PE News

October 25, 2019/in Sport /by Presdales School

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: Reviewed by Lucy White

: Reviewed by Constantina Nichola

PE Students of the Month – October

Congratulations to the following students who are our PE Stars of the Month!

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: Reviewed by Lucy White

: Reviewed by Constantina Nichola

Netball

U14s

Well done to our U14 County Netball Team who, on Saturday 11th October, came 3rd overall in the county!!

Results:-

Won 8-7 against STAHS Won 9-1 against Leventhorpe Lost 13-4 against Berkhamstead Won 10-5 against RMS (2nd in the group…) Lost in the semi-finals to Broxbourne. Beat Haileybury in 3rd/4th playoffs so 3rd overall – AMAZING girls!

Star player was Ashley Buckle who was outstanding throughout!

Year 8

Well done to the Year 8 netballers who beat St Mary’s 16-2 last week! Some great play from all the girls. Star player was Jess Ward!

Year 7

Well done to the Year 7 netballers who won 25-0 against St Mary’s last week! Great first game. Star player was Neve McDonald!

Football

The U14 football team won 5-1 tonight against St Albans High School for Girls in the 2nd round of the County Cup.

It was a convincing display on a very tight pitch, with Presdales completely dominating the match. Very assured defensively and lots of fast attacking play! Goals were from Amber Leighton (3), Darci Gillett and Amelie Powis. Amber’s second goal was the highlight with a super strike into the top corner.

Evie Martin captained the side and led by example. Hannah Nash was cool and composed in defence. Amber had a good night in front of goal, scoring a hat trick.

A great all-round display from the girls, with good contributions from every player. Very proud of them and can’t wait for the next round!

Equestrian Team

The Equestrian team have been competing again!

Aston Le Walls Hickstead Qualifier, 13^th October – The Presdales Equestrian Team were joined by one of our newest members, Evie Lodge, for the arena eventing at Aston Le Walls. Darcy Wright and Evie took part in the 80cm with Darcy narrowly missing out on 2nd place. Evie made a picture perfect round but missed out on a placing.

Connie Harrington, Ruby Barrs and Freya Naylor Stewart were in the 90cm team, and they came 3rd overall, missing out by one place to qualify for Hickstead at the end of next May.

Well done to everyone who took part and braved the mud!

National Schools Equestrian Championships at Addington, 19th and 20th October – The Presdales Equestrian Team were out in force this last weekend to hold our own against schools that had gathered at Addington Equestrian Centre in Buckinghamshire for this Championship. We had two classes to attend as a team and one class for an individual, Ruby Barrs. In the first class we had to go there at an ungodly hour on Saturday morning to take our slot as the second team in to take part in the 90/95 cm show jumping class. 55 different school teams from across the country were competing against us, and out of these, only 8 teams would go through to contest a second round. We had a great first round with some blindingly fast riding from all 4, Hannah Moloney, Connie Harrington, Freya Naylor Stewart and the fastest of them all, Ruby Barrs. As the day progressed, we held onto our place in the final with a fast time and 0 score on penalties. The class had started at 8am and finally by 3pm we found out we were through!

What a thrill it was to take part in the final round. This only started at 7.30pm, luckily all the ponies and horses had a stable to take a rest in all day. We were the first team to go, which is always tricky when you don’t know how the course rides for others. We were fast but knocked too many poles down, we eventually came an incredible 7th overall.

But it wasn’t all over yet, most of us having stayed the night, we all had another show jumping class to compete in, the 1m. Not as many teams in this class though, but still large with 36 teams and 40 individuals. This time around, despite our best efforts, we didn’t get through to the finals.

Ruby Barrs then stayed on for the afternoon to compete in a class which combines show jumping and cross country style fences, where you also get judged on your riding ability. There was a misunderstanding on the course between her and her pony so she gained a penalty which stopped them from progressing any further in the competition.

Well done to everyone who took part and braved the mud! Thank you to Hannah Moloney for coming back to represent Presdales, now that she is at Richard Hale. In the future, we might be competing against her, as Richard Hale will be joining the NSEA. What an achievement for such a small equestrian team. They all looked incredibly smart in the school colours as well.

Well done to everyone who has taken part, including parents for the transportation! A huge thank you also to Ms Naylor for the fantastic photos, reports of the team and organising the Equestrian team for all of these brilliant competitions!

