150 Seymour Road, , E10 7LX Tel: 020 8988 5860 / Fax: 020 8988 5861 Website: www.lammas.waltham.sch.uk Friday 4th March 2016 ISSUE NO: 384 Email: [email protected]

Governor’s Corner Well it’s the first week of March and Spring has nearly arrived according to the weather people, yet I wonder if they know what they are talking about as they predict snow showers in the next few days! But I see the cherry trees are coming into blossom and the daffodils were resplendent for St David’s Day so the Easter holidays will soon arrive and it will nearly be public exam time too, this year seems to have flashed bye so far and I sometimes struggle to keep pace.

I am delighted to be able to tell you that we have a new Parent Governor; Ms Babs Pierre who has a son in Year 7 and we hope a daughter joining us in September in the next Year 7. She is a welcome addition to our school Governors, joining us with lots of experience of school governorship in the LB of Newham. I’m sure everyone will join me in welcoming her and we look forward to her future contributions to making Lammas even better. I have to, with some personal sadness, inform you that former Councillor and Mayor of Waltham Forest, Mr Tarsem Bohgal has tendered his resignation from the Governing Body with immediate effect. His resignation is prompted by personal circumstances and I have on behalf of the Governors accepted his resignation whilst thanking him for his time and effort that he has put into helping the school aspire to its potential. This puts us in a position that we will have to fill some Governor vacancies but it is my intention to advise the Governing Body to wait until later in the year to do so. One of the strengths the school Governing Body has is its size and the individual commitment each of your Governors put in (like meetings at 8 o’clock in the morning). This means that our activities and ability to operate are not compromised by holding one or two vacancies. I said last time I would update you on what the Governors have been doing this year, well there has been a lot going on. Firstly there has been a full cycle of Governing Body and Governor Committee meetings since January through which we have continued to monitor and challenge Lammas to continue to work for even better achievement for our pupils. Secondly, we have reviewed nearly all the roles and functions of the Governors Committees and agreed terms of reference, continued to review in detail, with reports from Curriculum Leaders, at least two subject areas a term and have been planning for the future. In addition to this the Governors have been back to school on several occasions this term to work together to complete the Governors’ Action Plan and ensure our preparations for Ofsted are as robust as we can make them. I joined Ms Ramsay at the last training day to talk with the staff about the future for our school and how we might enable all the staff to contribute and be part of planning our way forward in the light of the Prime Ministers statement that all secondary schools should become Academies before 2020. It was agreed that some Governors would join with a voluntary group of school staff to facilitate a group to investigate and look at the options for the school. This group has now met on two occasions after school, proposing to meet further as details firm up. So far the group has looked at the pros and cons of options from doing nothing to how we could best become an yet still retain our independence and commitment to the local community and the ethos and philosophy that Lammas has developed over the past years. This has inevitably led us to take on further work some of which I am tasked to do. Hopefully I will be able to come back to the Governing Body and the school after Easter with some realistic proposals for us to consider. We will then share them once the Governing Body has agreed the course of action we think the school should take. The term is very short and I just realised that the next Governors corner I write will be after Easter so I just want to finish off by giving our best wishes and encouragement to all our pupils preparing to take public exams after Easter – time and sacrifice now will bring its just rewards when the results come out. I also want to again thank the school staff for their hard work and dedication to our pupils. And finally to extend my best wishes to you all for a joyous Easter which after all is the major Christian holiday of the year with its message of hope and light.

Yours as ever Ted Cooke Chair of Governors YEAR 8 – KEY STAGE 4 OPTIONS FOR SEPTEMBER 2016 Year 8 students are about to choose which subjects they wish to take for their Key Stage 4 qualifications. Options Assemblies started on Monday 22nd February and took place every day throughout last week. Students were handed the Curriculum Handbook on Friday 26th February to take home, which contains information about all Options subjects. Please discuss with your child what would be the best option subjects for him/her to choose. The Options Evening for Parents and Students is on Thursday 10th March, starting at 4.00 p.m. and finishing at 7.00 p.m. Students will collect their Options Application form on arrival and will need to have it signed and collected by a senior member of staff before they leave. This is one of the most important Parents’ Meetings of the year and we look forward to seeing all of you there on Thursday 10th March. Brent Payne Deputy Headteacher

