Eltham Hill School - EHS News February 2017

The Newsletter of Eltham Hill School & Post 16

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EHS

NEWS

Front cover art by: Thanika Samra,Kayleigh Abbott and Calista Darsono (Year 9)

Excellence, Happiness and Success

Dear All What outstanding performances of the musical Oliver before the half term!

I know I shared the huge pride I felt, with the audiences, as our amazingly talented performers shone in all directions....just like the stars! Hours of rehearsals and commitment to achieving excellence went into this musical and I not only want to congratulate all the students involved but also Ms Neele, Ms Sewell, Ms Mott and Ms Roberts for giving them the opportunity to shine.

Our first ski trip to New York and Vermont took off for the February half term. Throughout this newsletter, you will read of many other fantastic educational opportunities EHS has offered this half term and all the competitions won and nearly won! It is fantastic to see so many students involved in a range of activities.

Looking forward to next half term, we will celebrate Science week across the school with speakers from a range of careers and lots of exciting experiments and investigations.

As part of our commitment to pursuit of equality, the school is holding an LGBT week in February and our annual Women's Day Conference will take place on the 8th March, around the theme of 'taking control and making a difference'.

In April, nine Year 12 students will set sail for Portugal on the Tall Ships on the journey of a lifetime whilst others head to Spain on a Spanish exchange trip. Life at Eltham Hill continues to be enriching.

All the very best.

Madeleine Griffin Principal

World Aids Day Fundraising 8S raised money for World Aids Day over a two week period. They raised £64.56. Good job girls!

The money has been given to the National Aids Trust, which focuses on "leaving HIV stigma firmly in the past". One of the best weapons in the fight against stigma and misinformation is education. On 8S’s achievement, the National Aids Trust commented, “showing support and raising awareness in your school makes a huge impact in shaping a new generation’s attitudes to HIV”.

8S also did an assembly to all Year 8 forms informing them that HIV (Human Immune Virus) isn’t a disease, but a virus, which causes the disease AIDS (Auto Immune Deficiency). HIV is caused by unprotected sexual intercourse, sharing infected needles and blood transfusions with infected blood. AIDS is not transmitted by hugs and kisses.

Google Expeditions Google Expeditions came to Eltham Hill to give our students the chance to experience Virtual Reality and visit far off places from the comfort of their classroom. Expeditions allows teachers to take their classes on virtual field trips, immersing students in experiences that bring abstract concepts to life and provides a deeper understanding of the world beyond the classroom.

The VR experiences used Google Cardboard and a Phone. Google Cardboard is a virtual reality viewer made almost entirely of actual cardboard.

Cardboard allows anyone with a modern smartphone to experience virtual reality.

The trips are collections of virtual reality panoramas — 360° photo spheres, 3D images and video, ambient sounds — annotated with details, points of interest, and questions that make them easy to integrate into the curriculum already used in schools.

Students were able to explore Dhaka, the Great Wall of China, Rio de Janeiro and biological systems such as the Circulatory and Respiratory system.

To find out more visit: https://www.google.co.uk/edu/expeditions/

Geography Taster Day at Cambridge Uni On the 26th January, Kesha (10H) and I, were given the opportunity to go to Girton College, University of Cambridge and take part in a Geography taster day. We had an early start and met Ms Dadson at Victoria Station at 8.00am. We got off at Cambridge but were shocked to discover that the buses to Girton College only came every 25 minutes!

We were warmly welcomed and given our timetable for the day and had refreshments provided for us in the main library. After the refreshments, we were give an introduction to the college and a quick quiz about the college where we made educated guesses.

At 11:00, we had an interactive game session with Dr Harriet Allen, Girton Fellow. Here we learned how fish, which are at the base of our food chain, are a source of living and tradition around the world. In this session, we discussed the dangers of over-fishing and the effects it has on the human population. We looked at a real life example of Lake Antogo in Mali. Once a year the locals gather around the lake and for exactly 15 minutes, they fish whatever and as many fish as possible. We replicated this tradition using kidney beans. Students were in teams of 5 and a container with 200g of kidney beans was placed in the middle. The container represented the lake, the kidney beans the fish, and our spoons as the fishing tool. We were given 15 seconds to get as many beans as we could in our plastic cups. After five tries and a room full of flying kidney beans we realised that no matter how many times we repopulated the fish, the population still went down.

