Caludon Update 2013

Caludon Update Spring 2013 Dear Parent/Carer Although this has been a short term it has been packed with many events, occasions, activities and fixtures as well as an intense package of support, catch-up and revision sessions for our students. Everyone’s dedication to school has been severely tested by the harsh winter conditions, including so much snow, and bouts of several seasonal illnesses, that have made everything so much hard work. Nonetheless, as you will read in this latest addition, staff, students and parents/carers have continued to show amazing commitment to showcase themselves in so many ways.

School will close for the Easter break at 3.00pm on Thursday 28 March. We will open, as normal, on Monday 15 April. A reminder of school closures/holidays for the summer term: Monday 6 May – May Day 25 May to 2 June – Whitsun half-term Thursday 20 June and Friday 21 June – teacher training days focusing on target setting in preparation for the timetable rollover on Monday 24 June Wednesday 24 July to Monday 2 September – summer break Wishing you a relaxing and enjoyable Easter break and thank you for your continued support.

Yours faithfully

Mrs M Marr Headteacher

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Sport and Leisure Year 7 Football Due to the poor weather we have had recently Year 7 have had limited opportunities to play football. Last week we hosted Cardinal Wiseman in the quarter final of The Bennett Shield. The match was played in the midst of torrential rain which made the pitch very difficult to play on.

However, Caludon Castle produced a fantastic performance to beat Cardinal Wiseman 6-4. All the players played their part but special mention goes to Riley Davoile who scored a hat-trick. On Monday the semi-final draw was made and we have been drawn against Woodlands. This promises to be an excellent semi-final full of quality. The semi-final will take place the week beginning 25th March at Caludon Castle.

Good luck lads, we are within touching distance of the final.

Mr Kemp, Mr Herlihy and Mr Palma

Netball High numbers of girls from Years 7, 8 and 9 are continuing to attend netball training on Tuesdays after school. This has promoted the sport further in Caludon Castle School as we have been able to enter teams into local leagues.

The Year 7 and 9 teams have had a number of games since Christmas and the results are as followsTeam of the month Year 7

Year 7- Team B Caludon 1 v Bluecoat 3 Year 7- Team A Caludon 12 v Bluecoat 10 Year 9 Caludon 6 v Bluecoat 2

Well done to all the girls and we are already excited about the netball league for next year as the girls have performed extremely well in both training and matches.

Keep up the good work.

Caludon 7 v Tile Hill Wood 7 Fixtures left to playYear 7 Team A v Tile Hill Wood and Cardinal Newman

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Miss Harborne

Year 11 Football - Boys make history!

The boys have had their most successful run so far in the competition, and of any team in the school’s recent history, reaching the 6th round, the last 32 schools in the country out of 750 entries!

Smith subsequently saved what would have been the winning penalty from Aylesford, saving another in sudden death to win the tie.

They are yet to find out who they will face in the semi-final and success in this would see them walking out for the final at the Ricoh Arena.

Unfortunately they did not make the last 16 in the country, losing out to English Martyrs School from Leicester in a game which did not truly reflect the 2-5 scoreline.

As stated before, this squad has the potential to be very successful if all members can be available for all games, but those involved so far can be proud of their run in the English Schools Cup this year.

To date, this remains the only defeat of the season so far for the U16s Away from this competition, they have progressed into the semi-finals of the Coventry Schools Cup after a 5-2 win at Grace Academy and are due to face Woodlands.

Thanks and well done to the squad members .

In the prestigious Telegraph Cup, a first round tie saw then scrape through 5-3 against Coundon Court in a poor and undisciplined performance. A good first half display against Aylesford School in Warwick in the quarter finals saw them 2-0 up at half time, but some complacency saw them lose their lead and Aylesford take the tie into extra time after finishing 2-2. With the game going to penalties, the tie looked over when Caludon’s fourth penalty was missed, but Kyle

Mr Shepherd Teacher of Sport and Leisure

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Sport and Leisure continued Year 10 football - semi final beckons!

The Year 10s have had a mixed year so far, with results not always going their way, but with some excellent football being played.

The first game of the season saw them lose narrowly to Coundon Court 5-4, after a tough battle they conceded in the last minute. In the second game they totally outplayed Blue Coat, winning 6-1 and playing some excellent football.

Next, they played Woodlands, losing out 4-3, again with both sides playing some great football and Jacob Highton scoring a hat-trick.

Since Christmas, the poor weather has put paid to a number of fixtures, but the Year 10 team have reached the semi final of the Coventry Schools Cup. They did this in dramatic fashion with a 3-2 win away at Bishop Ullathorne, the holders of the trophy. What makes this victory even more dramatic is that Caludon Castle played with only 9 men and were 2-1 down with seven minutes remaining! This was a brilliant performance from the boys who worked tirelessly and played some superb football. They will now face either Sidney Stringer or Cardinal Newman in the semi final.

Mr Shepherd Teacher of Sport and Leisure

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Year 8 football The Year 8 football team have had a successful, enjoyable year. The players have displayed a lot of enthusiasm and desire.

Numbers for training have been very healthy with 30 players regularly attending sessions.

The team were drawn against Grace Academy in the Coventry Schools Cup which proved to be a very close game until the last 5 minutes when Caludon conceded 2 quick goals to eventually lose 4-1.

Matches played by the team have been very exciting, with competition for places always very tight. Matches played include Stoke Park (lost 3-1), Woodlands (lost 3-2), Cardinal Wiseman (won 5-3) and Whitley Abbey (won 4-2).

I have been very pleased with the boys’ attitude and commitment this year and hope for further success in the future.

Mr Elkin Teacher of Sport and Leisure

Languages Help from Coventry University Students During this term, students in Years 9, 10, 11 and 12 have been working with language assistants from France, Spain, Italy and Venezuela. The language helpers have been sent to work with our students from Coventry University. They have been assisting in lessons, and working one to one with students preparing for speaking exams. Our students have found the experience helpful and interesting, as they find out about the backgrounds of the foreign university students. One student commented on how much his confidence and pronunciation had improved after a couple of one to one sessions. The language volunteers will be here until after Easter.

Miss Harris Teacher of Languages

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Food Technology Future Chef 2013 FutureChef is a national competition for 12-16 year old students.

Zack Ermogenous (Y11) was our school heat winner and represented the school at the local final on 12 January at University College Birmingham. He worked in the catering kitchens there competing with other young people from the local area.

Zack had worked hard to prepare for the competition, selecting his recipes carefully and practising after school.

His final practice before the competition included testing his meal out on Mrs Marr and Mrs Waring. They were both very impressed with Zack’s menu of roast quail with tangled leek and potato in a mustard vinaigrette, and chocolate fondant pudding with a passion fruit sauce.

