Q News Spring 2023

Q News

Q News | Issue 16 | Spring 2023

Issue 16

1

Spring 2023

Les Quennevais School Learning to be your best through excellence and enjoyment CONTENTS

2

Q News | Issue 16 | Spring 2023

HEADTEACHER’S REVIEW Dear Reader, Our Spring Term has come to a close, but what an incredibly busy, vibrant, fun and successful one it has been, full of extraordinary achievements, with a palpable ‘spirit of Quennevais’ culture, major charitable contributions, and whole school events that are simply not replicated anywhere else on the scale we do things at Les Quennevais School. I apologise now for the length of this message, but it contains important information for you all.

The Hallmark of these last 12 weeks has been stamped boldly with the word ‘success’. It began with the stunning iGCSE English results secured by our Year 11 students, which they replicated in their Maths results in March, as they continue to focus on the final push for their formal exams, which begin in earnest after Easter. We wish them the very best over the Easter break as they attend the varied and high number of free revision and exam preparation sessions offered by our staff. It is essential that they push hard during this period and seek the support they may need from their subject teachers who are all here to help them through these final few weeks.

HEADTEACHER’S REVIEW

A huge highlight of the term was the massive success of our annual production of High School Musical!

What an extraordinary show it was involving over 130 students and a sell out run of 4 nights. The enthusiasm, talent and energy of this young cast made us all feel immensely proud, uplifted and at times swept away in their performances, and it’s no surprise our students (and staff!) are asking about the next one already, such is the power of an outstanding experience like this to give momentum and something to look forward to. Watch this Space!

Interhouse events have been fiercely contested this term, but as always with good nature with outstanding performance from House representatives in Football, Basketball and Swimming.

Our Pancake Race Off delivered an incredible atmosphere in the Hall through the week with staff and students giving their all for their House – with gusto and a sense of humour!

The Van Gogh Year 7 House Competition highlights the huge talent, creativity and ambition our students can demonstrate

in Creative Arts with incredible success. The ethic of excellence and the exceptional work submitted by so many students was so incredible.

What talent this year group have.

One of the Final House events of this term this week has reminded us all just what fantastic students we have. House Music delivered an impressive array of talent with over 20 outstanding solo performances and superb performances from our Brass & Steel Bands. The musical life of our school is strong, loud and proud. What resilient, courageous and talented musicians and vocalists we have and what a treat it was to hear them perform. Congratulations to the winning house, Tranter House.

From sheer talent to sheer fun and House spirit, the final two days have seen so many students put themselves forward to represent their Houses in Easter Egg Hunts and our annual Bunny Run (ears were compulsory!) with victory going to McKeon House. Our students’ ability to enter into anything fun and competitive says so much about them all. The Easter Bunny Raffle is the highlight of the last day, with so many Easter Eggs given out. It has been a wonderfully happy day in school again.

3

Q News | Issue 16 | Spring 2023

The final House competition of the term was the ‘Blake-off’ competition where students from Year 7, 8 and 9 faced off in true poetic style. Their confidence, composure and delivery was stunning with Tranter House victorious.

It was such a pleasure to host The Rotary Club of Jersey Young Chef Competition and our Year 10 Hospitality & Catering students excelled themselves, representing our school superbly with exceptional dishes, and ambitious menus, winning best dessert and best main course! A fantastic achievement.

Our annual Inter-House Swimming Gala began a tremendous week of sporting achievements and events.

What a fantastic atmosphere it was poolside, where students respectfully supported and brilliantly encouraged each other as they swam for their House. Later that week we celebrated our annual Sports Dinner after a day with England International Test Cricketer, Ryan Sidebottom. He spent time coaching and delivering masterclass sessions to students and in the evening he was joined by former England Netball Captain and local legend Serena Guthrie. Over 200 students attended this event and it was fantastic for us to acknowledge and celebrate their success in sport.

They were a pleasure to spend the evening with, and it is clear how much our students love their sport!

Several students who entered the 2022 Commonwealth Essay writing competition were immensely successful and we secured 18 Bronze and Silver awards, which is a stunning achievement and recognition of their very creative

and skilled essay writing. These students attended St Helier Town Hall to be presented with their awards. Congratulations to all our students who took part in this initative in which we have a long and proud tradition of success.

All our families are familiar with the epic and unparalled success and fun that we have as a community on RND and indeed Red Nose week! This year we went all out for maximum fun and fundraising. The spirit with which our students got involved in everything available was as always inspiring. Everything from gunging, Fifa World Cup, Pi-day, Photo booths, Rock ‘n’ Roll bingo, and now a new LQ tradition-The Masked Singer! illustrates why our school is so so special. We are a team, a community and a family. The big day itself was an enormous success from the effort everyone made with their outfits to the extraordinary total amount of almost £7,000 raised for Comic Relief. It was humbling and truly amazing to be part of.

Thank you to all our parents who support this very unique LQ experience and to our staff who lead from the front dressing up, being Pi-ed, singing, dancing, playing and generally making fools of themselves and by doing so showing our students how not to take yourself too seriously, and that you never really grow up if you know how to have fun! Proud doesn’t come close!

