ConnectPrincipal: Stuart Williams

www.catmosecollege.com

A newsletter for parents, students and the local community

3 OCTOBER 2012 ISSUE 42

HEAD BOY & GIRL

FOOD COMPETITION

POETRY WINNERS

MARATHON - GHANA

JOB VACANCIES

COLLEGE FILM

SPORTS NEWS

COLLEGE ADMISSIONS SEPTEMBER 2013. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .The deadline for parents to apply for a place at the College is 31 OCTOBER for admission into Year 7, September 2013. Applications after that date will be late and can only be considered after all other places have been allocated. We are usually oversubscribed with late applications only being considered from our waiting list. Applications must be made to your home local authority e.g. Rutland or Leicestershire and not to the College.

The College’s admissions policy can be found here and is used to allocate places. The College does not have a catchment area, we have in the past accepted applications from Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire and our home county of Rutland with students travelling up to 30 miles to attend Catmose. The order of priority if we are oversubscribed is:

1. Looked after children. 2. Sibling link. 3. Attends Catmose Primary School. 4. A child of staff at the College. 5. Children who live nearest the College by distance.

The meaning of these terms can be found within the admissions policy.

The distance from the College we accept places however will vary from year to year depending on the other applications we receive. A significant number of students walk to College but over half will travel by car or public transport. We offer a subsidised bus service from Melton, due to the significant proportion of students who travel from there.

Useful links:

College guide to admissions.http://bit.ly/PKw9oU

Rutland LA booklet guide to admissions (each LA will produce their own).http://bit.ly/SX3qlk

Stuart Williams

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COLLEGE FILM - PAGE 6

INTRODUCING WILLIAM AND POPPY, HEAD BOY & GIRL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .One of the most difficult decisions I have to make each year is which students will be head boy and girl. These roles are crucial to the College as they help guide the student council, the College’s development, as they are an important touch stone in my decision-making when considering what is in the best interests of the College. They will represent the College at a number of public events and will often accompany me to civic receptions involving the College. Max and Becky, last year’s head boy and girl helped open the new building, spoke at open evening and met with senior civil servants from the department for education; there is no doubt Billy and Poppy will have a similarly busy year.

To be chosen to take on these roles is not an easy task, students in year 10 are invited to apply, they complete an application form, write a personal statement and must demonstrate that not only are they academically strong but that they also contribute to the wider life of the College and its community. The students who apply are short-listed and interviewed by myself and Mrs Townsend, our team leader for student progress. It is fair to say that students find these interviews tough but rewarding, the experience standing them in good stead for later applications for competitive sixth form and university places. A number of students who have recently been successful in applying for Oxbridge places contacted me to say that the process for head boy and girl at Catmose was excellent preparation and contributed to their success.

This year the competition was as tough as ever and I made the decision to appoint four deputies to support the work of the head boy and girl; Abigail Pople, Grace Ray, William Kenard Kettle and Sebastian Quinn. These students will take leading roles on the student council, planning the year 11 prom and supporting the College community.

To give you an idea of our expectations for our most senior students I asked Poppy and Billy to write a short biography.

Stuart WilliamsPOPPY SPENCER

I enjoy sports such as: Rounders, Netball, Athletics, Hockey and Dance. I also play Netball after school for Rutland Rockets, in an adult league. Furthermore, due to showing a strong interest in Rounders, I was put forward by the Sports Department to trial for U16 England Rounders. Although I enjoy sports, I have also taken part in Hairspray, where I was given the opportunity to be a Core Dancer. Moreover, I was able to Choreograph and help backstage for the year 9 performance, Alice in Wonderland. I have achieved various awards within and out of school; I have passed my Silver Arts Award, Sports Leader award and now I am a Sports Ambassador, I am currently a Junior Judo Referee at Silver level. Furthermore, I am currently training to be a Dance Leader and a Netball Umpire. My favourite subjects are: English, Spanish, History and Drama. I believe enjoying these subjects will help me progress and succeed in them at GCSE. Next year, I plan to go to a high achieving college, in order to then proceed to university.

WILLIAM HUNT

One of my main interests that I have had throughout my life has been music and I currently play in multiple bands (one of which is the National Champions of Great Britain – Youth Brass 2000) and play various instruments including the horn, drums and piano. My favourite subjects in school are physics, maths and music, because they are what I am best at but I do enjoy all of my lessons. Recently I have passed my Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award and am working towards my Silver. Also inside of school I have successfully passed the Sports Leader award and Arts Award, as well as getting a Distinction in an ICT course. I am currently studying for Grade 8 in both Horn and Drums and will be auditioning for the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain next month.

Poppy doing her Sports Leadership

William taking part in a College performance

FOOD COMPETITION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Future Chef 2013 got off to an exciting start last week with Catmose College hosting the school heats stage of the competition. This is the second year that the College has hosted the competition.

The competition required entrants to produce a main course meal for two people, all for less than six pounds.

