011 16th march 2012

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Issue 11 16th March 2012

Clifton High School

Choral Concert 2012 The School’s Choral Society and members of the Senior Chamber Choir took part in the annual Choral Concert. Under the direction of Mr Cleaver the choir performed a selection of anthems by S.S. Wesley and the much-loved Stainer’s ‘Crucifixion’.

Charlie and Sophie performing alongside the professionals!

In the first half the enthusiastic audience were treated to five of Wesley’s anthems. Highlights were the delightful ‘Blessed Be the God and Father’ with Florence Wadley performing the beautiful ‘Love one another’ solo section. This was followed by Caroline Clements beginning ‘Wash Me Thoroughly’ with a short, but wonderfully sung solo. The Choral Society members then performed one of Wesley’s longer anthems, ‘The Wilderness’, which saw Sophie Sturge and Charlie Hanmer-Lloyd perform in a quartet section alongside two male professional soloists. A great experience for the girls!

The second half saw the choirs sing Stainer’s ‘Crucifixion’. This oratorio includes sections for chorus and also two male

soloists. This year Jonathan Toffolo (tenor) and Andrew Chim (bass) performed the solos and the choir really used the wonderful acoustics of All Saints Church to their benefit. The unaccompanied chorus ‘God so loved the world’ was sung well and the final chorus ‘The appeal of the crucified’ showed the Choral Society in full flow! It was a great evening of choral singing and the applause for all participants at the end showed just how well Mr Cleaver and the choir had performed. Well done to all those involved!

Barry Hutchison Author Extraordinaire

Pupils in Years 6, 7 and 8 were lucky enough to be visited by illustrious children’s author Barry Hutchison and given the chance to have their books signed. Described as ‘Harry Potter meets A Nightmare on Elm Street’, Barry’s Invisible Fiends series has been

extremely well-received. He has also recently released a standalone title, The 13th Horseman.

This is what 6T had to say about the experience:

It was thrilling listening to Barry! He was incredibly funny and his books sounded absolutely brilliant… and scary! We thought it was great when he started talking about how he got ideas for his books and how you should try basing your ideas on a single story. He was telling us lots of his own funny stories like how his flatmate Smartie said he escaped from witches by disguising himself as a cat! He was awesome.

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Food Glorious Food Quiz Results These are the results of the Food Glorious Food Quiz: Year 9 team winners Balls of Beef (Percival) The Roqueforts (Winkworth) Crazy Cheesecakes (Woolaston) After tie breaker question the Roqueforts won Year 6 Cranberries (Percival ) House winners for each year Year 9 = First Place = Percival 211 points Year 7 = First Place = Woolaston 89 Points Year 6 = First Place = Winkworth 130 points

Phishing, Codebreaking and More at Netcraft Open Evening

Last term CHS entered our first ever team into the National Cipher Challenge and came 72nd out of over 1600 teams. As a result we were invited to attend an open evening on 22nd February for teams in the South West of England who had done well in the competition. The evening was run by sponsors Netcraft and the guest of honour was Dr Graham Niblo from the University of Southampton, who writes and organises the National Cipher Challenge. It was a great pleasure to attend the event with an enthusiastic group of Year 7s: Bronwyn Welbourne, Isobel Press, Michalis Psarros and Rosie Bailey. The team enjoyed meeting some of the teams that they had been competing against (including rather a lot of sixth formers) and engaged really well with the new ideas being presented in the talks (usually given to undergraduate students). We all learnt something new about internet security, including how to not get caught out by phishing emails and even some tips on how to break into an online bank! Last week we went on a Cipher Club trip to Netcraft (pictured above). Netcraft is an internet services company, which is based in Bath. There were lots of other cipher groups there but they were all older than us. After everyone had arrived (and after we’d all had a lot of red juice!), we were shown a presentation about phishing, which is attempting to acquire information, such as passwords, through spurious emails or websites. It was a really interesting presentation and they used lots of examples. After another presentation about internet data mining, there was a small buffet. This was an opportunity to talk to the people who worked in Netcraft and the other groups who competed in the Cipher Challenge. It was a really informative night and we all had fun!

Written by Bronywn Welbourne, 7-2

Mr Pye’s Aeroplanes

Last week Mr Pye entertained and educated Year 5 with his large collection of model aircraft and an entertaining discussion about the development of aeroplanes. This also covered political regimes and the Cold War. For one activity Year 5 had to put the aircraft into time order and then learnt how jet engines revolutionised air travel.

