knowledge is power a letter from the headmistress
TRANSCRIPT
MICHAELA MATTERSKNOWLEDGE IS POWER
A Letter from the Headmistress
WELCOME TO MICHAELA'S FIRST
NEWSPAPER!
We are excited that our first term has
been such a success.
We have had significant achievements
in the classroom. Our pupils are quick-
ly becoming experts in Greek mytholo-
gy and Mesopotamia, dazzling visitors
with their knowledge on these topics.
In French, pupils are creating GCSE-
standard sentences despite only learn-
ing French for one term. I am regularly
impressed by how many pupils know
their difficult Science raps by heart.
And I am always delighted to see our
computer room packed ater school
with pupils, inspired by Ms Isaksen and
Ms Olaru, competing for the top scores
on their times tables. Pupils at
Michaela are clear that they have
learned more this term than ever be-
fore.
We have had many guest visitors and
all of them without exception have
been bowled over by the comportment
of our pupils, how polite they are, how
helpful and kind. A few guests have
even said that lunch with our pupils
has brought tears to their eyes. Family
lunch is a sight to behold. Families and
visitors are always welcome. The chil-
dren love welcoming guests at their ta-
bles to discuss the topic of the day, and
to share our family values with them.
At family lunch, pupils serve food to
each other, clean up ater each other
and learn how to put others before
themselves.
We are looking forward next term to a
special Spanish themed lunch, where
Ms Gregory will have her Spanish Club
pupils lead us all in appreciating the
food. Ms Stubbs and Ms Byrne have
done a wonderful job preparing snacks
and meals for us all term. Ms Stubbs
especially enjoyed putting up our
Christmas tree in the dining hall with
the help of our Future Leaders. Future
Leaders help every morning with the
set-up of the dining hall, the library
and with giving guided tours to visitors.
Well done to them for performing so
well at interview and for being ap-
pointed to this very important role.
Well done also to our chosen guides
who also do an excellent job of repre-
senting Michaela.
This term, pupils were inspired by talks
from journalists David Goodhart and
Jonathan Foreman as well as the writ-
er and youth mentor, Lindsay Johns.
We were also delighted to welcome the
MP for Tottenham, David Lammy, who
spoke excitedly about his bid to be the
next London Mayor. Other visitors have
included people from the Department
for Education, potential Year 6 families,
other educationalists and people from
as far as Australia!
As a school, we wore our poppies with
pride in November and learned so
much from Mr Porter’s assembly on the
devastation of war. We all understand
how much was sacrificed by those who
have come before us so that we can en-
joy the freedom we have to live and
learn at Michaela.
We are looking forward to our trip to
the Natural History Museum at the end
of term where we will also try our hand
at ice skating. Thank you to Ms Dyer for
organising this trip. Will our sporty
pupils excel at ice skating, I wonder? Mr
Smith has done an incredible job of or-
ganising our PE offer every week, and
Mr Kirby and Mr Allan simply love play-
ing football with our top-performing
pupils every Friday.
This term saw the opening of our li-
brary, run by Ms Rafferty, where we
have 1600 excellent quality books,
graded in level of difficulty. Ms Ashford
actually hand picked every book on
our shelves to ensure that our pupils
have access to appropriate reading
material. I am always impressed by the
number of pupils who are keen to get
into the library to look at new books
and to learn as much as they can.
Pupils are making good use of the new
picnic tables outside and they are
thrilled to be taking tours with Willmott
Dixon (our contractors) of the site, to
see all the wonderful work they are do-
ing to get the building ready. We look
forward to April next year when the
completed building will be handed
over to us.
Governors are delighted with our
progress and what they have observed
so far. It is heartening for them to see
Michaela up and running. A very big
thank you to them and in particular
our Chair, Suella Fernandes, for all of
their hard work towards the opening of
Michaela and now for their ongoing
support.
A very big thank you to our staff for
their commitment and hard work this
term. As we always remind the pupils,
staff never take days off, so neither
should they! Our staff are in over the
holidays and stay late into the
evenings, preparing fantastic lessons.
It is always a pleasure for me to visit
lessons to see how much our pupils
have learned from our dedicated staff.
Also, Ms Silvanian and Mr Miernik go
well beyond the call of duty to ensure
our school systems support our teach-
ers. And a very special thank you to Ms
Morley for making our school newspa-
per a reality.
May I take this opportunity to wish all
families a peaceful and restful Christ-
mas, and if you don’t celebrate Christ-
mas, may I wish you a lovely holiday.
Yours faithfully
Katharine Birbalsingh
Headmistress
2 Michaela Matters
Inspired: David Lammy with some of our pupils
MeritsLuqmann gives us the low-
down on the merit system at
Michaela.
