Caldicott Newsletter
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End of Autumn Term
Some of you may remember (OK – let’s be honest, none of you will remember) that I issued a challenge to you as well as all my
teaching colleagues a few weeks ago to mind their language: specifically, to recalibrate the language of praise they use in the
classroom, and in their reports. “Genius”, I would suggest, is overrated. Even more importantly, a culture which worships innate
ability is fatalistic and damaging. It leads people to assume that their own ability – or perceived lack of it – is hard-wired and
fixed. That is a dangerous message, especially (though not exclusively) in a school.
My theme for this week is ‘praise’, and I want to start by praising everyone at Caldicott for making Ma’am Naidoo’s and my first
term here so special. First, I would like to praise everyone (cast and crew) involved in what was a superb production of “Guys
and Dolls” – a really enjoyable, polished, witty, innovative and impressive production. Much of its humour stems from the
songs and there was a huge amounts for the cast to learn – that took some doing, and to carry it off and to make it so engaging
was no mean feat. So, my congratulations to everyone involved – I don’t want to pick out individuals, but there were some really
excellent performances and it made for a thoroughly entertaining two evenings. Please enjoy the review below.
Second, I would like to praise the sports teams this term, led from the top with the 1st team’s myriad of achievement on the
rugby pitch. Please see below a match report of the Wellington Festival by Vice Captain of Rugby, Monty Glyn and a speech
from Captain of Rugby, James Marsh. James spoke with incredible poise at the annual rugby dinner last week - Billy and Mako
Vunipola among the special guests - and showed that he could match his composure on the pitch when speaking to a room of
over 150 adults! It is also worth noting the way in which both James and Monty acknowledge their teammates’ work rate and
ethic.
My highlight from my first term, though, has been, without doubt, getting to know the boys. This was been borne out by the
very concept of the 6th Form House Suppers that the Headmaster runs. This allowed Theroshene and I to meet the boys, staff
and prefects of the different houses. However, the point of the evening is literally the Anglo Saxon derivation of ‘gathering’,
a bringing together of people. The way of life at Caldicott is busy so it is important to enjoy a meal and enjoy each other’s
company in a leisurely fashion. It is also great to see the boys all dressed up in their white shirts and blazers. To say that we have
found the Caldicott boy to be charming would be an understatement. They all deserve a well-deserved break over the holidays
after giving their all this term.
Jonny Timms
Deputy Head (Pastoral)
MESSAGE FROM THE HEADMASTER
The Headmaster’s End of Term letter will be sent separately.
PHOTO OF THE WEEK
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
A touch of ‘Amor vincit omnia’ from Tom Martineau. When asked what he
thought was the main reason Philip II planned to invade England, Tom answered:
“I think that Elizabeth’s refusal to marry Philip was the most important reason
because love is very strong and Philip hated Elizabeth now and love is normally
the case for most things. I think Philip decided that if Elizabeth didn’t trust him he
would make England his.” This is not the usual reason behind the Spanish Armada
perceived by historians, but it might provide Tom with the subject of his History
thesis in ten year’s time.
Boys seeing Harrow’s stunning production
of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ which
involved a number of old boys.
Do you have a photo you’d like to share? Please
send to [email protected]
USEFUL LINKS
• Photo Gallery - password: fotos14
• Team Photos - password: doggart
• Videos with passwords: caldivid15
• This week’s meal menu
Caldicott Newsletter
End of Autumn Term
ACADEMIC SECTION
Volcano Project – 4th Form Geography with Ma’am Bisschop
This term the 4th Form have been studying tectonic plate movement and the volcanoes and earthquakes associated with the
various boundary types, during their geography classes. Consequently, they were invited to take up the challenge of building their
own volcano and bringing this in to school after exeat. The response from many 4th formers was fantastic and on Monday 23rd
our geography classrooms were transformed into veritable hazard zones with cinder cones, shield volcanoes, composite volcanoes,
and even a realistic caldera flanked with subsidiary cones! Much fun was had during a designated break when these systematically
exploded – thanks to a healthy dose of Mentos and Coca-Cola. It was wonderful to see the attention to detail that boys took the
time to ensure was evident. Below are just a couple of examples from their hard work and effort.
