Hockey Focus on F tball Both the U18 and U16 teams played well in the preliminary round of the County Tournament Football at Parkstone has gone from strength to strength with girls showing their total February 2007 but lost out to the public schools commitment by training regularly with Mr Gilbert and Mr Waters. This season saw the who were more consistent. purchase of a new football kit, which the students are raising funds to pay for. However, the indoor performance of the U18 team was superb, they beat The U16 team had great success with some exciting and skilful St Mary’s for the first time ever. As matches, playing hard and eventually reaching the final at a result of this they qualified for Sir John Colfox School. The team made a nervous start the Regional Finals at and against an excellent opposing team were 4-0 down JUGGLINGGENIUS! Cheltenham Ladies College in by half time, but with phenomenal leadership from December. captain Emma Freeman they held their own in the A few weeks ago Parkstone excitedly hosted a second half until a late goal resulted in a 5-0 loss. The standard at this tournament was extremely high and the spellbinding demonstration of Mathematics squad competed admirably. Unfortunately, they did not win Despite this loss in the final the U16 team has had a and Juggling. any matches but did score a few goals! tremendous season with 11 of the 15 player squad in Year 10 having the chance to repeat this success next Dr ColinWright of Cambridge University,an international expert KS4 Hockey League year. As a squad they have been a privilege to work in this field, gave an enthralling demonstration, juggling not only A team combiningYear 10 and 11 students competed in the with - listening, learning while on the field of play and coloured balls with impressive skill, but also juggling ideas as he Poole and East KS4 Hockey League. Their play matured as showing a positive, determined approach with a great explored some of the theory behind juggling patterns. In addition the season progressed and they played some good hockey. sporting spirit. A great credit to the school and themselves. They went into the Final unbeaten, but were defeated by to being one of the world leaders in the mathematical theory of This year the U13 squad, although only Purbeck to take the runners-up position. juggling,DrWright is also a highly accomplished juggler,unicyclist consisting of 13 players, gelled very U14 quickly. As a team of new and fire breather in his own right! students to the school, the The U14 team have improved immensely and have displayed The skilled entertainer talked his audience through ways of squad is always at a describing and annotating patterns in juggling as a means of good teamwork and team spirit. Their participation in the disadvantage in the Dorset preliminary round of the County tournament proved a area as they have to classifying them and as a technique for discovering new patterns. valuable experience; they gained third place. compete against many He held the audience of some 70 parents, teachers and students teams from middle from local schools absolutely captivated. Hisability to keep several schools that have been objects – and ideas – in the air at the same time kept everyone awestruck at the complex patterns which seemed to defy analysis! His audience Netball playing together for a number of years. were so enthusiastic that he found himself answering questions and giving further demonstrations for an hour after the presentation had Parkstone hosted two area tournaments this year, one of officially finished. which was the U14 competition where our girls played well They immediately reached but were sadly unable to secure any silverware. the third round of the County This event, organised jointly with Poole Grammar School,has set a pattern for the future,and we hope to invite DrWright to the school again Cup, playing against Lockyer’s The U16 team performed well in their Poole and East towards the end of the academic year to conduct sixth form masterclasses on topics such as the concept of infinity and the nature of proof. Middle School, who were the Dorset Tournament where they attained third place. previous year’s County Champions. The U18 team competed in the County Finals and had a They had not been beaten for two years and not fantastic tournament gaining second place and therefore conceded a goal this year! The Parkstone team started slowly and were quickly 2-0 securing a place at the Regional Finals in January. down, but gradually crawled back to draw. This resulted in extra time, where Parkstone took control to score three more goals and a spectacular final goal where MPs hold Parkstone Surgeries a pitch length move involving Emily Holton and Sophie Ramsbottom resulted in Emily King beating two players to fire into the corner of the net! The next round was the Annette Brooke, our local Liberal Democrat MP and Nick