NEWS • CLUBS • FEATURES • FUN!
Welcome
Inside: UK's first school eco store? See page 4
Issue 11 / Michaelmas 2020
Mr Bunker!
Back Page: Mud, Sweat & Cheers: Dobson Trophy Special Feature! Picture: Newspaper Club Welcomes Mr Bunker!
By Melanie & Sophia Claremont Prep School has a new headteacher, Mr Bunker, and the whole school would like to welcome him and his family! To celebrate, we decided to interview Mr Bunker about what new challenges he is facing, and how things will ‘get better’ across our amazing school! We hope Mr Bunker likes our school as we are all very excited about having a new headteacher, and to see what will change and improve. See our Question and Answer feature on page 2!
Awesome Octagon Project on page 3! Plus, Christmas Jokes by Molly, Lottie and Sophia
Close Shave! By Melanie Mr Ware lost his hair in assembly after England lost at the Rugby World Cup. Eva shaved Mr Ware's hair off completely to raise money for a charity called Bhubesi Pride Foundation. Children in Africa who live in poverty, can get to play rugby. So far, Mr Ware has raised £736! I interviewed Eva, see page 7. Printed on Recycled Paper
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SPOTLIGHT ON OUR NEW HEADTEACHER
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In-depth Interview with Mr Bunker!
Mrs Castro Visits Newspaper Club! By Ollie
By Intrepid Reporters Melanie and Sophia We asked Mr Bunker lots of questions about taking over as headteacher of our amazing school. Here are his answers: Q: How does it feel to run a school? A: At first it was very nerve-racking! I’ve got so many lovely people looking to me to ask ‘What am I going to do?’ It’s also really exciting because it’s such a wonderful school and I’m very honoured and proud to be the headteacher. I’m going to work really hard to make sure I do a good job. Q: What made you want to work here? A: I was working as a deputy headteacher and the opportunity came up and somebody said to me I should go and have a look at Claremont school. When I came over I met the children, and they were so wonderful I thought this is a place I’d really like to work. There are lots of brilliant teachers and staff as well. Q: What do you like about working with children? A: Every day is different. I like to see children getting better at learning things. I love sports and I love teaching people how to play sports as well. Q: Will you change anything about our school? A: I think change is a good thing, and if I do make changes I’ll try to make sure they improve what we’ve got already. The most important thing is any changes are to make sure it’s a better place for you to learn new things, so you’ve got the best environment to learn in. Q: What do you like about Claremont? A: The children are pretty amazing, and I like the fact it’s a team. The children work very hard. Q: What’s your vision for Claremont’s future? A: Wow, great question! My vision is to try and improve things, to update things. I’d like us to look at technology and science, and improve some of the sports facilities. Q: Will we carry on with our dress-up days? A: Yes, we’ll definitely keep doing those and raising money for charity. Everyone loves coming in fancy dress! Q: What are the biggest challenges you are facing at our school? A: Tough question! To modernise the school but at the same time keep the beauty of Claremont. To raise the standards of learning and make you even more clever than you already are! Our biggest challenge as teachers is to improve learning. Q: Are you a people-person? A: Yes! I try and meet as many people as I can. I enjoy listening to what people have to say, and learn new things! I’ll work as hard as I can while I’m here, and do as much as I can for the school!
Rejoicing at the visit by Mrs Castro
We all miss Mrs Castro because she was fun, enthusiastic and, most importantly, she didn’t get cross if we did something wrong. Mrs Castro retired at the end of the summer term after 23 years, but she came back in to school, and Newspaper Club had the chance to catch up with our former teacher. Mrs Castro said: “Retirement was very strange but it felt like I was going on an extra-long summer holiday. I miss the children the most! The smiley faces and fun, and I miss all the staff. I’m doing lots of cooking, lots of reading and lots of gardening. It feels odd that I’m not in my classroom any more, and I won’t go and look at it because it’ll be different now.” When Mrs Castro left, we did an assembly for her. This is an excerpt: “Mrs Castro is her name, At Claremont she’s in the Hall of Fame!”
