newsletter - Queensmead School

NEWSLETTER
Issue 160 July 2013
Normandy Landings Beaches Trip
Max Lloyd and myself
joined up with other
students from Hillingdon
secondary schools to visit
the D Day Normandy
Landing Beaches and other
important locations nearby.
We set off from the Civic
Centre in Uxbridge at
7.30am on Saturday 29th
June and travelled to
Dover to catch the ferry to
Calais. After a long coach
journey we arrived at our
destination at 8.00pm that
evening. We had the
privilege of travelling with
and talking to three World
War II veterans, Myer,
Walter and Bill, who had
many stories to tell of their
experiences during the
D Day Landings. They
were very interesting to
listen to and good fun to
be around.
Sunday started with us
visiting Pegasus Bridge;
the British troops took
control of this bridge,
which was the first step to
the successful landings of
the allied forces. Frank was
our guide, he also travelled
with us, he is a military
historian and battlefields
guide, he knew everything
and was very interesting to
listen to. We also visited
the German Gun Batteries
and Sword Beach, one of
five landing areas of the
Normandy invasion.
On Monday we visited the
Arromanches 360o cinema
where we saw „The Price of
Freedom‟ film, which was
inspiring and taught us all
more about D Day. We
then went to visit the US,
German and British
Cemeteries. The German
Cemetery was very
depressing as some soldiers
had been buried together
and their grave stones were
just black plaques on the
floor with, if any, very basic
information on them. The
US and British Cemeteries
were very ceremonial; all
the graves were labeled
with their regiment, name
and a quote from their
families. We laid crosses to
show our respect to the
soldiers and as Max is a
cadet at the Royal Signals
Regiment he found the
graves of soldiers who
were in the Royal Signals
and laid his crosses on
their graves. We had a
fun evening of bowling
after an emotional day
visiting the graves.
We travelled back home
on Tuesday arriving back
in Uxbridge at 7.15pm.
We had a fantastic time
and would like to thank
everyone involved in
organizng the trip.
Harry Smith
Year 10
PAGE 2
Year 11 Prom
NEWSLETTER
NE WS LE T T E R
PAGE 3
NEWSLETTER
PAGE 4
Sports Day
Year 7
Year 8
Year 9
Overall placing
Overall placing
Overall placing
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
—
—
—
—
—
7d (195 points)
7g (194 points)
7c (174 points)
7f (167 points)
7a (156 points)
Tug of War
st
1
2nd
3rd
— 7g
— 7b
— 7d
Record Breakers
 100 metres Tashuana
A'Dolphine 14.22
seconds
 Relay was won by 7a in
60.06 seconds
—
—
—
—
—
8g (202 points)
8d (191 points)
8b (170 points)
8a (166 points)
8h/8j (159 points)
—
—
—
—
—
9e (212 points)
9g (170 points)
9c (161 points)
9a/9b (158 points)
9d (138 points)
Tug of War
Tug of War
1st
2nd
3rd
1st
2nd
3rd
— 8f
— 8h
— 8d
Record Breakers
 Girls 200 metres Tiarny




Wilson 27.16 seconds
Girls 1500 metres Selina
Bicknell 5 minutes 27
seconds
Boys shot put Dontai
Leonard 11.20 metres
Boys 200 metres Philip
Simpson 27.22 seconds
Boys relay was won by 8d
in 55.47 seconds
— 9c
— 9d
— 9a
Record Breakers
 Girls 300 metres
Sharnique Williams 53.9
seconds
 Girls relay 9e 60.01
seconds
 Boys 200 metres Carl
Bower 25.19 seconds
Boys relay was won by 9e
in 51.76 seconds
PAGE 5
Year 10
Dodge Ball Champions
Overall placing
10e
st
1
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
—
—
—
—
—
10d (206 points)
10e (200 points)
10b (172 points)
10c (169 points)
10f (158 points)
Tug of War
1st
2nd
3rd
— 10f
— 10e
— 10g
Record Breakers
 Girls 200 metres Maria Kai







34.19 seconds
Girls triple jump Jamie
Barnes 7.35 metres
Girls relay 10f 60.03
seconds
Boys 800 metres Callum
Baldock 2 minutes 23
seconds
Boys 400 metres Michah
St Louis 57.06 seconds
Boys 1500 metres Chris
Mepham 5 minutes 8
seconds
Boys triple jump Callum
Baldock 10.35 metres
Mixed relay was won by
10d in 56.72 seconds
Runner up 10b
Well done to all those who
participated in Sports Day
and made it so successful.
