MARCH 2013

Comic Relief A huge thank you and congratulations for

those wonderful people who sold Red Noses and joined in or supported the

football match at lunch. A special commendation to Abby Pollock and Emily

Hayes for organising the match.

THE KING JOHN COLLEGETHE KING JOHN COLLEGE

Sixth Form News FlashSixth Form News Flash March 2013 Edition

5 college weeks until the Examinations begin

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MARCH 2013

“Hearing is not like seeing.” Since 2005, the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Lessons From Auschwitz project has seen over 18000 students across Britain visit the historical site in Poland as part of a four part course, which explores universal lessons we can take from the Holocaust and at their relevance to the world today. On the 7th of February I stood on the very ground which witnessed the mass murder of over 1.1 mil-lion people, 1 million of which Jews but others as well including; coloured people, gypsies, disabled people, Catholics, old people, pregnant women, poor people and those whom were considered ‘inferior’ or different from the Nazi’s conception of normal. The previous week I had attended a seminar to prepare me for my visit along with around 150 other Students from the Essex County. We looked at life before the war and into the individual lives of the future victims of the Holocaust. One of the aims of the project is the re-humanisation of the people who suffered, as they all have individual stories to tell. It is here we heard the testament of a Holo-caust survivor called Renee Salt. Perhaps one of the worst parts of her story was that after the libera-tion of the camp - she was kept in ‘Bergen-Belsen’ (she had been to Auschwitz Birkenau also) - her mother died just 12 days later. I can’t imagine her life, hearing her speak was as though she was de-scribing something extremely hypothetical that couldn’t happen, I whole heartedly believed her but what can make her story seem real? The project is based on the idea of “hearing is not like seeing” but you could twist that to say “hearing is not like living” for although I have seen the very hair that was shaved from the scalp of 40,000 women, there is no way we can begin to comprehend life back then. When people refer to Auschwitz they are talking about the three main sites; Auschwitz I, Auschwitz II (Birkenau) and Auschwitz III (Monowitz). With this project you visit Auschwitz I and II, and believe me it is an ex-perience everyone needs, for peo-ple don’t appreciate who they are before knowing what it is to be stripped of your humanity, such as the people of the Holocaust were. Here you see the remainders of the victim’s lives, from the shoes they walked in, to the train track that was their last stop. Even inside one of the gas chambers. You honour those who suffered at Auschwitz Birkenau with a ceremony and remembrance candle which you are free to place anywhere within the camp. Getting involved with this project is perhaps one of the best educational decisions I have made. Each year two Students from each Sixth Form or College are chosen to take part, and on the follow up seminar you discuss what you have seen with your group, and talk about your next steps project. The end result is that you as an Ambassador go and teach others about the lessons you have learned from your trip. The main issue surrounding the Holocaust to me was prejudice. The sad thing is that the world has not yet learned from the Holocaust as today there are people being murdered, singled out, bullied and neglected just for being different. I hope that people continue to visit Auschwitz before it deteriorates and ceases to be a memorial of what people are capable of, for one day it will no longer be there and I hope that as I am now you can be encouraged to visit and plan how to teach others about what you learn. You have read my brief encounter with Auschwitz, but reading is nothing like visiting.

~ Laura-Alice Turner Year 12 "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" George Santayana.

Our ceremony on the train track in Auschwitz Birkenau.

