Students investigate the works in our gallery

Phoenix
The
Issue 5 Autumn 2015
The news magazine of Castle Donington College
PAGE
Art in
focus
3
Students investigate
the works in our
gallery
2 Phoenix The news magazine of Castle Donington College
The
An engaging and inclusive
learning community
WELCOME to issue 5 of
The Phoenix.
I say it every year, but
the Christmas term gets
busier and busier! Just
look through our
magazine and you will see
how fortunate I am to be
Principal of a school full
of kind, caring, creative,
fun and intelligent young
people. As you can see,
there is a lot going on…
We also mark the
departure of two wellrespected colleagues: Mrs
McDermott from English
and Mr Mills from design.
We are sad to see them
go and wish them well in
their pastures new, and
very much hope that they
will keep in touch. We also
say a temporary goodbye
to Ms Jenkins who is going
on sabbatical to South
America, during which time
she will be replaced by Mr
Nelson as Head of Year 9.
Finally, we are thrilled to
welcome back Mrs King
and Mrs Saunders from
maternity leave.
Volunteers donate
time and money
to charity
Macmillan cake sale
FOR the second consecutive year, Castle Donington College
held a cake stall in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support.
Students were given an extended breaktime to enable
them to purchase and consume one of the delicious cakes
and biscuits that had been baked by enthusiastic volunteers,
headed up by Mrs McDermott and Mrs Deley.
Several members of staff and around a dozen students
helped to organise, man and clear up after what proved to be
a very successful 15 minutes, in which the College raised a total
of £228, almost £30 more than last year.
Poppies in remembrance
The countdown has
started for our first Year 10
– there will be a lot more
about this throughout
2016. Meanwhile, Year 6s
have settled in really well
and they are making their
own unique contribution to
College life.
I wish you a fun, peaceful
and, above all, safe holiday.
Mark Mitchley, Principal
Dates for your diary
December
15th
Christmas Concert
16th Carol Services (morning)
Year 6 Theatre Visit
Year 7 Theatre Visit
Year 8 Cinema visit
Year 9 Cinema Visit
17th
Christmas Lunch
18thNon-uniform day – School closes to
students, 1pm
STUDENTS Louie, Aleesha, Logan, Holly and Amy from 8SL,
and Archie Daft in 8MH, gave up their break and lunchtimes to
sell poppies to students and staff in memory of those men and
women who have fought and lost their lives during times of
armed conflict.
Charity appeal: Archie Daft
and Holly Weaver, Year 8.
3
Gallery inspires
Art detectives
FOLLOWING the loan of selected artworks to Castle Donington College by
Leicestershire County Council, Art Club students chose and researched a specific
piece of work. Afterwards, they presented their findings to classes in school.
Curator outlines
her role
CREATIVE Learning Services
from Leicestershire County
Council have also selected
Castle Donington College Art
Club students to feature in
their new publication for 2016.
This followed a visit to the
College by Art Curator Lisa
Webb at the end of October,
during which time she gave
the students and Mrs O’Shea
a valuable insight into her
work and responsibilities. Mr
Mitchley dropped by to see
the students sketching the
selected artworks.
The gallery
gives me
inspiration
in my own
artwork
Ready for inspection: Nathaniel Slee, Year 6.
Searching for clues: Daisy Wimberley, Harriet Somerset,
Abbie Smith, Nathaniel Slee, Kacper Smarzewski, Kelsey
Grayson-Tatler and Samantha Burman, Years 6 and 7.
Abbie Smith,
Year 7
Spring term 2016
January
4th Staff Training day
11th Year 9 Work Shadowing Day
w/c 18th Year 6 Mock SATs/Breakfast Week
February
4th
5th 12th Year 9 Parents’ Evening, 5-7pm
School Disco
Non-uniform day
March
18th 24th 24th School Disco
Arts Showcase
School closes for Easter break
Research project: Daisy Wimberley, Year
7, and Samantha Burman, Year 6.
