Spring 2011 Newsletter - Maidenhill School

Spring 2011 Newsletter - Maidenhill School Spring 2011 Newsletter - Maidenhill School

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N E W S Official Opening of Maidenhill Sports Hall Guests from the Stonehouse and Stroud communities were very impressed with our new Sports Hall and Drama Studio at the official opening of the centre on Wednesday 16th February. The new facilities have been in use since January and badminton and fitness groups continued to make the most of the courts and exercise bikes while the open evening was in progress. Visitors could also see enthusiastic Maidenhill students demonstrating the variety of sports and games that can be played in the Sports Hall. The evening began with drinks and food prepared and served by Maidenhill Hospitality and Catering students. Guests were able to SPRING 2011 tour the building and talk to staff about the activities. Jordan-Eva Tiley and Jade Cook performed a song from Oklahoma and Elle Woodward and Hannah Jones demonstrated their dancing skills. Mr Watson thanked all the people involved in the planning and building of the hall and described how excited and pleased the students were with the smart new facilities. Paul Wakeman, Project Manager from Gloucestershire County Council, presented Mr Watson with a plaque to be displayed in the reception area. It was a great opportunity for local people to see the range of exciting activities that both Maidenhill students and members of the community can take part in. If you would like to find out more about the activities offered visit the school website: www.maidenhill.gloucs.sch.uk INSIDE THIS EDITION: SPORTS NEWS • HEADTEACHER'S UPDATE • LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS AIMHIGHER • SCHOOL COUNCIL • CITIZENSHIP ACTIVITIES

N E W S<br />

Official Opening of<br />

<strong>Maidenhill</strong> Sports Hall<br />

Guests from the Stonehouse and Stroud<br />

communities were very impressed with our<br />

new Sports Hall and Drama Studio at the<br />

official opening of the centre on Wednesday<br />

16th February.<br />

The new facilities have been in use since January and badminton<br />

and fitness groups continued to make the most of the courts and<br />

exercise bikes while the open evening was in progress. Visitors could<br />

also see enthusiastic <strong>Maidenhill</strong> students demonstrating the variety<br />

of sports and games that can be played in the Sports Hall.<br />

The evening began with drinks and food prepared and served by<br />

<strong>Maidenhill</strong> Hospitality and Catering students. Guests were able to<br />

SPRING <strong>2011</strong><br />

tour the building and talk to staff about the activities. Jordan-Eva<br />

Tiley and Jade Cook performed a song from Oklahoma and Elle<br />

Woodward and Hannah Jones demonstrated their dancing skills.<br />

Mr Watson thanked all the people involved in the planning and<br />

building of the hall and described how excited and pleased the<br />

students were with the smart new facilities. Paul Wakeman, Project<br />

Manager from Gloucestershire County Council, presented<br />

Mr Watson with a plaque to be displayed in the reception area.<br />

It was a great opportunity for local people to see the range of<br />

exciting activities that both <strong>Maidenhill</strong> students and members of the<br />

community can take part in.<br />

If you would like to find out more about the activities offered visit<br />

the school website: www.maidenhill.gloucs.sch.uk<br />

INSIDE THIS EDITION: SPORTS NEWS •<br />

HEADTEACHER'S UPDATE • LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS<br />

AIMHIGHER • SCHOOL COUNCIL • CITIZENSHIP ACTIVITIES


2<br />

MAIDENHILL NEWS: SPRING <strong>2011</strong><br />

Headteacher’s<br />

Update<br />

I<br />

am delighted to welcome you to another<br />

action-packed newsletter which demonstrates,<br />

once again, the pace of change at <strong>Maidenhill</strong><br />

and the wide range of activities on offer.<br />

Our new sports and<br />

drama facilities are<br />

living up to all our<br />

expectations and I<br />

am delighted with<br />

the feedback we<br />

are getting from<br />

students, staff and<br />

members of the local community. I now have my sights firmly set<br />

on securing additional capital funding to improve the exterior of<br />

the school, notably the windows and other fundamental aspects of<br />

our infrastructure including our ICT network. I am confident that<br />

significant additional cash sums will be forthcoming to commence<br />

major works on the school before the end of this year and look<br />

forward to reporting to you in more detail in the Summer <strong>Newsletter</strong>.<br />

Year 11 students continue to make sustained progress towards their<br />

GCSEs under the capable leadership of Mrs Halliday. Once again, I<br />

expect last year’s record results to be surpassed as a result of the<br />

hard work of staff and students alike. I sense from walking around<br />

Year 8 students visit the new hall.<br />

Left to right: Beth Darley-Jones, Owen Tyror-Taylor,<br />

James Hannaford-Hill, Emily Chandler<br />

lessons that there is a sharpened focus and fresh determination<br />

now that the exam season is approaching. On a similar theme,<br />

Y10 students are making encouraging progress and many Year 9<br />

students, under the expert direction of Ms Machers, have already<br />

gained an accredited qualification by way of the Arts Award. Year 9<br />

students are also working successfully towards accredited courses<br />

in Design Technology for the first time this year.<br />

Planned admissions for the new Y7 in September are up on<br />

the previous year and several significant changes are planned<br />

between now and then. I have spoken to all the students about<br />

the introduction of vertical tutoring in September and in March<br />

explained the system and its rationale at a meeting for parents.<br />

Associated with this, will be a re-launch of our House system and a<br />

new uniform. I shall be writing to all parents in April in relation to<br />

the new uniform which, as you might expect, has prompted a wide<br />

range of responses from all stakeholders. Whilst there is never a<br />

good time to change uniform, I hope that with sufficient advance<br />

notice some purchasing decisions can be deferred until the new<br />

uniform becomes available.<br />

Mr Watson<br />

The New Sports Hall<br />

I am writing about the new sports hall which cost £2.5 million to build.<br />

It’s taken two years to complete; the foundations were started in May 2010.<br />

On June 10th we could see the building and by June 25th the floor was in. In<br />

September the main building was finished. The old sports hall was being turned into<br />

a Performing Arts area and we still couldn’t use it in the Autumn term because it<br />

wasn’t quite ready.<br />

The official opening was on February 16th. We are very pleased with our new<br />

sports hall and the drama studio. Mr Watson is delighted. I think it is a good building<br />

and all the students agree that there is more room and better equipment. I am<br />

pleased with the new hall and 8KBU are delighted to use it!<br />

By James Hannaford-Hill 8KBU<br />

Mr Watson talks to Year 7<br />

students about the new hall.


