HM Letter to Parents May 2019

HEADMASTER’S LETTER MAY 2019

T0 PARENTS

Dear Parents This half term has been especially short because of the late Easter and, therefore, the last four and a half weeks have been packed with activity.

Contents Page 1

Pangea Mathematics Competition

Page 2

Cricket

Page 3

Drama

Page 4

Drama

Page 5

Music

Page 6

Music Summer Ball

Page 7

Trip to Germany

Page 8

Schools Karting Championship Meet The Future

Page 9

Speech Day UCAS Evening Staff News

Page 10

Sixth Form Induction Days And Finally

Page 11

Message from the Chaplain

Pangea Mathematics Competition

The Pangea Mathematics Competition is held in twenty-one European countries with the transnational philosophy of “mathematics connects�. In the UK, almost 9,000 pupils from 150 schools took part in the first round. This was the first time Chigwell pupils have entered

the competition and twelve pupils performed amazingly well to qualify for the national finals, which were held at Middlesex University. Faced with some incredibly tricky

questions in a time-pressured test, their enthusiasm and determination was a delight to see. Amidst all the collected brainpower, Justina Nikolayeva (IVM) picked up a spot prize

for the fastest in the room to solve a problem presented by the famous TV Presenter Mr Numbervator and earned her place in the official highlights video of the event.

1

Cricket

We have had a great start to the cricket

The U11s have had an amazing season.

ground staff have prepared fantastic pitches

players who give their very best in all

They are an eager and strong group of

season. With reasonable weather, the

matches. They have worked well and had

for which we are very grateful. The start of

success against all the teams they have

the season brought success for the 1st XI

played – long may their hard work and

with victories over Colchester R.G.S, City of

effort continue.

London and Westminster. The 1st XI have been fully committed to their sports and

The U10s are much the same and are

have proved that later on in life they will be

improving game by game. On the strength

able to achieve a healthy work/life balance,

of this, they now have two home-grown

which is vital for their mind-set and

players who have broken into the Essex

wellbeing.

U10s squad. For many of the Junior School pupils, whatever their gender, there is no

The U15s and U14s have shown a love for the

greater sight than to see the cricketers

game and a willingness to learn new skills.

playing a match on the Top Field square

The Tuesday after-school practice sessions

and not realising that they are playing in

for both year groups have been outstanding,

front of hundreds of people on the biggest

with the attendance being at its highest to

stage in the School.

date. Their commitment to training has

been reflected in their strong performances in matches and overall success as a team.

With this ongoing development, senior

cricket will be in a very strong position in the coming years.

The U13s and U12s have led the older year

groups in terms of victories. However, whilst they have been blessed with natural ability,

let us hope they can keep up the good work

that has improved their skills throughout this

term.

They

have

also

Chigwell School 1st XI in battle again

shown

against Eton College during their annual

commitment to weekend fixtures and have

T20 fixture. It was so good to see the talent

had great support from parents spectating

on show from both teams on the day.

their matches, with a great atmosphere!

2

Drama

This half of term, the KS2 has been in

of KS2 worked very hard to learn their lines

Chocolate Factory� was performed in the

highly entertaining show that ran very

intensive rehearsal. “Charlie and the

and produce a really well-polished and

last two days before half term to packed

smoothly thanks to an excellent backstage

audiences. The elaborate, colourful and

team. Special thanks go to Dr Mireille

mouth-watering set complimented the

Zrinzo for directing a highly ambitious and

equally eye-catching costumes. Many

successful production that had her

thanks to all parents who helped out with

trademark dance routines punctuating this

both of these design elements. The pupils

live production that was loved by all.

3

Drama

4

Music

The standard of both the Upper One and

The Summer Concert surpassed the high

children taking part. The children were

brilliantly entertained a packed New Hall.

