Issue 39 Working together to promote & celebrate achievement 22 May 2015 Name & Tutor Group: Headlines by Rachel McGowan Year 10 and Year 11 Whitsun Revision Sessions During next week (Whitsun half-term break) we will be running the following sessions. All parents will have received letters outlining the details of these if their daughter has been offered this opportunity. Parents will have been asked to complete a consent reply slip. If you have not done so then please be aware that your daughter will not be allowed on-site for this activity. Should you have any queries then please telephone school reception. Saturday 23 rd May Y11 Geography Revision 9.30 1.00pm Miss Neeves & Miss Hyam Sunday 24 th May Monday 25 th May Tuesday 26 th May No Revision Sessions Bank Holiday School Closed Y11 RE Revision 10.00 2.00pm Miss Madaser, Miss Still & Miss Heath Hairspray South Hall Wednesday 27 th May Y11 RE Revision 10.00 2.00pm Miss Heath, Miss Teles & Miss Kamal Hairspray South Hall Thursday 28 th May Y11 Maths Revision 10.00 2.00pm Miss Kalote, Miss Johal, Mr Amin, Miss Ahmad, Miss Harvey, Mr Gachi, Miss Anthony, Miss Shirsat & Mr Karim Y10 Science Revision 10.00 1.00pm Miss Chaudhri & Mr O Donnell Hairspray South Hall Friday 29 th May Saturday 30 th May Sunday 31 st May Y11 Science Revision 10.00 4.00pm Miss Chaudhri, Miss English & Mr O Donnell No Revision Sessions No Revision Sessions Hairspray Many students and parents know that I am a Music teacher and it is, therefore, with much excitement that I cordially invite you all to the first Plashet musical in 14 years. On Thursday 4 th and Friday 5 th June we will be staging Hairspray The Musical in the South Hall. Performances commence at 7.00pm and, therefore, all audience members are asked to take their seats by 6.50pm. Tickets are on sale and cost 3.00 for students and 5.00 for adults. They can be purchased from Mrs Lloyd in AVA or Miss Carne, Miss Mehmet-Ali or Mr Wong in the Music and Drama departments. I look forward to seeing full houses for both nights.
Headlines by Rachel McGowan cont d Year 7 Parents Evening We will be holding our evening for Year 7 parents to meet with subject teachers on Wednesday 1 st July between 4.15 and 7.15pm in the North Hall and North Gym. This is an important opportunity for teachers, students and parents to celebrate work and progress in all subjects and discuss targets for the remainder of this year and start of next. Please ensure that you make appointments to see as many teachers as possible and that your daughter accompanies you on the evening to enable a three way conversation to take place. During the meetings, we will discuss how hard each student is trying in each subject and agree actions that each needs to take to make at least expected rates of progress more rapid. These meetings are a key way in which we can work in partnership to focus on our core aim ensuring that every student reaches her potential. GCSE Art Exhibition Year 11 students have finished their GCSE Art course and will be hanging their exhibition after the Whitsun holiday. On Tuesday 16 th June students and parents are invited to view our GCSE Year 11 exhibition which will be hanging in the South Hall. The event opens at 4.00pm and ends at 6.00pm. I can promise you that the work on show will be varied, inventive and intriguing. If you are a student in Years 7, 8, 9 or 10 it is a great opportunity for you to see the standard of work you need to be aiming for in GCSE. At Plashet we believe in our young women s study in the expressive arts to be about their work being appreciated as it would in real life. Please do come along and support this event. Admission is free. Year 9 Transition Evening On Wednesday 15 th July we will be holding a meeting for parents of Year 9 starting at 4.30pm. The meeting will give parents information about the content of the new GCSEs Year 9 will be sitting in English, English Literature and Mathematics. Year 10 Beyond Plashet I have received an open invitation for all parents of Year 10 students to Forest School s Summer Open Evening for prospective Sixth Formers. The event takes place on Monday 22 nd June between 4.30pm until 7.30pm. Forest School want to give prospective parents and students the opportunity to visit their Sixth Form before the summer holidays and the flurry of the Open Day season in the autumn term. They are aware that families do not want to attend highly organised Open Days. The Forest School Open Evening will, therefore, be different as there will be no tour guides the School grounds and the Sixth Form Centre will be open to families to explore at their own pace. Teaching staff and students will be on hand, of course, to give directions and to answer questions on everything from A level choices to Scholarships and Bursaries. Forest School has set-up a web page for families to book places on: www.forest.org.uk/soe and this site also contains the most up-to-date Summer Open Evening information. 2
