LGS Headlines 24 October 2014 LGS Headlines 24 October 2014 From the Headteacher Dear Parents The first half of the Autumn term is now over and I am sure that both students and staff are ready for a well-deserved break. This has been a term of significant change for so many of our students and they have managed very well indeed. It was a great privilege to watch our Year 10 and 11 students performing in the Shakespeare Schools Festival recently. This is a national event celebrating the work of Shakespeare through 30minute versions of his plays, performed in professional theatre spaces. Our cast of ‘The Tempest’ - with double the number of students involved compared to other schools performing on the same evening - acquitted themselves very well indeed and received very positive feedback on their performance. Students in other year groups have been out on geography field visits, taken part in debates, performed in our annual Piano Day and raised money for Afrikids through the Sixth Form Charity Week. There have also been a number of successful sporting fixtures over the last few weeks but particular congratulations go to our Year 10 girls who have just won the Slough school’s netball tournament having been undefeated over 8 games. The School collects personal information about our students in order to support their learning, monitor and report on their progress and provide appropriate pastoral care. If you are interested in the information we collect and hold, please refer to our Privacy Notice 2014-15, published in the ‘Students’ section of the School website. This contains further information regarding such data and with whom it will be shared. I hope you and your families have an enjoyable halfterm break. Mr J Constable - Headteacher Langley Grammar School Reddington Drive Langley Berkshire SL3 7QS 01753 598300 [email protected] In the student pages of this issue...... Shakespeare Schools Festival Workshop Piano Day A Variety of Cultures Year 11 Geography Field trip Year 13 Science in Medicine Competition Sixth Form Charity Week Sixth Form Geography Lecture Mr M Aplin - News Manager Diary dates for October..... For more details and the full school calendar please refer to the school website. Tue 4 Nov Year 7 Parents’ meeting, 6.30 pm Thu 6 Nov Year 12 Bolivia training weekend (returns 9 Nov) Wed 12 Nov Year 10 Parent-Teacher Consultation (School finishes at 3.00pm) Tue 18 Nov Year 12 ‘Safe Drive Stay Alive’ presentation (Wycombe Swan) Tue 18 Nov Year 12 GCSE Presentations (4.00pm) LGS PE department are tweeting! Our Twitter page is a great way for you to keep up to date with fixtures, results and opportunities to get involved in various sporting activities inside and outside of LGS. Please follow us @LGSPE! Please visit our website at www.lgs.slough.sch.uk 2 LGS Headlines 24 October 2014 Did you know that we have an official Langley Grammar School poet? October As part of the School’s focus on Reading, Writing and Communication, last year we appointed two students to the role of Langley Laureate. Oh no! Halt! The stage is frozen, Prospero’s forgotten his lines! The teacher wildly gestures from the wings, Frantically showing them signs! Faheem Anwar in Year 8 is our current Junior Laureate. Just like the Poet Laureate, his role is to write poems which celebrate particular events during the school year. We hope to have a regular feature which looks back at the events of the previous month in poetry. Faheem’s poem reflecting on October at Langley Grammar School is shown on this page. Leave of Absence Parental requests for leave of absence during term time must be presented in advance by completing the Leave of Absence Request form for authorised absence (available from the school website www.lgs.slough.sch.uk under the ‘Parents’ tab) Leave of absence should be requested at least two weeks in advance. Parents are also reminded that requests for extended leave of absence, in line with government guidelines, will not normally be authorised unless there are exceptional circumstances. The Headteacher will decide whether to grant leave of absence during term under such circumstances. Mr S Cook - Assistant Headteacher Netball Success There have been a number of successful sporting fixtures over the last few weeks but particular congratulations go to our Year 10 girls who have just won the Slough school’s netball tournament They were fabulous......undefeated over 8 games and brilliant! Well done to ........ Tia Dhaliwal Avneet Dhandee Marian Ennin Saras Dale Salena Mann Jessica Godleski Tanya Bittar Masally Jaskomal Brar Millen Varaitch Mrs H Close - PE Department Ah, yes! The performance is back on track, We’re ready to perform, The actors swirl, in a ferocious twirl, As Prospero crafts his mighty storm. The audience cheer, no more fear, The cast sigh with ease, The play is done, our hearts have been won, Mr Constable sure looks pleased! The Shakespeare Festival was a celebration for all, Great fun for the cast! Not only did they learn so many different skills, They also had a blast! Next comes 6th Form’s Charity Week, So many events in which we can take part! There’s FIFA, Henna, Dodgeball, Football, Or Trivia if you’re smart! Although many students had some fun, And great games were played, We must remember the impoverished children Who desperately need our aid. Our chosen charity is AfriKids, They bring children delight, When all they see is suffering, They show them a guiding light. October has been an eventful month, The year is in full swing, Who knows, in the many months to come, What joy life will bring? By Faheem Anwar 8H Junior Langley Laureate 3 Shakespeare Schools Festival Written By Amber Dhoot 11H On Thursday 2 October 2014, the school’s cast for the Shakespeare Schools Festival production (‘The Tempest’) took off for South Hill Park Arts centre in Bracknell. The lively ensemble, comprised of students in Years 10-11, and their two cheery teachers (Mrs Andrijasevic and Miss Seymour) travelled by coach and arrived at the site at approximately 9:30am. Here, the cast were met by two very enthusiastic members of the Shakespeare Schools Festival who hosted the workshop. The event itself took place in the Wilde Theatre, which was for many members of the troupe the first glimpse of a professional stage. The theatre could was daunting at first sight with its three tier audience, velvet seats and glossy furnished wood; however, the activities put everyone at ease very quickly. The exercises that the hosts led were excellent, not only were they highly relevant to the performances but also, they got everyone involved without bestowing more importance on speaking roles so that every single member was made to feel as important as each other; the skills improved upon in the activities were skills that were fundamental to all roles, so no-one felt left out. An enormous amount was learnt about characterisation, vocal expression and movement; even more valuable though was the familiarisation of the performance space – which is obviously extremely important for the fluidity of the performance and transitions within the piece. Leaving the theatre, after having performed the opening scene and received constructive feedback, it’s safe to say that everyone individually and as a group felt more confident up on stage. 4 Shakespeare Schools Festival Written By Amber Dhoot 11H After the technical and costume rehearsals, the hour of performance was fast approaching, the excited cast, now on tenterhooks, were awaiting the familiar sensation, a mixture of nerves and excitement to occupy their senses. The atmosphere in the dressing room was of electrifying charge, with the feelings of calm and chaos both taking centre stage in the few precious minutes before the show began. Delivery of lines, acting and the creation of the magical element in 'The Tempest' was strongly commended with regards to the actors, who all looked excellent with their costumes and makeup. Many thanks to the director, Miss Seymour, and the codirector Mrs Andrijasevic for the effort and time put in to the performance and for pushing us to make it as successful a night as we could. 5 Piano Day Written By Jeevan Baghla 8S On Wednesday 25 October a number of students attended the annual Piano Day event organised by the school, and run external teachers Pippa and James. Students from Langley Grammar School were joined by pupils from St. Bernard's Grammar School and, Castleview Primary School giving a diverse age group from age 7 to 16. Students separated into allocated pairs to practice their pre-rehearsed composition. After nearly two hours of practising the pupils were provided with the opportunity to perform the duet if they wished. For the second half of the day the students took part in a series of interactive activities developing listening and improvisation skills as well as learning the basics to conducting. Finally we were treated to an extravaganza of 6 master class pieces performed by Pippa and James. The school has organised Piano Day predominately to boost essential skills such as listening, confidence and teamwork. It also gives students an opportunity to showcase their talent. "It's great that the school organises events like this to give pianists a chance to play with other pianists because normally you can't really play in an orchestra with more than one of the same instrument compared to strings and woodwind, where there are many players." stated Pippa. We would like to thank LGS music department for organising such a great event and we hope that we will have the same opportunity next year ! 