Gibb, the Shadow Schools Minister, both held surgeries at Parkstone Cross Country semi-finals against Poole High and the team played skillfully and tactifully, carrying in November and December last year. The surgeries were well attended by girls from all years and the elected representatives Parkstone into the final. were kept on their toes by some impressive questioning from our students. The Intermediate team entered this year’s national English The final was to be played at Oakdale against Swanage Middle School on 16 January Schools’ Cup competition but despite their best efforts they Annette Brooke fielded local and national issues with her usual well-informed manner and it was a tough and exciting match. The team used all their skill and the final were not able to make it through to the second round. whistle arrived with a great cheer from the Parkstone players as the winners. The and invited girls to write to her about their individual concerns. She was accompanied by two young men who work for the party - useful examples of career paths in In the local Poole and East Leagues there are up to 20 students team sportingly acknowledged the difficult game they had had against Swanage. competing in every event. We are awaiting the outcome of the The girls celebrated as they lifted the U13 Dorset FA Cup. Politics. overall results but as the SeniorTeam have won all their events Mr Gilbert - Head of Biology and Joint Football Coach Ms Brooke commented on how impressed she was with the girls’ questioning, we are expecting a good result! commenting

Swimming Badminton Star Year 10 student Jennifer Sargent is having great success The Senior Team gained first place in her badminton career. in both their events at the English Schools’ County Gala and She has steadily improved her national ranking and is consequently won the Senior currently ranked 7th in the country in her age group. Competition. At the end of last season she became the Southwest Nick Gibb did much the same but also was quite candid about his views which I thought Under 18 Champion when she was still just 14 years The Intermediate Team also competed sometimes were out-of-step with the party leadership. Let's hope young Dave didn't get to hear old! well and gained two second places, recording about it back in Central Office! very fast times. Jennifer has also been chosen for the Dorset Senior 1st Team - one of the youngest players ever to have been Jennifer - bottom, right - with her fellow Congratulations to all the swimmers! William Franklin - Head of Politics given the privilege. players in the Dorset 1stTeam. Former Student s 2006PRINCEOFWALESSUMMERSCHOOL Celebr ate Success For many years, Prince Charles has taken a keen interest in education. In 2002 he set up the Prince ofWales Education Summer Schools because he believes the two core subjects of English and History are vital to the development of knowledge and insight in young people. Parkstonehosteda highly successfulAwardsEveningearlier this The Prince of Wales Education Summer School convenes every year and aims to bring together teachers of term to recognise andcelebratetheachievements of last year’s English and History from across the country for four days of discussion and debate with leading academics and A Level students. writers. In 2005 it was decided to broaden access to this unique experience by organising a series of regional The evening commenced with refreshments in the Sixth Form pilot conferences and events. I was fortunate enough to be invited to organise one of these Common Room, allowing the former students to chat with conferences this year in May. their old classmates and enjoy swapping stories of their lives The aim of my conference was to highlight for teachers of history in the local area the importance of narrative after Parkstone. in history. Sadly, present day assessment of history in public examinations has forced the skill of narrative into the sidelines but POWESS believes it should be central to the study and teaching of history; that is, narrative in Liz Eaves at the Aftertheirexcited reunion,the girlsthen moved to theLecture the sense of the use of story telling and narrative in the sense of the national narrative of British history. In the Conference Theatre where A Level Examination Certificates and school PGS History Department we all share a believe in the importance of these twin concepts. prizes were announced and awarded. These informal I secured the services of three exceptional and well known speakers. Sean Lang is Honorary Secretary of the Historical Association presentations were very lively and humorous, with anecdotes and a well known spokesman for the subject. He showed us, in the opening lecture, how historical narrative can be a high level skill, and tales of school incidents being recounted. despite the fact that it is often marked down by examiners. Professor Richard Holmes, university