As the elected 'Communications Captains' we have been...

As the elected 'Communications Captains' we have been working

closely with Mandela House to produce this publication; a

magazine written by the students, for the students. It’s been a

tough job to re-haul the old school mag but after weeks of stress

and bossing people about, the first edition (and more importantly

– Christmas!) is finally here. As it’s the first edition, don’t be too

hard on us. We know it’s not perfect yet but with the help of

some really great graphic designers, skilled writers and creative

minds, we hope we’ve come up with a magazine about the

school that you'll all enjoy reading. Although it's been hard, we've

loved (nearly) every minute of it and we hope to produce many

more (new and improved) issues before the time comes for us to

hand over the role of Editor next year.

We hope you enjoy reading, what we’ve thoroughly enjoyed

making.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Around The Park 1st Edition December ‘13

Introduction – Page one

Introduction

Link with us on Twitter or Facebook! Just search ‘RPS Around The Park’

MADDIE JOHNSON YEAR 13 EDITOR

Contents

EMILY JEFFERIES YEAR 13 EDITOR

Introduction (pg. 1)

Spotlight on… (pg. 2)

Celebrated Work (pg. 3)

''My opinion on…'' (pg. 4)

''What’s happening in… ?'' (pg. 6)

Free Writing (pg. 7)

The Latest (pg. 11)

Thank you! (pg. 13)

As a form, we have had masses of success this year! Our talented students range from actors, chess players and rugby players - it's safe to say this is a very active form! Our form 'celebrity' is chess champion, Taran Jina! Taran is known for his great triumphs in the mental game of chess and after a lot of hard work he has been nominated for the Worlds school chess championships (wow!). He has also travelled to Prague where he was chosen to be part of England’s U12 team. Along with this Taran was also part of the Herts. U18 team who were crowned champions! He is now qualified to coach beginners at Chess Masters in Harpenden which he does alongside his

training! We also have Harriet Eminins and Cameron Hollet who have both only taken up rugby this year and placed a very respectable 5th place in their rugby tournament this year. Following in the footsteps of Brave's Merida and The Hunger Games' Katniss Everdeen, Carenza Culman has not long joined an archery club and has already won herself 3 trophies in competitions recently! A long term goal has finally been reached by Alex Ogden - after lots of hard work and years of lessons he has achieved his black belt in karate! Nancy Goodchild, our forms finest actor, has got herself a lead role in a play for her village; we are all

very proud and are hoping to go watch. As a collective form we have also achieved quite well this year in terms of house events; helping to gain 1st place in house drama, 2nd place in the Winsor knot tie competition, 3rd in year 9/10 basketball and also 3rd in the year 9 spelling bee! We are also very proud to have had 3 new members choose to join our form, Max Samsa (9KCa), Joe Onyuma (9TWr) and George Moore (9TWr) after losing a few at the end of last year. Miss Baikie on 9LMA: 'A great group of students who often have me laughing... They truly are a fantastic bunch!'

Spotlight on... 9LMA

LMA is a year 9 form shared between Miss Baikie (Languages) and Mrs. Martin (English). We chose this form to be under our first spotlight as our Mandela house leaders (Charlie Ball and Gaby Holt)’’ were keen to take on the task and as a first issue, we thought it would be nice for you to get to know the 'Around the Park' team. Here's a bit more about 9LMA...

'Spotlight on...' – Page two Around The Park 1st Edition December ‘13

Celebrated Work

Celebrated Work – Page three Around The Park 1st Edition December ‘13

Juliet Watkin-Rees and Billy Tolhurst (13MGA)

The newly appointed head girl and head boy have been busy working away behind the scenes. We’d all like to thank them for the wonderful work they have done so far; for being consistently reliable and enthusiastic throughout each and every event they have participated in and helped with.

“Nothing has been as rewarding and special as the work Billy and I have done so far, and I’m so excited for what 2014 will bring to RPS!” – Juliet Watkin-Rees, Head Girl

“I’ve loved it from the very start; the work is incredibly enjoyable as I am able to make a difference alongside my head girl, Juliet.” – Billy Tolhurst, Head Boy

Will Belfield (13CHA) Recommended by Mrs Robbins for an outstanding physics report on mirages – congratulations, Will!

