THE "FIRST THURSDAY" NEWSLETTER

NEWSLETTER NOV 1995 No. 22

 Junior Prizegiving

Junior Prizegiving on Wednesday 11 October earned high praise due in no small part to the efforts of the boys who participated as musicians and readers. Perhaps the most entertaining part of the afternoon, however, was the speech by Chris Penn, recently retired Kent Cricketer and Old Pharosian, who reminisced about his school days, and about his first class cricket experiences. Forced to retire early due to a shoulder injury which has prevented him from bowling fast, Chris has been awarded a testimonial next season by Kent, and all at DGSB will be wishing him well for that.

Prospective Parents' Events

During November there are a number of events concerning admissions into next year's Year 7. Amongst the most important are Open Evening at 7.00 pm on Tuesday 7 November, Open Afternoons at 2.15 pm on Wednesday 8 November and Wednesday 15 November and Open Mornings at 9.15 am on Friday 10 November and Tuesday 14 November.

Guest Evening

Guest Evening this year is on the evening of Friday 17th November at 7.30 pm in the Great Hall, with Old Pharosian Professor David Thomas presenting the prizes and certificates. Invitations are being sent as usual to the parents of all prizewinners, GCSE and 'A' level certificate recipients.

School Council

The School Council meets today for the third time this term. At the first meeting of term Mario Del Duca was elected Chairman, Anthony Hook the Secretary and Stefan Hargrave the Treasurer. The Council's rigorous discussions have ranged over a wide range of agenda items.

The Headteacher values highly the advice he hears in these debates in helping him make decisions. One function of the Council is to manage the fund raising of the boys and decide on its use. One outcome this term has been the non-uniform day on Thursday 19th October when £340 was raised for the United Nations Association /UNICEF. Mrs Garside, the Honorary Secretary of the local branch came to Assembly yesterday to collect the cheque and tell us about the Association.

The third function of the Council is to further extra-curricular activities. A sub-committee has been formed to look at possible fund raising to increase sports facilities.

United Nations Association Art Competition

At the start of this term pupils from schools all over South Kent participated in a 'United Nations 50th Anniversary' Poster Contest.

Students from DGSB took part in the senior section contest (11-15 age range). The top three placed competitors were awarded cash prizes and T-shirts bearing their designs. Michael Crebbin of 9 Channel was given third prize for his design on the theme of UNICEF.

In addition our pupils won 25 of roughly 40 'Senior Division' T-shirts (printed with the students' designs) and 19 of our pupils won commemorative coins of approximately thirty awarded to the senior contestants.

All work was displayed in Deal Town Hall on Tuesday 24th October 1995 where all prizes were handed out on that evening. The organising committee members unanimously adjudged the work of DGSB to have been the best overall of all participating schools.

Congratulations to our many winners.

The Teachers' Work Experience Experience

All the staff aim to teach the boys to become effective, adaptable and responsible people who can make good decisions about their short term, medium term and long term future. We are working hard to enhance our 'Work Related Curriculum'. All staff are involved in visiting Year 10 when they go out on the 'Work Experience' in the Summer Term. To help understand this a bit better and to get a better idea of what skills and knowledge pupils need to prepare themselves in a fast changing world every member of staff spent Friday 20 October in a 'Teacher Placement' somewhere in the 'World of Work'. These were all over Kent plus some in London and one in France. The next task is to compare notes and share what we learned.

One very good experience that can be reported now is that of the Headteacher. Mr Slater spent his day shadowing our MP, David Shaw. The morning was at the House of Commons, the afternoon in the constituency. Mr Shaw gave a lot of attention and energy to make the day really informative and useful.

Internet

(A report by Peter Dale)

At the end of last term the school joined the millions of users connected to the Internet, the world-wide network of several thousand computer centres. Already we have communicated with former pupils at Exeter, York and Cambridge Universities and three boys are waiting to hear from relatives in Australia and America.

We are currently looking into the advantages of subscribing to BT's Campus World which would provide direct access to those areas of the Net which are of value in the curriculum. There has been much publicity given to the darker side of the Internet. Campus World would give us the freedom to allow boys to browse through the Net without stumbling upon undesirable material, a "walled garden" within the vast electronic wastes.

One facility of Campus World is a connection to Minitel, the French national network. This will be of particular interest in learning Modern Languages, when messages can be exchanged with pupils in the Collége St Pierre in Calais, or other French schools.

The facilities on the Net are so varied that we cannot foresee all the ways in which this will influence our lives. One thing is sure, the world is our oyster - now!

