Misbourne News - The Misbourne

Misbourne News
Volume 11 Issue 1
A Message from the Headteacher
30 January 2014
Dear Parents
Inside this issue:
Governors’ Report
2-3
SLT Business Focus
4
ICT Focus
5
PTA Report
7
Year 10 Report
8-9
Careers & Higher
Education
10-11
Library and Literacy 12-13
Performing Arts
14-16
Sports Report
17-19
Forthcoming
Events
20
I was delighted that an external review of the Sixth Form not only
confirmed our judgement of ‘Good’ across the board but
highlighted outstanding progress in a number of areas. The overall
quality of teaching was outstanding with some that was good, and
the high progress our students make was a key factor in the overall
judgement. Please see our website for more information.
Now that the shape of external examinations has changed from modular to linear, it is
vital that we build up the confidence and resilience of all our learners. All students will
experience examinations in every year so we need your help to ensure that your son/
daughter is well prepared. I do expect students to focus on school work each night and
also at the weekends. Examinees should certainly be studying up to two hours per night
and using a substantial part of the weekend to revise. We have high expectations of all
our students to at least meet their target grades and any coursework component should
be at least one grade above target. Where students achieve these targets, they are more
confident in their examinations and achieve expected or higher grades. Please continue
to support your son/daughter here so that they will be successful.
Our building programme is progressing well and is currently on track to be completed for
a September start. It will make a significant difference to our facilities with a purpose
built Sixth Form area and fantastic facilities for all our students for every English lesson.
The consultation for the school to be designated an Academy ends in January 2015 and
the School Governors will gather all information to help inform their decision.
Our school production of ‘Bugsy Malone’ is being held in school from Tuesday 10
February to Thursday 12 February. Tickets are now on sale via the website so please
support us and come and enjoy a great night out with your family and friends.
The school continues to move forwards and I thank you for your continued support.
Robert Preston
Headteacher
The Christmas
Jumper Mufti Day,
held on the last day
of the Autumn
Term raised
£462.01 for Save
The Children Fund.
The Misbourne Presents
Tuesday 9 - Thursday 12 February 2015
See pages 14 - 15 for more details
GOVERNING BODY
Governing Body Update
The Misbourne Chair of Governors, Katharine Edgar, has written a report about recent developments at
the school:
As parents, I hope you will recognise the developments and changes made by the Headteacher, his staff, students
and governors that have led to huge improvements in leadership, achievement, behaviour and attitudes to learning
in the school. The Governing Body is proud of the achievements so far, but is striving with the Headteacher to
maintain the momentum and deliver even better outcomes for students in the future.
The key role of our Governing Body is to support and challenge our Headteacher and his senior team in order to
ensure that our students receive the best possible education and preparation for the future whilst at The
Misbourne. The Governing Body has a responsibility to hold the Headteacher and senior leaders to account and to
monitor all aspects of the school’s performance.
The drive for continuous improvement shared by governors, staff, students and parents has resulted in the
production of the five year vision for the school, now publicly available on the school website at:
http://www.misbourne.bucks.sch.uk/317/five-year-vision-2014-2019
Having established the five year vision, governors needed to reflect on the current designation of the school as a LA
Community School and investigate other options for the school. Our driver from the start was ‘What future
designation will best enable the school to deliver its five year vision?’ The Governing Body spent considerable time
investigating, questioning and talking to those with knowledge about different types of schools. All governors gave
up additional time to attend briefings and information sessions in order to be well-informed before making such an
important strategic decision. In October 2014, the Full Governing Body voted in favour of starting to work through
the process of The Misbourne converting to Academy status. A working group of governors and school staff has
been set up to lead the process and their progress to date is described below.
Academy conversion working group update
The working group has been considering all aspects of the Academy conversion process in the last few months and
is now in a position to propose that later in the year, The Misbourne will convert to an Academy.
On a day-to-day basis, you and your sons and daughters will see little or no difference to how the school operates
(except for the changes necessary to ensure the continual drive for improvement), but behind the scenes there will
be some changes to how the school is financed and managed, together with changes to the responsibilities and
accountabilities of governors.
We believe that the change to Academy status will ensure that, under the leadership of our Headteacher and his
senior team, our students will continue to receive the best education available in the area.
Page 2
Misbourne News
GOVERNING BODY
So why make the change to an Academy?
