GHS News May 2015

GHS NEWS

GLENTHORNE HIGH SCHOOL: SPECIALIST ARTS COLLEGE Inside this issue: Page 1 & 2

Glenthorne’s Got Talent

Page 3

Student Investor Challenge

Page 4

Mock Election 2015

Page 5,6 & 7

The Hub-The story so far...

Page 8

Y10 Enjoy Engineering Prize

Page 9

Extended Project

Page 10

Year 9 “Traid” visit

Page 11

Wandering Wandlers

Page 12

Royal Court Trip to see Rohl Dahl, The Twits

Page 13

Carnegie Book Club & Readathon

Page 14

Of Time by Eileen Duffy

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Sutton SCITT

Glenthorne’s Got Talent!

Saturday 9th May 2015 was a day to remember for Glenthorne High School as two of our dancers featured on national television!

Firstly, Chaise Miller in Year 9 saw her dance crew ‘Entity’ not only perform on Britain’s Got Talent but also win the ‘Golden Buzzer’ from judge Alesha Dixon, meaning immediate qualification into the live semi-finals! A huge achievement for both Chaise and her dance crew and we look forward to seeing their next performance in the semi-finals.

On the same evening, it was also the Live Finals of BBC Young Dancer of the year. A competition set up for a nationwide hunt to look for outstanding talent in dance, featuring several dance styles including ballet, hip hop, South Asian and contemporary dance. A finalist was selected from each genre as well as two ‘Wild Cards’, making 6 in total.

Connor Scott from Northumberland was one of the ‘Wild Card’ finalists for the contemporary category and as part of his final performance he had to choose a duet partner to choreograph and perform alongside him. Connor chose Meshach Henry who is currently in Year 13 at Glenthorne and is just completing his A’ level in dance. Meshach and Connor had one week to create, rehearse and polish a 5 minute duet that would be performed in the live final.

On Saturday night on BBC2, 7pm at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, the final began live to a full auditorium and in front of a panel of top dance judges from different dance genres such as Matthew Bourne and Wayne McGregor. The show was presented by Zoe Ball and followed the structure of all finalists performing a solo of their choice and then a duet.

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‘Blood Snow’ was the title of Connor and Meshach’s duet, a hugely technical and moving contemporary piece that left the audience stunned and mesmerised. The duet not only showed off both dancers’ technical ability but also their extreme maturity and understanding of choreography and professionalism that filled the Sadler’s Wells stage and auditorium. Meshach and Connor’s performance was out of this world and far beyond where any 17 and 18 year olds should be at this stage of their career.

The end of the programme resulted in the judging panel leaving to discuss and make a decision as to which finalist would be the winner. And to Glenthorne’s delight Connor Scott was announced as BBC Young Dancer of the year 2015 with the help of Meshach Henry, of course!

Meshach is off to continue his success in full time training from September at London Contemporary Dance School in Euston, completing a 3 year BA Honours degree in dance. We wish him every success.

To watch Meshach’s performance on BBC Young Dancer of the Year, go to iplayer and Young Dancer Final, 47minutes in. Also two weeks prior to these achievements, another Glenthorne dancer was also in the national press.

Folu Odimayo in Year 13, also studying dance at Glenthorne, was in the Independent newspaper as part of a BBC 3 radio interview and article highlighting ‘Britain’s Most Exciting under 25s’ Creatives’. Folu was selected as the dancer to look out for and was given the opportunity to discuss his thoughts on dance as a career on BBC 3.

Folu Odimayo, dancer/choreographer: age 18, from south London (Charlie Forgham Bailey) Odimayo is training at London Contemporary Dance School and is also a member of the National Youth Dance Company. He will be choosing some of his favourite classical music on Essential Classics from 9am to 12 noon.

“I knew I wanted to be a dancer when I did a National Youth Dance Company project, The Rashomon Effect, at Sadler’s Wells last year. We explored nature and Folu Odimayo, Dancer/Choreographer, 18, from Sutton [what happens] when nature retaliates, but also personal memories, which gave the piece an edge. One memory I used was of when I went to Spain and almost drowned. It was more than dance; I had to draw on everything about me.”

