December 2011 - Kendrick School

Kendrick
News
Welcome
December 2011
T
he celebrations and
highlights
of Term 2
have almost all taken place and the
feverish activity going on around the
school at break time, lunch times and after school as
different groups, forms and years groups prepare for
the Dance Competitions, , Lion concert, Evenings of
Dance Speech Day and the 6th Form Panto has almost
subsided. So much has been going on in these last
few weeks creating the exciting buzz and warm atmosphere that characterises Kendrick at this time of
the year.
We started Term 2 with a very successful Year 12
Open Evening, modelled on the format of our usual
Open Day for Year 7. The response from our own
students and those wishing to join Kendrick was excellent and we expect a number of applications in the
New Year. The evening was preceded by an excellent
conference for our Year 11 which was presented by
the CBEBP and comprised of workshops on particular
career areas delivered by local businesses. A highlight
of the day was the key note speaker, a civil engineer
and also an old Kendrick girl! We were delighted that
Elizabeth Waters was able to give the introductory
speech to open the conference and Elizabeth was
quite overwhelmed by being back in her old school
advising students when it did not seem that long ago
since she was in their place!
The staging of this year’s school production of Romeo
and Juliet was a highlight earlier in the term. For the
first time the production took place at South Street
which gave both the players and back stage team a
flavour and experience of a real theatre. The production did not disappoint and whilst the play is fairly
Mrs Marsha Elms
Executive Headteacher
accessible to audiences the demands on the
actors clearly demonstrated the intelligence
and ability of the students who participated.
Angela Strach who directed the production
must be congratulated for her careful casting,
setting of the play as well her superb direction
of the students. The production as well as all
the other events that have taken place this
term, as you will read in this newsletter,
demonstrate the exceptional skills and talents
of the students as well as the huge expertise
and effort of the staff who are able to inspire
and lead the students in this vitally important
extra-curricular life of Kendrick.
Finally, Speech Day this year was a wonderful
occasion made very special as it was the last
Speech Day that Mrs Elms addressed the audience as Headteacher of Kendrick School.
We welcomed back last year’s Year 13 students and presented them with their certificates as well as the current Year 12 cohort
who received their GCSE certificates. The
guest speaker was Claire Taylor, an ex student
and world class cricketer, who spoke about
commitment, dedication and trying to achieve
one’s own personnel best. Mr Currall, Chair of
governors paid Mrs Elms a warm and touching
tribute which concluded the ceremony.
Term 2 2011/12
 Speech Day 2011
 Evenings of Dance
 Languages Week
 Department News
 Student Successes
 Work Experience
Week
 General Updates
 KPS News
 Sports News
 Calendar
Contact
Kendrick School
London Road
Reading
RG1 5BN
Thank you to everyone, staff and students, for
www.kendrick.reading.
the tremendous energy, enthusiasm, commit- sch.uk
ment and hard work this term. Thank you also
to all the parents for the support and encour- 0118 9015859
agement you give to your daughter and the admin@kendrick.
school.
reading.sch.uk
We wish you all greetings of the season and
best wishes for a peaceful holiday and a happy
New Year.
Ms Christine Kattirtzi
Associate Headteacher
Page 2
Kendrick News
Speech Day 2011
O
ur annual Speech Day took place on Friday 16th December at Kendrick School. This was a very special occasion
where we celebrated students’ achievements in Years 11 and 13 . This year we were delighted to welcome Claire
Taylor as our guest speaker, former Kendrick Student and member of the Women’s English Cricket Team.. The
event was also attended by the Mayoress of Reading. Milana Ponjevic & Jacqueline Rowe accompanied by Katie
Peeling on the cello, and Sirikorn Green on the Piano provided the musical interlude . Students received their GCSE and GCE
certificates presented by Claire and there were also a number of Special Awards listed below:
Photos courtesy of Tara Taylor Photography
Term 2 2011/12
Work Experience Week
F
rom October 10th to October 14th, the Year 11’s took part in a week of work
experience at a variety of placements. Some were organised by school via
CBEBP (Central Berkshire Education Business Partnership) and some were
found by the students themselves and ranged from going to work with a parent at their company and working in interior designing or with university students doing make-up in a film studio.
Page 3
Amandeep making cake at The
Handmade Cake Company in
Maidenhead
The students all found it an enjoyable and worthwhile experience. However it was
more physically exerting than most were used to. Amy Qu found that it was ‘also very
tiring, even if it didn’t seem like it.’ Amy was lucky enough to do her work experience at
Cadbury Schweppes in Reading. Although she was mainly shadowing technicians, she
said she had a ‘really good, fun week.’
Another student, Jess Clays, spent the week in Albin and Co Solicitors in Reading. She
says: ‘It was a fantastic and worthwhile experience as I was able to visit the Magistrates
Court, watch a kidnapping trial in the Crown Court, observe witness statements being
taken and read through various interesting files about clients the business represented.’ Some other students weren’t quite so lucky and spent their time in solicitors’ mainly photocopying and fetching tea. If you’re in year 10 and planning on visiting a lawyer
firm for your work experience, ask what sort of things you would be doing – some firms
will ask you to sign a non-disclosure agreement which will mean that you’ll be able to look at cases whereas others might
not.
