Congratulations to all the dancers who took part in this year’s Dance Showcase. The event celebrated the talents of a wide variety of Stanborough students including dance club students, BTEC classes and our Dance Captains.
Many students also took advantage of our audition process and the competition was tough as there was a huge number of excellent pieces to choose from. Some of the successful auditioned dances included a beautiful solo by Teya Kindred, a confident duet by Brooke McDonald and Bella Bickers and a captivating group dance ‘Bury a Friend’ choreographed and performed by Year 8 students; Ava Connelly, Louise Grenfell, Ciara Keenan, Lauren Sanders and Amelie Warner.
Other highlights throughout the show consisted of a Year 9 dance club piece choreographed by Teya Kindred and Tilly North to ‘Someone you Loved’. This was performed beautifully with the Year 9 dancers certainly doing the choreography justice. Year 8 students also performed Miss Newman’s beautifully choreographed piece ‘Million Dreams’ which demonstrated the student’s high level of performance and technique.
There were a number of expertly performed solos this year, including ‘Identity’ by Keziah Long, ‘I’m Fine’ by Freya Elsley and ‘Next to You’ by Sarah Thompson. Abby Mortimer performed her last solo in a Stanborough Dance show to the Rupaul classic ‘Cover Girl’ and this was a real crowd pleaser.
Year 10 Dancers performed their upbeat number ‘Free Britney’ which incorporated a large amount of original choreography from music videos including Oops I did it again and Hit me Baby one more Time. The Year 10s approach to learning these works was excellent and their efforts certainly paid off in the final show. Well done Year 10.
The Year 9 dancers closed the show with their performance of ‘Bury a Friend’, choreographed by Miss Conder and was an excellent way to tie the show together. Year 9 dancers also performed ‘Jai Ho’ choreographed by Miss Digweed which included key features of Bollywood dance and some exciting developments by the dancers. Both Year 9 pieces were excellent opportunities for the dancers to demonstrate their versatility and skills individually and as a talented mini company.
All dance students took full advantage of this opportunity to perform their work on stage with our lighting and sound facilities. The Sound and Light Team: Jack Hadley, Sarah Pennell and Sebastian Judge did a fantastic job throughout the day and during the evening performance. They created some well thought out lighting which certainly enhanced the work.
All students worked extremely hard in preparation for this show and should be very proud of all they have achieved. I am so pleased with the commitment they have shown and their professional performances.
Last Friday saw the last main GCSE exam for our Year 11 students (let’s not forget the final Polish writing exam this week!).
There were tears as students engaged in that rite of passage of writing farewell messages on each other’s shirts, and collecting leaver’s hoodies.
We had a fantastic assembly. A chance for tutors and the pastoral team to share their memories of the year group, and to give them some parting words of advice for the next stage of their journey. Students were a credit to themselves as they left, leaving bits of uniform and revision book donations in their trail.
Of course there are more celebrations to come in the shape of the prom! We are all looking forward to that, and then of course, results day in August!!
Please remember that donations of uniform and revision materials will really benefit existing students, we’re happy to accept this whenever you’re able to bring it into the school office. Thanks in advance.
Mrs Adams, Life Skills Leader & HLTA with Careers, writes:
A fantastically motivational morning was had by Year 9 as they met 16 employers from Welwyn Garden City and Hatfield. The sessions were led by Future First Employability which are sponsored by IGD, a research and training charity, who use a percentage of their profits to help educate young people in making their choices for the future.
The sessions started with one employer working with six students on the skill of introducing yourself as if you were at an interview. Students then had the task of interviewing the employers to find out about their daily work life and then one student from the group would introduce their employer to all of the other students in the hall. The task was later reversed with the employers interviewing the students.
The second task involved looking at a shop bought sandwich with the simple question ‘How many jobs are needed to produce this sandwich’? To our surprise it was over 20. We thought about how many times we go the shops, how many times we eat or drink out and how many different jobs and skills are needed just for one of these daily tasks that we take for granted. The students were asked to think about their skills and abilities and how they could apply these to the workplace, what were their dreams and ambitions and how could their time at Stanborough be applied to their futures.
One Tesco employer informed her group that the time she starts her working day depends on the seasons especially around Christmas time when she would start work at 3.00am, much to the surprise of one student who commented ‘but I’m in bed’! The employer continued to inform the group of the logistics of getting the stores ready for Christmas and the orders out to their customers. The employer finished by saying that she loves her job and wouldn’t have it any other way. Another employer informed his group that he was not able to use his mobile phone in his work place and that students are learning a valuable workplace skill by refraining from using their phones during the school day.
Each group of students met four different employers during the session from all different backgrounds, including one employer who was a former student who left Stanborough 11 years ago. Year 9 students left the session with an informative top tips booklet to reflect on in their future years.
