February 23, 2018 | Issue no. 89
Head Master's Notices
I hope you all had a restful half-term break. Reports and pictures suggest the trips over half term were a great success, in both Paris and Sweden.
Looking ahead to next week, the Lower School and Upper School Rockfest is on Monday afternoon. There is more information on this below and please note that buses will be leaving from school later that day. The drama production of Black Comedy begins on Tuesday evening and I wish all the best to the cast and crew.
Tomorrow, the 1st VII netball team will be competing in the Bradfield College tournament while there are also fixtures against Wells Cathedral School, Clayesmore, Downside and Dean Close.
I look forward to seeing Third Form parents this evening and wish you all a good weekend.
Whole School Notices and Reminders
Rockfest 2018
Monday 26 February
Concert 1: 13:55
Concert 2: 16:05
Rockfest participants are rehearsing all day Sunday, and rehearsal times are up in the Music Department.
All parents and pupils are very welcome to all concerts. We have a record number of participants so the timings will be very tight. Concert 2 will finish by 17:50 in order for pupils to meet the buses.
Pupils should be at the rehearsal at least 10 minutes before their start time to get ready and tune up.
Please note! Buses will not depart school until 18:00 on Monday 26 February.
Sixth Form Mock Exams
27 February – 1 March
I hope that final revision for the Mock exams is going well. Please remember that the timetable and locations of exams are available in the examinations section of the school intranet. They are also posted on the exams noticeboard, outside the library, together with a list of pupils and the subjects they are studying under each block.
If you have any queries about the mock exams or summer exams, please feel free to pop along to the exams office.
Many thanks, W.G. Blumsom, Examinations Officer
Mercers' Lectures - Spring Term 2017
Jo Fairley: 'The rollercoaster story of Green and Black's (and lessons learned along the way)'
8 March 2018
19:30 in the Memorial Hall
Jo Fairley co-founded Green & Black’s Chocolate in 1991. Dreamt up on a rainy night on London’s Portobello Road, Green & Black’s has grown into a $100 million worldwide brand. ‘Green’, because it was organic and ‘Black’ because it was the darkest chocolate on the market. The company established a pioneering fair trade ethos, and although now owned by Cadbury, Jo continues to champion its worldwide success. She has become an established entrepreneur; she co-wrote a series of Beauty Bible Books, and in 2014 launched the Perfume Society.
Jo will be bringing an exciting prize consisting of...a large quantity of chocolate (surprise!), for the 'best question' during her Q&A after the lecture.
Please make sure that you have reserved your seats online here.
Drama Productions
Black Comedy and The Railway Children
Tickets are now available to book for these two productions online. Please follow the link to our Drama Productions booking page.
*Reminder*
Lower Sixth Post Dauntsey’s Planning
Saturday 24 February
Please find attached a letter from our Head of Careers, James O'Hanlon, detailing the event. Many thanks.
Equestrian News
Best of luck to those who are competing in the Equestrian Qualifier Competition this Saturday.Well done to the Equestrian teams who became Wiltshire Dressage Champions and to the runners up.
Sports' Lecture
Monday 26 February
19:00 in the Pavilion
The lecture will be delivered in house by Mr T. Ball (Old Dauntseian), who works in the Physical Education Department. Mr Ball has a BSc (Hons) degree in Sport and Exercise Science. He specialised in concussion research in his third year at university and worked alongside his university professors to write his dissertation.
The aim of the lecture is to give a holistic talk about concussion. Mr Ball will be discussing the history and prevalence of concussion and also the physiology of the injury including the short and long term effects. He’ll conclude with the management of concussion and will be open to questions at the end of the talk.
Dauntsey's Biathlon
A reminder that Dauntsey’s is hosting a Biathlon (swim/run) event on Sunday 4 March in conjunction with Lavington School. Registration will open at 09.30 in the Sports Centre. Any pupils wishing to take part are encouraged to contact with Mr Whyte for further information - w.whyte@dauntseys.wilts.sch.uk.
U12: 50m Swim, 1600m Run
U13 & U14: 100m Swim, 1600m Run
U15 & U16: 200m Swim, 1600m Run
Fourth Form Parents' Evening
Friday 2 March, 18:30 - 20:30
The Fourth Form Parents’ Meeting takes place on Friday 2 March from 18:30 - 20:30 in the Memorial Hall. I hope you can make it and please do see me if I can help with anything. Jon Tyler, Deputy Head (Academic)
Paris Half Marathon Fundraising
Fifteen pupils and three staff members will embark on the challenge of running the Paris Half Marathon on 4 March in order to raise money for the School charity, Malayaka House.