You will be aware that, in the past, education was funded through the Bucks Local Authority. The Department for
Education allocates funding to Local Authorities who, following consultation with interested parties, then decide
how much to keep to fund central services and how much to distribute to individual schools. Historically, schools in
Buckinghamshire have received less funding per student than neighbouring authorities. As an Academy, the school
would be financed directly by the Department for Education and then would make its own decisions on which
central services to purchase and from whom.
Now that The Misbourne has been a “Good” school for over a year and on a sound educational and financial
footing, the Governors felt it was the right time for us to investigate the options for the school’s future status.
In 2014 we explored and discussed these options and it was agreed by the Full Governing Body to proceed down
the road of converting to an Academy in the autumn of 2015, subject to a full consultation. You will have been
invited to participate in the consultation exercise which will enable us to address any questions or concerns you
might have.
In the early history of Academy conversions there was a considerable cash incentive to change status. This is not
now the case, but a sum of £25k is awarded to fund the legal and deed transfer costs so we are not intending to
divert school funds away from student focused teaching and learning activities in order to convert. With this in
mind we are currently carrying out due diligence on a number of legal and accountancy firms to see which has the
credentials to support us on the path of conversion. We plan that by the time you read this article, we will
have interviewed and approached the favoured law firm to start the conversion process with all the appropriate
community, local and central government agencies.
Our current plan is that the Governing Body representatives will be in a position to sign the financing agreement
with the Department for Education in the late summer for conversion at the beginning of September 2015.
However, this is providing there are no untoward findings and all searches are favourable. We must also consider
that a general election in May 2015 will mean that certain aspects of government and the civil service will be in
purdah for some weeks and our process of Academy conversion could be delayed.
What does this all mean?
The most fundamental change is that the school through its Academy Trust will be responsible for its own
finances. The Academy Trust that will be set up as part of the conversion process will require the school to balance
its budget on a year by year basis and have a sound strategic vision and direction on an annual, three and five year
period as one would expect in any commercial business.
The annual action plan and longer term vision and supporting strategic plan are in place and the school currently
has sound financial practices and procedures that follow relevant guidelines for schools. There are now over 4000
Academies in the UK, so we would like to reassure you we are not seeking to do anything out of the ordinary which
would disadvantage your child.
What next?
The working group appointed by the Governing Body will be working hard to keep to the time line as stated above.
There will be lots of i’s to dot and t’s to cross to make sure that the correct governance plus checks and balances,
are in place.
Rest assured that at the forefront of our planning are the needs and requirements of the students in our care.
What can you do?
We have launched a consultation process for all interested parties - should you have any questions on what this
process entails, or how it impacts you and your son and daughter, please do let us know.
Volume 11 Issue 1
Page 3
SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM
Each month, a member of The Misbourne Senior
Leadership Team will be writing about something
relating to their responsibilities in school. This
month, Debbie Grimsdale, School Business
Manager, writes about developments outside the
classroom.
We continue to be very busy away from the
classroom investigating the opportunities and
realities that academy conversion might bring
The Misbourne whilst managing the day to day challenges posed by the
construction of our fabulous new building as well as continuing to try and
do the day job. It is most certainly a busy but exciting time.
Looking into the extended Café area
Work on the site continues to be roughly on schedule. The vagaries of our
site and the location of the existing buildings have meant that the building
will be constructed in two sections. All steel work is now completed and
this week will see the arrival of the biggest crane to date to lift in the floor
planks and stairs for the second half of the building. The brick work
continues to grow by the day and rafters on the
first section of the building are ready for the
construction of the roof itself in the coming
weeks.
View along the corridor on the first floor
We have been in consultation with several
different furniture companies and have taken
advice from our caterers and the architects to
come up with furniture plans for the new
extended Café area. We hope to create a
contemporary space that can adapt to our
changing needs whilst being robust enough to
cope with the rigours of school life. Current plans
allow for seating to accommodate 320 which will
vastly improve provision at lunch time for all our
students. We are also going through the same
process for the Sixth Form work area.
Scaffolding has been erected around the building
and the brick layers are working hard to complete
their work ready for the arrival of the windows.
Bricklaying is very much weather dependant and
so we are crossing our fingers for mild dry weather
in the coming weeks to allow them the best
chance of completing on time.
We are still raising funds to equip our new building
and if you are able to make a donation however
big or small please find information on our
website:
http://www.misbourne.bucks.sch.uk/41/
sponsorship-donations.
Steel work ready to receive the floor planks to for
the Sixth Form Work Area
Page 4
Or contact me at school directly.
Misbourne News
MISBOURNE NEWS
Focus on ICT And Computing
The current emphasis in ICT education is to develop computing skills which
incorporates the study of hardware and software, programming and how to carry out
tasks using ICT.
