2013 Belvedere Winter ezine

2013 winter

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Annual Prize Giving

Young Lord Mayors

STEM Day for Year 11

Year 6 Assessment Day

Enterprise Challenge

MFL Week http://kaywa.me/v5Qax

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Lord Mayors Sporting Success

Shoe Box Appeal Children’s Book Week

Enterprise Challenge

MFL Week

Year 11 STEM Day

FEATURE STORIES

Year 6 Assessment Day Q&A: MP Luciana Berger

Prize Giving Ceremony

What’s inside…

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Belvedere Ezine | Winter Edition 2013

Prize Giving 2013 Belvedere Academy’s annual Prize Giving took place in the spectacular venue of Liverpool Cathedral.

Luciana Berger, MP for Wavertree, presented the awards and examination certificates to the students.

She also gave an inspirational speech encouraging the girls to have high ambitions and to try careers and jobs where women are under-represented.

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Peter Kennedy, Principal, reflected on the Academy’s achievements in the past year and Paula Wulff, Head Girl also gave an address to the students encouraging them to embrace all that Belvedere has to offer and to be prepared to try something new.

The presentation of awards was interspersed with musical interludes, which were truly fantastic.

Belvedere Ezine | Winter Edition 2013

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Belvedere Ezine | Winter Edition 2013

For the Year 12 girls who joined the Academy in September, this was their first Belvedere Prize Giving; for the Year 13 girls, there were mixed emotions as it will most likely be their last as a Belvedere student.

This didn’t stop the Sixth Form from getting truly involved in such an inspirational event. Mr Kennedy spoke of how the Sixth Form has a ‘growing reputation for high academic achievement and personal excellence’, highlighting how Belvedere produces confident and motivated young women. He then went on to mention some of the non-academic highlights of the year, ranging from 2 members of the Sixth Form being elected as Young Lord Mayors at the Liverpool Schools’ Parliament to our outstanding sporting achievements,

yet again showcasing how Belvedere is a ‘national beacon’.

The Prize Giving gave the opportunity for the GCSE and A-Level successes of last year to be publically acknowledged and celebrated. This, as well as members of the Sixth Form being recognised for the continuous high attainment, effort and outstanding contributions to certain subject areas, was one of the highlights of the afternoon, along with several members of the Sixth Form performing in the musical interludes, with the choir and orchestra sounding amazing in each section.

The event was made extra special by the attendance of our special guest, Luciana

Berger. Luciana proves by being a woman in politics that being in the minority doesn’t hold you back; that it’s with passion and determination that young women can achieve their goals. She proved to be very inspirational for many of the girls in Sixth Form currently considering their future careers.

The Prize Giving finished with a speech by our Head Girl, Paula Wulff. She mentioned how Belvedere doesn’t just help you develop academically, but how it produces ‘well-rounded, articulate and ambitious young women’, a statement that is certainly true of the Sixth Form.

Caitlin Hampson, Year 13.

Our Head Girl’s Prize Giving address Good afternoon. I would like to begin by saying a massive thank you to Luciana Berger, for giving us some of her precious time and joining us as our guest of honour today.

I am so proud, and lucky, to have the opportunity to help recognise and acknowledge some of the impressive

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achievements made by everyone this year.

Although the best reward for hard work is that personal sense of achievement, it is always encouraging to have your successes publically acknowledged and celebrated.

For those who are not receiving an award this year, you can aim to work hard and give of your best so that in twelve months you too will be on the stage.

Such persistence and dedication can definitely be attributed to our guest of honour today, Luciana Berger. She has shown us that although as a woman in politics, she may not be in the majority, her passion has driven her to pursue her dreams and stand as a member of parliament and she is now representing young women, just like all of us. She

Belvedere Ezine | Winter Edition 2013

mentioned that her journey has not been a straight road, yet she persevered and has overcome these obstacles by focussing on her goals.

At a school like Belvedere you will be given so many fantastic opportunities and as we have just heard, it is essential to seize them in order to achieve and make the most of your time at Belvedere. All of the awards presented today started off with someone just taking part in something, joining in, and then practising and working hard at it in order to succeed.

However, it is impossible to mention all of the Academy’s achievements in one day.

There are always those personal goals which are just as important as getting a good grade. Whether it’s performing in a play, competing in sport events or surviving Duke of Edinburgh, I think it is important to be reminded of these achievements too and to be proud of them. I know for myself that I’ve got fonder memories of my Duke of Edinburgh expedition, trekking the hills of Wales in the pouring rain three years ago, than I do of sitting my Maths exam, last summer.

impression wherever she goes. We always have an impact, be it by taking part in the Christmas shoe-box appeal or at the GDST Northern Trust Rally, where we took home more prizes than ever before in September this year.

I think that today also proves that it’s never too soon to succeed. We are a young Academy - only six years old - and I am fortunate to have been with it every step of this exciting journey. You may even say that this is its very first year as a whole Academy, from year seven right up to the sixth form. Whilst some were always convinced that this idea could be realized, others had doubts. However, we were the first independent school to become an academy, and the fact that many more have now followed our example proves that we’ve been a success. So we are young, and a bit of an experiment, but no one can say that it has prevented us from aiming and achieving high, as the awards today have proven.

Even when you leave Belvedere you will still be young but don’t let that stop you - it hasn’t stopped Luciana. Some people will be more experienced, but you will have ambition and, after attending Belvedere, the right grades and, more importantly, the right approach to life, to achieve whatever you set your minds to.

