insight 22

News from Highgate Wood School arts college

CONSIDERATION COOPERATION COURTESY CONTRIBUTION Issue No 22 February 2015

Issue 22. February 2015

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Charles Wright, our Chair of

Governors, writes:

The clock seems to speed up at

this time of year, and not only the

lighter evenings but exams will

soon be upon us. I’m delighted

with the improvements in

academic performance that we’ve

made over the past period, thanks to all staff,

parents, and of course our students, and we continue

to look for further improvements. Getting those

grades really is an important passport to greater

opportunities, whether it’s going on to A levels,

university, college or employment, so get that

revision going, and good luck all!

Of course, a good school isn’t just about exam

results. I was honoured to welcome Noreen Ryan’s

family to Highgate Wood last week, after Noreen’s

funeral, and said then that the best schools are not

only places young people come for lessons – they are

communities, of teaching and non-teaching staff,

students and parents, present and past.

Our collective response to the sad news of Noreen’s

passing showed to me that Highgate Wood is that

sort of community, with clear values enabling us to

come together in difficult times, support each other

and emerge stronger.

Noreen served this school for 31 years, as one of our

unsung heroes, as the amazing tributes on the

website demonstrate, and really was a bedrock of our

school community. She will be very much missed, and

I’m proud that we were able to play our part in

marking her remarkable contribution.

A particular word of praise for our singers and

musicians who performed so movingly at Noreen’s

funeral. Well done all.

Cover picture: The cover features some aspects of Noreen Ryan’s Memorial Tree. Students and staff from across the school were invited to hang cards, decorations and any other items they felt were a fitting tribute. Perhaps the most poignant was the single custard cream. The gathering at the school after Noreen’s funeral had the theme of afternoon tea, thus the tea cup.

Chair of Governors:

Charles Wright (Community Governor)

Vice Chair:

Paul Bennett (Parent Governor)

Representative Governors:

Cllr Eddie Griffith • Oliver Blackaby • Brenda Allan •

Imogen Pennell

Parent Governors:

Diana Brown • Philip Cavendish • Elizabeth Hess • Chris

Tully • Rob White • Julia Chalfen • Paul Bennett

Community Governors:

Phil Cocksedge • Caroline Conlon • Violet Hazelwood-

Henry • Chris Parr •

Headteacher Governor:

Patrick Cozier

Staff Governors:

Emily Ford • Joe Demetriou

If you wish to contact the Governing Body please write to the

Chair of Governors, c/o Mrs K Ozturk, Highgate Wood School,

Montenotte Road, London N8 8RN ([email protected])

HIGHGATE WOOD SCHOOL GOVERNING BODY

GOVERNING BODY UPDATE

Arabella Weir writes:

Please support the school when you shop on-line.

How it works is really simple. With Easyfundraising

you’ll be able to raise free donations when you shop

online, without it costing you a single penny extra.

If you're buying something, just remember to visit the

retailer (such as Amazon, John Lewis, M&S) via

easyfundraising.org.uk. Once you've ordered, the

retailer makes a donation to the Highgate Wood

School PSA. It's a great and easy way to give

something back for free!

Access Easyfundraising through the Fundraising link

on the Parents Tab on the school website, or go

directly to:

http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/hwspsa


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Welcome back to

successful learning

at Highgate Wood

School.

I wish to start this

edition of Insight

by taking this

opportunity to

wish you all a very

belated Happy New

Year! As always

however, time flies

and instead of reflecting on the festivities of

Christmas and the New Year celebrations, we have

already reached the spring half term break. It is

difficult to believe that we are already half way

through the school year. So much has been

accomplished, but as ever there is so much still to

do!

Tragic loss of two members of staff

You will now be aware from letters that I sent

home recently that we have faced the

unprecedented situation at Highgate Wood School

of two members of staff sadly passing away within

a short space of time.

On Monday 19th January we lost Noreen Ryan

following a short battle with cancer. Noreen made

a massive contribution to Highgate Wood School in

a variety of roles over a 31 year period. She will be

known mostly as the school’s smiling and joyful

face in the Wren reception. We are devastated by

this loss and the school has been in mourning ever

since we were informed by Noreen’s family.

However, we were able to be part of a fitting

tribute to Noreen last Friday 6th February at her

funeral and after event.

The church service at the St Peter-In-Chains RC

Church in Stroud Green was very well attended by

most of our current staff, numerous ex-staff and a

number of our current students. I was particularly

proud of our students who participated during the

church service. Through the emotion and the tears

MESSAGE FROM THE HEADTEACHER they showed courage and strength in singing and

playing their hearts out in a way that was

outstanding. They were a credit to themselves and

the school and I am in no doubt that Noreen would

have been overwhelmed with appreciation and

gratitude for what they did.

Equally sad was the news that we received last

week that Austin Coyle, teacher of ECS had passed

away on Tuesday 3rd February. Mr Coyle was

absent from work for a prolonged period with

illness. We had very much hoped that he would

return to work shortly, but unfortunately it wasn’t

to be. At just 25 years old, Mr Coyle had so much to

look forward to and achieve in his career. We are

all deeply saddened to have lost a colleague so

young and so early in their contribution to the

school.

We will miss them both. Gone but never

forgotten… may they rest in peace.

Year 11 – Getting those grades

If you are the parent of a child in Year 11, you will

be aware that our students sat their Year 11 Mock

Exams before the Christmas break. Since we have

come back, they have received their Mock Exam

Results and as a result they all know on an

individual level how well they are achieving – and

what else they need to do to hit their personal

targets across each of their subjects. We are very

impressed with the work ethic and attitude of our

year 11s and this is reflected in the fantastic

progress that they have made since September. We

expect to see many of them over half term doing

extra study (in addition to the after school and

weekend sessions that many currently attend). It is

also a testament to dedication of the staff

members who are making themselves available to

help support our students.

What is pleasing for us as a school is that both

individually and collectively, our Year 11s are

broadly on target to achieve and exceed what we

believe they are capable of. A reminder of our

results for the last eleven years and our target for

2015 is shown overleaf.


