NEWSLETTER Spring Term 2019

CHISLEHURST School for Girls CHSFG NEWSLETTER Spring Term 2019

Spring Term: January - April 2019 www.chislehurstschoolforgirls.co.uk @chislehurstSCH MESSAGE FROM MRS RAVEN

Dear Parents and Carers May I take this opportunity to wish you a Happy Easter, even though it still seems a long way off, due to falling right at the end of the school holidays. As I write, the sun is shining, the magnificent magnolias are in bloom, with daffodils dancing beneath them, on the breeze. Let’s hope this bodes well for a pleasant Spring and Summer. We have an action- packed edition for you in this term’s Newsletter. As you can see, staff and students have been extremely busy. I thank everyone for their hard work and dedication. We are delighted with the positive recruitment to next year’s Sixth Form, with record numbers of appli- cations and acceptances, including a large number of external students. My thanks to Senior Team and Ms James, for holding the important careers meetings, in order to secure this provision. We believe that our excellent exam results, positive local reputation and outstanding league table positions, are the reasons why we are so popular. We say goodbye to Mrs Bhalla Dhir, who leaves us for a school closer to home and thank her for her contribution to the Science department. Next term sees the run up to and completion of A Level and GCSE exams. I know that all students are working exceptionally well so far and wish them every success. I look forward to greeting everyone in the Summer Term: dates and times are elsewhere in the Newsletter.

PARENTS/CARERS ACCESS TO BEAVERWOOD

We must once again remind you all that students arriving to school by car should be dropped off or collected from an alternative nearby location, rather than entering Beaverwood Road. This is to avoid heavy congestion in the access road and to ensure the safety of students, residents and pedestrians accessing the road and school, which of course must be our priority.

There are no facilities for cars to turn around at the end of Beaverwood Road; parents should not enter the turning circle on the school site, or the grounds of Chislehurst Cemetery, which is private property.

We ask that parents must not block entrances to driveways or private roads such as Hoblands End as residents need to be able to gain access to their property at all times. Access must also be kept clear for emergency service vehicles in the event of an incident.

Cars parked on the grounds of the cemetery, double parked in the road or parked on the yellow lines outside the school, risk being clamped or fined, in line with usual procedures in the borough. Cameras are in place on Beaverwood Road and are monitored by Bromley Local Authority.

Thank you for your support in this matter. WELCOME TO OUR COMIC RELIEF 2019 NEW YEAR 7 STUDENTS JOINING US IN SEPTEMBER 2019

We would like to extend a very warm welcome to all of you who have gained a place at Chislehurst School for Girls. We are delighted that you will be joining us in September and we are already Staff and students took an active part in fundraising for planning exciting events and activities for your Comic Relief this year. Lots of forms hosted fantastic daughter, as well as visiting her at her primary events throughout the day. On Friday 15th March, a team school. of staff and Sixth Form students took part in a Cyclothon Please explore our website, particularly the ‘Year for the whole day. 6/7 Transition’ section and for regular updates They each cycled for 15 minutes from 8.30 to 15.00. and further information. Mrs Kay Our aim was to see how far we could go. In total we raised £516.59! Director of Primary/Secondary Transition

YEAR 5 COMPUTING WORKSHOP

On March 19th at Chislehurst School, some Year 5 pupils from Gray’s Farm Primary Academy visited us to participate in a Computing Workshop. Mr Viljoen delivered a challenging and stimulating session to enhance the children’s computing skills, which they thoroughly enjoyed. Some quotes from the pupils: “I have learnt a lot and I’m glad I came.” “I enjoyed today and am very happy about my new skills.” Thank you to all involved with organising these workshops. ONLINE SAFETY GUIDES FOR PARENTS AND CARERS

If you are concerned about your child’s online activity or you believe you do not know enough about online games such as Fortnite or apps like Kik and Snapchat, please have a look at the website listed below to access lots of great resources and guides to help make things a little clearer and help to keep your children safe. https://nationalonlinesafety.com/resources/platform-guides Alternatively, you can always email our IT Support Team if you have any concerns or questions about technology or E-Safety: [email protected] Chislehurst School takes E-Safety very seriously and continues to educate our students about the positives and negatives of online activity. We will do our best to support any concerns you may have.