In the midst of all this we still had students entering The Creative Arts Eisteddfod and securing Platinum and Gold in photographic entries,

some truly beautiful submissions of a professional standard from our amazing students.

Our incredible Year 8 students did us proud in the de Putron Challenge making it all the way to the final and only narrowly losing out to St Michaels School by 2 points! What terrific ambassadors they are for our school.

The last two weeks in school have felt strange and not quite right without our wonderful Year 10 students who have been out on Trident Work Experience, and we have really missed them all! It has been fantastic to receive such incredible feedback from so many employers about our students, who have clearly made the most of this opportunity. Most employers want to keep them which is a strong endorsement of just how well they have done but we can’t wait to have them back after Easter!

It’s easy to understand how tired your children will be, my apologies for including so many references to so many events in school, but it’s been a tremendously successful term and alongside all of this has been hours and hours of learning time in lessons, so it’s quite a balancing act, but these are what thriving successful communities do so well.

May I take the opportunity to wish you all a very happy and restful Easter with all your families.

Sarah Hague Headteacher

HEADTEACHER’S REVIEW

4

Q News | Issue 16 | Spring 2023

LQS BECOMES Earlier this term Les Quennevais School was transformed into an American High School for our showing stopping production of High School Musical.

A cast and crew of over 130 students performed to four sell-out audiences who were blown away with the scale of the production. In a bid to top last year’s exterior light show, the show’s main characters were projected onto the side of the building in an impressive promotional video for the audience to see as they walked into the building creating a fully immersive experience from the moment they arrived.

As the show had been adapted from a motion picture and not taken from an existing musical the band and cast had their work cut out to perfect the songs, harmonies and rythym of the music.

CONTENTS

5

Q News | Issue 16 | Spring 2023

EAST HIGH And they did so with aplomb. The show featured several knockout numbers such as ‘Stick to the Status Quo’, ‘Breaking Free’ and ‘We’re All in this Together’ but none were as impressive as ‘Get’cha Head in the Game’ featuring all boys with highly technical choreography as the boys had to sing, dance and catch and throw basketballs all in sync with each other, culminating in one of the all-time greatest numbers from any LQS show!

Well done boys! #resilience The show was ably led by Dexter, Fearne, Daisy and Perry who all did a phenomenal job playing Troy, Gabriella, Sharpay and Ryan with both pairings having great chemistry on stage. Other notable performances came from Noah who played the school’s public address announcer and had the audience in stitches as he ad-libbed through his monologues and Amy who played Miss Darbus having some members of the audience thinking she was a real life Drama teacher at Les Quennevais!

Mrs Dunn outdid herself with the most incredible array of costumes including kitting out a full squad of cheerleaders and an entire basketball team. As always it is the attention to detail that goes into a Les Quennevais School production that sets it apart and this show was no different.

Directed by Mrs Alberici, choreographed by Miss Le Brun and music led by Mr Arnett, this trio overcame challenges and hurdles together to create one of the most memorable and feelgood shows Les Quennevais has ever produced. Something that our school community benefitted from immensely as the show is always a fantastic tonic as continues to mitigate any start of the year blues.

Mr A Richardson Business Manager

CONTENTS

6

Q News | Issue 16 | Spring 2023

Alumni Interview Catarina Basilio

My name is Catarina Basilio and I am a trainee English Solicitor.

Which years were you at Les Quennevais?

After leaving Les Quennevais 10 years ago, I decided to do the International Baccalaureate (IB) at Hautlieu School, as I wanted to study a wide range of subjects including languages, science and mathematics.

2008 – 2013.

I then went onto study law at the Institute of Law Jersey (through the University of London), which allowed me to live and work in Jersey, while having lectures on the weekends.

After my degree, I began working full time as a paralegal in the property department at Bedell Cristin, a leading offshore law firm. During my employment at the firm, I decided to complete the Legal Practice Course (LPC) via distance learning with Staffordshire University to become an English Solicitor.

Having completed the LPC, I secured a training contract with Bedell Cristin and am due to qualify as a lawyer in March 2024.

ALUMNI INTERVIEW

What was your biggest challenge at school?

Staying focused, as I was easily distracted. I think I have finally overcome that now!

Which aspects of life at Les Quennevais helped you become the person you are today?

Les Quennevais definitely increased my social skills and my confidence. I was pleased to be a school prefect and to have completed the sports leaders course, which further developed my communication, teamwork and leadership skills. I really felt supported and encouraged to try my best.

What was your greatest achievement at school?

Favourite lesson or activity?

I was super chuffed to have done well in all of my GCSEs.

Song/band/album that defined your school years?

Coldplay, Rihanna and Oasis to name a few. I listened to loads of different music genres, and whatever was in the charts at the time.

Law and Food lessons – to this day I still love working in law, and cooking and baking in my spare time.

Favourite memory of Les Quennevais?

There were many! To name a few, Red Nose Day when I dressed as a red iPod nano, which I made out of a cupboard box and painted with a friend. I enjoyed Sports Day, Battle of the Bands and Activity Week of course! It was great to interact with different year groups and make new friends.

7

Q News | Issue 16 | Spring 2023

What path did you take and who inspired you along the way to get you where you are today?