‘’ I only see inferior mirages on long roads or in an open desert and superior mirages over large expanses of water and ice and wondered why this was.

The answer is that an inferior mirage can only occur where there is a large surface area of a material which is particularly good at absorbing heat thus creating the necessary temperature differential between the cool air in the sky and the hot air near the surface. Conversely a superior mirage requires a large expanse of water or snow that does not absorb heat very well, thus creating a temperature inversion.’’

Robert Scott (7PWO) Recommended by Mrs Gupta for a brilliant piece of French writing about his ‘Survival kit’ - congratulations Robert!

Maddie Johnson (13APO) After starting archery in February 2012, Maddie quickly progressed and after many successful competitions, was enrolled in the Archery GB training programme for 2013-14 - seeking talent for international standard. She is currently undergoing 22 hours of training a week and has just made it through the second round of scouting at Lilleshall Sports Academy. A huge well done to our very own ‘Around the Park’ editor; you have done us proud!

Year 13 Wishing the best of luck and congratulations to all the Year 13’s who have succeeded in receiving interviews and of/offers for their chosen universities! Notably:

- Robert Mckenzie – Interviews for Medicine at Leicester and Southampton

- Michael Lacey – Interview for Medicine at Leicester

- Kevin Zu – Interview for Maths and Philosophy at Oxford University

- Amy Jones – Interview for History at Oxford University

Adam Crossland (10MCH)

Recommended by Mrs Robbins for a great piece of work on space travel; keep up the good work, Adam!

‘’ Intergalactic travel could be easy in ~ 4 billion years, as Andromeda will collide into us, and then the entire local group will collapse into the new super galaxy.”

'My opinion on...' – Page four Around The Park 1st Edition December ‘13

'My opinion on... The Scaffolding'

This article is by Seb Stacey, Year 11

These tall towers of steel have had a distinct presence at Roundwood Park for the last four months… and it doesn’t look like they’re leaving soon. Causing displeasing dispute as a result of their aesthetics and tremendous noise, the scaffolding is disrupting each school day like cancelled flights at Heathrow. But still they stand, and many a student questions: what is its purpose? and why the extended stay?

Scaffolding itself is a temporary platform structure that allows workers to perform tasks while raised above the ground. The purpose: to enable workers in applying a waterproofing coating to roofs and fix the buildings. However this time consuming instruction has resulted in the scaffolding becoming a true part of our school. Despite the long term benefits, the current scaffolding situation we find ourselves in gives a dull, dim and deluded impression of Roundwood Park that casts a strong shadow over its true spirit.

My opinion? It cannot be denied that the scaffolding is engulfing the English block, attacking the science department and darkening the school with its ghastly shadows causing sunlight to struggle through classroom windows. In spite of saying this, I do believe that the scaffolding supports the roof development greatly, and work without it would be reduced to a snail’s pace. Great danger and fatalities can often be compelled upon workers if there are hazardous conditions amongst building work. The importance and necessity of scaffolding therefore, cannot be undermined. It’s making the job more safe, more simple and more speedy. The benefits outweigh the burden.


'My opinion on... The Scaffolding'

'My opinion on...' – Page five

To take down or not to take down?

Everyone around school, I’m sure, has seen the hideous scaffolding which surrounds nearly every single block. It’s pretty hard to miss. You can see it; you can hear it; you can complain about it, which is exactly what I am going to do.

It has only been a term, and yet we were all sick of it by the end of Week 1! It’s not just the fact that it looks tacky – oh no! – It really disrupts lessons. Some people would’ve originally thought this was a good thing; don’t have to pay much attention for a few minutes, gives a little chance for you to relax. But, who can relax with, what sounds like, a herd elephants stomping above your head?! I know they’re only a few men wandering ‘round, but they sure don’t sound like it. Now, every time I hear even one little thing coming from the roof, I want to scream “SHUT UP!”

You know what else it disrupting? Having something fly past your English classroom into a skip below. You’re just sitting there trying to analyse the meaning of one of Armitage’s metaphors, and something flies past the window, followed by a resounding thud.

