Lent term: Week 3 News 19th January 2018

A note from the Headmaster

Thank you to all boys who helped in our Open Day last Saturday. The event commenced with a wonderful performance by our woodwind ensemble, and I am grateful to our musicians for that. Sixth form boys hosted our visitors in school, providing guided tours, and many other boys also presented a wide variety of activities around the school. You will see a report on these in this newsletter. We have also just completed our mock examinations, for both GCSE and A Level. I know that many boys will be pleased with the results that they have achieved. They will all be reflecting on their results and developing a revision plan to prepare for final exams in the summer.

In these newsletters I am always keen to pay tribute to work for charity, and please see three articles below concerning fundraising for charity: the impressive efforts of Town House Form III, our forthcoming “Wear Red” day, and Mr Lindon’s trek to support veterans’ charities.

Top stories TOWN HOUSE BOYS BRAVE THE ELEMENTS FOR CHRISTMAS CHARITY PARKING On Saturday 23rd December, six 3rd formers from Town house braved the cold to help out those doing some last minute shopping in . James, Harry, Tom, Teddy, Billy and Will volunteered to staff the annual charity car parking on the main school, allowing people to find an easy place to park close to the shops, in return for a donation to the British Heart Foundation.

After 5 chilly hours, fuelled by hot chocolate, they collected £209.47: a very impressive amount indeed!

The BHF were extremely appreciative when they handed over the cheque to Jill, the store manager, who said the money would go directly into their research projects. Thank you as well to all of the generous members of the public. 2ND FEBRUARY - HABERDASHER’S MONMOUTH SCHOOLS WEAR RED FOR CANCER CHARITY Here’s a date for your diary; the Haberdashers Monmouth Schools will this year be taking part in the Wear Red For And Velin- dre fundraiser. This campaign aims to raise vital funds for Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff and the colour red was chosen as the 2nd February comes on the eve of the Welsh rugby team’s RBS 6 Nations opener when they take on Scotland at the Principality Stadium. Hundreds of schools throughout Wales will take part and taking part couldn’t be simpler. Simply Wear Red on Friday 2 February 2018 and donate a minimum of £2. Velindre supporters such as Martyn Williams, Rhod Gilbert, James Bradfield, Craig Bellamy, Matthew Rhys, Gareth Thomas and Jamie Roberts have all backed the campaign. #WearRedForWalesAndVelindre CHARLIE FOLLOWS UP ESSAY PRIZE WITH MEDICAL MENTORSHIP

Charlie in 6.1 has just been awarded a place as a School Ambassador on the Medic Mentor scheme.

This is a national leadership role for students interested in a medicine, dentistry, vet science or psychology career.

Charlie is interested in pursuing a career in medicine and you may re- member that he also won a medical essay competition last term (Click here to read details of Charlie’s essay prize win.).

Charlie has been invited to sit on the Medic Mentor Schools Council which will comprise of teaching sessions and group discussions based on the challenges students face when applying to these specialities. He will also have the opportunity in the future to support younger students also considering these careers.

Congratulations Charlie, we look forward to reporting on even more of your scientific achievements in the future.

OPEN DAY SHOWS OFF AT ITS BEST: FROM RELIGIOUS STUDIES TO MUSIC VIA BIOLOGY AND POTTERY! A full range of academic and pastoral activities were on display for visiting parents and children as part of last Saturday’s Open Day.

The Art Department was resplendent with its display of pottery heads whilst, across the way in the RS department , World religions was the subject under discussion, complete with a Hindu shrine, as the boys discussed the role of women in Islam. For the parents who made the journey up to the Biology department there were several different ex- periments laid out and, as an opener to the day, there was an exceptional performance by the woodwind ensemble expertly led by Mrs Fowler.

Meanwhile, in the English department, 1J welcomed parents and prospective students and explained all about the First Form course; the English club, ‘Wordplay’; and their re- cent Book Battle to decide on the most popular reads in their class. Mrs Arrand and the English department are very grateful for their enthusiastic support!

A final well done to all of the 6th Form tour guides who gave up their Saturday morning to show off the school and share their invaluable personal knowledge of life as a student in Monmouth. ROWING REPORT: EARLY SEASON FRIENDLY IS SO CLOSE IT CALLS FOR A REMATCH! Saturday afternoon featured a hotly contested town v gown fixture down on the river.

The race was between a senior heavyweight eight from the School Rowing Club and Monmouth Rowing Club senior men’s eight.

After several miles of gruelling side-by-side work, the town club proved marginally faster than the School eight, but there was not a lot in it and a rematch in the coming months is on the cards.

Many thanks go to Monmouth RC for the racing and allowing the boys to get some good race practice for the major head of the river races later this term.

DRAMA: KAFKA’S NIGHTMARE BROUGHT TO LIFE ON THE BLAKE STAGE On Monday night Splendid Productions descended from the ceiling, crawled across the floor and hissed dis- concertingly at the audience as they brought Franz Kafka’s terrifying social play Metamorphosis to life on The Blake Theatre stage. Drama students from both Monmouth School for Boys and Monmouth School for Girls joined several other schools, and members of the pub- lic, and they were treated to an hour of exciting, funny, weird and at times disturbing theatre which asked the question; are you normal?

Kafka’s original novel tells the story of Gregor Samsa, a travelling sales- man who, one day, wakes up to discover that he has been transformed into a gigantic insect. His family struggle to cope with this change in their circumstances and, although they still want to believe that Gregor is still a part of their family, must try and live life without him... or maybe even try and get rid of him.

