Specialisms Newsletter - Summer 2013

The St Marylebone C.E. School Specialisms Newsletter Summer 2013 A Specialist School in Performing Arts, Maths, Computing, Communication & Interaction

Year 9 Performing Arts Festival

MaryleboneJam

Spring Concert Thursday 21st March 2013

The annual Spring Concert was held at St Marylebone Parish Church on Thursday 21st March 2013.

The theme was ‘The Nature of Music’ and the event involved a vast amount of students from all year groups. The Year 7 cohort began the concert with a powerful rendition of ‘Wade in the Water’ and the performance ended with all choirs and orchestras performing an arrangement of Coldplay’s ‘Paradise’. The Year 13 band performed the wonderfully emotive Harvest Moon with masterly control, whilst the Year 13 Barbershop Quartet performed What a Wonderful World, arranged by Zhuan F in Year 13. The Symphony Orchestra added a pastoral feel to the evening with a performance of the ‘Shepherd’s Song’ from Beethoven’s 6th Symphony whilst the younger Pops Orchestra produced a vivacious and lyrical performance of Holst’s Jupiter from ‘The Planets’. The Community Choir, consisting of parents, teachers and friends of the school performed an arrangement of Gershwin’s Summertime accompanied by the Symphony Orchestra. Equally high levels of performance were achieved by our Big Band who performed Stormy Weather, and Concert Band who performed Shenandoah. All choirs were in fine form and the audience was treated to a varied repertoire, from Kate Bush’s Running up that Hill to Mendelssohn’s Lift Thine Eyes to the soulful Ain’t no Mountain High Enough, performed by Shout Out!. The performances were intermingled with poetry readings over specially created soundscapes by A Level Music Technology students. The concert proved to be a huge success for all involved!

Friday 14th June, Wigmore Hall On Friday 14th June, our Key Stage 3 Music and Choral scholars were lucky enough to have the opportunity to perform at the world-renowned Wigmore Hall. The programme was diverse and showcased music from the classical and jazz worlds, as well as excerpts from musicals and pop songs. The standard of performance was truly breathtaking and there were far too many highlights to mention everyone individually. However, we would like to give a special mention to some of the soloists who took to the stage, notably Lenna S who gave a masterly performance of Bach’s Partita in E major, 1st movement, Agnes C, who showed off excellent technical facility in Arutiunian’s fiendishly challenging Concerto Scherzo and a beautiful performance of Debussy’s Reverie, given by Anna R-C. There were many more outstanding performances, including Tzarina N’s own composition, Read Her Wrong, and some lovely group arrangements. The concert concluded with a stunning performance of Elbow’s One Day Like This a fitting ending for a fantastic display of talent at this prestigious venue. Very well done to all performers!

As part of the Key Stage 3 Concert at Wigmore Hall, the Drama Scholars performed extracts from Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers: “I am one of the twins who is as bright as a pin.” We worked as a chorus, working as a team and combining our energy and talents.

It was the Scholars’ Concert last year that gave me the opportunity to become a scholar, and this year it was great to relive the experience with more Drama knowledge behind me. This year as a Drama Scholar I have been in my first Whole School Play, The Nativity (November 2012), and I will be representing the school at ‘Midsummer Madness’ with Shakespeare Schools Festival in July 2013.

Natasha T (8N)

SMS@SMS is a Saturday Music School for children in Year 3-7 attending a school in Westminster. SMS@SMS has just completed its third academic year based at St Marylebone, and the first year as part of the Tri-Borough Music Hub. The programme provides a fantastic opportunity for young musicians to learn an instrument alongside other children in group instrumental tuition and enhance their musical experience by working with others in creative ensemble sessions to build their all-round musical skills.

Marylebone Theatre Company is a new initiative for 2013, following on from the success of our previous Saturday Performing Arts

School,

known

as

TakePart!.

Marylebone Theatre Company will offer children

from

the

local

community

the

opportunity to be involved in activities and masterclasses which allow them to work collaboratively with other young children to create a piece of theatre in a friendly and encouraging artistic environment.

renzied

airytales

The Tales of Sisters Grimm ‘Frenzied Fairytales’ was a culmination of the work completed during the Year 9 Performing Arts Festival, which was put together by the students in just two days. During this time, the students worked collaboratively within the Arts disciplines, working with teachers from Music, Dance, Drama and Art to create this work. The theme for this year’s Performing Arts Festival was fairytales.

Each Form was given a fairytale as the starting point for their creative work.