LAURA

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The journey through Poland begun at approximately 8 in the morning as we arrived by coach to Oswiecim. WHEN WE ARRIVED we discussed the Jewish population that lived in the area, and that over 50% of the population were Jewish. This entire population was reduced to zero by the Nazis almost overnight. The synagogue in Oswiecim was one of the largest in Po-land and was visited by people from all over the world to admire it, this was also destroyed overnight. We stood on a grassy patch as a large group not knowing till after that this area was where the synagogue once stood. Later that day after visiting a smaller synagogue we listened to a speech by one of the rabbi’s who accompanied us to Poland. Later that day the coach travelled to Auschwitz to a small camp where Jewish people where taken. The camp had been made into a museum where all of the barracks and the rooms had all been put behind glass. In some of the rooms were shoes from all of the Jewish people who had ever been to Auschwitz, women, men and children. Another contained one of the most disturbing sights that anyone could ever see. This was all of their hair which had been cut and wound up into strands from every person who had been killed there. After we had left the barracks, we visited one of the last standing gas chambers. The chamber that we were allowed to enter was one of the coldest places I had ever been in. all of the walls that surrounded us were covered in drawing and words that had been carved into the walls by people who had once been there. After we had exited the chamber we then travelled to Ausch-witz-Birkenau which was the most know concentration camp from films like Schindler’s list. We had a tour of the camp, to places where the train would arrive to bring people in to the camp and to where the memorials were. Once we had finished the tour we had a speech from the rabbi who had spoke to us in the syn-agogue, he recited a few poems and also a verse from his holy book and finally we lit candles in respect to everyone who was at these camps placing them all over the area. ~ Macauley Semple Year 12

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MARCH 2013

Gemma Ford Year 12

During the February half term I visited Oxford University as a part of the Student Shadowing Scheme, and shad-

owed a student taking a maths degree. The day was split up into two parts; in the morning a group of us had a workshop at Christ-church College (where Harry Potter was filmed!) to learn about the different aspects of Oxford University, such as defeating the stere-otypical views, the local area and the leisure activities on offer such as the different university societies. We also got given tips for answering interview questions, which was very beneficial as we could speak to current graduates who had been through the process themselves.

After the workshop, we went to Jesus College and spoke to a professional who has worked at Oxford for many years, whilst getting a tour of the college. We then met our student shadow, and had lunch in the halls of Jesus College, which was just like the Great Hall in Harry Potter. This was very useful, as I was able to speak to a variety of people about their experiences of Oxford, and ask different questions not just about Oxford, but university life in general. After lunch, another student, the Maths student and I walked around Oxford city, as the col-leges are spread around the whole of Oxford. Alice, our student shadow, was located within Corpus Christi College, so we were able to see their common room and have a tour of the grounds. Alice was a first year student and was really kind and useful, as she was able to tell us, from a student’s perspective, about her experiences of university, and about maths in depth. At 3 o’clock we went to a tutorial with her, and were able to watch in to learn about the methods of teaching occurring, which are different from that of school and sixth form. One thing I learnt was that Oxford is really caring about their students, and this was reflected by the 2:1 ratio tutorials, where the Professor is really able to focus and ensure that their stu-dents are receiving the best education possible, and are learning to the best of their abilities. Overall, the day was really beneficial and useful to me as I was able to gain a real insight into life at university at Oxford. I learnt that the stereotypes of students are not true, and that the people studying there are genuine, hard working people. I learnt a great deal from the day, about universities in general and how to prepare and answer interview questions, and was lucky enough to be able to have a spectacular tour of Oxford. This unique experience is one that I will definitely be able to take with me when choosing where and what I want to study when applying for university myself, and I am extremely grateful and lucky to have been able to participate in Oxford’s Student Shadowing Scheme.

Shadowing at Oxford

University Experience

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MARCH 2013

Miriam Popa Year 12— Shadowing Scheme Oxford

The day started really early in the morning, 5:00 am to be precise! It took us about 3 hours to get to Oxford but we found traffic and I was a bit late because of the traffic and the fact we couldn’t find no where to park… J Oxford looked really beautiful and the buildings were very detailed and ancient.

The day started by having an introduction to Oxford and the universities there were. I was surprised to find out that Oxford Uni-versity was not a campus but more of a city university as Oxford University was divid-ed into many colleges, and the facilities were spread out all over the city. In the in-troduction which was at Christchurch (one of the colleges), there were year 12 students from all over the country. We then met the people who we were going to shadow. My “shadow” was a nice Catholic girl who studied French and German. She showed me around the universities, the massive 1 million books libraries, and the beautiful cafes in the city. She also showed me where the dorms were and she has a room that was of a decent size with everything she needed in (except toilet and shower, which were separate).

