Caludon Update Easter 2012

Easter 2012

April 2012

Caludon Update

Dear Parent/Carer As you will see in this edition of the Caludon Update, the spring term has been an extremely busy and exciting one for staff and students alike. Our students have been given lots of opportunities to engage with their learning in so many challenging and interesting ways and staff have given very generously their time and energy. You will read of trips, sporting activities and lots more.

Check our website for the latest updates, we like to keep you well informed.

Some dates for your diary: · School closes for the Easter break on Thursday 5 April at 2.10pm · School re-opens to all students on Monday 23 April In the summer term, there are teacher days on Friday 6 July, Monday 23 July and Tuesday 24 July – school will be closed to all students on these days.

As you may know, during our last inspection in November 2011, Ofsted inspectors judged Caludon Castle to be outstanding in every category. This indicates excellent performance has been sustained. A copy of the full report from Ofsted can be found on the school website.

You will read inside about the fabulous super learning days that have taken place this term. They provide an opportunity to take part in enrichment activities.

We are very proud of your children and on Monday, over sixty students showcased their leadership talents to staff and governors through a ‘student leadership fair’. They were able to describe how their input was making a difference to lessons in school and positive contribution within the community.

We would like to thank you for supporting Caludon in everything that we do, and the staff for their commitment to our fabulous young people.

All that remains is for us to wish you a happy and relaxing Easter.

Yours faithfully

Mrs M Marr Headteacher

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Languages French Pen friends Some of our Year 9 French students have been showing off their French by writing to some Year 9’s in a school in Bordeaux in France for the second year running. Some have been exchanging contact details so they can stay in touch via the internet as well as when they write their letters in school and have been in touch on Facebook. They have been able to use what they have learnt in class to talk about themselves and have found out a lot about French celebrations and culture.

Mrs Mitchell - Subject Leader, Languages

Student Volunteers

Students in Years 10 and 11 studying languages have been lucky enough this term to work with undergraduates in French and Spanish from Coventry University. This has enabled our students to practise their spoken language in the run up to important speaking exams and also come into contact with young people who have chosen to study languages at a higher level.

Mrs Mitchell - Subject Leader, Languages

Year 12 and 13 A Level Conference – Tile Hill Wood On Wednesday 29 February, 17 students studying AS/A level French and Spanish attended an A Level conference at Tile Hill Wood Language College. During the day students worked with others from all over the city on how to achieve better grades in their exam. They also took part in taster courses of different languages such as Italian, Russian and Arabic.

Mrs Bilsland - Teacher of Languages

Year 10 and 12 Spanish trip to Madrid During February half term, 8 students joined Cardinal Newman School on a trip to Madrid. Over the 4 days that we were there the students took part in a variety of activities and excursions, including visits to the Prado art museum, the Royal Palace and the nearby town of Toledo. Perhaps the most exciting part was a tour of the Real Madrid Bernabeau stadium and getting to see a football game between Madrid and Levante. As Cardinal Newman took a lot of younger students, our students were outstanding ambassadors for the school and set an excellent example.

They were responsible, mature and excelled in their language skills. They really got into the Spanish culture and were willing to try new things and experiences, including typical Spanish dishes.

Mrs Bilsland - Teacher of Languages

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Years 9 and 10 A, G and T French cinema We were lucky enough to be chosen by the Schools and Cinema Board in London to pick our choice of Foreign Language film at Warwick Arts centre. Twenty five of our best linguists attended a private screening of the Luc Besson film ‘Adele Blanc Sec’ on 13 March 2012. All of those who attended stated what an enjoyable experience it had been, most had never seen a foreign film before and how good it was for their language skills. They were absolutely blown away that the cinema was open just for them. Below is a review by three of the participants.

Mrs Mitchell & Miss Paddock Film Review for the Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec This film shows an adventure set in the early part of the 20th century and focused on a popular novelist and her dealings with would-be suitors, the cops, monsters, and other distractions.

She is guilt stricken and heart-broken because her twin sister has been left paralysed in a vegative and catatonic state; because of her. When an innocent game of tennis turns into sibling rivalry, an unusually insignificant hairpin, which Adele lent to her twin sister, falls out of her hair after her twin sister is felled by an overpowered shot in the head, the hairpin comes back to haunt her and splits straight through her head.

She realises that the only person who can save her ill-fated sister is the doctor of an old ancient Egyptian pharaoh; but he is over 500 miles away in the city of Cairo; and is in the Valley of the Kings waiting to be revived from death.

The only person that can help her is the great scientist Marie-Joseph Espérandieu who is famed for bringing the dead back to life. But, with obstacles in the way and with Espérandieu sentenced to death by guillotine, not everything is looking rosy for Adele. In Paris however, Espérandieu is already causing mayhem, having brought to life what was a safe museum egg, but is now a very active pterodactyl.

On the 14 March 2012, as a school trip we went to view this film, at the Warwick Arts Centre. At first we thought it would be too difficult to understand as it was only in French. However, it came surprisingly easy as we knew most of the words as most were cognates and we have been learning French for 3 years, and are Gifted and Talented students chosen for this trip especially (not to brag).

It's funny, crazy without being stupid, rich in adventure. The story is hardly believable, but it's certainly entertaining with nice costumes, beautiful sets from early 20th century Paris and good actors.

Children ten or older will love the adventure thing in the movie, with dinosaurs, talking mummies and secret Egyptian tombs. It is weird, freaky, sometimes a little bit scary, and always funny. Louise Bougoin (Adele) is beautifully charming, clever and funny, as well as the rest of the cast.

Overall the experience was thrilling and we would definitely like to see the sequel (if there is one).

Also another French film would be great to see as we now know how French films are set. The ending was contrary to human belief, as riding on pterodactyls is not your run of the mill day-to-day operation, and after 5 years of pain and aggravation she is relieved of that pain and distress. A budding romance is formed between the young scientist and Adele’s twin sister. It showed revealing features of a typical adventure film and the special effects of the mummies in Paris was a funny spectacle. So as a group we thoroughly enjoyed this film and if we got the chance would jump at Captionwe describing picture the opportunity of seeing another foreign film. or graphic.

By Jaskaran Sembi, Kurt Burzynski and Nathan Briggs.

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Languages continued….

La Casa de Bernada Alba – A level Spanish In February a group of students from Years 12 and 13 took an evening trip to the Alemida Theatre in London to watch the third play in the Lorca triology – La Casa de Bernada Alba (Bernada Alba’s House).

Following her husband’s funeral, powerful matriarch Bernarda Alba decrees to her five daughters that the household will enter a period of eight years mourning. The only one it seems will escape this fate is the eldest daughter, Angustias, who is already betrothed to the village’s most eligible bachelor. All is not as it seems however and as Bernarda’s oppression of her daughters increases it is more than the girls’ liberty that is in danger.

"This was a stunningly effective performance on every level.

Unmissable!"

"It’s hard to imagine a more perfect House of Bernarda Alba" Kate Kellaway, The Observer, 29 January 2012 “The production is a marvel of carefully built-up, beautifully lit atmosphere."

Paul Taylor, The Independent, 31 January 2012 Mrs Bilsland Subject Leader of Spanish

Seville 2012 In September 2012 Caludon Castle hopes to start a 2 year study aimed at taking our students on a journey from being local residents to global citizens. In preparation for this project, Mrs Bilsland travelled to Spain on 8 February to meet Caludon’s 8 new partner schools from countries as diverse as Iceland, Turkey, Spain and Germany.

The meeting was a huge success and we eagerly await the outcome of our bid for funding in July 2012.

More news to follow in the next Caludon Update.

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Drama

Theatre visit to Shakespeare's Globe Midsummer night’s dream The Year 13 Drama and Theatre Studies students had a highly enjoyable and educational visit to London on the 15 March. As part of their written exam at the end of the course students need to be able to compare a modern production of a Shakespeare play with a production staged in the original Elizabethan context.

Being able to visit the Globe, a replica of Shakespeare's own theatre on the South Bank of the Thames, was a fantastic way to bring the knowledge and learning from books into real life. We visited the permanent exhibition beneath the theatre, took part in a guided tour of the theatre itself and managed to sneak some photos in the royal box!

The highlight of the day was an evening visit to the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith where we saw Filter Theatre's production of Midsummer Night's Dream. This was genuinely hilariously funny. We all considered it to be one of the best things we'd ever seen in theatre anywhere.

Pretty impressive for a play written nearly 450 years ago!

