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 tradingRound 2 – The stock predictor challengeRound 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!
Congratulations to Amber Dunstan and Yuhsuan Chen in Year 13 who won the ‘Head’s Award’ this term. Their beautiful art work will be displayed in Mr Warren’s office.
Year 12 Art Print Workshop
We had the whole day off timetable to participate in a lino workshop, which consisted of carving our tiles and printing them with high quality inks. Doing this workshop allowed us to not only add another beautiful piece into our A-level books but also expand into other media. We were taught new techniques to improve and advance our lino skills. I found it very enjoyable and helpful as the art staff helped us choose our print design and size, as well as helping us throughout the day with the lino itself. With the materials and supplies the art department was able to provide us, our Year 12 class was able to produce fantastic quality prints.
Madison Meins
Year 12 Photography
Year 12 photographers are already taking some fabulous photos. Well done from the art department.
Last week, Design & Technology – Food hosted the first cooking challenge of the year. Teams of KS3 students representing each of the Houses were given 20 minutes to produce their omelette ready for the judging panel. The entries were judged on presentation, aroma, texture and flavour. The judges were impressed by the quality and creativity on display: it was the first time any of them had tasted a chocolate omelette!
Thank you to all those Year 7 – 9 students who took part. The students rose to the challenge producing some ‘eggcellent’ omelettes.
Special mention goes to Year 9 student Evie Murfett who produced a winning entry for Parks House and then kindly helped run the competition for the other year groups.
Thank you, also, to our special guest judge, Mrs Dray, former Head of Design Technology.
During the week of 23rd-27th September 2019, we celebrated the European Languages we teach in school with coloured bunting, a lunch menu with a European flavour and lunchtime activities including face painting, fan making and edible Russian bracelets. The bunting created by all students in Year 7-9, in both of their languages, became a House competition. The winners were
Monday lunchtime at the start of the European Week of languages at Presdales, Year 12 Russianists helped students make sushki bracelets.
Sushki are traditional Russian small, crunchy, mildly sweet, bread rings eaten for dessert, usually with tea or coffee. The word sushka has a common root with the Russian verb sushit “to dry”. Traditionally, sushki were strung on a string for selling on the street or at regional markets, so we made mini versions.
Congratulations to the Russian general knowledge quiz winners: Saffi Adams (Year 12) Daisy Reid (Year 8) and Zoe Puncher (Year 9).
Italian
Tuesday was Italian day. Pasta alla carbonara was laid on in the school canteen and some of our lovely Year 8 and Year 12 students tested their make-up artistry skills to decorate Presdalian faces and hands in the red, green and white of the Italian flag. The colours of the tricolore are said to represent the green of the Italian countryside, the white of the snow-capped mountains and the red of the blood shed during the unification of Italy in the 19th century.
French
The French Department has been very busy during the European Week of Languages considering various aspects of French culture. Year 7 focused on food and drinks in French speaking countries. In Year 8, pupils researched beautiful natural sites and monuments in France, trying to look beyond Paris and the Eiffel Tower. Finally, Year 9 were very keen to present French inventions and creations. Pupils created some stunning bunting on those topics which will be displayed in the Language rooms in preparation for Secondary Transfer Evening. On Wednesday 25th September, our Year 12 students organised a lunchtime activity and were very busy helping Year 7 creating Blue, White, Red jewellery with Hama beads.
German
In German, Year 7 researched facts about Germany. Year 8 researched facts about the 2 other German speaking countries, Switzerland and Austria, and Year 9 looked into fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm, discovering that many of our well-known fairy tales originate in the German version and are translated. At lunchtime, the girls played on the Haribo ‘Gummi Bär’ slot machine and tried to guess how many were in a pack of Gummi Bär. The winner was Abbie Oldham of 7RM who guessed the closest with 150. There were 146!!
Spanish
The Spanish Department celebrated European Week of Languages by making cardboard fans in red and yellow (the colours of the Spanish flag). Fans have long been a symbol of Spanish culture, as a way to cool down in the heat of the summer and as a prop used in flamenco, the traditional dance of the southern region of Andalucía. In addition, the school canteen was kind enough to lay on some delicious paella as part of that day’s lunch.
