T R eflection The R eflection achieving more together

MayMay 20192019

www.liskeard.cornwall.sch.uk @Liskeard_School

The magazine of Liskeard School & Community College Head’s Letter Top Merit Earners for April &May

Dear Parents, Carers and Friends of Liskeard School, Year 7 Year 8

Aimee Roobottom 7L 31 Anthony Easton 8L 27 It’s been a while since the last Faith Halifax 7E 28 Thomas Wilson 8L 25 Reflection, partly because most of Sofia Stevens 7I 26 Joseph Shakerley 8L 24 April was taken up by the Easter Emily James 7L 25 Darren Jones 8L 22 holidays! We therefore have a Imogen Rowe 7I 24 Lily-Beth Southcott 8L 22 bumper edition this month full of Lucy Weller 7I 24 Layani Snowden 8L 21 articles highlighting some of the Ruth Pankhurst 7L 24 Minnie Bauer 8L 21 great opportunities our students Alexia Lewis 7I 23 Shadow Taylor 8L 21 have been involved in. This last Abi O’Neill 7E 22 Charlotte Taylour 8A 20 month has seen us on the TV, in the local press and we’ve represented Daniel Hiscock 7L 22 Verity Welsh 8L 20 Cornwall on the national stage. Morgan Champion 7L 21 Bell Rollings 8E 19 Phoebe Tasker 7I 21 Lilly Kaseke 8S 19 A massive thank you to all the staff and students for their continued hard Archie Lambert-Govier 7S 20 Melissa Zalick 8L 19 work. The older students have been sitting GCSE and A Level exams thick Mason Reeve 7E 20 Brannon Kaczmarek 8L 18 and fast over several weeks now and have shown amazing resilience. A Michael West 7L 20 Shannel Cattell 8L 18 special mention has to go to our Year 11s who have been incredibly positive about their exams. I’m sure all their preparation will pay off. We will Year 9 Year 10 look forward to seeing many of them back next year joining our outstanding sixth form college. Josh Gurdin 9E 24 Jasmine Bosworth 10L 21 Mj Coton 9S 24 Aaron Upton 10I 20 The school continues to rise in popularity with over 220 Year 7s joining us next Bethany Whitehead 9K 21 Connor Vine 10S 19 year. The number of students naming Liskeard School as their first choice is Jay Ullman 9K 21 Maddie Miller 10S 18 rising year on year. We look forward to meeting them all on their induction Jobe Roberts 9A 21 Blaine Derrick 10E 17 days later this month. Thank you to our 30 Peer Mentors, currently in Year 8, Josh Dean 9A 19 Matthew Ince 10E 17 who have been busy preparing for their visit. Kevin Xholi 9A 19 Alex Demeter 10S 16 Maddie Chinn 9A 18 Amy Brown 10S 16 With kind regards, Melissa Prendergast 9L 18 Raphi Hutt 10L 16 Jamie Bradbury 9I 17 Harley Billing 10E 15 Moses Lowdell 9K 17 Kula Parkinson 10L 15 Poppy Prizeman 9A 17 Cody James 10K 14 Issy Gray 9L 16 Mya Cavanagh 10A 14 Caleb Brown 9S 15 Shannon Crispin 10L 14 Alex Lingard Jacob Blick 9K 15 Head Teacher Jessica Howells 9L 15 Head’sIn the Spotlight... Letter TalkLiskeard A Clean Sweep for Liskeard Students!

Over the next few years we are going to be getting the students to talk more! Liskeard School and Community College challenged all their students in KS3 to Being articulate and able to communicate effectively is really important in enter the County competition on hate crime for National Holocaust Day. Students school and in life. We also want students to have the confidence to speak up could either enter in the short story or picture category. and speak out about issues that are important to them. We want our Student The uptake from students was overwhelming, and a selection of the entries were taken to Truro Cathedral to compete against other Cornish schools. Council to make sure they have their say about how the school can be even In the overall competition, the school swept the board coming 1st, 2nd and 3rd in better. And finally, we want students to understand their inner voice to help both categories. A fabulous achievement! their thinking and to build confidence. The winning students were then invited to the cathedral to receive a prize, presented by PC Geoff Turner-Moore.

