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Transcript of Blackheath High School Magazine
HIGHLIGHTSSpring Term 2011
SPRINGING INTO A SPORTY SUMMER
GIRLS EXCELLING IN ENGLISH
AND MATHS
SPECTACULAR SPRING
PRODUCTIONS
Sports round up including our successes across the year groups
Debating Team’s success at ESU
Audiences wowed by Senior and Junior Spring
Performances
2 Blackheath High School Spring 2011
welcome
I hope that you enjoy our new magazine. This is a new venture
for us and we will be pleased to receive your feedback.
We have decided to move from our annual magazine to a shorter
version that you will be sent on a termly basis. We are hoping that
you will find this more interesting and relevant as it will contain
more recent news and information from both Junior and Senior
schools. The idea is to include stories/reports that highlight key events in more detail
than can be covered in our weekly Newsletter.
The Spring Term was so busy that we had difficulty selecting the content; inevitably
we couldn’t include all that we would have wished to but hope that it provides a good
overview of what was a very productive term.
So please let us know what you like/don’t like and wish had been
included and we shall take your suggestions on board for the
Summer Term edition.
With best wishes
Headteacher
Welcome
Spring 2011 Blackheath High School 3
FUNDRAISING
he whole school
entered into the spirit
of things on Red Nose
Day and metaphorically
painted the school red,
raising, with your generosity, a very
impressive £1800. Our warm hearted girls
organised and participated in many events
throughout the day and also continued the
fundraising at the school ‘s Easter Fair.
The junior girls donned creative, wacky
outfi ts, complemented by red hair styles
and make up and of course accessorised
with that famous red nose!
Martha Nash, Hannah Goode and Connie
Kovats went the extra mile by selling ra� e
tickets in classrooms and the lucky winner
of the enormous banana prize was Leah
Anderson, 3IM.
The fun continued at
Seniors where the day
began with an assembly
from Charity Prefect
Rouchelle Ross, who
reminded everyone of
the importance of Comic
Relief and how the money raised is used.
Our generous girls thought of many ways
to raise money for the charity, from cake
sales to sponsored swims. Louise Wright Y7
not only took part in a sponsored bike ride,
but also made bookmarks, key chains and
masks, adding £100 to the total raised.
Sta� karaoke was another highlight,
with teachers singing and dancing to
their favourite songs in front of a giggling
audience of pupils: bravest of them all
was Mrs Lardner, who rapped Chipmunk’s
‘Look for me’.
Prior to Red Nose Day, three Senior
girls were lucky to have the opportunity
to visit Comic Relief’s headquarters,
where they learnt that ‘giving to charity
can be fun and rewarding’ after a media
assistant explained the
inner workings of the
huge media event that is
Red Nose Day and how
the media machine can
infl uence TV viewers’
feelings in order to
increase donations.
FUNDRAISING Comic Relief Day
O
4 Blackheath High School Spring 2011
NURSERY
ur three nursery classes all enjoyed
lovely days out at the London
Aquarium in March.
We travelled by train from Blackheath
to Waterloo East and there was lots of excitement as
we saw many interesting places on the way; we then
counted lots of steps at each station! Our topic this term
has been on the theme of ‘water’ so it was great for the
girls to experience underwater life fi rst hand rather than
from books and fi lms.
They enthusiastically commented on the sealifes’
beautiful patterns, colours and shapes and really enjoyed
touching starfi sh and crabs as well as having their nails
cleaned by the cleaner shrimps. The girls then took
inspiration from the fascinating things they had seen
during the trip to produce beautiful works of art for
the annual Art Exhibition. The nursery sta were very
grateful for the wonderful parents who came with us to
make the trip possible.
NURSERY London Aquarium
“I enjoyed it when I saw the sharks.” “I loved
seeing Nemo.”
“I loved seeing the Dory
fi sh, it looked like a big
circle.”
“I liked the cleaner shrimps, they cleaned my
fi nger nails, it was tickly.”
A
Spring 2011 Blackheath High School 5
JUNIOR DRAMA
fter weeks of hard work, the Year 3
and 4 Production of ‘What a Knight’
was performed to an audience of
impressed parents and friends on Wednesday
30th March.
From the moment they read through the script, the
girls knew they were going to love performing the
Play and approached the planning with enthusiasm
and excitement.
