February 2018 - Page 2 of 3 - Woodbridge School

Woodbridge School’s performance of The Sound of Music brought out the ‘feel-good factor’ and wowed the audience.

View the online photo gallery and report by the East Anglia Daily Times: http://www.eadt.co.uk/…/woodbridge-school-pupils-give-incre…

Twelve Woodbridge School athletes represented Suffolk at the annual Anglian Schools Cross Country Championships hosted this year at the Royal Hospital School on Saturday 3 February.

There were four age group races for each of the boys and girls and Suffolk were up against the very best from Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire and Norfolk.

Suffolk were in the top three teams in every race and across the eight races were crowned overall champions.

Suffolk won 6 of the 24 individual medals on offer and Woodbridge School athletes claimed 3 of the 6:

Ruby Vinton won Gold in the Minor Girls

April Hill won Bronze in the Junior Girls

Nathan Goddard won Bronze in the Inter Boys

Full results were:

Minor Girls : Ruby Vinton 1st

Minor Boys : Moses McBride 10th (An excellent debut at this level)

Minor Boys : Edward Buckingham 20th (Ed was with Moses before being tripped in the home straight – who says XC is not a contact sport)

Junior Girls : April Hill 3rd

Junior Girls : Bea Thomas 27th

Junior Girls : Amy Goddard 31st

Junior Girls : Jess Elmer 50th

Junior Boys : Charlie Turner 9th (Junior Boys were team winners)

Junior Boys : Kit Evans Lombe 15th

Inter Boys : Nathan Goddard 3rd

Inter Boys : Alex Evans Lombe 35th

Inter Boys : Daniel Davies 57th

Selection to compete at England Schools Cross Country

For the Minor category this was the final race in a series. For Juniors and beyond there was the added pressure of trying to make the cut to compete at England Schools.

This race served as the final trial after which the Suffolk Team would be halved.

It is fantastic to report that the following seven athletes will represent Suffolk at the England Schools Cross Country Championship in Leeds on Saturday 17th March:

Junior Girls : April Hill

Junior Girls : Bea Thomas

Junior Girls : Amy Goddard

Junior Boys: Charlie Turner

Junior Boys : Kit Evans Lombe

Inter Boys : Nathan Goddard

Inter Boys : Alex Evans Lombe

Amy gets another mention in that this year she is the only Woodbridge School athlete selected to compete at England Schools a year young. Amy will get to try out for the same age group next year.

Congratulations to all, a just reward for all the hard work and we wish you every success in Leeds.

Last weekend, three Woodbridge girls flew out to the French Alps to compete in the annual Schoolgirls’ races. Katherine Bye, Beth Turner and Honor Bartlett raced in three disciplines: Giant Slalom, Parallel Slalom and Slalom against girls from schools as far afield as Glenalmond, St Mary’s Calne and Cheltenham Ladies, as well as the big ski schools of Surbiton, Reed’s and NLCS.

In the first race of Giant Slalom, all our girls put down clean runs through the gates and Honor Bartlett finished as the youngest competitor in the top 10, winning the silver medal for her age group. It’s a discipline that we cannot train for on a short dry slope, so our girls did amazingly well to ski with such confidence. What’s more, our overall team time allowed us to qualify for the afternoon’s Parallel Slalom programme, set up as a relay with the whole team competing. We were pitted against eventual runners up in the first round and were certainly not embarrassed in coming in second to them, Beth Turner putting in a great leg for the team. The final race was a traditional slalom race, and with Honor in second overall in the combined, this was a perfect opportunity to move up. Her first blazing run saw her come back to within 0.03 seconds of the leader. But a costly mistake, valiantly corrected by climbing back up the mountain!, saw her lose time and finish in the bronze medal position.

Many thanks to Lucy Bartlett and Rob Turner for coming out to Flaine support the girls too. The team really was a credit to the school and showed the talent we have on the slopes. Bring on more training sessions on the Ipswich Glacier on those bitter Friday evenings!

…And when all was said, sung, and done, the glory of homeland Edelweiss inspired the Austrian hearts to defy those Nasties after all. The snow fell, the music soared, the mountains called, and Maria saved her Captain and his children! Hurrah! I confess, one or two of us in the audience wiped away three or four tears. Between us, of course.

There is something bewitching about musicals – the suspension of disbelief as the music and the songs weave in and out of the spoken word makes for a little bit of magic, and there was plenty of that on show in the Seckford Theatre. From the hypnotic opening of the nuns at prayer to the circle completed at the curtain’s call by the Mother Abbess herself, this was a story that flew along on the wings of love. Seven children in glorious rank order of size, and even more glorious harmony, looked every bit the family as they shrieked at thunder, spun the bed, learnt of musical scales and of loving, and loving again. The Captain’s staff offered a charmingly cheeky deference that belied an obvious fondness for their master. Max did as Max will do – pleasing himself and all around him, and Frau Schraeder with charming honesty did the decent thing by the Captain. What would any of us have done in those times, eh? Not, we hope as Rolf (but good for him at the end!), or the Barons and Baronesses, the Admiral or Boo Hiss Zeller.

