Chestnut News Date: 09 Jan 2015

Issue No: 08

MESSAGE FROM THE HEADTEACHER Happy New Year to you all and welcome to the first edition of the newsletter for 2015. This newsletter is a celebration of all of the wonderful events that occurred at the end of last term, as you will see, there was certainly a lot going on. Thank you to all of the staff for their energy in making these events happen, and of course to the students for their enthusiastic participation! As we look to the future, 2015 promises to be a significant milestone in Chestnut Grove’s history when we will see work start on our much anticipated new building start. I look forward to sharing the plans with you all when they become available so that we can all start to get involved with building a 21st century school for the young people in our community. With best wishes for the new year. Mr C Kingsley

COMEDY NIGHT On Friday 6th February the second Chestnut Grove Comedy Night will be hosted in the drama hall. Last year we had Jack Whitehall as special guest. This fantastic fundraising event needs your support. Andrews Estate Agents, Balham, has offered to sponsor our Comedy Night on the 6th February by putting up 50 boards advertising the event – they will pay the school £10 per board that goes up. If you are happy to have a board up for 3 weeks and live in SW12, then please email lolsen@andrewsonline. co.uk (they will also accept SW2 and SW17 postcodes but only within the Balham area). Please keep reading the newsletter and checking the website as we shall be posting more info about the event in the next two weeks.

FUTURE EVENTS WEDNESDAY 21st JANUARY – YEAR 11 PARENTS EVENING Year 11 Parents’ Evening will be taking place on Wednesday 21st January from 5pm – 7pm. The evening will be taking place in the Sports hall and all members of staff will be available to meet you. Each student has been issued with a Timecard (copied on to the back of this letter) to arrange appointments with their teachers for you. Please discuss with your child the time that you will arrive at Parents’ Evening and the latest that you are planning to stay. Your child will then make appointments accordingly. It is crucial that you attend this evening as it is the final Parents’ Evening before your child sits the GCSE exams in the summer. On the evening you will receive feedback from your child’s mock exams. TUESDAY 27TH JANUARY - YEAR 7 TUTOR EVENING Year 8 reports to be posted w/c 26th January 2015

SCIENCE TRIP TO GENEVA During the last week of School before Christmas, 21 Science sixth students travelled to Geneva Switzerland. This gave our students the opportunity to see and learn more about scienctific research, and discover the roles of the Red Cross and United Nations. Monday 15th December The trip began with an early start at 3am, to make the 6:30am flight to Geneva. With a full day ahead after arriving our first activity was a visit to the History of Science Museum. “They had an old electron microscope - do you know how cool that is?” Ella “I found out about primary colours and that if you mix them all together they create white. The really old, not in use, electronic microscope was cool.” Alex “Brass science stuff, cooler than me, wait, nothing is cooler than me.” Zak “I think we can put our differences behind us... For science” Leo “Crazy science stuff was awesome” Jordan “It was mad banter when we got to play with the things, and was a great way to start the experience” Cedric Our group outside the museum, looking over the Lake Geneva.

We then took a boat trip acroos the lake to see the city’s most famous landmark the Jet d’Eau fountain.

Tuesday 16th December After a well-deserved sleep (for some the first sleep in two days!!) we headed to the Red Cross Museum. “Amazing insight into the work the Red Cross has done during the past century.” Joel “People had some deep experiences in their lives.” Leo “Check your privilege.” Zak “Seeing the actual Geneva convention with its signatures and red seal stamp things was the best surprise of the trip!” Jordan “This was amazing” Elias

Angela looking through how records were kept during past conflicts.

