Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Lealands NewsLealands News School Newsletter | Issue 21 | December 2014 | Student Name ____________________
Lealands High School, Sundon Park Road, Luton LU3 3AL
Tel: 01582 611600 Fax: 01582 612227
Email:[email protected]
AspireAspire BelieveBelieve AchieveAchieve
Coming Up >>
Inside this issue:
Headteacher’s Introduction
School Notices
Macmillan Coffee Morning
Dance Show Auditions
Presentation Evening
Young Chef of the Year
Luton’s Best Awards
Professor Dell Visit
International Schools Update
P2-3
P4-7
P8
P9
P10-11
P12-13
P14-15
P16-17
P18-19
Gifted & Talented Day
Student Voice Update
Year 7 Update
Christmas Shoebox Appeal
Christmas Food Tech Club
Blue Peris
Sports Leaders
Sports Ambassadors
Thinking Maps
P20-21
P22
P23
P24
P25
P26-27
P28
P29
P30-31
Christmas 2014 EditionChristmas 2014 EditionChristmas 2014 Edition
End of termEnd of term
Friday Friday
19th December 19th December
12.30pm12.30pm
www.lealands.luton.sch.uk
Spring Term begins Spring Term begins
Tuesday Tuesday
6th January 20156th January 2015
Year 9 Parents’ Year 9 Parents’
Evening Evening
Wednesday Wednesday
21st January 201521st January 2015
Half Term
Monday 16th
February - Friday
20th February 2015
2
Introduction from Headteacher - Mr Burridge
It has been a long and busy term for us all and I know that
both staff and students are looking forward to a very well
deserved Christmas break.
Year 11 students have just completed their mock exams and
their attitudes and behaviour during this stressful period
proved to be excellent. We are sure they will keep up the
good work and go on to achieve great results in June.
This year, we have introduced the attitudes to learning
grades which have been shared with parents in interim
reports at parents evenings. These have proved to be
popular with parents and students and helped us to monitor
the relationship between attitudes and progress. We are all
well aware that excellent behaviour for learning goes well beyond being quiet and passive
in lessons. We want to use this system to encourage our students to take greater
responsibility for pushing themselves to make excellent progress. This links to our greater
emphasis on thinking (see the thinking maps section in this newsletter) and students
responding to the teachers’ marking in green pen.
An important part of learning and preparation for the future is home learning/homework.
Over the past couple of years, we have worked to ensure that parents are much better
informed about home learning with Show My Homework (our online system) and that we
are rigorous in our expectations. Your support is invaluable in ensuring that students
complete home learning to the best of their ability and by the deadlines set. A staffed
homework club is available three nights a week in the Learning Resource Centre for any
student who would like to complete work at school or have the help of staff members.
Please can I ask that you talk to your son/daughter about their home learning regularly
and support them to complete this on time. If you have any queries or concerns, you can
communicate with class teachers via the Learning Diary or telephone (somebody will get
back to you within 24 hours). Tutors can also help if there are concerns which extend
beyond a single subject.
There are always many positives to celebrate at Lealands and, as you know, we are a
school which strongly believes in acknowledging and rewarding our students when they do
well. A highlight of every half term for me is a pizza lunch that I have with the two
students from each year group with the highest number of achievement points from the
previous half term. We are constantly rewarding students and I am really pleased that this
term (so far) our students have gained a whopping 27,320 achievement points – an
average of about 35 each! We are very proud of them.
3
Introduction from Headteacher - Mr Burridge
Important Dates
School will be closing on Friday 19th December 2014
at 12.30pm for the Christmas period and starts again on
Tuesday 6th January 2015
STAFF TRAINING DAY - Monday 5th January 2015
Term Dates
Spring Term: Tuesday 6th January 2015 - Friday 27th March 2015
Half-Term: Monday 16th February - Friday 20th February 2015
Summer Term: Tuesday 14th April 2015 - Friday 17th July 2015
Half-Term: Monday 25th May - Friday 29th May 2015
Bank Holiday: Monday 4th May 2015
Year 9 Parents’ Evening: Wednesday 21st January 2015
Year 10 work experience starts: Monday 2nd February 2015
Year 11 Parents’ Evening: Wednesday 11th February 2014
As we come towards the end of term, we are all looking forward to enjoying the festive
season. This includes Christmas lunches prepared by the kitchen staff for our students and
staff. Senior citizens and the on-site nursery children will be well fed by our catering
students and entertained by performing arts and music students. We have some lovely
decorations in the school, thanks to year 7 students (and a few staff!) and assemblies with
an advent theme have been led by LCET. Our annual Christmas concerts prove very
popular and are another highlight of the season. Our students continue to think of others
at this time of year with each tutor group preparing a hamper for the food bank and Keech
Cottage. Shoe boxes have been filled and sent overseas. Toys and presents are being
collected for Adenbrookes and Keech. Christmas jumpers will be worn on the 12th to
support Save the Children and staff are contributing to Keech Hospice Care again this year,
in lieu of sending individual cards. We certainly do a lot at Christmas and it is great that
the whole school community get involved.
