Download June 2015 - Plashet School

Issue 40
Working together to promote & celebrate achievement
26 June 2015
Name & Tutor Group:
Headlines by Rachel McGowan
Plashet Spirit
Those of you fortunate enough to get a ticket to see our school show “Hairspray the Musical” were present at one of the most
impressive displays of learning I have seen since I have been Headteacher at Plashet. At the end of the first night when I stood
up to thank the performers, I was struck by a rare loss of words – it was simply too good a show to sum up easily. Several weeks
later, as I write this, I’ve had more time to analyse the chemistry that came together between our performers to create such an
exceptional event and time too to consider how that exact same chemistry or “Plashet Spirit” has contributed to make so many
recent events a success.
It starts with practice. The young women taking part of the last few weeks in Hairspray the Musical, Sports Day, our
French partner school visits, our GCSE Art Exhibition or our performance in the Newham Secondary Drama Festival
and many other activities, began their preparation many months ago and have shown a dedication to keep learning so that by
the time the day of the performance, visit, competition or show came around they were not only word perfect their performance
flowed. In the case of our Hairspray performers, it flowed as though they had become the characters they were depicting
ensuring they not only told the story beautifully but engaged the audience with an intimacy that I have never seen before in a
school production.
What came across in all of our recent activities was a grasp of the skills needed to perform that our young women have crafted
over several years. The confidence they showed has come from their self-reflection and their willingness to keep on trying.
This is the mind-set we try to encourage in every student in every situation – you have to believe you can get better, but you
also have to keep trying, not letting set-backs undermine your confidence, but being willing to learn from them.
I could not be more proud of every student that took part in our myriad of activities over recent weeks. The relationships we
work so hard to achieve, based on high expectations, trust and respect underpinned the success of all you will read about in this
edition of Plashet Post. Finally I wish to thank all our dedicated staff who facilitated the risks students were willing to take,
encouraged students to dig deep for the team and rewarded our youngsters with the most incredible feeling of collective success
that I know will stay with them long into the future and will carry them forward to even greater success in their learning well
beyond their Plashet years.
Year 7 Parents Evening
We will be holding our evening for Year 7 parents to meet with subject teachers on Wednesday 1st 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 if not 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.
Year 9 Transition Evening
On Wednesday 15th July we will be holding a meeting for parents of Year 9 between 4.30pm and 5.30pm. The meeting will
give parents information about the content of the new GCSEs Year 9 will be sitting in English, English Literature and Mathematics.
National Crime Agency
The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has launched a series of informative videos to help parents discuss sexting with their
children. The NCA reports that sending explicit images through social media has become ‘normal’ among teenagers. The Child
Exploitation and Protection Centre, the agency’s division for tackling abuse, increasingly receives cases featuring sexting and is
currently dealing with approximately one new sexting case per day. The NCA has expressed concern that sexting can leave young
people exposed to blackmail or exploitation when pictures reach the wrong hands. In other cases explicit photos are forwarded
and circulated among peers without the young person’s knowledge, creating great distress. The videos present advice on how to
discuss the issue with the young person and how to address it with their school. The videos can be viewed on the CEOP
‘ThinkUKnow’ website, which also offers resources for young people themselves.
Collèges Georges Brassens Visit and Year 9 St. Venant Visit
On Thursday 11th of June, forty two students had the outstanding opportunity to visit St Venant in the
north of France. We attended a school called Georges Brassens where we were able to meet our pen pals
whom we have been interacting with since October. They had visited our school the week before. Full of
anticipation we arrived at Plashet School before 5am to begin our journey to France! We finally arrived in
France after a long journey via coach, Eurotunnel and coach again. In Collège Georges Brassens we were
welcomed by the Head teacher and our pen pals with open arms and bright smiles which also
complimented their weather. The weather in France was stunning!
The entire morning was filled with waves of joy and laughter as our pen pals put on a fantastic show for
us which consisted of numerous activities including dancing, singing and playing musical instruments. The
joyful spirit continued throughout the afternoon as we walked around the beautiful village of St Venant.
Whilst we were admiring the mesmerising views of the village, we had a questionnaire given to us about
the village. Prizes were given at the end to those students who had answered the most questions
correctly. Saying goodbye was extremely difficult as we had made very tight bonds with everybody.
