Baking Masterclass This half term saw the return of our very popular baking masterclasses, kindly hosted by Mrs Zachariah. The class was fully booked within an hour of places being made available and 12 parents, some accompanied by their sons, learnt how to make shortcrust pastry in th
Read More >>Friends News - July 2019
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<p>With your support we can raise more funds and build a stronger school community. If you have any ideas, please send an e-mail to <a href="mailto:info@friendsofwbgs.org">info@friendsofwbgs.org</a> </p>
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'mmo_content' => '<p class="MsoNormal">The first event this half-term was the Big Raffle which was
drawn by Mr Cooksey in the playground on 5<sup>th</sup> November.
Congratulations to the following winners:</p><p class="yiv3151191996msonormal" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:
minor-latin;color:#1D2228">1<sup>st</sup> Prize – iPad Mini –
PICKARD 11C<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="yiv3151191996msonormal" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:
minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#1D2228">2<sup>nd</sup> Prize
– Beats Headphones - Robin ELTSBERG 8G<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="yiv3151191996msonormal" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:
minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#1D2228">3<sup>rd</sup> Prize
– Family Powerboating Experience – Jayden SHAH 7N<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="yiv3151191996msonormal" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:
minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#1D2228">4<sup>th</sup> Prize
- £75 intu vouchers - Alex TWYFORD 7R <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="yiv3151191996msonormal" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;
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– Bouldering Lesson & Climbing Session – Sahir PATEL L6N</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">Thank you to
everyone who bought tickets and to our sponsors, Sewell & Gardner. <br></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This half-term saw a brand-new Friends of School event: a
Comedy Night organised jointly with WGGS Parent Association. The event was held on the top floor of the
STEM Centre at WBGS and with almost 200 tickets sold, was a lively evening. We
were entertained by 3 professional comedians and our compere for the evening,
and with the high-quality acts interspersed with short intervals everyone had
an opportunity to catch up with friends over a drink and much laughter. A big thank you to everyone who attended, we
hope to make this an annual event. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Next term we will be running the annual <b>Quiz Night</b> which takes place on <b>Saturday 2<sup>nd</sup> March</b>. This is always a great evening so why
not get a group of friends together to test your knowledge and have fun whilst
raising valuable funds for the school. Tickets will be on sale from early
January – look out for details.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In order to boost our fundraising activities, we hold a
raffle at many of our events. We are very grateful to those local businesses
who support us by donating products and services. However, we do really need
more donations and so would be grateful for your help please. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Re-Gifting Appeal –
Raising Funds from Unwanted Christmas Presents<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Without wanting to sound ungrateful, it is a fact that we
all sometimes receive unwanted or unsuitable Christmas presents. But you don’t
have to hide them in the cupboard – instead do some good with the gifts that
leave you uninspired. An unwanted Christmas present may well be a delight to
someone else, and the FoS will make good use of these gifts at our fundraising
events throughout the year. The Friends of School will have a box in school
reception during the 1<sup>st</sup> week back after Christmas next term, from 7<sup>th</sup>
– 11<sup>th</sup> January. Please donate
any unwanted gifts by placing them in this box.
Thank you in advance for your support.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Additionally, if you have your own business, or work for an
organisation that supports local charities and would be willing to donate a
raffle or auction prize, we would be very grateful. Please email <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:info@friendsofwbgs.org">info@friendsofwbgs.org</a></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A big thank you to everyone who has supported our events and
fundraising activities this term, we look forward to seeing you at the Quiz in
March. Wishing you and your families a restful Christmas break.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Friends of School <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="http://www.friendsofwbgs.org/">www.friendsofwbgs.org</a></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;
mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;
padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt"><b>Dates for your Diary:<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;
padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt">Thursday 10<sup>th</sup>
January – Friends of School Meeting to discuss 2019 activities – All welcome<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;
padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt">Saturday 2<sup>nd</sup>
March – Quiz Night – tickets on sale in January<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;
padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt">Friday 21<sup>st</sup>
June – Summer Ball, Hunton Park. Information in the new year.<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>',
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'mmo_content' => 'The new Centre will allow the school to offer
unparalleled STEM teaching<p>The new STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) Centre is
near completion and will be officially opened on 9th November 2017 by
scientist and TV presenter Lord Robert Winston. </p>
<p>The new three floor Centre includes
science labs, an engineering room and a large CAD (Computer Aided
Design)/CAM (Computer Aided Manufacture) suite, upgrading the School’s
current facilities significantly.</p>
<p>The building also houses additional
teaching rooms for mathematics and computing and has a large conference
area to allow for more STEM outreach work with young people in the area.
</p>
<p>The school was fortunate to have the
entire cost of construction of the Centre funded by grants from national
and local government. However, the cost of fixtures, fittings and
equipment was not covered by our government grants. With generous
donations from the Friends of the School and Old Fullerians’ Assocation,
as well as over 100 parent donors, the building has been kitted out
ready for lessons to start before Christmas.
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<!--StartFragment-->
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Baking Masterclass<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This half term saw the return of our very popular baking
masterclasses, kindly hosted by Mrs Zachariah. The class was fully booked
within an hour of places being made available and 12 parents, some accompanied
by their sons, learnt how to make shortcrust pastry in the form of a lemon
tart. Donations for participating in
this, and previous classes, will be used by the Food Tech department to buy a
digital camera for photographing all types of food and techniques. Our thanks
to Mrs Zachariah for continuing to run these classes – we hope to run another
in the Autumn Term – look out for an email and adverts on the FoS website, <a href="http://www.friendsofwbgs.org">www.friendsofwbgs.org</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org//img/editor/1568812811bakingclasspic1.png" style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org//img/editor/1568812844bakingclasspic2.png"><br></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>New to Year 7 Fun Day<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As usual the Friends of School provided the food and
refreshments at the New to Year 7 Fun Day on 6th July where all boys joining
WBGS in September and their families were welcomed into school to meet their
new classmates and take part in team-building activities. A big thank you to
all the parents and the prefect team who volunteered to help on the day. It was
a busy, but enjoyable day, and hopefully all the new Year 7s are looking
forward to joining our school community in September.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org//img/editor/1568812961newtoyr7-2019pic1.png"><br></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org//img/editor/1568812980newtoyr7-2019pic2.png"><br></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Family Draw<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Family Draw was drawn as usual and this term’s winner is
number 41 - John O'Sullivan who won £48.43<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you don’t currently participate in the Family Draw but
would like to do so, please get in touch for a form <a href="mailto:info@friendsofwbgs.org">info@friendsofwbgs.org</a> . As well as
raising valuable funds for the school you will be in with the chance of winning
a cash prize each term.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Thank you<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Lastly, The Friends of School would like to say a big thank
you to everyone who has supported our activities this year, be it attending or
helping out at an event, serving refreshments at a concert or parents evening,
or buying a ticket for the Big Raffle. Your help and support are invaluable in
enabling us to raise much-needed funds for the school. This year we are pleased
to report that we have met our target of raising enough money to purchase a new
bicycle shed. This will be installed over the Summer break and will hopefully
encourage more boys to cycle to school next year. Thank you! <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Wishing you and your families a happy, peaceful and sunny summer
break. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Friends of WBGS.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u><o:p> </o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>Some Diary Dates
for 2019-20<o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Monday 16<sup>th</sup> September – 1<sup>st</sup> Friends of
School meeting of the new academic year – All are welcome<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Saturday 9<sup>th</sup> November – Comedy Night held jointly
with WGGS – Tickets on sale in September<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Saturday 7th March 2020 – Annual Quiz Night<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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'mmo_content' => 'The Winner of last terms' Family Draw was Number 40 - John O'Sullivan. Well Done!',
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'mmo_content' => '<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:107%">Thank You!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A big thank you to everyone who attended the annual <b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:
107%">Quiz Night</span></b> on 2<sup>nd</sup> March. The event was a huge
success, selling out 3 weeks before. Those who managed to get a ticket squeezed
into the STEM centre and enjoyed a fun night stretching their minds to answer a
wide variety of questions, accompanied by delicious and plentiful food prepared
by Punjabi Gourmet. As well as it being
a most enjoyable evening, we raised almost £3,000 for the school, so thank you
to everyone for your continued support. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you couldn’t make it to the WBGS Quiz, or fancy having
another go, then Watford Girls Grammar School Parents Association are holding
their Big Quiz on <b>Saturday 27<sup>th</sup>
April</b> at 7pm in WGGS main school hall. To book a ticket email <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:wggspa@gmail.com">wggspa@gmail.com</a></span>.
See details on the attached flyer.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:107%">Summer Ball – Friday 21<sup>st</sup>
June, Hunton Park Hotel<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our last big fundraising event this year will be the <b>WBGS Summer Ball</b> – a black tie dinner
and dance held at <b>Hunton Park on Friday
21<sup>st</sup> June.</b> This bi-annual event is a great opportunity to get
some friends together and celebrate the end of the school year in a beautiful
setting. Tickets are now on sale at <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="http://www.friendsofwbgs.org/">www.friendsofwbgs.org</a></span> or via the
flyer that was emailed earlier this week.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ticket price which includes a welcome drink, 3 course
sit-down dinner plus music and dancing is £60 if you take advantage of the
Early Bird Discount and <b>book before 24<sup>th</sup>
May</b>. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you have any questions, or would like to make a group
booking, then please email Amanda at <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:info@friendsofwbgs.org">info@friendsofwbgs.org</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:107%">Baking Master Class<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We are also pleased to announce that we will be holding
another of our Baking Masterclasses next term. This will be on Shortcrust Pastry
when participants will make a Lemon Tart.
The class will take place on <b>Wednesday
5<sup>th</sup> June from 6-8.30pm</b>. There are only 12 places available, so
be sure to book quickly to avoid disappointment. Booking will open next week
via <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="http://www.friendsofwbgs.org/">www.friendsofwbgs.org</a></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our thanks to Mrs Zachariah for continuing to hold these
classes.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:107%">Family Draw<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The winner of this terms’ Family Draw is number 40 - John
O’Sullivan.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Family Draw is another way in which the FoS raise money
for resources for the school, particularly the different clubs and societies on
offer. For the cost of £25 per year, as well as helping to support these
activities, you could be in with a chance of winning a cash prize. One number
is drawn each term and the holder of that number wins a cash prize! If you are
not already entered into the draw and would like to join, or want more
information email <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:info@friendsofwbgs.org">info@friendsofwbgs.org</a></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As always, all information on Friends of School activities
and events can be found on our website <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="http://www.friendsofwbgs.org/">www.friendsofwbgs.org</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Thank you to everyone who has supported our activities be it
attending events, or helping out at recent concerts and parents’ evenings, your
on-going support is very much appreciated and helps raise valuable funds for
our boys. We wish you all a happy and relaxing Easter break. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>',
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'mmo_content' => '<p class="MsoNormal">The first event this half-term was the Big Raffle which was
drawn by Mr Cooksey in the playground on 5<sup>th</sup> November.
Congratulations to the following winners:</p><p class="yiv3151191996msonormal" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:
minor-latin;color:#1D2228">1<sup>st</sup> Prize – iPad Mini –
PICKARD 11C<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="yiv3151191996msonormal" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:
minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#1D2228">2<sup>nd</sup> Prize
– Beats Headphones - Robin ELTSBERG 8G<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="yiv3151191996msonormal" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:
minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#1D2228">3<sup>rd</sup> Prize
– Family Powerboating Experience – Jayden SHAH 7N<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="yiv3151191996msonormal" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:
minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#1D2228">4<sup>th</sup> Prize
- £75 intu vouchers - Alex TWYFORD 7R <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="yiv3151191996msonormal" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:
minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#1D2228">5<sup>th</sup> Prize
– Bouldering Lesson & Climbing Session – Sahir PATEL L6N</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">Thank you to
everyone who bought tickets and to our sponsors, Sewell & Gardner. <br></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This half-term saw a brand-new Friends of School event: a
Comedy Night organised jointly with WGGS Parent Association. The event was held on the top floor of the
STEM Centre at WBGS and with almost 200 tickets sold, was a lively evening. We
were entertained by 3 professional comedians and our compere for the evening,
and with the high-quality acts interspersed with short intervals everyone had
an opportunity to catch up with friends over a drink and much laughter. A big thank you to everyone who attended, we
hope to make this an annual event. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Next term we will be running the annual <b>Quiz Night</b> which takes place on <b>Saturday 2<sup>nd</sup> March</b>. This is always a great evening so why
not get a group of friends together to test your knowledge and have fun whilst
raising valuable funds for the school. Tickets will be on sale from early
January – look out for details.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In order to boost our fundraising activities, we hold a
raffle at many of our events. We are very grateful to those local businesses
who support us by donating products and services. However, we do really need
more donations and so would be grateful for your help please. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Re-Gifting Appeal –
Raising Funds from Unwanted Christmas Presents<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Without wanting to sound ungrateful, it is a fact that we
all sometimes receive unwanted or unsuitable Christmas presents. But you don’t
have to hide them in the cupboard – instead do some good with the gifts that
leave you uninspired. An unwanted Christmas present may well be a delight to
someone else, and the FoS will make good use of these gifts at our fundraising
events throughout the year. The Friends of School will have a box in school
reception during the 1<sup>st</sup> week back after Christmas next term, from 7<sup>th</sup>
– 11<sup>th</sup> January. Please donate
any unwanted gifts by placing them in this box.
Thank you in advance for your support.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Additionally, if you have your own business, or work for an
organisation that supports local charities and would be willing to donate a
raffle or auction prize, we would be very grateful. Please email <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:info@friendsofwbgs.org">info@friendsofwbgs.org</a></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A big thank you to everyone who has supported our events and
fundraising activities this term, we look forward to seeing you at the Quiz in
March. Wishing you and your families a restful Christmas break.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Friends of School <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="http://www.friendsofwbgs.org/">www.friendsofwbgs.org</a></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;
mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;
padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt"><b>Dates for your Diary:<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;
padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt">Thursday 10<sup>th</sup>
January – Friends of School Meeting to discuss 2019 activities – All welcome<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;
padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt">Saturday 2<sup>nd</sup>
March – Quiz Night – tickets on sale in January<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;
padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt">Friday 21<sup>st</sup>
June – Summer Ball, Hunton Park. Information in the new year.<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>',
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'dt_active' => '2018-03-26 11:28:19',
'mmo_content' => '<h4>London Film Festival: Top Films Reviewed</h4><div itemprop="text" class="entry-content">
<p>The 61st London Film Festival
showcased new cinema from some of the world's leading filmmakers, and
introduced exciting up-and- coming talent. </p>
<p>I saw 36 films on the programme and
found myself attempting to process that overwhelming volume by looking
for patterns to connect them.</p>
<p>Coming-of-age narratives dominated
the festival (as they often do). A pair of films ( Summer 1993 and The
Florida Project ) viewed traumatic events through a child's innocent
gaze. Both of these films, and several others, ( Call Me by Your Name ,
Ava ), took place over a vividly captured summer. </p>
<p>I saw two films in which nosebleeds
were induced by desire, and unpleasantly I witnessed more equine
fatalities than anyone should in the space of 11 days.</p>
<p>At festivals, the lows are
excruciating and mediocre films are quickly forgotten, but those that
are truly outstanding feel like much needed gasps of cool, crisp air.
This time, eight films made LFF worthwhile. They will be among the best
cinema to look forward to this year and next.
</p>
<h3>Ava</h3>
<img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514956739ava.jpg" style="float:left;padding-right:20px;">
<p>Léa Mysius' debut, Ava uses the onset
of blindness as a metaphor for growing up. Ava (astonishing newcomer
Noée Abita) is 13 when she is told that she will soon lose her sight.
Her response is not self pity, but rather a steely determination to
banish her innocence and inexperience while she can still see the world
around her.</p>
<p> Ava is a coming-of-age narrative in
fast forward, shot with dizzyingly rich colours and infused with
ceaseless, invigorating energy. Mysius has announced herself as a
director with a bold and unique vision. Along with recent debuts Raw and
Divines , Ava assures us that the future of French cinema is in good
hands.</p>
<p> Ava does not yet have a release date</p>
<h3>Call Me by Your Name</h3>
<img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514956764callbyname.jpg" style="float:left;padding-right:20px;">
<p>Call Me by Your Name is destined to
be a classic. Luca Guadagnino's gorgeous Italian summer romance centres
on the relationship between 17-year-old Elio (Timothée Chalamet) and his
father's 24-year-old American apprentice, Oliver (Armie Hammer). </p>
<p>It was not until watching Call Me by
Your Name that I realised how rare it is to see a relationship depicted
like this on screen, where cinematic pleasure comes not from conflict or
anguish, but from watching two people take joy in each other's company.
Eating food, swimming, riding bikes and playing music take up most of
the screen time, but the actors' chemistry is so compelling that you
would happily watch them doing nothing for hours. </p>
<p>Chalamet is the standout, bringing
his character's arc of self discovery to a heartrending, life-affirming
end point. Both Guadagnino and his lead actor are uncommonly wise about
the long term impact that a passionate first love can have on a person's
life. Call Me by Your Name is special because it captures both the
intensity of being within that love, and the perspective gained when you
arewithout it.</p>
<p>Call Me by Your Name will be released on October 27th</p>
<h3>The Florida Project</h3>
<img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514956800florida.jpg" style="float:left;padding-right:20px;">
<p>The Florida Project is Sean Baker's
child's-eye- view of the hidden homeless. Living in a dingy motel just
outside Disney World, precocious six-year-old Moonee (Brooklynn Prince)
sees her bleak situation in bright colours. Baker occasionally allows
the adults to lead the narrative: Moonee's young mother Halley (Bria
Vinaite) and the stern but kindly motel manager Bobby (Willem Defoe). </p>
<p>Their story is darker than the
innocent lens through which Moonee filters it. When seen through that
lens, The Florida Project is a funny, feel-good film; when it confronts
reality, it is devastating. </p>
<p>Though rough around the edges, The
Florida Project fills you fit-to-bursting with an emotion that is best
described as happiness and heartbreak made one.</p>
<p>The Florida Project will be released on November 10th</p>
<h3>Lady Bird</h3>
<img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514956866ladybird.jpg" style="float:left;padding-right:20px;">
<p>Greta Gerwig's solo directorial debut
Lady Bird is an intensely personal and specific account of a Sacramento
teen's last year of high school. Saoirse Ronan plays Christine "Lady
Bird" McPherson, a girl who gives herself a new name as she tries to
forge a new identity. Lady Bird is desperate to leave Sacramento for a
big city ― and desperate to leave behind her fraught relationship with
her mother (Laurie Metcalf).</p>
<p>Gerwig has noted that she drew
heavily from her own adolescence when writing the film. The perspective
and wisdom she has gained in the years since informs the way Gerwig
tells Lady Bird's story: never demonising the young woman for being
stuck in her own head, but still keeping a knowing distance. </p>
<p>Through episodic storytelling, Lady
Bird paints a remarkably comprehensive portrait of its protagonist's
scattered life and various relationships. It is bound to be an important
film for young girls who will see themselves in Lady Bird's escapades.
It will also mean a lot to those who can look back on when they were in
Lady Bird's position, unable to see how much they would miss home until
they were gone.</p>
<p>Lady Bird will be released on February 16th 2018 </p>
<h3>Person to Person</h3>
<img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514956885person.jpg" style="float:left;padding-right:20px;">
<p>Set over the course of a single day
in the lives of several New Yorkers, Person to Person is a delightfully
sweet and funny ode to the everyday. A series of amusing vignettes poke
fun at the foibles and anxieties of various characters, and all these
observations build to something profound. </p>
<p>Director Dustin Guy Defa shoots on
grainy 16mm film and dresses his actors and set in retro design, giving
the story a sense of timelessness that is only interrupted by the
appearance of mobile phones.</p>
<p>Engaging in record sales and hands-on
work, they are characters out of time, with internal clocks that tick
at a more patient rhythm than the rest of us. </p>
<p>Similar to Jim Jarmusch's Paterson
last year, Person to Person is a micro-sized delight ― a joyful little
film about being decent to each other. It will get you noticing all the
things you love about life.</p>
<p>Person to Person does not yet have a release date
</p>
<h3>Summer 1993</h3>
<img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514956904summer.jpg" style="float:left;padding-right:20px;">
<p>Summer 1993 was one of the most
exciting debuts I saw at LFF this year. Carla Simón's film is told
through the eyes of six-year-old Frida, who is processing the deaths of
her parents, while unable to comprehend what death means. Frida doesn't
understand that they're gone forever; she still expects her mother to
answer the phone when called. </p>
<p>Simón immerses us in her perspective
through subjective sound design and camerawork. She is able to track
Frida's arc of processing grief to its natural end ― finishing the film
on a swift but impactful note. </p>
<p>Simón's film suggests that a happy
ending doesn't have to involve Frida moving on from her grief. Finding a
way to express it is enough.</p>
<p>Summer 1993 does not yet have a release date
</p>
<h3>Thelma</h3>
<img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514956921thelma.jpg" style="float:left;padding-right:20px;">
<p>Joachim Trier's Thelma is his latest
captivating mix of formal and experimental filmmaking. It has been
called a riff on Carrie , but Thelma takes that film's concept to new
and exciting places. </p>
<p>The eponymous Thelma (a brilliant
Eili Harboe) is a deeply religious college student whose guilt over
falling in love with a woman (Kaya Wilkins) manifests in seizures and
supernatural episodes. </p>
<p>Trier is a sensitive filmmaker and
while his stylistic choices are refined, he is emotionally intimate with
his characters. As in his last feature Louder Than Bombs , he sets
aside a few sequences to let himself loose to experiment. The result is
both moving and chilling, with a score and horror imagery that is
harrowing on a molecular level.</p>
<p> Thelma will be released on November 3rd</p>
<h3>You Were Never Really Here</h3>
<img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514956936neverhere.jpg" style="float:left;padding-right:20px;">
<p>You Were Never Really Here is Lynne
Ramsay's most brutish film, and her most experimental. With Ratcatcher ,
Morvern Callar and We Need to Talk About Kevin , Ramsay has already
proved herself to be one of the world's leading filmmakers. </p>
<p>You Were Never Really Here pares back
and intensifies her images and sounds more than ever before, with the
resulting visceral impact of a sledgehammer. Joaquin Phoenix won best
actor at Cannes for his portrayal of a withdrawn hitman on a mission to
rescue a young girl from sex trafficking. </p>
<p>Ramsay's film is violent in more ways
than one: both the physical violence on screen and her stylistic
violence are overwhelming. Intentionally, there is a thudding lack of
subtlety. Everything you see or hear means something, and Ramsay makes
no attempt to disguise that meaning ― which you'll have to decide for
yourself whether to admire or deride. </p>
<p>Measuring the extent of its quality
on a single viewing would be doing a disservice to You Were Never Really
Here , given how challenging it sets out to be. It is impossible to
shake.</p>
<p>You Were Never Really Here will be released on March 9th 2018 Orla Smith</p>
</div>',
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'mmo_content' => '<h4>Appendicitis!!! The Day that Went Wrong</h4><p>Mum!!' I need money on my lunch account!’ </p>
<p> I groaned, inwardly, knowing that
this would not be simple. It involves a computer for one thing, and I
was supposed to be going to work. In spite of a huge amount of forward
planning, my four teenage boys continue to spring 'surprises' on me just
before they leave for school every day.</p>
<p>Eventually, I arrived at work; I am a
health professional but that morning I felt like someone had dragged me
through a hedge backwards. All my colleagues, who are at 'different'
stages in their lives, arrived looking fresh faced and well,
professional. </p>
<p> My manager said, 'Good morning .... You do look flustered!'
</p>
<p>I consoled myself by thinking it takes a lot of effort to achieve this look.</p>
<p>I settled down to the sanity of my
work place, where people appear to respect my opinion and actually
listen to me, unlike my boys who tell me: ‘Mum, don’t smile or wave at
my friends ... it's weird!' </p>
<p>All went well for a while, until I
got a call from my husband. He sounded concerned when he told me that
number two son had just arrived home doubled up in pain. He put our
second child on the phone: ‘Where is the pain?’ I asked. </p>
<p>‘Starting at my belly button and going straight downwards’
</p>
<p>‘Ok,' I said. 'Tell Dad, you need an
emergency appointment with the GP. They'll give you a letter to go
straight to the paediatric ward.' </p>
<p>I met them both outside our local hospital. Our second son looked grey; I took one look at him and asked if he felt sick, </p>
<p>‘Yes,’ he said and vomited into a flower bed behind a queue of people waiting for a bus.</p>
<p>I was impressed with how discrete he
was and the flowerbed was just in the right place and just at the right
height ... most convenient.</p>
<p>Once in the paediatric ward we sat in
a side room until a nurse appeared. She commented on his grey
complexion and his sunken eyes and in my distracted state, I said:</p>
<p>'Look at the state of him!!' I thought. 'And that shirt is filthy! ' </p>
<p>At that point, I decide not to
confess to being a health professional, who supports and advises parents
about parenting and childcare. I kept an eye on the care he was
receiving, all the same, and when the nurse left and a clerk came to
book him into the ward, I asked: ‘Is a doctor going to see him?' ‘When
we have finished the paper work,’ she replied. </p>
<p>I frantically clutched for the words
to convey to her, sensitively, that the paper work might have to wait. I
said: ‘I'm wondering whether his appendix is about to rupture?’ </p>
<p>At that, the clerk left the room and
two nurses arrived.They took his blood pressure and tried to get a
venflon into his vein, which promptly collapsed; they tried three times
with no success. I asked one of them: ‘Do you think he's going into
shock? Is a doctor coming?’ </p>
<p>‘Oh, he's just stressed,’ the nurse
replied but at that moment a whole team of doctors descended upon us and
guess what, my son's symptoms suddenly subsided; isn’t that just so
typical. Son number two was now as cool as a cucumber and I even began
to wonder if he was suffering from trapped wind. They decided to
operate, however, and that evening we went down to the anaesthetic room.
The young surgeons looked like they have just taken their GCSE’s but
they were so helpful and jovial to mother and son, putting us at our
ease. They commented to my son as he breathed in gas and air: </p>
<p>‘You'll soon feel how your mum feels after she's had two glasses of Prosecco'</p>
To which he replied, ‘Prosecco... morphine, more like.'
<p>Where did that come from? Morphine is
not a mealtime topic of conversation in our home. I just said: ‘This
isn’t the place to share the family secrets.’
</p>
<p>hankfully, the operation was a success and my son received marvellous care from all staff in the NHS. </p>
<p>If you would like to know more about
the symptoms of appendicitis, please refer to NHS Choices , an excellent
source of well researched and evidence based information.</p>
<p>As a mother of a teenager, I would
definitely advise parents and carers to be familiar with the symptoms of
appendicitis and insist you teenage boys wash ... just in case.</p>',
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'mmo_content' => '<h4>Technological problems and natural solutions</h4><h3>Medicine from wild lettuce,
Californian poppy and passion
flower can help with sleep
disorders.</h3>
<p>Mobile phones, computers, Fitbits,
social media ... in our modern, technology-fuelled world it can be hard
to escape the endless pressure to go, go go. For some of us nightfall
does not even offer a reprieve. We reach for our phones or computers to
answer emails, check Twitter or Facebook and this keeps us awake long
into the night.</p>
<p>As creatures that evolved to stare
into the distance for predators, sleep with the dusk and rise with the
dawn, we should not be surprised to find that the fast pace of our lives
takes a toll on our health</p>
<p>Research suggests that we are more
stressed and anxious than ever before and this seems to affect all age
groups from children and teens to pensioners. </p>
<p>The impact of prolonged stress on our
bodies is significant. It can cause long-term changes in our hormone
levels, as well as in our immune, heart and digestive systems. This
means our health begins to suffer. We come down with flu and colds more
often; we develop high blood pressure, become anxious or have difficulty
sleeping; we feel pain and fatigue, struggle with fertility or develop
digestive issues. Prolonged exposure to blue- light from electronic
screens can also do harm to our bodies as it interferes with natural
sleep patterns and melatonin production.</p>
<p>So how can we protect ourselves from
stress in our busy 21st Century lives? Some of the changes we can make
are straightforward and we can put them into practice straight away.
