Issue 27 February 2016

The magazine of Liskeard School & Community College

he eflectionT Rhe eflectionT Rachieving more together

Full reports and news can be found via our

Twitter account and the ‘News’ area of the

school website...

www.liskeard.cornwall.sch.uk@Liskeard_School

FundraisingMan Engine

Porthpean 2015County ChampsDrug AwarenessChristmas Shows

Lord Teverson VisitCertificate Evening

and lots LOTS more...

1| a place where...

Head’s LetterDear All,

This edition of The Reflection looks back on some of the amazing activities, trips and events that have taken place over the last few months. You’ll read an article about Lord Teverson’s visit last term which contributed to us receiving the British Council’s Discovering Democracy Award (we are one of only 60 schools nationally ever to receive the award and the first in Cornwall). You’ll also read about us being crowned County Football Champions for the second consecutive year and about our involvement in the Mine Engine

Project which celebrates the tenth anniversary of Cornish Mining Heritage Status. There is also a wonderful article about our ARC, a county facility, that integrates students with an autism spectrum or related condition into school.

With so much going on there’s a real buzz across the school and in the sixth form college. At recent parents’ evenings and parent coffee mornings parents have fed back how happy they are with what we are doing to support their children. It’s no wonder that the numbers of parents and children choosing Liskeard as their first choice school are set to increase next year.

Thank you for your continued support. I hope you enjoy another fabulous edition of The Reflection!

With all best wishesAlex Lingard, Head Teacher

ErratumThe last issue (Issue 26) included an article on Menheniot receiving a letter from Buckingham Palace (Page 14). This was an error. It should read that Trewidland School received a letter from Buckingham Palace.

Connect With Us! To keep up to date with news, notifications and information make sure you connect with us through our website, Twitter and Facebook!

|2...we shape our futures

GCSE Certificate Evening

Liskeard School & Community College held a GCSE Certificate Evening in

honour of the class of 2015 last term. Students and parents filled the New Hall for an informal evening to honour the students’ achievements and celebrate their success with awards being presented to the students that went the extra mile.

Six students were awarded for the fabulous achievement of ten or more A*/As at GCSE, Mungo Harrison-Ward won the Academic Excellence Award, Flo Gregory

won the Student of the Year Award and Keiran Hamblin was a popular winner of the Head Teacher’s Award.

Staff, students and parents were then given the evening to relax and mingle to the backdrop of GCSE music performances from the year group with drinks and a buffet. Many thanks to everyone that came along and made the evening so special. We wish all the students the very best for their chosen future and look forward to continuing to see the many ex Year 11s at Liskeard Sixth Form as they continue their journey with us.

Head Teacher Alex Lingard said “It

is important to hold evenings like these to recognise all the hard work that students put in to gain their qualifications. I know the certificates that were collected tonight will be carefully looked after by every student and shown with pride to any future employers.”

3| a place where...

BTEC Construction AssessmentsFourteen, Year 10, BTEC Construction students from Liskeard School and

Community College recently completed their Brickwork Unit Assessment. The trainee construction workers of the future received their certificates of completion from Deputy Head Teacher, Mr James O’Connell.

BTEC Construction teacher Ms Anne Yoxall said “We have had an exceptional uptake on the course this year and workspace was at a premium in the Construction Workshop. The students coped well and produced excellent work, across the board, of a standard that compares with any in the South West.”

Lord Teverson Visit

As part of National Parliament Week, Liskeard School and Community

College recently hosted a talk from a member of the House of Lords, to encourage students to become more engaged with the political and parliamentary process.

Lord Teverson met with 150 students from all year groups for a talk about the work and role of the House of Lords. This was followed by a question and answer session with students leading discussions about the bombing of Syria, the refugee crisis, Trident and the lowering of the voting age. The students were fully engaged in the discussions with many staying behind at the end to find out more from Lord Teverson.

Headteacher Alex Lingard said, “This was a fantastic opportunity for our students to interact with someone who knows the parliamentary system inside out, as it can sometimes seem far removed from their daily lives. The students were a credit to the school and Lord Teverson was hugely impressed by

the level of the discussions.”