I hope that you have been inspired today and have been reminded that it is only by being unafraid of starting something new or taking risks that you can really achieve.

Paula Wulff, Belvedere’s Head Girl 2013-14.

Belvedere makes going to school an experience worth remembering. It pushes you to try new things, and that might mean you may not succeed at first but with determination, hard work and time, you eventually will. All of the enrichments and extra-curricular activities offered serve to take you out of your comfort zone and will help you master new skills.

I remember when I came I was actually quite shy and quiet; I’d never have believed you if you’d told me that I’d be standing up here in six years time! Being Head Girl and representing a unique school such as Belvedere is a huge privilege and I feel that my time fulfilling this role will be over all too quickly.

It is clearly evident today that Belvedere will help you develop academically but where it also succeeds is in creating well rounded, articulate and ambitious young women. I believe that this is a real testament to the dedication of our wonderful teachers, as well as the hard work and commitment of all the girls.

You are all Belvedere girls and a Belvedere Girl can always be sure of leaving a lasting

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Belvedere Ezine | Winter Edition 2013

Fantastic new Sixth Form facilities Belvedere Sixth Form is the biggest it has ever been with over 220 students including 38 external students who joined in September.

With an ever-increasing Sixth Form and an expanding A-Level curriculum, it soon became apparent last year that more classrooms and study spaces were needed.

Belvedere was fortunate enough to secure almost half a million pounds worth of funding from the government to carry out work to increase the capacity of the Academy in order to house the increasing number of pupils on roll.

In January, the builders came in and took over what was the upper dining room, Year 12 common room and Sixth Form dining room and an unused corridor which housed lockers and a few comfy chairs. In addition, a compound was set up on part of the yard and foundations were laid for an extension to the dining room.

The builders worked extremely quickly and by Easter, the Academy was ready to unveil the new dining room which was a conservatory extension to the existing one. Everyone was pleased with the results and it brought a cafe feel to the dining room. It is a versatile space and has already been used for hosting gifted and talented events, parental meetings and form tutor training.

The Year 12 Head Girl Team was closely involved in planning the decor and furniture

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for their new common room. They chose a shocking pink colour for the walls which makes the room very bright! It contrasts well with the trendy grey furniture.

This space is used for them to relax in at break and lunch times. There are also kitchen facilities which they can use to make themselves a cup of tea or a piece of toast.

Furthermore, the Sixth Form also benefitted from a new study area where private, silent study can take place. The old common room was transformed into a tranquil and modern space with individual study booths and computers and it is always very busy with students working hard.

The final piece of work carried out to a previously unused part of the Academy was the creation of two new teaching spaces for Business Studies and Economics.

The transformation from a corridor to two brand new classrooms was unbelievable and Mr Lucas and Mrs Byrne are extremely happy with their new facilities.

Belvedere Ezine | Winter Edition 2013

SurviTech Enterprise Challenge

On 16th of October, we travelled to Aintree Racecourse with Mrs Mansfield. When we got there, we travelled up to the Princess Royal suite where we had our own table and we helped ourselves to bacon sandwiches and drinks. We then were told our schedule for the day and we had a talk on the company SurviTech which the day was sponsored by and makeit! The company who had organized the whole thing.

Our task was to come up with a piece of survival equipment and a pitch to go with it. We first decided amongst ourselves what parts we were to play to get it done, some of the jobs were, Quality Manager and Managing Director. We made a model of our survival product and decided what it was; ours was a shelter for nuclear attacks so you could get away in safety! We even invented our own nuclear proof material called Zylon! We created websites, business cards, a pitch, an instruction manual and a model. We had to build everything, with a budget!

After lunch, we had to go through a maze to get to some of the Survitech workers who gave us advice on how we could improve. We had lost some of our money in the maze and so from this, we got some back. We then went back to the room and continued on our product pitch.

We then practised our pitch to perfection in the short time we had to fit everything

in! Then, it was time for the pitches to the Dragons who were people from the company, who were the judges.

We watched Mrs Mansfield and her group do their (very funny) pitch in which they had made up a song! We watched many very good pitches and we had started to get worried. Then, it was our turn to pitch, we all took it in turns to say our things about the product and then Martha and Katy did a role play! it was very funny and everyone laughed. Then we went to sit down. After the pitches were finished, we had a break while the Dragons decided on a winner.

When the presentation time came, we were all very nervous! They read out some outstanding people in the competition, but none of us got called. They then read out who was in second place, it was Wirral Grammar School for Boys. Then, they read out first place it was... The Belvedere Academy! We couldn’t believe it, we had won! We were so happy and went up to receive our trophy and our vouchers! The day was over, we had our photos taken and then we all went home. We all received a goody bag and a voucher! We had a great day, it was so much fun and we had won!

It was an amazing experience for all of us!

Eve Turner, Year 9.

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Belvedere Ezine | Winter Edition 2013

Record numbers attend our Assessment Morning

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Belvedere Ezine | Winter Edition 2013

Despite the early Saturday start, huge queues snaked from the entrance of Belvidere Road all the way down to Princes Park gates for our Year 6 Assessment Morning. A record-breaking 560 Year 6 pupils attended Belvedere on Saturday October 5th hopeful that they will be one of our next cohort.

Early birds started queuing about 7.45am and by 8.30am the queue stretched from the front gates all along Belvidere Road to the Princes Park gates. Once again, these fantastic figures prove how popular the Academy is with families in Liverpool.

help all of our visitors feel at ease. Many of them couldn’t believe that it was a year since they had been sitting the entrance exam.