"It was an honour
to have a man so
important come
to our school and
see the Michaela
family together."
Zuhaila, Zuhal and Amrutha
reflect on David Lammy's
inspiring visit to Michaela.
"Everybody in
Michaela was
pleased to have
him there giving
such an
inspirational
speech."
David Lammy MP Visits Michaela
"Steal your
teachers' brains!
The knowledge
inside is free."
"When he had
finished his
speech, our
assembly hall was
a sea of hands."
Luqmann Pandore
Merits are for always being helpful to
each other and always behaving well in
lessons. Furthermore, they are also for
being a great role model to others so
that people can look up to you and say
that you are a respectable person. On
the other hand, demerits are for not
paying attention in lessons and track-
ing the teachers. If you get two demer-
its in one lesson it could possibly lead
to a lunchtime or aterschool detention
in which you would have to write an
apology letter to the person you have
disrespected and treated badly.
Zuhal Faraheen
Mr Lammy took time out of his sched-
ule to visit our school. He was very im-
pressed by our behaviour and our high
standards of respect and manners.
During the London riots, that started in
Tottenham, Mr Lammy stood up to the
perpetrators and tried to talk to them
to get them to stop as they were hurt-
ing people. It was an honour to have a
man so important to come to our
school and see the Michaela family to-
gether.
Zuhaila Mohamed
On Monday 24th November, David
Lammy, the Member of Parliament
(MP) for Tottenham, spared time to at-
tend Michaela Community School and
talk to staff and pupils about his life
and work as a politician. Having David
Lammy MP come to our high school is
an unbelievable privilege, as politicians
– such as himself – are incredibly busy.
Lammy described his life as ‘very
tough’. Throughout his whole life ev-
eryone told him that he would not be
able to achieve what he wanted to.
When he was at school he spoke of as-
piring to be a lawyer. People told him it
was impossible. He proved them wrong
when, in 1994, he became a barrister.
Despite people’s doubts, he went on to
become the first black Briton to study
at Harvard University.
When Mr Lammy was elected to be-
come the MP for Tottenham, he felt re-
warded despite wanting to continue
his legal career for a little longer. Mr
Lammy also spoke to Michaela Com-
munity School about his career before
studying law, including working at KFC
to support his family.
Mr Lammy also described the 2011 ri-
ots that began in Tottenham, where he
was from, and how he helped his area
endure the ater effects and helped
those that were in danger or jeopardy.
Mr Lammy believes that he could be-
come the next Mayor of London. Chil-
dren responded to that positively. One
responded: “I think that Mr Lammy
would be a great Mayor for London be-
cause he is very persuasive, convincing
and political as a person and a leader.”
Other children also added:"I think that
Mr Lammy should be the Mayor of Lon-
don because he is a strong leader. He
grew up in Tottenham which was a
poor area but still ended up becoming
a great politician to this very day." Mr
Lammy explained about the increasing
use of technology in different parts of
the world and how that has changed
the British civilisation that we live in
today. Everybody at Michaela was
pleased to have him there giving such
an inspirational speech.
Amrutha Vudathu
How many of you out there are football
fans of Tottenham? Well, have you ever
stopped and thought about the place
Tottenham? Have you ever thought
about the area that those footballers
train?
Michaela pupils were fortunate enough
to have the one and only David Lammy
visit our school. The MP for Tottenham
came and talked to us about the riots,
how he became a Member of Parlia-
ment, his childhood, and how he en-
dured the ups and downs of his life as a
child.
As a matter of fact, when he had fin-
ished his speech, our assembly hall
was a sea of hands; all the pupils were
eager to know more about the MP and
his story . As much as it was an excel-
lent experience for us all, it was also
very inspiring. We gave our guest, Mr
Lammy, a guided tour around our
school. The appreciation we gave for
him was truly deserved.
We especially liked it when Mr Lammy
told the pupils to: “Steal your teachers'
brains! The knowledge inside is free.”
We thank Mr Lammy for his visit and
wise words.
3Michaela Matters
Journalist: Jonathan Foreman
Journalist: David Goodhart
Willmott Dixon Tour
World-leading journalists visit the school
Pupil InspiredKeisi's essay describes why
she wants to venture into the
world of journalism.
"Is there a more satisfying
feeling than knowing that
something you composed was
worth something?"
Fiteen exemplary pupils
received an exciting tour of
the usually out of bounds
Willmott Dixon site
"It was extremely exciting to
see the result of Willmott
Dixon's hard work."