After our delicious buffet lunch, we learnt about “The Geography of Food” with Mr Sam Strong, Girton Fellow. In this session, we questioned why we live in a world where both obesity and starvation both exist. We learnt the importance of food distribution and how the “rich countries” still contain starving homeless people.

We discussed possible solutions for this on-going problem by suggesting ideas such as food aid and mass distribution.

Later, we had a Q and A with the current undergrads in Girton College. We asked questions about their dorm sizes and which society they joined. This gave us an insight into the life of a student at Girton College. We went over the necessary qualifications needed to get into Cambridge University and the future that studying Geography could hold for us. After this session, we finished our taster day at 4:00 pm.

This event helped me understand the wider concept of Geography and the different paths it can lead us to. We learned how much Geography is involved in our daily life and how much we influence it.

Priyanka 10L

Tall Ships

Congratulations to Beverley, Harry, Beatrice, Kieran, Marina, Jing Jing, Lauryn, Genesis (Year 12) and Hannah (Year 13) for being selected to participate in the Royal Borough of Greenwich’s Tall Ship Programme.

On 15th April 2017 approximately 30 sailing ships will sail from Greenwich on a transatlantic race to Quebec in Canada, via Portugal, Bermuda and the USA, as part of the Tall Ships Festival 2017.

The students will participate on the first leg of the voyage, from Greenwich to Sines in Portugal. The Sail Trainee Scheme is designed to develop confidence, communication and employability skills. Sail Trainees are trainee crew taken on by ships to learn how to sail by working alongside the regular crew. On board activities might include learning to navigate by the stars and steering the ship under sail. Celebratory activities are also planned and should include a beach party on arrival in Portugal.

W i n t e r

C o n c e r t

As the first term of the 2016/17 School year drew to a close, parents, staff and students were treated to an exceptional Winter Concert. Filled with musical talent, excellent acting and the occasional dab, the Winter Concert was an enjoyable way to bring in the Christmas season.

The concert started with the choir’s rendition of ‘Revolting Children’ from the 'Matilda' musical. After, we were treated to the first scene of The Wizard of Eltoz.

Written by the English Department’s very own Mr Luke. It told the tale of a young girl who woke up in a very strange place worried she would be late for school at Eltham Hill.

Along the way she meets various characters; meme-referencing munchkins, an apathetic tin woman, a social-media-obsessed scarecrow and a courageous lion. As the narrative weaved through the musical performance the rag-tag group eventually made it to the Wizard of Eltoz’s castle. The Wizard, suspiciously resembling Head Girl Paloma Pearson, granted the girl and her friends their wishes.

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Many of the musical performers could be considered old professionals at this point.

Lauren Rayner and Neave Brown performed together again, first seen at the Year 7 Talent Show along with Collette Nyanduwa, Olivia Cumming, Chloe Hawkin and Kenya GoumidiBrown. The flute choir performed ‘Magnificent Seven’ and the various Steel Pan Bands performed songs including the ‘Ghostbusters Theme’ and ‘Santa Baby’. The Winter Concert saw the debut of the Ukelele/Guitar Band who performed ‘Jingle Bells’ – giving it a Hawaiian twist. Sienna Melella, who joined the school in September, performed an amazing version of ‘Half a World Away’ originally by Oasis. Concertgoers were treated to many aural delights.

Much thanks to all those involved in the performances and organisation of the Winter Concert for putting together an amazing event.

O l i v e r !

This year's school production was 'Oliver!' with songs and lyrics by Lionel Bart - the musical itself based on the classic novel 'Oliver Twist' by Charles Dickens. Students and staff worked extremely hard to put on a total of 5 magnificent performances with two casts!

Some of the cast wrote about their experiences: Performing the part of the Artful Dodger required a lot of commitment, but in my opinion it was all worth it. The whole cast worked so hard, including the teachers, and the outcome was amazing.

Kenya Goumidi-Brown 8A My favourite part about being in the cast of 'Oliver!' was that I got to make lots of new friends from different year groups and we were like a big family. It was so much fun and I'm really sad that it's over, but I can't wait until the next production so that we can do it all again!

Jeylan Djemal 7G I have really enjoyed participating in the school production 'Oliver!'. We rehearsed every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday for over three months, including a Saturday! The cast was friendly and rehearsals had a very welcoming atmosphere; the play brought many different people together.

