Dear ParentsI hope you have all had a very happy Christmas and I wish you a prosperous and peaceful New Year.

WELCOME BACK

JANUARY 2015

HEADMASTER’S LETTER

T0 PARENTSCHIGWELL SCHOOL

Contents

Page 1 Battlefields

Page 2 CalendarsTarget 2.0Social NetworkingPhysics OlympiadStaff News

Page 3 Choir

Page 4 Bad Weather

BattlefieldsShortly before Christmas, fifty Remove

students travelled to Ypres Salient in

Belgium where they had a tour of the

battlefields. The tour started with the

students watching a recruiting sergeant

at work, Serena Cooper being the

volunteer who joined up. From there the

students were given a trench meal which

consisted of a vegetable broth and a

sausage, before they moved on to the

trenches. Later, they went to the

Passchendaele Museum, where they

furthered their understanding of what it

may have been like to fight on the

Western Front during the First World

War. The group attended the nightly

remembrance service at the Menin Gate

where they laid a wreath on behalf of

Chigwell School.

The following day the students made a

more specific pilgrimage as they went to

the grave of 22 year old Captain Harold

Frank Barclay Turner OC. Venetia Bailey

read out the work that she, Tess Kelly

and Jasvinder Digwa had produced about

his life at Chigwell School and his career

in the army, which was left in a frame on

his grave for others to read. I understand

that the students were a credit to

Chigwell School throughout the visit.

1

CalendarsAs previously, calendars will be

distributed via Houses and there will be

spare copies at Reception in case you

need one. Please do encourage your sons

and daughters to participate in the many

extra-curricular activities that are on offer

including, for example, the lectures

through the Williams Project. There are a

great many opportunities available to

pupils at Chigwell and I hope that all feel

fully involved.

2

Target 2.0Four Chigwell students, Hugo Blogg, Conor

Caplan, Quentin Wu, and Margaret Oki

competed in the Bank of England Target

2.0 regional finals at the end of last term.

The team researched, prepared and

delivered an excellent presentation to

three Bank of England economists and a

large audience, before facing a barrage of

questions from the judges. The team were

praised for delivering a confident and

professional presentation, and for showing

a sophisticated understanding of the U.K.

economy. They were awarded third place.

Social NetworkingPlease could all parents continue to

remind their children to be aware of the

dangers if they use social networking

sites. Many parents sensibly befriend or

follow their children on these sites so that

they can be aware of the information that

is being shared.

Physics OlympiadCongratulations to Bianca Andrei who

gained a top gold award in the first round

of the Physics Olympiad Competition

which is designed to stretch and

challenge the top A level physicists across

the country. Bianca’s result places her in

the top fifty of the eighteen hundred

entrants and she will be invited to

participate in the next round of the

competition. Ultimately, a small team

will be chosen to represent the country in

the International Physics Olympiad

Competition in Mumbai.

Staff NewsWe welcome two new members of staff

this term. Miss Jamie Kershberg joins the

Junior School as a maternity cover

teacher. Also, we welcome back Mr

Sanjaye Gobin who will be teaching part-

time in the chemistry department. We

hope they will both be very happy here.

Bad WeatherAs usual, in the event of heavy snow or

ice please consult the school website

(www.chigwell-school.org) for confirmation

of arrangements for the school day. We

would always be very reluctant to close

the School, but are mindful of the safety

of pupils and staff.

3

ChoirShortly after the end of term, the Chapel

Choir led an excellent concert at Christ

Church, Spitalfields. So far, the event has

raised some £13k for the charities Kids

Inspire and Smiles With Grace. Thank you

to all families who supported this occasion

and the pupils and staff who worked so

hard to make it such a success. Christ

Church, Spitalfields, will be the venue for

this term’s choral concert on Saturday 14th

March. If parents would like to sing in this,

they should contact Mr Howard Ebden who

will provide details.

We have recently heard that the choir has

been selected to perform at the Rotary

Youth Makes Music Concert in the Royal

Festival Hall later this term.

As always, the coming weeks are likely

to be very busy and I look forward to

seeing you at some of the many events

that will be taking place.

With best wishes

Yours sincerely

Michael Punt

Term Dates

Half term: Saturday 14th February to Sunday 22nd FebruaryTerm ends: Friday 27th March

2015 Trinity TermFirst day: Monday 20th AprilHalf term: Saturday 23rd May to Sunday 31st May (INSET day Monday 1st June)Term ends: Wednesday 8th July 2015 Michaelmas TermFirst day: Thursday 3rd SeptemberHalf term: Saturday 17th October to Sunday 1st NovemberTerm ends: Wednesday 16th December