Newsletter Spring 2021

St. Crispin’s Excellence for all

Headteacher's letter coverings and are comforted by the arrangement. I recognise equally that mask wearing in lessons is effortful. Currently the Department of Education has not made clear whether mask wearing in this way will continue after Easter. So, in the absence of clear instruction, I ask that all students return after Easter with the expectation that they wear masks unless outside, eating and drinking or PE lessons.

Our term ends on a particular high with a parent at St. Crispin’s arranging a special flyby of the Red Arrows as an appreciation of all the community has faced and done during the pandemic. It was a magnificent moment and truly reminded us all about the great joy of being together and seeing something that is not on a screen.

Although it seems trite to say what another I wish everyone a happy and safe Easter break. extraordinary term, but it is absolutely true it has The summer term begins on Monday 19th April 2021. been the most extraordinary term! Ginny Rhodes, Headteacher For most of this term we have been necessarily separated and learning remotely. My public thanks to staff who worked in such unfamiliar ways and to your sons and daughters whose engagement and participation in learning was so entirely admirable. As I write, the school is full, everyone is in lessons and all learning as they ought in 3D with their teachers. It has been wonderful to see the positive way that students have returned to their studies and as well as a terrific number attending a multitude of sports activities that the PE Department have been able to offer. As national restrictions ease, we will return to all the special events that are an important part of school life.

Some members of the school community have appreciated the increased wearing of masks or face

The last day of term is Thursday 1st April. Years 7-9 will finish at 2.40pm and Years 10-13 will finish at 2.50pm. The School bus will depart at the normal time of 3pm.

School news

No Screen Enrichment Day

As a school, we are very highlights was going for a SD walk with his friend mindful of the mental (they managed to collect four bin bags of rubbish!) health and well-being of Ollie managed to achieve nine tasks and I even had both our students and help with various chores. Well done St. Crispin’s.” staff. We recognise that the hours we are all Students who were in school on the day wrote: spending looking at a “We were put into groups and did different screen can cause activities, which all were sporty and had nothing to physical and mental do with a screen, and we did some science and fatigue. As a result, lessons were suspended on cooking.” Year 8 student Thursday 4th February to have a no screen day. “We were put in to groups and went round a set of We challenged students to avoid using anything lessons and activities run by teachers and people that requires a plug and get active and creative for training to be teachers.” Year 7 student the day. Students were issued with a grid which The activities were basketball, cooking, had suggested activities for the day and were asked orienteering, science and badminton. The best bit to choose five activities. Here is what some of them of the day was cooking. I enjoyed it. got up to; Overall it was good to get away from the computer A note from a Year 7 parent, “ I just wanted to say and very refreshing. I would like more days like this what a great idea ‘No Device’ day was - such a because it was fun. Moses Bonney, 8FMA brilliant idea and Ollie enjoyed it! One of his School news

signs that said ‘selfie’. We then had to take a No Screen Enrichment Day picture of me and my partner at the location then go back and show the picture to our teacher. We No screen day was did some science with two very nice teachers where so much fun. We we made giant bubbles using different powders and started off with a liquids. physical activity Luke Burns, 9DCO (basketball) which included different We were put in to groups and went round a set of training techniques. lessons and activities. We did PE which was Then we did some basketball, badminton and orienteering. We also cooking. We made made pancakes which was the best part of the day. pancakes which I It was good to get away from the computer as I really enjoyed with some lemon and sugar. Then we could rest my eyes. I would like more days like this did orienteering which was my personal favourite. as it was such fun. We had to go around with a map and find the given Brooke Kelsey, 8FMA CyberFirst

Anoushka Shah 9JA, took part in the Cyber Adventures course on Monday 15th and Tuesday 16th February. She was really apprehensive before it started as she didn't really know much about it or what was going to happen, but she enjoyed the two days and thought that the presenters were very good. One was a hacker who was paid by companies to hack them. Anoushka thought this was interesting, and remembered Mr Ryall had told them about hackers in their computing lessons. They related all March after she had to submit 150 words for the the activities to potential careers which was helpful RAF to use in their selection process. for her to start thinking about the future. In the future Anoushka would like to do a degree at Three Year 7 boys, Sam Buckley, Theo Nehme Warwick University (which has an ice cream and Tom Philpott all took part in the final round of machine!) and get sponsored to do it as there are a the regional Cybersecurity competition and had a shortage of people working in cyber crime and you fantastic experience. The boys had to access the do not need GCSE Computing, just Maths. competition from home and contact each other via She's hoping to take part in the humanitarian course the internet but they still managed to complete the in April and will find out if she gets selected in challenge. They were delighted with their performance especially as they were one of the youngest teams. Next year they hope to enter the challenge again and build on the experience they gained this year. The support from our STEM ambassador Simon Crombie was much appreciated.