The students abstracted and interpreted their fairytale in a variety of ways, exploring themes such as temptation, greed and the plight of influential characters within society. The big, beautiful books were representative of each Form’s fairytale, which they created in their Art sessions, and were adorned with key phrases and pictures made from lino prints and cloth-painting.

They also composed all the music technology and atmospheric soundscapes. What a brilliant evening!

9N—Cinderella 9N Cinderella 9B—The 9B The Pied Piper 9H—Hansel 9H Hansel and Gretel 9W—The 9W The Three Little Pigs 9D—The 9D The Happy Prince

Key Stage 3 Company We performed Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes on the 3rd of July. As over sixty students applied for a place in the Key Stage 3 Drama Company we had to do an audition to get in. It was really nerve-wracking as only half of us would get in. Now the thirty of us are split into five groups, each taking one of the twisted stories. It was interesting to cast ourselves, which we were able to do after independent rehearsal. This process has enabled me to lead some of the younger students, which means I am learning directing skills as well as developing my acting.

Riyana M (8N) The audition process to get into Drama Company was a good experience as it was really scary to perform on our own in front of older year groups. However, it was an exciting opportunity to be appreciated as much as the older students and learn from them. We are using traverse staging which is unique. We are modernising Shakespeare’s women, and as we are an all girls school, it is a great way to explore how they were portrayed then and show how we can adapt that into modern times.

Martha M (8N), Umi M (8D)

Year 10 performance of The Crucible We performed The Crucible as a whole year group. Having studied it in Year 9 English made it easier to perform as we fully understood our characters. We played a number of roles and developed our characterisation skills. Both classes performed together which meant we could build from each other’s skills. It was a great opportunity to practice before our real exams next year.

GCSE Drama Showcase We are so sad that Drama is over. We were really proud with what we had achieved. We ended the year as great friends with some amazing memories. This is the most fun I have had in Drama ever.

We were able to do what we wanted and use what we had learnt to make our own performances.

Year 11 class of 2013

LAMDA If you are interested in Drama but don’t have much time after school, LAMDA is a great thing to do at lunchtime. You can pair up and do a duologue like me, or you can do a monologue by yourself.

You can do this just for fun or you can prepare for a grade. LAMDA combines independent work with teacher feedback as you prepare on your own, but receive one to one advice. It’s a great way to develop your Drama skills.

Anna R–C (8H)

DANCE U.DANCE Marylebone Dance Company has won two competitions in the last two months. The most prestigious event was U.Dance, held at Laban on Sunday 14th April. Marylebone Dance Company had to send in lots of video footage as part of their application and they were finally selected as one of the eight best London youth companies to perform.

During the competition, the judges were impressed by the quality and innovation of the piece they saw and provided some very engouraging feedback: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

The movement vocabulary was developed well throughout the piece The piece demonstrated the capabilities of the dancers positively The theme of control and manipulation was clear throughout the piece The dancers were really involved in the work, showing a high level of maturity and focus for their age

Because of their amazing efforts, Marylebone Dance Company has now been selected to perform at the national event in Leeds during 18th-21st July. This is the largest youth dance festival in Britain - Marylebone Dance Company has never participated in a national event of this scale before. Well done, girls!

Commenting on their success, one of the judges said: ‘They gave such a strong performance on the night and conducted themselves amazingly throughout the whole day. I hope they feel proud of themselves for making it through.’

Congratulations Marylebone Dance Company!

DANCE! MAKE YOUR MOVE 2013 Marylebone Dance Company also made it through to the area final of Dance! Make Your Move 2013, a national dance competition which raises money for the British Red Cross. They will be performing in the final on 29th June, and winners of this event will perform at the O2 on 14th July.

Commenting on their performance, one of the judges said: ‘The judges found your dance very emotive and thought your technique was brilliant. I also wanted to thank you in advance for your fundraising on behalf of the Red Cross. Any money you raise will help people in crisis here in the UK and abroad.’

Marylebone Dance Company at Laban Dancing on the Laban stage is something I’m sure none of the 2013 Dance Company members will ever forget. Its enormous stage and electrifying lights initiate both excitement and anxiety, as being given that opportunity is like none other. The piece we performed at Laban was a challenging dance but with a simple concept, to be possessed.

At our first rehearsal we were thrown into choreography with two professional choreographers, Katie Cambridge and Claire Lambert, to create a professional and emotive piece in the theme of being possessed. We first performed the piece at The Place as part of Tavaziva Dance Company’s show. But we were still excited when arriving at Laban to perform there. The U.Dance showcase was competition between many talented youth dance companies’ including the Brit School, Avant Garde, BD1 and many more. The prize on offer was to represent London in the U.Dance festival, in Leeds. Although we all really wanted to win and get the chance to perform at Leeds, the company competition was of exceptional standards. However, we did not let that put us down. We performed to the best of our ability (even though we were missing Company members that day) and a week later, all the Dance Company members received a very ecstatic email from Mrs Montsumi congratulating us on our win at Laban! We all as a company used our will and determination to get to Leeds and I know there’s no company who deserves it more than Marylebone. Leeds 2013, here we come!

