News at Ralph Allen - Ralph Allen School
Transcription
News at Ralph Allen - Ralph Allen School
Ralph Allen School News at Ralph Allen Issue: 05 31 January 2013 SCHOOL NEWS—FACULTY OF INNOVATION LEGO ROBOTICS UK CHAMPIONS In this issue…. Following their win at the Lego Robotics Finals at Loughborough University five Ralph Allen students will be heading for St Louis, Missouri, USA to represent the UK at the World Championships in April. A team of seven boys and girls, aged 11 to 15, fought off fierce competition from 21 other teams to become the UK Lego Robotics champions, in a competition designed to test young people’s engineering, programming, design and teamwork skills. The winning team were presented with the trophy and their winners’ medals by Yewande Akinola, the UK’s Young Woman Engineer of the Year 2012, at the UK finals held on Saturday 26 January at Loughborough University. A fingerprint-recognition doorbell The team also invented an intelligent doorbell for elderly people which recognises visitors by scanning their fingerprints and informs the elderly resident who is at their front door via a screen display. The team carried out extensive research with a number of elderly people as well as experts from organisations including Bath Institute of Medical Engineering, Rolls Royce and Age UK. Looking forward to the World Championships in St Louis, USA The team are now preparing to take on other national teams including the USA, China and Japan at the World Championships, which will be held in St Louis, Missouri, in April. The UK finals included 22 teams who had each won a regional final. Find out more Please contact Mandy Gaskin or Doug Mason (parents) on 01225 461926 or 07963 461123, or email douglas.mason@hp.com. The boys and girls Tom Mason, Freya Alder, Danielle Workman, Max Workman and Joe Mason from Ralph Allen School; Claudia Moorhouse, Rafi Borries Gruber from King Edward's School. INNOVATION INCLUSION School News Lego Robotics UK Champions Maths Challenge STEM Parents’ Evening Youth Speaks Competition Winners Linguists of Term 2 Year 9 Options—why study languages? Gift of Books to Learning Resource Centre B&NES Young Chef Competition Drama News Duke of Edinburgh Award 2013-14 General Information Applied Learning Centre Parking at Sulis Club Student Absence Student Sickness Clubs Severe weather thanks STOP PRESS We are collecting Sainsbury’s Active Kids 2013 Vouchers— please send in to Main Reception or Attendance Office SEE THE SCHOOL WEBSITE FOR THE LATEST NEWS FROM THE SCHOOL —IT’S UPDATED DAILY INSPIRATION School News —Faculties of Innovation & Communications and Culture MATHS CHALLENGE Ralph Allen School hosted the first regional heat of the Year 10 Team Mathematics Competition run by ‘The Further Mathematics Support Programme’ on Wednesday 23 rd January. There were nine teams of enthusiastic year 10 students competing, including two from Ralph Allen School. Many schools coach their pupils rigorously and practice every past question. However despite the serious competition our teams finished a very creditable 3rd and 5 th place. The teams comprised: Team A: Freya Alder, Tom Mason, Danielle Workman, Bart Scattergood Team B: Guy Dunford, Patrick Knight-Gaynor, Elia De Matteis, Solstice Wilson-Garner Well done to our two teams who are shaping up to become the next generation of Maths ambassadors. STEM PARENTS’ EVENING Thanks to all the parents, students, governors and members of the Science community who came to the inspiring STEM presentation evening for year 7 and 8 pupils and their parents on Tues 15/01/2013. An exciting array of STEM subjects were showcased by Ralph Allen staff and external organisations such as Rolls Royce and the Institute of Physics. Students and parents were able to discover the opportunities STEM subjects provide in terms of future careers. You could experience STEM with hands-on experiments and activities, as well as meeting ambassadors from a wide range of organisations with STEM career links. The intrepid braved the cold to stargaze with the school's telescope, very kindly loaned by a benefactor from the Herschel Museum. STEM = Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Photograph: Lego Robot being put through its paces at the STEM evening YOUTH SPEAKS COMPETITION WINNERS Two teams from Ralph Allen School took part in the first round of the Youth Speaks competition on Wednesday 16/01/2013. This public-speaking competition for young people is arranged by the Rotary Club and this is the third year running that Ralph Allen have entered. Teams consist of 3 members with one pupil chairing the event, one speaking and one proposing the vote of thanks. There was a very strong field with 2 teams from King Edwards and a team from St Gregory's who have won this round for the last two years running. One Ralph Allen team, consisting of Louis Dejeu -Castang, Chris Hughes and Will Penkethman-Carr won the competition with a very impressive speech on the concept of freedom, and will now compete in the district round next month. Our other team, Venu Upadhyay, Louis Campbell and Manny Campion-Dye, were awarded runners up and Manny also won the best speaker prize for his impressive speech on artificial photosynthesis. Photo: Youth Speaks teams with Bartholomew Scattergood, Year 10 INNOVATION INCLUSION INSPIRATION School News —Faculties of Communications and Culture & Creative and Performing Arts LINGUIST OF THE TERM—TERM 2 Well done to all the students below, who have been awarded Linguist of the Term for their hard work and involvement in language lessons. Very well done! Ms Pérez, Modern Foreign Languages German Yr 8 Manny Campion-Dye (SG) Yr 9 Jack Kendall (SG) Yr 10 Anna Cooper (SG) Yr 11 Sammy Hayward (SG) French Yr 7 Patrick Fountain (VS) Yr 8 Matilda Cross (JWP) Yr 9 Hannah