Catmose College Newsletter 39

Connect Principal: Stuart Williams www.catmosecollege.com

A newsletter for parents, students and the local community

5 JULY 2012

ISSUE 39

Prom Photos

P2

Olympic Torch

P3

Europe Trips

P4

Kingswood 2012

P5

D of E Award

P5

Grade 1 Challenge P 6 Drama News

P7

Microsoft HQ

P8

World Sports Day P 10

A VERY FOND FAREWELL TO THE CLASS OF 2012 I was very proud to attend the Prom last Thursday evening. Year 11 students celebrated the end of their exams at Greetham Valley Golf Club & Conference Centre. The evening was fantastic, the weather was fine most of the night and the girls (and even the boys) looked stunning.

It was a wonderful evening for the students to celebrate the end of their time at Catmose College. Yet again the students excelled in the forms of transport they used to arrive; there were two old routemaster buses, a horse drawn carriage, several stretch limos and even the Leicester City Football Club team bus!

Speeches were made, the Prom King (Jaimin Mistry) and Queen (Alice Evans) were announced and the students partied into the night with a performance from James Barlow, a member of the music team.

It is always a time when I reflect on how the students have changed from the young, nervous year 7 students to the confident, able young people I saw at the Prom, about to embark on the next important phase of their lives. I am confident that whether they have chosen an FE College, a sixth form college or to start the first steps into employment, they will be successful. Catmose College, above all else, is about preparing students for the future.

I have wonderful memories of each of those students leaving us; those who have made me laugh, a few who caused me considerable worry but all have made me proud to be their Principal.

A key message to those leaving us and indeed, to all our current students, is to take the time to appreciate where you are and whom you are with. Let your friends and teachers know how much you have enjoyed being here and how much you appreciate their efforts. No one can predict where life will take you, but I hope that your experiences at Catmose College will give you the skills and values that will help you through the good times and the bad.

Stuart Williams

PAGE 1

PROM PHOTOS

PAGE 2

OLYMPIC TORCH RELAY Catmose College students lined the streets on Tuesday to cheer the Olympic flame as it travelled from Huntsmans Drive into Oakham. It was a chance of a lifetime opportunity to get a flavour of the Olympic spirit and the damp weather did not affect the excitement of students and staff as they waited for the torch to arrive. It was a fantastic experience for all involved and the media team were there to capture the event for Radiowaves and BBC Schools Report. http://www.bbc.co.uk/schoolreport/17857429 To see all the stories by our Radiowaves reporters please follow this link: https://www.radiowaves.co.uk/catmosecollege/c/sports

PAGE 3

EUROPE TRIPS PARIS In the early morning of Thursday 28 June we left Oakham and headed for Paris by Eurostar. We arrived in a warm and sunny Paris and after settling in to our hotel in the 10th arrondisement we began exploring straight away around Place des Vosges. Over the next few days we rode the metro and pounded the streets of Paris in search of authentic French experiences. Students completed language tasks around the city; such as buying their own lunch at the oldest outdoor food market in Paris, discovering key landmarks and even speaking to Parisians. Profiting from the lovely weather, we visited many of the city’s highlights; Monet and Van Gogh were critiqued in the the Musée d’Orsay and more art was created through caricatures at Sacre Coeur and Place du Tertre; at the Montparnasse Tower students were given chance to reflect on their séjour à Paris from 689 feet. The students were an asset to the College, praised for the way they conducted themselves, and a pleasure to take away.

Students: ‘’Once we arrived in Paris we visited Place des Vosges and then settled into our hotel rooms after going out for a meal.

Then we set off the next morning to go on a relaxing Seine river cruise, where we could spot key landmarks like the Eiffel Tower, Louvre museum and Notre Dame. Then during the next 3 days we visited the Musée d’Orsay, Sacre Coeur, Place du Tertre, Marché Maubert, Jardins de Luxembourg and the Montparnasse Tower. After seeing all these famous monuments we started our journey home on the Eurostar. We would like to thank Miss Weightman and Mr Hawkins for taking us on this amazing trip’’ By Mollie Evans, Keeley Wiggins and Hannah Wells.

