Headmaster's Termly Newsletter Summer 2016

2016

SUMMER ISSUE

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Headmaster’s Termly Newsletter Welcome to the Summer Issue On Monday 16th May this year I had the pleasure of accompanying Miss Roche, our Duke of Edinburgh Scheme Coordinator, to a garden party at Buckingham Palace to celebrate the Diamond Anniversary of the award. In the presence of Their Royal Highnesses Prince Philip and the Count and Countess of Wessex we celebrated the existence, purpose and achievement of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme since its introduction some 60 years ago.

Once through security at the Palace gate it was possible to step out into what was obviously a usually very peaceful and well-kept garden. On this occasion it was set up to host a very ‘English’ event: the band playing, visitors in their finery, afternoon tea, the National Anthem, and it was interesting to see ‘behind the scenes’ of a world famous institution.

The Queen was not in attendance – she had had a busy weekend of engagements to officially celebrate her 90th birthday – but it did cause me to reflect, on my journey back to Birmingham, what a remarkable feat of longevity it is for her to have occupied the throne so successfully for 64 years (and counting); something not achieved by any previous domestic monarch. Ever.

I am sure we all have our opinion on why the Queen has maintained the respect and affection of the people so effectively through the years, including some very turbulent times in our history, but one reason, I would suggest, is the skilled balance that she has been able to draw between tradition and innovation. The tradition that is all the pomp and circumstance that we associate with her; the marching bands, the strange uniforms, customs and practices, the horsedrawn parades like the Trooping of the Colour; but also the dignified, reserved feeling of restraint that she so effortlessly displays.

Alongside this has been the need to adapt and stay relevant; to innovate in order to be open, often using new technology, so as to be able

to keep abreast of world affairs and to satisfy the ever-growing needs of a curious population.

The Queen has led the way in representing the UK around the world, constantly championing the goods and services that will secure our prosperity, hopefully, for generations to come. I believe it is this balance between tradition and innovation that has caused her to retain the affection of the population so effectively.

Dr Luker with Steve Backshall and Miss Roche Highclare School, too, has a similar balance to strike. For example, on the one hand we are determined to Just recently we have refurbished / maintain our traditional values of good conduct, relocated our ICT suites on all three sites manners and discipline and also to continue and now have superb facilities. Secondly, in to operate to the highest possible standards of addition to giving every member of the Sixth appearance and uniform. Like all institutions we Form an IPad, we have been trialling the use are subject to the effect of changing norms in of IPads elsewhere in the senior and junior modern society but we know that we do our job schools as a means, amongst other things, most effectively when we prepare our young men of enhancing classroom interactivity. and women to be able to take on the challenge of whatever it is they go on to do next in their career.

It is hard to predict, in such a rapidly A second interesting balance for us is that between tradition and innovation with regards to teaching and learning, especially that involving the use of information and communication technology. There will continue to be a place for the teacher-led, traditional approach to classroom education but we are keen to continue encouraging the pupils to collaborate, share ideas and develop their skills in independent learning. We know that the development of good study skills and habits, such as those embodied in our TAKE CHARGE schoolwide initiative, will stand them in good stead for the rest of their lives.

The use of ICT is extremely valuable with regard to this ambition; not so much as an end in itself but rather as a set of tools for allowing the teacher to use their repertoire of skills to challenge and engage the pupils.

evolving industry, what ICT use for education will look like in the future but, for now, we believe that access to the internet is important. We are, therefore, actively looking at ways of expanding our WiFi network across all three sites in order to promote connectivity as much as possible.

Going forward, maintaining the right balance between innovation and tradition will continue to be very important to us. We will seek to retain the values of the past whilst embracing the best of the future.

Have a great summer break.

Dr Richard Luker, Headmaster

Senior & Sixth Form U3 History pupils visit Warwick Castle During this term the U3 pupils travelled to Warwick Castle to see what living and fighting in the Middle Ages was really like.

They packed a lot into the day, watching a demonstration of medieval weapons, viewing some fearsome looking eagles, scaring themselves in the dark jail cell and touring the impressive battlements. Ben Bonner even got to try on some medieval armour.

The pupils finished the day in the Horrible Histories maze where they all got terribly lost.

They returned to school with their newly purchased wooden swords having had a thoroughly enjoyable day.

English Department Creative Writing Competition

English Department Thank You Letter Competition 2016

Each year the English department organises a short story competition.

KS3 students had to create a narrative based on an image of a stairway. Students in U4, L5 and U5 had to create a story in response to one of their GCSE poems, The Charge of The Light Brigade, exploring the theme of conflict.