</p>
<p> Tech hygiene can help. This means
avoiding electronic devices in the hours before sleep, installing
something like f.lux on your computer, or enabling Night Shift mode on
your phone.</p>
<p> Being outside is also beneficial and
nothing beats a walk in nature for invigorating your body, reducing
stress and helping you to sleep. You don’t have to record it with your
Fitbit either for it to be any good for you. </p>
<p> What we eat and drink is also very
important. Making sure half of our plate at every meal is composed of
vegetables, ideally with at least half of them raw, perhaps in the form
of fruit or salad, will promote our bodies resistance to stress. Cutting
down on coffee, tea, alcohol and sugary foods is also a very good idea.</p>
<p> Nature can help in other ways. A
particular group of plants called “adaptogens” contain compounds that
help our hypothalamus and adrenal glands withstand all sorts of stress,
from work and emotional strain to the impact of illness and old age.
Medicines are made from these plants all over the world: ashwagandha and
holy basil in India; liquorice and asparagus in England; ginseng in
Asia; rhodiola in China and reishi in Japan.</p>
<p>We can also take comfort in the fact that unlike our new technologies, these medicines have been in use for thousands of years.</p>
<p><strong>Victoria Kearns</strong> is a professional herbalist practising in West Watford at Kearns & Meiring Medical Herbalists
<a href="mailto:kmherbalists.co.uk">kmherbalists.co.uk</a> / <a href="callto:07864945086">07864 945 086</a></p>',
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'mmo_content' => '<h4>Undercover Parent: Jobs in the Brave New World</h4><p>As parents we all want our children to be happy, although most of us
would admit to a link between happiness and paid employment. What jobs,
therefore, should we suggest to our teenage children for consideration?
The undercover parent has been doing a bit of sleuthing...</p>
<p style="min-height: 100px;">Complete
University Guide says the current top ten degrees for full-time
professional employment six months after university ends are:
</p>
<ul style="margin-top:0;" class="rich-textul"><li>Dentistry (94%)</li><li>Nursing (94%)</li><li>Medicine (93%)</li><li>Physiotherapy (91%)</li><li>Veterinary Medicine (91%)</li><li>Medical Technology (90%)</li><li>Occupational Therapy (86%)</li><li>Optometry, Ophthamology and Orthoptics (85%)
</li><li>Land and Property Management (80%)</li><li>Building (79%)</li></ul>
<p>Salaries, prospects and required skills for these and many other occupations can be checked out on www.prospects.ac.uk .
</p>
<p>However, the future is inherently
difficult to predict. Current advice seems to be to foster agility and
diversification. This means, expect a portfolio of work, rather than a
single career to last a lifetime. </p>
<p>Increased automation is also a major
factor to consider. McKinsey & Co management consultants, warn that
half of today’s jobs could be automated by 2055, and the Bank of England
suggests that 15 million UK jobs could disappear or be re-engineered
through automation. </p>
<p>Martin Ford, futurist and author of
Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future ,
suggests jobs, resilient to automation, can be split into three main
groups:</p>
<ul style="margin-top:0;" class="stylnum"><li>Those requiring genuine creativity (such as artists, scientists, developing new business strategies)
</li><li>Occupations that involve building complex relationships with people (such as nursing, business, religious or spiritual advisers)</li><li>Highly unpredictable jobs (such as an emergency plumber).</li></ul>
<p>Tom Davenport, author of Only Humans
Need Apply: Winners and Losers in the Age of Smart Machines (these books
do have rather scary titles) has some strategies to suggest. One is to
find work in the field of monitoring what computers do and deciding what
to automate next. Another is to focus on areas that are hard to
automate. Many new jobs depend on programming ability, but not all.
Examples of “new” jobs include Body Part Maker, Nano-Medic or Avatar
Manager as well as Climate Controller, Waste Data Handler and Digital
Architect.
</p>
<p>So maybe the advice to our kids
should be “do something you love and are really good at"... and that may
be something we adults don’t even think of as a proper job.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, have fun checking your job risk of automation on <a href="http://friendsofwbgs.org/www.willrobotstakemyjob.com">
www.willrobotstakemyjob.com</a></p>',
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'mmo_content' => '<h4>In Your Garden</h4><p>Autumn is pretty well upon us now. The clocks have gone back and
daylight is getting shorter. Leaves are turning from green to glorious
yellow and amber, before falling to the ground or drifting into
windblown piles. </p>
<p>In our garden, we will be mowing the
grass for a few more weeks more although fewer cuttings will appear each
time in the collection box. The process of dead heading the dahlias
continues, along with the removal of spent golden rods and peonies. We
have trimmed back our lilies and removed the last of the rose buds. The
hanging baskets are still quite vibrant; the more delicate plants are
clinging on and our wallflowers and sweet Williams are still doing well.
Autumn is at it's glorious height now but there is sense of the winter
to come.</p>
<p>In my next article, l will outline the work that needs to be done over the winter period.</p>',
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'mmo_content' => '<h4>Automation: what does the future look like</h4><p>As humans, our deepest need is to get things as easily and as quickly
as we can. We do not want to hustle. And technology is making it all
possible.
</p>
<p>In today’s world, “luxury” has taken
on a whole new dimension. For both businesses and people, “time” is the
most valuable luxury item. Therefore, global technology giants are
constantly finding new ways to simplify and automate. Automation, as we
know it, has traditionally been confined to the assembly lines of a
large manufacturing plants. However, we are now seeing automation across
multiple sectors like retail, transportation and in most of our
day-to-day activities.</p>
<p>Just 60 robots run the entire
warehouse of Alibaba, a Chinese e-commerce company and they have
increased productivity by 300%. When someone places an order with
Alibaba, a robot locates the product and picks it out from one of the
32,300 shelves. Humans pack and dispatch it. The robots can carry up to
500 kilograms. Each one has a laser system to prevent crashes. The
robots take themselves to charging stations when their batteries run
low. They now do 70% of the work in the warehouse.
</p>
<p>A self-driving truck operated by Otto
(a start-up owned by Uber), has already made its first commercial 190
km delivery run in the US, carrying over 50,000 cases of Budweiser
beers. The technology fitted in Otto's trucks uses sensors to read the
road ahead. Data from the sensors is then fed back to a computer which
analysis it and makes adjustments to the speed and steering.</p>
<p>Labour costs account to 75% of
shipping costs. While drivers are restricted by law from driving more
than 11 hours per day without taking an 8-hour break, a driverless truck
can drive 24 hours per day. This means it can effectively double the
output of the country’s transportation network at 25 percent of the
cost. In addition, these autonomous vehicles prove to be much more fuel
efficient by maintaining optimal cruising speeds.</p>
<p>Trucking represents a considerable
portion of the cost of all the goods we buy and therefore this would
mean lower prices for consumers. But where does it leave the large
number of truck drivers who would lose their jobs in the process?</p>
<p>It is an ongoing debate if automation
creates more jobs or just causes mass unemployment. Industry leaders
like Alphabet’s Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt are, however,
optimistic. They believe that: “the future is you with a computer, not
you replaced by a computer”.</p>
<p>With less complex work being
increasingly automated, what does the future of work look like? Work
will increasingly become about adapting to new challenges that
artificial intelligence and robots will be less good at. Future skills
are all about having a growth mindset, where lifelong learning becomes a
norm. We will have to prepare for a future where we have more than 6
jobs over the course of our careers.</p>
<p>Success has always favoured those who
have constantly striven to identify human needs and solve them. While
our grandmothers waited in long lines at the post office, they wanted
email. They just didn’t know it. Therefore, our education must fuel
exploratory thinking so we can envision future human needs and finding
fresh ways to address them.</p>
<h3>References</h3>
<ul style="margin-top:0;" class="stylnum"><li>McKinsey Analytics – Where is technology taking the economy</li><li>TechCrunch – The driverless truck is coming and it is going to automate millions of jobs</li><li>World Economic Forum -
<a href="https://www.weforum.org/">https://www.
weforum.org/</a></li></ul>
<p><small>Devi Sujathaa Sekar works for CISCO and is a STEM
ambassador. CISCO has recently launched an initiative
called Little Big Futures. This programme allows students,
aged 11-14 to access five one-hour lessons across the
breadth of STEM subjects. CISCO are also working on
a 5 new hour project in each of the STEM subjects and
will pay for entries to the CREST awards.
To find out more go to:
<a href="https://www.stem.org.uk/little-big-futures">https://www.stem.org.uk/little-
big-futures</a></small></p>',
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'mmo_content' => 'Choux Pastry Recipe<h3>Ingredients </h3>
<ul style="margin-top:0;" class="rich-textul"><li>150 ml water
</li><li>50g butter</li><li>60g plain flour</li><li>2 eggs</li><li>350ml whipping cream (med sized carton)</li><li>200g chocolate (Bournville is fine)</li></ul>
<p>For chocolate sauce sauce:</p>
<ul style="margin-top:0;" class="rich-textul"><li>1 small can evaporated milk</li></ul>
<h3>Method</h3>
<ul style="margin-top:0;" class="rich-textul"><li>Measure/weigh all ingredients. Sieve flour onto greaseproof paper or a plate </li><li>Switch on oven – gas mark 6 or 200 C
</li><li>Bring the water and butter to a rolling boil in a medium saucepan remove from heat.</li><li>Quickly add the flour to the
boiling liquid. Beat vigorously until smooth and cook for half a minute
on low heat. The mixture should have come together and should have left
the sides of the pan clean and be very thick and stiff.
</li><li>Allow the dough to cool slightly – this can be accelerated by placing the pan over cold water. </li><li>Meanwhile beat the eggs together in a small bowl or jug.</li><li>Add a little of the egg (1-2
tablespoons) to the pastry and beat very well, either with a wooden
spoon or an electric mixer. Continue adding the egg in small amounts and
beating the mixture wel. The choux pastry should remain fairly stiff
throughout. It should never get runny so all the egg may not be needed.</li><li>Either pipe the mixture in
finger lengths (for eclairs) or pile the mixture in heaps (for choux
buns) onto a greased baking tray. Alternatively you could make a choux
ring using all the mixture.</li><li>Bake at gas mark 6 or 200 C for
10 mins. Turn oven down to 170 C and cook for a further 20 minutes. 5
minutes before the end of cooking remove from the oven, pierce to
release steam and place back in the oven for 5 mins to dry out
completely.</li><li>Remove from the oven, split and leave to cool. Fill as desired.</li><li>To make chocolate sauce: Melt the chocolate in the evaporated milk over a double boiler.</li></ul>',
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'mmo_content' => '<p style="min-height: 270px;">The school Quiz will take place on
Saturday 24th February at 7pm in the main hall of the school.The quiz
master will be Mr Cooksey and teachers, parents, carers, families and
friends are invited to come along and take part.The Quiz night is
organized by Danielle Wright on behalf of the Friends of School and is
always a great success. Early bird tickets will be available towards the
end of term. All money raised is for the benefit of the school.</p>
<h3>Football Tournament</h3>
<img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging/img/editor/1514955144frnds-events-coming-2.jpg" style="float:left;padding-right:20px;">
<p style="min-height: 200px;">Friends of
school are planning a football tournament to take place near the end of
Spring term. This five a side tournament will be open to teams from
years seven, eight and nine. Entry will cost £20 per team and all money
raised will go to the P.E department. Parents and carers are invited to
help on the day or stay and watch the games.<br></p>',
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'mmo_content' => '<p>Friends of school organised the Big Raffle this year to raise funds
for new playground equipment, Mr Cooksey drew the winning tickets on
Thursday 19th October in the school hall. The winners were:</p>
<p><strong>iPad Mini 4</strong></p>
<p>Aditya Bhagavatula</p>
<p><strong>Fitbit Blaze</strong></p>
<p>Justin Li</p>
<p><strong>Flying Lesson in a 4 seater aeroplane</strong></p>
<p>Mrs L Lam</p>
<p><strong>Supercar Driving Experience</strong></p>
<p>Mark Cruciun</p>
<p><strong>Family Warner Bros Studio Tour</strong></p>
<p>Dylan Law</p>
<p><strong>Top Golf Voucher</strong></p>
<p>Bhavan Sathiyalingham</p>
<p>he Raffle raised around £3,000. Many thanks to everyone who took part. </p>
<h3>New arrivals: welcome</h3>
<p>Hollie Rendall has been appointed as
the new link person between the Friends of School Committee and the
school. She has been in post for a few months now and recently took time
out to talk about herself and her role at Watford Boys'.
</p>
<p>"I started in the role of Development
Director in January this year and went straight in at the deep end with
a fundraising campaign to run for the STEM Centre! My role broadly
falls into three categories: marketing, fundraising and alumni
relations. As well as being the main link between the Friends of the
School and the school itself, I also have a similar link with the Old
Fullerians’ Association and attend meetings of the Watford Fuller
Foundation which deals with financial matters relating to the school.</p>
<p>Alongside the largely parent and
alumni- focused fundraising campaign for the STEM Centre, my major
project this year has been to update the database of former pupils and
staff. I’ve started a twice-yearly alumni news, Fuller News, with a
circulation of around 3,500 alumni and growing. This is focused on the
present and future, rather than the past, and the intention is to have
more events for alumni. Our first such event was in the summer and was a
tribute to two long-standing former teachers who passed away earlier in
the year, as well as a number of teachers who retired at the end of
last year. My long-term plan is for students to feel like their
relationship with the school doesn’t have to end after year 13 and for
the school to have something to offer after that. This relies on Old
Fullerians being willing to come back and offer their time and
expertise, and so far the evidence is that lots of boys leave WBGS with a
great amount of affection for the school.</p>
<p>While this is my first job in a
school, I do have experience of the Watford Grammar way of life, having
studied at Watford Girls’ and taken one of my A Levels at the boys’
school. After studying at Sheffield University, I spent a decade working
in public relations for big financial brands, charities and public
sector clients (with my last client appropriately enough being the ‘Get
Into Teaching’ campaign for the Department for Education).</p>
<p>I’m always very open to ideas or
indeed offers of help! Having a close relationship with the Friends of
the School helps us all achieve our goals and it’s been great to see the
financial support the Friends can provide because of their fundraising
efforts."</p>
<h3>Departures: thanks and good luck</h3>
<p>Archana Singh will step down as Chair
of the Friends of School Committee on Wednesday 1st November at the
Friends Annual General Meeting. Archana is a great communicator who made
helping at Friends' events fun for everyone. She was the inspiration
behind the Bollywood Barn Dance in November last year, which brought
school families together for a marvellous evening in the main school
hall. </p>
<p> Jeanette Mcleod has also stepped
down from the committee after several years. The Friends will miss her
independent views and her willingness to get in involved in all of
Friends' activities, from organising Fun Days to serving tea at parent
nights.</p>
<h3>Thanks</h3>
<p>Thanks to everyone who helped
organise and run events this year. The Friends would also like to thank
people and organisations who kindly sponsored or made donations to our
events. These include: The Taste of Lahore restaurant, The Prince of
Bengal restaurant, Sewell & Gardner, Warner Bros UK and Top Golf UK.</p>',
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'mmo_content' => '<p>Friends of school are arranging a series of special events for
parents, carers and their families.This is a new initiative and is the
result of a survey conducted by the Friends in June 2016.To to view the
survey please see Issue 7 of this news , published in July 2016. This
Autumn half term we have planned two events based on interests and
concerns expressed in that survey.</p>
<h3>Mental Health and Wellbeing</h3>
<p>Dr Gunton will talk about the
psychological and emotional challenges faced by boys in their secondary
school years and what the Learning Support team at Watford Boys' can do
to help them.</p>
<p>Dr Gunton is a psychotherapist and
Head of Learning Support at Watford Boys. She is deeply experienced in
adolescent matters and has built up the Learning Support Department over
many years. The LSC is open to all students at the school and it is
renowned within the County for the exceptional work achieved there.</p>
<p>Sally Russell OBE will introduce the
evening. She is a local mum, mental health campaigner and a founder of
Netmums. Her family’s experiences have led to a passionate interest in
finding ways to help, both through improving local services and through
the digital world. The talk will take place on Monday November 27th at
the Learning Support Centre at Watford Grammar School for Boys. Doors
will open at 6pm in time for the talk at 6.30pm. Refreshments will be
available and there will be an opportunity to speak with other parents
and staff at the end of the event. This is the first of a series of
events on mental health and well-being.
</p>
<h3>Baking Master Class</h3>
<p>In this class, participants will find
out how to make perfect choux pastry. Helen will share her techniques
while participants create their own cream filled choux buns topped with
chocolate sauce.</p>
<p> Helen Zacharia is a teacher of Food
Technology and Nutrition. She has a passion for food and has been
teaching for over 30 years, first in a city academy in London and then
at Watford Grammar school for girls. She now teaches at Watford Grammar
School for Boys, where she has been impressed by the enthusiasm students
have shown towards her subject.
</p>
<p>Participants in the master class are
asked to bring ingredients to make their own choux pastry: 50g butter
and 60g plain flour for the pastry; 350ml whipping cream (med sized
carton), 200g chocolate (Bournville is fine) for the filling and 1 small
can of evaporated milk for the sauce. You will also need a container to
take the pastries home. The school will provide the rest of the
materials. Helen's recipe is in this news.</p>
<p>The class will take place between
6.30 and 8.30pm on Wednesday 13th December in the food technology
department, which is upstairs in the Sixth Form Centre.</p>',
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'mmo_content' => 'The new Centre will allow the school to offer
unparalleled STEM teaching<p>The new STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) Centre is
near completion and will be officially opened on 9th November 2017 by
scientist and TV presenter Lord Robert Winston. </p>
<p>The new three floor Centre includes
science labs, an engineering room and a large CAD (Computer Aided
Design)/CAM (Computer Aided Manufacture) suite, upgrading the School’s
current facilities significantly.</p>
<p>The building also houses additional
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<p>The school was fortunate to have the
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and local government. However, the cost of fixtures, fittings and
equipment was not covered by our government grants. With generous
donations from the Friends of the School and Old Fullerians’ Assocation,
as well as over 100 parent donors, the building has been kitted out
ready for lessons to start before Christmas.
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The list of companies that fund match is too long for us to list here – most high street banks, building societies, supermarkets and large companies offer match funding, but these schemes are not exclusive to the big corporates. If you work for a small or independent company, they may be interested in charitable giving through match funding too.
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<!--StartFragment-->
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Baking Masterclass<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This half term saw the return of our very popular baking
masterclasses, kindly hosted by Mrs Zachariah. The class was fully booked
within an hour of places being made available and 12 parents, some accompanied
by their sons, learnt how to make shortcrust pastry in the form of a lemon
tart. Donations for participating in
this, and previous classes, will be used by the Food Tech department to buy a
digital camera for photographing all types of food and techniques. Our thanks
to Mrs Zachariah for continuing to run these classes – we hope to run another
in the Autumn Term – look out for an email and adverts on the FoS website, <a href="http://www.friendsofwbgs.org">www.friendsofwbgs.org</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org//img/editor/1568812811bakingclasspic1.png" style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org//img/editor/1568812844bakingclasspic2.png"><br></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>New to Year 7 Fun Day<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As usual the Friends of School provided the food and
refreshments at the New to Year 7 Fun Day on 6th July where all boys joining
WBGS in September and their families were welcomed into school to meet their
new classmates and take part in team-building activities. A big thank you to
all the parents and the prefect team who volunteered to help on the day. It was
a busy, but enjoyable day, and hopefully all the new Year 7s are looking
forward to joining our school community in September.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org//img/editor/1568812961newtoyr7-2019pic1.png"><br></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org//img/editor/1568812980newtoyr7-2019pic2.png"><br></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Family Draw<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Family Draw was drawn as usual and this term’s winner is
number 41 - John O'Sullivan who won £48.43<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you don’t currently participate in the Family Draw but
would like to do so, please get in touch for a form <a href="mailto:info@friendsofwbgs.org">info@friendsofwbgs.org</a> . As well as
raising valuable funds for the school you will be in with the chance of winning
a cash prize each term.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Thank you<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Lastly, The Friends of School would like to say a big thank
you to everyone who has supported our activities this year, be it attending or
helping out at an event, serving refreshments at a concert or parents evening,
or buying a ticket for the Big Raffle. Your help and support are invaluable in
enabling us to raise much-needed funds for the school. This year we are pleased
to report that we have met our target of raising enough money to purchase a new
bicycle shed. This will be installed over the Summer break and will hopefully
encourage more boys to cycle to school next year. Thank you! <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Wishing you and your families a happy, peaceful and sunny summer
break. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Friends of WBGS.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u><o:p> </o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>Some Diary Dates
for 2019-20<o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Monday 16<sup>th</sup> September – 1<sup>st</sup> Friends of
School meeting of the new academic year – All are welcome<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Saturday 9<sup>th</sup> November – Comedy Night held jointly
with WGGS – Tickets on sale in September<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Saturday 7th March 2020 – Annual Quiz Night<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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Baking Masterclass
This half term saw the return of our very popular baking
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'mmo_content' => '<p class="MsoNormal">The first event this half-term was the Big Raffle which was
drawn by Mr Cooksey in the playground on 5<sup>th</sup> November.
Congratulations to the following winners:</p><p class="yiv3151191996msonormal" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:
minor-latin;color:#1D2228">1<sup>st</sup> Prize – iPad Mini –
PICKARD 11C<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="yiv3151191996msonormal" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:
minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#1D2228">2<sup>nd</sup> Prize
– Beats Headphones - Robin ELTSBERG 8G<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="yiv3151191996msonormal" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:
minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#1D2228">3<sup>rd</sup> Prize
– Family Powerboating Experience – Jayden SHAH 7N<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="yiv3151191996msonormal" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:
minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#1D2228">4<sup>th</sup> Prize
- £75 intu vouchers - Alex TWYFORD 7R <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="yiv3151191996msonormal" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:
minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#1D2228">5<sup>th</sup> Prize
– Bouldering Lesson & Climbing Session – Sahir PATEL L6N</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">Thank you to
everyone who bought tickets and to our sponsors, Sewell & Gardner. <br></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This half-term saw a brand-new Friends of School event: a
Comedy Night organised jointly with WGGS Parent Association. The event was held on the top floor of the
STEM Centre at WBGS and with almost 200 tickets sold, was a lively evening. We
were entertained by 3 professional comedians and our compere for the evening,
and with the high-quality acts interspersed with short intervals everyone had
an opportunity to catch up with friends over a drink and much laughter. A big thank you to everyone who attended, we
hope to make this an annual event. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Next term we will be running the annual <b>Quiz Night</b> which takes place on <b>Saturday 2<sup>nd</sup> March</b>. This is always a great evening so why
not get a group of friends together to test your knowledge and have fun whilst
raising valuable funds for the school. Tickets will be on sale from early
January – look out for details.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In order to boost our fundraising activities, we hold a
raffle at many of our events. We are very grateful to those local businesses
who support us by donating products and services. However, we do really need
more donations and so would be grateful for your help please. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Re-Gifting Appeal –
Raising Funds from Unwanted Christmas Presents<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Without wanting to sound ungrateful, it is a fact that we
all sometimes receive unwanted or unsuitable Christmas presents. But you don’t
have to hide them in the cupboard – instead do some good with the gifts that
leave you uninspired. An unwanted Christmas present may well be a delight to
someone else, and the FoS will make good use of these gifts at our fundraising
events throughout the year. The Friends of School will have a box in school
reception during the 1<sup>st</sup> week back after Christmas next term, from 7<sup>th</sup>
– 11<sup>th</sup> January. Please donate
any unwanted gifts by placing them in this box.
Thank you in advance for your support.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Additionally, if you have your own business, or work for an
organisation that supports local charities and would be willing to donate a
raffle or auction prize, we would be very grateful. Please email <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:info@friendsofwbgs.org">info@friendsofwbgs.org</a></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A big thank you to everyone who has supported our events and
fundraising activities this term, we look forward to seeing you at the Quiz in
March. Wishing you and your families a restful Christmas break.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Friends of School <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="http://www.friendsofwbgs.org/">www.friendsofwbgs.org</a></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;
mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;
padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt"><b>Dates for your Diary:<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;
padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt">Thursday 10<sup>th</sup>
January – Friends of School Meeting to discuss 2019 activities – All welcome<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;
padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt">Saturday 2<sup>nd</sup>
March – Quiz Night – tickets on sale in January<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;
padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt">Friday 21<sup>st</sup>
June – Summer Ball, Hunton Park. Information in the new year.<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>',
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'mmo_content' => 'The new Centre will allow the school to offer
unparalleled STEM teaching<p>The new STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) Centre is
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scientist and TV presenter Lord Robert Winston. </p>
<p>The new three floor Centre includes
science labs, an engineering room and a large CAD (Computer Aided
Design)/CAM (Computer Aided Manufacture) suite, upgrading the School’s
current facilities significantly.</p>
<p>The building also houses additional
teaching rooms for mathematics and computing and has a large conference
area to allow for more STEM outreach work with young people in the area.
</p>
<p>The school was fortunate to have the
entire cost of construction of the Centre funded by grants from national
and local government. However, the cost of fixtures, fittings and
equipment was not covered by our government grants. With generous
donations from the Friends of the School and Old Fullerians’ Assocation,
as well as over 100 parent donors, the building has been kitted out
ready for lessons to start before Christmas.
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<!--StartFragment-->
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Baking Masterclass<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This half term saw the return of our very popular baking
masterclasses, kindly hosted by Mrs Zachariah. The class was fully booked
within an hour of places being made available and 12 parents, some accompanied
by their sons, learnt how to make shortcrust pastry in the form of a lemon
tart. Donations for participating in
this, and previous classes, will be used by the Food Tech department to buy a
digital camera for photographing all types of food and techniques. Our thanks
to Mrs Zachariah for continuing to run these classes – we hope to run another
in the Autumn Term – look out for an email and adverts on the FoS website, <a href="http://www.friendsofwbgs.org">www.friendsofwbgs.org</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org//img/editor/1568812811bakingclasspic1.png" style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org//img/editor/1568812844bakingclasspic2.png"><br></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>New to Year 7 Fun Day<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As usual the Friends of School provided the food and
refreshments at the New to Year 7 Fun Day on 6th July where all boys joining
WBGS in September and their families were welcomed into school to meet their
new classmates and take part in team-building activities. A big thank you to
all the parents and the prefect team who volunteered to help on the day. It was
a busy, but enjoyable day, and hopefully all the new Year 7s are looking
forward to joining our school community in September.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org//img/editor/1568812961newtoyr7-2019pic1.png"><br></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org//img/editor/1568812980newtoyr7-2019pic2.png"><br></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Family Draw<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Family Draw was drawn as usual and this term’s winner is
number 41 - John O'Sullivan who won £48.43<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you don’t currently participate in the Family Draw but
would like to do so, please get in touch for a form <a href="mailto:info@friendsofwbgs.org">info@friendsofwbgs.org</a> . As well as
raising valuable funds for the school you will be in with the chance of winning
a cash prize each term.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Thank you<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Lastly, The Friends of School would like to say a big thank
you to everyone who has supported our activities this year, be it attending or
helping out at an event, serving refreshments at a concert or parents evening,
or buying a ticket for the Big Raffle. Your help and support are invaluable in
enabling us to raise much-needed funds for the school. This year we are pleased
to report that we have met our target of raising enough money to purchase a new
bicycle shed. This will be installed over the Summer break and will hopefully
encourage more boys to cycle to school next year. Thank you! <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Wishing you and your families a happy, peaceful and sunny summer
break. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Friends of WBGS.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u><o:p> </o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>Some Diary Dates
for 2019-20<o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Monday 16<sup>th</sup> September – 1<sup>st</sup> Friends of
School meeting of the new academic year – All are welcome<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Saturday 9<sup>th</sup> November – Comedy Night held jointly
with WGGS – Tickets on sale in September<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Saturday 7th March 2020 – Annual Quiz Night<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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'mmo_content' => 'The Winner of last terms' Family Draw was Number 40 - John O'Sullivan. Well Done!',
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'mmo_content' => '<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:107%">Thank You!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A big thank you to everyone who attended the annual <b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:
107%">Quiz Night</span></b> on 2<sup>nd</sup> March. The event was a huge
success, selling out 3 weeks before. Those who managed to get a ticket squeezed
into the STEM centre and enjoyed a fun night stretching their minds to answer a
wide variety of questions, accompanied by delicious and plentiful food prepared
by Punjabi Gourmet. As well as it being
a most enjoyable evening, we raised almost £3,000 for the school, so thank you
to everyone for your continued support. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you couldn’t make it to the WBGS Quiz, or fancy having
another go, then Watford Girls Grammar School Parents Association are holding
their Big Quiz on <b>Saturday 27<sup>th</sup>
April</b> at 7pm in WGGS main school hall. To book a ticket email <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:wggspa@gmail.com">wggspa@gmail.com</a></span>.
