rookfield Press

rookfield Press
The Dance Festival 2014
Contents
P2. Community and
Events
P4. Entertainment
and Reviews
P10. Sports
P13. Technology
P14. History
P16. Games
P18. Ask Jolene
Last year’s AS performances
The spectacular Dance Festival returns to Brookfield on the 2nd and 3rd of
April 2014. The festival presents the dancers of Brookfield on the daunting
yet thrilling school stage accompanied by dazzling lights and powerful music.
With the wide variety of age and ability of the dancers, one can be assured
that the entertainment is never ending. Future GCSE and A-Level students
considering studying dance will also be able to experience the high level and
creativity of current GCSE and A-Level dance students’ pieces of work. These
include both solos and group dances which will be premiered on stage before
being performed for the exam. For younger students, the work of the Year 79 dance clubs will undoubtedly provide an insight into the fun and imaginative
dance rehearsals which take place throughout the week, where anybody is
welcome, no matter their level of ability.
All of the students who take part, whether it be dancers or choreographers,
work exceptionally hard and give up hours of their time to ensure that the
Dance Festival is a roaring success. Support is extremely important to
everybody who is involved. Encouragement is the key to overcoming
pre-performance nerves and happily the Brookfield community never fail to
provide such an overwhelming sense of support with ‘sold out’ nights year
after year. More reason then to make sure you don’t miss out!
Tickets will be on sale during the week running up to the Dance Festival at £3
for adults and £1.50 for concessions. We hope to see you there and maybe
you’ll be persuaded to take part next year!
Article by Ellie Macleay, Year 13
Photos by Shaun Knight, Premises Manager
Sweeney Todd
Every year Brookfield Community school
works hard to produce a show that is
creative and different. This year’s school
production was the gory story of Sweeney
Todd. You may have heard of or seen last
year’s spectacular show which was the one
and only ‘Our House!’ This year’s follow up
certainly didn’t disappoint.
People may not have heard the gruesome story of Sweeney Todd but after this musical
performance you’ll be sure to never forget it. The story is set in Victorian London where Sweeney
seeks revenge on the people who have wronged him by setting up a barber shop on Fleet
Street. But this isn’t any old barber shop. instead of shaving or cutting his clients’ hair, he slits
their throats. His partner in crime, Mrs Lovett, makes the leftover flesh into pies! Shockingly,
Mrs Lovett’s ill-reputed pie shop is transformed over night from apparently serving “the worst
pies in London” to suddenly becoming Fleet Street’s most popular eatery. But don’t let the
blood and gore put you off - there is also a hint of romance!
The cast, directors and both choirs have all worked extremely hard to create a show as
sensational as this in just six weeks! The star of the show, Sweeney is played by Edward Jowle.
His partner in crime, Mrs Lovett is played by Emily Germon. The younger generation of
characters, sailor Antony and Sweeney’s long-lost daughter Joanna are played by Dominic
Stevenson and Jessica Sharratt. The judge
is played by Ed Telfer. Beadle is played by
Ben Whiteside. Pirelli is played by Francesca Fleming and his tender-hearted assistant Toby is played by Jemma Franklin.
Last but not least, the mysterious beggar
woman is played by
Sarah Dave, Year 7
Ellie Ward
The Derbyshire Times has praised Brookfield Community School’s performance of Sweeney Todd:
‘Edward Jowle is simply knockout as the demon barber Sweeney Todd, carving out a first-class
performance in his last stage role for the school before leaving to further his singing at a top conservatoire. He takes the difficult musical score in his stride and turns it into an aural, emotional
masterpiece which hooks its listeners in and keeps them hanging on every word and every note.
His leading lady Emily Germon gives an impressive portrayal of Mrs Lovett, maker of the worst pies
in London, who aids Sweeney in his gory quest for revenge. Hers is character acting at its finest,
comical, as chirpy as a Cockney sparrow and totally convincing. She has an amazing vocal range
and confidently carries off every tricky song this creation throws at her.
