Library books due now

Please remember to bring all library books back tomorrow before the end of term!
Miss Ismail

Surprise non uniform day!

As a last minute surprise to the students, tomorrow will be a non uniform day for staff and students!  No donation is required, so feel free to wear your comfy clothes!

Readathon challenge raises £950 for charity!

From 3rd November for two weeks, Townsend C of E students in years 7 and 8 carried out the Readathon challenge to coincide with our literacy scheme and to raise money for charity for ill children.  The students wrote on their sponsor cards their chosen books to read for the challenge, then collected sponsors for their reading for once they had completed the challenge.  The current total raised so far by Townsend students is £950, with more sponsor money to be collected!  Well done everyone and keep up the reading over the holidays!

Abbey Christingle service

Today it is the Abbey Christingle service at St Albans Cathedral.  Parents and carers are welcome to attend, the service begins at 2:00pm with Year 7 carrying the Christingles down the Abbey, with some lovely hymns and a special staff song!

Accelrated reader Certificates

This week Year 7 and 8 students were awarded their Accelerated reader certificates.  Students receive a certificate for achieving 100% in three of their book quizzes.  If they achieve 3, a bronze is awarded, 6 is silver, 9 is gold and 12 or more is platinum!

A lot of children have certificates, with some even gaining gold and platinum since last half term!  Well done to everyone for all your reading and effort with Accelerated reader and congratulations to the Star readers of the month too!

Reminder - all library books due back

Please ensure all of your library books are brought back to the Discovery Centre by Friday 19th December, the last day of term.  Especially those which are overdue!

Christmas Jumper day for sixth form and staff

Today staff and sixth form students are wearing Christmas jumpers to support the charity "Save the Children".  See if you can spot any of the jumpers r if anyone is wearing the same!

Christmas films for Film Day in the Discovery Centre

Today in the Discovery Centre during lunchtime we will be showing a Christmas film of the students' choice, come along at lunchtime to see what gets chosen! All years welcome!

December Author of The Month - Sue Hampton

After her visit last week, Sue Hampton is now our Author of the month for December!

Sue's recent book "Thinner than Water" has just been released, along with a brand new interactive website and blog!

 
 

 
 

 





Display material is on show in the English block and in the Discovery Centre, along with all of Sue's books to borrow, the posters are also shown below, with some facts about Sue and her writing.
Visit Sue's website at www.suehamptonauthor.co.uk for more details!

Sue Hampton visits Townsend

Author Sue Hampton came to visit Year 7 and 9 students at Townsend C of E school today.  Sue began with a workshop for Year 9 students, which involved reading through the first chapter of her new book "Thinner than Water" whilst annotating the use of language and writing within the segment.  Sue then spoke to all of year 7, showing them her brand new website and explaining the different books she has written and how she began writing.  The talk was followed by a book signing at lunchtime, where Sue chatted to students form all years about writing and her books. 

Sue will be our author of the month for December, so keep an eye out for more details in the Discovery Centre next week!

 

 

If you would like to get involved with Sue's blog or purchase signed books please visit her new website www.suehamptonauthor.co.uk

Year 7 Castle competition

The History department set a "build a castle"castle competition for all Year 7 students as homework (they had a month to build it) as they have been learning about the Norman Conquest and how William the Conqueror used castles to control the Anglo-Saxons.

 

They learned about different types of castles: motte and bailey, stone keep and concentric castles.

 

Mrs Bailey created the competition as this would motivate students to build their best their best castle possible and get everyone else in the school involved in the voting process.

 

The results were astonishing and everyone was absolutely amazed at what the year 7's could produce. We look forward to setting the same challenge for other KS3 year groups this year!

 

 

 

Children in Need

Our head student team, Haidan , Annie , William and Megan have just finished their charity event this week for Children In Need. The events included a chocolate hunt, huge bake sale, a volleyball rematch and a big "challenges" event in the hall! It followed a "teachers vs. students" theme, and all events raised a total of £384.24! Thank you so much to everyone who got involved and supported the events!  Keep donating tonight while the TV show is on!