See details on the attached flyer.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:107%">Summer Ball – Friday 21<sup>st</sup>
June, Hunton Park Hotel<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our last big fundraising event this year will be the <b>WBGS Summer Ball</b> – a black tie dinner
and dance held at <b>Hunton Park on Friday
21<sup>st</sup> June.</b> This bi-annual event is a great opportunity to get
some friends together and celebrate the end of the school year in a beautiful
setting. Tickets are now on sale at <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="http://www.friendsofwbgs.org/">www.friendsofwbgs.org</a></span> or via the
flyer that was emailed earlier this week.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ticket price which includes a welcome drink, 3 course
sit-down dinner plus music and dancing is £60 if you take advantage of the
Early Bird Discount and <b>book before 24<sup>th</sup>
May</b>. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you have any questions, or would like to make a group
booking, then please email Amanda at <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:info@friendsofwbgs.org">info@friendsofwbgs.org</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:107%">Baking Master Class<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We are also pleased to announce that we will be holding
another of our Baking Masterclasses next term. This will be on Shortcrust Pastry
when participants will make a Lemon Tart.
The class will take place on <b>Wednesday
5<sup>th</sup> June from 6-8.30pm</b>. There are only 12 places available, so
be sure to book quickly to avoid disappointment. Booking will open next week
via <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="http://www.friendsofwbgs.org/">www.friendsofwbgs.org</a></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our thanks to Mrs Zachariah for continuing to hold these
classes.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:107%">Family Draw<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The winner of this terms’ Family Draw is number 40 - John
O’Sullivan.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Family Draw is another way in which the FoS raise money
for resources for the school, particularly the different clubs and societies on
offer. For the cost of £25 per year, as well as helping to support these
activities, you could be in with a chance of winning a cash prize. One number
is drawn each term and the holder of that number wins a cash prize! If you are
not already entered into the draw and would like to join, or want more
information email <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:info@friendsofwbgs.org">info@friendsofwbgs.org</a></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As always, all information on Friends of School activities
and events can be found on our website <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="http://www.friendsofwbgs.org/">www.friendsofwbgs.org</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Thank you to everyone who has supported our activities be it
attending events, or helping out at recent concerts and parents’ evenings, your
on-going support is very much appreciated and helps raise valuable funds for
our boys. We wish you all a happy and relaxing Easter break. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>',
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'mmo_content' => '<p class="MsoNormal">The first event this half-term was the Big Raffle which was
drawn by Mr Cooksey in the playground on 5<sup>th</sup> November.
Congratulations to the following winners:</p><p class="yiv3151191996msonormal" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:
minor-latin;color:#1D2228">1<sup>st</sup> Prize – iPad Mini –
PICKARD 11C<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="yiv3151191996msonormal" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:
minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#1D2228">2<sup>nd</sup> Prize
– Beats Headphones - Robin ELTSBERG 8G<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="yiv3151191996msonormal" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:
minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#1D2228">3<sup>rd</sup> Prize
– Family Powerboating Experience – Jayden SHAH 7N<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="yiv3151191996msonormal" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:
minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#1D2228">4<sup>th</sup> Prize
- £75 intu vouchers - Alex TWYFORD 7R <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="yiv3151191996msonormal" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:
minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#1D2228">5<sup>th</sup> Prize
– Bouldering Lesson & Climbing Session – Sahir PATEL L6N</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">Thank you to
everyone who bought tickets and to our sponsors, Sewell & Gardner. <br></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This half-term saw a brand-new Friends of School event: a
Comedy Night organised jointly with WGGS Parent Association. The event was held on the top floor of the
STEM Centre at WBGS and with almost 200 tickets sold, was a lively evening. We
were entertained by 3 professional comedians and our compere for the evening,
and with the high-quality acts interspersed with short intervals everyone had
an opportunity to catch up with friends over a drink and much laughter. A big thank you to everyone who attended, we
hope to make this an annual event. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Next term we will be running the annual <b>Quiz Night</b> which takes place on <b>Saturday 2<sup>nd</sup> March</b>. This is always a great evening so why
not get a group of friends together to test your knowledge and have fun whilst
raising valuable funds for the school. Tickets will be on sale from early
January – look out for details.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In order to boost our fundraising activities, we hold a
raffle at many of our events. We are very grateful to those local businesses
who support us by donating products and services. However, we do really need
more donations and so would be grateful for your help please. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Re-Gifting Appeal –
Raising Funds from Unwanted Christmas Presents<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Without wanting to sound ungrateful, it is a fact that we
all sometimes receive unwanted or unsuitable Christmas presents. But you don’t
have to hide them in the cupboard – instead do some good with the gifts that
leave you uninspired. An unwanted Christmas present may well be a delight to
someone else, and the FoS will make good use of these gifts at our fundraising
events throughout the year. The Friends of School will have a box in school
reception during the 1<sup>st</sup> week back after Christmas next term, from 7<sup>th</sup>
– 11<sup>th</sup> January. Please donate
any unwanted gifts by placing them in this box.
Thank you in advance for your support.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Additionally, if you have your own business, or work for an
organisation that supports local charities and would be willing to donate a
raffle or auction prize, we would be very grateful. Please email <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:info@friendsofwbgs.org">info@friendsofwbgs.org</a></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A big thank you to everyone who has supported our events and
fundraising activities this term, we look forward to seeing you at the Quiz in
March. Wishing you and your families a restful Christmas break.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Friends of School <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="http://www.friendsofwbgs.org/">www.friendsofwbgs.org</a></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;
mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;
padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt"><b>Dates for your Diary:<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;
padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt">Thursday 10<sup>th</sup>
January – Friends of School Meeting to discuss 2019 activities – All welcome<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;
padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt">Saturday 2<sup>nd</sup>
March – Quiz Night – tickets on sale in January<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;
padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt">Friday 21<sup>st</sup>
June – Summer Ball, Hunton Park. Information in the new year.<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>',
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'dt_active' => '2018-03-26 11:28:19',
'mmo_content' => '<h4>London Film Festival: Top Films Reviewed</h4><div itemprop="text" class="entry-content">
<p>The 61st London Film Festival
showcased new cinema from some of the world's leading filmmakers, and
introduced exciting up-and- coming talent. </p>
<p>I saw 36 films on the programme and
found myself attempting to process that overwhelming volume by looking
for patterns to connect them.</p>
<p>Coming-of-age narratives dominated
the festival (as they often do). A pair of films ( Summer 1993 and The
Florida Project ) viewed traumatic events through a child's innocent
gaze. Both of these films, and several others, ( Call Me by Your Name ,
Ava ), took place over a vividly captured summer. </p>
<p>I saw two films in which nosebleeds
were induced by desire, and unpleasantly I witnessed more equine
fatalities than anyone should in the space of 11 days.</p>
<p>At festivals, the lows are
excruciating and mediocre films are quickly forgotten, but those that
are truly outstanding feel like much needed gasps of cool, crisp air.
This time, eight films made LFF worthwhile. They will be among the best
cinema to look forward to this year and next.
</p>
<h3>Ava</h3>
<img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514956739ava.jpg" style="float:left;padding-right:20px;">
<p>Léa Mysius' debut, Ava uses the onset
of blindness as a metaphor for growing up. Ava (astonishing newcomer
Noée Abita) is 13 when she is told that she will soon lose her sight.
Her response is not self pity, but rather a steely determination to
banish her innocence and inexperience while she can still see the world
around her.</p>
<p> Ava is a coming-of-age narrative in
fast forward, shot with dizzyingly rich colours and infused with
ceaseless, invigorating energy. Mysius has announced herself as a
director with a bold and unique vision. Along with recent debuts Raw and
Divines , Ava assures us that the future of French cinema is in good
hands.</p>
<p> Ava does not yet have a release date</p>
<h3>Call Me by Your Name</h3>
<img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514956764callbyname.jpg" style="float:left;padding-right:20px;">
<p>Call Me by Your Name is destined to
be a classic. Luca Guadagnino's gorgeous Italian summer romance centres
on the relationship between 17-year-old Elio (Timothée Chalamet) and his
father's 24-year-old American apprentice, Oliver (Armie Hammer). </p>
<p>It was not until watching Call Me by
Your Name that I realised how rare it is to see a relationship depicted
like this on screen, where cinematic pleasure comes not from conflict or
anguish, but from watching two people take joy in each other's company.
Eating food, swimming, riding bikes and playing music take up most of
the screen time, but the actors' chemistry is so compelling that you
would happily watch them doing nothing for hours. </p>
<p>Chalamet is the standout, bringing
his character's arc of self discovery to a heartrending, life-affirming
end point. Both Guadagnino and his lead actor are uncommonly wise about
the long term impact that a passionate first love can have on a person's
life. Call Me by Your Name is special because it captures both the
intensity of being within that love, and the perspective gained when you
arewithout it.</p>
<p>Call Me by Your Name will be released on October 27th</p>
<h3>The Florida Project</h3>
<img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514956800florida.jpg" style="float:left;padding-right:20px;">
<p>The Florida Project is Sean Baker's
child's-eye- view of the hidden homeless. Living in a dingy motel just
outside Disney World, precocious six-year-old Moonee (Brooklynn Prince)
sees her bleak situation in bright colours. Baker occasionally allows
the adults to lead the narrative: Moonee's young mother Halley (Bria
Vinaite) and the stern but kindly motel manager Bobby (Willem Defoe). </p>
<p>Their story is darker than the
innocent lens through which Moonee filters it. When seen through that
lens, The Florida Project is a funny, feel-good film; when it confronts
reality, it is devastating. </p>
<p>Though rough around the edges, The
Florida Project fills you fit-to-bursting with an emotion that is best
described as happiness and heartbreak made one.</p>
<p>The Florida Project will be released on November 10th</p>
<h3>Lady Bird</h3>
<img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514956866ladybird.jpg" style="float:left;padding-right:20px;">
<p>Greta Gerwig's solo directorial debut
Lady Bird is an intensely personal and specific account of a Sacramento
teen's last year of high school. Saoirse Ronan plays Christine "Lady
Bird" McPherson, a girl who gives herself a new name as she tries to
forge a new identity. Lady Bird is desperate to leave Sacramento for a
big city ― and desperate to leave behind her fraught relationship with
her mother (Laurie Metcalf).</p>
<p>Gerwig has noted that she drew
heavily from her own adolescence when writing the film. The perspective
and wisdom she has gained in the years since informs the way Gerwig
tells Lady Bird's story: never demonising the young woman for being
stuck in her own head, but still keeping a knowing distance. </p>
<p>Through episodic storytelling, Lady
Bird paints a remarkably comprehensive portrait of its protagonist's
scattered life and various relationships. It is bound to be an important
film for young girls who will see themselves in Lady Bird's escapades.
It will also mean a lot to those who can look back on when they were in
Lady Bird's position, unable to see how much they would miss home until
they were gone.</p>
<p>Lady Bird will be released on February 16th 2018 </p>
<h3>Person to Person</h3>
<img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514956885person.jpg" style="float:left;padding-right:20px;">
<p>Set over the course of a single day
in the lives of several New Yorkers, Person to Person is a delightfully
sweet and funny ode to the everyday. A series of amusing vignettes poke
fun at the foibles and anxieties of various characters, and all these
observations build to something profound. </p>
<p>Director Dustin Guy Defa shoots on
grainy 16mm film and dresses his actors and set in retro design, giving
the story a sense of timelessness that is only interrupted by the
appearance of mobile phones.</p>
<p>Engaging in record sales and hands-on
work, they are characters out of time, with internal clocks that tick
at a more patient rhythm than the rest of us. </p>
<p>Similar to Jim Jarmusch's Paterson
last year, Person to Person is a micro-sized delight ― a joyful little
film about being decent to each other. It will get you noticing all the
things you love about life.</p>
<p>Person to Person does not yet have a release date
</p>
<h3>Summer 1993</h3>
<img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514956904summer.jpg" style="float:left;padding-right:20px;">
<p>Summer 1993 was one of the most
exciting debuts I saw at LFF this year. Carla Simón's film is told
through the eyes of six-year-old Frida, who is processing the deaths of
her parents, while unable to comprehend what death means. Frida doesn't
understand that they're gone forever; she still expects her mother to
answer the phone when called. </p>
<p>Simón immerses us in her perspective
through subjective sound design and camerawork. She is able to track
Frida's arc of processing grief to its natural end ― finishing the film
on a swift but impactful note. </p>
<p>Simón's film suggests that a happy
ending doesn't have to involve Frida moving on from her grief. Finding a
way to express it is enough.</p>
<p>Summer 1993 does not yet have a release date
</p>
<h3>Thelma</h3>
<img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514956921thelma.jpg" style="float:left;padding-right:20px;">
<p>Joachim Trier's Thelma is his latest
captivating mix of formal and experimental filmmaking. It has been
called a riff on Carrie , but Thelma takes that film's concept to new
and exciting places. </p>
<p>The eponymous Thelma (a brilliant
Eili Harboe) is a deeply religious college student whose guilt over
falling in love with a woman (Kaya Wilkins) manifests in seizures and
supernatural episodes. </p>
<p>Trier is a sensitive filmmaker and
while his stylistic choices are refined, he is emotionally intimate with
his characters. As in his last feature Louder Than Bombs , he sets
aside a few sequences to let himself loose to experiment. The result is
both moving and chilling, with a score and horror imagery that is
harrowing on a molecular level.</p>
<p> Thelma will be released on November 3rd</p>
<h3>You Were Never Really Here</h3>
<img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514956936neverhere.jpg" style="float:left;padding-right:20px;">
<p>You Were Never Really Here is Lynne
Ramsay's most brutish film, and her most experimental. With Ratcatcher ,
Morvern Callar and We Need to Talk About Kevin , Ramsay has already
proved herself to be one of the world's leading filmmakers. </p>
<p>You Were Never Really Here pares back
and intensifies her images and sounds more than ever before, with the
resulting visceral impact of a sledgehammer. Joaquin Phoenix won best
actor at Cannes for his portrayal of a withdrawn hitman on a mission to
rescue a young girl from sex trafficking. </p>
<p>Ramsay's film is violent in more ways
than one: both the physical violence on screen and her stylistic
violence are overwhelming. Intentionally, there is a thudding lack of
subtlety. Everything you see or hear means something, and Ramsay makes
no attempt to disguise that meaning ― which you'll have to decide for
yourself whether to admire or deride. </p>
<p>Measuring the extent of its quality
on a single viewing would be doing a disservice to You Were Never Really
Here , given how challenging it sets out to be. It is impossible to
shake.</p>
<p>You Were Never Really Here will be released on March 9th 2018 Orla Smith</p>
</div>',
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'mmo_content' => '<h4>Appendicitis!!! The Day that Went Wrong</h4><p>Mum!!' I need money on my lunch account!’ </p>
<p> I groaned, inwardly, knowing that
this would not be simple. It involves a computer for one thing, and I
was supposed to be going to work. In spite of a huge amount of forward
planning, my four teenage boys continue to spring 'surprises' on me just
before they leave for school every day.</p>
<p>Eventually, I arrived at work; I am a
health professional but that morning I felt like someone had dragged me
through a hedge backwards. All my colleagues, who are at 'different'
stages in their lives, arrived looking fresh faced and well,
professional. </p>
<p> My manager said, 'Good morning .... You do look flustered!'
</p>
<p>I consoled myself by thinking it takes a lot of effort to achieve this look.</p>
<p>I settled down to the sanity of my
work place, where people appear to respect my opinion and actually
listen to me, unlike my boys who tell me: ‘Mum, don’t smile or wave at
my friends ... it's weird!' </p>
<p>All went well for a while, until I
got a call from my husband. He sounded concerned when he told me that
number two son had just arrived home doubled up in pain. He put our
second child on the phone: ‘Where is the pain?’ I asked. </p>
<p>‘Starting at my belly button and going straight downwards’
</p>
<p>‘Ok,' I said. 'Tell Dad, you need an
emergency appointment with the GP. They'll give you a letter to go
straight to the paediatric ward.' </p>
<p>I met them both outside our local hospital. Our second son looked grey; I took one look at him and asked if he felt sick, </p>
<p>‘Yes,’ he said and vomited into a flower bed behind a queue of people waiting for a bus.</p>
<p>I was impressed with how discrete he
was and the flowerbed was just in the right place and just at the right
height ... most convenient.</p>
<p>Once in the paediatric ward we sat in
a side room until a nurse appeared. She commented on his grey
complexion and his sunken eyes and in my distracted state, I said:</p>
<p>'Look at the state of him!!' I thought. 'And that shirt is filthy! ' </p>
<p>At that point, I decide not to
confess to being a health professional, who supports and advises parents
about parenting and childcare. I kept an eye on the care he was
receiving, all the same, and when the nurse left and a clerk came to
book him into the ward, I asked: ‘Is a doctor going to see him?' ‘When
we have finished the paper work,’ she replied. </p>
<p>I frantically clutched for the words
to convey to her, sensitively, that the paper work might have to wait. I
said: ‘I'm wondering whether his appendix is about to rupture?’ </p>
<p>At that, the clerk left the room and
two nurses arrived.They took his blood pressure and tried to get a
venflon into his vein, which promptly collapsed; they tried three times
with no success. I asked one of them: ‘Do you think he's going into
shock? Is a doctor coming?’ </p>
<p>‘Oh, he's just stressed,’ the nurse
replied but at that moment a whole team of doctors descended upon us and
guess what, my son's symptoms suddenly subsided; isn’t that just so
typical. Son number two was now as cool as a cucumber and I even began
to wonder if he was suffering from trapped wind. They decided to
operate, however, and that evening we went down to the anaesthetic room.
The young surgeons looked like they have just taken their GCSE’s but
they were so helpful and jovial to mother and son, putting us at our
ease. They commented to my son as he breathed in gas and air: </p>
<p>‘You'll soon feel how your mum feels after she's had two glasses of Prosecco'</p>
To which he replied, ‘Prosecco... morphine, more like.'
<p>Where did that come from? Morphine is
not a mealtime topic of conversation in our home. I just said: ‘This
isn’t the place to share the family secrets.’
</p>
<p>hankfully, the operation was a success and my son received marvellous care from all staff in the NHS. </p>
<p>If you would like to know more about
the symptoms of appendicitis, please refer to NHS Choices , an excellent
source of well researched and evidence based information.</p>
<p>As a mother of a teenager, I would
definitely advise parents and carers to be familiar with the symptoms of
appendicitis and insist you teenage boys wash ... just in case.</p>',
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'mmo_content' => '<h4>Technological problems and natural solutions</h4><h3>Medicine from wild lettuce,
Californian poppy and passion
flower can help with sleep
disorders.</h3>
<p>Mobile phones, computers, Fitbits,
social media ... in our modern, technology-fuelled world it can be hard
to escape the endless pressure to go, go go. For some of us nightfall
does not even offer a reprieve. We reach for our phones or computers to
answer emails, check Twitter or Facebook and this keeps us awake long
into the night.</p>
<p>As creatures that evolved to stare
into the distance for predators, sleep with the dusk and rise with the
dawn, we should not be surprised to find that the fast pace of our lives
takes a toll on our health</p>
<p>Research suggests that we are more
stressed and anxious than ever before and this seems to affect all age
groups from children and teens to pensioners. </p>
<p>The impact of prolonged stress on our
bodies is significant. It can cause long-term changes in our hormone
levels, as well as in our immune, heart and digestive systems. This
means our health begins to suffer. We come down with flu and colds more
often; we develop high blood pressure, become anxious or have difficulty
sleeping; we feel pain and fatigue, struggle with fertility or develop
digestive issues. Prolonged exposure to blue- light from electronic
screens can also do harm to our bodies as it interferes with natural
sleep patterns and melatonin production.</p>
<p>So how can we protect ourselves from
stress in our busy 21st Century lives? Some of the changes we can make
are straightforward and we can put them into practice straight away.
</p>
<p> Tech hygiene can help. This means
avoiding electronic devices in the hours before sleep, installing
something like f.lux on your computer, or enabling Night Shift mode on
your phone.</p>
<p> Being outside is also beneficial and
nothing beats a walk in nature for invigorating your body, reducing
stress and helping you to sleep. You don’t have to record it with your
Fitbit either for it to be any good for you. </p>
<p> What we eat and drink is also very
important. Making sure half of our plate at every meal is composed of
vegetables, ideally with at least half of them raw, perhaps in the form
of fruit or salad, will promote our bodies resistance to stress. Cutting
down on coffee, tea, alcohol and sugary foods is also a very good idea.</p>
<p> Nature can help in other ways. A
particular group of plants called “adaptogens” contain compounds that
help our hypothalamus and adrenal glands withstand all sorts of stress,
from work and emotional strain to the impact of illness and old age.
Medicines are made from these plants all over the world: ashwagandha and
holy basil in India; liquorice and asparagus in England; ginseng in
Asia; rhodiola in China and reishi in Japan.</p>
<p>We can also take comfort in the fact that unlike our new technologies, these medicines have been in use for thousands of years.</p>
<p><strong>Victoria Kearns</strong> is a professional herbalist practising in West Watford at Kearns & Meiring Medical Herbalists
<a href="mailto:kmherbalists.co.uk">kmherbalists.co.uk</a> / <a href="callto:07864945086">07864 945 086</a></p>',
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'mmo_content' => '<h4>Undercover Parent: Jobs in the Brave New World</h4><p>As parents we all want our children to be happy, although most of us
would admit to a link between happiness and paid employment. What jobs,
therefore, should we suggest to our teenage children for consideration?
The undercover parent has been doing a bit of sleuthing...</p>
<p style="min-height: 100px;">Complete
University Guide says the current top ten degrees for full-time
professional employment six months after university ends are:
</p>
<ul style="margin-top:0;" class="rich-textul"><li>Dentistry (94%)</li><li>Nursing (94%)</li><li>Medicine (93%)</li><li>Physiotherapy (91%)</li><li>Veterinary Medicine (91%)</li><li>Medical Technology (90%)</li><li>Occupational Therapy (86%)</li><li>Optometry, Ophthamology and Orthoptics (85%)
</li><li>Land and Property Management (80%)</li><li>Building (79%)</li></ul>
<p>Salaries, prospects and required skills for these and many other occupations can be checked out on www.prospects.ac.uk .
</p>
<p>However, the future is inherently
difficult to predict. Current advice seems to be to foster agility and
diversification. This means, expect a portfolio of work, rather than a
single career to last a lifetime. </p>
<p>Increased automation is also a major
factor to consider. McKinsey & Co management consultants, warn that
half of today’s jobs could be automated by 2055, and the Bank of England
suggests that 15 million UK jobs could disappear or be re-engineered
through automation. </p>
<p>Martin Ford, futurist and author of
Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future ,
suggests jobs, resilient to automation, can be split into three main
groups:</p>
<ul style="margin-top:0;" class="stylnum"><li>Those requiring genuine creativity (such as artists, scientists, developing new business strategies)
</li><li>Occupations that involve building complex relationships with people (such as nursing, business, religious or spiritual advisers)</li><li>Highly unpredictable jobs (such as an emergency plumber).</li></ul>
<p>Tom Davenport, author of Only Humans
Need Apply: Winners and Losers in the Age of Smart Machines (these books
do have rather scary titles) has some strategies to suggest. One is to
find work in the field of monitoring what computers do and deciding what
to automate next. Another is to focus on areas that are hard to
automate. Many new jobs depend on programming ability, but not all.
Examples of “new” jobs include Body Part Maker, Nano-Medic or Avatar
Manager as well as Climate Controller, Waste Data Handler and Digital
Architect.
</p>
<p>So maybe the advice to our kids
should be “do something you love and are really good at"... and that may
be something we adults don’t even think of as a proper job.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, have fun checking your job risk of automation on <a href="http://friendsofwbgs.org/www.willrobotstakemyjob.com">
www.willrobotstakemyjob.com</a></p>',
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'mmo_content' => '<h4>In Your Garden</h4><p>Autumn is pretty well upon us now. The clocks have gone back and
daylight is getting shorter. Leaves are turning from green to glorious
yellow and amber, before falling to the ground or drifting into
windblown piles. </p>
<p>In our garden, we will be mowing the
grass for a few more weeks more although fewer cuttings will appear each
time in the collection box. The process of dead heading the dahlias
continues, along with the removal of spent golden rods and peonies. We
have trimmed back our lilies and removed the last of the rose buds. The
hanging baskets are still quite vibrant; the more delicate plants are
clinging on and our wallflowers and sweet Williams are still doing well.
Autumn is at it's glorious height now but there is sense of the winter
to come.</p>
<p>In my next article, l will outline the work that needs to be done over the winter period.</p>',
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'mmo_content' => '<h4>Automation: what does the future look like</h4><p>As humans, our deepest need is to get things as easily and as quickly
as we can. We do not want to hustle. And technology is making it all
possible.
</p>
<p>In today’s world, “luxury” has taken
on a whole new dimension. For both businesses and people, “time” is the
most valuable luxury item. Therefore, global technology giants are
constantly finding new ways to simplify and automate. Automation, as we
know it, has traditionally been confined to the assembly lines of a
large manufacturing plants. However, we are now seeing automation across
multiple sectors like retail, transportation and in most of our
day-to-day activities.</p>
<p>Just 60 robots run the entire
warehouse of Alibaba, a Chinese e-commerce company and they have
increased productivity by 300%. When someone places an order with
Alibaba, a robot locates the product and picks it out from one of the
32,300 shelves. Humans pack and dispatch it. The robots can carry up to
500 kilograms. Each one has a laser system to prevent crashes. The
robots take themselves to charging stations when their batteries run
low. They now do 70% of the work in the warehouse.
</p>
<p>A self-driving truck operated by Otto
(a start-up owned by Uber), has already made its first commercial 190
km delivery run in the US, carrying over 50,000 cases of Budweiser
beers. The technology fitted in Otto's trucks uses sensors to read the
road ahead. Data from the sensors is then fed back to a computer which
analysis it and makes adjustments to the speed and steering.</p>
<p>Labour costs account to 75% of
shipping costs. While drivers are restricted by law from driving more
than 11 hours per day without taking an 8-hour break, a driverless truck
can drive 24 hours per day. This means it can effectively double the
output of the country’s transportation network at 25 percent of the
cost. In addition, these autonomous vehicles prove to be much more fuel
efficient by maintaining optimal cruising speeds.</p>
<p>Trucking represents a considerable
portion of the cost of all the goods we buy and therefore this would
mean lower prices for consumers. But where does it leave the large
number of truck drivers who would lose their jobs in the process?</p>
<p>It is an ongoing debate if automation
creates more jobs or just causes mass unemployment. Industry leaders
like Alphabet’s Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt are, however,
optimistic. They believe that: “the future is you with a computer, not
you replaced by a computer”.</p>
<p>With less complex work being
increasingly automated, what does the future of work look like? Work
will increasingly become about adapting to new challenges that
artificial intelligence and robots will be less good at. Future skills
are all about having a growth mindset, where lifelong learning becomes a
norm. We will have to prepare for a future where we have more than 6
jobs over the course of our careers.</p>
<p>Success has always favoured those who
have constantly striven to identify human needs and solve them. While
our grandmothers waited in long lines at the post office, they wanted
email. They just didn’t know it. Therefore, our education must fuel
exploratory thinking so we can envision future human needs and finding
fresh ways to address them.</p>
<h3>References</h3>
<ul style="margin-top:0;" class="stylnum"><li>McKinsey Analytics – Where is technology taking the economy</li><li>TechCrunch – The driverless truck is coming and it is going to automate millions of jobs</li><li>World Economic Forum -
<a href="https://www.weforum.org/">https://www.
weforum.org/</a></li></ul>
<p><small>Devi Sujathaa Sekar works for CISCO and is a STEM
ambassador. CISCO has recently launched an initiative
called Little Big Futures. This programme allows students,
aged 11-14 to access five one-hour lessons across the
breadth of STEM subjects. CISCO are also working on
a 5 new hour project in each of the STEM subjects and
will pay for entries to the CREST awards.
