NEWSLETTER - John Colet School

NEWSLETTER
A Specialist Humanities College
Issue No. 103
Inside this issue:News from the Head
Farwell and Welcome
Polite Reminder
Department News
Maths Enrichment
Toyota Stem Challenge
Brass Parade
Primary Liaison
Halton Literacy Help
French Gouter
Sports News
After School Homework
Clubs
May 2013
NEWS FROM THE HEAD
Farewell
Sadly, we are saying farewell to a number of staff this month.
Mrs Henderson has been teaching English for 32 years with 15 years being
at John Colet. Mrs Henderson is passionate about English and I know that
this comes across to her students. As well as being a dedicated Form
Tutor, Mrs Henderson has been involved in numerous extra-curricular
activities including raising money for Book Aid International during World
Book Day, organising Poetry Competitions for National Poetry Day and
running the Scholastic Book Club.
Mr Underdown has spent this year with us teaching Geography. We wish
him well on his move to Canada and his new career in forestry work.
Mr Howarth has been one of our caretakers this year, working mainly with
our evening lettings. We wish him well as a mentor for teenage students.
Welcome
We welcome Mr Ian King as Director of Personnel and Resources. Mr King
joins us as part of the Senior Leadership Team restructure from September.
Mr King will be our Safeguarding Designated Person from September taking
over from Mr Date; the handover will take place over the next half-term.
Polite Reminder - the following is very
important to us

Letters will shortly be sent out regarding
out of date/or missing medications. If your
child requires/or may require medication
during the school day it is important the
appropriate medication is available and in
date.

Please could parents remember to keep us
informed of any changes to address or
contact details.

Should you require Paracetamol to be
administered whilst your child is in school,
we are unable to do this unless a Parental
Permission Form for Administration of
Paracetamol has been completed.
Good luck
To all our students in
Years 9 to 13 who are
taking GCSEs and A
Levels this Summer.
Page 2
NEWSLETTER
Year Seven Enrichment Afternoon Tuesday 7th March - Mr Chappell - Maths
A group of 15 Year 7 pupils attended a Maths enrichment afternoon in Oxford recently, run by the teaching
students there. They performed very admirably and were a credit to John Colet School throughout the afternoon. I
was proud of them! Three of the pupils recorded their response to the afternoon, see below.
Nathaniel Butler-Coxhead 7S:- On Tuesday 7th May 15 pupils went to Oxford Brookes University for a Maths
enrichment afternoon. The first thing we had to do was to be put in groups, either A, B or C. Then, within my group,
more pupils from different schools were added to do pirate-themed Maths challenges like fraction loop and
boatman. At each place around the university site there was an activity and a set of bearings and lengths. We got
points from each activity and used the bearings to plot on a map to lead us to the next place on a map. The team
with the most points won. At the end of the afternoon all the teams found a box of sweets and shared them.
Charlotte Brown 7C :- On Tuesday I went on a Maths trip to Oxford Brookes University. We played a sort of
Cluedo game. We solved Maths questions to gain points to help us figure out who the murderer was. It was a great
afternoon and I would recommend it to anyone. A five star day!
Matthew Tattam 7D:- We had to complete 3 challenges – a logic puzzle, a construction test and orienteering. For
the puzzle, we had to work out how to get a family across water safely without sinking the boat. For the
construction challenge, we had to design and construct a paper bridge using only 8 pieces of paper and 5 pieces of
sellotape. Then it had to be tested using mini Mars bars and Freddo Frogs! The record was 19 Mars bars and
Freddo Frogs. Our final challenge was to find certain Maths objects, patterns and shapes all around the grounds.
It was really fun and I never knew that Maths is involved in almost everything you do! THANK YOU Mr Chappell.
NEWSLETTER
Page 3
Toyota Stem Challenge 2013
“Brass on Parade”
The Indestructible Nerds
On Tuesday 7th and Thursday 9th May John Colet’s
‘Class Brass’ went on a mini tour of local primary
schools, performing at Aston Clinton Junior School
and Wendover Junior School. Class Brass was
very well received and had a rapturous welcome at
both schools. This gave our students the chance to
perform and the junior schools a chance to see
what they could aspire to, if they started to learn a
musical instrument. Class Brass was joined by
representatives from Aston Clinton and Wendover
Junior to perform ‘Rocket Launch’ as a joint piece.
