St Marylebone School Newsletter - May 2011

The St Marylebone School Newsletter May 2011

Year 11 Record of Achievement Service Thursday 28th April 2011 In this issue: Sixth form trip to Madrid Debate Mate Success History Trip to Russia BBC School Report

Fun Run Photos :

On Thursday 28th April, the whole school celebrated Year 11 achievement in a special church service. At this service every student in Year 11 was presented with a record of achievement that was filled with personal achievements, ranging from qualifications they had obtained to certificates that reflected their charitable nature. The service falls at the time of year when Year 11 are preparing to leave school for their GCSE exams, and provides them with an official document which they can use to impress future 6th form and job interviews.

Year 11 students personalised the assembly and performed musical instrumentals and

songs that reflected both their talent and progress made throughout the school.

These were inspiring performances which I‘m sure encouraged other students to work even harder to ensure success. The service hymns were even picked by Year 11 and the popular choice ―Shine Jesus Shine‖ had the congregation singing.

Well done again to Year 11, we wish them well in examinations and want to use this as a final opportunity to thank them and their parents for all the support they have provided over the last 5 years at school.

Miss Congdon Head of Year 11

St Marylebone Wins London Round of Debate Mate Cup On a grey morning in late March, our Upper School debaters prepared to take part in the London Round of the Debate Mate Cup. Joining hundreds of students from across the city, the teams would take part in three gruelling qualifying rounds during the day.

Having debated a wide range of motions, including the particularly controversial topic ‗This House Would Allow People to Sell Their Organs‘, we waited nervously in the central hall of the London School of Economics to hear the results. To our delight, one of our teams was selected to take part in the London Final…

Our team of brave students – Simi Bickersteth, Iman Less, Flora Higgins, Megan Wilson and Neda Mohammadi - had to debate in the central hall in front of hundreds of students from schools throughout London. They did a fantastic job debating the motion, ‗This House Would Give Prisoners the Vote‘ and were pronounced overall winners of the London regional round!

India and Isabel about to prepare for another debate on the Oxford Union Finals Day.

Our students will now go on to take part in the Debate Mate National Finals Day at the Royal Institution on the 29 th of June. Congratulations to the team on this marvellous result!

March was a very busy month for our debating club, as our Year 11 debaters Isabel Fletcher and India Hill also took part in the prestigious Oxford Union Finals Day. They debated against Sixth Formers from Eton College, Westminster and St Paul‘s and did an absolutely brilliant job against very tough competition. Although our team did not make it through to the final, we very much enjoyed watching the top four teams in England debating the topical motion ‗This House Believes that it is Justifiable for the West to Assassinate Dictators.‘ Finally, our Sixth Form team has also been watching high level debates. On Tuesday 5 th April, four of our top sixth former debaters, lead by Mr Douglas, attended an Intelligence Squared debate in Cadogan Hall. The motion was ‗Vote for AV‘ (the alternative voting system) and there were some fantastic, high profile and engaging speakers. It was a brilliant evening that expanded our political awareness and gave the team great insight into the skill of debating.

Miss Dempster Head of Debating

Poverty 2 Prosperity Conference Tuesday 14th and Wednesday 15th March 2011 On Tuesday 15th March we left for our Cumbria adventure, most of us travelling to an unknown area that Miss Edwards had briefly told us about. After a long 5 hour train journey, it was easy to tell we had arrived and notice the difference between London and Cumbria; for a start the air was much fresher and there was much more greenery, even the buildings were old fashioned! Kendal was evidently a very ‗preserved‘ town being in the heart of the Lake District. That night, we slept in a youth hostel in order to make our way fresh faced for the European Union conference in the morning.

On the Wednesday we arrived at the conference which seemed to be situated in the middle of nowhere with beautiful views everywhere.

