Dear Parents and Carers

Welcome back! The students have returned to the school looking very smart in their uni-forms, full of energy and eager to give of their best, and I took the Y7 to Y11 assemblies this week and challenged our students to look at their goals for 2020 and beyond.

ATD Parent Survey Once again, thank you to all parents who participated in this survey. We are very pleased with the final results, and I encourage you to view them—click here. If you have any concerns, please raise them with us as soon as possible.

OAP Christmas Tea Party Your extreme generosity in providing goodies for our old age pensioners also afforded us the oppor-tunity to provide some treats for our local food bank, and the proceeds of the raffle held on the evening of the concert helped us to purchase dinners for the less fortunate over the festive season. A huge thank your kind-ness!

This week, we hosted 25 Korean Teachers They toured the school, joined some lessons and had a Q&A session with staff. Thank you to Ms Price for organising the event, and to all the staff and students who ensured that their visit was successful. I have it on good authori-ty that they were very impressed with the school, staff and students.

We are excited to announce a Spring Charity Art Auction organised by the Grey Court Education Fund, the PA and hosted by the Richmond Golf Club on 25 March 2020. Some amazing works have been generously donat-ed by professional, prize-winning and local artists. The headline Lot is ‘Richmond Hill at Sunset’. See below a donation from Christian Furr, whose work has hung in the Saatchi Gallery, National Portrait Gallery and The Vatican.

You will have received a parent mail about the event, and there is additional information for you to read on page 2+3 of this bulletin.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE Page

Charity Art Exhibition 2-3

Y7+Y8 4-5

Y10+Y11 5

Sixth Form 6-13

International Page 14

Attendance + PA News 15

Wellbeing 15

Sport Stag + TT Links 16-18

VPA Notice Board 19

Quick Links 19

Book Stag 20-27

Friday, 10 January 2020 Chris Rhodes, Headteacher

TERM DATES

Spring Term 2020 Mon, 6 Jan to Fri, 3 Apr

HALF TERM BREAK

Mon, 17 Feb to Fri, 21 Feb

INSET

Mon, 24 Feb (whole school except for Y11 and some selected

Y12+Y13)

EASTER BREAK

Mon, 6 Apr to Fri, 17 Apr

KEY DATES

Y12 Mock Exam Week: 13 - 16 Jan

QUICK LINKS

School Calendar 2020-2021 click here

EARLY CLOSURE Thursday, 6 February at 12:25pm

On Thursday, 6 February, we will be holding our Sixth Form Open Evening. Please note that school will close at 12:25pm.

We wish our Y12 all the very best for their mock exams which start on Monday, 13 Janu-ary. Lastly, should you wish to meet with me about your child, please make an appoint-ment with my PA.

Kind regards

Chris Rhodes—Headteacher

Save the Date Sport Celebration Dinner 2020 1 July Brand new venue and menu Details to be released

very soon And the winner is...

Richmond Golf Club hosts Spring Charity Art Auction, backed by local star artists

Question: What do celebrity portrait artist, Christian Furr (illustrator), Jane Hudspith, and “Sketch Club” co -founder, Jonathan Barker, have in common?

Answer: They’re among the artists who have donated pieces to the “Spring Charity Art Auction”, hosted by Rich-mond Golf Club on Wednesday, 25 March.

Christian Furr was just 28 when he was commissioned to paint an official portrait of the Queen and remains the youngest artist to have done so. His work has hung in the Saatchi Gallery, National Portrait Gallery and The Vati-can and is in the private collections of (among others) Sir Peter Blake, Michael Caine and HRH the Duke of Edin-burgh. Christian has donated a signed Artist’s Proof of ‘Richmond Hill at Sunset’ (below).

Illustrator, Jane Hudspith, has worked on children’s books, poster campaigns and pieces for the V&A. From “Chicken Licken in Africa” to the “City Escape” and “Ceramic Poppies” her work features widely. Jane has donated “Blue Nude Reclining”.

Jonathan Barker co-founded the Teddington Sketch Club, run from the iconic Boathouse. He has donated this sketch of Teddington Lock, which won the 2019 Diana Armfield RA Competition for drawing from observation. These works are among the featured lots being auctioned during the evening.

The Affordable Postcard Art Sale Will you secure a hidden gem?

The event will also host an Affordable Postcard Art Sale - Royal Academy style - your opportunity to purchase a piece of genuine art for poster prices.

Each postcard will be displayed anonymously All cards will be available to purchase Some mystery cards will be contributed by notable artists and celebrities; others by parents, students or staff Will you take home an artist’s original?