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On Friday 27th September, the Sixth Form students participated in an afternoon of team building activities. The students experienced a number of activities which encouraged them to plan, communicate, work together and stay motivated in a fun and energetic way. The emphasis was on the students to take ownership of their learning, using critical thinking to develop ideas on how to solve the challenges and build their resilience, rather than just giving up if they couldn’t complete a challenge. Their social skills were enhanced as they learnt to communicate with members of their tutor group on plans and solutions, as well as evaluating their own performance after each activity. The development of these skills will be an asset to the students both during their A Levels and in the wider world.
https://presdales.herts.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Sixth-Form-Team-building-Copy-1.jpg600776Presdales Schoolhttps://presdales.herts.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/presdales-school-logo.pngPresdales School2019-10-10 16:06:472019-10-10 16:06:47Sixth Form Team Building
On the 26th and 27th of September 2019, the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst welcomed around two thousand young people for their Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths careers fair, RMAS STEM 19. Forty-nine industry partners, as well as units from across the Army, joined the Army to showcase STEM skills in action.
30 Year 9 Students attended this event: a fantastic opportunity for the students to explore different STEM careers, we were also fortunate to witness the Army’s first all-female parachute display team who landed onto the lawn in front of Old College.
A big thank you to EduFund who partially funded this trip.
“On Thursday 26th September we went to The Sandhurst Military Academy. It was such a good, inspiring event. We saw so many different companies who help improve our technology and the military. When we arrived, we split into groups to look at around all the stands; this was a fun and interactive experience, with leaflets and free pens and bags. There were also Army Troops scattered around who told us about what they do and how all the different types of machinery work. It was an exhilarating trip and I would love to do it again.” Mariam Shakir
“We loved the range of activities offered there and we are happy we got the opportunity to learn more about STEM subjects and professions. The talk given was very inspiring and made us think about our future careers. Would definitely recommend.” Lucy and Ruby
“Sandhurst had lots of new and interesting job ideas and we found out a lot about STEM jobs. There were lots of interactive things like quizzes, VR headsets, building things, playing games to win prizes and Army trucks to look at. We saw lots of new ideas for jobs and now we are more interested in this industry.” Sophie and Emma
Robotics Action
Congratulations to the girls who took part in the first Robotics competition of the session. This took place at John Warner School on the 28th September.
This seasons competition is called ‘Tower Takeover’.
VEX Robotics Competition Tower Takeover is played on a 12’x12’ square field configured as seen above. Two (2) Alliances – one (1) “red” and one (1) “blue” – composed of two (2) Teams each – compete in matches consisting of a fifteen (15) second Autonomous Period, followed by a one minute and forty-five second (1:45) Driver Controlled Period.
The object of the game is to attain a higher score than the opposing Alliance by placing Cubes in Towers, or scoring Cubes in Goals.
The Presdales School finished the day in 13th position.
Many thanks to the continued support from EduFund.
Physics Trip: PPMA Convention, Birmingham (3rd October 2019)
The 2019 PPMA physics trip was aimed at exposing Presdales physics students to engineering (mainly in the food industry).
We were given a private tour around a few selected stands, where experts in different engineering fields talked to us about their individual aspects of engineering including: packaging, the use of lasers in safety sensors in factories, the use of UV light in hygiene and the use of automated machines. Furthermore, we saw demonstrations of packaging machines in action. Manufactures also addressed how they are striving to reduce the use of plastic in food packaging by either cutting down the amount of material used to package an item or by changing to more environmentally friendly material solutions. Everyone was given the opportunity to have a VR experience of what it is like to be inside Bloodhound (a car currently being developed to break the land speed record). Soon after, we programmed gyroscope robots to push balls into goal areas: Presdales School set that day’s record of 10 balls.
A presentation was given by a local Hertfordshire engineering company, promoting apprenticeships as well as what it is to be a mechanical engineer. In addition, another speaker told us about his journey through his engineering career.
I thoroughly enjoyed this trip as there were interactive tasks and I was inspired to take a deeper look into what physics as a subject could do for me in my future.
