End of term Newsletter - No 714 – 5 April 2019

With the sleet coming down today, it’s possible that the daffodils may feel they have come out a little early but nonetheless, now the clocks have gone back, we are really into springtime! As usual, the last week of term is still full of activity with trips returning, exchange partners visiting and groups preparing to head off to Italy and Iceland. In amongst all that, we also had time for a truly impressive Spring Concert on Monday evening at which the students (and some staff) excelled themselves. We’re certainly not winding down for the break!

There’s plenty to read about in the following pages so I won’t delay you too long but as it is the end of term we do have some sad goodbyes to say. Firstly, Mrs Matthews (who joined us 6 years ago as Miss Bottomley) is moving to work closer to home at Queens’ School after a very successful time in charge of Food Technology. She has also been very involved in supporting our eco-schools work – especially our garden! – so we hope she’ll pop back with her spade for a visit. After an even longer ‘stretch’ at SJL, we are also incredibly sad to be losing Mrs Dunnet, our Office Manager, who has been part of the administration team since 2004. When all around her has been in chaos, she has been a voice of calm and reason, with nothing ever too much trouble, and we will miss her very much indeed. Our best wishes go with them both.

So here’s to two restful weeks for all members of the SJL community – I hope you are all able to spend some time relaxing and recuperating (and if you have exams, revising!) and that we see you all again in a fortnight ready to approach the summer term with the same energy and enthusiasm you’ve shown for the last 3 months. Have a very Happy Easter!

As always, if you have any comments or suggestions I would be pleased to hear from you, please contact me at [email protected].

Claire Robins

LETTERS HOME THIS WEEK

 To the parents of Yr 10 students re the Yr 10 Showcase, Wed 24th April – please note the revised start time – 6pm.  To parents of Yr 12 students re UCAS Information Evening – Wednesday 24 April 2019

A reminder that copies of all generic letters sent home can be found on our website at: www.sjl.herts.sch.uk/402/letters-home

INTRODUCING OUR NEW SCHOOL CONNECT APP

We understand the importance of keeping you up to date with the very latest school news, events and information. In addition to the wealth of information available on our website, we’ve just launched a new mobile App, designed to keep you connected, wherever you are.

How the App benefits you:

 Stay informed of urgent announcements, delivered instantly to your phone.  Keep connected with recent news articles, photo galleries and social media.  Check term dates, download events to your personal calendar and set helpful reminders.  Instantly access the latest letters home and key information in our document zone.  Visit school related third party websites direct from the App.  Easily contact the school using our useful enquiry form or quick contact buttons.

Download the App for free:

 Visit the App Store or Google Play and search for ‘School Connect - Cleverbox’.  Once downloaded, you’ll be prompted to enter our school name.  To receive important information and announcements, opt in for push notifications.  You’re now ready to use the App.

We hope you enjoy using our new App.

CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations to the following students who received Headteacher’s Commendations this half term.

Ava Gurney 7A Sophie Jacques 9L Alexa Billington 12L Sam Watkiss 7H Jack Condon 9L Elizabeth Bratton 11A Keira Martin 11R Sam Barratt 9R Katie Symons 8K Lina Heuer 11K Kasia Kramer 9R Anoushka Sharma 8A Joshua Kerton 11H Freddie Brooks 9B Kaaviya Suresh Mia Pinkham 11A Ollie Burroughs 9A Vidhya 9K Harriet Norris 7B Tobias Sayle 9R Daisy England 9L Matthew Flowers 10H Tennyson Coultart 8B Isabel Jones 10K Elsa MacDonald 10B Lauren Wyper 8R Zara Frayne 9B Kate Robinson 10A Tia Hastings 8B Jess Chadwick 8A Santi Trett Calvo 10R Tom Redway 8B Gregory Clark 8A Ruby Robertson 10R Imogen Sutton 8R Ruth Clarke 8K Joe Holland 10L Connie Stanton 8L Khaleel Miah 8N Oliver Clarke 10H Leila Palmer 8K Eliza Davies 8K Aadam Norris 10H Gabriella Sweeney 8L William Bratton 8L Ben Pulford 9K Eliza Davies 8K Gregory Clark 8A Alfie Gauthier 9B Martha Davies 8L Eliza Davies 8K Jasmine Bending 9N Dexter Smith 8A Martha Davies 8L Katie Burroughs 9R Dexter Smith 8A Louis Harrison 8A Anna Centro 9B Martha Davies 8L Annabel Hill 8K Felix Clipstone 9K Eliza Davies 8K Yash Mehta 8N Kieran Gallagher 9N Anjali Dey 12R Khaleel Miah 8N Lauren Hedges 9B Ellie Butterworth 9A Leila Palmer 8K Martha Mitchell 9B Jessica Archer 12L Isabelle Jones 8A Jess Norris 9K Cameron Rice 11A Siena Bramzell 8L Xander Ruckley 9L Emily Bevan 12L Amy Atwell 7H Joshua Brown 7L Madeleine Tilden Jess Chadwick 8A James Evans 7L Curtis 7H Isabelle Jones 8A Gabriella Coyle 7H Gabriel Bouabci 8K Ben Tickler 8H Ebony Golder 7A Elizaveta Kabashi 8N James Evans 7L Sophia Francis 7K Shaun Graham 9B Madeleine Ballard Emma Bird 7H Jack Clayton 12R Scott 7A Olive Whalen 7B Lacee Hughes 10N Thomas Neylon 7B Oliver Bardsley 7B Amy Webster 10B Ben Rodger 7B Ellie Law 7N Daisy Brown 10A Olivia Threlfall 7K Samuel Barber 7N Izzy Dobson 10K Ralph Brooks 7K Rebecca Clarke 10H Jessica Factor 7L

Congratulations to Hannah Brooke 8B who swam in the ESSA National Championships for the East team last weekend. The junior girls’ 4x100m freestyle relay team won gold and the 4x100m medley relay team won silver.

