Francesca wins coveted Scholarship
Stellar singer Francesca Banks has been awarded a full music scholarship to Stowe School. The award marks a huge achievement for Francesca and the pinnacle of her amazing musical journey whilst at Cundall. Francesca first came to the attention of the Music department when she was in Year 3 and already showing strong musical potential. Joining Cundall on a music scholarship Francesca has worked with Mrs Ford and the Music department ever since to develop that potential. The school has been able to provide many opportunities for Francesca to showcase her talent and enhance her performances; she has played Maria in the Form 5 production of the Sound of Music, sung solos in various concerts and Carol Services, of course, featured as a soloist at the Stowe Choral Festival. Over the last 12 years the school has formed a very strong relationship with Stowe School’s Music Department, Mrs Ford taking the choir down every year to take part in the Stowe School Choral Festival. When Stowe announced they were seeking a soloist for their festival, Mrs Ford submitted a recording of Francesca who then had to compete against choristers from around the country to be awarded the coveted role. Francesca’s performance of the solo in Mendelssohn’s ‘O For The Wings Of A Dove’ at the Festival was truly outstanding; clearly attracting the attention and interest of Stowe’s Director of Music and other staff. When invited in front of the Stowe scholarship board, Francesca was assessed by the Director of Music and other members of the school. She had to do a performance in each of her three studies – Francesca is a talented pianist and flutist as well as singer. She also had to endure a Viva Voce (an oral rather than written exam) and obviously performed very well in that. Francesca has always been totally committed to music. She practises hard in her three disciplines, which often involves getting up very early in the morning in order to fit it in before school! She attends Chamber Choir rehearsals and takes her responsibility as Head Chorister at Cundall very seriously. She sings as a member of the Cathedral Choir in Ripon attending weekly rehearsals and services and is a member of the school wind band. She has had to put in extra time to study music theory to gain grade 5 and has worked hard on the background musical knowledge to enable her to interview well as an all-round musician. All in all, Francesca combines a marvellous work ethic, incredible talent and enormous potential. This scholarship award is well deserved and we wish her well on the next stage of her musical journey.
Form 6 Revision Techniques Workshop
Form 6 were released form their normal timetable last Monday morning for what could potentially be the most important lesson of their whole Common Entrance career. Working with Miss Stroud and Mrs Hall they were given expert instruction in how to prepare themselves physically, emotionally and mentally for the next few months of revision and ultimately the CE exams themselves. The pupils discovered what type of learner they each were – visual, auditory or kinaesthetic, and experimented with different revision activities and techniques to see which way of revising best suits their own learning style. The pupils were guided through devising a realistic revision timetable, allowing for concentrated periods of work and essential rest periods, as well as holistic matters such as the role of healthy eating, physical fitness, relaxation and stress busting techniques in the lead up to important exams. The session was complimented on Monday evening by a Teach-In for parents, offering them the opportunity to learn some of the techniques for themselves as well as guidance on supporting their children’s revision and preparing them for the exam period.
Silly Hat Day
Perhaps it was something to do with the weather but there was certainly an abundance of wild and wacky head gear on display last Friday as pupils and staff from throughout the school entered into the spirit of the Woolly Hat/Silly Wig Day to raise money for St Mungo’s. Some won compliments, some raised a chuckle, some – not least Mr Sample’s offering – definitely prompted a double take!
PP2 travel into space
PP2 are learning all about space this term. Last week they were investigating the planets in our solar system. They can name all of the planets and they know some fabulous facts about them. After watching a clip from Stargazing Live the children re-created a solar system to show the order of the planets and the distances between them. They used objects to show the size of the planets beginning with a peppercorn for Mercury (the smallest planet) and a football for Jupiter (the largest planet). Grapefruits, kiwis and cherry tomatoes also featured as the other planets. The children used toilet roll to measure the distances between the planets with each square representing 16 million km! As you can see they all enjoyed the challenge.
PP2 at the Yorkshire Museum
PP2 jetted off for an exciting trip to The Yorkshire Museum in York last Thursday to support their study of “Space”. Their first challenge was to squeeze themselves through a tiny opening to enter the Cosmodome – a huge inflatable dome-shaped tent with images projected onto the roof – where they journeyed though the solar system and investigated each planet in close detail. Following this the children explored the 18th Century York Observatory and learned about the two hundred year old telescope which uses spider webs and impressive mechanical engineering to create a clear view of the sky at night through the sliding observatory roof. Having refuelled in the lunch room, the children enjoyed visiting the museum galleries, learning all about the history of the city of York before returning to school.