Mrs Beglin, Teacher of STEM/Art and Design School news

Year 7 and 8 - Science Challenge

During the first week of February, St. Crispin’s bubble pops. For mine I used 200ml of water and a hosted a week long Home Science Challenge. different measurement of Fairy liquid for each of the Students started their Science lessons by joining tests, then I recorded my data, and repeated. I their teachers in a live demonstration of an exciting thought it was fun and it was something different to practical investigation which they could either watch do rather than the lesson being on screen or perform in real time along with their teacher. Anna Fowler, 8MSA Their teachers then set them a challenge to use the same ideas in an investigation at home. As well as In my experiment, I investigated how long a bubble performing their own investigation, students were would stay in the air depending on its size. I made a asked to create a scientific report about their bubble mixture and made different sized loops of experiment, summarising their methodology and string to make the different sizes. It was fun making results. the bubbles, as my sister helped me with it and we will probably try it again in the future. The science bubbles experiment was all about using Izzy Dawson, 7LWO our science skills and knowledge to perform an ‘at home’ investigation and change things up a little bit My challenge was about finding out what the best so we weren't sat in front of our screens all day. We mixture was to make the best bubbles. First, I had to were asked to find out how changing different get all the ingredients together, including the bubble factors of the original bubble mixture would affect wand which was made from bamboo sticks and how long the bubbles lasted and write up a scientific string. After that, the bubble mixture was made in a report on it. It was super fun and bucket using the normal recipe and different to what we would usually do we tried to make bubbles, but it and a great investigation to carry out! wasn’t very successful. We then Molly Kilshaw, 7AW varied the quantities of all the different ingredients to varying The challenge was to plan and carry levels of success. Overall it was a out an ‘at home’ experiment based on fun experiment and it was nice to bubbles. We chose our aim; mine was get away from the screen for a bit. to see if the amount of Fairy liquid Arno Furby, 8FMA used, impacts the time before the

School news

Star Gazing

On Monday 8th February at 7pm, the Science Department held a live star gazing session via Teams with Peter Tickner from Reading Astronomical Society. This was a 360 degree tour of the night sky highlighting the different stars viewable at this time of year.

I loved the star gazing Thank you for the event, it was great learning about session, I got to see the all the constellations and stars, and also seeing Mars ISS, not for too long for the first time in a while. It was really fun. though as it had moved Tabitha Longson, 9DCO behind a cloud. I saw the Polaris with my Dad. It was so great trying to find all these stars, I think I saw 12 stars inside Orion. It didn’t take too long for my eyes to get accustomed to the dark. I didn’t get to see some of the stars as we were in our back garden and they were hidden by some houses. We did, however, get to see Mars which was cool because I haven’t really seen Mars before. It was a bit hard to tell which was Aldebaran and which one was Mars as we were facing our house so they both looked quite similar and orange coloured. We also saw another sort of star or something that was moving in the sky but it wasn’t a plane because it was moving in a circle or line. I don’t remember exactly but it was near where Mars was and we saw it the whole time we were looking at the stars and planets by Orion. Unfortunately, we didn’t see the blur next to one of the stars in Orion where there was something that wasn’t a star or moon that you can see with your eyes, but we did see a lot of constellations. I liked this star gazing event because I never really get to go outside at night and look at the night sky as it’s often quite cold. I feel like one of the best places I could go star gazing is in the North of Scotland because you can see the stars quite clear there and it’s very pretty.