6 A Variety of Cultures Written by Vianca Shah (9K) The end of September normally sees our focus on languages through the annual Language Week. This year there was more of an emphasis on the culture surrounding a language, with the week becoming our ‘Cultural appreciation week', a time which welcomed and embraced our different cultures and diversity in our school. Langley Grammar School has over 50 different cultures and ethnic backgrounds, so that means many different cultural traditions and many different beliefs to explain and share. We are encouraged to embrace our diversity in school and in some lessons, students can share their beliefs and traditions. There have been assemblies which focus on a certain culture and therefore expanding our cultural knowledge, allowing students to look at many different cultural traditions. The assemblies encouraged students to talk to each other about their ethnic background. The assemblies ended with an opportunity for students to share their beliefs and culture by competitions, for the best poster or the best website based on culture. In addition there is a cuisine week at the school where students try different tastes from different cultures. The cuisine featured American, Italian, Moroccan and many more different authentic tastes. During form time when the Sixth Form prefects came to classes from Year 7 to Year 9. In these activities students explored different cultures and backgrounds. Some classes allowed students to share their personal beliefs and cultural traditions, and some prefects did this by playing games. This made the experience more fun and interactive where students could learn about different cultures in a creative and enjoyable way. Classes tested students on what they know about different cultures and provided students with lots of information, on different cultures which they did not know about. Some classes allowed students to show how a culture greets each other, and how to express simple ideas in the relevant language. Cultural week has been a time for understanding different cultures and appreciating the different cultures we have. We would like to thank the teachers and sixth form prefects who helped the school understand more about different cultures and appreciate the fact that we are a multicultural school. Pictured below are some year 7 students who are taking part in a taster session with Loagitha Kugapiragasam in Year 12 who is teaching them the instrument as she plays to a high standard. Students can learn Indian Classical music in the school. Miss Sadler (Music Department) Year 11 Geography Field Visit By Daniel George and Jemini Master (11V) On a cold Friday morning, 62 excited Year 11 geographers set off to New Forest in Hampshire, South England - accompanied by Mr Aplin, Mr Pascall, Mr Mace and Miss Foley. One group headed to the coast first, and the other to the heart of the New Forest. The main purpose of the visit was to enforce a stronger understanding of the ‘UK Settlement Change’ topic, by finding out how a National Park is operated and how it compares to green belts; the second aim of the visit was to examine different coastal management solutions which helps reinforce our understanding of the ‘Coastal Conflict’ topic. The group accompanied by Mr Aplin and Mr Pascall, visited the New Forest first, where some students got to see a National Park for the very first time! We walked around a few villages, analysing the features of a National Park, and also its rules and regulations - the signs which have to match the surroundings and the building regulations in place, to name a few. At each destination the teachers gave an introduction to the area and explained what we should be looking for and we gave feedback, as a group, in terms of what we found out about the last place, in accordance to the very helpful field visit booklet, which the teachers had designed for this visit. The group accompanied by Mr Mace and Miss Foley visited the coast first, where they were met with some strong waves and winds! We observed the land formations at different sites and analysed the reasons for the different land formations taking into account the differences in coastal management solutions implemented in different areas. Again the teachers asked questions and gave us background information about the area in order to get us to think about the land formations and their reasons in accordance with the booklet. 8 Year 11 Geography Field Visit By Daniel George & Jemini Master (11V) At lunchtime, the groups both stopped over in Lymington for lunch, before continuing on to complete the half of the visit that each group had not yet been on. For Mr Mace’s group, this would involve visiting the very heart of the New Forest, and it would take Mr Pascall’s group all the way to the Dorset-Hampshire border before both groups headed home (arriving back at school earlier than anticipated!). Overall, the visit was an enjoyable experience for students and teachers alike, and helped us get a better idea of some of the topics we have studied by getting to see solutions applied in the real world. “A great day out and really good fun. It was really helpful for us to see a national park in the real world and to learn about how they work. It was also helpful to reinforce coastal management and the various coastal erosion processes.“ 9 Sixth Form Science in Medicine Written By Aditya Sahay 6B On the 26 September, 10 students from Year 13 participated in the South East Medical Ethics Debate Competition, against 20 other schools within the district. The day involved rounds of competitive debate of ethical motions announced 20 minutes prior. Students had to come up with arguments, to win the debate in their favour. After a good 4 hours of debate and a welcomed lunch break, finalists were announced for the finals. Unfortunately, none of the 5 teams made it to that stage. However, all of the students left with a good experience of debating and essential knowledge on how ideas can be better communicated, whether it be amongst friends or looking ahead to their medical careers. Thank you to Mrs Gibbins for accompanying us on the visit. 