The Affordable Postcard Art Sale is open for entries All contributions are welcome

Unleash your inner Hirst; embrace your latent Escher. Whatever your style, if you wish to contribute a piece to our Postcard Art sale:

Collect a labelled envelope containing your piece of card for your finished work from the Main school reception, Sixth Form Reception or the Grey Court Art Department.

Complete your artwork on one side of the postcard. Any material (ink, gouache, pastel, acrylic, paper etc.) is permissible provided it is completed on the card provided. Put your details on the back of your finished work, pop it back in the envelope.

Label the envelope ‘ART SUBMISSION’ and return to Grey Court, marked for the attention of: Madeline Thomas, Grey Court Education Fund by Friday 21 February.

Secret stars We are on the look out for more secret stars to join those already lined up to contribute. So, if you have a famous great aunt or cousin who can be persuaded to doodle, we will send a postcard directly to them. Just email (mthomas@greycourt.org.uk) and we’ll do the rest.

Thank you … and enjoy getting creative!

The Spring Charity Art Auction

in aid of Grey Court Education Fund

takes place on

Wednesday, 25 March

at The Richmond Golf Club

from 6pm - 8pm. Tickets cost £12+VAT and are available through Eventbrite. Click here to purchase your ticket. Cover price includes a welcome drink, canapés, live music, pre-auction viewing, auction cata-logue and access to the auction itself.

#Y7 Welcome back and Happy New Year 2020! I hope you had a very enjoyable and restful holiday. It is a new year heralding a fresh start for us all. However it is important to remember that life is full of fresh starts, be it a new day, a new hour or a new lesson! If you feel that you haven't made the most of your first term here at Grey Court—or your new year, now is the time to imple-ment positive change. To help you do this, here are some suggestions of how you can help yourself: Speech - What you say to yourself and others matters. Time - Is an investment. What takes up most of your time? Don't waste it, invest it. Every minute, every day counts. Attitude - What perspective do you approach situations with? What is your default attitude? Reactions - How do you react to situations? With anger or with self-control? Talents - Are you going to use and develop your talents this year? I would like to take this opportunity to share some ex-citing news about one of our Y7 students, Indie Keig-Pawsookar, 7M was invited to London's New Year’s Day Parade by the Mayor of Richmond via his music school OKMusicTrust, which is a charity supported by the Mayor. Indie plays the piano at OKMT & has per-formed at Christmas concerts held at the Hammond The-atre. The Mayor invited three OKMT students to be part of the Richmond float, a fabulous horse drawn carriage supported by Richmond Brass Band & Poppy Factory. It was also special since it is the first time that Richmond has taken part in a decade and Richmond came '2nd place' at the parade winning a whopping £9000 for the Mayor's two charities! What a fantastic opportunity Indie and well done for being such a brilliant role model!

W h o a r e O K M T ?

T h e O t a k a r K r a u s M u s i c T r u s t ( O K M T ) i s b a s e d i n t h e L o n d o n B o r o u g h o f R i c h m o n d a n d w a s s e t u p i n 1 9 9 1 b y D r M a r g a r e t L o -b o , a n d h e r h u s b a n d W a l t e r , t o p r o v i d e m u s i c t h e r a p y f o r p e o p l e o f a l l a g e s w h o h a v e p h y s i c a l , p s y c h o l o g i c a l , l e a r n i n g , b e -h a v i o u r a l o r e m o t i o n a l d i f f i c u l t i e s . Dr Margaret Lobo founded the Otakar Kraus Music Trust in 1991 in memory of opera singer and voice teach-er, Otakar Kraus. Otakar Kraus helped Margaret Lobo, also an opera singer, to recover her voice after it was damaged. Margaret qualified as a music therapist at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1987, and with her husband Walter, built a music studio in their back garden, dedicating her life to providing music therapy through an extraordinary range of projects designed to help people with physical, psychological, behavioural and learning difficulties, welcoming everyone, including some who were considered beyond reach. Together with a small team of dedicated therapists and staff, she built up the work of the Trust from modest beginnings to an organisation operating in 15 venues in South West London providing over 3,000 music therapy sessions annually. During that time, she also introduced the first clinical music therapy into India and Nepal, founding The Music Therapy Trust (India) and The Music Therapy Trust Nepal. Margaret was awarded a Fellowship from the Royal So-ciety of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (FRSA) in 2007, and in 2010 received an Honorary Doctorate from Middlesex University for her major contribution to the community in the UK, India and Nepal. In 2017 she was chosen to appear in the Independent’s Happy List, which honours inspirational people doing extraordinary things for others, and in 2018 she was honoured with a Points of Light Award from the Prime Minister. This Award recognises outstanding individual volunteers who are making a change in their community. Margaret acted as the unpaid Director of OKMT for over 25 years, handing over the reins in December 2017 to our new Director, Clare Lawrence, and we are delighted she agreed to become a Patron of OKMT, where she continues to act as an advocate for the Trust, promoting its values, its benefits and its contribution to our local communities. Margaret also continues to support the spread of music therapy in India.

