RVHS Exposed December 2019

RVHs E X P O S E D - Festive edition -

Editors Note: Merry Christmas Everyone! I hope everyone is in the festive spirit for this issue, because RVHS Exposed is going full on festive! Articles on Christmas Food, Winter Wonderland, Christmas Photography, Christmas Quiz and a whole lot more festive fun!

We have so many other interesting articles this week, such as Art Exhibitions you can visit, Key moments in Black History and the winner of a Gothic Story Writing Competition.

A huge well done to our Debate Team who took part in the Parliamentary Debate at Debden Park. They did amazingly and are a huge credit to the school!

Can anyone believe that this is the final RVHS Exposed of the decade! This decade has gone by so quickly, but has bought so many good memories with it. Roll on the 2020’s!

Joseph James, Editor

1. Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and Rudolph. 2. (any Christmas Carols you can think of). 3. a Christmas during which there is snow on the ground. 4. A button. 5. Summer. 6. (any Christmas movies you can think of) 7.

Santa’s List. 8. Pine, Spruce, Fir and artificial tree 9. North America 10. Buddy Page 12 Quiz Answers:

Visit Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland!

Located in the centre of London, Winter Wonderland is one of the most popular attractions during the Christmas season. This year’s Winter Wonderland will be the best one yet, with new major attractions, including: the world’s tallest transportable Observation Wheel; a new theme (‘A Christmas Carol’) at the Magical Ice Kingdom; a Season Ride Pass and Paddington on Ice. As you can tell, Winter Wonderland is great for families, friends and suitable for all ages.

It is an opportunity not to be missed! Winter Wonderland is home to London’s biggest Christmas Market; Over 100 rides and attractions; the UK’s largest open-air ice-rink; a range of food and drink; Santa Land; spectacular shows and much more…

Winter Wonderland will open at 4pm on November 21st and will run until January 5th 2020. Other than the opening night, the festival village is open every day except Christmas Day between 10am-10pm.

Hyde Park is easy to get to as it is located near many tube and mainline stations, including: Victoria, Bond Street, Knightsbridge, Green Park, Marble Arch and Hyde Park Corner.

To find out everything you need to know about Winter Wonderland before you go, visit: https://hydeparkwinterwonderland.com/

By Annie Mills

Christmas Recipes: Santa Hat Cheesecake Bites: Ingredients:

 1 plain cheesecake (homemade or store bought)  192g whipped cream  12 strawberries

Method: 1. Using a round biscuit cutter, punch holes out of the cheesecake 2. Transfer whipped cream into a piping bag and pipe a layer onto the cheesecake 3. Top with strawberries, sliced side down 4. Pipe a dot on the strawberry and serve

Teachers favourite Christmas songs and Christmas food  Miss Garip: Rockin around the Christmas tree and xmas turkey  Mr Dennis: Christmas with the Smurfs and xmas pudding  Mr Baidoo: Good King Wenceslas and Guinea Fowl Waakye  Mrs Cain: Last Christmas. Food = Brussel sprouts and chocolate :)  Mr Liddle: Fairytale of New York and

Random facts about Christmas:  Christmas dinner usually contains over 7000 calories  Australians usually grill on Christmas  Turkey wasn’t always the main dish, well not in medieval Christmas feasts  Fruit cake was intended to last all year  Technically illegal to eat mince pies on Christmas day in England because Oliver Cromwell banned anything to do with gluttony and the law still stands  Chances of a white Christmas in England and Wales is 1/10  Goose was the traditional meat eaten at Christmas  You should eat a mince pie on each of the 12 days of Christmas to give you good luck

Sparkling Winter Berry Holiday Cocktail: Ingredients:       

1 litre cranberry juice ½ litre apple juice 78ml strawberry-flavoured syrup ⅔ sparkling water Fresh or frozen cranberries Fresh blueberries Fresh strawberries

Method: 1. Add cranberry juice, apple juice, and strawberries syrup to a large jug and star well until combined 2. Rim glasses with sugar by moistening the rim with water and then dropping the rim of the glass in sugar 3. Fill each glass with half of the juice mixture and add a few berries to each glass as well, placing a strawberry on each glass 4. Top it with sparkling water and serve

By Amber Giddy

My experience of the Sutton Trust US programme, and why you should apply It was about a year ago now, that me (Mashrur Khondokar) and my twin sister( Maisha Khondokar) applied for the prestigious Sutton Trust US programme. This is a programme where the top 200 low-income, yet high-achieving state school students get to learn more about further education in the United States, and what it may be like to live in and study there, as well as prepare you for the application process. You even get an ALL expenses paid trip to the United States for one week during the summer!