Mr Degroot Subject Leader of Drama

The Roses of Eyam and Midsummer Night's Dream Hot on the heels of 'Stories in Stone', the school production in January, rehearsals are well under way for two school plays taking place in the summer term during Arts Week. The Keystage 3 Drama Club, joined by a group of primary school children from Richard Lee School and directed

by Miss Nicholson, is performing a shortened version of a Midsummer Night's Dream.

The second production is 'The Roses of Eyam' a tragic, but ultimately inspiring, true story of a whole village in Derbyshire who, during an outbreak of plague in the 1600s, shut themselves off from the world to protect other villages from the deadly disease.

Although many of the biggest parts have been cast, there are still opportunities to be involved.

The cast list is very large and any students who are ready for the challenge can still be given a speaking role. See myself, Miss Gallagher or Miss McCarthy if you are interested.

Both productions are challenging for the young actors involved and the whole department are excited by the opportunity to try and do something different.

Mr Degroot Subject Leader of Drama

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Drama continued…

Caludon Drama students work with internationally renowned Director In January, AS and A2 Drama students were lucky enough to participate in a workshop with influential theatre-maker Max Stafford-Clark.

Having watched Max’s latest production of ‘Top Girls’ by Caryl Churchill the night before, students were invited to work on the set of the show to explore the text using a range of exciting techniques.

Theatre company Out of Joint’s assistant director led the session, which involved students using improvisation, the company’s trademarks ‘action’ technique, and even sticking playing cards to their foreheads!

Special recognition should go to Gary Oddy (Year 12) for his probing question: “So, Max, I understand that you directed the first production of this play in London, in 1982. I was wondering if you could explain to us how your approach to directing this contemporary production differed?” This opened up a detailed discussion about the role of theatre as a political tool, and the relevance of ‘Top Girls’ in the current social, political and economic climate.

Caludon students undoubtedly made a very positive impression on this father of modern theatre, for in a note which he sent to the school the following day, Max described our students as “delightful.” I anticipate that the experience of working with such an inspiring practitioner will continue to motivate our aspiring actors and directors both during the A level Drama course and beyond.

Miss Burwell - Teacher of Drama

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PSD

The PSD Team would like to Congratulate Well done to the Year 9 Citizenship students who have completed their coursework and have achieved an A*

Ryan BALDWIN Vicki BERWICK Priya BOLA Natalie BOOTH Yasmin BORGEAT Amy BRAIN Alisha BUTLE Katie BUTLER Chloe CAMWELL George CARTER Abi DAVIES Jenna DEVINE Niamh EMERY Chloe EVANS Jack FINLAY Tasmin FIVEY Mireya GARCIA Lucy GAUTAM Joanna GAY Sophie GREENER Ryan HALLAM Danielle HARRISON

Emma HARVEY Megan HOBDAY Bryony HOLMES Laura HUTT Amie JOBE Sophie JONES Dylan KANG Kirandeep KAUR Devon KEITH Harley KEITH Dan KINGSWELL Lia LACEY Laura MALPASS Josh MAYO Alysha MCDERMOTT Sophie MCINTOSH Tumbi MITIKA Natalie MOORE Alexandra O'MALLEY Adam O'SULLIVAN Sam PAHNKE

Celina PANCHAL Priyanka PATEL Danielle PAYNE Genillia PIERRE-LOUIS Lewis RIGBY Hannah ROSE Evelyn ROTOLO Katie SCALLAN Eneo SELIMOVIQ Danielle SHARPE Anareeta SHERGILL Emma SHERRIFF Sean STATHAM Bonnie-Lee STONE Megan TAYLOR Chloe THOMPSON Chloe VAN DER MERWE Abigayle WELLS Ryan WHALE Bethany WILLIAMS

Well done to the Year 11 Sociology students who gained an A* in the January exam Harry Andrews, Dixson Lee, Safina Siddiqui, Alex Starkey and Liam Tallis Well done to all of the Year 13 Philosophy students who improved their grades, especially Charlotte Roberts, Emma Murphy and Taran Heir who went up to an A and Anita Purewal who achieved an A*.

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Enterprise and Work Related Learning This term, our Student Voice Group has been working closely with the Police Community Support Officers to get two exciting new projects off the ground. In the very near future there will be a ‘Report It’ box in the Community Library for both students and members of the public to report anything unusual they may have seen whilst out and about. This box will allow anyone to anonymously report any suspicious behaviour, graffiti or any other non-emergency crime or activity to the police. It is hoped that by having such a facility, students and members of the public can take an active role in making their community safer for all.

The Police Community Support officers will also be visiting school shortly in order to tag the cycles of students and staff who ride their bikes to school. The unique tagging system means that the cycle is immediately identifiable as belonging to the owner and cannot be removed in the event of theft. This scheme will be open to all students across Years 7 to 13 free of charge.

Watch out for updates as to when the Police are booked in to come and carry out the tagging!

Our student voice group has been an integral part of the City Council’s Caludon Park play area consultation process. Representatives from the council visited the group at school to show them the plans for the new play area and ask what they thought.

Caludon Castle students were very enthusiastic about the plans for the park and gave some very well thought out feedback about how the plans could be improved. The council were very keen to hear our views and have incorporated our student’s ideas into the plans.

Our work with the Friends of Caludon Castle Group continues to go from strength to strength and there are a number of new initiatives and activities planned for the park over the coming months.

For more information please see the group’s website: www.caludoncastlepark.org.uk

Work Experience We are very pleased to report that vast majority of our Year 10 students have successfully secured a work experience placement, and health and safety checks on each of the business involved are currently taking place.

Here in school we will be preparing students for their placement by guiding them through their work experience log books. Each student will be given a booklet which will allow them to record their experiences throughout their week. They will also be given guidance on health and safety matters and how to plan their journeys to and from their placement.

Miss McFadden - Enterprise and Work Related Learning Co-ordinator

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Work Related Learning Spring term has seen our new cohort of Year 9 students select their Work Related Learning Courses. Students have had the opportunity to choose between Construction, Motor Vehicle, Hair and Beauty and Animal Care courses to name but a few. All students are now eagerly awaiting their taster days when they will get the chance to sample their vocational area before starting on their courses in September.

Our Year 10 and Year 11 Work Related Learning students have continued to shine at their college placements with excellent feedback from all providers.

Many of our Year 11 students are in the process of completing their vocational study and are now looking at how they can best use both the qualifications and practical skills they have learned at college to help boost their career prospects when they leave school.

Ryan Stanley of Year 11 shows off his handiwork at Whitefriars Construction

Alternative curriculum We are fortunate enough to have been able to offer a number of Year 11 students an additional dimension to their timetables with the introduction of an alternative curriculum. Classes have ranged from yoga to Cooking for Fun, Craft, sport and car/motorcycle maintenance and have given students an extra dimension to their skills set.

Students taking part in the car/ motorcycle maintenance classes.

Miss McFadden Enterprise and Work Related Learning Co-ordinator

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Library

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Library news We have certainly had a busy start to the library this year kicking off with an author event in January, hosted here at Caludon, and another just last week hosted by Grace Academy.

Our students love meeting authors and gain a real insight into the creative life of an author and what inspires them.

IMPORTANT NOTE TO PARENTS/CARERS OF YEAR 7 On the note of reading - English staff and I decided in November that we would start a ‘reading race’ initially with Year7. The first task ‘The Triathlon’ was to read three books from the library over the Christmas holidays. We have been delighted with our students’ positivity and enthusiasm regarding this challenge. The idea was to promote reading for pleasure and of course attainment. As each student completed the first challenge, they were presented with a certificate. The second task was to read four texts ‘The Relay’, again, students’ responded amazingly well!

The last big PUSH for reading is the ‘Decathlon’ Year 7 need to read ten texts, which are a mixture of newspapers, magazines and books. They have until the end of May to complete this final challenge.

Please support your child with this task; they do seem to have found it enjoyable, whilst improving their vocabulary, sentence writing and confidence in using the library .

Miss Barton School Librarian

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Library continued‌.

On Thursday 22 March 2012, our reading group visited Grace Academy to see novelist Moira Young, who has just won two prestigious book awards, Costa Children’s Book prize and Coventry Inspiration Book Awards with her fabulous debut dystopian thriller Blood Red Road.

Moira was captivating and an excellent narrator, she shared with the audience her zest for writing and plans for her debut novel Blood Red Road to be made into a film. The Director will be none other than Ridley Scott.

We all agreed she is one of the best authors we have had the pleasure to see.