Garlington (VS) Yr 10 Katie Dunn (JWP) Yr 11 Gabrielle Kear (VS) Spanish Yr 7 Indie Baigent Wright (YP) Yr 9 Elena Guglielmi (YP) Yr 8 Daniel Richards (MB) Yr 10 Natalya Browne (YP) YEAR 9 OPTIONS - WHY STUDY LANGUAGES? Last term Astrid Forsyth from the University of Bath Language Department gave a talk about the usefulness of languages in the workplace and possible career and study options. Astrid delivered a presentation to current Year 9 students, who are currently making their choices for GCSE courses. With great enthusiasm she gave examples of her own experience as a learner of languages. and pointed out the importance of learning languages in Britain in order to be well prepared to enter the job market. It was a really interesting and informative session and we are looking forward to having similar events in the future. Students’ and teachers’ feedback included: ‘Well thought out and very helpful’. ‘The event has made me think about learning a 3 rd language at home’. ‘Good to have a person from outside school & some shock statistics about how poor at languages we are ...’ ‘Experience video: good. Good to include cars and football to appeal to boys’. ‘Great that she made clear you don’t have to be perfect in a language’. ‘Statistics and examples of people using language in business, eg BMW, good’. Astrid - Danke schön! Merci beaucoup! Muchas gracias! Thank you! Ms Pérez GIFT OF BOOKS TO THE LIBRARY Congratulations to Hannah Sackett, the mother of Josh Sackett in Phoenix 1 (Year 7) who has just won a writing competition run by Orion Books/ Salisbury Cathedral/ Cornelia Funke in order to launch Cornelia’s new book Ghost Knight. Part of the prize was the donation of books to chosen schools, and Ms Sackett has asked to give £80 worth of the prize books to Ralph Allen's school library, for which the school is extremely grateful. She works as a primary school librarian, so the other half of the money is going on books for primary schools. Ms Sackett, who has written other nonfiction works and is a trained archaeologist, has kindly agreed to come in to school to read her story to a class and discuss the process of writing. The books are donated by Orion publishers, and Ms Sackett’s story is on the Orion website: http://www.orionbooks.co.uk/Search.page?SearchText=sackett B&NES Young Chef Competition Christian Hughes (year 9) was runner up in the B&NES Young Chef Competition, held as Ston Easton Park on Tuesday 22nd January. Christian and Lara Taylor (year 8) had won the second round, hosted at Ralph Allen in December so both represented the school. INNOVATION INCLUSION INSPIRATION School News —Faculty of Communications & Culture The 11 students from six different B&NES schools had 1 hour to prepare their dish in the kitchens at Ston Easton Park. The pressure was enormous - working against the clock, in an unfamiliar kitchen, and ! Students had to cook a main meal dish which they had created or adapted from an original recipe. Christian chose to make a Greek meat cobbler and used lamb and vegetables in the base, thyme in the scones then decorated the plates with olives and feta cheese. Lara chose to do a colourful Thai Seafood Curry. Both dishes looked and tasted truly stunning. Christian won an ipod and all the entrants received a goody bag containing several recipe books. Mrs S Rogers, Teacher i/c Food Technology DRAMA NEWS ‘96’: Year 13 A level Final Production Cast: Eden Coffey-Cockram, Anya Gilbert, Jamie Hammond, Harry Kimberley-Bowen, Taro Sherabayani, Lauren Stewart Year 13 Drama students presented their final group performance on Wednesday 23/01/2013 in a combined showcase with Hayesfield School. The outstanding piece of devised work explored the tragic events that occurred in Hillsborough in 1989 and examined the disaster from a range of perspectives. The six students began working on original ideas for their piece back in September and created a piece of theatre that was sensitive, thought provoking and highly theatrical— an example of ensemble work at its best. They should be very proud of their performances and we now wish them all the best for their forthcoming exams. Due to the snowy conditions on the evening of their performance some of their friends, family and staff were unable to attend. There will be a repeat performance on Thursday 07/02/2013 at 3.30pm in the Drama studio to provide an opportunity for this performance to be seen again. If you would like to attend please contact Laura Hobbs (laura.hobbs@ralphallen.bathnes.org.uk). Theatre Trips ‘The Woman in Black’, Theatre Royal, Bath On 03/12/2013 all 45 Year 10 GCSE Drama students saw this popular and long running play. The original director of the piece, Robin Herford, performed in one of the main roles and we also experienced a post-production talk in the theatre afterwards, led by the director and his fellow actor. Year 10 enjoyed being thrilled by this excellent production, which they have used to write up part of their coursework. ‘The Rover’, Bath Spa University Drama Students in Year 12 and Year 13 were given the opportunity to see Third Year undergraduate Drama students in action at Bath Spa. The university is keen to create links and we were invited to view work in their lovely new theatre space. Our students witnessed Drama in an alternative environment and we had much to analyse following this trip. ‘Deadkidsongs’ and ‘The Double’, The Ustinov A level students experienced some very different pieces as part of the Ustinov’s stunning programme of plays as part of their Drama from Literature season. These were plays that have kept us talking. ‘Richard III’, The Tobacco factory We are looking forward to this forthcoming event in February as part of The Tobacco Factory’s Shakespeare season. Drama Students in Year 13 will use it to prepare