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Aberdovey! Over 150 students and 15 staff braved an early Friday morning start, the winding roads and cold December weather to take the opportunity to go on our annual Outward Bound trip to Aberdovey in the picturesque Snowdonia area of North Wales. For the majority of students this was their first residential Arthur Terry school trip. Therefore for some students the main purpose of the trip was to meet new people and make new friends whilst having as much fun as possible through a range of activities designed to improve teamwork skills. Throughout the weekend students had a go at a range of activities such as the famous individual task “the jog and dip� to teamwork tasks like building rafts and canoes. It was great to see students bonding together, encouraging and helping each other out whilst getting to know each other. A big part of the weekend were the discussions led by the Outward Bound staff, they guided students through difficult decisions and recapped on key moments throughout the day. We all returned back on Sunday evening after an exhausting weekend full of activities. A big thanks to all the students that gave so much throughout the weekend, well done.... now roll on Ullswater in Year 9!
The Geography Department by Mr Simmons So far this term the KS3 Geography students have been very busy! The Year 7s have been surviving on a desert island after a plane crash. They have been mapping the island with four and six figure grid references, drawing field sketches, creating their settlement and making important decisions on how they can survive for as long as possible! The Year 8s have been increasing their knowledge of how wealth is spread around the world by going to visit Cadbury World. Students were shown how Cocoa is produced in the developing world and in particular understanding the specific climatic conditions needed. It was very interesting to see how Kraft has started to change some Cadbury traditions. However they are still advocating the importance of Fairtrade on a global market which is great news for all those involved! The Year 8s were given the task of designing Fairtrade posters that had to promote the Fairtrade Cakesale whilst also informing people of the extra benefits of Fairtrade. What a great job they did! They sure played their part in supporting Fairtrade Fortnight too!
BBC News School Report by Emma Johnson On Thursday 15th March myself, Amelia Benjamin and Mrs Meade had the pleasure of spending a tiring yet wonderful day in London. We had an opportunity that most people will not have in their lifetime, which was to have a tour of the Olympic park and to interrogate Lord Coe! We started off our long trip by catching a train from New Street Station at 5:40a.m. When our train arrived in London we were met by someone from the BBC who took us to a waiting room where the rest of the schools were. After waiting for around half an hour, we piled onto a tour bus and were given a tour around the park. When we had finished this, we went into the ‘copper box’ which is used for the handball, to have a press conference with Lord Coe. The impression I got from Lord Coe is that he was very relaxed and knew how to handle the questions thrown at him by the children, answering them with ease. He struck me as a genuinely nice person. We ended our day by catching our train at 5:30p.m arriving back at around 9. I think overall the day was a complete success and if I had the chance I would definitely go back.
Year 10 Spanish La Tasca Tapas Experience by Charlotte Leonard (LA10) & Elise Jones (HA3) On Wednesday 22nd February 2012 Miss Wale invited Year 10 Spanish students to visit a Spanish restaurant in Birmingham called La Tasca. When we arrived the students were able to try and experience a range of Spanish foods and to practice their Spanish speaking and listening skills. Over the past few weeks in class we had been learning how to order food and drink and how to say what we like so we were able to speak to the waiters in Spanish. As soon as we arrived at La Tasca we were greeted by very friendly Spanish staff who made the atmosphere more cultural and who made the whole afternoon very enjoyable. Once seated, students were given unlimited bread and oil and patatas bravas. We also had to choose four more tapas dishes from a range of ten including tortilla española (Spanish omelette), albóndigas (meatballs) and many more. The food came out to us in no time at all and we all dug into our dishes. The waiters also asked us a few questions about the food in Spanish and we had to reply in Spanish. This was a good opportunity to use our speaking skills. The afternoon flew by but everyone agreed that the time spent at La Tasca had been very enjoyable and useful and that it was a trip that other year groups would also enjoy. Muchas gracias to Miss Wale for organising the trip, and also to Miss Sheridan, Mr Glazebrook and Cristina García for accompanying us.
F R ISB E E
by Mr Vaughan
ALEX WAS A MEMBER OF THE THE ARCTIC ULTIMATE TEAM WHO WERE CROWNED UK NATIONAL OUTDOOR CHAMPIONS 2008 (THIS PHOTO IS ACTUALLY JULY ‘07 WHEN WE WERE RUNNERS UP, BUT DON’T TELL!)
Going for Gold Ex-Arthur Terry student Alex Brookes has gone all the way since leaving Arctic Ultimate and becoming too old for Junior level competition: Last year Alex was the youngest ever player to secure a place on the GB Open (i.e. senior men’s) team who competed at the European Ultimate Championships 2011 in Maribor, Slovenia.
