Ruislip High School Winter Newsletter 2015 for the website

Ruislip High School NEWSLETTER Winter 2015

HIGH PRAISE FOR ROMEO AND JULIET The school production of Romeo and Juliet took place on Wednesday 9th December and Thursday 10th December. Directed by Mr Alexander and Ms Hart, the play starred students from several year groups in both acting and musical roles.

The students performed their refreshed production of Romeo and Juliet to an amazed audience.

Set in Britain in the 1980s, this adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic, follows the lives of two opposing families and the hatred that divides them both. This well-known story was brought to life with an outstanding cast, an accompaniment of instrumentals and a superb live soundtrack.

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CONTENTS News from the Headteacher

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MFL News Page 4 Child Development News and Safe Drive Stay Alive Article

Page 5

Badminton News and Year 11 News

Page 6 and 7

LRC News Page 8 and 9 English and Music News

Page 10 and 11

Romeo and Juliet Continued

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Learning Support Faculty News

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Year 10 Students Speak Out

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Design and Technology News

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Maths News Page 16 and 17 Sports News Page 18 and 19 Year 7 News Page 20 and 21 Let’s Think Page 22 and 23 Good News Page 24, 25 and 26 Theme Day Page 27 Science News Page 28 and 29 Geography News Page 30 and 31 Lumina Programme Page 32 Year 12 News Page 33 Business and ICT and Sociology News

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AS Government and Politics News

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Presentation Evening Page 36 Enrichment Day Page 37 Gardening Club Page 38 Spring Term Dates Page 39 Page 2

NEWS FROM THE HEADTEACHER The school’s logo, from green to blue, represents students’ journeys at Ruislip High School ‘from grass roots to reaching for the sky’.

Events throughout this term have reminded me of students’ journeys and our school’s belief that students can reach for the sky each and every day.

As part of the school’s annual Presentation Evening, the audience was entertained by our talented Year 8 impersonator, Jamie, 8F, as he performed a range of characters, including Kermit, Ali G and Borat. Other individual performances included Eddie, 12A1, who mesmerised the audience with his piano solo performance of ‘Nuvole Bianche’ arranged

by Joel Biffin. In addition, Sophie, 12A4, took on the impressive challenge of singing ‘Hallelujah’ composed

by Leonard Cohen, and received a tremendous response from the audience.

Our Year 11 student leaders shared their reflections of their time at Ruislip High School. It was wonderful to listen to their presentations in particular how Ruislip High School has influenced their lives and future aspirations. For example, Joseph, Year 11 Head Boy, mentioned how the school has helped him to have a growth mindset; he has understood that his ability is not fixed or capped and determination is important to achieve his goals. Our Senior Head Girl and Boy left an indelible mark in terms of their presentation which ended with a singing tribute to Ruislip High School.

It was uplifting to listen to how their experiences on school trips, and the relationship they have established with staff, have led to an unforgettable journey which they believe has prepared them well for adult life.

Above: Jamie (8F), as Ali G, with Dannish Walker-Khan

In the Presentation Evening, the reason was given for the recipients of the bestowed prizes; in the case of two of the students this was coping with bereavement, the loss of a parent whilst they were taking public examinations. This reminds us that a number of students’ journeys involve coping with extremely challenging circumstances and we hope that Ruislip High School can remain a constant support throughout these times.

During the Sixth Form Open Evening on Wednesday 18th November, I felt so proud when three of our students spoke about their experiences in the sixth form. Peter, 13A2, Betsy, 13A2 and Sam, 12A3, articulately talked about Ruislip High’s supportive learning environment that encourages students to be responsible for their own learning; they commented on their teachers’ commitment to ensuring that all students fulfil their potential; they expressed how their journey at Ruislip High School has allowed them to take on positions of responsibility both in and out of school; and they commented on how they have relished opportunities such as the challenges of the Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award.

The students’ narratives reflect the importance of the home-school partnership. Ruislip High School is a local school, which strives to be both in and for its local community, and recognises its responsibility to educate and develop the future generation.

Dr Martina Lecky

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MFL NEWS In September, and for the first time in RHS history, sixteen students have started a wonderful journey through time by choosing Latin as a GCSE option.

This is a real challenge for the students as they have two years to cover both language and civilisation curricula (Latin students would tell you that this word is a nominative plural case of the second neutral declension!).

The engagement and determination of these sixteen students is really phenomenal. For two years, they will follow the adventures of Quintus, a young Pompeian, in his journey through the Roman Empire after the destruction of his home town.

In the space of three months, our Latinists have covered the first book, learning about life in Pompeii and translating Latin texts into English. After the tragic eruption of Mount Vesuvius, and the death of some of our favourite characters, students are now going to travel with Quintus to Egypt and discover the wonderful traditions of a culture trying to survive, and mix with, the Roman invader.

In February half-term, some Latinists, along with some Geography students, will be going on a five-day residential trip to Italy. Students will stay in the South of Naples Bay and will visit Pompeii and Herculaneum, climb Mount Vesuvius and will discover the Amalfi Coast, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Student voices: “I really like Latin. It is a challenging subject but it is good because it helps with English as well. It is a lot of work but I don’t regret it!” Meredith, 10A “It is interesting because we study the origins of most European languages. I don’t find it too hard because I revise my vocabulary regularly.” Marcelo, 10A “Latin is an opportunity to learn something completely new and different. I really enjoy civilisation: you get to see how people were living, what they believed in, etc.

It is very different from today!” Reece, 10D “I really enjoy Latin. I think it is very good for my future because employers are looking for skills we are developing when learning Latin (rigour, attention to details, work ethic, etc)” Lauryn, 10A “I really enjoy Latin. It teaches you about a beautiful past civilisation and learning the language in parallel helps me imagining it. I don’t find it too hard because I revise my vocabulary a lot. I am so happy and excited to go to Italy in February, especially to Pompeii to see where the characters of our stories were living. I know I will be sad when I see the actual corpses of the people who died almost 2000 years ago...” Hager, 10C “It is a good opportunity. It is challenging but the stories we translate are interesting. I realised the importance of revising regularly: I am making flashcards all the time now! I am also very excited to go to Pompeii in February as we will physically see what we are studying. It will make it more real.” Ellie, 10C Page 4

CHILD DEVELOPMENT NEWS Year 10 egg project During the October half-term, GCSE Child Development students were set a challenging parenting task. They were asked to look after an egg whilst keeping a diary which would document experiences showing physical, intellectual, emotional and social development (PIES). This is a concept they study in depth throughout the course. Their challenge extended to returning their egg intact on the Monday after half-term. Most students achieved this challenge and completed some fantastic diary entries which recorded a variety of experiences, some very funny and touching. It was evident from the diaries that not only did they really enjoy the challenge but they involved their extended family in the experience. Some students became surprisingly attached to their egg.

Lauren, 10B, wrote the following account: “When I was first given the egg, I was quite worried because I knew that it could break so easily. Usually I am quite careful with things but I haven’t really been given the responsibility to care for something so fragile whilst still involving it in everyday life. All I could think about for the first few days was that if I made one little mistake, it could cost me and I didn’t want to fail the task. I would place the egg in places where nobody would see it or touch it and I was quite obsessed about making sure that the egg wouldn’t be tampered with or damaged. This made me think about when I see parents being over protective with their children. I always used to wonder why they got so flustered over little things like wearing a coat, but the egg made me realise what parenthood is all about.

Many of my friends got involved in the task and helped me to care for the egg and have fun at the same time. We treated the egg like a real baby and we took lots of pictures with the egg. We also did many different activities that helped contribute to development of the egg, as children need to do certain things to help them learn and develop. In child development, we call this P.I.E.S. It stands for physical, intellectual, emotional and social development. These are some of the things we did for each category. The project for me was a success because it prepared me for real-life situations and it helped me to appreciate everything that my mum has done for me. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be who I am today and one day, I hope to be a great parent, like her.”

SAFE DRIVE STAY ALIVE All Year 12 and 13 students were invited to a half-day presentation on car and road safety at the Winston Churchill Hall in Ruislip in October. The event covered the main factors that increase the risks for young people in a car: alcohol, excessive speed, peer pressure and failure to use a seatbelt. There were presentations from the fire brigade, police and ambulance services as well as from victims of car crashes and the relatives of victims.

The presentations were hard hitting and not always easy to watch, but the students found the message very valuable. Andrew, 12A2, said “As someone who travels to school on a moped each day, the event really made me think about how I drive and the importance of being safe, it was a really useful afternoon.” Deputy Headteacher, Mr Reynolds, commented “It a regrettable fact that road traffic crashes are the most likely way a young adult will be seriously injured or even killed. I am glad that at Ruislip High School gives students the opportunity hear about the steps they can take to keep themselves and their friends safe at a time when many students and their peers are learning to drive.”

