Newsletter December 2015

The Minster School
A Church of England Voluntary Aided School
Newsletter December 2015 Issue 8
In this edition...
Sporting Achievements
Lantern Making & Walk
Library News
Les Miserables
Big Sleep Out
American Students
Student Achievements
MSPTA News
School Council
Shanghai Teachers Visit
Leo Club Launch
Chaplaincy News
Message from The Head Teacher
The final newsletter of 2015, is, as ever, packed with stories reflecting the
endeavours of our students in recent weeks. It has been busy right up to the end
of term with Year 11 students sitting mock exams, Christmas concerts and services
and specially organised musical activities on the last day of term. I am sure students
and staff alike will be looking forward to a well-earned break when the Christmas
holidays finally arrive…
This half term the school production of Les Miserables
was a particular highlight, showcasing the depth and
breadth of talent in the school. The cast, made up
entirely of students, performed to such a high standard
and have quite rightly received many plaudits from
those who were fortunate enough to secure a ticket.
The individual leads were truly outstanding, giving such
powerful performances and the whole cast enjoyed a
standing ovation at the end of every show.
As we reach the end of term, I would like to send my
thanks and best wishes to the Choristers who will
continue to work hard in the Cathedral up to
Christmas day. I wish them all the very best for the
two carol services on 23rd and 24th December and
for Choral Mattins on Christmas day. I would
recommend a visit to the Minster for a service during
the festive period if you have the opportunity.
Wishing students, staff and families peace and joy this
Christmas.
Mr M Parris
Head Teacher
Mr Parris with members of the Junior School
who decorated the Christmas tree
Forthcoming
events...
Tuesday 5th January
Return to school after
Christmas Break
 Y8 Languages and Enterprise
Day
Monday 11th January
 Newark and District Cross
Country Championships
(County Trials)
 MSPTA Meeting 7.30pm
Tuesday 12th January
 Y9 C/R First Aid & Careers
Day
 Y9 T/W STEM Day
Thursday 14th January
 Y9 T/W First Aid & Careers
Day
 Y9 C/R STEM Day
 Y10 Parents Evening
Friday 15th January
 Y11 History visit to Beth
Shalom (Laxton)
Tuesday 19th January
 Y9 Parent Forum
Wednesday 20th January
 Recital Concert in school
7.00pm
Friday 22nd January
 Y12/13 AP2 sent home
Wednesday 22nd January
 Y9 Options Evening 7.00 pm
Saturday 23rd January
 Joint Schools Concert with
The Police Band 7.00pm
Thursday 28th January
 Y8 HPV Immunisation (girls
only)
Sporting Achievements
On Monday 16th November, the Minster Junior
Girls tennis team travelled to Tipton Sports
Academy in the West Midlands for the Regional
final round of the 2015 Aegon Schools Team
Tennis competition.
The girls started out on their journey in May by
defeating Trent College and Nottingham High
School for Girls before knocking out Spalding Girls
High School, Lincolnshire and then Foremarke
Preparatory School in Derbyshire. This meant that
they qualified for the regional finals and were one
of the top 16 schools in Great Britain.
Team (from left to right): Chloe Lovett,
Anna Buckley, Alice Ofield, Sofia Aujla-Jones
The team were seeded 4th out of the four finalists in Tipton and as a result drew Kings
High School, Warwickshire, the number one seeds, in the first elimination match of the
day. The girls performed admirably with Anna Buckley and Sofia Aujla-Jones winning their
respective singles games and then Alice Ofield and Sofia wining their doubles match.
That meant that the result rested on the shoulders of Chloe Lovett and Anna in the final
doubles tie.
Both girls dug deep against fantastic opposition and came out victorious in a tight affair.
The victory mean that the girls had knocked out the number 1 seeds to advance to the
final match in the afternoon, one step away from the National Finals.
Bedford Girls School were to be the opposition standing between the girls and a place in
the prestigious final event. The tie didn’t start too well with Bedford winning the first two
singles matches. The next two singles went the way of Minster but then Bedford took the
first doubles encounter to take a 3 – 2 lead with one match to play. Anna and Chloe won
that last doubles matchup with relative ease which set up a Champions Tie Break
shootout to decide who would represent the Midlands at the National Finals.
In a race to 10 points, Anna and Sofia paired up and started well going up 2-0 and claiming
a ‘mini break’ of serve. Bedford came back strongly and rallied to take a seemingly
unassailable 9 - 3 lead. The Minster girls showed incredible resolve as they won the next 5
points to close the score to 9 – 8. The next rally was a long, tight affair which could have
gone either way but in the end was won by Bedford to win the tie-break 10-8 and the
match by 4 games to 3.
Although a little dejected by the result the girls were incredibly happy with
their performances on the day and represented the school incredibly well. To
qualify for the Regional Finals was impressive enough but to then come within 2
points of being one of the top 4 teams in the country is remarkable. By beating
Kings High School in the morning the team finished as one of the 8 best teams
in Great Britain.
Anna, Chloe, Sofia and Alice will be competing for school in the same competition again next year – we hope to be able to bring you a similar story of their
endeavours.
