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Priory News Priory News Wednesday 19th July 2017 Last week of term!

Dates for your Diary

2017

Year 7 & 8, progress checks posted home this week

Year 9 & 10 progress checks

go home with students this week

Wednesday 19th July

Year 8 Trip to Whipsnade Zoo

Year 9 Trip to Northampton

University

Year 10 CEIAG Event

Thursday 20th July

Year 10 CEIAG Event

Friday 21st July

School finishes at 12.40pm

Thursday 17th August

A Level Results Day

Thursday 24th August

GCSE Results Day

Dear Parent/Carer

Where has this year gone? One minute it is the start of the new academic

year the next we are planning for September 2017. Once again this has

been a hugely successful year for The Priory School. Ofsted have been and I

particularly felt proud of the sentence in the report that said ‘Pupils enjoy

school because they feel valued and well cared for’.

Our students have excelled in both the classroom and beyond with a

number of firsts for the school. It is not every day that a world class actor

Sir Ian McKellan comes to your school to talk about equality and diversity. I

think that all the students and staff who had the opportunity to meet Sir

Ian were ‘spell-bound’ by his thought provoking messages.

The school thrives because of the support from parents. Our school Choir

trip to Australia is an example of how parents and staff can work

collaboratively to create once in a life time opportunity for our students.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Governing Board, my

colleagues and you as parents for ensuring that we provide our students

with an excellent learning experience.

I wish you all a good summer holiday.

Geraint Edwards

LAST DAY OF TERM

On Friday 21st July 2017 the school will

be closing at 12.40pm. For your

information the bus companies who

have agreed to pick up at 12.40pm are

Big Mini Bus Ltd E191 & AAA transport

Services Ltd E191.

NEW ACADEMIC YEAR 2017/2018

The term dates for the next academic year is available on the school web-

site, below confirms the start date for students.

Monday 4th September Staff only

Tuesday 5th September Years 7 and 13 only. Arrival by

8.50am.

Wednesday 6th September Years 8, 9, 10, 11 & 12. Arrival by

8.50am.

We have a number of

students who have

severe nut allergies.

Please can we ask that

students do not bring

in snack items and

packed lunches that contain nuts.

Thank you for your co-operation.

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Staff leaving The Priory School this term

New staff starting in September

New internal posts for September

Mr Pope (Head of Year 7) Re-location to Scotland

Mrs Pope (Head of Year 9) Re-location to Scotland

Mrs Brennan (Science & DA coordinator) Retiring

Mr Ward (Head of Maths) Re-locating to teach abroad

Miss Greig (Maths) Promotion

Mr Taylor (Design & Technology) Promotion

Mr Anderson (Design & Technology) Leaving teaching

Mrs Taffe (Design & Technology) End of contract

Miss Ouskir (MFL) Miss Wahby (Maths)

Miss Whitfield (Art) Mrs Adelusi (Food technology)

Mr Cussen (Head of History) Mr Freeland (Head of Key stage 3)

Mr Greenwood (Head of Maths) Mr Hassett (Lead Practitioner – STEM & Post 16)

Mr Mayers (Lead Practitioner T&L) Ms Nugent (Lead Practitioner T&L)

Mr Rainforth (Lead Practitioner T&L) Mr Scott (Head of Year 8)

Mrs Matthews (3rd in Science) Miss Bradley (Cover supervisor)

Mrs Gee (Cover supervisor) Miss Head (Teaching Assistant)

Miss Stokes (Teaching Assistant) Miss Mullins (Teaching Assistant)

Mr Laycock (Student Well-being officer)

