Follow us on St Crispin’s Newsletter Summer 2011 www.crispins.co.uk

International Culture Evening Under the Boardwalk. Turkish belly dancing, henna painting and Following the entertainment, hungry a capella singing were just some of the guests enjoyed tasting traditional food from 21 entertainments that were enjoyed by visitors countries. There was hummus and falafel from who attended St Crispin’s School’s International Israel, chicken tikka from Pakistan, beef stew & Culture Evening in June. Sadza from Zimbabwe, samosas and sweets from India, crêpes from France, sugar sprinkles on toast from The Netherlands, dolmades from Turkey, pumpkin pie from USA and much more. Alongside were dishes from the UK such as Welsh cakes, Haggis and Cornish pasties. Tesco, Waitrose a n d M o r r i s o n ’ s contributed cash Lena Kulkhanjian, (parent & provider of donations which were Lebanese food) said: used to purchase raw “The abundance and ingredients for the variety of food is d i s h e s . Z i z z i ’ s fantastic and it is so restaurant, in Broad nice to be able to share each other’s Street, Wokingham, food and culture. The International parents and staff donated Italian cheeses, committee hosted the event to celebrate the breads and olives, and school’s rich and diverse community which flower arrangements were provided by the comprises over 50 nationalities. Green Parlour florist in Pangbourne. Joy Westlake (Yr 11) said: “I got a real adrenalin VIP guests included the Borough Mayor rush while performing our dance on stage to such a Dianne King and her consort Mr Brian King and large audience, and the chicken tikka afterwards the Town Mayor Peter Lucey. was the best I’ve ever tasted. The evening was a great success thanks to Mrs Gent’s great organisation.

The Keep Hatch Primary school choir, who were also celebrating a cultural diversity week in school, joined the event and started off the evening’s entertainment with songs from different cultures. St Crispin’s orchestra then entertained the audience with Irish and UK folk songs, which were then followed by some traditional Asian, Mauritian and Turkish dances. Students also recited poetry, and Mary Arcari and Sophie Collins provided two musical solo pieces, followed by Mario Scinto, a former St Crispin’s student, who played the bagpipes. The entertainment was brought to a harmonious Dianne King (Borough Mayor) said: “The format was close when EXPERIMENT IV, an a capella well thought out and resulted in a most entertaining Quartet, of which Mr Knight – science teacher & evening. There were some very talented young people from the USA - is a member, performed taking part as well as parents and teachers, and the American songs including the Drifter’s classic 'foods around the world' were great.” Engineers of the future design energy solutions Year 10 students put their science, technology, engineering and maths talents to the test in a unique one-day Wind Turbine challenge. Working in groups of three or four, the year 10 engineering students designed and constructed a wind turbine to produce electricity. The turbine had to be free-standing and structurally robust to support heavy components and moving parts. The training day was designed to enhance students’ understanding of engineering with the winning teams being judged on aesthetics, cost, stability, Team Simple: Philip Beresford, Flo Hale, Liam Grealis power generated and team-working . At the end of the day, each team had to present their model to The Smallpeice Trust is an the rest of the group and talk through their design, as well as independent educational charity their marketing strategy. Mr Tolulope Olajide, the education that runs hands-on Science, Technology, Engineering and officer from The Smallpeice Trust, tested each turbine with the Maths (STEM) activities help of an electric fan to simulate the wind needed to spin the and engineering courses for pupils turbine blades. A multi meter was attached to the turbine to in Years 6-12. measure how much electricity was generated when the blades rotated in the breeze. Team Simple won the task with their sturdy design and lively presentation. However, their turbine was not the most efficient in energy production, as team Environair’s turbine produced the most energy, but unfortunately their turbine was a little unstable and so they lost points on their design structure. (Team Environair: Chloe Kramer, Zac Matthews & James Baggott) Chloe Kramer ( age 14) said: “It’s really fun working in a team, as this doesn’t happen often when working on engineering projects. I also like working with different subjects to create solutions; today we used geometry and science together to build our turbine.” Mrs Annie Price (Teacher of Technology) said: “This experience will encourage our pupils to connect the taught elements of science, design and technology to what happens in engineering in the real world. By taking part in this STEM day, we are hoping to put the spark back into these subjects and demonstrate to pupils that they are worthwhile and fun.”