Congratulations to Class Brass, they are:- Scott
Kempster, Charlie Garner, Brandon Howard-Norris,
Luke Paulley, Kerenza Bennett, Chris Timmins and
Joey Horrox. Watch this space for their next
performance!
Tom Dickinson - Head of Music
On Monday 29th April 4 students; Jack Lucky, George Perry
(Year 9) Nico Pope and Ben Frost (Year 8) travelled, with
Mr Brand, to the Imperial War Museum in Duxford for the
Toyota STEM Challenge 2013 regional final.
The challenge was to build a solar powered car and then
race it against other schools. However, before we got to this
stage we had to write out a 14 page project folder that
would secure our place in this regional final. Schools were
divided into each region, and the top six project folders out
of about 280 got through. We were one of the folders that
did!
At around 7:15 on a Monday morning with the completed
car that was carefully packed in a box with a whole repair kit
and a revolving stand with presentation cue cards in hand
we left school in the minibus.
The regional final took place under the wing of the first ever
Concorde that completed a test flight, in a hanger in the
Imperial War Museum, Duxford.
We knew we were going to be up against tough competition
and this quickly became clear when we arrived and saw that
the other regional finalists were mostly grammar and private
schools with older teams. However when we did look
around, we seemed to be the only school who were a
proper team with our very own named T-Shirts. It only then
really sank in how much we had achieved, when we saw
that we were the only upper school. We had achieved a
great deal in a very short space of time as we started the
process of the competition in December, 3 months after the
start date.
Each team had 15 minutes to charge their vehicle under UV
lamps; we luckily were the first to charge for the practise
race, this went well. We then had to give a presentation to
the judges about the car and our experiences in the
competition and answer the judges’ questions. Then we had
our final race, this however did not go to plan. We had one
flaw we had not thought of, we did not know which way the
car was going to travel, as it was symmetrical both sides.
When we set it off down the 8 metre track, it went
backwards. Then, once we had turned it around, it shot off
the end of the track, which in turn did not leave enough
charge in it for the other two attempts. Marks were added
up for all sections and we were awarded between 4 th and 6th
place.
We have had a great experience representing the school in
this competition. Even though we didn’t win £250 for the
school this year we are looking forward to winning next year
when we can improve with experience. We also had a fun
day out looking around the museum after the event. It was
an amazing day and we would all like to thank the staff who
have helped us along the way.
Nico Pope - 8G
The Indestructible Nerd
Page 4
NEWSLETTER
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NEWSLETTER
Page 5
Primary Liaison
Halton Literacy Help
On Friday 19th April Ben Frost and Nico Pope assisted in a
Year 5/6 lesson. The pupils were studying Lord Shaftsbury and
the Factory Act of 1847 and then writing interesting sentences
about this time. The Colet students sat with small groups of
children and helped them to compose their work. Afterwards
we had a tour of the new dining area at the school, which was
very impressive!
On Wednesday 24th April Year 8 students Ffyona Spreyer,
Kerrie Parsons, Charlotte Thorpe and Jess Payne helped the
Years 5 and 6 pupils write about boys who climbed up the
chimneys in the Victorian Age. They helped small groups
extract information from a text book and write it in their own
words.
On Friday 3rd May Ellie Cunningham, Lucy Hedges, Macey Hill
and Estella Alveres supervised individual Year 5 and 6
students as they wrote up an assessment on child workers in
Victorian England. The John Colet students were not allowed to
write anything, but were allowed to read the work and offer
advice.
On Wednesday 8th May Charlie Robinson, Emma Peace and
Charlotte Ball helped Years 5 and 6 pupils write compound and
complex sentences to make their writing more interesting. The
pupils watched the first scene from the black and white film of
Oliver Twist and described it in their own words. Our students
helped them with spellings and sentence construction as well
as descriptive ideas.
French Gouter
On Tuesday 23rd April twenty five very excited Year 5 pupils
from our local primary schools came to tea! They were treated
to chocolate brioches, plain brioches, pain au chocolat and
flavoured milk as a taste of France. Year 8 French students
had designed the tablecloths and menus, and other students
had drawn French graffiti for decoration on the board.