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BADMINTON CLUB Badminton inter-tutor competition The Badminton Club held its first inter-tutor competition of the 2015/2016 academic year on Friday 16th October, with the second competition taking place on Friday 4th December.

Throughout each half term students have been playing in knockout rounds to compete for a place in the two finals. After hard-fought battles Mr Davies, Deputy Headteacher, presented the winners with their medals. In addition, the gold medal winners received a trophy for their tutor groups to retain until the next final.

The results were as follows: 16th October 2015

4th December 2015

Gold Medal Daniel, 8S Matthew, 8F

Gold Medal Chris, 10F Kyle, 10A

Silver Medal Adam, 8C Rushil, 9F

Silver Medal Daniel, 8S Matthew, 8F

Bronze Medal Christopher, 10F Adam, 10W

Bronze Medal Amaris, 8S Ella, 9S

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Borough Badminton Championships Ruislip High had a great return to the Borough Badminton Championships, after three years of not competing. All students showed their individual skills and determination in every match they played, displaying true team spirit. It was a brilliant day and all the players fought hard in their matches. Congratulations to all the students who participated, especially Daniel, 8S, who came first in the Boys (A) singles category.

The Players 3rd December 2015 Daniel, 8S Matthew, 8F Adam, 8C Rushil, 9F Ella, 9S Amaris, 8S

A special thank you to Miss Quinn who also supported the students.

‘Although it was my first tournament I really enjoyed taking part’ Amaris, 8S ‘Even though we haven’t been to a professional tournament before, we were really happy with the outcome’ Ella, 9S

Katerina, 7B

YEAR 11 NEWS Well done, for another great term Year 11. The pre-public exams were a great success, with students responding to them with maturity and focus during each exam. The school hopes that the hard work from the students pays off come results day!

A special mention must go to the following students, who were exceptional in this terms school production of Romeo & Juliet: George, 11F, Julienne, 11F, Ilyas, 11F, Jessica, 11F, and Stephanie, 11B. Well done!

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The student prefects continue to be an asset to Year 11, with amazing work being conducted lower down the school, including peer mentoring and assistance during Year 6 Open Evening and the Christmas Community Event.

Finally, I just wanted to say a big thank you to all parents/guardians who attended the Year 11 information evening in November. I do hope that you found this useful.

Mr Alexander Head of Year 11

LEARNING RESOURCE CENTRE (LRC) NEWS Busier Than Ever

It has been an exciting and busy start to the new academic year in the LRC, with a number of teachers taking advantage of the fantastic space, projector and resources by holding their lessons in the LRC. In addition, many incredible events took place including chess tournaments, a parents and students coffee morning, student presentations, quizzes and a 24 game to name but a few.

Accelerated Reading

Accelerated Reading is going from strength to strength under the direction of Miss Caesar, with many students benefitting from attending on a daily basis; the LRC now has over 3000 Accelerated Reader titles to choose from which the students can read and then complete comprehension quizzes. The results speak for themselves with lots of students scoring 100%.

There have been a considerable amount of changes to the LRC so far this this year - the rearranging of the furniture and layout makes class and student access easier. The MFL area in the corner of the LRC has had a complete transformation; all the original bookcases and books were moved elsewhere and a new bookcase was brought in. This features a selection of different language magazines and resources to aid the students’ bilingual learning, along with several different choices of magazines, appealing to all year groups. Also two brand new banners welcoming everyone to the LRC and MFL area make an impact as people enter the LRC.

Above and Beyond after school LRC homework club The LRC Homework club has continued to be busy with many students staying after school to do homework and take advantage of the vast resources available. The LRC is also lucky enough to have teaching assistants available to support students with their homework after school until 4:30pm.

Privelege Card

Hillingdon residents, who own a Hillingdon First card, are entitled to discounts and privileges including entitlement to special rate parking at shopping centres and parking meters in the borough of Hillingdon. In addition, discount is available in many shops. The card also acts as a library card and this allows Hillingdon residents to become a member of any of the seventeen libraries in the borough (most of which have been recently refurbished and updated). Once the card is shown at the library it will be activated, books can be borrowed and the use of other library facilities will take effect immediately.

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An Alternative Read

The magazine section in the LRC is growing, with a large quantity of magazines and newspapers for the reluctant readers or students who would like a fun alternative read, many containing crosswords and puzzles for students to complete at break or lunchtimes, catering for all age groups.

Hillingdon Book of the Year 2016

Following on from the success of last year, the LRC Year 7 Book Club students have been invited to perform at next year’s ‘Hillingdon Book of the Year’ awards at the Civic Centre in May 2016.

Students are already busy reading the shortlisted titles; a slight change to the usual programme means that the students will link up with other schools on the day to prepare a presentation, which they will present to students from other local schools. The Mayor will also be at the event to watch the performances and judge the winning school.

Chess Tournament

Following the success of the chess tournament hosted by the LRC/Puzzle club, the LRC will be hosting an after-school chess tournament in the New Year which will be open to all year groups.

Students will be able to practise beforehand in the LRC where several chess boards will be set up during break and lunch times. Prizes and medals will be available for each year group.

A Big Thank You

The LRC has a number of dedicated students from all year groups who give up their free time to help out in the LRC; the students do a fantastic job in helping run the LRC on a daily basis.

A big thank you to all LRC Student Team: Year 7: Vimukthi, Emily, Alfred, Sophie, Elliot, Hollie, Nikita, Evie, Jai, Aleksandr, Roxanne, Louie, Shpana.

Year 8: Suakshi, Thiviyaa, Sivanathan, Ellie, Marwa.

Year 9: Saraneyaa, Aoibhin, Jasmine, Natalie, Jack, Callum, Harry, Aidan, Thomas, Louis and Jade.

Year 10: Amy, Kyle, Marcelo, Aiden, Altay, Berzin, Lucy, Jay, Ellie and Hannah.

Year 11: Joshua Year 12: Iain

A big thank you to the LRC Teaching Assistants (TAs): Mr O’Neill, Mrs Kotak, Mrs Hudson and Mrs Cooney. The students all benefit from the help and support offered by the TAs and it is a great help to the LRC to have such a dedicated team. and lunchtime supervisors: Mrs Evans, Mrs Crowther, Mrs Dowsett who supervise the LRC during lunchtimes and complete a number of jobs - all help is greatly appreciated.

The LRC wishes you all a very happy Christmas and new Year and looks forwards to another exciting year ahead.

Mrs Austen LRC Manager Page 9

ENGLISH NEWS Year 7 Year 7 students have made a fantastic start to the year, writing exciting ‘autobiographies from the future’ detailing ambitious visions of world domination in a range of careers including politics, horse-riding, swimming, motocross and football, all as part of our ‘Autobiography’ unit. Since the autumn half-term, students have been exploring and analyzing a range of Famous Speeches, from speakers such as Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King and Malala Yousafzai.

Selected Year 7s in need of additional English support have benefited from extra tuition, including both one-to-one and small group support, provided by the English and Literacy team, to boost literacy skills during this crucial first year at secondary school. The Accelerated Reader programme, which supports reading skills for selected students, has also been running in the LRC, led by Miss Caesar.

Year 8 This term, Year 8 students have been studying the spooky Gothic Horror genre and producing some truly terrifying creative writing! Students read Susan Hill’s ‘The Woman in Black’ in the first half term for inspiration, producing some thoughtful analysis of the Gothic features and language techniques she used to create fear in the reader. Students then wrote their own Gothic horror petrifying short stories.

Year 9 The Year 9 course has been adapted to reflect the challenge of the new GCSE specification.

They have been introduced to the new specification through a unit of work on the book and film ‘Rabbit Proof Fence’, producing some excellent research project homework as part of the course. Students have read and studied the classic text, ‘Of Mice and Men’ by John Steinbeck and their first analytical essays are of a high quality.

Year 10 Embarking upon their GCSE studies with dedication and determination, Year 10 students have been reading the Robert Louis Stevenson classic ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’: the perfect introduction to the Victorian Gothic style. Students have also been introduced to the English Language Paper 1, developing the skills they will need in the summer of Year 11.

Year 11 Having completed all Controlled Assessments in Year 10, Year 11s are now focusing on exam preparation: Since the autumn half-term, Year 11s have been studying a range of poetry from different eras and cultures in the lead up to the poetry exam, in which they will write English Literature essays on the anthology ‘Moon on the Tides’ and on an unseen poem. Moving into the New Year, the department will focus on revising key texts ‘Of Mice and Men’ and ‘An Inspector Calls’ and honing exam skills for the non-fiction element in the English language examination in the lead up to the final GCSE examinations.

Year 12 English Language The students have spent the first half term learning the content of the two units of work they will be examined on: Textual variations and representations and Language Diversity and Change. With Ms. Kidd the students have taken part in debates around language and how it relates to gender, ethnicity, region, age and social status. With Mrs. Hill, they have been learning advanced grammar and participating in language-based scavenger hunts.