The big question is: When will the scaffolding be gone? When shall our school once again be scaffolding-free? No-one knows. No-one is told. There are rumours, but no-one has had any confirmation from any teacher, because they don’t know either. The entire school is just sitting in lessons dealing with smells and noises and BLEEP-ing!

Some parents at open evening asked about the scaffolding and were quizzing the students about when it’d be taken down. At the beginning of the academic school year, they said it would be down by October half term – I think it’s safe to say they failed. Hopefully, it will be gone by the time we get back after Christmas, but we shall see… we shall see.

This article is by Pippa Newton, Year 10

'What's happening in...?' – Page six Around The Park 1st Edition December ‘13

‘What’s happening in… History?’

Special events:

- KS4 Poland Trip - Selection of yr. 7 Humanities

Student leaders.

7PWO Robert Scott and Ellie Day

7EFI

Owen Peter, Joe Isbill and Glenn Armstrong

7DBZ

Isobelle Mansey, Jess Ross and Tabitha Marsh

7ZHI

Sascha Brown and Justin Cohen

7KRO Emma Ramsey and Alex Malloy

7REL

Hugh Lind, Holly Allwright and Joe Gibbons

Outstanding work:

Yr. 7: “Who should be King?” speeches

Yr. 8: House Elizabeth portrait competition.

Yr. 9: Trench diaries were inspirational.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New year!

This term has been extremely busy for the department and lots of exciting work has been going on in lessons.

The year 7, 8 and 9 have been busy working on extended projects and the quality of work produced has been excellent. The year 9 deserve a special mention as their WW1 trench diaries were stunning; with lots of students getting high level 6s and 7s.

The year 11s had a hard start to the year by completing their GCSE controlled assessment and sitting for their mock exams. While the year 10 have been settling into their first year studying History at GCSE level.

KS4 POLAND TRIP

At the end of October the department took a lot of KS4 students to Poland. The students stayed just outside of Krakow and had the opportunity to visit museums and meet survivors of WW2 and the Holocaust. A morning was spent at Auschwitz Birkenau and then at Wieliczka salt mines.

“This trip was definitely the best trip I have been on. It was really interesting and although emotional, I had some of my best memories there. Auschwitz was definitely the most influential experience of my life”. Lily Porter yr. 10.

Free Writing – Page seven

Free Writing

Are you a budding writer? Do you want your own articles to be featured? Tweet , Facebook or email us: ‘RPS Around The Park’ [email protected] [email protected]


Forgotten Traditions of Christmas Christmas is one of the best, but busiest, times of year. There’s shopping, decorating, baking and tidying to do, as well as all the cooking on the day. Some people can remember all they have to do in their head, others like to make lists, but with all of the current, popular traditions of turkeys, stockings, Christmas pudding and Christmas trees, have we forgotten any from the past? Christmas Ghost Stories During the 1800’s, a popular thing to do on Christmas Eve was to tell ghost stories, the most famous being A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. It is thought that the ghost story tradition originated from the celebration of the winter solstice, or Yule. The shortest day of the year was associated with the "death of the sun" and its "rebirth." St Thomas’ Day Monday, 21st December, marks the traditional feast day of St Thomas, which originated in the 16th century, declining in the 19th. On St Thomas’ day, the poor people of a village would visit those who were better off to ask for food or provisions to help through the winter months. This was known as ‘’thomasing’’, or “gooding.” The twelve days before Christmas Originally, the Christmas tree would only be put up 12 days before. Nowadays, many families put them up as early as December 1st. They would also be put down 12 days after Christmas on January 5th. Fading out now: Many traditions we used to enjoy are now disappearing. One of them is Christmas cards. People prefer now to send mass emails or tweets instead of Christmas cards.

Another fading tradition is Christmas shopping. Many people now prefer to buy their presents online instead of go shopping and pick things out as they see them. Personal Traditions Many people still partake in traditions passed on down the generations of their families. These can be what bird appears on the table, when you open the presents, even when you put up the tree. Every family has something unique about their Christmas and create their own traditions. The reason these traditions may have disappeared is due to times changing, or just other new rituals being more interesting and easier to do. And although no one may partake in telling ghost stories or ‘’thomasing’’, we can remember to try and keep either national, or personal, traditions going, whatever they be.