Ms Dyer
Ms Ashford, Ms Dyer and Mr Porter ac-
companied 15 pupils to visit the build-
ing site with Willmott Dixon staff, in-
cluding the project manager. These
pupils were selected for having not re-
ceived any demerits for the last half
term. It was extremely exciting to see
the result of Willmott Dixon's hard
work, as well as have the opportunity
to wear hard hats and high vis vests!
Ms Dyer was able to see the six new
state-of-the-art laboratories; we can-
not wait to relocate to have science
lessons there ater Easter! Another 15
pupils with very few demerits and a
high number of merits will be selected
in the following weeks to visit the rest
of the school. Keep on being kind and
working hard and you might just be
one of those pupils!
Zuhaila Mohamed
Approximately three weeks ago, two
very famous journalists came to visit
Michaela Community School to give a
speech about journalism and how they
each embarked upon this profession.
This happened during family lunch,
when at lunchtime all the teachers and
students come together to eat a
healthy and nutritious meal including
the two journalists, Mr Goodhart and
Mr Foreman. When the meal was com-
pletely demolished, the inspiring
speech was given by those future jour-
nalists and writers - to all of the pupils.
Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves
- listening and really understanding
how the profession works and what it
takes to be a journalist.
Keisi Krasniqi
Personally, I believe that English litera-
ture is one of the most beneficial sub-
jects to master in education. Under-
standing complex literacy can hand
you the keys to many closed doors, al-
though it is up to the person holding
them to decide which door to open. If I
were in that position, my profession of
choice would be journalism.
I can imagine putting in all I’ve learned
into a few beginning paragraphs, hop-
ing that one day I might read my name
plastered on the front cover of a news-
paper read by thousands, possibly mil-
lions of citizens. You may put your
heart and soul into an article and your
first article may not be anywhere to be
found at all, let alone on the first page.
Although this may be the case, from
that article you learned something!
Maybe it’s the amount of white lions
still in existence, or the rising accep-
tance rate of leading universities. If you
don’t learn anything from your job,
how will it benefit you?
Knowing that your article on the devas-
tating ISIS bombings and Britain’s slow
commencing victory may put the fami-
ly of an army recruit at ease, or per-
haps the entire United Kingdom as
they’re assured serenity for their coun-
try of residence. Is there a more satisfy-
ing feeling than knowing that some-
thing you composed was worth some-
thing? Perhaps one statistic you in-
clude in your article may be the answer
to a question, that one mark that can
hand somebody an invitation to
Oxford, Cambridge or Warwick in their
A-levels.
The public usually think that journal-
ists live a luxurious life, when in fact
their lifestyle is a façade to hard work;
challenging rival newspapers for the
most eye-catching story. Their deluxe
fate is all thanks to their love, passion
and dedication they possess for their
job.
Once I begin to produce a story I get
engrossed in it and treat it as if it’s trea-
sure! When I’m feeling bored I write bi-
ographies of characters and I dictate
stories. Once three of my character de-
scriptions (including extensive biogra-
phies) got deleted and it was as if I had
been thrown into an inferno in isola-
tion. Magically I managed to retrieve
them and it was as if it was Christmas
all over again. My love of English is one
I inherited from my mother. Because of
this she’s my inspiration.
To conclude, the reason I want to be-
come a journalist in the future is be-
cause what knowledge I gain and pub-
lish can be transferred into people’s
life, and through them, a change can
be made to society.
Mr Goodhart and Mr Foreman gener-
ously held an essay writing competi-
tion. The winners received a book
voucher. The entries were so good that
the two journalists could not choose.
All those that entered impressed Mr
Goodhart and Mr Foreman so much
they all received a book token. Con-
gratulations to all the winners. Here is
Keisi's:
4 Michaela Matters
Pupils enjoy learning
"I am proud to
say I go to
Michaela."
"Work hard, be kind!"
"Good,
better,
best!"
Pupils reflect on what makes Michaela
Community School unique.
What makes Michaela different?
Chardonnay summarises the
Michaela experience.
Fabia explains why Michaela
was the right choice for her.
Jermaine describes how
Catch-up makes Michaela
different
Fabia Ferreira-Capela
I believe that Michaela is different to
other schools and all children should
consider coming to Michaela.
One reason why is because of the
teachers. At Michaela the teachers are
really supportive of our learning; they
stay ater school to help us become
clearer in our knowledge, giving us
more power. Teachers also challenge
us when it comes to learning by asking
us more complex questions that make
us really think. At Michaela we are en-
couraged to use ambitious vocabulary
to deepen our understanding.
One other thing that is different about
Michaela is lunch time. At Michaela we
call lunch time ‘Family Lunch’. Family
Lunch is different to other schools be-
cause we all eat with each other. We
also have our own jobs to do. We also
wait for everybody to have their food
before everybody can begin; this shows
respect to everyone around us.
