issue no 125 weekly newsletter from the headmaster · weekly newsletter from the headmaster 20th...

Weekly Newsletter from the Headmaster www.shebbearcollege.co.uk

20th January 2017Issue No 125

Dear Parents,

Last Saturday’s OSA dinner was a reminder about the success of the school in helping to produce well-rounded and confident individuals who make a positive impact on society. There were representatives from nearly every profession one could think of and I returned to Devon genuinely buoyed by the warm experience. Everyone was eager to meet our Head Prefects, Lucy and Harry, and ask them about life at school today and the evening ended with the excellent news that Kay Giddy is the first female president of the OSA.

One former pupil who was present was Emilio Aliberti (above right), now enjoying life as a medical student in Durham. However I would like to single out his mother Judith for special praise. Judith has revolutionised our Careers provision since taking it over last year, galvanising our academic departments in the process and we now have a programme to compare with anyone else and which works very well throughout the whole of the Senior School. An example of the meticulous work going on came from a university admission’s tutor this week who took the time to email

me about one of our students (who will remain anonymous). He said ‘we were really impressed with the work that she presented to us, we were equally impressed with her interviewing skills, which were clear on why she applied for the course, and what she wanted to gain from it, and we feel that she will contribute greatly to the course dynamic’. Long may this continue.

Exams are on many people’s minds today. Form Five get the results of their mock exams hopefully in time to make any necessary adjustments for the real thing in five months’ time and on Monday the next generation of Shebbearians are in school for our entrance assessments. We hope these will be enjoyable rather than nerve-wracking events.

Tomorrow sees a bumper block of netball fixtures against Mount Kelly and West Buckland, but the sporting highlight so far this week was the heroic performance put up by our U15s against a huge Park team. The boys ultimately lost a close fought contest by 26-22 but they deserve tremendous credit.

Simon Weale

Our Pre-School children cooked ‘toad in the hole’ this week to take home for their families



News from our Pre-SchoolThank you for your understanding of my absence last week and it was great to come back to see and hear how much all the children had done whilst I was away.

This week our focus has been about the help the children get from home and their ideas of how they are helped has been fun to hear. Please read their responses on the beautiful artwork outside the class. I hope you enjoyed your toad in the hole on Thursday which the children cooked, and the children’s letter saying thank you for all you do.

It is lovely to see how well our three new children, Felicity, Pixie and Stanley have settled and the other kindness and helpful care the other children have offered to their new peers.

Helping is our focus for this term and as you see I sent home ‘proud clouds’. It would be lovely if this term they were used to celebrate any help your children may give you at home.

The children are also enjoying P.E. on Tuesdays and they loved the team games we played this week.

Hetty Thompson

News from the Prep SchoolDear Parents,

This has been a week of numerous visitors to the Prep School. Some are here on taster days with the intention of joining us in the immediate future, while others (visiting in Prep 6) are taking the opportunity to make new friends and familiarise themselves with the college, prior to next week’s Entrance Examinations and with plans to join Shebbear in 2017-18.

Of course, as ever, all have been made to feel very welcome by our staff and pupils, and for me it has been an opportunity to reflect on the key values that I believe make our Prep School such a wonderful place for children to develop and learn.

It hasn’t gone unnoticed by many of our visiting pupils and their families, how the children in the Prep School treat each other which such kindness and respect, or how polite and well-mannered they are.

These are values which we hold dear and which in the week ahead I will be discussing in more detail with the children in our assemblies.

I have also been very impressed with the example set by our pupils in their attitude towards their work. All the children that have joined us here this week have seen how engaged and hard-working our pupils are, and experienced the praise they receive from staff for their efforts.

In short, this week has been a chance to show off all that is good in our school and has made me even more proud of the pupils and staff here.

For next week I want to wish all our Year 6 the very best of luck with both their Entrance Exams on Monday and with the various Scholarship Assessments that many are involved in. If I had my way, I would award scholarships to each and every one, so perhaps its a good job that I’m not part of the decision making process!

Mike Furber

Next Week in the Prep SchoolMonday 23rd JanuaryEntrance Examinations for Year 7High 5 Netball v Black Torrington School, 4.30pm

Tuesday 24th JanuaryDrama Scholarship AssessmentArt Scholarship Assessment

Wednesday 25th JanuaryMusic Scholarship Assessment

Thursday 26th JanuarySports Scholarship AssessmentPre-School visit to Barnstaple Fire Station, 11.30amFOSC Cheese and Wine 7.00pm

Friday 27th JanuaryAssembly with ‘Mrs Recycle’.