Hard work and dedication relating to fitness, individual skill and team tactics paid off for Alex in both his selection onto the team and their achievement at the tournament, where GB were only denied gold medals after a hard fought sudden-death loss to Sweden in the final. Now in his 3rd year of an Engineering degree at Bath University, Alex has retained his place in the GB Open team going to compete in the World Ultimate Championships 2012 in Osaka, Japan
See: http://wugc2012.org/english/ for more details.
Below Alex Brookes in action for the GB Open team last summer in a warm up tournament prior to the European Championships in Slovenia where the team won silver medals. Photos courtesy of www.GrahamBaileyPhotography.com
Under 17 Indoor Championships Tournament by Sam Pitt & Charlie George - Arctic One, U17 Indoors This tournament saw Arctic entering 5 teams in the Under 17 division, and 2 teams in the Under 13 division, our biggest number of teams ever! Arctic 1 aimed to be challenging for gold this time, after an upset in the quarter-finals in 2011 where we lost to the second team of our biggest rivals, Airbadgers (from Exeter), meant we finished a disappointing 5th. We started the first day of the tournament winning our first three games, and then it came to our final game of the day against Stags (from Maidenhead), who are a team who didn’t challenge in 2011, so we were expected to win. However they produced a well practiced zonal defence, a different tactic to the previous three teams, and it proved too much for Arctic to deal with, leading to a loss. We were gutted after this game as it meant we would have a tougher route to the final as we would have to play the 2011 Champions Airbadgers 1 in the semi-final, if we reached that stage in the tournament at all. After an inspirational speech from our captain Brad Shoesmith, we came together as a team and were all fired up and ready for any team that were to stand in the way and stop us from winning the first place trophy, and the bragging rights that go with it. After winning our first two games on the Sunday, we definitely fancied our chances of winning the tournament. Our quarter-final saw us playing Evolution (from Warwick), a team against whom we had won a scrappy game on the Saturday, and we managed another victory. We knew this would be a hard game because the hardest thing to do in a tournament is beat a team twice. We came out the victors and broke down the Evo zone with out a sweat in comparison to the day before.
It came to it: the semi-final. All eyes were on our game as this was our opportunity to reach the final. We were to face our fierce rivals, Airbadgers. As defending champions they were seeded first to win the tournament, so we knew it was to be a tough game. We went into the game fighting hard and managed to hold them off as we traded point for point with them for a lot of the game. However, the opposition had a slight mental edge over us as they are a team which regularly reach finals, and perhaps experience was the difference. They robbed a few points off us and held a lead until the hooter went. This was not to put a downer on the team because we gave an outstanding performance and third place was still up for grabs.
G A L L E RY
In the game for third place, we found ourselves playing the surprise team of the tournament: Airbadgers 6, who shocked everyone and claimed a number of scalps (including Badgers 2!) on their way to the semis. We went into the game a little bit cocky and we were punished early on because of this as they scored the first point. Realising that this team were no push overs we stepped up the mark and came out on top finishing the tournament in the respectable third place. A big well done goes to Brad Shoesmith, who was voted the most valued player by the rest of the team. Although a snow hit weekend meant that not everyone made it back for the Sunday, there were also commendable performances from all the other teams, finishing 11th, 13th and 17th in the Under 17 division. In the Under 13 division, Arctic finished a creditable 4th with many people playing their first tournament, and brilliantly the team were awarded the Spirit Of The Game award for that division!
Photos courtesy of Marc Kirsten http://www.marckirsten.co.uk/
Arctic U20’s
by Craig Brookes & Andy Socratous Arctic 2 started the Under 20 Championships rocked by the tragic loss of an inspirational player, Josh Eeles (Salty) to the first team on Saturday morning. However we picked ourselves up, and after an initial loss to defending champions (Flux 1), won two closely contested games. We arrived the next day knowing our goal of a top 10 finish was still achievable. After winning our first game on Sunday we were defeated in the knockout stages and lost the chance to progress into the quarter finals. However we won the next 2 games placing us in the plate final (9th place) against Flux 2. We found ourselves behind early on but the pinpoint throws of Charlie George, Alfie Bradshaw and Jack Simmons fed the point machine Max Hale; coupled with the defensive play of Craig Brookes and Jordan Grant, Arctic were unstoppable and went on to claim a well deserved victory and also the plate for finishing in 9th place. We were the highest placed second team, ahead of many first teams A great achievement!