The girls were registered and by 9am were sitting their entrance exams. During break time the girls got to make new friends and chat with our current Year 7 girls about life as a Belvedere girl.

The morning seemed to go by very quickly and soon it was time for all of the mums and dads to come through and collect their daughter. Thank you all for attending and fingers crossed! We look forward to welcoming you next September as our new batch of ‘Belvedere Girls’!

Over 70 of our current Year 7 girls gave up their Saturday morning to come and

Mr McGarry.

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Belvedere Ezine | Winter Edition 2013

Cancer Research Conference The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Research Conference was a great experience for everyone who attended. The interactive aspects of it were what made the conference so successful. Rather than listening to speeches all day, they were just given as an introduction to what we would be doing.

Predator prey I really enjoyed the predator-prey design competition. We had to design a new ‘super predator’ that was inspired by the world’s deadliest creatures.

It could be anything that we imagined.

All the drawings were amazing and completely unique, no two were the same. We all labelled our ‘super-predator’ with its deadliest weapon features. The weapons of the strange creatures took into consideration many ferocious parts of different animals and some were so creative that they have never been seen before on this planet!

To win the competition was a marvellous experience and has encouraged me to try new things. But all the designs were breath taking and each and every girl was a winner!

Kayla Jones-Barbee, Year 7.

We started the day off hearing stories from those who have suffered from lung cancer and survived, or those closely related to someone who has died as a result of lung cancer. These speakers were inspired to get involved in lung cancer research and raise awareness for it. Lung cancer is a leading cause of deaths in the UK, yet has close to the least amount of funding.

For every person that dies of lung cancer in the UK, only about £400 are put into researching it, but for breast cancer that number is closer to £3000.

PE Dept News Badminton Key Stage 4 Team have been successful in reaching the county stages of the competition and will be competing on 7th February 2014 in St Helens. Good luck to Sophie Williams, Maira Malik, Louise Row and Charlotte Boukley.

Table Tennis Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 Teams competed against Bluecoat away at their school and the scores were 11-1 to Key Stage 4 and 9-2 to Key Stage 3. Well done

We were split into groups of 10 and assigned PhD researchers that were looking at new cures and treatments for lung cancer. The researcher we were assigned to found a drug that, when mixed with radiation therapy, decreases the tumor size and the growth rate, thus prolonging the life of the patient. This has been found to work on rats and will soon be tested on humans.

Our goal was to come up with ways to present this idea to the public, whether it be just for raising awareness or for fundraising purposes. We decided on a role play and an interactive activity for children and adults. It was presented to the judges as well as the rest of the people attending the conference and we received marvelous feedback. Overall, it was a great experience and we learned lots about lung cancer and the need to spread the word about it.

Aayesha Malik, Year 12.

to both teams who performed superbly on the night. Particular thanks should go to Hollie Furlong, Sophie Williams, Louise Row and Maira Malik (Key Stage 4 team) who have run the table tennis club and coached the Key Stage 3 team, Emily Craven, Emily Turner, Yasmin Al Zuhairi (Year 7) and Claudia Wong (Year 8). A fantastic achievement when some of the girls were actually competing against girls two years their senior.

Mrs McAnespy.

More Morocco dispatches Continuing our support for the Berber children of Morocco and helping equip schools for them, today we had another collection of items which included...

121 jumpers, 138 skirts, 73 blazers, 386 shirts, plus many more items of clothing.

Thank you girls, and parents, for your generous gesture.

Our girls helped pack the van, and wave off the parcels, as they set off on their journey to Morocco.

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Traffic watch In a bid to keep our girls safe from the hazards linked with illegally parked cars, Local Community Traffic Enforcement Officers have been patrolling Belvidere Road at peak times. Please park considerately at all times.

Belvedere Ezine | Winter Edition 2013

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Belvedere Ezine | Winter Edition 2013

Sporting success stories

Rebecca Tunney, our outstanding Year 10 gymnast, who last year represented team GB at the London Olympics, has continued her spectacular development by coming 5th in the floor final at the World Cup in Croatia and 17th in the World Championships all round final in Belgium, a truly outstanding achievement.

Congratulations also go out to Belvedere’s Yasmin Al-Zuhairi in Year 7, who has won numerous awards and competitions in Karate. Yasmin trains for Woolton/Garston Shotokan Karate Club and has achieved her Black Belt.

Gymnastic shots: Alan Edwards www.f2images.com

Yasmin reccently competed in the World Championships and was successfully awarded fifth place.

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Belvedere Ezine | Winter Edition 2013

Slavery Museum visit On the 21st of November, together with Ms Pryce, Mrs Batterton and Miss Fielding, Year 9 travelled to the International Slavery Museum in the Albert Dock.

The aim of this trip was to broaden our knowledge and raise our awareness of the Slave Trade.

We visited all three parts of the Slavery Museum: Life in West Africa, The Middle Passage and Legacy. Each of the sections told us more about that part of the Slave Trade. One of the most interesting parts of the visit was learning more about how Liverpool had a role in this awful time in history. Together with all these exhibits, there were many quotations written on the wall. Some of these quotes were quite moving and inspirational, “Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.”

Martin Luther King.

The museum truly gave us an insight into how different life was in the time of the Slave Trade, as well as highlighting just how bad it was. It was also clear that some never gave up on their fight for freedom and the fight to keep their identities. We all thoroughly enjoyed the day.

Megan Marley & Morgan Bunclark, Year 9.

