28th February 2015

Chancellor’s Newsletter From the Headteacher I would like to take this opportunity to thank and congratulate the students for their excellent behaviour and hard work throughout the last half term. In the last couple of weeks, we have held a series of celebration assemblies and I have been delighted that parents have been able to attend and join us in the celebration of our students’ achievements. It is vitally important that we create these opportunities to congratulate and recognise the effort and successes of students. Though it is not possible for every student to win an award, these events are designed to act as a spur to encourage everyone to work hard and strive to do the very best that they can. We have, in recent weeks, carried out a series of detailed surveys. Parents, staff and students have all had the opportunity to share their views of the school and this has been very useful as we determine our aims and priorities both for the immediate future and for the next few years. I am very grateful to all members of the school community who have taken the time to share their views. I hope it comes as no surprise that the feedback was generally extremely positive. A summary of some of the results are available within this copy of the newsletter and on the website. You may be aware that Mr Parker will be retiring as Deputy Headteacher in September after over forty years distinguished service. Just before half term, we appointed his successors. I am pleased to inform you that Mrs Grant (Assistant Headteacher) and Mr Huddleston, currently at The John Warner School, will be the School’s new Deputy Headteachers from September 2015. As always, there have been a number of trips and events this month. In technology, once again, some of our food students entered the Rotary Chef of the Year and also the St Albans Chef of the Year. I am delighted to inform you that we have continued to produce students with a passion for food and Maria Christofi won the Rotary Chef of the Year competition, preparing and cooking a delicious three course meal. Eight of our stu-

Year 7 Celebration Assembly - Prizewinners’ Awards dents reached the finals of the St Albans competition with Lauren Telling winning the main course with her Hoi Yan Chicken and Talia Cherkez finishing in second place for her starter of Aubergine Stack with homemade bread stick. Maths students have taken part in the national competition organised by UKMC and we look forward to receiving their results in the future. In art, Year 10 students visited the Henry Moore Sculpture Park. There have been other excellent events and it was very enjoyable to attend the Gym and Dance Display at the end of half term and see the large number of students participating and the variety and quality of the superb performances. It is wonderful to see students thoroughly enjoying themselves whilst also performing to such a high standard. Our music students also had the opportunity to perform in the impressive Acoustic Concert. It is clear that both students and parents thoroughly enjoyed the evenings and I am very grateful to my colleagues for their ongoing commitment to the students at Chancellor’s. Earlier this term, groups of Year 7 students visited a synagogue to en-

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rich their work in history and RE. They were privileged to have the opportunity to hear a holocaust survivor speak personally about the persecution of the Jews and the horror of living in a concentration camp. I had the opportunity to attend the Hertfordshire Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education’s Holocaust Memorial Day Commemoration Event at St Joan of School on 29th January. Accompanied by three students in Year 10, Lily Merritt, Beth Williams and Kailee Blandford, it was fascinating to see a series of excellent performing arts tributes by groups of students and hear from a holocaust survivor. We were part of a privileged audience of over 400, brought together in an act of remembrance and reflection. In what was a very moving ceremony the horrors of the holocaust as well as the subsequent atrocities in Bosnia, Cambodia, Darfur and Rwanda were remembered. It was incredibly poignant to hear Nelly Ben-Or Clynes, who was born in Poland and survived the holocaust, speak about the discrimination and horror she witnessed. 1

The theme for the event was to ‘Keep the Memory Alive’ and it would have had a lasting impact on anyone who attended. The last day of the half term for staff was the Chancellor’s and Mount Grace Partnership Conference. For the second year running, we took the opportunity to share a staff development day with Mount Grace and enjoyed a series of training activities, designed to strengthen both schools’ learning culture. The conference explored the ways in which a growth mindset can be created within our students. A growth mindset encourages students to have high expectations of themselves, relish a challenge, respond positively to failure and work purposefully with resilience and resourcefulness, always striving

to do their very best. We plan to share information and guidance with parents and students in the future. Parents, of course, play a crucial role and I would urge you to read Bounce by Matthew Syed (former British table tennis champion and sports journalist for The Times). Syed writes about the work of Carol Dweck and provides some practical advice on how to effectively support your child to have a positive approach to learning and life. In fact, there is a message in Bounce for us all! We were fortunate enough to have members of Wroxham Teaching School sharing the vision and work which enabled them to become an outstanding school. Not only did they share aspects of their excellent practice, but, at a time of significant educational change, they provided the

whole staff with an invaluable insight into the latest developments in primary education. “We like to think of our champions and idols as superheroes who were born different from us. We don’t like to think of them as relatively ordinary people who made themselves extraordinary.” – Carol Dweck, Mindset Best wishes, David Croston Headteacher

Y7 Celebration Assembly The celebration assembly for Year 7 was great to be a part of. It was a big surprise when I received two awards; the history award and a gold medal for receiving the most reward points in all of Year 7. Many people won awards for their effort in different subjects, for achieving reward points, for having zero behaviour points and 100% attendance. There was also some special Head of Year and Headteacher’s prize’s.

