the wave
spring 2015 edition
priv cy We deserve it, right?
also in this issue...
Feminism – a fools’ guide
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FILM OR BOOK – LET’s TAKE A LOOK
ALL ABOUT THE BASS – CONFIDENT OR CONFUSED
JOE FRANCIS – LIFE IN THE FAST LANE
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Headteacher’s welcome Welcome to our first edition of the Wave, the name inspired by our school badge and logo, Neston High’s official magazine, full of interesting articles reflecting the lives and experiences of students and families connected with our school community. At Neston we aim to give students every opportunity to demonstrate their skills and talents and no better place for our writers, media, graphics and business students than as part of the Wave editorial team. My congratulations to them for this excellent first edition and I look forward to many more. I’m sure you will agree the professional look with pictures and graphics along with fascinating pieces which look deeply into current issues and events make for a stimulating and engaging read. In this edition you will find topics covering privacy, body image, feminism as well as personal stories that inspire others. The literary skill shown in producing these items not only indicates a high level of ability, but suggests we have students who will make a successful career in journalism and the media. The quirky introductions and background comments set
In this issue... Head’s Welcome
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Features 4-10 All about that bass 4-5 Privacy Laws 6-7 Feminism - A fools’ guide 8-9
the scene for some serious points which emanate from well researched and reliable sources. I am so excited by this latest innovation at Neston High and look forward to looking back on this pioneering first step to what will hopefully become an established part of our eXL provision with contributions from an ever widening range of friends associated with our school. If you are a past student it would be great to hear from you and we welcome articles from all the destinations to which our students progress. Please sign up on our alumni page on our website ‘future first’ so we can track you down and hear more about your achievements. Already we have heard from highly successful ex Neston students, from all over the planet performing at the very top of their field. It would be great to see some articles from more in future editions. Once again welcome to this first edition. Enjoy ‘The Wave’
S Dool, Headteacher
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Fashion 10 Music & Literature American Music Awards Concert Review Film or book? Let’s take a look
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News 14-17 Around the World 14-15 Internal News 16-17 Sport 18-20 Life in the Fast Lane 18-19 Sport in school 20
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Editor’s welcome Dear Readers, Firstly, I’d like to introduce our brand new school magazine to you: The Wave! The first ever student-run magazine at Neston, we’ll be coming to you termly, with loads of variety in every issue. Written by students and staff,The Wave includes a little about school and a lot about life; this term’s issue discusses some really serious issues about Privacy Laws, gives you a quick introduction to Feminism, and also looks at comical stories from all around the globe. Flying hamsters, anyone? We want our magazine to be as inclusive as possible, with contributions and content for everyone.We hope you find what you read interesting, perhaps thought-provoking and enjoyable. If you’d like to get involved in future issues, with anything from suggestions to regular columns, we’d love to hear from you! Give us a wave at our school email: thewave@nestonhigh.cheshire.sch.uk It’s taken a lot of time and effort to get the magazine up and running (I’m told these things never run completely smoothly!)nd we want to say thanks to all those who have helped us along the way, especially Ms McKeown.We’re so proud of the final result and can’t wait to let you read it! Happy Reading
Meg Healey and The Wave Team
competition winner This issue’s front cover image was produced by Elise Smith-Howard who beat off competition tobe featured as our first ever cover artist! Elise will receive a framed copy of her front cover as well as sharing her work with all of our readers. If you would like to be in with a chance of designing the next cover, give us a wave at
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thewave@nestonhigh.cheshire.sch.uk.
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all about that bass ~ Confident or Confused?
