Dover Grammar School for Boys
THE "FIRST THURSDAY"
NEWSLETTERTHE SKETCH SHOW
Tonight - Thursday 7th February at 7.30 pm
In the School Hall
Tickets will be sold at the door at £2.00 each
CHOICES EVENING - Wednesday 20th February
Please note that all Year 9 and Year 11 students and parents are invited to attend Choices Evening for GCSE and 'A' Level respectively. The evening commences at 6.30 pm for Year 9 and 7.15 pm for Year 11.
NATIONAL SCIENCE FAIR 2002
For the first time ever Dover Grammar School for Boys is about to be represented at The British Association's National Science Fair.
It began when Matthew Vassey, 13CH, and myself were each awarded Nuffield Science Bursaries, funding us individually to conduct research projects among local industry. Matthew undertook biology research at Ash whilst I arranged my own chemistry vacancy with Pfizer. These are special achievements alone; this year Nuffield awarded only 21 Science Bursaries in the South East.
Initially I was anxious that the chemistry within my project would be too advanced. After all, I was the first ever Pfizer Summer Student not currently studying for a science degree. However, my supervisor was keen to accept me on my references and qualifications so far.
My research was a very rewarding experience, I worked within some of the country's best laboratory facilities. My practical control and analysis were heightened by the use of automation chemistry and robotics.
My supervisor was especially excited when I accomplished my main research aim, simply because pioneering techniques are very rarely successful at the frontier of organic chemistry. The new chemical process I achieved had, to our knowledge, never been successfully performed in the world before.
The project reports that Matthew and I produced both achieved Gold Crest Awards. I then applied to The British Association for Advancement of Science in a bid to exhibit my project at the National Science Fair 2002.
My good fortune continued when the judges chose my research report for exhibition. I have won an expenses paid chance to display the project at The Royal Society, London on 11th February. The Fair is specifically organised to recognise exceptional science and technology projects performed by young people from all over the United Kingdom. Further awards are available at the fair in a variety of categories, and some projects may be chosen to represent the UK at international science fairs. Let's hope that carrying the school's badge and the Pfizer logo will help my work achieve even more recognition in the world of science. I will write again with any further achievements and let you know how I get on in London.
Nick Hayward - Head Prefect
SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
Over the next financial year there will be an opportunity for you or your organisation to get involved in sponsoring the school. Currently we are looking for sponsorship for our very successful rugby squad and the 2003 Himalayan expedition which involves a charity project run by the boys. For further details on the benefits to you or your organisation by sponsoring these or other school projects please contact Michael Harrison on 01304 206117.
ADVERTISING
Did you know that the "First Thursday" and the "Old Pharosian" newsletters are read by approximately 2,000 people. Copies, particularly of the "Old Pharosian" magazine, go as far afield as Europe, Australia, the USA, Canada and Saudi Arabia. If you would like to help the school and help yourself by placing an advertisement in the newsletters please contact Sue Barham on 01304 216810.
WEBSITE DESIGN
Our award winning Website Design team are looking to branch out and help the local business community. If you would like your organisation to be part of the Internet Super Highway the school can help. Contact Michael Harrison for details. (This has nothing to do with the dovergrammar.co.uk web site and is a separate entity from it. P Skelton School Web designer)
LENTEN APPEAL WEEK - 4th-8th March inclusive
The annual Lenten Appeal is fast approaching and the School Council has chosen three charities to support. The three charities are:
Demelza House Children's Hospice
The Meningitis Trust
The Starlight Children's Foundation
There are already a variety of fundraising events and ideas planned, including the Powell Cup, where boys are encouraged to be sponsored to run in the cross-country race. Forms can be obtained from the School Office, where their famous raffle will also be available. The Library quiz is also becoming renowned and this year's should be no exception.
Forms are now being encouraged to think up other ideas to raise money as we finalise the week's events so that we can make this year's Lenten Appeal a great success.
