ST SAMPSON’S HIGH SCHOOL PARENTS’ NEWSLETTER

December 2014

CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS HAVE ARRIVED!! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!

Our school Facebook page for parents/carers is: St Sampson’s High School, Guernsey.

We aim to keep Parents/carers up-to date with all the latest news and events, posting any last minute messages where possible. Parents/carers may find it useful to ask non urgent questions on here, of a general nature, which staff may be able to answer.

Our Facebook page for parents/carers now has PE department Twitter feeds.

epartment Twitter feeds.

A Message from our Headteacher

Dear Parents/Carers

I hope this Newsletter gives you a real flavour of our busy and successful term! Last Thursday, students, staff, parents and friends of the school packed Vale Church for our annual Carol Service. It was a magical evening, with some superb performances, a big thank you to Miss Tennant and her team for bringing it all together. Mrs Coughlin, Headteacher at Hautes Capelles Primary and I judged the best decorated classroom competition this week, I will ensure we get some pictures on the website for all to see. Talking of websites Mr Chesters works hard to keep this up to date and if you haven’t already got it book marked here is the web address www.stsampsonshigh.com. Staff are being trained to use google classroom over the next few months. This has the potential to give parents more insight into the work of their child. As we start to use this more information will follow. Now that we have finally managed to distribute iPads to all Year 7 and 8 students we do not require them back for the Christmas holidays but we will need them returned for the Easter Holidays. Year 11’s have their mock exam in January and will need to spend much of their holiday revising, I know they will do us proud! Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Yours sincerely

Mrs A Bolt Headteacher

Staff News We shall be saying Goodbye and all the very best to Mrs Wallace in the Science Department who is going on maternity leave. Mr Vernon will be here to cover for Mrs Wallace until her return, we will keep you posted on any baby news! Mr McLagan will also be joining the Science Department as Technician. Ms Powell will be joining the English Department helping with English Intervention for two terms. We welcome them all to St Sampson’s High School.

Children in Need On Friday 14th November, CIN day, the school raised approximately £1600. One of the popular events was the male staff at St Sampson’s High School, along with local sports stars having their legs waxed by The Beauty Box. A total of £168.57 was raised for this event. Tony Vance (GFC manager), Luke Winch (GFC player), Jason Shambrook (Cricket Development Officer) and Martin Yabsley (Guernsey Basketball) all took part, along with Mr. Manning, Mr. Isabelle, Mr. Hunter, Mr. Mauger among others. The idea was inspired by 8AMG and they ensured the Guernsey Press and BBC Guernsey were in attendance for the event.

Team Jonah!! Students have raised almost £700 for TEAM JONAH! Jonah is a Year 11 student currently receiving bone marrow treatment in Bristol. Thank you to Winnoworks, Kia’s Boutique, Form 10Y Ladies College, Grammar School, First Names, Guernsey Electricity, Project Hire & Sale and Frossard House, amongst others, for selling Team Jonah bands or pledging money to the TEAM JONAH fund. A final count will be made in the new year once money has been collected in from these businesses. Jonah has a Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jonah-Can-Beat-Cancer/1509340829344367 (Jonah Can Beat Cancer). You can also follow his progress on his YouTube links via that page. Thanks all for your support!

Headlice Could we please remind all parents to check their child’s hair on a regular basis. We have had a number of cases reported this term. If you do find lice please treat immediately, comb through the hair with a headlice comb ensuring all lice and eggs are removed before sending your child back to school. It is imperative that the hair is treated one week after the initial treatment and the hair combed regularly to ensure all lice and eggs are removed.

Car Park Please would Parents/Carers note that when they are waiting for students at the end of school they should use the designated car parking area to the West of the site. At no time should Parents/Carers park or wait in either the staff car parking area or the disabled bays. We have had problems with cars getting blocked in and we have the students leaving on their motorbikes and push bikes in this area and it needs to be kept clear at all times due to Health and Safety reasons. Thank you for your understanding.

