Peacock Press November 2011.pdf - Belvoir High School

SUMMER TERMJULY 2010Christmas 2011WELCOME TO YEAR 7 AND GOODBYE YEAR 11BELVOIR HIGH SCHOOL NEW YEAR 7 PUPILS2011 YEAR 11 LEAVERSBARONESS BYFORD VISITSIn early November, Belvoir HighSchool hosted a talk from amember of the House of Lordsto encourage students toengage more with the politicaland parliamentary process.Baroness Byford, who is thespokesperson for Food,Farming and Rural affairs, talked toYear 10 triple science studentsabout the work and role of theHouse of Lords. She also talkedabout her role as a scientistadvising on government policy, thiswas followed by a question andanswer session on theparliamentary process and life atWestminster.This was a fantastic opportunity forour students to interact withsomeone who knows theparliamentary system inside out, asit can sometimes seem farremoved from their daily lives.

BELVOIR’S YEAR SO FAR—MR AINSWORTHI am delighted to read throughthis years final copy of thePeacock Press. So much seems tohave happened within the schoolin a short space of time.We began the year proudlycelebrating the success of our lastyears Y11 GCSE pupils. As a group72% of the year achieved 5 ormore GCSE’s grade C’s includingEnglish and Maths, which was thethird best performance by aschool in Leicestershire, LeicesterCity and Rutland. Just as pleasing,has been that in the last 2 years99% of pupils have achieved atleast 1 grade C.The 1 st September arrived and wewelcomed 134 children into Year7, suddenly the school felt smaller,than it had in the summer. WeSTAFF NEWShope that these pupils are assuccessful and enjoy their time atBelvoir High School as much as ourleavers,At the end of Half Term we saidgoodbye to Miss Stark who hasbeen an excellent English Teacherand Head of Department for 15years. I know many current andformer pupils will have very fondmemories of her inspirationalteaching, and we wish her all thebest for the future.There have been so many fantasticachievements by our currentpupils during the recent months.The rich range of activities showsthe vibrancy of the school and inthe Peacock Press you will read ofevents ranging from EuropeanWeek of Languages to CookeryCompetitions, and not forgettingthe efforts of the pupils which wehave celebrated through the newGold Awards.As staff we were upset to hear ofthe death of Beth Cottam ourWork Related Learning Coordinator.Beth started at BelvoirHigh in January of this year butwas tragically diagnosed withcancer soon after starting, andhas been absent since. She hashad little contact with thecurrent pupils and therefore wetook the decision to make nopublic announcement. Such sadnews makes us all value ourcurrent health and I hope that allof our pupils take heed of theRoad Safety article in thisedition.We are all looking forward to theChristmas festivities and as aschool we wish everyone aMerry Christmas and a HappyNew Year.Mr AinsworthActing PrincipalBeth Cottam – remembered by Paul AinsworthIt is with great sadness that I report the news that BethCottam, our Careers and Work Related Learning Advisorpassed away last month. I recall when I first met Beth at herinterview where her warmth and personality shonethrough. Despite only being in school for a short time, Bethdedicated her time to give expert guidance to students andhelped to direct their career paths in a job that I know shetruly enjoyed. Staff were devastated to hear that she hadlost the battle with her illness. Rev Dr Mark Smith(Governor) led a short time of reflection for staff toremember Beth. A fund raising event for Cancer ResearchUK will take place in the new year.The boys have it!Congratulations to Dr Pennington, Mr Wilson, MrBarratt and Mrs Lloyd on the safe arrival of theirbabies!NVQ SuccessCongratulations to MIssClarricoates and Mr Nespolion completion of their NVQlevel 3 in Business andAdministration.

