WEDNESDAY 13TH MAY 2020
DEAR PARENTS
Robert Teague,
Headmaster
I have been impressed with the way that most boys have
adapted to online learning in a relatively short space of
time. I know that every situation is different and that
some may struggle to have sufficient access to technology
but the majority are engaging well with their work and
making good progress.
None of us know how long the current situation will last
for but my hope is that we will be back to something
approaching normality in September. The Prime
Minister’s announcement on Sunday and the guidance
published subsequently raise the possibility of a return to
school for Years 10 and 12 later this term if certain
conditions are fulfilled - though this is still far from
certain. When the national position becomes clearer I
will ask for your views so that we can plot a course for
The Cedars which takes account of the needs and
concerns of our school community.
Year 11 finished their assessments last week and appear
to have made an excellent start to their A level courses
over the last couple of days. The assessment baton has
now been passed to Year 13 who will be taking a series
of online assessments over the next two weeks or so.
This week we started a new tutorial cycle focusing on
‘academic progress’. In some ways the timing is ideal as
the current situation will make more demands on your
son’s powers of self-discipline and diligence than normal
school life which constrains pupils to do the right thing at
the right time. The challenges they face now are an
opportunity for them to grow personally and
intellectually by managing their time and taking
responsibility for their own learning.
With all good wishes for the next week,
BALLADE BY J.F.F BURGMULLER
Click HERE to listen to Rafael Llull (11A) playing
'Ballade' by J.F.F Burgmuller on the piano.
Whilst we can't make physical visits to the many museums around London their doors remain open in the digital
world. The link below delves into the existence of the Megatherium. The natural history museum website is a treasure
trove of engaging resources to distract and educate. https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/what-was-megatherium.html
VIRTUAL TOUR OF THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM
What was Megatherium? | Natural History Museum Megatherium americanum was up to 10 times the size of living sloths reaching weights of up to four
tonnes (similar to a present day bull elephant). On its hind legs, M. americanum would have stood a
full 3.5 metres (12 feet) tall. Megatherium americanum is known from Argentina, Uruguay and
Bolivia. Fossils of the animals have been found in deposits dating from the Middle Pleistocene.
Take a virtual tour here: www.nhm.ac.uk
Click on the picture below to hear today’s assembly
I am currently
reading...
A Little History of the
World by E. H. Gombrich
Gombrich’s bestselling history of
the world for young readers tells
the story of mankind from the
Stone Age to the atomic bomb.
It focuses on the sweep of
human experience, the extent of
human achievement, and the
depth of its frailty.
During the lockdown, Yale
University Press are offering a
daily A-Z serialisation of
Gombrich’s classic, for home
school use. https://
yalebooksblog.co.uk/category/e-h
-gombrich-a-z-of-the-world/
Gombrich was director of the
Warburg Institute of the
University of London from 1959
to 1976. The Story of Art and Art
and Illusion are among his other
international best sellers.
Mr Doran
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
It is an extraordinary (and long!) book, which is
regarded by many as one of the best books ever
written. A friend once told me a great book is
one which enables you to know the human
person better. That is what Tolstoy does in this
book. He manages to craftily construct a
fictional account of the Russian aristocracy
during the Napoleonic wars. Throughout the
book he gives a deep insight into Russian society
in the early 19th century, when Russia was
threatened by Napoleon. If you combine his
character development with his beautiful prose,
you get a truly epic book. It is not a book which
you can read in a couple of sittings; you have to
really savour the story and his (long!)
descriptions.
Early on in the book one gets a flavour of what lies ahead. I was amused when just
in chapter 9 Tolstoy takes his time describing the amazing battle of Austerlitz in
1805. Indeed, he is in no rush to get the reader where he wants to: he takes ten
chapters (!) to describe the fighting. You have to persevere to work your way
through the descriptions, names and places which Tolstoy refers to, to set his
story. However, it is tremendously rewarding. If my friend's definition is anything
to go by, I think this is a great book! Mr Hinojo
THE DIG TREE by Sarah Murgatroyd
At the time (1860) Australia's interior was a "ghastly
blank" – nobody had any idea of what it looked like.
Not only was this ignorance an embarrassment,
there was prestige to be had, and money to be
made, by linking Australia to the outside world by a
telegraph line crossing the continent.
The book describes the ill-fated expedition to cross
Australia from Melbourne in the south to the Gulf
of Carpentaria in the north and back again - a total
journey of some 3,500 miles.
It is a fascinating account of valour, incompetence,
romantic ideals, drama and sheer back luck in one
of the most inhospitable places on Earth. A meticulously written and enthralling
book. Well worth a read. Dr Virgili
Physical Activity at Home – Trinity Week 3
THE WEEK BY NUMBERS
Runners = 108
Number of Runs = 93
Total Distance Covered = 536.1km!
THE CEDARS RUNNERS RECORD THEIR BEST WEEK YET
It was another great week for The
Cedars Runners on Strava. As a team
we covered a strong 536.1 Kilometres
which is a great achievement. Well
done to everyone who got involved
and contributed to our total last
week! Please see our leader boards to
the right. It was another week
dominated by the Parents and
Teachers, however it was great to see
a good variety of pupils going out for
runs last week. Let’s keep it up and
please encourage your boys to get out
and go running this week!
