"The First Thursday Newsletter No. 97."

Although we frequently say our best students are "stars" it is rare that one is officially named "a planet" - or at least has a planet named after him! That anyway is the case with Nick Hayward, Head Prefect 2001-02 and now studying Natural Sciences at St Catherine's College, Cambridge. He has informed us that MIT Lincoln Laboratories in the USA have accepted the essay he wrote on space science and have named a minor planet "Hayward" after him! It is, apparently, only a few kilometres wide, but it does have an elliptical orbit much like the Earth. Nick's name is now among the other Greek gods and famous scientists - quite an honour!

At half term Mr Mark Kilmurray, teacher of Modern Foreign Languages, left the school to take up a position of greater responsibility at Sandwich Technology School.

Mr Kilmurray has been replaced by Mr Tony Lascelles. Mr Lascelles has previously worked at the school and we are delighted to welcome him back.

On Sunday morning we all met up in the departure lounge at the Eastern Docks, together with a group of girls from the Girls' Grammar School.

We were met in Calais by our penfriends and their families. Even though we had hosted them the previous summer we were a little nervous. We sampled French Sunday dinner and in the afternoon the activities "en famille" ranged from quad biking and game hunting.

On Monday we all met up at 8.00 am at the College (7.00 am English time!) to go on our trip to the Lewarde Mining History Centre. The visit was very interesting as it was built on the site of the old Delloye Colliery which closed in 1971. We walked around the various exhibition sections with our questionnaire and our comprehension skills were tested as the information was in French. In the afternoon a former miner took us on a guided tour of a recreated coal pit. Fortunately the running commentary was in English. It was easy to imagine the harsh conditions of working underground in the pit galleries; noisy, dirty, cramped, dark etc., We found this part most interesting and realistic as most of the mining plant and equipment was authentic.

On the Wednesday we spent the morning at the College. First we watched part of a film called "Germinal" a film based on a classic of French literature. This was chosen as it talks about life in a coal mining community. Then we looked at the vocabulary encountered during the visit on the topic of mining.

We had lunch at the College and did some shopping in Calais town before returning to the docks to board our ferry back to England.

This experience enabled us to put into practice our speaking, listening and reading skills for real but also to discover aspects of French lifestyle.

On Sunday 13th October, 14 people from Year 7 travelled to Hastings to watch re-enactment of the "Battle of Hastings".

All 14 of us had to meet at school for 10:00am and the mini bus left at about 10:10am. As you can imagine every one was loud and boisterous, however when we got there we started to calm down.

Once we had got to the battlefield it was about 11:45am; then it was decided that we would meet up at 2:00pm (after the skirmish). We all went in our groups of three to either obtain something to eat, or set out to see the folks of Hastings (1066). After about 1¼ hours most people went to watch the skirmish; then we went to our gathering place and had a rest. We then watched the main event "The Battle of Hastings."

On the 21st October the Year 10 History group left at 7.00 am for the long trip to Newfoundland Park on the Somme. Once there we found a huge memorial which had a Caribou statue. It was in memory of the brave Newfoundlanders, most of whom died at this site.

We went on to find the first trenches which were filled with mud. We got to the front line and Mr Gaskell explained what happened as we walked around to the German front line. Here there were more memorials but these were for the 51st Highland Regiment. We walked back to the museum and then back to the coach to go to our next site, Thiepval.

Thiepval is a memorial to all the missing British on the Somme. In all there were 72,000 names. Many people went to see if they could find their names on the walls or in the books. After this site we proceeded to Delville Wood where we took notes on some of the graves. There was also a South African memorial but it was closed.

We next visited Lochnager Crater which was caused by a massive explosion by the British to start the Battle of the Somme. It was about 50m wide and 20m deep. After this we went to Arras to do some shopping and have a rest.

We arrived back in Dover at about 8.00 pm. Overall it was a well organised and thoroughly enjoyable trip.

Three hundred excited Years 7, 8 and 9 pupils from both grammar schools came to the hottest disco of the year on Friday 18th October. The event was run by members of the Sixth Form under the guidance of Mr Thomas and Mr Harrison and refreshments were provided by the PFA. It was also generously supported by Barclays Bank, with the result that we are now in a position to provide further social facilities for the Sixth Form students.

