Welcome to Myton`s Latest Spotlight Magazine

Spring 2014
This Issue’s
Special
Features
Year 7 PLG
Trip
○
Imagineering
and STEM
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Languages at
Myton
○
The Arts
Festival
Welcome to Myton’s Latest Spotlight Magazine
Welcome to our Spring edition of the Myton
Spotlight. The idea of this publication is to
highlight the School’s ongoing activities
beyond the normal school day. As a school
we are immensely proud of all the hard work
and commitment that goes into making
memorable and fun learning activities for our
students.
Our wonderful students
engage with learning experiences and
support each other in our unique Myton
way, that is, as a family of learners. Myton
continues to set new standards, with a record number of parents and carers attending
parents’ evenings, the largest number of
students in Year 7 attending our residential
weekend to Norfolk, the biggest Newquay
Year 9 trip ever planned this year and the
highest number of applications for places for
September 2014 at Myton for Year 7 and
Post 16 students.
this award is from the Specialist Schools and
Academies Trust and is for excellence in
standards, progress and partnerships.
However underpinning it all we know that our
school will continue to be successful if we
have happy, safe and supported learners who
engage in appropriately challenging activities,
encouraged every day by home, their peers
and staff.
I hope you enjoy
reading
about
our
activities as we move
forward towards our
challenging
targets,
goals and dreams.
Paul MacIntyre:
Head Teacher
Our continuing success has been recognised by achieving “Leading Edge Status” –
Iceland 2014 An expedition to remember
February half-term marked the school’s expedition to the
dynamic wilderness of Iceland. From climbing glaciers to
Book Awards
ice skating in the capital Reykjavik, the team, comprised
of 66 students and teachers, conquered nearly every aspect Iceland had to offer. Amazed by the quietness and
Maths Facts
“eggy” smell of the landscape, we were glad to have
packed our thermal coats to resist the freezing winds of
Myton Sixth
the tundra! The seamless transition between boulder fields and ice plains left us snapping furiousForm
ly with our cameras as we toured the west side of the island. Three days in, and we were still left
in awe at the sweeping black sand beaches and the fascinating artefacts collected and displayed
Sporting
successes at the Skogar museum. Needless to say, we all slept well after these action-packed days!
To select the best moment from Iceland 2014 would be impossible, as every experience was as
unique and amazing as the next. Whether it was gazing up at the Northern Lights spread across
the night sky, or standing at the mouth of an ancient volcano, or relaxing in the warm waters of
the geothermal pools, or even tucking into a barbeque burger as the Geysers erupted around us,
the expedition was certainly one to remember. Thank you Geography Department for offering this
amazing experience to us!”
Rob Barnard: Year 13 Vice President Geography Ambassador
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Don’t forget to follow @mytonschool on Twitter
Web Site: www.mytonschool.co.uk
On 15th February most of Year 7 went on an exhilarating once-in-a-lifetime trip to Lincoln. It consisted of three days of fun and adventurous activities hosted by the PGL staff.
When someone says you have a one and a half
hour coach journey most people would say
“boring”, but not Year 7. Our teachers made the journey fun by leading a sing-along
and taking photos and tweeting them, this way our parents were constantly updated
with how we were doing.
When we arrived we wasted no time sorting out dormitories but instead went straight
into activities. These activities included:
Abseiling
Wall Climbing
Rifle Shooting
Aeroball (netball on trampolines)
Jacob’s Ladder
Trapeze
Archery
Problem Solving
We also had free time when we were allowed to chill out in our dorms, before we went off to our evening activities or our disco. The journey home was
equally as good. So, overall I would definitely recommend this action packed get-away to next year’s Year 7, I
would rate it 5 stars. By Chloe: Year 7
Maths Facts: At secondary school, you will learn that not all enlargements make objects bigger and
some enlargements turn objects upside-down. Mrs Atkins: Head of Mathematics
Europa Day
I took eight Year 8 French students to Alcester Academy on
the morning of Tuesday 11th February. It was called ‘Europa
Day’ and the aim of it was to encourage spontaneous talk in
the language (French). Our students and students from 3 other schools rotated around
4 different workshops which were led by Year 10 Alcester students. The same 8 Myton
students will return again in April along with some of our less able linguists.
Comments from students…
“I made 3 new friends and learnt some new vocabulary.”
“I learnt how to say things such as how to speak in a café, supermarket
– these things are important for if I went to France.”
“It was really fun and I enjoyed the experience. I can’t wait to go again.”