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As can be seen, we are rightly proud that over the

last four years we have taken Highgate Wood

School from being a 45% to 46% school to being a

70% school! On average, just under 60 students a

year additionally get five or more good passes at

A*-C (with English and maths); meaning that many

more students at Highgate Wood School are able

to study good A’ levels in the 6th form. Even more

importantly, we also know that students at

Highgate Wood School make better than expected

progress compared to their peers nationally based

on their year 7 starting points. The good news is we

believe that we can do better still!

We know what are students are capable of when

backed by our excellent staff and supportive

parents. Let’s ensure that we continue to work

together to help them achieve their best.

Pupil Premium Award for HWS

You may or may not be aware that for the last few

years the coalition government has provided

additional funding to schools for the specific

targeting of students who come from

disadvantaged backgrounds. This funding is known

as the Pupil Premium. The purpose of the Pupil

Premium is to address a national problem of

disadvantaged students performing less well than

their peers – commonly termed ‘closing the gap’.

We were delighted to recently receive a letter and

a certificate from the Schools’ Minister Rt. Hon.

David Laws MP congratulating us on our

achievements with the Pupil Premium. As a reward

for the excellent progress that our disadvantaged

students make, the school will received £5000. This

comes on top of the previous positive visit to the

school by the Deputy Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Nick

Clegg a while back to praise us and see first hand

how effectively we use the funding.

We are proud of this achievement as our work with

all of our students underpins our values that all are

entitled to the best possible education and that

everyone matters. I would like to thank all staff for

their hard work in making such a difference to the

lives and outcomes for our students from

disadvantaged backgrounds. I would also

specifically wish to thank Dawn Spence (Assistant

Headteacher) for leading our work in this area.

HWS Sixth Form proving to be very popular

I reported in the last edition of insight that our

sixth form numbers had grown from 170 students

in 2011 to over 250 in the last two years – a 55%

increase! Well, I am now very pleased to report

that the number of applications that we have

received for September 2015 remain very high, as

they have been for the last few years.

This is very good news for the school as it says that

students from within and outside of the school are

clear about what our sixth form can offer them.

However, it also means that competition for places

in the sixth form and particularly for popular

courses will be high. The message to our students

is that they make sure that they:

1. Work really hard between now and the

summer exams to secure the very challenging

grades necessary to gain access to our Post 16

courses

2. Understand that not everyone will

automatically be offered a place. The days of

Highgate Wood sixth form being a ‘reserve

option’ are long gone – a number of students

missed out on places on courses that they

wanted to enrol on through using us as a back-

up offer

3. Be committed to doing their absolute best in

the sixth form which includes taking full

responsibility for their learning, making

learning their first priority and ensuring

excellent attendance and punctuality to all

lessons/study sessions

5 A* - C (inc. English & Maths)


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4. Ensure that they continue to make a positive

contribution to HWS as a positive reference

from their tutor or their head of house is also a

pre-requisite for entry

We also recently held a Sixth Form Taster day on

Wednesday 7th January where our students had

the opportunity to be treated like a sixth former for

the day, including going to sixth form lessons and

having non-teaching periods. The initial feedback

has been very positive, and I hope that this will

help students make the best decisions in August

when we have our enrolment day.

Uniform – Maintaining High Expectations

Thanks to your support we have seen the most

impressive period of uniform wearing at Highgate

Wood School this academic year. The uniform is

designed to be smart formal wear and the

overwhelming majority of students are achieving

this. Top buttons are done up, shirts are tucked in,

skirts aren’t rolled up and formal leather shoes are

being worn. There remain a small number of

students who still find this challenging, but we are

addressing those situations with the support of

parents.

Please help us to maintain this by continuing to buy

your children clothes and footwear in accordance

with the school’s uniform dress code. If you are in

any doubt, contact your child’s Head of House to

clarify items before you purchase them.

Thank you as ever for your continued support!

Regards

Patrick Cozier

Headteacher

Mr Bomani writes: The final week of half term saw the first Inter House competition of the year take place in the football tournament. Year 7, 8 and 9 boys and girls took part in the tour-nament and represented their house with great effort, enthusiasm and determination making it a great start to the Inter Colour sports calendar (results to be published soon!). Throughout the rest of the year we are hoping to hold Inter House competitions in basketball, tennis, netball, table tennis and many more.

INTERHOUSE SPORT

Da Vinci

Seacole

Edison

Rudy Berman Caitlin Gillespie

Tom Hewett Gloria Kelly

Max Eatherdon Tyce Griffith

YEA

R 7

Da Vinci

Seacole

Edison

Dmitri Christou Kate Owen

Louis Ludlow Megan Boardman

Kelly Florence Holmes Scott Reidy Martin

YEA

R 9

Da Vinci

Seacole

Edison

Kevonte Willoughby Hope Selby

Louis Ludlow Megan Boardman

Callum De La Motte Natalie Monoharan

YEA

R 8

HOUSE CAPTAINS


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There are also many other useful resources

available to help with revision, particularly

MathsWatch and SAM Learning.

As happened last year, the PSA have generously

provided an incentive for GCSE students to use

SAM Learning. Those who make the best use of

this revision site will receive free tickets for

Celebration Evening.

To get onto Sam Learning you need to know that

the Centre ID is N8HW. Your username, which is

the same as your password, is a combination of

your date of birth and your initials. If, for example,

you were born on 3rd October 1998 and your

name is Patrick Cozier, your username and

password will both be 031098PC.

For MathsWatch you

need to visit

www.mathwatchvle.com.

For this site the Centre ID

is highgatewood. Your username and password is

exactly the same as your school login (your .309

name and password).

Both Sam Learning and Mathswatch have been set

up so that every member of Highgate Wood

School has an account.

If you have problems logging into Sam Learning

you can call 0845 130 4160. For help with all of the

school’s online systems, including Show My

Homework, Wisepay and Vivo you can also email:

[email protected]

Could all parents\carers please ensure they check

and sign their child’s School Planners at least once

a week.

