World Book Day 5th March 2015

World book day next Thursday is fast approaching and we have a lot of activities throughout the week to celebrate!

The celebrations begin THIS FRIDAY with author Alex Woolf visiting Townsend to speak to year 7 and 8 students about creative writing and why regular reading is so important for everyone!  Alex will also be signing books at lunchtime Friday with 20% off all books, so if you would like to buy a book, please bring money along on Friday to the Discovery centre at lunch

20% discount on all books. 
Paperbacks £5.60
Illustrated hardback novel, Iron Sky: Dread Eagle, sold for £8.00.

Abbey Service tomorrow

Don't forget, our Cathedral Service is tomorrow at 2:00pm for all students.  Parents are welcome to attend as well.  All children must be picked up from the Abbey at 3:00pm when the service has finished, they will not be returning to school for buses.

Feelin' Good Week this week

We are fully committed to supporting this Hertfordshire initiative that recognises and raises awareness about young people’s emotional well-being.

Feelin’ Good Week is a Hertfordshire wide event delivered in schools and the wider community by a range of services and organisations.  This is an opportunity to promote emotional wellbeing, raise awareness of mental ill health and where to access support with your school community.

 STEP church youth group will be hosting activities in the Discovery Centre on Monday Tuesday Thursday and Friday, with assemblies also focusing on this theme..

We do recommend Young Minds website that offers a huge amount of support and signposting to young people professionals and young people about emotional well-being

 (www.youngminds.org.uk) 


This week we are not only recognising Feelin’ Good Week but on Tuesday we are also raising awareness about National Internet Safety Day 2015.

Bishop of St Albans visits Townsend for "Bite the Ballot"

Last Wednesday Townsend hosted a visit by the charity ‘Bite the Ballot’.  The event was also supported by the Bishop of St Albans who attended for the afternoon.  The event was aimed at sixth form students and encouraged them to consider their democratic participation in the country.  One activity involved the students deciding how they would spend the government’s money and then comparing it with the actual expenditure of parliament.  The point was powerfully made that many resources are aimed at supporting the over 50’s because these are the people who actually take part in elections, whilst the 18-24’s tend to lose out on government spending, partly because they do not participate as much in the democratic process.  All the students were encouraged to register for the electoral roll so that they can vote once they are 18.  The afternoon ended with Bishop Allan responding to a question and answer session which covered areas from how much the Church of England contributed in taxation to whether he considered that politicians really reflected the views of ordinary people.  The afternoon was a great success as students were able to share ideas and opinions and consider their responsibilities as they look towards taking their place in modern British society.