Should anyone wish to support the runners and wish them luck, please follow the link to our Just Giving page here. Thank you.
Young Enterprise
This year for the annual Young Enterprise competition, the Dauntsey’s team of 13 L6 pupils have designed their own company called BusiChip.
The BusiChip team are programming NFC chips to carry out different tasks when tapped with a smartphone; such as directing customers to a specific weblink or immediately adding a business contact to a contact list. They are currently developing products that use this contactless technology through different networking media such as more sustainable business cards, lanyards and counter sheets (sheets containing NFC chips that could be placed on a shop counter and could prompt customers to add a phone number or direct them to a website). This way, the transaction of exchanging business contacts and carrying out other business interactions is much more efficient, as the details are instantly transferred to the phone instead of time spent physically typing them in.
Adam McCormick, the pupil behind this innovative idea, said, “NFC chips offer so many opportunities to all businesses, but very few companies are aware of, or making use of, their full potential. This NFC technology could be used for networking events, day to day encounters and even general store use.
If any parents or members of the Dauntsey’s community are interested in doing business with the BusiChip team, please email them: busichip@outlook.com
Please visit their Instagram or Facebook @busichip for a video demonstration of the NFC technology.
DSPA
Pot Luck Supper for all Lower School Parents’ in the School Pavilion
Wednesday 7 March, 18:00 - 20:00
Please bring a plate of food to share – Sweet or Savoury! Water will be provided but feel free to bring other drinks along!
First Form Parents Countryside Walk
Saturday 28 April
First form parents countryside walk, exact details to be confirmed. It will start and finish within 5 miles of school, and we are planning to be back at school for pick up / matches.
Careers
The World of Politics and Current Affairs
Guest Speaker: Rt Hon Claire Perry MP
Friday 2 March
16:15 - 17:15 in the William Dauntsey Room
Please see further information here about this event on Friday 2 March for Fifth and Sixth Former's. Many thanks.
Cotswold Airport Aviation Scholarship
Please see the attached poster for more information on this opportunity. Pupils can also look on the website www.cotswoldairport.com, or come and see us in the careers dept. Many thanks.
Music School Notices
ABRSM Theory Examination
Wednesday 28 February
17:00 in the Farmer Room
Middle School Music Competition Final
Thursday 1st March
19:30 in the Old Hall
Vocal and Instrumental Recital
Friday 2nd March
14:00 in the Old Hall
New to the Road Safety
Following our recent ‘Safe Drive, Stay Alive’ Talk to our Lower Sixth pupils, we have been offered the opportunity for our Sixth Form pupils to participate in ‘New to the Road Safety Events’ run by Kwik-Fit. These are free of charge and will take place in the Summer Term.
Please read the attached document for further information.
Teen Parenting Workshop
Due to the recent success of Alicia Drummond’s Teen Parenting Workshop, Alicia has kindly agreed to run another on Saturday 5 May from 08:30 to 13:00.
Please read the attached document for further information.
24hr Runathon
Many thanks to all the pupils and staff who took part in the 24 hour Runathon in order to raise money for the School Charity, Malayaka House. In total, 1915 laps of the course were completed which resulted in more than 735 miles being run and over £1000 has been raised from the event. Special mention must go to Hugh and Henry who each completed 69 laps which means that they both ran more than a marathon, as well as Georgie who ran 64 laps and was just short of the marathon distance.
Lower School Notices and Reminders
Manor Matters
The daffodils are blooming, and the children are really enjoying the lighter evenings at The Manor – lots of football has been played already this week, and it is great to see the Manorites making the most of our wonderful outdoor space!
Many of the Manorites enjoyed the Chinese New Year Celebrations at Main School last night, and came back full of tales about dancing, the delicious food and the fantastic fireworks. This weekend we are looking forward to the (hopefully dry!) Night Hike on Saturday evening and then a day of cooking on Sunday; the pupils will be preparing their own three course meal for supper on Sunday, with Bruschetta, Lasagne and Rice Krispie Cakes on the menu.
Anne Sampson, House Mistress.
Please do follow us on Twitter @ManorDauntseys to keep up to date.
Lower School Wide Game and BBQ
Wednesday 7 March
Please find attached a letter containing further detail of this event and how to confirm attendance. Many thanks.
A reminder that GCSE options are due in from Third Form pupils by Wednesday 28 February please. Do get in touch if I can help at all. *Reminder* Third Form Parents' Evening
Friday 23 February, 18:30 - 20:30
A reminder that the Third Form Parents’ Meeting takes place this evening from 18:30 - 20:30 in the Memorial Hall. I hope you can make it and please do see me if I can help with anything. Jon Tyler, Deputy Head (Academic)