Pictured from left to right are: Alisha Butle Y9 Chloe Evans Y9 Jonathan Letts Y7 David Sykes Y7 Moira Young Poppy Woodier Y8 Sharna Young Y8 Miss Barton School Librarian

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Business and Vocational The Business and Vocational faculty recently presented their termly ambassadorial awards to advocate students who have all shown exceptional enterprise skills and an outstanding Attitude to Learning during the first term. Students have also enjoyed being nominated for the Head’s tea-party and have been extremely supportive by helping us throughout recent open evenings.

We will be repeating these awards at Easter, rewarding those that improve their coursework to their highest possible grade. Year 11 students now only have a matter of weeks to complete improvements to their final pieces of coursework. After school support is available every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings in F12.

Mr M Newsome Director of Learning

Year 7

Yasmin Francis

Abigail Frost

Modesia Tanisha

Year 8

Samuel Martin

Andrew Tiff

Wilson Courtney

Year 9

N/A

N/A

N/A

Year 10

Jas Dhoofer

Callum McEneany

Shakira Siddiqui

Year 11

Sophie Jevons

Corrine Gaggini

Katie Simms

Photography

Photography students had an interesting trip to London to see the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize at the National Portrait Gallery on 8 February.

This regular yearly exhibition visit has proven to be really inspiring for students and was a great start to a new area of work for the photography exam, as the sixth form students also got to spend time photographing around Trafalgar Square in preparation for their photography exam.

Alongside seeing the exhibition, and the area around Trafalgar Square, students were treated to a short mini bus tour of Hyde Park and some other London landmarks by our fantastic driver, Paul. We also had time for a little celeb-spotting, seeing Stephen Fry in his natural habitat at The Savoy hotel after parking the mini bus. There was also the chance for students to experience a real press photo opportunity and snap Boris Johnson giving an interview next to the Olympic clock and to see someone from X-Factor in McDonalds.

It was a fun and inspiring day, we are all already looking forward to the next London trip.

Ms Gane - Teacher of Photography

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Interschool Stock Market Challenge On Tuesday 20 March five Year 10 students got the opportunity to represent Caludon Castle School for the first time in an Interschool Stock Market Challenge held at The University of Coventry. The interschool competition uses the stock market trading floor simulation and involves 20 to 30 schools in each UK region. Through the simulation the students experienced many aspects of business life; buying and selling; financial management; banking and accountancy; analysing news reports; and learning how companies communicate through the media.

The aim of Stock Market Challenge was to maximise the value of investments in shares and euros during a virtual Monday to Friday of trading, with each of the five days lasting around 20 minutes.

Trading was in nine companies and the euro, with investment decisions being based on the information the students received in news reports throughout the day in the form of daily newspapers, radio news and TV bulletins. The buying and selling took place around the trading pit at prices quoted on screens around the room. The winning team was the one with the highest-valued portfolio at the close of trading on the final day.

The close team work, acute analytical skills and perseverance of the students paid off as they completed trading with a portfolio value of £35,900 achieving a fantastic profit of £14,900. Below are some of the students’ thoughts of the day.

‘The challenge was aimed to broaden our mind in the world of business and apply it to the real world.

The experience was excellent, we felt the pressure and felt it tested our strengths and weaknesses.’

Jaskaran Sembi ‘I think this experience was very good as we learnt how to work well as a team. I also learnt how to apply business to real life situations and to work under pressure. The trip was really fun and I thoroughly enjoyed it.’

Rajvir Bachu ‘We had a great time. We put the concepts of business into practice in a real world situation. Applying them to the game in this way helped us learn what it’s like for businesses.’

Charles Musarurwa ‘I felt the challenge went very well. I have learnt how to work much better as a team but was also encouraged to work independently at times. The experience was beneficial as we got to feel the pressure of the business world which has given us a better understanding of how some businesses work.’

Jaspinder Sembi ‘I think the Stock Market Challenge was very beneficial for our Business Studies as it allowed us to understand the stock market better. It also put our Maths, English and teamwork skills to the test and portrayed how these are used in real life scenarios. I would recommend others in school to take this opportunity if it is given to them next time.’

Helaina Patel Rachael Anderson - Learning Supervisor for Business and Maths

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Triathlon Challenge Mr Williams, Head of Year 7 is taking on the challenge this year of competing in six Triathlons to raise money for the Snowball Trust.

Snowball Trust helps to support children and young people with disabilities, and their families in the Coventry and Warwickshire area. Each race will consist of a swim between 750 and 1500 meters, 20-40Km bike ride and a 5-10K run, some of which will be open water swims in lakes and reservoirs around the region.

Trevor Binch, an Ex Caludon Castle student, and now Senior Partner with Merrick Binch Estate Agents in Coventry, is helping to support the efforts through sponsoring the races which are being held in Coventry, Stratford, Warwick, Birmingham and Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire.

Please help to support Mr Williams in raising as much money as possible for Snowball Trust which helps to support hundreds of youngsters each year. Donations can be made online at www.justgiving.com/mattyw1 or directly to Mr Williams

Team Caludon Around 50 staff and students will be taking part in this year’s Coventry Fun Run to raise money for sending a group of staff and students to Uganda in July this year.

The Coventry Fun run is being held on Sunday 27 May 2012 at the Coventry War Memorial Park and is a 3.5 mile run around the surrounding areas of Earlsdon and Cheylesmore.

This annual event organised by the Coventry Three Spires Round Table attracts thousands of entries each year. If you would like to get involved with the fun run and would like to be a part of Team Caludon, please see Mr Williams, Head of Year 7 at school.

Entry fees to the event are £5 for under 16’s and £7 for 16-59 yrs, so it’s a great opportunity to get active with all the family. For more details please see www.coventryfunrun.co.uk

Year 7 Science and Engineering

During the week beginning 12 March, Year 7 students took on the challenge of building balloon powered cars during form time. Each tutor group was given two balloons, some basic equipment and a brief to build a car powered by the balloons.

Each tutor group worked throughout the week on designing and producing their final model which was to enter the race on the Friday. All of the tutor groups worked exceedingly well throughout the week and produced some amazing designs.

Race day on the Friday saw a mixed bag of performances, but the winner of the distance race went to Team Prout, 7.4 whose car travelled the furthest on the day.

Well done to all of Year 7 for their efforts during the week.

Mr Williams - Year 7 Leader

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BLP (Building Learning Power)

In BLP this term, Mrs Cunningham’s Year 8 group have been creating some comic strips that really show how the BLP skills can be used in real life situations, they have even created characters like Rory the resourceful

man and Anthony the reciprocal Ant to show off their creative skills. Year 7 have been making some eye catching magazines in groups and the final products are really professional looking and packed with fun activities, interesting info and of course terrific team work!

Some of this work will be displayed opposite the library near the technology rooms so go and have a look!

Miss Blud Teacher of BLP

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A special congratulations to Jakob Tennant and Kieran Eaton who built this impressive Lego house.

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Gingerbread Raffle 2011

Every year, myself and Mrs Woodcraft bake gingerbread houses and raffle them off in school for a chosen charity.

This year we decided to make a carousel, a sleigh and a house. We spent two days baking, constructing and decorating the gingerbread and eventually we were able to bring it into school to display!

This year our chosen charity was “Zoe’s Place”, a local hospice dedicated to providing care for young children and babies with terminal or life limiting illnesses. They offer fantastic support for families who are experiencing particularly difficult situations relating to their child’s health.

Our team of “Gingerbread Ambassadors” sold raffle tickets at every available opportunity! The students and staff were very excited and soon we were selling more raffle tickets than we could have imagined!

We also ran a side raffle for staff, which gave them the chance to win a cut and colour at Toni and Guy! Our winners this year were: Olivia McKirdy – 7.3 Megan Elwell – 7.6

Beth Finlan – 8.5 Miss Nicholson – Toni & Guy prize!

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Our grand total this year was £769.00!! We are extremely proud of our student ambassadors, who really took the reins in terms of fundraising and advertising. We are very grateful to all who purchased a ticket, donated funds or simply helped us to advertise.