The funny and action-packed script (with catchy
tunes that we are still singing), was set in Camelot Castle
on the day of King Arthur’s
birthday. When young squire
Watt Cobblers is expelled from
Knight School, he reluctantly
becomes Merlin’s new
apprentice. Trouble is never far
away and soon Camelot Castle
collapses into chaos; Merlin
loses Excalibur, King Arthur’s
daughters are kidnapped by
the evil Black Knight and the
brave knights of Camelot have
been turned into chickens!
Watt and his new found friends
Dusty Dragon and the feisty
Princess Alice set o� on the biggest quest of
their lives and, of course, nothing ever
goes to plan!
Despite the nerves of having to perform to
such a big audience, the play went brilliantly.
Many of the girls commented on how proud
they were of each other and how exciting it
had been to be part of the production. Well
done girls, defi nitely a night to remember!
JUNIOR DRAMA A knight to remember!
6 Blackheath High School Spring 2011
Senior drama
or the seven years that I’ve
taught at Blackheath High
girls have always asked me to
produce a production of the
ever-popular “Grease”. Eventually
this year I gave in and, together with our Music
Department, we put on the biggest musical to
date. Just over 100 girls were involved in the
production, acting, singing or dancing; or all
three! The show included a band comprising
even more of our talented girls and yet more
putting their technical skills into practice. The
scale of the production was huge and the end
result was really impressive, with girls giving their
all to such well-known numbers as “Summer
Lovin’”, “Greased Lightin’” and “We Go Together”.
Perhaps the show-stealer was the Drive-In
Movie film that was made for the performance
featuring the company in a spoof 1950s horror
film. However, there was something for
everybody in this production which thrilled us
with a combination of accomplished acting
from characterful parts; wonderful dancing, with
original choreography; and a great Rock and Roll
band. The seven year wait was well worth it!
Senior Drama GREASE
F
Spring 2011 Blackheath High School 7
Senior drama
Senior Drama GREASE The scale of the
production was huge and the end result was really
impressive
I
8 Blackheath High School Spring 2011
Maths
t has been a busy
mathematical term
at both Junior
and Senior schools . At the
beginning of term, the
girls from Year 6 joined
girls from Year 7 and Year
12 as well as other Year 6
children from local primary
schools for the “Morning of
Maths” at Vanbrugh Park. The
morning consisted of four rounds
of puzzles, problems and games,
stretching the children and encouraging
all of them to participate. This fantastic event
not only challenged the girls to use their skills, from
number to shape and space, but also gave them the
opportunity to be part of a team with people they had
only just met. Once the activities got going the children
worked together to great effect, discussing problems
and finding solutions with ideas and strategies going
back and forth. The whole event was a great success
with our partner schools taking away a pack of resources
to use at their own schools.
Girls in years 10 and 11 entered the
Intermediate Maths Challenge, which
is a multiple choice style puzzle
sheet with 25 very challenging
questions. Lucia Whapham
achieved a Gold certificate and
seventeen other girls achieved
Silver and Bronze certificates
– well done!
Whilst at Juniors, Year 5 and
6 pupils have been involved in the
Jaguar Cars Maths in Motion national
competition. Girls have been using different
mathematical and scientific theories and concepts
to engineer virtual F1 cars and the contest in class, to
reach the top step of the podium, has been intense
to say the least. The project has proved to be a very
engaging way of bringing real life maths into the
classroom and already there have been requests for
another race to be held. Mr. Collinson has been running
F1 Club as part of the project and a team from Year 5
won their regional final to book the school a place in the
national semi-finals. Demand is
such that a second F1 Club will be
starting in the Summer Term and
we look forward to more success
in the future!
Year 6 have been taking
inspiration from Dutch artist Piet
Mondrian to help them transfer 2D
patterns on to 3D shapes. Their
efforts created an eye-catching
display based on his abstract
geometric work.
Mrs Parnum
has been running
a popular and
successful weekly
club for Senior
girls in Years 8
and 9, solving
complex problems
in preparation for
MathsMaking learning fun with inspiring and creative teaching!
