On Sunday and Monday, 136 members of Year 10 will be embarking on their Bronze practice expedition. They will be out in the Chilterns for two days with an overnight camp either in Chesham (Green half) or Hemel Hempstead (Blue half). They have worked hard to prepare for this venture, completing training modules on kit, food, countryside code, teamwork, first aid, navigation and stove use. The weather is looking fine and dry. All details have been communicated via ParentMail and Google Classroom. The Bronze practice expedition is, in many ways, the biggest challenge for many of our students who may never have done anything like this before. There will be a detailed report in next week’s Sandprint of how they got on but follow us on Twitter for photos and updates on @SandringhamDofE

Ms Cuneen will also be delivering an assembly to Year 9 next week introducing the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award to them. A letter will be sent home, via ParentMail, following the assembly with information about the Information evening for Year 9 which will take place on Thursday 24th May at 6.30 in the school hall. Please do come along if you would like to hear more.

Before our Year 11s finished for their exams, they spent a productive session planning routes for their Qualifying expedition to the Peaks District in July.  The expedition takes place from 7-9th July and will be based near Matlock. Many groups have planned routes which take in the picturesque grounds of Chatsworth House and the beautiful area around Youlgreve. We are hoping for fabulous weather for their final event of the school year.

We have some exciting new vacancies for support staff and teaching staff roles here

Thursday 26th May is National Thank a Teacher Day. If you'd like to show your appreciation foryour favourite teaching/ support staff at Sandringham School and win prizes for Sandringham you can:

• Send a free limited edition personalised thank you e-card including your own message here
• Post a thank you to schools and colleges on your social channels using #ThankaTeacherDay
• Find out more here

We'd love for parents and students to get involved in thanking teachers or support staff whom they feel have gone above and beyond in what has been another difficult year so please feel free to participate as above or let us know on the admin email address if you would like us to mention anyone. 

Over the last few months, a number of our students in Years 7 and 8 and have been taking part in the MFL Spelling Bee - a national competition with various knock-out rounds, and a final held at Cambridge University. 

In round 1, students were asked to learn a number of common words and short phrases in French, German or Spanish and they competed to see how many of those words they could spell correctly in 1 minute.  In the next round, not only did the number of words increase, but the students also had to spell them in the alphabet of their foreign language.  This is a difficult thing to do, but the with the help of Sixth Form language students, they practised the alphabets and their hard work paid off.  The students rose to the challenge admirably and performed brilliantly on the day.  Sadly, we did not make it to the next round on this occasion, but it was a great experience nonetheless.  Particular congratulations go to Emma S, Gabby R and Alice G, our top scorers in round 2, who each scored 6 words correctly in a minute. 

Well done to all participants:

Round 1: Emma S, Walid S, Alice W, Layla J, Oliver L, Oliver S, Thomas H, Stefan C, Gabby R, Emilea H, Deepto B, Rose M, Alice G, James B, James P, Katie B

Round 2: Katie B, James P, James B, Alice G, Rose M, Emilea H, Gabby R, Emma S

This week’s whole school theme is teamwork. Teamwork is the collaborative effort of a group to achieve a common goal or to complete a task in the most effective and efficient way. Our students take part in a large number of activities which demand teamwork but we don’t always support them to maximise their effectiveness. The students received a brilliant assembly from Mr Davies about the benefits of working in a team and how to be a valuable team member. We hope that the students feel more confident when working in a team in the future and experience more academic and extracurricular success as a result.

Calling all parents and carers! We are currently allocating students to work experience placements. There are a few students we have yet to allocate to an organisation and we are hoping you might be able to help us! Can you support a year 10 work experience student from 13th - 17th June? We would love to hear from you. Thank you, the Careers Team (eadyc@mysandstorm.org)

Another Student Spotlight this week featuring the fantastic Bella, Liv and Eda who played in the HGFPL U15 Div1 League Cup Finals on Saturday.  They lost narrowly to Ruislip 1-2 in a competitive final but the team have also qualified for the County Cup Final later this month! Amazing work and we wish you all the best for the Final.

If you would like your child featured in the Student Spotlight please email admin@sandringham.herts.sch.uk with a few details and/or photographs. 

Congratulations to all of our young musicians who performed at our Junior Recital Evening on Monday. There were some outstanding performances and you showcased the talent of Sandringham School brilliantly! Thank you to everyone who came to support them.

Thinking of studying Mathematics or a Maths related subject at University? Many of the top universities require entrance examinations and Mr Mauldridge is running lunchtime advanced problem solving for Sixth Form students. Please email the admin address FAO Mrs Chopping for information.