Ms White, Head of Y7

Mr Gordon Walker, Assistant Headteacher

Welcome back to a new year and a new decade! Mr Rhodes took the assemblies this week and he asked the students how they want to be remembered for this decade: this is their decade. Slightly frighteningly for some, was the realisation that they will be 24 - 25 years’ old by the end of the 2020's. Mr Rhodes chal-lenged the students to try to be the best that they could be each day, week, month and year, and to focus on making the right decisions both in and out of school. We have been impressed by the uniform and calm approach that students in both Y10 and Y11 have made to the term, congratulations to them all! This will be a defining term for our Y11 students. There are 12 weeks of teaching until the East-er holidays and each and every lesson really does count. We usually see a shift in focus and approach for Y11's in this term as they make the necessary adjust-ments, and we hope that this year is no exception.

DIARY DATES for Y11s Monday, 20 January: Y11 Results Day: results will be handed out during P6. Students will receive their results in a format that aims to mimic their actual results day in summer. In previous years, this has had a significant impact on the students as they take stock of their areas of strength and those that need develop-ment.

C A L L I N G A L L Y 7 a n d Y 8 G I R L S

#Y10+#Y11

Thursday, 23 January from 4.30pm: Y11 Par-ents’ Evening: we always have an excellent turnout and we expect the same this year. Students will receive their appointment sheets this week. In the packs that parents will receive on the evening, please look out for three pieces of extra infor-mation:

A reflection/information sheet for each student to make notes on at each of their appointments

Information about 4 apps that students can use to enhance their revision

Information about the Easter revision sessions

Grey Court Sixth Form Application Deadline A reminder that, if you want to apply for a place at Grey Court Sixth Form for September 2020, you must submit an application before 18.00 on Wednesday, 15 January 2020. Any applications received after the deadline will be marked as ‘Late Applicant’ and this may affect your eligibility for a place if we have to initiate our oversubscription criteria. If you would like to apply use the link on the Sixth Form section of the school website or click here for the link.

Many thanks from the Sixth Form Team.

Thin Ice and a Bootiful day Pampering Hampers and Stars of the Week! This has to be one of my favourite GC6 pictures of the last decade! As part of the Grey Court Edge Volun-teering programme Y12 students collected small gifts and food items to fill several Christmas ham-pers. These were decorated lovingly by Ms Mannion’s minions and deposited in the boot of her car. Ms Mannion then grew wings and delivered the gifts to the Vineyard centre before Christmas where they were gratefully received by members of the homeless community. Many thanks to Ms Mannion for leading this initia-tive so thoughtfully.

Ice skating at Hampton Court Roxana, Izzy and

Alana all seem to be having fun at our annual ice skating extravaganza to Hampton Court. This year 68 students attended the event and there were no reported injuries – a Grey Court first!

#SixthForm

UCAS Application Deadline Please note that the deadline for University applications via UCAS is on Wednesday at 6pm. Several reminder emails have been sent out to students who have not yet ap-plied. We recommend that all students go through the UCAS application this year so that they have a reference and personal statement on our system and are provided with bespoke help and guidance from our team. Regrettably, we cannot provide students with help and advice with personal statements and refer-ences when they leave Grey Court as we will be flat out helping next year’s cohort of 13s! In addition, if students don’t apply invariably they will decide to make an application in August on re-ceipt of outstanding results. However, if a refer-ence and application aren’t on the system it be-comes very difficult to provide a thorough refer-ence that is tailored to the student’s strengths in the middle of August.

Y12 and Y13 Parents’ Evening The Y12 and Y13 parents’ evenings will be held on Thursday, 6 Feb-ruary, and will take place from 4.30-8.30pm. The evening is intended as a platform for targeted dis-cussion about how students can improve their per-formance and realise their potential.

Y12 Mock Exam Week Monday, 13 January to Friday, 17 January 2020 The results of these assessments will be released to you on Monday, 3 February 2020, at 12.20pm in the Sixth

Form. These results will be monitored very careful-ly. They will inform us and support our decision-making in a number of areas:

That you are secure and progressing well in your subject.

Areas where additional support is required.

In extreme cases, these results could be used as evidence that your programme of study is inappro-priate for you and should be changed.

Students are required to secure a minimum of an “E” grade in order to be entered for the As examina-tions in the Summer. Students who do not secure an “E” grade in the January and Easter set of mocks will sit internal examinations in late June 2020.

Your examination performance will be discussed with your parents during parents’ consultation evening on Thursday, 6 February 2020.