School news

Duke of Edinburgh Award

This year has seen lots of new ways of working and lots of new normals, but the pandemic has not stopped us from recruiting our first ever cohort of Duke of Edinburgh Award participants at St. Crispin’s. Seventy students from Year 9 have signed up to do their Bronze DofE, and have started on their skill, physical and volunteering sections. Some of the activities they are doing include litter picking in their local area, helping elderly neighbours, learning sign language and completing couch to 5k. Although we can’t set a date This week they started their expedition training for the expedition at the which commenced with lots of team building moment, the students will activities for the groups to get to know each other be ready to go when better. On the expedition, the students will spend restrictions lift, and are two days together in their group, navigating through excited at the prospect. the Berkshire countryside, cooking their own meals Mrs Sonnex, DofE Lead and carrying all of their own equipment. SucSEED Team

The SucSEED team in Years 10 and 11 have made a great start now they are back in the garden area. They have done a fantastic job, tidying up and restoring the area after the lockdown period. We have managed to harvest a few radishes, and salvage our cabbages planted before Christmas. There are also some carrots starting to come through. The rest of the beds have been prepared and we have planted some mixed lettuce leaves, peas and mint. As well as the vegetable garden the team have been working away to create a pond and a cold frame, (a sort of mini greenhouse). Check in next time to see the progress. Mr Morrison, Teacher of Geography

School news

Year 10 Digital Photography Exhibition

This term, Year 10 Photography students have been working on a lockdown project showing images depicting their own experiences/interpretation of lockdown. Some students wanted to show the repetitive nature they found themselves in, others wanted to highlight the (new) problem of littering masks. Some showed some of the things they did in lockdown (like re-decorating) amongst many other Double click and hold down on the click to move ideas. You can view the digital on line gallery at the around the ‘gallery’ space. following link - click here Miss Rolph, Teacher of Photography

Jack Beaumont-Wright Max Hardwick

Left to right, Cameron Smith, Lena Hennessey Left to right, James Squires, Louise Mitchely

Jelisa Bennett, above Left to right, Alyssa Wanstall, Tristen Engelbrecht

School news

Reading for Pleasure and Progress

Why do we want to encourage reading for pleasure and progress at St. Crispin’s?

• More important indicator of success than socio-economic/educational status of parents (OECD/PISA 2009)

• Aids with cognitive development and impacts across the curriculum – likely to do ‘significantly better’, with a 9.9% advantage in Maths by age 16! (IoE, London, 2013)

• Science achievement: Researchers found that the strongest factor affecting pupils’ science scores is reading comprehension (EEF, September 2017)

• Reading improves teenagers’ vocabulary by 26% regardless of background (Centre for Longitudinal Studies, November 2017)

• Reading develops confidence and improves self-esteem

• Reading can help young people to understand complex issues from the safe fictional world of a book

• Reading is proven to increase empathy!

• Reading is enjoyable, fun and relaxing for fluent readers if they have the right book.

Reading impacts performance in every subject

School news

Reading at St. Crispin’s for Students

Why is it so important to read?

Reading improves your confidence and Reading makes you smarter mental health

• Develops confidence and • Reading impacts self-esteem (Andy how you perform in McNab). After reading his every subject first book at the age of 16 • Studies show "I can vividly remember that if you read, you the sense of pride and will do even 10% achievement I felt. It was better in maths! meant for primary school • Science children but I didn’t care ... From then on I achievement: Researchers found that the read anything and everything I could get my strongest factor affecting pupils’ science hands on." scores is reading comprehension • Helps you to deal with complex issues from • Reading improves vocabulary by 26% the safe fictional environment of the book regardless of background. • Children who read are three times more likely to have higher levels of mental wellbeing

Accelerated Reading Programme

In their English lessons Year 7 and 8 will be having a reading lesson once a fortnight and will be taking quizzes on the novels they have read.

Word Millionaires • We will be looking for our first word millionaire next term • The more books students read and the more quizzes they take will contribute to their word score • Students can take quizzes on books they have already read • There will also be prizes for the tutor group who has read the most words. Performing Arts news

Drama news

Key Stage 3 Drama Round Up Year 7

This half term we have studied the History of Masks (how ironic!) and the Trestle Mask Theatre Company. With Covid measures in place our practical workshops have been limited, but the creativity of Year 7 has not! Students have designed and created their own Trestle masks, inspired by their knowledge of the company they have studied.