The English department has organised a thank you letter competition in conjunction with Birmingham University to see who young people are most thankful towards in our society. There were some wonderful letters and it was incredibly difficult to judge as many were extremely heart-rending and moving. Consequently, we asked the advice of an ex-teacher and lover of literature, Mrs Thow, to judge our letters from the ones we selected.

We are pleased to announce the winners are as follows: U3/L4/U4:1st place Abbie Phelps U4R, 2nd place Samuel Donaghue U4R

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Highly Commended: Enric Aliberch U4R, Paula Alonso U3S, Safa Arif L4R, Lily Arthurs L4R, Scarlett Dunne U3R, Ibrahim Iqbal U4R, Toby Walton U3R. L5/U5:1st place Remahn Beckford Gardner L5S, 2nd place Urooj Ayyub L5R, 3rd place Georgia-Leigh Robinson L5R Highly Commended: Samara Burt L5S, Sami Ghafoor L5R, Daniel Hurst L5R, Joseph Pemberton L5R, Reuben Virdee-Oakley L5R. Well done, everyone.

The top 5 winners received a £10 Amazon voucher. House points were awarded to our highly commended students. Top 5 School Winners in no particular order were: Toyin Ajileye U4S, Luke Dowling U4R, Harjot Kaur U4R, Madison Wood L4R, Amina Mukhtar U3S. Amina Mukhtar U3S was short-listed out of 40,000 students to attend the Thank You Letter Awards at Birmingham University on 11th May. It was an inspiring day and she heard some very moving ‘thank you’ letters.

One of the main attractions was a talk delivered by Malala Yousafzai’s father. Charlotte Hill, Chief Executive of the charity Step Up To Serve, was also in attendance.

U3 visit The Big Bang Fair When we arrived at the NEC, we went straight to the Hollywood Effects show. It was AMAZING. We learnt how many special effects were made such as in CGI and fake blood and how they are used in films. After the show we went to a tasting booth where we found out how our sight, hearing and touch affects the way food tastes. My favourite booth was a Lego one where we had to make a house on stilts of a minimum of 3 bricks high. We then put it on a machine that shook it about to simulate an earthquake and we won! We also went to a JCB stand where we had to race to put together a JCB crane and we came second. I would like to say thank you to the science teachers for organising it. By James Griffiths

Geography Field Trips L4 Geographers enjoyed a great day at Carding Mill Valley.

River studies, orienteering and sunshine - perfect!

Geography pupils in L5 did some research in Sutton Coldfield to investigate the hypothesis that Sutton Coldfield fits the core frame CBD model.

Religious Studies in the Senior School Pupils in the Senior School have enjoyed visiting some well know religious sites in Birmingham.

Balaji Temple in Tividale U4 visited the Balaji Temple in Tividale, Oldbury as part of their learning about the religion of Hinduism. The Balaji Temple is a Hindu place of worship built in the style of the most visited Shri Venkateswara Temple in Andhrapradesh in India. It is also the largest temple of its kind in Europe and is set in approximately 30 acres of land. The pupils learnt many interesting facts about Hinduism, including stories about the different gods they worship. The guide also told the pupils about the history of Hinduism and gave them a guided tour around the main temple and the various shrines around the temple. During the visit to the main temple they were given a demonstration by the Priest of the way Hindus worship.

The Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Smethwick L4 visited the Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Smethwick, a Sikh place of worship, as part of their learning about this religion. They learnt that the Guru Nanak Gurdwara was the first and largest Gurdwara in Europe, opening on 31st July 1961. It is a huge building spanning a total area of approximately 70,000 square metres and inside the building there are three floors. The Gurdwara also has one of the largest congregations in the UK. During the trip the pupils learnt many interesting facts about Sikhism from the helpful guide, who also gave them a guided tour around the Gurdwara. They visited the gallery showing paintings depicting the history of Sikhism and learnt about the challenges Sikhism faced during the Guruship of Guru Tegh Bahadar and his unfortunate and gruesome ending. They visited the main worship hall and absorbed the wonderful atmosphere with readings from the Guru Granth Sahib and some of the group tasted Prashad.

Lichfield Cathedral

L6 Sociology

U3 Geography and RS pupils visited Lichfield as part of a joint studies trip. RS pupils can be seen here in the cathedral trying on the Bishop’s mitre.

L6 sociology students attended a lecture at Birmingham City University given by a Professor Elijah Anderson of Yale University. Entitled “The Code of the Street”, Professor Anderson delivered a thought-provoking lecture about the roots and impact of racial inequality in the USA.

