Newlands Girls’ School

Welcome to the first Newlands’ newsletter of 2013, looking back over the achievements and successes of an action-packed and exciting

autumn term. We have a new twelve page format newsletter and even with the extra four pages, it was a challenge trying to squeeze all the excellent stories in! We are delighted to be able to bring you updates from some of our girls who have completed their first term at universities around the country. I’m sure you’ll agree it is lovely to hear from them and to see they are doing so well.

While we look back over an incredible and historic summer of sport, and we remember Newlands’ involvement in the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, we also have some exciting news to bring you about how we are continuing the legacy that the Games has left us with here at Newlands. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all staff, pupils, parents and Governors for their individual and team contributions to the successful outcome of our OFSTED inspection 2012. You can read more about it on page 10.

Enjoy reading about the triumphs and achievements that have happened across the school, both inside and outside the classroom, and join us as we look ahead to another busy and successful term.

Mrs Louise V Ceska MA Headteacher

Young Enterprise – BlueprintTwelve Year 12 students are part of the Young Enterprise programme, which helps to build up business skills in a fun and creative way and promotes an element of competition with other schools across the UK. Newlands’ Young Enterprise company is called ‘Blueprint’.

“We chose a product that we think will appeal to all ages and will be a success at the trade fair in February, where we will be competing against other teams. We are selling fashion scarves with a satin silk finish. We think this will give each and every scarf a smooth and soft texture with a glossy feel. Compared to other popular retail companies, we have chosen to sell our unique product at the reasonable price of £6.49, or two scarves for £12.00. Our target audience was originally girls of our age; however our market research shows that our product will appeal to most ages. We chose to sell fashion scarves due to the numerous ways you can accessorise with them. For example, you could wear one as a scarf, a hair accessory or tie it on a bag, to name a few! Our product will be available at the one-day trade fair held at Windsor Royal shopping centre in February.” Meiqi Wang, Managing Director of Blueprint

Blueprint certainly has some big boots to fill: last year’s company, ‘Platform’, was a great success. The group developed the ‘MyPage’ personalised planner and managed to make an impressive profit at the end of the year. All members agreed that it was a fantastic experience and would like to wish the new Young Enterprise group the best of luck.

For more information and updates, follow us on twitter and instagram @Blueprintye and ‘Like’ us on Facebook www.facebook.com/newlandsblueprint.

House System The response to the new house system was tremendous last year. A huge thank you goes to all the staff and pupils who have embraced it so wholeheartedly. Over a quarter of a million house points were awarded, which is just incredible. Look out for some new house initiatives coming soon. We are constantly looking for new incentives so please do not hesitate to share your thoughts if you have a house idea that you would like to see. The overall totals for the 2011/2012 year including all inter-house events and house points are as follows: 6th place, Curie with 39,208; 5th place, Bronte with 46,760; 4th place, Darling with 47,025; 3rd place, Earhart with 48,794; 2nd place, Austen with 51,782 and in first place, with an enormous lead, was Frank with 58,510!

www.newlandsgirlsschool.co.uk 1

Spring 2013

Writing home to Newlands

Melissa Turpie Studying French and Spanish at Sheffield University I am loving university life in Sheffield; my French and Spanish course is going great. I am particularly enjoying beginner’s Spanish, which is intense but exciting! The student union is amazing. It provides hundreds of opportunities and activities for the students to get involved in and I am training to begin volunteer work in schools from February, improving younger students’ speaking and communication skills. I successfully auditioned for the Sheffield symphony orchestra which rehearses weekly and I am going on tour to Salou in Spain next April with the dance society.

Eveanna Reddy Studying Law at Queen Mary University University life is amazing – hard work, but a really good experience. Doing a law course is quite intense and requires many hours of reading and tutorial work. The best part of university is the independence and the people that I have met – although it is a bit strange to suddenly find myself doing my own shopping and laundry! Living in a flat is like having a second family: we all cook, go out together and help each other out. Most of my friends are American and are some of the funniest, most outgoing people I have ever met. They have given me the chance to experience new things, like having Thanksgiving dinner and exploring Jewish and Mexican culture. I have no doubt that I will remain friends with them in the future.