By Leo I have created an amazing comic called Pacman Love Series! I chose Pacman because I’d always wanted to create a comic, and so I decided to go for it. The story is world breaking news: Pacman and Blinky, the red ghost, are in love. They are battling together as well. How did I do this? The steps to make a comic are: 1) Staple two pieces of paper together 2) Create a title 3) Decide what the story is (the plot) 4) Decide what the characters are 5) Draw pictures of epic Leo's fabulous comic! battles and adventures Choosing a title can be difficult because you’ll want to make it cool. Every comic needs a good plot and characters.
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SENIOR SCHOOL FEATURE
Awesome Octagon!
Newspaper Club’s trip to the new £3.5 million Octagon Project at Claremont Senior School and Mr Dickie at the barre in the dance studio which boasts the same floor as the Sydney Opera House!
By Newspaper Club reporters Nikolas, Mollie, Lottie, Leo, Varnika, Harinee, Ollie, Melanie, Sophia, Niemh and Cutler Newspaper Club went to Claremont Senior School to learn about the amazing Octagon Project! We interviewed Headteacher Mr Dickie about the new building, which cost £3.5 million!!! There are two parts of the project; the main Octagon and the Performing Arts centre. There are 10 classrooms; four for maths, three for art, a library, a science lab and a multi-functional room. We asked how the building got its name. Mr Dickie said: “Before the old building got knocked down, there was a small shrub tree and around it was a brick raised bed and a duck lived inside that bit. The shape was an eight-sided octagon, which is why we called it the Octagon. Our students really like it, that’s what I’ve heard. They’re really proud of it. They say things like: ‘Wow we look like a proper school now’ which makes me laugh. We asked what inspired the creation of the Octagon
Project. “We didn’t have enough room. The old building was grotty and the school has grown quickly, going from 30 students eight years ago to more than 300 today. We needed to build classrooms. Our vision was to have a building that was light. We wanted a space which was a nice place to learn. We wanted it to be flexible and have walls which can move. They’re pretty cool. Art is a big deal up here, we have a successful art and photography department, and we wanted to give them a light space.” Mr Dickie added: “It’s the heart of the school.”
What do you call a chocolate sheep at Xmas? A chocolate baaaaaar
By former Newspaper Club star reporter Joseph
Excitement at bumping into Newspaper Club's former star reporter Joseph!
Senior school life is a very grown-up life! This was my first term as a ‘senior’, and so far it has been awesome. Enrichment is called Co-Curricular and it happens every day, so my tip is to pick the best ones before the spaces run out! Even though we have fewer lessons each day, they have been extended by 20 minutes. The senior school is different to the prep in location as most of the senior school is not attached to the main building, meaning some journeys to your next lessons may involve you going outside, but hey, it is nice to get some fresh air and soak in the amazing scenery!
CELEBRATING OUR DIVERSE PLANET & PEOPLE
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Eco Store Launches! Mrs Bunker and our Eco Warriors | Eco Warriors Launch Eco Store!
By Varnika
Eco Store Launches and it may be the first in the UK!
In Autumn, we waved goodbye to the grand summertime and prepared to welcome the freezing winter cold. We saw different types of plants showing off their perfumelike fragrance, and beautiful colours.
Claremont may be the first school in the country to open an eco friendly shop. Our fantastic eco warriors have worked hard to create a store that sells natural products. Students have designed store labels and posters, chosen stock such as Faith In Nature shampoo and body wash, priced products, and brainstormed ideas. As The Arrow went to press, the store was due to launch on November 22nd. It will be open from 3.30pm to 5pm each Friday afternoon in the Chapel. Mrs Bunker said: “Our Eco Warriors are doing great things. It’s a joy to see how enthusiastic, creative and ambitious the students are in creating this fantastic store. Thank you to FOCS for helping support this initiative.”