expectations

Lower One Proms was high with many

as

student

musicians

The Big Band made a bold start to the

confident and many introduced their items

evening with three numbers: ‘Splanky’ by

gracefully. The Upper One music ranged

Nestico, ‘Li’l Darlin’ by Count Basie and

from Mily La performing a piece by

‘It’s Alright to Disagree’ arranged by Jim

Telemann on violin, to Latif Khan

Martin with vocals by Lisa Maioli and Rosie

performing Beethoven on the piano. The

Singha. Then followed the Rock Band’s

eclectic mix of timpani, cello, guitar,

medley of classic tunes by Queen, Jimi

marimba and drums all added to the

Hendrix and AC/DC – the audience did its

occasion. It was also a pleasure to see the

best to help keep the beat – with vocals by

Prom supported by so many parents. For

Rayn Ismail-Ahluwalia, Harry Mead and

many taking part in the Lower One Prom,

Nathan Mercer. Other large ensemble

this must have been a performance first

work included the Wind Band with Philip

and it was delightful that they performed

Sparke’s ‘Year of the Dragon.’ The String

in such a supportive atmosphere. Leo

Orchestra started with the more formal,

Freeman and then Jack Panayi started

Vivaldi’s ‘Rustic’ Concerto ended with a

proceedings with some excellent piano and

nod to 60s film music by Henry Mancini:

then dynamic guitar. Woody Spraggett’s

‘Moon River’, ‘The Pink Panther’ and the

singing struck a poignant air. Adaora

theme from ‘Peter Gunn.’ The Saxophone

Emechebe showed a range of skills over a

Group presented Philip Buttall’s ‘The Lone

number of instruments. It was so pleasing

Ar-ranger’ and a delightful new edition

to see the start of these children’s musical

appeared in the form of multiple

careers through the Junior School and the

marimbas and vibraphones with the

contrast in the standard of performance as

Senior

the children had another year in school was

Percussion

Ensemble

which

created a gorgeous mesmeric mood with

marked. The progression between Lower

‘Lluvia’ by W Edwards. In contrast, the

One and Upper One was clear and

Senior Drumline transported the audience

heartening. There were so many good

to the silver screen with ‘Movie March’ a

performances and the future looks bright

medley of cinema favourites. Leaving

for music at Chigwell.

5

Music seniors, Georgia Reid and Suli Scatchard performed Four Waltzes for Flute, Clarinet and

Piano (Simon Winters) by Shostakovich. The Flute Group received a rapturous response playing ‘You’ve Got a Friend in Me’ and ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ arranged by Mr Joel Goodman.

Several vocal contributions on the night included solos by Maria Khokhar (‘Poor Unfortunate Souls’ from The Little Mermaid) and Schubert’s ‘Ave Maria’ sung by Baritone, Lucas Abrami-Gill, who won this year’s

‘Young Musician of the Year’ award. A sonorous vocal trio featuring Rosie Singha, Anika Jayanth and Maria Khokhar with an adventurous Pentatonix version of Elvis Presley’s

‘Can’t Help Falling in Love with You,’ not to mention the always thrilling brilliance of our Chapel Choir’s performance of ‘Insanae et Vanae Curae’ by Haydn. Final thanks and goodbyes were given by Mr Howard Ebden for the senior leavers: Maria Khokhar, Lucas

Abrami-Gill, Georgia Reid and Suli Scatchard. As always, thanks go to all those who support music at Chigwell so enthusiastically.

Summer Ball A ticket order form and details of the Summer Ball to be held on the evening of Saturday 6th July have been sent out by SchoolPost. This is always a very popular event and you are urged to apply for tickets as

soon as possible as they are

allocated on a first come first served basis. Please contact

Mrs Tina Page on 020 8501 5711 or tpage@chigwellschool.org

6

Trip to Germany Last weekend, twenty-three Lower Fifth

chambers

visited Munich for a three day GCSE

final day, the students visited the town of political rallies. Seeing the vast spaces that

retraced Hitler’s footsteps by following

were used, and the plans to build even

the route of the 1923 Munich Putsch, an in

which

bigger arenas (the biggest of which was

Hitler

intended to hold 400,000 people) helped

unsuccessfully attempted to take power

students to appreciate how Hitler

by force. The next day, the students were

cultivated such popularity. Visiting these

guided around Dachau, the first Nazi

locations will undoubtedly help students

concentration camp that was built as soon

in their GCSE history exam next year.

as Hitler came to power in 1933. The camp

However, more importantly, it will be an

interned Jews, political prisoners and

experience that they will hopefully

anyone that was considered to be

remember for many years to come.

‘undesirable’ by the Nazi state. Visits to the

parade

square,

barracks,

were

Nuremberg, where the Nazis held their

history trip. On the first day, the students uprising

crematorium

particularly sobering experiences. On the

students and three members of staff

armed

and

gas

7

Schools Karting Championship

Congratulations to Max Mottram and Luke Mottram who, along with George Evans,

qualified for the final of the British Schools Karting Championship which will be held next month.