Science - Competition of the 3D Cell Model When my Science teacher asked my class to make a 3D model of a cell for a competition, I got very excited, as I like making 3D models.

I decided to make a 3D model of an animal cell, instead of a specialized or plant cell.

I spent the weekend gathering the items I needed to make my 3D cell model, and putting it together. I used paint, styrofoam balls, colourful pipe cleaners, pom poms, diamond stickers, colourful foam, playdoh, plastic sheets, and finally wrapping paper.

It did take a long time to construct and I kept modifying my cell every time, however, I was pleased when I had finished it, and it was great fun to make.

It was nice to see the different, colourful, and creative 3D cell models produced by my class mates throughout the week.

A few weeks later, Mr Caulfield informed my class of the winner of the 3D Model Cell Competition. I couldn’t believe it when he announced that I had won the competition. I was very happy, especially when I was told it will be on display in one of the Science Labs.

By Yasmin Al-Zuhairi, Year 7.

Overall winner

Yasmin Al-Zuhairi

Best specialised cell model Safa Hussain Best model plant cell

Sara Beghdadi

Most detailed cell

Hannah Islam

Best model animal cell

Libby Griuosti

Most creative cell

Megan O’Neil

Most imaginative cell

Olivia Cuckson

Most skilfully made model

Grace Thompson

Most Imaginative Cell

Victoria Chellew

Year 12 Physicists attend Brian Cox Lecture During the evening of October 16th, a group of year 12 Physicists accompanied

by Mr Caulfield and in partnership with a small group of Physicists from Holly Lodge and St Julie’s attended the second annual lecture of the Science GRRL organisation in partnership with the Ogden Trust.

The Science GRRL exists to encourage and inspire girls into Science and Science related degrees and careers.

The lecture was an inspiring whistle stop tour into the world of particle Physics with a particular focus into the recent discovery of the Higgs Boson Particle

for which Professor Peter Higgs recently received the Nobel Prize.

Professor Brian Cox (recently on the Jonathan Ross Show) has an amazing ability to take complex ideas and make them accessible to everybody or at least have everybody feeling as if they have some understanding of them. The lecture hall in Manchester University was absolutely full to capacity and the evening was inspiring and gave a lot of insight to all present into this fascinating branch of modern Physics.

Mr Caulfield.

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Belvedere Ezine | Winter Edition 2013

Our new Young Lord Mayors Liverpool Schools’ Parliament is a registered organisation encouraging young people to become more aware of the issues facing their local and global communities.

Encouraged by the recent onslaught of bad press involving young people and the decisions that they make; students at Belvedere Academy have been given the opportunity to participate in Liverpool Schools’ Parliament alongside many other schools in Liverpool to discuss and debate issues that affect young people in their local communities.

Seventeen girls from Belvedere expressed an interest in Liverpool Schools’ Parliament whereby they will attend House meetings and events throughout the year. Before half term, all members of school were given the opportunity to run for Young Lord Mayor – a very prestigious role that involves working alongside the current Lord Mayor, Gary Millar and accompanying him to a variety of different events. 26 pupils from Liverpool schools are selected and the scheme gives them a taste for civic life.

The team is made up of 11 Junior Lord Mayors from primary schools, 12 Young Lord Mayors from secondary schools, and

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three Young Lord Mayors from special schools. They were chosen after being elected by the Schools’ Parliament. During half term the inauguration of Liverpool’s Young Lord Mayors took place at Liverpool Town Hall. Two Belvedere girls, Chloe Moran and Katie Lou-Holland were elected to this very prestigious role.

Katie spoke about her experience, “Having been elected as one of twelve Liverpool Young Lord Mayors, it is safe to say that this has been one of the most honourable and exciting times of my life. After attending Liverpool’s Schools’ Parliament for two consecutive years, I decided to run for the position of a Young Lord Mayor, and when I found out I was successfully voted for by other members of Schools’ Parliament, I was amazed and happy at the thought that I could be a spokesperson for the youth of Liverpool. I have always wanted to be given the opportunity to promote just how wonderful the young people of Liverpool are, and now I can! This is such a prestigious and significant role and I hope to grasp this opportunity with both hands and do what I can to make our city a better place!”

Chloe’s thoughts are, “This year, I have been elected as a Young Lord Mayor as part of Liverpool Schools’ Parliament, this means that for a month of the year I will

go to events with the Lord Mayor of Liverpool (Gary Millar). In a meeting it was explained that 12 Junior Lord Mayors would be elected from primary schools and 12 Young Lord Mayors from Senior schools around Liverpool.

In the next meeting I did a speech on why I should be elected as a Young Lord Mayor and was elected. I later went to a day and had to sign a piece of paper stating that I would be a Young Lord Mayor along with the actual Mayor, and then I had to read out a statement. This was all very nervewrecking but eventually I got to talk to all of the other people who had been elected and overall the day was very fun, and come September next year it will be my month as Young Lord Mayor!”

Belvedere Ezine | Winter Edition 2013

MFL week - full of activities

Modern Foreign Language week takes place at Belvedere every September.

Being a MFL specialist school this week is an important event in the hectic Belvedere calender.

This year’s event was organised by Mr McGovern and I caught up with him after the event to get his thoughts on the week’s events...

“I thought the week was very successful and all the girls who attended our different activities seemed to have a really good time.

I always enjoy organising the activities along with the rest of the MFL team and this year was no exception. It is also a fantastic excuse to not wear a shirt and tie. If I could wear my MFL polo tee shirt every day, I would.

