Although we are breaking up for the Christmas holiday relatively early on Friday 15 December, the wintery weather over the weekend and into Monday 11 December definitely made it feel more seasonal and this was complemented further by our annual Carol Service in the Parish Church on Tuesday 12 December which brought members of our school community together in a celebration of the Christmas story and traditions.
In spite of the school closure on Monday which impacted on our Expressive Arts team’s final rehearsals for the Carol Service, staff and pupils showed tremendous resilience. The programme effectively combined carols with individual and ensemble pieces by our singers and musicians, including many Year 7s who returned to sing in their first concert. The Senior Choir are to be commended on the delightful song, ‘Mary, Did You Know?’, the Deer Park Players on their accompaniment and the cast of Legally Blonde Jr for customising one of the show’s songs to convey aspects of the Christmas story. It was highly engaging and original.
‘Christmas Bee’ Image adapted from an original piece of artwork by Jocelyn in Year 11
We are especially grateful to our Site Team who worked exceptionally hard on Monday 11 December to ensure that school could re-open on Tuesday 12 December and to the wider group of staff who helped supervise and manage areas of the school throughout the day so that our pupils could attend, play safely and enjoy the snow.
This week members of our Pastoral Team performed a short ‘pantomime’ for pupils in their assemblies. This involved dressing up, merriment and confusion!
On Thursday 14 December there was a genuine Christmas feeling across the school for our Christmas Jumper Day. The majority of pupils and staff wore colourful and ‘illuminated’ Christmas jumpers in support of Save the Children and the Cirencester Foodbank and we were pleased to be able to share two trolley loads of groceries that will undoubtedly help families in need. Our pupils’ readiness to support others demonstrates active citizenship and their commitment to raising funds is impressive. Our Charities Day on Friday 24 November raised over £1,100 for the three charities our School Council have chosen to support this term; and this was boosted by an additional £135 raised for Rainbow Trust at our Carol Service.
Thursday 14 December also saw our canteen staff dress up in festive costumes to serve an excellent Christmas Lunch which catered for all dietary needs including vegetarians and those who are gluten free. This, and the quality of the food, reflected the efforts the team had made and over both lunch times they were very busy. The Christmas Lunch, complete with cranberry sauce and followed by either mince pies or Christmas pudding, proved to be very popular! It was lovely to see groups of pupils exchanging cards and sharing gifts while they were waiting. Mrs Reynolds and pupils who attend our Coaching Centre even had crackers!
We hope you enjoy your Christmas and the seasonal break. We wish you a very happy New Year. As we reflect on 2017, we also look forward to the events scheduled in 2018, including our annual round of Parents’ Evenings in the Spring Term, beginning with the Year 10 Parents' Evening on Thursday 11 January, our Key Stage 4 Curriculum Evening for pupils in Year 9 on Thursday 25 January, Legally Blonde Jr in February and our annual Enrichment Week in July which will see our pupils taking part in new, exciting and challenging activities at home and abroad.
School reopens to pupils on Wednesday 3 January 2018.
Our Carol Service had an international flavour with some of our pupils sharing the following Christmas message with our audience in their mother (or father!) tongue:
At this special time of year when people are in good spirits and amongst friends and family, we wish you all a very merry Christmas. Enjoy the festive period, and may you feel well rested for the New Year. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Durant cette periode de fin d'annee, heureux parmi nos proches et nos amis, nous vous souhaitons a tous un tres joyeux Noel. Savourez ce temps de fetes ensemble et reposez-vous pour entamer sereinement la nouvelle annee. Joyeux Noel et bonne heureuse annee.Roxy (Year 11)
En este momento especial del año en que la gente está de buen humor y entre amigos y familiares, les deseamos una muy feliz Navidad. Disfrute del período festivo, y que se sienta bien descansado para el año nuevo. Feliz Navidad y un próspero año nuevo. Sam (Year 10)
Сейчас, когда год походит к своему концу и все проводят своё время в кругу семьи и друзей, мы желаем всем вам счастливого рождества. Наслаждайтесь праздниками и хорошо отдохните к новому году. Веселого рождества и с Новым годом. Anhelina (Year 11)
Zu dieser besonderen Zeit des Jahres, wenn die Leute in guter Stimmung sind und unter Freunden und Familie, wünschen wir Ihnen allen ein schönes Weihnachtsfest. Genießen Sie die festliche Zeit und fühlen Sie sich gut erholt für das neue Jahr. Frohe Weihnachten und ein glückliches neues Jahr. Jessica (Year 9)
Христос народився! Святкуйте в колі своєї родини, веселіться, набирайтеся сили на Новий рік. Веселого Різдва та Щасливого Нового Року! Sasha (Year 11)
