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Issue 51

Headlines by Rachel McGowan

13 May 2016

Working together to promote & celebrate achievement

Year 8 Parent’s Evening

Medical Reminder

We will be holding our evening for Year 8 parents to meet with subject teachers on Wednesday 18th May between 4.15 and 7.00pm in the South Hall. 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 is 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.

I would like to outline some important information regarding all students who have medical conditions and those needing to take medication whilst at school.

We are aware that medications may be prescribed at any time for your child and for many different reasons, short or long term, however it would assist us if you discuss with your GP medicines such as antibiotics being administered by you at home rather than in school. If your GP feels that medicines need to be taken during the school day then medication in the form of tablets (whole or dissolvable) should be encouraged for students of secondary school age where possible. Liquid medicine is often unsuitable due to the likelihood of spillages as well as medications needing to be stored in a fridge, as time spent out of the fridge (and therefore kept in a school bag) will cause the medicine to be ineffective.

Should medicine need to be given to a student during the day we ask that the parent/carer deliver the medicine to school where a consent form will be signed to agree this. We ask that prescribed medicines are in-date, labelled specifically for the individual, provided in the original container as dispensed by a pharmacist and include instructions for administration, dosage and storage are delivered. This medication will then be stored in the nurse’s room. It will then be the responsibility of the student to come and collect this medicine at the end of the school day.

The exception to this will be for those students who need to have their emergency medicine and devices kept on them such as: insulin and blood testing meters; adrenaline pens; oromucosal solutions for epilepsy and asthma inhalers. These students will still require a consent form to be signed stating this.

Non–prescription medicines such as paracetamol can be considered to be given at school by certain staff, however only where the medicine is issued by the parent/carer and a consent form has been signed.

We have our own Registered General Nurse on site between the hours of 9.00am and 3.00pm daily. Should you wish to discuss any of the above issues or would like your daughter to receive medication during the school day please call to speak to our School Nurse, Ms Adam so arrangements can be made to complete the necessary paper work and accept any medicines.

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On Thursday 28th April Students in Years 7 and 8 sat this year’s Junior Math’s Challenge.

The challenge involves answering 25 multiple choice questions in one hour and is sat in school under exam conditions. The challenge promotes thinking and not guessing and penalises those who guess.

The reasoning and problem solving skills that students develop from completing this challenge prepares them for their future education. They have to think logically to solve problems under exam pressure.

The top 40% of students nationally receive a gold, silver or bronze certificate in the ratio 1:2:3. Around 1200 of the highest scorers are invited to participate in the Junior Mathematical Olympiad.

Students who took the challenge made the following comments;

Harini Nagarajah 7E: “I think this is a great opportunity. It encourages us to think before answering. It increases our knowledge and makes us more independent”

Kajipa Kandiah 7E: “This is an unforgettable experience that I will treasure forever. Junior Maths Challenge encourages and requires a lot of thinking. It contains a lot of maths topics we have learnt over the years. It is under strict rules and regulations”

Haleema (Raazia) Khan 7E: “I think we were very lucky to be part of this. Although it was hard, it was still nevertheless fun. Our brains were tired when we finished. I would love to participate in the future”

Fathimah Shamsudheen 7L: “I think this was a fantastic opportunity that definitely brought out our hidden talents. Taking part in this competition made me feel so proud”

Thank you to all the students who worked hard to prepare for the challenge and to the teachers who helped to run the challenge (Ms Shirsat, Ms De Graft, Ms Ahmad and Mr. Sharif)

Junior Maths Challenge

On Monday 18th April, two squads of year 9 students from Plashet School's debate society travelled to the University of Westminster to compete in the Debate Mate Cup. The cup is the biggest competition of the Debate Mate programme, with multiple competitions taking place simultaneously across the country, and involving nearly a hundred different schools! Competition was tough, but our students did amazingly well in the three rounds of debating, with Plashet winning five of the six debates our teams took part in. All of the students involved have made us all at Plashet very proud of their commitment, progress and achievement since we began the after school debate club earlier in the year, so on behalf of all of us, a big well done to the following students:

Khadija Afzal, Faaiza Hafeji, Mooskan Gul, Noor Farooq, Khadija Ibrahim, Ishita Siraj, Ayeesha Ahmed, Hani Ali, Maryam Mohammed

The after school debate club has now ended for this year but it will resume early on next year and will be open to all students in year 10 if they want to take part. Please keep an eye out for any announcements in assembly!