lecturer,author, television presenter and supreme exponent of the art of historical narrative (“War Walks” and “In the Footsteps of Churchill”) treated us to a perfectly The studentsfinishedtheeveningin high spirits,expressingtheir crafted lecture on Churchill,which held everyone spellbound. Finally,Dr.David Starkey,of television and Radio 4 fame, had us enthralled great enjoyment at returning to the school. with both a scholarly and highly amusing talk on the importance of chronology and Henry VIII. We held the conference in the “Jane Austen” setting of the eighteenth century Trafalgar Park, near Salisbury. POWESS aims to educate and inspire teachers and where possible, inspiring and historic locations are used.Trafalgar was the perfect setting for recharging the batteries of overworked teachers. The house itself played an important part in our history, having been bequeathed to the heirs of A Great Exchange! Life SkillsLessons Admiral Lord Nelson after his death. I was lucky enough to be part of a group of students Members of the local business community volunteered their The conclusions and evaluations reached by the teachers who attended were then presented to the national conference in June. I felt who were given the opportunity to participate in a valuable time to Parkstone recently to offer Year 10 students the very proud that the PGS History Department had pulled off such a coup. It’s amazing how a few interesting personal acquaintances week’s exchange with students from a school in opportunity of a mock interview. and a little bit of string pulling and name dropping can do! I am very grateful to my colleagues,Will Franklin,Chris Lane and Clive Ellerby Frankenthal, Germany. A virtual community development who helped me on the day, together with my former Sixth Form historians. We went on visits to local tourist attractions company, Gemstar Park Manor If any parents who read this have any views including a boat trip down the Rhine and we learnt (anagram of Parkstone Grammar!) about the legend of Lorelei. On another day, we was created and a wide range of on the importance our national narrative in were given a guided tour round the Heidelberger Schloss and then employment opportunities were the teaching of history, I would very much went shopping in the town. offered. Job descriptions could be like to hear from them. Write to me at On the Friday, we went to a German school. It was great fun. The found on the school’s Learnwise school or email me on schools are so different, but it was good to see what schools are like website. Students chose a position [email protected] in Germany. There was also a musical being shown at the school whilst for which they would like to apply, we were there. I saw it every night, as my exchange partner was then completed an ‘Interview performing in it. I was lucky to meet everyone in the production - they Liz Eaves - Head of History were all really friendly and by the end of the week we were all good Trafalgar Park, Salisbury friends! The music was also really good. Application Form’ along with a I would recommend the German Exchange trip to anyone who gets covering letter to the employer. the chance, as it was a great experience. Applications had to be received by a strict deadline. Sai l AwayAwa y ! DO WE Sarah Ambler The business volunteers then Sixth form students Kate Allam and Sarah Burge carried out interviews which competed with 40 other boats when they entered the KNOW ? D of E Awards took place over two days in End of Seasons Regatta at Grafham Water in November. Parkstone students attended a Presentation October 2006, within school. The weekend didn’t start well when, in the first race, Ceremony in November of last year to receive Each interview lasted thirty they put a big hole in the front of the boat, cracking Parents, their Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards. minutes, including feedback. most of the bow as a result of a high speed collision. The Ceremony, hosted by the Borough’s Pupil, Parent and Youth The students thoroughly enjoyed the experience, learning life skills Undeterred, they went ashore and after a quick repair Our students are often so Services, recognised the achievement of all the young people, to take with them into their futures. they were out again just in time for the second modest that we do not hear together with the support offered by their leaders and facilitators. race. The rest of the weekend went well - the about their special interests, achievements, charity work, dancing, expeditions, Summer Parkstone students who received their Award were : boat was taped up again on the Sunday morning School courses etc etc. GOLD AWARD Lily Chutter Harriet Hughes Stephanie Newbury and the repair fortunately held throughout the Rachel Ashwell Elizabeth Dickenson Megan Humphreys Nicola Pipe remainder of the day. We would love to hear all about these, so