“The most important lesson I’ve learned so far is to be open to things. This is important with improvisation. What we sometimes do with contemporary dance is get stuck in physical patterns and that creates a really abstract image. But you need to be as varied in your movements as you can.”

“If I could do one thing to improve the arts in this country, I would like to give [them] that academic respect that science gets. In Ancient Greece, arts and sciences were both revered, a philosopher or a playwright could also be as respected as a scientist. With all the cuts, arts aren’t seen as vital any more.”

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Glenthorne students runners-up in prestigious “Student Investor Challenge”!

Congratulations to Glenthorne’s “Student Investor Challenge” team who came second in this prestigious national competition! Glenthorne’s team featuring Harry Nanev, Nanyo Nanev, Kieran Mezroui and Mudassar Zafri fought through three rounds of the competition against over 40,000 competitors to achieve an exceptional second place in the Grand Final, thus securing £1,500 for the school and personal prizes of £150 each.

The ifs Student Investor Challenge is a free to enter competition, run by ifs University College, the University College for financial education. It provides teams of up to four students aged between 14-19 with a virtual £100,000 to trade shares, stocks, futures and assets and the opportunity to experience the dynamic world of share dealing. This year, the top 50 teams’ investments in the first round totalled over £7million in just a four month period, thus the Glenthorne team outperformed the stock market and more than 10,000 other schools to make it through to the Grand Final.

Glenthorne’s team worked tirelessly, researching the stock market and practising their presentation skills. They also had the opportunity to get the advice of some of London’s top investors and to visit the trading floor at Namura!

In a tense Grand Final against eight other teams from across the UK, the Glenthorne team came second in a simulated live-trading challenge where they responded to market fluctuations caused by recent global events. They had to use their financial knowledge to make safe predictions about the effect of their decisions, and quick thinking in order to make the most of the short time they had to make their trades. In the afternoon the boys’ parents arrived to watch the second part of the competition: a presentation delivered by every team to a panel of financial experts on the topic ‘Does responsible investing make a difference?’ Their engaging presentation placed them second in this element as well, leading to their position of runners-up for the whole competition. The feedback they received was highly complimentary and made particular reference to their enthusiasm, passion and effective team working skills.

The final 8 teams were of exceptional calibre and all performed excellently throughout the day.

Glenthorne’s team, the youngest team to make it through to the Grand Final, were commended highly by the IFS judges and invigilating staff for their ability to hold their own against some of the country’s top independent school teams, all of whom were in years 11-13. A year 13 team from Malmesbury School were the overall winners.

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GHS- Y VOTE- MOCK ELECTION 2015

There may have been a General Election last week, but the really important vote took place the day before at Glenthorne High School as pupils voted in the school’s Mock Election!

For the past two months nine parties from various year groups across the school have been campaigning to secure votes and ultimately win the GHS Mock Election and become Head Teacher for the Day! The Parties involved were the Unicorn Party, PANDA Party, The PINK Party, FFF (Fighting for Freedom), The Orange Party, The EVANS Party, GKIP, True Blue Party, The Party for Moderate Progress within the Bounds of the Law and Students for Liberty.

As part of their campaigns the parties worked on creating a manifesto which addressed changes and improvements which could be made to our school and local area. The Parties have been speaking in assemblies, talking to pupils in the playground, handing out leaflets, cakes, posters, badges and balloons to try to gain votes. In addition, all Parties were involved in a school hustings, debating key school-based issues.

On 6th May, the school Gym was transformed into a Polling Station and all pupils from years 7-13 voted for the party they wanted to win the Mock Election. With help from the GHS School Council the votes were counted and verified and we were pleased to announce that Dylan Morris, Year 8 and the PANDA PARTY won the Election! In second place, Asim Ahmed (Year 8) with his party FFF (Fighting for Freedom) and in third place, Issac Murphy (Year 13) with Students for Liberty.

All pupils involved worked incredibly hard, particularly the party leaders who demonstrated tremendous leadership and courage during the process. All 9 candidates will receive a certificate and be invited to a celebratory lunch celebrating their achievements. Dylan Morris and the PANDA Party take on the role as Head Teacher for the Day on 11th June and we wish them the best of luck. Congratulations to everyone involved!