Just a reminder about our annual Autumn/Winter collection of Nestle Cereal "Box Tops" vouchers. This latest collection is now under way and your support and help collecting the vouchers would be much appreciated. Each voucher is worth 10p and can be redeemed during the spring and converted to cash. Over the past two years the money received has been used to purchase new stock for the Library which we would hope to repeat this year.

Starting at the end of the autumn term, the Maths Department hopes to bring you the first of a series of termly newsletters dedicated to matters of a purely mathematical nature. As a prelude to the first issue we offer you a pair of light-hearted problems with which to while away the ever darkening evenings. Full solutions will be given next month. A bottle of wine will be given to the sender of the first pair of correct answers received by 1st December 2002.

It's just not cricket
DGSB's wicketkeeper gets everything wrong. Worse still, their opening batsman sometimes gets things right, sometimes wrong. At least they can rely on their fast bowler to always get things right. After a recent match one said "Lost again", the second said, "At least we got a draw", leaving the third to claim, "It was not a draw". I only recognised one of the three, the opening batsman, and hence could work out the result. What was the result of the match and which speaker was the opening batsman?

You can count on it
Counting the books in the library recently, a pupil wrote down PQR after counting the first shelf. Counting the second he wrote RPQ, and for the third he wrote QRP. Intrigued by this I counted the same shelves myself and found them to contain 75,255 and 183 books respectively. He then counted out the fourth shelf and wrote down PRQ. How many books were on that fourth shelf?

Thanks to Forms 8PY and 9PT for looking after our German visitors on Friday 11th October.

The governing body would like to know if there are any parents, or their family or friends, who are landscape specialists or tree experts. Perhaps you could let me know by ringing 01304 216810.

As you will remember we recently sent out letters asking for nominations for two parent governors. I am pleased to say that in fact we received two nominations and therefore it will not be necessary to hold an election. The following parents will now be invited to join the governing body for the next meeting on Monday 25th November:

Mr David King who has two sons at DGSB, one in Year 7 and one in Year 8 and Mr Keith Sansum whose son as just joined the school in Year 7.

At the same time as requesting nominations for parent governors we sent a letter to all members of the teaching staff asking for nominations for one teacher governor. This was necessary because Mr Dave Murray's term of office comes to an end in November. Again it has not been necessary to hold an election as one member of staff put his name forward and so Mr Vincent Crofts will be the new teacher governor.

Don't forget the Wine and Wisdom evening tomorrow night (8th November). It's not too late for you to let us know you are coming. It would b e really good to see as many of you there as possible. The event is our second most popular of the school year and offers an excellent opportunity to not only have an enjoyable fund evening but also to raise funds for the school at the same time.

You will by now be aware the main purpose of our fundraising is for the new school minibus. The Wine and Wisdom evening will provide us with a great opportunity to capitalise on our fund raising by the £1 for £1 sponsorship by Barclays Bank. We have an opportunity to receive up to £750 from the Bank - it's too good to be missed.

I would like to thank those of you who have already given in a prize, for the raffle, to the School Office. We need as many prizes as you can give for obvious reasons.

The next event will be the 18th December 2002 when the Christmas Carol Concert takes place in Charlton Church.

We are very pleased to hear of the following successes among former DGSB students:

Thomas Marsh was awarded a First in last term's Final Honour Schools in Engineering Science and also the Maurice Lubbock Prize for the Best Performance in FHS Engineering Science.

Tickets for the Christmas Lunch on Tuesday 17th December are now available. (Entry to the dining hall on this date will be solely for ticket holders).

Tickets are priced at £2.50 for pupils and are available from either the School Office or the Canteen.

Football Fixtures: Sat. 16th November
10.00am Year 7 -v- Harvey G.S. (friendly) at Home.
10.00am Year 8 -v- Harvey G.S. (friendly) Away.

The following reports have been written by Steven King, 11PT.

Fortunately it has been a rarity that a report like this one has been written in the last few years and hopefully this will be the last. The Year 11 team travelled to Sandwich for a friendly on Thursday 10th October hoping to continue their good start to the season, however, this was not to be.