I was fortunate enough to be in a year group where Law was offered as a GCSE subject. Up until that point, I had never thought about a career in law, but it was Mrs Hague who really sparked my interest in law, and gave me the confidence to pursue it. The law lessons were always the highlight of my week and we even had a tea and biscuit trolley!

After my GCSEs, I did IB at Hautlieu and then a law degree in Jersey while working at a local law office. Following my law degree, I applied for a job at Bedell Cristin to work in their local property department. After working at the firm for a few years, I decided to study the LPC alongside my full time job, which was possible via distance learning. Having achieved a distinction in my LPC, I am now in the final year of my training contract. It has been a long journey, but I cannot wait to qualify as an English Solicitor with Bedell Cristin.

Favourite aspect of your job?

No day is the same and I am constantly learning and developing. I’m lucky to work in a great firm with wonderful people who have guided and supported me along the way.

What advice would you give to students looking at their career options?

I would say to keep an open mind and follow something you enjoy.

Try to get some work experience, as that will allow you to see firsthand what a job entails and even if you don’t enjoy it, you will have developed skills for the future.

I think it’s important to always believe in yourself and try your best at whatever you do.

If you would like to be a Q News featured alumni, please contact our Business Manager Mr Richardson.

We’d love to hear from you!

ALUMNI INTERVIEW

8

Q News | Issue 16 | Spring 2023

Sports Awards Dinner features ex-England sporting stars After a hugely successful Sports Awards Dinner last year thanks to sponsorship from our Corporate Partner Grant Thornton, the mission was to improve and make this year bigger and better. In a bid to secure highprofile speakers for the event, we were thrilled to welcome not one but two ex-England international sporting stars in Ryan Sidebottom, ex-England cricketer and Serena Kersten, exEngland netball Captain and local sporting hero.

The evening was once again held at the Jersey Rugby Club and was undoubtedly our best yet.

The Sports Awards Dinner is a very special fixture on the school calendar where students from all year groups come together out of school for a formal event to recognise the sporting achievements and success of one another. There were over 200 students in attendance and every one of them was a credit to our school.

Everyone was in awe of our special guests as they spoke so openly about their respective careers. Serena touched on how she had work that much harder than everyone else competing for an England spot as she had to overcome travelling from Jersey and the resilience that took to break down those barriers made her stand out and helped progress her career saying “Work hard to get a foot in the door then work even harder to smash through it!”

CONTENTS

Ryan Sidebottom spoke about overcoming early setbacks in his career and using negative feedback as motivation to work harder saying “when people told me I wasn’t good enough, it inspired me to work harder to prove them wrong!”. He went on to speak how this resilience coupled with sound advice from his father is what helped him get re-selected for Test cricket seven years after his England debut and eventually great things in cricket both internationally and domestically.

Both stars presented a range of individual awards to students and spent time chatting with each of them. Following a three-course meal, students were awarded key recognition awards including Girls & Boys Team of the Year.

The Boys award was won by the Year 7 football team for their dominance this season and being tournament winners and the Girls award once again went to the Year 11 Netball Team who have picked up this award three times. The award recognised their unprecedented success over the last five years and for winning the Year 11 Netball tournament, a feat that hasn’t been achieved since 2002!

The evening culminated with the Sports Person of the Year which is voted for on the evening by attendees. The award was deservedly won by Year 10 student Rory, a fantastic all-round sportsman who competes in cross-country at a national level.

Rory is arguably the most gifted all-round sportsman we’ve ever had at Les Quennevais and it was fantastic to see his achievements recognised by his peers in this way.

Mr Le Feuvre and Mrs Hague closed the evening by thanking our guest speakers, our sponsor Grant Thornton and congratulated everyone who had walked away with an award and echoed Ryan Sidebottom’s message encouraging those students who had not won an award this year to use that as motivation to work harder to prove themselves and keep striving for success.

Sport at Les Quennevais School is going from strength to strength and we can’t wait to see what our talented students can achieve with the guidance of our amazing PE Department!

Mr A Richardson Business Manager

Q News | Issue 16 | Spring 2023

9

CONTENTS

10

CONTENTS

Q News | Issue 16 | Spring 2023

Q News | Issue 16 | Spring 2023

11

CONTENTS

12

Q News | Issue 16 | Spring 2023

Students give it their all for their Houses in Swimming Gala The Spring Term features the second largest Inter-House sporting event, the Swimming Gala and this year it did not disappoint. It is another classic Les Quennevais tradition that is alive and well with over 200 students swimming for their respective Houses. Les Quennevais School took over the main pool at Les Quennevais Sports Centre for a morning as the PE Department orchestrated and executed another well organised, fun and ferociously competitive House competition.

All students behaved impeccably poolside and were both respectful and supportive to their peers as every swimmer gave it their all for the House. There were some impressive individual performances, most notably from the brothers Harry and Jack and their cousin Oscar who all swim at County level. Luckily, they are spread across the three Houses!

CONTENTS

The best part of the Gala gave staff and spectators goosebumps, perfectly capturing the ‘Spirit of Quennevais’ when Year 8 student Daisy was cheered on with deafening support from all three Houses as she finished her backstroke race in a moment that shows how prevalent the culture of respect is at Les Quennevais School.

