St Marylebone School: Newsletter - May 2013

The St Marylebone School Newsletter May 2013

In this Issue

Duke of Edinburgh Expedition Head Girl Team 2013/14 SMS B&W Fun Run Apprenticeship Club News PE News ...And much more!

Year 9 History and Geography Year 9 students are currently studying the unit ‘London: The World in One City’ in their Geography and History lessons. To enrich their learning twenty-six Year 9 students took the opportunity to visit 19 Princelet Street in Spitalfields, a museum of immigration and diversity.

19 Princelet Street is a fascinating building which has seen a variety of immigrants pass through its doors from Huguenots in the seventeenth century to anti-fascist campaigners who met in the basement in the 1930s. These students will be acting as ‘ambassadors’ and will feedback what they have learned from the visit to the rest of their class. Here are some of their reflections on what they learnt from the trip: 'The museum wasn't like a normal museum with displays and glass cabinets. The building itself was part of the exhibit; it was the history itself.

We learnt how to think about immigration from the immigrants' point of view.'

Angela Sun 9N

'I learned so much, although I knew about immigration and refugees (as I came to London myself) I had never put myself in a person's shoes who had struggled to make themselves at home.'

Humaira Mustafa 9D

'I really liked the video we watched in the basement. Those children had so much empathy for all these migrants.'

Christine Guirguis 9W

Ms Wigginton Curriculum Leader of History

HISTORY TRIP TO RUSSIA On the 9th of February a group of very excited Year 10-13s from St. Marylebone School arrived in St. Petersburg. Our first morning was spent touring the main sites of the city with our tour guide. The contrast between the bleak communist block buildings on the outskirts of the city and the city centre with its pretty 18th century buildings all in pastel colours was astonishing. Here we learned a considerable amount about Peter the Great, first of the Romanovs and founder of St. Petersburg, and his quest to bring Russia out of the dark ages. We visited the Resurrection Church or ‘church of spilled blood’ which stood out with its classical, vibrant Russian tiles. It was built for Tsar Alexander II, on the site where he was assassinated, with funds raised by the people of Russia. We finished our day by visiting Hermitage Museum based in the Winter Palace. Originally the private collection of Tsarina Catherine the Great, the Hermitage now has roughly 3 million works on display and 27 million in storage and would take over 10 years to view fully if one minute was spent on each artwork! Needless to say the palace was enormous and so we visited some of the most famous works. We saw two Leonardo Di Vincci Madonna paintings and a Raeffaello (a contemporary of Da Vincci) Madonna and Child which he did at the age of 19! There were numerous other masterpieces; Matisse’s , Rembrandt’s, Picasso’s, Cezanne’s, Van Gogh’s and many more. Luckily we were allowed to take photographs! The abundant decadence of the place was overwhelming, everything bedecked with the most lavish carving, often finished in gold. No wonder there was a revolution.

Our second day revealed a different side to the city. The village of Pushkin, named after the poet, is home to the Summer Palace and the refuge of the last Tsar and his family before their arrest and murder. The snow was much whiter, compared to the grey sludge in St Petersburg and was perfect for a snowball fight. Mr Bracnov’s aim was painfully good (literally). Our final taste of Russian culture before boarding the night train to Moscow was a lively traditional Russian folk show at Nicolaevsky Palace… and once again it was Mr Bracnov’s chance to shine with his dancing skills. The Siberian Express from St Petersburg to Moscow was a real squeeze: four in a cabin and all on folding beds. Plus the entire trip of 40 odd people had to share the one tiny bathroom in our carriage. There was also apparently a heating malfunction, so we went from minus degrees outside to 25 degrees inside. It was all great fun. We woke as the train pulled into Moscow station as the city was waking up. Again we began with a tour, taking in: the strategically placed seven buildings built by Stalin (all in significant areas of the city as a reminder of communism greatness); numerous Napoleonic war monuments and The Jesus Christ Saviour church (containing 450 kilos of solid gold and built on the site of an outdoor swimming pool) and its magnificent city panorama. After a well needed nap at the end of the day we sampled Moscow at night in a coach trip around the city. The next day we visited Red Square and the Kremlin – where we saw some of the more orthodox Russian churches with their onion domes and painted icons. Red Square proved fertile shopping ground, and many Russian dolls, soviet badges and fur hats were purchased.