With four players unavailable for a variety of reasons Dover were down to the bare minimum of eleven players but this cannot be blamed for the abysmal performance that followed, especially as our opponents only had ten players.

The game started in bright fashion with Dover mounting some early pressure and the visitors should have taken the lead when Steven King was played through but he somehow managed to drag his shot wide. However, as the game went on Dover never really got into any rhythm and were duly punished when some sloppy play led to Sandwich opening the scoring. The rest of the half was rather uneventful and the only other action was the hosts striking the bar with a good long-range effort.

During half-time Dover realised that they had to drastically improve their performance and they made a few tactical changes, however no one expected what was about to happen next.

Dover surprisingly started the second half well but it was not long before Sandwich doubled their lead. As the second half went on Dover found it hard to complete five yard passes, win a header or make a tackle and this was once again punished when Sandwich added their 3rd.

As the half went on heads started to drop and more Sandwich goals started to go in. Before long they had recorded six goals. Dover then created their best chances of the game when James Brannan headed over from 6 yards and Stephen O'Brien had a free kick well saved.

The game ended soon to the relief of the Dover players, with Sandwich having scored six goals without reply. Looking at the score line it would be easy to blame the defence and although they had a poor game by their standards the rest of the team did not help them. The whole Dover team failed to defend and this started with the forwards, and especially the midfield, who never got to grips with the game.

There were also too many individual errors by all members of the team which led to at least five of the Sandwich goals. Credit must go to the Sandwich forwards however as they seemed to take all the opportunities given to them and maybe if we had taken some of the chances we had the game may have turned out different.

On Monday 14th October the Year 11 team travelled to Broadstairs to meet a strong Dane Court side who had beaten the team 8-1 in a previous year. Things looked tough for Dover with six players pulling out on the morning of the game due to illness and tiredness!

With two players making their debuts Dover knew they would have to produce a special performance to gain any sort of result especially after the performance in their last game, losing 8-0 to Sandwich.

This was emphasised in the team talk and it was obvious that Dover were fired up by the way they started the game getting straight at the hosts. On a bumpy pitch Dover created the first real chance of the game when James Brannan broke through the Dane Court defence but unfortunately fired straight at the keeper from the edge of the box.

The game then turned into a midfield battle on a pitch that would have been more suited to World War One than a Year 11 football match as both teams tried to gain an advantage.

Dover then had another great chance to take the lead when winger Firas Nasr met a good near post cross but somehow he managed to fire over.

Dane Court then tried to make their mark on the game and had by far the best chance of the half after 20 minutes when a long-range shot struck the bar. This was the only warning Dover needed, as they got straight back into the game and before the interval there were further chances for Chris Home and Chris D'Arcy.

As the halftime whistle blew Dover were very happy with their performance but knew that they would have to work just as hard in the second half to get a result.

The second period began how the first ended with the game again turning into a battle in the middle of the park with a few choice words being exchanged between both teams. But then the breakthrough came, 10 minutes into the second half, when Chris Horne was released by a great ball from Brannan, and as he progressed towards the goal a Dane Court defender cynically hacked him down from behind.

The resulting penalty was put away by Stephen O'Brien, a strike reminiscent of David Beckham' s in the World Cup, as the keeper dived to one side he blasted it straight down the middle.

As the half went on so did Dane Court in search of an equaliser and with ten minutes to go they found it courtesy of a lucky deflection of a free kick. As Dover defended desperately on the edge of their box a free kick was unluckily conceded 25 yards from goal. The free kick was struck well and as it rebounded in the box a Dane Court striker was first to react to fire into an empty net to make the score 1-1.

As the second half progressed the match became more reminiscent of a game of ping-pong with the play going from end to end, both teams had to defend desperately to preserve this result. With both teams in search of a winner it was the hosts who had the best chance. Once again it came about from a scramble but this time from a comer, and it was only a brave block from Firas Nasr at the back post, which stopped Dane Court taking the lead.

There were further half chances at each end and the game finished in a frantic manner with the scores tied at 1-1. This was an exceptional performance from Dover against strong opposition and every one who played deserves great credit for the character they showed to bounce back after last week's heavy defeat. Special praise must go to man of the match Luke Cochrane, who won everything in midfield and James Brannan who also played very well alongside him. Defenders Ben Punton, Lewis Callanan and debutant Alex Carpenter were also superb.