New <strong>School</strong> Uniform<br />

I have chosen to do a report on a<br />

controversial debate within school: the<br />

introduction of a new uniform.<br />

The school uniform will be introduced in September. It is to<br />

consist of a v-neck jumper, a white shirt, tie and blazer.<br />

The trousers will remain the same. The only thing Mr Watson<br />

hasn’t decided on is the tie colour and design, although the<br />

tie is definitely included in the uniform and a decision will be<br />

made shortly. Students and parents have had the chance to<br />

state their opinions on the matter and, surprisingly to some, the<br />

majority of people say that they do want the uniform changed<br />

in some way.<br />

There are many reasons why the school uniform is changing.<br />

No-one can deny the fact that our uniform is very similar to<br />

that of local primary schools and some feel we need to stand<br />

out more as a secondary school. Another reason is that most<br />

other secondary schools have a blazer and tie and when we<br />

compete in activities against those schools we look less smart.<br />

Reasons for sticking with the uniform we have now are that it is<br />

comfortable and well-priced already and although we haven’t<br />

got the smartest school uniform in the county, that’s arguably<br />

what makes us defined as a school in the area.<br />

Although some welcome the new uniform with open arms,<br />

others are not so keen. Those who are unsure about the<br />

change believe that it is unfair to make us wear what is<br />

Welcome to . . .<br />

Miss Wainwright<br />

Miss<br />

Wainwright is<br />

our new Head<br />

of Humanities.<br />

She started after<br />

Christmas and<br />

is really enjoying<br />

her time here<br />

so far.<br />

Her first<br />

teaching job was in Wolverhampton at a school called<br />

Heath Park, where she stayed for four years. Since then<br />

she has worked at Vale of Berkeley College and after that<br />

she came here.<br />

Her job here involves checking that everything runs<br />

smoothly in humanities lessons which are RE, Geography<br />

and History. She teaches Geography mostly but once in a<br />

while also teaches Science.<br />

MAIDENHILL NEWS: SPRING <strong>2011</strong><br />

effectively a suit to school, as this takes away any individuality<br />

we may want to express, especially if a blazer and tie are to<br />

be worn. Those who are keener for a new uniform believe that<br />

a tie and blazer will make us look much smarter and define us<br />

as a secondary school.<br />

I understand why school uniform is worn: it lowers the chances<br />

of anyone getting lost on trips out of school, makes us<br />

noticeable as a school and makes us all equal. However,<br />

I fail to understand why there is, for instance, a ban on any<br />

gloves, scarves, necklaces, etc that a child may want to wear<br />

alongside the uniform. I am very different when it comes<br />

to clothes outside of school. I hate the fact that everybody<br />

wears the same Nike trainers or Mackenzie top and I will never<br />

understand why they all want to dress the same. It seems<br />

obvious that a child is going to say they don’t want to wear<br />

school uniform, but I fail to see how they can argue the points<br />

against a uniform when they wear what is effectively a uniform<br />

out of school. I never wear the same clothes as anybody else<br />

I know because I want to stand out and make a statement<br />

with my appearance.<br />

However, regardless of my personal views on the matter, the<br />

uniform is going to change come September. Also, Mr Watson<br />

has suggested the possibility of a school second-hand uniform<br />

shop, to reduce the cost. I think this will convince a lot of<br />

people to side with the new uniform, as one of the main issues<br />

was cost. The new uniform will be available in time for the new<br />

school year.<br />

By Jamie Deane 8LBE<br />

She likes her job here at <strong>Maidenhill</strong> and says it is really<br />