Mr T O’Brien

Debate Mate Cup

Plashet Alumni

Year 11 students begin their formal examination period on Monday 16th May and as their time with us draws to a close many have said that life at Plashet has come and gone far too quickly. They have made important friendships and left with precious memories to keep. Reaching the end of your school career doesn’t have to be the end of contact with good friends and the familiar school environment. Make sure you stay connected with friends and keep up to date with developments at Plashet by joining the Plashet Old Students Association. Their website can be found at: www.posa-newham.co.uk

This year’s reunion for POSA members takes place on Saturday 25th June.

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Bouygues Language Competition

During our French lessons we were introduced to this amazing opportunity run by the multi-billion pound company Bouygues where we would present a solution to economic issues in French. What encouraged us to participate was the final prize; a free trip to France. 12 French students from Plashet in teams of 4 took part in the Bouygues Business Language Competition 2016. We had been working on our ideas and presentations for a few weeks and we were preparing to compete against each other, as only one team could go through to the finals. Once we arrived at the Bouygues UK head office, each group presented their presentation, and they were all unique and innovative, but only one went through, Team 2!

On Friday 22nd April, our team were fortunate enough to attend a workshop at the Bouygues office where we met 2 other teams from Georges Green and Dormers Wells. The workshop helped us enhance our confidence, and improve our communication skills. We are thankful to Bouygues for holding such an amazing event for us.

Friday 29th April was the day of the final, it had taken us weeks of hard work and dedication to get through to the finals, but we were ready to compete. Upon arriving at the French Institute in South Kensington, we were overwhelmed, but felt our adrenaline rush. We were facing 10 other schools, and we were the sole Newham representatives, so to say we were intimidated is an understatement.

We had a warm welcome where the judges were introduced, and the competition began! After all the presentations, we got to interact with the other schools and we were provided with a beautiful French lunch consisting of delicacies like Pain au Chocolat. After lunch was the moment we were all waiting for, the results. We held hands and after 3 excruciating minutes, Plashet was called out to be in the top 3. By this point, we had won a free trip to Paris for a day but to add to our joy they announced who came first, and it was revealed to be …. Plashet School!! We were high pitched squealing, borderline hysterical and we ran up to collect our stunning crystal trophy. The day was a huge success for Plashet School, and we’d all like to thank Ms Malod and Ms Louot for their help in this competition, particularly the gorgeous Ms Malod for accompanying us. We hope the next Year 10s continue the Plashet legacy of winning the Bouygues competition, hopefully for the 4th time in a row!

Anika Khair 10L, Anonna Chowdhury 10P, Zahra Kunchu 10L, Laela Rahman 10S

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Year 10 Work Experience

Junior Dance Club News

The Year 10s have come back to Plashet after their two weeks work experience that they attended from Tuesday 12th April until Friday 22nd April 2016. We had 270 students placed into jobs ranging from local nurseries, shops, Newham General Hospital, The Royal London Hospital at Whitechapel, City Airport and we seemed to practically staff John Lewis in Westfield!

The students have now got to complete their booklets and show the teacher that visited them, if they have filled this out comprehensively and had it signed off by their employer then there is a second certificate to be awarded. When the teachers make the visits, they have also asked whether the employer would offer our student a job (if, theoretically, there was one available) and if so, that qualifies them for a third ‘Outstanding’ certificate, and the indications so far are that a large number of our students will be getting this third prestigious award. The students themselves have been evaluating their experiences, and 99.5% have said that the experience was either very enjoyable (58.6%), mostly enjoyable (29.4%) or had some enjoyment (11.5%), and that they felt that they were very satisfied (59%) quite satisfied (28.4%) or satisfied (9.6%) with the overall experience.

In terms of work related learning, they had to answer 16 questions about whether they had felt they had learnt new skills, built up their communication skills, had a better knowledge of what employers want or a better understanding as to how work places are organised, and 97% of the responses were either strongly agree or agree.

For those students that did not gain the skills on work experience that we wanted them to, we are offering them a further workshop organised in conjunction with our friends at ELBA (East London Business Alliance) which will be held on Thursday 5th May.

Well Done Year 10!

Ms Frankie Clark Head of CEIAG (Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance)

On Thursday 21st April 2016, Junior Dance Club competed in the East London Step into Dance competition at St Angela’s School.

We were welcomed there with big smiles which made us feel overwhelmed and honoured to be there. We were competing against 10 different schools and colleges (11-18). We had one hour to practice on the stage.

Finally the time had come for the competition to start as parents started arriving. When we were called on stage to perform, we were all nervous, however we all had resilience and determination to win, so we did our best. The song we performed to was “Young Blood” by The Naked and Famous. Our dance was about emotions and how we could easily feel sad at one moment then something happens and your mood changes. You’ve got to remember that the rain will go one day!