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o, I am all about that bass. There, I’ve said it. I can’t help but sing along. In fact, I’m yet to find someone who really truly isn’t all about Megan Trainor’s debut single; the catchy tune released in June 2014 has topped the charts in 16 different countries and leaves even the doubters humming in the halls. It’s bouncy, it’s bubblegum pink and, frankly, it’s brilliant. And it’s not just about the fluffy pop appeal of the single. There’s a deeper, arguably more valuable side to it: the lyrical message. Fans and reviewers flocked to praise Trainor’s feminist lines, co-written with Grammynominated song writer Kevin Kadish. “I ain’t no size two”, sings Trainor, but “my mama, she told me don’t worry about your size”. Her message to listeners is that “Every inch of you is perfect” and who, in the Photoshopped world, can argue with the value of that? Well, no one, it would seem, is arguing against this promotion of independence and selfconfidence. However, here’s the problem: for this song, that rather misses the point. Alongside Trainor’s anthem point. Alongside Trainor’s anthem of acceptance come other, darker and more worrying lyrics, explaining that “boys like a little more…to hold at night” and proclaiming her “junk” is in all the “right places”. Two major problems exist here, and a number of journalists have jumped right on them:
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To assume that boys must be in favour is a worrying justification for any element of appearance or behaviour, especially when this song appears to be aimed at young women. Are we ok with the message that ‘it’s ok to have curves , because boys will fancy you more and that’s the main thing!’? The assumption that there is a ‘right’ place to have curves (or that it is ‘right’ to have curves at shape/body image/appearance in general has a right and a wrong. Who decides what right and wrong is? Trainor’s description of “skinny” is critical and associates it with an unpleasant attitude, so isn’t that just as bad as those who criticise curves?
“She doesn’t know she’s beautiful, and that’s what makes her beautiful.” the wave spring 2015 edition
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To be fair to Trainor, she hasn’t claimed to have written a feminist ‘call to arms’ and her only response to the discussion suggests that, whilst she wanted to promote self confidence and positive body image, she realises that is no simple quest. Body image is a complex issue; we are bombarded with ‘slim’ in the vast majority of music videos, films and advertisements and then sold the idea that self-doubt and low self-esteem are what’s attractive and sexy in women: “She doesn’t know she’s beautiful, and that’s what makes her beautiful.” It’s clear that female appearance, and, increasingly, male appearance, has a lot to contend with. Perhaps we should acknowledge that at least Trainor is ‘loud and proud’ about her appearance, but when a song which preaches about the ‘right’ curves’ and finding confidence from male approval is labelled top of “the best body confidence anthems in music history” it’s time for us all to look a little deeper. And I don’t just mean the lyrics.
want to know more about healthy body image? I n his book, Athlete, photographer Howard Schatz documented the bodies of professional athletes from all sports, both male and female, to illustrate what strong, healthy bodies look like.
If you struggle with your body image, support is available:
Kidshealth.org
Ms McKeown 5
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privacy
we deserve it, right?
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verybody has things they would rather keep private, whether it’s an embarrassing celebrity crush or a silly middle name you’d sooner all your friends didn’t know about, we believe we have a right to privacy, which is true at least within the UK and Europe, as The Human Rights Act 1998, which is incorporated in the European Union, under Article 8(1) states that, “everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence.” So in short anywhere you go within Europe, if someone asks you a personal question you have the right to say “That’s private” and the person would have to respect that and couldn’t press you any further for answers. So that embarrassing celebrity crush will remain a secret! Although there are a few exceptions to this, if for example, you were suspected of being part of a plot to kidnap your celebrity crush, then your privacy could be invaded, and police could read through your secret diary to find out who your embarrassing celebrity crush was, in order to protect “the rights and freedoms of others”.
It is for this reason, why government phone hacking in the UK could be legal. If you were the modern day Guy Fawkes with a plot to blow up the houses of Parliament, the government could hack your phone and listen in on your conversations and read your text’s to help find out when the attack was going to happen, as this would be a matter of “national security” where hundreds of people could be hurt. I think most people could justify this, as in hacking your phone in this example could save someone’s life. The government would be doing this in order to protect us, despite the various similarities with Big Brother and George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four. I think people would be worried about the possibility of hacking but knowing it was for their own protection would be reassured by that. Although the US phone hacking scandal could be a justified invasion of our privacy, the recent Russian webcam hacking scandal simply is not. the wave spring 2015 edition
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Recently it has been discovered that a website based in Russia, has been hacking webcam’s across the world. The site lists streams from more than 250 countries and other territories. The site’s database shows listings for 4,591 cameras in the US, 2,059 in France and 1,576 in the Netherlands. However it currently provides only 500 feeds from the UK, a smaller number in comparison. Although these feeds include what appear to be images from: ● an office in Warwickshire ● a child’s bedroom in Birmingham ● a home’s driveway in Nottinghamshire ● a gym in Manchester, a pub in Salford ● a shop interior in London
So what can be done about it?