After a rapturous roar of support for the relay events drowning out Mr Le Feuvre’s microphone, all races had been swam and the final results were calculated by scoring stalwart Mrs Lindsay.

In the end, there was just three points between 3rd and 2nd place showing just how close this Swimming Gala was, a great spectacle for the neutral.

Sports Captains Jen, Calum, Daisy, Ronan, Hannah and Nik were fantastic in ensuring swimmer were ready for their races leading by example throughout. After the opens, freestyle and backstroke races, the competition was fiercely close with only 11 points between 3rd and 1st place going into the breaststroke and final relay races.

With all students assembled on the balcony Mr Le Feuvre announced the final results. Watts House finished in 3rd place with 309 points, Tranter House came in 2nd place with 312 points and McKeon House were winners for a second year in a row with 346 points.

Mr A Richardson Business Manager

13

Q News | Issue 16 | Spring 2023

Ex-England cricketer Ryan Sidebottom is bowled over by Les Quennevais We are three years into our time at the new school and this term we hosted an ex-England international cricketer for the second time. We previously had Alex Tudor come in 2021 to officially open our outdoor cricket nets and it was through this connection that we were able to secure Ryan Sidebottom to speak at this year’s Sports Dinner and do some invaluable coaching with our budding cricketers as we continue to launch cricket as a new sport at Les Quennevais.

We are grateful to have had Ryan’s visit sponsored by our Corporate Partner Grant Thornton who hosted an insightful and informal Q&A session with Ryan in our Conference Room with refreshments provided by our Year 10 Hospitality and Catering students.

Students were shown a highlight reel of Ryan’s career accomplishments and his famous 7/47 against New Zealand in 2008 on our Science Media Wall and digital screens around the school throughout the day to fully appreciate the sporting calibre of the day’s special guest.

A class of Year 7 students were coached in a ball handling and fielding session instead of their regular PE lesson with Ryan and James Caunt, founder of Chirpy’s Cricket whose Academy is based at the school. Following on from the Year 7 class, a select group of the school’s best cricket prospects were treated to a bowling masterclass in our indoor nets from Ryan. The boys hung on his every word as he gave them invaluable tips on their technique, not least Year 8 students Luke who is also a menacing lefthander like Ryan was!

Ryan was the perfect guest who clearly enjoyed his visit to the school as much as we enjoyed having him thanking Mrs Hague by saying - “Thank you for having me Mrs Hague, I’ve loved my time with Les Quennevais School.“ We are thrilled that Les Quennevais School are now in a position to welcome sporting stars such as Ryan as we continue to raise the profile of sport at Les Quennevais School, something that Mr Le Feuvre and the PE Department are doing a fantastic job of. It is incredibly to exciting to think who we’ll be able to bring over in the future as we strive to provide these memorable experiences for our students and school community.

Mr A Richardson Business Manager

CONTENTS

14

CONTENTS

Q News | Issue 16 | Spring 2023

Q News | Issue 16 | Spring 2023

15

CONTENTS

16

Q News | Issue 16 | Spring 2023

Year 7 continue to impress with their creative talents in Van Gogh Competition This year’s Van Gogh exhibition was exactly what I was hoping for. After putting up the Transition Exhibition in September, it was so clear that this year group were going to be something very special.

If you remember avid readers of Q News, it wasn’t just a handful of standout pieces, it was the incredible consistency of greatness throughout the whole year group which impressed us all. Just as I had hoped, the year group rose to the considerable challenge of this extended homework task and the exhibition was bursting with ambition, creativity and talent. I gave an assembly to the year group and as always, I highlight a few which I thought deserved a special mention from the judging panel’s comments. This year, there were 37!

And there could easily have been more.

There were so many genius ideas which caught my eye such as Rose’s tissue box, Eleanor’s use of pegs for her sunflower and Danny’s ‘Who killed Van Gogh?’ game, complete with autopsy report. It wasn’t just the ideas that were great, it was the quality of research and the brilliant presentation that took these ideas from just a great piece of research into a genuinely memorable piece of art. We had some tremendous IT inspired art too. Chemmy’s wonderful animation, Analise’s built from scratch website and Mia’s mind-bending photo collage. There were some incredible artworks too. Jacob’s beautifully crafted sunflower, Harvey’s 3 paintings in one mash up, Rory’s painstakingly made tree sculpture and Sadie’s painted papier-mache Starry Night to name but a few.

There were scores that could have won the grand prize this year, they really could! In the end, we deservedly gave it to Charlie representing McKeon House for his fantastic wicker style chair. Such brilliant painting and fantastic design work. Congratulations to all the Year 7s who had their work on display. It was a truly brilliant exhibition filled with such passion and commitment to produce work which is filled with an ethic of excellence.

Mr P Jones Assistant Headteacher

Charlie’s winning piece

YEAR 7 VAN GOGH

Q News | Issue 16 | Spring 2023

17

RED NOSE DAY RETURNS BIGGER AND BETTER THAN EVER!