for their final written exam. Extra- Curricular Drama Drama Club Drama Club for Years 8 & 9 ran successfully in Terms 1 & 2 on Tuesdays between 3-4pm. It is currently on Thursday eve- INNOVATION INCLUSION INSPIRATION School News —Faculty of Communications & Culture nings from 3-4pm—newcomers welcome. Year 7 Drama club will run in the summer terms—details to follow. Visiting workshop leader Paolo Baigent, who runs regular workshops at The Rondo Theatre, offered a free workshop for students from Years 7- 9 in December. Many students took up this offer and experienced Drama from a different perspective. Touring production of ‘Doomed’ Year 10 Drama students will be experiencing a Theatre in Education production of a new play, ‘Doomed’ which is touring to the school in February. The play will be followed by a workshop on the theme of communication between young people and their parents. It will hopefully offer them experience of the power of Theatre and how it can be used as a tool to educate. Other Events to look out for: The GCSE practical exam will take place on the Evening of Thursday 01/05/2013. Parents and relatives of students involved in this exam will be sent invites to the event closer to the date. The Year 12 Practical exam will take place on the evening of Thursday 16/05/2013. Again, parents and friends of students involved will be issued invites nearer to the date. Laura Hobbs & Claire O’Leary Duke of Edinburgh Award 2013 - 2014 We are relaunching the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award programme this term. The Bronze Award will be offered to students in Year 9 and the Silver Award to Year 10 students that have already completed their Bronze Award. This well established Award provides invaluable experiences and activities for young people. It helps to develop their confidence and discover talents through challenging projects and adventures. The programme is well and known and respected by employers and further education institutes alike for providing young people with numerous life skills. The letters are in the Information section/Letters, forms and documents on the school website. Costs To cover the costs of transport, some outdoor kit, log books, campsites and classroom based resources the cost of the Bronze Award is £160 and for the Silver Award £240. We aim to offer the Awards to as many students as possible in accordance with the regulations regarding staff to student ratios in the outdoors. For more information see the school website or email jane.fox@ralphallen.bathnes.org.uk. INNOVATION INCLUSION INSPIRATION School News—General Information England v Australia Netball Series Parking at Sulis Club Please park considerately and safely when using the Sulis Club. We have had complaints from people parked there who are unable exit the car park because of parents’ blocking it at pick up time. Apparently this is becoming increasingly common. Please take note and park more carefully. Thank you. Student absence World Number 1 Netball Team, Australia have been over in the UK playing a series of games against England. On Sunday 19th January one of these fixtures was played at Bath University, so we took 25 Year 7, 8 and 9 students to see Netball at its highest level. It was also great for the girls to see ex-Ralph Allen student Serena Guthrie who is pictured with some of our students. England won the 1 st game of the series 58-53. It was a great for the girls to see such a competitive game to aspire towards. Mrs E Brown GENERAL NEWS AND INFORMATION Applied Learning Centre building continues The second storey is in place and the spectacular rammed-earth wall is being constructed, despite last week’s snowy weather. Work on the all-weather pitch is also steaming ahead. Mrs Jo Marsh, Business Manager Our Attendance and Communications Officer, Mrs Ali Vermeeren would like to remind all parents that they should contact the school on the first day of a student absence, and on every subsequent day that their child is off school. You can phone at any time early in the morning as the answerphone will be on. Please give the date on which you are calling. Mrs Vermeeren is spending a lot of time chasing parents who have not phoned, and as a result this is impacting on her daily work. Please note that registering attendance at school—including authorised and unauthorised absence - is a legal requirement. Currently parents/carers are phoning about fewer than 50% of student absences. We want your help in improving this figure! Thank you in advance for your cooperation. Student sickness Please do not send your child to school if they are unwell, but phone Mrs Vermeeren to register their absence. Currently Mrs Vermeeren is dealing with approx. 8 children every day who request being sent home because they do not feel well. If your child is unwell, please keep them at home until they are ready to return to school. Children at school should be prepared to learn. Support for the school during severe weather Thanks to all parents for their support during the recent severe weather. We were pleased that the school remained open apart from when the conditions were at their worst, Friday 18/01/2013. Special thanks to all the school staff who enabled the school to stay open. Hands-up Transport Survey for students This will take place over the next few days as part of our sustainable travel ambition and school travel plan. We are encouraging all students to travel to school in the most sustainable way possible, including by bike. Vivo points to the first house to return their questionnaires. Don’t forget—INSET DAYS FRI 08/02/2013 & FRI 08/03/2013 See the school website for more details and photographs of articles in this newsletter INNOVATION INCLUSION INSPIRATION
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