Detention and homework Please could we encourage parents/carers to check if students are completing their homework? Details of all homework set and for which subject should be noted in their planners. We’ve had a number of students in detention for homework not completed. Our form tutors are being asked to check and remind students about homework and we would welcome parents/carers support with this.

Baubigny Schools PTA

To raise funds this term we held a Table Top Sale on Sunday 30th November which was hugely popular and had a lovely atmosphere throughout the afternoon. Thank you to St Sampson’s High Schools’ Brass Ensemble who entertained us all. Refreshments served during the afternoon included lots of cakes which had been kindly donated by PTA members, helpers and students. Many thanks to all who helped with the Table Top Sale, or came along and supported it! We are holding a Quiz Night on Friday 6th February 2015 in the High School Hall - More details to follow in the New Year.

'Search for a Star' Competition is scheduled for Thursday 26th March 2015 again more details to follow.

We are present at most parents/tutor evenings serving that much needed refreshment!

Allergies! Please could we ask that students refrain from bringing in peanuts to school. We have a number of students with peanut allergies and any contact can be very dangerous for them. Your support is appreciated.

Mock Exam Timetable January 2015 Your option exams will take place when you would have had a double lesson of that

subject. Please speak to your tutor or Miss Harris if you have any queries.

Exams in red are January season GCSE exams.

Date Period Subject Length Room

Students to register with their

tutor and then go to the Social

area at 8:40

Thursday 8th January

8:45 –

10:45

GCSE English Exam

(All of Yr11 & 2

classes of Yr10)

2hrs Sports Hall

11:15 –

12:30 Creative Media 1hr 15mins

Meeting

Room

Friday 9th January

P3 & P4

Option C

Business Studies

Computer Science

Geography

Graphics

Music

Res Mats

1hr 30mins

1hr

1hr 15mins

2hrs

1hr

1hr 30mins

Sports Hall

(Music in the

Gym)

P5& P6 RS 1hr Sports Hall

Students to register with their

tutor and then go to the Social

area at 8:40

Monday 12th January

P1 & 2 I.T 1hr Sports Hall

P5 & P6

Option A

Business Studies

French Reading

Graphics

History

Res Mats

Statistics

Further Maths

1hr 30mins

35mins

2hrs

1hr 45mins

1hr 30mins

2hrs

1hr 30mins

Sports Hall

Students to register with their

tutor and then go to the Social

area at 8:40

Tuesday 13th January

P1 & P2 Maths – Paper 1 1hr 45mins Sports Hall

P4 French Listening 30mins

Foundation:Gym

Higher: Mtg Rm

P5 & P6

Science

Additional

Core

1hr30mins

1hr30mins

Sports Hall

Students to register with their

tutor and then go to the Social

area at 8:40

Wednesday 14th January

8:45 –

10:45

GCSE English

Exam

(All of Yr11 & 2

classes of Yr10)

2hrs

Sports Hall

P5 & P6

Option B

Bus St

Geography

1hr 30mins

1hr 15mins

Gym

Thursday 15th January

P3 & P4

Option D

Computer Science

French Reading

History

Music

PE

1hr

35mins

1hr 45mins

1hr

1hr 30mins

Sports Hall

(Music in the

Gym)

P5 & P6 Maths – Paper 2 1hr 45mins

Sports

Hall

Friday 16th January P3 & P4 Option C - Geography 1hr 30mins Gym

Wednesday 21st January P5 & P6 Option B - Geography 1hr 30mins Gym

Presentation Evening “Class of 2014” On Thursday 20th November 2014 at 7.00 p.m the Records of Achievement and Awards were presented by Mr Tony Vance, Manger of Guernsey Football Club. We extended a warm welcome to all our invited guests, ‘the class of 2014’ and their family and

friends.

The Evening’s celebration of the students’ achievements turned out to be an enjoyable

one for all concerned and many happy memories of association with St Sampson’s High

School were relived.

Music was performed by St Sampson’s Stage Sound followed by the welcome by

Headteacher, Mrs Annabel Bolt.