YEAR 12 OPPORTUNITIES Please see below for a range of offers and opportunities for Year 12 Students: Trip to USA by the Transformation Trust Open to: Sixth Form Students Deadline: Thursday 24th March 2016 The Transformation Trust is delighted to be offering a truly once-in-a- lifetime work experience opportunity for Sixth Form students. Inspire US 2016 will see 20 Sixth Formers from five different schools travel to the US to be campaign interns for the final two weeks of the US elections. Working in the swing state of Florida, the students will work alongside seasoned political campaigners from both national parties. For more information, please visit: http://www.transformationtrust.org.uk/news/

Free University Residential at the University of Lancaster Our Summer Schools give students the opportunity to work with Lancaster academics and current students in order to expand their subject knowledge and to develop key transferable skills. We are proud to be a campus-based collegiate University and students will be encouraged to take an active part in their given college, meet and make new friends. Also, Sixth Formers will get involved in exciting sports and social activities that make up part of the Lancaster student experience. The Summer Schools available this year are listed below: Study Biochemistry and Biomedicine (4th – 8th July 2016) Study Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (4th – 8th July 2016) - Subject options: English Language & Linguistics, English Literature & Creative Writing, History, Law & Criminology, Religious Studies and Sociology. Study Business and Management (24th – 28th July 2016) - Subject Options: Accounting & Finance, Business Studies/Management, Economics and Marketing. Study Science and Technology (24th – 28th July 2016) - Subject Options: Chemistry, Computer Science, Geography & Environmental Science Mathematics & Statistics, Physics and Psychology.

ULAS Year 12 remember to check into your ULAS account in order to look at work experience placements and profiles. On offer are opportunities with:  Price Waterhouse Coopers  Tesco Mobile  Nationwide  BBC  VCCP  UCL – Physics work  EY Skills Academy  KEW  House of Commons REMEMBER THAT YOU HAVE A 2 WEEK WORK EXPERIENCE/INTERNSHIP TO ORGANISE FOR JULY

Queen Mary University London Talks and Events  Magic, Folk Medicine, Drugs and Chemistry – Talk by Professor Keith Jones (Institute of Cancer Research) Thursday 25th February 2016 (2.00 – 4.00pm);  Let’s Talk Heart! – Tuesday 15th March 2016 (3.00 – 5.00pm);  Unclaimed Territories in the Clouds: Where are the Limits to Internet Jurisdiction? Professor Julia Hornle – 24th February 2016 (6.30 – 8.30pm);  Bart’s and Queen Mary Science Festival Wednesday 6th July 2016 (10.30am – 3.00pm).

Please check your inbox for all opportunities or see Mr Eley

Mr Eley Director of Sixth Form ATTENDANCE AND PUNCTUALITY

Number of 100% Best attending tutor Most punctual tutor Overall attendance last Team Attenders last week groups group week Blue 114 Blue 3, 99.05% Blue 3, 99.50% 94.30% Black 116 Black 1, 100.00% Black 2, 98.64% 94.40% Red 113 Red 1, 96.50% Red 2, 98.64% 94.00% Yellow 110 Yellow 2, 98.00% Yellow 2&6, 99.50% 94.70% Green 108 Green 7, 97.14% Green 4, 98.18% 94.70% 561 Last week: 97.01% Last week: 94.48%

Overall: 97.33% Overall: 95.10%

Although we’re still above 95%, we’re only just managing it so we all need to make a real push to be in school every day and on time from now on. Green and Yellow Teams were the top attenders last week, which made for an unusual and happy change – maybe they’ll make a bid for the top spot from now on and steal the thunder from Blue and Black Teams! Well done as always to those who came in every day – 561 of you this time – and to the vast majority who were in school and in lessons on time. As we know, every second counts so it’s important we all make the most of the time we have.

We’ve had a busy time of it recently following the Module 2 Merit count-ups and Celebration Assemblies. Wonderful Student Leaders – mostly Year 11s, but a few Year 9s too – helped me to distribute hundreds of prizes to those students who had reached Merit Milestones for Module 2. We had record numbers receiving prizes which meant that many of the prizes ran out and we’ve had to order more! Well done to everyone who received a reward and thank you to my wonderful assistants – I really couldn’t do it without you all! Our Year 7s are now fully in the swing of Office Duty and they continue to succeed in their new roles. In particular, I’d like to thank the following students for being especially helpful, polite and hardworking: Wiktoria Zielinska, Daniel Bodkin, Baris Guden, Mariha Khan and Ana Santo.