Mr Tolulope Olajide measures the energy generated by one of the wind turbines. BOOK WEEK

St Crispin’s annual Book Week took place in writing the first line of a book is to start with March (14th—18th) and was packed with a character that has a problem.” (Yr 7 reading challenges and activities, including school student) guess the character and several quizzes. One “It was very generous of you to invite 19 popular activity was the Lucky Dip Challenge. schools to St Crispin’s. The afternoon went To encourage wider reading, Mrs Squires very smoothly, a testament to your selected books which were not being selected incredible organisational skills. I think we by students themselves and wrapped them up all know what it takes to invite an author to and placed them in a lucky dip box. Much our schools but to co-ordinate such an excitement was generated as students event and to offer it out to other schools unwrapped their surprise books and as a result was amazing. “(visiting librarian from many students widened their reading tastes by ) taking part in the challenge. “It was really fun going on the library trip. The highlight of the week was a visit Morris was very funny at times. It is very from the popular children’s novelist, Morris clever how in some stories he writes Gleitzman. The famous author entertained students from 19 schools around , with readings from his novels, as well as anecdotes from his childhood. He told students that he spent a great deal of time day- dreaming stories, while at school in London. Morris now lives in Australia and writes his books in his home office, and he told students that it was a real privilege to meet so many of his readers in one place. Looking round the audience, he told them he was always on the look out for strange and interesting new characters for his books. The talk was followed by a question and answer session, where students quizzed Morris seriously and sometimes he writes funny on his ideas for characters and stories. stories.” (Yr 7 Elstree school student Students then took the opportunity to purchase books and queued patiently to get them signed. Freeman Mulipola (Yr 7) said: “The Congratulations to the Year 7 Book Quiz author told us that to make a story team (Harriet Kelsey 7LHS, Steve Tadewos interesting we had to give our characters 7LHS, Ben White 7ARO & Freya Wilkinson problems. It’s hard to make a story 7FA). The team won the Wokingham interesting if everyone is happy, happy, regional round of the Berkshire Book happy!” Festival’s quiz for the fourth year running, beating six other Wokingham Schools: “Mr Gleitzman was very inspirational and he Luckley Oakfield, The Holt, The Forest, The could help ANYONE become a writer. He Piggott, Emmbrook and Bearwood. has written 33 books and his secret to Lift off challenge for students

Young space enthusiasts from St Crispin’s joined other secondary schools at Wellington College on Wednesday 18th May to compete in a rocket launch competition.

Working in small teams of 3 or 4, students designed and built a rocket which was capable of flying up to 130mph and reaching an altitude of over 300ft. The rocket also had to carry an egg on board. The students launched their rockets at 11:30am from the pavilion at Wellington College . won the event, despite their egg suffering a crack during its journey, as their flight achieved the most points and a flight time of 33 seconds.

During the activity, students explored the areas of communications, space, material, forces and chemical reactions.

The event was part of the STEM initiative, which seeks to create Andrew Sheller, Jamie Tipper and Bradley Mallett (Yr8) opportunities to inspire young people in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). In turn STEM hopes to enable young people to develop their creativity, problem-solving and employability skills, as well as widen their choices in the future. The STEM programme builds on the Government's strategies for developing a strong supply of scientists, engineers, technologists and mathematicians which will support the UK's future competitiveness. The schools that took part in the challenge included St Crispin’s, Wellington College, Emmbrook, Piggott, Forest, Holt, Waingels College, and Herschel school from .

Mr Joel Knight (Science teacher) said: “The Rocket Challenge is the start to our STEMNet club at St Crispin’s. The students have enjoyed building and launching the rockets and I’m pleased that we were able to secure some funding to support this activity and future projects.”

