A NOTE FROMTHE HEADMASTER

More House School Newsletter / November 2017 edition

Jonathan Hetherington, Headmaster

Dear Parents,

Welcome to November’s newsletter which presents reviews of

some events that took place in October and offers information

about matters taking place in November and beyond.

In particular, I encourage you to look carefully at the diary dates

shown next to this letter. I hope that many of you will be able to

join us for the Christmas Fayre – always a lively event – taking

place just before Exeat on the afternoon of Friday 24th

November. Thank you to the very hardworking Friends of More

House for their energy and organisation. This annual event is

much treasured by the boys.

Rehearsals are in full swing for the production of Hairspray, with

performances on 29th and 30th November, and 1st December.

This promises to be a fantastic show – provided I can learn the

‘Cello part in time. Luckily, I am certain the success of the

venture does not depend upon my musical skills, or dearth of

them; therefore I really hope that you will come to one of the

performances – a superb opportunity for pupils across the

school to witness the incredible talent and creativity of some of

the senior boys, performing together with girl members of the

cast.

Finally, I draw to your attention a charity cake-sale arranged for

Tuesday 14th November at break and lunch times by a small

group of Year Eight boys to raise money for their litter-busting

social enterprise. Please remind your son to bring to school a

few coins on Tuesday and, if at all possible, nut-free donations to

the cake stall, which can be left at Main Reception.

Yours sincerely,

BA (Hons) MSc (Ed) QTS

A School Mass with readings and music prepared by students will

be celebrated by Fr Niven of St Joan's parish and Fr Pat Sherlock

SDB for the intentions of the whole school community and to ask

for God’s blessing over More House School this academic year. It

will be held at 8.40am on Tuesday 7th November, in the Chapel.

We look forward to welcoming pupils, governors and staff.

Teresa Medlicott, Chaplain

NOVEMBER 2017

Friday 10th November 6.00pm, Presentation ofCertificates to last year’s Year 11& Year 13,Bradbury Heights

Friday 17th November, 4.30pm, Year 10 Parents’ Evening,Bradbury Heights

Friday 24th November, 2.30pm, Friends’ of MHSChristmas Fayre, Sports Hall

Exeat Weekend

Wednesday 29th November, 7.00pm, Hairspray (SeniorSchool Production), Simkins Centre

Thursday 30th November, 7.00pm, Hairspray (SeniorSchool Production), Simkins Centre

DECEMBER 2017

Friday 1st December, 4.30pm, Year 7 Parents’ EveningBradbury Heights

Friday 1st December, 7.00pm, Hairspray (Senior SchoolProduction), Simkins Centre

w/c Monday 4th December, Year 11 & Year 13 AssessmentProgramme

Thursday 7th December, 7.00pm, Christmas byCandlelight, Simkins Centre

Friday 8th December, 4.30pm, Year 9 Parents’ Evening –Core Subjects, Bradbury Heights

Friday 8th December, 7.00pm, Christmas by Candlelight,Simkins Centre

Friday 15th December, 11.30am, Christmas Service (Endof Term), Sports Hall

DIARY DATES

SCHOOL MASS

Dear Parents,

We want to say a big THANK YOU to all parents who donate, volunteer and get involved with the

Friends. The boys are enjoying lots of lovely new books in the Library and having fun with the new

VR headset in Media thanks to all your donations!

Boys’ Christmas Fayre – Friday 24th November, 2.30-4.00pm

We are feeling festive and are full of plans for a super Christmas Fayre! A real highlight for the boys

and we hope to make it as enjoyable as ever for them as well as for parents. Donations would be much appreciated and you can

drop them into the box outside the Main Reception any time before the fayre:

• Bottles for the tombola (alcoholic and non-alcoholic)

• Chocolates for the tombola (all shapes and sizes but nut free please)

• Sweets bagged in small freezer bags

• Small stationery items etc in small freezer bags or jars

• Bric-a-brac - DVDs, computer games, books, games, toys, teddies, puzzles. All things fun for boys!