Note for New Parents: The Lenten Appeal is the School's major fund raising event for charity. The School Council, representing all forms in the school, organise the event and decide on the charities to be supported. Usually the money raised is divided between three charities. As well as the various fund raising events put on by individuals or forms, the Headteacher has given the School Council the rights to nominate five 'non uniform' days per school year in order to raise money for charity. The School Council has decided to hold all five 4th-8th March at a cost of £3.50 for the whole five days.
ART DEPARTMENT NEWS
LENTEN APPEAL
A large abstract mural is proposed which comprises individual card panels 210mm x 210mm. The completed coloured panels will be joined and displayed as a complete abstract design. Each panel must be of a coloured geometric design using any medium e.g. felt pens, paints, collage etc. To purchase a blank panel at 50p each see Mr Thompson in the Art Studio on Monday 4th March at lunchtime. All pupils and staff are welcome to participate. The best judged design will win a cash prize.
Mr S Thompson - Art Department
CONGRATULATIONS - 2nd prize in Kent Arts Competition
In December 2001 our Year 9 Art pupils entered art work for the Jim Petrie Memorial Contest, open to all 13-18 year old Kent pupils. Art, music and creative writing on the themes of 'In Praise of Farming' and 'In Praise of Birds' could be entered.
We are delighted to have been informed by the Kent County Council's Awards Section in Maidstone that Edward Roberts of 9GS has been awarded 2nd prize. Edward's well-resolved depiction of various species of birds clearly caught the judges' collective eye. He will receive a certificate and a cash prize in due course. Congratulations to Edward and well done to all our entrants.
'LIVE' DESIGN PROJECT FOR DOVER DISTRICT COUNCIL
Last year the Art Department was exclusively invited by Dover District Council to design various items for a major recycling campaign.
The current Year 11 Art group was given the task of designing posters, car stickers, vehicle livery and the graphics to be used on the Council's (new) Kerbside box. 18,000 boxes will be appearing in Sandwich, Dover and Deal later this year, with more to follow next year, the idea being that each householder will be asked to place such recyclable materials as glass, paper, food and drink cans into the box itself made of recycled plastic and given free of charge to each householder.
The organisers were presented with the Art group's work in January 2002 and have decided that Aaron Abbott's ideas will be developed to form the basis of the campaign. Other boys whose work might be featured to a lesser extent are Crystopher Hurford and Kevin Shea. Beau Hayden and David Holder also greatly impressed the Council personnel. All five boys will receive prizes from the Council.
This collaboration continues our working relationship with the Council, established with the Art Department's White Cliffs Arts awards in recent year, and our outstanding success in last year's 'Just Bin It' anti-litter poster contest.
Mr S Almond - Subject Leader for Art & Design
VISIT TO FOLKESTONE METROPOLE ARTS CENTRE - "Temple To The 200 Rabbits"
Upon our arrival at the centre my attention was caught by three giant bronze rabbits (est. 10+feet in height) that stood on their hind legs. Inside the gallery the unique techniques and materials used by the artist quickly became apparent. The sculptures seem to have been based around wire frames covered (usually) in bronze or concrete with some odd looking trash protruding from them.
As the name of the exhibition suggested the gallery featured many recent studies of rabbits, humans and furthermore, unusual rabbit-human beast creatures. The artist seems to have experienced many types of medium to achieve the "perfect" effects of demi-realism in her work. Many of the pieces included vibrant colours and strong definitive lines, showing the confidence of the artist in their creation. The gallery must have contained twenty or more studies of this nature, all of which displayed a unique attribute of sorts. It was universally agreed that the most impressive piece by far could be seen inside the "dark room" (representing an Aztec temple which fascinates the artist, known for its praise to rabbits as being bringers of good luck). A large room of the Metropole had been blacked out, with dim bulbs highlighting 200 3' high bronze rabbits, all in various poses. The lack of natural light added a sense of mystique to the sculptures - it seemed to represent an open field at night covered in rabbits.
