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Dame Alice Owen's SchoolThe Dame Alice Owen Foundation 1613 - 2013Trustee: The Worshipful Company of Brewers |
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Latest News Archive - Autumn Term 2011, Second HalfAdded w/c 19th December 2011
Congratulations and thanks to our Music Department, Instrumental Staff and students for culminating this term's work with more stunning performances from our Concert Band, Senior String Ensemble, Chamber Orchestra and Symphony Orchestra during this week's Senior Instrumental Concert. Standing ovations by parents and guests added a Stevie Wonder item from the Concert Band and the traditional Sleigh Ride from the Symphony Orchestra. Even musicians caught the Christmas spirit with tinsel adorning various instruments! The Overture 1812 by Tchaikovsky rose the roof as a glorious finale from the Symphony Orchestra. See labels on photos for details. The Music Department also thanked the Caretakers: Mr Turner, Mr Palmer and Mr Conte, the OSA (Owen's School Association) for interval refreshments, the technical crew, Mr Willcock and Mrs Robbins for the programme and all the backstage staff.
Added w/c 12th December 2011
The new School Admissions Code, which will affect admissions in September 2013, stipulates that schools must inform parents of the outcome of tests BEFORE parents submit their Local Authority CAF (Common Application Form). In view of this we have revised our admissions timetable and wanted to give parents early notification of new key dates for entry September 2013. Please see Admissions Information for details. Sheila Compton, our Librarian, would like to remind you to log on to your Amazon account via our library online catalogue link: http://daos.koha-ptfs.eu as we get points towards vouchers this way. This helps raise funds for our library! Also see
Students are reminded to purchase the £2 tickets from their Form Tutors this week, for what promises to be a highlight of the year. Proceeds will be going to our partner school in Tanzania. Tickets will be handed out by Form Tutors on Friday morning in Form Time. Last Week Dates: Added w/c 5th December 2011 Congratulations to Year 11 student, Nathan Potter, who will represent Great Britain this weekend at the European Fencing Confederation tournament that is being held in Goppingen, Germany.
Added w/c 28th November 2011 Dr Liz Goodwin will be speaking about "The importance of the efficient use of resources and reduction of waste" which is relevant to Year 9 and 10 curriculum. Students can bring their packed lunch - go to Lab 11 on Wednesday 7th December at 12.45pm. See Flyer below:
Senior Instrumental Concert - reminder about revised date - now Wednesday 14th December!
Congratulations to the Girls' PE Team for organising a fantastic display of talented gymnasts and dancers and for performing a dance sequence themselves, in front of a packed audience, two nights running! The Owen's Tech Crew did themselves proud, co-ordinating sound, light and smoke special effects. A lot of hard work was involved for all who took part and parents and students showed their appreciation with a massive cheer at the end!
Don't miss our Gym and Dance Display on Wednesday evening, despite students from Years 9-13 not attending school during the day - the show goes on! It promises to be a great display of talent throughout the school. See Ticket Information for more details for your last minute ticket purchases! Added w/c 21st November 2011 "Dear Parents, As you will no doubt have heard from the media, the National Union of Teachers, National Association of Schoolmasters /Union of Women Teachers and Association of Teachers and Lecturers will be taking industrial action in the form of a withdrawal of labour on Wednesday 30th November 2011. This action is not against the School itself, but is part of national industrial action organised by these trades unions regarding changes to the pension schemes of their members. There is no requirement for unions to inform us as to which members of staff will take action, and it may be that unions themselves will not know as there is no obligation on members of unions to obey a strike call. Neither the governing body, nor the Head, is legally allowed to close the School ‘in sympathy’ with the strike, and we will not do so. However, our main concern must be the safety of our students. In light of the number of members likely to be involved, the Governors have made the difficult decision to close the School for Years 9 to 13 but to continue as many lessons as possible for Years 7 and 8. For students in these 2 year groups, where their teachers are withdrawing their labour, students will have the opportunity to undertake private study under the supervision of our team of cover supervisors. Students should, therefore, bring work with them to complete during the day in case they are affected. Students in Years 9 to 13 should utilise this time to revise their work so far this year and to access the numerous resources found in subject areas of the VLE. I would like to emphasise that all Year 7 and 8 students must attend school as normal. We must all hope that the issues over which the industrial action has arisen are resolved as soon as possible. Yours sincerely Peter Martin A ParentMail, with this information, was sent to all Parents on Saturday 26th November.
Our school supported Old Owenian, Fraser Gibson, by providing facilities for his Daybreak TV's outside broadcast this week. Director of Sport, Ian Breeze, was up very early in the morning with 3 students (Nicholas Constantinou, Saskia Huntley and Sophie Dowdell) on our astro turf to host the live feed at 6.30am and 7.30am! Reporting on the GB Blind Football team, a Daybreak TV presenter interviewed Dave Clarke, captain of the team, on our very own pitch. Ian helped Dave show how to score a goal, using a special football with a bell inside. The broadcast was in conjunction with David Beckham’s promotion to encourage 1 million kids of all abilities to try a Paralympic sport before the 2012 Games. You can see David Beckham in action with the GB team captain here: http://www.itv.com/daybreak/sport/beckham-plays-blind-football/. Thanks to all who took part!
Thanks to Year 13 for putting on an excellent evening of entertainment, including choreographed numbers on the "Night at the Movies" theme. Bollywood, Disney, James Bond, Harry Potter, All That Jazz, Thriller, Hairspray and Grease were just some of the Movie themes featured. Year 13 had chosen the Herts Young Homeless Group as the Charity for the evening and the raffle raised over £500 - thank you to everyone who contributed.