Arctic U20’s by Mr Vaughan
Photos courtesy of Marc Kirsten http://www.marckirsten.co.uk/
The first weekend in March saw the Under 20 Indoor Championships in Wolverhampton, with Arctic fielding 5 teams into this tournament. The standard has gone up significantly over the years since Arctic Ultimate was founded, and with more teams and of a better standard than ever, this was the toughest Indoors competition yet. Arctic 1 started the tournament seeded 3rd, and yet a lack of form saw an unconvincing start on Saturday: playing 3 other teams seeded in the top 16, Arctic 1 drew against Airbadgers 2 (from Exeter), lost to CUT (from The Wirral) and narrowly beat York Open. Badgers 2 beat CUT and York to win the pool, and Arctic 1 were lucky to finish second in the pool on points difference. The poor form continued on Sunday morning with another unconvincing performance, albeit a victory, against a team seeded 28th. The second game on Sunday was where the team finally fired up: needing to win to progress to the quarter finals, Arctic came out a very different team to dispatch Ocelots 1 (from Cheshire) in a comprehensive 8-1 victory. The first round of quarter finals saw Saturday’s pool winners Airbadgers 2 and (some people’s pre-tournament favourites) Stags from Maidenhead lose in major upsets, so we knew we had to come out with our best game in our quarter final. We were playing CUT again, so the chance for revenge was there, and we triumphed 6-5 in a dramatic sudden-death finish. This set up a semi-final against defending champions Flux 1 (from Twycross), and although Arctic played well, Flux edged the game 6-4. This put Arctic 1 in the play off for 3rd. The team won the game, ending up where we finished the previous year – a creditable 3rd. Perhaps 2013 will be our year to make the final. Special mention to Arctic 3. Led by Molly Howells, this team of all girls in Year 11 (or below) beat their seeding to finish 27th while competing in a tournament dominated by older boys. All the players and I would like to express huge thanks to all the parents and Mrs Taft who support and help out. It wouldn’t be possible without you!
My First Frisbee Tournament
Harry Robertson gets a pass past his marker
by Harry Robertson (Arctic Under 13’s) On my first Frisbee tournament I arrived and found out that I was playing with Arctic A in the Under 13s division. In our first match we played the best U13s team Flux (from Twycross) and lost about 11-2. We continued to lose all of the matches on Saturday, but the following day it was really snowy and less people turned up so we had to merge with people from Arctic 5 and Arctic B. We were still in the U13s division and we managed a win and a draw, and ended up coming 4th, which was much better than it looked on Saturday!
Junior Womens Indoor by Anisha Nallamilli, Lucy Cinnamond, Molly Howells & Molly Arnett In November 2011 Arctic sent two women’s teams to the Indoor Championships in Coventry. The tournament was held in an unusual venue which was freezing cold and had 3G rubber crumb Astroturf. We knew we were in for a tough day on Arctic 1 and so we came prepared. We started slowly with our first game being against defending champions Rhinos (from Stourport). It was a very tough game and although we played very well, we couldn’t match them and lost out. A couple of games later we found ourselves in the quarter finals where we had to play the previous year’s runners up Flux (from Twycross). Although we were underdogs, it turned out to be a very hard fought and intense game but with some excellent throws (including 2 hammer assists from Molly Howells) and catches, and as a result of some all-round excellent team play, we were delighted to come out on top with a 6-5 victory. We lost another tough game to Rhinos in the semi finals, before coming out to play for 3rd place against Ocelots (from Cheshire). We had lost against them earlier in the tournament and went into this final game pumped and ready to challenge for bronze. This time we were fighting harder against them and managed to win and finish in 3rd place. It was a very enjoyable game and the spirit was kept high throughout. Arctic 2 also played well throughout the tournament, and their level of play improved considerably over the course of the games they played. They will be back to challenge next year!
Rugby 2012 by Mr Shilcof Arthur Terry went in as the clear ‘Pool’ leaders. Having played five won five, we were the team to beat, particularly if you’d heard the coaches from some of the other schools saying they would rather not play against us unless they had to. North Birmingham Academy, who were one player short, stepped up to the plate and with the assistance of an extremely sportsmanlike gesture from Jack Wolverson who agreed to play for them, we all took to the field. The game was in the main dominated by our powerful pack of forwards who provided quick ball and space for the backs to operate in and Arthur Terry left the field worthy winners by five tries to a very well deserved two to North Birmingham.
