Merry Christmas Everyone!

We would like to wish all students and parents/carers a merry Christmas and a restful holiday.  We look forward to seeing all students back at school on Tuesday 5th January ready for the spring term.

Christingle Abbey service yesterday

Well done to all year 7 students for making their Christingles and carrying them through the Abbey during the service yesterday.  It was lovely to see all the candles burning, accompanied by a lovely Christmas service, with the choir singing O Holy Night.  Thank you to all the parents who also attended this service, we hope you enjoyed it too!

Christmas crafts all this week

Students have been taking part in various craft activities at lunchtimes in the Discovery Centre this week.  This has included building gingerbread or snowman houses, making wreath decorations and scratch art reindeer and Christmas trees!  Lots of fun has been had to get into the mood for Christmas!

   

Year 7 Castle Competition

 

Year 7 students at Townsend have been working on their Medieval Castle building project during the half term as a result of studying the Norman Conquest and castles as an establishment of power. Students were to pick between three types of castles (motte and bailey, stone keep or concentric). The whole-school exhibition and competition was held on Monday 14th December at lunchtime which was a huge success! Competition winners will be announced in the new year but all did so well in producing their best design. Congratulations to all students and parents who supported them in the process.

 

 

Christmas jumper day this Thursday

Christmas Jumper/ Jumper day in aid of Macmillan Cancer support for Make A Wish and Save the Children, will take place on the last day of term, Thursday 17th December.

Please can students bring their donation of 20p if they would like to wear their Christmas jumper.

Students may swop blazers and ties for jumpers but should wear other school uniform as normal. 

Accelerated Reader Rewards time

It's approaching the end of term, which means rewards for reading are rife!

A big well done to those students who have earned a certificate for their reading, and an extra well done to those who received a prize, either for receiving a Platinum certificate, STAR reader of the month, or STAR reader of the term!

Prizes can be collected from Miss Ismail at breaks and lunchtimes.

Senior Prizegiving this evening 7pm

We look forward to welcoming back last year's year 11, 12 and 13 students for their Senior Prize giving ceremony this evening.  Well done to everyone for their achievements and do keep in touch if you have now left Towsnend.

Christmas Abbery Service Wednesday 2pm

2.00pm Christingles Cathedral Service.

Please remember students will need to be collected from the Abbey when the service finishes at 3pm.  There will be extra traffic on the day due to the current St Albans Christmas market in the grounds by the cathedral.

Christmas crafting all this week in the Dicovery Centre!

Every lunchtime this week we will be running craft making activities in the Discovery Centre, with lots of Christmas themed items being made!

All years are welcome, come along to take part and make something to take home!

Message from the PTA

Many Thanks to all who purchased Christmas Puddings.
1. If you have not already collected them, they can be picked up from Reception any school day between 8-30 am and 4-30pm. 

2. CHRISTMAS HAMPER RAFFLE AND EASTER ROLLOVER
The Draw for the Christmas Hampers take place next Wednesday!!
Tickets are available at Reception at a £1 each or £5 a book
REMEMBER  If you don’t win at Christmas your tickets will be entered for  in the Big Easter Egg Draw!! 

3. Thanks for supporting The ‘Bags of Sweets’ Fund Raiser!! It made over £120 towards Friends Funds.
      We hope to have more next term.

Message from the PTA

Many Thanks to those of you that purchased Christmas Puddings and other items. They will be in on Tuesday and can be collected from Reception.  

Christmas Hamper Raffle
Tickets are on sale at Reception and at Consultation Evenings
Remember BUY YOUR TICKETS BEFORE CHRISTMAS TO BE IN THE EASTER EGG ROLLOVER DRAW !!

There will be a sale of  Bagged Sweets at Breakfast Club on Thursday 10th of December in aid of PTA Funds .  £1 a BAG

Thank you to those of you who helped at the Consultation evening on Wednesday. Your help is much appreciated.


GOT ANY IDEAS FOR THE SPRING FAIR 
It’s not that far away now !Saturday 5th March 2016
Please send them in to Reception FAO Mr Graham

Well done year 11!