May I take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support for me and the staff
who work so hard for your children and wish you a peaceful Christmas and happy New
Year.
4
Online Payments
It is extremely important that we have up-to-date contact information for all students. Any
changes to a student’s address, parental contact telephone numbers or email addresses
should be passed to Mrs Lawes at student services as soon as possible either by telephone
on 01582 611600 or by email to [email protected]
Contact Information
Don’t forget you can pay online using the ‘Parents Payment’ link from the homepage of
our website: www.lealands.luton.sch.uk
If you do not have your link code to login, please contact the school finance office on
01582 611600. Parents can pay online for the following:
Voluntary Contributions Events, Trips and Visits
Technology Years 7, 8 and 9
Graphics Year 11
Resistant materials Years 10 and 11
Art
Food Technology Year 10
Textiles Year 10
Amsterdam 2015
Please Remember You Can Now Pay For School Meals Online
The school prefers for all school meals to be paid for online. This gives you the flexibility to
top up your child’s account at home using a debit or credit card rather than having to use
cash or cheque.
Access to the online payments can be found on our website using the link at the top of the
page ‘Parents Payment’; this will take you directly to the registration/log in website.
Further details and an online payments instruction manual can be found on our website:
www.lealands.luton.sch.uk
Change To The School’s Email Address
Lealands’ email address has changed. If you would like to email the school, please could
you do so at the new address [email protected]
5
Letters To Parents
Letters which have been sent home during the week, will now be available to view or
download from our website every Friday on our 'Letters to Parents' page. This can be
found by visiting www.lealands.luton.sch.uk and clicking on the 'News & Events' tab.
Exam Equipment
We will not be lending equipment to students during exams. Please ensure students are
prepared and come to their exams with the required equipment.
Severe Weather Notice
In the event of an emergency school closure, for example due to severe weather, parents/
carers will be informed by text message. If you are unsure whether you have given us an
up to date mobile number, please contact the school on 01582 611600. If you do not have
a mobile phone, you are advised to check the school website www.lealands.luton.sch.uk -
where a message will be added to the ticker.
Details of school closures will also be listed on the local government website
at www.luton.gov.uk
Ebola Virus - Advice for Schools
Public Health England (PHE), in conjunction with the Department of Education, has produced advice for schools, colleges, childcare and residential settings to ensure the public are properly informed about the Ebola virus.
Parents/carers should not be unduly worried about the possibility of their children catching the Ebola Virus.
The risk of Ebola arriving in the UK is low and, to date, there have been no cases of Ebola Virus Disease being contracted in the UK.
Any person arriving in the UK having travelled from any Ebola affected countries will be screened. If they are free of symptoms, they are not infectious and there should be no restrictions on their school attendance or normal activities.
Ebola can only be caught by direct contact with the blood or body fluids of a person who is ill with the disease. The virus is not spread by the airborne route.
There is no reason why your children should not continue to attend school as normal.
Further information on the Government’s response to the Ebola virus can be found on https://www.gov.uk.
6
Head Boy and Head Girl
We would like to announce Lealands’ Head Boy and Girl
for this academic year.
Head Boy is Year 11 student James Ford and Head Girl is
Year 11 student Ashley Thomson.
Congratulations to them both and we wish them luck in
their new roles.
Tetanus and Meningitis C Booster Injections
A catch-up session will be held on Wednesday 28th January 2015 for any Year 10 students
who have not received their Tetanus and Meningitis C boosters.
Please contact our Medical Officer, Miss Maczugowska for further information and/or a
consent form.
College Open Day Dates
Barnfield College
Tuesday 8th January 2015
Wednesday 11th March 2015
Luton Sixth Form College
Tuesday 13th January 2015
Wednesday 21st January 2015
Wednesday 28th January 2015
Bedford College
Thursday 22nd January 2015
Wednesday 11th March 2015
Bedford Sixth Form
Wednesday 14th January 2015
Thursday 19th March 2015
North Herts College
Thursday 5th February 2015
Milton Keynes College
Tuesday 10th March 2015
Overdue Library Books
A reminder that all overdue books must be returned to the Learning
Resource Centre before the Christmas holidays. Thank you to all
students who have returned their overdue books this term.