Year 9 & 10 Arthur Terry School Year 9 & 10 rugby team have returned to school this morning as the Birmingham Emerging Schools Rugby Champions 2012. The finals of the Tournament were played out at Five Ways Old Edwardians Rugby Club on Tuesday 13th March. Schools from across the city had entered teams into the competition and Arthur Terry played against the top four, their results were, Arthur Terry beat Bournville 4 tries to nil. Arthur Terry beat Handsworth 3 tries to 1. Arthur Terry drew with Great Barr Comprehensive 1 try each. Arthur Terry beat Kings Norton 6 tries to nil.
The final game of the evening was against an extremely powerful Great Barr Comp team out for revenge, we had played them once before winning the match 4 tries – 2. This was without doubt the match of the evening, possibly of the tournament so far, both sides played some magnificent rugby it really was end to end stuff, and to say the tackling was ‘bone crunching’ is an understatement. Arthur Terry took a well deserved lead of two tries - one into the second half. The boys then faced up to an onslaught from Great Barr who eventually broke through our lines scoring an excellent try making the scores level, we fought back and only by the greatest of defence we were held out. I heard the referee tell the teams that they had one play left before the final whistle and both sides made what can only be described as a gargantuan effort. They then attacked each others try lines going from one end of the field to the other three times before finally a Great Barr player made a super solo break running in an excellent try. The whistle blew leaving Great Barr the winners by three tries to our two.
It was an outstanding effort by all the players involved who were true ambassadors to the game of rugby and the school.
An excellent evening of rugby was had by all, the boys once again performed both on and off the pitch like true sportsmen and we should be proud of them all.
U12 District Cup Final Final to be played at Bodymoor Heath (Aston Villa Training ground) Friday 23rd March 4.15pm Kick Off Arthur Terry v Plantsbrook
Thanks once again go to Alex and Mike who have done a great job coaching the lads and to all the teaching staff who have allowed the boys to miss parts of their lessons to play. Time for a break, now bring on the finals hopefully to be played in January as a precursor to a Moseley RFC league fixture.
Team HARRY TAYLOR 10YA7 JONATHON WATSON 9GB5 LOUCA MILLOSHA 9HA7 TOM MCGUIRE 10GA1 TOM MERRINGTON 10GA1 JOE ZARIC 10YA7 CHARLIE BAMPTON 10YA3 NICK BAILEY 10YA4 JOSH EELES 10LA1 ASHLEY TERRET 10LA5 GUY MERRINGTON 10GB6 MAX CRAVEN 9YB5 ISAAC BEECHEY 10HA2 JACK WOLVERSON 10YA10 ED SHILCOF 9HB9 TOM GOODALL 10LB9
Year 7 Football A quick note to inform you that the U12 football team have successfully progressed into two cup finals; the Erdington, Saltley and Sutton District Cup and the Birmingham Schools Travel West Midlands Trophy. A huge congratulations to all the players involved - we will look forward to revealing how the boys get on after the finals are played.
U12 Travel Trophy: Final to be played at West Midlands Travel B13 0ST Wednesday 28th March 4:15 k.o Arthur Terry v Lyndon
Biggest & Best for DofE! by Mr Withey & Miss Oglesby Arthur Terry as a centre for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award has gone from strength-to-strength in the last few years. This year we have record numbers of Year 10 students enrolled on the Bronze level of the scheme. With over 100 students (almost every other student in Year 10!!) we are the 2nd largest centre out of 88 providers in the whole of Birmingham. We are in the top five for enrolled numbers of Silver Award participants across all centres and take the top spot for the challenging Gold Award with 40 Sixth Form students currently working towards this final Award. Of course, it’s not just about getting students involved… They have to complete four demanding areas of Physical, Skills, Volunteering and Expedition (and also a five day residential for the Gold Award). We work hard to support the students to ensure that they complete each level and I am pleased to say over 50 have completed Bronze (so far) this year – the most from any centre in Birmingham! We are second in the league table for completed Silver Awards too. This is mainly down to the dedication and commitment of our students to a wide range of activities and how they are also keen to willingly ‘give back’ to their community without remuneration. On Saturday 10th March, the Bronze participants began preparing for their two expeditions with a day of training in navigation, camp craft, rucksack packing and much more to be totally prepared for their first venture into self-sufficiency. With the Silver participants all completing more detailed training and a practice expedition last term, they are now gearing up for the Assessed expedition in July. A real experience of ‘Wild Country’! The Gold participants are also ready for the final challenge in the expedition section of the Award. We are also so lucky to have a team of over 20 staff and outside volunteers who participate in the expeditions, many of them are now accredited Assessors at every level of the Award. Another asset to the team is Mrs Burnett who provides invaluable administrative support to both staff, students and parents – without her it certainly would not be possible to do it on this scale. The dates for all expeditions this year can be found on the school website. Students taking part in the award should be advised to check their emails and parents will receive texts notifying them of letters that have been emailed to them. This year we are planning to enrol Year 9 students early to allow them further time to complete their Bronze award and this will hopefully double the number of young people involved in this prestigious award. If you are in Year 9 – Look out for more details after Easter!!! Finally, if you have completed any level of the award, expect to receive your badge and certificate after the Easter holiday.
