Year 7 House Competition

On Thursday 17th October Year 7 took part in their first House Competition. Over 3 mini competitions, students worked in their houses to overcome a variety of challenges against their peers. They started in English where they worked together to create gods, before trying to persuade ‘Zeus’ to take them on to Mount Olympus. Next, the students had to work together to build a paper tower and suspend a chocolate bar above the ground. After lunch, students took part in a mass ‘Nuk’em tournament down in PE. Points were awarded for each mini competition and winners were announced in assembly this week. The students had a fantastic time, making new friends and working together in their houses in a friendly competitive environment.

Next half term, Year 8 will be taking part in a similar event, details to follow…

Well Done Year 7!

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Harvest 2024

Thank you to all members of the St. Mary’s community who have contributed to the harvest collection. The vital food has gone off to the Broxbourne Food Bank where it will be used to support families within the local community. The Food Bank team were extremely grateful for our contributions.

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World Mental Health Day

To raise awareness of World Mental Health Day on 10th October, St Mary’s encouraged students to visit ‘The Sandbox’, which is a free interactive digital service for children and young people. The Sandbox offers a wealth of support for emotional mental health and wellbeing especially directed towards children and young people. This includes information, local services, resources, livestreaming and therapy, both group and 1-1. On World Mental Health Day, they held a livestream event, where young people could directly ask a therapist any question about mental health, while playing the game ‘Animal Crossing’. These are popular events and to find out more about any future events, go to https://thesandbox.mindler.co.uk/

Also, during this day another celebrated visit by Godfrey, the Therapy Dog, was arranged.  These visits too, are always successful and well attended. Therapy Dogs Nationwide, are a national charity where volunteers bring their own dogs to various establishments to provide comfort, distraction, and stimulation. These volunteers have the unique privilege of working with their temperament-tested therapy dogs. Studies have extensively documented the benefits of Animal Assisted Therapies, which include improvements in general health and wellbeing, increased confidence levels, and enhanced communication skills. Therapy Dogs Nationwide is becoming increasingly involved in stress-relief and general wellbeing initiatives within large corporations through one-off visits.

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Choir Leads Harvest Festival at St Albans Cathedral

On Tuesday 8th and Wednesday 9th October, our school choir, together with students from Holy Trinity CE Primary and Dewhurst St Mary CE Primary, had the incredible opportunity to lead the Harvest Festival worship services at St Albans Cathedral for the Diocese of St Albans.  Accompanied by Miss King and Mr Crosby, the students were thrilled to perform alongside a live band of professional musicians, making the experience even more special.

Throughout the three services, the choirs led the congregation in singing a variety of hymns, including the powerful “How Great Thou Art” and the lively “You Shall Go Out With Joy.” The latter was such a hit that the students kept the energy going by singing it on repeat all the way home on the coach!

Performing in such a magnificent venue was truly unforgettable, and we are incredibly proud of everyone involved.

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Pasta Making

“Life is a combination of magic and pasta”~Federico and Fellini

Year 12 students having a go at making fresh pasta. They then filled and shaped them. Well done girls! Very good first attempt!

 

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MacMillan Coffee Morning

On Friday 20th September St Mary’s held it’s MacMillan coffee morning. School staff came together to raise money for a truly worth while charity, by baking and buying lots of cake! As a staff we raised £105. Thank you for everyone who popped down to donate.

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Geography students review their learning

Geography students have reviewed their learning for the first few weeks of term and produced some amazing pieces in a variety of formats. We are very proud of the way students have embraced their learning and are focusing on moving their learning to their long term memory.

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Futures Day for Year 11 at St Mary’s

This week, our Year 11 students had an inspiring ‘Futures Day’ packed with opportunities to explore their next steps. They kicked off with a keynote from Jeremy at @MaximizeYP, focusing on exam and revision techniques, preparing them for the January PPEs. They then heard from Mrs Mathews, our Director of Sixth Form, who gave a detailed presentation on what life in sixth form is like, highlighting the variety of subjects and enrichment opportunities available. The University of Hertfordshire followed up with an insightful talk on what university life entails, from the academic challenges to the social and personal development it offers. Alongside this, students engaged in careers lessons and a decision-making session to help them shape their post-16 and 18 choices with confidence!

 

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Geographers explore regeneration in Stratford

On the 27th September Year 11 Geography students conducted their human geography fieldwork in east London. Here students investigated how quality of life varied across three sites. Students carried out an environmental quality survey, fieldwork sketches, questionnaire and traffic survey. Although the weather was wet, students showed exemplary behaviour and were a credit to the school. In lessons, students will use the data collected to present their data, analyse results, draw conclusions and evaluate methodologies.

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Geographers go to Epping Forest 27th Sept 

Despite the heavy rain first thing in the morning the intrepid Year 11 geographers set off for the field studies centre in High Beech, Epping Forest.

The purpose of the day was to show students how river characteristics change as you move down stream. It was a chance for students to get very ‘hands on’ with the geography of rivers. We spent a few hours in the morning devising hypotheses that we were going to investigate in the afternoon. After lunch we set off for Loughton Brook, you won’t be surprised but it was the most water I have ever seen in that river (and I’ve been going for many, many years!). Students then spent several hours wading in streams, measuring width, depth and velocity. They will use this data to test out their hypotheses in the classroom.

All of the students worked hard and were focused. It was a pleasure to be with them and they were a credit to St Mary’s.

Miss Douglas

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