autumn newsletter 2014-2015 - harlington school · hillingdon food bank christmas is a time of...

December 2014 Autumn Newsletter 2014-15

Harlington School

Pinkwell Lane

Hayes, Middlesex

UB3 1PB

Tel: 0208 569 1610

Fax: 0208 569 1624

E-mail:

enquiries@harlingtonschool.

org

Website:

Www.harlingtonschool.co.uk

It’s that time of year again and the holidays are upon us!

We decided that before you journey into 2015 you should take a lit-

tle time to reflect upon recent events in the school as well as looking

forward to the New Year and all the challenges it may bring.

We asked students and staff to send us news of their recent pro-

jects, events and trips so we could create a little memento of daily

life at Harlington School.

We could not include everything BUT we hope this edition is the

first of many.

The team that put this together would like to thank all the people

that contributed and wish you all Season Greetings and a Happy

New Year!

AUTUMN NEWSLETTER 2014-2015

Harlington School

DIARY DATES

LAST DAY OF TERM

Friday 19th December

at Midday

RETURN TO

SCHOOL

Monday 5th January

2015 at 8:10am

KEY DATES

YR10 PARENTS’

EVENING

Thursday 15th

January 2015

YR 11 MENTORING

EVENING

Thursday 22nd

January 2015

YR9 PARENTS &

OPTIONS EVENING

Thursday 12th

February 2015

Harlington School

EXAM SUCCESS

Although, Results Day was in August, we at Harlington School would like to congratulate

all our students on their fantastic exam results in the Summer Exam Season!

GCSE Results Day

5+ A* - C GCSE including English

& Mathematics = 45%

5+ A* - C GCSE = 65%

38% of students gained one or more A*-A

Grades at GCSE an increase of 10% on 2013

99% students achieved

at least 1 A*– C in GCSE

subjects or equivalents

13 Outstanding students with between 7 and 12 A* and A grades (or equivalent at GCSE)

AS and A-Level Results Day

72% achieved A* - C grades 35% achieved A* - B grades

Over 90% of Year 13 students go to university

Autumn Newsletter 2014-15

This month’s Headteacher’s challenge required teamwork and artistic flair. Students were asked to create a beautiful

paper based patchwork ‘quilt’ with the theme of ‘Celebration’. Everyone had to provide a piece of the patchwork and

write a short explanation. The six Year 7 entries were all fantastic and the winners were:

Headteacher Challenge—Year 7

World Languages Day

On 26 September the MFL Faculty celebrated Worlds

Languages Day with pupils enjoying introductory Man-

darin lessons with Miss Tamang. They learnt basic intro-

ductions and also tried their hand at writing Mandarin

characters using calligraphy paint blocks.

MFL Club

MFL club is up and running again this year. On Friday

lunch times pupils from Year 7, 8 and 9 join Ms. Popa in

A7 to celebrate the culture and traditions of different

languages. All welcome and places still available, so see

Ms. Popa for details ASAP!!

1ST PRIZE: 7M2

2ND PRIZE: 7B2

3RD PRIZE: 7D1

Harlington School

Year 8 & 9 PARIS TRIP In October, 35 French students from Year 8 &

Year 9 visited Paris on a 4 day trip, accompa-

nied by Mr. Bothwell, Ms. Popa, Mr. M’Pety

and Mr. Harding. They stayed in a famous

chateau on the outskirts of Paris and spent

the evening making crepes, competing in

team challenge games and a mini Olympics.

The first day they went on a sightseeing tour

of Paris, climbing the 704 steps up the Eiffel

Tower to get amazing panoramic views across

the city. Next was to the River Seine where

they joined a boat cruise looking at the fa-

mous monuments along the river. In the af-

ternoon they continued to the Arc de Tri-

omphe and up to the Sacre Coeur Church and

spent some time in and around the shops and cafes of

the traditional streets of Paris. The following day they

soaked up the magic of Disney at Disneyland Paris and

went on all the rides and met all the famous charac-

ters. It was sad to leave but they did have time on the way back

to visit a local market and complete a treasure trail. It was a

great trip and all the pupils were a credit to themselves and the

school.

Year 7 & Year 8 INTERNATIONAL WEEK

All the Year 7 students enjoyed it!

The African Drumming sessions were lively too!

YEAR 7 AFRICAN DRUMMING YEAR 8 SAMBA WORKSHOPS

Year 8 students showed some impressive skills


Year 7, 8 & 9 WINTER HOUSE GAMES

WINNERS

Year 7

Football: DaVinci

Handball: DaVinci

Dodgeball: Brunel

Basketball: Brunel

Overall: Da Vinci

Year 8

Football: DaVinci

Handball: Brunel

Dodgeball: DaVinci

Basketball: DaVinci

Overall: DaVinci

Year 9

Football: Brunel

Handball: DaVinci

Dodgeball: Mandela

Basketball: DaVinci

Overall: Brunel

Harlington School

OPEN EVENING 2014

Even though it seems a while back, we would like to thank all the students and staff members that helped

out and organised the Open Evening in September. Thanks to all of you, the evening was a success.