7
Value of the Month
Oustanding Achievements
Well done to Year 7 student, Lauren Young, who has recently achieved two regional times
in swimming for the 100 & 200m butterfly. As a result, she has been selected to attend a
regional training camp.
Lauren’s strongest stroke is butterfly, which is considered to be one of the most physically
demanding strokes. She trains seven times a week, both morning and evenings to develop
herself further and to prepare for competitions.
Congratulations Lauren on this outstanding achievement and good luck from all at
Lealands for all your future competitions.
8
Macmillan Coffee Morning - September 2014
On Friday 26th September, Lealands joined the ‘World’s
Biggest Coffee Morning’ in aid of MacMillan Cancer
Support.
The event was organised by the school’s receptionist,
Mrs Profeta, with the help of catering teacher, Miss
Selby and food tech staff, Mr Burr and Miss Lowery.
Staff donated cakes and biscuits, whilst students baked
both during lesson time and after school to ensure
there was enough to go round the whole school plus
the community event which took place afterwards.
The coffee and cake sale took place in the technology
area during tutor time and break time. Students and
staff paid £1 and were able to choose a cake and drink.
It was overwhelming the amount and variety of cakes which were available. A firm
favourite was Mr Burridge’s chocolate cake; this was the first to sell out!
Each year group took it in turns to visit the coffee and cake sale with both members of staff
and students working together to ensure it all ran smoothly. Following the student’s event,
Community Development Manager, Mr Payne, invited forty members of the local
community to come in for tea, coffee and cake.
Our visitors were served by a group of Year 7 student helpers from Lealands’ student voice.
They proved to be fantastic hosts; helping carry drinks, cakes and joining in conversation.
During this event the students also got our visitors involved with a competition of ‘Guess
the number of hundreds and thousands on the cake.’ There was a charge of £2 to enter
with half the proceeds going to the charity with the other half going to the winner.
Once everyone had finished eating and drinking, Mrs Profeta revealed the answer to the
competition which was 4,856. The closest, with a guess of 4,764 came from Mr Vic Balaam.
He won a total of £44, but immediately donated £20 back to the campaign.
This year’s event absolutely smashed last year’s total of £257.98. In fact we managed to
more than double it with a grand total of £528. Well done to everyone who was involved,
whether you baked, helped or purchased the delicious goodies it all went towards creating
another successful charity event.
More photos from the event are available to view on the Gallery page of our website
9
Dance Show Auditions
In October, students took part in auditions for the annual Lealands dance show. There was
a great turn out meaning auditions had to be spread over two days. Some entrants
auditioned in groups whilst others auditioned for solo parts.
Various styles were on show including street dance, contemporary and ballet, all of which
had been prepared and choreographed by the students themselves.
The standard was excellent as usual and gave judges Miss Harley and Mr Kinnear some
tough decisions. The successful candidates will be performing at the annual dance show in
March 2015. This is always a highlight of the academic year, with such talented young
dancers on show.
10
Presentation Evening 2014
The successes of Lealands’ students were
celebrated in style at the school’s annual
Presentation Evening in October. Over 250
students, staff and parents filled the beautifully
decorated Sports Hall to celebrate the
achievements of students from the past academic
year.
The school ethos of ‘Aspire, Believe, Achieve’ was
fully demonstrated with prizes and awards in a
variety of categories presented to over 100
students. These included; progress, certificates of
excellence and subject commendations.
Presenting the awards and guest speaker for the
evening was Paralympic athlete Danny Crates, who
won Gold in the games in Athens. His moving and
humorous speech entertained the crowd and inspired them about how to overcome
obstacles in life and how to keep striving for excellence.
The guests were also treated to students from each year group giving a review of their
experiences at Lealands and what aspirations they have for this year and the challenges
they face.
Thirteen students who departed Lealands after their GCSEs this Summer were invited back
to receive prestigious school trophies. The speeches from the teachers presenting the
trophies were very emotional and moved a few students to tears.
The ceremony culminated with a display of singing and dancing from Performing Arts
students and rounded off an exceptional evening beautifully.
Lealands Vice Chair of Governors and Vice Principal of Luton Sixth Form – Mr Altaf Hussain
attended the event and said “I would like to extend my warmest congratulations on what
was a superb event. I was particularly impressed with Danny and the student speakers. It is
also reassuring to know that the majority of the School Trophy winners are now my
students at Luton Sixth Form”.
