 the fighting stopped and along the
Western Front soldiers emerged from the
trenches and greeted each other. It seems that
they agreed not to begin hostilities again until
the other side started to fire; this meant that
Boxing Day was also a day of peace.
The current generation of pupils and ex-pupils,
thankfully, do not face the call to join up and
fight a war; however, they do face challenges
and uncertainties. Technology has made the
world a smaller place and whilst we enjoy
peace and prosperity, large parts of our world
do not. Chapel has brought us the silence to
think about life, our responsibilities to each
other and to the world. We have thought
about our words and action and how they can
bring peace or conflict to those around us;
pupils, parents and staff have responded with
great generosity to our charity fundraising
appeals in aid of those in need; and, we have
had time to be still and put into perspective all
the demands upon our time and talents.
I wonder how the soldiers felt as they returned
to their own trenches at the end of that
Christmas Day in 1914. The day when 2000
years earlier a baby was born in Bethlehem.
The baby they remembered as they sang
across no man’s land the words of “Silent
Night or “Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht”. Perhaps
they prayed for peace, for a chance to be with
their families again, and that the world might
learn from this baby that love and peace are
the only things that really matter. It is our
privilege to enjoy and to work for the same
things in our own lives, in the lives of our loved
ones and in the world today.
May I wish you and your family love and peace
this Christmas.
Father Simon
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