NewsletterIssue No 8 / 2013-14 Friday 31 January 2014 Follow us on Twitter: @SPFSchools

Dear Parents

Navigating the teenage years - discovering one’s own identity while making the transition from childhood to adulthood - is notoriously tricky. Although there’s no ‘magic wand’ solution, parents and schools play a crucial role in helping young people along this journey. We can’t bubble-wrap children to protect them from all the challenges that life brings but we can give them the skills to feel able to cope in the face of the inevitable difficulties – which is why our PSHE programme, tailored to crucial aspects of students’ evolving pastoral needs, is so vital.

Last week, Y7 were pleased to welcome the Play Right theatre company, founded by a former Stephen Perse student. Three actors performed an hour-long play in which teenage characters put themselves in risky situations based on their choices about the use of alcohol and the handling of romantic relationships. This was followed by students working in small groups, led by the Play Right team, to identify and discuss the issues raised by the play and to explore the ways the characters could have made responsible decisions.

Y9 spent an afternoon off-timetable for their ‘Focus on the Future’ event, the beginning of a programme designed to equip students with the information and skills necessary to make sensible and considered choices when choosing their GCSE options. The sessions ranged from reflection on how they make decisions and the factors which should (not) be significant, to using ‘Kudos’, an online careers guidance program, to research different aspects of a range of careers. Students also completed ‘Learner Profiles’, designed to help them reflect on their strengths and weaknesses, interests and skills; these form the basis for individual discussions with their Tutor about their thoughts on GCSE choices before any final decisions are made.

We all know that being human isn’t a straight line of controllable events culminating in a perfect life including a dream job. Things happen. That’s precisely why guidance, both individual and more widely through PSHE, is so vital. We can’t eliminate all difficulties for our children but we can help them to develop the strategies to deal with what lies ahead. Whether it’s Y9 choosing their GCSE options, Y11 discussing domestic violence and exploring different methods of dealing with stress or Sixth Formers making decisions about university courses and destinations, we give students the map for their journey to adulthood and we teach them how to read it.

Kind regards,

Anna KilbyVice-Principal (Pastoral)

Vice-Principal - introduction

NewsletterIssue No 8 / 2013-14 Friday 31 January 2014 Follow us on Twitter: @SPFSchools

We were delighted to welcome a large crowd of parents, friends and students to our Year 9 Creative Arts showcase on Wednesday 29 January. A fantastic and varied display of work from the Year 9 creative module classes was on show: in the Dining Room, an impressive array of work from across the Visual Arts and Design departments was exhibited alongside iPad demonstrations of compositions created in Music and photos of stage makeup designs created in Drama; upstairs in the Hall our audience enjoyed presentations including a hugely atmospheric film made in Digital Art re-telling the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, recordings of compositions and arrangements produced in Music, and from Drama, extracts from The Woman in Black and 1950’s choreographed musical theatre scenes and routines.

Year 9 Creative Arts Evening

Click on the three video

clips, starting clockwise from right, to watch performances

from the evening and a Y9 Fantasy

Makeup sequence.

Y9 Fantasy Makeup

NewsletterIssue No 8 / 2013-14 Friday 31 January 2014 Follow us on Twitter: @SPFSchools

Last week we heard that, for the third year running, we have had huge success in the Jowett-Sendelar Competition, a national KS3 Classics essay-writing competition – even more impressive than last year! Congratulations to all!

Alex Fice was Runner-up in the competition and three more of our students were in the top ten. Twelve prizes have been awarded in total to Stephen Perse Foundation current Yr10 students for their (Yr9) entries in the summer 2013 competition. Topics covered different aspects of the ancient world including Greek Gods, Greek Tragedy, Philosophy, City Life and Warfare.

To give you a flavour of what the competition involved, click here to read this story on our News pages.

Stunning Classics Success!

Year 9 STEM Trip to Plastic Logic and CSROn Wednesday 29 January twelve Year 9 girls went to the Cambridge Science and Business parks to understand more about the companies supporting them in the 10 week Go4SET project. Six students went to Plastic Logic, a company developing cutting edge ultra-thin, flexible screens for portable applications such as tablets, watches, displays etc. The students were even allowed in the “Clean Room” where much fun was had putting on the very extensive protective clothing and then being washed with nitrogen!

At CSR the other team of six students met with different engineers and were shown the latest Bluetooth technology and NFC (near field communication). The students were particularly interested in the new iBeacons for location based wireless information based transfer. You have “hot spots” in a library near a particular exhibit and this will automatically trigger relevant information on the iPad.