Kate Sims Studying International Relations and History at Portsmouth University University is, in some respects, similar to life in Sixth Form. You have a good, relaxed relationship with your tutors and lecturers and work is very much ‘independent’. On the other hand, life at university is completely different. You have nobody to wake you up in the mornings (unless you get a wake-up call from Mum or Dad!) and it’s your responsibility to look after yourself. You also get to mix with such a variety of people. I study International Relations and History which is a perfect course for me – it fits in very nicely with what I studied for my A Levels.

Katie Murdoch Studying Mathematics at the University of the West of England (UWE) I have settled in well during my first term at UWE and made lots of new friends through my course, accommodation and through the cheerleading society that I have joined. The transition from A Level Maths to degree level Maths has been smooth and I find lecturers are very willing to help. Our class is fairly small, which means that it has been easier to build a relationship with the different lecturers and with other people on my course. Overall, I am extremely happy I decided to come to UWE and look forward to the next few years of university and living in Bristol.

Several members of our alumni have written home to Newlands to tell us about how they have found their first term at university.

Louisa White and Rebecca Zhao Studying Medicine at Cambridge University We moved into our new rooms at Cambridge University in September. Becca is at Jesus College and I’m at Gonville and Caius College. We settled in relatively quickly, made new friends and tried out some university activities. Becca is in the rowing team for Jesus College and I love the Footlights comedy productions. I’ve also tried night punting on the River Cam. The course is fairly intense with all medical students from various colleges having about nine lectures a week and practical classes, such as dissection, twice a week. We also have four or five essays to write per week for our supervisions, which take up a lot of time – leaving little time for socialising and sleep! It has been a great term - we have been lucky enough to see some very interesting people (including Stephen Hawking and Ben Goldacre) and are enjoying living in a beautiful city.

Rebecca Zhao

Louisa White

Melissa Turpie

Eveanna Reddy

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Year 10 Business Studies Trip to Shakeaway Fifty-six Year 10 Business Studies pupils were given their first taste of business life when they visited the Reading ‘Shakeaway’ store last year. The girls were given a talk about the successful milkshake chain by the store manager, covering areas such as marketing, production and customer service – they were even lucky enough to make their own milkshake, going through the production process from start to finish, learning a valuable lesson about quality assurance along the way! The trip also involved a walking tour of Reading town centre, and a comparison of the Oracle and the Broad Street Mall, giving the girls a chance to ask questions that, as passive consumers, they hadn’t previously considered. The aim of the trip was to give these new, budding entrepreneurs an insight into real businesses to enable them to see the motives and decisions that are made in the dynamic world of commerce.

The Handmade Cake Company Visit Several pupils recently had the opportunity to visit the Handmade Cake Company in Maidenhead. It was invaluable in showing the girls first-hand what happens inside a small business and they even had the opportunity to taste some of the products…

“I really enjoyed the trip because it gave us an insight into the food industry and helped improve our knowledge of the food manufacturing process. It was interesting because it helped us with our coursework and to understand why we use quality control.” Morgan Todd

“I think that the trip to The Handmade Cake Factory was very informative as it gave me an insight into the manufacturing process. It also showed me some of the machines that they use, which not only ensure quality control but also speed up the production process. It was helpful because I watched them doing the finishing techniques on products and this gave me tips on how best to carry this out myself. What I learnt from this trip will help me with the theory of my coursework, the practical side of it and my exam in June 2013.” Hannah O’Gorman

Cadbury World Visit “Cadbury World – what a fantastic place! The current Year 10 Food Technology pupils were fortunate enough to have the chance to visit the Cadbury factory in Bourneville, Birmingham, where Cadbury chocolate first started and is still produced to this day. Throughout the trip, we had the opportunity to not only see the process of chocolate manufacture, but to learn about the confectionery and chocolate industry, as well as getting to taste the delightful products ourselves. We were given an educational lecture about the industry, how it works from day to day and the precautions taken to decrease the risk of poor hygiene levels. We were able to look at the many different products that are made at Cadbury, from Dairy Milk to the Natural Collection brand of sweets. I think that all the pupils enjoyed the trip immensely and I hope that it continues, so that future GCSE Food Technology pupils can benefit just as much as we did from it.”