The chefs who judged the actual competition were also very impressed saying, “Having judged this competition for many years, the standards were exceptionally high – they get better and better each year; all of the judges agreed the standards of this competition to the Salon Culinaire were hard to differentiate.” Zack was announced as winner of the Local Final. Congratulations Zack!

Winning the local final meant Zack went on to the regional final on February 16.

To prepare for this Zack was mentored by Gary Goldsmith one of the chefs at UCB. Zack went to the college several times to work on his dishes, adding new components of mushrooms in a jus and confit potato to his main course dish, and orange cream and chocolate strings to his dessert.

Zack worked really hard during the competition, but lost out to another student on the day.

Despite being very disappointed Zack said, “I have really enjoyed taking part in the competition although it has been stressful at times. It has been a great experience and has made me want to continue developing my skills.”

Zack has applied to go to UCB post-16 to do just this. Well done Zack, everyone in Technology is very proud of you.

Mrs James Food Technology

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Food Technology Let’s Get Cooking has resumed this term with Year 7 students , this is being led by two sixth form students and our Year 8 student ambassador Jonathan Letts. The Year 7 students are learning to make a range of sweet and savoury dishes which will culminate next term in them organising a

Mexican night to invite parents to…..Watch this space!

BTEC Hospitality All of the year 11 BTEC Hospitality students were involved in providing a buffet lunch for teachers visiting from overseas, with spectacular results! This also gave the students the opportunity to wear their Chef jacket for the first time – they looked very professional.

Mrs Ruddy Leader of Food Technology

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History Trenches 13-15 March 2013 On Wednesday March 13th, 54 Year 9 historians and 5 Caludon Castle staff embarked upon a journey to the snow filled trenches in France and Belgium.

The purpose of the trip was to develop an understanding of the nature of trench warfare during the 1st World War and to empathise with what happened to the soldiers who died for their country. The itinerary included visits to key sites related to the Battles of the Somme Cloth Hall, Ieper and Passchendaele, such as the Cloth Hall Museum in Ypres, Vimy Ridge (where the Canadian front line was based) and Sanctuary Wood where a section of the communication trenches are preserved in all their muddy glory. Students were able to visit the Menin Gate to hear the last post, Thiepval Memorial which contains the names of over 70,000 lost men and Tyne Cot to visit the graves of just some of the men who gave their lives. It was at Tyne Cot that Caludon Castle students had their own memorial ceremony, poems were read and each student placed a card on a soldiers grave. Mrs Linton gave a moving musical tribute that brought to life the sacrifice that so many made.

“I think the best bit about the trip was when we got to place a card on a grave at Tyne Cot” – Abi Heap.

“My favourite part of the trip was walking in the snow covered trenches as we could experience something of what the soldiers went through” – Sophie Millington.

“I liked the last post ceremony at the Menin Gate” – Oliver Meade. " I liked finding the names of relatives so we could pay our respects" - Abbie Johnson.

The staff would like to thank all the students for their brilliant behaviour, excellent response to the trip and the respect they demonstrated to the fallen men.

Miss S Beasley Leader of History

Tynecot Cemetery

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History continued History Club We are launching a new History club….the ‘History Detectives’!

Able and Inspired Mind (AIM) students who are interested in history will be given the opportunity to further their knowledge and skills through a variety of weird and wonderful historical investigations!

Ask at the Humanities Hub for more information.

Miss James Teacher of History

Revision sessions The History Department are starting targeted revision sessions for all Year 11 GCSE students.

Students will be invited to attend one of the following sessions; A*-A -

Thursday 8.25am in S20 with Mrs Linton

C+

Tuesday 8.25am in S21 with Miss James

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I don't get it! - Wednesday 3.00pm in S19 with Miss Beasley General Revision -

Wednesday 3.00 pm in S10 with Mrs Webb

Further sessions are also being held during the Easter holidays (10 April, 10.00-12.30pm) so please make sure you access all the help available in the final push to the GCSE exam.

Miss Beasley Leader of History

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History - upcoming events Learning beyond the classroom activities and revision planned for the Spring and Summer term include: Year 7 18/06/13 and 20/06/13 Visit to Kenilworth and Warwick Castles.

Year 7 will be able to experience two very different medieval castles . As Kenilworth and Warwick are in different states of repair the students get a very real view of how castles adapted and developed over time.

Year 8 21/05/13 and 23/05/13 Visit to the Black Country Museum, Dudley.

As the Black Country Museum is a living museum the Year 8 students can explore the village as if they had gone back in time, including a trip through the Dudley canals, a tour down a drift coal mine and a lesson in a Victorian school.

Year 10 and 11 26/03/13-31/03/13 Visit to Berlin, Germany The 6 day tour covers every aspect of the city in History and includes a visit to the Reichstag and the Olympic stadium, as well as sites which represent some of the darker elements of German History.

Year 11 10/04/13

Year 12 04/04/13 and 11/04/13

Year 13 04/04/13

Easter Holiday GCSE revision sessions 10.00am to 12.30pm in S20

Easter Holiday AS revision sessions 10.00am-12.00pm and 12.00pm-2.00pm in S19, S20 and S21

Easter Holiday A2 revision sessions 12.00pm-2.00pm in S19

Miss Beasley Leader of History

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Drama Year 10 and 12 trip to Birdsong The Drama department took 70 Year 10 and Year 12 students in January to the Belgrade Theatre to see 'Birdsong' based on the book by Sebastian Faulkes.

The production told the story of an English soldier and his doomed romance during his time as a soldier on the western front in France during World War 1.

Although challenging, and with many adult themes, the students found the production exciting and moving. It has shown them what can be achieved in professional theatre and has already influenced the ways the students work. Many of them will be writing a review of the piece for GCSE and A Level coursework.

Perhaps more excitingly a smaller group of students were invited to participate in a workshop with the company who produced the show. this took place before the matinee performance, on the Belgrade's main stage, on the actual set, and with the actors and director. The students gained an understanding of the ways the company created the work and also got to participate in directing one of the professional actors in a scene from the play. The students were exceptional and the theatre company were highly impressed with the commitment and insightful comments made.

Mr De Groot Leader of Drama

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Drama continued Ghost stories We were very pleased with the turnout of parents to our Year 10 Ghost Story evening performances.

This was the first time many of the students had performed to an audience other than classmates and, despite some nerves and carefully hidden mistakes, the work was fantastic and very well received.

Opening up the examination classes performances to a wider audience of parents and students is something we want to develop in the future - as the standard of practical work keeps improving it seems a pity for it not to be seen by more people.

Coming up soon we will have an evening of performances from Year 11 students. This one promises laughter in 'Bouncers', 'Shakers' and 'Teechers' - all John Godber plays, with the actors playing many roles, male and female.

