As usual, I am writing to you with many events still to take place between now and the end of term, so we still have lots to look forward to before we finish for the Christmas break.

As I‟m sure you know we exceeded all expectations in the summer exams, when students achieved fantastic results. The percentage of students achieving 5 or more A* to C grades rose to 82%, an increase of 9% on the previous year. Our Certificate Presentation Evening on 17th November saw the Theatre packed to the rafters! This year the inaugural David Thear „da Vinci‟ Award for the best all-rounder was presented to Jo Elgar. The new Year 7 students have settled in very well and clearly benefitted from their induction activities during the Summer Term

2011. There is a good level of support from them for extra-curricular activities, including sports teams, which have already achieved success at District level. Lesson observations and visits to lessons show excellent learning taking place and a high standard of behaviour. This year‟s Open Evening was very successful, with approximately 350 students helping out on the night, providing tours and activities around the school to over 1000 visitors. As usual we have seen a rich programme of enrichment activities since the start of term; however, a particular highlight has been our involvement in the Shakespeare Schools Festival. Our students performed a modernised version of „Macbeth‟ at the Beck Theatre in Hillingdon to rapturous reviews. Finally, please allow me to repeat my request of parents to encourage good attendance. As you know, there is a clear correlation between high attendance and good exam results. Our current overall attendance of 95.2% is the highest recorded Autumn Term percentage for our school and can only help to lead to even better results next year. Thank you for all your support this term and best wishes for a relaxing Christmas. Tim Smith Head

HEAD TEACHER’S NEWS

Inside this issue:

Media - Big Fish 2

European day of Languages 2

Army Live 3

Remembrance Day 4

Enrichment Week 5

Christmas Market 6

Student Voice 7

House News 8 & 9

Music 10

Penalty Notices 11

Professional writers visit 12

Sister Act meet Bollywood 13

Sports News 14

Year 11 Student information 15

Dram Some like it Hip Hop 16

Technology College

Christmas Newsletter

2011

The Magna Carta School

Jo Elgar Recipient of the first

David Thear „da Vinci‟ Award

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE The Magna Carta School was one of 600 schools taking part in a nationwide festival celebrating the work of William Shakespeare. Students performed a thirty minute, modernised version of „Macbeth‟ at the Beck Theatre, Hayes, on Monday 31st October 2011 as part of the Shakespeare Schools Festival. The English, Drama and Media departments have worked together on this project for Gifted and Talented students. Charlotte Thompson, Head of Drama, says, “We set our version of „Macbeth‟ in the City of London and while Shakespeare‟s Macbeth is desperate to become the King of Scotland, our Macbeth is a ruthless businessman who will go to any lengths to obtain the promotion he feels he deserves.” Twenty six students participated either as actors, backstage crew or marketing specialists. The show was an enormous success and the

venue director at the Beck Theatre complimented the students on their performance, which she described as „Stylish and cool‟.

Mrs Thompson Drama

MEDIA BIG FISH

Thursday 29th September 2011 started like any other day, a cool mist hanging on the playing field, students dragging their feet as they trundled into the quad. Yet there was something slightly peculiar going on, a strange buzz in the atmosphere, for here and there, dotted about the quad, were year 7 students dressed in such striking colours and costumes, chatting to friends, practising greetings in French, Spanish, and even Ukranian! What on earth is going on one might ask? It‟s not a non-uniform day? No! It‟s The European Day of Languages at The Magna Carta School! Students learnt the importance of languages and how it can enrich your life; did you know that over 300 languages are spoken in London alone?! So, to celebrate the enjoyment of

learning a Modern Foreign Language we had a week jam-packed with fun! There were quizzes, answering the register in other European languages, poster competitions and the most exciting of all: a National Dress Competition. Year 7 students donated £1 to charity to come into school

dressed in the colours of a National European Flag, or the

traditional dress of a European country. Even the teachers

got involved, wearing their French berets, Flamenco pom

poms, and German flag face paint with pride! At lunchtime

year 7 students strutted their stuff on the catwalk – such a

fantastic display of cultural diversity ranging from Irish,

Ukranian, French, Italian and Spanish. It was fantastic to see

the effort and consideration our bright young students had

put into their costumes and, most of all, their enthusiasm for

languages, because, let‟s face it, just speaking English can be

a little boring. In the words of Derek Trotter aka

Del Boy “Bonjour!” Miss A Hope MFL

MAGNA’S GOT TALENT

Watch out for our next talent show which will be held on

Wednesday February 20th, 2012 at 7 p.m. in the Theatre.

Our judges will be our Headteacher Mr. Tim Smith & two

surprise guest judges. Ten acts will perform & the judges

will choose their favourite three. The audience then decide

on the winner. Tickets are £3.

OSCAR-WINNING PRODUCTION DESIGNER GUIDES STUDENTS THROUGH ANIMATION PROJECT

In October, for two Friday afternoons, we had the privilege of working with Oscar award-winning Film production designer, Jane Morton (Peter and the Wolf). She took us through the exciting process of how to animate the children's book BIG FISH by Jenny Carter using paper animation and paper puppets. We used pastels and crayons to create backdrops for our film. After we had completed that, we had to design the fish. We had many designs but in the end we found one which stood out. We then cut out the different pieces and sewed them together using cotton so that it would be more realistic when it moves.