Congratulations also to Brett Henman who set up an online plea for chocolate egg donations for Keech Hospice in Luton. The hospice is fundraising by selling little knitted chickens with Cadburys Crème Eggs inside. So far, Brett has over 200 eggs. Well done Brett!

REMINDERS

Summer Public Exams Summer exam timetables have been issued to students and sent home via Intouch this week.

Don’t lose your timetable – Put it somewhere obvious where you will see it e.g. on the fridge Read it carefully- check whether your exam is in the morning (9.00AM start) or in the afternoon (1.30PM start). You must be in on the Lower Court 20 minutes prior to the start of your exam.

All items not required for the exam e.g. watches, mobile phones, headphones, notes, books etc. must be placed in lockers before arriving on the Lower Court Seating plans will be displayed on the noticeboard by the Lower Courts, so please check these to confirm your room and seat number For years 9-11 full school uniform must be worn for all exams. The Easter holiday is an ideal time to check that you have all the right equipment for your exams, which must be in a transparent pencil case or clear plastic bag:

 BLACK pens only  Pencil  Rubber  Ruler  And if the exam requires them: a calculator but no lid, compass and protractor.  6th Form students – remember your id’s

Only water is allowed in the exam room – it must be in a small, clear, see through bottle without labels.

If you are unable to attend your exam, please call the school to let us know you are not attending. If not, we will call you, in case you have forgotten the exam time. If you are ill/injured and are unable to attend, you will need to provide a doctor’s certificate within 3 days of the exam to the Examinations Officer. Finally, get everything you need for the exam ready the night before and have a good night’s sleep GOOD LUCK TO ALL STUDENTS!

SCHOOL UNIFORM AND MOBILE PHONES

We are extremely grateful for the continued support of parents. We rely heavily on your assistance and influence from home to help us maintain the very high standards that make Sir John Lawes School stand out as one of the best.

A reminder that the SJL summer shirts may be worn after the Easter break, and for the summer term only – these are short sleeved and have the school crest on the breast pocket. Students are not required to wear a tie with the summer shirt and they should be worn untucked. Standard school shirts (long sleeved with buttons to the neck) may still be worn instead, but must be fully buttoned-up, tucked in and worn with a school tie.

Skirts – we would be grateful if parents would take the time to check their child’s skirts over the holiday, as many students appear to have put on a growth spurt over recent months! A reminder that skirts must be worn on the knee and not rolled over at the waist. Tights must be navy - black tights are not permitted. Students wearing school trousers must wear black socks only.

Please also take care to ensure that your son/daughter does not have an extreme hair cut over the holidays. Hair for school should be no shorter than a No2. Any facial piercings/false nails/eyelashes/hair extensions etc., must be removed before students return to school. Students are allowed one piercing in the lower earlobe only; other jewellery and makeup should not be worn to school.

Full details about our uniform can be found on the SJL website but if you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Brazier at the school.

Lastly, a reminder that if your son/daughter brings any electronic device into school, it remains their responsibility and must be kept secure and switched off in their school bag or locker (not in uniform pockets), unless a member of staff in a specific situation tells them otherwise. This includes throughout break and lunchtimes. Mobile phones will be confiscated if they are used in school without permission.

PLEASE NOTE: It is school policy that confiscated phones are held on reception for parents to collect at the end of the school day.

In an emergency situation where you need to contact your son/daughter, we ask that you call reception and a message will be passed to him/her as soon as possible. Please do not encourage your child(ren) to break school rules by attempting to exchange text messages with them, or to call them directly during the school day.

Once again, we thank you for your support in these matters.

YEAR 7 STUDENT OF THE MONTH

The Year 7 pastoral team have introduced ‘Student of the month’. Students are selected by their form tutor for displaying qualities from the Lawes from Learning. Congratulations to the following students who were chosen this month (March)

Josh Jake Charlotte Oliver

Ted Rachel Billy

7A Josh Gilder. He has shown good balance – he’s got involved in King’s Castle, a variety of clubs, and spoken well in the assembly. 7B Jake Angus. For showing passion towards raising awareness of Downs Syndrome and showing commitment to the school community by organising and running a fund raiser. 7H Charlotte Dytham. She has shown great passion and creativity for thought of the week and excellent good manners since the beginning of the year. She always has a smile on her face, is willing to help at form and is very keen to participate in any school event or house competition. 7L Oliver San Blas. He is polite, works well in class, joins in with lots of clubs and takes part in lots of house competitions. 7K Ted Cunningham. Ted has shown great commitment and passion, having recently been a part of the SJL spring concert, performing with the UAC band. He is always kind and courteous, showing respect and manners to everyone. 7N Fintan Mulgan. He is always consistent. He is consistently on time and consistently gets on with what he is meant to be doing be it equipment checks, reading or any other activity. He is consistently polite, he almost always says good morning and thank you as he leaves. He is consistently in uniform and has his equipment. In short, Fintan is consistently doing what he is supposed to be doing and I feel that that needs to be recognised. 7R Ryder Rachel Goldspink. She is a model student who strives to excel in everything she does. Rachel’s recent grade sheet is testament to this. Rachel has really involved herself in the school community and after collating a list of clubs and activities she has taken part in, I was really impressed with her participation, organisation and commitment

