Headlines

Welcome back and I hope you all had a lovely Christmas this year, despite the ongoing complications with Covid.

Staff had an excellent training day on Wednesday, focussing on relationships and how these are key to delivering effective learning. The evaluations reflect how highly staff valued the various sessions and I am sure these will further strengthen the quality of teaching and support provided to all students.

Throughout the day on Thursday, we tested 1100 students thanks to a large team of volunteers and staff who spent the day delivering the testing programme. There were around 35 initial positives, and these students had to be sent home for further testing. We do know that the in-school tests are very sensitive, and that children who have had Covid within 90 days can now be part of the testing programme which may have affected the outcomes. However, it is good to know that the vast majority of students were clear of the virus at the time of testing. I would like to congratulate the students who were wonderful and participated without fuss, helping the process go smoothly and thank Mr Nicholls and all the volunteers for their work. A reminder that this is simply a snap-shot on one day of the current situation, and that it is vital students test twice weekly. If you need further testing kits, then these are available from the school. We will continue to provide these to students on a regular basis.

We have reviewed all of the events for this half term and made some adjustments in light of the latest Covid outbreak, whilst being mindful to keeping the highest quality of activities as possible. The first of these is next Tuesday evening, our Into the Sixth Open Evening for all Year 11 students. Detailed information about this evening has been sent to all Year 11 students, and is available on the school web site. If you prefer not to attend in person, then all of the information can be accessed on-line on our web site during the evening. We look forward to helping students with their future choices and preparing for the next steps in their learning.

To finish, I thought I would include a photograph of a lovely new initiative called "Paired Reading" which started today. Twenty nine Year 12 students have been trained and paired with Year 7 students to spend 30 minutes reading together every Friday. This is an excellent mentoring opportunity for the Year 12 students and helps to foster a love of reading for all age groups whilst building relationships across the school. We are sure that all of the students will gain a lot from this experience and thank you to Ms Bulbeck for organising.

I look forward to working with everyone this term, and hope that it is as exciting and enjoyable as always.    

Mr A Gray
Headteacher

Upcoming Dates

11th Jan - 6:15 PM Into the Sixth Evening (6.30pm start)
13th Jan - 6:30 PM RSHE and Personal Development online information evening
17th Jan - 4:00 PM Year 11 PTC Virtual
20th Jan - Extended Learning Day #3
27th Jan - 4:00 PM Year 13 PTC

Absence Line

Phone: 01727 799564

Absence Email: (Available 24 hours) absence@sandringham.aat.school

Please report ALL absences before 9:15am on the first day of absence and every morning thereafter.

Mr S Kemp
Assistant Headteacher

Headteacher Commendations

Aspiration

Abdullah I12TRMaths
Beth Y8TEnglish
Francesco C12EMaths
Henry O12HMaths
Jasmine R12HMaths
Joseph B12FComputer Science
Jumanah Z9AFrench
Lily T12AMaths
Sarah S12NMaths
Ty W12TRMaths

Confidence

Aaron W9A French
Frieda C12N Dance
Jasmine R12H Dance
Jess P12S Dance
Kia M9A Art
Leila K13HP Dance
Lily H11S Dance
Lola S12F Dance
Megan H13F Dance
Sophie V11S Dance
Yukta C13H Dance

Initiative

Integrity

School News

YEAR 11 NEWS

We hope that Year 11 had a restful break after a busy end to the Autumn Term. A quick reminder of a few important dates coming up for them.

Monday 10th January- 2:30pm- Y11 students will receive their mock exam results in the Main Hall

Tuesday 11th January- 6.15pm arrival for 6.30pm start - Into the Sixth Evening in the Main Hall

Monday 17th January 4pm onwards- Y11 Virtual PTC

CAREERS NEWS

Year 11 “You’re Hired!” Careers Event

We are still very short on volunteers for our next careers event, Year 11’s “You’re Hired!” on Thursday 20th January. If you, or anyone you know, can join us for part or all of the day to help with Mock Interviews, Interview Debriefs, or CV Surgery, then please email Binh Tang, Careers Coordinator at admin@sandringham.herts.sch.uk.