If your child is going on the school trips to France or Germany, we look forward to seeing you at the meetings in the Sandpit theatre as detailed below.  It is important that your child attends the meeting with you, although school uniform is not required to be worn.

Please note that the Covid regulations for entering France and Germany differ, so please check the information below for the correct trip.

FRANCE:  Information evening at 6:30pm on Tuesday 7th June 2022 in the Sandpit.  If not already submitted, please bring the following to the meeting to be handed in:

• Passport
• Copy of passport on A4 paper
• Completed OV7a medical form
• Valid Covid pass confirming your child has had 2 or more vaccinations (ensure that this is valid for the duration of the trip i.e. until 17th June) https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/nhs-covid-pass/get-an-nhs-covid-pass/

or confirmation that you will supply a negative PCR test result taken less than 72hrs before departure or an antigen test less than 48hrs before departure.  PCR/antigen tests must be from this list of approved accredited providers: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/list-of-private-providers-of-coronavirus-testing/list-of-private-providers-of-coronavirus-testing

Self-administered tests whose results are not certified by an approved private test provider (e.g. free tests provided by the NHS) are not valid for travel.

• Completed declaration agreement

GERMANY: There will be an information evening at 6:30pm on Monday 6th June 2022 in the Sandpit.  If not already submitted, please bring the following to the meeting to be handed in:

• Passport
• Copy of passport on A4 paper
• Completed OV7a medical form
• Valid Covid pass confirming your child has had 2 or more vaccinations (ensure that this is valid for the duration of the trip i.e. until 17th June) https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/nhs-covid-pass/get-an-nhs-covid-pass/
• Completed declaration agreement

Last Thursday to Saturday, the Year 12 Gold DofE students went to the Peak District for their expedition training. The weather was very good apart rain overnight. Training took place on a variety of terrain and in different areas of the Peak District over the 3 days. Students developed their navigation skills when following routes off paths and improved their navigation using a compass and pacing. It was also an excellent opportunity to develop their teamwork and campcraft skills. Their Practice expedition is next week in the Brecon Beacons.

STEM and Futures trip to RAF Fairford Trip 15th July 2022 – letter 187/2022 on our website

Please note that we have amended the due date for payments for the above trip to 3pm Monday 16th May 2022. Should you wish your child to attend please make your payment via ParentPay by this date.

Images of the black hole at the centre of our galaxy (pictured below) have been obtained for the first time. Known to astronomers as Sagittarius A*,the object is 4 million times the mass of our sun. Students who are interested in finding out more will find the story covered by BBC News here

Closer to home, the ever popular Year 7 Science Club continues to attract new members. This week they investigated the behaviour of liquids of different densities (pictured)

Finally, members of the Year 8 Future Tech Club continue to meet each week to develop their programming skills. It would be a great leadership opportunity if Year 10 or Year 12 students wanted to help run the club. Anyone interested should contact Mr Tattersall.

This week we feature two amazing swimmers who continue to impress us with their fantastic achievements.

At a recent awards ceremony, Lauren P in Year 10 received best female aged 14/15 years for Harrow swimming club, fastest female in the 400m & 800m freestyle and 400M. She has also been picked to play for the under 17’s Great British team in the Europeans in July for Octopush. Well done Lauren on such a plethora of medals! 

Nathanial M in Year 11 also recently had a great streak winning for his age group: Regional Gold Medal for the 50m Backstroke, Regional Silver Medal for the 100m Backstroke, Regional Gold Medal for the Boys 4x100m Freestyle Relay, Regional Silver Medal for the boys 4x200m Freestyle Relay. He also made finals in the 200m Freestyle, 50m Fly, 100m Freestyle and the 50m Freestyle! He has also just been invited to compete in the British Swimming Summer Championships in July in Sheffield, in the 50m and 100m backstroke, ranking him in the top 24 fastest boys of his age in the country. Well done Nathanial!

Both such impressive achievements for Lauren and Nathanial and we know the hard work and commitment it takes to get to this level so really well done to both of them

Our last lesson with our Year 11 Dance students involved fun exercises, singing and dancing to Taylor Swift and lots of Just Dance (and cake!). Miss Davies and Miss Wilson wish you all the best of luck in your exams – and don’t be strangers next year!

Every term, Directors of Learning nominate students in each year group who have excelled in their particular subject. These are included on the termly Roll of Honour and displayed on boards in each Faculty area. Students are also given a certificate to reward them for their outstanding work and receive house points on ePraise. Each Faculty also nominates a Star Student who has gone above and beyond in their subject. A huge congratulations to all the winners of the Spring Term 2022 Roll of Honour awards, you should be very proud of all your hard work.