This helps us all to keep on track with any home-

work set but also provides a quick and easy way

for parents and carers to keep in touch with their

child’s form tutor.

PLEASE CHECK SCHOOL PLANNERS

Major changes are happening to the school phone

system over the half-term break. There is a risk

that there may be some disruption to normal

service at the beginning of the new half-term.

SCHOOL PHONE SYSTEM

ON LINE REVISION SUPPORT

Mr Ashman writes:

To support students preparing for their summer

exams we are developing a new password protect

section to the school

website that will give

you access to useful

revision materials.

This is in addition to

the open access Exam

Preparation and Exam

timetable sections.

To access the new area go to the main school

website, and then click on Study Portal. It will ask

for a username and password. The username is

student, the password is hws2015

Over the coming few weeks this area is going to

get populated with information and resources to

help with revision and planning. Already it has

some material, as well as direct links to the

different exam board specifications and past

papers (where available).


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HOUSE LEAGUE TABLES

Top Vivo Earners

Rasheed Kamara (Yr 11)

Rawan Ataya (Yr 10)

Isobel Murray (Yr 9)

Grace Heron (Yr 8)

Lottie Ezer-Ahern (Yr 7)

Top Vivo Earners

Odeja Anderson (Yr 11)

Randal Harrison (Yr 10)

Mya Gomez (Yr 9)

Brandon Durand (Yr 8)

Freddie Ferszt (Yr 7)

Top Vivo Earners

Umer Khan (Yr 11)

Jordan Brown (Yr 10)

Elle-Mae Netherton (Yr 9)

Toby Wyckoff-Smith (Yr 8)

Louis Fletcher-Wheeler (Yr 7)

The best way to predict the future is to invent it

From caring comes courage

Success comes from perseverance

28,712 so far this year



Ms Spence writes:

We are delighted that

Highgate Wood School has

been recognised by the

Department for Education

for our success in raising

attainment and value-added

-progress of our

disadvantaged students in Key

Stage 4. We are the lucky

recipients of a £5,000 award in

the Pupil Premium Awards 2015.

David Laws, the Minister of State for Schools has

written to us confirming the award, giving

congratulations to our staff, governors, parents

and students. “‘The reason you have been selected

is that you are one of the most improved schools in

the country in terms of value-added progress of

your disadvantaged pupils since 2011” he writes.

“Thank you for your leadership in making such a

difference to the future success of your pupils.”

The prize money will come to the school at the end

of March and will be used to continue our work in

“closing the gap” in all areas of school attainment,

experience and outcomes.

PUPIL PREMIUM AWARD


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HOW TO STOP BEING LATE

Will Haringey prosecute students whose

attendance is a concern in their final year?

The table below indicates how frequent lateness

can add up to a considerable amount of learning

being lost. This can seriously disadvantage children

and disrupt the learning of others. Please help

children in your care to be punctual.

50 Lessons

100 Lessons

150 Lessons

200 Lessons

340 Lessons

290 Lessons

250 Lessons

Ms Christodoulou writes:

Are you tired of feeling like

you're always 10 minutes

behind yourself? You're not

alone. According to a

recent news article, 15 to

20 percent of people are

chronically late!

In addition to the negative impression it can send

out, being late for school can also lower your self-

esteem, because you're constantly apologising

and covering your tracks. And, of course, being

late for school also means your missing out on

learning - and that can have a big impact on your

future and your success.

Analyse

Improve your punctuality and attendance by

taking an honest look at how long it takes you to

get ready in the morning. People tend to

underestimate by 30 percent how long it takes

them to complete certain tasks. If you are often

late, it might be because you don’t have a realistic

idea of how much time it actually takes you to get

dressed and get to school. For a week or so, keep

a log of how long it takes you to complete each

preschool activity, getting dressed, eating your

breakfast to brushing your teeth, walking the

dog... Whatever your total, add 20 minutes. Or

make yourself believe your start time is really 20

minutes earlier than it is. That way you'll be on

time, even when you're late!

Preparation

Preparation is key when it comes to getting to

school on time. Make sure all your school clothes

are ready the night before, and get all your other

things sorted too: your Oyster card, school card,

keys, packed lunch, money and anything else you

will need.

If you bring a snack or packed lunch to school

make sure that will be ready as well.

Try and have everything you need ready to go,

rather than waiting until morning and then risking

a panic… and lost time!

Sleep Habits

Instead of getting up with just enough time to get

dressed, give yourself time to ease into your day.

Wake up with time to spare. Set your alarm that

little bit earlier, and try and avoid hitting the

snooze button.

To get adequate rest, go to bed earlier at night, and

limit stimulants like sugar and the bright lights of

TV and computer screens before bed.

Getting Ready

Follow one major tip to make getting out of the

house easier in the morning - put all of your

belongings in one place so you aren’t flying around

the house trying to gather things at the last minute.

Often the simplest solutions are the best, so pick

up an empty cardboard box from the supermarket

and use that to store your school books, bag and

equipment. You will then know where everything is

and won’t need to waste time searching for them.

Healthy Living and Time Management

Living healthily not only improves general well

being, it will also help your punctuality and

attendance. Eat right, exercise regularly, drink lots

of water and get to bed early will ensure that you

are as healthy as you can be, and will thus reduce

the number of days taken up with sickness, or of

lateness because you are feeling unwell.

There have been some suggestions that Haringey

Council will not take attendance concerns seriously

when a student is in their last few weeks or months

of schooling.

Nothing could be further from the truth. The Local

Authority can, and will, take enforcement action

for any absence when the student is still of

statutory school age.

These final weeks in Year 11 is an absolutely crucial

time for students as they finish coursework and

prepare for final exams. Attendance is more

important than ever.


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SEND REFORMS - UPDATE

The table below indicates how frequent lateness

can add up to a considerable amount of learning

being lost. This can seriously disadvantage children

and disrupt the learning of others. Please help

children in your care to be punctual.

