Highways december 2013

Ad Caelestia Sequere … Reach For the Stars

Newsletter for Highworth School Issue 2

Message from the Headteacher

Terms one and two are always the longest, the most tiring for both students and staff, yet thoroughly enjoyable at the same time. I am writing this the day after the fantastic trip, organised by Miss Greensmith, to the Marlowe theatre in Canterbury where virtually the entire school saw the pantomime, Jack and the Beanstalk. Twenty two coaches, filled with students and staff, departed and all were thoroughly entertained during the course of the afternoon. Well done to Mr Smith who played the ‘fall guy’ for the pantomime dame and to the four members of the public who had the only seats left after our booking. As usual Highworth entered into the spirit of the show and I’m sure the cast were thrilled by the noise that emanated from the audience - not sure the same can be said for the members of the public! We have all the seats next year! I would like to thank the many parents who came to pick up their children and showed great patience in entering and leaving the school with their vehicles - it is most appreciated. At the end of this term we say goodbye to Miss Hutchinson, who is jetting off to Australia, Mrs Varela who is moving to another part of the country and Mrs Crocker who is leaving in January to work at St Anselm’s School, Canterbury. I would like thank them for their contribution to Highworth - I know they will be missed by the students. These are particularly enjoyable terms because of the many events that are organised by a team of dedicated staff. ‘Sweet Charity’, our school production, gave the opportunity for our older students to show off their fantastic talent. There were some memorable individual and group performances. This was followed a week later by our annual Yr7 enrichment evening, where students demonstrated their dancing and musical skills. Particularly impressive was the size of the orchestra and variety of instruments - hopefully a sign of the fantastic quality to come in future years. Attendance was impressive and the Yr7 students performed to a packed house which was a great boost to their confidence. Thanks to all who attended - it really does make a difference. The final week of term is always a great experience and I particularly enjoy the carol service at St Mary’s Church, which is always well attended by both Highworth and NKS parents. On the final day the senior prefect team, as usual, manage to pull off a grand finale, which is always a great crowd pleaser, as it invariably lampoons a number of staff who, fortunately, have very broad shoulders! Mine have to be particularly broad! Finally enjoy a wonderful Christmas and I wish you a prosperous New Year.

It’s nearing the end of the year and we have all enjoyed the Christmas and Community events such as the Pantomime and Christmas Entertainment. This term on Student Voice we have continued to talk about how the aspirations of students can be raised and have discussed how to increase the motivation of students with help from their teachers. We are also beginning to think about how work experience can be offered in the most beneficial way so that students have the opportunity to fulfil their potential. We are awaiting feedback from students regarding the Careers Department and any comments and suggestions as to whether this could be further improved. In other news, Pallabi Shakya, a Student Governor, has recently become the Student representative for ‘Caterlink’ in the school. Within Student Voice, Pallabi has been asking for positive comments that can be passed back to staff as well as any suggestions. This information will be fed back to Caterlink at an upcoming meeting. Also, an additional Student Governor has recently been appointed. Congratulations to Sophie Ball in Yr11 who well deserved this position. I hope everyone has a lovely Christmas break. Elissa Poyner

Message from the Head Girl

Highworth’s achievements in Art, Dance, Drama, Music and other art forms have officially been recognised with the award of Artsmark Gold from the Arts Council of Great Britain and Trinity College London. Following a lengthy application and submission and a visit earlier in the term from an Artsmark assessor, Highworth has been successful in achieving this prestigious and internationally-recognised award. Student representatives were key in our success, particularly the prefects in the arts subjects who represented us eloquently and honestly. The award is valid until July 2016. Well done to everyone!

Artsmark Gold

2014 Dance show

Split Alliance ON Thursday 6th and Friday 7th February 2014 at 7pm

This year the show promises to be the best yet and will feature Musical Theatre, Tap, Contemporary, the amazing Breakin’ Hearts and a special guest appearance. We have some spectacular pieces of choreography created by the world renowned BalletBoyz, Joss Arnott Dance and the winner of Mathew Bourne’s Choreography Award, James Cousins. Once again our generous sponsors Wilkins Kennedy and Castelli Cheese sponsor the show - so expect the usual FREE spread of delicious cheeses and wines! The theme this year is VIP Hollywood chic; you can expect glamour, silent auctions and many more surprises. This show does sell out ever year and so it is recommended that you purchase your ticket early to avoid disappointment -available after Christmas from the Dance Studio. Adults £7 and Concessions £4.50.

