Tuesday 20 December 2016

Last day of term tomorrow ending at 12:30pm

Tomorrow the school breaks up for the Christmas holidays, ending the school day at 12:30pm.  We wish everyone a very merry Christmas and look forward to welcoming you all back in the new term!

A lovely Abbey service

Well done to all the year 7 students for their Christingle making yesterday.  The service had lots of carols, as well as the Christingle procession, with lots of parents attending too.  Thank you to Miss Sheppard, Mrs Coates and Mr Phelps for putting it all together!

Friday 16 December 2016

Abbey Service next Monday 19th December

Next Monday is the Christingle Abbey Service in the St Albans Cathedral, which is always a lovely service, as year 7 students display the Christingles they have made in school!  We welome parents and carers to attend this service, from 2:00pm and please ensure your child is picked up outside the Abbey at 3:00pm when the service finishes.

Thursday 15 December 2016

Christmas Hamper Raffle Tickets due by Monday

Thank you to everyone for purchasing the tickets for the Christmas Hamper raffle, the hampers are full of lots of lovely treats for Christmas time!

The draw will take place Monday 19th December, so please can can all raffle books (whether sold or unsold) be returned to reception by this date.

Thank you again for all your support to the PTA!







House points swap this Friday

Come along to the hall tomorrow to swap your house points for prizes, Friday lunchtime!

Wednesday 14 December 2016

Christmas Activities all this week in the Discovery Centre!

So Far we've screened a Christmas Carol with Jim Carrey in the Discovery Centre, today it's the classic Home Alone!

Tomorrow is Christmas Crafts for all years, finishing with an interactive Christmas Quiz on Friday, with prizes for the winners!

Christmas Pudding orders now available to collect from Reception!

Thank you very much for all of your Christmas Pudding orders and supporting our PTA team, we've had so many orders for all the lovely flavours, so thank you!

Puddings are now available for collection from reception, please do make sure these are collected before the end of term next Wednesday 12:30pm!!

Monday 12 December 2016

Senior Prize Giving tonight 7pm

We look forward to welcoming back past students who left Townsend in the summer, as well as current years 12 and 13 students to collect their awards for their exam results!  7pm tonight in the School Hall!

Friday 9 December 2016

Christmas in the Discovery Centre next week!

Next week the Discovery Centre will be hosting a number of Christmas activities, including Christmas film screenings, Christmas crafts and an interactive Christmas quiz!  See posters on the doors of the centre for details!

PE fixtures recent results

Year 10 Rugby – the year 10s played in their first Rugby match against Bushey on Thursday night. A very good 1st performance, unfortunately losing 31-15, but lots of positives to take through to the next round
Year 7/8 girls Tag Rugby  - the year 7 and 8 girls took part in their first tag rugby district tournament on Thursday afternoon. A very closely fought tournament with no more than one point between most games. Top Try scorer – Bueala, Top Tagger - India

Thursday 8 December 2016

Year 11 Trial exams completed

Well done to year 11 who have now all completed their trial exams.  We are extremely pleased with how you carried these out, and results will arrive to you shortly

Year 7 parents Evening tonight from 5pm

Wednesday 7 December 2016

CHRISTINGLES SERVICE AT ST ALBANS CATHEDRAL MONDAY DECEMBER 19TH 2PM

Our school Christingle Christmas Service takes place at St Albans Cathedral from 2.00pm – 3.00pm on Monday December 19th.  Students will be transported to the Cathedral from school but will need to make alternative travel arrangements home from the Cathedral at approximately 3.00pm.  We do ask that you are clear with your child about a meeting point after the service (the West Gate is where students leave the Cathedral at the end of the service). Parents/carers are most welcome to join us for this service. Please note that there is a Christmas market in the Vintry Garden in the Cathedral grounds so traffic will be particularly heavy in and around St Albans. Please do allow extra time for travelling! 

Wednesday 30 November 2016

Thursday 24 November 2016

Art trips to the British Museum and Tate Britain for years 9, 10 and 11

Just before half term, Years 9, 10 and 11 went on two visits to galleries to support their "Natural Forms" topic within their Art and Design GCSE courses.  Students visited the British Museum and the Tate Britain, with some lovely sketches of paintings and sculptures being produced whilst on the trips.  Students also wrote valuable feedback for the trips as well, reflecting on their days.








Help Townsend whilst you shop!!

