Newsletter 26 March 2015 The Solar Eclipse Having the Solar Eclipse during a changeover of lessons was a daunting prospect for the school but the fact that the science department allowed me and few other Year 13 students to set up three telescopes as eclipse projectors meant that many students could enjoy viewing some part of the day’s phenomenon safely. It was wonderful to be able to do something for the eclipse which previously wouldn’t have been an option and it was great to see so much enthusiasm from other students over the event. As the first memorable eclipse of my life I found it a great privilege to be given responsibility for the set up and am glad to have contributed something to the occasion. Can’t wait for the next one! Gethin Robson British Physics Olympiad The British Physics Olympiad (BPhO) has run for over 25 years and is entered annually by more than 1,600 talented young physicists. The examination-based competition has a dual purpose: to challenge and reward the best physicists in British schools and to select the UK Physics Team for competition at international level. This year, four students from Year 13 entered the qualifying round and two went on to complete round 1 of the BPhO: Jack Joynson and Dawn Barnaby. Jack was awarded a commendation and Dawn achieved a Bronze level 2. Congratulations to both of them. Dr Vorley KLB Sixth Form students represent the UK at the European Parliament in Strasbourg Twelve students from Katharine Lady Berkeley’s School Sixth Form - Rachel Barrett, Nicholas Butcher, Tabitha Candy, Victoria Copeland, Christopher Dixon, Matthew Gallagher, Lois Iddles, Cara McNamara, Molly Richardson, Rebecca Thomas, Emma Trevelyan and Daniel Wilson – were invited to the Euroscola day at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Friday 13 February. The students were selected to represent the United Kingdom after winning the Gloucestershire Euroscola competition last November, along with the runners-up from Pate’s Grammar School. They showed that they were a superb team as they participated fully in all the events. Over 500 16-18 year olds from over 20 EU member countries spent the day being Members of the European Parliament. They were able to sit in the seats of current MEPs while participating in discussions in several languages with the support of the European Parliament’s interpreting team. To start the proceedings, participants 1 were invited to put questions to German MEP Michael Theurer. Daniel Wilson managed to catch the eye of the chamber president and asked the MEP about environmental issues. During the second half of the morning session, each group was introduced by at least one member in a language other than his or her own, from the lectern in the centre of the main chamber. Cara McNamara introduced KLB School in excellent Spanish. The afternoon session began with students working in committees, discussing an issue which they had prepared in advance. When the discussions had been completed, all the participants returned to the main chamber for the plenary session. Each working party chose a spokesperson to put forward their resolution to the full chamber. Almost all KLB students put an interesting question during the ensuing debates. Daniel Wilson was selected to speak on behalf of the environment group and the group’s proposals were overwhelmingly accepted by the full assembly using the Parliament’s electronic voting system. The day ended with the parade of flags and the presentation of certificates and prizes. Many congratulations to the KLB students for the efforts they put into their preparations and for being such outstanding representatives of the UK. In addition, everyone thoroughly enjoyed the Euroscola Day and made new friends from many different countries. On the following day, the group made the most of their free time to visit the beautiful city of Strasbourg and the German town of Kehl. Mrs Bretherton Exchange visit from Hikawa High School, Japan It is easy to think about our school community as being limited to the school buildings we spend our time in every day. However, our exchange partnerships with schools all over the world are the perfect opportunity to remind ourselves that our community is much larger than we think; in fact, it extends all the way to Japan! KLB school students, families, staff, the Chair of Governors, and Mr Claydon, the Mayor of Wotton extended a warm welcome to 20 students and three staff from Hikawa High school from the 14 -23 March. The Hikawa students had a wide programme of events, including English lessons in the morning, a theatre visit to see Wicked at the Hippodrome, a visit to Bath, and lessons with KLB students, including Years 9, 10 and 11. In addition, the whole of Year 8 listened attentively while the Hikawa students bravely introduced themselves in English in assembly. Learning a foreign language in a classroom situation can be quite challenging without the motivation of a real context, so it was wonderful to see all the Hikawa and KLB students participating well and making the most of the opportunity to communicate in an authentic situation. Huge thanks go out to everyone who helped make the students and