...bringing Highcliffe to you... H2U Highcliffe School, Parkside, Highcliffe, Christchurch, BH23 4QD E-mail : [email protected] Contents....... Tribute to Tousca.......... Link School Update page 2 In the Community........ continent – directly improving their life page4 chances. News Team presentation Meet the Team........... Kate kindly agreed to officially award the page 5 ‘H2U’ badges to the members of the News LRC News................ Team who produce this newsletter (see the page 5 photograph below). She had already seen a number of the issues and expressed how International Dimen- impressed she was with the energy and pur- sion.... pags 6 & 7 pose of the group. Developing the relationship Yr 11 Revision support... Additionally, we took the opportunity to in- page 8 vestigate ways in which we could Curriculum Maps Ms Potts hands over the cheque strengthen our links with our twin school to pages 9 & 10 We were very pleased to be able to wel- our mutual benefit with the support of come Kate Griffin to the school recently. LCD. The discussion was very fruitful and Rewarding Students... we hope to be able to announce a very ex- page 11 Kate is a key member of Link Community Development (LCD), the organisation citing project in the near future which will high....higher.... High- through whigh we are twinned with Joubert be of huge benefit to all the staff and stu- cliffe! Ludidi School in South Africa. The prime dents both here at Highcliffe and in Joubert page 12 Ludidi. Sixth Form News purpose of the visit was for Ms Potts to pre- page 13 sent a cheque for £1109 to LCD as a dona- Forthcoming Events tion for its ‘Walk for Africa’ scheme. This Jenny Tuck (11.3) page 14 money was raised by the students on Editorial Team........ the sponsored walk which took place at Assistant Editors the end of the sum- Alex Smith (11.1) mer term, LCD be- Jenny Tuck (11.3) ing one of the four Reporters Laura Ellison (10.5) charities to benefit. Emma Thompson (10.8) The money will be Gemma Lane (8.3) used by LCD to Annaleigh Cutler (8.3) help its work in Lucy Brosnan (8.3) Harry Sherwood (8.6) schools in South Rachael Pickup (8.7) Africa, Ghana and Brianna Kruger (8.8) Uganda, as such it Editor will benefit thou- Mr Coughlan Members of the newsteam receive their ‘H2U’ Reporter badges sands of young from Kate Griffin Of Link Community Development. (See story on people across the Vol.2 Issue 3- Feb 2003 page 7) H2U, Vol 2 Issue 3 - February 2003 Page 1 Our Tribute to Tousca-Mai Facer “My name is Cat Stone and I con- lessons kept her and I believe, the Friday 2nd October her mother and sider myself privileged to have doctors and nurses entertained al- father Jon were told there was a been Tousca’s Head of Year. Al- though I was slightly concerned suitable donor. At 20 minutes past though I was her teacher she be- about some parts of it that were midnight the heart arrived at Great came my friend and she taught me filmed after my camcorder was hi- Ormond Street and as we all know so much. Through her, I met some jacked. I am sure I didn’t write some the operation took place. During wonderful new people: her own of the scenes that were filmed in my her 5 week stay in London she suf- family Carol, Keely, Ranald, her original script. fered 2 fits and 3 episodes of rejec- grandmother and more recently tion. I visited her twice at GOSH Rob. Carol and I formed a strong One day we were sitting on her hos- and was amazed by her bravery. bond in the weeks prior to pital bed watching the athletics and She rarely complained and when I Tousca’s transplant. she admired the physique of the male visited her was more concerned athletes. I am still jealous of her about me travelling to see her than September 1998 saw me travelling signed photo from Iwan Thomas that about herself. The powerful drugs to Southampton General she was on did cause every Friday evening, some side effects which sometimes on my own, were particularly un- sometimes with another pleasant in a lively out- member of staff and some- going teenager but times with a pupil. Tousca Tousca coped admira- was in the paediatric car- bly. diac unit awaiting a trans- plant. She had been taken She visited us at school ill at the beginning of the just before Xmas and summer holiday and after returned to school for tests in Poole, Southamp- some lessons in the ton and Great Ormond January. She soon Street she was told she had wanted to return full a condition called ‘Dilated time and she did, and Cardio-myopathy’ and that with the rest of her year she needed a heart trans- she carefully selected plant. In Southampton al- her GCSE options though permanently on an which included PE. intravenous drip she kept cheerful. arrived addressed to her following The song ‘Always look on the this statement and which was For her 14th birthday, she and bright side of life’ which was our proudly stuck on her room wall next Carol decided a big party should assembly theme during inspection to the letter from Michael Owen. be organised. The theme was Top week comes to mind and is very of the Pops and guests were asked true of how Tousca viewed life. I On 29th September 1998 she was to dress up as a pop star. Even my shall never forget her musical in- very very ill and was taken up to Tina Turner outfit and wig could terpretation of a heart transplant Great Ormond Street Hospital in not match the style of Carol and nor her delight on opening all the London and given a left ventricular Tousca who went as the 2 girls cards and letters I took from her assist device, a special heart pump. from Abba, both looking stunning school friends. She was also keen She was the second child in the in short white dresses. Tousca was to do some school work and man- country to have this operation and it a real dancing queen that night and aged some in several subjects in- was the first time the procedure had thoroughly enjoyed the whole eve- cluding German. The video that I been carried out at Great Ormond ning. The ticket sales, raffle and made in school showing her the Street. She had this pump for 3 days donations raised £1000+ for the new extension and her friends in and 3 nights until at last at 9pm on Wessex childrens heart circle and H2U, Vol 2 Issue 3 - February 2003 Page 2 gave the charity publicity. Tousca La Mammas in Bridge Street first as outside number 67 in the car laden was asked by Sainsbury’s in a washer upper but then showed she with boxes Tousca saw her new Christchurch to open the newly ex- was a very capable waitress, rarely next door neighbour Peter for the tended store which she did cutting spilling any food. She decided to first time and was impressed. the red ribbon. She used this to her stay on at school in the Christchurch While sitting in her own garden she advantage when she was looking 6th form and studied AS levels in liked to watch the flowers growing for a part time job. When she was Psychology and Business Studies. in the next door garden and I be- asked what her qualifications were However she felt she wanted more lieve a small knot in the fencing for such a job, she stated that she independence so she found herself a may have been removed to help her had opened the store. job at The Telephone Chain becom- have a better view of the neigh- ing a full time telephone operator bours. Tousca packed a lot into her 4 post and then acting as PA to Louisa, a transplant years. Six months after job she absolutely enjoyed. She be- Just like those flowers the relation- the operation she went on an Out- came a very valuable member of the ship with the neighbours blos- ward bound course in the Lake team. somed because when Tousca de- District, enjoying the raft building, cided something she was deter- high ropes and abseiling. She also Tousca really enjoyed life. She had a mined to succeed. Tousca and Pe- showed off her skills on the moun- great circle of friends who shared ter became very close and were taineering wall and ropes when she lots of special times with her. At the soon an item. Whenever Tousca and her whole year group spent a school summer ball a very elegant mentioned Peter to me, her eyes day at the ropes centre in the Pur- Tousca arrived with her escort Mark sparkled. The romantic meals by becks, a day which all of us that in a white convertible VW beetle. candlelight in restaurants, the Sun- went on it will remember fondly. She looked amazing in a gold skirt day roasts at home, the celebration with a fishtail and a red and gold of their anniversary gave her so She liked horseriding and was re - bustier, all hand made by Carol. Her much joy as did the planning for introduced to it recently by Kym, hair was just right. Tousca had a their future. Peter’s mother. The gym at 2 Riv- thing about her hair.