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Learning German Through Theatre

Students learning German in Years 8-13 got a theatrical test of their language skills on the 1st of March when Onatti Productions visited the school. Their play Alles Wird Anders (or Everything Will Change), which tells the story of a troubled gang member who harbours a secret desire to sing, was full of comedy and accessible German. Students from QEH and Badminton joined our pupils – some of whom volunteered to come on stage when the time came, ready to follow instructions and answer questions in German! All those involved enjoyed the experience immensely. Lucy Rayter from Year 8 felt the whole thing was ‘fabulous and interactive’, while Tom Summerill, also from Year 8, confessed that the play was ‘so gripping, I even forgot it was in German!’ High praise indeed. We hope to see the company again next year.

Music Soirée Showcases Range

The audience at the recent music soirée were treated to a delightful selection of performances given by some of our talented musicians. This concert was open to members of the school in Years 7-9 and those who are about to take exams and it was lovely to hear Amelia Wilkinson in Year 4 play her grade 1 piece alongside Laura Baines in the sixth form who played a grade 7 piece. A lovely range of different piano performances were given by Martha and Holly Loach, Phoebe Langton Hewer and Isobel Press. In addition we heard the drumming talents of Will Reid and flautists Chloë Wainwright and Maria Snell. It is a privilege to have heard such an array of music and the audience went away uplifted and with a smile on their face. Well done to all who took part!

Heather and Irena Win Prestigious Art Prizes

Congratulations to Heather Churchfield (Year 8) and Irena Orchard (Year 13) who both won a prize at the recent Bristol Senior Schools' Art Exhibition at Bristol Cathedral. Heather was "Highly Commended" for a creature sculpture that she designed and made whilst in Year 7. Irena was "Commended" for her oil painting. Both received a prizewinners certificate and Heather was also given a £35 voucher to spend at Bristol Fine Art shop.

A first for Clifton High School! The Year 10 GCSE musicians gave their first music soirée to a delighted group of parents and friends. This is the first time that a discrete group of exam pupils has performed and the girls certainly did not disappoint. Performance forms an important part of music GCSE and this was an opportunity to practice playing in front of an audience. Piano, cello, violin and voice were ably demonstrated and the concert finished with a group performance of ‘Heads, shoulders, knees ‘n’ feet’ much to the delight of everyone present. Well done to all who took part and thank you!

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Puppetry with our friends

Year 2 and Reception recently linked up for a fun morning of drama, storytelling, puppet making and puppet shows. Year 2 kicked off the session by proudly showing their retell version of the traditional fairy story of Cinderella on the class interactive whiteboard.

They had used their own knowledge of the story along with their ICT skills to develop this amazing resource. A small group of children then re-enacted the story for the younger visitors. Children could then select a fairytale character of their own to develop into a stick puppet. The older children worked alongside their younger peers offering support and guidance if required.

We then divided into small groups to practice our puppet plays which we finally performed to each other. It was great fun!

Year 9 see ‘Sinister’ Macbeth Year 9 students were very fortunate to be able to see an outstanding production of “Macbeth” just around the corner at the Redgrave Theatre. It was presented by the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and the level of performance, design and interpretation was superb. The pupils are reading the play in their English classes at the moment and the production opened up the text for them and prompted very interesting discussion and analysis in class. Here are some comments from the students: “A lot of time must have gone into making the costumes, as they were very detailed and really went well with each character.” Nadia “I liked the *witches’+ singing at the beginning, as it seemed appropriately sinister for their characters.” Anna “Banquo appeared in the smaller doorway out of the gloom. He had blood all over his face and his silent steps gave the impression of something supernatural.” Hattie “I really enjoyed the performance Lady Macbeth gave… over the course of the play she became much more vulnerable as her mental health deteriorated.” Maria “It is very interesting how Shakespeare is aware of the human mind, for example hallucinations, anxiety and mental breakdown.” Martha

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Amazingly, our genetic tests backed up our initial findings, with all of us bar two proving to be carriers of the dominant tasting allele. The one member of the class that couldn’t taste PTC at the start of the day proved to be homozygous recessive, so they had two copies of the non-tasting allele and one person who found the taste so disgusting she couldn’t

keep the strip in her mouth turned out to be homozygous for the tasting allele.

We also found time to explore @Bristol with the main attractions for us “grown-ups” being the womb, giant hamster wheel and bubble makers - as well as debating the ethical issues behind gene technology.