“As soon as I got off the Eurostar I could feel the French atmosphere. My favourite part of the trip was seeing the lights on the Eiffel Tower” “Seeing the Eiffel Tower lit up at night was my favourite part of the French trip” “The trip to France was really good. I enjoyed every minute of it, from start to finish, it was a great experience to go through. I got to use my French and the locals and tourists were really nice and friendly. We saw the famous monuments of Paris, there were too many moments to choose a favourite one but some highlights for me were visiting the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Montparnasse Tower and the ‘padlock’ bridge. I would like to thank Miss Weightman for organising this trip and Mr Hawkins for coming along to enjoy this special educational trip” Jordan Williams Miss K Weightman

ANDULUCIA, SPAIN After an early start last Thursday, 27 students, accompanied by Mr Underwood, Mr Brown and I, arrived in hot and sunny Malaga. After a short trip down the road to Benalmadena the group checked into the hotel which provided us with the most ideal accommodation for the next 3 nights. As some of the hotel staff did not speak English, the students found themselves practicing their Spanish straight away. On one of the visits the students spent time in Paloma Park, which was home to emus, chickens, rabbits, ducks, turtles and also had the most amazing collection of cacti. I am confident in saying that the students all had an amazing time and with exemplary behaviour throughout, I was proud to take them.

Mrs Williams PAGE 4

KINGSWOOD TRIP We were two of the forty people who went to Kingswood last Friday. We had an amazing time taking part in a range of activities and mixing with people who we wouldn’t usually mix with. One of our favourite parts was the trip to the beach, we learnt about all the different coastal defences and we then had to build a town out of the sand, making it as immune as possible to erosion by using the coastal defences. The instructors then tested our towns by throwing buckets of water onto them, our team came joint 1st. We also really enjoyed the high ropes, many people conquered their fears and our teams were all really supportive. We had an incredible weekend and we would encourage anyone to go if they have the opportunity. We would like to say a big thank you to Ms Mcpeake, Mrs Skinner, Mr Kelly and Mr Wilson.

Anna Ward & Ellie Cameron

DUKE OF EDINBURGH BRONZE EXPEDITION Thirteen intrepid year 9 students from Catmose College successfully completed their DofE Bronze qualifying expeditions in the Belton-in-Rutland area recently.

They were challenged by the underfoot conditions, which turned minor slopes into mudslides and gently flowing streams into torrents! The students shared the weekend's adventures with young people from schools in Leicester City and Leicestershire, and deserve great credit for their achievements and their positive attitude, even when things did not go according to plan. Their assessor was very impressed by their excellent response to every challenge. Congratulations to all of them; it was a pleasure to work with both groups.

The boys' group, left to right : Joe Bent, Conor Nicoll, Nathaniel Cropper, Bob Case, George Grimes and Will Alexander. The mixed group ( left to right ) : Georgia Farr, James Noble, Sam Cliff, Niamh Topping, Lewis Clark, Annalise Jackson and John Muir.

Judith Wray and Charlie O'Neill

A6 Awards.

SCHOOL NURSING SERVICE The school nursing service remains open during the school holidays. If you wish to contact them please do so directly on: Melton – 01664 502505 Rutland – 01572 772013 For direct health questions please call NHS direct 0845 4647

PAGE 5

FUTURE CHEF After the huge success of last year, ‘Future Chef' will once again return to Catmose College for its second year. Anyone that is interested in taking part in the ‘Future Chef 2013’ competition should come to see me as soon as possible in Beeton for a letter.

The brief this year requires you to cook a hot main course for under £4.

The competition will be judged by an industry chef and the chosen candidate will then go on to represent the College at the regional final. At this stage you will make a main course and a dessert for two people for under £6.

The winning candidate will be given coaching for the regional final, and if you get through a further two rounds there are great prizes to be won. In addition, there is also a great opportunity to meet a number of famous chefs.

When numbers for the competition are finalised, a meeting for all candidates will take place where the time and date for the competition will be issued.

Miss Warren

GRADE ONE CHALLENGE On the 28 June 2012, six brave members of staff at Catmose College took on the ‘Grade 1 Music Challenge.’ The Grade 1 Challenge involved each member of staff choosing a musical instrument, which they had never played before, to learn the skills needed in order to take the Trinity College Grade 1 music examination.

What made this challenging was the short space of time that the staff had to learn a brand new instrument – in this case, it was just two months! One of the aspects that made this challenge special was the participation of students who accompanied the staff members. Isaac Costa and Hannah Pepper of year 8, Will Alexander of year 9 and Pippa Brown of year 11 executed excellent piano skills to accompany two of the three pieces which all staff members had to prepare.