A big well done to year 11 students for completing their mock GCSE exams this week.  Hopefully this will prepare you for the main exams taking place this summer.

To reward the students, a film screening took place in the Discovery Centre, showing the film "Inside Out" with popcorn, sweets and drinks!

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.

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: PeacePeace 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.

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.*

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!

 

 

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!)

 

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.

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!

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.

 

Diversity Day celebrated at Townsend

Today Townsend celebrated Diversity day!

Every form in school was given a country to represent.  They had to create a display and if possible include some kind of traditional custom/game/foods to share with spectators.  The event took place in the school hall at lunchtime for Townsend students, and local primary school Margaret Wix were also invited to come and take part in the games and see the display.  Each person through the door then had to cast their vote into the ballot box for their favourite display, with each stall being manned by a member of the form, along with their teachers.
 
Year 11 Natasja said "It was a fantastic event to be part of, I really appreciated seeing all the different countries' displays and foods.  We had Zimbabwe - not many people know about this country, so it helped to widen our knowledge about this and all the other countries.  The food was also a great addition to the displays, as people don't always know where popular foods in this country have originated form"
 
The wining display was Jamaica, who had lots of dishes and yummy cakes on display, including banana cake and Jamaican Ginger cake!
 

Urgent help needed for our Discovery Centre!!

Miss Ismail would like to ask if there are any parents who would be able to volunteer their time to help in the Discovery centre.  Volunteers would be required for one or two days a week (whatever you can manage) at one of the following times: 12pm - 2pm or 1pm - 3pm.  This would be to help supervise activities and students during their lunch break, but another hour to also help children find books, tidy the books and general maintenance helping to tidy and look after the centre.

If you are interested, please contact the school office on 01727 853047.

Thank you!

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.

 

 

 

Message from the PTA

Many thanks to those who attended our AGM on Thursday 15th October. After the meeting Mr Wellbeloved gave all attendees a tour of the St Albans Music Centre, which during the day is used by the school for student music  and instrumental lessons.


CHRISTMAS HAMPER AND EASTER EGG HAMPER ROLLOVER RAFFLE
A 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 we get in the more hampers we will have in raffle.
PLEASE SEND IN TO THE SCHOOL OFFICE ASAP.
Many Thanks in anticipation!
Remember all money raised will  help provide items and initiatives that we could not otherwise provide from our education budget.

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.

 

Film night cancellation

Due to low interest, the film night planned for next Thursday is unfortunately cancelled.  We apologise for this happening.  Friends of Townsend PTA

Diversity event on Friday 23rd October

To celebrate the month of diversity, Mrs Bailey has started an inter form competition across school.

Students will be producing displays which will then be exhibited in the hall on Friday 23rd October.

Students and staff will judge each stall and vote for the best one. The winning form will win a form prize, certificate and house points.

See the below poster for more ideas for your displays and good luck everyone!

 

 

Black History Month at Townsend School

Win a prize in the Townsend Black History Month competition!

 

 

 

The slideshow shown in school features 20 famous black people, with a short description of why they are famous.  How many of the 20 can you identify?

 

A prize goes to the winning entry with most correct answers.

Hand your answers in to Mrs Bailey by Monday 2nd November.

 

Below is page 1 to get you started....

 

 

Friends of Townsend Meeting

Friends of Townsend  PTA    

AGM  

 Thursday 15th of October  7pm 

School Hall

All Welcome 

Light Refreshments available

October - Tolerance

WORSHIP AT TOWNSEND Our value focus for the month of October is ‘Tolerance’. Within school, we will be exploring how we can make a more accepting and inclusive society and the part we play in the wider world.

Sue Hampton Author Visit today

Local author Sue Hampton visited Year 7 students at Townsend today to give a talk with a workshop activity combined. 

In her talk, Sue spoke about her condition of alopecia and how it has helped with her writing her teenage novels.

She also spoke about the different characters within her books, teaching students how she begins an idea and character for each of her novels.  The students then had to work through the same process as Sue by creating a new character for her story "The Daydreamers"; what they were like using three adjectives, the location they were in to start their story and what the characters were feeling.