SHORT STORY WINNERS 1/ Isobel Coleflax 2/ Kimberly Dyer 3/ Quinn Lawrence

ART WORK WINNERS 1/ Joseph Shakerley 2/ Isaac Chapman 3/ Imogen Early Over the last few months, some of our teachers have been working together to look at ways we can develop oracy skills in class, from improving students’ vocabulary to looking at ways to structure classroom conversation, debate Isobel Coleflax from 8K, had the following to say about the competition: and discussions. In September, we will be rolling out some strategies across “Last term, I was one of the students that won the County Hate Crime Competition, run by Devon and Cornwall Police. I created a storyboard on the theme ‘Torn the school, especially with our new Year 7s. from Home’. ‘Torn from Home’ was the theme for National Holocaust Day which During Time to Talk Week in March and National Mental Health Week in was celebrated on the 29th January 2019. As a winner of the competition I was May, we asked tutor groups to make sure they had discussions about mental given the opportunity to visit Truro Cathedral in April. Whilst I was there I received health. a ‘Winner of the Hate Schools Competition 2019’ certificate and a voucher for We’ve also been running some debating and public speaking competitions Waterstones. All 6 of us engraved a slate which will be eventually placed on the and have seen some amazing success in competitions such as: ARTiculation, cathedral roof, which will mark the event. The overall experience was something to English Speaking Union debates and the mock magistrates’ experience. This remember, and a really enjoyable day.” week, we also launch our Broadcasting Club, supported by Liskeard Radio https://www.trurocathedral.org.uk/news/liskeard-school-and-community-college- and founder member, Dean Moore. win-arts-project 3| a place where... |4 Student of the Month Student of the Month Nominees Winner Nadia Szeffel For always being bright and cheerful and always volunteering to help. She has put in brilliant work and effort in the Mencap ‘Round the World Lily Roberts and Molly Burchell - for working consistently Faith Wright – for her hard in every history lesson and producing amazing amazing effort with her Challenge’ and in all of the homework. Nominated by Ms Birkbeck coursework. Nominated by ProjectAbility sport days. She is a role Ms Jeff model in PE lessons: hard working, resilient and is always kind and helpful to others. She is an asset to any group. Nominated by Ms Wetherill

Nominees Georgie Butler – for always Maddy Kolberg for always Chloe Penhaligan - for taking responsibility to just getting on with her work her quiet, determined improve her work. She has and for her contributions to perseverance and for her shown amazing resilience the lessons. She works hard, consistently excellent class in actively seeking work smiles often and is a very work and home work. She from me when she has talented artist. Nominated is also a great support to been absent due to by Ms Schooling. others. Nominated by Ms extra-curricular activities. Leon Nominated by Ms Pheby

Luisa Gould, for being an Freya Elliott - for always Dana Hammond - for her exceptional student and role being hardworking and work in media studies. model. She is a hardworking conscientious in lessons and She is tremendously hard student, who never falters in her quietly getting on with the working and would actually consistently positive approach to work. Her recent speaking give some of my AS level her studies and who always strives test in French blew my mind. students a run for their to improve the quality of her work. She gave a GCSE quality money when it comes to Luisa was part of the amazing conversation, she had not team who won the local heat of only used the resources her understanding of media the Magistrates’ Mock Court Trial I had given them; she texts. She’s exceptional! competition this year. She has tweaked it with some very Nominated by Ms Archer. also been successfully selected nice phrases! Nominated by Akira Griffin – for her Chloe Graber – for Shadow Taylor – for her as a Peer Mentor and the next Ms Lofthouse. outstanding achievement in her exceptional effort. on-going resilience and cohort of Year 7s will be no doubt her Childcare qualification. Nominated by Ms Jeff kindness. Nominated by Ms benefit from her thoughtfulness, Nominated by Ms Jeff Holroyd patience and caring support. Nominated by Ms Brown. 5| a place where...... there are no end of possibilities |6 magistrate, I had to watch over the court case and Young Magistrates Travel to then discuss the details of the case to decide on a verdict. The whole trip was a fun experience from the actual trial to staying together in the youth hostel and Wales for Regional Finals taking the long journey up to Wales. Melissa Zalick, Year 8 It was a very good idea to have this competition, This year, myself and a because it helps prepare young people from ages group of girls entered a 12-13 to build confidence talking to people we don’t County Magistrates’ Court know, because we will need those type of skills in competition – with no the future. It was obviously nerve-wracking being previous experience. We got in the Court and the dock itself, but as soon as I got through two rounds of the into it I felt more comfortable talking in front of all three, surprisingly, against those people. It was extremely fun standing up there schools who had been talking about the case with the Magistrates and the doing the competition for Prosecutors, it felt like a real court case. Unfortunately, many years. We were all we did not win but that was okay because we had very excited to hear that great fun and it was a new educational experience for after winning the first heat in everybody in the team. We were a bit disappointed, Plymouth, we were going to but not upset and very proud of our achievements. Wales, and staying in a hostel It was an amazing time and I would definitely do it in the centre of Cardiff for the second heat. So with the help from Caunters, fundraisers at school again. Luisa Gould, Year 8 and financing from the school, we were able to pay for all the travel expenses. After practising our roles in the Court case for many weeks, it was time to go to Wales. We were all nervous, knowing that if we won this heat, we would be going to London. We did very well in the two courtroom sessions. However, we unfortunately weren’t able to get through to the next round in London as only two of eight schools got through – even though we tried hard and enjoyed every bit of it! The whole experience has taught me about how the law works and how court cases are National Success for Liskeard so complicated and yet so fun at the same time. Minnie Bauer, Year 8 The Magistrates’ mock trial in Newport was a unique opportunity that allowed me to delve into School & Community College the world of law and further develop my knowledge and understanding of our law system. As a Drama Student!