The leaves on the trees changed from their beautiful green shade to orange, brown and yellow, making the Claremont forest come alive!
Christmas in the Netherlands
Apart from the beautiful sights, we heard nature's sounds. For example, the chirping of birds and the crunching sound of leaves as we walked through the majestic forest. The smell of fresh air and the damp earth was all around us. We all agree that Autumn was a fun time for pulling on our wellies and having fun! Gathering Leaves (Extract) by Robert Frost Spades take up leaves No better than spoons, And bags full of leaves Are light as balloons. I make a great noise Of rustling all day, Like rabbit and deer Running away.
By Niamh (who has Dutch heritage) In Holland, or the Netherlands, Christmas is different to the United Kingdom in some ways. In the Netherlands Christmas comes a lot earlier compared to Britain's festive season. Instead of having Father Christmas, we have Saint Nicholas. For most children in The Netherlands, the most important day during December is the 5th, when Sinterklaas (St. Nicholas) brings them their presents! The name Santa Claus comes from Sinterklaas. It all starts on the second Saturday of November (the first Saturday after 11th November) when Sinterklaas travels to a city or town. Dutch tradition says that St. Nicholas lives in Madrid, Spain, and every year he chooses a different harbour to arrive in The Netherlands, so as many children as possible get a chance to see him.
Black History Month By Mrs Harper
Yummy Caribbean food!
Staff and students acknowledged Black History Month by focusing on the positive contributions black and ethnic minorities have made to the British society. 8H led an assembly to highlight the significance of the month, through drumming and poetry. Students also shared the various contributions black people have made in the Arts, Science, Education and Technology. Chef Ian and his team prepared a lovely spread, honouring the vibrant flavours and colours of Caribbean food.
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CELEBRATING OUR DIVERSE PLANET & PEOPLE
Día de los Muertos! By Chloe, guest contributor, Year 8 On the 4th of November we were fortunate enough to have a Day of the Dead morning at the senior school with the Year 9s. It was fantástico! The activities were really fun, and we got to talk to our year nine friends and make new ones. Our first activity was Name the Body Parts in Spanish. Two Mexican students taught us. Our second activity was creative. We coloured in the skull pictures, bookmarks or created our own skull. The final activity was my favourite (and I think everyone else’s too): cookie making! We made a skull cookie using green and red icing, and white chocolate chips. Mine didn't look like a skull but tasted amazing! I really hope we can do this again next year. Thank you so much to the staff for organising this, we have all benefited from it. Señora Osborne said: “Bright, colourful and vibrant was the theme of the day, and we ended watching the Mexican film The Book of Life where we got to see this fantastic festival come to life. It was Claremont at its best! A close-knit community with an international perspective.”
By Harinee
Día Europeo de las Lenguas! Por Sophia y Melanie
I was born in Southern India, and at the age of one I was brought to England to live here. Every summer I go back to my birthplace to visit my family including grandparents, and many other relatives Harinee telling her story of belonging to two very different cultures from both my parents’ families. I have grown up experiencing and belonging to, two very different cultures and places. The UK is multicultural and it is important to let people know about different cultures. There are so many differences between the two places that make up my identity, but I celebrate them and I enjoy the richness of living a diverse life. In the southern part of India it is very hot and dry, and the population is huge. There are many farms and houses, and a lot of animals. Some parts of India are very poor while other parts are rich. There are extremes at every turn. The food I eat in India is different; more colourful, spiced and full of vegetables, in contrast to the food we eat in Sussex. There are differences in climate between both of my home cultures; the lush green of England with rain and clouds, and the heat and pollution of India. I consider myself a mix of them both, rather than a conflict between them. In my heart I am Indian but my home is in Sussex. There are many other young people like me who were born in India, or outside of the UK, but who live here, as there are 1.3 million British Indians in the UK. Like me, they will take aspects from both cultures and make them their own.