Great performances too come from Dominic Stevenson as lovelorn sailor Anthony Hope, Ellie Ward
as The Beggar Woman, Edward Telfer as Judge Turpin, Jessica Sharratt as the barber’s daughter
Johanna, Jemma Franklin as lovable assistant Toby Ragg and Sean Fagan as the asylum governor
Jonas Fogg.’
The Big Vote
On the 15th of November 2013, I was given the opportunity to speak in the House of Commons
to the UK Youth Parliament on the topic of Votes at 16. I spoke for three minutes and the
broadcast was shown to millions of people. What’s more, the ‘Votes at 16’ topic won the debate, making it the national campaign of the UK Youth Parliament.
So how did all this come about? Well, it all started at Brookfield Community School in March
2012, with something called The Big Vote. All 1330 students voted on who they would like to
be picked as their representative on the Derbyshire Youth Council, and I was lucky enough to
be that person. From the Derbyshire Youth Council I was elected from
Chesterfield to represent the town and the whole of Derbyshire on the UK Youth Parliament. For the next two years
I was taken around the country on conferences and residentials, meeting all kinds of people.
The final outcome amounted to me being elected to represent East Midlands in the House of
Commons, for a speech about young people being given the right to vote in general elections
at 16 years old.
I’m so grateful to the students of Brookfield for giving me the chance to experience these
amazing opportunities and I want to thank everyone who voted for me two years ago.
However, my two year term ended in February and it’s time for someone else to take over.
Running in The Big Vote was one of the best things I’ve ever done and I’d encourage anyone
interested in representing young people to do so. If you win the vote, there are a whole range
of possibilities open to you, including the UKYP, and it’s the first step to representing your
young people or changing your area. It also looks great on your CV or personal statement for
applying to universities!
Shakeel Hajat, Year 12
12 Years a Slave Film Review
Director: Steve McQueen
Stars: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender,
Lupita Nyong'o, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul
Dano, Brad Pitt, Alfre Woodard, Adepero
Oduye, Paul Giamatti, Sarah Paulson
Age rating: 15
Star rating:
12 Years a Slave has been hailed the best film portrayal of American slavery, yet with its lack
of hesitation to show the true but shocking facts about what really happened. The film is an
adaptation of the accounts of Soloman Northup, a free man born in New York who was later
kidnapped and sold to a plantation owner in the south of America.
Soloman is played by British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor who shows his enormous talent as he has
to cope with the freedom of walking down a New York street in the earliest scenes, to
suddenly getting viciously beaten by his captors.
This film is not for the faint hearted as it shows language and violence that will make you
cringe with sadness, but director Steve McQueen says that the film is not an attack on the
brutality of western countries but rather highlights the fact that these acts were carried out,
and carried out for many years, not just in America.
After Soloman is kidnapped he is taken by boat to New Orleans, where Paul Giamatti’s diabolic
trader gives him his slave name, Platt, and sells him to Benedict Cumberbatch’s anxious
plantation owner, Ford, as part of a deal.
One of the most disturbing scenes is when you see a single-shot of Chiwetel Ejiofor gasping
for breath as he hangs by the neck from a tree with the edges of his toes just scraping the
mud below. McQueen keeps this shot for a long time, with other slaves visible in the background, carrying out their duties and ignoring the sight in front of them.
Lingering shots seem to be McQueen’s forte as later in the film, Soloman is moved to another
plantation lead by Epps (Michael Fassbender) and he is forced to take over Epps’ job by
torturing a young girl.
12 Years a Slave is a masterpiece of drama, sadness and brutality. It is a must see! I advise,
however, you take quite a large box of tissues with you to the cinema. I give this film four and
a half stars just because I couldn’t stop crying after I watched it!
