2014 Belvedere Autumn ezine

2014 autumn

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04 06 08 10 12 New Head Girls

Year 6 Induction Day

Head Girl’s message

Weddings

STEM news

Misunderstood

GDST Rally

Contemporary Arts Fair

FEATURE STORIES

Cambridge success Exam success

What’s inside…

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Belvedere Ezine | Autumn Edition 2014

After another busy year filled with deadlines and revision, Belvedere has yet again achieved a fantastic set of results.

Due to the removal of January modules, this exam period was arguably the most difficult in recent years, especially for last year’s Year 11 who had to sit around 20 exams in two months! Despite this, their results exceeded expectations:

Another fantasti 25% of all grades awarded

were A*/A

53% of all grades awarded

were A*-B

Almost 90% of all of the grades were at A*-C 4

Belvedere Ezine | Autumn Edition 2014

tic set of results...

These results leave Belvedere in first place for all non-selective schools in the city of Liverpool; an amazing accolade!

Like last year’s GCSE students, last year’s Sixth Formers also had to deal with completing all of their exams in a short space of time. However, they also achieved an incredible set of outcomes, improving on last year’s results! 85% of A-Level

grades were at A*-C, 53% were A*-B and an amazing 21% of all grades were A*-A. Again, these results helped us to top the leader board of results for non-selective schools.

These results are another indicator that Belvedere remains one of the best schools in the country. Thank you to all of the staff for their caring dedication; thank you to all

the parents for their unswerving support; and a huge well done to all of last year’s students who thoroughly deserve all of their success!

The gauntlet is thrown to this year’s students! Can you do even better...?

Georgia Jackson and Omima Ihmaidat, Year 13.

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Belvedere Ezine | Autumn Edition 2014

Belvedere girls gain p

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Belvedere Ezine | Autumn Edition 2014

Belvedere has a long history of sending girls to both Oxford and Cambridge, and this year is certainly no exception.

Paula Wulff (A* A* A* A* A) and Annie May-Walsh (A* A* A) both accepted places at the University of Cambridge to study Natural Sciences, which is an exceptional achievement and something of which we, as an Academy, are very proud. We believe it is very important to continue to encourage high aspirations.

Paula Wulff (Head Girl 2013/14) studied Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and German, and achieved top grades in each of these subjects. She became Head Girl in 2013 and contributed significantly to the Academy taking part in the GDST Sports Rally, attending the Young Leaders Conference for the GDST, speaking at Prize Giving and performing in the orchestra to name a few. Paula is now at Churchill College, Cambridge.

Annie-May Walsh became Deputy Head Girl in 2013 and, like Paula, contributed enormously to Academy life, including delivering assemblies and representing the Academy in a number of sports teams,

Physics and gained a place at Warwick University to study Mathematics. A former St Hilda’s student, Helen, joined our Sixth Form in 2012 and was also selected as Assistant Head Girl at the end of her first year here; a well-respected position in the Academy.

Other high achievers were Olivia Bates, who is now at The University of Liverpool studying Dentistry, Sophie Ehlan is at Leeds University studying French and Spanish, and Skigh Milne is now at the University of Liverpool studying Law. A number of our students gained places on highly competitive courses, including Primary Teaching, Psychology and Occupational Therapy to name but a few.

put them in the very best position to be considered for Cambridge. Our current students also have the opportunity to engage with the Cambridge HE+ scheme.

The Belvedere Academy has excellent relationships with a number of higher education establishments, including The University of Liverpool and LJMU. Julie Bond, Education Liaison Manager at the University of Liverpool, delivered a support session to Belvedere Sixth Formers about UCAS applications and gave lots of tips on how to make their applications shine.

This year alone, 12 Belvedere girls were accepted onto courses at The

places at Cambridge captaining both the netball and rounders teams. She became Young Ambassador of Sport where she promoted, coached and officiated at sports clubs and competitions.

Annie-May was awarded Belvedere’s Physicist of the Year Award, which was presented to her at a prestigious ceremony at The University of Liverpool. She is now at Newnham College, Cambridge.

Helen Davies, another one of our highest achievers, achieved three A* Grades in Mathematics, Further Mathematics and

The Belvedere Academy has an exceptional support system in place to provide the care and guidance students need to apply and be accepted into higher education. Ms Carroll, Lifeskills Leader, works alongside our Sixth Formers to offer advice in relation to UCAS applications.

Annie-May and Paula, for example, attended conferences relating to their chosen course, engaged in wider reading relating to their subjects and attended extra-curricular activities in order to

University of Liverpool, a Russell Group university. In addition, 14 Belvedere girls accepted places at LJMU, which offers a World of Work Programme preparing all undergraduate students for life after university.

All in all, another successful year at The Belvedere Academy Sixth Form and all the girls left with our best wishes.

We are confident in their continued success.

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Belvedere Ezine | Autumn Edition 2014

Congratulations to our

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Year 7 Deputy Head Girls

Year 7 Head Girls

Year 8 Deputy Head Girls

Year 8 Head Girls

Year 9 Deputy Head Girls

Year 9 Head Girls

A Head Girl’s duty is to represent her form and to contribute ideas that may help them and other people in and around school.

They need to be someone who is confident enough to speak up and give ideas, but also represent all members of the form and their differing opinions.

Younger children often look up to the Academy Head Girl team and use them as role models. It’s important to have the right person as Head Girl.

At the start of the term, every girl from Years 7 to 12 voted in a secret ballot, for a Head Girl for their form. The votes were counted up and the Head and Deputy Head Girls were chosen.

Belvedere Ezine | Autumn Edition 2014

new Head Girl teams!

