What's New? Issue 227

Friday 22 March 2013 IS S U E 22 7

What’s New? Weekly Newsletter from New Hall Senior School

In this issue, Drama Productions P.2 Languages Revision P.3 Ski Team Training P.4

Forthcoming

Events MON 25 MAR 6.30—8.30pm Years 7 & 8 Disco TUE 26 MAR 5.45—8.00pm Year 11 Celebration Evening WED 27 MAR 12.40—1.50pm Staff v Students Charity Hockey Match 7.00—9.00pm Spring Concert WED 27 MAR— WED 10 APR Cricket Academy Tour to Sri Lanka THU 28 MAR AS Level Dance Practical Examinations TERM ENDS TUE 9—SUN 14 APR Years 11-13 Geography Field Trip to Iceland

St Patrick’s Day Hidden talents came to the fore on the evening of Sunday 17 March, with a concert of traditional Irish dancing and music to celebrate St Patrick’s Day.

HOCKEY TEAMS WIN PLATE AND CUP On Wednesday 20 March, the U16 hockey team won the Essex Cup competition and, on the same day, the U14 hockey team won the Essex Plate competition.

World-class dancers, Sinéad Storey (Year 8), Jonjo McMahon (Year 7) and Miss Lucey, i m pre sse d e v e ry on e w it h t he ir virtuosity. They were joined by AnnaMaria O'Ceallaigh (Year 10), Sophie O'Ceallaigh (Year 8), Mrs Storey, Miss Walsh and Miss Kay to present Riverdance, or rather, the New Hall version, Ha Ha Dance.

The U14 team faced Alec Hunter Humanities College in the final for the Essex Plate and won 6-0 to bring home the trophy.

Goal scorers were Alice Aldridge (Year 9) who scored three goals, Alice Locker (Year 9) who scored one goal, Antonia Kitchiner (Year 9) who scored one goal and Grace Carroll (Year 9) who also scored one goal.

Congratulations to Player of the Match, Grace Carroll.

The dances were interspersed with jigs and reels played by Fay Archer (Year 10) on violin, Harrison Booth (Year 10) on guitar, Mrs Wood on piano and flute, Mr Kohout on accordion and Miss Tait on recorder. The performance ended with a beautiful rendition of Bob Chilcott’s setting of the Irish Blessing, joined by Grace Fairbairn (Year 13), Mr Nedvidek and Miss Aczel, with the National Anthem of Ireland.

The U16 team faced Newport Free Grammar School in their final and secured a thrilling 3-1 victory to bring home the prestigious Essex Cup. Goal scorers were Eleanor McCaffrey (Year 10), who scored two goals, and Ailish Hunt (Year 10), who scored another. Players of the Match were Annabel Gardiner (Year 10) and Eleanor McCaffrey.

The exuberance of the performances also won over Years 7 and 8, who were able to attend a special repeat performance on Thursday. We thank all the performers who worked so hard to mark this feastday, and we wish you all a very happy St Patrick’s Day.

For full match reports, click here to visit the Team Lists page.

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DRAMA PRODUCTIONS On Thursday 14 and Friday 15 March, drama performances by Years 7—10 of ‘The Tales of Snow White’ and ‘Mugged’ took place. ‘Mugged’ was directed by Lauren Sudders, Drama Gap Assistant, alongside Drama students. ‘The Tales of Snow White’ was directed by Drama Prefect, Charlotte Fage (Year 13).

Both the performances were exceptional and all of the students involved, both on stage and off, were a credit to themselves and the school.

including Hindu, Buddhist, Quaker, Roman Catholic and Humanist. The importance of respect, dialogue and the right to religious expression are becoming increasingly important in our diverse, pluralistic society and the Human and Spiritual Development Day opened up these important issues to our students.

The Human and Spiritual Development Days are an important component of the unique education offered to our Sixth Form students; the moral formation of our young people is just as important as their academic learning.

THE TALES OF SNOW WHITE

By Charlotte Fage (Year 13)

YEAR 12 HUMAN AND SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT DAY: BIOETHICS On Wednesday 20 March, Year 12 students took part in a series of talks and small group discussions on the theme of Bioethics as part of the Human and Spiritual Development course at Sixth Form. Our visiting speaker, Niall Gooch from the charity LIFE, led engaging presentations on a range of controversial issues within medicine including abortion, euthanasia and stem cell research.

In the afternoon, Srs Moira and Margaret Mary spoke to our students about the work of the Canonesses in Africa and particularly the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. Their words inspired many of our students to continue our fundraising efforts so that we can play a small part in improving the lives of people in these countries.

Working on ‘The Tales of Snow White’ has been an incredible experience. Being able to write, stage, direct and design a play, completely on my own, has been a real eye opener for me and a wonderful opportunity. One that I will never forget! I will admit, it has been a stressful few months, but thoroughly enjoyable at the same time. The support from the Drama Department and my fellow students has been incredible and really helped the show to be a success. Thank you to everyone who came to see the production. I would like to say the biggest thank you of all to the cast, for their hard work and dedication. They pulled it off and it was amazing!