A more serious, but equally challenging performance, 'Too Much Punch for Judy' reveals the tragic potential consequences of mixing drinking and driving.

Finally, Year 12 students will be performing a series of monologues and duologues, and a production of 'Fear and Misery in the Third Reich' by Bertolt Brecht, for their practical examination.

If you are interested in attending any of these events, with or without you son/ daughter, please do not hesitate to contact Mr Degroot at the school.

Mr De Groot Leader of Drama

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Drama continued Key stage 3 Drama Club Extra curricula activities in Drama are back in full swing after the hugely successful production of Grease at Christmas. The key stage 3 Drama club, and students from three local primaries, have resumed workshops towards creating a piece of work for Arts Week in the summer term.

Watch this space!

The Commenius Project Caludon's work with European schools for the Commenius Project has now come to Performing and Expressive Arts. Mr Degroot and Miss Hutchinson watched a number of highly original and well thought through presentations. Self selected groups of four were competing for the opportunity to create and then show a piece of theatre or film in Fatima, Portugal, during early June.

The standard was exceptionally high and, after many hours of careful deliberation, it was decided that we needed to take 8 students not 4. The successful students were Megan Taylor, Jess Thompson, Sophie O'Hara, Richard Delahunty, Bronte Lenton, Alex Kenna, Steph Willetts, David Kelly from Year 10 and Laura Howes from year 7.

Huge congratulations! Big commiserations to the unsuccessful groups.

Portugal here we come!!

Mr De Groot Leader of Drama

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Business and Enterprise We continue to make outstanding progress with Year 11 heading towards our best Business results ever – A reminder that after-school coursework support is available every night (PCs and resources etc), with teachers available every Tuesday and Thursday night from 3.15pm onwards. Please ensure all coursework units are completed to at least your target grade!

Year 11 WorkSkills coursework support is also available every night.

For Year 11 Finance students, please ensure you have the revision packs from the shared area to complete your homelearning revision.

Economics A-level results in January were also superb – we are heading towards 60% A or B grades, with a 100% A-level pass rate.

This is well above the national level.

A-level Applied Business results are also heading towards over 60% A or B. Please remember to get all coursework ABOVE your target grade, stay behind each night and complete at home to boost your grade to the highest possible level. Another reminder that after-school coursework support is available every night (PCs and resources etc.) with teachers available every Tuesday and Thursday night from 3.15pm Year 7 and 8 continue to enjoy their Enterprise Learning. Over the last few weeks they have been researching future Olympic venues, Fair Trade and Personal Finance. Students were also involved in a Bake-off for Red Nose Day! Mr M Newsome Director of Business and Enterprise

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Business and Enterprise continued Made in Coventry Year 7 and 8 Enterprise lessons have taken the inspiration from the Science and Engineering Week theme of ‘Inventions and Discovery’ to find out more about Coventry. Students discovered what inventions were ‘Made in Coventry’. Everyone knew that the famous Coventrian, Sir Frank Whittle, invented the jet engine, but few had heard of James Starley. James Starley is referred to as the Father of the Modern Bicycle and he developed the modern bicycle from his Coventry sewing machine factory back in the 1860s. I am still intrigued to find out more about the jump from sewing machines to bicycles. A few students thought that the Black London Taxi being made here was a trick - but it wasn't. Other inventions made in Coventry included artificial silk and the first rugged hand-held computer. Coventry was the birth place of the British Motor Industry, and the Standard Motor Company, and was the first to put a diesel engine in a private motor vehicle. A Coventry engineer, Charles Humpherson, invented car indicators in 1912.

After discovering what was made in Coventry we then looked at modern inventors such as Sir Clive Sinclair and James Dyson. We discussed how they have used their inventiveness and entrepreneurial skills to create successful businesses, even if some inventions, such as the Sinclair C5, were not fully embraced by the general public. Hopefully, by looking at our heritage we may have sparked the creative genius of the inventors of the future.

Mrs Detheridge Subject Leader of Business

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IT Warwick University: Computing your future 2013 Students studying ICT in Year 12 attended a conference at Warwick University on 19 March.

The day included a keynote speech from Peter Ward of IBM about a project called 'SMS for Life', current areas of research around robotics and smart cities, as well as an address from students on life at university.

Finally, talks from representatives from businesses that recruit Computer Science graduates. We would like to thank the University of Warwick for putting on this conference.

ICT: Into the future Pupils studying ICT in the Sixth Form and Year 11 attended talks hosted by both Keele University and Coventry University Computing departments this term. In the sessions representatives from the universities talked about ICT at university under its many guises and specifically experience and skills valued by both universities and employers. Students also received information about specific courses on offer. We would like to thank both Nikki and Furrkh for taking the time out to visit our students and look forward to working with them to organise a visit to their university sites in the future.

Mr Fitzjohn Leader of ICT KS5

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Bake off Inspired by the TV Series – The Great British Bake Off, and the celebrity spin-off for Comic Relief, the inaugural Caludon Castle Bake-Off took place Thursday 14 March. Following a similar format to WI competitions. The bake-off entries were created at home and then brought into school for judging. It was decided to have a number of categories: Cute Cupcakes, Brilliant Biscuits and Celebration Sponge. In true WI style, cakes would be judged on both presentation and taste. Once judging had taken place and the winners decided the cakes would be sold to raise money for Comic Relief.

Popcorn Cake by Louie Hall Rainbow Cake by Yasmin Vavan

The morning of the Bake-off arrived The Bake-Off Entries and I was rather nervous – what if no-one entered? I enlisted the help of two ‘Custodians of the Cakes’ to collect the entries. Many thanks and well done to Mr Smith and Mr Fitzjohn, it may seem quite an easy task to collect in cakes, but they did have to resist the temptation to tuck into the tempting, tasty bakes. The array of cakes was amazing, including popcorn cake, rainbow cake and a number of red nose cakes. Deciding on the winners was a truly difficult task.

After much deliberation the winners were decided: Cute Cupcakes / Brilliant Biscuits: Abigail and Jade Frost with their Brooklyn Blackout Bars Celebration Sponge: Cara Stuckey and Red Nose Teaser by Cara Stuckey

herBrooklyn Red Nose Teaser Blackout Bars by Cake Abigail and Jade Frost

A big thank you, and well done, to the winners and everyone else who took part. Hopefully you will all be inspired to take part again next year, and hopefully make it bigger and better.

Mrs Detheridge Subject Leader of Business Studies

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Sixth form

Students from the sixth form organised an extremely successful Red Nose Day with a variety of events taking place.

There was a non-uniform day for students and staff, and the sixth formers (and some staff!) came in fancy dress with a ‘Superhero’ theme.

Several staff and students made cakes for a huge cake sale – most of which were sold by break-time!

Mrs Detheridge hosted a ‘Bake-off’ where the quality of cakes was said to be amazing!