4 Phoenix The news magazine of Castle Donington College
The
English at the centre of the curriculum
Whether exhibiting their work or watching a live performance, we aim to give English
students the opportunity to showcase their creativity and enjoy their learning.
Sugary tale and
a pinch of spice
IN ‘The Great Mouse Plot’ chapter
from Roald Dahl’s ‘Boy’, 6JG and 6KE
learned that, while at school, the author
discovered a dead mouse. He then hid
the mouse in the local sweet shop’s
gobstopper jar (Dahl and his friends
hated Mrs Pratchett, the shopkeeper).
We laughed at Dahl’s description and
created some fabulous storyboards to
retell the sequence of events. However,
we grimaced as we learned about Mrs
Pratchett’s revenge, as Dahl and his
friends received ‘four of the best’ from
the Headmaster.
Re-enacting the scene, we decided
that we preferred the sugar cane!
We read the
story and we got to
act it out - it was
really enjoyable.
Sophie Ramsay, Year 6
A positive
culture of
learning
DOWN in the English
Department, we are
celebrating the brilliant
work that our students
are producing.
By displaying work
that has impressed and
inspired others, we
hope to create a positive
culture of learning. In the
process, students whose
work is selected will earn
a commendation.
Staff are also getting
involved by putting
their favourite books
on display, in a bid to
inspire students to select
different and exciting
texts to read.
Brilliant work: Sienna Miller,
Christian Anderson, Callum Wilkie
and Andrea Clifton, Year 6.
Performance brings play to life
STUDENTS from Years 8 and 9 were given the opportunity to watch JB
Priestley’s ‘An Inspector Calls’ at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham.
Showing dedication and enthusiasm to their learning by attending the
performance on a Saturday, there was much debate on the bus afterwards:
who was responsible, what had happened to Eva, who was the inspector?
The text is new to Year 9, and is an opportunity for students to
experience GCSE level learning.
Drama brought to life: Anna Simon, Darcy Ravenhill, Isabel
Wilkinson, Harriet Hegarty and Connor Whitmarsh, Year 6.
5
6 Phoenix The news magazine of Castle Donington College
The
7
Year 6 bond through play
“IT was simply amazing!”, “PE is brilliant!”, “All of the teachers
are fantastic!”. These are just some of the words our Year 6
students used to describe their recent teambuilding day
in September.
The day is aimed at developing relationships within tutor
groups and building trust between old and new friends.
Lego
AS winter approaches and the temperature starts to drop,
wouldn’t it be amazing to stay indoors with your friends and
create flying machines and intergalactic spacecraft? Well now
you can!
For the first time, Year 6 have their very own Lego Club – a
fun-filled hour, every Tuesday lunchtime.
Anyone in Year 6 is welcome to come along. You can join in
the challenge, make your own model or just play with Lego.
Working together to solve problems and helping each other
are paramount during our time here at the College, so our aim
was to set the foundations for this through the medium of play.
Whether climbing through the spider’s web one person at
a time or encouraging friends towards the end of the six-mile
walk, everyone got involved and had a brilliant day.
Sport
STUDENTS in all year groups have access to a
wealth of extra-curricular sports clubs, all of which
are fully funded and run by professional sports
coaches during both lunchtimes and after school.
Students can find more information on display in
their tutor room and the PE Department. No need
to book, just turn up and do your best!
Congratulations also to the students who have
already represented the College sports teams
this year.
Building blocks: Millie Johnson, Merrie Lucas, Jack Newman, Daniel Clapp,
James Fox and Harriet Walker, Year 6.
Students club together
A wide variety of clubs give students the opportunity to
explore new interests and make the most of their talents
Teambuilding: Year 6 students have fun at Castle Donington College.
Dance
STUDENT Ellie Wainman is the enthusiastic director of the
Dance Club.