Once In A Lifetime... by David Smith (Year 13) So, after nearly three years of planning, a civil war and £2000, we were finally going to Honduras as part of an Operation Wallacea expedition. 14 Arthur Terry students, along with another 23 from Great Barr and King Edward’s High School for Girls, were at school for 5:15am on a cold and rainy Monday morning last July, all resplendent in our bright (and clean!) orange polo shirts. A coach took us down to Heathrow, then we started our journey halfway around the world. After two flights, 18 hours in Houston Airport and a sweltering arrival in Honduras, we were a little bit the worse for wear. The next morning we were up at 6am to catch yellow American school buses, then pickup trucks to Buenos Aires. We all stayed in the local’s houses (they only spoke Spanish…) and in those few days, we encountered a 200ft high waterfall, bats, thunderstorms, machetes and toilets that you have to flush (using a bucket of water) yourself! Our job was to survey areas of the rainforest, for a new global carbon trading scheme which begins this year. The rest of the week was spent in a remote camp right in the middle of the rainforest, accessible only by a six hour walk and sleeping in hammocks. What we saw was amazing – spiders, snakes and “moonwalking” birds were all around us. The toilet facilities weren’t great – just a hole in the ground! In the second week, we travelled across Honduras to Rio Esteban, an Afro-Caribbean village, where we ate a full meal for the first time in a while, and danced a tribal dance with the villagers. The next morning, we were off on speedboats to Cayos Cochinos - a beautiful Caribbean Island, where we learnt to SCUBA dive. The sea was astonishing, the sunsets were amazing and the wildlife was a little bit scary… One night we found a dinner plate-sized jumping spider in the boys dormitory, which disappeared until the next night, when it turned up under someone’s bed! The entire island was populated by huge iguanas in the day, and crabs at night (Barefoot was not a good idea at night!) We had an amazing week, and were sad to leave the island, though most of us got PADI diving qualifications from it. A marathon journey home (including a well-deserved pool party at the hotel half-way back), we landed back at Heathrow in drizzle again. Eighteen days after leaving, and once again wearing the orange shirts (although definitely now not clean!) we made it back – bitten, bruised and burnt-out, but Honduras was definitely the trip of a lifetime (although none of us want to see rice or kidney beans ever again!). The recent reunion of the team and friends we made showed this experience remains fresh in our minds. Thank you Mr Withey for the most memorable time! The Team Christina Barrett, Sophie Cooper, Kate Crowe, Nick Davis, Libby Franklin, Liam Good, Becky Higgs, Charlotte Hill, Leanne Jay, Sarah Kelly, Alec Palmer, Luke Rostron, David Smith, Will Stone.
Cross Country News Thursday 14th March: Sutton Schools League A team of Arthur Terry students competed in the final round of the Sutton Schools cross country races. Despite this event being scheduled in the spring term all the students taking part had to brave the 'bitterly cold' conditions in both the build up to and duration of the races. A fantastic effort was put in by all our students; here are some of the notable results: Y7 Girls: Georgina Dolan 2nd place, Jess Millington 3rd place Y7 Boys: Harry Swift 1st Place Y8 Girls: Jessica Tarr 2nd Place Y8 Boys: Joel Kirsten 1st Place Y9/10 Boys: Shaun Evans 2nd Place Senior Boys: Ben Topley 1st Place; Ross Collins 3rd place A Special Mention: The Arthur Terry school are proud to acknowledge the achievements of Ben Griffiths (Y13), Ben Topley (Y11) and Shaun Evans (Y9) who earlier this year were all selected to represent the West Midland Schools at the English Schools Cross Country Championships. This is a tremendous achievement and we wish them all the best of success in their forthcomming races.