After a brief visit to the cosmos space museum near to the huge 25 storey Cosmos hotel where we stayed, it was time to pack our bags and prepare to return. Sorry to leave but happy to be home, we got back and caught up on some well needed sleep.

Westminster Apprenticeship Club 2012 – 13 The Westminster Apprenticeship Club was set up by Tri Borough Education Business partnership as a pilot programme to raise awareness of apprenticeships amongst young people in Westminster and provide information around alternative progression routes. The project aimed to equip young people with knowledge and skills to make them attractive to employees and businesses including those that offer apprenticeships.

Strengths of the programme: The time frame for recruitment and start of delivery worked well, with assemblies and applications in May, interviews in June and a programme start in September. Support from business partners has been exceptional.

The range of businesses supporting the programme and the sessions they hosted gave students a real insight into different businesses and sectors, and allowed students to undertake workplace visits that were outside of the comfort of the school environment and they might not have had access to without the programme. Students were able to work with their peers from another school and get to know contemporaries outside of their own school.

Has the programme achieved its aims?

Feedback from students in Y10 who were involved in the programme included: JN: The range of businesses that we visited helped me grasp the vast opportunities that lie within apprenticeships. It was nice to be both taught and experience to an extent alternative forms of education after school. My favourite session was at channel 4, as not only was it an organisation that I am personally interested and at times benefited by, the talk was enthralling and conveyed the information in a way that was made available to all the listeners. I also enjoyed meeting new people; students and staff from the organisations. I think I would urge other students to take part in the process if they feel as though they want an insight into further forms of learning, and were perhaps worried about financial strains of universities.

SH_S: I expected the apprenticeship club to show me what the working world had to offer in terms of apprenticeships and first-hand experience some of the Industries which offered this. I wanted to learn more about what apprenticeships really were and find out how they worked in terms of what qualifications you needed and what levels there were. I learnt that apprenticeships can be offered in a wide range of businesses from media to cooking, and that you don't have to start off with lots of knowledge, because you work to gaining skills and experience needed.

What I enjoyed on the apprenticeship was when we went to the FRA (fashion retail academy), because I got talk to the current apprenticeship students there and ask them questions about it, I also liked going to channel 4, as media is a carrier path I would like to look into. Another reason why I enjoyed the apprenticeship scheme was because I got to meet lots of new people, and make new friends, this also gained my confidence. In the future I think I may consider a apprenticeship, however I would also like to get good grades and go to university and study something that I will enjoy, but I am yet to decide what that is.

KL: I hoped that the Apprenticeship Club would make me more familiar with the concept of apprenticeships and what they can offer us, as well as how they work and how they can benefit the company. I have learnt about qualifications you can gain from apprenticeships and also about how effective they are as an alternative to further education. I especially enjoyed the session at the Lancaster Hotel because it was very interesting to catch a glimpse at how a hotel works on the inside and I also learnt about how the apprenticeship schemes work there, which was very interesting. Personally, I met a lot of lovely new people and found out everything I need to know in order to become an apprentice myself and how different schemes work in different companies all over Britain. In the future, I might consider becoming an apprentice before going to university, because you can gain a lot of life experience and some job-specific skills, as well as getting a salary.

All in all the Apprenticeship Club was a great success and it is now hoped that the six students who attended will become our ambassadors at SMS.

B&W Fun Run 2013 Regent’s Park 18.5.13 Well done!

B&W Fun Run 2013

A huge thanks to all the parents, carers and teachers who supported the day. Thanks also to those that marshalled, photographed and provided first aid.

Well done to the girls, brothers, sisters, mums, dads and friends that ran!

Raising money for the MAC upgrade in Music.

Well done from PTA, Mr Jordan & PE Dept

Regent’s Park 18.5.13

Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award Final Expedition Completed!

A large group of Year 9 and 10 pupils successfully completed their final Expedition for their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award in May. Extremely tough practice expeditions took place weeks before the actual award in the rolling hills of Chesham in Buckinghamshire and tested the pupils navigation and endurance skills.

These practice expeditions culminated in all 34 pupils going to Box Hill in Surrey to participate in a gruelling final expedition.

This included a 12km walk each day which were interspersed with checkpoints, as well as working as a team to set up their tent and cook for one another.

I would like to congratulate all pupils who took part. You showed, determination, excellent teamwork and commitment. You should be very proud of yourselves. Well done.