Despite such a tight schedule and the sheer nerves, all staff members passed their grade 1 exam in Flute, Trumpet, Voice, Recorder and Cello with one member of staff achieving a pass mark, three achieving merits and two achieving distinctions. Staff involved were; J. Barlow, J. Brydon, N. Hillier, L. Mitchell, N. Ray and M. Sammy.

SUMMER SCHOOL Genesis Theatre Schools have been running unique Summer schools for 17 years in Northamptonshire and Rutland. In just 5 days children and teenagers with little confidence are transformed as Genesis challenges the levels of every child and teenager physically, vocally and creatively through Acting, Singing and Dance in a fun filled environment. A completely original musical is created and written specifically for the cast, guaranteeing everyone a part, with those who are more capable or experienced doing more solo work and the world premier is performed live on the final evening.

Summer schools this year are: Kingswood School, Corby July 23 to 27 Catmose College, Oakham August 6 to 10 The Masque, Kettering August 20 to 24 For details email info@saracharles.com tel: 01536 460928 www.genesis-theatre.com

PAGE 6

WE WILL ROCK YOU About 50 students went to London to see ’We Will Rock You’ in the West End. Next year our College musical will be ‘Schools will rock you’. We travelled from school at 2:45pm up to London and stopped at the services for a food break and then carried on. Once we arrived in London we split up in groups so we could shop for about half an hour before we went to see the show. While watching the show you really got an energetic atmosphere, throughout the performance they used amazing sets and good use of lighting, which really helped with the ‘rock’ affect. Every song which was performed, got people singing along and smiling and resulted in a standing ovation when it had finished. I really enjoyed the trip and cannot wait to perform this for our school musical.

Georgina Harries 10A We Will Rock You is a great modern musical set in the future. The special effects made it really enjoyable and the twist on the Queen songs made it especially interesting. I think that the atmosphere was amazing and all the great actors, singers and dancers made it a show to remember. When Catmose College perform this musical I think it will be a great show and anyone who is into musical theatre and performing should definitely be a part of it.

Elle Taylor 10A

PERFORMANCES - WEDNESDAY 4 JULY On Wednesday 4 July students from Catmose College celebrated their talent with an evening of performance for an audience of over 100 people. The evening started with year 7 performing their Mystery play. This was written and directed by Cara Smithson (Year 10). Year 7 auditioned for their roles and worked on this performance for two terms. This play was extremely well written and gave the opportunity for all of the students to shine. It was great to see the confidence and energy of these young actors and they created an effective performance in a short amount of time. The students involved in this performance were; Daniel Cousens, Ned Hatton, Jake Henderson, Ryan Henderson, Megan Horner, India Hunnikin, Theresa Kemp, Zac Kettle, Amy Lakin, Jenson Morse, Laura Muir, Nikisha Odedra, Robyn Quinn, Kane Rippin, Isabella Stanford, Evie Tempest, Lauryn Tomkinson, Liberty Wattam, Rosie Wilkinson and Annabel Willis.

Afterwards the students from the Performing Arts Tour showed their repertoire of performance. To start with the whole cast sung and played two choral pieces; ‘Sweet Child O Mine’ followed by ‘O Happy Day’. The evening continued with the students performing dance, music and drama. Sophie Worrall and Chloe Berridge sang ‘Keep Holding On’, Elle Taylor and Megan Spencer sang ‘Run’ and Francesca Kennard-Kettle performed a piano solo. One of the highlights of the evening was a dramatic ‘Olympic piece’ which began with the lighting of the Olympic flame, the three Olympic values; Respect, Excellence and Friendship followed by different sports including boxing, volleyball, swimming, javelin, horse jumping and running.

This was all done in mime with a mix of music creating the atmosphere of the piece.

The whole evening finished with ‘The Royal Stomp’ – a percussive rhythm piece involving brooms, chairs, bins, teacups, basketballs, body percussion and the royal family!

The students involved in the Performing Arts Tour are; Francesca Kennard-Kettle, Jasmine Palk-Huggins, Jacob Poole, Toby Proctor and Charlie Watt (Year 9), Nirvana Allis, Hannah Cooper, Lorenzo D’Angelo, Francesca Dunmore, Gianluca Floris, Spencer Green, Georgina Harries, Will Kennard-Kettle, Amber McAuliffe, Nikita Mistry, Grace Price, Sebastian Quinn and Cara Smithson, Megan Spencer, Poppy Spencer and Ellena Taylor (Year 10), Chloe Berridge, Laura Coddington, Matthew Cooper, Lauren Cotton, Sophie Duffin, Rebecca Hearn, Hannah Ives, Danny McKay, Lottie Munford, Alex Perry, Tara Petterson, Jordon Poole, Grace Tebbatt, Amy Thomson & Sophie Worrall (Year 11).