The team were congratulated on their success
by Mr Parris and Mr Walker
Dates
continued
Friday 29th January
 LCM Examinations (Recital
Hall)
 MUFTI DAY in aid of House
charities
Monday 1st February
 AS PR Oral Exams this week
Tuesday 2nd February
 Y9 C/R Parents Evening
Thursday 4th February
 Y10 C/R Science Day
 Y10 T/W Tenner Enterprise
Day
 Intermediate Maths
Challenge a.m.
Friday 5th February
 Y11 AP2 Mock Results and
Reports home
Tuesday9th February
 Y12/13 AS & A Level Music
Performances
 Y9 T/W Parents Evening
Wednesday 10th Ferbruary
 Y10 Battlefields Study Visit
 Junior School Parents
Evening
 Singer-Song Writre Concert
7.00pm
Thursday
 Y10 Battlefields Study Visit
Friday
 Y10 Battlefields Study Visit
 JD AP2 sent home
Break for Half Term
Return to school on
Monday 22nd February
Rosie May Dance Leaders Showcase 2015
This October the Minster School put on its 8th Dance Leaders Showcase for the Rosie May charity.
The Dance leaders developed dance routines with students of all abilities from the Junior School through to
Year 13 students.
Over 150 students, including one Year 13 solo performer (Jonah Newell) took part in the showcase. This year’s
performance was very slick despite the vast number of students who took part and was performed over two
nights. All the leaders and dancers must be thanked for their tremendous efforts and months of practice. Thank
you to all the staff and parents for their continued support for this very worthwhile cause. For the two evening
performance over £1,400 was raised. In addition this year we are selling DVDs of the performance which are
now on sale from the PE department, just in time for Christmas at a price of £3. A huge thank you from
Mrs Stanley and Mrs Gratton to all for their generosity.
Mary and Graham Storrie, the founders of the charity were unable to attend the Dance leaders showcase this
year as they were in Sri Lanka at the Rosie May orphanage but sent this:
"The Rosie May Memorial Fund over the last 8 years has received donations from the Minster School that exceed
£10,000 from fundraising efforts by Mrs Stanley, Mrs Gratton and the students at the Minster School.
This fantastic amount has gone and will continue to go towards supporting the orphaned and abandoned girls living
at the Rosie May Home in Sri Lanka over the coming year.
Please pass on our thanks and congratulations to all who were involved in the fundraising; this will make a huge difference
to the lives of the girls in the orphanage.
Your entire donation this year will go directly to the Rosie May Home as the charity is managed entirely by volunteers and
we have no administration costs. Together we can make a difference."
Mary and Graham Storrie, Charity Founders & Trustees
Show Jumping Team
Grantham Arena UK
13th December 2015
The 70 cm and 80cm teams did very well but didn't get placed as a team.
(Beth White, Anna French, Zoe Bray, Molly Barker-Rice, Emelia Chow,
Danielle Spencer). However, Zoe Bray (Y8) finished in 4th place in the
80cm and qualified to represent Notts as an individual in the National
County Championships in April.
The 90cm team of Lily Gray, Eve Allison and Laura Murjan finished 2nd out of 30 teams
by 1 second! As they were the highest Notts team they qualify for the National County
Championships in April, but what is even more exciting is that they also qualify for the
Inter-Schools Competition at the Royal Windsor Horse Show in May.
Miss M McGregor
Boys Football News
The Year 7 team faced a very difficult trip to George Spencer in the County Cup. The team played superbly well and
managed to win the game 2-1. The football wasn’t always easy on the eye but the team did show, for the first time, the
ability to grind out a result in a match that could have got away from them. Thanks to Sam Newell for organising the
team and Mr Musson for taking them to the fixture on the school mini bus.
The Year 9 team hold my biggest hopes of cup success this year. They are in the latter rounds of both the County and
South Notts Cup. The most recent victory came over Rushcliffe school who contained many good players but with one
particular outstanding player who I am sure has a future in the professional game. Despite this, the lads played amazingly
well. Toby Stanley marked their star player in a bid to blunt the threat he posed and Ewan Hill never gave their defence
a minute’s peace and worked the channels all night. I hope the team now have a restful Christmas and come back in the
New Year with their sights firmly set on silverware.
The Year 11 team are a pleasure of taking to fixtures, showing maturity beyond their years and representing the school
superbly well over the past five years. Their final school game ended with a 3-0 loss to The National School. Special
thanks go to team captain Josh Leeson for all his efforts this season and I hope many of the players stay in the game after
they leave us.
Mr Brookes
We were delighted to hear that Charlie Barlow secured the 2015 Junior 1000 Rally
championship title at Pembrey in South West Wales. The rally was ran over five special stages,
Charlie was fastest on two out of the five and second in the other three. Not wanting to take
any risks, he and co-driver Tom Hutchings managed the car and the technical layout of the
stages perfectly, not putting a foot wrong all day. Charlie won the rally by eight seconds and
could have gone quicker he said. His championship victory was the “icing on the cake” after he
finished runner-up in the championship last year in his first season.
Charlie is obviously delighted with his championship victory. He has won every rally he entered
this season, six out of six - an attribute that has never been achieved before by any
other competitor in the Junior 1000 rally championship since it started back in 2007.