A quick thank you to the Year 11 students and parents for your support in relation to the Maths Revision Sessions that took place leading up to the Unit 2 Exam. These sessions will resume during the New Year as we prepare for Unit 3. Can I ask that all students ensure they return the Answer Key Booklet to their classroom teacher. Revision sessions for our Year 10 students will commence during the New Year and preparation for the Unit 1 & 2 Exam will be in June. These sessions have proved valuable in the past, helping students get that extra practice in to ensure they reach their potential. Mr C Reilly Head of Mathematics

EUROPEAN DAY OF LANGUAGES

It was a good experience and I learned how to animate using computer software such as „I can animate‟. It was a great thing to do and has helped me improve my Animation skills. I would recommend it to anyone who gets the chance, it is great fun! Our films should be ready to entertain you all in January during The Magna 2011 Film Week. Sam Dhinsa Yr 9AB

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YEAR 10 & 11 MATHS

On the 10th of November Mrs Chawla took some GCSE dance students to see a theatre production in London of „Some Like it Hip Hop‟ by Zoo Nation. The play was very lively, with great music and a really good atmosphere. As we watched we realized there were a range of movements that we could easily use in our own choreography. Lizzie Gough and Tommy Franzen, from the TV show „So you think you can dance‟, both had roles in the production and so did Teneisha Bonner for „Street Dance 3D‟. The show was all based around a storyline of women who do the same jobs as men but are unable to find work. The women take things into their own hands and decide to dress as men so they are given work but in the end get found out! The show included a range of movements for

popping and locking, flips, kicks and turns. Overall it was a great show and we would recommend it to anyone.

DANCE TRIP ‘SOME LIKE IT

HIP HOP’

On Thursday 30th June the year 9 tutor team and I had the pleasure of taking the whole of Year 9 to Army Live at Aldershot. The event was provided by the Army completely free of charge and gives students a great opportunity to:

have a go at the skills they are interested in through interactive exhibits

gain a broader understanding of what the Army does

gain a greater awareness of the skills needed to succeed in a diverse range of industries

be inspired and motivated

attempt an Army Assault course One of the highlights of the day was TJ Costis being invited to perform Coldplay‟s hit song “Yellow” with the Band of the Army Music Corps,

cheered on by many of his peers. The Army musicians praised his talent and TJ was thrilled to have the opportunity to perform with these professionals. Helen Claringbull Extended Learning Coordinator

AREA MATHS CHALLENGE

On the 19th of October Ms Venter, Ms Harrison and Mr

Kahn took 8 budding mathematicians to the Annual Area

Maths Challenge at Sir William Perkins School. This year‟s

annual was attended by the students of The Sir William

Perkins School, Salesians, Charters and ourselves. TMCS

entered four teams (each consisting of 1-3 students) and they

had to complete four rounds of challenges, each round

lasting 10 minutes. The year 7 team (Julian Humble, Adam

Dhinsa and Andrew Brindley) came second in their category,

whilst Woody Scales (for the Year 8 team) single-handedly

managed to come second in three of the four challenges,

with overall third place. The Year 9 team (Aaron Boothroyd

and George Whitehead) came in at an overall fourth place

and the Year 10 team (Alex Gangloff and Andre Cidre)

managed a third place, even though they were only in Year 9.

TMCS managed to receive an overall third place for the

challenge. Massive congratulations to the boys who put in a

great effort against their rivals. Miss A Ventner Maths

ARMY LIVE 2011

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Becca Ellis & Lucy Miller Year 11

GIFTED AND TALENTED

This term our Gifted and Talented students have been learning about Shakespeare. Not only have our students had the opportunity to take part in the Macbeth performance organised by Drama, but a few students had the opportunity to watch a drama production of Twelfth Night as well. The company of actors came into the school and performed

the famous Shakespeare comedy to a selection of Year 7, 8

and 9 Gifted and Talented students. Two of our budding

young actors also got a chance to take part in leading roles!

The performance was funny and entertaining and enjoyed by

all; the start of a very busy year for Gifted and Talented

Students. Miss V Beaumont NDS ICT UPDATE

NDS is a leading global provider of end-to-end software solutions for the pay television industry. They enable pay-TV operators to differentiate their service by delivering a unique viewing experience to their subscribers; anytime, anywhere on any device, while ensuring that only paying viewers can view content. NDS has launched a challenge called “The Red Button”, this challenge gives students the opportunity to propose a program that can run on television when the “Red” button on the remote control is pressed. The challenge also provides many opportunities to students such as use of software programming skills; working as a team, but using individual strengths; the impor-tance of good planning and delivery; the balance of design and implementation in a blog entry, etc. This year, the Diploma in IT students in year 10 will be taking part in the challenge. The challenge will help and contribute to their coursework. Mr I Sanniez ICT

REMEMBRANCE DAY 2011

For the Remembrance Day celebrations this year, the History Department wanted students to consider their own reasons why they should remember those affected by warfare. House Assemblies in the week leading up to Remembrance Sunday centered on this theme, where a variety of possible links were made between the lives of students today and those who served in the First World War and conflicts since. For some students it was the 72,000 names on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing in France that made them reflect on the scale of the conflict, whilst others were moved by the numbers killed and injured in more recent wars. Year Eight students followed

up these assemblies by exploring four case studies from

1914 to the present

day, to help build their understanding of why wearing a simple poppy every year means so much to our lives today. This work helped them to create a personal response to the Poppy Appeal, which made for an outstanding display in Main Reception (see picture). The two minutes silence on Armistice Day itself was observed impeccably, with students showing great respect for those who have given the ultimate sacrifice. Mr B Wilcox Head of History 4

