English Essay Excellence
Congratulations to Hugh Whitworth who was awarded a Highly Commended in the Finals of the ISA national Essay Writing Competition 2014. The ISA inform us that the competition received record entries this year so Hugh’s place in the finals is a significant achievement. Well done Hugh!
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.
Form 2 visit White Quarry Farm
Form 2 visited White Quarry Farm as part of their study of “Habitats” in Science. The day started with a treasure hunt, guided by Mrs Fawcett, to educate the children about the farming environment. Then came a very special treat. Armed with sweep nets, the children explored the freshwater wildlife in the farm’s large pond. It was a veritable underwater micro-safari which much waiting to be discovered and marvelled. The children had an enjoyable and fulfilling time.
Form 1 trip to Marrick Priory
Form 1’s much-anticipated weekend at Marrick Priory was a resounding success. After the excitement of the nightline, and many of the children’s first night away from their parents, they all got stuck in to their activities for the day. All the staff were really impressed with the children’s courage while ascending the climbing wall and abseiling down the Priory tower. The children’s listening and teamwork skills were really put to the test during their orienteering task and they also enjoyed competing against the staff in archery competitions. Together the pupils and their teachers celebrated William’s birthday (with the biggest cake they’d ever seen!) and enjoyed a trip to the ice cream parlour on Saturday. Everyone left with fond memories and a real sense of accomplishment.
Form 2 Low Mill Trip
Form 2 had their annual adventure trip to Low Mill. The children really went for it! Many exciting firsts were experienced by the children, including abseiling, caving, team-building games and not forgetting of course those away from home sleepovers. The Form 2 teachers and staff of Low Mill were suitably impressed by the children’s’ willingness to put aside any fears and loved watching their proud faces after each activity. Well done Form 2; all the children deserve to be very happy with their achievements.
Ullswater 2014
The bank holiday weekend saw Forms 3 and 4 venturing into the Lake District, their destination – Ullswater. Arriving in good time meant that the groups were taken away promptly for the first of their activities and for many, this included the traditional jog and dip. Most braved the water, including a few of the staff. The children had an amazing weekend, filled with climbing, abseiling, raft building, gorge walking, canoeing, summiting mountains, team building challenges and camping out. All of the children were pushed and stretched in different ways (sometimes literally) and worked well in teams to achieve their goals. The weather was brilliant, with the only rain occurring during the night whilst we were snug in our beds or sleeping bags. A good wind on the last morning even meant that some groups were able to create hand held sails for their rafts or canoes and covered a great distance on the water. The course instructors were very pleased with the children’s behaviour and general ‘get-up-and-go’ attitude and felt that they achieved more with them than perhaps they would with other children. It was such a delight to hear from another headteacher, who was also visiting the centre, about how polite and friendly our children were. They were a real credit to themselves, their families and the school. It was great to see smiles from everyone as they got off the coaches. They were tired but they had all learnt something about themselves and others and many had experienced at least one new activity during the weekend.
Form 5 outward Bound to Aberdovey
For the first time this year, Form 5 had the opportunity to take their outdoor pursuits a little further afield and travelled to Wales – no passport required! The following quotes are just some of the feedback the accompanying teachers have received: “Fantastic scenery, better than last year” “The activities were similar but required more teamwork and pushed us to a much higher level” “Freedom from the younger children and more opportunities to meet new people” “Friendly instructors who made you believe in yourself” Well worth the five hour coach journey it seems! A fantastic trip for all with many staff commenting on how well behaved the group was over the whole weekend.
Chess Duo represent Yorkshire in National Finals
Matthew Mairs (Form 3) and Nick Cunningham (Form 4) returned to school this week after a busy weekend representing the Yorkshire Under 11 chess team in the National Counties Finals held in Northampton. County teams from all over the UK featuring some of the strongest junior players in England participated in the event on Saturday 10th May. Both of our players were involved in three matches, with Nick winning two of his individual games and Matthew winning one. Although the Yorkshire team did not achieve a top three finish on this occasion, both boys should be extremely proud of their selection and participation in such a prestigious national event! We at Cundall Manor are very proud of the progress they have made. Well done!
Form 5 interfaith visit
Pupils from Form 5 were given an insight into different cultures and forms of faith when they visited several places of worship in Bradford last week. First on their agenda was a visit to a mosque where they learned about the importance of prayer in a Muslim’s daily life, and about how the mosque serves the whole Islamic community. The second visit was to a Hindu temple where the pupils enjoyed investigating the many colourful deities in the shrines. Finally, after a picnic lunch, the group visited a Sikh gurudwara where they saw the respect paid to the sikh holy book or Guru Granth Sahib. All pupils came away from the visits with a deeper understanding and respect for the different religions, and an appreciation of the many similarities between world faiths.
Stowe School Choral Festival
Last Monday afternoon members of the Chamber Choir once again set off down to Stowe. The choir stayed in a hotel on the outskirts of Buckingham and enjoyed two evenings relaxing over a long supper! The whole of Tuesday 29thApril was spent rehearsing with other schools in Stowe’s new Music School, practising the music for Choral Evensong. The choir sang some beautiful music, much of which was quite challenging, but last term’s rehearsals in school certainly paid dividends and the Director of Music at Stowe was once again greatly impressed with the standard of our choir. There were a few breaks when the children could be outside soaking up the sun in the magnificent grounds of Stowe School and many of them made a lot of new friends. The service was at 4.00pm in the beautiful Stowe Chapel. The sound was splendid and, as always, it was a truly uplifting experience. Mrs Ford, Mr Vale and all the choir members thoroughly enjoyed the trip and look forward to next year!