2


This term, we have been working with our former Head Girl, Alison Monkley, to break our fundraising record in support of the Butterfly Appeal, raising money for the new M.S. Therapy Centre in Canterbury. Our mentor groups have produced Christmas crafts, cards and friendship bracelets in Period 3 as well as preparing and publicising the events. All of Highworth united for a week of fundraising from Monday 2 December to Friday 6 December, comprising special assemblies, a fashion show, non-uniform day and Christmas party. By the end of the week, £1,280.40 had been collected and a total of £1,648.85 will be presented to the appeal by our prefect team next week. This sum brings our fundraising total since September 2012 to an amazing £3,375.30, which is being kindly doubled by Frank Brake, making an astounding £6,750.60 altogether. Well done everyone! The CS Christmas quiz took place on Wednesday 11 December and was fiercely contested by our mentor groups. Congratulations to SBR who won by one point with an amazing total of 43/50 and special thanks to our team of scorers. In addition to our fundraising, we celebrated Children in Need with a competition to wear the spottiest clothes and marked Anti-bullying Week with special assemblies and a competition to curb cyber bullying. We held an assembly for Yr7 students in order to raise awareness of how we

can stand up to bullying so that everyone can enjoy a positive learning environment. Anti-bullying wristbands were sold throughout the week to raise money for charity. Our peer mentors have continued to run study support sessions on Wednesdays and Thursdays and next term they will be helping with study skills and revision techniques. We would like to thank everyone who has supported our fundraising efforts and wish you all a very happy Christmas.

This term Amy Beach Community have been very busy in Mentor designing a Christmas mobile, making cakes for our Community Bake-off and planning something exciting for our end of term entertainment. The Prefect Team and the ‘High School Musical’ cast have been working extremely hard on the Community Performing Arts. Cast members are busy learning their lines and attending rehearsals, determined to deliver a fantastic performance. There is still time for more students to join in - just see one of the Prefect Team and watch the Community Board for rehearsal times. The Community Bake-off was amazing and such a close run competition! AMI were the worthy winners with BWH/CSM in second place and GDA/ALO and DSA joint third. Grateful thanks to all those students who baked and to their parents for allowing them to! We all thoroughly enjoyed the Pantomime which got us

into the Christmas spirit. We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

It has been another busy term in JP with lots of success to celebrate. This academic year has seen the launch of the new Rewards System, and JP already boasts several Bronze Superstars. A huge congratulations to all of them and keep up the good work! I would like to take this opportunity to give a special mention to Ebony Brown for being the first Yr12 student in the school to gain the Bronze Superstar status and to Annabelle Trew and Hannah McIntyre for being the first KS4 students. Everyone went completely spotty for Children in Need this term. We saw painted faces, legs and arms, spotty tights, leggings and even shoes. Mrs Mann and I had the almost impossible task of judging the spottiest JP member, all of whom were hoping to win a Pudsey Bear. After much deliberation, Amber Pegden was crowned the spottiest student - congratulations Amber! JP has been vamping up Thursday Period 3 sessions investigating and discussing various PSHE topics and completing

team building challenges. Yr8 and Yr10 had a great time taking on the picture teamwork challenge and demonstrated what exceptional team players they all are. All in all, another Just Perfect term! JP would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas

and Happy New Year.