Over one hundred and twenty parents turned up to support their children, whether their child or children had won anything or not. This was amazing to see because it’s great knowing parents are there to support you and to witness you or your friends winning something. At the beginning Mrs Martin talked to us about how we have changed from nervous Year 6s about to enter the big world of secondary school, to con-

fident Year 7s walking around and knowing the school inside-out. Then came the awards, where we congratulated the winners and all the others who may not have won something, but still were still gracious enough to clap the winners. It was great knowing that everyone there was supporting each other. Amy O’Reilly 7M

Y9 Celebration Assembly On 10th February Year 9 students attended their celebration assembly to highlight the successes and achievements of the students. The awards showed a wide range of accomplishments from subject awards to sporting events. I believe the award assembly is an important event in the school year and we, the students, feel that it is a great opportunity to have our hard work and dedication shown and acknowledged by the teaching staff. A number of awards were presented to a variety of students. Congratulations to Shannon Hellina and James Blount for receiving the Head of Year award. The Headteacher’s prize was

given to myself and George Chrisoforou. There was also recognition to the students with the highest achievement points so far in Year 9, being Gold: Lucy Prigmore Silver: Emily Smith and Bronze: Sophie Gee. The assembly celebrated the County Netball Squad who performed outstandingly well at the East Regional Round of the National Netball Championships. They were unbeaten in their pool and reached the semifinals. Other achievements that were celebrated were the ten students from Chancellor’s who were chosen to

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compete in the Mid Herts Secondary Schools’ Gala. Ben Harrison broke the Gala record in the 4x50m Individual Medley, a fantastic achievement. The assembly also gave us the opportunity to recollect other events so far, such as the outstanding talents of the students who performed in the annual school production of ‘Sleeping Beauty’ and also the artists who were selected to paint the scenery. Not forgetting to say thank you to the great Sixth Formers in Blend for their musical interlude which was very entertaining! Lucy Millbery 9A

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Holocaust Memorial Day - Keeping the Memory Alive

27 January 2015 marked the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. It was the day for everyone to remember the millions of people killed in the Holocaust, Nazi persecution and in subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur. More than ever, we need to honour the survivors of these regimes of hatred and challenge ourselves to use the lessons of their experience to inform our lives today. We need to learn the lessons of the past and to recognise that genocide does not just take place on its own, it is a steady process which can begin if prejudice, discrimination, racism and hatred are not checked and prevented. We are very fortunate here in the UK; we are not at risk of genocide. However, discrimination has not ended, nor has the use of the language of hatred or exclusion. There is still much to do to create a safer future. Therefore it is particularly appropriate that the theme for this major anniversary year focuses on memory. In RE, Year 8 students have just finished the topic ‘Ordinary People in Extraordinary Times’. Students have been looking at the life stories of ordinary people who lived through extraordinary times and who showed extraordinary courage and bravery, and, more importantly, students have been asking the question ‘what can we learn from their life experiences?’ Here is a selection of students’ reflections on their learning. Mrs Shum Head of Humanities

“When someone says the word holocaust, we immediately think of how Hitler murdered millions of innocent Jews in concentration camps during World War II. Although this is the name we have given that atrocity, the definition of the word is ‘the destruction or loss of life on a massive scale’. This leads to my question, have we really learnt from Hitler’s awful acts, or does discrimination such as this still occur today? There are, in fact, groups that admittedly not on as big a scale, still commit the same type of crime. Extremists and terrorists kill in the most horrendous ways, but is there any difference between that and how the Jews were treated? From this I conclude that we must keep the memory of the holocaust alive to ensure that history does NOT repeat itself. We must never forget.” Jenny Turner 8B “It is important to remind ourselves of this tragic event for many reasons. The one that I believe to be the most important, is to learn from their mistakes, we would not want a repeat in history. There are many memoirs of this time - such as Anne Frank, which we continue to constantly read as it reminds us of the fighting spirit in humans, bravery in some young individuals and how to have hope and belief that it will turn out alright, even if you have to risk things for what you believe in. People like Anne Frank are remarkably relevant today, as most people blame others for their mistakes and/or problems, and their courage and selflessness is

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deeply inspirational, to encourage others to do the right thing”. Katie Orbell 8B “2015 is a year for great opportunities and happiness, but it is also a year to reflect on this horrendous period in time, the 70th anniversary of Auschwitz, a concentration camp, where over 1.1 million people died. Auschwitz was a horrendous place, but it is a place that should be remembered. We should remember that many innocent people were abused, starved and killed there. People got so hungry that they had to eat the dirt off the ground, so cold they would freeze, so tired they would collapse. This should never be a way of living. Whatever religion or race you are people should be treated the same. Auschwitz was a horrible place, but we shouldn’t blame the buildings. We should blame the people. They were the ones that controlled what happened there. We should learn about Auschwitz and what happened there, because we must learn from their mistakes. We must not be prejudiced or just blame people because of their race or religion. Instead of just fighting and killing to get the answer, we should do it in a civilised manner instead. Auschwitz was a place that should be remembered for the people that were killed, died and abused there and how brave and strong they were in the face of extreme conditions”. Ariane Welton-Gregory 8B

