Dear Families, Friends, Students and Staff.
It truly feels as if we are back to business as normal this week (see above). Returning students have settled back down to the new school year with surprising speed and efficiency. Our new students are also learning the ropes in a most eager fashion. The cold weather may have caught us all a bit off guard this week, but Canbury students are taking everything else in their stride. Well done everyone.
Next weekend is our annual Open Morning, from 10am to 12 noon, when we get the opportunity to showcase the very best that Canbury has to offer. All students (and staff) are asked to give up this one morning a year to come and give something back to school. Canbury is a special place of learning, encouragement and support, which is why our students thrive here, becoming happy, resilient, confident learners. Please do deliver your child to us next Saturday, 21st September by 9.45am. Our visitors (prospective new students and their adults) get to tour the building, finding out all they want about how things tick here. Every year many of our students complain about coming. Every year most of them leave at the end of the morning saying it was the best day they had in school! I look forward to seeing our Canbrians in action next Saturday.
Mrs Rich – Head.
Students of the week.
Year 7
A great start in Maths with Arya, Ella, Max, Brooke, Soren, Miah and Emerson all achieving the silver “Cucumber of Consistency” trophy on Dr Frost.
Brilliant work from Aurelia and Noah for achieving the Dr Frost bronze “Person of the Century” trophy.
Brooke and Soren for excellent participation in the wellbeing lesson.
Year 8
Excellent climbing from Hattie last week, completing a tricky green route in Games/PE.
Sophia B and Alex for active participation and on-topic discussion in a wellbeing lesson.
Oliver provided excellent contributions and ideas to the class during a Social, Moral Spiritual and Cultural lesson, especially regarding individuals with power.
Good team work from Josef, Tristan, Elizabeth, Sofia B, Alex, Archie, Olivia, Hattie, Oliver and Sofia M whilst completing the Compound Area treasure hunt in the Maths lesson on Wednesday afternoon.
Shout out to Oliver for all his hard work over the summer holidays. Mrs Daggett is in awe of your mastery of the task in hand. Well done Oliver.
Well done to Alex for his excellent creative writing in English last week. What a great start to his Year 8 journey.
Year 9
Lysander and Issy for helping Mrs Rich and Ms Ridley with interviews last week.
Fabulous discussion on why “Goldfish Can Read” is not a good hypothesis, but “All dogs are friendly and make excellent pets” is, in the first GCSE Statistics after school session from Mason, Eric, Alfie and Lysander.
Amazing work done by Issy, Harry, Rosie and Marley in Science this week.
Year 10
A great start to GCSE English Literature from Francesca and Finn!
Gracias to Mani and Lloyd for their help in setting up the GCSE Spanish resources so that we could access them online. They are not just talented linguists, but IT superstars as well!
Logan for mature attitude towards his study periods this week, and showing Ms Lansdell how to make a slide spin......
And another thought-provoking discussion on what makes a good hypothesis in the first GCSE Statistics after school session from Bethany, Sophie and Sam.
Excellent work from mathematicians Lloyd, Bethany, Sophie, Sam, Mani, Theo and Evan this week, who have successfully solved past exam questions involving Bounds.
Year 11
Reenie and Logan for helping Mrs Rich and Ms Ridley with interviews last week.
Excellent acting in Spanish from Sam, Judah and Matt at the doctor's surgery this morning. Hope they get better soon.
Reenie and Logan for excellent work in science and cracking the calculation of atomic relative mass. They also helped Mrs Rich and Ms Ridley with interviews last week. 'Talk about starting the school year firing on all cylinders!
Sixth Form
Well done to Frankie for a brilliant start to GCSE English Literature.
Excellent work, again, from Frankie who has made a positive start to his Higher IGCSE Maths studies.
Well done to Flora, Frankie, Layla and Annie for their positive start to their Unit Award Scheme studies.
Upcoming dates for your diary.
Wednesday 18th September - Information and Coffee morning for Year 7 and new joiner parents/carers in the School Hall, 8.15 - 9.45am.
Saturday 21st September - Canbury School annual Open Morning, 10 - 12 noon. All staff and students (in uniform) required in school.
Friday 27th September - MacMillan Cancer Support coffee morning (social + fundraising event). Coffee/tea, cake and chat in the School Hall for all parents/carers, 8.15 - 9.15am. Cake sale for students at break time. Please bring cash.
Monday 7th October - Meet the teacher for Year 7 parents/carers and parents/carers of any other student who has joined us this school year. In the School Hall, 6-8pm.
Tuesday 15th to Friday 18th October - School trip to Malaga, for those students signed up.
Friday 18th October - Break up for October half term (two weeks).
Monday 4th November - Return to school, 08.10am.