• Unopened toiletries/gifts that could be bought for parents

• Cakes (including some gluten free)

Do come and join us for the festivities!! This year there will be an oasis of calm for parents in the Bradbury Music Centre. We’ll

be serving tea, coffee, cakes and mince pies. Second hand uniform and some lovely gifts will also be available.

We can’t run this event without parental help. Please email Jen Dinkeldein - dinkel@live.co.uk - if you are able to help during

any of these times:

• 9.00am-2.30pm (setting up) - A great way to spend a bit of time getting to know other parents and having some festive fun.

Sandwiches will be provided.

• 2.30pm-4.00pm (the main event) - We need about 50 people to man the stalls at the actual event!

• From 4.00pm (clearing up) - Well it has to be done!

Many thanks in advance for your donations and help and we look forward to seeing you there!

Clubbercise

We are planning to hold a parents’ Clubbercise class at school on 27th January. A fun, easy to follow dance workout with rave

glow sticks & disco lights!! More details soon.

Raffle Tickets

Raffle tickets will be on the way home soon. If they get lost or if you want more, they’re also on sale in the school office.

• 1st Prize - Go Pro • 2nd Prize - Amazon Echo • 3rd Prize - Beauty Hamper

Remember to return the tickets and good luck!

Parent Contact List

The Parent Contact List is a list of boys grouped by year and geographical location, which allows parents to contact one another

for playdates and lift-sharing. If you’re not yet on the list and would like to join please email

contactlist@morehouseschool.co.uk.

EasyFundraising

Did you know that whenever you buy anything online you could be raising a free donation for Friends of MHS? All you have to

do is go to: www.easyfundraising.com, search for Friends of More House School, Frensham, sign up for free and start shopping!

Do let us know if you have any fundraising ideas - and remember, volunteering is a great way to meet other parents and to help

raise funds, so please sign-up for the next event - details will be on noticeboards and on the ‘Parents of More House’ Facebook

page.

With best wishes

The Friends of More House

UVI FORM TRIP TO PARIS19th–22nd OCTOBER 2017

DAY 1 Twenty-five UVI Form students and four teachers left for Paris. A 5.30am start by coach from MHS to St Pancras, London and

Eurostar to Gard du Nord, Paris. Our hostel was only a short walk from the station - bags dropped, a quick bite to eat and off we went for

our city open top bus tour, followed by a fine meal in the Latin Quarter.

DAY 2 First port of call was the Eiffel Tower. Manfully, we faced the challenging walk up to Stage 2 - the lift to the very top which was a

welcome relief! Met with blue skies and glorious sunshine, the views of Paris laid out before us were absolutely stunning. In the afternoon,

we visited the wonderful Musée D’Orsay, housed in the train station constructed by Victor Laloux for the 1900 World Fair, and now devoted

to all the arts between 1848-1914. In the evening, we visited the Basilica of Sacré Coeur in Montmartre, followed by another fine meal.

DAY 3 In the morning, we visited the Catacombs (deep underground ossuaries) holding the remains of over six million people in a small

part of the ancient mines of Paris tunnel network. In the afternoon, the plan was to have a balloon trip in the Ballon de Paris (a 75 ft wide

tethered balloon offering rides to an altitude of 500 ft) in the Parc André Citroën but sadly it was far too windy. Later we visited Notre Dame.

Having toured the Cathedral, our plans to climb up the bell tower to see the bells had to be cancelled due to a medical emergency in the

tower itself. Time was, however, usefully spent by the students on a shopping opportunity, followed by another splendid meal in the Latin

Quarter to make up for our earlier disappointments! Specialities such as snails and frogs’ legs were consumed with great gusto by the more

adventurous!

DAY 4 With our Eurostar check-in time at 11.15am, we enjoyed a more leisurely start to the day, indulging ourselves the hostel’s famed

‘Resurrection Breakfast’ (in essence the French version of a full English) to set us up for the return journey home.

A great trip, excellent food, good company and thoroughly enjoyed by staff and students alike.

MUSICMARATHONOn Saturday 30th September, two MHS ensembles braved the

cliché British fête weather (rain!) to perform as part of the Music

Marathon in St Mary’s Church, Frensham. The marathon kicked

off (to the sheer delight of the local residents no doubt) with

church bells being rung at 8.30am to signal the start of the event.