YOUNG CHEF COMPETITION 2011/2012Belvoir High School hosted aclub competition for the annualRotary Young Chef Competitiono n S a t u r d a y 1 2 t hNovember. Seven keen YoungChefs and their supportersarrived early Saturday morningto take part in thecompetition. Their brief was toplan, prepare and present ahealthy 2 course lunch for 2people spending no more than£5 per person on ingredients.Visiting judges (Jenny Foreman,Linda Moore and Rhona Tomlyn)and Brian Sollitt from the RotaryClub watched as they sliced, diced,sautéed, baked, steamed,garnished and served a wonderfulselection of dishes. Competitorsthen had to serve their dishes torestaurant standard using theirown tablecloths, cutlery, menusand table decorations.Judges were impressed with thestandard and quality of dishes andspent a long time deciding theeventual winner. Each entrant wasgiven individual feedback by thejudges. Jenny Foreman announcedthe winner as Tom Mallender andTom was presented with hisCertificate and Chef’s Hat by DavidSharp and Eric Sylt (Rotary Club).As well as representing Belvoir HighSchool in the District Finals inLeicester Tom also wins amasterclass with the Head Chef ofStapleford Park Hotel, DavidEllams. Well done Tom! ShouldTom progress to the National Finals,part of the overall prize is a tripsponsored by Filippo Berio(Olive Oil producers) to Tuscany inItaly. Congratulations to HollyHickling, Abi Watkins, Danni Harris,Annie Boothroyd, Ben Holt and BillPalmer for providing stiffcompetition and producing topclass dishes.SEED TO PLATE SUCCESSSix of our Gifted and Talented Scientists have won a fantasticprize in a challenging agricultural competition. The studentswere given a crop of winter wheat to look after and managethe application of fertiliser throughout the growing season.Along the way they had to present to Dr Chris Green, one ofthe UK’s top agricultural Scientists who praised theprofessionalism of our students presentation and wasimpressed by the extent of their knowledge and enthusiasm.The students ploughed ahead with a scientific approach tothe competition, and they reaped the rewards. Belvoir HighSchool came up top of the crops in the competition with thebest yield, beating John Ferneley College and Long FieldSchool to the top prize of a visit to Syngenta’s WheatGenetics centre in Cambridge.

FUNDS RAISED FOR LIFE SAVING EQUIPMENTPublic Access DefibrillatorWe have spent the last year raising money to purchase apublic access defibrillator. With generous help from TheVale of Belvoir Lions and Martin Fagan of CommunityHeartbeat, we now have our defibrillator installed. Traininghas been taking place at school so that members of staffare now confident to use the defibrillator should the needarise. Students in the First Aid club will soon also be taughtto use the equipment. We will be running more trainingsessions for anyone else who is interested in the springterm.EUROPEAN WEEK OF LANGUAGESAt the end of September wecelebrated the European Week ofLanguages in school which tied inwith the annual European day oflanguages on the 26th September.In the Modern Foreign Languagesdepartment pupils took part in avariety of events and activities andother departments such as PSHCEand Drama also got involved withlessons centred around the themeof languages of the world and theculture of these languages.Year 9 pupils visited NottinghamForest football club to interviewGuy Moussi, a French speakingfootballer. The pupils asked Guyquestions in French and were askedto repeat his answer back in Englishto check they had understood. Thepupils were also interviewed for theNottingham Evening Post and havefeatured in the club's match dayprogramme. The pupils reallyenjoyed the experience of usingFrench in a real context.Year 11 GCSE French pupilsaccompanied Miss Allen and Mrs.Shelton to Nottingham afterschool on Tuesday of thelanguages week to visit anexhibition at the Nottinghamcontemporary created by artistsinspired by the work of JeanGenet. This was followed by ameal at a French restaurant in thecity. The pupils had theopportunity to order their foodand drinks in French and took partin a French quiz run by our friendlyFrench waiter Fred! All the platesof food were quickly consumed asthe food was truly delicious!Year 7 pupils had the opportunityto complete European Passportswith flags and coins representingeach European country and pupilsin all year groups had anopportunity to try out some funquizzes including a cryptic musicquiz.Several classes also had theopportunity to do tasks involvingour French partner school in Parisincluding video blogging and writingletters to their new penpals.Lots of form groups entered into thespirit of the week by trying out therather challenging form quiz. Mysteryteachers from the school hadrecorded themselves speaking in aforeign language and the pupils hadto work out which teacher wasspeaking and which language it was!Mr. Carter did a particularly goodsentence in Japanese!The canteen also participated bycooking up some lovely Europeanthemed food, every day wasdifferent and included specialitiesfrom Austria and Spain amongstothers. Thank you to all the canteenstaff who helped with this.Many thanks to all staff and pupilswho took part during this week asthis helped to make it such afantastic experience for so manypeople! Miss Allen