staff from Hikawa High School so welcome. We are looking forward to our return visit in October. Ms De Silva 2 Year 10 Language Leaders Visit to Balcarras School Hello, we are Year 10 oriental language learners who have been participating in the Language Leaders course. Language Leaders is part of a national scheme to give us the knowledge of how to teach languages and how to work in a team. On 12 February we were invited to teach Japanese and Chinese to Year 8 students at Balcarras School, Cheltenham. We each taught 3 groups of around 20 students as well as one session of calligraphy. We had created our PowerPoints, games and other teaching materials in the Language Leader sessions held every Tuesday after school. We were helped by Mrs Bretherton, Miss De Silva and Mrs Caldwell. We all really enjoyed the opportunity to put our newly acquired language teaching skills to the test. The Balcarras students were very enthusiastic and participated well in the lessons we delivered. Miss Li, our Chinese teaching assistant, accompanied us and taught Tai Chi and Chinese fan dancing. Ben Wiffen, Kasia Nickells, Max Smith, Evie Bennett-Stone, Jasmine Davis, Matilda Knight, Tom Baxendine, Anna Rogers and Richard Harper Forthcoming Drama Club Production Following the success of the Billy Elliot production at the start of the year, it is now the turn of our Year 7 and 8 students to take to the stage and deliver their rendition of ‘Alice in Wonderland’. These budding young thespians have been attending the weekly Drama Club run by our very own Year 12 students, who have cast, cut and coordinated the production themselves. Come and see the efforts of the students from both ends of the school who have combined their skills and enthusiasm to take an audience on a journey down the rabbit hole. For one night only, at 17:00 on Thursday 16 April, treat yourself to some post-Easter entertainment and for just £1 a ticket you can witness the rising stars of future KLB productions. See you then! Mr Blake Study Skills Students in Years 7, 8 and 9 have taken part in a study skills programme delivered by KLB’s SENCO, Miss John. The first session for each year group took place in October 2014; the second session will have been delivered by the end of April 2015. The study skills programme aims to increase student understanding of how we learn and strategies for revision and exam technique. Research by The Education Endowment Fund concludes that such metacognitive and self-monitoring strategies are one of the most effective ways to increase student progress. This research can be found at: http://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/toolkit/toolkit-a-z/ Materials designed to support the workshop sessions are being posted on the KLB school website. To access them please got to the ‘STUDENT’ menu on the school website and follow the ‘Learning Support’ link. The guidance on understanding, memorising and revising incorporates the aide memoire ‘Mind Your P, Q, R, S Ts’ which has been used with the students in Year 7, 8 and 9. Miss John Careers Department Year 11 Applications Year 11 students will now have made applications to Sixth Forms, Colleges and Apprenticeships and will be going through the interview process prior to offers being made. If this process stalls for any reason or you have any concerns about the choices /decisions your son/daughter is making please contact [email protected] 3 Work Experience We are delighted that so many students are looking for placements within the various engineering disciplines. However, we now have more students wishing to consider work experience in the sector than there appear to be placements available. If any parents work within this sector and would be able to offer a one-week placement to a Year 10 student from 6 – 10 July this year, we would be very happy to hear from you. Generally, placements where the employer holds Employer’s Liability Insurance are approved. Please email: [email protected] First Aid at KLB The First Aid room is manned by a rota of school support staff all of whom have completed a First Aid course. This team is on hand to deal with accidents and sickness that may occur during the school day. We do not have the expertise at school to diagnose illness or other medical conditions and parents should consult local health practitioners before sending their child to school if they have concerns about his/her illness or injury. If a student becomes unwell or has an accident/injury during the school day, First Aid staff may consider it necessary to contact home. For safeguarding reasons this contact needs to be with someone who has parental responsibility for the student. In most cases this will be the mother or father of the student. The person with parental responsibility may wish to arrange for someone else such as a grandparent, step-parent or family friend to collect their child from school (if this is deemed necessary) and must provide the name of the person who will collect the student from school. Recently, we have had a number of incidences where students are not reporting to First Aid when they feel unwell but are contacting parents directly and asking to be collected