rewarding and fun. “No day is the same. Ever!”<br />

She doesn’t have any immediate plans for the future but<br />

did say she wanted to get really established in her role<br />

here. She is really proud of getting to where she is in her<br />

career and also of achieving a degree in both Geography<br />

and Environmental Management.<br />

Most of her family lives in Wolverhampton but her<br />

boyfriend lives nearby. She has no children but would<br />

quite like to have some in the future. She has two<br />

goldfish called Starsky and Pistachio.<br />

She has just joined the gym and really enjoys swimming.<br />

One of her hobbies is baking. She is very proud of baking<br />

a carrot cake at the weekend! She also enjoys making<br />

cards and all kinds of crafts.<br />

She loves watching films and reading books. Her favourite<br />

book is “The Beach”. She enjoys culture and has been to<br />

many exotic places like Greece, Kenya, America and the<br />

Caribbean. Her favourite foods are Italian and Mexican;<br />

pizza, pasta and enchiladas. She really loves cheesy pop<br />

music and anything that she can sing out loud to.<br />

By Molly Wise and Rebecca Jones<br />

9DWA<br />

3


4<br />

MAIDENHILL NEWS: SPRING <strong>2011</strong><br />

Our latest production was “Little Shop<br />

of Horrors” which played to packed<br />

audiences at the beginning of March. It’s the<br />

first time one of the stars of the performance<br />

has been a large green plant (played by Billy<br />

Perry)! The musical play gave our talented<br />

singers and dancers the chance to shine, as<br />

well as providing challenging roles for our<br />

young actors. Some of the participants have<br />

written about their experiences.<br />

Audrey<br />

I've participated in each of the<br />

school shows ever since I started at<br />

<strong>Maidenhill</strong> in Year 7. Every year the<br />

shows have just become better and<br />

better, and none of this would have<br />

been possible without such support<br />

from the wonderful teachers. I know I<br />

speak for the rest of the cast of Little<br />

Shop of Horrors <strong>2011</strong>, when I say<br />

that the play was an extremely large<br />

amount of fun, and such a good<br />

experience. I played the part of<br />

Audrey, and had such fun with the role, from deciding what costume<br />

to wear, to how I got eaten, sadly, by the big, green plant! Everybody<br />

in the cast had so much fun, and we'd do it all again if we could!<br />

Hopefully in the future<br />

I'll come back to<br />

<strong>Maidenhill</strong> to help with<br />

the musical direction<br />

or anything that needs<br />

doing! I'll miss being<br />

a part of the school<br />

shows very much, and<br />

will never forget how<br />

amazing an experience<br />

each of them was,<br />

thanks to Mr Stimson and<br />

Ms Machers and all they<br />

do for the Performing<br />

Arts department!<br />

By Jessica Weaver<br />

11ROD<br />

Aaron Eagles as Seymour with Audrey<br />

Ronette<br />

This March we performed two matinees, and three evening<br />

performances of Little Shop of Horrors. I played the part of ‘Ronnette’<br />

out of ‘The Three Ronnettes’. I loved playing this part as it bounced<br />

with attitude. It included a lot of singing as well as acting, and the<br />

costumes and the make-up were amazing; they were cluttered<br />

with sparkle! I auditioned for the play in the summer of 2010. I was<br />

amazed to find out I got a call back, let alone that I was ‘chosen’ for<br />

the part, and didn’t have to compete with the other girls for it!<br />

I was extremely happy to find out I got the part as ‘Ronnette’, as<br />

that was the part I was hoping to achieve! Originally we had two<br />

casts, both had strengths and weaknesses, but over the following six<br />

months people dropped out, leaving one cast, and one ‘Ronnette’<br />

– although there were two participants playing the part of ‘Chiffon’.<br />

I was ecstatic about this, as it would mean I would get the chance<br />

to appear in more shows! The rehearsals took hard work, dedication<br />

and perseverance! I was surprised at how hard it was to play my<br />

part; I had to pronounce more of an attitude in every move I made.<br />

We all had to work really hard on the singing and the singing<br />

harmonies; I struggled quite a bit with this as I was based on the<br />

higher harmony due to my part and I had solos as well– but luckily I<br />

think (well, I hope) I did a good job in the end!<br />

The performances were amazing! You get such an indescribable<br />

buzz from knowing the amount of work you’ve put in over six months<br />

to create such an awesome play! I felt really at home with the stage,<br />

the set, and all of the<br />

characters! I’m really<br />

going to miss<br />

the play! I think I’m<br />

having withdrawal<br />

symptoms already…..<br />

By Aiesha Williams<br />

10DBA<br />

India Davis,<br />

Sian Gardiner and<br />

Aiesha Williams as<br />

the Ronnettes


MR. MUSHNIK<br />

Janneke Bax-Pratt as Mr Mushnik<br />

I played the part of Mr Mushnik, which was a fun and different<br />

experience. We rehearsed the play for around six months, after<br />

auditioning before the summer holidays. Around two or three days<br />

a week, the main cast would meet and rehearse through different<br />

scenes, and the chorus would meet once a week, mainly to do<br />

dancing and singing.<br />

I was ecstatic after auditioning, to learn I had a call back, but I<br />

definitely did not expect to get Mr.Mushnik! As Mushnik, I had to play<br />

the part of a man, which was a very difficult thing to do, seeing as I<br />

am a girl! It took a lot of hard work to achieve what I thought was a<br />

reasonable representation of Mushnik, but I was pleased with the<br />

end result. I wasn’t pleased that I had to dress as a man though!<br />

The performances were so successful and fun, and it was an<br />

amazing feeling performing and owning that stage, and I’m going to<br />

miss it badly! Doing the play, you make some great friends and meet<br />

new people, so I’ll miss a lot of people who were in the play who I<br />

don’t usually see in classes or around school. Overall it has to be a<br />

highlight of my school career so far, it was absolutely fantastic!<br />

By Janneke Bax-Pratt 10DBA<br />

CHOREOGRAPHY<br />

MAIDENHILL NEWS: SPRING <strong>2011</strong><br />

I am a Year 11 student, and I choreographed the school show<br />

“Little Shop of Horrors” with the help of Abbie Chudleigh. I did it for my<br />

BTEC Performing Arts work. It took some time, and a lot of organising.<br />

Coming up with the dance routines and teaching them to the<br />

younger students as well was challenging. However, in the end,<br />

we managed to get it done and put on a performance of the show.<br />

I choreographed the song “Little Shop of Horrors” with some help<br />

from Abbie. Then I did “Skid Row” by myself, and Abbie<br />

choreographed the last dance, “Don’t Feed the Plants”.<br />

These routines had to be in the style of the show and when it<br />

was set. So I had to do some research on the era of the show<br />

to find out what dances were around then and how they acted.<br />

I also painted the stage and set for the show along with<br />

Jordan-Eva Tiley. We spent time after school to create the<br />

spectacular set. We were very pleased with our work as the<br />

choreography worked well, and the set looked wonderful.<br />

By Jade Cook 11GAP<br />

See more pictures<br />

from the show on<br />

our website<br />

5


6<br />

MAIDENHILL NEWS: SPRING <strong>2011</strong><br />

On Thursday 27th January<br />

<strong>2011</strong>, 52 Year 7 and 8 students<br />

and 5 adults went on a trip<br />

to the Royal Shakespeare<br />

Courtyard Theatre in Stratfordupon-Avon<br />

to see the musical<br />

“Matilda”.<br />

My personal opinion is that<br />

the “Matilda” musical was fantastic, and I also think that all<br />

the actors were very talented, especially the children.<br />

My favourite characters are Matilda and Miss Trunchbull.<br />

“Matilda” is about a young girl named Matilda who is not<br />

recognised or wanted by her parents but still she has to<br />

suffer and stay with them. Matilda`s head teacher is Miss<br />

Shakespeare<br />

Shakespeare - There aren’t many people who don't<br />

know the name of this brilliant man; extremely<br />

successful, accomplished and a magnificent writer<br />

of some of the world’s most captivating plays. Almost<br />

500 years after his death, his name lives on, as well as<br />

his inspirational works of wonder. He is still, to this<br />

day, commended as one of the greatest poets, and the<br />

world’s greatest writer in the English language.<br />

In my Year 10 English set we study English Literature<br />

as well as English Language. Consequently, we had a<br />

big coursework project entirely focused on some of<br />

Shakespeare's work, working towards a controlled<br />

assessment at the end of the topic.<br />

We had to look at two texts for the topic. These were<br />

Shakespeare's famous 'Romeo and Juliet' and 'To His<br />

Coy Mistress' by Andrew Marvell, for which we had<br />

to analyse the structure and language. Both these are<br />

written in the language of four hundred years ago<br />

which is very different to modern day English language.<br />

This made analysing the language very hard as some<br />

quotations seemed very difficult to comprehend at first.<br />

Trunchbull who is very mean, but her class teacher Miss<br />

Honey is the very opposite to her - kind and understanding.<br />

She realises that Matilda is by far the most intelligent girl<br />

in her class and soon finds out about how she is treated.<br />

She speaks to Miss Trunchbull who is not pleased.<br />

Miss Honey got no sense out of her so went to Matilda’s<br />

parents and asked if she could adopt Matilda. They agreed<br />

and Matilda suffered no more.<br />

The set was bright and colourful and had lots of detail<br />

and the singing and dancing was brilliant. I found that the<br />

play was great from the start and then got even better.<br />

The film and book of Matilda are amazing but the play is<br />

10,000 times better. The play is a lot more interesting when<br />

you watch for yourself.<br />

The theatre staff are very nice, there are plenty of seats<br />

and the theatre is very clean. This play is great and for all<br />

ages. It is very funny and it makes a great day out.<br />

By Caprice McGovern 7ESM<br />

However, once I became used to the style in which<br />

Marvell and Shakespeare wrote, it began to become<br />

easier.<br />

The main point that we had to cover in the topic was<br />

how the language in both texts is used to express and<br />

show people in love. We had to carefully annotate and<br />

analyse both texts trying to spot links and differences<br />

in the language styles. We had to show the feelings<br />

presented in both texts, and how the language expresses<br />

these, and how it can make the reader or viewer feel.<br />

What I enjoyed about the Shakespeare topic was that<br />

it was challenging and had a high level of complexity<br />

throughout the course. I found it very intriguing to get<br />

to study such a masterpiece of English literature, which<br />

was enjoyable to read and work with. It was interesting<br />

to look at the structure of the play and see how<br />

Shakespeare had intricately placed everything perfectly,<br />

manipulating the language and delivering the emotions<br />

with extreme perfection. It was fun to see what other<br />

styles of language were shown in such an old play; it<br />

was engaging and I enjoyed learning and analysing it.<br />

The exam went very well, and I ended up doing better<br />

than I initially thought, as it was a difficult project at first.<br />

Shakespeare's works are magnificent and very deep,<br />

mystical and exciting, I hope very much to work with<br />

some more again.<br />

By Matthew Harwood 10RCR


An A Level in Mathematics is a good<br />

foundation for a wide variety of<br />

careers. We interviewed some of our Year<br />

11 students who hope to continue with their<br />

studies in Maths to A Level standard. Sam<br />

Knight, Lewis Brain, Reannan Kean, Jordan<br />

Jones and Megan Bullock all include Maths<br />

in their choice of A Level subjects.<br />

Megan is intending to study medicine and so her<br />

choice of subjects is science-based with Biology and<br />

Chemistry along with Maths and French. She has applied<br />

to Archway and Rednock Sixth Forms. She finds the<br />

problem solving aspect of algebra the most interesting<br />

aspect to work on.<br />

Sam has an illustrious name to live up to, being named<br />

after the engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Fittingly,<br />