Mrs Hayden’s student of the month is Billy Barrell. He has demonstrated excellent resilience and determination since Christmas. Well done.

HOUSE NEWS

Merit Mark Totals This Term House Point Totals Adding together from House Competitions Ryder 1194 and Events since September and the Newton 1339 termly Merit Mark Cup Lawes 1384 Hepworth 1402 King 680 7th King 1425 Newton 725 6th Britten 1576 Lawes 755 5th Austen 1737 Hepworth 785 4th Ryder 825 3rd Austen awarded Merit Mark Cup for this Britten 850 2nd term, taking it from Britten! Austen 1005 1st

Mr Higgins and Heads of House

YEAR 8 ENRICHMENT DAY: INTERNATIONAL SPORT AND DANCE

We came into school and were split up into 10 different groups of 10 different dance styles. These included Rock n Roll; Waka Waka; Musical Theatre; Irish Dancing and Disco! We spent the morning learning a routine and then in p3 we had a competition, judged by Mr Evans. All of the dances were really good and everyone really entered into the spirit of the day, but the African dance led by Miss Newman won! After that, we used plastic bags and string to make Fairtrade footballs, similar to the way they make them in developing countries. We then went outside and played boys’ and girls’ matches with the balls in House groups. Some of the balls lasted better than others! In the afternoon, we went back into our form groups. The game was called Trading Trainers and the scenario was based in the favelas of San Paulo. We split into 6 family groups of 4; 2 market traders; 2 moneylenders and 2 cost of living collectors. The aim of the game was to end up with as much money as possible at the end and not go bankrupt. You had to buy stencils and then cut them out to make trainers and then sell them to earn money. However, you also had to pay some money for rent, food etc. and were always governed by things outside your control like inflation and the price of oil going up. It was quite competitive! It gave us a really good understanding of ‘real life’ issues. Thanks to all the staff who worked with us on the day and especially those who danced with us!

Katie Grimes and Matt Finch, Yr 8

FIKIWAMA FUNDRAISING: INTEGRITY AND KINDNESS IN YEAR 9

This year, Year 9 have focused some of their time in form times and assemblies considering the important Lawes for Learning qualities, Integrity and Kindness. These were the qualities we have decided to focus on, as these are important qualities that students need to develop in order to become well-rounded individuals that are able to contribute positively to their respective communities. In order to focus us, we decided to take part in some fundraising this year in order to support Fikiwama School, a Community School the current Year 11 students visited in Zambia last summer. The idea is to raise enough funds so that the school can use some of this money to support their students to learn and thrive within their community and hopefully, the Year 9 students who visit Zambia in Year 10 will actually be able to go to Fikiwama to see the impact of the fundraising. So far, we have raised a whopping £1262.04 , which is a massive achievement for Year 9 as a whole. However, we don’t want to stop there, as we would like to continue to run events in the summer term to support our fundraising endeavours. Some of the events that contributed towards raising these funds were: - Christmas League Competition (Led by Lawes) - The Christmas Goods Sale (Led by a mix of form groups) - The Christmas Jumper Day (Led by Mrs Richardson’s Christmas Elves) - The Year 9 Music Showcase (Led by the Music Department)

Here is some more information about these events written by the students involved:

The Christmas Jumper Day On the 21st of December, we had a fundraiser for Fikiwama School in Zambia. With Mrs Richardson’s help, the Christmas elves raised around £900. The day was a non-school uniform day and everyone who participated (who wore Christmas clothes) brought a pound in for Fikiwama School. By Jorja French and Sophie McKay – The Christmas Elves

9 Lawes’ Christmas Football League As part of fundraising for Fikiwama, 9 Lawes did a Christmas Football League Competition for the holidays. Everyone who participated had to fill in a sheet full of matches, and then they had to guess what the scores of the games would be in advance. Congratulations to Amelie Pym who won! By Tegan Hancox.

Easter Fundraiser On the 2nd and 3rd of April, we are going to do an Easter fundraiser for Fikiwama school. We will have cakes, fudge and crafts all Easter themed. All the money raised will go towards helping Fikiwama pay for necessary classroom supplies. By Grace Barlow, Kiera Barber, Caroline Payne, Maddie Sumner and Kaaviya Suresh-Vidhya

MUSIC NEWS

Year 12 Instrumental/Vocal lessons during study leave/work experience in the Summer Term Instrumental and vocal lessons will continue during this period. Peripatetic staff are more than happy to accommodate students but it is the STUDENTS’ responsibility to liaise and arrange lesson times that they can make!

