News from Highgate Wood School arts college
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Issue No 11 March 2013
BREAKING NEWS: HIGHGATE WOOD SCHOOL WIN U18 MIDDLESEX CUP ++ FANTASTIC SIXTH FORM TEAM ++
GOVERNING BODY UPDATE The Chair of Governors, Charles Wright, writes: I and fellow governors looked in on the Model United Nations day recently. Organised by Highgate Wood and now involving schools across north London, it gives students the opportunity to research and debate world issues, in UN format, and reach agreement. This is challenging enough, but the day is also run and managed by students, and there’s a link with higher education too, as former students come back to take part as well. It’s a fantastic event and showcase for the school, which was great to attend, and many thanks to all involved. Another important part of the governors’ role is recruiting senior staff, and some of us were also involved recently in two days of interviews and tests for the deputy headship candidates. I’m confident that we have a strong appointment in Craig Hewitt, who will be working alongside Katerina Christodoulou from September, helping us continue to improve. We also spend a lot of time looking data, checking we are on track to meet the challenging targets we are setting ourselves. You may have seen the new ‘data dashboard’ on the school website, launched with a bit of a fanfare by Ofsted for every school. It is only a snapshot, looking back to 2012 results, and we go into much more detail on how we are performing, but it does show that Highgate Wood continues to do well compared to schools across the country and similar schools, and that’s good news. One area where we are not doing so well is on attendance. Being at school is of course vitally important, and I hope that parents and carers will support us as we look to do better in this area. Finally, I’m pleased to welcome Chris Tully as our new parent governor. Chris already serves as a charity trustee, and has many years’ experience of governance, and I’m sure will help us continue to improve. I hope you all have a good break.
Cover picture: Return to the Forbidden Planet was our
brilliant spring Musical and showed off the extraordinary talents that we have at Highgate Wood School. The shows were sold out, and everyone commented on the quality of the production. Read about the experience of being in the show in this issue of Insight in Fionnuala Stevens’ article.
Liz Whitlock writes: Money raised exclusively through the HWS Lottery has just paid for two trampolines and a spectrometer for use by all HWS pupils. Both the PE and Science Departments are hugely grateful for these much needed items. Just think how much more we could buy if EVERY parent and carer bought just one lottery ticket at only £12 per year! If you're not yet signed up to the lottery ‐ please, please do so now and help raise money to buy even more great things for even more departments ‐ remember, all our kids benefit! To buy a lottery ticket, please email Arabella or Jane on hwslottery@me.com or contact us via school. Thanks to all parents who responded to the email about first aid training, we will be planning a session shortly and will send an email with dates.
EXAM NOTICE Mr Demetriou writes: Summer examinations will run from 13th May until 26th June and all students should have now received a timetable. If you require a new one or If you have a clash on your timetable, please discuss this with the Examinations Officer.
HIGHGATE WOOD SCHOOL GOVERNING BODY Chair of Governors: Charles Wright (Community Governor)
Vice Chair: Imogen Pennell (Representative Governor)
Representative Governors: Cllr Eddie Griffith • Oliver Blackaby • Brenda Allan
Parent Governors: Andrew Boardman • Diana Brown • Philip Cavendish Caroline Conlon • Elizabeth Hess • Chris Tully • Rob White Community Governors: Phil Cocksedge • Violet Hazelwood‐Henry • Chris Parr • Carol Vincent Headteacher Governor: Patrick Cozier
Staff Governors: Tristan Ashman • Jack Fitzgerald • Saad Gul Mohammed
If you wish to contact the Governing Body please write to the Chair of Governors, c/o Mrs K Ozturk, Highgate Wood School, Montenotte Road, London N8 8RN
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March 2013
MESSAGE FROM THE HEADTEACHER This has been an unusually short spring term but, as is to be expected, so much has happened in that time. You will get a good sense of this from the current edition of Insight. During the course of this term I have had the genuine pleasure of attending a range of events that have showcased the talents of our students and demonstrated what is special about Highgate Wood. The Musical (Return to the Forbidden Planet), Model UN and Highgate Wood School’s Got Talent are just three such events. But there are many other fantastic things that are happening in our school, both in the classroom, on the sporting field and around the school in general. We should be proud of the students for their many achievements, and I am particularly proud of my hard working staff who provide the energy and enthusiasm to facilitate these great opportunities for our students to thrive. Alongside the extra‐curricular, the general hard work of staff and students in preparing for the upcoming public exams continues unabated, and for this I thank everyone who is continuing to make a positive contribution to what we believe will be another impressive set of results for our students come August. Post 16 at Highgate Wood Following on from last year’s excellent recruitment, in the last couple of weeks I have had the joy of interviewing some of our Year 11 students following their applications for places in the 6th form. It really has been fascinating getting the opportunity to listen to them talk about themselves as learners and to see how much thought and care they are putting into their decisions about their future. What has been really pleasing is listening to them explain why they have applied to the Highgate Wood 6th form. Students have talked about The enjoyment that they have experienced at Highgate Wood over the years and that they see Post 16 as a natural continuation of the learning that is taking place in Key Stage 4 March 2013
The benefits or remaining at a school that they know, but more importantly a school that knows them; where their teachers know their strengths and how to build upon them; where their teachers are aware of their areas for development The good progress that they are currently making, and a belief that this will continue this progress in the 6th form The trust that they have (and the evidence that they have seen and heard) that teaching in the 6th form is of a high quality The wide (and growing) range of opportunities available to them at Post 16 to embrace extra‐ curricular opportunities Knowing that at Highgate Wood School, they benefit from teachers who really do care about them and will go the extra mile to support them throughout their studies to achieve their potential and to help them go on to the very best universities It is heart‐warming to know that they are so proud of their school and that they want to stay because they feel that they belong and where they know they will do well. I am proud of them all and want them to remain here at ‘home’ at Highgate Wood School. I am looking forward to having an excellent Year 12 cohort in September. New Timetable starts on Tuesday 4th June 2013 A reminder to all that the new timetable will be in operation from June 4th,which is the first day back after the half term of the summer term. It is a Tuesday because the school will be closed to students on the Monday for staff training. For those parents who are new to the school, the biggest impact of the June early roll is that each year group will begin their curriculum for next year half a term earlier. The main rationale for this is to benefit our Year 9 students by enabling them to start their GCSEs (and other Key Stage 4 courses) half a term early. This we believe affords them a greater opportunity to succeed in Key Stage 4. The implication for all other year groups is that their current teachers may change in June. However, as the timetable that we start in June 2013 will remain in place until next June 2014 (and from June to June 3
each successive year after that), it means that there will not be any further change of teachers this coming September. Year 11 and Post 16 Students – Preparation for Exams Year 11 and Post 16 students are now entering into that final stage leading up to their exams. As always, there will be a range of exam preparation sessions available over the Easter Holidays. Students are encouraged to make full use of these and to follow the guidance that they have been given by their teachers in terms of revision and preparation. We are confident that they will all do fantastically well – but they have to put in the hard work to make sure! A reminder of our ambitious 2013 target (along with the exam results over the last few years) is shown below.
