Headmaster's Newsletter Friday 30th September 2022
Dear Parents,
At the start of term, in one of our assemblies, I spoke to the boys about values at NCS. This was in large part inspired by the research carried out by Mr Neal last year, as part of his MEd in Educational Leadership. He had spoken to a number of pupils and surveyed our colleagues about what we considered our values to be, where we get those values from, and how we transmit them. Although we use the word all the time, it can be quite difficult to define the term ‘values’, especially in a way that makes sense to rather young pupils. Talking about ‘core principles’ or ‘fundamental beliefs’ is all very well, until we concede that ‘core principles’ might not make much sense to a 9-year-old either. So we talked about our standards, rules and behaviours that are shared, respected and followed by ourselves and others – all to keep our community safe, happy and thriving. We also talked a little bit about the fact that we might have certain values as individuals, alongside the shared values agreed upon and ideally followed by a community like NCS.
When it came down to articulating what those values are, we were presented with another problem: it is all very nice to list one’s values back-of-an-envelope style, in an easily digestible bitesize list. But I think we have lots of values, or value lots of things, and the danger of making a list is that we can leave out other things that we do value, and then get accused of not valuing them simply because they wouldn’t fit into our shortlist. Nonetheless, based on Mr Neal’s discussions with pupils and staff survey, we got down to five core values: kindness in a nurturing community; courtesy, politeness and consideration of others (as exemplified in our motto ‘Manners Makyth Man’); mutual respect of one another, based on understanding and tolerance; morality, fairness, inclusion and justice both within our community and in the wider world; and doing one’s best, by remaining committed and curious to develop ourselves academically, physically, creatively and socially. Granted: I’ve cheated a little bit to crow-bar a few subcategories into our top five.
We also discussed where our values come from, how and where we learn them, and how we communicate them. I suggested to the boys that this is all part of the same process: we communicate values to one another in different ways, others learn from us, who then communicate them to someone else, and so on. I also suggested that there are both formal and informal ways in which this happens. There are quite a lot of formal methods by which our values our laid down: in our statutes as a school and college, as envisaged by our founder, and encapsulated in our motto above; in formal policies like our code of conduct, rewards and sanctions policy, and wellbeing policy; in wellbeing lessons and on our wellbeing grid; in wellbeing (and other) assemblies, revisiting values, including the so-called ‘Fundamental British Values’ (they aren’t just British) that we are obliged by law to teach the boys; in our chapel services; in all of our lessons; in newsletters like this one; on our website; in form time; in our school committees; in the charities we choose to support, and how we support them, as well as the other institutions with whom we choose to partner.
But, as (or more) importantly, I talked to the boys about the informal methods of communicating and promoting one’s values: teachers demonstrating values through modelling behaviour; the daily interactions of the whole school community, including small acts of kindness and helpfulness, including older pupils to younger ones; in the classroom and outside it too, in corridors, in the playground, in the dining hall. I suggested to the boys that actions often speak louder than words, and it is the often subtle gestures – passing comments, small behaviours – that make up the culture of the school. And it is this culture which is all-important when laying the foundational values upon which the rest of school life is built.
Have a great weekend,
Matt Jenkinson
Enormous thanks for all of your donations to our Harvest Festival collection on Wednesday. They were handed over to the Community Emergency Foodbank at lunchtime that day, with lots of the boys helping to box and bag up the donations. For more information about the Community Emergency Foodbank please find details on their website: https://www.cefoxford.co.uk/
It was European Day of Languages on Monday and we had a special day in school celebrating all that is good about learning other languages and celebrating different backgrounds and cultures. The day was ably set up in an assembly last Thursday by Mme Phillips, during which our Language Ambassadors were awarded with their lapel badges. I especially enjoyed watching the Italian challenge; something to ask the boys about at home!