It was certainly one of the best trips I’ve been on and if given the chance, I would do it again… except maybe without having to eat the vile-tasting strip of paper! Written by Becca Beddow, 13-1

Disgusting Taste is down to Genes

I finally convinced my mother that I will never like Brussels sprouts. I did not achieve this through discussion, which would always end in the inevitable “You will grow to like it”. No, I have proven that I will never like it because I posses the gene that detects PTC, a bitter taste. I discovered this after an A2 biology trip to the Science Learning Centre

at @Bristol earlier this term where we conducted experiments to see whether we carry the tasting version of the gene or not. We began by taste testing a bit of paper with the chemical PTC on it which proved to be strong and disgusting for me, not unlike nail varnish remover, but had no effect on others, and then set about proving the genetic basis for these results through the use of micropipettes, several enzymes and primers, the polymerase chain reaction and gel electrophoresis.

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Role Play Area becomes a Baby Clinic Nursery has transformed their role play area into a ‘Baby Clinic’. We invited health visitor Mrs Selwyn to come and talk to the children about the role of a health visitor in the early weeks of a baby’s life.

Some of the children took a baby doll to the clinic and Mrs Selwyn demonstrated the type of things that would be checked during a visit, such as the baby’s weight and height, whether they were smiling and how they were sleeping. We talked about the things that young babies can do. Some children observed that babies do not have teeth.

Mrs Selwyn also brought some charts and a red book to Nursery for the children to see and use in our clinic. Following her visit the children have continued to enjoy and use the ‘Baby Clinic’ incorporating some of the things that they had observed into their play.

Little Ships

Year 4 have been designing “Little Ships” linked to the Miracle of Dunkirk as part of their World War 2 Topic.

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Savannah’s BBC Experience

I am interested in journalism (and English and law) and so I intend to pursue a career as a journalist. I would also consider a career in the media. My mother used to work at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in Bristol and managed to get in touch with a few contacts that may prove useful to me if I wish to extend my interest and explore what journalism offers. On Monday, 6th February, I had an appointment to meet Mr Chris Vacher. He retired as anchor of Points West in December. He knew my mum, so I got the chance to meet him and ask him questions. Chris and I had a chat in the foyer of the main building. I told him exactly why I was interested in going down the journalist route. I said that writing has always been my skill (my grandmother is a best-selling author and my mother is currently hoping to get her books published) and that, as a kid, I loved writing stories and keeping a diary, writing everything that happened in my life in it. However, as a GCSE student revising hard for exams and working through coursework, I have not been keeping up to date with a diary - but I’m always writing. I also mentioned that I enjoy watching the news and being in the know about what’s happening out there. It’s an advantage to have a keen interest in current affairs. I told him that I had an idea of what I want to do once I leave school after sixth form – which is that I would like to study English Literature at university and then consider doing an MA or postgraduate course in journalism. I added that written journalism is what I wish to do first before going on to do broadcast journalism. After our little chat we went to the Points West newsroom. I met a few experienced people who were informative when talking about their jobs and the type of work that happens in the newsroom. There were

technology people, website editors and journalists and people who schedule what pieces will be read out during both the lunchtime, evening and other news bulletins throughout the day. I even had the experience of sitting in the news presenter’s chair and read from the autocue. After the tour, we visited the gallery, which is where the sound and camera technicians, director, producer, NTA (network transmission assistant) and autocue operator work. I sat in a chair at the back of the room and watched the professionals while they worked. It was quite impressive. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the tour and having the chance to talk to the experienced professionals themselves and to get a feel for the workplace, the hustle and bustle that happens every day and the determination that goes into the work they do. I was extremely grateful to have this opportunity and I feel even more enthusiastic about my decision to take up journalism as my career!

Written by Savannah Leith, 11-1

New Books Arrive at Library

In the Library we are extremely excited about the forthcoming ‘Hunger Games’ film. Just in case you haven’t already read this fantastic series, we have stocked up on extra copies. Come and borrow one from the Fiction Library before you head to the cinema! We have been sent some advance copies of the book Immortal City by

Scott Speer. You could be one of the first people to read this exciting new fantasy book! It is available in the Fiction Library and the Senior Library. Amanda Hocking is a self-publishing phenomenon. After receiving nothing but rejection letters, she published her first book, Switched, online. Within six months she had sold 150,000 copies and has now sold over 1.5 million. Switched has now been released in paperback and is available in our Fiction Library. Lower School students will no doubt be thrilled to learn that the Junior Library now has copies of the much requested David Walliams books. The Boy in the Dress, Mr Stink, Billionaire Boy and Gangsta Granny have all made their way onto the shelves.