Everyone in Europe or anywhere that has signed the Human Rights agreement has the right to respect of privacy. However as this is an issue between countries it can be harder to tackle due to differing laws although Russia have signed the Human Rights agreement. The administrator to this website claimed that he merely created it to highlight how vulnerable people were to being hacked, and doing something so simple as changing your password from the default one that comes with the webcam, for example “1234” of “password”, would be enough to stop this from happening. The administrator claimed that there was no malicious intent to the hack, if your webcam is online and isn’t password protected anyone could see it if they knew what to search on Google. So perhaps he has done as all a favour?
Since this story went global the administrator has shut the website down saying that he didn’t “want to be a bad guy anymore.” But what’s to stop something like this from happening again? And instead of it being someone only wishing to highlight the problem, it is someone who has malicious intentions? Well there are a few steps you can take to make sure your webcam and privacy is protected. It is one thing to have the right to privacy but it is up to us to protect that right. In order to make sure this doesn’t happen to you, you could: ●C hange your webcam’s password from the default password in to a stronger one; the longer it is and the more complex characters that are used for example: numbers, colons and question marks, the more secure your webcam will be. ● If your webcam is plugged in to your computer, unplug it after you have used it, that way it is no longer connected to the internet and cannot be hacked while you’re not around. ● If none of these work then as a last resort you could always put something up in front of your camera or turn it face down so that even if it was hacked, no one would be able to see anything anyway.
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From Emma Watson to Joss Whedon, everyone’s talking about Feminism. But what exactly does it mean? the wave spring 2015 edition
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eminism is the belief that women should be treated as equals to men within all intellectual, social, physical and emotional. Contrary to popular belief, feminism is inclusive; feminists can be male or female. The idea of feminism is not to discriminate a person’s value based on whether they are male or female; something which nobody has control over. A person’s worth should be quantified by their character, not their anatomy. So, basically… Feminism is the equality of the sexes. Who wouldn’t want that right?
Common misconceptions? ● All feminists are female ● All feminists are misandrists (man haters) ● All feminists have hairy legs and armpits ● All feminists are ugly - as seen in a recent trending topic on twitter Surely these ideas seem ridiculous? I’ll let you in on a little secret… as we discovered before feminism includes both male and female, many female feminists have happy healthy relationships with men, many female feminists even shave their legs, if they choose (!) and as for all feminists being ugly, beauty is not only what is on the outside, it is a person as a whole.
Statistics:
According to the UN Women’s Solidarity Movement these shocking statistics are still at large in this day and age: “It will take 81 years to close the workplace gender gap at the current pace.” “15.5 million girls will be married in the next 16 years as children.” “At current rates, it won’t be until 2086 before all rural African girls can have a secondary education.” But gender inequality doesn’t just affect females, males are affected too:
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“Feminism is not about being a man-hater.” “In the UK, suicide is the biggest killer of men between ages 20 to 49.” Expressing emotions and speaking out and up for feminism does not make you any less masculine, in fact, it’s admirable.
