January 2013 Newsletter

The St Marylebone School Newsletter

January 2013 BREAKING NEWS

RUNNING SUCCESS FOR RACHEL IN YEAR 10 SEE PE NEWS‌.

Prize Giving Ceremony October 2012 This year’s Prize Giving ceremony took place on Thursday October 25th at 7pm in the church. Our guest speaker was Lisa Jardine CBE, Professor of Renaissance Studies at University College, London.

The evening gave teachers the opportunity to recognise the outstanding achievement and effort of pupils in the school.

Each subject is awarded two prizes, one for attainment awarded to those students who have performed exceptionally well in a subject, and one for effort, awarded to those students who have worked consistently hard and shown real commitment to their studies.

Subject teachers are responsible for nominating students for prizes and this year well over 550 nominations were received. This reflects the incredibly high standards of achievement and hard work that so many of our pupils consistently demonstrate.

Congratulations to all of the winners!

All students Aspiration and There is no limit to the aspirations of our students – and, importantly, we feel that students deserve as wide a range of experiences as possible to inform their aspirations. Most schools offer extension and challenge to students through a “Gifted and Talented” programme, something St Marylebone has also done for years. This year, however, our “Aspiration and Challenge” has superseded “Gifted and Talented” since the latter tends to be rather exclusive – and implies that few are gifted (a nominal 10% in each cohort!). Our approach offers all pupils the opportunity for challenge and extension – so that all pupils discover their talent and interests.

“Aspiration and Challenge” includes: Bright Ideas Seminars: KS3 and KS4/5 – all pupils are invited to attend these enrichment seminars, led by teachers or external speakers. Topics range from philosophical questions to inspirational learning experiences, political comment to applied mathematical conundrum.

Guest speakers coming up: 27th February 2013, 3.45pm: Riaz Shah, Senior Partner, Ernst and Young: “How to be Successful” 1st May 2013, 3.45pm: Sir Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England ALL PUPILS INVITED! Speaking from Experience Aimed at KS4 and KS5 students, the Business, Community and Careers team work with Departments to bring speakers from professions to come speak to groups or whole years. Events range from a day at the Home Office, to the Women in Technology conference, to an industry master class with a local restauranteer to a bio-medical talk on how to succeed as a medic.

Dates for the diary: Design and Engineering at University and Beyond.

Thursday, 24th January 2013, 3.45pm - 4.45pm Speaker: Robin Petherick Jones, Southbank University - Engineering and Product Design An interactive presentation about studying engineering and design at University and where it can take you.

A Career in Design, from Product Design to Computer Games Design Date: Thursday, 7th February 2013, 3.45pm - 4.45pm Speaker: Tara Saunders, London Studio Art Director, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Limited. Tara is Art Director at Sony responsible for the new Wonderbook, Book of Spells an augmented reality game.

have talent!

Challenge at SMS “Eureka” Club This Key Stage Three club is lead by pupils and driven by their ideas and current academic interests.

“Big Question of the Week” and “Word of the Week” – These are whole-school challenges set weekly and displayed in form time, in bulletin, on display boards and plasma screens at both sites to stimulate intellectual discussion – from philosophical enquiry to topical ethical issues – for example:

“All world leaders deserve respect, even if they are tyrants” Agree?

Interview Skills workshops Led by a combination of outside organisations and leaders in school, these are timed to support pupils preparing for transitions to KS5, university interviews, apprenticeship schemes and work experience.

Debating The school runs leading Debating Clubs at each Key Stage, taking part in local and national competitions. Recent success in Year 13 Oxbridge applications owes a great deal to pupils’ participation in these ...

The Extended Project Qualification This KS5 qualification is now in its fourth successful year at St Marylebone; the EPQ is open to all students, enabling them to gain an A-Level for designing, pursuing, realising and evaluating a project of their choosing entirely independently. This is highly-esteemed by universities and has earned several Year 13 students their UCAS places.

Aspiration and Challenge at SMS cont’d……….

Launch of AD ASTRA December 2012 saw the launch of Ad Astra, a journal featuring outstanding aspiration and achievement at KS5 across the spectrum of academia and arts. Its content is the work of students who have explored and engaged with ideas, experience and skills to an exceptional degree.