“I have really improved on speaking confidently in French and I can’t wait to help with
the teaching next time.”
“I really enjoyed the day because I learnt lots of new vocabulary.”
Mrs Allison: Teacher of Modern Languages
Page 2
The Arts Festival once again
impresses audiences with
its range and vitality
The Myton community really
does have some incredibly
talented young people in it,
and this year’s Festival was
absolute proof of the talent,
skills and energy our students
have for a wide range of the
Arts. You could have drunk
coffee in the Learning L@ttѐ,
and
listened
to
poetry,
monologues and a variety of
spoken word pieces – some
incredibly powerful thoughts
and sophisticated use of
language was in evidence
here.
Or you could have
listened to the acoustic efforts
of music students. In Lower
School Hall, the orchestra
brought us the Penguin Café
Orchestra, the choir sang
songs of freedom, and a whole
range of bands took to the
stage, their confidence and
musicality a delight to see.
drama, ranging from broad and beautifully timed
comic pieces, to dark, expressionistic discussions
of psychopaths, dementia, and our current minister for education.
Whilst walking around the site, you might have
bumped into site-specific performances of the
Tempest, or been entertained by busking musicians. The joy of the Festival is the atmosphere
of freedom to wander wherever, to stop and watch
when your attention is distracted, and to move on
to look for something else once you’re ready.
A wonderful celebration of the integrity of the work
produced by our staff and students, and very
definitely not a night to be missed!
Mr M. Grady: Head of Drama
In the depths of the Drama
Studio, you could see Yazmina
Reza’s ‘ART’ and Phil Porter’s
‘Blink’, (both award winning
plays), or you could see Year
11 and 13 devised pieces of
Maths Facts:
Did you know that lots of
objects, both man made and in
nature, come from a special
sequence of numbers called the Fibonacci
sequence? You create the sequence by
adding the last two terms together so the
first 7 terms are 1,1,2,3,5,8,13,…
Page 3
Mr Baker: Maths Department
Once again a team of Year 7s have been busy
joining in with the annual scramble to read, review
and vote for their favourite page-turner from a selection of six books shortlisted for the Warwickshire Secondary Schools Book Award.
Our bookworms have been meeting
fortnightly in the LRC to discuss the books they have been reading since just before Christmas
and there has been a lot of lively discussion! The six fantastic books they have been reading
are ‘Silenced’, ‘Chronicles of Egg’, ‘After Tomorrow’, ‘Shiverton Hall’, ‘Earthfall’ and ‘Sorrowline’.
The Myton favourite was clearly ‘Earthfall‘ by Mark Walden - an exciting tale of alien invasion!
The whole exercise culminated in a super trip to the Bridge House Theatre on 1st April where
book teams from across the whole of Warwickshire got together for an exciting morning of
activities including talks by two of the shortlisted authors Simon Packham and Neil Bushnell. Schools presented
dramas championing the books and prizes were awarded to students for their book reviews and alternative book
covers. In the end, the book which captured the hearts of the Warwickshire students was ‘After Tomorrow’ by multiaward winning author Gillian Cross. She was thrilled to have won but sadly, she was unable to attend the event.
Instead, she sent a video message which was very exciting! All our students had a fantastic morning and gained
much from reading books which they might not necessarily have tried before. Our team
comprised Laurie, Abbie, Becca, Sam, Stephen and Esther. Multiple copies of all six books are available to borrow
from the LRC. Elaine Dodson: LRC Manager
Warwickshire Secondary Schools Book Award
Warwickshire Schools Book Award Event
This year’s Book Awards was in memory of Pat Foster, former librarian at
Kineton School who passed away last year.
Before the event started we had our photos taken next to the statue outside
the theatre while at reception, they were selling copies of the shortlisted
books plus other titles by the shortlisted guest authors, which we had the
opportunity to get signed at the end. The morning included students from six
schools championing the six books, the announcement of the runners up and
winners of the Pat Foster book review competition and alternative book cover
competition, talks by Simon Packham and Neil Bushnell (two of the shortlisted authors)and the announcement of the winning book. When Simon Packham took to the stage, he told us
about the process of writing a book – it was far more tedious than I had ever thought! The most interesting fact
that I found out was that it is almost never the author that chooses the title of a book, it’s the publisher.
The runners-up and winner of the Pat Foster review competition were presented with their awards by John
Lesley and I took our Year
Foster, Pat Foster’s husband.