BOSS LADY EVENT 2019

Thank you to all our students and staff who took part in the charity fundraising event back in January for the Wonder Foundation. The Wonder Foundation aims to empower disadvantaged girls and women through education. The aim of the day was for our students in years 10 and 11 to represent the need to have more women in positions of leadership. Many of our students, with support from their families, embraced this opportunity to represent the importance of having females in predominately male-dominated industries such as Business and Enterprise and STEM. Our students had informed discussions with their subject teachers regarding possible career paths and Sixth Form courses. I would like to leave you with a quote that one of our year 10 students shared with me: “Little girls with dreams, become women with vision”. Mrs A Hart: Assistant Headteacher NUT AWARE SCHOOL

A significant and growing number of students in school have a nut allergy and whilst most allergic reactions are not life threatening, some can lead to a more severe reaction known as “anaphylaxis” with potentially life threatening consequences. To protect those students and staff who experience severe nut allergies, we are requesting the support of students, parents, carers and staff with the following: - No nuts or nut based products to be brought into school by students and staff. - No consumption of nuts or nut-based products in school (e.g. almonds, walnuts, pecans, cashews, pistachios, peanuts, peanut butter etc). We will be communicating this message to students and staff this January and will issue regular reminders. To see the full letter regarding ‘Nut Awareness’ visit our website.

READATHON 2019

We were very excited to launch a Readathon for Year 7 and 8 students this month. This was an opportunity for students to take part in a charity event whilst encouraging them to read. The event was run alongside the Accelerated Reader programme and so benefited our students’ overall progress in reading. This event was all about having fun, so the girls were able to choose anything they fancied reading, from comics to classics and audio books to blogs. The students were encouraged to gain sponsorship per book, per page or per 10 minutes of reading! All the money raised will benefit children in hospitals and will also raise money for new books within our school. The students raised over £600! STUDENT FUNDRAISING Madison Randall of 7C has recently donated 27cm of her hair to the Little Princess Trust Charity and raised £600. The charity provides real hair wigs to children and young people with hair loss, and funds vital research into childhood cancer.

“I cut my hair and donated it so they can make a wig for a young person who is ill”.

Well done to Madison, we are all very proud of you! GIRLS TACKLE ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES DURING NATIONAL SCIENCE WEEK

Students at Chislehurst School for Girls have been “The students really enjoyed the activities and embracing the importance of climate change, as hopefully now know more about climate change part of their studies during the recent Science Week. and pollution than before. I was delighted with the level of enthusiasm and effort our students Year 7 and 8 students have been making board displayed as well as the amount of effort they put in games, designing posters and conducting outside of the classroom. Some of their ideas were numerous experiments as part of a wider theme of very innovative.” ‘journeys with the environment.’ Such was the standard of the work produced, Students who took part in one experiment were Mrs Aldworth is now planning to display the exploring how microfibres from fleeces end up completed board games in the school, with the in the waterways through washing. This has been headteacher having the unenviable task of judging highlighted as a worldwide issue recently, as the the most successful. world’s oceans becoming increasingly polluted with plastic. Students’ posters focused on recycling and pollution and the increasing impact these have on the environment. The board game activity was designed to increase student awareness of how society’s own behaviour as individuals and communities is having an effect globally. Students had to research climate change then use their knowledge to create this board game to increase others’ awareness, which really captured their imagination.

KS3 Science Leader at CHSFG, Mrs Aldworth, who co-ordinated Science Week at the school said,

EX-STUDENT RETURNS TO SHARE HER SUCCESS Chislehurst School Alumni and LCCI Event Manager Chellsie Brooks returned to our school to meet Year 11 students at the Sixth Form Open Evening and spoke to the girls as an ambassador for Sociology. Having achieved an A* in the subject, plus a degree in Anthropology, she was a great choice to promote the subject. DANCING ON ICE STAR ‘SKATES’ INTO CHSFG

‘Dancing on Ice’ and ‘Eastenders’ star Richard Blackwood, made an appearance for the Spring Year 11 Rewards Assembly this term at Chislehurst School for Girls. Students in Year 11 were excited to meet the local celebrity and receive their rewards from him. Students received rewards from the Science Department which promotes STEM throughout the school for their excellent attendance and outstanding attitude. We are very proud of their positive mindset and the resilience shown throughout this challenging year of their school life. As we know, this final GCSE year is demanding for all young people. Our girls work hard to manage their GCSE studies and extracurricular activities in order to ensure that they are fully rounded young people. We look forward to seeing them back in our Sixth Form in September and thank Richard for helping to inspire and motivate our community.

