The Shield - Trinity 2019

THE SHIELD

TERMLY NEWSLETTER

TRINITY 2019

www.stdunstans.org.uk

HEADMASTER’S INTRODUCTION

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elcome to this redesigned edition of our termly publication, which we are delighted to relaunch under a new title: The Shield.

The white shield of St Dunstan’s and the albam exorna motif that defines it, serve as the embodiment of our College ethos and a guiding narrative for the development of our community. Translating as ‘adorn the white’, albam exorna refers to the shield as the blank canvas onto which will be adorned the as-yet-unwritten story of each St Dunstan’s pupil; each individual journey through school and life beyond. It is therefore fitting that our termly update now becomes The Shield, containing as it does so many wonderful and eclectic records of individual and collective achievement throughout the College.

Trinity Term includes so many notable events, from Commemoration Day and Beating the Bounds to Adventure Week, Prize Giving and another hugely successful St Dunstan’s Festival. I hope you will enjoy reading about the many highlights and pupil achievements across the College.

The shield has evolved over the years and been presented in numerous guises. However, the white shield of St Dunstan’s and its albam exorna motif has been consistent as a guiding principle for the culture and attitudes of College life.

Mr Nicholas Hewlett Headmaster 2

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COMMEMORATION DAY

KEY DATES Michaelmas Term

2019

Mon 2 Sep -Term begins for pupils in Years 1-13 Wed 4 Sep - Term begins for pupils in Reception Years 10-13 Forder Activity Fair Thur 5 Sep - Junior School Welcome Evening ( Nursery-Year 6) Years 7-9 Forder Activity Fair

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Fri 6 Sep - Nursery Term begins

This year’s service was led by Canon Boswell and included a welcome from The Very Reverend Andrew Nunn, Dean of Southwark, and an address given by The Rt Revd Jonathan Clark, the Bishop of Croydon.

Friends and St Dunstan’s cheese and wine evening (1900-2200)

ur annual Commemoration Day took place on Friday 24 May. The Service of Celebration and Thanksgiving, when we remember our benefactors and founders, is held annually at Southwark Cathedral, and attended by all our Prep and Senior pupils who arrive on a train chartered just for St Dunstan’s!

Fri 13 Sep - Senior School individual portraits and group photographs Parents Seminar: Development Plan launch (1800-1900)

Sat 14 Sep - Dunstonian Association Family Day Mon 16 Sep - EYFS & KS1 Parent Seminar Tues 17 Sep - Junior School, Year 12 & siblings photographs Thur 26 Sep - Languages Celebration Day Fri 27 Sep - Senior School closes 1300 for Open Day preparations Sat 28 Sep - Senior Open Morning.

Years 7-13 required 0800-1200

Beating The Bounds

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group of Year 7 students took part in Beating the Bounds at All Hallows by The Tower on Thursday 30 May.

Beating the Bounds is an ancient custom still observed in many English parishes and the College returns annually to mark its origins in the parish of St Dunstan-in-the-East and to take part in the proceedings, together with the

clergy and the Masters of the associated Livery Companies.

The ceremony was followed by an Ascension Day Festal Evensong led by All Hallows’ new vicar, Rev Katherine Hedderly, and accompanied by the St Dunstan’s Chapel Choir, with the Headmaster and senior prefects leading the prayers.

Mon 30 Sep - Black History Month launch Wed 2 Oct - Parents’ E-safety seminar Tues 8 Oct - Junior Harvest Festival Thur 10 Oct - Home clothes day: wear yellow for Young Minds Sun 20 Oct – Sun 3 Nov: EXEAT Mon 11 Nov - Careers Evening Year 10-12 Wed 13 Nov - Michaelmas Concert Fri 15 Nov - Senior School closes at 1300 for Open Morning preparations Sat 16 Nov - Senior Open Morning.