The driving force behind Ad Astra is the idea of properly recognising the heights to which KS5 students at St Marylebone both aspire and reach. Outstanding work deserves an audience, and showcasing it in this way will help inspire other students to greater aspiration and attainment. The title of the journal, meaning ‘to the stars’, comes from the comment of Seneca the Younger: ‘there is no easy way from the earth to the stars.’ Ad Astra recognises both the uncompromising standards to which students aspire and the hard work and dedication involved in meeting those standards.

The work featured in Ad Astra is selected by leading teaching staff on the basis of demonstrating academic and artistic excellence that goes well beyond the top end of assessment objectives and exam-board specifications. The high standard of the academic content is apparent both in the range of subject matter and the quality of the writing.

The first issue includes essays on subjects ranging from situation ethics, the relationship between nationalism and aggression, and the collapse of the Soviet Union, as well as the 2011 winner of Oxford University’s prestigious Staton prize for Economics. This written work is interspersed with 19 original artworks of truly remarkable quality, ranging from portraiture to abstract paper sculpture. In this way, Ad Astra reflects how the school values and develops the full spectrum of creative endeavour and intellectual pursuit.

The first issue of Ad Astra has already been acclaimed by staff, students and external educationalists. We are now selecting work for the second issue – the plan is to publish twice a year – and will be inviting students to submit original work for consideration.

Last term twenty-four Year 9 pupils had the opportunity to participate in a project run by The Brilliant Club, a Teach First inspired organisation which aims to raise aspirations and increase the number of pupils from state schools at top universities.

This gave our pupils the opportunity to be mentored by PhD students, applying their study skills to a new and challenging topic.

The programme was book-ended by visits to two universities, Sussex and Oxford giving pupils direct exposure to the rigours of university life.

Between these trips, the 24 participants enjoyed three university-style tutorials with their PhD students on topics in the fields of Biology or Philosophy.

To graduate from the programme, the pupils had to write a 1500 word essay to demonstrate their understanding of the topics they had discussed.

Feedback was universally positive, with pupils appreciating the value of participating in this prestigious programme: “Going to the campus was enlightening – I found out that University life involves a lot more homework and lectures than I had expected. The experience has opened up my career paths” said Abigail.

Angela added: “We’re learning about Biology and evolution, and I’ve become more inquisitive. I’ve understood that there is often more to things than what they first seem.”

We look forward now to extending the programme to Years 10 and 12.

Westminster Apprenticeship Club has been set up by Westminster Education Business Partnership (EBP) as a pilot programme with the aims of raising awareness of apprenticeships amongst young people in Westminster and providing impartial information around the world of work, career pathways and alternative progression routes.

Six Year 10 students from St Marylebone School along with six from Quintin Kynaston Academy were recruited onto the programme after taking part in a competitive interview process. In the first sessions of the programme, students visited Capgemini, Fashion Retail Academy, Westminster Kingsway College, and Channel 4 and have interviewed staff and apprentices from FCO Services and Kaplan Training. Students have learnt about apprenticeships in Catering and Hospitality, IT, Media, and Fashion Retail through talks and presentations from business representatives and current apprentices. This month students learnt about the recruitment process of a company by taking part in a mock short listing activity.

Students had personalised feedback on their CVs and complete a mock interview.

Comments from students attending so far: “The Apprenticeship Club is a useful learning experience. You get to see the inner workings of companies and comprehend how you can 'make it' in the competitive job market of the current day. I have learnt many useful things, like how to interview well and write a Curriculum Vitae” – Clemency Y10 "I am really enjoying the Apprenticeship Scheme as I have learnt a lot about applying for jobs and the role of apprentices within a business. I have discovered many new techniques which will be guaranteed to help me a lot in later life" Kitty Y10 What’s to come?

Students will be visiting Lancaster Hotel to learn about kitchen and hotel apprenticeship schemes and then they will present what they have learnt from the programme at the final celebration session.

Apprenticeship Club Students find out about Channel 4 and different entry routes into media

Students help with Visual Merchandising with their window display designs at the Fashion Retail Academy

Careers News Governors and Headteacher: “We want to get relations with the business world at the heart of everything and to that end want to make careers education and familiarity with the business world a high priority throughout the school”.

As part of the newly formed Business, Community and Careers (BCC) Team, the Careers Office has had a busy few months getting underway. Amongst other initiatives, we have been interviewing Year 9, 11, and 13 students, rolling out Fast Tomato to Year 9 and 11, and expanding the school’s community and business contacts database.

One-to-one interviews have been taking place with our Independent Careers Consultant, Piers Jackson. Laura Forrest, an Independent Careers Adviser has recently joined the team to help with sixth form one-to-one interviews.

