front page - Sherfield School

Prep News
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A U T U M N 2 0 1 4
Welcome to
….Mr Meakin!
This new academic year saw the arrival of Mr
Greg Meakin as the Head of the Prep School.
Our intrepid reporters went to meet him and
find out about him.
What is your background in education?
INSIDE
THIS ISSUE:
Our new Prep 1
Head
Les
Miserables
2
Basingstoke
3
half marathon
The Great
Sherfield
Baking
Masterclass
4
Harvest
Festival
5
Hampton
Court
6
Barcelona
Tour
7
FOS
8
I have a biology degree and my first job after University was with Scottish
and Newcastle Breweries. I was an analyst (including being trained as a
beer taster!) and ended up training new laboratory technicians. Through
this I realised I loved teaching. So after a couple of years and some
research, I resigned from the job and enrolled in Newcastle University
Education Faculty. I am also a qualified and experienced mountain leader
and have taken pupils on expeditions all over the UK, as well as in the
French and Swiss Alps.
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in rural Essex, New Zealand and Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
Are you married and do you have any children?
Yes, I am married to Raphaëlle, who is French, and I have two children,
Mallory (Year 2) and Margaux (Year 5). My family is bi-lingual and my
children are joining Sherfield in January.
Why have you decided to come to Sherfield?
I was really interested in working with Mr Jaine. Sherfield is a growing
school with enormous potential and I feel I can contribute positively to the
children's learning experiences. I am also impressed with the friendly,
positive atmosphere here.
Have you worked in any other schools?
I have worked in independent and boarding schools for 20 years, teaching
in Hampshire, Surrey, Brussels and some teaching in Hong Kong.
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Les Miserables...the best bits!!
Friday 10th October was an evening to remember as
members of the staff and pupils combined to put on
a show dedicated to the best bits of the hit musical
‘Les Miserables’.
The show was put together over a period of months
by Miss Gail Mortley and Miss Ilana Bennett and involved a
considerable amount of hard work and dedication on the
part of the performers to learn lines and staging directions.
The numbers chosen were linked together seamlessly and
each song portrayed the story carefully.
The show began with a rousing rendition of ‘At the End of
the Day’, with the whole cast taking part, which then
faded to ‘I dreamed a dream’. The show continued
alternating between the light and shade of the struggle of
the poor in revolutionary France with rousing numbers such
as ‘Master of the House’ and ‘Lovely Ladies’ followed by
more pensive numbers such as ‘Look Down’ and ‘Stars’.
There were a number of memorable solos by pupils such as
Rebecca R, Thomas J, Elin S, Oisin M, Enobong B, Grace Wa,
Sophie H, Grace Wy and Sophie W.
The supporting roles were well-filled and the show was
brought to a suitable
finale with the whole
cast performing the
crowd-pleasing ‘Do
you hear the people
sing?’. The audience
showed their
appreciation and left
the Courtyard Studio
humming the tunes!
PAGE
Basingstoke Half Marathon
On Sunday 5th October quite a few members of Sherfield staff
took part in the Basingstoke Half Marathon in order to raise
funds for the Marie Curie Cancer charity. The support team was
in place early at the War Memorial Park in the town centre and
after a variety of warm-up drills the race got under way at
precisely 11 am. There was a good crowd to wish the runners
well along the way and the fine weather certainly played its part
in the carnival atmosphere.
The winner of the race came back in just over an hour and the
first Sherfield runner to finish was Mr Lock who came home in a
time of 1.47.08. He was followed by Mr Gibson and Mrs Attoe–
Martin, who along with Ms Haney and Mrs Lucas, was part of the
winning team in the Ladies category.
It was a memorable day and all the Sherfield runners deserve
great praise for their efforts, particularly Mrs Smith, our nurse,
who was behind the initiative as a tribute to Mr Ash.
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4
The Great Sherfield Baking Master Class!
On Saturday 13th September, a group of Prep and
Senior school pupils attended a baking master class,
organised by Mrs Holliman. The aim of the class was to
increase bread making skills so as to be able to
produce 4 different types of bread: pitta, grissini, a
white tin loaf and a cottage loaf. This was all completed
under the watchful eye of Paul Merry, Master Baker,
who led the day’s activities.
European Day of Languages
Friday 26th September was the European
Day of Languages and to mark the occasion
there was a Prep School Assembly
presented by Mrs Attoe-Martin and her Year
Three class.
The pupils used some of the various
languages they knew, not just French and
Spanish, as they performed their pieces to
their peers and their parents. It was clear
that the pupils had been listening well in
their language lessons!