Year 8

Drama in lockdown and then limited practical workshops due to Covid measures has meant that in their own ‘Shoe Box Set Year 8 we have had the opportunity to be creative Design’, a technique that many with Theatre Design. Year 8 have been studying set set designers use in their craft. design and different styles of design from a variety The studios have been a buzz of of productions. They have looked at Naturalism and activity and creativity (and Non-Naturalism and studied the work of some of creative mess!). Year 8 have really enjoyed this the most prevalent designers in the industry. Year 8 aspect of theatre production and it has been a were then set the task of designing and constructing happy accident in our lockdown adaptations! Year 9 Now that Year 9 have chosen their options for their GCSE courses, the Spring and Summer terms are focussed on engaging Year 9 through Drama and Theatre where they can learn skills for their future courses and beyond! This half term Year 9 have been studying the Theatre Industry, the ‘business’ behind one of the most economically profitable industries in the UK. Students had a virtual backstage pass behind the scenes of a West End production and learnt about the high-stakes of producing, directing, casting, designing and marketing a £10,000,000 production! Students then had the opportunity to form their own production companies and pitch proposals for their own West End productions. Above right, are some of the draft sketches of some of the theatre company logos Year 9 have designed. Mrs West, Mrs Wright, Mr Metcalf, Drama Department School news

Sixth Form A-Level Business - Guest Speaker

organisational culture and international trade. There are so many cultural differences to be aware of when working in China. The power index is much higher and organisational hierarchies have longer chains of commands. This means that presentations and meetings can take up to half a day and deals can take longer to secure. Businesses are expected to take customers out regularly and entertain them and this can add to operational costs. It is essential to try local food and drink with customers. The appearance of products and packaging is paramount. Batches can be rejected due to the smallest defect in packaging and again this adds to Neil Pizzey, MD of Amazon Filters Ltd gave a cost. presentation to our class on Teams during our We would all like to thank Mr Pizzey again for Business A-Level lesson. taking the time to talk to us. The focus was on doing business in China. We all Grace, Josh, George, Callum, Tom and Deborah very much enjoyed this and learned so much about Year 13

The Head Team Hustings

Our Sixth Form hustings have recently taken place, where many of our Sixth Form took place to participate in the opportunity to become head boy and girl. Although it was a shame we didn’t get to witness the speeches in person, we were able to watch their recordings in our own time and make a well informed decision on who we would like to vote for. The confidence from the candidates and the speeches themselves were extremely impressive. It Even with the on-going global pandemic, it has was inspiring to see how much effort was put into been a joy to see the Sixth Form candidates go out them. Any of them would make an outstanding of their way for the school and give us the head team member. experience of seeing something we could have missed. Kiren Basra, 12LSI Sixth Form news Year 13 - UCAS Application

knew what I wanted, I could filter out different universities and courses. The course at Birmingham City seemed perfect for me, but the required grades were just above my UCAS expected grades. However, I was offered an interview based on my personal statement and knew that this would determine whether they accepted me or not. I was nervous, but I knew the best way to approach it was to be prepared and show how passionate I am. I followed their tips and previous students’ advice. It was a challenge but I enjoyed the interview itself and thought it went well. When I opened the emailed response, I was delighted to find that not only had they offered me a place on the course, but had also reduced the I have been working with children since I was 15 entry requirements to benefit me. They noted that I through my teaching at Stagecoach and after school had impressed them with my level of experience club at St. Teresas. I’ve always admired how they and enthusiasm in answering questions. learn and grow, and this inspired me to want to I am now doing everything possible to exceed my become a teacher. expected grades. Hopefully I will achieve this and I started looking at different courses to take me into will go to Birmingham in September. teaching. It was quite daunting at first but once I Grace, 13ABS Sixth Form; Next Steps

With starting Sixth Form, I knew I didn’t want to attend university; however, I’ve found the Sixth Form great at helping me find opportunities for after my time at St. Crispin’s. I currently now know I would like to go into the business sector and to ideally complete an apprenticeship within marketing. The Sixth Form have guided me and given me opportunities such as a one-to-one call with a careers adviser which I found very rewarding as she spoke to me about how I can achieve my goals as well as supplying links to websites which I can find the best apprenticeship for me. The Sixth Form team have also allowed me to I found this great as it allowed me to understand attend Teams calls with ex students which are what an apprentice actually does and how currently in the process of an apprenticeship. rewarding being an apprentice can be. Lucy Kirkaldy, 13SJO

