Blackheath High School Magazine

HIGHLIGHTSSpring Term 2011

SPRINGING INTO A SPORTY SUMMER

GIRLS EXCELLING IN ENGLISH

AND MATHS

SPECTACULAR SPRING

PRODUCTIONS

Sports round up including our successes across the year groups

Debating Team’s success at ESU

Audiences wowed by Senior and Junior Spring

Performances

2 Blackheath High School Spring 2011

welcome

I hope that you enjoy our new magazine. This is a new venture

for us and we will be pleased to receive your feedback.

We have decided to move from our annual magazine to a shorter

version that you will be sent on a termly basis. We are hoping that

you will find this more interesting and relevant as it will contain

more recent news and information from both Junior and Senior

schools. The idea is to include stories/reports that highlight key events in more detail

than can be covered in our weekly Newsletter.

The Spring Term was so busy that we had difficulty selecting the content; inevitably

we couldn’t include all that we would have wished to but hope that it provides a good

overview of what was a very productive term.

So please let us know what you like/don’t like and wish had been

included and we shall take your suggestions on board for the

Summer Term edition.

With best wishes

Headteacher

Welcome

Spring 2011 Blackheath High School 3

FUNDRAISING

he whole school

entered into the spirit

of things on Red Nose

Day and metaphorically

painted the school red,

raising, with your generosity, a very

impressive £1800. Our warm hearted girls

organised and participated in many events

throughout the day and also continued the

fundraising at the school ‘s Easter Fair.

The junior girls donned creative, wacky

outfi ts, complemented by red hair styles

and make up and of course accessorised

with that famous red nose!

Martha Nash, Hannah Goode and Connie

Kovats went the extra mile by selling ra� e

tickets in classrooms and the lucky winner

of the enormous banana prize was Leah

Anderson, 3IM.

The fun continued at

Seniors where the day

began with an assembly

from Charity Prefect

Rouchelle Ross, who

reminded everyone of

the importance of Comic

Relief and how the money raised is used.

Our generous girls thought of many ways

to raise money for the charity, from cake

sales to sponsored swims. Louise Wright Y7

not only took part in a sponsored bike ride,

but also made bookmarks, key chains and

masks, adding £100 to the total raised.

Sta� karaoke was another highlight,

with teachers singing and dancing to

their favourite songs in front of a giggling

audience of pupils: bravest of them all

was Mrs Lardner, who rapped Chipmunk’s

‘Look for me’.

Prior to Red Nose Day, three Senior

girls were lucky to have the opportunity

to visit Comic Relief’s headquarters,

where they learnt that ‘giving to charity

can be fun and rewarding’ after a media

assistant explained the

inner workings of the

huge media event that is

Red Nose Day and how

the media machine can

infl uence TV viewers’

feelings in order to

increase donations.

FUNDRAISING Comic Relief Day

O


NURSERY

ur three nursery classes all enjoyed

lovely days out at the London

Aquarium in March.

We travelled by train from Blackheath

to Waterloo East and there was lots of excitement as

we saw many interesting places on the way; we then

counted lots of steps at each station! Our topic this term

has been on the theme of ‘water’ so it was great for the

girls to experience underwater life fi rst hand rather than

from books and fi lms.

They enthusiastically commented on the sealifes’

beautiful patterns, colours and shapes and really enjoyed

touching starfi sh and crabs as well as having their nails

cleaned by the cleaner shrimps. The girls then took

inspiration from the fascinating things they had seen

during the trip to produce beautiful works of art for

the annual Art Exhibition. The nursery sta were very

grateful for the wonderful parents who came with us to

make the trip possible.

NURSERY London Aquarium

“I enjoyed it when I saw the sharks.” “I loved

seeing Nemo.”

“I loved seeing the Dory

fi sh, it looked like a big

circle.”

“I liked the cleaner shrimps, they cleaned my

fi nger nails, it was tickly.”

A


JUNIOR DRAMA

fter weeks of hard work, the Year 3

and 4 Production of ‘What a Knight’

was performed to an audience of

impressed parents and friends on Wednesday

30th March.

From the moment they read through the script, the

girls knew they were going to love performing the

Play and approached the planning with enthusiasm

and excitement.