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English Literature In English Literature, students have been studying Shakespeare’s The Tempest, analysing how the issues on colonialism, gender, politics, and love, which are raised in the play, are still relevant to modern-day readers. They have been looking at Julie Taymor’s film version of ‘2010’ and how Helen Mirren is challenging gender and power stereotypes by playing a female version of Prospero. They have been linking ‘The Tempest’ to the context of the Jacobean England, particularly to the British colonisation of America. Students are starting to think about the types of imagery used by English poets during the late Renaissance and early Baroque, going onto love and holy sonnets of John Donne.

Year 13 English Language Year 13s have been studying the development of children’s speaking, reading and writing and analysing how language has changed over time for the forthcoming A2 examination. They have also been completing their own coursework investigations. They are investigating topics of their own choice which include: the way cockney rhyming slang has developed over time; how male and female teachers use language to assert authority; and how soap opera script writers use language to create stereotypes.

English Literature Year 13 Literature students started the year with Shakespeare classic ‘The Tempest’ and are currently comparing it with Christopher Marlowe’s ‘Dr Faustus’, before progressing to the study of John Donne’s poetry in the new year, and exam practice based on unseen poetry.

MUSIC NEWS The Year 10 students have made an excellent start to their GCSE Music course.All students have performed a solo and have begun work on their first piece of composition coursework.

Please see below for some quotes about the subject: ‘We are all different, but music is a great way to bring us together.’

Lily, 10B ‘Music is an art that you can listen to.’

Tilly, 10S ‘Music lessons allow you to express your individual creativity and style.’

Parveen, 10D ‘Music lessons have a unique atmosphere, they are fun and everyone works together as a great team.’

Emily, 10C

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ROMEO AND JULIET Continued...

Mrs Turner said, “It was an amazing production. You could tell the students took real pride in the performance. The cast were all superb, were totally convincing in their roles and all looked like they had so much fun!”

After the Wednesday performance, Miss Horton said, “It was a really moving production. I was astounded at the amount of excellent actors we have in the school! I was also especially impressed by the members of my year group (Year 12) who took some of the leading roles and really shone.”

Mr Alison said, “I enjoyed every minute of what was a very professional-looking show.

The performance had an ethereal atmosphere to it helped by superb music performances alongside the accomplished acting.”

Mr Alexander added, “First night nerves were nowhere to be seen, as the cast wowed a stunned audience with their breath-taking performance!”

The school would like to thank all the staff, governors, parents and students who attended either of the performances. Well done again to the students involved: From Year 12, John, Hattie, Olivia, Andrew, Lauren, Sophie and Eddie. From Year 11, Alex, George, Ilyas, Stephanie, Jessica and Julienne. From Year 10, Evie, Brandon and Berzin. From Year 8, Jamie.

From Year 7, Cerys, Tara, Edward, Brodie, Rachel, Olivia and Elizabeth.

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LEARNING SUPPORT FACULTY Heritage Days To celebrate cultural diversity Ruislip High School’s EAL co-ordinator, Mrs Nurmohamed, has introduced Heritage days. The school held its first Heritage day by celebrating Poland’s Independence Day on Wednesday 11th November. Polish students were given tokens which were exchanged at the canteen for a treat.

This term the school has also celebrated the following: 22nd November – Lebanon 30th November – Scotland 12th December – Kenya

Wheelchair Sports Wheelchair sports club has been very successful and has been a great opportunity for students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to participate in an afterschool club and play a variety of exciting sports. This club is organised by Mrs Nurmohamed with the help of Mrs Edwards who assists students in getting ready before the session.

The students are coached by Ben Thorpe, who is a professional coach from Disablement Association Hillingdon (DASH). This term students had an opportunity to play a variety of wheelchair sports including football, basketball and rugby. The wheelchair sports club will commence again after the Easter holidays.

Mrs Nurmohamed said “seeing the happiness and the smiles on their faces is priceless”.

James H, 9C, said “I cannot wait for Thursday to play football” “I have become more confident and I am getting good at basketball” James P, 9C “It is awesome, I love it” Kavindu, 7C

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YEAR 10 STUDENTS SPEAK OUT

On 17th and 18th November, a group of Year 10 students took part in the Speak Out Challenge, a programme run by the Speakers Trust and funded by the Jack Petchey Foundation. The initiative believes that everyone should have the skills, confidence and desire to speak in public and is dedicated to helping people of all ages achieve this goal.

Chris Billington from the Speakers Trust attended the school on both days, providing a workshop that coached the students in the skills necessary to producing and delivering an engaging speech to the public. The students were encouraged to delve deep for the content of their speeches; they chose topics that were personal or unique to them and delivered what they created with passion, enthusiasm and – at times – great courage. It was a joy to watch students’ self-assurance grow as the day progressed and fascinating to observe the process involved in speech-making from inception to performance. The feedback from students was overwhelmingly positive; they found it “inspiring” and “fun” and almost all of them said that it had helped them feel more confident.

The following week, the four most impressive speakers across the two days – Kiran, 10A, Thomas, 10W, Jaimini, 10W, and Emily McDiarmid, 10C, – bravely delivered their speeches to the rest of the year group in a special assembly attended by Dr. Lecky, who had the tricky job of choosing the overall winner. In the end, Jaimini was chosen for her inspiring and emotive speech about being yourself despite pressure from your peers and the media. Dr. Lecky had the following to say about the assembly finals: “I was really impressed with the speeches of the four finalists. The students spoke confidently and articulated their message with clarity. It was very difficult to choose an overall winner but I believe Jaimini will be an ambassador for Ruislip High School at the regional finals next week.”

The next stage of the competition was the Hillingdon regional final, which took place at Bishop Ramsey School on Monday 7th December. Ms. Kidd and Ms. Loizou joined an audience of excited teachers, parents and students as nineteen exceptionally talented (and some very nervous) Year 10s from around Hillingdon took to the stage. The standard of speeches was overwhelming; all those who participated spoke with passion, confidence and emotion. Jaimini – who had worked hard to hone and streamline her speech during a two-hour workshop before the event – did Ruislip High School proud with her quiet confidence and words of wisdom.

At the end of a truly magical and inspiring evening, Haydon School’s speaker was crowned the regional winner and will go on to compete in next July’s Grand Final in London. Despite not placing in the final three speakers, Jaimini is glad that she participated in the Speak Out Challenge: ‘Speak Out was one of the most valuable experiences I have ever had. It honestly taught me how to engage a crowd and speak with confidence.’

Head of Year 10, Ms. Loizou agreed: “What a fantastic opportunity for students to voice their opinions on matters close their hearts. Each and every student was impressive, inspiring and incredible.”

Assistant Curriculum Leader in English, Miss Kidd, who organised the event, said “Communicating with confidence is so important to the progression and prospects of all our students, and Speak Out is a wonderful way to instil oracy skills in young people. I can’t wait for next year’s challenge; I’m fairly sure the 2017 Speak Out champion is to be found in our current Year 9! Watch this space.”

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY NEWS In Catering the students have started working on their own individual menus and have to work hard to present them to the highest standards. The dishes so far have included some glorious duck and potatoes, lamb and some amazing spicy prawns. During tasting sessions, Miss Cotton was particularly impressed by the fabulous tastes and the quality of the presentation.

In Resistant Materials the students have been introduced to industrial manufacturing techniques including annealing and brazing as well as more traditional woodworking skills where the students have been constructing wooden boxes. The Year 9 students have been experimenting with electronics and have produced some very interesting mood lights.

Graphics students have been working on models of Ruislip High Street and have looked at ways the town could be developed and remodeled. The students have used traditional drawing skills to improve their presentation techniques and have worked hard on their isometric drawings.

In Textiles lessons, the students have been developing their practical skills and have produced tote bags including a fabulous flag based idea, media wallets for their iPad’s with a wonderful design full of sequins and a 3D hot dog and room organisers. Miss Beasley said ‘All of the designs so far have been amazing, I am really impressed with the hard work and effort the students have put in this term.’ The Year 10 students have also completed the bin bag challenge where they had to make new garments out of bin bags. Who knew something so creative could be made out of old black sacks!

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MATHS NEWS Collaboration with Ruislip Gardens Primary School The new term got underway with an invitation from Ruislip Gardens for Ruislip High’s participation in their Maths week. The students were taking part in all things mathematical on every day of the week.

On Tuesday 6th October, half a dozen Year 8 students returned to their primary school as ambassadors for Ruislip High. The students, Robert, 8D, Nabiha, 8D, Emma, 8S, Warsame, 8F, Alex, 8A, and Callum, 8D, were an essential part of the Maths week activities. They all contributed to the PowerPoint Assembly for the Key Stage 2 children (7 – 11 year olds). The emphasis was on how we encounter Maths in our daily lives: we talk it, play it, see it and touch it every day; the challenge was to recognise the Maths skills used outside of the classroom to develop confidence and positive attitudes about Maths. Ruislip High School students then went on to run two workshops for Year 6 students, again, focusing on how they use Maths in the real world.

