St Marylebone School Specialisms Newsletter: Autumn 2013

The St Marylebone C.E. School Specialisms Newsletter Autumn 2013 A Specialist School in Performing Arts, Maths, Computing, Communication & Interaction

Jazz @ St Marylebone School

THEATRE TECH TRIPS!

Jazz @ St Marylebone School, 4th July 2013

DRAMA

THEATRE TECH GOES TO THE NT! For Part 2 of St Marylebone's adventure with Creative Choices, a national programme of events run by Creative & Cultural Skills, we took a behind the scenes look at theatre production at the National Theatre. Here's what our students have to say: With organisation by our Careers Department, a small group of Year 10 & 11 girls went to the National Theatre to take part in a Creative Choices workshop where we met many different employees of the theatre, including the accounts manager and the literary manager, who scouts for new playwrights. After this, we attended two sessions: one led by the technical manager of the Shed (the NT’s new, temporary space) and the second led by a makeup artist who made wigs as well as makeup for Benedict Cumberbatch in Frankenstein!

It was a great and useful day for anyone interested in a career in theatre. Esme, (Year 10)

St Marylebone goes backstage at the Lyric Hammersmith!

This term, students from St Marylebone had an exclusive look behind the scenes at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith thanks once again to Creative Choices. This is just one of the many ways St Marylebone’s Theatre Tech Club is changing the way our students view careers in creative industries – there are actually many incredibly fun and rewarding jobs to be had behind the scenes in film and theatre production that can be very well paid!

The day consisted of hands-on activities for local school groups to learn about careers out of the spotlight, from Product Design, Event Management and Curating, sound, lighting design and stage management to marketing, box office and finance.

“Today I learned that drama isn't just about performance, but also about lighting, sound, costume and make up. This was very useful as I love drama but also textiles.”

Caitlin,(Year 9) “After today's workshops, I'm considering looking further into what there is to offer at post 16 as it all seems extremely interesting… it would also be good experience as it relates to what I want to do in further education and potentially a career path.”

Sadie,(Year 12) “I thoroughly enjoyed the workshops at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, the highlights being the backstage tour and the short lighting operation master class.”

Karen, (Year 12) “I learned how lighting may change the way the audience looks at the stage and how actors move around the stage through the crossover and trap doors.”

Sarah Jane, (Year 12)

ICT On the 4th November, making an early start to the day, a class of 30 Year 7 girls from St. Marylebone School visited Sky studios on an action packed day out adventure.

Taking the underground, the young girls exploded with excitement and kept Ms Parkes on her toes throughout the journey! They then took a bus to the venue, bubbly more than ever as well as trying to guess what they were going to do.

Once the girls finally arrived at their destination they were elated and ready to start their activities. The group leader, Yaz, warmly welcomed them to Sky studios and summarised what they were going to be doing. They immediately started off with a terrific tour around the main site presenting facilities, where they do filming, the ultimate cameras and much more.

They eventually got the idea and a taste of the environment and what life in the studios is like. The schoolgirls all met together in a room outside the four studios where they would later film their scenes. The filmed report was based on the theme of social networking. Before kicking off, they engaged in a short clip and Ashley Banjo gave some really useful tips on teamwork and self-management. They all collaborated together extremely well and their outcome was a fantastic news report on social networking. It all linked in well and flowed quite nicely from one studio’s work to the next. The girls all used great expressions and sophisticated language which made the report sound quite professional. The trip was very beneficial for the girls; they gained useful knowledge about filming and also about benefits and possible dangers of social networking.

This trip was immensely enjoyable.

Emma , (Year 7D)

On November 13th, Year 12 Drama students took 'Much Ado about Nothing' to the Shakespeare Schools Festival at the Shaw Theatre. The production was a slick and polished performance, incorporating ensemble and highly comedic acting. The characters were well rounded and yet suitably exaggerated to help the audience understand the language. There was imaginative use of physical theatre, where cast members created trees, hedges and even a shelter.

Inner Voices is a youth chamber choir based in London. The choir is made up of the best singers from a group of inner London state schools, including St Marylebone School. On November 22nd, Genevieve R-L (Yr 9D), Milla M (Yr 9H), Cecilia B (Yr 9N) and Genevieve W (Yr 10D). performed at the Mayor’s Education Conference at the Greater London Assembly. This term, Inner Voices have sung at the Hilton for a 400 person awards dinner celebrating ethnic minorities in business, at the Merchant Taylors Hall with a chamber orchestra and at the Mayor’s Education Conference at the GLA. On New Year's Eve they will be in St John's Smith Square before going to Belgium in February.

International Evening At International Evening , Year 7 Drama students performed their own monologues on what the life of a refugee coming to a brand new country might be like. We explored the new things they might experience and reasons they might be leaving their country. Effie, Phoebe and Stella worked seamlessly as a team and created a beautiful movement sequence to support the monologue. They applied real emotion and maturity to their visibly moving monologues.