Congratulations to Adam Roberts who has just been offered a place at the Royal Academy of Music Saturday Jazz School playing Bass Guitar, and Phoebe Wakefield who has been offered a place at the Royal Academy and the Junior Guildhall for singing. We are very proud of them both!

Music Tour There are still a few payments outstanding. Everyone going on tour should have now paid the final balance. If you have problems paying, please contact finance or contact Miss Gillot [email protected]

Congratulations to Zac Smith who passed his ABRSM Grade 8 Trumpet with Merit. Congratulations to James Evans who passed his Grade 4 Trumpet, Ollie Burroughs and Antonia Green who both passed their Grade 5 theory with Merit and Finley Brown who passed his Grade 3 drums with distinction.

THE STAFF MUSIC CHALLENGE

It has been another busy term for the staff musicians who have been working hard at learning their new instruments. We have seen some great group collaborations – the Red Nose Day ukulele performance of “Can’t Help Falling in Love” is a must see if you haven’t already watched it – and some incredible exam successes in March: Ms Robins passed her Grade 2 violin with Distinction and Mrs Hastings-Clarke passed her Grade 3 saxophone with Merit. We are hoping that in the summer a few more staff will be brave enough to take music exams. We have really enjoyed hearing Mrs Ponte’s fantastic progress on the trumpet, Miss Caldicott’s woodwind ensemble and even Mr Battersby has mastered a few drum fills! We don’t know how the staff find the time to practise on top of everything they do but we are very impressed when they do! In the Summer Term we also have the Staff Music Ensemble to look forward to – a culmination of their year’s hard work in a performance at the Summer Prom on 4th July at the Public Halls. Watch this space to find out more after Easter … We are very proud of our staff, not just for stepping out of their comfort zone and trying something new, but also for demonstrating such dedication in their learning. It’s an inspiration to us all! Don’t forget you can follow their progress via Instagram @sjlstaffmusicchallenge

The Staff Music Challenge Team J SKI TRIP 2020 SAAS FEE

It gives me pleasure to introduce the 2020 Ski Trip.

This year we will be travelling to Saas Fee, Switzerland. We have visited this resort on a number of occasions and we are delighted that we will be staying once again in the Hotel Azalea.

Saas Fee is one of Europe’s highest altitude winter resorts and was the setting for the video to Wham’s 1984 hit single ‘Last Christmas’. The resort features the world’s highest underground funicular railway, highest revolving restaurant and the world’s largest ice cave. Most importantly for us, there is a great range of pistes for all ski abilities and the resort has a very good snow record. The ski run has a vertical drop of 1,800 m (5,906 ft), a top elevation of 3,550 m (11,647 ft) and covers 62 miles.

Our party will be staying in the Hotel Azalea in Saas Grund, a five-minute coach ride away from Saas Fee. Saas Fee is a traditional mountain village, which is free of cars. Ski boots, poles and skis care stored overnight adjacent to the slopes. Both Saas Fee and Saas Grund are able to provide a variety of evening activities for our party.

We have chosen to travel once again with Ski Gower who we have used for the last 25 years. They have a great track record of providing us with an excellent service and they have continued to impress us with their attention to detail. Ski Gower offer ski tuition by British instructors who usually travel with the party and with safety being of paramount importance to us, we have found this to be a very successful arrangement.

The dates: Friday, 14 February – Saturday, 22 February 2020 The price: £1040 Year 8-11 The price: £1075 Year 12-13 (This is due to a surcharge for the lift pass)

The price includes:

 Ski passes for 6 days skiing  Comprehensive personal and medical insurance  6 nights full board accommodation  All meals (breakfast, lunch and evening meal)  Full day ski tuition by British Ski Tutors at a ratio averaging 1:9  Hire of skis, poles and boots  Travel by coach – pick up/drop off point will be Sir John Lawes School

The package does not include:

 Meals en route  Ski wear (ski jacket, salopettes, goggles etc.)  Ski helmet (which is compulsory)  Pocket money

This year there are 45 places available on the ski trip. Should we be oversubscribed, we will draw names from a hat after the closing date, which is Tuesday 7 May 2019. Anyone who does not initially secure a place will be put on a waiting list. If your child is allocated a place on the trip, we will provide you with a confirmation letter, which will outline the instalment schedule and the various payment deadlines. It is worth noting that any child accepted onto the trip will be removed if their behaviour in school is deemed unacceptable. Those not allocated a place will have their deposits returned.

If your son/daughter wishes to participate could you please make a non-returnable deposit of £250 via ParentPay before Tuesday 7 May 2019.