The 36 students depart for their tour to Lake Garda, Italy on Saturday 7 July for one week. As well as performing their work at different outdoor venues, they will also be involved in a Flash mob and visit several tourist attractions in the area.

Mrs Mitchell

PAGE 7

STUDENT DIGITAL LEADERS CONFERENCE - MICROSOFT HQ, On Monday 2 July 2012, Toby Proctor (Year 9), Talek Semmens (Year 8) and college librarian Ms Smith attended a Student Digital Leaders Conference at the Microsoft headquarters in Reading.

After an early start at Oakham station, we caught the train to Birmingham New Street and then Reading, where we caught a bus to the Microsoft Campus. We arrived at the campus at about 10:00am where we were welcomed by a presentation hosted by Mark Reynolds, Schools Business Manager of Microsoft UK. After explaining the agenda for the day, he passed the conference on to David Coplin, Director of the popular search engine ‘Bing’, who gave a lively and insightful presentation about Social Networking and the roles of Student Digital Leaders.

The idea of Student Digital Leaders is primarily based on Global empathy, linking students to other students all over the vast, worldwide network of schools and colleges. It is also based on common aspirations and objectives; the want and ability to achieve as stated in the catchphrase: ‘Ever tried, ever failed. Try again, fail again, and fail better.’

After the presentation, we split into our breakout groups and adjourned to our allocated breakout workshops. These sessions included things such as App Development, Kodu, EKKO project and careers in IT. We attended the App Development workshop led by Ben Nunney, in which we learned about what Apps are and how they are used. Ben said that we could contact him if we needed advice or wanted to ask any questions.

After the breakout session, we had lunch and were given a guided tour of the campus, during which both Toby and Talek and the rest of the group got stuck in a lift which stopped working due to a weight overload. Our tour guide contacted Security and it took around five minutes before the engineers made it to fix the lift. Consequently, we were required to take the stairs instead. As part of our tour, we saw the museum and saw each version of Windows, including Windows 1.01 which had nine floppy disks. Ms Smith saw the outside recreational area which included a lake, and a hut where staff and visitors could access drinks, ice creams and also rugs to sit on for outside meetings or just lunch.

After the guided tour ended, we congregated in the assembly room where we were once again split into groups for our second breakout session. This time, two sessions were attended. An Authenticity Websites session was attended by Toby, in which students evaluated the verification of certain websites and decided which websites were telling the truth.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the campus, a Career in IT session was attended by Talek, in which the students were introduced to different social media facilities, such as Skype and Lync.

Finally, we reassembled in the theatre and listened to Tony Parkin who claimed he was a Disruptive Nostalgist. He gave us a brief history of Student Digital Leaders and introduced the Student Digital Leaders from Lady Lumleys School who explained how they had embraced the principles of the SDL and were leading the use of ICT with their teachers and students. We watched the school project videos, including our video, before the leaders of each breakout zone awarded prizes for the most attentive or interested student. Talek was given a copy of Office professional Plus 2010 for his contribution to the session he attended.

We then caught the bus back to the train station but unfortunately, we missed the earliest train, but luckily, another train was due just 20 minutes later, giving us time to get a cup of coffee before catching the train back home.

Overall, it is in our opinion that a thoroughly enjoyable day was had by all and we think that Student Digital Leadership would open a lot of great opportunities at the College, for both students and staff.

By Talek Semmens and Toby Proctor

PAGE 8

SCHOOL UNIFORM Catmose College uniform can be purchased on Thursday 12 and Thursday 19 July from 11am to 4.30pm. Students are encouraged to visit on Thursday to be measured should they wish to order a College skirt. Order forms can also be collected from client services or can be found on the website.

Commencing Wednesday 25 July until Friday 31 August 2012, the uniform shop will be open each day, Monday to Friday from 10am to 4pm.

GCSE 2011 ART COLLECTION Art and Design students who took their GCSE in 2011, your work can now be collected from the Art and design department.

STUDENT WINS SPORTS PERSONALITY AWARD Year 8 Student Connor Boylan has recently won the prestigious award of Melton Junior Sports Personality of the Year. He was presented with the award on Thursday 28 June at Melton Mowbray Market. The theme of this year’s awards was ‘Inspiration’, there were twelve award opportunities.

