Lent Term Newsletter

LENT TERM NEWSLETTER

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FROM THE PRINCIPAL It is a real pleasure to look back on the exciting events and experiences of the Lent Term 2018. We have sought to capture here some of the highlights: the successes, new experiences and initiatives, educational visits, visiting speakers, workshops and charitable events.

Liturgically, this term has been a special one, with Catholic and Anglican Confirmations taking place at the beginning of term. Students find our distinctive ecumenical Confirmation programme to be a challenging and enlightening part of their journey of faith and we continue to pray for our newly-Confirmed students. The unveiling of our new Paschal Candle, designed by Niamh W (Year 9) and the Art Department, was a touching experience; key symbols of the New Hall community and our faith have been sensitively included in the candle’s design.

We all found the programme of Science Week interesting and innovative, with visits from scientists at the top of their field, as well as workshops from visiting organisations and staff lectures. Students were left enthused in their pursuit of STEM subjects and careers. Our community was also immersed in elements of Chinese culture and language during China Week, leaving many inspired to further explore the opportunities available in this area at New Hall.

I was delighted to accompany our Classicists on a trip to Greece over the February half term, where classroom learning was brought alive in visits to monuments, a Greek tragedy performance, and even Greek cooking and dancing lessons! Meanwhile, the Choir tour to Florence saw students singing in some of the most breath-taking sacred spaces in Italy.

Our skiers have performed impressively this term and New Hall skiers have represented England and Great Britain. I was delighted to support and cheer on our ski team at competitions in Norwich and at the Interschools Ski Challenge in Pila, Italy. The students represented New Hall admirably, with healthy competitive spirit and great humour and determination. Our racers finished 3rd overall in the competition, out of 93 schools.

The school production of ‘Guys and Dolls’ had us all enthralled. I was so proud of all involved for their hard work and dedication to the production, alongside their other school commitments. Performances were confident, funny and engaging; it is great to see students flourishing through the performing arts and ‘finding their voice’ and confidence on stage.

Towards the end of term, we had a number of New Hall ‘firsts’, thanks to the innovative spirit of staff and students. A special highlight for me was supporting our newly formed girls’ rugby team who, having started playing in the Michaelmas Term, represented the school at the inaugural Essex Girls’ Rugby 7s tournament, hosted at New Hall. The girls played with enthusiasm, finishing as runners up in the ‘bowl’ competition.

New Hall’s charitable work continues to be at the heart of our endeavours as a community. Year 7 student Madeleine J’s idea of holding a New Hall Voluntary Service (NHVS) Dance show for the elderly was successfully realised, with a fabulous show and Easter celebration that was enjoyed by all our guests. Further charitable events included the ever-popular annual NHVS Fashion Show, which raised over £2,300, as well as the Wear Blue for SANE Day and the CAFOD Lenten Fast Lunch, which both raised fantastic figures for worthwhile causes. Year 3 pupils were delighted to raise money through their hedgehog-inspired challenges for Tiggywinkles wildlife charity. A lunchtime of healthy competition was shared in the ‘Students vs Staff’ Hockey Match in aid of the Helen Rollason Foundation. Students in the Senior Divisions also enjoyed the fun-filled Easter fundraiser in aid of SANE and For Jimmy. Preparatory Division students ended the term with the much-anticipated Congo Disco, in aid of our sister school in the Congo.

It has been wonderful to recognise some staff achievements this term: we gave long service awards, recognised dedication to outside charitable organisations and, especially, celebrated Miss Drayne’s inclusion in the Northern Ireland team at the Commonwealth Games.

Mrs Katherine Jeffrey, Principal

WHAT’S NEW?

SCIENCE WEEK

This year’s Science Week provided a fantastic programme of activities, visiting speakers and lectures from current staff to further inspire our students in the realm of STEM education and careers.

THE SPACE RACE The week started with ‘The Space Race’ for Year 8. Students were tasked with designing, building and testing landers, rovers and wind turbines for a mission to Mars. Working in teams as part of the main international space agencies, the students also had to balance their money and ‘buy’ the parts needed for their ambitious designs.

‘Thinkers in Education’, the company running the day’s events, were impressed with our students’ ability to work under pressure, as well as their Science knowledge and ability. The boys’

teams broke a UK record in the quick fire knowledge round, and the girls’ teams set a top three UK score with their Mars buggy. Overall, the girls’ teams just pulled ahead, achieving the second highest score of the year.

The students thoroughly enjoyed the day.

LORD PROFESSOR ROBERT WINSTON A report by Tiffany W and Jake P (Year 13, Biology Prefects) On Tuesday 13 March, New Hall welcomed the famous professor, medical doctor, scientist and TV presenter Lord Professor Robert Winston, for his lecture, “Why bother with Science?”. In the Jubilee Hall, which was packed with students, teachers and parents, Professor Winston discussed how important an understanding of Science has become in our

everyday lives, from the usage of lasers and WiFi to keep our National Grid working, to the importance of taking resonance into account when designing a bridge (something the architects of the Millennium Bridge failed to consider!).

Professor Winston also noted the huge increase in human progression in recent times.

Furthermore, the former Director of NHS Research outlined a fascinating experiment whereby slime mould correctly used the shortest route through a maze to reach a food source, a route exactly the same as the one calculated by a computer.

SPACE EXPLORATION The theme of Science Week across the country this year was exploration and discovery. In Physics, students have looked at exploring and living in space, and

WHAT’S NEW?

the technology that improves our lives that has come from the space programme.

Super-absorbent nappies were developed for astronauts to use during launch and space walks. Years 7 to 9 tested the hydrogel nappies to see how much liquid they could absorb. After removing as much hydrogel as they could, the students added water until it couldn’t absorb any more. The best result saw 800ml of liquid being absorbed. The students also tested how the water could be removed from the hydrogel.

