Issue 88

Working together to promote & celebrate achievement

Friday 14th December 2018 Name & Tutor Group:

Headlines by Rachel McGowan

End of Term Arrangements

On Friday 21st December school finishes at 12.30pm. This is also a non-uniform day.

I would like to wish all students and parents a very pleasant Christmas break and a happy and healthy New Year. I look forward to welcoming all students back on Monday 7th January 2019 at 8.50am.

2019 Parents’ Meetings

When we return in January we will begin the Spring Term and this will see us hold meetings for parents.

Each year group will have their parents’ meeting in exactly the same way. Parents’ meetings will begin at 13.30 and finish at 17.30. School will therefore finish early at 12.35pm for students on the following 5 days to ensure all subject teachers and support staff are available to meet with parents.

 Wednesday 16th January Year 11 Parents' Meetings 13.30 - 17.30  Tuesday 29th January Year 9 Parents' Meetings 13.30 - 17.30  Thursday 14th February Year 8 Parents' Meetings 13.30 - 17.30  Tuesday 26th March Year 10 Parents' Meetings 13.30 - 17.30  Wednesday 3rd April Year 7 Parents' Meetings 13.30 - 17.30

These meetings are an important opportunity for teachers, students and parents to discuss learning and progress in all subjects as targets for the remainder of this year. Please ensure that you make appointments to see as many teachers as possible when your daughter brings home her appointment sheet.

During the meetings, we will discuss how hard each student is trying in each subject and agree actions that each needs to take to make at least expected rates of progress if not more rapid. These meetings are a key way in which we can work in partnership to focus on our core aim – ensuring that every student makes the correct choices and reaches her potential.

Does my daughter need a tutor?

This is one of the most frequent questions asked by families at parents’ meetings and it shows how dedicated and supportive you all are. However, it should be kept in mind that money and time spent on tuition does not necessarily always lead to an improvement in results.

The first and most important thing to emphasise is that the most effective way to improve results is to work hard in school. If the student works hard in school, participates actively in lessons, reviews their work regularly and prepares for assessments, then there is no need for tuition.

The classroom teacher is the experienced subject specialist who knows the exam specification and knows how to help students improve. Unfortunately, there are cases where students are not working hard in school and parents are spending considerable sums of money on extra tuition. This is unlikely to lead to a significant improvement in results.

If parents and guardians do choose to supplement their daughter’s education with extra tuition it is important to consider the following questions:

 Is the tutor a qualified and experienced teacher who knows the exam specification?  Is the tuition personalised to the needs of the student or is it a general class where many topics are being covered?  Has the student explained to the tutor:  What tier they have been entered for? Foundation or Higher.  What exam specification? Edexcel, AQA or OCR.  What the key topics are where they need to improve.  What are the key assessment dates and the topics they need to prepare?

On Friday 21st December school finishes at 12.30.

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Year 9 Art Visit to The Hayward Gallery

On 19th November, Year 9 Art students had the opportunity to visit The Hayward Gallery for our Linear Landscape course work. The Hayward Gallery is an art gallery within the Southbank centre on the River Thames in central . The exhibition includes innovative, minimalist sculptures from the 1960's, as well as recent works that shows optical minimalism in different ways. Many of the artworks in this exhibition are constructed from translucent materials such as glass, acrylic and polyester resins. Others involve the use of reflective materials, including stainless steel and polished bronze.

We left and walked to East Ham Station, catching the district line train to Embankment. We walked on the Hungerford Bridge and Golden Jubilee Bridge. It was nice walking on the bridge while taking pictures of the landscape, however there was a heavy drizzle of rain.

We then went to the balcony terrace at the Royal Festival Hall and took pictures of the city skyline from different perspectives, for example, in a round mirror through a reflection. Everyone looked out and drew different buildings as well as a perfect rainbow. We all put our belongings away in the cloakroom and we were taken to the gallery.

There were two indoor galleries and half of us went to the first gallery while the other half of us went to the second indoor gallery.

The first floor has an installation consisting of hundreds of stainless steel reflective orbs called “Narcissus Garden” by Yayoi Kusama. There was another sculptural installation named “WeltenLinie” by Alicja Kwade. As we move around and through Kwade’s steel-framed structure, it gave us different perspectives. There was a sculpture called “360° Illusion V” by Jeppe Hein. The artist had made use of mirrors in interactive installations, sculptures and outdoor environments.

To end the visit we all went to Somerset House Ice Rink to view the arches and shapes used in the architectural buildings. We developed our photography skills and took some more pictures.

It was a great opportunity to be taken by Ms Lopatkin, Ms Fedderholdt, Ms Clifford- Smith and Ms Ledeatte-Williams, and the effort was appreciated by everyone.

Nawailah Makardam 9T

Textiles Visit to The V&A

On 2nd November GCSE Textiles students travelled to the V&A Museum in South Kensington. Our aim was to gain inspiration for the kaftans that we are currently working on.

We started the day by exploring one of the areas in the museum, looking closely at how Textiles links with other subjects, and found that there are many links with several other subjects.