Mr Dobrashian writes:

Many thanks to all those parents and carers who

attended the Information Evening about the new

SEND reforms earlier this term.

The response was overwhelmingly positive, with

the ideas and implications of the Special

Educational Needs and Disabilities Reforms

prompting lots of useful discussion.

The reforms are very significant and far-reaching

and we will be distributing more information

shortly.

Information is available on-line, both from the DfE

(visit http://bit.ly/hwssend) and also under the

Learning Tab of the Highgate Wood School website.

Mr Hartley writes:

Year 9 students and their families should know that

Options Evening on 5th March will be a very

important event.

Options Evening is the start of the process where

you will need to decide what subjects you wish to

take at Key Stage 4.

All students are required to study the “core”

subjects of English, Mathematics and Science as

well as RE, PE, PHSE and Citizenship. But you will

need to decide on those Option subjects that will

be best for you.

A few subjects, like Media Studies, Business Studies

and Sociology, will be ones you have not studied

before, but every single subject at Key Stage 4

develops from your learning at Key Stage 3 and

takes your progress to a different level.

You will be able to pick three option subjects and

so you will have to consider them carefully.

You will have two weeks in which to make your

decision, then your forms will need to be handed in

and the school will be able to start the process of

planning the timetable for September 2015.

WORK EXPERIENCE

Ms Martin writes:

Year 10 students should now be

ready for their Work Experience

week beginning Monday 2nd

March.

All students should know where

their work experience placement

is located and how to get there. It

is a good idea to use one day in the half-term break

to test out the journey so you can be confident that

you can get to work on time. In any case, all

students should telephone their work experience

placements over the break to confirm they will be

attending.

If there are any questions or queries please contact

me in the first instance: [email protected]

YEAR 9 OPTIONS


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Ms. McGurk writes:

Wednesday 4th February saw the launch of the

Arcadia Work Experience project at Highgate

School. A number of our Sixth Formers attended:

Year 12 students interested in taking part in the

scheme and Year 13 students who had been

awarded work placements at Arcadia last year.

They were welcomed by Adam Pettitt (Headteacher

at Highgate School) and later addressed by Sir

Philip Green. Simon Cowell made a guest

appearance to much excitement and was

interviewed on his early experiences at work and

the secrets of his success.

'The Arcadia Experience' was set up by Sir Philip

Green to offer work experience and master-classes

to talented Year 12 students across London. The

project enables students to partake in a series of

career-skills master-classes at Highgate School with

the opportunity to apply for one of a series of work

placements in the areas of Finance, Buying,

Merchandising & Sourcing, Retail & Property,

Digital, Social Media, Marketing and PR.

Current Year 13 students Sonia Martinelli, Choon

Fuller, Thea Sun, James Ramsden and Jake

Hamilton were all successful in being awarded

places on the Arcadia Work Experience scheme last

year, after having attended the workshops and

masterclasses delivered at Highgate School.

Masterclasses for current Year 12 students begin at

Highgate School on 26th February.

Contact Ms. McGurk for further details.

ARCADIA WORK EXPERIENCE JACK PETCHEY SPEAK OUT CHALLENGE

Ms Allaway writes:

This year’s Speak Out Challenge was a really

demanding activity through which students learnt

some of the skills and techniques, as well as

developing the self-confidence, to master the art

of public speaking.

More than fifty Year 10 students were involved,

working towards speaking for three minutes on a

topic of their choice to the assembled audience.

Jace and Sina became our finalists, representing us

at Heartlands School where the regional event

took place.

They both delivered extraordinarily good

performance and deserve our congratulations, as

does everyone involved in the challenge.

SPEAK OUT CHALLENGERS: Aoife Allen, Georgio Ardeleanu, Talvinder Bains, Amber

Bennett, Kimberly Bentley-Maselino, Andrea Bevilaqua, Lloyd

Bolton, Yassin Boukemal, Alice Bowen, Erdi Cavusoglu,

Margherita Cimatti, Daniel Dop, Sophia Dottore, Nikhil

Dumree, Dennisha Edwards, Charles Frase Allen, Sadie Goswell,

Jace Griffiths, Melissa Guvenier, Jake Hamilton, Bryony

Hillman, Tre Jackson, Ali Kacmaz, Tolga Kale, Herbie Lea

Bramble, Harvey Lea-Bramble, Alix Luka-Cain, Neve Maher,

Janice Makambu, Decan Malaj, Amber Mckenzie, Laura Moss,

Katy O’Neill, Tara O’Regan, Che Ove-Loncraine, Tommy Peglar,

Lily Roberts, Joshua Rodney, Caylan Samuel, Ned Scott, Olsi

Shehu,Kyle Smith, Fanni Somogyi, Teddy Spencer–Warnes,

Annie Stanford, Nathanial Stark, Bailey Starkey, Joe Thorpe

Crram, Ishmael Tikly Young, Amy Townsend-Lowlock, Joe Vinall

Smeeth, Gabe Weston and Michael Zenios.


11

HARINGEY ACTIVIIES FOR STUDENTS AT HALF TERM

Haringey have again got a whole range of activities

and events happening over the half-term.

Their booklet February Half Term Fun is available on

Haringey council’s website or directly at

http://tinyurl.com/hwsfeb15

For most of the activities taking place you can just

turn up on the day, but for some activities you need

to register in advance.

Make sure you check the activity details and contact

the right person/organisation.

HWS PSA LOTTERY

Next half-term will bring some news about the

HWSPSA Lottery. In the meantime why don’t you

but a ticket? It will only cost you £1 a month and

you could win ££££s. For details please email

Arabella or Jane at [email protected].

Ms Copley writes:

In recent weeks we have

had a number of difficult

situations arising from

students contacting home

directly when they are

feeling poorly. In some cases

this has resulted in people

coming into school, expecting to meet with the

student immediately and escort them home. This

raises a number of safety issues that it is best to

avoid.