More photos from the event are available to view on the Gallery page of our website
11
Presentation Evening 2014 - Photos
12
On the Friday before half-term, the kitchen staff
prepared a fantastic Halloween themed menu. Lunch
included spicy graveyard chilli with tortilla grave
stones, sausage roll scary mummies , sword fish and
firecracker pizza. Pudding was a choice of toffee
apples or
decorated
Halloween
cookies and
cakes.
Halloween Menu
Lealands has won 1st and 2nd place in this year’s ‘Young Chef of the Year’ competition, emulating the same success as last year.
The two Year 10 catering students; Chloe-Rose Nicholson and Irene Madzimure did exceptionally well to match the fantastic achievement set by last year’s winners Megan Cole and Alice Yeboah. This year’s event took place at Barnfield College and
included students from Luton schools; Lealands, Ashcroft, Icknield, Barnfield West and Stopsley.
Young Chef of the Year Competition 2014
13
Young Chef of the Year Competition 2014 - Cont’d
The students had to design their own menus, set their own time plans and lay their own tables. Marks were then awarded for the meal itself as well as presentation, skills demonstrated and food hygiene standards.
The competitors had to prepare and cook a two course meal in an hour and a half, which then had to be presented on their tables ready for judging.
Chloe, who was awarded first place in the competition, prepared a grilled fillet of salmon with a chilli glaze served with an avocado salsa followed by triple chocolate brownie with Chantilly cream. Her prize for winning was a trophy, certificate and £30 worth of Amazon vouchers. She will now move on to the district finals which take place in February.
On winning the competition she said;
“I was really shocked and excited to win the Young Chef of the Year and I can’t wait to participate in the district finals in February”
Irene who came in second place, only lost out to Chloe by two points. She prepared an oriental style menu of chicken and vegetable stir fry with boiled rice, followed by a spiced pear, apricot and fig compote, topped with an infused crème fraiche.
She said, “I was very happy to be awarded second place because I knew I was up against some extremely tough competition”.
Hospitality and catering teacher Miss Selby said on her two students winning, “I am so proud of Chloe and Irene. There was a lot of expectation on them following last year’s achievement. However, they have put so much time and effort into their work including coming in to practise during their own time that they fully deserved to win first and second place. Their meals were presented beautifully and stood out amongst the competition”
Chloe will now participate in the district finals
in February next year so will be busy in her
catering lessons preparing for the next
competition.
14
Luton’s Best Awards
Following the Luton’s Best award ceremony at Luton Hoo on
Friday 28th November, Lealands is extremely proud to
announce that Year 8 student, Charlie Nelson, not only won
the Child of Courage award, but also went on to win the
People’s Choice award.
Charlie’s award was fully deserved due to his fantastic work
for The Brain Tumour Charity following the loss of his
brother Reecie in September 2012. Charlie has dealt with
his loss by organising fundraising events for the charity set
up in memory of his brother. His efforts began at Christmas
2012 when Charlie kindly gave selection boxes to the
children at Keech cottage (the hospice, where his brother
had spent some time) which he then followed up at Easter
2013 by giving Easter eggs.
Charlie wanted to expand his charity work and decided to come to the school for some
help and support. He decided on a memorial walk around Grafham Water. Charlie enlisted
the help of his friends from the Year 7 football team and produced a promotional video
detailing the cause and requesting sponsorship. He also had a stall at the Lealands
Community Fun Day to help start the ball rolling. The walk would be spread over two days
with an overnight stay at nearby campsite Top End Farm.
Charlie and his friends did the Reecie Nelson Memorial Walk in July and it proved to be
extremely gruelling for the boys. Many of them suffered bad blisters and exhaustion.
However, their hard work and
perseverance paid off, as they
managed to raise a massive
£2093.82 for The Brain Tumour
Charity.
Charlie continues to raise awareness
for the charity and visited Alameda
Middle School in Ampthill; where
his friend attends; to present an
assembly detailing his work and
recruiting help for his next project. Despite what Charlie has had to go through over the
15
Luton’s Best Awards Continued
past couple of years, he is flourishing at school and currently has some of the highest
Mensa scores in the country. We are all extremely proud of Charlie and his work and
believe he is a very deserving winner for this award.
On receiving the award he said “I can’t believe I won two awards, I didn’t think I would get
another after winning the first. When my name was read out I thought it was someone else
with a similar name to mine”
Everyone associated with Lealands High School would like to congratulate Charlie on his
awards and wish him all the best in his fundraising efforts.
On Tuesday the 11th November, students and staff
gathered together by the memorial garden at 11am
to observe a two minute silence to commemorate
Remembrance Day. Over 900 students and staff
bowed their heads and stood as the silence was led
into by music teacher, Mr Patterson, playing “The
Last Post” on the trumpet.