The Year 12 band also did a ‘Live Lounge’ on the balcony which was well attended and received by both staff and students.

Many thanks to all those students who helped to organise the event, with particular thanks to Alex Griffiths, Laura Buckham and their team!

Thanks to your amazing efforts, we raised £1410 for charity!

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Sixth Form celebration evening On Monday 17 December, we were delighted to welcome back most of our Year 13 students from last year. For the first time at Caludon, we held an evening solely for our leavers so that we could celebrate their success. Every student who attended was presented with the certificates for their A level and BTEC level 3 qualifications. Every subject area awarded prizes too for students who excelled last year. Many students also received extra certificates and tokens for outstanding progress, academic excellence, service to the community, outstanding commitment and contribution to Sixth Form life. Two trophies were also awarded for each of these categories: Outstanding Progress:

Pauline Baniel

Lee Woodend

Academic Excellence:

Rebecca Cribdon

Michael Lynam

Service to the Community:

Samantha Wilks

Iona Channer

Outstanding Commitment :

Junaid Osman

Shaan Sohal

Contribution to Sixth Form Life: Luke Randell

Chelsea Stokes

Per Ardua ad Astra (through adversity to the stars) : Kaylee Grady

Sonia Dharam

James Rodriguez-Hughes will also receive a trophy for the last category, when he returns from his year in Mexico!

We had a musical interlude, when Miss Roberts (head of year) sang, ‘Cry me a River’, accompanied on piano by Mr Davoile, and Rebecca Cribdon also performed a short funny piece for us. There was plenty of cheese and wine too, and lots of reunions and catching up, as many students returned to Coventry after their first term at university. It was a lovely way to say a final goodbye to the class of 2012!

Mrs Waring Senior Assistant Head

Brooklyn Blackout Bars by Abigail

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Sixth form University Applications Year 13 students were very busy right up until the deadline of 15 January (and even beyond!), 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 Spanish, Engineering, Law, Zoology, Sport & Exercise Science, Mathematics, Biological Sciences, History, Dentistry, English,

Nursing, Economics 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 Manchester, Sheffield, Aberystwyth, Oxford, Birmingham and London to name but a few.

We wish them well with their exams and will update you next year.

The £1 challenge in aid of the Mercia Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre After a visit and assembly conducted by Zoe Seville-Eden representing The Mercia MS therapy centre, over 20 of our sixth form students took on the £1 challenge. The aim was to use a £1 given to them by Zoe and using their initiative turn it into as many £££ as possible!

We were amazed by the enthusiasm and dedication some of our students gave to this project, it was wonderful to see! Their events included a film showing for Year 7s, a cake sale, a tuck shop at a local Brownies and many, many more innovative and money making schemes.

They managed to raise over £350 in total and the winning team £179 of that! They managed to drag themselves out of bed at 5am on a cold Sunday morning to run a car boot sale (driven by their dedicated parents…thank you!) Our winning team was Rajpal Dhoofer, Lucy Minton, Taison Lee and Dixson Lee. They won some amazing donated gifts including meals out, chocolates, fancy toiletries and a paintballing session for 10!

We are very happy that the links have now been set up with Zoe and her team and we look forward to future challenges, and our students continuing to help and be part of the community in which they live. We are very proud of them, well done!

Mrs Waring Senior Assistant Head

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Sixth Form continued As/A2 Level January module results Many students are celebrating outstanding results in the January AS and A-Level exams, with Viraj Chauhan, Rajpal Dhoofer, Aaron Maroke, Gurjeevan Sembi, Megan Sizer, Karenjit Somal, Ben Emery, Damian Panchal, Georgina Payne, Priya Subhra, Ryan Young and Sanjay Patel all achieving multiple A grades.

Now is the time for all students to start an intensive revision programme, in preparation for the extremely important summer exams. The time remaining will go by in a flash and then, in particular for Year 13 students, it will all be over! Ready for their next steps, be it university, apprenticeships or jobs. If they need any further advice with regards to these steps our careers adviser, Carole Foster and our sixth form team are available for advice and guidance. We wish the very best to all of our students and hope they can make the most of the short time remaining, and therefore achieve their potential. Remember time management, planning, and making the most of the support and advice their teachers give them regarding revision, is essential.

Dr S Jones

Brooklyn Blackout Bars by Abigail and Jade Frost

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Sixth form continued CUSU Shadowing Scheme, Cambridge University - 24-26/02/13 was very mind-opening to get a sense of such an advanced level of academia surrounding a subject I became even further enamoured with, acting to confirm that I would love to study English at Cambridge.

After an afternoon exploring the town, Friday evening saw Joscha and I attend ‘Bluebird’ at the famous Cambridge ‘Footlights’ theatre. It was quickly apparent that the actors were astounding and many would go on into television and film.

My nervousness was probably due to the overwhelming sense of apprehension I felt as the wheels of my suitcase trundled across the 450 year-old paving slabs of the Emmanuel College gatehouse.

After a welcoming speech to the eighty-or-so Year 12s, by those organising the scheme, I was introduced to the student I was to be shadowing for the next few days: Joscha Thiele, a first year ‘English in Education’ student from Münster, Germany. I was to reside at Homerton College on the outskirts of the town, a fairly large complex with buildings ranging from the 300 year-old main building to the almost brand new third year accommodation block.

The next morning there was a final leaving speech regarding admissions and how to best go about applying to Cambridge later on in the year. The speaker gave several helpful ideas on what the admissions department is looking for before answering the numerous questions we all had.

It was fast approaching five o’clock by the time we arrived at Homerton and so the first day in Cambridge consisted mainly of settling in. In the evening a formal banquet was put on at St John’s College in the centre of town, providing a ‘taste’ of the lifestyle on offer at the old university. After the meal there was time to socialise with some other students on the scheme. There were three others staying at Homerton and they were from all over the country; Norwich, Exeter and the somewhat closer Leamington Spa.

The scheme ended at around 2 o’clock and as the train growled out of the station I could not help noticing the spire of the chapel at Trinity and wondering: “When will I be back?”

Liam Tallis Year 12

Following a welcome night’s sleep, Friday began with an interesting 9 o’clock seminar on George Eliot’s ‘Silas Marner’ before a lecture on a Cambridge favourite: Critical Thinking.

Although I was unfamiliar with both topics, it

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Apprenticeship Events Engineering There was an event on Thursday 14 March aimed at both Year 11 and post-16 students who want to look at alternative career pathways. The event was attended by over 20 students who were interested in completing an apprenticeship in engineering. The students gained insight into the different areas of engineering available. They were provided with vital information about applications and interview skills, along with an insight into the common mistakes students can make in interviews. All who attended were really pleased with the information and guidance given.