The group came together to play a hurricane game, where they had to try and save the population of an island before the hurricane hit. “ MY SQUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD SAVED ALL THR PEOPLE ON THE HURRICANE GAME!” Cedric “One of the highlights of this trip! We won the hurricane game !” Angel

In the afternoon we visited the main attraction – CERN – the European Organization for Nuclear Research. It is one of the largest and most respected centres for scientific research, with its Large Hadron Collider. “They shoot particles really fast at each other I mean come on how wouldn’t that be the hypest damn thing in the world!” Jordan “Seeing Mr Ngo so excited and being within touching distance of the real Hadron Collider!! I expected to just be seeing prototypes and pictures” Alex “I’ve never seen so many wires in one place.” Nina “The Hadron Collider sure was shiny....like ME because I’m sunshine!” Bisola “Was like being Gordon Freeman for a day” George “Flemings left hand rule is useful here.” Zak “This was amazing!” Elias “Seeing Mr. NGO so excited was so nice” Cedric “New secret life goal is to work at CERN!” :D Sarah

In the evening we visited the the Geneva Christmas markets, and following dinner a small group of students opted to take a walk along the Lake with Miss Collister to see Geneva after night fall. Wednesday 17th December In the morning we all crossed the border into France and visitied a little village called Ferney-Voltaire. In the afternoon we had a guided tour of the United Nations. Where they had the opportunity to see the council chambers where some of the most high-powered world decisions have been made. The pupils also found out how the United Nations functioned, which sparked an impressive debate among them, and many intellectual questions were asked to the tour guide. We may have some budding politian’s among us. “What’s the point of having 193 member states if only 5 have actual power? I don’t get it.” Nina “This system sure is broken.” Connor “A very aggressive political experience, especially when we spend half of the tour questioning the tour guide.” Joel “The rule of five is dumb.” Leo “UN WAS PEAAAAAAAAAK. Got very political.” Cedric “The building shows union between all the member states and the temple of heaven tapestry was amazing.” Angela “Kind of a messed up system which we are part of but really amazing building and artwork from different cultures. Really good experience.” Liam “Political matters aside, that was one groovy ceiling!” George “Spanish dude’s ceiling is possibly my favourite piece of art I’ve ever seen.” Jordan In the evening we all enjoyed cheese fondue: “One of the best evenings of my life (I mean like in 2 months)...I mean In between the bread and the cheese dripping and all the bread stealers.... bread stealers *angry face*” BISOLA “Mr Ngo has earned my respect with his cheese eating ability.” Connor “Mr NGO put up a good fight in eating competition.” Leo “Was pretty cheesy.” George “Incredibly cheesy night.” Angela Wayyy too much cheese. We need chocolate.” Liam

Thursday 18th December On our final day we visited the ITU – ITC discovery centre. “Super cool! It was really interesting stuff I learned about the internet.” George “I was surprised how thin the cables at the bottom of the sea are - only 63mm!” Jordan And our final activity was to go ice skating: “I had never been ice skating outdoors before, and it was a great experience - so different from on an indoor rink. It was nice to see people who had never skated before try” Ella “Liam was on point with his contortionist movements” Cedric “Liam didn’t account for having to stop” Connor “Ice skating was fun and great to do with everyone one” Kelsey “Great experience skating outside in Switzerland, but they need to inject more money into cleaning the ice, I came away with a bruised hip and knee, great!” Angela “Yeah I fell through the fence and that hurt, but we got to play giant chess with some old French guy so that was cool.” Liam The pupils final comments on the city of Geneva: “Every direction you looked out by the lake was more amazing than the last, such a beautiful city!” Jordan “I want to live there one day *dreaming*” Elias “That town sold me dreams.....but a man said a bottle of coke was 5 francs -____- “ Cedric “Definitely considering living there one day” :) Sarah “Really stunning place. Surrounded by snow-capped mountains and a beautiful lake. Great place to live.” “It’s a little bit like Croydon because of the trams. I like it.” Kai It was an absolute privilege to take the students on this trip, and see how much they enjoyed and gained something from each activity. They behaved in an exemplary way, a credit to our school, as commented on by members of the public during our trip. Miss Collister and Mr Ngo