Splendid productions managed to create a very intense and atmo- spheric piece of theatre with their trademark Brechtian techniques very much on show (houselights remained on at all times, the actors conversed directly with the audience to keep the story clear, humour was used to break up the more intense moments in order to allow the audience to contemplate what it was they were watching) and as the actors took their bow it was remarkable to think that this nationally renowned theatre company had graced our stage in Monmouth and that they had delivered such a thought provoking performance about love, loss, family and responsibility for students and public alike. Thank you to the Blake Theatre staff and thank you to Splendid productions. Hopefully see you again next year.

MR LINDON MARCHES CROSS-COUNTRY FOR VETERANS’ CHARITIES In June this year Mr Lindon, the School Staff Instructor for the CCF, will be joining 50 other veterans as they take on a 50 mile cross-country hike be- tween and Shrewsbury in aid of several veterans’ charities.

These charities are particularly close to Mr Lindon’s heart and as he said himself, ‘I’m a welfare officer working with veterans and I get to see first- hand how much support these smaller charities give to the veterans, their wives and families.’

If you would like to suppport this fantastic cause with a donation please click here to go to Mr Lindon’s Just Giving page. STUDENT-RUN ART EXHIBITION AT THE BLAKE THEATRE

Click on the image to read more about this event on our web- site

FOOTBALL REPORT: GOALS GALORE AND TOUGH LESSONS IN LAST WEEK’S FIXTURES The 1st XI had midweek fixture at home against Forest of Dean Academy and we were hoping to register our first win in the second game of the season. After a rocky first half that ended with Adam coolly slotting a penalty, it was 3-3. After some inspirational words from Mr.Tamplin we managed to take control of the game and come away with a 7-3 win.

Next up on the Saturday block fixtures, most teams faced Wycliffe College. The U14 Bs won in a comfortable 10-1 win and the U14 As won 5-1 in what was an encouraging start to their first game for the school. The U15s were involved in high scoring games as their Bs won 10-3 and their As won 7-1. That means on average between the four U14 and U15 sides there were 8 goals for Monmouth! The U16 As drew 1-1 in their first game of the season. The 3rd XI won 2-0 against Wycliffe College 2nds and our 2nd XI were beaten away from home.

The 1st XI faced stiff opposition against Shrewsbury School and we were 3-0 down after 10 minutes. However the team was much improved after the 10 minute hor- ror-show and played better quality football also dominating possession. Shrews- bury are one of the best school sides in the country and although, the result is disappointing, it is encouraging to think that we matched their technical quality if not bettered it. The score line doesn’t reflect the difference in quality between the two sides and this game will be a harsh lesson for the boys.

Hopefully after Exeat the boys will be raring to go against Marlborough College. COMING UP AT THE BLAKE THEATRE: Live in HD on our big screen: February 7th Royal Opera House: Tosca – 7.15pm

Drama, passion and fabulous music – Puccini’s operatic thriller is one of the great opera experiences. Dan Ettinger conducts a star cast led by Adrianne Pieczonka, Joseph Calleja and Gerald Finley.

February 22nd NT Live: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof – 7pm

BBFC Certificate 15.

On a steamy night in Mississippi, a Southern family gather at their cotton plantation to celebrate Big Daddy’s birthday. The scorching heat is almost as oppressive as the lies they tell. Brick and Maggie dance round the secrets and sexual tensions that threaten to destroy their marriage. With the future of the family at stake, which ver- sion of the truth is real – and which will win out?

Tennessee Williams’ twentieth century masterpiece Cat on a Hot Tin Roof played a CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO BUY TICKETS strictly limited season in London’s West End in 2017. Following his smash hit pro- duction of A Streetcar Named Desire, Benedict Andrews’ ‘thrilling revival’ (New York FOR THIS EVENT Times) stars Sienna Miller alongside, Jack O’Connell and Colm Meaney. SPOTLIGHT ON ENRICHMENT - ETHICS Ethical theories of great thinkers of the past and present (from the Ancient Greeks and Romans, to theologians and secular ethicists) are considered and applied to contemporary issues, both in society (euthanasia, abor- tion, synthetic biology, war, economic choices, etc.) and in our individual experience (‘should I ever deliber- ately foul in a match?’ or ‘is it wrong to kill in a video game?’) in this Enrichment course.

Students will look at different philosophical responses to these questions in order to help them better under- stand their own ethical approach to the world and that of others.

So if you’ve ever wondered what the Kantian Categorical Imperative was, then this could be the course for you.

Click here to see all of our news stories on the website.

Calendar Dates:

Form VI Subject Choices to Tutors: Form V A level Choices to Tutors: Form VI.1 Fri 19 January 4pm Exeat begins 4.15pm Boarders’ Coach to Newport Station Exeat 1pm – 2pm Code Club (Library) Sun 21 January 2pm – 5pm WyeHack (Library) Boarders return from 7pm 7pm Boarders’ coach departs Newport Station Headmaster’s Assembly (to include period 1) 13+ Foundation and Music Scholarships Mon 22 January 1.50pm Briefing for all prospective Form VI.1 Oxbridge applicants (Sixth Form Centre) Soccer: v. Rougemont School: U15 & U14 XIs (H) K.O. 2.40pm 13+ Foundation and Music Scholarships Tue 23 January 8pm Boarders’ Multi-Activity: Form IV/Year 10 (MG) 13+ Foundation and Music Scholarships Wed 24 January CCF Welsh Climbing Championships: Qualifying (Cardiff) Depart 12noon Rugby: v. Llandovery College: U13A XV (H) KO 2.30pm 8.40am Chaplain’s Assembly: Debbie Flood, Olympic Medalist, first woman President of Joint MB & MG Forms V & VI Gloucestershire Classical Association Lecture (Dean Close School, Cheltenham) Thu 25 January Depart 6pm, return 10pm Soccer: v. Rougemont School: 2nd XI (H) K.O. 2.40pm