highways july 2013

Ad Caelestia Sequere … Reach For the Stars

Newsletter for Highworth SchoolNewsletter for Highworth School Issue 4

Message from the Headteacher

To finish this term with an unexpected visit from Ofsted and retain an outstanding status is obviously a highlight that I could not fail to mention. The rating reflects what a fantastic school this is - hopefully your daughter/son is getting the most from the opportunities available. These last few weeks have seen a number of events where students have really demonstrated some of their amazing talents. Rounders Day and Sports Day are two annual sporting events which give everyone the opportunity to participate and gain points for their Communities. Congratulations go to all the winners on Rounders Day and Vanessa Mae for winning Sports Day. This year ‘Grease’ was the lower school production and there were some sparkling performances - well done to all involved. Earlier in July we celebrated American Independence Day at Eastwell Manor with the Jazz Orchestra playing some of their popular numbers to launch the opening of the Ashford Jazz Festival. It was a beautiful setting and the acoustics in the courtyard assisted in making it a great auditory experience. Sadly we say goodbye to a number of staff this year: Mrs Richardson, Mrs Clarke, Mrs Robinson, Mrs Knowles, Mrs Riezebos, Ms Voisey, Miss Bennett and finally Mr Smith who has been at Highworth since 1994. I would like to thank them all for their contribution over the years. Mr Smith has been a fantastic aide and his experience, calmness and humour have been valuable attributes in assisting me with the leadership of the school. I know he will be missed by the staff and students. Finally, enjoy a relaxing summer holiday.

In recent Student Voice meetings we have been collating opinions regarding how Highworth can encourage students further and raise the aspirations of the younger years. This will be an on-going project for next year. We have also been asking the students for their opinions on the Careers Department and how this can be further improved in order that everyone feels prepared for life after school. Feedback for this will be given at the next meeting. Elissa Poyner

Message from the Head Girl

July 2013

Seven Japanese students from Chaucer College joined us on 10-11 July to give an insight into Japanese culture, teach elementary Japanese to Y7 and observe lessons. Our students were particularly fascinated by the Japanese games and calligraphy. We celebrated French Culture Day on 12 July with a café on the field. Croissants, brioches, cakes and soft drinks were on sale while some of our most talented musicians performed throughout the lunch hour and The Hub served a French menu.

Culture Days

Amazing Mall Winners

On the 9 July the Art Department, students and parents went to view the National Students Exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London. The exhibition was under the patronage of the Royal Society for British Artists. As a school we were thoroughly proud to have 10 pieces chosen for this prestigious event - 9 paintings and 1 photograph. On arrival we were thrilled to see Beth Wilson Yr12 on the front cover of the exhibition Catalogue. The event was opened by Henry Olonga, singer, artist, photographer and former Zimbabwean test cricketer. There were over 300 artworks on show and Beth Wilson was chosen to be a scholar of the Royal Society of British Arts. She was later presented with a certificate and given the privilege to be invited to exhibit with the society in their annual Summer Exhibition. Year 13 - Caroline Dewar, Malik Kydd, Helen Larcombe & Hannah Coutts Year 12 - Isand Schwartz, Hester Mattocks, Beth Wilson, Jessica Dury, & Rebecca Pasieka Year 11 - Lucy Baines. Warm congratulations to all!

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We come to the end of another year in the Jacqueline Du Pré Community. What an extremely busy year it has been! We have seen prefects and students come and go – all have made many great contributions to our Learning Community and the new arrivals are already part of this great community. We say goodbye to a fantastic Mentor, Mrs Giles, who has worked so hard to make JP/NGI’s Mentor time a success. She is off to NS Community to be their Student Support Manager. We offer our grateful thanks for everything she has done and wish her the best of luck. Our Pride Award ceremony was filled with amazing talent including Julia Bills, Rachel Hayes, Nicole Brockies, Ashwini Desai and Chloe Powell and Georgina Rowlands giving our charity – British Heart Foundation a cheque for £1,200. Very sadly, it is my time to step down as the Director of Learning for the most fantastic Jacqueline Du Pré Learning Community after 3 very positive years. I leave behind a caring Community with extremely talented and lovely students and very hard working and truly dedicated staff. I wish my successor Miss Hodges the very best of luck and trust that she will look after the Community well. I hope that everyone has a restful summer and comes back refreshed in September. Mrs Robinson