Fast Tomato is an internet-accessible careers guidance tool for SMS students and their parents/carers to help them in career decision making, for example Year 11 transition to Post-16 education, Year 9 Options.

This is the link to Fast Tomato: http://www.fasttomato.com/, and we would invite all Year 9 and Year 11 parents/carers to look at this site with your daughters, who are already registered and have their own personal username and password.

We are also expanding the BCC contact list, with a view to having an internal curriculum resource for teachers and improving contacts with our local community, local businesses and parents. Do you have any contacts in the world of work who might be able to help?

The BCC team comprises of Kat Pugh (Assistant Headteacher, Aspiration and Challenge), Jon Cheshire (Director of 6th Form). Sue Burtenshaw (Senior Leader, Work Related Learning), Fran Congdon (Senior Leader, Business and Community), Piers Jackson (Independent Careers Consultant), Laura Forrest (Independent Careers Adviser), Phyllis van der Esch (BCC Co-ordinator). The BCC team can be contacted on 0207935 4704 Ext. 233, or careers@stmarylebone.westminster.sch.uk

The results of the Christmas Photography Competition are below. We had a record number of entries and the standard was extremely high which made judging very difficult indeed. Well done to all those who entered.

W I N N E R S

Key Stage 3 Ariadna M - Winner Duvalle P – Highly commended Eleanor Pt – Highly commended Angel S - Commended

Key Stage 4 Verity H – Winner Julia N – Highly commended Estelle Y- Commended

Key Stage 5 Ashley B– Winner Magdalene C– Highly commended

News from the Art Department Throughout the year we organise Artist talks to inspire the students about career prospects in the Arts.

In September Arnaud Desjardin a publisher, book dealer, artist and writer concluded his publishing workshop with the current Year 13 students with an engaging talk. The students created an impressive publication called Not a Drop, which can be viewed in the Art Department.

In November we had Erika Winstone talking to the students. She particularly focuses on relationships between people as captured on film in sound, rhythms, words and movements. She combines both personal everyday observation and feature films so including relationships between who we are, and who we would like to be. In January Elaine Duigenan and Steven Pippin gave a talk on their art practise. Both artists are interested in the medium of photography.

One of Elaine’s pieces about surface traces was recently taken into space by one of the NASA astronauts. Steven was nominated for the Turner Prize in 1999 for his innovative photography. He uses objects such as bathtubs, wardrobes and washing machines converted so that they function as cameras. Both artists inspired the students with the idea that any small moment can be turned into a rewarding artistic journey.

Ten students and two teachers from a school in Berlin joined us for this talk. We are currently working on how to develop this cultural exchange with the ‘Berliners’ Listen out for further artist talks and an exchange with Berlin.

PE NEWS BREAKING NEWS

RACHEL S in Year 10 was selected to run for Middlesex in the Southern Inter County Cross Country Championships held at Clabury, Essex on Saturday 8th December. She ran exceptionally well for her county and finished 18th overall. She came 4th in the Middlesex Cross Country Championships on January 5th at Wormwood Scrubs and is running for Middlesex in the Inter Counties Cross Country Championships on March 9th in Birmingham. She regularly competes for her running club, London Heathside outside of school in the London Metropolitan League and attends the school Running Club on Mondays and Wednesdays. We wish her every success in future events.

CROSS COUNTRY St Marylebone Cross Country Competition (Inter-house) Tuesday 25th September 2012—Regents Park - 1 mile

1st

Jessica W.

08:07

B

2nd

Molly S.

08:08

D

3rd

Etta S.

08:52

B

Westminster Cross Country Competition 10th September 2012 Regents Park 4km

Year 7

1st

Milla M.

07:49

H

2nd

Genevieve RL

07:58

D

3rd

Maisie W

07:59

B

1st

Lola A

07:33

H

2nd

Ruby C

07:39

D

3rd

Esme M

08:34

B

1st

Rachel S

07:22

Year 8

Lola A. (2nd) Year 9

Milla M. (4th)

H

Year 10 2

nd

3rd

Kitty L

08:04

H

Justine F

08:06

W

Indoor Cricket, Lords Cricket Ground - Nov 2012 Students participated in an indoor cricket session with two excellent coaches at Lords Cricket Ground. Students then used their newly developed skills to play a game, learning the many rules of indoor cricket. Students now move on to the next round of competition in the U'13s Lady Taverner’s Inner Borough Final.

