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. 

A Geography trip to Watford....

Last week year 10 geographers spent half a day in Watford collecting primary data to inform their investigation which contributes to 25% of their final grade as controlled assessment.

 

Students were looking at the primary economic activity in Watford town centre and how it may change in the future. This involved producing a land-use map, doing an environmental survey and asking members of the public questionnaires. Many people stopped Mrs Buckland and Miss Reynolds to tell us how impressed they were with how polite, informative and smart our students were.

Saying goodbye to year 11

Last Tuesday our year 11 students had a very special lunch picnic hosted by DOL Miss Gibbons and their form tutors, followed by an emotional assembly to wish them luck in their exams and the future.  Each of the form photos were displayed on screen in the Discovery Centre, with each form tutor giving a short speech about their memories and highlights of the past 5 years.  We wish all year 11 students luck with their exams and for their future paths.