Year 10 Bouygues Business Language Competition 2015 French students in Year 10 were given a wonderful opportunity this year to utilise our knowledge of the French language and apply it in a real-life context, in a competition organised and hosted by Bouygues, an industry group based in Paris, to enforce the importance of language in business. of the French language. We had to make a group of four in order to be eligible to enter the contest. Upon entering, we had to create an action plan for our school to make it more sustainable in regards to the environment. We then had to create a presentation to show this to a number of judges, who each gave feedback on specific things, one judge for presentation, another for the idea, and the last for the use My group (Nilum, Fatima, Tahira and I) decided on an action plan based on the South Canteen. One of our unique advantages was that the canteen is being demolished anyway, which we emphasised in our project. Our idea consisted of solar-control glass (so that there would be no need for air-conditioning) and solar panels to power appliances and radiators, and insulation in the walls, to prevent unnecessary heat loss. We created a video, a PowerPoint presentation, an annotated drawing, and speeches to explain our project. On the day of the first stage of the competition, we had to go up against the other groups in our school at a Bouygues UK branch in Waterloo. There were three groups including us. The group that scored the most total points in the three categories would go on to represent the school in the final stage. It was really odd going up against our own school, especially as one of the groups was in our French class, but it was also comforting, as we knew the people we were performing in front of quite well. The judges were a little intimidating though. My group opted to go first. Our presentation, thankfully, went without a hitch. After the other two groups we were less confident however, as it was obvious that the competition was very close. After a long period of deliberation, the judges were ready to announce the verdict. We were the first to get feedback; the judges said they really liked how specific our action plan was and to improve we could add how we would fund our initiative as an extra for more points. As the judges got ready to announce, we were all filled with trepidation. After a suspenseful silence, they declared us, Team 1, the winner! The final stage was much worse, we realised we had to step up our game, and added more slides to our presentation to expand even more (including the funding, as suggested by the judges) and a model of the proposed canteen, made from recycled materials, as well as longer speeches. We were going up against the best from nine other schools, and only three would win. We were the penultimate group to present (curse the alphabet!). Our French teacher (Mrs Rouveyrol-Malod) was with us, and we really wanted to make her proud, so the pressure was on. After everyone had presented, which took about an hour and a half, the judges took some time to think about who would win-this felt decades longer than the last time. Fortunately, all our hard work paid off and we won! The prize was an all-expenses-paid trip to Paris including a cruise, a one-year membership to the French Institute in Central London where we could take out books and watch films, and of course, the unbeatable rewarding feeling of success. We would like to thank the school and Bouygues for this phenomenal opportunity, and our French teacher Mrs Rouveyrol-Malod for all of her motivation and kind words. The confidence this has built in us will definitely go a long way for our dreaded looming Fre nch oral exam! Pakeeza Aslam 10S 3
US Ambassador Visit Matthew Barzun is the US Ambassador to Britain and was appointed by President Obama soon after he was elected. Ambassador Barzun was not initially a diplomat, he was employed in an internet company. When given the job of Ambassador to Britain, President Obama advised him to always listen when dealing with diplomatic affairs. Thus, he began the afternoon by listening to our Year 9 and 10 representatives opinions on what frustrated or confused us about America. These topics varied from gun crime to their involvement in foreign affairs. We ended on a lighter note, talking about what we liked or what inspired us about America: the answers ranged from the American Dream, their unity and their food! We would like to thank Ambassador Barzun for visiting us, as well as the staff who organised this visit. Iram Farooqui,10P 4