Connor was in competition against rower Callum Jones and footballer Ashleigh Plumptre for the junior honour which is for under 13s.

Connor is a well rounded sportsman, he’s part of both a swimming and a tennis club as well as being part of the junior Leicester Tigers rugby team.

Connor was the 2011 champion at the Melton Swimming club’s annual Championships, after swimming to first place at breaststroke and butterfly and second place in the freestyle, backstroke and individual medley.

In rugby, Connor was nominated by Catmose College to go to the trials for the EPDG programme which is a major step towards developing into an elite player.

Players are then selected from this programme into the full Tigers Academy.

Connor’s achievements and hard work in sport led to his success in winning the award.

Connor had to do a speech on the night, which he felt went well, he’s obviously very proud of this fantastic achievement.

Connor’s goal is to become a professional rugby player, he’s definitely on the right path in achieving his dreams.

FA MARS JUST PLAY CENTRE LAUNCH, OAKHAM Date: Sunday 15 July 2012, Catmose Sports Centre From 11:00am: The Under 14s shadow squads of Leicester City academy and FDS (Football Development Schools) West Bromich Albion, take on local side Royce Rangers in a series of matches.

From 14:00pm: Newly signed up ‘Just Play’ players will be taking on Leicester City Legends in a 'one off' game to Launch the FA MARS 'JUST PLAY' centre. Leicester City Legends already confirmed - Steve Walsh, Muzzy Izzet, Carl Muggleton and Julian Joachim.

To watch the Legends, the cost for adult spectators will be £1 and free for under 16s. There will be opportunities for autographs and photographs with the players and to win a signed shirt.

The Coffee House will be open at Catmose Sports Centre from 10am-4pm so refreshments will be available

PAGE 9

WORLD SPORTS DAY On the 26 June we held our Lloyds World Sports Day at Catmose. This year we decided to celebrate the Olympics by offering primary students an opportunity to experience Olympic events delivered by qualified coaches.

Students from the primary schools were asked to design a ‘T’ shirt with an Olympic theme and the winner from Langham Primary school, Isabel Orchard, had her design printed on the shirts given to all participants. Each school had a different colour ‘T’ shirt and were then given a country to represent during the day. Flags were waved as they ran to their next event.

One hundred and eighty students from six primary schools in Rutland tried their hand at archery, cycling, softball, tennis and volleyball. The Lord Lieutenant of Rutland, Dr Lawrence Howard, and Mr Williams were shown around the activities by our Young Ambassadors, Will Kernard Kettle, Amber McAuliffe and Poppy Spencer. Fifteen sports leaders helped to deliver the events and ensure students arrived to the next one quickly and safely and a huge thanks for their help and support which ensured that the event was a great success.

Special thanks must also go to the coaches from British Cycling, Softball UK, England Volleyball, Oakham Tennis Club and Rutland Archery Club who delivered their activities in an inspiring and fun manner enjoyed by all.

Will Kernard Kettle said “It was and exciting and inspiring day which was enjoyed by all involved” Deborah Powell & Emily Stillman

DINGHY RACING Catmose student Elysia Dooley (8T) has been part of a successful dinghy racing team from Rutland Sailing Club. Since March this year she has taken part in two national events and a ‘world’ event, and in all three was the youngest competitor.

Elysia sailed in the Rutland Ladies team in the Ladies National Team Racing Championships and then in the mixed team for the UK Team Racing Championships. She was then part of a club team which took part in the Wilson Trophy, which is the world championships for team racing. In all three events the teams did very well although did not manage to bring home any medals. In team racing, teams of three boats with two people in each boat, sail against another team of three.

The winner is the team with the least points and is highly tactical.

In May, Elysia and a youth team from Rutland Sailing Club won the Eastern Region Championships of the British Schools Dinghy Racing Association. Membership of the association is for private schools but the Rutland team were allowed to enter as the competition took place at Rutland Sailing Club. The team won the event, beating Oakham School in the final, and have now been allowed to enter the National Championships as the only non-school team. This event will take place in July and the team are hoping to bring home to Rutland a trophy twice as big as the one they won in May, which is on display at the club.

Elysia Dooley 8T

PAGE 10

STEVENAGE LEISURE ACTIVITIES

PAGE 11

STEVENAGE LEISURE ACTIVITIES (CONTINUED)

PAGE 12