Year 10 Deputy Head Girls

Year 10 Head Girls

Year 11 Deputy Head Girls

Year 11 Head Girls

Year 12 Deputy Head Girls

Year 12 Head Girls

Mr Kennedy announced the Head and Deputy Head Girls for each form, during a whole Academy assembly. Each girl’s name was announced, then they were given a badge: the Head Girl’s badge is yellow and the Deputy Head Girl’s badge is green. The Academy Head Girl Team’s badges are white.

involves lots of different duties and is a highly respected position throughout the Academy.

The role of Head Girl is a very important responsibility. The job

Ellie Jones, Year 7.

Well done to all girls who were elected as Head and Deputy Head Girls!

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Belvedere Ezine | Autumn Edition 2014

Record numbers attend our Assessment Morning

We received a record-breaking 568 applications for places at Belvedere next year. Year 6 pupils attended Belvedere’s Assessment Morning hopeful that they will be one of our next cohort.

Despite the early Saturday start (some early birds started queuing about 7.30am), huge queues snaked from the entrance of Belvidere Road all the way down to Princes

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Park gates for our Year 6 Assessment Morning. Once again, these fantastic figures prove how popular the Academy is with families in Liverpool.

help all of our visitors feel at ease. Many of them couldn’t believe that it was a year since they had been sitting the entrance exam.

The girls were registered and by 9am were sitting their entrance exams. During break time, the girls got to make new friends and chat with our current Year 7 girls about life as a Belvedere girl.

The morning seemed to go by very quickly and soon it was time for all of the mums and dads to come through and collect their daughters.

Over 70 of our current Year 7 girls gave up their Saturday morning to come and

We look forward to welcoming many of them next September as our new ‘Belvedere Girls’!

Belvedere Ezine | Autumn Edition 2014

Welcoming our new Year 7s: The Year 7 Induction Day and Programme My heart raced with excitement as my mum asked me to get dressed for the Year 6 Induction Day at The Belvedere Academy.

I got in the car and before I knew it I was around the corner. My excitement had now turned to fear. Hands shaking and my heart pounding, I answered, “Good morning Mrs Marshall” as the assembly started. After 10 minutes had gone by, we were taken to our first lesson by our Year 7 buddies.

Slowly, my group and I started to interact and talk whilst taking part in the ‘getting to know you’ activity. I think this activity really helped me because it helped me make friends easier and a lot quicker. After that, we had a lesson. I thought going to lessons was a great idea because we got the chance to get to know some of the teachers I would be having for a long time!

After break we had another lesson but this time it was a scavenger hunt! This really helped me a lot as I got to know my way around the school. It would have been hard without it due to the fact that the school is really long and big. Then it was lunchtime and we got another chance to make more friends and speak about the second half of our day.

This September I had my very first day at The Belvedere Academy. I was very nervous and so was everyone else, but the minute I stepped inside the doors all the teachers and students started to welcome us.

we already had found friends who were just like us. We had our library induction, tower building competition, and we discussed Enrichment and how to keep ourselves organised.

For the first day we stayed in our form group in order to get to know each other.

We all sat down and answered the register.

As soon as we started to do activities we began to talk to different people.

All the teachers were really nice to us and we were slowly introduced into each subject, and even when we did start lessons they took it slowly and never rushed us.

Then, our Year 8 buddies came in to answer questions and help us fill in our timetables.

No one had ever had a timetable before so all the letters and numbers confused us but we soon got the hang of it.

We were allowed to go to our lunch early so we could get used to how everything works.

On the second day we stayed in our colour groups so we could get to know each other.

We soon did and, before the day was over,

I thought Belvedere’s induction was better than other schools as we were introduced into everything slowly and we weren’t shouted at for being late or getting lost.

We were also showed around places, such as the PE Department, which was really helpful. The first few weeks flew by, and everyone has been really nice and helpful in welcoming me and all the other girls into Year 7.

Ellie Jones, Year 7.

Finally, I remember my last lesson being with Mrs Garlick in Art and she was really nice! At the end of the day, we all went home with smiles on our faces. Then I felt even happier and more excited to start Belvedere Academy in September.

Ella Dalton, Year 7.

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Belvedere Ezine | Autumn Edition 2014

A message from the Head Girl Hello...

I’m Areej, your Head Girl for 2014/15. I’ll be working together closely with the Head Girl team, all students and staff so that we can make Belvedere the best place that it can be for everybody, and maintain the high standards of the school.

more than welcome to come to our office and speak to us; don’t be shy!!

Feel free to come and have a chat with me or any members of the Head Girl Team at any time, whether you have a creative idea you’d like to share with us or if you have any questions about school life in general.

We’re at a great school with a number of opportunities that you won’t get elsewhere. Most importantly, work hard and enjoy yourself!

We’ve all been through the process and we know it can be difficult at times. You are

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The best piece of advice I can give you is to make the most of your time here at Belvedere.

Hopefully, we will have an exciting and successful year ahead. We hope to speak to many of you soon!

Belvedere Ezine | Autumn Edition 2014

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Belvedere Ezine | Autumn Edition 2014

GDST Rally Success The GDST Northern Trust Rally 2014 took place at Birkenhead High School Academy on Wednesday 17th September.

An extremely high standard of competition and skills were shown from all schools. The PE Department had a very successful day and all pupils were a credit to the school

showing outstanding sporting excellence and behaviour.

CHAMPIONS: Junior Rounders and Tennis Doubles.

Belvedere was represented by the following teams: Academic Challenge, Badminton x2, Tennis, Table Tennis x2, Trampolining, Rounders x2 and Volleyball.

Runners up: Badminton A and B, Senior Rounders, Rounders and Volleyball.