ENHANCEMENT DAY: BRITISH VALUES AND WELLBEING FOCUS Our most recent Enhancement Day back in February focused on British Values and Wellbeing. Highlights were Zumba, meditation, cookery, lessons run by the Holocaust Educa- tional Trust, Bollywood Dancing, Sexual Health Workshops and LGBT day with speakers from the Metro Centre (LGBT charity).

All promoting positive commitment to British Values of Democracy, Equality for all, Individual Liberty and holistic well being.

”The day helped me to understand that there is still prejudice in society and how I can help eliminate it through understanding” - Year 10 student. LITTER 5-A-DAY CHALLENGE

25th March – 29th March 2019

As part of the Keep Britain Tidy British Spring Clean, Year 7 and 8 students took part in the challenge to pick up 5 pieces of litter every day. Each student brought in their named carrier bag to carry their collected litter. Students picked up safe litter only e.g. plastic bottles, crisp packets, plastic waste using their glove provided.

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL PRODUCTION

At the very end of February, Chislehurst School for Girls was transformed into East High School, home of the Wildcats, for our fabulous production of Disney’s High School Musical. Brainiacs, Jocks, Skaters, and Thespians ended up all breaking free, rather than sticking to the status quo, and we learned that we really are all in this together! Everyone who took part gave a huge amount of time and dedication to the production, with rehearsals after school from October onwards, as well as during half term and all day in the days running up to the show. After all of this, all the students involved performed with real maturity and undeniable talent, both on stage, as singers, dancers, actors, and in backstage roles, where students also led the stage management team, the technical teams, and the backstage crew. The Music, Drama, and Dance departments are all incredibly proud of the standard of the performance that our amazing students gave. Miss Mackintosh TAILORMADE MUSIC WORKSHOP We were very excited to welcome The Tailormade into the Music De- partment on Tuesday 12th March. The Tailormade have supported Olly Murs and Little Mix, and have real, relevant experience of the music industry, which they shared with 40 of our Year 8-10 musicians. The day started with ice breakers and warm ups, before looking at song- writing from lyrics, to chords and structure, to melodies. By the end of the day, our students had written three fantastic songs, all completely different from each other, and had really surprised themselves with the high standard of their own songwriter. All three songs are on the school website, so please do have a listen for yourselves - you’ll be amazed at what our students composed in just a few hours. The workshop really developed our students’ confidence in their composition skills, and we look forward to building on this back in lessons. MEDICAL CAREERS DAY On the 13th March, a project came in to give 14 of us the opportunity to have a taster session in medicine. We had 3 sessions during the afternoon. Our first session was in CPR, the recovery position and choking, which taught us basic medical and life skills. Our second session was clinical diagnostics which involved diagnosing patients and looking at the facts and symptoms to figure out what the issue was. We even got to test a urine sample (obviously it wasn’t real urine, it was apple juice as we were testing for glucose!) and looked at MRI and CT scans to diagnose patients. In our final session we did medical ethics, which is the more controversial side to medicine with no right or wrong answers. We were given a scenario where a patient had been given treatment but it wasn’t working or they were refusing it, we then had to decide what to do. Throughout the afternoon we were taught by medical students from all over London who were at different stages in their 5 years of medical school.