YOPEY Awards Final

Last night our Head Girl, Annie Osborne was a finalist for Hertfordshire Young Person of the year award 2014, held at Moor Park Golf Club, Rickmansworth. The event was also attended by numerous majors across the county, as well as various sponsors and a representative of the Queen!
Annie was a close runner up in the competition and said " I was honoured to be put in the same category as some of the finalists!". "Everyone had done so much for their charities and communities and I was honoured to be a finalist too". "YOPEY is a fantastic organisation and I hope to be involved in the events next year"....

Big congratulations to Annie!

Year 8 trip to the Black Country Museum

Last Thursday all year 8 students visited the Black Country Living History Museum in Dudley, Birmingham.  The trip was to compliment the students' learning; currently they are learning about the Industrial Revolution especially the living and working conditions of the time.

The students had a tour down a coal mine to view the working conditions of the time, with shafts and baulks.  They also had a lesson in a 19th Century school room, where Mr Buckland was unfortunately badly behaved and got the cane to the hand - a typical punishment of the times.  The students practised writing in a Victorian Style, using copper plate writing and hooks and hangers.  They also wrote on slate.

Another section visited was the chain maker (a big industry at the time) along with an old fashioned chemist, sweet shop, bakery and hard wear store.

The houses of the time were also visited (along with outside privvys!), some houses were crooked due to the mining industry underground.  These houses were reinforced using metal braces.

Students also got the chance to ride in a double decker bus through the museum, as well as experiencing a Victorian Fairground.  Lunch was old fashioned fish and chips.

Throughout the day the guides were dressed in authentic costume from the time.  The students finally got to see a replica of the Newcomen steam engine in working condition.

The students all thoroughly enjoyed themselves on the trip and learnt a lot about the living and working conditions during the industrial revolution which will help them with their studies!!

Author of the month - David Walliams

Following on from October's Author of the month, Roald Dahl, our November author is David Walliams.

David has written lots of children's books over the past few years, with the same comedy and humorous tone as Roald Dahl, with his brand new book "Awful Auntie" being launched recently.

Some display material is on show in the English block and in the Discovery Centre, along with all of David's books to borrow, the posters are also shown below, with an extract from Awful Auntie as well!

 

 

Student gets through to final in YOPEY awards

Congratulations to our Head Student Annie Osborne who has made it through to the final of the YOPEY awards.  the reason for her nominations is that Annie has carried out a lot of charity work and raising the awareness and importance of giving blood, not only in her local area but also throughout her own school too.

The finals will take place 13th November at Moor Park Golf Course, Rickmansworth.  Good luck Annie!

For more information on the Young People of the Year awards, please click on the link below:

http://www.youngpeopleoftheyear.org/subsite.php?site=hertfordshire'14

Readathon Sponsored Read

Townsend are excited to announce we are running a Readathon Sponsored Read for all students in years 7 and 8. Readathon is a national sponsored reading event for schools that encourages children to read for pleasure - an activity proven to increase children's chances of success and personal happiness for the rest of their lives (source: OECD).

Our scheme will run from Monday 3rd November to Friday 28th November. Students: - All donations should be returned in an envelope with the sponsorship card to your form tutor before Friday 12th December.

Simply by reading, our students will also raise money for seriously ill children through four UK children's charities (ReadWell supplies free books and storytellers to children in hospital;CLIC Sargent supports children/young people with cancer and their families;Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity specialises in helping children with serious neurological and blood conditions;Together for Short Lives is the leading UK charity for children's hospice services).

All year 7 and 8 pupils have been given a sponsorship card to complete over the half term holiday. House points and a prize will be given to the house that manages to collect the most in donations!

Good luck and get reading!

Accelerated Reader Awards

Yesterday in assembly students were presented with certificates as part of the Accelerated Reader programme which began in September.

Students received certificates for achieving 100% in three book quizzes, as well as one student per class receiving "Star Reader" of the month for September.

Well done to all students for a great start to the scheme, remember to keep reading over half term to gain your reading minutes!

A journey through the universe

Yesterday Dr Nick Wright from the University of Hertfordshire came in to talk to students about a journey through the universe. 

The first talk was delivered to a select group of students from years 7, 8 and 9 about space:

"We were given lots of information, some key facts were how the sun transmits energy (hydrogen to helium); how there is a black hole in the middle of each galaxy and how we might be pulverised by the exploding sun in three billion years time.  Overall I enjoyed the presentation and hope there will be another one."


