Parental Bulletin - 28th February 2020

Parental Bulletin
28th February 2020

The Knights Templar School
Headteacher:
Mr T. Litchfield, G.G.S.M.
Park Street
Baldock
Herts SG7 6DZ
Email: admin@ktemplar.herts.sch.uk Tel: 01462 620700
PARENTAL WEEKLY UPDATE – 28th February 2020
(available on our website)
Dear Parents and Carers
You will have received a note from me earlier in the week relating to the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) concerns. Please
do contact the school if you have any concerns.
We will be holding a memorial service for Mr Vivian Crellin, Headteacher at KTS between 1960 and 1984, on
Wednesday April 1 st . The evening starts at 6.15pm for refreshments and memorabilia and the formal event starts
at 7.00pm. Everyone is invited and it will be a wonderful celebration of his life and his contribution to this school.
Please do spread the word. The evening will contain music, readings and memories. If you would like to attend,
please email admin@ktemplar.herts.sch.uk so that we can cater for refreshments.
Congratulations to all our Year 13 students who this week have been sitting their mock examinations. This is a
good check for their learning and will allow the teachers and students to have a fuller understanding of any gaps
in knowledge.
It was good to see so many of you last night at the Year 8 Parents’ Evening. I hope the dialogue with the teachers
has helped you understand how your child is progressing in school. Thank you for your support.
As we have had our first snowfall of the season over the last two days, please can I remind you of the procedure if
I make the decision not to open the school on any given day. This link provides the required information.
There are a number of DofE Bronze Practice Expeditions planned around this time of the year. Well done to all
those who are signed up as this really is a terrific opportunity. I hope the weather holds good for those on the expedition
this coming weekend.
Kind regards
Tim Litchfield
Headteacher

Dates for your Diary
Monday 02 March Yr11 Performing Arts Open Performance
Tuesday 03 March Yr10, 11 & 12 Drama - Dr Faustus workshop
Yr12 Parents' Evening
Wednesday 04 March Sixth Form Performance Assessment - Unit 2
Thursday 05 March A Level Politics Trip to Westminster (Years 12 & 13)
Switzerland Trip Parents' Information Evening
Sixth Form Performance Assessment - Unit 2
Friday 06 March Yr10 Art and Art Photography Exam
Yr7 and 8 Girls County Rugby Tournament
Saturday 07-08 March Yr12 DofE Gold Navigation Training Day
Year 7 French Trip to Brittany - Sunday 12 th - Friday 17 th July 2020
Some places have become available for the Brittany trip.
If your son/daughter is interested in a place, please email Mrs H Davies by Wednesday 4 th March at hdavies@ktemplar.hert.sch.uk
Mrs M Oget
Head of French
Year 8 Relationships and Sex Education:
Year 8 students will soon be starting the first of a series of PSHE lessons surrounding Relationships and Sex. These
lessons will be entirely age-appropriate and delivered by specialist teachers in accordance with the PSHE Association’s
guidance. As a parent, you have the right to withdraw your son/daughter from these lessons if you would
prefer to deliver this information in your own way. Should you wish to know more about these lessons or withdraw
your child from them, please contact Miss Staines (Head of PSHCEE) at: mstaines@ktemplar.herts.sch.uk
Coming Soon – KTS Science week
The week of 9 th – 13 th March will be jam packed with Science activities at break and lunch so keep an eye out for
notifications.

The Knights Templar
Our first science fair will launch in a week! I have been catching up with students about their projects and it
seems that a lot of time and effort have gone into some fascinating research. We are still hoping for a few
more donations to top up our prizes. If you are able to help please go to http://amzn.eu/axOmIZH , to make a
selection from the list. I would like to thank the anonymous donor who sent some prizes to school this week.
The science fair projects will be on display for visitors on Wednesday 11 th and Thursday 12 th March after school.
Please do come along to see what our young scientists have been getting up to. They are proud of their work
and will enjoy showing it off.
Mrs Dineen
Media News
Year 11 Media
Parents of year 11 media students should have received an information sheet regarding revision sent via
InTouch this week. The sheet is just in support of revision for the upcoming exams; and gives some information
about what is on each paper, and some suggestions for revision.
Students have also been given a revision booklet for comp 1, knowledge organisers for all set texts, and have
exam style questions throughout their books. Google classroom and Seneca learning are also very valuable
resources should your child be looking for inspiration on where to start.
Almost all students have also been given a provisional mark for their NEA, and students have done incredibly
well. Please be reminded that these are still yet to be moderated by the exam board, and could change, but are
a good guide to go by.
6 th Form Media
We are very excited to announce that Mark Wallman will be working with our 6 th form Film and Media students
(as well as maths and computing students) on the 12th March. Mark has worked in TV and Film visual effects
and now runs a visual effects degree at the University of Hertfordshire. The morning with Mark will cover
‘creature films’ such as The Lion King & Jungle Book and computer muscle simulation to create the characters,
as well as students working with mathematics that are required behind the scenes in order to make such effects
possible, amongst much more. Should you like to have a look at some of Mark’s very impressive work, please
see the links below. I look forward to sharing more with you after the event.
https://vimeo.com/79103162
https://vimeo.com/78407633

Girls Rugby U15 County Representation
Congratulations to Daisy, Sophia and Berri who recently came through trials to be selected for the Hertfordshire
U15 Girls Rugby Squad.
This weekend the girls took part in their first competitive fixture for county playing against Middlesex and Essex in
both a sevens fixture and full sided game.
Hertfordshire and all Knights Templar students were fantastic, winning all their games and considering the short
amount of time the squad have been together, were a fantastic set of performances.
The girls will look forward to more County fixtures in the coming weeks.