Year 7 student Jessica said: "I liked the part of the talk when Sue spoke about her life when she first had alopecia - when her hair first started falling out and how she coped with it.  I also liked when we made our spider diagrams for choosing our characters ourselves and what happens next in Sue's own story".

After the talk, Sue held a book signing in the Discovery Centre, where lots of her books sold out, they were so popular!!

Don't forget, you can buy your own signed copy of any of Sue's books by visiting:

www.suehamptonauthor.co.uk

All of Sue's books are also within the Discovery Centre to borrow as well.

Year 7 parent/carer get together with pupils

Friday 9th October 2015 7pm

All Parent/Carers and pupils are invited along to a get together for you to get to know each socially, while the pupils enjoy a fun film (U).
There will be free cheese, wine, and soft drinks available for parent/carers and popcorn and sweets for pupils.
If you need to bring other siblings please do.

Please sign the form previously given to your child to take home and return by by Tuesday 6th October at the latest

Thank you  From Friends of Townsend

YEAR 7 PARENT/CARER GET TOGETHER AND PUPILS

Friday 9th October 2015 7pm

All Parent/Carers and pupils are invited along to a get together for you to get to know each socially, while the pupils enjoy a fun film (U).
There will be free cheese, wine, and soft drinks available for parent/carers and popcorn and sweets for pupils.
If you need to bring other siblings please do.

Please sign the form previously given to your child to take home and return by by Tuesday 6th October at the latest

Thank you  From Friends of Townsend

Duke of Edingburgh expedition

Last weekend, 40 year 11 Bronze D of E students passed the expedition section of their award.  Their visit was from Berkhamstead station travelling to Dunstable Downs, spending one night at Hudnall Park outdoor centre.  The weather was lovely, with no rain at all.

Well done to all students and don't forget to complete your other sections.

Mrs Liddington

Hertfordshire Model and Engineering Display at Townsend

Saturday and Sunday 26th & 27th September - Hertfordshire Model and Engineering Display at Townsend - Everyone is welcome, with just a small entry fee on the door.

It is a fantastic day out - Model Trains, planes, helicopters, drones, boats, trucks and much, much more!

Open Evening last night

Townsend School held their Open Evening last night, with a great turnout and lots of visitors!  The students all helped either in departments or as guides to our visitors, with each one doing incredibly well in their role.  There were a lot of lovely comments about the school from guests, which we love to hear!

If you missed open evening but would like to visit Townsend, please ring the office to arrange a visit on one of the tours which take place in the next coming weeks.

Open Evening his Wednesday 6-9pm

Townsend's open evening is coming up this Wednesday 23rd September from 6pm to 9pm.  If you know any children who are currently in years 5 or 6, please do suggest they visit for the night to get a taster of what Townsend is all about!

For Townsend students, the school day finishes at 12:30pm Wednesday, before coming back to help with open evening at 6pm.

Abbey Service last Wednesday

Townsend School held it's first Abbey Service of the year last Wednesday with the whole school visiting the Cathedral in St Albans for the afternoon.  A big well done to the choir and Mr Phelps who experienced conducting the service for the first time!

Supporting school

Did you know that whenever you buy anything online - from your weekly shop to your annual holiday - you could be raising a free donation for Friends of Townsend - St Albans? There are nearly 3,000 retailers including Amazon, John Lewis, Aviva, thetrainline and Sainsbury's, who will donate a percentage of the amount you spend to Friends of Townsend - St Albans to say thank you for shopping with them.

 

It's really simple, and doesn't cost you anything.

 

All you have to do is:

1. Go to http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/fotownsend

2. Sign up for free 

3. Get shopping - your donations will be collected by easyfundraising and automatically sent to Friends of Townsend - St Albans. It couldn't be easier!

 

There are no catches or hidden charges and Friends of Townsend - St Albans will be really grateful for your donations.

 

Show friends and family how to sign up if they too would like to support our school.