The funny and action-packed script (with catchy

tunes that we are still singing), was set in Camelot Castle

on the day of King Arthur’s

birthday. When young squire

Watt Cobblers is expelled from

Knight School, he reluctantly

becomes Merlin’s new

apprentice. Trouble is never far

away and soon Camelot Castle

collapses into chaos; Merlin

loses Excalibur, King Arthur’s

daughters are kidnapped by

the evil Black Knight and the

brave knights of Camelot have

been turned into chickens!

Watt and his new found friends

Dusty Dragon and the feisty

Princess Alice set o� on the biggest quest of

their lives and, of course, nothing ever

goes to plan!

Despite the nerves of having to perform to

such a big audience, the play went brilliantly.

Many of the girls commented on how proud

they were of each other and how exciting it

had been to be part of the production. Well

done girls, defi nitely a night to remember!

JUNIOR DRAMA A knight to remember!


Senior drama

or the seven years that I’ve

taught at Blackheath High

girls have always asked me to

produce a production of the

ever-popular “Grease”. Eventually

this year I gave in and, together with our Music

Department, we put on the biggest musical to

date. Just over 100 girls were involved in the

production, acting, singing or dancing; or all

three! The show included a band comprising

even more of our talented girls and yet more

putting their technical skills into practice. The

scale of the production was huge and the end

result was really impressive, with girls giving their

all to such well-known numbers as “Summer

Lovin’”, “Greased Lightin’” and “We Go Together”.

Perhaps the show-stealer was the Drive-In

Movie film that was made for the performance

featuring the company in a spoof 1950s horror

film. However, there was something for

everybody in this production which thrilled us

with a combination of accomplished acting

from characterful parts; wonderful dancing, with

original choreography; and a great Rock and Roll

band. The seven year wait was well worth it!

Senior Drama GREASE

F


Senior drama

Senior Drama GREASE The scale of the

production was huge and the end result was really

impressive

I


Maths

t has been a busy

mathematical term

at both Junior

and Senior schools . At the

beginning of term, the

girls from Year 6 joined

girls from Year 7 and Year

12 as well as other Year 6

children from local primary

schools for the “Morning of

Maths” at Vanbrugh Park. The

morning consisted of four rounds

of puzzles, problems and games,

stretching the children and encouraging

all of them to participate. This fantastic event

not only challenged the girls to use their skills, from

number to shape and space, but also gave them the

opportunity to be part of a team with people they had

only just met. Once the activities got going the children

worked together to great effect, discussing problems

and finding solutions with ideas and strategies going

back and forth. The whole event was a great success

with our partner schools taking away a pack of resources

to use at their own schools.

Girls in years 10 and 11 entered the

Intermediate Maths Challenge, which

is a multiple choice style puzzle

sheet with 25 very challenging

questions. Lucia Whapham

achieved a Gold certificate and

seventeen other girls achieved

Silver and Bronze certificates

– well done!

Whilst at Juniors, Year 5 and

6 pupils have been involved in the

Jaguar Cars Maths in Motion national

competition. Girls have been using different

mathematical and scientific theories and concepts

to engineer virtual F1 cars and the contest in class, to

reach the top step of the podium, has been intense

to say the least. The project has proved to be a very

engaging way of bringing real life maths into the

classroom and already there have been requests for

another race to be held. Mr. Collinson has been running

F1 Club as part of the project and a team from Year 5

won their regional final to book the school a place in the

national semi-finals. Demand is

such that a second F1 Club will be

starting in the Summer Term and

we look forward to more success

in the future!

Year 6 have been taking

inspiration from Dutch artist Piet

Mondrian to help them transfer 2D

patterns on to 3D shapes. Their

efforts created an eye-catching

display based on his abstract

geometric work.

Mrs Parnum

has been running

a popular and

successful weekly

club for Senior

girls in Years 8

and 9, solving

complex problems

in preparation for

MathsMaking learning fun with inspiring and creative teaching!