Feminist acts in history: The terms “feminism” or “feminist” first appeared in France and the Netherlands in 1872. Even as early as the 1300’s, literature was influenced by feminism, with writers such as Plato and Simone De Beauvoir stating their opinions on gender equality. In the 1800’s Florence Nightingale pursued a career in nursing. The Suffrage Committee was created in 1866. In 1913, Emily Davison ran on to a horse’s track and died under the King’s horse in protest. In the later 20th Century, feminist writing became more accepted, with writers such as Angela Carter, able to freely write, instead of using pseudonyms as previous female writers, such as Charlotte Bronte had to. In 1979 Margaret Thatcher became the first female Prime Minister. And pop culture has played a massive part in mainstreaming feminism to the masses, with artists such as Beyonce, Jennifer Lawrence, Miley Cyrus and Emma Watson, who recently gave a speech at the UN, a platform to discuss the issues still found in feminism. Despite all this, even in 2014, going into 2015, gender inequality and feminism are a taboo. Despite numerous attempts at educating people that feminism is not the hatred of men, many still do not understand the core values that feminism employs. Please don’t be one of those people. From today, boldly state, whether you are male or female, that you are a feminist and proud! Editor Meg Healy
09/05/2015 22:00
wear it differently Want to find other ways of wearing items of clothing? You’ve come to the right place! Here you’ll find out about ways of dressing up, and dressing down different clothes! Pencil skirts are so chic! They’re great for a day shopping with your friends, or for a night on the town! To get the casual look, add a thin jumper, tights, and trainers (i.e. Converse or Vans). A hat would look great too! For the dressed up look, wear a blazer, a vest and boots. This is a great look for going to a professional event. Kimonos are really in at the moment! They’re also very flexible which means that they can be worn for almost any event! For a casual look, wear skinny jeans, a plain vest, and tall boots. A great daytime look! V-neck jumpers are a really cool look. They’re great for lots of events too! For a casual look, wear a polo shirt, jeans and trainers (Vans, Converse, etc.) To dress up a little more, wear a shirt, trousers, and smart shoes. A tie or blazer would also work if you wanted! Hats are amazing – they work for a day out, a night on the town, or a party with your mates! For a daytime look, wear skinny jeans, a t-shirt, and high tops. For a night out, add a shirt, jeans and shoes. Sleeves on long sleeve shirts look great rolled up above the elbow!
Abbie Canon
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n Sunday 23rd November, Pitbull hosted the annual American Music Awards show filmed in Los Angeles, and what a night it was! Jessie J, Arianna Grande and Nicki Minaj opened the show with their powerful no.1 hit single Bang Bang and throughout the night artists Sam Smith, One Direction, Mary J Blige, Charli XCX, Iggy Azalea, Selena Gomez and Lorde also took to the stage. See the list of main winners below... Artist of the Year: One Direction New Artist of the Year: 5 Seconds Of Summer Single of the Year: “Dark Horse” By Katy Perry ft Juicy J Favourite Male Artist-Pop/Rock: Sam Smith Dick Clark Award of Excellence: Taylor Swift Favourite Female Artist-Pop/Rock: Katy Perry Favourite Band: One Direction Favourite Album: “Midnight Memories” by One Direction Top Soundtrack: Frozen Favourite Electronic/Dance Artist: Calvin Harris Favourite Soul/R&B Artist: Beyonce Favourite Soul/R&B Album: “Beyonce” by Beyonce Favourite Rap/Hip Hop Artist: Iggy Azalea Favourite Rap/Hip Hop Album: “The New Classic” by Iggy Azalea
concert review
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ecently I attended a Clean Bandit gig at the o2 Academy in Liverpool, and I had a great night. This band, consisting of members Grace, Jack, Neil and Luke use classical musical instruments and make a current, pop sound with them. They are famous for the songs ‘Rather Be’, ‘Extraordinary’, ‘Come Over’ and ‘Real Love’ and their recent album ‘New Eyes’ was a huge success. I guess I really didn’t know what to expect before I got to the gig, I didn’t know whether I’d enjoy the concert or not, I was unsure whether four people could entertain a loud Liverpool crowd with instruments that were classed as quite ‘boring’, but when Clean Bandit entered the stage and preformed their first song, accompanied by two vocalists, I certainly knew this was going to be a night to remember. It really did and still does amaze me how Grace, Neil, Jack and Luke manage to make such classical music into electronic, pop and a really current sound. The band didn’t just sound good live, they performed well too! Their dancing, stage presence and crowd participation really did have me in awe, as I jumped around madly with my hands in the air! They started the gig off with their song ‘Real Love’ and finished with a bang and preformed their most well known single ‘Rather Be’, in-between they preformed lots of songs from their debut album and even did a cover of ‘Show me Love’. I certainly would recommend trying to get to a Clean Bandit concert, as they will not disappoint you. Their vibrant stage presence and amazing songs will have you dancing your socks off, and singing at the top of your voice.
