This week we held one of the great events in our calendar - our 53rd Cut Hedge Cross Country Cup, an event which was initiated in 1966 and is one of the many enduring legacies from our School’s long history that continues to shape our ethos. The Cut Hedge Cup, named after our wonderful estate, is another example of the way that our School’s gorgeous natural environment and the freedom of independence underpins so much of what we do. Despite or maybe because of the muddy terrain, it was a fantastic event which was enjoyed by all. We welcomed many schools from across the county to compete in the race and it was lovely to see old faces, as well as new. Miss White from Colchester High School commented that it was ‘the first time that I have attended this event and I am impressed with how organised it has been, the children have thoroughly enjoyed themselves’. Our very own Lilia from Year 8 added ‘It was a hard run, but I am pleased that I was able to complete my personal challenge.’
A huge thank you to everyone who made this event possible, especially Ms Dixon and the PE team, alongside those who organised and made it all run so smoothly - Mrs Redfern, Mrs Bowles and Mr Bird. We look forward to the next Cut Hedge Cup, by which time the grass should have re-emerged from the mud!
Reception to Year 1 Trip to Stansted Aerozone
Reception and Year 1 visited Stansted Aerozone last Friday. The children participated in a range of workshops focusing on Stansted airport. They met firefighters and ground control officers, exploring a range of activities linked to science and aviation. As you can see from the photos much fun was had by all and the children were a credit to the School.
Year 5 Road Safety
On Monday afternoon Year 5 had a very informative visit from Wendy Kirkby from Safer Essex Roads Partnership. They were taught about moving safely around the school, crossing roads safely, stopping distances of a car travelling at 30mph and being a safer cyclist. This valuable visit was enjoyed by the class and will be followed up in their next PSHE lesson as part of Road Safety Week.
Sports News
U15 Girls Hockey V Alec Hunter
It was a nail-biting match between Gosfield and Alec Hunter this week. After showing true grit and determination the girls won 2-1 with both goals being scored by Niamh from Year 10. Abi from Year 10 and Ella from Year 9 created numerous opportunities with support from Lea from Year 9, Evie from Year 9 and Charlotte from Year 10. Davina from Year 9 was named Player of the Match for dominating at both ends of the pitch. Macy from Year 10, Imogen from Year 9 and Robyn from Year 10 once again shutdown wave after wave of attack. Libby from Year 10 made her debut as goalkeeper making some phenomenal saves. Congratulations to all the girls on their two game winning streak!
Tom Dale Mr Dale pictured
We regret to inform you that Mr Dale, a former Governor and supporter of Gosfield School. has passed away. His funeral will be held at Weeley Crematorium at 10.15 am on Monday 9 December.
A Christmas Carol - Thursday 5 and Friday 6 December
Scrooge is not getting ready for Christmas, but we expect you are! Come and join us at school next week for A Christmas Carol, a family friendly show about the joy of Christmas time. We still have tickets available for both nights so please do enquire about these.
Carol Service – Thursday 12 December
As you will have read in the recent end of term letter, our fantastic Carol Service approaches along with the end of term. This promises to be a very popular event, so do ensure you arrive in good time and also indicate via ParentMail how you would like your child to go home at the end of the service as there are a variety of options given this will be our last event of the School term.
Pupils have been practicing their singing in recent weeks, as have you we hope! And the House Singing Competition will reach its climax next week following a very hearty practice session in House Assembly today!
Important Christmas Dates
As you are aware, we have several exciting Christmas events taking place next month. You would have received a ParentMail with all the relevant information for each event, can you please make sure you respond and let us know if you will be attending. We hope that you will join us and please do encourage friends and family to come along. The events are all family friendly and it will make a lovely start to the festive season.
Tickets for the following events can be requested via ParentMail.
A Christmas Carol - Thursday 5 December at 6.30pm and Friday 6 December at 6.30pm in the Dining Hall
Carol Service – Thursday 12 December, St Andrew’s Church Halstead at 2.15pm
Santa's Surprise (Nursery, Reception, Years 1 and 2) – Tuesday 10 December at 9.30am and 2.30pm in the Dining Hall
A ParentMail was recently sent to all parents regarding the end of term dates, please do read the below to clarify arrangements for the final days before we break up:
This week, the Gosfield Reading Race has been re-launched in the Senior School. Students are being encouraged to complete the reading races, working their way through the challenges (linked here) at their own pace before submitting their authenticated forms to their English teacher.
Recommended reading lists are linked below for your information.
More ideas for reading ages 0-12+ can also be found from the Book Trust: https://www.booktrust.org.uk/globalassets/resources/great-books-guide/2019/booktrust-great-books-guide-2019.
Thank you for supporting this important initiative as, in the words of Dr Seuss, “the more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
Please contact Mrs Bougeard (heather.bougeard@gosfieldschool.org.uk) in the first instance if you have any further questions about this reading scheme.
Design and Technology
Portable speaker produced by Daisy from Year 9 pictured
Recently in Design Technology students were given the design brief of researching, designing and manufacturing a portable speaker to be used with mobile phones. They had to choose and research a suitable customer, research specific design eras and past and present designers. Following this they developed their designs of a speaker on CAD in both 2D and 3D for them to choose their favourite and for them to be produced with our range of CAM equipment.
Signing out/Absence
A polite reminder to ask that you please sign your children out at Reception when leaving before the end of the school day. This is to ensure that we know where your child is and to eliminate any concerns. Thank you in advance.