The day will provide students with a great opportunity to learn about the world of work, including different pathways into employment, creating a great CV, and interview best practices. Your help and support on the day will be greatly appreciated.

Ms B Tang

HOUSE NEWS

Welcome back to a new term, with new opportunities to gain house points through rewards, events and in club participation. 

Well done to Hepworth who have kept their lead even with a profitable couple of days back for Fawcett. We look forward to seeing how the leaderboard changes over the term!

Mr A Cracknell

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

This week we feature one of our lovely Year 7 students who spent a day during the Christmas holidays doing something wonderful in the community. Conrad from 7A went out to pick up litter from around the local area.  It was a great way to improve his observation skills, learn the environmental impact that litter would have, look after the local community, work as a team and get some fresh air!  He noticed the most picked up items were sweet wrappers, McDonalds packaging and face masks, as well as tins and bottles which were put into recycling.  Conrad mentioned that he felt appreciation for those that pick up litter for a living, but also a sense of pride at his own handiwork when he passed the areas the following day.  He is aiming to do a litter pick again in the Spring. Amazing work Conrad! We love to hear about our students going above and beyond and hope that he inspires other students to do the same.

If you would like your son/daughter to be featured in the Student Spotlight please email details to the admin address or melissa.holian@sandringham.herts.sch.uk 

VACANCIES

We have quite a few teaching and support staff vacancies at the moment. 

Please go to our website for more details and closing dates. 

Mrs K Ward

RHSE/PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT NEWS

The school has remodelled its provision for the delivery of Relationships, Sex & Health Education through Personal Development lessons over the past year. As advertised at the end of last term, there will be an online information evening on Thursday 13 January 2022 from 6:30pm  to provide some details of these changes and answer any questions that parents may have about the area. If you would like to register your interest in attending please email mark.nicholls@sandringham.herts.sch.uk and a link will be sent to you ahead of the evening.

Mr M Nicholls

DANCE NEWS

The annual dance show is soon approaching, and the Dance department are busy completing routines and finalising plans. Any major changes that arise in the next few weeks will be communicated as soon as possible to all involved, but fingers crossed this won't be the case!

Thank you to all for completing the consent and order form. This is the final push for the last few to be completed by Wednesday 12th January. 

Tickets are selling out fast! Book yours now at the Sandpit Theatre website (before it's too late!). 

 

Miss A Davies

LRC NEWS

According to many reports, children who read fiction regularly, get a grade higher in their GCSE's – across the curriculum. As exams are written in English, students need to understand precisely what the questions are asking and then write (in good English) their answer. If the person marking the exam does not understand their answer, so it is important that they have a wide range of vocabulary.

We feel that the best thing a student can do to help with their studies and grades, is to read fiction regularly to advance their literacy skills. Literacy is given a high priority at Sandringham School and therefore we ask all students in KS3 to read fiction books for about 10 minutes a night or at least 30 minutes a week. This can easily be incorporated into their routine as they just need to go to bed 10 minutes early and turn off their devices (Computers, phones, T.V.) and read. This has the added benefit of removing them from the blue light that affects sleep and helps them to switch off from the worries of the day.

We ask parents to help their children to get into a good routine with this, as their New Year’s Resolution. Keep reading!

Ms J Kirby

Literacy News

SANDRINGHAM READ: Playing to the Gallery by Grayson Perry

Now Grayson Perry is a fully paid-up member of the art establishment, he wants to show that any of us can appreciate art. ‘Playing to the Gallery’ is a funny, personal journey through the art world. The book answers the basic questions that might occur to us in an art gallery but that we're too embarrassed to ask. Questions such as: What is "good" or "bad" art--and does it even matter? Is art still capable of shocking us or have we seen it all before? And what happens if you place a piece of art in a rubbish dump?

