From ‘Guys and Dolls’ to the Multicultural Extravaganza, the launch of Dragon QUEST Prime to the second event in this year’s Arduus ad Solem series, there were many moments to enjoy this term at the Dragon.
Below is a selection of highlights from the Spring Term …
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Dragon Sale Update
December 2021
The Sale committee is delighted to announce the total raised from the 2021 Dragon Christmas Charity Sale – a wonderful £112,000! Thank you to everyone who contributed to the success of this special event; this year saw the highest number of children’s stalls. We also awarded certificates to 23 A Block pupils who have been running Sale stalls for four years. Many congratulations to our young philanthropists and a huge thank you to Rose, Chloe, Sarah, Kate, Georgia and Rob for all of their hard work in making the Sale such a successful event.
‘Guys and Dolls’
Thursday 3 and 4 February
Upper School’s incredible production of ‘Guys and Dolls’ showcased such a talented cast and crew; it was ambitious, polished, and fun for both the cast and audience. Audiences were welcomed to watch in Lynam Hall, as well as from the comfort of their own sofas at home.
Multicultural Extravaganza
Monday 21 February
The Dragon celebrated all of the wonderful cultures and nationalities we have at the Dragon. On 21 February, International Mother Language Day, our young Dragons and colleagues dressed up in their national dress, in the colours of their country’s flag, and as a proud figure from their country. The children attended a special international-themed assembly with demonstrations from Indonesia and Brazil and a multilingual play. We were also treated to music from all over the world and enjoyed delicious international food throughout the day!
Arduus ad Solem | Sustainable Finance
Thursday 24 February
Our second event in the Arduus ad Solem series, Sustainable Finance: Investing in solutions to Climate Change, took place on Thursday, 24th February, and we were delighted to once again welcome so many of our Dragon community to the webinar.
This session was chaired by Jack Edmondson (current parent and Governor), Deputy CIO at Oxford University Endowment Management and we welcomed an expert panel from within our Dragon community to discuss who and what is involved in sustainable finance, why it might be important, and what issues it raises for broader investment practitioners. A recording of the event is available to watch here. Details about the next session in the series will be announced shortly.
C Block Swim the Channel
Tuesday 1st March
This March, C Block pupils all rose to the challenge of swimming the equivalent length of the English Channel in under an hour – 1,416 lengths of the pool. Swimming in relays, they were determined to beat the record time of 55.26 minutes. We saw a lot of Dragon courage on display as those pupils that haven’t been able to develop their swimming over the last two years, ventured into the deep end of the pool. The year group as a whole swam with determination and positivity, singing and dancing when not in the pool, to offer support and keep their spirits up in what is a difficult, long and tiring challenge. They didn’t break the record but they gave it their all. The Sea Life Trust, the charity voted for by the C Block pupils, is very lucky and will receive over £2,000 from the kind donations of family and friends.
World Book Day 2022
Thursday 3rd March
We enjoyed a week of celebrating 25 years of World Book Day with a variety of brilliant initiatives led by Mr Dickson and the English department. Young Dragons and colleagues were encouraged to ‘Drop Everything and Read’ whenever the bell rang at random times during the day on Friday. We also shared with the children, via our Firefly platform, and on our social channels, the favourite books of a handful of ODs that have gone on to become authors since their Dragon days. Our online OD bookshelf showcases many of our OD authors. If you would like your book to be included in the next issue of The OD (published annually), or showcased on our Bookshelf both online, and in School, please complete this short form with details and send a signed copy to the Development Office.
Dragon QUEST
Saturdays, during Spring Term 2022
This term, we launched Prime, our QUEST offering for parents, enabling them to join in with the fun. Through a small selection of carefully chosen QUEST activities, parents are now able to discover new opportunities, develop new skill sets and meet new friends amongst the parent body.
Elsewhere, our young Dragons made the most of this term’s QUEST activities. Dragon Responders welcomed the Green Watch from Cowley Road Fire Station who talked through some fire safety measures and shared experiences from their day-to-day work. Our Dancing Dragons developed some seriously cool moves to form a street dance. Dragon Leaders learnt all about the qualities required to lead and how they can apply these characteristics to daily life, while our Dragonomics group discovered what determines house prices and influences the housing market.
