Friday 26th September
Co-headteachers’ welcome
Our Simon Balle All-through Open Day is, quite simply, an absolute highlight of the year. Not only is it a wonderful opportunity for us to be able to share what is so special and distinctive about Simon Balle for prospective families looking to begin with us in either Reception or Year 7, but also a great day to feel collective pride in our community as a whole. Saturday was a day in which we saw so, so many students giving back to our community. Whether in classrooms representing departments, in the sports hall or on the astro, playing music at multiple places around the site, or simply helping prepare the site on Friday, we value every contribution made. Our tour guides – both in the Larch and the secondary phase – demonstrated so brilliantly what Simon Balle can offer, academically and within our curriculum, and in our wide-ranging enrichment offer from clubs to trips and more. Parental feedback about our tour guides was so positive, both as families left site and through many emails received today: we heard, time and again, that students are proud to belong to Simon Balle, that they model our values in their interactions with all, and that they, quite literally, ‘sell’ the school in the way they describe their experiences. There were genuine tears from parents on Saturday as they would love their child to join us here. One parent said,
“Visiting today truly brought your school values to life – our student guide was confident, respectful, and clearly proud to be part of such a warm and inspiring community. We left feeling extremely excited about the future here.”
And so, a real moment for all of us so committed to Simon Balle – students, parents, staff, governors and trustees – to feel proud and to build from here as the year proceeds. A huge thank you to everyone. Our ‘open’ events continue with sixth form open evening on Wednesday 8th October and secondary and Larch tours to follow.
Our home/school partnership, for every year group from Reception – Year 13, is so important at this early stage of the year. We thank you for engaging with us, in attending information evenings across so many year groups, where we aim, as ever, to ensure a clarity of information and a warm welcome. Slides are always subsequently shared, so please do not hesitate to be in touch with us with any questions at all (initially through class teacher or form tutor email addresses). Please remember that now is the perfect time to build great habits for the term and year ahead: whether this be the daily reading expectations which can be nurtured and celebrated or the organisational expectations for using google classroom to check and complete home learning, we thank you for supporting our students to thrive. In older year groups we are proud to see that investment and commitment to learning on a daily basis – with independent work and revision always celebrated here.
Finally for this newsletter introduction, we simply had to mention enrichment, as it has been quite some start to the year! As students begin Year 7, they have attended a ‘University Fresher’s Fair’ style event, where they see for themselves the huge range of clubs and opportunities on offer. They have signed up with excitement, making friends, and discovering passions. Time and again, we continue to see the spark of curiosity ignited in these moments. Across year groups, across the all-through, a learning walk before school, at lunchtime and after school shows every department showcasing opportunities and students engaging and benefiting from all on offer. There are just too many to mention individually but every department in every phase is connecting with our young people and inviting them to join – we know that when students belong, they will demonstrate happiness, excellent attendance and thrive. Please do ask your children this weekend what clubs they are committing to, and encourage them to sign up if they have not already. We are here to ensure that 100% of our community is receiving an enriched curriculum offer, one which we have been proud to celebrate with all this fortnight.
Sixth Form Open Evening – Wednesday 8th October
We are delighted to invite all Year 11 students and their families to our Sixth Form Open Evening on Wednesday 8th October, from 5.30pm – 7.30pm.
This important evening is an opportunity to:
- Explore the wide range of subjects available in our Sixth Form.
- Meet teachers and current Sixth Form students.
- Hear about the ethos, opportunities, and successes of Simon Balle Sixth Form.
There will be two main presentations in the Hall, at 5.45pm and 6.45pm, giving families the chance to choose a time that suits them.
Further details about life in the Sixth Form can also be found on the Sixth Form section of the school website: Sixth Form at Simon Balle.
Please click here for our latest Careers Opportunities blog, which includes:
- STEM Careers Events for Students
SEND
If you would like to speak to a member of the SEND team, you can book a virtual appointment of up to 15 minutes with a member of the SEND team, using the following Booking link.The DSPL3 Newsletter for Parents – Autumn 1.pdf has details about courses and coffee morning organised by DSPL3.
Click here to read about Spark Squad: Sparksquadflyer
Click below to read about free autumn term parenting groups:
Science, Chemistry
Outstanding Success in National Cambridge Chemistry Challenge
The Science Department is proud to announce that several of our students have earned awards in a prestigious national Chemistry competition designed to stretch and inspire the most enthusiastic young scientists.