Readathon 2017Each year we raise money with Readathon. This is a nationwide fund-raising event where you can be sponsored to read! Readathon was set up by by a friend of Roald Dahl in the 1990s, and has done wonders for the country ever since.

It’s really simple. Firstly, you should receive a sponsorship card. Get your family and friends to sponsor you money per book or per pages. Then you read obsessively to earn money, and at the end of the fortnight, you hand your card (and the money!) in.

Your sponsorship money will go towards helping very sick children and their families throughout the country, however you will also pay for storytellers to come to hospitals and hospices to read to ill children, and provide hospitals and hospices with books. Your reading can do wonders for thousands of people!

We hope you raise as much money as you can for this truly wonderful cause. Happy reading!

Adam Pennington

A Word from the Library TeamThere are so many opportunities being a junior librarian. You get to work together, tidy your section, put books back on the shelves and discover new books you haven’t read before. There are so many different types of books.They work in a number system.We arrange some displays of recommended books and books that look good.

Susannah Pomroy

NOTE - Change of DetailsParents Prayer Meetings

Come and meet to pray for our school.The meetings will now take place at Lake Chapel.

Park at Chapel Car Park and Mr Aldridge will meet you there.

Mondays 8:30am - 9:30am during term time.

For more info please contact the Chaplain either by email [email protected]

or by phone 01409 282002 (direct line)

OSA Reunion DinnerEighty Old Shebbearians gathered at the RAF Club in London on Saturday for their annual Reunion Dinner and President Paul Lockyer said he was proud to have served the association, even though he had not attended as many events as he would have liked. The first female President, Kay Giddy, said she was very much looking forward to her year in office.

Headmaster, Simon Weale, then gave an extremely positive and typically humorous report on the past year at the College and then Lucy Taylor and Harry Dymond spoke about their new 6th Form Centre and the Music Centre. Chris Hale responded on behalf of the OSA, reflecting on his time at the College, before most retired to the bar to share more of their memories of college life.

Andy Bryan



Poland Trip 2018We are delighted to announce that the next trip to Kraków, open to all current 4th, 5th and Lower 6th Form pupils, will be on 5th - 9th February 2018. The full itinerary, costs and payment schedule can be found at the end of this newsletter.

Once again the trip will include excursions to Auschwitz and Birkenau Concentration Camps, Oskar Schindler’s Factory, Kraków’s Old Town, Jewish Quarter, the Ghetto and a meeting with a Holocaust survivor. This includes many locations where Schindler’s List was filmed.

To provide a lighter balance, pupils will enjoy visits to the Wawel Royal Palace, Wieliczka Salt Mines, the historic Jagiellonian University of Science and Medicine - where they can stand in the study rooms of mathematician and astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus and Pope John Paul II - and Stalin’s communist suburb of Nowa Huta. Very popular on the last trip were the shopping excursions, restaurants, live music and dancing.

This is a wonderful enrichment trip which encompasses history, religion, ethics, psychology, science, music, art and culture - a full report of the previous trip can be found in the latest Shebbearian yearbook.

For more information or to confirm your booking please email Mark Charman on [email protected]

A Day Out with Exeter ChiefsPrep 3 pupils James and Oliver had a great day at the Chiefs Super Sunday with the Bude Under 8’s last week.

In the morning they enjoyed several hours of training with some of the Chiefs, before a great ‘behind the scenes’ tour with two of the players which included the changing rooms, physio suite weights room and the all famous Tunnel! In the changing rooms the boys spotted the Cowan-Dickie kit, providing an additional link to Shebbear College.

After a few chilly hours the ‘big event’ arrived. The boys bravely donned their Bude kit and formed a line out at the tunnel as the two teams, Chiefs and Ullster, ran out - the boys said they were like giants! At half time the boys had the opportunity to do a lap of honour, walking around the pitch! Both boys were absolutely enthralled by the match which ended in a superb and exciting win for the Chiefs. Oliver sported his Sheb rugby kit throughout.

Flexi Boarding for Day PupilsFlexi boarding is becoming more and more popular and we are delighted to host a number of our day pupils on a regular basis, who join our boarding pupils to enjoy various evening and weekend activities with their friends.