At The Misbourne we pre-empted this, Year 7 students have been
taught “Scratch” for a number of years. Scratch is a program that
allows students to create their own interactive stories, games and
animation and helps them to learn creatively, reason systematically
and work collaboratively. We have started a Coding Club for Year 7’s
and Year 8’s which is held at lunchtime on Tuesdays and allows the
students to challenge their Scratch skills further and begin to learn the
basics of “Python” which is a widely used general-purpose use computing language.
We are liaising with our local feeder schools so that we can work with them to ensure
our students build on the skills they acquired at primary school and are challenged
further in ICT and computing when they join The Misbourne.
At Key Stage 4 (Years 10 and 11), the study of computing or ICT is a compulsory
core subject. Computing at this stage develops students’ programming skills
using Python; they learn how to create an “App” which can be downloaded to a
phone or tablet can fulfil a task.
ICT, on the other hand, teaches them about the ICT skills
necessary in business such as Microsoft Office (Word,
Excel, PowerPoint etc); creating a web-style interactive
product and creating and editing videos.
In the Sixth Form at Key Stage 5, ICT is a popular subject
and, following the recent trend, we are looking at offering computing as a subject for
our Sixth Form in the future.
Mrs Russell
Curriculum Leader, ICT
New Head of Ascott House
Mr Gunstone has been appointed Head of Ascott House; he has written the following
report:
I am delighted to have taken on the position of Head of Ascott House at such a
tremendously exciting time for the House system.
The House competitions continue to go from strength to strength, with events such as the
Bake-Off and the hotly-anticipated Maths Competition looking to build on the success of
the Houses Got Talent show. My personal highlight of the show was an incredible solo
performance by hugely-talented singer (and member of Ascott house) Livvi Bennett.
The progression of the House system is an important focus for our school now. Our vision for the future is one in
which the House system takes real prominence in the everyday life of the school and actively promotes the values
of scholarship, teamwork and competition that will ensure our students make the best progress they can. We, the
House team, have much in store for the future, so watch this space.
Volume 11 Issue 1
Page 5
MISBOURNE NEWS
The Science Support Team
Our long standing Chemistry Technician Mrs Flint, who has been working in The
Misbourne Science Department for about six years, has been joined by two new part
time technicians, Mrs Hart and Mrs Kesarwani.
The technicians play a vital support role in the science department, they prepare
practical equipment for lessons, support teachers with health and safety issues relating
to any practical work carried out, set up equipment and, when needed show the teacher
how it should be used. They maintain the labs ensuring they are fully stocked with glass
ware and the sinks/gas taps are working correctly. In addition to this, where possible,
they maintain and fix the equipment.
Mrs Flint said “A technician’s role is very varied and sometimes extremely demanding,
but also very enjoyable.” She is pleased to be joined by two new colleagues.
Think Before You Drink
In a continuing efforts to improve the health of everyone here at The Misbourne our
Student Welfare Officer, Mrs Jackson has enlisted the help of Mrs Jahbeen, the
Reprographics Officer, to create a display that illustrates the sugar content of many
popular soft drinks.
In 2014, the World Health Organisation issued a recommendation that the amount of
sugar people consumed was reduced to 5% of their total energy intake. There is concern
that excessive sugar consumption, particularly in the form of
sugar-sweetened drinks, may result in both reduced intake of
foods containing more nutritionally adequate calories and an
increase in total intake of calories, leading to an unhealthy diet
and increased risk of diseases. The role of sugars in tooth decay
is also a concern. The sugar content of the bottles in the display
is:
Water 0 - g
Coca Cola - 35g
Fruit Shot - 2.2g
Lucozade - 43.6g
Red Bull - 27.5g
Frijj - 46g
Oasis - 37g
Our students are encouraged to “think before they drink”.
Page 6
Misbourne News
PTA REPORT
FUN AND FUNDRAISING IN 2015
A new year starts and a new programme for fun and fund raising has begun for the
Misbourne PTA.
The Parent Teacher Association is a registered charity which organises fundraising
events and actively supports The Misbourne with many of its in-house events. Last
year money raised was put to many uses these are just a two examples:

giving all students in Year 7 a new reading
book to keep

covering the cost of an outside speaker
who attended the Year 11 Careers Day
All the funds raised by The PTA in 2015 will help to
furnish and resource the new building, in particular
providing the IT resources. The plans include a
projector, sound system and drop down screen for
the multi-use area. We need to put the best
possible equipment in every classroom to help
keep the school at the forefront of new technology
and effective teaching. All the money raised will
benefit every student so please support your PTA
in any way you can.