Mr K Snaylam - Ski Party Leader

CAREERS DAY 2019

On Thursday 28 March, we were delighted to welcome the Mayor of Harpenden to our annual Careers Day. The aim of the day is to educate our Year 12 students on the full array of opportunities available to them post A Level, including School Leaver, Apprenticeship Programmes and Graduate Schemes. In the morning, our Yr 12 Students were joined by their peers from Samuel Ryder and Robert Barclay Academy to attend 6 talks, which they had selected from a carousel of over 50 presentations delivered by Industry professionals. These talks provided a good base of knowledge, which enabled our students to engage effectively with company stands at the afternoon Careers Fair Our Yr 10 students also attended the Careers Fair, in response to many STEM companies requesting this early engagement. The companies commented how maturely they conducted themselves and they were impressed with the questions they asked and their levels of interest. Over the course of the day, over 700 students joined us from 6 different Secondary Schools, a fact that helped us, to retain and attract a high calibre of local, national and international companies with 70+ organisations filling our Sports Hall to capacity and all offering our young people specific information on post A Level Career opportunities within their own companies. Below are many of the organisations for supported the Careers Fair:

AD Practice Ltd Henkel Rate My AECOM Herts County Council Placement/Apprenticeshi Affinity Water Hill p Alban Federation Jarvis Rayden Solicitors Amazing Apprenticeships John Laing Training Refinitive (formerly Aon John Lewis Reuters) Barclays King Rothamsted BBC 3 Counties Radio KPMG Royal Navy BDO Ldn Institute of Bking & RVC BP Finance Scholars' Education Trust BRE Lyndhurst Financial Simmons Bretherton Law Mgmt Spire Health Care BT M&S Striking Places Chamber of Commerce Medicine Strutt & Parker City of Expertise Microsoft Taylor Walton Computacenter Mitie Ten 2 Two Costa Coffee NCS Tesco Communities 1st Oxfam TJX Europe Easyjet Pell Frischmann TUI EY Playschool Nursery UCFB Wembley Fire Service Plowman Craven Welcome Break Fundamentally Children Police Willis Towers Watson Gist PWC Willmott Dixon Interiors Grey London RAF Uni of Herts Head Start Recruitment YC

Our students had spent considerable time researching the Companies attending and this was really appreciated by the employers, many of whom commended our students for their knowledge, the quality of questions they asked and the professional way in which they conducted themselves. In fact, once again many have secured much sought after relevant work experience and contacts to support their future aspirations. But the final word must go to our Yr 12s. They have already evaluated the day and the results shown below demonstrate the impact the event has had on their confidence about their future careers choices: 40 35 30 25 Percentage of 20 Students 15 Pre- 10 Event 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Level of Confidence in Future Career Path

Our greatest thanks go to all those who supported us in making this event so successful. Mrs Honour-Jones Sixth Form Manager

MAST AND TALENTED NEWS

On Monday last week, we had the fantastic opportunity to spend the day at Oxford University. After an early start, and a long coach journey, we arrived at the Mathematical Institute. The tour guide was very enthusiastic and gave us lots of fascinating information about Andrew Wiles, whom the building is named after. We then participated in a maths lecture where we had the chance to work together to solve some challenging puzzles. After lunch at Cafe Pi, we had a short walk through the centre of Oxford to one of their colleges where students live, Balliol College. We were given a tour of the college and gained an idea of what student life is like at Oxford University. Overall, we had a great day out and it was an enlightening experience.

By the Year 12 Further Mathematicians

Oxford Mathematics and Computer Science Departmental Open Days Saturday 4 May and Saturday 11 May 2019 For: Prospective undergraduate students considering applying to Oxford for 2020 entry (or deferred entry in 2021) The Department of Computer Science’s Spring Open Day for prospective undergraduate students will take place on Saturday 11 May 2019 in Oxford's Mathematical Institute. Sessions will be available for students interested in the joint courses with either Maths or Philosophy. The Mathematical Institute will hold a departmental open day on Saturday 4 May 2019. Those interested in the joint course with Maths may wish to attend this day, when there will be a session for students interested in the joint Maths and Computer Science degree: please sign up to Schedule 1. If you are interested in the joint Maths and Computer Science degree there is no need to attend more than one of these dates: there will be significant overlap in the information given, and the talk on the joint Maths and Computer Science degree will be the same on both days. Please note that these are not University-wide open days. There will be an opportunity for you to visit an Oxford college, but other departments, libraries, etc. won't be open. For further information, and booking forms, please see the Mathematical Institute website or the Department of Computer Science website.

Unsung Heroes of Science – Science Competition For: Ages 16–18 Who has history forgotten? Whose story has been left out of the textbooks? Whose work gets overlooked? Whose story do you want to share? We want you to make a two-minute video celebrating an unsung hero of science! This brand-new competition is open to anyone in the UK aged 16– 18. The winners will be invited to shadow award-winning journalist Krishnan Guru-Murthy behind the scenes at Channel 4 News. The deadline is 26 April 2019, so start choosing your unsung heroes of science now! For more information, check out the competition webpage: www.hertford.ox.ac.uk/unsungscience Contact: [email protected]

Oxford Maths Festival Saturday 11 May and Sunday 12 May 2019 For: Everyone Bookings required for some events: see website for details Bringing together talks, workshops, hands-on activities and much more besides, the Oxford Maths Festival is an extravaganza of all the wonderful curiosities mathematics holds. Over two days you can immerse yourself in a wide range of events, with something for everyone, no matter your age or prior mathematical experience. For more information, please visit the Oxford Maths Festival website. Contact: [email protected]

VISIT FROM THE BELGIAN SCHOOL SAINT VÉRONIQUE

Recently, some of our Year 10 and Year 11 students took part in an afternoon of activities with students from Saint Véronique School in Belgium. It was a perfect opportunity to practice their French with native speakers and to make new friends.