‘The careers workshop was a lot of fun and interesting. I learnt a lot about different jobs, but I didn’t realise how many jobs there were in the food industry, which is a lot! We did lots of activities which were great. All of the employers were very kind’. Kyle Russouw 9K
‘It was a great opportunity to find out more about the food industry and the careers within it’. Ellen Green 9A
‘I enjoyed the session in the Hall because it helped to understand all the different jobs in the food industry. I spoke to employers from Tesco and Waitrose. We talked about what they did during their day and at the end I was given a booklet which I have found very useful’. Abigail Woolner 9H
https://stanborough.herts.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Future-First-Employability-2019-2w.jpg6991000Clare Pomfreyhttps://stanborough.herts.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/newlogo.pngClare Pomfrey2019-06-14 11:02:242019-06-14 11:02:24Future First Employability Sponsored by IGD
Miss Bowen, RE, Philosophy & Ethics Teacher, writes:
Last weekend a group of Year 10s completed their Duke of Edinburgh Canoe training ready for them to complete their Canoeing Expedition in a few weeks’ time.
On the first day of training the students got to grips with handling the canoes and working in pairs on how to control and navigate the canoe. They also had to start thinking about the real expedition, so they had to plan the different meals and snacks they would need and what food would be suitable to be carried, cooked as well as keeping their energy up.
The second day was much more vigorous with lots of canoe training as well as the students getting in the water and learning what to do if someone fell into the water or if their canoe got over turned. The students also experienced cooking on a trangia stove for the first time, cooking pasta for lunch seemed to be a firm favourite for most students. The students also had the experience of putting up the tents they would be using for sleeping in. Finally, the students had to plan their route and stopping points on their route cards which they will be using for the actual expedition.
Overall it was a fantastic weekend of training even though the students did get a little bit wet at times.
https://stanborough.herts.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/DofE-Bronze-Canoeing-2019-Practice-7w.jpg5311000Clare Pomfreyhttps://stanborough.herts.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/newlogo.pngClare Pomfrey2019-06-14 10:59:212019-06-14 10:59:21Year 10 Duke of Edinburgh Canoe Training
Miss Siddiqui, Curriculum Leader: Modern Foreign Languages, writes:
As is our annual tradition, the Year 8 students welcomed back the Onatti theatre group and their play “le ticket en espace”. Yes, the play has a french title because the play was going to be performed in French! As you can imagine, some Year 8 students were immediately sceptical about understanding the play, let alone enjoying it! However, not to be defeated I was about to prove them very wrong!!
The play centres around an American student who wins a competition to go to space in a rocket. He finds that he is accompanied by a French student who has also won a place on the trip but unfortunately for him, she does not speak a word of English! Hence, problems ensue not least when they find themselves stuck on a planet 65,000 miles from Earth! (please suspend all reality for a while!)
However, I have to admit that the star of the play in this instance was not the extra terrestrial monster which appeared but Stanborough’s very own Year 8 student Toby Harvey. The cast had requested a helper and Toby had enthusiastically volunteered his services. I have to say, that in my opinion, Toby stole the show. In fact, some teachers watching the play thought that Toby was part of the play itself!! He threw himself fully into the role, using his French to communicate and a lot of acting skills as the rocket took off and then later landed with a jolt! The Year 8s in the audience thoroughly enjoyed watching their class mate in the play, as did Toby by the look of things. He was such a credit to the school. In fact, I was delighted to see such an engrossed audience as they watched the story unfold.
As I informed the students, this is the eleventh year we have invited Onatti back to perform to the Year 8 students due to its regular and ongoing success. I think I can safely say that this tradition will carry on for a long time yet after the rapturous response received today!
But don’t take my word for it. Here are a few student reviews:
“I totally loved the Onatti group’s performance. Especially because the French was clear and it was so easy to understand the concept of the story. In all, it was a great performance and it will help future Year 8s at Stanborough with their French.” James Flint 8H
“I loved the play because of the interaction with the audience and it was very funny!” Jed Graham 8BP
“I thought the play was hilarious and interesting.” Thomas Linger 8H
“The play was good fun.” Joseph Young 8BP
“The play was very funny and we could understand what was happening very clearly. We liked that it included people from the audience.” Reece Taylor 8A, Alex O’Carroll 😯 & Lewis Sutherland 8A
https://stanborough.herts.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Onatti-French-Theatre-2019-3.jpg30004000Clare Pomfreyhttps://stanborough.herts.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/newlogo.pngClare Pomfrey2019-06-07 11:51:422019-06-07 11:57:41Onatti lands back at Stanborough with its new play ‘A ticket into space!’