19

Q News | Issue 16 | Spring 2023

It was the week beginning Monday 13th March, there was excitement in the air and the staff were carefully planning the logistics of the week ahead. This could only mean one thing; Red Nose Day 2023. For as long as I can remember, Comic Relief has been Les Quennevais Schools main fundraiser and Red Nose Day occurs every 2 years. Red Nose Day 2021 still required COVID-19 regulations, mask wearing was required and we couldn’t mix year groups. We needed to bring back the event in full force for 2023.

On the day itself, the staff and students did themselves proud with the amount of effort they put into their fancy dress, it was the BEST turnout EVER. Walking into school on the Friday we saw Dinosaurs, Pizza Slices, Super Mario Bros and so many creative costumes where students went above and beyond to get creative; we have never seen so many students get into the spirit and get dressed up.

Throughout the week, staff were fund raising and giving students the opportunity to take part in different events at break times and lunches. It was International Pi day on Tuesday 14th March (3.14), and the Maths department led Pi day activities and brought back the popular ‘Pi the teacher’ event, where students could pay a £1 to ‘Pi’ their favourite Maths teacher. What great sports they all were.

Mr Oliver was back with his FIFA challenges throughout the week. He has kept it very quiet but I don’t think that his winning streak continued this year, and we’ll have to wait and see what 2025 brings. Billy, Flynn and Kuba in Year 8 set up their own Minecraft challenge, I look forward to seeing this grow for future years.

As always Miss Finney’s photobooth was extremely popular, the length of the queue trailed all the way down the corridor. Students were able to add props to their already impressive costume and take home a photo keepsake.

As per tradition Mrs Moisan set up her hot dog stall throughout the week, and she put on a special Rock ‘n’ Roll bingo for students to enjoy at lunchtime.

One positive event that COVID-19 did bring us was the staff videos, and this year did not disappoint with an epic Stars Wars tale from the Humanities Department complete with R2D2 and Storm Troopers. There were some creepy goings on within the Mathematics department or should we now call them the Mathematics Family with their rendition of the Addams Family? The wonderful Miss O’Connell put together a video of the weird and wonderful costumes for everyone to enjoy.

20

One of the highlights of the week was the incredible NEW feature of our fundraising events - the LQS Staff Masked Singer. Eight very brave members of staff took to the stage to sing and dance live in front of the student audience. The energy in the room was palpable, I have never experienced anything like the noise of the students screaming for their favourite performer, cheers and whoops of delight as the masked staff members performed. Mr Richardson was my fellow compere and I will cherish the memory of watching the students as he encouraged them to chant ‘Take it off, take it off!’ Big thanks must go to our wonderful staff members who

RED NOSE DAY

Q News | Issue 16 | Spring 2023

performed: Mr Chain-Lopez, Mrs Ferreira, Mrs Hague, Miss Hyam, Miss Ritchie, Mr Spencer, Miss Thebault and hands down the winner from both performances Mr Parkes AKA Green Dino! This event was so popular we had to arrange an impromptu extra performance of the competition. We even had a video message from The Masked Singer presenter Joel Dommett to wish our staff members good luck and thank us for our donations.

This is a new event that has firmly made its mark and will be back for future fundraising opportunities.

Q News | Issue 16 | Spring 2023

21

CONTENTS

22

CONTENTS

Q News | Issue 16 | Spring 2023

Q News | Issue 16 | Spring 2023

23

CONTENTS

24

Q News | Issue 16 | Spring 2023

We finished the week with an old faithful and the biggest part of our fundraising for Red Nose Day – The Staff Gunging. In the weeks leading up to Red Nose Day students and staff alike were donating their pennies and pounds to see which members of staff would be gunged. It was a close battle and right up to the final hour large sums of money were being deposited into buckets. With only £3 in it the top four chosen staff members to be gunged were: Mr Jones, Miss Godel, Miss Thebault and Mrs Ferreira. What fantastic sports they were, and an amazing amount of money raised.

You would have had to have lived under a rock not to notice that Les Quennevais School were fundraising for Comic Relief and I want to thank every single one of you for the effort and donations made to this fantastic cause. It is moments and events like this that really make this school such a fantastic community. We smashed our target of £5,000 and raised almost £7,000 altogether. What a fantastic sum of money, we have well and truly earned and maintained our official superfundraiser status. Events like this don’t run without support from the entire school community, so thank you to every member of staff, every student and every parent.

RED NOSE DAY

Mrs P Goodchild Assistant Headteacher

Q News | Issue 16 | Spring 2023

25

26

Q News | Issue 16 | Spring 2023

Meet newly appointed Assistant Headteacher Mrs Goodchild Mrs Goodchild

Who is Mrs Goodchild?

My journey from leaving school to where I am now is a long one, I grew up in Jersey and when I left at 18 years old, I went on to study at the Guildford School of Acting.

After many pantomimes and too many unpaid acting jobs it was time to move on. I taught dance and drama at various schools across Surrey, eventually running my own part time children’s Theatre School. I then became Vice Principal of a leading full time Performing Arts College. Soon after our wonderful daughter was born we made the move back to Jersey, I started working at Les Quennevais and retrained to gain my qualified teacher status in Mathematics. I became Head of Year and took on a new cohort of Year 7 students who are now in Year 10. In January I became Assistant Head Teacher and Head of Tranter House.