Years 7-13 required 0800-1200 Fri 6 Dec - Friends of St Dunstan’s Christmas Market Tues 10 Dec - Pupils’ Christmas lunch Thur 12 Dec - Festival of Nine lessons and Carols Fri 13 Dec- Term ends: Noon - all pupils www.stdunstans.org.uk

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ST DUNSTAN’S FESTIVAL One of the highlights of this term was the St Dunstan’s Festival 2019.

An eleven day celebration of art, culture, sport and community events, across the College sites and throughout Catford.

Drama & Dance

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he Nightingales Performance (top left) saw a group of young men from the College use Tennessee Williams’ famous play to break down gender stereotypes and present a captivating performance at the Broadway Theatre. The event raised money for the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust.

The Community Drama Performance (below) involved students from St Dunstan’s College, Harris Crystal Palace and Woolwich Polytechnic

School for Boys coming together at the Broadway Theatre to create a piece of theatre from scratch.

The project – which the students decided to name Our Creations – was led by National Theatre director Kate Beales. Speaking after the performance, Mr Hewlett described it as ‘one of the best devised theatre pieces’ he had ever seen.

A group of Year 13 students put together a piece of theatre inspired by the techniques of Antonin Artaud. (right) The performance,

which was standing only and took place in the Drama Studio, was described has ‘hard-hitting and provocative’ The Great Hall was transformed into a catwalk on Tuesday 2 July as the Art Department hosted their annual Fashion Show (opposite right).The collections had been designed by our students and themes included the environment, with one dress being made entirely out of plastic bottles and bags.

The event was supported by the ‘wonderful vocals’ of Holly, one of our Sixth Form musicians.

The Vibe Dance Show (bottom right) took place in the Great Hall on Thursday 27 June. Led by professional choreographers, the show represented a range of genres and students had an opportunity to perform in a variety of storytelling dancing.

A group of Lower School students came together to create a ‘practically perfect’ production of Mary Poppins in just five days (opposite left).

Making up the cast and crew, the Year 7, 8 and 9 students worked tirelessly in the Great Hall to put on a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious performance!

Our talented Year 6 pupils took parents, carers and guests for a journey under the sea with their Festival performance of The Little Mermaid (opposite top). The show, which took place at the Broadway Theatre, was described as a ‘visually spectacular performance’.

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Festival Concert

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his year’s closing event was the spectacular Festival Concert at the Broadway Theatre.

Guests were treated to musical performances that paid tribute to the ‘Golden Age of Hollywood’.

Open Air Cinema

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he College hosted its first ever Festival open air cinema on Thursday 28 June. The film The Greatest Showman, starring Hugh Jackman and Michelle Williams, was shown as families enjoyed popcorn and candyfloss, supplied by our sponsors KFH.

Junior School Concert

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upils from across the Junior School entertained the audience at the Broadway Theatre on Tuesday 25 June with their annual Festival concert. The Junior Choir, Junior bands and String Ensembles all performed, whilst group songs came from Reception to Year 2 classes.

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Netball Fast 5s

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ur Sports Department was delighted to welcome netball players from Sydenham, Emanuel, Trinity, and Chislehurst and Sidcup on Wednesday 26 June, for an afternoon of Netball Fast 5s. Emanuel were victorious and took home the day’s cup.

Sports Dinner

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he annual sports dinner took place at the Jubilee Grounds on Wednesday 3 July to celebrate our students’ sporting achievements. The dinner was attended by special guest Ed Jackson, a former professional rugby player, who has played at international level with Bath, London Welsh, Newport Gwent Dragons, and London Wasps; he talked movingly about his tenacity and drive in overcoming the challenges of unexpected disability.

Headmaster’s Cricket

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t was another excellent Headmaster’s XI vs 1st XI cricket match at this year’s Summer Fete. In a competitive game, the staff edged to victory.

A special mention to Mr Sharples for taking three wickets in two overs.