Sailing

Hot on the heels of a successful summer that consolidated her winter and spring training with a number of wins, Daisy Robinson (Year 10) has earned her place in the RYA National Junior Squad for the coming year. This places her in the Top 24 girls in the country in her class of single-handed dinghy sailing. The Topper is an Olympic pathway boat at junior level, and she begins winter training this half-term at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, home of the 2012 Olympics. She has a busy year ahead training and competing across the UK, and next year her travels will take her to Lake Garda, Italy, for the World Championships. Daisy is pictured with her winner’s Trophy won at Royal Harwich Sailing Club, and at Largs, Scotland at the National Championships, August 2019.

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: Reviewed by Lucy White

: Reviewed by Constantina Nichola

House Totals

October 25, 2019/in House /by Presdales School

House Totals for this half term …

News from Careers

October 25, 2019/in Information /by Presdales School

InvestIN is an organisation that provides career-experience programmes to school students who aspire to break into some of the world’s most-desirable professions. On their programmes, they aim to create the ‘ultimate work experience’ through interactive simulations, seminars, networking sessions, and career coaching guidance.

They offer experiences in investment banking, law, medicine, business leadership, architecture, psychology, computer science, engineering, politics and journalism in London, New York and Hong Kong.

Their career programmes are predominantly aimed at 15-18-year olds with a passion, ambition or curiosity about a particular career; the programmes are designed to both offer insight and give attendees a competitive advantage within that career field.

InvestIN has relationships with more than 2,000 schools across 72 countries. Presdales has qualified to become an InvestIN ‘Partner School’. These are institutions which have demonstrated a true commitment to their mission of bridging the gap between school and industry. There are many benefits to becoming an InvestIN Partner School, including entitlement to receive discounted places, bursaries, and in-school presentations.

To take advantage of these programmes please visit their website www.investin.org and use code PRESDALES19 to receive a 10% discount.

Any questions please email me on stephensonj@presdales.herts.sch.uk.

Julie Stephenson (careers lead)

Year 7 Maths trip to the Isle of Wight

October 24, 2019/in General News, Trips & Visits, Uncategorized /by Presdales School

Art & Photography News

October 24, 2019/in Art, General News /by Presdales School

Our new Art/Photography Prefects 2019/20

Ava Cabbani Charlotte Ellis Molly Reid Maddie Meins Helen Tang Georgia Ridley Simge Horoz Jasmine Cooper Elainne Grant

Congratulations to you all and thanks for all your wonderful applications!

Photography Workshop

“We spent an entire day learning how shutter speed and aperture can affect your photography. We experimented with light painting in the morning, which allowed us to create a range of patterns, and explored both smaller and larger apertures in the afternoon. I found the workshop really interesting and, with help from the photography staff, we were able to create incredible work to utilise in our coursework.”

Siobhan Barnsley

Year 11 Lino print workshop day

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Imaginative and skilful work was created last week by our Year 11 GCSE Art students. Advanced printing techniques were discovered and practised, resulting in wonderful prints to be added to our students’ portfolios. Well done to everyone!

Year 11 Design and Technology Trip to the Paper Trail, Hemel Hempstead

October 24, 2019/in Events, Trips & Visits /by Presdales School

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: Reviewed by Lucy White

: Reviewed by Constantina Nichola

On Tuesday 22^nd October, Mrs Schillaci-Rowland, Mrs Hayhurst and Mr Warren took the Year 11 Design and Technology students to the Paper Trail in Hemel Hempstead.

The students watched a presentation and demonstration about paper and boards, given by Sue, one of the members of staff at the Paper Mill. There were some fascinating facts about the history of paper, as well as the surrounding area (the first place to manufacture paper in the world), and how the Paper Mill had been a huge part of the paper industry, and is the only site to have a working Fourdrinier machine making bespoke paper. They also have a 10-year plan in place to become a Papermaking Centre of Excellence.

The students were then split into groups to undertake three workshops: papermaking, a tour of the Paper Mill in action, and a letterpress workshop, too. The students came away with their own pieces of paper that they had made, as well as a printed sheet they had produced in the letterpress workshop.

The tour of the Mill was very informative, and the students asked lots of questions about the process. It was incredible to physically see how quickly paper is made from pulp, which takes minutes to go from very wet, to a crisp, piece of paper. The Paper Mill make a lot of sustainable paper for big companies, such as banana paper for Lush, and also for events such as Wimbledon, where grass is mixed into the paper to give it a luxurious feel.

The trip will certainly prepare our students for their GCSE exam next summer, and the hands-on experience has also helped them to visualise the processes involved in making paper and boards. The students’ behaviour was outstanding (as commented on by the staff at the Mill) which made the trip thoroughly enjoyable for the staff, too. Thank you Year 11!