During the conference we were separated into four different activity groups looking at global poverty, biodiversity, the impacts of climate change and also the economy. In the afternoon we were fortunate enough to hear from the Keynote speaker, ‗Emily Cummins‘ who is a woman who followed her childhood dream of being an inventor. Her speech was very inspirational and she talked about the challenges she has faced and how she overcame these, all by the age of 23!

During the last part of the afternoon, we were able to work as a group from St Marylebone and brainstorm our ideas together highlighting ways of acting locally and impacting on a global scale. These ideas have been highlighted in our charter—watch out around school for the small changes that will be taking place!

Naomi Yehdego and Rachel Sfeir Year 9

Visit from the Japan Foundation Last term a team of volunteers from the Japan Foundation came to run an after-school workshop for St Marylebone students. The workshop focused on introducing students to Japanese language and culture. Students were taught about the 3 different alphabets which are used in Japanese (Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji), they learned some basic greetings, made origami hearts and flowers and had the opportunity to try on some traditional Japanese Yukata (summer Kimono). Students from across all year groups attended and enjoyed themselves so much they asked the volunteers if they would visit our school again.

Ms Valdar “During the Japan Foundation event I liked it when we got to wear the Yukata/ Kimono. I also enjoyed it when we made a heart and a flower using origami papers. I like Japan and Japanese culture because it is really interesting; there is a lot of history behind it, especially their writing symbols and bowing�

Chelsea Nonato W7

Sixth Form Trip to Madrid April 2011 During the Easter holidays ten Year 12 and 13 students Spanish students went on a whirlwind 3-day cultural and linguistic immersion trip to Madrid. They visited many of the capital city‘s cultural sights including: the Prado and Reina Sofía art galleries, the Royal Palace, the Cathedral, the Parque de Retiro and Plaza Mayor.

They also had time to sample Spanish tapas, watch an amazing flamenco show and to practise their Spanish with the locals and us!

Ms Hume, Ms Hainey & Ms O’Malley "My favourite insight into the culture was the flamenco show; it exceeded my expectations and was really brilliant. The dance was very energetic and passionate; something I thought was very reflective of the culture."

Kirsty Hart (Year 13) “Everyone is sooo friendly and helpful, I felt so comfortable in Madrid, like I'd lived there before. People there are really easy to get along with.”

Rebecca Sommers (Year 13)

Year 7 Charity Challenge 25th March 2011

This year's Year 7 Citizenship students did themselves proud at their Charity Challenge fair at the end of term 4. During the term they had been learning about the role of charities in their Citizenship lessons and voted to choose a justice charity to support. Each form worked hard as a team to create three stalls: one providing advocacy materials, one selling healthy food and one with games and other fun activities. They practised their self-managing skills by forming committees working towards a particular aspect of the challenge. Form captains and vice captains oversaw the whole project and showed excellent leadership.

The weather on the day was fine so we decided to hold the fair outside at lunchtime to capture the interest and purses of the rest of the school. It was a highly popular event with students and staff eagerly buying healthy food for lunch or participating in games and challenges. There were some very original ideas: a beautifully made tree of pledges was an impressive way to canvas student opinion, a staring competition was a simple but extremely popular game and sponge the teacher was in demand as always.

When the money was counted the results were equally impressive: in 5th place 7N raised £63.25 for Save the Children, in 4th place 7D raised £79.57 for Plan UK, in 3rd place 7B raised £81.47 for Oxfam, in 2nd place 7W raised £105.40 for Stop the Traffik & in 1st place 7H raised £122.60 for War on Want.

A huge well done to all Year 7 students for their hard work for these worthwhile causes and thank you to the rest of the school for their generous support.

Ms Wigginton Head of Citizenship

Green Run Fun Run 14th May 2011 Regent’s Park

Green Run Fun Run 14th May 2011

Year 7 & 8 Gifted and Talented Creative Thinking Workshop What happened?

On the 5th May 2011, a group of Year 7 and 8 students took part in a Creative Thinking workshop in the library. During the morning they explored creative thinking and learning, with the help of Mike Beard from REM STATE, and participated in a variety of activities.

