Newsletters

Dear parents

The place of reading in a modern future-focused education is often debated, often with a wringing of hands over the modern generation’s propensity to consume information in ever-decreasing bitesize chunks.  As we have just come to the end of the Foundation ‘reading week’, it is timely to consider what reading means for the post-Twitter generation.

And Twitter is a good place to start.  When we took the Year 7 students away on their residential trip to Lee Valley, this seemed (for at least some parents) to be a good way for them to be given updates about the activities that their children were doing.  Good for sharing photos then, but how has Twitter, and social media, changed the way our students read? We may live in the world of the sound-bite, but behind the 140 characters there are often links to more in-depth articles and blogs that offer valuable insights into the world in which we live. It is true that these are unedited and lacking quality control, but this enables students to develop skills of discernment and a critical eye that we never had growing up in an age of one newspaper and 3 TV channels.

How many ways did our students embrace reading during the last week?  I’m sure a great number read a fiction paperback for pleasure (and this is undeniably good!) but did they also consume via newspapers, blogs, audiobooks, and the like? Reading can give us space and time away from screens and the modern world, but the new ways that we can now read also give us access to material and viewpoints that we could not have imagined 20 years ago.  In a multimedia world, I am convinced that the process of reading is more important than ever, but we should be cognisant that there are ever more ways of accessing this. Rather than viewing this as a problem, I believe we should see the opportunity for us to help our young people to develop the skills of critical analysis necessary to consume media in the digital age.

With half term on its way, the hope is that this week will give some momentum that will ride into the holiday and our students will become engrossed in their current book.  There will also be the opportunity to read whilst travelling on one of the school trips that are going out at what is arguably the busiest time of year for our expeditions team.  We hope that the trips to Berlin, Beijing and Italy are all successes and our students develop culturally both once they are in country, but also en route.

We look forward after half term to continuing to encourage reading at all levels and are happy to be able to announce that, in the second half of term, we have an author visit from comedian Ben Miller who will be giving an Inspire and Guide talk to our students outlining his journey from completing a PhD in physics to becoming a household name in entertainment. Many of our students enjoy both comedy and physics, so I hope this is a talk they will gain much from.

Warm wishes for a restful half-term,

David Walker, Head of Senior School

Sports Roundup

Congratulations to Molly Challis, Abbey Holdstock and Sirisha Gorantla who trialled successfully for the Cambridgeshire girls’ U13 Cricket County Squad.

We have had an action packed couple of weeks of sport in the Senior School. Some fabulous results and some impressive performances.

The Cross Country team opened their account this year with some strong running at the ESSA Cup Round 1. It is a team event and fantastically the Inter girls and Junior boys have qualified for the next round. A special mention goes to Isaac Morris for crossing the line in first place and continuing to dominate the local scene.

The hockey fixtures are flowing well and the girls throughout the school are training and playing with determination. We played Bedford Girls at U12 and U13 level last Saturday and hosted King’s Ely at U14 and U15 level. The U12s and U15s showed their dominance, whilst the U13s and U14s finished second best. Probably the performance of the weekend came from the U13A team who narrowly lost to a notoriously strong Bedford Girls’ side 2-1.

The Year 8 girls’ hockey teams recently went on a mini tour and had a very enjoyable and informative time. Four teams played Bishops Stortford on Friday and New Hall School on Saturday before attending a National Premier League game between East Grinstead and Surbiton. There were a number of GB players on show and amazingly the girls were given the chance to have a question and answer session with 5 of them before the match. The players of the tour were then invited to be ball girls for the match and despite the torrential rain delivered a high quality service.

The Year 7 boys’ football team recently began their campaign in the National Cup. They hosted Greneway School from Royston in a real classic cup fixture. In the end they were beaten 3-2, but the spirit and tenacity on show from the team was fantastic and they will produce some good results in weeks to come.

Girls football is now well and truly on the agenda at Stephen Perse and the U13’s attended their first tournament of the year this week at Swavesey School. They played fantastically well winning three of their matches, which included beating the eventual winners! The girls really enjoyed the experience and are already looking forward to the next one.

Finally, we have recently been invited to attend the World Schools Netball Cup in Loughborough next year and have decided to enter two teams. With County Qualification beginning in earnest this week this is very exciting news indeed!

PFA Notices

Classlist

This app and website for parent communications was successfully trialled over the Summer for Yr 7 parents. In order for communications to be a success and that parents are kept updated of social events the PFA are running, you need to accept the Classlist invitation that was sent at the start of term, and add yourself to the list. Please can all parents respond to invitations asap so you don’t miss out on news and announcements. It is also a great way to stay connected to other parents in your child’s year group or class, and ask questions to other parents. Sign up today!

Spending PFA funds

The PFA are working with the School Councils across the Foundation to set up a process for pupils to nominate a project for PFA funds to be spent. More details will follow on Classlist.

PFA Christmas Puddings

The Stephen Perse Foundation PFA are delighted to be selling Christmas puddings again this year.

A competition is currently being held in Years 1-3 to design a personalised school label and once judged, this will be displayed on every pudding, alongside the school name.

Not only would these puddings be a delicious addition to your Christmas lunch, or a much appreciated gift for friends and family, they are organised through your Parents and Friends Association, and any profits made will go towards funding activities, events and equipment for pupils.

The number of puddings available is limited, so place your order as soon as possible, and final orders are before 23 November (if not sold out before). The pudding will be delivered to the school you select on your order.

Please go to Wisepay, tickets and events to order.

Arts Theatre pantomime tickets - reduced rate for SPF parents

A reminder to book your reduced-rate tickets for the pantomime at The Arts Theatre on 4 January - tickets and further information is available on Wisepay. The deadline for booking tickets is rapidly approaching, so please book asap!

Please go to Wisepay, tickets and events to order your Pantomime tickets.

The PFA Christmas Fair

***Save the date*** the PFA Christmas Fair will be on Saturday 1 December. Please make a note in your diary to come and support this popular event. More details will be published on Classlist.