Category: Senior School News
Such glorious originality, variety, and coiled enthusiasm – I say ‘coiled’ because for me there is at once something constrained and something utterly liberated about percussion. The act of striking; the delicacy of caress. It makes for a fascinating repertoire full of surprise, humour, shade and colour. Yet above all it takes immense skill and no little courage – there is no hiding one’s contribution: everyone is a soloist within the ensemble, every blow owning its distinctive place in the whole.
I have no idea what many of the instruments are properly called (even Mr Milton suggested he has little idea how some are assembled); but then when hand and thigh, whistling lips and reddening palms are added to the orchestration, why should one worry about not being sure how a marimba differs from a … one of the other ones?
Because, really, one is already swept along in the beat, captivated by the rhythm, and entranced by the ebb and flow of sound. Yes, this was a magical evening delivered by a very proud Mrs Seed and her quintet of wonderfully talented pupils. And, unusual though it is for me to pick out one in particular, I must mention Jonathan who was at the heart of the action throughout, but most of all was the truly astonishing soloist for Gitano. Miraculous.
Our thanks to all the performers for a brilliant evening’s entertainment.
Our Sixth Form students, under the expert leadership of their A level music peers and friends, offered the most wonderful evening’s entertainment last Friday to a full and appreciative audience at Woodbridge Library.
Mr Milton mirrored his delight in his introductory explanation (that for once he was only there as an occasional piano monkey) with his heartfelt comments at the end about how this fine cohort of pupils had created something so tremendous together, independent of any need for guidance or encouragement – and what a pleasure, therefore, it had been for him to be able simply to sit back and enjoy the experience.
He was not alone in his enjoyment!
I loved the concert, too, and the appreciation from the audience (Friends of Woodbridge Library, and their friends, as well as our school parents and siblings) couldn’t help but overspill the polite boundaries of applause. I heard there were tears in the eyes at time; and the murmured rumbles of appreciation for the jazz classics that nodded so poignantly and beautifully to memories of time long gone, to scratchy records and ill-tuned radios, spoke louder than words.
Enough of this! You should have been there! And if, foolishly, you missed the chance, then you missed Barbershop and Liszt (virtuosic!); concertos for tuba and for two violins (the musical conversation between the protagonists quite exceptional); you missed Mozart and Brahms, beautifully played and sung respectively; and a chance to be Flown to the Moon. You missed smooth instrumental jazz and passionate Pergolesi; and you missed Misty Stardust sprinkled with Moondance. And in a truly delightful bow and curtsey to the eponymous hero of our concert, you missed My Funny Valentine.
Wonderful! Thank you, Friends of Woodbridge Library for your generous and warming hospitality, and thank you the Sixth Form musicians, for a glorious treat on a bracingly cold winter night!
Miss Norman Reports: This week England is focusing upon raising awareness around Children’s Mental Health. 75% of mental illnesses start before a child reaches their 18th birthday, while 50% of mental health problems (excluding dementia) take root before the age of 15 years. From the tragic story of Molly Rose whose suicide was linked to viewing harmful internet content, through to discussions being held in parliament on the effects of social media and mobile phone technology upon children’s wellbeing, the importance of acknowledging and re-examining this area cannot be clearer.
Over the summer holidays, Woodbridge School enabled me to complete my instructor training in Mental Health First Aid (MHFA). This is an internationally recognised training course that is designed to teach people how to spot the signs and symptoms of mental ill- health in young people from ages 8 to 18. Subsequently, I have been able to extend this superb training initiative to 22 pastoral staff at Queen’s House, The Abbey and the Senior School to ensure that our teachers are able to spot the early signs of mental health issues, tackle the stigma surrounding it, and protect those young people who might be at risk of harm, guiding them towards appropriate support. More staff are signing up to complete the Youth MHFA two day course to ensure that they feel confident in dealing with the issues that come their way, offering reassurance to our pupils that they are not alone and that it is ok not to be ok. The Government’s plan to ensure that every school from 2019 has at least one member of staff trained to deal with mental health is a crucial one; Woodbridge School recognises that just one member of staff is not enough in a region classified as the weakest for accessing external support. It reminds our parents and pupils just how important mental health and well-being is within education.
Next term, I would like to extend the MHFA training to parents and those in our community who are interested in completing this certificate. There will be a voluntary donation to complete the training with proceeds going to a charity chosen by our pupils that supports mental health. If anyone would like to find out more about what the course entails or register interest then please do not hesitate to contact me at snorman@woodbridgeschool.org.uk.
National finalists for the first time in 30 years!
Many, many congratulations to our dedicated and resourceful cadet team, brilliantly led by Flo, which came an exceptional third in the Eastern Region competition hosted at RAF Honington, taking away two trophies, and earning their place in the National Finals at RAF Halton in early March.
Our cadets swept all before them in the Drill Competition element of this very prestigious event, winning it outright for the fourth year in a row, and this time following up with a series of top four finished in many of the other elements to come a very fine third overall, behind reigning national champions and winners Kimbolton (though second, by a very distant 20 points, to our team in the Drill!), and Oundle.
The competition last weekend involved some 40 schools, all vying for the honours, but few could compete with our magnificent fourteen. The National finals streamline this down to the top twelve schools in the country… no pressure, then!