Connections Play, ‘ Heritage’ ‘Heritage’ by Dafydd James is a play that explores the darker side of patriotism and nationalism with the use of ‘blistering black comedy’.

“Why have you got a dead cat in your bag?”

On Friday the 25th of October, more than a hundred KS3 students auditioned for one of thirteen places in ‘Heritage’’, a Connections play.

Each year the National Theatre commissions ten writers to create new plays that are performed by schools and young people’s theatres all over the country, with ten being selected to perform in the National Theatre itself.

“It’s not dead. It’s hibernating.”

The audition process went more smoothly than I had imagined (mind you, I had imagined a brightly lit theatre and a row of stegosauruses with clipboards and microphones!)

It consisted of two rounds, ensuring the least amount of time spent nail-biting.

“Cats don’t hibernate.”

After reading through the script, I was very pleased with my character, Tubbsy, his struggles to hide a cat in his backpack and his emotional explosion when he realises the truth about his brother…

I won’t give away too much, but I will let the cat out of the bag and tell you: I can’t wait to start rehearsals.

“This one does.”

Kira Yr 9D

The Performing Arts Faculty was in charge of the final contribution in the Founder's Day Assembly on the last day of term. Students from Dance, Drama and Music came together in a piece titled 'From Audition to Stage'. The message of this segment was the importance of demonstrating resilience and the ability to bounce back in the Performing Arts industry, due to its cut throat nature.

One of the performers commented: "The contrast between the 'audition' piece and the refined version showed just how hard we have worked since the beginning of the rehearsal process begun. The audition piece was quite humorous whilst the polished dance sequence was more in time."

WEST SIDE STORY: The Dancing Behind the Story It all began four months ago when the Dance Department took on the mammoth task of choreographing some of the most famous dances known to the musical theatre world. One of the most amazing things about West Side Story is that it combines dance, music and acting all into one; this provided the perfect opportunity for many of the dancers to experience new challenges and to understand what is require of a dancer within musical theatre. A key example of this is the brilliant piece “America!” For the first time Dance Company members had to attend vocal classes so that their musical abilities matched the high quality of their dancing as they were going to have to sing whilst dancing. As well as this the teachers allowed the dancers to contribute and choreograph to the creation of each dance giving us the chance to put more of our personalities into the dances.

Another essential part to West Side Story is performance skills. As dancers we are constantly performing through dance movements to show the intention and meaning of a dance. However, when dancing within a musical your performance must be characterised; each dancer within the musical has a specific role to portray, despite the fact they may have no lines. This was another skill all the dancers had to develop. But besides improving performance and musical skills the dance scholars were also stretched to a new level in their dance techniques. One of the biggest dances within West Side Story is “Cool” which consists of huge intricate movements at high speeds throughout the dance. Therefore the scholars worked specifically on their core strength and stamina so that this impressive dance could stand out and demonstrate the hard work that each teacher and student put into the show so that it would be a success.

Cecilia M, (Year 12)

In this years' Remembrance Eucharist Year 13 dancers performed whilst the church choir sang Vaughan William's Dona Nobis Pacem. The choreography was inspired by the spatial layout of the church, and resembled a funeral procession especially when one dancer was carried down the aisle by the rest of the group.

"The assembly was very moving. After the 1 minute silence the dancers slowly walked across to the centre of the church and then progressed down the middle aisle.

Accompanied by Kirsty's enchanting solo that echoed through the church the dancers performed elegant, fluid movements that correlated with the qualities of the peaceful, reflective music." (Year 13 student)

On Tuesday 19th November, our talented KS5 music students performed at the Autumn Music Showcase Concert, alongside three of the St Marylebone Choirs. The programme was diverse and showcased music from the classical and popular traditions. The standard of performance was truly breathtaking and there were far too many highlights to mention everyone individually. However, we would like to give a special mention to some of those who took to the stage, notably Lois Graham and Judith Musoki, who gave a powerful performance of Lianne La Havas’s Gone, as well as a beautiful rendition of Gluck’s O Del Mio Dolce Ardor, given by Kirsty Ferguson-Lewis. There were many more outstanding displays, including Maya Colwell’s own composition, Do You Feel It Underneath?, and a vibrant performance of the Jackson Five’s I Want You Back by Shout Out! The concert concluded with a stunning performance of Silent Noon by Vaughan-Williams: a fitting ending for a fantastic display of talent.

Very well done to all performers!

Engineering Education Scheme Once again, a team of Year 12 students are embarking on the 6 months project as part of the Engineering Education Scheme. This year, we have been upgraded from a team of 4 to a team of 6, and continue our partnership with engineering company Atkins Global. We are fortunate to have a bigger team, consisting of Eva Barnett, Maddy M, Moustafa M, Chuanlong S, Rachel S and Matthew S. Together, the project we have is to design a renewable power source and storage for the island of St. Kilda in the outer Hebrides. This is going to require a lot of research and creativity and is far beyond anything that we may learn in the classroom.