FOREIGN EXCHANGE STUDENT During the Autumn term, Chestnut Grove welcomed Juliet Hondtong from Amsterdam into year 11. She was with us on exchange in order to improve her English and to experience what attending a school in the UK. Have a read of how she found her time here... “While I am writing this it is nearly New Year’s Eve and I’m eating an ‘oliebol’, a Dutch tradition in this period of time. It has been a month now since I got back to my home in the Netherlands and I am starting to get used to all the things back home again after such an amazing time in England and at the Chestnut Grove Academy. Before I arrived in London my family and I were well informed about everything by Ms Gerrard. I chose my subjects and before I knew it, it was time to fly to Gatwick for the start of the new school year in 11 Da Vinci. When I first arrived at the Chestnut Grove everything was different. Everybody was wearing uniform instead of their own clothes, every morning you had tutor time instead of once a week, classes took an hour instead of 45 minutes and many more things. The first few weeks I had to get used to everything, but throughout the three months, everything, doesn’t matter how many times I did them, stayed new and exciting. Luckily, I made a few friends who were very lovely and extremely helpful in the first few weeks when I had no idea where to go yet and what to do. After that, they stayed very lovely too. I also had much fun in class where the teaching methods were very different than from the ones in the Netherlands. At my school no teacher makes a PowerPoint presentation, so it was very nice to experience that. Also it was a surprise for me to receive a report but I am very glad that I did. Everyone in Holland was very impressed about the way it was presented and my student advisor even said that we could learn something from it! In the weekends I went to explore the city with my aunt and uncle where we did a lot of things like visiting museums or just walking around and eventually I could guide my mother and my friend from home around town which I thought was quite special. Everything added up, I’ve had the most amazing and unforgettable time in London and that is surely with a big help from the Chestnut Grove Academy and I am very thankful for that. I have learned a lot of new things, not only about Physics and History, but also about life in a different country and how to be more independent, to be more courageous and confident and a million other things. My three months in England are and will be one of the most special experiences of my life and I will never forget them. I am very glad that I was able to spend those three months at the Chestnut Grove where I was welcomed and where everyone was very helpful. I also made a few friends which I still speak to now and I hope I can go back soon so that I can visit them and be back in my second home town again. I hope you all have a very happy new year and good luck year 11 with your GCSE’s! - Juliet

SIXTH FORM MEETS SPEAKER OF HOUSE OF COMMONS On Thursday 4th December 2014, eight sixth formers from Chestnut Grove Academy were selected to represent the school in an event held at Ernest Bevin College to meet, and hear a motivational speech from, the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow MP. The event was organised by local MP Sadiq Khan in partnership with Ernest Bevin, and students from across Wandsworth borough were treated to a talk about debating, why politics matters and remaining impartial as Speaker of the House. After the speech, each assembled school group were photographed with the Speaker and given the chance to meet him personally. Special mention is warranted of Sofia Okesanjo in year 12, for asking a pertinent question about university tuition fees which resonated with the gathered audience, many of whom will be first time voters in the May 2015 UK General Election. (Pictured from left to right are Sascha, Tarik, Mohamed, Hamid, Shukri, Bisola, Warren and Sofia, with John Bercow MP and Sadiq Khan MP).

UCAS REMINDER A reminder to all parents of year 13 students that the UCAS deadline date for receipt of completed applications is Thursday 15th January 2015 at 6.00pm and it is fast approaching. Please ensure that your child has sent their form by this date to be given equal chance of consideration by the universities.

WORK EXPERIENCE - 6TH TO 17TH JULY 2015 Well done to all year 10 students who have made an excellent start to the Work Experience process. I have received a significant number of own-placement forms and most students have made online selections. If they have not already done so, students need to log on to the website www.learnaboutwork.net/ wandsworth and make a minimum of four choices as soon as possible. Due to the excellent start that students have made and the serious way in which they have approached Work Experience so far, I am extending the deadline for securing own-placements to Friday 13th February. The own placement forms are available from me or on the school website on the year 10 work experience page, where more information about work experience can also be found. Again, I would like to extend my thanks to all parents for their continued support in this extremely valuable venture. Ms Sweeny Work Experience Coordinator

PETER TATCHELL SIXTH FORM SOCIETY GUEST On Thursday 18th December 2014 Peter Tatchell was our guest speaker at Sixth Form Society. Peter, an established LGBTI campaigner and civil rights activist, spoke eloquently on the topic of Equality Laws, equal rights for all, challenging homophobia in schools and on whether British values are liberal and tolerant, and whether they are in any way distinctly ‘British.’