Over two days of very testing and demanding interview tasks and activities Mr Hewitt demonstrated a number of big strengths and is someone who I am confident will bring many positive and new qualities and some exciting ideas to Highgate Wood School as we continue our journey towards being the ‘Outstanding’ school that we want to be. He is a very strong addition to the Leadership Team and will be a huge support to all staff and students. He starts officially in September – however, I will look for opportunities for him to meet with staff and students during the summer term. I would also like to offer a huge thank you to the many staff, students and governors who helped out over the two days. So many people helped out in so many different ways throughout the interviews. Their contribution was highly significant and a very necessary part of the process. Other Teaching Appointments for September 2013
New Deputy Headteacher Appointment for September 2013 As you may recall, since last April we have been operating at Highgate Wood School with one Deputy Headteacher (Katerina Christodoulou). We have taken the decision to go back to having two Deputy Headteachers, which is more in line with most secondary schools of this size. Consequently, as you may have been aware, on Wednesday 13th March and Thursday 14th March we interviewed six candidates (from 40 applications) for the post of Deputy Headteacher. I am pleased and excited to announce that following an intense and rigorous process we have been successful in appointing Mr Craig Hewitt to the post. Mr Hewitt is currently an Assistant Headteacher at Stoke Newington School in Hackney, with overall responsibility for Post 16 Education. 4
In addition to the Deputy Headteacher appointment we have also been successful in recruiting a new Head of ICT to start in September, Mr David Talbert. Mr Talbert is already a Head of ICT at his current school. He has good experience, energy and enthusiasm and I am confident that he will bring these qualities to Highgate Wood School. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Benjamin Odei who has been an exceptional acting Head of Department since the departure of Ms Riaz, and who I am sure will continue to contribute hugely to the success of the ICT department and the school as a whole. We have also appointed Ms Nicola Michael who will be joining the Science department in September. We were very impressed with Ms Michael during her interview for the post – and she especially impressed some of our year 11 students who are keen to do Chemistry next year in the 6th form when she taught them an A Level Chemistry lesson. I am confident that she will add further strength to the department. Ms Mikki Patel says farewell We are very sorry to be losing Ms Mikki Patel who is leaving Highgate Wood School this week. Ms Patel joined the Science department in the spring term of 2011. She has made a really positive contribution in her time here. We wish her well for the future. March 2013
Uniform Issues
... And Finally – Thank you for your support!
The issue of school uniform is one that changes throughout the year, mostly depending on the overriding temperature. I know that given the current freezing temperatures, this may seem ridiculous; however, I anticipate warmer months ahead and would like to issue a couple of reminders for parents and students:
I would like to thank you all again for your valued and continued support. I wish you and your families a pleasant Easter break.