Young Actor's Tour 2022

Next week, our fantastic company of Year 7 actor's will be touring their production of The Wizard of Oz. They have worked incredibly hard and are excited to share their work with local primary school's when they venture out on Wednesday. For families with children participating in the event, all details of the logistics surrounding the tour can be found on the letter that was sent out recently. For any other queries, please contact Miss Arif. Good luck to everyone involved!

FRENCH: Le mot de la semaine- élucider

GERMAN: Das Wort der Woche- etwas klarstellen

SPANISH- La palabra de la semana- elucidar

Thinking Questions

•  The English, French and Spanish translations are all very similar – why might the German be different?
•  How do languages evolve over time?

E is for… elucidate  [verb]

Definition: Make (something) clear; explain.

Example: Work such as theirs will help to elucidate this matter

Synonyms: Enlighten, Exemplify, Illuminate

Antonyms: Complicate, Confuse, Obscure

Etymology: From the Latin ‘elucidat’ ELUCIDARE meaning made clear.

World Class Schools have have partnered with LinkedIn to offer live sessions for Year 12/13 students on how to build a World Class profile. Students can attend their virtual Linkedin session on Thursday 19th May @ 3.30pm to learn more about setting up a World Class LinkedIn profile from the experts. Sessions last around 45 minutes and you can find out more and join here 

Monday 9th May, a date that will go down in the Sandringham Sport history books. Our Senior Boys ‘B’ football team played in the ESFA National Cup Final this Monday 9th May vs Brooke House College from Blaby & Harborough Leicestershire. The day started with a 7:30am leave from school for the Squad in two mini buses. The rest of the Schools following of around 200 students and staff were scheduled to leave at 11am after break. After a few service station stops the team arrived at the BET365 Stadium home Stoke City FC, about an hour early the boys were allowed to enter the stadium to watch the game that was being played before theirs, the U16 Elite Cup final between Forest School (Berkshire) vs Cardinal Neenan (Liverpool).

2:15 PM, an hour and 15 minutes before kick off the squad left the stadium and travelled to Stoke City’s training dome to warm up and prepare themselves with a tight schedule to be back at the stadium for 3:15. Once back in the stadium it was time to make history no matter what the result. It is the first time a Sandringham Football team has ever made a National Cup Final having never gone further than the Last 16. As presentations for the match before were carried out the team were allowed to warm up on the far side of the pitch.

The match kicked off and it was clear from the first minute the team were in for a tough test, it took 13 minutes for the deadlock to be broken and Brooke House to take the lead. The flood gates then opened and the boys found themselves 4-0 down by 25 minutes. Our opponents Brooke House are a selective independent school with a football academy who train over 30 hours a week and this clearly showed in their dominant performance. Credit to the Sandringham boys who, in front of 200 travelling fans who were in great voice for the entire game, never gave up.  The final score would read Brooke House 6-0 Sandringham.

The result didn’t go our way but what a season and achievement for the boys and a memory that they will have for the rest of their lives. Mr Bailey said he was ‘Proud of every single one of them not just for their resilience on the day but the effort and the way they have carried themselves throughout the season.’ Well done boys

Quite a few bits of tennis news today.

St Albans School hosted the Herts Div1 and 2 Group tennis matches over the weekend. The As were excellent in their performances with the Bs having a competitive match and both taking the win. Well played boys!

There was also a good win for the U15 girls tennis team over STAHS! 6-6 after singles and doubles but a dominant 10-1 win in the shoot out. 

Our U13 boys and girls squads went to Cambridge University for the Regional Handball Finals on Wednesday. The boys played well and made it through to the semi final where they had a tough against a well organised team. The firls finished their league format on a high with a good 2-1 win! A fantastic achievement for both teams to get that far. Well done to all involved!

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!

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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

This amazing documentary follows artist Preston Zeller, who feels compelled to take on a year-long creative project after the sudden death of his 35-year-old brother. Preston decides to create an intuitive abstract painting every day for 365 days as a way to process his grief and he shares the ups and downs of this momentous challenge in the film.

Following the screening there will be a Q & A with filmmaker and artist, Preston Zeller and clinical director of the Art Therapy Project, Lindsay Lederman

This film is presented by Zellerhaus Art and The Art of Grieving as part of The Art of Grieving Festival 2022 in St Albans.  All proceeds from the screening will go to Rennie Grove Hospice Care

Tickets £10

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

The lineup includes Finn Taylor (Live at the Apollo) / Jess Fostekew (Live at the Apollo) / Arielle Souma (So You Think You're Funny Finalist) / Chris Norton Walker ("This is a guy who could probably inject atmosphere into a vacuum..." - Notts Comedy Review).

Please note the lineup maybe subject to change.

Tickets are on sale now for just £12.50 each.