Hair and Beauty Over 12 students visited the new Beauty Academy on Thursday 14, and gained insights on career pathways and apprenticeships within hair and beauty treatments. Many were given free beauty treatments whilst they discussed their career options and plans. They were given information on the whole process of applying for an apprenticeship and career progression in Beauty.

AN UPCOMING EVENT FOR PROSPECTIVE APPRENTISHIPS Caludon is hosting an apprenticeship event on the 23 April, where many training providers and employers will be present to provide information and guidance on applying for an apprenticeship. They will be offering information about many different areas for apprenticeships and how to gain one for individual career pathways. This is a vital event for students who have not yet gained a career pathway or are undecided about a future career, and gives them the opportunity to meet directly with the providers who can give vital information about next steps.

Careers There was a Career Carousel on Thursday 21st March at Caludon, where providers from many different areas gave information and skills on apprenticeships and common mistakes to avoid on applications Brooklyn and interviews.

Students worked in teams with providers from Blackout Bars by Abigail and Jade Frost across the city to gain skills in interview technique and how best to apply for an apprenticeship.

Mrs Waring Senior Assistant Head

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Photography Caught in the Crossfire Photography workshop In February, 12 Year 10 GCSE Photography students took part in a workshop with artists-inresidence kennardphillipps (Peter Kennard and Cat Picton Phillipps) at the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum. The artists, who work as a collaborative team, produce artworks as critical responses to political and social events, both locally and globally. The practical workshop taught the students skills in photomontage, construction, drawing and digital photography, and included a tour of the artist’s current exhibition at the Herbert, ‘Caught in the Crossfire’.

Using methods developed from the artists' practice - from photomontage to performance installation - the workshop gave students the opportunity to express their ideas and concerns through visually connecting photographs and scanned material. The facilities and the materials provided for students to explore were inspiring, and everyone who took part produced some exceptionally creative artworks.

It was a wonderful opportunity for students to be able to work alongside artists and learn from their unique approach and experiences.

Mrs Woodcraft Leader of photography

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Geography Duke of Edinburgh Award Update Website has gone live!

The Duke of Edinburgh team has been working on the Duke of Edinburgh VLE website and we are pleased to say it is now live. You can access the website in school or from home by simply logging on to the VLE, clicking on Community and then Duke of Edinburgh (see image below). The website has a calendar with all of the training dates and times along with all of the expedition dates and information. It also has all of the training documents and admin forms that we use so if you lose anything you can easily access them. The website will develop over the coming term with links to useful websites, map work quizzes and photos of our training and expeditions.

Year 9 Year 9 have begun their training for their summer Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Practice expedition.

We have had record numbers this year for the Duke of Edinburgh Award with 71 participants registering. So far students have been working on forming their groups, considering what kit they need to buy and how they are going toBrooklyn organise their food for the expedition. In future weeks we will be Blackout Bars by Abigail working on map work, route planning and firstFrost aid. All of the dates for training sessions are on the and Jade Duke of Edinburgh VLE please log on for more information.

Mr Handy Teacher of Geography Leader of Duke of Edinburgh Award

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Geography continued Y7 Wacky Weather Investigators In Year 7 Geographers have been taking advantage of the first signs of Spring to complete microclimate investigations.

The students have been collecting weather data from different locations from around the school. This has included taking temperature measurements, wind speed and direction and aspect. They will then use this data to complete a report on the different microclimates that occur around the school. This is the first opportunity that many of the students have had in

collecting fieldwork data and so far they have excelled. The project helps students to develop a variety of geographical skills including map reading, compass work, the use of fieldwork equipment, report writing and teamwork skills.

Mr Handy Teacher of Geography

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STEM Club The STEM Club yet again has hit the ground running this year. In September, we welcomed back our existing Year 9 members who were keen and eager to show our new STEM Club recruits the ropes.

This promises to be an exciting year for all of our members as we look forward to taking part in a Mission to Mars, building and programming Lego robots, designing the latest solutions to green energy and enthusing and inspiring Caludon students about all things STEM! In November, the STEM Club took part in a First Edition Event held at RAF Cosford in Shropshire.

The aim of the day was to provide students with the opportunity to look at the range of careers available in engineering and to try some hands-on activities. Our students, as always, got stuck in to the various activities on offer throughout the day. They were able to design, build and test their own product, as well as explore the amazing aircrafts in the museum. There was also a live and interactive STEM show designed to inspire them at a crucial time when they are making decisions about their option choices.

In addition to the RAF Cosford event, we had planned for a Stargazing Night to be held in November.

Unfortunately, due to bad weather on the day, it had to be postponed. However, the rescheduled event in February was an excellent evening and was hosted by our very own resident expert amateur astronomer, Thomas Killestein. Although we were beaten by the weather a second time, Thomas delivered an interactive, simulated, online tour of the night sky taking us across Europe to Iceland, and back to Coventry all in one evening. Thomas is passionate about all things astronomical and as one of the founding members of the Caludon STEM Club he continues to be involved with STEM, regularly giving of his time to encourage and inspire new members.

On Wednesday 19 December our STEM Club members took part in the annual First Lego League competition. This is the fifth year running that Caludon Castle has entered the event and yet again we fielded 3 teams. This year the competition required the students to research a variety of problems that specifically affected senior citizens. They developed possible solutions for their identified problem, which they presented to a panel of experts at the regional competition. In addition to the research and presentation part of the competition, the students built and programmed a Lego robot to complete a set number of obstacles. The students had a great day out at the competition, which this year took place at Loughborough University. We are pleased to announce that one of our teams won the Team Work Trophy, which we have proudly on display in the trophy cabinet. Well done to all the teams!

And finally, as promised, the winners of the STEM Fair which took place on Tuesday 17 July 2012 were Hanna Osman, Joanna Gay, Hannah Rose and Vicki Berwick. Our congratulations go out to all students who took part and presented their projects at the STEM Fair, the standard was exceptional.

Brooklyn Blackout Bars by Abigail and Jade Frost We would like to take this opportunity to thank all students involved in STEM and their parents/ carers for their continued support.

Miss Miller Associate Leader of Science

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STEM Club continued STEM is a club run by Mrs Miller and Mrs McManus, where students do different activities in groups, like producing presentations or creations on a career basis and then they present these to their class and teachers. These presentations can be about solutions for diseases or senior citizens. There are a variety of challenges that the members of STEM club have to complete, such as making rockets from bottles or creating a robot that can move around.

These STEM club students compete with other schools by collecting as many points as needed through their presenting and creating skills as part of their challenge. As a result a prize is offered to the winner. STEM club takes place after school every Tuesday, from 3pm to 4:30pm.

On the 13 of February, Tom Killestein a member of the STEM club, held an event called Stargazing, where students gathered to observe stars in the clear sky. He also hosts many other astronomy activities for students who wish to take part. In addition, as a member of the STEM club, he judges the presentations and creations of the students along with the other teachers, and awards points.