Many Year 11 students are keen to pursue medicine as a career and several were lucky enough to find placements in hospitals and local surgeries. Fiona Joseph was able to carry out her work experience at Slough Walk-In Centre. She spent her time
shadowing nurses and doctors and as a result says that ‘if you are going to work in the medical sector, just be prepared for
what you may see because I know I saw some ‘interesting’ things!’.
Others decided that they liked the idea of working with children and many went to visit their primary schools or visited completely different schools, nurseries and playgroups. Josie Cuss helped in Caversham Primary School; her jobs ranged from
reading to the children to introducing the play they were going to do for Christmas. She says that she really enjoyed her week
and feels she has ‘gained employability skills’, as well as having ‘hugely grown in confidence’.
All in all, the week was a great success which ran very smoothly. The only slight hiccup was one student dislocating her knee.
Apart from that, it was an immensely enjoyable and rewarding week. Even though some people had their own placements
and some were given placements, everyone was given equal opportunities.
Charlotte’s Trip to China
I
n June, I took the opportunity to go to China for two weeks, with the goal of
improving the Mandarin Chinese I had learned for three years previously. I
travelled with a group from Highdown School, along with over 400 other secondary school pupils from all over the country to take part in the Chinese Summer Camp sponsored by Hanban and the Confucius Institute, who promote Chinese
learning overseas. I stayed in Beijing for three days, where we saw the famous
sights such as the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, where Chairman Mao made his
famous speech, and saw a Kung Fu show at a Chinese theatre. I then stayed in a
school in Xi’an, almost 700 miles away, where I had Chinese language, art and culture lessons, saw the Terracotta Warriors and spent a day with a pupil at the school.
We then returned to Beijing to try our hand at bartering and negotiating in the huge indoor market, and then unfortunately
had to return home. It was the trip of a lifetime, and a fantastic opportunity to see a side of China that most tourists do not
get to see. I feel that my Chinese has improved, but also, my cultural awareness has increased and I will treasure the
memories for ever. To thank the Board of trustees, who sponsored the trip, I am giving a presentation (with more detail
and photos) to them, on the 27th February 2012 at 7pm in the school hall. There will also be some Chinese songs, dancing
and food. Please come if you are interested in learning more about my trip, or Chinese culture – you will be most welcome!
Page 4
Kendrick News
Evenings of Dance
On Tuesday 13th and Wednesday 14th December we held our annual Evenings of
Dance. They were all fantastic dances and a
great time was had by all who attended and
took part. Congratulations to everyone involved.
Photos courtesy of Tara Taylor Photography
Term 2 2011/12
Page 5
Jubilee Time Capsule
O
n Thursday 8th December, the History department was delighted to welcome two visitors from the Royal Commonwealth Society, Verity and
Mary, who were interested to see the work our students have been doing towards the Jubilee Time Capsule project. This project is designed to
celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee next year and students from Years 7, 8 and 9
have already submitted their contributions for the time capsule, which will be presented to the Queen. The visitors had a chance to chat with some Year 8 students
about the contributions they have already made and were fascinated by all the
questions that they had about the Commonwealth! Verity and Mary then led a workshop with 9T about how to become involved in becoming a Commonwealth Community reporter and gave lots of advice on good interview technique. 9T were especially interested to see interviews with Gok Wan and George Alagiah about their contributions to the JTC. All students are invited to contribute to the JTC, you can submit as many entries as you like and there are a number of prizes to be won, for more
information see: http://www.jubileetimecapsule.org/
If you do enter- please “tag” your entry with Kendrick School.
Berkshire Book Award
K
endrick School is taking part once again in the Berkshire Book Award for the best book of the year.
This is a unique award in which all the books are nominated and judged by pupils in schools across
the county of Berkshire.
Students were able to nominate their favourite book of 2011 on special nomination slips in the
school library throughout the month of November and the final shortlist of 6 books can now be announced:
Artichoke Hearts by Sita Brahmachari
Velvet by Mary Hooper
Diary of a Wimpy Kid – The Ugly Truth by Jeff Kinney
My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher
Lily Alone by Jacqueline Wilson
Blood Red Road by Moira Young
There will be time next term to read and review these books before the final round of voting takes place - so these would
make excellent Christmas presents!
Mrs Pearce (Librarian)
ne!
iPho
d
n
ad a
try
Poe
r iP
u
o
on y
The first ever Poetry app for iPad and
iPhone, is called iF Poems and costs
only £1.99 to download. You will find
200 poems at your fingertips and can
enter a poetry writing competition.
For further information, visit: thetimes.co.uk/poetrycompetition
Happy reading, writing and Christmas.
Mrs Claybourn, English Teacher
Page 6
Kendrick News
Kendrick School Celebrates Languages!
Each morning, students enjoyed international breakfasts as part of
their breakfast club. These included food from France, Germany,
Spain and they even tried out the food that the Romans would have
eaten which included honey cakes and dried fruit!
Learning about hieroglyphics
K
endrick School Language Specialism Week, which began on the 31st October,
gave students and staff alike the opportunity to celebrate the learning of languages through the wide range of activities that were offered each day. During
lessons, in break times, before and after school, students were able to broaden
their understanding of both the languages and cultures they are learning about
at Kendrick and also other linguistic and cultural features from around the globe.
Various guest speakers were invited to the school to take part in specialist activities, including Clare
Coombe and Dr Ute Wölfel from the University of Reading. In these session students learnt about the
secrets of hieroglyphics, as well as taking part in a discussion on contemporary German cinema.