“Overall, I enjoyed the F1

Challenge for the team work

and the very well designed and

organised website. I enjoyed

the adjustments to make sure

that our car would get round

a whole practice lap. “ Théa

Sabattier 5BD

“I really

enjoyed the mathematical

aspects of the F1 challenge,

particularly experimenting

and trying out workshop

adjustments” Nadia

Cooper 5BD


MATHS

Maths

entering a team of two Year 8 and two Year 9 girls for

the UKMT Team Challenge, hosted at Trinity School in

Croydon. This is a national whole day event which is

held annually. The competition combines mathematical,

communication and teamwork skills and o� ers pupils

another way to express and develop their enjoyment of

Mathematics. The girls had a very enjoyable day and Mrs

Parnum was proud of their performance.

These are just some of the activities that our teachers

are using to make learning of maths fun and exciting.


Junior english

n 27th January 2011 girls from

Year 2-6 competed in the annual

Fledgling Competition. Each

pupil wrote her own poem then,

in groups, the girls learned a

poem written by a well known poet.

They practised both their individual and group poems;

dramatising them and making sure their voices were

audible and clear. Two girls from each class were chosen

to go through to perform on stage in the individual

competition and one group from each class in the group

competition. A group in 4TS won the group competition

for performing ‘The Ssssnake Hotel’ by Brian Moses, and

Georgina Elliott, in 6ZP, won the individual competition

for writing her own poem, ‘The Dark Night’, which the

judges thought had beautiful description. The afternoon

was a huge success and it encouraged and inspired the

girls to read and write more poetry.

Able Writers’ Workshops

On 18th November 2010 and 11th February 2011, we

hosted an ‘Able Writers’ Workshop for 34 Gifted and

Talented writers in Year 5 and 6 (28 pupils from 7 local

schools and 6 pupils from BHS). For the first workshop,

Chrissie Gittins, a poet, came into school to teach the

children about different styles of poetry and she used

one of her poems as a basis for the children to write

their own poem. The second workshop, Rob Parkinson,

a writer and storyteller came in to teach the same group

of children about effective story writing. He played

numerous instruments and incorporated this into his

wonderful storytelling. He read mythical stories and

used one of his stories as a starting point for the children

to write their own mythical story. The children gained

enormously from both workshops and enjoyed speaking

to and working with like-minded pupils. These were very

successful workshops and we received a lot of great

feedback from the visiting schools; from both children

and teachers.

Junior EnglishThe Fledgling Competition andAble Writers’ Workshops

O


Junior english

The afternoon was a huge

success and it encouraged and inspired

the girls to read and write more

poetry.


SPORT

Senior Sports

T he Spring Term’s sports calendar

was bursting with activities and the

girls braved all weather conditions

in pursuit of sporting success, team

building and having good fun!

Following our ski trip in January, 21 pupils and three

sta� members returned fl ushed with success after a week

in Torgon, Switzerland. Great fun was had both on and

o� the slopes and, thanks to some fantastic instruction,

everyone’s skiing improved by the end of the week.

Three of our wonderful dancers Emma Stanworth,

Connie Smith and Anne-Marie Sewell really wowed

the audience at the GDST Day of Dance with their

impressive, technical solo routines.

Once again, our cross-country runners put in a

Sporting News Round Up - Spring 2011

sterling performance at The London Schools’ Athletics

Association Cross Country Championships. A very

determined Damilola Adewakun, Year 7, bravely found

the strength to fi nish despite injuring herself early in the

race. Super speedy Sabrina Sinha put in another awe-

inspiring performance, running to victory and winning

fi rst place.

Our netball teams are improving steadily, securing

some inspiring wins and talented playing including

Phebe Hughes’ impressive tally of 20 goals scored at the

Kent County Schools’ Netball Competition. Likewise,

our Hockey performances have improved immensely

with notable successes; defeating some of our most

formidable opponents.

Signalling the conclusion of the Spring term sports

programme for Year 8 and 9 pupils were our inter-house

hockey, netball and dance competitions. These provide

a great opportunity for girls to unite with their house

mates and strive for success! Netball was particularly

intense for both year groups, while the creativity

displayed on stage from the Year 8 dancers was truly

impressive. But...there can only be one winner....and

for both Year 8 and 9, Morden won, with Meridian

2nd, Vanbrugh = 3rd and Paragon came in 4th place.