Junior Rounders

Senior Rounders

Badminton

The Year 9 Rounders Team got the chance to represent Belvedere once again. It was a great day; we played 5 other GDST teams from all around the UK. There were a few close games but we all pulled through and all our hard work paid off as we came 1st place for the Junior Rounders. We were all ecstatic when Belvedere was announced as winners. However, we could not have done it without all the P.E. staff and the rest of the older Belvedere year groups cheering us on throughout the afternoon. I’m so proud of all the team; well done girls. Rounders Team: Alex McCaldon (captain), Anisha Singh, Lauren Evans, Grace Murphy, Amelia Corrie Fairhurst, Claudia Wong, Rachel Smith, Alex Mc Dermott and Hannah Yates.

The Senior Rounders Team were very successful in the GDST Trust Rally, coming second with only one rounder in it.

This was due to the fantastic team work, play and communication skills of all the players involved. It was a brilliant experience for all who took part and an excellent sporting day out. I can truthfully say I am very proud to have captained the team.

The Badminton Team played extremely well. The event was very challenging as we had to compete against county level standards. However, we gave it our best and we only narrowly missed out on first place, which Sheffield took in the end.

Alex McCaldon, Year 9.

Ellie Wilson, Year 13.

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Senior Rounders team: Ellie Wilson (captain), Sophie Williams, Nasra Guleid, Eleanor Walker, Danah Al-Shibani, Louise Waterson, Kaiqi Li, Holly Furlong, Samira Abdo, Rhiannon Capel-Moodley, Issra Bulgasim.

This is an amazing achievement for the Badminton team and the Academy.

Everyone enjoyed themselves in the Trust Rally this year and the enjoyment of supporting everyone who participated was a fantastic experience as everybody performed very well overall.

Team: Amy Siu (captain), Charlotte Bouckley, Samira Abdo and Issra Bulgasim.

Amy Siu, Year 11.

Belvedere Ezine | Autumn Edition 2014

Volleyball

Table Tennis

Trampolining

The Volleyball Team competed at an exceptionally high level against the 4 other schools including Birkenhead, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield who participated in the GDST Northern Trust Rally this year.

As a new team we communicated and worked well together during the games, winning three out of the four matches and gained an overall 2nd place. We have thoroughly enjoyed the fun experience in both competing under a tense atmosphere and supporting our other sports teams during their games. Team: Kaiqi Li (captain) Imaan Guleid (captain), Ellie Wilson, Sophie Williams, Nasra Guleid, Eleanor Walker, Danah Al-Shibani and Louise Waterson.

During the Trust Rally, The Belvedere A and B Table Tennis Teams each competed against five other schools: Nottingham, Newcastle, Birkenhead, Northampton and Sheffield.

We all felt nervous as we travelled to the rally. Despite this we performed confident routines.

The competition at the Rally was tough and, unfortunately, the A team came close but did not win any games and the B team won 3 games out of 5.

It was an amazing experience for both teams.

Although we did not win the competition, we were proud to represent our school.

Team: Maya Vovnik (captain), Isabella Williams, Amy Naylor Randals and Charlie Davies.

Maya Vovnik, Year 11.

Team: Holly Furlong (captain), Rhiannon Capel–Moodley, Georgia Bowyer and Elizabeth Tebbs.

Kaiqi Li, Year 13.

Holly Furlong, Year 12.

Academic Challenge As well as sporting competitions, there was also an Academic Challenge against schools from all over the country.

Tennis Team: Eloise Morris (captain) and Tia Morris.

Four girls were chosen to participate in a gifted and talented challenge, which was a big honour. The main focus of the challenge was open heart surgery and the aim of the day was to create and use a product that could transfer a tennis ball and a ping pong ball into a body. There were two judges and, as a team, we had three minutes to perform the procedure. It was a fantastic opportunity and a great experience. Team: Eve Ormesher (captain), Aksa Anzy, Robyn Turner and Elizabeth Barton.

Eve Ormesher, Year 9.

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Belvedere Ezine | Autumn Edition 2014

Winner - Hannah Robinson

Success at the Liverpool Contemporary Arts Fair.

At the end of the Summer Term 2014, a number of girls from The Belvedere Academy had the opportunity to exhibit their artwork alongside some of the world’s most illustrious artists, including Picasso, Peter Blake and L.S Lowry at the Liverpool Contemporary Arts Fair. Our girls’ artwork was highly commended by several thousands of visitors during the exhibition.

Over the weekend, judges had the difficult task of choosing one student from a number of schools to be crowned ‘Young Artist in Education 2014’. Despite very strong competition, Hannah Robinson, Year 13, was chosen for her amazing painting. The judges were wowed by its powerful imagery and unique use of colour.

Hannah will now be able to showcase her artwork on her own stand at the Liverpool Contemporary Arts Fair 2015.

A prize worth £2000.

Olivia Henderson -

Year 13

Mr Mason.

The Belvedere Academy Stand 16

Megan Cheung - Year 13

Eva-Lili Halpin - Year 13

Belvedere Ezine | Autumn Edition 2014

Biology Fieldwork Trip to Formby Sand Dunes Wednesday 1st October 2014 saw the first fieldwork trip to Formby sand dunes with the Year 13 Biologists.

Following a serene lunch in the picnic area, the heavens opened and the weather took a turn for the worse.

‘succession’ in practice rather than from the textbook! We ended the trip with a well-deserved hot drink.

The morning was sunny and bright and the girls worked fantastically as teams to estimate the population sizes of plant species of their choice. They randomly sampled in dark and light areas using light-meters and quadrats and also took into account the effect of grazing by goats.

Luckily, the smiles remained on our Belvedere girls’ faces as they braved the elements to partake in systematic sampling on the sand dunes.

I’d like to say thank you to the girls for how they participated in the trip so enthusiastically despite the poor weather and I’m glad they found it helpful for their Ecology studies.

A transect was set up, stinging plants were avoided and girls learned about

Miss Palin.