This week I wanted to make special mention of a group of students who have worked together to create something fantastic. I’m sure they’ll be mentioned elsewhere in the newsletter[s] but I wanted to acknowledge this group myself: The Year 10 students who wrote and performed the ‘Cold as Isis’ piece did a brilliant job of considering the world around them, responding maturely, explaining their views and encouraging others to do the same – all in an attempt to put an end to terrorism in all its forms. They considered what is right and wrong, fair and unfair and have produced something that is a great example of what we hope to achieve here at Lammas. It’s no surprise that they’re now in great demand from the media and are being invited to perform at prestigious events; we look forward to hearing and seeing more of them all in future. Well done to Maaz, Abdalla, Naima and Samira! Ms Hearn STUDENTS PERFORM COLD AS ISIS AT V&A MUSEUM

What is the power of the Spoken Word? The performance from Lammas explored ideas key to radio broadcast, confronting the power of words as communal reaction to live news broadcast. Four Year 10 pupils from Lammas performed from their music video recorded during a school trip to the Houses of Parliament, which ended up as a YouTube hit – receiving over 5000 views in 5 days. Abdalla, aged 15 wrote the work in response to the tube station stabbing that followed shortly after the large-scale Paris attacks in November 2015, with the lyrics acting as a direct challenge to the barbarism of terrorist groups such as ISIS as well as the extremism of Islamophobia.

“On Friday, we visited the V & A to perform the ‘Cold as Isis’ as well as feature on Resonance FM radio. It was a nerve racking moment performing which was made easier with the amount of preparation we did before-hand. The experience of performing twice was the best part and it was an enjoyable evening overall as after each performance we received a lot of positive feedback. The audience were touched by the effectiveness of the lyrics and the great show we put on.” Maaz (Year 10)

“It was fun. I got to see beautiful costumes in the Museum and we even had time to dress up before our performance. In the beginning I was very nervous but when I started to sing I was more confident.” Naima (Year 10) “It was a privilege to be chosen to go to V & A with the band and experience performing at such a prestigious venue. We felt prepared and organised as a group. This was not my first time performing but it was definitely the best. I felt very special to be part of this esteemed event. Ms Brogan introduced our song and we felt ready to show the world our talents.” Abdulla (Year 10)

“We didn’t know what to expect or what response we would get. We saw the place where we would perform and it looked like it was going to be exhilarating. I felt important that we were interviewed on the radio and were invited to such an extravagant place. We felt like celebrities, going into the staff only areas and being treated to refreshments. The applause went on for a really long time so we knew the audience genuinely appreciated our performance. People were congratulating us and were really impressed with our song. The feedback was encouraging. I never would have thought that I would have the confidence to do this project. It’s made me more out-going and expressive.” Samira (Year 10) Miss Brogan

LAMMAS STUDENTS INTERVIEWED ON LONDON LIVE ‘It has been brilliant to see our students write, deliver and speak so articulately about an issue that is so relevant using the platform of Spoken Word. They were calm professionals and really keen for their message to be understood and have shown that British Values come in many forms and can be embraced in our multicultural classrooms.’ Ms Guenem (Red Team Student Progress Leader) “When we were being interviewed by the journalist, I felt really important and nervous at the same time because I didn’t know what would come up. She was really nice though and after it started I wasn’t nervous anymore. I answered the questions as best as I could and all in all I think it went well. I thought it was a privilege to have a voice and be on the news because it felt like we were finally being heard.” Samira (Year 10) “It is not often in a teacher’s career that you feel such a sense of pride and admiration for a group of young people. You have done us all very proud.” Mr Pillay (Acting Assistant Head) “I felt like I was a famous rapper. I really enjoyed it, I was hungry for more questions. Being interviewed on TV was another level of success that I didn’t expect when I first wrote the lyrics back in November. If I can do it, anyone can. I’m not perfect but watching myself on screen made it worth it.” Abdalla (Year 10) “I enjoyed being interviewed because it was a whole new experience for me. It developed my confidence and I found a new way to articulate things in a way that was not offensive.” Maaz (Year 10) “I was really excited when I first heard the lyrics that the students came up with and I knew we had to make this into something really big and well produced. I really enjoyed working with the students. This is such a powerful and creative way to challenge extremism and the bigotry of collectively blaming Muslims for the actions of a minority.” Mr Morgan (Music producer and Video editor) “Being interviewed was an interesting experience. We got to learn how to be more confident on TV. It was really fun preparing for the interview and I really enjoyed it. She didn’t ask the questions that we had prepared but we were passionate about the issue and proud of our work so we were able to respond well.” Naima (Year 10) The video is available through the following link: http://www.londonlive.co.uk/news/2016-03-02/as-cold-as-isis#play