This article is by Emily Setchell, Year 10

Free Writing – Page eight Around The Park 1st Edition December ‘13

50 SHADES OF SCARLET I am not exaggerating when I say that I am extremely easily embarrassed. My friends have begun referring to me as ‘the tomato’ due to the ridiculous shade of red my face turns whenever something I find minimally humiliating happens. It could be anything: from dropping a folder to answering my name in a register. A whole multitude of things can make my cheeks burn. But what is the science behind blushing? When you go red in the face, it’s your sympathetic nervous system pushing all the buttons. This lovely little part of human nature also controls your fight or flight system, which prepares you to punch or sprint your way out of a dangerous situation. So, when you become embarrassed your body involuntarily releases adrenaline. This hormone causes the fight or flight affect: your heart starts beating faster; your digestive system slows down, so all energy can be used for running or punching; and your pupils widen, to let you take in as much visual information as physically possible. You will probably be able to recognise when your digestive system has slowed down from the ‘butterflies’ you feel in your stomach. Next, adrenaline makes your veins dilate. This is so that your blood can flow faster through your body to get to your muscles and keep you running or punching.

Unfortunately, a chemical transmitter called adenylyl cyclase sends this signal to the blood vessels in your face, which makes them dilate too. This increases blood flow to your face, resulting in a pair of hot scarlet cheeks on your humiliated little kisser. Aside from the science part, blushing is unique from person to person. Some blush easily and frequently; some may have never experienced mortification enough to set off their sympathetic nervous system. Psychologists still aren’t too sure about why we humans get so embarrassed, and there are no simple cures for this flaw in Homosapien biology. Believe me, many a time have I Googled ‘how to stop yourself from blushing’ without finding a helpful answer. However, a surgical remedy for this painful experience was discovered for all us sufferers of Erythrophobia (fear of blushing), called endothoracic sympathectomy. This procedure involves slicing a couple of veins around the spine and has been proven to reduce the redness of faces all over the world. It turns out that if you are an Erythrophobiac you might qualify for an operation free on the NHS. I am seriously considering applying. So next time your face glows like a tangle of crimson fairy lights, blame your sympathetic nervous system: it’s all you can do.

This article is by Mia Saunders, Year 10

Free Writing – Page nine Around The Park 1st Edition December ‘13

British Traits 1. Talking about the weather 2. Great at queuing 3. Sarcasm 4. Watching soaps 5. Getting drunk 6. A love of bargains 7. A love of curtain twitching 8. Stiff upper lip 9. Love of all television 10. Moaning 11. Obsession with class 12. Gossiping with neighbours over the garden fence 13. Obsession with the traffic 14. Enjoying other people's misfortune 15. Inability to complain 16. Love of cheap foreign holidays 17. Working long hours 18. A soothing cup of tea to ease worries 19. Eating meat and two veg 20. Looking uncomfortable on the dance floor 21. Feeling uncomfortable when people talk about their emotions 22. Clever sense of humour

This Article is by Delphine Stringer, Year 10

23. Obsession with property values 24. Pandering to political correctness 25. Road rage 26. Being unhappy with our weight 27. Wanting a good tan 28. Being proud of where we live 29. Not saying what we mean 30. The ability to laugh at ourselves 31. Washing the car on a Sunday 32. Taking the mickey out of others 33. Asking people about their journey 34. Inability not to comment on how other people bring up their children 35. Jealousy of wealth and success 36. Being overly polite 37. Texting instead of calling 38. An inability to express our emotions 39. Obsession with the Royal Family

40. Fondness for mowing the lawn 41. Love of rambling through the countryside 42. A love of all things deep fried 43. Emulating celebrity lifestyles 44. Leaving things to the last minute 45. Irony 46. Keeping our homes neat and tidy 47. Take decisions and accept the consequences 48. Achieving against all odds 49. Wanting our sportsmen / teams to fail 50. DIY on a Bank Holiday