Presentation of Records of Achievement were made to students of 11CHS, 11DBH, 11JIE

and 11MBD followed by speeches by Owen Hunt, Head Boy and Eloise Willis, Head Girl of

the Class of 2014..

Presentation of Records of Achievement were made to students of 11NOE, 11THT and

11MCS.

Presentation of Prizes and Trophies were made by Guest of Honour – Mr Tony Vance

and a Vote of Thanks was made by Seb Smeed, Current Head Boy.

The following students received recognition of their outstanding achievements in the

following areas:-

The English Prize

Ben Rowe

The Derek Walker Prize for Mathematics

Max Everitt

The Science Trophy

Callum Tostevin-Hall

The Language 1992 Trophy for French

Jenna Sangan

The Bisson Trophy for Physical Education

Kayla Skillett

The Cardwell Trophy for Technology

Luke Walters

The Guernsey Dairy Food Technology Award

Georgia Watson

The Image Design Graphic Trophy

Caterina Le Blancq

The Robert Williams Shield for Engineering

Adam Walford

The Duke of Edinburgh North Youth Centre Award

Scott Edwards

The Business Education Trophy

Leah Foss

The ASDAN Shield

Ceejay Merrien

The Rabey’s Garage Geography Shield

Sophie Hale

The Rabey’s Garage History Shield

Josh Ozanne

The Reverend J Ironside RE Shield

Alisha Le Sauvage

The ITEX I.C.T. Trophy

Angela Nicolle

The Blanc Bois Trophy for Art

Lydia Trow

The Sinead O’Hara Drama Prize

Jacob Naftel

The Music Prize

George Russell

The Creative Arts Trophy

Elliot Ayres

The Media Trophy

Ross Reynolds

The HMS Charybdis Trophy for Services to the School

Abbie Le Page

The Domaille Trophy for Service to the Community

Sam Vahey

The Hazel Tetlaw Trophy for Effort and Determination

Bee Nicholson

Thanks to the generous support of the Douzaines of St Sampson, St Peter Port and the

Vale, we have been able to reward the achievements of these students by presenting

each trophy winner with a book token.

School Committee Prizes for Overall Effort

Adam Ashcroft, Tom De La Rue, Alexander French, Charlotte Hardwick,

Bethany Hobson, Wiktor Hyzy, Megan Jones, Naomi Priest, Dominic Wainwright &

Eloise Willis

The President of the School Committee Award for Overall Excellence

To be announced

The Class of 2014 deserve our congratulations on their overall achievements.

English News from Mrs Appelqvist In English, a selection of year 9 students have entered a national writing competition, run by the Young Writers organisation. They have submitted a monologue based on a character from The Hunger Games. Winning entries can win up to £1000 for our school and also a Kindle Fire HD for themselves. We have our fingers crossed and will receive the results of this competition after Christmas. The English G&T group, “The Dead Poets Society” are currently working towards an island wide competition, called “The Mandela Slam”. For this competition, the students need to write a piece for performance based on one of the following themes: equality, courage, forgiveness and freedom. Four students will be selected to represent the school at the final in February, at the Performing Arts Centre.

Music Exam Success! Congratulations to the following students who have all recently passed music examinations: Matthew Holland (year 9) Grade 6 trombone with distinction James Thompson (year 10) Grade 6 cornet with distinction. There are some other students who are still waiting to receive their results including the students who took their Music Medal keyboard examinations, so we will update you on these in the next Newsletter. Please let us know if your son/daughter has achieved musical success out of school so they can also be included.