MISS BROGAN IS LEAVING LAMMAS Special Show on the 16th March (5.30pm in Drama 1): everyone is welcome – Please RSVP Miss Brogan is leaving London! She has been a full-time Spoken Word Educator at Lammas since September 2013. In that time, students have won national and global competitions. Their poetry has taken them to a football stadium, both Houses of Parliament, Goldsmiths University, Barbican and received over 20,000 views on Lammas Spoken Word YouTube Channel. Miss Brogan has been awarded an Arts Council England Grant to research Spoken Word education opportunities in Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia. The event will showcase the achievements of the students involved with the Spoken Word Educator programme over the last 2 years and 2 terms including:  Love Mission - as part of our Stonewall School campaign, our first music video won the Adobe Youth Voices audience award with over 8,000 votes.  Cold as ISIS – over 5000 hits in 5 days, performance at the V&A Museum and featured on London Live  In partnership with This is Rubbish, students created the Eat My Words Event which came 3rd in the UN Environment Programme School’s Food waste Competition winning $2000.  Don’t Waste music video was shortlisted for the Adobe Youth Voices Award and to date has received over 5000 views on YouTube and was featured in the Modern Farmer Blog.  Amina Azong and Elizabeth Taiwo shortlisted in the First Story Writing competition.  Weronika Lewnadowska commented in the Stephen Spender Trust translation competition.  Kristy Fielder is placed second in the Ledbury Poetry Festival Competition.  Goldsmith’s Place for Poetry Conference – Lammas students presented their poetry and the impact of the programme.  Huda Hammad and Hamza Ahktar performed at the House of Lords for Unheard Voices: a conference on religious freedom in Pakistan.  Shebana Khan featured in the Guardian and Naima Mohammed won the Key Stage Three poetry section of the Muslim Young Writer’s award.  University of Winchester Young Writer’s Competition: students won 1st, 2nd & 3rd places and 10 students were shortlisted.  Muhammad Ahmed came first and seven students where shortlisted in the Write to Unite Arvon & Kick it out Football and Racism National Competition out of over 300 entries.  Lammas team win humorous in the Apples and Snakes Word Cup, up against ten other schools.

Cat Brogan has an article published in the NALDIC Academic Journal on Poetry and EAL Learners and has presented her work at at the International Federation of Teachers of English conference in New York. Cat Brogan won the BBC Edinburgh fringe Poetry Slam. Her poetry has featured on Radio 4, at Latitude Festival and Cheltenham Literary Festival. She has recently finished her MA Writer/Teacher at Goldsmiths. She is originally from Northern Ireland and has performed internationally including Pakistan, Kenya and New York.

Year 10 Work Experience The Year 10 Work Experience (WEX) will take place between 4th and 15th July. The objective of Work Experience is to assist pupils to make the transition from School to working life. It is intended to help pupils gain some of the essential skills and qualities needed to become employable and to provide a taster of working within a specific industry. It is also seen as an opportunity to learn and develop new skills and to build self-confidence. All Year 10’s were given an information pack last October 2015 on how to approach potential WEX employers. Please can you complete and return all the paperwork as soon as possible. If you have misplaced the pack please contact your Tutor or SPL. Mr Sawali