A provocative discussion ensued and I must commend the high-quality questioning from our students, who where thoughtful and perceptive. Congratulations to the 58 students who stayed after school on the penultimate day of a long term to participate in an intellectual debate with such maturity.

SIXTH FORM NEWS Welcome back and congratulations to Ms Lee who takes up her position as Deputy Head of Sixth Form from January 2015. Ms Lee replaces Ms Nielsen, who has stepped aside after many years of loyal service advising, guiding and informing students of available pathways. I’m sure many parents and former students would like to thank her for keeping outstanding counsel, for offering unparalleled pastoral support and for her brilliant communication with many of our families. Of course, Ms Nielsen remains a pillar of our sixth form community and will, herself, replace Mr Dobbs who has left for pastures new. We wish him well, too. A massive ‘thank you’ goes out to all sixth formers who both performed in, and helped stage manage, the highly successful Christmas concert held at 7pm. It was great to see so many sixth formers displaying leadership qualities, and working so closely with both staff and younger students to produce something so magical. Well done to all those who participated. I should also like to say a further well done to our two Cambridge applicants who stayed the course and completed the gruelling interview process during early to mid-December 2014. Ella Rimmer (applying for Natural Sciences (BioChem) at St Catharine’s, Cambridge) and Maddy Lodge-Lowe (applying for Natural Sciences (BioChem) at Robinson College, Cambridge) have grown in stature and will have benefited hugely from the application process irrespective of the outcome, which will be announced shortly in mid-January 2015. Both students deserve respect for their efforts, industry and spirit of curiosity, and have blazed a trail I hope future generations of Chestnut Grove students will feel empowered to follow. Congratulations too, to the sixth formers who fund-raised for charity across two events: the Sixth Form Winter Chill Out (Thursday 11th December 2014) and the Christmas Jumper Day (Friday 12th December 2014). Combined, the events raised well over £200.00 for charity and saw students working exceptionally well together to benefit the wider community. And finally, well done to the sixth formers who travelled to CERN in Switzerland between 15th and 18th December 2014, and who saw the workings of the particle accelerator. Now there’s something to spark an interest in cutting edge-science! I wish everyone a peaceful, happy and prosperous New Year. Jonathan Taylor Assistant Head/Head of Sixth Form

BOOK OF THE MONTH

Book of the Month chosen by Magnus Mackenzie 7 Kahlo. Journey to the River Sea- Eva Ibbotson

It is 1910 and Maia, tragically orphaned at thirteen, has been sent from England to start a new life with distant relatives in Manaus, hundreds of miles up the Amazon. She is accompanied by an eccentric and mysterious governess who has secret reasons of her own for making the journey. Both soon discover an exotic world bursting with new experiences in this highly colourful, joyous adventure. Review by Magnus Mackenzie; “I love this book because you can really feel the emotions of the characters and can relate to them. My favourite part is when Mia goes on her journey to Manaus because of the vivid descriptions of everything from the amazing wildlife to friendship. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes animals and wildlife.”

