Blenheim Bulletin

March 2015 Issue 128

Bulletin Dear Parents / Carers, Thank you for your support in ensuring that Blenheim students are wearing our uniform correctly and are equipped to learn. We have seen a significant improvement in the smartness of our students both within school and when travelling to and from school. On the subject of uniform, from September we will be more specific about the type of black shoe that is worn. Canvas shoes will not be permissible so if you are planning on replacing your son/daughter’s footwear, please take this into consideration. Further details will follow. Next Half Term we will be focusing on behaviour for learning and in preparation for this, I have sent you a separate letter explaining how the ‘code’ system works. This morning I have enjoyed a Head’s Breakfast with the nominated Year 9 and 10 students who have achieved outstanding Attitude to Learning scores. It is delightful to see so many students achieving and making the most of all the opportunities offered at Blenheim. We are in the process of registering our new intake for September and we are delighted to be holding a lengthy waiting list for next September. Your feedback is important to us and after the Easter holidays, I will be circulating a parental feedback survey seeking your views on how we are doing as a school. Currently, our senior students are feeling the pressure of coursework and examination revision. The Easter break will be important revision time and I would expect students taking external exams this summer to be completing 5-6 hours per day over the holidays. We are offering Maths revision at the beginning of the break and English revision will be held during the May break. This is, of course, in addition to the subject

Kym Azzopardi plays for Surrey Rugby U15's Development Squad. Well done.

Toby, Year 7 has recently been given a two year contract with AFC Wimbledon.

Well done to Josh Mitchell who was chosen for the voice over for Disney Lego.

Following an audition with the Head of Music and Theatre at LAMDA, Rachael Singer has been successful in obtaining a place for an intensive one week course in musical theatre in Holland. Well done.

Ralph Drummond has been chosen to represent Merton Youth Music at the 'Music is for Life 2015' concert at the Royal Albert Hall.

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Blenheim Bulletin specification sessions running before or after school during term time. Since all year groups can expect assessments next term, I thought it would be timely to offer parents some advice on supporting your child through revision. ‘Revision Tips for Parents’ can be seen at the bottom of this page. Finally, I hope you have an enjoyable break and we look forward to the Summer term during which time a range of exciting enrichment activities are being offered. Summer uniform is permissible which includes the summer shirt and blazer rather than the tie. On warm days, the blazer needn’t be worn in school but should still be worn to and from school unless informed otherwise.

Tracey Fantham Headteacher

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

6.

Centre ID:

KT19BH

User ID:

Date of birth followed by two initials: first name then last name. st Example: 010896DJ is the User ID for David Jones born 1 Aug 1996.

Password:

Initially same as the User ID, Learners are encouraged to change this to something difficult to guess.

Provide the tools for the job – revision books, highlighters, post- its and small index cards are all useful revision tools and help to get some students motivated. iPads have a some excellent revision apps. ‘Popplet’ is great for creating mindmaps. ……… SAM Learning has also been very useful for students in the past. See the login details on this page. Be a revision partner – teaching others is a great way of consolidating knowledge, offering to be taught a topic will help greatly. Asking questions to test their knowledge is also helpful. Be a manager – ensure that your child doesn’t do too much or too little revision. Regular breaks for food and drink are essential. Time to relax and switch off is also important. Understand the stress of revision – your child will have moments when they doubt themselves. This is normal and reinforcing their self-belief is really important. A calm place to revise and an incentive at the end will really help. The majority of our students do very well providing they have worked hard enough. Remember the stress can linger after exams – the Summer holidays will be a great time to relax and enjoy a slightly longer holiday; however, this time can also be stressful as futures may feel uncertain as students await results. On the results’ day, you are welcome to come to school to support your child.

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Supercamps run holiday clubs for youngsters aged between 4 and 14, Monday to Friday during the summer holiday period. We are pleased to be able to share that they have offered a discount of 10% to parents at Blenheim High School on st bookings made before 1 May 2015. If you would like to take advantage of this offer, please visit the Supercamps website www.supercamps.co.uk or call them on 01235 467300. Navigate to the website https://portal.office.com

Year 12 Level 3 BTEC Travel and Tourism students visit Portsmouth to gather research for their unit on UK destinations

Sign in using your school email address and school computer password. The following page should give you an option to install now. This will download the file used to install Microsoft Office on your Windows PC or Mac.