Written by Lilly Harris – 10E

Learning outside the classroom

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Rise and Read All around Maidenhead, alarm clocks have been ringing out earlier than usual on Wednesday and Thursday mornings as Year 7s enthusiastically jump out of bed to arrive at school early for an 8am start and in time to join our new ‘Rise and Read’ venture.

After making themselves comfortable (many of them on our new double-sized beanbags) and settling down with fruit juice, they have been enjoying listening, reading and responding to classic children’s stories with their Form Tutors. This wonderful opportunity allows the girls to discover stories they may not have had the chance to read before and offers help with expanding vocabulary, improved thinking, writing and speaking skills.

Mrs G Evans, Librarian

Leaders of Talk A key aim within the school this year is to develop the use of ‘talk for learning’. James Britton, a famous educationalist, once said ‘Reading and writing float on a sea of talk’, which beautifully summarises the importance of talk in developing Literacy skills. We are also keen to develop such things as pupil voice, independent learning and leadership skills, so we invited a group of 20 Year 8 pupils to embark on a ‘Leaders of Talk’ training programme. The selected pupils were recommended by their Form Tutors, teachers and Head of Year as having particularly strong speaking and listening skills.

The training involved several sessions in which pupils discussed how talk currently happens in lessons at Newlands and how, from their point of view, it could be developed further. The pupils have co-produced a Talk Toolkit which they will use with their teachers to support and develop their own learning and that of their peers. They will also be involved in leading a staff training session on developing the use of talk in the classroom. Some teachers have already started to comment on the impact of having a Leader of Talk in their lessons, observing such things as improved confidence, greater independence and suggestions of strategies to make talk even more effective.

Reading, writing, talking and tweeting

Update from the Literacy Co-ordinator There have been a lot of exciting things happening with Literacy in our school lately. Every day, pupils (and staff members) receive their Word of the Day via the First Class system. The words are aimed at increasing vocabulary, as well as improving spelling, and are then used for monthly competitions.

In January, we ran the very first library-based Literacy lessons – the girls had the opportunity to explore the Library resources and participate in many exciting and challenging activities. We are also hoping to build a really big ‘book wall’ – each book the girls recommend will become another ‘brick’ in the wall.

Finally, as part of the Literacy Fortnight Programme for Year 7, we are preparing a cross-curricular Literacy Festival, which culminates with a creative writing workshop led by Laura Dockrill, a published writer of children’s fiction.

Mrs I Rentflejsz, Literacy Co-ordinator

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European Day of Languages Newlands celebrated European Day of Languages in September with a number of fun activities throughout the school. Excited Year 7 pupils took part in a multilingual word treasure hunt competition and lessons in all subject areas included a languages theme. There were numeracy activities in French, pupils were discussing French paintings in Art and Psychology pupils even had the opportunity to speak Swahili! Pupils and staff raised almost £100 for the medical aid charity Médecins Sans Frontières with a cake sale.

However, many people agreed that the highlight of the week was the array of assemblies to celebrate the many other languages spoken by pupils within the school community with 27 pupils from Years 7 to 11 speaking to the rest of the school in their mother tongue. Newlands’ junior choir performed the hit song ‘La Bamba’ in fluent Spanish under the expert guidance of Mr Shilling, Head of Music.