his ambition is to follow in the footsteps of the famous<br />

builder of bridges, railways and ships, and to become<br />

an engineer working with hammers and fire! He has<br />

done work experience with Saul boat builders R.W.<br />

Davies, which he greatly enjoyed. Sam hopes to attend<br />

Downfield or Archway Sixth Form to study Maths,<br />

Chemistry, Physics and Government and Politics.<br />

Maths Stars<br />

MAIDENHILL NEWS: SPRING <strong>2011</strong><br />

Many of the most successful students in Maths are<br />

also good at Music. Lewis Brain is a talented pianist and<br />

drummer. He feels that notes are like numbers: they<br />

follow in sequence. A mathematical brain that is good<br />

at solving problems is also good at working out musical<br />

patterns. Lewis is hoping to attend Downfield Sixth<br />

Form to study Music Technology, Maths, Biology and<br />

Chemistry and thinking about possibly becoming a<br />

doctor in the future. Harry Vallender is another pianist<br />

who intends to do Maths and Jordan Jones is a successful<br />

guitarist.<br />

Jordan enjoys Maths because he likes the fact that you<br />

get a definite answer. He is hoping to become a sound<br />

engineer and will be studying Music Technology,<br />

Computing, Electronics, French and Maths at<br />

Cirencester College.<br />

Reannan is intending to become a primary school<br />

teacher and has already done some work experience<br />

at St Matthews <strong>School</strong>. She has applied to Archway<br />

and Cirencester College to study Maths, Art, Biology<br />

and Psychology. Solving simultaneous equations is her<br />

favourite maths topic!<br />

We are lucky to have such enthusiastic students with<br />

a wide range of ambitions, who set a good example to<br />

younger pupils who aspire to do well in their exams.<br />

7


8<br />

MAIDENHILL NEWS: SPRING <strong>2011</strong><br />

Science is<br />

fun<br />

Matthew Hawkins with his Science teacher,<br />

Miss Silverthorne<br />

Out of all the lessons that we<br />

have in school, my favourite<br />

is Science. This is because you can<br />

do entertaining experiments and<br />

learn new things every lesson<br />

while having fun.<br />

I like Science because you get to<br />

do mind-boggling experiments<br />

like burning food to see different<br />

flame effects.<br />

I have learned how to do the squeaky<br />

pop test with magnesium, a boiling<br />

tube and a big beaker. We also<br />

draw tables and graphs to show the<br />

materials that you have used in the<br />

experiments and the results you have<br />

found. It teaches you to be organised<br />

and to do neat work.<br />

Science is my most relaxing lesson.<br />

I enjoy working with my friends<br />

during the lessons. It helps you work<br />

as a team. You have so much fun, it<br />

doesn’t feel like work. You are not<br />

just sitting at a desk listening to the<br />

teacher or reading.<br />

There is a Science Club after school<br />

open to all years. It’s well worth a visit.<br />

By Matthew Hawkins 8KBU<br />

Science in the workplace<br />

For our GCSE Science<br />

Unit 1 portfolio called<br />

Science in the Workplace,<br />

we visited Bristol Zoo for<br />

the day in January.<br />

We were involved in a<br />

variety of different activities<br />

to find out the information<br />

we needed for our<br />

coursework.<br />

We found out about the jobs of the people who work at<br />

Bristol Zoo such as in the<br />

Animal Department. This<br />

department works closely with<br />

the animals themselves. They<br />

have to carry out daily health<br />

checks on their specific animals<br />

and make sure they update the<br />

medical and health records in<br />

order to keep a check on all<br />

of them. They also have to fill<br />

in and record a stud book for every animal to make sure that<br />

there is no chance of breeding related animals. In addition, we<br />

found out what types of qualifications were needed to be in<br />

each department so that we could add this into our portfolio.<br />

When we were at Bristol Zoo we also had to find out about<br />

the health and safety procedures that were in place, so<br />

we could gain in-depth<br />

knowledge of heath<br />

and safety in<br />

the workplace.<br />

The marks for this<br />

portfolio will be added to<br />

the marks from the final<br />

exam in order to work<br />

out our final grades.<br />

By Rebecca Beard<br />

11RPE


Year 7 students enjoyed the “Moving On Up” presentation<br />

This year the Aimhigher groups have taken<br />

part in a number of exciting opportunities.<br />

A study skills day for Year 11, at the<br />

Oxstalls Campus of the University of<br />

Gloucestershire, was well received. The morning<br />

focused on ways of improving revision and note<br />

taking techniques whilst the afternoon involved<br />

campus tours and quizzes about life as a student.<br />

Students were impressed by the lecture hall as well<br />

as other facilities like the Sports areas. Sports students<br />

from <strong>Maidenhill</strong> have also visited these facilities for<br />

fitness testing.<br />

Year 11 have also had the opportunity to apply for<br />

Unitasters – summer schools at Universities in the<br />

South West that last for a week and provide an all<br />

expenses paid ‘taste’ of university life.<br />

Year 10 have taken the opportunity to attend a<br />

healthcare careers day and will have an opportunity<br />

to apply for a summer school at the University of<br />

Gloucestershire.<br />

Year 9 have taken part in the Roadshow – which is<br />

a fast moving morning of interactive sessions at the<br />

University of Gloucestershire.<br />

Year 7 have had a theatre experience “Moving<br />

on Up”, with workshops to follow. Student Tutors<br />

from the University have worked with the PE and<br />

English departments.<br />

Aimhigher<br />

MAIDENHILL NEWS: SPRING <strong>2011</strong><br />

Mentoring<br />

Aimhigher Mentoring has been successful at <strong>Maidenhill</strong> for<br />

a number of selected Year 11 students, as it enables them<br />

to be mentored by undergraduates from Gloucestershire<br />

University based at the Oxstalls Campus in Gloucester. Our<br />

students have already visited the campus on numerous<br />

occasions and have an idea of budgeting and what life<br />

is like should they choose to go to university themselves in<br />

the future.<br />

It provides an opportunity to discuss their GCSE and BTEC<br />

studies with mentors closer to their own age and to plan their<br />

applications for college or an apprenticeship, to think about<br />

finding a job or taking on the Summer Challenge Unitaster<br />

opportunities.<br />

The mentors have been great and reported on the students’<br />

progress. Students have found the sessions beneficial, have<br />

gained confidence in holding conversations and are able to<br />

plan ahead for their future using the knowledge gained.<br />

Danielle Eathorne - Mentor<br />

Through university I discovered the opportunity of working with<br />

young people in the local area and schools. Our aim is to raise<br />

aspirations and to generally lend a helping hand to those who might<br />

benefit from it. I couldn't have asked for a better school to attend<br />

than <strong>Maidenhill</strong>. Everyone has been very welcoming and helpful<br />

and I get on with all my mentees. They all work very hard and I hope<br />

that they are benefiting from our time together as much as I am. I<br />

enjoy working here and I wish my students all the best for the future<br />

Elliott Palmer - Year 11 Student<br />

I have enjoyed my time with Danielle, she has helped me with all<br />

the things I have been struggling with and she has shown me the<br />

benefits of going to university.<br />

9


10<br />

MAIDENHILL NEWS: SPRING <strong>2011</strong><br />

Football<br />

Football<br />

Hi, I’m Toby Edghill and I’m writing<br />

about the Year 8 football team<br />

I love playing football so I went to training as normal but there<br />

were only four of us. We were quite cross as we couldn’t play<br />

a game, but we did training by practising our dribbling and<br />

passing skills. Then we practised our shooting and finished off<br />

with a game of crossbar challenge.<br />

I was concerned that only four of us had turned up, so the<br />

next day, in tutor time, I went round and asked everyone if<br />

they wanted to come to football. The majority of the boys<br />

said yes.<br />

Next training I turned up and there were lots more boys.<br />

I was pleased that most boys wanted to contribute to the<br />

team. Even more excitement! Mr Day told us that we had<br />

a fixture coming up against Sir William Romney <strong>School</strong>.<br />

Everyone was happy and we had 14 players in our squad.<br />

We arrived at Sir William Romney all excited with lots of<br />

banter and cheerfulness. After we had warmed up, Nathan<br />

Marks won the toss for kick-off. We conceded two goals<br />

at first but got back to 2 -2 by half time. In the second half<br />

we upped our game and scored another 8 goals. I scored 5,<br />

Year 9 Football Team<br />

Year 8 Football Team<br />

Back left to right: Mr Halliday - PE assistant, Daniel Wheeler, Kai Harris, Oliver<br />

Loveridge, Regan Davis, Josh Farthing, Ryan Merrett, Mr Day Team Coach<br />

Front left to right: Ryan Burford, Jake Williams, Tom Dyer, Brandon Peacey,<br />

Toby Edghill, Nathan Marks, Jamie Gough, Tom Millin<br />

Nathan scored 2, Brandon scored 1 and Tom Dyer scored 1<br />

Finally the whistle went and we had won 10 -2.<br />

By Toby Edghill 8LBE<br />

Back left to right: Mitch Evans, Josh Stanton, Ben Williams, Bradley Powell, Lewis Quigley, Sean Grange, Joshua Jones<br />

Front left to right: Tom Jarman, Adam Gardiner, Lance Rennolds, Oliver Osborne-Shill, Curtis Florek, Michael Williams, Cameron Fry


Year 10 Football Team<br />

MAIDENHILL NEWS: SPRING <strong>2011</strong><br />

Back left to right: Mr Clements - Team Coach, Adam Gloyne, Jack Rochford, Max Mudway, Leon Thomas, Jack Wells, Greg Bonnette, Ben R Jones<br />

Front left to right: Luke Hodges, Ben D Jones, Jordan Bromwich, Liam Beachus, MacAulay Foster, Oliver Robins, Matthew Maryon<br />

Year 11 Football Team<br />

Back left to right: Mr Halliday - PE assistant, Andrew Maryon, Jamie Walker, Jack Merrett, Elliott Palmer,<br />