This term, we have been developing our competitive spirit through inter mentor group competitions ranging from creating balloon chairs to quizzes, a chopstick challenge and weekly rounders matches. Currently in the lead and vying for first position as we reach the last week of term are CPO and SBR. We have now raised £1726.45 for our charity, the new MS Therapy Centre in Canterbury and money raised by the Butterfly Appeal will be doubled by Frank Brake, making a grand total of £3452.90. We attended the press launch for the new centre on Friday 3 May and are looking forward to seeing the start of the new building at the end of this year. Former Highworth Head Girl Alison Monkley works at the centre and returned as guest speaker for our CS Pride Awards ceremony on Monday 14 July with Mary Daly who has been a great inspiration to our fundraising activities. Our new Yr7 students joined us on 10 and 11 July and deserve to be congratulated on winning every single tug of war they played, cheered on by our Japanese visitors from Chaucer College: well done! A special thank you goes to our superb Community prefect team for making sure that the days were a success and for providing the winning tug of war strategy! At the end of this term, we will be saying goodbye to two of our longest serving mentors, Mrs Clarke and Mrs Riezebos. We wish them both a very happy future post Highworth. Mrs Poore will be moving to VM to take up her new role as Director of Learning and we give her our congratulations. On behalf of everyone in Clara Schumann, we wish you all a very happy holiday and look forward to the start of the new school year.

This term we welcomed our new AB Prefect Team: Community Captain – Dan Russen, Community Deputy – Harriet Wright, Community Prefects – Nathaniel Fatola, Angus Hope, Emily Prestidge and Emma Unsworth-Brown. They have been busy organising Period 3 activities. The Paper Aeroplane Competition was won by DMA for the longest flight and SWH for the best decorated plane. The UNO Tournament was won by DSA and BWH won the Continuous Cricket Challenge. Rounders Day congratulations go to Yrs7 and 8 who won, Yr9 who came 6th, Yr10 who came 3rd and Yr12 who came 3rd. Well done, everyone, for such fantastic Community spirit! We have also welcomed our newest additions to AB Community – Yr6 students on their Transition Days. We have organised fun getting-to-know-you games, including tug-o-war – Beach came second! Yr7 also made welcoming bunting for each student. Throughout the year we have been raising money for The Gurney Fund. Our total of £1,200, plus £300 sponsorship money raised by Mr Milne for his London Revolution Cycle Ride is amazing and we would like to thank everyone for their contributions. Sadly we have said ‘Good-bye’ to some of our Yr11 students and wish them well in their future education placements. We also wish good health, happiness and success to our Yr13 as they move on to the next exciting phase of their lives. We welcome Mrs Thorogood to Beach Community as Student Support Manager and thank Mrs Henthorne for all the support she has given over the last two years. The weather is set fair for the summer and we wish everyone a very enjoyable holiday and look forward to returning refreshed in September.

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Term 6 has again seen the members of NS preparing for our PRIDE Awards entertainment: Yr7 have been “In the Mood” since the start of term as they have been polishing their dance which would start off the proceedings in the traditional way; Yr8 have been working on giving excellent advice to their audience in “Don’t worry; be happy!”; Yr9 have produced their very own version of “Stomp” and Yr10 have been putting together their medley from “High School Musical”. Yr12 have learned our Community song “Simply NS” and we have ensured that all five year groups will fit comfortably on stage for the finale! On that day we also handed over cheques to representatives of the two charities we have been supporting: JDRF for Diabetes and the Make a Wish Foundation. Certificates for being awarded the most Positive Events in Term 5 were presented in our final Community assembly to Zoe Coles in 7NS, Rosie Cooper in 8NS, Amy MacCormack in Yr9 and Isabelle Hockey in 10NS while MWI were, not for the first time, the mentor group with the most Positive Events overall! Congratulations go to them all and also to Ellen Sharp of 8NS who took part in the Race for Life at Mote Park, Maidstone on 7 July in the sweltering heat and completed the course in 50 minutes! Another fantastic year, NS - you all deserve to have a wonderful summer break! Enjoy every minute of it!