We went on the 12th November and the girls loved it! Mrs Frost treated us to lunch and the girls were truly

grateful! They loved the show and their experience of the west end. All girls were so well behaved and a pleas-

ure to take to the theatre!

MATILDA TRIP


Miss Dell’s English class took a creative approach to analysing John Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice and Men’, they made

a pop-up museum. Students worked in groups to create displays for the main characters and themes within

the text to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding. Each group had a budget to spend on items for

their exhibit but to guarantee the items purchase they had to justify why they needed it to Miss Dell.

The class invited others to visit the museum during the day and to provide feedback on their work. Demand

was so high after the first day the museum’s opening was extended to enable everybody who wanted to attend.

Miss Dell said: “I was extremely impressed with the hard work and creativity of the class. The students

worked enthusiastically to create exhibits that were both entertaining and educational. Everyone in the class

should be proud of what they achieved.”

MS. DELL’S ENGLISH CLASS ANALYSING

JOHN STEINBECK’S ‘OF MICE AND MEN’

Harlington School

CHRISTMAS TALENT SHOW

On the 15thDecember 2014, Harlington Community School, presented outstanding live per-

formances. It was quite a shock that all of these hardworking students had such astonishing

talents to reveal. Their talents illuminated the stage, ranging from the fierce and wonderful

Anotina who sung ‘Stay with me’ and the winner for ‘The best Singer’ ‘Taran-All of me’, how-

ever it can be agreed that all singers who participated were equally fantastic. But, wait,

there is more! The ultimate winner for ‘The best dancer’ was crowned to ‘Toy Soldiers- Sa-

lute’, which gave such an enjoyable performance to watch, it surely had the audience on

their feet.

To add more joyful spirit, there were special performances from the sixth formers. The first

performance was Sarah Abdulle who presented a heart-warming a cappella version of ‘Read

all about it- Emeli Sande’ . Following on by Yasiin Mahammed singing ‘Ain’t no sunshine

when she’s gone – Bill withers’ which gave us more reasons why we should all love soul mu-

sic. It was ended by the beautiful Anna Maria who sung ‘Hallelujuah’ it sure did give a fes-

tive touch to the night, from her eloquent harmonies that she was projecting – After her per-

formance it is fair to say that the audience got excited for Christmas!

At Harlington Community School, talent is highly appreciated. It is important for students

to get involved in extracurricular activities. We’re proud that we come from a school which

motivates us to further our interests.

The night would not have been a success; it was hosted by the charming Jack Mayo, and en-

thusiastic Siri Maungmueangsaen. They also decided to take a live ‘selfie’ which the audi-

ence participated, smiles were everywhere!

We thank everyone who came to the show, so from all of us, we wish you a Merry Christmas,

and a Happy New Year!


HILLINGDON FOOD BANK

Christmas is a time of giving and Harlington school, in conjunction with Save the Children, decided to raise

donations for our local food bank in Hillingdon. We were also supported by our local Tesco’s who donated

crates to store the food in. Furthermore the programme was even extended to members of the general public

as many donated through the library.

All the food donated will leave Harlington School on Friday morning 19th December and every donation

counts towards helping someone in need over Christmas. Everyone’s generosity during Christmas is so won-

derful but these issues will continue through the New Year and it’s important to have your continued support.

You can continue to donate to your local food bank at:

St Anselms Church

Station Road, Hayes, UB3 4DF.

Open Wednesdays 12.00 noon - 2.00pm.

Here at Harlington School we would like to thank you all for your donations.

TEACHERS VS STUDENTS FOOTBALL MATCH—NOTICE

NEXT TERM

There will be a Teacher vs Students Football Match. This match

will allow Harlington School to raise money for a Charity called

‘Free The Children’ .

In order to achieve this, we will be charging

£1—people who are watching the event

£1.50– people who are playing in the event

There will also be some refreshments for sale on the day of the

event, in order to raise more money for this charity.

More information will be provided Next Term.

Harlington School

AUSCHWITZ TRIP

In October, a group of sixth

formers visited Auschwitz

Concentration Camp. It was

a profound experience that

the students will never for-

get.


AUSHCHWITZ CONCENTRATION CAMP

As I stood amongst the silent cries and on

the grounds of the mass extermination car-

ried out against the Jews by the Nazis during

World War II, the only question going

through my mind was “did God forget to give

mankind a conscience?” It was one thing

learning about the events of the Holocaust in

lesson, and it was another actually standing

upon its grounds. My heart was saddened by

the impact this horror has left on humanity. I

am so grateful that I was given this oppor-

tunity as taking a trip to Auschwitz has

steered my career path to want to work in the

field of Human Rights.

My trip to Auschwitz Concentration

camp.