Although this can be a stressful time, I am confident that for the vast majority of students, these results will confirm that they are making excellent progress in their subjects and will boost their confidence ahead of the summer exams.

Assessment Week Procedure Y12 Assessment exam dates are: Monday, 13 Jan-uary 2020 – Friday, 17 January 2020. During your assessment week you will sit the examina-tions in your normal timetabled lessons when they are in the BLOCK of 4. You will then be al-lowed to study at home if you wish to OR use the school as a study base and work in your timeta-bled lessons. The exception is for mathematics lessons, which will continue as normal. Absence from Assessments Should you be un-well on the day of an assessment, a parent/carer should phone early in the morning, so that your assessment can be re-scheduled on your return. Contact: Ms Buckley on 020 8948 1173 or email: pbuckley@greycourt.org.uk Timetables Your mock exam will take place within your designated lesson when it takes place in the four period block. Again the exception will be mathematics. This will take place during en-richment on Wednesday afternoon.

In the exam room Once you enter the exam room, you will be under exam conditions and you should not communicate with anyone other than your teacher. You will not be allowed to leave the exam room early, even if you have finished your exam so please do not ask! There will be no toilet breaks within the last 10 minutes of the finishing time. If you have extra time or super-vised rest breaks you can remain at the end of standard time. Please note that this may mean that the exam continues into break. Arriving Late If you are not in school for the start of an examination without contact from your family, we will try to contact you and your parent/carer to remind you where you should be. Please make your way to the Sixth Form recep-tion as quickly as possible after receiving such a telephone call. If you are late, come to the Sixth Form reception as soon as you can, and Ms McNicol/Ms Buckley will contact the exam officer. Lap-tops If you use a laptop to type your exami-nations you can bring in our own lap-top or col-lect a lap-top from the front desk. Please remem-ber to email your examination answers to your teacher at the end of the exam.

Y12 Work Experience Opportunities Y12 students should be in the process of organising their work expe-rience from 13 to 17 July 2020. After the exams, we will follow up to see what plans they have put in place. Detailed below are various work experience opportu-nities they can apply to: Law The 36 Group (Barrister’s in London) are offering 10 students the opportunity to visit their office, speak to Barristers, go in to court and then they will have 2 work experience placements. This will take place on Wednesday, 12 February, from 10am to 1pm in Lon-don. If you are interested in attending, please email Miss Corrighan bcorrighan@greycourt.org.uk Kingston Hospital To apply please send your CV and a covering letter/statement to Miss Corrighan: bcor-righan@greycourt.org.uk by 13 January 2020. Student Ladder Advertises work experience vacan-cies in Media, Law, Banking, Digital, Business, Science and Engineering https://www.studentladder.co.uk/

Y12 Subject Specific Information

Journalism Opportunities 2020 Free journalism masterclass We are once again opening our London newsroom to Sixth Form students on Wednesday 19 February (12pm-4pm). Students will get the chance to talk to our award-winning journalists and training team – and more importantly, trainees currently studying on our Multimedia Journalism degree! They’ll also have a go at a couple of news writing exercises, and everyone gets feedback. If you would like to come along, please can you fill out the very short form below and email it to me: ldyer@newsassociates.co.uk I would like to attend the free journalism masterclass in London on Wednesday, 19 February (12pm-4pm) Name: School/college: Year in school/college:

INTERNATIONAL PAGE

Fiji

Fiji is a country in the South Pacific, near Australia and New Zealand, with approximately 333 islands. It's known for its rugged landscapes, palm-lined beach-es and coral reefs with clear lagoons. Its major is-lands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, contain most of the population. Viti Levu is home to the capital, Suva, a port city with British colonial architecture.

Fiji Water is a brand of bottled water derived, bottled, and shipped from Fiji. FIJI Water is different because of its extraordinary source – a protected artesian aquifer found deep underground in the remote Fiji Islands. FIJI Water is natural artesian water that has the minerals silica, magnesium, and calcium, which contributes to FIJI's soft mouth-feel and smooth taste. Rugby is the national sport in Fiji, a lot of people there grow up playing the sport using any means possible, such as a shoe instead of a rugby ball. The people feel a very strong connection with the sport. The small island nation won its first ever gold medal in the 2016 Olympics in Rugby 7s.

Fijian cuisine involves a lot of seafood but also Indian food. Some of the popular ingredients in Fijian food is coconut, cassava, sea grapes, fresh local fish, breadfruit, taro and more. In the past Fijians cooked their food in a process called lovo, which is a sort of earth oven.

Vinaka - this means thank you. 'Vinaka' for reading

International Page, created to celebrate diversity, is designed and collated by Sixth Form stu-dents as part of the school’s enrichment programme. Each week features a different country look-ing at interesting aspects of food and culture.