The proper procedure for any student who falls ill

or suffers an injury at school is for them to be

assessed initially by a member of the on-call team

and then, if appropriate, taken to the treatment

room.

Here either I or another trained member of staff

will carry out a proper assessment. If the best

PROCEDURES FOR CHILDREN WHO FEEL SICK WHEN AT SCHOOL

course of action is for the child to be sent home

we will make the phone call to the relevant parent

or carer and then make arrangements either for

the child to be collected or for them to get home

by some other means. (It is for this reason that we

ask that all parents and carers update the school

with any new contact information).

Following this system allows us to properly record

and manage any sickness or injury that might occur

in school and ensure that the best course of action

gets followed.

Please try and follow these guidelines


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In many ways Noreen Ryan was Highgate Wood

School. That sentiment is repeated time and time

again in the messages people have written in her

Books of Condolence.

Noreen’s cheerfulness, patience, friendliness and

enthusiasm, her kindness, grace, consideration for

others and calmness under pressure as well as her

solid dedication and unwavering commitment to

the well-being of everybody at the school

exemplifies the very best of what we all strive to

be.

The moment we made it possible for people to

voice their love for Noreen, and their sadness at

her passing, they started to respond. Within an

hour of launching an on-line memorial we were

receiving posts from former students and past

colleagues from all over the world. And these

tributes continue to pour in.

On this page we have reproduced a few of those

messages. The web-page itself will remain open for

some time and can be found at:

www.hws.haringey.sch.uk/main/noreen.htm

IN NOREEN’S MEMORY You were the kindest and most trustworthy person I knew at school. You would always help me out when I was in times of trouble.

She was such a warm and kind woman who tirelessly and selflessly eased the school days for both pupils and teachers alike and she was truly the beating heart of our school.

She was always a joy to talk to, a very selfless person, always smiling.

A rare person who always put others before herself. She will be missed by all

Noreen was the most lovely, kind and friendly woman. She was so caring and supportive of me and so many other students during our time at the school.

You always had a smile on you face every time I saw you. Will miss you with all our heart

Noreen was one in a million. Always one to be there for others and to make you feel better. She had a heart of gold and a great sense of humour.

She was always there with a kind word, a restorative biscuit and an amusing story to tell, and her presence was a source of comfort and stability to many who passed through the school.

She was selfless, vivacious and full of life, with an indomitable sense of spirit. There was no problem that could not be diminished through laughter, and there was no student too naughty or 'disruptive' to not be listened to.

Thank you Noreen for everything... And especially for taking the time to know my children.

She will never be forgotten and I feel truly blessed to have known her.

She went over and beyond for us all, helping us every opportunity she had whether it was to comfort us when ill or make us smile when we were sad or to simply get us out of trouble!


13

Some people have asked if they

can make a donation to an

appropriate charity in Noreen's

memory. As many of you know,

Noreen trekked around the

world for The National Brain

Appeal - walking in Peru, China

and South Africa.

Students are now able to make a

contribution to The National

Brain Appeal by donating some of their Vivos to the

charity.

Information about the charity is available at

www.nationalbrainappeal.org

I feel blessed to have known such a lovely, warm hearted and kind woman who possessed a truly beautiful soul.

How lovely to see that simple kindness, warmth and humanity can have such an extraordinary and far reaching effect on so very many people.

Thank you for always making time for me and for all the help you gave me during my 7 years at HWS.

one of the nicest ladies i have ever met, the hustle and bustle of school never seemed to bother you and you were always smiling.

You always managed to make me laugh and smile every time I saw you.

She will be missed by everyone and remembered with nothing but love.

Noreen was one of the most inspirational people I have ever known. Apart from her huge heart and unfailing positivity she provided a pair of safe hands for everyone - students AND staff both

Thank you Noreen for your endless positivity and charisma. You were truly special and always brought the sunshine with you.

Oh Noreen, You were such an inspirational, confident, amazing woman. I was so lucky to meet you while I could and I'm so happy you watched me grow till Year 10.

Noreen. was everything I loved about our school- welcoming, kind and passionate.

The fact that she touched so many people only confirms the truly amazing, special and unique human being that Noreen was.

She really was 'One of a Kind' and will be missed terribly. What a real privilege to have known such a truly wonderful woman.

Noreen had that glow that most people don’t have. She truly was amazing.

Noreen was genuinely one of the loveliest, most caring people I've ever been lucky enough to meet.

You were special...one of life's "good ones" such a beautiful aura. Noreen it was such a pleasure to have met you.

Generous with her kindness, time and stellar sense of humour. My days at HWS were brighter for having Noreen in them.

She lit up her surroundings.

Noreen! She's the lady that made me realise my dreams!!

Thank you Noreen for making my life so much easier.

A wonderful person with an extraordinary heart.

I just hope that you knew how much you were loved and treasured by the staff, parents and of course the children.

You made the world a better place....

THE NATIONAL BRAIN APPEAL


14

SEASON OF PLAYS

Mr Brown writes:

Drama students in Years 10, 11 and 13 have been

working hard on the staging of this year’s Season

of Plays.

Steven Berkoff’s take on Kafka’s Metamorphosis

will be performed by our Year 11 students, whilst

Year 10 will stage an adaptation of Antigone by

Sophocles. Our A Level students will be staging

devised performances of Angela Carters’ horror

masterpiece, The Blood Chamber and Edgar Allen

Poe’s William Wilson.

The productions will take place on Wednesday and

Thursday, 25th & 26th February.

Tickets are free but will need to be ordered from

Mrs Hassan in the Arts Office.

Last year’s Season of Plays was a huge success, and

also helped our students in preparing for their

examination work. We anticipate this year’s

productions to be even better.

Remember that the performances are in the first

week back so tickets will need to be ordered very

PREPARING FOR BBC SCHOOL REPORT

Ms O’Borne writes:

Michael Cosgrave, a BBC School Report mentor,

visited the school on Thursday 5th February to

meet our School Report team.

Michael discussed potential stories for Newsday on

March 19th and gave year 10 students advice on

how to make sure reporting is balanced and

contacting local celebrities.

