The Fortnight That Was … 15 February - 26 February 2016 T H E

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THE SCANDALOUS SOUND OF MUSIC School protocols were cast aside at this year‟s

annual musical performance of The Sound of Music

in which the impish Eloise Walker was perfectly cast

as Maria in the lead role. The scandal occurred in

the second act when, in front of a packed

auditorium, she was finally to find love with the

leading man, Captain von Trapp, played by

Oscar Powell.

Other notable performances from an outstanding

cast came from William Carter, whose role as Max Detweiler was delivered with

wit and charm despite wearing a new pair of blue suede shoes and an oversized

jacket that we can only assume will fit his larger

than life personality in years to come.

Alexandra Smith brought the house to its feet,

and some of the parents to tears, in the final show

with her performance of Climb Every Mountain.

Her performance was a triumph, and she couldn‟t

have acted so beautifully without the support of

her sisters, Lilly Hagenberg, Molly Jones, Sophia Russell,

Harriet Sevens and Siobhan Withers.

Bradley Kitson and Siobhan Withers,

as the von Trapp‟s housekeepers,

provided the comic interludes with a

dry humour, timed brilliantly to be

reminiscent of „Wooster and Jeeves‟

or „Holmes and Mrs Hudson‟.

Sam Gibbs‟ role as Rolf Gruber,

Robert Carter‟s portrayal of Baron Elberfeld and Henry Goodwin‟s Herr Zeller

brought to life the overbearing nastiness of the Third Reich with a rich darkness.

All three actors informed us they used the characters of various members of the

teaching staff at Pitsford School as their reference for the roles. (Robert, we will

need the pistol used on stage returning to the props department!)

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The children: Adèle Care, Hannah Clark, Merry Clift, Cameron Elliot, Jake Humphrey, Molly Jones, Libiana Kimbell, Libby Kirk, Sam Pickles, Cara Roberts Sophia Russell and Harriet Stevens, all misbehaved impeccably and sang together with choral perfection. Support behind the scenes, musicians Miss Walsh, Alex Crook, Mr Godfrey, Sara Ashley, Mr Andrade and Thomas Goodwin delivered the timing and a note perfect performance for the actors and singers to appear at their best. The technical crew comprising Mr Dean, Tattva Galgali, Sam Allwright and Thomas Kirk kept the stage alight and the wonderful Ms Jackson cued any of the tongue-tied and nervous actors with a light-hearted ease. None of this would be possible without the orchestration and management support of Ms Jackson, Mrs Kirk, Miss Walsh, Mrs Newton, Mr Dean and Charlotte Newton. The Sound of Music had rave reviews, performed by an excellent cast and the support of a wonderful crew. There were invitations from the West End production houses, but most of the cast needed to be in bed by 9.00pm so we turned them down! Review written by Oscar Powell, Year 10 “We have had a fabulous time putting together the performance this year. It has been a lot of hard work and our dedicated cast have given up many break times and lunchtimes, as well as weekends, in order to make this such a polished production. It has been lovely to see them bond as a cast throughout the year groups and we are very proud of them all,” said the Directors (Miss Walsh, Ms Jackson and Mrs Newton). Audience reviews included: “We wanted to say how impressed we were with The Sound of Music production; we both watched it twice and enjoyed it tremendously each time. The acting, singing and dancing were excellent - as were the musicians and technical crew.” “We have just seen The Sound of Music and I feel compelled to write to say how utterly wonderful my family and I thought it was! The orchestra was superb, loved listening to the live music - amazing, professional flute and even a mandolin in there! The actors were a joy and all immaculate without exception and the backstage helpers and lighting were totally slick.”

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QUIZ AND CHILLI EVENING Every year, Pitsford School‟s Quiz and Chilli evening is a great success and this year‟s event was no exception. Around 60 people took part - parents, pupils, staff and Pitsford village residents - a fun and light-hearted quest to win the Quiz and Chilli Trophy. This year‟s Quiz Masters were Mr and Mrs Toone. The competition was extremely close and no one knew until the final scores were in, that Pick and Mix would be the winning team. Parent, Mr Seunarayan (pictured right) is shown here accepting the winning trophy from Mr Toone (Headmaster) on behalf of the winning team. Thank you to the School‟s kitchen (aka The Pit-Stop) who provided a tasty chilli and dessert, which were thoroughly enjoyed by all.

WAKE WIN HOUSE PANCAKE RACE This year‟s House Pancake Race took place on Tuesday 9 February. It was a closely-fought relay race with Wake House flipping their way to success! Congratulations to the winning team (pictured below l-r): Molly O‟Connor, Callum MacKenzie, Sam Allwright, Ruby Hamlyn and Alex Russell (not pictured).