To find out more go to:
<a href="https://www.stem.org.uk/little-big-futures">https://www.stem.org.uk/little-
big-futures</a></small></p>',
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'mmo_content' => 'Choux Pastry Recipe<h3>Ingredients </h3>
<ul style="margin-top:0;" class="rich-textul"><li>150 ml water
</li><li>50g butter</li><li>60g plain flour</li><li>2 eggs</li><li>350ml whipping cream (med sized carton)</li><li>200g chocolate (Bournville is fine)</li></ul>
<p>For chocolate sauce sauce:</p>
<ul style="margin-top:0;" class="rich-textul"><li>1 small can evaporated milk</li></ul>
<h3>Method</h3>
<ul style="margin-top:0;" class="rich-textul"><li>Measure/weigh all ingredients. Sieve flour onto greaseproof paper or a plate </li><li>Switch on oven – gas mark 6 or 200 C
</li><li>Bring the water and butter to a rolling boil in a medium saucepan remove from heat.</li><li>Quickly add the flour to the
boiling liquid. Beat vigorously until smooth and cook for half a minute
on low heat. The mixture should have come together and should have left
the sides of the pan clean and be very thick and stiff.
</li><li>Allow the dough to cool slightly – this can be accelerated by placing the pan over cold water. </li><li>Meanwhile beat the eggs together in a small bowl or jug.</li><li>Add a little of the egg (1-2
tablespoons) to the pastry and beat very well, either with a wooden
spoon or an electric mixer. Continue adding the egg in small amounts and
beating the mixture wel. The choux pastry should remain fairly stiff
throughout. It should never get runny so all the egg may not be needed.</li><li>Either pipe the mixture in
finger lengths (for eclairs) or pile the mixture in heaps (for choux
buns) onto a greased baking tray. Alternatively you could make a choux
ring using all the mixture.</li><li>Bake at gas mark 6 or 200 C for
10 mins. Turn oven down to 170 C and cook for a further 20 minutes. 5
minutes before the end of cooking remove from the oven, pierce to
release steam and place back in the oven for 5 mins to dry out
completely.</li><li>Remove from the oven, split and leave to cool. Fill as desired.</li><li>To make chocolate sauce: Melt the chocolate in the evaporated milk over a double boiler.</li></ul>',
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'mmo_content' => '<p style="min-height: 270px;">The school Quiz will take place on
Saturday 24th February at 7pm in the main hall of the school.The quiz
master will be Mr Cooksey and teachers, parents, carers, families and
friends are invited to come along and take part.The Quiz night is
organized by Danielle Wright on behalf of the Friends of School and is
always a great success. Early bird tickets will be available towards the
end of term. All money raised is for the benefit of the school.</p>
<h3>Football Tournament</h3>
<img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging/img/editor/1514955144frnds-events-coming-2.jpg" style="float:left;padding-right:20px;">
<p style="min-height: 200px;">Friends of
school are planning a football tournament to take place near the end of
Spring term. This five a side tournament will be open to teams from
years seven, eight and nine. Entry will cost £20 per team and all money
raised will go to the P.E department. Parents and carers are invited to
help on the day or stay and watch the games.<br></p>',
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'mmo_content' => '<p>Friends of school organised the Big Raffle this year to raise funds
for new playground equipment, Mr Cooksey drew the winning tickets on
Thursday 19th October in the school hall. The winners were:</p>
<p><strong>iPad Mini 4</strong></p>
<p>Aditya Bhagavatula</p>
<p><strong>Fitbit Blaze</strong></p>
<p>Justin Li</p>
<p><strong>Flying Lesson in a 4 seater aeroplane</strong></p>
<p>Mrs L Lam</p>
<p><strong>Supercar Driving Experience</strong></p>
<p>Mark Cruciun</p>
<p><strong>Family Warner Bros Studio Tour</strong></p>
<p>Dylan Law</p>
<p><strong>Top Golf Voucher</strong></p>
<p>Bhavan Sathiyalingham</p>
<p>he Raffle raised around £3,000. Many thanks to everyone who took part. </p>
<h3>New arrivals: welcome</h3>
<p>Hollie Rendall has been appointed as
the new link person between the Friends of School Committee and the
school. She has been in post for a few months now and recently took time
out to talk about herself and her role at Watford Boys'.
</p>
<p>"I started in the role of Development
Director in January this year and went straight in at the deep end with
a fundraising campaign to run for the STEM Centre! My role broadly
falls into three categories: marketing, fundraising and alumni
relations. As well as being the main link between the Friends of the
School and the school itself, I also have a similar link with the Old
Fullerians’ Association and attend meetings of the Watford Fuller
Foundation which deals with financial matters relating to the school.</p>
<p>Alongside the largely parent and
alumni- focused fundraising campaign for the STEM Centre, my major
project this year has been to update the database of former pupils and
staff. I’ve started a twice-yearly alumni news, Fuller News, with a
circulation of around 3,500 alumni and growing. This is focused on the
present and future, rather than the past, and the intention is to have
more events for alumni. Our first such event was in the summer and was a
tribute to two long-standing former teachers who passed away earlier in
the year, as well as a number of teachers who retired at the end of
last year. My long-term plan is for students to feel like their
relationship with the school doesn’t have to end after year 13 and for
the school to have something to offer after that. This relies on Old
Fullerians being willing to come back and offer their time and
expertise, and so far the evidence is that lots of boys leave WBGS with a
great amount of affection for the school.</p>
<p>While this is my first job in a
school, I do have experience of the Watford Grammar way of life, having
studied at Watford Girls’ and taken one of my A Levels at the boys’
school. After studying at Sheffield University, I spent a decade working
in public relations for big financial brands, charities and public
sector clients (with my last client appropriately enough being the ‘Get
Into Teaching’ campaign for the Department for Education).</p>
<p>I’m always very open to ideas or
indeed offers of help! Having a close relationship with the Friends of
the School helps us all achieve our goals and it’s been great to see the
financial support the Friends can provide because of their fundraising
efforts."</p>
<h3>Departures: thanks and good luck</h3>
<p>Archana Singh will step down as Chair
of the Friends of School Committee on Wednesday 1st November at the
Friends Annual General Meeting. Archana is a great communicator who made
helping at Friends' events fun for everyone. She was the inspiration
behind the Bollywood Barn Dance in November last year, which brought
school families together for a marvellous evening in the main school
hall. </p>
<p> Jeanette Mcleod has also stepped
down from the committee after several years. The Friends will miss her
independent views and her willingness to get in involved in all of
Friends' activities, from organising Fun Days to serving tea at parent
nights.</p>
<h3>Thanks</h3>
<p>Thanks to everyone who helped
organise and run events this year. The Friends would also like to thank
people and organisations who kindly sponsored or made donations to our
events. These include: The Taste of Lahore restaurant, The Prince of
Bengal restaurant, Sewell & Gardner, Warner Bros UK and Top Golf UK.</p>',
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'mmo_content' => '<p>Friends of school are arranging a series of special events for
parents, carers and their families.This is a new initiative and is the
result of a survey conducted by the Friends in June 2016.To to view the
survey please see Issue 7 of this news , published in July 2016. This
Autumn half term we have planned two events based on interests and
concerns expressed in that survey.</p>
<h3>Mental Health and Wellbeing</h3>
<p>Dr Gunton will talk about the
psychological and emotional challenges faced by boys in their secondary
school years and what the Learning Support team at Watford Boys' can do
to help them.</p>
<p>Dr Gunton is a psychotherapist and
Head of Learning Support at Watford Boys. She is deeply experienced in
adolescent matters and has built up the Learning Support Department over
many years. The LSC is open to all students at the school and it is
renowned within the County for the exceptional work achieved there.</p>
<p>Sally Russell OBE will introduce the
evening. She is a local mum, mental health campaigner and a founder of
Netmums. Her family’s experiences have led to a passionate interest in
finding ways to help, both through improving local services and through
the digital world. The talk will take place on Monday November 27th at
the Learning Support Centre at Watford Grammar School for Boys. Doors
will open at 6pm in time for the talk at 6.30pm. Refreshments will be
available and there will be an opportunity to speak with other parents
and staff at the end of the event. This is the first of a series of
events on mental health and well-being.
</p>
<h3>Baking Master Class</h3>
<p>In this class, participants will find
out how to make perfect choux pastry. Helen will share her techniques
while participants create their own cream filled choux buns topped with
chocolate sauce.</p>
<p> Helen Zacharia is a teacher of Food
Technology and Nutrition. She has a passion for food and has been
teaching for over 30 years, first in a city academy in London and then
at Watford Grammar school for girls. She now teaches at Watford Grammar
School for Boys, where she has been impressed by the enthusiasm students
have shown towards her subject.
</p>
<p>Participants in the master class are
asked to bring ingredients to make their own choux pastry: 50g butter
and 60g plain flour for the pastry; 350ml whipping cream (med sized
carton), 200g chocolate (Bournville is fine) for the filling and 1 small
can of evaporated milk for the sauce. You will also need a container to
take the pastries home. The school will provide the rest of the
materials. Helen's recipe is in this news.</p>
<p>The class will take place between
6.30 and 8.30pm on Wednesday 13th December in the food technology
department, which is upstairs in the Sixth Form Centre.</p>',
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'mmo_content' => 'The new Centre will allow the school to offer
unparalleled STEM teaching<p>The new STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) Centre is
near completion and will be officially opened on 9th November 2017 by
scientist and TV presenter Lord Robert Winston. </p>
<p>The new three floor Centre includes
science labs, an engineering room and a large CAD (Computer Aided
Design)/CAM (Computer Aided Manufacture) suite, upgrading the School’s
current facilities significantly.</p>
<p>The building also houses additional
teaching rooms for mathematics and computing and has a large conference
area to allow for more STEM outreach work with young people in the area.
</p>
<p>The school was fortunate to have the
entire cost of construction of the Centre funded by grants from national
and local government. However, the cost of fixtures, fittings and
equipment was not covered by our government grants. With generous
donations from the Friends of the School and Old Fullerians’ Assocation,
as well as over 100 parent donors, the building has been kitted out
ready for lessons to start before Christmas.
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'subject' => 'Match Funding – an easy way you can help us raise funds.',
'message' => 'Match giving, or match funding, is a simple way you can help us to maximise the Friends of School fundraising efforts. Many companies offer employees the chance to boost their fundraising efforts by 'matching' the money they raise at an event or through an activity, such as our big raffle.
The list of companies that fund match is too long for us to list here – most high street banks, building societies, supermarkets and large companies offer match funding, but these schemes are not exclusive to the big corporates. If you work for a small or independent company, they may be interested in charitable giving through match funding too.
Please ask your HR department or check your company’s intranet or employee website. If they offer match funding, we can provide the information you need and help you complete any paperwork to process the contribution easily. If you are able to help in this way please do get in touch at info@friendsofwbgs.org as this is a really simple way to make a big difference.
Thank you
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We are also grateful for any donations of clean uniform and sports kit (including boots) in good condition – these can be left in school reception at any time.
Thank you',
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Baking Masterclass<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This half term saw the return of our very popular baking
masterclasses, kindly hosted by Mrs Zachariah. The class was fully booked
within an hour of places being made available and 12 parents, some accompanied
by their sons, learnt how to make shortcrust pastry in the form of a lemon
tart. Donations for participating in
this, and previous classes, will be used by the Food Tech department to buy a
digital camera for photographing all types of food and techniques. Our thanks
to Mrs Zachariah for continuing to run these classes – we hope to run another
in the Autumn Term – look out for an email and adverts on the FoS website, <a href="http://www.friendsofwbgs.org">www.friendsofwbgs.org</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org//img/editor/1568812811bakingclasspic1.png" style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org//img/editor/1568812844bakingclasspic2.png"><br></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>New to Year 7 Fun Day<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As usual the Friends of School provided the food and
refreshments at the New to Year 7 Fun Day on 6th July where all boys joining
WBGS in September and their families were welcomed into school to meet their
new classmates and take part in team-building activities. A big thank you to
all the parents and the prefect team who volunteered to help on the day. It was
a busy, but enjoyable day, and hopefully all the new Year 7s are looking
forward to joining our school community in September.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org//img/editor/1568812961newtoyr7-2019pic1.png"><br></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org//img/editor/1568812980newtoyr7-2019pic2.png"><br></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Family Draw<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Family Draw was drawn as usual and this term’s winner is
number 41 - John O'Sullivan who won £48.43<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you don’t currently participate in the Family Draw but
would like to do so, please get in touch for a form <a href="mailto:info@friendsofwbgs.org">info@friendsofwbgs.org</a> . As well as
raising valuable funds for the school you will be in with the chance of winning
a cash prize each term.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Thank you<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Lastly, The Friends of School would like to say a big thank
you to everyone who has supported our activities this year, be it attending or
helping out at an event, serving refreshments at a concert or parents evening,
or buying a ticket for the Big Raffle. Your help and support are invaluable in
enabling us to raise much-needed funds for the school. This year we are pleased
to report that we have met our target of raising enough money to purchase a new
bicycle shed. This will be installed over the Summer break and will hopefully
encourage more boys to cycle to school next year. Thank you! <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Wishing you and your families a happy, peaceful and sunny summer
break. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Friends of WBGS.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u><o:p> </o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>Some Diary Dates
for 2019-20<o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Monday 16<sup>th</sup> September – 1<sup>st</sup> Friends of
School meeting of the new academic year – All are welcome<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Saturday 9<sup>th</sup> November – Comedy Night held jointly
with WGGS – Tickets on sale in September<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Saturday 7th March 2020 – Annual Quiz Night<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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Baking Masterclass
This half term saw the return of our very popular baking
masterclasses, kindly hosted by Mrs Zachariah. The class was fully booked
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Congratulations to the following winners:</p><p class="yiv3151191996msonormal" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;color:#1D2228">1<sup>st</sup> Prize – iPad Mini – PICKARD 11C<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="yiv3151191996msonormal" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#1D2228">2<sup>nd</sup> Prize – Beats Headphones - Robin ELTSBERG 8G<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="yiv3151191996msonormal" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#1D2228">3<sup>rd</sup> Prize – Family Powerboating Experience – Jayden SHAH 7N<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="yiv3151191996msonormal" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#1D2228">4<sup>th</sup> Prize - £75 intu vouchers - Alex TWYFORD 7R <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="yiv3151191996msonormal" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#1D2228">5<sup>th</sup> Prize – Bouldering Lesson & Climbing Session – Sahir PATEL L6N</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">Thank you to everyone who bought tickets and to our sponsors, Sewell & Gardner. <br></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">This half-term saw a brand-new Friends of School event: a Comedy Night organised jointly with WGGS Parent Association. The event was held on the top floor of the STEM Centre at WBGS and with almost 200 tickets sold, was a lively evening. We were entertained by 3 professional comedians and our compere for the evening, and with the high-quality acts interspersed with short intervals everyone had an opportunity to catch up with friends over a drink and much laughter. A big thank you to everyone who attended, we hope to make this an annual event. <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Next term we will be running the annual <b>Quiz Night</b> which takes place on <b>Saturday 2<sup>nd</sup> March</b>. This is always a great evening so why not get a group of friends together to test your knowledge and have fun whilst raising valuable funds for the school. Tickets will be on sale from early January – look out for details.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In order to boost our fundraising activities, we hold a raffle at many of our events. We are very grateful to those local businesses who support us by donating products and services. However, we do really need more donations and so would be grateful for your help please. <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>Re-Gifting Appeal – Raising Funds from Unwanted Christmas Presents<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Without wanting to sound ungrateful, it is a fact that we all sometimes receive unwanted or unsuitable Christmas presents. But you don’t have to hide them in the cupboard – instead do some good with the gifts that leave you uninspired. An unwanted Christmas present may well be a delight to someone else, and the FoS will make good use of these gifts at our fundraising events throughout the year. The Friends of School will have a box in school reception during the 1<sup>st</sup> week back after Christmas next term, from 7<sup>th</sup> – 11<sup>th</sup> January. Please donate any unwanted gifts by placing them in this box. Thank you in advance for your support.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Additionally, if you have your own business, or work for an organisation that supports local charities and would be willing to donate a raffle or auction prize, we would be very grateful. Please email <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:info@friendsofwbgs.org">info@friendsofwbgs.org</a></span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">A big thank you to everyone who has supported our events and fundraising activities this term, we look forward to seeing you at the Quiz in March. Wishing you and your families a restful Christmas break.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Friends of School <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="http://www.friendsofwbgs.org/">www.friendsofwbgs.org</a></span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt"><b>Dates for your Diary:<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt">Thursday 10<sup>th</sup> January – Friends of School Meeting to discuss 2019 activities – All welcome<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt">Saturday 2<sup>nd</sup> March – Quiz Night – tickets on sale in January<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt">Friday 21<sup>st</sup> June – Summer Ball, Hunton Park. Information in the new year.<o:p></o:p></p> </div> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>', 'mmo_embed' => null, 'dt_image' => null, 'pk_user' => '476', 'pk_upuser' => '476', 'int_status' => '0', 'tx_defaultimage' => 'article_15.jpg', 'tx_maxsize' => null, 'int_order' => null, 'pk_client' => '0', 'views' => '0', 'publish' => '2', 'author' => 'Amanda Rafferty', 'display' => '1' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Item' => array( 'PK' => '1', 'UUID' => null, 'template' => '', 'tx_name' => 'New STEM Centre', 'pk_itemType' => '0', 'pk_itemCategory' => null, 'dt_created' => '2018-01-03 04:43:49', 'dt_active' => '2018-01-03 05:47:34', 'mmo_content' => 'The new Centre will allow the school to offer unparalleled STEM teaching<p>The new STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) Centre is near completion and will be officially opened on 9th November 2017 by scientist and TV presenter Lord Robert Winston. </p> <p>The new three floor Centre includes science labs, an engineering room and a large CAD (Computer Aided Design)/CAM (Computer Aided Manufacture) suite, upgrading the School’s current facilities significantly.</p> <p>The building also houses additional teaching rooms for mathematics and computing and has a large conference area to allow for more STEM outreach work with young people in the area. </p> <p>The school was fortunate to have the entire cost of construction of the Centre funded by grants from national and local government. However, the cost of fixtures, fittings and equipment was not covered by our government grants. With generous donations from the Friends of the School and Old Fullerians’ Assocation, as well as over 100 parent donors, the building has been kitted out ready for lessons to start before Christmas. </p><div class="newsdetimg" style="float:left;margin-top:10px;"> <div class="col-md-4"><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514958354stem-2.jpg"></div> <div class="col-md-4"><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514958379stem-3.jpg"></div> <div class="col-md-4"><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514958449stem-4.jpg"></div> </div>', 'mmo_embed' => null, 'dt_image' => null, 'pk_user' => '1', 'pk_upuser' => '1', 'int_status' => '0', 'tx_defaultimage' => 'article_1.jpg', 'tx_maxsize' => null, 'int_order' => null, 'pk_client' => '0', 'views' => '1', 'publish' => '2', 'author' => '', 'display' => '0' ) ) ) $blogs = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Item' => array( 'PK' => '18', 'UUID' => null, 'template' => '', 'tx_name' => 'Friends News - July 2019', 'pk_itemType' => '0', 'pk_itemCategory' => null, 'dt_created' => '2019-09-18 13:24:25', 'dt_active' => '2019-09-18 13:24:25', 'mmo_content' => ' <!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>Baking Masterclass<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">This half term saw the return of our very popular baking masterclasses, kindly hosted by Mrs Zachariah. The class was fully booked within an hour of places being made available and 12 parents, some accompanied by their sons, learnt how to make shortcrust pastry in the form of a lemon tart. Donations for participating in this, and previous classes, will be used by the Food Tech department to buy a digital camera for photographing all types of food and techniques. Our thanks to Mrs Zachariah for continuing to run these classes – we hope to run another in the Autumn Term – look out for an email and adverts on the FoS website, <a href="http://www.friendsofwbgs.org">www.friendsofwbgs.org</a><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org//img/editor/1568812811bakingclasspic1.png" style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org//img/editor/1568812844bakingclasspic2.png"><br></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>New to Year 7 Fun Day<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">As usual the Friends of School provided the food and refreshments at the New to Year 7 Fun Day on 6th July where all boys joining WBGS in September and their families were welcomed into school to meet their new classmates and take part in team-building activities. A big thank you to all the parents and the prefect team who volunteered to help on the day. It was a busy, but enjoyable day, and hopefully all the new Year 7s are looking forward to joining our school community in September.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org//img/editor/1568812961newtoyr7-2019pic1.png"><br></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org//img/editor/1568812980newtoyr7-2019pic2.png"><br></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>Family Draw<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Family Draw was drawn as usual and this term’s winner is number 41 - John O'Sullivan who won £48.43<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">If you don’t currently participate in the Family Draw but would like to do so, please get in touch for a form <a href="mailto:info@friendsofwbgs.org">info@friendsofwbgs.org</a> . As well as raising valuable funds for the school you will be in with the chance of winning a cash prize each term.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>Thank you<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Lastly, The Friends of School would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has supported our activities this year, be it attending or helping out at an event, serving refreshments at a concert or parents evening, or buying a ticket for the Big Raffle. Your help and support are invaluable in enabling us to raise much-needed funds for the school. This year we are pleased to report that we have met our target of raising enough money to purchase a new bicycle shed. This will be installed over the Summer break and will hopefully encourage more boys to cycle to school next year. Thank you! <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Wishing you and your families a happy, peaceful and sunny summer break. <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Friends of WBGS.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><u><o:p> </o:p></u></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>Some Diary Dates for 2019-20<o:p></o:p></u></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Monday 16<sup>th</sup> September – 1<sup>st</sup> Friends of School meeting of the new academic year – All are welcome<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Saturday 9<sup>th</sup> November – Comedy Night held jointly with WGGS – Tickets on sale in September<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Saturday 7th March 2020 – Annual Quiz Night<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <!--EndFragment-->', 'mmo_embed' => null, 'dt_image' => null, 'pk_user' => '476', 'pk_upuser' => null, 'int_status' => '0', 'tx_defaultimage' => 'article_18.png', 'tx_maxsize' => null, 'int_order' => null, 'pk_client' => '0', 'views' => '1', 'publish' => '2', 'author' => '', 'display' => '0' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Item' => array( 'PK' => '17', 'UUID' => null, 'template' => '', 'tx_name' => 'Friends News - Family Draw Winner', 'pk_itemType' => '0', 'pk_itemCategory' => null, 'dt_created' => '2019-05-30 09:44:25', 'dt_active' => '2019-06-27 10:06:29', 'mmo_content' => 'The Winner of last terms' Family Draw was Number 40 - John O'Sullivan. Well Done!', 'mmo_embed' => null, 'dt_image' => null, 'pk_user' => '476', 'pk_upuser' => '1', 'int_status' => '0', 'tx_defaultimage' => 'article_17.jpg', 'tx_maxsize' => null, 'int_order' => null, 'pk_client' => '0', 'views' => '2', 'publish' => '2', 'author' => 'Roopal Backory', 'display' => '0' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Item' => array( 'PK' => '16', 'UUID' => null, 'template' => '', 'tx_name' => 'Friends News - April', 'pk_itemType' => '0', 'pk_itemCategory' => null, 'dt_created' => '2019-04-30 07:26:05', 'dt_active' => '2019-04-30 07:42:10', 'mmo_content' => '<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:107%">Thank You!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">A big thank you to everyone who attended the annual <b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height: 107%">Quiz Night</span></b> on 2<sup>nd</sup> March. The event was a huge success, selling out 3 weeks before. Those who managed to get a ticket squeezed into the STEM centre and enjoyed a fun night stretching their minds to answer a wide variety of questions, accompanied by delicious and plentiful food prepared by Punjabi Gourmet. As well as it being a most enjoyable evening, we raised almost £3,000 for the school, so thank you to everyone for your continued support. <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">If you couldn’t make it to the WBGS Quiz, or fancy having another go, then Watford Girls Grammar School Parents Association are holding their Big Quiz on <b>Saturday 27<sup>th</sup> April</b> at 7pm in WGGS main school hall. To book a ticket email <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:wggspa@gmail.com">wggspa@gmail.com</a></span>. See details on the attached flyer.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:107%">Summer Ball – Friday 21<sup>st</sup> June, Hunton Park Hotel<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Our last big fundraising event this year will be the <b>WBGS Summer Ball</b> – a black tie dinner and dance held at <b>Hunton Park on Friday 21<sup>st</sup> June.</b> This bi-annual event is a great opportunity to get some friends together and celebrate the end of the school year in a beautiful setting. Tickets are now on sale at <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="http://www.friendsofwbgs.org/">www.friendsofwbgs.org</a></span> or via the flyer that was emailed earlier this week.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Ticket price which includes a welcome drink, 3 course sit-down dinner plus music and dancing is £60 if you take advantage of the Early Bird Discount and <b>book before 24<sup>th</sup> May</b>. <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">If you have any questions, or would like to make a group booking, then please email Amanda at <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:info@friendsofwbgs.org">info@friendsofwbgs.org</a></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:107%">Baking Master Class<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">We are also pleased to announce that we will be holding another of our Baking Masterclasses next term. This will be on Shortcrust Pastry when participants will make a Lemon Tart. The class will take place on <b>Wednesday 5<sup>th</sup> June from 6-8.30pm</b>. There are only 12 places available, so be sure to book quickly to avoid disappointment. Booking will open next week via <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="http://www.friendsofwbgs.org/">www.friendsofwbgs.org</a></span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Our thanks to Mrs Zachariah for continuing to hold these classes.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:107%">Family Draw<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The winner of this terms’ Family Draw is number 40 - John O’Sullivan.