Miss G. Hawker, Deputy Year Leader: Year 7 writes:
Last week Year 7 went on the PGL trip to Mimosa in the south of France. We left on Monday 13th May with great excitement waving goodbye to the parents and ready for a long coach journey ahead. Having managed to survive the 20 hour coach trip, we arrived at Mimosa in stunning sunshine a little tired from the journey. However, that did not stop us partaking in the week’s activities consisting of archery, rifle shooting, sailing, banana boat riding, stand up paddle boarding and kayaking. As Year 7 got stuck into the water activities the lovely weather continued leading to lots of fun in the sun! On Friday, the weather took a turn and we spent the day in Carcassonne and Bezier where the students were able to buy their gifts and practise their French.
Having taken part in some of the water sport activities over the week, it was amazing to see how well students worked with each other when put into teams but also seeing them make a range of new friends through the activities as well as during the evening entertainment of the nightly disco.
Overall everyone had a fantastic week; a few of us overcame a few fears and the students made many new friends as well as lots of great memories.
“I really enjoyed the trip and it was worth the long journey! My favourite activity was the banana boat. I really liked getting to know our PGL group leader and instructors.” Destene Downswell 7A
“I thought that all the activities were fun and exciting. If you were scared of doing something all the PGL staff and the teachers supported and encouraged you to do it. There was a variety of food, some healthy and some not so much.” Will Flynn 7OS
“The PGL trip was so amazing as we learnt so many new things on the sea and on land. We had so much fun from the sea all the way to Carcassonne. We also had plenty of food and had lots of opportunities to buy souvenirs and snacks which was fun.” Lily-May Watkins 7A
“The Stanborough School PGL trip was great because we got to do a range of activities from air rifles to sailing. Both the PGL staff and the Stanborough staff were very supportive in all the activities. My favourite was raft building as we were taught how to tie barrels together and tie ropes to logs. We then paddled the raft around a lake. For one day in the week we went to Carcassonne where we had lots of fun around the walled town.” Sam Barratt 7B
“The France trip was exhausting! The coach journey was extremely long but the trip itself made up for it. We mainly went into the sea for most of the activities, which was very cold, but we got used to it eventually. We even went to where Shrek 2 was filmed. The food was very nice and nobody had complaints about it. On the last day we tried snails.” Ryan Hale 7OS
“I think the trip was great fun and I really enjoyed it. The banana boat and when we went to the shopping centre were my favourite because the banana boat went so fast and in the centre we were allowed to go around with our friends in our own time. Even when we were on the coach, which was a very long journey, in both directions, the teachers managed to entertain us with movies. I was very happy with the outcome and look forward to going on another trip in the future.” Sophia Curry 7H
Y10 Bronze Award Walking Group – Training/Practice Expedition – 11th and 12th May.
Our Y10 Bronze Award participants took part in a two day training programme run by Wilderness Expertise, our Approved Activity Provider, to give them the necessary skills to cope with the expedition section, such as camp craft, navigation, and first aid. This is the first year group who are taking part in our new programme where the Training and Practice Expedition has been replaced by a training weekend.
Charlotte Preston 10K and Dominique Clarke-Payton 10O wrote:
On the 11th and 12th of May, we went to school at 8.45am and started our training for our DofE expedition in July. On the first day, we learnt all the necessary skills we will need, such as First Aid skills, campcraft, navigation and map reading. We learnt to use a compass, read coordinates on a map and we started mapping our route for the Qualifying Expedition. We also looked at what kit we would need and the importance of it. After lunch, we went outside to put up tents, which was tough but fun; the instructors and teachers were really helpful. Then it was time for dinner and we prepared food on trangias. On the second day we used our map reading skills during a 4 ½ hour walk. During that time, we also practised emergency scenarios. We came back to school at 14.30 and were dismissed at 15.00. We then went home feeling excited and ready for the real expedition in July. Thank you to Mrs Elliott, Miss Bowen and Miss Bradbury for giving up their weekend.
Student comments:
‘I thoroughly enjoyed the weekend, I feel prepared for the real expedition after doing an 11km practice walk with an instructor on the second training day. The walk was very rewarding, despite the tiredness afterwards.’ Teya Kindred 10O
‘I really enjoyed the DofE training because it taught me skills to carry out the assessment to the best of my ability.’ Jensen Read 10S
‘I really enjoyed the DofE training as it has enabled me to go for camping in the future with the skills I learnt, for example putting up a tent correctly and using a Trangia to cook’. Josh (Year10)
Sarah Cafferty (Student and Family Support Worker) and Cheryl Bodrozic (School Family Worker) were recently nominated for a Hertfordshire Families First Award for a project they are currently delivering to students for the second time at Stanborough School. Despite strong competition they won and have been recognised as being the Hertfordshire Early Intervention Team of the Year.
This is fantastic news and gives them the recognition they deserve for all their hard work and the support they give to students.
https://stanborough.herts.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Herts-Families-Award-2019-1.jpg11241200Clare Pomfreyhttps://stanborough.herts.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/newlogo.pngClare Pomfrey2019-05-03 11:53:572019-05-03 12:01:14Hertfordshire Families First Awards