A huge congratulations to Fraser McK in 8T, who was offered a place in the Under14 Herts County Badminton Squad at the end of last month.  Unfortunately he can’t start training until after this lockdown is over, but in between the two lockdowns they managed to run the trials and he was successful in gaining a place in the squad. Well done Fraser, we look forward to hearing more about your success once you can play again.

If you would like your child featured in the Student Spotlight, please send a brief note with any photographs to melissa.holian@sandringham.herts.sch.uk

We are looking forward to seeing you all (virtually) at the LRD appointments next Wednesday evening and Thursday during the day (25th/26th November.)

Students should be in full school uniform to attend the slot with parents and a gentle reminder to please have your login to the SchoolCloud system ready in order to access your online appointment. The slots are 15 minutes each to allow for logging on/off but appointments will last approximately 10 minutes. Please ensure that you arrive and end the sessions promptly so that the evening and day can run smoothly. Many thanks for your co-operation and we look forward to speaking with you soon.

It is Oaklands College Virtual Open Day this Saturday, 21st November from 10am-3pm. There will be talks on all subjects and information about applying to the college (see picture attached). If this would be of interest to your child please visit their website for further details

Oaklands College Virtual Open Day

S6 in the Sixth Form area, is named after Amelia Earhart whom we believe showed unfaltering determination in her can-do attitude for equal treatment of women. 

Earhart was born in Kansas on the 24th July 1897 and after taking her first plane ride aged just 23, she went on to gain her pilot's license shortly afterwards becoming only the sixteenth woman at the time to do so.

Whilst working as a social worker in 1928, she received an invitation to be the first woman to fly across the Atlantic as a passenger and in 1932, despite powerful winds battering her tiny plane, she became the first woman to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic.

Earhart was the first women to gain the Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross. And at the height of her career, she also gave speeches, wrote articles, provided career counselling and even set up an affordable fashion line at Macy’s and Marshall Field’s.

In 1937, Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan took off from Oakland, California on the first leg of their historic round-the-world flight. They disappeared 43 days later.

Whilst her final hours may be a mystery, the legacy that Earhart left through her actions was one that cleared a path for women around the world to reject constrictive social norms and to pursue their dreams, especially in the field of aviation.

"There's more to life than being a passenger."

Join Mr Cracknell and Mr Smith as they embark on 24 days of advent activity this December. What better way to see out the end of lockdown 2.0, by joining them in getting active, every day in December? Their interactive advent calendar will encourage a running or walking challenge each day that you can join in with individually or as a family. They hope to raise money for FareShare, the charity supported by Marcus Rashford MBE in his campaign for free school meals. More details in next week’s edition of Sandprint, so dust off those training shoes ready for the 1st December.

We are very excited about our first day of tree planting on Monday! Tutor groups 7A, 7E, 7N, 7T will be planting trees in their geography lesson. A letter has been sent to Year 7 parents and students have received an assembly this week.

Trees are really important!  Here are some facts …

• UK forests currently cover 12% of our land area. This is very low compared to some of our European neighbours. For example, France and Germany have forest cover of 29% and 32% respectively. Of Europe’s total land area, forest cover makes up 47%. 
• Trees are able to remove excess carbon dioxide (CO2) from our atmosphere and offer a significant contribution to reducing the impact of climate change.
• Trees are effective air filters. Some species, such as the London plane, are particularly resistant to air pollution and can help filter harmful pollutants by trapping them on their leaves and bark. 
• Trees provide crucial habitat for much of the UK’s wildlife. Whether it’s for birds nesting in their canopies, small mammals making their homes in the root systems, or bats roosting in their trunks, trees are a vital part of our ecosystem.
• Trees provide wonderful benefits for both humans and the natural environment. Trees are the lungs of our cities. They’re the homes for our wildlife. They’re our guardians against flooding. Trees are vital to so many aspects of our life.

We hope that Sandringham can play a part in ensuring that the UK increases tree coverage, increasing the biodiversity on the school site and can play a part in combatting climate change!

The National Army Museum have worked with Michael Morpurgo and Tom Clohosy Cole to produce a session discussing the new illustrated edition of the classic War Horse story. You can hear from Michael as he reveals what 'War Horse' means to him and reads a favourite extract from the book. This is a lovely text exploring the bravery and courage displayed by animals during wartime and you will also be able pick up some drawing tips from Tom in this family friendly event. Please click on the link below to register

https://www.nam.ac.uk/whats-on/world-war-horse

Tickets for the Christmas Lunch, being held on Tuesday 15th December (Y7, Y9, Y10 & Y12) and Wednesday 16th December (Y8, Y11 & Y13) are available to purchase via Parentpay at a cost of £3.65.

Please buy tickets via ParentPay by Monday 30th November. Tickets will not be issued after this time. If you need a login reminder for your ParentPay account please contact Finance.

There will be no other food available from the canteen at lunchtime on both these days so please ensure students bring their own lunch on the days they are not having Christmas Lunch.