Summer holiday fun at Whitehall In the first week of the summer holidays, ten year nine students were invited to The Houses Of Parliament for a talk organised by the Civil Service. Accompanied by Ms Carroll and Miss Fielding, we got the train from Lime Street to London Euston, and then the tube, which we can all agree was an experience that will not be forgotten!

Upon arriving at Whitehall, we were given name badges and shown to our table, which was at the front. Once the twelve schools had arrived we had to make a speech introducing our school. After that, we were given a task all about surviving in the wild. We had to number a list of

vital supplies, deciding which were more important than others, and the school that was the closest won a Harrod’s teddy bear.

Unfortunately, we narrowly missed out on winning the bear because we came second - however, second out of twelve schools was still a very good achievement.

Next, we had various talks from people who worked in the Civil Service, who told us about their jobs and the various opportunities that the Civil Service can hold. It was very interesting and certainly opened our eyes to possible career paths after life at Belvedere. We had lunch and then split up into two teams to participate

in a couple of team-building exercises. In my team we had to create a parachute to protect our egg from being dropped from a height of around ten metres.

We were against another team from Essex - and we really wanted to win! The eggs were dropped right outside Westminster Abbey, and our egg managed to survive!

There were lots of other activities throughout the afternoon, and we all had a very enjoyable day. Thank you to Esther McVey for inviting us, and also to the Civil Service for what was a great day.

Hannah McCombs and Eve Turner, Year 10.

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Belvedere Ezine | Autumn Edition 2014

h hints it w e r u t ular fea ...

Our reg tips on literacy and

term or this f d a e r Top t Divergen

After the success of the motion picture, we are making Divergent our whole school read.

Divergent is a young-adult dystopian novel set in a post-apocalyptic version of Chicago. The novel follows Beatrice “Tris” Prior as she explores her identity within a society that

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defines its citizens by their social and personal characteristics to make five different factions. Also driving the novel is a romantic subplot between Tris and one of her trainers in the Dauntless faction, nicknamed Four.

This is an action packed, engaging read; I guarantee you won’t want to put it down!

High standards at the Young Leaders’ Conference gives student leaders from all GDST schools the opportunity to design, market and present a charity fundraising event.

Four charities were represented this year including The Children’s Society, Water Aid, The Eve Appeal and HFT, a charity for people with learning disabilities.

The charities were so impressed by the high standard of the campaigns, it made it very difficult for the judges to pick an overall winner.

Head Girl, Areej Yusuf, and the Head Girl Team at Belvedere attended the Young Leaders’ Conference in Bath from 26th28th September. This annual conference

The winning team were mentored by Belvedere’s Head of Sixth Form, Mr Lucas. Their proposed event for The Eve Appeal even gained attention from retail

giant Marks and Spencer who were very interested in their fundraising idea!

Helen Fraser, CEO at The GDST, commented on the commitment and energy of the 130 sixth formers attending the conference and described them as ‘the brightest and best young leaders.’ With inspirational talks from Tracey Edwards, MBE, and Ann Francke, CEO at The Chartered Management Institute, the conference was a massive success, providing our young leaders at The Belvedere Academy with a real sense of achievement and empowerment.

Mrs Greene.

European Youth Parliament National debating championship In September, a group of 6 Sixth Form students competed in the European Youth Parliament National Debating Championships alongside 13 other school from around the UK. With debates on topics as varied as human rights, international trade, security and defence, as well as civil liberties, culture and education, the young debaters were forced to develop their argumentative, verbal reasoning and persuasive skills as well as exhibit their honed public speaking

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abilities. In a very exciting competition, the girls were proud competitors as the standard of debate was one of the highest the organisation had reached in years.

After 4 days debating, with new skills, new friends and tired eyes, the girls went home buzzing from their experience.

Well done to the team: Paula Wulff, Caitlin Hampson, Sara El-Beshri, Nasra Guleid, Areej Yusuf and Michelle Cameron.

Mrs Leyland.

Belvedere Ezine | Autumn Edition 2014

SUMMER SCHOOL FUN!!

Another successful Summer School was organised by Mrs Jones for girls who joined us in September 2014.

Running for a week in late August, the Summer School enabled the girls to experience a wide range of activities that were aimed at easing their transition into Year 7.

The girls made lots of new friends and were feeling more confident about making the step up to secondary school in September.

On offer during the Summer School were a diverse range of activities to fill each day. From cartoon design to business challenges, drama to arts and crafts, sporting challenges to team building exercises, and graphics to science, there really was something for everyone.

Mr Dykeaylen.

During the summer holidays, Belvedere held a Summer School to make all the new Year 7s feel welcome. There were many activities including things such as cookery, sports challenge, cartoon making, art, a scavenger hunt, and clay making. We asked Year 7 girls, Caitlin Moore and Ellie Jones , how Summer School affected and prepared them: Caitlin, would you recommend Summer School to new students? Yes, it gives you a great experience of secondary school.

How did your feelings change after Summer School? Before Summer School I was nervous and excited at the same time but afterwards I was just excited to start.

Do you feel more confident about starting Year 7 after you attended Summer School? Yes, it helped me feel more confident around the school. I learnt where all the classrooms were, got to know some

teachers and made lots of friends.

What was your favourite thing in Summer School? My favourite thing was making the pizzas in cookery, as you had to be very unique in making our designs.

Ellie, If you didn’t go to Summer School, do you think things would be different?

Yes, because I wouldn’t know my way around the school or have any new friends.

Did Summer School help you learn your way around Belvedere? Yes, as it wasn’t as busy as it would be on a normal school day.

Plus, it helped me find my way around and get to know where the classrooms are.

So, all the girls who attended Summer School feel a lot more confident around school. We would recommend Summer School to all future children!