Tuesday was a Modern Foreign Languages Enterprise day for all Year 10 students, which gave them the
opportunity to work collaboratively and practise both their creative and linHoney cake and dried fruit
guistic skills. Teams of six were asked to design a language game suitable for a
beginner Year 7 or Year 8 class learning French or German. After a long day’s work, many superb
games were produced complete with packaging! Madame Dwyer, Head of French said ‘ It has been
a very productive day. The students proved to be so creative and imaginative. The games they produced are of exceptional quality and went way beyond our expectations’
Wednesday included some Italian taster lessons, sessions in which Year 8 groups could try out Chinese drums, led by Mrs
Hayes, and a highly competitive Language Committee quiz. In the afternoon a French physicist, Antoine Sirinelli, from Culham Science Centre, spoke to Year 13 classes on the topic of nuclear fusion within Europe and the value of being able to
speak a foreign language in the current economic climate. After school, the European Film Club joined up with Reading Boys
school to show the film ‘Jeux d’Enfants’.
During assembly on Thursday everyone sang ‘Summer Holiday’ in German, followed by ‘Old MacDonald’ in Latin! Year 8
were privileged to see a digital model of Rome, presented by the guest speaker Dr Nicholls. During lunch break there were
strong feelings voiced in the debate on the subject ‘Should Britain leave the EU?’ To round the week off, Year 7 and 8 pupils
had the chance on Friday to trial the games made by Year 10 on their Enterprise Day. Julie Alderson, Head of German, commented, ‘What a fantastic way to promote your subject! The fact that the Year 10 students have produced these games
makes them extremely appealing to the younger year groups, who are so excited about trying them out. It has also made
the Year 10s reflect on the different ways we all learn a language which in itself is of great value.’
Great fun was had by all and it was a chance for all Kendrick students to realise what the school has to offer in their Modern
Foreign Languages’ and Classics’ departments.
Year 10 MFL Enterprise Day
On Tuesday 1st November 2011, Year 10 was faced with their biggest task yet: the first ever
MFL enterprise day. The brief was made clear at the start: design a game for KS3 German or
French beginners. The game needed to teach students about grammar in the specified language. The topic could range from present tense to word order.
As soon as the challenge was set, all of the groups got to work straight away. Everyone was
very enthusiastic and involved in the teams. At the end of the day everybody put forward their
ideas in a short presentation. When asked about what they had learnt, students explained that
teamwork, communication and working with a deadline were the main skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur.
However, the task didn't finish there. On the Friday, Year 7s and 8s came to the hall to test the games. After they had looked at the
products, each girl voted for their favourite French and German game. Every game was very popular, successful and professionallooking but at the end of the day there had to be a winner! The winning French game was ‘Go Escargots!’ by Group 9 and the winning German game was ‘Kurve es wie Ballack’ by Group 4.
Well done to all of Year 10 and a big thank you to MFL teachers and Mr Barr for organising the event!
Sanah Ali – 10J
Term 2 2011/12
Page 7
Chinese Drumming
The Chinese drumming was a fantastic experience for the majority of Year 8s as part of
'Languages Week'. We were all able to have the opportunity to try the drumming as well as
singing.
We learnt that drumming is used in many ways; it is used in celebrations, at the battlefields, for
entertainment etc. It was very interesting to see how drumming is used in the Chinese culture.
Mrs Hayes kindly came to teach us all about the drums.
We were split into groups to go and have a drumming session with Mrs Hayes and Mrs Alderson. There were three drums - a large, medium and small one. Mrs Hayes taught us two drumming techniques; the drum could be hit in the centre or at the edge. The classes managed to
drum along to a Chinese song whilst the rest of the class sang. We all followed the
drumming sheet and Mrs Hayes taught us easily how to drum and when to drum.
The drumming also incorporated a small dance and even facial expressions. There were steps
in the drumming and we were told to give facial expressions at the beginning of the song which everyone enjoyed. The way the
drummers walked showed the sort of personality the drummer had. Our classes learnt how to drum using the two, thick drumming sticks and how all of the actions fitted in with the music. Everybody had the opportunity to experience the drumming and
the singing. We went up in groups of three to each have a go on one of the drums. It was great to have a fun activity rather
than normal lessons and everyone enjoyed taking part.
The drumming had a little bit of everything for everyone. There was a little dancing, a little singing, a little drama, the actual
drumming, and overall everyone enjoyed themselves. It was lovely for Mrs Hayes to have shown and taught the Year 8s a bit of
Chinese culture. It was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone. Without the help of Mrs Hayes, it would not have been possible.
Marie Woe and Kirushney Kalamohan Year 8
German Cinema
Monday 31st October. Outside it was a dismal day there was nothing going on. Inside, a fusion of languages so wild that Kendrick
school had to fight back the urge to explode into another language while in lessons. Yes, it was the start of Kendrick schools languages
week and the school was raring and ready to go…
Around 10 sixth formers, 3 year nines, 2 year eights and 1 year seven were gathered in the hall for the gripping talk on German cinema by a lecturer from the University of Reading. We started off with simple mind tests that consisted of the questions: what came
next; what does this mean and what do you think of when you see this. These were to analyse your mind and test how your brain
worked and how it thought. This was when the real enthralling essence began…
We were shown around 5 minutes of a clip from the first movie. It showed a homeless person on the street begging, while an aeroplane soared above. Soon we found her running back to a hovel with the money she had collected with her smile lighting up the busy
road she left behind. This gave Berlin a sophisticated but busy view, with bright lights flashing everywhere and people rushing around.