Dear Parents/Carers/Staff

Raise money for Townsend School whilst doing your online Christmas shopping! It won’t cost you a penny but will help your students.

Be it groceries, getaways, clothes or Christmas gifts, many companies will donate money to our school via Friends of Townsend. It's as easy as clicking on the following link: 

www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/fotownsend

Online companies include:
amazon.co.uk, John Lewis, ebay, Argos, GAP, The White Company, M&S, Waitrose, Boots, Sainsburys, House of Fraser, The Book People, Expedia, Booking.com, British Gas

Thank you!

Wednesday 23 November 2016

What is Art? who should win the Turner Prize and why?

Take a look at the Tate website below:

http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/turner-prize-2016/about-artists/michael-dean

Friday 18 November 2016

Anti bullying week day 5 and CHILDREN IN NEED!!!!


Friday - Celebrate your individuality at the Townsend Talent Show. 1.20pm - 155pm. 50p to watch.  All proceeds go to Children in Need.

Thursday 17 November 2016

Anti Bullying week - Day 4

Thursday - Anti - Bullying Cinema - Years 7,8 and 9 - The Imitation Game 3.30pm - 5.30pm in the Discovery Centre.  Also, show your support for Children in Need by watching the charity netball match.


Wednesday 16 November 2016

Anti bullying week day 3

Wednesday - Anti - Bullying Cinema - Years 7,8 and 9 - X Men: The Last Stand 3.30pm - 5.30pm in the Discovery Centre. Support Children in Need by playing bingo at lunch!


Tuesday 15 November 2016

Anti bullying week day 2

Tuesday - We are lucky enough to welcome 3 Special Olympians to Townsend today to talk about their experiences of bullying and how they have overcome difficulties. Also, show your support for Children in Need by watching the charity volleyball match.


Monday 14 November 2016

Anti Bullying week - Day 1

Monday - All students and staff have been given an act of kindness to complete everyday this week.  Have you completed your act of kindness today? 

Don't forget to show your support for Children in Need at the Townsend Bake sale!


Anti bullying week timetable


Friday 11 November 2016

Anti Bullying week next week culminating in Children in Need Friday

14th - 18th Anti- bullying week - Join Townsend in supporting Anti-Bullying Week 2016.  Next week there will be numerous activities to take part in.  Ask your form tutor, Anti-Bullying Ambassadors or Miss Scott for more details.





Drama trip for year 9 GCSE

Our Year 9 GCSE drama class went this week to a free schools viewing of 'Cathy' at the Abbey Theatre and conducted themselves beautifully. 'Cathy' is a modern British drama dealing with our current housing crisis in The UK and funded by the charity theatre company 'cardboard citizens', the students reaction to the piece was fantastic and proved to be very thought provoking in the forum theatre workshop run after the showing of the play. The students were a credit to the school and I was very proud of them. Mrs. Coates. 



Wednesday 2 November 2016

Diversity Day a success!








The Friday before half term saw our Diversity event being held in the school hall.  Each form was given a country to research and prepare a stall for a diversity market to educate other students about their designated country and the research they had found out about it.  Lots of the stalls included traditional cuisine from the countries, with lots of taste sessions taking place!!  The spectators then cast their vote for their favourite stall before leaving the event.

Well done to the top three forms 8C, 10C and 12 D for receiving the most votes!




Friday 21 October 2016

HALF TERM!

A reminder that the school will be closed to students from Monday 24th – Friday 28th October for the Half Term holiday break.  

Wednesday 19 October 2016

YEAR 11 PARENTS/CARERS - ADVANCE NOTICE

We will be holding a Destinations Evening (after Year 11) and Study Support Evening for ALL year 11 students and parents /carers on Wednesday November 2nd at 7pm. We are expecting a FULL attendance at this as there will be something on display or shared that will be relevant for every child and every parent/carer. Please add the date to your diary now! We look forward to seeing you on this important evening. In the meantime if you have queries or questions about GCSE preparation please do contact subject tutors.

Food Tech year 8

A range of chicken fajitas made by year 8 recently. Well done to everyone who worked at the medium and challenge levels!


Tuesday 18 October 2016

Food Tech!

Well done to year 8 this week in their omelette challenge. Chefs of the week was Natalie and Addur

Art Christmas competition!


No Pens Day

Dodecahedrons made in maths for no pens day!


Morfa Bay trip last week

Year 10 students enjoyed their weekend away at Morfa Bay for their GCSE PE course!