We are in the process of updating our student records. If your child is currently receiving support from CAMHs or any other external agency to support their emotional wellbeing, could you please let the Student Wellbeing Manager, Emma Coyne, know by emailing emma.coyne@sandringham.herts.sch.uk 

Similarly, if your child has finished with CAMHs, please could you let us know so that we can update our records.

Every week the Mathematics Faculty publish a puzzle for you to try. You can find the puzzle in the Sandprint or on the screens around school. For every entry you will receive 1 housepoint, if you answer correctly you will win 2 housepoints and if you are the fastest person to answer the puzzle correctly then you will win 5 housepoints! To enter, simply scan the QR code and fill out the google form.  Good luck

Well done to Fawcett and Mr Lacey who lead the House Cup competition this week, which is the first time since mid-October that Austen haven’t been at the top. 

Tutor (Group) of the week =  13E Katie Cave Well done to 13E on the highest score on last week’s Remembrance Day Quiz.

Year group of the week = Year 10 Well done to the Y10’s and Mr Boak on 100% completion on the House quiz.

House of the week = Turing Well done to Turing who had the biggest points increase since last week and the most success on the last weekly House Quiz (AGAIN)!

FUTURE HOUSE EVENTS

House Maths scores will be added shortly and as a reminder, students can enter this competition at any point so if your child has not already, please encourage them to get involved.

One of our 6th form students, Leo M, has been busy producing a portfolio for his upcoming Architecture interviews. As part of this process, he has been asked to design a model for an environmentally friendly home. Leo said he was inspired by the shipping containers which are used every day and thought why not use the shape and structure as a basis for his ideas? The finished model shows some real skill and creativity which hopefully, will earn Leo a place at one of his first-choice destinations. Well done Leo - we think it looks amazing.

Please check our website for more details about the following roles:

School Business Manager

Part time Teacher of Music

Learning Supervisor

https://sandringham.herts.sch.uk/vacancies/

Our theme this week is Diwili- the Hindu, Sikh and Jain Festival of Lights (14th November 2020). This religious celebration, which for some also coincides with harvest and New Year celebrations, is a festival of new beginnings and the triumph of good over evil, or light over darkness. A fantastic student-led assembly educated us on the importance of Diwali for over a billion people worldwide. Students reflected on how they can ensure good triumphs over evil in their lives by exuding positivity, helping others and being tolerant of the cultures of others. It is excellent that some students have been able to share their faith with their classmates and therefore increase understanding of the diversity in our school community.

Thank you so much to everyone who donated to Children in Need last week, helping us to raise an amazing £4,608!  This is a record-breaking total at Sandringham School so thank you again. We have been overwhelmed by your generosity. 

We hope that you managed to spot our Star Student Oliver G in the Harmonies of Hope Choir and you may have also seen Pudsey doing a bit of work experience in the Sandpit Theatre this week.

The grand total raised is an amazing £41million. This will make a massive difference, supporting vital charities and projects which change the lives of children and young people all over the UK. So thank you to everyone who has donated. There is still time to donate by clicking the link below if anyone feels like they are able to. Children In Need ParentPay

We are delighted to release our virtual exhibition video “Rewilding the World” which is a collation of some of the work produced this year as part of our annual drawing week. Over 400 students took part in this event and took time to upload their wonderful work onto our Google Classroom. Pictures included in this article are a stunning eagle by Yukta C , a mesmerising ocean picture by Laila B-P,  a relaxed-looking sloth by Emma T, and a cuddly Koala by Hywel J.

I would like to thank our wonderful Visual Arts team who spent a considerable amount of their time viewing and responding to all of the work created. We will be announcing our prize winners next week but first we wanted to share with you a celebration of some of the pieces created. I would like to thank our amazing Visual Arts technician Suzy Leto for creating this absolutely stunning virtual exhibition. Inspired by the life and work of David Attenborough, we hope the exhibition will also educate a wider audience about the importance of restoring biodiversity to protect our planet. Through creativity, we hope to have reflected the hopes of our young people, the key changes that need to be made and our shared responsibility to protect our planet.

Rewilding the World Exhibition

Thank you for taking the time to view our virtual exhibition. We do hope you enjoy it.

As there will be no Sandprint next week, we have two Student Spotlights this week.

A huge congratulations to Katie T in Year 13 who passed her Grade 8 piano examination with a distinction last week.

Katie has been playing piano since she was in Year 7 and will performing in the Sandringham Winter Concert on 7th December so we look forward to seeing her then. Well done Katie- what a fantastic achievement.

We are excited to announce that the Winter Concert will take place on Monday 7th December at 7pm. This will be a fantastic showcase of our musical talent here at Sandringham School and you can buy tickets to access a link to the live stream via the Sandpit theatre box office at www.sandpittheatre.co.uk

STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics - is celebrated, encouraged and explored at Sandringham with a range of opportunities.

Physics students in Year 13 have this week been thinking about the SpaceX ‘taxi service’ that safely transported four astronauts to the International Space Station for its client NASA. This kind of outsourcing to the private sector will - NASA hopes - help save money for its bigger goal of getting people to the moon again. Chloe L and Khalid A did fantastic proofs on the whiteboard to show the students a mathematical description of satellite orbits.