"We also learnt about our solar system and how scientists don't know why the planets are spaced apart.  We looked at examples of planets and stars and other possible life.  After this we looked at galaxies and the different types.  There is a spiral galaxy and when two spiral galaxies collide it makes an elliptical galaxy.  We finally heard about about the big bang and how the universe is expanding.  Overall I enjoyed the visit from the astronomer very much and I hope there is another one soon."

Another talk was then given to Year 10 GCSE students:

"n the triple science lecture, we learnt a lot of interesting things about our universe and galaxies.  We learnt the different galaxy shapes, the main ones being spiral and elliptical.  We found out how astronomers work out the amount of galaxies and stars and how they are created.  We learnt a great deal on how all of the elements we need are made and how these elements are distributed throughout the universe during supernovas and explosions of stars.  Dr Nick also answered any questions we had, which was all really interesting!"

St Albans Council chambers visit

Last Thursday eight sixth form students visited the St Albans Council Chambers by the Alban Arena to put forward and discuss various proposed motions.  In attendance were a number of councillors with various roles.  The students were split into groups, to put forward their motions which would later be debated.  The issues debated throughout the session were:

Whether people with unhealthy lifestyles should be given less help on the NHS

Whether Sixteen year olds should be given the right to vote.

Whether St Albans should spend more money on education and less on welfare.

After being given time to prepare the presentations, everyone returned to the chambers for the afternoon to hold the debate.  The mayor of St Albans was also present for this to oversee the issues.

 

School age students from across the district took part, from year 10 through to year 13 students.  The debates included different issues, views and opinions, with some heated discussions!  A vote was held at the end of each proposed motion to see if it would hypothetically be brought into power and as if it was a real life situation.

 

The debate was filmed, with all schools receiving a copy for themselves.  The following week, the Townsend students came back to school and delivered a presentation to the rest of sixth form about the day during their LFL lesson, explaining the issues discussed and even holding their own debate in school during the lesson!

 

A great experience and we hope the students involved enjoyed their day!

 

 

Images below from the previous week's debate in the Chambers:

 

 

 

 

Primary School Teachers visiting

Today our Year 7 students will receive a visit after school from their past primary teachers, to see how they're settling in to Townsend, but to also show them round where they are now based.  We would like to welcome all primary teachers and hope the Year 7 students enjoy showing them round Townsend!

Art Trips this week

This week Year 10 and 11 art students had two trips to galleries.

On Tuesday they visited the British Museum for their ancient cultures project.  The students looked at sculptures and different ancient artefacts from countries all around the world, to gain first hand experience of them.  They drew and photographed the pieces, examining the materials and craft techniques used in those times to produce the work.  This was beneficial in helping the students to develop the work in their portfolios based on this.

On Wednesday Year 10 went to visit the Tate Modern to view a mixture of present day contemporary work as well as 20th century artwork.  Students were able to experience these first hand, looking at the Social, Moral, Spiritual and Cultural aspects of the artists' work in relation to their own work.

St Albans Music School primary performance today!

Today St Albans Music school are hosting a primary singing day at Townsend school, with the final performane taking place 2:30pm to 3:00pm in the school hall, which parents are also attending.  Pupils from a wide range of primary schools across Hertfordshire are attending, we welcome you all to Townsend for this fun day!

Morfa Bay trip a success!

Year 11 are on their way back from Morfa Bay! An amazing trip had by all. The weather didn't put them off, they came, they embraced, they impressed! Wind, rain, mud, sun we had it all! Students took part in coasteering, sea activities, climbing and abseiling, mountain biking, archery and the famous smelly, muddy assault course. Well done Year 11 GCSE PE students!

Visit to Leverstock Green CE Primary school

On Monday afternoon three sixth form students and Miss Ismail went to Leverstock Green CE primary school to give an assembly to the year 5 and 6 students about transitions to secondary school.  The assembly was designed to give students a bit more information and a more accurate idea of what secondary school is like, especially life at Townsend.  Before the assembly, the Townsend students sat in on their worship and assembly, where the students talked about visiting the local Church for harvest festival and reflected on the kind of day they had.  It was a pleasure visiting the school and seeing some familiar faces who have visited Townsend for workshops before!