Summer Fete

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he Friends of St Dunstan’s Summer Fete took place on Saturday 2 July. Guests were able to explore more than 25 stalls, staffed by parents and friends of the College.

Stormtroopers were on hand, collecting donations for the Institute of Cancer Research and burgers and strawberries were available aplenty!

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Junior School Workshops

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s part of the Festival, our Junior School pupils took part in a range of daily workshops.

These included sessions on the theatre, doodling in art, learning about the solar system and making small structures in an architecture workshop.

The Junior School also hosted a series of workshops where parents and carers joined their children. These afternoon sessions included hand puppet making, a Greatest Showman singalong and jewellery-making.

Baking with Becs

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ur very own Bake Off took place in The Refectory, with Junior and Senior school children creating their own Minion cupcakes from scratch, with fabulous results.

DT Workshop

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ur DT Department hosted a Festival workshop on Wednesday 26 June, enabling parents, carers and pupils to work together and create a personalised key ring – they even had the chance to use our latest laser cutters!

PRIZE GIVING

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ur annual Prize Giving ceremony took place at the Broadway Theatre on Saturday 29 June. The ceremony recognised achievements of pupils in both the Junior and Senior Schools.

The political journalist, contemporary historian and Old Dunstonian, Peter Snowdon, was this year’s guest speaker, and it was a delight to share in his reminiscences of his time at the College.

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Historical Tour

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s part of this year’s Festival, we were delighted to welcome parents, students, alumni and members of the community for a historical tour of the College on Monday 24 June. The guests were able to access all areas of the College, including the Archives Room.

Year 13 Leavers’ Dinner

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he Great Hall was transformed into a 1950s American Diner for this year’s Leavers’ Dinner. The students enjoyed a three-course meal before moving to the Jubilee Grounds’ marquee for their final send-off.

An Evening on Diversity and Leadership

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he College was delighted to welcome special guests Baroness Doreen Lawrence, Ellah Allfrey OBE, Shaun Dellenty, Cllr Brenda Dacres and Glenn Hammet for an evening discussion on diversity and leadership on Tuesday 25 June. During the event, the panellists talked about their own experiences and answered questions from the audience. The event was organised by the student-led Equality Society.

LGBT WEEK

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lthough not part of the Festival, St Dunstan’s College was delighted to hold its first ever LGBT Week for senior students.

During the week, there were a variety of activities organised to mark the occasion, including student-led assemblies, visiting speakers from LGBT charity ‘Just Like Us’ and a rainbow-inspired non-uniform day, which raised money for the charity. The week was coordinated by the student-led equalities society.

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CREATIVE DUNSTONIANS A’Level & GCSE Art Exhibition

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he Great Hall was transformed into a stunning art gallery from 17-21 June, showcasing A’ Level and GCSE Artwork; the tremendous creativity of our student body was aptly demonstrated.

Parents, carers, staff and students enjoyed a private viewing of the exhibition as well.

Junior House Art Competition

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upils from Years 3–6 were invited to submit a piece of art based around the colour theme of their House. Entries were presented in a variety of creative ways, from photographs to collage, and collated into a mini exhibition. Votes were then cast, with Forder coming out victorious, and Siv from Year 5 winning the individual prize.

Young Writers

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his term, pupils in Year 7 and 8 were tasked with writing a book.

Students could choose any genre, from fiction and poetry to factual texts.

Once written, students had to print them and design their front covers. Head of the Learning Resource Centre, Mrs CampbellBrown, said: ‘The project went really well, students worked independently and their books are very impressive.’

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Choral And Orchestral Concert

Silence for Charity

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unior School pupils in 6G went silent on Wednesday 1 May to raise money for charity. During the day, the pupils stayed absolutely silent throughout the school day, including during their lessons and lunchtime. The day raised a fantastic £700 for St Christopher’s Hospice, which is located in Sydenham and provides palliative care.

