Getting to know you…
The weekend boarders offered a very warm Cundall welcome to Andrea, Francesco, Stephano and Chiara from Italia! The three boys and one girl are on a two week language immersion trip to Cundall and have a wonderful programme of activities ahead of them, starting with an action packed weekend in the boarding house. They had fun bowling on Saturday night before cheering Mrs Conway across the line on her Cancer charity run on Sunday. This was followed by a visit to the Chocolate story in York before returning to the boarding house to recount their adventures to their families back in Italy via Skype.
Form 6’s Three Peaks
Climbing Yorkshire’s ‘Three Peaks’ in one day may seem to some like an unattractive prize for finishing Common Entrance, but Form 6 were well up to the challenge on Friday 6th. After a 7am departure, they had conquered Whernside by 10am- just as the days tropical temperatures were rolling in. Neither heat-waves, nor twisted ankles, steep climbs nor Ingleborough managed to stop the group from summiting Pen-Y-Ghent at 5pm, and completing the challenge 11 hours and 43 minutes after having set off. Their greatest achievement was working so well as a team: each helping to make sure that everyone completed all Three Peaks, and doing so in such good time. Congratulations to all of those involved. Our thanks must also go to the wonderful support-team of parents who braved the climbs and early start, and provided such tremendous food to fuel both the muscles and morale of the victorious group.
ESB Excellence
Having waited eagerly for the results of last term’s English Speaking Board tests to come back, Form 2 and Form 4 were not disappointed when they received their marks and certificates last week. An incredible 50% of all Cundall entrants managed to secure a Distinction in their ESB – this is a record tally for Cundall and testament to the wonderful work the children had put into preparing their pieces and presentations.
Pre-Prep Camp-out
PP2 had a lot of fun last Friday when they stayed at school for the night. The evening started with a BBQ in the sunshine which was attended by Reception, PP1, PP2 and their parents. PP2 then had a camp fire by the tepees and toasted marshmallows. After that it was time for hot chocolate and pyjamas. As PP2 still had lots of energy they ventured out on a night mission down to the field. They had to collect natural materials to write a secret message on the front lawn for Mr Notman! There was little sleep, but lots of fun and PP2 left on Saturday after a big breakfast full of stories about their night.
Lunchtime concert
Well done to all of our performers who took part in the concert last Friday. There was a great range of musical styles and combination of different instruments, including our first ever solo double bass performance and our first form 1 pupil to sing and accompany herself on the guitar. Once again, we had pupils from right across the school and everyone was excited by the wonderful talent on display and the obvious potential of many of our children. There was a super atmosphere in the church and some lovely comments were made by the audience afterwards. Congratulations to all!
Form 3 Production “The Big Ship Sails”
On Wednesday 21st May, Form 3 took to the stage at the Galtres Centre to perform ‘The Big Ship Sails’. The play was an account of the child migration scheme that took children from Britain to other countries (such as Australia and Canada) to boost the population there. The play dealt with some very grown up issues and was a challenge for such young actors. The children’s performance was magnificent, with each child demonstrating not only an ability to learn and deliver lines, but also the awareness of the audience and the subject matter. This meant that they delivered an emotional play with class, worthy of any year group. The staff and parents were all very proud of them and we look forward to seeing their acting develop in future productions.
Mme Cooke’s noble gesture for the Little Princess Trust
Following the wonderful example of Charlie Banks, Mrs Cooke is now sporting a radically different (and tres chic!) hairdo, since donating no less than 6 inches of her hair to the Little Princess Trust, the charity that makes wigs for children undergoing cancer treatment. Mrs Cooke’s fundraising efforts to date have totalled £368 for the charity but any further donations are still very welcome through her JustGiving page:https://www.justgiving.com/Sandrine-Cooke/. The photos below show Mrs Cooke before and after her trip to the salon.
Mr Bayne brings the Gruffalo to life
Mr Bayne surprised Pre-Prep on Friday by telling them a story. He choose the story ‘The Gruffalo’ which all the children enjoyed listening to. To add to the excitement Mr Bayne had brought with him some props made out of balloons. Some children had the opportunity to become the characters from the book and they had to act out the story with the help of Mr Bayne. Everyone in Pre-Prep would like to say a huge ‘thank you’ to Mr Bayne for entertaining them so magnificently with his story.