The main events in our 2015 programme so far
include:
Bugsy Malone 10 – 12 February - Supporting the school production of Bugsy by
selling refreshments and ice creams.
Quiz Night – October
Christmas Craft Fair – 21 November – following the success of last year’s fair, we
have already booked the date for 2015 – so please make a note in your diary and
come and support us.
The PTA really is an essential part of The Misbourne family, so if you are interested in
joining us as a member, or can offer
your support in any way, please
contact our Chair Mandy Oliver, via
the
school
or
email
[email protected].
We always welcome fresh ideas.
PTA Chair, Mandy Oliver, presenting one of the Kindles
donated to the library to Headteacher, Robert Preston
Volume 11 Issue 1
Page 7
YEAR 10 REPORT
YEAR 10 ON COURSE FOR SUCCESS
The Autumn Term was a very intense term for all the Year 10 students as their GCSE
courses really took off. Some students have already successfully completed whole
units of work that will count towards their final GCSE grades.
The A2 report data, which was released at the end of last term, shows the following
students are currently on course to achieve five or more A*-C grades including
English and Maths:
Freya ABEAR
Lizzie BARRACLOUGH
Charlotte BENN
Jack BUTLER
Jamie CARR
Harry COX
Boris HALSTEAD
Anna HAMBIDGE
Courtney HARVEY
Hayden HIGGS
Connor HORWOOD
Noah JOHNSON
Anna KENNEDY-JONES
Nicole LARGEY
Ryan LIEPA
Katy LOCKWOOD
Nicco LUND
Maisy MIDDLETON
Jodie CRAYTON
Matthew DEBONO
Robert EMMETT
Holly GANNON
Bethany GOMM
Lexie GOSS
Taeona MORGAN
Sasha NUNN-COWLES
John PEARCE
Millie PURSER
Ashlie QUEYREL-JORDAN
Joseph SILSBY-QUANE
Oliver STEPHENS
Safiyyah SYED
Billy TRAFFORD
James TYLER
Freya UNDERWOOD
Holly WILSON
They were rewarded with a celebration breakfast , well done to all of them.
The successful Year 10 Students pictured in the library
Page 8
Misbourne News
YEAR 10 REPORT
TOP TIPS FOR EXAM SUCCESS
There are many ways that students can reach or exceed their potential:

Read around the subject – don’t just do the minimum required to get the work
done. Reading around the subject matter gives students a deeper insight into
that subject area and more scope to give more detail.

Ask teachers for any extra help or advice they can give them – teachers will
always be willing to answer any questions or give them the extra support they
may need in their subject.

Attend general revision sessions – these run after school on a Tuesday and
Thursday with extra Art and Photography sessions on a Wednesday and
Philosophy and Ethics on a Thursday. Our academic mentor, Mrs Young runs
these sessions and is always on hand to give the students the extra support and
guidance they may need across all subjects. These sessions are also a good way
to ensure students keep on top of their homework and I recommend them to
all students to attend where possible.

Keep on top of revision – students are currently doing revision in form time, but
this should not stop there. Continuous revision in all their subjects is required
for them to reach their full potential.
Use this link to find information about the different types of revision techniques
available to all students http://www.misbourne.bucks.sch.uk/74/year-10-parents
(click on the ‘revision techniques – June 2014’ tab on the right-hand side of the page).
The GCSE/BTEC reading list which gives details of useful textbooks and websites to
help with revision can be accessed via the following link:
http://
www.misbourne.bucks.sch.uk/uploads/asset_file/3_0_gcse-subject-reading-list.pdf
Miss K Hill
Head of Year 10
ACHIEVING BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
I would like to create a display board showing the achievements of Year 10 students
both inside and outside of school.
If you are a parent of a Year 10 student please send me a report (with photographs if
possible) with details of your child’s achievements outside school – it could be sport
related, volunteering, cadets, music, drama - anything that they have been
successful at over the past year that we may not know about.
Please email me at [email protected]
Thank you.
Miss K Hill
Head of Year 10
Volume 11 Issue 1
Page 9
CAREERS & HIGHER EDUCATION
Careers and Higher Education Fair 2015
Thursday 26 February, 6.00 to 8.00pm
The annual, Misbourne Careers and Further Education Fair will be held in school from
6.00pm to 8.00pm on Thursday 26 February. As we go to press there are 60
exhibitors signed up to attend and represent a range of employers, apprenticeship
specialists and higher education establishments. We would encourage all our
students to attend, particularly those in Years 10 to 13. The Fair is also open to
students’ siblings who attend other secondary schools. We have enlisted a number of
new exhibitors this year so please come along even if you have attended previous
events.