Our attention was then brought to the fairly important looking man, with a briefcase, who had just appeared out of a train carriage.
As his case was stolen we saw that the thieves were a gang of punks who were looking for important and expensive items. As we approached the airport, that was close by, we could see a young refugee looking for somewhere to go, a business man with a sandwich
sat down and gave the refugee a bite of his sandwich.
We were then split into groups to identify the light/angles, people and famous landmarks or travel. WE managed to deduce from this
movie that Berlin was a very busy place, due to the heavy transport (cars, train, airport and many people walking). This was very informative as we also realised that there were many diverse gangs around Berlin, as it was such a big place, we also wondered if they
were going to come together.
After this quick analysis we devised a plot to this enthralling story. We decided that these groups would all come together and form
one exiting group, at the and they would all be one big crowd. I found this very enjoyable whilst making educating guesses on the
storyline, I also found it very clever as I realised how hard my brain works when it watches a movie and how exciting it was when the
storyline was right! This was a very influential presentation as it made you think in so many different areas and not just learn about
German cinema but also about how your mind works and German culture and German ways of living.
Afterwards we also did the same with another German film which gave us different views on Germany and Berlin. It showed it as
quite a cheap place but also as a SOCIAL, PRIVATE AND COMMERCIAL place. These three words really boosted our understanding of
analysing and helped us to portray our ideas.
Overall the German Cinema idea was a wonderful opportunity and I learnt much more than I set out to! It was a terrific experience
and one that I would definitely try again. Although I didn’t understand some of the language the brief techniques I had been taught
really boosted my understanding and they are techniques that I can now use in everyday life when speaking to someone in a language
I am not fluent in. I would like to thank all the German teachers for this amazing event and hope that another one will be set up in the
future.
Indira Verdding 8A
Page 8
Kendrick News
Year 13 Classics Trip to the British Museum
O
The Rosetta Stone
n the 7th November, the Classical Civilisation,
Latin and Ancient Greek classes of Year 13
went on a trip to the British Museum. After a
morning lecture on ancient Greek vase
painting - which the whole group found very entertaining
- we had time to walk around the whole Museum, looking
at vases and statues we have been studying. The vases
were more magnificent than I had ever thought, and the
sizes of the statues were astounding. After exploring the Museum, we took a short walk to an
authentic Greek restaurant. The quality and quantity of food was first-class and we felt truly
satisfied for the journey home. I would like to say a massive thank you to the Classics Department for organising an educational and fun trip.
Sophie Boothe, Year 13
Dr Nicholls with students from 8A
At the Greek Restaurant
Bread and Circuses’ - a
presentation about Ancient Rome
O
n Thursday 3rd November we had a visit from Dr Nicholls as part of the
Languages Specialism Week. We all thoroughly enjoyed this talk as it
was presented in a variety of ways: visual pictures, videos and … just
talking. Dr Mathew Nicholls is a Lecturer at the University of Reading.
When he spoke to Year 8 he included many interesting facts. He also told us a little about himself. He explained that he teaches
about the Roman Empire and Roman Cities, which he believes are very interesting. His courses often reflect his interests in the political and social history of the Romans, as well as on how the Romans built Rome and cities around the empire. Dr Nicholls believes
that all people should be allowed the chance to learn about the ancient world first hand, and be given the chance to learn about a
fascinating era in history. He also has an interest in Galen, a second century doctor and medical writer.
Dr Nicholls used one hour and transferred it into a real ‘blast from the past’ which left our heads buzzing with energy and facts! He
started off explaining about how bread was made and he showed us the tomb of a ‘bread maker’, and explained how the Romans
were very proud of their professions and didn’t hesitate to show off when they could. Then we learnt about entertainment in Rome.
He told us how the Colosseum fighters would have a few small training grounds to train before a fight. When the day of the real fight
came, they would hastily walk down some tunnels (which lead from the training ground to the Colosseum) and ‘magically’ arrive at
the arena from a hole in the floor. He then went on to talk about the social lives of the Romans and we engaged in thrilling graphics
that explained about the baths and how there were many different rooms to bathe in. They were very elaborately decorated, and
with some very skilled computer work we could see what one of the rooms may have looked like (a very extravagant array of colour
and patterns). Finally, he ended with an insight on the Roman emperors and Emperor Nero’s extravagant fancies. He explained how
Nero owned practically half of Rome with astonishingly beautiful buildings and lakes all belonging to him. Once Nero died the next
emperor converted these buildings and lakes into theatres and baths-for all to share!
In his presentation, Dr Nicholls included some amazing 3-D images of Pompeii. It was almost as if you were flying through the
streets of the city itself! He also showed us some recognisable buildings like the Colosseum and even re-created the Roman Baths as
if they were brand new. The images really helped us understand what certain areas of the city looked like and what it was like to
live in that time.
We all enjoyed the lecture very much, as not only were we, the audience, involved a lot, but the lecture on a whole was very informative and fun. Dr Nicholls spoke very clearly, and that seemed to make it even better, as his voice didn’t drone on or make us at
all uninterested. It was a fun and informative production.