Liskeard School & Community College drama department are thrilled to announce that following auditions in February, one of our students, Tadhg Moran, has been successful in gaining a place in the National Youth Theatre and will be participating in one of their training courses for young actors over the summer. This is an incredible achievement, as there is huge competition for places – thousands of young people, aged 14 – 25 audition and only a few are successful. From the free audition that was held at Liskeard School & Community College, two students gained a place in the NYT. Tadhg and Angel Vickery, from Looe School. We wish Tadhg the very best on the course and every success in his future performing career! Mrs Crawshaw and Ms Farrow. 7| a place where...... we are inspired |8 Class 7R Raise almost £500 for BAFTA Star Inspires Students Sowenna

The Sowenna Appeal website states that: Jessica Hynes, star of W1A, Spaced, Years “It is estimated that 1 in 10 young people aged between 5 and 16 have a mental disorder. Most can be & Years and recent BAFTA winner, spent treated within the community, but some require a more intensive programme of treatment and care. the day at Liskeard School and Community Currently, some of our most ill and vulnerable young people are travelling hundreds of miles away from their College working with students and family and friends to hospitals in Birmingham, Essex, Kent and Cheshire to access psychiatric treatment. discussing the benefits of studying drama We are delighted that we will soon be in a position to support these young people much closer to home at school. Jessica is the patron of National through ‘Sowenna’ – Cornwall’s first adolescent mental health unit which is currently being built on the Drama and is heading up a campaign to Bodmin Hospital site. ensure schools keep drama as a valued To ensure Cornwall has a leading-edge facility, the Sowenna Appeal has been launched to fund some of part of their curriculum. Jessica had heard the items which will really make a difference to young peoples’ recovery, health and wellbeing.” of the great work at Liskeard School so Our tutor group (7R) decided to hold a sponsored silence on Friday 17th May, which coincided with Mental spent the day working with GCSE and A Health Awareness week, in order to raise funds for this important facility within Cornwall. The students had to be silent from 8:45am until 3:15pm, but were allowed to talk at lunchtime. Level drama students as well as talking to All their teachers that day were impressed with how well the students coped and still managed to work hard students about how drama has helped in lessons. This is an example of the emails I received that day: them and why it is an important subject. “I was really impressed by them in RE this morning. The lesson we did potentially could have been really Head teacher, Alex Lingard, said, “A massive thank you to Jessica for giving up her time, travelling all challenging without being able to discuss the evidence they were looking at, but they really rose to the the way from Kent to be with us. When she arrived she said to me that it’s not about finding the next challenge and got stuck in. I was totally blown away by the in depth questions they were asking (by writing Orlando Bloom, but about ensuring students have the ability and confidence to express themselves and on whiteboards) and the amount of thought going into the questions asked.” communicate effectively. I couldn’t agree more. In times In total the students raised £465 for the appeal. I am so proud of my tutor group and what they have where some schools are cutting creative arts from the achieved. Ms Pheby curriculum, we are embracing them because of what they have to offer to our young people.” At the end of her visit, Jessica was asked what she thought about the day. She said, “I was so impressed with how expressive, articulate and perceptive your students were - incredible, alive and full of creativity, passion and energy - what an inspiration to us all! I enjoyed today so much, I wish I could come back tomorrow!” A short film of the day’s activities was shown on BBC Spotlight on Wednesday 29th May.

