DCGSChatter Edition 6 Christmas 2018 Oh, Dane Court Christmas Tree! What a wonderful spectacle in the House plazas this Christmas! Clockwise from top left: Sorrento, Neuchatel, Heart, Barcelona, Helsinki, Tallinn, and Delphi. Photos by Charley Stoddart. Trees modelled by Maddie Erridge. “I love the Barcelona tree! The aqua blue really “My favourite tree was Delphi’s. It includes stood out against the snowy white. It had fun photos of most of the House mentors fabulous decorations and the winter with Christmas outfits on, as well as green wonderland around the bottom, including cute plastered everywhere. This tree gave the little snowmen and a glistening ice rink, gave whole plaza a warm and homey feel.” a very Christmassy vibe.” Maddie Erridge 9D Charley Stoddart 9D 1 In this festive DCGS Chatter edition… Words from Page 3 The BIG Christmas Debate the Editor Pages 4 The History of Christmas MERRY CHRISTMAS! Page 5 Christmas Card Design Winners What a long haul from September but well done everyone - YOU DID IT! Now to enjoy the holiday Pages 6 and rest your weary heads. Be proud of what you A DCGS Christmas Tale have achieved, and if you are going to make a resolution for the New Year then let it be to be Page 7-8 even greater next year. Y8 Christmas Cake Bake-off It has been wonderful to have such a committed and ever-growing group of individuals, Page 9 enthusiastic enough to want to produce a festive DIY Christmas Cake edition of DCGS Chatter in a little over a week. Well done Chatter team - YOU ARE BRILLIANT! Page 10 Ffion’s Festive Funnies To everyone, we wish a very happy holiday, and The Chatter team look forward to seeing you in Page 11 the library on Wednesday and Friday lunchtimes Y7s go International in January. Have a Jolly Holly Christmas! Page 12 The Editor QUIZ: Are you ‘Naughty’ or ‘Nice’? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Page 13 This Chatter Team… Festive Tales to warm or to chill! Lilah Ainsworth 7N * Nicole Negrea 7N Libby-Anne Kirby 7N * Oscar Whitehall 7S * Jenny Page 14 Allan 8D * Tim Allan 8H Christmas Calamities Sofia-Rose Baker 8N * Thomas Cadby 8N Erica Cousins 8D * Tasneem Daud 8H Page 14-15 Eleanor Golding 8H * Hazel Leese 8N Panto reviews: Aladdin & Snow White Faith Philpot 8T * Sophie Tyler 8T Skye-Louise West 8T * Maddie Erridge 9D Page 16 Jamie Raven 9S * Jaan Richards 9S Festive Tunes & another Festive Tale Charley Stoddart 9D * Grace Williams 9S Jacob Cherry 11S * AONM 11D Maeve Brewer 6S2 * Ffion Cousins 6D2 Page 17 Tamsin Hooker 6N2 * Remi Wiorek 6N2 Keep Calm & Christmas On! FIND THE BOAR - WIN! WIN! WIN! with a little help from Mrs Cronin, Mrs Finlay and Mrs Hutchings WIN Page 18 Relieve the Boar-dom: WIN! WIN! WIN! Contact the Chatter team on [email protected] Page 19 Cracking Christmas Reads Other graphic images credit: Clipart Panda 2 Nowadays you’re The BIG Debate less likely to get your house burnt down by candles on a tree! Remi Wiorek 6N2 ~ Jolly Jenny 8D ‘Which is better - Christmas past or Christmas present?’ More than forty students faced off in the library on Wednesday 12 December. Amid the festive tension we heard from those who prefer the nostalgic, traditional Christmas, and those who would rather opt for the 21st century hi-tech experience! FOR CHRISTMAS PAST... FOR CHRISTMAS PRESENT... * The true meaning of Christmas is missed * Christmas is about sharing quality time nowadays - it is actually about Jesus Christ, with your family; church can be part of that going to church, and the words of the Lord. but not all encompassing. * There was very little waste as the poor used * Technology enables us to keep in touch everything - every part of the animal was with friends and family by sending cards, used rather than a little bit of meat. video calls, or using on-line suppliers to deliver gifts to those who live far away. * Christmas past brings families together more: singing carols by the fireside, playing * Artificial trees are more eco-friendly as we traditional games, reading together and can buy one and use it forever and they don’t talking with each other. kill one tree a year for two weeks of pleasure. * Christmas is meant to be about Jesus and * Who doesn’t want to sit on Santa’s lap and people now are just selfish and self-centred. get a gift?! * People used to appreciate the simple things * Seeing streets and trees ablaze with they received whereas they now ask for colourful lights bathes us in the warm glow money which defeats the object of giving of Christmas. and receiving gifts. * The fact that the world has developed so we * Candles