The visit follows a year of events in school to promote the importance of democracy including voting in the Youth Parliament Elections and holding our own mock election in May. The visit was arranged through the Lord Speaker’s “Peers in Schools” programme, which has been running across the UK since 2007 and has so far involved around 75,000 young people. This continuing outreach programme

sends members of the House of Lords into schools/academies and colleges across the country to give talks in support of the citizenship curriculum. For further information, see the Lord Speaker’s web page at www.parliament.uk/lordspeaker.

Liskeard School Students Charlie Durneen and Harry Woodley said “It was an interesting insight into the House of Lords and it provoked a lot of thought about current issues.”

|4...every day matters

Drug Free Schools

Under the umbrella of Emotional Health and Well-being, Liskeard School and

Community College have teamed up with the police and the other four secondary schools in South-East Cornwall (Looe, Torpoint, Callington and Saltash.net) in an initiative to ensure students are fully educated about the dangers of using drugs and to ensure all students are not exposed to illegal drugs in schools.

The Police Youth Intervention Team, along with a dog handler and his dog, visited Liskeard School last term to hold assemblies for every year group. In the assemblies

students were told of the dangers of drug use as well as the legal consequences of being caught with drugs. The students were also introduced to the passive drug dog and informed as to how and why the dog is so effective at detecting drugs.

Head Teacher, Alex Lingard, said “All the secondary schools in South-East Cornwall are fully committed to doing everything we can to ensure students are safe in school and fully educated about the dangers of drugs. All of us take a hard line on drugs and combined with this initiative are ensuring schools in the local area are drug free zones.”

Year 8 Man Engine Experience

Liskeard School was recently selected as only one of a handful of schools in

Cornwall to be involved in the Man Engine Experience! This project has been put together by Golden Tree, a community interest company which is passionate about Cornish culture. The project itself is a celebration of the tenth anniversary of Cornish Mining Heritage Status and will culminate in July this year with the largest mechanical puppet in Britain making a fourteen day, 130 mile journey from the Tamar to Geevor, Olympic torch style, picking up pageant wagons along the way!

The project kicked off in Liskeard with Year 8 students experiencing life as a Cornish miner first hand. Students attended workshops where they handled replica objects used in Cornish mining since the turn of the century. They learnt traditional songs such as those sung by the bal maidens, investigated the practical problems experienced by miners such as flooding and tunnels

collapsing, and listened to stories about the amazing life of William Crago, a boy local to Liskeard who began his career in mining at the tender age of nine.

The next stage of the project involves fifteen Year 8 students attending training to become a Mine Captain! These Mine Captains will use their knowledge to teach primary school students about Cornish mining culture, whilst working together to create the Liskeard pageant wagon, which will be picked up by the Man Engine (currently being constructed at a secret location!) when it reaches Liskeard in late July. Watch this space for further updates later in the year!

5| a place where...

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

“O u t s t a n d i n g ” ; “professional”; “slick” and “fun for all the family”, were

just some of comments from the audience who watched Liskeard School & Community College Drama Department’s production of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe on the 10th and 11th

of December. Over fifty students were involved in the production, including our terrific performers and a well-managed back stage crew. On Wednesday, the 9th December, the cast performed a dress rehearsal for local primary schools, which included St Martin’s, Dobwalls and Trewidland.

All the students thoroughly enjoyed

the show and were a terrific audience. Mrs Crawshaw and Ms Farrow would like to thank everyone involved for making the show such a huge success!

A parent emailed the school stating “The performance was absolutely brilliant. It was good to see so many pupils involved and they were so professional. I was completely engrossed!”

|6...we feel happy and enjoy ourselves

Christmas Concert 2016

Liskeard School & Community College’s Music Department put on a festive spectacle of music for the annual

Christmas Concert and wowed a packed New Hall. Heads of Music Jane Warwick and Judy Whitlock directed some superb instrumental and vocal performances by students from all year groups. One of the Governors emailed afterwards to say ‘Well done for another great evening. It was good to see so many students and parents at the event and see the students supporting each other and really enjoying the evening’.

The school Art Leaders were fully involved in the event, hosting it, setting up and decorating the café-style tables and offering refreshments,

assisted by Mrs Gabby Schooling and Mrs Bev O’Shea. Joe Robinson performed his own song ‘Always’ accompanied on guitar by Kurtis Maslen-Riches.

The evening was attended by a number of staff, including Head Teacher Alex Lingard, and Deputy Head James O’Connell.