This was followed by the alternative book cover competition. Championing each of
9 French culture groups to
the six books involved dramatic
readings, acting out of various scenes and reviewing the books. Then Neil Bushmake pancakes in food
nell, author of Sorrowline talked
about
what
it’s like to be an author. His new book, Timesmith, sounded very
technology
– the
students
intriguing! It picks up from where
Sorrowline
left
had a French recipe to fol-off. Finally it was time for the announcement of the book which
had won the overall competition!
was up
After
Tomorrow by Gillian Cross. Unfortunately she couldn’t be with us
low andItwrote
about
but sent us a video message expressing her thanks. Samuel: Year 7
Maths Facts: All drinks sold in 330ml cans are packaged in the same size of can. Is this
coincidence? No – the diameter and height of the can are solutions to equations linking volume and surface area of the can so that the minimum amount of aluminium is required. You will learn how to set up
and solve these equations, and hence prove this, as part of your GCSE study.
Mr Ealden: Maths Department
Learning Resource Centre Goes Wireless
A Higher Education Funding
Council for England
16 new touch screen tablet computers have been
(HEFAE) study shows that: added to the existing LRC IT resources. Now
students can log on wirelessly to the internet and
State school students tend to do better in their degree studies
than students with the same prior educational attainment from their school network areas via the school wi-fi
connection.
independent schools.
The very best are not selective schools BUT 11–18 age A fantastic resource
comprehensive schools with post 16 on site – there is only one which is proving to
in this county and Myton students go to it!
be highly popular.
D r H u n t , As s i s t a n t H e a d T e a c h e r
and Head of Sixth Form
In the sixth form, we have been looking forward to the
future. As ever we have been investigating
career options through varied activities including our
recent curriculum freeze day, in which the pathways that
exist for career progression such as apprenticeships, higher education
and the job market were showcased. This was followed up by the
whole of Year 12 being taken to the UCAS conference at Worcester
University and a UCAS information evening to showcase all that
higher education has to offer. With the exams fast approaching, we
are secure in the knowledge that our Year 13
students have clear goals for the future and that all
our students are on track to achieve the best they
can.
M yt o n ’s M Y P Ag a t h a
Hunt
Before Christmas, I picked up a flyer advertising the Warwickshire ‘Voice 4
Youth’, which comprises of the local
Youth Forums, the elected Warwickshire
VOX forum and members of Youth
Parliament.
In January and February of this year the
Youth Parliament and VOX elections took place in secondary schools
around Warwickshire, with 34% of 11-18 year olds eligible to vote voting. I entered with a campaign focused around giving young people
the confidence to stand up and make a difference, which includes
encouraging political engagement within Young People.
Following my electoral success, as a full member of Youth
Parliament, I was invited on a weekend training course, enabling me
to meet all the other members. We started thinking about our
campaigns for the year. I was also elected by my fellow MYPs,
DMYPs and VOX to be Warwick Coordinator. Our top campaigns for
Warwickshire are focusing on Transport for Young People and
Mental Health, Bullying and Equality.
So far, as part of my role I have been involved in a Warwick
District Showcase organised by Warwickshire Children and
Voluntary Youth Services, which, with a grant of £150, allowed the
Warwick Youth Forum to set up a campaign entitled ‘Think Before
You…’ which challenges young people to consider the
implications about something before you do it, including issues such
as drinking, smoking and cyberbullying,
I also was invited down to the Houses of Parliament in March to
celebrate International Women’s Day which included a visit to No.10.
I’m most looking forward to the regional and national
sittings for Youth Parliament where I will have the opportunity to
represent Warwickshire on a wider level.
Japan Skype meeting
with Joho High School
Another opportunity to meet our Japanese
student friends from Joho High School in
Southern Japan occurred on Thursday 27th
February. Led by the Geography Ambassadors, two Year 7 students, Chloe and
Laurie presented their recycling project to
the Japanese students across Skype.
This year’s project was first established
back in October 2013, when Geography
Ambassadors agreed with Mrs Mawer to
set up a communication link with the Joho
School in Japan. The aim of the project
was to design and make fashionable clothing from only waste material, such as old
cardboard and empty plastic containers.
The team were able to improve their leadership skills as they guided the Year 7s
through the process, regularly meeting to
design their fashionable recycled clothing.
After much research, three items of clothing were selected to be designed. These
included an outdoor coat created from
used sugar paper and plastic carrier bags,
a pair of newspaper dungarees, and a
light, casual, sleeveless top produced from
old bin bags. Teamwork was essential in
the manufacturing of these garments, and
needless to say the team performed perfectly.