Blazers are compulsory, but jumpers/cardigans are not; hence, if students do not wish to wear two layers on top of their shirts, it’s the jumpers/cardigans that should not be worn. If at some stage the weather is very hot, then we will relax the need to wear a blazer – however, we will inform you and the students if and when this happens
Please remember, we return on Monday 15th April at the later start time of 10.50am. Regards Patrick Cozier Headteacher NEW DATA DASHBOARD
No other alternative to the school jumper/cardigan (with the Highgate Wood School blue trim) can be worn. If they are they will be confiscated. Short sleeve shirts are a perfectly acceptable alternative to long sleeve shirts for girls and boys. Primary Secondary Transfer – September 2013 Highgate Wood Oversubscribed Again! We have recently received data from the Local Authority that shows allocations and preferences for the schools across Haringey for secondary transfer in September 2013. The list below is in alphabetical order. We have reason to be pleased that the number of preferences has now topped 1000 for the first time ever. We have also increased the number of first choices to 267, higher than the number of places available (243) The data below shows comparisons with the other Haringey schools
OFSTED has published a new ‘Data Dashboard’ for all schools, which provides an overview of school performance in exams and attendance, compared to other schools. It shows clearly that Highgate Wood is doing well compared to schools across the country and compared to similar schools. That is a credit to our staff and to parents and carers for their support, and confirms that we are providing a very good education for our students and we are on the right track to becoming outstanding. Unfortunately, the Dashboard does show that attendance at Highgate Wood is not as good as in other similar schools and is below the national average. This is an issue we have highlighted in the past and we hope that parents and carers will continue to support us in addressing this. (Please see Mr Hartley’s letter in this issue of Insight)
March 2013
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NATIVE SPEAKERS WANTED Ms Lacroix writes: The Modern Languages Department is looking for native speakers to help in the conduct of some examinations. We need adults who can speak, read, write and understand fully the language in: ‐ Arabic ‐ Modern Hebrew ‐ Italian If you are able to help, or know of someone who could be, please contact Aude Lacroix, Head of Department, or Joe Demetriou ( Exam Officer). Extension 240. WORK EXPERIENCE BEGINNING FOR YEAR 10 Ms Roberts writes: Between 29th April and 3rd May, Year 10 students will undertake a week of work experience. They will be getting an insight into places of work such as accountants and law firms, banks, publishers, pharmacies, schools, sports academies and vets to name but a few. Students will be expected to work the usual working hours in that organisation and adhere to the placement's rules and regulations, including dress code which can range from smart business wear to steel toed boots and jeans! This is an exciting opportunity to meet people in their industry of interest, get a flavour of the day to day work involved, apply their skills and knowledge in a scenario outside of school and be ambassadors for Highgate Wood. It is a great opportunity to make an impression and who knows, there may even be future offers of part time or summer work. For some students it can confirm their area of interest for future career paths, for others, it may do the opposite! Either way, they will gain some knowledge from this experience which we hope will assist them in future choices. If you have any queries regarding work experience, please email: workexperience@hws.haringey.sch.uk Best of luck to all Year 10! 6
Mr Ashman writes: Don’t forget everyone in the school has access to SAM Learning ‐ and it is a proven way of improving your grades. Visit www.samlearning.com and put in the school’s ID which is N8HW. Your username and password are the same (unless you changed your password). It is your date of birth followed by your initials. For example: 010898DJ would be the username and password for David Jones born 1st August 1998 If you have any problems logging on contact tas@hws.haringey.sch.uk SIXTH FORM INTERVIEWS Mr Charlesworth writes: Student interviews for the 6th Form are nearing completion and offers will be made to successful applicants in April. Each Year 11 student has been interviewed by a senior member of staff to discuss their A level choices and the routes into University that they provide. In addition to students from Highgate Wood interviews have been offered to just over 100 external applicants who have strong applications and live within a 30 minute journey on Public Transport. As soon as all interviews are complete students will receive an offer of a place in the 6th Form for September 2013 subject to confirmation of GCSE grades in August. Once students have received their GCSE grades they will be interviewed again to confirm the courses they will study at A level. Feedback from students in Year 11 is positive about the opportunity the interview gives to discuss the choices they have made and find out more about the school 6th Form and the transition to A levels that they will face in September.
GIVING NEWS TO THE SCHOOL If students, parents, carers or friends want to alert the school of an achievement or good news to be shared please contact us by email at: goodnews@hws.haringey.sch.uk We also have an email address for those who wish to make a complaint or raise a concern: complaints@hws.haringey.sch.uk March 2013
A MESSAGE REGARDING ATTENDANCE
EASTER REVISION—YEAR
Revision and coursework catch‐up sessions for Year 11 Many thanks to those parents and students who have improved will be taking place through their attendance since Mr Worth our Education Welfare Officer the Easter holidays. raised this issue in the previous Insight. We are committed to Students will have been informed by improving our attendance so that our students achieve their very their teachers, but the information will best at Highgate Wood School. In order to bring ourselves in line with procedures in other Haringey also be made available on the school schools we will no longer automatically authorise absence even with website. If you have been invited to attend a a note or phone call from a parent. If a student’s attendance is session please ensure you arrive on below 96% we must have a medical note from a doctor to automatically authorise absence, without this a request to authorise time and ready to work! is likely to be declined. This includes appointments that we believe CONTROLLED ASSESSMENTS could be organised outside of school hours. Of course this will not affect students with medical conditions that are known to us. Students will be notified in class about Dear Parents,
I hope that parents understand that this is a usual procedure in many schools and is due to our continued efforts to raise the achievement of students at Highgate Wood School. Evidence is clear that an attendance of above 95% is required if a student is not to underperform at school and so I am sure that parents will be happy to support the school in ensuring that students achieve their best. If you have any queries about this new procedure please do contact me and I will be happy to clarify any questions you might have.
Yours sincerely, Adrian Hartley Assistant Headteacher
controlled assessments happening in the coming term. Because of the need to ensure students are fully prepared we cannot always guarantee in advance when the assessments will take place. However, we will endeavour to inform parents through the school journal or with a text message a week or so before they do take place. Currently controlled assessments are scheduled for Year 10 in French, Spanish, and Business & Economics. In English there will also be opportunities to revisit past controlled assessment tasks.