MUSIC AND WINTER CONCERT Firstly, Happy New Year! Our mantra for 2015 is ‘Practice Makes Perfect!’ Please encourage your child to practise regularly over the coming months, we really appreciate your support. Secondly, congratulations to all students involved in the Winter Concert 2014! It was a fabulous evening full of wonderful performances (all as a result of many hours of practice!). A special well done must go to Year 7 students for such a fantastic turn out and for their enthusiasm. A special mention must go to Nikaya in 7 DaVinci for her excellent rapping skills. A fantastic young performer. We hope the evening has inspired your children to join one of our many clubs such as Samba or one of our Choirs. Thank you also to the Lower School Dance club for performing during the interval, you provided a lovely atmosphere in the Activities Hall. Parental support was exceptional this year and we really appreciate you coming to watch, it is extra special for the students to look out at the audience and see a ‘full house’. We couldn’t do any of this without the support of parents/carers and you all helped to create a warm and welcoming atmosphere. In addition to Year 7, we witnessed stand-out performances from our Year 10 GCSE music students as well as superb items from the Jazz Band, Samba, Choirs, Steel Pans, String Group, Brass Duo & Tour Choir. The evening flew by and we were astounded by the quality and professionalism of performers on stage. In the run-up to the Spring Concert our next push is on ‘backstage behaviour’. The Performing Arts Team worked tirelessly to organise students backstage and we had a vast amount of help from Ms Fisher, Mr Wildman and some of the tutor team to keep the show running smoothly. Year 7 did us proud whilst waiting; sadly it was our older performers who did not always act with the professionalism required. Please support us by reiterating to the students the importance of acting as professionals backstage. Our performers are our showcase students, they represent the school and we are immensely proud of them. So, onwards to 2015; we have a season of informal concerts on the way (dates TBC), School Musical Auditions, GCSE and A Level recital evenings, Spring Concert, Fundraising Activities, Steel Pan gigs, Jazz Band Gigs and possibly even an Arts Festival in the Summer! 2014 was full of success - you can see some of the highlights on www.youtube.com/missdurbanmusic - including some great work from last term. Roll on 2015!! Interested in coming on Tour? We are looking into the possibility of running a UK Performing Arts Tour this September focusing around the South Coast (Bournemouth area), culminating in a performance at the Ringwood Carnival. If you are interested in this Tour (Dance, Drama & Music), please contact [email protected]. We would be looking to include visits/workshops to other schools, performances in the local community and a full carnival performance on a float! Accommodation would be B&B and we would travel by coach; the tour would last approx. 3-4 nights. We do not have costings or dates yet as we are only assessing demand for the trip at this time. Photos from the last tour on youtube.com/MissDurbanMusic Peri timetables Peri timetables are now available to view on the Chestnut Grove website (http://chestnutgrove.wandsworth. sch.uk/parents-students/students/peri-lessons-timetable). Thank you to everyone who returned their slip with email address on etc. We will be able to advise of any changes to the timetables in a far more timely fashion using email. We appreciate your cooperation on this. Payments are now due for the Spring Term; £50 individual, £25 shared and £10 steel pans (FSM, no charge and GCSE/ALevel receive discount). We have 2 spaces to fill on the drum list. Interested students must see Ms Durban or the performing arts technician as soon as possible. Many thanks, and all the best for 2015 The Performing Arts Team

SPORTS NEWS Year 8 Girls Cricket Team. On 11th December our Year 8 Girls cricket team represented Chestnut Grove at the Lady Taverner’s Cricket Competition at the Kia Oval. Despite only a few training sessions the girls performed exceptionally well. Well done particularly to Dechenelle Gibson who got three wickets and Emma Harvey for the most runs scored. We only marginally lost against Charterhouse (by ten runs)! We beat Norwood School with an over to spare.

GIRLS CRICKET Surrey Cricket Board are trying to encourage more girls to play cricket regularly throughout the year. Taster sessions on Monday 12th January 2015, Thursday 22nd January 2015, Monday 26th January 2015, Thursday 5th February 2015, 5-7pm held at the Kia Oval. All equipment will be provided, along with refreshments. Opportunities will be available for the girls to join current activity taking place and to join borough teams playing regular competitions. Travel Arrangements Address: THE KIA OVAL SURREY COUNTY CRICKET CLUB KENNINGTON LONDON SE11 5SS Underground: Take the Northern Line to the Oval tube station. The main entrance to the ground is 100 metres on your left on leaving the station. The ground is also a ten minute walk from Vauxhall tube station which is on the Victoria line. Rail: Take South West Trains to Vauxhall station which is a ten minute walk from the ground. The station is well served by trains throughout Surrey and Hampshire as well as from the Greater London area. Bus: Route numbers 36, 185 and 436 stop outside the ground and other local services stop around the corner. The following buses set down within a 5-minute walk of the ground: 3, 59, 109, 133, 159, 333 If you are interested please ask Ms Ayris for more information

YEAR 7 FESTIVE LUNCH As with tradition at Chestnut Grove, Year 7 shared Christmas lunch with their tutors and Heads of House in the last week of term. It was a lovely atmosphere and the students really enjoyed playing with the planes and magic tricks they found in their crackers. It was a real joy to hear the whole year group sing one of their Winter Concert tracks to the dinner ladies to say thank you for all their hard work to cook the meal.