Then she took me to a tutorial which is where you get the chance to speak to teachers about your work and ask for advice. They are usual-ly with another 2 people, but this one was with 6 girls who all studied French and Ger-man. The topic was on a German play, and I was grateful that she gave me a heads up be-fore because otherwise I wouldn’t have un-derstood a thing! As well as tutorials they have lectures, but I didn’t get the chance to experience a lecture. At lunch we went in an-other college to eat and the food was lovely. The day ended about 4:00pm, and after say-ing my goodbyes to the shadow student, I left towards Essex. I had a good experience in Oxford as the place was very pretty and the atmosphere was very intellectual, however I don’t think it’s for me personally because I think I would prefer a more modern university as I would feel more comfortable in it. However, this day has made me realise that if I really want to do French as a degree, I need to work real-ly hard and even more if I want to combine it with another language… it has given me a flavour of what Oxford colleges are like, and reassess my course choices.

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MARCH 2013

Rebecca Abiona Year 12

Trip to Oxford Uni…

Our trip began by waking up really early – 5am – to get to Oxford for 8:30am. It took us over 2 hours to get there, but that was down to the amount of traffic we ran into. When we arrived at the town area, we had to walk quite a bit to get to Christchurch College. I used to think Oxford was one big uni, but was surprised to find that it was made up of over 30 different individual colleges! We got a bit lost trying to find our way, but eventually got there. On arrival, we were welcomed by two current students and met the undergrads that we would be shadowing for the day. I shadowed a first year Law student, named Gifty. She was very out-going with a down-to-earth, and we were able to get along well because we had so much in common. She took me to see her college – St Catherine’s – where I was able to see where first and second year students lived. Although I wasn’t able to experience a lecture or tutorial session, I was fortunate to visit other colleges and have a tour of Christchurch. We also went to town, which is student friendly and very convenient. It was interest-ing to see so many bikes! Almost every student had a bike – students didn’t need to have cars because everything was within a few minutes’ walk. Whilst in town, we stopped for a Starbucks Mango-passion fruit slushy, while Gifty explained to me how the applying process worked. Overall, I enjoyed my experience at Oxford and would recommend visiting for an open day to get a real feel of what it’s like :)

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MARCH 2013

David Abiona Year 12

My Day at Oxford On Wednesday 6th February I visited

Oxford University for a shadowing day. I had an early start in the morning, travelling about two hours to reach the city itself. My first activity was the shadowing where I was partnered with an undergraduate called Josh and followed him around for a couple of hours. He was studying Computer Science, a subject I’m also interested in, and gave me a fantastic insight as to what it’s like to be at one of the world's best universities. During the morning, we attended a lecture, which in all honesty didn’t make any sense to me! It was nice to think that it would in a year or two but I did my best to make notes and embrace it all. Following lunch we had a brief tour of Christ Church, one of the many “Colleges” that make up Oxford University. We then went to a workshop where we asked ques-tions about the Uni, found out other bits of information from other Oxford students and participated in some group work. Overall, the day showed me how Universi-ties function and will help me to make an informed decision as to which Uni I will go to and the course I will study.

Rising Stars

Alfie Richmond Hard work in all his subjects

Kiera Ryan Help with the Chrysalis Group Holly Bryant Most improved student Yr 12

Daniel Waggon Hard work in all his subjects

Jack Bailey Most improved student Yr13

Dat Nguyen Hard work in all his subjects

Everyday Heroes Students voted by their peers to be

an everyday hero...