Sixth Form Leavers’ Dinner A most enjoyable evening was had by all at the Sixth Form leavers’ dinner.

Thanks are extended to Mr Parkinson for organising this event and to other members of staff for their involvement.

We wish all the U6 well for their futures.

A Day to Remember U5 Celebration Assembly The assembly to celebrate the U5 pupils’ success during their time in the senior school was a very positive event and they all performed and read extremely well. We were very proud of the way they conducted themselves and hope that parents enjoyed it as much as we did.

Tamworth Musical Festival Success

U5 Prom Night U5 pupils celebrated the end of their examinations with a very successful prom night at Moxhull Hall.

Two ensembles from Highclare Senior School entered the Tamworth and District Music Festival. The newly-formed High C Jazz group scored 85% (commended) for their performance of Boogie Woogie in the 14-and-under ensemble category. The Rhapsody Choir reclaimed the Vocal Ensemble trophy, scoring 87% (distinction) with a performance of two contrasting pieces. The Music department would like to congratulate all pupils who took part for their excellent performances, and particular thanks should be extended to Mrs Okeghie and Mr Whitham for coaching the jazz group.

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Junior Enterprise Enterprise at Highclare School Highclare Junior School pupils at Highcare St Paul’s have been putting their business skills to good use during their Enterprise Day on Friday 10th June.

Their initiatives have included setting up small businesses in groups and during the day they were able to market their skills and businesses to pupils, staff and parents.

The range of things included: ‘Popping Stationery’, ‘Smoothies 4 U’, ‘Craft and Snack Disney Shack’, ‘Hampers R Us’, and ‘Fantasy Football’. Additionally, Charlotte Hodivala, the new Mayor of Sutton Coldfield popped in during the afternoon for afternoon tea and to chat to the children and parents.

Mrs Polly Bennett, Head of Junior Schools at Highclare, said “This was a great initiative by the children themselves and they showed some excellent entrepreneurial choices in achieving a profit and raising £1000, which will go to our school charity, The African Space Trust. It was lovely to see the new Mayor during the afternoon and we hope that she has spotted some budding new business talent for the future!”

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Junior Art Competition Highclare Senior School were proud to host their annual Junior Art Competition, which was open to pupils from all our surrounding Junior Schools. The entries this year were excellent and based around a black ink blot which was provided as a starting point and used to form the basis of an imaginative composition. The entries were varied and inventive and the overall winner portrayed an octopus shooting ink! Well done to Hana Deebank from Boldmere Junior School and many congratulations to winners who received a ‘highly commended’ from the judges.

Parents and families were able to view all the winning entries at a presentation evening hosted by Highclare’s Art Department and Head of Art, Mrs Hughes.

Junior Prize Giving A very special evening was enjoyed by parents of our Junior pupils when we held Junior School Prize Giving at Sutton Coldfield Town Hall. Pupils from each year group were awarded a Form Prize and a Progress Prize, while every pupil was commended for their achievements during the year. There were some lovely musical performances from all the children and special performances by the Junior Choir and the Violin and Guitar Ensemble.

Mr Gwilym Price, a former National Sports Director for ISA Sport, was the guest speaker and he particularly praised the pupils for their focus and determination.

A great end to a very successful year for both our junior schools.

Junior Round-up J3 go to the Think Tank J3R had an exciting time at the Think Tank, exploring the Science Garden, All About Me, the planetarium and the robot section. The children had a fabulous time. They especially liked the planetarium, where they learned about stars, the moon, constellations and a variety of different planets. The children were also fascinated by the different antique artefacts used long ago. Some of the artefacts were the inventions of James Watt.

By Heba Ashraf and Vinay Bojraj

J4 visit Lunt Roman Fort The children in J4 had a great day out when they visited the Roman fort at Lunt. They met a Roman soldier dressed in sandals, a tunic, a helmet and armour. Pupils and staff had a tour of the fort and learnt how the Romans guarded the fort and how they would protect themselves by using their shields.

Pupils Learn about composition in Art J4 have been learning how to use viewfinders in their art lessons.

They looked both inside and outside the school premises, framing an interesting aspect and drawing what they could see though the frame.

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Senior School Experience Pupils from J4 had a fantastic day at the Senior School. Pupils enjoyed science experiments of making a rainbow fizz and testing starches and proteins, a Spanish lesson on learning the names of animals and a music lesson on composing their own dramatic music to a film. The pupils ended their morning by having a Senior School lunch, which was enjoyed by all.

J5 Design Technology At Highclare St Paul’s, J5 have been exploring mechanisms through cams and followers. They have learnt that by using a cam, they can change rotary movement into linear movement. They have designed and made their own moving toys using one or more cams.