‘Languages in the Belv community’ is such a great opportunity to celebrate all the different languages spoken in our school.

My favourite part was Mr Hill singing ‘Livin’ la vida loca’ by Ricky Martin. It was an extremely confident performance and he owned the stage.

The event managed to raise £130 for two very important charities, which we were very pleased about.

Next year, we will definitely continue with some of the events but it’s always fun to develop certain parts. I’d really like for all staff to dress up as a foreign, literary character for a big competition.”

Amelia Johnson, Year 8.

Karaoke

Flamenco

Karaoke was held in the gym for MFL week. The songs that were sung were all in Spanish. Teachers got up and sang in front of a big audience. About 10 Year 12 and 13 students got up on the stage and sang in a large group. Mr Hill, the Drama teacher, sang Livin’ la Vida Loca. Everybody really enjoyed his performance with most of the audience up singing and dancing along.

In MFL week one of the activities was flamenco dance lessons during PE. This took place on Friday with Miss Pozo, one of our MFL teachers.

Then the Year 7 students and anyone else that knew the dance got up and sang and danced along together and all filled the stage. After that there was an open mike for anyone that wanted to sing any of the songs. Everyone had a really good time and enjoyed the activity.

Emily Marshall, Year 8.

The flamenco is a traditional Spanish dance. The music usually includes classical guitar and sometimes castanets, which are handheld instruments which click. Miss Pozo taught everyone who took part the traditional Spanish dance moves! Miss Pozo told the classes that, “flamenco dancing is all about stamping and wrist movements.”

I enjoyed the class. It was very fun and I learnt a lot about the flamenco dance.

Drew Milne, Year 8.

Irish Dancing We took part in the Irish dancing enrichment on Monday 23rd September. Miss Cosgrove taught us several steps and a routine. The Enrichment was very fun and entertaining.

Miss Cosgrove, who is an amazing Irish Dancer, taught the year 7s the routine and we danced it together.

Miss Cosgrove has completed exams to become an Irish Dancing teacher. She has done semi-professional dancing when she was part of the Riverdance when they were doing their UK tour when she was still at school. She has been dancing since the age of two. She likes Irish Dancing because it’s obviously a very well known Irish sport and a lot of people when they grow up in Ireland either do Gaelic sports or a lot of the girls do Irish dancing.

It’s really popular in her home town.

Her favourite thing about Irish Dancing is meeting girls all over the world when she goes for big dancing competitions. She likes to meet loads of people from loads of countries and become lifelong friends with them.

Georgia McChrystal and Erin Burns, Year 8.

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Belvedere Ezine | Winter Edition 2013

Year 11 STEM Day On 22nd November the Science department arranged a special day for Year 11 with visiting speakers from a variety of academic background. Most were scientists but not all. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, so we also invited a mathematician, a computer scientist and an engineer to join us. Our guests told the girls about aspects of their work and also next steps if the girls would like to pursue a career in this field.

Year 11 students were given information about each of the sessions being delivered in advance of the day and they chose the sessions they would most like to attend.

Some students were spoiled for choice.

Solving Puzzles with Computers (Introduction to Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence) Many ‘problems’ that we want computers to solve can be thought of as puzzles. We saw how the same techniques can work for both puzzle games and real problems. We tried to solve some puzzles and problems and see what computers can do to make this easier for us. (Antony McCabe)

Maths and Magic I took several examples of things which are, at first sight, very surprising but which could be explained by means of some simple mathematics. Some of these involved playing cards, others just numbers. The session was interactive, with audience participation! (Professor Peter J Giblin, Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Liverpool)

Bionic Bodies Students learnt about how we design artificial body parts, concentrating on using the right materials. They were able to see how all the sciences, maths, technology and medicine are combined to make medical implants. (Victoria Kearns)

The battle of the sexes Women and men don’t always agree, but in animals the battles between males and females can be even more extreme. This talk explored some of the trickery, lies and violence that animals use to get their

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way. (Dr Tom Price, Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool)

What can you do with Physics?

This workshop explored the enormous scope of jobs available to physicists thanks to the analytical, logical and problemsolving skills they develop in their training.

It aimed to address some of the questions that students commonly have such as: What do Physicists do?

Real world Physics Future technologies The Benefits of Physics (Dr Paul Sapple, Department of Physics, University of Liverpool)

Do Physics A circus activity of around 15 stations.

Each one had a toy or short hands on activity for students to play with. Students were required to explain what they saw and why it happened. (Graham Perrin, IOP)

Introduction to Forensic Science Students had a taster session in forensic science and took away impressions of their own footwear! (Amanda Boddis, Liverpool John Moores University)

Illustrating Drug Design Using Molecular Modelling The workshop aimed to introduce molecular modelling through the idea that certain drugs fit into specific shapes of

a host protein (or enzyme). With this in mind, a purpose built protein molecule was constructed which allowed modelled traditional drugs (such as aspirin) to fit inside, highlighting the fact that only certain drugs bind to specific parts of a protein. The workshop informed the audience of how biologists, biochemists, chemists, medics, pharmacologists and research in academia and business work together in the search of making new therapies for illness and disease. (Dr S Rossington, Centre for Biochemistry, Drug Design and Cancer Research, School of Environment and Life Sciences, University of Salford)

Imaging the invisible In this session we discovered how it is possible to find and image sources of gamma rays, even though gamma-rays are invisible. Imaging radiation is important in cancer treatment, cleaning up sites of nuclear waste, studying brain damage and in discovering illegal nuclear activities.