Charlie is looking forward to next year where he moves up to senior rallying in a
Super 1400cc car on loose surfaces and also the odd sealed surface rally.
Congratulations to Liam Hassell Year 12, who has been selected to attend the Youth Sport Trust National Talent
Camp at Loughborough University from 18-21 December 2015. Liam is one of only 85 young officials who will be
attending the camp and one of a handful of young people to be selected by British Wheelchair Basketball. The
National Talent Camp is part of the Youth Sport Trust’s commitment to give all young people an opportunity to
achieve their personal best, both in life and in sport, and support promising young people to fulfill their potential in a
range of sporting roles. Funded by Sport England, and delivered in partnership with Loughborough University, the
camp offers our most promising young officials the opportunity to learn and share valuable experiences in their
pursuit of sporting success.
The camp will be globally unique in that it will not only test and challenge the attendees in an intense multi-sport
environment, it will be multi-disciplinary with athletes, coaches and officials sharing the experience and developing in
the same environment. Selected and supported by National Governing Bodies of Sport, 120 young coaches, 120
young athletes and 85 young officials, who have all demonstrated talent within their role and shown a commitment
to push themselves further, will be supported and challenged through a series of theoretical, and practical sessions,
designed to take the young people out of their comfort zone and encourage them to realise what it takes to achieve
their sporting best.
A team of sixteen Youth Sport Trust National Faculty Members, Athlete Mentors and Sports Official tutors are
responsible for delivering the sessions. All have a wealth of experience in facilitation and tutoring and an interest
and passion in officiating and developing young people as officials. National Governing Bodies of Sport will also be
supporting delivery.
This really is a tremendous opportunity for Liam. On return, he will be able to come back into school and share the
insight and knowledge he has acquired with his peers, inspiring others to be the best they can be.
Music and Performing Arts
Sell-out show hits Southwell!
1 barricade; 6 shows; 15 band members; 18 backstage crew; 58 cast; 140 costumes; 950 tickets sold! Our
school production of Les Miserables seems to have caused quite a stir in Southwell! After 10 weeks of hard
work from all cast, crew and staff, we were absolutely delighted to receive all six standing ovations. Based on
the novel by Victor Hugo, this best-selling musical was first staged in 1985. Some 30 years later, our student
cast soared to meet the challenge of a 2.5 hour sung-through musical, with fantastic acting, singing and a level of
professionalism achieved by very few school productions.
Putting on a show like ‘Les Mis’ is a huge commitment for all involved. A huge thank you and congratulations
must go to all who contributed to the show – cast; crew; band and helpers – we hope you enjoyed it as much as
we did!
Audience Feedback
Thank you to all the audience members who took a few minutes to let us know what they thought of the show.
Here are just a few of those comments.
“Just wanted to pass on my congratulations to the school for the jaw droppingly brilliant production of Les Mis that I
witnessed last night. The school should be so proud. Everything was tremendous. The production values were superb, the
set, lighting etc. and the standard of singing was so good. Few schools would have been able to put on such a work.”
“I am sure that I speak for the entire audience when I say ‘I was blown away’ the standard of performance was much
more than you would expect from a school performance. I am very proud to say that my children are part of wonderful
school.”
“Les Miserables was completely absorbing with such beautiful music and singing that moved many of the audience to
tears. Everyone I spoke to felt the same - so many positive comments and experiences and amazement that a
school could produce such a professional performance. What a brilliant time everyone had, it was a picture to see
the casts faces as they received standing ovations - lovely memories for us all.”
Backstage with cast and crew: Robin Perry, Lovely Lady & Chorus
“One thing is for certain, there’s nothing ‘miserable’ about being backstage and at rehearsals at Les Mis!
There are no protests or uprisings, but you could definitely say we get on just as the revolutionaries do.
The rehearsal process has been rather long, our first rehearsal being in July, but all clichés aside, I really do think,
and I’m sure everyone else does too, that it has been worth every single minute of it! Learning the
harmonies, practising them and then finally perfecting them (hopefully before opening night!) is a massive payoff.
Rehearsals are pretty non-stop too, but the camaraderie present is priceless. I’m sure backstage during the
performances will be extremely hectic; the phrases “where’s my mic?” and “I’ve lost my costume!” certainly
will crop up a few times, but that’s all part of the fun that comes with being part of a show! And, while front
of house is brilliantly catered for by the music department, the backstage crew really set the scene, and so
for this a huge thanks needs to be given to Mr. Gibson and the parent helpers, who have tirelessly helped
in making costume and set. Thank you so much for coming and allowing us to share with you this show!”
Miss Hannah Wallis – Director of Music
Scenes from the stunning
Les Miserables
performances, featuring
some of the
cast members
The UBS Award for Outstanding Students 2015
Our congratulations go to Janey Slinger Year 13 who was nominated by her teachers for the Pure Potential/UBS
Outstanding Student Of The Year Award.