The Go4SET project now continues for the rest of this term with the Celebration and Assessment Day planned at the Cambridge University Department of Engineering on the 31st March. Go4SET is a national scheme for students interested in STEM and is organised by the Engineering Development Trust (EDT).

NewsletterIssue No 8 / 2013-14 Friday 31 January 2014 Follow us on Twitter: @SPFSchools

Year 10 Holocaust Education DayThe day began with an introduction to the historical and theological background to the Holocaust. After break, the students listened to a talk given by Holocaust survivor, Eva Clarke. She recounted the harrowing yet grip-ping story of her mother’s experiences during the war. When the Nazis annexed Czechoslovakia, Anka Bergman and Eva’s father, Bernd, spent three years in Terezin, only to be then transported to Auschwitz- Birkenau Death Camp. Sadly, Eva’s father did not survive and was shot on 18th January, 1945. What makes this story even more incredible is that, during that time, Eva’s mother had to hide the fact that she was pregnant from the SS guards. Had this been discovered, she would have been instantly sent to the gas chambers. In April 1945, in the dying days of the war, she was then forced to make another journey, this time aboard a filthy and open coal truck. Weighing only five stone, and nine months pregnant, Anka arrived at Mauthausen, whereupon she gave birth to Eva. This was on the 29th April. The day before, on the 28th April, the Nazis had dismantled the gas chamber in Mauthausen. As Eva said herself, “Well, my birthday is the 29th so presumably - had my mother arrived on the 26th or 27th - I wouldn’t be standing here today.”

Eva’s final message to the students was clear: she tells her story as an act of remembrance, for all those people who died in the Holocaust whose stories have never been told, but also as a way of combating prejudice. As Premo Levi said: “We must be listened to: above and beyond our personal experience, we have collectively wit-nessed a fundamental unexpected event, fundamental precisely because unexpected, not foreseen by anyone. It happened, therefore it can happen again: this is the core of what we have to say. It can happen, and it can happen everywhere.”

In the afternoon session we considered the questions, ‘Who were the perpetrators of the Holocaust?’ ‘What kind of person massacres civilians?’ ‘Why?’ Year 10 considered the case of Reserve Police Battalion 101, formed from ordinary working men from Hamburg, who were commissioned with the task of killing Jews across Poland and Russia. We examined in detail their first mission on 13th July 1942 in the small village of Jozefow, where, by the end of the day, they had killed 1,500 Jewish men, women and children. In groups, the students were asked to consider the various motivations for the mens’ actions and to rank them in order of significance, before being given one piece of evidence at a time in order to discuss whether it changed their judgements. At first they prioritised the fact that the men had no choice for their actions. As it became clear that the men had been offered the chance not to participate in the massacre, many groups shifted their motivation towards the fact that war can pervert people’s understanding of right and wrong, as well as the fact that the men could have been fearful of reprisals. There was some fascinating discussion in the groups about why the men were involved and how they justified their actions.

The students ended the day with a thirty minute plenary, one of quiet reflection, as they listened to ‘In Buchen-wald’, a piece of music composed by a Polish political prisoner, Jozef Kropinski, and had an opportunity to ask further questions. There will be screenings of ‘The Pianist’ and ‘Schindler’s List’ in the coming weeks.

NewsletterIssue No 8 / 2013-14 Friday 31 January 2014 Follow us on Twitter: @SPFSchools

The Exploration Society Spring ProgramThe winter Bayaka climbing course has been a great success, culminating in a recent one-day expedition to the Castle Climbing Centre in London.

An adventurous Spring program has now been launched with a Buccaneer themed training and expedition course com-mencing in early March. The expedition group will explore the Norfolk broads, living abroad motor cruisers with the opportunity to learn to sail dinghy’s and half-decker’s. There is an exciting new “extreme” extension available for those in Years 7 to 10. For more information on all forthcoming activities please visit The Exploration Society website here.

Cambridge–Heidelberg-Montpellier Youth Orchestra (CHMYO)The CHMYO is a long established partnership between young musicians in these three great cities. The orches-tra was formed over 50 years ago, and meets in each city in rotation during the summer holiday.

Cambridge is hosting the event in summer 2014, and the orchestra is recruiting for new members, who will be asked to host a young musician from one of the other countries.

Many of our students have benefited from this unique expe-rience over the years; applicants should be aged 12 – 18 and of at least a good Grade 5 standard by July 2014.

Please contact Mrs Linda Fairbrother for further details: fairbrother.linda@googlemail.com.

Movement showcaseThursday 13 February - Senior School Hall - Please join us for a spectacular evening:

Bodyworks dance, individual dance routinesGymnastics floor work, sports acro, rhythmic &

vaulting

Free tickets are available from reception now!