 

Ms K Bulbeck

WORD OF THE WEEK TRANSLATED

FRENCH: Le mot de la semaine- La nouveauté

GERMAN: Das Wort der Woche- Die Neuartigkeit

SPANISH- La palabra de la semana- La novedad

Thinking Questions

  • What are the effects of globalisation on the languages spoken across the world?
  • Why does German capitalise its nouns?
Miss F Baikie

Word of the Week

N is for… novelty [noun]

Definition: The state or quality of being novel, new, or unique; newness.

Example: The novelty of springtime may also give us a dopamine hit

Synonyms: Freshness, Innovation, Uniqueness

Antonyms: Habit, Stagnation

Etymology: From the Old French word ‘novel’ meaning new.

PE News

UPCOMING FIXTURES

Mr A Cracknell

Sandpit Theatre

Saturday 12th February – Spontaneous Potter 2:30pm (8+) & 7:30pm (16+)

Grab your wands, don your house robes, and apparate yourselves to the box office! A very magical improv show awaits...

The smash hit Spontaneous Potter is an entirely improvised Harry Potter comedy play, based on an audience suggestion of a fanfiction title. Hilarity ensues as an entirely new Potter adventure is magically improvised on the spot - with live musical accompaniment!

Running Time: 60 minutes

Tickets: 2:30pm - £12 / £10 or 7:30pm - £16 / £14

Miss A Carter-Downing

Welcome to our 20th anniversary year as we celebrate The SandPit Theatre turning 20 years old this December!

We can’t wait to see you back through our doors and we have some exciting shows and films coming up for you this season!

All the latest performances are on our website, www.sandpittheatre.co.uk, and you can keep up to date with what’s going on by giving us a follow either on Instagram & Twitter or give us a like on Facebook, just search for The SandPit Theatre!

Miss A Carter-Downing

Saturday 12th March – St Albans Comedy Club – 7:30pm

Chuckle. In association with The Sandpit Theatre bring you the very best in live standup comedy.

Enjoy some of the biggest names in comedy along with our favourite handpicked artists.

Tonight’s lineup includes Sandringham School alumni Nick Helm (Live at the Apollo, 8 Out of 10 Cats) / Esther Manito (Live at the Apollo) / Ben Norris (Mock the Week, “. unbelievably brilliant” - Jason Manford) / Mark Row (A1: The Long Road to Edinburgh on Amazon Prime)

Please note the lineup maybe subject to change.

Tickets are on sale now for just £16.50 each

Miss A Carter-Downing

We now sell and accept Theatre Tokens! You can use these tokens to purchase tickets for any of our shows or buy them as gifts to be used at over 260 venues nationwide and in the West End all while supporting theatres including us!

Following Government guidelines, you must wear a face covering while attending The SandPit Theatre and must present a valid NHS COVID Pass or proof of a Negative Lateral Flow Test if aged over 18, unless you are exempt as stated in these guidelines. If you do not wear a mask or do not have a valid NHS Covid Pass/Lateral Flow Test result, you will be refused entry and your ticket will be forfeited.

Our Bar will be open during these performances for drinks and snacks but please note we will only be accepting card payments. Alcohol is available for sale 30 minutes before the shows begin. The box office is open from 11.30am – 3.30pm Monday, Wednesday & Friday. Alternatively, you can call us on 01727 799565 or visit www.sandpittheatre.co.uk

Miss A Carter-Downing

Thursday 3rd February – Saturday 5th February – Velocity – 7pm & 2pm Matinee

It’s back!  Sandringham Dance Faculty bring you the ever-growing Velocity Dance Show.  Sure to be an absolute showstopper of a show it is not one you want to miss.

Tickets (VIP) £10/£7

Other seating - £8/£6

Miss A Carter-Downing