Newsletters

Dear parents

Assemblies are an opportunity for our community to gather and reflect on important issues; they also serve as an opportunity for pupils to be inspired by both their peers and adults. In the last two weeks we have reflected on the very important messages prompted by the national anti-bullying week campaign and were delighted to see the children in a stunning array of odd socks. This initiative was designed to be a fun and memorable opportunity for the children to express themselves and celebrate their individuality, and their uniqueness was certainly evident! Last Friday we celebrated together an enormous range of achievements including certificates from the Primary Mathematics Challenge. We also heard from our team of mathematicians who entered the Young Mathematicians Competition in Chelmsford and who have now successfully qualified for the semi final to be held at Cambridge University. We shared in the success of the Junior Gold medalist at the British Schools Pistol Shooting East Region competition and we look forward to hearing about her experience at the National Finals in January. We were equally delighted to hear the report of the Cross Country team qualifying for the District Finals, and to see two karate belts being presented to a brother and sister who, despite their very young age, are already exhibiting the skills to achieve their orange and green belts.

This week in assembly we heard from Mr Harrison who shared with us his inspiring talk on his travels in Canada over the summer accompanied by some awe-inspiring images of breathtaking landscapes and some snaps of Mrs Harrison (I wonder if she knew she was to be famous?!). Mr Harrison, whose day job is as our new cover supervisor, encouraged us to think about how this country approaches sustainability. Following the assembly there was a great deal of thought-provoking discussion from the children around the approach to sustaining forests; where trees are felled by man or machine, four trees are planted to replenish, but where trees may become damaged and die as a consequence of natural phenomena (such as forest fires and insect infestation) there is no replacement as this is nature taking care of nature. Today we enjoyed the assembly from 3K and we welcomed into school Clara Dublanc and the parents and uncle of Oscar Murillo, the young Colombian who created Frequencies, a unique global art project. The project was introduced to Year 5 and 6 after assembly, and the canvases were then installed in a number of classrooms where the doodling promptly began!. There is definitely enthusiasm for being involved in such a large scale project and it will be interesting to see how the drawings develop.

As we approach the end of November inevitably our thoughts and our planning turn to our festive activities. The Early Years nativity rehearsals are well under way, and the excitement that surrounds the Christmas story is permeating the chatter of the children as they choose to choose to dress up and play as angels and Santa, and Christmas letters are busily being scripted in the writing areas. Miss Mulally and Senior Choir are embarking on further rehearsals in preparation of their choral performance at the ‘Spirit of Christmas’ at St Mary’s Church on Saturday 8 December. Please do reference the helpful Schoolpost issued by the office detailing the events over the coming weeks.

Tonight, however, I look forward to the PTA quiz night; whilst I am notoriously terrible at quizzes, I enjoy observing the enthusiasm and passion with which some of the teams throw themselves into the event. My thanks go in advance to the very brave quiz masters!

Kind regards

Tracy Handford

Head of Dame Bradbury's and Vice Principal, 3-11

Sports roundup

The girls have been busy over the last few weeks with numerous hockey fixtures. On Wednesday 14 November the U11A team played out a hard fought 0-0 draw away at Barnardiston whilst the U10A learnt a lot of valuable lessons losing 6-0.

On Tuesday 20 November the U9 A and B teams travelled to play the Junior School with both teams recording excellent draws. The A team game finished 1-1 and the B team game ended up 2-2.

Most recently this week the girls hockey U11A-D teams played away at Bishop’s Stortford College. The A team put in their best performance of the term to win 1-0 against strong opponents. Unfortunately the B, C and D teams all came away with defeats but the girls learnt a great deal and enjoyed the experience.

The U9 rugby boys had a tough afternoon against Felsted with both teams losing to the hosts in their matches. Improving our tackling is an ongoing target in both lessons and rugby club but the never say die attitude of the boys was to be commended.

The U11 rugby boys travelled to Moreton Hall to take part in a rugby quadrangular with Brooke’s Cambridge, Glebe House and the hosts. After some tough recent results, the boys played well and recorded two wins and a draw against the hosts to remain unbeaten during the afternoon.

The U10 boys travelled to Felsted for the second time this term and played in both contact and touch rugby matches. The contact team played in a well contested match which was a draw at half time but ended with the hosts winning, whilst the touch team came away with a good win.

A special mention must go to a few individuals from Year 6 who have recently been selected to train and compete at regional level. Rose has been selected for the Cambridgeshire U11 girls cricket squad whilst Megan and Alexandra have both been selected for the Essex U11 girls cricket squad. Oscar (Rose’s brother) has been selected as part of the Cambridgeshire U12 golf squad after performing excellently in recent competitions.

A particular success was Charlotte winning the Junior title at the East of England Schools Pistol Championships. Click here to read more about her remarkable achievement.

We are looking forward to our Y5 and 6 Parents v Pupils afternoon of sport on Friday 7 December. If you are a parent of pupil(s) in these year groups, are keen to get involved but have not yet responded to the email sent out last week please do so. It is a great afternoon of fun and slightly competitive sport. The pupils are looking for revenge after the Parents winning the cup last year!

Keep up to date with all the latest sports news by following us on Twitter @ DBS_Sport

Notices

PTA Christmas Fair

Save the date for the PTA Christmas Fair on Wednesday 12 December, 14.30 - 17.30.

Stephen Perse Christmas cards for sale!

Please support the 6th Form Charity Committee - all proceeds of these cards will benefit the British Heart Foundation. Artwork by 6th Form student Rebecca Sheng.

Cards are £5 for a pack of 8, 14.8cm square high quality matt card.

Cards are available for sale on WisePay. To buy in cash directly, please email rponek@gmail.com.

CCSS inspection report

As you know, Cambridge Centre for Sixth-form Studies (CCSS) has recently joined our family of schools, and we will now be able to offer boarding places to students across both CCSS and the 6th Form College. We are therefore delighted to share the news that CCSS have just been graded "excellent" in their ISI inspection report across both the achievements and the personal development of students, with inspectors praising both teaching and boarding. You can read more about that inspection on our website.

Sports Fanatics Christmas Camp (external)

17 to 21 December, 09.00 - 15.00

Open to all children from Reception to Year 6, Sports Fanatic Christmas Camp will be held at Dame Bradbury's during the week of 17 to 21 December. 

Reception sessions:

09.00 - 13.00 or 11.00 - 15.00
£18 per 4hr session, £80 for whole week (1 x 4hr session per day)

Year 1 to Year 6 sessions: 

£25 per day or £100 for whole week

Early drop off from 08.30 and late collection until 16.00 available, charged at £5 for every half hour

To book your child a place please email sportsfanaticsbookings@gmail.com stating which days your child would like to attend.