A list of exhibitors will be added to the Careers and Higher Education Fair website
page next week and will be regularly updated. So to find out who will be there go to:
http://www.misbourne.bucks.sch.uk/249/careers-and-higher-education-fair
If there is a specific careers or higher education area that you would like to find out
about which is not on the list please contact Mrs Hillier: [email protected] or
Mrs Hill: [email protected] and we will endeavour to find someone.
Anyone who would be prepared to come and talk about their employment area and
speak to our students about what they do, their career path, opportunities in their
work
area
and
the
attributes and skills it
requires
should
also
contact Mrs Hillier or Mrs
Hill.
The Fair gives our students
the opportunity to talk with
people about what their
job involves. Exhibitors can
discuss
their
own
qualifications, experience
and advise students on the
skills, qualifications and
attributes employers in
their area are looking for.
The event will help
students with their post 16
option, higher education
and career choices.
University exhibitors will
also be able to provide
generic advice on applying
to
university,
student
finance and university life.
Mrs Hill and Mrs Hillier
Page 10
Misbourne News
CAREERS & HIGHER EDUCATION
Year 9 - Passport to University
Forty-two Year 9 Students attended a
“Passport Day” at Bucks New University
(BNU) on Friday 23 January. The day was designed to
introduce our students to higher education and encourage
them consider university as an option for their future. It
aimed to help students gain an understanding of the courses
that are available, the qualifications and the steps they
would need to take in order to apply to university.
It was a great opportunity for Year 9 to talk with current
BNU students and find out what university life is like. The
activities and information provided will help our students to
make decisions for their future, it demonstrated the diverse
range of courses that might be available to them and
showed how many of these courses are relevant to what
they are already learning in school. Students were made
aware of the importance of GCSEs and progressing to Sixth
Form or college after GCSEs so that they will be able to work
towards meeting universities entry requirements.
The Misbourne students were split into teams, each with
their own BNU student ambassador who guided them
throughout the day. They took part in a quiz, activities
designed to make them think about what would be involved
in and required for studying at university and a question and
answer session with the student ambassadors. It allowed
our students to develop their “soft skills” such as teamwork,
negotiation and presentation. They also toured the BNU
campus and were treated to an excellent lunch.
Bucks New University believes that everyone with the
potential to benefit from higher education should get the
opportunity. The university supports bright talented young
people, regardless of their social or financial background, to
succeed at school and college and help them to think
realistically about how university could boost their future
prospects.
The university has a strong track record in
raising aspiration, attainment and progression rates for
learners in groups normally under-represented in Higher
Education.
Laura Bennett, BNU Schools Liaison Officer, who led the
Passport Day, said she was really impressed with our
students’ attitude and behaviour, The Misbourne was one of
the very best groups that had taken part in a passport day.
Mr Sharp
Head of Year 9 and
Mrs Hillier
Communications and WRL Manager
Volume 11 Issue 1
Page 11
LIBRARY NEWS
BookBuzz
Back in October 2014, Year 7 students
were given the opportunity to select a
book of their choice, from a list of 12
and in the last week of the Autumn
term they were very pleased to receive
their choice of book wrapped up in
Christmas paper, as a present from the
school and the PTA, who funded the
project.
Some students read their
books straight away; others chose to
keep them under the tree to open on
Christmas Day. Here are some of their
comments:
I think it was extremely generous to
give us each a book for Christmas; it
was a lovely way to end 2014
I believe allowing the students to
pick out and personally take the
book of our choice home was a
Year 7 students showed their appreciation by writing a
generous and thoughtful idea.
thank-you card for the PTA
I highly recommend that the school
does this again as everyone who received one of these books was delighted and
I would like the Year 7s next year to have one of these books as well.
I really liked getting a Christmas present from the school, with such a variety of
books (I chose “Whale Boy”). Thanks PTA Ted Dracott
The stories of World War One were really descriptive. I couldn’t put the book
down. It was really nice to get a present from The Misbourne, thank you very
much PTA! Matthew Benson
The students will also have the opportunity to read on brand new Kindles during
their library lessons, which were funded by a PTA bid to the local charity “Sweet
Charity” based in Prestwood. The Library was able to buy ten Kindles, with over 100
different popular titles to read including “The Fault in our Stars” , and titles by David
Walliams and Darren Shan to name but a few. Students use the Kindles as part of
English lessons in the library and this is what they said:
I like the Kindles because it remembers your page when you get back to the
book you were reading, it is very portable and you can change the font size to
suit you.
