28th November 2024David Ayres

Thursday 28th November

Co-headteachers’ welcome

As November draws to a close, we have taken time to reflect on how fortunate we are to lead and work within this special community at Simon Balle. In particular, we would like to thank you – our wonderful parents/carers – for all you do to connect and engage with us. As your children’s first and most important educators, we are always indebted to you for the educational support you provide, whatever the age of your children from 4 to 18. The support may look different as young people grow, but we know that the partnership between home and school remains just as important through every key stage and at every point, so that we can collectively provide that all-important pastoral, academic and holistic support. In this newsletter, we would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to you all. 

So, some stats from the term! Together, you have attended more than 33 after school or evening events since September! These have included information evenings for your child’s year group; curriculum workshops from phonics to meta-cognition; preparation for exciting and upcoming trips; performance clinics in targeted year groups, and both online and in-person parents’ evenings for so many; concerts, musical celebrations and a theatre performance; sporting matches and events; and open events for transition to Reception, Year 7 and Year 12. We are continuing to work hard to communicate as effectively as we can if your child has special educational needs, and we are delighted to have held 39 Calendly meets since September (thank you for your highly positive feedback related to these); we have held, or booked in the remaining weeks for this term, 24 EHCP reviews; and, by the end of this term, we will have reviewed and sent out 215 SEND profiles, designed to ensure a consistency of support for every child, and a shared understanding between home and school. 

Put simply, when we ask for support, we are delighted by the ways you give back. We now have 15 volunteer parent readers in Reception. We have 86 parents signed up to support our PSA with the upcoming Frost Fair, with preparations busily taking place – we know that many, many more will sign up still, and be there to support and enjoy on the day. Last week, there was a different sporting event every single night, with ‘busy Wednesday’ showcasing Year 8, 9, 10 and 11 boys and girls football and netball, at home and away. Across the all-through we are so grateful for parents/carers giving up their time to watch and cheer us on, whatever the weather, and, despite the genuine challenges of our car park, it really won’t be long before we can launch the opening of our sports hall – we cannot wait! Last week, there was a musical concert every single night of the week too, and 25% of our young people – yes, that’s 400 children – took part, some on many evenings. We know that your involvement includes supporting (perhaps sometimes nagging!) practice, carrying heavy instruments up the hill to school, celebrating achievements, investing financially, and attending concerts providing that all-important audience. We couldn’t do it without you. 

As you all know, we have had to establish a school fund this year for the first time, asking for your support financially in really difficult times for education where there is a significant shortfall in all we want to continue to offer and the funding we receive. Once again in this newsletter, we want to thank you, not just for your financial contributions, but for the kind and understanding words shared, where so many of you have reached out to value what we do, and to thank us. 

Often it is the small things that make a difference to both your child/ren and us at Simon Balle. Reading with your child every day in the Larch, to providing a routine and structure to home learning as they grow. Listening to your wonderful young people share tales of excitement and, at times, supporting those difficult parts of the journey to navigate through. And, of course, all of the above continue! It is not too late! Please sign up to the Frost Fair; please continue to give to the school fund if you can; please connect with us across our all-through staff whether with class teachers / form tutors, the SEND team, the music or PE department, sixth form team and much more. 

We very much look forward to the remaining weeks of term, where we know our connection will continue at this special time of year, from the Reception Nativity to Year 12/Year 4 Secret Santa Dash, from collecting for food banks, to Carol services for all ages – thank you for helping us to create the very special ethos that exists here at Simon Balle, and thank you for engaging with us. In the meantime, please do enjoy a restful and happy long weekend.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

There’s a lot planned for December. Please take a few minutes to look at the information below and remember to take a note of the key dates.

Christmas dinner

This is your last chance to buy tickets for this year’s Christmas Dinner. Tickets for Christmas Dinner will be available to purchase via ‘Parent Portal’ until Sunday 1st December. After this date it will not be possible to purchase a ticket.

This year the cost of tickets will be £4.50 for secondary students and £4.25 for primary students. Primary students who have school dinners on a Wednesday will not need to pay for Christmas Dinner as already included in invoice.

A letter outlining the details has been sent home today. You can read the full text of that letter here: 2024 Christmas Dinner letter

Save the Children – Christmas Jumper Day

We’ll be raising funds for Save the Children on their annual Christmas Jumper Day (Thursday Dec 12th). In exchange for a donation via the fundraising link here, students can wear a Christmas jumper instead of their normal school jumper.

PSA Frost Fair

Please come along to our very popular Frost fair on Saturday 7th December. As usual there will be festive games, entertainment and refreshments on offer.