CHEMISTRY IN SPACE

A report by Molly T (Year 12)

Mr Clark delivered a fascinating talk on ‘Chemistry in Space’. The evening started with exciting explosions, mimicking the launch of a space shuttle, before delving into the Chemistry

and reactions behind them.

From demonstrations involving liquid nitrogen to explaining the Chemistry behind the Salisbury poisoning, it was an inspiring occasion that we won’t forget!

LIBBY JACKSON We welcomed Libby Jackson, Human Spaceflight and Microgravity Programme Manager for the UK Space Agency, to New Hall. She shared her interesting personal journey with our Senior students, including several disappointments along the way. Libby shared a key message with students: follow your passion and never give up!

The Preparatory Divisions were also very excited to hear from Libby as she engaged and enthused the pupils about the wonders of space and what it’s like to work for the European Space Agency. She even told them

about working with astronauts Helen Sharman and Tim Peake!

ENGINEERING DAY

Year 9 had the opportunity to meet engineers from three local companies. Kelvin Hughes, e2v and the National Grid came into school to run exciting activities, demonstrating the work of engineers and the wide variety of career opportunities available.

The students were able to build robots, build the parts for magnetrons and investigate security systems with drones. The students thoroughly enjoyed the day and we would like to thank the companies for such a fantastic day and the effort and hard work they put into it. We are lucky to have global companies who are keen to help inspire the next generation of engineers.

WHAT’S NEW?

NHVS FASHION SHOW The annual NHVS Fashion Show took place on Wednesday 7 March and we are delighted that the evening was an outstanding success, raising £2,300. On arrival, ticket holders collected a lovely brightly-coloured goody bag containing an array of exciting treats. As usual, the evening started with time to browse stalls, purchase raffle tickets, sample one of the delicious cupcakes or enjoy a complimentary drink.

The ‘vintage’ clothes stall, run

by Mrs Mead and Mrs Castle,

proved to be very popular again, with some lovely items of clothing and accessories for sale.

Whilst browsing, guests were entertained in the Jubilee Hall with singing by Elizabeth R (Year 12), accompanied by Mr Archard on the piano.

With much anticipation, the guests moved to the Eaton Theatre to watch the models and entertainers perform. The show began with a warm welcome from NHVS Prefects and comperes for the evening, Aidan L and Tara

D (Year 13), who spoke briefly about the causes that the proceeds of the evening would fund: our own NHVS Children’s Charity Day Camp, in association with Kids Inspire, and Hosanna House and Children’s Pilgrimage Trust (HCPT). They then introduced the representatives from HCPT, who told the audience how our sponsorship would impact the lives of the 3 disabled children who would attend the holiday at Easter.

WHAT’S NEW?

PASCHAL CANDLE Fr Lee approached the Art Department to design and produce this year’s Paschal Candle, with the aim to incorporate a more personal touch and to reflect aspects of the New Hall Chapel and school community. The Paschal Candle is rich in symbolism, representing Christ, the Light of the World.

The candle itself is made from pure beeswax, and represents the sinless Christ. The wick signifies Jesus’ humanity, and the flame, His Divine Nature, both soul and body.

Our candle came into use during the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday night. The Easter candle will be lit each day during Mass throughout the 40 days of the Easter season until Ascension Thursday. It is also lit for funeral services throughout the year.

Mr Lonsdale, Teacher of Art,

worked closely with Niamh W (Year 9), who had been working with candles in her latest Year 9 Art module with the assistance of Miss Davies, Art Technician.

The final candle design was chosen to incorporate aspects of the Chapel and the text from above the Chapel crucifix. ‘He is Risen’ felt appropriate for

an Easter candle, to reflect the power of the Living God. The white dove, which is central to the Chapel ceiling design, was enlarged and framed in rays of gold, reflecting the promise of the Holy Spirit, given to His disciples by the resurrected Christ.

NEW CATERING COMPANY We were delighted to welcome our new catering company, Chartwells, to the school, during the course of this term. The new provision has been impressing

students and staff, and the boarders are thrilled by their revamped supper, breakfast and snack times. The new company uses fresh and, whenever possible,

locally-sourced ingredients to produce wholesome food for our school community to enjoy.

WHAT’S NEW?

COMMONWEALTH GAMES Congratulations to Miss Drayne, Head of Netball, who was selected to represent Northern Ireland at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, Australia. This is a fantastic achievement, we were all sending our very best wishes to Miss Drayne as she took part in the Games during the Easter break!

THE SAVOY HOTEL PERFORMANCE On Saturday 3 March, the Dance Company students performed at The Savoy Hotel in London. This was a charity ball event to raise money for Princess Alexandra Hospital breast cancer trials. The group were asked to perform two 20 -minute showcases in 1920s style.

Preparatory Division pupils, Lois D (Year 4), Jacob D (Year 5) and Nancy W (Year 3), also joined our team with some of their preprepared competition dances that suited the style. The dancers rehearsed for this event months in advance and each Dance

Company member acted with professionalism, remembering a number of routines and executing them to a very high standard.

On arrival, the students were amazed by the beautiful venue and started to feel very excited about the performance. After transforming the students into 1920s characters, with their costumes, hair and makeup, it was finally time to take the stage. The audience was stunned by the standard of our students and enjoyed every dance. Congratulations to all the students who took part and

represented the school to a very high standard.

The Preparatory Divisions had also kindly decorated Breast Cancer ribbons to hang on a ‘Tree of Hope’ at the event. Guests at the ball were then invited to make a donation for the amount on the front of the ribbon to receive a mystery prize. Congratulations to New Hall parent Mrs Bischoff and the charity team for organising this wonderful event and raising £50,000 for the Princess Alexandra Hospital breast cancer trials.