MATHS ASSESSMENTS FOR SET CHANGES
YEAR 9 OPTIONAL TESTS Start End
Subject
Paper Date
English
Paper 1/2 Taking place in class
Science Paper 1 23 Apr
08:35 09:35
Science Paper 2 23 Apr
14:10 15:10
Maths
Paper 1 9 May
08:35 09:35
Maths
Paper 2 9 May
11:10 12:10
Ms Payton writes: There are End of Year Assessments in Maths that will determine the setting for the beginning of the new academic year in June. The assessments will include two written papers and one mental test. Year 9 ‐ Thursday 9th May ‐ in the hall Year 8 ‐ Monday 13th and Wednesday 15th May Year 7 ‐ Monday 13th to Thursday 16th May
THE COMING TERM’S KEY STAGE 3 HOMEWORK PROJECTS The coming half-term will see the following homework projects being set: Year 7: Geography:- Building a settlement ICT:- e-Safety Year 8: Design & Technology:- Life Cycle Assessment ECS: - Religious Pilgrimage Year 9: No projects this half-term, but preparing for GCSE courses. Information to help you with these will be available on the MLE. Independent work and self‐study is always available on SAM Learning and the MLE March 2013
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THE LAST SUPPER WITH YEAR 7
Ms Kemp writes: Here is 7T re‐enacting the last supper as we lead up to the Easter festival and learn about Christian history. A Level GEOGRAPHERS INVESTIGATE DEVON
Ms Hickey writes: In early March the Geography AS students spent four days in Devon studying coastal, urban and rural issues in preparation for their imminent exams. Despite the cold and wet weather the students were enthusiastic about their work and proved to be a far more knowledgeable group of students than the other two schools that they were working with. All agreed that the course had been a good learning experience. Well done Year 12! VISITORS FROM TUNISIA
Ms Christodoulou writes: Highgate Wood School hosted a group of Tunisian teachers and representatives from the Tunisian Ministry of Education on Tuesday 12 March. The purpose of their visit was to provide an opportunity 8
TRAVELS TO ROMANIA Mr Contor writes: Late last month, Ms Jennifer Harris (Second in Charge of English) and I travelled to Romania as part of the Comenius International Schools Project to participate in four days of educational and cultural exchanges. Since the focus of this visit was drama and communication, Highgate Wood School’s industry partner, Theatre Royal Haymarket Masterclass (represented by Grace Staniland), travelled with us. Between the three of us, we delivered workshops on Public Speaking Skills, The Use of Voice in Performance and Spatial Awareness. The workshops were well received by the participating schools from Denmark, Belgium, Estonia, The Basque Country and our hosts, the Romanians. It was an excellent opportunity for us as professionals working with drama and communication in our normal contexts in Britain. It made us aware how different and advanced the Performing Arts curricula are in our schools compared to our European neighbours. Whilst we were kept very busy delivering our workshops, it was a fantastic opportunity for us to work with students from five other European schools. Many thanks to Ms Katerina Christodoulou and our hosts in Iasi, Colegial National Emil Racovita for this enriching experience. for the visitors to meet with us (we have a link with a Tunisian school), and to experience education in a mainstream British school. The visiting colleagues met with a number of staff, visited a range of lessons, were interviewed by members of the School Council and even ate in the school dining hall. The visitors were very impressed with the wide range of opportunities that students have access to both in and out of the classroom. March 2013
SOAS SATURDAY SCHOOL: GRADUATION
Ms Roberts writes: Students in Year 9 and 10 have been attending a weekly Saturday school at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. They attended lectures taught by the students at the University and learnt about subjects including Law, Anthropology and Japanese. The following students graduated in a ceremony at the University on Saturday 16th March. Andrea Ahern Milo Fraser Nick Green Carsel Ryan‐Small Renee Lamy Duygu Gulsin Yunus Korkmaz Tyrane Wynter
Magdalena Zieja Max Currer Adyna Moseley Thana Nelson‐Reshat Sarah Weber Rudolf Liliana Ricketts Alicia Lerche
Magda said "I took History of Art, German and Music. We were taken on trips to a Picasso exhibition and to see a Chinese roof garden. The teachers were excellent, well organised and very funny. It was a great experience to have and I would definitely do it again given the opportunity."
They commented favourably on the wide range of learning and teaching strategies that they observed, and were very taken with the school uniform! Most of all they were impressed by the positive relationships that were evident between staff and students ‐ which they believed helped to support a constructive working environment in each of the classes they visited. The visitors wished to thank all member of the school community for making their visit so memorable. March 2013
SCHOOL COUNCIL NEWS Mr Fitzgerald writes: On Wednesday 13th March thirty‐six Year and School Councillors seized the opportunity to put the six short‐listed candidates for Deputy Headteacher under the spotlight as they conducted their own 'pupil panel' interview. Mr Cozier, Mr Wright, and myself were proud to witness such impressive interrogation, and all agreed that we could not have asked more salient questions ourselves. Accordingly, we would like to thank all those involved and I for one hope not to have to face any of them in such a cross‐examination in the future! In other news, the School Council would like to thank Mr Hatch, the school business manager, for taking the time to meet this week and for having so willingly listened to some of the key issues raised by form reps. In particular, Mr Hatch indicated that he thought it very possible to have a new CCTV camera installed outside the changing rooms, agreed to discuss the idea of some form of 'meal deals' being introduced in the canteen with the canteen manager, and also to look into installing a change machine to help students who wish to change notes into smaller denominations. Over the summer term the School Council have also agreed to join the e‐safety working group to help make sure everyone at Highgate Wood School is able to make safe and effective use of all the possibilities that digital technologies bring. Our new Deputy Headteacher, Craig Hewitt, will be joining the school in September ‐ filling the space left when Paul Guenault took up his current Headteacher appointment last year.