3


It has been a busy but good term in VM. During our Mentor periods, we have been designing and making origami star Christmas decorations for the Pilgrims Hospice, who work hard to provide help to those who need it and their families. In addition, some mentor groups have also been given the task of organising props for VM’s Community Drama, The Lion King. The prefect team are working incredibly hard on this production and VM students have been rehearsing ready for the performance next term. The final week of term has seen Highworth’s first Inter - Community Debating Competition with students debating motions such as ‘Reality TV should be banned from our screens’. VM began to get in the Christmas Spirit with a Christmas quiz which included a ‘Guess the Christmas Film’ round and some Christmas anagrams; the scores were very close but our joint winners were DBR and JMR - well done! Also in the final week of term we had our annual Christmas Party. Each mentor group created ‘home-made’ badges for the competition and enjoyed a variety of party games. We would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and hope everybody has a relaxing break.

This term has been a busy one for KK in preparation for our Christmas celebrations. This year there is a new competition to Highworth – Inter Community Debating. We hope it will be a great success with students for Kiri Te Kanawa discussing ‘Christmas should be replaced with a festival for everyone’, and ‘Reality TV should be banned from our screens’. Furthermore, we

are also arguing against the motion ‘There is nothing wrong with using your physical attributes to get ahead in life’. The students participating in KK were Zara Daw, Beth Thornton, Tanya Brown, Emily Doggwiler, Naomi Wilson and

Sam Obbard. The arguing was fierce! Other events were our Christmas party and our performance of ‘Shrek’ for the Community Performing Arts Festival at the beginning of next year. After a slow start, the performance is now coming together. This week we added choreography by Daisy Jones and Morin Braimoh to the music. Finally, we had Highworth’s annual trip to the pantomime. Kiri Te Kanawa were lucky enough to sit in the stalls while watching the spectacular performance of Jack and the Beanstalk. It was an extremely enjoyable day, especially seeing Mr Smith get picked on. From all of Kiri Te Kanawa, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and an extremely Happy New Year!

In this very busy final term of the year, NS have continued to join enthusiastically in a wide range of activities. In November a number of our members turned spotty in aid of Children in Need, with first prize for the spottiest going to Beth Thorpe while the runners-up were Rosie Cooper and Amy MacCormack. The cast of “Tangled” have been rehearsing for their performance next term in the Community Performing Arts competition. Our representatives – Madura, Angie, Beth, Abi, Nicole and Molly – in the Debating contest have been rehearsing their speeches and all the mentor groups have been rehearsing for their contribution to the “Something beginning with C” Christmas Entertainment on Thursday 19 December. Mentors, too, have been busy rehearsing for the finale, although at the time of writing their number remains a well kept (and I might add quite Chilling) secret! Once again NS members handed in all their data sheets several days before the deadline and, for the fourth year running, won the prize for the first Community to do so. The chocolates will be shared out at the end of term! A particular mention should be given to GBO who were – also once again – the first mentor group in the school to hand in all sheets; they have already enjoyed their prize! Many thanks to everyone in NS for being so ready to play your part in all that we do and a very merry Christmas to you all!

4


Friends of the William Harvey Hospital

November saw a varied and exciting evening of music in our annual concert to raise money for the Friends of the William Harvey Hospital. Opening the evening were some taster items from the cast and orchestra of our musical Sweet Charity. The String Sinfonia performed two movements from Grieg’s Holberg Suite, followed by the 13-10 Choir’s rendition of two contemporary songs, with able solos from Chloe Bayliss and Millie Higginson. Lara Smith, who is through to the final of the Kent Young Musician of the Year Competition next February, charmed the audience with her violin solo Romance and the Folk Band set toes tapping with Kopanitsa. The first half closed with two junior items: Under the Sea from the Junior Orchestra and a Beatlemania! montage from a suitably-costumed 789 Choir. David Green’s Ashford Guitar Ensemble opened the second half with some stylish playing and Colin Welch’s Wind Quintet and Clarinet Quintet performed some difficult music. Highworth Senior Chamber Choir gave some beautiful a capella performances and the evening came to a close with some powerful items from the Highworth Jazz Orchestra. A total of over £860 was raised for WHH. Fantastic!