Mrs. Murray, Literacy and Language teacher, will be leaving Blenheim at Easter. We were fortunate to have Mrs. Murray working for us for over seven years and I know staff and students will miss her in the ELC. Mrs. Murray is retiring and she leaves Blenheim with our good wishes and thanks for all the years she has given to Education. She will be missed.

For parents who would appreciate some advice on how to support their child/children when on the Internet, you may find this link useful.

www.childnet.com/ufiles/Supporting-young-peopleonline.pdf

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Mr. S. Morgan, House Coordinator, [email protected] The competition for the House trophy has been excellent so far with the lead changing hands almost every Half Term. This year, Nashwan have been the big surprise and are pushing Tulyar all the way. The current totals are below but there are some very big point scoring opportunities with each Head of House running their own house competition in the Summer term, House music just about to conclude and Sports Day still to come. Individuals are definitely making a difference and those that are currently contributing the most towards their overall House total, through their high numbers of merits, their participation in House events, good attendance and Attitude to Learning scores are listed below. Well done to all these students and good luck to all Houses next term. Nashwan Octavius Sinndar Tulyar nd rd th st 2 Place 3 Place 4 Place 1 Place 24591pts

23274pts

22759pts

25648pts

th

nd

NASHWAN - Mr Mulvaney. So far this year I have been delighted with Nashwan’s meteoric rise from 4 place last year to 2 , even briefly holding the top spot. I’m hoping we can kick on from here and mount a real challenge for the House trophy come Sports Day. I’ve been grateful for all the hard work from my house reps, especially those who put out strong sides for the house events, and for the effort and enthusiasm of all those students who contribute on a daily basis – whether that be through gaining merits, attending extra-curricular events or showing an excellent Attitude to Learning. Looking forward, I’d like to see us dig deep in the final term and aiming to make things as difficult for Tulyar as possible, and I’ll also be running my own house event – an inter-house quiz in June – in which I hope to see Blenheim’s finest minds take each other on!

OCTAVIUS - Mr Dalton There have been some superb performances from Octavius students in the House Music and with some strong contenders amongst them, surely Octavius are set to win the whole competition! Sports results are on the up but we still need a much bigger effort from all students especially the girls. With the weather starting to improve, I’m hoping enthusiasm to compete and perform will improve too. We’re closing the gap Octavius! Big push in this last term!

SINNDAR - Miss Hicklin Sinndar have had a tough year so far sitting in 4th position; however, I'm really proud of some of the results Sinndar have brought in, in particular from the sporting house events! Attendance was a problem early on in the year causing us to drop in the ranks. However, Sinndar students have picked that up and are doing much better in that area. House merits are our downfall at the moment.... The top end are doing exceptionally well contributing greatly but there's not enough house merits coming in from the rest of the Sinndar students... If you don't ask (politely), you may not always get! Congratulations to all of the Sinndar House Music students, the lunchtime concert was great and fingers crossed for the big night! Additionally, I have really high hopes for the Sinndar house event that is starting after Easter.... House cheer! We have a lot of cheerleading talent in Sinndar so I'm sure Grace Poles (choreographer) and her team will do us proud. Keep going Sinndar.... one term to go to get off 4th place! Get into school, get more merits and contribute where you can!

TULYAR - Mr Everest Tulyar are back on top!! After a fantastic team effort, Tulyar are enjoying their number one position once again. After a small stint behind Nashwan, Tulyar have clawed their way to success again this term. With individual contributions and team events boosting our points our paws are crossed for another victory as we head into the Summer term. Next term sees the launch of our House Event “The Digital Artist Awards”. This competition will test the artistic skills of each house and see their talents and creativity showcased at Blenheim and in the City. Students are to submit a piece of digital artwork based around the theme “believe and achieve” which can be created on iPads or desktop computers. The winning designs from each year group will be enlarged, framed and displayed around the school with the overall winner seeing their work placed in a gallery in London for public view! Finally Tulyar are poised and ready for every challenge and with our motto “Clear Eyes, Full Hearts Can’t Lose” echoing in the corridors, it looks to be an exciting conclusion to a brilliant year!

