Spring Term

Simon Balle All-through School Newsletter

Message from the Headteacher

Inside this issue:

Message from the head teacher

1-2

Mangrove Road 2

National Indoor Championships

2

PSA News 3

Design Ventura Winners

4-5

World Book Day House Plays

6

Quiz Night 7

GSK Maths Open Evening

8

Hertfordshire Recruitment Fair

9

I do hope that everyone has managed to get a break

over the past week and enjoy the unseasonably warm

weather. With just six weeks now until we break up for

Easter (Friday 5th April) the seasons are rushing by.

The main purpose of this newsletter is one of reminders to

parents. Firstly uniform.

All students should be wearing their jumpers/ cardigans to

school. Kilts should not be rolled up but knee length. Black

tights or white socks, with no socks over the knee. Boys

should wear black socks, which should not be seen under

full-length trousers.

We have recently changed the short sleeve shirt option.

Please note- boys (or girls) cannot wear their shirts

un-tucked. Boys must continue to wear a tie. Students

must wear coats or jackets – hoodies are not to be worn. If

outerwear has a logo it should be small and no larger

than the size of a bank- card. Denim and leather are not

allowed.

Rings, false nails and nail varnish continue to be banned.

Hair should be a normalized colour, no colour braids or

shaved parts of the head.

May I add how smart the sixth form continue to be- please

keep this up- excellent role modelling.

From time to time, parents may need to ask for special

leave of absence, which is known in advance (not

funerals). Please do not email teachers, or phone in to

request this. Could all parents, including those in the Larch

Centre, please complete the on line request form.

Holidays are usually not agreed to, in accordance to the

UK educational law.

27/02/2019

Page 2 Simon Balle All-through School

Dates for this half term

Thursday 28th February - Y9 Battlefields trip (first)

Tuesday 5th March - EPQ presentation evening

Thursday 7th March - Y9 Battlefields trip (second)

Saturday 9th March - Big Band evening

Monday 11th Match - Reception parents meeting

Tuesday 12th March - Y10 parents evening

Wednesday 13th March -Iceland trip

Friday 15th March- Red Nose Day

Monday 18th March -Y10 geography field trip (first)

Saturday 23rd March - Strings and strings evening

Monday 25th Match -Y10 geography field trip (second)

Friday 29th March - House plays

Tuesday 2nd April -Y7 parents evening

Wednesday 3rd April -STEVENSONS UNIFORM SALE 3PM TO 5.30PM

Thursday 4th April -Careers fair

Friday 5th April - End of term (early finish)

Tuesday 23rd April - Term starts

Mangrove Drive

We have received complaints from residents in Mangrove Drive.

This is a private road (the sign is due to be replaced shortly) and

parents should not park there. Please be considerate to our

neighbours and use the park and stride.

Thanks you for your co-operation.

National Indoor Championships

Trixie Wraith (Y11) won a silver medal at the National Indoor

Championships at the weekend in Sheffield over 800m, running a

personal best of 2mins 12secs. She ran an excellent tactical race

and led for 3 out the 4 laps, only just beaten in the end by less that

half a second. This was her first National medal. Well done Trixie and

just reward for all the hard work she puts into her training on a daily

basis.

Page 3 Simon Balle All-through School

PSA News

Minibus

The PSA are pleased to tell you they have made a donation of

£5,000 for the lease of one minibus for this year. The minibuses are

used by the school to transport students to various sporting and

activity events.

Events

We have organised the Larch Centre pottery event on the 4th

March for Primary children to decorate a memorable gift for

Mothers Day.

At Big Band Music Concert on Saturday 9th March, 7pm, main hall

we will be running a Licensed Bar with wine, Prosecco, ales, soft

drinks and snacks.

Recycled uniform sale and a raffle hamper at Parents Eve on 12th

March, 5pm to 7pm, in 6th Form. Please remember to bring cash

with you.

At Strings and Singing Music Concert on Saturday 23rd March,

7pm, in main hall, we will be running a licensed bar with wine,

Prosecco, ales, soft drinks and snacks. There will also be a raffle

hamper to win.

We are providing funds for the Larch Centre Garden. The Green

Fingers Garden Tidy Up on Saturday 30th March, 9 to 11am, will be

in preparation for planting.

Quiz Night Night - Saturday 30th March, 7 for 7:30pm

Why not get a team together and join us for some fun, prizes, raffle

and bar and fundraiser for your children at the same time. If you

want to come on your own, we will join you up with others.

To find out more about your PSA, how you can get involved,

meet parents and staff, have some fun, help your school and the

community AND fundraisers, please come and say hello at any of

these events, or contact us at psa@simonballepsa.org.uk or visit our

website www.simonballepsa.org.uk

We need more helpers. Please give us a try.

Page 4 Simon Balle All-through School

Design Museum announces Simon Balle school as 2018-19 Design

Ventura Winners

Six students from Simon Balle All-through School are the overall

winners of this year’s Design Ventura, the annual national design

and enterprise challenge, run by the Design Museum in partnership

with Deutsche Bank’s youth engagement programme, Born to

Be. The winning product concept Hit Snap is a game which aims

to encourage everyone to do more exercise. The Simon Balle team

will work with the Design Museum and creative professionals to

develop their product and launch it for sale in the Design Museum

shop in June with profits going to the school’s chosen charity. Since

2010 Design Ventura has helped over 75,000 students to develop

design, enterprise and employability skills, as well as raising over

£10,000 for charities chosen by Design Ventura winning teams.

The winning team from Simon Balle All-Through School, Billy, Loui,

Ross, Bailey, Fynn, and Dan, with their teacher Jack Andrews,

joined the judging panel, led by Sebastian Conran, at the Design

Museum in Kensington on 13 February for an exhibition and VIP

reception to celebrate the achievements of all ten shortlisted

teams.

