Lower School Newsletter July 2022

LOWER SCHOOL
Newsletter
Summer Term 2022
Welcome
Welcome to the final Lower
School Newsletter of this
academic year. If there is ever
a term that allows students to
experience what St Albans School
is all about, it is this one. We have
the very important academic
exams, and then an emphasis
on our holistic approach with
various fun activities to bring
the year to a close. The Second
Form had their exams as well as
an array of activities and trips
to further enrich their learning.
The First Form completed their
exams and then enjoyed a week at
Pen Arthur and Activities Week.
In this issue you will read about
all the adventures the Lower
School have had and hopefully
it will reassure you that your son
has not only survived this year,
but has had every opportunity to
thrive! Mrs Ginsburg and I are
very proud of the boys and all
their achievements this year. We
cannot wait to see the First Form
expand on the already great start
they have had, and as for the
Second Form, we wish them only
the very best as
they move into the
Third Form.
Mrs Murphy
Deputy Head of
Lower School
What made you go into teaching as a profession?
Interview with...
Mr Baker
I was very inspired by the teachers who taught me here at St Albans School and as
a result, I was always interested in teaching. At University I was good at presenting.
Teaching is to some extent presenting in front of students and I wanted to explore this
further.
If you weren’t a teacher, what would you be doing?
If I wasn’t a teacher I would probably be thinking about potentially being a PhD
candidate, or secondly, possibly doing something law related. Most likely it would have
been something to do with rugby, rugby journalism or something like that because I
am a huge rugby fan.
You are allowed to invite one person to a dinner party, who would you invite and why?
The person I would invite would be Virgil, who was a Roman poet. The last part of his
poem, The Aeneid, is a massive cliff-hanger and he doesn’t really tell us what his views
are regarding it. I would like to have a conversation with him to talk about the true
meaning of the ending.
What is your idea of a perfect day?
Good question! On my perfect Saturday or Sunday I would get up, have a workout at
the gym, return home and have a full-cooked breakfast, with everything included! Then
I would probably go to a rugby game or a cricket match with my friends. My favourite
rugby team is the Ospreys so I’d go and watch them play or even a Welsh game. After
that we’d amble back home and have a barbeque.
What do you think about social media?
Jasper, Second Form
I think social media has its advantages. The main advantages being that it is a great
illustration of freedom of speech and it’s a really important part of living in a liberal
democracy that we are able to express ourselves. Secondly, social media enables you to
acquire information very quickly, efficiently and effectively. I think the problem is that
too much can potentially have a negative effect on your mental health. Additionally,
there is the opportunity for people to be unkind on social media. The key thing is not
to say anything unless it is kind or at least productive and constructive. So, to answer
your question, I suppose my opinion is mixed: social media is good as long as it’s used
correctly and appropriately.

LS NEWSLETTER SUMMER TERM 2022
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Inter-Form Challenge
On Friday 27 May we took part in the Lower
School Inter-Form Challenge. After being
energised by a tasty barbecue lunch in the
orchard, we made our way to Woollams. The
journey was filled with nervous anticipation of
who would win the coveted title for best class in
each of the First and Second Form.
Everybody was very excited; the changing
rooms were buzzing with energy and chatter.
How would we do in the 6-aside football? Was
our form any good at code breaking amongst
other things? Most importantly, were we as
good at eating doughnuts as we thought? After
what felt like ages, the challenges commenced.
Each class was wearing their special cap or
t-shirt they had designed for the occasion. I
played in the Ultimate Frisbee team and really
enjoyed the constant back-and-forth nature of
it. We were always fighting to keep possession
to score, and after a nail-biting game, we
succeeded!
After a fantastic afternoon of
challenges, the overall winners
were decided in the doughnut
eating competition. The First
Form doughnut eating battle
was close but a last-minute
change of decision put 1.1 in
the lead by the skin of our
teeth. For the First Form 1.1
won and in the second form
2.4 came out victorious.
Alexander, First Form
Pen Arthur
It was an overcast, drizzly morning in St Albans when we boarded the coach
on Sunday 5 June, but it didn’t dampen our spirits and enthusiasm for our
long-awaited trip to Pen Arthur. The landscape dramatically changed when
we finally crossed the bridge into Wales, prompting a cheer from everyone on
board. We found our destination nestled deep in Pen Arthur Forest within the
Brecon Beacons. We had fun exploring the grounds and building dens, then
turned in for the night, eager for our first day of activities to arrive.
We had an awesome first day. It was amazing hiking through lush, jungle-like
forest and reaching a giant waterfall, which we stood behind and were sprayed
with water. In the afternoon we went caving, where we crawled through tiny
cracks and waded through fast-flowing streams. There was one – known as
the “washing machine” – which we had to crawl through against the current.
When we emerged, I was dazzled by the sunlight.
Other highlights included canoeing (and capsizing fully clothed!);
water fights in the sea and playing crazy golf at the beach; standing
on the footplate at the Gwili Steam Railway and going to the cinema
(when our castle trip was rained off) to see the new ‘Top Gun’ film.
We finished our week with a barbecue and hilarious talent show
(Aldwyn’s amazing impressions won his team first place). A
huge thank you to all the teachers who came with us for such a
wonderful, memorable trip.
Thomas, First Form