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ur annual Choral and Orchestral Concert took place on Thursday 2 May. A packed audience at St Pancras Church, Euston Road enjoyed an eclectic programme that included a composition from our Year 13 leaver, Rachel, as well as a massed choir of over 300 pupils, staff, parents and Old Dunstonians performing a moving rendition of Mozart’s Requiem.

Year 4 Production of Tut Tut

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fter weeks of preparation, rehearsing, and making the set and props, Year 4 performed their production of Tut Tut to a packed audience of parents, siblings and staff at the Catford Broadway Studio Theatre. The show tells the story of Prince Tutankhamun, who swaps places for three days with a street urchin, in order to experience ‘a different life’.

CatArt Bookcase

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his term, the CatArt bookcase at Catford Bridge Station has been kept full and tidy by Year 12 students Gordon and Daniel. The bookcase is located at the station close to the CatArt student paintings, which were installed earlier this year.

The Magic of Childhood

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hat a special occasion this was! After rehearsing like professional actors, Year 3 put on a fantastic performance, singing songs all about childhood and telling funny stories for all to enjoy.

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ADVENTURE WEEK

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ur annual Adventure Week took place from Monday 10 to Friday 14 June. This year, Year 7 headed to Torquay for a range of activities at PGL’s Barton Hall (above), whilst Year 8 took part in CCF boot camp in Folkestone.

Our Year 9 students travelled to JCA’s Adventure Centre in the Peak District (below middle), as Year 10 split into two groups, swapping between Xscape Centre in Milton Keynes, Liquid Leisure in Windsor and a Thames Rockets experience in central London (pictured right and below).

Despite the challenging weather, everybody had a wonderful time!

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Coastal Exploration

Year 7 Geography trip to East Sussex

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ear 7 Geography students spent the day at Seven Sisters Country Park in Seaford, East Sussex, on Tuesday 7 May. (above left) The area is famous for its chalk cliffs, grasslands and river valleys and the students enjoyed spending the day exploring the area and learning about its human and physical geography.

Lulworth Cove trip

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ur Year 10 Geography students spent a day on the awe-inspiring Jurassic Coast this term (top right). During the trip, important fieldwork was carried out for their IGCSE course as well as learning about the geomorphology of the region.

Year 4 Residential to Osmington Bay

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ear 4 enjoyed a fun-filled and challengeladen week in Osmington Bay, Dorset, from the Monday 13 to Friday 17 May (middle). Highlights included dragon boat racing, raft building, and fossil hunting, during which one of our pupils found the largest fossil ever seen on the site, according to the trip leaders.

Year 6 trip to Horton Kirby trip

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n another water-related activity, Year 6 spent a wonderful day at Horton Kirby (left), learning all about rivers. They participated in experiments to discover parts of the river where the water flows the fastest by sailing rubber ducks. www.stdunstans.org.uk

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TRIPS & VISITS Nursery trip to the Transport Museum

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ursery enjoyed a fabulous trip to the Transport Museum on Thursday 6 June. The children loved the interactive exhibitions and play areas, and enjoyed an engaging lesson called ‘All Aboard’ where they sang songs and made their own connecting train line.

Year 1 Wildlife Trust Centre

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ur Year 1 pupils visited the London Wildlife Trust Centre for Wildlife Gardening on Tuesday 14 May to support their latest International Primary Curriculum topic, Live and Let Live.

During their visit, the children learned about different habitats and the many ways in which animals and plants support one other.

Year 2 Camping Trip

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ear 2 had an amazing time this term with their first ‘residential’ trip. Despite the pouring rain, they successfully camped out on the College playing fields, enjoying a barbecue, camp craft, and songs around the campfire!

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Year 5 Residential trip to Shropshire

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his term, Year 5 set off on their annual residential trip to Manor Adventure in Shropshire, (pictured above). From underground mazes to high ropes, kayaking to blind trails, the activities were fun-filled and adventurous with a splendid time had by all.