Thanks to Miss K Philp, School Sports Co-ordinator, for the following report: "Owen's competed in the Mid-Herts District Cross Country Championships on Wednesday 16th November 2011 at Queenswood School, where they won the Overall Girls’ Title, the Overall Boys’ Title and retained the Combined Trophy. Well done to all students who represented the school - there were many fantastic individual performances and team results: Nathan Gammon (Year 7), Tom McArdle (Year 8), Phillip Crout (Senior Boys) and Natalie Connor (Senior Girls) all won their respective age groups. Will McArdle (Year 7), Issy Boffey (Year 7), Caitlin Creeley (Year 9) and Cameron Laleye (Senior Boys) were runners up. The Year 7 Girls, Year 9 Girls, Senior Girls, Year 7 Boys, Year 8 Boys and Senior Boys all won their respective team competitions."
You can now view these on our School Dates page of our website, as approved by governors November 2011. They include inset days and key dates for our 400th anniversary celebrations. - thank you to all for your support!
Congratulations to Jacob Spurge (Year 7) who captained his team Borehamwood Crusaders to third place in the BISHA (British Inline Skater Hockey Association) U13 National Finals in Surrey on Sunday 13th November. You are invited to come and see a production of "The Country Wife" by William Wycherley. Written in 1675, this is a Restoration Comedy and involves students from Years 11-13. It will be performed on the 8th, 9th and 10th December, 7.15pm for 7.30pm in the Main School Hall. See Ticket Information for more details. "As part of our ongoing programme of works, Hertfordshire Highways will be carrying out carriageway patching works along Mutton Lane. The road will be closed from Warrengate Lane to Darkes Lane. Works will involve the resurfacing of Cranborne Road junction and patching throughout the rest of Mutton Lane. Works will take place as follows: Added w/c 14th November 2011 Last week, The Times reported on the Top 100 State and Top 100 Independent Schools in the UK based on results. Dame Alice Owen's was ranked 50th in their Top 100 State School listing, which used weighted A Level and GCSE results.
Ms S MacNeil has been leading our research on educational development and Growth Mindsets. She has produced some ideas about how parents can support their child's learning at home. Parents are encouraged to read her Top Tips below and information about how we are providing our students with the skills to be a success.
External candidates for our Sixth Form are invited to have tours of the school on Wednesday 16th November, between 2-4pm, and from 4pm, have an opportunity to speak to subject teachers and members of the Sixth Form team - see Sixth Form Admissions for more details. Added w/c 7th November 2011 Over seventy students took part in the Music Department's Senior Chamber Concert on Tuesday, once again demonstrating a great effort by performing a wide range of pieces, both individually and as Duets, Trios, Quartets, Quintets, Ensembles and in a new Vocal Harmony Group. Thanks to all the teachers who supported their students to achieve a fantastic evening of classical and jazz entertainment.
Purchase your tickets on Monday 14th November and Tuesday 15th November for this spectacular show to be held in the school hall on Wednesday 30th November and Thursday 1st December - see Ticket Information for more details. Get your tickets for this annual event on Tuesday 22nd November, which promises to be an exciting occasion - tickets on a first come, first served basis - see Ticket Information for more details. Next Wednesday 16th November, between 2-4pm, external candidates for our Sixth Form are invited to have tours of the school and from 4pm, have an opportunity to speak to subject teachers and members of the Sixth Form team - see Sixth Form Admissions for more details. The new Admissions Code will come into effect from September 2013 and allows places for staff children, after two years of employment.
Congratulations to the U16A Girls' Badminton Team who have qualified for the County Finals of the National Schools' Badminton Championships. Philippa English, Shayna Godin, Chloe Yiangou and Darcy Collings defeated Watford Girls 'A', Watford Girls 'B' and Owens 'B' in the first round of the competition on Wednesday 2nd November 2011. Megan Munro, Rachel Starr, Ella Mattison and Gemma Agnew represented Owens ‘B’. The U16A Boys' Badminton Team (of Luke Jupp, Naz Khan, Chris Lam and Michael Steele) and the U16B Boys’ Badminton Team (of Isaac Freckleton, Arjun Trivedi, Alex Gillingham and Louis Keefe) finished equal on points and Runners Up in the competition. Thanks to Girls' PE staff member Miss K Philp for organising their entry. Added w/c 31st October 2011 Our whole school community is invited to attend our Chamber Concerts next week, performed in the Edward Guinness Hall - please see
Please be advised that due to a larger amount of unforseen Oxford and Cambridge interviews for our Year 13 students, clashing with our concert date, we have moved the Senior Instrumental Concert date to Wednesday 14th December at 7.30pm, so our students are not disadvantaged. All tickets already ordered will remain valid for the new date and do not need to be reordered. Previously Wednesday 7th December. Apologies for any inconvenience caused.
External candidates wishing to apply for a place from September 2012 can now print the application form listed under Sixth Form/Admissions and browse our Guide to Courses 2012/13 under Sixth Form/Guide to Courses. Applications must be received by Friday 16th December, 2011.
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This will take place on Monday 14th November at 1.15pm. Our War Memorial in the school grounds by the lake, lists those students of the school who lost their lives in the First World War. Poppies have been on available all week in the main school foyer for students and staff to make their donations.
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