Ellie Jones and Mona Hassan, Year 7.

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Belvedere Ezine | Autumn Edition 2014

Summer of love

As some of you may already know, a few of our beloved teachers got married over the summer holidays.

Here we interviewed them, asking for all the details. Was it a wonderful affair? Or a bit of a family mishap?

Mrs Leyland was happy to tell us about her special day. The question we just HAD to ask, “What did the dress look like?” “It was a lovely lace fishtail dress. I wore it with a tiara and a beautiful Spanish veil.”

“Who proposed? Where?” It turned out that Mr Leyland proposed in Bermuda (nice), and that they got married in England (we hope it didn’t rain).

“Where did you go on your honeymoon?”

“A lovely place in Cuba.” I guess that explains the nice tan Mrs Leyland!

“Any extra details?” “It was quite a big affair, about 200 guests. There weren’t any arguments over invites as most our friends know both of us.”

“If you had the chance, would you change ANYTHING?” “No, not at all. I wouldn’t change it whatsoever.”

We then spoke to Mrs Greene who was bursting to tell us about her wonderful wedding. Hi miss, where did you get married? “Chateau Lagorce in Bordeaux.”

Were you prepared for the big day? “Well, I’d had no sleep the night before but that was because my sister knocked an alarm in the chateau’s shower and when we finally managed to turn that off we couldn’t turn the lights off! We got married at 4pm though so it was fine in the end. I relaxed in the hot tub before the ceremony too.”

Was your dress nice? “Yes, it was strapless and fitted with a sweetheart neckline and a mesh lace overlay.”

What were the gifts? “We got loads of thoughtful, personalised stuff like mugs and a cheeseboard. A friend gave us a newspaper from the day we got married and another friend made us a peg with a bride and groom on it. The best man gave everyone a booklet of the history of my husband during his speech too.”

How was your honeymoon? “We haven’t been yet! We’re going to Barcelona in half term though.”

And finally, was it the best day of your life?

“It was, by far!”

What was the ceremony like? “It was small – there were only 35 of us. We got married in the garden of the chateau and I had to walk down these ancient steps to get there.

I told my dad to keep me laughing as we walked down the aisle and my flower girls running down instead of walking helped!”

And what happened afterwards? “We had a meal – goats cheese salad, duck and our profiterole wedding cake for dessert.

Then we set off lanterns. The day after, we went wine tasting and the mayor who

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married us was running it! We had a party to celebrate when we got home as well.”

Next we interviewed Dr Moon about his marriage to his now wife. Where did you get married? “Alicia Hotel in Sefton Park.”

Belvedere Ezine | Autumn Edition 2014

How many guests? “There were around 130 people: friends, family & neighbours.”

What was your wife’s dress like? “I’m the worst person to ask about describing a dress! But she didn’t have a veil, she had a flower tiara, and she held white and pink roses as she walked down the aisle.”

Did you have any flower girls or pageboys?

“We had one flower girl – our daughter. She wore white and gold.”

Where did you go on your honeymoon?

“We travelled around Morocco; we visited Marrakesh, Fez and travelled around the Sahara Desert, on camels.”

Did the day run smoothly? “Well, there were no tears, time flew and it went really quickly.”

So, was it the Perfect Day? “Yes, and I loved every minute of it!”

We were also lucky to interview the lovely Mrs O’Connell (neé Miller) on her marriage to her husband, James.

“Any other details? Would you change anything?” “No, I loved it. I would not change anything for the world.”

Can you tell us who proposed? Where?”

“James proposed in Zanzibar, Africa. We went to Africa and he was going to propose at a safari visit but he thought it was too muddy and I’d say no.”

Laura Burnett and Yasmin Adam, Year 9.

“Ooohh, where did you get married?” (Not the safari we hope!) “Rivington Barn; it was really nice and cosy.”

“Was it a big event? Or more on the smaller side?” “I’d have to say quite big.

About 110 guests in the day and more than 200 at night!”

“That must have been fun! What was for dinner?” “James used to be a chef so I left him in charge. There was duck; little canapes, and I let James choose the cake and he got a cheese cake. Literally, 5 tiers of different cheeses.”

“Ahh, what was your song” “We danced to ‘My Girl’ (I know, slightly cheesey) and throughout the night we played the songs from our friends’ first dances.”

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Belvedere Ezine | Autumn Edition 2014

STEM clubs are a great way of engaging students & helping to excite them about the subjects they’re studying in the classroom.

STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths.

is remarkable to note that even though STEM graduates have the potential to earn amongst the highest salaries of all new recruits, employers are finding it difficult to recruit STEM skilled staff.

STEM subjects are integral to the UK’s success: the UK is the world’s sixth largest manufacturer, engineering turnover is around £800 billion per year, and whilst the UK makes up only 1% of the world’s population, it produces 10% of the world’s top scientific research. Despite this, it

And alongside the need for a skilled STEM workforce, it is crucial that all young people, regardless of their future career pathway, have the STEM knowledge and skills they need to be an informed citizen in an increasingly scientific and technological society.

Having been involved with an ongoing Smoke-Free movement in Liverpool as part of D-Myst, awareness was raised across the globe about we did as a group,.

As a result, I was interviewed successfully and then invited by Professor Elspeth Tilley of Massey University to help launch their ‘It’s My Life’ SmokeFree movement.

After flying 33 hours across the world, I had to deliver a speech during the three summits in Wellington, Palmerstone North and Auckland to both University students and the general New Zealand public on what I have been doing as a young person to prevent my peers around me to not take up this harmful habit. I was also given the opportunity to feature on NewsTalk ZB,

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For more information on STEM projects follow the links below: http://www.merseystem.co.uk/ http://www.nationalstemcentre.org.uk/

Extracting DNA from Strawberries

Liverpool youth raising awareness about a smokefree movement on a global scale!