Ms Ball, Janey’s Form Tutor, had this to say about her in her nomination:
“Janey is a much-valued member of the school community, proving to be a great role model. She is always willing to give
time to help others as evidenced in her associate tutoring work where Janey planned and delivered several excellent
interactive tutor sessions that benefitted over twenty younger students, giving them tips on how to revise and what to expect
when transitioning to the Sixth Form. Janey also seized the opportunity to assist fortnightly in a Year 7 maths lesson and
rose to the challenge of helping the most able students excel whilst also offering her knowledge and sensitive support to
those who were struggling, encouraging them to re-engage with the subject. Janey finds time outside of school to help out
at the weekly youth group for junior age children at her local church, Holy Trinity. This summer she volunteered to undertake all the administrative / computing tasks to enable the church to run a highly successful week long holiday club for over
100 children.”
For the sixth time Pure Potential have teamed up with leading financial services firm UBS to recognise and celebrate the
achievements of 50 bright state-school sixth form students. The award distinguishes state educated students who have
excelled in their academic studies. Their accomplishments were celebrated at an awards ceremony hosted by UBS at
their London office on Thursday, 29th October.
“UBS is proud to support this outstanding group of state school students.
Campus Recruiting at UBS is committed to encouraging talented,
hard-working students from all backgrounds across the UK. We wish them
the best of luck in their future endeavours.” Jennifer Sykes, EMEA Head of
Graduate Recruiting
Almost 300 nominations were made by teachers, parents and peers,
and Pure Potential was overwhelmed with the high calibre of the
students. Binda Bhudia, Managing Director of Pure Potential had a
difficult task selecting the final 50 students
–
“We are delighted to be working with UBS for the sixth time to celebrate the achievements of state-educated students.
Once again we were completely overawed by the exceptionally high-standard of students, and are impressed by the hard
work and commitment displayed by the award winners. We are certain they will go on to achieve brilliant things.”
As well as the award ceremony students also had the opportunity to meet with UBS staff, find out more about their
work and gain valuable networking skills.
Pure Potential was founded in 2005 to plug the aspiration, knowledge and confidence gap between independent and
state school students when it comes to progressing to the most competitive universities and careers. Since its inception,
Pure Potential has helped over one million students with their university and career decisions through their website
purepotential.org, their sixth form guide APPLY and their annual events.
The John and Nellie Brown Farnsfield Trust
Charles Onslow, in Year 7, recently applied to the John and Nellie Brown Farnsfield Trust and was
successful in being awarded funds towards the purchase of a Bass Clarinet. Charles moved in to Year 7 in
September after four years in the School’s Junior Department.
In his application Charles told the trust that his musical studies have included:
 Bb Clarinet – he is now working towards Grade 6 which he hopes to take in 2016.
 Charles is currently a member of the, the Jazz band and the Newark Sinfonia Orchestra and has joined the
School Symphony Orchestra.
 Piano - now working towards Grade 5 in 2016.
 Irish (Tin) Whistle - Charles is currently a member of the Minster School Folk Group and performs at
school, village and Minster Cathedral events.
 Theory - working towards Grade 6 in 2016.
 Bass Clarinet
Charles said that he has realised that he very much enjoys playing the Clarinet and has been encouraged by his
Clarinet teacher and the Director of Music at the Minster School to expand his repertoire. Both have asked him
to consider playing the Bass Clarinet. which would be a great addition to various ensembles.
Miss Wallis, Director of Music said, “It will be great to have Charles
playing the bass clarinet in certain ensembles. The instrument adds a
real depth to wind sections and we are very pleased he has been
awarded this fund to help the purchase.”
England – China Research and Innovation Project
In November we welcomed two teachers, Xumai Lin and Jing Huang from Shanghai to The Minster School as part of
the England-Shanghai secondary teacher exchange project. The aim of the project was to research elements of the
Shanghai approach to teaching Mathematics that could be incorporated into our teaching to support and strengthen
our own student’s mathematical understanding. At the same time the Shanghai teachers were looking at learning
from some of our outstanding practices here in the United Kingdom. At the end of their time with us, both teachers commented on the positive behaviour and learning habits of our students, and the variety of effective teaching
taking place within the school.
The Chinese teachers worked closely alongside Minster mathematics teachers, planning and delivering lessons to
groups of students in Year 7 and Year 8. It was a real privilege to observe these teachers and gain an insight into the
detailed thought that goes into both curriculum structure and individual lessons in Shanghai.
We were also honoured to welcome Professor Huang from Shanghai Normal University to the school. Professor
Huang visited a number of UK schools during November, looking at similarities and differences in teaching between
the two countries as part of the research project. In particular, Dr Huang enjoyed the problem solving skills displayed by our students and the way teachers encouraged this in lessons.
As part of the exchange we hosted a series of teacher research groups which enabled colleagues from both primary
and secondary schools across the region to observe Shanghai style teaching. More than 100 teachers were able to
attend these events, observing lessons, contributing to discussions about what they had seen and sharing best practice.
One visitor from a local school commented “I came away from my visit, after interacting with many people (adults
and students alike), with a very positive impression of The Minster School as well as a whole host of ideas”.
The visit culminated in a conference to review what we had learnt and to begin to discuss how we can incorporate
the best of what we saw into our structures and practice to enhance the mathematics experience of students in our
school. Developments will continue in this area over the coming year as we work with Universities and schools to
develop our practice together.