Show time! A flurry of activity at 8:30am in
the Conference Room with the Skype
meeting about to start. Chloe and Laurie
paraded the masterpieces in front of the
Joho students, and Joho returned with a
spectacular show of recycled handbags,
shoes and hair accessories. After the lights
on the catwalk dimmed the Geography
Ambassadors exchanged questions with
the Joho students, and learned that they
shared a fondness for the Harry Potter
novels!
The support that Myton School over the past years and now Myton
Sixth Form has been fantastic, there are so many opportunities to get
involved!
A successful conference call with the Joho
High School. We are confident that this will
not be the last we see of them!
To find out more about Warwickshire Youth Parliament, you can visit
http://www.warwickshirevoice4youth.org.uk.
Rob Barnard: Year 13 Vice President
Geography Ambassador
Agatha Hunt: Year 12
The Ogden Trust Science Fair
This year we had the opportunity to be part of The Ogden Trust and work
collaboratively with other local schools to take part in a Science Fair project
with Year 8 students.
For their projects the students carried out an experiment/investigation,
identified a problem and an innovative solution or carried out a research
project. They could choose any area of science that interested them such
as Forces and Transport, Robotics, Space, Living Things, Materials and
Chemicals.
Our students’ projects ranged from acid rain and sink holes to fog,
mobile phones, indicators, adaptations of animals, floating soap
bubbles, DNA and the dangers of landfill. We were greatly impressed with
the amount of time and effort they had spent completing their projects.
In order to progress to the next stage students presented their work to the
science staff. Both Miss Ridgewell and the science department thought the
presentations given were outstanding .
The final stage was for the chosen students to attend Warwick University
Science Fair on the 20th March to showcase their work alongside other local
schools.
My project was based on my favourite aspect of science which is biology.
In my free time I created a project on
my chosen topic Landfill. I presented
it covering the key aspects of my
project and how landfill are affecting
our environment. After I presented
my project I sat with my friends until
we got called back to the lecture
theatre. On a table were three big
trophies for first, second and third
place. I had no idea that what I
presented was judged on, whether I
came first or last! When they read out
my name for first place out of 140
students, I was ecstatic and I had my
picture taken by the press and put in
a newspaper. I now have my big
trophy on display and it gives me the
determination to succeed in life and
achieve my goals by putting in a lot
of hard work and effort.
Henna
The students had a fantastic time both presenting their work and looking at
the work from different schools. Henna Kalsi came first in the Key Stage 3
section out of 144 other students, fantastic! Her project was on the dangers
of landfill.
Well done to all of the students who took part, you really were outstanding.
Miss Hickin: Science Teacher & STEM Coordinator
Electric Vehicle Group in Year 9
As a group we are designing and
making a car based on the materials that we can buy/find. We are
working on a 3 wheel vehicle by
using the relative speed of the front
wheels to give steering (similar to
army tanks). The purpose of the
car, is to use it as a slalom car. We
are hoping that when it is finished we will be able to put some
cones onto the playground and slalom around them.
What our members have to say…...
“This term we have cut the body to a size that suits us. This
has meant that we have had to do lots of weighing and measuring so that the vehicle will be strong enough to hold our
weight, light enough to move and big enough so that we are
not crushed inside when we try to drive it” Ben.
“We have designed and made the axles for the wheels. This
has involved doing lots of calculations, cutting wood and
metals, bending plastic plus screwing in lots of bolts” George.
“We have designed and built a wooden chassis; this is to give
the vehicle strength and so that we can add things onto it, such
as a wheel, steering rack, battery and a seat” Cameron.
“We have learnt how to safely use equipment, like drills,
jigsaws, files and hacksaws and practised our drawing
skills. We have made screws. Finally we have also learnt
how to manage our time effectively and our budget”
Callum.
“We have used maths, looking at Newton’s law in order
to size the motor we need for the car. We have also had
to look at formulas for speed” Alex.
Today during the club our roles are:
Harry and Cameron “ We are looking at safety (the
hat, goggles and the harness for the car). We need to
design and make some of these, in particular a harness.”
George “ I am looking at mounting the caster wheel
(a free spinning wheel) on the back of the car.”
Alex “ I am designing a battery mounting. The way
we have designed the car is such that the battery is beneath our legs. If we crash and if the acid leaks it is dangerous. I am going to make a box out of wood or metal
to contain the battery.”
Callum “ I am looking at speed controls, using electric drills and break controls to control the speed of the
motors.”