Rebecca Hall, Year 12
Presenting The 1975
The 1975’s self-titled debut album has proved a huge hit with the
British public since its release in September 2013. The band drew
inspiration from classic John Hughes flicks to create “a soundtrack to
a movie that was never made”. With music fit for an opening scene,
these tracks would be a perfect embellishment to any ‘Bratpack’
feature film. This flawless concept left listeners captivated as they
were spoiled with juxtaposing elements and emotions.
From the upbeat tempo and playful attitude of songs such as “Girls”
and “Chocolate,” to the raw realness of “Robbers,” this album pairs
quality song writing with an impressive aesthetic.
Zoe Knight, Year 13
Anavae
Anavae are going places. Since their creation in September
2011, they have released 3 brilliant EPs, and countless
acoustic tracks, B-sides and covers.
The band essentially consists of Rebecca Need-Menear and
her self-proclaimed 'partner in crime' Jamie Finch, however
they also have a very loyal and talented live and recording
band, made up of Joshua Platt, Seb Gee and James Pearce.
I have had the pleasure of meeting these 5 individuals they are all genuinely lovely, funny, down-to-earth people.
The Anavae family is a great one.
Their music can only be described as epic. The band balance edgy guitar parts with gorgeous lyrics
(which go hand-in-hand with Need-Menear's ground-breaking voice) and a strong drum beat throughout.
Their songs - especially the likes of Storm Chaser, Zero Fidelity and Sunlight Through A Straw - will stay
in your head for days on end, and that is no bad thing.
Their new album 'Dimensions' is out now, and features the awesome singles Anti Faith and Storm
Chaser. One to look out for.
By Lilly Beards, Year 8
Straight from the Red Carpet
A new year means time for the awards season to start up again, and so far the multiple
ceremonies that have taken place have thrown out both predictable and surprising winners.
The 2014 People’s Choice Awards was a great night for action movies with the blockbuster
Iron Man 3 leaving with the award for Favourite Movie and Favourite Action Movie, along with
the lead actor Robert Downey Jr. walking away with Favourite Action Movie Star. Other films
that claimed accolades included The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Now You See Me, and
Gravity , in which actress Sandra Bullock also won an award for her performance. Widely
acclaimed actors like Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio also won in the film categories.
Right: Actor
Robert
Downey Jr.
accepts his
award for
Fave Action
Movie Star
for his role
as Tony
Stark in ‘Iron
Man 3’
At the Golden Globes, 12 Years A
Slave left with the award for Best
Motion Picture, with Frozen
following close behind with
Animated Feature Film. Despite
some controversy about poorly
written characters, particularly the
male ones, both the lead and
support actresses, Amy Adams
and Jennifer Lawrence won
awards for American Hustle.
Regarding those in television, there were big wins
for programmes like The Big Bang Theory and
Homeland as well as actors such as Ian
Somerhalder, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Josh
Charles at the PCA’s.
Left: Actress Amy Adams showing off
her award from the Golden Globes
Above: (LEFT TO RIGHT) Kayley Cuoco and Kunal Nayyar
from ‘The Big Bang Theory’, and Ian Somerhalder of ‘The
Vampire Diaries’ at the PCA’s
Other programmes such as Breaking Bad and Brooklyn Nine-Nine both won awards at the
Golden Globes, with respective actors Bryan Cranston and Andy Samberg leaving with
their own accolades as well.
Closer to home, the National Television Awards gave us a break from the A-list celebs and let us
show our appreciation for the shows on our TV’s. It was a good night for drama with Doctor
Who claiming the Drama title and actor Matt Smith also receiving the Best Drama Performance
Award, along with a heart wrenching farewell to his time as the popular show’s title character.
Below: Despite not being present to accept his award in person at the NTA’s,
Benedict took time to send a thank you
message all the way from California
Unsurprisingly, the award for Best Entertainment Presenter
went to Ant and Dec, with TV shows like Mrs Brown’s Boys
and Strictly Come Dancing beating the other nominees to
claim awards. For individual actors, Sherlock’s Benedict
Cumberbatch triumphed over Idris Elba and David Tennant
for TV Detective.