KS3 Indoor Athletics Champions Thursday 19th Jan 2012 – North Birmingham Regional Heats Y7 Girls, Y7 boys, Y8 girls and Y8 boys teams were taken to compete in the north Birmingham area schools regional heats. All the students involved displayed fantastic performances across the range of competition events, leading to an overwhelming dominance in the final results. Three of the four teams representing Arthur Terry finished in first place overall – qualifying for the Birmingham schools finals as regional champions. The remaining team (Y7 boys) earned a very respectable 3rd place position in their contest (note: 2nd place missed by only one point). Tuesday 7th Feb 2012 – Birmingham Schools Finals The three teams representing Arthur Terry as north Birmingham champions (Y7 girls, Y8 boys and Y8 girls) competed at the National Indoor Arena against the other nine Birmingham regional winners. Once again, the students taking part were in devastatingly good form. Numerous victories in both the track and field events throughout the competition, built up huge anticipation for when the final results were delivered! We are absolutely thrilled to announce that two of our three teams (Y7 girls and Y8 boys) finished in 1st place overall – claiming the title of Birmingham schools indoor athletics champions; a really outstanding achievement! Students in these teams will now have the opportunity to compete in the national finals to be held at a later date. The Y8 girls team were sadly squeezed into 2nd place; but obviously this final position is still a fantastic achievement. A special Mention A select group of Arthur Terry sports leaders that assisted in the officiating and management of events in the regional heat competition, were invited by the I/A development manager to help officiate and manage the schools finals held at the NIA. The students involved in this did a fantastic job and their assistance and contributions in both events were extremely valued! Please see the lists below to see the members of each team. Year 7 Girls T I/C Mrs Stonebridge Jess Millington Chloe Harrison Hannah Bennett Georgina Dolan Lauren Wall Katie Gregory Layla Mitchell
Year 7 Boys T I/C Mr Stonebridge Oliver Lewis Sam Watts Alex Thompson Harvey Timmins Dylan Mandaracas Will Preece Harry Westlake Louis Cardin
Year 8 Girls T I/C Miss Price Sahar Arnutt-Hull Alice Ramsey Jess Tarr Becky Parsons Liz Hathaway Christine Prince Phoebe Perks Chloe Wade
Year 8 Boys T I/C Mr Byrne Daniel Usher Tom Canning Joel Kirsten Chris Ellis Sam Jeeves Kane Sedgley Cameron Collins Jamil Quarless
Team Leaders T I/C Mr Stonebridge Imogen Pallister Ryan Brough James Cockerill Andrew Wallace Erin Benbow Chris Brindley Rhys Walker Emma Johnson
NIA Athletics by PE Department
Photos courtesy of Marc Kirsten http://www.marckirsten.co.uk/
I am sure that you will all be delighted to hear that the Arthur Terry indoor athletics teams celebrated continued success in the Birmingham schools finals, held at the NIA. The teams represented Arthur Terry as north Birmingham champions, and today competed against the ten other area winners from the city in their respective group competitions. I am absolutely thrilled to announce that two of our three teams finished in 1st place overall – the Y7 girls and the Y8 boys; a really outstanding achievement for all concerned. As Birmingham schools champions, the students in these teams will now have the opportunity to compete in the national finals. The Y8 girls team were sadly squeezed into 2nd place overall; but obviously this final position is still a fantastic achievement that they and we can be very proud of. Helen and I were fortunate to have the opportunity to accompany the teams today and it was a genuine pleasure to see the array of talent that our students displayed. The performance of every student and the behaviour throughout the day was excellent – a really great advert for the school in all respects. A special mention is deserved by the nine Arthur Terry Sports Leaders that were invited to help manage and officiate events today. Once again, the students proved to be extremely reliable and efficient in their roles and were duly thanked for their contribution by the event co-ordinators.
Year 11 Citizenship Since the last edition of the Arthur Terry Times, year 11 have enjoyed meeting with Councillor Les Lawrence, Birmingham City Council’s Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Families and Andrew Mitchell, Sutton Coldfield MP and Secretary of State for International Development in relation to their GCSE Citizenship controlled assessment enquiry, ‘Is Britain/Birmingham as multicultural as it claims to be?’. Cllr Lawrence believes that Birmingham is a truly welcoming city to people from all sorts of diverse backgrounds. He stated that high profile local multicultural failings such as the 2005 inter-racial warfare between black and Asian gangs were isolated incidents and that in the main, “Birmingham has worked exceptionally hard to avoid the worst forms of ethnic segregation and division”.
Andrew Mitchell said he stood ‘shoulder to shoulder’ with David Cameron following the PM’s Feb. 2011 statement that, ‘state multiculturalism had failed’. He said the PM’s comments had been misinterpreted somewhat. “The PM is not anti-diversity, but was merely pointing out that the former government’s centralised approach to promoting community cohesion had clearly failed with ghettoised separate communities emerging in many towns and cities across our country. We now need to find a collective sense of British identity”.