Throughout the lecture, everyone was very much involved and enthralled. There were times when we actually felt like we were
going back in time, into Ancient Rome itself. For those of us that already knew a lot about Ancient Rome, this lecture definitely added to our knowledge, and for those of us that didn’t know that much about Ancient Rome, this lecture was a perfect basis on which
to add more knowledge! Everyone thoroughly enjoyed this fantastic talk, and we all walked away with our heads buzzing full of
facts!
By Hanya Kang, Chloe John, Natasha Di Centa, Katie Smith, and Indira Verdding 8A
Term 2 2011/12
Latin Breakfast
F
rom Tuesday 1st November- Friday 4th November there were some international breakfasts
held. We got this brilliant opportunity because it was ‘Language Specialist Week’ and there
were to be lots of different breakfasts including: Roman, French, Spanish and German. All of
the breakfasts were popular however we are going to review the Roman breakfast.
The highlight of the breakfast was, of course, the food! It was like a ‘blast from the past’ when we tried
all the different types of food that the Romans would have enjoyed. Among all the other amazing dishes
were the favourites, the honey cake and the different types of cheese. The food was delicious and we
all wished we had time to eat some more! By the end of the breakfast it was clear that everyone had
enjoyed the variety of cheeses and fruits, the honey cake, and the Roman army bread. However, the
best thing had to be the mock wine!
Honey cake and dried fruit
As well as the food, there were also lots of booklets, pictures, posters dotted around. It was nice because these were made by students and were very neat and useful. All the posters were about Rome and the sort of meals
they would have eaten. Some of the things that they would have eaten sound very unusual to the modern world- they even
ate peacock!
All in all we thought that this was a very useful experience because it gave us an opportunity to learn about the Romans in a
fun and food-filled environment. It also let us try food that we probably wouldn’t have tried such as fresh figs.
By Chloe John and Hanya Kang 8A
Oxford Greek Play Trip
O
n Thursday 17th November, a group of Greek and Classical Civilisation students from Year 12
and 13 visited the Oxford Playhouse to see a production of ‘Clytemnestra’ by Aeschylus
(original title ‘Libation Bearers’), in the original Ancient Greek. The play was about deceased
Agamemnon’s family; Orestes and Elektra wanted to avenge their father’s murder by their
mother, Clytemnestra. After a whole act’s discussion between Orestes and Elektra, in the second half,
Orestes set out to kill Clytemnestra and her lover, Aegisthus, with the encouragement of the Chorus.
The second half was dramatic and chilling, and the entire cast gave very strong performances. The set
design and costumes - based on the Noh theatre style from Japan - were simple but effective; this meant
that the scene changes were very smooth, and did not interrupt the flow of the play. Prior to the play, we
attended a pre-show talk about The Greek Play in Oxford, which was very interesting, and showed that we
are not alone in studying Ancient Greek. Overall, an excellent evening was had by all; many thanks to Mrs
Mannings for organising it.
Charlotte Callaway
Drama News
W
e have had an exciting start to the year. After some very pleasing exam results in August, we began lessons in September in
our newly decorated drama studio. We also now have full blackout and shortly will benefit from a full lighting rig. This is a
fantastic improvement of our facilities and we are enjoying having a space which is really fit for purpose now.
Students continue to achieve highly in Drama at GCSE, AS and A2 level and really enjoy the subject.
In October, we took part in the Shakespeare Schools’ Festival for the second time, after the success of our play last year. This time we were
proud to have two sixth form directors take the helm – Maddy Harrison and Annabelle Stephenson. They produced ‘Twelfth Night’ with the
Lower School and did a magnificent job. The festival was held at Norden Farm Arts Centre in Maidenhead and was a great opportunity for
the girls to perform on a professional stage. This opportunity arose again when we held our School Shakespeare Production evening at South
Street Theatre for the first time. ‘Twelfth Night’ was performed again and the second half of the evening was an Upper School production of
‘Romeo and Juliet’. Both plays went down very well and we had full audiences on both nights.
Sixth form drama students continue to take an active role in running Drama clubs. They run a Y7 club and a ‘Y8 & upwards’ club during a
second break each week. Enthusiastic girls come regularly to ‘let their hair down’ a bit (sometimes literally!) and enjoy playing drama games
and improvisations which refreshes them before afternoon lessons!
Our third House Drama Festival will take place on 15th March and preparations for that will begin as soon as we come back from the Christmas holiday, so keep that date in your diary and come and support the House plays which always provide a superb evening’s entertainment.
Mrs Strach, Head of Drama
Term 2 2011/12
Page 10
Maths Inspiration
O
n 1st December, the Year 12 Maths students went to the Concert Hall in Reading Town Hall, to hear several talks
on the uses of maths in today’s world.
The first speaker was Paul Shepherd and he talked to us about the use of maths in building stadiums, for example
the Olympic Stadium. He was part of the team building the new Arsenal Stadium, and he spent one afternoon
working on the Olympic Stadium. This talk was especially of use to those girls thinking of going on to do architecture, engineering, or a similar subject.
One of the topics which he talked about was resonance. He gave examples of this such as buildings, or in the case of his talk,
stadiums. All buildings have a frequency at which they start to move if a force is applied, for example people jumping on the
stands in a stadium, at the frequency of the resonance. He then showed us an experiment with a block of Jenga in which he
demonstrated this concept by making us clap at a certain frequency, and making the Jenga tower rock then collapse.