Moreover, Year 12 students come back as part of an enrichment programme and often lead particular groups in STEM club, or help little groups to complete activities. Many of the STEM members go on and do STEM subjects like science at A-level, about 31 students who started STEM are now in year 12 and 13. Statistics show that 86% study at least one STEM subject at Alevel and 62% study more than two STEM subjects at A-level.

Members of STEM club have said that it is fun taking part as they can be with their friends, and in some cases meet new people and work with them to complete challenges. They also say that it is useful for their future career, particularly developing skills like leadership. Building up their confidence by presenting topics to their peers and learning how to work effectively in groups and analysing performance are also important work skills that they are developing.

By Parcha Safi Promotions Team

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Design Technology “Thingy whotsit� - an insight into GCSE Students have been required to study the full design process in the first half of Year 9 to aid transition to the GCSE. This year the result has been outstanding with budding new designers producing high standards of product outcomes viable to sell.

In the Thingy wotsit project for Resistant materials, we got to choose and create a product of our choice. I decided to make a miniature bowling alley because I wanted to make a product that would meet the specifications of children, or something for adults to have as a small desktop game. I kept the colour theme all the same so everything matched and looked neat. I used skills that I had learnt in my previous years in Resistant Materials, such as the laminating project on the skittles to try to add more colour to them, and also a dowel joint for the small back piece of MDF that I joined to the base. After completion, I went and asked a Year 7 if they could give me some feedback as that was around the target age for the younger age group. Everything worked very well and the product was recognisable and enjoyable.

Skittle Alley by Lucy Malpass

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During the mini GCSE we had to design and make a product of our own choice. We researched a general design brief and came up with our own product idea.

There were many product ideas in our class including a fruit bowl, helicopter, radio and children’s toy. In the end our products turned out really well and were to a very high standard.

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By Salah & Shayna Outstanding Learners in Technology

Year 8 – lamination project Last year and this year, Year 8 made a lamination project ,which was skilful and great for building independence. For me it was quite easy and I made a hotdog with fries, but there were difficulties, especially when you have lost your project and you have to start again, but all of my friends commented on my project as, “aesthetically pleasing” , “sick”, “that’s amazing”, “wow” “that’s so good”. and I was very proud about the finished look. I learned many skills from this project, including lamination, lazer cutting, filing and sanding. I would certainly do it again, it was so fun because we had the chance of learning independently, which was really good as it stretched me.

By Daniella Okyere

Pictures and Mirrors by Andrew Tiff

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how they go about some activities!

PSD Student Ambassadors The PSD faculty ambassadors have been busy developing their student leadership skills this half term! Year 13 subject specialists have completed some student voice work to find out what our sixth formers think about the activities they do in the lesson and what they find the most useful. This was feedback to teachers in PSD so they can make their lessons more personal to what the students want. This has been really successful and students have responded well as they know their teachers are listening to them.

The same students went into Year 10 and Year 11 assemblies last week to talk about taking the PSD faculty’s subjects at A-level (Sociology, Psychology, Philosophy and Health and Social Care). I know that many Year 10 and 11 students found this useful as they enjoy these subjects now, but didn’t know what they would be learning if they chose them at A-level. It was also good to listen to other students talking about the subjects that we could take as they were talking about them from the point of view of students. The PSD faculty will be using future student leaders to do this again.

On top of that three brave ambassadors have presented to the faculty meeting about the use of collaborative learning in their lessons.

Staff apparently found this really useful as the students told them that they wanted to do more group work and have more choice on

Alex O’Malley Promotions Team

English Reading Circle As you may already be aware of, there have been many student leadership activities taking place around school. Recently the English have devised a group called ‘The Reading Circle’, it has been organised and supported with the help of the English Student Leaders and Mrs Price. Its main aim and focus is to encourage students in the younger years of the school to become more involved in reading and build their skills. It is also a great way of collaborating and discussing ideas in groups, which is also a positive aspect that students will use in all their lessons’.

The sessions regularly take place throughout the week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, where students can discuss and analyse different books in groups. This is an excellent opportunity where they can share their ideas and views with each other and build communication skills.

Any Year 7 students who are interested in finding out more should contact Mrs Price in the English Department.

Amrah Iqbal Promotions Team .

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PSD PSD Comenius trip to Manchester!!

On 8 March we took 11 subject specialists from the PSD faculty to Manchester as part of the Comenius European Project to meet foreign students and be part of raising their cultural awareness of Britain. Students enjoyed looking around the Science and Industry Museum at the development of industry and innovation in Britain. They were impressed by many of the stands from the great steam train to the skeleton bike!! Our students embraced the opportunity to ‘mingle’ with students from schools from all over Europe and even tried to learn some greetings in their language!!!

Once we arrived we quickly realised that an episode of Flog it! was being filmed at the same time as our visit. Look out on upcoming programmes to see if you can spot any Caludon students in the background!

In the afternoon, we enjoyed a walk around some of the key sites to Manchester and a visit to the Manchester Art Gallery to take in some of the local art work. This was a particular favourite amongst our students some of whom even bought jewellery inspired by the art!

Our subject specialists were a real pleasure and got a lot out of the experience of meeting young people from all over the world. They represented the PSD faculty excellently!

The Comenius group will be working on other projects over the rest of the year and we will be working towards a Comenius trip to Norway next year!

Miss Sutheran Teacher of Sociology

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Music

Key Stage 3 Music lessons Music at Caludon is a great way to learn new things, especially with the fantastic Music teachers helping us to achieve our goals in Music. The subject is a great way to learn instruments such as keyboard. Students in our class are happy to get up in front of the class to perform. However, many have a fear of performing in front of everyone – especially us! We have been studying The Beatles and were assessed playing Yellow Submarine. We got a level 6 for this song as we came and practised during break, we really made sure that it was 100% by playing it over and over again, and getting extra help from our Music teacher.

By Sarah Evans and Elena Bytyqi, Year 8

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Music continued

The Music department has continued to deliver whole class band lessons as part of the Year 7 curriculum in conjunction with Coventry Performing Arts Service and Yamaha. This year 150 students have been learning to play flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, euphonium and tuba. It is now a regular occurrence in Music for most of one class to be in school from 8.20am, practising for 30 minutes before their lesson actually starts. The same students will then return at break time to practise!

Some Year 7 students have also now been selected to be part of the already established Super Class Band. These students have been taking their instruments home at weekends to practise, and are making tremendous progress!

This really is an amazing opportunity that we are offering these students, and it is lovely to see and hear the progress they are making.