Library News
Next week KTS is celebrating
World Book Day
2020
Everyone is invited to visit our BOOK FAIR which runs for ONE DAY ONLY on Tuesday 3 rd March 2020, including
break, lunchtime and after school until 4pm. We would love to see as many students and staff as possible
dropping in to browse and buy. All books will be reduced in price. Reservations are possible but must be paid
for within 2 days. We look forward to seeing you there!!
The World Book Day theme for 2020 is “Share a Million Stories”
and everyone is invited to participate by sharing a story
with someone – a family member, a friend, a class at school, a
group – Schools, Libraries, Families, Individuals can register
direct. We will be sharing stories in school on the official World Book Day (Thursday), but parents can also
get involved between 27 th February – 29 th March 2020. Do please let us know what stories you shared .
Check out the World Book Day website for ideas an book extracts, or follow the link :
https://www.worldbookday.com/share-a-million-stories/.
KTS Library Staff – Mrs Evans, Mrs Martin and Mrs Boddy
Update on the KTS chickens
Some of you may be wondering what happened to the 5 KTS chickens.
As we were not able to find any parents who would help with the care of the
chickens, they were moved to a new home a couple of weeks before Christmas.
They met with many more hens and were included into a large coup and run. The
biggest change for them was to encounter a cockerel. In true KTS spirit they were
brave and undaunted, showing courage but perhaps not courtesy in their early
encounters… he came off worse, with a blooded nose for his efforts to become
acquainted with his new hens!!
Music News
Ex-KTS Student, Ben Goldscheider, is performing with the Hertford Symphony
Orchestra at their forthcoming concert on Saturday 14 th March. This is a wonderful
opportunity to see Ben perform at a local venue. Ticket information can
be found on the poster.

Year 10 Work Experience
Many thanks to all those that have returned forms and payments.
We are extending the deadline now to the 21 st April for the forms to be in.
Just a reminder to all that students can come and see Mrs Gunnell in T12 every Thursday lunchtime if they need
assistance with placements or have any questions.
Mr Breadmore and Mrs Gunnell are on hand to answer any queries, please email them at
wex@ktemplar.herts.sch.uk

National Apprenticeship Show
We would like to remind Sixth Form students and their parents of the upcoming National Apprenticeship Show
in Milton Keynes (Monday 9 th - Tuesday 10 th March). This event will provide access to a large number of reputable
companies, from various industries offering a range of apprenticeships. We encourage as many students and
parents to attend this event as possible. For more details please see the link below.
https://www.nationalapprenticeshipshow.org/midlands/
Student profile- Matthew Haskings
Matthew is currently in Year 13 and is studying A Levels in English, Geography
and Statistics. Matthew has always been a student who is highly engaged with
his studies and seems to enjoy school life. In fact, he seems to enjoy educational
settings so much that he has applied to university to train as a teacher, with an
eventual goal of working as a Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator.
Matthew has volunteered his time in Key Stage 3 Geography lessons, working
closely with teachers to assist them with the delivery of their lessons and
helping students on a 1:1 basis wherever possible. Matthew has even completed
a short work placement at a local Special Education Needs Academy, an experience
that he thoroughly enjoyed.
In the summer of 2019, Matthew was also involved in the challenging and highly
rewarding expedition to Borneo where he had the opportunity to immerse himself
in a completely different culture, while completing conservation and
research work alongside trained scientists.
When he is not studying for his A Level subjects, Matthew is either working as a Scout Leader or working
towards his Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award. In addition, Matthew is an avid bowls player and has been involved
with the sport for the last decade.
It is wonderful to see students like Matthew excel both in and out of the classroom and it is inspiring to see a
young person give up so much of their free time to help and support others.
We wish Matthew the best of luck with his future endeavours.

Senior Prefect applications
We would like to thank all of the students who submitted an application for any of the Senior Prefect roles.
Once again, we have a very talented pool of applicants and we are extremely confident of forming a strong
team of student leaders to continue and build upon the brilliant work of their predecessors.
The Head Boy and Head Girl application process continues next Friday 6 th March when all successful candidates
will be invited to deliver a short presentation to the entire Sixth Form, expanding upon their initial letter of application
and discussing why they would be the ideal candidate for this coveted role.
We look forward to seeing what each applicant has to offer.
BTEC Music students show off their talent
The BTEC Music Performance class stepped onto the stage on Wednesday evening to showcase their work to a
small audience of staff and parents. The Music teaching staff were incredibly proud of the efforts of all the students
but we would like to particularly acknowledge the exceptional vocal performances of Robbie and Malachy.
It was a very pleasant and impressive event and the students should be proud of their accomplishments.