Vol 14, No 10 - Wellow House School

WELLOWWELLOW-WISE
A Quarter-Termly Newsletter from Wellow House School Wellow Newark Nottinghamshire
Vol 14, No 10
Tuesday 20 May 2008
SUMMER HOLIDAY ACTIVITY SESSION
Just a reminder that we are planning to run activity weeks during the Summer Holidays during the weeks listed
below.
For children of Pre-prep age the sessions are on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. For
July 21 – 25
Prep School children the sessions run from Monday to Friday.
Jul 28 – 1 Aug
The final two weeks for Prep School children will be run by PE Direct who will provide
Aug 4 – 8
further details.
Aug 11 – 15
The weekly cost for the weeks run by the school is £125 and the daily cost is £25.
Aug 18 – 22
Booking forms are available from the school office.
The Headmaster
HUGE NSPCC SPELLATHON TOTAL
A massive thank you to every child who learned their spellings and every parent who kindly sponsored them to
raise a huge £1900 plus for this very worthy charity. Thank you also to everyone else who so kindly gave to
this very worthwhile money-raising cause.
Dan O’Kane
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Telephone (01623) 861054 Facsimile (01623) 836665 E-mail [email protected]
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FROM THE PRE-PREP
New Maths and Literacy resources
Many thanks to Erica and Elliott Fisher’s uncle who has kindly donated some amazing practical maths
equipment and also Literacy resources. They are already being used throughout the Pre-prep to reinforce work
in the classroom.
Build a den
Pre-prep children are enjoying building their own dens/zoos in break times. They are being used as houses,
zoos etc. If you have any old sheets or blankets, we would really appreciate them to provide more den making
potential.
Alison Corbett
YEAR 7 OUTDOORS
Next time you are watching the 1st XI cricket, notice the well worn branches of the oak tree off the corner of
the tennis court. This was the climbing tree. Yes, Wellow House children were once allowed to climb trees! I
can well remember the bell ringing at the end of a summer term break and seeing a dozen boys dropping out of
its branches. It always seemed to hold more children than you expected.
Today, the map reading and orienteering elements of the outdoors trips are the few times left when, my
goodness, children are not constantly
watched. Heavens, something might happen
and an adult will not be on hand to help! We
launched 7DOK out on their own from
Bakewell Showground, their mission, to get
to Chatsworth House. We showed them their
route and they made their route cards and off
they went, in groups, into the big wide world.
Their first challenge, to find their way out of
the back gate of the showground and turn left.
I watched one quartet reach the road, two
turned left, two turned right! When they had
all gone, I drove to Mrs McGill at the first
checkpoint. No-one had made it! One group
were lost in the showground and had only just
got out, one group were so quick they had
beaten her to it and a third group
Some of the successful 7DOK girls with Mark Polglase
arrived at checkpoint two and we never did work out where
they had been. Everyone makes mistakes when map reading.
The art of it is spotting early when you have gone wrong and
getting yourself back on track quickly and safely. Show me
someone who has never got lost with a map, you are
introducing me to an inept map reader.
Making mistakes is essential to the learning process and for
this, they need the leeway. We reached Chatsworth with no
further errors and we went on to Buxton to do orienteering.
This is map reading combined with cross country running, a
challenging sport and there are half-a-dozen country parks in
Derbyshire with permanent courses, you simply buy a map
and have a go.
Map Reading in Progress
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It seemed that everyone needed to make a mistake somewhere, mainly the girls in the morning, definitely the
boys in the afternoon. The girls beat them all ends up.
After that we subjected them to two days of real work. They had a tour of the medieval parts of Haddon Hall
where boys as young as seven turned the spits in the medieval kitchens. How can I describe medieval cuisine?
If you announced you were a vegetarian you would probably get eaten. They went green when they found out
what went into a black pudding. Next they did a day and a half of Geography, learning about the tourism in
Castleton and interrogating the punters. No grey haired lady walked in Castleton that day without being
molested by your children with their clipboards. We did much better trade than the earnest young lady from the
University of Sheffield on a similar mission so there’s a lesson for all you market researchers, enlist cute
eleven-year-olds to do your interviewing . We returned 7DOK and picked up 7NF the following morning for
the same mission, reversing the itinerary.
Haddon Hall was still there the next day, as was the increasingly desperate young lady from Sheffield. You
may remember, this was an unseasonably cold week and she had braved all the wind and the snow to find out
what the tourists thought about the management of wildlife, while our children charmed yet more old ladies.
Her survey will no doubt conclude that the Peak District should be repopulated with polar bears and penguins
while ours will conclude that Castleton is woefully short of Bath chairs.