Following on from the success of our School Report

last year, the current team are hoping to do even

better.

They have already had one practise day, and the

impressive results of that are available at http://

www.hws.haringey.sch.uk/schoolreport/

We will publicise the main even in March as it is

happening.


15

IN HINDSIGHT PERFORM FOR SAFETY

Mr Ashman writes:

The young rock\pop band Insight performed for all

Year 7 students on Friday 30th January. It was a

performance that introduced our students to a

new and exciting musical talent, but also came with

an important message about keeping safe on-line.

Rosie, Isabel & Sylvie (7D) certainly enjoyed the

event, adding “additional to the fact that it was a

fun and spontaneous way to finish the week, they

helped get an important message through.”

Sissily and Nael (7D) were particularly impressed by

the band’s performance of Problem by Ariana

Grande to which many of the students sang along.

“Thank you Hindsight,” they said “you were

amazing”.

If anyone wants to find out more information

about the band visit their website at:

inhindsightlive.com

Let’s create a better i n t e r n e t t o g e t h e r

Mr Talbert writes:

Nancy Levy-Vegh & Rhea Patel have done it again

with their Water Works app.

Not content with progressing to the finals of the

Apps for Good and Appathon competition they have

been selected from thousands of entries as one of

the hundred teams to make it through to stage 2 of

the iDEA competition.

In January, the girls travelled to Barclay’s Bank

Headquarters in Canary Wharf where they

competed against 99 other teams to progress to the

next stage of the competition.

It was an intensive and educational day where the

girls gained some useful skills to help their idea and

future business to develop.

WATER WORKS HAS


16

HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY

Ms Burniston writes:

27th January, the day that Auschwitz was liberated,

is Holocaust Memorial Day. To mark this event we

ran a series of assemblies for all students , during

which they listened to the reflections of students

and staff who visited the site of the concentration

camp last November. These recollections formed

part of a longer film that we had put together for

the event and, without exception, all students

watched in absolute silence.

“The film was heart-breaking and allowed me to

think about the innocent people who died” said

Melissa Guvenler.

“It was an incredible, moving film which also makes

me want to visit the site to see for myself” says

Neve Maher.

“It was extraordinarily powerful,” says Khadija

Nooh, “It really made me reflect on what Ms.

Burniston said: that we should never, ever forget

what happened, and we must never ever allow

such a thing to happen again.”

FREE MONEY FOR YEAR 7

As part of Haringey’s commitment to supporting

the borough’s families and encouraging responsible

money management, the Local Authority have

joined with the London Capital Credit Union to

offer every Year 7 student in a Haringey secondary

school £20 for free when they open a savings

account with London Capital Credit Union.

The idea is that this will give youngsters the

opportunity to learn about different financial

options and how they will manage their money as

they get older; getting into the savings habit early

and learning about the pitfalls of risky and high-

interest borrowing in later life.

The “free” £20 will be ‘locked in’ for two years to

encourage pupils to add to their savings.

For more information visit the council’s website or

go direct to:

http://tinyurl.com/hwsmoney


17

A DAY OUT AT WEST HAM

Mr Adams writes

Last month fifty-six of our students were lucky

enough to experience a premier league football

match and training day extravaganza at Boleyn

Ground.

The day was a huge success with every one of the

boys and girls thoroughly enjoying every second.

The spirits were high during the whole day, and

the atmosphere at West Hams stadium was

electric.

It was a special day, and something which will

remain in the memories of the students who

attended. Hopefully we will put on more events

like this in the near future.

NATIONAL GALLERY—MORE THAN JUST ART!

ARTISTIC CHEMISTRY

by Melissa Guvenler writes

On the 5th February a group of year 10s went to

the Royal Society of Chemistry's Burlington House

where we mixed both our chemistry and art skills

to create something almost magical. It was a

wonderful experience which we enjoyed very

much.

There were many different experiments that we

were able to do, for instance spin painting, where

we placed paints of different viscosities onto a

round piece of paper and span it to create a unique

picture. There was also UV (ultraviolet) art, where

we used UV light to create an image.

It was amazing, overall, but my favourite part was

the marbling, because we splattered different oil

paints onto the surface of water and printed them

onto paper. The pattern that came out was extra

ordinary and inspirational. I hope there will be

more exciting trips like this in the future.

Ms El-Damanawi writes:

A group of sixth form chemists toured the National gallery

looking at the chemistry behind some of the iconic paintings

in the gallery.

They learned of how the humidity created by people in the

gallery, affects paintings, and how a particular cold day caused

one of Constable's iconic landscape's to tragically rip. They

also learnt about how particular pigments, such as mercury

sulphide and gold, were used to signify both value and class.

The afternoon finished with a workshop where scientists

working in the conservation department shared the techniques they used to preserve, clean and date art

works and discovery forgeries!


18

YOUTH CULTURE VIDEO PROJECT

Mr Grimmett writes:

After half term Mr Grim-

mett and Mrs Woodstock

will be launching a youth

culture video project with a

middle school in South Car-

olina, USA.

Sixteen lucky students from

Year 7 and Year 8 will be

videoing aspects of their lives including their time

in school, outside of school, their hobbies and even

slang words that they may use.

They will then swap videos and compare them to

discover how similar/dissimilar their lives are and

to find out whether their preconceptions of each

other hold true.

We plan to get everything up and running shortly

after the half-term break.

HIGHGATE CAMP REMEMBERED

Ms Jones writes:

Lucas Bolton (9S), Rawan Ataya (10I), Jordan

Brown (10D), Max Cowie (9S), Caleb Wyckoff-

Smith (9I), Jamie Crispin (9T), Bobby Cox (9A), and

Oskar Andgelic (9S) are all involved in what is

destined to be huge Multi-Sensory Exhibition at

Jacksons Lane. They will be taking photographs

and developing them, writing poetry and prose

and contributing in other ways to this community

project.