Mrs Simpson spoke to the Year 5 pupils in French and was
ably supported by Jed Swanscott, Ries Watton, Jack
Timberlake, Tabby Clarke, Rosie Robertson, Ellie Quirk,
Jeremy Spreyer, Joel Llwellyn and Adam Craft. These students
served the food and drink to the Year 5 pupils, speaking to
them in French all the time. Joel and Adam had created a
Power Point quiz which they presented to the pupils and prizes
were handed out.
The feedback from the primary school students was very
positive and they appeared to thoroughly enjoy their taste of
France. Many thanks to Mrs Simpson and her Year 9 helpers
for another successful primary liaison event.
Mrs J Caplan
NEWSLETTER
Page 6
Autumn/Winter 2012-13
We have had a number of sporting successes during the winter season.
celebrated at a recent Sports Assembly.
These were recently
YEAR 7 BOYS RUGBY
The boys were Runners Up in the Emerging Schools Rugby League. Well done to:Luke Winter, Max Brewer, Tom Bullows, Jack Holmes, Nathan Dover, Nathaniel Butler-Coxhead, Tim
Hall, Charlie Jackson, Oli Jenkins, Ben Pope, Ross Hazel, Josh De-Monte, Lewis Savin, James Perry,
Tom Doherty.
YEAR 7 BOYS BADMINTON LEAGUE
Both teams were Runners Up in their respective Leagues. Well done!
U13 Boys “A” League
Jack Spencer-Williams, Tom Viney, Ryan Peacock, Luke Hailes, Jordan Day.
U13 “B” League
Dan Norris, Andrew McLintock, Ben McCrae, Alex Kay.
YEAR 9 GIRLS BADMINTON
The girls were Runners Up in the U15 ‘B’ League
Sophie Russell, Aimee Buchorski, Marissa Sissou, Sadie Fewster
YEAR 10 BOYS FOOTBALL
A very successful season for the boys, they were Runners Up in the District Competition. They
narrowly lost in the final on penalties.
Alex Rickard (Capt.), Ollie Lamont-Winstanley, Christian Luckett, Connor Cox, Adam Warner, Jack
Martin, Rob Doncaster, Ben Seaton, Mitchell Hoverd,
Ben Williamson, Jake Lipscombe, Connor Eastgate, Josh Sturges, Max Smith, James Hogg
YEAR 11 GIRLS NETBALL
A special award for these girls in recognition of their efforts and continued commitment to Netball in
Year 11
Kinjal Patel, Fahmida Khan, Charlie Fearnside, Laura Wanstall, Chloe Taylor, Orie Amadi, Millie
Barrow, Hannah Russell, Charlie Knipe
NEWSLETTER
Page 7
YEAR 11 MIXED BADMINTON
Winners of the Year 11 Mixed Badminton League
Orie Amadi, Tom McPartlan, Mllie Barrow, Ollie Franklin, Hannah Russell, Sam Bailey, Molly Burgess,
Tom Bedwell, Chloe Taylor
CROSS COUNTRY
The following boys were selected for the Bucks Schools Championship and ran in the English Schools
Championship in Derbyshire. This was after they had competed successfully at the Schools’ County
Championships
Harri Kane
- Year 9 ; James Davis - Year 12
Well done to both of them!
OUTSTANDING SPORTS AWARDS
Each year two Year 11 students are honoured for their outstanding contributions to school sports. This
year’s worthy winners are;
The Tallyn Award
Orie Amadi
Sports Achievement Shield
Tom McPartlan
Well done to all the award winners!
John Colet School - Physical Education Department
AFTER SCHOOL HOMEWORK CLUBS
There are currently two after school Homework Clubs in school. One is in the Library and one
is in Individual Learning Department. They are both supervised by professional members of the
John Colet School support staff.
Pupils using these after school facilities are required to sign in and sign out when leaving.
These clubs are staffed for the specific purpose of giving students a quite calm and supportive
environment with the correct resources to do their homework in school. No students should be
using Homework Club for any other reason and will be asked to leave if found to be to be time
wasting or misbehaving.
The school would like to thank all the advertisers, although John Colet School cannot endorse or
accept liability for goods or services advertised.