Overall, it was a splendid trip to France; it was honestly the best trip we have been to so far! We would
love to have that day repeated all over again as we had enjoyed the experience immensely.
We would like to give a huge thanks to Madame Khan, Madame Rouveyrol-Malod, Mrs McGowan, Ms
Brown and last but not least Madame Louot for organising this incredible trip for us. We would also like to
thank Madame Brissard and Monsieur Degand as well as our pen pals for making every second in St
Venant worthwhile and incredible!
By Anisha Islam and Maya Badal 9N
In order to commemorate the
end of WW1 and WW2, and
to celebrate 14 years of
successful school partnership;
we planted a tree at Collège
Georges Brassens during our
visit.
2
We finally Met our Pen Pals!
On Friday 5th of June 24 French students came to visit Plashet to meet their pen pals for the first time.
We were all very excited and nervous at the same time to finally meet the person we had been
exchanging letters with for the past several months. When they arrived at Plashet around 10.00am, we
gave them a warm welcome to our school and refreshments to put them at ease after their long journey
from France. We met up with our own pen pal and even though it was very awkward at first interacting
with them, it was quite clear that we all were very happy to see one another. For entertainment, the
drama department kindly put on a snippet of their musical performance “Hairspray” for our French visitors
which they enjoyed very much. Next, we were instructed to take our individual pen pals to tour around
the school as well as helping them answer a booklet to fill out questions like ‘What is our Headteacher’s
name?’ or ‘How many rooms are they in the CAB?’
During the tour we got to spend some quality time with our pen pals and also made some new friends
along the way. Initially, most of us were quite worried about how to communicate with our pen pals since
our French was somewhat limited. But surprisingly the French students knew such good English; that we
bonded with each other rather quickly. By the end of our tour, everyone became so comfortable with
each other that the talking would not stop! When it was time for lunch, we took them out to the field
because it was a very sunny day, sat altogether and ate our lunch with them. We were all in such a lively
state that we all ended up playing ‘Duck Duck Goose’ with our pen pals. It was really great to see the
French students playing the game very enthusiastically as well as seeing the crowd of Plashet students
increase rapidly. There was screaming, squealing and laughter. The time for their departure was nearing
so we handed out prizes for the 3 best French students who completed their booklet correctly. We gave
them tight hugs, exchanged contact details and assured them that we’ll see them again when we go to
France in a weeks’ time. Many of us received gifts from our pen pals that I’m certain everyone adored. It
was really emotional to say goodbye to them and watch them leave because in a short amount of time,
we all became extremely close to our pen pals. We still miss them to this day. We’d like to thank the
French department, Mrs McGowan and especially Ms Louot for letting us be a part of this wonderful
experience because it was one day that will never be forgotten.
By Anonna Chowdhury and Farhat Chowdhury 9P
3
Hairspray
Whilst the majority of our
School community will not
have ever heard of the
original John Water’s 1988
‘Hairspray’, they have
certainly heard the bells in
recent weeks! The musical
was first produced on
Broadway in 2002 and
earned eight prestigious
Tony Awards in 2003. The
musical
was
then
introduced to stages across
the globe, including London
and then it was transferred
to film for a second time in
2007.
Miss Carne, Miss MehmetAli and Miss Killick originally
hatched their ingenious plan to create a musical spectacular early in 2015 and after the initial round of
auditions, it was clear that we had the some real star potential in our midst.
Zara Pervaiz (10G) took the lead role of well-meaning teenager Tracy Turnblad, whilst Zeeniya Ilyas
(9L) and Maryam Ali (10N) became her larger than life parents, Edna and Wilbur Turnblad. The main
plot line of the 1960s civil rights movement was superbly captured by Zoe Lucala (10L), Zoey Anna
Molton (10L) and Ebony Brown (7G) as Motormouth Maybelle and her children, Seaweed J. Stubbs
and Little Inez respectfully. There was also a sense of fun created by the egotistical Van Tussle women,
mother Velma and daughter Amber played by Ishrat Tahrin (8S) and Madiha Basith (8L). Both Year
8 girls had some hard acts to follow with legendary Debbie Harry and Michelle Pfeiffer putting in star
turns as Velma and Colleen Ann Fitzpatrick and Brittany Snow playing Amber on screen. The Pingleton
women, Penny and Prudy, played by Saniya Jojan (9P) and Rabia Naveed (10G) were an absolute
joy, so too were the Divas and Corny Collins Dancers led by Corny Collins himself, played by Roxanna
Cosma (10T). The resident heartthrob, Link Larkin, played by Amulya Manoj (10T) captured the
audience’s hearts and admiration with a sparkling partnership with Zara.