9| a place where...... we feel happy and enjoy ourselves |10 House Competition Update

Last half-term served Pegasus well, who jumped from fourth to third overall. Griffin still lead however, but it is all to play for over the next few weeks with big points available in the remaining competitions. Currently running are the Technology competition (to make a wind chime out of recyclable materials) and the Media competition (to design the front cover of next year’s planner). Soon to follow is Liskeard’s Got Talent and, of course, the final event of the year: Sports Day. Don’t forget, house points are also awarded for good attendance, excellent attitude scores and merits received. Students can also win 250 points for completing their Citizenship Award. #MayTheBestTeamWin

Overall standings:

1st GRIFFIN 54, 126 2nd CENTAUR 52, 927 3rd PEGASUS 50,967 4th PHOENIX 48,678

Media Studies House

Competition Design the Student Planner 2019 - 2020 Front Cover! The winning design will go to print and be the front cover of our school planner in September!

The design must be 125mm x 201mm and submitted in pdf format to Mrs Archer, Mr Lingard and Mrs Penberthy by e-mail. DEADLINE: Friday 28th June 2019

Think about:  The style of text (font) you use  The image/s you use (these need to be your own design, picture or photo) Why have you chosen to use them?

The design must reflect the ethos and values of Liskeard School.

11| a place where...... we learn together & hard work is rewarded |12 Howzat?! Award Winning Former Liskeard Student Returns to Perform a Thank You Concert After being crowned Cornwall County A prize-winning quartet including two young champions, our Under 15 girls’ cricket professional musicians from Cornwall is returning to give team recently travelled to Southampton their debut concert in the Duchy at St Martin’s Church Liskeard on Saturday 15th June. The programme to participate in the South West finals of includes quartets by Haydn and Mendelssohn together the 2019 Lady Taverners’ Indoor Cricket with two less well known works, Janacek’s ‘Intimate Competition. Letters’ and ‘Sonnets et Rondeaux’ by Giovanni The team of nine Year 9 and 10 girls left Sollima. Liskeard at midday and after a four-hour The Anella Quartet was formed by four current and journey interrupted by a short break at a former students at the Royal Northern College of Music, and takes its name from the Cornish word Anella service station they arrived for their overnight meaning Breathe. Cellist Ellie Boney former Liskeard stay at the very picturesque Burley Youth School pupil and viola player Becky Stephenson whose Hostel in the New Forest. family live in Looe first met in the National Children’s The following day, the girls made the short Orchestra then studied together as undergraduates at journey to the Ageas Bowl Indoor School, the RNCM. home ground of Hampshire Cricket Club. They joined with violinists Will Chadwick and Cleo Annandale in 2018 to form the new quartet. The four After the welcome speech, an official draw was made and Liskeard School were placed into a four team also play with professional orchestras in the North West group, along with representatives from Hampshire, Somerset and the Isle of Wight. including the BBC Philharmonic, Liverpool Philharmonic and Manchester Camerata. Over the course of the three matches, the team scored over 190 runs and gained 15 wickets against our The Anella Quartet have already distinguished themselves as triple prize-winners in chamber music opponents but, unfortunately, were eliminated at the end of the group stage. On reflection, it was very competitions and have given a number of concerts in and around the North West of England as well as much a learning curve but an exceptional and memory making experience for all involved. PE teacher, recently performing in a chamber ensemble at London’s Wigmore Hall. Commenting on their prize wins, Becky said “Even though we haven’t been playing together for very long, our ensemble felt right from the Mark Lemin, said, “I was very proud of the girls. It was a massive achievement to even reach the finals and word go. We thoroughly enjoyed rehearsing and playing for these competitions and I hope this enthusiasm despite not winning, every member of the team showed great team spirit and resilience.” came across in our performances. The chamber music coaching we’ve had from RNCM has helped us so The team and school would like to thank Liskeard Town Council for the financial contribution awarded to much to develop our own sound and interpretation and we are delighted that this has been recognised cover travel expenses and the overnight stay. Their support was hugely appreciated. through the award of these prizes.” Ellie added “It’s exciting for me to come back to play in Cornwall where I started having cello lessons at the age of 7 and joined Cornwall Youth Orchestra when I was still in primary school. I’ve been back several times for solo and orchestral performances, but coming back with my friends in the Anella quartet will Politics Experience be special. Recently I was very grateful to get a grant from the Lord Lieutenant’s Fund for Youth to help towards the cost of a better bow and what better way to say ‘thank you’ than by coming back to share our Liskeard School Sixth Form have been working closely with Exeter University to increase the political interest music with the local people who have supported me so much along the way. We are also grateful to the of young people and to improve their understanding of our political system. We have delivered a series of Liskeard Concert Series who have provided financial support to make this concert possible” activities which has also involved Skyping the House of Lords and inviting local councillors and members of parliament in for a Q&A session. Gill Prichard, Director of Sixth Form, said, “This has been a really Joshua heads to the Martial Arts interesting project. Both staff and students have really enjoyed looking at various aspects of politics.” ICO World Championships Students posed a series of questions to the Deputy Speaker Lord McFall when he spoke to us via the internet from his chambers. We also Congratulations to Joshua Pierce in Year 7 who has qualified to compete for Great hosted a lively debate with local councillors and our MP Sheryll Murray. Britain at the Martial Arts ICO World Championships in October after winning gold and Josh Conway, Sixth Form student, said “It’s always great to have silver medals at the recent British Open. a variety of political positions represented in Liskeard. We really Joshua trains with the Byrne Black Belt Academy in Bodmin twice a week plus an additional weekend training session once a month. Pictured here with his coach at appreciated the chance to query Sheryll Murray and learn about her the recent South West Series finale held in Gloucester, he ended up winning two overall views.” category trophies in addition to a number of golds, silvers and bronze trophies and medals.