The strict rules at Michaela also make
the school different from others. At
Michaela we always have to be on time
and even if we are a minute late we go
to detention. We also use a lot
acronyms such as SLANT, (S is for Sit up
straight, L is for Listen, A is for Articu-
late, N is for Never Interrupt and T is for
Track the teacher.) We also have some-
thing called merits, which is a good
consequence and demerits, a bad con-
sequence. If you receive two demerits
in one lesson you will be in detention.
Detention helps us to understand and
to see what we cannot do.
To conclude I think children should
come to Michaela because it can
change children. I am an example of
this. Before, in primary school I always
used to get distracted. However, at
Michaela I have become more focused
and have gained more knowledge. I be-
lieve that children should come to
Michaela because it encourages people
to change and become better people. I
believe that every child should have
come to Michaela, and I am proud to
say I go to Michaela.
Berlyn Jensen-Wallace
At Michaela we have amazing teachers
who are very passionate about our
learning which is why every student
must come to school every day other-
wise they miss eight hours of precious
learning time. Our headmistress, Ms.
Birbalsingh, is strict and that is a good
thing because if we were allowed to
slouch, talk or shout out in lessons no-
body would learn to their full potential.
Michaela is no ordinary school; we be-
have like a private school but without
the price. We are lucky to be able to
grasp all of the knowledge our teachers
pack into their minds. Knowledge is
power and we know this because our
teachers have shown us that they
could have chosen many career paths
but they chose to teach us. They all
went to university and tried their best.
This gave them many options in life.
Reading is incredibly important when it
comes to education. We learned this
from all the teachers whose inspira-
tional words resonated not only with
me but many other students. We have
been shown the benefits of reading
and how it can change our lives. In the
opinion of other children I have spoken
to, they have told me how, if they could
not read a book, it would be such a dif-
ferent world to them.
At Michaela manners are very impor-
tant. If a person has generously given
you something you thank them
politely. If an adult issues you a demer-
it you apologise, not protest and rudely
talk back to them. Some schools may
allow that but not at Michaela because
that is not who we are. Michaela is
named ater an extraordinary teacher
and the way we behave ensures she
has let behind a positive legacy.
Jermaine Adewale
Michaela Community School is differ-
ent for a lot of reasons. Unlike other
schools, we make sure that everyone is
comfortable with their work and if they
are not, we will do as much as we can
to get our pupils all on the same level.
At Michaela, we encourage our children
to do some extra work before and ater
the school day. Every pupil has to do a
reading log every night ater twenty
minutes of reading a Michaela school
library book. If the logs are not on time,
accurate, neat and complete, the pupil
will be sent to homework catch-up to
re-write the log in a green pen to cor-
rect their mistakes. Homework catch-
up is not a punishment, but a friendly
learning environment where teachers
are there to tell the pupils where they
went wrong. If a pupil works hard, they
will be rewarded to acknowledge how
hard they have worked to be the best
they can be.
Chardonnay McFarlane-Smith
If someone asked me to describe
Michaela in a couple of sentences I
would say: Michaela is a place to suc-
ceed in life and Michaela helps you to
be a better person. The school motto is
'work hard, be kind' and that is a life
lesson to learn from now and for the fu-
ture.
Aycan Farzadneia-Citci
Michaela is a community school. We
are a huge family of one hundred and
twenty pupils as well as members of
staff. If something goes wrong we help
each other. We have an award system
of merits and those are for the good
choices we make, but not just good –
the best. During primary school I was
useless at everything but ever since I
came to Michaela I feel like a better
person. By concentrating hard, I have
taken in every single word that has
been said in each subject. Spread the
word about Michaela!
The school is named ater a lady
named Michaela. She was a woman
who died from cancer and who was a
teacher. She was our headmistress’
special friend whose legacy continues
to inspire education.
5Michaela Matters
Michaela MasteryKysha and Joshua unpack the
mystery behind mastery at
Michaela.
"Michaela has a
private school
ethos with very
high
standards."
"We strive to
become better."
Pupil brims with pride for his school
"All pupils are
expected to get
100%"
Joshua Adewale
Michaela is the best school in England
because the mind-set of the school is
mastery. Mastery is vital because it
means the knowledge you have
learned will go into your long term
memory. For example, if you had an
English lesson and you still remember
it in five years, then that is mastery.
In order to help us master concepts,
Michaela has a very strict behaviour
policy using merits and demerits. Mer-
its are used to recognise acts of kind-
ness in addition to how well you have
been working. Demerits help us ac-
knowledge that bad choices lead to
bad consequences. If you get two de-
merits in one lesson you receive a de-
tention. This is because you should
learn your lesson rather than ruin the
education of other people who want to
learn. At Michaela there is no choice to
opt out and make excuses; we strive to
become better and aim to be the best
that we can be.