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Clean Bandit’s debut album ‘New Eyes’ is out now. Natalie Barlow: Entertainment Editor. 09/05/2015 22:00
film or boo
let’s take a
Films can bring worlds to life before our eyes, make characters into living, breathing flesh and blood, but books let you LIVE everything. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 In case you haven’t heard by now, the next Hunger Games movie has hit cinemas around the globe. As you may well know, this film is based on Suzanne Collins’s book in the final trilogy of The Hunger Games as it concludes Katniss’s thrilling journey to overcome the callous Capitol. She is now in District 13 and will be facing her biggest battle yet to save Peeta, no matter what the cost. The film itself is split into two parts, like Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1 and 2 and Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 1 and 2. The second part is due to be released in late 2015. There is various parts of the story missing from the film – but never the less, it’s a fantastic storyline and definitely worth a look for any Divergent fans!
Here’s the synopsis: “My name is Katniss Everdeen. Why am I not dead? I should be dead.” Katniss Everdeen, the ‘girl on fire’, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Though she’s long been a part of the revolution, but Katniss hasn’t known it. Now it seems that everyone has had a hand in the carefully laid plans but her. The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss’s willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels’ Mockingjay.
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ook?
e a look...
The Maze Runner For all you fans of The Hunger Games and Divergent, this is the new book to movie adaption that’s a must see! Here is what it’s all about: When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade—a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls. Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they’ve closed tight. And every 30 days a new boy has been delivered in the lift. Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up—the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers. Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind.
The book is written by James Dashner, and is the first of three novels, like the Divergent trilogy. The three books are: The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials and The Death Cure. They are written in third person by Thomas the main protagonist. There have recently been two prequels to the trilogy set to be released called The Kill Order and The Fever Code. Unfortunately, like in most films, there are some crucial elements missing from the book. However, the film is a must see for people who love suspense, action and drama!
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Funny stories from around th By Jonny Davies
We all see the news; whether we choose to watch it ourselves, or it’s what our parents are watching as we enter the house after a long day at school. Whether we see it in the headlines in our local off-licence or it’s just the talk of the town: everyone has a slight idea of what’s going on in the world. But behind these tabloid headlines lies smaller stories, stores you might not have even heard about. Stories that are strange, and hilarious - but just unpublished. This section of the magazine aims to deliver you those stories.
Manchester England
Man arrested for threatening police with a banana
Messa County Colarado
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man slipped up big time when he pointed a Banana at the police , they packed him off to prison before he could split. Fruit-wielding Nathan Channing, 27, was sent to Mesa County Jail after he pointed the banana at officers pretending it was a gun. The police, who said they saw “what appeared to be a yellow tube with a black centre” went ape and decided he was ripe for discipline. Channing, who coincidentally hails from Fruitvale, Colorado, told officers he was a YouTube comedian but they failed to see the appeal. The officers wrote in their report that they feared for their safety despite noticing the ‘weapon’ was yellow.
World’s worst Christmas tree
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n a small village, just outside Manchester named Micklehurst. Every year, Micklehurst’s Christmas celebrations are comparable to that of a garden shed. So this year the council decided to step up the game, and bring the festivities through the roof. But alas it was not so successful, as this small village managed to plant what was named: the worst Christmas tree ever. The Christmas tree stands at about 7ft tall, and is slightly leant over to one side. In an attempt to reduce the embarrassment villagers tried to decorate the village tree with tinsel and fairy lights. However, even with decoration the tree was described as a “twig” Student Alex Bradley age 19 said: “It’s that small, that I thought somebody would nick it, but it’s not even worth
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the globe
Flying dead hamsters in failed Russian circus trick
C Smolensk Russia
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ircus’ are very popular in Russia, and due to that fact there is no law against the treatment of animals within them they can use animals in any way they please. At this particular circus in Smolensk, children would flood from all areas to see the amazing animal shows. Ringmaster Yuriyi Karnaukhov decided a nice trick would be to tie hamsters to helium balloons and float them across the audience into little children’s hands. However, what began as a cute idea to please children; quickly became what seemed to be an apocalyptic mess. All the hamsters, when tied to the balloons, died instantly: resulting in a floating plethora of dead animals. When said animals reached the children’s hands, there was tears, screaming, and one child even threw the hamster back in disgust. A parent, Svetlana, said: “It was just torture, throwing live hamsters straight into the crowd for kids to catch, Children pushed each other, someone stepped on a girl’s hand and one hamster was crushed.” Another mum from Smolensk said: “They throw hamsters from the top to the ground but also horizontally. They put hamsters in some sort of bottles and throw them so that kids have to catch them. It looks awful.” An animal rights group have started a petition to stop this from happening again. Olga McManaman, who organised the petition, said: “I invite all animal lovers and caring people to protest against this outrageous practice of inhumane animal treatment.”