WELLINGTON CHAMPIONS, by Monty Glyn
On Wednesday 25th of November a strong Caldicott side under Captain James Marsh, travelled to Wellington to participate in a
fifteen - a - side tournament. The conditions were blustery, grey and cold. Caldicott started the day against Hoe Bridge School who
we overcame with fitness and strength. This was the story throughout the group stage as Caldicott used the width and length of
the pitch to play expansive, flowing rugby. The wingers cashed in with several tries, but the hard work of the forwards clearing out
rucks boded well for tougher matches still to come. Brilliant tries were scored from the beginning to the end of the group stage;
however, the top two involved Gareth Culley hitting a stormer of a line that even impressed Farquhar and Yardley. However, a
wonderful try to watch was against Newland House: Marsh spun it out to Ferneyhough to create a three on two who duly gave it
out to Morrison and finally Pym, resulting in a score. The back three were lethal for the entirety of the group stage and Caldicott’s
final stats for the group stage were:
P
4
W
4
D
0
L
0
PF PA
101 5
PD
96
Points
12
A very pleasing start to the day and Mailes’ day only got better as lunch came around. Our smooth rugby had drawn us into
a quarter final draw with Oratory Prep. The game started and Caldicott’s desire to win aided them in a physical battle in the
first half which ended 5-0 to Caldicott. However, the second half was a different story as Oratory tired and Caldicott used their
superior fitness, making use of the width of the pitch and scored some wonderful tries. The final result finished at 24-0. Caldicott
progressed to the Semi Final where they came up against KCS. Once
more Caldicott demonstrated their ability to carve teams open with the
wonderful use of width and pace. As the game progressed, the team
with the edge became clearer and Caldicott ended up prevailing 42-0.
This drew Caldicott into a tricky final with Aldro who had played well
throughout the tournament beating Dulwich in a close semi-final.
However, as Caldicott came closer and closer to the final the mentality
was all or nothing. Out on the pitch, it was a wonderful performance.
Caldicott once again using the wide span of the Wellington pitches to
score brilliant tries. However, what made the difference was the direct
running lines, punching holes in the Aldro defence and the support
from the team helping to maximise the offload. The game finished 35-5
and Caldicott added another good victory to their collection. Aldro
were magnanimous in defeat, their match report can be read here:
http://www.aldro.org/node/150
At this point, even Flynn’s face had returned to normal from a pale greenish hue. The back three which consisted of Teague, Mercer,
Pym--together with Nicholas who had been lethal for the entirety of the tournament--scored an impressive 105 points in the day.
Marsh kicked over a hatful of points and Santi and Shailer impressed off the bench from the B team, making sure most teams
couldn’t get up as they left them in their wake. Fisilau was a stalwart as ever in defence, making some huge hits and supporting
White. Petschek and Cuttell were phenomenal at the breakdown and gained valuable yards in carries. Their work rate to hit every
support line they could was incredible. Douglas - Home worked as hard as ever to make it to every breakdown and was as clean as
you would expect a prefect to be, conceding no penalties and making good yards. Yardley improved communication throughout
the team and hit some brilliant lines throughout the day. Caldicott retained the Wellington College trophy and continued in fine
form and spirit.
Caldicott Newsletter
End of Autumn Term
DID YOU KNOW…
The 1st XV form guide:
WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW?
Their final game was on Saturday at home against Summer Fields. #invincibles
HOME START, Christmas Gift initiative, Ma’am Duncan
Thank you all for your kind donations to our Christmas Gift
appeal for Home-Start in Slough. Members of our Charity
Committee were delighted to meet Michelle Harwood and
Dorothy Milne from the charity to hand over the presents this
week. Karin Pym, a Caldicott parent and Friend, kindly gave a
presentation at an assembly last week to inform the boys about
the work of the charity, with which she has close links and does
wonderful work. It is a fantastic initiative and one which we very
much hope to continue.
