Friday 27 November 2015

message from the PTA

Many thanks for all those that supported our Christmas pudding Fundraiser, even at short notice it raised nearly £150  Fantastic! Thanks to Mandy Clutson for organising it.
 
The year 7 film night was a great success - students enjoyed the film "Mr Bean's Holiday" and the pizza went down well at the after film get together of parent/carers, teachers and students.
Thanks to all who attended
 
 
The Christmas Hamper draw tickets are now on sale at reception. There are four  Hampers and a cuddly toy to be won.  Remember tickets purchased before Christmas go into our big Easter Egg and Chocolate Hamper Draw.  Tickets can be also purchased at consultation evenings.

Monday 23 November 2015

Anti Bullying week all week

This week was National Anti Bullying week and to celebrate, Miss Scott, our Anti Bullying co-ordinator, arranged a scheme of activities to take place throughout the week.



Monday
Years 7, 8 and 9 were treated to a talk by Luther Blissett from the charity "Show Racism the Red Card" about his own experiences of racism and how we should help others who are being bullied or mistreated.  Luther gave some valuable advice for students to help everyone to look out for other people around them.

 

Tuesday
Year 10, 11, 12 and 13 students were treated to a visit and talk from Mitchell Camp and Georgina Maton, who both won gold medals at the 2013 Special Olympics National Games in Bath.  Mitchell shared that he felt very special when he was standing on the podium and had the medal around his neck.  He added "I wanted to show people just because some people like me have a learning disability, we should be treated the same as normal athletes - we want to show what inspires other athletes to perform like we do now."

The talk was incredibly humbling and inspirational, with a massive round of applause for the two speakers at the end.





Tuesday after school also saw an Anti Bullying bake off with staff vs. students, with the baking brief of anything anti bullying related.  Lots of different things were made, including a colourful rainbow cake!  Everyone who took part thoroughly enjoyed the event!



Wednesday
An Anti bullying festival took place in the Discovery Centre, with lots of designing activities taking place, as well as performances from students too!  Staff and students turned up to celebrate and see the wonderful work created.



Thursday
Thursday brought an after school film screening of the film "Pride" for years 10,11,12 and 13, which explores the struggle of different social groups in UK history.  This is also a true story as well.  The film was shown to support Townsend's work to tackle the use of derogatory language in society.



Friday
National Smile and compliments day - to celebrate, students and staff completed compliments cards which were handed back to the recipient whose name was on the card.  This helped to increase the positive feeling across school that the whole week has created.




A big thank you to Miss Scott who organised the very successful week!

 Students have heard about all aspects of anti- bullying work and we hope that the understanding of this will help them to lead their lives with tolerance, empathy and respect. Our Anti- Bullying work is not simply about one week of the year it needs to be embedded in everyday practice in and out of school. The school has two ‘Worry Boxes’ that students can use to pass on/report any concerns or worries one is in reception and the other is in the Discovery Centre. Anti-Bullying Ambassadors will check the boxes regularly and then meet with the students to offer support and strategies. A teacher will oversee the process and support the work of the student Anti Bullying Ambassadors. Students may also talk directly to any adult in school if they are worried about anything.

LOVE IN A BOX APPEAL


Thank you to everyone who contributed to our annual "Love in a Box" appeal for the Mustard Seed Relief Mission.  This year we managed to donate an amazing 100 boxes and over £200 to the charity!  The boxes help to brighten up young people’s Christmas experiences in orphanages in Bosnia, Croatia, Romania and Ukraine while the money helps provide humanitarian aid to those living in these countries.  Thank you again to everyone who donated. Miss Chapman.

November - peace


 November: Peace
Peace is the Value for November. We will be discovering the impact of our individual actions on the wider world and how we treat other people. We will consider how one person can really make a difference in achieving peace and how Jesus can be our role model in this goal.  The biblical concept of peace is not just the absence of war. It includes peace with God, positive harmony and healthy relationships between people. It involves spiritual as well as material security. Peace is wholeness, a state of well-being.

Thursday 19 November 2015

Children in Need a great success!

Well done to the Sixth form Head students who organized a variety of activities last week to raise money for Children in Need.  Events included Staff vs. sixth form volley ball matches and quizzes, film screenings, bake sales and Townsend's own Bushtucker trials eating challenge!

Please do keep donating to such a great cause.

Message from the PTA

Grateful Thanks to all of you who have sent in items for our CHRISTMAS HAMPER and EASTER ROLLOVER RAFFLE. There is still time to send in items. We have 3 great hampers so far, but could do with a few more items to make up the others. A list of items was sent out on previous parentmails.

Raffle Tickets, for the Hampers, will be on sale at all consultation evenings, school events and reception so please bring some money to buy your tickets.


 NOT BOUGHT YOUR CHRISTMAS PUDDING YET?
Friends of Townsend are selling them to raise funds, details are on parentmail. Please ensure orders and cheques are in to the School office by Thursday 26th of November, at the latest.