Eleven budding chefs took part in the challenge, all producing dishes to a phenomenally high standard. Dishes included homemade pasta and succulent meat dishes, all of which demonstrated extremely high levels of skill.

The students had the privilege of having a top chef from a local restaurant to judge their hard work. Kevin Spiers, supported by Mr Williams, kindly offered to scrutinise the meals.

Although it was a hugely tough decision, the winner of the competition was announced as Ellie Loxton, a student form year 10. Ellie produced Venison Meatballs with Parsnip puree and Parsnip crisps, a dish, which particularly impressed the judges.

The runner up in the competition was year 10 student Francesca Horne with her mouth watering Seasoned Lemon Chicken on a bed of juicy rice.

Ellie will progress to the next stage of the competition at the local finals.

Good luck Ellie!Miss Warren

Ellie Loxton the competition winner

DRAMA CLUB AND REHEARSALS - UPDATED. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Day Time Activity Room

Monday 12.40 - 1pm Kettering Drama Festival Wilde

Monday 3.30 - 4.30pm Drama Club (Year 9-11) Wilde

Monday 3.30 - 4.30pm Schools will rock you - Leads

Coltrane

Tuesday 1 - 1.25pm Drama Club (Year 7 & 8) Wilde

Wednesday 2.30 - 3.30pm Drama Club (Year 9-11) Wilde

Thursday 1 - 1.20pm Kettering Drama Festival (Year 7-8)

Wilde

The times and days for the drama clubs and rehearsals have been updated, please see below for details.

POETRY WINNERS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

This year, 12 year 9 students were awarded with certificates for their poetry in the Young Writer’s Poetry Competition, Express Yourself. Thousands of entries were received from all over the UK and overseas. Their work has been selected for publication based on perception, imagination, expression and creative use of language. It is a great achievement for our pupils and we are very proud of them and their success.

The students’ poems are now going to be entered into the collection of poems called, Express Youself - Central England. It will be sent to the British Library and further libraries across the UK and Republic of Ireland which gives them a lasting record of their achievement.

The poems are now entered into the final selection for the overall individual winner and school winners. This is an amazing achievement for our students. Their poems are based on their feelings and experiences. As well as receiving a certificate, the students will have their poems published in the anthology that comes out in November. The competition was open to students in the UK and the world and to have so many of our students selected is a great achievement. If you want to read their poems they will be put on display at open evening as well as being read out.

Ms Gonda

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JOB VACANCIES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

SENCO for the DSP MPS plus TLR2c £5,756pa Up to 2 SEN points Required from January 2013

We are an oversubscribed and successful 11-16 Academy with a Designated Special Provision for 25 students with moderate learning difficulties and autistic spectrum conditions. We are looking for a well-qualified and highly motivated teacher who has a passion for working with students who have additional needs or an interest in developing in this area. Our students are particularly well motivated and eager to learn. You will be working as a member of a successful, experienced and supportive team. Standards are high and we strive for excellence.

For further information please visit: www.catmosecollege.com/?view=vacancies

The deadline for applications is Friday 5 October.

LUNCHTIME SUPERVISORCatmose PrimaryRequired as soon as possible

£7.63 per hour, 12.20-1.20pm, Monday-Friday, term time onlyFor supervision of pupils during the lunchtime break

Application forms and information are available online or email the school at office@catmoseprimary.com or office@catmosecollege.comThe closing date is Friday 26 October 2012.Completed application forms should be sent to Virginia Savage, Vice Principal, Catmose College, Huntsmans Drive, Oakham, Rutland, LE15 6RP.

The school is committed to safeguarding and promoting the wellbeing of young people and expects all staff to share this commitment.

To apply please visit: http://www.catmoseprimary.com/index.php?section=school&view=vacancies

On Sunday 30 September, humanities teacher Mr Wilson took part in the Ikano Robin Hood half marathon. The route took him past various landmarks, which included Nottingham Castle, Victoria Embankment and Nottingham University. He trained hard for the run by training three times a week over a 3 month period; nearer the event he was running up to twenty miles a week. Mr Wilson finished the race in a time of two hours and twenty minutes and said that he gave it his best shot.

He ran with friends to raise money for students who are going on the College trip to volunteer with projects in Ghana. He has raised £200 so far and is very thankful to those who have sponsored him. If anyone else would like to sponsor Mr Wilson or would like to make a donation then you can contact him either in person or by email: owilson@catmosecollege.com.

He says that the experience was great especially the finishing line and that he has got the buzz and would like to do it again.

MR WILSON RAISES MONEY FOR GHANA TRIP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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COLLEGE FILMWith open evening approaching, Mr Williams wanted a video tour of the College that he could use as part of his presentation, and later host on the College website. Knowing their excellent video work in the past, Year 9 students Dan Purse, Sam Cliff and Lewis Clark were asked to produce the video tour. Dan took the lead and comments:

Shots had to be planned very quickly to be sure the video would be done within the two-week deadline. We met with Mr Macdonald and Ms Smith and discussed the possibilities of hiring equipment, then I sourced some suitable music; modern and funky to fit in with the College and a fast pace to keep viewers interested. With the style of the video agreed, I storyboarded each shot, making sure they would be possible to get, with the equipment we would have.