All in all it’s been a big few months for the TV and film industries, but with the Oscars and BAFTA’s just around the
corner, there are many more results to come very, very
soon.
By Shannon Ashley, Year 12
Can you spot the famous faces from the Oscars?
All of the books featured can be found in our school library!
Books
John Green—Paper Towns
Many a teen has read at least one John Green book; The Fault in
Our Stars and Looking for Alaska have both proved popular with
young readers. Should you also add Paper Towns to the list of John
Green books you have read?
Quentin Jacobsen lives in Orlando, Florida, goes to Winter Park High
School and lives next to the adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman. ‘Q’
and Margo used to play together as children, but then they grew
apart. One night Margo knocks on Q’s bedroom window and
convinces him to go out with her, in the middle of the night. The two
of them spend the night avenging people who Margo feels have hurt
her. After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at
school to find out that Margo has not. Q starts finding clues towards
where Margo might have gone, and he makes it his mission to find
Margo again.
I found that this book surprised me on several occasions. The story twists, turns and never fails
to surprise you. It is a book about growing up, but also a romance story. It is also a book about
searching and finding; not just Margo, but also finding your real friends, finding yourself and
finding out what really matters. The language in the book is easy to understand, and it is not
written in a ‘grown-up’ and philosophical view, but rather from the slightly nerdy view of a
teenage boy. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I definitely recommend that you add this
latest John Green book to the top of your to-read pile.
Maria Gran Year 12
Now a film, soon to be
released!
If you enjoy a
good read why
not take The
Book Thief out
of the library
before you go
and see the
film!
Lauren Child — Ruby Redfort , Look Into My Eyes
This is the first book in a series of three written by the
same author as Charlie and Lola. However, these books
are aimed at an older audience and are much more
thrilling and exciting. Ruby Redfort is a 13 year old girl
who is recruited by a super-secret agency called Spectrum for her code-breaking skills and general knowledge.
Along with her cool butler, Hitch, Ruby has to stop the evil
Count from stealing the Jade Buddha of Khotan (a very
famous Jewel that was lost for thousands of years). Using
a series of clues hidden in an old
newspaper and her
best friend Clancy Crew, can Ruby Redfort stop the Count
without getting killed?
Grace Thacker,
Year 7
Karen Rose - Watch Your Back
Karen Rose has invaded our bookshelves with book after book
for over ten years now. Rose’s latest thrilling romantic suspense Watch Your Back is not the first novel of hers to be on
The Sunday Times Top Ten Bestseller list. Watch Your Back is
the 4th addition to the Baltimore series in which we get a better insight to the lives of the hero and heroine, Clay Maynard
and Stevie Mazzetti.
Detective Stevie Mazzetti has already suffered the loss of her
husband and son and numerous threats on her young
daughter, Cordelia. When she finds out her ex-partner was a
dirty cop, who exchanged money for injustice, Stevie takes
matters into her own hands. By doing this she puts herself in
danger and ends up begrudgingly turning to former Marine,
Clay Maynard for help. Stevie has turned Clay down before but
as they uncover more crimes they find more trust and respect
for one another which might just save them both.
Rose effortlessly balances romance and crime in all her novels.
The plot of Watch Your Back is complex, the characters mysterious and loveable and the boundaries of the genre are
pushed in this hair raising, edge-of-your-seat thriller.
Stephanie Warren, Year 13
A Very Brief History of the Tour de France
The Tour de France, despite now being one of the biggest sports events in the world, can
trace its origins back to an incident completely unrelated to sport. The Dreyfus Affair was the
tale of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a young Jewish army officer accused of selling military secrets
to the Germans. The incident allowed investigative journalism to go to new heights, and
pieces written included the world famous J’Accuse by Emile Zola.
