CSG March 2023 Newsletter

Camden School for Girls

Celebrating 150 years of education

CAMDEN SCHOOL FOR GIRLS

March 2023 Newsletter

October 2021 Newsletter

This Spring term has been awash with activity at the school. Although the warmer weather has been slow to arrive, it has been a pleasure to see the daffodils emerge on the school grounds and Camden streets adorned with spring blossom. You will see here from reading the newsletter that life at the school remains busy and active. I am delighted that I was able to meet so many families at the recent parents’ evenings. It has also been a pleasure to host events such as the Dance Show, the School Spring Concert, the Bake Off and a buzzing CASCA Quiz Night. Thank you for being so involved in the life of the school and for coming together as a community

I would like to wish all families and friends of the school a happy and joyful Easter break.

Kateryna Law, Headteacher

Onwards & Upwards

In this issue…

Main School News

Year 7 Periodic Table

Year 8 Trip to & Juliet & Sushi Making

Year 10 DT Trip to Disneyland Paris

CSG Lunchtime Speakers

CSG Dance Show

Sixth Form News

Bake Off

Sixth Form Speakers: Dr Tilly Scantlebury & Lily Dunn

Community News & Fundraising

CASCA Quiz Night Culture Day From the Archives

Year 7 Periodic Table

Everything on Earth is made from one or more of the 118 chemical elements in the periodic table. The version of the table we use today was first proposed in 1869 by the Russian chemist Dimitri Mendeleev, who wanted to illustrate recurring trends in the properties of the different elements. After learning about the particle model in the Autumn term, 7C are now finding out about atoms, elements and compounds. They were challenged to produce a poster on an element of their choice that had to be informative and interesting. Here are some of the fascinating things they discovered:

• Arsenic (As) - Although it’s a poison, we need a tiny amount. 0.00001% of our bodies is arsenic. (Eleanor)

• Carbon (C) - Almost a fifth of your body is carbon (Imaan)

• Chlorine (Cl) makes up 1.9% of the mass of our oceans and seas. (Hamida)

• Gold (Au) - All the gold that has been mined would fit into a 23m x 23m x 23m cube. (Esme)

• Krypton (Kr) is three times denser than air and is used in film projectors. (Bertina)

• Mercury (Hg) - The only metal that’s liquid at room temperature, Mercury was sometimes known as quicksilver. (Janet)

• Molybdenum (Mo) is an essential, trace mineral found in green beans, green peas and cucumber, among other things. (Lyza)

• Nickel (Ni) is used in batteries for hybrid vehicles, armour plating and coins. (Daphne)

• Nitrogen (N) is essential for all living organisms as it’s needed to make proteins. (Kalae)

• Oxygen (O) - The colour of oxygen is pale blue. (Kenya).

• Phosphorus (P) was used in matches for around sixty years and resulted in a horrific disease called phossy jaw. (Lorea)

• Potassium (K) burns with a lilac (yes, lilac) flame. (Vanessa)

• Silver (Ag) - It has the highest thermal conductivity of all the elements. (Amina)

• Xenon (Xe) - Because it is denser than air, xenon can be used to produce a deep-sounding voice (the opposite of helium). (Eva).

• Zinc (Zn) - Oysters contain more zinc per serving than any other food. (Becky)

Year 8 trip to ‘& Juliet’

On Wednesday 8 March, Year 8 students visited the Shaftesbury Theatre to see ‘& Juliet’. 8th March was also International Women’s Day so the performance felt fitting as it was all about empowering women, with Anne Hathaway, William Shakespeare’s wife, insisting on rewriting the show so that Juliet made choices for herself. Another great part of the musical was that the songs were quite modern, with music from the late 1990s, 2010s and more recent ones from 2022. Everyone enjoyed singing along to songs by the Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears and this made it an enjoyable and accessible experience.

Year 8 Sushi Making

This term Year 8 students have been mastering the art of sushi making. This focused practical task is part of a unit where students learn more about nutritionally balanced meals by researching the history and importance of the bento box in Japanese culture.

CSG Dance Show

The CSG Dance Show was an absolute success - the biggest one yet with over 300 attendees. There was a range of performances from all of Year 7, in addition to Dance Company and solo and small group acts. The performances ranged from Contemporary, Hip hop, street, ballet to Irish dancing! My favourite dance was Lose Control by Dance Company. There was an immense amount of energy and it was just amazing to see all of the dancers in sync! A big thank you to Amy (step into dance) for her support and choreography and Ms Hamilton for her determination for organising an incredible show! I’m sure many people watching enjoyed all the different acts and I can’t wait for the Dance Show next year!

Zoe 8M

Year 10 DT and Science Trip to Disneyland Paris

During half term Year 10 STEM students from Design and Technology and Triple Science went on a fantastic residential trip to Disneyland Paris. Whilst in Disneyland we attended seminars and workshops linked to our curriculum studies and learned about the main principles of rollercoasters, and how energy is transferred between different stores. We linked this to ideas about momentum and we had to design a rollercoaster using a ball bearing and plastic tubing.