“Overall, I enjoyed the F1
Challenge for the team work
and the very well designed and
organised website. I enjoyed
the adjustments to make sure
that our car would get round
a whole practice lap. “ Théa
Sabattier 5BD
“I really
enjoyed the mathematical
aspects of the F1 challenge,
particularly experimenting
and trying out workshop
adjustments” Nadia
Cooper 5BD
Spring 2011 Blackheath High School 9
MATHS
Maths
entering a team of two Year 8 and two Year 9 girls for
the UKMT Team Challenge, hosted at Trinity School in
Croydon. This is a national whole day event which is
held annually. The competition combines mathematical,
communication and teamwork skills and o� ers pupils
another way to express and develop their enjoyment of
Mathematics. The girls had a very enjoyable day and Mrs
Parnum was proud of their performance.
These are just some of the activities that our teachers
are using to make learning of maths fun and exciting.
10 Blackheath High School Spring 2011
Junior english
n 27th January 2011 girls from
Year 2-6 competed in the annual
Fledgling Competition. Each
pupil wrote her own poem then,
in groups, the girls learned a
poem written by a well known poet.
They practised both their individual and group poems;
dramatising them and making sure their voices were
audible and clear. Two girls from each class were chosen
to go through to perform on stage in the individual
competition and one group from each class in the group
competition. A group in 4TS won the group competition
for performing ‘The Ssssnake Hotel’ by Brian Moses, and
Georgina Elliott, in 6ZP, won the individual competition
for writing her own poem, ‘The Dark Night’, which the
judges thought had beautiful description. The afternoon
was a huge success and it encouraged and inspired the
girls to read and write more poetry.
Able Writers’ Workshops
On 18th November 2010 and 11th February 2011, we
hosted an ‘Able Writers’ Workshop for 34 Gifted and
Talented writers in Year 5 and 6 (28 pupils from 7 local
schools and 6 pupils from BHS). For the first workshop,
Chrissie Gittins, a poet, came into school to teach the
children about different styles of poetry and she used
one of her poems as a basis for the children to write
their own poem. The second workshop, Rob Parkinson,
a writer and storyteller came in to teach the same group
of children about effective story writing. He played
numerous instruments and incorporated this into his
wonderful storytelling. He read mythical stories and
used one of his stories as a starting point for the children
to write their own mythical story. The children gained
enormously from both workshops and enjoyed speaking
to and working with like-minded pupils. These were very
successful workshops and we received a lot of great
feedback from the visiting schools; from both children
and teachers.
Junior EnglishThe Fledgling Competition andAble Writers’ Workshops
O
Spring 2011 Blackheath High School 11
Junior english
The afternoon was a huge
success and it encouraged and inspired
the girls to read and write more
poetry.
12 Blackheath High School Spring 2011
SPORT
Senior Sports
T he Spring Term’s sports calendar
was bursting with activities and the
girls braved all weather conditions
in pursuit of sporting success, team
building and having good fun!
Following our ski trip in January, 21 pupils and three
sta� members returned fl ushed with success after a week
in Torgon, Switzerland. Great fun was had both on and
o� the slopes and, thanks to some fantastic instruction,
everyone’s skiing improved by the end of the week.
Three of our wonderful dancers Emma Stanworth,
Connie Smith and Anne-Marie Sewell really wowed
the audience at the GDST Day of Dance with their
impressive, technical solo routines.
Once again, our cross-country runners put in a
Sporting News Round Up - Spring 2011
sterling performance at The London Schools’ Athletics
Association Cross Country Championships. A very
determined Damilola Adewakun, Year 7, bravely found
the strength to fi nish despite injuring herself early in the
race. Super speedy Sabrina Sinha put in another awe-
inspiring performance, running to victory and winning
fi rst place.
Our netball teams are improving steadily, securing
some inspiring wins and talented playing including
Phebe Hughes’ impressive tally of 20 goals scored at the
Kent County Schools’ Netball Competition. Likewise,
our Hockey performances have improved immensely
with notable successes; defeating some of our most
formidable opponents.
Signalling the conclusion of the Spring term sports
programme for Year 8 and 9 pupils were our inter-house
hockey, netball and dance competitions. These provide
a great opportunity for girls to unite with their house
mates and strive for success! Netball was particularly
intense for both year groups, while the creativity
displayed on stage from the Year 8 dancers was truly
impressive. But...there can only be one winner....and
for both Year 8 and 9, Morden won, with Meridian
2nd, Vanbrugh = 3rd and Paragon came in 4th place.