We are looking forward to the Summer Sports

programme and the opportunities it will bring, under

the leadership of our new Director of Sport , Miss

Holland who, as you can read from her feature, has

some fantastic plans to enrich the curriculum and

extra-curricular activities programme to engage,

inspire and motivate our students.

Our netball

teams are improving

steadily, securing

some inspiring wins

and talented

playing

I am delighted to have joined Blackheath High School as Director of Sport, at this exciting time running up to London 2012. The media hype clearly highlights what an integral part sport plays in our society

and therefore, I hope to tap into the spirit of the Olympics and get everybody fully involved albeit on a slightly smaller scale!

The PE department is already well established and highly competent and as a team we are committed to promoting and fostering all that is to be gained from school sport via the curriculum and extra-curricular programme. The emphasis therefore is on maintaining and extending standards and opportunities for students to get involved in sporting activities and perhaps to try something completely new. There are already a few new activities in the pipeline for this Summer Term and beyond, and we shall soon be asking students to sign up their interest on the boards in the PE department and further information will come home via the usual channels of the HIGHlife Newsletter and email so, as they say, ‘watch this space’.

I join BHS from Wilmington Girls’ Grammar School where I was the Head of PE and Progress Manager of Years 10/11 and where I had the opportunity to develop the PE curriculum and extra- curricular opportunities and raise attainment in sport. My sporting background is varied and can be completely accredited to having had a tremendously positive experience through my own school years in both individual and team sports, which has fostered particular passions for outdoor pursuits and all activities aquatic. From this solid beginning I have adopted the philosophy; that every pupil should have the range of opportunity needed to achieve an active and healthy lifestyle, thereby easing the transition from school sport to sport in the community, whether that is pursuing competitive levels of sport and excellence or discovering a possible ‘sport for life.’

Working towards this aim, already it is evident that Blackheath High School offers a strong out of hours programme and has developed key partnerships with local community sports clubs and institutions. I am keen to ensure these links are fully utilised and developed, enabling our students to gain access to specialist coaching. Within the curriculum we have signed up to work towards the accredited athletic awards of the Aviva Sportshall Athletics Programme which underpins the skills needed for our Senior Sports Day, this year.

I look forward to working with you all in the forthcoming months. Naomi Holland [email protected]

MISS HOLLAND

sport

he PE calendar at

the juniors was

very busy over

the spring term

and we enjoyed

varying successes in netball, cross

country, gymnastics and swimming.

Our netballers had some great

success in the interschool netball

competition with some great wins

over several schools including

Breaside, Merton Court and Babington

House. It would be fair to say that the

Under 11 netball team has gone from

strength to strength this term and

this was evident at the GDST Netball

Rally held at Wimbledon High School.

The team of Cicely McFarlane, Laurel

Shaw, Freya Elliott, Alex Biss, Georgina

Elliott, Ellie Branigan, Wemi Oshun

Williams and Shauna Clark Fitzpatrick

made the quarter finals of the Trophy

Competition and finished in a very

respectable 8th position out of 21

other GDST schools. Well done girls!

Our annual inter-house netball

tournament was also a great success,

with all the girls in Years 5 and 6

participating. After some strong

competition, the final was played

between two Morden teams with

Morden retaining the trophy.

At the Lewisham Swimming Gala

in March, several of our swimmers

reached the finals of their events.

Selina Watson came third in the

Breaststroke final and Emelia Hughes

and Lara Atkinson both reached the

finals of the backstroke race. Selina,

Eleanor Maidens, and Olivia Rigby also

represented the school at the GDST

Swimming Gala.

Girls represented the school at the

Farringtons’ Cross Country and the

Merton Court Cross Country Relay

with excellent results. Georgina Elliott

placed second overall in the year 6

girls’ race at the Farringtons’ Cross

Country and our Y6 team of Georgina

Elliott, Ellie Branigan, Sian Palmer Price

and Gracie Holland came third in the

Merton Court Competition.

Year 6 girls travelled to Farringtons

to compete in a gymnastics

tournament this term with great

success. Cicely MacFarlane, Trinity

Western and Priyaanka Madduri

were part of the winning group

performance and Cicely and Phoebe-

Rae Levene both came away with

individual certificates for the Best

Forward Roll.