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Holocaust Memorial Day - Y9 Visit Synagogue to learn more about the holocaust. We were each taught by a member of the Jewish community about how World War II started and who was in charge at the time. One important fact that we learnt is the definition of holocaust, which is mass burning. After refreshments we were regrouped in the main room again, to hear the holocaust survivor, Harrry Olmer speak. On 12th of January some Y9 students were taken to the Borehamwood and Elstree synagogue to learn about the holocaust. The German government, Hitler, World War Two and the Holocaust have been topics studied during the past term in Y9 history lessons. Students were selected for excellent work and progress in their lessons, to hear a holocaust survivor tell his story. As we were in a Jewish place of worship, the boys had to wear skullcaps upon entering the building. The synagogue walls bore four poignant memorials to the holocaust in recognition of the event. We were greeted by Rabbi Chaim Kanterovitz, the head rabbi of the synagogue. He gave us a visual tour of the building and showed us a video clip about the holocaust. This particular clip was interesting because it explained about other genocides that had happened since the holocaust. After this, we were split into four workshops and taken into separate rooms

“I was born on 15 November 1927 in a town called Sonsowiec, Poland. My parents were called Hirsch and Chana Olmer. I was the fourth child in a family of six children. Of the other five children, three perished in the holocaust. After the outbreak of the war, I ended up in Plaszow concentration camp near Krakow, which became infamous following the Spielberg film, Shindlers List. In 1943, I was moved to Skarzysko munitions factory, where I was forced to pour liquid sulphur into bomb shells. In July 1944, I was sent to the Buchenwald concentration camp, where I spent two weeks, following which I was transferred to Shlieben, a satellite camp to Buchenwald where I continued to work in terrible conditions in another munitions factory. In April 1945, I found myself transferred to Theresienstadt, where I was liberated by the Russian army on 8th May.” It was a very touching story and many

pupils became emotional. It was shocking to hear of all the hardships he faced, surviving five different concentration camps. We were then given the chance to write a postcard giving thoughts and messages to Harry Olmer. They would be collected and given back to him to read. Finally, we were spoken to by Rabbi Boruch Boudilovsky. We were given an extremely motivational speech to leave the experience with an important message. We were told that the cause of the holocaust wasn’t evil, but it was hate. Every negative thing in this world has originated from hate. We hate people because they are different and not the same to everyone else. We were told that with hate existing in the world, it’s possible for a terrible event like the holocaust to happen again. We were left to dwell on the wise words of Pastor Niemöller: “First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak up.”

Lucy Prigmore 9M

Attitude to Learning Reward Trips On 16th December 2014, selected students from Years 7-11 were treated to a reward trip to Westfield ice skating rink. This was because they had achieved brilliant ATL (Attitude To Learning) grades in their reports! During their time at Westfield, students experienced the joy of slipping and gliding through the ice! As well as skating, everyone spent their money willingly and had fun catching up with their Christmas shopping! All the students went to Westfield full of ex-

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citement and came home with bags full of goodies! No doubt about it, everyone had a great time. Many thanks to all the teachers who accompanied us, we wouldn’t have had such a lovely time without them!

Stephanie Nicolas 9H Sophie Gee 9H

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FOCUS ON PERFORMING ARTS - Theatre Trip open the doors of his factory to five lucky children and their parents. In order to choose who will enter the factory, Mr Wonka devises a plan to hide five golden tickets beneath the wrappers of his famous chocolate bars. The search for the five golden tickets is fast and furious. The story follows the journey of a poor young boy called Charlie Bucket inside the chocolate factory with exciting events along the way.

On 3rd February the drama department organised a theatre trip to watch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane. Selected students from Years 7-9 were invited for excellent work and dedication in their drama lessons and extra-curricular activities. After a coach journey into London, accompanied by Miss Garnish, Miss Saunders, Mr Gorman and Miss Riley, we arrived just in time for the show to start. The musical is based on the original story by Roald Dahl, which was first published in 1964. Since then it has become a childhood favorite and has been adapted into two films and now a thrilling musical. Willy Wonka, the eccentric owner of the greatest chocolate factory in the world, has decided to

must see! Lucy Prigmore 9M “I think that it was a great trip and an amazing show. My favourite part was when they were in the TV room because the costumes were amazing!” Ewan McAdam 9B

