Haggerston Newsletter of

Recorder Issue 002_April 2014

Diary Dates Monday 7th April – Monday 21st April Easter holiday Thursday 24th April Y10 parents’ evening, Dear Parents/Carers, 5–7pm Monday 5th May I write this with two weeks to go until the end of the term, being able to see the welcome signs of spring in the weather and the increasing May bank holiday. day length. The warmer, drier weather and the lighter evenings tempt School closed more of our students to linger in the neighbourhood after school rather Monday 26th May – than going directly home. Senior staff encourage the dispersal of the students on their journeys home, throughout as much of the local Friday 30th May neighbourhood as we can, and this is to keep them safe and to prevent Half term potentially large numbers of young people making more difficult the Thursday 15th May safe passage of other pedestrians in the vicinity. We have just the same high expectations of Haggerston students being calm, courteous and Year 9 parents’ and considerate outside the school as we have of their behaviour in school. options evening, 5–7pm Recently, a member of the public told us of the kindness of one of our Friday 4th July students on a bus. Although we were unable to identify this anonymous student, it does the reputation of all of our students good when this PSHCE day happens, and it is always a pleasure to receive this sort of feedback. Friday 18th July In the first week of the holidays there will be revision classes on all End of summer term week for students in years 11,12 and 13, and I would like to take this Thursday 14 August opportunity to wish all of our students taking public exams this sum- mer the best of luck in these final weeks of preparation, the culmina- A-Level results tion of all the hard work they have put into their courses of study. Hard Thursday 21 August work is the theme of this issue of the Recorder, for without it there GCSE results would be none of the sporting successes and artistic and academic achievements on show within it. We hope you enjoy reading it, and that you have a very happy Easter holiday. Best wishes, Dr Jane Keeley, Headteacher

Visit from MP Meg Hillier In December Hackney’s MP, Meg Hillier, visited to see the recently refurbished school in action. Meg had a whistle stop tour of the buildings and was able to visit some lessons, meeting with students and staff. In a year 7 science lesson and a year 13 maths lesson, she talked with students about the topics they were studying, and the relevance of qualifications in science and maths to the future job market. Meg’s visit also paved the way for the A level Government and Politics students to visit her in the House of Commons this term. Haggerston Recorder April 2014

Art Blog The Art Department has launched a blog for students to use as a support frame for homework and to extend learning beyond the classroom. The blog also showcases exemplar work and allows students and parents to watch YouTube Art and Design tutorials. The blog can be accessed using the link: www.haggerstonschool artdepartment.blogspot.co.uk Mr Wilson Art Teacher

School production of ‘Macbeth’ On the 10th, 11th and 12th of December last term, students performed a ‘cold and clinical’ interpretation of Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’. The cast worked tirelessly in rehearsals at lunchtime, after school and even weekends for over three months demonstrating excellent self–discipline and team work. Their commitment was evident in the confident and creative performances. The play was staged in our new South Studio and seen by five primary schools and around 500 family, friends and staff. Dr. Keeley, Headteacher, commented, ‘Each year, with Haggerston’s December production, there are some unique qualities which mark it out. Watching ‘Macbeth’ last night, there were two which stood out for me – that it was the first time there was an ensemble cast of boys and girls of equal ages, and that they performed so beautifully in Shakespeare’s language.’ Sue Goodman, Programme and Artistic Director from the Royal Academy of Dance, commented that the performance left her feeling ‘inspired and uplifted’ by the level of commitment and focus from students. Fields Primary School commented, “It was truly spectacular and I was blown away by your students’ talent. My kids were also amazed – they were all saying how “sick” the performance was!” Thank you and well done to all involved. Miss Powell, Head of Drama and Ms Ray–Choudhuri, Head of Expressive Arts A level Life Drawing Classes Year 12 and 13 A Level Fine Art students were given the opportunity to experience a 7 week intensive life drawing course. Life drawing is an essential requirement for any student wishing to go onto Art College and the life drawing classes have enabled students to build a portfolio of work. The life model who took part in the classes has previously modeled for artist Yinka Shonibare and has also modeled for students at The Royal Academy of Arts.

Drawing workshop using artefacts from the Japanese Embassy During October and November, the Art Department was given the opportunity to borrow a set of traditional Japanese artefacts from the Embassy of Japan. Year 10 GCSE students were able to complete a series of drawing workshops working directly from a range of Japanese artefacts such as traditional dolls, clothing, toys, lanterns and model sushi as part of their World Cultures project. Ms Ramos–Virley Head of Art

Chess Club Chess Club has continued to maintain its popularity after school every Friday. The school is working in partnership with Chess in Schools and Communities (CSC) and our students have been benefiting from bespoke chess coaching at the after school club. Mr Pilling Geography Teacher Haggerston Recorder April 2014