Head of DT & Computing Miss Loo

2nd in DT & Computing Mr Hankin

Head of Year 7 Miss Gresser

Head of Year 10 Mrs Harrison

Head of Key Stage 4 Miss Mulholland

What a busy and exciting year we’ve had in school! You don’t have to look far to see the fantastic things students have accomplished over the past 9 months. There has been a massive range of opportunities in and out of lessons, in clubs, on trips and on the stage that our students have excelled at. In the Pastoral Office our Heads of Year and support staff have worked tremendously hard to look after student welfare and behaviour - in and around the school, and I would like to thank them publicly for this. We deal with a complex range of queries, issues and concerns, and try to pass on strong messages of respect and resilience to our student body. May I take this opportunity to also thank the vast majority of parents who support us in what we do. It is extremely helpful to know we have parental backing as we strive to help our young people develop in and out of school. Finally, can I make a plea to all parents to bear in mind a few little things that take up a lot of time in school if they are not resolved. Energy drinks, sweets, make-up, earrings and mobile phones are among other things, not permitted in school. Your child should be in school by 8.50am sharp and if they have a detention in the afternoon, they must attend and make the effort to find out the dates and times - with your support. I would be grateful if you could reiterate the right messages about all of the above to your child as they look forward to starting a new academic year in September.

I hope you have an enjoyable, relaxing break. Mr L. Foster, Assistant Headteacher

Thank you to all our staff who are leaving this term for all your hard work here at The Priory School, we wish you all the very

best in your new endeavours. We wish a warm welcome to all our new staff who join us in September.

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Teaching and Learning...

AUSTRALIA!

Forty members of The Priory School Senior Choir left the UK on Friday 30th June to tour Australia - more specifically, Sydney and the Blue Mountains for 10 days. We spent over 12 months of serious fundraising - we held concerts, performed in external events, ran quiz nights, held a raffle (with all prizes donated from local companies) and many other events. We raised almost £15,000! We also had sponsorship from local companies for hoodies and polo shirts - as you can see in the photos!

For several students it was their first time of flying and for many others it was their first time out of Europe (including mine!). We arrived in Sydney on

Saturday 1st July and stayed there for 5 nights – performing in two different locations in and around Sydney. We went over the Harbour Bridge as well as to the Opera House. In addition to this, we went to the beach and also Taronga Zoo. On Thursday 6th July we moved to the Blue Mountains and stayed there for 3 nights, performing another 2 concerts and a rather impromptu a-capella concert during a power cut at the youth hostel.

It was an amazing experience for all of us and the feedback we received from the venues and members of the public was outstanding. Some

even asked if we had a CD they could buy. One of the venues sent an email saying

“I have never heard so many residents totally delighted not only with the concert but the manners of the children. They could not praise them enough.” And "It’s such a breath of fresh air in this day and age to hear of how friendly and communicative the children were to the residents.”

We returned home rather jet lagged on Monday 10th in the evening but having thoroughly enjoyed the experience. To see the students aged 12-18 years all mixing together and building new friendships was worth every minute of the lack of sleep!

We are already starting to plan our next tour to Berlin at Easter next year and are hoping that new parents will be interested in joining our parent fundraising group – who have been pivotal in ensuring the students had the time of their lives. Mrs L. Creak , Head of Music

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Teaching and Learning...

Mathematical Success!

Michael Howe’s result was outstanding and earned him a place in the next round of the challenge. Michael was rewarded with a Certificate of Participation, falling

only 5 marks short of the qualifying score. Fantastic work Michael, still in that top 4% of Mathematicians nationally!

Seniors Gold Year 13 - Georgia Head Silver Year 13 - Alex Goose, Craig White, William Lenton Year 12 - Emma Murray Bronze Year 13 - Jamie Milne, Jamie Palborn, Sonica Minhas, Cerys Day-Williams, Ethan Miller, Naomi Johnson Year 12 - Meg Stephenson, Sophie Garner, Calum Dockerill, Jodi Bednarz, Isabel Pearcy, Leah Davis

Intermediate Silver Year 11 - Dan Stollenwerk, Emily Wheatley, Freya Brawn Year 10 - Ros Stephenson, Charlotte Page, Isaac Gianfrancesco, Simran Minhas, Lauren Wyatt, Aidan Leigh Year 9 - Max Brawn, Oscar Pearson Bronze Year 11 - Florence Tyrtania, Alyssa Yapyoung, Sian Lawrence, Jacques Du Toit, Megan Reed, Ronan Rigg, Daisy Doyle, Erin Brennan, Dan Reed, Mila Crook Year 10 - Torin Burrows, Maria Lenton, Luke Herd, Harry Walker, Aoife Brooks, Henry Croft, Jack Holmes Year 9 - Lily King, Lauren Sloane, Emily Grieves, Charlie Jackson, Marcel Occhipinti, Molly Root