Carlos Herrara
We like the Kindles because they are electronic so are more interesting than a
paper book. It is also treat to have once a week.
Paige Cawthorne, Calista Fox and Niamh O’Halloran
Mrs Law
Librarian
Page 12
Misbourne News
LIBRARY AND LITERACY NEWS
Student Librarian Awards
Members of the Student Librarian Team have been working hard to gain certificates
of achievement for their library work, which is invaluable to ensure the smooth
running of the Library. Mr Preston presented certificates to the following students:
Bronze certificates:
Alfie Stafford,
Haika Ahmed,
Ben Goldsmith,
Andrew Bottcher,
Anabelle Byron,
Rosalind Hardie,
Shourya Daniel,
Natasha Davis
Martin Matus Davis,
Silver certificates:
Ryan Haig-Godden and Greg Dolling
Members of the Student Librarian Team with Mr Preston
A SUCCESSFUL PARTNERSHIP
I would like to thank all the Year 13 students listed below, who volunteered to take
part in the Paired Reading Partnership programme with Year 8 students. They are to
be congratulated on their hard work, commitment to the programme and, most
importantly for helping to achieve such great results.
Tuesday Bramley
Ben Dugdale
Emma Coping
Ellis Putnam
Laurence Mepham
Lauren Healey
Henry Seal
Becky Wynyard-Wright
Shannon Barlow
After reading with a number of Year 8 students on a one-to-one basis, twice a week,
over an eight week period, the reading ages of the Year 8 students improved
significantly. The difference this will make to them as they progress through the
school is immeasurable.
The Year 13 volunteers are a credit to the school. Well done and thank you again.
Mrs Sirett
HLTA
Volume 11 Issue 1
Page 13
PERFORMING ARTS
The Misbourne
Performing
Arts Present
As the pictures here show, rehearsals are well
underway for The Misbourne 2014-15 Performing
Arts Production. Following a run of pantomimes, the
team decided to take a step away from this and move
the production to the spring term. On Tuesday 10,
Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12 February The
Misbourne Performing Arts Team will give you ‘Bugsy
Malone’.
The Director, Mrs Jeffery has been working tirelessly
with the students to rehearse the show as well as
explore the Chicago accent. The comedy moments,
fast paced action and romantic twists make up the
story line and the students are determined to make
every moment special. We are delighted to have so
many Year 7 students joining the cast this year and it
is great to see students working across year groups
on stage and forging friendships across the school
community.
The music is directed by Mrs Appleyard and, as
always in our productions, we have superb soloists.
Year 12 student Alice Evans takes the lead role of
Blousey Brown and as a music student, her beautiful
singing voice is a real asset to her role. Our youngest
soloist is Ben Rook from Year 7 who will taking on the
role of Fizzy, a cleaner in Fat Sam’s club, to make his
way to stardom. Ben has previous experience of
musicals outside school and has been in the final
selections in audition for the West End Hit Musical
Billy Elliott.
Mr Dwight is preparing the band for the show and the
music will be played by our very own Funktion Band.
With up and coming new instrumentalists to our
more experienced Sixth Formers, the music will have
your feet tapping and fingers clicking.
Page 14
Misbourne News
PERFORMING ARTS
Many other staff and parents are supporting the production with tasks
including set design and painting, costumes, back stage help, box
office, ticket sales and technical support and the performing arts team
is grateful for all who are working together to make this show a
success.
Tickets are on Sale Now
Tickets are on sale priced £8.00 Adults or £6.50 Concessions on
Tuesday, and £9.00 or £7.50 Concessions on Wednesday and
Thursday. A booking form is available on the website: http://
www.misbourne.bucks.sch.uk/57/news/article/163/tickets-for-bugsymalone-on-sale-now They are selling fast so don’t miss this
opportunity to see The Misbourne students shine.
The production is a culmination of an extensive programme in
Performing Arts. The team is committed to providing an extensive
range of experiences in the arts.
From theatre trips and visiting speakers, to workshops and extracurricular clubs, Performing Arts has, and continues to offer
Misbourne students the best possible experiences. 2014-15 has
already been an eventful year and it looks set to continue in the same
exciting and action packed way.