Caitlin M (8N)

Exam Showcase GCSE

and

A

Level

Dance

students

have

successfully

completed all their practical exams with very positive results. A selection of performances and choreographies were presented in a showcase on Tuesday 23rd April and the audience was impressed with the standard of the work on display. Well done to all students and their dancers for all the hard work put into these works!

Woodwose Community Opera A number of our Year 7 students are currently involved in preparations for Woodwose, a brand new community chamber opera commissioned by the Wigmore Hall and written by composer Kerry Andrew. Inspired by Benjamin Britten’s Centenary, which we celebrate this year, the opera centres on the mysterious character of Woodwose, the wild man of the woods, who will be played by professional opera singer Andrew Kennedy. Woodwose is hated by the local villagers but is befriended by a lonely child, portrayed by our very own Amber K in 7H. We have had seven sessions so far in which we have been learning the music and some of the movement. The music is inspired by folk songs and lullabies, and is challenging but beautiful.

The commitment of our students in rehearsals has been fantastic and it has been truly impressive how quickly they have picked up their parts. In other sessions the students have been helping to make props and masks that will be used in the opera. The Wigmore Hall will be miraculously transformed into a forest, with over fifty trees painstakingly painted by our students!

Our St Marylebone students will sing alongside pupils from two local primary schools, singers from local community choirs, and professional musicians in residence at Wigmore Hall. The opera will be performed twice on Friday 19th July. Tickets are £5 (£3 concessions) and are available via the Wigmore Hall website: www.wigmore-hall.org.uk

RE:ASSEMBLY The 18th – 21st April 2013 marked the return of Ultra-red's exhibition RE:ASSEMBLY. The outcome of four years' collaboration with Marylebone School, the exhibition is presented as an opera that explores the school's wider community in the Edgware Road area. Through a series of installations and performances, Ultra-red led students and teachers through sound walks and audio recordings, which reflected on current issues.

Topics that arose included the relationship between the school and the neighbourhood, questions of state and social citizenship, as well as the contradictory demands society places on young people and their vision for the future. This reunion saw St. Marylebone pupils reading from the Hymnal, which was put together by the pupils. Religious texts were replaced with the students' analyses of citizenship in the local area and school and then embedded into the fabric of St Marylebone Parish Church. The Music Department composed music using these words in the style of the composer Steve Reich. Pupils from Year 7 and 8 spectacularly performed the song created in Church on the opening evening. The event was a huge success!

On 21st June, a group of Year 10 students were invited to watch a dress rehearsal of Offenbach’s comic operetta, La vie Parisienne, at the Royal College of Music.

The concert enabled the students to gain an insight into the world of opera at RCM and experience perhaps some of the most colourful collection of characters in all opera. Here are a selection of the students’ comments: Even though we didn't get to see the whole play, the general story was about a man from England who fell for an English woman in France, and the strange things that he experiences whilst trying to win her heart. I had never been to an opera before so I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy it, but I absolutely loved it: it was funny, entertaining and had a very interesting plot (and it was in English which was a relief!) The singing was also fantastic, and the set was amazing; very well designed and realistic. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and look forward to seeing more operas!

Nadine E (Year 10) I enjoyed the catchy tunes and it was very humorous but at the same time rather random, but this is what made watching it so enjoyable. It was quite hard to follow at times but I think we may have joined the play a bit late so I may have missed a key bit of information. The general experience was exciting as I had not yet been to an opera before, and expected it to be boring, however it was captivating and entertaining.

Rebekah H (Year 10) We arrived at the RCM just in time to watch the first act. Sung in English, the opera took the audience on a tour of the glamorous life of people living in and visiting Paris. With colourful characters and incredible voices, the engaging love story was both entertaining and very enjoyable, although some parts of the production were pretty surreal! As the curtain closed on the first act, the audience were left slightly baffled by the whole cast dressed in traditional Austrian clothing, ringing cowbells and wearing blonde plaited wigs. The whole audience seemed to thoroughly enjoy it and the Year 10s and teachers certainly won’t forget this performance in a very long time!

Lily T (Year 10)

This year Marylebone Jam took a more acoustic feel and incorporated many groups from Years 7 to 10. All pupils worked hard to get their music together and performed with gusto! The set looked great with the lights and speakers in a professional setup. Particular commendations go to Betsy B-H, Kitty L and Lilly T. Very well done to all performers!