Stuart House Christmas Concert 2016

On Sunday October 18th a capacity audience at Stuart House enjoyed

an hour of music performed by some of Liskeard School Music Department’s gifted and talented students. The youngsters sang, danced, played piano, guitar, trumpet, saxophone, violin, bass guitar, accordion, cajon and clarinet, with a blues jam featuring everyone as the grand finale. Their politeness, enthusiasm and confidence as well as their talent and accomplishment was commented upon by everyone, and they were a credit to themselves and to the school.

Left to right:Miss Judy Whitlock, Will Nicholls, Courtney Smith, Katie Wood, Archie Nicholls, Bradley Richards, Bethany Conway, Tom Roberts, Isaac Poulson, Bayo Earl, Ethan Willett, Joshua Conway, Chris Fowell, Tom Gluyas.

iOrchestra Pictures Here is a selection of pictures from the music departments iOrchestra. iOrchestra is a project of the Philharmonia Orchestra to allow students to feel what it is like to play in an orchestra.

7| a place where...

ARC Sensory Integration – National Autism Week

With National Autism Awareness week coming up between 14

-18 March, the ARC, a specialist support centre in Liskeard School and Community College, has recently had new facilities added to improve the support it gives to students.

The ARC, led by Jon Chinn and a small team of Specialist Support Practitioners, is a very individual and unique environment. ARC Students have had significant difficulties accessing school previously because of issues related to their autism. It is a Cornwall County funded facility that integrates students with an autism spectrum or related condition into school, enabling them to achieve their academic potential.

Students spend a high proportion of time attending lessons with their peers in school. This is achieved in a variety of ways to develop

“self-management” and a better understanding of their autism. These include cognitive behavioural therapy and solution focused therapy models, video interactive guidance techniques, drama and music.

Autism is a neurological condition that affects how people process, store and then retrieve sensory information. This makes it difficult to use previous experience when making decisions and can lead to sensory sensitivities, barriers with language and social situations, which in turn can lead to high levels of stress and anxiety. Autism is a “spectrum” condition in that every student’s needs are different.

The new facility has given more space to teach students to calibrate their concentration levels and understand how they can prepare themselves to manage a busy school environment.

The recent addition to the ARC is a range of sensory integration based equipment. These include a C – stand swing and the universally loved “Walrus” inflatable for use in vestibular and proprioceptive based programs.

The specialist staff in the ARC comprise: ARC Lead Jon Chinn, Deputy Dionne Rodber, and the Specialist Support Practitioners Marianne Berry, Simon Hordley, Kate Read, Jane Saunders, Josh Cottom, Dave Wood and Oliver Jenkin.

ARC Manager Mr Chinn said “We are very proud of the students here, they have overcome a lot. I am also very proud of the ARC staff and the very inclusive nature of the ARC philosophy. The students are included and doing well. Their progress and attendance are brilliant.”

|8...there are no end of possibilities

Plymouth City Museum Art Trip

Students from years 9, 12 and 13 spent the day visiting the Gerhard Richter exhibition

at Plymouth City museum and Art Gallery, including having a tour of the Art and Design College and then a work shop with a graphic designer. Liskeard students also experienced Peter Randall Page’s sculpture outside of the university

building and a further exhibition of graphic design in the Peninsula Gallery. Students were in awe of the Richter exhibition in particular (which is taking place until January). One student said “I really felt how Richter was trying to make us feel”; another said “It was weird but it

made me think about why the artist had done what he did”. There were strong links with history and English during the trip with students exploring text in the workshop and listening to Adam Millford, of Plymouth Museum, describing the fascinating background of the poignant art work.

Residential Art

Josh Elliott and Natasha Dawe from Liskeard

School & Community College have extended a kindness to the residents of a local residential home by creating some original art pieces to brighten up the walls.

They delivered their creations personally with staff member Mrs Price. They have made Miss Oldham and the whole of 9A very proud indeed!

9| a place where...

Children In Need

Liskeard School and Community College raised a grand total of £1086.52

for this year’s Children in Need appeal with both staff and students participating to support the activities that happened around the school for this great cause.

The school held a dress-down day for students and staff. Costumes

ranged from pyjamas to dressing gowns; one student even came in dressed as a unicorn!

