Ditcham Newsletter - Friday 15th
September
Dear Parents
The first full week back has been action packed. Our Yr11 students met representatives from a wide range of Sixth Forms and Colleges at our Further Education Fair on Tuesday. On Thursday we welcomed back two former students who are both studying Modern Languages at Degree Level. Sacha is at Oxford University and Flo at the University of Newcastle. They explained to pupils in Seniors that their love of languages started at Ditcham and continued at College and now at University. They both have exciting plans to spend a period living and working abroad in Europe and South America as part of their degree courses.
I would like to thank in advance all pupils who have signed up for the Butser Hill Challenge on Sunday. Parents are welcome to run for the staff team in the Open event.
Wishing all families an enjoyable weekend
Graham Spawforth Headmaster
Headmaster Awards, Merits and Results
Congratulations to all the Junior Merit winners this week. Senior Merits have yet to be awarded...
Music grades
Well done to our school musicians who took exams over the summer period - some very impressive results!
Reading Together - the Ditcham Park Book Club
We are very excited to be launching our reading initiative - Reading Together. The aim is to encourage families to read an age-appropriate book together and to provoke discussion and conversation. Our specialist teachers have selected books suitable for Juniors and Seniors and each week, we will provide you with some thoughts to talk about as you read through the text.
We hope you enjoy delving into these wonderful books, there is definitely something magical in losing yourself in a story for a short while....
For Juniors (Lower, Middle and Upper) we are recommending Windrush Child.
Future Ready for Uppers!
This week Uppers have been looking at CV writing. They have been identifying what makes a good CV and what will make them stand out from the crowd! Pupils have highlighted their hobbies and linked them to what skills, strengths and qualities this helps them to have. They have been working hard on linking their personal qualities to a chosen leadership role in Uppers. Please read a couple of excerpts below:
Huw wrote, “I enjoy football, basketball, dodgeball, and cricket so I am very fit and confident. I enjoy playing sport because it gives me hand eye coordination and good timing. If there is a challenge I will take it.”
Alice wrote, “I am flexible because I play tennis at my club, but I can also play other sports including netball, hockey, cricket and basketball. These traits give me speed, fitness and make me a good team player as well as a good solo sport player. I think all these qualities would make me a good Sport or House Captain.”
Upper Junior pupils will have an opportunity to put themselves forward for a leadership role in the coming weeks.
Mr Ainsworth and Mrs MotherseleMaths Madness
In maths, Mrs Tanner and her group consolidated their knowledge of Place Value, before partitioning numbers in as many ways as they could think of! Felt tip pens, counters and pencils were used to help them understand Part Whole models, number sentences and the many Bar Models that surrounded everyone. It is fair to say Bar Models were the favourite, especially when the children were allowed to draw them on the windows (once they had ensured each was possible, using felt tip pens!)
Mrs Tanner
Roald Dahl Day 2023
On Wednesday it was National Roald Dahl Day and pupils in Juniors experienced a variety of exciting activities to remind us of the creative way this eminent writer engages his audience. Some pupils
created and wore super revolting beards. They worked on alliteration and filled the beards with a wide variety of food.
Whilst Upper Junior pupils thought about Charlie and The Chocolate Factory and created some excellent suspense writing linked to the excitement of winning a Golden ticket. All pupils were enthusiastic about this task, especially when it was announced that they would have to develop their descriptive language by opening a chocolate wrapper – and eating the content! Whether it is English, Maths or the Arts, Roald Dahl books certainly continue to inspire children at Ditcham.
Please read how your child enjoyed this special day and enjoy the photographs.
Julie MotherselePrep have had an action packed start to the academic year. We have enjoyed revisiting place value in Maths and developing our understanding of tens and ones. We have also investigated different combinations of numbers to make 10 and 20 and enjoyed making paper chains to illustrate some single digit number sentences. Don’t they look fabulous!
To celebrate Roald Dahl Day, we thoroughly enjoyed listening to the story of “The Enormous Crocodile” . We discussed the secret plans and clever tricks the crocodile came up with to capture a juicy child, and selected our favourite ones. There were lots of giggles about the sneaky but unsuccessful crocodile! After sharing these with the class, we then drew and wrote about our favourite trick. Tracey created a beautiful display of all the crocodile’s plans and tricks and we hope you enjoy reading Heath, Ollie and Margot’s work.
We started our Modern Foreign Languages journey this year by saying “Bonjour” to all our friends. It was great fun and some of the children even greeted their Bushcraft instructor after school in French! We also loved watching an episode of “Mimi la Souris” where we were delighted to understand Mimi and her friend Tallulah saying “Bonjour” to each other!
Well done Prep!
Roald Dahl Time!
This week in Transition the children have been immersing themselves in Roald Dahl’s ‘The BFG’ . Along with listening to the story attentively and finding out what happens to Sophie, the children have been creating their own Frothbungling Giants, just like Roald Dahl did in his story. The children were encouraged to create a terrible looking giant, thinking about how they look, behave and act. As you can see from the pictures, some of these giants are truly terrifying. In addition to this the children created a headband with huge ears attached to represent the BFG.