Filming started on the Thursday of the first week, with the first thing ‘in the can’ being a Hellerup lunchtime time-lapse. On the Tuesday of the second week, a SteadiCam (camera stabilizing rig) and camera crane arrived at the College ready for use. It took a while, but after the frustration of trying to get the SteadiCam balanced, the main filming began.

Throughout the week we tried frantically to get, all the shots we needed. There was a lot to get which sometimes resulted in straying away from the storyboard.

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One of the best filming opportunities was the shooting of a fiery science experiment, which I got some really cool shots from.

We managed to get all the crane shots I wanted in time, which showed off the building very dramatically and looked great, as well as being great fun to film!

The last step was editing. I took the footage home and worked quickly over the weekend, clipping and trimming the best bits out of all 300 video clips and matching it to the music, finishing just on time.

We showed the finished product to Mr Williams and he was very pleased.

The video was premiered on the College’s new video wall on the Hellerup at lunch time, attracting the attention of the whole College. When it finished there was a huge round of applause – which was great!

It was a brilliant experience making the video. It’s always more fun with such a short deadline, especially when you have a massive crane to play with!

Daniel Purse

You can watch the video tour at: youtube.com/catmosefederation

Lewis Clark, Daniel Purse & Sam Cliff

Daniel Purse during filming with Mr Macdonald

HOUSE SCRAMBLE

The first House Scramble has been held in College this week and has given over 190 students in KS3 the opportunity to represent their house. The tough 8 x 500m relay is run over the sports fields and starts and finishes at George the Girrafe. Each house must enter a mixed team consisting of four boys and four girls. So far the event has been dominated by Armley house who are leading in the Y7 and Y9 competitions. However, with three races still to go and with blue house so close behind all is still to play for.

Results so far:Year 7 (Monday Period 1)1st Armley, 2nd Barnsdale, 3rd Burley, 4th Hambleton

Year 8 (Monday Period 6)1st Barnsdale, 2nd Hambleton, 3rd Armley, 4th Burley

Year 9 (Monday Period 4)1st Armley, 2nd Barnsdale, 3rd Burley, 4th Hambleton

Next week will see a range of inter-house competitions including football, netball and The Dance Off. The deadline for the House Crest and Moto competition is also next Friday. With so much to get involved in I would like to pose the following thought: Ask not what your House can do for you - ask what you can do for your House.

Mr Teasel Team Leader for Sport

SPORTS NEWS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

One group of the house scramble teams

YR 8 SPORTS LEADERS

The interest in the leaders course offered by the PE department has continued and this year I am pleased to say that we have 48 students who are working towards their level 2 sports leaders award and 24 students working towards their dance leaders level 1. A number of students in year 8 are starting to take on leadership roles assisting the faculty at matches and clubs.

A big thank you to Chloe Chambers and Alice Radford who helped at Oakham Tennis club on Sunday by umpiring the mini red tournament.

If there are any other students who would like to help officiate or run clubs please do not hesitate to come and speak to a member of the PE department.

Mrs Powell

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TRAINING LIKE CHAMPIONS

Twenty Catmose College students were invited to take part in a Badminton master class with two time Olympian and former world silver medallist Anthony Clark. The former world Number 4 led an inspirational workshop which gave students the opportunity to consolidate existing skills and develop their tactical awareness. The morning concluded with a motivational speech and a question and answer session. Two hot prospects for the future were Ben Boulton-Smith and Alice Radford from Year 8, who stormed to victory in the mini – mixed doubles tournament. Anthony, who is linked to the College via the Sky Sports: Living for Sport scheme, will next be in College on Thursday 1 November to work with a larger number of students.

Mr Teasel Team Leader for Sport

Ben Boulton Smith, Anthony Clark & Alice Radford

RUGBY

Since the beginning of term the Sports Team and Oakham Rugby Club have been working in partnership to develop rugby at the College. The six week project which is aimed at students in KS3 has proven extremely popular with well over 30 students attending sessions on a Thursday after school. A real highlight has been the number of girls who have attended the session, with 18 turning up last Thursday to have a go at tackling. Given the popularity of the sessions, there are now plans to extend the project for a further six weeks up until Christmas. If you are already a keen rugby player or would just like to give it a try (no pun intended) please come along. Next Wednesday the Y7 Rugby Team will be in action at Oakham Rubgy club in their first tournament. Parents are welcome to come and support and we wish them the best of luck.

Mr Teasel Team Leader for Sport

NETBALL

Well done to Catmose College netball teams who for the third week of fixtures are still unbeaten.

Year 7 won 30-2

Year 8 won 23-6

Year 9 won 36-2

Year 10 drew 12-12

Year 11 won 10-9Miss Stillman

Year 9 Netball Team