Set by a team of experienced teachers and university chemists, the competition is aimed at Year 12 students and takes them significantly beyond the A-level syllabus. It encourages participants to think about Chemistry in the way they would at university: analytically, creatively, and with a deep curiosity.
This year, the competition was particularly demanding, with only 9.8% of entries achieving a Gold award, 22.4% earning Silver, and 28% receiving Bronze. We are therefore especially proud of our students for performing so strongly on a national scale.
We would like to congratulate the following students on their fantastic achievements:
- Soham D – Gold
- Finley H – Silver
- Isabel W – Silver
- Isla N-S – Copper
- Charlie H – Copper
Well done to all who took part, you have demonstrated exceptional talent, commitment, and a real passion for science.
Parents and Carers Connections and Key Dates
It has been fantastic to see so many of you attending the various information, connection, and curriculum evenings during the first few weeks of term. Building strong connections and working in partnership with you is something we are especially proud of.
To support this collaboration, we have planned a range of sessions throughout the year, which will be delivered both internally and externally. We will share individual sign-up details closer to each event, but we wanted to give you advance notice of the key dates so you can plan ahead.
Autumn Term
- Supporting links
- Online delivery ‘Managing difficult conversations’ KS3
- Monday 20th October 7.15pm to 8.15pm.
- Building healthy relationships
- Mr Brown delivering Connections
- KS2 Monday 24th November 9-10am
- MHST Coffee mornings
- Focus on Anxiety and Mental Health (Primary) TBC
Spring Term
- Building healthy relationships
- Mr Brown delivering Connections
- Y6,7&8
- 26th Jan (Hall)
- Supporting links
- Face to Face delivery ‘Understanding ASD / ADDD’
- Monday 2nd March 7pm to 9.30pm
- Building healthy – relationships
- Mr Brown delivering Y9,10,11
- 9th March (Hall)
Summer Term
- Supporting links
- Face to Face delivery ‘Understanding the Teenage brain
- Monday 18th May 7pm to 9.30pm
- Building healthy relationships
- Mr Brown delivering All through
- 29th June (Hall)
Involve – new tool for booking student consultation evening appointments
Families that have been with us for some time will be aware that we have experimented with a number of online platforms over the years. There is a continual need to balance user-friendliness and effectiveness with the financial cost of the services offered. Involve, the system currently used by the Music department for parents and students to keep track of performances and instrumental lessons will soon be expanded to include PE department fixtures and clubs. Involve will also be used for booking appointment slots for student consultation evenings. Those of you who have not used Involve for either Music or PE will receive login details and instructions ahead of the student consultation evening for your year group (you will log in with the same email address you currently use for logging into Arbor).
Hertford, Ware & District Foodbank
We will be partnering with Hertford, ware & District Foodbank to support their Harvest Festival Appeal. The wishlist is attached below.
The number of people facing crisis within our local community is still high. During the last year, the Hertford, Ware & District Foodbank provided over 3110 emergency food parcels to people who couldn’t afford the essentials, over 1100 of these went to children.
If you are able to donate any of the items on the list, there will be collection points at the main reception desk (Elm Sports Centre), the Student Services area (secondary) and the Larch office.
Poetry Workshop – Hertford Library
Please see the attached flyer from Hertford Library
936 (Hertford & Ware) Air Cadets – Open Evening
Aged 12 – 17, in at least year 8? Interested in adventure, flying, and making new friends? Come along to our Open Evening on Monday 30th September, 19:30hrs at 936 Squadron HQ.
You’ll hear a short presentation, meet our cadets, and see what we get up to – from flying, shooting and fieldcraft to sports, DofE, camps, leadership, and more.
Come and find out what life as an Royal Air Force Air Cadet is really like – we’d love to see you there!
Dates for your diary
A full calendar of events can be viewed on the school website.
- Thurs 2nd – Fri 3rd Oct: Y9 Battlefields trip (ABL)
- Sat 4th Oct: Circus
- Tues 7th Oct: Y13 Geography trip information meeting (1800-1830)
- Wed 8th Oct: Sixth Form Open Evening (1730-1930)
- Thurs 9th – Fri 10th Oct: Y9 Battlefields trip (MNR)
- Mon 13th Oct: Larch Harvest Festival
- Mon 13th-Tues 14th Oct: Y13 English trip
- Tues 14th and Wed 15th Oct: Larch student consultation evening (face to face)
- Wed 15th Oct: Y10 student consultation evening (virtual – booking via Involve, details to follow)
Wishing you all the best for the week ahead
Mrs Rachel Kirk and Mr Michael Moss (Co-headteachers)
