A Trip Through Time
Recently Form 4 visited York – a trip designed to support the project work that the children are studying on ‘The History of York’. Our first visit was to the York Minster Education Centre where the children attended a workshop and were able to learn about how the Minster building has changed over the centuries. This was followed by an interesting tour of the Minster itself. After a quick lunch, we then ventured the short distance across the city to the Yorkshire Museum. Here the children were able to explore the various exhibits before meeting ‘Morca, the Earl of Northumbria’, who was our guide to the intense struggle for York between Anglo-Saxon and Viking invaders between 866AD and 1066AD. The workshop concluded with a sword and shield drill to determine which children would be suitable for recruitment into the Anglo-Saxon army! We await his decision!
NSEA Challenge Accepted
Well done to Team Cundall who competed well in the NSEA last Sunday at the Northallerton Equestrian Centre. The team put in some promising performances and recorded some strong results, in particular Amelia B who achieved 2nd as an individual. We can’t wait to see your progress over the year and keep up the good work.
Choirs in Harmony at Durham Cathedral
20 members of the Cundall Manor Choir recently joined Barnard Castle School Chapel Choir to sing choral evensong at Durham Cathedral, as part of the Durham Vocal Festival celebrations. After rehearsing all morning, the choirs travelled up to Durham Cathedral, one of the greatest buildings in Europe and a World Heritage Site. To sing in this amazing venue was an absolute privilege, and the choirs certainly rose to the occasion, singing with beauty and precision. A host of invited guests attended, including the Lord-Lieutenant of County Durham, the Mayor of Durham, the head teachers from both schools and many proud parents. Director of Music Sarah Reece said, “I am thrilled that choral singing at Cundall is going from strength to strength, and that we are able to share talent and experience through partnerships with other choirs. We are already looking forward to singing another choral evensong at Ripon Cathedral in June.”
Lunchtime Concert Hits All The Right Notes
Well done to all our musicians who performed beautifully at the Lunchtime Concert today (Friday 2nd February) in The Church of St Mary & All Saints, Cundall. The concert, which is part of the Lunchtime Concert series, is wonderful celebration of our pupil’s hard work. Today we had TWENTY musicians take to the stage to perform on a range of instruments.
Space Experiment Fun for Pupils
Pupils from Pre-Prep and Form 1 joined in some very important research from the European Space Agency (ESA) this week. Pupils enjoyed getting to grips with some materials and conducted a whole range of experiments on them to test their suitability for possible space exploration.
Ski Trip ’18
School is now accepting bookings for the annual Ski Trip. This year our pupils will benefit from taking to the slopes in Les Menuires, France. Quick Facts: 7 Nights (departing Saturday 29 Dec ‘18) Full Board Transfers and Lift Passes Included Cost: £1150 What’s Included? Transport Return flights from Northern Airport Return coach transfer from school to airport Return coach transfer from overseas airport to our resort Accommodation 7 nights full board accommodation Accommodation is based on multi-bedded rooms for students. All meals including hot lunches every day. Skiing 6 day hire of skis, boots, poles and helmets 6 day local lift pass 6 full days ski tuition though ESF – all ski abillities catered for. Resort Les Menuires, France, is part of the Les 3 Vallées combining Courchevel, Meribel and Val Thorens; arguably Europe’s largest and most renowned ski resort. Evening Activities: New Year’s Party, Swimming, Games Night, Bum Boarding & Movie Night. How to secure your child’s place? We only have a small number of places left on this year’s Ski Trip. In order to secure your place, email office@cundallmanor.org.uk as soon as possible. Final numbers must be submitted by Friday 9 February. See our flyer by clicking here: Ski Trip 2018 19
London Art Trip Inspires GCSE pupils
An intense two-day excursion in the capital was enough to inspire our budding artists to produce some of their own masterpieces ahead of their GCSE exhibition. Head of Art, Mrs Pearson sums up the experience. This year’s GCSE London art trip was as busy as ever! Arriving early on Friday morning we dropped our bags and headed off to the museums of South Kensington in search of inspiration for the pupils’ set task. The Natural History museum and V&A are treasure troves and the groups split to make the most of the time to sketch and take photographs for their sketchbooks. After a few hours of intense exploration and a spot of lunch we moved on to the Kings Road and the more contemporary works at the Saatchi Gallery which is always an eye-opening and stimulating experience. The current exhibition features a number of up and coming artists whose varied and experimental ways of working gave us lots of ideas. The evening was spent on the Southbank having dinner and visiting the Tate Modern which is now open until 10pm. The permanent collections offer the opportunity to see a wide variety of artists’ works, something for everyone I hope. Day two started with a hearty breakfast followed by a short journey to the Sir John Soane’s museum which is an extraordinary place. The sixteenth century architect amassed an amazing collection of art and artefacts from around the world which are displayed in his house in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, well worth a visit. We then moved onto the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. Seeing so many famous works reaffirmed the importance of seeing works of art “in the flesh”. After lunch we went to the British museum via the Contemporary Ceramics gallery both inspiring in their own ways. We have returned to Yorkshire with heads spinning full of ideas and hundreds of photos to process. The results of the students’ work will be exhibited for all to see at the annual Summer Art exhibition in June, we hope to see you there!