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Family Draw is another way in which the FoS raise money for resources for the school, particularly the different clubs and societies on offer. For the cost of £25 per year, as well as helping to support these activities, you could be in with a chance of winning a cash prize. One number is drawn each term and the holder of that number wins a cash prize! If you are not already entered into the draw and would like to join, or want more information email <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:info@friendsofwbgs.org">info@friendsofwbgs.org</a></span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">As always, all information on Friends of School activities and events can be found on our website <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="http://www.friendsofwbgs.org/">www.friendsofwbgs.org</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Thank you to everyone who has supported our activities be it attending events, or helping out at recent concerts and parents’ evenings, your on-going support is very much appreciated and helps raise valuable funds for our boys. We wish you all a happy and relaxing Easter break. <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>', 'mmo_embed' => null, 'dt_image' => null, 'pk_user' => '476', 'pk_upuser' => '476', 'int_status' => '0', 'tx_defaultimage' => 'article_16.jpg', 'tx_maxsize' => null, 'int_order' => null, 'pk_client' => '0', 'views' => '2', 'publish' => '2', 'author' => 'Amanda Rafferty', 'display' => '0' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Item' => array( 'PK' => '15', 'UUID' => null, 'template' => '', 'tx_name' => 'Friends News - December', 'pk_itemType' => '0', 'pk_itemCategory' => null, 'dt_created' => '2019-04-30 07:22:01', 'dt_active' => '2019-04-30 08:22:06', 'mmo_content' => '<p class="MsoNormal">The first event this half-term was the Big Raffle which was drawn by Mr Cooksey in the playground on 5<sup>th</sup> November. Congratulations to the following winners:</p><p class="yiv3151191996msonormal" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;color:#1D2228">1<sup>st</sup> Prize – iPad Mini – PICKARD 11C<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="yiv3151191996msonormal" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#1D2228">2<sup>nd</sup> Prize – Beats Headphones - Robin ELTSBERG 8G<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="yiv3151191996msonormal" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#1D2228">3<sup>rd</sup> Prize – Family Powerboating Experience – Jayden SHAH 7N<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="yiv3151191996msonormal" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#1D2228">4<sup>th</sup> Prize - £75 intu vouchers - Alex TWYFORD 7R <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="yiv3151191996msonormal" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#1D2228">5<sup>th</sup> Prize – Bouldering Lesson & Climbing Session – Sahir PATEL L6N</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">Thank you to everyone who bought tickets and to our sponsors, Sewell & Gardner. <br></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">This half-term saw a brand-new Friends of School event: a Comedy Night organised jointly with WGGS Parent Association. The event was held on the top floor of the STEM Centre at WBGS and with almost 200 tickets sold, was a lively evening. We were entertained by 3 professional comedians and our compere for the evening, and with the high-quality acts interspersed with short intervals everyone had an opportunity to catch up with friends over a drink and much laughter. A big thank you to everyone who attended, we hope to make this an annual event. <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Next term we will be running the annual <b>Quiz Night</b> which takes place on <b>Saturday 2<sup>nd</sup> March</b>. This is always a great evening so why not get a group of friends together to test your knowledge and have fun whilst raising valuable funds for the school. Tickets will be on sale from early January – look out for details.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In order to boost our fundraising activities, we hold a raffle at many of our events. We are very grateful to those local businesses who support us by donating products and services. However, we do really need more donations and so would be grateful for your help please. <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>Re-Gifting Appeal – Raising Funds from Unwanted Christmas Presents<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Without wanting to sound ungrateful, it is a fact that we all sometimes receive unwanted or unsuitable Christmas presents. But you don’t have to hide them in the cupboard – instead do some good with the gifts that leave you uninspired. An unwanted Christmas present may well be a delight to someone else, and the FoS will make good use of these gifts at our fundraising events throughout the year. The Friends of School will have a box in school reception during the 1<sup>st</sup> week back after Christmas next term, from 7<sup>th</sup> – 11<sup>th</sup> January. Please donate any unwanted gifts by placing them in this box. Thank you in advance for your support.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Additionally, if you have your own business, or work for an organisation that supports local charities and would be willing to donate a raffle or auction prize, we would be very grateful. Please email <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:info@friendsofwbgs.org">info@friendsofwbgs.org</a></span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">A big thank you to everyone who has supported our events and fundraising activities this term, we look forward to seeing you at the Quiz in March. Wishing you and your families a restful Christmas break.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Friends of School <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="http://www.friendsofwbgs.org/">www.friendsofwbgs.org</a></span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt"><b>Dates for your Diary:<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt">Thursday 10<sup>th</sup> January – Friends of School Meeting to discuss 2019 activities – All welcome<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt">Saturday 2<sup>nd</sup> March – Quiz Night – tickets on sale in January<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt">Friday 21<sup>st</sup> June – Summer Ball, Hunton Park. Information in the new year.<o:p></o:p></p> </div> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>', 'mmo_embed' => null, 'dt_image' => null, 'pk_user' => '476', 'pk_upuser' => '476', 'int_status' => '0', 'tx_defaultimage' => 'article_15.jpg', 'tx_maxsize' => null, 'int_order' => null, 'pk_client' => '0', 'views' => '0', 'publish' => '2', 'author' => 'Amanda Rafferty', 'display' => '1' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Item' => array( 'PK' => '12', 'UUID' => null, 'template' => '', 'tx_name' => 'LONDON FILM FESTIVAL SPECIAL', 'pk_itemType' => '0', 'pk_itemCategory' => null, 'dt_created' => '2018-01-03 05:23:20', 'dt_active' => '2018-03-26 11:28:19', 'mmo_content' => '<h4>London Film Festival: Top Films Reviewed</h4><div itemprop="text" class="entry-content"> <p>The 61st London Film Festival showcased new cinema from some of the world's leading filmmakers, and introduced exciting up-and- coming talent. </p> <p>I saw 36 films on the programme and found myself attempting to process that overwhelming volume by looking for patterns to connect them.</p> <p>Coming-of-age narratives dominated the festival (as they often do). A pair of films ( Summer 1993 and The Florida Project ) viewed traumatic events through a child's innocent gaze. Both of these films, and several others, ( Call Me by Your Name , Ava ), took place over a vividly captured summer. </p> <p>I saw two films in which nosebleeds were induced by desire, and unpleasantly I witnessed more equine fatalities than anyone should in the space of 11 days.</p> <p>At festivals, the lows are excruciating and mediocre films are quickly forgotten, but those that are truly outstanding feel like much needed gasps of cool, crisp air. This time, eight films made LFF worthwhile. They will be among the best cinema to look forward to this year and next. </p> <h3>Ava</h3> <img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514956739ava.jpg" style="float:left;padding-right:20px;"> <p>Léa Mysius' debut, Ava uses the onset of blindness as a metaphor for growing up. Ava (astonishing newcomer Noée Abita) is 13 when she is told that she will soon lose her sight. Her response is not self pity, but rather a steely determination to banish her innocence and inexperience while she can still see the world around her.</p> <p> Ava is a coming-of-age narrative in fast forward, shot with dizzyingly rich colours and infused with ceaseless, invigorating energy. Mysius has announced herself as a director with a bold and unique vision. Along with recent debuts Raw and Divines , Ava assures us that the future of French cinema is in good hands.</p> <p> Ava does not yet have a release date</p> <h3>Call Me by Your Name</h3> <img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514956764callbyname.jpg" style="float:left;padding-right:20px;"> <p>Call Me by Your Name is destined to be a classic. Luca Guadagnino's gorgeous Italian summer romance centres on the relationship between 17-year-old Elio (Timothée Chalamet) and his father's 24-year-old American apprentice, Oliver (Armie Hammer). </p> <p>It was not until watching Call Me by Your Name that I realised how rare it is to see a relationship depicted like this on screen, where cinematic pleasure comes not from conflict or anguish, but from watching two people take joy in each other's company. Eating food, swimming, riding bikes and playing music take up most of the screen time, but the actors' chemistry is so compelling that you would happily watch them doing nothing for hours. </p> <p>Chalamet is the standout, bringing his character's arc of self discovery to a heartrending, life-affirming end point. Both Guadagnino and his lead actor are uncommonly wise about the long term impact that a passionate first love can have on a person's life. Call Me by Your Name is special because it captures both the intensity of being within that love, and the perspective gained when you arewithout it.</p> <p>Call Me by Your Name will be released on October 27th</p> <h3>The Florida Project</h3> <img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514956800florida.jpg" style="float:left;padding-right:20px;"> <p>The Florida Project is Sean Baker's child's-eye- view of the hidden homeless. Living in a dingy motel just outside Disney World, precocious six-year-old Moonee (Brooklynn Prince) sees her bleak situation in bright colours. Baker occasionally allows the adults to lead the narrative: Moonee's young mother Halley (Bria Vinaite) and the stern but kindly motel manager Bobby (Willem Defoe). </p> <p>Their story is darker than the innocent lens through which Moonee filters it. When seen through that lens, The Florida Project is a funny, feel-good film; when it confronts reality, it is devastating. </p> <p>Though rough around the edges, The Florida Project fills you fit-to-bursting with an emotion that is best described as happiness and heartbreak made one.</p> <p>The Florida Project will be released on November 10th</p> <h3>Lady Bird</h3> <img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514956866ladybird.jpg" style="float:left;padding-right:20px;"> <p>Greta Gerwig's solo directorial debut Lady Bird is an intensely personal and specific account of a Sacramento teen's last year of high school. Saoirse Ronan plays Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson, a girl who gives herself a new name as she tries to forge a new identity. Lady Bird is desperate to leave Sacramento for a big city ― and desperate to leave behind her fraught relationship with her mother (Laurie Metcalf).</p> <p>Gerwig has noted that she drew heavily from her own adolescence when writing the film. The perspective and wisdom she has gained in the years since informs the way Gerwig tells Lady Bird's story: never demonising the young woman for being stuck in her own head, but still keeping a knowing distance. </p> <p>Through episodic storytelling, Lady Bird paints a remarkably comprehensive portrait of its protagonist's scattered life and various relationships. It is bound to be an important film for young girls who will see themselves in Lady Bird's escapades. It will also mean a lot to those who can look back on when they were in Lady Bird's position, unable to see how much they would miss home until they were gone.</p> <p>Lady Bird will be released on February 16th 2018 </p> <h3>Person to Person</h3> <img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514956885person.jpg" style="float:left;padding-right:20px;"> <p>Set over the course of a single day in the lives of several New Yorkers, Person to Person is a delightfully sweet and funny ode to the everyday. A series of amusing vignettes poke fun at the foibles and anxieties of various characters, and all these observations build to something profound. </p> <p>Director Dustin Guy Defa shoots on grainy 16mm film and dresses his actors and set in retro design, giving the story a sense of timelessness that is only interrupted by the appearance of mobile phones.</p> <p>Engaging in record sales and hands-on work, they are characters out of time, with internal clocks that tick at a more patient rhythm than the rest of us. </p> <p>Similar to Jim Jarmusch's Paterson last year, Person to Person is a micro-sized delight ― a joyful little film about being decent to each other. It will get you noticing all the things you love about life.</p> <p>Person to Person does not yet have a release date </p> <h3>Summer 1993</h3> <img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514956904summer.jpg" style="float:left;padding-right:20px;"> <p>Summer 1993 was one of the most exciting debuts I saw at LFF this year. Carla Simón's film is told through the eyes of six-year-old Frida, who is processing the deaths of her parents, while unable to comprehend what death means. Frida doesn't understand that they're gone forever; she still expects her mother to answer the phone when called. </p> <p>Simón immerses us in her perspective through subjective sound design and camerawork. She is able to track Frida's arc of processing grief to its natural end ― finishing the film on a swift but impactful note. </p> <p>Simón's film suggests that a happy ending doesn't have to involve Frida moving on from her grief. Finding a way to express it is enough.</p> <p>Summer 1993 does not yet have a release date </p> <h3>Thelma</h3> <img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514956921thelma.jpg" style="float:left;padding-right:20px;"> <p>Joachim Trier's Thelma is his latest captivating mix of formal and experimental filmmaking. It has been called a riff on Carrie , but Thelma takes that film's concept to new and exciting places. </p> <p>The eponymous Thelma (a brilliant Eili Harboe) is a deeply religious college student whose guilt over falling in love with a woman (Kaya Wilkins) manifests in seizures and supernatural episodes. </p> <p>Trier is a sensitive filmmaker and while his stylistic choices are refined, he is emotionally intimate with his characters. As in his last feature Louder Than Bombs , he sets aside a few sequences to let himself loose to experiment. The result is both moving and chilling, with a score and horror imagery that is harrowing on a molecular level.</p> <p> Thelma will be released on November 3rd</p> <h3>You Were Never Really Here</h3> <img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514956936neverhere.jpg" style="float:left;padding-right:20px;"> <p>You Were Never Really Here is Lynne Ramsay's most brutish film, and her most experimental. With Ratcatcher , Morvern Callar and We Need to Talk About Kevin , Ramsay has already proved herself to be one of the world's leading filmmakers. </p> <p>You Were Never Really Here pares back and intensifies her images and sounds more than ever before, with the resulting visceral impact of a sledgehammer. Joaquin Phoenix won best actor at Cannes for his portrayal of a withdrawn hitman on a mission to rescue a young girl from sex trafficking. </p> <p>Ramsay's film is violent in more ways than one: both the physical violence on screen and her stylistic violence are overwhelming. Intentionally, there is a thudding lack of subtlety. Everything you see or hear means something, and Ramsay makes no attempt to disguise that meaning ― which you'll have to decide for yourself whether to admire or deride. </p> <p>Measuring the extent of its quality on a single viewing would be doing a disservice to You Were Never Really Here , given how challenging it sets out to be. It is impossible to shake.</p> <p>You Were Never Really Here will be released on March 9th 2018 Orla Smith</p> </div>', 'mmo_embed' => null, 'dt_image' => null, 'pk_user' => '1', 'pk_upuser' => '1', 'int_status' => '0', 'tx_defaultimage' => 'article_12.jpg', 'tx_maxsize' => null, 'int_order' => null, 'pk_client' => '0', 'views' => '10', 'publish' => '2', 'author' => '', 'display' => '0' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Item' => array( 'PK' => '11', 'UUID' => null, 'template' => '', 'tx_name' => 'ART AND LIFESTYLE', 'pk_itemType' => '0', 'pk_itemCategory' => null, 'dt_created' => '2018-01-03 05:14:23', 'dt_active' => '2018-01-03 05:14:23', 'mmo_content' => '<h4>Appendicitis!!! The Day that Went Wrong</h4><p>Mum!!' I need money on my lunch account!’ </p> <p> I groaned, inwardly, knowing that this would not be simple. It involves a computer for one thing, and I was supposed to be going to work. In spite of a huge amount of forward planning, my four teenage boys continue to spring 'surprises' on me just before they leave for school every day.</p> <p>Eventually, I arrived at work; I am a health professional but that morning I felt like someone had dragged me through a hedge backwards. All my colleagues, who are at 'different' stages in their lives, arrived looking fresh faced and well, professional. </p> <p> My manager said, 'Good morning .... You do look flustered!' </p> <p>I consoled myself by thinking it takes a lot of effort to achieve this look.</p> <p>I settled down to the sanity of my work place, where people appear to respect my opinion and actually listen to me, unlike my boys who tell me: ‘Mum, don’t smile or wave at my friends ... it's weird!' </p> <p>All went well for a while, until I got a call from my husband. He sounded concerned when he told me that number two son had just arrived home doubled up in pain. He put our second child on the phone: ‘Where is the pain?’ I asked. </p> <p>‘Starting at my belly button and going straight downwards’ </p> <p>‘Ok,' I said. 'Tell Dad, you need an emergency appointment with the GP. They'll give you a letter to go straight to the paediatric ward.' </p> <p>I met them both outside our local hospital. Our second son looked grey; I took one look at him and asked if he felt sick, </p> <p>‘Yes,’ he said and vomited into a flower bed behind a queue of people waiting for a bus.</p> <p>I was impressed with how discrete he was and the flowerbed was just in the right place and just at the right height ... most convenient.</p> <p>Once in the paediatric ward we sat in a side room until a nurse appeared. She commented on his grey complexion and his sunken eyes and in my distracted state, I said:</p> <p>'Look at the state of him!!' I thought. 'And that shirt is filthy! ' </p> <p>At that point, I decide not to confess to being a health professional, who supports and advises parents about parenting and childcare. I kept an eye on the care he was receiving, all the same, and when the nurse left and a clerk came to book him into the ward, I asked: ‘Is a doctor going to see him?' ‘When we have finished the paper work,’ she replied. </p> <p>I frantically clutched for the words to convey to her, sensitively, that the paper work might have to wait. I said: ‘I'm wondering whether his appendix is about to rupture?’ </p> <p>At that, the clerk left the room and two nurses arrived.They took his blood pressure and tried to get a venflon into his vein, which promptly collapsed; they tried three times with no success. I asked one of them: ‘Do you think he's going into shock? Is a doctor coming?’ </p> <p>‘Oh, he's just stressed,’ the nurse replied but at that moment a whole team of doctors descended upon us and guess what, my son's symptoms suddenly subsided; isn’t that just so typical. Son number two was now as cool as a cucumber and I even began to wonder if he was suffering from trapped wind. They decided to operate, however, and that evening we went down to the anaesthetic room. The young surgeons looked like they have just taken their GCSE’s but they were so helpful and jovial to mother and son, putting us at our ease. They commented to my son as he breathed in gas and air: </p> <p>‘You'll soon feel how your mum feels after she's had two glasses of Prosecco'</p> To which he replied, ‘Prosecco... morphine, more like.' <p>Where did that come from? Morphine is not a mealtime topic of conversation in our home. I just said: ‘This isn’t the place to share the family secrets.’ </p> <p>hankfully, the operation was a success and my son received marvellous care from all staff in the NHS. </p> <p>If you would like to know more about the symptoms of appendicitis, please refer to NHS Choices , an excellent source of well researched and evidence based information.</p> <p>As a mother of a teenager, I would definitely advise parents and carers to be familiar with the symptoms of appendicitis and insist you teenage boys wash ... just in case.</p>', 'mmo_embed' => null, 'dt_image' => null, 'pk_user' => '1', 'pk_upuser' => null, 'int_status' => '0', 'tx_defaultimage' => 'article_11.jpg', 'tx_maxsize' => null, 'int_order' => null, 'pk_client' => '0', 'views' => '2', 'publish' => '2', 'author' => '', 'display' => '0' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Item' => array( 'PK' => '10', 'UUID' => null, 'template' => '', 'tx_name' => 'ART AND LIFESTYLE', 'pk_itemType' => '0', 'pk_itemCategory' => null, 'dt_created' => '2018-01-03 05:12:17', 'dt_active' => '2018-01-03 05:12:17', 'mmo_content' => '<h4>Technological problems and natural solutions</h4><h3>Medicine from wild lettuce, Californian poppy and passion flower can help with sleep disorders.</h3> <p>Mobile phones, computers, Fitbits, social media ... in our modern, technology-fuelled world it can be hard to escape the endless pressure to go, go go. For some of us nightfall does not even offer a reprieve. We reach for our phones or computers to answer emails, check Twitter or Facebook and this keeps us awake long into the night.</p> <p>As creatures that evolved to stare into the distance for predators, sleep with the dusk and rise with the dawn, we should not be surprised to find that the fast pace of our lives takes a toll on our health</p> <p>Research suggests that we are more stressed and anxious than ever before and this seems to affect all age groups from children and teens to pensioners. </p> <p>The impact of prolonged stress on our bodies is significant. It can cause long-term changes in our hormone levels, as well as in our immune, heart and digestive systems. This means our health begins to suffer. We come down with flu and colds more often; we develop high blood pressure, become anxious or have difficulty sleeping; we feel pain and fatigue, struggle with fertility or develop digestive issues. Prolonged exposure to blue- light from electronic screens can also do harm to our bodies as it interferes with natural sleep patterns and melatonin production.</p> <p>So how can we protect ourselves from stress in our busy 21st Century lives? Some of the changes we can make are straightforward and we can put them into practice straight away. </p> <p> Tech hygiene can help. This means avoiding electronic devices in the hours before sleep, installing something like f.lux on your computer, or enabling Night Shift mode on your phone.</p> <p> Being outside is also beneficial and nothing beats a walk in nature for invigorating your body, reducing stress and helping you to sleep. You don’t have to record it with your Fitbit either for it to be any good for you. </p> <p> What we eat and drink is also very important. Making sure half of our plate at every meal is composed of vegetables, ideally with at least half of them raw, perhaps in the form of fruit or salad, will promote our bodies resistance to stress. Cutting down on coffee, tea, alcohol and sugary foods is also a very good idea.</p> <p> Nature can help in other ways. A particular group of plants called “adaptogens” contain compounds that help our hypothalamus and adrenal glands withstand all sorts of stress, from work and emotional strain to the impact of illness and old age. Medicines are made from these plants all over the world: ashwagandha and holy basil in India; liquorice and asparagus in England; ginseng in Asia; rhodiola in China and reishi in Japan.</p> <p>We can also take comfort in the fact that unlike our new technologies, these medicines have been in use for thousands of years.</p> <p><strong>Victoria Kearns</strong> is a professional herbalist practising in West Watford at Kearns & Meiring Medical Herbalists <a href="mailto:kmherbalists.co.uk">kmherbalists.co.uk</a> / <a href="callto:07864945086">07864 945 086</a></p>', 'mmo_embed' => null, 'dt_image' => null, 'pk_user' => '1', 'pk_upuser' => null, 'int_status' => '0', 'tx_defaultimage' => 'article_10.jpg', 'tx_maxsize' => null, 'int_order' => null, 'pk_client' => '0', 'views' => '0', 'publish' => '2', 'author' => '', 'display' => '0' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Item' => array( 'PK' => '8', 'UUID' => null, 'template' => '', 'tx_name' => 'ART AND LIFESTYLE', 'pk_itemType' => '0', 'pk_itemCategory' => null, 'dt_created' => '2018-01-03 05:10:39', 'dt_active' => '2018-06-06 15:17:50', 'mmo_content' => '<h4>Undercover Parent: Jobs in the Brave New World</h4><p>As parents we all want our children to be happy, although most of us would admit to a link between happiness and paid employment. What jobs, therefore, should we suggest to our teenage children for consideration? The undercover parent has been doing a bit of sleuthing...</p> <p style="min-height: 100px;">Complete University Guide says the current top ten degrees for full-time professional employment six months after university ends are: </p> <ul style="margin-top:0;" class="rich-textul"><li>Dentistry (94%)</li><li>Nursing (94%)</li><li>Medicine (93%)</li><li>Physiotherapy (91%)</li><li>Veterinary Medicine (91%)</li><li>Medical Technology (90%)</li><li>Occupational Therapy (86%)</li><li>Optometry, Ophthamology and Orthoptics (85%) </li><li>Land and Property Management (80%)</li><li>Building (79%)</li></ul> <p>Salaries, prospects and required skills for these and many other occupations can be checked out on www.prospects.ac.uk . </p> <p>However, the future is inherently difficult to predict. Current advice seems to be to foster agility and diversification. This means, expect a portfolio of work, rather than a single career to last a lifetime. </p> <p>Increased automation is also a major factor to consider. McKinsey & Co management consultants, warn that half of today’s jobs could be automated by 2055, and the Bank of England suggests that 15 million UK jobs could disappear or be re-engineered through automation. </p> <p>Martin Ford, futurist and author of Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future , suggests jobs, resilient to automation, can be split into three main groups:</p> <ul style="margin-top:0;" class="stylnum"><li>Those requiring genuine creativity (such as artists, scientists, developing new business strategies) </li><li>Occupations that involve building complex relationships with people (such as nursing, business, religious or spiritual advisers)</li><li>Highly unpredictable jobs (such as an emergency plumber).</li></ul> <p>Tom Davenport, author of Only Humans Need Apply: Winners and Losers in the Age of Smart Machines (these books do have rather scary titles) has some strategies to suggest. One is to find work in the field of monitoring what computers do and deciding what to automate next. Another is to focus on areas that are hard to automate. Many new jobs depend on programming ability, but not all. Examples of “new” jobs include Body Part Maker, Nano-Medic or Avatar Manager as well as Climate Controller, Waste Data Handler and Digital Architect. </p> <p>So maybe the advice to our kids should be “do something you love and are really good at"... and that may be something we adults don’t even think of as a proper job.</p> <p>Meanwhile, have fun checking your job risk of automation on <a href="http://friendsofwbgs.org/www.willrobotstakemyjob.com"> www.willrobotstakemyjob.com</a></p>', 'mmo_embed' => null, 'dt_image' => null, 'pk_user' => '1', 'pk_upuser' => '1', 'int_status' => '0', 'tx_defaultimage' => 'article_8.jpg', 'tx_maxsize' => null, 'int_order' => null, 'pk_client' => '0', 'views' => '0', 'publish' => '2', 'author' => '', 'display' => '0' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Item' => array( 'PK' => '7', 'UUID' => null, 'template' => '', 'tx_name' => 'ART AND LIFESTYLE', 'pk_itemType' => '0', 'pk_itemCategory' => null, 'dt_created' => '2018-01-03 05:09:46', 'dt_active' => '2018-01-03 05:09:46', 'mmo_content' => '<h4>In Your Garden</h4><p>Autumn is pretty well upon us now. The clocks have gone back and daylight is getting shorter. Leaves are turning from green to glorious yellow and amber, before falling to the ground or drifting into windblown piles. </p> <p>In our garden, we will be mowing the grass for a few more weeks more although fewer cuttings will appear each time in the collection box. The process of dead heading the dahlias continues, along with the removal of spent golden rods and peonies. We have trimmed back our lilies and removed the last of the rose buds. The hanging baskets are still quite vibrant; the more delicate plants are clinging on and our wallflowers and sweet Williams are still doing well. Autumn is at it's glorious height now but there is sense of the winter to come.</p> <p>In my next article, l will outline the work that needs to be done over the winter period.</p>', 'mmo_embed' => null, 'dt_image' => null, 'pk_user' => '1', 'pk_upuser' => null, 'int_status' => '0', 'tx_defaultimage' => 'article_7.jpg', 'tx_maxsize' => null, 'int_order' => null, 'pk_client' => '0', 'views' => '1', 'publish' => '2', 'author' => '', 'display' => '0' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Item' => array( 'PK' => '6', 'UUID' => null, 'template' => '', 'tx_name' => 'ART AND LIFESTYLE', 'pk_itemType' => '0', 'pk_itemCategory' => null, 'dt_created' => '2018-01-03 05:01:29', 'dt_active' => '2018-01-03 05:01:29', 'mmo_content' => '<h4>Automation: what does the future look like</h4><p>As humans, our deepest need is to get things as easily and as quickly as we can. We do not want to hustle. And technology is making it all possible. </p> <p>In today’s world, “luxury” has taken on a whole new dimension. For both businesses and people, “time” is the most valuable luxury item. Therefore, global technology giants are constantly finding new ways to simplify and automate. Automation, as we know it, has traditionally been confined to the assembly lines of a large manufacturing plants. However, we are now seeing automation across multiple sectors like retail, transportation and in most of our day-to-day activities.</p> <p>Just 60 robots run the entire warehouse of Alibaba, a Chinese e-commerce company and they have increased productivity by 300%. When someone places an order with Alibaba, a robot locates the product and picks it out from one of the 32,300 shelves. Humans pack and dispatch it. The robots can carry up to 500 kilograms. Each one has a laser system to prevent crashes. The robots take themselves to charging stations when their batteries run low. They now do 70% of the work in the warehouse. </p> <p>A self-driving truck operated by Otto (a start-up owned by Uber), has already made its first commercial 190 km delivery run in the US, carrying over 50,000 cases of Budweiser beers. The technology fitted in Otto's trucks uses sensors to read the road ahead. Data from the sensors is then fed back to a computer which analysis it and makes adjustments to the speed and steering.</p> <p>Labour costs account to 75% of shipping costs. While drivers are restricted by law from driving more than 11 hours per day without taking an 8-hour break, a driverless truck can drive 24 hours per day. This means it can effectively double the output of the country’s transportation network at 25 percent of the cost. In addition, these autonomous vehicles prove to be much more fuel efficient by maintaining optimal cruising speeds.</p> <p>Trucking represents a considerable portion of the cost of all the goods we buy and therefore this would mean lower prices for consumers. But where does it leave the large number of truck drivers who would lose their jobs in the process?</p> <p>It is an ongoing debate if automation creates more jobs or just causes mass unemployment. Industry leaders like Alphabet’s Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt are, however, optimistic. They believe that: “the future is you with a computer, not you replaced by a computer”.