Mrs Vincent Teacher of Music

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Music continued

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Music continued Last year, as I am sure you are all aware, the school put on a mesmerising rendition of the most famous musical of all time. Grease! Whilst the Level 3 (AS Equivalent) Music students may not have been in the line of sight throughout the show; they did, however, add a crucial element to any musical - the music.

Caludon, in comparison to so many other schools in the city, had an all-student line-up in the house band, ‘the Gamblers’. ‘The Gamblers’ was merely another name for the entire AS class as, at one point or another, every student was a member of the band - be it on or off stage. Georgia Nicholls as Betty Rizzo sang as both a soloist and in a chorus with The Gamblers and Niall Collins, playing the one-and-only Danny Zuko, did the same.

Adding percussion to the mix was the class drummer: Jack Foreman, on the guitar was our bassist/guitarist: Lewis Raishbrook, and on rhythm, lead and acoustic guitars were: Becky McCallum, Hisaan Shah and Scott Kettell (respectively). Harry Smith and Courtney Dawson provided keyboards for the show and Rebekah Bourke and Jess Hill were backing vocalists for the onstage performers. All-in-all a fantastic band in which I had the honour of playing, not only musically but socially. What a laugh we had!

Moving on from the end half of 2012 which was swallowed, it seemed, entirely by Grease. The class are now continuing with their Level 3 (AS Equivalent) Btec. In an attempt to match the previous year’s show and to fill the criteria of the course, the class have to perform a ‘Big Gig’ playing a selection of popular music of all types to a paying audience. Not only do they have to rehearse the music they’re playing on-stage, they also have to arrange everything that isn’t musical (eg. The venue, tickets, promotion, support). This is alongside numerous other objectives the class have to complete simultaneously.

Firstly, the class are writing an extended article on popular music from 1950 to the present day. With the purpose of enabling ‘learners to expand and display their knowledge of pop music and its technology from 1950 to the present day.’ (Quote taken from the assignment brief). It must mention musical style, examples of contemporary musicians from different eras, technical development and its

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Music continued effect, musical elements and their effect. This is a huge task and students are currently at the writing stage of the task, near-to-completion.

Along with their ‘Big Gig’ and pop article, some students have opted for continued difficulty in the form of OCR’s AS Music. This course differentiates from the Btec, which is fantastic in the way that it is relevant to popular music and young music-lovers, by concentrating more on the musicality of a student: measuring their skills in composition, listening, playing etc. Baroque and classical composers are studied in the course and students must compose in a similar style which, whilst appearing so, isn’t massively different to what is done in popular music.

Harry Smith Year 12 Music Ambassador

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Music continued School Choir The choir practises at lunchtime every Tuesday.

Our recent performances include a selection of festive songs performed at the University Hospital, Walsgrave, in December and short performances prior to the school production of “Grease” in the Autumn Term.

On the 14 March we performed to a large group of pensioners (from the Young at Heart Club) who were in school for Afternoon tea hosted by the Hospitality students.

We are currently rehearsing for our next performance at the “No 1s” concert, which is taking place on Thursday 21 March 2013 in the school hall. We will be performing “Flying without wings” (Westlife) and “Everything I do, I do it for you” (Bryan Adams).

Singing with the choir is great fun and is open to all students who are interested – new members always welcome!

For more information, contact Mr Stokes – F5

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Music continued The Super Class Band The super class band rehearses during the lunch break on Mondays. We performed in the school production of “Grease” in the Autumn Term as a marching band and are currently practising a piece called “School Spirit” which we will be performing during Arts Week.

The band was formed last year as a result of a project in which the school was given instruments to allow whole classes to learn to play in one of their music lessons each week. Students who enjoyed playing an instrument and were making progress in the class band were then invited to join the “super class band”.

For more information, contact Mrs Vincent – F6

Music Ambassadors There are a number of students from across the year groups who have been appointed as Ambassadors for Music. We are currently working with the Music teachers to identify areas in which we could support and promote the department, including supporting music clubs (keyboard and guitar), helping to repair instruments, supporting at gigs, participating in events at the school, updating noticeboards, showing round guests and generally promoting the subject we all love – music!

For more information, contact Mrs Vincent – F6 Written by Jonathan Letts, 8.6, Music Ambassador

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Music continued No 1s Concert

On the 21st of March the Caludon Castle Music department proudly presented the ‘UK number 1s concert’ where Year 10 and 11 BTEC bands performed past and present UK number 1 hits that have reached number 1 in the UK charts.

As part of the BTEC Music course the year 10 and 11 bands need to perform in front of an audience. We also have to take responsibility for the organisation of the concert, including tickets and promotion.

The gig included many cheesy rock classics and modern pop hits from 15 different bands. The school choir even performed a couple of no 1s and a staff band did an amazing rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody.

All in all the evening was a huge success and being part of such an event is something we will always remember about school when we reminisce in the future!

By Nathan Sayers - year 11 Music Ambassador

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Music continued School Show Success On 18, 19 and 20 December, Caludon Performing Arts put on the biggest show Cally has ever seen. Students from Year 7 to year 13 performed the in West End show “GREASE”!

The main cast was played by marvelous actors, who could not only act but could also sing. However, this was not enough!

We had to be able to Dance too - which was quite a challenge for some of us.

Niall Collins who played the leading male Danny Zuko put on not only an amazing show, but a stunning performance singing many difficult songs like “Summer Nights” and “You’re the one that I want” with the talented leading lady ‘Sandy’ who was played by Ellie O’Neill.

T-Bird leader Kenickie was played by the talented Harley McKittrick who amazed everybody with his talented version of “Greased Lightning”.

Georgia Nicholls who played ‘Rizzo’, leader of the Pink Ladies, gave a hilarious performance and made the audience’s hearts melt when she performed “There Are Worse Things I Could Do”.

The T-Birds consisted of Jas Dhoofer, Nic Ferlisi, Toyin Thomas, Gary Oddy, Jack Harris and Harry Stevens-Minns. Each and everyone of them brought something unique to the show whether it was vocally or physically, they were all so wonderful, while the Pink Ladies were played by Natasha Wilson, Shannon Burns, Katie Butler, Safina Siddiqui and Sophia Reeves who gave stunning performances The Chorus were so energetic and looked like they were loving every minute of the show, they all deserve a massive round of applause for how much effort and energy they put into the production My favourite performance of the show was “the one and only GREASED LIGHTNING”.

The energy that was given off by the T-Birds was astronomical and it really showed what creative and talented people can do if they really put their minds to it.

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Music continued With all music played by year 12 Music students; a performance from our very own Superclass band, marching on and playing their instruments; to the wonderful Diner during the interval this show really had it all.

There won’t be another show like this ever again, “Grease” was a massive hit selling out all three nights. When more tickets were released they were gone within moments of being released.