We then looked closely at the fabrics that were used in most of the clothing within the exhibition and found that very expensive and luxurious fabrics were used in the past, such as silk. This is because synthetic fabrics had not yet been invented. We chose a piece in the museum that we really liked and analysed it in detail.

After lunch, we attended a workshop where we learnt about various ways of creating pattern and texture. One of the activities that we took part in was how to sketch parts of a garment using paper and masking 3

tape. This was very interesting as we found that layering and creating pattern and texture with something other than a pencil was a lot easier than we first thought. Everyone’s creations looked very colourful and technical. We also had the opportunity to look in the gift shop which had many creative souvenirs.

This visit was an amazing experience and a gave us the inspiration we needed to incorporate new and fresh ideas into our work. It also made us realise that textiles is a thriving and creative field. We learnt how important the textiles industry is and how it has had a great impact within society today.

We would really recommend visiting the V&A Museum and are sure that the future Year 9 students will enjoy the experience when it is their turn.

Maryam Khan 9P & Kulthum Mamun 9N

GCSE Maths in Action Day with Year 10

On Thursday 15 November, the whole of Year 10 (270 students!) attended the GCSE Maths in Action day at the Emmanuel Centre, Westminster. It was a fun packed day with guest speakers and live demonstrations showcasing how Maths is used in different fields which impact on our lives everyday.

The day was hosted by comedian and Scientist, Steve Cross, and featured a number of high-profile inspirational speakers. The presentations included:

 The use of Statistics in tracking activity on the dark-net by Cerys Bradley, UCL  The use of Maths in the design of suspension bridges and skyscrapers by Roma Agrawal, Structural Engineer (she was part of the design team for the Shard, Central London).  Exam tips from Paul Harrison, Assistant Headteacher and founder of www.singinghedgehog.co.uk  The use of Maths in decoding puzzles and complex problems by author and broadcaster, Alex Bellos.  The laws of probability that govern card games by Stephen Connor, University of York.  The Mathematics used to plan Guy Martin’s death defying stunts on Channel 4 by Hugh Hunt, University of Cambridge.

The students’ engagement and quality of questions was outstanding. A special congratulations to Krishni 4

Satchithananthan 10S who was announced as one of the winners of the Maths quiz of the day and won a £10 Amazon Voucher! She remarked “It was very interesting to hear from Engineers such as Roma Agrawal. My favourite was the last presentation which combined amazing facts from Maths and Science.” We hope the day has provided inspiration for our students to be the next generation of engineers, statisticians and broadcasters who push the boundaries of what can be achieved through the application of Maths.

Mr Gachi, Assistant Headteacher

Year 8 and Senior Netball

The Year 8 and Senior Netball team had a fixture against Chobham on the 22nd November. All of the students worked really hard and were a credit to themselves and Plashet. The final score was a 5 – 0 victory to Plashet in the Year 8 match, and a 6 – 0 victory to Plashet in the senior match.

Player of the match was given to Temi Aladejuyigbe and Nidhi Ben, well done!

The following students participated:

Temi Aladejuyigbe 8H Tasneen Hossain 8H Ayesha Khan 8T Israh Malik 8E Asli Mohamed 8T Thanusiya Nagarajah 8E Laiba Saghir 8A

Nidhi Ben 10E Charu Kuganantharajah 10N Nila Shajan 10G Gauri Shaji 10E Sarah Sufi 10N Tuce Torbas 10P

Well done girls!

Mrs Setter & Miss Boland, Teachers of PE

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EAL Department Celebration for New Students

On Thursday 29th November, the EAL department had a celebration for the newly arrived students and Ms Kirtley, the Curriculum Leader for the EAL department, kindly agreed that I could help with the celebration. On the day the teachers arranged different foods like pizza, cakes, cookies, fresh fruit and vegetables. The teachers warmly welcomed all the new students. After they had taken their seat, we had our delicious lunch. I played BTS songs which everyone adored. Then we had activities like looking at the world map and talking to different people, which I enjoyed a lot. It was really fun sharing our experiences; I met some really nice people who were sweet and kind.

I was so excited and looked forward to volunteering at the event because when I was a new student, I didn’t have any friends which made me lose my confidence and I was unable to perform well in my studies. I went to the same event and it was amazing, it was the best day of my life. After the event day I made lots of friends who motivated me and improved my confidence. I even got to know the teachers who had helped me with my studies; they have been my role models. I am really thankful to the EAL department for organising this kind of celebration for newcomers.

Sai Mani Ponnada 10P

I liked the ‘Welcome Party’ because I had the opportunity to meet all of the new students in the school. We talked, we laughed, we ate delicious food and we learnt more about each other. Now I have new friends and I want to say thank you to Plashet School.

Nelly Petrova 10G

Newham Heritage Week

From the 8th to the 18th November, Newham celebrated it’s rich heritage with a plethora of events, talks, films, performances and installations. This year the project focused on Women’s right to vote and the remembrance of the end of the first World War.