Learning (and tweeting) in a day Staff and pupils at Newlands had the opportunity to take part in a creative and innovative experiment called ‘Learning in a Day’ which explored the use of social media. The aim of the day was to use Twitter to capture as much of the learning across the school as possible and encourage collaboration. At 8am, the first tweet came through from Mrs Evans, our Librarian, who was sharing her observations of 7A reading ‘The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe’ for ‘Rise and Read’ in the quiet study area of the library. By the end of period one, there had been more than 50 tweets about the learning that was happening in lessons. The Art department set the pace and were ‘Twitter-ific’, tweeting about such things as Henry Moore’s sheep and the medium of ballpoint pen. History gave us updates about Rasputin, RE pupils were discussing abortion, 7C Spanish were speed-dating, Year 11 PE were learning how to umpire and develop leadership skills, Year 13 students were learning how to write personal statements for their university applications, while 7A were singing the ‘Bonjour Song’ with Madame Ceska strumming a three-chord accompaniment. When the bell went at 3.05pm, there had been more than 300 tweets about the learning that had happened in just one day at Newlands and it continued into the evening with comments from after-school clubs and sporting events. So what was the impact? It brought the school community together, it developed cross-curricular learning and literacy skills, and pupils and teachers were writing with a real purpose and for a real audience.

Newlands girls excel at public speaking We have many talented public speakers here at Newlands who, through various initiatives, have had the opportunity to strengthen and develop their skills.

Last year, Nareeka Ahir, Natasha Wilson and Aksa Ali who were in Year 11 at the time, entered the English Speaking Union (ESU)’s National Public Speaking Competition. Aksa was appointed the Chairperson which meant that her role was to introduce and summarise the speeches. She did an excellent job and won ‘best chairperson’ in round one. Nareeka was the Main Speaker so she performed a speech on a given topic and answered questions from the audience, judges and opposing team – she won ‘best speaker’ in round two. Natasha was the Questioner and was responsible for questioning the opposing team’s speech – she won ‘best questioner’ in round three. Here they represented the Berkshire/Buckinghamshire branch in the Regional Finals, held in Mayfair, London, where they came second in the running to represent the south east in the national finals.

At the start of Year 12 in autumn last year, the three went on – with their new team member, Jane Allen – to enter the Debating Matters Competition, held at The Piggot School. Nareeka and Natasha argued for copyright, and Aksa and Jane argued for a minimum pricing on alcohol. The girls performed outstandingly, winning first place and sailing through to round two which will be held in Spring 2013. Nareeka also won the award for ‘best individual’ at the event. She commented: “Although we have been up against some renowned schools, the judges liked our down-to-earth approach to speaking. We didn’t expect to get through round one, so getting to the regionals is a huge confidence boost!”

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Success and adventure at home and abroad

Geography jetsetters Fieldwork is an integral part of the Geography curriculum at Newlands and two to three residential fieldtrips take place each year. Fieldwork allows Geography to come to life as well as providing social opportunities for pupils and staff to work together during the residential experience. In Year 10, a compulsory three-day fieldtrip takes place to Orielton Field Centre in Pembrokeshire. In Year 12, the students are required by the exam board to complete fieldwork; therefore a trip is arranged to the north Norfolk coast. Here the girls cope admirably with the freezing, north-easterly winds on the beaches and enjoy the delights of Norwich.

In addition to these compulsory trips, the department began offering an overseas residential visit to students studying GCSE and A level in Years 10 to 13 in 2010. The inaugural trip in April 2010 was to Marrakech and the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. Here, girls found the souks culturally challenging but their desire to barter soon triumphed and many bargains were haggled for! The highlight of the trip to the mountains was experiencing life in a Berber village and helping to push the school bus up the hill after it became stuck in a river bed!

In April 2012, pupils had a rather different experience in Iceland – visiting a country of superb geographical features – spurting geysers, glaciers, volcanoes and waterfalls. The most memorable moments for the pupils include: climbing a glacier and bathing in the Blue Lagoon, a geothermal spa.