Science Club continues, and last week the Year 7 students carried out lamb heart dissections. Well done to Lee C, Max D, Emilka H, Melissa L, Isabelle P and many others for conducting themselves like surgeons! As you can see from the pictures they certainly enjoyed the session.

In other STEM news, it has now been confirmed that Sandringham School is to take part in a national event called the Faraday Challenge. This will be a one-day engineering competition for up to 36 Year 8 students on 20th April. It will be difficult for us to select just 36 deserving students, but if anyone would like to get in touch to express interest early we will make a note.

Another appeal to parents: If you have any contacts in science, industry or government whose work is related to biodiversity or STEM, and who might be willing to give a talk to students, we would love to hear from you. Please contact Mr D. Tattersall, STEM coordinator, on tattersalld@mysandstorm.org

If you missed Mr Gray's LIVE Virtual tour of our amazing Sixth Form earlier this week, you can now watch it here https://sandringham.herts.sch.uk/sixth-form-admissions/.

The page also contains an information booklet, details about subjects available, entry requirements and other important information. Please also keep the following dates in your diary if the Sixth Form is of interest to you:

Sandringham Sixth Form Info Evening (online): Thurs 14th Jan 2021 6.30pm

Sixth Form Application deadline: Fri 5th Feb 2021

Senior Maths Challenge

In November, we had 14 students from Years 12 and 13 enter the Senior Maths Challenge run by the UK Mathematics Trust.  

A huge congratulations to: 

Sam R (Year 13) - Gold and Best in School and qualifying for the Senior Kangaroo follow on round.

Dylan S (Year 13) – Silver

Thomas van W (Year 13) – Bronze

Khalid A (Year 13) - Bronze

Tim I (Year 12) – Bronze – Best in year

Madeleine T (Year 12) – Bronze – Best in year

Well done to everyone else for taking part.

The next challenge is the Junior Maths Challenge in February which is open to Years 7 and 8.

It’s been a busy week in Music with students exploring, creating, listening, sharing, learning and smiling. We have also been getting ready for the Christmas Concert and can’t wait to show you what we have been working on when it is streamed on Monday 7th December.

C is for…Cajole (verb)

Definition: Persuade (someone) to do something by sustained coaxing or flattering

Example: She hoped to cajole him into selling the house

Synonyms: Deceive, Entice, Tempt

Antonyms: Disgust, Discourage, Dissuade

Etymology: Borrowed in the mid-17th century from the French word ‘cajoler’ meaning to wheedle or coax

Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake comes to cinemas with a fresh look for the 21st century.  This thrilling, audacious and witty production is perhaps still best known for replacing the female corps-de-ballet with a menacing male ensemble, which shattered convention, turned tradition upside down and took the dance world by storm.  Collecting over thirty international accolades including an Oliver Award and three Tonys on Broadway, Matthew Bourne’s powerful interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s beloved tale is still original and still unmissable, a passionate and contemporary Swan Lake for our times. Tickets £13.50/10

We hope everyone is keeping well. Through December, and January we have lots of exciting screenings coming to The SandPit. Including, Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake and Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella, A Beethoven Journey and Dream Maker! We look forward to opening our doors again safely and to see you all again.                                                               

Following Government guidelines, you must wear a face covering while attending The SandPit Theatre unless you are exempt as stated in these guidelines. If you do not wear a mask you will be refused entry and your ticket will be forfeited. Our café will be during these screenings for drinks and snacks but please note we will only be accepting card payments.

The box office is open from 11.30am – 3.30pm Monday to Friday. Alternatively, you can call us on 01727 799565 or visit www.sandpittheatre.co.uk

Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella is a thrilling and evocative love story set in London during the Second World War.  The internationally acclaimed choreographer’s interpretation of the classic fairy tale has, at its heart, a true war-time romance.  A chance meeting results in a magical night for Cinderella and her dashing young RAF pilot, together for just long enough to fall in love before being parted by the horrors of the Blitz.  Matthew Bourne’s vivid story telling has never been more heart-stopping and touching and will take the audience into the heart of Prokofiev’s magnificent score. Tickets £13.50/£10

Welcome to the Dream Shop!  You are invited to discover the mysteries of Dream Making and to share the secrets of mixing the perfect dream.  It’s important work – thousands of dreams are dreamt every single night, and they all have to be made just right. So, join PaddleBoat Theatre Company in this magical story and discover the joy of being a Dream Maker.

Dream Maker is a perfect return to the theatre for families aged 3+ and for anyone who would enjoy a relaxed, inclusive experience. Tickets £40 (Sits up to 6)

Filmed over the course of four years award-winning director Phil Grabsky follows leading concert pianist Leif Ove Andsnes’s attempt to understand and interpret one of the greatest sets of works for piano ever written: Beethoven’s five piano concertos. Against the wonderful background of Leif Ove playing these 5 pieces, we also show how these works offer a new fresh way of examining Beethoven’s life and work. Tickets £10