Christmas Newsletter 2018

GUISELEY SCHOOL C HR I S T M A S N E W SLETTER 2 0 1 8 P hoto by Mr C r owther

Sixth Form once again took the lead in helping raise money for this year’s Children in Need fundraising effort. Face painting, bun sales, spending a day in their pj’s...and with plans already underway for next year. Well done to all involved.

Our ‘Buy a Child a Present’ appeal amongst staff also saw the school donate 75 presents to less fortunate children this Christmas.

O ve r 1 0 0 s t ude nt s from Ye a r 8 a nd 9 we re t re a t e d t o a cine ma t rip during t he la s t we e ks of t his t e rm.

A combina t ion of s t ude nt s who ha d t he highe s t a t t e nda nce t his t e rm, s t ude nt s who ha d t he highe s t At t it ude t o Le a rning s core s , a nd s t ude nt s who ha d re ce ive d a high numbe r of s t a mps for out s t a nding work, a ll hoppe d on a coa ch a nd he a de d t o t he S howca s e cine ma in Birs t a ll for a priva t e s cre e ning of Fa nt a s t ic Be a s t s : The Crime s of G rinde lwa ld. S e ve ra l s t ude nt s we re convince d t ha t t he y ha d j us t s e e n ‘t he be s t film e ve r’. Love ly !

Ye ar 7 wer e t r eat ed t o a visit and talk by th e su ccessf u l c h il d r en ’ s au t h or, Holly Smale. Holly sh ar ed ver y in te r est i n g p er son al stor ies f r om h er own time at s c hool wh i c h l ed h er to wr ite th e pop u lar b ook ser ies, G e ek Gi r l . Th e st u dents wer e ver y excited to ask q ue st i on s ab ou t t h e b ook s, ab ou t wr iting as well as to f in d ou t i n si d er i n fo for th e f u tu r e of the ser ies! Af ter Ho ll y ’ s t al k , st u d en t s went str aigh t to th e lib r ar y f or a uto g r ap h s.

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For ty -ni ne Year 13 s tud en ts w en t to L eeds Bec k ett Uni v e rsi ty o n Frid ay 9 N ovember to c ollec t th eir P rogre ssion Mod ule Cer t if ic ates of Ac h ievemen t. T h is i s a u ni v ers ity ac c red ited aw ar d w h er e s tuden ts lear n t e s se nti a l s kills to help th em w h en apply in g f or H igh er E du ca t i on or emp lo ymen t.

g r e a t su cce ss. M a n y o f t h e st u d e n t s h a d n o t e x p e ct e d i t t o b e a f o rm a l Un i v e r si t y a w a rd ce re m o n y b u t w e re v e r y h a p p y t h a t t h e i r a ch i e v e m e n t s h a d b e e n re co g n i se d i n t h i s w ay.

Ha m za Su l t a n a n d I g n a s P si t u l sk a s a l so r e ce i v e d a d d i t i o n a l a w a r d s. Ha m za re ce i v e d t h e E x ce l l e n ce The students were reminded of the great success that they Aw a rd w h i l st I g n a s re ce i v e d t h e P ro g re ss Aw a r d . ha d a chi eved in help ing a dvan c e th eir employability an d cha nce s to ward s attend in g th eir des ir ed un iver s ities . Co n g ra t u l a t i o n s t o a l l o f t h e st u d e n t s w h o w e r e a w a rd e d Af t e r w a rd s there was a rec eption buf f et w h er e s tuden ts t h e i r ce r t i f i ca t e s. G u i se l e y Sch o o l i s v e r y p ro u d o f yo u r a n d a ca d emic s taff c o uld s oc ialis e. T h e even t w as a a ch i e v e m e n t .

GUISELEY STUDENT IS YOUNG CHEF SEMI-FINALIST Two Guiseley School students faced off against Benton Park School students over the weekend in a bid to reach the district semi-finals of the Rotary Young Chef 2018 competition. Amber and Evie, both from Year 10, cooked up healthy and tasty dishes during the two hour competition, with Evie being selected to progress to the semi-final, which was held at Leeds City College Printworks Campus.

11-17 years old, to develop a range correct food temperature, of skills through the art of cooking a • Develop an ability to cope in a three course meal for two for £15 or demanding time constrained less in two hours under competition situation conditions in a professional safe environment, with focus on; Congratulations to both Amber and • Choice of and learning to Cook Evie for taking part and good luck to Healthy meals, Evie in the next stage.