nicking”. Ian Gauld; 57, said: “At the moment the tree’s pathetic and has got to be the worst anywhere in the world. It’s absolutely rubbish. It’s just a waste of time. Unless someone points it out you don’t even notice it. It’s just hiding behind a lamppost. A council representative had this to say: “Living trees at Micklehurst are sustainable and therefore will last for many years to come. Because they are recently planted they are very small, but will obviously grow into Christmas trees the whole community will enjoy.” Let us hope so, or else the tree might receive some more season’s beatings! The people of Micklehurst will sit in wait as the tree grows. Who knows? Maybe in 6 years time it could be the best Christmas tree in the world!
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Year 12 and 13 trip to Veolia Liverpool recycling plant
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n February, Year 12 and 13 Environmental science students went on a trip to a Liverpool waste recycling plant to learn about recycling and see how they separate out the different types of waste that are recycled.
We learned that: By 2020 we have to recycle 50% of our waste under EU legislation but we only currently recycle 35% of our waste meaning that to avoid fines we will have to recycle another 15% of our waste within the next 5 years. That landfill sites will be phased out quickly in the near future and will be replaced with incinerators. This heat can be used to fuel power plants. While at the recycling centre we also went round and saw how the waste to be recycled was separated out. Paper is separated from bottles and plastic bags by going up a giant roller machine, the paper gets rolled up and all the plastic and other waste rolls down. Metal is separated out using magnets.
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A little bird told me... Fab day doing BBC School report - check out the website! #icouldbeajournalist!
Dance & Performing Arts show was a Hollywood success! Congratulations all!
Geog trip to Devon-what a trip! Thnx for taking us! #wkndaway
Fashion Show at school on 28th April; Ladies Night! #whattowear
Well done all for Interhouse Sports. Competition was a close run thing!
Alumni network is growing! https://networks. futurefirst.org.uk/former-student/neston
Non uniform days galore raised so much money for charity! #givesomethingback
French exchange: c’etait fantastique! Neston quiz, Alton Towers & getting to know NHS.
Macbeth performance was a dramatic marvel over the Easter hols! #whatadrama #ScottishPlay Busy breakout morning for all. Thanks to our outside speakers! #realworldexperiences Congratulations all who attended Saturday School Maths & English. Hard work will pay off! Author visit from Resident author Jon Mahew had students in creases! #hilarious #learntalot Skiing at Easter – a wow of a trip! #cantwaittogoback #teachersontheblackrun!
Got something you want to tweet about? Let us know and you might make our next issue! 17 the wave spring 2015 edition
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An interview with Neston’s British Motorbike Champion Racer Joe Francis
life in the fast lane
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or most people the idea of going really, really fast equates with fear. The faster you go the scarier it tends to be. Think of people screaming on rollercoasters, having fun but crucially knowing the ride is safe and will soon be over.