Michaela has a private school ethos
with very high standards; they treat
you like a private school would. The
teachers are highly educated and the
universities they attended consist of:
Cambridge, Warwick, University Col-
lege of London and Oxford University.
The teachers do not come to watch you
mess around, they come to see you
work harder than them. Michaela is the
best educated state school in England.
Kysha Lee
At Michaela Community School we
strongly believe in mastery. By mas-
tery we mean that the pupils will know
a subject so well that we will know it
like the back of our hands. Once they
have mastered a subject, pupils will
take a subject quiz. All pupils are ex-
pected to get 100%. Once we have
achieved 100%, we know we have truly
mastered that topic and we are now
ready to move on to the next one. Here,
at Michaela, if you miss a day you sure-
ly cannot master that unit because the
amount we learn in a day is approxi-
mately the amount we learned in a
week at primary school. Our lessons
are very comprehensive so we learn a
lot. If you miss a day you will fall be-
hind the rest of your classmates. All
this mastery is to ensure exceptional
GCSE grades for each pupil.
At Michaela we have a self-quizzing
book so each child is able to test them-
selves on the unit subject they are
learning. In Science (taught by Ms
Dyer), we have mastered both the re-
productive and digestive systems,
muscles, plant and animal cells, tissues
and have even studied some alimenta-
ry organs. In Humanities (taught by Mr
Porter) we have mastered both the
civilisation of Mesopotamia and An-
cient Egypt. In English (taught by Mr
Kirby and Ms Ashford) we have mas-
tered many Ancient Greek myths and
legends and the concepts of hubris and
nemesis. We have even read an
abridged version of the entire Odyssey
and the journey of Odysseus. In Mathe-
matics, (taught by Ms Isaksen) we have
mastered squaring numbers, multipli-
cation and division, scaling by powers
of 2 and 10 and multiplying decimals.
Finally, in French (taught by Mr Smith)
we have managed to master some
GCSE level French already!
Lamar Cornwall
Michaela is a free school which means
we are allowed to make our own deci-
sions. Michaela is a school that is being
built right now. Michaela is going to be
finished by April, and this is a com-
pletely different school compared to
the others. I know Michaela is different
because in this school we have lunch
altogether like a family. When our
school is completed it will look a lot
better.
At school the uniform policy is unbe-
lievably strict. You need to wear the
correct uniform otherwise you had bet-
ter beg for mercy, because your par-
ents will be called and you could be
sent home. One reason why the policy
is very strict is because in other schools
children get severely bullied.
All our teachers are qualified; they
went to world-class universities. They
are all wonderful teachers and they
teach spectacularly well; we are really
proud of them and they are proud of us
too. Our headmistress is a well-man-
nered lady and had a really good edu-
cation. Ms Birbalsingh went to Oxford
University and studied French and phi-
losophy. We are proud, we are
Michaela.
6 Michaela Matters
Readers become leaders
"This event has
caused an immense
amount of excitement
throughout the
school."
Get your skates on!Keisi explains how pupils are
whipped into a festive frenzy
as end-of-term celebrations
are revealed.
Library unveiled
Tackling Bullying
Zuhal describes her
experience as a Michaela
guide.
Guide the way
"Bullying happens
everywhere, not only
to children but adults
too."
Mya Peart
Two or three weeks ago, the new li-
brary opened. Poseidon was the first
form to see the library and the first to
choose a book, for example about
Greek myths and much more. Some of
the books have stars on; the stars rep-
resent the books you can learn from.
Some children have donated books
that they don’t need. For example, Lilly
from Poseidon donated a big bag of
books that are going to be in the
library.
Vinuki Gungomu Vidanage
Bullying happens everywhere, not only
to children but adults too. Around the
world the amount of people getting
bullied is based on their differences: re-
ligion, height, personality, race,
strength or ability to do something.
Many children have to face bullying on
their own as they are nervous about
telling an adult to help them. Children
think that if they tell an adult the news
will get back to the bully; they get
afraid that the bully might torment
them more. To be honest, if that hap-
pens, the person who is being bullied
should tell again. Situations become
even worse if an adult is not told and
there are devastating instances when
the person being bullied gets fed up
and commits suicide. An example of
this is Amanda Todd, a girl who com-
mitted suicide at the age of fiteen by
drinking bleach. Children at ten,
eleven, twelve, thirteen and even older
may not inform anybody about their
situation. Unfortunately about 20-30 %
tell an adult about how they feel and
the rest deal with it in great grief and
depression.