WHAT’S NEW?

SCHOOLS INTO STADIUMS This term, New Hall Head Groundsperson, Mr Facey, had the opportunity to visit Anfield, the home of Liverpool Football Club, to help deliver a programme run by the Institute of Groundsmanship’s Young Board.

The programme, ‘Schools into Stadiums’ invites school students to renowned sport stadiums to explain what goes on behind the scenes, with particular focus on the pitch care, explaining that looking after a stadium sports

surface is like trying to grow grass indoors.

The programme then provides information about routes into a career within the sports turf sector.

NHVS EASTER CELEBRATION At the end of term, the NHVS held a new event, an ‘Easter Celebration’ for their elderly lunch guests from the community. Madeleine J (Year 7) suggested the idea for such an event some months ago, which Mrs McPherson and Mrs Jeffrey were pleased to co-ordinate; volunteers were happy to support the event and organise transport for the guests.

The guests were served by the NHVS student leaders and prefects, whilst performers

of all ages from the Dance Department’s festival team provided wonderful, energetic entertainment. A large variety of dance styles were performed from the students’ competition and show repertoire. These were followed by performances by talented musicians, Alexandra C, Elizabeth R (both Year 12), Georgia W (Year 10) and Henrietta S (Year 9).

The guests were delighted by the students’ performances and greatly enjoyed the afternoon’s celebrations.

PREP

PREPARATORY DIVISIONS SCIENCE WEEK Pupils across the Preparatory Divisions enjoyed a superb Science Week, developing their scientific knowledge and understanding.

First, Sarah-Jane and Alex from the London Science Museum visited us. The day started with an impressive ‘Bubble Show’ for the Pre-Prep, during which the pupils perfected their bubble wafting skills.

Mr Durham experienced how it feels to be inside a bubble! Years 3 and 4 enjoyed ‘Feel the Force’, learning about Newton’s laws and applying these to launching rockets and reducing friction using ball bearings. Finally, Years 5 and 6 were enthralled by the ‘Glorious Blood’

session, in which they developed their scientific understanding of the composition of blood, through practical activities.

The Pre-Prep were also extremely fortunate to have a visit from ‘Zoo4You’. The children met a wonderful array of interesting creatures, including a parrot, snake, chinchilla and many more! The sessions gave the pupils a chance to get really close to the animals and learn about their habitats and diet.

Preparatory Science Week concluded with the STEM Fair, led by groups of Years 5 and 6 pupils.

PREP

BOOK WEEK As part of our World Book Day activities, the Preparatory Division enjoyed an author visit from Nick Arnold, author of the Horrible Science series of books. Nick treated us to some enlightening Science experiments, which included passing electricity through some of the children (and Mr Oiller), establishing that Mr May could not defeat the laws of Physics and saw Mrs Mallows getting friendly with a cockroach! The children also had the opportunity to ask questions about Science and becoming an author. What a great visit!

The Pre-Prep Division enjoyed a visit from a storyteller, who captured their imaginations with strories from around the world!

Teachers and pupils made a fantastic effort for World Book Day, dressing up as a favourite book character.

YOUNG VOICES A very excited Senior Choir travelled to the O2 in London to join thousands of other schoolchildren from across the country in the Young Voices event. The choir and the teachers had great fun singing the programme of songs they had been practising.

PREP EES ENGLISH COMPETITION On the afternoon of Tuesday 6 March, New Hall hosted an EES KS2 English Competition.

Pupils competed in six rounds that covered a range of English skills with questions based on vocabulary, spelling and grammar. The rounds involved activities such as trying to place missing nouns back into an extract of a story, being speedy spellers by choosing the correct spelling in 5 seconds and spotting punctuation errors within a text. A round that was a particular favourite was ‘can’t say’, which involved the pupils explaining a book character to their team members without using certain words or actions. The teams worked well together when facing these tasks and showed one another excellent support.

LETTER FROM 10 DOWNING STREET The Year 4 pupils and teachers were extremely excited this week to receive a letter from the Correspondence Officer at 10 Downing Street in response to their letters to Theresa May about rainforest deforestation!

VISIT FROM THE ROCKMAN Year 3 were very fortunate to receive a visit from ‘The Rockman’. The pupils became palaeontologists, geologists and mineralogists for the day as they learned about rocks and fossils that were millions of years old. In the afternoon, the pupils enjoyed sketching different dinosaurs and fossils.

YOUTUBE KIDS FILMING Year 5 have been studying democracy in their Politics lessons, with the focus on whether 16 year olds should have the right to vote in general elections. Pupils researched this topic, considering both sides of the debate, looking at opinions from various MPs and pressure groups; they then produced a news report.

This news report, along with some written work was entered into a competition run by Youtube Kids, The Parliament Channel and Litfest.

5M won the February entry with the prize being a day filming, turning their entry into a professional film using green screens and camera equipment!

PREP ‘TIGGYWINKLES’ EVENT As part of their Design Technology topic, “The Great New Hall Bake Off”, Year 3 have been designing and making cupcake boxes. Also, in English lessons, they have been studying “The Hodgeheg by Dick King Smith” which has helped them learn all about hedgehogs.

Year 3 held a ‘coffee and cupcake’ event on Thursday 8 February in the Denford Hall, in order to raise funds to ‘Adopt a Hedgehog’ from Tiggywinkles UK for each class. There was the opportunity for parents to purchase their child’s fantastic cupcake box, complete with a hedgehog-themed cupcake as well as raffle prizes and extra hedgehog-themed cookies.

The afternoon was a huge success with a fabulous turnout from the parents of Year 3.