We are looking forward to the Summer Sports
programme and the opportunities it will bring, under
the leadership of our new Director of Sport , Miss
Holland who, as you can read from her feature, has
some fantastic plans to enrich the curriculum and
extra-curricular activities programme to engage,
inspire and motivate our students.
Our netball
teams are improving
steadily, securing
some inspiring wins
and talented
playing
I am delighted to have joined Blackheath High School as Director of Sport, at this exciting time running up to London 2012. The media hype clearly highlights what an integral part sport plays in our society
and therefore, I hope to tap into the spirit of the Olympics and get everybody fully involved albeit on a slightly smaller scale!
The PE department is already well established and highly competent and as a team we are committed to promoting and fostering all that is to be gained from school sport via the curriculum and extra-curricular programme. The emphasis therefore is on maintaining and extending standards and opportunities for students to get involved in sporting activities and perhaps to try something completely new. There are already a few new activities in the pipeline for this Summer Term and beyond, and we shall soon be asking students to sign up their interest on the boards in the PE department and further information will come home via the usual channels of the HIGHlife Newsletter and email so, as they say, ‘watch this space’.
I join BHS from Wilmington Girls’ Grammar School where I was the Head of PE and Progress Manager of Years 10/11 and where I had the opportunity to develop the PE curriculum and extra- curricular opportunities and raise attainment in sport. My sporting background is varied and can be completely accredited to having had a tremendously positive experience through my own school years in both individual and team sports, which has fostered particular passions for outdoor pursuits and all activities aquatic. From this solid beginning I have adopted the philosophy; that every pupil should have the range of opportunity needed to achieve an active and healthy lifestyle, thereby easing the transition from school sport to sport in the community, whether that is pursuing competitive levels of sport and excellence or discovering a possible ‘sport for life.’
Working towards this aim, already it is evident that Blackheath High School offers a strong out of hours programme and has developed key partnerships with local community sports clubs and institutions. I am keen to ensure these links are fully utilised and developed, enabling our students to gain access to specialist coaching. Within the curriculum we have signed up to work towards the accredited athletic awards of the Aviva Sportshall Athletics Programme which underpins the skills needed for our Senior Sports Day, this year.
I look forward to working with you all in the forthcoming months. Naomi Holland [email protected]
MISS HOLLAND
sport
he PE calendar at
the juniors was
very busy over
the spring term
and we enjoyed
varying successes in netball, cross
country, gymnastics and swimming.
Our netballers had some great
success in the interschool netball
competition with some great wins
over several schools including
Breaside, Merton Court and Babington
House. It would be fair to say that the
Under 11 netball team has gone from
strength to strength this term and
this was evident at the GDST Netball
Rally held at Wimbledon High School.
The team of Cicely McFarlane, Laurel
Shaw, Freya Elliott, Alex Biss, Georgina
Elliott, Ellie Branigan, Wemi Oshun
Williams and Shauna Clark Fitzpatrick
made the quarter finals of the Trophy
Competition and finished in a very
respectable 8th position out of 21
other GDST schools. Well done girls!
Our annual inter-house netball
tournament was also a great success,
with all the girls in Years 5 and 6
participating. After some strong
competition, the final was played
between two Morden teams with
Morden retaining the trophy.
At the Lewisham Swimming Gala
in March, several of our swimmers
reached the finals of their events.
Selina Watson came third in the
Breaststroke final and Emelia Hughes
and Lara Atkinson both reached the
finals of the backstroke race. Selina,
Eleanor Maidens, and Olivia Rigby also
represented the school at the GDST
Swimming Gala.
Girls represented the school at the
Farringtons’ Cross Country and the
Merton Court Cross Country Relay
with excellent results. Georgina Elliott
placed second overall in the year 6
girls’ race at the Farringtons’ Cross
Country and our Y6 team of Georgina
Elliott, Ellie Branigan, Sian Palmer Price
and Gracie Holland came third in the
Merton Court Competition.
Year 6 girls travelled to Farringtons
to compete in a gymnastics
tournament this term with great
success. Cicely MacFarlane, Trinity
Western and Priyaanka Madduri
were part of the winning group
performance and Cicely and Phoebe-
Rae Levene both came away with
individual certificates for the Best
Forward Roll.