Accelerated Reader launch

Lots of exciting things have been going on in school this week, including the launch of a brand new scheme, Accelerated Reader, for years 7 and 8 students.

The scheme is designed to monitor students' reading levels, as well as their progress in reading from the beginning of the academic year right through to the end.

After taking a short test, the students' reading levels are obtained.  Using these they can then find appropriate books for their reading level so they are challenged yet it is not too difficult or easy for them. 

After completing the book, the students take a short quiz to monitor their progress and achievements are rewarded in different stages.  Students have individual goals to strive for within a specific time period to ensure progress is being made.

The scheme is launching to coincide with our school literacy policy, which will also include all year 7 and 8 students reading for five minutes at the beginning of each of their lessons from Monday.

We hope the students find the scheme challenging yet rewarding and helping to improve reading can never be a bad thing!

Model Railway Exhibition Saturday and Sunday at Townsend

St Albans Model Engineering Society the BIG MODEL SHOW 2014 Free miniature train rides; Model locomotives & Stationary engines in steam; Model boats; Free ‘Have-a-go' radio controlled model boats; Meccano displays; RNLI and visiting club stands; Helicopter and Model Aircraft flying displays; Model Railway layouts; Large radio controlled Model Truck display: plus a whole lot more… Larger than ever exhibition with additional hall this year. Refreshments available and free parking Admission: Adults £4 Children £1 Further detail and map at www.stalbansmes.com

10.00am – 5.00pm each day

A big thank you

Thank you to all staff, governors, students and parents who helped with open evening last night.  It was a fantastic evening, the school looked great and so many people came through the doors with such complimentary words about Townsend.

If you missed open evening, please do contact the school to arrange a short tour round to see us in action on a normal school day.

Open evening tonight!

Townsend School's Open Evening takes place tonight at 6pm and runs until 9pm.  Parents - please do welcome anyone you know who has a child in Year 6 to come along and pay us a visit to see the wonderful things we do at the school!

All children are welcome at Townsend, whether they have a faith or not and regardless of which faith they follow.

Duke of Edingburgh award

Current Year 11 students completed their Bronze Duke of Edingburgh expedition on 13th September at Little Gaddesden.  Twenty six participants all passed their expedition section - well done to you all!

Another twenty two participants are out this weekend - fingers crossed for good weather!

Fifteen students completed their Silver expedition last term, with another new group of students signing up for the award - forty one students from year 10 will be beginning their Bronze award.

Their twelve week fire skills course will be running early next year, we are just awaiting dates from St Albans Fire Station.

If you need any help or advice please visit Mrs Liddington and Mrs Forster any Tuesday lunchtime at their drop in sessions in IT4.

For now, enjoy some photos form last year's expeditions!

Open evening tomorrow

Don't forget open evening for Townsend is tomorrow night from 6pm to 9pm.  Please do let others know, especially if they have children in years 5 and 6 who are looking for schools next year.  Townsend takes students of all or no faiths, from a wide area of Hertfordshire including Hatfield, Welwyn, St Albans, Harpenden, Hemel Hempstead, Watford, Barnet and even Luton, Bedfordshire.

Visit to Nash Mills

Today the Head students and Miss Ismail went on another primary school visit, this time to Nash Mills CE primary school for another assembly delivering information about secondary school life.  The students were very enthusiastic about asking questions, with a lot of information being delivered so their worries and questions were answered.  Their head teacher asked them at the end if they felt a bit better about it, which they all did!

Chess Club with Mr Hollingberry

Last Friday saw the second week of chess club with Mr Hollingberry, which takes place in the Discovery Centre.  Lots of students attended, with assisted help in learning how to play.  To join chess club, come along Friday lunchtime to the Discovery Centre to see what it's all about!

Book club Friday lunchtimes

Miss Noble and Miss Ismail have begun their book club again, open to years 7 and 8 students.  This runs on a Friday lunchtime in the Discovery centre, helping to promote literacy and a wider reading culture.  Pop along to see what's happening this week!