Preeya Nair - EAL Coordinator

#Attendance

TOP WEEKLY ATTENDANCE For the period 16 to 19 December 2019

Y7: 7 Elm 99.2% Y8: 8 Rowan & 8 Willow 100% Y9: 9 Rowan 95.5% Y10: 10 Elm 97.5% Y11: 11 Beech 96.6%

We are desperately in need of a new treasurer. Our current treasurer is stepping down from the role so if you are interested and would like more information please contact us by e-mail. Finally, please send in ALL UNWANTED XMAS GIFTS to the school reception over the next couple of weeks. We are always looking for wonderful raffle prizes. How in-credible would the odds be if you were to win back your donation. In fact, we promise a bottle of Prosecco if you ever do!

Happy New Year and New Year resolutions. If you’re off the booze, exercising, and eating healthily, you can put all that to shame come February. Join us to eat, drink and laugh (again) at our Comedy Night on Friday, 7 February. This will be hosted by Erich McElroy of Crack Comedy featuring Pete Firman, Harriet Kelsey and Stefano Paolini. Tickets are £15 and on sale via the PA website. Click here. And don’t forget to pre-order your tapas sharing platter for two £12 (meat and veggie options.) Thank you to all those of you who completed our survey. We will be in touch very soon and are looking forward to a fun-filled 2020. Calling parents who can help us out by signing up for an event or the odd bar shift. We would be delighted! Sometimes we just need to run a bar for a school event, but if you’re feeling up to taking on more and would consider running a particular event (with help from us) e.g. battle of the bands, race night, school disco etc., please contact us. The more we can plan in advance the better, and the more money we can make for school funds.

#PANews

Lou, Amira, Michaela + the team

P A M e e t i n g This will be held on Wednesday, 22 January, at 7pm in the Sixth Form Library (entrance via Strathmore carpark) All welcome!

#Wellbeing

Calm Zone: is a website that provides calming techniques, exercises, games and videos for young people to help them feel better when they feel anxious, scared or sad. Click here REACH: Richmond Borough Mind have recently launched Reach a six-week support programme for young people aged 14-18 who are struggling with anxiety, low mood, low self-esteem and anger management. Please click here for more information and details on how to sign up for the course(s).

Ms Mercer, Director of Wellbeing

The PE Department run a Sports’ Player, a Sports’ Team and a Sports’ Scholar Award of the month to recognise sporting talents. If your child achieves any outstanding sporting awards, please inform the PE Department.

#SportsWebsite&Twitter

All fixtures, team sheets and results can be accessed via the Sports Website click Sports Website

To access TEAM SHEETS you will need to enter a password. The password is: greycourtsports!

(including the explanation mark)

Click here to follow us on twitter

#SportsTimetable

Click here

#SportsStag

Save the Date Sport Celebration Dinner 2020 1 July Brand new venue and menu Details to be released very soon And the winner is...

#PlayersOfTheMonth Each session lasts 3 hours and focuses on particular skills or physical development, she then spends the weekends competing. In October, Charlotte qualified for the finals of the Win-ter Comp at High Sports in Brighton. The finals were held on 23 November and consisted of both bouldering and roped routes. Charlotte went on to finish in second place in her category. Most recently, Charlotte competed on the 7 December in the second round of Blokfest (the leading bouldering festival in the south of England) held at Flashpoint in Bristol. Charlotte finished in third. Well done Charlotte!

Charlotte Rae Y7

Charlotte is a hard-working and enthusiastic member of our sports’ scholarship programme and attends Netball and Gymnastics club. Outside of Grey Court, Charlotte is a successful rock climber. She currently trains twice a week at the White Spider Climbing centre.

Luca has had an outstanding season so far, he plays loose head prop for the team and is part of our fear-some pack that dominates teams. He has strength, power and speed, and is one of our main ball carri-ers. Luca is also a superb tackler and prides himself of his excellent defence. In addition, Luca has a great work rate and has worked extremely hard on this ele-ment of his game. Luca has scored 6 tries for the team this year and been voted MVP 5 times. Luca has also been spotted by Harlequins and has been asked to go for trials—we wish him all the best. He thoroughly deserves this award!

Luca Mohanty, Y9

The team are coached by Brentford FC and have been training very hard. They are enthusiastic and dedicat-ed, and a small number of them have also played in the U13 team. In addition, some of the girls play to-gether at Richmond Park FC and at AFC Wimbledon. They have had some outstanding wins so far over The Kingston Academy, Southfields, Surbiton and Tiffin Girls. They are currently sitting at the top of the group in the town cup and with one game left to play; they are guaranteed to progress through to the semi-finals.