In the weeks running up to the end of term, our prefect team has been busy getting to know the new Yr7s for next year. They have done this through a variety of team building activities on different occasions, including an enjoyable tug of war,. Our Pride Awards were a chance to thank all of our students. The Yr7, 8 and 9 orchestra performed along with individual acts: Naomi Wilson, Mollie Clack, Annie Huang, Alicia Knights-Toomer and Ellie Crew. In preparation for Rounders and Sports Days, year groups practised their tactics, with coaching from Mr Linstead and Mr Beer. Wearing our purple with pride we were determined to succeed! Kit Mather, Sophie Newington, Katie McCamley and Alysha Cooper all ran the Race for Life this term. Their efforts are greatly appreciated, raising money for breast cancer. Finally, prefects have been working on our Community Board this term. It features the New York skyline, with silver stars, representing every one of our students in Kiri Te Kanawa. The prefects are then represented by superheroes, leading us into another successful year. Enjoy your summer!

The end of another year is upon us and so it provides us with an opportunity for reflection. We have raised £1,350 for the National Autistic Society over the year, through various fundraising efforts including our Cowboys and Indians themed non-uniform day, stalls at the Culture Days, the Pop Quiz, Murder Mystery and Learning Community Performing Arts evening as well as our Penny Race. It is also a time to look to the future as Yr7 welcomed the new students who will start in September. They all made a personalised piece of bunting to make them feel welcome on their two Taster Days last week - a fantastic effort and a lovely gesture, which they all completed in their own time with beautiful results. Thank you! Unfortunately it is also a time for farewells with Yr13 facing exciting adventures in the big, wide world and staff moving on to pastures new either within or beyond Highworth. We wish Mrs Richardson well at her new school and send farewell wishes to Miss Hodges and Mrs Mann who are off to weave their magic with JP (not too well though, we hope!) It has been an absolute privilege to be Director of Learning for VM since the start and the VM family are a very special group of people to be a part of. I know that you will all continue to strive to be the very best you can be. Follow your dreams and reach for the stars! Miss Greensmith

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At 6am on Friday 5 July, the Highworth Folk Band met outside Gower House, bleary-eyed, ready to set off to the Birmingham Conservatoire for the National Festival of Music for Youth. After joining in with an exciting composition workshop, where we created a piece with samba influences and watched in awe whilst the violinist running the workshop played an extremely fast ‘Rachenitsa’, a type of Bulgarian folk dance, we then saw a brilliant collaborative performance by SAMYO (the National Youth Orchestra for Indian Music), and the National Youth Jazz Collective, before playing our own set of 3 pieces at the Adrian Boult Hall. The judges loved our dynamic performance, which included a surprise entrance through the audience and some unaccompanied, plainchant-style singing and we were awarded a prize for innovation, much to our delight! We’d all like to say a huge thank you to Mrs Booker for being an amazing musical director and for organising the day for us and also to the minibus driver who had to endure our constant singing during the five hour journey home! By Molly Boot, Yr11

Brilliant Billy Elliot

On Wednesday 19 June, three of the Performing Arts staff - Miss Moody, Miss Hodges and Mrs Booker - accompanied eight of the Performing Arts A2 students on a congratulatory trip for all their efforts to see a performance of ‘Billy Elliot’. It is a triumphant story and the staging was phenomenal. With changing scenery which was raised from the stage floor or pulled from the walls to the use of trapeze wires and clever spacing, this show was fast paced, exhilarating and, most of all, emotionally gripping. The young actor playing Billy, Tade Biesinger, aged 13 from Utah, USA was amazing as his transitions from strenuous and skilled ballet choreography to fantastic vocals during his solo numbers were flawless. He really reflected the message of Billy Elliot's story that each one of us has a gift which is waiting to burst out of us like 'Electricity' and, indeed the whole experience was electrifying!

The Fabulous Folk Band

Grease is the Word!

The cast of Grease from the school production on Thursday 11 and Friday 12 July in which over 200 students were involved. The production was a great success.