This result has given the team great confidence especially for their County Cup game, which will be against similar opposition in Chatham House GS.

During wet weather when pupils have PE/Games they will be required to bring a towel into school with them. They are also able to wear tracksuits and waterproofs whilst participating in PE and Games.

Below is a summary of the football matches played over the past 4 weeks.

DOVER DISTRICT LEAGUE

Year 7 V SANDWICH won 8 - 4
Year 9 V SANDWICH won 6 - 0
Year 10 V SANDWICH won 6 - 0
Year 11 V SANDWICH lost 0 - 6

FRIENDLIES

Year 10 V DANE COURT Drew 3 - 3
Year 11 V DANE COURT Drew 1 - 1

KENT CUP Round 2

Year 7 V Dane Court won 4 - 0
Year 8 V Hereson won 11 - 1
Year 9 V Dane Court won 6 - 3

KENT CUP Round 3

Year 8 V Chatham House GS won 3 - 0
Year 9 V Harvey GS won 5 - 1

EAST KENT U 19 PREMIER LEAGUE

1st X1 Versus Rainham Mark GS won 4 - 1
1st X1 Versus Harvey GS lost 2 - 6 (6 regular players unavailable - only 10 played)
1st X1 Versus Astor won 6 - 0
1st X1 Versus Maidstone GS lost 2 - 3

Dover were very unlucky to lose to Maidstone who are unbeaten for over 2 years in this League.

KENT U 19 WHITE CUP Round 2

1st X1 Versus Hextable won 6 - 1

Overall Statistics for Season

All 29 matches

Won 22
Drew 2
Lost 5

Goals
For 160
Against 51

Timings	Year groups	Lunchtimes	Match lengths
Monday 11th	Yr 7 & Yr 8	Castle v Channel Port v Priory	20mins
Tuesday 12th	Yr 9 & Yr 10	Castle v Channel Port v Priory	20mins
Thursday 14th	Year 11	Castle v Channel Port v Priory	30mins
Friday 15th	Yr 7 & Yr 8	Castle v Port Priory v Channel	20mins
Monday 18th	Yr 9 & Yr 10	Castle v Port Priory v Channel	20mins
Tuesday 19th	Year 11	Castle v Port Priory v Channel	30mins
Thursday 21st	Yr 7 & Yr 8	Port v Channel Castle v Priory	20mins
Friday 22nd	Yr 9 & Yr 10	Port v Channel Castle v Priory	20mins
Monday 25th	Year 11	Port v Channel Castle v Priory	30mins

Your teams must be selected this week and given to PE Department on Monday

FOOTBALL - Kent Cup update

Year 9 beat Harvey GS on Tuesday 5th November to make it to the last 16. In a thrilling game Dover came from behind to firmly take control of the match and run out easy winners by 5 - 1. Incidentally Harvey hadn't lost a game this year and soundly beat Dover in their last encounter. Well done to all the team on a splendid performance. Their next match will be away to Maidstone GS or Oakwood Park GS.

Congratulations to all who took part in the event - Spectators for being so generous with your applause and for being very boisterous and making a very sporting atmosphere; GCSE PE group for their invaluable help on the day; All Staff, without whom this would not have taken part; Competitors - whether you came 4th or 1st - every point counted in the end.

Only 1 point separated 1st and 2nd place. SUPERB!

RESULTS

Comprehensive results are on the notice-boards and will soon be on the PE Department web page.

Final Totals

Pos	House	Year 7 Points	Year 8 Points	Year 9 Points	Open Points	All Years Relay Points	Final Total Points
1st	Priory	23	18	18	24	8	91
2nd	Castle	13	16	24	36	2	90
3rd	Channel	22	13	23	9	6	73
4th	Port	21	23	5	15	4	68

Our congratulations go to Christopher Keen, 9CA, for setting a new record at the Swimming Sports held on Tuesday 5th November. Chris set the new record of 39.63 secs. in the 50m Breaststroke event. Well done Chris.