Many local music groups then performed a variety of works,

swapping over about every 30 minutes. The Steelpan Band took

position just after 2.30pm and played a lively set of Caribbean -

and not-so-Caribbean pieces - with guest bassist, Mr

Hetherington, filling in in for a member of the band who was

absent due to illness. The final piece was greeted with rapturous

applause as the boys made their way off stage with the twelve

vibrantly-painted ex-oil drums in tow, which were piled into the

somewhat poky vestry.

More acts followed until 4.30pm when it was then the turn of the

MHS Jazz Combo (aka Tony Flow and the Dubious Dukes of

Dixieland) to take to the stage; and this they did in fine style,

playing away and improvising wonderful solos, to the delight of

the audience. The Reverend Jane Walker commented to the

audience how nice it was to hear young students improvising jazz

as she thanked the boys for their polished set.

As we packed up our equipment, the final few acts did their bit

before the finale of the day – a two-hour evening concert by

Cantique. The music marathon was organised to raise much-

needed funds for St Mary’s church and it was hoped the event

would secure funds to install the audio/visual system.

Huge thanks to all the parents of the boys involved for ensuring

that they were delivered on time and ready to perform, and

especially to those who helped us pack up at the end of the set!!

ALTONSCHOOLREVUE NIGHTOn Tuesday 17th October, the VI Form Performing Arts students,

Max Fraser, Wilson Dutton, William Howard, Robbie Moore and

Travis Garrod, along with students from Salesian College, joined

Alton School’s annual comedy revue evening. The MHS thespians

performed three songs, “Oh What a Beautiful Morning”

(Oklahoma), “Luck Be a Lady” (Guys and Dolls) and “You Will

Never Walk Alone” (Carousel).

As an extra bonus for the audience, MHS’s own rock band starring

Finbar Lyons on lead guitar, Robbie Moore on bass guitar and

Theo Power on drums played two rock songs to liven up the

proceedings.

A most enjoyable evening and our thanks to Alton School for

putting on such a good show.

MHS has recently hosted network meetings for Exams Officers and

for users of Engage - the management information system the

school now uses.

The Exams Officers’ meeting was extremely helpful and

informative, allowing for in depth discussion on the new Joint

Council for Qualifications (JCQ) regulations which oversee the

entire exam process and access arrangements. Information has

already been made available to parents of Year 11 and VI form.

The Engage user group meeting welcomed other schools from

various parts of the country, providing workshops and helpful

guidelines on making the most of their management information

system. With the conference being on site, a number of key users

of the system were able to attend relevant sessions. Watch this

space for new developments in the coming weeks…

ENGAGE

PSHEE!Tuesday 14th November will see another whole school

PSHEE session, where your sons will explore different

topics surrounding their personal, social, health and

economic education. Please see the parent mail dated 26th

September for further details on subjects for discussion

and if you have any questions regarding the curriculum.

PARENT INFO - WATCH THIS SPACE!Parent Info is a collaboration between Parent Zone, which

has been providing information and support to parents for

a decade, and CEOP, the Child Exploitation and Online

Protection command of the National Crime Agency. We are

currently in the process of enabling the articles featured in

Parent Info to be streamed directly to the MHS website and

will keep you updated as to when this exciting change is

due to happen. As parents, you will have access to many

useful links, articles and advice surrounding online safety

and well being. If you are not already a signed-up member

of ParentZone, there is a wealth of information readily

available. Just follow the link and create a free account -

https://parentzone.org.uk/

TES SAFEGUARDING SPECIAL REPORTLast month the Times Educational Supplement produced

an excellent online safety special, which has now been

made available for schools to release to parents. It does

include some challenging, often shocking articles but,

‘please don’t look away.’ This safeguarding special issue is

available for you to read via the Parent Portal.

If you have any issues you would like to raise, please

contact Hannah Stiff via the school office.