James White Jessica Judd

Yanoulla Dellas Joshua Newton

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MARCH 2013

The University of Sheffield – Automatic Control & Systems Engineering Is keen to recruit students onto degree programmes. They have recently announced a Depart-mental Student Scholarship of £3000 for home/EU students who achieve AAA at A-Level (including Mathematics and Physics – or a similar subject). Further details see www.shef.ac.uk/acse

Plymouth University Peninsula, Schools of Medicine and Dentistry Open Days being held on Saturday 20 April and Saturday 1 June 2013 to be held at Tamar Sci-ence Park and Main Campus. Take the opportunity to speak with Student Ambassadors and Academics attend presentations on the Curriculum and Admissions process visit state-of-the-art clinical teaching facilities experience small group learning environment experience an Enquiry Based Learning Scenario visit teaching facilities on main Plymouth University City Centre campus Further information and booking: www.plymouth.ac.uk/peninsula

FE2HE Health Professionals Easter Residential The University of Southampton is running a 4 day Easter residential event for Year 12 students from Monday 25th – Thursday 28th March. This event is aimed at gifted and talented students from non-traditional backgrounds. To qualify for this free residential you must meet 2 of the following criteria: First in your immediate family to pursue Higher Education. Living or grew up in public care. In receipt of a 16-19 bursary or similar grant. Studies affected or disrupted by circumstances in your personal, social or domestic life. http://www.southampton.ac.uk/schoolsandcolleges/residentials/fe2he.html Deadline for applications is 11th February.

Psychology AS Level Essay Competition The University of Cambridge Department of Psychology is hosting an essay competition for Year 12 students in their first year of post 16 study who are considering a degree in Psycholo-gy. Closing date 30th June 2013.

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MARCH 2013

University of Essex In 2013 the University of Essex is running a number of conferences for Year 12 and 13 stu-dents. Places are booking fast but there is still availability for the following events: Biology - 22 March; Exploring Humanities – 26 March; Sociology – 28 March; Maths Winsten Day – 1 July; Insight into HE day – 21 June See website for details www.essex.ac.uk

Anglia Ruskin University Open days on 27 April; 22 June; 5 October; 2 November 2013. To book your place visit www.anglia.ac.uk/discover1 Email: answers@anglia.ac.uk Call: 0845 271 3333

University of London 2013 University Taster Course Programme leaflets are now available from the Sixth Form LRC. They offer free taster courses in multiple subject areas at numerous universities in and around London. It aims to provide students looking towards starting university in September 2014 with the opportunity to experience a taste of university life in London. All taster courses are free of charge to students. For further details visit www.london.ac.uk/tasters

Medicine Summer School 2013 Debate Chamber is offering a 4 part medicine summer school. Each part is run over two days and can be taken as a stand-alone unit or combined with other units. For further details of each part, including dates and costs visit: www.debatechamber.com/summerschools/medicine-summer-school.

Chance to be Chancellor Competition How would you run the country’s economy if you were the Chancellor? Enter this national competition and have the opportunity to win an iPad and an invite to the Youth Budget 2013 launch in Parliament. Visit www.payingforit.org.uk for details.

UCAS INFORMATION For Important Dates please visit www.ucas.com/students/importantdates UCAS Website www.ucas.com

UCAs Card Information www.ucas.com/ucascard School Number: 16742 Password: KJS2013AMAZING

If you have any questions please see Ms Macbeth or Mr Duncan in the Sixth Form Office.

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MARCH 2013

Congratulations to the U19 Netball Team who are through to the Final of county competition on the 27th March after beating Colchester 37-17 Squad Yanoula Dellas, Ella Glazier, Carla Harper, Lisa Cutmore, Lucy Hines, Olivia Wilton, Annie Sexton, Elena Dellas, Ellie Jade Smith

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MARCH 2013

How I became involved in athletics:

I became involved in athletics due to my dad often running a lot of marathons. At the marathon races, they often had ‘fun runs’ and it was by doing one of these that I was noticed by the Chairman of Thurrock Harriers Athletic Club. Although I now run for Chelms-

ford AC, I would not be involved in athletics now if it wasn’t for Thurrock noticing me and getting me involved in athletics. I was 10 years old when I got invited to go along to my first training ses-sion. I loved the whole atmosphere and made some great friends who I still talk to, although we are all doing different things now.

My first race was at the Essex Championships on my 11th birthday which I won and after this I began to get into bigger and bigger

races.