Well done for a great spring term of
sport! We look forward to rounders,
tennis and sports day this term.
Ms McCutcheon
Junior Sports
T
Sporting News Round Up - Spring 2011
Spring 2011 Blackheath High School 13
14 Blackheath High School Spring 2011
sixth form show
t the start of the academic year,
our Social Prefects began working
on producing another fantastic
Sixth Form show; and based on the
incredibly high standard of past
shows, the girls really did have their work cut out!
Facing the challenge bravely and determinedly, they
began brainstorming ideas and listing all of the different
tasks that would need to be completed at each stage
of the production process; from setting the theme
to casting models, assigning make-up artists and
scheduling meetings with the caretakers and technical
team. The team also designed the programmes and
posters and managed the sale of tickets.
This year’s show involved more people and a
greater range of performances than ever before at
BHS; from the Gospel Choir to incorporating both
dancing and singing.
The girls did a fantastic job and produced a real
spectacle, showcasing the wealth of creative talent we
are so proud to nurture and develop in our pupils.
Sixth Form Show Timeless
A
“After months of countless rehearsals and
stressful meetings, the event turned out to
be an incredible success with over 100 students
involved, raising over £1,300! We were both
relieved and very proud!” Emma KEnny
“It was a real honour to be one of the
main presenters, on what has been a
fantastic show full of unforgettable live acts
and inspiring fashion designs. Working behind
the scenes with the Social Events Prefects
on this exciting event has also involved
producing the programmes and tickets. After
months of preparation, everyone’s hard work
really paid off and created a spectacular to
remember!” yuan ChEn
Spring 2011 Blackheath High School 15
SIXTH FORM SHOW
“The production not only demonstrated the amazing talents that pupils of
Blackheath High have but it also showed me how productive I can be as I was
involved in the whole fashion show from organising rehearsals to working in
the tech studio on the night of the show. None of the Social Prefects have been
involved in previous fashion shows but I think we would all agree that this one
was the most enjoyable show as we watched it grow from what was originally a
terrifyingly challenging nightmare to an amazing show!“
FRANCESCA LAWRENCE
“My role in the Sixth Form Show was to help
prepare all the singers for their performances
as well as performing myself. I found working
with such talented singers really enjoyable and
they all showed such determination to get each
performance perfect. Despite a few sore throats,
headaches and colds threatening the performances,
they all did a wonderful job. It was also real fun
being able to perform myself singing the popular
80s song ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’. As a singer
it was great to be able to perform something so
di� erent to my usual repertoire and the lighting and
e� ects made it all the more fun to perform. It was a
fantastic event enjoyed by everyone.“
REBECCA FALK
I
16 Blackheath High School Spring 2011
LATIN TRIP
n February half term our Classics
Department arranged for 45 Latin students
from Years 7 to 10, accompanied by 5
teachers, to travel to Italy to explore the Roman sites
and volcanic regions of the Bay of Naples, and to
experience a taste of modern Italian culture.
We stayed for four nights in the seaside town of
Sorrento, which provided a convenient and relaxing
base. The town of Pompeii is an important focus for the
girls in their study of Roman life in the Cambridge Latin
Course, so it was to there that we made our way on our
fi rst day. It was easy to get a sense of what was once
a thriving commercial town from the expansive forum,
with its public buildings, the shopping streets, theatres
and amphitheatre, but also the luxury of some of the
homes with their wall paintings and gardens. In contrast,
Latin Trip Sorrento
We stayed for four nights in
the seaside town of Sorrento,
which provided a convenient and
relaxing base.
Spring 2011 Blackheath High School 17
LATIN TRIP
the town of Herculaneum had a much more domestic
and residential feel, with everything on a much smaller
scale. The mosaics and household objects which we
saw in the Naples Archaeological Museum helped to
complete the picture.
Although the focus of the visit was primarily about
how the Romans lived, it was also important to learn
about how the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum were
destroyed and preserved for us. We therefore visited
two volcanoes. We made the majority of the ascent of
Vesuvius by coach, but made the fi nal part on foot to
view the crater and to see Pompeii and modern Naples
lying below. At Solfatara, our guide escorted us across
the crater itself, and demonstrated jets of steam and
bubbling mud.