 

 

Funds raised by the PTA are always spent on things to benefit the students and to support their learning.

 

Thank you for your support.

 

Townsend PTA

Year 7 Fun Run

Year 7 took part in their first sporting activity this week, the Year 7 fun run.  They all competed fantastically showing excellent determination, skill and teamwork.  We look forward to seeing them, and anyone else that is interested, taking part in more cross country events over the next few weeks. Well done to all of you. Mrs Brooks

Year 11 Study Skills morning

This morning year 11 students too part in a study session, which included activities on revision skills, sessions on English and Maths, as well as sessions on emotional heath.  Students felt the benefitted greatly from these sessions being held so early on in the year to help them prepare.  One student said "I particularly enjoyed the activity on drawing your emotions -  where we think we are now compared to where we would like to be at the end of the year - it was very insightful!"

Accelerated Reader tests now completed

As part of our accelerated reader scheme, years 7 8 and 9 students carried out their STAR reading tests this week, in order to determine their reading level and to choose their first book to read for the scheme.

So far we have had some students complete their books already, taking quizzes and getting 100% of the questions correct!  Well done!

Please remember you need to have a reading book on you at all times for the 5 minute reading at the beginning of every lesson.  If you don't have a book yet, please see Miss Ismail at break or lunchtimes

Welcome back!

Today is the first day of everyone back at school for the new term.  We would like to welcome all year 7 students who had their first day of school last Friday with lots of team building exercises and meeting their form tutors.  Today we swathe rest of the school, with year 11 students in their new smart black blazers, ready to work hard in their last year of GCSE's.

The value of the month has now been launched at Townsend, with September's value of RESPECT:

September: Respect  

 

Our Value for the month of September is ‘Respect’. Firstly, self-respect– to know that ‘I am valuable’. We will identify our own qualities and encourage them to consider the qualities that others possess. Over the course of the month, we will discuss the richness that diversity offers and that by respecting and learning about others we can understand one another better.

Last Day of term today

Today is the last day of the academic year, with school finishing at 12:30pm.

To celebrate, our sports assembly was held this morning, with Ellie Baker, former pupil of Townsend C of E school, returning to the school today to present certificates and Sports Personality of the Year awards to students at the school. Ellie became English Schools 800m senior champion last week and will now be looking to going to the World Junior competition representing Great Britain.

We wish all the students a lovely summer holiday, ready to come back in September refreshed and raring to go for the next year!

Enrichment day yesterday

Yesterday was Townsend school's Enrichment Day, where students got to partake in school trips offsite and a number of on site activities, including Masterchef vs bake off in food technology!  We hope everyone had fun wherever they visited yesterday to celebrate the end of term!

Primary schools new intake

Last Friday and last Monday the new year 7 students visited Townsend, carrying out the activities of a normal school day for our students.  In English, students were introduced to our reading scheme, Accelerated Reader, as well as creating their own student passports, with information all about them.  They were also set their summer challenge - to write a postcard to Townsend with details of a book they have read over summer. 

We look forward to welcoming you all in September!

Celebration ceremonies

All of this week students have been part of their year group's celebration ceremony, with certificates being awarded for various services to school and achievements within lessons.  Today is the final one with Year 7 receiving their awards.

Well done to the whole school for a fantastic year!

Visit from Anne Maine for Send my friend to school

Last Thursday local MP Anne Maine visited Townsend to talk to students about our work as part of the Send my Friend to school campaign.  Student ambassadors talked to Anne about facts about how many children don't go to school around the world, and also showed her their work and displays for the campaign, which Anne will take to parliament to add to the other work created by other schools.  The students really enjoyed Anne's visit, with lots of ideas generated to help others get into school and learning around the world.

Sports Day celebrations

A huge congratulations to everyone for taking part in sports day on Friday 3rd July.  Everyone managed to keep cool from the heat, with lots of great activities taking place.  Well done to all those winners too!

Sixth form consortium rounders!

