Friday 3rd May 2019 Dear Parents, I hope that all of you have felt inspired by the beautiful weather recently. For the first time in 20 years, I went to the May Day celebrations at Magdalen and listened, along with my eldest son and thousands of others, to the choristers on top of their peerless tower, saluting the start of May. It occurred to me momentarily how impressive it was that so many people had got up early until I realised that most of those surrounding me had not even gone to bed! At any rate it did remind me of what a glorious time of year this is, when the whole world seems to be bursting into glorious life. This certainly has been the case in our Nursery where a duck has given birth to 13 ducklings. All the full-time residents of Nursery have been thrilled to see their new companions take their first steps in the world. We quickly realised that we had to move the chicks as they were not able to get out of the garden, so Miss Farmer, Miss Hunt and Mr Pritchett expertly donning gloves, very carefully moved the mother duck into a container into which her devoted offspring immediately followed. Miss Farmer then took them all over to the Meadow so that they could continue their lives in a bigger environment and reach open water. I very much hope that the many people who visit the Meadow every day will see the ducklings happily thriving there. Talking of the beautiful environment across the road, please sign up for the Garden Tour this Thursday at 6.00 pm; it’s a rare opportunity to visit the private gardens of the College in the company of the Head Gardener, John James. To my mind, the Pococke Garden, which we will be visiting, is as close to the heart of the Oxford as anywhere. Standing under the leaves of the great Plane tree, which was planted by Pococke himself in 1636 (Pococke was Regius Professor of Hebrew and had a passionate interest in gardens) and which is the inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwocky Poem, one feels completely surrounded by the buildings and gardens of Oxford, “Where every prospect pleases”, as Bishop Heber wrote. I hope very much to see you there. Please let the Front Office know as soon as possible if you can make it. I was very touched that Frazer Mackay, a Form 3 parent, ran the London Marathon on behalf of our charity, Soundabout. He finished in three hours 57 minutes and has so far raised over £1000; it would be lovely if as many people as possible would be able to sponsor him, something which can be done using the following link: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/frazer-mackay. I want to thank him publicly for his extraordinary efforts on behalf of this wonderful charity. I wrote a while ago about the Inclusive Choir that Soundabout has formed. Its latest session is next Sunday (12th May) at the North Oxford Association, Diamond Place in Summertown at 3.30 pm -5.00 pm. They would love any CCCS boys to come and take part. Claire Cook, the Charity’s CEO, wrote to us about a moving event which occurred at the last meeting of the Choir. “A young man called Sam stepped forward to sing a solo. The moment was captured on film and can be watched at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8CY3C- gqew. Sam is going to be interviewed with his mother and the Soundabout Choir Leader Sophia, on BBC Oxford on Sunday morning.” I really hope that some of our boys might be able to support a choir where such moving occurrences are possible. Continued… One of the major ways in which we will be raising funds for Soundabout is Enterprise Day which this year will occur on the afternoon of Friday 21st June on our playing fields. As in previous years the children will put together their own stalls, though they may well ask you for some assistance, of course! There are also going to be some Alice activities in the Woodland School and a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party for Pre-Prep so it will be a really lively afternoon. May I encourage you please to support the event by coming, bringing your friends and relations and spending lots of money at the many stalls? The following day, Saturday 22nd June, is Sports Day. This year, after much discussion with the PA, we have decided not to end the morning with a Meadow Fair but instead encourage people to come and enjoy the stalls at Enterprise day on the Friday. We will then be able to enjoy the picnics at our leisure. These are just two of the many events we have planned for this term – it’s going to be a very busy few weeks and I look forward to seeing a great