Issue 43, December 2014
Welcome Aboard Our new Interim Headteacher, Mr Douglas Greig, was recently interviewed for Plumline. He was extremely complimentary about our school and said ‘I’ve been made to feel very welcome by everyone. I’m very impressed by the students here at Plumstead Manor, particularly at how confident our young women are in Years 7 to 11, as well as our young women and men in the sixth form. Everywhere I turn I see success and harmony’. He said that he also found it impressive how curious our students were and how they were not shy in letting him know what they think! When asked about his thoughts on the staff, he said ‘I am struck by how hardworking everyone is here and I really value how utterly committed members of staff are in wanting only the very best for our students’. He also celebrates how diverse our school community is, made up from a rich variety of backgrounds and cultures, which bring real life to our school.
We asked him what he believed made a great Headteacher and he said ‘A great Head is someone who inspires others, someone who can touch hearts and minds - someone who is willing to work with people and not on top of them’. He also added ‘A great Head is someone who is in it for the job – not just the status or the financial reward – and someone who can help a school community develop the vision and zeal to approach the future with confidence’. Looking ahead to the future, Mr Greig said
he wants to see Plumstead Manor be a centre of excellence in the local area, working in partnership with other primary and secondary schools. He said ‘I want our school to work closely with other schools, maintaining our girls only status, whilst also providing a mixed post-16 education of the highest quality’. He would like to see our school be a bigger part of the local Plumstead community, helping people to access education, through classes offered in school, as well as holding community events in our building. Mr Greig is very committed to everyone reaching their full potential, including staff, students, and local community members. ‘For me, the point of a comprehensive school like Plumstead Manor is to help the world be a more equal place, to particularly promote the achievement of girls, to overcome challenges and remove barriers to success and harmony and to promote excellence in all that we do. That’s what I see as the real focus for the school over the next 5 years.’ And so say all of us!
Lest We Forget In this special year of commemoration of the start of the First World War, Plumstead Manor had a focus week with lots of colourful displays, assemblies and various trips. The first of these trips was to the see the ‘Poppy’ art installation at the Tower of London. This trip was part of the Year 9 History topic on World War One. This very unique art installation, created by ceramic artist Paul Cummins, was hugely successful and captured the imagination of people from all over the world. There was one poppy for each British and Commonwealth fatality in the First World War. The figure of 888,246 derives from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission audit of 2010. It was a cold, sunny day when we visited The Tower of London. Our students found this amazing sight very beautiful and moving. It certainly helped to give students a greater understanding of the sheer scale of British and Commonwealth deaths in the First World War. The second trip with a WW1 flavour was to The Imperial War Museum, where our Year 13 A-Level English Literature students had the opportunity to visit the new World War 1 exhibition at the
museum. As part of their A2 syllabus, they are studying the poetry of the First World War poets. Visiting this exhibition enabled them to understand more about this period of time in history - before, during and after the First World War. This helps them to develop greater empathy and understanding of the characters and the disturbing images the WW1 poems portray. Visiting this museum brought the text of the poems alive and will hopefully give students greater attainment at A-Level. Good luck to all of you.
Women of The Future Conference Year 10 and Year 12 students were invited to attend the ‘Women of the Future: Girl Rising’ Conference at Eltham Hill School earlier this term. This was a conference to promote positive role-models and positive options for girls. The conference looked at the role of women in society and the positive contribution that they make. The aim of the conference was to mark the ‘International Day of Girls’. There were inspirational speakers and workshops for students to take part in - including one on female genital mutilation and another one domestic violence.
The speakers at the conference were incredibly inspiring and their stories
were extremely moving, particularly Sharon Evans, who runs a national charity to help young people. We are hoping to work with Sharon again with her Dot Com charity, which promotes good mental health and raises self-esteem in children who are suffering from bullying or domestic violence. The Women of the Future conference was such a great event and it has given us food for thought. Here at Plumstead Manor, we would also like to host a similar event, to show girls what it is to be successful, happy women who deserve their place in society. Girl Power!
STARS Seminar Eight students from Years 7, 8 and 9 attended the Transport for London STARS travel accreditation seminar in October. STARS - which stands for Sustainable Travel, Active, Responsible and Safe - gave Plumstead Manor students the opportunity to mix with other London schools to find out what they have achieved, get inspired and receive support moving forward with the Plumstead Manor Travel Plan. The School Travel Plan is very important to our school and our immediate community. Here are a few examples of how implementing STP initiatives can help us to address related issues and to meet other targets- reduce congestion and irresponsible parking outside school, reduce child obesity by promoting active travel, increase confidence and skills in young road users, promote independent travel and reduce our school’s over- all carbon footprint. The seminar was extremely lively and thought-provoking and our students had some great ideas. Our STARS ambassadors, from the Health Council,
decided that their campaign would concentrate on getting more students to walk to school. Look out for forthcoming assemblies and posters on this.