No Pens Day!

AS Product Design Coffee Cup Challenge on No Pens day. Well done Matthew and Benedict!


Year 10 Food Technology

Well done to Year ten who had to make a British dish of their choice recently. Chef of the week was Yaw for his homemade fish&chips!


Year 7 Art

In Art Year 7 have started the year well studying tonal drawing. They started by producing a tonal bar and drawing four key shapes using a range of tone here is an example by Olivia. They  then moved on to looking at still life focusing on improving their sketching skills and tonal shading. Example by Pippa (still to complete) Great Effort so far ladies!


Monday 17 October 2016

Youth Connexions

Robert Brown the Youth Connexions Youth Work Team Leader for St Albans Services for Young People will be coming in Tuesday lunch time to promote the services Connexions provides for young people across the district.

DUKE OF EDINBURGH - BRONZE

Townsend’s second qualifying expedition of 2016 will be held this weekend at Hudnall Park Outdoor Centre. There are 24 participants and there were 28 for the first weekend. They are all working towards their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award. We wish them all luck with passing their expedition section and also with the weather. If any year 10 students would like to join us for next year please see Mrs Liddington as there are a few places left.

WORSHIP AT TOWNSEND

Our value focus for October is Responsibility ‘For each will have to bear his own load’ Galatians 6:5. Our values for each month will be shared in daily worship sessions. Students will have the opportunity to reflect on their meanings with a particular reference to how we lead our everyday lives.

Wednesday 5 October 2016

Last Week's open evening!

Some exciting experiments took place in the Science Department at our open evening last week!

For more information on Townsend or to book your school tour please call 01727 853047


Tuesday 4 October 2016

YEAR 11 PARENTS/CARERS - ADVANCE NOTICE

We will be holding a Destinations Evening (after Year 11) and Study Support Evening for ALL year 11 students and parents /carers on Wednesday November 2nd at 7pm. We are expecting a FULL attendance at this as there will be something on display or shared that will be relevant for every child and every parent/carer. Please add the date to your diary now! We look forward to seeing you on this important evening. In the meantime if you have queries or questions about GCSE preparation please do contact subject tutors. 

Monday 3 October 2016

PHYSICAL EDUCATION update


Another great performance from our Cross Country runners on Thursday in the district competition. 

If any students are playing for sports clubs and competing outside of school please let Miss Pennifold know so we can celebrate and share your successes! 

Fixtures this week: 
Monday 3rd October – Year 10 Basketball away at Nicholas Breakspear 
Wednesday 5th October – Year 8 and Year 9 netball matches vs Nicholas Breakspear at Townsend School 3.30 – 5. 
Thursday 6th October – District Cross Country competition at Verulam school playing fields 3.30 – 5. 

YEAR 11 MORFA BAY 
Year 11 GCSE PE students will be visiting Morfa Bay for an activity and team building weekend leaving school Friday October 7th and returning Monday October 10th. We wish them a good weekend! 

Macmillan bake sale last Friday

Staff and Sixth Form students at Townsend have raised £105 for by hosting a cake sale last Friday! Well done to all who gave for this great cause!

DYSLEXIA AWARENESS WEEK


DYSLEXIA AWARENESS WEEK 
October 3rd to October 10th is Dyslexia Awareness Week. For further information and resources do visit the website:

Thursday 29 September 2016

Open Evening a great success!

Thank you to everyone who visited us on Open Evening last night!  We had a record number of people through the doors, with lots of lovely comments about Townsend!  A big thank you to all students and parents who also helped on the night, as well as to additional help from governors and especially the teachers for all their hard work too!

If you didn't manage to attend open evening but would like to book your visit to Townsend for one of the Head's tours, please contact the school office on 01727 853047

Wednesday 28 September 2016

Hertfordshire Model and Engineering Exhibition last weekend

On Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th September the Hertfordshire Model and Engineering Society held its annual exhibition at Townsend School.

The exhibition was very well attended and was also visited by the Major of St Albans on the Sunday.

Active displays over the weekend included:
Flights by drones, planes, helicopters and a hot air balloon.
An extensive large truck city display, numerous train and Mecarno exhibits, remote boat display on a constructed artificial pond and many other active and static displays too many to list.