Primary School visit yesterday

Yesterday afternoon two of the Head students and Miss Ismail went to St Paul's CE primary school to give an assembly to the year 5 and 6 students about transitions to secondary school.  The assembly was designed to give students a bit more information and a more accurate idea of what secondary school is like.  The assembly also gave the students a chance to ask any questions they may have, or to air any worries about changing schools.  The students were great to talk to, they had lots of questions and weren't afraid to ask!  We hope they enjoyed their assembly and feel a little bit less worried now!

A selection of images from Roald Dahl Day last Friday!

Roald Dahl Day celebrations and Year 7 competition

A reminder that tomorrow we are celebrating Roald Dahl Day in the Discovery Centre, come along to hear teachers reading their favourite Roald Dahl books!

This celebration is in conjunction with a year 7 Roald Dahl competition, where year 7 students will be writing their own Roald Dahl inspired story.  The best two per form will be judged by Miss Noble (English director of learning) who will award the winner with a prize!

Abbey Service today at 2:00pm

Today is the first St Albans Abbey Cathedral service of the academic year, starting at 2:00pm.  For year 7 this is an exciting time as this may be the first time they have seen or been inside the beautiful building.  They are privileged to receive a short tour round the abbey before the rest of the school arrives and joins then ready for the service begin.  Enjoy your visit year 7, it is a very special day!

Clubs are starting this week

All students should be receiving the official clubs timetable this week, ready to start the numerous clubs available.  Students are advised to join at least a couple of clubs to keep up hobbies and social activities as well as the opportunities to meet new people who also share the same interests.

Don't forget homework club begins tonight 3:25 - 5:00pm in the Discovery Centre with Mrs Forster and Mrs Stevens!

Year 7 after their first week.

The rest of the year 7 forms had their induction to the Discovery centre today during their TLC lesson with Miss Lingwood.  When she asked if there was anything negative about last week, one student replied "that we had to have a weekend!!"  It's so lovely to hear that the year 7 students have settled in well and are enjoying being at Townsend school!

Year 7 Discovery Centre Induction

Today 7Exeter received an induction to the Discovery centre as part of their Townsend Learning Community lesson.  Miss Ismail explained the centre's way of running to the students, then played a game which involved students having riddles to solve with the answers being something in the centre.  The students had to work out what the riddle was asking them to find, then find where it was so they became more familiar with where everything is in the centre to encourage independent learning.

Don't forget year 7 that Miss Ismail is always on hand in the Discovery Centre if you need any advice or help, or even if you would just like to chat at breaks or lunches!

Year 7 settling into lessons

Over the past couple of days, Year 7 students have been involved in a number of different lessons including English, Maths and Science.

In English with Mr Glanville, students had to answer what makes a great story.  One student said it was nice to hear other people's views!

In Maths with Miss Harvey, students had to work out the answer to a mathematical question from pop group JLS (given via print outs, unfortunately not the real thing!)

And in Miss Anthony's Science class students worked their way round the Science lab answering if a substance was either a solid, liquid or gas!

School photos

This morning each form group had their photos taken to be displayed in their form rooms and year noticeboards in the corridors.  Year 7 also had their individual photos taken - parents you will be able to view these soon, with the students proudly showing off their purple blazers!

Welcome to years 8, 9, 10, 11. 13

Welcome back to all years 8, 9, 10, 11 and 13 students.  We hope you had a lovely summer and are raring to get back into school to begin working hard again!

First Day for Year 7 students at Townsend

This morning year 7 students began their first day at Townsend C of E secondary school.  Headteacher Mr Wellbeloved and Mr Buckland, Director of Learning for years 7 and 8 welcomed the students in an assembly, before the students started their various activities of the day.

First was form time - where students met their form teachers again as well as getting to know their form rooms and the rest of their forms, whether Exeter, Canterbury or Durham.  During form time, students were given their Achievement and Record books - their diaries - where they recorded their timetable of lessons and homework timetable.  Students were also given locker keys for their lockers located in their form rooms.

For the rest of the morning, the thee forms rotated round different activities.  One activity was in the Gym, concentrating on team building, where the students had to stand on benches and put themselves in height order without touching the ground when moving!!  They then had to pass a hula hoop between them quickly, then adding more and more hoops!

In the Discovery Centre, the activities helped the students to begin thinking about Christian values, taking part in discussions about forgiveness, how to deal with different situations that may arise and finally, recognising values and including them in everyday life.  These included tolerance, care, respect, understanding and inclusion.

