Clifton News Volume 1December 2017

Clifton NewsWe aim to send every young person into the world able and qualified to play their full role in it.

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to the spring edition of our school newsletter.

We have had a very busy term, with pupils engaged in a range of lessons and activities in all areas of the curriculum and showing a real pride in their achievements. There have been several highlights during the term including Year 8 and 9 pupils choosing their options for GCSE and pupils from Year 10 and 11 pupils graduating from the University of Sheffield Scholar’s Programme.

The school production was a great success and it was fabulous to see the pupils’ taking a risk and performing with such skill and confidence. The feedback has been first-class and it was very clear that the cast impressed. Very well done to all the staff and pupils involved.

As the Year 11 prepare for their exams a number of subjects are offering the pupils time in school over the Easter break to prepare. Pupils have been informed of the dates/times. Details are also on the school website. Hang in there Year 11, continue to work hard and prepare to succeed. Go for it!

It has been good to talk to so many of you about your child’s education at the various school productions and parents’ evenings this term. I look forward to continuing to work in partnership with you to support your child’s learning. The combination: home, school and student here at Clifton will prove to be unbeatable.

I wish you and your families a very happy Easter holiday.

Mr. Hardcastle Headteacher

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Excellent achievement

Upcoming events...

March 2018:Poland3 Night School Trip with the Humanities Department

Mosaic Workshop with Curriculum Support

April 2018:Charity Bag Packing at Tesco Rotherham

Colour Dash at Rothervalley Country Park

Run for Wildlife at Yorkshire Wildlife Park

May 2018:Dance Performance at RCAT

Cinderella at the Sheffield Lyceum Theatre

What’s inside...• A warm welcome from Mr. Hardcastle Headteacher at Clifton Community School

• Curriculum News:- Hospitality- P.E & Sports - Maths- Y9 Options Evening- Hairspray The Musical

• Clifton Achievements:- The Brilliant Scholars Programme 2018- HEPPSY+ Tour Bus- The Spanish Spelling Bee- The Rugby Celebration Day

• Special Feature:- Return to the Forbidden Planet performed at Clifton on 27th & 28th February 2018

• Upcoming Events for Spring 2018

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Watch out for our next Newsletter coming Summer 2018

Keep updated on the go:www.cliftonschool.orgFollow us on Facebook:Clifton Community SchoolFollow us on Twitter:@cliftoninfo

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Mr Duroe and Mr Slack had the absolute pleasure of taking Bradley Bean from Y8 to the Rugby For All Celebration event on Saturday 10th February and this wasn’t just because we got to see the 6 Nations fixture between England and Wales! It was a result of Bradley exhibiting excellent attitudes and character that meant he was selected for the trip.

Bradley himself will admit that he was nervous when we first arrived. This wasn’t helped by the first thing that an RFU representative said to him: “Are you ready to walk out in front 90,000 people?” Bradley soon relaxed though, when this was corrected to 82,000 people. It was also evident that Bradley’s confidence grew as soon as he put on the kit that had been provided by Canterbury. Unfortunately, due to the Chinese New Year, the rugby shirts that had been designed by schools, which Bradley and the rest of 80 participants at the celebration event were due to wear, are still England bound on a shipping container. However, Bradley certainly did look the part in the substitute hoody and was starting to feel the part.

The day had a jam packed itinerary which included: a Q&A with RFU ambassadors, rehearsal of flag bearing, a talk from an England U18 coach and the Head of Creative Development from Google, and finally flag bearing on the pitch at Twickenham as England and Wales took to the field.

As part of the Q&A with current England rugby players Heather Millar-Mills (50 caps) and Eliis Genge (5 Caps) Bradley met both ambassadors and had a photo taken with them (an opportunity I didn’t pass up either!) After meeting the players, Bradley and the rest of the participants were taken through what they were required to do once they arrived at Twickenham and went onto the pitch.

Bradley’s Visit to the Rugby Celebration Day

Now fully briefed, Bradley couldn’t wait to take his place on the pitch, which he was happy to tell the journalists that were covering the event during his interview. This comprised part of Bradley’s media duties.

After lunch Bradley heard from England U18 coach, Russel Eanrshaw and Google’s Head of Creative Development, Kirk Ellis. The message from this talk was clear that Clifton are in good company in our way of thinking - ‘take risks’ and ‘learning from mistakes’ is how they approach tasks to ensure resilience and creativity. What is good enough for Google and England Rugby is good enough for Clifton students as they follow the Clifton Way.

Clifton curriculum, news updates & moreAfter a successful practical event Y11 Hospitality students are putting their finishing touches to their Controlled assessment portfolios. They will be ready to start concentrating solely on revision after February half term.Year 7 and Year 8 pupils have now changed over from art to Food or vica versa. This means they are developing and learning some new skills. Year 9 food students are completing a unit on heat transfer and will soon be starting an afternoon tea project. Year 10 Hospitality pupils are continuing to study different aspects about industry, as well as developing their practical skills, by cooking a different dish each week.