Parents enjoyed looking at their child’s work from the term as

well as seeing (and eating) their fabulous creations.

Through the generous contributions given, Year 3 raised £277.00 and were able to adopt two hedgehogs. This money will help provide important medical care as well as food and shelter to hedgehogs that are unable to be released back into the wild. The additional money raised was split and donated to a local charity, Hedgehog Haven, which is based in Essex, as well as Tiggywinkles UK.

EASTER CRAFT MORNINGS Both Pre-Reception and Reception pupils enjoyed welcoming parents and carers to their classrooms to take part in Easter Craft Mornings before the end of term.

FRENCH COOKERY ACTIVITY A report by Harry W, Year 4 On 29 January, Year 4 went to the Senior Divisions Cookery Room to make crêpes, which are flat pancakes to which you can add toppings and roll up to make a delicious sort of pancake sandwich!

When we arrived, Madame Anderton sorted us into groups and I was with my friends. She also explained more about ‘La Chandeleur’, and Mr Coates demonstrated how to make the crêpes. We were very lucky to have some parents to help us through the process too.

We all had great fun making our crêpes. We then had to say “Je voudrais (a topping) s’il vous pla ît” to ask for our toppings. The toppings included “du chocolat, du caramel, du sucre” and lots more. After that, we could eat them!

SENIOR

SENIOR DIVISIONS GUYS & DOLLS In the last week of term, the Jubilee Hall was transformed into Runyonland. Damon Runyon’s celebrated stories of New York gamblers and the women who fall for them, set to music and transformed into the musical ‘Guys and Dolls’, was the end of term school production.

The story tells of the eternally scheming Nathan Detroit, trying to organise his illegal gambling venture, much to the displeasure of his long-suffering fiancé, Miss Adelaide. Meanwhile, Sky Masterson, the highest-rolling gambler of them all, bets that he can take straight-laced missionary Miss Sarah Brown on a date to Havana.

Will the Guys succeed in their dubious ventures? Will the Dolls manage to reform their men?

The stage was set for a tuneful, colourful and dance-packed showdown.

After rehearsing through snow days, and road-testing the show on dress-rehearsal audiences of Years 7 and 8 students and Senior boarders, performances ran for three evenings and a matinee.

Congratulations are due to all the student cast and backstage crew, all the musicians, and all the staff who ran rehearsals, curled hair, organised the tech and dragooned the ‘New Yoik’ accents into some sort of shape!

SENIOR

FUNDRAISING EVENTS Thank you to everyone who contributed to the ‘Wear Blue for SANE’ day, raising a fantastic £2,480 for SANE. The CAFOD Lent Soup and Bread Lunch on the same day raised £1,068, and a recent doughnut sale raised £368 for SANE. Thank you to all those who took part in these fundraising events.

ROCKET CAR RACING Inspired by the British Bloodhound Supersonic Car Team, currently training to break the World Land Speed Record, our Year 7 students enjoyed an explosive experience.

The students have been investigating the ideas of forces and motion in the context of rocket car design during their Physics lessons this term. They worked in teams of four to design a model car and one day this term, they raced them, with the help of an experienced Rocketeer from the ‘Race for the Line’ competition, which is part of the Learning Partnership.

They will now progress to the next stage of the competition, where they will race against the fastest teams from other local schools, after receiving further training on how to refine their car design.

SENIOR A WEEK OF MUSIC

CONFIRMATION We had the great honour of welcoming Bishop Alan Williams SM, Bishop of Brentwood, to school to celebrate the sacrament of Confirmation for our Roman Catholic candidates. Then, a week later, we had the great pleasure of welcoming Bishop Roger Morris, the Bishop of Colchester, to celebrate the Anglican sacrament of Confirmation. Both were wonderful occasions, in which family, friends, staff and members of the boarding community witnessed our students receiving the sacrament.

The Confirmation Programme at New Hall is unique, as both Catholic and Anglican students learn more about their faith together, showing the unity of faith, aspects that are shared and where they differ.

FAIRTRADE FORTNIGHT Fairtrade Fortnight kicked off with assemblies from Mrs Marriott, showing the benefits of switching to Fairtrade. The annual tuck shop opened its doors, ably manned by an enthusiastic group of Year 8 girls selling a range of Fairtrade products to the school. We also ran a raffle to raise money for the Fairtrade Foundation, which was well-supported. Congratulations to the lucky winners, and thank you to everyone who supported the raffle.

The ‘design a mug’ competition was well-received once more and

Mr Sidwell had a difficult job whittling it down to three winners; well done to Wendy Z (Year 8), Coco W (Year 7) and Isabella C (Year 8), whose mugs have now been printed and presented to them. During tutor time and Geography lessons, students learnt about this year’s campaign ‘Coobana

A busy week for the Music Department first saw a visit from Martin Outram, Professor of Viola at the Royal Academy of Music. Professor Outram gave a masterclass to five of our lower string players. All our students played really well and were able to adopt some of the suggestions made to them – the difference in their sound was clear to the audience.

Later in the week, we held our Spring Concert that had the theme of fate. Music included Adele, Beethoven, Bernstein, Purcell and Billy Joel, all of it surrounded by the evocation of the wheel of fortune contained in Carl Orff’s O Fortuna from Carmina Burana.

Fabulous performances came from the Senior Choir, Sinfonia, Training Orchestra, Chamber Choir, Voces, Viola Trio, Brass Ensemble and String Quartet.

Thanks and congratulations to all our musicians.

Bananas’ and, through the use of the Fairtrade Foundation’s excellent resources, explored further themes and scenarios in a fun and interactive way.

Students also produced some fantastic work for display to raise awareness of the importance of Fairtrade.