Pupils in Pre-Prep have started listening to The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me by Roald Dahl and have made some beautiful collages of the Tinkle Tinkle Trees from the story. These trees have the wonderful pink and purple blossom that is the only thing the Giraffe can eat.
‘’Watch Carefully the next time you see a hairy man eating his lunch and you will notice that even if he opens his mouth very wide, it is impossible for him to get a spoonful of beef stew or ice-cream and chocolate sauce into it without leaving some of it on the hairs.
Mr Twit didn’t even bother to open his mouth wide when he ate. As a result (and because he never washed) there were always hundreds of bits of old breakfasts and lunches and suppers sticking to the hairs around his face. ‘’ The Twits by Roald Dahl.
Middles, or should I say a class full of Twits, created and wore super revolting beards. They worked on alliteration and filled the beards with a wide variety of food. We had: wiggly, wet worms; slimy, slobbery, stinky, soggy, soapy sausage; mouldy, mushy mango; burnt, browning, blotchy banana.
Seniors
Reading Together - the Ditcham Park Book Club
We are very excited to be launching our reading initial - Reading Together. The aim is to encourage families to read an age-appropriate book together and to provoke discussion and conversation. Our
specialist teachers have selected books suitable for Juniors and Seniors and each week, we will provide you with some thoughts to talk about as you read through the text.
We hope you enjoy delving into these wonderful books, there is definitely something magical in losing yourself in a story for a short while....
For children and families in Form 1-3 we recommend We Got Lost in Dreamland
For children and families in Form 4-5 we recommend Memphis
Watch this space for discussion points as we go through the term!
For the love of languages
We welcomed back former pupils Sacha Fairweather and Flo Butler who are currently studying Modern Languages at Oxford and Newcastle universities, respectively. The girls spent some time with a Y8 languages class and were then interviewed by Head Boy, Finley Brett and Head Girl Blossom Mifsud asking them about their love of languages which started when they were pupils at Ditcham
and has lead them to exciting trips abroad. The whole Senior School thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon and were inspired by the girls' learning journey.
More MFL updates
A great result for Thomas Klemm (10D) who sat his GCSE German at the end of the summer when he was in Form 3 and got a grade 7. Gut gemacht, Thomas!
Spanish students (Forms 3-5) will be going to Sierra de Gredos in October and a place has just become available for anyone wishing to come. Please get in touch with Mrs Bond if your child is interested in taking up this space. An information evening will be announced soon.
Mr Swabey held an information evening this week for his forthcoming French Exchange trip. Its safe to say that everyone is really looking forward to the opportunity!
On Tuesday 12th September, a very successful Careers and Further Education Information Evening was held in the Martin Pryce Building. Year 11 students and their parents were invited to attend a brief presentation about the careers provision available at Ditcham Park School, followed by an opportunity to speak to several local 6th Form Schools and Colleges. These included: HSDC: Alton, Havant & South Downs College Campuses, Godalming College, Peter Symonds College, Portsmouth Grammar School, Bishop Luffa School, Churcher’s College, Bedales School, Bohunt School, Lancing College, Alton School, Portsmouth High School, Sparsholt College, Cranleigh School, Seaford College and Oaklands School. Our Independent Careers Advisor was also present for Year 11 and their parents to speak to. This was an exceptional opportunity for Year 11 students and their parents to hear from the local colleges and schools about what they offer post 16. It was very well attended, providing a unique opportunity for all involved to evaluate the most important “Next Steps” in their education.
George Harris Head of Careers and Further
Education
Eloise treads the boards
Eloise Smith (10D) recently auditioned and gained a place at Guildford School of Acting Junior Conservatoire. It involved performing two monologues including a Shakespeare, taking direction and being interviewed. It was a hugely tough and competitive but Eloise pushed on through to gain a place within this prestigious organisation that forms part of the University of Surrey.
Well done Eloise we look forward to hearing about your progress!
Riding Success for Hattie Lloyd!
Congratulations to Hattie (11A)who qualified for the JCB Pony Club Championships in Warwickshire in August, for both show jumping and eventing, with top riders and their horses travelling from as far afield as Ireland and Scotland to compete. Having had a busy few months before hand competing to earn a place, not only was it an amazing achievement to qualify for this largest competition of the year but Hattie and Brisbane came 10th in the 90cm Eventing class, finishing with no faults or time penalties in the show jumping or the technically challenging cross-country phase. A fantastic result Hattie and good luck for your next competition this week at Blenheim Castle!
Mountain Biking Club
We have been very busy at MTB Club already this year with 26 riders on their bikes the first week back, and no fewer than 40 riders yesterday - all making the most of some glorious late season sunshine.