Parents and Friends Association

Thanks are expressed to all those who supported the Barn Dance. It was a very enjoyable evening.

The next PFA committee meeting is on 23rd November at 7.00 pm and the next event at which your support is welcomed is the Wine and Wisdom evening on 1st December 1995. Teams can be entered via the school office in the usual way.

200 Club

Winners of the PFA 200 Club latest draws are:

September - £25 Mrs X Yau (157), £15 Mr G Dangerfield (184), £10 Mrs A Russell from Deal (40)

October - £25 Mr & Mrs C Drewry (85), £15 Mr K Nye (155), £10 Mr & Mrs W Eaton (164)

If you would like to join the 200 Club please contact the school for an application form.

Old Pharosians

The Old Pharosians' Committee meets this evening (Thursday) at 7.00 pm.

School On The Hill

In 1965, to celebrate the school's Diamond Anniversary, a film was made called School On The Hill. The film has now been transferred to video and copies are available from the school price £7.50.

Governors

The School Governing Body has a new member - Mr Alistair Gardiner, an Old Pharosian and current member of staff - has replaced Mr Richard Sewell who has stepped down as a teacher governor after three years service.

CCF

We would like to welcome a new adult helper to the Contingent, Mr David Masters, who has applied for a commission. David Masters is currently a serving Police Officer with the Kent County Constabulary.

We will again be attending the Remembrance Service on Sunday 12 November and laying a wreath to pay tribute to those who were lost in the defence of our country.

Coming Events

You may like to know that a number of boys will be taking part in a production of 'Animal Farm', currently in rehearsal, which will be performed at Dover Grammar School for Girls at the end of November/beginning of December.

There is one music event for your diary. The Service of Nine Lessons and Carols by Candlelight will be held on Wednesday 20th December at 8.00 pm. in Charlton Church. Traditional Christmas Hymns and readings with Carols sung by the School Choir. Coffee and mince pies will be served afterwards.

Oops! ......... in the October edition of the Newsletter an error occurred resulting in the following item being incomplete.

Records of Achievement

The Records of Achievement presentation to all former Year 11 students took place on Thursday 28 September in the School Hall. Mr Graham Tutthill made the presentations. A number of parents attended and refreshments were served. The Record of Achievement although mostly compiled in Years 10 and 11 is a nationally recognised summary of a student's experiences, given out at the end of compulsory education. (It can, of course, be added to in Years 12 and 13).

Sports News

Cup Football - Year 11 versus Channel High at home. An outstanding first half performance saw the tam 5 goals to 1 ahead . The final score was 6-2 in DGSB's favour.

Year 10 lost in the 2nd round of their County Cup against Canterbury High 5-2.

A good team performance saw another good win for Year 9 against St Edmunds in their second round of the Cup.

Year 8 played Archbishop's School, Canterbury away and overwhelmed them 12-0.

Year 7 have a bye in their first round of the Cup and play the winners of Christchurch versus Aylesford in the next round.

In a friendly against St Edmunds, Dover Year 10 proved far too strong a side and won 6-1 with many shots just missing the net.

District Representation

The following boys are playing for District sides:

Year 7 - J Fagg, D Scoggins, P Devenish, J Laird and S Guy.

Year 8 - C Wash, J Childs, L Stockdale, K Doughty, B Mackenzie and R Gaffney.

Year 10 - M Garrood, I Banks, J Durrant, R Cramphorn and S Dodd ..

With 16 representatives from these three years the future is looking bright for football at DGSB.

The following four School First XI match reports have been received from Steve Bailey, teacher in charge.

DGSB 8 -v- Astor 3. This is a difficult game for me to write about as I only saw the second half. Apparently during the first half the football flowed, Astor were outplayed, and we led 5-0. On arrival I saw three sloppy goals conceded before normal service was resumed and we finished the match completely dominant. I don't think, we should read too much into this match, as Astor were weak, and their keeper seemed unable to catch crosses! A good result - shame about the sloppy ten minutes after half-time.

DGSB 2 -v- Borden Grammar 2. This was probably a key game in this year's league and neither side wanted a drawn game. It means that other team's results will settle the final positions. A draw was a fair result, both teams having several chances, but the conditions and refereeing made it difficult for either team to dominate. I suppose that it is disappointing to let a two goal lead slip by but we did play well in phases and our two goals were excellently taken by Justin Luchford and Kristian Allen. Borden scored just before half time with a disappointing goal - we were attacking, the move broke down, a long punt over our defence, a half-hit back pass, and a lob over Marcus into the top corner. I felt that we deserved to finish off the job, but the third goal just wouldn't come, and Borden equalised with five minutes left. Apparently it was a good goal but I didn't see it owing to the thick fog.