Following the silence, Year 10 student Rudo Makoni
recited the poem ‘In Flanders Fields’ by John McCrae and Headteacher Mr Burridge;
accompanied by Head Boy, James Ford and Head Girl, Ashley Thomson; laid a poppy
wreath next to the memorial tree in the garden.
A representative from each tutor group stepped forward and planted poppies and poppy
crosses alongside the wreath.
Access to the garden was made available to students for the following few hours giving
them the opportunity to lay their own personal poppies in the garden if they so wished.
After the event, Headteacher Mr Burridge said “It was a very moving occasion and our
students showed great respect and dignity. It was a bit cold and windy on the day, but
everybody agreed standing there for 2 minutes was the least we could do to remember
those who sacrificed so much for us”.
During the week leading up to Remembrance Day, students had all been involved in
assemblies and lessons discussing the reason behind Remembrance Day and the centenary
of the beginning of World War One.
Lealands Remembers
16
Professor Dell Visits Lealands
As part of the ‘Speakers for Schools’ programme, Professor Anne Dell from Imperial College, London kindly visited Lealands High School to talk to the Year 9 students and Year 10 Triple Science students.
The fundamental point Professor Dell wanted to convey to the students was “It does not matter where you come from or your background, you can aspire to
become something great”.
Professor Dell is a fine example of this, as she told the students her background story. She grew up on a farm in the outback of Western Australia, near Perth. The family had no electricity, TV, radio, phone and no other people close by. She did not even attend school until she was eleven years old and that required a one hour bus ride every day.
She went on to study chemistry at the University of Western Australia and that is where she got her opportunity. Her teachers encouraged her to study abroad. In 1971, she was fortunate enough to gain a scholarship to Cambridge to do a PHD.
In 1972; following a two day flight; Professor Dell arrived in the UK and Kings College in Cambridge became her home for the next three years. She was extremely homesick in the beginning, but found her mentor Dr Howard Morris a great help, she said to the students, “people in your life can really help make a difference to you”. He introduced her to the Lake District, where she saw snow for the very first time.
At Kings College in Cambridge, Professor Dell studied mass spectrometry. This is the technique that helps identify the amount and type of chemicals present in a sample by measuring the mass of molecules. This technique is currently used to test athletes for performance enhancing drugs and to test the fuel in Formula 1 cars is correct. It is also used to find causes of diseases such as cancer and diabetes and to explore and create new drugs and medicines.
In 1975, she completed her PHD and after a quick trip home to Australia, Professor Dell returned and joined Imperial College, London. Her mentor at Kings College Dr Morris had set up the first mass spectrometry lab there.
She is now a Professor of Carbo-Hydrate Biochemistry and specialises in the role sugars
17
play in the body, seeking to answer biological questions such as “How do pathogens infect cells?” and “Why are developing foetuses not rejected as "foreign" by their mothers?” Her laboratory is a centre of excellence, working with scientists around the world to define the biological roles that glycans (sugar polymers) play in health and disease.
Professor Dell read out a very fitting quote from Michael Angelo to emphasise her point “The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark”.
Following the talk she was involved in a question and answer session with the students and was taken on a tour of the school.
Professor Dell’s talk was both motivational and inspirational to the students. It gave them great encouragement to aspire to be something great no matter where they have come from and to take the opportunities of further education that are offered to them.
Professor Dell said she likes to keep in touch with the schools she has worked with and even sets up visits to Imperial College to see her work in practice.
On leaving the school, Professor Dell spoke with Assistant Headteacher, Miss Bews, who
organised the event and said “I was very impressed with the buzz all around the school and
the very clear engagement of the pupils in their classes. A lovely atmosphere and inspiring
surroundings”.
Professor Dell Visits Lealands
18
Our links with our two partner schools continues to grow. Sazira School, Tanzania Mr Edward Ntungi visited us in September and was delighted with the presentation of two cheques raised by our students to help Sazira School in Tanzania. It was decided to use the money to deepen the borehole that provides water for the school. It is hoped that the now deeper borehole will provide a regular supply of water throughout the year. I will be visiting the school in January to check on the progress being made. Our Student Council have also decided to donate money raised from the recent non-uniform day for a further development. Subodh School, India At half term I set off for my second visit to Subodh School in Jaipur. My wife joined me for the first part of the trip; as it had been 25 years since we first met in India we decided to spend a few days in the famous Taj Mahal Palace Hotel to celebrate. The hotel was
everything we hoped it would be and not as expensive as we had feared. We then travelled north by train and stayed a few days in Vadodara, Gujarat; this was the city where I first worked in India. At the end of the week my wife returned home and I journeyed further north on a 13 hour overnight train; not an experience I
would recommend if you like comfort and a bit of privacy. I had now travelled over 1000km by train for roughly £20. Even though it was Sunday; Jaipur Station was amass with people. Being the only non-Indian on the platform I was soon surrounded by porters and rickshaw drivers trying to part me with my luggage and money. I eventually settled on £4 to carry my bags from the station and a rickshaw to my hotel on the other side of town. The hotel proved to be a peaceful retreat in the evening from the chaos on the streets outside.