Photos taken by Yousuf Khalil, Yr13

An ‘Epic’ Experience

Year 10, 12 and 13 Drama students were treated to an energetic example of Epic Theatre in their trip to Scene Productions’ performance of Bertolt Brecht’s ‘Fear and Misery in the Third Reich’ at Towers School in November. Direct address, multi-roles, narration, song and placards were the Brechtian techniques used to engage the audience in the realities of life in Nazi Germany. Beyond the laughter, the message that as a society today we must take responsibility for the world we create, hit home. Thought-provoking but enjoyable stuff!

Christmas Concert

Virtually the whole of Yr7 performed in a lively and entertaining Christmas concert on the evening of Thursday 5 December. All the performances were put together during Wednesday afternoon enrichment periods in the first terms. Zara Daw and Daisy Tanner ably introduced the items, which came from a huge choir and orchestra, together with two dance troupes and a group of cheerleaders. Vocal soloists included Jaz McSwan, Grace Thompson, Amber-Willow Whitesman, Taylor Noble, Aaliyah Hawkins, Maddie Lunn and Emelia Lewis. Instrumental solos came from Josie Holland (piano), Eloise Norman (saxophone) and Isobel Cooper (bassoon). The music was varied and popular, with a finale of Snow is Falling from the whole company.

5


Superb Sweet Charity

Many hours of rehearsing came to fruition on 28 and 29 November with two superb performances of the musical Sweet Charity. A large cast, chorus and dance troupe from Yrs9 to 13 were accompanied by a full orchestra and supported by a great technical team in this tale of the fortunes and misfortunes of a girl ‘who just wanted to be loved’. Charity, played by Abbie Brown, works as a New York dance-hall hostess and is unswervingly optimistic, despite the quips of her cynical friends Nickie (Annamarie Gould) and Helène (Anna Yonish) who open the show with the company singing Big Spender. They work long hours for their boss Hermann (Isand Schwartz) for little pay, until Charity at last finds a good man in Oscar (Angus Hope) and decides to leave the dance hall. But things don't quite turn out as planned…

On Thursday 5 December, our Yr12 team, Hazel, Emily and Megan, choreographed a fashion show in aid of the Butterfly Appeal, raising £85.40. The Yr12 boys and Miss Moody gave an outstanding performance, assisted by an amazing number of Yr7, 8 and 9 models who were all fantastic in making the show such a success.

Fashion Comes to Highworth

National Children’s Orchestra

Giselle Overy Yr9 has continued to be successful in her violin/viola playing, recently performing in the Royal Festival Hall, London. She has been selected for the National Children's First Orchestra and will play with them in Poole, Bristol and London during

2014. Congratulations!

Lara Smith, Yr13, has been successful in reaching the final of the Kent Young Musician of the Year competition. She will play, accompanied by a professional orchestra, at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury on the evening of Tuesday 4 February 2014.

Kent Young Musician

Yr7A2 and 7B2 created a superb French café and acted out a breakfast scene. Yr8A1 and 8B1 performed the famous poem Déjeuner du Matin using puppets.

French Café and Puppet Show

6


The Dance Department is in in full Dance Show mode and this year’s theme is Collaboration. Consequently, it makes sense to invite some of the most talented professional dancers we could find to work alongside our dancers to create pieces for this year’s spectacular. The first workshop took place from Tuesday 3 to Friday 6 December with Edward Pearce from the world renowned BalletBoyz. Twelve students from Yr9 to 13 stayed each night after school until 6pm to work with Ed to create a piece in the style of the BalletBoyz work. Expect it to be physical and exciting! It is a challenge for anyone to create a piece in 8 hours and Ed admitted to feeling anxious about completing it on time. However after the first session with the dancers he felt confident they would do a fantastic job. He described the group as focused, resilient and talented. He said they possessed skills that he had not yet mastered at their age, and their confident ability. A rave review for our Intrepid Dancers! About Ed: Ed is originally from Somerset. He trained at Elmhurst and then at Rambert School where he graduated in 2010. He also performed alongside Rambert in A Linha Curva by Itzik Galili. He has danced professionally in various freelance projects and is an experienced teacher. This is his third season with BalletBoyz. The second workshop took place during the day on Thursday 5 and Friday 6 December with James Cousins. This workshop undoubtedly put the Yr13 students through their paces as they danced from 8:45 until 6pm both days. The dancers truly got to experience the demands of being a professional dancer and they managed to do so with minimal complaining about aching body parts! About James: In August 2011, James was announced as the winner of the New Adventures Choreographer Award, receiving mentoring from Matthew Bourne and New Adventures, culminating in the showcase performance at Sadler’s Wells. James Cousins was recently recognised by Time Out magazine as one of the future faces of dance and his company, launched in January 2011, is quickly making its mark on the dance world after a sell out showcase performance at Sadler’s Wells in September 2012. The students are incredibly privileged to work with artists of this calibre and they thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. Paige (Dance Prefect) said, “There was a lot of sweat, bruises, and floor burns, but it was worth it. The whole week has been unforgettable and I feel I have learnt so much. Both pieces are challenging in different ways and have forced me to grow as a dancer. I cannot wait to perform them in February. I hope we do the choreographers proud.” This year’s show is shaping up to be the best yet, but there is only one way to find out…..buy a ticket!