Year 10 Prefect/Coordinator & Head Student Overview Student Voice is a crucial part of our learning community, so it will be no surprise to learn that over the past few weeks Curriculum and Pastoral Leaders have had the enviable task of interviewing a large number of Year 10 students in order to appoint Prefect Coordinators and Prefect teams. It is our hope that our Prefects will take on the challenge of actively leading new initiatives and be proactive as they strengthen our school over the forthcoming twelve months. We now have 37 Prefect Coordinators leading teams responsible for a wide variety of different areas of the school including, Years 5/6 (Tahira Khanum, 10P), Year 7 (Amani Islam, 10G), Year 8 (Simileoluwa Adeniran, 10A), Year 9 (Amirah Akther, 10E) and Year 10 (Viktorija Budryte, 10E), Art (Yasmin Sheikey, 10A), Bengali (Jumena Begum, 10E), Biology (Hridhini Kayasth, 10N), Business Studies (Sresta Gangasani, 10A), Citizenship (Jannat Khan, 10N), Chemistry (Yasmicca Vimalakanthan, 10A), CMD (Tasfia Rahman, 10H), CPSHE (Hafeezah Khatun, 10E), Drama (Rabia Naveed, 10G), EAL (Taneen Hossain, 10T), English Language (Nilum Kaliq, 10P), English Literature (Inayah Hussain, 10A), Events (Asiya Abdullah, 10H), French (Kamalini Rubenthiran, 10S), Geography (Roxana Cosma, 10T), Graphics (Sumiyya Hussain, 10P), History (Hanifah Javed, 10L), ICT (Urooj Fatima, 10S), Literacy (Aysha Uddin, 10A), Maths (Samiha Ahmed, 10E), Music (Zara Pervaiz, 10G), North (Madeeha Sharief, 10L) and South (Supaira Syed Abdul Rahim, 10H) Libraries, PE (Jabitha Premathasan, 10A), Physics (Saraswathi Ramachandran, 10G), RE (Muneera Mahjabeen, 10H), Safer Students (Pakeeza Aslam, 10S), SEND (Mahima Begum, 10N), Sociology (Eman Ali, 10T) and Textiles (Sarah Zannath, 10P). In order to create our new Student Leadership Team, twelve of the Prefect Coordinators submitted a letter of application and then undertook a second interview. All twelve girls were confident, thoughtful and engaging throughout the process, but with only five positions available, I am delighted to introduce our new Head Girl, Aminah Hussan (10P), her two Deputy Head Girls, Sahar Asif (10N) and Meera Trivedi (10G) and her two Assistant Head Girls, Iram Farooqui (10P) and Janvi Joshi (10P). They have already participated in Leadership training this week at West Ham United s Upton Park with representatives from the Barclay s outreach team (made possible through our partnership with East London Business Alliance or ELBA) and they will shortly begin planning for the training they will lead for the full Prefect team in July. Ms L Sanderson Assistant Headteacher Y 5
Year 9 Orienteering Day Who would have thought a day in the woods would be enjoyable? On Thursday 7th May Year 9 were taken out to Debden house to develop our orienteering skills. In the morning we were given the opportunity to participate in a number of orienteering activities to prepare us for our challenge in the forest in the afternoon. The majority of students were able to apply orienteering skills they learnt at school to help them in the training tasks, for example: map reading, speed and team work in order to be successful. In the afternoon the whole of Year 9 were released into the forest where we took part in a mass orienteering competition. This involved working in groups and using a map to find check points around the forest. The team who got to all the check points in the quickest time were the winners. It was epic, yes my team got disqualified but it was an amazing opportunity. People were falling in the mud and rivers in almost every corner of the small area of Epping Forest. Pure entertainment. Zaynab Sharif 9T Overall, we all enjoyed the wondrous experience. Thank you to Ms Banks for organising the trip and allowing us to develop our orienteering skills, and our physical fitness. Ubeydah Shah, Samiyah Lunat and Khadija Saadia 9T 6
Year 10 Speak Out Challenge On 12 th May, Eman Ali and Tahira Khanum of Year 10 took part in the Newham final of The Jack Petchey Speak Out Challenge held at Cumberland School. They did a fantastic job of representing Plashet, competing against contestants from other schools across the borough. The turnout for Plashet School supporters was phenomenal, as both teachers (Ms Moseley and Mr O Donnell) and students overpowered the volume of the packed hall. Their great spirit encouraged Eman and Tahira to perform their three minute speeches with confidence. Both students left the stage feeling satisfied with all the hard work they had put in because of the great reaction they received from the audience. At the end of the evening both Plashet School speakers were presented with an award by the Deputy Commander of Police, Newham. The contestants were grateful for all the work put in by their friends, teachers and families. Eman said: "Being on stage was nerve wracking, but seeing so many supporters, cheering away on the front row, eased my nerves. I especially want to thank Ms Morgan, Ms Hewat- Jaboor and Ms Moseley, for putting in so much of their own time to help Tahira and I. Thank you to everyone who came and supported us." Ms Moseley said: The standard of competition was incredibly high and both Eman and Tahira gave amazing performances of which the school can be proud. Congratulations to them both for all their hard work and tremendous achievement. Ayesha Patel 10T 7