Do you notice the Maths around you every day?

World Maths Day This year World Maths Day fell on Thursday 15th October.

The students at Ruislip High celebrated by taking part in a mathematical puzzle challenge. All of their first lessons of the day started with a logic puzzle activity; there was a choice of two puzzles, one aimed at KS3 students, the other at KS4 and KS5 students.

The students worked in pairs and Ruislip reward wheels were on offer for those who completed the activity the fastest. The logic puzzle activity received positive feedback, from both students and staff, who enjoyed the collaboration and peer guidance elements of the activity.

With Maths being such an integral part of every subject, these two puzzles provided reasoning opportunities and allowed the students to ask probing questions.

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KS4 Hillingdon Maths Challenge This year the annual Key Stage 4 Hillingdon Maths Challenge was hosted by Bishop Ramsey School on Tuesday 24th November. The competition took place after school from 4:00pm to 5:30pm.

The Ruislip High School team was made up of two Year 10 students, Isobel, 10S, and Thuvaraka, 10W, and two Year 11 students, Feroz, 10F, and Joe, 11C. The challenge consisted of three very different rounds requiring the students to call on their number knowledge, problem solving and team work skills. It was an amazing atmosphere and it was very clear that the students thoroughly enjoyed it!

Unfortunately the Ruislip High students did not win, but all four of the students who represented the school tried their very best.

The first prize went to Bishop Ramsey. St Helen’s Girls School (last year’s winners) came second and Stockley Park Academy took the third prize.

It was a very enjoyable and memorable evening.

Cross-curricular Activity with Year 10 students On Friday 27th November Mrs Najjar and Mr Ladhani combined their Year 10 classes to do an investigative, cross-curricular activity. The students were asked to adapt recipes and costs using ration and proportion. They designed their own posters to present to the rest of the class.

‘Really fun and enjoyable. I learnt a lot with more people and two teachers. It allowed us to teach our learning to other classes’ Kianaat, 10W ‘The group work helped us learn more and taught us how to work as a team’ Sunatda, 10W

To LOGIN to MathsWatchVLE Centre ID: ruislip Username: (same as at school) Password: (same as at school)

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Sports News Year 11 Gaelic Football Year 11 students have had the opportunity to spend six lessons learning the game of Gaelic football this term. Some students have even mastered the skills enough to use Gaelic Football for their GCSE grades.

Year 12 BTEC Level 3 Sport As part of their BTEC Level 3 Sport course students have to teach a safe lesson to Year 7 students. All of the Year 12 students were very professional and feedback was outstanding.

Girls Football Team QPR Football Tournament

On Wednesday, November 18, girls in Year 7 and 8 played in a football tournament organised by QPR at Goals in Wembley. The Ruislip High team reached the Quarter Finals, only to be knocked out by The Grey Coat Hospital (Dr Lecky’s old school) in extra time. In total the girls played six matches, only losing one. They showed fantastic character especially in one game where they were 3-1 down at half time and came back to draw 3-3. Player of the tournament went to Amaris, 8S, who was the rock of the team battling to win every ball and solid in defence.

Well done to Aleeyah, 7F, Danni, 7S, Chloe, 7S, Amaris, 8S, Miya, 8W, Christina, 8C, Rachel, 8C, and Lily, 8C.

FA Schools National Cup

The under-14s girls football team made it in to the last eight of the FA Schools National Cup after beating Eastbury Comprehensive School on Tuesday 8th December. The home fixture took place on the sports fields opposite Ruislip High and the score was a thumping 8-0. RHS is now through to the quarter finals of the competition with a real chance of playing at the Madejski Stadium in Reading for the final. The girls were outstanding, playing the other team off the pitch throughout the game. Player of the match was awarded to Niamh, 9B, for her best performance to date in a Ruislip High School shirt. The goals were scored by Niamh, 9B, (5), Naomi, 9C, Rachel, 8C, and Danni, 7S. The following players represented RHS: Chloe, 7S, Lillie, 9C, Lilly, 8C, Miya, 8W, Nicole, 9B, Niamh, 9B, Annalise, 9B, Danni, 7S, Rachel, 8C, Christina, 8C, Naomi, 9C, Kayleigh, 9W, and Monika, 7B. Manager Ms Barlow would also like to thank Mr Smithson for refereeing the game as well as Mr Stent, Mr Elsby, Mr Palmer and Mr Ladhani who were among the spectators.

Borough Cross Country Championships All of the students performed superbly at the Borough Cross Country Championships on Tuesday 1st December.

A special mention goes to Toby, 7A, (3rd) , Matthew, 8F, (8th) and Abigail, 9B, (4th).

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Year 9 Boys Football The Year 9 boys football team had a fantastic 3-2 victory against Bishop Ramsey School on Monday, 9th November. The win was particularly impressive as the boys had to play with ten players for the full game. Goals were scored by Kian, 9F, George, 9A, and Luke, 9W. Well done to Casey, 9A, Sebastian, 9S, Kian, 9F, Reece, 9D, Ali, 9D, Noor, 9D, Luke, 9W, Mohamed, 9F, George, 9A, and Jack, 9F.

Gymnastics On Wednesday 16th December students from Ruislip High School competed in the Hillingdon Borough gymnastics competition hosted at Ruislip High School. Students were asked to perform a floor routine and two vaults each.

A huge congratulations to everyone that took part and a special mention goes to the following students: Year 7 William, 7B - Silver medal in the individual event Amir, 7D - Gold medal in the individual event Year 9 Silver for the team event: Kayleigh, 9W Year 10 Silver for the team event: Nancy, 10S, Lucy, 10A, Olivia, 10D Charlie, 10C - Silver medal in the individual event Kyle, 10A - Gold medal in the individual event

A big thank you to Mr Hankin for all his help and the early morning practices and to the BTEC Sport sixth form class who did an amazing job at scoring and helping to organise the schools involved.

It was a fantastic event and the promising, young gymnasts are looking forward to adding to their medal haul at the next competition!

Left: Year 12 BTEC Level 3 Sport students teaching a safe lesson to Year 7 students; Right: Year 11 students playing a game of Gaelic football

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YEAR 7 NEWS Induction day feels like a distant memory for our Year 7s. In the space of three months, our students have really found their place within the school.

Mr Elsby, Head of Year 7, says “I have loved watching the year group grow in personality.

They are making friendships both within and outside of their form groups. They’re becoming more independent which is enabling them to become successful members of the Ruislip High School community.”

Sport Year 7 have had a phenomenal start to the sporting calendar with all sports teams having racked up victories in matches.

The inter-form sport competition is also fierce with football, netball and table tennis tournaments taking place every day at lunch time. The PE department also organised a Year 7 boys Christmas Football Festival on 26th November. Congratulations to 7A for winning the tournament and to all the forms for taking part and giving their best.

The Year 7 team would also like to congratulate our girls in Year 7 who took part in a football tournament organised by QPR at Goals in Wembley. The girls were part of the only team in the borough to reach the Quarter Finals, only to be knocked out by The Grey Coat Hospital (a girls’ school in central London) in extra time.

The Year 7 team are also proud to count one of our Year 7 students amongst the Badminton team that Ruislip High School sent to Harlington School on 3rd December.

Our Year 7 netball team has been unlucky so far but the girls always show determination, unity and resilience during their games. Effort will pay off girls!

Theme Day Well done Year 7 for surviving Apathititus! Students’ determination was phenomenal and they showed the school what dedication means. The Year 7 team really hope students enjoyed their day as much as staff enjoyed watching them find the cure to Apathititus!

Above and Beyond Year 7 attendance to Above and Beyond clubs has been outstanding this term. It is great to see new students getting involved in a myriad of activities from DIY fashion to kick-boxing and animal club.

In the same vein, Mrs Austin (LRC Manager) is delighted to see so many Year 7 students coming every day to help her out, do their homework or read a good book. Well done and thank you Year 7 for your dedication!

School Production: Romeo and Juliet: Well done to our students who took part in the school production this term. It was a fantastic experience to be involved in such a colossal project and your help has been greatly appreciated by the whole Drama team.

As the year continues, we hope to see even more success within and outside of the classroom. What a great start, well done Year 7s!

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Presentation Evening A selected number of students did the year group proud on Presentation Evening on 10th November.

Thirty Year 7 students were carefully chosen by the Music Department to perform in the school choir and the ukulele band. They were the only Year 7 students invited to the prestigious event rewarding our most resilient students.

Accelerated Reading: This academic year, the school has started a reading scheme called ‘Accelerated Reader’.