“You can learn a variety of different dance moves and dance styles,”
she explained. “It doesn’t matter if you don’t know any dance moves,
because you will soon learn. Each week, we learn more bits of a
particular dance. We start off with a fun warm-up, sometimes we
learn news skills, and finish with a cool down. It starts every Tuesday
at 1.20pm and finishes at 1.45pm.”
Council initiates
real change
THE Student Council, which
has now been elected for
the academic year 2015/16,
is designed to ensure that all
students have an opportunity to
voice their opinions about life
here at the College.
All members will meet
regularly, with support from Mr
Daly and Mrs Lester, to discuss
issues that have been raised by
their tutor group and investigate
Force for good: Members of the Student Council.
future projects. Both the
Chair and Vice Chair will then
have the opportunity to meet
with Mr Mitchley to discuss
matters further.
The work of the Student
Council has always brought
about real change both within
the College and outside in the
community, supporting many
local, national and international
charities and initiatives.
I feel really proud to be part of
the Student Council. We work
hard to make the College a better
place for everyone.
Harvey Daykin, Year 7
Super sculpture: Daisy Wimberley and Abbie Smith, Year 7.
Art
ART Club is held on Monday lunchtimes.
Students have the opportunity to explore
different art forms and have the chance to
experiment with different materials.
Jump to the beat: Alice Giles and Abigail Cashmore, Year 6, and Ellie
Wainman, Loveday Boll, Rhea Hawkins and Amelia Battle, Year 8.
Phoenix
The
Castle Donington College
Mount Pleasant
Castle Donington
Derby
DE74 2LN
Tel: 01332 810528
Fax: 01332 850741
Email: postroom@castledonington.leics.sch.uk
Website: www.castledonington.leics.sch.uk
Initiative champions excellence in PE
WE are delighted to announce that the following students have been selected to take part in our PE Masters
programme, which is designed to help celebrate and champion the efforts of our most able students in PE:
Abi Greenland, Amy Haywood, Harry Ollerenshaw, Ben
Dawson, Estelle Hepworth.
l Year 9: Ed Gossage, Billy Champneys-Davies,
l Year 7: George Boyd, Red Brownett, Kate Lawrance,
Oliver Blyth, Reiss Vandra, Callum Abbott, Laurie Field,
Holly Fawkner, Molly Daykin, Madeline Draper, Lucy
Harrop, Georgia Mattock, Olivia Ibbotsen, Darcy Meek,
Oliver Parry.
l Year 8: Will Chung, Josh Ollerenshaw, Lottie Ravenhill,
These students will now be challenged to take
greater ownership of their own learning and complete
each of the extension targets that can be found in the
Pupil Planner. Congratulations, and good luck for the
year ahead.
Alex Miles, Josh Worley, Katie Januszewska, Michael
Newall, Alex Hyatt, Grace Perkins, Ben Keller, Josh
Dalton, Mitchell Meek, Danny McCree, Noah Mattock,
James Harrison.
Ryan Thomas, Rhea Hawkins, Blaine Halveston, Chris
Baines, Kai Williams, Will Kibble, Adam Taylor, Ana
Steed, Eleanor Harper, Will Henderson.
Masters in their field: Grace Perkins, Katie Januszewska,
Alex Hyatt, George Boyd, Danny McCree, Mitchell Meek
and (front) Kate Lawrance, Year 7.
What a team!
SEVEN Year 6 students took part in
a football tournament at Charnwood
College in September.
Only three of the girls had played
football before, the team had never
trained together, and the girls had only
known each other for a couple of weeks.
As a result, it was optimistic to think they
would do well.
They confounded all expectations,
however, and went on to win two games
and draw two games. Going through to
the final, the girls only just missed out at
the last minute after the game went into
extra time and penalties.
Game on: Harriet Walker, Merrie Lucas, Bethany
Keery, Astrid Gell and Amy Haywood, Year 6.
Produced by Words&Pictures. Tel: 01943 854800
l Year 6: Chris Anderson, Daniel Clapp, Adam Graves,