Debate Mate On Monday 27th January hosted the first round of the Urban Debate League. The Debate Mate team faced tough competition from Walthamstow Academy, City of London Academy and Mossbourne Academy. The motion for the first debate was: “this house believes that the government should have the right to spy on all citizens”. Our students were up against impressive and experienced debaters from the other schools and managed to win two debates out of three. In the second round students were given a new and previously unseen motion which was: “this house believes school summer holidays should be reduced from six weeks to three”. In this round Haggerston students won all three of the debates that they took part in! It was a fantastic achievement for our students to win five debates out of six in total. Our students thoroughly enjoyed themselves and Maths successes it was great to chalk up a win in the first round of the league. continued… Debate Mate participants have over the years developed sophisticated Year 9 and 10 students took communication, higher–order thinking and interpersonal skills, whilst building part in the annual UKMT (UK their confidence and self–esteem. We are very proud of them and would like Mathematics Trust) Intermediate to thank them for their hard work and effort in preparing for this competition. Maths Challenge in February. Congratulations on your victory! We continued our amazing success in this national Ms Mangera and Ms Jeffers competition aimed at advancing English Teachers the education of children and young people in mathematics. The students achieved a record of 3 Gold, 3 Silver and 7 Bronze. The results are as follows: Gold • Adam Lawson (Y10) • Ford Fagan (Y9) • Oliver Stonehouse–Klyne (Y10) Silver • Paul Adeleye (Y10) • David Tran (Y9) • Saul Holliday (Y9) Bronze •Ali Qadir (Y10) • Muhammed Ali (Y10) • Ashwin Murray (Y10) • Vadiya Kirby (Y9) • Wahida Omar (Y9) • Elen Mitchell Reid (Y9) • Sulayman Desai (Y9) With these results, Adam Lawson has qualified for the Hamilton Olympiad (Gold) and both Oliver Stonehouse–Klyne and Ford Fagan have qualified for the Intermediate European Kangaroo (Gold). Ms Mohamed Maths Teacher Celebrating Student Success At Haggerston School we are always keen to celebrate the successes of our students. This year we have launched a new initiative to ensure that our students are rewarded for their success in terms of achievement, effort and citizenship. Students have been rewarded with points in these categories when they have: completed high quality work; persevered and overcome challenges; or been excellent role models in terms of their behaviour and conduct. These points are recorded centrally by the school and when students reach the Further Mathematics and Regional Maths required total they are awarded a Challenge success badge in the relevant category. Further Mathematics is an AS or A level qualification which both Students have already achieved very broadens and deepens the mathematics covered in A level Mathematics. high totals and bronze badges are Further Mathematics is taken alongside an AS or A level in Mathematics. being worn with pride on the blazers of students in all year groups! “Demand for jobs with Science, Engineering and Technology skills is set to grow by 2.4 million by 2014 – and all these jobs require maths skills. Highly Mr Lynch numerate disciplines are in great demand from employers – young people Assistant Headteacher with maths qualifications will find that their degrees can open doors to exciting and rewarding careers.” Susan Anderson, CBI. There is a government–funded initiative called the Further Mathematics Support Programme (FMSP). The FMSP run a national maths challenge for year 10 students with the aim of expanding these younger students’ mathematical horizons and hopefully inspiring them to study Further Mathematics at A–Level. Haggerston School entered two teams for a very challenging regional heat. Of the ten teams from eight schools (a mix of schools, academies and independent schools) competing at the heat, remarkably both the Haggerston teams finished in the top four. In fourth place were: Oliver Stonehouse–Klyne, Elizabeth Baird–Hutchinson, Keji Neri and Elif Okutan and in second place were: Kamara Nelson, Anh Pham, Adam Lawson and Gaby Gordon–Fox. As runners–up at the heat, the second placed team of (left–to–right) Kamara, Gaby, Anh and Adam – proudly photographed above with teachers Mr Camilleri and Mr Roberts, qualified for the final, which will take place in London in May 2014. Mr Roberts Head of Maths Haggerston Recorder April 2014

City Year and Community Action Days Calling all former in Fellows Court Haggerston School students Haggerston School has once again had a team of City Year working alongside students in lessons and in the playground to realise their We have just launched our alumni mission to inspire children to believe in themselves and support them network in partnership with to excel at school. education charity Future First. As an additional component of City Year, the volunteers do Community If you used to go to Haggerston Action Days with the purpose of giving back to the Community. School and would like to get back Last year’s team repainted St Mary’s Community Centre and replanted in touch with the school and get the garden surrounding it. involved in school life we would Community Action Days this year ran over the course of two days. On the love to hear from you! Sign up to first day, six Sixth Form students were involved in base–painting the whole our former student network by of Fellows Court Community Centre’s biggest room, leaving it ready for two filling out the registration form from; inspirational quotes to be drawn on the walls. The following day, volunteers https://networks.futurefirst.org.uk/ from CVC, a private equity firm, went in to help finish off painting the walls former–student/haggerston and colour in the inspirational quotes. so that we and Future First can let you know what’s happening at Last month, the City Year team returned with a number of students to see the school and let you know the change they helped make. The team were presented with a certificate of opportunities to get involved. awarded by the centre’s Youth Leader in recognition of our ‘champion quality’. Ms Wyatt Special thanks to the following students for their excellent contribution Business Studies Teacher and exemplary attitude to giving back to the community: Funmi Folayan, Franca Onyeama, Moonisah Parvin, Fatima Sheikh, Zainab Suleiman and Shyr-Nai Davison Thomas.