In order to present the cheque and to get a real idea of how the money raised would be used, we were invited to visit “Zoe’s place” with a few of our student ambassadors. They found it to be a humbling and somewhat emotional experience. I asked them to write a few words about the visit from their point of view: “I wanted to raise money for ‘Zoe’s Place’ because it was going to a good cause, and it made me feel good that I was doing something worthwhile! When I went to visit, I was a bit worried at first, because I didn’t know what to expect. Then Muna showed us around and I was really interested in what they do. My friends and I love to raise money for charities and I think that more people should get involved and help rise more money next year!” Demi Grant – 8.4 “When I went to ‘Zoe’s Place’ we talked a lot about the charity and how it helps the kids and the babies there before we went into the hospice. We were then shown around and saw all the different rooms they use to support the families. There was a room of soft play area and plastic balls. There was also a room called the sensory room, it had beanbags, light up bubbly lamps, a projector that showed the earth spinning around and lots of colourful things. This room is to help the children relax, I really liked this room! We were shown three rooms where babies/children sleep when they visit or need care. The saddest part was the starlight room in the parent’s suite, this is the room that is used as a bedroom when a child is close to passing away. It’s kept very quiet and comfortable. Muna said it was called the starlight room because everyone is a star” Henry Evatt – 8.8 The students who took part in the visit were extremely mature and took a real interest in the work of the charity.

Although it was sometimes quite sad to talk about some of the issues the hospice deals with on a daily basis, I think we all felt very proud that we have been able to contribute to such a worthwhile local charity like “Zoe’s Place”.

Many thanks to Muna at the hospice for allowing us visit and showing us around.

Many thanks to everyone who supported us this year! See you next Christmas!

Miss Grisedale, Mrs Woodcraft and the Gingerbread Ambassadors!

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Our visit to Zoë's Place On Friday 10 February 2012, four year 8 students including myself visited our schools chosen charity to donate the money from the gingerbread raffle, that took place a few weeks before. The hospice is a really good and supportive place for young children aged from new born to five years old. They would go to the hospice if they suffer from the toughest of all, lifethreatening illnesses. The hospice is a very caring, understanding home from home, and I am certain that it really does not only help children suffering but also the families around them.

The staff…

There are some amazing staff working at the Zoe’s place hospice in Coventry and they put all of their effort into caring and looking after young children who aren’t as lucky as we are. The nurses really make a difference to the children’s lives at Zoe’s place.

Also the other staff at Zoe’s place really do make sure the hospice is as good as it can be to ensure that everything is as perfect as it possibly can be. I can assure you IT IS! Without all of these amazing people, Zoe’s place just wouldn’t be as great as it is now.

It was all very nice and is a proper home from home that would help anyone going through this situation.

What I thought was a lovely idea was that there was a lot of Disney cuddly toys and pictures etc and every single Disney item was kindly donated by Disney themselves.

This is a wonderful place and I truly think that this was the right choice for Caludon to donate their gingerbread earnings to and I am sure it will be spent very wisely!!!

By Lucy Malpass “Four students were selected to

represent Caludon Castle school on a trip to “Zoe’s Place”. When you arrive you step through a set of double doors and immediately felt different and more mature! The reason students and staff visited was to present a cheque for funds raised through the Caludon Gingerbread raffle!

Our money will provide “Zoe’s place” with paint to paint the room, also to provide highchairs for the children and many things these children need or deserve. The trip was very emotional however we pulled ourselves through it, as I said before, we felt more mature and took into consideration how lucky we are. If you have any ideas to help "Zoe’s place”, please inform Miss Grisedale, I’m sure she will be happy to hear!” (Caitlin Leigh – 8.5)

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Uganda Two staff and six students from Caludon plan to return to Uganda to work at our partner school, The Family Primary School, this summer.

The visit will take place from 13 – 24 July and will focus on providing: Clean Water Learning resources Sports Coaching We will be joined by staff and students from Westwood School and the Africa Inspires Group.

The Caludon Team have been busy coordinating fund raising activities. These have included cake sales, a sponsored swim, a fashion show at Broad Street Rugby Club, three bag packs and company donations. We are planning a music evening, lunchtime Fashion Show and a quiz night.

The students have given a presentation to Coventry City Council Scrutiny Board in

February 2012.

The committee were so impressed by the young people that they have invited the Africa Inspires Team and supporters to a reception with the Lord Mayor on 28 March.

We would like to thank all the students, staff, parents and Governors at Caludon who have truly embraced our Ugandan partnership work.

To date we have raised ÂŁ4289.22 which is a testament to their hard work, belief and generosity. Thank you.

Sue Webb, Deputy Headteacher

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Year 10 Super Learning Day

On Wednesday 7 March, the Year 10 team decided to be adventurous and have a number of different activities taking place across the school and city for Caludon Castle Year 10 Super learning Day. In all we had 5 activities taking place, one of which was for parents and carers. The staff who supported these activities were absolutely amazing and enjoyed themselves immensely. Ms Casey, Mr Davoile and Ms Edwards, pulled out all the stops with the organisation of this day, making it run seamlessly.

Taster Day at University of Coventry.

We wanted to give students an opportunity to sample what university life could look like. They experienced Coventry University’s Media centre which was absolutely amazing. We had students filming in studios, putting a news piece together, taking action frame shots and the list goes on. They were shown around halls of residence and spoken to about university life to lecturers and undergraduates. Too many students to count explained the amazing time they had and the desire they had to go and aspire for a university place in the near future.

Coombe Abbey We sent 12 students to Coombe Abbey. Although the day started wet and miserable, this didn’t dampen the vitality our students showed. They built shelters, caught fish, cooked fish (not the ones they caught!) undertook challenges and needed to trust one another. It wasn’t what they expected at all and it was wonderful. To top it all off, our students impressed the staff at Coombe Abbey so much; two of them were offered work experience placements.

Navy and Marines The Navy and Marines offered Caludon opportunity for students to test their interview and job application skills. On top of this, there was an offer to test their endurance and fitness too. We took up both offers with fervour. Approximately 18 students took part. Two major points that came out of the day for students was; they realised why as a school we have high standards for our uniform, and how body language can be your biggest downfall if not careful. They ran until they could not run any more. Even so, they actually thanked the servicemen afterwards.

Positively Mad – Examsbusters (students) A morning and afternoon session had two groups of students able to tell you a million and one things about Disney, World War II and shopping lists, to name a just a few things. In all we had 180 students learning key memory techniques, revision advice

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and getting motivated about preparation for examinations. By the end of their energising two hour session students spoke to staff saying they were glad they were able to take part in the session.

Positively Mad – Examsbusters (Parents/Carers) Parents were invited to an after school session to give them a sample of the experience students received during the day and to provide parents with an opportunity to find out more ways in which they can help their children without needing to become an expert in every subject taught in a secondary school.

It was so successful we had many parents asking, and phoning the subsequent day, whether we would be repeating the sessions so their children, who did not attend, could have the experience too. In answer to these questions, we will be providing a similar opportunity to students who were not able to attend. More information about this will be sent closer to the time.

Mark Taitt, Deputy Headteacher

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Warwick University taster day a better understanding of how they might follow the path to university should they choose to.

On Friday 2 March, we were invited to take part in an open day for secondary school students at Warwick University, to which we took 15 year 8 students. The day included students from several other Coventry secondary schools too. Most of the students on the trip had not been to visit a university before, and were really excited at the prospect!

It gave the students a chance to see what university is all about, to ask questions and hopefully inspire them to aim high!

They started the day in a lecture theatre with some of the current student mentors and members of the Warwick faculty.

They were shown a presentation which guided them through the basics of university life, allowing them to gain

The students were then taken out into the Warwick campus, led by a student mentor, and shown the sights and sounds of a university! As many of you will know, the Warwick campus is fairly large and although we walked for quite a while, the students didn’t lose their enthusiasm and most will tell you it was the highlight of the day (it was also rather sunny!).

We then returned to our base and the students were placed into mixed groups for a taste of a real lecture!

Engineering seems to have come out on top, as the favourite

lecture of the morning!

In the afternoon, the students had a question and answer session with the Warwick student mentors.

This was really valuable, as it allowed students to ask those burning questions they’d been harbouring all day! Then came the graduation ceremony...the students really got into character for this! unfortunately, due to the cap and gowns being rentals, we weren’t allowed to take the obligatory “throwing the cap in the air” shot!

The trip home was buzzing with excitement and lots of talk about future careers and further education! There were even some new friendships formed with those from other schools. All in all, it was a brilliant day and the students left inspired and excited!

Miss Grisedale & Miss Duffty

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“The trip to Warwick University was lots of fun! We had a tour of the university campus and got to try on a cap and gown. Some of their current students were our guides for the day and spoke to us about university on the tour. I made my mind up about what I want to do when I’m older. I am going to go to university and study mechanical engineering, possibly even at Warwick University! Overall it was a good day and I made some new friends!”