Free Writing – Page ten

British Traits continued

What is it with the British and never wanting to move on and throw objects away from the past. All we can think is… HOARDER ALERT! We end up with draws, cupboards, wardrobes and even rooms full of things we have collected, but we never actually use. What is the point, we ask ourselves? Some say it is because it has sentimental value, others simply do it for the sake of it. Fish and Chips, Bangers and Mash, Chip Butty. The list of well-known British meals goes on and on. But you probably didn’t know is, the national dish of Britain is actually…curry. The most eaten dish in Britain, isn’t even British. Couldn’t be original, could we? We always forget that holiday gift for a loved one. Don’t lie, we’ve all done it! This is where duty free comes in… the race against time for that last minute shopping. It seems that the owners of duty free think that a great gift is perfume, sweets and more perfume. They should sell gifts that actually relate to their country, like a souvenir, don’t you think? But all the Brits care about is getting expensive gifts at those amazing knock-down prices. Brits are so polite that they simply never want to complain about their food, even if they have the urge. If something is wrong, then why don’t we ever just say so.

Instead we sit back and eat a meal which we don’t necessarily enjoy, just because we want to be kind to the restaurant and we can’t stand the thought of someone knowing that we complained. This is definitely not the right thing to do, if something is too cold, too hot, under or overcooked, JUST SAY SO! START COMPLAINING, you know you want to! Don’t we just love it when we succeed and others fail, the Brits have such a love of enjoying other people’s misfortune. On the outside we show pity towards a friend if they are unfortunate, but on the inside we celebrate the fact that they didn’t get what they wanted. This is all because Brits get jealous of anything and everything, whether it’s over money, clothes, property or jobs, we just can’t stand seeing others' wealth.

The Latest – Page eleven

The Latest


The year started by welcoming year 7 and electing the new house leaders who will shape the decisions made for their house this year. Some year 12’s also changed allegiance making forms a unified house and creating a competitive spirit in the upper school demonstrated clearly in the range of enrichment activities that have been taking place on a Wednesday afternoon. Miss Way kicked off the year by co-ordinating a leadership training day on the 24th October that involved KS3 and year 10 house leaders. The opportunity for year 9 to work with Mike Mullin, ex BMX World Champion to set goals and plan for the year was a real highlight of the day. A concept that came from this day was a termly House leader’s award; recognition for students who go above and beyond what is expected to make the house system a thing of beauty. Congratulations to this terms winners; Gold: Emily Featherstone – Mandela house Silver: Pippa Newton – Frank house Bronze: Jemma Hodgson – Wilberforce house

Results from this term: 1st – Cadbury (143 pts) 2nd – Scott/Grey-Thompson (136 pts) 3rd – Mandela (131 pts) 4th – Wilberforce (123 pts) 5th – Owens (120 pts) 6th – Frank (113 pts) Upcoming house assemblies Tues 14th Jan - Cadbury Wed 15th Jan - Wilberforce Thurs 16th Jan - Frank Mon 20th Jan - Owens Wed 22nd Jan - Mandela Thurs 23rd Jan - Scott Fri 24th Jan – Grey-Thompson Events next term Year 7: Speed stacking, Joan of Arc movie trailer, Sudoku challenge, Dragons den, Jr maths challenge, Year 8: Portrait competition, cheerleading, Horrible history, Super league, Year 9: Touch typing, Football, trampolining, science quiz KS4: Rowing, STEM challenge, Badminton, Ready, Steady, Cook, rugby, Basketball, KS5: Maths challenge, attendance, SLG elections

3rd year of the House System starts with a bang!