from school. In order for a student to be signed out from First Aid, they must first report to the First Aid room. The staff in the First Aid room will contact home on the student’s behalf if they consider it necessary to do so. If your son or daughter contacts you directly during the school day saying that they feel unwell, please encourage them to visit the First Aid room and telephone the school reception to let us know. This is also relevant to Sixth Formers; our duty of care applies to all students from Year 7 through to Year 13, including those over age 18. Thank you for your support. Rugby 7s This year the school has played more rugby 7s matches than ever before. Traditionally the game is dominated by the independent and grammar schools however, this year, the boys have really narrowed the gap on these schools with some exceptional performances. After dominating the 15-a-side season, expectation was again high for the Year 7 boys and the transition to the 7 man game was made quickly. As has been the pattern this year, numbers at training have been so high that we have been able to field a number of teams in various competitions. The season started with an incredible performance at the QEH invitational house 7s. We took four house teams along to compete against the equivalent houses from Pates, Sir Thomas Rich’s and Queen Elizabeth’s Hospital. All four teams acquitted themselves superbly against some top rugby playing schools. Berkeley house came out top of their group which in itself was a fantastic achievement, a solid win against Sir Thomas Rich’s in semi-finals preceded a mouth-watering clash against this season’s biggest rivals. In an end to end game KLB, tired, battered and a little bruised, scored a decisive try through Alex Gunton in extra time to seal the victory. The season continued in much the same manor with A and B teams featuring in the Bristol Schools tournament, recording victories over Bristol Grammar and Colston’s School, however on this occasion QEH gained revenge winning the final. 4 The Year 8 boys performed well at the Bristol Schools 7s, but were ultimately undone by bigger and better drilled teams from Colston’s and Bristol Grammar School. This was early in the season and proved a valuable platform to work from. A late invitation to the prestigious Crypt Grammar School 7s gave the boys a great opportunity to make up for the disappointment of the previous tournament. Thumping victories over Beechen Cliff and Bishop of Hereford School sealed a place in the cup semi-final where we met hosts Crypt. In a memorable game the boys came back from 2 tries down to win by just two points. The final was one game too far for the boys and, despite their best efforts, came up just short losing 24-19 to Chosen Hilll School. Player of the tournament was Keiran Davies who scored 8 tries. The Year 9 boys have continued to develop their game and to make huge strides forward from last season. Attendance and attitude at fixtures have been really positive and this was reflected in some of the results on the pitch. After a poor start at Bristol Schools, the team narrowly lost their remaining group games therefore missing out on the semi-finals. Highlight of the year was the victory against QEH school at their tournament. Player of the day Alfie Galvin. Year 10 boys have also shown a big improvement in a format of the game they had not previously excelled in. Despite not making the semi-finals of the Bristol Schools, the team showed patches of fantastic rugby. Lots of tries were scored but too many are being conceded, some work on defence will be needed for next year. Player of the tournaments and leading try scorer was James Baker. The U18s and U16s are midway through the 7s season. Both put in mixed performance at the Gloucestershire Schools Tournament, winning some good games, however losing others that they possibly should have won. The target for both sides is success in the season ending Bristol Schools Tournament. Both teams have set themselves a target of at least reaching the semi-finals, with a chance at winning the whole tournament. Year 8 Girls County Rugby Finals Our squad of twelve girls set off for Hartpury College on Tuesday 24 March to take part in the first transition rugby competition hosted in the County for girls by Gloucester Rugby Club. Ten teams took part in the competition and these teams were split into two pools. The winner of each pool qualified for the regional competition later in the year. Each game was seven minutes each way. Our school was drawn in Pool B, against some well drilled teams. Our first game was against St Peter’s High School. In the first half we put on an excellent display of attacking rugby, passing along the line and making some direct runs. This resulted in an array of five tries two apiece to Evie England and Pippa Eames. The final try saw Cece Stacey score in the corner, which brought the half-time to a close. The second half continued in the same fashion with some excellent solo tries from Evie England and Ismay Lloyd-Fowlin. Once again Pippa powered her way through the opposition’s defence to score and Sarah Challis added the final try. The game ended 10 tries