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Reception children have been learning about nocturnal animals as part of their Night & Day topic. They went into the garden and looked for signs animals.  Then they looked for pictures of nocturnal animals and ticked them off on their checklist.  They were very good at working in pairs, reading the animal names and spotting the wildlife pictures lurking in piles of leaves and up trees.

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Mr Brett presented certificates today to the children in Queen’s House.  Effort certificates were awarded to Max, Jasmine, Henry, Emilia and Martha. Table Manners certificates were awarded to Anthony, George, Arthur and Anand.  Well done to you all!

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We were delighted to welcome British baritone, international prizewinner and operatic star Garry Magee as adjudicator for this year’s Singing Competition.  He brought a charmingly balanced and engagingly frank style to his commentary, offering brilliantly pithy hints and advice to our many singers alongside great praise and enthusiasm for what they are already achieving.  The Thursday evening romp through the best of Show music (Mary Popping, Oz, The King and I, Les Mis, Cats, Chitty, Lady, Annie, Evita, Wicked, West Side…. and on and on!) highlighted both entertainment and musicianship, with familiarity allowing the audience almost (but not quite) to sing along.  Thereafter, Friday concentrated on a far wider repertoire across all ages, genres and moods.  But for Mr Magee it was still vital to ‘tell the story’ – singing is a primal activity, and one only does it if one has a message to deliver…. otherwise why bother?  His is a very well made point, and with performers visibly relaxing under his benign gaze, many wonderful stories were told.  And he couldn’t have put it better at the end: “I’ve had a blast and been very impressed with you all – well done!”

Bravo to all the singers, and in particular the following category winners:

Songs from the shows: Junior: jointly Nathaniel Gunn and Lauren Wilkes; Senior: Lucy-Eve Wright. Treble Solo: Freddie Simpson. Junior girls’ solo: Ella Reynard.  Intermediate solo: Nathaniel Gunn. Lieder class: Gabriella Zins. European song: Madelaine Felton. Junior Duet: Nina Varadarajan and Ella Walker. Senior ensemble: Martha Carey, Poppy Fletcher, Bethany Wakefield and Miranda Woods Ballard. English song: jointly Owen Butcher and Gabriella Harvey.  Opera and Oratorio: Gabriella Harvey.

The overall champion and recipient of the Singing Cup was Gabriella Harvey.

Ready to give their best for the badge, Woodbridge started with great intensity and verve, Hugo Kelleway taking control of the forwards and directing with great accuracy and detail.  It meant that for 20 minutes the play remained in the Culford half. Eventually the pressure told and following a stolen lineout from the salmonesque Fynn Kiley, the ball fell loose, Keiran Saxton made excellent yards before Tristan Hilger took up the charge and scored under the posts. Tom Innes converted and celebrated with his now customary Viking roar of passion.  7-0 to Woodbridge.

Culford started the second half strongly and Woodbridge had to defend for a while before an opportunistic interception from James Bellhouse and a ‘bolt like’ 20 metre sprint saw him flop over the line under the posts: 14-0 to Woodbridge. Soon after Hugo saw a chance to kick over the top, Tom Innes somehow ended up with the ball in his hands and offloaded to Jack Grant who crashed over the posts. 21-0.

Culford re-organised and eventually entered the Woodbridge 22 for the first time, and the Culford number 8 finally crashed over from a scrum to score. The try was converted and Culford’s tails were suddenly up. Not for long… a huge hit, a dislodged ball and Tristan Hilger set off down the touchline for the team’s fourth try… but… the referee was collapsed with cramp in the middle of the field and, unable to see, could not award it. It mattered not. Soon after, Alfie Agar dummied through the opposition to crash over for a well-deserved 28-7. Game over and a win for a Woodbridge team excellent to a man in attack and defence.

 The next round of the National Cup is on Thursday 1 December at home: 2.15pm kick off.

U14B v St Joseph’s U14A

Score: Lost 2-0

This was the U14Bs first match of the season, so the excitement of a competitive fixture lifted the girls spirits, especially as they had been training hard.  The sun was shining and the girls were in for a good afternoon – or so we thought… As soon as the starting whistle went, the sky darkened and the heavens opened. This did not stop the girls as they continued to play in the torrential downpour. To say we were all soaked through to our skin was an understatement! Our defenders should be extremely proud of how well they defended; tackling with tenacity and clearing the ball away. We managed to break away from play and take control on a number of occasions, but we just couldn’t find the back of the net, unfortunately. The girls should be immensely proud of their performance, particularly given they were up against St Joseph’s A team. Framlingham next …. the girls are ready!