This scheme not only improves students’ reading skills and abilities, but it also broadens their knowledge and creates varieties of options and possibilities for the future.

The school runs this scheme for some of our current Year 7 students who we believe need an extra boost and support in their reading; in less than a month, staff have been delighted with the results and to see an awakening of knowledge and passion for books and words.

As of November 2015, 70% of our AR students have read more than 8 books each and have attained a fantastic test result of over 80%!

“This is an AMAZING result and we as a school look forward to many more reading successes by the end of this academic year.” Miss Caesar, HLTA Literacy

Student voices: “I was really scared by the amount of homework we were getting compared to primary school and I was afraid to be overwhelmed; but now I feel very confident and I find our lessons are fun!” Ria, 7A “I made a lot of new friends! I am still getting lost sometimes but I feel more confident in school overall. My favourite lessons are the “Let’s Think” lessons because we learn a lot but we don’t write as much!” Anya, 7A “I am really happy because at the beginning of the year I only knew one student but I have made so many new friends that I now feel really comfortable at school. I really love my form as everyone is helping each other to get better.” Janet, 7B “I am really happy and proud to be a student at RHS. I had a bumpy start as I got a warning for poor behaviour in the second week… But since then, I have been receiving a lot of reward wheels and I even held the record of 16 wheels in a week for a long time! You always get the opportunity of a second chance and a new start here. It is great for your confidence.” Haig, 7B “My time at RHS had been good as I have been receiving a lot of reward wheels. I hope this start will carry on throughout the year.” Lily, 7S “So far, RHS has been awesome and I couldn’t think of any school better than this school!” Evie, 7S “Our experience at RHS is enjoyable, interesting and full of knowledge. We like our form as they are not naughty!” All of 7C

Miss Lucas on behalf of Mr Elsby, Miss Kidd, and the Year 7 Team

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LET’S THINK SCIENCE GAMES As part of the first five Let’s Think Science lessons, students focus on the advanced reasoning of the control, and exclusion, of variables. The students are given the challenge to create a game for Year 6 primary school students to help them understand variables and their respective values.

The current Year 7 students have worked extremely hard on their games and have had the opportunity to play them in a lesson where they scored each other’s games. The results for the seven form groups are: 7C First place: Hekmat and Callum Second: Kacey Third: Elizabeth

7A First: Oliver Second: Anya Third: Freya 7B First: Emily Second: Abdul Third: Ella

7F First place: Jack and Jake Second place: Luis and Gene Third place: Isabelle and Olivia

7D First: Tiegan Second: Mia and Jessica Third: Liberty and Olivia 7S First: Emily and Sophie Second: Chloe and Evie Third: Kieran and Thomas

7W First place: Isabella Second place: Cerys and Tara Third place: Alex

Next term the students, from each form who have come first, second or third will have the opportunity to take their game to Ruislip Gardens to allow the Year 6 students to play the games and judge the overall winner. The overall winner will be announced in the next edition of the newsletter.

Student quotes: ‘We really enjoyed working as a pair.’ Amy and Evie, both 7W ‘We really enjoyed it and learnt a lot about variables and their values.’ Omar and Josh, both 7D ‘It was really fun!’ Lewis, 7W

The Year 7 students enjoyed playing the Let’s Think Science games in lessons

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LET’S THINK FILMING On Friday 4th December, a film production company was at Ruislip High School all day, filming lessons and interviewing students and staff. Ruislip High School is the only known secondary school in the country that runs the Let’s Think scheme of lessons in English, mathematics and science in Year 7 and 8. The Let’s Think Forum, an education charity, chose Ruislip High School to have lessons filmed in the three subjects as well as interviews with individual staff and groups of students. The edited footage will be used by the charity to showcase the methodology as well as how positively students and staff respond to the challenging learning environment that Let’s Think promotes in the classroom.

“It was wonderful for Ruislip High School to have the opportunity to showcase the Let’s Think methodology and I enjoyed having one of my science lessons filmed during the day.” Dr Lecky, Headteacher “Let’s think lessons are not like a box of chocolates, you always know you’re going to have engaged students, in-depth discussions and a lot of discovery. It was a pleasurable experience to have the lesson filmed on the day!” Ms Najjar, teacher of mathematics “Year 7 students showed great maturity and intelligence during the Let’s Think English lesson which was filmed, coming up with a variety of thoughtful responses to the text as always. They seemed completely unfazed by the presence of the cameras! Their focus in the lesson and ability to share their own ideas, listen to the ideas of others and summarise their in-depth discussions, even with a full camera crew in the room, was impressive.” Ms Keenan, teacher of English “I felt so special to be chosen to take part in the interview. I will always remember the day I was picked.” Damien, 7F “I really enjoy the mystery of Let’s think lessons. It was nice being in the spotlight on the day of filming!” Portia, 7C “I liked the fact that we got to express what we think about the Let’s think lessons. I enjoyed providing feedback during the interview.” Ben, 8A “I enjoy the Let’s think lessons as we are enabled to learn independently. As a group we can share our thoughts and most importantly there’s no right or wrong answer.”

Thiviyaa, 8W “I was quite nervous at being filmed to begin with, but then I felt able to express my opinions about the Let’s think lessons. It was really fun and I felt like a celebrity.”

Elizabeth, 7C “Let’s Think is the new generation of education. It made me feel inspired to give more answers. I wasn’t really pressured by the film crew; they seemed really nice!” Josh, 7F “I thought that Let’s Think maths was slightly more educational because we could learn from each other instead of just the teacher. Being filmed showed other teachers how good Let’s Think is and I am happy that they will learn as well as us”. Emily, 7F

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GOOD NEWS Sixth Form hear from journalist Fiona Millar Journalist Fiona Millar visited the school as a guest speaker for a special Sixth Form assembly on Wednesday, 25th November. Fiona writes for the Guardian as well as being a campaigner on gender equality, education and parenting issues. Fiona spoke for about 25 minutes looking back on her life and career before taking questions from the students. Fiona said she didn’t get the A-level grades she wanted when she was at school but was still able to get on the Mirror Newspaper group’s graduate training scheme. This led to years honing her craft on local newspapers. Fiona said, “It’s worth working hard the first time round and getting good grades but there’s always a second chance.”

Fiona said that after the birth of her first child in 1987, her career “nose-dived”, unlike that of her partner, Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair’s former Director of Communications. Fiona gave lots of statistics on gender inequality, including that there is a 19% pay gap between men and women for doing the same job. She said, “Why is it that women should give up their careers and not men?” She also spoke about her work as a school governor and her desire to see more equality in achievement between schools across the country.

Fiona’s talk led to a lively question-and-answer session, with the Sixth Formers quizzing her on issues including her views on Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, the UK’s Trident nuclear weapons system and University tuition fees.

Friends of Ruislip High School (FRHS) Quiz Night On Friday 9th October 2015, ninety-five people attended the first ever Friends of Ruislip High School’s Quiz Night. The main hall was filled with teams including representation from parents and guardians, governing body, staff, including members of the senior leadership team, heads and assistant heads of year as well as members of the FRHS. Congratulations to The Inbetweeners, the winning parent team that had a very strong performance in the last round on music, beating the governors’ team that had been in the lead up until the last round.

The fish and chips supper was enjoyed by all and the event was a great success bringing the whole-school community together and raising a tremendous £500 for the FRHS. The site team overheard a parent commenting “What a great night. I wish we could do this every month!”

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CERN@school symposium On Thursday 17th September, a group of Year 11 girls attended the CERN@school symposium at Queen Mary University of London where they presented their research project to 200 teachers and students from other schools. Their project, RISE UK (Radiation in Soil Experiment), was well received by the audience and many were keen to participate in collecting and sending soil samples so that the girls can continue with the project.

‘It was interesting to hear about projects being done by other students like ourselves’ Madison, 11C ‘It opened my eyes to how much activity there is in the Physics community’ Izabela, 11B ‘It made me realise that Physics is fun’ Emma, 11C ‘Very inspiring’ Lucy, 11W ‘Outstanding event, it’s an experience’ Tanya, 11C

Rivers Of The World – River Culture During the summer term, seventeen students from Ruislip High School had the opportunity to take part in an exciting Art workshop with artists Caroline Collinge and Edmond Salter. They are practising artists/designers who have trained in architecture, textiles and design for performance and they work across a range of art forms, including installation and film. Their specialty is in paper craft techniques: origami, folding, collage, paper cuts and pop-ups. Within the workshop, the Art students were introduced to these techniques with the aim of transforming an everyday material, paper, into the extraordinary.

Caroline and Edmond’s project is investigating the Tamsui River and Taiwanese tribal culture.

The artwork produced by the students was photoshopped to create a large banner that is currently on display on London’s South Bank.