Dance Workshops

7


Hansel & Gretel at the Marlowe

On Thursday 15 November, GCSE and A Level Music students were lucky to be able to experience some of the best opera the UK has to offer, in the form of the Glyndebourne Touring Company’s rather unconventional production of ‘Hänsel und Gretel’ by Engelbert Humperdinck, directed by Laurent Pelly. Although we all agreed that the music and set were both incredible, it has to be said that, if we hadn’t had a synopsis in our programmes we might have been a little confused as to why 14 children with hamburgers in polystyrene containers crowded around Hänsel and

Gretel as they slept in the wood, or why the witch was portrayed by a man in a bra who seemed to live in a supermarket aisle. The whole performance was extremely entertaining, (certainly more Roald Dahl than the Brothers Grimm!) and executed brilliantly by the cast and orchestra. Thank you to Mrs Booker, Mr Cheesman and Ms Batchelor for organising the trip. Molly Boot Yr12

Köln German Markets

On Thursday 12 December a group of 44 Yr8 students departed for the famous Cologne Christmas Markets in Germany. They boarded the coach at 10pm and before they knew it, they had arrived in Cologne just as the sun was rising. The day started with a warm drink and some breakfast in a traditional Brauhaus to prepare them for the long day ahead, followed by a quick tour of the city centre. One of the highlights of the trip was a visit to the Lindt Chocolate Museum, which houses a giant chocolate fountain! The Christmas markets were impressive, with a huge array of products and food items to buy. As the day progressed, the stalls became even more magical and colourful, as the lights became more dramatic against the night sky. A very memorable trip and a big thank you to Miss Burke for her hard work in organising it!

789 Choir Carols

The 789 Choir went carolling on the afternoon of 7 December. They sang for half an hour in County Square, collecting for Demelza Hospice Care charity. They then moved on to entertain shoppers in our new neighbouring store, John Lewis. A very enjoyable afternoon.

8


On 15 November, 13 Anthropology students went to Brunel University for the 2nd Annual Brunel University A-Level Conference. The event was organized jointly by Brunel University and Heston Community School and was supported by the Royal Anthropological Institute. Over a 100 students attended the day, some from as far away as Birmingham. The topics for the conference were chosen to support the A-Level course. Anthropology studies the different aspects of what it means to be human – from our evolution to cultural differences and similarities. The day consisted of mini-lectures by staff from the Anthropology Department at Brunel, watching and discussing ethnographic films (based on fieldwork experiences) and listening to Brunel students give their experience of studying Anthropology at Brunel. The mini-lectures covered fieldwork such as living on the island of Nias in Indonesia and meeting the last head-hunter of the community and the link between globalisation and development in Singapore. The films presented fieldwork about marriage in the Na ethnic group in China and the treatment and perception of mental health in Indonesia. The conference was a good opportunity for students to think about the challenges and joys of studying at degree level. For me, the day was especially enjoyable as the students positively rose to the

challenge of university-style lessons and were good company throughout. They deserved their free lunch provided by the university! I look forward to next year’s annual conference. Mrs Bridgland – Teacher of Anthropology.