Mitch Cunningham, Shaun Redmond, George Fontaine, Sam Ash, Liam Jones, Peter Attwood<br />

Front left to right: Josh Quigley, Tyler Marsh, Matthew Turl, Daniel Carman, Elliott Waldron, Dean Francis, Daniel Weaver, Josh Hitchings<br />

11


12<br />

MAIDENHILL NEWS: SPRING <strong>2011</strong><br />

SPORTS<br />

NEWS<br />

Mr Joyce is <strong>School</strong> Sports co-ordinator at<br />

<strong>Maidenhill</strong>. This term he has managed to set<br />

up a variety of sports clubs with the help of<br />

grants from different organisations.<br />

These include:<br />

BADMINTON CLUB<br />

The Badminton Club runs on a Thursday after school<br />

from 3.00pm to 4.15pm. The school, through the <strong>School</strong>s<br />

Sports Partnership, employs a qualified badminton coach<br />

to run these sessions. Equipment has been provided<br />

for the initiative by the Youth Sports Trust. This includes<br />

30 rackets, 20 tubes of shuttle cocks and a Badminton<br />

Leader’s bag that holds organisational items. This is to<br />

aid the Young Badminton Leaders with the delivery of<br />

the project.<br />

The aim of this initiative is to try to get more young<br />

people playing an<br />

Olympic sport. The first<br />

session took place in<br />

the new sports hall on<br />

Thursday 10 February<br />

and attracted 28 students<br />

from Year 7 through to<br />

Year 11. A fantastic start!<br />

GYMNASTICS CLUB<br />

This club has been up and running since 2010 and has<br />

grown in popularity ever since. The school, through the<br />

<strong>School</strong>s Sport Partnership, managed to secure some<br />

additional funding and that has allowed the employment<br />

of a Level 3 gymnastics coach. Through her coaching and<br />

teaching she has encouraged girls and boys to attend on<br />

a regular basis and this has helped the club to grow. The<br />

club now averages about 15 students ranging from Year 7<br />

through to Year 11.<br />

This club runs on a Wednesday, after school, from<br />

3.00pm to 4.15pm inside the old gymnasium. The aim of<br />

this club is to have fun and through this approach to help<br />

students develop<br />

and improve their<br />

agility, balance and<br />

co-ordination.<br />

Activities include<br />

specific floor work<br />

which includes the<br />

basics of rolling<br />

and balancing.<br />

The second part of<br />

the session is more<br />

challenging with specific vaulting techniques which include<br />

forward and backward somersaults, twist and turns.<br />

GIRLS’ FOOTBALL<br />

Through “Active Gloucestershire”, funds were secured<br />

to run an eight week football programme for girls<br />

who attend <strong>Maidenhill</strong> <strong>School</strong>. This funding will allow<br />

the school to employ<br />

a Level 2 FA coach<br />

and to purchase<br />

vital equipment that<br />

will assist in the<br />

development of<br />

this club. The first<br />

session took place on<br />

Wednesday 17 February<br />

after school in the new sports hall. Activities include<br />

ball skills, positional play and team work. The sessions<br />

are run with the fun aspect in mind and the girls have<br />

the opportunity to put forward suggestions on how<br />

they would like to see the club run and to come up with<br />

ideas of how to keep the club sustainable in the future.<br />

Coaches from Stonehouse Football Club will be invited<br />

to attend some of the training sessions at <strong>Maidenhill</strong><br />

<strong>School</strong> and some of the girls may wish to take part in<br />

Stonehouse Football Club’s junior girls programme.<br />

SPORTS LEADERS<br />

Mr Joyce has also given students the chance to take<br />

responsibility by appointing Young Sports leaders<br />

to assist in activities for primary children which are<br />

organised at <strong>Maidenhill</strong>. Students help in a variety of<br />

roles including setting up courses for cross country,<br />

helping parents and visitors, and supporting the children<br />

in trying their best. He has also set up a new Sports<br />

Council with representatives from all year groups to<br />

help develop sport at <strong>Maidenhill</strong>.


This term we elected a new school<br />

council. Year 10 students had the<br />

chance to stand for president and<br />

we had eight candidates for the post.<br />

All the candidates had to stand up in<br />

front of the whole school and answer<br />

questions about what they felt they<br />

could bring to the role. Students voted<br />

for their Year Group representatives and<br />

separately for their choice of president.<br />

Alex Allcock was a convincing winner<br />

and all the other candidates are now<br />

members of the Upper Chamber of<br />

the <strong>School</strong> Council. The election was very<br />

well organised by Mr Drennan and<br />

his Year 11 assistants, Alice Organ,<br />

Amy Long and Jess Weaver, so that it was<br />

as much like a political election as possible.<br />

The Lower Chamber (Year 7 and 8)<br />

Toby Edghill<br />

Corra Bradford<br />

Firn Savannah<br />

Tiegan Bingham-Roberts<br />

George Knight<br />

Megan Hobson<br />

Harrison Clifford<br />

Jasmine Sweetland<br />

Molly Watkins<br />

Lauren Davies<br />

The Upper Chamber (Year 9 and 10)<br />

Aaron Eagles<br />

Alex Allcock<br />

Claire Freeman<br />

Jordan Wilson<br />

Kaya Underhill<br />

Luke Nurding<br />

Matthew Turl<br />

Michael Turl<br />

Millie Gardiner<br />

Neil Bond<br />

Dear Students,<br />

MAIDENHILL NEWS: SPRING <strong>2011</strong><br />

Year 7 students cast their vote under the watchful eye of Alice Organ.<br />

Some of the presidential candidates<br />

The full school council<br />

First of all thank you to everyone who voted for me and<br />

everyone who took the time to vote in break or lunch<br />

during the election, it’s really appreciated. Well done to<br />

everyone who stood for election.<br />

As the new president, I am looking forward to making a<br />

positive impact on the school and making you happy, so<br />

if you have any ideas and suggestions just come and talk<br />

to me or any other member of the school council, because<br />

they are all lovely people who want to make a difference.<br />

Alex Allcock 10DBA<br />

13


14<br />

MAIDENHILL NEWS: SPRING <strong>2011</strong><br />

Rotary Young<br />

Chef Competition<br />

The first round of this<br />

competition was held at<br />

<strong>Maidenhill</strong> in January <strong>2011</strong>.<br />

Contestants from <strong>Maidenhill</strong><br />

were: Ben Williams, Bradley<br />

Powell, Michael Turl, Rosie<br />

Meyer and Millie Gardiner.<br />

Miss Fry was very proud of the<br />

attitude and achievement of all<br />

the students taking part. The winning student going<br />

through to the next round was Millie Gardiner with<br />

her menu of Salmon, Spaghetti and Crumble followed<br />

closely by Rosie Meyer with her menu of Risotto and<br />

Fruit Tartlets.<br />

"In February, I attended the second<br />

round of the Rotary Club cooking<br />

competition. There were seven<br />

of us all together and we had to<br />

cook a three course meal in two<br />

hours. I was very nervous about<br />

the competition but as it got to the<br />

mid-point it became really fun. I am<br />

hoping to do this next year as it is a<br />

good experience."<br />

By Millie Gardiner 9DWA<br />

Let’s Get Cooking<br />

Rachel Adlam, who is an ex-<strong>Maidenhill</strong> student, is now a Year 3<br />

teacher at Lakefield <strong>School</strong>.<br />

Recently Miss Fry invited Year 3 students from<br />

Lakefield <strong>School</strong> in Frampton to <strong>Maidenhill</strong> for<br />