VIVO POINTS UPDATE

CURRENT HOUSE RESULTS

Congratulations to all students for collecting their Vivos last term. In total 193,252 were given out to all students who are demonstrating the PROUD ethos of our community. We are pleased to announce that 314 students have been awarded the Bronze Vivo award for receiving 250 or more vivos in a term. Also special congratulations to Ephraim Conteh in 11 Kapoor who is the first recipient of the Silver Award. This is given to students who earn over 500 vivos and Ephraim achieved 512. Here is a list of students who will receive their certificates in assembly over the next few weeks. Blais, Thea Mendez, Xena Massey, Isabella Bentil, Jonathan Aaron-Thomas, Renae Al-Siwife, Ali Grant-Hogg, Tajuan Parchment, Hisham Malto, Mariz Rees, Gabriella Ridgeon, Zara Rousham, Stella Di-Paolo, Monique Fredman, Jude Espina, Kieffer Loyd Barr, Eloise Elhamri, Malika Truong, Jodie Campillay Armando, Malena Patel, Tanisha Jorge Rafael, Lidia Roni, Haney Rouse, Jackson Silva, Bruna Wlazlo, Wiktoria Mccarthy, Leon Mohamud, Mohamed Faraji, Ayoub Ogali, Kayne Humphreys, Paige Smith, Angioletta Alvarez, Andrea Arif, Hassan Lawal, Zitiat Asad, Simran Ngoma, Barak Anderson, Marisia Sahebekhtiari, Leyla Mclean-Smith, Destiny Gregory, Mayan Olivia Manzi, Billie Dow, Samuel Kanwarjit, Menesh Burrows-Anderson, Chloe Johnston, Le-Arnie Brown, Erykah Haider, Afrasiab Jimaale, Abdirahman Scott, Rene Cunningham, Will Bashir, Haider Kayada-Hansen, Oliver Alatishe, Whitney Mason, Jacob Souttou, Rayan Yannis Tassew, Sarah Mozley, Oliver Holdsworth, Isabel Towl, Margarita Hamid, Omid Umbelino-Purton, Thais Mireku, Quinn Smith, Ryver

Khan, Rizwan Piotrowski, Lukasz Monerville-Wright, Nathaniel Manik, Nazmin Kaczmarska, Agata Babat, Raluca Di Pietrantonio, Ameni Schwarz, Edith Alale, Eniola Callisto, Mary Holden, Daniel Mason-Dennis, Jannai Mcewan, Rahmyah Flanagan, Jamie-Leigh Carroll, Shae Davis, Benjamin Gurung, Aayush Uddin, Samiha Sessa, Gabriele Abdulle, Zaki Box, Courteney Hendricks, Cardell Hall, Megan Bakali, Sofian Olding, Kia Heath, Ava Butler, Leeson Iyasa, Rufus Abdulle, Sarah Mclean, Jacques Malik, Sumaiya Brothwell, Jack Cornwall, Malika Roni, Luul Clancy, Samuel Amin, Shivam Gouveia, Vanessa Plummer, Joel Berko, Marvin Day, Aimee Schwarz, Mara Cunningham, Samuel Davis, Bethan Serneabat Ungar, Moni Pickering, Robin Finch Marron, Pierre Dumont-Barter, Tamzin Smith, Tyreece Goodsell, Valentino Francis, Dane Gouali, Sophie Ciano, Francesca Tiwari, Chandini Yussuph, Aishat Campbell, Tyrrel Delderfield, Danielle Merchant, Kieran Mahamoud, Mohamed Burridge, Chloe Rhoden, Kern Ryan, Emma Ahmed, Khalid Ebbs, Rhys