Well what a season of ups and downs for the Year 7 girls. Despite never having played before, the team reached the final of the Waltham Forest Cup, but more about that later, first the story of how they got there. The Year 7 girl’s league was only small, made up of just 4 teams. This meant that regardless of results, we would be in a semi- final but we wanted to get some wins under our belt along the way. Our first game was against . I have been teaching for 11 years now and this was THE BEST game of Year 7 girls’ basketball that I have seen. Both teams had a great understanding of defensive strategy and their shooting was on point. Lammas got off to a slow start and were 14 points down at half time. Despite this, they never stopped and went on to lose the game by only 2 points after a magnificent second half fight back. Going in to our second game, we played Buxton. Due to illness, injury and other commitments, we only had 5 players. We fought for the whole game, only ever being 2 points behind. In the last quarter we went for it, but lack of players and tiredness got the better of us and we lost 22-12. Our final league game was due to be against Chingford, unfortunately this had to be conceded due to mini bus issues and this left us in 4th place, playing an away semi-final to Buxton! All the girls were up for the game and from the first jump ball, every Lammas player played to the best of their ability, strong defensive, quick offensive and an excellent team moral saw us win 19-16. The final was against Leytonstone and what a final it was! The game ebbed and flowed with the lead changing hands countless times. With 30 seconds to play we were 2 points up…Leytonstone scored a basket… the score was level….we go on the attack and the ball bounces off the rim and out…..3.2.1…they shoot a half way line, buzzer shot and …it goes in! Heart break for Lammas but what a game. The future of this team looks very bright indeed and we are already looking forward to next season, I am so proud of all you girls! The Team – Macey Arthey, Kelisha Baxter, Rudelle Cabey-Lee, Kaylie Harvey, Terika Mothersill, Kadaisha Smith, Fantasia Whyte, Fazana Wisdom and Wiktoria Zielinska. For any girls interested, Red Ravens club is held at Kelmscott on Mondays. See the PE department for further information.

This was a tough season for the girls. They were grouped with last year’s Waltham Forest champions, Buxton, as well as Walthamstow School for Girls and Leytonstone. When you consider that there are only 38 girls in the year group it is amazing that this team competed extremely well with a girls school, last year’s champs and Leytonstone. The team was built around a core bunch of girls who regularly attended training sessions every Friday and never let the team down on game days. Beatriz, Rachel, Dergian, Shanyah and Michaela, with Nadia playing in two of the three matches before she left. Nikki, Neda and Nia all played at least one game each. The season itself was a big step forward from last year, where there were huge amounts of enthusiasm, but low levels of performance. This year the enthusiasm from the core players was even higher. The performances this year was where the biggest changes were. Apart from the first 2 quarters against Walthamstow School for Girls, every quarter that was played was an improvement on the previous one. Michaela and Beatriz were rebounding and scoring with much more success than in Year 7. Rachel was dominating in defence and dribbling at great speeds and also shooting extremely well. The greatest improvements came from Dergian and Shanyah, who stepped up after Nadia left, into a position that required great skill and effort. I am pleased to say that Shanyah is developing her dribbling skills to a level that influences the game and Dergian’s passes and defending have improved and now means she is a vital part of the team. Unfortunately the team was on the wrong end of two defeats. A two point loss against Walthamstow School for Girls and a 6 point loss to Buxton. This meant that we finished equal second after an excellent 24-14 win against Leytonstone. Sadly, Buxton scored one more point than us which meant that they progressed to the semi-finals. I am extremely confident that with the continued hard work and three or four additions to the team, next year will be even better than this one. Well done to everybody that trained and played this year. I look forward to seeing as many girls as possible at training each and every Friday.

The Year 9 girls had an excellent Basketball season. Their understanding of the game was shown through their performances and successful wins. Adriana, Gabrielle and Danielle led the way scoring the majority of the baskets, whilst Andra, Joanne, Ashley, Elizabeth, Ebun and Weronika played vital defence stopping the opponents from scoring. Like last year, the team made it to the semi-finals, but this year faced Walthamstow School for Girls, whom were placed top at the end of the group stage. During the first half, the team went out with a fighting spirit, winning the first half. When entering the third quarter, WSFG had a fantastic start, they made quick breaks and didn’t miss a shot. With this turn around WSFG caught up quickly and soon started to win. Sadly the Year 9 girls couldn’t find it in themselves to continue the fight and lost the game. Whilst it wasn’t the ending Lammas was hoping for, as their Team Coach, I was very impressed with the commitment, maturity and hard work the whole team contributed. They represented all FRED RICE Values and made Lammas proud! Furthermore two of the team members have joined an outside Basketball team; well done Gabriele and Danielle.