What did they do?

First of all, they had a discussion on the Royal Wedding that took place last Friday—which included many exciting experiences— and came up with the theory that it is easier to remember something if you and an emotional response to it.

Then they had a paper fish race! The designs of the fish were all very inspiring, and ranged from fish javelins to fish on rollers! The race was performed in groups sorted by the way in which the fish travelled. From this activity they learnt that creative thinking is unlimited, and there are many ways to approach any task.

Later on, some Year 8 students had an unusual opportunity to go around the school to watch lessons being taught by the teachers to different year groups and took notes on all the creative learning that they saw taking place. The remaining pupils watched an report on an American school where pupils have been learning though an ongoing interactive role play called ―The World Peace Game‖.

At the end of the workshop, pupils came up with ideas for activities and games that teachers can use in lessons to help students to learn even more effectively.

What did they learn?

The students learned many things from the workshop; they found that looking at things from a different angle helps to raise interest and that it is important to explore your resources as fully as possible.

To sum up, students learned that they can think creatively in order to adapt learning using their own strategies. That way, they can get the most out of what they learn.

Wenjia Zhang, Year 8

Globe Theatre Trip: ‗Macbeth‘ On Monday 9th May speakers from One Voice came in to present to a group of Year 8 RS students about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

One Voice is an international movement that aims to amplify the voice of Israeli and Palestinian moderates empowering them to seize back the agenda for conflict resolution.

Once the geography of Israel and Palestine had been explained, students heard from Antwan, who lives in the Palestinian city of Bethlehem and Uri who lives in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv about their experiences of growing up amidst this conflict. Once students had gained an insight into the situation they were asked to consider the benefits and problems of various different solutions to the conflict.

This was an excellent opportunity for students to gain a better understanding of a complex conflict and the impact this can have on the lives of individuals growing up surrounded by it. We look forward to working with One Voice again in the future.

Back in March, Year 8 were lucky enough to go and see a fantastic production of Macbeth at the Globe Theatre on London's South Bank. Tickets were given to the school by Deutsche Bank through their 'Playing Shakespeare' programme, and St Marylebone were able to enjoy the spectacle of Shakespeare with dozens of other London schools.

The girls, who had been studying the play in the previous half term, thoroughly enjoyed the production. In the first scene, the audience felt as if they were being ambushed by a modern day army, hollering battle cries and speeding through the auditorium on zip wires and swinging ropes, as the actors set the tempo for what remained a very energetic, action-packed play. We were all particularly impressed with the witches' scenes, in which strange faces and bodies appeared disturbingly under a shiny, black material covering the stage, and the murder of Macduff's wife and children, in which the assailants appeared wearing clown masks and daggers.

A very enjoyable trip. Many thanks to all students and staff involved.

Mr Jones

Ms Sainsbury

‗Oh! It‘s a Lovely War‘ – Trip to Ypres On March 18th a group of 60 Year 9 students boarded a coach at the unearthly time of 5.45 in the morning and travelled to one of the most famous battlefields of the First World War, Ypres. The trip was both an exciting and humbling day for the girls as they learned about some of the terrible events that took place during the intense and sustained battles that occurred here between the Germans and the Allied forces.

Guided by the inexhaustibly knowledgeable Mr Voller, we visited several sites of interest during the day, including Sanctuary Wood, where we were able to walk through the trenches and tunnels that existed on the Allied side during the war; Menin Gate, on which the names of Commonwealth soldiers, who fell during the Ypres Salient but have no known grave, are inscribed; the enormous Tyne Cot cemetery, where the bodies of 12,000 fallen Commonwealth soldiers are buried; and the In Flanders Fields Museum, which provided us with lots of information about the key battles that took place in Ypres. The girls found the experience of these landmarks very sombre but ultimately very interesting and enlightening.