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HiJAC!

Highworth's June Alternative Concert proved a great success on the sunny evening of 25 June. The large stage was moved outside and decorated, festival-style. There were lively performances from 789 Choir, Chamber Choir, Gospel Choir and Orchestra in the first half, together with a beautiful rendition of the slow movement from Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No.2 by Jenny Chen and our String Sinfonia. The wind quintet and flute choir also took to the stage, as well as our new percussion ensemble, directed by Mr Sean Farrelly, and our good friends the Ashford Community Choir. A taster song from 'Grease' made the crowd start rocking. The second half of the event included more popular-style items, including solos from Bethany Terry (Yr8), Felicity Endacott (Yr9), Anna Marie Gould (Yr10), a duet from Liz Bate and Maria Overy (Yr13) and bands including Naomi Clarke, Beverley Southern and Siobhan Redfern (Yr11), Jazz Nouveaux featuring Xanthia Geens (Yr12) and Cannon Woods, who performed with Highworth Orchestra. The evening was brought to a brilliant close with a guest spot from emeritus band The Intermission Project, ahead of their EP launch at St Mary's Church, Ashford at 7.30pm on Tuesday 23 July. A performance not to miss!

On Thursday 27 June 49 students and 4 members of staff went to see Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’ performed at The Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury: It was an all-male cast, as it would have been in Shakespeare’s day, which, in a play already full of disguise and deceit, caused even more confusion. The love triangle between Orsino, Viola and Cesario (Viola dressed as a man) was contrived brilliantly by the players and the drunken bawdiness of Sir Toby and Sir Andrew Aguecheek, as they and Maria manipulated poor Malvolio into first believing Olivia loved him and then casting him into a darkened room as mad, was both hilarious and poignantly sad. The yellow stocking, cross gartered Malvolio was the highlight for many as he had us laughing uproariously. The story was interwoven by Feste the jester/fool playing his memorable ditties and twisting words into complex witticisms. The Yr9 students who had recently studied the play particularly enjoyed mouthing their learned lines from certain scenes. It was a memorable and inspiring evening enjoyed by all!

Twelfth Night at The Marlowe Theatre LIVE ART at Eastwell

Three extremely brave Artists in Yr12 created Live art as the Jazz orchestra played their annual concert this year held at Eastwell Manor. The standard of the work produced was very high and American in theme to celebrate the 4th July. It was a huge success and a real delight to see the work unfold as the evening progressed. The artists had to work against the clock and as the light began to fade; they received many compliments and one artist sold her painting on the evening to a member of the audience. A huge thank you to the art prefects who were India Johnson, Hestor Mattocks and Jessica Dury. Thanks must also go to Mr Welch and the Jazz orchestra for giving the artists such a wonderful platform to showcase their talents.

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Nothing to Rue in Rue!

Yr 8 went to Chateau du Broutel in Rue, France for an action packed agenda of non stop enjoyment and fun. We did outdoor activities from kayaking and water rafting to archery and obstacle courses which developed team building skills and gave us the opportunity to learn new skills outside of the classroom. Additionally there were activities such as going to the local market, visiting a wheat farm and chocolate factory that allowed us to embrace the French culture. A disco was held for the schools staying at Chateau du Broutel on the last night of our stay and it goes without saying the teachers can definitely dance! Grace Rasmussen 8VM/JMR

Boppart - Rhineland

We all thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Boppard in the Rhineland! We did and saw so much over the four days we were there. Cologne was fantastic - the cathedral was breath-taking and standing at the top looking over the city was a definite highlight! The Lindt chocolate factory was a great tour filled with lots of amazing chocolate! We found the Marksburg, an impressive fortress towering over the Rhine, fascinating and we were given an informative tour teaching us about the history of the castle. Cochem was simply amazing! The castle we saw was stunning and the weather was beautiful, too. Some of us went swimming and the wave pool was great. We felt the thrill of watching each other race down the slides. The river tour was pretty, although also a little wet, but still enjoyable nonetheless. Our visit to the Rhineland was a fun (and ice-cream) filled trip, which was enjoyed by all! By Madeleine Rogers 9CS and Hannah Rody 9CS