So on Saturday, we returned to orienteering and we lost all the 7NF girls. We sent out the boys in search
parties. I went searching for the search parties, still no 7NF girls. Map reading you see, is naturally easier for
boys. We men are used to being wrong practically all the time so saying “Hang on chaps, we might have made
a mistake back there” is psychologically, an easy step. Now females, who from the age of two onwards, are
NEVER wrong, blame the map, the hill or anything, but they can never admit they have made a mistake. All of
the orienteering course was in a square kilometre of wooded hillside. The girls were spotted heading out of the
woods well over a kilometre away. They found a landmark which I know is several hundred metres outside the
woods and when they did get back, and cop this for a piece of female logic, their excuse was “It’s the boys’
fault for being a rubbish search party”.
I have to say that your children, when we could find them, behaved very well in public. My thanks to Cathy
Wood, Mark Polglase and especially Gill McGill for their contributions to a very successful week.
At Edensor – Chatsworth is around the next bend.
Brian Jones
U11 ROUNDERS
v Westbourne Wed 7 May Lost 15½- 11½
The girls played exceptionally well in a closely fought contest and each member of the team scored one or
more rounders.
An added benefit was that we all travelled to the match in Lincoln City Football Team’s executive coach.
Don Dryden
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U9 ROUNDERS
v Ranby House
Wed 7 May Won 6 ½– 8 ½
A tough match to start the season off, but the girls performed admirably. All the girls fielded well and worked
hard at the batting. A few confusions about when we could run meant that some of the girls got out when they
shouldn’t! We were ahead by 2 Rounders at half time and stayed that way until the end of the match.
Alice Huddlestone made 2 fantastic catches and Flora Brown stumped another two out on second post. Alice
and Flora both scored a rounder, Tessa scored two, Eleanor scored two and a half and Sabrina and Faith scored
a half each. Charlotte was very unlucky and managed to get out after her first ball during each innings, better
luck next time Charlotte. A great start to the Rounders season, lets keep it up.
v Bramcote Friday 9 May Won 8 – 11
A lovely afternoon for Rounders that saw every girl in year 3 and 4 get a chance at playing a competitive game.
Alice, Faith and Flora all managed some fantastic catches to get the opposition out. Charlotte Napier
demonstrated her fantastic fielding skills when stopping and throwing the ball, and managed to stop Alice’s
cousin, Amelia, from scoring too many rounders. At the end of the first innings we were ahead by 2 rounders.
During the second innings the year 3 girls had a chance to show their skills and they didn’t let us down.
Although Bramcote managed to score 5 more rounders it meant that Wellow only needed 3 ½ to win and the
girls manged to achieve this quickly. During the match Alice scored 1 ½, Tessa 1, Flora 2 ½, Eleanor 3 ½,
Kristen 1, Eve E 1 and Jane-Annabell ½. Thank you to all the supports and to the confused parents who haven’t
quite got to grips with all the rules! I will make you a parent’s guide to Rounders for the next match!
Jacqui Baugh
U13 CRICKET
v Westbourne Wed 7 May Lost by 50 runs
Wellow fought valiantly against very strong opposition. Westbourne 173 for 6, Wellow 123 for 6 including 72
not out – an excellent innings from Toby Trotman.
v Bramcote Lorne Sat 10 May Won by 34 runs
Wellow 153 for 5 (D Buckland 37, T Trotman 34)
Bramcote Lorne 119 for 6 (J Atkin 3 for 26)
Nick Forbes
Reading outside, and enjoying
the sunny weather!
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UNDER 11 CRICKET
v Westbourne Wed 7 May Won by 5 wickets
Westbourne 54 all out (S Trotman 4 for 8) Wellow 57 – 5 (J Salter 17 not out)
This was a super performance in the field, as Wellow restricted a technically impressive Westbourne top five to
a very modest total. This was down to a mixture of fine bowling, especially from lightning fast Sam Trotman,
and some terrific catches, notably from Will Hanson (a flier!) and James Ainscough (who took two). The level
of energy and encouragement never dropped until the job was done. Fergus Polglase and Alexander Buckland
proved a very effective pair of spin twins.
Our batting was hampered by James Ainscough’s suicidal running, which accounted for Alexander and Charles
Naish…Samaritans therapy for James before next match! But then James was joined by Jack Salter and he
began to atone for his earlier dramas with some sensible strokeplay. Jack guided us through a nightmare 3
wicket over from their useful leg spinner and Reuben blasted the winning four – well done!!
v Barlborough Sat 10 May Won by 104 runs Wellow 147-4 dec (22 overs) C Naish 57 no
Barlborough 43 all out (S Trotman 3-5, W Farr 2-2, A Buckland 2-5)
Following the hard fought victory over Westbourne,
the team went into the match against Barlborough
brimming with confidence on a warm, delightful
Saturday morning. As the crowd built up and the buzz
spread through the deckchairs, it could have been
Sussex at Hove in the County Championship, an
illusion that Charles Naish’s crisp stroke play
sustained. This was what teaching should be about!