• Organisational and Planning Skills, • Budgeting and sourcing produce, • Food Presentation Skills The Rotary Young Chef competition is • Neatness and tidiness, a youth competition for people aged • Consider food hygiene issues and

As a school we felt it was important to recognise the sacrifice of all those who fell in The Great War and subsequent conflicts. Year 8 students in Art, Drama and Music lessons created their own protest Art against a background of letters written by soldiers and their families, explored a play called ‘Last Man Standing’ and composed their own version of the last post.

‘Thought for the Week’, which is delivered in form time explored a range of ideas from conflict to sacrifice and peace and in PEP the whole school created ‘Thank you Poppies’ which are displayed in the entrance by the main school hall.

This work culminated in an evening of Music and Drama with our Sixth Form and Year 10 students performing extracts from plays which explored the Christmas Truce, the difficult subject of the 306 men shot for cowardice,

the Barnbow munitions factory in Cross Gates and ‘Pink Mist’ directed by Callum Kay and Jess Todd in Year 13 about the more recent conflict in Afghanistan.

We were fortunate to be joined by community choir Vocal Assembly, Hullabaloo Children’s orchestra, Odd Balls Theatre Makers and Chloe Lawson an ex-student performing a monologue about a young woman who had volunteered to be a nurse and who held the audience of over 200 people spellbound. The evening culminated in Pippa Piotrowicz playing the last post alongside members of the Guiseley Branch of the Royal British Legion.

This was a truly moving evening, which enabled Guiseley School and the local community to come together and remember all those who made the ultimate sacrifice including the 150 Guiseley Men who fought for their country.

Shakespeare Schools Festival This October saw the Drama Department taking part in their 11th Shakespeare Schools Festival with a performance of ‘Twelfth Night’ at the Carriageworks Theatre in Leeds.

Finding new and interesting ways to interpret such well-known plays is a challenge we relish in the department and we are fortunate that our GCSE students always go along with what can seem at first like a pretty crazy idea!

This year we decided to bring ‘Twelfth Night’ up to date with a cross between Shakespeare, a reality TV show and Gogglebox called ‘Twelve Nights’. Little did Count Orsino, Olivia and Viola know that they were being manipulated by a clever set of TV producers and actors who were causing all sorts of chaos on stage by making characters fall in love with one another and create arguments and fights whilst being commented on by our family watching the show on their sofa!

Our cast of Year 11 students rose to the challenge of not only performing the original Shakespeare script but creating

all the new material which brought our concept to life. Their final performance had the audience of over 300 people both laughing and crying with their brilliantly timed physical comedy and heartfelt, tender romantic scenes.

A fantastic performance from an incredibly talented ensemble!

Year 9 Pantomime This term Year 9 students have been learning about and exploring slapstick comedy, melodrama, stage combat and pantomimes.

This work has culminated in performances of their own version of Cinderella with some rather hilarious pantomime dames complete with wigs and dresses!

Forty students were fortunate to watch Aladdin at the Alhambra in Bradford with Christopher Biggins, Billy Pearce and Simon from Blue.

The general consensus was that ‘it was brilliant’, although no one was too keen on the large spiders that came flying out towards us in the 3D film section.

On the 16th September, 85 students from Guiseley School visited Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium. Harvey, Lottie and George, all from Year 11, also took part in the nightly Last Post wreath laying ceremony to pay respect to those who died in World War 1.

History Summer Challenge Following on from the end of the Summer term, saw the inaugural launch of the History Summer Challenge. Open to any student in our school, the summer challenge was designed to give students free choice to research and produce different pieces of work reflecting their personal areas of historical interest. The premise was all about fun, thirst for knowledge and an opportunity for us to mentor and coach students who wanted to take the opportunity to develop the skills associated with history further.

We were amazed by the unbelievable quality of the work that was produced. In many cases students produced work that taught us about history - a reminder that every day is a school day!