</p> <p>With less complex work being increasingly automated, what does the future of work look like? Work will increasingly become about adapting to new challenges that artificial intelligence and robots will be less good at. Future skills are all about having a growth mindset, where lifelong learning becomes a norm. We will have to prepare for a future where we have more than 6 jobs over the course of our careers.</p> <p>Success has always favoured those who have constantly striven to identify human needs and solve them. While our grandmothers waited in long lines at the post office, they wanted email. They just didn’t know it. Therefore, our education must fuel exploratory thinking so we can envision future human needs and finding fresh ways to address them.</p> <h3>References</h3> <ul style="margin-top:0;" class="stylnum"><li>McKinsey Analytics – Where is technology taking the economy</li><li>TechCrunch – The driverless truck is coming and it is going to automate millions of jobs</li><li>World Economic Forum - <a href="https://www.weforum.org/">https://www. weforum.org/</a></li></ul> <p><small>Devi Sujathaa Sekar works for CISCO and is a STEM ambassador. CISCO has recently launched an initiative called Little Big Futures. This programme allows students, aged 11-14 to access five one-hour lessons across the breadth of STEM subjects. CISCO are also working on a 5 new hour project in each of the STEM subjects and will pay for entries to the CREST awards. To find out more go to: <a href="https://www.stem.org.uk/little-big-futures">https://www.stem.org.uk/little- big-futures</a></small></p>', 'mmo_embed' => null, 'dt_image' => null, 'pk_user' => '1', 'pk_upuser' => null, 'int_status' => '0', 'tx_defaultimage' => 'article_6.jpg', 'tx_maxsize' => null, 'int_order' => null, 'pk_client' => '0', 'views' => '0', 'publish' => '2', 'author' => '', 'display' => '0' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Item' => array( 'PK' => '5', 'UUID' => null, 'template' => '', 'tx_name' => 'ART AND LIFESTYLE', 'pk_itemType' => '0', 'pk_itemCategory' => null, 'dt_created' => '2018-01-03 04:59:22', 'dt_active' => '2018-06-06 15:12:14', 'mmo_content' => 'Choux Pastry Recipe<h3>Ingredients </h3> <ul style="margin-top:0;" class="rich-textul"><li>150 ml water </li><li>50g butter</li><li>60g plain flour</li><li>2 eggs</li><li>350ml whipping cream (med sized carton)</li><li>200g chocolate (Bournville is fine)</li></ul> <p>For chocolate sauce sauce:</p> <ul style="margin-top:0;" class="rich-textul"><li>1 small can evaporated milk</li></ul> <h3>Method</h3> <ul style="margin-top:0;" class="rich-textul"><li>Measure/weigh all ingredients. Sieve flour onto greaseproof paper or a plate </li><li>Switch on oven – gas mark 6 or 200 C </li><li>Bring the water and butter to a rolling boil in a medium saucepan remove from heat.</li><li>Quickly add the flour to the boiling liquid. Beat vigorously until smooth and cook for half a minute on low heat. The mixture should have come together and should have left the sides of the pan clean and be very thick and stiff. </li><li>Allow the dough to cool slightly – this can be accelerated by placing the pan over cold water. </li><li>Meanwhile beat the eggs together in a small bowl or jug.</li><li>Add a little of the egg (1-2 tablespoons) to the pastry and beat very well, either with a wooden spoon or an electric mixer. Continue adding the egg in small amounts and beating the mixture wel. The choux pastry should remain fairly stiff throughout. It should never get runny so all the egg may not be needed.</li><li>Either pipe the mixture in finger lengths (for eclairs) or pile the mixture in heaps (for choux buns) onto a greased baking tray. Alternatively you could make a choux ring using all the mixture.</li><li>Bake at gas mark 6 or 200 C for 10 mins. Turn oven down to 170 C and cook for a further 20 minutes. 5 minutes before the end of cooking remove from the oven, pierce to release steam and place back in the oven for 5 mins to dry out completely.</li><li>Remove from the oven, split and leave to cool. Fill as desired.</li><li>To make chocolate sauce: Melt the chocolate in the evaporated milk over a double boiler.</li></ul>', 'mmo_embed' => null, 'dt_image' => null, 'pk_user' => '1', 'pk_upuser' => '1', 'int_status' => '0', 'tx_defaultimage' => 'article_5.jpg', 'tx_maxsize' => null, 'int_order' => null, 'pk_client' => '0', 'views' => '2', 'publish' => '2', 'author' => '', 'display' => '0' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Item' => array( 'PK' => '4', 'UUID' => null, 'template' => '', 'tx_name' => 'Friends events coming up', 'pk_itemType' => '0', 'pk_itemCategory' => null, 'dt_created' => '2018-01-03 04:53:46', 'dt_active' => '2018-01-03 04:57:43', 'mmo_content' => '<p style="min-height: 270px;">The school Quiz will take place on Saturday 24th February at 7pm in the main hall of the school.The quiz master will be Mr Cooksey and teachers, parents, carers, families and friends are invited to come along and take part.The Quiz night is organized by Danielle Wright on behalf of the Friends of School and is always a great success. Early bird tickets will be available towards the end of term. All money raised is for the benefit of the school.</p> <h3>Football Tournament</h3> <img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging/img/editor/1514955144frnds-events-coming-2.jpg" style="float:left;padding-right:20px;"> <p style="min-height: 200px;">Friends of school are planning a football tournament to take place near the end of Spring term. This five a side tournament will be open to teams from years seven, eight and nine. Entry will cost £20 per team and all money raised will go to the P.E department. Parents and carers are invited to help on the day or stay and watch the games.<br></p>', 'mmo_embed' => null, 'dt_image' => null, 'pk_user' => '1', 'pk_upuser' => '1', 'int_status' => '0', 'tx_defaultimage' => 'article_4.jpg', 'tx_maxsize' => null, 'int_order' => null, 'pk_client' => '0', 'views' => '2', 'publish' => '2', 'author' => '', 'display' => '0' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Item' => array( 'PK' => '3', 'UUID' => null, 'template' => '', 'tx_name' => 'Friends News', 'pk_itemType' => '0', 'pk_itemCategory' => null, 'dt_created' => '2018-01-03 04:50:21', 'dt_active' => '2018-01-03 04:50:21', 'mmo_content' => '<p>Friends of school organised the Big Raffle this year to raise funds for new playground equipment, Mr Cooksey drew the winning tickets on Thursday 19th October in the school hall. The winners were:</p> <p><strong>iPad Mini 4</strong></p> <p>Aditya Bhagavatula</p> <p><strong>Fitbit Blaze</strong></p> <p>Justin Li</p> <p><strong>Flying Lesson in a 4 seater aeroplane</strong></p> <p>Mrs L Lam</p> <p><strong>Supercar Driving Experience</strong></p> <p>Mark Cruciun</p> <p><strong>Family Warner Bros Studio Tour</strong></p> <p>Dylan Law</p> <p><strong>Top Golf Voucher</strong></p> <p>Bhavan Sathiyalingham</p> <p>he Raffle raised around £3,000. Many thanks to everyone who took part. </p> <h3>New arrivals: welcome</h3> <p>Hollie Rendall has been appointed as the new link person between the Friends of School Committee and the school. She has been in post for a few months now and recently took time out to talk about herself and her role at Watford Boys'. </p> <p>"I started in the role of Development Director in January this year and went straight in at the deep end with a fundraising campaign to run for the STEM Centre! My role broadly falls into three categories: marketing, fundraising and alumni relations. As well as being the main link between the Friends of the School and the school itself, I also have a similar link with the Old Fullerians’ Association and attend meetings of the Watford Fuller Foundation which deals with financial matters relating to the school.</p> <p>Alongside the largely parent and alumni- focused fundraising campaign for the STEM Centre, my major project this year has been to update the database of former pupils and staff. I’ve started a twice-yearly alumni news, Fuller News, with a circulation of around 3,500 alumni and growing. This is focused on the present and future, rather than the past, and the intention is to have more events for alumni. Our first such event was in the summer and was a tribute to two long-standing former teachers who passed away earlier in the year, as well as a number of teachers who retired at the end of last year. My long-term plan is for students to feel like their relationship with the school doesn’t have to end after year 13 and for the school to have something to offer after that. This relies on Old Fullerians being willing to come back and offer their time and expertise, and so far the evidence is that lots of boys leave WBGS with a great amount of affection for the school.</p> <p>While this is my first job in a school, I do have experience of the Watford Grammar way of life, having studied at Watford Girls’ and taken one of my A Levels at the boys’ school. After studying at Sheffield University, I spent a decade working in public relations for big financial brands, charities and public sector clients (with my last client appropriately enough being the ‘Get Into Teaching’ campaign for the Department for Education).</p> <p>I’m always very open to ideas or indeed offers of help! Having a close relationship with the Friends of the School helps us all achieve our goals and it’s been great to see the financial support the Friends can provide because of their fundraising efforts."</p> <h3>Departures: thanks and good luck</h3> <p>Archana Singh will step down as Chair of the Friends of School Committee on Wednesday 1st November at the Friends Annual General Meeting. Archana is a great communicator who made helping at Friends' events fun for everyone. She was the inspiration behind the Bollywood Barn Dance in November last year, which brought school families together for a marvellous evening in the main school hall. </p> <p> Jeanette Mcleod has also stepped down from the committee after several years. The Friends will miss her independent views and her willingness to get in involved in all of Friends' activities, from organising Fun Days to serving tea at parent nights.</p> <h3>Thanks</h3> <p>Thanks to everyone who helped organise and run events this year. The Friends would also like to thank people and organisations who kindly sponsored or made donations to our events. These include: The Taste of Lahore restaurant, The Prince of Bengal restaurant, Sewell & Gardner, Warner Bros UK and Top Golf UK.</p>', 'mmo_embed' => null, 'dt_image' => null, 'pk_user' => '1', 'pk_upuser' => null, 'int_status' => '0', 'tx_defaultimage' => 'article_3.jpg', 'tx_maxsize' => null, 'int_order' => null, 'pk_client' => '0', 'views' => '1', 'publish' => '2', 'author' => '', 'display' => '0' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Item' => array( 'PK' => '2', 'UUID' => null, 'template' => '', 'tx_name' => 'Friends Special Events', 'pk_itemType' => '0', 'pk_itemCategory' => null, 'dt_created' => '2018-01-03 04:48:06', 'dt_active' => '2018-01-03 04:48:55', 'mmo_content' => '<p>Friends of school are arranging a series of special events for parents, carers and their families.This is a new initiative and is the result of a survey conducted by the Friends in June 2016.To to view the survey please see Issue 7 of this news , published in July 2016. This Autumn half term we have planned two events based on interests and concerns expressed in that survey.</p> <h3>Mental Health and Wellbeing</h3> <p>Dr Gunton will talk about the psychological and emotional challenges faced by boys in their secondary school years and what the Learning Support team at Watford Boys' can do to help them.</p> <p>Dr Gunton is a psychotherapist and Head of Learning Support at Watford Boys. She is deeply experienced in adolescent matters and has built up the Learning Support Department over many years. The LSC is open to all students at the school and it is renowned within the County for the exceptional work achieved there.</p> <p>Sally Russell OBE will introduce the evening. She is a local mum, mental health campaigner and a founder of Netmums. Her family’s experiences have led to a passionate interest in finding ways to help, both through improving local services and through the digital world. The talk will take place on Monday November 27th at the Learning Support Centre at Watford Grammar School for Boys. Doors will open at 6pm in time for the talk at 6.30pm. Refreshments will be available and there will be an opportunity to speak with other parents and staff at the end of the event. This is the first of a series of events on mental health and well-being. </p> <h3>Baking Master Class</h3> <p>In this class, participants will find out how to make perfect choux pastry. Helen will share her techniques while participants create their own cream filled choux buns topped with chocolate sauce.</p> <p> Helen Zacharia is a teacher of Food Technology and Nutrition. She has a passion for food and has been teaching for over 30 years, first in a city academy in London and then at Watford Grammar school for girls. She now teaches at Watford Grammar School for Boys, where she has been impressed by the enthusiasm students have shown towards her subject. </p> <p>Participants in the master class are asked to bring ingredients to make their own choux pastry: 50g butter and 60g plain flour for the pastry; 350ml whipping cream (med sized carton), 200g chocolate (Bournville is fine) for the filling and 1 small can of evaporated milk for the sauce. You will also need a container to take the pastries home. The school will provide the rest of the materials. Helen's recipe is in this news.</p> <p>The class will take place between 6.30 and 8.30pm on Wednesday 13th December in the food technology department, which is upstairs in the Sixth Form Centre.</p>', 'mmo_embed' => null, 'dt_image' => null, 'pk_user' => '1', 'pk_upuser' => '1', 'int_status' => '0', 'tx_defaultimage' => 'article_2.jpg', 'tx_maxsize' => null, 'int_order' => null, 'pk_client' => '0', 'views' => '0', 'publish' => '2', 'author' => '', 'display' => '0' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Item' => array( 'PK' => '1', 'UUID' => null, 'template' => '', 'tx_name' => 'New STEM Centre', 'pk_itemType' => '0', 'pk_itemCategory' => null, 'dt_created' => '2018-01-03 04:43:49', 'dt_active' => '2018-01-03 05:47:34', 'mmo_content' => 'The new Centre will allow the school to offer unparalleled STEM teaching<p>The new STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) Centre is near completion and will be officially opened on 9th November 2017 by scientist and TV presenter Lord Robert Winston. </p> <p>The new three floor Centre includes science labs, an engineering room and a large CAD (Computer Aided Design)/CAM (Computer Aided Manufacture) suite, upgrading the School’s current facilities significantly.</p> <p>The building also houses additional teaching rooms for mathematics and computing and has a large conference area to allow for more STEM outreach work with young people in the area. </p> <p>The school was fortunate to have the entire cost of construction of the Centre funded by grants from national and local government. However, the cost of fixtures, fittings and equipment was not covered by our government grants. With generous donations from the Friends of the School and Old Fullerians’ Assocation, as well as over 100 parent donors, the building has been kitted out ready for lessons to start before Christmas. </p><div class="newsdetimg" style="float:left;margin-top:10px;"> <div class="col-md-4"><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514958354stem-2.jpg"></div> <div class="col-md-4"><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514958379stem-3.jpg"></div> <div class="col-md-4"><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514958449stem-4.jpg"></div> </div>', 'mmo_embed' => null, 'dt_image' => null, 'pk_user' => '1', 'pk_upuser' => '1', 'int_status' => '0', 'tx_defaultimage' => 'article_1.jpg', 'tx_maxsize' => null, 'int_order' => null, 'pk_client' => '0', 'views' => '1', 'publish' => '2', 'author' => '', 'display' => '0' ) ) ) $metadescription = 'News – Friends of Watford Grammar School for Boys' $metakeyword = 'News – Friends of Watford Grammar School for Boys' $title_for_layout = 'News – Friends of Watford Grammar School for Boys' $staticpage = array( 'Staticpage' => array( 'sid' => '6', 'type' => '1', 'parent' => '0', 'front' => '1', 'footer' => '1', 'position' => '6', 'name' => 'News', 'pagelink' => 'news', 'title' => 'News – Friends of Watford Grammar School for Boys', 'metakeyword' => 'News – Friends of Watford Grammar School for Boys', 'metadescription' => 'News – Friends of Watford Grammar School for Boys', 'content' => '<p>Please donate or help us by visiting our sponsors.</p> ', 'status' => 'Active', 'date' => '2015-07-07 00:33:32' ) ) $adsection = array() $text = array() $ourpractice = array( 'Staticpage' => array( 'sid' => '2', 'type' => '0', 'parent' => '0', 'front' => '1', 'footer' => '1', 'position' => '2', 'name' => 'About Us', 'pagelink' => 'aboutus', 'title' => 'About Us – Friends of Watford Grammar School for Boys', 'metakeyword' => 'About Us – Friends of Watford Grammar School for Boys', 'metadescription' => 'About Us – Friends of Watford Grammar School for Boys', 'content' => '<p>We are an association of parents and staff committed to supporting the school. As a parent you are automatically a member and we welcome your participation and input. We run a number of social events and provide refreshments at school concerts and plays. Our aim is to put the fun into fundraising and promote a sense of community within the school.</p> <p>With your support we can raise more funds and build a stronger school community. 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Many companies offer employees the chance to boost their fundraising efforts by 'matching' the money they raise at an event or through an activity, such as our big raffle. The list of companies that fund match is too long for us to list here – most high street banks, building societies, supermarkets and large companies offer match funding, but these schemes are not exclusive to the big corporates. If you work for a small or independent company, they may be interested in charitable giving through match funding too. Please ask your HR department or check your company’s intranet or employee website. If they offer match funding, we can provide the information you need and help you complete any paperwork to process the contribution easily. If you are able to help in this way please do get in touch at info@friendsofwbgs.org as this is a really simple way to make a big difference. Thank you ', 'group' => '', 'users' => '', 'sentusers' => '', 'sent' => '0', 'files' => '', 'createby' => '476', 'status' => '', 'publish' => '2', 'date' => '2019-11-07 03:40:17' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Announcement' => array( 'id' => '33', 'subject' => 'Help needed to run School Uniform Shop', 'message' => 'As well as providing a valuable service to parents when their sons have mislaid or outgrown uniform and sports kit, the shop is also, despite charging very low prices, a huge contributor to our fundraising efforts, raising over £900 last year. We need volunteers to help run the shop weekly on Wednesdays after school and one Saturday a half term. If you are interested please get in touch on info@friendsofwbgs.org. We are also grateful for any donations of clean uniform and sports kit (including boots) in good condition – these can be left in school reception at any time. 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The class was fully booked within an hour of places being made available and 12 parents, some accompanied by their sons, learnt how to make shortcrust pastry in the form of a lemon tart. Donations for participating in this, and previous classes, will be used by the Food Tech department to buy a digital camera for photographing all types of food and techniques. Our thanks to Mrs Zachariah for continuing to run these classes – we hope to run another in the Autumn Term – look out for an email and adverts on the FoS website, <a href="http://www.friendsofwbgs.org">www.friendsofwbgs.org</a><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org//img/editor/1568812811bakingclasspic1.png" style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org//img/editor/1568812844bakingclasspic2.png"><br></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>New to Year 7 Fun Day<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">As usual the Friends of School provided the food and refreshments at the New to Year 7 Fun Day on 6th July where all boys joining WBGS in September and their families were welcomed into school to meet their new classmates and take part in team-building activities. A big thank you to all the parents and the prefect team who volunteered to help on the day. It was a busy, but enjoyable day, and hopefully all the new Year 7s are looking forward to joining our school community in September.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org//img/editor/1568812961newtoyr7-2019pic1.png"><br></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org//img/editor/1568812980newtoyr7-2019pic2.png"><br></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>Family Draw<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Family Draw was drawn as usual and this term’s winner is number 41 - John O'Sullivan who won £48.43<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">If you don’t currently participate in the Family Draw but would like to do so, please get in touch for a form <a href="mailto:info@friendsofwbgs.org">info@friendsofwbgs.org</a> . As well as raising valuable funds for the school you will be in with the chance of winning a cash prize each term.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>Thank you<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Lastly, The Friends of School would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has supported our activities this year, be it attending or helping out at an event, serving refreshments at a concert or parents evening, or buying a ticket for the Big Raffle. Your help and support are invaluable in enabling us to raise much-needed funds for the school. This year we are pleased to report that we have met our target of raising enough money to purchase a new bicycle shed. This will be installed over the Summer break and will hopefully encourage more boys to cycle to school next year. Thank you! <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Wishing you and your families a happy, peaceful and sunny summer break. <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Friends of WBGS.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><u><o:p> </o:p></u></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>Some Diary Dates for 2019-20<o:p></o:p></u></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Monday 16<sup>th</sup> September – 1<sup>st</sup> Friends of School meeting of the new academic year – All are welcome<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Saturday 9<sup>th</sup> November – Comedy Night held jointly with WGGS – Tickets on sale in September<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Saturday 7th March 2020 – Annual Quiz Night<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <!--EndFragment-->', 'mmo_embed' => null, 'dt_image' => null, 'pk_user' => '476', 'pk_upuser' => null, 'int_status' => '0', 'tx_defaultimage' => 'article_18.png', 'tx_maxsize' => null, 'int_order' => null, 'pk_client' => '0', 'views' => '1', 'publish' => '2', 'author' => '', 'display' => '0' ) ) $imagename = 'https://www.friendsofwbgs.org/staging/img/articles/thumb_article_18.png' $getowner = array( 'User' => array( 'PK' => '476', 'key' => 'ps8j9cb3q67dspq87cki496o6', 'main' => '0', 'name' => 'Roopal Backory', 'tx_firstname' => 'Roopal', 'tx_lastname' => 'Backory', 'tx_username' => 'roopal', 'dob' => '0000-00-00', 'tx_email' => 'roopal_backory@yahoo.com', 'tx_password' => '44yush19B%', 'marriagedate' => '0000-00-00', 'int_isadmin' => '1', 'int_activate' => '1', 'op' => '0', 'portal' => '1', 'mobile' => '+44 7981 578545', 'parents' => 'Father', 'facebook' => null, 'twitter' => '', 'linkedin' => '', 'website' => '', 'address' => '', 'address1' => '', 'postcode' => '', 'city' => '', 'state' => '', 'country' => '', 'rep' => '0', 'com' => '1', 'year' => '7', 'primarycon' => '0', 'fin' => '0', 'vol' => '0', 'contact_email' => '0', 'contact_phone' => '0', 'contact_post' => '0', 'photo_own' => '0', 'photo_public' => '0', 'createdate' => '2018-11-19 09:31:59', 'image' => '', 'createby' => '1', 'loginstatus' => '0', 'uuid' => 'login', 'intime' => '2020-01-23 16:05:17', 'pk_status' => '1', 'fullname' => 'Roopal Backory' ) ) $content = ' Baking Masterclass This half term saw the return of our very popular baking masterclasses, kindly hosted by Mrs Zachariah. 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Congratulations to the following winners:</p><p class="yiv3151191996msonormal" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;color:#1D2228">1<sup>st</sup> Prize – iPad Mini – PICKARD 11C<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="yiv3151191996msonormal" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#1D2228">2<sup>nd</sup> Prize – Beats Headphones - Robin ELTSBERG 8G<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="yiv3151191996msonormal" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#1D2228">3<sup>rd</sup> Prize – Family Powerboating Experience – Jayden SHAH 7N<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="yiv3151191996msonormal" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#1D2228">4<sup>th</sup> Prize - £75 intu vouchers - Alex TWYFORD 7R <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="yiv3151191996msonormal" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#1D2228">5<sup>th</sup> Prize – Bouldering Lesson & Climbing Session – Sahir PATEL L6N</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">Thank you to everyone who bought tickets and to our sponsors, Sewell & Gardner. <br></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">This half-term saw a brand-new Friends of School event: a Comedy Night organised jointly with WGGS Parent Association. The event was held on the top floor of the STEM Centre at WBGS and with almost 200 tickets sold, was a lively evening. We were entertained by 3 professional comedians and our compere for the evening, and with the high-quality acts interspersed with short intervals everyone had an opportunity to catch up with friends over a drink and much laughter. A big thank you to everyone who attended, we hope to make this an annual event. <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Next term we will be running the annual <b>Quiz Night</b> which takes place on <b>Saturday 2<sup>nd</sup> March</b>. This is always a great evening so why not get a group of friends together to test your knowledge and have fun whilst raising valuable funds for the school. Tickets will be on sale from early January – look out for details.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In order to boost our fundraising activities, we hold a raffle at many of our events. We are very grateful to those local businesses who support us by donating products and services. However, we do really need more donations and so would be grateful for your help please. <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>Re-Gifting Appeal – Raising Funds from Unwanted Christmas Presents<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Without wanting to sound ungrateful, it is a fact that we all sometimes receive unwanted or unsuitable Christmas presents. But you don’t have to hide them in the cupboard – instead do some good with the gifts that leave you uninspired. An unwanted Christmas present may well be a delight to someone else, and the FoS will make good use of these gifts at our fundraising events throughout the year. The Friends of School will have a box in school reception during the 1<sup>st</sup> week back after Christmas next term, from 7<sup>th</sup> – 11<sup>th</sup> January. Please donate any unwanted gifts by placing them in this box. Thank you in advance for your support.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Additionally, if you have your own business, or work for an organisation that supports local charities and would be willing to donate a raffle or auction prize, we would be very grateful. Please email <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:info@friendsofwbgs.org">info@friendsofwbgs.org</a></span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">A big thank you to everyone who has supported our events and fundraising activities this term, we look forward to seeing you at the Quiz in March. Wishing you and your families a restful Christmas break.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Friends of School <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="http://www.friendsofwbgs.org/">www.friendsofwbgs.org</a></span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt"><b>Dates for your Diary:<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt">Thursday 10<sup>th</sup> January – Friends of School Meeting to discuss 2019 activities – All welcome<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt">Saturday 2<sup>nd</sup> March – Quiz Night – tickets on sale in January<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt">Friday 21<sup>st</sup> June – Summer Ball, Hunton Park. Information in the new year.<o:p></o:p></p> </div> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>', 'mmo_embed' => null, 'dt_image' => null, 'pk_user' => '476', 'pk_upuser' => '476', 'int_status' => '0', 'tx_defaultimage' => 'article_15.jpg', 'tx_maxsize' => null, 'int_order' => null, 'pk_client' => '0', 'views' => '0', 'publish' => '2', 'author' => 'Amanda Rafferty', 'display' => '1' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Item' => array( 'PK' => '1', 'UUID' => null, 'template' => '', 'tx_name' => 'New STEM Centre', 'pk_itemType' => '0', 'pk_itemCategory' => null, 'dt_created' => '2018-01-03 04:43:49', 'dt_active' => '2018-01-03 05:47:34', 'mmo_content' => 'The new Centre will allow the school to offer unparalleled STEM teaching<p>The new STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) Centre is near completion and will be officially opened on 9th November 2017 by scientist and TV presenter Lord Robert Winston. </p> <p>The new three floor Centre includes science labs, an engineering room and a large CAD (Computer Aided Design)/CAM (Computer Aided Manufacture) suite, upgrading the School’s current facilities significantly.</p> <p>The building also houses additional teaching rooms for mathematics and computing and has a large conference area to allow for more STEM outreach work with young people in the area. </p> <p>The school was fortunate to have the entire cost of construction of the Centre funded by grants from national and local government. However, the cost of fixtures, fittings and equipment was not covered by our government grants. With generous donations from the Friends of the School and Old Fullerians’ Assocation, as well as over 100 parent donors, the building has been kitted out ready for lessons to start before Christmas. </p><div class="newsdetimg" style="float:left;margin-top:10px;"> <div class="col-md-4"><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514958354stem-2.jpg"></div> <div class="col-md-4"><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514958379stem-3.jpg"></div> <div class="col-md-4"><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514958449stem-4.jpg"></div> </div>', 'mmo_embed' => null, 'dt_image' => null, 'pk_user' => '1', 'pk_upuser' => '1', 'int_status' => '0', 'tx_defaultimage' => 'article_1.jpg', 'tx_maxsize' => null, 'int_order' => null, 'pk_client' => '0', 'views' => '1', 'publish' => '2', 'author' => '', 'display' => '0' ) ) ) $blogs = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Item' => array( 'PK' => '18', 'UUID' => null, 'template' => '', 'tx_name' => 'Friends News - July 2019', 'pk_itemType' => '0', 'pk_itemCategory' => null, 'dt_created' => '2019-09-18 13:24:25', 'dt_active' => '2019-09-18 13:24:25', 'mmo_content' => ' <!