Hospitality & Food Technology

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Preparations for the 2018 GCSE Physical Education examination are well underway. The PE exams are always early in the exam calendar, so lesson time is currently being split between intensive revision and preparation for the practical moderation. Both the examinations and the moderation are externally assessed, with 60% (Two exams worth 30% each) of the final grade awarded for the examinations and 40% for practical ability. All GCSE Pupils are given personalised revision sessions and are expected to have a full programme of revision in place.

In other curriculum news, the Year 10 BTEC Sport class sat their external examination with 95% of the group securing a pass, merit or distinction grade. These fantastic results mean that the BTEC pupils can now focus on the vocational elements of the course.

Physical Education

On January 31st, Year 9 parents and students attended a combined parental and options evening, giving our young people the opportunity to discuss with all staff what courses are available to them as they prepare to pick their GCSE

Y9 Options Evening Success

Year 9 & Year 10 students experienced a range of workshops on the bus helping them to understand their possible future career pathways and how their option choices might link to future careers. Students found out about the wide range of degree courses available across the UK and from the graduate interns running the sessions got an insight into what university life might be like. The bus was very popular with students and we can’t wait to welcome it back to school again!

The HEPPSY+ Tour Bus At Clifton

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12 year seven students took part in stage 2 of the Spanish Spelling Bee. The students were absolutely incredible and stood up in front of their peers to translate a selection of 100 words from English into Spanish and then spell them in Spanish. The students showed a huge amount of confidence and determination and they should be extremely proud of their achievement.

The three winners of this stage of the competition will now go on to represent Clifton School at the regional final. The Stage Two School Winners - who will be representing us in the final: Keisha Kerr, Shnyar Mohammad and Tehmeed Mian. Stage Two Participants: Joshua Hough, Ayesha Abrar, Connie Watson, Frankie Edwards, Muhammad Hussain, Boris Abaffy, Abigail Foord, Bridie Lee- Ellis and Said Adil Jamal. Well done to everyone who took part in the event!

The Spanish Spelling Bee

The Year10 Drama and Dance students were invited to watch Hairspray at Sheffield’s’ Lyceum Theatre on Thursday 1st Feb. Some of the cast were straight out of the original London stage show, so we knew it was going to be a good one. We arrived in plenty of time for ice creams and minstrels  (that was just Mrs Bittles-Kincaid).

Hairspray certainly had all the energy and buzz expected of a Broadway show. Some of our girls got very excited when See-weed threw out some of his amazing shapes on stage.  It certainly was an all singing all dancing fabulous experience celebrating the changes of times and acceptance.  The show was full of vibrant colours, amazing dancing and spine-tingly voices.

Hairspray at Sheffield’s Lyceum Theatre

Well done to some of our Year 10 and 11 students who graduated the Scholar’s Programme by completing a project on ‘Unmasking the hidden half: Disentangling subterranean interactions’ with tutor Tinashe Mawodza, PhD student from the University of Sheffield.The programme aims to expand pupils’ academic horizons and give them a taste of Higher Education study. The students have attended tutorials and 1:1’s before submitting their final 2000 word assignment for grading.Our Graduation Ceremony was on Saturday 3rd Feb at The University of Sheffield. Well done and congratulations to all the students involved. Faiza Bi, Shaila Hussain, Sameera Mazhar, Megan Scales, William Swift, Joe Wharton, Siyaam Hussain, Alijah Mustafa, Jaden Moors-Roebuck, Kami Sabir & Joe Woods.

The Brilliant Club Scholars Programme

courses. We had a very positive turn out, it was encouraging to see so many students having prepared questions and discussing their future prospects, whether it be higher education, apprenticeships and potential future careers.Our students will now have the time and opportunity to discuss options with Senior Learning Team staff, before making their final decisions.

Our school production of Return to the Forbidden Planet, the Shakespearean rock musical, took place on Tuesday 27th and Wednesday 28th February. Pupils from all year groups have been involved, with many of the lead roles being performed by our talented Y10 Drama pupils. We also had Y10s in the band and assisting with sound and lighting. The show was a fantastic success, and an excellent demonstration of what can be achieved when pupils follow the Clifton Way by dreaming big and aiming high - a massive well done to all involved!

Return to the Forbidden Planet - Performing Arts Production

On 30th January the English Faculty took fifty Year 11 students to Poetry Live in Nottingham. This is an inspiring event which features poetry readings by world famous poets such as Simon Armitage, John Agard and Carol Ann Duffy. The students were able to hear the poems they are studying for English Literature GCSE read by their creators and to discover the inspiration behind these epic works. Students were able to ask questions of the poets and also had a useful talk from the chief examiner of AQA on exam techniques. Clifton students were real ambassadors for the school and no doubt, this educational trip will help students to realise their potential in English Literature GCSE.

Poetry Live TripIn English we have now completed all of the content for both GCSEs, so in lessons students are revising and doing practice exam questions. Every lesson starts with ‘5 a day for English’ which is a revision question based on each of the English Literature texts. This helps students to learn quotations which will be invaluable in securing good grades in their examination. Another exciting revision activity recently completed was the Fresh Prince of Bell Air: An Inspector Calls’, where students have incorporated key revision quotes into a rap as a memory aid. In addition to the weekly exam practice for Literature and Language completed in class, we run three revision sessions on a Tuesday Night, so students can come along and go over any tricky parts of the GCSE course.

Y11 Exam Preparation in English