Jump Rope For Heart
PE Multi-skills Event
We could all feel the excitement as the Jump Rope for Heart event was approaching! This fundraising event, which is now in its 25th year, was once again a great success and all the Year 7 and 8s enjoyed taking part in the skipathon. As always, Plumstead Manor girls were extremely generous supporting the life-saving work of the British Heart Foundation, managing to raise an incredible £1,300. This collection will be used to buy equipment for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of heart disease, saving thousands of lives and improving the quality of thousands more. Our commitment is strong and if we work together we can make a big difference. Thank you so much to everyone who supported this great cause.
The PE Multi-skills was an incredibly successful event, led by the Year 10 Sports Leaders, helped by GCSE PE students. The Sports Leaders looked really smart with their new T-shirts. For the event, we had Year 2 pupils from six local primary schools. They competed against each other in a variety of different PE skills. Plumcroft Primary emerged as the triumphant winners of the day, which was such great fun. A huge thank you is awarded to our wonderful PE department for organising such an amazing occasion - not only for our students, but also for the enjoyment (and fitness) of pupils in our local community. It certainly was a win-win event and we all loved it!
KISS AND TELL As part of the spiralling Sex and Relationship education, provided by the Personal Development Department here at Plumstead Manor, our Year 10 students recently had the opportunity to see an excellent theatre performance and take part in a thought-provoking workshop. ‘Kiss and Tell’, which was performed by Little Fish Theatre Company, is an authentic, challenging and emotive performance, exploring teenage sexual relationships and the law. ‘Kiss and Tell’ is a dynamic, interactive play and workshop that sensitively deals with a sexual encounter between two young people, which is secretly filmed on a mobile phone. ‘Kiss and Tell’ engages young people in discussions on a variety of topics includ-
ing power and control in sexual relationships, the role of peer pressure and the devastating impact of social media in sexual liaisons. This was a very powerful piece of drama and our students responded very positively to the workshop, asking intelligent questions. Many of the issues in the play dealt with self-esteem and, when asked to put themselves in the position of the female lead in the performance, most students were empathetic to her situation but felt they would have behaved differently - with very different consequences. We are proud of our Year 10 students for their mature attitude to this serious play. We thank Little Fish Theatre Company and we look forward to working with them again soon.
Kingswood Trip - October 2014 The first weekend of half-term was a full-on active one! Ms Reynolds, Acting Head of PE, organised her first Plumstead Manor trip (the first of many we hope!) to Kingswood Activity Centre, near Ashford in Kent. Sixty four very lucky Year 8 and 9 students waved goodbye to their parents and then got stuck into very physical activities as soon as we arrived. The activities were all very different and ranged from swinging on high-wires to singing round the campfire to working out logical puzzles. There were lots of physical activities which involved upper body strength and vast amounts of stamina – zip wire, high ropes, climbing wall, to name but a few. After a hard morning or hard afternoon’s gruelling activities, students were extremely grateful to come back to a warm, filling meal. The food and accommodation were excellent and everybody had great fun. On Saturday night, students were split
Representing Plumstead Manor School amongst over 40 schools at The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple master class/open day has
into groups and had to make a water-bomb challenge. This was a great laugh. By the time it rolled round to Sunday night, many students were so exhausted they fell asleep in their onesies whilst watching a muchneeded and much-deserved DVD! Ms Reynolds was so proud of our students, who behaved very well on the trip. Nearly every student gave it their all and all the teachers joined in the activities too – and some of them are dead old! It was a fantastic adventure
The Tech Trip When you hear Microsoft you think of high tech computers, flashy office blocks and that powerpoint you were supposed to do that’s due tomorrow. So, when walking into the building we were all in awe, armed with Microsoft employee passes, buzzing with excitement for the day ahead. The day began with an inspiring speech from the leader of the organisation ‘Incredible Brilliant Youth’, who had teamed up with Microsoft to organise the day and her panel of experts with interesting stories from their work places. We then went on to form power groups to come up with an internet campaign with Microsoft interns from all areas of the company- marketing, coding, designing. We were told what it’s like to work for a company like Microsoft, sparking a little of envy in all of us. I learned that nothing was actually as it seemed - Microsoft is not all black suits, secret documents and advanced systems. Along with all the work the interns do, they learn skills that university can’t teach them, working in a professional yet fun environment, gaining experience and life memories. It was a fantastic trip and it has certainly whetted my appetite for an internship there. Watch this space! Justice Waul, 12Wm
and Ms Reynolds is already hard at work organising next year’s trip to Kingswood. Make sure to pick up a letter as soon as they are out to guarantee yourself a place.
genuinely been one of the highlights of my year. We were exposed to the intricacies of the legal profession (especially the bar) and had the opportunity to interact with established practitioners. I particularly enjoyed taking part in a mooting activity of a ‘plea in mitigation’, hearing and establishing contacts with people through networking. This experience has unequiv-
ocally enhanced my public speaking, advocacy and analytical skills and has further reinforced my enthusiasm to pursue a degree in Law. Emmanuel Kanu Year 13
A MINI ADVENTURE The A Level Business students went to the BMW Mini Factory for a tour of the Mini production facility, accompanied by Mr. Alovisetti and Mr. MacKay. It was an incredible opportunity for the students (and us) to see Business theory come to life. The students saw first hand “just in time” production and the way a Mini is built from the nuts and bolts to the finished product, ready for delivery to customers around the world. (It takes 22 hours to build a mini and all minis are built to order. And yes, the colour red is the most popular export to China!)