please SILVER AWARD Phoebe D’Orton-Gibson Cheryl Ianson Katie Piper just drop me a line to say what your daughters Clare Finn Laura Lo Elizabeth Salter The girls finished the Regatta 12th overall and Gemma Mayne achieved a magnificent 1st girls. are doing outside school. Beth Good Rachel Ford Imogen Lockyer Jennifer Sampson Emma Greenslade Shona Marsh Eleanor Wake-Walker Kate and Sarah commented that it was a really Thank you! BRONZE AWARD Florence Hazard Katherine Morris Rachel Worledge tiring weekend, but well worth the effort! Rebecca Arnott Emma Hewitt Jessica Moseley Mr Henneman Eleanor Berry Parkstone& PooleStudents ATaste of Uni Life ! OurOur Trip Trip to to the the Battl Battl efiel efiel ds ds ...... BecomeBig Knits Sixth Form English students I’d been looking forward to the Battlefields Because the trip was only three days long, it Poole Grammar were recently given the opportunity to attend an Trip for days when we finally left (at 5am – was fairly rushed, but having said that, at least students joined my Mum’s pretty scary at that time in the we got to see a lot. The Menin Gate was one English study day at morning!). I’d like to say it’s because I’ve got of the first things we saw, because it was right with Parkstone’s St Catherine’s College at Year 10 girls to a passion for history, (which I have,) and that on the edge ofYpres Square. It was originally Oxford University. I couldn’t wait to explore another country built for the names of all the soldiers whose embrace the skill of Poppy Moore, Nellie Perrin, and its culture, (which is true,) but let’s face bodies were never recovered. The final total, Knitting when Laura Brunt, Sophie Ackroyd it: it’s time off school. As it turned out, the however,was far greater than anticipated and lessons were held and I travelled up Oxford by trip turned out to be a lot more than that!. the 54,900 names inscribed on the gate at Parkstone as part train.We spent an interesting amount to less than half of those who went The hotel we stayed at was beautiful – like a missing. I felt a strong personal connection of the Da Vinci and informative day learning little castle – and was all the better because Programme for the about the application procedure to the memorial when I found ‘G. Pope’ the student accommodation was under inscribed on the east wall. gifted and talented. and interview process. We renovation, and we got upgraded. Imagine my were also able to attend a joy at the sight of massive bedrooms and en The Menin Gate was dwarfed by the Most of these tutorial and a lecture to get a suite bathrooms! The hotel itself was Memorial to the Missing at Thiepval, which students enjoyed the lessons so much that they asked if the lessons feel foruniversitylife - including situated near the centre of Ypres, just over commemorates 73,000 names and stands 150 could continue and so there is now a Knitting Group who meet sampling the delights of the the French border in Belgium, quite close to feet high. It was impossible not to be shocked by the scale of both the monument, and what weekly at the school. college dining room! the town centre, which was beautiful, although a little confusing because the roads it symbolised. In all honesty, I lost count of The group would like to invite anyone who has an interest in It was really enjoyable to spend a day away from school and to and pavements were cobbled - Dr Ellerby the number of graveyards we passed by and knitting to come along - Monday evenings after school - no experience Uni life at first hand prior to filling in UCAS forms. Of the nearly got squashed at least once. Apart from visited. I was surprised by the size of the first experience necessary. four girls that visited Sophie chose to apply to Oxford and has since the architecture, and the few we saw, but as the trip wore on, they beenoffered a place atSt Edmund’sHallwhich isa fantasticachievement. massive cathedral on doubled – tripled – in size. The German graveyard at Langemarck shocked me because Any students thinking of applying to study English at University should the edge of the square, the entire place was it was a mass grave, with black marble slabs Debating Success ! definitely try to attend this type of study day as it is really informative lined with chocolate laid across the ground, each with more than and helpful when preparing personal statements. shops, all with friendly twenty names. The largest graveyard we My sense of importance was then dampened, Debating Club has a range of students from Years 10 – 13 who regularly Sarah Lingard - Head of English but rather intimidating visited was at Tyne Cot. Even the loudest however, when the episode was repeated in attend the meetings on Monday lunchtimes, where we research and shopkeepers, members of Year 10, (who shall remain English.) discuss contemporary and moral issues, and practise the skills required for brandishing special nameless!) fell