National Junior Maths Challenge On April 25th pupils from Years 7 and 8 participated in the national Junior Maths Challenge, organised by the United Kingdom Mathematics Trust. The students performed exceptionally well, with an incredible eleven receiving Gold awards, nine Silver and eighteen Bronze. Best in Year 7 was Hannah A, with Kira M and Rosa T from Year 8 joint best in school.

Following excellent results in the Intermediate Maths Challenge, three pupils progressed to the Intermediate Kangaroo, a competition for the highest performing young mathematicians across Europe. Aisha A and Angela S from Year 9 and Maisie D from Year 11 sat the paper in March and should be very proud of their fantastic achievement.

Here’s one of the questions from the Junior Challenge. Can you answer it?

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. If 1 peck = 1/2 a bushel, and 1 bushel = 1/9 barrel, how many more pecks must Peter Piper pick to fill a barrel?

A) 12

B) 13

C) 34

D) 35

E) 36

Fashionista Project As part of the Year 9 enrichment curriculum, the Mathematics and Enterprise departments have been working together, allowing students to gain a broader understanding of the Mathematics they will need, and how to apply them, in the real world.

All Year 9 students took part in a group work project designed to emphasise how a number of the Maths skills they have learnt are used in the business of fashion. The students were tasked with designing an item of clothing and putting forward a business proposal aimed at possible buyers. Students carried out research to identify trends in the fashion world and allow them to design a suitable product.

They then worked out the cost of producing the item based on the amount of material needed, the cost of the materials and various manufacturing costs. They also looked at how wasteful they were with the materials before finally calculating projections of profit and loss. The project worked well with lots of excellent presentations and reports produced.

STEM Careers Family Challenge On 7th March, selected Year 9 students were invited to take part in the STEM Careers Family Challenge, run by the Engineering Development Trust. The event showed families some of the courses and careers available in Science, Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM) as well as giving students the opportunity to work in teams on a fun family ‘hands on’ STEM activity. The focus of the event was STEM career guidance and gave students a taste of STEM in its broadest context, demonstrating how this fits into the ‘real’ world of work and the pathways available to them.

We were privileged to hear from a number of guest speakers. One of the highlights was a very interesting talk about the future of 3D printing which opened up many exciting possibilities, and with it, ethical issues. After this, families competed with each other to build the tallest structure possible that could hold a wooden egg, using just wooden dowel and elastic bands. This ended up being a very competitive task, with no parent wanting to lose, (the students were a little more dignified) and some excellent engineering structures being built. Overall the event was thoroughly enjoyable and informative.

BAE Roadshow Launch The joint BAE Systems and RAF Schools Roadshow launched at St Marylebone School in March. Supported

by Jem Stansfield, the science and technology presenter of TV programme ‘Bang Goes the Theory’, the Roadshow aimed to challenge Year 5-8 pupils’ perceptions and stereotypes about science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) and help them make more informed choices about STEM subjects. The interactive roadshow was enjoyed by all of Year 7, where they learnt about how Maths is used in different areas of working life. The students were then given the opportunity to try out some mathematical puzzles to experience problem solving themselves. Jem Stansfield also showed off a model of one of his experiments from ‘Bang Goes the Theory’ - a jetpack swing!

Engineering Education Scheme On 1st May, St Marylebone’s Engineering team went for their Final Assessment day. With the project now complete we went to the Halcrow office in order to submit out report, produce a display stand on the project and give our presentation. This year, we have worked with Atkins Global on the site location of a wind farm.

We met up with other teams from around London, from St Paul Girls School, Featherstone High, Fortismere School, Queen Elizabeth Barnet School and Greig City Academy who also had their projects to present. We were successful in delivering our presentation and responding to the many questions that were asked. In the end, we gained our Gold Crest Certificates.

It has been a really good experience to be part of the Engineering Education Scheme this year. Not only have we developed our subject skills, but it has also taught us how to work as part of a team, do report writing and develop our presentation skills.

The Engineering Team (Nora, Anna, Kamil and Andrew)

SPEECH AND LANGUAGE WORKSHOPS On 24th April, parents of students with Speech, Language and Communication and Dyslexia/Literacy difficulties were invited to a workshop with the School-Based Speech and Language Therapist’s, Aisling McInerney and Leah Frisby, the NHS Speech and Language Therapist, Sarah Pieters and the Trainee Dyslexia Specialist Teacher, Kate Miller.