Of course, the very nature of a musical suggests that there would be no song or dance without the music!
Miss Carne, Mr Wong, the band and choir were extremely dedicated in adapting, rehearsing and
performing the final songs and the cast would have been lost without their efforts. They ensured that
Baltimore and indeed audiences in East Ham were on their feet in enjoyment and appreciation after two
extremely successful nights. Now, the question on everyone’s lips is…..what will be the production in
2017!
Ms L Sanderson
Assistant Headteacher
4
Year 8 PGL Liddington Residential 1ST – 3rd June
On 1st June a group of very excited Year 8 students and staff set off on a very memorable trip. We
travelled from London to Liddington and conquered some of our biggest fears.
“I am very proud of all of the students. Most took part in activities that even I was too afraid to do.” Ms
Akhtar, Assistant Year Co-ordinator, Year 8.
On our arrival, (after a two and a half our journey) we were greeted by the friendly PGL staff and were
introduced to our group leaders. After settling in to our rooms we were served lunch which was as
delicious as the rest of the meals we were served. We then set off for our first activity.
“It was an amazing opportunity, filled with amazing experiences.” Ishrat Tahrin 8S.
“It was really enjoyable to do activities out of our comfort zone, especially the trapeze.” Mr O’Brien,
Form Tutor, 8N.
After the day was completed we went to bed only to be woken for a very tasty breakfast at 7:30am! On
the very tiring second day our group was fully awoken by having a go on the GIANT SWING!!
“Absolutely wonderful.” Nahida Khoshal 8P
We had a highly enjoyable evening activities and an amazing final night disco. There was nothing but
dancing and singing at the disco and when the teachers joined in we realised that they could also bust a
move, but only one. After partying for an hour and a half we all made our way to our bedrooms for welldeserved rests.
“Unforgettable.” Nazmin Islam 8P
“On behalf of the whole of Year 8 I would like to thank Ms Cartney, Ms Heath, all of the staff that
accompanied us and, Mrs McGowan for making this trip possible.” Alia Khan 8P
“A great residential trip. My group got involved with their activities and supported each other, which was
fantastic.” Ms Still, form tutor, 8P
The Year 8 residential was a huge success. The students and staff had a wonderful time. Many were
physically challenged and conquered fears. I would like to thank the parents for their support and the
staff who gave their time up so generously. I am very proud of Year 8. They showed teamwork,
resilience, communication, initiative, organisation and independence throughout the visit.
Ms A Cartney
Year 8 Co-ordinator
On 1st, 2nd and 3rd June most of the Year 8 students were on a residential trip to PGL where they were
taking part in various physical activities. Whilst they were at the residential trip the remaining Year 8
students also took part in different activities.
On 1st June there was a study skills workshop where we were given a talk by Mr Sander about how to
change our wishes into targets to help us progress. On 2nd June for the first period we had a poetry
assembly where the poets Josh, Laurie, Paul and Michael performed poems. After break we were
separated into four groups who each had a different poet teaching us about poetry. Finally, after lunch
we had a double lesson doing orienteering. Then on 3rd June we had a Barclays life skills workshop up
until lunch followed by a Maths workshop and enrichment.
Jawairia Ali, 8L
5
Urdu Cinema and Restaurant Visits
During the months of May and June, Year 7, 8 and 9
Urdu students enjoyed going on fun, yet educational,
trips to the Cinema followed by a meal at a Pakistani
restaurant.
The visit to Ilford Cineworld allowed the students to
develop their listening and comprehension skills in a
fun, relaxed and engaging manner. The movies were
picked by the students and they thoroughly enjoyed
the challenge of understanding new themes and new
words being used by the film stars. Along with this
being a learning experience, the students remarked
numerous times how much they enjoyed being out of
the classroom with their friends, watching a film in
their target language.
Following on from the successful film visit, students then embarked on a short trip to the Goodmayes
branch of Mirch Masala - a Pakistani restaurant full of culinary delights - for a lunch buffet! The staff
were very friendly and welcoming.