NewsletterIssue No 8 / 2013-14 Friday 31 January 2014 Follow us on Twitter: @SPFSchools

Parents and Friends Book Club

County Cross Country ChampionshipsFive Stephen Perse Foundation students have qualified from the District Cross Country Competition to compete for Cambridge in the County Cross Country Championships at Ely. All students ran extremely well against 4 other counties and with over 60 competitors in each age group.Minors race - Francesca Topel = 6th placeJuniors race - Sarah Brunton = 19th placeInters race - Henriette Topel = 14th place Melissa Dix = 16th place Emily Gillard = 17th place Francesca now competes for Cambridgeshire at the Anglian championships

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday 4 February, at 8.00pm (contact Adele Warner, 01223 365991). We will discuss ‘The Grass is Singing’ by Doris Lessing.

We always have a lively discussion and are keen to welcome new members. If you are interested in finding out more, please contact Martha Crouch for details (020 7638 6983, martha.crouch@btinternet.com)

Important Safety IssueSchool is open from 8.00am to 6.00pm and student access cards will be activated only between these hours.

After 4.15pm, students should only be in the designated Late Stay room or in a club/activity supervised by a member of staff; they should not be in their form-rooms or elsewhere on school premises.

Thank you for your support in this important area of student safety.

Reminder: to parents of Year 8 students and below, there is a Key Stage 4 Curriculum Information Meeting on Monday 3 February at 6.30pm in the Senior School Hall. Come along to find out how changes to the GCSE curriculum will affect your daughter.

Key Stage 4 Curriculum Information Meeting - Y8 and below

NewsletterIssue No 8 / 2013-14 Friday 31 January 2014 Follow us on Twitter: @SPFSchools

Inspire me: Stop drifting.... start adventuring

Private view - Jacquetta Hawkes and Deep Time

We start the new year with four top adventurer speakers all under one roof to inspire everyone to take an adventurous approach to careers and life. Hear stories of exploration, pushing human boundaries, supporting others, and why they do it.

We are delighted to add alumna Roz Savage MBE to the line-up of speakers on Wednesday 5 February - Roz holds four world records for ocean rowing, including first woman to row three oceans: the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian. She has rowed over 15,000 miles, taken around 5 million oarstrokes, and spent cumulatively over 500 days of her life at sea in a 23-foot rowboat.

Our other speakers are Sasha Borodin, polar explorer (and also a parent of a current student); Fred Branson, who set up a charity helping girls out of poverty in Peru, and two of our 6th formers talking about their trip to Kenya.

For more information on the event, our speakers, and pre-ordering books, please visit our website.

Please book your place for Wednesday 5 February through office@stephenperse.com - no tickets will be issued, but we will note your attendance.

The Stephen Perse Foundation

cordially invites you to

a private view of the inaugural exhibition

in the new Library at the Senior School

Jacquetta Hawkes and Deep Time

Wednesday 5 February 2014

6.00pm — 7.15pm

Light refreshments

Union Road, Cambridge CB2 1HF

On the same evening as the above Inspire Me event, we would like to invite you to a private view of the inaugural exhibition in the newSenior School Library:

Jacquetta Hawkes and Deep Time

The private view will offer a chance to explore the exhibition as well as the new Library. Light refreshments will be served, and if you are already booked for or planning to come to the Inspire Me event, we do hope you will be able to arrive that little bit earlier and come to the Library, or if you would just like to come to the private view and perhaps stay on for the Inspire Me event please do let us know. There is no need to book if you just wish to view the exhibition in the Library - just turn up!

WATCH OUR TRAILER - CLICK HERE

BOTH

OF THESE

EVENTS ARE

NEXT WEEK!

MISS THEM,

MISS OUT!

BOTHOF THESE EVENTS ARE NEXT WEEK!MISS THEM, MISS OUT!

NewsletterIssue No 8 / 2013-14 Friday 31 January 2014 Follow us on Twitter: @SPFSchools

This year’s sixth form play is a hilarious double bill of surreal drama by Tom Stoppard. Both plays feature police inspectors, a chaise longue, fishing waders and a very bizarre plot where nothing is quite what it seems: come along for an evening of light entertainment and laughter.

After Magritte is directed by Faith Beach, L6, and The Real Inspector Hound is directed by Cattie Bolt, U6.

Tickets are available from the Senior School and Sixth Form Receptions or you can emaildrama@stephenperse.com for more information.

The Sixth Form Play – Friday 28 February, 7.30pm