Marvellous Malaga

On Sunday 23 June a group of 29 students from Years 9, 10 and 12 visited a little village near Malaga, in the south of Spain. Students were hosted by local families and had 3 hours Spanish lessons in the mornings, followed by trips and activities in the afternoons. Here is an account that one of our Spanish Prefects, Jessica Richards, made of the trip: “Staying with a local host family gave us a new insight into local culture and encouraged us to practise our Spanish in real situations, supported by intensive but fun Spanish lessons in the mornings. We also enjoyed our visits into the centre of Malaga where we not only visited many local tourist attractions such as the Picasso Museum and the ‘Alcazaba de Malaga,’ but also had free time to explore the town and do a little shopping. Best of all the weather was beautiful and everyone we met was very friendly and welcoming allowing us to have a fun and enjoyable trip which I would highly recommend to anyone who gets the opportunity to go.”

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At the beginning of June, on two separate Mondays, Yr8 took a coach up to London for the day to visit The Globe Theatre: the home of the RSC in London. The students were split into three groups and allocated an actor-practitioner who began by giving them a tour of this amazing theatre (reconstructed exactly as it would have been in Shakespeare’s day). The girls learned about why Groundlings are called Groundlings (because of the fish!), about heckling and the value of a roof over their heads, as well as realising that celebrity was as important in Elizabethan England as it is today; the rich sat above the stage looking at the rest of the audience in order to be seen rather than see! They then participated in an acting workshop on ‘The Tempest’ (a play which has been studied in class). Great fun was had by all as they stepped into Caliban’s shoes and began to understand how a displaced native might have felt. A picnic lunch next to the Thames was followed by a costume demonstration where Iona McBain was dressed in Elizabethan dress – stockings, garters, corset and all… we were all exceptionally grateful to be living in the 21st century! Just before we left, students were free to look around the excellent exhibition and spend some money in the shop. Some students were so inspired that they have been to the theatre since to see ‘The Tempest’ performed at The Globe.

Globe Theatre

On the 1st and the 2nd of July Yr12 Biology students visited Brockhill Country Park. Brockhill Country Park was previously part of a large estate dating back to Norman times; the old manor house is now part of Brockhill School. During the first day, which fortunately was sunny, students worked in small groups collecting transect data of the different plant species that can be found on site for use in later PSA and class work; the afternoon was spent sampling life at one of the park’s ponds. During the second day, the number of insects found on different parts of different species of tree were recorded. The most fun part of the trip was kick sampling a stream. Walking downstream, samples of water shrimp were collected in nets and counted. During this time the world’s largest slug was found, much to everyone’s enjoyment. The afternoon was spent recording the plant species found in non-grazed and grazed fields. The trip was enjoyed by all thanks to the lovely scenery and very un-British sunshine that managed to hold up for most of the 2 days.

Brockhill Country Park

On Friday 5 July Yr10 and Yr12 Product Design students went to the New Designers Exhibition. They saw prototypes and working products of the third year graduate students from over 200 of the leading Design Universities around the country. There were many different disciplines on show ranging from Furniture and Product Design to Architecture and Interior Design. Students were encouraged to talk to the graduates about their work to find both inspiration for their coursework and about what university life is like as a design student.

New Designers Exhibition

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On Friday 28 June three Yr9 students, Annabelle Trew, Molly Barker and Amy MacCormack, visited the Royal Institution in Albemarle Street, London, to attend lectures and take part in a Mathematics competition. We were given a sheet of mathematical puzzles to complete whilst we waited for everyone to arrive and the talks to begin, before we were shown to the Michael Faraday museum, where we looked at exhibits and read information about the invention of electromagnets. The first talk was about the theory of how to avoid traffic congestion and we learnt many formulas which showed stopping and thinking distances of cars. The second talk by Dr Paul Shepard, an engineer, was about building the Olympic stadium. During lunchtime, we took part in a mathematical competition where we had to answer a variety of questions on a sheet. Luckily we knew most of the answers! We then had another talk by Garrod Musto, about crop circles. He explained the characteristics of them, for example, lines of symmetry or rotational symmetry, explained in the books of Euclid’s Elements. We would like to thank Mrs Briggs for taking us on this inspirational trip.