In March of this year, I had the opportunity to represent both the youth of Liverpool and the Belvedere Academy internationally as part of the Anti-Smoking youth group, D-Myst at three summits in the different campuses of Massey University in New Zealand for a two week period.

STEM club is run by Mrs Traynor and Miss Nuttall. It’s every Tuesday from 3.15-4.15 in S77. It offers advice and guidance, and it also runs competitions and events to enhance and enrich the curriculum, extracurricular activities and careers guidance.

The girls in STEM club observed first hand that DNA is in the food that they eat.

They learned the simple method of DNA extraction and were amazed by the results.

the most widely listened to radio station in New Zealand, and was interviewed by Mike Hoskings about my bid to encourage other young people to take action. It was also a wonderful opportunity to allow me to speak to the New Zealand Ministry of Health and share with them ways to start their own SmokeFree initiatives over in New Zealand.

Overall, my main aim was to basically inform young people that big tobacco companies are targeting us and what we need to do is educate young people about their methods and to try and stop young people from starting to smoke.

This was a wonderful chance to allow me to fully make a difference in the health and wellbeing of future generations.

Katie Lou Holland, Year 10.

Engineering our girls’ future On Friday the 17th of October, 10 of our girls attended an event organised by Merseystem called ‘Engineering Your Future’ held at Liverpool Football Club.

The day was split into 5 sessions providing insights into Mechanical, Civil, Electrical/Electronic, Chemical and Nuclear Engineering; each of which lasts approximately 40 minutes.

The girls worked with other schools and each group was allocated a Mentor Engineer for the day. They learned about the specific areas of engineering from the companies and organisations invited, along with a lunchtime marketplace offering more information on ‘Routes into Engineering’.

The sessions were designed to be practical and interactive, and provided an insight into life as a professional Engineer or Technician.

Belvedere Ezine | Autumn Edition 2014

In June, all of Year 7 completed a three week Belvedere CREST award project.

In this project, students explored sticky things that we use in our everyday lives.

There were six different investigation activities to complete. All girls received a passport that needed to be signed each lesson by their teacher. On completion, all students gained a Belvedere CREST award.

Well done, Year 7!

Glues in nature This was a research lesson where students worked in pairs to identify the use of sticky substances in nature. Examples included the sticky substance on spiders’ webs and honey from bees.

A sticky problem The introductory lessons were followed by practical activities involving testing different homemade glues. This was very messy indeed but fun was had by all!

Over to you Students also completed a literacy activity where they were required to read a piece of text then create a wall poster about how useful super sticky tape and never drying glue would be. They had to present this to the class.

There’s a hole in my bucket This was an interesting activity where students had to try and figure out which was the best sticky material to use to patch a hole in a bucket.

Project completion - Students had to present and compare their findings with the rest of the class.

Mrs Traynor.

Quotes from students: Sticky Situations “During this section of the project we had to present a spider

diagram showing different kinds of glues such as manufactured glue, glues in nature, glue-like materials and homemade glues.

You can make glue with lots of things in nature such as spider webs, sap from trees, sticky weed and shellac.” Yasmin Al-Garey and Sara Beghdadi, Year 7.

The Shellac Beetle Shellac is a resin secreted by the female lac bug, on trees in the forests of India and Thailand. It is processed and sold as dry flakes, which are dissolved in ethanol to make liquid shellac, which is used as a brush-on colorant, food glaze and wood finish.

There is a hole in my bucket “In this experiment we had a cup with a hole in the bottom of it. We poured 100ml of water into it and put a different material in the hole such as straw, blue tack and sticky tape to see which ones were the best and worst. The result shows us that sticky tape was the best material to keep in water and straw was the worst. “ Louise Butler, Year 7.

The imaginary menagerie of Reebops…

Reebops are imaginary animals, made from marshmallows by Year 11. Their features are determined by the characteristics encoded in their chromosomes. Both parents are heterozygous for all their characteristics (except their sex).

Inheritance and variation are two key observations on which the theory of evolution by natural selection is based.

The girls produced their models to show how a population of Reebops could change over successive generations.

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Belvedere Ezine | Autumn Edition 2014

Project Linus is a charity that was first started in 1988. They strive to provide love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort through donations of new, homemade, washable blankets and quilts to babies, children and teenagers who are in need of some love. These homemade gestures help the young people and babies who are frequently in hospital.

You can donate homemade blankets, cotton fabrics or machine washable yarns (especially used men’s shirts!).

These blankets are given to local hospitals such as Alder Hey, Clatterbridge and Women’s Refuge Centres.

images courtesy projectlinusuk.org.uk

On Tuesday, two women from the charity came to speak to us about it. This is how we found out about the charity and how it helps people feel loved and cared for. It is called Project Linus because of an old

television programme called ‘Snoopy’.

In it, there was a character called Linus who had a comfort blanket and took it everywhere with him just like the blankets that are made in the project.

Therefore, Mrs Garlick has organised a Textiles Enrichment for Project Linus on Tuesday at lunchtime. During the Enrichment we will be sewing, quilting and knitting blankets to donate to the charity.

If anybody has anything to contribute towards the project or would like to help, please contact Mrs Garlick. We will be showing you our finished quilts and blankets before we send them to the sick children.

‘Quilt it with Love from the Belvedere girls.’

Georgia McChrystal, Claudia Gibson, Year 9, and Kimberley Wilson, Year 13.

Maia’s speech at the Eurochild Conference in Brussels On 15th September, I was invited as a guest speaker at a Eurochild conference in Brussels on protecting Children’s Rights as consumers.

The conference aimed to explore how advertising and marketing can affect children and young people, with a particular focus on the promotion of tobacco, alcohol, and unhealthy foods.