SENIOR CHINA WEEK New Hall celebrated its first ‘China Week’, with various activities taking place. To start the week, a group of Year 12 students lead Divisional Assemblies on Chinese New Year. Students were keen to answer questions in the assembly quiz, winning prizes of red lucky packets.

At lunchtime during the week, Chinese club members, with the help of some boarders, tried out their culinary skills, making dumplings and corn pancakes. Some were brave enough to try the ‘thousand year old’ duck eggs! Then, Mr Peter Manning, Head of International Trade at Essex County Council, kindly came in to give an interesting presentation on China after school. The talk was well-attended by Senior students from all year groups and staff.

Chopsticks and table tennis competitions took place during lunchtimes, both of which were hotly contested, with some Year 7 students being among the lucky winners. Staff were also invited to take part in a Chinese characters investigation challenge, with some performers achieving an impressive 100%.

PUBLIC SPEAKING Annabel S, Charlotte H and Demilade W (all Year 10), and Oliver P, Zachary P and William B (all Year 9) competed against other local schools in the English Speaking Union Public Speaking competition, held at New Hall.

The New Hall contestants performed brilliantly; Charlotte was awarded the prize for Best Speaker, Oliver won the Best Chair award and Oliver, Zachary and William were the overall winners, progressing to the next round of the competition.

EASTER FUNDRAISER The last day of term saw a highlight of the school calendar, the annual Easter Fundraiser, take place.

The fun-filled event included food stalls selling pizza, crepes, treats from a chocolate fountain and more, fun games such as penalty shootout, ‘try not to laugh’ and a Velcro hat and ball game, and stalls offering hair and nail treatments. The end of term treat raised money for fantastic causes, SANE and For Jimmy.

SIXTH FORM

SIXTH FORM OXBRIDGE SUCCESS We are proud of all our Year 13 students who applied to Oxbridge colleges this year, facing a stringent and highly competitive entry process. Dennett House are celebrating offers being made to three of their boarders.

Congratulations to the following students, who have all received conditional offers: Head Girl Constance D (former pupil of Repton Dubai Preparatory School) has an offer from Trinity College, Cambridge, to read History; Deputy Head Girl Elizabeth S (former pupil of Holmwood House Preparatory School) has an offer from Hertford College, Oxford, to read Biochemistry; Jin L (former student of Qingdao Middle School of Shandong Province) has an offer from Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, to read Economics; and New Hallian Lucy G (former

pupil of New Hall Preparatory School), has an offer from St Peter’s College, Oxford, to read Mathematics. Following the successes of our six candidates last year who progressed on to Oxbridge, we are delighted once again to see students achieve success in such a wide range of humanities and STEM subject areas, reflecting the breadth and strength of a New Hall education.

Thank you to Dr Tiffen, Mrs Jeffrey, teachers and interviewers for supporting the students throughout the process.

SIXTH FORM

NEW HALL HAMPERS We were delighted to welcome Lydia Taylor, a representative from homelessness charity, Chelmsford CHESS, to New Hall. Lydia met with Miss Walters, Jin L and Stella X, who spoke about the enterprise project that ran during the Michaelmas Term.

The Year 13 students explained how, along with fellow Year 13 team members, Coco K and Jodie L, they had generated several business ideas, settled on ‘New Hall Hampers’ and then submitted a business plan to the Peter Jones Foundation. After securing a business loan of over £800.00, the students negotiated orders with local suppliers, promoted the hampers to secure orders and then spent several evenings packaging up the hampers.

Jin, Stella, Miss Walters and Mrs Jeffrey were then delighted to present a cheque to Chelmsford CHESS for £416.00, generated from the sale of the hampers. The money will go towards providing hot meals, drinks, counselling and shelter for local homeless people, with the aim of helping these people to get off the streets for good.

DEBATING COMPETITIONS Charles M, Jake P (both Year 13), Jonjo M and Ciara K (both Year 12) attended the Oxford Schools’ Debating Competition. The students were given fifteen minutes to prepare for their debate once the motion had been revealed. All members of the team showed the ability to think on their feet and presented a range of persuasive arguments under pressure.

In addition, Charles M and Jonjo M represented the school in the second round of the ESU Debating Competition. Both were tasked with proposing the motion that upper rate tax payers should have the option to redirect a significant part of their income tax to a charity of choice. Charles and Jonjo were debating against The Bishop’s Stortford High School and showed great resilience in rising to the challenge. Both responded well when questioned by the other side. Charles and Jonjo raised some important points and questioned the opposition with great confidence. We hope to hear shortly about the outcome of the competition.

SIXTH FORM

BIOLOGY OLYMPIAD Congratulations to all the students who took part in the Biology Olympiad. Elizabeth S (Year 13) achieved Gold in the Olympiad and made it through to the next round of the competition; only 125 students were eligible to take this paper from the 7818 who competed in the British Biology Olympiad.

NATIONAL APPRENTICESHIP SHOW 20 Year 12 students attended the National Apprenticeship Show in Milton Keynes. There were over 50 exhibitors at the show, including companies such as KPMG, Deloitte, EY, Santander, Mercedez Benz and Volvo. The students were able to gather lots of useful information about a range of higher and degree apprenticeship opportunities to help inform their decisions about which pathway to follow once they complete their A Levels next year.

HUMAN & SPIRITUAL DAY Dr Peter Vardy visited New Hall to lead a day of reflection, debate and academic lectures with Year 12 students, as part of the Sixth Form General RE programme. Dr Vardy is an internationally renowned scholar who has written a number of books on Theology, Philosophy and Ethics. Our Year 12 Theology students have read many of his books and all students were inspired by the topics explored during the day; they were encouraged to reflect on some of the most profound questions about human existence. Dr Vardy was highly impressed by how engaged and articulate our students were and how valued Theology is at New Hall, which is reflected in the very high numbers of our students choosing the subject at A-Level and degree level.