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SUMMER TERM 2022 LS NEWSLETTER
Drama Workshop
On Wednesday 22 June, the First and Second
Forms took part in a fantastic Drama workshop
where we were split up in our houses to participate
in three different Drama related activities. On top
of this, we also watched an unusual play to teach us
lots of useful drama techniques whilst having lots
of fun.
In the first lesson, we went deeper into Ancient
Greek theatre where we wore masks if it was a man
playing a woman or if an actor had to be some
sort of monstrous villain. This helped us develop
better body language skills and how to portray a
character’s emotions differently.
We then did a lesson on how to apply fake bruises
and blood wounds just by using makeup and what
to use as a substitute so we could apply our own
wounds at home to practice. To apply our blood
wound, we got a lump of playdoh and spread it
out on our arms so we would be able to apply fake
blood. Then, we applied bruising makeup along the
playdoh to make the wound look more realistic.
After that, we cut through the centre of the playdoh
adding fake blood along the crack which was
thickened by putting Weetabix into it. Finally, we
used a bottle of fake blood (which was edible and
tasted like maple syrup) and squeezed it along the
cut to make it look like the blood was dripping off
your hand.
Our final activity, which was my favourite, was
learning how to do basic sword fighting for theatre
using wooden katanas then eventually moving on
to using a blunt steel sword.
I thought that
this was a
brilliant set of
activities and
wanted to thank
the Drama
Department for
setting this up
for us.
Henri, First Form
French Play –
‘Mon père ne me
comprend pas’
I recently watched a play in French during Activity
Week. It was about a girl called Hélène who was
celebrating her 16th birthday, but it was not turning
out exactly to plan because different members of her
entourage wanted to celebrate in different ways. Her
father wanted to take her to McDonald’s, her brother
bought her a poetry book, and she is also trying to
help her friends with their relationship issues. While
attempting to solve her problems with a magic spell,
she only managed to make the situation worse.
Thankfully all was resolved in the end.
Despite being performed in a different language it
was easy to follow because it made many references
to things that my age group understand, such as
social media. All the cast were very dynamic, and
the plot was engaging and light-hearted. It was great
French entertainment for a Wednesday afternoon.
Un excellent moment!
Oli, First Form

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Trip to Dover Castle
During Activities Week, we visited Dover Castle in
Kent. Despite the long journey, we were eager to see
what Dover Castle had in store. First, we watched a
fascinating video about how the castle was built and
the history of its owners. We also observed that the
castle had corners. This wasn’t the best idea because
if the enemies overwhelmed one corner, it could all
collapse!
Next, our group had a tour around the Keep. It
was fascinating to be in such historic surroundings
and learn how the Keep was utilised. My ‘favourite
fact’ was that the royals sat upright when they slept
because they feared that the devil would think they
had been placed there for collection if they were
lying flat on a raised floor. After that, we went for a
walk around the castle grounds, getting a sense of
the walls and level of protection. We also went down
into the tunnels, which were pitch black. It was really
cool to see how there used to be secret passageways
for people looking to avoid detection.
Finally, we listened to an actor dressed up as Lady
Beaufort! She was funny and very convincing. We
went to the courtroom and learnt how the legal
system worked – typical punishments were combat,
water or fire.
Overall, it was a jam-packed, adventurous day and I
definitely want to go again!
Review of the French play
Ben, First Form
During Activities Week, I was lucky enough
to watch a French play. It followed the story of
a young girl who was pranked by her friends
telling her she was being cheated on, and being
given a magic wand by her dad which she uses
to wish for her family to be cool. All this leads
to her dad becoming a famous influencer. The
main characters were the girl, the dad, and the
shy brother. Some of my favourite scenes were
the calls on the phone with her grandma as
they were very funny, and I liked the repeating
joke about the grandma’s bad Wi-Fi and her
forgetting to turn her sound on. I also liked the
very beginning
scene, where the
girl told us it was
her birthday,
but the brother
kept pretending
to give her a gift but kept snatching it away at
the last second. However, my overall favourite
moment was when the grandma pulled out a
gun. Throughout the play, the actors kept in
role and used actions with their hands to help
us understand what was going on, to make it
more fun and inclusive for everybody.
Hugh, Second Form