#TeamsOfTheMonth

Girls’ U12 Football Team

Boys’ U12 Rugby League Squad

The team have played consistently well and this has re-sulted in them winning the South East Regional Final held at Esher RFC in December. They won all 5 matches at the competition. Their defence was outstanding and only one try was conceded throughout. They are now in the final of the competition which will be held at the London

Skolars RFC this month.

Save the Date Sport Celebration Dinner 2020 1 July Brand new venue and menu Details to be released very soon And the winner is...

Q U I C K L I N K S Summer 2020 Exam Contingency Day Letter explaining the exam contingency day for the summer 2020 exams Activities at the Ham Youth Centre Lists free activities which are held at the Ham Youth Centre Grey Court School Menus Full list of meals which are served at Grey Court

Salutations from the weekly periodical of the school library. It is a compendium of current trends and interests forwarded by the students and staff of Grey Court.

The Book Stag

Edition

xiii

Happy

Birthday

English writer A.A. Milne is best known for his children's stories about the ad-ventures of Winnie-the-Pooh. Early Life and Education A.A. Milne was born Alan Alexander Milne and was educated at Westminster School and attended the University of Cambridge's Trinity College. While at Cambridge, he studied mathematics and also edited and wrote for the student magazine Granta. Real-izing that writing was his true vocation, he moved to London after his graduation in 1903. He began writing for the literary magazine Punch in 1906, and his essays and hu-morous poetry were published in the magazine through 1914.

Wartime Service Despite being a pacifist, in 1915, Milne served in World War I, enlisting in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, and then working in the Royal Corps of Signals.

'Winnie-the-Pooh' and Other Children's Literature Milne's greatest and enduring successes were his books Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner. These two volumes told the adventures of a young boy named Christopher Robin, after Milne's own son (Christopher Robin Milne), and his animal playmates, who were inspired by the real Christopher Robin's stuffed toys. A bear named Winnie-the-Pooh was the central character, accompanied by fussy Rabbit,

gloomy donkey Eeyore, bouncy tiger Tigger, kind kangaroo Kanga and her baby Roo, wise Owl and shy Piglet. The adventures of Pooh and his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood, illustrated by artist Ernest H. Shepard, were all best-sellers and made Milne a household name.

Legacy In the 1930s and '40s, A.A. Milne returned to writing for adults, publishing novels, short-story collections and a non-fiction, anti-war book entitled Peace with Honour. He wrote his autobiography, It's Too Late Now, in 1939. Milne suffered from illness in the early 1950s and died at his home in Hartfield, East Sussex, England, on Janu-ary 31, 1956. Winnie-the-Pooh and the other characters of the Pooh stories have lived on as iconic figures in children's literature.

Book of the

Week

Dane Washington and Billy D couldn't be more different. Dane is clever and popular, but he's also a violent rebel. Billy D has Down's Syndrome, plays by the rules and hangs out with teachers in his lunch break. But Dane and Billy have more in common than they think - both their fathers are missing. Maybe they'll just have to suck up their differences and get on with helping each other find some answers. Powerful, funny, moving - the ultimate coming-of-age novel. Erin Jade Lange is the award-winning author of contemporary young adult novels, Butter, Dead Ends, Rebel Bully Geek Pariah, and The Chaos of Now. She is the winner of the Friedolin Youth Book Prize in Germany and the Sakura Medal in Japan. She has also been nominated for the Waterstones Chil-dren’s Book Prize (twice), the German Children’s Literature Award and multiple state book awards. Her debut novel was a 2013 Teens’ Top Ten Pick, and her books have appeared on several state reading lists. As a former journalist, Erin is inspired by current events and real-world issues and uses her writing to explore how those issues impact teenagers. Erin grew up in the cornfields of northern Illinois, along the Mississippi River in one of the few places it flows east to west.

Permutation

per-myoo-TAY-shun

Often major or fundamental change (as in character or condition) based primarily on rearrangement of

existent elements

Permutation has not changed all that much since it was borrowed into Middle English from Anglo-

French as permutacioun, meaning "exchange, transformation." Permutacioun traces back to the Latin

verb permutare, meaning "to change thoroughly, exchange," and ultimately derives from the

Latin mutare, "to change." Other descendants of mutare in English include commute, mutant,

and mutual. Permutation also has a specific application in the field of mathematics relating to the or-

dering of a given set of objects.

Word of the

Week

AR Stars of the

Week

To acknowledge the effort that year 7s & 8s put into their reading. This week

students have been picked because of they have earned the most points in

their classes.