Well done for a great spring term of

sport! We look forward to rounders,

tennis and sports day this term.

Ms McCutcheon

Junior Sports

T

Sporting News Round Up - Spring 2011



sixth form show

t the start of the academic year,

our Social Prefects began working

on producing another fantastic

Sixth Form show; and based on the

incredibly high standard of past

shows, the girls really did have their work cut out!

Facing the challenge bravely and determinedly, they

began brainstorming ideas and listing all of the different

tasks that would need to be completed at each stage

of the production process; from setting the theme

to casting models, assigning make-up artists and

scheduling meetings with the caretakers and technical

team. The team also designed the programmes and

posters and managed the sale of tickets.

This year’s show involved more people and a

greater range of performances than ever before at

BHS; from the Gospel Choir to incorporating both

dancing and singing.

The girls did a fantastic job and produced a real

spectacle, showcasing the wealth of creative talent we

are so proud to nurture and develop in our pupils.

Sixth Form Show Timeless

A

“After months of countless rehearsals and

stressful meetings, the event turned out to

be an incredible success with over 100 students

involved, raising over £1,300! We were both

relieved and very proud!” Emma KEnny

“It was a real honour to be one of the

main presenters, on what has been a

fantastic show full of unforgettable live acts

and inspiring fashion designs. Working behind

the scenes with the Social Events Prefects

on this exciting event has also involved

producing the programmes and tickets. After

months of preparation, everyone’s hard work

really paid off and created a spectacular to

remember!” yuan ChEn


SIXTH FORM SHOW

“The production not only demonstrated the amazing talents that pupils of

Blackheath High have but it also showed me how productive I can be as I was

involved in the whole fashion show from organising rehearsals to working in

the tech studio on the night of the show. None of the Social Prefects have been

involved in previous fashion shows but I think we would all agree that this one

was the most enjoyable show as we watched it grow from what was originally a

terrifyingly challenging nightmare to an amazing show!“

FRANCESCA LAWRENCE

“My role in the Sixth Form Show was to help

prepare all the singers for their performances

as well as performing myself. I found working

with such talented singers really enjoyable and

they all showed such determination to get each

performance perfect. Despite a few sore throats,

headaches and colds threatening the performances,

they all did a wonderful job. It was also real fun

being able to perform myself singing the popular

80s song ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’. As a singer

it was great to be able to perform something so

di� erent to my usual repertoire and the lighting and

e� ects made it all the more fun to perform. It was a

fantastic event enjoyed by everyone.“

REBECCA FALK

I


LATIN TRIP

n February half term our Classics

Department arranged for 45 Latin students

from Years 7 to 10, accompanied by 5

teachers, to travel to Italy to explore the Roman sites

and volcanic regions of the Bay of Naples, and to

experience a taste of modern Italian culture.

We stayed for four nights in the seaside town of

Sorrento, which provided a convenient and relaxing

base. The town of Pompeii is an important focus for the

girls in their study of Roman life in the Cambridge Latin

Course, so it was to there that we made our way on our

fi rst day. It was easy to get a sense of what was once

a thriving commercial town from the expansive forum,

with its public buildings, the shopping streets, theatres

and amphitheatre, but also the luxury of some of the

homes with their wall paintings and gardens. In contrast,

Latin Trip Sorrento

We stayed for four nights in

the seaside town of Sorrento,

which provided a convenient and

relaxing base.


LATIN TRIP

the town of Herculaneum had a much more domestic

and residential feel, with everything on a much smaller

scale. The mosaics and household objects which we

saw in the Naples Archaeological Museum helped to

complete the picture.

Although the focus of the visit was primarily about

how the Romans lived, it was also important to learn

about how the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum were

destroyed and preserved for us. We therefore visited

two volcanoes. We made the majority of the ascent of

Vesuvius by coach, but made the fi nal part on foot to

view the crater and to see Pompeii and modern Naples

lying below. At Solfatara, our guide escorted us across

the crater itself, and demonstrated jets of steam and

bubbling mud.