Christmas Performances As usual all our musical groups have been busy bringing festive cheer to people in the local community. The Brass Ensemble was the first to perform playing throughout the afternoon at the school's Christmas Fayre and helping to create a lovely atmosphere. This was followed by the year

10 handbells, ukelele group, keyboard/piano soloists and choir providing the entertainment at our annual OAP party which including a sing along led by 100 members of the choir! Students have also represented the school at Aladdin's Cave late night shopping (year 9 choir and chamber choir) and at Maison Maritaine (year 8 choir and recorder ensemble). We have received many lovely comments from the public who clearly appreciate the effort our students make and thoroughly enjoyed their music making. Our school Carol Service was held at Vale Church and 130 students took part singing, playing and reading seasonal pieces. Congratulations to everyone who performed: Choir, Chamber choir, Orchestra, Stage Sound, Recorder ensemble, Brass ensemble, the year 10 handbells, instrumental quartet and the senior student group for the readings. The church as usual was packed with an appreciative audience and the students’ hard work and dedication was rewarded with a standing ovation at the end! The following morning, the Brass ensemble was back in action opening Le Murier's Carol Service followed by a popular performance of 'Last Christmas' by the ukelele group. Year 10 students James Thompson (trumpet) and Greg Male (trombone) represented the school at the Guernsey Glee Singers concert at St. James Concert Hall on Sunday 7th December. They played in several pieces with the choir including a grand opening Fanfare and a descant in the Finale. Many compliments from the choir and audience were received by Miss Ozanne on their playing and professional attitude in the rehearsals and performance on the night. Listen out for the schools Orchestra over the Christmas season whose recording will be broadcast on BBC Radio Guernsey and good luck to the numerous students who are appearing in panto as actors, singers and dancers. A date for your diary: Tuesday 20th January 7.30pm. A Creative Arts evening featuring a performance of ” 10 Ways to

Survive the Zombie Apocalypse” by Don Zolidis by the Drama club and a range of musical solos .

Tickets will be on sale at the start of next term.

Art Department

Students work is being used in the Leonard Trust Charity Cookbook, this is on sale across the island. Great Christmas Present for someone! The Community Graffiti boards have been based on the theme of Social Media. These are being predominantly produced by Year 7 but are available to be added to on a drop in basis in Mrs Birch’s Art room. Get along and make a contribution! The joint Art and MFL trip to Paris was extremely successful. St Sampson’s Artists had the opportunity look at world famous artworks and kept their own artists’ journal’s of their time in Paris. A great time was had by all.

Students’ sport report Please continue to follow the PE dept on Twitter @sshspedept

Badminton The girl’s badminton season gets underway straight after Christmas with the first matches starting on Tuesday 13th January at the Rohais Badminton Halls.

We are putting in 2 teams for this event and if you want to play, please sign your name up with Miss Hubert. There will be transport to the Rohais Badminton Halls but you will need to find your own way home. Boys PE – Football & Basketball Year 7

The year 7’s made a great start to sporting life at SSHS by winning the football league without losing a game. This really is a huge achievement – Congratulations to all those who played their part. The majority of this football team then made up the basketball team and SSHS have enjoyed wins over College and LBS, 32-6 and 11-6 respectively (pictured Joe Dowinton, Dom Boyce, Charlie Platt, Harvey

Lihou, Harry Sykes, Callum Cherry, Brandon Barrasin, Zac Gilbert and Jake Elmy). These boys listen superbly well and are willing to give up their time to practice their skills and improve their play. Some boys have also attended Future Star Basketball Sessions on the weekend run by Max Hunter who is undergoing a teaching placement with the SSHS PE Department. We are yet to play Grammar and LMDC but wins against both would see us crowned Champions! Year 8

The year 8’s finished 2nd in the football league but this has not dampened their spirits. The boys needed a win v Grammar in the last game of the season but conceded a last minute goal to see the game end 2-2 and Grammar just pip us to the title. The boys have made a good start to the basketball season despite losing their first game to Grammar. They recovered well and enjoyed a strong performance v College, running out 18-10 winners. Pictured are Steffan Timms (Le Murier), Ben Vaudin, Josh Le Brun, Pat Le Friec, Alex Johns, Niall Hainsworth, Callum Le Lacheur and Brad O’Regan. These boys have a lot of potential and Mr Isabelle and I

encourage them to attend training sessions and work hard. Year 9

After multiple cancellations v Grammar for the Sigma Cup Final the game was eventually played and went all the way to penalties – SSHS winning 4-2! The game finished 1-1 with CJ scoring the goal for SSHS. Pictured are - Back row left to right – Jack Le Poidevin, Harry Le Page, Corey Robilliard, James Gill, Raegan Jennings, Cam Gaudion, Seb Fitzpatrick. Front row left to right – Reece Hockey, Bilal Assif, George Pearson, Jacob