Mrs J Ireland
Big Sleep Out
The charities student leadership group recently organised an assembly for Sixth Form students by Framework, a
local charity who support homelessness and issues that affect individuals who are homeless. In response, a group
of students and staff from the school took part in the “Big Sleep Out” on Saturday 20th November and were
sponsored to sleep outside for a night on Sneinton Marketplace.
The evening had a ‘Robin Hood’ theme and participants made their own cardboard shelters for the night. The
group of fifteen students and Mr Price, Mrs Burlington and Mrs Auld raised over £700, and all stayed for the whole
night, which was the coldest night in the history of the event.
In addition to the funds raised for this worthwhile charity, students and staff had a real experience of the difficulties
that homeless individuals may have to face every night.
“It made me really think about how exhausting sleeping out in the cold is; physically and mentally.
I don't know how people could wake up ready to take on the world everyday after sleeping like that”
Becky Fofana
“I had no idea how difficult it would be; I was constantly uncomfortable and seriously cold!
I feel so lucky to be able to go home to a warm comfy bed ,a shower and running water.”
Amber Burbidge
“It was really uncomfortable, but really worthwhile.”
Mr Price
Mr Price, Mrs Burlington, Mrs Auld, Amber Burbidge
and Nowell Phelps construct their cardboard shelters.
Students from the Sixth Form wrapping up
warm in preparation to sleep outside
Tabitha Macmillan, Emma Caygill, Ellie Mason and
Nicola Caygill prepare to sleep out.
Annual Lantern Making and Lantern Walk
On 27th November the Minster School held its annual Lantern
making event ready for the Lantern Walk on Saturday 12th Dec.
This year 21 of the most talented artists were selected for the
task and they didn’t disappoint. Twenty lanterns were made in
total and the theme this year was stars. After the tricky making
process students enjoyed decorating with multi-coloured paper
stars.
The Big Draw
On Wednesday 4 November the school held is first Big Draw event. The Big Draw is a drawing festival
which was set up in 2000 to promote drawing and visual literacy. The festival runs for 1 month
between
early October and early November all over the world. The theme for this year event was ‘Every Drawing
Tells A Story’.
th
Because we ran the event in school over a lunch time we decided a food theme would be a good way
to explore story telling. Students were asked to draw their favourite food experience, including family
celebrations, who they sat with during lunch and what they were eating. The event was great success and we
hope to build on this for next year.
Mrs A Gillott
MSPTA News
The MSPTA meet on a regular basis to organise events to raise funds for the school and provide refreshments at parents’ evenings and school events. The money raised is used to support a variety of in-school areas, including the recent
refurbishment of The Retreat in the SEN area, the provision of first aid training for all Y9 students annually, the provision of music folders for our extra-curricular music groups, lighting for our performing arts faculty and equipment for
many of our enrichment groups.
The next meeting of the MSPTA will be held on Monday 11th January at 7.30 pm – if you would like to join the group or
just find out more about their work, please come along or contact mspta@minster.notts.sch.uk
Winter Craft Fair, Friday 13th December
On 13th December the MSPTA hosted a Winter Craft fair, involving over 30 stalls from local businesses. A bar serving
refreshments was set up and students from the school provided music throughout the evening. The evening was a huge
success with hundreds of people attending throughout the night, and around £700 was raised for the school.
We would like to extend our thanks to all involved with the organisation of the evening, as well as to all who attended.
Dave Berry Quiz Night, Saturday 30th January 2016
The next main event for the MSPTA will be a quiz night held in school on Saturday 30th January. Teams of up to eight
people are invited to attend, and are welcome to bring their own food and drink to enjoy on the evening. Tickets can
be booked through the MSPTA email (see advertisement) – in previous years this has been a sell-out event, so please
contact us as soon as possible to reserve your place!
Leos Club Launch
On Friday 20th November, two generations united at the launch of the Southwell Minster School Leo Club. Southwell
Lions club approached the school in 2014 with the aim of forming a link. Southwell Lions were keen to build a
relationship with the school in the hope of finding out more about the young people within their community and
involving them in some of their work. At the same time, the School Council at the Minster School suggested that they
would like to have more opportunities to make a positive difference to their school and their community.
All School Council members are members of the Leos club – this includes the Sixth Form Head Team and Year 11
House Captains and Deputy House Captains. Five students are the leading committee of Leos: joint chairs Sarah Burke
and Becca Pritchett, who are supported Ellie Hudswell (secretary), Beth Fitzsimmons (media) and Tilly Osbon
(treasurer). The group aim to create community events which make links between young people and adults within the
community, and to create in-school events which allow the relationships between older and younger students to be
further developed. The students meet regularly and are planning their first event, likely to be a social event within
school, which they hope to use to raise money for Syrian refugees in line with international Lions activities.
Involvement with the Leos club allows our students to develop their leadership and communication skills by working
with each other and adults from the local community, while making a positive difference and having some fun! We hope
that in future years the club will become sustainable and that more students will join the group.
At the launch event, local and regional Lions officials addressed the group, followed by a response from Becca and Sarah
who gave an inspirational speech about their aim for the group and thanks to all involved. This was followed by a ‘tea
and cakes’ reception, with cakes that had been baked by the Leos members as a gesture of thanks to Southwell Lions.