Other speakers included academics, children’s rights lawyers, politicians, EU policy makers and a UN representative.

I attended the conference on behalf of D-MYST - a youth advocacy project, which explores the range of tactics used by the tobacco industry, to try and recruit children and young people. In my speech I detailed how, despite restrictions in the

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UK on general advertising, packaging design still offered manufacturers a way to a younger audience. I also talked about how the inclusion of smoking characters in pre-watershed TV programmes exposed children and young adults to the idea that smoking is ‘normal’.

After listening to the other presentations, I had the chance to speak to some of the other delegates and share information and ideas.

I found this to be an interesting and thought-provoking conference. I am looking forward to attending a further seminar on Children’s Rights and the Global Economic Crisis, which I have been invited to in Southampton.

By Maia Gaynor 11J

Belvedere Ezine | Autumn Edition 2014

And I would ride 500 miles...

In the summer, Mr Kavanagh rode for five days from Liverpool City Tower to the Eiffel Tower. He did this for a charity in memory of a much loved PE teacher who passed away last November, Phil Gibbons.

We have asked Mr Kavanagh some questions about his amazing trip to France:

the trip I packed a few tops and shorts.

What charity did the ride raise money for?

I raised £2,820 for the charity Imagine Independence (mental health awareness), as a group we raised well over £20,000.

Natasha Chu, Year 8.

Was your trip to France fun? It was one of the best things I’ve ever done, the weather was very nice and I got a T-shirt tan.

What did you have to eat on the journey?

I had energy bars, mule bars, energy gels, bananas and loads and loads of water to keep me hydrated.

Would you do it again? Yes, it was a brilliant experience. It was about 500 miles. I rode all day until I got tired. Also, I stayed at a hotel and slept for 10 hours per day.

What did you have to wear and what clothes did you have on you? I had to wear this special cyclist suit; it was specially made for me by a company from Italy. On

Sixth Form News Belvedere Sixth Form is the biggest it has ever been with over 225 students, including 33 external girls, who joined in September, to begin their A-Level studies.

Students join Belvedere Sixth Form from a range of local schools including Calderstones, St Hilda’s, Bluecoat and Broughton Hall to name but a few.

With excellent facilities including two common rooms, a large study room equipped with computers and private study booths, a conservatory dining area, a free fitness suite and a well-stocked library, Sixth Formers at Belvedere have everything they need to enjoy their time at the Academy and make the very most of their two years.

To meet the needs of our ever expanding cohort and calibre of students, Belvedere

Sixth Form regularly reviews the curriculum on offer. This year, for example, saw the launch of Graphics A-Level; an exciting new addition to the 33 other subjects on offer.

Striking the balance between enjoyment, achievement and support is something we, at Belvedere, pride ourselves on, and we believe this is why our Sixth Form is going from strength to strength.

Road Safety Awareness Year 7 girls recently watched a play on road safety during their assembly. It was based on many true stories and really got the message across to students as well as staff.

Mrs Marshall, who organised the assembly, believed it showed good ways for Year 7

students to keep safe on roads.She hoped it acted as a reminder on ways to cross roads safely and gave students a message to keep safe.

How good was the students’ awareness before this assembly? I think all the Y7 girls had basic knowledge from primary and PSHE and the aim was to enhance this knowledge.

Why did you think this assembly was needed? Due to the main road the school is located on and it is important for girls to cross roads safely. Also, because you have more independence in Y7 and the nights are getting darker.

Do you think that any staff should improve their road safety awareness?

Absolutely. I think everyone could benefit from a regular reminder.

Caitlin Moore and Mona Hassan, Year 7.

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Belvedere Ezine | Autumn Edition 2014

MISUNDERSTOOD GIG 26

Belvedere Gig Review Misunderstood, September 2014.

Misunderstood is a modern boy group, who write and perform R+B / pop music. They came to perform at Belvedere to Years 8 and 9. The band consists of two young men, Stephan and Jeffrey, who were very energetic and got all of the girls screaming. They were very interactive with everyone.

These two London based to take all of the girls out important message behind the safe online and to understand

men were NOT just at school of Maths; there was a very performance, namely, to stay the dangers of cyberbullying.

The band spoke from their own personal experiences about online bullying and stressed to all of us about being careful in terms of what we send and post on the internet.

All of us were hooked by Misunderstood’s brilliant dance moves, awesome singing and great teaching skills through music.

I think that I can speak for all of the girls that this was a really enjoyable, fun, jam-packed afternoon of entertainment.

We would like to say a massive thank you to Misunderstood for allowing our inner craziness to burst out of us all and to Mr. Jamieson for organising their visit.

Amanda Hawley,

Year 8.

Belvedere Ezine | Autumn Edition 2014

Misunderstood - Finally Understood We had the pleasure of interviewing Misunderstood. If you do not know them, after this interview I would definitely buy their album “Trouble” on ITunes (On sale 6th October).

Misunderstood is a band formed by two wonderful (and slightly crazy) men called Stephan and Jeffrey. Stephan is bubbly and hyper, Jeffrey is crazy and energetic.

Such a good mix, which must be why they’ve been together singing for 4 years!

How long have you both been into music?

“I’ve been singing since I was about 2 and Jeffrey’s done it since he was 3.” – Stephan

Do you argue at all? “Oh, all the time.

Over lyrics, songs, food.” – Jeffrey

(They are doing a six week tour and its already the second week) – Jeffrey

Do you have any hobbies? “I love gymnastics,” (that explains the backflip then), “and I do all the cooking. He can’t cook,“ (jerks head at Jeffrey), “and neither can she, our DJ” - Stephan

They also don’t have stylists, which may explain the outfits!

What’s the best part of your job?