This visit to the Folkestone Arts Centre was truly an original experience. I believe that our art group found the creativity the artists used in her pieces an inspiration for some of their recent works. The way in which the artist concentrated on figures and blending her favourite aspects of animal and human results in some very interesting pieces. The scale on which some of the work has been created, especially one wire frame, the three giant rabbits outside and the 200 of the temple is amazing.
The exhibition is open daily from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm. until early March.
Ryan Weatherhead - Form 12C
LIBRARY NEWS
A reminder please to continue collecting and bringing in "Box Top" cereal vouchers. These are converted into cash in March and will be spent on fiction titles. Last week saw the return of Tesco "Computers For Schools" voucher collection. Computer equipment requires continuous updating and so this year I would hope to replace one computer in the Library/Resource area for an upgraded version. The Library machines are heavily used.
Vouchers may either be handed in at the School Office or to the Library direct. Thank you for your continued support.
World Book Day - 14th March 2002. Looking ahead to March we celebrate the arrival of the World Book Day event. Vouchers will be distributed nearer the time.
HELP
I am looking for a small group of pupils to assist with the reviewing of books to be displayed on the School Library Intranet and Website which are currently under construction. Any interested parties please come and have a chat. Reviews to include fiction and non-fiction titles. Enthusiasm and an interest in reading is the only criteria with perhaps a flair for graphics.
Mrs L George - Librarian
ADVANCE NOTICE - ST JOHN AMBULANCE KENT SCHOOLS ONLINE QUEST COMPETITION
From 20th February until 16th March 2002 all pupils at DGSB will have the opportunity to enter this new competition about the history of the order of St John. This will be an online quiz with a tie-break sentence. The prizes include an expenses paid family holiday for up to four, with £500 spending money for the winning student and also prizes for his/her school.
Further details will be published around the school during February. WATCH THIS SPACE!
Mr G M Falconer - Assistant Headteacher
WEBSITE
The Dover Grammar School for Boys has just attained a domain name for its web site. The old address of :
atschool.eduweb.co.uk/dovergramboys/school2001/index.html
(which I think you'll agree is rather a lot to remember and type), has now been replaced with DoverGrammar.co.uk (please note, Dover and Grammar are all one word and the name is not case sensitive). The old site address will remain intact and working via an automatic redirection until I get the search engines and links from other sites to find the new site, so there shouldn't be any problems with finding the school site from either address.
This new site boasts of having 200Mbt's of space (to date I'm not using more than 10) and will allow 7.5Gbt's of transfer data a month, so this site should not get clogged up with overuse. It also has other enhancements over the old site and I am still uploading material from the school archives, including pictures. Once fully up and running, and with the aid of the site search engine, one should be able to type a name into the search facility and instantly find every page on the school web that mentions that name. Hence it will be invaluable for people interested in learning about past members of the school.
Regarding current issues, the site contains information about the school, a detailed and up to date account of the prospectus and last Ofsted report plus any current activities that I am aware of, including newspaper cuttings.
Should any pupil or staff member have any views or ideas as to what else the web should contain (it already has a few education games on board), or has suggestions as to what links you'd like to see to aid your interests or homework, please let me know.
Mr P Skelton
PFA
Hi everyone. Hope everything is going well for you.
Here are some dates for your diary:-
22nd February. There will be a cake sale held at lunchtime. This is another event to raise funds to replace the school minibus. Please will you support us by sending in some cakes to the School Office on 21st and 22nd February and ensure your sons have some money.
Talking about the minibus it looks as though it may have to be replaced this year. Are there any parents out there who work for a car company that could help us obtain a discount? Please contact Joan Gambrell on 01304 368614 if you can help.
13th March. Spring Concert at 7.30 pm in the School Hall. There will be cheese and wine served.
14th March. Year 8 Parents' Evening.
21st March. Year 9 Parents' Evening.
The PFA will be selling second hand uniform on these parents' evenings. There are a lot of items in very good condition, including many outside coats.
26th April. Wine and Wisdom Evening. Everyone who came to the last wine and wisdom evening had a great time. We would like to see as many people again on the 26th. Teams are made up of 8 people. However, if you haven't got a team of 8 still come along because you will be able to join in with others. The PFA need to know in advance how many people will be there to ensure there are enough tables, chairs and answer sheets.