Disneyland is well known for its rides and attractions but the fun didn’t end there as we were able to learn the intricacy of engineering each ride. We were shown how safety checks are carried out, the importance of variety and brand recognition. Through this we explored a new perspective of the park and even had the opportunity to design our own product for Disneyland. Overall, we learnt how engineering rides offers a wide range of benefits for both theme parks and riders by creating safe, thrilling, and unique experiences.

Mikayla 10R

On this trip we visited and learnt about designing attractions. We even got to visit some iconic sites in Paris. Something that impressed me about Disneyland was the attention to detail and the magical atmosphere it gave. We made new memories that will stick with us forever.

The hotel we stayed in was very beautiful and the rooms were very bright and cosy and we weren’t far away from our friends which was a plus! The communal areas were also stunning. We all made the most of it in each other’s rooms as we were so full of excitement! It was so much fun to explore Disney village and the shops and we had lots of time to keep on exploring the parks at Disneyland Resort!

Arsema 10M

Isabel 10R

CSG Culture Day

Culture Day took place on Friday 17th March With over 50 languages spoken at the school, Culture Day is an important celebration of our rich diversity and cultural heritage. Students enjoyed dressing up in cultural clothing, sampling food from all over the world and playing music from a wide range of countries. A tremendous £266 was raised for CARE International UK who work worldwide to save lives, defeat poverty and achieve social justice.

Sixth Form Speakers

This term we were joined by two former students Dr Tilly Scantlebury, Art Historian and Lecturer at The Courtauld and Lily Dunn, writer, lecturer and co-founder of London Lit Lab

Dr Tilly Scantlebury

Lola, Sixth Form Senior Prefect, writes;

Tilly began by speaking very highly of her time at Camden Sixth Form being part of the class of 2011, having a ‘rip-roaring’ time. Then she described how she found her love for Art History, which she took into her academic and professional career. It was shocking to hear that Camden had been one of only eight state schools in the country to offer this course. We heard about her time as a sixth form senior prefect as well as her involvement in The Sixth Sense magazine (she was delighted to hear that it’s still going strong) in which she had a column called ‘The Curly Column’ around sex, relationships, art and music. Despite having dyslexia, this was one of the many extra curriculars Tilly excelled in and really enjoyed.

When she went on to study Art History at university she reminded us of the importance of continuing what you love and what you’re inspired by. At the end of three years at uni she decided to continue with a masters degree and was awarded her doctorate for a thesis titled Being Together With Others: Queer American Art and the Family 1990-2020. The whole of her academic journey was driven by her introduction to History of Art in school and she remembers her time here with great fondness. Currently Tilly delivers outreach talks and workshops across the UK which aim to widen access to Art History and transform our relationship to art while also pursuing workshops around feminism and queer theory which have remained in her interest since being at Camden.

Overall this assembly felt like a very honest and inspiring conversation during which we learnt about pursuing our passions and remaining enthused through the difficulties within education and work. It was particularly influential for those studying Art or Art History who took interest in Tilly’s career path, but her fundamental message was relevant for us all.

Rosslyn, Sixth Form Senior Prefect writes:

Lily Dunn, ex-student of Camden School for Girls, is a writer, lecturer and co-founder of London Lit Lab and specifically came to talk to us about her bestselling biography book, Sins of My Father which was chosen as ‘Non-fiction book of the year 2022’ by The Guardian and The Spectator

She revealed to us a lot about her early life and how she grew up in Islington, not far from Camden, in a quite bohemian/hippy style family where both her parents were also writers and set up their own publishing business together. She also revealed to us the fact that one fateful day when she was 6 years old, her father decided to get a one-way flight to India to join a cult, leaving her mother, brother and herself behind. This cult was then later revealed to be very controversial and so Lily decided to write about not only the cult itself, but her life and growing up around such a significant trauma. She read out a few passages which were very engaging and vividly written.

Lily explained that her book is her attempt to revisit those times and piece together her experiences to help her make sense of the past and its effects on her.

Although this was a large part of the assembly, Lily’s main message was about how your past doesn't define your future. Even though her childhood situation caused her to be rebellious when it came to school, evident when her GCSE results came back with a lot of failed subjects, it just took one of her teachers to give her a second chance by allowing her to join the sixth form which eventually led to Lily turning her life around and leaving CSG with amazing A level results and a place at university to study English Literature. This really demonstrated to us that no matter what has happened to us before, if we have the determination and drive for success, we can achieve it.

Lily Dunn

CSG Lunchtime Speakers Programme

This term students enjoyed a fantastic talk by Stephanie Calman, ex CSG student and writer, creator of the Channel 4 sitcom Dressing for Breakfast Here is an account by Zena in Year 12 (pictured with Stephanie below),

Overall I found the talk about journalism highly captivating, and delivered sublimely by the author and journalist Stephanie Calman. Interestingly enough, to be a journalist you aren't required to have an English A-level, you don't even need to be a good writer. The press values the content and information of the writing, and the more condensed and shorter the article the better.