The Belgian exchange was fantastic and a great opportunity for us to speak French in a real life situation! I learnt how to communicate with the Belgian students when we couldn’t say a word in the same language, and it was really exciting to experience speaking French to a native speaker. I’m still in touch with the exchange student and it’s great to be able to practise speaking French outside of lessons. Becky Turner (10K)

I thought that the opportunity of having a conversation with the Belgian students in French was extremely useful and I really enjoyed the experience. Also, it was interesting to see what life was like for the students in Belgium and the differences between schools in the UK and their school. Zac Smith (10N)

I really enjoyed my time spent with the Belgian students in our lesson last week. They were all very friendly and I improved my skill of speaking French on the spot. I was also able to get an insight into the culture of Belgium and understand the life they live. It surprised me how fluent their English was and the differences in our school lives. For example, their school, timetable, lack of school uniform, lack of modern facilities for art, textiles and tech which we enjoy and how the teachers move classrooms rather than the students. Overall, the visit was a huge success as it was beneficial for all of us. Fortunately we can continue communicating with our Belgian friends online. Anabel Drake (10H)

YEAR 10 STUDY TRIP TO MONTPELLIER

Some of our Year 10 students enjoyed a week of French lessons led by native speakers, cultural visits and the experience of staying with a French family in the sunny city of Montpellier.

Last week, some year 10s studying French went to Montpellier to stay with a French family. We were challenged to practice what we learn in lessons in real life situations, helping to develop our French for GCSEs and for trips to France in the future. We had French lessons at the LSF language school in the centre of Montpellier. We also visited the Zoo, the aquarium and many famous landmarks. We spent the mornings and the evenings with our families and easily navigated the public transport in pairs. We have really enjoyed visiting Montpellier and have had a great time staying with our families. If given the chance we would love to visit our families again. Izzy Dobson (10K) and Megan Hill (10R)

Last week was an amazing, educational trip away to Montpellier and I really enjoyed myself. After an early start on Monday morning, we spent a day travelling from Gatwick to Montpellier airport, before getting a bus to La Place de Comédie (the centre of Montpellier). We made our way to LSF which was our school for the week. We received some information about our week and then it was time to meet our families! My friend, Fleur, and I were put with a lovely family of four. Gaëlle and Franck (the parents) and Jeanne and Adrien (the children) were extremely welcoming and helpful. We experienced the tram on the Monday evening when making our way to our home for the week. I hadn’t ever been on a tram so it was definitely a different experience! All of our evenings (including the meals and the bedroom) were extremely pleasant. The family tried to include us in their daily routine as much as they possibly could. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday morning, we had French lessons in the school. We were split into two groups of eight, so the lessons were great with lots of helpful worksheets and discussions. On the Wednesday morning we went to a nearby shopping centre for a more hands-on learning approach. On the Thursday morning, we had a cooking lesson in a lovely little French restaurant, and made ‘Rougail Saucisse’ which was a delicious casserole. We ate it for lunch with rice and, of course, unlimited amounts of French baguette! In the afternoons, we visited a zoo, an Amazonian greenhouse, an aquarium before going on a historical tour of Montpellier. All four activities were extremely enjoyable. My favourite was probably the zoo, because it was massive with an enormous variety of animals and birds. On our last evening, Fleur and I were lucky enough to be able to go to the beach with our families. Our families were close friends so we all went for a lovely walk, with their dog, along the beach while the sun was setting. Overall, the week was really enjoyable and also helpful for my French studies. I am really grateful I got the opportunity to go and for all that Miss Marino and Ms Michel did while organising our trip. I would definitely recommend this trip to anyone who is given the opportunity in the future! Emilie Baudot (10R)

DRAGONS APPRENTICE NEWSLETTER

On Monday the 1st of April the Dragons Apprentice team, Purple Dragons, attended the awards evening for the Dacorum challenge at Shendish Manor Hotel.

The evening started with looking around all the displays created by the teams that had completed the challenge. Then the selected teams, including Purple Dragons, gave a short presentation about how they had raised the money for their charity, difficulties they had faced and what they had learnt. We raised over £1,700 for the Pepper Foundation, a children’s charity that supports hospice care at home for terminally ill children in the local area.

To raise this money we held several events including a pizza evening at the Yard Pizzeria and a quiz/ jazz evening at Harpenden golf club, we also sold hoodies for the ski trip and sold Christmas gift bags in the last week of term. Throughout the challenge we were supported by our Dragon, Mark Rickard from Robert Dyas and Julie Monroe, our representative from the Pepper Foundation. We developed a good working relationship with both our dragon and our charity, with them attending most of our meetings and helping us to source raffle and auction prizes for our quiz night. At the awards evening we won the close cooperation with the charity award, we are extremely pleased with this as it has helped us see our hard work pay off and we know that the money we raised with make a huge difference to the families that Pepper support in Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

Katie Gummer 12H

NEW PROJECTS We are looking for support from the SJL community to help us raise funds for our next two exciting school projects:

★ An outdoor language learning and social area

★ Resurfacing the tennis courts

If you have ideas for fundraising events, sponsorship opportunities or just want to get involved because your kids would really enjoy and benefit from these improvements Email us today. We are looking forward to being able to support these projects at SJL over the coming year.