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The Hub—The story so far….

February 2015

The Willow as it was...….

The tree fellers get to work

The crane moves in

The Willow is ready to be felled

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The crane moves the Willow to the front of the school

‌...slowly down into position

The tree carvers get to work

The Willow metamorphoses

‌...into our totem pole

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April 2015

The area is cleared ready for construction

The ground is levelled and pipes ready for piling

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A small group of Y10 students enjoyed a guided tour of the Olympic Park with engineers from Atkins at the end of April. The group won the tour by winning a bridge building competition at the Sutton Grammar Science Fair last year. The Atkins engineers giving the tour had been working at the Olympic Park since 2006 and talked students about the initial site clearance through to the current re-developments at the park, including a detailed look at the ÂŁ3,000,000 upgrade of a temporary bridge for permanent use.

Following the tour the students were presented with books detailing the role of Atkins at the Olympic park. The students, Mudassar Zafri, Emily Masi, Laney Cullip, George Marlow and Emily El-Bahrawy were excellent ambassadors for the school impressing the engineers with their enthusiasm and intelligent questions – although after all their serious work their highlight was still the playground!

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Extended Project On Tuesday 21st , Wednesday 22nd and Thursday 23rd April, Year 13 Extended Project Students delivered their presentations. This marked the culmination of two terms of intensive independent work. The students and their tutor-assessors (Mrs Saunders and Mrs Prosbik) are very proud of what they have achieved. The Extended Project encourages students to work independently on a project of their choice, which takes the form of a dissertation, investigation, performance or artefact. The project aims to widen perspectives, deepen understanding and broaden skills through independent research and then developing an argument or product. Each project is made up of at least 80 hours of work and is produced to a high academic standard. It is a really excellent way for students to prepare themselves for university study and to complete work outside of a structured curriculum.

Current Year 12 students who are interested in completing an Extended Project next year should see Miss Guille (Head of Year 12) for more details.

Their project titles are below, and show a wide range of different topics and interests.

Connor Newman – Was the London Olympics successful in boosting the economy and improving the quality of life for local residents?

Robbie Pople – To what extent does restorative justice stop offenders from re-offending?

Christos Dexiades – Is the introduction of coding and computer science into the national curriculum a good idea or does it divert attention away from other subjects?

Dana Smith - Was Roosevelt justified in introducing the New Deal?

Gemma Laight – Explore the photographic techniques used to airbrush models and the psychological impact of digital editing. Create a photographic piece responding to this.

Daniel James - How has foreign investment changed English football?

Shannon Amarasekara - How will 3D printing change people’s lives?

Sophie Gibbons – To what extent has the linguistic repression during Francoist Spain carried on through to modern day society?

James Bariffe – Can having too much fame at a young age affect who you become as an adult? Devise a performance that explores this.

Tia Penfold – Create an advertising campaign for a youth orientated product.

Harry Devonport – Why do we need an independent video games industry?

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Year 9 “TRAID” visit On April 28th the charity ‘TRAID’ visited our school to deliver talks to our Y9 pupils on ‘Sustainability in Fashion’ and ‘The Impact of Textiles on the Environment’. ‘TRAID’ is a charity working to stop clothes from being thrown away. They turn clothes waste into funds and resources to reduce the environmental and social impacts of our clothes.

The profit is then used to fund international development projects to improve working conditions and practices in the textile industry.

This was a fantastic opportunity for our pupils to gain an understanding of where their clothes come from, beyond their own wardrobes into the fields, factories, homes and mills where their clothes are made. ‘TRAID’ encourages pupils to consider the social costs of our clothes and how we can make more responsible and sustainable choices.

Pupils thoroughly enjoyed the talks and debated where the responsibility lies, i.e. with the consumer, retailer or the manufacturer. To coincide with the talks, the pupils are currently working on a project – designing and making a bag from an old pair of jeans. The best designs will be selected and hopefully displayed in a ‘TRAID’ shop window to promote reusing and recycling.

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Wandering Wandlers Year 8 braved the sun and the torrential rain over the last fortnight to explore the murky delights of the River Wandle in Beddington Park.