It was a really good weekend supported by both local and regional exhibitors

Tuesday 27 September 2016

Open evening tomorrow night 6pm

If you are a parent of a year 6 student, or know any parents of students, please do pass on the details of our Open Evening, which takes place tomorrow starting at 6:00pm.  This is a great opportunity to see what life at Townsend is like, and hear from our Headteacher about out ethos and values within school.  Our students act as guides to show you all around school, with any particular areas you would like to see shown to you first!

For more information please enquire at our school office on 01727 853047 and we look forward to seeing lots of parents and prospective students tomorrow night!

European languages day

Yesterday Townsend celebrated European Languages day!  At the initiative of the Council of Europe, Strasbourg, the European Day of Languages has been celebrated every year since 2001 on 26 September.

On the occasion of the day, a range of events are organised across Europe: activities for and with children, television and radio programmes, language classes and conferences. National authorities and the various partners are given a free hand to organise activities. 

Townsend students were all given a quiz and crossword during form times which they had fun completing!



Monday 26 September 2016

Open Evening this Wednesday

If you are a parent of a year 6 student, or know any parents of students, please do pass on the details of our Open Evening, this Wednesday starting at 6:00pm.  This is a great opportunity to see what life at Townsend is like, and hear from our Headteacher about out ethos and values within school.  Our students act as guides to show you all around school, with any particular areas you would like to see shown to you first!

For more information please enquire at our school office on 01727 853047 and we look forward to seeing lots of parents and prospective students on Wednesday!

Sports fixtures results from this week

Year 10 boys basketball team had a fantastic start to the year, winning 39-30 in a strong team performance against St Albans Boys School. 

Year 9 girls netball team had their first match against STAGS on Wednesday, with new faces to the team and a great enthusiasm to improve their games, with extra lunch time and after school practice sessions, the girls fought well and saw some great improvements throughout the game, losing 16-7 against a strong STAGS team. 

Thursday saw Townsend host the district cross country, a gruelling long run in and around the school grounds and local fields. Some great performances from individual runners in all age groups, with some top 10 finishes and a third place from Stella in Year 7. 

Congratulation to all players involved in any of the matches this week, and those who are attending our lunchtime and afterschool sports extra-curricular clubs to improve their skills! Please encourage your child to get involved if they haven’t already! Students should look at the board in the PE corridor for dates and times of clubs. 

Next weeks matches: 
Year 10 Boys Basketball – Monday 26th September @ Samuel Ryder 
District cross country - Thursday 29th September @ Nicholas Breakspear School 

Wednesday 21 September 2016

OPEN EVENING WEDNESDAY 28th SEPTEMBER 2016

This is a crucial evening for the school and we are always grateful for support from so many students and parents/carers. The school closes at 12.30 on this day and dedicated school buses collect students at 12.30. Other students will need to make their way home as you direct. 

Students will be asked by teachers next week if they can help out on the evening and this may impact on parents for supporting with transport arrangements - thank you in advance for this! We are hoping all Year 8 students will assume guiding roles and students from other year groups will volunteer to help out with subject areas. 

We are also looking for parent/carer support for our Open Evening – please contact the school office if you are able to help. This will involve talking to prospective students and parent/carers at various strategic points around the school, promoting Friends (PTA) Activities, answering questions from a Parent/Carer point of view, and issuing refreshments to student guides in the small canteen. Year 7 parent/carers – we know many are new but you too would be very welcome as our most recent ambassadors for Townsend. 
Many thanks in anticipation 
Ian Graham - Open Evening Coordinator 

Monday 19 September 2016

IMPORTANT CHANGES TO PARENTMAIL – ACTION REQUIRED

IMPORTANT CHANGES TO PARENTMAIL – ACTION REQUIRED 
We are upgrading to the new enhanced ParentMail software on Monday 19th September 
To continue to use ParentMail all you need to do is verify your account. Sometime soon after 19th September you will be sent an email from ParentMail, when you receive this please just follow the instructions below. If you have both a mobile number and an email address registered on your account, you will receive a registration invitation by text and email. You can decide which way you register – but you will only need to register once. 
Email registration - Please click on the link from the email and follow the verification process. You will again be asked to enter some details, answer a security question to verify who you are and to set a password for your account. 
Mobile registration - Please click on the link from the text message and follow the verification process. You will be asked to enter some details, answer a security question to verify who you are and to set a password for your account. 
Please be assured that ParentMail is registered with the Information Commissioner and guarantees that all information you provide will be kept private and will not be passed on to any other organisation. If you have any issues or queries with the process please contact Mrs Sawyer in the school office.

