THE "FIRST THURSDAY" NEWSLETTER

NEWSLETTER JUNE 1995 No. 18

SPORTS DAY is one of the main highlights of the school calendar for June, and we hope that as many parents and friends as possible will come along to support this event.

Changes have been made this year. Instead of two separate sports days - senior and junior - the events are being combined, and will take place on Wednesday 28 June. Apart from a few events which will take place before the day itself, all the sports will be held on this day, starting at 9.30 a.m. and going right through the day to about 3.15 p.m. This will help restore our Annual Sports Day to its rightful prestigious place in the life of our school.

Please come along and support the boys in their endeavours. Bring a packed lunch with you if you wish, and make a whole day of it. We will be very pleased to see you.

SPONSORS WANTED

We are looking for sponsors to provide strips for our Years 7, 8 and 9 football teams. The cost of the whole kit is £200 per team, and any company logo or advertising can be added for a further £40 per team.

Not only will it mean that our boys look a lot smarter when they take part in team matches (they currently play in their reversible rugby tops), but this is an ideal opportunity to help school sport, and gain publicity for your company or organisation at the same time. We would be grateful if parents would please mention this to anyone they know who may be interested in providing such sponsorship.

GOLF

The South East England qualifier for the British Heart Foundation Championships takes place on 7 July at Moatlands Golf Club, Tonbridge, and we wish our team every success.

ATHLETICS

On the evening of Friday 7 July, there is a sports studies visit to the KP Athletics meeting at Crystal Palace. We have reserved a total of 77 seats, and the visit is open to anyone in the school - including parents - who would like to attend. The cost is £12 for the under 16s and £15 for the over 16s. The event is part of the European Grand Prix Athletics Circuit, with many world champions competing, including Linford Christie, Cohn Jackson and Sally Gunnell.

SWIMMING

We congratulate James Hambling who gained fifth place in the men’s 200 metre freestyle at the Southern Counties swimming championships. James has also broken the Kent county record for the junior 50 metre freestyle.

SPORTS EVENTS COMING UP: Tuesday 13 June -4 p.m. Year 8 v Astor (away), Year 10 v Astor (home); Wednesday 14 June -2.15 p.m. 1st XI v Sir Roger Manwood’s (home), 4 p.m. Year 7 v Astor (home) and Year 9 v Astor (away); Tuesday 20 June - 4 p.m. Year 9 v Sir Roger Manwood’s (away); Wednesday 21 June - 2 p.m. 1st Xl v Dane Court Grammar School (away), 2 p.m. Powell Trophy athletics meeting at the Duke of York’s School; Friday 23 June - 4 p.m. Year 7 v Sir Roger Manwood’s (away); Friday 7 July - 2.15 p.m. Year 7 South East Kent Athletics meeting at Astor.

ART

In March, pupils aged 11 to 14 took part in an art competition open to all Kent’s pupils of that age group. The contest was organised by The Association of Men of Kent and Kentish Men, and four substantial prizes were generously offered. Contestants had to illustrate one of four Kent-related themes, on A4-size paper.

A total of 572 students from all over Kent took part, but despite such fierce competition two of the four prizes were won by our pupils, William Martin (7 Castle) and Ashley Bostock (7 Channel). The prize winning work is to be exhibited at the association’s headquarters. Congratulations to all the successful competitors!

C.C.F.

May was again a busy month for the Combined Cadet Force. Ten cadets went flying at Manston and 12 took part in the 17th annual cadet march, accompanied by PO Hannent. They completed the full course of 25 miles. Thirty cadets marched in the Dover V.E. Day anniversary parade and laid a wreath.

Two practice shoots have taken place on Hythe ranges and culminated in our cadets taking part in the Kent Schools Rifle meeting. A joint weekend exercise was held at Chattenden. In June, cadets will again be flying at Manston, and they will be acting as stewards and helping at the Walmer Castle Show. The R.A.F. section will be providing the Guard of Honour for Air Chief Marshall Sir Michael Graydon when be officially opens the Hunting Lodge visitors’ centre at the Battle of Britain Memorial at Capel on 19 June.

MATHS CHALLENGE

EARLIER this term, a number of Year 7 and Year 8 pupils entered for the U.K. Mathematical Challenge, sponsored by Sharp Electronics. This competition attracted entries from more than 105,000 pupils from 1,400 schools.