​ We wish him all the best in the World Championships next term. 13| a place where...... together we achieve more |14 time with the year group outside of the ‘classroom’ and see them really engage with the culture and Heads of Year Messages heritage around them at the show. Students recently completed their Year 9 exams, which generally went very well. Having practice exams helps students prepare for the real ones and realise the importance of following exam rules and regulations. It was a learning curve for some of them! Year 7 The final Progress Check for the year group will also be out in the next couple of weeks, and this would be a good opportunity to discuss with your son/daughter their next steps in preparation for their GCSE subjects Writing this message, I can’t quite believe we are almost at the end of which start formally in September. the school year. That said, we still have lots to look forward to and lots Ms Dove of challenges ahead. This starts with a positive response to the most recent progress checks. Please ensure you highlight any subjects where application scores are low (4’s and 5’s) and reiterate how important Year 10 a ‘can do’ attitude is. It is essential that pupils maximise lesson time and attempt to complete all tasks set. Equally, if organisation scores are low (4’s and 5’s) please ensure you support your child to be more Year 10 examinations start on Monday 24th June with mathematics independent. Ensuring they are fully prepared for their school day and paper 1. Each student has been given a mock examination timetable that homework is submitted by the agreed deadline. Homework will this week and the final papers are on Wednesday 3rd July. When they always be a topic that some pupils find challenging but it is crucial to are not actually sitting an examination, students will be attending their development academically. It bridges the gap between lessons normal lessons. Year 10 assemblies are focussing on revision techniques and helps the information taught in lessons to ‘stick’. Your support with this is hugely important and much appreciated. and the importance of being fully prepared. I would like to finish by saying what an immense privilege it has been to be the Head of Year 7 this year. Our sixth form taster day will follow on 11th July 2019 where we will offer I feel extremely proud of where they currently are. I will continue to have a vested interest in their future year 10 the opportunity to undertake taster lessons in A level subjects. even though next year my challenge starts again with our new cohort of Year 7’s. Myself, Ms Kelly and Ms There will also be various vocational opportunities on that Thursday Birkbeck will be spending time with Ms Snowling and Mrs Harris over the next few weeks to ensure a smooth which will include: and effective handover ready for September. • Beauty Mr Mitchell • Childcare • Construction • Dance Year 8 • Hair • Health and Social Care In the March edition of the Reflection I wrote about how proud and • ICT Practitioners impressed I was by the efforts of a few Year 8’s to raise money for • Drama production, Arts and Tech Theatre Emmaus homelessness charity through a sponsored sleepout. I can • Sports and Physical Activity Development. now reveal that the total raised by the students was £514.17! Their Students will be fully briefed about the sixth form taster day and this will give them an opportunity to think efforts to fundraise were as impressive as their willingness to endure and focus on getting the best grades possible in their GCSE and other courses at the end of year 11. hardship during the sleepout! So, thank you and well done to the Mr Gluyas following (in no particular order): Freya, Aleesha, Oliver, Reece, Cameron, Grace, Hester, Jago, Daisy, Summer, Sophie and Lily Beth. Since the last Reflection Year 8 have done their exams and teachers Year 11 have inputted the data and comments for their final Progress Check of the year. Please keep an eye on your inbox for the Progress Check We are now approaching the end of the exams and Year 11 have and have a conversation with your child about how they are doing been fabulous. They have remained positive and it is always a relief to see them come out of the exams smiling!! We are now busy organizing in school. Attitude scores of 1s or 2s should be praised! If you have the end of term activities. any queries about comments or grades on the Progress Checks don’t The Record of Achievement is on the 4th July at 10am and you will be hesitate to contact the individual teacher or Head of Department. receiving an invitation to attend in due course. We have the prom to For more general queries please contact me: anglasgow@liskeard. look forward to on the 5th July and we are expecting our guests to cornwall.sch.uk start arriving by car from 6pm. This year we are hosting the event back Mr Glasgow in school and staff are looking forward to waiting on the tables!! This is followed by the trip to Thorpe Park on the 11th which will be an early 5am start - good luck getting up! Finally can I take the opportunity to thank you for the last five years - Year 9 this Year 11 has been a rollercoaster of a group....never a dull moment, however, their positivity and resilience over the last few months have We are in the last few weeks of the academic year - where has the been admirable and we wish them all the very best of luck for the time gone? On Friday the year group enjoyed a great (if somewhat future. wet!) day at the Royal Cornwall Show. It was nice to be able to spend Ms Snowling Attendance Update Dates for your Diary