Year 10 French Residential Visit to Warsy On 29 th April a group of 40 Year 10 students who are studying French, and 5 members of staff travelled to France to stay at the Château de Warsy. We travelled by coach and Eurotunnel and eventually stopped at a World War 1 cemetery in Northern France. After visiting the cemetery and having our picnic we made our way to the Château. We were greeted warmly by the staff there and were escorted to our pods to get ready for dinner. While the first day was tiring, it was also very exciting! The next day included many activities such as an obstacle course, archery, kayaking and canoeing. Afterwards we went shopping and bought some nice things. One the final day, we visited Montdidier, a nearby town and were given a tour. On our tour we came across a path lined with dropping spider nests, and our tour guide told us, rather solemnly, that we were to run through the path, otherwise the spiders webs might get caught in our hair and we would never be able to get them off! The historical town of Montdidier had many stories (most of which were bloody, but interesting). After the tour, we returned to the Château for dinner then made our way back to the coach, to go home. The staff at the Château were incredibly friendly, informative and made sure that we had an enjoyable experience. Thank you to the staff that accompanied us on the trip: Ms Louot, Mrs Abena, Mr Bateman, Ms Morrison and Ms Mosaheb. And a big thank you to Ms Louot for organising and leading the trip on behalf of all the students who attended. Aroosa Hussain 10N 8
Syeda Zainab Naqvi 9A - Elected Executive Chair for RE Matters! - In January 2015, I was elected as the Executive Chair for RE Matters by all the schools in Newham. Student RE Matters provides schools with the opportunity to promote dialogue between young people of different faiths and secular backgrounds and cultures, it supports collaborative work. RE Matters enables us to work with the local and wider community. It seeks to develop young people s skills in articulating their concerns and questions, plus, provides a place for us to learn to become a problem solver and learn to successfully work with other schools, faith leaders and the wider community. One of our projects has been to develop, plan and teach RE lessons to local primary students, which was a fantastic experience. Student RE Matters exists to give Newham students a place where they can discuss spiritual and moral issues that are important to us. Being the Chair means that I work alongside Claire Clinton (The RE Advisor for Newham) to plan our meetings. I have experienced some amazing things already, such as going to Chobham Secondary to pitch for funding in front of councillors and the representatives from the National RE team. In July, I have been invited to attend the National Association of RE advisors and consultants to lead a workshop alongside Claire about the work we do and how they can start something similar to RE Matters. I am also going to talk about ways that teachers can make RE engaging for their students which is very exciting because I believe RE is a very important subject. Also, in September Plashet will host the annual RE matters meeting which I am incredibly excited for. Syeda Zainab Naqvi 9A 9
University of Cambridge Inspire Programme On 30 th March Saiyara Zaman, Muna Abdulrahman and I arrived at Stratford s Westfields, eager to begin our journey with 30 students from other schools, on a very long coach trip to Cambridge University. The journey was tiring and at 11.30am we finally reached St John s College ready to learn more about university life and its many opportunities. We walked through groomed green fields and under decorated arches. It was completely different to East Ham fresh air, clean streets and. silence. We all settled into a huge lecture hall and learnt more about the detailed and fascinating history of Cambridge University. Then we dispersed into groups to create a time capsule that we will open three years later at the end of the