silent at the sight of the 12,000 graves we were surrounded with, blanketing I would strongly recommend going on the successful competitive debating through various activities and games. offers in all of our faces. trip if you get the chance. Apart from being Each one professed to the ground around us like a white sheet. Like loads of fun, it really does help you Early in the Autumn term a group of students attended the English all the British graveyards, it contained a large Speaking Union’s “MACE Roadshow”. This event was aimed at schools sell ‘the finest Belgian understand the war on a whole new level, and chocolates’. Could this memorial in the centre, inscribed with the appreciate the sacrifice made by each soldier entering the ESU’s annual debating competition for the first time, and words: Their Names Liveth Forever More. introduced students to the MACE style of debating. The workshop was be false advertising? who fought and died in it. We couldn’t have that, so We stopped for a while at this sight, and I was very enjoyable and gave our students a valuable insight into the skills Mia Pope involved in debating. naturally the only way to decide which one one of the girls asked to lay a was telling the truth was to try all of them. wreath of poppies at the front We followed this up with an after school visit to Poole Grammar, where we Never mind – sometimes you just have to of the memorial. During the joined Mr Powell’s Debating Club, and the students enjoyed a ‘stump The PSA has been busy this academic year, organising a number of fundrasing events. make a few sacrifices. ceremony, clouds rolled in and debate’ with some lively it started to rain, which discussion on a range of In November we held another of our hugely popular Quiz For me one of the highlights of the trip was seemed appropriate. motions, drawn from a hat. Evenings. Quiz Nights are frequently oversubscribed and having the chance to visit St Martin’s Cathedral on the edge of Ypres Square. Despite all this, the trip was In return, we invited Mr Powell this evening was no different, resulting in raising Though I’m not a Christian, I found myself rescued from being depressing and the boys to join us for a full approximately £1400 for the school! A wonderful lost in exploring the cathedral for hours. It by chocolate,shopping,and the debate, on Monday November achievement. fact that the second series of 6th. This was another lively was probably one of the most breathtaking Also in November, the PSA organised a staff coach outing buildings I’ve ever seen. From the outside, the ‘Lost’ was being shown on TV. evening, and though we lost the (Having taken GCSE French, I ‘floor vote’ on the evening, our to Bath. Everyone had a great day in the city enjoying lots scale and detail of the architecture is astounding, but the interior, apart from being felt very proud that I was the team, (consisting of Anna of Christmas shopping and dining. only one who had a vague idea Birley(Y13) and Natalie Osafo stunningly splendid, had a comforting The Christmas Fayre, which was held on a Saturday in atmosphere of space. of what was going on. (Y12)) were delighted to have December, was very well attended. At the Fayre the draw been judged to have won the took place to find out who had won prizes in the PSA debate, with some forceful and level-headed debating. Christmas Raffle. From the proceeds of the raffle, and The same team, Natalie and Anna, participated in the District Round of the funds raised on the day, a magnificent total of over £5000 Parkstone students are hard at ESU competition on November 22nd at Bournemouth Girls’ School. There was raised and we are very grateful to everyone who work, rehearsing for their were six teams competing – Bournemouth School, Bournemouth School helped to make this event such a success. production of Much Ado About for Girls, Poole Grammar School, Corfe Hills, Ringwood School and Nothing as part of the national ourselves. The competition was judged by a panel of judges and the The money from the Fayre and all the other fundraising 2007 Shakespeare Schools standard of debating was very high. Our team, though a little nervous, events this year will be going towards the purchase of a Festival. performed extremely well and were praised for their use of prompts rather new minibus. than prepared speeches; their ability to engage with the opposition The Festival is a unique initiative which enables young people to perform abridged productions through rebuttal and offering points of information; and for their skilful of Shakespeare’s most famous plays in their local professional theatre, and is open to all use of varied pace, expression and intonation to engage the interest of the DATES FOR YOURDIARY secondary and youth theatre groups within the UK. audience. They were delighted to get through to the next round of the 23 March - Quiz Evening Parkstone students will be performing their version of Much Ado About Nothing on Wednesday competition along with the much more experienced team from 21 June - Poole Harbour Cruise (numbers limited) 7 February at the Tivoli Theatre, Wimborne. Tickets can be purchased directly fromthe Tivoli Bournemouth Girls’ School, and deserve congratulations for their hard on (01202) 885566. work and well-deserved success. ScienScien ce ce Speci Speci alist alist Scien ce ce Speci alist alist