When I was 16 in 2011, I participated in the World Trials at Birmingham in the 800 me-tres. I really enjoyed this race because I came 5th in the final, which I did not expect at all. I raced against Marilyn Okoro and Jenny Meadows which for me was a strange because I had always been watching them on the TV and I was suddenly racing against them! It was one of the best experiences and I learnt a lot from this race and made friends with the athletes that I idolise.

In the same year, I had come third at the World Youth Championships in Lille, France. This was an amazing ex-perience and was the first time I had ever gone abroad to race! I loved spending two weeks in a holding camp with the team, and it was so much fun. Everyone on the team got really nerv-ous, but because we were all together it made it much more manageable. It was really hard to balance both my final exams for my GCSE’s and competing but I was very happy when the two were over.

Compe ng in the World Trials

With my medal at the World Youth Championships

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MARCH 2013

A Fantastic Summer Holiday Volunteering Opportunity for Young People in Essex County Council and Southend-on-Sea Borough Council Libraries Essex Libraries are inviting students aged 14 and over to volunteer in their local library dur-ing the summer holidays. Their role will be to encourage children to participate in the annual Summer Reading Challenge and talk to them about the books they are reading. Students can use this opportunity to gain work experience within their community. They can put the vol-unteering hours towards Youth Award Schemes such as Duke of Edinburgh, Employability for Life, vInspired, etc. Volunteers will need a minimum of 15 hours – although they are welcome to offer to do more hours if they would like. For further details please see poster, role description and application forms available in the Sixth Form LRC. Alternatively these can be found on the Essex Libraries website Summer Reading Challenge Volunteer page. The deadline for applications this year is Friday 26th April 2013 if aged 16 and over during the summer holidays. All application forms need to be signed by a teacher/tutor from the school/college.

The best event I have competed in was the World Junior Champi-onships in Barcelona. I competed in both the 800 metres, where I came second, and the 1500 metres where I came fifth. It was an exhausting week as I had to race 5 times in 6 days, due to having heats,

semi-finals and finals for the 800 metres, and then heats and final for the 1500 metres. I was so happy with both performances due to running faster than I ever have before in both. Preparation before the 1500 metre heat was so different to anything I have expe-rienced before. This is because I had a drugs test after the 800 metre final and so got back to my hotel at 2 in the morning, just 9 hours before I was due to race again! These performances also made up for coming third in the Olympic Trials and missing out on a London Olympic place. The weather was amazing and the hotel we stayed in was incredible and had a beach view! It was lovely and I had a lot of fun! My last competitive race was at the European Cross Country Championships in Budapest. I enjoyed the experience but did not run well due to getting hypothermia while racing in -9°C conditions. It took me two weeks to recover and I had to have time off Sixth Form. It was not good preparation for my January A2 module exams!!!! However, I really enjoyed the atmosphere and loved getting to know people and make friends!

Just missing out on the gold medal by 0.05 of a second!

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MARCH 2013

For me, being an Ambassador means being a role model for the students of the younger years of the main school. I feel that it is important for many of the younger students to see that it is possible to be success-ful and there is nothing stopping them from achieving. As a group we represent the stu-dents of Sixth Form, both by attending events such as the Sixth Form open evening and by listening to the students to make sure that if they have any suggestions or questions re-garding the Sixth Form, their opinions are heard. Faye Shillibeer

Being an student ambassa-dor is like being Boris John-son. People listen to you because they have to, not because they want to. Be-ing an ambassador is im-portant to me because I’m not a representative of the students, I’m a representa-tive of my friends. I like be-ing part of a group who fights and argues for change when and where it’s needed. I don’t see myself as a role model , I see my-self as someone on the same level as the students and not above them. I like being an ambassador be-cause it gives me the re-sponsibility to fight for and accept change. Jack Giles

As a student ambassador we have the opportunity to pro-vide a pupil voice for the 6th form. The selection process was very difficult as we were interviewed in front of im-portant members of staff. The process resulted in the election of two head, two deputy and a media ambassador; alt-hough we were all then given different roles within school. Being an ambassador has provided us all with a valua-ble experience, as we had the responsibility of bridging the gap between pupils and staff. Together we were given the valuable chance to integrate

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MARCH 2013

The King John Sixth Form Dress Code

The following rules must be respected by all students.