The Match started with great pace and intensity,  with Woodbridge immediately on the front foot and on the attack, the forwards and backs working well together. The inevitable opening appeared and Hugo Kelleway dummied through a static defence to race over in the corner and make it 7-0 after 5 minutes. Straight from the kick off, and following a great set piece play and ‘quick hands’ to Rupert Clogg on the wing, another try was added: 12-0; 10 minutes; Woodbridge cruising and in complete control: keep composed, play to a structure and the game would be over by half time… But the opposition fought back, and the game became a little messy for the next 25 minutes, with lots of turnovers, lots of dropped balls and some muddled thinking meant that for the rest of the half Woodbridge remained broadly penned in despite some excellent work from James Bellhouse and Tristan Hilger late on.  The second half would need fewer mistakes, and better preparation and organisation.

Kieran Saxton obliged first with two barnstorming runs, barrelling over numerous opponents to put Woodbridge into a fantastic field position. A poor defensive kick to Hugo Kelleway; a catch in the middle of the field… side-step one, then two defenders, chip over the defence, speed through, catch his own kick, outsmart the full back and ….score under the posts! Even his own team mates stopped to applaud a fantastic individual try. 19-0.

Next, our defensive lineout to put into practice recent lessons, with Fynn Kiley leaping like a salmon under the support of Belhouse and James Brown, winning the opposition ball, offloading to Tom Innes who passed to the now marauding Saxton who swatted aside tackle after tackle before finally succumbing to about five in one hit! But the ruck was won quickly and Tom Lomas jinked expertly to squeeze over in the corner leaving two defenders on the floor bamboozled by the speed of his hips and feet. 26-0.

The game effectively won, what could Woodbridge add? A quick tap penalty, a driving run by Bellhouse, 20m more gained by the irrepressible Saxton, quick ball at the ruck, and a Kelleway dummy and dive to score under the posts. Conversion made. 33-0.  A great second half performance driven by an outstanding display by Kieran Saxton.

Woodbridge play Beaumont School next, date and time to follow.

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The children in Reception have been learning about Space. They have designed their own space rockets from 3D materials and produced wonderful imaginative space pictures using pastels and paint. They have also been learning the names of the planets and were able to make colourful collages to represent them. They have had great fun creating their own aliens out of playdough.

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Norton Heath, Saturday 5 November 2016

On a cold November morning, Woodbridge School travelled to Norton Heath keen to improve on their efforts in the NSEA Grassroots Equestrian Regional Final from last year.

Following training by Tina Haslam at Newton Hall throughout the year, the Woodbridge riders had an impressive day.

Woodbridge started the day well featuring within the top three team finishes in the 40cm, 50cm and 60cm fences but then secured a fantastic 1st place and Regional Champions title at the 70cm class with their team of Tess Walker riding Noodle, Perdi Ludgrove riding Billy, Olivia Lubbock riding Annandale Gwyneth and Zoe Newman riding Sliabh Piper.

An excellent team achievement and all round good day for Woodbridge with other placings for Woodbridge throughout the events, however, top Individual finishes came in the 75cm Perdi Ludgrove 1st and Tess Walker 2nd. Perdi’s win of the 75cm capped off an exceptionally good day with the Woodbridge team and as an individual.

A full run down of the results is shown below incorporating excellent clear rounds, with ribbon placings for individuals.

40cms Championship Finals Team 3rd
Woodbridge School Team : Rosie Hunter-Blair riding Jimbo, Lily Waterer on her maiden outing with Annabel, Eve Marson riding Bengad Cocos and Sofia Waterer riding Volandero Amber Dancer.

Individual placings Eve Marson 5th riding Bengad Cocos and Sasha Reid 6th on her maiden outing with Flash.

50cms Championship Finals Team 3rd & 5th
Woodbridge Blue Team 3rd ;  Sofia Waterer riding Volandero Amber Dancer, Fran Jackson riding Minnie the Minx, Isla Appleby riding Jigsaw & Rosie Hunter-Blair riding Jimbo.

Woodbridge Red Team 5th ; Oliver Reid riding Twix, Lily Waterer riding Annabel, Perdi Ludgrove riding Billy & Eve Marson riding Bengad Cocos.