Bearing wellington boots, fishing nets and measuring equipment, they investigated the forces of erosion and deposition that they have learnt about in lessons. It was rewarding to see so many of the students realise that Geography exists outside of the textbook too! Despite the impromptu minibus picnics and running between trees for shelter from the rain, the students thoroughly enjoyed applying their learning outside of the classroom, especially when they realised how much Geography can be learnt from a simple game of Pooh Sticks! The final haul in the fishing nets included several small fish, thousands of tiny shrimps and unfortunately the odd Coke can!

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Trip to Royal Court to see Rohl Dahl, The Twits On Tuesday 5th May the selected students of Glenthorne High School went to see The Twits at the Royal Court Theatre. We were accompanied by Mr Walsh and Mrs Kirby who were as excited as we were.

Later that evening we arrived at the theatre! We entered the theatre which was buzzing with excitement. We ran up the stairs to the circle and began to settle down in front of the amazing set. We waited for a poetic entrance from the characters but we were faced with the Twits screaming their family song at us, the song consisted entirely of the word “Twits”! And them screaming like “demented school kids” (as it says in the script).

It was amazing when the Muggle Wumps (the monkeys) were doing their head stands, they had to stand on their heads for what seemed like ages. The play was good and had many highlights that made you laugh or left you in suspense. However it almost seemed rather repetitive and the story was dragged out. Another issue was that it isn’t “The Twits” we know and love because the story line was almost completely changed to fit the idea of it being a play.

I think to improve the play they could have introduced characters from the book instead of creating new ones.

On the way home we were all very tired so we relaxed until we got back to Morden Station at 10.30pm.

Review by Olivia-Bratt Sparks & Eloise Read

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Carnegie Book Club We recently held our first meeting of our Carnegie Book Club. Every year, eight books are chosen by librarians, teachers and other educational professionals to be in the running for the coveted Carnegie medal.

We had 10 students in attendance for the club. Each has been provided with a Reading Record so they could write reviews and keep track of what they are reading.

Students will be writing book reviews, playing literacy games, watching authors speak about their books on YouTube and creating their own Carnegie Shadowing magazine.

Readathon!

Starting Monday, 18th May, KS3 students will be taking part in Readathon’s annual fundraising drive.

Students will receive sponsorship cards and will be asking for donations for every book they read. All money raised goes towards several well-deserved charities across the UK. In addition, 20% of all the money we raise will go towards free books for the Library.

The student who has read the most books will win a cash prize and a stack of free books! For any additional information, please see Mr. Maxwell in the Library or Ms. Wright.

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Media Showcase While a celebration of Media work has been a fixture in the Glenthorne calendar for years, this year was very special in the sense that it was the first time we had the work screened at a cinema. And so it was that a large bundle of students and parents gathered in Screen 3 of the Empire Cinema in Sutton not to watch the latest flashy but soulless blockbuster but instead the honest work many of the students present had spent countless hours planning, filming and fine-tuning.

There was a really fantastic buzz as students anticipated and then saw their work on the big screen- I think many (including myself) realised that the best student works may not match Hollywood productions in terms of budget but can at times match the creativity and cinematography skills of professionals. A special mention should go to the winners of each category: Year 11 Media Studies: “Civilisation” by Chris Jupp, Ethan Magill and Cameron Poore Year 12 Media Studies: “The Unit” by Max Gershon, Bethany Smiles, Matthew Tizzard and Ryan Vincent Year 12 Film Studies: “Classified” by Ollie Paxton, Jack Hobbs and Henri Calderon Year 13 Media BTEC: “Touch” by Anthony Nazareth, Bobby Duffin and Nathan West Year 13 Media Studies: “Dancing Song” by Harry Devonport, Scott Galloway and James Thompson (honourable mention for the also fantastic “Grandma’s Hands” by Zoe Franklin, Layla Mahmood and Sabrina Alovisi) A big thank you of course to all of the students for their work during the year and their enthusiasm and willingness to be involved in the run-up to the event, to Ms. Stuart for her support in moving the event to the cinema. Additional thanks to Louise Stirling and Sue Kirby for their administrative support and a special thank you to Jonathon Reynolds who was crucial in collating and editing all of the student work which allowed it to be such an enjoyable event for all involved.