Year 7/8 Indoor Cricket Team Alma

7H

Peju

7H

Jessica Molly

7B 7D

Amarah

7B

Sophie Pascale Caitlin Lenaya

7B 7B 8N 8N

Saffron

8B

Scarlett

8B

PE NEWS Westminster Football Competition YEAR 9/10 17th October 1st Place Westminster Champions Parisa Francesca Keira Lirona Aisha Charis Bryony Hamisha Francesca Jada Maya

YEAR 8 7th November Westminster Runner Up

YEAR 7 22nd November 1st Place Westminster Champions Pascale Adol Peju Eve (Star Player) Dahlia Fiona Eleanor Kennedy Burke Paige Nmesoma Amaarah Reanna Sophie (Captain) Besarta Nicola

Bethany Natasha Scarlett Rosa Flora Fariha Maisie Gabriella Caitlin

Indoor Athletics - Hosted by Paddington Academy, January 2013

St Marylebone have made a very successful start to our athletics program with two wins in the indoor athletics event. Students showed excellent physical ability as well as great tactical awareness in each of their individual events. These students will now move on to the next level of competition, representing Westminster in the School Games.

Year 7

Year 8

1st – 153

2nd - 143

3rd - 141

1st - 156

2nd - 142

3rd - 133

St Marylebone

Greycoats

Pimlico

St Marylebone

Greycoats

Pimlico

Community Games Olympic Legacy Event -Year 7 (Organised with Prudential) Thursday 25th October Moberly Sports Centre 2012 Handball, Parkour, Karate, Athletics and Cheerleading. Year 7 students participated in a games day with a taster of a variety of sports that are available in the community. Students were also competing in their House groups for ‘Best Performance’ and ‘Best Team Spirit’. N = won the participation/performance award D = won team spirit award.

Year 7/8 Indoor Athletics Team: Scarlett H Bethany R Flora C Rosa T Abigail M Renee L Biba A Molly S Tamla T Peju O Reanna J Eve (7H) Ranya A Alison W

Year 9 Sports Leaders: Nicole MTL Thursa D Lola A

EXTRA CURRICULAR PE =

Extra Curricular Timetable

St Marylebone School Football Team The St Marylebone Girls football team train every Thursday after school in preparation for league and tournament matches. The training consists of fitness, skills based practises including control, passing and shooting and small sided games.

CHEMISTRY CAMP Over the summer, two Year 10 pupils (now Year 11) attended the Salter’s Institute Chemistry Camp.

This year, fourteen camps were held at seven universities, each lasting three days. It was a great experience for pupils, as they were able to enhance their understanding of chemistry through various practicals as well as taste the joys (and pains) of being a university student. They got to stay in dormitories, attend lectures and endure the extremely long line for food (even longer than the one at the ‘Lunchbox’, believe it or not!). Luckily, there was no Pb and jelly sandwiches! This is what they each have to say about their experience: Maegan: I arrived at the University of Cambridge on a cold, wet, afternoon on the 16 th July. Thankfully, the weather did not reflect the unforgettable time I had. The first practical I did was a fun one on how to make paint from basic elements. For example, I first made a white pigment using lead (II) nitrate solution. I then used egg yolk which acted as binding agent, which turned the paint pigment into paint. It was a very enjoyable experiment, as we later used the paints to paint a picture. Over the next few days, I carried out three more practicals, attended a fun lecture, entitled “Chemical Curiosities”, and went on a walking tour around Cambridge. The end of the camp unfortunately arrived, however, I left feeling enlightened, and excited to apply my newfound knowledge at school.

Shu En: I went to Manchester University from the 25th— 27th of July. Our first experiment was definitely the coolest- 'Cold Light'! Fireflies, jellyfish and bacteria use chemiluminescence or 'cold light' to give them the ability to glow in the dark. We prepared siloxene, which is a chemiluminescent indicator. Some chemiluminescent compounds are used to detect trace amounts of certain chemicals, for example in forensic science in sprays or in the pharmaceutical industry. We did two experiments per day followed by a demonstration/lecture and bowling or a chemistry themed quiz.

Maegan and Shu En We would definitely recommend it to any Year 10s who enjoy chemistry and/or would like to study it at A Level. You get to carry out experiments that you wouldn’t normally be able to do in class (i.e. too dangerous!), and work with other enthusiastic chemists. We’d finish with a chemistry joke but all the good ones Argon, and all jokes about noble gases are awful because you never get a reaction!