There will be more interform competitions next year,
where forms can accumulate
points throughout the year
as well as Sports Day 2014.
Mr Conway
Head of PE
PAGE 6
NEWSLETTER
Year 8 Thorpe Park Reward Trip
On Saturday 6th July ninety
Year 8 students went to
Thorpe Park as a reward
trip for outstanding
punctuality, attendance
and behaviour throughout
the academic year.
The weather in the morning
was perfect and all the
students and teachers were
excited at the prospect of
trying out all of the exciting
rides that the theme park
has to offer, especially the
new ride: Swarm.
As the day progressed
everyone seemed to be
having a fantastic time on
the rides.
The lovely weather
continued and everyone
made the most out of the
time left. Unfortunately a
great day had to end but
everyone had a fabulous
time.
Mr Walden
Head of Year 8
NE WS LE T T E R
International Gymnastic Competition
Jessica Penn from Year 8
went to Italy in the first
week of July to compete in
the Turin Acro Cup. She is
the base in an acrobatic
gymnastics pairing, she
and her partner came 2nd in
the competition.
Miss Hardwick
Assistant Headteacher
Design Museum Trip
On Wednesday 10th July,
seven Year 12 Product
Design students visited the
Design Museum on
London's South Bank.
The students needed to
have an understanding of
designs through the ages,
and this trip meant they
could experience both old
and new products first
hand. While at the
museum students could try
out products and see how
designs had changed and
developed over the years.
The students returned to
school saying they felt
inspired for their own
projects.
Miss Hart
DT Department
Engineering Trip to Heathrow
On 28th June Ms O'Neil took
her Year 12 Engineering
class to Heathrow. The
students were treated to a
tour 'backstage' at
Heathrow Express, the new
Terminal 2 and an
exciting ride on the Pods at
Terminal 5.
The students had the
opportunity to meet with
control engineers who gave
them an insight into the
workings of the control
room. The day was enjoyed
by all.
Ms O‟Neil
DT Department
PAGE 7
NEWSLETTER
PAGE 8
Post 16 Induction
Induction gives Year 11
students the opportunity
to experience life as a
Post 16 student. For three
days, potential Post 16
students attend taster
lessons in their chosen
subjects. The aim is for
students to understand
what their academic lives
will be like for the next
two years.
Students were first met
by their Head of Year,
Mr Noble, and a welcome
assembly was held.
Students then got to meet
their form tutors and
prepare themselves for
the three days ahead.
The lessons were
interactive and allowed
students to involve themselves in their chosen
subjects.
Students also had first hand
experience of life as a Post
16 student by visiting the
common room and study
area, as well as being able
to talk to their teachers and
ask any questions about
Post 16 life.
It was a very successful few
days and we look forward
to these students starting
their Post 16 education with
us in September.
Mr Noble
Head of Post 16
Year 9 Borough Rounders Tournament
On Monday 8th July the
Year 9 mixed rounders
team travelled to Vyners
School for the annual
borough tournament. Well
done to the following who
finished a very creditable
fourth in their section:
Catriona Buck
Megan Bunker
Mark Lobb
Jaime Ngo
Tilly Ormrod
Daniella Potts
Hannah Roberts
Tom Wiggington
Matthew Wright [Captain]
Mohamed Yonis
Mrs Wallace
PE Department
PAGE 9
NE WS LE T T E R
Engineering Club
The Engineering Club
enjoyed a final extra
curricular activity celebrating
a year of eventful practical
work.
The students developed
their design skills by
creating some
interesting projects.
This included entering the Toyota Stem
Challenge, to some
questionable dancing
skills, to students
developing their
their design
skills.
Ms O‟Neil
DT Department
German Trip
Turkish Immigrants in
Germany. Everyone had a
fantastic day and really enjoyed the film.
On Wednesday 10th July
twenty Year 10 students
went to the Goethe
Institute to watch
Alamanya - a film about
Nazer Ansari tells us about
his experience: „ As I am
learning German, a day trip
to the Goethe Institute in
the city was a good time to
relate what I have been
learning in lessons to a real
film. The staff and facilities
Head Boy and Girl
Post 16 Induction in July
was kicked off by Head Boy
and Head Girl nominations.
The hall was packed with
current and future Post 16
students who were all
ready to make their voices
heard. Eight candidates
ran for election, nominated
by staff as exceptional
representatives of the
school. The Post 16
students then voted for
their chosen candidate. The
Head Boy and Head Girl for
next year are Joe Allman
and Molly Oxley.