After we performed the judges called our dance performance “beautiful”. We were so thrilled that we managed to tackle our anxiety and perform in front of so many people.

We would like to thank Ms Lewis, Ms Forrest and Ms Jenkinson for this amazing opportunity!

Vanishana Vairaiah 9G

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Assembly Poetry Performance by 7S

I recently worked with 7S to produce a class poem, which they performed during a fantastic assembly. The assembly was on the theme of Identity, and, as well as the poem, included a haka which was danced to the tune of Little Mix’s song ‘Salute’ – a very interesting combination! It is always challenging writing group poems, and a lot of collaboration was required. 7S should be very proud of both their writing and their performances. What follows are some of the stand-out lines from the 7S class poem, ‘I’m Made Of’:

I’m Made Of by 7S I’m made of laughter, giggles, family and friends

Flakes of joy and happiness Anger and pain

I am made of desserts like fudge ice cream, banana split, cookie crumble Sunday with a cherry on top I am made of tears that fill my eyes, crying for dear life

I am made of religion, culture and every celebration This is what we’re made of.

A pinch of djellaba and a squeeze of glitter. Its not bad and its not bitter

This is me Sometimes they are silent, sometimes they are loud.

This is my family and I’m really proud. This is me.

A bit of jazz and a bit of hip hop. This is the way I am and it will never stop.

This is what we’re made of.

I’m made of my love for shopping, clothes and buying loads of shoes. When my older brother hits me with a pillow in the middle of the night,

Making me angry That’s what I’m made of

I’m made of sunshine which makes me happy Betrayal makes me sad,

When it’s dark outside makes me miserable Homework makes me stressed

That’s what I’m made of

I’m made of friendship and loyalty My family makes me happy, makes me angry and sad

I am made of my hobbies, which makes me glad Singing and dancing, and acting with pride

This is what we’re made of. I am made lots of different things, sugar and spice and everything nice

Always laughing, always fun. I hate it when I look in the freezer and the ice cream is gone

This is what we’re made of.

I’m made of love, care and hatred I’m made of bones that can’t be broken

I’m made of delicate glass which cannot shatter I’m made of history present and future.

I’m made of friends, families and enemies I’m made of mysteries, myth and stories

I’m made of education, learning and knowledge This is what we’re made of.

Joshua Seigal, Poet in Residence

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STEM Club’s visit to the University of Westminster Annual Schools Science Conference ‘Science for Your Future’

On Wednesday 20th April, a few lucky students were presented with the opportunity to visit the University of Westminster as they hosted the 13th Annual Schools Science Conference. The theme ‘Science for Your Future’ was chosen as it highlights the exciting scientific developments that are changing all our futures. We travelled by train to the university, where we were greeted with gift bags and complimentary notepads and pens. As soon as we were registered, we all went to the Science Practice Room 1 which was a room engulfed with scientists of different careers, whether medical or other subjects.

There were many science professionals specialising in specific aspects of the healthcare sectors who we got the chance to interact with. We spoke with Pathologists, Radiographers, people who transfuse blood, make organs of bacterial cellulose and more. It really opened our eyes and improved our awareness of just how varied careers in the medical field really are. Later on we were directed to a ‘Large Lecture Theatre’ where we watched many presentations from different schools and teams. Two of our STEM Club team presented their projects. The first was a

business idea on Solutions for the Planet and the other was about the Hydrogen Fuel Cell. Each school could only showcase one project but we went the extra mile and did two. Each team then had 5 minutes to display and explain the process of their experiments. We all did a great job during our presentation and we definitely represented our school well.

Then, we met more people in Science Practice Room 2. The subjects shown in the room varied from creating herbal medicine to creating drugs using a computer to treat cancer cells. We also had to do challenges like doing jigsaw puzzles as fast as possible and being able to tell which plants belong to a certain species. Our last session was based around Pathology. We saw behind-the-scenes of how a Pathologist analyses a tissue or cell by the use of software which allows them to view a HD close-up of the sample.

They also told us about the problem of antibiotics becoming more resistant as they have been over prescribed to patients by doctors. We were given a solution which we put 4 drops of blue liquid into a container and shone it under UV light. When we did so, whichever container glowed meant that the person it belonged to would be infected with cancer. When we completed our tour of the University we returned to school. It gave us time to reflect on the varied, branches of science we learned about on the trip. The whole trip was a real eye-opener for us! There was a myriad of careers which helped us find out what was best suited for us. This made this trip inspiring for us Year 7 and 8 students.