Design Ventura’s real-life design brief calls for teams to research

and consider the needs of one of three target audiences; adult

design enthusiasts, young people and students, or families.

Students must consider how their product will complement others

on sale in the Museum shop, sustainability, the ease of the

manufacturing process and budget. Addressing the brief, the

Simon Balle team considered rising obesity rates among young

people and the need for everyone to take more exercise. This led

to their concept for a game that can be played by a range of

ages and would complement other products in the Museum shop.

Jack Andrews, Lead Teacher of Design & Technology, at Simon

Balle All-Through School, recognises the skills that students have

gained through Design Ventura. ‘Being able to design is an

excellent skill but being able to see value in ideas and create

viable business models and account for stakeholder needs will

allow young people to have an impact in the economy and

potentially start their own companies and businesses.’ He added,

‘Design Ventura gives me the means to enthuse them [students] at

the beginning of their GCSE and an amazing sense of pride when

they succeed. But teaching isn’t just about GCSE results, it’s

providing the most meaningful learning experiences possible and

Design Ventura helps to facilitate this.’

Page 5 Simon Balle All-through School

Nicole Lovett, Deutsche Bank’s UK Head of Corporate Social

Responsibility, commented, ‘The creative industries are likely to be

creating 1,000 jobs a week in the UK that are highly skilled and

resilient to automation. Design Ventura offers students the

opportunity to engage with the industry and an early insight into

business. The skills they gain open career pathways and contribute

to longer-term community sustainability as well as economic

growth.’

2018-19 winning teams are:

Simon Balle All-Through School, Hertfordshire, overall winner, for

Hit Snap, a version of the game Snap in which the opponent

must perform the exercise on the card when there is a

matched card

East Barnet, London - second place

Horsforth School, West Yorkshire - third place

Weydon School, Surrey - commended

Gilliots School, Oxfordshire - commended

Page 6 Simon Balle All-through School

World Book Day

To mark World Book Day on Thursday 7th March students in

Reception to Year 9 are being sent home with a £1 book token. If

any older student would like a token please call into the main

Library. The tokens are valid from 28thFebruary – 31st March

(inclusive). There are some specially produced books priced £1,

available at participating bookshops, and we will have some copies

of these available for loan in our two libraries shortly. The tokens can

also be used against other books or audio books worth £2.99 or

more. Further details are available at www.worldbookday.com

There will be a book treasure hunt running for secondary students on

World Book Day itself - watch your emails for details please.

House Plays

Rehearsals are going well for this years House play competition on

March 29th, 7pm in the school hall. We have six fantastic abridged

versions of Sleeping Beauty, Mary Poppins, A Curious Incident of a

Dog in the Night-time, Matilda, Three Alices in Wonderland and A

Murder Mystery. Tickets will be sold on the door at a bargain price of

£5 per person...we promise this will be an evening to remember. So

put the date in your diary and we look forward to seeing you there.

The Drama Department

HERTFORDSHIRE TEACHER RECRUITMENT FAIRS 2019

Register for job alerts

Visit our website: teachinherts.com to register as a candidate and set up your job alerts for the areas you want. You can then manage your own profile for both your first and any future job applications in Hertfordshire. Please apply directly to schools with vacancies using the Teach in Herts portal as soon as possible during your training year. Schools do not incur agency fees.

01438 845785teachinherts.com

FOLLOW USON SOCIAL MEDIA

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 9, 9:30AM – 1PM Watford, South and West HertsSATURDAY MARCH 23, 9:30AM – 1PM Letchworth, North and East HertsSATURDAY MAY 11, 9:30AM – 1PM Cheshunt, Central and East Herts

Come and meet Hertfordshire schools face to face at any of these three events in 2019 to secure your first NQT post. You will be able to meet face to face with schools who have vacancies for September 2019 (some may be keen for a July start). Find out in workshops and discussions why Hertfordshire is such a unique place to live and work and the wealth of support, mentoring and peer connections you can expect in your NQT year and for your future career. Register on our website for one of these events: teachinherts.com

Your Future. Their Future.

GSK Global Manufacturing & Supply

Priory Street

Ware

Hertfordshire

SG12 0DJ

February 2019

Dear Student Maths Matters GSK are holding a Maths Careers Evening on 2 April in Ware, and you are warmly invited to attend. If you are studying (or thinking about studying) Maths as a GCSE or A level, you may be interested to learn where Maths could take you in the future. The event will provide you with an opportunity to hear about potential careers in the Pharmaceutical Industry that involve Maths. You will be provided with information regarding our graduate scheme, industrial placements, and apprenticeships, as well as direct entry career routes.

Places are limited and must be pre-booked. You will need to select which session you want to attend – 16.15-17.30 or 18.00-19.15. Each session will be identical. A presentation will be given during the first half of each session. Following the presentation, you will be able to wander around our career stalls and chat informally with our employees to better understand the roles and opportunities, collect any leaflets you are interested in, and ask any questions you may have. There will be a range of careers covered such as: Clinical Statistics Non-Clinical Statistics Finance Engineering Data Analytics Data Science Informatics Programming If you would like to secure a place at the event, please complete the booking form via:

https://survey.gsk.com/TakeSurvey.aspx?SurveyID=llKImn25H

You are very welcome to bring one guest with you, eg. a parent, guardian, or friend. Due to the limited number of places, it will not be possible for two guests to accompany you. You will be sent further information about the evening closer to the date. As soon as all places have been booked for each session, the application form will be closed. Please apply early to avoid disappointment. If you have any queries, please email: kmh60335@gsk.com (Please note - email bookings cannot be taken.)

We hope to see you there. Yours faithfully GSK Early Talent Manager