(translated by S. Osborne!) El 26 de Septiembre de cada año, celebramos el Día Europeo de las Lenguas con un montón de cosas, por ejemplo unos concursos y unos juegos. Fuimos en la escuela con algo que representa un país internacional y su idioma. El Sr. Roro visitó Claremont y realizó un espectáculo en francés. Hizo una obra corta. Era una comedia, pero era más como el circo porque giró placas en cables altos e hizo malabares con huevos y se agrietó uno en su cabeza y montaba una bicicleta que se convirtió en un monociclo. ¡Fue muy divertido!
What do sheep say to each other at Xmas? Merry Christmas to ewe!
NEWSPAPER CLUB FEATURE
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By Varnika We are marking three years of the majestic Newspaper Club, and 2500 printed copies of The Arrow so far, by having a competition. The challenge is to find and count all the yellow balloons you can see in this edition, and email us at arrow.newspaper@gmail.com. If you can tell us the right amount of balloons, and which pages they’re on, you may win a chocolately prize!!!! We are all excited about our birthday! Here are our front pages from over the years, from our first ever edition to our most recent, edition 11, which you are reading right now:
Some of our reporters told me what they love about writing The Arrow
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Oliver: “Writing ‘Road to Victory was amazing!’” Varnika: “I LOVE writing the front page!” Melanie: “Writing the front page report was exciting!” Mrs Kemp: “Meeting the students and hearing their incredible ideas is always my highlight!” Cutler and Nikolas: “Our favourite moment was enjoying the Haka dance!”
By Lottie and Mollie
By Harinee
We saw a very inspiring press photographer, Mr Page, who came to Newspaper Club to show us his images on the big Taking photographs and handling projector professional cameras! screen. Mr Page has done some crazy stuff! For example, he hung off the tallest building in Tokyo to take a picture, and he leans out of helicopters to take shots. Mr Page told us about what photographers do, and some of the famous celebrities he has had to photograph. He also works for several royal families! We were allowed to hold the cameras, which are very expensive, and they were very heavy. Everyone in Newspaper Club would like to say thank you to Mr Page for speaking to us, and to FOCS who gave the school our projector. Mr Page said: “It was exciting to see the images on a big screen. Every photo tells a story. I hope Newspaper Club students saw the possibilities of photography as a career.”
We have been raising money for Air Ambulance Kent Surrey Sussex by saving up empty crisp packets. To make it more fun, Mr Ware, who Binbags filled to the brim with crisp packets, ready for weighing! organised the event, made it into a competition by saying whichever House got the most packets was the winner. Mr Ware said: “Thus far, we have collected in excess of 14kg of crisp packets. What has been wonderful to hear about - and has been rewarded with HTCs from Mr Bunker - are the children that went the extra mile. Children created fliers for their street and dropped them into houses, another took the opportunity on a London to Newcastle train to collect packets from the guards and staff responsible for the drinks trolley as well as asking passengers in their carriage for used packets. Our pupils have also used away matches and sports events to collect at match teas. It's been wonderful to hear about how resourceful they’ve been.” Mr Bunker said: “Three children have supported the challenge outside of normal perimeters, they are Milo, Isla and Charlie.” As The Arrow went to press, Corinth maintains its lead!
RUGBY SPECIAL
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Rugby World Cup 2019 Special We’ve Gone Rugby Crazy!
Claremont 5-a-Side
Quiz By Cutler and Nikolas
By Cutler
Q: Where did the Rugby World Cup 2019 take place? Q: Who was England’s captain? Q: Which team had the Haka as their opening? Q: How many teams took part? Q: In which stadium did the final take place? Q: Which teams were in the final, and what was the score?
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A: Japan A: Owen Farrell A: New Zealand, the All Blacks A: 20 A: Yokohama Stadium A: South Africa beat England 32-12
*1.84 million tickets were bought *70,103 spectators at the final *400,00 international visitors went to Japan for the games *6 weeks of rugby union action!