J5 Talking Textiles Children in J5 at Highclare St Paul’s explored how pictures can be created using sewing techniques.

They examined reproductions of the Bayeux Tapestry and analysed the sewing methods that had been used.

After this, they tried to recreate some of those sewing techniques.

Once they felt more confident with manipulating needle and thread, and with the different types of stitches that were available, the children in the class designed their own picture.

This was to be of a design which they could recreate using the sewing techniques they had discovered and practised. The pupils discussed their outcomes at the end of the project.

PGL J6 had an excellent week at Boreatton Park, in Shropshire, for their annual PGL activity adventure holiday. They experienced a whole host of activities such as Jacob’s ladder, canoeing, rifle shooting, disco dancing and a zip wire. The children were a credit to the school and we enjoyed hearing all about the trip in great detail.

Staffordshire Regiment Museum J6R and J6P visited the Staffordshire Regiment Museum at Whittington Barracks in Lichfield.

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The children took part in three workshops about WWII uniforms, rationing and the Blitz. They were able to look at gas masks for different ages, including babies and tried on military jackets worn by different ranks of soldiers. The children were able to go inside an Anderson Shelter and were very fortunate to be able to look at various guns used during WWII. Both classes experienced what life was like for the soldiers in the trenches, which had realistic sound effects.

Quotes from the Children: “It was really funny in the mine. When the lights went out it was pitch-black.” Alice. “My favourite part was in the museum where a lady told us about the mannequins – showing how the soldiers would have dressed.” Subhaan. “The trench helmet put on my head was really heavy and the military jackets were very itchy,” said Ruth.

Highclare Junior Schools grow seeds from space!

Pupils in the junior schools have become space biologists and embarked on a voyage of discovery by growing seeds that have been into space.

In September 2kg of rocket seeds were flown to the International Space Station (ISS) on Soyuz 44S where they spent several months in microgravity before returning to Earth in March 2016. The seeds have been sent as part of Rocket Science, an educational project launched by the RHS Campaign for School Gardening and the UK Space Agency.

Highclare Junior Schools are one of up to 10,000 schools to receive a packet of 100 seeds from space, which they will grow, alongside seeds that have not been into space, and will measure the differences over seven weeks. The children will not know which seed packet contains which seeds until all results have been collected by the RHS Campaign for School Gardening and analysed by professional biostatisticians.

The out-of-this-world, nationwide science experiment will enable the pupils to think more about how we could preserve human life on another planet in the future, what astronauts need to survive long-term missions in space and the difficulties surrounding growing fresh food in challenging climates.

At the beginning of this term, pupils arrived at school to find what looked like part of a space rocket had landed in the grounds. Staff were on hand to show the children the seeds that they will be growing as part of Rocket Science.

Follow the project on Twitter: @Highclare_Jnrs, @RHSSchools #RocketScience.

Infants The Butterfly Farm Reception class from Highclare St Paul’s enjoyed a trip to The Butterfly Farm in Stratford-upon-Avon. They have been working on a ‘Mini Beasts’ topic and were able to see lots of insects and other small creatures during their visit. The pupils were told about the insects’ life cycle, habitats and camouflage. Some of the children held stick insects and millipedes and saw some amazing ants working very hard. The trip was made complete by a picnic in the sunshine before returning to school.

Boat Building Challenge Children in J2R have been studying puppets in design technology. They looked at different styles of puppets and designed and created their own which included finger puppets, stick puppets and string puppets. The children then designed their own felt hand puppet and learned how to sew a running stitch.

Studying Invertebrates

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Children in J1 gathered material on a woodland walk as part of their topic on invertebrates. They were able to study and draw their finds using magnifying instruments.

Mini Gardeners J2R planted lots of different types of seeds as part of their science project. They made their own economical and environmentally friendly plant pots using newspaper and explored the purpose of a cloche when growing plants.

J2 Learn about China Whilst studying China in their geography topic, J2R tasted Chinese food, created Dragon puppets and decorated their own willow pattern on bowls.

Pre-School News Pre-School Woodfield celebrated Easter with a Bonnet Parade, Egg Hunts and a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. The pupils joined together to parade their hats.

A variety of colourful Easter cards were crafted alongside Mothers’ Day gifts. The pupils enjoyed using a variety of media and sang beautifully in the Sing 4 Spring Assembly, wearing their decorated T-shirts.

Meerkats in the Garden Miss Thornhill brought in some garden ornaments for the Pre-School 1 garden and the children enjoyed naming them.