Aside from these events, we all spent a very significant part of our day on the coach. However, thanks to the positivity and enthusiasm of students and staff alike, this was a very enjoyable part of the day. We sang war songs, new songs, read war poetry and all took part in the Ypres Quiz 2011 (well done to the victors!). Thank you to all the students and staff who made it such an enriching experience. We look forward to next year's trip!

Mr Jones

BBC School Report – My Experience This year St Marylebone School took part in the BBC School News Report. We have been working on this project for a couple of months now and the deadline for our final piece was on the 24th March. We have been working hard to produce a written report and an audio piece. We have been meeting every Wednesday after school to stay and work on our pieces.

Personally I think this was a great experience and gives you an idea of what a journalist has to go through. I think the part that I enjoyed the most was probably the interview with Jill Mcgiverie. Although at first I was a bit nervous I came to realise that Jill was a very nice person who was kind enough to answer our questions.

A journalist‘s life must be very rushed and stressful.

The day of the deadline was very chaotic and I figured although it‘s been a lovely experience I wouldn‘t like to become a journalist or a reporter. It rushes me a lot and sometimes I get really frustrated and annoyed. We had to edit the whole interview and finish the report by two o clock. I am glad we did finish it in time and that Cullen, a reporter from the BBC, came to help us out with our final pieces.

I would really like to thank all the people that helped put this project together and that they continue doing so for other Year 8s next year, because this project was worth it. All our reports have been loaded up on the BBC website and now its time to celebrate, it‘s over!

Andrea De Castro

BBC School Report – My Experience Today I spent a day in the life of a news reporter. It was challenging and stressful but an overall rewarding result. A group of Year 8s including myself committed themselves to weeks of work to create a news report, all in time for an important deadline on the 24th March. During the preparation for the day we had to find, gather, write, assemble, order and complete a story of our choice. We got into groups and started to work.

Jessica and I chose the library closures as our news story. First we found people to interview; we then gathered our contacts and information. We wrote out our plan and did our interviews. We then took pictures and put everything together. As our long audio was going to take almost 10 minutes we had to cut it down drastically to just over 2 minutes. Whilst we were editing we had a few technical problems such as 2 hours worth of work crashing and deleting.

Fortunately we managed to re-do the work again in the 45 minutes we had left. It was hard to create a 1 minute , 2 minute audio and a written piece of work all due for a deadline of 2 o‘clock.

Overall, BBC School Report was an enjoyable experience and I would do something similar to it again. Although challenging to the complete our work for the deadline it was a relief to all of us to finally finish our reports. I found the BBC School Report was very interesting and it has taught me new skills about things I didn‘t understand before.

Aitxa Bilbao-Jabal

Thanks to our pleasant and lovely group of students whose cheerfulness, camaraderie and resilience in the face of the harsh Russian winter made the visit such a memorable and enjoyable experience.

The History Department offers the Russia trip every two years in February. The next trip takes place in February 2013 and is open to students studying GCSE and A Level History.

History Trip to Russia

Mr Bracanov and Miss Read Moscow I‘m not sure the Russia trip would have been quite the same were it not for our charismatic tour guide Gnidi (gun -eye-dee) and his sidekick Nikolai (the coach driver), who whisked us away on a whirlwind tour of Moscow. Gnidi‘s deep set concern for punctuality made sure we were exactly where he wanted us to be, precisely when he wanted us to be there. Moscow is definitely one of the most outstanding places I have been to; the contrast between ornately constructed European-looking buildings and massive, bland, vast, very communist-looking blocks of flats is stark, whilst the food is perhaps even blander. That being said, we found McDonalds and Starbucks without too much trouble so eating Western style was never a problem! Seeing Lenin‘s embalmed figure in the mausoleum was surreal and surprisingly moving; I wasn‘t quite sure how to feel. Visiting historic monuments wasn‘t all solemn though, as on the last night we managed to grab a sneaky dance outside of the Kremlin, with some burly Russian chaps, to some classic Euro tunes. The police moved us swiftly on. It was cold in Moscow, and it was grey, and I wouldn‘t have had it any other way.