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STEM Workshop
On the last day of Activities Week, Second Form took part
in a Stem Workshop which consisted of three different
sessions. In the first two sessions, we were making things
out of three different sizes of wooden sticks. First, we
were taught how to make a tetrahedron out of six sticks
and four elastic bands. Then we chose our own groups
of five and made our own. With the five tetrahedrons,
we were shown how to put them together with long
sticks, then using medium sticks we were shown how to
strengthen our line of five tetrahedrons so that there were
only triangles to ensure that it was as strong as possible.
When everyone had finished, each group was given four
long sticks and four medium sticks. Using these we had
to come up with a design to support the main structure
like a bridge. In the session before lunch, all the groups
made one part of a Ferris wheel. All the parts were
then attached to a central plastic tube with a massive
wooden stick through it. It was then raised up and spun
by everyone. In the last
session, we watched a
documentary about how
bridges are made safer by
bridges that have broken
before. All of these
activities combined into a
fun day.
Alex, Second Form
Product Design and Marketing Day
We started the day by meeting in the library. Mr Wass and Mr Phillips set us the task of making a portable
gaming console by working for either Xbox or PlayStation which had to rival the Nintendo switch for that
corner of the market. We were divided into different groups of around six people and were put in either the
Xbox or PlayStation team. The groups were further split, some were sent to the DT block to start building their
design, others to the library to plan their design and create a 30-second advertisement via a storyboard.
I was sent to the library first and our group designed a laptop-based console
with a foldable screen and a controller where the keyboard was. The
screen was 14 inches and the bottom bit matched it. It was 8 inches in
height and 12 inches long. It had our logo on the back and we named
it the Xbox X Lite. Next, we went to the D&T Department to make it a
reality. We used a reflective black plastic for the screen and some white
foam to create a portable laptop-like design. We laser-cut the logo and
glued it onto the back.
Afterwards, we presented our product to the other groups and a panel
consisting of Mr Wass, Mr Phillips and some other judges. Although
no verbal feedback was given, we were pleased with the end product.
Unfortunately, we didn’t win and instead a product called Xbox Split won.
It was literally a screen which could split into four and fold into a book.
It was great fun and rewarding seeing an idea materialise into a prototype. It
was also thrilling getting a taste of the process that real developers would go
through!
Anaik , Second Form

LS NEWSLETTER
SUMMER TERM 2022
PSHEE Day – Public
Speaking and Team Work
During our June PSHEE Day, we enjoyed a talk about public
speaking and how it can be a huge challenge. The visitor also
explained how when he was younger, he had anxiety and
public speaking for him was a way of letting out his emotions
and stress. When you are giving a talk, he said to be honest
with your audience to show them that you are not perfect; in
addition, he explained in depth how personal stories can be a
good way to connect with your audience. All pupils took part
in interactive activities where a pupil stood at the front of the
classroom and told the class a fact about themselves that their
classmates did not already know. This took pupils out of their
comfort zone to face a fear.
A visitor came in from ‘Herts young Homeless’ to talk to pupils
about how to resolve and deal with arguments. Firstly, she
demonstrated how tone and volume can affect the meaning of
a sentence. We were also informed of ‘you and I statements’
which is a way of calming a situation and not shifting all the
blame onto the other person to make them feel bad. Pupils then
engaged in a cooperative activity of how to solve an argument
topic they were given.
Finally, we took part in team-building activities which made us
work cooperatively and not lose concentration throughout. The
first activity was completed with some difficulty but required
all members of a team to work together. The second activity
consisted of building a tower of wooden blocks which required
a good level of communication. To finish, the final activity
required speed and decisive communication.
Seb, Second Form