On Thursday 17th September, the students who took part in the project had the opportunity to attend a private viewing of their artwork with Caroline Collinge and Edmund Salter, as part of the Rivers of the World festival.

‘The workshop was really fun but challenging because we could only use paper; I felt proud seeing it on display and being given an award for the project.’ Jenny, 10C ‘I loved the art exhibition on display at City Hall. The workshop was fun and challenging. This is something I will remember in the future.’ Christine, 10W Page 25

GOOD NEWS CONTINUED...

First Aid Club Several students from Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 have completed Level One of the St John’s First Aid for Schools, formerly known as ‘Teach the Difference Level One’. This is an approved course from St John’s Ambulance, designed to be taught in schools so that students have an opportunity to take on First Aid as a skill.

The students have worked hard and covered topics including primary survey, choking, fainting and asthma. They have now all progressed to Level Two which includes how to deal with bleeding, bites and stings, allergic reactions and poisons. They are on track to complete the entire school’s first aid course

by July 2016.

Congratulations to Shpana, 7W, Esme, 10A, Katie, 8S, Armaan, 8C, Saraneyaa, 9S, Lucy, 10A, Macey, 9B, Matthew, 9C, and Louis, 7S.

‘Chelsea’s Choice’ A theatre performance attended by all of Year 10 students took place in the main hall on Monday 30th November. Called ‘Chelsea’s Choice’, the purpose of the performance was to raise awareness of child exploitation. The play has been seen by over 300,000 young people throughout the UK. This performance has been recommended by the government in a recent child exploitation summit and is supported by the local authority. The company is visiting a number of schools in Hillingdon. It aims to raise awareness of healthy relationships; promote safe internet use; help young people identify risky situations; raise awareness of the grooming process and the differing forms that it can take; raise awareness of child exploitation; and signpost relevant services.

Road Safety Performance Year 7 students took part in an interactive road safety presentation on Thursday 19th November.

Called “Riot Act”, it featured three live actors performing in the main hall. The session was an educational, informative and occasionally hardhitting look at the consequences of not being safe on the road. It was shocking to learn that road accidents claim more young lives between 3pm and 5pm on a Friday, when students are looking forward to the weekend; it really made an impact on students in terms of the dangers of not stopping, looking and listening at all times.

The Year 7s listened and participated throughout, demonstrating their maturity and enthusiasm.

If your son or daughter is in Year 7, do speak to them about what they learned!

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THEME DAY 2015 The school entrance was transformed on Friday 23rd October as a truck containing the virus ‘apathatitus’ crashed into the building. The truck was of course a mock-up and the virus imaginary, but so began this year’s Theme Day based on determination. Students in Years 7-11 took part in a range of activities throughout the day different to the normal timetable with six periods instead of the usual five. The overall aim was for students to work together to find a cure to the imaginary virus whose symptoms include laziness and lack of motivation.

On entering the school, Elizabeth, 7C, said, “It’s really exciting. I thought it would be like a normal school day but everything is different and it’s going to be really fun.” Portia, 7C, said, “It’s great because most of the staff are dressed up.”

The day included a talk on determination from guest speaker Natasha Baker MBE, who is a double Paralympic equestrian gold medallist and five-time European champion. Natasha, age 25, gave three talks in the main hall so that the whole school could hear her story. Here are some extracts from Natasha’s talk:

“I was brought up on a farm. We weren’t a rich family. My dad mostly worked as a greengrocer at a market. When I was 14 months old I developed a virus, transverse myelitis, which led to no part of my body working at all due to spinal nerve damage. Thankfully I eventually regained control of my upper body. But I am still unable to move my legs or use them in any way. After trying lots of activities I first got on a horse when I was 10. I got bucked off loads of times but I was determined to be able to ride and control a horse.”

“When I won two gold medals at the London 2012 Paralympics it was an amazing feeling. It took pure grit and determination.”

“I set myself goals weekly, monthly and yearly. What do you want to achieve? If you really want it, whatever obstacles are put in your way you will overcome them and come out the other side, ‘Can’t’ isn’t a word. You can achieve anything you want.”

A Year 9 student asked Natasha, “How much did your horse cost?” Natasha replied “£40,000.

It’s a very expensive sport. I’ve been lucky. I don’t come from money. I’ve had to apply for lots of sponsorship, my family have had to give all their savings, and I also get some lottery funding. I’m really hoping to be selected for Brazil 2016.”

Each tutor group also had a physical workshop for one period of the day (Year 7 – skipping, Year 8 – Bollywood Dance, Year 9 – Street Dance, Year 10 – Capoeira, Year 11 – Parkour).

There was also an inter-form challenge led by the Heads of Year, where tutor groups competed against each other to make a cure to the virus. Tutor group activities included a codebreaker task, a map challenge and an art activity. Sixth Form students helped throughout the day, with each student attached to a tutor group to help organise and manage the activities.

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SCIENCE NEWS Key Stage 3 The younger students have been busy discovering the world of Science over the past three months.

There have been many practical experiments including testing acids and alkalis, dissecting hearts to understand the circulatory system or burning foods to find out how much energy they contain. The students have been working hard towards their end of topic tests as well as their assessment tasks which are focused on assessing and providing feedback on specific scientific skills, such as drawing graphs and evaluating an experiment.

Year 7 and 8 students have also been enjoying their Let’s Think lessons where students working in groups try to develop their reasoning skills through challenging demonstrations and practical experiments.

Key Stage 4 As these students get closer and closer to their exams, the pressure has been building. Many students attended Key Stage 4 revision clinics to boost their knowledge and confidence in the run up to the pre-public exams, as well as revision sessions to get up to speed on topics covered previously.

However, the Science department have not forgotten that the first goal is to provide students with the analytical skills, which all scientists must be equipped with! The topics covered include understanding cells, studying the atom and its structure and learning about the start of the Universe during the Big Bang.

Key Stage 5 On Wednesday 28th October, eighteen Ruislip High School students took part in a four-day residential trip to Geneva, Switzerland. The students and their teachers visited the World Health Organisation, the United Nations, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent museum (which was brilliant) and, the main attraction of the visit, CERN (the European Organisation for Nuclear Research). The students also visited the historic old town of Geneva as well as the cathedral and took part in a boat tour of Lake Geneva. The trip was a great success, mainly thanks to the brilliant behaviour and positive attitude of all students!

“I really enjoyed the trip to Geneva. I especially enjoyed visiting the antimatter factory inside CERN. The trip as a whole was brilliant and I would definitely visit again.”

Ben, 12A1 “The trip to Geneva was amazing in particular the visit to CERN. The tour round the anti-matter factory was a particular highlight finding out about how they make, store and what they use anti-hydrogen for.”

Mr Pritchard (teacher of science) “I went for a scientific experience, but was surprised to return with a better understanding of organisations which have a global impact.”

Peter, 13A1 “We were all impressed by the scale of these organisations and we hope to have inspired our students to become leaders in their chosen fields!”

Mr Maclean (teacher of science)

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Visit to CERN One of the Science departments physicists, Callum, 13A2, wrote the following article about the trip:

“After an initial day of getting to know our surroundings and hotel, the first event was a visit to the World Health Organisation, where we were informed of the role of the WHO. The WHO is to act in any situation where the health of citizens is impaired, such as an epidemic or natural disaster, but only with the permission of the county in question. We then went on a tour of the UN, focusing on the artworks donated to the organisation by member countries such as the coloured dome ceiling made by Spanish artist Miquel Barcelo.

Visiting CERN the following morning, we spent most of our time at a facility called the antimatter factory, speaking to scientists that worked to perform the cutting edge research in CERN. In this specific facility, protons are fired through iridium to form anti-protons, where they are then slowed so they can form anti-hydrogen atoms and antimatter.

Finally, we visited the Red Cross museum, which detailed the Red Cross’ humanitarian efforts over the ages. The Red Cross was founded in the aftermath of the battle of Solferino, where Henry Dunant was horrified at the thousands of wounded and dead who were unable to receive help. Since then, the Red Cross has intervened in countless worldwide conflicts, including the Blitz of WW1.

Overall the trip was a great experience. I thoroughly enjoyed spending my free time in the bustling city of Geneva, and the visit to CERN has given me and other students a greater insight into scientific research, which will well prepare the Science students of Ruislip High for further study.”

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GEOGRAPHY NEWS The department is pleased to display some pictures of what’s been happening this term in Geography.

Year 7 Year 7 students have made an excellent start in this subject. They spent the first few weeks of term learning atlas skills such as recognising continents. Students also learned how to locate points on the Earth’s surface using latitude and longitude, and the names of key reference points around the world such as the Equator and Prime Meridian.

Year 7s then studied the UK’s longest river, the Severn, and how it goes through great changes as it flows from its source to its mouth.

Here is a photo of an amazing assessment by Charlotte, 7A.