Night at the Races - POSTPONED New date 22nd June 2019 We had a good level of interest in our race night but not enough to make it viable. Given that the organising team put a lot of work into planning the event, we have decided to postpone it and run it later next term. We hope more of you can attend and make it a worthwhile fundraiser so that we can raise much needed revenue for our new SJL projects. So save the date - 22nd June.

Savills’ insights Savills is a regular supporter of the school, donating for the minibus, sponsoring Festival on the Field, and running CV workshops for students. The Harpenden Branch has also offered to provide market related comments and information that might be useful to parents. Here is the latest news.

Looking ahead - dates for your diary 22 June – A Night at the Races

Stay in touch….. Email: [email protected] Facebook: Friends of Sir John Lawes School Twitter: @friendsofSJL

SPORTS NEWS

Twitter The PE department would like to remind you we have a Twitter account for keeping students and parents up to date with fixture details, results and general sport and physical education news. Please follow us @SJLPhysEd.

Fixtures for next week: Week Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Senior Saturday

Monday Year 11 District Semi Final Vs SRA (Home) Tuesday District Cup District Cup District Cup District Cup Football Football Football Football Finals Finals Finals Finals @ @ @ @ Woolams Woolams Woolams Woolams Wednesday Thursday Football Vs RPS @ Harpenden Town (7pm KO) Friday Saturday

WHAT A WEEK FOR SJL SPORT…!! National Cross Country Championships

This year the competition took place at Harewood House over the weekend of the 23rd/24th March. Our sole representative for Hertfordshire was George Holland (7H) after he qualified earlier on this year with some impressive runs throughout the cross-country season. George gained 142nd place in a field of 221 runners, which at this level was an achievement in itself, combined with the fact that he had to run with a rotten cold too! He finished in a time of 10:38, something he should be very proud of.

Well done from all of us in the SJL PE Department!

District Netball The year 9 B team had their district netball tournament on Monday. The tournament was very well contested. The girls’ first game was against Beaumont and the first half was goal for goal. In the second half, the girls narrowly missed victory by one goal. As the tournament went on the girls showed great determination and teamwork and went on to win all their other games in the round robin tournament. Throughout the games Jess, Abby and Charlotte demonstrated great shooting and rotations in the circle. In the mid court Charlotte, Phoebe and Nell demonstrated excellent speed and great feeds into the circle. The defence worked tirelessly with Lucy, Keira and Talia getting lots of interceptions and turnovers. The girls won the tournament, meaning they are the 2019 B team district champions!! Well done girls!

Year 10 Football After the boys suffered defeat in dramatic penalty shootout fashion last week to Sandringham in the District Cup QF, they had the perfect opportunity to respond in the County Cup Semi Final. Their opponents, Turnford School, had knocked out some strong opposition en route to this stage of the competition and may arguably have been seen as favourites… The year 10 team are renowned for their hard work off the ball and had to show plenty of this in the first half, in testing times. Having had penalty appeals turned down just 3 minutes into the game, a swift counter attack saw Turnford go 0-1 up against the run of play. It would have been very easy for the boys’ heads to drop but if anything, the opposite occurred. They seized momentum after an unbelievable save from Harvey Welch kept it to just a 1-goal lead and sure enough the prolific Alfie Carberry pulled the game level 1-1 at halftime. With the downhill half to play the boys knew they had a real chance of going on to take the lead and they did just that. With numerous efforts blocked, James Gardner finally finished off the attack with a composed finish before Harry Goult, on as a sub, appeared to put the game to bed as he tucked the ball away from close range making the game 3-1, what a turnaround! As Turnford heads dropped, the boys continued to push for more goals and both Lewis Greenway and Oscar Ryan chipped in with cool finishes to end the game as 5-1 winners. A huge result, which has seen the boys make their first ever final, a County Cup Final! CONGRATULATIONS!

The final will be held at Welwyn Garden City FC on the 26th April, opponents and KO times TBC. We hope to see as many of you there supporting as possible.

Senior Rugby The Senior Rugby team had their County Trophy Final against Beaumont on Wednesday night at Cheshunt Rugby Club. Their opponents had the pedigree of being winners of the competition for the last two years running and so a tough evening was guaranteed. Beaumont had a fast start and quickly put us on the back foot as they made their size and speed count, racing to a 12-0 lead. The SJL boys then got going breaking the defensive line on occasions but mistakes meant that possession was largely with Beaumont and we were made to work extremely hard to HT 19-0 down. Beaumont continued to apply the pressure in the 2nd half. With a Year 13 dominated team, once more their size, speed, but mainly experience showed. One thing our SJL teams are renowned for is not giving up and despite conceding, we kept pushing and were eventually rewarded with Ryan Gibson scoring in the corner. A very well worked and well finished try that showed the travelling supporters what the boys were capable of. SJL eventually lost the game 36 – 5 but can hold their heads high, as they were the first Senior Rugby side in 10 years to make it to a County Final, an amazing achievement despite the end result. For a few Year 13 boys it was the end of their Rugby careers with SJL and so we would like to thank James Brooks, Lester Li, Matt Swann, Harvey Noble, John Downes, Jack Allen, Chris Hughes, Eddie Noble, Ben Grant, Alfie Woods and Aiden Yelland (Cpt) for their years of dedication to Rugby at SJL. We hope that the current Year 10, 11 and 12s will fill the hole they leave behind next year.