“I loved the whole experience expecially the special effects and I’m still trying to work out how they pulled it off. The dialogue and songs were extreme- I really want some oompaloompa moon ly funny, with amazing stage sets for boots now!” every scene. All of the actors were bril- Nathan Martell 9M liant, including real live oompaloompas! In the interval students had the oppor- “I particularly enjoyed the last song tunity to purchase the merchandise and when Charlie took over the chocolate refreshments. The millionaire’s short- factory from Mr. Wonka. This was my bread wonka bars were very popular, favourite song because all of the cast with of course programmes and interval came together and they were dancing ice cream. You could even buy scented and singing. I also enjoyed the part calculators disguised as a bar of choco- when Charlie and Mr Wonka went up in late. the glass elevator because they floated in and around the audience and the In the second half, the audience joined elevator glowed. I loved how they modthe characters on their journey through ernised the characters, especially the the factory. Everything was created oompaloompas! Overall, I really encleverly leaving all of the pupils open joyed going to see Charlie and the mouthed. The question, “How did they chocolate factory because I love the do that?” was asked many times book and film and it was very exciting to throughout the show. Overall, the stu- see it come to life!” dents had a great time and were grate- Caitlin Collins 7M ful to be chosen for the trip. Charlie and The Chocolate Factory is a definite

Y9 - Photography Recently, I went to work with my mum at the London Eye and I took a camera with me as I felt that I would like to take some images of central London. My mum showed me how and where to take some good pictures. I took over 50 shots and when I got home I uploaded them on to the computer. This particular shot stood out for me because of the combination of colours and how clear the London Eye looked at night. I have always liked photography and really enjoyed this experience. I am planning to use my camera a lot more often from now on. Deevon Hart 9B 5

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Y12 Meet An Oxford Graduate On 24th of February, Chancellor’s Y12 Oxbridge Aspirers were provided with the opportunity to speak with Mrs Tamsyn Clark, an Oxford graduate who after having completed her undergraduate degree at UCL completed a postgraduate Masters in Law at Oxford University. Her work for the Ministry of Defence allowed her to speak to us about both her university experience, and her career as a lawyer. Each student came to the meeting bursting with questions, We were all eager to gain an insight into what studying at this prestigious university is really like. Mrs Clark began by explaining why

she had chosen to study at Oxford, we then heard about what makes Oxford different to other universities. She was also able to answer questions on the differences between city and collegiate universities, which proved very useful. We grilled her about how tutorials function and what makes them successful as an educational technique at Oxford and Cambridge but it was also a relief to hear that there is a great work-life balance that can be obtained through the plethora of sport, music and societies at Oxford. She further answered questions regarding her law degree. Mrs Clark’s

passion for being a lawyer was apparent as she described the interesting yet challenging career choice it provides, identifying the different sectors of law and outlining that different universities offer different modules as part of their degree courses. We received a lot of helpful advice and information from this interesting presentation. A great experience that has motivated a number of us to seriously consider applying to Oxbridge in the future! Sam Over Y12

FOCUS ON: Art Last half term, Year 9 art students learnt how to use Photoshop to produce album art work for their choice of musical genre. For their homework, they investigated how Photoshop can be used in the wider world. They also investigated what art related jobs are available to them. Here is an example of an outcome by Emily Smith

Art Skills used in Design Jobs

And How Photoshop is used in art

By Emily Smith

Photoshop is a software which allows you to manipulate photos and images. But what has that got to do with art? Art and design go hand in hand as a design must look good and art must be well planned out. Photoshop can be very helpful in (RE) colouring an image or removing a part of it because it makes life easier when it comes to creating your piece. It can be used to create templates to use in art and your designs could be computerbased so that they are more precise. As well as helping with art, some art can be produced on a computer! For example, posters, adverts and photographs were probably all edited using Photoshop to correct things and easily manipulate images and text.

FASHION DESIGN Fashion:

This is the design, creation, or marketing of clothes and accessories. There are many roles such as clothing design, production of fabrics and marketing the clothes themselves. ANIMATION Motion picture:

This is the creation of films, television shows, cartoons, animations, and anything else involving the creation of moving pictures. PERFORMANCE Visual arts:

This includes acting, dance, or music. The artist’s face and body are how they express themselves. This area could also include the design of sets and choreography of a dance. ARCHITECTURE P h ys i c a l s t ru c tu re s :

IN DESIGN JOBS GRAPHIC DESIGN Advertising and marketing:

Images, colours, and designs are used to send across ideas, emotions, or messages in adverts, web pages, posters

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This is the design and building of physical structures and spaces. this includes landscape architects, urban planning, interior design, and anything else related to the creation and refinement of places that you can live in.