Children will put on a happy face to
show their parents so they will not be
worried or feel sorry for them, but deep
inside of the child swirls a breeze of de-
pression, anger, confusion and more. In
many different schools children get
bullied by one person but then a whole
gang and even if the child tells a teach-
er not a single thing is done. At schools
like Michaela Community School not a
single child is bullied, they are looked
ater by others and feel more confident
towards others. Other schools' pupils
train themselves to hold their business
for the whole day as they have anxiety
about going to the toilet because they
might find trouble waiting for them
there. Normally when a person wants
to be popular they will pick on the
weakest link and then it will build their
popularity. Unfortunately some people
just bully others for fun and do not
have a kind heart. Because the toilets
at Michaela have teachers standing
outside, we are safe from bullying.
Not everyone has to face bullying
alone. Children are usually quiet so ask
them: “Is anything bothering you?” If
they deny it, ask again to make sure
and tell them why. Or you can ask
them: “How was your day at school,
was everything okay?'' or if they have
been bullied before and they have not
mentioned it, ask them: “Did the bully-
ing stop? How did it go?” Sometimes if
you feel they are lying ask again just to
make sure. And friends if you feel like
your friend is feeling bullied stick up
for them, tell the bullies off, tell them
what they are doing wrong. And if you
are being bullied, stay strong. Bullies
get power from your sadness and de-
pression but do not let them.
They might have a flaw that you don't
so show them that you also can do
things that they can't do. Always tell an
adult and just be yourself because you
should not change for other people.
Just be who you are and be proud of
who you are, be proud of what you
have and be proud of your personality
because that is what makes you, you.
And if you are bullying someone and
you know it, STOP. You do not know
how it feels and if you did you would
wish this was not your life. So respect
others because they are in a situation
where they have to stay strong and
deal with a hard life. We can all stop
bullying and we can a do it together.
Keisi Krasniqi
Michaela Community School has been
open since 15th of September and it
will be ending its first 3 months with
end of term celebrations. Ms Dyer, Sci-
ence teacher, has organised, undoubt-
edly with other staff, a trip to the Natu-
ral History Museum, accompanied with
a session of ice skating outside the
building in central London. This event
has caused an immense amount of ex-
citement throughout the school.
On Wednesday of the last week of term
there will be a Christmas dinner lunch,
where Ms Stubbs and Ms Fitzgerald will
be catering for the entire school, and
hopefully, like Halloween, they'll be
decorating the lunch hall to get us all in
the Christmas spirit.
We will be watching Akeelah and the
Bee, a movie where Akeelah partici-
pates in many spelling bees, but no
more spoilers just yet, although it will
definitely be exciting.
A reward event will additionally be
held in the same week, where badges
and certificates will be awarded to
pupils who have 100% attendance,
100% punctuality and outstanding be-
haviour, effort and kindness.
I personally, am immensely eager for
the last week of term, but definitely not
because it is the end of term, I love
school in itself, and the action that will
be commencing on that week will be a
very memorable one. This will be the
first Christmas in Michaela history, and
hopefully it will be the best one!
Zuhal Faraheen
I have been a guide before and it was
kind of daunting at first, but all the
guides got used to it eventually. In-
stead of teachers showing parents or
guests around the school, the guides
do. The guides sometimes go in pairs
to show them around, but most of the
time we go on our own. We show them
around on opening nights or mornings
to parents and guests. For instance, the
MP for Tottenham came to visit us and
talked to us and two people showed
him around. The guides hope they do
not make any mistakes while they are
talking. We talk about the teachers, for
example, we tell guests which universi-
ty they went to. So really, guides are
people who show parents or guests
around the school and talk about the
school.
7Michaela Matters
Do not judge Michaela from
the outside. Joseph explains
why.
"The only
acceptable
percentage at
Michaela is
100%."
Reece explains life at Michaela
and why 100% is the only
acceptable percentage.
100% is the only percentage that matters
"Missing a day of
school means a
child is missing
around eight
hours of
education."
"All the teachers
care so much
about our
education and
success."
Joseph Babatunde
Michaela Community School is not fin-
ished yet, so some people when they
go past the school get the wrong idea.
But when you actually go inside the
school you forget everything you said
when you saw the outside of the school
because it looks so beautiful on the in-
side. Not only that, but all you have to
do is look at a Michaela pupil to see
how smart they are and how they show
so much integrity.
We really try to be different from other
secondary schools. One of the mottos
we have at Michaela is "work hard, be
kind" and that is what we try to do at
all times. This motto is a really good
motto because it sets you up for life in
the future. When you are at university
or have a job, it is important that you
work hard at what you are doing and
be kind because nobody likes a person
that is not kind at all and nobody likes
a person that will not even give 100%.