A massive round of applause needs to go to the members of staff that helped to put the show together and to create an unimaginable show. Another round of applause needs to go to all of the students that took part in the show whether it was performing or helping backstage, everybody deserves a huge amount of credit for such an amazing show.

WELL DONE TO CALLY FOR A BRILLIANT SHOW!!!

Harry Stevens-Minns, Year 11

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Library On Friday 1 February 2013 Alex Kenna, (10.13) Chloe Evans (10.3) and Jonathan Letts (8.6) took part in an ‘Inspiration Book Bout’.

The event consisted of each secondary school involved presenting on their allocated book; ours was ‘Mr Creecher’ by Chris Priestley. All of the books were from the ‘Read it or Else ’shortlist from the Coventry Inspiration Book Awards.

The challenge was to deliver a 5 minute presentation using a range of skills and say why it should win, for example speaking and listening, use of persuasive language, IT skills, use of PowerPoint and presentational skills.

At the end of the presentations each school had a short meeting to decide their votes. No team could vote for themselves. Points were awarded Eurovision style e.g. 12points, 10 points and so on...

Inspiration Book Bout Our trio gave a great performance and we were delighted to come third overall!

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Library Reading quiz To help celebrate World Book

Day on Thursday 7 March 2013, a reading quiz took place at Cardinal Wiseman School.

The remit was that teams of Year 8 students from secondary schools across the city read five books and answered one round of questions on each book: in addition there was a film round connected to books and a classics round.

Our team consisting of the following: Abigail Allman 8.2 Jay Cranston 8.2 Callum Daniels 8.5 Niamh Ennis 8.4 Jonathan Letts 8.6 Our team met every Wednesday in the library after school to talk about the books and come up with questions that they thought may be asked about the books.

Our team had a fantastic start to the quiz, winning the first round outright!

This earned them a set of books which they shared out amongst themselves.

There were also on the spot questions between rounds – with Callum and Jonathan winning an Easter egg each, plus another set of books!

We came third overall, our team were fantastic! They showed integrity, maturity and were a credit to Caludon Castle School. Well done!

And last but not least, many thanks go to the parents and relatives who came and supported our team on the night Miss Barton School Librarian

Miss Emberson Assistant Leader of English

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Commenius Project Comenius is an exciting inter-European exchange programme with 8 other schools all over Europe which will open students’ minds to the cultures, traditions and ways of life of the other countries. Caludon is involved in three areas; science, social sciences and the arts. Over the next two years students will have the opportunity to go to Iceland, Portugal, Turkey, Norway and Spain.

In March 20 overseas students came to stay with Caludon host families. The students came from Iceland, Germany, Spain and Portugal.

We had an action packed three days. On the Monday we went to the Think Tank science museum in Birmingham. Here we saw a demonstration about energy and got to take part in the show. We also saw a 3D film in the giant IMAX cinema about tornadoes and we got to experiment in the science garden outside and explored other parts of the exhibition.

Monday night was spent with host families and the exchange students got a taste of British life and culture. Some students looked around historical Coventry, some went to Stratford upon Avon and some were lucky enough to see a premier league football match at Villa Park.

Tuesday was just as exciting. Imagineering came to school to work with us on how electricity and the national grid work. Students worked in cross country groups to build houses, pylons and cables out of Kinex. All the students were able to overcome the language barriers and work effectively in teams. When they came to test their grid systems they were very proud that it all worked! They were all even confident enough to present their findings in the form of presentations to the rest of the group.

Tuesday evening meant only one thing – pizza and bowling. The whole group took part and it was here that many lasting friendships were formed. Everybody had a good time, many students picked up parts of a new language, practised their Spanish and found out about life in another country.

We were very sad to say goodbye on the Wednesday, but were already looking forward to travelling to Portugal for the Arts strand of the project.

At the Think Tank

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Teacher comments from our partner schools Portugal “We are back in our countries after an amazing experience in the UK.” “Our partners in Coventry and Manchester did a fantastic job. “ “Everything was so well organized and prepared.“ “Our students had a great time together and learned a lot about themselves, their schools, their lifestyles, their city, their country.”

“Our teachers and staff are growing professionally and becoming much more than partners... we are becoming good friends and this friendship is beyond this project.”

Germany “We safely arrived back home yesterday and want to give you our warmest thanks for the amazing work you have done.”

“Everything was so perfectly organized. We loved your school and were a tiny bit jealous, because you have so much space and so many modern facilities and such a good equipment.

What you managed especially well was - the mixing of the groups to make them socialize and work together -keeping the tight schedule so that everything worked perfectly well -the choice of the host families -the provision with food (tell your cooking club that lunch was delicious).”

Spain “I have just arrived home and I feel really satisfied with the visit. Congratulations for the extraordinary work you have done and thank you all for the warm hosting. For me the best activity has been the cooperative activities between the students. ” Iceland ”Many thanks from my students. One said that this was the best thing he has ever done in his life.

They are all very glad and the families were fantastic.”

Pictures from our science day

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Commenius Project What our students said about the experience.

This is what I have enjoyed about having a student from a different country: We went to the Think Tank Learning a different language Meeting a new friend Showing my partner most of Coventry’s history Going bowling Going to Pizza Hut The thing I enjoyed the most was that we all had fun and that I wish that they did not have to go.

Sarah Read – Year 8 I enjoyed interacting with the exchange students and speaking their language full-time. I also made lots of friends and I will be keeping in touch with them in the future.

Rihon Scullion – Year 8

I enjoyed meeting people of different nationalities and learning about their culture.

Jess King – Year 10 It was fun and pretty cool for people to stay my house and come out with me.

Hannah Rose – Year 10

Pizza and bowling evening

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Who and where are our partner schools?

IES Itaca, Spain.

School has 250 students from 11-16 years old.

Blonduskoli, Iceland, has 120 students aged 11-16 in a village of 900 people.

Leibniz Gymnasium, Germany has 800 students from 11-18 years old.

Samsun Rotary Kulubu, Turkey is a school for Gifted and Talented students aged 9-15 – 150 in total.

Provinciale Middenschool, Belgium, has 1300 students from 11-18 - many with SEN and the focus is vocational learning – technical and agricultural.

Colegio de Sagrado Coracao de Maria, Portugal, has 500 students aged 10-15.

Nes school in Norway has 160 students from 13-16 years old. Lots of focus on social skills and learning strategies.

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Logo competition – can you guess which logo was designed by Caludon students???

Mrs R Mitchell Assistant Head Leader of Languages

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ETER 2013 LIBRARY OPENING TIMES

FRIDAY 29 March CLOSED SATURDAY 30 March OPEN SUNDAY 31 March CLOSED Monday 1 April CLOSED TUESDAY 2 APRIL OPEN Remember our library is open almost all year round.

Happy Easter from all the Staff at Caludon Castle School

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