The two groups spent a couple of hours talking and getting to know each other and a great deal of fun was had!
As a school, we are incredibly excited about the prospect of a sustainable working partnership and the opportunity for
our students to develop their personal skills, while being supported by experienced and enthusiastic older members of
the community. We are very grateful to Keith Hobbs and John Horsfall in particular their support and our students can’t
wait to make a start with their new venture.
The Leos committee and local Lions members
with their charter certificate (Beth Fitzsimmons,
Sarah Burke, Becca Pritchett, Ellie Hudswell and
Tilly Osbon).
The newly-formed Southwell Minster School Leo Club
Leo members help the Southwell Lions at the
late night shopping event on 3rd December
Library News
Year 7
All Year 7 students have received an introduction to the Library and have been
issued with their Library Reading Passports. These booklets ensure that students
read a range of literature during their reading lessons including non-fiction, poetry
and plays as well as a variety of stories. Some of the sections are done as whole class
activities, some individually. Students have begun filling these out and we are hoping
that most will complete the passport during the school year to receive their “Rooted
in Reading” certificate, leather bookmark and special pin badge.
Year 8
Congratulations to Molly Marsden and Zoe Bray in year 8 who have completed
their Reading Challenge Booklets! This involved reading and doing detailed reviews
of 5 quality fiction books, including a ‘classic’ story. They have both received one of
our Bendy Men pens to keep. There are plenty more Bendy pens to give away so
we hope that other students will take the time to finish their booklets too!
BRILLIANT BOOK
AWARD
Our school takes part in the
BBA and students vote for
their top 2 titles in March.
We are recruiting good
readers in years 7-9 to help
us with this – students must
commit to reading at least
4 of the 6 titles within a fairly
tight time frame (2-3 weeks
per book).
Although voting takes place in
March and we have duplicate
copies of the titles, the books
must circulate quickly in order
for all participants to get a
fair chance to read them.
Willing readers need to pop
into the Library and sign up!
Looking for something new to read?
This is the 9th year for the Brilliant Book Award (BBA) – schools across
Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire take part.
http://brilliantbookaward.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/
Six books have been put forward for the 2016 BBA Award
(voting in March 2016).
There are prizes for reading 4+ books & voting, plus prizes for the
best book reviews!
The Winning book:
Is so enjoyable that the reader is passionate about it
Has believable characters
Offers an emotional connection
Has a satisfying ending
Farewell from our American Students
We are two American students working towards our Master’s Degrees in Social Studies Education at the
University of Connecticut. A partnership between our school and the University of Nottingham has afforded us,
and nine of our peers, the privilege to spend the last three months living, learning, and working in England. As
part of our program we have been taking graduate level classes at the university, interning in schools and
museums, and conducting research for a group dissertation. We have been fortunate enough to spend two
days a week working with the history department at the Southwell Minster School. The staff, students, and
community at large have been welcoming and wonderful, an overall joy to work with.
During our time at the school we have been observing classes across subjects, teaching lessons, conducting
research with the staff, creating resources for our department, and working with the collective student body.
We feel fortunate that the staff and students here have taught us so much about British schooling and culture,
in addition to having been so receptive to learning from us. Some highlights of our time here have included
seeing and volunteering at the school musical, visiting the Minster, and working with the wonderful students
here. This school and community contain so much unique talent, history, and positive energy. We have been
impressed by the value of having teachers and parents work together to create such strong pastoral guidance.
Soon we will be returning home to America. During this transition period we have been reflecting on the
impact that our time here will have on our perspective as teachers as we move forward in our careers. We
have learned so much from the international exchange of ideas and perspectives, and only hope the students
have received the same benefit. Working across age groups has allowed us to see the staff’s commitment to
creating dedicated, independent, well-organized learners, strengths that are so apparent in the school’s oldest
students. There is a clear progression of growth in academic skills and character, starting from the earliest
years continuing through the sixth-form. Our time here has pushed us to think about how we will encourage
our future American students to develop the same sense of responsibility and empathy.
We want to offer our sincere thanks to the history department for their mentorship, to the staff at large for
their welcoming support, and to the students who, despite teasing us for our accents, were curious and kind
hosts. We will miss everyone when we return home and are deeply grateful for having had the opportunity to
work in such a wonderful place.
Christina deVecchis & Jay Garrish
Miss deVecchis and Mr Garrish
working with Sixth Form students
Pictures taken by
Kevin Cheruparambil
Y12
SCHOOL COUNCIL BULLETIN
- Autumn First Half Term 2015 Parents may be interested to read our latest school council bulletin, shared with tutor groups.
Year Council representatives attend Year Council meetings once every half term. After these meetings, House
Captains and the Head Team meet as a School Council (SC) to discuss any issues that are raised. This newsletter
will now be produced after every SC meeting to give information about what the SC is discussing and working
towards.
New Year Group Representatives
The School Council structure has now changed – two Year Representatives have been elected from each class, to
form Year Councils. These elections took place in RE lessons (and we’d like to thank the RE teachers for all their
support with this!). We would like to congratulate all of our new Year Representatives – welcome to the team!
