Simon Balle School

Have a listen to music from one of those concerts:
 

On Monday 31 March many of the Y12 and Y13 Art and Photography students took advantage of the trip organised for them to visit a couple of London galleries.

At  Tate Modern many students soaked up the Richard Hamilton exhibition.  With much of his work being of mixed media, there proved to be something for both the art and photography students.  Many found this exhibition rich with ideas which could inspire their own individual projects.

After lunch on the Southbank, the party set off for the National Portrait Gallery.  Here there was the opportunity (taken up by many) to visit the David Bailey exhibition.  An iconic photographer, this really was a wonderful chance to take in a large body of his work.

It really was a very successful, enjoyable and worthwhile trip!

Rock School took over Hertford’s Corn Exchange on Tuesday night for their termly gig. It was great to see some performers make their stage debut while a number of old faces appeared in new bands. There was so much energy and enthusiasm from both the bands and the audience, creating a fantastic atmosphere. Highlights included a FAB set from Tracy Island and a great first appearance from Sandwich Bag. Headline band Phaser Whale closed the gig with a set of original songs including guest vocals from Will Crane plus a tribute to Katy Perry! Well done to all the bands who are so supportive of each other, this is really helping their stagecraft to develop alongside their musicianship. A brilliant night!

We have received the new canteen menus which will start on the first day back after the Easter break.  You can find all the information on the school website http://www.simonballe.herts.sch.uk/canteen/ 

On Wednesday 23rd April the canteen will be offering a special, Elizabethan-themed menu to celebrate William Shakespeare’s birthday Elizabethan Menu April 2014

You can also find further information on the Hertfordshire Catering website http://hertscatering.co.uk/  –  on this site students are also able to ‘grade’ their meals.

We hope to be able to give live updates form the Y11 County Cup final against Queen’s School, Bushey from the county ground in Letchworth.

Good Luck boys!

Library Correspondent Oliver reports:

‘Two former students visited Simon Balle to give a lecture about their life at University. Jane Cameron (Leeds University) and George Cameron (Cambridge University) came into the Library on Friday 28^th March and talked to a large audience about their chosen Universities. Jane talked about her passion for Animal Science whilst George talked about his passion, Molecular Science. Both students talked with pride as they explained and answered questions about Science, and they gave a thorough insight into what GCSE’s and A- Levels are needed to get certain Science Degrees and Diplomas. We send our best wishes to them both and as a School we hope that they prevail at University and become what they hope to be in future years’.

Well done to Y7 on raising  £1,982 for the sponsored reading event ‘Readathon’ last month. This is a tremendous achievement, particularly in these difficult economic times, and reflects all the hard work of the students and the support of parents. Thank you to everyone who raised money, which goes to support two charities; CLIC Sargent, which works with children and young people with cancer, and Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity, which helps seriously ill and disabled children.

It was a great collective effort, with many students raising tens of pounds, but the following students and form merit an especial mention:  Grace Davis: £146, Jessica Martin: £80, Kallie Batchelor: £65, Maisie Hummerston: £60, Millie Shanley: £55, Emma-Jayne Belsey: £50 and 7DAB: £666

On Friday 28th March Y7/8 combined and Y9 girls rugby teams played in the Herts Girls Rugby Festival. For the Y7 /8 team this was their 2nd time playing rugby and the Y9′s played in their first ever match. The girls played well and represented the school brilliantly.

The Y7 /8 team really improved throughout the tournament with a some close games and a great win against Edwinstree. The Y9′s had a tough group but after a hard first game against St Mary’s they then went on to win convincingly against Roundwood Park School. The girls then went into the semi final playoff’s for the Shield trophy where they just missed out on a place in the final losing in extra time.

The girls were a credit to the school and the effort and time they put into their training was brilliant. Well done to all the girls.