Not Joe Francis – the faster he goes, the more fun he has. The fact that Joe is one of the country’s most promising up and coming motorcycle racers will come as no surprise to you and his attitude to speed would seem to be key to be successful in this sport. Indeed, to say that Joe has been successful in this sport is an understatement: he has won every race series he has entered from stating to race as a youngster in Northampton in 2008. Joe is currently the Motostar British Moto3 Champion 2013 and seems to be on the threshold of an incredibly, exciting, dangerous but fulfilling career in professional motorbike racing. As always, when you meet someone so driven (no pun intended) and so focused on winning you have to ask where it all
started, what does it come from? Joe said he remembered watching his dad’s friend’s boy trying out a minimoto motorbike and wanting to have a go. He said, “I remember thinking it looked fun and asking, Can I have one them?” “My dad bought me my first bike a 49cc minimoto when I was 8 and I just used to have fun on it, it was always about having fun.” When I asked him if it came naturally to him he said no, “It was difficult at first, it’s hard to get your head around what you’re doing. It looks easy on the TV but when you try to do it it’s a different world.” However, you can see his enthusiasm when he laughs and says, “I used to go nuts, I used to go at speed for a bit of fun. I like doing that, I liked the look of it and doing it was even better.” Joe’s first competitive experiences, however, were a real education as he did not become successful straight away. He said, “Not at the wave spring 2015 edition 18
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first, it was hard trying to do it, my first race was 2008 I remember going out and thinking they were really quick and it was a struggle.” But what clearly marks him out as the remarkable talent that he is, he was not deterred and worked on his riding. He said, “The next year I remember practising and practising and I just went out one morning and it just clicked – I didn’t have to try too hard to go fast. I was hitting 60 or 70 miles an hour in the early days– but it’s really low to the ground so it feels a lot faster and it felt great.” However, when he started racing against Italian and Australian riders in The World Festival in 2010 that was when he really had to race rather than just ride and he enjoyed the challenge. And won. Again.
collarbones, hands…..grinning all the while. Understandably he says he does not think about it he says, “You accept you will come off.” Joe’s successes speak for themselves and to be hailed as one of Britain’s most promising motorbike talents is some accolade but what is also special about him is his easy going and humble nature. He is deeply grateful for his parents’ support in his entire career, “It’s all about having a good family behind you, taking you to tracks, they’re probably the biggest part. If they didn’t support me I wouldn’t be able to do it.”
I race with, and for, every one of you.”
Joe has recently signed up a two year with Keith Flint who used to be in The Prodigy and runs a team and has high hopes for the future, he said “Hopefully I’ll turn professional in 2016 – and I hope to make a living at it by the time I leave Sixth Form.”
So it would seem Joe has a mixture of natural talent but a fierce work ethic he didn’t just jump on a bike and became successful. It also seems at every stage of his career the challenge grows as he moved up through the age groups the competition became stronger and stronger. And Joe kept winning and winning.
Given his long history of success there aren’t going to many who would bet against him achieving that goal.
His secret, too, is that he seems to challenge himself to be better and faster. In 2012 he moved up to another age group to test himself and he said, “I was shocked at how quick it was, it becomes so much professional and the margins are finer, it started coming down to fitness, I had to start analysing it and working at it.”
On the front page he writes, “I race with, and for, every one of you.” And I think this phrase gives you a flavour of this very talented and gifted young man.
If you are interested in finding out about more Joe’s incredible career and his attitude to this intense sport look on his website at joefrancisracing.com.
Of course there is a down side to this incredible sport and Joe talks of the tragic loss of his team mate, Tommy Aquino aged 22 who died in a motorbike accident in America last year. The sport and the riders are fiercely competitive and Joe accepts the injuries he has had as part of the sport. He reels off a long list of injuries: broken wrists, 19 the wave spring 2015 edition
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Mr Pearson 09/05/2015 22:01
Natalie Barlow
A
s The Rugby World Cup draws closer and closer, a star studded commentary team have been announced for when the games begin on the 18th September in our country!
Players from the 2003 England rugby team will reunite to broadcast this tournament. Jonny Wilkinson, Lawrence Dallaglio, Jason Robinson and their coach Sir Clive WoodWard put their playing days behind them, to spectate on the sport. Also joining in on the action are Gareth Thomas, Brian O’Driscoll, Sir Ian McGeedan, Francons Pienaar, Sean Fitzpatrick, Michael Lynagh and David Flatman. Despite The Rugby World Cup being just over 170 days away, I’m sure any Rugby fans will be excited for this huge event and the great commentary team that comes with it!
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