Daniel Starkey – 8.10 “I thought the Warwick university trip was very interesting and enjoyable. At first I didn’t know what to expect; but after this experience I am considering going to university when I leave school! All because of this trip! I enjoyed the campus tour the most because we got to see the whole university” Billy Davis – 8.10 “I really enjoyed the University trip! It really opened my eyes about how many courses there are to choose from! I enjoyed the campus tour, as we got to see all the facilities and learnt more about the opportunities that the university can offer.

I am really considering going to university when I have finished school and sixth form. I loved the trip!”

Teri Dudley – 8.9 “This trip was fun AND educational! I learnt a lot about what courses you can take! You can even take knitwear and you can learn all sorts of musical instruments! In all there are about 50,000 courses over the UK! I especially like the campus tour, as it showed how big the campus really was. It was a great day and it has inspired me even more to consider university.

There are some downsides, like being away from home and student loans. But there are lots of upsides too, including having a better social life!”

Anish Chudasma – 8.6

The day at Warwick university was really fun and interesting. I enjoyed the campus tour, we saw what a university looks like and what kind of opportunities it offers. We got to see lots of buildings including some of the halls of residence. They also explained the courses, from science to knitwear! We looked at the gym and the cinema. We had a lesson in economics and went into a lecture theatre! We also had pictures in graduation caps and gowns. We did some group work with current students, where we discussed the best and worst parts of university life.

I felt it was a really good experience!”

Harry Powell – 8.5

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Geography Year 8 Exploding Volcanoes!

Year 8 Geography students have been getting creative for their home learning projects recently. The focus for students was Stratovolcanoes a particular type of volcano famous for its explosive eruptions. The standard of volcano models made was extremely high a wide range of imaginative materials were used including wood, stones, papier-mâché, candle wax and even feathers. Many of the volcanoes were designed bottles inside the crater which gave a number of groups the opportunity to explode their volcanoes.

Students also worked on locating famous volcanic eruptions, building miniature volcano models and creating stratovolcano fact files.

A special mention goes to the following students who produced exceptionally good projects: Shannon Rosamond Jack Sharman

Angela Vasiliou Sharna Young

Louis Wynne-O’Leary Lauren Thorn

Robert McDonnell

February saw the G e o g r a p h y department team up with the Royal Geographical Society to take part in the Geography Ambassadors Scheme. The project aims to give students the opportunity to meet and work with Geographers either university students or experts in a given field.

The Geography department was lucky enough to have two ambassadors work with Year 8 and 9 over a 2 week period in February. The Year 9 students were given an assembly on Geography at school and university and also how Geography affects our everyday lives.

Geography Ambassadors Scheme

Year 8 students worked with two Coventry University final year Geography students looking at local and global issues and the links between them and then went on to study recycling and management of resources. The students worked excellently and many groups came up with a number of interesting ideas on how to manage the rubbish we produce.

Mr Handy - Head of Geography

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Year 9 Field Trip to O n Mo n d a y 2 6 Ma r ch t h e Geography department took 44, Year 9 students to the National Sealife Centre in Birmingham. The students spent half of the day at the Sea Life Centre and the other half collecting fieldwork in and around Brindley Place. The VIP tour around the Sea Life Centre enabled students to explore the coral ecosystems they have been learning about in class by seeing the corals and associated creatures.

The students were a credit to themselves and the school completing some excellent work throughout the day.

Mr Handy - Head of Geography

Students were given the opportunity to touch some of the less dangerous animals and experienced the 4D cinema including indoor snow and wind! The students also completed fieldwork in Brindley Place.

Students investigated how well the area had been regenerated by completing a variety of techniques such as land use maps and field sketches. Many of the techniques will be useful for many students on the fieldtrip who have chosen to take Geography at GCSE.

ECO Club Caludon’s Eco-Team has been working very hard on the school’s proposed vegetable garden. They have spent many weeks researching different ideas and locations and have given a presentation to Mrs Marr.

We are very excited to announce that we have the go ahead to have a school vegetable garden. Over the last two weeks diggers have been in to help prepare the area and students have been busy planting seeds in readiness for planting out in the garden. This will be a valuable asset to the school community which we hope will be used and enjoyed across the school.

In order to fulfil this project we require help from our school community. We are asking for donations of any gardening equipment that you no longer have a use for, in particular, spare timber for raised beds, spades, forks, pots, seed trays and seeds. Please contact me at school.

Thank you for your support.

Caludon Eco-Club Mrs Flippance - Teacher of Geography

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Sixth Form

Apprenticeship Week

Apprenticeship week was celebrated at Caludon with a series of events which culminated in an Apprenticeship Fair. This was attended by year 12, 13 and year 11 students in preparation for leaving school. Caludon also invited several other North East Federation schools to the event, continuing the strength and community support with other schools in the local areas. The fair was attended by many apprenticeship providers as well as employers such as Severn Trent. Students gained an insight into applying for apprenticeships and the best way to prepare for the application process.

Apprenticeships are one way students can gain further education and training but within a paid employment situation. Many of the students at Caludon go to university and formal further education, but for some this alternative way of training while in employment is a preferred route.

Initially the students were apprehensive about the route that an apprenticeship offers but this was dispelled by the information gained directly from trainers and employers during the fair. Presentations were given as well as lots of individual interviews where students discussed their own personal interests, career paths and the development of these whilst in employment.

Mrs Wears Community Cohesion Co-ordinator

Module results from January exams Year 12 and Year 13 students recently collected their January module results with many achieving fantastic results. This is the first taste of AS-Level examinations for our current Year 12’s who achieved sixty grades of B or better. On an individual level, many students outperformed their target grades with exceptional results from Georgina Payne and Sanjay Patel who both achieved four A grades.

Well done!

Mrs Waring Head of Sixth Form

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Student Finance Presentation for Year 13 Student Finance came to Caludon to run through the rather complicated information regarding what students are eligible for, and how to apply. We also had Tom Ledgard from Coventry University who did the same.

They made it clear to students that if they are eligible for a grant, they will not have to pay it back. Any form of loan they will! There are grants and loans for living costs (maintenance), some aspects of these will be means tested. There are loans for the tuition fees.

No loans will need to be repaid until the student is earning ÂŁ21,000 per year. It will come directly out of their wages and it will be a small percentage of their wage. The more they earn the more they repay.

Each course and each university will have scholarships and bursaries for which students can apply. This is free money!

However students themselves must

investigate what they might be eligible for, according to their course and their university.

They must really be thorough because it is sometimes not obvious.

The general message was do not let money put people off applying for university because the repayments are not nearly as bad as we think.

Some students asked specific questions to the speakers both in the presentation and afterwards.

Tom came in and made himself available by sitting in the Sixth Form common room and students sought individual advice. Students must make sure they apply for their student finance as soon as possible. The longer they leave it the longer it takes to process, and the more chance they will not have the money they need at the beginning of term.

Mrs Waring Head of Sixth Form

University applications Year 13 students were very busy right up until the deadline of 15 January, completing their applications for university. Through UCAS each student is allowed to make five choices, usually for the same course at different universities. Many students have now chosen a first and second choice to accept and are working very hard to get the grades they need in August.

They have applied for a vast range of courses including Biomedical Sciences, Electronic Engineering, Law, Photography, Sports Therapy, Philosophy, Microbiology, History, Psychology, Nursing and many more.

We are likely to keep quite a few of our students locally, as both Coventry and Warwick are popular choices. Students are also hoping to go to Liverpool, London, Nottingham, Cambridge, Reading, Cardiff, Bath to name but a few.

We wish them well with their exams and will update you in the autumn edition.

Mrs Waring Head of Sixth Form

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Caludon at the Olympics We are delighted that one of our former students, Rachel Smith will be representing Great Britain at the Olympics. Rachel joined us from Ravensdale primary school in 2004 and was an excellent student throughout the school.

Rachel managed to juggle her commitment to gymnastics with her school work very successfully, gaining lots of A and B grades in her GCSE examinations. She was already showcasing her gymnastic talents in Year 9 when she performed in assembly to different year groups. It was clear then that she was a star of the future.

Rachel joined the Sixth Form in 2009 studying for four AS levels in Product Design, English Language, P.E and Geography. Despite spending a lot of time travelling to gymnastic competitions, Rachel still managed to pass all her AS levels with good grades. She went on to finish her A levels gaining B grades in P.E and Product Design and a C in English Language.