Year 1 trip to the Horniman Museum

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ear 1 had a wonderful day as puppeteers at the Horniman Museum, where they learned about puppets from around the world. Whilst at the museum, they also enjoyed exploring the aquarium and the amazing ‘Lego Wonders’ exhibition.

Year 5 Out and About

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s part of their International Primary Curriculum topic, ‘The Holiday Show’, Year 5 became tourists for the day and enjoyed a private bus tour of London, taking in all the sights of the capital.

Year 5 also visited London Zoo as part of their International Primary Curriculum topic: ‘Existing, Endangered and Extinct’.

During the trip, the children had time to explore the Zoo, observing a wide variety of species, whilst discussing which categories of the animal kingdom each fell into. Year 5 also took part in a workshop in the Zoo’s education centre called ‘Discover Classification’.

Year 3 trip to the Science Museum

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ear 3 had great fun visiting the Science Museum, developing their scientific understanding in the Wonderlab, and taking part in a thought-provoking workshop.

Year 4 visit Dulwich Picture Gallery

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ear 4 visited Dulwich Picture Gallery on Friday 7 June. During the visit, the Junior School pupils toured the gallery and took part in a storytelling session. Dulwich Picture Gallery is the world’s first purpose-built public art gallery; it was founded in 1811 when Sir Francis Bourgeois RA bequeathed his collection of old masters ‘for the inspection of the public’.

Year 3 Residential trip to Lambourne End

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ne of the highlights of Year 3 is going on their two-night residential. The children had fun making their own food, visiting the farm, sitting round the campfire and pond dipping!

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SPORT Junior & Senior Sports Days

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was when each House, including teachers, took part in the Human Ladder Race. Well done to all who took part; it was a great morning! Hecker won this year and Stuart were runners up.

Prep Sports Day was a triumph this year, with a range of endurance activities, sprints, jumping, throwing and fun events. The highlight for most

Our Senior School Sports Day took place on Wednesday 3 July at the Jubilee Grounds.

Congratulations to the overall Sports Day House champions, Hecker. Forder followed in second place, with Stuart and Usherwood in third and fourth, respectively.

his year the Pre-Prep enjoyed a carousel of activities for their Sports Day, including a sponge and bucket relay, the classic egg and spoon race and a welly wang!

Winners this year were Hecker, and Forder were runners up. A fun afternoon was had by all, ending in a highly competitive parent race.

Taekwondo success

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tanley in 05H took home his first Taekwondo gold in the annual Spring England Open Taekwondo Competition.

Over 200 players from clubs as far away as Japan, as well as clubs in England, Scotland, and Ireland arrived to compete over two days in Poomsae and Kyorugi.

Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS) National Chess Championships

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he IAPS National Chess Championship, which was hosted by Twickenham Preparatory School, took place in April. Many congratulations to Junior School pupil Cyrus who came second place overall in the U11 and U13 sections of the competition.

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Milla’s Netball selection

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ongratulations to Milla, from Year 6, who has been selected to play for U13 Kent netball. A huge achievement!

CCF end of year celebrations

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o celebrate the last CCF parade of the year on Monday 20 May, and to thank the cadets for all their hard work, CCF staff arranged for a number of inflatable games to mark another excellent year for the corps. Cadets enjoyed activities that included last man standing, traversing wall, eliminator, 4-man gladiator joust and hungry hippos. Speaking about the celebrations, Major Davies said: ‘The weather was kind and the cadets had a great time. My thanks to all the staff who helped run the proceedings.’

CCF & DUKE OF EDINBURGH

CCF Contingent Dinner

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n Saturday 22 June, the annual CCF Contingent Dinner took place at the College. It was once again a huge success, with over 116 cadets and guests in attendance. This year we were delighted to welcome as our guest of honour, Commodore Paul Hughes who amongst many things within his military career was appointed Honorary Physician to Her Majesty the Queen, in 2015.