PHYSICS OLYMPIAD Our AS Physics students took part in the AS Challenge run by the British Physics Olympiad. The students achieved our best results yet, with Matthew S achieving a Gold Award, Phineas A, Stephen Y, and Daniel S achieving a Silver Award, Alexander B achieving a Bronze I Award and Alice Y achieving a Bronze II Award. Congratulations to all our students who took part!

SIXTH FORM MODEL UN CONFERENCE Mrs Taylor and ten Sixth Form students attended the Felsted Model United Nations conference. Gabriel C, Jonjo M, Henry W, Sean S and Thomas S (all Year 12) represented Turkey, while Rebecca C, Charles M, Chloe P, Alex M and Euphemia W (all Year 13) represented Kazakhstan.

The theme of the conference was ‘empowering women and girls to achieve global equality’ and as part of this theme, delegates debated preventing FGM, banning the burqa and closing the gender pay gap.

The two days were thoroughly enjoyable, ending in an emergency meeting being called to tackle an outbreak of a pandemic of ‘HIV CX56’ originating in Lesotho. After listening to debates and suggestions, I am confident to say that we are safe in the hands of the next generation of United Nations delegates!

EUROPEAN YOUTH PARLIAMENT A report by Anastasia C (Year 12) We had a fantastic, inspiring and enriching day at the picturesque and prestigious Girton College, Cambridge. With dynamic debate and constructive engagement, we all participated in what we can only describe as a thoroughly rewarding experience. We took the platform to discuss political issues ranging from tax havens to concentration camps and listened actively as well as discussing various issues to meet a consensus with other committees. As a group we grew in confidence throughout the day and were praised on our emotive and passionate team approach, grasp of EU values and big picture thinking.

EDUCATIONAL VISITS

GREECE

Mrs Clark, Mrs Jeffrey, Dr Goddard, Mr Alderson, Mr Lamb, Mr Bray, Mr Guy, Mrs Minnis and Miss Webb, along with over 60 students, bleary eyed and slightly shell-shocked about having to get up at 3.00am, set off for London Heathrow ready to embark on what was tipped to be the most ambitious Classics trip ever run.

The first stop of the trip was to Sounion, where students marvelled at sights of the Temple of Poseidon and enjoyed the slightly warmer climate.

Although this was just the beginning of the trip, Mrs Clark’s squeals of excitement were already being measured by a group of students on a scale of 1-10.

Visits to the Temple of Hephaestus and National Archaeological Museum, the Acropolis and new Acropolis Museum followed. Mrs Clark’s squeals

at this point were a definite ‘6’ on the ‘Mrs Clark Squeal-o-meter’! The second day saw the students and staff visit a theatre to watch a Greek tragedy.

Students and staff then spent the evening making theatrical masks.

Then the intrepid travellers took to the road, first visiting Delphi, the site of the ancient oracle, and then Olympia, home of the Olympic games. Races in the Olympic stadium were followed by Greek cookery and dancing lessons.

A visit to Agamemnon’s palace at Mycenae finished off an action-packed trip.

For more images and videos, including a video of the infamous staff race at Olympia, please visit the Classics Twitter Page.

EDUCATIONAL VISITS

choir tour A report by Mr Fardell The Senior Choir’s 2018 trip was based in Florence, the cradle of the Renaissance. Staying just yards from Brunelleschi’s iconic Duomo, the Accademia housing Michelangelo’s David and the huge culinary resource that is the Mercato Centrale, students and staff had the opportunity to sing at Masses in Santa Croce (shared with our friends from Walthamstow Hall School and Mr Castell) and San Lorenzo, in the Basilica of San Frediano in Lucca and the Basilica of San Francesco in Siena.

Other musical highlights came with our flash-mobbing of venues we visited or passed, Pisa Cathedral had an amazing acoustic, the Piazza del Campo in Siena attracted an appreciative audience and we also honoured Puccini by singing outside his birthplace in Lucca. It was particularly good to include contemporary British music in our repertoire and we can claim regional premieres of pieces by James MacMillan, Colin Mawby and our own Jeffery Wilson.

Musical and cultural visits left little spare time, but we did ensure that there was opportunity to explore the delights of the Central Market, the shops of Siena and we had a nightly raid on Florence’s top ice-cream venues. Some intrepid choristers even made it to 7.30am Mass in the Duomo.

Music making was of a high standard throughout and it was really gratifying to hear how familiarity with the repertoire allowed choristers to listen for ensemble and blend in a wide variety of acoustics.

Many thanks to our students for another great tour!

EDUCATIONAL VISITS

barleylands

Year 1 enjoyed a trip to Barleylands Farm and have been writing about their experience. Here are some extracts from their writing: “On Friday 9 March, Year 1 went to Barleylands. It was raining but at least we met the animals.” – Kianna “We went on the blue tractor. It was bumpy and I had fun.” – Tate “We learnt that the top part of the wheat is called the ear.” – Daniel “My favourite part was making pizza.

I put on yellow sweetcorn and crunchy green and red pepper.” – Lottie “It was really fun meeting the different animals.” – Scarlett “I really liked eating the cookies in my packed lunch.” – Maeve “I loved making a pizza with my friends.

I couldn’t wait to eat it and it tasted delicious!” – Max

national tennis centre Senior and Preparatory students travelled to the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton with Mr Crick and Mr Wallace. The students had a tour of the national training base and were able to see where the top British tennis players practice before tournaments.

The centre has six indoor acrylic courts, six outdoor acrylic courts and eight clay courts, along with numerous grass courts, where qualifying matches for Wimbledon are held. Our players were able to train on the indoor and outside courts ahead of the tennis season, practising on the same surfaces as the Australia and US Open.