The second talk of the Maths Inspiration afternoon was given by Rob Eastaway, who called his presentation “Maths on the
back of an envelope”. He introduced us to the less accurate science of ‘impure mathematics’. He asked us several Fermi questions (named after the mathematician Enrico Fermi). Fermi questions require a quick, estimated answer. Often the actual answer is virtually impossible to work out. ‘How many piano tuners are there in Bristol?’ ‘What’s the weight of an Egyptian pyramid?’ and ‘What is the annual revenue of your local McDonalds?’ are just a few examples of the questions we were asked.
When determining your answer, you must apply what knowledge you have on the subject, and any numbers you use in your
calculations should only be written to 1 significant figure. Of course, your answer will not be accurate. To overcome this, Rob
Eastaway has developed a new symbol, the “zequals” sign, which is used to show that your answer is only a rough estimate. I found Rob Eastaway’s presentation very interesting, and have since realised how much we apply impure maths to
everyday
life.
In the third session, Colin Wright talked to us about the theory of juggling. He also showed how to juggle, from one ball
(seems fairly simple…) to five balls (not quite so simple) as well as several tricks which were really interesting (except when he
dropped the ball). Using a notation to write out the juggling based on which ball was in the air for how many beats, we were
able to predict where the balls would be at any point. This worked really well until we suddenly ended up with a negative ball
that had somehow ‘travelled back in time’! Ignoring the confusion of quantum physics, after all we all do maths, not physics,
the trick seemed to work. What was really impressive was how he kept juggling throughout, even whilst explaining something. We watched the balls almost mesmerised as they went round and round and round... By the end of the talk, our class
went to our next lesson and asked if we could do juggling instead of our set maths work. The answer was no of course, but
the talk showed that maths is everywhere without you knowing and can even be fun!
Lauren Bettaney, Rachel Pegrum, Caitlin Green, Year 12
Magnetic Combined Fusion
A
s part of the Languages Week at Kendrick, the year
13 Physics classes enjoyed a talk by Antoine Sirinelli, a physicist from France. Dr Sirinelli works at
the nearby Culham Science Centre, and in his research he uses the Joint European Torus (JET) to examine
plasmas. He spoke about the difficulties in examining plasmas
– the high temperatures required for plasma generation
would melt an ordinary metal container, so a magnetic field
has to be carefully designed to contain the plasma to be studied. Also, the plasmas cannot be contained for very long – the
heating effect of the current needed in the coils of wire generating the magnetic field would melt the coils if left on for extended periods of time. Dr Sirinelli also spoke about the new fusion reactor, ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor), being built in France near Cadarache which will use radioactive tritium (hydrogen-3) to further investigate plasmas and
fusion. ITER can contain a much greater volume of plasma than JET, and it is hoped that the fusion reactions that occur in ITER
will produce more energy than they consume. If this is the case, and if reactors such as ITER can be shown to be adaptable for
commercial use, nuclear fusion may become our main source of energy, replacing fossil fuels. Fusion is a safer source of energy than fission, as there is no risk of critical safety events and the radioactive waste produced has a much shorter half-life. Also, the fuels required are abundant – deuterium (hydrogen-2) is freely available in seawater and lithium can also be used.
Dr Sirinelli's work involves scientists from across Europe, so he often collaborates with scientists from other countries, both by
travelling abroad and via video conferences. We all really enjoyed hearing about his work both in the UK and Europe.
Rebecca Harwin 13TW
Page 11
Kendrick News
Physics Olympiad 2011/12
T
he British Physics Olympiad is a national competition designed to stretch and challenge the top young physicists in the
country. 5 year 13 students had done very well in the preliminary paper, so took the 3 hour Olympiad round 1 paper in
November. Joanna Chan received a commendation, Jasmine Hughes, Eleanor Summers and Sarah Yu all received Bronze
awards, and Rebecca Harwin achieved an amazing TOP GOLD, placing her in the top 50 in the country. As well as a book
prize, she will also be doing even more challenging Physics as she goes on to the next round! Congratulations to all who participated,
and particularly to Rebecca for Kendrick’s highest ever result in
this competition.
Mrs Conlon, Head of Physics
Lab in a Lorry
L
ab in a lorry was an amazing experience for Year 7 at
Kendrick. We all learnt a huge amount of science and
facts in a tiny amount of time! We travelled in small
groups by minibus to Reading Girls School. In our particular group, a few Reading Girls joined us. We were given a
brief introduction and were led into the lorry. We divided into three smaller huddles and each small group went to a room.
There were three rooms, each with a different topic, experiment(s) and volunteer. The topics were sound, light and Polaroid/
the ionosphere.
For sound, two men taught us. There was a demonstration on how sound travels (in waves) that used a slinky. Two people
held a slinky at each end, the first person holds it still and the other pushes and pulls their end towards them, rippling the
slinky in waves. There was a talk about sound and another hands on activity where each person was handed a glass and a
bowl of water was set out. Each person dips their finger into the water then circles it around the rim of the glass, pushing
down fairly hard. The glass was expected to make a high pitched shrieking sound, but only a few managed to do it in our
group because our fingers kept slipping off! There was a demonstration of a glass wobbling with the vibrations of a pitch, a
video explaining sound in slightly further detail and giving everyday examples and we used a stroboscope.