Hannah Stiff, Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead,

Director of Personal Development Education

SAFE AT SCHOOL

FLASHMOBAt the end of the day on Monday 16th October, in the new area

outside the back of Gard’ner house, the whole of Years 4, 5 & 6 got

together to sing the ‘Eye of the Tiger’.

We performed this twice, as the first time we noticed a few parents

starting to join in with a few of the lyrics; how discourteous it

would have been to deprive the adults of a chance to join in with

our offering to the Rock Gods!

This was a superb performance and we will be looking to do

another event towards the end of the term.

Craig Burnett, Department of Music

THE ARTPRIZE

TO ENTER: Give your submission to Mr Aldred.(This can be in digital format or in physical form)

Deadline: 24 November

PHOTOGRAPHYART, MEDIA

OPEN SUBMISSION TO ALL

Prizes for: Years 4-7, 8-9,10-11,12-13 and Staff

In aid of #nationalboardingday on Saturday 7th October,

boarders recreated a typical boarding room - at Frensham Ponds!

Last half term Boris, a 4 month old Guide Dog Puppy, joined MHS

for a week. As a Guide Dog puppy it is essential that Boris gets

used to all kinds of different situations so what better training

than a week at MHS!

Boris literally went everywhere with Mrs Kerr – Deputy Head,

including assembly, duties and lessons; even Headmaster’s

morning briefing and as you can imagine he caused quite a stir

wherever he went!

Guide Dog puppies spend about a year with their puppy walkers

who teach them basic obedience and familiarise them with

different situations which occur in normal life – shopping, bus

and train rides, busy roads etc. Mrs Kerr, who has puppy walked

three guide dogs, was ‘boarding’ Boris for the week whilst his

puppy walkers were on holiday.

BORIS THE GUIDE DOG

On Wednesday 1st November, Year 11 ‘Design, Engineer, Construct!' students had the privilege of an inspiring presentation about surveying

by one of the lead Engineers from Laing O’Rourke. They also had two hours practical use of surveying equipment within the school grounds

around the Department of Engineering, and from the information gathered were able to replicate the grounds through a computer software

program, providing a wonderful opportunity for the boys to see a theory lesson about roles within construction actually put into practice.

Many of the boys said how they thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated the experience.

Mrs Kerr reports that as Boris didn’t disgrace himself he is scheduled for another guest appearance later this term.

ALL THEY SURVEY

More House School, Frensham, Farnham, Surrey GU10 3AP � 01252 792303 � schooloffice@morehouseschool.co.uk � www.morehouseschool.co.uk

T H E B R O A D W AY M U S I C A L

This amateur production is presented by arrangement with Music Theatre International (Europe) All authorised performance materials are also supplied by MTI Europe - www.mtishows.co.uk

Based on the New Line Cinema film written and directed by JOHN WATERS

Welcome to the 60s… Tracy, a big girl with big hair and a big heart, is on a mission to follow her dreams asshe sets out to dance her way onto national TV. She soon becomes a local star, using her new-found fame

to fight for equality, bagging local heartthrob Link along the way… May the best girl win!

Wednesday 29th November / Thursday 30th November / Friday 1st December Simkins Centre 7.00pm

MORE HOUSE SCHOOL PRESENTS

MHSMaximum

HoldSpray

Tickets available from the Bursary

Adults £8.00, Children £5.00 Family Tickets (two Adults, two Children) £22.00

Book by

Mark O’Donnell

Thomas Meehan

Music by

Marc Shaiman

Lyrics by

Scott Whittman

Marc Shaiman

Orchestrations by

Harold Wheeler

Arrangements by

Marc Shaiman

Team 1 (all Year 10 at the

time) sat on top of the

Baranco Wall two thirds

of the way up Mount

Kilimanjaro.

All the boys summited

two days later - an

amazing achievement.

Can you guess who is

who under the hoods

and hats?

MORE FROM WORLD CHALLENGE

TANZANIA 2017 Year 6 and 7 boarders enjoyed Halloween

activities on Tuesday evening - a scavenger hunt

in the dark (in costume) followed by chocolate

shape making and a film. Year 8 boys did

pumpkin-carving and made Halloween drinks.

As you can see, much fun was had by all!

SPOOKTACULAR