Homework
Some Year Councils raised the issue that some people had noticed an increase in the amount of homework being
set since the start of this academic year. The Leadership Team responded: ‘As a school we aim to support
students’ learning in the classroom by setting homework throughout the year. Last year, we worked with teachers
to think about how and when we set homework, so that we can help students to make good progress. We plan
to spend some time in the next few months looking at how homework is helping students and talking to students
about their experiences’.
Lunchtime arrangements
Year Representatives and the SC members felt that the new designated spaces for Years 7 and 8 and Years 9-13
were working well, and that there was now better availability of table space to eat lunch. Some SC members
suggested that additional outside seating could be provided. Mrs Straw, our Business Manager, is now in the
process of looking at the outside seating and plans to purchase some more tables in the near future. The
Leadership Group are also looking at the outside spaces to see whether any more facilities could be added.
Food Council
At the end of the summer term, a group of SC members met with Aspens, our catering providers, to discuss new
ideas for the school menu. Suggestions included a greater range of pasta sauces, new sandwich fillings and some
new international dishes, which you may have seen on the menu. The SC also asked about whether breakfast
could be served for all years. Aspens responded: “All students from Years 7-13 are welcome to purchase
breakfast from the Sixth Form Cafeteria before school – we serve toast, sausage and bacon rolls, hash browns and
much more”.
If any student has an issue for the school council to discuss, please speak to your Year Representative
Your school council are:
Thea Bryant, Chris Peacock, Oliver Marsden, Millie
Woodward, Fran Baisley, Sarah Burke, Ed Howlett,
Laura Cundy, Beth Sprigg, Pat Bolsher, Joe Cheshire,
Anna Holland, Louis Higgins, Beth Fitzsimmons,
Eve McMullen, Alice Stanley, Sam DeBarr-Shotton,
Ellie Hudswell, Ben Jackson, Grace Jay, Melissa Malkin,
Jack Shine, Will Grieve, Ellie Chambers, Elena Makin,
Tilly Osbon, Becca Pritchett, Harry Littlehales,
Ed Leigh and Luke Thompson.
Clothing Bank
Minster School families and friends have supported the National Police Aid Convoys over the last few years. Please
remember to use the clothing bank when you want to recycle your old clothes, curtains, towels, etc.
Students can
deposit bags in the clothes bank which can be found on the school site near to the visitors car park/deliveries entrance. Last year we collected 510 Kg, from the Minster School and hope to exceed this amount next year. All
the good quality clothing goes to people who really need it and the money raised from recycling supports National
Police Aid Convoys supports projects in various destinations, Zambia, Rwanda, Uganda and Pakistan to name but a few.
2014 saw 28 containers and 7 lorries despatched to various destinations, a very busy year! 2015 started well with two
40ft containers of humanitarian aid going out to Malawi to help with the floods affecting more than half a million people
there. For more information please visit www.npac.org.uk. Anyone interested in helping in the warehouse, sorting,
cleaning, packing or even making the tea - can telephone for details. 0844 8701 999 (local rate).
Mrs W V Adams, NPAC Charity Administrator
MUFTI Day: children’s mental health charities
On 13th November the school held a non-uniform day to raise
funds for two organisations who support children with mental
health issues. Our charities student leaders organised this
event, and we would like to thank Frankie Sheard and Becky
Fofana in particular for their support and efforts in putting the
day and its activities together. On the day, students donated £1
and wore non-uniform clothes, and a (very busy!) tuck shop was
available over break time to sell sweets. During lunchtime, students and staff performed an open-mic concert in the amphitheatre, while during tutor time students learned about children’s
mental health issues and the charities that we have supported.
A total of £1,368.36 was raised and will be split equally between the Children’s Bereavement Centre and CASY Counselling. Both charities have visited assemblies in school to accept a
cheque and to speak to students about how the money raised
will benefit their organisations. Thank you to all students, parents and carers who supported the day by donating money or
by donating items for the tuck shop.
Lost Property
We receive a large amount of lost property
and in many cases are not able to contact the
student or return items because they are not
named. Please ensure that all items of clothing and
property are clearly labelled.
Students who have lost anything can go to Student
Services between 8.30—8.50 am, morning break
10.55-11.10 am, lunch time 12.15-1.20 pm or at the
end of the school day.
Southwell-Sees Twinning Association
The Friends of Sees Association is a local
group that organises exchange visits
between Southwell and the town that we are
twinned with, Sees in France, in addition to
many social events throughout the year.
The group recently welcomed a group of 35
visitors from France resulting in a very
successful visit which involved some of our
students. The next visit of residents from
Southwell to Sees will take place during
October half term in 2016. If any families or
young people would like to be involved in this
visit or the work of the association, please
contact Sally Johnson (Chair) by email at:
sallylink@aol.com
Further information about the group can also
be found at:
http://friendsofseesassociation.weebly.com/
Replacement school ties for Years 7-11 are
available to purchase from the Student Services office for £4 each.
Just Schoolwear
will be in school
on Thursday 28th January,
3.30-4.45pm
with uniform for sale.