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Creativity in Pre-School Pre-School pupils at Highclare St Paul’s enjoy learning through ‘hands-on’ creative experiences.

They had a music workshop and performed for their parents.

Pre-School Sports Day

Senior Sports Results Summer Term 2016 ATHLETICS Sutton Schools KS3 Athletics Championships at Wyndley (09/06/16) Results Year 7 Girls - 3rd out of 7 schools

Year 7 Boys - 6th out of 6 schools

Year 8 Girls - 7th out of 8 schools

Year 8 Boys - 7th out of 7 schools

Year 9 Girls - 1st out of 8 schools

Year 9 Boys - did not compete

Individual Excellence

Year 9 Girls Team Winners of Sutton Schools Athletics Championships

1st place Ree’al Downie - Year 7 Hurdles, Caitlin O’Connor - Year 9 1500m, Charlotte O’Neill - Year 9 Javelin 2nd place Olivia Keene - Year 7 200m, Ree’al Downie - Year 7 Discus, Sophie Smith - Year 7 Javelin, Relay team - Year 7 Girls, Kate Stephens - Year 8 High Jum Harriet Gordon - Year 9 800m, Rebekah Olatundun - Year 9 Shot, Georgia Platt - Year 9 High Jump 3rd place James Griffiths - Year 7 High Jump, Destiny Roberts - Year 8 Discus, Jevan Degun - Year 8 1500m, Georgia Platt - Year 9 200m

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ISA Midlands Athletics Championships at the Alexander Stadium (18/05/16) It was an incredible performance by all of our athletes who participated at the regional athletics championships. Competing at a very high standard against 19 other schools, Highclare athletes achieved both individual and team excellence which placed our girls’ team 2nd and boys’ team 3rd overall.

These athletes represented the Midlands at the National Finals held at the Alexander Stadium on Wednesday 29th of June.

Boys Team – 3rd overall

Girls Team – 2nd overall

Boys Team – W

ISA National Athletics Qualifiers

Year 9 Girls Friendly Rounders v Chase Grammar at Highclare (26/05/16) All of our U4th girls enjoyed a friendly rounders fixture against Chase Grammar. They played 2 matches, winning one by 6 rounders to 2 and losing the other by 2 rounders to 3.

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Sutton Schools Senior Athletics Championships at Wyndley (03/05/16) At our first athletics competition of the year, our Year 10 athletes acquitted themselves very well.

The provisional results are: Year 10 Girls 3rd, winning the 100m, 200m and shot.

Year 10 Boys 2nd, winning the long jump and triple jump.

ISA National Triathlon at Lucton School (27/04/16) Congratulations to our 9 triathletes who all completed their respective events in some terrible weather, including snow, sleet and hail!

Results: Youths 2nd Lawrie Cox 12th Daniel Hurst 14th Taleb Givans Tristar 3 4th Caitlin O’Connor 7th Georgia Platt 10th Harriet Gordon 13th Niamh Pemberton 18th Zach Andrews 21st Piers Robinson 25th James Gibson

Headmaster’s Golf Challenge On a sunny evening in June, six teams of intrepid golfers enjoyed our first Headmaster’s Golf Challenge, hosted by Walmley Golf Club.

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The six teams which comprised of a good mix of parents, staff, governors and one pupil, enjoyed the competition which was played over 9 holes. The mood was both competitive and slightly apprehensive, with team 5, Mr Green, Mr Hook, Mr Mobed and Mr Broomfield being the victorious winners and seen here with Dr Luker and Mrs Watson, a school governor.

The school enjoys an ongoing relationship with Walmley Golf Club, using the skills of their resident professional to help promote the game amongst our pupils for the future.

We look forward to further competitions next year.

TOPS Children who attended TOPS for the ‘Let’s get creative’ themed week were able to enjoy some outside activities in the good weather.

Photographs from a selection of Sports Days at Highclare School

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New Junior School Uniform for Pupils from Pre-School to J6 From July 2016 our new uniform supplier will be John Lewis, with a base in their new store at Grand Central in Birmingham.

All our uniform will be available to order online with a variety of options for delivery.

For September 2016 we are introducing a new style Junior School uniform for pupils from Pre-School to J6.

Parents will have a period of up to 2 years to change to the new style but we hope you will want to do this as soon as possible.

If you have any questions regarding school uniform, please contact Site Head: Highclare Woodfield - Mrs Morgan, Site Head: Highclare St Paul’s - Mrs Booker or Head of Junior School: Mrs Bennett.

If you would like to sponsor the Headmaster’s Termly Newsletter call 0121 373 7400 or visit www.highclareschool.co.uk