Alexander Donnell

Finlay Janes

Benjamin Hislop

Erin Chandler

Alessandro Marino

Yohanna Samuel Darling

Pille-Rin Punab

Joshua Burrows

Leo Shaw

Ryder Emmerson

Aliyah McDonald

Mariana Savvari

Filip Zientala

Thenujan Sasikaran

Leonard Mavale

Pauline Pfister

Kooshan Hayati

Keir Tollan

Anastasia Cope-Tylee

Faizan Ejaz

Damian Deer

Hana Saleh

Edward Stone

Charlotte Cutting

Samuel Davis

Yael Erasmus

Frederick Dickinson

Amy Duffey

Sophie Elsden Oscar Dibb

Eylul Erol

Daniel Adams Gilbert Budden

Helena Ferreira Dias

Piper Lawler

Amelia Sinclair

Anna Fibbins

Aida Alqasem

Samuel Kuti

Ben Sansbury

Koyuki Lowe

Mughda Najib

Ruzgar Altiner

This Week in

History

January 11th 1935: Amelia Earhart - First person to fly so-lo the 2,408-mile distance across the Pacific between Honolu-lu and Oakland, California; also first flight where a civilian air-craft carried a two-way radio. In 1937 during her attempt at flying solo around the globe, Amelia Earhart disappeared. Conspiracies suggest she was a spy who was captured by Jap-anese forces or she crashed and lived the rest of her life as a castaway. Some say she returned to the US with a different identity. Her disappearance remains one of the famous in history.

January 12th 1976: Crime writer Agatha Christie dies - The most popu-lar novelist in the world, Dame Agatha Christie, died leaving rumours of a multi-million pound fortune and a final book waiting to be published. The British author, who sold an estimated 300 million books during her lifetime.

January 16th 1974: "Jaws" by Peter Benchley is published - The sus-

pense. The shocks. The shark. It's all here in this classic thriller of man-eating terror. It's the un-

forgettable novel of death from the depths that inspired the Steven Spielberg movie. Jaws, nature's most fearsome

predator, fears nothing. It attacks anything, and devours everything. The seaside community of Amity is at its mer-

cy. A small-town police chief, a marine biologist, and a modern-day Ahab must try to stop it. But they are only

three men, alone against the Great White Death.

Happy New Year

A compendium of ten books, to kick start the reader in you, published each month. Recommended by the staff

and students of Grey Court. Start the year as you mean to go on.

January The Girl Who Stole an Elephant by Nizrana Farook Introducing a heroine as loveable, feisty and roguish as Robin Hood, Sri Lankan-raised author Nizrana Farook’s debut is children’s fiction at its finest. On the run from the royal palace, jewel thief and rebel Cha-ya – along with an intrepid gang and a purloined elephant – is driven headlong into the depths of the jun-gle where she must face up to revolutionary forces, untold dangers and her own misdemeanours in a battle for survival. Pitching readers into the heart of a vibrantly evoked landscape that lives and breathes from the page, The Girl Who Stole an Elephant is an adventure full of heart and courage from a dazzling new voice. Waterstones Children's Book of the Month for January 2020

Chaya, a no-nonsense, outspoken hero, leads her friends and a gorgeous elephant on a noisy, fraught, joyous adventure through the jungle where revolution is stirring and leeches lurk. Will stealing the queen's jewels be the beginning or the end of everything for the intrepid gang?

Not My Fault by Cath Howe Maya and Rose won't talk to each other. Even though they are sisters. Not since the accident. Maya is run-ning wild, and Rose doesn't know what to do. Now Maya and Rose have to go away together on a week-long school journey. But will the trip - and a life-threatening adventure - fix their relationship... or break it for good? An uplifting story of family, forgiveness, and finding out who you are, from the author of the highly-acclaimed Ella on the Outside.

The Christmasaurus and the Winter Witch by Tom Fletcher She is the best-kept Christmas secret of all,' whispered Santa Claus. 'Which is surprising, because Christ-mas itself would not exist without her. She is older than time itself, yet still as young as tomorrow. She is known only as the Winter Witch. The eagerly-anticipated sequel to Tom Fletcher's bestselling magical adventure, The Christmasaurus. One year has passed since William Trundle's incredible adventure with the most extraordinary dinosaur: the Christmasaurus. Now, William is swept back to the magical North Pole, where he meets the mysteri-ous, icy Winter Witch - whose power to control time allows Santa Claus to make the long journey all around the world every Christmas Eve. And when they learn that the fate of Christmas itself hangs in the

balance, William and the Christmasaurus must work with the Winter Witch to protect it... Full of magic and music, humour and heart, and a friendship like no other, The Christmasaurus and the Winter Witch is the most enchanting Christmas read for the whole family.

Wrecking Ball: Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney In Wrecking Ball, an unexpected inheritance gives the Heffley family a chance to make major improve-ments to their home. But they soon find that construction isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. When things get rough, will the Heffleys be able to stay... or will they be forced to move? The fourteenth book in Jeff Kinney's hilarious and bestselling Diary of a Wimpy Kid series.