News in Brief Skills London On Friday, 21st November, Year 12 and Year 13 students attended the Skills London careers event at Excel Centre in London. Skills London 2014 was London’s biggest jobs and careers event for 15-24 year olds and their families. The event featured over 45,000 job opportunities, including apprenticeships, 185 exhibitors from top employers, colleges, training providers and advisers. 32,490 visitors attended the event and were inspired towards their future. The key to Skills London 2014’s success is the high level of interactivity enabling exhibitors and visitors to come together. The event gives young people the chance to have a go at the careers on offer and organisations the opportunity to explain their career routes and job opportunities.
you Blackwall Tunnel). A big thank you to Niall MacKay for driving us in the mini bus the whole way there and back safely!
We all enjoyed it... despite a 4 hour. drive back (thank
Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award
By engaging the visitors with focused taster activities, exhibitors can access London’s future workforce; inspiring them, entertaining them and most importantly, informing them about the genuine opportunities available. Visitors can try lots of the hands-on activities.
Year 12 Welcome Evening On Thursday,25th September, parents and students of Year 12 were invited to a welcome evening in the Lerner Building. The aim of the evening was for parents to discuss any concerns they may have had at the start of term and for staff to inform parents of the expectations and standards required for students to be successful at Plumstead Manor 6th Form. The interactive evening was well attended and well supported by 6th form ambassadors who answered questions and served refreshments. The evening hosted a series of workshops, designed to engage both students and parents in the demands of sixth form education. These sessions included study skills, independent learning, thinking ahead, applying to universities and breaking down barriers to education.
Design Competition
Through the ice cold wind, the torrential rain and blisters….. we did it! The first PMS Duke of Edinburgh Gold group!! Being part of the Duke of Edinburgh Award has been an amazing opportunity. There have been difficult times and seemingly impossible challenges, but together, through songs and smiles, we managed to pull through. Completing the gold award has helped us grow in confidence and in physical and mental maturity. The gruelling demands of the Gold expedition proved that we can stay the distance, rather than giving up when times get difficult, and as a result we have more belief in what we can achieve. It has encouraged us to learn new skills, make new friends and be part of a group.
more confident about going to university and living with complete strangers because I’ve already done it to a certain extent.” Syeda Bukhari, “At times it can become a challenging experience - but friends, leaders and other participants help make it a happy, positive experience. It has made me a lot more confident and helped me to interact within a group. I would definitely recommend it.”
Moriam Aldade: “It forced me to be independent and get along with new people very quickly. Now I feel much
PLUMSTEAD MANOR Old Mill Road London SE18 1QF
tel 020 3260 3333 info@plumsteadmanor.com
Congratulations to the Year 10 Design Engineer and Construct students who took part in a workshop to design an Eco classroom, their design came in 2nd place from 12 competing groups!
Wear it Pink Day Congratulations and well done to all staff and students who took part in the ‘Wear it Pink Day’ and the Coffee Morning. The total collected for WIPD was £636.39 and the total for the coffee morning was £244.96.
Sixth Form Achievement Congratulations to the following 6th Form students who have been accepted onto the K+ Programme at Kings College. Mergime Muliqi - Maths & Computer Sciences, Aishat Hamzat - Law, Sumaya Abdulkadir - Languages & Literature, Rehana Haque - Languages & Literature. Congratulations to the following 6th Form students who successfully gained places on the Oxford schools shadowing scheme. The students are: Senada Merkulaj, Keji Aleja-Banjo and Mergime Muliqi. A fantastic achievement!
Operation Make Peace GCSE Citizenship students were lucky enough to have a presentation on firearms recently. Students found it extremely engaging and informative and it certainly raised awareness about very serious issues in our community. It was wonderful to have such up-to-date information delivered by a professional policeman, who is a specialist in firearms We all know that young people can sometimes have a bad view of the police, but PC Piracha’s easy-going approach enabled our students to ask probing questions about a sensitive topic. This was an extremely useful resource, particularly in the run-up to revising for the GCSE Citizenship exam in May 2015. We look forward to working with PC Piracha again in the near future.
Edited by: Vikki Barrie Created by: Caroline Ward
PLUMSTEAD MANOR a performing arts, applied learning & Humanities College