Eastern Region Badminton Finals Congratulations to our U14 Girls Badminton team who won the Eastern Regional finals and now move on to the National Finals at the National Badminton Centre at Milton Keynes in May! Lucy and Katie Savage, Kaaviya Suresh Vidhya, Andrene Jayawickrama and Kate Webster Smith made up our team and played in numerous combinations of singles and doubles throughout the competition to lead SJL to success. Below is an outline of the regions they played and the scores: WIN vs Colchester: Games 3 – 2, Points 88 – 73 WIN vs Chelmsford: Games 4 – 1, Points 104 – 53 WIN vs St Clements: Games 5 – 0, Points 105 – 31 As you can see, they put on a dominant display overall except the close opening game vs Colchester. This turned out to be the crucial match and all of the girls played their part in pulling this off. As mentioned, they can now look forward to the National Finals in May, which is an incredible achievement!

District Cup Finals Both the Year 8 and 9 Football Teams had made it back to the finals just like last year and both teams were hoping to defend the titles they had previously won. Verulam were the opponents in both matches and our boys knew they would have to play to their best in order to be successful.

The Year 9s arguably faced the tougher test as their Verulam opponents have made it to the District, County and National finals this year. Despite their pedigree, the boys were unfazed and despite going 1-0 down were never out of the game. Their keeper made some important one on one saves and we also hit the crossbar in our attempts to get back in the game. Verulam eventually made it 3-0 late on and it would have been very easy for our boys to give up, however, 2 quick goals from Matt Cody and Sam Bentley gave SJL hope of levelling the game and taking it to extra time. Unfortunately, in the frenzied finish Verulam scored again to make it 4-2 and seal victory in their pursuit for the treble. The Year 9s should be proud of their efforts and have proved once again what a fantastic team they are.

The Year 8s had a very different afternoon of football. Their game was a repeat of last year’s final where they faced the same opposition and won 3-1. The boys were prepared for another close encounter between two teams who played quality football. The first half performance from SJL was nothing short of outstanding, with the link up play being slick and decisive. SJL continually opened up the Verulam midfield and defence, creating numerous opportunities. An early goal from Zac Marsh settled some nerves and confidence began to creep in to their football. It quickly became 2-0 with some excellent build up play starting from Louis Harrison in goal and finished off by Joe Caffery’s sublime left foot finish into the top corner. With Verulam rattled, the boys continued to press and win the ball in dangerous areas and were rewarded with a 3rd goal before HT when Will Bratton scored a close range overhead scissor kick, in a goal mouth scramble after Greg Clarke’s header from a corner had thundered off the bar. In the second half Verulam changed formation and with renewed endeavour found their way back into the game making it 3-1, a deserved goal after creating numerous chances. However, the SJL boys did not let nerves get to them and continued to apply pressure on the Verulam goal. Zac Marsh, after riding a few challenges, was eventually fouled in the box and stepped up to take what could be the match-finishing penalty. He did so with great confidence and the game ended 4-1. Congratulations to the boys for retaining the District Cup!

Golf Congratulations to Fleur Butler-Wright who took part in the Hertfordshire Schools’ Rose Bowl Golf competition recently. It was a scratch competition and closely contended throughout. Fleur did very well to finish as U16 runner up in a strong field from across the county. Well done Fleur!

BRITISH POLITICS BLOG

School students across the UK are invited to write a blog on British politics, in a competition run jointly by the Political Studies Association and the Financial Times. Applicants, who should be students aged 16-19 in school or college, have until May 31 to write up to 600 words on the question ‘Is British politics broken?’ The winning article will be published in the Financial Times and the PSA’s Political Insight magazine. Entries will be judged on clarity and style, originality, insight and evidence of research. Full details and information on submission are available at https://www.psa.ac.uk/student-blog- competition

SEND

The SEND transformation team are looking for volunteers in Hertfordshire to sign up to our SEND online feedback group at http;//www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/sendonlinefeedbackgroup

We would like to hear from young people with SEND (ages 16-25) and parents/carers of children with SEND (they don’t need to have a diagnosis).

The feedback group gives services users a way to influence the future of the services quickly and from the comfort of their own home. We will email out short surveys and tasks and use what we learn to make improvements.

We are also looking for volunteers to do a phone interview with us. These take up to 45 minutes and we will ask volunteers about their family and experiences of SEND services. Learn more at: http;//www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/sendphoneinterview

FAMILIES IN FOCUS

Parent Network support & information group for parents caring for children and young people with either a diagnosis or awaiting diagnosis of Special Education Needs.

Maria, Siobhann & Hayley are trained Families in Focus CIC facilitators and are running FREE Parent Network support & information drop in sessions in Harpenden for parents/adoptive parents and grandparents caring for children and young people with either a diagnosis or awaiting diagnosis of Special Education Needs. Non-judgemental, caring support groups for parents by parents caring for a child with any special education needs. No need to book just turn up. Run by parents for parents.

Where: The Harpenden Trust Centre, 90, Southdown Road, Harpenden AL5 1PS

When: Thursdays, 7pm to 9pm

2019 Dates: Thursday evenings April 25th May 16th June 6th & 27th July 18th September 12th October 3rd & 24th November 14th December 12th