Interesting, captivating and interactive are words we used to describe this experience. This trip was very beneficial as the field of science is immensely vast and I am now more aware of some of the exciting careers in science. It was great fun as it was very interactive and a creative way to learn. We played games, quizzes and puzzles to help us understand what that particular profession requires. Overall, we loved this showcase as it has definitely encouraged me to consider a science career and to go to university. I hope to attend more fantastic trips like this.

Nishat Basir, 8G and Arundhathi Roy, 8L

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On 20th April 2016, a team of STEM Club students had the opportunity to visit the University of Westminster. I think it was an excellent way of communicating with scientists as they told us how they were inspired and focused in their specific careers. This really gave me ideas about what I want to become when I am older. In my opinion, I think it was an amazing experience being to have this opportunity, because I had to learn about some subjects that we don’t usually study in school. In addition, I learnt about some new professions that I hadn't ever heard of before and it has made me make some tough decisions about what I want to be doing when I grow up. There were many inspiring jobs!! Decisions!! Decisions!!

Khushleen Kaur, 8G

On the 20th of April, some of the STEM Club girls received the golden opportunity to go to the University of Westminster, where we did loads of science. When we got there we were absolutely gob-smacked, we didn’t expect it at all. The whole concept of ‘Science4U’ was to inspire girls into science careers. For most of us, it was truly inspiring as we were plunged in to hidden depths of science. For example, we got to make DNA structures, with beads and saw how different types of samples from the body could be processed into small pieces for us to see.

In addition, some of our STEM girls, Team ‘Synergie’ and Team ‘Hydrogen Fuel Cell Cars’ really showed off their communication and creativity skills in this presentations. The m o s t

exciting part of the day was probably when Ms Vivienne Parry (OBE) spoke to us about her journey in Science. She told us her incredible journey from a schoolgirl to a world renowned science writer. She told us a lot about her current project, Genomics England Project. We also had a chance to go to several workshops, which included both Biology and Chemistry and we studied many areas like Pathology and Micro-biology. Overall this trip to the University of Westminster was a truly remarkable yet a jam packed educational day!

Fatima Lamaina, 8L, Ashwini Pillai, 8E & Precious Ezeama, 7G

Tuesday 24th May 2016, 9:15-10:15am

Ms St Louis is running another Parents’ Coffee Morning

Do you want to share ideas and pick up tips from others?

Do you want to be part of a new exciting focus group where you lead and support?

Come and join us for a hot or cold beverage and an informal chat

A problem shared is a problem halved

So if you feel you would like to come and join us, please confirm attendance by calling 0208 471 2418.

Parental Engagement Coffee Morning

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Library Corner

Carnegie Shadowing

The shortlist for this year’s Carnegie Medal was announced in March and during the last few weeks, members of Plashet’s Carnegie Club have been reading and reviewing the eight books still in the running for the most prestigious prize in young adult literature. Students have also been exploring some of the themes discussed in the books during our meetings.

One of the shortlisted titles is There Will Be Lies by Nick Lake. It tells the story of Shelby, a 17 year old girl who has been home-schooled and has lived a very sheltered life with her overprotective mother. An accident leads to an unexpected turn of events and Shelby begins to discover that everything she has accepted as the truth is based on deception.

This is what Adeebah Hasnath of 9H thought of it:

“This is a brilliant story full of unexpected twists and turns; this makes it interesting to read. The writer uses imagery very well to portray the different settings to us - especially the 'Dreaming' - which makes it easier to imagine everything more vividly. Also, I think all of the characters are believable and convincing and I particularly like how Shelby's character develops throughout the story to be more brave and courageous, which is the complete opposite of what she's like at the beginning.

Overall, I think this is a great book as it makes you think more about the world around us and what family is.”

You can find more book reviews written by Plashet students at http://www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/reading-groups.php

Charity Book Sale

Thank you to everyone who supported our book sale in aid of Book Aid International. We raised £70 which will be donated to provide books to communities in sub-Saharan Africa, helping local people to meet their potential.

The Year 7 netball team came 5th overall in the Newham Borough netball league. There were a total of 10 teams in the league. They won 4 games and lost 5. This is a great achievement and the girls should be proud of themselves, particularly as many of the students were not familiar with netball before coming to Plashet. The following students took part in matches towards the league: Hasinah Abid 7T Safa Abusfazal 7N Vinu Anbarasu 7E Nidhi Ben 7E Misbah Hussain 7G Kulsom Jan 7N Charu Kuganantharajah 7N Nafisa Maliat 7A Fatima Noor 7G Khadijah Patel 7H Farah Rekada 7A Farhana Shajahan 7A Gauri Shaji 7E Sarah Sufi 7N Well done girls! Miss Lee

Year 7 Netball League Results