News from the Prep School. Our Poland trip group in front of the Wawel Royal Palace in Krakow this week. 12th February 2016 Issue No 96

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1 Our Poland trip group in front of the Wawel Royal Palace in Krakow this week. Dear Parents, So we have almost reached half time in the school year. Clive Woodward, England s World Cup winning rugby coach, always advocated changing shirts and concentrating on winning the second half as well. A triumph this week has been the Upper School trip to Poland organised by Mark Charman. Many students have already described this to me as the best school trip they have ever been on. Although its timing has not been ideal for Form Five I think the experience of visiting sites so associated with the Holocaust will help shape the lives of those who took part and we will aim to repeat this in a few year s time. In the meantime I think Mark might need to have a rest next week. Other triumphs this week include Ella Thomas who has been awarded a gap year placement at Geelong Grammar - the school attended by Prince Charles in Australia. This is a tremendous honour for Ella and she will be a great gappy. Rob Temple (Form Five) also showed what he is made of this week by taking Chapel - he had everyone listening intently to his wise words. I encourage others to follow suit. So please enjoy the break. Don t forget Valentine s Day and see you in a week. The Sixth Form Centre will be opened during the first week back so we are all very excited. Simon Weale News from the Prep School Dear Parents, Monday was an exciting day in Pre-Prep 2 when the children joined in with the celebrations for Chinese New Year. The class began by listening to the enchanting story behind the famous Willow pattern which appears on Chinese ceramics; the two doves flying high in the blue moonlit sky symbolising Koong-She and Chang. The children went on to create their own Willow pattern plates, including many of the images they had seen in the book. Next, the classroom was awash with red as the children each painted a flag of China, learning how highly regarded the colour red is to the Chinese nation, representing as it does both power and prosperity.

2 Later the class designed their own dragons, with Mandarin numbers from one to ten written along their bodies. They then heard the story of the twelve animals that represent each year of the Chinese Zodiac. It is believed that the order originates from the story of a race across the river to the Emperor. We are now in the year of the monkey. separating sand from pebbles and stones, the vinegar and scratch tests, as well as learning a whole new rock vocabulary. As is the tradition, the children gave each other gifts of a red money envelope containing chocolate. The climax of the day was a traditional Chinese banquet with noodles, prawn crackers, soy sauce, all eaten of course with chopsticks. There was plenty of giggling as the children endeavoured to master the skill and this proved to be a fitting end to the celebrations. As promised in last week s newsletter I must now report on the outstanding performances of our cross-country running team in both the St Petroc s race meeting last Friday and then in the final Staying with Pre Prep 2, Mrs Kirby received a lovely this week from the parents of Bella Morris, who said that Bella had enjoyed her cookery lesson with Mrs Kirby so much that she had gone home and insisted on making more pizza with her mum for their dinner that night. Continuing on the science theme from my last newsletter, Prep 3 this week were involved in a carousel of experimentation and investigation with their current topic all about rocks and rock formation. The tasks included observing rocks and fossils using hand lenses, sieving and