DEBATE: SHOULD THE UK LEAVE THE EU? Students from Year 10 upwards debated the future of the relationship between the UK and the European Union on Monday. While Jack Richardson (Year 13) and Drew McConville (Year 12) convincingly argued that the UK would be better off if it did withdraw from the Union, Phoebe Fardell (Year 12) and Adam Sammour (Year 12) managed to persuade most of the audience to vote in favour of staying in, although they recognised that some adjustments to the current relationship could be beneficial.

The level of discussion, and especially the quality of questions asked by the audience, was indeed very impressive. Mr Yates and Mr Nedvidek will be organising similar formal debating events over the coming months the next one being on the issue of conflict between freedom of speech and outlawing ‘hate’ speech.

EXTENDED PROJECTS Elizabeth Shiers (Year 13) has achieved an outstanding result for her Extended Project on Cosmology, entitled ‘Did it all start with a Bang?’ The essay discussed the Big Bang model, comparing it with the Steady State, Cyclic and Ekpyrotic models and arguing that the Big Bang has more evidence to support it than the other theories. Elizabeth discussed evidence for the inflationary epoch, explaining that random fluctuations in the quantum decay led to the energy that powered the inflation. She also observed that the discovery of the Higgs Boson supports the Big Bang theory, as it is necessary for the mass of the particles created after the splitting of the forces soon after the Big Bang.

FORMER NEW HALL STUDENT VISITS THE ART DEPARTMENT On Friday 15 March, Molly-Clare O’Donnell, who attended New Hall School prior to her undergraduate course at Central St Martins, visited the Art Department to give tutorials to a number of our older students. Molly-Clare worked enthusiastically through an intensive day, offering support and inspiration to students.

Students took particular interest in looking through Molly-Clare’s preparatory books and comparing them directly to one of her sketchbooks produced when doing A-Level Art at New Hall. Molly-Clare will be one of numerous Old Fishes returning to New Hall on Sunday 30 June to support the celebration of the visual arts, in conjunction with the 370th Community celebrations. We are also delighted to report that Molly-Clare has recently been awarded first prize in a very prestigious competition organised by Clyde and Co, which recognises the top

YEAR 13 HUMAN AND SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT DAY: MULTI-FAITH DAY On Friday 15 March, Year 13 reflected on the issue of religious tolerance and the extent to which faith should be expressed in modern society. Through a series of lectures, workshops and small group discussions our students were able to learn about a range of religious perspectives

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Sport

emerging talent from London Art colleges. Molly-Clare received an instant bursary of £5000 to support her creative practice and she is also due to begin an exciting internship at Christie’s auctioneers in London.

For full match reports, team lists and updates, see the Team Lists page on the New Hall School website.

MODERN LANGUAGES REVISION WEEKEND

GOLF GOLF ACADEMY PLAY AT LITTLE CHANNELS

Last Friday, Year 11 students spent an enjoyable evening eating Mediterranean cuisine and Spanish doughnuts, or ‘yum yums’, before watching a choice of either a French comedy or a Spanish thriller. ‘Rien à Déclarer’, is based on the legendary Franco-Belgian rivalry and depicts the consternation after Maastricht when the EU borders fell and the customs officers found themselves struggling to justify their existence. This film had something for everyone, with car chases, drug-running, a love story and plenty of slapstick. ‘El Laberinto del Fauno’ is a dark tale, mingling fantasy with the menacing atmosphere in Spain during the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War. Saturday was hard work for all but, for the first time ever, GCSE students actually requested an additional grammar lesson, suggesting that things were beginning to fall into place, just in time for the final push! Bonne chance dans les examens! ¡ Mucha suerte para todos!

Holly Haslam (Year 7), Max Owen (Year 8) and James Holt (Year 6) played in a friendly fixture against The Perse School this week at Little Channels Golf Club, in the first fixture for the New Hall Golf Academy. Holly played very well and won her game convincingly. James Holt, who has been awarded a Special Talent Scholarship for the Senior School, played very well against a Year 10 student from The Perse School. Max played a great game, in his first competitive fixture for New Hall.

NETBALL RESULTS

CAREERS TALKS On Wednesday 27 March, at 4.45pm, Years 9—13 and their parents are invited to a careers talk about careers in finance, by Jenny Barber (Financial Skills Partnership & Directions Online Careers Service). Places are limited, so if you wish to attend, please advise Miss Haddrell by email: s.haddrell@newhallschool.co.uk.

