VE Day Celebrations
We were pleased to find out about how Presdales families were able to celebrate VE Day last weekend with lots of different lock down activities in their homes and streets. You will be able to see here some of the photos of the creations and celebrations sent in by our students.
Year 7 Loo roll animal competition
Over the last week Year 7 were challenged to make an animal model from a toilet roll tube. Here are some of their creations…..
Well done to those who took part. Winner and runners up will be announced in Year 7 assembly this week.
Mrs Fry
Head of Year 7
Writing Successful Grant Applications
Are you helping with grant applications? A&S Landscape, the playground shelter manufacturer <https://www.aandslandscape.co.uk/playground-shelters/>, has produced this guide which will walk you through selecting the right grant, clarifying the objective, output, and outcome for your project and how to ensure that you maximise your chances of submitting a successful application.
With nearly 8,000 grant providers in the UK, providing £2.6 billion a year, there is sure to be a suitable grant available. This guide is a useful resource to help increase your chances of success. An eBook version can also be downloaded here <https://www.aandslandscape.co.uk/download/writing-successful-grant-applications-guide/>.
News from the English Department
Year 7 Author Visit
Year 7 enjoyed a wonderful talk from children’s author Alice Hemming on the morning of Friday 13 March. Alice spoke about her life as an author, covering how she became a writer, what inspired her as a child, how she moved from picture books to full length novels and her dreams of owning an amazing writing shed. We were also treated to a reading from her most recent book, The Darkest Unicorn, published only last week! It was a real treat to find out about how she plans her books, with a unique insight into the processes involved in developing plot and characters and keeping track of word counts. Year 7 had dozens of questions afterwards and were then able to have copies of Alice’s books signed and dedicated.
HOUSE : Creative Writing Competition
We were delighted to welcome Alice back at lunchtime to award the prizes for our House Creative Writing Competition, after judging the entries with Mrs Newbold and Ms Hobbs earlier that morning. Students had been challenged to write the opening chapter of a mystery story in 800 words or fewer and the interpretations of the task ranged from chilling supernatural tales to wisecracking New York detective stories. All of the entries were hugely enjoyable to read so it was a daunting job selecting the winners. Everyone who entered is to be congratulated on their imagination, attention to detail and inventiveness; we certainly have a lot of talented budding authors at Presdales!
The winning authors were:
Year 7 – Martha Ker – Curie House
Year 8 – Daisy Reid – Pankhurst House
Year 9 – Evelyn Youngman – Nightingale House
Year 10 – Madison Carter John – Windsor House
Year 11 – Anthe Beston – Windsor House
Sixth Form – Deborah Green – Parks House
Staff were also encouraged to enter and the joint first prize in that category was awarded to Mrs Teal and Mr Boyter.
Thanks and well done to everyone who entered and to Alice for so kindly giving her time and expertise.
Important support from EdufundUK Ltd
Once again we owe a big thank you to EdufundUK Ltd. This Hertfordshire-based charity offers ‘small awards’ in three categories and this academic year we have been fortunate enough to benefit from all three.
Firstly, support was received by way of a full £1,000 Small PE Award to assist Presdales School with a larger PE project, which is planned for later in the year.
Through the Small Effective Learning Award a grant was sought for electronic reader pens to support students in lessons. Thanks to EdufundUK Ltd., five of these revolutionary tools have been purchased and are already in use.
And most recently, following the attendance of a Microbiology training course at the University of Hertfordshire, Biology teacher Miss Lee and our Biology Technician, Mrs Bates, brought to my attention a desire to purchase a class set of two sizes of micro-pipettes (seen frequently on news footage at the moment). Originally thought to be too expensive, after working hard to find the best solution we managed to secure a price for the two sets that allowed us to apply to EdufundUK’s Small STEM Award.
Receiving a prompt decision from EdufundUK, this equipment has already been purchased, excitedly unpacked and is in full use through a range of year groups. Comments from members of staff with scientific backgrounds – that they had not seen let alone been able to use such equipment until they were at work – make us appreciate just how lucky we are to receive such support and the ability to provide our students with real laboratory skills.
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Presdales School
Hoe Lane
Ware
Hertfordshire
SG12 9NX
Tel: 01920 462210
admin@presdales.herts.sch.uk