On Tuesday 8th October, Young Enterprise delivered their Learn to Earn Programme to our Year 9 students. The programme inspires students and provides information on career options to help make informed choices for their future. It enables students to set goals and plan their next steps to prepare them for life beyond education. Through hands-on fun, practical activities, Learn to Earn explores themes such as career choices, personal skills and talents, recruitment and job interviews, salaries, earnings, tax and the costs of living, financial planning and budgeting.
“I think this experience has helped me with a lot of things, including budgeting and finding out how I use my skills to influence my employer.” Ruby Lush
“I believe this experience has helped me not only open my eyes and discover reality, but to help me feel more confident about my future career. This has benefited me loads and I really appreciate this opportunity.” Rebecca Alexander
The Quality in Careers Standard
You will be pleased to know that we have been successful in completing the Commitment Stage of The Quality in Careers Standard.
Year 11 Options
Don’t forget we have an information morning on Wednesday 6th November for your daughter to support her with her decision as to what she will choose to do at the end of Year 11. The programme on the morning will include short ‘chat sessions’ with the teachers of the new and unfamiliar A Level subjects on offer in our Sixth form. These will include subjects such as Psychology, Sociology, Economics, Government and Politics, Philosophy and Ethics, Photography and Film.
For those students who do not wish to take A Levels and who would prefer to embark on a vocational course at a local college after Year 11, we have planned a tour for them to HRC Ware and Broxbourne Campus.
On Friday 7th June, we held our A level Summer Art & Photography Exhibition. Congratulations to all of our wonderful Year 13 students and good luck for the future. We felt that this exhibition in particular showed an outstanding body of work and the Art staff felt very proud. Thank you to all who attended and showed their support to our Art Department and Year 13 students.
With a theme of music from the 80s and 90s, Presdales Dance Evening was a winner for parents and staff! Students from Year 7 to Year 13 performed in routines from tap to ballet to an amazing gymnastic display, creating an evening which was entertainment all the way.
The evening started with Freya Campbell, Nicole Fenman, Emily Farrington, Lucy Kennard and Natassja Smith (from Years 10-13) tap dancing a routine to Footloose while Year 8 Tewo Bishi and Betsy Sutton seemed to fly through the air, dancing to When You Believe.
The second half of the evening led off with the Gym club, choreographed by Miss Fentiman to How Will I Know? The girls’ agility and timing left the audience breathless and applauding enthusiastically. Maddi Drake swayed her way through a Spanish-inspired number, Maria Maria, and – in contrast – Sixth Formers Maisie Bentley and Eva Terziyski danced a lively routine to Miami. The evening finished with everyone on stage dancing to I Wanna Dance with Somebody – and the audience clapping in time with the music.
Miss Corbett
What another brilliant show! As always, we are very fortunate to have such enthusiastic and talented dancers who work extremely hard to get their performances ready on time! This year the Dance Club Leaders have been amazing! They have worked so hard to choreograph such fantastic dances in and around their GCSE and A Level studies. They have been so committed to run numerous practices and I am very appreciative of the hard work involved and I know the girls are as well; so well done and a huge thank you to Maisie Bentley, Eva Terziyski, Darcy Wood-Walsh and Georgie Gaudencio.
Also, a massive thank you to Miss Fentiman for putting a show-stopping Gymnastics piece together with the largest number of gymnasts we have had in years. It is not an easy job but the girls and Miss Fentiman have been dedicating their time before school on a weekly basis to get their performance ready.
The show doesn’t happen without the people behind the scenes! Thank you to Chloe and Scarlett, who are both A Level PE students, doing the sound and lighting for both performances. They both did an amazing job, I really am so grateful for your time and preparation. Thank you to Darcy Wood-Walsh who took the brilliant photos and to the PTA for interval refreshments.
Finally, the Dale Dance Trophy Award this year is awarded to Maisie Bentley, Eva Terziyski and Darcy Wood-Walsh for their commitment to Dance during their time at Presdales. You have all been truly outstanding and have been fantastic role models to many younger students. Thank you to those who came to watch – I hope you had an enjoyable evening!
Mrs Dann
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