The challenge took the form of a one-hour examination covering a wide selection of mathematics and problem-solving techniques. Thirteen pupils from our school achieved bronze certificates, 19 gained silver and nine won gold. The nine were: Mark Gabriel, Ben Friend, Luke Tridgell and James Witty from Year 8, Sebastian Barling, Philip Gough, Daniel Osborne, Luke Stockdale and Christopher Tutthill from Year 7. Christopher also came top within the school.

In a similar competition at the end of last term for Years 9 to 11, 32 pupils achieved bronze certificates, 20 received silver and the following eight gained gold: Christopher Odell and Stuart Whitewood from Year 9, Tim Courtney from Year 10, Jonathan Coates, Mark Fade, Sebastian Gough, Ho Man and Toby Shaw (who also came top within the school) from Year 11.

CAN YOU HELP?

As visitors to the school may have noticed, the Honours Boards end in 1983 when Open Scholarhsips and Exhibitions awarded on entry to Oxford and Cambridge ended.

However, since then, there have been a large number of successful students who have left our school to study at Oxford and Cambridge, and senior teacher Giles Falconer has been trying to track them down.

He would be grateful for any information on the COLLEGES attended by any of the following, so no mistakes are made on the board. Please send such information to him at the school.

1984 - A. T. Broan (Oxford), N. P. Farrell (Oxford); 1987 D. Beard (Oxford); 1988 - I. G. Coaker (Cambridge); 1989 - B. Luckhurst (Oxofrd), B. Mann (Cambridge) and L. M. Woodward (Cambridge).

Grand Ball

The response for this year’s Grand Ball has been very good, so if you want to come and join the celebrations, you ought to return the booking form as soon as possible. The ball will take place at the school on Saturday 15 July, but don’t leave it too late to book as numbers are limited. Please send the booking form plus full remittance to the school.

Summer Music

Don’t forget the Music for a Summer Evening which takes place at the school on Wednesday 19 July at 7.30 p.m. The programme will include instrumental music from classics to jazz, and refreshments will be served. ONE of our students, Jon Evett, has been selected to take part in a television programme. It is being made for the B.B.C. Schools’ series LIFSECHOOL which provides a wide-ranging choice of programmes for personal, social and health education. The series aims to help young people understand the relevance of its topics to their own lives and to stimulate classroom discussion on the practical and ethical choices people face, either as individuals or policy makers. Each programme will feature three teenagers as they set out to gather evidence about a particular subject, and the programme Jon is involved in is about work. Filming took place during the half-term holiday.

Incidentally, some of our boys who attend local Methodist youth clubs appeared on the B.B.C. television programme “Songs of Praise this week when it was broadcast from the Methodist Association of Youth Clubs’ annual London Weekend, attended by 10,000 young people.

AS WE WERE SAYING

THE school governors had feared that inconsiderate stopping and parking outside the top gate would lead to an accident, and it has now happened. Fortunately, no-one was injured, but it does highlight the problem which exists, and which, regrettably, seems to be getting worse.

The accident happened during the morning “rush-hour” because two parents had stopped in the turning area outside the gate to drop their sons off as close to the entrance as possible.

For the sake of the safety of our pupils, parents and staff, PLEASE DO NOT stop or park on the yellow lines or in the turning area outside the top gate. This area should be free at all times for vehicles wishing to turn There is plenty of space on the road approaching the school to stop, drop the boys off, and then go on to the turning circle TO TURN and go back down the road. Please co-operate - and pass the message on to any other relatives or friends who may bring your son to school or collect him at the end of the day.

The school drive has now been repaired, but no vehicles are allowed to use the drive between 8.15 and 8.45 a.m. and 3.15 and 3.45 p.m., Monday to Friday.

OUR school has raised £500 for the Romanian Orphanage Trust. The cheque was handed over at an assembly in May.

Parents’ and Friends’Association

Winners of the 200 Club May draw were Mr. and Mrs. A. Rowing (£25), Mrs. S. Langley (£15) and Mr. J. Roberts (£10). The draw takes place on the third Thursday of each month, so if you are not yet a member, and would like to stand a chance of winning one of the prizes, all you have to do is to send a cheque for £3 (to cover your subscription for the rest of the school year), made payable to D.G.S.B., P.F.A., 200 Club, to the 200 Club organiser, Jill Tutthill, c'o of the school. Send it in by 13 June to be included in this month’s draw.