McBride, Orla Plange, Vanessa Mukooza, Edwin Doudouh, Nadia Cowan, Harvey Long, Adam Salter, Paige Casino, Samuel James, Sharn Fitzgerald, Callum Boon, James D’Arcy Gattegno, Jade Stanislavs, Tyler Browne, Chyna McDonnell, Rosa Maye, Nakieah Smith Briginshaw, Eleanor Thomas, Grace Daughton, Andrea Chirambo, Taona Koyupinar, Ekim Evans, Aidan Fox-Harris, Bibi Sahebekhtiari, Malik Annon-Nicolson, Ethan Lazar Murphy, Yael Cathcart, Matilda Bessarab, Sasha De- Gale Hamilton, Tiana Smith, Holly Grant, Leianna Wheeler, James Ray, Hannah Ayoola, Miles Fairbrother, Chanee Judd, Edward Gurgel, Barbara Swan, Ella Ioanitescu, Loredana Withey, Eleanor Valentine, Adam John, Dylan Gambier-Ellis, Manon Smart, Isabelle Sharp, Hope Webb, Danu Rosenberg, Samuel Dempster, Finn Mackenzie, Magnus Dias, Jose Hudson-Adu, Rhian Duke-Ellington, Rianna Jorge Rafael, Joao Hunt, Tiarn Templeman, Lili Fortune-Martin, Shontae Godbehere Brown, Morgan Nash-Hill, Kian Kern, Ella Chaudhry, Sofia McDonnell, Martha Crowe, India Pryce, Dominique

Chhita, Piper House, Kapoor Daughton, Valentina Francois, Rachelle Mcfarlane, Jevonni Palmer, Jermaine Mcnabb, Lashay Myers, Chloe Harvey, Natasha Wagstaff Kent, Anthony Murray, Grace Banasiak, Jack Szemalikowski, Louis Zia, Sonia Uddin, Ameen Harvey, Emma Sia, Phoebe Speed, Mimi Merz, Lilian Bill, Venus Melville, Saul Brian Salvatierra, Juan Carlos Merchant, Olivia Mccree-Mottley, Kiki Teibowei, Daniella Patel, Alisha Zimmerman, Matthew Blais, Matilde Richards, Daena Burke-Cunningham, Kaprice Freeman, Frances Rae Wong, Mervyn Astorga, Vicente Lecointe-Robinson, Lauryn Fraser, Delicia Conteh, Ryanna Measho, Samuel Elder, Kacey Ireland, D’Varn Mendoza, Ruby Chaffey-Carter, Shannon Shaikh, Nazir Szemalikowski, Emile Annon-Nicolson, Malachi Carpio-Gonzalez, Isabella Ramirez, Jan Christian Hall, Kayley Dennis, Orla Jurczynski, Yasemin Antrobus-Higgins, Antonia Balogun, Faruq Ferguson, Euan Sheerin, Rebecca Spence, Jaidah Beasley, Stacey Mills, Jered Felix, Reva Oyeyele, Oluwalemi Bakali, Ranya Thorne, Lauren Martin, Kalvin Cumming, Ollie Liu, Tammi

Blake Da Vinci Hepworth Kahlo Kapoor Turner

33259 32597 31194 32463 33030 30644

Khan, Talha Paxton, Thomas Dubois Smith, Iris May Arasimovica, Alina Forde, Eliza Ahmed, Maryam Edwards, Callum Boyle, Megan Nelson, Debra Blake, Djuan Lynch, Jamie-Lee Kelleher, Marko Luthur, Ryan Casey-Reid, Indya Hitchings, Ethan Williams, Akhera Seed, Casey Dwamenah, Stephanie Coulston, Molly Nareydoo, Mia Bheekooa, Sadiyah Britton-Paull, Shiloh Berisha, Artor Tomlinson, Tamara Osman, Sumeya Richards, Sophie Jakubczyk, Maria Newbery-Welcome, Melissa Dzene, Elizabete Wilby, Claire Lewis, Kyra Linehan, Lola Young, Marissa Ellingham, Charlie Ribeiro, Jessica Chatterjee, Jake Favaro, Najwa Alfonso-Eaton, Cecilia Bouamri-Harris, Salim Knight, Josiah Brown, Lashawna Brown, Ethan Lace, Joshua Maxamed, Lamia Karwowska, Dominika Et-Taheri, Fatima Butler, Arthur Liu, Eric Malto, Michelle Wedderburn, Esme Polius, Cameron Lanuza, Koreen Wright, Torrell Kerr, Daniella Rodrigues, Luiz Henrique Graoui, Abdallah Ives, Jade Murphy, Jessica Ayer, Faniel Ferdant, Cassandra Met, Wiktoria Pascoa, Marcia