Anthropology at Brunel

Show Jumping Champions

On Thursday 31 October two teams from Highworth braved the early morning to go and compete at an Inter-school Showjumping Competition, hosted by High Weald Academy, at Duckhurst Show Centre in Staplehurst. Despite the weather, it was a great day for the school getting placed in many classes. To begin the day, the class was 70cm individual; Charlotte Giles came a very well deserved first place and Charlie Hilton came fourth. In the team class the Highworth Notes (Hannah Smith, Lily-Grace Chandler and Charlie Hilton) came second and The Highworth Stars (Charlotte Giles, Eleanor Wheeler and Charlie Hilton) came fourth. Finally, to finish the day the teams jumped 80cm and gained a few red rosettes as the Highworth Notes (Katy Laver, Tabi Underhill, Emily Gawler and Lily-Grace Chandler) came first with the speediest rounds of that class. The Highworth Stars also did well coming a very respectable third. Both teams looked very smart in their new jackets kindly sponsored by Mr and Mrs Smith of TUSP.co.uk. The day was very enjoyable and we would like to thank High Weald Academy for their hospitality. Hannah Smith Yr10

9


The Role of Young People in Politics

Amazing Pantomine - Jack and the Beanstalk

Earlier in the year, a group of 10 sixth formers were able to visit the Houses of Parliament due to the generosity of MP Natascha Engel who was kind enough to organise the trip. She was unfortunately unable to meet with the students that day, but offered to come down and speak at a later date. On the 5 December she came and spoke in a lunchtime session to many of the Government and Politics students and various others who were interested. The students had a chance to ask her what it was like to be an MP, her thoughts on the electoral system and many other things including her thoughts on the grammar school system. One of the most discussed topics was her views on young people and politics. She actively encourages youth involvement in politics and supports the idea of lowering the voting age to 16. She also thinks that politics encourages young people to think more widely and to become more involved with their schools and local communities. We also told her of our upcoming plans for a school election and she seemed very happy to offer any assistance possible with the Labour representation. We would like to thank Ms Engel for coming and speaking to us and encouraging the students to get involved. We would also like to support this message and encourage you all to vote in the elections. See you on polling day – 6 March 2014! Daisy Hollingsworth, Yr13 Politics Prefect

On 11 December the whole school, that is 1,150 staff and students, travelled on 22 coaches to the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury to see “Jack and the Beanstalk” which had us laughing from beginning to end. It was very fast and funny, containing many jokes, one-liners, song and dance performances including the traditional “Ghost and Bench” routine, all performed by the very talented cast members. Phil “Mister Maker” Gallagher was hilarious as Billy Trot and the traditional Dame, Ben Roddy, was very funny and quite flirtatious with Mr Smith who joined in and even invited his tormentor over for another kiss on the elbow, which made the students and teachers roar with laughter. Eastenders’ star, Samantha Womack played the magical fairy and was very entertaining, with a great singing voice too. The panto had some wonderful songs and it was generally agreed that “One Day More” from “Les Miserables” was brilliant and worth going to see alone. Lloyd Hollett played Dr Hefferflumphenstein and was a wonderful baddie, while John Barr played a marvellous King Eric. All of the students enjoyed battering the cast with their green “peas” as they threw them at the stage and joined in with the shouting and screaming that seemed fitting with the plot. It was a fabulous show and everyone agreed they can’t wait for next year!

10


Jacqueline Benson Yr8 and Barbora Zatloukalova Yr12 on achieving their 50,000m rowing awards and also to Barbora for achieving her 100,000m award, and to Millie Green Yr8 on completion of her 25,000m rowing award.

Our Y7 U12 Futsal team who went on Tuesday 19 November to the Ashford Futsal tournament. The girls finished first in their group with goals from Alice Bussey and Molly Lightfoot. They reached the final playing against Maidstone Grammar with a win to Highworth. Well done to all the girls who have now qualified to represent Ashford in the Kent Games.