Charity, as always, has played a big part in the house system this term. Each house has elected charities that they are supporting this year with some amazingly powerful personal stories. Mandela kicked off this year’s 1st charity week, rising over £1000 and awareness for COSMIC & GOSH. COSMIC, the children’s charity that helped Mrs Allum’s little boy when he was unwell, tweeted RPS as the Friday Fundraiser and an “amazing school”. However, clearly the Bucking- Bronco was the highlight of the week and a sign of the things to come with Miss Plowman as the new Head of House, replacing the excellent Mr Wright. It would be inappropriate to write about this terms house news without mentioning the sad passing of Nelson Mandela. The outpouring of grief worldwide has shown that this “Giant of History” has left a legacy to inspire others to fight inequality, poverty and discrimination and was an excellent choice of house name. I am sure with further planning our students will mark Nelson Mandela’s passing and continue to use him as a role model and inspirational figure. "Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again." Nelson Mandela


The Latest – Page twelve

Scott cleaned up in this term’s spelling bees winning the year 8 & 9 competition as well as the senior maths challenge, the attendance points and year 7 netball. House music was launched with much excitement and is the brain child and legacy of Felix, Luke, Harry and Elia in Scott. The performances on Monday 10th March are sure to be a thing of beauty with each house performing with a choir piece and a musical piece. Good luck to all involved, but especially out year 12 AS music students acting as conductors.

Frank House went “Groovy Baby” in November to support Cancer Research UK & Noah’s Arc Children’s Hospice. Mr Sabato dressed up in retro chic and Mr Pettengell raised the most money in soak the teacher – no idea why! The feeling around the school was one of a 1960s Woodstock festival and the students came out winners in the FIFA tournament. Frank leaders have been busy; they visited Turnford School to talk to them about Aspire Learning habits in November and then feedback to staff some new ideas. With a focus for learning KS3 Frank leaders have started to develop ideas to showcase the Aspire learning habits so watch this space! 7REl look like the house to beat in year 7 with the boys winning house table tennis and the girls finishing 2nd. A strong performance in the Chinese number maths competition and the 1st terms attendance show why Frank have won the Hart House cup for the last 2 years and should not be underestimated.

Owens House is supporting GOSH and STEM4, a charity that helps deal with teenage mental health issues. Their focus is about recognising, dealing with and supporting friends, families and teenage victims of depression, self-harm, addiction, and suicide. The homemade snowflakes that covered the school offering words of encouragement and inspiration and making the school smile in the run up to Christmas was a lovely touch.

Imogen Bremner and Archie Cattell produced amazing efforts in the tech logo competition to secure 10 valuable points for Team GT. Mr Holbrook, the new GT Head of house, started his first assembly with “Things can only get better” and looking at results is seems this message just may have galvanised the mighty blue. Sadly, despite a bombardment of tweets, it looks like Tanni Grey-Thompson will be unable to visit us in the near future.

Wilberforce charity week supported Leukaemia & Lymphoma research & Grove House Hospice. This house leads the way, forging powerful links with Leukaemia and Lymphoma research. All those who attended the assembly where L&L showed the impact our fund raising is having now proudly wear a pin badge of support. Car washing was the main theme of the week and House Captains Will & Tia only just survived the freezing temperatures in one piece.

Cadbury (& Grace Manley) one again dominated House Drama with performances based on the Revolting Rhymes of Roald Dahl. This competition is always well received by students as the “GEZ CUP” helps keep alive a little of the magic of Mr Gereghty. Cadbury are also cleaning up the points in the staff events winning staff musical chairs (Mr Browell) and the Dinner Lady dress up competition. From the first term it is clear that this could be the house to catch this year. KS3

Thank you and congratulations to all those who participated and supported all the wonderful events that have been carried out so successfully this term!


Thank you!

Thank you – Page thirteen

Emily Jefferies

Maddie Johnson

Mr. Henshall

Miss. Rooney

Mrs. Wilkins

The SLG

Mandela house leaders

Billy Tolhurst

Juliet Watkins-Rees

Miss. Keenor

Miss. Baikie

Mrs. Martin

Mr. Sabato

Emily Featherstone

Callum Wright

Seb Stacey

Mia Saunders

Pippa Newton

Emily Setchell

Delphine Stringer

Charlie Ball

Gaby Holt

We’d like to thank all of the amazing people who helped us create this first edition of ‘Around The Park’. If you would like to get involved, in any way; big or small, please get in touch with Emily Jefferies and Maddie Johnson. Here’s to many more editions!

As the elected 'Communications Captains' we have been...

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