Our visitors from schools in Tunisia and the Tunisian Ministry of Education
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E‐TWINNING WITH SPAIN
Ms Gomez writes: The MFL department’s work with e‐twinning and the European Union has now blossomed into a fantastic partnership between our A level students and sixth formers from a school in Ciudad Real in Spain. Ruth Mostyn‐Dignan explains: “E‐twinning has been a really useful way of getting in touch with spanish teenagers and practicing our language skills. We have all really enjoyed sending emails and presentations about our school and ourselves to Spanish teenagers who live in Ciudad Real. Hopefully we can be part of an exchange were we get to go to Spain and visit the Spanish school and I think it will be will be a great way of improving our speaking and understanding of the language. CLASS OF 2013 YEARBOOK Ms McConville writes: I would like to extend a massive thanks and congratulations to the Year 11 Yearbook Committee: Zara Ali, Maja Darlington, Courtney Etherson, Sacha Francis, Lois Green, Jack Horsfall, Emily Kitchen, Ella Krikler, Conrad Lee, Alanna Michael, Sabi Newman, Shannon Noone, Alys Owen, Rashmi Patel, Tom Ryle, Elysia Sun, Rukiye Tas and Izzy Terrington who, together with the help of Ms Mayer, Ms Zwicky and Mr MacDougall, have worked incredibly hard to make the Yearbook for the best year group I have ever had the privilege to lead, become a reality. 10
INSPIRED BY HOCKNEY
Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) by David Hockney
Ms Stephens writes: Art students in Year 10 art have been responding to the work of more established artists. The piece titled overlapping was created by Bethy Parker and the repeated swirls piece was created by Cassie Norton. They are both in Repeated Swirls response to David Hockney's paintings of swimming pools and were made using wax resist and ink. Others are studying the theme of movement in art, responding to the work of the futurists, Marcel Duchamp, and the first moving imagery created by Eadward Overlapping Muybridge. A series of photographs were taken by students in Mr Marriott's class. They went on to use these photos of moving persons to create paintings in the style of Marcel Duchamp's nude descending staircase series.
March 2013
POETRY LIVE!
THINK‐A‐LINK!
James Barth writes: On Friday 1st March, we attended Poetry Live at the Dominion Theatre in central London. The aim of the trip Carol Ann Duffy was to prepare us for our exam come June time and to allow us to hear poetry read from some of the world’s most famous poets as well as their take on their own poems. The day was split into three main sections: Poetry reading, questions and answers and a talk given by a chief examiner. The day started with Carol Ann Duffy, the poet laureate for England and Gillian Clarke, the national poet for Wales. They read their own poems as well as a poem that someone else had written that had inspired their writing. These recitals were followed by some questions from the audience, including “who would win in a poetry read‐ off?” Then a Chief examiner with a monotonic voice and a few too many “pauses for effect” took to the stage. Yes, we did learn roughly what examiners were looking for in an answer, but his sarcastic tones at previous answers did nothing to lighten the dullness from his hour. A show is never too late to be saved! And in this instance the saviours name was John Agard. An expressive man from the Caribbean entered lastly and to be brutally honest had everyone laughing‐ including myself. He was what this day was truly about which was John Agard getting young people involved in poetry and making poetry something anyone from any social group can appreciate. He read his poem “flag” which we are studying with such enthusiasm along with a couple nursery rhymes and other poems that got the audience clapping and cheering by the time the day rolled to an end. We left with a smile that lasted about as long as British sun, which wasn’t out to greet us on our way home. March 2013
Ms Ronay writes: Some students may be wondering what the Think‐ a‐link box is that has appeared on our Intranet homepage. Think‐a‐link is the brain child of the entertaining Andy Salmon, AKA Sir Linkalot whose work with letter linking has been described as “ground breaking” by the British Dyslexia Association. He came to school to speak to staff on our INSET afternoon and demonstrated spelling strategy which give mnemonics a whole new meaning by linking different ideas. Linking is a fun an easy way to learn commonly misspelt words, subject key words and to use as a revision tool for learning key facts for GCSEs. Use the link on the Intranet or go directly to www.thinkalink.co.uk and explore the site. You will find videos of Andy explaining his work and you will also be able to submit your own “links” and rate those of others. Happy Linking! STUDENT LIFE SAVERS
Mr Ibrahim writes: Seventeen A‐Level PE students completed a basic first aid that focused on the skills of CPR, choking and bleeding in the sporting environment. Across the year, students have had to complete a series of leadership sessions in a chosen activity. The first aid session is an essential part of the course. Along with a Child protection session planned for April, the students will be gaining valuable life skills preparing them for the next phase of their development as well as exam success. 11
MODEL UN ‐ GOING FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH Mr O’Connor writes: The Sixth North London Model UN conference was held at school on Saturday 16th March and was once again a great success. This year’s event marked a significant advance in the level and depth of debate in North London Model UN conferences. Not only did the conference include a record number of schools and committees but for the first time NLMUN introduced a ‘Crisis Committee’ that dealt with a topical issue and responded to problems occurring in ‘real time’. After six years it is of course encouraging that we are able to host an over‐subscribed conference but it is also important that the standard of debate has developed to the extent that we can include an ‘accelerated committee’ for the most able delegates. This allows the opportunity to include Sixth Form colleges – and it is also gratifying that our best Year 10 and 11 students are able to rise to this standard. The topic this year was Global Development, a critical global issue as we advance towards the 2015 deadline for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. HWS Sixth Form student and NLMUN Secretary General Sam Tims commented “In my opening remarks I said that I expected delegates to have widened their knowledge of some vital global issues, considered why the world needs to unite to resolve them, and that they should take into consideration how the United Nations fits into global politics. The debates
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throughout the day proved that they had done just that and I am proud of the passion and seriousness