two sessions of “Let's Get Cooking”.<br />

With their teachers and volunteer helpers they<br />

produced a mouth-watering range of Chinese food<br />

including wantans (a type of Chinese dumpling),<br />

soup, spring rolls and prawn toast which they<br />

displayed artistically before devouring.<br />

As part of their role, governors often come into school<br />

to learn about what is going on in lessons.<br />

Governor, John West, came along to help with the<br />

cooking. “I was delighted to be able to take part in<br />

“Let’s Get Cooking” and thoroughly enjoyed working<br />

with the students and seeing the amazing results<br />

produced in such a short space of time. It was great<br />

to see the enjoyment and enthusiasm on the faces<br />

of these young people. I know they are looking<br />

forward to Miss Fry visiting their school to teach them<br />

some more culinary skills.”<br />

Charity Lunch<br />

In February a group of eight Year 11 students who are<br />

especially talented in Hospitality and Catering took on<br />

a project with local chef, Robert Rees, to support his<br />

charity The Wiggly Worm. To help raise awareness of this<br />

charity, which exists to improve health, well-being and<br />

self esteem amongst the vunerable or disadvantaged, the<br />

students prepared and served a top class lunch to 20<br />

invited guests at the Cotswold Food Centre at Cirencester<br />

Agricultural College.<br />

Students had to consider health and safety as well as<br />

creating a delicious three course lunch of sushi and canapés<br />

followed by rump steak with dauphinoise potatoes and hot<br />

chocolate fondant with cinnamon and orange sauce.<br />

Jordan Tiley felt that good team work helped to make the<br />

event successful and she learned a lot about how to plan<br />

and present dishes. She was surprised how hard they had<br />

Chef Robert Rees demonstrates presentation techniques to our Catering students.<br />

to work and how much pressure was put on to<br />

get everything done quickly. The response from guests was very good and the event received lots of publicity for The Wiggly<br />

Worm in local newspapers and radio and in Cotswold Life magazine.


Breakfast Treat<br />

On Tuesday 8th February, our Asdan group provided<br />

staff members of the school with fried breakfasts; they<br />

watched us while we cooked. The staff members we cooked<br />

the breakfast for were Mr Drennan, Mr Watson, Mrs Halliday,<br />

Mr Wade, Mrs Wilson, Mr Day, Miss Fry and Mr Clements.<br />

We all had stations to work on, and first I had to cut all of<br />

the buns in half for the butties. Then I had to fry all the eggs; I<br />

managed not to break any, but one broke in the sandwich so<br />

I had to re-do it.<br />

We all had to cook in the first lesson, and then the teachers<br />

arrived in the second, so it would be quicker for them to get<br />

their breakfast in time for break. I found the cooking quite fun<br />

as we had the experience of working together and I think we<br />

coped well. We followed the orders correctly on the menus<br />

for each individual that we made in an earlier lesson.<br />

We prepared a budget sheet to see how much it would cost<br />

to buy the food and Mrs Uzzell and Mrs Wood bought it.<br />

After the cooking we got to eat our food too and it was nice.<br />

We had to wash up at the end though, but we all managed to<br />

get the catering room clean just into a few minutes of break.<br />

At the end we asked the teachers for donations towards the<br />

cooking and work done for them.<br />

By Sophie Thorley 11MMA<br />

Mr Wade,<br />

Mrs Halliday,<br />

Mr Drennan<br />

and Mr Day<br />

enjoy a fried<br />

breakfast.<br />

Homework Club<br />

Homework Club<br />

is a quiet place to<br />

do your homework<br />

and there is always<br />

someone there to<br />

help you. The staff<br />

that help are:<br />

Mrs Darlow,<br />

Mrs Jerram,<br />

Mrs Humphries,<br />

Mr Haywood, Miss Bennett and Mrs Jones.<br />

Homework Club is on a Tuesday, Wednesday and<br />

Thursday after school. There are two rooms that we use.<br />

One is a quiet room for homework that you do on<br />

paper or in your book and the other room is for<br />

using the computers. After you have done all of your<br />

homework you get a drink and some biscuits.<br />

By Chelsey Peck 9CST<br />

MAIDENHILL NEWS: SPRING <strong>2011</strong><br />

Talk by<br />

Holocaust Survivor<br />

Myself and<br />

a few<br />

others were<br />

extremely lucky<br />

to be offered a<br />

once in a lifetime<br />

opportunity:<br />

to interview<br />

and listen to a Holocaust survivor Ruzzi<br />

Oppenheimer.<br />

This was a valuable experience as I was able to learn<br />

about his fascinating life story. He told us how being a<br />

Jew, as well as living in Germany during the Nazi Period,<br />

had a major influence and effect upon his life and<br />

childhood.<br />

Ruzzi Oppenheimer offered this talk at Cirencester<br />

College as part of the Holocaust Memorial Day. His talk<br />

was his memoirs and not just another testimony of the<br />

holocaust but a valuable historical experience. I found<br />

this opportunity amazing and very insightful. To me,<br />

this chance was astonishing to hear him speak movingly<br />

of his personal experiences of the Holocaust as well as<br />

being able to say that I have met and had a photograph<br />

taken with a survivor of the holocaust.<br />

Mr. Oppenheimer was a young teenager during World<br />

War 2 and was placed in the notorious Belsen camp.<br />

He lost his parents and members of his family, but<br />

happily survived himself and now devotes himself to<br />

giving talks to schoolchildren and others in Britain and<br />

the Netherlands.<br />

His brother, Paul, who was awarded the MBE in 1990<br />

for services to British industry, has written a graphic<br />

account of the family's experiences, aptly titled ‘From<br />

Belsen to Buckingham Palace’ which I bought for myself<br />

to read at home.<br />

This opportunity was very beneficial, especially to<br />

someone like myself who hopes to study A level and<br />

degree level History and then become a secondary<br />

school teacher, teaching History.<br />

I would like to thank Ms Smith, Miss Cranton and Miss<br />

Bell for accompanying us and offering this amazing<br />

chance in life.<br />

By Kelly Loveridge 11RPE<br />

15


16<br />

MAIDENHILL NEWS: SPRING <strong>2011</strong><br />

Citizenship Projects<br />

In Years 10 and 11, students complete a GCSE Citizenship course. As part of this<br />

they need to choose a good cause and promote it by fund raising or informing<br />

people about their cause and the issues around it. Here are some of the projects<br />

they have done this year.<br />

Kelly Loveridge,<br />

Hollie Jones<br />

and Roxanne Day,<br />

are arranging a<br />

sponsored walk<br />

to raise funds for,<br />

and awareness of, St Roses' Smile Appeal. The Smile Appeal<br />

aims to raise funds to improve the daily lives of disabled<br />

children. St Roses is a “non-maintained” school; this means<br />

it is funded by a charitable body not the local authority. The<br />

school receives money from the local authority to educate<br />

each child but no money is available for school improvements<br />

such as the building etc. The Smile Appeal, as a charity,<br />

is responsible for providing these things and therefore have<br />

to fund raise to make sure each child gets the opportuni-<br />

Children in Need<br />

As part of a Year 10<br />

Citizenship project we went<br />

on a sponsored bike ride<br />

on the 27th November<br />

2010. The trip took four<br />

hours to complete and<br />

we travelled over 40 miles<br />

for our charity, Children<br />

in Need. We chose this<br />

charity because it is a well<br />

known charity and we thought it would help children. Also<br />

the time of year was good because “Pudsey Bear day” was<br />

just before the date we did the bike ride.<br />

We started at Stonehouse, then rode along the cycle path<br />

to Nailsworth, then to Horsley, then through Wotton-<br />

Under-Edge, through Stinchcome which brought us out<br />

to North Nibley, then on to Dursley, then Cam, through<br />

Coaley, then Frocester, and to Eastington and finally back<br />

to Stonehouse.<br />

We raised a total of £66 for Children in Need.<br />

It would be great if more people in the school took part<br />

in charitable events. It would give <strong>Maidenhill</strong> <strong>School</strong> a<br />