Mrs J Gambrell - Chairman
PFA 200 CLUB
The winners of the January draw are as follows:
1st Mr D Ferguson (78) £25, 2nd Mr & Mrs B Cole (10) £15 and 3rd Mrs M Betts (165) £10.
Mrs P Brown - 200 Club Secretary
SPORTS NEWS
CONGRATULATIONS go to Sam Wilkes, 9AP, who has become the Champion at the Kent County Stage of the National Championships of the Schools' Amateur Boxing Association. This is the second year running that Sam has been the champion and he now goes forward straight into the nationals with high hopes after beating the National Champion in an exhibition bout late last year.
FOOTBALL
The following boys have been congratulated by their Team Manager for their outstanding performances in representing Dover District Football. They have been involved with this for the last four years and "have been a credit to Dover and to your school".
Robbie Guy (Captain) Played 28 games
Lee Westgarth Played 28 games
Gary Mulhearn Played 27 games
Peter McCarvill Played 25 games
Paul Mulhearn Played 24 games
Ryan Doel Played 21 games
Eddie Close Played 5 games
Last season they reached a major Cup Final and we believe they were the first Dover District team to achieve this in almost 20 years.
County Cup Quarter Final - 2nd February 2002
Year 7 -v- Dane Court G.S. Won 3 - 2
On a sunny but very windy Saturday a close game unfolded between both teams. Some errors in defence kept Dover's keeper busy and Michael Magrino pulled off some excellent saves. With the wind blowing strongly into our faces a corner gave way to a rather scrambled goal inside the 6 yard box.
A further period of pressure saw several close chances made up front and we were unlucky with some good strikes from Calum McGeehan and Nick Blackman. Turning around at half-time we now had the strong wind behind us and a good corner from John Ellender saw a fine header going past their keeper. With the score 1-1 Dane Court still put in some good attacks and several times caught our back four on the hop. We gave away a penalty for a foul in the box but had scored earlier so both teams were again even. Several near misses up front found the teams still drawn at full time with 2 goals each.
Extra time then followed with Calum winning the toss and choosing again to play with the wind. After 5 minutes play a fine left foot from Calum McGeehan saw us win with this the "golden" goal.
Overall a good team performance with passing, calling and shooting all needing further development.
Mr M R Grant - Subject Leader for PE
KENT SCHOOL SWIMMING GALA
Last Saturday, 2nd February, a school swimming team competed in the Kent School Championships at Gillingham. Alastair Walker, 8PY, Chris Keen 8CA, Ben Patterson 9AP and James Bates 8CA made up the squad.
We all swam one event each. Alastair swam 200m Individual Medley and got into the final coming 6th. Chris swam 100m butterfly coming 3rd in the final, qualifying to represent Kent Schools in a gala against Surrey. Ben Patterson swam 100m backstroke and James Bates swam 100m frontcrawl, both achieving personal best times.
The team also swam in two relays. In the frontcrawl relay we were 1st reserve for the final and in the medley relay we were 2nd reserve.
We all did very well considering that we were swimming against Year 9 boys.
Alastair Walker - Form 8PY
CROSS COUNTRY
The Powell Cup Years 10-13 (teams only) Wednesday 6th March
The Powell Cup Year 7-9 (all) Friday 8th March
SAILING. NEWS OF HUGH STYLES - OLD PHAROSIAN
Hugh Styles and his team mate ended the year as Silver Medallists at the Tornado Europeans and Bronze Medallists at the Tornado Worlds. These two results were definitely the highlights of their sailing year. They now have a few months to prepare for the 2002 Europeans, the first target of the year, and then the second is the Tornado Worlds in the States in September.
DATES TO REMEMBER
HALF TERM
Monday 11th February to Friday 15th February
BUT PLEASE NOTE:-
There are two Staff Development Days following half term and therefore students should not come back to school until Wednesday 20th February.