Year 8 Year 8 students have spent the term examining various natural hazards. In the first half term, students studied the effects of ongoing volcanic eruptions on the Caribbean island of Montserrat. In the second half term, Year 8 have learnt about the causes and effects of earthquakes in the USA. They then studied the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, and how efforts are being made to make sure people living in coastal locations are forewarned should an event of this magnitude ever happen again. Here is a photo of an amazing assessment by Marwa, 8W. Half of the Year 8 students also enjoyed a visit to the Natural History Museum in December, where they learned more about natural hazards in the recently updated Volcanoes and Earthquakes gallery. The other half of the year group will visit in May.

Year 9 Year 9 students started the term by studying why countries are in different states of development, and the reasons behind this. They particularly enjoyed playing the Trading Game, through which they learned about how a country’s imports and exports can affect its overall level of development. Students then carried out a detailed assessment on why shanty towns exist around Cape Town in South Africa, and how these can be improved over time.

Year 9 are now studying South America, focusing on Brazil. They have studied the history of Brazil being colonised by Portugal, and why four million slaves were used in the past to cut sugar cane. They have also learnt about some of the key issues facing the country today, such as the burning of rainforest to provide cattle pasture to meet world demand for beef.

Year 10 The four Year 10 GCSE classes are studying four topics this year: Water on the Land; Restless Earth; Changing Urban Environments; and Coastal Zone. Almost all students are taking part in a three-day residential field trip to Swanage in July 2016. On this trip students will collect fieldwork data first-hand for their controlled assessment coursework. Students will be studying the River Wey as well as the area’s World Heritage coastline. Study sites include: Durdle Door, Lulworth Cove, Swanage Bay, Studland Bay and Barton-on-Sea.

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Year 11 The four Year 11 GCSE Geography classes have spent much of this term producing their coursework projects – a study of the River Wey based on the field trip to Swanage in July.

They have learnt many new data presentation and analysis techniques. Students will know their provisional coursework results by the end of January 2016 (subject to moderation).

Year 11 have also taken their trial exam and found out their results during the last week of term. Students have two exams to prepare for in the summer: Unit 1 Physical Geography (24th May, 2016) and Unit 2 Human Geography (8th June, 2016). Both of these exams are worth 37.5% of the final grade, with the coursework project making up the remaining 25%.

The department has created several GCSE revision tasks for the VLE. It’s never too early to start revising the six GCSE topics using your folders and the VLE!

Year 12 Year 12 students have so far been working on the syllabus of AS Unit 1, Global Challenges, which is divided into two topics: World at Risk (largely Physical Geography), and Going Global (largely Human Geography). Students will sit a practice past A-level exam paper for this in January 2016 then begin the second part of AS Geography: Unit 2 Geographical Investigations. This unit develops students’ active fieldwork and research skills, and will be based on our two field trips, a one-day study visit to London on 29th January, and a two-day residential study visit to North Norfolk from 4th - 5th March. The department is very much looking forward to these A-level field trips.

Year 13 Year 13 students have been making progress towards their two A2 exams. This term they have been focusing on four compulsory topics for Unit 3, Contested Planet: Water Conflicts, Energy Security, Biodiversity Under Threat, and Superpower Geographies. Students study these topics as discreet units while also considering their synoptic links for the exam. Year 13 students will have their Unit 3 trial exam during the week beginning 25th January 2016, and have already started their preparations analysing the ‘pre-release’ document on the water conflicts topic. In the spring term, students will also study the final two topics in this unit (the Development Gap and the Technological Fix) while also starting work on Unit 4, Geographical Research, where they will read from a wide variety of books, journals and news publications in preparation for writing a 70-mark report.

Mr Alison

Associate Assistant Headteacher of Humanities

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LUMINA PROGRAMME AT HARROW SCHOOL – JUNE 2015 Students, Jack, 13A2, Betsy, 13A2, and Kate, 13A2, share with us their experiences at the Lumina Programme, an Oxford preparation week, held at Harrow School.

Monday: We were feeling nervous but excited on our first day at Lumina. We were split into subject groups on our arrival. Most of us headed for the Science-based tutorial groups, except Betsy who was there to sample English and French Literature. Betsy felt nervous at first about being separated from all of us, but soon got to know people and enjoyed a real taste of what university life away from Ruislip is like.

The purpose of Monday was to ‘demystify Oxford and Cambridge’. We were given talks by admissions tutors from both universities and given great advice about how to approach applying to study there.

We left the first day full of new information and excited about the rest of the week.

Tuesday: On Tuesday, we were put into groups based on our specific subject choices. This meant we all got an individual taste of learning at Oxbridge. In Biology, Kate was given a chance to study the brain in depth...in an unusual way. Her group was presented with a model of the brain and were then asked to discuss the functions of different areas of the brain. Kate fully enjoyed the independent nature of the task, gaining an insight into the way students get to explore their chosen subject at Oxbridge.

Meanwhile, in French, Betsy was given the chance to try out a sample admissions test for French Literature...and passed!

Wednesday: Another day, another focus. Wednesday was an in-depth look at the UCAS process and every student was invited to take part in a mock interview. We all thoroughly enjoyed taking on the challenge of answering the questions thrown at us, designed to test our thinking processes.

Kate tackled an image of a benzene and was asked to discuss how the molecules would interact. Whereas Betsy was asked to select which books she would canonise as examples of aspects of life (she gave a very compelling argument for Jane Eyre). Although, we were initially apprehensive about the interviews, we found the challenge of being encouraged to think aloud was really interesting and felt the experience was not as daunting as we first thought.

Thursday and Friday: Thursday and Friday wrapped up the week with visits to both Oxford and Cambridge universities, where we got to visit individual colleges and get a taste for the atmosphere of life at both institutions. We were all completely divided on our preferences, which truly showed that there really is a university for every taste.

Overall, the week was incredibly useful, with all of us feeling we had gained a realistic insight into the application process and what to expect. Looking back we would advise others aspiring to Oxford or Cambridge to think carefully about what you would like to study there, carefully considering the course specifics, but at the end of the day believe in yourself and follow the advice we were told repeatedly throughout the week: ‘just apply.’

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YEAR 12 NEWS Year 12 students have had a jam-packed start to the year and have already proven to be a hard-working and committed year group, who are keen to contribute to their Sixth Form community.

Year 12 are never afraid to get involved in whole-school events such as our annual Theme Day. This year’s theme was Determination, based on a scenario where Ruislip High School was infected with a contagious virus. The Year 12s had great fun in the role of ‘survivors’ throughout the day. They were attached to a tutor group from the lower years, and helped them negotiate the many challenges of the day with real determination!

The students are also involved in coaching students from younger year groups in a range of skills, such as punctuality and organisation. As well as this, a group of Year 12 students run lunch-time sports competitions for Key Stage 3 students, leading to some fierce competition in netball, football and table tennis!

Year 12 also give up their free time to work within our enrichment societies every Wednesday.

So far, we have budding public speakers in ‘TED Talk Society’, journalists in ‘Magazine Society’, sports coaches in ‘Sports Society’, artists in ‘Art Society’ and a team dedicated to organising our annual Christmas Community Event in ‘Events Society’.

Students have also been attending lectures at Harrow School as a part of their learning outside the classroom. These have ranged from a Model UN to an exploration of wildlife photography, with much more besides! Two students that attended, Sam, 12A3, and Nathan, 12A2, said “the lectures really offered a different perspective on what we study in school. We recommend these lectures to any sixth form student”.

Finally, Year 12 have been competing with each other all year in our ‘Ultimate Form’ competition!

Students can win points for almost anything they do: their punctuality, attendance, effort grades, competitions within tutor time, representing the school community well outside of the school – the list is endless! Results are always close, with some tutors even playing tricks on others to attempt to top the leader board… but at the time of publication, the scores were as follows: Joint 2nd place: 12A2, 12A3 and 12A4 – 71 points 1st place: 12A1 – 72 points Congratulations to Mr Pritchard and his form!

Students deliver Christmas cheer to the community Sixth Form students hosted elderly citizens from the local community for the annual Christmas event on Wednesday 16th November. Guests visited from a number of community groups such as Age UK and St. Paul’s church in Ruislip Manor. Some students even invited their own grandparents!

The free event included a buffet, student performances and a carol sing-along. There was also a Christmas-themed quiz with guests in teams alongside Sixth Form students.

Mellad, 12A4, said, “I was proud to represent the Sixth Form and get to know the community.”

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Thank you to Ms Horton, Head of Year 12, for taking the lead role in organising the event alongside Mrs Turner, Head of Year 13, and Mr Reynolds, Deputy Headteacher in charge of the Sixth Form. Thanks also to Mrs O’Neill and the catering team for providing the food and to Ms Coltman for organising the performers.