good reputation.<br />

By Jon Kean, Sam Jones and Curtis Carter<br />

Year 10<br />

ties they need. We wanted to raise awareness of this and<br />

to raise money to contribute to the charity, therefore we<br />

have decided to perform a sponsored walk to help the best<br />

that we can. We are completing this walk from Stonehouse<br />

to Stroud and back. The money goes straight to St Rose’s<br />

school either through me or via the Just Giving website<br />

where you can easily make a donation. We will be doing our<br />

walk during March, but the donation website will stay open<br />

so it’s never too late to make a difference. Please help us by<br />

fundraising as it will be much appreciated not just by us but<br />

by all of the children that attend St Rose’s. The web address<br />

to make donations is<br />

www.justgiving.com/Kelly-Loveridge<br />

Many thanks<br />

Kelly Loveridge 11RPE<br />

Help for<br />

Heroes<br />

On the last day of the school term in 2010, we did a<br />

cake sale at break time for our Citizenship coursework.<br />

We did the event in aid of the injured soldiers charity<br />

‘Help for Heroes’ and we sold out in no time and raised<br />

approximately £20. We chose this charity as it seems<br />

both relevant and important. With budget cuts to armed<br />

forces, the men and women on the front line, who fight<br />

for us and our country are not equipped and aided as<br />

well as they should be. Although the amount of money<br />

we raised wasn’t huge, it was a donation and every little<br />

helps. We would like to thank all of you who bought any<br />

cakes, your money has gone to a good cause.<br />

By Harry Vallender, Dan Thornhill<br />

and Ben Norton, Year 11


For our Citizenship<br />

coursework we decided<br />

to raise awareness of<br />

NSPCC and ChildLine.<br />

It involved a lot of<br />

organising, hard work<br />

and time put in to get<br />

our final outcome.<br />

We had to email and<br />

interact with many<br />

people to get the permission and time to present our<br />

presentation. For the presentation that we created, we<br />

used the websites provided by the NSPCC to get facts,<br />

information and photos about both charities. From then<br />

we had to carry on independently with little help, to<br />

create and organise the presentation for the day of the<br />

Year 9 assembly on 3rd November 2010.<br />

We chose the NSPCC and ChildLine because we feel<br />

they are necessary charities and are supporting a good<br />

cause. They deal with children both of our age and the<br />

ages of people we presented this information to.<br />

With this awareness we feel we have contributed<br />

towards tackling abuse and neglect of children in the<br />

UK. Also from our survey results we found that most<br />

Year 9 students learnt something from our presentation.<br />

We would like to thank Miss Eager, Mrs Walker and<br />

Mr Howlett for their help.<br />

By Reannan Kean (11ROD) and Charlotte Rigley (11GAP)<br />

MAIDENHILL NEWS: SPRING <strong>2011</strong><br />

Combat Stress<br />

This year we are doing a one year short course in citizenship. As part<br />

of the coursework we had to organise and run an event to raise<br />

money for a charity of our choice. We drew up a list of possible charities<br />

and a list of possible activities and looked at the pros and cons of all of<br />

them. The charity we chose to support was Combat Stress; a charity which<br />

supports the mental welfare of ex-servicemen and women in the UK as<br />

well as Iraq and Afghanistan. Many suffer with PTSD (post traumatic stress<br />

disorder) which often leads to anxiety and manic depression. This has a<br />

massive impact on their own and their family’s lives and in many tragic<br />

cases, suicide seems to be the only escape.<br />

We considered a sponsored silence, a non-uniform day, a car wash and<br />

a few other things but in the end we decided on a coffee morning. Our<br />

coffee morning took place on Thursday 3rd February between 9:10 and<br />

10:30 in which a short DVD was shown about how Combat Stress has<br />

helped different people and their families. We think the event was successful as we raised £40.47 and also managed to raise awareness of<br />

how the charity works and that it has saved many lives. We would like to thank the guests that attended for donating<br />

so generously.<br />

By Kate Lapidge and Lee Dickson, Year 11<br />

Sue Ryder Care<br />

I’m raising money for a local<br />

charity called Sue Ryder<br />

Care. I decided I wanted to<br />

help a charity in my local<br />

community and felt Sue<br />

Ryder was the best one for<br />

me to raise for. I first went to their shop in the High Street<br />

to ask about the charity and what it does.<br />

Sue Ryder Care was explained to me by Jane, who<br />

explained the charity’s role in modern society as well as<br />

its history and how it all began. They were set up to help<br />

people dying from cancer and provide hospices for them.<br />

They have developed into providing help for all people<br />

in the last stages of life, and also curing illnesses that can<br />

change people’s lives. Their current aim is to upgrade from<br />

their historical buildings to more modern buildings that<br />

won’t cost the charity so much to keep in the original<br />

condition.<br />

I decided to make a picture grid and ask staff to help.<br />

All they had to do was pick a picture, pay a pound and<br />

they could win £10 pounds! The eventual winner was Miss<br />

Budding and she decided to donate her prize to the cause<br />

so I raised a total of £20.<br />

I find raising money for charity a good use of my spare<br />

time (after all the homework and revision) as it feels great<br />

knowing that you have helped. I strongly recommend<br />

helping a charity that means something to you as its so<br />

simple, but yet so helpful.<br />

By Jordan Allen 11GAP<br />

17


18<br />

MAIDENHILL NEWS: SPRING <strong>2011</strong><br />

CRAFT CLUB<br />

This year there<br />

is a new<br />

Craft Club run by<br />

Mrs Davis who<br />

is our school ICT<br />

Technician. This<br />

takes place in Mrs<br />

Butcher’s art room.<br />

The people that<br />

take part in this<br />

are Abi, Charlotte,<br />

Lottie, Lamorran,<br />

Melissa, Kayleigh, Ellie, Jessica and Kelsey.<br />

We do a wide range of activities. So far we have<br />

made 3d foldable star books, advent calendars and<br />

bracelet charms using shrink plastic.<br />

We meet every Thursday from 3.00 until 4.15.<br />

We would like to see more people turn up on<br />

Thursdays. If you want to join speak to Mrs. Butcher<br />

and Mrs. Davis.<br />

By Charlotte Parsons and Abi Jones 7DKE<br />

DOG<br />

SHOWING<br />

Dog Showing is something I like to do in my spare time. You learn to handle the dog and<br />

show it off, which is harder than it sounds. You need to run, walk or jog at a pace so the<br />

dog can keep strutting. You need to stand the dog straight (with their legs square) before<br />

and after you run.<br />

My mother and father train dogs and that’s why we have five of them! I show a dog called<br />

Abi. She is just 7 and has had a puppy.<br />

When you compete in shows you can win rosettes. These are ribbons that are certain colours<br />

and have your placement on them. For example red could be first place, blue second and<br />

yellow third, depending on the show.<br />

Exemption Shows are where you can practise showing your dog. I go to these on Saturdays.<br />

I still haven’t got a first place; I have been second every time so far in the 12 – 16 years<br />

section.<br />

On March 11th I’m going to Crufts, which is the biggest dog show in the world. I’m actually<br />

entering this show which will be my first real show! Crufts is so big that you can watch it<br />

on telly, on More4 if you’re interested. To win the Best in Show the dog must first win their<br />

class – in my case its Bitch Border Collie. Then the dog has to beat the other winners in their<br />

breed and in their group. Finally they have to compete against all the best dogs which is<br />

shown on live TV.<br />

I do dog showing because I think its fun and challenging. I enjoy getting the rosettes and<br />

trying to beat my record. My highest so far is 2nd and my lowest is 5th. In future I hope to<br />