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of

Time by Eileen Duffy

Congratulations to Eileen Duffy, whose poem has been selected to be in the top 50 in the prestigious Christopher Tower Poetry Competition. This is a great achievement as there were 727 entries from 425 schools this year. They award the student with the best poem £3,000 so the competition is pretty fierce, for Eileen to make the top 50 is excellent! Congratulations again! and as one door closes another door opens, isn’t that what they say? a cell of your life hit the wall as another begins, this idea of freedom and voice and choice a complete ‘ up to you ness’ but in due course without a doubt the route that has been laid out for your voice. she was born with curls and joy and blue eyes. her eyes were darkened impending life the realisation that she had the world but in fact had to go to the post office to fill out a form and obtain it. a world where step by step you work your way out of one cell to the next driving forward – an ever going forward to some nirvana. like genesis he began. the day that he began and from then he stopped. grew used to life used to his own cell, why work and strive to reach the best – you’re told you won’t get it. and so he sat and sat and sat eternally scrutinising a screen until one day he stopped no scrutiny occurred, and so he lived, sat and sat in front of the screen becoming his own cells satellite. the horse has none of this, no step by step, no strive. no screen. merely a need to be seen, loved. living then and here and now in his own cell no dream just happy surely this is right, living in our Time embracing it, rejoicing in it and exploiting it we have the choice to just stand still just stay so lets. for a while. enjoy

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GHS NEWS ADVANCE NOTICE: Could parents please note the dates for the academic year 2014/2015 and 2015/2016.

Please avoid booking holidays in term time. All holidays taken in term time will be classed as unauthorised absence.

TERM DATES 2014/2015 SUMMER TERM: Monday 1st June 2015 - Friday 17th July 2015 Half Term: Monday 25th May - Friday 29th May 2015 INSET DAYS: Mon 29th June 2015 TERM DATES 2015/2016 AUTUMN TERM: Wednesday 2nd September 2015 - Friday 18th December 2015 Half Term: Monday 26th October - Friday 30th October 2015 SPRING TERM: Half Term:

Monday 4th January 2016 - Thursday 24th March 2016 Monday 15th February - Friday 19th February 2016

SUMMER TERM: Monday 11th April 2016 - Thursday 21st July 2016 Half Term: Monday 30th May - Friday 3rd June 2016 INSET DAYS: Wed 2nd September 2015 Mon 2nd November 2015 Fri 12th February 2016 Mon 11th April 2016 Mon 27th June 2016 TERM DATES 2016/2017 AUTUMN TERM: Monday 5th September - Wednesday 21st December 2016 Half Term: Monday 24th October - Friday 28th October 2016 SPRING TERM: Half Term:

Tuesday 3rd January - Friday 31st March 2017 Monday 20th February - Friday 31st Match 2017

SUMMER TERM: Half Term: May Bank Holiday:

Tuesday 18th April - Friday 21st July 2017 Monday 29th May - Friday 2nd June 2017 Monday 1st May 2017

INSET DAYS: TBC

1-19 June

KS3 Exams

2 & 4 June

BTEC Musical Theatre / Musical Showcase

17 June

Cycle to School Day Selected Student Visit

18 June

Rising Stars Concert

23 June

Borough Sports Day

24 June

Awards Evening 6.30pm

25-26 June

Y12 Induction

29 June

INSET Day (Pupils Not Required to Attend)

30 June

BTEC Musical Theatre Concert, 6.00-7.00pm

30 June—3 July

Yr 11 Work Experience

1 July

Summer Music Concert Yr 13 Leavers’ Ceremony

2 July

New Y7 Induction Day & Evening

3 July

Glenthorne Games Year 13 Prom

4 July

New Y7 CATs Tests and Family BBQ

6-10 July

Y7, 8 & 9 Challenge Week Y10 Aspirations Week

13-17 July

GCSE P.E Kayaking Week

13 July

Y11 Leavers’ Ceremony & Prom

16 July

Rewards Trips to Thorpe Park

17 July

End of KS3 Celebration LAST DAY OF TERM; Pupils Finish 1.15pm