Anglo European School

It was wonderful to pack our local village church with Christmas cheer on Wednesday evening as our annual Christmas concert took place. It was an absolute delight to hear our Key Stage 3 choir singing carols, rock bands raise the roof and listen to Christmas readings in French, German, Czech and Hungarian this year. We joined together to sing traditional Christmas carols and all the proceeds from the collection went to the students' chosen local charity, Farleigh's Hospice. Many thanks to Mr Barden, Mr Mears, Miss Jessop and the Upper Sixth students who led, directed and rehearsed this amazing evening of Christmas celebration.

Year 7 students in Science Club have been working hard to produce their own festive wreaths from natural resources such as holly, red berries, and evergreen leaves. If you are interested in joining Science Club next term, speak with any of the Science teachers or just come along to their next session.

The food technology room, S12 was filled with excited KS3 students on Thursday afternoon, as they were busy decorating self-baked or shop bought gingerbread houses. The Lebkuchenhaus, being part of the German Christmas delicacies, combines festive food and culture as it features in the Brothers Grimm's fairy tale collection from the tale "Hänsel und Gretel". It was lovely to see the students getting creative as budding cake decorators and smell as the Christmas spices filled the room. Well done to everyone for these fabulous creations. Thanks also to the Sixth Form helpers, Noelle, Elizabeth and Imogen, the Food Technology department, the MFL teachers who casted their votes and judged the wonderful houses and to the organisers, the German Department.

Well done to our winners, pictured below:

• 1st Hollie + Phoebe 7A
• 2nd Skyee + Liliana 7P
• 3rd Marnie + Nora 7P

The students and staff at the Anglo have managed to send a whopping 104 shoeboxes to Rotary International for their gifts to children and families, mostly in parts of eastern Europe.. Special thanks to the International Campaigns CAS group (from the Lower Sixth) who have worked hard to promote the collection, check completed boxes and fill boxes with individual donations. In addition to the shoeboxes, we have raised £71.95 to go towards the transportation of the shoeboxes. A big THANK YOU to all students, parents and staff who donated to this collection that promises to bring some positivity to people in challenging situations.

Over 40 members of our senior citizen community enjoyed a festive afternoon tea organised by our Sixth Form students. This annual event is one that the local residents look forward to and this year they were treated to some carols by the choir, a fabulous spread and lots of raffle prizes for everyone. Well done to all the Sixth Form students for creating this memorable event.

Mrs Gee met with our recent Jack Petchey winners, Year 10 student Amir, and Upper Sixth students Eryn and Destiny. Eryn is a wonderful Ambassador for the Anglo European School who has supported our Sixth Form department by attending at many Careers Events at external schools. Destiny has supported Year 6 students during our summer school club and has also been a vital member of the Equality and Diversity Student Voice. Amir has been commended for being extremely helpful and always offering to support other students or staff when needed.

For the past 15 years, Kids Inspire have successfully run a Christmas Appeal to source, wrap and deliver presents, and hampers, to nominated children and their families in Essex. Every year they appeal to the local community to support the appeal to help give children a better Christmas. We were overwhelmed by our visit from the Kids Inspire Christmas Bunny last week, who brought along many presents to be passed to students.

We welcomed our Year 9 exchange students from Cadiz in Spain. They have an exciting programme of events planned including a visit to the British Museum, the Natural History Museum and Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park, they will also spend some time having lessons in school. Our students will then be visiting them in Cadiz during June 2025.

The Young Essex Assembly (YEA) is the Elected Youth Council for Essex. Every two years young people representing all districts across Essex are elected on to the YEA where they review priorities, consult, campaign, and engage with other young people as well as adults, organisations, and decision makers to ensure young people are a key part of discussions and decisions made at all levels. The YEA Election is an opportunity for young people across Essex to vote for the candidate they wish to represent them locally and is a fantastic way for them to begin their democratic journey.

Our own Year 10 student, Harriet is up for election and she would appreciate as many students as possible going along to the Library to vote for her. A voting tally will also be done in form time.

Essex County Council have now agreed for us to advance the 0720 service 46 trip from Ongar by 5 minutes to 0715 and run 5 minutes earlier throughout. This will then facilitate the connection with service 351 at the Waterhouse Street bus stop in Writtle Road just east of the traffic light junction with Westway / Waterhouse Lane. We have therefore submitted a registration this morning to the Traffic Commissioner to enable this to take effect from Monday 6th January 2025 with his approval.