Twenty singers from Plashet joined up with singers from Sarah Bonnell School and St Angela’s Ursuline School to form an all female Pop Up Choir. They sang three songs, one of which was part of an Opera composed by Lister School, I can do Anything, and a new arrangement of The Women's Marseillaise, the original protest anthem for the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) back in 1911.

The choir only had 2 rehearsals all together, but gave two inspirational performances in venues around Newham.

Thank you to: Temi Aladejuyigbe, Kherri French, Minahil Zaman, Krisha Raulji, Nithyasri Govindaraj, Drusilla Duke, Maric Kaur, Ucky Kaur, Reshmi Subash Chandar, Anum Memon, Rahab Noor, Khadeeja Kahloon, Sazna Sarjun, Monica Argyo, Bushra Nasir, Ameesha Thahir for making it happen.

Miss Carne, Subject Leader for Music

Carnegie Bingo

Plashet School's Carnegie Club is a book club where we look at books which have been nominated for the Carnegie Medal. This is a literary award which is awarded each year to the author of a new book for children or young adults. Each week at Carnegie Club meetings, one book from the list is chosen and members take part in an activity in which is connected or links to the book. The books vary from different genres and topics, suiting different people's tastes.

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At the moment, until the shortlist is decided, members of Carnegie Club are taking part in Carnegie Bingo. Students read and review books from the list, giving their own opinion and rating of the books. This allows us the opportunity to read books from different genres which we may not normally read and expand our reading tastes. Each student has their own bingo card and each time we write a review, we receive a stamp. In the end we are hoping to succeed in completing a row or column of the bingo card to achieve a prize or a bigger prize if they complete the whole card at the end.

Any student who would like to take part in Carnegie Bingo or would like to join Carnegie Club should speak to Mrs Clifford-Smith. It is a really good way to discover new books and authors!

Zahra Mahfuza 10T

Neal Shusterman Visit

On Thursday 6th December we were lucky enough to host American Young Adult author, Neal Shusterman. We always try to actively promote the importance of reading for pleasure with all of our students, so when Walker Books contacted us to ask if we would host Mr Shusterman, we jumped at the chance!

Year 9 had a real treat listening to Neal Shusterman explain how he first started writing in the ninth grade and how his initial attempts where not well received. He explored how writing full time is a journey where the writer has to accept that rejection is not failure but a chance to reassess and redraft ideas to improve the outcome. He explained that reading powerful voices in a text can influence the writing process, so he has a never ending list of books he wants to read but cannot until he is not creating his own stories. He also explained that writing is as much about appreciating great stories other people have written and that he has lots of exciting collaborations in the pipeline.

The author was extremely candid about his motivations for writing the different stories he has published and what it feels like to have books in ‘development’ with several major American film production companies. Year 9 students were touched by his use of his own son’s struggles as the basis for a character in ‘Challenger Deep’ (2015) and they were enthusiastic about his newest book, ‘Dry’ and the ‘Scythe’ trilogy. Many students took the opportunity to purchase a book and met Neal to have it personalised with a message. Lots of students also asked pertinent questions, many focusing on how they could approach the creative writing task in their English Language GCSE Paper 1 and top tips for developing general writing skills. It was a very informative Q and A session because of our Year 9 students’ enthusiasm.

As we approach the new calendar year, we will of course be looking for more opportunities to host other authors and we are definitely participating in the Newham Word Festival 2019. We would encourage you to take some time over the Christmas break to catch up on some reading. There is nothing more rewarding than snuggling up on a winter’s day with a good book!

Miss Sanderson, Assistant Head Teacher 7

Year 10 Visit to Poetry Live!

On Friday 7th December, 270 Year 10 students made the long trip on the District Line to the Victoria Apollo Theatre, to see a handful of their literary heroes perform in the 2018 edition of Poetry Live! Every year, a selection of famous contemporary poets perform in this event, to both offer an insight into their craft and foster a love of the art form.

As ever, the day began with Carol Ann Duffy and Gillian Clarke, the former being both Poet Laureate and a part of our students’ GCSE Anthology. Their readings were poignant and affecting, with both drawing heavily upon personal experience in order to convey their messages. The students found Carol Ann to be particularly engaging this year, especially due to her pioneering a new poem that had not been heard before.

Next up was a perennial favourite of Plashet girls, Daljit Nagra, whose ‘Indian shopkeeper’ poem (as he calls it) never fails to elicit a raucous response from our students. While seemingly a tongue-in-cheek portrayal of immigrant life, it is actually a subtle and extremely pertinent snapshot of life in multicultural, modern Britain.

The rest of the day was completed by Simon Armitage, Imtiaz Dharker, Grace Nichols and John Agard all of whom engaged the audience superbly. Their performances displayed how much more than just rhyming words a poem can be, with mixtures of song, rap and free verse being employed. One purpose of the day is education, however I am sure all of the poets would agree that the main focus is celebrating the art form and reminding young people how it can be used to articulate any emotion or feeling.

The students were, as ever, a credit to themselves and the school. Hopefully, we may see some of them up on the stage in years to come performing their own works.

Mr Dry, Teacher of English

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