How would you describe yourself in three words?

Committed, determined, positive.

What is your main goal within your new role?

My main responsibility is Raising Standards Lead. As part of this role I will analyse data and work closely with departments to improve outcomes for all students. As Head of Tranter House I aim to ensure that the blue flag is always flying!

Why did you decide to be a teacher?

Since my early days of drama school I have always worked with children and young people, seeing a student’s progress, no matter what the subject or discipline, is such a rewarding experience. So many people ask me how Drama and Maths fit together, believe it or not, Maths is a very creative subject. The ability to problem solve and be creative with numbers and algebra is such an important skill.

What are your likes?

Good food in the sunshine with friends and family.

STAFF INTERVIEW

What are your dislikes?

Coffee – I will always be a tea drinker. Also slugs and snails, I’m sure the Science teachers can tell me how, but it freaks me out how they can move about with no legs!

Why did you want to work at Les Quennevais?

I am an ex-Les Quennevais student, so it was such a fantastic opportunity to come back to the school. It has been a privilege to work alongside teachers who taught me when I was a student back in the 90s – don’t worry I won’t name any names!

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

The only thing stopping you is yourself. Don’t let the doubt creep in and tell you that you can’t do it. There are so many opportunities out there for our students and young people today, they just need to grab every single one that they can and throw themselves into it.

With a little hard work and determination, you can do anything. Just approach each day with positivity and a smile.

Q News | Issue 16 | Spring 2023

27

CONTENTS

28

CONTENTS

Q News | Issue 16 | Spring 2023

Q News | Issue 16 | Spring 2023

29

CONTENTS

30

Q News | Issue 16 | Spring 2023

Students win top prizes for Rotary Chef Competition This term four Year 10 Hospitality and Catering students participated in the annual Rotary Chef Cooking Competition which returned this year after a three-year break. Organised by the Rotary Club and hosted

by Les Quennevais School, the competition showcases talented young chefs from the Island’s secondary schools.

Students are challenged to produce a three-course meal in two hours costing no more than £22. Three of the island’s most prestigious head chefs were on hand to judge the presented dishes, Will Holland from The Atlantic, Tom Radiguet from Samphire and Andrew Baird from Longueville Manor.

CONTENTS

Les Quennevais students rose to the challenge and all produced delicious three-course meals.

Ma-ya and Ruby were extremely successful, scooping up the prizes for best starter and best main course not from the winner’s menu.

A special thanks to Bob Marshall from the Rotary Club for organising the event, together with the parents for supporting the students with this competition.

Miss G Waring Head of Hospitality & Catering

31

Q News | Issue 16 | Spring 2023

LQS hosts Visible Learning Conference with Professor John Hattie It is not often we come face to face with a world renowned published author and absolute expert in their field. On Monday 13th March 2023, Les Quennevais School chalked up another first and we hosted a day’s visit from Professor John Hattie.

Professor Hattie was secured by Les Quennevais after bidding for a much coveted place on his World Tour, way back in 2022. After they had read Mrs Hague’s application, Jersey was selected for a visit and Les Quennevais School was delighted to host this premiere educational conference, supported by CYPES. Professor Hattie has written over 20 books and is described as “possibly the world’s most influential education academic”.

His book “Visible Learning” has been described as the “Holy Grail” of educational books and it looks at the impact of different teaching approaches on students and their learning. To date, he has analysed over 200,000 such teaching methods and their effects on learning. His knowledge

of educational theory is quite astounding and he gave two keynote speeches which gave the teachers a real understanding of high impact teaching and learning strategies.

Not since 2001 have Jersey’s teachers had a day where they could meet together and really focus on best practice and what impacts student outcomes. On the day, over 160 of the island’s teachers arrived at Les Quennevais ready to enjoy this rare opportunity to hear such a legendary speaker.

Our conference delegates could also choose from two workshops run by Osiris Education, who are a highly respected UK based company, running professional development courses to support the upskilling of teachers.

What really struck us was how our amazing building keeps on providing us with the ability to offer these experiences. Our school hall was a welcoming venue and so many of our guests commented on how

professional we had made the day, equal to other conference centres.

Our site team, office staff and canteen did us proud and put our school on the map for running future educational events which we are already beginning to think about.

What made it more extraordinary was that we were also operating a normal school day for our own students!

No two schools on the island are the same and so this inspirational conference gave staff from all the different schools some muchneeded time to think, plan and share on how we can best support children and young people in their learning. Meeting up with other island teachers and learning from the expertise of Professor Hattie was certainly long overdue and Les Quennevais School will be ensuring it is not another 22 years until the next one!

Mrs C Freeman Deputy Headteacher

32

CONTENTS

Q News | Issue 16 | Spring 2023

Q News | Issue 16 | Spring 2023

33

CONTENTS

34

Q News | Issue 16 | Spring 2023

HALF TERM HEROES So many of our students do extraordinary things. It is a privilege to be able to highlight some of the ‘Heroes’ that live among us and go above and beyond for others, or to be the best version of themselves.