For my US week, I went to North Carolina and stayed at Duke University, a school that you may not have heard of, but is one of the best in the world, and even surpasses most Russell Group Universities! During the week, you embark on various tours across a whole variety of University campuses, including the host university, and, you partake in a few cultural activities, to immerse yourself in the American lifestyle and culture.

During my time, I visited (obviously Duke University) the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Richmond, Davidson College (the college where Steph Curry went!), Georgetown University, and Harvard University. As for cultural activities, me and my peers who were on the week with me, visited a US mall (which was much, much bigger than Westfields), went to visit the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., and went to a baseball game (keep in mind that this is all paid for).

At the end of it all, you get to attend a university fair at Harvard, famously known as the “Harvard Fair”, which is exclusive to Sutton Trust US programme students: literally no-one else can attend this.

University representatives from all around the United States fly in, specifically to see programme students. Remember that these are the guys who actually look at applications and decide admission, and are probably very busy.

After that, you decide whether you want to take the extra load of actually applying to the US and apply to Part 2 of the programme, which me and my sister are currently on.

Overall, the Sutton Trust US programme was, and is continuing to be (as we’re still on it), a once-in-a-lifetime experience, wherein I’ve made friends for life, and memories that I’ll hopefully always have, and hopefully me and my sister gain admission to our chosen American Universities.

If further education in the US interests you, and you feel that you’re cut out for it, I absolutely implore you to apply, and the school will be behind you, every step of the way!

By Mashrur Khondokar

Art Exhibitions this Winter Throughout the next few months, there are several art exhibitions taking place in London open for the British public to visit. Here are some of the best recommended exhibitions this winter:  William Blake: The Artist- Hosted in the Tate modern and open until February 2nd, this art exhibition displays some of the works of the hugely famous William Blake.  The Dora Maar ExhibitionOpening on the 20th of November, this exhibition showcases some of the iconic Dora Maar’s pieces and photographs, also in the Tate Modern.  Bridget Riley- In Hayward Gallery and open to the public, this exhibition is a brilliant opportunity to enjoy some beautiful and eye-catching pieces by the famous artist Bridget Riley.

By Athina Christofi

Gothic Story: During an Open Day here at RVHS, there was a Gothic Story Writing competition, which was won by Rebecca Ash, who is in Year 5 at Clore Tikva Primary School. This is her winning entry: Once upon a time, there was a horrible Haunted House. Inside this house, was a creepy cauldron, a scary skull and an ugly, wicked witch. One day, two children, Bess and Tim, went for a walk in the dark forest that surrounded the house and found themselves to be hungry. They saw the house and figured they would ask for food.

The children were astonished to find that the door was unlocked.

Upon entering the house, however, the door suddenly slammed shut – they were trapped and terrified!

Hearing the witch enter the room, the children scrambled and raced behind the sofa, intent to not be found.

The wicked witch pretended she did not see the children; her heart bent on mischief.

She hummed a tune to herself as she went over to the cauldron and began to prepare her speciality: Human Cake. She prepared the broth by adding slugs, snail, ants, spider, beetle and any number of insects and rodents.

Tim and Bess heard the witch’s song about baking children in her cake and raced to escape out the door. But, as they pushed the door open, the witch appeared in front of them.

They screamed and shouted, “Help!” However, there was no escaping.

When they turn to ran, the witch flew on her broom: zoom!

The witch immediately tied them up and went back to finishing her potion, continuing to hum to herself about how succulent the children were going to taste. The cauldron fizzed and bubbled – a blaze of green liquid!

As the witch began to untie them, claiming the brew was ready…

They screamed.

Then woke in their bed – whew – it was all a dream!

They lived happily ever after, except for the witch who remained hungry for eternity.

The End!

Winter Photography Ideas: Winter is a magical time worth capturing! Either if it’s out in nature or at home, photography is at its best in winter.

Tips on winter photography:  The bokeh effect (see above picture) is absolutely wonderful in winter. It works really well with Christmas tree lights. Bokeh is the out-offocus lights in the background, which create such a great sense to the photo. All you need to do to create this effect is focus your camera on an object in the foreground, so that the background becomes blurry.

Note that this effect works best with lights.  Landscapes are also beautiful in winter; the most common ones are pine trees, snow and frozen lakes or branches. My advice is that you use a wide angle lens to give a sense of a wide, open space and fit every detail in. Flash can sometimes help, but it is not necessary in daylight. Try and find a lake to mirror the landscape.  Photography at home is famous too and looks amazing, especially in winter. To create a cosy effect, use a candle with a book next to it, or some pine tree branches. You could improvise by putting a black cloth on the floor and in the background. Lights are not necessary and neither is the flash, just the candle. As I said, you could also take pictures of your Christmas tree and create the bokeh effect.