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Love Through the Ages in London

On 27th February Y13 English students travelled to London by train to attend a day of lectures on “Love through the Ages”, their A2 course of study. Eminent university lecturers talked us through samples of love literature from the Middle Ages to the present day , giving a strong sense of how the theme has been developed in various times and genres. We all enjoyed imbibing wisdom in the gracious surroundings of the Friends' Meeting House and we completed the day with some light tourism in Kensington.

Author Visits on the Horizon

The Lower School will be welcoming two successful authors as part of their annual Book Week. John Dougherty will be visiting us on Thursday 29th March. John is well known for a number of books including Zeus on the Loose, which was shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award for ‘an outstanding first novel for children’.

Joffre White will be visiting us on Friday 30th March to talk to children in Years 4, 5 and 6. Joffre is the hugely popular author of the fantastical book Frog and its sequel Frog and the Sandspiders of Aridian.

‘Grown-up’ Scientists

Our Year 2 children have been investigating the animal kingdom as part of their early biology work. This week they were delighted to become ‘grown-up’ scientists by undertaking an investigation in the Year 5 and 6 biology lab. Technician Mr Johnson very kindly spoke to us about animal groups. Then we looked at real specimens as we classified animals that we knew. Wearing protective goggles and recording our results added to the excitement. Our conclusion: science is great fun!

Laurel Dens at the Forest School

Our Key Stage 1 children spent their Forest School session this week building laurel dens from the branches they had lopped on their last visit. We played games, and ate brown bread and honey toasted on the campfire. Below you can see Willoughby and Megan peering through their den.

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World Book Day Celebrations!

For World Book Day, buddies across the Lower School met up and shared their favourite book ever! The wide range of favourites indicated the varied interests and talents that our children have. The buzz of enjoyment and enthusiasm was infectious, each room alive with passion and shared zest for fiction and non-fiction books. Yet another success story from our buddy system.

Pictured below: Children from KS1 and KS2 enjoy their favourite books

Year 9 Welcome Elderly for Lunch Year 9 pupils had the pleasure of hosting this month’s Anchor Society lunch. The Anchor Society is a local charity that provides support for the elderly who live in the community and Clifton High School has formed close links with them and one of the initiatives is to have them regularly into school for lunch. Chris, Safia, Hannah and Millie welcomed the pensioners, hosted them at lunch and then had coffee and cake afterwards.

They learnt from them about life on the buses in Bristol for the last 25 years and how Mr Taylor keeps fit by walking on average eight miles a day. The visitors were definitely an inspiration and we all look forward to the next lunch.

The Year 12 pupils have chosen the Anchor Society as the nominated charity for the Arabian Ball this year and any money raised from the raffle on the night will also be donated to this charity.

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Year 3 Success at Netball Festival A group of enthusiastic and lively Year 3 girls took part in the Invitation Netball Festival tournament last Saturday. They have been playing with the Year 4 children in practice but this was their first taste of a tournament in their own right. They produced some great passing down the court and as everyone had a chance to change position they all had a chance to shoot. In future we will be hard pushed to select from the fabulous array of talent. They supported each other extremely well and produced a very tenacious display in all areas. The schools that took part were BGS, Butcombe, The Downs, Beaudesert and Colston’s. Clifton High played 6 matches and won 5, losing one game by only 1 goal having come back from a 3-0 first half. Congratulations to Ruby, Lucille, Lucy, Esme, Lily, Flo, Catherine and Maddie.

Synchro Makes a Splash

Bristol Central synchronised swimming coach Karen Thorpe brought her team to whet our appetite for the London 2012 Olympics at a special assembly on Monday. Head Coach of 15-17 and senior squad Karen represented Bristol Central for many years and has swum and coached at club, county,

regional, national & international level. Competing internationally at pre-Olympic, world and European competitions for over nine years, she was captain of the Great Britain squad and won the Swimmer of the Year award. Karen also works for the Amateur Swimming Association as the Talent Development Officer for synchronised swimming. Karen gave an insight into the competitive side of the sport as her swimmers, including Year 13 student Alex O’Mahony and ex-CHS student Alice Falconer, demonstrated how physically demanding the sport is. An audience of over 350 students and staff were captivated and inspired by the technical and free team routines as well as a solo and duet team. Thank you to Karen, Georgie Coombs and all the swimmers who came along to showcase the sport. Special thanks too to GB Junior Alex O’Mahony whose great idea it was to stage the assembly!