with which delegates responded”. The conference gives a great opportunity for the school to engage with others in North London and this year we had a record number of HWS students involved – not just delegates, but the Press Team, Rapporteurs and Conference Secretariat. HWS faculty Director Neil Robertson commented “The success of a good conference lies in the work and preparation by delegates prior to the day. I am pleased to say that all the HWS delegates worked hard on their research and delivered, as we expect them to, excellent debates throughout the conferences. Of course I am proud of our experienced delegates, but it is also heartening to see so many new students rise to the challenge of their first UN conference”. Under Secretary General Ellie Whitlock pointed to the concluding ceremony as a highlight “It was great to students from such a wide range of schools win awards – including from schools who have just joined us this year. But it was also inspiring to see HWS alumni students as part of the Secretariat and to hear from a University undergraduate who talked about what a difference involvement in Model UN has made to her in terms of knowledge, skills opportunities and confidence. It just shows we all still have a long way to go with Model UN yet!” March 2013
MODEL UN ‐ A DELEGATE’S EXPERIENCE
Patrick Hegarty‐Morrish writes: “Everything will be all right ‐ you know when? When people, just people, stop thinking of the United Nations as a weird Picasso abstraction and see it as a drawing they made themselves.” Dag Hammarskjöld (Second Secretary‐General of the UN)
had finally finished writing the resolution for ‘Inequality and Development’, and not a single person in the committee voted against it. Reflecting back on how I felt during the conference, it feels strange because we were all behaving as if we were in a real UN committee, co‐operatively trying to solve the most un‐solvable of world affairs. Everyone was taking it seriously, the chairs, the teachers and especially the delegates, but really we were in a classroom, in a school and we are only teenage kids. But that it what I think is so amazing about Model UN: teenage kids from North London comprehensives can work out ways to solve the most complex of international problems.
To be part of the Model UN conference on Saturday 16th March is something none of the delegates will regret. I’m sure of this because of the efforts of my fellow delegates at the conference and also because of the impact it has on participants.
If you are reading this and you were at the conference, thanks for a great day. If you are a parent and your child went, then pat yourself on the back. If you are reading this and you didn’t come, try for a place next time (trust me it’s worth the effort).
Being able to reflect on world issues and understanding how the world works is a vital set of skills. Also knowing that there are ways to overcome serious world issues like poverty and climate change is brilliant. What I think people will value most in Model UN is that they worked out ways to solve these most pressing of world issues by themselves.
Lastly thanks to everyone who helped put the conference together: the delegates, the teachers, the Secretary General and under Secretary General, the Chairs and finally Mr O’Connor, without whom there would be no Model UN.
I am sure all the students taking part in Model UN had a memorable, educational, enjoyable and interesting day. For me the most unforgettable and rewarding feeling was when another delegate and I
MODEL UN PRESS TEAM Ms Dawes‐Knowles writes: The London Model UN at Highgate Wood School could not have succeeded without the support of the press team. They interviewed guests and delegates, wrote articles and designed quizzes as well as photographing and recording the day’s events. During the course of the conference the Press Team researched, wrote, designed and produced two four page newsletters that were then distributed across the event. The team were extremely mature, creative and incredibly hardworking. The team comprised Alice Goss (Morning Editor), Mattie Moss Kendall (Afternoon Editor), Gizem Alici, Eda Koc, Best Moshwe, Shannon Osei, Sasha Agyapong and Sophie Gladstone (Senior Photographer). March 2013
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RETURN TO THE FORBIDDEN PLANET Fionnuala Stevens writes: Another year, another show! Successful?.. Well.. that’s for you to decide. This year was again full of stress, panic and a not so great singing solo from Max! ‘Return to The Forbidden Planet’ is a musical based on Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’ and 1960 sci‐fis. The musical tells a story of a spaceship crash landing on a planet, allowing a beautiful, young girl aboard; in which not just one, but two crew members fall madly in love with; not forgetting her father’s robot too! A year ago I had the not so flattering role of a sexually frustrated man. This year, I upgraded! I played the spaceships lonely, helpless romantic, MALE chef, who has his heartbroken before Act 2 had even begun! Personally, I loved and miss Return to The Forbidden Planet.
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The cast, the teachers and the band made it extremely embarrassing and hilarious all at once; in fact we find ourselves quoting each other’s embarrassing lines even now. From the first time we learnt our songs till, to be perfectly honest, the first performance, none of us were sure how it was going to turn out. Luckily, other than a few skipped lines.. or pages.. all ran smoothly; expect when I got overly excited and nearly took the set down with a guitar! I have to say one of my favourite bits, other than attempting to smash a guitar, was ‘Born To Be Wild’ and all the songs that followed, more specifically, the dancing! Lined up at the back, the two girls – Kika and Neena ‐ and me! Oh and not forgetting Alice and Ellie doing the dance in the wings ‐ we didn't let them on stage! After the twisting and turning came on ‘drunk’ newscaster who made sure to hit on any character she saw as she struggled to walk downstage with a
March 2013
champagne bottle in her hand who gave our audience one more good laugh before we all embarrassed ourselves mightily with our finishing songs ‘The Monster Mash’ and ‘Great Balls Of Fire’ It would take me at least another three pages to tell all my favourite bits in this peculiar performance so for your sake, I’ll stop here! A huge, huge, HUGE thank you is given from the whole cast to Mr Brown, Ms Keates, the music department, the band, the art department, costumes, hair and make‐up, lights and mics and of course, the audience for turning up! Thank you especially to Mr Brown. But can I be a woman next year? THE SET CLUB
Ms Zwicky writes: This year the Set club had the opportunity to create the interior of a spaceship for 'Return of the forbidden planet' The students did us proud using their imagination and creativity to design and incorporate a wide range of recycled materials into an imaginative and fun set... not to mention the fantastic Alien which took centre stage just before the end of Act one! Well done to all involved. Noah, Isaac L and Alfie in 7G wrote this about the set club: It was very enjoyable and productive. It gave us a sense of accomplishment when we saw our boards up on the finished stage. If you have the time or chance to join we would highly recommend it! March 2013
Mr Ibrahim writes: On the last Monday of the term our fantastic sixth form team last night celebrated a win against Douay Martyrs School, Hillingdon in the Middlesex Cup Final, thus winning the Brigg Cup. The competition is for small sixth form colleges that run one football team. The format of the competition meant sixteen schools played a series of games to qualify for the quarter finals. Highgate Wood School sixth form remained unbeaten and progressed through the knock out stages to eventually win the final against last year’s winners. Credit to all of those involved for achieving success in but the hero of the final was Lucas Perivolas who scored a match winning hat‐trick. This is the first time we have won the Middlesex competition since 1988. Let’s hope we continue our march to victory with our match against Greig City Academy in the Haringey Final on Tuesday 16th April 2013.