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FOCUS ON: Food Technology - Food Competitions We had an hour and fifteen minutes to prepare and cook our dish (either starter, main or dessert). I cooked a main course; Hoi Yan Chicken steamed in banana leaf, served with fresh apple and mango salad and fragrant rice. The best part of the day was being able to cook in a professional catering kitchen. It had smart ovens, huge work surfaces and loads of equipment. To make the day even better I was lucky enough to win first prize for the best main course. My prize was a £100 Amazon voucher and a £20 voucher for the Pudding Stop. All the finalists were offered work experience, for one day, cooking with the chefs in the catering kitchen. I entered the Oaklands College ‘Young Chef of the Year’ competition not knowing what to expect, as I had never done anything like it before. To

be truthful I was nervous but after meeting the helpful chefs I was really relaxed.

Overall I had a great day and can’t wait to do it again. Lauren Telling 10S chefs was enthralling. I also learnt many new skills throughout the day, such as time management and how to work in a professional kitchen. There were three judges; Mr Lussmann the owner of Lussmanns restaurant, a newspaper critic and the Mayor of St Albans. They all gave me positive feedback for my dish which was a delight. The whole day was a wonderful turnout from all the family, friends and my teacher who came to support us cook.

Recently I entered the St. Albans ‘Young Chef of the Year’ competition, whereby I had to either make a starter, main course or dessert. Having been short listed from a large number of applicants, it was an honour to attend Oaklands College,

where I was able to create my chosen starter of an aubergine stack with a homemade breadstick and a drizzle of pesto.

I was one of 6 finalists chosen to cook in the ‘Rotary Chef of The Year’ competition. I was extremely excited as it was my first ever food competition.

filled with halloumi cheese, salmon with sweet potato wedges and avocado, feta and mango salad. For dessert I made a French apple flan with whipped cream and filled strawberries. I was very nervous and stressed about this competition however I enjoyed myself thoroughly.

I had to make a 3 course meal in 2 1/2 hours and present it for the judges to taste. I made homemade ravioli

The experience I had in a professional kitchen with a great group of

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At the end of the day I was very pleased to be presented with 2nd place for my starter dish and have kindly been given an open invitation back to the kitchen in the Stables Restaurant at Oaklands College. They also presented me with a voucher for ‘The Pudding Stop’. Overall, it was a great and valuable experience that I will take with me and I am hoping to be involved in future competitions. Talia Cherkez 10S Overall I was even more pleased and shocked that I won the competition and I was extremely proud of myself. I am now going on to the next round of the competition and will be cooking again at Hitchin College. Maria Christofi 10H 7

Chancellor’s Pond & Wildlife Garden Competition After lengthy debate, the successful winners were Katherine and Alex Chadwell. We would like to congratulate them on their stunning design and look forward to seeing their ideas come to life over the coming months. We also intend to incorporate some of the fantastic ideas from other entries into the final garden design.

In association with Oaklands College, last term we asked students to enter a competition to design a wildlife garden that would be built at Chancellor’s on the spare ground behind ‘I block’. We have been inundated with excellent entries and the judges, Mr Croston, Gerrard Craddock – Lecturer at Oaklands and Mrs Merrett – Head of Biology, would like to thank all the students who have put so much work and thought into their entries. After a difficult first session the judges decided on a shortlist of 10 entries. The successful entrants were: Jamie Harvey, Cid Pask, Miles Cooper and Harry Pattenden (Y7) Libby Rowe, Aisla Johnson, Ella Cockayne, Lucy Evans and Mia Nash (Y7) Katherine and Alex Chadwell (Y11 & Y7) Delia Walsh, Anastasia Voi-

tovich, Anna Liepina, Cristina Hemmett (Y10) Harry McGrath and Fabio De Luca (Y9) Sean Wright, Dan Clarke, Dylan Grice, Aaron SabineStimpson, Thomas Ingrey (Y10) Charly Brennan (Y10) Jack King (Y9) Sila Olcay (Y10) The judges approached each entry with a focus on which would be the most appropriate for the site we have to develop and the design that best fit the brief. Ultimately, we indicated a need for a garden that is environmentally friendly, actively attracts wildlife and can be used as an outside teaching resource for KS3, 4 and 5. Finally, the garden should also provide a space for students to enjoy as well – a very difficult mix of ingredients to incorporate!

Meet our winners: We entered the school garden competition as a team, as we thought it was a good opportunity to work together on a project. Lots of our family are keen gardeners, so we’ve grown up with that as an influence. We started off by making a list of all the things we thought should be included in the garden, so as to make it functional and practical, as well as beautiful and interesting. These included raised beds, water butts and the pond. From this list of ideas we made rough sketches to look at different layouts and approaches, eventually reaching one similar to our end result. We then drew out the scale drawing of the garden and started putting in the features. We also looked into which types of plants attracted which forms of wildlife, so as to make the garden as diverse as possible. We were thrilled when we won, because we had put so much time into our design, but mostly because the other entries were of such a high standard. We think that aspects of the other designs will make big improvements to our own design, ensuring the school garden is as beautiful as it can be!