SIXTH FORMOn Wednesday 24^th June year 12 students took part in a consortium rounder’s competition at Marlborough School. The schools were put into two groups and the winners of each group played in a final.  We are thrilled to report that Townsend beat both Loreto and Samuel Ryder in our group and then went on to beat Marlborough in a nail biting final making Townsend the CONSORTIUM ROUNDERS CHAMPIONS! Brilliant play from the players and brilliant support from the cheer leading team!

DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARD

DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARD15 Townsend students have completed a 10 week Fire Skills course at St Albans Fire Station for the skills section of their bronze award. The students have learnt to use breathing, car cutting and firefighting equipment during the course. Parents/carers and staff were invited to a passing out parade where our students showcased their new skills and they were presented with their course completion certificates and a photograph of their group.

Townsend C of E School has received the annual completion rates from the Duke of Edinburgh Award Charity and we are very pleased and proud that we are now 10^th in the county (out of 91 centres) for enrolments and completed awards. This puts us in 2^nd place within the Local Authority schools in Hertfordshire. We have been able to reach this excellent rate of completion due to the hard work of all the leaders, students and of course the parents who have supported us and their children.
Well done!!

We look forward to looking at the year 9 applications for the D of E Award that have been coming in thick and fast this week!

NATIONAL SCHOOL SPORTS WEEK

NATIONAL SCHOOL SPORTS WEEK
 A variety of trips and events have taken place this week as part of National School Sports Week.  A number of students have had the opportunity to experience different sports such as Diving in Hemel Hempstead, Cycling at the Velodrome in Welwyn Garden City, Beach Volleyball at Verulamium and Gaelic Football run by Mr Hill in school.  As well as this we had charity Football and Tennis tournaments.  The money raised is being donated to the charity ‘Get kids Going’. Well done and thank you to all students that participated.  Mrs Brooks

Holocaust

Townsend were one of two hundred schools in the UK to take part in the Waterloo project led by the BBC History television presenter Dan Snow. The school were assigned a research task on a local soldier (Private William Burridge) who fought and died at the Battle of Waterloo and these findings can be found at the following website https://www.theonlinebookcompany.com/OnlineBooks/SchoolsWaterloo/Celebrations/WaterlooSoldiers/130 Students have also written memorials for Private William Burridge which you can also read on the website. We welcome entries from all students at Townsend should they wish to take part in the project. Please submit entries to Mrs Bailey in HU8.

 

Advance notice - AS History students will be attending a Holocaust Ambassadors conference on Monday 6th July.

SEND MY FRIEND TO SCHOOL

SEND MY FRIEND TO SCHOOL58 million children are still missing out on going to school across the world.  We have decided to try and help this situation at Townsend by taking part in a National Programme called ‘Send my Friend to School’.  Year 7 and 8 students have watched campaign films and made 2D world leader models with suggestions of how they would improve education worldwide to promote global awareness to send to our local MP Anne Main. We are in contact with Anne Main’s secretary and are hoping to hand deliver our models in person! Watch this space!

Sixth form dinner Thursday

Last night the sixth form dinner took place in Hatfield, with a lovely meal followed by some moves on the dancer floor!

We wish all the year 13 students luck for the future and good luck for your results, see you in August!

Year 11 school prom and NRA ceremony

On Wednesday night, the year 11 school prom took place at Hatfield House.  There were some beautiful dresses and very sharp suits worn on the night!  Lots of dancing occurred, as well as photos being taken in the upstairs area.

To view the photos please visit:
http://doubleexposed.co.uk/townsendschoolprom2015.html

The images will be uploaded from 30th June.


The next day the Year 11 NRA ceremony took place, with students listening to some lovely speeches form teachers and receiving their end of school reports.

We wish all of our students good luck in whatever they do in the future and good luck for their exam results in August!!

Well done for completing the stressful time of exams!

Nominated for the School Award 2015

Townsend school have been lucky enough to be nominated for the Herts Advertiser school award 2015, for all of our anti bullying and anti homophobic work going on throughout school, including our amended Respect for All policy.