Mathematics Masterclasses

Chemistry at Work

A group of Yr10 students attended The Chemistry at Work event at Canterbury Christ Church University organised by STEM and supported by the Royal College of Chemistry. During the day they participated in several workshops run by the university and by local companies, demonstrating the importance of the role of chemists in our everyday lives. An inspirational lecture about the chemistry of combustion presented demonstrations producing smoke, flames and explosions. All good fun, but for Kent Fire Service it is the chemist who analyses the forensic evidence of a fire and who helps fire-fighters tackle a fire safely. Interactive activities and experiments introduced the group to the biochemistry taking place in muscles during exercise and to the photosynthesising energy-producers. They even produced their own butter and cheese in The Great Butter Race & Cheesy Challenge, uncovering the important role of chemistry in the production of food. As usual our Yr10 students participated with enthusiasm, asking interesting and challenging questions and learning about the career opportunities that lie before them.

Our team were well prepared with maths puzzle apps on phones, pack of cards and fizz buzz for Fibonacci, prime and perfect numbers. The 80 schools that attended this prestigious event came from far and wide and it was quite noticeable that there was a shortage of girls so it was great for us to be there. There were 5 rounds to the competition: a poster round designed on packaging; Group Circus where a table of eight had a practical or geometric puzzle to solve; the cross number; mini relay and relay races. The apprehension was electric as we waited for the results. One thing we will have to remember for next year is octahedral ionic bonding when packing and also how peas are packed in a pod (the winners’ choice) and finally how many card tricks Molly Barker can do on a one and a half hour train journey.

The National Mathematic Challenge Finals in London

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Eleanor Sheehan, Yr 7 on completing her 25,000m Rowing Award; Ashly Johny in Yr 10 and Emily Doggwiler in Yr 9 on completion of their 50,000m Rowing Awards.

The U15 Beach volleyball teams who came 1st and 3rd in the Kent School Games Finals on Margate Beach

The winning mixed rounders team with Norton Knatchbull in the Kent School Games Finals. Also in the picture are the Sports Leaders who supported the event as umpires.

Our U13 Basketball team, U15 Basketball team and our U15 Rounders team, after representing Ashford in the Kent School Games and finishing first overall.

The U13 tennis team who came 1st and the U15 tennis team who came 2nd at the Kent Schools Games Finals.

Congratulations to…….

U13 Basketball Team U15 Basketball Team

U15 Beach Volleyball Team

Kent Games Basketball

Mixed Rounders Team

U13 Tennis Team

U15 Tennis Team

Sports Leadership

Yr10 Sports Leaders ran sports activities for Yr3 and 4 pupils from St Mary’s and St Teresa’s primary schools as part of their Sports Leadership course.

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Highworth Race for Life Team

The Highworth Race for Life Team braved the heat to take part in the Maidstone Race for Life on Sunday 7 July in aid of Cancer Research UK. We were inspired to run by Linda Wells, one or our PE teachers, who is currently battling breast cancer. She recently underwent surgery and started further treatment last week. So far the Highworth Race for Life team has raised about £800 but the money is still coming in from staff, students and community groups. We wish Linda well and congratulate all those who took part.

This term, all Drama students have undertaken challenging projects which considered the fragility of the human condition. All performances reflected the depth of research and empathy devoted to their pieces and so warm congratulations are heartily given. Well done girls – and Giles! As this will be my final Highways article, all there is to say is that it has been my pleasure to lead the Drama Department over these past few terms and I will be sorry to leave. Thank you to all my students who have made my time at Highworth thoroughly enjoyable. I am proud of the work each of you has created. I leave Highworth’s Drama department in great hands and wish to welcome Ms McBride to the school. Warm regards, Miss Kim Voisey

World Hockey League

On 25 June, Highworth’s after school Hockey Club went to watch the semi-finals of the women’s World Hockey League. Argentina beat Italy 2-0 and the next match, Australia vs New Zealand, was very exciting. We went to the Fun Zone and played a mini game of hockey with the other students from Highworth, and this was followed by the England vs Spain game, which was the best game because Spain won the Olympic hockey. Spain were really fast but England had some very good players - the atmosphere was electric! It was a great hockey experience and by far the best school trip yet! By Charlotte Nudd 7CS and Olivia Vigar 7CS