Jamie Tipper (age 13) said: “I enjoyed working with my team, and building and launching the rockets was great fun and exciting!” Jamie’s rocket achieved the best time and distance scores during practice trials at St Crispin’s. BBC News Report Day Students became news journalists on Thursday, 24th March, reporting on the events of the day both nationally and locally. With the help of BBC camera man, John Wilmott, students gained experience in camera work, interviewing skills and presenting skills, as well as editing footage and creating eye catching headlines. Students covered a wide range of news items, including the death and career of Elizabeth Taylor, George Osborne’s budget, ‘Rent’ the forthcoming student drama production and an interview with Mr Biddle about the new science block

Alice Thackray (Yr 9) said: “The best part of the day for me was being a presenter in front

of the camera, presenting our news bulletin.” Cameron Moreton (Yr 9) said: “I really enjoyed being a camera man, operating the camera, and then editing the footage to make it really interesting.”

Dan Jeffery (Yr 9) said: “I enjoyed interviewing Mr Biddle about the new science block, asking him lots of questions and recording his answers.”

School Building Update Work on the new Science block is due to start in September 2011. During the summer term, architects were busy consulting with staff and students about the designs for the new building and the outside games area. Students on the school council met with representatives from Ellis Williams, the architects commissioned to complete the project.

Georgia Nosal (Yr 9 Student Councillor) said: “The architects showed us several of the plan options and asked us how the plans would suit students’ needs. One of the best parts of the new build will be a proposed courtyard area, which will be used as an outside teaching and socialising space.”

Kate Grayson and Liam Keohane (Yr 12) joined pupils from other sixth forms and colleges in the Thames Valley area for a visit to Oswiecim, southern Poland, where the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps, used by the Nazis during the Second World War, are located. This opportunity consisted of four parts: an orientation seminar, in which a Holocaust survivor shared his experience; a visit to the camps; a second seminar, to explore ideas on how the experience can be passed on to both the school and the local community and finally the completion of a project. Here both students write about what the experience meant to them, what lessons they learnt and how they can be used to deal with the prejudices today. One key aspect of the trip was to pass on the lessons that we learnt to a wider community, ensuring that as many people as possible could understand its importance. Liam made displays to be on show around the school, visually highlighting what we had learned. I took a Year Nine Religious Education lesson, giving them an overview of the situation as a whole, and then engaging them in debates and discussions about some of the most controversial issues. This lesson illustrated to the younger students that although the Holocaust happened over half a century ago it is still incredibly relevant to how we act and think today. We also understand how important it is to stand up for our own beliefs and opinions, however difficult that may seem; something that is especially important to convey throughout the school. The horrors of the Holocaust could have been avoided, to a greater or lesser extent, if people had not turned a blind eye to what was occurring. The controversy over who exactly can be called responsible, and whether it was individuals or a collective, formed a major topic of debate, both while we were there, and back in the classroom. Kate Grayson

The main focus for our trip was to explore both the historical and contemporary lessons that should be learnt and passed on to others. It is our duty to accept the mistakes of the past and learn from them so that future generations never have to be subjected to the possibility of it happening again. It is only now that people are more willing to talk about events, and this should be encouraged and developed so that soon all can learn the lessons from Auschwitz. The Nazis’ ultimate aim was to dehumanize the Jews, hoping that if they treated them like animals that they would eventually become like animals. To focus on the life of every victim and to understand their individuality, therefore, is the only way to defy Nazi beliefs. By returning victims to who they were before the terrible events of the Holocaust, we have a chance to understand and improve humanity as a whole. To learn about such events, however harrowing, is essential for the world in the future; it is only through the understanding of the past that we can prevent the repetition of atrocities in the future.