If you’re interested in going to medical school you’ll find loads of helpful information at www.medschools. ac.uk. Finally, a massive thank you to Mr Viljoen for oganising. Caitlin Fletcher MUSIC DEPARTMENT TRIP TO LIVERPOOL

On Thursday 7th February, the Music Department were up at dawn, ready to take 30 keen Year 8-10 musicians to Liverpool for the day. After some very early trains, we arrived in Liverpool just in time to take part in a Pop Culture workshop at the British Music Experience, before a tour of the exhibition. We then had some free time to explore the instrument collection, and try them out for ourselves, before taking a quick photo with The Beatles. After a welcome break at McDonalds, we went on to The Beatles Story in Albert Dock, which gave us a real insight into the band’s history and work, before heading back to the station (via Nandos). As always, our students were fantastic ambassadors for the school, and it was a real pleasure to take them to experience a new city full of musical culture. We can’t wait to welcome many of these Year 8 students into GCSE Music next year. Miss Mackintosh FRENCH PLAY: LA SALLE DES ENIGMES Year 7, 8 and 9 students were treated to a play (La Salle des Énigmes – The Escape Room) on Tuesday 26th March, performed by Onatti Productions entirely in French! We followed Marie and Jérémy through Tutenkhamun’s tomb and Howard Carter themed rooms, finding clues, solving puzzles and riddles to unlock the door within an hour to escape the room. A few students were also recruited by Marie and Jérémy to help them along the way. “It was really good, clear and I could understand what was being said.” Abigail Narh 9E. “It was very good and I understood the plot even though I’m not fluent because they were using lots of actions to help us understand”. Mia Linehan 7C. “It was very funny and clear to understand. They used lots of gestures to help me understand what was going on.” Ashleigh Clackett 7C. “It was understandable and funny, and they should come back to do another play!” Evie Bullen 7C. “Even if you didn’t understand it all, they had great acting skills and got everyone involved”. Olivia Hurley-Slade 7C. “The funniest thing was when two students were asked to come up on stage and help them escape, they threw the fish into the audience!” Madison Randall 7C. “I thought it was really good and interesting to watch. I thought the story and plot were very good”. Lauryn Thomas-Cole 8E.

Year 7, 8 and 9 students studying Spanish will have a similar opportunity to watch a Spanish play on Monday 29th April – keep your eyes peeled for the letter on ParentMail. Teachers will also give students more information about this in lessons. STUDENT ARTICLE FAKE NEWS OR REAL NEWS?

Did you know 90% of Brit’s eat meat? No, that’s news was Donald Trump and his election in 2016. because it’s not true. In fact 79% of us here in the UK Many fake news articles were put onto social media eat meat, but that’s how easily you can fall into the platforms, such as Facebook. It is thought that 60% of trap of fake news. voters got their election news from social media. But, it was all denied by the US government. There are 2 main types of fake news, one is where a person deliberately makes up facts and figures to However, there can be a more damaging side to fake suit them and their story. The other is when someone news. When we hear a rumour about someone with- makes an error and reads the facts wrongly, which, out knowing the facts and then telling our friends, let’s admit it we’ve all done. we’re spreading fake news. This can have devastating consequences to that person, they can be bullied, Fake news is a relatively new concept for us but in prejudged and be damaging on their mental health. all reality it has been around for as long as we can remember. We’ve all heard rumours, that’s essential- How can we make sure we’re reading the real deal ly fake news. Ever been accused of something you when it comes to news? We have to learn to be more didn’t do but your mum or dad thinks it was you? subjective with the news, if an article is contradicted That’s fake news. It’s something that has and always by another, it is likely one is fake news or has been will be around. blown out of proportion. By looking more deeply into a story through a number of different news ar- One of the biggest stories about fake news is around ticles, we’ll soon get the right information and figure the EU referendum. Aron Banks, who works with out which article is fake. Another big tell tail sign is if and owns a number of insurance companies, used it’s the only article with that story, that’s dodgy! Often personal information to expose people to the Labour journalists will report on roughly the same stories, as Party’s manifesto and their Leave ideas. One of the they want the most interest in their newspaper and leave campaign’s rather ‘clever’ ideas was to make article. If only one tabloid or newspaper is writing a immigration negative most of the time, and firing story, this can make us start to ask questions about out facts such as; By 2030 88 million people would be how genuine something is. granted places to live here in the UK. Which made it sound as though our country would be overrun by So, how can we help stop fake news in school? When them, but instead we could see it as an opportunity you hear someone talking about a rumour at school, to be more diverse and have more nurses, doctors, avoid the temptation to tell your friends before you train drivers, teachers, bus drivers and many more know the facts. Even if it is really interesting, it could jobs that our country so desperately needs. have a detrimental effect on that person who the rumour is about, but also the person who spreads the But one of the most absurd claims was that we’d rumour. We often forget about the person who spreads be £350m better off a week if we were not in the the rumour, but they can do it as a joke and then it EU. Which Boris Johnson and many of the leave escalates, but this can be irreversible for them as it can campaigners claimed would all go into the NHS. But land them with a bad reputation and even a temporary in all reality it’s estimated to be £250m but if we have exclusion. to pay for a deal or put extra money in to keep our country on its feet after 29th March, we won’t really feel that money at all. We give the NHS £116.4b a year and we gave the EU £19b, so the EU got 16% of what we give the NHS every year. Which doesn’t really sound like much in that perspective.