60cms Championship Finals Team 2nd & 3rd
Woodbridge Red Team 2nd ; Sofia Waterer riding Volandero Amber Dancer, Eve Marson riding Bengad Cocos, Rosie Hunter-Blair riding Jimbo & Perdi Ludgrove riding Billy.
Woodbridge White Team 3rd ; Lily Waterer riding Annabel, Tess Walker riding Noodle, Fran Jackson riding Minnie the Minx  & Olivia Brown riding Ash.

Individual placing – Perdi Ludgrove riding Billy 5th

Woodbridge Blue Team; Zoe Newman on Sliabh Piper, Alex Ryder-Davies on Faith the Third, Oliver Reid on Twix and Olivia Lubbock on Annandale Gwyneth were sadly unplaced.

70cms Championship Finals Team 1st
Woodbridge Team 1st  ; Tess Walker riding Noodle, Olivia Lubbock riding Annandale Gwyneth, Perdi Ludgrove riding Billy, Zoe Newman riding Sliabh Piper.

Individual results – Perdi Ludgrove  4th riding Billy,Tess Walker 6th riding Noodle  and Olivia Lubbock 7th riding Annandale Gwyneth.

75cms Individual Championships 1st & 2nd Place
Having qualified in the previous round, Perdi Ludgrove came a fabulous 1st riding Billy and Tess Walker came and amazing 2nd riding Noodle.

An incredible day for the young Woodbridge riders. Oliver Reid produced clear rounds throughout and the younger members from The Abbey riders –  Sofia Waterer, Eve Marson, Rosie Hunter-Blair &  Perdi Ludgrove were placed in every Championship class they competed in. The day was capped off beautifully with a Team 1st in the 70cms, followed by fantastic results with Perdi Ludgrove  and Tess Walker finishing with a first and second respectively in the 75cm.

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This month’s thought piece from John Brett in the EADT Education section.

 To ask a class of 10 year old children what they think about Brexit or Donald Trump is to unleash a frenzy of opinion, debate, argument and comment such as you could not possibly imagine. Think Prime Minister’s Questions, only much, much worse! Children are fascinated by the world into which they are growing and often quite perplexed by the way in which ‘grown ups’ conduct themselves and by many of the decisions they make. In the age of seemingly limitless access to unregulated information, it is small wonder that children struggle to make much sense of the world around them.

For many schools, Global Awareness has now become a vital part of the core curriculum, employing as it does important skills of discernment, creative thinking, collaboration and communication in the understanding of global issues. Through it, pupils are able to explore issues that have traditionally been absent from the curriculum and are encouraged to consider how we know what we know by looking at sources, statistics and stories, as well as considering their own personal values and identities.

Such opportunities are a far cry from the educational framework of just a generation ago. The world of work, including global awareness, and the school curriculum are now inextricably linked in terms of giving pupils the necessary tools to really make the best of the opportunities they will face in a few short years’ time. This now strong and important connection, is giving all curriculum subjects licence to explore new areas of understanding, application and context. The skill of oracy for example, the ability to express oneself fluently and accurately, has never been more essential in modern global business communications and schools can begin to develop this skill from the very early years building up confidence and self-assuredness along the way. The ‘try three before me’ teaching technique is another good example of how modern teaching can help children to develop skills of cooperation and collaboration that one would find in the workplace. If you have a problem, don’t go straight to the boss for an answer, try to find three ways of solving it first. If you still can’t solve it, then you can legitimately ask for help!

The world will always throw up unexpected, unpredictable, bewildering scenarios with which we have to cope and manage. That we know this to be the case, should give us all the clues we need in terms of helping children build a strong platform on which to build their futures.

After an hour long bus journey we arrived at New Hall knowing how hard we would have to work, given New Hall’s tough reputation on the hockey field. We quickly got our heads in the game, managing to keep possession and ensuring that the ball rarely left our attacking half. This resulted in an impressive goal through a series of intelligent passes in the D with Rowena Wilson-Smith finishing it off – bringing us an advantage. The New Hall side quickly fought back with a sense of urgency to equalise, but there was nothing they could do to get through our strong defensive players, especially Eleanor Berridge, who managed to hold off their attacks, even with two short corners against us. Half time approached and the weather turned.  Back on the pitch for our second half the rain was torrential but it failed to dampen our team spirit. The second half ended with Woodbridge 2nd XI triumphant. Both teams played with power and determination but ultimately we had the upper hand.