Every term the science department chooses a „scientist of the

term‟ from each year group. This award is given to a student

who excels in science through outstanding participation,

ambition, and hard work. Each of the chosen scientists

receives a DOW Magna lab coat that they can use in science

practicals and future scientific endeavours. For the first term

the winners are Josh Gascoigne (year 7), Sidharth Kashyap

(year 8), Rhianna Rayner (year 9), Shivani Patel (year 10),

Paige Lofthouse (year 11). Well done scientists! Miss A Barlow

SCIENTIST OF THE TER M

Interested in playing the guitar, why not amble over to R1 on a Wednesday

lunchtime? Guitar Club with Mr Cox has been fantastic and it's free for all, whether you're new to the instrument or not! So far we have been working on some classics from Chuck Berry and The Rolling Stones.... we „can't get no satisfaction‟! (Yes, that B chord was good, Johnny.) Having two members of staff has allowed us to split the group, so no-one gets left behind and no-one gets bored. Beginners work on the chords with Mr Cox, whilst those who fancy a stab at a solo or some finger picking get to improvise with Mr McCollum. We knew it was Christmas soon, so a Christmas song using the same chords as Chuck and the Stones was practised from mid-November. Playing different songs each week was fun, but being able to focus on one in particular has had students (and ourselves) leaving with a stronger sense of achievement. Students can get more familiar with the changes of the same song each week, so much so that songs can be finished and even layered with vocals. As a new member of staff it's been fab to work with students in a different context and to have some involvement in the wider school community. Massive thanks go to Mr Cox for having me, Ms Claringbull for letting us use her room, the school for letting us strum their instruments, and most of all, to the students for coming! We've had fun, played decent songs, and we've all learnt a lot – long may it continue! Mr W McCollum

GUITAR CLUB

ENRICHMENT WEEK

From 9th to 13th July 2012 the whole school timetable will be collapsed for a week to allow for Enrichment Week. The ethos behind this is that students can participate in a range of varied curriculum-enriching activities without disturbing teaching and learning by taking students out of lessons whilst

others are in school. All staff and students are involved in some way. Year 10 go on a week's work experience, learning about the world of work, whilst

Years 7 to 9 are given the opportunity to take part in day trips, residentials and a selection of on-site activities which broaden their horizons and give them

opportunities for learning which they may not otherwise have. In year 7 students are given the opportunity to spend the week with the Bushcraft company, learning a variety of survival skills. They camp out, sleeping in hammocks, and learn to cook their own food, do emergency first aid, team building activities and

much more. To get a better idea of what's on offer look at

Those students not opting for Bushcraft will be involved in a range of activities here in school with an "around the world" theme.

Watch this space for more details! For years 8 and 9 there are a range of residential trips on

offer for which places are filling up fast. Whether you choose to do watersports in Spain, cultural activities in Greece, learn to ski in Milton Keynes, learn survival skills in Snowdonia or the Wye Valley, sail around Southampton or visit battlefields or perform music in Normandy there is something on offer for everyone. If you wish to stay closer to home, there is an

Architecture week based in school, a Dance and Drama week visiting London and lots of other activities, which will be

published in the New Year to students choosing to stay on site.

It is my vision that EVERY student in our school will be engaged in a meaningful and enriching activity for E-Week 2012 so please do make the

most of the activities on offer and please do let me know if you have any great ideas for activities which could be added to the ever-growing list! Miss Claringbull Extended Learning and Enrichment Week Coordinator

The Science department have run revision classes for the Year 11 students in preparation for their recent GCSE Science exams. There was a good turnout of students each week on Wednesdays after school and we all hope that the students will be rewarded for their efforts when the

results come out in January. We hope to see this continue when more revision lessons begin for the Physics exam in March and Chemistry in June. Mrs Sharma

BOOSTER SESSIONS IN SCIENCE

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ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON LANGUAGE SCHE ME

The MFL Department are excited to be working once again with ambassadors from The Royal University of London, starting in January 2012. Mentors from RHUL (language undergraduates) will be working with German, Spanish and possibly French TMCS students. The programme will run across a period of 8 sessions and students will work directly with MFL teachers in school to devise a scheme which will support the needs of our students. The RHUL language

programme will provide innovative and exciting teaching practices and educational resources to create a high quality learning experience. The aim of the programme is to raise aspirations, boost confidence and enrich the academic curriculum. This will be a great opportunity for our students to see what they can achieve in just a few years‟ time. We are very much looking forward to this project and I am sure that the students will be too. Conny Götze Acting Head of MFL

http://www.thebushcraftcompany.com/schools/s3/5_day_residential_summer.html

CHRISTMAS MARKET

Our school is proud that it is both entrepreneurial and creative in outlook and as a result students across all year groups jumped at the chance to put on

their own Christmas Market. Students worked hard to make their own

products, ranging from cakes, sweets, jams and pickles to hand made jewellery, book marks, Christmas decorations and cards. More than 20 stalls were reserved by some of our budding entrepreneurs:

all stall holders reported a brisk trade and were able to produce profits. In addition

nearly £80 was raised for one of our school charities, The White Lodge Centre

at Chertsey. Mrs L Knight

PARENTS – You have skills, knowledge and experience that would be invaluable to our

students. If you would be interested in getting involved in our business and enterprise

initiatives please contact the Business Studies Department – we would love to hear from you.