I have been lucky enough to coach this team from Year 7, where the potential has been clear from the very beginning. They have worked hard to fulfil their potential, with the majority of the team attending training sessions from the very first day; their commitment to getting better, never stopped. We now have at least 5 of the players at local clubs, training and playing regularly outside of school. This is our main goal as a PE Department, to ensure that our young people get involved in sport and then carry on when their school days are over. This is fantastic to see and hopefully this will show others what they need to do to make sure they reach their potential. Now, this season was the final season for these girls. Before this year they were undefeated in Waltham Forest. Never losing a match, although having some very close games in the Year 7 final, where Leonie Davis scored the winning point from the free throw line with two seconds remaining in the match. There was also the Year 9 final, against Frederick Bremer, where the skills of Julia and Shantivia started to really shine. This year was not as complicated as the four previous years’ training and effort was clear to see. Every opposing coach commented on how well we played and how much every player contributed to each match. The toughest game of the season was the first, against Holy Family. It was in their very small gym and we only had 5 players available to us due to injury, and other commitments. This meant that there were no substitutes and each player had to work for the whole game without any time to rest. Fortunately we figured out a way to stop their best player scoring and passed the ball well in the final quarter to win the game but it was a hard slog. The performances got better and better winning each game by considerable margins. This then lead to us meeting Frederick Bremer in the final at Walthamstow School for Girls. After a very good warm-up and amazing pre-match instructions from myself, the girls were as ready as I have seen them this year. Three minutes after the tip-off the score was 10-0 to Lammas. An outstanding start with Jessica, Precious, Shantivia and Julia scoring at will. Derin, rebounded superbly well and worked hard at both ends of the court to utilise her height advantage with Mariam and Precious, driving into the space at speed and with good control. I was impressed by the defensive display shown by the team, who worked hard to deny Bremer any space or time in our half. Precious, Mariam, Shantivia and Derin dominated the other team with pure hard work and defensive skills leaving Julia to score at the other end. Bremer did not score until the 6th minute of the game. Unfortunately Julia could not play in the second half as she injured her foot and was not able to continue, but her impact on the game was already clear to see. The high level of performance did not drop as the subs started to come off the bench. Twyana, Shanique and Nadine all came on and worked extremely hard running end to end, rebounding, passing and scoring several baskets to keep the scoreboard ticking over. Shonna-Kay, who stopped playing in Year 9, made a welcome return to the team earlier in the season, came on the court and reminded us of the sporting potential that this young lady has. She dribbled and passed to a brilliantly high level, and with a little more playing time she would have scored more often than she did. The referee, who sees a lot of girls teams play said that this team was the best that she has seen this year including the National Champions from Greig City. The star of the show, winning the Most Valuable Player award, was Shantivia Bigby. Her dedication to basketball has been outstanding from Year 7, if we minus the odd sulk. She is playing basketball to an extremely high level, to the point that she is now training with the England U16’s team. Her performance in the final was mature and one that didn’t see her take over the game and score whenever she wanted to. It was a selfless performance assisting her team mates when she had the chance and defending harder than anybody else on the court. Well done ladies on another unbeaten season and winning the Waltham Forest Championships for a 5th year running. It has been a pleasure to be part of your team and I hope that you are playing and competing a long time from now.

WELL DONE CHAMPIONS OF 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016

Twyana, Malikah, Mariam, Precious, Julia, Jessica, Shonna-Kay, Nadine, Derin and Shantivia

The Year 7 boys have had an absolutely fantastic first season in the Waltham Forest Basketball League. It has been a pleasure to see such a committed group of players work as hard as these boys have and progress so much in their basketball performances over the season. They have been enthusiastic and trained whenever training sessions have been put on for them, as well as practicing in their own time. This has been reflected in the boys’ success this season. They came second in the South Borough League with a record of 2 wins and 1 loss. This saw the boys play an unbeaten Frederick Bremer in the playoff semi-final, a school who had won the North Borough League. The boys played some excellent basketball and showed great discipline to record a deserved 21 – 13 win and book a place in the finals. The opponents in the final were Leytonstone, the team who we lost our only game of the season against 16 – 18 so it had all the makings of a very tough and exciting final. In the final, the Year 7 boys put in one of their best performances of the season. Leytonstone were again very strong opposition but could not stop the Lammas Year 7’s who flew in to a 10-0 lead in the first ¼. This continued and Lammas overcome the only team who had beaten them this season and won the game 33-23 – it could have been a lot more on another day too! Team: Darren C, Andre, Denisas, Orlando, Daniel Bodkin, Eoin, Kymarley, Ovi, Gustavo, Baris, Louis and Arzam.