One parent commented ‘if you need a quote to promote the flexi boarding, I think it’s a great service, Felix loves it and, with no local family support, it takes the stress out of finding reliable childcare if I need it. It’s also a cost-effective option. But it’s now Felix’s preferred option, which is lovely. Thank you.’

For more information or to book flexi boarding please contact Naomi Giddy: [email protected]



Welcome to our new Gap StudentsWe welcome Luke Kingwill and Lizzie Trask to Shebbear College as gap students. Here is a little information about them:

Luke KingwillAfter one week of being a gappie here at Shebbear College, I have been able to see the stark contrast between Devon and South Africa. I come from a farm in the Great Karoo in central South Africa where our nearest neighbour is about 5km away. So the isolation is nothing new, but the cold has been quite a shock. Coming from my summer holidays, sitting on the beach, enjoying the fact that I’ve just finished school and the temperature not dropping below 25’C, the next week I’m half way across the world and the temperature hasn’t gone above 10’C. Nevertheless, I am loving it here and I look forward to the year ahead.

Lizzie TraskI left Shebbear in 2012 after being a student here for five years and moved away to study psychology at university. After completing my degree, I tried a variety of different career paths, from restaurant work to merchandising in the music industry, to a managerial position in web development. However, I wanted to work with a team of people and in a more nurturing role, so I decided to come back to my roots in Shebbear and try my hand as a member of staff in the education system. I’ve taken up the role of a gap student to gain experience in teaching, with a view to starting a PGCE in the new academic year. I’m really looking forward to the year ahead and all the challenges this term will bring.

3D Printer in Physics LabThe Science Department has invested in a 3D printer which has been fascinating pupils since its arrival earlier this week. The printer will allow pupils to design and print physical objects as part of their Physics studies. There will be more to follow as this exciting new facility gets put to good use.

Cameron in Concert6th Form student Cameron Mills will be performing in concert at the HATS Theatre in Holsworthy on Saturday 22nd July (doors 7.00pm for 7.30pm start). Tickets are £6.00.

Cameron has organised this concert himself and it would be wonderful if the school community could support his efforts as well as enjoying an evening of great music. Join Cameron plus special

guests for an enjoyable evening of music including modern and older classics from Jazz and Swing to Pop and Ballads.

To book or for more information contact Cameron Mills:email: [email protected]: www.cameronmills-singer.co.uk

What’s On:Monday 23rd JanuaryEntrance Examinations for Year 7Form 4 Art TutorialsAS Business Studies trip to Stapleton5.15pm - Form 5 Parents’ Evening

Thursday 26th JanuaryForm 1 Trip to Buckfast Abbey7.00pm - FoSC Cheese and Wine Evening

Saturday 28th January6.00pm - Chinese New Year Celebrations

Sunday 29th JanuaryRotary Young Musician 2017 Competition District Final (Plymouth)



FootballThe 1st XI earned a thoroughly deserved draw with Exeter School 1st XI on Wednesday.An excellent free kick from Stuart Williams put Shebbear in front and then an outstanding save by man of the match Will Cox ensured a half time lead.

The midfield trio of skipper Harry Dymond, Alessandro Aliberti and Stuart Williams continued to play some neat football in the second half without creating too many chances, and after the visitors equalised, it was Ed Lindsay,Ted Trott and Ryan Stairs who held steady at the back to consolidate the draw.

The U14/15s travelled to Kingsley to play four seven a side matches on their new astro pitch and won all four games with Jack Joslin, Nathan Coates, Sean Nadin, Casper Grifin and Sophie Gillies all performing well. Well done to all.

Andy Bryan

RugbyU15 North Devon Cup Final v Park School, 26-22 lossFollowing a successful season, the U15s fully deserved their place in the North Devon Cup final. Like last year, the final was to be played at Bideford RFC under floodlights and once again the opposition was Park School.

Tom Robins started the game with an excellent steal at the break down, he then ran the length of the field to score under the posts within the first 30 seconds of the game. Park were a big side and for the next 20 minutes they put us under alot of pressure and scored 3 tries, mainly from our boys falling off tackles. However, the structure that Mr Law has coached into the boys started to pay off, Jack Joslin organised the side well in attack and defence to allow the Shebbear side to put Park under alot of pressure.