Mrs Schillaci-Rowland Design and Technology

Year 7 STEM Army Activity Days

October 23, 2019/in Events, STEM /by Presdales School

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: Reviewed by Lucy White

: Reviewed by Constantina Nichola

STEM Army days

On 3rd and 4th October, Year 7 students spent a day with the Army, Capt. Charlotte Wilson, Sgt Noel Brooksbank, Cpl Lucy Moiwo and LCpl La-Toya Vernon from Sandhurst spent a day with the girls developing their STEM skills.

Friday 4th October 2019

On the 4th October, some soldiers from the army came to Presdales to do some activities with Year 7.

First, we had an assembly, in the lecture theatre, where they told us what it was like in the army. Some of the jobs that you can do in the army, include: being a scientist, an engineer, a teacher, a doctor, a dental nurse, a vet and many more. They also told us more about themselves. Noel is a sergeant and his job is to skydive out of planes. He enjoys cycling and was inspired by his dad and uncle to join the army. Lucy is an artillery officer; she hands out and organizes the weapons for everyone else. She went horse riding in the Rockies, in Canada, and, even though she is scared of heights, she enjoys rock climbing. La Toya is a dental nurse. She lived in Germany for 3 years; her sport is netball and she did the test to get a job in the army on her 17th birthday. Charlotte is a captain and is the pilot of planes that the other soldiers fly in. She is also a cross-country skiing instructor and she has a dog called Lola.

The first main activity was to design an army vest for soldiers working in the harsh environments, needing to keep cool, yet protected. They had to be light but strong so the soldiers could still carry all the other equipment they need as well as staying safe. This activity was quite challenging, although very fun to do as a team and to put all of our ideas together.

The next activity was to build a car with a working engine. We had to cooperate as a team to construct the car- without being given any instructions, apart from when we were given a clue on how to power the car. To make it move, we had to attach a rubber band to the bar connecting the wheels and twist it around to create energy so the wheels would spin, making it travel a short distance. Then, the other half of our team (on the other side of the room) had to swap the wheels onto their frame for the car and send it back.

After lunch, we were given some giant top trumps cards to put together of vehicles used in the army. We were told what they did, where they were used and who might use them. In the same lesson, we had a puzzle that we had to piece together. We worked as a class to follow the instructions to complete the task and found it quite hard but managed to do it in the end.

The next activity was to design a helmet suitable for all environments. We had to camouflage it and make it light but it also had to keep the soldiers safe and be easy to carry around. We were shown lots of different types of hats used in the army and how important they are as they keep lots of people safe; some people got to try them on.

The last activity of the day was outside. We played lots of games with the soldiers, took part in races with them and had a game of “tug of war”. We then worked in teams of three to try and build the image we had been given on the iPad. One person had to describe the picture to their teammates while the others were trying to build it. It definitely was a challenge as some of the images were quite hard, but it was really fun at the same time.

It was amazing having the army come to Presdales as they were really inspiring and interesting and we definitely learnt a lot. Overall, the day was really fun and informative and we would definitely love to have the army come visit us again soon.

Clara and Hattie

Year 9 Emblem Competition

October 23, 2019/in General News /by Presdales School

Presdales School Values – EQUALITY

This year, each year group has been assigned one of the six school values, and the value for Year 9 is equality.

Throughout the year, Year 9 students will be developing the value of equality through assemblies, posters/adverts, events and a new page on the website.

Each form in Year 9 has appointed a ‘Value Rep’ and the reps are as follows:

9EB – McKenna Hunter 9LD – Rosie Hoy & Ella Richardson 9AH – Stephanie Moor 9SH – Becky Alexander 9GP – Scarlet Leenders & Gloria Myalti 9BR – Mariam Shakir

Year 9 students were given the task of designing an emblem for the value of equality. This emblem will be displayed on the Year 9 notice board, all of the Year 9 form boards and it will also go on the school website. Below are the top three entries. The winning entry was designed by Alexis Broad in 9LD/9G. Congratulations Alexis!

Presdales Student Investor Challenge

October 17, 2019/in Events, General News /by Presdales School

Learn about the stock market and business and have some fun as the same time.

The Business & Economics department is opening this competition to all year 10 to 13 students. You don’t have to be studying business or economics to win or even take part.

Improve your financial awareness, strengthen your maths skills and gain some vital team-work skills. You can experience what it’s like to invest in the real life stock market. The competition runs from October 2019 until May 2020 and is split into 3 rounds:

Round 1 – Online trading Round 2 – The stock predictor challenge Round 3 – The Finals

If you’re interested, then get hold of 3 friends, think of a team name and see Mr Rock and his sixth form helpers on Thursdays in BTR from 1.10pm. You’ll need a secret password from Mr Rock to register your team and you begin with £100,000! Good luck!

https://www.studentinvestor.org/