Issue 48 Working together to promote & celebrate achievement 4 March 2016 Name & Tutor Group: Headlines by Rachel McGowan Fantastic Plashet I was delighted to receive a letter from Nick Gibb MP who is Minister of State Schools at the Department for Education last week. As you can see we are one of the top 100 non-selective state schools in the country. Year 10 Parents Evening Our Year 10 students are now very aware of the challenges posed by their GCSE courses. To ensure that every student is fully focused on how to rise to these challenges and gain success in their GCSEs, we will be holding our evening for parents to meet with subject teachers on Wednesday 16th March between 4.15 and 7.15pm. This is an important opportunity for teachers, students and parents to celebrate work and progress in all subjects and discuss targets for the remainder of this year and start of next. The timing of the evening is deliberate to ensure subject specific guidance can be given to inform our student’s final three terms at Plashet. Please ensure that you make appointments to see as many Headlines by Rachel McGowan cont’d teachers as possible and that your students accompany parents on the evening to enable a three way conversation to take place. During the meetings, we will discuss how hard each student is trying in each subject and agree actions that each needs to take to make at least expected rates of progress is not more rapid. These meetings are a key way in which we can work in partnership to focus on our core aim – ensuring that every student reaches her potential. 2016-17 Term Dates To enable families to plan holidays for the next year, and thus avoid taking their daughters out of school during term time, what follows are our school term dates for next academic year 2016-17. Half-terms Dates Non Student Days (NSD) & Religious Holidays in term time School closed to Students Autumn 1 Tuesday 6th September NSD 1: Monday 5th September until Eid-ul-Adha: either 12th, 13th or 14th September Friday 21st October TBC Half-term: Monday 24th October - Friday 28th October st nd Autumn 2 Monday 31 October until NSD 2: Friday 2 December st Wednesday 21 December nd rd Christmas Holiday: Thursday 22 December – Tuesday 3 January th rd Spring 1 Wednesday 4 January NSD 3: Tuesday 3 January 2017 until Friday 10th February th th Half-term: Monday 13 February – Friday 17 February th Spring 2 Monday 20 February until st Friday 31 March Easter Holiday: Monday 3rd April – Friday 17th April Summer 1 Tuesday 18th April May Day Bank Holiday: Monday 1st May until Friday 26th May Half-term: Monday 29th May – Friday 2nd June Summer 2 Monday 5th June Eid-Ul-Fitr: either 26th, 27th or 28th June TBC until NSD4 & 5: 24th & 25th July Friday 21st July I hope with that such advance notification all families can plan their holiday breaks during the times shown above. Holidays taken during term time are extremely disruptive to students’ education as they break continuity in learning, creating gaps in students’ understanding. It is also worth noting that we are a highly oversubscribed school that has waiting lists and taking your daughter out of school on holiday in term-time means you risk looking your place. Please take careful note of the dates shown above in planning your holidays and do your best to avoid disruption to your daughter’s learning. Rachel McGowan 2 Year 10 Pinsent Mason Debate Winners Last November, 11 students from Year 10 including myself were lucky enough to train with two mentors (provided by the Pinsent Masons law firm) and ex-winners of last year to prepare for their annual Debating competition. After two weeks of making points, practising arguments and more, we finally were able to visit the firm and were even given a tour by our mentors. During this time, we had the opportunity to ask them about the firm, law in general, the skills needed, the different roles at Pinsent Masons etc. Before the event started, we also were able to meet one of the judges and make small talk. After watching several entertaining debates between other schools, it was up to our first Plashet team (consisting of Zainab Naqvi 10A, Zainab Hussain 10A, Eleanor Tranter 10T, Selina Begum 10H and Katelin 10H) to debate against Norlington School for Boys. Our girls argued extremely well, winning the round, with their fierce arguments against the motion that ‘The voting age should be lowered to 16’. It was then up to our second team (consisting of Anonna Chowdhury 10P, Selina Begum 10P, Eleanor Tranter 10T and myself) who had 1 hour to prepare for the second motion being ‘This house believes that CCTV makes you feel safer’. With tips from our mentors and hectic