Chaplaincy News
Students make Origami Nativity for the Minster
Students from the lower school and the Juhior School have been working with
Minster School Chaplain Fr Matthew to make origami figures and animals for
this year’s special Christmas Nativity to be shown in the Minster over
Christmas and for the whole of January as a central part to the ambitious Art
of Mary exhibition. The students have discussed the life of Mary and each has
made an origami angel, and written words of hope and positive messages on
their angels, which will form a cloud of angels hanging above the origami
Nativity in the Minster. Please do come into the Minster over Christmas and
take a look at the students work, and also in the New Year to see the whole of
the Art of Mary exhibition (see below for more details on the Art of Mary
exhibition at the Minster).
Student Confirmations 2016
Confirmation classes will begin again in the New Year,
starting on 10th February. This is an opportunity for
students to consider their faith and to stand up for what
they believe, and to take some ownership with it. The
informal confirmation preparation meetings will happen in
school at 2.45pm on Wednesdays after school. They are
intended to equip and empower students preparing for
confirmation with a better understanding of the Christian
faith. Please contact Fr Matthew if you are interested in
exploring the possibility of confirmation. There will be an
opportunity to ask questions and to find out more at a
meeting called “What is Confirmation?” on Tues 2nd Feb,
room B18, during Core Lunch, please do come along.
Confirmation Dates:
Tues 2nd Feb, Core Lunch, B18: “What is Confirmation?”
Sat 6th Feb, 'Social' at Jubilee House, Southwell
Weds 10th Feb, 2.45pm, 1st school confirmation meeting
Weds 17th Feb, 2.45pm, 2nd school confirmation meeting
Sun 21st Feb, Rehearsal for the Confirmation service,
Minster (evening)
Weds 24th Feb, 2.45pm, 3rd school confirmation meeting
Weds 2nd March, 2.45pm, 4th and final school confirmation meeting
Sat 5th March, the Youth Confirmation Service, Minster
(evening)
Tues 8th March Core Lunch, Confirmation Eucharist in
the school chapel
Weds 9th March, 2.45pm, confirmation catch-up
Chapel Cross Art Competition
An exciting new art competition has opened in school
for students to design pictures for a new Cross to be
permanently installed in the school chapel in the hall.
The deadline for entries is the end of term (18th Dec)
and judging will take place early in the New Year.
The new cross will be fabricated professionally by
Leach Colour LTD and will have two sides. At least
two student entries will be chosen as winning designs
and will then be digitally printed onto the wooden
plus-shaped cross which will be hung from the chapel
ceiling and be able to swivel around to show either
design. One side of the cross is intended to be a
‘happy’ side, for the new life of Easter, and the other
side will be a ‘sad’ side and will be seen at times of
Remembrance, Lent and Holy Week. There have
been a lot of colourful and imaginative entries, and Fr
Matthew is very grateful to all students who have
handed in a drawing for the cross.
The Art of Mary exhibition, Southwell Minster
In addition to the student’s Origami Nativity which forms
a central part of the exhibition at the Minster The Art
of Mary sees 22 contemporary artists displaying 50
new artworks both inside and outside the Minster, and
it’s all about Mary. Nearly all of the artists have made
major new works on the theme of Mary. There is a full
colour catalogue available, entry to the exhibition is free.
The exhibition opens at 7pm on Fri 8th Jan and runs until
5th Feb 2016. All Art of Mary events are Free to attend
The Christian Union
The school’s Christian Union group was re-launched in September and is doing well. Rev’d Cathy Porter is leading the
meetings with support from Fr Matthew and Dr Rhydian Hapgood our Baptist Chaplain. The group has got off to a
good start and is a very welcome and happy time to meet, pray, have fun and relax, and think about life together. The
CU recently put up Post-It prayers on a special Remembrance Prayer Wall in the School Chapel during Remembrance
week (see photo). The CU meets on Tuesdays during Core Lunch in room B17, all are welcome.
Ministry of Sport
A new Sport club has started meeting in
school called the Ministry of Sport. Led
by Diocesan Sports Ambassador Rob
Taylor, this group meets during Core
Lunch every Friday, in room E86 in the
Sports block. It is a fun and supportive
look at sport, life and faith. All welcome.
Jerusalem School Links
Our school links continue with St George’s Anglican School in Jerusalem, Israel/Palestine. In May last year Fr Matthew
took 12 paintings made by our students to Jerusalem and gave them to St George’s School. They were enthusiastically
received by both students and staff in Jerusalem. Fr Matthew is currently busy in the studio painting a 12 panel poliptych painting to be presented to St George’s Cathedral as a gift from the Southwell Minster community later in 2016.
This large multi-panel work features praying hands of members of the congregations. Any students or staff interested
in being involved with this link should contact Fr Matthew for more information. M.Askey@Minster.notts.sch.uk
Our Prayer for Christmas and the New Year
God of life, we say thank you for the blessing we have been given in the gift of Jesus, help us to be ever ready to share
that gift with others in our lives, that together we may be gifts to one another and blessings to our families and
communities. We look forward to the New Year, and ask that we may be surrounded with your Love, that in renewal,
forgiveness, and New Life we may find our way onto the path that leads to peace, and filled with your breath may we
begin life afresh this year. Amen.
Love and Prayers for you all, Fr Matthew and the School Chaplaincy Team