to 3 to KLB. Our second game was a much tighter match against Kingshill. A strong run forward from Lizzy Gorman and a quick pass out saw Evie England score in the corner. This was followed Maddy Lawfull distributed the ball to Pippa Eames who demolished the opposition with a strong run to score our second try. Kingshill then pulled a try back to 5 send us into the interval a try up. An injury to Evie England, forced us to rethink our game in the second half. Sarah Challis took the initiative after the interval scoring two excellent tries, side stepping the opposition. However the following period saw some strong pressure from the opposition on our defensive lines. Abbie Green and Rhiannon Davis on the wing showed great defensive awareness to force Kingshill into touch on a number of occasions. However this pressure lead to Kingshill scoring two further tries bringing the score to 4-3 in favour of KLB. With minutes to go Ismay Lloyd-Fowlin made an excellent individual run splitting the defence, running the full length of the pitch to score in the corner. This meant KLB won 5 tries to 3. In the next game against Winchcombe it was a game of two halves. KLB were superior in the first half passing the ball along the line quickly and making lots of ground by running forward at speed. This resulted in two well drilled tries to one try from the opposition. The fortunes turned in the second half when Winchcombe got the upper hand and scored two further tries. Strong running from Flora King on the wing and good inter-play from Libby Taylor almost brought about a try to level the score but this was not to be. KLB were defeated 3 tries to 2. In the final game KLB were against Dene Magna, undefeated in the competition so far. KLB’s task was clear; they had to defeat Dene Magna to be crowned champions of the group. KLB showed great determination scoring first with a fantastic individual try from Ismay Lloyd–Fowlin. KLB’s defence had to be strong and withstand relentless pressure from Dene Magna. Eventually we folded from two excellent tries from worked set pieces. Izzy Miller, our fast winger, made a number of excellent individual runs but had no support and this resulted in a turn over ball. Dene Magna went on to score a number of tries and so KLB was defeated in their final game. The squad, trained by Miss Siwek and a coach from the RFU, were a credit to our school on the day. The picture to the right shows the squad on the Hartpury pitches between games. Fantastic Performance by our Girls Football Teams On Tuesday 17 March, two of our school football teams qualified for the County Games Finals. The school has benefitted immensely from the excellent coaching received by our students from local football clubs, especially Wotton Rovers. Dr C Thomas, assisted by Mrs Bates, has led training sessions that have focussed on match play situations, allowing the players from various clubs to gain experience of playing together. The insert photo features our two teams, with Izzy Dalton from Bristol Ladies Academy. At the County Tournament, the U12 and U14 girls’ teams were a credit to our school and both teams started the tournament well, unbeaten in their first two games. Top scorers in the U14 side were Izzy Newns and Ellie Butler who played some fantastic passing football upfront on the 3G. Gwen Hughes led the side well from a defensive mid-field position. Jess Marsh & Tarragon Newcombe shared the goalkeeping duties on the day. Shekea Knight and Geogia Ford came close to scoring. Ollie Bradbury and Hannah Meheran had strong performances in defence. The U14 side’s fortune changed when the girls played their final two matches on uneven grass pitches, which did not suit their skilful passing game. In their first game they were unlucky to concede a penalty from a pass back to the goalie, which resulted in a narrow 2-1 defeat. Their final game decided their fate. They drew this game, which placed them in third position, just missing out on a semi-final spot by one point. 6 Our U12 girls were unbeaten in their group without conceding a goal, booking the team a place in the semi-final. The majority of the goals in the group games came from Amy McCorkell ably supported in attack by Paige Todd, Evie Smith and Lucy Lloyd. Defensively KLB were imperious with outstanding performances from Hannah Dix and Kirstie Weston and Emma Foxwell in goal. The semi-final was a close fought game against Thomas Keble but exceptional work rate from all players, and a special goal from Ella Aston assured the team’s place in the Final with a 1-0 win. Their opposition in the final was a team they had already beaten in a very close game in their group (St. Peter’s). Unfortunately a wonder goal from the opposition meant they lost this game 2-1 but came a creditable second place, silver medal winners! A special mention should also go to Erin Hodson, Kyla Derrick and Anna Symanowski for their performance in the district finals and other matches. Great Team effort for the Year 8 Girls hockey players On Tuesday 17 March the Year 8 hockey team travelled to Deer Park School in Cirencester for the District tournament. Captained by Pip Eames, the team consisted of Naomi