BUSINESS AND ICT NEWS Enterprise Competition Winners Set For Day at Brunel University Over the past term, students in Year 7 were invited to participate in the Business and ICT Department’s Product Development Enterprise Competition. Students were asked to design an innovative product, and decide a brand name, its packaging and at least one form of advertisement. The standard of entries was outstanding with the wide range of products being both innovative and beautifully presented.

The four winning entries were: 1st Place: Charlotte, 7A – “The Umbrella Bag” 2nd Place: Oliver, 7A – “A Dog’s Best Friend” 3rd Place: Vimukthi, 7B – “Lego Gum-Ball Dispenser” 4th Place: Chanel, – 7F “The Thinking Hat” The four winning students will be attending an enterprise day at Brunel University on 20th January where they will tour the facilities and take part in specially planned activities with other Year 7 students from schools around the country. Congratulations to all that entered the product development competition; their efforts were outstanding and a credit to Ruislip High School.

SOCIOLOGY NEWS Year 13 Sociology students attend the Criminology conference 2015 On Wednesday 21st November, Year 13 Sociology students attended the Criminology conference in Pimlico with other Sociology and Psychology students from across London. As part of their A2 A Level course, students study a range of topics relating to crime and deviance in society. This was an excellent opportunity to hear from an expert panel which included leading professors Dr. Michael Fiddler and Dr. Lyndsey Harris and other researchers in the field of criminology.

Topics covered the following areas from: What is criminology? Crime myths, riots and contemporary forms of political power, a criminology approach to understanding terrorism and finally does the prison system work?

Students had the opportunity to hear from someone who was in prison for twelve years and were able to ask questions about life in prison and life after completing a prison sentence. He explained how he went from ex-offender to a published author.

All the students concluded that it was a really informative day and one that will help enhance their academic studies in Sociology.

‘Very informative and gave a huge insight into Criminology. I’m definitely excited about studying this further at university’ Tia, 13A4 ‘Dr Fiddler was a very entertaining speaker, he made me really think differently about how we study crime’ Jack, 13A3 Page 34

AS GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

By Catherine, 12A4 On Monday 16th November 2015 AS Government and Politics students went to visit the Houses of Parliament in Westminster.

When we arrived at the Houses of Parliament, after going through airport style security, we were taken on a tour. The tour enabled us to see the areas of the Palace of Westminster which are not seen on television such as the Queen’s robing room where she prepares for the state opening of Parliament.

After learning more about the history and being asked several thought-provoking questions by our tour guide such as : “Should Parliament be moved to a modern building and the current building be demolished?”, the tour then took us in to the chamber of House of Lords. This was really helpful for our revision as our tour guide tested our knowledge on the House of Lords by asking about the functions, structure, role and powers of the upper chamber.

Another highlight of the tour included the central lobby, where people would wait to meet their MP or to be taken up the viewing gallery of the House of Commons. We watched the House of Commons in session from the viewing gallery; Home Secretary’s questions were being held, which was a really amazing experience. We saw the Home Secretary, Theresa May, the Speaker, John Bercow, and Shadow Home Secretary, Andy Burnham, (to name but a few) in action. I personally left even more determined to one day sit in the House of Commons as an MP or even a minister.

We also learned more about the Suffragettes (and seeing the statues which they chained themselves to) as well as Westminster Hall, the oldest part of the current building.

After the tour we were taken to the education centre, which was made to resemble the House of Commons, to have a teaching session. We were split into two teams and had an interactive session about rights and representation. This included a quiz which unleashed a competitive streak in quite a few of us!

After this, we had our own debate on the topic of lowering the voting age to 16. Both teams came up with good ideas to support their case and we had to use parliamentary etiquette in the debate. If we wanted to speak we had to stand up and address each other as ‘the right honourable gentleman/lady’ (for people from the opposition party) or “my right honourable friend’ (for people from the same party).

To end our day, we had a visit from a member of Boris Johnson MP’s staff. We were able to ask her questions about the MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip and what it’s like to work for an MP. All of us found the session really interesting whether we had supportive or opposing political beliefs.

Overall, the trip to the Houses of Parliament was a great experience for us as we were able to see first-hand everything we had learnt about so far rather than just by reading about it or being taught it in our government and politics lessons. I really enjoyed the day and the insight it gave me into how parliament works; I definitely will be going back!

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PRESENTATION EVENING 2015 Ruislip High School held its annual Presentation Evening on Tuesday 10th November to recognise the achievements of last academic year. The evening was a resounding success and a fitting occasion to celebrate students’ attainment and hard work. The guest speaker, Dannish Walker-Khan, a Great Britain sprinter, spoke about the effort required to be a top athlete and how to overcome adversity.

The audience was entertained by performances by the Year 7 choir, accompanied by the ukulele band, and solo performances by Year 12 students, Eddie, 12A1, and Sophie, 12A4.

As part of the headteacher’s review of the year, Dr Lecky invited Jamie, 8F, to perform some of his impersonations which led him to win the Year 7 and 8 Talent Show in the summer term.

The audience was very generous in its appreciation of his remarkable performance in particular his Ali G interview with the guest speaker.

Over 150 students received either form, subject or bestowed prizes and the hall was full to capacity with family members supporting their children’s achievements.

Dr Lecky commented afterwards that: ‘It was a very special evening, reminding us all of the importance of a school community working together for the good of all.’

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ENRICHMENT DAY Students enjoy enrichment day activities Students in Years 7, 8, 9, 10 and 12 enjoyed trips or activities on Friday 11th December.

Year 7 students visited an amphitheatre and museum in St Albans, linking to their studies in class of the Roman period, followed by the interactive “Hazard Alley” safety centre in Milton Keynes. Year 8 students took part in either a History visit to the Tower of London and the London Dungeon, or a Geography and Science trip to the Natural History Museum. Several outside speakers from a variety of industries visited the school to deliver a careers day for Year 9 students, while students in Year 10 had a special day devoted to the speaking and listening aspect of the English GCSE. Sixth Form students in Year 12 visited Oxford Brookes university to help find out about life at University as they consider their post-18 options.

Year 7 Trip to Hazard Alley and Verulamium As part of the Ruislip High School enrichment day, the Year 7 students enjoyed a fantastic day out taking in a ‘hands on’ real life emergency role play at Hazard Alley near Milton Keynes and a tour around a Roman Museum in St. Albans.

The morning session at Hazard Alley was greatly received by all students and they got to try their hands at dealing with many possible real-life emergencies such as making a phone call to the emergency services and putting someone in the recovery position. They worked in small groups in a purpose built interactive centre.

The highlight for many of the students was undoubtedly the opportunity to dial the emergency services and request help for different situations. The majority of students really rose to the challenge and spoke maturely and sensibly to the phone operators. Other highlights included the dark alley and the real life indoor pond.

After a well-earned lunch, students made their way to the second session. This was an opportunity to explore one of the oldest Roman towns in the country that was discovered deep under the ground in St. Albans. Students again worked in small groups and were able to touch and feel some real life history as they got to grips with some old Roman artefacts. This tied in perfectly with their classroom learning and they were able to look at Roman beauty products, Roman art and many other things that had been found deep under the ground. They then had the opportunity to look around the rest of the museum and gathered plenty of information about the Roman way of life and even took in a visit to an old Roman theatre.

After a long and active day, there were definitely some sleepy heads that made their way back on to the coach for the journey home. It was a pleasure to see the students conducting themselves so well at both sites and hopefully they will have all learned some valuable lessons with regards to staying and safe and how the Roman Empire helped to shape our own lives.

Mr Maud

Curriculum Leader for History

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GARDENING CLUB The Gardening Club offers an opportunity for students to learn skills in gardening and pond/ garden maintenance. Mrs. Kotak teaches the students how to care for plants and wildlife and the students have really enjoyed improving the garden at the school.

Constantina, 7F, and Isabella, 7C, created the posters (below) to show why they enjoy Gardening Club.

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From grass roots, to reaching for the sky

SPRING TERM DATES Monday 4th January - Wednesday 23rd March 2016 Spring term starts Monday 4th January Half term holiday Monday 15th to Friday 19th February Spring term ends Wednesday 23rd March Staff training/INSET day Thursday 26th March

Bank Holidays Good Friday Friday 25th March Easter Monday Monday 28th March

Parents’ Evenings Year Year Year Year

9 (Options) Thursday 11 Thursday 12 Thursday 13 Thursday

14th January 25th January 4th February 17th March

Trips and Events Year 10 Pompeii Trip Year 12 Norfolk trip Belgium/France Trip

Thursday 14th - Monday 18th February Friday 4th - Saturday 5th March Friday 25th - Monday 28th March

For the full term dates for 2015-16, visit the website, www.ruisliphigh.com

Ruislip High School, Sidmouth Drive, Ruislip, Middlesex HA4 0BY Tel: 01895 464064 Fax: 01895 675331 Email: office@ruisliphigh.com

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