So far, we have had our introduction to the Scheme, met our engineers from Atkins and participated in a team building exercise. We had to design a tower made only of dry spaghetti and jelly babies, and it had to be strong enough to hold a golf ball on top. Apart from designing it, we also had to think economically. Each piece of spaghetti and jelly baby was worth £1 million. So not only did it have to be tall, but had to be within budget (£40 million).

After putting our ideas together, we took to building our tower. 30 minutes later, our design was complete, coming in at £29 million and reaching a height of just over 50cm and winning the competition against the other schools. This exercise allowed us to see the many skills within our team, and it ultimately led to success. We hope that this is a good start to the next 6 months.

LONDON EYE TRIP This October two groups of year 9 Mathematicians made the journey across the city to visit the London Eye as part of the enriched Year 9 Maths curriculum.

Once there, pupils carried out a survey to estimate the boarding rate and used this data to estimate passenger numbers for the attraction. Using this information, they were able to calculate impressively accurate estimates for the income generated by the London Eye and all involved enjoyed the opportunity to see how the mathematics of the classroom can be used to solve practical problems in the outside world.

As an added bonus, students enjoyed the ‘4D experience’, a 3-dimensional film that follows a seagull swooping over many of London’s most well-known sights. This offered a different perspective on the city the pupils call home – quite literally a bird’s-eye view. Wind, bubbles and mist added an extra dimension, and made this a truly immersive experience they won’t soon forget!

The students thoroughly enjoyed themselves and worked hard to come up with some impressive conclusions. Thanks to their enthusiasm, the trips were a great success, and the pupils should be proud of themselves for being outstanding ambassadors for the school.

UKMT Senior Maths Challenge This November 44 students from Years 12 and 13 participated in the UKMT Senior Maths Challenge. As well as testing pupils’ mathematical dexterity, the paper requires creativity and the ability to look at a familiar problem from a fresh perspective.

The St. Marylebone pupils performed well, with 77% receiving an award (compared with a national average of 60%). Of these, seven achieved the top ‘Gold’ award. Special mention goes to Lisa W and Kamil K who each scored highly enough to qualify for the prestigious British Mathematical Olympiad. th

Maths Inspiration Trip

On November 19 a number of Year 12 students made the trip to the Palace Theatre to see a set of ‘Maths Inspiration’ lectures. Featuring some of the UK’s most engaging maths speakers, the show introduced pupils to mathematical concepts and applications well beyond the scope of the curriculum.

The trip was a great success and the pupils were treated to three diverse talks.

Chuanlong S later said: “It was really interesting to hear how Maths can lead to some surprising results. The event was definitely inspiring.”

At the start of November - 4 members of our Sixth Form represented St Marylebone at the Regional Finals of the United Kingdom Mathematical Trust (UKMT) Senior Team Challenge. 40 schools across Greater London came to compete in a 3 round competition that tested the higher level problem solving skills of the best Maths students in London. Our team, consisting of captain Kamil Kurdziel, Sirhan Dharamsi, Sheng Chuanlong, and Mixalis Lemos displayed exceptional team work and mathematical reasons against stiff competition. After 3 hours, the St Marylebone Team finished an impressive 10th out of over 30 teams of the very best Mathematics students in London.

Bonfire night saw the first ever Music Technology showcase, called

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performing but setting up the equipment and advertising the event. The students involved produced and performed a variety of electronic music that put our equipment to the test. A good time was had by all!

We h a ve now replaced LAMDA with the Arts award, which students can gain from performing as well as leading a workshop. Daisy F led a drama workshop, completing part of her leadership in the arts element.

As you can see from the photo, a lot of fun was had by all students in her and Ellie's workshop, which was based on character and improvisation.

DRAMA MASTERCLASS Drama are still running their weekly masterclass on Friday lunchtimes. They are open to everyone and are led by scholars. This was an outstanding example by Riyana M and Natasha T in Year 9. They created an amazing whole class improvisation.

Term Dates 2013-14 Terms 2 to 6 2013-14

Start time first day back

End of term finish time

Half term holidays 28/10/13 – 1/11/13 Term 2

Monday 4th November – Friday 20th Decem- 8.30am ber 2013 Christmas holidays: Saturday 21/12/2013 – Monday 06/01/2014

12.30pm

Term 3

3.30pm

Tuesday 7th January – Friday 14th February 2014 Half term holidays 17/02/14 – 21/02/14

8.30am

Term 4

Monday 24th February – Wednesday 9th April 8.30am 12.30pm 2014 INSET day Thursday 10th and Friday 11th April Pupil Easter Holidays: Thursday 10/04/14 – Sunday 28/04/14 Term 5 Monday 28th April – Friday 23rd May 2014 8.30am 3.30pm th Public Holiday – May Day 5 May 2014 Half term holidays 26/05/14 (Bank Holiday) – 30/05/14 Term 6

Monday 2nd June – Thursday 17th July 2014

8.30am

12.30pm

Dates for the Diary...

Dance Show—Tuesday 11th, Wednesday 12th and Thursday 13th February 2014, 7.00pm Spring Concert—Thursday 3rd April 2014, 7.00pm