To add to that, Michaela has anther
motto and that is: "Knowledge is pow-
er". The more knowledgeable you are
the more choices you will have in the
future . So at Micheala the only per-
centage that matters is 100%. Michaela
wants every child to have 100% atten-
dance and have a 100% punctuality
record because it is vital that the chil-
dren get all the education that they can
get. Missing a day of school means a
child is missing around eight hours of
education. And that is a lot!
Reece Smith
Michaela Community School is located
in Wembley Park, just opposite the
Wembley Park tube station. Michaela is
different from other schools. The
teachers stay ater school so we can
stay ater school if we want to talk to
them if we do not understand some-
thing. At Michaela, it is a very early
start at 7:55 am. We also finish later
than many other secondary schools.
From Monday to Wednesday we finish
at 4:00 pm. On Thursday we finish at
3:45 pm and Friday is an earlier finish
at 3:00 pm. Unlike other schools, here
at Michaela, we do not tolerate the
slightest amount of bullying.
All the teachers care so much about
our education and success. Ms Isaksen,
who has a first class degree from the
University of Cambridge, cares so
much about our success that she stays
ater school to run an ater school club
so that we can get help with anything
maths related.
At Michaela, we enjoy the experience of
a family lunch, where we all sit down at
a table of seven: there are six pupils
and one adult at every table. Every day
the teachers change the table they sit
at. Every day, all the Future Leaders
come in early in the morning to get the
cutlery ready for lunch.
Every Tuesday and Thursday we have
an assembly. The Guides set up the as-
sembly hall the evening before, ready
for the next day.
We have four forms: Athena (the god-
dess of wisdom), Poseidon (the god of
the sea), Zeus (the king of the gods)
and Demeter (the goddess of the har-
vest). This is because we have recently
learned about the Greek gods and god-
desses in English.
Michaela is different to other schools
b e c a u s e w e h a v e a m a s t e r y
curriculum, which means that the
teachers teach us a topic until the class
as a whole has mastered it. The teach-
ers are able to teach us things that
pupils at other schools will not learn
about until Year 12.
We do not have lots of homework like
other schools. We do a reading log for
30 minutes at home and practice IXL,
which is a maths website.
We quiz ourselves every week on what
we have learned. We have a self-
quizzing book, divided into all the dif-
ferent subjects, so we can test
ourselves. We do these quizzes to see if
there is anything we need to work on.
For example, in English we are studying
Greek Mythology and our quizzes in-
clude questions about the wooden
horse of Troy and Odysseus.
The only acceptable percentage at
Michaela is 100%, be that for atten-
dance, punctuality or in the weekly
quizzes. We do not settle for second
best. We want to be first and we do not
like losing agasint the other forms. At
Michaela, we do not like other students
being late as this will bring down our
class percentage. We learn so much at
Michaela. If we want to learn as much
as possible in that day we have to be
on time everyday.
8 Michaela Matters
Role 1: Fetch and serve the food
Michaela takes a different
approach to lunchtime. Muna
describes pupils' roles of
responsibility and how a
family feeling is fostered.
Lunch at Michaela - it's a family affair
"Michaela aims to bring students
together as a family."
What does each role of
responsibility entail? Zuhal
succinctly explains."We like family
lunch because we
make new
friends."
"Two claps on
two: one, two."
Muna Sabriye
Michaela Community School, a magnif-
icent school producing intellectual
pupils, takes a different route towards
lunch. As you may acknowledge, many
schools in the area of Brent allow
pupils to consume their lunches inde-
pendently, whereas Michaela aims to
bring students together as a family.
Family Lunch provides an opportunity
for this to occur.
First and foremost, roles are compulso-
ry for the process to take place. For ex-
ample, role one is to fetch and serve
the nutritious meal. There are six differ-
ent roles altogether giving pupils the
chance to work as a team.
Leading on towards the end of our
amazing lunch, we conclude with a
humble time to give appreciations to
people. We like to appreciate acts of
kindness. As well as feeling proud, the
person also feels appreciated. Al-
though family lunch is a great time to
give or receive appreciations, one-to-
one appreciations are equally as con-
siderate.
Teachers and adults are welcomed to
the table to also enjoy the amazing
lunch alongside the pupils. No matter
who you are, you are always accepted
as part of the Michaela family. Why
should it only be the children that get
to sit in the hall and enjoy their lunch?
During lunch, many great questions are
asked to teachers and we all share the
same topic of conversation. An exam-
ple of a conversation topic was: “If you
could visit one country in the world,
where would it be?”
Michaela pupils are always showing
great table manners. We lay the table
correctly and always remember to say
please and thank you. As Michaela
pupils grow up with these habits en-
grained, they will become instanta-
neous actions in their everyday lives.
