Senior School Newsletter Friday 17 January 2020
PSFA MAY BALL - TICKETS NOW ON SALE
‘A Night on the Orient Express’ May Ball is being held on Saturday 9 May 2020 and bookings are now open! Tickets are £65 each, and are excellent value for what promises to be a fantastic night, including reception drink and canapés, formal 4 course meal with coffee, live music, live and silent auction, and as always, some surprises on the night! The event is supporting another fantastic charity this year, Blue Skye Thinking (you can find out more about them here: www.blueskyethinking.org), as well as raising funds for PSFA to support projects within the school. If you would like to book a table or tickets (we can do tables of any number between 8-12) please email Heidi Fowler at psfa@sibfordschool.co.uk. In previous years tickets have sold out so do book early to avoid disappointment.
FAREWELL TO FRANCES AND HELLO TO LIZ Last week we sadly bid farewell to our Librarian Frances. Much loved by both staff and students, Frances says 'I'm only leaving to have more time to play!' Frances plans to travel with her husband in their campervan and make more time for her hobbies of textiles and walking. However, as we say goodbye to Frances, we are delighted to welcome Liz, our new Librarian to the Sibford School team.
SFL LEARNER OF THE WEEK Emily, Year 8, is this weeks SfL learner of the week. She has been nominated for her excellent work since returning after Christmas and is a pleasure to have in the classroom. Well done Emily, fantastic work!
LES MIS TICKETS SELLING FAST! Tickets for the Sibford School production of Les Misérables School Edition are now on sale and selling well.
Performances take place at 7pm on March 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th. You can purchase tickets online via this link for the price of £8 + booking fee: http://bit.ly/SibfordLesMis. Alternatively, tickets are now on sale via main reception for the price of £8. We can accept cash or cheques made payable to Sibford School.
A NOTE FROM THE SIBFORD SCHOOL ARCHIVIST In 2013, I retired from full-time teaching, having spent the previous 32 years on the staff at Sibford School. In Summer 2019, I was appointed by Toby Spence to take on the role of official School Archivist. Since that time, I have been busy continuing the work which Wendy Finch and Di Howes had started creating a comprehensive computerised catalogue of the school archive, building on the extraordinary amount of work put in by Mike Finch over many years. My task is to gather contemporary items which will extend the archive into the 2020s, saving and recording anything which might be of value or interest to future generations of Sibfordians. At the same time, I intend to make the archive more accessible to staff, students, old scholars or anyone who has an interest in the history of the school. Whilst I am making this the principal thrust of my work, a member of the Sibford Old Scholars Association will be responsible for gathering material from the annual SOSA gatherings, including the reunion and the committee meetings. This will continue to form an important resource which will be stored in the SOSA section of the archive. My long-term plan is to make the archive a digital collection, but in the meantime, I am creating hard copies of any photograph or document as they are requested, in order to make items available without risking damage to, or loss of, valuable and irreplaceable items. Please let me know if there is anything you would like to know, or if you would like to donate something to the archive. Â I can be contacted on archivist@sibfordschool.co.uk. Mike Spring Sibford School Archivist
THE SIBFORD BOARDING BULLETIN! We are back in the full swing of things now in the boarding houses and it has been lovely to see such a positive and energised student body in the new year. Our first weekend trip of the year saw the boarders attend a competitive ice hockey match in Milton Keynes, which ended in a 4 - 3 win against Sheffield Steeldogs. The students loved the atmosphere of the game, alongside the opportunity to do some January shopping in the centre beforehand.
This week has seen the start of our first three-week activity programme of the new year. In our interior design club on Monday evening, V Macaulay led the students in marking out and designing ideas for the decoration of the Penn House common room – the students loved the opportunity to leave their own mark on their living space and are looking forward to getting their hands on some paints next week. On Tuesday evening, the boarders attended a yoga session for some welcome exercise, relaxation and mindfulness at the end of the school day. Wednesday evening saw the boarders attend a fun swim session in our own swimming pool and on Thursday evening they loved the chance to get creative in our new pottery classes for boarders. The older boarders also returned to the climbing wall on Thursday to continue to challenge themselves on top of the skills they learnt last term. There are still a limited number of places available in these classes, so please do get in touch if you are interested in getting involved as an occasional boarder. We were also lucky enough to have two former students visit last week and share their advice on university applications before the UCAS deadline. With a large number of students receiving university offers already, we look forward to supporting them in their work to achieve these dreams in the term ahead.