Number 15, 3 February 2006 - SD Online Home

on Monday night. Our team, made up of a
mix of Year 9, 10, 12 and 13 pupils had to
face a Latymer team made up exclusively of
Upper Sixth formers, four of whom were
taller than our tallest players. It was clear we
would be up against it both physically and in
terms of experience.
The first quarter began well with Captain
Garvey Seaton and Antony Faithfull ensuring,
with some tight marking, that their taller
players could not get any ball. These two with
Aaron Takan boxed out superbly and pulled
down countless rebounds. Julian Addo ran
the fast-break at every opportunity and
created scoring opportunities. In the second
quarter Jeremy Nnanyere played outstandingly
in defence. He put his opposite number under
so much pressure that he struggled to get the
ball into our half giving us considerable
territorial advantage. A succession of quick
baskets followed from Philipp Ghouri and
Junior Anin for a half time lead of 22-18
The third quarter saw some fantastic team
play with eight of the squad scoring. Aaron
Seaton, playing Centre, showed real maturity
controlling the defence. He linked well with
Kadeem Simmons-Bah to create breaks which
Junior converted into points. Julian also made
some crucial steals. However the height
advantage of the opposition began to tell as it
slowly brought the score level at 39-39.
In the final quarter there was some excellent
play from Junior who was the top scorer with
14. Unfortunately in our desperation to block
shots we gave away fouls which the
opposition converted and this proved the
difference between the teams. The boys
fought right down to the final stoppage
before the buzzer. Even with only eight
seconds left to play they all marked their men
so tightly that Latymer could not bring the
ball into play giving us a last chance to score.
Unfortunately Latymer’s defence was too
strong and it won 53– 49.
Without doubt this was the best match the
squad has played. It was a real team
performance with every player scoring points.
Playing with guts, determination, tremendous
athleticism and considerable skill, they were
fine ambassadors for the College.
Football
The 2 nd XI took on Royal Russell this week in
their first match of the season. The
opposition was a settled team playing its 15 th
fixture. The SDC team played really well and
was unlucky not to come away with a draw.
The score was 3-3 before Royal Russell
sneaked a winning goal in the final moments
of the game. SDC’s goal scorers were Joe
Woodford, Jack Smith and Gabriel Adebiyi.
Message from the Head of
the Junior School
It was with great sadness that we learnt, on
Monday, of the death after a short illness of
Carole Love, a member of our Pre-Prep afterschool
care team. She was a caring and warm
person who looked after the children with
great good humour and dedication. Carole
was a familiar face to many students in the
Junior and Senior schools alike having worked
at St Dunstan’s since September 1996. She
was popular with children, parents and staff
and will be greatly missed.
I am sure you will all join with us in sending
our deepest sympathies to Carole’s family. We
have decided to buy a bench with a plaque in
her memory for the Pre-Prep playground. If
you would like to contribute to this fund
please hand your donation to the Junior
School Office or your child’s form teacher.
Nursery Class
On Saturday, the Pre-Prep held a special
Open Morning to launch our Nursery Class
which will open in September. It was a real
success with 31 families looking around, all of
whom were impressed with the Pre-Prep
Department’s facilities and approach to early
years’ learning. It was particularly gratifying to
welcome a number of current parents who
spoke warmly about life in the Pre-Prep.
There is a lot of interest in the places on offer
and only a few remain. Anyone who is
interested in securing a place for this
September or registering for future years
should contact Mrs Scard as soon as possible.
Hampton Court Trip
Year 4 spent a cold but entertaining day at
Hampton Court last week as part of its study
of the Tudors. On arrival the party spent
some time touring the Tudor Palace. One
group went for a session on Investigating Henry
VIII while the other continued investigating
the building. This included an unexpected
explanation of all the pictures in the Haunted
Gallery. A highlight was the visit to the
kitchens especially as there was a roaring fire
and everyone was so very cold!
The session on Henry was very good, and
included looking at pictures as evidence and
discussing the how portraits reflect what the
subject wanted people to see. We also looked
at documents that revealed what Henry
owned. His possessions included 17 pairs of
glasses - without their cases. As always the
visit to the Palace shop was a particular
highlight for the pupils.
Football
Congratulations to the U9 football squad who
achieved a fantastic victory in a 12-school
tournament at Alleyn’s on Tuesday. The
squad of Gaetan Oster, Henry Fisher, Adam
Smith, Max Twyman, Erran Gordon, Zac
Manley O’Brian, James Corbett and Johnny
Regnier won its group convincingly beating
Alleyn’s B 3-0 and Reay 2-0. In the knock out
stage the team first took on Alleyn’s A. After
a slow start and having conceded their only
goal of the afternoon, the boys really started
to play well and won 4-1. In the semi-finals
against Eltham College the team defended
furiously and scored a fine break away goal.
Eltham was awarded a penalty near the end
but James made a fantastic save to secure a 1-
0 victory. The final against St David’s was
another close contest but thanks to great
defending, fierce tackles and determined
teamwork SDC won 1-0. Throughout the
afternoon James Corbett performed heroics
in goal, Jonny and Erran worked hard in
defence. Henry, Adam, Gaetan and Zac
dominated the midfield and provided lots of
excellent balls for striker, Max, to latch on to
with great success.
Last Friday St Dunstan’s hosted a mini U11
soccer tournament. St David's, St
Christopher's and Breaside all attended.
Against Breaside, the boys played quite well
but never really shook off the cold. Although
they were always in charge, poor options and
missed passes kept the game very narrow and
Breaside's defended tenaciously for a 0-0
draw. Against, St David's, the boys never
really got going. Again, poor passes and a lack
of communication caused the team to lose its
way a bit. St David's scored early in the
second half and neither side looked like
scoring after that, resulting in a 0-1 loss. The
upside was a fantastic display of goalkeeping
by Eddie Jones who made three or four
excellent, athletic and brave saves.
Finally against St Christopher's SDC suddenly
found space and rhythm in a well-balanced
and good game. At half time the scores were
0-0 but Oliver Fox scored straight after the
break and this opened the floodgates and
demoralised the opposition. Two more goals
followed and SDC won 3-0. By the end of the
afternoon all four teams had won 1, drawn 1
and lost 1 - and all the players had learned
more about the offside rule and playing on a
bigger pitch.
CEM 02/02/06