So the innocent and Godly nuns and their Abbess saved the day, and the mountains did the rest. The Nasties were thwarted, and our finest of Captains with impeccable honour and a firm hand at the metaphorical till rediscovered his heart and his children, and took the hand of our most beguiling of postulants – our Maria, whose eyes shone with a fervour of goodness that swept all before her.

It’s a wonderful story, and the intimacy of the setting was so beautifully enhanced by the quite outstanding performance of the Band and the fabulously versatile set. On stage, the quality of the singing, as well as, of course, the acting, took us into the heart of Salzburg, and the von Trapps completely into our hearts. Thank you. Thank you, cast, Band, and crew in all your guises. And to those with the vision to bring it all together – directors of stage, music, song and dance – our most heartfelt of congratulations.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish the cast and crew of The Sound of Music all the very best for their first performance this evening.

This School Musical will be on all week, with two performances on Friday, and we know it will be a huge success.

Well done to everyone for all their hard work.

Year 5 & 6 have been drawing views around The Abbey as part of the Young Art East Anglia competition.

The title this year is “Nature’s Delights” and we hope to have some of our entries shortlisted for the exhibition at Peter Pears gallery in Aldeburgh on the 9, 10 and 11 March.

This is a wonderful opportunity for aspiring young artists to see their work displayed in a professional gallery.

Mrs.Parker’s Year 4 art club have enjoyed making pen pots out of recycled toilet roll tubes.

They have designed, constructed, papier mached and painted their pen pots; don’t they look awesome!

SPANISH INTERACTIVE STORYTELLING AND DRAMA WORKSHOPS

On Friday 12 January Years 3, 4 and 5 took part in an interactive storytelling workshop in Spanish. John of the Freshwater Theatre Company told two stories (Rocitos de Oro y los Tres Osos and Los Tres Cerditos) with the help of the Abbey pupils. In the afternoon Year 6 were joined by Year 7 pupils from the Senior School and took part in an interactive drama workshop on Don Quijote. Both workshops were very entertaining and helped pupils develop even further their linguistic and cultural knowledge.

Mrs Verona

‘The workshop helped us to learn some different words in Spanish. It was great! There was some fantastic acting.’ Niamh (Year 4)

‘We had lots of fun at the Spanish workshop. I had a part in Los Tres Cerditos. It was simply great and we learnt some new Spanish words.’ Tom (Year 4)

‘Both stories were extremely funny, and I found the workshop really inspiring and fascinating.’ Theo (Year 4)

‘I thought the workshop was good because I liked how we were involved in the acting’ Aston (Year 4)

‘I enjoyed Don Quijote. The actor was great at playing two parts. I loved that we were involved in the acting too!’ Polly (Year 6)

‘It was funny and educational at the same time!’ Edward (Year 6)

‘I enjoyed watching the crazy adventures Don Quijote had’ Oscar (Year 6)

‘The workshop was really funny; I learnt a lot of new words!’ Joe (Year 6)

‘The workshop was a funny, interactive and educational show. I loved it!’ James (Year 6)

On Saturday 27 January Woodbridge School had five top Cross Country athletes compete at the South Of England Cross Country Championships in Brighton. Each race had 200 to 350 of the best athletes from the South compete for honours.

All five were medal winners from the recent Suffolk Schools Cross Country but this was another level and it just so happened that all five were racing a year up and so can compete in the same age group race next year.

We start with young Ruby Vinton who has had an astonishing first year at this level. Each race gets a little more difficult but each time Ruby stands up to the challenge and this Saturday was no different. Racing the best older girls in the South, Ruby fought hard to the line and was crowned Champion of the South. Ruby had to dip for the line and after 3 km in the mud was credited with exactly the same time of 10:50 as the second place finisher from Windsor.

An outstanding performance and a proud day for the Vinton Family and all associated with Woodbridge School and Ipswich Harriers athletic club. It was quite something to watch one of our own win such a prestigious event. A massive congratulations to Ruby!

In the U15 Girls, April Hill continues her climb back to the very top, with this race being her best so far this winter. April beat all her close Suffolk Competitors for the first time this winter finishing a credible 12th overall. This performance helped Ipswich Harriers to a fantastic team bronze on the day.

Unbelievably, such is the depth in her age group that all of the top 12 will be in the same race next year. With confidence returning that should do little to stop April getting back to her very best.

Charlie Turner competed in a fiercely competitive U15 Boys race where he ran a well judged race to finish strongly in 54th. Such is the depth that 45 seconds faster over 4.5 km in the mud and he would have placed 12th. Most importantly Charlie gets to go again next year and he was 18th amongst the year nines.

Nathan Goddard and Alex Evans Lombe competed in the U17 Men. The race was relentless over 6 km with Nathan finishing strongly in 33rd overall, another consistent performance and 13th year eleven.

Alex was exactly 100th. A great effort by Alex for his first attempt at an event of this standard and 42nd amongst the year elevens.

Next stop will be Anglian Schools this Saturday 3 February for the 12 Woodbridge School athletes representing Suffolk Schools.

Good luck to everyone competing.

Many congratulations to Mejedi who has won a place in London’s Chineke! Junior Orchestra. He and the orchestra, which is made up of 11-18 year-old players of at least grade 8 standard, will perform next during the Imagine Children’s Festival at the Southbank Centre this coming half term.