Year 12 UCL Link Programme for 2013-14 A select group of Year 12 Chemistry and Maths students have been taking part in a link study programme run by University College London which has aimed to introduce students to different aspects of life at a Russell group university and broaden their intellectual horizons, as well as develop their academic skills. Over half term they visited UCL’s Department of Chemistry, which is the oldest in and is consistently acknowledged as being one of the top Chemistry Departments in the UK. Students were treated to an insight into A2 and degree level Chemistry, looking at how the different spectroscopic instruments work. They also were able to visit the organic and physical laboratories where they observed a demonstration on an oscillating reaction. Ms Kotecha–Karia Associate Deputy Headteacher Sporting News Basketball Success It has been a fantastic start to the boys’ basketball team so far this year. The year 7, 8, 9 and 10 boys remained undefeated until January, winning over 15 games since September. Year 7 boys have shown commitment and skill and won all their games by at least a 20 point margin with fixtures against Cardinal Pole, Stoke Newington, and Bishop Challenor School. One particular game that stands out for me is playing at home against Petchey Academy. We won by an extraordinary margin of 29 points. Year 8 boys have been playing great basketball and showing determination in winning all our games against Cardinal Pole, and Bishop Challenor. The year 9 boys have gone from strength to strength and are as yet undefeated, winning all their games against Stoke Newington, The Petchey Academy and Bridge Academy. They have qualified for the next round to represent Hackney Borough schools by defeating The Urswick School, Mossbourne Academy, and Bridge Academy, which is a great achievement. A memorable result was against Petchey Academy, 54–17, with the year 9 boys dominating the entire game. The year 10 boys, whilst not playing as many games this year, were able to defeat our biggest rivals, Bridge Academy, at home by a promising margin with the score of 44– 31. As the basketball coach, I wish to continue with this success and it starts with practice. I hope our student athletes can both commit to the demands of excelling in their subjects, and commit to the team and the pressures that come with it, first and foremost by attending regular practices. Our students have shown commitment and resilience so far and a continuation of this will bring further success. Mr Danchie PE Teacher

Fencing Twelve year 9 students enjoyed a series of fencing sessions from the Central London Fencing Club in the autumn term in recognition of their continued positive contribution to their lessons. They were trained by Rhys Melia, who fences for Great Britain. Mr Barnett Assistant Head of Middle School Haggerston Recorder April 2014

Athletics The Haggerston School Year 7 athletics team continued to upset rivals in the latest Hackney School’s Athletic League fixture. The team are quickly becoming known for their ‘Giant killing’ performances with Haggerston athletes winning the two blue– ribboned events of the night. Akim Bangura came into the fixture at Cardinal Pole School on form that saw him take victory in the Vertical Jump at the inaugural event in November. Hackney Primary Akim applied this form to the opening track event of the night and the most School Netball prestigious of the Sportshall sprints; Tournament 2014 the 2 lap race. Akim reacted well to the For the second consecutive year gun and was placed in the top 2 going Haggerston School Physical into the last lap. The perseverance Education Department hosted of the 11 year old transpired in a the Hackney Primary School dramatic last lap resulting in the first Netball Tournament. The event Haggerston win of the night. Akim was very well attended with out ran all representatives from the Springfield, Sir Thomas Abney, borough including the league leader’s London Fields, St Scholastica’s, Cardinal Pole athlete. Daubeney, Holy Trinity, Betty Layward and St.Matthias Primary Debutant, Abdul Maliq Oke began School all competing. his promising Haggerston athletics career with a controlled victory in The event took place on 30th the most gruelling event of the night January and 4th March. Every the 6 lap race. Abdul, more known school competed well, playing to for his skills in the Basketball squad, a high standard, with excellent travelled to the fixture as an unknown teamwork and conducting quantity, and left as one of the most Netball themselves in a mature and exciting prospects for Haggerston respectful manner. athletics. Abdul began the race The year 7 netball team played It was a hard fought competition with sitting on the leader for the opening their first ever league match in some close games, but Daubeney 3 laps of the race and when receiving February against Cardinal Pole. and Holy Trinity School managed to the signal from the Haggerston base, They had a great start to their season win their groups and reached the out–kicked rival competitors. with an excellent performance by all final. In a close game Daubeney won A mention must also be given to the players and won the match 7–4. 2 –1 beating Holy Trinity. the ultra–competitive Kerry Searle, The player of the match award went Daubeney will now go on to competing in the maximum number to Ruby Mpisaunga. represent Hackney at the London of events in the competition for Ms Maguire Final at Crystal Palace on 2nd April. the second consecutive fixture, Head of PE anchoring both relay teams. Congratulations to Daubeney School and thank you to all the Mr Webb schools that helped make it such PE Teacher a great tournament. Ms Maguire Head of Physical Education

Contact

Weymouth Terrace, London E2 8LS P 020 7739 7324 F 020 7739 8603 www.haggerston.hackney.sch.uk