Rachel is a real inspiration, not only did she manage her sporting commitments but also had to cope with glandular fever when she was in Year 13 – all with a ‘positive, cheerful’ attitude.

Rachel is now captain of the GB Rhythmic Gymnastics Olympic team, training at Bath University full time. The team have managed without funding, so it is a remarkable achievement. They have already made history by being the first GB rhythmic team to qualify for the Olympics. It nearly didn’t happen, as they had to go to appeal to secure their place.

Rachel is now a media star, having appeared on BBC’s ‘The One Show’ and also ‘In a League of Their Own’ on Sky 1 where James Corden, John Bishop and Georgie Thompson all performed routines and Rachel was on the judging panel.

We wish her every success for July 2012 and you can follow her progress on Twitter @Gymnast_ Rachel or via http:// gbrhythmicgroup.co.uk/

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History trip to Berlin On Thursday 9 February, 40 GCSE History students and 4 Caludon Castle staff embarked upon a journey to Berlin. The purpose of the trip was to develop an understanding of the role of the city and Germany on Twentieth Century History. The itinerary included visits to key sites related to the Second World War, such as the Reichstag, the Topography of Terror and Sachsenhaussen Concentration camp and postwar sites such as the Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie . To add to the atmosphere of the city the temperature averaged about -12, but students and staff alike soon acclimatized to the extreme cold. All soon got used

to the layout of the city knowing that all roads lead to the Brandenburg Gate which we happened to see at least 5 times a day.

“It was funny, informative and most of all something very different to normal school trips.” Aaron Marchenko “Berlin will not be forgotten easily! We learnt so much about German History.”

Ellanor and Holly “The trip was brilliant, Berlin is an amazing city. I learnt so much about German History especially at the concentration camp which was very chilling.” Nick Ferlisi The staff would like to thank all the students for making the trip such an excellent experience for all. Special thanks go to Ellie McHugh and Lewis Kimberley who presented to the Governors on behalf of all the students and gave a brilliant account of their time on the trip.

Miss S Beasley Teacher of History

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Year 9 History Battlefields trip to France and Belgium On 14 March 2012, the History department took fifty four Year 9 students to France and Belgium to see the battlefields of the First World War. On the first day we visited Sanctuary Wood, Hill 62, the site of some preserved trenches.

Here, our students could gain some small idea of what it might have been like for soldiers living in the trenches at the time. Many of them were surprised at how muddy it was, despite it being a warm, sunny spring day.

Thursday was our day to travel to Belgium, visiting the Passchendaele Memorial Museum with its reconstructed trench system; again students could see the cramped conditions in which fighting soldiers and medical corps had to survive.

Tyne Cot was our next stop. This is the largest British Military Cemetery in the world and commemorates nearly 12,000 men who gave their lives. Many of these men were never found and so have their names engraved into the stone walls rather than on a gravestone. In was in one of these areas that we stopped and thought carefully about the sacrifice made by the soldiers, and about how lucky we are as a generation that we live in 2012 and not 1914.

Staff sang a song and read poems written by men who fought (and in some cases died) in the trenches. The staff and students then placed a postcard on a grave of their choice, as an act of remembrance and thanks.

From there, we went to Languemark Cemetery where Germany buried some of their dead after the war. Students were struck by the difference between the two areas. Languemark is a much smaller, darker location with mass graves, reflecting the hostility felt by the allies towards Germany after the war.

We then travelled to Ypres, a town almost

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totally devastated by the fighting in WWI but completely rebuilt since. This includes the beautiful Menin Gate; a memorial to over 54,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers killed in the Ypres area who have no known grave. We attended the last post ceremony of remembrance (held every night of the year since 1927) at 8:00p.m.

commemorates over 72,000 British and South African men who have no known grave.

Friday evening saw us making our way back home. I always love seeing the white cliffs when coming into Dover, mainly because I am grateful that I can whereas so many who sailed away never returned to see them.

Many grateful thanks to Miss Beasley for organising the trip and Mr Williams, Miss Blud and Mr Jackson for making it so memorable and enjoyable. Many thanks also to our students from Caludon who were an absolute credit to the school and to themselves. I hope it was an experience that they will always remember Friday was our final day and we spent it in the Somme area of France visiting the Canadian War memorial and trenches at Vimy Ridge. We also went to Thiepval, another memorial to the missing. This

Mrs Linton, Teacher of History

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Design and Technology Year 8 Lamination Project – “Thinking Outside the Box” Students in Year 7 create a functional product through the learning of a laminating process joining two materials together.

“My product design is a whale which I discovered through the creativity strategy. The lamination project requires perseverance and resilience to create a high quality outcome.

I like the acrylic part of my design and using 2d draw to create the laser cut waves and tail.”

Designer: Grace Kelly Year 9 students are given the option of either M.D.F or pine material to create a product of choice using a variety of skills and processes.

Each student has to work creatively to create an innovative outcome with constraints of materials and size.

“My work is a holder in the shape of a high heel shoe, it is a good and novel design to hold things that may get left around the home like Xbox and PlayStation controllers, mobile phones etc.

Pine materials and pink acrylic formed over a mould in the oven.

It is aimed at girls in their early teenage years with use of pink colour and simple gloss plastics.”

Designer: Megan Bannister

“My design is of a CD stand. It holds between 5 and 10 favourite cd’s which are to be placed by the side of a CD player.

I e njo yed m elt in g, bending the acrylic over a mould and laser cutting the logo “R” for Ryan.

I am happy with the final outcome because it matches the design.“ Designer: Ryan Hallam The ‘Totally Nuts Café’ “If I told you I made a bird feeder that was bright blue and red with a table and chairs, what would you think?

I took a cliché idea and combined it with a bit of clever thinking. It was very simple, yet totally original.

While building it, I encountered lots of problems and had to modify my design several times with little to no help, this means that I have reached a level 6.”

Designer: Dan Kingswell

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Design Ambassadors Design Technology ambassadors meet on a Friday break time to share a vision on Design and learning. We are Adam Timbrell, Adam Blake, Demi Rodgers, Ben NewmanWood and are supervised by Mr Temple.

We have many plans: to change the physical environment and display boards, to organise class visits and to organise outdoor class activities - so look out for us in the future.

We have started to make an impact on the design tech subject such as changing displays, coming up with an ambassador logo and success trophies “designer of the Term” at KS3. We are looking for new ways to make Technology even more enjoyable but we can’t do it on our own we need your suggestions and thoughts so that we can try to make them into reality.

We are also helping the community as we are planning a visit to Ravensdale Primary School to help them redesign and enhance their playground environment for the Queen’s Diamond jubilee.

Year 7 MP3/Mobile Phone Holder We have learnt many skills making our phone holders, for instance we have learnt what tools and machines do and what they are called.

We have used two machines, one sands your work to give it a smooth edge, and the other drills wholes in where you place the pegs.

Here are the items we have used: Coping saw Tenon saw Carpenters square Chisel Mallet Sanding paper Bench hook Marking gauge Bench Drill Glue

Pegs Wood Sanding machine As you can see we have used many tools, It has been hard but fun it’s a good activity to do at the start of the year as it is fun, skill based and creative. Its good as well as you can make your design unique and personal.

By Simruth Timana 7.8 Year 7 MP3 Holder I have learnt about the different tools you use for different things. I am a year 7 student and my teacher is Mr Crawford.

These are some examples of the learning in our class Tenon saw is used for a straight line.

A Coping saw is used for curved lines.

A Carpenter square is used for making straight lines and right angles.

Rihon Scullion As part of the syllabus Year 10s have been looking at sustainability, in particular social issues (issues that effect us ourselves). As part of this the Year 10 Graphics and RM groups have been working together as teams to collect various items, from empty printer cartridges, to easter eggs to food, to support their given charity.

On 21 February John Willets from FareShare Leicester came in to speak to the Year 10 about what he and his charity do to help the people of the East Midlands. He gave a frank and informative talk about the work that the charity do with lots of startling figures. With over 4 million people in the UK alone being unable to afford a healthy diet, one in twenty mothers go without food to allow their children to eat and one in twenty teenagers experiencing homelessness and are reliant on day centres or “soup runs” FareShare’s work is vital in supporting those around us.

FareShare is a national charity working to relieve food poverty by redistributing good

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Design and Technology continued... quality food from the food industry to organisations supporting disadvantaged people in the community. It is thought that over 9 million tonnes of perfectly edible, in-date food is taken to landfill every year. FareShare works together with the supermarkets to prevent this food from going to landfill.