ANNUAL PARISH ASSEMBLY Residents of the Springfield Parish are invited to attend the Springfield Parish Council’s annual Parish Assembly on Wednesday 8 May at 7.30pm in Chelmers Village Hall, CM2 6RF. TAKE BACK THE REINS Runningwell Equestrian Centre are running a 7-week course for those who have had a break from riding and wish to rekindle their hobby. The course starts on 17 April, 11.30am—1.00pm and will run for 7 weeks. For more information, contact Runningwell Equestrian Centre on info@runningwell.co.uk or 01268 711 221.

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Team

Opposition

Result

U12A

The Perse School

Won 23-6

Player of the Match Megan Cotton

U12B

The Perse School

Won 19-0

Caitlin Murray

U13A

The Perse School

Won 26-7

Ellie Edmeades

U13B

The Perse School

Won 22-12

Kate Merry

U14B

St Edmunds College

Won 13-8

Carli Bardwell

U14A

St Edmunds College

Won 34-26

Lydia Allen

U14A /B

Chigwell School

Lost 22-13

Carli Bardwell

U15A

St Edmunds College

Won 18-4

Freya Pelling & Eleanor McCaffrey

U15B

St Edmunds College

Won 18-1

Amy Murphy

U16A

St Edmunds College

Won 15-9

Tara King

U16B

St Edmunds College

Won 13-3

Harreit Ayre & Lucy Ashfield

U13B

Ipswich High School for Girls

Won 11-10

Lauren MalyonDavies

CESSSA TOURNAMENTS On Thursday 14 March, the U12 and U13 netball teams took part in a CESSSA tournament at New Hall School.

The U13 squad finished as runners-up—winning against Great Baddow High School (6-5), Sandon School (11-2), William De Ferrers School (14-3) and Boswells School (9-6), before losing against Great Baddow High School in the final. The U12 netball squad reached the semi final of their tournament before losing to Great Baddow High School, who were the eventual winners. Well done to all of the students that took part.

the final day’s racing but the weather cleared and both girls and boys put in some good performances in their respective races. The whole team will have gained a great deal from the experience of working together to prepare for the competition and there is no doubt that some firm foundations have been laid for the future of ski racing at New Hall.

TENNIS GLANVILL CUP Congratulations to the New Hall boys who beat Ipswich School 12-0 to set up a regional semi final match against Culford School in the Glanvill Cup this week. This match will take place on Thursday 2 May - we wish the boys the best of luck.

STUDENT REPRESENTS ESSEX Congratulations to Tom Styles (Year 13) who represented Essex in the U18 County Cup competition. He played over two days against Middlesex, Dorset and Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Tom won all of the matches he played and proved to be a valuable member of the Essex team.

Essex managed to finish top of their group and have now won promotion to the Premier Division for next years competition.

BRAIN CHALLENGE The solution to last week’s brain challenge was: 2 to the power of 6 minus 63 is equal to 1.

There were four winners: Jessica Hayes (Year 7), Sam Turner, Henri Skeens and Josh Wheal (all Year 8).

Reece Lance and Michael Hollette both had another possible solution but the instructions did say that you could only move one DIGIT.

SKIING INTER-SCHOOLS CHALLENGE The New Hall ski team returned from Les Houches on Tuesday evening, having had an extremely busy week preparing for and competing in the Inter-schools Ski Challenge. Thursday was spent getting the ski legs back before race training started on Friday on the Col de Voza. A giant slalom course was set up for the team to practise the skills they had developed at the Snow Centre in Hemel Hempstead over the previous few months. On Saturday, attention turned to slalom on Le Grand Bois slope. Everyone worked hard, making the most of the expert coaching provided by Phil Brown and his team from Impulse-Racing. Even back at the hotel there was plenty to do, waxing skis and sharpening edges for the next day, before heading off for a well-earned evening meal in a local restaurant. Sunday was a rest day, with a later start and everyone took the opportunity to ski with family and friends who had travelled to Les Houches to support the team.

This week’s brain challenge is: This is an unusual paragraph. I'm curious as to just how quickly you can find out what is so unusual about it. It looks so ordinary and plain that you would think nothing is wrong with it. In fact, nothing is wrong with it! It is highly unusual though. Study it and think about it, but you still may not find anything odd. But if you work at it a bit, you might find out. Try to do so without any coaching.

Give your solution to Miss Tait in the Library, by the end of the day on Tuesday.

PICTURE OF THE WEEK

Having had four days of glorious sunshine, the weather turned for race day on Monday, with snow and poor visibility setting in for the day. The girls competed on the GS course on the Col de Voza with Daisy Perez Bullough (Year 11) gaining a medal for second place, coming in only 0.31 seconds behind the winner. The boys were on the slalom course where they produced some good results. The U12 team skied a combined slalom with GS gates and some slalom. There was a further snowfall for

This week’s picture is courtesy of Rebecca Coughlan (Year 11), of a lighting project that she is working on as part of Design and Technology lessons.

What’s New? is issued every Friday during the school term. If you have any news which you would like to be published in an edition of What’s New?, please contact Miss Powell by email to e.powell@newhallschool.co.uk before 4.00pm on Wednesdays.

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