@Crispins6thForm St.Crispin’s School www.crispins.co.uk crispinsschool Sixth Form news Remote Learning by The Head Team

Virgin Media, workshops on Midwifery, RAF seminars and Russell Group University talks and taster sessions. St. Crispin’s have given us all the resources we need, to take steps into our desired futures. As well as academic preparation, the newsletter has included mental health support and self-care ideas to secure the welfare of students during lockdown, such as free ‘sleep better’ seminars and access to NHS talking therapies. The Sixth Form newsletter and extra-curricular opportunities have refined our skills, made us shine as applicants and has been a personal support network in times where contact is limited. Megan Smith, 13ABS Although I was pessimistic at first about the prospect of spending three months of learning through Teams, the remote learning that was provided by the school was helpful and I believe was as close to classroom learning as we could get. It may have been an unusual method of learning at first and once we had acclimatised it was very helpful. I felt assured I was still learning during this lockdown period. As part of our remote learning experience, we explored functions such as the breakout room. This The Sixth Form weekly newsletter has been a highly allowed classes to be split and put in separate calls. beneficial and accessible resource, tailored to meet This was very helpful when trying to complete group the needs and aspirations of each individual. Every work in classes and helped when sharing ideas corner of the occupational world is covered, between peers. providing information on how to excel in whatever Overall the remote learning experience was helpful. I goals we are reaching for. am, however, very pleased to be back in school! There are multiple skills development Joshua Wenstrom, 13ABS opportunities, from leadership and communication webinars with UniFrog to interview preparation with the University of Reading. Many students are currently completing an essay writing course with Eton College, helping to shape our academic writing skills and prepare us for assessments, all of which has helped to enrich our learning and provide us with experience to embark on our post-Sixth Form journeys. The newsletters have also presented countless pathways to whatever field sparks our interest. From information about apprenticeships with the likes of

@Crispins6thForm St.Crispin’s School www.crispins.co.uk crispinsschool Sixth Form news

@Crispins6thForm St.Crispin’s School www.crispins.co.uk crispinsschool Sixth Form former student profiles

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Rebecca & Anna—Careers Advisor Careers Notice Board

For live opportunities and

careers advice check out

Rebecca Dean and Anna Finlason are the display board outside the St. Crispin’s School Careers the careers office or visit Advisers and they come into your the careers section in the school every week school library. Please come and see them for information, advice and guidance on:

• Careers • Job hunting and CVs • Apprenticeships • University • Choosing options • Next steps

Ask your Tutor or Head of Year for an appointment. From September we will be based in the Library.

Adviza Wokingham Wokingham Library Denmark Street Tel: 0118 9647400 Mob: 07747476781

@crispinsschool St.Crispin’s School www.crispins.co.uk crispinsschool Sports news

Lockdown Step Challenge

During lockdown we set some challenges to keep the students active and engaged in physical activity. The first challenge was a step challenge where students were competing against the staff. It was absolutely fantastic to see so many staff and students get involved in this. Halfway through the week it was extremely close, although towards the end of the week the staff started to run away with it. A special mention to Olivia, Max and Henry who came in the top 3 and completed a huge number of Great work above by Ella, left and Henry, right, in steps between them. Year 8 The second challenge we set was a more creative one, students had to create a skeleton out of any household objects that they could find. Miss Norris Students can follow our teams and and Miss Cross created a skeleton out of the PE their latest news on the St. Crispin’s departments equipment. Some of the entries PE Instagram—stcrispinssport certainly made us laugh. A huge well done from everyone in the PE department to those who got involved with the challenges that we set. It was great to see so many of you taking part. Miss Norris, Teacher of PE