Well done to all the students who are still sitting above 95% attendance since September, many of whom haven’t yet missed a day. The current Art, Photography, Textiles and Media Thursday 20th June, 6.30pm to 8.30pm Exhibition attendance figures for each year group are as follows:

Year 10 Mock Exams begin

Group Attendance Week beginning 24th June

Year 9 Progress Checks are published Year 7 96.3%

Drama Club Performance of Monday 8th July, from 5pm Alice in Wonderland, followed by Year 8 95.1% Liskeard’s Got Talent Final

Year 11 Record of Achievement Thursday 4th July, 10am Year 9 94.2% Celebration

Year 10 93.6% Friday 5th July, 6pm Year 11 Prom

Year 11 95.1% Wednesday 10th July Sports Day followed by Awards Evening

School 95.0% Thursday 11th July Year 10 6th Form College Taster Day

Well done to Year 7 who are leading the way! Thursday 11th July, 7pm Summer Concert

Important – please note! Friday 12th July 6th Form Summer Ball To fall in line with other Cornish schools, please note that from September any holidays taken during term time will automatically generate a fixed penalty notice for parents. Challenge Week and Work Experience Monday 15th July – Friday 19th July Week Parent View In preparation for OFSTED and for our own development, we’d appreciate your feedback on how you think we’re doing. Please visit the Parent View website to complete the short Tuesday 23rd July, 12.30pm End of term questionnaire – it only takes a few minutes. Many thanks. https://parentview.ofsted.gov.uk/ Broadcasting Club

Liskeard School and Community College has begun broadcasting training for its students. Liskeard school has been the home of Liskeard Radio over the Christmas period for the past few years with a range of students taking part in and running their own shows, live on the radio both internally and outside the school setting. The most recent club is focused on training up students to create a one hour show including making adverts, recording jingles and interviewing guests. Ten students are lucky enough to have broadcaster Dean Moore delivering the training in after school sessions. 15| a place where...