The lunch buffet consisted of a range of dishes, such as kebabs, chicken tikka, curries, rice, nan bread
and drinks. As a dessert, the girls savoured on kulfi; a sub-continent sweet/ice cream.
Once the girls were finally satisfied and had tasted everything, we headed back to school.
The trip was both an educational and recreational success; the girls commented how much fun they had
had and some stated that they did not want to return to school! The trip was a success and the girls have
repeatedly requested that they go again next year.
Below are some quotes from the girls commenting on their day out:
“Overall, the trip was excellent! I think it was very generous of the school to take us to the ‘Cineworld &
Mirch Masala Restaurant’. I felt it was a superb trip… I just hope we will get to go again.”
“The Urdu Department was very kind to have organized such an amazing trip and for taking such a
creative approach to teaching us the subject.”
“Over all it was a fantastic trip and it was so much fun. I would like to thank the teachers who helped and
especially Mrs Ijaz for organizing the trip.”
“Really fun, and enjoyed the whole day… I would definitely go again”
Ms I ijaz
Head of Urdu and Bengali
6
Year 9 SOAS Urdu Programme - University of Westminster
In May, five Year 9 students were entered for the
Languages Challenge 2015 organised by SOAS. The
students are Neha Ilyas, Mustaneer Fatima, Israt
Ahmed, Aisha Jazab and Kainaat Hasan. They worked
very hard after school and during lunchtimes to
complete six challenges in many different languages.
The six challenges included;






Acting out a scene from Romeo and Juliet in
Urdu
Presenting and baking a cake recipe in Punjabi
Creating a footballer's phrase book in French,
German, Spanish, Welsh, Polish and Czech
Translating a story in Bengali
Translating and actually singing live in Hindi the
song "Love Story" by Taylor Swift
Preparing tourist information regarding the Taj Mahal in French
On Thursday 18th June the team were invited by the judges to
a ceremony to recognise their creativity and effort for which
they received a certificate. The ceremony was held at the
Portland Hall, University of Westminster and the students had
the chance to watch their submissions and those of other
schools. There was also workshop on Japanese culture and
Origami .
and others’ achievement”. Neha Ilyas 9H
“The ceremony was a great way to see so many people
engaged in Art, Drama and Language and it was a good
ex perience
to
celebrate
ours’
“We have visited two universities (SOAS and Westminster).
Overall, both were really good and we developed useful skills.
The most important thing that we have learnt is that learning
more than one language is beneficial for anyone”. Aisha
Jazab, 9H
“The award ceremony made me realise that you can speak any
language you just need confidence in yourself”. Kainaat
Hasan, 9E
Miss N Akhtar
Teacher of Languages
7
Year 9 SOAS Urdu Programme - Urdu Immersion
On Tuesday 9th June – Thursday 11th June, ten Year 9
students took part in the Urdu Immersion Programme
at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in
Russell Square.
The programme consisted of language classes and
sessions exploring Urdu in Literature and History and
Music. The girls took part in group projects with
students from other schools and prepared fantastic
presentations on famous poets and singers such as
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Alamma Iqbal, Faiz Ahmed
Faiz. The presentations were judged by teachers and
the winning group received a prize for their fluency of
Urdu, content, interaction, facial expressions and
knowledge of their given topic.
Participants also received information about studying
languages at university as well as about other
language qualifications. They worked with SOAS
student ambassadors throughout the three days, and
learnt more about higher education.
“I enjoyed the SOAS trip because I got to know more
about famous poets like Galib and his poetry. Also,
seeing Dr. David Lunn speaking fluent Urdu inspired
me to learn and do GCSE Urdu. If he can achieve it, so can we. It was an excellent way to meet new
people.”. Neha Ilyas, 9H
“I liked the SOAS trip because I didn’t know anything about Urdu poetry but when I went there I learned
more about it and who wrote it.” . Kainaat Hasan, 9E
As well as raising the students’ motivation to take GCSE Urdu, the programme also provided the
opportunity for them to improve their Urdu language skills, particularly their written skills. It also gave
these students the opportunity to experience the university environment and to raise the profile of world
languages in general.