The cheapest termly ticket we offer covering both services 46 (Roxwell – Chelmsford) and 351 (Chelmsford – Ingatestone) is the Chelmsford Outer Zone ticket available through the student travel club priced at £227.80 for the spring term or monthly direct debit (unlimited) for £65.25pcm. This is a cheaper ticket using normal service buses whereas 621 would have cost parents £295 for the spring term, had it still been running. We hope this proves to be a suitable alternative.

Reminder - Deadline for signing up to take part in the CityZen project is 18th December. Please register with Mrs Abdulla or email stem981@aesessex.co.uk .

Closing a school is a significant decision and one that is not taken lightly and it is always done with a view to the safety and wellbeing of the students and staff. A decision is made by the Headteacher.

If the decision is made to close the school:

• Parents and staff are informed by email/Edulink
• Closure details will be posted on the school website - https://www.aesessex.co.uk/ and the school's social media platforms – Facebook/Instagram/X

If the school must close partway through the day:

• Parents and staff are informed by email/Edulink.
• We will be advised by our bus service providers whether it is necessary to collect children early and we will allow them to do so. They will contact parents directly; please ensure they have your daytime contact details.
• We will be advised by train services on any disruptions and ensure students can travel home safely.
• Since our children travel from as far afield as inner London, Suffolk, Colchester, Maldon and Basildon, it is important that we work in partnership with parents. It is impossible for us to know the precise conditions you are facing locally and we will support any reasonable request by you to have your child collected or for them to travel home. Requests must be made in writing by email communication from the contact email address that we hold on our system.
• Parents should not contact their child directly on their mobile phone. These are not allowed in school and it is vital that we remain in control of the situation in school if we are to exercise a duty of care to your child.
• In the event of bad weather, students should turn up for school as usual, wearing appropriate outdoor clothing, if they can get home safely. Students whose contract bus does not turn up should stay at home.

STUDY CLUB - there will be no study club on Thursday 19th and Friday 20th December.

Friday 20th December - school finishes at 12.30pm, please ensure travel home is organised due to buses running their normal timetables etc.

Lockers: Please can students clean out their lockers and ensure PE kit is washed and food items are removed.

Lost Property: Please go to Student Services to collect any lost property - we have coats, water bottles, hats, scarves and umbrellas amongst other items.

Essex Police have launched their Sort Your Settings campaign. It provides parents and carers with essential safeguarding tips and advice on making online devices safer for children. The refreshed webpage now includes up-to-date information about new and popular online games and social media platforms. There is a step-by-step guide and advice on all aspects of online safety, including how to access parental controls, social media age restrictions, game age ratings, chat settings, and more.

Link to web page: Sort your settings | Essex Police

Link to main video: Sort your settings video

There has been a lot of discussion recently about vaping but did you know that smoking seems to be coming back into fashion? Can you please keep this on your radar alongside vaping. Do you know about snus? If not, you may find it helpful to read this information. Snus is illegal in the UK and if we find it on a student we will deal with it as we would with any other illegal substance.

Each year NHS England publish a survey into the smoking, drinking and drug use of secondary school pupils in England in years 7 to 11.The latest edition looks at data collected during 2023 from 13,000 young people.

1. What percentage of 11 - 15 year olds told researchers that they were ‘current smokers’? 3% (the same as in 2021)

2. What percentage of 11 - 15 year olds said they had ever tried e-cigarettes (vaping)? 25%

3. What percentage of 11 - 15 year olds said they are currently vaping? 9% (the same as in 2021)

4. What percentage of 15 year olds said they usually drink alcohol at least once a week? 11%

5. Of the pupils who had taken drugs on more than one occasion, what percentage said the drugs they had most recently used, had obtained them at school? 11%

Source: Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among Young People in England, 2023 https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/smoking-drinking-and-drug-use-among-young-people-in-england/2023

Heather has been dancing since the age of three and currently attends the Adagio School of Dance in Hutton, Brentwood, where she practices classical ballet and contemporary dance. She is also an associate of the South East Ballet Scholars which is an elite programme for classical ballet training. Heather will be taking her ISTD Imperial Classical Ballet Grade 4 Exam on Friday, 13th December 2024.