Our batsmen were alert and on the ball to quick
singles, despatching the poor balls contemptuously as
we put together a formidable total in quick time. Jack
Salter again impressed; he is yet to lose his wicket this
term.
In the field, opening bursts from Sam Trotman and
James Ainscough combined with a slick run out to
reduce the visitors to 15-5, at which point the match
was always likely to be beyond them. This allowed us
to experiment with some debut bowlers, who did not
let the side down, Will Farr picking up two wickets in
his over and Charles McQuilkin one. Well done, all –
three wins out of three, but the bigger tests lie ahead.
You are good enough to come through them though.
Over 50 runs!
Dan O’Kane
Chas Naish, Toby Trotman,
Sam Trotman
5 Wkts! Fergus Polglase
CHESS MATCH v RANBY HOUSE
We played a hastily arranged fixture against Ranby House on the afternoon of Friday 18 April. Unfortunately
team selection was rather restricted, 7NF were away on a field trip and Year 8 were wanted for lessons.
Selected for the team were Mary McQuilkin, Sasha Rudnik, Charles McQuilkin and Aiden O’Beirne.
Arriving at Ranby in time for lunch (probably the highlight of the day), we settled down to 16 matches in total.
Sadly we lost all the games but the standard is improving and no one was caught in fool’s mate!
However we have begun to climb the lofty ladder to success.
Adrian Bardsley
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‘NEWSPAPER REPORTS’ FROM YEAR SIX
olds; and the captain Harry Mead tried to reason with
the groundsman Pip.
Our reporter caught up with Pip in his hut. Letting
him in gingerly before removing the padlock, he said,
“Well, you try having an 11-year-old running at you
with a cricket bat. Gunn & Moores hurt, you know. I
had no choice though – rules are rules.” Our reporter
later on interviewed headmaster Mr Cook. He said, “I
was watching the weather forecast while I was doing
600 press-ups. It said it was going to rain so I spoke
to King’s, who were jumping for joy as I told them
our pitch was waterlogged. I think they were scared
of our team.”
Wellow were ready to go with bowlers ready, fielders
ready and of course captains ready. Mr O’Kane had
begun the day being unusually nice to them; perhaps
he was getting them ready for the news. In break he
rounded them up and then gave them the bad news.
People were throwing bats in frustration – not a good
day for Wellow’s history.
Xander Buckland, 6BJ
WELLOW STARS IN DRESSAGE & SHOW
JUMPING COMPETITION
Up and coming equestrian stars Lucy Cundy and her
sister Harriet performed well again in the qualifying
rounds of the Midlands Puffa Championship held at
the Trent Valley Equestrian Centre on 13th April.
Lucy rode her faithful horse
Smartie, a 14 hands chestnut
gelding; and Harriett rode Oslo,
the cheeky 14 hands dun. Both
sisters have enjoyed a string of
achievements in their riding of
late. They both really pulled out
the stops on Sunday when they
were placed 7th and 8th out of a
class of 42 entrants.
We managed to catch up with
both of them at their home in Papplewick for an
interview after their recent success . Lucy stated that
Smartie had done everything asked of him and added
that she hoped for her success to continue for the rest
of the season. Harriett commented that she had had
so much fun competing with Oslo, who as usual had
kept her on her toes all day with his cheeky manners
and approach.
We all wish them every success and again
congratulate them on their brilliant performance in
April. I am sure we have only just seen the beginning
of these two very talented sisters in the Horse World.
Watch this space…..
Lucy Cundy, 6BJ
TIME FOR RELAXATION
The film star Zoë Buckland is now relaxing in the
fashionable Austrian resort of Obergurgl after her
hectic film shoot in Hampshire. Her friend Betsy, 11
and her cousin Izzie, 12, are currently keeping her
company. Lucky Zoë spotted Suzannah (of Trinny
and Susannah fame) on the slopes.
A fan said, “What a good destination because she is
not known in Austria.” Zoë has been seen playing in
the snow with her friends and drinking (J2Os we
hope) in the local bars. One local restaurant owner
commented, “Zoë has been the talk of the town since
she was here dancing on the tables and playing air
guitar up on stage.”
Zoë’s agent informs us that she is looking forward to
her return to England, when she will be attending the
premiere of her latest film, ‘The Omniscient Man’ in
June.
Zoë Buckland, 6 GM
O’KANE LONGBALL SCANDAL !!
Get out your signs! Light your pitch torches and
sharpen your pitchforks! We are going rioting
because on Wednesday afternoon during the last
lesson of the day, Wellow English teacher Mr.