The awards take place on Wednesday night, with Mr Wellbeloved and Miss Scott attending to represent the school.  If you have a chance, please do vote for us for the award, by visiting the Herts Ad website:

http://www.hertsad.co.uk/home

visit to Auschwitz

Mrs Bailey and Miss Sheppard recently attended a teacher training programme 'Lessons from Auschwitz' through the Holocaust Education Trust.

They had the honour to listen to Mala Tribich MBE, a Holocaust survivor. They also carried out a day visit to both Auschwitz I and Auschwitz-Berkenau in Poland. The day was very intense and they were struck at the scale of Auschwitz-Berkenau. The Trust has provided them with excellent training and educational resources to share with the school.

AS History students will also be taking part in a Holocaust conference on Monday 6th July where they will meet and hear experts on the topic as well as listen to Mala Tribich MBE. We look forward to organising whole-school events surrounding the Holocaust in January 2016.

Speakers at the event are listed here: https://www.het.org.uk/ambassadors/ambassador-conference/speakers

Gandalf actor Sir Ian McKellen helps students banish bullying once and for all!

 

 

 

 

Everybody’s ‘Tolkien’ about Townsend
Gandalf actor Sir Ian McKellen helps students banish bullying once and for all.

Actor Sir Ian McKellen, famous for his roles in the Lord of the Rings and X-Men films, cast his spell over pupils at Townsend Church of England School during a recent successful visit to the school on behalf of Stonewall organisation. His mesmerizing and inspiring talk to students, staff and guests was followed by the unveiling of a revised ‘Respect for All Statement’ the school has had as a mission statement for many years. The revision includes a specific reference to not abusing anyone because of their ‘gender or sexual orientation’ and has come about through powerful student voices at the school where students have been keen to tackle homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying head-on.

The Hollywood actor, known to millions for his turns as wizard Gandalf and supervillain Magneto, congratulated students on their ability to defeat all forms of bullying at their school in St. Albans.

Sir Ian, a co-founder of Stonewall, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans equality charity, called the school’s example on respect and tolerance “inspiring.” 

The knighted thespian, who has brought to life many memorable characters on stage and screen, said that the LGBT community and its allies had fought a long battle for equality, which still continues today. He spoke eloquently and passionately about his own personal journey against prejudice and discrimination.

“Townsend’s updated vow to support students and staff of any sexual orientation, as well as religious or ethnic background, was an important stepping-stone in the LGBT community’s quest for social acceptance” he said.

The actor heard how the school deals with inclusion for LGBT students and staff, before meeting with the school’s anti-bullying ambassadors. At an address to the school, Sir Ian then unveiled the new Respect for All policy, to cheers from the packed hall.

Townsend’s Headteacher, Mr Wellbeloved, called the speech “poignant and inspirational,” adding that it left students and staff in admiration for the actor and the work he has done. 

At the end of his address the school was lucky enough to witness Sir Ian perform a monologue on the themes of tolerance and community, from the Shakespeare play ‘Sir Thomas More.’  Year nine student Faith Haran called the address “exciting and thought-provoking.”

Sir Ian McKellen, who has worked since the 1980s to end prejudice against the LGBT community, welcomed the school’s stand against discrimination. “I am honoured to unveil the new line, which empowers students to tackle any discrimination on grounds of gender or sexual orientation,” he said. 

At the end of his visit to Townsend, Sir Ian thanked staff and students and described the Church of England School as “friendly and inspiring.”

Townsend C of E School continues to thrive following an Ofsted inspection in December 2014, where inspectors awarded a ‘Good’ grade, praising the school for its work in creating a safe and productive learning environment for all.

A key element of the report was the anti-bullying work also heralded by Sir Ian during his visit. “The strong ‘Respect for all’ policy permeates throughout the school and leads to a very effective development of students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding,” inspectors wrote. “Discrimination is not tolerated. Students are clear about what is right and wrong and their responsibilities and opportunities for learning.”

Head Mr Wellbeloved stated that the Respect for All policy was “at the very heart” of Townsend school’s beliefs. “This change in our policy is very significant and meaningful to the school and all of its partnerships,” he said.