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Year

Nashwan

Octavius

Sinndar

Tulyar

7

Aleesha Skandamoorthy

Sofia Acquaye

Anna Jung

Georgia Ramsay

8

Olivia Mellon

Chris Lewis

Katie Lane

Saffy Lewis-Collymore

9

Matthew Denney

Libby Wood

Katie Carver

Amy O’Brien

10

Alexandra Wayne

Tanvy Mungla

Lauren Twilley

Eloise Williams

11

Hannah Carver

Sabrina Hallier

Iain Campbell

Amaya Jones

12

Vasavi Nanthakumar

Bebe Cook-Abbott

Stephen Barker

Luke Taylor

13

Robert Mutch

Thalia Fairweather

Matthew Dixon

William Sharp

Mrs. S. Wallace, Head of Maths, [email protected]. uk Well done to the following students: Year 11 Amaya Jones – Gold (and Best in Year and Best in School) Year 10 Kieran Page – Silver (and Best in Year) Alex Wayne – Silver Ava Dunkley – Silver Zach Clark – Silver George Varndell – Bronze Amy Frampton – Bronze Daniel Parker - Bronze Mollie Kempster – Bronze Jacob Allard – Bronze Matthew Spencer – Bronze Year 9 Yong-Ho Shin – Gold (and Best in Year) Daniel Froud – Bronze Adam White – Bronze Alfie Brown – Bronze Emily Hamilton – Bronze

Mr. R. Edwards, [email protected] Earlier this month, a small group of Key Stage 4 GAMA students attended a conference in Central London that was aimed at students who may be considering applying to Oxford, Cambridge or any of the remaining 22 Universities which form the Russell Group in the Sixth Form. In particular, the Conference aimed to provide students with ideas on how they can make sure that their UCAS applications stand out from the crowd, and how they can widen the range of ‘supra curricular’ activities that they are undertaking.

Mr. R. Isaac, [email protected] Year 11 students are nearing the end of their iPads for Learning scheme and Year 11 parents will shortly receive information on how to purchase the iPad outright should they wish to do so. Year 9 parents were recently invited to a parents workshop to support their child’s learning on the iPad and an enjoyable session was held earlier this month. Sessions for other year groups will follow after Easter. The number of insurance claims for broken iPad screens is slowly reducing, but is still far higher than desirable. Can I please remind parents and students that iPads should not be removed from the protective case. The insurance company has recently declined a number of claims because damage to those iPads was not consistent with them being kept in a protective case. The full cost of the repairs then had to be passed on to parents. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns about the iPads for Learning scheme.

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Miss G. Elliott, Head of Art and Design, [email protected]

This half term Mrs Sharma took the following Year 9 students; Lauren Skinner, Katie Carthew, Rosie Nassim, Pamela Berjay, Ellie Card and Shelbie Rea to Southfields Junior School. These Year 9 students completed a series of lino cutting workshops in preparation for the visit. Our Blenheim students taught the Year 5 pupils printmaking and created some excellent Easter themed canvasses.

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Blenheim Bulletin Ms. G. Palmer, Head of History [email protected]

A group of Year 9 students were rewarded with a trip to the national headquarters of The Guardian newspaper this term. Whilst there, students were able to get to grips with life in a busy room as they wrote, designed and edited their own front page news stories about World War One. It was a great opportunity to see how a real newspaper puts together its stories to such a tight deadline. Our students were able to check the ‘wires’ for the most important and interesting stories about the First World War, using the facts to write and edit their own headline stories. We were very impressed with the work our students produced in just a few short hours - with stories ranging from the outbreak of World War One, to important battles and even Charlie Chaplin! Well done to Year 9.