This was an exciting opportunity to build on parents’ understanding of speech, language and communication needs. In order to achieve this, the workshops had a focused practical based format, which aimed to improve the parents’ skills and support their child’s needs in the home. We had very positive feedback and comments from the parents who attended: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

9 out of 12 parents rated the session as very useful 3 out of 12 parents rated the session as useful ‘The strategies given were the most useful part of the session’ ‘The dyslexia support was superb.’

‘It was very interesting to meet the teachers and hear about how they help the students with strategies – very impressive.’

BBC School Report The BBC School Report News Day was on 21st March, during which the students compiled and edited all their news articles. They worked together to produce several different articles based on topics such as music, media, technology and lifestyle. All the articles have been published on the school website under BBC School Report 2013 and an interview with some of the students was broadcast on BBC Radio 4. The students were also given the opportunity to have a tour of the BBC building at Portland Place on 27th March. This is a short article written by one of the students who attended the trip: I went on a tour of the BBC on 27th March 2013 and I really enjoyed it. We got to see the studios and find out lots of new and interesting facts about the BBC. There were many activities such as recording our own radio drama and we got to see how the cameras worked. We saw many familiar things such as the weather board which was a green screen and the weather was computerised. I think there is only one improvement and it is maybe to add in some activities for an older audience as on the tour we were joined by so older people who I don’t thing really wanted to take part in the drama activates. However overall it was a fun and memorable experience.

Science Museum Trip On 27th April Year 7 went on an extremely exciting trip to the Science Museum. When they were there, they did lots of research on Alan Turing: the man who probably saved at least one million lives during World War II by managing to create a machine which could solve the enigma codes. After this, they went down to the basement of the museum to the WEB LAB. This connected people all over the world via Google Chrome to the Science Museum. As a result, there was a joining of art and music to the internet. For example, someone from Russia could control a number of instruments by using the internet and someone in the Science Museum was able to see what they were doing.

My favourite exhibit was someone from, for example, Germany, uploading a photo of themselves and that picture being transported to the Science Museum. Then, an electronic remote controlled arm with a fine needle tip was able to draw that picture into a sandpit. The detail was incredible. There was also another device, like a submarine periscope, which, when you look through it, allowed you to look ‘live’ into another country. For example, we saw what looked like an office building in America. I personally cannot wait to go back.

Daisy (7B)

The St. Marylebone C.E. Bridge School A Special Free School for pupils with Speech, Language and Communication Needs

We are very pleased to announce that this September will see the opening of The St. Marylebone C.E. Bridge School, a new small coeducational secondary school. We are delighted to be one of only five Special Free Schools chosen by the Department of Education to open this year. It is a huge achievement and we are proud to welcome our twelve brand new Year 7 students to this school community.

In its first year the school will be based at Blandford Street and shares staff with the mainstream school with whom it shares a close affiliation. The Board of Governors have appointed Michele Coleman as Head of School. Ms Coleman has been working with us at St Marylebone in the SEN team and as an Assistant Head, and has been working on the bid with us from the beginning.

What is a Special Free School? ♦ Free Schools are state-funded independent schools that are set up in areas where there is a demonstrable demand. ♦ St. Marylebone C.E. Bridge School is a Special Free School because it will only admit pupils who have a statement of Special Educational Needs. In our case, the pupils’ primary need must be one of Speech, Language & Communication. The Bridge School will be financed independently, but the school will share resources, staff and some assemblies, and pupils will work where appropriate in an integrated way.

Our School Mission ♦ The Bridge School will create an environment in which our pupils can achieve their maximum potential, gain independence and social awareness so that they can, beyond school, enjoy and participate in the world of work and adult society along with their mainstream peers. ♦ Have high aspirations for all our pupils both academically and socially, committed to outstanding, effective and inclusive educational provision. ♦ Recognise the unique value of each individual person and the responsibility of each individual in the school community. ♦ Equip our pupils with the life skills and competencies they need to succeed as independent adults ♦ Break down barriers through planned integration and enrichment ♦ Serve the local community by creating a Special School for the future, establishing our role as a coeducational centre of excellence for learners with Speech, Language & Communication, their families, multi agency services and schools.

Dates for your diary

St Marylebone School Presents

December 4th, 5th and 6th December 2013 Auditions September 10th-13th 2013

St Marylebone CE School Term dates 20132013-14 Year Group Sept 2013 – July 2014

Date of return for Term 1 September 2013 INSET 2nd 3rd, 4th September 2013

Start Time

7

Thursday 5th September

8:30am

8

Monday 9th September

8:30am

9

Monday 9th September

8:30am

10

Friday 6th September

8:30am

11

Monday 9th 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