Sixth Form Induction evening tonight

Don't forget the sixth form induction parents evening is taking place tonight starting at 7:00pm at the school!

Friday 16 September 2016

Open Evening

We are currently looking for parent/carer support for our Open Evening – please contact the school office if you are able to help. This will involve talking to prospective students and parent/carers at various points around the school, promoting PTA activities, answering questions from a Parent/Carer point of view, and issuing refreshments to student guides in the small canteen. Year 7 parent/carers – we know many are new but you too would be very welcome as our most recent ambassadors for Townsend. 
Many thanks in anticipation 
Ian Graham - Open Evening Coordinator 

Thursday 15 September 2016

YEAR 11 2015/2016 GCSE EXAMAINATION RESULTS

YEAR 11 2015/2016 GCSE EXAMAINATION RESULTS 
I thought it would be nice to send you a final message as Director of Learning for year 11. The last five years has been such a wonderful journey and it has been great to see your children develop academically and socially throughout those years. Thank you parents/carers for all the support you have given us over the years. I am sure, like me you feel immensely proud of the fantastic results achieved by your children. I am so pleased to see so many of them stayed here at Townsend Sixth Form where they will continue to receive the same care and support and so doubt, the same great outcome , at the end of year 13. I wish you all the very best. 
Mrs Maguire and the Year 11 Team. 

Wednesday 14 September 2016

Abbey Service 2pm tomorrow

Our first Cathedral Service of the year is tomorrow at 2pm in the St Albans Abbey.  Please ensure students have a reading book with them for the day, and arrange with parents where they are being picked up/meeting after the service finishes at 3:00pm, as students will need to make their own way home after this.

Tuesday 13 September 2016

WORSHIP AT TOWNSEND

WORSHIP AT TOWNSEND 
Our value focus for September is Respect “Treat others the same way you want them to treat you” Luke 6:31. Our values for each month will be shared in daily worship sessions. Students will have the opportunity to reflect on their meanings with a particular reference to how we lead our everyday lives. 

Monday 12 September 2016

School Shop Open Tuesdays and Thursdays

The school shop is open every Tuesday and Thursday break time for all students to purchase stationery and school supplies at extremely low prices.  Sixth former students will be opening up from tomorrow, pop along to see what you can buy in there.




Friday 9 September 2016

Our press release for fantastic GCSE results this year

Students at Townsend School achieved ‘best ever’ GCSE results this year with 84% of students achieving 5 or more A*- C. A third of all pupils achieved at least 5 A* or A grades and nearly two thirds of the grades achieved were A*- B grades. 

Headteacher Mr Andrew Wellbeloved commented that “We are absolutely delighted with attainment of this group, however it is also extremely pleasing to see the progress of all learners achieving much higher grades than previous national indicators. Ensuring that all learners achieve better than expected progress is an avowed aim of the school and these results show what can be accomplished when you have excellent and conscientious students, supported by a fantastic team of teachers. To achieve our best ever results is a pleasing end to another year of consistent effort by everyone at Townsend.” 

Thursday 8 September 2016

Welcome back!

Welcome back to all students, we hope you had a lovely summer holiday and are feeling refreshed to enter the next year of school!

Welcome also to new students in Year 7 and new students across the year groups who are joining Townsend this year!

Monday 11 July 2016

Sixth form induction day success

Last Monday year 11 students came back to Townsend to take part in their Sixth form induction day, hosted by Miss Gibbons and Mrs Buckland.  The day was a great success, with students carrying out enterprise style activities, and answering debates on "What makes a good sixth form student?"

We hope you all enjoyed the day and are looking forward to seeing you all again in September, in the meantime, have a lovely summer and good luck on results day!

Year 6 induction evening

A big welcome to all of our year 6 students who are joining Townsend next year!  We had the pleasure of meeting you all last Thursday evening, where form tutors met with their tutor groups, as well as meeting the new head of year 7 for next year, Miss Reynolds.  We can't wait for you to join us in September, but for now have a lovely summer and we'll see you all in your purple blazers soon!

Monday 4 July 2016

Year 11 Prom photos are now live!

The Official photos from last week's Year 11 School prom at Hatfield House are now live!  
To view and place any orders for the photos, visit:

http://doubleexposed.co.uk/townsendprom2016.html


For any further enquiries, or to drop orders into school, 

please contact Mrs Rice, or leave your orders at reception.