Miss N Akhtar
Teacher of Languages
8
EAL Westminster Abbey/Big Ben Visit
On 10th June we went on a trip to Central London, organised by
the EAL Department. First we took the tube from East Ham
Station to Victoria Station.
In the morning we went to
Westminster Cathedral, where we took some pictures. After
taking the photos we went to Westminster Abbey and then to the
Houses of Parliament. Next to the Houses of Parliament there is
Big Ben. Then we went for the most exciting part of the trip - the
boat journey. It was fantastic! Our boat journey started at
12.20pm and finished at 13.20pm. Some people ate their lunch
on the boat. From the boat we could see Big Ben, London Eye, Tower Bridge and many other
monuments. Then we went to Greenwich Park. We also went to a Museum where there were many
paintings; in this place the famous people have banquets. After that we went to the Maritime Museum
where we met a Bengali ship captain. He talked to us about his life and how he became a captain. He has
been a captain for seven years, and every year in a different ship. He also talked to us about how Queen
Victoria learnt Urdu! Sadly, that was our last activity and we had to go back to school. I enjoyed this trip
very much because it was an opportunity to meet new people, make new friends and to learn in a
different way. Tasifun Maruf 9G
On 10th June we went to visit Central London. We were fourteen in total including Ms Hampton and Mr
Gill. We left school after registration and took the train from East Ham Station to Victoria Station and
made our way to Westminster Cathedral. Westminster Cathedral which was very beautiful. We took some
photographs outside the Cathedral and then walked towards Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. We
had a little break in front of the Houses of Parliament. Afterwards we walked past Big Ben to
Westminster Bridge. From there we could see the River Thames and the London Eye.
London is very beautiful and I enjoyed this trip a lot. The Maritime Museum, the Painted Hall and
Westminster Cathedral were amazing. Shima Mohammed 7L
Year 9 Goals and Aspirations Workshop, Canary Wharf
On Wednesday 10th June, we had the opportunity, as part of our association
with the East London Business Alliance (ELBA), to take fifteen students to
participate in a ‘Goals and Aspirations Workshop’ which was to be hosted by
the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) at their Canary Wharf offices.
The workshop was designed for young people who are currently in secondary
school and it aims to raise aspirations and encourage students to set goals for
their future.
We travelled to Canary Wharf, we were in awe of the magnificent buildings and architecture. We arrived
at the FCA, got our security badges and went up to a conference room.
The workshops were very interactive and consisted of a
number of short exercises designed to encourage our
students to think about the different routes to achieving
their aspirations, using real-life examples of people who
have overcome a barrier to achieve their aspirations.
Whilst there, we met a number of FCA staff, who gave us
a bit of information about what they do and their pathway
to that particular pathway.
We left feeling very inspired, and all of the students had a
bit of ‘thoughtful time’ on the way back to school to think
about what barriers they may have in their learning, and how they can overcome them.
Ms Frankie Clark
Head of Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance, Work Experience and SEN Teacher
9
Sporting Events
Cricket
Well done to all the girls who played Stratford in a Cricket Fixture Tuesday 9th June 2015
Results
Year 7 and 8 Team
Year 9 and 10 Team
Yr7/8 Stratford won 237 – 206
Yr 9/10 Plashet won 223 – 205
Nawal Rasool 7L
Tayyibah Rashid 7L
Jashandeep Bassi 7L
Aisha Zahid 7L
Mariam Malik 7L
Arundhathi Roy 7L
Hasna Ilyas 8T
Zurerah Khan8
Arundhati Roy 7L
Jashandeep 7L
Aisha 7L
Hasna Ilyas 8T
Zunerah Khan 8T
Suhailah Sagir 9P
9A
Neha Anjum 10H
Dance
Massive well done to Maya Badal, Anisha Islam and Zara Sajid 9N, the Year 9 dancers who finished 17th
out of 232 teams for the step in to dance competition.
Well done to the Year 7 and Year 8 dance group who completed a six week course with an international
break dancer.
Taekwondo
Congratulations to Arundhati Roy in 7L who competed in the Nottingham Taekwondo Open competition
for her club. Many athletes from around the world participated in the two day event. Arundhati won a
bronze medal. She is now working towards her next competition and competing for a position for the
Great Britain Team.