Each student will receive 5 House Points for their House and an Amazon voucher - a sign that good deeds will be rewarded!

- Mrs Hague

THE WINNERS Eve 10S: McKeon House Nominated by Mrs Goodchild School Value: Ambition & Resilience “Eve is an absolute star despite at times being her own biggest critic. It is to her credit that she will not settle for anything less than perfect, including 100% attendance. Eve has accrued a massive amount of Classcharts points since September, and her effort and progress grades are exceptional. Her focus and commitment are commendable, there isn’t a day after school that you won’t see Eve working on her artwork or perfecting her coursework, a real role model not just for Year 10 but for the younger students at Les Quennevais. Well done, Eve, don’t forget to take time to reward yourself, you deserve it.”

- Mrs Goodchild

Krystal 9E: Tranter House Nominated by Mrs Morley School Value: Ambition “Despite her seemingly quiet and low-key approach to things, be under no illusion, Kristal is a force to be reckoned with and at the core of what makes Year 9 an exceptional Year Group. She has fantastic attendance, has achieved 100 positive Classcharts points (no negatives!), is ready and willing to take on any House competition and always with a smile. If that weren’t enough Kristal finds the time for gymnastics (a member of De Mond Gymnastics Academy), is part of the Jersey Aquatics Rescue Club and took to the stage for the school’s amazing ‘High School Musical’. Kristal represents everything staff at Les Quennevais strive to get out of our students. Kristal, you are a credit to your family, to yourself, and I am proud to have you in my Year Group. ” - Mrs Morley

HALF TERM HEROES

Q News | Issue 16 | Spring 2023

35

Barley 8Y: Watts House Nominated by Miss Alexander School Value: Ambition, Resilience & Respect “Barley is the kind of student who just makes me smile. She joined Les Quennevais and just ‘got it’. From day one she has embraced all that is on offer and gives everything her all. Not only are her reports something to be proud of she has achieved 100 positive Classcharts points already.

What is particularly of note here is that most of them are for effort and ambition – it is inspiring to see such a young woman with such a drive to achieve. Of course, Barley doesn’t just stop at academics, add to this her involvement in many school events such as the school show, sports teams and in the recent House Music Competiton. No matter what is asked from Barley she agrees and does so with a smile. This is a student who truly embodies everything we aim for at Les Quennevais. Well done Barley, keep going!”

- Miss Alexander

Harry 9Q: Watts House Jack 7S: McKeon House Nominated by Mrs Morley & Ms Thebault School Value: Ambition & Resilience “What can we say... these boys are absolute powerhouses and yet modest beyond belief. This year they headed off to Hampshire for the County Swimming Championships and came back with a pretty impressive set of medals! Now competition is fierce, so I am not getting in the middle, let us suffice to say that between the two of them there were 20 races entered and numerous medals won, including several golds! This is a reflection of who they are, aspirational, determined, focused and hardworking. All this and they still manage 100% attendance at school, great reports and 126 positive Classcharts points, which just shows their ambition and commitment to success both in school and out. Well done boys, we are proud that you are part of Les Quennevais.”

HALF TERM HEROES

36

Q News | Issue 16 | Spring 2023

House Reports McKeon It has been another eventful term for Inter-House events and McKeon has competed hard for every single one. At the start of the term we had built a little lead thanks to the efforts on the last day of the Autumn Term and you’ve all done incredibly well to extend that lead this term.

The term started with the Girls football and Boys basketball competition. The girls missed out on winning overall after winning in Year 9 and Year 7. However, repeating last year’s success, our boys dominated the basketball court with the Year 8s putting in an unbelievable team performance after losing their star player Callum.

The major sporting House event of the term was the Swimming Gala. I was incredibly impressed with how keen students were to take part making my job of selection very difficult but for all the right reasons!

I was so proud of our students who gave it their all with some notable individual performances from Year 7s Sienna and Jack, Year 8s Nava and Maina and Year 10 Niamh. But it was our team efforts in the relay events that made the difference.

Sports Captains Daisy and Ronan did a fantastic job of organising the swimmers poolside showing great leadership and were exemplary role models for the younger students. All these efforts led to McKeon winning for the second year in a row and I hope it is a streak that can continue!

At the Sports Dinner, it was a privilege to present the awards for Outstanding Commitment to House Sport to Romie in Year 8 and Carly in Year 10. I am lucky to have students such as these who are not only hugely talented but also approach the House competition with enormours positivity and encourage others to get involved.

However, the House Competition is not just about sport. We also had the Year 7 Van Gogh competition which was won by Charlie. Charlie is a fantastic sportsman so I was very happy to learn that he is also hugely talented creatively and so is a dual threat!

We had some fantastic entries in the House Music competition. This was the first I have been to and I’d like to congratulate students from Tranter and Watts House who were absolutely incredible. I was blown away by the musical talent of the whole school and thought it was a breath taking showcase of music at Les Quennevais. Tranter absolutely deserved their double victory Monty’s drumming solo was an historic LQ moment!

We came close in the Year 7 Blake Off with Harry finishing runner up and Ryder and Ryan coming third with very strong performances.

