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Christmas is Coming
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14 December 2011 On Saturday 3 December at 5pm, Cirencester’s town centre reverberated to the sound of the Deer Park Samba Band. Pupils and accompanying staff had been invited by the organisers of the Christmas Markets to lead the Lantern Procession from Park Street, through Black Jack Street and around the Market Place.
Miss Skerten, Assistant Head, who maintained a steady rhythm by playing a bass drum, reported, ‘it was wonderful to be part of this community event and we are very proud to be able to share the talents of our pupils. Ella Brown, one of our Year 10 pupils, who regularly plays in the Samba Band, explained how participants had decorated their instruments to mark the festive season and said ‘having decorated my instrument with tinsel it was really exciting to see the large crowd who had gathered to watch the parade.' In spite of the cold, Dan Cook, Music Co-ordinator, demonstrated his usual enthusiasm and confidently led the Samba Band through the crowds. ‘It was great fun leading the Samba Band and having the opportunity to march and play outside is really what this music is all about. The pupils had a great time and got in to the festive spirit by wearing their Santa hats and decorating their drums. The Market Place was very busy and playing to such a large audience was fantastic.’ Members of the public appreciated the presence of the Samba Band who they felt added to the atmosphere. Roland Hughes felt that 'the band sounded excellent and to have the Samba Band lead the procession was inspirational for young people watching the parade'. |
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On Monday 12 December we welcomed pupils, parents and staff to our Carol Concert in the Parish Church. The programme included music from various music and vocal ensembles, poems and readings around Christmas, but, this year focused significantly at Christmas from Mary’s perspective. Liz Norman, Head of Expressive Arts, and her team rehearsed our choral groups and ensembles: ‘Following the success of this year’s school production students and staff worked quickly to create a range of items to help each person at the service find some ‘peace’ in the run-up to Christmas’. The evening provided the perfect opportunity to reflect on the meaning of Christmas and share the spirit of goodwill. Similarly, during the day, while our pupils continue to focus on their learning, our Pastoral Teams have entertained our year groups through our assembly programme. Simon Pike, Assistant Head of Key Stage 3, who put the short play together with the help of a number of ‘elves’, said ‘‘Twas the night before Christmas’ has been performed by volunteers from Years 7-11 in each assembly this week and our Pastoral Teams have endeavoured to act out the poem!’ Furthermore, tickets are currently on sale for our Christmas Lunch on Friday 16 December, our last day of term. Our canteen staff have prepared an excellent menu with all the trimmings. There are four options this year and tickets cost between £2.50 and £3.50. Pupils eligible for free school meals will have a meal provided. We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. School re-opens to pupils on Wednesday 4 January 2012 and we look forward to sharing the outcomes of their recent assessments on our Mock Exam Results Day on Friday 6 January 2012. As you will be aware, the weather this term has been quite mild, however, as colder weather descends, I remind you that in the event of severe weather conditions we endeavour to keep the school open. However, following our risk assessments, should we judge the situation to be unsafe for pupils and staff to make their usual journeys to school, we will send parents and staff a text message at the earliest opportunity. We will also advise Gloucestershire County Council and they will update their website www.glosclosedschools.com (you can also follow updates to this site on Twitter). Closure details will be broadcast by BBC Radio Gloucestershire. We will also advise of any closure here on our website http://www.deerparkschool.net/ and our Facebook page. Let us hope we have a snow free winter and that difficult decisions about whether to open or close the school are unnecessary. For more information on why we might decide to close the school go to ‘School Closures Due to Bad Weather’.
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