Belvedere Ezine | Winter Edition 2013

A practical demonstration showed how gamma-rays can be detected and there was plenty of equipment to look at. We also discussed how to become a university physics researcher and what their typical day involves. (Dr Laura Harkness-Brennan, Research Associate, Department of Physics, University of Liverpool)

Why a STEM subject based career?

This workshop gave students a glimpse of the things they might do and enjoy if they embark on a career in a STEM related area.

(Terry Longworth, Retired Engineer) And what did the girls have to say about the day?

“On the STEM day my favourite activity was “Imagining the invisible” as I learnt a lot that I didn’t know about radioactivity and different rays that materials emit. I found it so interesting learning about the research Dr Harkness-Brennan does into the machines that we use in hospitals to detect and treat cancer. It has inspired me to decide to take Physics A-level and I want to become a researcher for cancer treatment when I’m older now.” Elizabeth Tebbs, Year 11.

“I took part in a Forensic workshop along with many more but Forensics was my favourite. During the workshop we learned about the causes of death and the effects that different deaths have on the body, including abuse, decay and burns.

I really enjoyed the workshop as we were actively a part in it and we got to take up the roles of a Forensic Scientist and the investigations they do everyday such as dusting

furniture to find fingerprints and making impressions of footwear. The workshop was a good insight into the future of Science, as she told us what courses we would need to apply to if we were interested in becoming any type of Scientist.”

Holly Furlong, Year 11.

“In my opinion the STEM day was a great opportunity and an insight into an array of scientific careers. Bionic Bodies was an interesting and exciting workshop which highlighted the many aspects of medical based careers.

We were able to handle a variety of materials used in the body for many different purposes. It was a fantastic day enjoyed by everyone.”

Eloise Morris, Year 11.

“Personally I think that the STEM day gave me a new insight into a vast amount of careers to do with Science.

My favourite workshop you do with Physics?’ was interesting and now have a better of careers available Sophie Williams, Year 11.

was ‘What can This workshop helpful and I understanding with Physics.”

“I was one of the lucky members of Year 11 to go to the “MATHS and MAGIC” on STEM DAY. We had a professor from Liverpool University telling us how magicians use maths in card tricks. He showed us the magic of the number nine. He was able to tell us the sneaky cheats of how you can write several numbers and pick one then he was able to tell me what I had removed.

It was remarkable.

The Professor has officially persuaded me that Maths will be the nucleus to my future career.”

Sophie Marsden, Year 11.

Belvedere’s Generous Giving After the Year 12 Head Girl Team assembly on the awful disaster in the Philippines, Mr Kennedy set the Academy a challenge to raise at least £2000 in one week for the appeal! Plans were soon underway as to how we could raise as much money as possible in such a short time. It was decided that we should hold an ‘own clothes day’ and ask students to donate money for the privilege of not wearing their uniform for a day.

The response from students was fantastic and in one day, over £2000 was raised which beat our initial target.

Furthermore, Lia Sung, a Year 9 student, who had tickets to see Will-I-Am in Manchester decided to hold a raffle to give the tickets away in order to raise even more money for the Philippines Appeal.

Lia demonstrated a selflessness and care for those less fortunate than herself and managed to raise nearly £100 from the raffle.

In total, Belvedere has raised a staggering £2550 for the Philippines Appeal.

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Belvedere Ezine | Winter Edition 2013

Several of the staff have recently put style aside for a month by growing some unsightly upper lip hair in aid of Movember.

Movember (the month formerly known as November) is a moustache growing charity event held during November each year

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that raises funds and awareness for men’s health. A variety of moustache styles have been carefully shaped and groomed over the last month with money being raised in the process. A grand total of £579.86 has been raised so far, which will be donated to The Teenage Cancer Trust and

Prostate Cancer UK. Well done to all those involved and thanks for your support and generosity.

Further donations can be made until 1st January 2014, visit http://www.justgiving. com/Stephen-Mason2

Belvedere Ezine | Winter Edition 2013

Maths challenge

Year 13 Further Mathematicians, Helen Davies and Paula Wulff, were put through their paces by Professor Peter J. Giblin from the University of Liverpool.

Professor Giblin came to help the girls answer some very difficult STEP questions.

The STEP exams are set by Cambridge University and are intended for those hoping to study Mathematics, and other Mathematical Sciences, at Cambridge and other leading British universities. The

Blood Brothers On Thursday 7th of November, the A Level Sociology students ventured out in the cold to the Empire Theatre for an evening of drama and Sociology combined in one.

‘Blood Brothers’ set in Liverpool in the 1960s, portrays the lives of Mickey and Eddie who were separated at birth and living completely different lives, who one day met not knowing they were twins and became ‘Blood Brothers’. Edward, or Eddie, was brought up in a wealthy middle class family and experienced a much better life

than his brother Mickey, who was raised in poverty with six other siblings in a small house who were all looked after by just their mother.

Eddie and Mickey were constantly meeting and then being torn away from each other’s lives due to rehousing, university, prison and marriage. In the end their biological mother reveals the truth that they are literally blood brothers. This revelation runs short, as the tragic play comes to an end when both brothers die. At this point, there wasn’t a dry eye in the theatre.

girls worked on some very interesting and challenging problems. In particular, the classification of cubics and the behaviour of rational functions, including the socalled Jacobian Invariant. Prof Giblin commented on how impressed he was by what the girls achieved in such a short space of time. In fact, he was so impressed that he will be making a return visit!