The topics covered ranged from: • The Suffragettes • The Titanic • D-Day landings Photos from this years prize evening

• The Assassination of JFK • The Romans • Witches • The role of Nationalism in causing World War 1 • The relationship between Hitler and the German People • Jack the Ripper • The role of the Jacobins and the reign of Terror during the French Revolution • Joan of Arc • The causes of the Holocaust • Italian Migration • The Battle of Britain • The influence of the Baroque time period on music, culture and the Arts Students who submitted work will be offered the opportunity to go on a reward trip to York in January.

Rewards will also be given out in assemblies to celebrate the wonderful work that has been produced. It is a testament to the commitment and work ethic of Guiseley students.

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World Challenge After the summer 2018 World Challenge trip to Nepal, planning for the next trip in 2020 is well under way for some lucky Year 12 students. They are now looking to fund raise for their trip to Eswatini and Mozambique in Southern Africa where they will be going on Safari, exploring picture postcard beaches, potentially swimming with Whale Sharks as well as completing an expedition and volunteering in the local community.

Visit the website DofE 36 Year 9 students have signed up for Bronze Duke of Edinburgh this year. They will be completing a Volunteering, Skill and physical activity each week as well as training for the expeditions. In the past, students have participated in a number of activities including: litter picking in the community, training football teams, learning sign language and helping in

Primary schools. In April, students will be walking self-sufficiently from Harewood House back to school, stopping over night at Bramhope Scout Campsite. In June they will complete their assessed expedition, where they will walk from Bolton Abbey to School, staying at a campsite in Ilkley.

Year 12 Fieldwork In October, Year 12 geographers had two days of fieldwork to work towards their examined individual investigation. On the Thursday, they enjoyed the sunshine whilst visiting Flamborough Head to study the coastal landforms and then Bridlington to assess the impact of coastal management.

They suffered much cooler temperatures in Leeds city centre on the Friday, but didn’t let this dampen their enthusiasm as they investigated micro-climates of Leeds and the regeneration of the waterfront. Next up, they will be going to the Lake District in June.

CHRISTMAS POETRY

Christmas Time!

By Amber Jones

Christmas time is here, A wonderful time of year, Lots of joy and cheer!

Perhaps it means more, Than what you buy from the store, And Christmas decor.

It’s family time, There’s no time for you to Have a little think, whine, Whilst you have a Christmas Just sparkle and shine! drink, All dressed up in pink: Christmas time is here, A wonderful time of year, What does Christmas Lots of joy and cheer! mean?

Is it elves dressed in green?

Or watching the Queen?

I know, it’s presents!

Or perhaps it’s Christmas scents Or social events!

A Christmas Poem

By Emilia Lack

Three snowmen began to shiver, As they stared down at the frozen river.

The moon cast a silver glow, As the wind continued to blow.

They listened to the church bells ring, And carollers laugh and sing.

The snowmen walked on, To see what was going on.

They saw the light coming from the church, After a long, long search.

People spreading their Christmas cheer, Whilst children believe in flying deer.

The snowmen wouldn’t fit, As there wasn’t any space, not even one bit.

So off they were sent, And home the snowmen went.

Christmas card winner : Zainab Malik

The autumn term has given students plenty of opportunities to get involved in the house system, with students from all years earning points through a range of creative, sporting and festive activities and competitions.

For Halloween, staff and students were invited to write a short spine-chilling poem, snap some suitably spooky photography and cut candle-lit creatures in a pumpkin carving contest.

As ever, the works produced were of a very high standard.

Well done to all who took part, and of course, the winners.

it stands, with 16 players through to round three in January, Sigma has the highest representation.

In the same month, the Year 7 and Year 8 indoor football tournaments saw a record number of students signing up to compete for the Cup. Congratulations to Omega for winning both tournaments, unbeaten in all games.

In December, students were invited to design Guiseley School’s official Christmas card. Headteacher Mr Clayton judged it to be a clean sweep for Gamma; taking all three of the top prizes and adding to their The ever-popular annual already impressive haul of Chess Tournament returned House Points. in November, with 62 players from across the school battling it out in a knock-out competition. As

1st - Povilas Psitulskas

48,808

H O US E P I X E L ART C O M PE T ITION WINNERS

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46,421

3rd - Riley Tounsend

58,027

59, 204

2nd - Jack Moaby

CHRISTMAS WE L L DONE T O AL L O U R S T U D E N T S F OR A T E RR I F I C T E R M HAVE A ME RRY C H R I S T M A S SE E YOU IN J A N U A RY