These experiences have certainly increased students’ interest, enthusiasm and attainment in Geography over the last few years, with exam results among the very best in the school. We would love to hear from any parents who are Geography graduates who would be willing to come into school to talk to the students about the opportunities Geography has given them. Please contact Emma Coombs, Head of Geography on coome003@rbwm.org.

Trip to Berlin “Our trip to Berlin started early, with everyone meeting at 3am in the school car park. Once we landed, we made a quick pit stop at the hotel before setting out for Berlin city centre. Once there, we had a tour of the Jewish Museum, which was both interesting and engaging. We learnt about the life of Jews in Germany from long before the Nazi regime, giving us a valuable insight into this period of time. After this, we went to Potsdamer Platz where we travelled in the fastest elevator in Europe to the roof of the building, and enjoyed the impressive views of Berlin from there. On the Wednesday, we visited the Wannsee Villa, the house in which the Wannsee Conference took place – a meeting of senior officials from the Nazi Germany regime. We learnt, in detail, about the events that took place there, whilst taking in the impressive scenery. After a quick lunch, we travelled to Sachsenhausen, a concentration camp near Berlin. We were given an insightful, honest and sensitive tour, which opened our eyes to the horror of the camps during the Third Reich. It was an extremely valuable and educational experience, while also being very touching and emotional.

Later, we took a trip to the Christmas markets and had the chance to sing on stage with a local band! The next day, our last in Berlin, was spent firstly visiting the Reichstag, the German parliament building, where we learnt about politics in Germany. We then took a walking tour in the snow around Berlin, taking in sights such as the Berlin Wall and the Brandenburg Gate. Finally, we visited another market, where we did some shopping, before returning to the airport and flying home. The trip was a fantastic experience and we’d definitely recommend Berlin as a place to visit.”

Immy Thomas and Meghan Curran, Year 11

Iceland

Wales

Morocco

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Our PGL trip “PGL, Osminton Bay was a life-changing experience that was also very worthwhile. The trip taught us new skills. We learnt to challenge ourselves and to be more confident in new experiences. We believe that everyone made new friends and this extended the amount of fun we had. This amazing trip made us all realise how important it is to believe in yourself. There were many fun and exciting activities to do, such as: a trapeze, a giant swing, quad biking, aeroball, indoor climbing and the zip wire. In our opinion the whole weekend was fantastic and the staff members were incredibly helpful. The overall experience could not have been better; the challenges pushed us but we enjoyed every second of the fun-filled weekend.”

Stephanie Cart and Tilly Norman, Year 7

Frohe Weihnachten Twenty-seven Newlands students from Years 9, 10, 12 and 13 made a German study visit to Aachen at the start of December. Students ordered their own breakfast in German, interviewed local people, completed a quiz about the city, visited the beautiful cathedral and finally spent time (and money!) in the magical Christmas market. The snowfall was the final ingredient which completed the Christmas scene.

Mrs N SmithTeacher of Modern Foreign Languages

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Careers and Mentoring

Mentoring at Newlands Mrs Weston (Key Stage 4) and Miss Middleton (Key Stage 3) work with all pupils in Years 7 to 11 to help them achieve their potential at Newlands. Over the coming months, both Mrs Weston and Miss Middleton will play an active supporting role in option choices for girls in Years 9 and 11. If any pupil would like a one-to-one meeting with them, they should either visit the office they share with Miss Petersen or contact them via the First Class system.

Miss Green is the Sixth Form (Key Stage 5) Learning Mentor who works alongside the girls with any extra help and support they might need. This includes ensuring they have a successful transition into the Sixth Form, making sure they are meeting their targets, giving advice about planning their time, and revision and exam tips. Support is provided with the university application process, as well as advice about apprenticeships and other alternatives to university. In addition to these one to one sessions, Miss Green also provides the girls with careers advice through many forms including information on display boards, via the Sixth Form twitter page and blog, and regular talks for the girls by industry experts. Follow Newlands Sixth Form on twitter @Newlands6thform or read our blog Newlands6thform.blogspot.com.