3 Gliddon and Squire race of the season at West Buckland on Sunday. Unfazed by the challenging weather conditions on both days, all our runners did us proud, as indeed they have done throughout the season. However, I must highlight the achievements of Alfie Sealey in Prep 3 in particular. Alfie, who is reasonably new to this sport, is proving to be quite a star. On Friday he shocked us all (himself included!) with an impressive 2nd place finish in a field of over 100 runners and then followed this up on Sunday by finishing 4th in a strong field of boys, many of whom train and run at the North Devon Athletics Club. There was further success in sports fixtures this week for both our U9 netball and football teams who returned victorious from their away fixtures at St Joseph s in Launceston. Our football team won two of their three matches played in their round robin tournament. Every player gave their all, but it was Sebastian Crookes who caught Mr Willett s eye on this occasion with his enthusiasm and excellent passing. A comprehensive 13-1 victory for the girls was indication of just how well they played. Mrs Johnstone was once again full of praise for the team s effort and application, with Demelza Short and Savannah Whitechurch once again driving the team on with their impressive play. This week has also seen some personal sporting successes. We are very proud of Luke Honey in Year 6, who has obtained his brown belt grading in Ju-jitsu. As well as attending our popular Martial Arts Club here at Shebbear, Luke has been part of his local club for a number of years now. Maddie Lovett in Prep 4 also continued the run of success we are having with our club swimmers here in the Prep School. Maddie took part in the SLC Cornish Championships on Saturday. Maddie swam in a number of races throughout the day and we are extremely proud of her. Finally, for those of you that are able to enjoy a break over half term, I hope you all have a relaxing and fun-filled time and I look forward to seeing you all, batteries recharged, on Monday 22nd February. Mike Furber Pancaking in Pyke! Pancake Day has been celebrated by Britons for centuries. Also known as Shrove Tuesday (from the word shrive meaning absolve ), it is the day preceding Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Prep (Homework) Club Prep Club is starting after half term and will run every lunchtime from pm in Mrs Lovett s classroom accompanied by a member of staff. All pupils are welcome to attend to do their prep. This is a voluntary lunchtime activity. Fran Lovett Annual Schools Exhibition at Burton Gallery The Annual Schools Exhibition (above right) has opened at the Burton Art Gallery in Bideford. Shebbear College is well represented from Year Three Prep to Sixth Form and as always there is a fun and interesting mix from other schools in the area as well. It s well worth a visit, and the cafe is great for a treat or lunch. The Burton Gakllery is open Monday to Saturday, 10.00am pm and 10.30am pm on Sundays. The exhibition runs until Monday 14th March. Dixie Wahl Traditionally, pancakes were eaten on this day to use up rich, indulgent foods like eggs and milk before the forty day fasting for Lent began. Although it is enshrined in Christian tradition, Pancake Day may originate in a pagan holiday, when change in the seasons was celebrated. The hot, round pancakes symbolised the sun and by eating pancakes, people believed that they got the power, light and warmth of the sun. On the last day of Maslenitsa

4 week (the celebration of the arrival of spring) some pancakes and other food were burnt on a bonfire as a sacrifice to the Pagan gods. Here in Pyke there were no pancakes left for the Pagan god Jarilo, the god of springtime, at the end of our Pancaking in Pyke evening! The boys had a great time filling pancakes with chocolate, honey, golden syrup, lemon, sugar, bananas and marshmallow spread! Skilfully taught by Mr Relf, the boys had a go, tossing, throwing and flinging pancakes as high as they could. However, I think the boys enjoyed eating them more than cooking them! one into a cool pan they all had a turn at tossing one before choosing a filling ready to eat at break, although they didn t all end up back in the pan! Jacqueline Biddlecombe Boarding at Shebbear is a happy, busy, enjoyable experience and we welcome younger boys into Pyke house. Would you like your son to experience boarding life at Pyke? We have a flexible approach to our boarding provision; whether regularly each week or the occasional evening, your son will be welcomed into Pyke as one of the family and will have the opportunity to take part in our full activities programme. Contact Miss O Shaughnessy if you would like your son to be part of our junior boarding community. Marie O Shaughnessy Midsummer Ball 2016 Tickets for the much anticipated Midsummer Ball are now odon t miss out, it is set to be a superb event. See the page at the end of this newsletter for full details. Celebration Time in Pre-Prep 1 The children in Pre-Prep 1 celebrated two different customs this week. On Monday they were visited by two of our boarders, who told them all about celebrating Chinese New Year. Each child was given a mask, kindly made by one of our boarders, to represent the year of the monkey. Time was spent listening to the story of how each animal represents a different year in the Chinese calendar and they were able to role play the story of the animals crossing the river. The children all tried using chop sticks to eat noodles for break, made lanterns and also lucky envelopes which held a nice chocolate surprise for when they got home. The following day they learnt about Shrove Tuesday and Lent, and discussed the nice things they would give up and go without. Lots of fun was had making pancakes and after transferring each Full details and the ticket order form can be found at: Celebrating 175 Years of Shebbear College and hosted by The Friends of Shebbear College and The Old Shebbearians Association, the black tie event will be held in a grand marquee in the grounds of the College. Welcome drinks will be at 6.30pm and there will be a Champagne bar and three course gourmet meal from Dartmoor Kitchen, followed by a prize draw and charity auction. Live music will be provided by Joey the Lips. Tickets are priced at per head and tables of ten are available. There are also opportunities to support the event and raise awareness for your business as a sponsor or by donating prizes for the charity auction and prize draw. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor please Rebecca Weale on sponsor@midsummerball.co.uk