Shebbear showed their quality all over the field, with big runs from Revell Groom and Sean Nadin, and excellent counter attack play from Casper Griffin, Nathan Coates and Patrick Faulkner. Will Cunningham played a superb game with his kicking, he constantly pushed Park back into their own half to allow Shebbear to set up chances to score. Shebbear took these chances well and replied with 3 tries to take the lead 22-19. However, the kicks at goal were to prove vital as Park in a final flurry scored one more try making it four tries each, but they duly converted theirs to finish the game 26-22.

It was a fantastic team performance and the man of the match award on any other day could have been given to any one of the boys. However, Revell Groom and Patrick Faulkner fully deserved the award following their outstanding effort throughout the game.

The Squad: Z Belcher, R Dalton, Z Wagner, M Hartman, T Robins, R Groom, J Joslin, W Cunningham, C Griffin, S Nadin, P Faulkner, N Coates, D Chamberlain, F Fong, D Willis-Butcher, D Hughes, D Shaw.

Jamie Sanders

NetballOn Wednesday, Shebbear U12 played Okehampton College. The first quarter went well, with Eliza Stenning scoring the first goal. At the end of the quarter, the score was 4-3 to us. We swapped

around a bit at the end of the first quarter, with Charlotte Odlin playing GS and scoring lots of goals. We played much better in the second quarter, with the score at 7-4. As we started the third quarter, their defence was stronger, but we managed to score 7 more goals and not let any more goals in. Our defence worked really well together and made some great interceptions, making the final score 17-5 to Shebbear. Player of the match was awarded to Vice Captain, Lillie Sealey. Well played everyone, and good luck on Saturday!

Lillie Sealey

Picture this ...

February 2018 - 4 Nights/5 Days Cost £780 * (dependent on numbers, see page 2)

Depart from school: Monday 5th February 2018Return to school: Friday 9th February 2018

Open to all current 4th, 5th and L6th Form Pupils

ITINERARY:

Kraków city tour including St Mary’s Church

Wieliczka Salt Mines (Unesco World Heritage Site)

Auschwitz I and Birkenau Concentration Camps (day trip)

Wawel Royal Palace and Vistula River Walk

Jagiellonian University of Science and Medicine tourFounded in 1364 and one of the oldest universities in Europe, its alumni includes Nicolaus Copernicus and Pope John Paul II.

Kazimierz Jewish Quarter and Old Synagogue

Meeting with a Holocaust survivor

Oskar Schindler’s factory and museum

Site of the Kraków Ghetto

Polish Folk Evening (traditional meal, live music and dancing)

Nowa Huta - Stalin’s Communist idealFrom a devastated post WWII Poland, this huge Socialist Realist suburb is the direct antithesis of Kraków. Funded by the Soviet Union, Nowa Huta is one of the finest examples of deliberate social engineering in the world.

Late night shopping in Kraków

Ice SkatingIf time allows, there may be an opportunity for ice skating on a rink directly outside the Galeria Krakówska shopping centre.

Shebbear College Poland TripFor all current 4th, 5th and L6th Forms

Continued ...

Included in the cost:

Airport Transfers

Flights: Outbound Bristol - Kraków Return Kraków - London3* hotel accommodationBreakfast, packed lunches and evening mealsTransport for all excursionsAdmission to all museums / attractionsInsurance (ABTA and ATOL bonded)Personalised branded hoodie

Extras Required:Spending money (Shopping in Kraków is fantastic)

Clothing:Average February temperatures in Kraków are 1oC down to -10oC with a strong chance of snow. Warm clothing, hats, gloves and winter coats are necessary. Warm, waterproof shoes/walking boots are necessary.

*Booking Confirmation and Payment Schedule:Total cost of trip:30 pupils - £780.00 each20 - 29 pupils - £830.00 each15 - 19 pupils - £890.00 each

Please confirm your booking by Friday 28th April 2017 with 1st deposit of £250.00 to secure booking.

Please email confirmations or any questions to:[email protected]

Cheques payable to ‘Shebbear College’ - please hand in to Mark Charman in the Registrar’s Office.

2nd deposit of £250.00 payable by 16th June 2017Balance payable by 10th November 2017.

Shebbear College Poland TripFor all current 4th, 5th and L6th Forms

A very vintage year

COME & JOIN US for

to launch the

2017 Events & Fundraising Plan

by the FRIENDS OF SHEBBEAR COLLEGE

All welcome 26th January 2017 @ 7pm Assembly Hall RSVP & further info: [email protected]

issue no 125 weekly newsletter from the headmaster · weekly newsletter from the headmaster 20th...

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