The school would like to
thank all candidates for
their speeches and the
other candidates have now
formed the Senior
Ambassador Committee.
Mr Noble
Head of Post 16
at the establishment were
great and the film was sehr
unterhaltsam (very
entertaining). I would
recommend the Goethe
Institute to everyone even
if you do not know a single
word or German‟.
Mr Moffat
Languages Department
NEWSLETTER
PAGE 10
Year 8 Borough Rounders Tournament
Congratulations to the
Year 8 rounders team who
came third in the borough
tournament hosted by
Queensmead. The team
narrowly missed out on a
place in the final by
winning three matches
and losing one, however,
Ruislip High scored more
rounders than us and so
progressed into the final.
Well done to the Year 8
team:
Rhiannon Besley
Captain), Aaron Connell,
Jahmahli Green,
Paige Hill, Kiera Nolleth,
Emmanuel Opata, Bisi
Osindeinde, Pranavan
Sarvananthan, Annabel
Smith, Heather Trant, and
Taran Unnikrishnan
Special thanks also go to
the following Year 9 girls
who helped at both the
Year 7 and 8 tournaments:
Catriona Buck, Megan
Bunker, Jaime Ngo, and
Ming Woolf.
Mrs N Wallace
PE Department
Biology Field Trip
On Friday 8th July twentytwo keen biologists gave up
their weekend to head to
sunny North Norfolk.
Students were able to
practise field study techniques in preparation for the
A-level Biology exams next
year. These included “mark
-release-recapture” of
woodlice and random and
systematic sampling.
The highlight of the field
work was studying the
ecology of sand dune
succession. However, due
to the mild threat of adder
bites and spiky marram
grass some students may
disagree.
Evening activities included
trips to the beach,
highly competitive rounders
matches, laser tag and
archery. The students
were an absolute credit to
the school; hardworking,
fun and a pleasure to be
with.
My thanks go to
Mr Simpson for all his help
on the trip.
Miss Hart
Science Department
NE WS LE T T E R
BT Digital Champions Reward Trip
On 10th July, as we arrived
at Wembley Arena music
was playing in the background and everyone was
doing the Mexican Wave.
BBC Radio One DJ Nihal
introduced us to the first
act „The Other Tribe‟.
Everyone loved them and
the crowd were jumping up
and down.
The evening continued with
a variety of singing,
rapping, dancing and some
DJs.
The final act was Wretch 32
who was the best rapper of
the night and the main act.
Everyone in the audience
put on their phones and
waved their glow sticks in
the air. The DJ took a
picture and said to us
„Remember this, when they
tell you no you say yes, so
never give up even if
people tell you to‟.
It was an amazing night.
Lucy Thorpe
Year 8
PAGE 11
PAGE 12
NE WS LE T T E R
Junior Borough Athletics Championship
On Tuesday 2nd July fortythree students
accompanied by
Mrs Carter, Mrs Grehan and
Mr Walden went to the
Uxbridge Athletics Stadium
to compete in the Borough
Athletics Championships.
All competitors had been
training hard in preparation
for the Championships, by
attending athletics club
every Wednesday after
school. The students were
well behaved and a credit
to the school. There were
some exceptional individual
performances as well as
four awesome relay teams.
In the Year 7girls‟
competition Tashauna
A‟Dolphine picked up the
bronze medal in the 150
metres sprint, Tia Grace
was also awarded a bronze
medal in the 70 metres
hurdles and Rebecca
Carrington-Boswood was
third in the discus, with a
distance of 18.49 metres.
In the Year 7 boys‟
competition Ryan Bailey
was awarded the silver
medal in the 75 metres
hurdles, Haider Zaini threw
the discus 17.39 metres,
which won the competition
and Karvel James-Stirling
gained the bronze medal in
the shot put.
In the Year 8 girls‟
competition the relay team
earned second place in a
very fast race, Tiarny
Wilson retained her
borough title by winning
the 100 metres sprint and
Selina Bicknell also
achieved a gold medal in
the 1500 metres.
In the Year 8 boys‟
competition the relay team
achieved a time of 51.86
seconds, resulting in the
gold medal. Aaron Connell
achieved gold in the high
jump, with a height of 1.47
metres. Ali Meshan
jumped 4.93 metres in the
long jump, achieving the
gold medal.
Dontai Leonard was
awarded the gold medal in
the shot put. Daniel Njoku
ran the 100 metres in 12
seconds, achieving second
place. Josh Thorne also
picked up the silver medal
in the 200 metres. Daniel
Edwards achieved a
personal best in the 1500
metres with a time of 4.56
seconds and was awarded
the gold medal. Liam
Thorne achieved the silver
medal in the 800 metres
with a time of 2.29
seconds.