1ST XV RUGBY DINNER SPEECH, BY JAMES MARSH
Good evening. It has been a great honour to be captain of the 1st XV this
year, and a great pleasure to be able to report that the team has achieved 32
consecutive victories so far this term, taking festivals and regular fixtures
together. We have scored 1083 points and conceded only 97; this includes
174 tries scored and only 17 conceded. Perhaps our most impressive triumph
was last Wednesday, when we retained the Wellington festival title, scoring
188 points in 7 matches, spanning only 70 minutes playing time; we conceded
only two unconverted tries, both of which were the last plays of matches
already won.
As a group most of us have been at Caldicott together for 5 years now, and
whether it be playing rugby or any other sport or just sitting next to each
other in class, this has driven us closer together: it has definitely helped us to
understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses and to improve our game on the pitch.
Rugby is a team game so I am not going to mention any individuals, other than my vice-captain, Monty Glyn (better known to
those of you who attended the school play as “Big Jule”). While I try and organise the backs, Monty bashes our pack into shape
throughout the games to maximise its performance. He leads from the front with his numerous turn-overs at the break-down, his
infinite number of tackles and storming runs.
One reason why we have done so well this season is the almost complete lack of injuries, compared with last season, when we lost
four players for a significant part of term. I guess that is largely down to luck, but I think by training hard you help to make your
own luck.
We have all enjoyed our rugby this season, not only because of our results but also because the weather has been kind to us, which
has been ideal for our backs. Our success has been down to our ability to adjust our tactics against the team in front of us as well as
to the brilliance of individuals. This has been proved by our results in a couple of tricky games.
Finally I would like to give a few thanks on behalf of the boys. Firstly to our coaches, Mr Hutchings and Mr Williams, for giving us
a huge understanding of the game and setting us up for our future schools, not forgetting all the other coaches in earlier years who
have helped us develop as players. Secondly, to the masters from senior schools who have given up their time to ref our matches.
Thirdly to Mr Wood and his team for providing such a perfect top-field for our home matches. And also to the catering staff for
all our match teas and for an excellent dinner tonight. Last but not least to all those parents, both Mums and Dads (and some
grandparents), who have regularly given up their valuable time to support us.
We are looking forward to our last three games this term and also to next term, when we shall try to retain the title of National
Prep School 7’s Champions, which we won at Rosslyn Park in March. This fifteen’s season has set us up nicely.
Thank you.
A LITTLE SOMETHING TO GET YOU THINKING...
Should you criticise people, or the opinions they have?
Please leave your response with Ma’am Naidoo.
Caldicott Newsletter
End of Autumn Term
LUKE LEAVETT-SHENLEY (2R) WRITING ABOUT HIS ART
I enjoy painting pictures because it is fun and I like looking at my picture when it is finished. I copy pictures from Google. My
mum helps me a little. When I grow up, I would like to be a landscape artist.
Mountain
This my favourite picture that I have drawn because there is lots of detail I had to do on the mountain.
Path
I really like the sky in this picture. It has lots of colours in the sky I made in this picture.
Fireworks
I liked using the pastels in this picture because I could smudge them and make it look like the firework powder.
Poppies
I like the background in particular in this picture because of the lovely colours.
Caldicott Newsletter
A REVIEW OF THE SCHOOL MUSICAL BY GEORGE BROUGH
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End of Autumn Term
Caldicott Newsletter
End of Term
Caldicott Newsletter
WEEK 1: Spring 2016
Items with an asterisk* have changed since initial publication
Sunday 10th January 2016
1300 1815
1845
1930
START OF TERM FOR BOARDERS
Staff lunch
5th Form return
6th Form return
Chapel (no visitors)
Monday 11th January 2016
0820
START OF TERM FOR DAY BOYS
Day boys return
Tuesday 12th January 2016
1400
1845
Rugby U9 & U8 (H) v Thorngrove
Prefects’ Supper
Wednesday 13th January 2016
1400
1700
Football U13, U12, U11, U10 House Football Round 1 (visitors welcome)
General Studies: Circus Workshop
Thursday 14th January 2016
Sugar-free Day
1815 - 1845 Academic Committee meeting
Friday 15th January 2016
1245
1300
First Form Mothers’ Lunch (1M)
Rugby U9 A (A) at Shrewsbury House Festival
Saturday 16th January 2016
1430
Football: U13, U12, U11 v Dragon
Sunday 17th January 2016
1845
1915
Boarders return
Evening Prayer
End of Term