O’Kane kicked the ball intentionally to the
opposition for a catch. He claimed that: “We were
winning by miles at the time and I tried to even
things up. How was I to know that the next pupil
(who shall remain anonymous) would kick the next
ball unintentionally straight to a catcher?”
Mr O’Kane had kicked the ball to the opposition,
thus costing his team the game, as his side managed
seven less than Mrs Broughton’s team. “I understand
his intentions but, even if we had won by miles, it
was only a game!” commented a member of the
winning team. The people of Year 6 have been
discussing this incident for the last two days and it
will be talked of for days to come. “I hope it never
happens again,” said Mr Cook, the Headmaster, “but
if it does the teacher concerned will be punished
severely!”
Information sourced & written by Jack Whitfield, 6BJ
YET ANOTHER MATCH CANCELLED
Send in the rain men! Move fixtures to South Africa!
Yet another match was cancelled last Wednesday and
yet another team was left in hysterics after finding
out that their second fixture in a row had been
cancelled due to bad weather. The coach Mr O’Kane
could find no words for the angry mob of 11 year
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U9 CRICKET
v Highfields Wed 23 Apr Won by 27 runs
This was the first match for both teams and so we treated it as a coaching/training match. We batted first and
had an excellent start with Owen and Oliver scoring over 30 between them and without losing any wickets. The
other batsmen continued to keep the runs going with good running between the wickets. We faltered slightly
towards the end but we managed to post a score of 256 in the allotted 16 overs. Highfields then batted and
although they had some big hitters they did not run as well between the wickets, reaching a total of 239. A
good win for Wellow to start the season.
v Bramcote Lorne Fri 9 May
Lost by 7 runs
In our second match the opposition batted first. They had some decent batsmen throughout their team and they
notched up a score of 276 off the 16 overs. We bowled quite well but our concentration in the field was not
great and we need to improve upon fielding and WALKING IN. We then batted and there were some useful
knocks from Owen, Joshua, Edward, Matthew and Oliver. However we just fell short of their target and we
managed 269 at the end of our 16 overs. A good hard-fought game though.
v Barlborough Hall Sat 10 May
Won by 7 runs
In our third match we entertained Barlborough who batted first. Once again we bowled quite well and took a
few catches. Our fielding generally though is not as sharp as it could be, with too many fielders standing still.
Barlborough at the end of their allotted overs scored 256. We then batted and both Owen and Matthew got us
off to a good start. Joshua/Jordan and William/Sam kept the runs going and we finished strongly with Oliver
and Dominic bringing us to 263 and to record our second win
Ray Pedley
PAVING SLABS AND MILESTONES
Congratulations to Mick Scully on reaching His 65
th
birthday!
Mick and his helpers have been busy removing a number of paving
slabs around the school. These are surplus to our requirements.
Should anyone have any use for them please see Mick!
3 X 2 slabs £1.50 each
2 X 2 slabs £1.00 each
More lessons in the sun
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French cricket at break time
WELLOW MASQUERADE BALL
Saturday 21 June
Please may we remind all friends and parents that tickets are now available for the Summer Ball.
It promises to be a very memorable event!
The Ball Committee
CALENDAR
MAY
Wed 28 Half Term ends 8.45am
Sports Day Heats (pm) (tbc)
JUNE
Mon 2 CE and School Exams begin
Wed 4 House match semi-finals
Thu 5
Fri 6
U9 Cricket v St Peter & St Paul’s (H)
U9 Rounders v St Peter & St Paul’s (H)
CE and School Exams finish
Leavers’ Watersports Day
U9 Cricket v Westbourne (A) 2.30pm
Yr 5 trip to Eureka (all day)
Sat 7 Sports Day from 9.30am
Mon 9 Year 3 Hike
Tue 10 Year 4 Hike
Subject Heads Meeting 5.15pm
Wed 11 U11A Cricket v St Hugh’s (A) 2.30pm
U11B Cricket v Ranby (H) 2.00pm
U9 Cricket v St Hugh’s (A) 2.30pm
U11A Rounders v Ranby (H) 2.00pm
U11B Rounders v Ranby (H) 2.00pm
U9 Rounders v St Hugh’s (A) 2.30pm
Thu 12 5SH Geography Field Trip (am)
5RP Geography Field Trip (am)
Fri 13 Wellow-wise published
2nd Exeat begins 5.00pm
Wind in the Willows Rutland OT 8pm tbc
Mon 16 2nd Exeat ends 8.45am
Yr 3&4 trip (all day)
Pre-prep new parents’
& Grandparents’ afternoon
Addition to published calendar
All parents and friends are welcome to attend the events in bold type
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