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Harvest Fes(val
Thursday 16th October saw the annual Prep School Harvest Festival
assembly take place in the dining room under the admiring gaze of many
parents, Mr Jaine and Mr Meakin. The assembly was based on the theme
of Harvest Around the World and there were many memorable moments
supplied by children in their class groups. Each class from Pre-Prep to
Year 6 chose a country to focus on and performed a short scene to reflect
their choice. We learnt about the harvesting of wine and olives in Spain,
different produce from Malawi and many others; the highlight for many,
of course, was the singing of ‘Big Red Combine Harvester’, always a
crowd pleaser.
The choir sang the old favourite ‘Conkers’ and later gave a lovely
rendition of ‘Praise be the One’, complete with musical accompaniment
from several pupils on violins, recorders and drums.
At the end of the assembly Mr Meakin was able to present a cheque from
the Friends of Sherfield to the chosen charity, Sebastian’s Action Trust,
for the staggering amount of £6,000!
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6
Years 5 and 6 visit
Hampton Court
We were all so excited when we arrived at Hampton Court after an hour’s
bus journey. As we walked towards the front entrance we were amazed at
the view ahead. We entered the courtyard and the first place we went to
were the kitchens where all the food for Henry VIII and his court was
prepared and cooked. We learned about the kind of things they had in
Tudor times, such as plenty of meat and some vegetables, and things they
didn’t have in Tudor times such as sugar or chocolate. Another place we
visited was the chapel where we were able to say a prayer or light a
candle. It was a very quiet and peaceful place to spend some time.
After lunch, we went to see a room which was full of weapons in different
patterns eg rifles, spears and all sorts of armour. Next, we had time to go
down and see the tennis courts and the maze before making our way back
to the coach. It had been a long and enjoyable day.
Thank you to Mrs Royyuru for organising the trip and to the other teachers
who accompanied us.
An account by Harry (Year 6).
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Barcelona 2014!!
Sherfield’s first overseas football tour took place in the first week of the half-term
break and a very successful trip it was!
31 boys left the school on board a luxury coach with Mr Lock, Mr Gibson, Mr
Warriner and Mr Griffiths and headed off on their great adventure. After a very
smooth but long journey (in the capable hands of our 2 drivers, Lee and Lee) the
group arrived at the Royal Sun Hotel(4*) in the Costa Brava resort of Santa
Susanna on Saturday evening.
After a good night’s rest, we set off bright and early to see the wonders of the
‘Camp Nou’, the home of Barcelona FC. Everyone was seriously impressed by what
we saw and quite a bit of money was spent in the ‘Barca’ megastore. After a brief
drive-by of the Olympic stadium at Montjuic, we went down to the port to the
‘Mare Magnum’ centre. The day finished with a game of beach football back at the
resort, made special by the goal celebrations which involved ripping off shirts and
charging into the Mediterranean – a fitting way to end an exciting and very hot
day!
The first training session took place next morning at Fogars and after a brief
delay the boys got down to business under the directions of Mr Gibson and Mr
Lock. The facility was excellent and much appreciated by all.
The first matches of the tour kicked off later that day in the nearby town of Cassa
de la Selva and both the U13 and U15 teams played very well, giving their
opponents hard fought encounters.
Training next morning was quite tough as the weather was even hotter but the
boys stuck to their task well. The evening games were played at Breda and the
U13 team struggled in the late afternoon heat. The U15 team had things easier as
the sun went down and both sets of players gave a good account of
themselves.
Wednesday morning saw a flurry of packing before the farewell presentation of
certificates, prizes and gifts. We said goodbye to our lovely rep, Natalie, and
boarded the coach for the journey home, a time for reflection on what had been a
memorable experience for all concerned. Congratulations and thanks to Mr Lock
for all his excellent organisation!
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FOS NEWS !!
On Wednesday 24th September our annual MacMillan Coffee Morning
took place at school. Plenty of parents and pupils baked lots of cakes
and biscuits and in all we raised about £450 for MacMillan Cancer
support !!
BONFIRE SPECTACULAR 2014!
Tickets are now sold out for the bonfire event on Friday 7 November.
We encourage pupils to build a Guy over half term to be entered in the
Guy Fawkes Competition on return to school. As well as claiming house
points for the winning entry, the Guys will be set alight on the bonfire
on 7th November. Please bring your Guys into School on Tuesday 4
November so they can be displayed in the run up to the bonfire
evening.
House news! Points totals after the first half term……
26
4
1
65
3
1
39
4
1
84
0
1
Sherfield School, Reading Road, Sherfield-on-Loddon, RG27 0HU