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SCHOOL COUNCIL IS STUDENT VOICE

What is the school council? Our school council is one of the key links between the students of Magna Carta, the senior leadership team and the governors of the school. It consists of student representatives from all years including the house captains (Joe Simpson, Scarlett Holman, Alex Jones, Yasmin Mehmet, Matt Elmer, Phoebe Grundy, Maisie Faulkner, Gregor Elliot) and is chaired by the head boy and girl (Nic Cary and Molly Lock). This team of students comes together for meetings to decide on ways to improve the school and to give the students a key voice in the running of their school. What does a school council member do? School council members attend meetings, which begin by raising any issues that the student body have requested through tutor groups to be addressed. Solutions are

discussed or a brainstorm of new ideas carried out. These ideas are then debated. Once the school council members all come to an agreement, elected representatives from the council then present a handful of ideas or suggestions to the Head teacher and other members of the senior leadership

team within the school. I have an idea that would improve the school, should I tell the school council? Yes, the school council members are always looking for new ideas to bring to their meetings; if you have an idea

you believe would be of benefit to the school, please inform your tutor rep, a year rep or a school council member or contact the school council team at: Studentcouncil@magnacarta.surrey.sch.uk Your student council gives you a voice... Make sure you’re heard. Mrs L Knight

Over the last two years the Science Department took part in a programme set up by the former National Strategies. The programme, initially called „Level 6 and beyond‟ and later re-named „Maximising Pupil Progress‟, was led by Mrs Prosser. The aim of the programme was to work with Key Stage 3 students to show them how to make progress from Levels 4 and 5 to Level 6 and beyond by the time they reached the end of Year 9. The rationale was to show students the link between achieving a Level 6 and above at Key Stage 3 and obtaining a grade B and above at GCSE. Pupils who took part in the programme made dramatic progress: 78% who entered with a

Level 4 attained a Level 6 at the end of Year 9, while 30% who entered with a Level 5

went on to obtain a Level 7. These students are currently in Year 10, their first GCSE

year, and the Science Department is extremely excited about their future GCSE results.

We are confident that incorporating these strategies from Key Stage 3 will only aid our

ever-increasing success in Science here at The Magna Carta School. Mrs N Prosser

SCIENCE MAXIMISING PROGRESS

Last year we raised £1000 for Headley Court in Epsom where they rehabilitate wounded soldiers. Our show this year will be held on Wednesday March 28th, 2012 at 7

p.m. in the Theatre. We hope to have some surprise guest performers. Tickets are £5.

HELP FOR HEROES

The school would like to thank MM Trees for donating our school foyer Christmas tree once again this year. MM trees are based in Ottershaw by the ambulance station on the A320 just outside Chertsey. Trees are cut daily and range from Norway Spruce, Nordmann‟s, Blue Spruce, Fraser‟s and Douglas fir and can be purchased from 3ft right up to a massive 35ft. The farm is open daily from 7.30am to 8pm every day up until the 24th December. Anyone buying a tree and presenting this voucher will help the school raise funds for our House Carities.

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ABBEY BRIDGE

ABBEY HOUSE NEWS

This term Abbey has shown that we are once again the best house for participating in inter-house activities. Year 9, 10 & 11 all reached the girls‟ netball finals with victories for 9 & 11. Unfortunately the boys‟ inter-house football was not such a success, with only the Year 7 reaching the final. Hopefully there will be a massive improvement for the next boys‟ competition! After Christmas Abbey House will be doing their annual fundraiser a (closely-guarded secret) and will be hoping to raise as much money as possible for White lodge. The fundraiser will be a staff versus students challenge with the winning house taking on the staff in the „Grand Final‟. (The staff will be comprised of one member from each house).

A big thank you to all Abbey students that who participated in school teams this term and students who have been part of performances that have been put on for the local community. Your time and effort is greatly appreciated. All that is left to say is that I

wish you all a merry

Christmas and look

forward to seeing

you in the new year.

Mr C Crossley Head of Abbey House

BRIDGE HOUSE NEWS

From the 30th June the cheque guarantee card will not be operational. Parents wishing to pay for

trips, events, equipment or top up their childs cafeteria card will have to do this via our secure,

easy and confidential on-line payment facility. To register visit www.magnacarta.surrey.sch.uk and

click the „Parents‟ tab, on-line payment and select the 2nd option to receive your Student Link Code. Alternatively, cash

payments can be handed in at reception, in a sealed envelope clearly marked with your childs name, tutor group and the

name of the trip/event. If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact Mrs J Eveleigh on Ext 261.

You may have noticed some of the teachers with crazy and silly moustaches. “Movember” is an event to raise awareness and funds for men‟s health issues, such as prostate cancer.

Some of our Bridge tutors and out Head of House Mr McEnroe decided to take part in this world wide event and raised lots of money for cancer research. Bridge also did their annual fundraiser on Friday 18th November called “Minute To Win It”. It is a popular

TV show and Bridge decided

to make their own version in the school theatre. The TV game show consists of different competitors being made to do silly things to win money. It was a great success and raised over £300 for White Lodge – thanks to everyone who took part and who bought a ticket! Andrew Simpson (Bridge prefect) Bridge has had an amazing start to this year‟s inter-house competition, winning half of all the events so far! In netball, the Year 8s and Year 10s were convincing winners, while the Year 7s were unlucky to lose the final to Thames. In football, the Year 11 team thrashed Magna in the final, six-nil...and they were lucky to get nil! Bridge has supplied a lot of the key players in school teams who have continued to dominate Surrey leagues and cup competitions, including our amazing Year 10 netball team, who are still unbeaten after three-and-a-half years! Charlie Barnes (Bridge Sports Captain)