From left to right: Miss Green, Mr Gaskell, Miss Middleton, Mrs Weston

Careers Advice Mr Gaskell (Careers Co-ordinator), Miss Green and Mrs Weston meet on a regular basis to ensure that there is a co-ordinated approach to careers education, advice and guidance within the school.

All Key Stage 3 and 4 year groups receive lessons which are careers based. Within these lessons pupils are encouraged to consider what skills they may require in a range of future careers. In order to meet the guidelines set out in the Education Act 2011, they use a sophisticated piece of software which makes use of psychometric tests and produces lists of careers that will be of potential interest to pupils. There is then access to information, or links to external sites, based on the careers that pupils show an interest in.

The careers library is another valuable resource that pupils are introduced to through PSHE lessons and encouraged to use throughout their time in school. A number of Year 8 and 9 pupils are also currently in the process of entering a National Health Service (NHS) competition. The competition requires pupils to carry out research into the vast range of careers (over 300) offered by the NHS and helps them to understand that there are far more opportunities in industries to accompany the traditional occupations. The following quote is from a Year 9 pupil who has shown a keen interest in the competition:

“I entered the competition because it’s a good way of doing something different and you won’t get this opportunity again. The NHS is overlooked by some people and just thought to be about healthcare, when there are a lot of people behind the scenes to make it work. I’m thinking of a career in the business department so this competition is a good place to start.” Rebecca Needham, Year 9

Pupils have been working on the recruitment documentation since November and will submit their work shortly. The prize is a netbook computer for each of the winning entrants, so fingers firmly crossed for all the girls!

If you require any further information about careers advice and guidance at Newlands Girls’ School, please do not hesitate to contact Mr Gaskell.

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Entertaining the crowds The Performing Arts Choir was specially selected to sing in the Olympic Park last summer, entertaining the massive crowds during the London 2012 Olympic Games – a truly memorable, unique experience. The girls were then invited to replicate this success by performing at the London Olympic ‘GET SET’ conference in Blackfriars, London.

Young Games Makers A select group of very lucky pupils had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of working as Young Games Makers at last summer’s London 2012 Paralympic Games. The girls worked in the Printed Results Distribution (PRD) room during the wheelchair fencing and Paralympic Judo, taking copies of the results as they came out. As a way to remember this unique and special experience, the girls have written a poem about their time at the Games, which can be found on our website under the news section.

FooTBALL FoCuS A squad of eight Year 7 and 8 girls travelled to Wycombe Wanderers FC’s training ground in October to compete in a six-a-side football tournament sponsored by NPower. The weather may have been bleak but this did little to dampen the attitude, effort and ability shown by all the girls throughout the day. Bateson and Gillen provided a solid base in defence, giving excellent protection for the ever reliable Boycott in goal. Cronin, Warner and Ali covered more ground than an F1 racing car and proved to be too tough for many opponents. These performances allowed Sturlaugsdottir and Goodge to show their attacking flair in the final third. Goodge’s efforts proved fruitful as she managed to bag a handful of fine goals. Sturlaugsdottir wouldn’t allow Goodge all the limelight however, and delighted the cheering crowds by hammering a superb effort in to the top right hand corner. Sadly the girls missed out on the final stage of the tournament by just one goal. But their heads did not drop, and they once again showed determination and skills in sweeping aside their new opponents in the second tier competition. One mistake led to a narrow defeat during one of the games, meaning once again they had to settle for second place in their group. Nevertheless, all the girls can be exceptionally proud of themselves. Not only did they show that they are developing into competent footballers, they showed fantastic sportsmanship throughout, and represented the school impeccably. Well done all!