by Rosie Marshall 9NY and Rebecca Weeks 9TX On Friday, 6th February some of Year 9 went on a day trip to Belgium to visit war memorials and battlefields. Year 9 travelled by the Eurostar and for most it was a new experience. They then had to drive through France before reaching Belgium and their first stop was at a large cemetery, Tyne Cot, built next to the site of the Battle of Passchendaele which took place in 1917. First, Year 9 visited a small building on which they could view where the battle took place and then into the graveyard. The graveyard was one of the biggest in Belgium and had the biggest collection of unidentified soldiers in Europe. Across the back was a large wall on which all of the identified names in the graveyard were listed in rank. The next stop was a small museum and a preserved communications trench in which we were allowed to go. This gave us the opportunity to see what the conditions were like for the soldiers and was very interesting. It was very muddy and hard to walk in and some parts had iced over. After that, we went to a museum in the village of Ypres, close to there the battlefields were. As part of the visit we were given wristbands that could be used to access information on a specific soldier. Later on, we went to visit the Menin Gate and saw all the names of the missing soldiers on the walls. We learnt that every evening at 8pm a few names are read out and a special remembrance ceremony is held. We then visited a chocolate shop and set off for our last destination. The last place we went to was a German graveyard. This was so we could see the difference between the German and British cemeteries. The difference was very clear, the graves were black and flat and very simple and there was a mass grave in the middle. There were no impressive memorials here only a simple set of statues at the back, one of which was missing. The trip ended here and throughout the trip back to England, the students had plenty to think about.

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by Ella Simpson 8NY On Friday, 28th February 2015 some Year eight students visited Epsom Primary School. We were there to teach the Year 4 students all about Tudor History. To be part of this trip the Year 8s had to write a letter of application and when we were accepted we were put into groups to start planning activities. We met after school each week to decide what we wanted the children to learn about from the Tudor times and how to teach it. In our own time we had to source all the props and materials we were going to need. We did a couple of run throughs after school to make sure we knew what we were going to do and how. We were all very excited about it. On the day we were let out of form early to meet up together with Mrs Benson and Mrs Kirkham. After we had sorted out all our equipment into boxes and bags, we set off on the walk to Epsom Primary. We were all feeling very excited but also nervous about actually having to teach what we had planned. When we arrived we were made to feel very welcome and we were shown into the main hall to set up. All of the chairs provided looked so tiny! Then the children came in and were split into groups, one for each activity. Our activity was to guess which item belonged to which Tudor monarch but other groups came up with other fantastic ideas and it was great fun. I think the children all really enjoyed it and learnt a lot. One child came up to me and said “I wish we could have more time at each activity because I really like them.” This made me feel very happy and proud that we had done such a good job. After our activity was completed, some of the girls in the group were allowed to try on the Tudor Kirtle (a dress from Tudor times) that our group had shown them. They all looked amazing and it made everyone think what it would be like to be a Tudor person – the dress is incredibly heavy! After we had finished the school gave us some squash and biscuits because we were all very thirsty after teaching. We walked back to school feeling relieved to have done a good job and re-joined our lessons as students again.

On Thursday 19th March, twelve Year 7 & Year 8 students travelled to Christ’s College in Guildford with Miss D Smith and Mrs T Knight to take part in a fun LEGO Robotics workshop. Could it have been a sign that the workshop would be an exciting one, when a pheasant flew into the side of the minibus and left a few of its feathers behind while we were on the A3? Well, the workshop definitely had the students gripped from beginning to end, with many wanting to stay for longer. Students started by building a vehicle, then programming and testing it in the challenge room. Now they have been inspired to take part in a First LEGO League Challenge (FLL), a competition designed to inspire future scientists and engineers. I think we'd all agree it was both an enjoyable and inspirational morning.

The next Friday before school, all the Year 8s involved were invited to a reward breakfast in our Sixth Form cafeteria. It was an opportunity to talk to one another about the event and enjoy the muffins and yummy pastries. I am very glad that I had the opportunity to do this as it was a completely new experience and the chance to experience something different and challenge myself. It gave me an insight into being a teacher - I am going to nicer to my teachers from now on, it’s a challenge to teach a group of children well!