Banks scrap cheque guarantee cards

8

This year Thames House has chosen to work with a team of five Senior House Prefects, led by Yasmin Mehmet and Alex Jones. The three other members of the team are Rosie Brown, Andrew Horgan and Alex Potts. These five students have been busy taking on board a number of initiatives for the House, including putting together the article you are reading. We are also proud to announce that Thames, once again, has the honour of having a House member with an overall School position of responsibility: Katie Eveleigh who is School Sports Captain this year. House Sports Captains, Alice Carr and Nicky Clarke, have already made a great effort to organise and motivate our inter-house teams. They would like to say well done to all Thames students for competing in all interhouse competitions so far and we hope this continues throughout the school year. A special mention goes out to the Year 10 and Year 9 Boys‟ football teams, for winning their respective inter-house competitions. Currently we are third in the inter-house results, so let‟s make a push and get up to 1st where we belong. Thank you to year 7, 8 and 9 students for sending in their posters during European Languages Week. We won the award for the best poster, so a big congratulation goes out to Lucille Pacoud in 7TA and also to runner up, Ellie Tayler in 8TB. Thames also had the most entries

for the Modern Foreign Languages Week Competition, so well done for that. We have fundraising competitions in the second week of the new term in January, which will contribute to the Thames house charities, both at home and abroad. All will be revealed, but we can assure you it is not to be missed. Tickets will cost £1, so to be sure to have your £1 ready for collection when tickets are on sale. February will also see Thames House selling roses and carnations for Valentine‟s Day, which will again contribute to our fundraising efforts, so please be ready to support your House in these events. Thames house would like to wish everyone a very happy

Christmas. Mrs P Ball Head of Thames House

THAMES HOUSE NEWS

MAGNA THAMES

MAGNA HOUSE NEWS

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This year Magna House has had a brilliant year in inter-house and we would like to

thank every student who participated in the events. Due to this great commitment we managed to compete in every inter-house tournament. That means we have always gained points

towards retaining the inter-house cup. So far the year 11,10,9 and 8 boys have all

got to the finals in inter-house football and the year 7s‟ have yet to compete. We are confident that they know what is expected of them! The girls fought hard throughout the netball competitions, always gaining points. A special mention to the year 8 girls

who got to the final. In the summer we successfully defended our Sports Day title, winning for the 6th time in a row. We hope to continue our domination of the other houses and make it seven in a row this year. Alas, we will not be taking part, however we trust that as we watch from the sidelines years 7-10 will maintain our winning recorded. Another thank you goes out to all the supporters of Magna House. The „Red Army‟ have been at every match supporting our teams: an amazing Magna presence cheering on and giving encouragement. We look forward to all of Magna House participating in future inter-house events in the New Year, be it taking part or cheering on. A big thank you from us and let us try and stay number 1! Sophie James & Jade Maybey Magna House Sports captains

On Tuesday 15th November several of our talented musicians performed in an intimate concert in T1, showcasing their talent and musical ability. For students in Years 10 and 11 studying BTEC Music this was a crucial part of their coursework as they have to perform solos and ensembles in front of an audience to fulfil two units of work in the BTEC course, and for the Year 9 students this was a good way of preparing for the future. Students from Year 7 through to Year 11 went on stage and sang, played and worked together. They all performed brilliantly and deserve utmost praise for their efforts. Miss Claringbull – Head of Music

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE EVENING

NOT FOR GIRLS!

Throughout this half term I have been working with students from both the Hythe School and Thorpe Lea School in preparation for our various Christmas Concerts. On Thursday 8th December students from all three schools will be leading the carols and performing songs at the Christmas Tree Festival at St Paul‟s Church at 9.30am. In preparation for this I have been rehearsing with students from our Primary Schools and will be running a Christmas Song Composition workshop here at TMCS on Thursday 1st December where our students will work alongside those from the Hythe. Our pianists both from TMCS and from our feeder Primary Schools have been rehearsing hard, with support from their Surrey Arts instrumental teachers, ready for our Christmas Piano Concert on Tuesday 6th December which will take place in R1. Julie Aherne from Surrey Arts first came up with the idea of a piano

concert a year ago and these have taken place termly since. Students perform to each other and their parents in a small, supportive environment and have the opportunity to show off their achievements! On Wednesday 14th December at 7.30pm we have our annual Christmas Concert in the school theatre. We decided this year to use the Theatre so that we can combine the traditional and secular music favoured by the students plus use our stage for a staff nativity

play, reminding our audience of the reasons behind the festivities of Christmas. Students have been composing their own music, rehearsing covers of songs and generally working very hard in preparation for this and I hope that we will be able to fill the theatre with a supportive audience, all in fine voice to join in with our community carols. Miss Claringbull

MUSIC PRIMARY SCHOOL WORKSHOPS

On Saturday 15th October 2011 some of our musically minded male members of staff gave up their day to run our first ever “Not for Girls” Rock School. Eighteen male

students took part in workshops and jam sessions throughout the day, supported by Mr Rybinski,

Mr Hollinshead, Mr Cox and Mr Cooper. The students all had a great day and learned a lot from the experience. They are all desperate to have another session and I hope that this is something we will be able to offer in the New Year. Miss Claringbull

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Dear Parent/Carer

Penalty Notices to Address Poor Attendance at School

A Penalty Notice may be issued as an alternative to the prosecution of a parent/carer for their child‟s unauthorised absence from school and will be used by Surrey County Council in the following cir-cumstances :-

1. Pupils identified by police and education welfare officers engaged on Truancy Patrols and who have incurred unauthorised absences.