win so many they cover my bedroom wall and try to do my best at Crufts.<br />

By Daniel Woodcock 8LBE<br />

ARMY CADETS<br />

I<br />

have chosen to write about Army<br />

Cadets because it is my favourite<br />

hobby and my aim is to get people<br />

interested in what we do there and<br />

to tell you about the fun we have,<br />

so more people will join Stonehouse<br />

Platoon; we need you!!<br />

Army Cadets is on every Tuesday<br />

7pm-9pm and its loads of fun for<br />

ages 12-18. There are many activities<br />

you can do, including sentries and duties of a sentry, rules of safe<br />

handling for weapons, marksmanship principals, first aid, the country<br />

code, badges of rank, arms services and physical training, once you<br />

learn all this you will understand what it means.<br />

There are many interesting and fun places to visit with the Army<br />

Cadets such as the tank museum where you get to see real tanks<br />

and learn a lot of information about them. There is a camp weekend<br />

which is absolute fun; you sleep out for two nights from Friday to<br />

Sunday and learn your basics. On Remembrance Day we march along<br />

Stonehouse High Street and lay a wreath on the green. These are just<br />

a few of the things that we do.<br />

If you decide to join Army Cadets, when you have paid your one off<br />

fee you receive a lot of good standard clothes which include: 2 pairs<br />

of camouflage trousers, 2 camouflage jackets, 2 brown t-shirts, 1<br />

fleece, 1 camouflage overcoat and a beret. The only things you have<br />

to provide yourself are army boots.<br />

If you are interested in joining Stonehouse Platoon then here are some<br />

details. On the internet search for Army Cadet Force Gloucestershire,<br />

click on B company then on Stonehouse Platoon. This will tell you<br />

about cadets and the details of the address: ACF Hut, Oldends Lane,<br />

Stonehouse Glos. Telephone: 0845 6007799.<br />

Army Cadets is a great way to make new friends and build up your<br />

confidence, you also try things that you would never try in every<br />

day life, I hope this has got you interested and I hope to see you at<br />

Stonehouse Platoon.<br />

By Melissa Damsell 8RWA<br />

At Crufts, Daniel managed to get 3rd place in his class, had a professional<br />

photo taken and received useful comments from the judge.


BBC<br />

Musicians<br />

Masterclass<br />

Liam and Jack with Tinchy Stryder<br />

O<br />

n Thursday 3rd February, Year 11<br />

student Liam Donnelly went to the<br />

Abbey Road Studios in London for a BBC<br />

Musicians’ Masterclass.<br />

“I went up to London with Jack Williams who left<br />

<strong>Maidenhill</strong> in 2008.<br />

We were invited to go after we had been spotted<br />

performing some rapping at a show in Gloucester Park<br />

last year. We travelled up on the train together to the<br />

studios where we had a fantastic day. We met some<br />

well-known people from Radio 1 and television including<br />

Tinchy Stryder, Jo Wiley, Zane Lowe, Tim Westwood and<br />

Target. We also met producer, Calvin Harris.<br />

We had sessions with tips and pointers from some of<br />

the best people in the music industry. We could ask<br />

questions such as how can you get your music heard.<br />

One of the best ways is to get your stuff out on the<br />

Internet.<br />

I have made a CD of my work and was able to<br />

give copies to people from Sony and Columbia Records<br />

as well as the DJs we worked with. It was awesome.”<br />

Liam Donnelly 11GAP<br />

I<br />

MAIDENHILL NEWS: SPRING <strong>2011</strong><br />

Dance Club<br />

Emily Chandler, Megan Hobson and<br />

Jess Carman with Elle Woodward at Dance Club<br />

After school on a Monday there is a Dance<br />

Club. From 3 pm until 4pm Year 11 student<br />

Elle Woodward teaches a group of Year 7 and 8s.<br />

Everyone has lots of fun learning different moves<br />

and how to perform them. The club is normally<br />

held in the hall or in the dance studio.<br />

When we first joined dance club, Elle was friendly<br />

and helpful because we were not very confident.<br />

We did lots of small dances to upbeat songs like<br />

“Grease”. At the moment we are working on two<br />

songs: “Bust the windows” from “Glee” and one by<br />

“Queen”. I think they are good songs to dance to<br />

and we all keep in time.<br />

I enjoy going to Dance Club because Elle helps us<br />

if we go wrong or get stuck. I can have fun with<br />

my friends while doing something active. Elle is<br />

thinking of entering us into a Dance Festival where<br />

lots of other teams dance. We might do a show<br />

at <strong>Maidenhill</strong> so everyone can see what we have<br />

learned. We are all grateful to Elle for teaching<br />

us and I’m looking forward to what we will do in<br />

the future.<br />

By Emily Chandler 8RWA<br />

Drama Group<br />

go to Drama Group on a Wednesday from 3 pm to 4.45. I enjoy it because it gives<br />

you a chance to hang out with other people and have fun. It’s a great club to go to<br />

if you love acting and having fun. We play games and do acting and performing.<br />

We also work with students from the Shrubberies Special <strong>School</strong>. We can help them<br />

to understand more about Drama. This is a good chance to experience working in<br />

groups with different sorts of people. I have learned a lot about working together and<br />

improved my acting skills. If you love acting you should think about joining Drama Club.<br />

By Hannah Dickson 8RWA<br />

19


MAIDENHILL NEWS: SPRING <strong>2011</strong><br />

Doing the Arts Award<br />

The Arts Award is a qualification which anyone can work towards. The Bronze Arts Award is split into four different parts;<br />

the first part is where you can improve a skill or learn a new skill. For this I learnt how to play the drums. I was taught to<br />

play them by one of my friends. It has helped me to be more confident when performing in front of large numbers of people.<br />

For Part B I watched a pantomime that was organised by Fairgame Theatre Company. It was a modern version of Cinderella<br />

and was very interesting and fun to see. In my next part I wrote about my hero in the arts; I liked researching about my arts<br />

hero and about their life becoming what they have now. My final part was to teach somebody a skill that I already know.<br />

I taught my brother to play a circus toy - the Diablo. This was fun because he was enthusiastic about wanting to learn.<br />

I enjoyed learning and passing my Bronze Arts Award as now when I apply for a job I can put my qualification on my CV. I am<br />

hoping to go on to achieve the Silver and Gold Arts Awards.<br />

By Dan Tyrrell 9DWA<br />

<strong>Maidenhill</strong> Friends<br />

<strong>Maidenhill</strong> Friends would love to hear from any<br />

parents / carers who are able to help out with<br />

fund-raising or refreshments at school events,<br />

even if you can just help on the odd occasion.<br />

Contact:<br />

Paula Trevenna (Chair) on 01452 423694<br />

or John West (Secretary) on 01453 823825<br />

We look forward to hearing from you!<br />

Paula Trevenna<br />

Chair<br />

Arts Award Success<br />

Some of the Year 9 students who achieved their Bronze Arts Awards<br />

All 30 students who have been<br />

studying for their Arts Award, led by<br />

Miss Machers, were delighted to learn<br />

that they have passed! The moderator<br />

from Trinity Guild Hall, who visited<br />

school to assess their work, judged<br />

them all to have achieved their Bronze<br />

Award, with Year 12 student, Melissa<br />

Prosser, going one better and achieving<br />

her Silver Award.<br />

If you are interested in doing the Arts<br />

Award, email mmachers@maidenhill.<br />

gloucs.sch.uk<br />

Open to people aged 11 - 25. You can<br />

work towards Bronze, Silver and Gold<br />

Awards. Find out more information on<br />

their website: www.artsaward.org.uk<br />

Stonehouse Youth Theatre<br />

The Stonehouse Intermediate Youth Theatre is an afterschool<br />

club where you learn key skills for Drama and the<br />

Performing Arts. It takes place in the school hall or the new<br />

drama studio.<br />

In the SYT we do a number of activities such as miming, switch<br />

screens and freeze frames and we have put on performances<br />

such as “A Christmas Carol” which everyone enjoyed. We start<br />

with games to warm us up and then we set to work using our<br />

imagination. At the moment we are doing our own plays in<br />

groups about gossip and how it travels and changes.<br />

Mr Stimson started the club some years ago and it is now run by<br />

Nicola who comes every week to organise it. <strong>Maidenhill</strong> students<br />

are joined by some of the students from the Shrubberies Special<br />

<strong>School</strong> who work with us.<br />

Why do we do this? It’s fun, we make new friends and meet new<br />

people, learn new skills and gain experience. If you would like<br />

to join ask Mr Stimson for a form.<br />

By Stephanie Bagnall 8LBE

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