The team celebrating third goal and Lucas' Hat‐trick 15
HWS CHESS CLUB
DEBATE MATE
Mr Lamb writes: On Monday 4 March, Highgate Wood School took part in the final round of the Urban Debate League Cup held at Greig City Academy . Fielding four teams, Highgate Wood dominated the competition with a total of six wins from eight debates. Students argued for and against the legalisation of performance enhancing drugs, followed by a heated discussion on whether the UK should introduce compulsory military service. The teams are heading off to the Deutsche Bank Debate Mate Cup at the LSE on Tuesday 16th April, and will hopefully bring back the cup! Well done to all debaters!
TRIP TO SEE AN AUTHOR
Mr Lamb writes: On Friday 8 March, fourteen Highgate Wood School students went to Heartlands High School to meet author Sufiya Ahmed. She discussed her book, Secrets of the Henna Girl, with members of 7A and the Book Club. Students asked questions and even took part in a mock wedding ceremony. Ms Ahmed spoke about her time working for Gordon Brown and how she decided to give it all up and dedicate her life to writing.
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Mr Lamb writes: Chess club membership has really picked up and stu‐ dents are practicing each lunch and break in the LRC to improve their skills.The current school rankings are listed below. Chess club runs each Thursday after school from 3:10 ‐ 4:10 with students attempting to get to the number one spot by challenging those ranked above them. Here are the current rankings: 1st
Ceake Maddix (8G)
2nd
Abel Kent (8G)
3rd
Madeleine Baron (8G)
4th
Harry West (8A)
5th
Scarlett Monaighan (8A
6th
Ertan Kiziloz (7I)
7th
Sertan Kiziloz (7I
8th
Alisa Gudzinkaite (8S)
9th
Louie Shann (7W)
10th
Giorgio Ardeleanu (8A)
LEARNING RESOURCE CENTRE Open: every school day at 8:00 am every break time every lunchtime and... every school day after school: until 5:00 pm Monday to Wednesday until 4:00 pm on Thursday and Friday March 2013
HIGHGATE WOOD SCHOOL HAS GOT TALENT
Dondu Ocak writes: Highgate Wood School’s first ever talent show took place on Friday 15th March. The event was organised by Year 13 BTEC Business Level 3 students (Dondu Ocak, Alpa Joshi, Jaydine Hastings, Shannon Barnett, Ben Cary, Ben Haynes, Andrew Osborne, Chloe Brownlie, ljiwole Oluwaseyi, Robert Fillingham) with the able assistance of Mr. Frimpong and Ms. Hastings as part of one of their assessed assignments. Not only did this event showcase the talent Highgate Woods School has to offer, it allowed us a chance to raise funds for the Hillcrest Aids Charity. The whole event in total raised over £300 to go towards a good cause.
eyed after many of the singers’ performances. The event was a huge success for both the school and the Hillcrest Aids Charity. The audience was larger than we had ever hoped for, and there was a wonderful atmosphere. Everyone got involved in the competition, making it a real night to remember. Lastly keep your eyes and ears open for the even bigger and better Highgate Wood School’s Got Talent 2014, which will include more drama, more comedy
AUTHOR VISIT ON WORLD BOOK DAY
Our three judges Mr. Cozier, Ms. Hastings and Ms. Allaway had many great and comical comments for all the acts and a few times they were left speechless (especially Mr. Cozier) and during the two dancing acts, Ms. Hastings even wanted to get up on stage and join in. Mr. Cozier also approached Rainbow Man after the event to organise a rap spar battle later on in the year. Ms. Allaway on the other hand was left teary
March 2013
Mr Lamb writes: To celebrate World Book Day, author Andy Robb visited the school on Wednesday 6 March to explain how he got his ideas for his new book Geekhood: Close Encounters of the Girl Kind. The event was well attended and students were interested in finding out how Andy came up with his ideas, how long it took him to write and how they could go about being published one day. Students used their World Book Day tokens to buy copies of the book and even had them signed by the author. 17
EXHIBITION AT BEN URI GALLERY
Ms Jones writes: We are delighted that some of our students are exhibiting at the Ben Uri Gallery. The exhibition is a transatlantic dialogue/ project called 10 Days, whereby our Highgate Wood School students are twinned with a secondary school in San Francisco. The exhibition highlights the work of these young people as they explore identity and the contemporary portrait, through digital and mobile phone photography. The exhibition runs until 7th April at the Ben Uri Gallery, 108a Boundary Road (off Abbey Road), St John’s Wood, London, NW8 0RH (www.benuri.org.uk) but can also be visited online at The exhibition runs between now and 7th April. If you are not able to make it you can visit it on line at http://10daysproject.shutterfly.com
A LEVEL TRIP TO PARIS
Ms Zwicky writes: In February Half term, 24 Art & Photography students went on a trip to Paris together with Ms Masters, Mr Marriott and Ms Zwicky. The trip was great fun, as we visited all the major galleries including the Louvre, Musee D'Orsay, the Orangerie and the Centre Pompidou. We walked the streets of Paris and the students managed to record their impressions through drawings and photography over the four days. We even managed to squeeze in a boat trip, giving us an alternative view of Paris. We are so proud of the entire group , who used the time brilliantly producing excellent work throughout, teaching each other photography techniques as they went along, and producing excellent work within the galleries. This work even extended into their spare time! There are some true artists and comedians amongst our students, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and look forward to the next trip! We also want to extend our thanks to Ms Hassan who helped us organise this trip with such precision.