It provided a great training base for the Senior team and should inspire them to compete at the highest level, with many hopefully returning in the future to participate in performance training camps and tournaments.

Preparatory players also had the opportunity to watch the world number one wheelchair tennis player, Alfie Hewitt, who was training for an upcoming tournament in American on the next court. After the training session, Alfie Hewitt came onto the New Hall players’ court and gave encouraging words to the pupils, before signing racquets, balls and even a shoe!

The players then had an opportunity to watch

and try some disability tennis before heading home.

Our players had a great time practising on the courts and seeing a number of high-performance players training. Mr Crick is sure that the Preparatory players will try to copy Alfie Hewitt’s top spin in future sessions and will be inspired from meeting the world’s number one player!

EDUCATIONAL VISITS

Daws Hall Year 5 visited Daws Hall Nature Reserve near Sudbury, where the pupils spent the day learning about the key features of a river and how rivers impact the environment.

Pupils had the opportunity to collect, record and analyse the river catchment and brooke profile. The pupils found interesting results about the temperature, saltiness, nitrates and phosphates in the water.

PGL A report by Mr Johnson The Year 6 pupils enjoyed a fantastic week at PGL Liddington. For some, it was the first time staying away from home so a few nerves were inevitable. However, the pupils were fantastic from start to finish, taking part in lots of activities including the abseiling tower, a sensory trail, quad biking, archery, aeroball and a tree top course, amongst other things.

The variety of evening activities gave a great opportunity to try some more team games;

songs around a campfire with marshmallows made for a memorable way to finish the last evening.

Year 6 showed incredible determination and resilience when undertaking the more challenging activities and were a real credit to the school and parents.

A huge thank you to all the staff for their help throughout the week and to Mr Moulton, who took time away from the classroom to surprise the pupils. The memories, I am sure, will be talked about for years to come!

EDUCATIONAL VISITS

EAL cultural visit EAL students from Campion and Dennett went to the West End to see ‘The Comedy About a Bank Robbery’ at the Criterion Theatre, with Ms John and Miss Hibbert. The group had lunch together and some free time for shopping before the show.

The play was hilarious and had everyone laughing out loud for both acts!

On the way home, the group’s kind bus driver, Mike Piddington, pointed out lots of major sights in central London, which gave the students lots of ideas for places to visit during half term.

A report by James J (Year 11) On Saturday 3 February, I went to the Criterion Theatre to watch a play. I thought the theatre was a really beautiful place and the play was extremely good. The play was called “The Comedy About a Bank Robbery” and was set in the summer of 1958.

The plot is based around the Minneapolis City Bank, which is looking after a precious diamond.

Almost every character in the play has a plan in their mind. Some of them try to get the diamond, whilst others try to keep out of trouble.

In one scene, the actors stood against a wall, creating the illusion that we were looking down on them. I don’t know how they did it, it was a very different way to view a play! The play was really funny and all the actors performed really well. The

part that had me most surprised was the end of the play. The ending was amazing, but I won’t tell you anything about it, instead I hope that you can go and watch it!

colchester zoo Year 4 travelled to Colchester Zoo to learn more about animals from the rainforest. The children received a talk from a member of staff about rainforests, where they impressed their teachers with how much they had remembered from their lessons.

They looked at skull models of parrots and toucans, touched a piece of leopard fur and were impressed by the length of an anaconda’s shed skin. The group enjoyed exploring the zoo, visiting a range of animals and completing a scavenger hunt based on what they had been learning in Science and Geography. Highlights of the day included feeding the giraffes and elephants and journeying through the ‘Heart of the Amazon’ exhibit.

EDUCATIONAL VISITS

music visit The London Philharmonic Orchestra’s concert at the Royal Festival Hall gave our GCSE students the opportunity to hear some of the pieces and genres of music that are included in the new AQA specification played live by a world-class orchestra. Among the repertoire was Copland’s music for the ballet Rodeo, Hermann’s music for Hitchcock’s classic Psycho and the concert concluded with a rousing performance of the main theme from Star Wars.

economics revision A number of Year 13 students enjoyed a packed day of Economics revision presentations at Conway Hall, Holborn. They heard from distinguished speakers, including a university professor and past senior examiners, who made links to the forthcoming exams. Students agreed that the discussion over which jobs would disappear over the next 20 years was particularly fascinating.

Hanningfield RESERVOIR Year 2 spent a busy day at Hanningfield Reservoir on a minibeast hunt, pond dipping and, very briefly, bird watching from a hide by the reservoir.

Pupils were taught the correct way to catch and return minibeasts, as well as learning how to turn a net when sweeping it through the water to discover what animals lurk beneath the surface. A big thank you to all the parent helpers who braved the weather. The children were able to recount their day enthusiastically, and thankfully it was much warmer in the afternoon.

SPORT

Girls’ Rugby 7s

On 21 March, the girls at New Hall made history when they competed in the inaugural Essex Girls’ Rugby 7s tournament, held at New Hall, as the school’s first ever girls’ rugby team. The squad had been working hard since mid-January with Mr

Taylor, Mr Cobbe, Miss Pugh and Mr Lane in snow, sleet and torrential rain.

The girls lost their first two games to more experienced opposition but played with real determination. Not to be deterred by the fact that almost the entire school were watching at some points, the girls never lost spirit. In the third game, the girls played their best rugby and won convincingly by two tries and a spectacular conversion.

This victory meant a place in the ‘bowl’ final, which was just reward for their efforts in the tournament so far. Unfortunately, although the score was two tries apiece, the opposition managed to convert one, leading to a narrow 2 point defeat for New Hall.