We should all be very proud of Helen and Paula. They were great representatives of our school.

already! The A Level sociologists would also like to thank Mrs Cavanagh and Miss Sagar for organising this trip and for enjoying the Blood Brother’s experience with us.

Sophie Yates, Year 12.

A brilliant play, and my favourite theatre production of all time I would really recommend it if you haven’t seen it

Q&A with MP Luciana Berger Luciana kindly spoke and presented awards at our recent Prize Giving Awards Cermony. I asked her what her thoughts and impressions of Belvedere Academy were and if they had changed since the ceremony...

“I had heard really great things about Belvedere Academy prior to the Prize Giving Awards Ceremony. When I met the students and teachers it was clear everything I’d been told was right – everyone was very friendly and warm.”

Thinking of our girls, what advice can you give to aspiring young women in the school now?

“Work hard – if you want to

do something, you can. The world is your oyster.”

Talking about school life, Luciana fondly remembers doing her Duke of Edinburgh expeditions. She feels school life has really helped her get to where she is today. “Definitely, my A-levels got me into university which provided me with so many opportunities and introduced me to politics”.

Luciana feels her strongest qualities are passion, perseverance and a smile. Her message for Belvedere girls is, “You can make a difference. We all matter. You are only constrained by your imagination.”

Mr Dykeaylen.

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Belvedere Ezine | Winter Edition 2013

Belvedere celebrates Children’s Book Week

‘Stormbreaker’ by Anthony Horowitz. Read by Miss Murphy.

‘Revolver’ by Marcus Sedgwick. Read by Miss Murphy.

‘The Ruby in the Smoke’ by Phillip Pullman. Read by Mrs Cox .

‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ by JK Rowling.

Read by Miss Keating.

‘The Hobbit’ by J.R.R Tolkien. Read by Mrs Marshall.

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Recently we celebrated Children’s Book Week on the 7th - 11th October in the library. Every lunch time, different books were read aloud for everyone to listen to.

Some of our teachers’ favourite books were on display. A lot of the books are still popular today. Miss Murphy thinks that reading impacts children very much as it provides both a comfort and an inspiration.

The books were read out loud by Miss Murphy the librarian and other teachers. The books that were read were ‘Stormbreaker’ by Anthony Horowitz, ‘Revolver’ by Marcus Sedgwick, and ‘The Ruby in the Smoke’ by Phillip Pullman, ‘Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone’ by J.K Rowling and ‘The Hobbit’ by J.R.R Tolkien.

Amelia Johnson, Year 8.

Miss Murphy’s favourite book when she was a child was ‘Matilda’ by Roald Dahl because Matilda was small with dark hair and loved reading just like Miss Murphy.

Miss Murphy’s parents were a lot nicer than Matilda’s though!

Belvedere Ezine | Winter Edition 2013

Justice Assembly On Monday 4th November we had an assembly on justice. We talked about two people who have made changes to people’s lives for the better.

The Taliban closed girls’ schools but Malala knew that this wasn’t right. She stood up and spoke against the Taliban again and again even though they didn’t like it.

Margaret Haywood is a nurse who agreed to go under cover and film footage of mistreated patients for the BBC documentary Panorama. Because of this she got taken off the nurses’ register and was told that her nursing career was over.

One day when she was coming home from school on the bus with her friends, the Taliban showed up and asked which one was Malala. They shot her in the face and luckily just missed her eye. She was rushed to hospital and the doctor was from Birmingham and offered Malala special treatment in England.

She appealed and spoke up for what she believed in and she succeeded. She was put back onto the nurses’ register and later in her career went on to win a very important nursing award. People now see her as a role model and she has helped ensure patients in hospitals are treated fairly.

Malala Yousafzai is from Pakistan where the Taliban frown upon girls’ education.

Still from BBC’s Panorama

Even though she suffered for her actions she still stood up for what she believed in and spoke against the Taliban. She is now known all over the world for her braveness in standing up for women’s rights.

Lauren Evans and Drew Milne, Year 8.

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Belvedere Ezine | Winter Edition 2013

Over 550 boxes, £500 raised

This year, like every year, Belvedere is involved with the shoe box appeal called Operation Christmas Child which is run by the charity Samaritan’s Purse.

Samaritan’s Purse has reached over 77 million children in 130 countries with Christmas gifts since 1990.

towards the charity. She said it makes her feel amazing and fantastic that all the girls have donated and contributed.

For you, one shoe box filled with simple gifts is nothing much, but to a child who doesn’t receive many gifts this reminds them that someone cares for them. Can’t you just picture all those broad smiles coming from underprivileged children when they receive their shoe box? Simple gifts or donations can make a huge difference to someone’s life.

She finds Samaritan’s Purse inspiring in what they do because they are a passionate organisation who cares about a lot of people, which is why Belvedere takes part.

The main reason that so many people contribute to charities such as Operation Christmas Child is because it is extremely important to help people around the world regardless of their background or religious beliefs.

We asked Miss Jones how does it make her feel that all pupils are contributing

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Every year the number of shoe boxes collected goes past our target and we previously got around 750. The target this year is really about the quality of what’s inside and getting £3 in each and every shoebox.

We handed over approximately 550 shoe boxes and lots of donation money so well done everyone involved!

Maryam Islam and Rebecca Morris, Year 8.

Belvedere Ezine | Winter Edition 2013

Our 6th formers were ‘made up’ The majority of our year 12 and 13 girls will be going for job and university interviews in the near future and so making sure that they look smart and professional is key to making a good impression.