Trudi Price organised a fantastic staff raffle with over 80 prizes. A sweet and cake sale was held at break time where students and staff baked their own cakes and also brought in sweets, all of which raised a fantastic £96.36!

Sue Nelson-Tyrrell organised a book sale in the ALC, with help from

students Dan Tothill, Sam Shapland and Rupert Parker-Jones, raising a total of £34.80.

The Sixth Form organised a cake sale throughout the day. Sixth Form student Tamar Davis said “The students were very generous which is reflected in the total. We also held a copper collection throughout the day, managing to fill the whole common room pool table. Altogether we raised £32.”Well done to all involved!

|10...we are inspired

Children’s Hospice Shouthwest Fundraiser

This year one of our chosen charities is ‘The Children’s Hospice Southwest’. To start our charity fundraising we decided to join with

Pirate FM’s Christmas appeal. Pupils and staff brought in presents to send to Little Harbour in time for Christmas. Several of our students also raised money by selling a variety of goodies at the school show. We are looking forward to a really successful year of fundraising for such a worthwhile and local charity.

Christmas Visits

Even though the festive season is now well and truly behind us, it’s wonderful

to able to reflect back on a very successful and extremely enjoyable Christmas programme when students from all of our Year 7 tutor groups were given the opportunity of visiting six of our local residential homes to take part in a ‘Christmas Celebration’.

Amazingly, we managed to dodge most of the showers on the walks there and back and the welcome we received from each home was as warm as ever!

It’s no exaggeration to say that the second half of the Autumn term, leading up to the festive break, is always a busy one for both students and staff, but our visits certainly provided everyone with the ideal opportunity of getting into the Christmas spirit, whilst reminding us all of the real meaning of Christmas.

Once again, we were able to take along a magnificent collection of Christmas hampers for which each Year 7 tutor group had been busy collecting and students were left in no doubt as to just how much the homes’ residents - and staff appreciate our visits!

Liskeard Lights UpA selection of photos of our students making things for the official light switch-on in Liskeard at Christmas.

What’s been really exciting this time is that we were able to take along ‘personalised’ Christmas cards for each of the residents; an idea initially started by Natasha Dawe (9A) with the support of other students in Year 9 and not forgetting the wonderful Miss Michelle Oldham (9A tutor)!

Following on from that, Natasha, along with Josh Elliot have now come up with the marvellous idea of creating a piece of art work for one of the homes so it looks very much as if we can all look forward to building an even stronger relationship with the local community in 2016!

11| a place where...

St Cleer School Singers Prepare To Entertain

Singers from St Cleer School Choir are busy rehearsing for a “Soundfest” concert

in Launceston Town Hall. This promises to be a wonderful event when we will be joining with singers from other local schools, forming a choir of eighty children, with a potential audience of three hundred.

Headteacher, Catherine Stoate, said, “This will be an experience for our children which they will remember all of their lives. There is something very special about singing in a large choir in an imposing venue and in front of a sizable audience.”

As one of our choir members put it, “When I am singing, I can forget everything else but the music. I feel free!”

If you would like to hear the whole school singing and see them dancing, book for our school production of “Ocean Commotion” at Sterts on 21st June!

Are You An Old Pupil OfSt Cleer School?

We are going to display a Roll of Honour in our entrance hall. This will show photos of previous pupils of St Cleer School with a note on their achievements since leaving

us. Did you get good grades/awards? Go to college or university? Are you doing a worthwhile job? We want to raise the aspirations of our children, and your example will really inspire them!

Send your photos and note on your achievements to: head@stcleer.cornwall.sch.uk

St Neot Primary School Poldark Mine Visit

Fowey Class (Y4, 5 and 6) from St Neot Primary School recently visited Poldark

Mine.

The class is involved in a very exciting music project based around the history of Cornwall in conjunction with Nick Hart, Canoryon Lowen, The Cornwall Music Education Hub, The Arts Council and The Royal Cornwall Museum. This will culminate in collaborative concerts at Carnglaze Caverns and The Royal Cornwall Museum.

|12...we learn together & hard work is rewarded

Trewidland School Are Tennis Mad!

This was my first ever time playing tennis, I liked learning a new sport. The coach was brilliant, teaching us a lot of different techniques in such

a short time. Everyone improved during the lesson including myself.

By Milly.

The most fun bit was learning how to play a rally in tennis. A rally of 6 was my highest score during the lesson.