Year 7 G&T Languages Day by Hannah Cook (GA3) & Keily Clayton (GA3) On Thursday 19th January 2012 a group of 10 Gifted and Talented Year 7 students attended a Modern Foreign Languages Day at Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School. We all participated in a range of language workshops, such as Irish, Romance Languages, a South American Experience, Hebrew, Greek and much more! In the Irish workshop, we had to pop balloons in order to sort the numbers out. In German, we sang five traditional tunes. In Romance Languages, we learnt some Latin, Romanian, Spanish, French and Italian. In Hebrew and Greek we had to try to remember the colours in a particular order. In the South American Experience we took part in a quiz to learn about Spanish speaking countries. Everyone who went thoroughly enjoyed this wonderful opportunity to learn so many different languages, so we would like to say thank you to Mrs Halfpenny for organising this trip and to Miss Wale and Mr Francis for taking us. ¡Hasta luego!
CSI Arthur Terry by Mr Batty Two classes of Year 11 students studying BTEC Science recently completed a Crime Scene Investigation and Forensic Science module. The course included a number of different practical sessions using real-life techniques and equipment including fingerprints, DNA, blood pattern analysis and footwear marks. After learning the techniques the students worked as a team to investigate a realistic murder scene in the school grounds before analysing the evidence they collected. As a conclusion the students presented their evidence in a mock- court. Year 10 BTEC students will shortly start their forensic module. The course was designed and delivered by Mr. D. Batty, an Arthur Terry Science Technician, who spent 21 years as a Crime Scene Investigator for various UK police forces and, most recently, working as a CSI in Afghanistan examining roadside bombs for forensic evidence.
Arthur Terry G&T Trip to the IKON Gallery Our five year eight students Sophia, Eve, Christie, Tom and Cameron proved to be open minded, mature and enthusiastic about the Art Gallery and workshop. The contemporary Art work did not phase our students, instead they were receptive to the unusual layout of the gallery. This included a rug that hung from the ceiling, a radio that found its power from Fools Gold, and huge temporary texts that sprawled across the walls telling unfolding tales of Hamish`s real life adventures. They went with receptive attitudes and were brave enough to vocalise their ideas, thoughts and opinions in front of three other schools. After the tour their creativity was let loose and they produced their own practical work in response to the work they saw in the last exhibition, a set of framed postcards created and sent to Japan after the tsunami last year. After the terrible tragedy Japan was left with no way of using mobile phones, landlines or internet in order to let loved ones know they were still alive. The postal service was the first amenity to get up and running, and the people of Japan began sending messages of love and good wishes to friends and family. The Art work we made was in response to this part of the exhibition. Well done and thank you to the Year eights who made the trip a wonderful, valuable and memorable experience for us all. I will leave you with some images of our experiences, it won`t take you long to work out which was my favourite photograph!
Celebration Cakes Year 7 and Year 9 students have been busy this week making celebration cakes, some of which are being used to give to their mums on Mother’s Day. Year 7’s made small cakes and then decorated them with a selection of ingredients and Year 9 GCSE students made a larger cake, showing off their piping skills, decorating them in a very professional manner.
Defying Hitler by Elizabeth Robinson
Free Books! World Book Night, A.K.A Shakespeare’s birthday is fast approaching. Fortunately, we have been chosen as one of the groups lucky enough to receive some of the available texts. On the 23rd April I will be handing out around 24 copies of Sleepy Head by Mark Billingham to any avid readers: staff or students (from Key Stage 4/5). A crime thriller, this book is an impressive read, which once started you will not be capable of putting down! But, what is World Book Night? World Book Night seeks to spread the enjoyment of reading through a wide range of inspirational reads. Once you have finished your copy of the text, the idea is that you pass it on! Praise points will be issued to the students who manage to get their names on the longest book list! Interested in a free book? Come to C2.6 at break or lunchtime on the 23rd April and receive a free copy of the book from Miss Gibson.
On Thursday 23rd February many year 12 students taking History at AS-Level went to the Old Rep Theatre to see a production of ‘Defying Hitler’. Defying Hitler was a captivating monologue of Sebastian Haffner’s memoir of life between the years 1914 to 1933 and how he wished to escape the reality of the First World War and the Nazi regime. Although many of the students thought it had a different take, it still allowed an interesting insight into what life was like living in Nazi Germany. He wasn’t a Nazi and he wasn’t Jewish. He was just an ordinary German struggling to come to terms with the Nazis coming to power. Defying Hitler was a unique production and a good evening that managed to engage us all. Haffner used storytelling to give the audience an overview of historical events, as well providing a personal account of Hitler’s rise to power. Haffner began by recalling his childhood during the First World War, and then went on to painfully describe the years that followed Germany’s defeat. The most interesting and effective parts of the play focused on experiences of the defeat up until the chaos and violence that followed Hitler’s appointment as the Chancellor of Germany. We saw his disgust towards the discrimination of Jews, showed particularly when Haffner was confronted by a Nazi official at work. He came across to the audience as a distinctive character that spoke his mind with clear diction and power in his voice. He offered a fascinating insight into what everyday life was like. Overall, the performance was both moving and educational.