Juniors Gold Year 8 - Michael Howes, Briony Arnold, James Henley-Waters Year 7 - Alfie Baxter, Bill Reason Silver Year 8 - Sam Tonge, Oliver Hawkins, William Box, Billy Walker, Molly Sharp, Ben Blackford, Nathan Collinson, Luke Scovell, Anna Wills, George Burman-James Year 7 - Jessica Halford, Henry Radford, Emilie Miles, Patrick Byrne, Dominic Band, Sam Johnson Bronze Year 8 - Thom Mayer, Alice Ramsey, Nicole Masters, Aryan Sharma, Harvey Miller, Gabe McFall, Jack Wiseman, James Pither, Nadia Sayers, Freddie Cardy, Vaughn Doggett, Brave Omondi, Charlie Ford, Connor Jeffrey, Maisy Collop, Lewis Duggan-Rees, Abdul Khan, Gracie Bridge Year 7 - Lily Honey-Doyle, Robyn Gorvett, Holly Long, Daniel Baverstock, Tom Skuse, Beth Ross, George Gallon, Samuel Bevan, Elise Budd, Kotya Nikolayenko, Lily Skevington, Jesse Knox, Joel Huckle, Rhianna Wood

Huge congratulations to all the students who have taken part in the Maths challenges this year. There have been

three individual challenges run by the UK Mathematics Trust; the Senior, Intermediate and Junior competitions.

Students are awarded certificates within school and those scoring exceptionally well are invited to take part in the

next round.

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UKMT TEAM CHALLENGE

Back in April, we travelled to Cambridge University for the UKMT Team Challenge. Molly Root, Tian Morley, Briony Arnold and Oliver Hawkins represented TPS as they tested their skills against many state and private schools from across the East of England, and one from

Brussels! The competition was fast-paced and needed their quick team-thinking and great analytical minds to solve cross-number puzzles, a series of shuttles in which the answer from one question feeds into the next and a relay race combining physical and mental agility. We didn’t come away with winning certificates however, but had a fabulous day!

Thank you team, I was very proud of you. Miss S Jones , Maths Department

MATHS CHALLENGE

Showing off their excellent teamwork was a team of Yr 8 – William Box, James Pither,

James Henley-Waters and Michael Howes. This time it was the Hertfordshire Maths

Challenge in Stevenage. The team were faced with many different problems including

making an origami tetrahedron, memorising and then drawing many mathematical

symbols and formulae. The boys showed resilience and resourcefulness as they tackled

each stage and finished in fifth place. To the Sharpest Spanners in the Box – well done!

Miss S Jones , Maths Department

Library News

Thanks to some very hard fundraising by our Year 7 and 9

Literacy Leaders we had over £180 to spend on a book buying

trip to Waterstones.

There were so many wonderful new novels to choose from that

we could have spent the money three times over!

After some very hard decision making we finally picked these titles which will be

available to all students in the Autumn term.

While Waterstones added up the totals we went for a delicious pit

stop at Fabio’s Gelato, kindly paid for by English Teacher Mrs

Farman!

While it was a very enjoyable morning,

the students were faced with the harsh

economic reality of the price of books

and how few titles you can get for what

seems a very large amount of money!

Mrs Stovin and Mrs Plum

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Library News

PRIMARY SCHOOLS WEEK 2017

This year’s Primary Schools Week took place between Monday 26th and Friday 30th June 2017. We hosted Year 5 students from NINE different Hitchin primary schools. All our visitors and visiting speakers had an amazing time!

Children’s author Camilla Chester

ran writing workshops with Preston

and Whitehill schools, sharing her

Box of Wonders to develop their

story writing skills.