Culpepper, Anna McGlaughlin, Lizzie Firks, Sarah Challis, Erin Hodson, Emily Crowley, Laura Dickson, Olivia Green and Laura Pugh. The team had a fantastic start against Deer Park A team winning 1 – 0 against a very good attacking team. Sarah Challis, Pip Eames and Anna McGlaughlin defended well to ensure they did not concede a goal. Game two was against Farmor’s School and the team knew that this would be one of the more challenging games of their pool. The girls played some of the best hockey they had played making great passes and runs into the corners to score two fantastic goals. The final score was 2 – 0. The final game in our group was Thomas Keeble School. After a slow start, the girls picked the pace up and began to make some great runs into goal. Their confidence grew throughout the game and comfortably won 3 – 0. After winning all the games in their pool the girls played the runners up from the pool on the adjacent pitch. This team was Deer Park B team who defending very tightly but Naomi Culpepper and Lizzie Firks kept their cool to score 2 great goals and win. The girls were in high spirits and knew that the final against Wycliffe was going to be tricky. However they dug deep and Sarah Challis used her transferrable football skills to make some high class saves as Goal Keeper. Unfortunately the Wycliffe forwards could not be contained and great runs into the corners created fantastic goal opportunities. Wycliffe won 2 – 0 and the KLB Year 8 girls were District runners up. Captain’s Player – Lizzie Firks. Table Tennis Club During this term in table tennis club, we have been holding a boys table tennis competition. Starting off with a round robin, giving all players a chance of a number of matches. This followed on with knockout stages for the Winners and runners up and a consolation group knockout. The round robin matches proved to be good fun, and it was great to see the competitive side of all the club members, with all being involved from playing , scoring and umpiring the matches. The knockout stages involved some very tense and close match play, with some games which could have resulted either way. In the winners and runner up knockout, a very close match was played between Jack Derrick & Lucas Lingham, with Jack coming through for the win 6/11, 11/6, 11/6 . Jack went on to meet Rory Farewell in the Final, a great 7 high quality match played, with both players showing great skill and shot selection. Rory becoming the final victor after a 5 game all action packed match. The consolation group knockout consisted of a semi-final and a final. Robert McRitchie Vs Tom Barton and Josh Weirett Vs Ellis Cox. Good consistent matches were played. The winners of each taking part in the Final. The finalists were, Josh Vs Robert. Josh coming through with a convincing win over Robert to take the victory. Well done to all players taking part, and the roles you took, to make the matches run smoothly. Also, not forgetting the victors of the competition, Rory and Josh. Well Done! A Tinder Rebel Skateboard and Scooter Competition For the last two weeks, Mr Hall and his team of sixth form photographers continued to capture this alternative sporting competition, open to all schools in Gloucestershire. At the end, they will edit their work and put together a short promotion piece to feature on local social media sites, as well a compilation to be sent to Superdry, one of the major sponsors of the event. Louis Spragg, a Year 8 student, entered the skateboard competition and put in a creditable performance against strong opposition. He faced opposition much older than himself but on the day put together a string of tricks in his individual runs. The following week saw the scooter competition. The insert picture on the right features Marcus Jotcham, during his individual run. Marcus showed nerves of steel to perform some great tricks. The action shot on the left shows Elliott Chard in full flight during his medley of tricks as part of his individual performance at the Skate centre. All our riders were a credit to KLB and, although they failed to qualify for the final in mid-May, relished the opportunity to perform. The final event will take place at the Rush Skate Park, Brimscombe in Stroud on Monday 11 May at 4pm. This event will feature some top riders from the UK and spectators are welcome to attend. U16 Badminton - Pipped at the Post On Thursday 12 March the U16 boys Badminton Squad competed in the Regional round of the Centre Parcs National Badminton Competition, between the best schools in the seven counties of the SW region. Having won the District and County Rounds without dropping a game hopes were high for a good performance and possible qualification to the Finals at Centre Parcs, Sherwood Forest. Being drawn into the group of four, the boys needed to start well against the Cornish team from Richard Lander. Good wins from Henry in the 1st singles and Seb and Rob in the 3-4 doubles set up Rory for a rubber winning game in the 2nd singles. Once again Rory played a great game to win comfortably. Two wins in the crossover doubles secured a 5-0 win and a great start to the competition, and still no losses! 