YEAR 7 CASTLE COMPETITION Mr Fitzgerald writes: These are some of the staggeringly brilliant castles created by Year 7. The winner will be announced next term.
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March 2013
STUDENT SICKNESS
MADFEST 2013
Mrs King writes: If your child is off‐sick could you please call every day that they are unable to come into school. Please phone 0208 342 7970 Could parents and carers also please ensure that the school has emergency contact numbers should your child become ill at school and we need to contact you. INSET DAYS and INSET AFTERNOONS Mr Cozier explained the rationale behind the school’s use of early closure afternoons to support staff training in an earlier edition of Insight.
INSET (In Service Training) Days were introduced to schools in the 1980s. Taken from what had been school holidays, they are extra days when teachers take part in training (or sometimes in admin tasks). Currently schools are required to deliver five INSET days each academic year. At Highgate Wood School we meet our requirements for INSET through four regular days, and a series of INSET afternoons when children are sent home for the last period of the day. On our INSET afternoons staff remain in school beyond the normal length of the school day allowing them to make full use of the time for training and development. This is particularly useful now with so many changes happening in education. It also has the advantage of allowing students on Free School Meals to get their free lunch.
RAISING MONEY FOR THE HWS PSA Spendandraise ‐ which you can access through the school website ‐ allows you to buy on‐line from a huge range of retailers, including John Lewis, Halfords, Currys, Habitat, Evans Cycles, Play.com and Asda. There are no charges for using it, but every purchase through www.spendandraise.com/hwspsa provides extra funds for the Highgate Wood School PSA. March 2013
Katherine Glossop from the PSA writes: Madfest is here again. This is our largest fund raising event and we would love to have as many people involved in it as possible . If you feel you could contribute there is a planning meeting at the school on April 30th at 8pm. Everyone Welcome.
Mr Fitzgerald writes: Congratulations to the School Council for helping to organise, and thanks to everyone who took part. We estimate our non‐uniform day on Wednesday will raise over £1,000 for Hillcrest and for those Sixth Formers travelling to South Africa to help them. E‐SAFETY Ms Ashman writes: During the coming term we will be feeding back on some of the findings of the e‐safety review and contacting those who expressed an interest in getting involved with developing the school’s approach to e‐safety issues. In the meantime the e‐safety page on the school website is being updated, and we now have a twitter feed providing regular updates on e‐safety issues: twitter.com/ukesafety. 19
School starts again on Monday 15th April It will be Week One. Lessons will start at 10:50 start Monday 15th April 29th April—3rd May
SUMMER TERM BEGINS (10:50 start for students)
Year 10 Work Experience
Monday 6th May
BANK HOLIDAY
Tuesday 7th May
Year 7 Parents’ Evening
Wednesday 8th May
9:35 am start following Parents’ Evening
Friday 24th May
End of Key Stage 3 Celebrations
Friday 24th May
Year 11 Leaver’s Assembly
27th May—31st May
HALF TERM
4th June
New Timetable Begins
Friday 21st June
Year 11 Celebration Evening
Saturday 6th July
MADFest
INSET DAYS and INSET AFTERNOONS
Remaining Parent Consultation Evenings
Tuesday 23rd May Inset afternoon
Year 7 Tuesday 7th May 2013
Monday 3rd June INSET DAY
SUMMER 2013
AUTUMN 2013
SPRING 2014
Mon 15th April
Term Starts
Mon 2nd September Term Starts *
Mon 6th Jan
Term Starts
27th—31st May
Half term break
28th Oct ‐ 1st Nov
Half term break
17th Feb– 21st Feb
Half term break
Wed 24th July
Term Ends
Friday 20th Dec
Term Ends
Friday 4th April
Term Ends
The school calendar is now available on‐line at www.hws.uk.com (the exams timetable is available on the exams page of the site) The timetable for public exams is also on the home page of our mobile site (You should get to the mobile site when accessing www.hws.uk.com from a smartphone)
Keep informed Find out what is going on at Highgate Wood School and keep up with our news
visit us at our website www.hws.uk.com
follow us on twitter twitter.com/highgatewood
Insight is available on‐line at www.hws.uk.com Give us your news at: goodnews@hws.haringey.sch.uk School OpenCheck To see if the school is open normally 0208408 7508 and giving the school’s DfE code 3094030 We will also always endeavour to update our website, twitter feed and send text messages to keep parents informed if school is disrupted for any reason