STUDENT I.D. MUST BE WORN AT ALL TIMES

Shirts

T-shirts must comply with the following: no neon colours; no slogans, images or writing which may be seen as offensive or includes sexual innuendos.

In the cases of girls, t-shirts must cover bra straps, must not be low cut and must not show any midriff or cleavage.

Vests are not acceptable.

Round neck t-shirts may only be worn with chinos or smart trousers or skirts.

Trousers

Normal tailored trousers.

Smart dark jeans or jean-style trousers.

No scuffs, rips or tearing in jeans or trousers.

All trousers/jeans must be worn correctly around the hips or waist (no underwear to be shown).

Jeans are to be worn only with collared shirts. Blouses or polo shirts for girls, shirts or polo shirts for boys.

Skirts

Skirts must be no shorter than four inches above the knee.

Skirts can be worn with any type of blouse or shirt.

Dresses are allowed, but not strapless dresses and bra straps must be covered.

Leggings & Jeggings

Leggings & jeggings can be worn ONLY if accompanied by a skirt or dress or full tailored shorts. However the rule on the length is the same as for skirts.

Footwear

No flip flops, sandals or open toed shoes.

No high heels.

Shoes, ballet pumps and training shoes should be smart.

In addition

No caps, hats or hoods can be worn inside the buildings.

Accessories should be kept to a minimum.

No facial piercings and no ear plugs are to be worn.

It is essential that students comply with the dress code. Any student who chooses to dress It is essential that students comply with the dress code. Any student who chooses to dress inappropriately will be sent home and will make up any missed lesson/study time from 3.30pm inappropriately will be sent home and will make up any missed lesson/study time from 3.30pm onwards every Friday.onwards every Friday.

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MARCH 2013

REVISION SESSIONS Maths Revision Maths Revision classes for both Year 12 and 13 students will be running as follows: Tuesday 15:30-16:30 Room UE7 Wednesday 13:30-14:30 Room UD7 Thursday 15:30-16:30 Room UE7 Friday 13:30-14:30 Room UD7 Media/Film Catch Up Sessions Media/Film catch up sessions will take place every Wednesday lunch time in UA2. Psychology Year 13 Psychology Revision Year 13 Psychology revision classes will take place in UA7 as follows: Py1 – Tuesday Lunchtimes Py2 – Thursday Lunchtimes Modern Foreign Languages Reminder to Year 12 and 13 students that they should be using Kerboodle to develop learning and should be up-dating their learning journals each week with other independent work. Year 13 Sociology Revision on Unit 2 will starts Friday 1 Febru-ary at 12.30-1.30pm in room UA11.

Connexions Interviews Sixth Form students can book an interview with Mrs Masheter of Connex-ions by completing a referral form or email-ing her direct on annamash-eter@southend.gov.uk / an-nam@kjs.demon.co.uk. Tutors and Sixth Form office staff will re-ceive an email from Mrs Masheter on a Wednesday to confirm the careers interviews for that week. Students wishing to know when their interview is should speak to their Tutor or a member of the Sixth Form office staff. ID Cards Have you got your King John id card? Please make sure you have them with you when you are in College. If you would like an additional NUS card which provides all kinds of discounts for students you can apply online at the NUS website: http://www.nus.org.uk FLYER Professional Flight Training Exhibition Career exhibition for people considering a career as an airline pilot: Saturday 20 April 2013 Sofitel Hotel – Terminal 5 London Heathrow Airport 10am – 5pm www.flyer.co.uk/exhibitions

Year 13 Leavers Ball

Date - 21/06/2013 Venue - Stock Brook Manor

Ticket Price £30 per head, deposit of £5 to be paid by 27/03/2013 to Yanoula Dellas or Jack Giles.

The Year in Industry – Computing Students YINI, the UK’s leading placement experts are currently recruiting post A Level computing students for 9-12 month paid placements before university. There are vacancies in companies in the South East in all areas of technology. To be eligible you need to register online at www.yini.org.uk