Carol Service

The annual Simon Balle Carol Services are taking place during the last week of term: 

  • Monday 16th December, 7pm – Secondary Carol Service
  • Tuesday 17th December, 6pm – Larch Carol Service

The PSA will serve refreshments before each service. If you are able to volunteer with the serving of refreshments, please sign up here: https://volunteersignup.org/WT7KY 

We ask all our music families to donate a box of mince pies or a packet of shortbread, these should be brought to the music office any day this week.

3rd December – Larch Festive Accessory day.  Wear something seasonal with your uniform in exchange for a bottle, to support the Frost Fair Bottle Tombola.  Please ensure the bottle is unopened and in date!

Now until 6th December – Soft toy donations being accepted to support the Year 1 Teddy Tombola. Please drop off to Larch office. Can you volunteer to run this game?

Now until 6th December – Year 7 House Hamper donations being accepted by form tutors.  Bring in a house coloured item, to go into your form hamper. These will form part of the Winter Raffle. There is a prize for the form with the best hamper!

Now until 6th December – Winter Raffle. Don’t forget to enter our amazing draw! Buy online today.

Now until 6th December – Larch Best Bauble competition.  Free to enter, your beautifully designed bauble could win a £15 voucher for The Entertainer.  All named entries will receive a house point.  See flyer for more information.

6th December – All-through Festive Bake-off.  Will your bake win a £20 Amazon voucher? Please drop nut free named bakes to either school office by 6th December, for house points to be added. Bakes will be voted for and sold at the Frost Fair.

18th December – Jólabókaflóð (Book Flood) in the secondary library. See the poster below for more details.

Art and Design Christmas card House Competition.

Congratulations to the 6 winners on their fabulous designs. These  are in the process of being printed to be sent out on the front of the co- headteachers Christmas cards. Thank You to all the other contributions which will all be sent to our local care homes

Artificial intelligence

This month, staff and Year 12 students have been exploring the exciting and rapidly evolving world of artificial intelligence (AI) and its potential in education. In a recent training session, teachers engaged in professional development focused on the latest advances in AI technology and how it can be integrated to enhance teaching and learning. From using AI to personalise learning experiences to supporting students with targeted resources, staff explored ways to harness AI tools responsibly and effectively within the classroom.

Year 12 students also took part in a session on using AI ethically and responsibly to support their studies. The session provided valuable guidance on how to make the most of AI for revision and learning, such as summarising complex information or generating practice questions. Students were encouraged to see AI as a support tool rather than a substitute for their efforts, learning the importance of critically assessing AI-generated content and ensuring their work genuinely reflects their knowledge and understanding.

Both sessions underscore our commitment to preparing staff and students to navigate AI responsibly, ensuring it becomes a positive addition to our learning community.

Please click here for our latest Careers Opportunities blog

Online safety

Please take a look at this guide to Snapchat: what parents need to know about snapchat

SEND

If you would like to speak to a member of the SEND team you can book a virtual appointment of up to 15 minutes with a member of the SEND team using the following booking link: Booking link

Developing Special Provision Locally (DSPL) 3 have developed an updated website. This aims to provide parents and school with information on Special Educational Needs and Disabilities within the DSPL3 area (Bishop’s Stortford, Hertford, Ware, Buntingford) including details regarding courses that are running. 

There is also a new Facebook page which can be found by searching for ‘DSPL3’.

GCSE Drama Theatre Visit and Workshop

On the 7th November GCSE Drama students visited Beam Theatre to watch a production of Shock Horror by Thunder Road theatre company. Thunder Road’s Shock Horror brings audiences a fresh, edgy take on horror with a wild mix of psychological twists and supernatural scares. Packed with dark humour and nail-biting suspense, this show is aimed at young people to excite them about theatre and explore how we don’t always need to rely on blockbuster movie budgets to create immersive and gripping performances.

Following the performance actor and producer Alex Moran delivered a 2 hour workshop at Simon Balle, culminating in the students creating their own mini horror stories.  Alex previously starred in the acclaimed National Theatre production War Horse and he shared some of his puppetry experience with the students. A fantastic opportunity for our GCSE drama cohort. 

PE News 

November has been a busy month for our students, competing in the District, County and National competitions across a variety of sports. For all our sports updates, please see our November Sports Blog

Sporting achievement

Congratulations to Rex who last weeked signed for Brentford FC Academy. Here is his write-up of the evening:

On Thursday the 14th of November I had my picture day for Brentford FC Academy. It has been a long journey to get to where I am today but I have finally done it and have been able to sign for this fabulous club. On arrival we were welcomed and watched an inspirational presentation given by the academy director. I had my photo taken with the director and some Brentford players, before being taken on a stadium tour by cub legend Marcus Gayle.