Alexander Chadwell 7H Katharine Chadwell 11B

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FOCUS ON: PE & SPORTS FACULTY Chancellor’s Gym & Dance Display allowing Chancellor’s to make an excellent contribution to Comic Relief. The night was made up of a combination of both gymnastics and dance solos, duets, trios and group pieces. The music accompanying these pieces moved through the last 50 years, in celebration of Chancellor’s 50th anniversary. Students got into the spirit of this and performed in a variety of costumes linked to the time of the music release date. All students performed incredibly during both nights and produced some excellent high quality dances and gymnastics routines. The PE & Sport Faculty would like to thank all students involved and commend them on their hard work and dedication during the build up to this event. Students provided an entertaining and enjoyable evening for all those who attended. We would like to thank you for your attendance to this event and your contribution to our fundraising efforts. Chancellor’s Physical Education and Sport Faculty put on its second Gym and Dance display this February to raise money for Comic Relief. This provided an excellent opportunity to showcase the talents of many of our students. These students ranged from Years 7-12 and included both pieces developed in curriculum time,

or in students’ free time. They were choreographed by both the members of the faculty and the students themselves. The display again ran over two nights and provided the opportunity for 67 Chancellor’s students to participate. Both evenings raised a total of £416,

There will be many more opportunities for students to be involved in fundraising events. Please ask students to keep checking the TV and notice boards for any further updates. We would like to thank you all, once again, for your ongoing support.

Rugby Congratulations to the Y9 rugby team who have made it through the semifinals of the Hertfordshire Schools County Trophy tournament. The first part of the tournament consists of a league format. Throughout the first term Chancellor’s played Stanborough, Marlborough, Barnwell,

Hertswood and Thomas Alleyne. The Y9 boys won all 5 games with some impressive displays of running rugby and have now progressed through to the semi-final where they will play the winners of the North Hertfordshire Division. A date for this game has yet to be confirmed, please check the school website for details.

Y7 and Y8 rugby teams are still progressing through their league games and a full round up of results will be published in the next edition of the newsletter.

trict cup fixtures which have been re arranged leading into finals week in the middle of match. A full round up

of football results will be published in the next edition of the newsletter.

Football After many cancellations throughout last term, due to pitch conditions, Y7, 8, 9 and 10 are catching up on dis-

PE & Sports Faculty

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‘Meet A Teacher’ - Miss S Lynch - Teacher of PE Why did you become a teacher? I have coached netball from a young age and really enjoyed PE at school, so thought teaching would be the best option. I wanted to inspire young people to enjoy PE and I find it a really rewarding and exciting job. What are your highlights at Chancellor’s? So far I have two main highlights. Working with the netball teams has been a really enjoyable experience. Seeing the Y9 county team win the County Tournament and then watching them succeed during the Regional Tournament was an incredible opportunity. In addition to this, the Gym and Dance display was a real highlight as all students per-

formed to such a high standard. It was a thoroughly enjoyable event. What is your best bit about Chancellor’s? The things I like most about Chancellor's are the staff and students at the school. Everyone here is really helpful and it makes a really positive atmosphere. What are your hobbies and interests? Outside of school I coach and play netball as well as watch a lot of sport. As I have always been involved in netball I hope to continue for as long as possible. I also like reading and listening to music.

Fundraising for Ghana Having travelled separately to Ghana last year with the company 'Original Volunteers’, Dylan Taylor (former student) and I came back inspired to help raise money to try and further improve the lives of all the people we met whilst there. I was especially drawn to one young girl, Selina, who lived on her own, was very bright, but was unable to continue her education, due to lack of funds. The Ghanians are tremendously proud people, of their country and each other, and are incredibly happy despite living in sometimes very poor circumstances and having hardly any possessions. I decided to use my contacts whilst doing a music degree, to put on a concert to raise money. Dylan joined forces with me, and with help from our friends, families, and fellow musicians this was held at Chancellor’s on 17th January. It was attended by well over 100 people! I also had a ‘Just Giving’ page which raised over £800. With everyone’s help, we have managed to raise an incredible £2370.00 to date from my 'Just Giving' account and the concert. This is totally overwhelming as our

original goal was to fund Selina with Just £400! I am now very busy communicating with my friends in Ghana as to how to best action the following plan. We are now intending to support not just Selina through 3 Years of higher education, but one or two other young people at the school, who would otherwise have to leave as they cannot afford to pay the state to continue past the age of 15. Also a chunk of the money will be put towards much needed equipment and teaching supplies for Abene School, which I helped renovate last year and is close to my heart. The remaining money will buy a number of self cleaning water filters for several very poor outreach villages in rural areas around the school, (they live in mud huts, sleep on the floor and have clothes donated by volunteers). The way it will work is, each village will nominate a ‘family’ to house the water filter unit in their home, all the other villagers will then take the dirty water they get from the river (which is what they normally