After auditioning for the English National Ballet 2024/5 production of "The Nutcracker", Heather was selected to be part of the cast performing in 3 different roles: As a mischievous member of Grimsewer's gang of pickpocket street children; a mouse during the battle between the Nutcracker and the Mouse King; and finally as dancing Liquorice Allsort in a modern interpretation of Mother Ginger's Children.

The world premiere of the ENB "Nutcracker" opened in the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton on 28th November where Heather toured as part of the ENB cast and crew of 170. Reviews of the premiere by the local media have all been very positive, with particular praise for the cast of children, exquisite costumes, and humour. "The Nutcracker" opens in the London Coliseum on Thursday, 12 December 2024 and runs until 12 January 2024. Heather will be performing in 22 of the 44 performances which are shared between 3 casts of children selected from the Royal Ballet School, Tring Park School for the Performing Arts, and the Adagio School of Dance.

Heather's experience in the cast of the ENB Nutcracker has been overwhelmingly positive and has cemented her desire to pursue a career in dance. She has had the opportunity to perform with a world class cast of dancers, choreographers, costume designers and teachers over hundreds of hours of practise and rehearsals. A particular highlight has been mixing with elite dancers during rehearsals at the state of the art English National Ballet Studios in Canning town, and in the Green Room at the Mayflower Theatre where performers relax before going on stage by doing jigsaw puzzles, knitting, and playing chess.

Mr Bain said: "Surprisingly, Heather says she was more nervous singing a solo at her end of primary school musical than she is performing in front of thousands of people at the Mayflower Theatre and London Coliseum. It has been challenging to balance the time off required for rehearsals with school work, but Anglo European School has been very supportive and encouraging throughout, often having to grant permission at very short notice due to changes in rehearsal schedules. Heather is extremely grateful to Anglo European School for enabling her to pursue this unique experience at the start of her secondary school year."

After she finishes the English National Ballet production of "The Nutcracker", Heather will be performing in the Adagio School of Dance production of "The Nutcracker" at the Brentwood Theatre on 3rd and 4th of January 2025.

Below are some photos of Heather in costume for her Nutcracker roles. We wish her well for her upcoming exam and "The Nutcracker" performances.

If anyone is interested to find out more about this ballet showing on Sky Arts is "Nutcracker: Backstage with English National Ballet", showcasing what it takes to re-invent a globally renowned classic, seen through the eyes of all the key departments involved.

A date for your diaries - the AESA Quiz will now take place on Friday 28th February. Watch this space for instructions on how to book your place.

Reminder for students to bring in cash or cards so that they can purchase small presents for family members. The Christmas Present Sale is on 17th December with items priced from as little as £1 to some more expensive items at £10.

If you are interested in joining the AESA and helping with some of their upcoming events please contact aesa@aesessex.co.uk - GET INVOLVED!

Ingatestone's Parish Council are running the best dressed window competition on the High Street this year. There are two categories – under 16 and 16+, so children can vote for their favourites separate from parents. The voting can be done online via Best Dressed Window - Google Forms or on paper forms available in a few High Street shops and in the Parish Council office (4 the Limes). If you could please spread the word, we’d be very grateful. The voting closes next Wednesday 18th December.

Across Essex and Thurrock, more than 300 activity clubs and family experiences will provide free spaces to eligible children, offering a range of festive fun and exciting activities, helping to support families across the winter break. Nutritious hot meals and snacks are also provided, with some of our providers offering free food hampers too! Any students eligible for pupil premium who would like to access the programme, please email haf@activeessex.org who will issue you with a code.

Take a look at the flyer attached for support, or visit the Active Essex website to see what clubs are running across the winter break.

10th-17th December - Year 9 Cadiz students at AES

Tuesday 17th December - AESA Christmas Present Sale

Friday 20th December - 12.30pm early closure

Key Dates for each Year Group can be found https://www.aesessex.co.uk/home/parents/key-dates-and-term-dates/ and here for Sixth Form https://www.aesessex.co.uk/sixth-form/student-and-parents-information/key-dates-and-term-dates/

Term Dates 2024-2026 - https://www.aesessex.co.uk/assets/Documents/Attachments/Term-dates-2024-2026-1.pdf

Finance - finance@aesessex.co.uk

Admissions - admissions@aesessex.co.uk

Visits - visits@aesessex.co.uk

Attendance - use Edulink

Email: enquiries@aesessex.co.uk
Website: aesessex.co.uk
Location: Anglo European School, CM4 0DJ, Willow Green, Ingatestone, UK
Phone: 01277 354018