Harlington School

COMMUNITY CHRISTMAS LUNCH

We would like to thank all the Local Residents that attended to our Christmas Lunch

and we are glad that they enjoyed themselves.


CHILDREN IN NEED 2014

HARLINGTON SCHOOL

RAISED A FANTASTIC

£1,409.07

FOR CHILDREN IN NEED THIS

YEAR

THANK YOU EVERYONE!

Harlington School

You all think I’m weird and slightly insane, don’t you? Your probably wondering why I’m

laughing. Is it nerves? Is it the pressure? Maybe it’s that lady I saw the other day, wearing

that ridiculous hat.

I’m glad you smiled because it takes 62 muscles to frown but only 26 to smile. Which is

why people say that we should smile more, but I bet this is the first time most of you have

even cracked a smile today. As humans we don’t smile or laugh enough, what’s the reason

for that? Maybe we’re too stressed out; perhaps we’re becoming too serious and we can’t take

a joke. Or maybe it’s because we’re ashamed of our laugh?

It’s said that a child laughs at least more than 300 times a day and the average adults

laughs less than 20 times a day. Does that mean as we get older we become too serious or

does our sense of humour dry out too quickly?

We all have different and unique laughs. Some of us have the crazy cackle, others are

gifted with the gorgeous giggle, some have the silly snort, what about the diplomatic chuckle

or how about that genuine laugh. Everyone has a laugh; some find theirs fun and cool but

other seems to get embarrassed because they don’t define it as perfect. Well let me tell you,

your laugh is perfect because it was designed for you. I know for a fact that my laugh isn’t

the most glamorous but I use it anyways because it’s mine.

Everyone says that laughing is the best medicine, but let me tell you when I was feel-

ing sick; runny nose, stomach ache, chesty cough and all the rest of an early Christmas pre-

sent during winter, I couldn’t even crack a smile but that doesn’t mean that my friends did-

n’t try to make me laugh even when I didn’t want to.

Laughing helps us in so many different ways. Laughing reduces stress but that

doesn’t mean when a huge test comes up you should go laughing at your text book. When you

laugh it is said that you will live longer. Laughing boosts the blood flow by 20% and it reduc-

es the risk of heart disease. It can be found to help infections, ease pain and relieve hay fe-

ver. So, I guess laughing is proved to be the best medicine after all. So, why do we still hesi-

tate to laugh? Why don’t we smile? Why do we continue to frown?

Our laughter is a special gift, customized by a very special designer, God. We need to

take advantage of our unique gift and we need to use it more, especially with the festivity of

Christmas coming up we need to show the ones we love how much we actually care, and

sometimes a smile is all you need. ‘The most wasted of all days

is the one without laughter’ –E.E Cunnings how many of you

wasted your day by not smiling at that person by not laughing at

that joke, who wasted their day?

So, with so many advantages to laughter, I hope that I Diya Cho-

pra, taught you something about wasting your days, I hope I have

made you smile.

A SPEECH ON LAUGHTER

BY: DIYA CHOPRA


Happy children everywhere

Amazing GCSE results

Regular high levelled students

Lots of extracurricular activities

Indoor decorations are amazing

No bullying allowed in any form

Great behaviour in classes

Teachers are professionally trained

Outstanding variety of subjects

Non swearing zone

HARLINGTON ACROSTIC POEM

BY: KEVIN

Harlington School

SUNDAE GIRL—BOOK REVIEW

BY: KAUTHAR ELMI

Sundae Girl is a story about a shy girl, Jude - who is

the only ‘normal’ person in her crazy family.

Like most teenagers Jude gets em-

barrassed by her crazy, bizarre and

quirky family.

She still loves her dad to bits but

going to parents evening in an Elvis,

rhinestone cat suit is a bit to much;

but that isn't he only problem Jude

has to deal with. As her grandmoth-

er has dementia and soon her moth-

ers old drinking problems start to

haunt Jude's family.

Will Jude decide to show her family

to the world?

And could the boy on rollerblades with the floppy fringe be

the one to save the day and is there such

a thing as a happy ending?

Tackling issues such as alcoholism and

dementia can be a hard but Cathy Cassi-

dy carries it off with an amazing yet sen-

sitive twist.


Its getting cold and nearer and nearer to Christmas . Do you

want a movie to watch during Christmas ? Hear we provide

the best movie to watch whistle you drank your hot chocolate

and snuggled up to the fire .

TOP 3 MOVIES TO WATCH THIS CHRISTMAS

Although this was on 20 years ago

its still a wonderful film . Its

about a girl that doesn’t believe in

Santa will she believe in him

when she sees him ?

This is a great film about someone

that doesn’t like Christmas ,will

he ever get out his grump by

Christmas time

This is a brilliant 5 Star comedy

where a boy is left home for

Christmas . He has to learn to

look after his self and keep the

buglers out but how?

Wishing everybody a

Wonderful Holiday and an

Outstanding New Year!

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