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drink, so frequently get seriously ill) to the nominated house and pass the water they have collected through the filter which cleans it making it safe to drink! So simple, but life saving. The whole community then works together to keep the small village free of disease. We saw all this first hand at another village that had received and was using the water filters from a previous project and it was working well for the village. They also need first aid supplies/birth control/health products/ flip flops etc, all of which will be purchased with the money raised. Dylan are I are returning to Ghana in the summer, (self funded of course) and making sure every penny raised is used to implement all the things above, which will change a few lives for the better . For further information, or advice on volunteering, please email me [email protected] and I will be very happy to chat with you! It is so rewarding, and I guarantee it will change your life! Emily Holms (Former Student)

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Dragons’ Apprentice Lara Brest, Pia Kanzaria and myself volunteered to participate in the Dragons’ Apprentice. At first there were only 3 of us but we picked up a new recruit on the way. Kim Basford offered to help us during our first doughnut sale and soon became part of the team. To begin with, we started our business plan. This included the events we were going to do and how much we planned to raise for each event. We faced a lot of challenges along the way varying from failure of the task to not having enough stock. We learnt a lot from these experiences which taught us to deal with unexpected and unplanned challenges that would be faced in the business world. We met with a regional fundraiser for East Hertfordshire from Keech Hospice Care, a Welwyn and Hatfield counsellor and 3 people from a business called MacIntyre Hudson, including the manager of the firm.

They all supported us on our ideas and gave us advice on what we needed to do in order to carry them out. The charity allocated to us was Keech Hospice Care. Keech is an organisation which provides emotional and practical support to adults and children who have been diagnosed with a life-limiting condition. Their aim is to help patients enjoy the highest quality of life, while also providing vital support for their family and friends. They take children out on day trips to places such as the cinema, theatres, etc. To start off with, we held a doughnut sale in November. This was incredibly successful and all 600 doughnuts were sold out within the first 10 minutes of break time! Unfortunately, our second doughnut sale wasn’t as successful as our first, so we resorted to selling the doughnuts for

cheaper prices. Hence, having an immense impact on our profit. At the Christmas Fayre, we had our own stall which was ‘Get the Ping Pong Ball in a Jar’. This turned out to be a great event as we generated a lot of money. On the last day of term there was a non-uniform day for all year groups. Half of the profit from this non-uniform day was given to us as part of our final sum for Keech Hospice Care. At the school’s Christmas Production we did a bucket collection. Thanks to people’s generosity, we were able collect around £70. Overall, we managed to raise £1508.68 in total for Keech Hospice Care. We enjoyed organising the events and gained many skills we will use in the future. To all those that donated and supported, thank you! Careen Shah 12R

Governor’s Corner This term your Governing body has been working with Chancellor’s staff to formulate the next five-year School Improvement Plan (SIP). The aim of this plan is to secure our vision of being an 'Outstanding' school. Through our on-going selfevaluation and review processes we are identifying key priorities and areas for development, and setting clear objectives and timescales in which to achieve them. Previous SIPs have had a significant impact on outcomes, as can be seen with Chancellor’s securing ‘Good’ in the Ofsted inspection of September 2014. The key aspects of the plan Achievement, Teaching, Behaviour and Leadership and Management reflect the Ofsted inspection framework and, by working in groups concentrating on these areas, we have been able to hone in on what’s needed to make the next step up. There has been a sea change in governance recently, and the DfE’s demands are greater than ever. As a Governing Body we are currently in

consultation about how we are going to respond to new government regulations that require governing bodies that have not reconstituted since 2012 to do so before 1st September this year. Although there is an added emphasis on accountability, our overall duties and responsibilities remain the same: to ensure clarity of the school’s vision, ethos and strategic direction; to support and hold the Headteacher to account for academic performance at the school, as well as the behaviour and safety of its pupils; to oversee the spending of our budget. But the changes give us greater flexibility and choice in the recruitment of governors, so we can make sure that we have the necessary abilities and experience to help govern the school effectively. We will now be able to co-opt parents and members of the wider community, in addition to the representatives who are elected in the traditional way.

These individuals will have the same voting rights and stand for the same four-year term as elected governors. Chancellor’s Governing Body currently has vacancies for individuals who have the drive, commitment, experience and business skills needed to help the school’s leadership team provide the best teaching and learning and the right environment for our students. We are not looking for specific talents – just an enquiring mind, the confidence to challenge as well as support, and the desire to make a difference to your children’s education. Is that you? Or does it describe someone you know? If so, we’d love to hear from you. To find out more about what it means to be a governor and to put yourself forward, please contact the Chair of Governors, Juliette Castang at [email protected]. All enquiries will treated as confidential.

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Parent Survey Summary In January 2015, we sent out a Parent Survey about Chancellor’s School. Below we have set out a few of the key details we received from the responses that were collected.

Overall, how would you currently rate Chancellor’s?

Thinking about the teaching at Chancellor’s, to what extent would you agree with the following statement?

Overall, are you happy with Chancellor's?