Results Lammas 34 – 0 Norlington Lammas 16 – 18 Leytonstone Lammas 14 – 5 Buxton Semi Final - Lammas 21 – 13 Frederick Bremer Final - Lammas 33 – 23 Leytonstone This season has been a tale of two halves. The first half of the season included several friendlies and National games matches against some of the best basketball schools in London. Mr Braithwaite set up some tough friendlies with some excellent results showing that there is some high expectations for this team. Unfortunately these expectations were surpassed by some of the teams we came up against in the National Cup Competition, where each team has several players playing for very good club teams and some with full time basketball coaches attached to the school. These were not successful times in terms of results but in defeat you learn more than when winning and I was able to learn a huge amount about the character of many of the players. Some of the players also learnt a lot about themselves, the importance of teamwork and leadership. The second half of the season saw some changes in attitudes and effort. Patrick Hamilton epitomised the change in attitude that is needed to be a better player. He was told that he needs to improve to stay in the team. He was dropped and did not play. Instead of sulking and giving up he saw this as a challenge and attended every morning practice that he could, where he worked on his skills and confidence. His work ethic paid off as he improved and then earned his place back on the team. Patrick’s attitude was replicated throughout the team for the second half of the season. This resulted in much greater success for the team with 6 local league matches being played with 6 wins including a tough win against Holy Family College in the Waltham Forest Final. This is the second time that they have won this title and hopes are bright for the future. There are some obvious pupils here who performed well and have always been important to the team like De’Qwan and Le’Qwan. Their experience has been vital at times during the season, and I am very pleased to see them join a club where they can develop their skills to a much higher level. What I have been pleased with is the improvements that many of the boys have made. Khaleel is much more confident and maturing into a vital component of the team. Gelito, Tyrell and Jose have played for the first time and made some outstanding contributions to the team. Jonathan continues to work hard on his skills and is developing into a good point guard. Rahmoan is the hardest working player on the team and is improving all the time. Marc is very talented and has lots of potential, scoring some big buckets in the early part of the season. With all this said, I am most pleased to see the development of Sheldon Kelly, who has improved more than any other player to the extent that he is the one player that I go to when we are in trouble. His defence is intense and fantastic. His movement in the attacking third of the court means that he wins rebounds against much bigger players and scores some very important points. He doesn’t show-off or make too much noise about how well he has played, in fact I do not think he realises the level of performance he produces at times. He just wants to play.

Well done to the 2015 and 2016 Waltham Forest Champions Le’Qwan, De’Qwan, Jonathan, Rahmoan, Patrick, Tyrell, Khaleel, Gelito, Jose, Marc and Sheldon.

The Year 9 team had another successful season, finishing 2nd in the Borough A League behind a very strong Chingford Foundation. In the League, the boys won 3 and lost 1, the only loss against Chingford. After progressing to the semi-final playoff we were drawn against Holy Family, who had won the competition for the last two years. The boys had put in a fantastic performance against Holy Family earlier in the season and had beaten them 50-38 in a very close and exciting game. Unfortunately this wasn’t to be the case in the semi-final and the boys lost the match by 7 points 41-48 the final score. It was gutting for all the boys as the game was so tight and went to the wire in the last quarter. Despite not making the final the boys should be very proud of what they have achieved this season. With more hard work and commitment to training, this team has all the potential to go one step further next season. MVP for this year was Ikenna Okorafor who was a consistent performer all season, scoring lots of baskets and showing excellent capabilities in defence too! Team: Ikenna, Joseph, Bayram, Jahvon, Jordan, Abdul, Dontay, Angelo, Zephaniah and Jahvani. Results: Lammas 50 – 38 Holy Family Lammas 45 – 64 Chingford Lammas 30 – 10 Lammas 29 – 18 Norlington Semi final – Lammas 41 – 48 Holy Family

Lammas Year 10 Boys Basketball Team reached the Waltham Forest Borough Final for the fourth year in a row. Despite winning the title in Year 8 and 9 they were deservedly beaten by a well organised Holy Family team who got the better of us on each of their meetings this year. The boys also played in the Nationals where they were competitive amongst their group. The Year 10 team will be looking to bounce back strongly in their final year as they seek to regain their title as Borough Champions. Well done to the following boys for all their hard work: E. Durmus, J. Yila, B.Brooks, J.Thompson, M.Sufi, O. Hamilton, A. Graham, C.Buenaventura, M. Anwari, O. Beckford, N. Buffong and I. Maxwell.