Ravensbourne 5 -v- DGSB 3 (2nd Round White Cup (KSFA). I find it hard to believe that this was the same team that played well the day before. An embarrassingly inept performance got what it deserved - a comprehensive defeat. Clearly our expectations were unfounded - we just aren't good enough, especially defensively. In a game well-refereed the very ordinary Ravensbourne team scored when Marcus collided with a forward when a free kick, unnecessarily given for swearing, was floated into the goal mouth and the loose ball was poked in. Kristian Allen was injured and had to leave the field at half-time but for a while we played well, equalised through Jon Spence and looked as if we were to dominate. As we have done in other games we let in three sloppy goals - any mistakes are being punished. Justin scored from a penalty, only for Ravensbourne to score again from the kick-off, when their best player ran through and slipped a shot through Marcus's legs. Grant scored a consolation right at the end from a free kick, but it did nothing to dispel the opinion that this was a game we should have won easily.

Maidstone Grammar 5 -v- DGSB 3. This was another erratic performance spoiled by injuries to Kristian Allen and James Wilde (these two have picked up more injuries than all the other players put together!). For the first 30 minutes we dominated the game, Grant Sanders scoring twice, only to let in two sloppy goals, caused by indecisive tackling and poor marking. After the break we seemed to run out of steam, and certainly luck, with MGS scoring twice in two attacks - one through a harsh penalty decision and the second by a very impressive volley. Even with Justin moving into midfield we still were providing the front two with very little service and it was no surprise when the MGS number 9 completed his hat trick when he was too fast and strong for John Castle. Consolation came with a goal from Justin Luchford but by then we were well beaten. Perhaps we spent too long warming up before the game (over an hour), waiting for MGS to arrive.

The school's football teams are playing this month as follows:

1st XI: Wed. 15th -v- Queen Elizabeth School (Away). Wed. 29th -v- Norton Knatchbull School (Away), both matches commencing at 2.15 pm.

2nd XI: Wed. 8th -v- Harvey Grammar (Away), Wed. 15th -v- Queen Elizabeth School (Home), Wed. 22nd -v- Borden Grammar (Home) and Wed. 29th -v- Norton Knatchbull (Home), all matches commencing at 2.15 pm.

3rd XI: Wed. 22nd -v- Tunbridge Wells (Away) commencing at 2.00 pm.

Yrs 7 & 9 XIs: Sat. 18th -v- Harvey Grammar (Home) commencing at 10.00 am.

Yrs 8 & 10 XIs: Sat. 18th -v- Harvey Grammar (Away) commencing at 10.00 am.

Spectators are always welcome at home matches.

Cross Country Running

On Thursday 30th October at 2.00 pm the South East Kent Cross Country Championships for all years will take place.

British Heart Foundation Schools Golf Championships

(A report by Steve Bailey, teacher in charge of Golf).

Last Tuesday, 24th October, the School Golf Team, comprising of Alex Ridings, Mark Eade and Danny Oliver, competed in the National Final of the British Heart Foundation Schools Championships at the world famour Belfry course (home of the Ryder Cup) near Birmingham.

The team finished 5th equal out of the 20 schools playing in the finals with 62 stableford points.

It was a very close tournament with only five points separating the top six teams, the winner being Solihull School with 67 points. Conditions were very difficult with a strong wind making some of the difficult holes almost unplayable, including the 18th hole where the drive and the second shot have to clear large lakes. The tournament is a handicap stableford with the two best scores from each team to count with a handicap maximum of 28.

Without doubt the best round of the day was by Danny Oliver with 35 points, which was the equal best score by any competitor. This was a tremendous individual achievement to finish top individual out of 60 players, and with a handicap of 9 (the other player with 35 points was off 22 handicap). Unfortunately for Danny there was no prize for best individual score.

Of the other two players Alex scored 26 points and Mark 27 points, which were still well above average (if all three scores had counted we would have finished second). Perhaps the BHF organisers should consider a different rule with a handicap limit of 18 (the winning Solihull School had handicaps of 18, 18 and 22).

It was a fantastic experience for the team, staying in the 4-star Belfry Hotel, and the boys were perfect ambassadors for the school, ably supported by their parents. They made me very proud.

It is especially pleasing to see DGSB doing so well in what, in school terms, is a minority sport. All those involved deserve considerable congratulations.