Masterton-Pipet, Tom Vaudin, Keanu Rolls. These boys also won the football league title – for the 3rd year in a row – an unbelievable achievement! Basketball has been more of a struggle (we can’t win everything!!!). The team have lost to Grammar, LBHS and College but all games have been close and our last game v LMDC should see a victory for SSHS. Raegan Jennings has been an instrumental member in both of these teams. Year 10 League winners! The highlight of the year was beating Elizabeth College 8-0 (we had previously never beaten them). The team included Toby Woodhead, Mikey Stevenson, Corey Leaver, Jacques Wilcox, Tom Walden, Sammy Archenoul, Alex Gill, Ben Woodhead, Zac Felbabel, Tom Mechem and Nick Girauld. The boys had to beat LBHS to win the league and did so in style with a 5-2 win, Mikey Stevenson scoring from inside his own half!

Basketball then took over and we were lucky to acquire the talent of Sam Booth who has strengthened our team significantly. We comfortably beat College and LBHS, lost to Grammar so can finish 2nd with a win v LMDC before Christmas. Zac Felbabel, Tom Walden, Alex Vaudin, Alex Van Katwyk, Corey Leaver, Darren Sarre and Sammy Archenoul make up the squad. Year 10/11

Yet again SSHS win the Spiller Cup Final! They were pushed all the way this year by a strong LBHS side but after a thrilling game, which ended 2-2, SSHS won 4-2 on penalties. Seb Smeed was unbelievable and for the second year in succession was awarded Man of the Match. This picture sees him spraying the boys (mostly Zac) with champagne to toast the victory!

Girls Netball Year 7 Netball training and fixtures continued after half term. Our Year 7 Netball team played against Blanchelande. The game ended 5-5 after a close end to end battle between the two teams. This was a well-deserved result as both teams played very well. Members of the netball team are : Jodie Whales, Charlotte McDonald, Catherine Draper, Georgia Dame, Seanna Hainsworth, Leah Pipet, Paige Zabiela, Sophie Kenny and Olivia Keneally. JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVEN’T BEEN INVOLVED IN NETBALL THIS YEAR, DOESN’T MEAN YOU CAN’T GET INVOLVED NEXT YEAR! On Wednesday 3rd December we played in the Island Schools’ Netball tournament. We all played very well and demonstrated great teamwork. We ended up 4th overall with Ladies College finishing 1st and Grammar 2nd. If you have any questions about sport, please go to the PE office and they will help you. Many thanks to the PE department. By Georgia Dame (7THT) Year 8

What a fantastic season! The year 8 netball team came second in the league. They have played some excellent netball and have received lots compliments from parents and staff from other schools. The team went on to win the Island Schools’ Netball tournament. All the girls fought really hard throughout the tournament. They were also extremely supportive of one another.

Ria Bougourd, Amy Laine, Cara Fitzpatrick and Natalie Le Page have been selected for the Guernsey Panthers U14 squad. Holly-Anne Langlois has been selected for the development squad.

Year 9 The year 9 netball team have improved so much this season. Many of the girls have been attending the Guernsey Panthers training sessions recently. Their dedication and commitment to training in and out of school has improved their skills, understanding of the game and movement on the court. Keep training hard girls! We’re looking forward to seeing you all improve lots more next season. Lauren Smeed has been selected for the Guernsey Panthers U15 squad. Mariah Stewart has been selected for the development squad. Congratulations to you all!!

Cheerleading There have been record numbers of girls attending Cheerleading club this term. The girls have tried tumbling and stunting both individually and in small teams. All of the girls have made excellent progress so far. The club is great fun and will be continuing after Christmas. Get involved! Please return your reply slips indicating which day you want to attend Cheerleading club back to Miss Addlesee asap.

