The clocks have gone back, dark afternoons are with us, and the winter seems to have really arrived, but the pupils of Netherwood are as busy as ever.
PRE-PREP
The week before half-term saw the staff and pupils of the Pre-Prep department off on a very special visit to Pemberton's Chocolate Factory, to find out how chocolate is made. They first went to the 'Chocolate Cinema' where they saw a short film on the making of chocolate showing the workers in Venezuela farming, preparing, and drying out the coffee beans. From the cinema, they moved on to the factory where they saw lots of lovely chocolate treats, including an enormous Easter egg. At the end of the tour they visited the 'Have-a-go Room' where they took turns in decorating chocolate truffles, and even painting with chocolate. After a nice lunch, the children thanked the ladies who had shown them around and were given a chocolate treat each. There was just time on the way home for a play in the park at Narberth. Later that week, the children tried their own hand at making chocolate sweets, and very successful they were too. Many thanks go to all at Pemberton's for giving the children such a memorable day.
SPORT
Although the weather has not been conducive to much sport, two teams did manage to travel from Netherwood to St. John's, Porthcawl, to play football and netball. The football proved an exciting encounter, with the lead changing hands on many occasions. Netherwood captain, Timi Aborishade, scored four goals, but it was not quite enough, and after being denied a penalty in the last minutes, Netherwood went down 4-5. The netball team suffered a similar fate in an extremely close match, finally losing 9-12 in the last quarter. Both Mrs. James and Mr. Jones were pleased with their teams' performances. Years 5 and 6 travelled to Tenby to take part in the Urdd seven-a-side football tournament. After some excellent play, Netherwood won three games, drew one 4-4 and lost the last game, which meant they just missed getting into the semi-finals.
PUBLIC SPEAKING
October always brings a flurry of activity on the public speaking scene with the Rotary Youth Speaks competition for juniors and seniors. This year, as always, the standard was particularly high, with teams from Netherwood and Greenhill battling it out, on topics as diverse as 'Woof is the word!' and 'Homelessness is not a crime'. This year we were delighted when teams from Netherwood won both competitions. The Junior team comprised Jenny Perrett, Emily Thompson and Grace Scourfield. With the topic 'It's time to put the Christ back into Christmas', Grace and Emily also won best opposer and best chairperson respectively. The winning senior team of Rachel Scourfield, Rosie Thompson and Winnie Courtene-Jones humorously debated the motion 'Live for today: forget tomorrow' and will now go on to the next round. Congratulations to all the competitors, and as a point of interest, Grace and Rachel are sisters, as are Rosie and Emily. Obviously a talent for speaking lies in their genes!
FRENCH
Pupils from Years 7, 8 and 9 have been busily writing letters to French pupils who attend the College Moncade Jeanne d'Arc in Orthez, near Pau, in south-west France. It is hoped that this will develop into an exchange programme between the two schools in future years. Meanwhile, next April, during the Easter holidays, a group of 20 students will be visiting Rouen and Paris with Mrs. Macnaghten, Mrs. Evans and Mr. Davies. The trip will also include visits to Caen, Arromanches and the D-Day landing beaches. Trips and visits are a very important part of any school curriculum, and among those planned for this term is a visit to Opportunities 2004 Careers Cair for Year 11, pantomime visits for infants and juniors, and a theatre visit to Cardiff to see Arthur Miller's 'The Crucible'. Added to this, the whole school is preparing for the Christmas exams, so a busy time is ahead! Tickets are also on sale at the school office for the staff/parents' Christmas ball, to be held at Coppet Hall Hotel on Friday, November 26.