In the topic of light, we were taught about how it reflects and bounces off surfaces. There were devices that allowed one to
see through corners which we had a go with! They were remarkable!
There was a plastic sculpture of a mans torso (whom the volunteer called Bob) and the task was to insert a camera down his
throat to examine his insides, and also another task where we had to fish a battery out from inside him using a grappling device! With the inventions that allowed you to see around corners, we searched inside a box without touching it, but it was
rather hard!
The last room in the lorry was the room about Polaroids and the ionosphere. We learnt why the sky is blue, why sunset is red
and how Polaroids work, using experiments, logic and explanations. It was all A level physics but it was all explained so well
we understood it! We were also shown experiments to do at home.
Many of the Year 7s were talking about how great it was for days after, so a good response from the pupils! All in all, it was a
fun, productive and resourceful trip. Two thumbs up for Lab in a Lorry!
Evie Marsden, Isabelle Pichard, Amber Qureshi (7C)
Senior Maths Challenge 2011
I
n November, 131 Sixth Form students sat the Senior Maths Challenge and achieved 9 Gold, 25 Silver and 42 Bronze Certificates. A very
pleasing result. Two students qualified to take part in the prestigious Round 1 of the British Mathematical Olympiad, Alice Malone of
Year 12 and Rebecca Harwin of Year 13, and we are awaiting the results of their three and a half hours Maths exam. Four students also
qualified for the new Senior Kangaroo: Tessa Hoad, Sarah Yu, Julia Sinclair and Eleanor Summers. If you enjoy a mathematical challenge, try the two questions below, taken from their paper.
1 The price of an item in pounds and pence is increased by 4%. The new price is exactly n
pounds where n is a whole number. What is the
smallest possible value of n?
2 The integer m has ninety-nine digits, all of them
Term 2 2011/12
Page 12
A
rt & Design student Brittany Bailey was recently awarded first
prize in the national Clothes Show
Live 2012 poster competition at
the NEC in Birmingham. The
theme was “Rule Britannia”. As part of her
prize Brittany will be required to undertake
interviews and attend publicity events next
year in addition to receiving her cash prize
and trophy.
Brittany’s winning design
First Prize for Brittany
Amy… All England Dance Competition
A
my Woollard, 9W, has taken part in the 2011 All England Dance Competition
which concluded with the National Final at the Peacock Theatre in London’s West End at
the end of July and beginning of August. Amy is a pupil of Jayne A. Coleman Academy of
Dance (JACAD) based at the Pinewood Centre near Wokingham.
She qualified nine dances in the genres of modern, tap, classical ballet, modern ballet and
song and dance to the National Finals. Amy has to qualify her dances by taking part in local
Dancing Fool (Amy is on the right)
festivals, during 2010 and 2011 she performed in the Tilehurst Eisteddfod, Royal Berkshire
Festival, Kingston upon Thames Festival of the Performing Arts, and Woking Festival of
Dance. There is a qualifying mark that has to be reached in order to go through to Regional Finals. Amy qualified in eleven
dances to the Southern Regional Finals which were held in Fareham,
Hampshire.
Amy is part of a team that are National Champions; these are the groups
which she won gold medals in:
Dancing Fool - Modern Quartets < 15 years
Spitfire - Modern Group < 15 years
Dancing Fool - Modern Quartets
(Amy is on the right of the photo above
Spitfire - Modern Group
Amy also won four silver medals in:
Modern Group 15 years & under ( JACAD came 1st & 2nd in this section)
Modern Trios 12 years & under
Classical Groups 15 years & under
Song and Dance Groups 21 years & under
Special Commendation Awards:
Tap Group 15 years & under
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Page 13
Kendrick News
General Updates
As you are aware we have launched a new on-line payment system, Parentpay, coming into effect at the start of the Spring term
2012. This will enable you to make on-line payments for trips,
sweatshirts, educational resources without the need to send in cash or cheques and will become our preferred method of payment. In due course it is intended that payments for all
trips and goods will be made on-line or at designated pay points.
ParentPay
You may make payments whenever and wherever you are 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and
alert you when payments are required and when payments have been received. You will shortly be receiving your unique
username and password details which will enable you to activate you account. We would encourage you to activate your account as soon as possible and contact the Finance team if you experience any problems using the following email address:
[email protected]
School Fund Update
W
e wish to thank all those parents who have so generously contributed to the Kendrick School Fund by standing order cash or cheque payments. Your donations make a substantial difference to the opportunities
afforded to the students and the School.
This term you School Fund donations have facilitated the purchase of the greenhouse, display cabinets, anti
bullying workshops, memberships to sporting clubs and provided minibus transport to various sporting, theatre and other
education events.
If you would like to donate to the School Fund please complete the standing order form and Gift Aid declaration forms
attached to the newsletter.
Many thanks in advance for your donation.
Charity Fundraising
Update Autumn
Term 2011
This term £376 was collected on World Smile
Day. The money was shared between 2 charities,
the Starlight charity, granting terminally ill children special wishes and the Smile Train charity,
helping children suffering from cleft lip and palate.
Year 8 raised a total of £819.20 for Children in
Need and our thanks and appreciation goes to
all the students who worked so hard to raise
such a large amount of money and our thanks
too for the generosity of the families and friends
who gave so willingly.