As it's a new School Year we have a lively group of 'new riders' who need to be introduced to 'core skills'. It is always very rewarding working with them as they are so full of energy and enthusiasm. We've also been very pleased to see so many familiar faces back for more biking fun and games. Some of our riders have now been with us for a number of years, and have progressed from nervous beginners to seasoned veterans who are now better riders than we are. Best of all quite a few of our riders have clearly been practicing over the summer and have been keen to show us some new skills.
Thanks to Mr Philips for getting everything organised, and to our volunteers and helpers without whom we could not possibly manage such a big Club. And a special thank you as well to our senior riders - Thomas Klemm, Charlie Woods, and most of all our new Cycle Captain, Toby Baker - who have stepped up to help out our coaching team... setting up and testing courses, shepherding groups and demonstrating skills.
Fergus O'Loughlin (Ride Leader and Coach)
U13 Girls Hockey Vs. Dunhurst
On Wednesday the u13 girls hockey team played Dunhurst in the first game of the season.
Dunhurst are extremely strong at this age group and this showed in the first half. Ditcham struggled to put combinations together and Dunhurst were clinical in front of goal. The second half however was a different story. Gracie Lovatt scored a hattrick and the girls gave everything they had to get back into the game. Unfortunately the girls didn't get the win they deserved but some really positive signs throughout the game. Special mentions to Gracie Lovatt and Arabella Huxham who played particularly well and to Mackenzie Golding who went in goal for the first time and pulled off some great saves.
Junior Netball team head to Portsmouth High School
On Wednesday, two teams of uppers and middles travelled to Portsmouth High for a friendly netball tournament. For the middles, it was great experience to play against older girls and improve their game play. The uppers worked really hard to regain any lost procession and mark their players. Well done to all the girls!
Miss Small
U16 Girls Hockey vs Bedales 1st XI
On Wednesday the girls travelled to Bedales for the first hockey game of the season. Ditcham began to settle into the game and their superior fitness started to show. However, against the run of play Bedales scored two goals from open play meaning it was important that Ditcham scored before half time and score they did. Daisy Day played a lovely ball down the right to Charlotte Barber who drove into the D and fired the ball into the top corner, meaning we went in at the break at 2-1.
Bedales immediately scored after the break with a goal that the girls could have stopped but a bit of early season rustiness had crept in. Ditcham managed to get back into the contest when Kiera Falla made a nice run to the back post and had a tap in after some great play by Bella Lumb, Megan Huxham and Charlotte Barber again. The game finished 5-2 to Bedales, however the team put in a great effort against girls who were 18. Some real standout players were Megan Huxham, Evie Daimes and Charlotte Barber.
Tom Robinson's sailings success
Tom (8C) races a Topper, which is a single handed youth boat and one of the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) pathway boats. The RYA are responsible for UK sailing racing pathways, looking to develop the high performance sailors of the future to represent the UK. Tom has been sailing at Stokes Bay Sailing Club for the last 6 years and 12 months ago started racing on the Southern UK circuit and at national events. At the start of September he took part in a RTG selection indicator event, at Hill Head, for the RYA Southern Regional Training Group (RTG). The RTG’s are regional training squads that select sailors based on ability for intensive coaching. England is divided into 6 regions (each comprising multiple counties). He finished 3rd overall and was selected for a place on the Southern RTG.
What an achievement Tom, next stop the Olympics...!
Eco-School Status
Ditcham Park School gains its Green Flag Eco-School status with Distinction!
We are delighted to announce that following a huge amount of hard work and dedication across the entire school community, we have been awarded prestigious Green Flag Status as an Eco-School. The judges were hugely impressed with the scale of our application and the number of children and staff that were actively involved. In particular, they cited the Action Plan that the Eco Council had put in place as 'supporting multi-disciplinary skills and showing how integrated environmentalism is in your school' - this perfectly demonstrates the creative element to our bespoke STEAM curriculum that permeates through every part of our school.
Huge well done to all involved, it takes a lot of dedication, recording, documenting and publicising to gain this level of Eco-School status and once our flag arrives, we shall be proudly displaying it!
Notices
Please do spread the word about our Open Morning on 30th September and remember that current families are welcome to come along from midday to 1pm to have a walk around the school and grounds. We look forward to seeing you there!
School Traffic Safety
Thank you for raising your concerns about vehicles speeding on the school’s drives. For the safety of all members of the school community, please drive carefully and please observe the speed limits and directional flow rules both on the drives and on the school grounds. For clarity - in the mornings, drive up ONLY from 8.20am to 8.40am and in the afternoons, drive up ONLY from 3.25pm to 3.45pm. This applies to both driveways.
Thank you for your support
Auditions are being held for the school production of Grease! Please do come along and give it a go.
There are some useful webinars for parents of children in Y10 and Y11 on how to keep them motivated and focused. More details can be found on their website
The Uniform Shop will be open on Monday 18th September at the following times:
• Morning: 8.30am - 9am
• Afternoon: 3pm - 4pm
Email orders will be answered and delivered out to classrooms or cubbyholes on Wednesday. Thank you!
Tickets are still available to come and see this incredible show! Come along with all the family.