Four Oaks
Children!s Centre
Administrative Centre The Arthur Terry School Kittoe Road, Four Oaks Sutton Coldfield B74 4RZ Tel: 0121 323 1121 Fax: 0121 323 8033
Focus on Family Guys
Two years ago we ran a Father’s Day Dads and Kids session on a Saturday morning with Aspire Sports for the first time. The blend of multi sports on offer from tag rugby and football to body combat and obstacle courses has proved a winning formula with attendance in 2011 doubling that of 2010 and many Dads returning with a friend.
Every month we hold our ‘Family Guys’ sessions, where Dads/ Granddads/Uncles and their children aged 3-11 years are invited to come along to the Arthur Terry School All Weather Pitch, for fun multi sports sessions. Our first two sessions of 2012 have been really successful. Here are some of the comments from some of the parents who attended:-
So from October we have made the Family Guys a monthly event for Dads and their kids aged 3-11 years old. We have added on, at the end, a short chill and stretch session for kids only with healthy snacks. At the same time Dads also get to refuel, as well as spending time chatting to the other Dads, with occasional speakers on modern parenting dilemmas.
“I have enjoyed spending quality time with my child” “Friendly environment to meet other parents” “I have learnt some new games to play with my child” “Fun, physical exercise alongside my son” “Aspire sports leaders were fantastic, friendly and really encouraging”
It also enables us to keep Dads up to date with what else we can offer given that home to school communication is often picked up by Mum first. This month Dads booked direct onto weekend lifesaving courses and onto Relate information sessions on step parenting or living with teenagers.
Our next dates are:Saturday 24 March Saturday 28 April Saturday 26 May Saturday 30 June
Text and social media have been positive, increasingly schools are sending out the details and they are going in school and nursery newsletters. A text or post reminder to previous attendees in the week running up to event has proved very effective.
10:00am – 12:15pm At The Arthur Terry School To book your place or for more information please call us on 0121 323 1121. We look forward to seeing you soon!
Hereford B Charity Assembly In the Herford B assembly on 8th February Jane Clarke, from the Norman Laud Trust, came in to speak to the students about the charity that the tutor groups raised a fantastic £453 for in our charity day last term. Norman Laud Association provide quality nursery provision and respite care for children and young adults with special needs. Well done to everyone for the great effort in raising such a large sum of money. In the photo are Mrs Jane Clarke of the Norman Laud Trust, Megan Anyan, Isobel Dayus and Mrs Julie Ridley.
Hereford A Dr Anand Chitnis visited Hereford A students in assembly on 31st January to speak to them about the Newman Holiday Trust, the charity for which they raised an amazing £563.16 on 4th November last year. The Newman Holiday Trust takes children with special needs on holidays in Britain and gives them experiences that they would not otherwise have access to. Well done everyone for such a fantastic fundraising event for such a worthy cause!
Lincoln
200 Club December Winners 170 Mrs Saridaki £50 4 M. Anson £25 172 L. Arnett £15 78 A. Kennedy £10
January Winners 71 T. Bennett £50 21 M. Frost £25 82 M. J. Emery £15 45 S. Berry £10
February Winners 92 C. Hartland £50 11 S. East £25 101 S. J. Bicknell £15 169 C. Adkins £10
March Winners 31 B.Millward £50 10 E. Gass £25 94 C. Walsh £15 145 D. Moore £10
What a brilliant term we have had. The highlight being the fantastic charity day that so many people organised and then took part in. Who will forget the amount of people crowding our stalls at break and lunchtime, and helping to raise money for our named charity. Due to all the hard work we managed to raise almost £800, which we hope will benefit people who need it. The day was themed on Valentines and we are sure that romance was in the air on that day for so many people. Hopefully this charitable ethos we have within Lincoln will continue, and we will always be aware of the suffering that other people less fortunate than us, go through on a daily basis. Congratulations to all the Lincolnites who have been successful in their exams over the winter, this bodes well for the summer exams. Have a fantastic Easter and come back refreshed.
Castle Competition 2012 History Department