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>Baking Masterclass<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">This half term saw the return of our very popular baking masterclasses, kindly hosted by Mrs Zachariah. The class was fully booked within an hour of places being made available and 12 parents, some accompanied by their sons, learnt how to make shortcrust pastry in the form of a lemon tart. Donations for participating in this, and previous classes, will be used by the Food Tech department to buy a digital camera for photographing all types of food and techniques. Our thanks to Mrs Zachariah for continuing to run these classes – we hope to run another in the Autumn Term – look out for an email and adverts on the FoS website, <a href="http://www.friendsofwbgs.org">www.friendsofwbgs.org</a><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org//img/editor/1568812811bakingclasspic1.png" style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org//img/editor/1568812844bakingclasspic2.png"><br></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>New to Year 7 Fun Day<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">As usual the Friends of School provided the food and refreshments at the New to Year 7 Fun Day on 6th July where all boys joining WBGS in September and their families were welcomed into school to meet their new classmates and take part in team-building activities. A big thank you to all the parents and the prefect team who volunteered to help on the day. It was a busy, but enjoyable day, and hopefully all the new Year 7s are looking forward to joining our school community in September.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org//img/editor/1568812961newtoyr7-2019pic1.png"><br></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org//img/editor/1568812980newtoyr7-2019pic2.png"><br></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>Family Draw<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Family Draw was drawn as usual and this term’s winner is number 41 - John O'Sullivan who won £48.43<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">If you don’t currently participate in the Family Draw but would like to do so, please get in touch for a form <a href="mailto:info@friendsofwbgs.org">info@friendsofwbgs.org</a> . As well as raising valuable funds for the school you will be in with the chance of winning a cash prize each term.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>Thank you<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Lastly, The Friends of School would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has supported our activities this year, be it attending or helping out at an event, serving refreshments at a concert or parents evening, or buying a ticket for the Big Raffle. Your help and support are invaluable in enabling us to raise much-needed funds for the school. This year we are pleased to report that we have met our target of raising enough money to purchase a new bicycle shed. This will be installed over the Summer break and will hopefully encourage more boys to cycle to school next year. Thank you! <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Wishing you and your families a happy, peaceful and sunny summer break. <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Friends of WBGS.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><u><o:p> </o:p></u></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>Some Diary Dates for 2019-20<o:p></o:p></u></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Monday 16<sup>th</sup> September – 1<sup>st</sup> Friends of School meeting of the new academic year – All are welcome<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Saturday 9<sup>th</sup> November – Comedy Night held jointly with WGGS – Tickets on sale in September<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Saturday 7th March 2020 – Annual Quiz Night<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <!--EndFragment-->', 'mmo_embed' => null, 'dt_image' => null, 'pk_user' => '476', 'pk_upuser' => null, 'int_status' => '0', 'tx_defaultimage' => 'article_18.png', 'tx_maxsize' => null, 'int_order' => null, 'pk_client' => '0', 'views' => '1', 'publish' => '2', 'author' => '', 'display' => '0' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Item' => array( 'PK' => '17', 'UUID' => null, 'template' => '', 'tx_name' => 'Friends News - Family Draw Winner', 'pk_itemType' => '0', 'pk_itemCategory' => null, 'dt_created' => '2019-05-30 09:44:25', 'dt_active' => '2019-06-27 10:06:29', 'mmo_content' => 'The Winner of last terms' Family Draw was Number 40 - John O'Sullivan. Well Done!', 'mmo_embed' => null, 'dt_image' => null, 'pk_user' => '476', 'pk_upuser' => '1', 'int_status' => '0', 'tx_defaultimage' => 'article_17.jpg', 'tx_maxsize' => null, 'int_order' => null, 'pk_client' => '0', 'views' => '2', 'publish' => '2', 'author' => 'Roopal Backory', 'display' => '0' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Item' => array( 'PK' => '16', 'UUID' => null, 'template' => '', 'tx_name' => 'Friends News - April', 'pk_itemType' => '0', 'pk_itemCategory' => null, 'dt_created' => '2019-04-30 07:26:05', 'dt_active' => '2019-04-30 07:42:10', 'mmo_content' => '<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:107%">Thank You!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">A big thank you to everyone who attended the annual <b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height: 107%">Quiz Night</span></b> on 2<sup>nd</sup> March. The event was a huge success, selling out 3 weeks before. Those who managed to get a ticket squeezed into the STEM centre and enjoyed a fun night stretching their minds to answer a wide variety of questions, accompanied by delicious and plentiful food prepared by Punjabi Gourmet. As well as it being a most enjoyable evening, we raised almost £3,000 for the school, so thank you to everyone for your continued support. <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">If you couldn’t make it to the WBGS Quiz, or fancy having another go, then Watford Girls Grammar School Parents Association are holding their Big Quiz on <b>Saturday 27<sup>th</sup> April</b> at 7pm in WGGS main school hall. To book a ticket email <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:wggspa@gmail.com">wggspa@gmail.com</a></span>. See details on the attached flyer.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:107%">Summer Ball – Friday 21<sup>st</sup> June, Hunton Park Hotel<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Our last big fundraising event this year will be the <b>WBGS Summer Ball</b> – a black tie dinner and dance held at <b>Hunton Park on Friday 21<sup>st</sup> June.</b> This bi-annual event is a great opportunity to get some friends together and celebrate the end of the school year in a beautiful setting. Tickets are now on sale at <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="http://www.friendsofwbgs.org/">www.friendsofwbgs.org</a></span> or via the flyer that was emailed earlier this week.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Ticket price which includes a welcome drink, 3 course sit-down dinner plus music and dancing is £60 if you take advantage of the Early Bird Discount and <b>book before 24<sup>th</sup> May</b>. <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">If you have any questions, or would like to make a group booking, then please email Amanda at <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:info@friendsofwbgs.org">info@friendsofwbgs.org</a></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:107%">Baking Master Class<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">We are also pleased to announce that we will be holding another of our Baking Masterclasses next term. This will be on Shortcrust Pastry when participants will make a Lemon Tart. The class will take place on <b>Wednesday 5<sup>th</sup> June from 6-8.30pm</b>. There are only 12 places available, so be sure to book quickly to avoid disappointment. Booking will open next week via <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="http://www.friendsofwbgs.org/">www.friendsofwbgs.org</a></span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Our thanks to Mrs Zachariah for continuing to hold these classes.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:107%">Family Draw<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The winner of this terms’ Family Draw is number 40 - John O’Sullivan.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Family Draw is another way in which the FoS raise money for resources for the school, particularly the different clubs and societies on offer. For the cost of £25 per year, as well as helping to support these activities, you could be in with a chance of winning a cash prize. One number is drawn each term and the holder of that number wins a cash prize! If you are not already entered into the draw and would like to join, or want more information email <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:info@friendsofwbgs.org">info@friendsofwbgs.org</a></span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">As always, all information on Friends of School activities and events can be found on our website <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="http://www.friendsofwbgs.org/">www.friendsofwbgs.org</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Thank you to everyone who has supported our activities be it attending events, or helping out at recent concerts and parents’ evenings, your on-going support is very much appreciated and helps raise valuable funds for our boys. We wish you all a happy and relaxing Easter break. <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>', 'mmo_embed' => null, 'dt_image' => null, 'pk_user' => '476', 'pk_upuser' => '476', 'int_status' => '0', 'tx_defaultimage' => 'article_16.jpg', 'tx_maxsize' => null, 'int_order' => null, 'pk_client' => '0', 'views' => '2', 'publish' => '2', 'author' => 'Amanda Rafferty', 'display' => '0' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Item' => array( 'PK' => '15', 'UUID' => null, 'template' => '', 'tx_name' => 'Friends News - December', 'pk_itemType' => '0', 'pk_itemCategory' => null, 'dt_created' => '2019-04-30 07:22:01', 'dt_active' => '2019-04-30 08:22:06', 'mmo_content' => '<p class="MsoNormal">The first event this half-term was the Big Raffle which was drawn by Mr Cooksey in the playground on 5<sup>th</sup> November. Congratulations to the following winners:</p><p class="yiv3151191996msonormal" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;color:#1D2228">1<sup>st</sup> Prize – iPad Mini – PICKARD 11C<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="yiv3151191996msonormal" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#1D2228">2<sup>nd</sup> Prize – Beats Headphones - Robin ELTSBERG 8G<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="yiv3151191996msonormal" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#1D2228">3<sup>rd</sup> Prize – Family Powerboating Experience – Jayden SHAH 7N<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="yiv3151191996msonormal" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#1D2228">4<sup>th</sup> Prize - £75 intu vouchers - Alex TWYFORD 7R <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="yiv3151191996msonormal" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#1D2228">5<sup>th</sup> Prize – Bouldering Lesson & Climbing Session – Sahir PATEL L6N</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">Thank you to everyone who bought tickets and to our sponsors, Sewell & Gardner. <br></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">This half-term saw a brand-new Friends of School event: a Comedy Night organised jointly with WGGS Parent Association. The event was held on the top floor of the STEM Centre at WBGS and with almost 200 tickets sold, was a lively evening. We were entertained by 3 professional comedians and our compere for the evening, and with the high-quality acts interspersed with short intervals everyone had an opportunity to catch up with friends over a drink and much laughter. A big thank you to everyone who attended, we hope to make this an annual event. <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Next term we will be running the annual <b>Quiz Night</b> which takes place on <b>Saturday 2<sup>nd</sup> March</b>. This is always a great evening so why not get a group of friends together to test your knowledge and have fun whilst raising valuable funds for the school. Tickets will be on sale from early January – look out for details.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In order to boost our fundraising activities, we hold a raffle at many of our events. We are very grateful to those local businesses who support us by donating products and services. However, we do really need more donations and so would be grateful for your help please. <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>Re-Gifting Appeal – Raising Funds from Unwanted Christmas Presents<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Without wanting to sound ungrateful, it is a fact that we all sometimes receive unwanted or unsuitable Christmas presents. But you don’t have to hide them in the cupboard – instead do some good with the gifts that leave you uninspired. An unwanted Christmas present may well be a delight to someone else, and the FoS will make good use of these gifts at our fundraising events throughout the year. The Friends of School will have a box in school reception during the 1<sup>st</sup> week back after Christmas next term, from 7<sup>th</sup> – 11<sup>th</sup> January. Please donate any unwanted gifts by placing them in this box. Thank you in advance for your support.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Additionally, if you have your own business, or work for an organisation that supports local charities and would be willing to donate a raffle or auction prize, we would be very grateful. Please email <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:info@friendsofwbgs.org">info@friendsofwbgs.org</a></span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">A big thank you to everyone who has supported our events and fundraising activities this term, we look forward to seeing you at the Quiz in March. Wishing you and your families a restful Christmas break.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Friends of School <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="http://www.friendsofwbgs.org/">www.friendsofwbgs.org</a></span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt"><b>Dates for your Diary:<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt">Thursday 10<sup>th</sup> January – Friends of School Meeting to discuss 2019 activities – All welcome<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt">Saturday 2<sup>nd</sup> March – Quiz Night – tickets on sale in January<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt">Friday 21<sup>st</sup> June – Summer Ball, Hunton Park. Information in the new year.<o:p></o:p></p> </div> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>', 'mmo_embed' => null, 'dt_image' => null, 'pk_user' => '476', 'pk_upuser' => '476', 'int_status' => '0', 'tx_defaultimage' => 'article_15.jpg', 'tx_maxsize' => null, 'int_order' => null, 'pk_client' => '0', 'views' => '0', 'publish' => '2', 'author' => 'Amanda Rafferty', 'display' => '1' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Item' => array( 'PK' => '12', 'UUID' => null, 'template' => '', 'tx_name' => 'LONDON FILM FESTIVAL SPECIAL', 'pk_itemType' => '0', 'pk_itemCategory' => null, 'dt_created' => '2018-01-03 05:23:20', 'dt_active' => '2018-03-26 11:28:19', 'mmo_content' => '<h4>London Film Festival: Top Films Reviewed</h4><div itemprop="text" class="entry-content"> <p>The 61st London Film Festival showcased new cinema from some of the world's leading filmmakers, and introduced exciting up-and- coming talent. </p> <p>I saw 36 films on the programme and found myself attempting to process that overwhelming volume by looking for patterns to connect them.</p> <p>Coming-of-age narratives dominated the festival (as they often do). A pair of films ( Summer 1993 and The Florida Project ) viewed traumatic events through a child's innocent gaze. Both of these films, and several others, ( Call Me by Your Name , Ava ), took place over a vividly captured summer. </p> <p>I saw two films in which nosebleeds were induced by desire, and unpleasantly I witnessed more equine fatalities than anyone should in the space of 11 days.</p> <p>At festivals, the lows are excruciating and mediocre films are quickly forgotten, but those that are truly outstanding feel like much needed gasps of cool, crisp air. This time, eight films made LFF worthwhile. They will be among the best cinema to look forward to this year and next. </p> <h3>Ava</h3> <img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514956739ava.jpg" style="float:left;padding-right:20px;"> <p>Léa Mysius' debut, Ava uses the onset of blindness as a metaphor for growing up. Ava (astonishing newcomer Noée Abita) is 13 when she is told that she will soon lose her sight. Her response is not self pity, but rather a steely determination to banish her innocence and inexperience while she can still see the world around her.</p> <p> Ava is a coming-of-age narrative in fast forward, shot with dizzyingly rich colours and infused with ceaseless, invigorating energy. Mysius has announced herself as a director with a bold and unique vision. Along with recent debuts Raw and Divines , Ava assures us that the future of French cinema is in good hands.</p> <p> Ava does not yet have a release date</p> <h3>Call Me by Your Name</h3> <img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514956764callbyname.jpg" style="float:left;padding-right:20px;"> <p>Call Me by Your Name is destined to be a classic. Luca Guadagnino's gorgeous Italian summer romance centres on the relationship between 17-year-old Elio (Timothée Chalamet) and his father's 24-year-old American apprentice, Oliver (Armie Hammer). </p> <p>It was not until watching Call Me by Your Name that I realised how rare it is to see a relationship depicted like this on screen, where cinematic pleasure comes not from conflict or anguish, but from watching two people take joy in each other's company. Eating food, swimming, riding bikes and playing music take up most of the screen time, but the actors' chemistry is so compelling that you would happily watch them doing nothing for hours. </p> <p>Chalamet is the standout, bringing his character's arc of self discovery to a heartrending, life-affirming end point. Both Guadagnino and his lead actor are uncommonly wise about the long term impact that a passionate first love can have on a person's life. Call Me by Your Name is special because it captures both the intensity of being within that love, and the perspective gained when you arewithout it.</p> <p>Call Me by Your Name will be released on October 27th</p> <h3>The Florida Project</h3> <img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514956800florida.jpg" style="float:left;padding-right:20px;"> <p>The Florida Project is Sean Baker's child's-eye- view of the hidden homeless. Living in a dingy motel just outside Disney World, precocious six-year-old Moonee (Brooklynn Prince) sees her bleak situation in bright colours. Baker occasionally allows the adults to lead the narrative: Moonee's young mother Halley (Bria Vinaite) and the stern but kindly motel manager Bobby (Willem Defoe). </p> <p>Their story is darker than the innocent lens through which Moonee filters it. When seen through that lens, The Florida Project is a funny, feel-good film; when it confronts reality, it is devastating. </p> <p>Though rough around the edges, The Florida Project fills you fit-to-bursting with an emotion that is best described as happiness and heartbreak made one.</p> <p>The Florida Project will be released on November 10th</p> <h3>Lady Bird</h3> <img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514956866ladybird.jpg" style="float:left;padding-right:20px;"> <p>Greta Gerwig's solo directorial debut Lady Bird is an intensely personal and specific account of a Sacramento teen's last year of high school. Saoirse Ronan plays Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson, a girl who gives herself a new name as she tries to forge a new identity. Lady Bird is desperate to leave Sacramento for a big city ― and desperate to leave behind her fraught relationship with her mother (Laurie Metcalf).</p> <p>Gerwig has noted that she drew heavily from her own adolescence when writing the film. The perspective and wisdom she has gained in the years since informs the way Gerwig tells Lady Bird's story: never demonising the young woman for being stuck in her own head, but still keeping a knowing distance. </p> <p>Through episodic storytelling, Lady Bird paints a remarkably comprehensive portrait of its protagonist's scattered life and various relationships. It is bound to be an important film for young girls who will see themselves in Lady Bird's escapades. It will also mean a lot to those who can look back on when they were in Lady Bird's position, unable to see how much they would miss home until they were gone.</p> <p>Lady Bird will be released on February 16th 2018 </p> <h3>Person to Person</h3> <img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514956885person.jpg" style="float:left;padding-right:20px;"> <p>Set over the course of a single day in the lives of several New Yorkers, Person to Person is a delightfully sweet and funny ode to the everyday. A series of amusing vignettes poke fun at the foibles and anxieties of various characters, and all these observations build to something profound. </p> <p>Director Dustin Guy Defa shoots on grainy 16mm film and dresses his actors and set in retro design, giving the story a sense of timelessness that is only interrupted by the appearance of mobile phones.</p> <p>Engaging in record sales and hands-on work, they are characters out of time, with internal clocks that tick at a more patient rhythm than the rest of us. </p> <p>Similar to Jim Jarmusch's Paterson last year, Person to Person is a micro-sized delight ― a joyful little film about being decent to each other. It will get you noticing all the things you love about life.</p> <p>Person to Person does not yet have a release date </p> <h3>Summer 1993</h3> <img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514956904summer.jpg" style="float:left;padding-right:20px;"> <p>Summer 1993 was one of the most exciting debuts I saw at LFF this year. Carla Simón's film is told through the eyes of six-year-old Frida, who is processing the deaths of her parents, while unable to comprehend what death means. Frida doesn't understand that they're gone forever; she still expects her mother to answer the phone when called. </p> <p>Simón immerses us in her perspective through subjective sound design and camerawork. She is able to track Frida's arc of processing grief to its natural end ― finishing the film on a swift but impactful note. </p> <p>Simón's film suggests that a happy ending doesn't have to involve Frida moving on from her grief. Finding a way to express it is enough.</p> <p>Summer 1993 does not yet have a release date </p> <h3>Thelma</h3> <img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514956921thelma.jpg" style="float:left;padding-right:20px;"> <p>Joachim Trier's Thelma is his latest captivating mix of formal and experimental filmmaking. It has been called a riff on Carrie , but Thelma takes that film's concept to new and exciting places. </p> <p>The eponymous Thelma (a brilliant Eili Harboe) is a deeply religious college student whose guilt over falling in love with a woman (Kaya Wilkins) manifests in seizures and supernatural episodes. </p> <p>Trier is a sensitive filmmaker and while his stylistic choices are refined, he is emotionally intimate with his characters. As in his last feature Louder Than Bombs , he sets aside a few sequences to let himself loose to experiment. The result is both moving and chilling, with a score and horror imagery that is harrowing on a molecular level.</p> <p> Thelma will be released on November 3rd</p> <h3>You Were Never Really Here</h3> <img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514956936neverhere.jpg" style="float:left;padding-right:20px;"> <p>You Were Never Really Here is Lynne Ramsay's most brutish film, and her most experimental. With Ratcatcher , Morvern Callar and We Need to Talk About Kevin , Ramsay has already proved herself to be one of the world's leading filmmakers. </p> <p>You Were Never Really Here pares back and intensifies her images and sounds more than ever before, with the resulting visceral impact of a sledgehammer. Joaquin Phoenix won best actor at Cannes for his portrayal of a withdrawn hitman on a mission to rescue a young girl from sex trafficking. </p> <p>Ramsay's film is violent in more ways than one: both the physical violence on screen and her stylistic violence are overwhelming. Intentionally, there is a thudding lack of subtlety. Everything you see or hear means something, and Ramsay makes no attempt to disguise that meaning ― which you'll have to decide for yourself whether to admire or deride. </p> <p>Measuring the extent of its quality on a single viewing would be doing a disservice to You Were Never Really Here , given how challenging it sets out to be. It is impossible to shake.</p> <p>You Were Never Really Here will be released on March 9th 2018 Orla Smith</p> </div>', 'mmo_embed' => null, 'dt_image' => null, 'pk_user' => '1', 'pk_upuser' => '1', 'int_status' => '0', 'tx_defaultimage' => 'article_12.jpg', 'tx_maxsize' => null, 'int_order' => null, 'pk_client' => '0', 'views' => '10', 'publish' => '2', 'author' => '', 'display' => '0' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Item' => array( 'PK' => '11', 'UUID' => null, 'template' => '', 'tx_name' => 'ART AND LIFESTYLE', 'pk_itemType' => '0', 'pk_itemCategory' => null, 'dt_created' => '2018-01-03 05:14:23', 'dt_active' => '2018-01-03 05:14:23', 'mmo_content' => '<h4>Appendicitis!!! The Day that Went Wrong</h4><p>Mum!!' I need money on my lunch account!’ </p> <p> I groaned, inwardly, knowing that this would not be simple. It involves a computer for one thing, and I was supposed to be going to work. In spite of a huge amount of forward planning, my four teenage boys continue to spring 'surprises' on me just before they leave for school every day.</p> <p>Eventually, I arrived at work; I am a health professional but that morning I felt like someone had dragged me through a hedge backwards. All my colleagues, who are at 'different' stages in their lives, arrived looking fresh faced and well, professional. </p> <p> My manager said, 'Good morning .... You do look flustered!' </p> <p>I consoled myself by thinking it takes a lot of effort to achieve this look.</p> <p>I settled down to the sanity of my work place, where people appear to respect my opinion and actually listen to me, unlike my boys who tell me: ‘Mum, don’t smile or wave at my friends ... it's weird!' </p> <p>All went well for a while, until I got a call from my husband. He sounded concerned when he told me that number two son had just arrived home doubled up in pain. He put our second child on the phone: ‘Where is the pain?’ I asked. </p> <p>‘Starting at my belly button and going straight downwards’ </p> <p>‘Ok,' I said. 'Tell Dad, you need an emergency appointment with the GP. They'll give you a letter to go straight to the paediatric ward.' </p> <p>I met them both outside our local hospital. Our second son looked grey; I took one look at him and asked if he felt sick, </p> <p>‘Yes,’ he said and vomited into a flower bed behind a queue of people waiting for a bus.</p> <p>I was impressed with how discrete he was and the flowerbed was just in the right place and just at the right height ... most convenient.</p> <p>Once in the paediatric ward we sat in a side room until a nurse appeared. She commented on his grey complexion and his sunken eyes and in my distracted state, I said:</p> <p>'Look at the state of him!!' I thought. 'And that shirt is filthy! ' </p> <p>At that point, I decide not to confess to being a health professional, who supports and advises parents about parenting and childcare. I kept an eye on the care he was receiving, all the same, and when the nurse left and a clerk came to book him into the ward, I asked: ‘Is a doctor going to see him?' ‘When we have finished the paper work,’ she replied. </p> <p>I frantically clutched for the words to convey to her, sensitively, that the paper work might have to wait. I said: ‘I'm wondering whether his appendix is about to rupture?’ </p> <p>At that, the clerk left the room and two nurses arrived.They took his blood pressure and tried to get a venflon into his vein, which promptly collapsed; they tried three times with no success. I asked one of them: ‘Do you think he's going into shock? Is a doctor coming?’ </p> <p>‘Oh, he's just stressed,’ the nurse replied but at that moment a whole team of doctors descended upon us and guess what, my son's symptoms suddenly subsided; isn’t that just so typical. Son number two was now as cool as a cucumber and I even began to wonder if he was suffering from trapped wind. They decided to operate, however, and that evening we went down to the anaesthetic room. The young surgeons looked like they have just taken their GCSE’s but they were so helpful and jovial to mother and son, putting us at our ease. They commented to my son as he breathed in gas and air: </p> <p>‘You'll soon feel how your mum feels after she's had two glasses of Prosecco'</p> To which he replied, ‘Prosecco... morphine, more like.' <p>Where did that come from? Morphine is not a mealtime topic of conversation in our home. I just said: ‘This isn’t the place to share the family secrets.’ </p> <p>hankfully, the operation was a success and my son received marvellous care from all staff in the NHS. </p> <p>If you would like to know more about the symptoms of appendicitis, please refer to NHS Choices , an excellent source of well researched and evidence based information.</p> <p>As a mother of a teenager, I would definitely advise parents and carers to be familiar with the symptoms of appendicitis and insist you teenage boys wash ... just in case.</p>', 'mmo_embed' => null, 'dt_image' => null, 'pk_user' => '1', 'pk_upuser' => null, 'int_status' => '0', 'tx_defaultimage' => 'article_11.jpg', 'tx_maxsize' => null, 'int_order' => null, 'pk_client' => '0', 'views' => '2', 'publish' => '2', 'author' => '', 'display' => '0' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Item' => array( 'PK' => '10', 'UUID' => null, 'template' => '', 'tx_name' => 'ART AND LIFESTYLE', 'pk_itemType' => '0', 'pk_itemCategory' => null, 'dt_created' => '2018-01-03 05:12:17', 'dt_active' => '2018-01-03 05:12:17', 'mmo_content' => '<h4>Technological problems and natural solutions</h4><h3>Medicine from wild lettuce, Californian poppy and passion flower can help with sleep disorders.</h3> <p>Mobile phones, computers, Fitbits, social media ... in our modern, technology-fuelled world it can be hard to escape the endless pressure to go, go go. For some of us nightfall does not even offer a reprieve. We reach for our phones or computers to answer emails, check Twitter or Facebook and this keeps us awake long into the night.</p> <p>As creatures that evolved to stare into the distance for predators, sleep with the dusk and rise with the dawn, we should not be surprised to find that the fast pace of our lives takes a toll on our health</p> <p>Research suggests that we are more stressed and anxious than ever before and this seems to affect all age groups from children and teens to pensioners. </p> <p>The impact of prolonged stress on our bodies is significant. It can cause long-term changes in our hormone levels, as well as in our immune, heart and digestive systems. This means our health begins to suffer. We come down with flu and colds more often; we develop high blood pressure, become anxious or have difficulty sleeping; we feel pain and fatigue, struggle with fertility or develop digestive issues. Prolonged exposure to blue- light from electronic screens can also do harm to our bodies as it interferes with natural sleep patterns and melatonin production.</p> <p>So how can we protect ourselves from stress in our busy 21st Century lives? Some of the changes we can make are straightforward and we can put them into practice straight away. </p> <p> Tech hygiene can help. This means avoiding electronic devices in the hours before sleep, installing something like f.lux on your computer, or enabling Night Shift mode on your phone.</p> <p> Being outside is also beneficial and nothing beats a walk in nature for invigorating your body, reducing stress and helping you to sleep. You don’t have to record it with your Fitbit either for it to be any good for you. </p> <p> What we eat and drink is also very important. Making sure half of our plate at every meal is composed of vegetables, ideally with at least half of them raw, perhaps in the form of fruit or salad, will promote our bodies resistance to stress. Cutting down on coffee, tea, alcohol and sugary foods is also a very good idea.</p> <p> Nature can help in other ways. A particular group of plants called “adaptogens” contain compounds that help our hypothalamus and adrenal glands withstand all sorts of stress, from work and emotional strain to the impact of illness and old age. Medicines are made from these plants all over the world: ashwagandha and holy basil in India; liquorice and asparagus in England; ginseng in Asia; rhodiola in China and reishi in Japan.</p> <p>We can also take comfort in the fact that unlike our new technologies, these medicines have been in use for thousands of years.