Sports Day
On 12th June 2015, our Annual Sports Day was held at the MacMillan Stadium, where students
participated in competitions against each other in their year group. The competitions consisted of relay,
javelin, shot put, sprinting, long-distance and fun races.
At the beginning of the day, we were entertained by dancers and cheerleaders comprised of students
from different year groups who worked hard to perform. The choreographers for these amazing
sequences were Ms Killick, Ms Lewis and Ms Adjaye.
The first event of the day was long distance running 600m and 800m followed by sprinting 100m and
200m. Throughout the race, the competitors were determined to win the race no matter how exhausted
they were, leaving students and spectators from each class cheering with delight. It was a very close
competition.
The next event of the day was long jump. During the long jump, students were cheering, screaming and
shouting for their form’s competitor making it impossible to comprehend the loudspeaker announcement
of the overall winners.
10
Sports Events cont’d
After the long jump event was the shot put and javelin competition running simultaneously together. Later
on in the day was the relay competition. Each relay team from every from class were made up of four
students. Students were waving banners and cheering for their classmates. It was a spectacular relay
competition.
The fun races took place soon after, adding a fun and exciting element to Sports Day. The whooping and
the cheering of students slowly died down as Ms Harrison stepped forward to announce the winning form
classes. Everyone was silent and impatient to hear the winning form classes.
Congratulations to the victorious form classes that won Sports Day 2015. Well done to everybody who
participated thank you to the teachers that helped to make it the best Sports Day possible.
Sumaiyah Patel 7L
Results
Year 7
H
Year 8
E
Year 9
S AND E
Year 10
N
Overall Winners
FORM H
Ms R Humphreys
PE Teacher
11
Sports Events cont’d
Plashet Sports Day overall Record Holders 2015
YEAR 7
YEAR 8
YEAR 9
YEAR 10
100m
Sameera Patel 7P
15.81Sec
Fatima Tobbas
8E 15.19Sec
Safa Iftikar 9E
15.8Sec
Zoe Lucala 10L
15.93Sec
200m
Shhobana
Satchithanahthan
7N 34.85Sec
Hansah Waseem
8E 30.78Sec
Awa Seck 9A
33.81Sec
Zariya Abouker 10G
35.95Sec
600m
Sukaya Sultana 7H
2.36.30Mins
Moomna Qamal
8H 2.30.13Mins
Ragavi
Yuthayarajah 9A
3.26.19Mins
Victoria Budryte 10E
3.38.31Mins
800m
Long
jump
Jasmen Kaur 7N
3.21m
Ibukun
Aladejuygbe 8E
3.29m
Bushra Patel 9N
3.38M
Hafeza Hoque 10N
3.28m
Shot
put
Farjar Saeed 7H
10.20m
Sumaya Shafiq
8P 5.40m
Nida Kafiq 9E
7.00m
Husna Waseem
10S6.62m
Javelin
Jareesha Satheesh
7H 11.25m
Aliya Raza 8A
13.35
Zeeniya Ilyas 9L
14.10
Suada Adnan 10 P
11.55m
Relay
7P 1.08.59Mins
8E 1.09.56Mins
9E 1.07.84Mins
10H 1.10.44Mins
12
Sports Events cont’d
Ms R Humphreys
PE Teacher
13
Science and Technology Challenge
On Monday 15th June, selected Plashet students participated in a Science and Technology challenge at
Kings College, South London. This trip was organised by Ms S Taninki, our Science Teacher.
Our challenges were sets of activities such
as E-fit, Robots, Vehicles and Paper Bridge.
We were split into groups and were mixed
with different schools that also participated
in the challenge.
The first challenge was the E-fit challenge
where we had to recreate a University
member’s face by memory on to a
computer. We completed this challenge
because it would be important for a person
(who wishes to go into law) to use this
method in investigations.
After that was the Paper Bridge challenge, in
which we had to build a bridge by using the
materials provided to us. The materials consisted of Paper, Nuts, Bolts, Tape and String. Once the bridge
was made, weights were put on them to see how strong the bridges were. The second winning team’s
bridge was a pile of paper.
The next challenge we part took in was the Robot challenge. In this we programmed instructions to
robots that were built out of Lego. The robots were
already built for us. We could instruct our robot to
display messages, sense colours, move in a certain
way, make animal noises, and play tunes.