I liked working on the group scenes as everyone could join in and there were lots of laughs. Performing was really enjoyable, we had lots of props and costumes which were fun to use. In total we did 5 performances; I really enjoyed when people made small mistakes but managed to cover it up as it gave us cause for a good laugh! We had to really focus, but on the whole the performances were exhilarating and went really well. We finished our performances with an encore of 'Consider Yourself' which left us with a wonderful celebratory feeling. By the end of the musical, the Oliver cast had become one big family.

Ebony Gerschwitz 8A

Recordings from the performances can be heard on our website: elthamhill.com

Royal Navy Workshops 10 students from years 10 & 11 were given the opportunity to attend four gripping workshops at the Royal Navy base in London. The workshops will conclude with a fifth and final unique immersive experience of real Royal Navy life with an overnight stay on the HMS Bristol in Portsmouth!

Return to EHS

The Ratings Compass Challenge has been designed to bring leadership and teamwork skills to the fore.

The programme has a strong focus on careers advice for students, opening up the opportunities that lie within the Royal Navy. It sets out to equip and develop the students’ core employability skills, enabling them to flourish in their next steps. Part of the programme includes an inspirational talk from a Royal Navy Officer who will give the students an insight on what their day to day work involves, and how they got there.

You can find out more information about the Royal Navy at their website: http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/

It was a delight to welcome back alumni Ann Shaw to the school for a visit. Ann left Eltham Hill in 1955!

KS4 Roller Disco

Trip to Calais

On Thursday 15th December, a group of students from years 10 and 11 GCSE groups visited a French school.

Students had lots of festive fun at KS4’s roller disco! As soon as everyone had their skates on, the lights went off and the music started to play. Groups of friends held onto each other for support while others skated like they were in the Olympics. One thing was for sure, everyone seemed to have fun. After a night full of throwing some disco moves and games (including the mannequin challenge), the students went home exhausted but with no injuries!

It was a fun night for all and I would like to thank the pastoral managers, Ms Williamson, Ms Colombeau and Ms Mullins for making this event happen.

Teniola Alakija 10H

We set off at 5.30am and arrived at the Lycée Sophie Bertholet in Calais at around 10.15 local time. The morning was spent watching a music lesson, which ended in a performance for us by the school’s best singers and musicians.

Eltham Hill students made lots of new French friends and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Before catching the ferry home, we managed a quick visit to the Cité de l’Europe for some shopping!

Mrs McDermott

Futurechef Local Finals Year 9 students, Lily, Kiara and Courtney took part in Springboard’s Futurechef Local finals. For the MasterChef style event the girls had to cook a two course meal for two people (hot main course and a hot or cold dessert) with a £7 budget.

Lily made Spaghetti Bolognaise and Banana Pizza, Kiara made Jerk Chicken and Bakewell tart, and Countney made Chickpea Curry and Chocolate tart. The girls did a fantastic job!

Eltham Hill School is part of the dyslexic-friendly schools network. Olivia wrote the following poem about her experience with, and feelings about dyslexia. The poem has been shared by Dyslexia Action on their social media accounts.

Dyslexia Action is a national charity that aims to improve the lives of those with dyslexia and literacy difficulties.

My Struggle Olivia 7E Scrambled words can upset me, But I push on like a bullet.

Words are like pool balls spread randomly on a table, Bouncing around in my brain.

The thought of failure makes me try harder, Even when I know I might not succeed.

Classmates don’t understand my daily struggle, Words vanish on the board before my eyes.

I get frustrated with my brain when I can’t figure things out But I won’t let dyslexia rule me, there is more to me than this.

The Woman in Black What a frightening experience! Year 8 recently went to the Fortune Theatre, in Covent Garden, to see ‘The Woman in Black’. We read the book, we watched the film, and so when we walked into the theatre we didn’t think the show would be any scarier but we were wrong!

‘The Woman in Black’ is about Arthur Kipps who is haunted by sinister events that happened to him 30 years earlier. To stop his nightmare, he hires an actor to help him tell his story for an invited audience.

As the show went on, the atmosphere was so charged that on more than one occasion the entire audience screamed in terror. The spooky vibe of the theatre and the suspense was extremely effective: swirling fog, a creaking rocking chair, a locked door and the WOMAN IN BLACK! Overall, it was a real thrill of horror and a very different show compared to any other we’ve seen. It was a petrifying experience and we would suggest it only if you like being scared out of your wits!