Music News

Simon Balle Musicians have been working really hard this month. Six performances in 5 days for 25% of the school! For all of our Musical updates, including our new podcast, Sixth Form enrichment, Year 4 curriculum and much more, please read all about it here: Musical News 2 – November 2024

Simon Balle’s Adult Community Choir – ‘Take Note’ – have their Winter Celebration Concert on Saturday 7th December, 7.30pm at St Andrews’ Church.

 

PSHE/RSE

We are currently reviewing our updated PSHE and RSE Policy, and your input is invaluable to us. These policies aim to ensure we provide a comprehensive, inclusive, and age-appropriate education for all our students. Please click here to view the draft RSE/PSHE Policy.

We would love to hear your thoughts or any suggestions you might have. Please take a moment to share your comments by emailing prendergastc@simonball.herts.sch.uk by 13.12.24.

Thank you for helping us shape an education that reflects the needs of our school community!

Library News

Hertfordshire Libraries Winter Reading Challenge 

The Winter Reads runs until Friday 31st January and is open to Hertfordshire library members of all ages. 

There are two challenges – one for adults and one for children (but you are welcome to do whichever challenge you prefer! They come with 12 suggested reading prompts, ranging from discovering a new author, attending a library event, reading a book from a Winter Reads display…! For children, there are 3 pre-set challenges, and there are 2 for adults. However, you are welcome to swap them out to a different challenge if you prefer.

It doesn’t even need to be one book per challenge – if you read 1 book that covers 2 or more prompts… excellent! That counts too!

After every 2 or 3 prompts, pop into the library to get your challenge stamped.

If you complete all 6 challenges and have them stamped in your local library, you are eligible to enter the prize draw to win an iPad! All you have to do is fill in a Winter Reads Prize Draw Card to confirm your entry.

There are lots of adults Winter Reads events coming up, which can be found on the website: Winter Reads | Hertfordshire County Council. As for Winter Reads children’s events: Einstein The Penguin with Iona Rangeley on 25th January at Welwyn Garden City Library at 11am. Details here: Winter Reads for children: Einstein the Penguin with Iona Rangeley | Hertfordshire County Council

Parent Staff Association

Frost Fair 7th December – volunteers

Please support our Frost Fair on Saturday, 7th December by volunteering just an hour of time.  What we can offer depends on how many sign ups we receive.

Student sign ups will receive house points and entered into a draw to win a £20 Amazon voucher.

Each year group of the all-through will be responsible for running a specific area, coordinated by the PSA. However, you’re welcome to sign up to help in any area that suits you best.

  • Reception – Hook-a-bauble
  • Year 1 – Teddy Tombola
  • Year 2 – Snowball Scavenge
  • Year 3 – Splat-the-sprout
  • Year 4 – Money Tree
  • Year 5 – Nerf Splat & win a Stanley Cup/AirUp
  • Year 6 – Human Bauble Machine
  • Year 7 – Gingerbread/biscuit/cupcake decorating/creative room
  • Year 8 – Festive bake off
  • Year 9 – Boba bar
  • Year 10/11/12/13 – Prize Table

To help with your volunteer planning, we can share that Mrs Cox’s dance group and the choirs will be performing as follows:

  • 1pm Mrs Cox’s dance group.
  • 1.30pm Secondary Choir.
  • 2pm Larch Choir, years 4, 5 and 6.
  • 2.30pm Larch Choir, years 2 and 2.
  • 3pm Mrs Cox’s dance group.

Dates for your diary

A full calendar of events can be viewed on the school website.

  • Fri 29th Nov and Mon 2nd Dec: Occasional days – school closed
  • Tues 3rd Dec: Y11 mock exams start
  • Tues 3rd Dec: Y3 trip to Hertford Museum
  • Tues 3rd Dec: Y9 student consultation evening (face to face)
  • Wed 4th-Fri 6th Dec: Y12 Geography field trip to Manchester
  • Thurs 5th Dec: Y12 performance clinic
  • Sat 7th Dec: PSA Frost Fair, 1-4pm
  • Thurs 12th Dec: Christmas Jumper Day, Y4/Y12 Santa Dash
  • Thurs 12th Dec: Y12 student consultation evening (virtual)
  • Mon 16th Dec: Secondary Carol Service, All Saints Church, 7pm
  • Tues 17th Dec: Secondary Christmas dinner
  • Tues 17th Dec: Larch Carol Service, All Saints Church, 6pm
  • Wed 18th Dec: Larch Christmas dinner
  • Friday 20th Dec: Last day of term, early finish; early finish 12pm Secondary; 12.15pm Lar

 

Mrs Rachel Kirk and Mr Michael Moss (Co-headteachers)