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CELEBRATING CHINESE NEW YEAR On Friday 5 February, with the help of J1, the Junior School hall was transformed into a news room! News readers Miles and Lilly and reporter, Georgie, brought us up to the minute coverage of Chinese New Year celebrations “Pitsford Style”. Pupils found out all about New Year traditions, how the years are given their names, and to finish, the children were treated to a spectacular Dragon Dance. Gong Hey Fat Choy! Happy Chinese New Year everyone! On Monday 8 February, pupils and staff were also treated to a delicious Chinese style buffet.

MATHS CHALLENGE - SENIOR KANGAROO Lilly Chen, Entropy Jiang and Evans Rozario qualified for the Senior Kangaroo due to their excellent performance in the UK Mathematics Challenge last term. They were amongst over 3,900 students invited to participate in the event. The top score achieved nationally was 90%, and Entropy Jiang wasn't too far away with a score of 70%. She, along with Evans, received Certificates of Merit indicating that they were in the top 25% of the 2,960 students who actually took part. (Pictured below are Evans Rozario and Entropy Jiang).

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HOUSE QUIZ 2016 The winner of the House Quiz 2016 with a Krypton Factor of 18 points was Robinson House. Wake finished 2nd with 15 points with Hesketh in third place on 10 points.

PARENTS’ NOTICEBOARD If any parents are interested in a lift share from the Desborough area to school and back each day, please contact the School Office on 01604 880306.

ROBINSON HOUSE CHARITY DAY Junior School pupils in Robinson House held a charity day in aid of Rainbow‟s Children‟s Hospice on Friday 12 February. Rainbows is a hospice which helps young people and their families in the East Midlands. Pupils wore mufti, ate „rainbow‟ ice lollies, held a colouring competition and guessed the name of the teddy.

Colouring winners were: Sam Hartshorne - Squirrels Nico Simic - J2 (pictured top right) Eva-Grace Politi - J3 Isabella Ma - J6

Alfie Chacksfield (pictured left) won guess the name of the teddy - his name was Theo.

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SPORTS ROUND UP… On Thursday 11 February, the Year 8 Netball team played a match against Duston. We had an excellent defence played by Lucy Rathe, Amelia Judd and Cameron Turner. Our goal scorers were Sophia Russell and Natasha Starcevic. Also, thank you to Sophie Hulme who joined us in the last quarter, coming from the Year 7 team. The end score was 11 to Pitsford and 6 to Duston. The player of the match was joint between Maisie Tee and Natasha Starcevic. Report written by Beth Parker On Thursday 25 February, Pitsford‟s U12 Rugby side went down fighting after a slow start by the team saw them go two scores down in quick succession to Magdalen College. A try saving tackle (by Joe O‟Connell) spurred a Pitsford fightback. Tireless work and tackling by Thomas Newton earned him man of the match with William Kimbell diving over for one solitary try after Monty Morrison made good inroads. Pitsford School‟s U12 Netball side lost 13-10 against Moulton on Thursday 25 February. This was an interesting game where height certainly made a difference. Some growing is required over the next few weeks! On the same day, our U13 Netball side won 31-1 against Moulton. This was a fantastic result from a very motivated and focused team who are looking forward to their County Plate Tournament next week.

COLLECTION FOR SYRIAN REFUGEES Year 11 pupils raised money through cake sales, a Christmas chocolate raffle and other fundraising activities in aid of the Syrian refugees. This was also the chosen charity of the mufti day in the Autumn term. A total of £435.00 was raised and this was sent to refugees through the CAFOD scheme in Lent which means the government will double the money.

THANK YOU Our recent mufti day raised £230.77 in aid the ABF Soldiers‟ Charity. Thank you to everyone who supported this event.

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Menus As all our produce is sourced locally, menus are subject to change and older pupils will be offered additional options which are not shown here.

Monday 29 February Savoury chicken and vegetable vol au vents with sauté potatoes and green beans (V) Mushroom vol au vent Homemade cranberry and white chocolate chip flapjack Selection of fresh fruit pots or yogurts Tuesday 1 March Traditional minced beef lasagne served with garlic bread and salad crudities (V) Vegetable lasagne Banana cake with custard election of fresh fruit pots or yogurts Wednesday 2 March Baked gammon with honey gravy, Yorkshire pudding, oven roast potatoes, sage and onion stuffing, baton carrots and peas (V) Vegetable and cheese plait Selection of fresh fruit pots or yogurts Thursday 3 March Pork meatballs in tomato sauce with spaghetti and broccoli (V) Cheese and tomato slice Chocolate sponge served with vanilla custard Selection of fresh fruit pots or yogurts Friday 4 March Jumbo baked cod finger served with chips and wholegrain spaghetti hoops (V) Vegetarian quiche Jelly and ice cream Selection of fresh fruit pots or yogurts Monday 7 March Mild Mexican minced beef taco served with diced potatoes and garden peas (V) Quorn mince taco Homemade shortbread Selection of fresh fruit pots or yogurts Tuesday 8 March Butcher‟s sausages served with mashed potatoes and wholegrain spaghetti (V) Vegetarian sausages Hot rice pudding served with sliced peaches Selection of fresh fruit pots or yogurts Wednesday 9 March Roast topside of beef with Yorkshire pudding, oven baked roast potatoes, sage and onion stuffing, roast gravy and broccoli spears (V) Cauliflower, courgette and squash au gratin Selection of fresh fruit pots or yogurts Thursday 10 March Mild butter chicken with basmati rice (V) Vegetable stir fry with noodles Lemon curd sponge with custard Selection of fresh fruit pots or yogurts Friday 11 March Baked jacket potato with choice of fillings all served with salad crudities (V) As above Fancy Cake Friday Selection of fresh fruit pots or yogurts