Show My Homework has had a positive impact on my child’s learning.

Chancellor’s has good teachers.

Overall, how would you rate the relevance, appropriateness and consistency of the homework your child receives?

Thinking about the behaviour at Chancellor’s, to what extent would you agree with the following statement? Behaviour is good at Chancellor’s.

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Now, thinking about pastoral care, to what extent do you agree with the following statement?

Now, thinking about your child’s emotional wellbeing, to what extent do you agree with the following statement? My child is happy at Chancellor’s

My child feels safe at Chancellor’s

Overall, how would you rate the uniform standards at Chancellor’s?

Thinking about the school environment (buildings etc), to what extent would you agree with the following statement? The school environment is good.

Overall, how would you rate the leadership at Chancellor’s?

Finally, would you recommend Chancellor’s to another parent?

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Student Voice - Survey Summary

This survey was carried out from January 1st 2015 - January 28th 2015, across Years 7-11, during form time. All students took part in the survey online and this is a summary of the results. Students identified many strengths, in particular: 1. 92% feel they are making good progress. 2. 70% say the feedback they receive helps them progress. 3. 77% of students say they can join a good range of activities and are given the chance to take on responsibilities. 4. 86% think they are encouraged to work independently. 5. 80% routinely do their homework and 70% think Show My Homework (SMHW) has helped them stay on top of it. Students were invited to make comments if they wished. Some common themes included: 1. The learning environment has improved. 2. Students are proud and happy to be at Chancellor’s. 3. SMHW has helped students. 4. Students would like to wear coats during the school day in cold weather. 5. Students would like the rules on phones changed, although many point out they understand they cannot be used in lessons. As a result of the surveys, the above will form the basis of discussion at the next Student Voice meeting. Also for consideration will be: 1. What makes effective homework? 2. How new technologies can be used to enhance teaching and learning. 3. How we can improve the achievement and behaviour point system and ensure it is used consistently.

Mrs D Burke

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Headteacher’s Commendations A Headteacher’s Commendation has been awarded to a student for sustained effort and achievement. Here are the award winners for this month.

KS3 Subject

Year 7 student

Year 8 student

Year 9 student

Art

Ella Cockayne

Maia Harrison

Lucy Millberry

D&T

Nicole Constantinou

Thomas Harris

Lucy Millberry

Drama

Lucy Evans

George Payne

Tom Prior

English

Henry Follett

Georgina Wootten

Olivia Bacon

Geography

Alexander Chadwell

Eliza Ruben

Kinal Mistry

History

Louis Christofi

Josh Alldis

Olivia Bacon

ICT

Lily Forey

Mathematics

Harry Saward

Aaron Mays

Jon Lee

MFL

Lily Forey

Jackie Oketch

Sophia Neocleous

Music

Kieron Lee

Maizie Martin

Emma Latta

PE

Charlie Bushby

Thomas Stanbury

James Hayne

RE

Amy O’Reilly

Katie McDermott

Kinal Mistry

Science

Shane Lee

Lauren Howell

Alex Errington

Citizenship/PHSE

Harry Jeggo

Maia Harrison

Georgia Lee

KS5

KS4 Subject

Year 10 student

Year 11 student

Art

Sila Olcay

Hannah Newell

Business

Baran Sedaroglu

Adele Stronge

D&T

Grace Bush

Jessica Boyd

Drama

Peter Bryant

Amy Clayton

English

Stefano Said

Geography

Subject

Year 12 student

Year 13 student

Art

Saffy Lamrhari

Connor Lewis

Business

Selin Somnez

D&T

Jayden Constable

Charlotte Lovett

Drama

Victoria Absolon

Ben Oliver

Harry Cross

English

Matthew Cross

Paige Swift

Elle Cowell

Stephanie Mabbutt

Geography

Chloe McKeever

Alexander Pimm

History

Sean Wright

Kate Moody

History

Kayla Vella

Elliot Decaro

ICT

Andreas Christou

Adimchinobi Ndukwe

ICT

Pia Kanzaria

Ciaran Keogh

Mathematics

Careen Shah

Tommy Ellingham

Mathematics Kenny Chui

Megan Cooper

MFL

Sean Wright

Harry King

MFL

Samantha Over

Music

Chad Gifkins

Eva Povey

Music

Jonathan Munn

PE

Megan Pritchard

Megan Cooper

PE

RE

Dylan Grice

Hannah Clifford

Science

Lucy Coster

Sociology

Joe Spinoza

RE

Rebecca Gunning

Kate Moody

Science

Amanda Hunt

Barney Grice

Poppy McDonnell

Henry Peters

Sociology

Jayden Constable

Tina Khatri

Psychology

Chloe Harris

Maddie Runagall

Psychology

Kimberley Basford

Lizzie Putt

Citizenship

Tom Fuller

Computer Science

David Fraser

Computer Science

Jonathan Munn

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