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EEEaaasssttteeerrr HHHooollliiidddaaayyy DDDrrraaammmaaa CCCooouuurrrssseee Devising workshops based on fairytales

with a performance at the end

Sun 15th April 2pm to 5pm Mon 16th April 9am to 5pm Tues 17th April 9am to 5pm Wed 18th April 9am to 5pm Thurs 19th April 9am to 5pm (with an evening public performance of work 7pm to 9pm)

Open to Year 7- 13; max 45 places To book a place e-mail Mrs Malpass [email protected] Hurry because numbers are restricted!

Cost of the Course: £50

On Disco Day, children in Reception to Year 2 may come to school in their “disco gear” to avoid the need to change at the end of the school day.

Disco

Wednesday 28th March 2012

Reception – Year 2: 3.45pm - 5pm

Years 3 - 6:

5.30pm - 7pm

Tickets £3 in advance or £3.50 on the door

(includes drink and packet of crisps.)

Venue: The Beech Room & Main Hall

Please put payment in a named envelope by

27th March 2012 and pop into one of the PA

boxes.

Experience an Aladdin’s cave of delights at this years Arabian Nights Ball.

You will be surrounded by the sights and sounds of an Arabian summer night

whilst dining on a sumptuous meal with exotic dancing.

Look out for your invitation which will arrive before the end of term.

Artwork designed by Helen Milne Year 12

Spend one night under the stars on a family camp night in a safe, local campsite off Beggar Bush Lane (parents must accompany, weather dependant)

To register an interest please email

[email protected] or [email protected] Or speak to Jane or Asha for more details.

Campfest Saturday 26th May 2012

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School Contact Details Tel: 0117 973 0201

For general communication: [email protected] To report an absence: [email protected]

Year 1—3 French Club Offer Sign your child/ren up for French Club before the end of the Spring term and pay only £38.00 for the Summer term (per child), making a saving of £16.00. For more information, to enrol your child or to book a taster session for your child, please email Kate Bull [email protected] or call 07836277976. A bientôt.

Easter Totally Tennis Programme

Coombe Dingle

TO GET BEST PRICE

BOOK Before 19th March

+

BOOK 4 DAYS Get 1 FREE

Courses Booked on a Daily Basis

Mon 2nd to Friday 13th April

Programme Course A Reception – Year 2 9.30am - 11.00am

Book before Mon 19th Mar £7, before Mon 26th Mar £8,

after this date, including on the day £10

Course B Year 3 – Year 7 9.30am - 12.30pm

Book before Mon 19th Mar £14, before Mon 26th Mar

£16, after this date, including on the day £19

Course C OLDER BEGINNER / IMPROVERS

Year 7 – Year 11 – ONLY TUESDAY

Day 2 & Day 6 1.30pm – 3.30pm

To Book 0117 9626718 (and select option 1)

Easter 2012 Courses – Redwood Country Club

Course C is a new tennis-based Flexi Course utilising other facilities and sports. This course is also flexible for times to book in. £120 All week £30 Day rate £70 Half day all week We will always run the sessions regardless of weather and we will try and do as much tennis as possible. In adverse weather conditions we may be forced to use squash courts / cinema and other indoor facilities to keep the children entertained.

**Limited places available on each course** so please book early to avoid disappointment

For all your Tennis needs please visit www.bristoltennis.com

Course Dates Time Cost

A Mon 2 – Thurs 5 April 9.30 – 12.30 pm £55

B Tues 10 - Fri 13 April 10 – 12 pm £36

C (Flexi Course)*

Mon 16 – Fri 20 April 9 – 3 pm £120

Break Time Toy Targets The children in Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 have formulated and agreed their own ‘toy targets’ to ensure happy and safe play. These targets (shown below) are displayed throughout the department and a copy is on our parents’ notice board.

Our Break Time Toy Targets

1. We only play with our toys at break and

lunchtime.

2. When the bell goes we put our toys away.

3. When we eat our lunch – the toys are out of

sight.

4. Toys must fit into our pocket.

5. Electric toys stay at home.

6. We respect and take care of all toys, not

just our own.

7. When we agree to a fair swap of collecting

cards or toys, we will learn not to change

our minds.

8. We play fairly with our toys.

9. We enjoy our toys.

Experimenting and Exploring at the Open Morning Pouring, rolling, riding, touching, tasting, experimenting, exploring, cooking and eating were just some of the experiences enjoyed by our many young visitors at the open morning for Nursery and Reception. The event was very well attended. First indications suggest that pupil numbers in Reception and Nursery for 2012-13 are going to be very promising! Many thanks to the staff and pupils who made this event such a success.

mailto:[email protected]



http://www.bristoltennis.com/

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011 16th march 2012