A reminder, please, that younger boys (i.e. those of primary age) should be supervised by parents or guardians on Savile Road if they are dropped off before 8.00. I spoke to the boys in assembly this morning about the importance of being supervised and, on the off-chance that they find themselves unsupervised before 8.00, they should not go into the road or start playing. And thank you, as ever, to those of you who are taking our guidance for traffic on Savile Road on board. There are increasing numbers of cars encroaching/parking at the top of the road, which makes turning more difficult and that area of Savile Road less safe for the boys, so if we could go back to the good habits we had established at the start of term, that would be much appreciated.
Many thanks to those parents who took part in the NCSPA AGM this Monday. Parental support of all things NCS is much appreciated, especially all of the extra time and effort that goes in to arranging and supporting several fundraising events over the course of the year. It was mentioned at that meeting that parents would find it interesting to see some ‘behind the scenes’ pics of our building site, so I hope you enjoy looking at the photographs in this newsletter below – excellent progress is being made! It was also suggested at the meeting that parents would appreciate 'regional' Whatsapp groups to aid with communication about areas pertaining to their particular locality, helping with lift-shares and the like. We have divided the region into eight areas listed below. If you would be willing to set up the Whatsapp group for a particular area, please email Dee at office@newcollegeschool.org letting her know your area, and we will start sorting out the logistics. The groups would be entirely opt-in and run by parents, independent of the school, but we are happy to help out at the setting-up stage: North 1 (inc. north of city centre, Jericho, and adjoining areas). North 2 (inc. Summertown, Cutteslowe, and adjoining areas). East 1 (inc. east of city centre, Iffley, and adjoining areas). East 2 (inc. Marston, Headington, and adjoining areas). South 1 (inc. south of city centre, Kennington, and adjoining areas). South 2 (inc. Boars Hill, Abingdon, and adjoining areas). West 1 (inc. west of city centre, Botley, and adjoining areas). West 2 (inc. Cumnor, Witney, and adjoining areas).
Our next Open Morning is on Saturday 8 October at 10.00-12.00. Mrs McCusker has been in touch with Year 3-8 parents about whether their sons would like to be guides that morning; do please email office@newcollegeschool.org if your son would indeed like to be a guide, and if you haven’t already done so. Please note that all pupils attending school that morning (including Music Academy pupils) should wear full school uniform. Prospective parents are asked to register at https://www.newcollegeschool.org/open-days -- do please pass on this link if you know of any families who would be interested in joining our wonderful community. You should also have received via your son's schoolbag a poster and a leaflet advertising the event. Although the morning is primarily for prospective parents, current parents, especially those from the Pre-Prep, are most welcome to get a further insight into the upper part of the school. We would really appreciate it if you could display the poster in a prominent place such as on notice boards at:
• Nurseries and girls' schools (so as not to offend other local boys’ schools)
• Oxford Colleges, Brookes University and other educational institutions
• Hospitals and health centres
• Churches, local shops and community centres
• Your car or house window
• Please pass the smaller leaflet onto any friends who may be interested.
Please also feel free to share/retweet the schools social media posts about the open morning:
https://www.instagram.com/newcollegeschool/
https://www.facebook.com/newcollegeschool
The New College School ‘Welcome to the Foundation Service’ will be on Wednesday 12 October in New College Chapel. The service will begin at 9.00 and will take a little longer than our usual Chapel. This is the occasion when all new members of the school, boys and staff, are formally welcomed to the New College foundation by the Headmaster and the Warden of New College, the school’s chair of governors. We would like to encourage all families of new boys to attend this important occasion if they can.
As noted in the calendar, we are looking forward to seeing our Year 7 parents for parents’ evening at 18.00 on Wednesday 5 October in the sports hall. Some colleagues like to make an early start so do come a little earlier than 18.00 if you are able and would like to get home a little earlier. Parking will be available in the playground from 17.15, though please be considerate of those boys who are heading home after finishing activities: if you see any boys still in the playground please wait until they are safely out of the way before driving in. You will also notice that the playground surface is designed for knees rather than tyres, so it would be much appreciated if dramatic/crunchy wheel movements could be avoided, to help preserve it. Thanks!
