Senior School Newsletter - March 6 2020

Senior School Newsletter Friday 6 March 2020 UPCOMING EVENTS The official newsletter of El Dorado High School teachers

GLOWING REVIEWS FOR LES MISÉRABLES! The Sibford School production of Les Misérables School Edition opened to audiences on Tuesday evening, and after the final sold out performance this evening, the show will have been enjoyed by over 1,000 people.

TUESDAY 28 APRIL AT THE MILL

The cast and crew have received some very well deserved compliments from audience members: 'The whole show was amazing. The set, the orchestra, the crew and the performers all came together perfectly.

Well done Sibford!!!'

Parent

FRIDAY 13 MARCH, DINING HALL

EMAIL PSFA@SIBFORDSCHOOL.CO.UK

'There has clearly been so much work involved to produce such a complex show. Our Year 5 classes were amazed at how many students were involved and how mature their performances were.'

Head of Drama, The Croft School 'Wow what a performance! Our Year 5 really loved it. A huge well done to all who have clearly been working incredibly hard. The acting and performing were brilliant and the musicians were incredible - all against a wonderful backdrop of a clever set and costumes.'

Year 5 teacher

Senior School Newsletter A TALK FROM DETECTIVE INSPECTOR JIM HOLMES On Tuesday morning Detective Inspector Jim Holmes from the Thames Valley Police Force came to talk to our Sixth Form students about a number of topics related to moving out of home, being on your own and going out at night.

As many of our Year 13 students will be leaving us this summer and moving onto their respective universities, apprenticeships or work placements, DI Holmes encouraged them to constantly think of their surroundings, the people they are with and the situations they find themselves in.

DI Holmes spoke about many subjects including consent and sexual awareness, avoiding altercations that may result in severe consequences and how moving to a new environment may bring new challenges. Some hard topics were covered during the talk however it is important for our students to have the information and make informed decisions.

Darren De Bruyn, Assistant Head of Sixth Form

MARCH'S MOST WANTED FOODS We are collecting donations for the StratfordUpon-Avon foodbank. Please see their list of most needed items for the month of March. Donations can be placed in the foyer outside the main hall.

UHT juice Small jars of coffee Pasta sauces Small size washing powder / liquid Instant mash Tinned potatoes

Savoury crackers Sponge puddings Tinned vegetarian meals Tinned ham / corned beef / spam Deodorants Powdered milk

Senior School Newsletter SFL LEARNER OF THE WEEK Erin is once again the SfL learner of the week.

She has produced some excellent work, come to lessons with a fantastic attitude and is making wonderful progress.

Well done Erin!

SUCCESS FOR SIBFORD EQUESTRIAN

Well done to our Equestrian team who had a successful weekend. At the SEG inter schools arena eventing, we qualified for the 90cm final held at Gatcombe Festival of Eventing in August. Riders Jack and Maizey also came 3rd and 5th individually. At Onley, our riders Jack and Anoushka came 2nd, Tom and Emma came 3rd, and our 90 and 100cm teams qualified for nationals at Hickstead.

Senior School Newsletter FIVE QUESTIONS WITH...

OUR LIBRARIAN! Liz Reeves joined Sibford as Librarian in January.

As part of our new 'Five questions with...' feature, we get to know her and the library a little better.

Can you tell us a bit about your background?

I grew up in Warwick and I then went to university in Exeter and studied Drama. I always knew I wanted to work in education so went on to do teacher training in Reading. I lived and taught in London for 2 years and then moved to Banbury and I was a Drama and English teacher at NOA before coming to Sibford. I have two children and two dogs who I love to go on adventures with.

Why is it important for children to read?

This quote from Dr Seuss sums it up for me…

What types of exciting events do you plan to hold in the library?

We will be focusing on key literary events throughout the year for example, world poetry day, banned books day, Shakespeare day and Roald Dahl day. We will also be introducing reading and writing clubs for students.

How can pupils get involved with the library?

The library is always open for students to come to read and study. Students can become a Library Assistant to help run the Library and more spaces will be available for this after Easter.

What was your favourite book as a child?

My mum always read ‘Winnie the Pooh’ to me as a child. It is a fantastic book that introduces children to the ideas of friendship, emotion and adventure.

THE SIBFORD BOARDING BULLETIN! The whole boarding community have enjoyed the musical spectacular of Les Mis this week. Every boarder has attended the show and we were all so proud to support some excellent performances by boarding students, amongst others. A lot of hard work and long weekends have gone into the preparations for the production and it has really paid off.

At the weekend the boarders went to Oxford and made the most of some optional ice-skating. The students had the choice how to spend their free time and enjoyed the chance to unwind at the end of the working week.

It has been the start of the new KS3 activities programme this week – Mondays will be milkshake night, with the opportunity to create a whole range of flavours; Tuesdays will be sports night, with a variety of fun and games to be had; whilst Wednesdays will rotate between a fun swimming session in the pool, with floats and games, and a night of baking. This week the students cooked up some delicious treats to cosy-up against the wintry weather.

We also celebrated Rita’s birthday in the houses this week, with everyone coming together to cook and have fun. It was a lovely night and great to see everyone celebrating together.

Give boarding a go!

If your child would like to try boarding, email vbaker@sibfordschool.co.uk to book an occasional boarding place or a regular slot.

The first 3 occasional boarding bookings will receive a 50% discount on their first night! If your child is staying for a sports fixture or school trip they receive 50% discount on the occasional boarding fee.

Senior School Newsletter CORONAVIRUS UPDATE With the current situation regarding Coronavirus we are taking a number of further actions to keep the community safe: Emphasizing with the pupils the importance of personal hygiene / hand washing.

Placing information posters strategically around the school.

No longer shaking hands at meeting.

Ensuring cleaning is up to date and thorough.

We have identified a space in school to use as an isolation room, away from the main school community should this be necessary.

Making preparations for a ‘worst case scenario’ of a temporary school closure – including for boarders and those in examination groups.

Keeping in close contact with NHS / Public Health England / Department for Education communication channels and updating accordingly.

Liaising with visiting schools and other points of contact with those outside of our community.

Parents / Guardians Please talk to your child about personal hygiene / handwashing.

Please make sure that pupils have some tissues in their pocket each morning. We have sanitisers around the school so these are not needed / optional.

It is very important that any member of the community self-isolates and calls NHS 111 if they display any symptoms of coronavirus.

Please let the school know straight away if you have any serious concerns or have decided / or been instructed to self-isolate.

If you have any general questions or queries do contact the school.

For more information, click here to here to read the Public Health England advice on coronavirus for places of education.

Senior School Newsletter USEFUL INFORMATION

THE 6 STEPS OF HAND WASHING

Palm to palm

The back of the fingers

The back of hands

The thumbs

Inbetween fingers

The tips of the fingers