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6th Form

Visit

Rome th

The Religious Studies and History Departments joined forces during the February Half-Term to give 6 Form students the opportunity to visit Rome. The trip was a wonderful success and was enjoyed by all. This report, written by Megan Bull (Y12) illustrates the main highlights ‘Pleasantly surprised with the standard of the rooms at Hotel Noto and relieved that the somewhat suspicious concierge depicted on Trip Advisor had been mere myth, we left our suitcases in the rooms and proceeded to walk about the streets of Rome, blindly following behind Mr Mulvaney as he stared intensely at his map, insisting that he would eventually guide us to the Piazza Navona for lunch. The City square was alive with rustic restaurants, flowing fountains and strangers frantically avoiding eye contact with the dreaded street sellers, who were convinced that we should all be the proud owners of a selfie stick. Parting for an hour or two, it was inevitable that we should all indulge in either pasta, pizza or ice cream, a strict diet that many of us managed to maintain throughout the trip. Leaving the Piazza Navona we then made our way to the Pantheon, standing tall and proud, it was intricately designed with carefully sculpted statues and a central opening in the domed ceiling to let in rays of light. After taking plenty of pictures and fighting against the dense crowds of tourists making their way into the building, we walked back to the Hotel and unpacked before enjoying a meal at Ristorante Gusto. The next morning many of us woke up sleep-deprived as we made our way to the Vatican Museum. Mr Thornton in particular seemed to enjoy this part of the trip; with the power of a small microphone he was able to grace us with his commentating skills and somewhat questionable knowledge of various artefacts. Key highlights of the day included the opportunity to gaze up at the vibrant and beautiful murals, notably ‘The Last Judgement’ and ‘The creation of Adam’ by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel as well as the visit to St. Peter’s Basilica in which stamina proved weak as we ventured up 600 steps in the humidity, worthy of the breathtaking view at the top. Ending the day was a trip to the winding fortress of Castel Sant’Angelo and a two-course meal at the Hard Rock Café. Day three began with a walk down to the Colosseum and the Roman Forum, both giving an insight into the remarkable past times of Roman tradition. With the sun shining down we eventually walked to a park, on the way passing the Spanish Steps, in order to relax and attempt to gain an Italian glow. Finishing the day with a meal in the Ristorante La Famiglia, many of us, wishing to stay longer, made the most of our last night and made sure we were packed again. Finally, on the Thursday morning we all went back to the Piazza Navona for lunch and without fail the classic pizza, pasta and ice cream diet was implemented for the final time. The last tour of the trip was at the Catacombs of San Sebastiano as we walked through the narrow, dark tunnels, learning of those buried deep within, it was striking to hear the tales of the martyrs, particularly of Saint Sebastian; a devout Christian killed during the Emperors persecution after refusing to give up his faith. Returning to the airport and boarding the plane we were soon back in England and greeted by traditional British weather as the rain, heavy and cold poured down on us.’

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Mr. P. Currie, Head of Science, [email protected]

Science

Club

Activities

This Half Term Science Club are taking part in the GSK Germ Control Challenge. The students have been thinking of ways in which we can stop the spread of germs around school. In teams they have to submit an idea along with a way in which they would investigate it. All the ideas are then judged by GSK and the best ones go through to the next round when a GSK scientist will come to Blenheim to help the students carry out their investigation. There are some fantastic prizes so the students are working hard to get through to the second round. We have also had lots of fun making magnetic car racers and making ‘glass’.

Around 30 Year 9 and 10 students have spent the last ten weeks working on a Bronze CREST award. This award is a presented by the British Science Association recognising students that have undertaken a science project in their own time looking at solutions to some everyday problems. Some have looked at fuels for the future, some have looked at how effective cheap and expensive cleaning products are and some have been looking at the suitability of different materials that could be used in wetsuits. Once complete, they will be assessed to make sure they have achieved all the criteria to complete their Bronze Award. We are looking forward to publishing the names of the successful students in the next Newsletter.

We have been very pleased to be able to offer science lessons to some of our link junior schools. This half term we were delighted to welcome Riverview Primary School into the Department where they enjoyed science lessons with Bunsen burners and chemicals which they are not able to do in their normal classrooms. The students were extremely well behaved and had lots of fun learning about chemical reactions. We are hoping that we will be able to offer the chance for more junior school students to come and have a lesson in a real science laboratory over the coming months.

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Blenheim High celebrated British Science Week this year by taking science to the people of Epsom. We had a stand in the Ashley Centre each afternoon with different science experiments for passers-by to try. We took several year 8 students each day who had been selected for their enthusiasm in science, smartness and being out going enough to talk to members of the public. The students were amazing ambassadors for our school. They helped to make it a very successful week with lots of people interacting with the students and giving science a go. Students in school were given the opportunity during tutor time to take part in a famous scientist’s photo quiz which was won by 8NY. Congratulations to them, they got all of the answers right except for one. There was also a ‘Women in Science ‘statements for discussion, which hopefully provoked some thought on stereotypical ideas of women in science. Finally the students could do some citizen science via the ‘zooniverse’ website. (www.zooniverse.org) On this website you can help scientists categorise and classify different things, from photos of galaxies taken by the Hubble telescope to pictures of animals on the African Serengeti, from hunting supernovae to counting penguins in the Antarctic. Why not give it a go yourself? It’s a great way to spend a few spare minutes and get involved in real science.