Our trip was completed by a journey by boat from

Sorrento harbour over to the small island of Capri where,

as well as visiting the shops and enjoying drinks and ice

creams in the square, we made the pretty walk to Villa

Jovis, one of the residences of the Emperor Tiberius on

the island he retreated to for part of his reign.

Everyone came back inspired and re-vitalised by the rich

culture of Italy, ancient and modern.

Everyone came back inspired

and re-vitalised by the rich

culture of Italy, ancient and

modern.

T


DEBATING SOCIETY

The BHS Debating

Society, comprising 25

girls from across the

Senior school, has enjoyed a very busy

term. The Middle School team has seen

weekly prepared and impromptu debates,

public speaking bouts and mock trials;

some of our girls have faced particularly

fi erce prosecution lawyers in ‘the dock’

but were fortunately supported by a well

prepared defence team! The confi dence,

articulacy, reasoning and improvisational

skills demonstrated this academic year

bode particularly well for future national

competitions, which are open to students

in Years 10-13.

Such preparation served the Senior

Squad well in 2010/11. Having won the

London regional round, Bu� y Eldridge-

Thomas made it to the fi nal of the GDST’s

public speaking Chrystall Prize, putting in a

sterling performance at Northampton High

School. Bu� y enjoyed further success ,

with team-mate Lata Nobes, in the national

English Speaking Union’s Schools Mace

Competition as they won the fi rst round

and progressed to ESU Headquarters in

Mayfair for the regional fi nal where they

put in an admirable performance. However,

this year’s greatest success was in the ESU

Public Speaking Competition where Bu� y

and Lata were joined by Laura Nash to form

a formidable team. Having already seen o�

local rivals Eltham College and Colfe’s in

the fi rst round, they went once more to ESU

Headquarters for the London regional fi nal

beating prestigious schools including City of

London Girls, Latymer and London Oratory

to come second place to King’s College

School. Their performance was outstanding

and one of the judges reported that there

was just one mark that denied us victory.

Not to worry: we’ll be back next year!

Debating Society

Laura Nash Lata NobesBu� y Eldridge-Thomas

Their performance

was outstanding


FORTHCOMING EVENTS

Annual Senior School Art ExhibitionWednesday 22nd June, 6:00-9:00pm,

Vanbrugh Park Admission: Free

You are warmly invited to our annual

senior school Art Exhibition; a wonderful

opportunity to view the extremely high

standard of Art and Design work that our

GCSE and A level students produce. Works

on display include: fi lms, photographs,

paintings, drawings, textile pieces and

garments. Guests will be entertained by the

talented Blackheath High School Chamber

Choir whilst enjoying light refreshments.

Summer Music ConcertThursday 7th July, 7:00pm, Chapel of the

Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich

At 7:00pm on Thursday 7th July, a choir

and orchestra of over 180 Blackheath High

School pupils and teachers will perform

a concert in the Chapel of the Old Royal

Naval College, Greenwich. The concert,

given at one of London’s most important

historical venues, will feature Mozart’s

Missa Brevis in B fl at K. 275, alongside his

Symphony No. 6, Dvorak’s Slavonic Dance

No. 1 and ‘Ocean World’, a contemporary

cantata by Peter Rose and Anne Conlon.

Performing Mozart’s well-loved and

challenging work will be a signifi cant

achievement for the young musicians,

many of whom will be in Years 4 to 7. The

experience of participating in such an event

will, I am sure, give all those involved the

sense that all of their dedicated preparation

has been worthwhile. Parents are warmly

invited to attend what promises to be a

memorable occasion.

After the concert, the audience is invited

to enjoy a glass of wine in the Queen Mary

Undercroft and, we hope, in the evening

sunshine on the banks of the Thames.

Sunshine or drizzle, we’re sure little could

dampen the spirit of this performance!

Tickets are priced at £10 (£5 for children

not performing) and are available from the

senior and junior school o¤ ces.

Sports Days

Senior Sports Day, Tuesday 5th July, Sports

Fields, Kidbrooke Grove

Junior Sports Day, Wednesday 6th July,

Sports Fields, Kidbrooke Grove

Forthcoming Events

SUMMER ISSUE OUT

SOON!

Blackheath High School Magazine

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