“Meeting our fans. We LOVE going to the schools and performing.

So yes, we have to say we loved meeting the Misunderstood boys and we wish them luck on the rest of their visits! We were very lucky interviewing them (we even got their autographs).

Laura Bunnett & Yasmin Adam, Year 8.

We’ve visited about 20 schools so far and we’ve still got four weeks left!”

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Belvedere Ezine | Autumn Edition 2014

Belvedere welcomes our new staff In September, we were joined by Mr Deakin (Music Department) and Miss Murray (MFL Department). We welcome them and hope they enjoy their time here as teachers. We asked them both a few questions about their careers so far.

Where have you come from? “I used to live in Southport but now I live in Liverpool.”

Have you taught anywhere else? “Yes, I taught English in Spain for 3 years.

How does it feel to be a teacher? “It feels fantastic.”

I also taught in St Francis Xavier’s College (SFX) for 4 months. Then I taught here for 4 months, then in St Peter’s in Manchester for 4 months. Now, finally I’m back here in Belvedere.”

Have you got lost at Belvedere yet? “ To start with I have to say yes, many times, but not anymore.”

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kin

Miss Mu

Mr Dea When did you get interested in music and what instruments do you play? “My interest in music started from around age nine. At the moment, I play the piano and a little bit of the ukulele. I would like to learn to play the guitar.”

When did you start speaking Spanish and French? “I started speaking both languages when I was in Year 7.”

What was your first day at Belvedere like? “My first day at Belvedere was great and I was very happy to come back to this school.”

Have you always wanted to teach languages? “No, I wanted to be a lawyer but when I started teaching English in Spain that’s when I knew I wanted to teach languages.”

How does it feel to come back to Belvedere as a teacher? “It’s very nice and everyone is lovely.”

Anais Bradshaw and Blanka Pouteau, Year 7.

News from the PE Department

All Belvedere’s rounders teams played extremely well throughout the rounders season. Our Year 8, 9, 10 and Senior teams got through to the City finals, which was a great accomplishment as they played against lots of tough competition to get there.

The Year 8 Rounders team were crowned City Champions and the Year 9, 10 and Senior teams were runners up. The Year 8 team also competed in the Rounders Merseyside School Games, which was a fantastic achievement and honour for Belvedere girls to represent Liverpool.

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All rounders teams were rewarded with an end of season party and players of the season awards for their excellent achievements, dedication and commitment to training and competitions.

PE Enrichment: Come and join our Enrichments with our fantastic specialised and experienced coaches – Tag Rugby Wednesdays at 3.15pm and Cheerleading/ Dance Thursdays at 3.15pm.

Well done to all pupils who competed in the Interform Rounders in the summer term last academic year. Winners of the Interform Rounders were 7OM, 8G, 9B. We look forward to more interform competitions in the futures.

Follow the PE department on Twitter - Belvepe

Sports Challenge:

Miss Scott took a group of Year 9 pupils to IM Marsh Campus to take part in team building activities and New Age Kurling. Belvedere pupils competed against many schools from all over Liverpool and were crowned New Age Kurling Champions.

This has enticed the pupils to take part in new sporting activities in the future. The pupils learnt many beneficial skills and had a very enjoyable day.

to e t d le ca l i u r th Ed e e r ar th fo t p in 014 e sport D ted 2 E s s i d P l to e ort ar h w T sh A outstanding be

commitment

ousands... th by en se be d ul co rt ve ad Your from teens to parents to grandparents ...

...it makes sense to advertise your business or event in the Belvedere magazine.

The Belvedere Academy magazine is published four times a year, in September, January, April and June. 1500 electronic copies are widely distributed among parents, primary schools, local businesses, nurseries and churches. Advertising with us in the magazine will reach a large target audience throughout Liverpool.

All revenue is put back into the production of the magazine.

GREAT RATES! The advertising rates and advert dimensions are: • PRIME POSITION FULL PAGE COLOUR ADVERTISEMENT ONLY £250 Position - back cover or on the inside front or back cover. 210mm x 297mm.

• FULL INSIDE PAGE COLOUR ADVERTISEMENT ONLY £200 210mm x 297mm.

• 1/2 PAGE INSIDE PAGE COLOUR ADVERTISEMENT ONLY £175 Landscape 210mm x 148mm or Portrait 148mm x 210mm.

Low cost, high coverage, wide audience range.

It’s easy to book your space:

To place your advertisement, please contact Mr Peter Dykeaylen on 0151 727 1284. Advertisements should

be submitted electronically as either high resolution JPEG files or as PDF files, either on CD or emailed to p.dykeaylen@belvedereacademy.net

FORTHCOMING DATES FOR YOUR DIARY OCT

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Half-term until 7th November

DEC

Year 13 Parents’ Evening 4.00pm - 6.30pm

DEC

Year 11 Mock Exams start

01 03 DEC

08

Year 12 Parents’ Evening 4.00pm - 6.30pm

Cheques should be made payable to GDST Academy Trust. All copies and payments must be received one month before publication.

the team Congratulations to the News Team from Belvedere’s Press Club Enrichment run by Mr Dykeaylen: Laura Bunnett Yasmin Adam Ellie Jones Natasha Chu Anais Bradshaw Blanka Pouteau

Mona Hassan Natasha Chu Omima Ihmaidat Caitlin Moore Georgia Jackson (articles and editing)

Many thanks to teaching staff who have also contributed articles and photographs. For more news please visit www.belvedereacademy.net If you have any comments or suggestions for the magazine then please contact Mr Peter Dykeaylen: p.dykeaylen@belvedereacademy.net The Belvedere Academy, 17 Belvedere Road, Princes Park, Liverpool, L8 3TF. 0151 727 1284 E: info@belvedereacademy.net www.belvedereacademy.net