This means that their makeup will need to look natural yet effective which is exactly what professional makeup artist Julie Mac focused on when giving a tutorial to the sixth form girls. I was fortunate enough to be the model for Julie’s makeup tutorial and the first thing she mentioned was how important it is to look after the skin and keep it healthy, as clear skin not only provides the best base for makeup but it also improves confidence.

www.juliemacmakeup.co.uk

Julie then went on to explain why it is important to either use moisturizer or primer so that makeup has something to keep it in place, as interviews can often be stressful and the last thing you want is your makeup to start smudging! Julie used many different products during her tutorial from Mac to Bobby Brown, yet because students don’t always have a lot

of money to spend on makeup she also told us about the best affordable brands on the high street like Rimmel and Maybeline.

The finished product definitely looked impressive as my skin looked flawless and my eye makeup was very simple yet effective, something that all the girls would be able to repeat themselves. All of the girls agreed that they would love for Julie to come back to do more makeup sessions as her professional opinion was very helpful and she gave some brilliant tips that girls can use when applying their own makeup.

Enrichment here at Belvedere is a unique programme which all girls should take full advantage. Some enrichments are designed to help you perform better in certain subjects, whilst others give you the chance to try something new, which is exactly what the makeup session did and it was certainly one of the best I have attended throughout my time here at Belvedere.

Sophie Mulligan, Year 13.

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Belvedere Ezine | Winter Edition 2013

A ‘write’ success story In many schools across Liverpool there are lots of youths who have a dream to become a writer or publicist. I was lucky enough to win a book review competition that will hopefully help me get one step closer to my goal.

The Friends of Garston Library were holding a competition under 19s to read a book and write a review explaining how you enjoyed it and what you thought of the author etc.

I chose to review ‘My Sister Jodie’ by Jaqueline Wilson. Wilson is one of my favourite authors and I really admire the way she writes. To be honest, I do read a lot of Jaqueline Wilson books and so I thought it was only fitting to write a review on one of my favourites.

It seemed like ages before I got the letter.

When I opened it and had read it through and realised I had won, I was a bit shell-

shocked because I’m the type of person who never wins anything but to achieve something as big as this was just amazing.

Members of my family and myself were invited to an award ceremony on the 17th October. When I found out that Erica Kemp, Deputy Lord Mayor of Liverpool would be presenting my award to me, I have to say was very nervous but my mum was over the moon. My award was a Waterstones voucher which I spent wisely on books by J.K Rowling and Cathy Cassidy.

Overall this experience has been extremely exciting and a little bit overwhelming, but I’m glad I did it because it’s an experience I’ll never forget. Hopefully this has inspired more budding writers to get involved with competitions and activities because you might find yourself one step closer to your dream.

Jenny Rigby, Year 8.

F2 advert

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Jennifer Rigby and her father along with Deputy Lord Mayor (Cllr Erica Kemp - in black) and Councillor Paula Keaveney.

ousands... th by en se be d ul co rt ve ad Your from teens to parents to grandparents ...

...it makes sense to advertise your business or event in the Belvedere magazine.

The Belvedere Academy magazine is published four times a year, in September, January, April and June. 1500 electronic copies are widely distributed among parents, primary schools, local businesses, nurseries and churches. Advertising with us in the magazine will reach a large target audience throughout Liverpool.

All revenue is put back into the production of the magazine.

GREAT RATES! The advertising rates and advert dimensions are: • PRIME POSITION FULL PAGE COLOUR ADVERTISEMENT ONLY £300 Position - back cover or on the inside front or back cover. 210mmx297mm.

• FULL INSIDE PAGE COLOUR ADVERTISEMENT ONLY £250 210mm x 297mm.

• 1/2 PAGE INSIDE PAGE COLOUR ADVERTISEMENT ONLY £250 Landscape 210mm x 148mm or Portrait 148mm x 210mm.

Low cost, high coverage, wide audience range.

It’s easy to book your space:

To place your advertisement, please contact Mr Peter Dykeaylen on 0151 727 1284. Advertisements should

be submitted electronically as either high resolution JPEG files or as PDF files, either on CD or emailed to p.dykeaylen@belvedereacademy.net

UPCOMING DATES FOR YOUR DIARY DEC OCT

19 JAN

7

JAN

15 JAN

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Autumn Term Ends.

Spring Term begins.

Y9 Options Evening, 4.30-6.00pm.

Cheques should be made payable to GDST Academy Trust. All copies and payments must be received one month before publication.

the team Congratulations to the News Team from Belvedere’s Press Club Enrichment run by Mr Dykeaylen and Miss Murphy: Rebecca Morris, Maryam Islam, Amelia Johnson, Georgia McChrystal, Erin Burns, Drew Milne, Lauren Evens,

Amanda Hawley, Zarwa Malik, Emily Marshall, Megan Johnson, Tia Brennan, Alex Kay.

Many thanks to teaching staff who have also contributed articles and photographs. For more news please visit www.belvedereacademy.net If you have any comments or suggestions for the magazine then please contact Mr Peter Dykeaylen: p.dykeaylen@belvedereacademy.net

University Fair, 4.00-6.00pm.

The Belvedere Academy, 17 Belvedere Road, Princes Park, Liverpool, L8 3TF. 0151 727 1284 E: info@belvedereacademy.net www.belvedereacademy.net

Belvedere Ezine | Winter Edition 2013

GCSE Graphics Showcase

A project that started with ink being dropped in to water and photographed... with great imagination, and lots of work, the designs evolved in to the professional looking ideas showcased here. Well done, girls!

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