The reporting caused rifts and arguments in newsrooms, including that of L’Auto. JulesAlbert De Dion, a prominent writer in the paper, disliked the way in which the incident was
reported, and as a result, took writers from L’Auto and formed a new newspaper – L’AutoVelo. After a legal dispute resulted in the name being changed to Le Velo, the sales stagnated, and a crisis meeting was called in November 1902.
Many methods of saving the paper were suggested, and Geo Lefevre, the paper’s chief cycling reporter, was last to speak. He suggested a six day cycling race, but not the traditional
track affair that had proved successful, this time he suggested a road race. The paper’s editor, Henri Desrange, turned to Lefevre and stated; ‘What you are suggesting Geo, is a Tour
de France?’ The Tour was announced, and the first race started on the 1st July 1903.
The original peloton looked very different to their
modern day counterparts. Back in 1903, the peloton
consisted of professional cyclists, amateur cyclists,
men looking for money, and adventurers who saw the
race as a great challenge. The Tour has lasted for 100
editions since then, through scandals, drug busts, and
two world wars. Despite the damage uncovered cheat
Lance Armstrong has done to the race’s reputation, the
ability of the Tour to rejuvenate has amazed critics.
It has survived through the Festina Scandal of 1998, when half the race was abandoned, and
the Tour came the closest it ever has to stopping, as well as Operation Puerto, the court case
that disqualified the two favourites, Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso, on the eve of the 2006 race.
Since its inception, the race has four five-time winners, Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault, Miguel Indurain, and perhaps the greatest cyclist that has ever lived, “The Cannibal”, Eddy
Merckx.
Now the British have come to roost at the top of the Tour de France table. Mark Cavendish has
been named as the best sprinter in the race’s history, with 25 stage wins, and Sir Bradley
Wiggins and Christopher Froome have taken the last two overall victories, in 2012 and
2013 respectively. Team Sky have dominated the Tour over the last two years, and there is
every chance that we will be seeing another British winner on his way to being crowned.
Tom Fish, Year 13
Taekwondo
Taekwondo is a great way to get active with fun exercise. Not only is it enjoyable but it is also
exceedingly good for your self-defence, courtesy, integrity and self-control. A lot of Taekwondo is
about power and technique. We use many moves such as a flying side kick, reverse turning kick and
axe kick.
Once every three months most squads in the area will go
to a grading where we will all go and attempt to get the
next belt in taekwondo. It is quite hard to achieve the next
belt , although not impossible, and you can get a merit
(exceeds expectations) and distinction (flawless best mark
possible) if your taekwondo is particularly impressive.
Also we will go to an area squad monthly,. This is not mandatory however because they do
push you to your limits and the final half hour is non-stop fitness. We are outside rain or shine!
So, why join? Well, where to start, it would be a perfect hobby to put on a job application and
just look at all the athletes that competed at the Olympics.
On a Monday and Wednesday we are usually at Brookfield in either
the sports hall or in the gym at 6:00-7:00 on Monday and 7:008:00 on Wednesday.
Joe Crabtree, Year 7
My instructor Emma Dekin.
She is a forth degree black belt .
Our Squad: Find out more go to www.chesterfield taekwondo.co.uk
Brookfield Badminton
Brookfield Badminton team have had a series of successes over the past few weeks, having
teams competing in a National School Sports Competition against schools from all across England.
In the first round, Brookfield A and B teams, both boys and girls, played against local schools,
and both of Brookfield’s teams triumphed by a considerable margin.
The second round saw both teams go to Queens Park, again playing other local schools. It was
a tense match that saw Brookfield A and B teams go head to head to determine who would be
going through to the next round.
The next stage of the competition was far tougher, and saw Brookfield up against the best
school teams in Derbyshire. Fantastically, both the boys and girls teams made it through to the
semi-finals and then proceeded on to the finals, where we were matched against several county
level players.