Fake news is international and happens every day Caitlin Fletcher all around the world; another big story around fake 10C WORLD BOOK DAY 2019

Thursday 7th March was World Book Day 2019. To celebrate, students and staff were asked to dress up as their favourite fictional characters. This year we had some of the best costumes ever created for CHSFG’s World Book Day, and we raised over £180 for the Readathon.

Congratulations to all those who took part.

ROTARY CLUB ‘SCHOOL’S DAY’

Our current Head Students, Aysha and Jack attended the Rotary Club of Bromley’s ‘School’s Day’ on Tuesday 26th March. This was an opportunity for our Head Students to discuss their current studies and aspirations for the future with members of the Rotary Club. Also attending was Councillor Peter Fortune, the Bromley Borough’s Education Portfolio Holder. Jack gave a speech to the club members and this was very well received. An enjoyable lunch had by all.

INFORMAL MUSIC CONCERT Our annual Informal Concert took place on Thursday 21st March, and gave an opportunity for our younger students to perform solos and duets in front of a small and appreciative audience. The Year 9 GCSE Music class all gave performances of the pieces they’ve been working on, with many other students from years 7-9 also performing fantastically. It is one thing to be part of a 75-strong choir up on stage, but quite another to choose to perform on your own in front of a crowd, and we were very proud of the students who performed with such courage and conviction. We are looking forward to our summer showcase concert, MusicFest, on Tuesday 2nd July - details of tickets coming soon. ROMEO AND JULIET LIVE STREAM

On Tuesday 2nd April, Students in Year 11 were treated to a live broadcast from the Royal Shakespeare Company of Romeo and Juliet.

The play was streamed via video feed into several classrooms for the students to watch. The broadcasts start with a live introduction from the studio and include activities for students to help them engage with the production and get the most from the experience.

SPEAK OUT CHALLENGE 2019

The regional final of the public speaking competi- Whilst all students who participated in the day tion ‘Jack Petchey’s Speak Out Challenge’ is always were excellent, the students who shone brightest an exciting occasion and this year was no exception. and were highly commended were Jenna Rogers, Representatives from seventeen schools in the bor- Chloe Broughton, Dara Owolabi and, of course, ough gathered for the event at Langley Park School Amber Redondo who went on to represent the school. for Boys and Year 10 student Amber Redondo was there to represent CHSFG. She was an excellent am- Whilst Amber’s performance at the regional final was bassador for the school and her speech, on the envi- excellent, competition was stiff on the night and the ronment, was delivered with real confidence and flair. event was won by a student from Coopers School. Amber did, however, impress the judges and the The road to the final is not an easy one; twenty five audience alike. students had taken part in a public speaking workshop and competition here at CHSFG in January Well done Amber! and the standard was high. Caroline Clark, visiting trainer and regional manager of the Speak Out project, praised our students and described the day as ‘wonderful’. MICROSOFT HACKING: STEM Building models to understand and mitigate brain injury

Year 11, 10 and 8 students have spent lunchtimes making a brain impact simulator by filling a balloon up with Orbeez and a brain model by folding and using a brain hat template, creating sensors from velostat (a sensory fabric) along with lots of cables and resistors to connect the brain model to a micro-processor.

Having hacked a tennis ball and filling it with washers in order to smash the brain, we then used data streaming technology to record the damage to the brain in a live data chart (left).