Mr White

Congratulations the newly appointed Head Girl Team 2013-2014 HEAD GIRL Deputy Head Girls

Lauren McCrostie

Deputy Head Boy

Mary Higgins

Ethan Landin

Lucy Buckerfield

Your new House Captains BARRETT

Sophie Price

DICKENS

Caitlin Burrows

Misola Robinson

NIGHTINGALE

Taniesha Walker

HARDWICK

Bardha Halimi

Anna Dean

WESLEY

Millie Kent

Rae O’Mara

Michael Knowles

Will Morgan

PE NEWS Since the Autumn edition of the newsletter the St Marylebone School pupils have been very involved in Westminster Sports competitions and many have gone on to represent Westminster in the London Youth Games in a number of sports!

Students have also been involved in sport by acting as officials and leaders in The Leadership Academy.

Our results to date are as follows: Westminster Cross Country KS3 A Team—2nd B team—10th KS4 A and B Teams- 6th

Westminster Netball League Year 7—2nd Place Year 8—1st Place Year 10/11—3rd Place.

London Schools Cross Country – Jessica Wilkinson Year 7 London Mini Marathon – 4 students selected: Milla McKenzie, Lola Awoderu, Kitty Low, and Rachel Seckl.

Indoor Athletics – Year 7/8 won Westminster and then placed 4th in the Central London Competition.

London Youth Cricket Team Westminster - 2 students were selected: Mai Hardy and Saffron Whatley

PE NEWS Indoor Rowing - high participation in school event. Very successful at the Westminster competition: 3 Gold, 2 Silver and 3 Bronze. We will be doing a taster session at London Youth Rowing on the water at the Serpentine – progressing to a possible after school club. Very high interest from girls particularly KS3.

Westminster Volleyball competition – 1st place and will be representing Westminster on 19 March and the Central London Competition.

Indoor Cricket – We entered the Lady Taverner’s competition for the first time. Both a Year 7/8 team and a year 9 team finished 2nd in their pools. All played very well and a great experience.

Friendly Swimming Gala against Francis Holland and Greycoats – 2nd place.

Westminster Schools Swimming Gala: 1 Gold, 11 Silver, 6 Bronze KS4 Badminton: Represented Westminster after successfully winning the Westminster Schools competition. 3rd place in the Central London competition.

Central London Schools Individual Table Tennis Competition – This was the very first time in this competition. A young team held their own against much more experienced players. A lot of experience gained and we are looking forward to competing next year.

Year 9/10 and Year 8 Football Both teams competed in a 5-side 1 day Westminster competition. Both days were very competitive and showed off high quality football. The teams ended up coming in a respectable 3rd Place.

Year 10/11 GCSE Climbing Trip to Skipton, North Yorkshire.

Some of the GCSE group attended a weekend residential as part of their GCSE practical assessment.

Up and Coming events Westminster Athletics competition Westminster Tennis competition Westminster Rounders Tournament Kwik Cricket Competition Year 8 Activity Holiday to Shropshire Sports Day at Linford Christie

St Marylebone CE School Term dates 2013-14 Year Group Sept. 2013 – July 2014

Date of return for Term 1

Start time

September 2013 INSET 2nd, 3rd, 4th September 2013

7

Thursday 5th September

8.30am

8

Monday 9th September

8.30am

9

Monday 9th September

8.30am

10

Friday 6th September

8.30am

11

Monday 9th September

8.30am

12

Thursday 5th September

8.30am

13

Friday 6th September

8.30am

Term one ends

Friday 25th October

School ends at 12.30pm

Terms 2 to 6 2013-14

Start time first day back

End of term finish time

8.30am

12.30pm

8.30am

3.30pm

8.30am

12.30pm

Half-term holidays 28/10/13—1/11/13 Term 2

Monday 4th November – Friday 20th December 2013

Christmas Holidays: Saturday 21/12/13 - Sunday 5/1/14 Term 3

Monday 6th January 2014 – Friday 14th February ‘14

Half-term holidays 17/2/14—21/2/14 Term 4

Monday 24th February – Wednesday 9th April 2014

INSET day Thursday 10th & Friday 11th April Pupil Easter Holidays: Thursday 10/04/14—Sunday 27/04/14

Term 5

Monday 28th April – Friday 23th May 2014

8.30am

3.30pm

8.30am

12.30pm

Public Holiday – May Day 5th May 2014

Half-term holidays 26/5/14 (Bank Holiday) – 30/5/14 Term 6

Monday 2nd June – Thursday 17th July 2014

Please check the school web site termly for any updates. Version May ‘13