FareShare in Leicester was established in July 2008 to help distribute food to those in need in the East Midlands. During 2011 they re-distributed over 120 tonnes of food helping to feed over 2000 people each week.

The Year 10s listened to him talk before thanking him. They are now fully aware of how important it is to help to support such a worthy charity, with students carrying out a food drive collecting in food for the charity to re-distribute to those who need it most. Leaving with the lasting question - Should surplus food be sent to landfill? Or should it be given to people who are in desperate need?

Miss Cuthbert Year 9 Graphics In product design we are working on a graphics product to do with Easter and chocolate, We started off by getting into groups of 3, our aim to create 3 Easter egg wrappers a luxury, midrange and basic. Using photoshop and other computer programmes we started creating our 3 wrappers in our group. All groups have now finished designing. Our teacher Mr Temple has explained to us about manufacturing and creating our products so we all have a solid understanding about our graphics product.

So far we have all created our designs but have only just started on manufacturing our designs using different materials we are going to start creating our prototypes. Creating a prototype gives us an idea of our product in 3D. After we have produced our prototype we are going to produce our final design in the workshops, Then for the best 3 chocolate Easter egg wrappers sir is going to give out the prize to the group with the best final design.

I’ve really enjoyed doing this project and I think everyone else has too, because it involves working with other people and combining our ideas together to come up with a better idea, I think everybody's final design will be very successful.

Designer: Jenna Devine

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Food Technology This term has seen the revival of the ‘Let’s Get Cooking Club’. Members have learnt to make a variety of recipes and have worked to promote cooking skills in the community. During open evening in

September they demonstrated how to make flatbread to visiting Year 6 students and their parents. On target setting evenings they have sold cakes and provided recipes so that they can be made again at home. Next term we hope the membership will expand even further!

BTEC Hospitality The year 11 BTEC Hospitality groups have been working on planning and carrying out a series of events – these have included the Head’s tea party, pizza café, coffee shops, end of term celebrations, refreshments for the school play and Caludon Take Away. These events have been hugely successful enabling the students to be creative and gain a real sense of what it might be like to work in the Hospitality industry. Many of the events have made a profit which will be donated to a range of charities including the Lymphoma Association - £107, Myton Hospice and The British Heart Foundation.

Mrs Ruddy - Teacher of Food Technology

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Food Technology continued...

Year 9 During their fund raising activity year 9 made cakes biscuits and truffles to sell – they made £57 which will be donated to Myton Hospice.

Year 9 had a break from food for activities week and took part in a competition to build structures that could stand up to tests by weights, rain, landslides and wind. It was great fun and Year 9 demonstrated some great engineering skills. The winning structures can be seen below!

Year 8 Students in year 8 have been working hard all term to design and to develop a new Fair Trade product that could be sold in a coffee shop. Photos below show their final products.

Year 11 At this year’s Rotary Awards Kathryn Bilic won the Henley College Award for Catering and a £100 cash prize.

Well done Kathryn!

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The Let’s Get Cooking Club has been very busy this term learning how to make pizza, bruschetta and pancakes. They have also been very excited about planning a meal that their parents and members of staff who work closely with year 7 have been invited to. The meal is going to give them an opportunity to show off their cooking skills and will be based on an Italian theme.

Year 8

Year 9

To coincide with fair-trade fortnight year 8 have been busy making products that contain fair-trade ingredients. These have included muffins, cake bars and cookies.

They have been learning about the impact that buying fair-trade products has on communities in developing countries.

During enterprise week for food Technology year 9 have made some beautiful food gifts for Mother’s Day.

Year 10 have now taken over from Year 11 in providing the Hospitality for The Heads tea Party and they have lived up to the high standards already set.

Mrs Ruddy - Teacher of Food Technology

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Extracurricular PE visit to Old Trafford On Tuesday 31 January twenty eight students from Years 8, 9 and 10 visited Old Trafford to watch Manchester United vs Stoke City in the Barclays Premier League.

The opportunity to attend the visit was a reward for the many students who attend Extra-curricular PE Clubs.

All of the students were very excited to be visiting the home of arguably the most successful football club in the world! We set off around 3:30pm and after a quick stop at the services, we eventually arrived at Old Trafford just before kick-off.

The stadium was an awesome sight. Holding over 76,000 fans and selling out most games it was an amazing experience to see the sheer size of such a stadium. When the fans began to sing and cheer just before kick off the atmosphere was electrifying. Although it was not the most thrilling game of football to watch, it was fantastic to see footballing

legends like Paul Scholes dominating the game. Manchester United dominated possession and eventually won the match 2-0.

It was lots of fun and a memorable experience for all that went.

Mr Chislett Teacher of PE

Year 7 Rugby v Cardinal Wiseman The Year 7 Rugby team faced a strong Cardinal Wiseman side in the Coventry Schools Cup. Caludon showed real spirit throughout the game and tackled with strength and determination.

However the Wiseman team were too strong and won the game comfortably.

There were many positives from the improving Year 7 Caludon side. Charlie McNulty was held up inches from the try line after a strong and powerful run through the Wiseman defensive line.

Morgan Thomas (Captain) tackled aggressively and Jay Cranston had some very positive runs forward on the wing.

It has been a real pleasure seeing the Year 7 rugby team improve throughout the season and their determination and spirit has been exceptional. The Year 7 rugby team have had the privilege of players from Coventry RFC taking their training sessions every Wednesday after school.

Rugby training is open to all students in Year 7 and is every Wednesday 3-4pm.

Well done to all of the Year 7 Rugby team for their commitment and attitude this year.

Mr Chislett - Teacher of PE

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Swimming Gala On Wednesday 14 March Caludon’s swimming team took part in the Coventry Schools swimming gala. Four boys and four girls from year 7, 8 and 9 were selected to represent Caludon at breaststroke, backstroke, front crawl and relay. There were many talented swimmers participating and the standard of competition was high, as this was the first year swimmers of a ‘club standard’ or higher were able to compete.

All students competing for Caludon did themselves proud and showed great spirit and determination. In Year 7 both Rihon Scullion and Lily Philips finished first. In Year 8 Luke Timbrell and Richard Albrighton also won their races.

There were many good swimmers throughout all age groups. After a very close competition Caludon finished third.

Well done!

Caludon Castle swimming team members are: Year 7 boys

Year 7 girls

Rihon Scullion Calum Dalton John Buchan Tom Seedhouse

Lily Phillips Abigail Frost Jade Frost Shannon Austin

Year 8 boys

Year 8 girls

Richard Albrighton Luke Timbrell James Williams Keiron Eaton

Lucy Malpass Lauren Thorn Caitlin Leigh Kayleigh Osbourne Danya Plumb

Year 9 boys Ryan Williams Andrew Jones Ryan Baldwin Bradley Prota

Year 9 girls Sophie Mears Laura Malpass Kim Heales Mr Elkin, Teacher of PE

Sport Relief Mile

On Friday 23 March, the PE department fell in line with that days national event of Sport Relief and quite literally “ran” a Sport Relief Mile, raising money for under privileged children here and areas throughout the world.

In all 5 periods of the day, students coming to PE ran 4 laps of our track (some running more…

10 being the record!).

Students were asked to donate to the charity and were allowed to participate in fancy dress!

All students conducted themselves in an exemplary manner and over £100 was raised by the years 7,8 and 9 students that took part. We would like to thank all students who donated money towards this charity.

Pictured above is a Year 7 group prior to their run and Kane Ames from year 9 who was deemed by us to have donned the best fancy dress outfit of the day!

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Under 16 football The U16 squad was made up of the best players in the school and competed in the prestigious Telegraph Cup, the goal being to reach the final played at the Ricoh Arena.

The first game in the competition and together as a somewhat experimental pitted them against Finham Park. In an outstanding first half, the boys found themselves 3-0 up by the break. Finham came back into the game and two quick goals made for a nervous second half which was finely poised at 3-2 for some time. However, Caludon's’ superior footballing ability told and a fourth goal was added to make the closing stages more comfortable.

This was an excellent performance in the squads first game together. Notable performances came from Year 9 Tom King in an outstanding attacking display in the first half, but Jackson Downie ran the game from the back in the second half, reading the game particularly well and breaking up dangerous Finham attacks.

The quarter final tie was a home fixture against a strong and physical Kenilworth School team. The boys dominated possession but lacked a cutting edge and were unlucky to go down 1-2 after extra time. This was destined not to be Caludon’s day, Kenilworth’s keeper was in fine form, the winner was a scrappy goal and shortly after this, James Maddison hit the bar with a header which could have taken the game deservedly to

penalties.