Our trip was completed by a journey by boat from
Sorrento harbour over to the small island of Capri where,
as well as visiting the shops and enjoying drinks and ice
creams in the square, we made the pretty walk to Villa
Jovis, one of the residences of the Emperor Tiberius on
the island he retreated to for part of his reign.
Everyone came back inspired and re-vitalised by the rich
culture of Italy, ancient and modern.
Everyone came back inspired
and re-vitalised by the rich
culture of Italy, ancient and
modern.
T
18 Blackheath High School Spring 2011
DEBATING SOCIETY
The BHS Debating
Society, comprising 25
girls from across the
Senior school, has enjoyed a very busy
term. The Middle School team has seen
weekly prepared and impromptu debates,
public speaking bouts and mock trials;
some of our girls have faced particularly
fi erce prosecution lawyers in ‘the dock’
but were fortunately supported by a well
prepared defence team! The confi dence,
articulacy, reasoning and improvisational
skills demonstrated this academic year
bode particularly well for future national
competitions, which are open to students
in Years 10-13.
Such preparation served the Senior
Squad well in 2010/11. Having won the
London regional round, Bu� y Eldridge-
Thomas made it to the fi nal of the GDST’s
public speaking Chrystall Prize, putting in a
sterling performance at Northampton High
School. Bu� y enjoyed further success ,
with team-mate Lata Nobes, in the national
English Speaking Union’s Schools Mace
Competition as they won the fi rst round
and progressed to ESU Headquarters in
Mayfair for the regional fi nal where they
put in an admirable performance. However,
this year’s greatest success was in the ESU
Public Speaking Competition where Bu� y
and Lata were joined by Laura Nash to form
a formidable team. Having already seen o�
local rivals Eltham College and Colfe’s in
the fi rst round, they went once more to ESU
Headquarters for the London regional fi nal
beating prestigious schools including City of
London Girls, Latymer and London Oratory
to come second place to King’s College
School. Their performance was outstanding
and one of the judges reported that there
was just one mark that denied us victory.
Not to worry: we’ll be back next year!
Debating Society
Laura Nash Lata NobesBu� y Eldridge-Thomas
Their performance
was outstanding
Spring 2011 Blackheath High School 19
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
Annual Senior School Art ExhibitionWednesday 22nd June, 6:00-9:00pm,
Vanbrugh Park Admission: Free
You are warmly invited to our annual
senior school Art Exhibition; a wonderful
opportunity to view the extremely high
standard of Art and Design work that our
GCSE and A level students produce. Works
on display include: fi lms, photographs,
paintings, drawings, textile pieces and
garments. Guests will be entertained by the
talented Blackheath High School Chamber
Choir whilst enjoying light refreshments.
Summer Music ConcertThursday 7th July, 7:00pm, Chapel of the
Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich
At 7:00pm on Thursday 7th July, a choir
and orchestra of over 180 Blackheath High
School pupils and teachers will perform
a concert in the Chapel of the Old Royal
Naval College, Greenwich. The concert,
given at one of London’s most important
historical venues, will feature Mozart’s
Missa Brevis in B fl at K. 275, alongside his
Symphony No. 6, Dvorak’s Slavonic Dance
No. 1 and ‘Ocean World’, a contemporary
cantata by Peter Rose and Anne Conlon.
Performing Mozart’s well-loved and
challenging work will be a signifi cant
achievement for the young musicians,
many of whom will be in Years 4 to 7. The
experience of participating in such an event
will, I am sure, give all those involved the
sense that all of their dedicated preparation
has been worthwhile. Parents are warmly
invited to attend what promises to be a
memorable occasion.
After the concert, the audience is invited
to enjoy a glass of wine in the Queen Mary
Undercroft and, we hope, in the evening
sunshine on the banks of the Thames.
Sunshine or drizzle, we’re sure little could
dampen the spirit of this performance!
Tickets are priced at £10 (£5 for children
not performing) and are available from the
senior and junior school o¤ ces.
Sports Days
Senior Sports Day, Tuesday 5th July, Sports
Fields, Kidbrooke Grove
Junior Sports Day, Wednesday 6th July,
Sports Fields, Kidbrooke Grove
Forthcoming Events
SUMMER ISSUE OUT
SOON!