The final part of the morning's activities was a quiz in which students had to make their way round school to find the answers to the questions, including a visit to the Discovery centre, gym and canteen!

Bake off winners!

So we left last term on a cliff hanger waiting for the results of the Staff vs students bake off and theyre finally in!!

A big well done to Mrs Town who won the bake off with her caramel muffins.  A close runner up was Mr Wellbeloved in the showstopper challenge!  A big thank you to MRs Barlow and Mrs Cartwright for blind judging the competition, as well as a massive thank you to the five members of staff, year 7, 8 and sixth form students who all took part and did really well!

Respect for all - a key aspet of Townsend

 

RESPECT FOR ALL

At Townsend we believe that every person is equally important and that no-one has a right to harass, insult or cause offence to any other person for any reason.  We particularly reject the way that some people abuse others:

• because they are richer or poorer, older or younger,
• because they are small or tall, thin or fat,
• because of the colour of their skin,
• because they are male or because they are female,
• because they are a teacher or a pupil,
• because of their religion,
• because of handicap or personal problems,
• because of their looks or what they wear,
• because of their likes and dislikes,
• because they are popular or unpopular,
• because  of their ability or lack of ability,
• because of their nationality or accent,

We are all individuals with differences, but we are all members of Townsend and can learn from each other.

Welcome back!

Today is the first day of the brand new term for students in years 7 and 12, with staff already in school yesterday for their INSET day.  We hope you all had a lovely break and are ready to get back into the swing of school again!

To all new students starting in year 7 welcome and we look forward to meeting you all on your exciting first day!

To all Year 12 students, we are looking forward to you returning to us after your excellent GCSE results over summer.

Enjoy the day everybody!

Bake off finale!

Today for the last week of term, the bakeoff club culminated in a staff vs students bake off!  The individuals had to each bake a batch of muffins (any flavour of their choice), with many staff and students taking part.  The surprise judges then carried out blind tasting to select their winner!  More details and photos to follow tomorrow!

Enrichment day tomorrow!

To all students, we hope you have a lovely day out having fun on your enrichment day trips wherever you may be going!  Don't forget it will be extremely hot tomorrow so take plenty of water, hats and sun cream!  We look forward to hearing all about your trips on Friday for the last day of term!

Battle of table tennis against staff!

Today a table tennis match took place with both Mr Turkentine and Mr Armitage taking part!  Lots of fun was had by all who came to watch, with money being raised for charities.  Well done to both staff, you played an excellent game!

Year 7 celebration ceremony

Year 7 students will be out of lessons this afternoon to take part in their first Townsend Celebration Ceremony.  All parents are welcome to attend, with the service beginning at 2:00pm in the hall

Former student signed for the England college rugby squad

A former student of Townsend School, Josh Lawrence, has been signed up to the 2014 England College rugby squad.
To read the full article please follow the link to the Herts Advertiser page below:

http://www.hertsad.co.uk/sport/cents_lawrence_called_up_to_gb_college_squad_1_3675079

Well done Josh!

Year 8 Celebration ceremony

Today year 8 students took part in their Celebration Ceremony at 2:00pm, with parents also attending the event.  Well done to all of you who received an award!

Year 10 celebration ceremony

Year 10 students will be out of lessons this afternoon to take part in their Celebration Ceremony.  All parents are welcome to attend, with the service beginning at 2:00pm in the hall

GCSE Art Exhibition

Miss Bailey is hosting the Townsend GCSE Art Exhibition on Tuesday July 15^th  3.30pm - 6.30pm in AR3. Please do come along and see all the artwork the students have prepared for their GCSE exam.

World Cup challenge door decorating

Miss Bailey's class door gave the others a run for their money!

And the winner is......

Above is the winning door of the World cup competition which is 8P Mrs Buckland representing Germany. Head students have said it was a tough competition as there were many forms who have put in loads of effort to show their support in the world cup. Ms Buckland's door won because it was not only decorative but informative. Maybe it's the current German lucky streak?

Well done to all forms - we will be sharing more photos of your form room doors next week!