The PE department would
like to say well done to all
students who were selected
to compete at the Junior
Borough Athletics
Championships. A special
congratulations goes to the
Year 8 girls team who were
placed third in the borough
and the Year 8 boys team
who were placed second in
the borough.
Mrs Carter
PE Department
PAGE 13
Year 5 Taster
Queensmead were proud to
host the e-Safety themed
taster day on Friday 5th
July to Deanesfield, Field
End, Bourne, Newnham
and Willow Tree Year 5
pupils. 340 students
engaged in activities
ranging from creating
e-Safety jitter bugs (DT),
creating an e-Safety
programming game (ICT),
creating a e-Safety
computer sculpture (Art),
creating e-Safety leaflets
(English) and iPad video
editing in Maths. The
feedback from the Year 5
students was extremely
positive commenting on
how much they enjoyed
the day, using our facilities
and working with our staff
and students. The following
Year 7‟s assisted the Year 5
groups on the day, they
were an absolute credit to
themselves and the school.
The day could not have run
as smoothly as it did
without their help.
Belal Abdel-Baki, Ellie
Anderson, Stephanie
Antonova, Mia Atlan, Jake
Baker, Lewis Baker, Louisa
Barley, Adetola Baruwa,
Ariella Bevan, Myles Bishop,
Jasmin Buckley, Tabitha
Burgess, Chanelle Canavan,
Tyra Carrington-Boswood,
Isa-Louise Clarke, Najmah
Dahir, Jay Downing, Megan
Duffy, Safia Dulloo, Natalie
Enwiya, Grace Evans,
Harrison Fitzgerald,
Alexandra Ford, Kacper
Gawecki, Tia Grace, Melissa
Graham, Aneesa Habib,
Yousif Hadjini Colaou,
Karvel James-Stirling,
Brooke Jeffries, Ikhlas
Khalid, Milli King, Sophie
Langan, Osvaidas Macionis,
Khy Martinez, Molly McCabe,
Hajirah Miah, Sofia Mihramane, Erin Millea, Thomas
O'Leary, Tai Patel,
Ava-Gaye Pryce, Saugat,
Rai, Charlie Raymond,
Fatima Rehemtulla,
Megan Rogers, Khushal
Shah, Zuzanna
Skorupinska, Sarah Soares,
Krishan Suchak, Haroop
Tatter, Manraj Tatter, Robyn
Taylor, Zoe Tearle, Alfie
Thomas, Samuel Vellosa,
James Warren, Alfie Warren,
Conor Watson, Samantha
Watts and Dominique
Newton.
Mr Sahota
Assistant Headteacher
NE WS LE T T E R
Year 7 Thorpe Park Reward Trip
On Saturday 13th July
sixty-four Year 7 students
accompanied by Mr Levin,
Miss Dye, Miss Evans, Miss
Jupp, Miss Husk and Miss
Hart went to Thorpe Park
as a reward trip for
outstanding punctuality,
attendance and behaviour
throughout the academic
year.
Mr Levin
Head of Year 7
Road Safety Performance
“Tiny Giants” a not for
profit arts organisation
visited the school on the
17th July to put on a
performance for Year 9
students.
Miss Cogan
Head of Year 9
PAGE 14
PAGE 15
Race for Life
On Sunday 14th July, a
very very hot day
Miss Hart, took a group of
seven Year 7 girls to the
Race For Life 5K run in
Hyde Park, to raise money
for Cancer Research. Sayjal Bhambra, Lily Benson,
Chanelle Canavan, Molly
McCabe, Carla Rosier,
Chloe Ruddell, Zoe Tearle,
Miss Hanna and Miss Jupp
raised more than £350 for
the charity, to beat cancer.
We took the train to
Knightsbridge station and
walked to Hyde Park. When
we arrived, there were
singers and dancers. We
danced along with them
and warmed up ready for
the race.
The race started and
everybody was really
excited. During the race,
there were lots of things to
look at, water fountains,
small cottages, towers and
monuments. There was
even a gardener spraying
everyone with water as we
all raced past. After about
an hour of dancing, running
and laughing all the way we
could finally see the finish
line, which was a relief.
It was all worth it in the
end: raising money to beat
cancer. We laughed a lot
and even got pick 'n' mix
and Pink Lady apples which
were amazing in the
sunshine after the race.
We hope that we go back
next year and once again
have this amazing
experience.
Sayjal Bhambra
Year 7
Summer Concert