International Schools Update
At the Taj Mahal Palace with Zeena their
Customer Relations Manager.
19
On Monday morning I was collected and driven to the school; Dr Bella Joshi and her senior staff were waiting to greet me and were very keen to talk about the progress our partnership had made and what we might be able to do in the future. I spent the remainder of the day in the maths department working with their 12-14 year old students; they enthusiastically tried many of the maths challenges we use with our own KS3 students. They did find our style of problem solving difficult at first but very quickly adapted and developed strategies to solve the problems I presented to them. The highlight of my week was when I joined a group of students on a visit to a village that was in the grip of starvation a few years ago; but, has now with the help of a variety of charity groups has adopted an alternative approach and is now leading the way in rural development. Solar energy provides basic needs for power such as lighting and some refridgeration; there is ample water stored for 4 years; women have been trained as midwives, one lady despite not going to university is a dentist (she was trained by a volunteer British dentist) and another practices acupuncture; polio has been eradicated and they are gradually replanting the woodland that was lost during the prolonged drought. From donated materials they are fabricating huge mirrors that are being used to heat stoves for cooking and amazingly there is a hall that has a large number of villagers producing mother boards for computers that are being exported around the world. All these developments have taken place despite the fact that the majority of the villagers
are unable to read or write. To get information about their rights across to the villagers a traditional Rajasthani method has been used – puppets – many of the villagers have are portrayed as puppets as well as many individuals that influence their lives. The whole village was evidence of what can be achieved with an appropriate education programme and a willingness to learn.
I am really grateful to Dr Joshi and her staff for once again, making me feel so welcome.
International Schools Update
At work with Lealands Pencil Cases
Producing mother boards
You wouldn't see this in Luton's Town Centre
20
Gifted & Talented Day
On Monday 1st December, Lealands held a
Gifted and Talented day for selected
students from Year 7 - 10. The students in
Years 9 and 10 led the event, whilst the Year
7 and 8s took part. To find out what went
on, a student from Year 8 and 10 give their
perspectives of the event.
Our first challenge was to overcome the
‘human knot’. This is where two teams join
together and link hands in a random order
and have to untangle themselves so hands
are not crossed. I think this helped us to
communicate with members in our team and acted as a good ice-breaker. I was pleased, as
our team won.
We then got given the main challenge which was to design and build a paddle boat. The
aim was to end up with a product that moved in the water without us pushing it – but to
move using a paddle/propeller. We had to first complete a sheet designed to see where we
were in terms of skill, which we would then complete after the project to see if they had
developed.
Before break, we discussed in teams how we could build the boat and what processes
could be used – the most useful being to design, build, evaluate, re-evaluate and so on.
After break, we began building, putting all the skills into action. We decided on team roles
and each person had to stick with their role. We found that the propeller should be
powered by winding up rubber bands. We worked to create a firm structure as we later
found that we had to carry building blocks on our boat.
We were given cups, skewers, straws, tape and cardboard, so we stuck cups together and
sealed them to ensure no water got in and used this as our structure. We wrapped tape
around the cardboard to keep it waterproof, but found a problem when adding the
propellers as the cardboard didn’t spin in the water. We assumed this could be due to the
strength of our propeller.
21
Gifted & Talented Day
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
After lunch, we made final modifications and then went over to the swimming pool to test
our boats. As predicted, ours didn’t move.
Overall, I’m really happy with how the day went and I’m very proud of my team. I got to
know people well and my skills had developed – especially my perseverance! I hope to do
something like this again and can’t wait until we do. By Shania Mohit Year 8
To start the day we did an icebreaker game to
introduce everyone to the day. This consisted of the
“Human Knot” game which allowed everyone to get to
know each other better and communicate with one
another. The main task was to build a boat that could
power itself across a paddling pool, using a small
number of materials. Throughout the day the younger
children had the opportunity to develop skills such as
teamwork, communication, cooperation and many
others. It gave them (and us leaders) the chance to
explore and be creative in our way of thinking. The
main thing everyone found difficult was making a
paddle that could push the boat through the water
using only elastic bands as the power source. They had
to try and overcome this by using their brains
collectively as a group to think about how to solve the
problem.