The next month may just contain a little more drill, first aid, aircraft recognition, shooting, acquisition of RAF knowledge, and solving of devilish command tasks…
The team: Flo, Oliver, Henry, Tash, Kit, Poppy, Joanne, Amy, Sophie, Lucy, Charlie, Toby, Luke and Annie
On Wednesday 30 January ten CCF Royal Navy cadets enjoyed a great day afloat aboard HMS Trumpeter, a P2000 patrol vessel. After negotiating the ice and Ipswich traffic we were soon aboard and underway. After passing through the locks, we enjoyed an early morning passage with the winter sun beating down on the deserted River Orwell. The cadets were all enthralled by the experience of being on such a boat and hearing about naval operations that the crew had been deployed on. Once clear of the river mouth, the two Caterpillar 800hp engines were opened up, and the fuel consumption increased to 350 litres per hour as we sped across the North Sea at 20 knots. Each cadet took turns on the helm and were able to manoeuvre the boat at speed before we returned to the river and to warm up below decks. A great experience and insight into life in the Royal Navy was had by all.
When art transcends experience it is at its best.
Just dance; no words, save for lyrics.
And yet every time a story told more powerfully for the singularity of medium. We experienced the dance, but we lived the emotions, expressed through a floating hand, a glance, a turn or roll, a coming together or a parting. All eyes on the stage; no time for reflection or idle meandering of mind or thought. This was an evening of pure energy and exuberance channelled through stunningly imaginative choreography and intensely graceful action.
Mrs Simpson reflected on the commitment and passion of the dancers, and alluded to the relative inexperience of some. Who would have known? Such poise, from the first dance to the last; such confidence to seek out the audience and connect through eye and body.
Matthew Bourne’s choreography tells stories through dance with breathtaking and often heart-wrenching clarity – if you are ever offered the chance to see one of his ballets, take it: and I found myself just as beguiled tonight in our dance show. Mesmerising, captivating and truly lyrical; many, many congratulations to all twenty-five dancers and choreographers, to the backstage crew, and to the impresario Mrs Simpson.
Encore!
Huge congratulations to Honor who has received a bronze medal for Giant Slalom in the Trofeu Borrufa in Andorra today, at her very first international competition representing Great Britain. What an achievement!
On Friday 18 January, Year 10 pupils had the opportunity to visit Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge for a Year 10 Open Day. The day included a talk about the Cambridge admissions process, a tour of the college, lunch in Hall, and sample lectures and activities. These included a discussion about plague and the opportunity to do a scientific experiment. There was also time to explore Cambridge itself, including the Backs, where the colleges slope down onto the river.
The next FitzGerald event will be a moot (mock law trial), which will be held in the presence of a retired Appeal Court Judge, the ex-Recorder of London and an Old Bailey judge. This will be on Friday 1 March, in the Science Lecture Theatre, from 2.15 to 4.00pm. Parents are most welcome to attend – please email Miss Wright (awright@woodbridgeschool.org.uk) if you are hoping to come.
What a fantastic event for our fifty keen, enthusiastic and confident boys and girls! For many this was their first experience of such huge numbers of runners in each race – over 250 from around 30 schools each time – and they did brilliantly, to help build our reputation as a growing and improving cross country school.
The Year 8 girls started brightly with Ruby continuing her recent run of victories with a confident performance to win by some 500m, smashing the race record by some 40 seconds. But it’s a team event with six to count: Isobel (5), Ada (24), Libbie (34) and Esme (41) all came in strongly having fought their way through the pack and the cold, and Mae (55), Kitty (66) and Lala (73) came in close behind having run together and pushed each other along well during the race.
The Year 8 boys’ team suffered a slightly disrupted race due to Hockey preparations, but Jonny and Moses represented the team and performed remarkably well in the hail, sleet and cold to produce finishes of 4th and 16th respectively.
The Year 7 girls were well represented and had seven runners participating as a team. Eloise (5) charged through the field after a cautious start and she was ably followed by Rose (14) Sophia (17) and Millie (28). Next came three runners who worked exceptionally hard as a mini team and eventually overtook a number of pupils in the later stages of the race, Violet (36), Rosie (39) and Phoebe (40) ensured that the team finished very strongly.
The Year 7 boys, after watching the girls, were inspired to perform to a high standard even though they could not be considered for the team prize, being only five runners. In the worst of the weather (which was horrendous) Ethan continued his impressive season finishing 3rd, with Jonjo (5) close behind. Jack (30) and Oliver (34) worked well together to battle through the elements and huge numbers of runners, and Oscar (50) continued to show great improvement this year with another excellent run.
Results
Year 5/6 Girls – 3rd Place
Year 5/6 Boys – 2nd Place
Year 7 Girls – 2nd Place
Year 7 Boys – No Place
Year 8 Girls – 5th Place
Year 8 Boys – No Place
Overall Results
Girls – 2nd Place
Boys – not placed
Congratulations to Honor who having put in an incredibly strong performance at the selection races in January, and winning the U14 ladies races at the Ambition Races and the Evolution Speed Races, has again been selected to represent Great Britain at Alpe Cimbra in March. This is a huge achievement as this is the competition in which the very best skiiers from the 45 key ski countries take part.
Photo Attribution: Jaco Duvekot