Our U14 Futsal team who won the Ashford and Shepway Tournament and will represent the district in the Kent School Games Finals. Well done to you all and good luck in the Kent Games.

The U16 Futsal Team who displayed determination and great composure, with Lexie Spokes leading the team with amazing goals in almost every game we played. The girls won all their games but lost to Maidstone Grammar who took the gold medals. Our girls finished second out of ten teams. Well done to you all!

All the girls who took part in the Gillingham NPower Football Tournament. Highworth were amazing and finished top of their group playing the quarter finals against Rainham Mark GS. The game finished with a 4-0 win to Highworth with goals from Alice Bussey, Aileen Williams and Izzy Griffiths. In the semi-final the girls met Maidstone Grammar and won 2-0. They then went on to play in the final against St Simon Stock GS, who beat us 3-2. The best team in the tournament lost!! Well done for reaching the final!

The 30 girls who entered the District Cross Country competition which took place at Godinton Park. Yr7 girls were first overall, and Alice Bussey 7AB took first place. The Yr8 & 9 team were first overall with Hannah Brooks 8AB in third place. The Yr10 & 11 team also came first with Maeve Samuels 11KK taking second place.

The 24 girls and 4 senior boys who took part in the County Table Tennis Tournament at Medway Park Stadium. The U13 girls were awarded gold, silver and bronze medals; the U16 girls won gold, silver and bronze medals; and the U19 boys won silver medals. The U14 and U16 teams will represent Kent in the zone finals on 19 January.

The Yr7 ‘Gladiators’ teams who played in a Dodgeball tournament on 12 December and came 8th and 6th place respectively.

Congratulations to…….

Yr7 Gladiators Team

11


Consumer Challenge Quiz

Monday 6 January - Term 3 commences; return to Week A timetable

Friday 17 January - Non-School Uniform - KK

Thursday 23 January - Sixth Form Open Evening

Wednesday 29 January - Year 9 Review Evening

Friday 31 January - Focus Day and Chinese Culture Day

Wednesday 5 February - Year 9 Options Evening

Thursday 6 and Friday 7 February - Dance Show

Friday 7 February - Non-School Uniform - VM Friday 14 February - Friends’ Disco and Last Day

of term

Headteacher: Mr P Danielsen Highworth Grammar School, Quantock Drive, Ashford, Kent, TN24 8UD

Phone No.: 01233 624910, Fax: 01233 612028 Email: [email protected] Website: www.highworth.kent.sch.uk

On 19 November, 8 Yr12 students took part in the Consumer Challenge Quiz Kent Finals at the Wyvern School in Ashford. The Quiz is an exciting consumer education initiative for children with moderate learning difficulties within Special Schools. It has been devised by officers from Trading Standards together with teachers from Special Schools to help raise awareness of consumer issues in an exciting and fun way. Our students worked hard in a variety of roles from meeting and greeting, providing refreshment to being team helpers. The Harbour School from Dover were the winners, with support from Alistair Gilbert, securing their place in the UK final in Spring 2014. Sandra Cook, the event organiser, said, “My gratitude goes out to all of the students, as without them the event wouldn’t run so smoothly. Everybody took their roles seriously and the helpers were fantastic, engaging with their teams. I’m sure you are already very proud of your young people, but I certainly would like to say how proud I was to work with them.” The following students attended the event. Photographer – Sophie Carr Helpers — Sam Obbard, Alistair Gilbert, Lucy Dukes Quiz Master – Samantha Bagulay Refreshments — Ellie Pang Meeting and Greeting — Katie Watson Reception — Suruthi Shasheetharan

Culture Days

On Nepalese Culture Day (Friday 8 November), our Nepalese students introduced us to the tastes, sounds, dancing and games of Nepal. The festivities went on throughout the lunch hour and we are looking forward to celebrating Chinese New Year next term. On Monday 2 and Tuesday 3 December, we welcomed back Stephen Yates from Chaucer College with student teacher Miyu Sato who introduced our students to Japanese culture. Chaucer College will be returning in March with more opportunities to discover the art of origami, Japanese games and chopstick etiquette.

Documents

Highways december 2013