on real, environmentally friendly can travel abroad on holiday over Christmas fir trees gave a magical glow and warmth to enables us to experience skiing or beach the family room. holidays - whatever we want. * Traditional hand-crafted wooden * Developments in media and technology decorations, often homemade, were simple help us experience other cultures and share but authentic. global traditions. * The past does not always mean 100 years * Giving and receiving gifts that people ago. I miss when the whole family used to get actually want, regardless of cost, shows them together at Christmas as we all lived near how much people mean to you. each other. * Why can’t we have the whole shebang?! If * It should go back to the old days; when kids we can afford it and want to have a fabulous were ‘naughty’ they were given a lump of Christmas with our families, splashing out on coal and threatened with Krampus who treats, then why shouldn’t we? whack them round the back with his half-horned sapling! Which one do YOU agree with? * ‘Nice’ children were delighted to receive a satsuma, candy cane and nuts in their Let us know at stocking. [email protected] 3 The History of Christmas Festive Ffion Cousins 6D2 An historical insight into the beginnings of our wonderful festive traditions. Crackers Christmas Trees Tom Smith owned a sweet One theory as to how Christmas shop in London and sold trees came about, is that pagans sugared almonds. He noticed that in Germany worshipped the oak young men were buying them as tree. When Christianity took over presents for women. He began to they wanted to worship a tree place ‘love mottos’ on slips of paper inside and so they suggested the pine the wrapping. In 1846 Smith started to wrap tree. They suggested this because it is a toys in twisted wrapping that could be triangle and so represents the Holy Trinity. pulled apart. They were a huge success. Seeing this success he was inspired by his To give you luck you should decorate your fire to put the crack in the cracker. tree with: ~ A spider’s web (it is represented by tinsel Childermass Day now). This is from a Lithuanian legend that In some parts of Europe, Childermass Day said a poor lady had nothing to decorate was celebrated on the 28 December by her tree with. When she woke up spiders choosing a boy to be the ‘bishop for the day’. had decorated her tree with their This meant that he and his friends were in glistening webs. charge and were given many gifts. The ~ Straw bird cages, also derived from custom died out in the 1600s. Lithuania. However, due to another tradition that died ~ Painted egg shells, which are a tradition out in the 1700s, the 28 December is deemed from Czechoslovakia. unlucky. Edward IV of England even refused ~ Popcorn, which is an American tradition to be crowned on that day. The custom was where popcorn dyed in bright colours is to remind children of Herod’s cruelty by laced on a string with nuts and being beaten. berries. Santa Claus Saint Nicholas was a rich bishop who lived in Myra (now part of Turkey) in the fourth century. The legend is that he felt bad for three poor girls and their father and so gave them three bags of gold. He put them down the Feliz Navidad chimney where they fell into a shoe. St. Nick’s actual feast day is the 6 December and he is the saint of gift giving. ﻋﯾد ﻣﯾﻼد ﺳﻌﯾد Santa’s red clothes comes from a Coca-Cola Christmas advert. Also, there was a Saint Nicholas who wore red who got mixed up with Santa; Santa Joyeux Noël originally wore green. 4 Christmas Card Design Winners Design-A-Christmas-Card Santa Sack Competition Winners KS3 Winner Tabitha Prince 9T - all the judges agreed that fun and creativity combined to produce a fabulous Christmas card - well done Tabby! KS4 Winner Lottie Keefe 11B - congratulations for your sophisticated yet humorous design incorporating your own interests Lottie! Thank you to Special mention to everyone who Tom Newton 8B entered. for alternative Look for our other transport for competitions for Santa’s deliveries another chance to on Christmas Eve. win! 5 A DCGS Christmas Tale Jamie ‘The Raven’ strikes again with a wondrous tale of the Dane Court spirit! ‘Twas the night before Christmas and all And then, in a twinkling, I heard by the door through the school, not a creature was the prancing of feet on the hard concrete stirring, not even a… mule. floor. As I drew in my hand and was turning around, The worksheets were hung on displays without through the gates came Miss Greig, with a care, with staples in the hopes that the sheets leap and a bound.