Liam Keohane A date with the Archbishop of Canterbury On Friday 6th May, we attended a conference at the in Reading. We had the pleasure of meeting three well known theologians and philosophers, including Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury. All three gave a ten minute speech regarding the subject ‘Faith in Society’. Each focused on different aspects, including education, science, politics and the law. There was also the opportunity for us to discuss any issues amongst ourselves and present a question to the panel. The first speaker was Professor Keith Ward, whose works feature on the A level Philosophy & Ethics Kate Grayson, Daisy Driscoll & Jennifer Ince with their posters syllabus. He discussed a variety of topics within religion and science, touching on quantum physics, and concluding that the physical laws are so beautiful and complex, there must be a creator. He claimed that many physicists, including Stephen Hawking, see their research as proving the existence of design. He also commented on religion and science living in harmony with each other: for example, evolution is a part of God’s plan and therefore not necessarily an attack on God’s existence. The second speaker was Dr John Perry, an American theologian, who spoke about the use of faith to justify arguments in politics. He believed that religion and politics should not be separate: in short, that faith is as good a reason as any to believe in certain principles. He used amusing analogies to help develop his views and connect with the audience. Finally, the Archbishop spoke about the importance of exposing children to the idea of religion through education to create fully-rounded students who can freely make up their own mind. After the talks, we had the opportunity to ask questions relating to the philosophers’ arguments. Although we agreed that faith and religion had added moral value and teaching to society and our culture, we questioned whether we needed to worship a personal God as the source of that knowledge. We received some interesting, yet evasive, answers from both Dr Perry and the Archbishop relating to faith as a personal experience rather than simply educative. The students from all schools then discussed posters that we had made and brought with us. The theologians, including the Archbishop, personally came over to see our work, and was happy to comment on it and debate the topics that came up. The speakers were all very engaging and through their enthusiasm we could see their passion for their subject. It was a very educational and enjoyable event which enhanced our knowledge of philosophy, and allowed us to take on other points of view, questioning our own beliefs. By: Jennifer Ince, Jay Newton, Kate Grayson and Daisy Driscoll (Year 12) Students pitch business ideas to Dragons’ Den panel

OCR National Business studies students pitched their business ideas to a Dragons’ Den style panel, made up of governors: Aline Beresford and Michael Upton along with Mr Biddle and Mrs Mitchell (Head of Business Studies). Students: James Hamilton, Francis Fisher, Heather Gee, Mohammed Ads and Jordan Hillier presented their business plans to the dragons in the hope that they could persuade the potential business partners to invest in their businesses. The proposals put before the panel included a dog walking business, a bagel market stall and a mobile phone accessory stall, which would be situated close to a major brand mobile phone shop. The students coped well with the rigorous questioning from the panel, and all teams managed to secure some investment without having to relinquish too much equity.

Cpl Ricketts at Nijmegen As a member of Thames Valley Wing ATC, I have been selected to compete in the 95th Nijmegen Marches for the British Military Contingent. The marches total 100 miles and we will march over 4 days, so I’m basically doing a marathon a day for four days. The selection was made after the completion of a 2-day 50 mile road march which I took part in over the Easter Holidays with the RAFWARMA (RAF Walking And Road Marching Association). In Nijmegen, the team I am a part of will be competing against regular, reserve and cadet forces from many different countries, including the US Marines Corps, the RAF and many other forces from Germany, America, Scandinavia, France, Belgium, Holland and Italy. This year is my first year in Nijmegen and I have decided to raise money for the Chelsea Pensioners Appeal - more info can be found at: http://www.justgiving.com/Michael-Ricketts0. More information about Wokingham schools’ local Air Training Corps Squadron can be found at: www.2499atc.org. By Michael Ricketts (Yr 12) Alumni News Congratulations to: David Cockroft who received a First Class Honours degree for Accounting and Finance from Exeter University and is due to start work with the accounting firm KPMG, in London from September. Carl Hanson who received a First Class Honours degree for Business and Marketing Management from Oxford Brookes and is due to begin a BT Graduate Training Programme in September. Clare Hunter who received a 2:1 Honours degree in German from Liverpool University. Clare then completed a PGCE at Warwick University and will join the Woking High School as an NQT MFL teacher from September. Duncan Lock who received a First Class Honours degree in MPhys from Bath University. Duncan made such a good impression in the Physics department that he will continue at Bath to work on a PhD in nanoscience, which will be funded. Katie Longhurst who received a 2:1 Honours degree in Maths & Finance from Southampton University. Katie also completed her PGCE at Southampton and now joins St Crispin’s Maths department as an NQT Maths teacher. Alice Marshall who received a first Class Honours degree in Biochemistry from Nottingham University. Oliver Sherwood who received a First Class Honours degree in Psychology from Cardiff University.