We had some special visitors to our A-level biology lesson this week. Firstly in the form of Giant African land snails, loaned from the zoo at Chessington World of Adventures. The students investigate habituation to a stimulus, timing how quickly the feelers reappear after the snail is gently tapped on the head, then repeating this to see if they got used to the stimulus. This gives the students the ability to study a biological theory in real life and learn how to treat animals safely during an experiment. We also had some much livelier visitors in the shape of locusts, again for an A-level biology practical. This time they looked at the effect of oxygen and carbon dioxide on the breathing rate of the locust. They are taught how to handle the insects safely and how to prevent them from being harmed by their experiment.

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Mrs. S. Jethwa, Head of Year, [email protected] Year 7 have had a busy and exciting term filled with a variety of enrichment opportunities and new experiences supporting the learning and progress of students. It has been a pleasure to see some fantastic lessons in progress across the year group and students taking pride in the quality and presentation of their work. Students have further developed their iPad skills this term by making good use of the “Genius Bar” to discuss concerns and gain specialist support from our Student Digital Leaders with outstanding results. This term, Year 7 has welcomed a new member of staff to the Pastoral Team which will further enhance the support available to students. Mrs Topson (Pastoral Support Assistant) is a trained emotional literacy practitioner and has been working with students to develop these core skills which are a crucial part of Year 7 student development. It was a pleasure for both Mrs Topson and me to take a small group of Year 7 students to the University of Surrey for an interactive day of student engagement focusing on future choices and careers. The students involved worked with undergraduates from different faculties and other Year 7 students from Woking High School. This is the second Year 7 trip this year to the University and we hope to secure more spaces next term! Form Tutors have worked exceptionally hard this term with their respective tutor groups to deliver themed class assemblies which have been creative, inspiring and a good demonstration of the team ethos we have in Year 7. Mr Everest has shared his expertise by working with students on design and technology ideas which have been incorporated into the final productions. In addition, Form Tutors have been nominating their “Student Star of the Week” who have been praised and rewarded in lessons for being brilliant Blenheim citizens and good role models to peers. It was lovely to see so many parents and students at the recent Year 7 Parents’ Evening and we are very proud of all of our students who continue to work hard and make good progress. A number of awards and th achievements will be celebrated in the Rewards’ Assembly on Monday, April 13 with the following students earning prizes for their hard work and resilience.

Head of Year Awards:  Harriet Monaghan 7TY, Harvey Saunders 7NY,  Maisy Ferguson 7SX, Tilly-Mae Cartwright 7NX,  Hans Savory 7OX, Roddy Macaulay 7TX,  Rachel Richards 7SY, Alfie Clayton 7OY.

Head of Year Boy of the Term:  Marcus Pryke 7NX Head of Year Girl of the Term:  Lucy Cater 7NY

As we enjoy the Easter break, special thanks must be given to the Year 7 team including a wide range of staff who contribute to the daily lives of our students ensuring they receive the highest level of support and pastoral care. Please continue to support our whole school drive on Uniform, Behaviour, Attendance and being ‘Prepared for Learning’ by ensuring students arrive to school promptly ready for registration at 08.45 with the right equipment including a bottle of water. We look forward to welcoming back Year 7 students refreshed and ready for an exciting Summer Term filled with a variety of new challenges and opportunities during Enrichment Week in July! Happy Easter.