10 Sixth Form Charity Week Written by Simran Poonia (6B) and Nicole Baldev (6I) Photos by Agrima Vij (10S) & Amrit Bhogal 8K) From the 6th - 10th October, the entire Sixth Form united to raise a substantial amount of money for the charity ‘Afrikids’ who improve the lives of vulnerable and disadvantaged children in Ghana. Afrikids’ projects range from establishing foster homes, small schools and youth centres to ground-breaking initiatives which tackle complex cultural issues such as child trafficking and the spirit child phenomenon. The week is generally organised by the lower sixth and I didn’t realise until recently, exactly how much effort is devoted to the week. The grand total raised was £1566.77!! The forms competed against each other to raise the highest total with 6D raising £217, which was the highest single amount from one form. However all forms worked hard and contributed to the final total. We understand that some people are reluctant to donate hard-earned money to charity as the funds diminish during the process of actually getting to their destination. However Afrikids looks to empower young children to make the necessary changes themselves. To ensure this is the case, the charity funds its own projects and local businesses in Ghana and in international trade. This means they do not require constant funding and will eventually achieve absolute sustainability. The week before Charity week, most of us were frantically creating and printing posters to put up around school to get prospective participants involved in events. These ranged from treasure hunts and mock versions of ‘Who wants to be a millionaire?’ to sack races and penalty shoot outs. The most popular stall was the Henna one, which saw the arrival of many excited Year 7 girls eager to get creative patterns travelling up their arms. 11 Sixth Form Charity Week Written by Simran Poonia (6B) and Nicole Baldev (6I) Photos by Agrima Vij (10S) & Amrit Bhogal 8K) As they say, ‘the best laid plans often go awry’ which was apparent during the week. There were cases when forms failed to book venues to hold events or teachers were unaware that they’d be supervising a stall. However, we managed to challenge these obstacles into ensuring the week went as smoothly as possible and that our time was productively spent to raise the highest sum of money we conceivably could. We personally couldn’t have been happier in sharing this week with the school community and thank you to everyone who participated and contributed. Total Raised £1567 www.afrikids.org 12 Sixth Form Geography Lecture Written by Simran Poonia (6B) and Nicole Baldev (6I) On 2 October, a group of A Level Geography students attended a lecture regarding Gentrification at Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith. The term Gentrification refers to a shift in an urban community towards wealthier residents and increasing property values. It is typically the result of investment in a community by real estate businesses, local government or community activists, and can often spur economic development and lower crime rates. Professor Hamnett stated that many working class quarters of London have been invaded by middle class populations and the result, suggested in 1973 by Ruth Glass, indicated a possibility for resisting or preventing gentrification since lower class communities may not be able to adjust to the change. He went on to say how gentrification is gradually reaching towns on the outskirts of London and that over time; London will be targeted towards business people and essentially people with money. For instance, in the 1950s, Chelsea and Kensington – rather run down towns – now inhibit Georgian housing renovated to fit in the modern day. An interesting point Professor Hamnett picked up on was the fact that an area had to go through physical deterioration and declining social immobility in order to progress. Enter professionalisation. The social structure is increasing at the top and bottom end. However, infrastructure and property prices are affected as a result. Owning a home in London now requires a huge premium. One of the most controversial changes was the disposal of large council housing estates. An interesting point is that most of these refurbished homes are actually used as second homes which therefore create property shortages. Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, supported social cleansing but was severely criticised by Prime Minister, David Cameron. So to sum up some people think gentrification is required in order to move up in society but are new neighbourhoods created for those of us who can’t afford its luxuries? We would like to thank Mr Mace, Miss Foley and Mr Aplin who accompanied us on the visit as well as Mr Pascall who organised things but couldn’t come on the visit due to his in school raising achievement evening. 13