Mr J Gaskell, Football Coach

Looking back on an amazing summer of sport

Making a ‘Big Splash’ We were delighted to hear that we had successfully secured £125,830 from Sport England’s ‘Inspired Facilities Fund’, and £5,000 each from the Louis Baylis Trust and Shanly Foundation for our ‘Big Splash’ project. This involves the refurbishment of our outdoor pool to create a new indoor swimming facility, suitable for all ages and abilities; available for use by both the school and the wider community all year round. The funding will contribute to a new four lane, 23m x 8m heated pool which will complement and enhance the local swimming provision. The ‘Inspired Facilities Fund’ is part of the £135 million ‘Places People Play’ legacy programme that is bringing the magic of a home Olympic and Paralympic Games into communities across the country. Every sports facility that receives funding will carry the London 2012 Inspire mark – celebrating the link to the Games.

If your community group would be interested in accessing the facility, please contact Mrs Sally Andreou, Extended Schools Co-ordinator, by email: andrs058@rbwm.org

Artist’s impression

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OFSTED The 2012 OFSTED framework is widely acknowledged to be much more exacting than previous frameworks and a quick look at the OFSTED website shows a number of schools that have seen their judgements slide down the scale since they were last inspected. It is said that the old ‘outstanding’ grade is the new ‘good’, so we were very pleased with our two ‘outstanding’ grades (behaviour and safety; leadership and management) and our two ‘good’ grades (achievement; quality of teaching). One of our favourite quotes from the report is: “There is an exceptionally positive climate for learning across the curriculum. Relationships between teachers and pupils and pupils and their peers are cordial and purposeful. Pupils engage with their learning very well.”

Mrs Ceska gives us a ‘behind-the-scenes’ insight into the lead-up to the recent Ofsted inspection at the school.

“The OFSTED phone call came at about 11.30am on Monday 1 October. Several months earlier, we had prepared a special folder of information that we thought would be helpful for the person taking the call (i.e. me!) but even when my P.A., Mrs Bateson, appeared in the doorway saying, “You’ll need your folder”, I was none the wiser about this being her code for, “OFSTED are on the phone”! It did not take long, however, for the penny to drop and a couple of moments later, I was talking to our Lead Inspector about the arrangements for the next two days. The new 2012 inspection framework enables the inspectors to see the school as it usually is. Those of us who have been in the profession a long time can remember when schools were given weeks of notice about an OFSTED visit, but now the notice is at an absolute minimum. Inspectors now also spend much more of their time observing lessons and talking to pupils.”

Newlands Parents’ Association Newlands Parents’ Association (NPA) organises a number of fundraising and social events throughout the year, with the aim of offering a way for parents to be involved and engaged in the school, whilst raising valuable funds. Please visit our section on the website for more information about future events and how you can get involved. We look forward to meeting you.

Mrs R Volpe, Chair of the Parents’ Association

Parent questionnaires So far this year we have had feedback from parents of our Year 12 and Year 13 students at parents’ evening. Headlines from those questionnaires show that: 100% and 98% respectively of parents agree that ‘staff expect my daughter to work hard and achieve her best’. 100% agree with the statement, ‘my daughter feels safe at school’.

96% and 94% respectively say that ‘communication by the school is good’ and 92% agree ‘there is a wide range of activities available to my daughter’. We are continually looking at how we can improve our communication, both in general, and the way we publicise the wide range of activities available for our Sixth Form.

“ My daughter feels very well supported and enjoys her subjects very much. The teaching is informative and engaging. We are confident that when our daughter has any issues, the Sixth Form staff are able to support her fully.”

“ I’m very happy with the school.”

“ I am very impressed with the enthusiasm of the staff to encourage my daughter to do better and reach high standards.’

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Green fingers at Flower Power Flower Power Gardening Club is run by Miss Kidd and Mrs Jones and takes place every Wednesday after school. The club runs from 3.10pm to 4.30pm and members meet up in the Sensory Garden and then work on the gardens throughout the school. Refreshments such as juice (in the summer), hot chocolate (in the winter) and biscuits are served. Recently, we have planted hyacinths, which we will sell and use as raffle prizes. During the Halloween period we carved pumpkins, dressed up and went on a hunt for bugs, twigs and leaves! We also decorated cookies and cakes. We have been taught how to use the ‘flash’ software programme and we then entered the school’s e-card competition. We all contributed any old baskets we had, which we spray painted to house the hyacinths. We have potted up plant cuttings and recently visited a garden centre for inspiration. So don’t just read about Gardening Club, come along, make new friends and pick up a few gardening tips!