“No Levels” Rewards Trip

Those with no levels this term were treated to Ice Skating. All students seemed to really enjoy the

day, the weather didn’t even dampen their spirits, it only dampened their trousers when they fell

over! As well as the students some of the staff, Mr Ingrouille in particular, seemed to be having

great fun with the penguins!

Careers support for students Careers Guernsey works in partnership with St Sampson’s High to support students and their parents/carers with their Post-16 choices and decisions. Have you seen the Parents Guide available on careers.gg to help support your son/daughter with their decisions? There is lots of information about all of the options available and how you can help them with their choices. Year 11’s are facing some big decisions this year about what they will do next after leaving school. With the deadline for Post-16 applications fast approaching, your son/daughter might find it useful to speak to Sean Parry, Careers Adviser from Careers Guernsey (the Careers Service based at the Education Department). We provide free, independent and impartial careers guidance focusing on their needs and interests. Appointments with Sean are available at our offices or at school. Parents are also welcome to attend the meeting with the Careers Adviser if your son/daughter would like you there too.

Contact: Sean Parry, Careers Adviser for St Sampson’s

T: 733024

E: sparry@education.gov.gg

W: www.careers.gg

You will find us in the Education Department at the top of the Grange

Opening hours: Monday to Friday 8.30am – 5.00pm including school holidays

School Dates 2014

Autumn Term 2014

Friday 19th December Years 7, 8, 9 & 10 Subject

Reports to be sent home

Term Ends for Christmas

Holidays

Spring Term 2015

Monday 5th January 2015 Staff Return to school

Tuesday 6th January Students Return to school

Thursday 8th January GCSE English Exam and

Creative Media Exam

Friday 9th January to Wednesday 21st January

January

Year 11 Mock Exams

Wednesday 14th January GCSE English Exam

Monday 19th January Rehearsals for Soloists’ Studio

Evening

Tuesday 20th January Soloists’ studio evening in the

Drama studio

Wednesday 28th January Year 9 Option Choice

Sessions

Thursday 29th January Year 9 Option Fayre

Tuesday 3rd February CFE Student guidance

discussions

Thursday 5th February Year 10 Consultation Evening

Monday 9th February CFE Progression &

Information Evening

Friday 13th February Year 9 & 11 Tutor Report to

be sent home

Monday 16th February to Friday 20th February HALF TERM

Monday 23rd February SFC student guidance

discussions begin

Thursday 26th February Year 9 Consultation Evening

Wednesday 4th March to Thursday 5th March Year 11 Art Exam

Thursday 5th March to Saturday 7th March Everest Challenge

Wednesday 11th March to Thursday 12th March Year 11 Art Exam

Week commencing Monday 16th March Drama GCSE Exams

Thursday 19th March Year 8 Consultation Evening

Friday 27th March Years 7, 8, 9, 10 & 11 Subject

Reports to be sent home

TERM ENDS FOR EASTER

HOLIDAYS

Summer Term 2015

Monday 13th April Staff return to School

Tuesday 14th April Students return to School

Thursday 16th April The Careers Show

Monday 4th May Bank Holiday

Monday 11th May to Tuesday 23rd June GCSE Exams for Year 11

Friday 15th May 2014 Sports Day

Thursday 21st May 2014 Year 7 Consultation Evening

Monday 25th May to Friday 29th May Half Term

Monday 29th June MAD Night Rehearsals

Tuesday 30th June MAD Night

Wednesday 1st July Year 6 Induction Day and

Parents’ evening

Friday 3rd July West Coast Challenge

Monday 6th July to Friday 10th July Year 10 Works Experience

Year 11 DofE Expedition New

Forest

Wednesday 8th July to Friday 10th July Opportunities Week

Monday 13th July to Friday 17th July Year 10 Dof E Expedition

Jersey

Friday 17th July Year 7, 8, 9 & 10 Subject

Reports to be sent home

TERM ENDS FOR SUMMER

HOLIDAYS

Wednesday 2nd September Staff return to School

Thursday 3rd September Students return to School

Tuesday 29th September PTA AGM in Le Murier