The first evensong of university term will be on Friday 7 October at 18.15 in New College chapel. All NCS families are very warmly invited to the service, and indeed all subsequent services in College, details of which can be found at https://www.new.ox.ac.uk/chapel. The choristers have already been in action this term, singing at graduation and gaude evensongs last weekend. They are in excellent voice and are being very ably looked after by Mr McCann during Mr Quinney’s sabbatical this Michaelmas.
The eco shop will be up and running from next week in the aquamarine hut next to the bicycle racks. The shop is open on Thursday lunchtimes for boys in Years 3-8. If boys in pre-prep would like to purchase items, they may do so via their form tutors. They should bring in the correct change and a note of what they would like, after which the items will be delivered to their classrooms. The eco shop sells a wide range of stationery items and all our products are made from recyclable materials. For example: our scissors have corn-starch handles, at least 90% of the highlighter cap and barrel of our highlighter pens are made from renewable resources (83% post-consumer plastics such as used yoghurt pots or watering cans) and our notebooks are made from 100% post-consumer recycled paper and board. Please find the price list attached.
From Mr Bishop: This week I’d like to start off the sports report by congratulating the Year 4 class for the way they have trained this week. Mr Gardner and I have been really pleased with the progress the group have made. Hard work, dedication and determination from all the boys have begun to reap rewards on the training ground. In the upper part of the school the boys from Years 5 to 8 played Summer Fields in some keenly fought games. Both the NCS and Summer Fields teams worked extremely hard throughout the afternoon and I’d like to congratulate the following individuals for their efforts: Max B and Dan C in the U13 A team, Jai P and James A in the U13 B team, and Max A-B in the U13 C team. These boys were all fantastic and showed spirit and determination throughout their respective matches. Away from home the U13 C team showed what potential they have in a difficult game, where our second half was much stronger than our first. Mr Swanepoel tells a familiar story regarding the U13 B team. So now the footballing skills are developing well we have a new focus in training: to begin matches at a higher intensity.
Having said that, in the U13 A team match the NCS boys were bright and energetic from the whistle. The game was incredible and both teams were keen to do anything to gain the upper hand. Unfortunately, the exploits of the NCS team were spotted more readily by the referee and we found ourselves 1-0 down at half time. After some rather bruising tackles midway through the second half the NCS boys regrouped and showed team spirit and togetherness at a level that I’ve not had the pleasure of watching for quite some time. Although the final result did not go our way, I’d like to congratulate each and every member of the 1st XI on how they played this difficult encounter. They left the field of play with their heads held high from true sportsmanship.
Upcoming Events
Saturday, 1 October 2022
U13A IAPS SF Festival Football vs Summer Fields, Away
Monday, 3 October 2022
15.30 U13A ISFA Football vs Shiplake, Away
Tuesday, 4 October 2022
14.00 U9 A-C Football vs Summer Fields, Away
14.30 U8 A-C Football vs Summer Fields, Home
Wednesday, 5 October 2022
9.00 Chapel. Speaker: The Revd Hannah Cartwright, Assistant Priest, University Church
8.15 Charity and School Council meeting, library
14.00 U11 A-E Football vs Manor Prep, Home
18.00 Year 7 Parents' Evening, Sports Hall
Thursday, 6 October 2022
11.30 U11 A ISFA Football vs Elstree, Away
Saturday, 8 October 2022
10.00-12.00 Open Morning
Sunday, 9 October 2022
Start of University Term
Monday, 10 October 2022
NCS Road Awareness Week
14.15 U13 A-C Football vs D'Overbroeck's, Home
Tuesday, 11 October 2022
14.00 U9 A&B Football vs Cothill, Away
Wednesday, 12 October 2022
9.00 Welcome to the Foundation Service, Chapel. Speaker: The Warden
14.30 U11A Football vs Bruern Abbey, Away
14.30 U11B&C Football vs Bruern Abbey, Home
14.30 U13A-C Football vs Cothill, Away
14.30 U11D&E Football vs Cothill, Away
Friday, 14 October 2022
8.30 Year 7 RSE Session. Ends 10.00
10.10 Year 6 RSE Session. Ends 12.50
14.00 Year 8 RSE Session. Ends 15.30