| Michaelmas 2009 Newsletter |
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At the point of collating information for this term’s newsletter, there are exactly two weeks to go until Christmas Day……incredible. This term has simply flown by and due to the ongoing, never ending selection of trips, visits and whole school events, there has literally been very little time to pause for breath. A rather grumpy Canon from South London, name not to be mentioned, recently published a cynical address, questioning the commercial side of Christmas and other negative features. Come hither to St. Christopher’s I beseech you. Regain your enthusiasm for the festive period and smile!! If the aforementioned Canon had witnessed our Harvest Festival (led by Steve Palmer) or any one of our numerous nativity plays including the Year 2, combined Reception & Yr. 1, as well as two offerings from Kindergarten, his faith may have been re-kindled. As always, the shows entertained, enthralled, captivated and amused the parent body in attendance. From Year. 2’s ‘Star Attraction’ to Reception/Year 1’s ‘Mother Christmas’, not forgetting Kindergarten’s ‘Whoops-a-Daisy Angel’, each presentation was highly enjoyable and well presented. A huge thank you to Lower School and Kindergarten staff, including classroom assistants, Miss Hamill and Mrs. O’Mahony. With so many productions, the Music & Drama Department has had a particularly busy time with children being prepared for examinations, performances in assembly and rehearsals for the Carol Service. Children from Year 6 who are in the choir sang carols to the residents of Abbeyfield Lodge and on talkSPORT radio during December. The whole choir, now numbering 75 keen children, sang carols outside the local Sainsbury Supermarket to raise money for The Eyeless Trust. We have welcomed two new music teachers onto the staff, namely Mrs. Lovett (oboe and piano) and Mrs. Stone (singing) and the two music rooms are rarely empty. Our piano teachers (Ms. Bailey & Mrs. Lovett), together with their pupils, are delighted with the ‘new’ teaching piano which has recently been purchased. With two concerts at school, one at St. Mary’s Shortlands, and a trip to the Albert Hall next term for the choir, there is still a great deal to look forward to. A big thank you to Mr Mobbs. One of the first trips this term was the Year 4 trip to the Science Museum. In the morning, the children visited the Wallace & Gromit exhibition with an opportunity to see the actual models used in the film and make their own. Before lunch there was a presentation on structures and forces, including advice on how to sit on a chair of nails !!! “Carefully” is my retort. Next, Miss Arnott was transformed into a human sandwich. Fortunately the Year 4’s had been instructed to bring packed lunch so Miss Arnott was safe! Following lots of investigations in the ‘launch pad’ area, the Year 4 party returned to school full of new ideas and extremely tired. Thank you to Miss Arnott and Mrs. Bradley for a very exciting trip. The day after their very successful nativity play, the Year 2 children went off to London Zoo. They had a fun filled day meeting Mary, the shepherds, the wise men and Father Christmas. Meanwhile, as part of the science curriculum, the Reception classes walked to Kelsey Park to explore their ‘senses’. They collected evidence to bring back to school on a story stick, which later helped them remember when they recorded their morning in the park. Thank you to the parents who accompanied the children that day and well done Reception for your excellent behaviour. On the sports’ front, congratulations to the Prep School girls, Mrs. Styles and Mrs. Mitchell on another tremendous netball season, playing 30 matches, winning 24, drawing 5 and only losing 1, that being a narrow 2-1 ‘B’ Team loss to Bromley High. Year 6 ‘A’ team have maintained their 3 year old ‘unbeaten in matches’ record. The highlights of the season were finishing 2nd out of 10 schools in the St. Christopher’s Tournament and defeating Bromley High ‘A’ Team. Year 5 were unfortunate in that their tournament, plus two of their matches were cancelled due to bad weather. Nevertheless, the few matches they had all resulted in wins or draws. Year 4 started their matches after half term with the ‘A’ team defeating Alleyn’s, JAPS, Breaside, Farringtons and St. Dunstan’s. Year 3 show much promise for the future and their first match against Breaside resulted in a win for St. Christopher’s. It has been encouraging to note the success of the ‘B’ Teams. All girls in Year 5 & 6 have been included in all matches and their victories, often against much larger schools, are a testament to their hard work and enthusiasm. The rugby teams had a mixed but very productive and competitive season. The Year 3’s presently playing tag, as prescribed by the R.F.U., proved to be unbeatable claiming victories against Breaside & Bickley Park. Already, the squad has been introduced to contact rugby and responded magnificently. Ones to watch – James McGruer, Henry & Finley Davis, Francis Talbot and Herb Macpherson. Look out U9 teams next season! With a small U9 squad, the season was never going to reap too many victories. However, the boys responded well to all new challenges set with outstanding contributions from William Warnock, James Eaton, Oliver Armstrong, James Peduzzi, Jack Cernoch & Timothy Atack. I suspect several of these names may feature in the 1st teams next year. The U10’s were undoubtedly the standout team of the season, combining speed and power with aggression and good team play. The highlight of a very successful term was victory at the DCPS tournament winning the plate at the expense of Dulwich, Colet Court and hosts DCPS. It is unfair to single out anyone as the whole team was fantastic. Finally, the 1sts fought hard to establish consistency throughout the term. When tackling, rucking and mauling, combined with aggression, the U11’s proved to be a major force beating Merton Court, Breaside and Harenc on their travels and giving Trinity an almighty scare! Well done to Captain, Jake Hutchings, who led by example throughout the season and outstanding ongoing performances from Tom Buckle and, when recovered from injury, Sam Dore. Well done to all the boys who greatly improved throughout the term. A big thank you to Mr. Myatt, technical advisor Mr. Buckle and conditioning coach Mr. Hutchings. X country inter house results 1st Blyton 2nd Campbell 3rd Hillary 4th Johnson Rugby 1st Blyton 2nd Johnson 3rd Hillary 4th Campbell Chess success has also been prominent this term. The 1st leg of the Champions League for Schools Tournament was held at Catford on 14th November. The players who represented the school at the event, in board order, were Thomas Martin (captain), Matthew Martin, Jai Hirani and Amy Tullis. All played very well with the team finishing in 7th place but in the overall standings we are now in 4th place with an excellent chance of qualifying for the finals. In the Individual Schools Challenge Event, Andrew Martin finished runner-up and Charles Presland finished in 8th place. Well done to all of the above who received medals for their efforts. The School Chess Championship was won by Thomas Martin with James Eaton runner-up. Both will receive an engraved trophy in due course. The Year 5 Champion is Matthew Martin and the Year 3 Champion William Ashcroft. The Champion girl player is Amy Tullis who just edged out Olivia Tikare in the last round. The Most Improved Player Certificate for this term is awarded jointly to William Ashcroft, Jai Hirani, Thomas Langford, Gabriel Rahman, Alex Smith and Michael White. Thanks to Kevin Bailey (coach) for all his hard work this term. As always, The St. Christopher’s Association has worked tirelessly throughout the term, headed by Lisa Conway and her loyal team. Highlights included a Shopping Evening, Wine Tasting event, a Casino Night and an extremely successful Christmas Fair. A huge thanks to the aforementioned and all the parents who have given up their time to support the various events this term. Meanwhile, the House Shield for the most house points gained throughout the term goes to:- 1st Campbell 13128 2nd Blyton 12471 3rd Hillary 12397 4th Johnson 12329 This just leaves me to wish you all a very merry Xmas and Happy New Year. |