The next step was to protect the brain with corrugated foam and retest. The results showing less damage to the brain and the moral of the story… WEAR YOUR HELMET!

By Kathryn Medcalf - Year 10 BULGARIA 2020 SKI TRIP We are pleased to inform you that the school is The aim of the trip is to provide students with now organising our 2020 Ski trip to Pamporovo in first-hand experience of a new activity that Bulgaria. This trip is currently only open to pupils would not otherwise be possible within the nor- in years 7, 10 and 12. The trip will be leaving on mal classroom environment. In addition to Sunday 16th February 2020 and we will be flying this, the trip will also offer opportunities to ex- to Bulgaria. perience a new culture, form friendships and The trip to Pamporovo will offer many exciting create fantastic memories, which we hope they opportunities and experiences designed to rein- will look back on fondly for many years to come. force and further learning in a fun and stimulating Please contact Ms Staples [email protected] environment. at the School for more information. DUKE OF EDINBURGH EXPEDITION This year’s Bronze Duke of Edinburgh group have students put up their tents very adeptly before cook- been working hard towards their award, with several ing their own dinner. Overnight the temperature students completing their Skills, Physical and Volun- dropped significantly, and lots of us regretted not teering sections this term. We have been delighted wearing more layers when we woke up on Sunday! with the progress our students have made working in However, this spurred our students on to pack up charity shops, helping out at Rainbows groups, learn- their camp in record-breaking time, and the improve- ing Judo, improving their fitness at the gym, attend- ment in their navigation between the first and second ing Choir, producing portfolios of artwork, cooking days of the practice was truly astonishing, with most delicious meals, and much more, which goes to show groups sticking closely to their routes and getting to the balanced and well-rounded nature of the award. their finish points earlier than expected. We were de- The group have had to balance all of these alongside lighted, though not surprised, by our students’ deter- training hard for their expedition, working this term mination, team work, and resilience across the whole to plan their expedition routes, as well as learning weekend, as most groups even finished with a smile, how to use the camping stoves. This culminated and can’t wait to take the group out again for their in their practice expedition, around Cudham and qualifying expedition on 4-5th May. Downe over the weekend of 30-31 March. Our 7 groups of students started bright and early, navigating through their own planned route to our

campsite at Cudham. We enjoyed the sun on the first day, and the students worked hard to follow their routes, and to re-route themselves when they encountered obstacles, including some very danger- ous looking sheep! We all made camp before dark (with not very long to spare in some cases!), and the MOCK TRIAL 2019 Bromley Magistrates Court – Saturday 9th of March After months of planning and preparation our team of lawyers had the opportunity to take part in the South East London Regional Mock Trial Competi- tion. We had students from years 8 and 9 taking part across different roles over two rounds which started at 09:30 until 12:30. From lawyers to usher, each of our students had a role to play and were judged by three judges inside the Magistrates Court. This was a fantastic experience for all and we are very proud of the way our girls represented CHSFG. The highlight of the day was that we were the only team to get the guilty verdict on the day thanks to our prosecution team lead by Hawa Salah and our Magistrate team lead by Julianne Chukukere. Well done girls.

Mock Trial Team Witness for Defence: Magistrates : Prosecution Lawyer: Hawa Joelene (Alex) Julianne Witness for Prosecution: Tola (Pip) Usher : Austija (Vik) Legal Adviser Annaliese Ruby (Misha) Kamaria Defence Lawyer: Annietta & Makeda

END OF TERM ARRANGEMENTS

* Friday 5th April last day of term:

Year 12 & 13: will have lessons 1-2 as per timetable and from 10.50 there will be an Easter activity in the Sixth Form block. Students will be dismissed at 11.15 from the Sixth Form block.

Year 11: will have lessons 1-2 as per timetable and from 10.50 there will be an Easter activity in the Sixth Form block. Students will be dismissed at 11.15 from the Sixth Form block.

Year 7 & 10: will have lessons 1-3 as per timetable and break as normal; students will be dismissed at 12.10.

Year 8 & 9: will have lessons 1-3 as per timetable and break as normal, students will be dismissed at 12.15.

For students, the first day of the Summer Term isTuesday 23rd April 2019. Students will attend their timetabled lessons.