5 Poland Trip I would like to thank all 30 pupils who attended the trip for their excellent conduct throughout and their respectful behaviour when it was needed. Thank you all also for the wonderful gifts and personal messages about what the experience meant for you. Thanks also to Simon Bee, Eve Blundell, Mandy Bee and Dorota Charman for all their help. There will be a full report about the trip in the next newsletter. Mark Charman Sainsbury s Active Kids Active Kids is currently running in Sainsbury s stores and will continue until 3rd May. If you visit Sainsbury s during the next few months, please collect the vouchers and send them to Mrs Goode in our Prep School, so that she can exchange them for Sports and cooking equipment. Thank you. 175 Years Celebration To commemorate our 175th year we have a small range of souvenir products on sale, comprising a hoodie, teddy bear, and a mug. A letter and order form have been sent home with all pupils and the products are on display in the Dining Hall. Full details, photos and order form can also been found at: To place an order, please complete the form and return it to the Registrar s office. Please mark it for attention of Mark Charman. Closing date for orders is Friday 18th March. What s on... Monday 22nd February Fairtrade Fortnight begins Thursday 25th February Form 1 Parents Evening, Assembly Hall, 5.15pm Friday 26th February LAMDA Exams - Kingsley School Saturday 27th February EuroDisney Trip Departs Sunday 28th February Boarders Go-Karting School Play Rehearsal, pm Football U15 Football v Budehaven School On cold and blustery afternoon at the seaside in Bude the boys started poorly and were 2-0 behind within 5 minutes. After the third goal went in, a stroke of luck and the reactions of a gazelle saw the opposition goalkeeper drop the ball and Alex Watling score a welldeserved tap in. The second half was similar to the first with lots of good passing from both sides but with Shebbear unable to trouble the Budehaven keeper. With five minutes left Alessandro Aliberti finished off a neat one two with Stuart Williams, the ball ending up nestled in the bottom right hand corner. Unfortunately the 6-2 defeat was cemented in the final minute as Budehaven scored directly from a corner kick with the help of the wind. Arron Steel Just three matches this week which saw a creditable 1-1 draw for the U14s against Budehaven with the only goal coming from Sophie Gillies and two defeats - the U15s 6-2 at Budehaven and the 1st XI, missing four first choice players, going down 4-0 to a strong Plymouth College side. Having conceded a sloppy goal in the first minute, the boys competed well for the rest of the first half with the back four generally in control. However, another goal conceded just before half time meant that it would be an uphill struggle in the second half. A controversial third goal just about ended the match as a contest, but the team never gave up and Felix Rosales in particular, making his first start for the 1st XI, was outstanding in defence. Andy Bryan

6 Picture this... Krakow, Poland

7 Picture this... Auschwitz Camp I, Birkenau and with Holocaust survivor Monika Goldwasser Shebbear College, Shebbear, Beaworthy, Devon EX21 5HJ Telephone:

8 175 25th June 2016 SHEBBEAR COLLEGE MIDSUMMER BALL Celebrating 175 Years of Shebbear College Hosted by The Friends of Shebbear College and The Old Shebbearians Association A grand marquee in the grounds of Shebbear College Welcome drinks at 6.30pm Champagne bar 3 course gourmet meal from Dartmoor Kitchen Prize draw & charity auction Live music from Joey the Lips Carriages 1.00am Dress Code: Black Tie Tickets: per Head, Tables of 10 available To book: or info@midsummerball.co.uk For sponsorship and advertising please sponsor@midsummerball.co.uk