8 Things were to get harder as the team played Newton Abbot College next, but again a great start from Henry and Rory, gave KLB the two singles games. A loss in the 3-4 doubles brought it to 2-1 but then the crossover doubles pairs, Henry with Rob and Rory with Seb, came good and secured two more wins. 4-1 and another hurdle over. Last rubber in the group was against Thomas Hardye from Dorset, regular regional finalists. Time to bring on super sub Harry. Once again the singles went our way, but the 3-4 doubles was dropped from 2-1. Picking up the pace, both pairs then went on the win giving another 4-1 win and a place in the playoff. Gordano, Avon champions, had qualified from the group of 3, setting up some keen rivalries between our two top players and players they knew well from county and competition. Henry played a cat and mouse game, never more than 2 points up or down. At 19-17 up he was in a strong position, only to lose 21-19 in a nail biter. Seb and Rob struggled against their opponents and came up 14-21 sort. Two down and under pressure Rory took the next game 21-12 and restored some hope. The crossover doubles were put on court at the same time. Henry and Rob played hard in a tight game to come up 20-21 losers, while Seb and Rory took their game to end the final 2-3. So silver medals and the knowledge that they had played some of the best badminton KLB has ever seen, producing our best ever placing in the competition, but just pipped at the post for the trip to Nottingham. Mr McRitchie Fencing at the South West Regional Finals KLB Fencers have again been active, this time in a regional competition. Several KLB students made the trip to Millfield School in Street on 25 January to take part in the South West Regional Qualifiers; one of a number of regional events held around the country used to decide who will represent the regions at the National Fencing Championship Finals to be held in Sheffield in May. The South West region covers all areas from Gloucestershire, right down to the Isles of Scilly. For some, this was their first experience of taking part in a large competitive event. For others, it was a chance to pitch themselves against some of the best fencers in the country. Chris Cumming and Austin Hampshire (both Year 8) took part in the Under 14 boys foil event. Chris did very well in his first major competition, achieving a mid-table placing having won almost half of his fights. Austin also put in a strong performance against experienced opposition. Laura Copeland (Year 10) put in a very brave showing in the Under 16 Girls event; her only fencing experience to date has been taking part in the Friday lunchtime lessons at school and a local competition against Wycliffe School. She found herself in a field of girls who regularly compete at regional and national level and managed to surprise them and herself by scoring several hits against significantly more experienced competitors. An excellent performance, showing that Chris, Austin and Laura have a promising foundation on which to build their fencing skills. Rob Williams and Dom Aston (both Year 11) have taken part in similar competitions before and achieved excellent results. Rob took a hard fought third place in the Under 18 Boys against some very strong competition, losing out in a close semi-final round to the eventual winner. His high placing meant that he qualified for the National Finals competition. Dom Aston put in an excellent performance in the Under 16 Boys. He only lost one match and was seeded first following the pool rounds. After the direct elimination section of the competition, Dom finished runner-up in his age group, missing out on outright victory in a hard-fought final match. Dom too qualified for the National Finals. Overall, all those taking part did themselves, their coaches and their school proud. The next competition on the calendar is the Gloucestershire Junior Foil Championships at Wycliffe College on Sunday 8 March. 9 Vacancies at Katharine Lady Berkeley’s School We are currently recruiting for: Catering Assistant £7.06/hour (Term time only) Monday – Friday 08:30 – 14:00 (or 09:00 – 14:30) An Application Form and Job Description are available on the school website For any queries, please contact: [email protected] Cleaner £7.06/hour (Term time) Monday – Thursday 15:00 – 18:30, Fridays 15:00 – 17:45 +25 days non-term time An Application Form and Job Description are available on the school website For any queries, please contact Debbie Pavey: [email protected] For both posts: Closing date: 17:00 10 April 2015 Interviews week commencing: 13 April 2015 Dates for your Diary (Full calendar available at http://calendar.klb.org.uk) 27 March Last day of term 4 13 April 4 May 12 May 22 May First day of term 5 May bank holiday Pastoral workshop – Dealing with challenging behaviour, 6:30 to 8:00pm Last day of term 5 1 Jun 11 Jun 17/18/23 Jun 27 Jun 29/30 Jun 6-10 July 14 July 17 July First day of term 6 Higher Education information evening, 7:00pm Year 6 information evenings, 7:00pm KLB Friends Summer Festival Year 6 Induction Days Year 10 Work Experience Sixth Form induction Last day of term 6 10
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