OPEN WEEK SUCCESSESRecord Numbers at Open WeekYear 9 Pupils acted as guides and ambassadors, showingprospective pupils and parents around the school duringour Open Week at the end of September. Record breakinginterest in the school meant an additional morning wasadded to the schedule with more than 300 familiesattending presentations from the Senior LeadershipTeam. Paul Ainsworth, Acting Principal commended theguides for their professionalism, enthusiasm and stamina(!) saying “we were delighted that there was so muchinterest in the school and you have played an importantpart in the success of our Open Week, we have receivednothing but praise for the tours you gave”.Open Evening Success at MV16Melton Vale Post 16 Centre opened its doors to current Year11 students who are considering moving on to highereducation in September 2012. With 2011 results puttingthem in the top 10% of Sixth Forms nationally, MV16 is thenatural next step for students wishing to continue theirstudies as a stepping stone to either employment or highereducation. For anyone wishing to find out more about thecourses on offer at MV16. ,email contactus@mv16.org.uk,visit the websitewww.mv16.org.uk or speak to Lynsay Spencer fromConnexions (in school every Thursday).GCSE PRESENTATION EVENINGDressed for success and receivingwell deserved accolades for theirachievements, last year’s Year 11students returned for theircertificate presentationevening. Jonathan Sherwin,Executive Principal along withmember of teaching staffwelcomed our students back,reiterating “not only have doneyourselves proud, you have alsodone Belvoir High Schoolproud”. Presenting thecertificates, Bryan Lovegrove,Chair of Governors said “Your hardwork, dedication and effort meansyou have given yourselves thebest possible opportunity tosucceed”.5A*-C (including English andMaths) 72% a (nine percentagepoint increase on 2010 results)and 5A*-C 83% (seven percentagepoint increase on 2010 results).ROAD SAFETY AWARENESSA pupil from school was recently injured by a passing car shortly after getting off the school bus. Now the dark nights andmornings are upon us, I thought I would take the opportunity to remind all pupils on some key road safety points.• Find a safe place to cross the road - if you can't find a proper crossing then make sure you can see clearly along theroads in both directions and that drivers can see you clearly.• DON'T cross on sharp bends, before the top of a hill or walk out from a row of parked vehicles.• Take plenty of time to look around for traffic before you step out, and listen carefully in case something's coming thatyou can't see from where you're standing.• When you cross the road make sure you're concentrating! It's easy to get distracted if you'relistening to music on your headphones, or chatting and texting on your mobile.• Walk straight across the road - don't run! Keep looking and listening while you cross.Thank you for your continuing support. Mr Collins Assistant Principal

GOLD AWARD WINNERSEach term teachers will nominate pupils that they believe deserve a Gold Award. This term the following pupils were presentedwith a Gold Award Certificate:Jasmin SouthamLaura ReynoldsBeth MawbyCoral ShieldsChloe ParkerOllie TowleBen BridgerElla MendhamMegan AblewhiteJessica WongJames BrowningEmily WetherillJennifer SmalleySamantha WaitEmily SmithEmily SewellTom EvansHarry SheridanWill PorterFreddie HeathcoteJames PeacePeter MumfordJessica DantonBen BrowneRichard ChandlerBecky ClarkeIsobelle GrahamHannah DruryHarry GeachEmily JarvisAmelia GribbyShaun ScottJames KealCharlie HillOliver BeveridgeDaisy BarnesAnna WrightRebecca SmalleyAnna LyonsChloe I’AnsonTom MallenderStan StannardCharlotte FowlerJess WalkerJohn FlemmingLeah JohnsonNathaniel FinchMegan BowenSpencer BroughtonHeidi CoyChris Morgan SmithTiffany ClarkeCaine ReaderCameron CroftAbigail DennyGeorge CrowtherChristian Anderson