Claremont 5-a-Side Teams
What World Cup? We celebrated that other rugby event by having our own 5-a-side Claremont World Cup with five teams going head-to-head! The teams battling it out were random round-theworld teams: Joe’s Samoan Samurais, Paddy’s Fijian Fliers, Will’s Georgian Giants, Tom’s Russian Renegades and Harry’s Canadian Crusaders. Players were from Years 6,7 and 8 in mixed year groups. And the winner was…..(not South Africa this time)… Harry’s Canadian Crusaders!
By Melanie
By Cutler
Beware! Ollie, Cutler & Leo are the fearsome trio performing the Haka
The Haka is a traditional dance used by Maori people to invite opponents to a challenge. It is used by the All Blacks (the New Zealand rugby union team) to intimidate teams they are about to play. It’s quite easy to do: First go into a half squat, then cross your arms. Then put your hands down to your legs and hold your waist. Repeat these two steps six times. Then, raise your hands to your chest like King Kong. Then, bring your hands up as if you were a goalkeeper but remember to keep squatting. Repeat the steps while chanting the Ka Mate haka. The leader begins: Taringa whakarongo! (Ears open!), Kia rite! Kia rite! Kia mau! (Get ready! Line up! Stand fast!) The team replies: Hi! (Yeah!).
Eva said: “I was scared but excited because it’s not an everyday thing to shave a teacher’s head! The only reason I did this was Melanie interviewing Eva about her dare with Mr Ware because my friend Ruby dared me to! I practiced shaving on my grandpa’s head so I wouldn't mess it up!” Mr Ware said: “It was a good-natured, competition between Eva, in Yr 8, and myself, with both extremely confident that their own nation would be victorious at the final. On this occasion Eva, who is South African, was the winner. As an outcome of England losing, I agreed to shave my head in assembly - with Eva controlling the clippers. We hope that the funds raised will lead to many more children being given opportunities that we may take for granted.”
SPORTS SPECIAL
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Mud, Sweat and Cheers! The Dobson Trophy Run in all its muddy glory Freddie being congratulated for coming 3rd in the U9 race
They’re off!
Gold for the U13 Girls!
By Newspaper Club Reporters Nikolas, Mollie, Lottie, Leo, Varnika, Harinee, Ollie, Melanie and Cutler Intrepid Newspaper Club newshounds braved the elements to interview runners and parents during the Dobson Trophy Cross Country Challenge. The annual competition involved 14 schools, 250 competitors, and a lot of mud! Mr Catt said: “The conditions are some of the worst I’ve seen, so the runners deserve a massive amount of credit. There was a great atmosphere, and brilliant sportsmanship.” Joe’s mum said: “I was very proud.” Ruby’s mum said: “It is very well organised.” Sophia said: “I was running. I fell over a couple of times but I’m glad I finished.” Runners from St Ronan’s, Hector, Bruno, Bertie and Wilby, said: “What really matters is having fun.” Mr Bunker said: “It has been an amazing day. Fantastic efforts by the runner and it’s great to see so many people cheering the competitors on.” Claremont runners did really well! Freddie came third in the U9s, Felix came third in the U13s, Rowan BD came 2nd, and Charlotte 3rd, in the U13 race, and the U13 Girls came first!!
Felix came 3rd in the U13 race
The mud had no chance against the Claremont boys!
Our newshounds at the Dobson Trophy Run!
Rotor Racers! By Nikolas
Mak in action!
Mak Larkin competes in U14 mountain bike and cycle cross competitions. He races in a team called Rotor Race, which is a member of British Cycling. Earlier this year, Mak came 6th in the London and South East Cross League. Mak said: “I like competing nationally, I’m ranked number 19, but next year I want to be in the top three."
U13A Girls' Hockey Champions of the UK Sport Academy Girls' Hockey Tournament. Claremont were Plate Winners after Charlotte scored in the final minutes.
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