preparation, it was time for our team to debate. Although extremely nervous, we were able to argue to our full potential and win the competition meaning Plashet School have been the overall winners for 2 years running now. However, the surprises didn’t end there. As well as receiving individual trophies, an engraved trophy for the school (personally handed to the school by the CEO of the firm) and the business cards of our mentors, we were also given £1000 to spend on the school debating team. All in all, this trip was an emotional rollercoaster full of nerves, excitement and adrenalin. It certainly is an experience we will never forget! Saira Ahmed, 10P 3 Newham Holocaust Memorial Day On Wednesday 27th January, the RE Matters group attended the Newham Holocaust memorial event. Holocaust survivor, Harry Bibring shared his testimony with an audience of around 400 residents. There were 35 local schools represented at the event, bringing more than 200 school children. He escaped Vienna on the Kinder Transport in 1939, and had an inspiring story of what life was like living in Nazi Germany. Zainab Naqvi, our chair of RE Matters read her own poem, a reflection on the Holocaust. Her poem was very well received and Harry Bibring, congratulated The RE Matters Group and Sir Robin Wales, the Mayor of Newham with her on its message of hope. Harry Bibring (who came to London on the Kinder Transport on 1939). We got a personal thank-you from Newham’s Mayor, Sir Robin Wales for our contribution, in supporting the event. Our students commented on how moving Harry’s testimony was to hear, and how it really made an impact hearing first-hand testimony highlighting the important messages of peace, tolerance and understanding. Ms L Still Curriculum Leader PRE, Sociology & British Values Safer Internet Day Plashet School was among the many of organisations in the UK that got involved to help promote the safe, responsible and positive use of digital technology for children and young people on Safer Internet Day 2016. Safer Student Prefects led assemblies to younger year groups to raise awareness about internet safety as well as conducting a questionnaire to students. Safer Student Prefects had an Internet Safety stall at lunchtime on Thursday 11th February 2016 to offer advice to students about the risks of the internet, cyberbullying and grooming. Useful information was given to students about privacy on their social media accounts, steps to protection such as installing a web safer browser and making their accounts private; and ways parents can get involved to protect their children. Luxshita Prithviraj, one of the Safer Student Prefects said, “talking in assemblies and having an Internet Safety stall at lunchtime is a great way to raise awareness and promote ways of staying safe online.” Miss Begum Bengali Teacher and KS4 Learning Mentor 4 Lend Lease Winners Towards the end of 2015 more than 150 year 10 students (including myself Tasnia Rahman, Khadija Saadia, Zaynab Sharif and Eleanor Tranter 10T) and from a number of schools across the borough took part in the Lend Lease challenge. Our task was to put forward a collection of ideas in order to regenerate a chosen part our local area, Newham. After submitting our proposals, the judges picked out 16 students from schools which include: Rokeby School, Eastlea Community School, Cumberland School and Plashet School who were finalists for the challenge. The finals took place on the 22nd January 2016 at the Financial Conduct Authority HQ in Canary Wharf. There we put forward our ideas to ensure better health and wellbeing of the people living and working in a new development. We are proud to announce our team returned to school with the winning trophy, as well as winning a silver plaque for our school; we will be receiving business mentoring, work experience and £50 each. “We look forward to welcoming the students as they take up their work experience placements later this year” Ian Crockford- Project Director at International Quarters. “This project gave us a chance to learn our local area and explore ways in which we can make it a more socially, economically and environmentally sustainable place to work and live in.” Khadija Saadia, 10T & Tasnia Rahman, 10T Year 9 PRE and History Jewish Museum Visits As part of their studies on the Holocaust in History and PRE, students in Year 9 visited the Holocaust Museum over the course of the last two weeks of term. These whole day visits consisted of a number of activities designed to support student’s understanding of the Jewish faith and the significance of the Holocaust, such as handling important objects, and learning to write their names in Hebrew.