CRESCUNDA 43 October 2023
THE TERM SO FAR... We’ve had a busy start to the year. Our new School Captains and House Captains are settling into their roles. Boys moving up from the Pre Prep, or into Year 5 and vertical tutor groups, are adjusting to different ways of learning. MOOR PARK FUN RUN £60,000 RAISED
Open Site
Pupils and staff are engaged in a huge array of activities. Here’s a taste of what we’ve been up to in the first six weeks.
Open Site
PERFORMING We’ve celebrated the outstanding success of our Year 8 dramatists, who all scored a Distinction in their LAMDA exams last term. They’re shown below, with Mr Hinton, Director of Drama.
Our new pupil Head Librarian visited the boys at the Manor. They loved hearing him read!
Meanwhile, we appreciated our Librarian, Mrs Smith, and the Library, as part of Libraries week.
Top author Graham Whitlock visited. He enthralled us with real-life stories about the Crystal Palace, the setting that inspired his Crystal Palace Chronicles stories. One of our BBC Young Reporters interviewed Graham. Watch the video by clicking here.
CREATING & COMPETING We continue to encourage our pupils to find something they love. When we’re passionate about an activity, it drives our curiosity & desire to succeed.
We were delighted to hear that a student’s artwork was selected as the cover of the SATIPS magazine. He was awarded full school colours. See the magazine
One of our school Vice Captains took part in his first sailing regatta. Competing with older students, in the U14 class, he came first!
We were over the moon to hear that one of our former School Captains was made captain of the senior school’s 1st XV rugby team. He plays at scrum half and has enjoyed many successes on the rugby field, since moving up to MTS. He’s been coaching our pupils too, providing invaluable insights.
ON THE FIELD, ON THE WATER Congratulations to the boys and staff who took part in the Larkin Shield. It’s a new U11 football tournament that we host. The team acquitted themselves well in a tough day of competitive footie!
Congratulations also to the boys who took part in the Westminster Football Tournament. They won their group and reached the semi-finals.
Year 3 boys have been undertaking football development skills. We help them improve their abilities, season after season. We’re playing the long game.
Year 8 boys enjoyed a wonderful day at Bray Lake. They tried out sailing, SUP, windsurfing, and kayaks, while learning more about team-building skills. A memorable day of water sports!
AT THE MANOR Life for our youngest students moves at a cracking pace. You might say it’s a gallop. So, let’s saddle up and see what they’ve been up to this Autumn term!
When one of our Year 4 pupils heard boys in the Manor were studying an animal topic called 'Meow, Moo, Twit Twoo', he bolted from the stable door with his two ponies and came to visit. It was a tail with a happy swish of an ending, as our youngsters enjoyed patting their new friends, and learning more about the equine side of life.
The animal magic didn’t end with ponies either. Reception had a visit from Ark Farm. They met goats, sheep, dogs, pigs, chickens, rabbits and a donkey. They showed great empathy while getting to know them.
AUTHORS GALORE We invite writers to inspire pupils of all ages at school. We’ve been blessed with two top-notch wordsmiths in the Manor already.
Ian Whybrow wowed our boys with tales of Harry and his bucket full of Dinosaurs. They learnt dinosaur actions and discovered how the idea of Harry was born. Ian also read from his book Whiff, about a very smelly baby warthog!
Author Tracey Corderoy dropped by. We were delighted to hear that a She's written the Shifty McGifty books. student’s artwork was selected as Our intrepid story tellers had a go at the cover of the SATIPS magazine. drawing one of the characters from the He was awarded full school colours. book. It was a fantastic experience and a chance for the boys to concentrate fully while using their imaginations.
COMPASSION Compassion is a word that underpins our ethos and vision of how we strive to be. Our collective charitable works embody our efforts to make the world better for all.
We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of parents and boys, in terms of time, commitment and donations. Many of you, and staff, took part in the Moor Park Fun Run, an event that raised over £60,000 for the Mount Vernon Cancer Centre. This week, we have filled a van from the Watford Food Bank with donations of essential supplies. We thank you all. The handover was supported by our Charity Rep and other Year 8 pupils. We give in order to grow. This coincided with our annual Harvest Festival celebration. It is a time to give thanks and remember those less fortunate. Click here to watch the video of boys loading up the van.
Our Charity Rep
ACTIVE LEARNING Year Two pupils have been busy learning through doing. We look to develop the entire person, body and mind.
The ever popular drumming sessions by Ollie Heath got everybody’s feet stomping. It was a joyous festival of rhythm and movement.
Who doesn’t want a real-life pirate to board the good ship MTP? Our boys in Swifts were delighted to get stuck into some hearty drawings and salutes. They undertook research into Pirates, but didn’t find any pieces of eight on the field.
OUR LOCAL MP Our MP, Gagan Mohindra, gave a talk on the last Friday before the break. As the representative for South West Hertfordshire, he delivered a powerful speech about his life as the son of immigrants. He explained how school gave him life chances that enabled him to do well at university, and then working in his family business. He revealed why an interest in politics came later in life, how his dyslexia became his super power, and the importance of daily failure to future success. Mr Mohindra took some tough questions from our pupils, ranging from HS2 to ULEZ.
Read more about Gagan Mohindra MP by visiting his website.
COMING UP The annual Merchant Taylors’ Company photography competition will be launching after the half-term break. It’s open to boys and staff. Two of last year’s winners are shown below. Mr Roach will be announcing more details when we return. Still, the next fortnight offers a great opportunity to take some prize winning snaps.
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