The project is called 'Highgate Camp Remembered'

and investigates the lives of the men whose names

are on Highgate’s WW1 memorials.

The resulting exhibition and a memorial trail will

be on show in a special event at Jacksons Lane in

March 2015.

THE GAME OF LIFE

Ms Burniston writes:

Students in Key Stage 3 have been studying

Hinduism and have completed an extended project

by designing a “Game of Life” that illustrates

aspects of Hindu

philosophy and

thought.

Game designs

ranged from the

splendid Monkey

Tree Game by

Yasemin Ozalcin

(right) to more

traditional board

games and

variations. But all

of them shared

the same quality

of demonstrating

a good

understanding of

one of the world’s

great religions.

Ella Bullard and Lottie Ezer-Ahern write:

Our game was called 'Moksha Madness', a journey

of reincarnation, samsara and the winner achieving

moksha - or unity with the Gods.

Competitors could achieve moksha by rolling the

dice and finding good karma to travel up the board,

hopefully avoiding the bad karma on route to derail

the journey.


19

HISTORY TRIP TO MUSEUM OF LONDON

Ms Harding writes:

Year 8 students have just begun studying African

civilization and, as a result, the History Department

took 30 of them to the Museum of London

Docklands where there is currently an exhibition

on London, Sugar and the Slave Trade which

crosses over well with their current studies.

A powerful part of this exhibition was a staged

performance about an American slave called and

Ellen Craft. She ran away with her husband from

their slave master.

Ellen Craft and her husband lived in London but

also in Liverpool for a period of time. They

returned to USA in 1865 when slavery was

abolished where Craft set up a school for ex-slaves

to be educated.

Year 8 students gained a huge amount from the

visit which will help them have a greater

understanding of the topic. They will be sharing

their knowledge with the rest of their form.

Thank you to the year 8 students and staff for a

worthy day out.

Isabel Pountney writes

Our trip was absolutely incredible. I really enjoyed

our warm welcome and even our relaxed short

tour before the monologue, I learnt so much

about our topic.

The monologue was lively, realistic and

captivating. It held the attention of every single

one of us. The silence during the performance is

one I have not experienced before with many of

the people there! And the actress delivering the

monologue was so believable I thought she was

American right until the end.

After the monologue we enjoyed the Sailor Town

experience and much more exploring.

Thanks so much to all the wonderful teachers who

organised this trip!


20

STUDENT LEADERS

Ms Gribble writes

on Thursday 15 January, ten of our students joined

those from eight other Haringey schools for a

Leadership Day with Team London and Free the

Children UK.

The purpose of the day was to work together and

gain the skills needed to create positive change in

their local communities. The students listened to

motivational speeches by speakers from the two

organisations and took part in communications

and leadership workshops.

During these sessions our students discussed what

it means to be a good leader and also identified

what type of leader they were. They also chose a

social cause they were passionate about and made

an action plan to set out how they were going to

make a difference.

Everyone was a real credit to the school and had a

great time. Madeline Cormican said “it was so

inspiring that I've started an application to attend

a trip to India in order to spend three weeks

building a school.”

Well done to Milou-Mai Law (8I), William

Carmichael (7I), Eden Alaneme (7I), Gloria Kelly

(7A), Freddie Ferszt (7E), Brandon Durand (8T),

Tyreek Heerah-Campbell (8W), Madeline Cormican

(8D), Max Trafford (8W) and Evin Efe (8E)

MEDIEVAL CASTLE COMPETITION

Ms Harding writes:

Last term, year 7 History students studied

Medieval castles, and the students completed

some wonderful projects about this topic. The

history department also ran an optional castle

building competition for the students. The castles

could be made from any material, including edible

castles!

The History Department want to thank all those

students that took part, and for making such a

great effort. It was difficult for us to choose the

top three.

A decision was finally made, and we are pleased

to announce the winner, Adam Lloyd (7G), second

place, Shareef Garcia (7S), and joint third place

to , Sibylla Baron (7E) and Anya Seymour (7E) who

both made gingerbread castles!

Mrs Hassan writes:

Many congratulations to Robyn Cowie who has

managed to gain a Distinction in her Grade 8

singing exams.

SINGER OF DISTINCTION


21

Rosa Tully writes:

On 14th March, Highgate Wood School is hosting its

eight annual North London Model United Nations

conference.

Model United Nations gives students the chance to

represent a country in simulation UN debates. This

conference will give you the opportunity to broaden

your knowledge on the oppression that women face

around the world and what options there are to

resolving these issues. This year the Highgate Wood

conference is on women around the world.

Women make up 52%

of the population yet,

around the world

women are being

persecuted for no

reason other than for

the gender they were

born into.

Women work 66% of the world’s hours, but earn

only 10% of the world’s income. Around 64% of the

world’s illiterate people are women and 31 million

girls of primary school age are not in school at all.

On average, only 22% of seats in national

parliaments are currently held by women MPs. The

topics for this conference vary from access to

education, to ending human trafficking and violence

against women and girls.

One of the great things about Highgate Wood

School is that they offer their students such a broad

range of extra-curricular activities which not only

can you enjoy, they also help you obtain valuable

knowledge and skills. Model United Nations is the

perfect example of this. It helped me build my

confidence, and taught me how to debate

effectively and converse constructively with others

to reach an effective solution. I initially found

Model United nations hard, often struggling to find

the confidence to speak in debate, but with the

support from teachers, my peers and my chairs in

committee, I soon found my feet. The topic this

year is extremely important as gender inequality is

a problem that effects every country in the world.

Model UN gives you the chance to debate this

pressing topic in detail and really explore what

problems are effecting millions of people around

the globe.

Rosa Tully (Secretary General, North London Model UN)

NORTH LONDON MODEL UN - 14th March

Blue Weiss writes:

Last year I had the

privilege of attending

LIMUN and aside from

immensely enjoying the

experience, I managed

to succeed in winning an

award. This February on

the back of that success, we will be competing at

top university standard, in predominately

intermediate and higher level committees.