By Margaret.

Trewidland School - Class 1 receive a letter from Buckingham Palace

Amy and Margaret wrote to the Queen telling her all about our Summer topic which was ‘The two Queens’.

This is a photograph of them wearing the crowns they made, holding their pictures of the Queen.

13| a place where...

Year 7 Residential Experience October 2015 Porthpean Outdoor Education Centre

During the week starting Monday 12th October our Year 7 students travelled

to Porthpean Outdoor Education Centre, near St Austell to undertake their residential experience. They enjoyed, or perhaps endured, three days and two nights forging new friendships with their peers, peer mentors, sixth formers and tutor group leaders.

The weather this year was exceptional with crisp, clear mornings and beautiful, if somewhat chilly, sunny days. Temperatures descended at night and so students were advised to wrap up warm in their sleeping bags. Unsurprisingly therefore the night hours proved to be uneventful and quiet.

As in previous years, the food,

supplied and cooked by the camp staff, was wholesome and filling, which considering the exertion involved in activities, proved to be welcome.

With respect to activities, the six to seven mile Blackhead walk proved to be tiring but rewarding and provided fantastic views of St Austell Bay and opportunities to complete artistic work. As in previous years the water sports session appeared to be the most popular and included canoes, sit on kayaks and numerous sightings of the resident seal. Most of the students were unable to remain dry as both instructors and staff encouraged them to ’’fall out’’ of their water craft. The high ropes course, which included the Jacob’s Ladder and the Wobbly Pole tested

the nerves, teamwork and problem solving of our pupils and terrified certain un-named members of staff!

Our evening activities included lots of near death experiences with students (and staff) willingly throwing themselves off the Leap of Faith, climbing to the top of overhanging walls, being led blindfold through the traumas of the night line and exhausting their brain power during the indoor problem solving session.

To conclude, the experience appeared to be enjoyed by everyone and as an added extra the Porthpean Outdoor Education Centre staff were very impressed by the behaviour and attitude of all the students. Well done to all who participated!

|14...together we achieve more

Fun into Food

Liskeard School & Community College’s catering company Chartwells came up trumps

again this year by staging yet another fabulous Fun into Food event! Under the watchful eye of a professional chef, the Green and Red Teams competed against each other to produce the tastiest, best presented plate of food in a “Ready, Set, Cook” style event.

The message throughout the fun and games was to educate students on healthy eating and understanding the main food groups.

First up, contestants were challenged to name each ingredient in their ‘blind box’ then pool ideas about which dish to create. As discussions took place, helpful members of the audience shouted out suggestions until the timer went off and the countdown had begun!

Contestants had less than ten minutes to cook and present their dish, with the audience deciding the winner. Two rounds of the competition took place with the Green Team winning both times. A big congratulations

to students in the winning teams - Libby Rouse and Owen Unsworth

in Year 7 and Jacob Pengelly and Ellie Chadwick in Year 8.

Rotary Club Youth Speaks Competition

Liskeard School and Community College entered two teams into the Liskeard

and Looe Rotary Club ‘Youth Speaks’ competition held at St Cleer School. Students entered at the intermediate level which meant the main speaker had to speak for six minutes.

The first team to speak consisted of students Molly Burchell, Libby Rouse and Melody Rice. Their speech was on the topic of bullying. Next to present was Dana Hammond, Megan

Sanderson and Jamie Shaftoe who spoke about endangered animals.

Both teams worked really hard, prepared themselves well and

received a great response from the judges and audience. Molly, Libby and Melody then did it all again as they got through to the next round being at Tavistock College.

15| @Liskeard_School www.liskeard.cornwall.sch.uk

Football County Champions!

On Friday 29th January 2016 Liskeard School U16 Boys travelled to

Cornwall College to contest the county final against Richard Lander School.

The first fifteen minutes were very even as each side attempted to gain a foothold in the match. As space appeared and both formations became more stretched, the deadlock was eventually broken with a cool and calculated side foot finish from Will Tucker. The boys then gained further control by scoring a sublime team goal involving a series of 1-2s starting from deep in their own half and being scored by Jones Lorenz.

Further goals from Tyler Welsh and a headed goal into the top corner by Sam Humagain left the goalkeeper stranded to complete a convincing 4-0 win.