Sangamitta Balika –
Sri Lankan Link
School
Following the visit to Sri Lanka by 20 students in
April/May, the funds that we have donated to the
school are being put to good use. New books for
the school library have already been bought. New
science equipment has been ordered and should be
arriving soon. The school communication system is
shortly to be improved. The school hall, which is
also used as four classrooms, is undergoing a much
needed programme of maintenance and renovation. We are pleased that our assistance is helping
to improve the resources and learning environment
for the whole school. Well done to all of you who
have penpals at Sangamitta Balika – please keep the
letters coming, they are really very much appreciated. The principal, Mrs P A Silva, sends greetings
from herself, her staff and her girls to all at
Kendrick, and best wishes for the New Year.
Page 14
Kendrick News
Kendrick Trust—Grants Available
E



ach year the Trustees are able to give grants to students and ex-students. Details of these grants are given to all
Year 11 and Year 13 students with their exam results in August each year.
Current grants available are:
Travel scholarships of up to £250 each, to help with travel costs if a student is carrying out charity work abroad;
Maintenance allowances of up to £500 for former students of the school whilst training for a profession, or similar
advanced qualification, provided their application is made within 5 years of having left Kendrick. In exceptional circumstances allowances may be extended to former students undertaking a course in higher education;
Exhibitions to relieve hardship which may arise during the course of a student’s education at Kendrick School.
Applications for grants for 2012 will be required by the Trust by 31st January 2012. Students and former students should send
their applications to Mrs J Elliott (Trustee) via Ms Kattirtzi at Kendrick School. Ms Kattirtzi has been requested to approve these applications before they are submitted to the Kendrick Trust.
The Trustees urge all students to consider applying for these grants and look forward to receiving your applications.
(Mrs) J Elliott
The Kendrick Trustee Grants Committee
KPS News
T
his year we have pledged over £15,000 to the school and have requested that this money
should be spent on....
£6,000 - Extra computers for both Sidmouth and the Library
£5,000 - Lighting for Cedars drama studio
£2,000 - Plumbing in the servery
£1,000 - Benches in the Quad for the lower school and a bench around a tree for
Sixth Form
£ 800 - Backdrop for stage to be used for Speech Day, which can also be used by
the KPS for certain events, however, will be looked after by the school
£ 580 - Extractor fan and drills for PD
£ 250 - Magazine subscriptions
£ 110 - Clock for the tennis courts
We also made over £3,000 on the Raffle which will go towards creating a Multi Media Suite with Apple
Macs and an A3 printer.
The KPS thank all parents who supported us this year and wish everyone a happy Christmas and successful 2012.
Kendrick Swimming Team
D
uring this half term, the Kendrick swimming teams have participated in 4 junior galas and 4 senior galas.
They have successfully beaten Queen Annes, St Josephs and Highdown schools in both age groups. The
U 16 B squad even won the Reading Schools Gala at the Abbey. These are very pleasing results and all
team members enjoyed participating. Swimming is a great sport, for fun or fitness.
Bethan Evans, 11P
Hockey Report
O
n Tuesday 8th November, our U18 hockey team went to Pangbourne College for
the Berkshire indoor tournament. We got off to a great start, beating Downe
House 4-0 and soon after beating Theale Green. Unfortunately we then lost our
third game against the Abbey, but we still qualified through to the finals that
would take place two weeks later. Overall it was a great team effort. A week later we were all
back playing hockey, but this time outdoors at Bradfield College for the Berkshire Outdoor
Tournament. Despite having rarely played together as a complete team previously, our team
did very well. We held our own in the group stages: winning one game against Theale Green
and drawing against Bradfield College and Downe House (mainly due to some amazing work from defence). This meant we
were through to the quarter final, against the Abbey! Playing some very good hockey we managed to penetrate their defence,
scoring two goals and securing a win and a place in the semi-final. The semi-final against Pangbourne College was rather nervewracking; after a one-all draw the game went to penalty flicks. Luckily Megan Fright our
goalie made some excellent saves and we won the game! Wellington managed to end our
winning streak in the final, making us the second placed team in Berkshire. This also meant
we were through to the South Tournament that would take place a week later.
Next came the Berkshire indoor finals. We played Leighton Park in the semi-final, and although the game was very close with both teams having lots of goal-scoring opportunities,
we lost four-three. However, we played very well as a team, working for each other and
playing hard right to the end of the game, so we were proud of our efforts. Only two days
later it was time for the South Tournament. Playing against schools who each had trained
together for much longer than us and all had their own astro pitches, we went into this
tournament wanting to play some skilled hockey and work as a team. Although we lost
two of our games and drew the other, we achieved our aims and also had a fun time.
Overall, it has been a busy couple of weeks for the hockey teams, and although there have been some mixed results, we are
proud of what we've achieved. We'd also like to thank Mrs Hearn and Mrs Richardson for taking their time to drive us to various schools around Berkshire for our matches!
Calendar—Term 3, 2011/12
Term 3 Starts, 8.25am
Wednesday 4th January
Public Exams start
Monday 9th January
Curriculum Governors
Thursday 12th January
Premises Governors
Thursday 12th January
Personnel Governors
Tuesday 17th January
KPS Meeting
Monday 23rd January
Finance Governors
Wednesday 25th January
Year 12 Parent Consultation afternoon
Thursday 26th January
Year 8 Parent Consultation afternoon
Wednesday 8th February
Full Governors meeting
Wednesday 8th February
Term 3 ends
Friday 10th February, 3.10pm