Furthermore, she said "writing is rewriting," but you need a first draft (no matter how terrible) in order to re-write it. Another point about journalism is one's ability to meet deadlines! Some people may thrive and find they do their best writing when under pressure (much like the students doing homework the night before it's due) Character-wise, to be a journalist you need to have initiative and enthusiasm, but most importantly you need to be curious and have that drive to find the truth. When speaking to people in interviews and in all your professional interactions with people, you need to be polite, smile, because you are a representative of The Press and the newspaper you work for.

Being resilient is hard, but in the face of rejection and denial, keep persevering and remember that Edison had to invent 1,200 light bulbs before he succeeded, and Dyson 5,000 till he invented the vacuum cleaner. Stephanie Calman also advised us to have hobbies, or interests outside of our school curriculum because in interviews they always ask you what hobbies you have.

Students also enjoyed a talk this term by Naoko Scintu, a London based celebrity make-up artist and ex teacher of make-up at CSG. Naoko attended Parliament Hill as a secondary school student where she found herself gravitating towards the arts. After Sixth Form she did an Art Foundation course and it soon became clear to her that she wanted to specialize in beauty. Naoko attended the London College of Fashion where she studied for 2 years. She then came to CSG where she started teaching the make-up course which had previously not been taught. It has since become very popular and is now a qualification and CSG are one of the few secondary schools to offer it as an options choice. From here, she got an agent and started working on photo shoots and that’s when Naoko’s career really began to take off. Naoko then took the audience through her very impressive portfolio which is online (https://www.thewallgroup.com/artist/naoko-scintu) The photographs range from red carpet looks to editorial and advertising work. Naoko has worked with numerous celebrities, actors and models such as Florence Pugh, Gemma Arteton & Emma Raducanu and other famous people as well as different brands including Chanel and Bulgari and with fashion designer

Emilia Wickstead

Naoko ended the talk with some brilliant career advice as follows:

• Never be late, in fact try to arrive a little early if possible.

• Never say a negative thing about anyone, always be positive.

• Don’t do anything halfheartedly even if it making a cup of tea for someone try to do it to your best ability.

• And lastly do something you really love, something that you are passionate about and it won’t feel like work at all!

CSG Sixth Form Bake Off

Sixth Form students held an exciting Bake Off event in the Main Hall during the evening of Tuesday 7 March There were 10 contestants, all pupils with a passion for baking who presented their cakes for the judges to taste. The remaining cake was then sold to the audience and CASCA ran a fantastic Prosecco bar. £233 was raised in total which is being donated to two brilliant charities our sixth form students have voted for, Refugee Point and EndFGM European Network. Congratulations to Skye and Daisy, our winners; their cake was both beautiful to look at and scrumptious tasting. Thanks to our judges Giles Coren and Will Hawkins, for their time, expertise and wit; the bakers for their dedication and passion; Kossoffs Bakery and Owl Bookshop for their prize donations, all the students and parents who attended and gave so generously, and the sixth form senior prefect team for organising the event.

CASCA Quiz Night

Around 200 people packed the school hall on Thursday 23 March to battle their wits against 26 quiz teams. Written and hosted by CSG parent volunteers Kathy Neal and Nick Grosso, the highlight was definitely the hat making competition! We also included a live auction this year with hosts and parent volunteers Giles and Esther Coren raising £4,350 on the night and a further £3,500 in the online auction.

Huge thanks to everyone who donated auction lots and who placed winning bids. With ticket sales and bar as well we raised well over £11,000. And we were all delighted that the Teachers’ team won!

From the CSG Archives

Art has always enjoyed a prominent role at Camden School for Girls. The father of our founder Frances Mary Buss, Robert William Buss, was an artist himself who illustrated for Dickens. He drafted a book on visual art, written to prepare young women for university entrance exams. One of R W Buss’s friends was John Everett Millais who was a regular visitor to the school.

Below we can see a drawing class from 1948. This was from when the school was based at Prince of Wales Road.

1948 Art Class

Nowadays students enjoy Photography, History of Art & Pottery in addition to Art and a number of our students go on to Art Foundation courses at the major art schools. Following this they take up places on degree courses in areas such as graphics, fashion, illustration, fine art, printed and woven textiles and stage design.

Did you know?

Until the late 1970s, the current art room was actually used as a gym (pictured below left)

Camden School for Girls

March 2023 Newsletter

We would like to wish all our students and families relaxing Easter holiday! We look forward to seeing you back on Monday 17 April.

Important dates for your diary

Monday 17 April Start of the Summer Term

Monday 1 May Bank Holiday

Thursday 4 May Sixth Form Leavers Ball

Monday 8 May Bank Holiday (King's coronation)

March

Friday 12 May Year 11 Leavers Lunch

Friday 12 May Last day for Year 11 and Year 13 students

Monday 15 May GCSE and A Level exams start

Tuesday 16 May CASCA meeting & AGM – all parents invited

Friday 26 May Last day of Summer term (1st half)

Support the school

An enormous thank you for all your donations. We could not make all these events and opportunities happen without your support. Camden School for Girls continues to face significant and ongoing cuts to its funding. As a voluntary aided school, we rely on your support to keep the high-quality provision at the school. If you wish to support the school we now have a very easy to use CAFdonate page available here or you can scan the QR code.

We would like to thank all families for their ongoing support of the school and wish you a relaxing Easter holiday!