We are the only school in the area recognised as a
“Leading Edge” school having demonstrated success in terms
of:
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Excellent rates of progress KS2-4
Performance that exceeds the national average for schools in a similar
context
Outstanding performance in KS5 measures.
The capacity and willingness to network with other Leading Edge schools
and showcase best practice.
Maths Facts: If you could fold a piece of paper in half 45 times the height would reach
further than the moon! Mr Ismail: Maths department
This term the students have made a wind turbine/fan. With the help of a
battery it can be made into a fan, without a battery it can act as a wind turbine.
It also has an LED which lights up when the blades are moving. It was quite
challenging for some of the students as not only did it involve making the
turbine, but they also had to solder parts of the turbine. Some students are
very good at soldering and had no trouble at all, while others had to spend a
little longer completing their soldering and received help from the teachers and
other students.
The next project was to design and build a bridge out of straws. The
students had a challenge to design a bridge that was creative,
aesthetically pleasing and would hold the most mass. The students made a
variety of designs ranging from normal looking bridges, an aeroplane bridge
and a castle looking bridge with a flag. Students then received a prize for;
creativity which Adam won, aesthetics which Julia won and one for holding the
biggest mass which Aran won, with his bridge holding over 16,000g!! Then
there was a prize for the overall winner which was also won by Aran.
The final project this term is the JCB hydraulic arm. All of the students have
been really looking forward to this project all year. They have started making the hydraulic
arm, but unfortunately the instructions are not the easiest to follow. However the students
were resilient and resourceful and most of them have successfully made the arm. It was
wonderful to see those students who had made their hydraulic arm or were further on than
others helping the other students who were struggling and finding it really difficult to complete. The students have shown a real sense of team work, leadership and dedication to
the club, and we are very proud of each and every one of them.
Miss Hickin & Miss Blackburn: Science Department
Students’ responses
Joshua: “ I have enjoyed making the electric car because we got to do it our way and we
got to make it as imaginative as we want. I also enjoyed making the giant bird. Thanks”
Adam: “ I was really looking forward to making the hydraulic arm, and we have finally
started making it!”
Amber: “ I love Imagineering because we get free food and also we get to make awesome
stuff, so cool.”
Katie: “ I have really enjoyed everything this term, making all the different projects
especially making the bridge out of straws!”
Alex: “ My favourite task was when Mr Kennard challenged us to make a moving bird out of tissues.”
 U12 Boys Cross Country team who won team gold in the
Warwickshire Cross Country Championships.
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Year 7 Girls Indoor Athletics team who won the
District Championships and finished silver medallists in the
Warwickshire, Solihull & Coventry Championships.
Six of the girls went on to become District Super
6 Athletics Champions. They will now go on to represent the
district in the County Finals at Warwick University on 2 nd July.
The Year 9 Rugby Team are an extremely committed team who have won the majority
of their local fixtures this season.
They were invited to spend a day at Leicester
Tigers Rugby Club to learn about the physical
demands of being a professional player.
They also had a lecture on nutrition, took part in
a fitness testing session and enjoyed a
coaching session taken by one of their staff.
The Year 11 Basketball Team has just completed an extremely
successful final season.
They reached the final of the District competition against Southam College,
who had beaten them in a close game in last year’s final, beaten them in
the heat round of this year’s competition, and who were undefeated in four
years. However, The Myton team were determined to make their potentially last game as a team count. They played a superb final and blew the
opposition away, running out 92-46 winners to become District Champions.
They were further rewarded for their victory by being selected to represent
the Central area at the County Schools game. There they faced the best
teams from Nuneaton, Rugby, Stratford, Coventry and Solihull. Myton went
through the group stages with four convincing wins before success in the semi and then finals led to them being
crowned Warwickshire School Games Champions.
Well done to all the students who represented the Year 11 team, not just for their ability but for their hard work and
dedication.
The Year 10 Basketball Team also completed a successful year going undefeated in the District
Competition for the second straight year to retain their title. Next year they hope to maintain their success as they
enter the English National League competition.
Individual recognition needs to go to George Pool in Year 11 who represented both the Year 11 and sixth form
teams this year and who is currently training with the England development squad. Also to Tom Wong-Moore in
Year 10, who represented Myton at both Year 10 and 11 level. Mr Brannan: Sports Department
Maths Facts: It is possible to cut a strip of paper down the middle and end up with a single strip of paper, not two! But if you cut the new strip down the middle you don’t get 1 strip again – you get two interlocking loops which can be pulled into a knot without tying anything up! Maths can explain how and why…
Mr O’Reilly: Maths Department
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