programme. We recorded our hopes for careers and our likes and dislikes, which we will all be embarrassed to remember in the future. Students gathered into another lecture hall, to experience a mini introduction to a real life lecture. We learnt about the Assyrian empire and how they used water and oil divination to decide important decisions in life and war. It was extremely interesting to hear how they managed to create such a successful empire based on oil bubbles in water! After lunch we went to our last activity of the day, which was a sample psychology lecture. We learnt about how our brains act when making the most simple or complicated decisions. Overall, it was a fascinating day and I cannot wait to return and learn more of university and career paths. Katelin Dharmajan, 9H I Cannot Change Yesterday, But I Can Change Today We all make mistakes. Have regrets. Fail. But we need the confidence to understand that this is part of life. Having negatives gives us the knowledge and experience to create positives. Our minds are our own masterpieces, which we continue to develop and create. We are artists of our own destiny and only we can make the active changes in order to be successful and the best that we can be. Yes, we will constantly fall down, but success comes from the amount of times we get back up again. Life is an on-going journey, ever developing, ever changing and we must adapt ourselves to this. We all have the courage and bravery to learn from yesterday and develop our today; only you know how. Ms P St Louis Coaching and Mentoring Department Manager 10
Poetry with Year 8 RE Classes I recently had the pleasure of working on some poetry with some Year 8 RE classes. They had been looking at the concepts of free will and responsibility. I asked them to think about times in their lives when they have ever felt guilty about something, and to write a poem apologising for it. I would like to share the following, very moving, poem by Lubna in 8E. Dear Someone by Lubna Akhtar 8E I m sorry for everything I ve done I was never there when you needed me most You were always standing there by my side I was distracted with different things that stood in my way I finally realised how I ve been a bad friend I would do anything to make it up to you I want you to forgive me so I can stay in peace Just thinking about how I was never there for you burns my heart I wish I could make up for the times we made you upset you re my best friend and I will never let go of my heart I had a dream you left my life and I woke up crying realising that I can t be without you In the dream you said I m only leaving this place not your life The day was so long in the dream without you I needed you back I couldn t A minute without you The girls should continue to be very proud of the wonderful, brave poetry they are producing during my sessions. Joshua Seigal Poet in Residence Sports News Congratulations to the Year 9 dancers who competed in the Step into Dance competition. 2 out of 14 teams have been selected to go through to the next round of auditions in Sadlers Wells. Ms R Humphreys PE Teacher 11
Library News - Year 8 Get Caught Reading During their library lessons Year 8 have been discussing Daniel Pennac s Rights of the Reader. These ten rights should, according to Pennac, be granted to all readers to make sure they have the opportunity to fully enjoy reading fiction books. One of the rights proposed by Pennac is the right to read anywhere. Year 8 were asked to explore this idea by taking a photo of themselves reading in the most unusual and creative places they could think of (as long as they were safe, of course!) The standard of some of the entries was very impressive and the winners were: 1 st Alia Khan 8P 2 nd Rattan Saggu 8P 3 rd Matilda Wells 8P Mooskan Gul 8G and Aamna Jazab and Moomna Qamar 8H were also highly commended. The best photos will be put on display outside the South Library. Saturday Sessions here to help! GCSEs have started and we know that students in Years 10 and 11 may need a calm, supportive atmosphere in which to revise. The South Library is open from 10.00am to 1.00pm on Saturdays for students wishing to work independently or to consult teachers. Anyone who would like to attend should book their place in the South Library by the end of school on Thursday. Ms A Clifford-Smith Librarian Baltimore Skyline Painting for the School Play A big thank you to the following students from 9E and Ms Ledeatte-Williams for their superb contribution to the painting of a backdrop consisting of the Baltimore skyline for the school play. Afnaan Firthous Isba Rahman Nafeela Kareem Sandra Thekkeppurayil Vithurshika Vimal Nida Rafiq Tahmina Rahman Kazi Noorgeen Miss R Reiter, Art Teacher 12