Robotic s - Lego Style ! Genetic Engineers at Large! Rough Scientist As part of the Da Vinci scheme a In November A team of intrepidYear11 students enthusiastically competed in this year’sSouthWest group of 6 year 10 girls performed Jonathon Hare, RegionalTournament of the 2006 Lego Robotics Challenge. some genetic engineering. They used physicist and techniques which are used in member of the This year’s Challenge involved the students investigating Nanotechnology,leading to scientific research and technology. BBC’s Rough the team designing and building a robot capable of manipulating atomic sized objects. The students took a gene from Science team jellyfish for Green Fluorescent Protein (where5scientists The ParkstoneTeam- aptly namedTeamPhoenix - receivedtheir practice mat,robot and inserted it into bacteria. The are set science kit and instructions from LEGO in September. In November the students travelled transformed bacteria produced colonies which glowed challenges in to Bath University for the final green under UV remote locations) light. visited Parkstone stage of the Challenge where Watch this Grammar and they were required to make a space, these gave talks to presentation on their could be the both pupils from design and then research Parkstone and surrounding schools on the science behind the scientists programme. programme their performing The audience were treated to demonstrations including using sea robot to carry out gene therapy water to make a battery to power fairy lights and using light and specific challenges as outlined by the organisers. in the future! Genetic Engineers solar panels to transmit sound - with willing volunteers providing L-R : Lauren Pearcy,NaomiPreston, Emily Newman, Leanne the sound! There were over 30 teams in the group and Phoenix were Brown, Jenny Kendall. Jonathon is pictured left with members of the Science department awarded a number of prizes, the most prestigious being the and student Anna Pietrangelo. TeamworkAward presented to the team best exemplifying the meaning of teamwork. The eventwas hostedby Paralympic athlete andTV Presenter Takea Walkonthe Walkonthe WildSide WildSide AdeAdepitan MBE,and children’sTV presenterAnne Foy and the Parkstone team is shown left receiving their prize. Year 8 students enjoyed an enjoyable and thought-provoking day when they visited the @Bristol Science Complex. The Complex is a unique destination designed to bring science, nature and art to life. During the day special glasses were worn to allow students to LifeboatsAid view films in 3-D on the giant IMAX screen. They saw a new 3-D film Wild Safari, which gave a very realistic view of being Learning in the middle of a herd of stampeding elephants and also some beautiful footage of lions and leopards, amongst others. The party also toured ‘Wildwalk’: an exhibition showing the extraordinary variety of life on Earth allowing the students to experience the living rainforest and walk under water - through a tropical coral reef tank! Wildwalk has been altered recently to reflect the growing concerns over climate change, sustainable energy and resources of materials, allowing the students to learn about a very topical subject area.. The students had terrific fun in ‘Explore’, one of the largest ‘hands-on’ Science centres in the country, combining hands-on activities with the very latest multi-media techniques. Here science is brought alive through stunning visuals and over 100 interactive experiences. Everyone also had an opportunity to enjoy the open spaces around the buildings where the party ate their lunches and admired the architecture and art work which combines with the science to make this an exciting day for all the senses. Insightful Lecturer Comes to Parkstone! In March Parkstone will be honoured to welcome to the school eminent scientist, Dr Simon Doran from the Institute of Cancer Research. As a member of the Institute of Physics, Dr Doran will be delivering an exciting and enlightening lecture entitled “The Science of Seeing In- side People with MRI”. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a form of medical imaging that produces pictures of the body with remarkable clarity. Dr Doran will offer an interesting insight into MRI and its uses. Rumour has it that Dr Doran engages the use of a bicycle wheel to demonstrate the phenomenon! The lecture will be held in the LectureTheatre at Parkstone on Tuesday 20 March 2007 at 7.00pm. Everyone is welcome!