In 2013 St Marylebone will be able to nominate two more students to attend these excellent Chemistry Camps. Applications open in January 2013.

Year 7/8 TRIPS The Year 8 Guardian Trip On November 23rd, approximately 30 students in Year 8 were given the opportunity to go to the Guardian Newspaper, where we would then be given a chance to create our very own newspaper front cover in groups of two or three. At The Guardian we were given an insight into the various roles needed to ensure our newspaper is the best it possibly can be. We had to take all these roles on board in order to make our newspaper front cover to a very high standard, under time constraints.

These roles included acting as if we were editors, journalist and designers. It was a very fun and enjoyable experience, I also think that we all learnt a lot about the field of journalism. To be quite honest, I don't think many of us would have ever dreamed of having a job in this area of work; however, now I'm pretty sure that I and others would now consider perusing a job in news, in later life.

Year 7 Trip to the Isle of Wight….

Between the 1st-5th October, 138 members of Year 7 embarked upon a range of challenges at Kingswood Centre on the Isle of Wight. In a range of weather conditions, the girls scaled assault courses, climbed and abseiled down outdoor climbing walls, whizzed down zip-wires, perfected their archery and aeroball skills and held sandcastle competitions on the beach. The evenings were filled with team challenges and an extra-special “Fame Game” on the final night, which showed off the many talents to be found amongst 2012’s Year 7s. It was a fun, action-packed week filled with happy memories and new friendships. A big thank you to the girls for their excellent attitude and teamwork, and to all the teachers who accompanied the students on the trip.

Year 13 TRIP “Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost”: A Visit to the British Library In September, eleven Year 13 students visited the exhibition, ‘Writing Britain: Wastelands to Wonderlands’ at the British Library, as part of preparation for English Literature coursework on the importance of place. We were met by an enthralling display of literary manuscripts, photographs, maps, song lyrics and recordings which demonstrated how writers have been influenced by Britain’s places and spaces, from the waterlands and wild places to the surburbs and cityscapes. Highlights were George Eliot’s final chapter of A Mill on the Floss, William Blake’s illustration of ‘Jerusalem’ and The Beatles’ ‘Penny Lane’ lyrics. After wandering around in the exhibition, captivated by the exhibits, our enthusiastic workshop leader set us the task of designing a bespoke tour of the exhibition with our coursework title in mind. A thought-provoking discussion ensued and it was fantastic to see the range of exhibits that had enthralled the group. If only we could have stayed a little longer…

“Such a useful and relevant exhibition!”

Natasha M.V. “A light-bulb moment!” Charlie-Ann B. “It really broadened my understanding of literary, historical and economical influences.” Louisa C.P “Very inspiring and it really helped me to write about contexts.”

Mrs Peverley & Ms Owen

St Marylebone CE School Term dates 2013-14 Year Group Sept. 2013 – July 2014

Date of return for Term 1

Start time

September 2013 INSET 2nd, 3rd, 4th September 2013

7

Thursday 5th September

8.30am

8

Monday 9th September

8.30am

9

Monday 9th September

8.30am

10

Monday 9th September

8.30am

11

Friday 6th September

8.30am

12

Thursday 5th September

8.30am

13

Friday 6th September

8.30am

Term one ends

Friday 25th October

School ends at 12.30pm

Terms 2 to 6 2013-14

Start time first day back

End of term finish time

8.30am

12.30pm

8.30am

3.30pm

8.30am

12.30pm

Half-term holidays 28/10/13—1/11/13 Term 2

Monday 4th November – Friday 20th December 2013

Christmas Holidays: Saturday 21/12/13 - Sunday 5/1/14 Term 3

Monday 6th January 2014 – Friday 14th February ‘14

Half-term holidays 17/2/14—21/2/14 Term 4

Monday 24th February – Wednesday 9th April 2014

INSET day Thursday 10th & Friday 11th April

Term 5

Pupil Easter Holidays: Thursday 10/04/14—Sunday 27/04/14

Monday 28th April – Friday 23th May 2014

8.30am

3.30pm

8.30am

12.30pm

Public Holiday – May Day 5th May 2014

Half-term holidays 26/5/14 (Bank Holiday) – 30/5/14 Term 6

Monday 2nd June – Thursday 17th July 2014

Please check the school web site termly for any updates. Version Jan ‘13