</p> <p><strong>Victoria Kearns</strong> is a professional herbalist practising in West Watford at Kearns & Meiring Medical Herbalists <a href="mailto:kmherbalists.co.uk">kmherbalists.co.uk</a> / <a href="callto:07864945086">07864 945 086</a></p>', 'mmo_embed' => null, 'dt_image' => null, 'pk_user' => '1', 'pk_upuser' => null, 'int_status' => '0', 'tx_defaultimage' => 'article_10.jpg', 'tx_maxsize' => null, 'int_order' => null, 'pk_client' => '0', 'views' => '0', 'publish' => '2', 'author' => '', 'display' => '0' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Item' => array( 'PK' => '8', 'UUID' => null, 'template' => '', 'tx_name' => 'ART AND LIFESTYLE', 'pk_itemType' => '0', 'pk_itemCategory' => null, 'dt_created' => '2018-01-03 05:10:39', 'dt_active' => '2018-06-06 15:17:50', 'mmo_content' => '<h4>Undercover Parent: Jobs in the Brave New World</h4><p>As parents we all want our children to be happy, although most of us would admit to a link between happiness and paid employment. What jobs, therefore, should we suggest to our teenage children for consideration? The undercover parent has been doing a bit of sleuthing...</p> <p style="min-height: 100px;">Complete University Guide says the current top ten degrees for full-time professional employment six months after university ends are: </p> <ul style="margin-top:0;" class="rich-textul"><li>Dentistry (94%)</li><li>Nursing (94%)</li><li>Medicine (93%)</li><li>Physiotherapy (91%)</li><li>Veterinary Medicine (91%)</li><li>Medical Technology (90%)</li><li>Occupational Therapy (86%)</li><li>Optometry, Ophthamology and Orthoptics (85%) </li><li>Land and Property Management (80%)</li><li>Building (79%)</li></ul> <p>Salaries, prospects and required skills for these and many other occupations can be checked out on www.prospects.ac.uk . </p> <p>However, the future is inherently difficult to predict. Current advice seems to be to foster agility and diversification. This means, expect a portfolio of work, rather than a single career to last a lifetime. </p> <p>Increased automation is also a major factor to consider. McKinsey & Co management consultants, warn that half of today’s jobs could be automated by 2055, and the Bank of England suggests that 15 million UK jobs could disappear or be re-engineered through automation. </p> <p>Martin Ford, futurist and author of Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future , suggests jobs, resilient to automation, can be split into three main groups:</p> <ul style="margin-top:0;" class="stylnum"><li>Those requiring genuine creativity (such as artists, scientists, developing new business strategies) </li><li>Occupations that involve building complex relationships with people (such as nursing, business, religious or spiritual advisers)</li><li>Highly unpredictable jobs (such as an emergency plumber).</li></ul> <p>Tom Davenport, author of Only Humans Need Apply: Winners and Losers in the Age of Smart Machines (these books do have rather scary titles) has some strategies to suggest. One is to find work in the field of monitoring what computers do and deciding what to automate next. Another is to focus on areas that are hard to automate. Many new jobs depend on programming ability, but not all. Examples of “new” jobs include Body Part Maker, Nano-Medic or Avatar Manager as well as Climate Controller, Waste Data Handler and Digital Architect. </p> <p>So maybe the advice to our kids should be “do something you love and are really good at"... and that may be something we adults don’t even think of as a proper job.</p> <p>Meanwhile, have fun checking your job risk of automation on <a href="http://friendsofwbgs.org/www.willrobotstakemyjob.com"> www.willrobotstakemyjob.com</a></p>', 'mmo_embed' => null, 'dt_image' => null, 'pk_user' => '1', 'pk_upuser' => '1', 'int_status' => '0', 'tx_defaultimage' => 'article_8.jpg', 'tx_maxsize' => null, 'int_order' => null, 'pk_client' => '0', 'views' => '0', 'publish' => '2', 'author' => '', 'display' => '0' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Item' => array( 'PK' => '7', 'UUID' => null, 'template' => '', 'tx_name' => 'ART AND LIFESTYLE', 'pk_itemType' => '0', 'pk_itemCategory' => null, 'dt_created' => '2018-01-03 05:09:46', 'dt_active' => '2018-01-03 05:09:46', 'mmo_content' => '<h4>In Your Garden</h4><p>Autumn is pretty well upon us now. The clocks have gone back and daylight is getting shorter. Leaves are turning from green to glorious yellow and amber, before falling to the ground or drifting into windblown piles. </p> <p>In our garden, we will be mowing the grass for a few more weeks more although fewer cuttings will appear each time in the collection box. The process of dead heading the dahlias continues, along with the removal of spent golden rods and peonies. We have trimmed back our lilies and removed the last of the rose buds. The hanging baskets are still quite vibrant; the more delicate plants are clinging on and our wallflowers and sweet Williams are still doing well. Autumn is at it's glorious height now but there is sense of the winter to come.</p> <p>In my next article, l will outline the work that needs to be done over the winter period.</p>', 'mmo_embed' => null, 'dt_image' => null, 'pk_user' => '1', 'pk_upuser' => null, 'int_status' => '0', 'tx_defaultimage' => 'article_7.jpg', 'tx_maxsize' => null, 'int_order' => null, 'pk_client' => '0', 'views' => '1', 'publish' => '2', 'author' => '', 'display' => '0' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Item' => array( 'PK' => '6', 'UUID' => null, 'template' => '', 'tx_name' => 'ART AND LIFESTYLE', 'pk_itemType' => '0', 'pk_itemCategory' => null, 'dt_created' => '2018-01-03 05:01:29', 'dt_active' => '2018-01-03 05:01:29', 'mmo_content' => '<h4>Automation: what does the future look like</h4><p>As humans, our deepest need is to get things as easily and as quickly as we can. We do not want to hustle. And technology is making it all possible. </p> <p>In today’s world, “luxury” has taken on a whole new dimension. For both businesses and people, “time” is the most valuable luxury item. Therefore, global technology giants are constantly finding new ways to simplify and automate. Automation, as we know it, has traditionally been confined to the assembly lines of a large manufacturing plants. However, we are now seeing automation across multiple sectors like retail, transportation and in most of our day-to-day activities.</p> <p>Just 60 robots run the entire warehouse of Alibaba, a Chinese e-commerce company and they have increased productivity by 300%. When someone places an order with Alibaba, a robot locates the product and picks it out from one of the 32,300 shelves. Humans pack and dispatch it. The robots can carry up to 500 kilograms. Each one has a laser system to prevent crashes. The robots take themselves to charging stations when their batteries run low. They now do 70% of the work in the warehouse. </p> <p>A self-driving truck operated by Otto (a start-up owned by Uber), has already made its first commercial 190 km delivery run in the US, carrying over 50,000 cases of Budweiser beers. The technology fitted in Otto's trucks uses sensors to read the road ahead. Data from the sensors is then fed back to a computer which analysis it and makes adjustments to the speed and steering.</p> <p>Labour costs account to 75% of shipping costs. While drivers are restricted by law from driving more than 11 hours per day without taking an 8-hour break, a driverless truck can drive 24 hours per day. This means it can effectively double the output of the country’s transportation network at 25 percent of the cost. In addition, these autonomous vehicles prove to be much more fuel efficient by maintaining optimal cruising speeds.</p> <p>Trucking represents a considerable portion of the cost of all the goods we buy and therefore this would mean lower prices for consumers. But where does it leave the large number of truck drivers who would lose their jobs in the process?</p> <p>It is an ongoing debate if automation creates more jobs or just causes mass unemployment. Industry leaders like Alphabet’s Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt are, however, optimistic. They believe that: “the future is you with a computer, not you replaced by a computer”.</p> <p>With less complex work being increasingly automated, what does the future of work look like? Work will increasingly become about adapting to new challenges that artificial intelligence and robots will be less good at. Future skills are all about having a growth mindset, where lifelong learning becomes a norm. We will have to prepare for a future where we have more than 6 jobs over the course of our careers.</p> <p>Success has always favoured those who have constantly striven to identify human needs and solve them. While our grandmothers waited in long lines at the post office, they wanted email. They just didn’t know it. Therefore, our education must fuel exploratory thinking so we can envision future human needs and finding fresh ways to address them.</p> <h3>References</h3> <ul style="margin-top:0;" class="stylnum"><li>McKinsey Analytics – Where is technology taking the economy</li><li>TechCrunch – The driverless truck is coming and it is going to automate millions of jobs</li><li>World Economic Forum - <a href="https://www.weforum.org/">https://www. weforum.org/</a></li></ul> <p><small>Devi Sujathaa Sekar works for CISCO and is a STEM ambassador. CISCO has recently launched an initiative called Little Big Futures. This programme allows students, aged 11-14 to access five one-hour lessons across the breadth of STEM subjects. CISCO are also working on a 5 new hour project in each of the STEM subjects and will pay for entries to the CREST awards. To find out more go to: <a href="https://www.stem.org.uk/little-big-futures">https://www.stem.org.uk/little- big-futures</a></small></p>', 'mmo_embed' => null, 'dt_image' => null, 'pk_user' => '1', 'pk_upuser' => null, 'int_status' => '0', 'tx_defaultimage' => 'article_6.jpg', 'tx_maxsize' => null, 'int_order' => null, 'pk_client' => '0', 'views' => '0', 'publish' => '2', 'author' => '', 'display' => '0' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Item' => array( 'PK' => '5', 'UUID' => null, 'template' => '', 'tx_name' => 'ART AND LIFESTYLE', 'pk_itemType' => '0', 'pk_itemCategory' => null, 'dt_created' => '2018-01-03 04:59:22', 'dt_active' => '2018-06-06 15:12:14', 'mmo_content' => 'Choux Pastry Recipe<h3>Ingredients </h3> <ul style="margin-top:0;" class="rich-textul"><li>150 ml water </li><li>50g butter</li><li>60g plain flour</li><li>2 eggs</li><li>350ml whipping cream (med sized carton)</li><li>200g chocolate (Bournville is fine)</li></ul> <p>For chocolate sauce sauce:</p> <ul style="margin-top:0;" class="rich-textul"><li>1 small can evaporated milk</li></ul> <h3>Method</h3> <ul style="margin-top:0;" class="rich-textul"><li>Measure/weigh all ingredients. Sieve flour onto greaseproof paper or a plate </li><li>Switch on oven – gas mark 6 or 200 C </li><li>Bring the water and butter to a rolling boil in a medium saucepan remove from heat.</li><li>Quickly add the flour to the boiling liquid. Beat vigorously until smooth and cook for half a minute on low heat. The mixture should have come together and should have left the sides of the pan clean and be very thick and stiff. </li><li>Allow the dough to cool slightly – this can be accelerated by placing the pan over cold water. </li><li>Meanwhile beat the eggs together in a small bowl or jug.</li><li>Add a little of the egg (1-2 tablespoons) to the pastry and beat very well, either with a wooden spoon or an electric mixer. Continue adding the egg in small amounts and beating the mixture wel. The choux pastry should remain fairly stiff throughout. It should never get runny so all the egg may not be needed.</li><li>Either pipe the mixture in finger lengths (for eclairs) or pile the mixture in heaps (for choux buns) onto a greased baking tray. Alternatively you could make a choux ring using all the mixture.</li><li>Bake at gas mark 6 or 200 C for 10 mins. Turn oven down to 170 C and cook for a further 20 minutes. 5 minutes before the end of cooking remove from the oven, pierce to release steam and place back in the oven for 5 mins to dry out completely.</li><li>Remove from the oven, split and leave to cool. Fill as desired.</li><li>To make chocolate sauce: Melt the chocolate in the evaporated milk over a double boiler.</li></ul>', 'mmo_embed' => null, 'dt_image' => null, 'pk_user' => '1', 'pk_upuser' => '1', 'int_status' => '0', 'tx_defaultimage' => 'article_5.jpg', 'tx_maxsize' => null, 'int_order' => null, 'pk_client' => '0', 'views' => '2', 'publish' => '2', 'author' => '', 'display' => '0' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Item' => array( 'PK' => '4', 'UUID' => null, 'template' => '', 'tx_name' => 'Friends events coming up', 'pk_itemType' => '0', 'pk_itemCategory' => null, 'dt_created' => '2018-01-03 04:53:46', 'dt_active' => '2018-01-03 04:57:43', 'mmo_content' => '<p style="min-height: 270px;">The school Quiz will take place on Saturday 24th February at 7pm in the main hall of the school.The quiz master will be Mr Cooksey and teachers, parents, carers, families and friends are invited to come along and take part.The Quiz night is organized by Danielle Wright on behalf of the Friends of School and is always a great success. Early bird tickets will be available towards the end of term. All money raised is for the benefit of the school.</p> <h3>Football Tournament</h3> <img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging/img/editor/1514955144frnds-events-coming-2.jpg" style="float:left;padding-right:20px;"> <p style="min-height: 200px;">Friends of school are planning a football tournament to take place near the end of Spring term. This five a side tournament will be open to teams from years seven, eight and nine. Entry will cost £20 per team and all money raised will go to the P.E department. Parents and carers are invited to help on the day or stay and watch the games.<br></p>', 'mmo_embed' => null, 'dt_image' => null, 'pk_user' => '1', 'pk_upuser' => '1', 'int_status' => '0', 'tx_defaultimage' => 'article_4.jpg', 'tx_maxsize' => null, 'int_order' => null, 'pk_client' => '0', 'views' => '2', 'publish' => '2', 'author' => '', 'display' => '0' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Item' => array( 'PK' => '3', 'UUID' => null, 'template' => '', 'tx_name' => 'Friends News', 'pk_itemType' => '0', 'pk_itemCategory' => null, 'dt_created' => '2018-01-03 04:50:21', 'dt_active' => '2018-01-03 04:50:21', 'mmo_content' => '<p>Friends of school organised the Big Raffle this year to raise funds for new playground equipment, Mr Cooksey drew the winning tickets on Thursday 19th October in the school hall. The winners were:</p> <p><strong>iPad Mini 4</strong></p> <p>Aditya Bhagavatula</p> <p><strong>Fitbit Blaze</strong></p> <p>Justin Li</p> <p><strong>Flying Lesson in a 4 seater aeroplane</strong></p> <p>Mrs L Lam</p> <p><strong>Supercar Driving Experience</strong></p> <p>Mark Cruciun</p> <p><strong>Family Warner Bros Studio Tour</strong></p> <p>Dylan Law</p> <p><strong>Top Golf Voucher</strong></p> <p>Bhavan Sathiyalingham</p> <p>he Raffle raised around £3,000. Many thanks to everyone who took part. </p> <h3>New arrivals: welcome</h3> <p>Hollie Rendall has been appointed as the new link person between the Friends of School Committee and the school. She has been in post for a few months now and recently took time out to talk about herself and her role at Watford Boys'. </p> <p>"I started in the role of Development Director in January this year and went straight in at the deep end with a fundraising campaign to run for the STEM Centre! My role broadly falls into three categories: marketing, fundraising and alumni relations. As well as being the main link between the Friends of the School and the school itself, I also have a similar link with the Old Fullerians’ Association and attend meetings of the Watford Fuller Foundation which deals with financial matters relating to the school.</p> <p>Alongside the largely parent and alumni- focused fundraising campaign for the STEM Centre, my major project this year has been to update the database of former pupils and staff. I’ve started a twice-yearly alumni news, Fuller News, with a circulation of around 3,500 alumni and growing. This is focused on the present and future, rather than the past, and the intention is to have more events for alumni. Our first such event was in the summer and was a tribute to two long-standing former teachers who passed away earlier in the year, as well as a number of teachers who retired at the end of last year. My long-term plan is for students to feel like their relationship with the school doesn’t have to end after year 13 and for the school to have something to offer after that. This relies on Old Fullerians being willing to come back and offer their time and expertise, and so far the evidence is that lots of boys leave WBGS with a great amount of affection for the school.</p> <p>While this is my first job in a school, I do have experience of the Watford Grammar way of life, having studied at Watford Girls’ and taken one of my A Levels at the boys’ school. After studying at Sheffield University, I spent a decade working in public relations for big financial brands, charities and public sector clients (with my last client appropriately enough being the ‘Get Into Teaching’ campaign for the Department for Education).</p> <p>I’m always very open to ideas or indeed offers of help! Having a close relationship with the Friends of the School helps us all achieve our goals and it’s been great to see the financial support the Friends can provide because of their fundraising efforts."</p> <h3>Departures: thanks and good luck</h3> <p>Archana Singh will step down as Chair of the Friends of School Committee on Wednesday 1st November at the Friends Annual General Meeting. Archana is a great communicator who made helping at Friends' events fun for everyone. She was the inspiration behind the Bollywood Barn Dance in November last year, which brought school families together for a marvellous evening in the main school hall. </p> <p> Jeanette Mcleod has also stepped down from the committee after several years. The Friends will miss her independent views and her willingness to get in involved in all of Friends' activities, from organising Fun Days to serving tea at parent nights.</p> <h3>Thanks</h3> <p>Thanks to everyone who helped organise and run events this year. The Friends would also like to thank people and organisations who kindly sponsored or made donations to our events. These include: The Taste of Lahore restaurant, The Prince of Bengal restaurant, Sewell & Gardner, Warner Bros UK and Top Golf UK.</p>', 'mmo_embed' => null, 'dt_image' => null, 'pk_user' => '1', 'pk_upuser' => null, 'int_status' => '0', 'tx_defaultimage' => 'article_3.jpg', 'tx_maxsize' => null, 'int_order' => null, 'pk_client' => '0', 'views' => '1', 'publish' => '2', 'author' => '', 'display' => '0' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Item' => array( 'PK' => '2', 'UUID' => null, 'template' => '', 'tx_name' => 'Friends Special Events', 'pk_itemType' => '0', 'pk_itemCategory' => null, 'dt_created' => '2018-01-03 04:48:06', 'dt_active' => '2018-01-03 04:48:55', 'mmo_content' => '<p>Friends of school are arranging a series of special events for parents, carers and their families.This is a new initiative and is the result of a survey conducted by the Friends in June 2016.To to view the survey please see Issue 7 of this news , published in July 2016. This Autumn half term we have planned two events based on interests and concerns expressed in that survey.</p> <h3>Mental Health and Wellbeing</h3> <p>Dr Gunton will talk about the psychological and emotional challenges faced by boys in their secondary school years and what the Learning Support team at Watford Boys' can do to help them.</p> <p>Dr Gunton is a psychotherapist and Head of Learning Support at Watford Boys. She is deeply experienced in adolescent matters and has built up the Learning Support Department over many years. The LSC is open to all students at the school and it is renowned within the County for the exceptional work achieved there.</p> <p>Sally Russell OBE will introduce the evening. She is a local mum, mental health campaigner and a founder of Netmums. Her family’s experiences have led to a passionate interest in finding ways to help, both through improving local services and through the digital world. The talk will take place on Monday November 27th at the Learning Support Centre at Watford Grammar School for Boys. Doors will open at 6pm in time for the talk at 6.30pm. Refreshments will be available and there will be an opportunity to speak with other parents and staff at the end of the event. This is the first of a series of events on mental health and well-being. </p> <h3>Baking Master Class</h3> <p>In this class, participants will find out how to make perfect choux pastry. Helen will share her techniques while participants create their own cream filled choux buns topped with chocolate sauce.</p> <p> Helen Zacharia is a teacher of Food Technology and Nutrition. She has a passion for food and has been teaching for over 30 years, first in a city academy in London and then at Watford Grammar school for girls. She now teaches at Watford Grammar School for Boys, where she has been impressed by the enthusiasm students have shown towards her subject. </p> <p>Participants in the master class are asked to bring ingredients to make their own choux pastry: 50g butter and 60g plain flour for the pastry; 350ml whipping cream (med sized carton), 200g chocolate (Bournville is fine) for the filling and 1 small can of evaporated milk for the sauce. You will also need a container to take the pastries home. The school will provide the rest of the materials. Helen's recipe is in this news.</p> <p>The class will take place between 6.30 and 8.30pm on Wednesday 13th December in the food technology department, which is upstairs in the Sixth Form Centre.</p>', 'mmo_embed' => null, 'dt_image' => null, 'pk_user' => '1', 'pk_upuser' => '1', 'int_status' => '0', 'tx_defaultimage' => 'article_2.jpg', 'tx_maxsize' => null, 'int_order' => null, 'pk_client' => '0', 'views' => '0', 'publish' => '2', 'author' => '', 'display' => '0' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Item' => array( 'PK' => '1', 'UUID' => null, 'template' => '', 'tx_name' => 'New STEM Centre', 'pk_itemType' => '0', 'pk_itemCategory' => null, 'dt_created' => '2018-01-03 04:43:49', 'dt_active' => '2018-01-03 05:47:34', 'mmo_content' => 'The new Centre will allow the school to offer unparalleled STEM teaching<p>The new STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) Centre is near completion and will be officially opened on 9th November 2017 by scientist and TV presenter Lord Robert Winston. </p> <p>The new three floor Centre includes science labs, an engineering room and a large CAD (Computer Aided Design)/CAM (Computer Aided Manufacture) suite, upgrading the School’s current facilities significantly.</p> <p>The building also houses additional teaching rooms for mathematics and computing and has a large conference area to allow for more STEM outreach work with young people in the area. </p> <p>The school was fortunate to have the entire cost of construction of the Centre funded by grants from national and local government. However, the cost of fixtures, fittings and equipment was not covered by our government grants. With generous donations from the Friends of the School and Old Fullerians’ Assocation, as well as over 100 parent donors, the building has been kitted out ready for lessons to start before Christmas. </p><div class="newsdetimg" style="float:left;margin-top:10px;"> <div class="col-md-4"><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514958354stem-2.jpg"></div> <div class="col-md-4"><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514958379stem-3.jpg"></div> <div class="col-md-4"><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org/staging//img/editor/1514958449stem-4.jpg"></div> </div>', 'mmo_embed' => null, 'dt_image' => null, 'pk_user' => '1', 'pk_upuser' => '1', 'int_status' => '0', 'tx_defaultimage' => 'article_1.jpg', 'tx_maxsize' => null, 'int_order' => null, 'pk_client' => '0', 'views' => '1', 'publish' => '2', 'author' => '', 'display' => '0' ) ) ) $metadescription = 'News – Friends of Watford Grammar School for Boys' $metakeyword = 'News – Friends of Watford Grammar School for Boys' $title_for_layout = 'News – Friends of Watford Grammar School for Boys' $staticpage = array( 'Staticpage' => array( 'sid' => '6', 'type' => '1', 'parent' => '0', 'front' => '1', 'footer' => '1', 'position' => '6', 'name' => 'News', 'pagelink' => 'news', 'title' => 'News – Friends of Watford Grammar School for Boys', 'metakeyword' => 'News – Friends of Watford Grammar School for Boys', 'metadescription' => 'News – Friends of Watford Grammar School for Boys', 'content' => '<p>Please donate or help us by visiting our sponsors.</p> ', 'status' => 'Active', 'date' => '2015-07-07 00:33:32' ) ) $adsection = array() $text = array() $ourpractice = array( 'Staticpage' => array( 'sid' => '2', 'type' => '0', 'parent' => '0', 'front' => '1', 'footer' => '1', 'position' => '2', 'name' => 'About Us', 'pagelink' => 'aboutus', 'title' => 'About Us – Friends of Watford Grammar School for Boys', 'metakeyword' => 'About Us – Friends of Watford Grammar School for Boys', 'metadescription' => 'About Us – Friends of Watford Grammar School for Boys', 'content' => '<p>We are an association of parents and staff committed to supporting the school. As a parent you are automatically a member and we welcome your participation and input. We run a number of social events and provide refreshments at school concerts and plays. Our aim is to put the fun into fundraising and promote a sense of community within the school.</p> <p>With your support we can raise more funds and build a stronger school community. 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Many companies offer employees the chance to boost their fundraising efforts by 'matching' the money they raise at an event or through an activity, such as our big raffle. The list of companies that fund match is too long for us to list here – most high street banks, building societies, supermarkets and large companies offer match funding, but these schemes are not exclusive to the big corporates. If you work for a small or independent company, they may be interested in charitable giving through match funding too. Please ask your HR department or check your company’s intranet or employee website. If they offer match funding, we can provide the information you need and help you complete any paperwork to process the contribution easily. If you are able to help in this way please do get in touch at info@friendsofwbgs.org as this is a really simple way to make a big difference. Thank you ', 'group' => '', 'users' => '', 'sentusers' => '', 'sent' => '0', 'files' => '', 'createby' => '476', 'status' => '', 'publish' => '2', 'date' => '2019-11-07 03:40:17' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Announcement' => array( 'id' => '33', 'subject' => 'Help needed to run School Uniform Shop', 'message' => 'As well as providing a valuable service to parents when their sons have mislaid or outgrown uniform and sports kit, the shop is also, despite charging very low prices, a huge contributor to our fundraising efforts, raising over £900 last year. We need volunteers to help run the shop weekly on Wednesdays after school and one Saturday a half term. If you are interested please get in touch on info@friendsofwbgs.org. We are also grateful for any donations of clean uniform and sports kit (including boots) in good condition – these can be left in school reception at any time. 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The class was fully booked within an hour of places being made available and 12 parents, some accompanied by their sons, learnt how to make shortcrust pastry in the form of a lemon tart. Donations for participating in this, and previous classes, will be used by the Food Tech department to buy a digital camera for photographing all types of food and techniques. Our thanks to Mrs Zachariah for continuing to run these classes – we hope to run another in the Autumn Term – look out for an email and adverts on the FoS website, <a href="http://www.friendsofwbgs.org">www.friendsofwbgs.org</a><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org//img/editor/1568812811bakingclasspic1.png" style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org//img/editor/1568812844bakingclasspic2.png"><br></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>New to Year 7 Fun Day<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">As usual the Friends of School provided the food and refreshments at the New to Year 7 Fun Day on 6th July where all boys joining WBGS in September and their families were welcomed into school to meet their new classmates and take part in team-building activities. A big thank you to all the parents and the prefect team who volunteered to help on the day. It was a busy, but enjoyable day, and hopefully all the new Year 7s are looking forward to joining our school community in September.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org//img/editor/1568812961newtoyr7-2019pic1.png"><br></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><img src="http://friendsofwbgs.org//img/editor/1568812980newtoyr7-2019pic2.png"><br></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>Family Draw<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Family Draw was drawn as usual and this term’s winner is number 41 - John O'Sullivan who won £48.43<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">If you don’t currently participate in the Family Draw but would like to do so, please get in touch for a form <a href="mailto:info@friendsofwbgs.org">info@friendsofwbgs.org</a> . As well as raising valuable funds for the school you will be in with the chance of winning a cash prize each term.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>Thank you<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Lastly, The Friends of School would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has supported our activities this year, be it attending or helping out at an event, serving refreshments at a concert or parents evening, or buying a ticket for the Big Raffle. Your help and support are invaluable in enabling us to raise much-needed funds for the school. This year we are pleased to report that we have met our target of raising enough money to purchase a new bicycle shed. This will be installed over the Summer break and will hopefully encourage more boys to cycle to school next year. Thank you! <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Wishing you and your families a happy, peaceful and sunny summer break. <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Friends of WBGS.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><u><o:p> </o:p></u></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>Some Diary Dates for 2019-20<o:p></o:p></u></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Monday 16<sup>th</sup> September – 1<sup>st</sup> Friends of School meeting of the new academic year – All are welcome<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Saturday 9<sup>th</sup> November – Comedy Night held jointly with WGGS – Tickets on sale in September<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Saturday 7th March 2020 – Annual Quiz Night<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <!--EndFragment-->', 'mmo_embed' => null, 'dt_image' => null, 'pk_user' => '476', 'pk_upuser' => null, 'int_status' => '0', 'tx_defaultimage' => 'article_18.png', 'tx_maxsize' => null, 'int_order' => null, 'pk_client' => '0', 'views' => '1', 'publish' => '2', 'author' => '', 'display' => '0' ) ) $imagename = 'https://www.friendsofwbgs.org/staging/img/articles/thumb_article_18.png' $getowner = array( 'User' => array( 'PK' => '476', 'key' => 'ps8j9cb3q67dspq87cki496o6', 'main' => '0', 'name' => 'Roopal Backory', 'tx_firstname' => 'Roopal', 'tx_lastname' => 'Backory', 'tx_username' => 'roopal', 'dob' => '0000-00-00', 'tx_email' => 'roopal_backory@yahoo.com', 'tx_password' => '44yush19B%', 'marriagedate' => '0000-00-00', 'int_isadmin' => '1', 'int_activate' => '1', 'op' => '0', 'portal' => '1', 'mobile' => '+44 7981 578545', 'parents' => 'Father', 'facebook' => null, 'twitter' => '', 'linkedin' => '', 'website' => '', 'address' => '', 'address1' => '', 'postcode' => '', 'city' => '', 'state' => '', 'country' => '', 'rep' => '0', 'com' => '1', 'year' => '7', 'primarycon' => '0', 'fin' => '0', 'vol' => '0', 'contact_email' => '0', 'contact_phone' => '0', 'contact_post' => '0', 'photo_own' => '0', 'photo_public' => '0', 'createdate' => '2018-11-19 09:31:59', 'image' => '', 'createby' => '1', 'loginstatus' => '0', 'uuid' => 'login', 'intime' => '2020-01-23 16:05:17', 'pk_status' => '1', 'fullname' => 'Roopal Backory' ) ) $content = ' Baking Masterclass This half term saw the return of our very popular baking masterclasses, kindly hosted by Mrs Zachariah. 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