Kaio Grizzelle 13WJ

Clockwise from top left: The Summer Palace, St Petersburg; Enjoying the guided tour of the Kremlin, Moscow; Aboard the Cruiser Aurora, St Petersburg; Red Square, Moscow St Petersburg We arrived in St Petersburg slightly crumpled from our overnight train from Moscow. As ever it was freezing cold and snowy. All the buildings are really old and beautiful, painted in ice cream colours, so with the snow on top, it looked pretty magical. We visited the Hermitage which is famous worldwide for its massive collection ranging from Van Gogh paintings to a massive gold peacock that performs a little dance on the hour.

Our guide told us that if you were to stand for one minute in front of every piece in the collection you would be there for nine years! Later, we went to see a traditional Russian folk show.

Wiry, moustachioed men kicked their legs and there was slapstick and a crazy Eskimo dance – it was hilarious. In complete contrast, we were lucky enough to witness a traditional little church choir made up of five friendly Russian men. We squished into a small room at the back of the church to watch them rehearse a hymn and couldn't believe the wonderful sound they made. We would really recommend this trip to other history students; Russia is like nowhere else and we had an unforgettable experience.

Mary Higgins and Caitlin Burrows 10N

SMS Netball Results Congratulations to all the netball teams who played superbly in this year‘s leagues. The tables below show the results for each game.

Netball training will continue over the summer term as matches will be arranged for September.

Central London School Games On 1st July will be the pilot of regional competitions.

Congratulations to the Badminton team and the volleyball teams who have qualified to represent Westminster in this event.

Ms Grant Year 7 SMS

4

Portland Place

13

SMS

8

St Augustine’s

1

SMS

5

Pimlico Academy

3

SMS

6

Paddington Academy

0

SMS

4

Grey Coat Hospital

3

SMS

8

Holland Park

9

SMS

10

Quinton Kynaston

0

Term Dates 2011/12

Year 8 SMS

6

Portland Place

16

SMS

5

St Augustine’s

3

SMS

5

Pimlico Academy

3

SMS

3

1

SMS

6

Paddington Academy Quinton Kynaston

SMS

14

Holland Park

1

SMS

3

Grey Coat Hospital

5

SMS

14

Year 9 St Augustine’s

1

SMS

15

SMS SMS

0

0

12

Paddington Academy Grey Coat Hospital

16

Portland Place

7

11

Year 10/11 SMS

6

Portland Place

14

SMS

5

Grey Coat Hospital

21

SMS

15

Quinton Kynaston

0

Dates for your diary

STAFF INSET: 5th, 6th and 7th September 2011 Term 1 Thursday 8th September 2011 - Friday 21st October 2011

Mon 20th-Fri 24th June Refugee Week

Start dates Year 7 and Year 12 start on Thursday 8th September 2011 Year 11 and Year 13 start on Friday 9th September 2011 Years 8, 9 and 10 start on Monday 12th September 2011

Mon 27th June-Fri 1st July Year 9 Feel Good Week

Term 2 Monday 31st October 2011 - Friday 16th December 2011 STAFF INSET: 3rd January 2012 Term 3 Wednesday 4th January 2012 - Friday 10th February 2012 Term 4 Monday 20th February 2012 - Friday 30th March 2012 Term 5 Monday 16th April 2012 - Friday 1st June 2012 NB: Public Holiday - May Day 7th May 2012 Term 6 Tuesday 12th June 2012 - Friday 20th July 2012 Plus one Twilight INSET session

Mon 4th-Fri 15th July Year 10 Work experience Tues 5th&Weds 6th July, 7pm Lord of the Flies KS3 summer production Sat 9th July PTA Summer Fair Week beginning Mon 11th July Year 7 MFL Trip to France Year 8 Activity Holiday Year 9 Humanities Italy Trip On site Activity week Weds 20th July Sports Day