This was, however, a creditable run by an experimental team made up of players from Years 9, 10 and 11, playing against teams of all Year 11’s.

The U16’s are seen below also modelling the new kit kindly paid for by Mrs Marr.

Thanks and well done to the following squad members.

Tom King, Dominic Finch, Jamie Healy, , Aiden Mailer, Liam Woodbridge, James Maddison, Obed Mukwama, Kai Williams, George Wills, Andy King, Jackson Downie, Jamie Delahuntey, Luke Barnett, Adam Lidster Mr Shepherd - Teacher of PE

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Year 10 football The Year 10 football team have continued their busy season by reaching the semi-final of the Coventry Schools Cup and making up the majority of the Under 16 Telegraph Cup team which reached the last 8 of the competition.

The boys played out an excellent quarter final fixture against Finham Park, winning 4-3.

This scoreline barely does justice to the game.

Caludon found themselves 2-0 down after James Madison had missed a penalty with the scores at 0-0. A goal on the stroke of half time gave the boys some hope and they eventually led 3-2 with 5 minutes to go after a battling second half where they struggled against the physical nature of the opposition.

After conceding an equaliser with 3 minutes left, the tie looked to be heading to extra time until in stoppage time, Aiden Mailer scored a dramatic winner. This result was made all the more pleasing after Caludon played with 10 men after Jamie Healy was injured in the fifth minute.

Goals in this game came from Maddison 2, Ellis and Mailer.

The boys are due to play their semi final tie against Blue Coat School before Easter.

As previously stated, some of the squad played above their age group for the U16’s in the Telegraph Cup and after beating Finham 4-2, were unlucky to go out to Kenilworth School 1-2 after extra time.

The U15’s are seen below modelling the new kit kindly paid for by Mrs Marr.

Thanks and well done to the following squad members this season.

Kyle Smith, Ashley Millward, Daniel Stones, Daniel Smith, Dominic Finch, Ben Ellis, Jake Shufflebotham, Jamie Healy, Reagan Hayes, Aiden Mailer, Liam Woodbridge, James Maddison, Obed Mukwama, Kai Williams, Macauley Charley, Charlie Hurren.

Mr Shepherd - Teacher of PE

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Year 11 Football team reach final of Coventry School’s Cup The Year 11 football team has had a fantastic season so far and have performed tremendously to reach the final of the Coventry Schools Cup. In previous rounds Caludon had beaten Cardinal Newman comfortably at home and showed their strength of character in a thrilling quarter final against Sydney Stringer. The boys had come from behind twice and emerged victorious after a thrilling penalty shoot-out.

Goalkeeper, and ‘man of the match’ George Wills, made some brilliant saves and the winning penalty was converted superbly by Callum Fletcher who unfortunately is to miss the rest of the season through injury.

In the semi-finals Caludon faced a very strong Cardinal Wiseman side.

Wiseman enjoyed lots of possession in the first half, but the strong Caludon defence looked solid. Centre backs Andy King and Luke Barnett (Captain) dominated against the Wiseman attack.

Caludon had the better of the chances during the first half and Jamie Delahunty came the closest to putting Caludon in the lead, narrowly hitting it over the bar.

Early in the second half Wiseman took the lead, against the run of play, to go 1-0 up.

Caludon showed lots of fight, enjoyed the majority of possession and created some good chances. Caludon’s Jackson Downie dominated the centre of midfield throughout the game and showed great strength of character. In the dying seconds of the game Jackson picked the ball up in the Wiseman half and struck at goal to hit the cross-bar, he then hit the post from the rebound and with the last kick of the game headed the ball into the goal to take the game into extra time.

The first half of extra time was very close with neither side really looking like scoring until Caludon won a free kick on the edge of the box. Some clever thinking from Jackson Downie saw him take the free kick quickly to leave the Cardinal Wiseman team stunned as he slotted the ball in the bottom right hand corner. Caludon defended well in the second half to seal a well deserved and hard fought victory. All of the boys showed tremendous strength of character and passion throughout the game.

Well done!!!

The Y11 Football Team George Wills Kurtis Edwards Luke Barnett Andy King Steven Crosby Jackson Downie Jamie Delahunty Aaron Crampsie Adam Lidster Jamie Graham John Pittaway Callum Fletcher Sam Greener Mr Chislett

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Did you know that the Ricoh Stadium is hosting the Olympic bronze medal women’s football match this Summer?

Did you know that the Ricoh Stadium is hosting the Olympic bronze medal women’s football match this summer?

Neither did virtually any students in Year 9 and this is what inspired three of the Year 9 students to take part in the national BBC Schools News Report live via a Caludon Castle School internet link on 15 March.

On the day, Ryan Williams, Andrew Jones and Rahul Patel researched and presented two current news stories, as well as filming and editing their own story about lack of media coverage of women’s football. The students interviewed staff and analysed

questionnaire results from three year nine classes to source their information for the broadcast. Through a fantastic team effort, the three students managed to produce all the reports to the very tight time deadline of 2pm. boys!

Well done

If you missed the BBC broadcast on the widescreen outside Coventry Transport Museum, why not take a look at the Caludon web link?

Mrs Jones

Become a part of Olympic History

Here is a copy a letter from Liz Cooper, Marketing Director, Ricoh Arena regarding a fantastic £1.10 (plus a £2.25 booking fee) for tickets to the Olympic Football Test Event on Monday 23 April.

This is an unbelievable offer and a chance for students to be part of Olympic history!

Mrs Oldham - Faculty Leader of PE Dear Head teacher I am writing to ask for your help with one of the most exciting events to be held in Coventry this year.

Here at the Ricoh Arena on Monday 23 April we are holding the only Olympic Football Test Event as part of the London 2012 Olympic Games. We are really keen to ensure we encourage a great crowd not just for the cameras and journalists from countries all over the world, but to test all of the new infrastructure processes and procedures we have been working on alongside the Olympic Committee for 18 months.

We have worked hard to agree an unbelievable deal on a £1 ticket price for schools in Coventry and Warwickshire and our target is to encourage a minimum of 100 students with parents or teachers or both (all tickets are £1) from each school to attend and by doing so they will become part of Olympic history.

We want to put Coventry and Warwickshire on the map and make it a memorable place. This is a great, albeit rare opportunity, but we need your help.

Please would you mind (and we would be genuinely grateful) sending the attached information to students through any mechanism at your disposal because we know this is a real and rare opportunity for students of all ages to become involved with the Olympics before Games-time in July/August this year.

Thank you so much in advance for your help Liz Cooper Marketing Director Ricoh Arena

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Music

Btec Band Concert Night On Tuesday 27 March, all of the year 10 and 11 BTEC students (94!) took part in a concert in front of an audience of 200 as part of the assessment criteria for the course.

For months before the concert the bands have been practicing together regularly. All 15 bands helped promote the concert by making posters to advertise the event. The concert was a sell out and made £200 from ticket sales, which was mostly donated to the school’s Ugandan charity.

The reviews of the night highly praised the young musicians.

For the Year 10s it was their first ever band performance, whereas for the Year 11s it was their final group performance together to get the mark they fully deserved.

Leader of Performing Arts, Howard Stokes says, “The night was full of energy. The concert displayed some of the talent that the music department has to offer and all students should be proud of their performances as they were all to a high quality and were very much enjoyed by all there.”

After all of the build up, the audience went home very happy with what they had seen.

All 15 bands came on stage very nervous and came off ecstatic from the great reactions the audience gave them. Everyone spoke about the time they had before and after the concert and mentioned how brilliant the night was for them.

Thanks to all who supported the BTEC students on the night.

Fintan Collins Year 10 Music Student, Bass player for The Universal

Music

Lonsdale Boys Club On 27 of March a band called Lonsdale Boys Club came in to perform to Year 11 music students and also to give them feedback on their performances to tell them how to improve. There were also some students in the lower years that watched.

Everyone enjoyed it and they were really good performers. They demonstrated how to put on a good show so that the year 11 students could get a better idea on how to perform on the night. They performed 4 songs including their single (Sister Shake) which was really good. The audience were impressed and some students spoke about going to see them outside of school at one of their gigs.

The band gave out CD’s and T shirts to some students during their performances, which they signed after their performance. Year 11 students asked a lot of questions to find out more about the band’s success and also to get tips on how to gig in a more interesting way.

All the students enjoyed themselves and had a lot of positive things to say about the band.

Stacie Blount - Year 11