CCF RN Year 10 Field Weekend

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he CCF’s inaugural Year 10 sailing weekend took place this term. Despite being set back by bad weather, ten cadets and two staff enjoyed an overnight stay at the HMS Bristol and a day at Portsmouth’s Historic Dockyard.

Gold DofE Award at Buckingham Palace

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our students visited Buckingham Palace on Monday 13 May for their Gold Award presentation. The dedicated students received certificates from the BBC’s Security Correspondent and author, Frank Gardner, and also had the opportunity to meet HRH The Countess of Wessex.

This year has been another exceptional year for St Dunstan’s DofE programme, with 85 students completing at least one level of the Award. www.stdunstans.org.uk

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Nick Carter visits Junior School

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t Dunstan’s Junior School was delighted to welcome adventurer Nick Carter to the College on Friday 3 May. Nick spoke to pupils about dealing with ‘Deep Fear’, an area of particular expertise given his experience scaling some of the world’s highest mountains (including Everest), running across the hottest deserts, living with some of the most remote tribes, and visiting some of the coldest places on Earth.

NEWS IN BRIEF...

Millie’s Mark Award for Jubilee Nursery

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ur Jubilee Nursery has become the first nursery in Lewisham to receive the Millie’s Mark Award. This is a national award given to settings ‘for going above and beyond in meeting requirements in paediatric first aid’. The Jubilee Nursery, located on Canadian Avenue, Catford, has been awarded this by the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) in association with the Department for Education and Millie’s Trust.

Sixth Form Students at the London School of Economics

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group of Sixth Formers attended a talk on climate change at the LSE on Thursday 16 May. Sinem, Year 12, described keynote speaker Katharine Hayhoe’s talk as, ‘truly inspiring’ and was motivated by Katharine’s emphasis on ‘building bridges rather than digging trenches’.

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Sustainability with Holroyd Howe

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olroyd Howe’s Sustainability and Environmental Manager, Hannah, visited the College on Thursday 27 June to speak with students about future-proof food, waste and disposables, as well as Holroyd Howe’s numerous sustainability initiatives across the company, and within St Dunstan’s.

Year 13 Leavers’ Day

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ur Year 13 Leavers’ Day took place on Friday 13 May. Sixth Formers were treated to a special breakfast in the Refectory, followed by a farewell assembly, during which Mrs McLellan spoke to the students about their time at St Dunstan’s and Head of School, Aimee, reflected on her time in role.

The students then moved to St Laurence Church, in Catford, for their Leavers’ Service led by Canon Boswell, followed by a BBQ and games on the Jubilee Ground.

Nursery tour the College

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his term, our nursery pupils have been learning about the people who help us in the community. The pupils were asked to think about who helps them during their school days. At first the children focused on their teachers but nursery teacher Ms Leane asked them to think about other adults who help across all elements of College life.

Junior School Open Morning

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ur Junior School Spring Open Morning took place on Tuesday 30 April. We were delighted to welcome more than 80 prospective families to the College to tell them about life in our Pre-Prep and Prep, our unique ethos, and the exciting upcoming development plans. During the morning, our guests had the opportunity to hear from the Headmaster, Head of Junior School, and our Director of Admissions.

House Easter Challenge

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ear 5 and the Year 8 House Vice-Captains took part in the first Easter Challenge event across the College. House Captains from Year 6 and 8 helped to plan, organise and run the event, which involved a scavenger hunt with riddles to solve, all in the attempt to find the hidden location of the allusive Easter Bunny (guess who!). Congratulations to Stuart, who were the overall winners.

Parent Engagement evening

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e were delighted to host a Parent Engagement Evening on Wednesday 19 June.

During the evening, parents had the opportunity to meet our new caterers, Holroyd Howe, and to be updated on our building developments. The parents got to explore the new build with virtual reality headsets. www.stdunstans.org.uk

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