In addition to the high quality Performing Arts for All Programme
offered by the curriculum area, through clubs, student leadership
programme and peripatetic music teaching, our students are
encouraged and supported to Learn it, Live it, Believe it Achieve it!
You can follow us on twitter to see what is coming up next in
Performing Arts: [email protected]
Mrs Appleyard
Performing Arts Curriculum Leader
Volume 11 Issue 1
Page 15
PERFORMING ARTS
Misbourne Music on Tour
The Year 12 Music students
went on tour to Wendover
Library and performed at
the
Christmas
Coffee
morning for local residents.
From Jingle Bells to Away in
a Manger, the students
performed a beautiful
selection of music before
eating lots of cake.
Congratulations to Alice
Evans, Sian Evans, Alice
Jones, David Lewis, Chloe
Peters and Rosie Williams for a fantastic first term of BTEC Music and for making such
a brilliant contribution to the music department.
Mrs Appleyard
Performing Arts Curriculum Leader
The Musicians’ Union
On Wednesday 17 December music BTEC students from Years 10, 11 and 12 were
privileged to have a visiting speaker from the Musicians Union. Jamie Pullman,
Regional Officer for East and South East of England gave an informative presentation
about The Union and life as a working musician.
As a former orchestral player for the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Jamie shared
his personal experiences as a working musician, describing working on shows such as
Phantom of the Opera, recording with Aled Jones and Primal Scream. Jamie outlined
the benefits of being in The Musicians Union and how to make a living in the industry.
It was a fantastic opportunity for our students, who will be taking an exam about the
music industry for their BTEC course. The presentation was informative and helpful to
our students and was another example of how The Misbourne offers high quality links
to industry.
Page 16
Misbourne News
PERFORMING ARTS
Boys Football Update
The Misbourne Sixth Form boys football team started their campaign with a 3-0
victory away at Amersham with goals from Charlie Collett, Matthew Wooster and
Shailen Patel.
Charlie Collett
Shailen Patel
Matthew Wooster
Meanwhile, the Year 9 boys had a fantastic victory in the County Cup Quarter Final
knocking out the holders, Bourne End Academy.
Goals from Henry Junnola-Schofield and Luke Hill sealing a 4-2 victory, their SemiFinal match will be played be against Buckingham or Sir William Ramsay.
Henry Junnola-Schofield
Luke Hill
STOP PRESS!!!
As the Netball League season draws to a close, it is time
for the Tournaments to be played.
The dates for these tournaments are:
Year 11 Wednesday 25 January 4:00pm-6:30pm – Kingsmead Netball Centre
Year 10 Wednesday 4 March 4:00pm-6:00pm – Kingsmead Netball Centre
Year 9 Wednesday 11 March 2:30pm-5:00pm – Chiltern Hills Academy
Year 8 Saturday 21 March 9:00am-12:30pm – Kingsmead Netball Centre
Year 7 Saturday 14 March 9:00am-12:30pm – Kingsmead Netball Centre
Parent support at these events is very welcome. Food is needed as well as warm
clothing.
Volume 11 Issue 1
Page 17
SPORTS REPORT
BADMINTON AT THE MISBOURNE
The Misbourne badminton club usually convenes
every Tuesday after school throughout the year,
but especially in the first two terms. Many
students are more than happy playing socially,
although some are selected to represent the
school.
In January, our badminton teams saw action in the
national schools championships. Buckinghamshire
is one of the strongest counties in the country and
so the first round, played on a local basis, is always
tough. As it was our boys and girls teams played
the respective Dr Challoner’s School teams. We
formed teams at Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4. In
the boys’ competition Owen Jackson-Bird represented the school, despite being in
Year 7 and was indeed selected as our number one player at Key Stage 3. He had a
solid singles game, although his rather more experienced opponent was able to beat
him. Alex Dashwood, our number two, had a very close, hard fought singles match,
taking the match to a deciding third game which he lost 15-13. In the doubles games,
Alex and Jordan Foster also forced their match to three games, losing 15-12 in the
decider.
At Key Stage 4 the fixture was rather more one sided, with Ryan Haig-Godden losing
21-19 in his singles game.
The boys fought hard and clearly showed
improvement throughout the fixture. Better luck next time boys.
The boys who represented the school were Owen Jackson-Bird, Alex Dashwood, John
Akhurst, Jordan Foster, Ryan Haig-Godden, John Collier, Joshua Day and Shazaib
Chaudhry.