Author Richard Mayers enthralled

students from Samuel Lucas and Our

Lady’s schools as he introduced them

to the world of animal cyborgs.

Tuesday saw us sail away to the

Polynesian Islands in the company of

singing teacher and choreographer Laura

McHugh. Students from St Andrews and

William Ransom schools sang and danced

to the music of the Disney classic Moana.

Sports Journalism was the subject of Thursday’s sessions as Football

Weekends Magazine editor Jim Stewart and Hitchin Town FC manager

Mark Burke helped Oughton and Wilshere Dacre schools produce their

own sports newspaper.

Finally our very own drama teacher Miss Follano led students from Purwell

School in an action packed murder mystery drama session.

Throughout the week we were ably supported by students from Years 7, 9

and 12 who were a credit to the school.

Mrs Stovin and Mrs Plum

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Sports, Clubs, Activities and Results....

SPORTS PRESENTATION EVENING 2017

On Tuesday 4th July we held our annual Sports Presentation Evening at The Priory School. This is an opportunity to celebrate our students’ achievements throughout the year both in curricular and extracurricular success. We were delighted to share this evening with Darren Sarll, Manager of Stevenage Football Club. Darren gave an inspirational talk to our students encouraging them to continue to commit to sport and realise their talents. Congratulations to all award winners from the evening. Thank you to the dancers that performed throughout the evening. Thank you to the PE department staff especially Mrs Churchman for organising the event. Miss H. Foy

Record of Accomplishment in Sport Nominated by Mrs Churchman Kiera Taylor Most Improved Abbie Perkins Exceptional Effort and Attitude Annabelle Gee Commitment to School Sport Nominated by Mr Pope Sam Bevan Exceptional Effort and Attitude Matthew Morton Exceptional Effort and Attitude Dominic Mellor Commitment to School Sport Nominated by Mr Coverdale Mira Gazso Exceptional Effort and Attitude Tian Morley Leadership and Organisation Leon Walcott Exceptional Effort and Attitude Nominated by Mr Omar Joe Gray Commitment to School Sport Sam Grady Leadership and Organisation Kotya Nikolayenko Most Improved Nominated by Mrs Emler Lily Collop Exceptional Effort and Attitude Dominika Pochodaj Exceptional Effort and Attitude Ruby Boast Commitment to School Sport Nominated by Mr Jessney Daniel Baverstock Exceptional Effort and Attitude Brave Omondi Commitment to School Sport Andre McCalla Achievement in Sport Jack Holmes Leadership and Organisation Nominated by Miss Foy Macy Keeping Commitment to School Sport Leah Cracknell Exceptional Effort and Attitude Overall PE Student of the Year 2017 Euan Metcalfe Elite Athlete of the Year 2017 Maya Grant

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Sports, Clubs, Activities and Results....

Sporting Excellence Award

Amy Gooderham - Football

Jessica Astill - Athletics

Ben Phillipson - Hockey

Baylin Johnson - Football

Chloe Humphreys - Dance

Harry Walker - Golf

Devonte Simms - Football

Euan Metcalfe - Athletics

Jade Gordon-Gardner - Football

Marshall Frost - Trampolining

Liam Rusling - Football/Athletics

Liberty Ewer - Trampolining

Maya Grant - Gymnastics

Mila Crook - Baton Twirling

Millie Warne - Dance

Oscar Jackson - Water Polo

Storm McClements - Golf

Thomas Harvey - Hockey

Athletics League Results 2017

Congratulations to all athletes that have represented TPS in the Athletics League this year. Your hard work and commitment has been very much appreciated. We have just received confirmation of the final league results:

The Priory School finished in 7th place in the combined overall competition.

Girls Overall 7th place

Boys Overall 9th place

Year 7 Girls 4th place overall

Year 7 Boys 5th place overall

Year 8 Girls 6th place overall

Year 8 Boys 8th place overall

Year 9 Girls 7th place overall

Year 9 Boys 8th place overall

Year 10/11 Girls 10th place overall

Year 10/11 Boys 9th place overall

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Local Events....

Light, Camera, Action!

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