There were a few standout performances from our boys. Tooting
Bec Common appears to be the
fastest area to run with a seriously
quick 5k run by Nick Boyle after
Juan De Alzaga’s record 5k time
last week at the same venue. Also well
done to the Harrington brothers
who covered the most distance in a
single run with a very strong pace
over a hilly course!
BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND GARDEN GAMES
Over the bank holiday weekend we encouraged households to enjoy their time
together in the sun and get outside for some Garden Games. This was inspired by a
video received from the Linton Household which saw Austin and Louis vs their dad
and younger brother in a game of chair football. Like that video some of the results
were extremely entertaining but I was also impressed with the skill level on display
(even from the Parents…).
We particularly enjoyed the improvisation of garden equipment being used as sporting
equipment – we saw a water butt used as a wicket and a parasol used as a football
tennis net. Sometimes you just have to make the best of a bad situation. Overall is was
a pleasure to see our families getting together and enjoying their time with each other
in lock down! Some of the results are below:
Chair Football at The Linton Household
The video that inspired the bank holiday Garden Games. It couldn’t be simpler - 2v2 Football with a chair in the mid-
dle of the pitch, to score you must pass the ball through the chair legs from any angle. This looked very competitive
but great fun – sometimes the family created games are the best games!
Father vs Son Battle in the Ager Brook Household
Son, Joe Ager-Brook and Dad, Brian Brook engaged in a
fierce battle for bragging rights in the Ager-Brook household!
It was a three legged event with Joe taking a narrow victory
in the football tennis before Brian fought back with a tough
23-21 victory in the table tennis which Joe certainly made
him work hard for! It would therefore be a Penalty Shoot-
out to decide the Garden Olympics and in sudden-death with
a Penalty Kick to take the victory Joe narrowly pushed the
ball wide (John Terry 2008 like…) however, Brian couldn’t
slot home the next penalty so Joe took the WIN! It looks
like the sporting torch has been passed in that household…
Zonal Foot Cricket with The Allen's
In the Allen house we saw the creative use of their water butt as a wicket with a sport created by themselves – Foot
Cricket! Using a football, a fielder bowls the ball at the ‘batsman’ who scores points by kicking the ball into certain
coned off areas (see scoring method below). This displayed great creativity, not just the improvisation of the water
butt but more so, the creation of their own sport.
A Spin Bowling Master Class with Shiv Taylor
In another video we witnessed a spin bowling masterclass from Shiv Taylor who displayed a very impres-
sive ability to turn the ball with his leg breaks. A sad reminder of what would normally be happening during
the summer term, however it’s great to see Shiv utilizing his time and working on his skills so he can be
ready for next season!
Other photos from our pupils keeping active:
FRIDAY FITNESS CHALLENGE
For the Friday Fitness Challenge last week the boys took on the ‘Lateral Quickness’ test on the
Home Court App. Moving side-to-side across the screen knocking over the virtual cones (as shown
above), this test of agility is a fun and addictive activity which will help improve your quick feet, reaction
times lateral speed and certainly burns the legs. There are also a number of other activities you can do on
this app which will help you as a sportsman and is mainly focused towards basketball fitness. We received a
number of entries and it pains Mr Ashton to inform you that yes, he was beaten by a Year 7. Jack Allen
recording the highest score of 282, with both Rok Grant (219) and Ethan Santana (208) recording
excellent scores over 200! Well done boys!
WE ARE CONTINUINING TO UPLOAD CONTENT
PLEASE FOLLOW US AND STAY ACTIVE!
The Cedars Daily Fitness
For all our daily fitness sessions please follow our ‘The Cedars
Sport’ Instagram account.
This is a private account so you will need to be accepted to follow
us. If I haven’t accepted you yet or if you have an IG name I will
not recognise, please email me.
All skills challenges and fitness challenges are posted to this
account as well.
This is the best way to keep in the loop with all things sport at
The Cedars!
Send us your pictures or videos of your
family/household workouts… It would be great for the school community to see what everyone is
up to, whether it’s a Joe Wick’s morning Body Coach Workout or
your household attempting the weekly skills/fitness challenges, all
images or videos would be welcome. If you are happy to do so,
please send them to my email: [email protected]
SPORTS WATCH OF THE WEEK
Building Jerusalem combines scintillating match action, extraordinary
original interviews with the key players including Jonny Wilkinson, Clive
Woodward, Martin Johnson and Matt Dawson with never-before-seen behind
the scenes and match footage. It is an astonishing story of pressure,
expectation and courage, tracing the roots of success back to the
professionalization of the game in the 90s, culminating in the glorious World
Cup campaign of 2013 that turned Woodward’s poised chalice into a golden
cup! I could not recommend this highly enough to a rugby fan or general
sportsman! Building Jerusalem is available on Amazon Prime.
SPORTS READ OF THE WEEK
In The Talent Code, award-winning journalist Daniel Coyle draws on
cutting-edge research to reveal that, far from being some abstract mystical
powers fixed at birth, ability really can be created and nurtured. In the
process, he considers talent at work in venues as diverse as a music school
in Dallas and a tennis academy near Moscow to demonstrate how the
wiring of our brains can be transformed by the way we approach particular
tasks. He explains what is really going on when apparently unremarkable
people suddenly make a major leap forward. He reveals why some teaching
methods are so much more effective than others. Above all, he shows how
all of us can achieve our full potential if we set about training our brains in
the right way.