Our next task was to make the robot move so that it
crossed as many of the yellow crosses while avoiding
junk yard areas on the map and doing something
fancy like making animal noises when it passed over
a red square on a map.
The last challenge was Vehicles where we created a
prototype car using plastic connectors, a battery, a motor, tiny wheels and little straws. To win the
challenge we had to build a car that would go in the fastest time it could and cross the finish line. The
cars were very hard to build.
We also saw how doctors are now building many
types of Soft Robots to treat patients in hard to
reach areas.
Overall, it was an educational and fun experience
for all of us and we would like to thank the
teachers who gave us an opportunity to take
part in this wonderful trip.
Sentou Timbo and Saba Akbar 9L
`It was an interesting experience working with
students from other schools and being able to
construct a bridge, robot and car.`
Zaynab Sharif 9T
`I learnt how to work as part of a team`.
Muna Abdulrahman 9T
14
Famous Poets Visit Year 8
On Tuesday 2nd June, Year 8 were lucky enough
to be visited by THREE fantastic poets: Paul
Lyalls (Roald Dahl Museum Poet in Residence),
Michael Vidon (2010 Parisian Poetry Slam
Champion) and Laurie Bolger (festival regular
and star of BBC1 Xtra). After a fantastic
assembly, during which a diverse range of styles
and approaches were demonstrated, each poet
led a workshop for mixed groups of pupils.
Finally, we gathered back together in the hall for
a plenary, in which a selection of students read
their wonderful work.
I hope the girls have benefited from exposure to
a range of performance and writing techniques,
and that many will carry this inspiration through
to different areas of their lives.
I Cannot Change Yesterday, But I Can Change Today
Year 9 have just started looking at A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. I recently worked with 9S,
exploring some of the ways in which the themes in the book relate to their own life experiences. In the
light of Scrooge’s transformation throughout the story, I asked students to think of ways in which they
themselves have altered or changed throughout their lives, using this as the basis for some fantastic
poetry. Below is a wonderful poem written by Varsha, in 9S.
Poem by Varsha Uthayachandran (9S)
I used to sit on the rusty old bench by the fences,
Watching black silhouettes gossiping, fighting,
screaming and sulking.
Their wicked laughter makes my soul burn,
everything around me was nothing
other than darkness.
I didn’t understand what friends meant.
I would sit on the same old rusty bench,
even through snowy days.
Emotionless.
But then I saw a tiny ray of light.
It was not as bright as the sun,
but bright enough for a moth
to fly into it.
The emotionless hollow corpse that I was
was fascinated by this ray.
I ran to this light, and as I reached for it
it pulled me closer and enveloped me
in its warmth.
Then, I saw a figure at the end
and she held her hand out
towards me.
Joshua Seigal
Poet in Residence
15
Library News
Carnegie Celebration
The Carnegie Medal is an award that is annually given to authors of children’s/young adult books. At
Plashet School we take part in shadowing the award, and on Monday 15th June a celebration was held for
students that were involved in Carnegie Club (which was run by Mrs Clifford-Smith on Thursdays at
lunchtimes). As part of Carnegie Club, those that were involved had to read the books that were
shortlisted and then post a review on the Carnegie shadowing website.
The book that was most popular within Carnegie Club was Apple and Rain which was written by Sarah
Crossan – who isn’t new to the award and was nominated for The Weight of Water in 2013. However the
actual winner of the Carnegie Medal was not announced until Monday 22nd June.
By Samiyah Lunat 9T
The Carnegie judges chose Buffalo Soldier by Tanya Landman as this
year’s winning book. It tells the story of Charley, a black girl born into
slavery in the southern USA. When slavery is abolished, she disguises
herself as a boy and joins the US army. This is what Humairah Ahmed of
9S thought of it:
“As someone who loves history, I felt Buffalo Soldier was a beautiful novel
correctly portraying the true facts of slavery with a touching storyline. I
admire the main character a lot and feel she definitely made the story a
heart-breaking but memorable one. Buffalo Soldier gives an honest idea of
discrimination and suffering and although it was a bit slow at first, I really
enjoyed it.”
Our reviews of the shortlisted books can be read on our page of the
Carnegie shadowing website. Visit www.ckg.org.uk/shadowingsite/
reading_groups.php and search for Plashet!
Ms A Clifford-Smith
Librarian
16