deal of you all. Mr Murray, Headmaster One of our CCCS Parent running the London Marathon in aid of our chosen charity Soundabout Frazer finished in the time of 03:57:17. Raising £1,092.08. It would be amazing if we can just get a couple more sponsorships to help him reach that magical 100%... https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/frazer-mackay Equipped for Games Now that we are in Trinity Term - please can you make sure your children come to school with a hat, water bottle and sun cream ready for our Games sessions. Thank you. ADM Architecture The oldest building in Oxford is the tower of St Michael at the Northgate. Built before the Battle of Hastings when we still had our Anglo-Saxon independence it is made of coral rag, a local limestone also used in Oxford Castle. The Bocardo prison, where the Oxford Martyrs, Bishops Cranmer, Latimer and Ridley, were held, used to stand nearby; and the doors to the prison are to be seen in the tower. Trinity 2019 Sunday 5th - Friday 10th May SUNDAY 5 The Second Sunday after Easter University Second Week WC: Evensong MONDAY 6 Bank Holiday – School Closed 8.00 pm CC: Return (no catering in school) TUESDAY 7 3.30 – 7.15 Worcester Choir Open Afternoon 4.00 – 5.00 After School Tag Rugby (Forms 1 & 2) 6.00 – 7.30 MFL Event (WWH) WEDNESDAY 8 1.30 – 4.00 Forms 3 – 8 (mop-up session) Radley Athletics Track 2.30 Colts A v Chandlings (Home) 2.30 Colts B v Chandlings (Home) 3.30 – 4.30 After School Chess Club begins (Form 2) 4.15 – 5.15 After School Football (Forms 3 - 6) THURSDAY 9 French Mock Speaking 12.30 Confirmation class 6.00 – 8.00 Private Tour of Christ Church Gardens 6.00 Form 4 Camping Trip, Youlbury Scout Camp FRIDAY 10 8.00 – 4.30 Forms 3 & 4 Activity, Youlbury Scout Camp 8.30 Cathedral Assembly, speaker Professor Michael Bentley, Emeritus Professor of History, University of St Andrews 9.15 – 11.15 Mirjam Chappell, author of The Magic Dodo, visiting Pre-Prep and Nursery 1.30 – 4.00 Forms 3 – 8 (mop-up session) Radley Athletics Track 4.00 – 5.00 After School Football (Forms 1 & 2) CC: OUT Trip to Provence You know you have got up early when half the night’s revellers have yet to leave the town in peace, doing whatever revellers do around 3.30 am - but get up absurdly early we all managed to do; and within a few hours we were skimming stones in the spring sun below the awesome Pont du Gard – one of those sites where you really have to be there to appreciate why you really have to be there. Should you harbour any doubts about the Romans’ determination to transport water across a vast river gorge, go ye in our footsteps to Provence and behold the Pont du Gard. Roman architects achieved the astonishing feat of transporting water across the valley of 900ft whilst only dropping one inch of height. Gallons of water in their millions had once daily bubbled their jolly way through the aqueduct all the way south to Nîmes – and with similarly bubbly spirits so did we. Our hotel was functional, but we made the most of it, braving the unheated pool (to the surprise of the hotel staff), and spreading ourselves around the bar, Year 8s playing cards like regular bar-flies. Nîmes is rich in res Romanae. Next day we had a guided tour of the so-called Temple of Diana by the sacred spring – an area landscaped in the 18th century in a delightfully open and watery way; and we were taken around the amphitheatre, where fresh blood in the arena from the previous day’s sport reminded us that beast fights did not die out with the end of Roman civilisation. In the centre of town stands in stately rectilinearity the Maison Carrée, the Roman temple par excellence, dedicated to Augustus’ grandsons Gaius and Lucius, and the backdrop for some impromptu busking by three Alexanders and a Heinrich. Inside the near-perfect exterior of this Augustan temple is a cinema showing a remarkably well produced propaganda film on behalf of the Roman Empire, featuring a Gallic youth, Adgennix, who wisely gives his allegiance to Caesar in the days when Hairy Gaul was being harried and subjugated. Afternoon in Arles – where we visited a fine museum by the Rhone and a second amphitheatre, with a rather ragged cavea, but spectacular and labyrinthine vaults where one can get unnervingly lost. (One did.) We also romped around the theatre and dashed through the Baths of Constantine before you could say much more than That’s some hypocaust! For another time the obelisk from the circus and the cryptoporticus, the long underground vaults underneath the forum - and some breath-catching time.