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What’s On Looking Ahead?

Monday 29 February J1-J6 Football Club (Lunchtime) 1.00pm U11 Rugby 7s (a) Bedford Modern

KS2 Parents‟ Evening 10.00am U13 Netball Tournament (a) KBA

4.00pm U13 Rugby (h) Guilsborough 4.20pm Senior Choir

Tuesday 1 March 10.45am - School Nurse: Squirrels‟ Hearing and Vision Tests Recorders (Beginners - Lunchtime) J3-J6 Art J3-J6 Multisports 3.15pm U15 Netball (h) Malcolm Arnold

Wednesday 2 March Junior School Council (Lunchtime) Squirrels-J2 Tiny Tag Rugby KS1 & EYFS Parents‟ Evening 8.30am Parents‟ Pilates class - JS Hall 10.10am Founders‟ Day Service 1.30pm Senior String Ensemble 3.30pm U18 Football (a) Moulton 3.30pm U18 Netball (a) Campion

Thursday 3 March 9.30am J3 visit to Butterfly Farm Recorders (Intermediate - Lunchtime) 3.00pm-3.30pm J1-J2 Dance 3.30pm-4.10pm J1-J2 Tennis 4.10pm –5.00pm J3-J6 Tennis J5-J6 Drama (for Easter production) Junior Swimming (J6, J5 and J4) 9.30am Year 9 GCSE Options 10.00am U12 Netball Tournament (a) KBA 10.10am Year 12 Moving Forward talk

1.20pm Senior Guitar Ensemble 3.30pm U12 Netball (h) NSG 7.00pm Alastair Green Memorial Concert in Chapel

Friday 4 March Junior Sing Up Day (3.00pm for parents in Junior School Hall) J3-J4 Music (Lunchtime) J3-J6 Dance (Lunchtime) J4-J6 Chess Junior Swimming (J1 & J2) 10.10am Senior Woodwind Ensemble

Sunday 6 March 11.00am Mothering Sunday Service (Junior School Choir) at Pitsford Church - all welcome Blue text denotes Junior School events

Monday 7 March J1-J6 Football Club (Lunchtime) J3-J6 Netball / J3-J6 Rugby J3-J6 Cross Stitch 10.00am U15 County Netball Tournament (a) KBA

3.00pm U11 Netball (a) Quinton House 4.00pm U12/U13 Netball (h) NHS 4.00pm Sixth Form Overseas Consultation Evening

4.20pm Senior Choir

Tuesday 8 March Recorders (Beginners - Lunchtime) J3-J6 Art J3-J6 Multisports U9 Tag Rugby (a) Stafford Prep 10.10am Student Finance talk - Chapel 3.15pm U14 Rugby (a) Campion 3.30pm U14/U15 Netball (a) NSG

Wednesday 9 March Junior School Council (Lunchtime) Squirrels-J2 Tiny Tag Rugby J3 Cookery Year 9 trip to Tate Modern 8.30am Parents‟ Pilates class - JS Hall 10.10am Senior String Ensemble 3.30pm U18 Rugby (h) Moulton 5.30pm Moving Forward talk - Chapel 5.30pm Sixth Form Parents‟ Evening

Thursday 10 March Recorders (Intermediate - Lunchtime) 3.00pm-3.30pm J1-J2 Dance 3.30pm-4.10pm J1-J2 Tennis 4.10pm-5.00pm J3-J6 Tennis J5-J6 Drama (for Easter production) Junior Swimming (J6, J5 and J4) 1.20pm Senior Guitar Ensemble 3.30pm U12/U13 Netball (a) NSG 3.30pm Rugby (a) U13 Christopher Hatton 4.00pm U18 Netball (h) NHS

Friday 11 March J3-J4 Music (Lunchtime) J3-J6 Dance (Lunchtime) 3.00pm-3.30pm J1-J2 Choir J4-J6 Chess Junior Swimming (J1, J2 and J3) 10.10am Senior Woodwind Ensemble

For the complete list of Senior Activities, see the Activity Booklet

on www.pitsfordschool.com