Thank you to parent/carers who have volunteered to help serve refreshments and sell hamper raffle tickets at our consultation and other school functions. *We can always do with more help, so if you are willing to volunteer please send a note into the office.*

Monday 16 November 2015

Friends of Townsend Christmas fund raiser

Friends of Townsend Christmas Fund Raiser:   The ultimate Christmas pudding company!
 
The order form for any Christmas puddings is attached to Parentmail this week, please fill them out and bring back by Friday 20th November to avoid disappointment!
 
 

Thursday 12 November 2015

WW1 remembrance - Humanities specialism

Humanities specialism
Eleanor and Natasja (Year 11) have recently participated in the First World War Centenary project sponsored by the government. The aim was to visit battlefields, museums and various sites to reflect and commemorate the centenary of the Battle of the Somme. In addition to the visit, the students also had to share their experience with at least 220 people.

They led the SLT assemblies this week, submitted an article with the local newspaper, visited Margaret Wix primary school to deliver their presentation and Wednesday morning they did a live interview with Phil Richards, one of the founding directors, on Radio Verulam. You can hear the interview here: http://listenagain.radioverulam.com/station/archives/10 and press play on Wednesday 10 am.

Students will have their work published on the First World War centenary website along with certificates and badges for their participation.

Thank you, Mrs Bailey (Head of History)


Radio Verulam
 

Presenting at Margaret Wix
 
(The students at Margaret Wix really enjoyed the presentation, with lots of questions asked at the end.  The teachers also said it was really informative and they learnt new things too!)
 

Monday 9 November 2015

Visit to Ypres to commemorate WW1


 


Eleanor and Natasja year 11 students at Townsend School, along with Head of History Mrs Bailey, visited Belgium and France for a day trip for the “Last Post” ceremony – a unique act of remembrance to commemorate and express the eternal gratitude towards the soldiers of the British Empire who fought and fell in the defence of the city and Ypres Salient, saving the independence and freedom of Belgium”.

During the trip they visited a number of cemeteries and war memorials, visiting the city of Ypres itself, where some of the biggest battles of WW1 happened.  They also visited various places within the Ypres Salient, including Menin gate – where allied troops passed through on their way to the battlefields.  They also visited Lijssenthoek military cemetery, Tyne Cot military cemetery, Langemark German cemetery , and Poperinge (seven miles from Ypres) where soldiers spent time resting, recovering from the ordeal of battle.  They finally saw the Somme Thiepval memorial and Thiepval wood, looking at German Trenches.

The students wanted to gain more knowledge of WW1 and to be able to understand what soldiers may have experienced.  They explained “It was a very overwhelming experience, very sad.  However it was reassuring to know that British soldiers are remembered in such a lovely way.”  The girls were assigned a soldier local to St Albans at the beginning of the day who they found out more about.  The students finally created mini sculptures of a curled up man with an emphasis on the spine to represent the fact that each soldier was in the same position, but were all different, just as all spines are different.  These were to be placed within a memorial, and there will eventually be one made for each soldier who lost their life in battle.

Thursday 5 November 2015

Messge from the PTA 3

CHRISTMAS HAMPER AND EASTER EGG HAMPER ROLLOVER RAFFLEA plea for items for hamper fillers. We need any items with a “Christmas Theme”, long dated food items, chocolates, sweets, festive biscuits, snacks, crackers and Christmas novelties, tins and packets, wine, fizz, Christmas puddings: in fact anything that can make up a Christmas Hamper! The more ‘gifts’ we receive, the more hampers we will have in our raffle.  Many thanks in anticipation!
Remember all money raised will help provide items and initiatives that we could not otherwise provide from our education budget.

Message from PTA 2

Any parent/carer who wishes to contribute to the School PTA (FRIENDS OF TOWNSEND)  please do get in touch by sending a note in to reception with your Name, email address, and your child's form. 

Message from the PTA


YEAR 7 FILM NIGHT 
 Letters will go out early next week for the year 7 film night which will go ahead on Thursday 26th November 2015 straight after school.
 
The event will not be cancelled in the event of small numbers.
 
Students will remain in school and the film will be shown after 4pm in the hall. There will be light refreshments for the students. The idea is that parent /carers can come along after 5pm for a social gathering to get to know each other.
 
Hot drinks, soft drinks and nibbles will be served.
 
When the film has finished your son or daughter will join you for food served by Friends of Townsend.
 
Please do come along and support this event!

Monday 2 November 2015

Upcoming PTA show at the Abbey Theatre

PTA upcoming event:
 
 
 
¨ Thursday 12th November 7.30pm Abbey Theatre St Albans. (behind Westminster Lodge Leisure Centre)
¨ Tickets £12 to include welcome drink on arrival. Play starts at 8pm.
¨ Profits from the evening being shared by Townsend School and The Prince's Trust.
See attached flyer for details.
Contact Finola@practice-perfect.net to book your tickets.