It started in Year 9 in small beginner committees,

when I had little confidence and little skills in

reasoning and arguing, but I have climbed my way

up through higher level committees, to being a

chair and director, to 6th form conferences, to now

competing at Crisis committee at LIMUN, the

highest level Model United Nations committee.

It really is a testament to the staff, students, and

ethos of Highgate Wood School that we are

managing to bring so many students to a level of

Model UN that is unattainable for most university

students.

It is an incredible opportunity that we have earned

at Highgate Wood, one that so few others are able

to deliver, and one we are very lucky to have.

Blue Weiss (Director General, North London Model UN)

LONDON INTERNATIONAL MODEL UN


22

Ms Ereira writes

Poet Paul Lyalls visited the LRC to give a poetry

workshop, fuelled by stacks of pizza.

Paul was last year’s Roald Dahl poet in residence at

the Roald Dahl Museum & Story Centre, and has

worked with Michael Rosen, John Hegley and

Benjamin Zephaniah amongst many others. He

treated us to a performance before showing the

students how to write their own Urban Haikus.

Here’s a great example by Mya Josiah of 8I:

My sister doing her make up in the mirror Make up in the mirror.

Rubbing the blusher on her chubby cheeks. But she look perfect without.

POETRY AND PIZZA

A new lunchtime book group starts after half term

in the LRC. We will be reading and discussing the

books shortlisted for the Carnegie award.

Join us to discover new authors and chat about

books.

Interested? See Ms Ereira in the LRC.

CARNEGIE BOOK GROUP

KNIFE AWARENESS

Ms Christodoulou writes:

"Many people believe that knife crime is not their

problem and will never affect them. Sadly we know

this is not the case and we want to ensure that

everyone is aware of the threat that knife related

crime poses to our lives."

So says the Ben Kinsella Trust, the charity set up by

the family of the 16 year Islington boy who was

tragically murdered in 2008.

After half term Year 7 students will visit the Ben

Kinsella Exhibition to develop their understanding

of the issues around knife crime. This half term we

have approached the subject with older students in

Years 8 and 9 by a series of presentations run

jointly by the police and the Red Cross. Each tutor

group were involved in the programme, learning

not only about the realities of knife crime but also

about to keep themselves and their friends safe.

The talks were stimulating and thought provoking,

as well as providing students with the opportunity

to discuss and be informed about an important

issue.


23

There are always new books

to discover in the LRC. We’d

like to introduce you to one

of them: Salvage by Keren

David

16-year-old Cass was adopt-

ed at an early age and has

grown up as the privileged

daughter of a government

minister. Her brother Aidan has had a very different

life, shuttled between foster care and children’s

homes. When he makes contact with her through

Facebook both lives are changed forever. Can a

broken family be salvaged?

This gripping book is shortlisted for the YA Book

Prize 2015, nominated for the Carnegie Medal, and

shortlisted for the North East Teen Award and the

Warwickshire Y9 book of the year.

Find it in the LRC!

Ms Ereira writes

Author Amanda Hemingway, who writes under the

name of Jan Siegel, visited the LRC to give a talk to

a full house of students from years 7 to 11. She

read from her latest book, The Devil’s Apprentice,

and encouraged any would-be writers to “read,

read and read”.

Amanda commented on how impressed she was by

the students’ engagement and the number of

questions.

Responses from the students themselves after the

event included, ‘It was inspiring and the extract she

read was amazing,’ and ‘It inspired me to write a

book myself one day.’

THE LRC RECOMMENDS

LRC AUTHOR VISIT LRC OPENING TIMES

The LRC is open before school from 8.15am

every school day except Mondays.

It is also open at break time, lunchtime and

after school until 4.30pm. The LRC will be closed for after-school clubs on

the following days:

Debate Mate: Wednesdays Week 1 and Week 2

Book Club: Mondays Week 1 and Week 2

HWS BOOKCLUB

If you would like to join add your name to the sign

-up sheet in Mr Gowen’s room (A25)

CHATTERBOOKS

Every Monday Week 2 After school in the LRC

Intellectual & fun discussions about books you love

and hate, film adaptations and a lot more.

For Years 9, 10 & 11

The school calendar is available on-line at www.hws.uk.com

Keep informed Find out what is going on at Highgate Wood School and keep up with our news

visit us at our website www.hws.uk.com

follow us on twitter twitter.com/highgatewood

Check the school’s opening status

Call 02084087508 and give the school’s DfE code: 3094030

Insight is available on-line at www.hws.uk.com

SPRING 2015

Mon 5th Jan

16th Feb– 20th Feb

Friday 27th March

Term Starts

Half term break

Term Ends

SUMMER 2015

Mon 13th April

25h—29th May

Friday 17th July

Term Starts

Half term break

Term Ends*

School begins again on

Monday 23rd February 2015

at 8:35am

It will be Week 2

* Term ends for students

Parent\Carer Evenings

Year 7 Wed. 20th May 2015

Year 8 Tues. 21st April 2015

Year 9 Tues. 24th Nov 2014

Year 10 Tues. 24th Feb 2015

Year 11 Thurs. 15th Jan 2015

Year 12 Tues. 27th Jan 2015

Year 13 Wed. 10th Feb 2015

Half term begins Monday 23rd February

Year 10 Parents’ Evening Tuesday 24th February

Coursework deadline for all courses Friday 20th March

Year 9 GCSE Options Deadline Monday 23rd March

Term Ends Friday 27th March

Season of Plays - Drama productions Wed\Thur 24th-26th Feb

Year 10 Work Experience Week 2nd—6th March

Year 9 Options Evening Thursday 5th March

North London Model UN Conference at HWS Saturday 14th March

Summer Term Begins Monday 13th April

Public Examinations start 11th May

Class of 2015 Celebration Evening 19th June

Mocks (2) Year 11 Mock Exams 16th—27th March

insight 22

Documents

school community

chair of governors

good school isnt

noreens funeral

patrick cozier staff

sort of community

nonteaching staff

sad news of noreens