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10k Challenge for Charity

Looking for a personal challenge to keep her motivated over the long, grey lockdown, a Year 7 student set herself a challenge to run a mile every day. No-one else in her family thought she'd actually stick to it - especially when the weather was cold, wet and horrible - but their scepticism only made her more determined. When she heard about the Winter Run (virtual 10k run to raise money for Cancer Research) she decided to up the ante and signed up. It’s quite a step up from 1 mile to 10k, but she understands first-hand how this terrible disease affects lives and really wanted to do something to help make a difference. She set out to raise £150, but vastly exceeded her target and ended up raising over £1000! How did you feel to have raised so much more than your initial fundraising target? I didn't expect to get to my £150 target and when I went over that I felt phenomenal, it really helped encourage me out for my daily runs. I never in a million years thought I would get over £1000. I still Will you keep up the running after school restarts or can't believe it. That really could make a difference are you taking a well-earned rest? to helping get closer to finding a cure for cancer, I'm going to keep running, but probably not every which is really important because so many people day! At first I did it to prove my family wrong (they get sick or die from cancer all the time. didn't think I would stick to it), but now I've got used Did you enjoy running the final 10k? to it, it feels easier and I've actually started to enjoy At first it was hard because it running. It’s a great way to clear your head and put was really, REALLY cold, but you in a better mood if you’re feeling annoyed or after a while I warmed up frustrated. And in lockdown it was a really good way and it got easier. Then it got to make myself get out of the house every day, which hard again towards the end definitely felt good when we were doing home because my legs were tired schooling all day. and I thought I would have to Finally, are you still fundraising and if so, is there a stop and walk, but my mum link we can signpost our readers towards if they read all my fundraising wish to donate? messages out to me as we Yes, people can still donate at https:// ran and that pushed me on to www.virtualwinterrun.co.uk/fundraisers/elodielewis keep going.

@crispinsschool St.Crispin’s School www.crispins.co.uk stcrispinssport

PTA news

Unfortunately we haven’t been and they then make money from the rag man so able to hold any events in the nothing goes to waste and nothing goes into landfill last year and the majority of our either! other fundraising activities We would be really grateful for any uniform you haven’t been able to go ahead are able to donate and in particular girls’ PE kit, either. However, we have large girls’ blouses and good quality blazers continued to raise funds please. If you need any uniform please send your throughout lockdown through request to [email protected]. Voluntary Donations, our lottery – the 500 club – and our sale of second-hand 500 Club uniform so a big thank you to Nikki Thomas, Louise Jedras and Kate Pollinger for organising these, along Join our £500 with the school staff who have helped out with Club today for uniform sales. your chance to win a massive Donations £500, not once, but twice a year! During this crazy year of lockdown we have received The 500 Club is £975 of donations, the 500 club has generated a the St. Crispin’s profit of £1,233 and uniform sales an impressive School PTA £865. Thank you so much to everyone who takes lottery. Anyone part in the lottery and buys uniform, and also to can play, and all everyone who has kindly donated uniform that they profit goes no longer need – we couldn’t do this without you! directly to The uniform that you have donated hasn’t only funding school raised money for the school it has also enabled items and equipment for the benefit and use of our School Days to help many families who are pupils. struggling at the moment. Plus, we donate any old, For just £2 a month, we will allocate you a unique ragged, stained uniform to the Blue Cross Charity number in our prize draw and you may purchase more than 1 number. Each month a number is independently drawn with a cash prize on offer, as follows: February & October 1st Prize = £500 2nd Prize = £25 January, March, May, July, September, November and December Prize = £50 April, June and August Prize = £25

That’s £1,475 of prizes in the last year - congratulations to all our winners! Here are a few of them……..£25 to Annie Duffin and Karen Dighton, £50 to Liz Hunter, Kate Brown and Julie Tattersdill and the top prize of £500 to Claire Golebiowski! Dates for the diary

First day of Summer Term - Monday 19th April Bank Holiday - Monday 3rd May Year 9 Injections - Monday 17th May Year 12 Virtual Parents’ Evening - Thursday 20th May Half Term - Monday 31st May - Friday 4th June Sixth Form Induction Days- Monday 5th and Tuesday 6th July Last Day of Term - Friday 16th July Year 11 Prom - Wednesday 7th July Please note that all dates are correct as of date of publication but Sports Day - Tuesday 13th July can be subject to change

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H Tromans Spring 2021 Spring H Tromans

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