I hope you try winter photography and take my tips into account! The cover is another good example taken by me!

by Bianca Nedelcu

Key moments in black history : 1619- Slavery comes to North America. In total, 6-7 million slaves would be imported to the New World in the 1700s alone. This was because the labour needs of colonising new lands were not being fulfilled.

1791- A revolution in Haiti sees the black slaves rising up against their owners.

1793- The cotton industry takes off. This was due to the cotton gin, which could easily remove the seeds from cotton, was invented. The production of cotton would become synonymous with slavery.

1865- The thirteenth amendment is ratified, making slavery illegal in the USA. This was after the American civil war, which killed 620,000. In WW1 and WW2 combined, only 521,000 soldiers died.

1896- The ‘Jim Crow’ laws were put into place. This mandated the segregation of black and white people in schools, public transport, anywhere.

1917- The 369th Infantry Regiment, nicknamed the ‘Harlem Hellfighters’, fight in World War 2. They would spend the longest amount of time in the frontlines trenches, 191 days; more than any other American unit.

1941- America enters World War 2. Over 3 million black people register to server, with 500,000 seeing combat overseas. They believed that by serving America, they will be granted equal rights to white people after the war. Many endured racism in the army.

1955- Rosa Parks begins the Montgomery bus Boycott. This was because she was arrested for refusing to give up her seat for a white man. 70 percent of the bus drivers in Montgomery were black, so the impact was felt immediately.

1963- 250,000 black and white people watch Martin Luther King Jr perform his iconic ‘I have a dream’ speech.

1964- The Civil Rights act is signed. First proposed by John F Kennedy, he was assassinated before he was able to sign it. It was up to his vice president, Lyndon B Johnson to sign it, 1965- Malcom X, a black and Muslim civil rights supporter, is assassinated by 3 members of his former group, the Nation of Islam.

1968- Martin Luther King Jr is assassinated by a white man named James Earl Ray. He was immediately sentenced, and accepted a plea bargain. This leads some to believe it was a coverup by the CIA. 2009- Barack Obama becomes the first African American to serve as president of America.

By Riley Cann, 11X

Let’s Be Eco-Friendly This Christmas!

Christmas, some may say, is the most wonderful time of the year, but it’s also one of the most wasteful, creating enormous amounts of waste being produced and disposed of during this busy season. most of this, unfortunately, is sent to landfill, therefore damaging the environment. This needs to stop. Here are some tips to have a more eco-friendly Christmas this year.

Wrapping paper Reading this, you might be thinking “ well, wrapping paper is exactly that, paper!” well, not really! Most wrapping paper these days is actually lined with plastic ‘membrane’. you know that stubborn wrapping paper that’s hard to rip? Or even the shiny paper? All plastic. Some things you can do to reduce the amount of plastic in your wrapping paper could be to make sure you buy paper that isn’t shiny or glossy. And the paper is from a sustainable source.

Which brings me onto a second problem with wrapping paper, the material. 50,000 trees are cut down each year to make enough wrapping paper for us to wrap our gifts. That’s 500,000 every ten years! It doesn’t seem like many but these trees aren’t being sustained.

Batteries Batteries are one of the main things we purchase and waste during the festive season. Most if not all of these are purchased and used for gifts and toys. Most people, however, do not recycle their batteries. There are ways around this. There is a battery recycling bin in the school stationary shop. Also in most supermarkets, news agents and even post offices. Or try using longer lasting batteries that wont run out quickly.

Gifts Gifts are also a massive problem, well, not really the gifts, the plastic and things such as this: Companies and shops Sell small things like lip balms as small gifts, these things are fine, don’t get me wrong, but the amount of plastic used is still an issue because it mostly cant be recycled and is usually left to landfill or to be dumped in the ocean. One massive glittery ball for a tiny lip balm? Or trainers that are entirely made of plastic!?

What happens when they go out of style or you finish the lip balm, there’s just wasted plastic. Follow all these tips and you’ll be sure to have a very good environmental impact this festive season!

By Ava Towner, 8X

Christmas Quiz 1.Name all of Santa’s Reindeer:

2.Name 3 Christmas Carols:

3.What does a ‘white Christmas’ mean?

4.What is Frosty the Snowman’s nose made of?

5.In which season is it Christmas in Australia?

6.Name 3 Christmas movies:

7. What is checked twice?

8.What kind of tree is a Christmas tree?

9.What country does a turkey come from?

10.What is the name of the main character in the movie Elf?

Your Score:

/10

See page 2 for answers