In their final year of basketball, the Year 11s believed that they would walk past the other schools in their group as they had won the Borough’s Final in 2014 & 2015. However Leytonstone and George Mitchell had other ideas and we lost to both teams in the League in which the Year 11 boys finished 3rd. However the semi-finals vs Leytonstone School wasn't even close, a full strength team came through that round and won and Chingford lay in wait as they beat George Mitchell in their semi-final. The Final was a tense affair with excellent displays from Enes and Marc who took full control of the game. With Enes putting away his free throws, the Year 11 boys were victorious once again and won for the 3rd year in a row. Well done boys and thanks for the fantastic memories! Good luck in the future.

YEAR 12 USE THE FOLLOWING METHODS AND IDEAS FOR REVISION  Mind maps / Spider diagrams  Completing past papers and using examiner reports Remember the key is ACTIVE  Going over notes and re writing them revision, REPETITION, RETRIEVAL &  Highlighting key words REST, RESOURCES AND ENJOYABLE.  Making cue cards  Completing quizzes  Listening to podcasts  Watching YouTube videos  Using revision guides  Writing and drafting essays  Practice over and over again  Reading – class notes, articles, wider reading specific to course  Answering tricky questions Also remember to balance your  Sticky notes work and be in CONTROL to  Singing to memorise  Researching ideas and theory avoid PRESSURE versus STRESS.  Break it all down into topic areas

 Reading notes aloud to get feedback or to practice  Rehearse presentations  Keeping hydrated  Taking breaks using the Pomodoro technique

 Websites such as MyMaths, Vocab Express and Mot a Mot

All Year 12 students are expecting to maximise and take full advantage of learning time in lessons to ensure full understanding and that all expected tasks are completed. All Homework should be completed in full and handed in one time. Interventions are offered by teachers to target key areas to improve understanding or to practise key skills for the upcoming exams. Please find below a timetable for Year 12 intervention classes: Monday Tuesday Wednesday Friday Computer Science Economics Economics Sociology English Business Studies Business Studies Computer Science Art Computer Science Computer Science Psychology Chemistry Art Biology (B Week)

French Please note that the following intervention applies for the following subjects:  Physical Education – Lunch times on Wednesday and Thursday.  Maths/Physics – As and when required before or after school.  History – In the lesson and with take away intervention work.  RS – In class or after school on the day as and when required. Mr Eley

The ATL Department would like to invite you to attend the “Success Room”, every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 3 – 4pm. This is a place that you can come to get support and advice on revision, course work, study tips and lots more. The ATL Room is located opposite the Art Room. Hope to see you all there!

Need help with homework? We currently run a homework club on Tuesdays from 3 – 4pm. This is open to all years. Located in the ATL room, we can help you to get ahead! Our team have expertise in a range of areas, so you are guaranteed to get the right help. Ms Lavery-Welsh

NUMERACY NEWS

Numeracy Challenge 6

The 2048 Challenge. You have to double your numbers until you make the total 2048. This was the last Numeracy

Challenge for the year. The prize goes to Red 3 and Mr Preston who scored an impressive 2884 points on the 2048 challenge. Well done!

Not quite as impressive as my top score which is 18980, see below for proof. Can you beat my score and master the 2048 challenge??

If you would like to have a go then you can download 2048 app for free on to your phone or tablet. Alternatively go to http://2048game.com/ and play on your laptop or computer. Warning! It is very addictive. Once you start you cannot stop! Mrs Bham, Numeracy Co-ordinator

LIBRARY AND LRC PAGE

LET’S CELEBRATE

DAY with…

WHAT IS WORLD BOOK DAY? World Book Day is celebrated every year in the

UK in MARCH. The aim is to ‘encourage children to

explore the pleasures of books and reading by

providing them with the opportunity to have a book of their own’. This year will be even more exciting than last year –with loads of activities for you to take part in. TUESDAY 8TH MARCH

LOTS OF FREEBIES!!!

SPECIAL EVENT!!

Write and perform a group poem with Miss Brogan and Miss Hirsch (UK Poetry Slam Champion). Since 10 NEW AND EXCLUSIVE free books joining Lammas in September 2013 FOR EVERY AGE group students have won National and GET YOUR FREE TOKENS IN THE Global competitions. Their poetry LIBRARY has taken them to a football stadium, both Houses of Parliament, Goldsmiths SEE TEACHERS DRESSED University, Barbican and recieved AS THEIR FAVOURITE over 20,000 views on Lammas Spoken Word YouTube Channel. BOOK CHARACTERS This is one of your last chances to create with Miss Brogan before she jets of to Malaysia.