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Mr S. Thornton & Mrs J. Jones, [email protected] [email protected] As GCSE exams loom, we just wanted to take this opportunity to express how pleased we have been with the vast majority of Year 11s attitude towards their studies and in preparation towards their future. Staff have been impressed with the level of commitment from our students and really hope that this year’s set of GCSE results will reflect this hard work and supreme effort. As exams come closer, so does the prom! This year’s prom will take place on Monday th 15 June and the theme, as chosen by the Year 11 students, is ‘HOLLYWOOD’ – just a gentle reminder that it is not a given that all students will be allowed access to this event – the students have been aware of the criteria for quite some time now, but for your information, please see the poster. This really is the time for hard work with the end in sight – please encourage your son/daughter to use the Easter holidays productively and reinforce our school motto of ‘believe & achieve’

Miss M. Edwards, [email protected] th

To celebrate World Book Day on 5 March, the English Department ran the Transformer Challenge competition which encouraged students in Year 7 and Year 8 to take their favourite book and turn it into something brand new. There have been some excellent entries! A special mention must go to Miss Bennet’s Year 8 class who have been particularly creative and shown great imagination with their competition entries. These included a Matilda pop-up book, a hand-sewn Eragon and even a War Horse comic. It is now my job to pick out some winners – I think it might take a while!

Mrs. A. Price, [email protected] The English Department has been involved in supporting students at a local Primary School by offering additional help with Literacy Skills. This has been an exciting opportunity for us to offer our skills and expertise to another school and to learn more about teaching and learning in the primary environment. As you are aware, the transition between schools can be both exciting and challenging, so our close involvement with a range of pupils has been informative and insightful. We are sure that the support has been productive for both schools.

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Thames Valley Summer schools are looking for some local students, aged between 14 and 16 to come and volunteer as English School Friend at St. John’s School in Leatherhead or at Epsom College. As part of the role they would: Mix and make friends with international students Participate in lessons and experience how English is taught as a foreign language - Get involved in a wide range of sporting and creative activities on campus - Participate in a half day excursion to London each week. The ideal students would be outgoing, motivated and enthusiastic individuals, who would be available for a three week period over the summer. Students would receive a payment for their involvement. See link for further information. http://www.thamesvalleysummer.com/english-school-friends.html

Miss E. Gostling, Head of Music, [email protected]

The House Music Competition has been extremely successful for another year. Sixth Form Music BTEC students have planned and organised the event as part of their course. They advertised, auditioned and rehearsed students to perform in a ‘Solos’ Lunchtime Concert in the Main Hall as well as organising their own choirs and ensembles to battle it out in the Finals Night Competition. All of the concerts were a huge success and the students all performed brilliantly. Solos: st nd Year 7 1 place = James Wallis (accompanied by Sam Rowbotham), 2 place = Rhiannon Corani rd 3 place = Hans Savory (accompanied by Josh Benham & Nathan Aldworth` st nd Year 8 1 place = Seb McKie, 2 place = Gracie Smith st Year 9 1 place = Ronnie Hall, st nd Year 10 1 place = Zach Clark, 2 place = Daniel Parker st nd Year 11 1 place = Grace Keating, 2 place = Niamh Robbins & Herbie Price, rd 3 place = Joe Bullen th st 6 Form 1 place = Andy Lavington, Sam Fynn & Nicholas Teslich Choirs st 1 place = Sinndar nd 2 place = Tulyar rd 3 place = Octavius th 4 place = Nashwan

Ensembles st 1 place = Octavius nd 2 place = Nashwan rd 3 place = Tulyar th 4 place = Sinndar

Overall Result st 1 Place Octavius nd 2 Place Nashwan rd 3 Place Tulyar th 4 Place Sinndar

Blenheim High School

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Start Date

End Date

27/03/2015

Event Early Closure for Easter Holiday

27/03/2015

29/03/2015

Netball Trip Liddington

30/03/2015

10/04/2015

Easter Holiday

30/03/2015

01/04/2015

French Art & Design visit to Paris - Year 12 & 13

16/04/2015

Year 11 Parents' Evening

21/04/2015

Year 7 8 and 9 Reading and Spelling Tests

23/04/2015

Higher Education Evening

27/04/2015

08/05/2015

Year 9 and Year 10 Trial Exams

27/04/2015

01/05/2015

Year 8 Reports go live this week.

30/04/2015

12/05/2015

02/05/2015

03/05/2015

Parent Gateway Open for Booking Year 8 Parents' Evening Appointments Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Expedition Practice

04/05/2015

Bank Holiday - School Closed

11/05/2015

AS / A2 / GCSE examinations begin

12/05/2015

Cheerleading House Event

14/05/2015

Year 8 Parents' Evening

23/05/2015

24/05/2015

Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Expedition

25/05/2015

29/05/2015

Half Term Holiday

See full dates on the website, www.blenheim.surrey.sch.uk

Blenheim High School

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