The Beast of Buckingham Palace by David Walliams Fly into a fiery and fantastical future with No. 1 bestselling author David Walliams, in an epic adventure of myth and legend, good and evil, and one small boy who must save the world… Illustrated by the artistic genius Tony Ross! It is 2120 and London is in ruins. The young Prince Alfred has never known a life outside Buckingham Palace – but when strange goings-on breach its walls and stalk the corridors in the dead of night, he is thrust into a world of mystery, adventure and monsters. And when his mother, the Queen, is dragged away to the Tower of London, Alfred must screw up his cour-

age and battle to save her, himself… and the entire city. In a future of myths and legends, join the bestselling David Walliams and venture forth into his most enthralling tale yet!

Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott Soon to be a major motion picture starring Cole Sprouse (Riverdale'sJughead) and Haley Lu Richardson (The Edge of Seventeen and Recovery Road)! In this moving story that's perfect for fans of John Green's The Fault in Our Stars, two teens fall in love with just one minor complication - they can't get within a few feet of each other without risking their lives. Can you love someone you can never touch? Stella Grant likes to be in control - even though her totally out of control lungs have sent her in and out of the hospital most of her life. At this point, what Stella needs to control most is keeping herself away from anyone or anything that might pass along an infection and jeopardize the possibility of a lung transplant. Six feet apart. No exceptions. The only thing Will Newman wants to be in control of is getting out of this hospital. He couldn't care less about his treat-ments, or a fancy new clinical drug trial. Soon, he'll turn eighteen and then he'll be able to unplug all these machines and actually go see the world, not just its hospitals. Will's exactly what Stella needs to stay away from. If he so much as breathes on Stella she could lose her spot on the trans-plant list. Either one of them could die. The only way to stay alive is to stay apart. But suddenly six feet doesn't feel like safety. It feels like punishment. What if they could steal back just a little bit of the space their broken lungs have stolen from them? Would five feet apart really be so dangerous if it stops their hearts from breaking too?

The Night Country by Melissa Albert An addictive thriller crossed with the darkest of fairytales that's guaranteed to keep you up all night... Alice has fought hard for a normal life. Having escaped the Hinterland - the strange, pitch-dark world she was born into - she has washed up in New York City, determined to build a new future for herself. But when her fellow survivors start being brutally murdered, Alice must face the fact that the Hinterland cannot be so easily escaped. And that, from the shadows of her past something - or someone - is coming for her…

Contender by Taran Matharu In a world far from our own, where enemies come in many forms, the ultimate battle for survival is about to begin ... An epic new trilogy from the bestselling author of the Summoner series. CADE CARTER IS LOST Convicted of a crime he didn't commit, Cade is facing a year in reform school when he finds himself sud-denly transported to another realm. BUT THIS NEW WORLD IS NO ESCAPE Populated by bloodthirsty prehistoric creatures and fierce warriors, Cade's surroundings are full of danger. Along with his fellow students, Cade is forced to become a contender in a deadly game of the highest stakes, controlled by invisible overlords. Who are these brutal rulers, and why did they choose Cade? Before he can find answers, Cade must get ready to fight ... BECAUSE IN THIS GAME, FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION

The Deathless Girls by Kiran Millwood Hargrave Gothic, intoxicating, feminist and romantic - this is the breathtakingly imagined untold story of the brides of Dracula, by bestselling author Kiran Millwood Hargrave in her much-anticipated YA debut. They say the thirst of blood is like a madness - they must sate it. Even with their own kin. On the eve of her divining, the day she'll discover her fate, seventeen-year-old Lil and her twin sister Kizzy are captured and enslaved by the cruel Boyar Valcar, taken far away from their beloved traveller commu-nity. Forced to work in the harsh and unwelcoming castle kitchens, Lil is comforted when she meets Mira, a fel-low slave who she feels drawn to in a way she doesn't understand. But she also learns about the Dragon, a

mysterious and terrifying figure of myth and legend who takes girls as gifts. They may not have had their divining day, but the girls will still discover their fate…

The Assassin's Blade: The Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas Everyone Celaena Sardothien loves has been taken from her. She's at last returned to rescue her once glo-rious kingdom to confront the shadows of her past, but before she can reclaim her throne, she must fight. She will fight for her cousin. She will fight for her friend. And she will fight for her people, enslaved to a bru-tal King and awaiting their lost Queen's triumphant return. Packed with heart-pounding action, Celaena's story builds to a passionate, agonising crescendo that might just shatter her world.

For further information and regular updates please refer to

our weekly Book Stag in the school E-bulletin.

Extended Reading List 2015-16

50 Books That Every Child Should Read By 16

Recommended Wider Reading Year 10 & 11