Meet The Future As part of our “Meet The Future� series of

get to where he is now. James forwarded

their careers, we were lucky enough to

sixth formers interested in following his

an exhaustive list of useful resources for

talks from former students starting out in

example.

host James Mulholland this half term.

James recently graduated from Bristol

with a degree in Philosophy and works in

software development, and is about to begin a new role at the language learning

website www.memrise.com. He gave a

superb talk on his interest in coding and how he pursued this in his spare time to

8

Speech Day

The programme for Speech Day and its related activities will follow the usual format: Friday 5th July Saturday 6th July

2.15pm

Pre Prep, Lower I and Upper I Service in St Mary's Church

3.30pm

Pre Prep, Lower 1 and Upper 1 Garden Party

9.45am

unior School Service at St Mary's Church

11.15am Senior School Service at St Mary's Church 2.30pm

Speeches and Prize Giving in the Marquee

The Guest of Honour at Speech Day this year will be Dr Charlie Laderman who left Chigwell

is 2005. He studied History and Politics at the University of Nottingham and went on to

complete a PhD at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. He was later a Research Fellow at

Peterhouse College, Cambridge, and is currently a lecturer in International History at King’s College, London. His research focuses on the United States and its relations with the wider world. We look forward to welcoming Charlie back to Chigwell.

The preacher at the services on Saturday morning will be Dr Diana Lowry, retired local GP and now a Church of England Lay Reader attached to the Epping District Team Ministry. The preacher at the service on Friday afternoon will be Reverend Gary Scott.

UCAS Evening

Lower Sixth parents and students

parents stayed behind at the end to talk to

Thursday 2nd May. Head of Sixth Form Mr

Dr Gillian Groszewski and Sixth Form Co-

Mr Coppell, Assistant Head of Sixth Form

attended a UCAS information evening on

ordinator and Head of Careers Miss

Simon Coppell gave a presentation

Roxanne Darkin.

outlining the application process to UK

universities. The talk included advice about the personal statement, deadlines, and

Staff News

general advice about getting 18+ decisions

We send our congratulations to Mr Graham

right for students. The Drama Centre was

Sexton and his wife Lynn on the arrival of

packed to capacity and many students and

their baby son Henry.

9

Sixth Form Induction Days

A reminder that the Sixth Form induction day will be on Wednesday 19th June when students will be given a taste of the work that they will be covering in their chosen A

level subjects. This is an important day in itself but also the occasion when a unit of A level work is set to be completed over the summer holidays.

And Finally

I appreciate that some pupils have

remaining GCSEs and A levels to prepare

for over half term and others have internal

exams still to come. However, I hope that you all have a very happy half term and I

look forward to seeing you at some of the many events that take place when we return.

Pupils return after half term on Tuesday 4th June as staff have INSET on Monday

3rd June.

With best wishes Yours sincerely Michael Punt

10

Message from the Chaplain

I hope you have an enjoyable and (where appropriate) restful half-term holiday.

Having Easter at the end of the holidays meant we were in the unusual position of having our Easter services at the end of last term, three weeks before the actual event. The Senior School service focused on the items associated with the Easter story. The cross, crown of thorns, spear etc. were put in context with a Bible reading and then explained by students from the Sixth Form drama class. A simple but very moving account of the story, which finished with a tableau of all the items involved set out in the chancel of St Mary’s.

With all blessings The Chaplain

The start of Trinity Term has seen a dwindling congregation at chapel services as a succession of year groups come and go for exams and study leave.

Most notable was the last regular service with this year’s Middle Sixth when by popular vote we sang ‘Shine Jesus shine’ and ‘Jerusalem’ with huge enthusiasm and gusto. The new Middle Sixth will have a hard act to follow!

11

2019 TTERM DATES 2019 Lent Term Staff meetings and INSET on Monday 7th January Half term: Saturday 25th May to Sunday 2nd June INSET Day Monday 3rd June First day: Tuesday 8th January Term ends: Wednesday 10th July Half term: Saturday 16th February to Sunday 24th February Term ends: Term Wednesday 3rd April Michaelmas Staff meetings and INSET on Monday 2nd and Tuesday 3rd September Trinity Term First day: Wednesday 4th September (Easter Day is 21stSaturday April) 19th October to Sunday 3rd November Half term: First Wednesday 24rd April Termday: ends: Friday 13th December Half term: Saturday 25th May to Sunday 2nd June INSET Day Monday 3rd June Term ends: Wednesday 10th July