Ellie, Baljinder and Galya (8G)

Wicked Trip On the 11th of January I went to see Wicked at the Apollo Theatre in Central London. I was thrilled as it was my first time seeing the musical! The theatre was stunning, it was decorated to fit the theme of Wicked and everything looked exciting and realistic. The show itself was brilliant, the characters were interesting and the singing was incredible. This was helpful for me to see as I am currently rehearsing for the school production of ‘Oliver!’ and it made me think of ways in which I could improve my own performance. As I also do singing lessons in school and would like to take GCSE Music next year, the show was a great inspiration for me to try even harder so that I can be in a show like Wicked one day!

Migle (8A)

Netball Champions Eltham Hill Year 11 Netball Team are the Greenwich School Champions for the second year in a row.

The tournament began with a match against the Year 10 team of Blackheath High School. We played hard and fast, our usual tactics, and managed to win 6-2. Our next match was against John Roan and because of the win we just had, we decided to keep the same type of play - quick passes and dodges. The team has good speed which was a great advantage and we won 5-0 in the end.

The third match was against our toughest opponents; the Year 11 team of Blackheath High School. We knew we could not use our usual tactics because their team has a similar good speed to ours as we learned from previous experiences. With a quick team talk before the match, we decided to take it a bit slower and make sure

that we had good quality passes and defending because their defence was very good. The match was very heated and we had to work hard to keep up with their players. In the end, we were relieved with a win of 5-3; the tightest score of all our matches! We ended the tournament with a match against our own Year 10's! The match was interesting as we have similar tactics and skills to them as we share the same amazing coach, Ms Clarkson. The final score of that match was 8-3, in favour of us. Overall, we were the winners of the tournament and it was extremely fantastic to receive medals and the trophy.

Sammy (Centre & Captain)

Sports Updates Handball The handball teams travelled to Bexleyheath Academy  for their second round London Youth games matches.

The U/15 team had a very exciting match against Bexleyheath Academy. The girls played brilliantly and displayed excellent skill and determination. The match was very tense throughout with both teams displaying excellent attacking and defensive play.

The final score was 8-6 to Bexleyheath Academy but I know the team will continue to train hard and come back even stronger next year.

The U/13 team dominated their match with some excellent play and fantastic team work. The team were excellent in attack with Anna (8H) having a huge impact on the game, scoring an impressive 14 goals. The final score was 15-3 to Eltham hill.

The team now go on to play in the finals at the Copper box arena at the Olympic Park on 14th March. This is a fantastic achievement and we are all very proud and excited to have the opportunity to play at the Olympic Venue.

Mrs Jones

Football

Basketball

Congratulations to the Year 7 Football Team who beat Pendergast School 5-0 in the Quarter Finals of the Blackheath Cup. The girls played some excellent Football and worked together as a team to secure victory. They now progress to the Semi Final where they will play Greenwich Free School.

The KS4 basketball team won the second round of the London Youth Games against Sydenham School. The score was 19-16 and the girls played exceptionally well. Player of the match was Jenna Lowndes 10T.

The player of the match was Olivia Holloway who scored four great goals!

Congratulations!

Mrs Jones

Miss Howes

Alumni Profiles: Anxhelona Anxhelona left Eltham Hill Post 16 in the Summer of 2016 to go onto university.

She joined Eltham Hill in Year 7 and went all the way through the school, selecting the IB Diploma Programme as her pathway at Post 16. At the 2016 Celebration of Achievement, Anxhelona was a recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Post 16 Award. She has written to us with her experiences of her first term at university: I am currently studying Modern Languages (German and Russian) at UCL. My first term at University was great, there were so many Freshers Fairs to go to. At the fairs you could get valuable information about the university, join clubs and try out free food (which is of course very important!). I have joined a couple of clubs, the German one, of course allows you to speak with other German speaking people in your free time, and Fencing! Last term, I took a course that had so much to do with TOK (Theory of Knowledge, a philosophy-like module that is done as part of the IB). Being an IB student meant that I was able to answer the weird and wonderful questions! Not just that, but writing essays is the norm for my course and doing the IB prepared me well for this! Being an Eltham Hill student helped me become confident over the years, and I have realised that confidence is really important at university, you need to be certain with yourself if you want your voice to be heard!

Enrichment Afternoons Sixth Formers have been spending their Wednesday afternoons taking part in various enrichment activities such as Yoga, First Aid, Bootcamp and Money Works.  Money Works is a four-part programme for young adults moving into independent living to confront their money worries. The First Aid course is run by St John's Ambulance and gives students  life-saving tips and advice.

The yoga sessions allow students to take a break to find peace and relaxation, while the Boot Camp sessions pushes students to their physical limits!