Summer 2014 Newsletter

Mrs Bailey and the team of newsletter workers have been busily constructing the Townsend newsletter over the past few weeks and Issue 1 is now available to view!!!

Below is a preview of it, but to view the newsletter in larger format, please visit the "News" section on the Townsend website!

A big thank you to Mrs Bailey and all of the team who worked on the Newsletter!  Mrs Bailey is looking to expand the team next year and add more students, so if you are interested in joining please speak to her straight away so she can plan for next year!

 

Year 9 Celebration ceremony this afternoon

Year 9 students will be out of lessons this afternoon to take part in their Celebration Ceremony.  All parents are welcome to attend, with the service beginning at 2:00pm in the hall

World cup door decorating challenge

Miss Bailey's Art room door is also getting a make over as part of the World cup challenge.....

Year 6 Taster Day Thursday

Today year 6 students who will be attending Townsend in September are visiting the school for a taster day.  The day will consist of five taster lessons, to give them an idea of what lessons will be like at secondary school, as well as an idea of the format of the school day, moving from room to room for lessons - very different to primary school.  Welcome to all new students and we look forward to seeing you all in your purple uniforms in September!

Visit to Christchurch primary school, Barnet

Today our primary schools ambassador team from Townsend went to visit the Year 5 students at Christchurch primary school in Barnet.  The Townsend students helped to deliver a Transitions to secondary school workshop, where the Year 5's took part in a carousel of activities, all related to being in a different secondary school environment.  The students also had the opportunity to ask the ambassadors any pressing questions they had about secondary school, or to air any worries they had.  The visit was a great success, a massive thank you to all the Primary School ambassadors!

Year 12 celebration ceremony

Well done to all Year 12's who will receive a prize in their Achievement ceremony today.  Parents and carers are welcome to attend the ceremony, which will start 2:00pm

Hearing Dogs ambassador visit

Today you may have noticed an extra student walking into some of your lesson!

A representative from the charity Hearing Dogs came into school today, along with a demonstration dog, in order to get the dog used to a busy social educational environment, ready for it's new owner to take them to college with her.  The dog, Daley, was immaculately behaved and the visit was a great success for the work involved.  Thank you to any teachers who may have had unexpected visitors!

Princess Diana Award for Anti-Bullying Ambassadors

CONGRATULATIONS to the 12 students who received the anti- bullying ambassador award today on a visit to the special event in Buckinghamshire.  The group are passionate about well-being, safety and anti-bullying and they will be asking for your ideas over the next coming weeks.  If you want to know more or would like to speak to one of the Anti-Bullying Ambassadors then you can speak to Miss Scott or look out for the students wearing the blue Anti-Bullying Ambassador badge.  Next year we hope that many more students will get involved in this exciting project.

Baking with Margaret Wix students

Today year 5 students from Margaret Wix primary school came in to Townsend to receive a baking bread workshop from Food Technology Teacher Miss Zabecka.  This was to help them with a current project they are undertaking on baking methods.  The workshop was packed with good advice and the students got the opportunity to bake their own bread and rolls.  All of them came out absolutely perfectly, even to shop bought standard much to their teacher's surprise!!  Thank you to Miss Zabecka and Mr Timpson for running this workshop, and for all of the helpers from Townsend as well!

Sports Day a great success!

Last Friday was Townsend School's Sports day, with all students taking part in activities.  Everyone worked really well, with some great results from the day.  Thank you and well done to all involved, we hope you enjoyed Mr Glanville's running commentary throughout the event!

Head Girl nominated for Young Person Of The Year Award

Congratulations to our new Head Student Annie who has been nominated for the Young People of the Year Awards 2014.  Mr Parker, Head of Sixth form, nominated Annie, explaining “Not only is she gifted academically but she has also made a significant contribution to the school and her local community through her charitable work,“ he said.

“She is passionate about helping other people and she uses her well-developed interpersonal skills to enhance her effectiveness in this area.”

Good luck for the finals Annie, all of the details of the award and Annie's nomination can be found here:

http://youngpeopleoftheyear.org/subsite.php?site=hertfordshire'14&page=featuredentries

#YOPEY

Door Decorations celebrating the World Cup!

Mr McNeillis's classroom door is giving Mrs Buckland's door a run for it's money in the World cup challenge.....