HOUSE NEWS BLAKE Well done to everyone in Blake house last term for their champion efforts in collecting vivos and taking part in charity work. Blake are now the holders of the house cup and we need to ensure we keep onto it until the end of the school year. Well done Blake-ies for all of your hard work and effort- each student has contributed to this award. .......Doesn’t it look beautiful with the green ribbons?! Miss Robinson

DA VINCI Da Vinci had a wonderful end to the Autumn term with Y7s sitting down for their Christmas lunch on the Wednesday. I was so pleased and proud by the amazing way students in Da Vinci worked together and showed community spirit: tidying up at the end of the meal and saying thank-you. 8 Da Vinci also impressed me and the rest of Da Vinci house with their tutor assembly, completely created and led by students in 8 Da Vinci - they informed us about how people around the world celebrate Christmas and their traditions and they even had an interactive quiz with prizes at the end of the assembly - a massive well done to all those involved!

In the final week of term Da Vinci students also showed their fundraising abilities once again with a group of fundraisers from Years 8 and 10 working together on the hot chocolate sale (much appreciated on a cold wet day) to raise money for Shelter and Save the Children. Pics attached on email to follow I am so proud of students in Da Vinci and all they have achieved this year so far. Ms Verber

HEPWORTH Well done to 8 Hepworth who made £35 by selling their Christmas decorations. Year 7 Hepworth will be designing gifts for Valentines Day shortly. Also, a note about diaries: could parents please ensure they are checking and signing homework diaries on a weekly basis. Mr Wildman

KAHLO Kahlo finished 2014 in fantastic manner winning the awards for the highest attendance in the school and for having the lowest number of behavioural incidents. I am incredibly proud of the developing maturity of the whole house and their focus on the importance of putting all their energy into their learning. Well done to everyone! 2015 also started in a very positive manner with superb uniform and punctuality from the house this week. In assembly on Wednesday we listened to ‘Good Vibrations’ by The Beach Boys to start our year in a positive manner and consider surrounding ourselves with people who are positive influences. I know that 2015 will be a successful one for all in Kahlo and I look forward to sharing in all the successes that the students will achieve in the rest of the academic year. Happy New Year Miss Fisher

TURNER Happy New Year to all parents, guardians and families of Turner House students. As we start the New Year, I have spent some time reviewing the last term. Turner House came last in the House Cup last term and a large part of this was due to attendance. I know that I have repeatedly said in the newsletter about the importance of attendance, but when you look at the figures it really is quite worrying. All of the year groups in Turner House either had the lowest or second to lowest attendance out of all the Houses, so yet again, I want to stress to you the importance of everyone being in school all the time. Students also need to collect vivos, and again, we came bottom out of all the Houses for the number of vivos collected. Students need to start to go above and beyond to collect them, e.g., tidying classrooms, picking up text books, giving out glue etc. I would also like to congratulate all of the students in Turner House who participated in the Winter Concert. I know I am biased as a music teacher, but it is always wonderful to see so many of the students voluntarily taking part in extra-curricular activities, especially the concerts. I would particularly like to congratulate Matti Borchardt-Hulme and Alfie Clayton who entertained the audience for the whole of the interval. I am very proud of Turner House and all of the students within it. This calendar year will see Year 9 choosing their GCSE options and Year 11 finishing off their Key Stage 4 Courses, both momentous occasions in a young person’s life. The students in Turner House are a very wonderful group of students and I do tell them that regularly despite the evidence that may appear to the contrary!! They are charming, polite, respectful, and quietly confident, all characteristics which will stand them in good stead in the future. Ms Striesow