2. Unauthorised holidays in term time (5 days or 10 sessions or more). In such cases the Head teacher/Governing Body may request that the Local Authority issue a Penalty Notice. Warnings will not be given where it can be shown that parents have been notified that such absences will not be authorised.

3. The issue of a Penalty Notice will also be considered where it is judged that a parent is failing to ensure their child's regular school attendance. This will be considered if the attendance is below 85% and there are 10 or more unauthorised sessions in the previous half term, which may include a pupil arriving late after close of registration.

If you believe at any stage that your child‟s absence from school may leave you liable to receive a Penalty Notice, it is extremely important that you take action without delay to secure their regular attendance. If you have any questions or require further support to achieve an improvement, please contact the school or the education welfare officer.

Penalty Notice relating to Exclusions

If a child is excluded from school, Section 103 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 places a duty on parents/carers to ensure that their child is not in a public place without justifiable cause dur-ing school hours. This duty applies to the first five days of each exclusion. Failure to do so will ren-der the parent/carer liable to a Penalty Notice. (Alternative education provision will be made avail-able from the sixth day of any exclusion.)

AMOUNT PAYABLE FOR A PENALTY NOTICE

The amount payable for a Penalty Notice issued in any of the above circumstances is £50 if paid within 28 days of receipt of the Notice, rising to £100 if paid after 28 days but within 42 days. If the Penalty Notice is not paid, the recipient will be prosecuted in the Magistrates Court for the offence for which the Notice was originally issued.

Advice and support is available from an Education Welfare Officer by contacting your local Educa-tion Office as follows :-

North West - Tel: 01483 519900 South West - Tel: 01483 517900 North East - Tel: 01372 833000 South East - Tel: 01737 737600

ATTENDANCE

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During November Year 8 have been involved in a link project with Leisure Services at Runnymede Borough Council. Funding has been allocated to improve the facilities at Pooley Green Recreational Ground and RBC

have developed resources for the students to use in order to get some design ideas!

Students have been working with both their Geography Teachers and representatives from RBC to plan how the open space should look in the future, taking into account the needs of the local community. This has included

facilities for children, teens and adults. Students have been involved in planning a new play ground,

skate park and use of the open space. Leisure Services now have over 100 plans from our students with a range of designs from which to find inspiration for the final design! They will return in the Spring Term to ask for feedback from students about their draft plans: a true team effort to local planning in our community! Well done to Year 8 for some fantastic and creative ideas! Mrs J Hanson

It has been a very busy term for the English department! Year seven were welcomed to the school with a visit from author S.C. Ransom. The very successful

novelist spoke to the year group about her books for teenagers, the people who inspired her to write, the fact that she managed to write an entire novel on her

Blackberry and her favourite literary characters of all time. We then celebrated National Poetry Day on Thursday 6th October

with a visit from poet Coral Rumble. This year‟s theme was „Games‟ and Coral worked with six different English classes.

The students played games with Coral to extend their vocabularies and learn to use similes and metaphors. Coral

encouraged them all to write imaginative poetry and some of the work they produced was outstanding. Miss F. Jordan

PROFESSIONAL WRITERS VISIT THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

Year 11 Geographers started their final year of study with a day trip to Windsor and Ascot. The aim of the trip was to give them an opportunity to gather primary data for their Controlled Assessment, in which they compared the services which were available at the two settlements. In the run-up to the trip, the students planned the data collection activities and researched the towns. This ensured that they were fully prepared for the day out. The students spent the morning in Windsor, completing questionnaires, land-use surveys and producing field-sketches (although they also found time for a little sight-seeing – they managed to watch the Changing of the Guard!). Our Geographers then jumped onto the bus and headed to Ascot in order to complete the same activities and to grab lunch. Well done Year 11 for the hard work

that you put in, and good luck for your

Controlled Assessments! Mrs Woodman

S.C.Ransom Coral Rumble

YEAR 8 GET PLANNING! YEAR 11 GEOGRAPHERS TAKE ON WINDSOR & ASCOT

The Magna Carta School offers many enriching off-site trips to support and underpin learning. When your child is offered an off-site activity you will be contacted by letter providing full details of the activity, cost and a consent form for completion and return by a specific deadline. All contributions are voluntary, however, if insufficient payments are received the activity will be cancelled. Should you have any problems making payments then please contact the trip leader who will give further advice. To make payments for trips or supplies please use one of the methods listed below. Cheque method:- Make cheques payable to The Magna Carta School putting your bank card number, student name and what the payment is for on the reverse. Students should then hand all payments into the Student Services window in a sealed envelope clearly marked with their name. Online method:- Please contact Mrs J Eveleigh on by e-mail at

jeveleigh@magnacarta.surrey.sch.uk for your unique student link code. Once you have this information you can use the link on our website to process secure payments for all school items that you need to pay for.