Canbury footballers have a ball (sorry) on a visit to Chelsea FC.
"As a reward for excellent participation in our school football teams last year, our footballers took a trip to Stamford Bridge today, home of Chelsea FC," writes Mr Barnes. "After the initial disappointment of not being able to visit a higher calibre Premier League team subsided (maybe we’ll visit AFC Bournemouth next year*…), the students, and some staff (Mr Temple), were extremely excited.
We were lucky enough to have a short tour of the stadium, visit the club museum and participate in an interactive classroom based session. As ever, the students were a great reflection of the school and a great time was had by all".
(*All views are the author's personal ones.....)
In other sporting news we wanted to shine a light on Year 9 student Marley, who's quite the golfer. Our Marley spent a glorious summer playing his way from hole to hole, tournament to tournament, at home and abroad.
Whilst he took part in a myriad of tournaments, Marley was most pleased winning the Jessie Dodd's Cup. This cup competition is an adult and junior team event, which was won by Marley’s big Brother Freddie and his team partner last year. Marley and his team mate won 4:3 last Sunday against the Club President and Junior Caption - thereby setting a family tradition by the looks of things. We heard Marley had provided a master class in pitching, chipping and putting out on the golf course. Below, a picture of an exhausted, but thrilled Marley. Very well done. It's always great to hear about what students get up to outside of school, developing the whole person.
Eco team shout out.
The Canbury Eco team is looking to recruit some new members. If you are interested in finding out more about this club and our projects for the coming year, our next meeting is Thursday lunchtime in the Pastoral Office. Please come, with ideas, with enthusiasm with energy and let's get passionate about being green.
Roll up roll up and get ready for a charity fundraiser - we need cake.
New face, a return face, and a wedding.
I am delighted to introduce myself as the new Assistant Head Pastoral and Designated Safeguarding Lead at Canbury School. With over 12 years of teaching experience across all key stages, from EYFS to KS5, and a specialism in PE and Games, I have had the privilege of working with students of all ages and abilities. Pastoral care and student welfare have always been central to my approach as an educator, and I am excited to bring my passion and dedication to the Canbury community.
Outside of work, I’m an avid football fan, with a particular passion for Chelsea FC. I also enjoy skiing, exploring new music, and travelling whenever I can. These activities help me stay balanced and energised, and I love hearing about and learning from the interests of others, as I believe it’s a great way to connect.
On a personal note, as I write this, my daughter is celebrating her first birthday! Reflecting on this past year, I am reminded of the significance of care, compassion, and the lessons learned through new experiences - values I carry into my professional life. It has been a year full of growth, memories, and insights, both as a parent and an educator.
I look forward to getting to know you all and working closely together to support the wonderful students here at Canbury School.
Warmest regards,
Mr Rush.
Look who dropped by last week to say hello - past student Anders, who left us a year ago having been with us from Year 7 through to Year 11. He was passing by before starting the second year of his Sixth Form. We had to do a double take and look up, as Anders has definitely sprouted skywards. It was lovely to see him and he enjoyed catching up with staff and students, as did we enjoy catching up with him. It was good to hear he is still in touch with a number of his friends from Canbury too. Happy days!
And whilst we love to celebrate our students here at Canbury, we also love to celebrate our staff too! Here's another happy picture - huge congratulations to Mr Bourgi, who got married in the summer holidays and is pictured here with fellow colleagues Ms Boyle and Mr McGregor. Happy days!
Mr Bourgi's wedding clearly got Mr McGregor thinking, because he proposed to HIS girlfriend over the summer. Maybe Mr Bourgi can give his friend some wedding planning tips.....
But that's not all. Writes Mrs Porter: "I am delighted to share the happy news with parents and carers that Mr McGregor has passed his Early Career Teacher training with flying colours and is now a fully qualified teacher. Although he was before, this two year period of support and training enabled him to receive guidance and advice from a mentor within school to help him on his way. Whilst he no longer receives the formal guidance, we all continue to support each other and wish Mr McGregor a successful and happy career on the best job in the world!". Well done Sir - when he's not sharing his love of Geography with his students, he's living it practically, encouraging them on their Duke of Edinburgh expeditions. Absolutely brilliant.
Smiling is infectious
By Spike Milligan (shared by Mrs Eynon).
Smiling is infectious,
You catch it like the flu,
When someone smiled at me today,
I started smiling too.
I passed around the corner,
And someone saw me grin,
When he smiled I realised,
I’d passed it on to him.
I thought about that smile,
Then realised its worth,
A single smile just like mine,
Could travel round the earth.
So if you feel a smile begin,
Don’t leave it undetected,
Let’s start an epidemic quick,
And get the world infected.