The boys’ final was extremely close, with the boys losing 3 games to 2, after an extremely close
final game that went to 21-20. Sadly, the girls were no more successful, again losing 3 games
to 2. Nevertheless, both teams thoroughly enjoyed the experience and are already looking forward to a number of upcoming competitions.
Isabelle Kenworthy, Year 9
Congratulations to:
Boys A Team
Girls A Team
Joe Woods
Georgia Drummond
Matt Birks
Isabelle Kenworthy
Tom Else
Lucy Miller
Tom Woods
Sylvia Ma
Xbox One vs. PS4
The ever-lasting battle between the two major companies Sony and Microsoft has moved on
to next-generation consoles. The much anticipated Ps4 and the new Xbox One.
The Xbox One, the latest console since the Xbox 360, was released on November 22. Many
young people were hoping to get this console, but were let down by the high price. With the
previous high success of the Xbox 360, 1 million Xbox One consoles were sold in the first 24
hours. It retails at around £429.
What can the Xbox One do? Well with the new voice activated features, a lot of things are
possible. It allows you to watch all your favourite movies and television programmes on Sky,
and you can also access all your favourite sites like YouTube and Netflix.
Now you know a bit about the Xbox One, we want to know, which do you prefer, PlayStation
4 or The Xbox One?
Get in touch and let us know and we hope to publish some student reviews in the next issue
of Brookfield Press!
Oliver Bevan and Alex Veselinov, Year 7
Famous Last Words
John Sedgwick, Union Army General certainly
spoke too soon when he proclaimed: “They
couldn’t hit an elephant at this distance.”
Sedgwick fell at the beginning of an American Civil
War battle in 1864. Confederate snipers were about
900m away and their shots caused members of his
staff and artillerymen to duck for cover. Sedgwick
walked in the open and was quoted saying, "What?
Men dodging this way for single bullets? What will
you do when they open fire along the whole line?” his
men continued to flinch and he repeated, "I'm
ashamed of you, dodging that way.
They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance." Just seconds later he fell forward with a
bullet hole below his left eye.
Che Guevara, Argentinian revolutionary:
“Shoot coward, you are only going to kill a man”
After leading successful rebellions and revolutions like
the one in Cuba, Che was a wanted man, particularly
by the CIA. Eventually, whilst leading a revolution in
Bolivia he was captured. He was held in a hut in La
Higuera, Bolivia by soldiers. Sergeant Terán, a CIA
operative entered the hut and immediately ordered the
other soldiers out. Alone with Terán, Che Guevara then
stood up and spoke to his executioner: "I know you've
come to kill me. Shoot. Do it." Terán responded by
pointing his rifle at Guevara, but hesitated, in which
time Guevara angrily spat at Terán what became his
last words:
"Shoot me, you coward! You are only going to kill a man!" Terán then opened fire, hitting
Guevara in the arms and legs, Terán then fired several times again, wounding him fatally in
the chest.
Karl Marx, founder of Marxism “Last
words are for those fools who believe
they have not yet said enough”
The founder of Marxism and one of the most
influential people in history died of bronchitis
and pleurisy in 1883, in London. He died a
stateless person and was buried in Highgate
cemetery, London, knowing his massive
contribution to the world had been sufficient
enough to not necessitate any provocative
last words.
Will Jones, Year 12
Want to write for the newspaper?!
Do you have an article or idea you want to contribute to your school
newspaper?
Join us Thursday lunchtimes in room 33 or see Miss Cooke and Miss
Pickering for more details.
Q: What do you call a bunny
with a large brain?
A: An egghead.
Q: What happened to the egg
when he was tickled too
much?
A: He cracked up.
Q: What happened to the
Easter Bunny when he
misbehaved at school?
A: He was eggspelled!
The first Easter baskets were 76% of people eat the ears
made to look like bird's
on chocolate bunnies first.
nests.