If you didn’t know already, you can use ParentMail to report absences through your mobile devices. The absence reporting will only work through the ParentMail app, so it’s important that you have downloaded the app onto your device.
Steps for using ParentMail App to report absences:
From the ParentMail App, open ‘Notify Absences’ and select the name of your child who will be absent.
Select a reason for absence from the drop down menu.
Select an amount of time that the child is likely to be off school for.
Add any additional notes, and then send to school.
The school will then receive absences in the ‘Absence Inbox’.
PTA
James Clarke-Wright, Chair of the PTA writes....
As November draws to a close I don’t quite know where this week has gone. It is a busy time of the year for the PTA with several events to juggle so perhaps that’s why time is racing by. The biggest event of late was of course the PTA Gatsby Ball and it gives me great pleasure to announce that the total amount the parent community has raised for the school from this event alone is a staggering £10,060 which I’m told is even more than last year's brilliant effort so well done and thank you to you all for being so generous and continuing to support the PTA and remember, please do get in touch if you would like to help shape the ball for next year: gosfieldpta@gmail.com.
The Prep School movie night which took place last Friday added to this by raising a fantastic £315. It was a great evening of movies, pizza, popcorn and sweets and it was clear to me from all the happy faces that this is an event that everyone enjoys and by the end of the evening the slight technical glitch at the start was already a distant memory. Plans are already underway to find a date for next term and I will keep you all posted on this as soon as I can. Thank you to all those parents who helped to make the event possible, we had a truly outstanding turn out of helpers with over 20 parents giving up their time to come and help us out.
Christmas Tree orders have also been coming in to keep Stuart busy and hopefully everyone who wanted one has managed to get one ordered. This event has raised a further £817 for the PTA coffers and I would like to say a big thank you to Stuart Phillips for organising this event for us. I must confess I am very much looking forward to collecting my tree on Sunday. All Wrapped Up orders have been coming in thick and fast as well and we will be sorting these out in the coming week ready for distribution on the 9th of December as planned.
As I write this on such a glorious winter’s day it seems hard to imagine the downpours we’ve had this week but that didn’t deter the Cut Hedge runners from showing up in full force and I would like to say a big thank you to those of you that helped out on the day; it was a struggle to get volunteers for this as so many children and parents have been down with various bugs over the last few weeks but thanks to the efforts of a brave few with support from the staff and Year 9s the day was saved and hot chocolates and sustenance were dispensed aplenty. Thanks again to all of those who made this possible.
Now unfortunately we had to cancel the formal PTA meeting this week, again due to those nasty bugs going around, but we will endeavour to rearrange this as quickly as possible for next term. That’s it from me, do get in touch if have any questions or ideas (gosfieldpta@gmail.com) and in the meantime I wish you all a great weekend!
Lost Property
There are several unnamed items of clothing that have been misplaced by students this term. They are currently in the Main Reception if any parents would like to have a look at them. If we are unable to return them they will be donated to charity. Please do label all belongings so that we can return them to their rightful owners. Thank you in advance.
Norovirus Awareness
Please be aware that we have had several recent cases of norovirus at School. Do remind your family to follow basic health and hygiene procedures to avoid contracting any illnesses, and to remain fit and healthy. Also refer to the ParentMail that was sent home recently with symptoms and advice. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our School Nurse, Lisa Chapman or follow this link: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/norovirus/
Culinary Corner
Bread rolls baked by Imogen and Lucas from Year 6 photographed
Another lovely week in Food Tech. Year 4 made pizza using French bread sticks as a base. Year 6 made some fabulous tear and share bread rolls. Year 7CLS investigated international cuisine and made Italian risotto and 8LWS looked at sustainable fishing and made fish cakes. 10 GCSE kept the Italian theme running with tiramisu.
Next week (also on SMHW)
7MFH risotto (different recipe to the one published at the beginning of term)
8MAS fish cakes
Year 5 ginger and oat biscuits
Year 3 vegetable and cheese puff pastry tarts
Star of the Week
Year
Star
Reason
Nursery
Ezra Stokes
For showing excellent pen control when writing letters on the interactive whiteboard.
Reception
All of Reception
For a fantastic first class trip to Aerozone!
1
Alain Onaindia
For trying hard in his RWI lessons.
2
Leo Griffin
For being very kind and helpful in Forest School.
3
Niall Goodlad
All round good attitude and effort in learning.
4
Jason
El-Schaeddhaei
For excellent story writing.
5
The Cut Hedge team
For excellent team effort in very muddy conditions.
6
Scott Tyrie
For demonstrating a focused approach and excellent behaviour in lessons.
Mr Davies’ Star of the Week
Arya Larkin
For being a guiding star on the bus as a navigator and personal Sat Nav.
Dates for your Diary
Tuesday 3 December
U15 Hockey vs Finborough
Wednesday 4 December
Year 11, 12 and 13 Trip to Body Worlds
Year 7 Parents’ Evening
Thursday 5 December
Cricket Scholarship Day
Christmas Lunch
Reception to Year 2 Swimming Lessons
A Christmas Carol
Friday 6 December
House Singing Competition
Prep Christmas Parties
A Christmas Carol
And a reminder to everyone, next week is a Week 2 on our two-week timetable. Good luck to everyone with all their endeavours. As ever, my door is always open if you would like to book an appointment in advance via Mrs Bowles sara.bowles@gosfieldschool.org.uk.
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