However, the girls and their coaches should be immensely proud of how well they performed and how hard they have worked this term.

u10 Netball team unbeaten The U10A and U10B netball teams travelled to Forest School on 9 February. Another successful afternoon for the girls resulted in two more wins: 3-1 for the A team and 13-1 for the B team.

To date, the U10s are unbeaten this season! The A team has played 4 and won 4, the B team has played 4 and won 4 and the C team has played 2 and won 2.

hockey news This term, hockey has been established as the major team sport for the Boys’ Division. As part of this development, all boys across Years 7-9 have been playing hockey in their Games sessions, and we are very pleased to confirm a promising start has been made.

The successful term was celebrated at the Boys’ Hockey Awards Evening at the end of term, in which Mr Ward and the coaches reviewed each team’s progress and awarded colours and trophies to a number of players.

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SPORT

Athletics event A large New Hall team attended the Chelmsford School Sport Partnership Sports Hall Athletics event. New Hall put in a great team effort, with valuable contributions from all. The New Hall team finished in first place, earning them a place in the Chelmsford Finals. Congratulations to all who took part!

Equestrian success Members of the equestrian team competed at Felbridge. A team, consisting of Holly G (Year 11), Fern C, Katherine S (Year 10) and Lily G (Year 9), rode brilliantly in the 95cm Royal Windsor Horse Show qualifier, with four fast clear rounds, securing 5th place.

Holly G also performed extremely well in the 1.1m Hickstead qualifier, qualifying as an individual.

Congratulations to our riders!

cross country Well done to the Years 7 and 8 New Hall cross country runners, who competed in the Essex Schools Cross Country event on Wednesday 21 February.

There were some excellent performances, with Holly W and Sofia A (both Year 7) coming 5th and 12th respectively in a strong field of over 150 runners, qualifying to represent Essex at the InterCounties competition in Sussex.

The Year 7 team ran an excellent race and the fastest four qualifiers scored a total of 157 points.

The runners included Kirsten G, Charlotte M, Natalie S, Leila H and Olivia B. The Year 8 team, who had to negotiate a longer and hillier route, also put in a strong performance.

Paige B (49th), Harriet S (65th), Heather S and Madeleine P showed determination in their running, particularly in the latter stages of the course.

SPORT

interschools ski challenge

The New Hall Ski Team departed for Pila in the Italian Alps in February for the 2018 British Interschool Ski Challenge. The team were very fortunate to be on one of the few flights to actually make it out of the country, as a result of the snow! Their good fortune continued with unparalleled snow conditions at the resort, combined with fantastic weather for the majority of the trip!

The 36 skiers from New Hall took part in Slalom and Giant Slalom events across the two race days and managed to accrue a total of 10 medals. This placed New Hall third overall out of 90 schools! This was a fantastic result for the team and the school as a whole, well done to our talented skiers! Our thanks go to Mrs Cooper, Mrs Jeffrey and Mr Douglas-Hughes for accompanying the skiers, organising and supervising the travel, training and time off the slopes.

students vs staff hockey Students and staff enjoyed the annual competitive hockey match in aid of the Helen Rollason Foundation at the end of term. So far, ÂŁ450 has been raised; this is the highest total ever raised on the day alone, with more expected to come in.

The match was close, with the final score of 1-0 after Mr Taylor scored a fantastic top corner goal with a superb strike from the edge of the circle.

Notable performances came from Hannah A, Constance D, Olivia S, Elizabeth S, Grace S, Elliot S (Year 13) and Claudia T (Year 12), keeping the staff defence on their toes. Players of the Match were Hannah A (Year 13, student team) and Mr Emerson (staff team).

The staff were relieved to hear the final whistle and continue their winning run (9 years!) and it was great to see such fantastic sportsmanship from both teams with lots of handshakes, cheers and with money still being popped into the collecting tin, from students, parents and even some New Hallians, who had come in to support. Mr Gray also did a sterling job of collecting from the crowd.

The event ended with a whole group photo and the staff holding the Barry McKay Shield aloft once again.

SPORT

U13 girls’ cricket

Following their success in the first round of the U13 Lady Taverner’s Indoor Cricket Tournament, the girls took part in the County Finals. In the first semi-final, Shenfield High School put New Hall into bat and, with a strong bowling attack, kept the New Hall total down.

Shenfield High won the match. New Hall then played Bower Park in the third place play-off. The New Hall girls found their confidence, bowled consistently well and batted with determination, winning the game to finish third in the county. Well done, girls!

Swimming team The swimming team competed admirably against over 80 schools in the Bath and Otter Cup, held at the London Aquatics Centre. Both the boys’ and girls’ teams narrowly missed out on reaching the finals after some impressive performances.

The teams consisted of Elliot S (Year 13), William B, John B (both Year 11), Oliver P (Year 9), Jack S (Year 8), Harriette S (Year 10), Claudia M, Lauren S ( both Year 9), and Lily U (Year 7). A special mention must go to Lily U (Year 7) who comfortably competed against much older swimmers, some of whom are currently in Year 13.

Superstars competition Year 4 had a very successful afternoon competing in the SuperStars competition, run by the Chelmsford School Sport Partnership. Our pupils scored highly across all the activities, which involved a variety of different sporting skills.

Out of the 300 children that participated, Rosie S achieved the highest score, taking 1st place amongst

the girls! Overall, the New Hall team was crowned winner of the competition, with the combined scores of the whole year group! We now wait to hear our ranking amongst the other 40 schools in the SuperStars competition. Well done, Year 4!

The Avenue, Boreham, Chelmsford, Essex CM3 3HS Tel: 01245 467 588 Fax: 01245 464 348 Email: admin@newhallschool.co.uk www.newhallschool.co.uk