Americans consume over
16 million jellybeans on
The custom of giving eggs at
Easter, enough to circle the
Easter time has been traced
back to Egyptians, Persians, globe three times over.
Gauls, Greeks and Romans,
to whom the egg was a
symbol of life.
Ask Jolene
Dear Jolene,
I have just moved up into year 7 and my parents won’t
let me walk to school on my own. I only live 10 minutes
away but they always insist on walking with me - it’s so
embarrassing. They even try to hold my hand to cross
the road! Why can’t they realise I want to walk with my
friends like everyone else? Fed up Fella.
Dear Fed up Fella
In this situation, you don’t want to fall out with your
parents, you just need to reassure them you are
more independent now you’re older. Introduce them
to your friends so they know who you’ll be walking
with. You could offer to text your parents for the
first few weeks when you get to school so they know
you’re safe. You need to remember that your parents
always have your best interests at heart, and they
are only being over protective because they worry.
I’m sure if you handle this situation well they will
see how mature you are and will allow you more
independence. Your friendly Jolene.
Dear Jolene,
I’m really worried about my friend. She’s convinced that
she’s overweight and hasn’t been eating properly. At first
I thought she was just trying to be healthier so
encouraged her to do more exercise and eat better but
now she’s taking it too far. I never see her eat, just
drinking water. She looks too skinny and has no energy
but if ever I mention it she laughs it off. What can I do?
Fretting Friend.
Dear Fretting Friend,
It sounds like your friend could be suffering from an
eating disorder, in which case the sooner she can get
help the better. My advice would be to explain to her
that you’re concerned and try to convince her to seek
medical help. It is hard to tell at this stage how serious
the situation is but if she won’t do anything about it
then it might be worth talking to her parents. It is
important that she feels secure and has a supportive
group of people to get her through this, which is
something you can help with. The good news is that
once seeking medical help she will be back on track to
becoming her usual healthy self.
Your friendly Jolene.
Please remember to keep posting your questions to the box in
the nurse’s office!
Hi everyone, Jolene here! Thanks again for all your
questions. I hope the advice will be useful to you
and to other readers so together we can tackle all
those tiresome teenage troubles! Please keep posting your queries in for advice from your affectionate
agony aunt. All the best, your friendly Jolene.
Dear Jolene,
I don’t seem to be able to get to school on time. I set
several alarms but I just sleep through them and my mum
can’t get me to budge! I’m one late away from being put on
report. Help me Jolene! Sleepy Student.
Dear Sleepy Student,
This seems to be a common problem amongst you teens!
It’s important that you get enough sleep so you can concentrate properly at school. Try to get an early night so
the morning alarm might be a little more welcome. Also,
where possible try and catch up on sleep at the weekend.
If you’re going to be dancing till dawn on a Saturday
night then try to catch a few winks on a Sunday so you’re
raring to go on Monday morning. Make sure you plan for
the next day the night before so you can enjoy a stress
free slumber. Sweet dreams, your friendly Jolene.
Dear Jolene,
I have a seriously sticky situation- my two best friends have
fallen out over some guy. When I walk into form they sit on
opposite sides of the classroom and I don’t know what to
do. We were inseparable and did everything together. I am
completely stuck in the middle as if I talk to one friend then
the other one won’t talk to me and I can’t choose between
them! Please help me! Torn Teen
Dear Torn Teen,
Unfortunately girls can often fall out about boys,
even ones they have just met. You need to try and
get to the bottom of the problem before you can
resolve it. If they won’t talk to each other then it
will never get sorted so you need to create a
situation where they have to- maybe invite them
both over to your house. It sounds like you were
really close friends so just remind them of the fun
you have together and I’m sure it will sort itself out
soon. In the meantime perhaps hang around with
some other people until they settle their disputes,
it’s often better to have a big group of friends so
you aren’t stuck in situations like this! Remembersisters before misters!
Your friendly Jolene.