On 15th June, nine students from the Highworth rowing team visited Cambridge to watch the May Bumps rowing event. We were shown around Pembroke College boathouse which gave us an insight into university rowing life. We found a pleasant spot along the river bank and watched the first two races in sunny weather. However, luck was not in our favour and soon the weather took a turn for the worst. After sitting in the rain for around half an hour, we admitted defeat and retracted to the minibus where we sat for a while attempting to dry off. For the last few races the sun came out and it was a great end to the day. We’d like to thank Mr and Mrs Hall and Mrs Dearlove for taking us on a wonderful trip.

May Bumps

Drama

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Yr9 have been working for two terms on a Business Enterprise Project in their Design Technology lessons. They worked in teams on interesting tasks linked to business and retail. They produced practical outcomes in Food, Textiles and Product Design and presented their work to a team of independent judges, who willingly gave up their time. For an outstanding project and the highest marks in Year 9, the overall winners were: Jess Headech, Jess McClean, Chloe Powell and Olivia Dyke. Congratulations to the girls and all the other prize winners.

Year 9 Enterprise Project Winners

On the morning of Focus Day, 3 July, Yr7 were full of energy and enthusiasm as they all took part in a fundraising workout to music. After being inspired by the presentation given two weeks earlier on the work of LEPRA, an organisation which provides a cure for those who suffer from leprosy, they had asked relatives and friends to sponsor them – and we were overwhelmed by the response! It costs just £25 to cure someone suffering from this terrible disease. Those who raised this sum – and a number of them did – will be presented with a LEPRA alarm clock in a special assembly next term. Altogether, Year 7 raised over £2000, which means that they have changed the lives of 80 people – an amazing achievement! A special mention should be given to Jordanna Mills who raised £40, Hannah Pang who raised £43.50, Indi Shepherd who raised £50, Faye Hunt who raised £60.60, Fiona Rai who raised £88 and Neeve Yates who raised a magnificent £160!! Many thanks to all who donated money to this very worthy cause.

Leaping for LEPRA Year 9 Focus Day

On Focus Day, Yr9 took on the challenge of creating and marketing their own brand of lipstick. Beeswax was melted and food colouring, flavourings and oil were added before setting them in a pot to cool. In order that our lipsticks would be appealing to customers, we had to make sure that our marketing was eye catching and unique. We had until 12:20pm to create posters and packaging for our products before presenting them to our classes. This was possibly the most nerve-wracking but exciting part of the day, where each group endlessly rehearsed their pitches in the hope of getting through to the final. Two groups from each form were chosen to present to the rest of Yr9 and more judges in the hall. It was interesting to see how each group made individual products with unique selling points, many of which would be popular brands if they were marketed. The winning team produced a product which was a lipstick called Forget Me Not and this was a Focus Day we will not forget either!

New School Uniform

There will be opportunities to purchase uniform items during the summer holidays when both suppliers will be based in school on separate days: Tuesday 23 July (11am to 4.30pm), Tuesday 6, Tuesday 13 and Tuesday 20 August (11am to 4.30pm). You can access our uniform supplier websites at www.pages-schoolwear.co.uk or telephone 01622 753900 and www.robertsymondsschoolwear.com or telephone 01255 677446 for further information.

Monday 2 and Tuesday 3 September - Staff Development Days

Year 12 return on Mon 2 September Wednesday 4 September Term 1 commences;

return to Week B Timetable

Tuesday 8 October - Focus Day Friday 11 October - Non Uniform Day

Friday 25 October - Last day of term

Headteacher: Mr P Danielsen Highworth Grammar School, Quantock Drive, Ashford, Kent, TN24 8UD

Phone No.: 01233 624910, Fax: 01233 612028 Email: [email protected] Website: www.highworth.kent.sch.uk

highways july 2013

Documents

japanese students

rounders day

fantastic school

national students exhibition

french culture day

highworth school issue

japanese culture

mrs riezebos