Luisa Marinozzi 8F gives us an insight into her experiences at Gardening Club: “At the end of last year, the Newlands’ Gardening Club, Flower Power, went to the Wyevale Garden Centre in the school minibus. We divided into groups of two to three and were each given a clipboard and pencil to write down different plants, their costs and where they could go in our garden at school. We then looked round the shop, at herbs, flowers and Christmas decorations for ideas as inspiration for our next meetings when we will be making decorations from natural materials. At the end of the visit, the Flower Power group stopped at the cafe to get some drinks and food before heading back to school on the minibus. We hope to see some more people at Gardening Club as it would be lovely to have some new members.”

DACT after-school clubFor those with a passion for creativity, the Design and Communication Technology (DACT) department is the place to be on Thursdays after school. Pupils from all year groups are welcome to pursue whatever they are most interested in. Cooking a favourite recipe, designing a stylish garment, crafting some jewellery or building a piece of furniture are all possible. DACT staff and senior pupils are on hand to guide and support. The following recipe has been developed by a group of keen cooks and is sure to be a winner on Valentine’s Day.

Sweetheart Fudge

Ingredients:•70gbutter•300ggranulatedsugar•125gevaporatedmilk•225gpinkmarshmallows•375gwhitechocolate(thiscan

be melted, grated or chopped into chunks)

•Redorpinkfoodcolouring

Preparation method:•Greasea20cm/8insquarecake

tin with vegetable oil, then line with greaseproof paper.

•Putthebutter,sugarandmilk in a pan over a low heat and melt gently. Once the sugar has dissolved, add the marshmallows and turn up the heat. Boil the fudge for 5-6 minutes.

•Takethepanofftheheat;add the chocolate and food colouring. Leave for one minute, and then stir the mixture together until everything is melted.

•Pourthemixtureintotheprepared tin and leave to set for a couple of hours. Once set, remove from the tin and cut into 25 squares or use a heart shaped cutter.

What’s happening in March?6 March Making flower arrangements for Mother’s Day

13 March Planting seeds for summer

20 March Working on the veggie patch

27 March Easter fun and food!11

Attendance protocol My name is Mrs Mynett and I have been the Attendance Officer here at Newlands for the past four years. I would like to take this opportunity to clarify attendance procedures. If your daughter is absent from school, due to illness, we ask that you inform us by telephoning 0844 2393240 by 9.30am on each day of absence. Upon your daughter’s return to school, she must bring a letter or a signed explanation in her planner giving the reason for absence. We always text or email parents on each day of absence, if there has been no contact with the school. Please feel free to contact me regarding any attendance queries on my direct line 01628 502663 between the hours of 10am – 2pm.

A polite reminder from the Newlands Drive Residents’ AssociationPlease can our pupils try and keep to the left hand side as they walk down Newlands Drive so as not to block the road for residents driving up or down. Thank you.

We welcome your comments and suggestionsWe welcome any comments or suggestions that you may have on any aspect of our school. Please email newlands@rbwm.org. We look forward to hearing from you.

TErm DaTES7 January Term starts

15 February End of term

18 – 22 February February holiday

25 February Term starts

28 March End of term

29 March – 12 April Spring holiday

16 April Term starts

24 May End of term

27 – 31 May May holiday

3 June Term starts

19 July End of term

INSET days: Monday 15 April, Monday 22 July, Tuesday 23 July and Wednesday 24 July 2013.

Farm Road, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 5JBT: 01628 625068 F: 01628 675352 E: newlands@rbwm.org

www.newlandsgirlsschool.co.uk Produced by Grebot Donnelly

www.grebotdonnelly.com