In the girls’ competition, some of our players were far less experienced than their
opponents. However, there was significant improvement by our players during the
fixture. Some of the girls drafted in had not played with each other before, but with
effort and teamwork, they were able to push the opponents in the doubles
games. Our more experienced Key Stage 4 girls also came close to winning their
singles games, but our best chance came in one of the doubles matches with Robyn
Coenen partnered by Sarah Collier, who lost 23-21 in their game. Once again, many
thanks to the girls for their
hard work and enthusiasm –
there was great team spirit
amongst the whole squad –
maybe next time girls?
The girls who played were
Sarah Collier, Melissa Peters,
Kitty Jones, Serena Jivan,
Robyn
Coenen,
Mia
Mortimer, Billie-Lisa Rhoades
-Smith and Nemiah Munir.
Mr Tebb
Page 18
Misbourne News
SPORTS REPORT
Learning Lacrosse at Wycombe Abbey
On Monday 12 January, a group of 14 Year 8 students attended a gifted and talented PE
workshop at Wycombe Abbey School. The event was organised by sports leaders from
Wycombe Abbey, who chose to complete a Lacrosse workshop. The day was jam
packed with training sessions in the morning and a tournament against other local
schools in the afternoon. All 14 students worked hard in poor weather conditions.
The day finished with a tournament, team Misbourne demonstrated how much
progress they had made throughout the day in the morning sessions. They played well
and came second overall.
HOCKEY HERO
Misbourne student, Joe Allnutt was part of The Wycombe U16 boys hockey team that
participated in the National indoor finals in Wolverhampton during the weekend of
Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 January. A total of 100 teams from all over the country
entered the competition, and just ten got through to the national finals. Joe was
selected for to play for Wycombe despite being a year younger than the rest of the
team. He played exceptionally
well and was a valuable
member of the team and
Wycombe ended up as silver
medallists, the second best
team in the country.
Well done, Joe.
The Misbourne Hockey Club
will start meeting again on
Tuesday lunchtimes after half
term.
Miss Flitney
Curriculum Leader, PE
Joe, front row second from the left, pictured with the Wycombe
U16 Hockey Team
Volume 11 Issue 1
Page 19
The Misbourne
Forthcoming Events
Misbourne Drive
Great Missenden
Buckinghamshire
HP16 0BN
4 February - County Cross Country
4 February - Year 12 Enrichment Day
4 February - PTA Meeting
5 February - Years 12 and 13 Consultation Evening
Phone: 01494 862869
E-mail: [email protected]
6 February - Years 7- 9 Visit to The Science Museum
9 - 13 February - Bugsy Malone Production
Mr Robert Preston BA, MEd (Oxon)
Headteacher
13 February - Half-term begins
15 February - Years 11, 12 and 13 trip to Iceland in half-term week
16 - 20 February - Ski Trip to Champoluc
www.misbourne.bucks.sch.uk
23 February - Years 7 and 8 Achievement Evening
23 February - Primary Schools Cross Country Festival
26 February - Careers & Higher Education Fair, 6.00 - 8.00pm
2 March - Years 7 and 8 exams start
2 March - Year 12 Achievement Evening
4 March - PTA Meeting
4 March - World Book Day
10 March - Performing Arts Evening
13 March - Years 7 and 8 exams end
16 - 18 March - Year 10 Geography Trip to Osmington Bay
17 March - Year 12 Visit to BMW Factory, Oxford
Term Dates 2014 - 2015
Open on the morning of:
Unless otherwise notified the school will
close at the end of the afternoon of:
Spring Term 2015
Monday 5 January 2015
Monday 23 February 2015
Friday 13 February 2015
Friday 27 March 2015
Summer Term 2015
Monday 13 April 2015
Tuesday 2 June 2015
Friday 22 May 2015
Friday 17 July 2015
INSET DAYS
Monday 1 June 2015
Monday 20 July 2015
Term Dates 2015 - 2016
Open on the morning of:
Unless otherwise notified the school will
close at the end of the afternoon of:
Autumn Term 2015
Thursday 3 September 2015
Monday 2 November 2015
Friday 23 October 2015
Friday 18 December 2015
Spring Term 2016
Tuesday 5 January 2016
Monday 22 February 2016
Friday 12 February 2016
Wednesday 23 March 2016
Summer Term 2016
Monday 11 April 2016
Tuesday 7 June 2016
Friday 27 May 2016
Thursday 21 July 2016
INSET DAYS
Wednesday 2 September 2015
Monday 4 January 2016
Monday 6 June 2016
Friday 25 September 2015
Thursday 24 March 2016