We were able to end the term on a high with a double victory for the Easter events. The Year 7s won the Easter Egg Hunt relay competition with the boys absolutely smashing it and the girls coming a close second. We then won the Year 8 & 9 Bunny Dash in gale force winds!

Congratulations to Year 9 Jack who has fought back from injury and ran an impressive race to finish way out in front.

We finish the term in a stronger place than we started it and I can’t ask for any more than that.

Everyone’s efforts this term have been extraordinary. But we have to keep pushing as the real work is done next term and if we want to get the job done we have to finish strong.

I wish everyone an enjoyable and restful Easter break and I look forward to seeing you all in the Summer term when we remind everyone who we are.

WE ARE MCKEON! Mr A Richardson Head of McKeon House

37

Q News | Issue 16 | Spring 2023

Tranter I am so honoured to have been given the opportunity to lead Tranter House. As an ex-member of Tranter House when I was at Les Quennevais myself, I am blue through and through. In January I took on this new post and whilst the points on the score aren’t showing the best of Tranter, I know that deep down we have some exceptional talent amongst us.

Each and every one of you that has competed or represented Tranter House should be immensely proud of yourself, we have been there at every competition closely losing out to Watts or McKeon in so many events.

From the basketball to the football we have narrowly missed out, but we keep coming back fighting. It was the pancake race where we excelled and this gives us the opportunity to start gaining points.

The swimming gala went with a bang winning so many individual heats, achieving 2nd place overall.

I felt extremely privileged to present two House awards at the Sports Dinner. The KS3 award went to Sam in Year 9. Sam is the very spirit of Tranter, there is not an event he won’t do, Sam would come to me to ensure I was on the case with the team sheets asking if he could help

me arrange the teams so everyone was placed in their best positions.

The KS4 award went to our very own pocket rocket Rory, people say he runs off Duracell batteries.

Whether on the football pitch, the running track or the pool Rory will be there.

There have been so many other creative competitions throughout this term with the Tortoise competition – (the Tranter creation is looking stunning), Year 7 Van Gogh exhibition and the Primary Engineer Leaders Award.

What a way to finish the Spring term with the House Music Competition, the musical talent on stage from every single student was outstanding! Well done to Fearne and Monty who led Tranter to victory winning the KS3 and KS4 awards.

And we were victorious on the last day of term for the Year 7 Blake Off showing that it is all still to play for!

The fight is not over yet Watts and McKeon. We will keep racing, keep competing and keep fighting back.

This shark has got some bite!

Mrs P Goodchild Head of Tranter House

38

Q News | Issue 16 | Spring 2023

Watts What a start to 2023 it has been!

Girls football, Boys basketball, Swimming Gala, Van Gogh and Engineering Project and so much more.

Watts our points are going up each term and you are showing your commitment and dedication to all House events, thank you.

It all started with winning the Girls inter-house football. Our Year 10s were undefeated and what a performance on the pitch, a special shout out to Jessiara and Mel for their talent during the matches.

And this was followed on by our Year 8 girls. What a talented group of students they are and so professional on the pitch. It was lovely to see the team working together.

The Boys basketball was a busy event – with Yellow shirts running around a very warm sports hall. The boys worked very hard and got 2nd overall.

I attended the swimming gala for the first time this year – what an event to be part of. The atmosphere, parents supporting in the balcony, students in the stands yellow, blue and red, Sports Captains on standby to make sure every team was full

and the PE staff making the event run like clockwork. The support for all students was incredible. I have to say a huge thank you to all the students that took part and I am looking forward to next year’s event.

The Primary Engineer Leaders Award competition was a huge success for Watts House with Year 8 student Bella taking the overall prize.

And then to the House Music competition that showcased individual musical talent but also the fantastic Steel Bands and Les Quennevais Brass Band. It was such a magical event with 8 students participating from Watts House.

The skills these students presented was extraordinary and it was lovely to see their confidence on stage to an audience made up of peers, staff, family and friends. I was so proud of each and everyone of you performing individually but also as part of a band.

And finally to Easter and the Year 7 Egg Hunt Relay and the Year 8 & 9 Easter Bunny Dash. The number of students at my door asking to be part of the teams was extraordinary and I thank each one of you for having the passion to be part of it.

Watts Year 7 girls shone – winning their race. The boys were fantastic

and didn’t give up but were pipped to the line by McKeon and Tranter.

I wish you all a wonderful Easter and look forward to the Summer term filled with more House events including, Softball, Rounders, The Golden Microphone and Sports Day. Watts House let’s continue adding every point to the board.

Mrs K Le Marquand Head of Watts House

39

Q News | Issue 16 | Spring 2023

THANK YOU TO OUR CORPORATE PARTNERS We would like to thank our corporate partners for their generous financial support this year. We are proud to have these companies associated as Corporate Partners of Les Quennevais School, working with us to make a difference and invest in our young people. If you’d like to become one of our partners, please get in touch with our Business Manager Mr Richardson.

CORPORATE PARTNERS

Proudly printing for the island for 40 years print signage documents clothing

Unit 6A & 7A, Barette Commercial Centre, Mont Mado, St. John, Jersey, C.I. JE3 4DS www.mailmateprint.com • sales@mailmateprint.com • 01534 493300