Once we had given them all the information we needed, Mr Payne and Miss Bews gave us
a chance to make a paddle boat of our own. It allowed us leaders to be able to put we had
learnt so far in to action and also a chance to compete against the other year groups. I
would like to have said we had won, unfortunately this was not the case. The winning
group did very well and managed to propel their boat quite far across the school
swimming pool.
Altogether it was a good day to improve on skills that we may not have used a lot before
and also lead others in the right direction to achieve success. By Tia-Ebony Travers Year 10
22
Student Voice Update
On Friday 24th October, Lealands had a non-school uniform day and raised £770 for Sazira School in Tanzania. Student Voice members surveyed the student body and it was decided that we would continue to support this very worthy cause. We have been visited by Edward Ntungi, a teacher from the Tanzanian school, and we know the money raised will make a massive difference to his pupils and the quality of their education.
Student Voice members have been working very closely with our Gold Ambassadors to plan a Dodgeball competition which will take place in February next year. The event will raise money for the British Heart Foundation and Lealands. The students have been working very hard every Wednesday during their lunch break to ensure that it is a great success. Irene Madzimure, a student in Year 10, will be starting a new Student Voice club in January. The club will welcome students that have recently moved to this country and we hope it will be a place where they can find their “voice”. We want to learn all about different cultures, languages and through new friendships increase our feeling of community throughout our school. The club, like all Student Voice projects, will be run by the students for the students. Another project Student Voice members have been working on this term is, “Our Story”. Early next year every student and member of staff will have the opportunity to share a personal story or experience. It does not matter if it is funny, sad or even educational just as long as it comes from the heart. It could be about your Great Grandparents or how your Mum and Dad met. You could tell us your most embarrassing moment or you could describe how you felt when you un-wrapped your best ever Christmas present. There will be more to follow on this including lots of stories that we have already compiled to get you started. Thank you to all the students that have worked so hard this year to make Student Voice a success. How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. ~Anne Frank
23
Year 7 Update
Year 7 have really embraced the Christmas spirit and have been leading the way in preparing for their first Christmas at Lealands. Year 7 student voice led the judging of our ‘decorate a snowman’ competition with the winning snowmen being displayed on our Christmas tree in the atrium. As well as this the Year 7 and 8 technology club have been busy making Christmas stockings and gingerbread men to be hung on the tree with the snowmen. The winners of the snowmen competition, members of the technology club and Year 7 student voice enjoyed Christmas music and mince pies as they were invited to decorate the Christmas trees after school. Also in preparation for Christmas, the Key Stage Three choir has grown since our Year 7s have joined us and we have a number of members of the orchestra who will be performing in a variety of Christmas performances. As we head towards the end of term, Year 7 still have their Christmas writing competition to enter. This involves students writing about their favourite Christmas memory. These will be judged by a panel of independent judges. Year 7 students will also have a visit from ZooLab. They will be bringing a variety of exotic animals with them for the students to
learn about and hold if they dare to! There will also be a special performance of ‘A Christmas Carol’ to look forward to that illustrates the book the students have been studying in their English lessons this term. A very busy and productive first few months! Photos and information from these events will be in the next newsletter. For the full story and photos from the food tech Christmas club, please see page 25.
24
Christmas Shoe Box Appeal
Students in Reengagement have been busy wrapping
shoe boxes with Christmas paper and filling them with
toys, books, crayons and toiletries for our Operation
Christmas Child Project.
The project is run by the charity Samaritan's Purse and
is now the UK's largest Christmas appeal. It started in
1990 and since then, more than 113 million
underprivileged children in over 130 countries have
received a shoebox filled with gifts which have been
wrapped and packed by children and adults from the
UK.
We filled 7 shoe boxes and delivered them to our local
drop off point - The Entertainer Toy Store in Luton. The
boxes will be collected by the charity who will send
them overseas, where local churches will distribute
them to the children.
This project reminded our students that Christmas
isn't just about what presents we can ask for but it's
also about what we can give to help others.
25
Technology Christmas Club
In the weeks leading up to Christmas, a group of Year 7 and Year 8 students have been working very hard making gingerbread and laser cut decorations for the Christmas Tree in the atrium.
Mr Burr and Mr Roberts helped the pupils to implement a range of technology skills, from laser cutting designs, baking Christmas themed gingerbread biscuits and of course, the intricate task of decorating them all.