Paying For School Trips & Supplies

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International School Award (ISA) is an accreditation scheme for international work within the curriculum. It is open to all schools within the UK and the award recognises good practice in international work. Hence, ISA is designed for schools who demonstrate an international ethos throughout the school. I am pleased to announce that after gaining the Foundation International School Award (March 2011), TMCS has now achieved Intermediate Status. By gaining this award we have shown that we have substantial curriculum- based international activities and a link with two schools overseas, one in Germany and the other in Argentina. The Modern Foreign Languages Department has already begun to carry out collaborative work with these schools and will continue to do so in the future. In order to gain this status we have drafted a policy setting out international aims and produced the results of an

international audit. The school now has an international coordinator appointed with a draft job description (Miss Götze). MFL has completed at least 3 curriculum based activities with an international dimension involving 50% of children across the school in the past 12 months. Examples of this are The European Day of Languages, overseas trips and continuing with the Pen Pals Scheme. This award has been achieved with the help of a number of staff and in particular I would like to thank the MFL Department for taking on the challenge of supporting this ongoing project and Claire Erasmus for organising and running the highly successful Africa Week at TMCS. Our next step forward will be looking at how we could take on the Full International School Award, which will be a whole school approach as it is cross-curricular, involving most subjects and pupils, a very exciting prospect! Cornelia Götze International Coordinator and Acting Head of MFL

TMCS- INTERMEDIATE INTERNATIONAL

On November 14th two year 10 students will take part in the ‘off by heart

Shakespeare competition’. Tanya Hobbs and Amy Rose will perform a monologue to a judging panel at the BBC.

The Drama department would like to wish them all

the best of luck with this.

SISTER ACT MEETS BOL LYWOOD

Our last Senior Citizen Show was held on Friday November 4th in the Theatre. The theme for this show was all songs from any of the Sister Act Films or Musical and all dances had a Bollywood theme. There were 40 students involved in the performance and another 5 students who helped with lighting and with the catering across all the year groups. These students give all of their own time for these shows, ehearsing during lunch times and after school. This show was a big hit with the Senior Citizens as they found the dances extremely colourful. The students supplied all their costumes and several commented afterwards that this was our best show so far. After the show the Senior Citizens were invited into the Magna Cafe

for refreshments. We were extremely fortunate to have Matt Lapinskas

as a guest to draw the raffle. Matt is an ex-student and is

currently playing Anthony Moon on EastEnders.

Mrs T Mercki

Our Christmas Show for the Senior Citizens was

held on Friday December 9th. We had to cancel last

year‟s show because of the snow. It was the 70th

Anniversary of the London Blitz in 1940 so we

decided to go ahead with the show this Christmas

instead. Mrs. Teresa Merecki wrote a short play

about a family caught up in the Blitz and this was

followed by students singing songs from the 1940s

including some Christmas songs. Then the audience

were served mince pies and beverages in the Magna

Cafe. Mrs. Merecki would like to say a huge thank

you to all the students who took part in these two

shows. Their commitment and exuberance is a

credit to them all and they are a joy to work with.

CHRIRTMAS UNDER FIRE

DANCE SUCCESS

Ryan Brown, an ex-student, (Year 11 2011) has been accepted for professional dance training at one of Europe‟s premier schools for dance, the Central School of Ballet (CSB) in London. Ryan aged 16, has been dancing since he was nine years old. He has now completed his first few weeks at CSB. Ryan was one of only 38 pupils accepted for a place on this three year degree course, from a list of 420 hopeful applicants. The school would like to wish Ryan every success in his chosen path of further education. Mrs G Steer

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It was the most successful year yet for the Magna Carta students as

they excelled at the annual Cross Country Championships. Despite the

windy conditions, students displayed great athletic ability and positive

attitudes as they battled it out at Laleham Park. Outstanding individual

performances came from Mia Bruce, James Goodey, Sophie Bigmore

and Max Woodley who all won their

individual races. Overall, the

following age groups were ranked 1st

overall: Year 10 + 11 boys and girls.

As an overall school performance,

we came an impressive 2nd and

bagged 5 trophies in total, which the

students should be immensely proud

of. Well done! Miss J Weekes

To celebrate Christmas and encourage physical

exercise: students took part in a festive fun run on

Tuesday 13th December. They were encouraged to

walk, jog or run a 1.2 mile course and to raise

their own sponsorship money for “Sense”- the

national leading charity for the deafblind. Students

were spurred on by Miss Weekes from the PE

Department, who is running the London

Marathon in April next year, and by a fantastic

group of staff that made the smooth running of

the event possible. Awards were given to those

students for fastest times, best dressed and most

amount in sponsorship raised. The exact amount

is yet to be announced but it was a successful

event that all students thoroughly enjoyed.

Miss J Weekes

Matt Midgley, an ex

student, (Year 11 2011) has been selected to

represent England in the

under 18 basketball

team. Wow.! How impressive is

that!! We wish you every

success.

England Under 18 Basket ball

The PE department have had a great start to the year and are on target to beat last years record breaking tally of 34 trophies. All five netball teams are currently unbeaten and the Year 11 girls are already district champions,

having won all their league games. The Yr10 team broke the school record for the highest score in a single netball match, beating St Pauls 59-0 in 40mins. The Year 9 and 10 netball teams did very well representing the school at the Surrey County Netball Tournaments.

The boys‟ Football teams are also currently unbeaten in the leagues. The Yr10 Boys team are the ones to watch as they are due to play in the quarter finals of

the English Schools Football Association Cup very soon. All other years are successfully playing in the Surrey County Cup competitions. So far in the 7 a-side football tournaments we have won the yr8 boys tournament and have come runners up in many others. Inter-house sports have been going well this year: Bridge House won the Netball overall with Abbey

2nd , Thames 3rd and Magna 4th. In the boys 5 a-side Football Magna won overall with Bridge 2nd, Thames 3rd and Abbey 4th.