Congratulations to former St Crispin’s student, Carlie Norwell, who recently secured a place on a Nursery Nurse apprenticeship scheme at Reading University. As well as her day job, working with children, Carly finds her artistic talents in demand as an illustrator, and was commissioned to create pencil drawings for an agricultural book, which has just been published.

Pencil illustrations by Carly Norwell

Good luck & congratulations to Tonie Mumford (Yr9), Isabella Hart (Yr8) and Holly Kelsey (Yr9)who have been selected to take part in the BBC Off By Heart Shakespeare contest in London in November. Winners of the heats will feature in a BBC documentary to be screened in 2012. Farewell Year 13 The sixth form recently had their annual leavers' day, on the 13th May 2011. The day started with the students meeting in the Common Room and admiring each other’s costumes, after which Mr Patterson chose the best costumes. The best group prize went to Hannah Nicol, Zoe Bridge, Rebecca Rees, Kerry Higgins and Katie English who collectively dressed up as the fairground game “hook-a-duck”. Mr Patterson’s unique take on the single prize went to the twins Stephanie and Leanne Brand, who came as American Diner Girls on roller-skates. After a fun afternoon on the bouncy castle, inflatable twister and competing in an assault course, the upper sixth enjoyed the traditional VI form barbeque with Mr Matthews and Mr Esswood serving the food. The day was a fantastic success, and the perfect way to relax and have fun before the weeks of gruelling exams began. We will look back on the two sixth form years with the fondest of memories, not only for the challenges but for the fun and friends that we encountered on the way. Mrs Rankine, (AKA Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz) was presented with gifts from all of us in Year 13 . We look forward to a more formal good bye at the last supper on June 27th at Dorney Lake and we wish every student good luck in their exams and for the future. By Oliver Terry (Head Boy) Serena Rhamie (Head Girl)

Congratulations to Kate Grayson & Rob Ingham (Yr 12) who successfully qualified for a place on a McKinsey & Company leadership course. There were only a hundred places available on the course and so Kate and Rob did exceptionally well to secure a place, as competition was fierce, with hundreds of students across the country competing for a chance to take part. Farewell Year 11 Year 11 students came to school dressed for fun on their last day of full time school before commencing GCSE study leave. Mrs Jones, with the help of Year 11 tutors, judged the fancy dress competition and prizes were awarded. Year 9 Team building

Year 9 & staff under a fantastic blue sky at the PGL centre, Osmington Bay, Dorset

The last weekend in June saw 127 students collaboration and team work and everybody and 13 staff depart for the annual Year 9 Team rose magnificently to the challenge. Building weekend. Whereas the Year 8 It was a very tired group of people that weekend is focused on improving teamwork arrived back at St Crispin’s late on Sunday. within each tutor group, the Year 9 trip aims to build the students’ cooperation across tutor Teambuilding is a place where you go with groups, in preparation for Year 10 and the start friends from your school for a weekend away. There are lots of activities to do and challenges of their GCSE courses. to play. It is a good way of making new friends It looked at first as if the main challenge that you don’t usually talk to, and a place to would be ignoring the wind and the rain, but the make memories that you will never forget. weather improved steadily over the weekend Charlotte Gantzer & Rebecca Harrison (Yr 9) and students were able to enjoy a variety of activities. These included aeroball (basketball and trampolines combined), team games, We are now looking forward to building a survival shelter, climbing and presenting our various prizes from the weekend abseiling and the extreme height challenges of at the end of term assembly. the zip wire, giant swing and Jacob’s ladder. All I would like to thank the students for of the activities required varying types of being such a great group to take away, and the staff for giving up their time and working so hard Every one made friends really quickly and all to make the weekend a success. Particular teachers seemed more light-hearted than usual. In my group I had Mr Matthews; he was thanks must go to Miss Collyer for her encouraging everyone and it was funny to see assistance with the trip planning and how competitive he and all other teachers could administration. get with each other! Mrs Bunting-Palmer (Yr 9 DAW) Max Hession & Lawrence Farrow (Yr 9)