Once the decorations were completed, the students helped decorate the tree themselves. The whole experience was really rewarding and taught them to have pride in their work. It was very clear that all students gained a great deal from this activity.
26
Blue Peris 2014
On the morning of Sunday 9th November
2014, 36 excited Year 9 Lealands' students
departed on a trip to Blue Peris
Mountaineering Centre in North Wales.
Arriving in the afternoon, the students were
raring to go and, after settling in, they were
ready for their first activities.
Over the week, each team tried their hand at
gorge walking, exploring and climbing through
old slate mines, mountain walking, raft
building, sea level traversing and abseiling.
Throughout the activities, the teams learned
different skills, but, most crucially, they
learned how to work together as a
team. Students who do not always socialise
together became team members and learned
to work together to help the team complete
the challenging activities.
Blue Peris commended the students on their
excellent team work, how well they overcame
fears and how they created an enjoyable
atmosphere for learning and developing their
confidence within Blue Peris.
After 6 days of fun and challenging activities,
the students returned safely to Lealands on
Saturday 15th November, exhausted but in
great spirits after an amazing week.
Many thanks to everyone involved in the trip
for making it another enjoyable and valuable
experience, including the staff team: Miss
Watson, Mr Payne, Mr Stallwood, Mr Morris and Miss Wight who accompanied the Year 9
students on the trip.
For all the photos from the trip, please see the Gallery page of our website.
27
Blue Peris 2014
28
Sports Leaders
Sports Hall Athletics
On the 5th November at
Inspire Sports Village in
Stopsley, students from
Lealands were Sports
Leaders at the year 5 & 6
Sports Hall Athletics
competition. This gave us a
chance to show our
communication skills and to
show how confident we are at holding our own events.
12 schools competed in many different events including vertical jump and long jump.
Everyone who joined in enjoyed the day; it was also a good experience for us as young
leaders. This was our first leadership event.
By Leah Davis – Silver Ambassador
Students involved were:
Astier Ransom, Amber Ephgrave, Nana Opoku-Gyamfi, Charlotte Carey, Leah Davies, Sarah
Hilsdon, Cameron Green, Harry Baker, Sophie Shaw, Geri Matthews, Clare Frost, Samara
Ottey, Ethan Ruko, Christopher Tamina and Joash Roberts
On Monday 17th November the Silver and Gold Ambassadors set off on a trip to Dell Farm.
The aim of the day was to work on our teamwork and communication skills and also for the
Silver Ambassadors to see what it is like to be a Gold Ambassador.
The Silver Ambassadors were very lucky because any one of the Lealands Year 9 Sports
Leaders could have been selected for this honour.
When we got to Dell Farm we were given a hot breakfast to prepare us for what was ahead.
The Gold Ambassadors left to prepare the activities for us. Silver Ambassadors went in a
room altogether so we could mix with other schools. We got into groups and sorted the
activities which included cup stacking, getting into orders while balancing on a plank of
Ambassador Training at Dell Farm
29
Ambassador Training at Dell Farm
wood. We also met a
Paralympian who gave us a
very inspirational speech. We
did many other activities after
that and then it was time for
the activities that the Gold
Ambassadors planned.
Overall the day was great. We
had to work together in order
to complete the tasks. Some
people showed great
leadership skills throughout
the day. It was a great
experience and we look forward to more events coming up.
By Clare Frost – Silver Ambassador
Students involved were:
Gold Ambassadors - Kayla Perry, Tia-Ebony Travers, Shannon Shakes, Elise Crick, Amoy
Smith and Nadine Scarlett
Silver Ambassadors - Leah Davies, Sarah Hilsdon, Samara Ottey, Ethan Ruko, Christopher
Tamina and Clare Frost
Congratulations to the following students for their success in ICT/Computing this half term
(September – October 2014)
Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Year 11
Thomas Bostle Leon Doherty
Arturas Brazauskas
Christopher Tamina
Chelseigh Brookes
Becky Edmonds Dominika Pitak
Ryan Brown
Matthew Fitzgerald
Angelina Jageshar Liam Willis Shiveni Radia
Computing Successes - Sept/Oct 2014
30
Thinking Maps
At Lealands, we are using thinking maps across the curriculum and across year
groups. Thinking maps are visual learning tools. Each map is based on a fundamental
thinking process, such as a quantity, sequencing, classifying, and comparing and con-
trasting, and can be used together as a set of tools for showing relationships.
31
Thinking Maps
They help students to understand that there are different thinking processes and see the
process they are using. The diagram gives examples of the maps, what they look like and
what thinking process each map is used for.
32