Established in 1826 as London University by founders inspired by the radical ideas of Jeremy Bentham, UCL was the first university institution to be established in London, and the first in England to be entirely secular and to admit students regardless of their religion.

Red Hand Day Students involved in the project were: Aiysha (7E), Jada (7L), Aaliyah (7M), Sia (7G), Chanelle (7G) Deborah (7G), Kenaa (7G), Safiyah (7G) and Fatoumata (7G)

Red Hand Day or International Day against the Use of Child Soldiers, is an annual commemoration day on which pleas are made to political leaders and events are staged around the world to draw attention to the fates of child soldiers, children who are forced to serve as soldiers in wars and armed conflicts.

Students were selected from Year 7 to work on a project with the aim of teaching this sensitive topic to the whole of Year 7 in assembly using the creative arts. The girls were chosen due to their high calibre work and creativity by Ms Sully during Drama. The students discussed and created freeze frames to define what conflict and peace meant, discovered which country were the most and least peaceful in regards to conflicts and war and how war can affect children. The students also looked at child soldiers and were very upset to know this was happening across the world and were determined to produce an outstanding assembly to the year group and to remind them to be how grateful for the things that they have, especially family.

The girls produced a thought provoking assembly which included: drama sketches, poems, monologues, film and dance.

All the girls were very mature and conscientious about showing respect the children across the globe either affected by war or conflicts and those used in war, as Soldiers, wives, cooks, messengers and slaves; many of whom have been kidnapped from their families.

Year 7 Interform The competition is on. Following a highly successful festive singing interform competition in December, with 7S claiming victory in first place, many forms are demonstrating their entrepreneurial skills and business acumen by hosting a series of bake, sweets and stationary sales at break times to raise money for their props and costumes for their next Interform which has a musical theme. Witnessing their sale tactics, resisting and standing firm to any bargaining from older students was impressive. Forms have made in excess of £50.00, which is astonishing!

Chinese New Year Project 9 year 7 students took part in Chinese New Year Project. The majority of participants were of Chinese descent and were very enthusiastic about teaching the whole of Year 7 their culture and the reasons why Chinese New Year is celebrated.

The New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, is marked by a lunar calendar, so the date changes from year to year. Each Chinese New Year is represented by one of 12 animals from the Chinese zodiac. This year is the Year of the Rooster.

Throughout the project, the students were very excited as they explored what Chinese New Year meant to them and created a wonderful assembly for the following Monday.

The Chinese New Year Project assembly was an extension of another great Assembly by 7G, who recreated the animal race (the legend behind Chinese New Year) as a dance competition with ruthless judges and an amazing Chinese monster designed by a parent.

The Chinese New Year Project assembly included a ‘Who wants to be a millionaire?’ quiz (with Chinese sweets as prizes)’, students explaining what Chinese New Year meant to them personally, telling Year 7 students which zodiac animal they are, according to their birth year, and a lesson in Mandarin and Cantonese. The students were confident, funny and looked stunning in their tradition dresses. As a bonus, some of the students brought more Chinese sweets to feed the whole of Year 7.

“It was fun to work with other people who understand Chinese New Year like me!”

Students involved in the project were: Simone (7E), Daija (7E), Chloe (7L), Vicky(7L), Chen Chen (7A), Shivaani (7G), Lilian (7G), Yalin (7S), Natalie (7S)

Contact: Eltham Hill School Eltham Hill SE9 5EE

phone: 0208 859 2843 email: info@elthamhill.greenwich.sch.uk website: www.elthamhill.com school app: search "Eltham Hill School" in your app store

Which Chinese zodiac sign are you?

The years below are a rough guide, but if you were born in January or February it may be slightly different as the new year moves between Jan 21 and Feb 20.

Rat: 2008, 1996, 1984, 1972, 1960 Ox: 2009, 1997, 1985, 1973, 1961 Tiger: 2010, 1998, 1986, 1974, 1962 Rabbit: 2011, 1999, 1987, 1975, 1963 Dragon: 2012, 2000, 1988, 1976, 1964 Snake: 2013, 2001, 1989, 1977, 1965 Horse: 2014, 2002, 1990, 1978, 1966 Sheep: 2015, 2003, 1991, 1979, 1967 Monkey: 2016, 2004, 1992, 1980, 1968 Rooster: 2017, 2005, 1993, 1981, 1969 Dog: 2018, 2006, 1994, 1982, 1970 Pig: 2019, 2007, 1995, 1983, 1971

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