Yr 10 Boys Football

Yr 11 Girls Netball

Yr 8 Boys Football

SPORTS NEWS

District Cross

Country

Christmas Fun Run

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To pay for the year book or prom you will need to log on the school web site and follow directions found under the parent tab. Due to changes in banking procedures we are now no longer able to accept any further cheque payments. If you wish to make a payment by cash it is strongly advised that you call into the school to make this payment yourself, obtaining a receipt at the time. If you are sending a cash payment in with your child then please put this in a sealed envelope clearly marked with „ year book‟ / „ Prom‟ and the student name. Orders made using the online payment system do not need a separate order form sent into the school office.

Year Book Order Form

Please reserve me ............ copies of the 2012 Year book at the price of £18 each. Student Name…………....……….. Tutor group …............... Payment enclosed £ cash Payment made on line £

YEAR 11 STUDENT INFORMATI ON

PAYING FOR - YEAR BOOK & PROM

Each year the school produces a year book for the Year 11s to buy before leaving. This year‟s book will once again be an all-colour edition and will hopefully be the best ever. These books are a limited edition: letters were posted out in November giving the opportunity to purchase a copy at the 2011 book price of £15. I hope that everyone who wanted to buy a book has made use of this valuable discount! Any orders still not

placed will cost the 2012 price of £18 . To reserve your copy please use our online payment system (details below). Books will be allocated on a strictly first ordered basis and will not be available later for reprint. We would like to include as many of your photos as possible. A

few ideas of photos that we are looking to include are: Parties, Friends, Clubs, past times & funny photos to name just a few. Please make sure you send in photos that you would like to have considered for inclusion by the end of January. The year book staff are working on pages now and so the earlier you send your photos in the better chance they have of making this year‟s edition. If you would still like to order a year book for 2012 then please use the order form below. Mrs G Steer

As the Christmas Newsletter goes to print, the Y11 Entrance Exams are upon us and the summer exams won‟t be far behind! These exams are important because, together with classroom performance, they provide an overview of current attainment and help us to decide level of entry to the exams. There will be an Entrance Exam Results Day on 30th January, where students will receive their results and experience what it might be like in August. The Year 11 Parents‟ Evening follows on 2nd February 2012. A tracking programme has been in place since the start of the year to monitor academic progress, and this will be updated in January with an analysis of the Entrance Exam results in order to provide us and our students with a clear picture of their progress. A mentoring programme for a group of students has also been set up to help them achieve their full potential next summer, providing support with revision timetables, study skills and time management. As in recent years, students will not have study leave: the Year

11 timetable will be reorganised to maximise revision time with

subject teachers prior to and during the exams and students are

expected to attend school every day. Students will be kept

informed of the timetable in the run-up to the exams. Mrs R Dunn

YEAR 11 ENTRANCE EXA MS

This year, the Prom will be held at the fabulous London Heathrow Renaissance Hotel, on 24th July 2011. This venue has been a favourite over the past couple of years as the feedback from ex-students and staff has always been very positive and the evening very enjoyable. As last year, all year 11 students earn their „Passport to the Prom‟ within school. This proved to be very popular as the whole event was seen as a fantastic success. We do not envisage the Prom ticket exceeding £40. A non-refundable deposit of £20 is due by Friday 13th January 2012. with the balance to be confirmed at a later date. Mrs Elliott

YEAR BOOK

PROM

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DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Term Starts 4.1.12

Yr 10 parent

evening 19.1.12

Yr 11 parent

evening 2.2.12

Yr 9 Options evening 9.2.12

Have you ever thought that it would be nice to enter a monthly draw whilst benefiting the school? We are looking to raise funds that can be used to enhance student life here at school and are offering you the opportunity of becoming a member of the 1215 club. As a member you will be entered into a monthly draw, three prizes will be drawn every month for £25, £50 or even £150. However, for June (Magna Carta Day) & December (Christmas) there will be one lucky winner of £500, who knows you could be our lucky winner. All you need to do is complete the form below and return it to student services. Congratulations to our 1215 Club members who have won cash prizes and many thanks to all members for their continued support. If you would like a chance of winning one of these cash prizes in the following months you need to become a 1215 club member, please see the application below.

To receive further details and a standing order mandate please complete the details below and return this form to the school office, the attention of Mrs Eveleigh. Many thanks for your support.

.Name..................................................Address ................................................................................ .........................................................................................................................................................................

Thanks to all students who performed during Open Evening. Visitors were very impressed. Students from years 9,10 & 11 also performed for years 7 and 8 to showcase their jazz dances. The students all performed very well. A special congratulations to

the year 9 students who performed for the first time to such an audience. Future events We will be running a trip for years 9,10&11 to see Matthew Bourne‟s „Nutcracker!‟ at Woking theatre in February. Year 10s will also have participated in a work shop with the company to learn a contemporary dance from the show. Coming soon... BTEC Dance student will be performing their Christmas show on Thursday 15th December at 6.30pm. Tickets will be on sale from the 1st December. The show will include Jazz and Urban dances from all BTEC students and is being co-produced and directed by four year 11 girls. We look forward to seeing you there! Mrs Chawla

DRAMA

THE 1215 CLUB PRIZE NAME

September 2011 Draw

1st £150 K Biss

2nd £ 50 C Febry

3rd £ 25 E Gibson

October 2011 Draw

1st £150 IL Hobbs

2nd £ 50 J Walker

3rd £ 25 P Norris

November 2011 Draw

1st £150 Joe Jurkiewicz

2nd £ 50 David Ajamian

3rd £ 25 Gemma Cockrell

December 2011 Draw

Denise Keable One Prize of

£500

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