Flossie finds her forte
Well done to our Head Chorister, Flossie Attwood, for securing a coveted place in one of the nation’s prestigious Youth Choirs. Flossie will now join the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain following a successful audition. The National Youth Choirs of Great Britain offer talented youngsters from around the country the opportunity to perform in some of the world’s leading music venues such as the Royal Albert Hall and the Sage, Gateshead. Flossie, who recently performed with other members of the Cundall Manor School Choir at Durham Cathedral as part of the Durham Vocal Festival, will attend two residential courses a year full of music, learning opportunities and social activities. The 13 year old will join together with 100 other talented young singers and will have the opportunity to sing in a range of performances across the year. Director of Music at Cundall Manor School, Sarah Reece, said: “Flossie has always loved singing, and has taken part in a huge number of choral events, musical theatre productions and solo performances. This is on top of playing flute, piano, guitar, and recently attaining Grade 5 in Music Theory.” “Getting a place in the National Youth Choir of Great Britain is a superb achievement, well done Flossie!”
Big Birdwatch returns to Cundall
Eagle-Eyed pupils from Key Stage 2 will be attempting to record the number of local birds as ‘The Big Schools’ Birdwatch’ returns to Cundall Manor School for a second year in a row. Youngsters from Cundall Manor School will be taking part in the nationwide campaign to monitor and record the local winged wildlife across three days this January. The RSPB claim that it is the world’s biggest garden and wildlife survey aimed at individuals and the family. Last year pupils from across the school recorded seeing 30 birds across the survey with owls, robins and chaffinches all making a strong appearance on the list. Pupils have been preparing for the event by constructing bird tables and feeders to help the native wildlife during the winter. Pupils will be encouraged to take note of the wildlife they share their school with. The initiative at the school is being run by Victoria Wick. She said: “We have a wonderful environment at Cundall Manor School and our pupils are keen to get involved with the outdoors.” Mrs Wick added: “All the pupils enjoy the great outdoors and regularly engage with a wide variety of gardening and nature based activities. The recent development of The Wild Wood gives our pupils a new environment to observe wildlife.” “The Big Schools’ Birdwatch is a fabulous way for our youngsters to engage with the wildlife in the school grounds while also contributing to a great campaign.” A recent survey of 200 teachers and 1200 school children from around the UK revealed that 96% teachers believed it was important for children to experience nature at school, while 77% of pupils agreed. With close to a million school children taking part since its launch in 2002, the RSPB Big Schools’ Birdwatch is a great opportunity to enjoy the outdoors. Last year, 73,000 children and teachers took part counting more than 100,000 birds. For the ninth successive year the blackbird was the most common playground visitor with 88% of schools spotting one during their watch. Robins, house sparrows and woodpigeons all featured prominently in the results, and with over 70 difference species recorded, there is sure to be a few surprises in schools around the country. Rebecca Kerfoot, RSPB Big Schools Birdwatch Co-ordinator, said: “The Big Schools Birdwatch is the chance for children to get a taste of the wild side where they live and go to school. It’s fun, easy and simple to set up, it works for all ages, and even if it’s a dull, rainy January day you can still gaze out of the classroom and see a flash of colour.” Adding: “The Birdwatch is the perfect chance to experience nature first hand, make exciting discoveries and help provide scientists with valuable information.” The school will be tweeting the most interesting results.
Dragons’ Den Fun for Form 4
Santa’s Secret Helpers claimed the top prize in the recent Dragons’ Den competition. Budding Entrepreneurs from Form 4 attempted to cash in on their best Christmas ideas when they recently pitched their festive product concepts to a panel of judges. The 11-year-olds presented a wonderful series of innovative designs and ideas as they all used of their recently acquired knowledge of electrical circuits to produce a selection of prototypes to a group of ‘dragons.’ The Dragons’ Den style exercise allowed pupils to display their creative Christmas designs and include items such as lights and motors that were integrated into the designs. Judges then selected their favourite products after a series of probing questions that the budding entrepreneurs did their best to answer. Paul Swalwell, Marketing Manager, was one of the judges. He said: “I really enjoyed seeing some of the superb ideas come to life. The pupils produced some really interesting designs and their presentation skills were superb.” Adding: “The pupils deserve a big well done for all their efforts and I am sure we may have a few budding entrepreneurs willing to pitch to the Dragon’s for real in the next few years.” A group of three claimed the top prize. Santa’s Secret Helpers, Stuart, Ted and Jolyon all were recently presented with a certificate in the library at the start of term. Well done boys.