In conclusion, Michaela Community
School grants life-changing opportuni-
ties. Michaela pupils demonstrate
qualities that are vital to success, such
as: integrity, efficiency and kindness.
Do you know any other school in Lon-
don that eats together as a family?
Michaela will lead many great people
into a successful life.
Every day, pupils at Michaela are given
a topic to talk about around the lunch
table. All pupils participate in the stim-
ulating conversation. Examples of con-
versations that have already taken
place include:
• Patience
• Integrity
• Embarrassing moment
• Favourite book and why
• Time travel
It is great to hear everybody's views on
these topics. Michaela pupils are all
willing to contribute to the conversa-
tion - even when the topic is your most
embarrassing moment!
Ater lunch, pupils appreciate one an-
other. A pupil will stand up and say
who they would like to appreciate and
give a specific reason why. The whole
school will then clap twice in unison to
recognise and give thanks to the indi-
vidual. It is lovely to see acts of kind-
ness being genuinely appreciated ev-
ery day.
Zuhal Faraheen
Family lunch is where six people (in-
cluding an adult) sit together and have
lunch like a family. The six pupils have
a role to do. For example role one gets
the food from the front, role two pours
the water for everyone, role three
clears the plates, role four takes the
plates and brings the dessert , role five
takes the dessert back and finally role
six takes the water back and cleans the
table. We like family lunch because we
make new friends.
9Michaela Matters
"Remembrance Day is a day of
sympathy, a day to remember
soldiers who put their lives on
the line sacrificing themselves
just to make our world a
better place."
En français
100 years ater the 'war to end
all wars' we still remember.
Hayley reflects on
Remembrance Day.
he chefs don't miss a beet
Ms Stubbs and Ms Byrne share
one of their favourite recipes.
What did you remember?
We commemorate a war that
began over a century ago
whilst also remembering the
wars that continue to rage
across the globe today.
Hayley Jones
Remembrance Day is a day of sympa-
thy, a day to remember soldiers who
put their lives on the line sacrificing
themselves just to make our world a
better place. We remember the re-
markable life-changing soldiers on the
11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th
month, when World War One ended.
This day is a day to think about others.
Would you be alive right now? Would
you have food to eat every day? Would
you be in the same conditions as you
are now if they did not give their lives
away, to give us what they did not
have? Imagine going to fight in a war
where you know you would not come
back leaving your family and friends
forever. With heavy hearts we wait a
moment in silence to think about how
lucky we are. Also to commemorate
this occasion, many people choose to
wear a poppy to remember each sol-
dier who died to save and protect our
country.
The chefs divulge their secret recipes
for you to try at home.
Chocolate & Beetroot Muffin
Serves 12
Ingredients
• 75g reduced fat cocoa powder
• 180g plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 250g caster sugar
• 250g grated cooked beetroot
• 3 free range eggs
• 200 ml vegetable oil
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C.
2. Beat the eggs, oil and beetroot
together.
3. Carefully fold in the flour, cocoa,
sugar and baking powder.
4. Pour equal amounts into 12 muf-
fin cases. Bake in the oven for 30 min-
utes until golden and risen. Allow to
cool before serving.
5. Enjoy with chocolate custard.
Dev Shaileshkumar
I like French because it makes me feel
like a teacher. In nine weeks, I feel like I
have learnt a lot and mastered the con-
tent. It is possible to get 100% in the
French quiz if you practice. In French
we learn about countries and sen-
tences.
Here are some useful French phrases to
help you start off:
Bonjour: Hello.
Je voudrais aller: I would like to go
Je vais aller: I am going to go
en Allemagne: to Germany
The difference in learning French com-
pared to English is that French has ac-
cents. They are easy to learn if you
practise. There are three different
types of accents: grave, aigu, circon-
flexe. They change the way the words
are pronounced.
In English we say I would like to go but
in French we say: Je voudrais aller, in
English we say I am going to go but in
French we say: Je vais aller. So that is a
short introduction on how French
works. If you work hard, you will find it
easy!
On 11th November, Mr Porter gave an
extraordinary Remembrance Day as-
sembly. He asked the staff and pupils
to question what they will choose to fo-
cus on and remember when observing
the silence at 11a.m.
Remembrance Day is the time when
the grateful British nation pays tribute
to its war dead. This has become a sig-
nificant date in our national calendar.
We commemorate a war that began
over a century ago whilst also remem-
bering the wars that continue to rage
across the globe today. Mr Porter re-
minded the community of Michaela
that wars affect those in the past and
present, men and women, and mem-
bers of all religious factions.
Remembrance Day is widely observed
with great solemnity. Buying a poppy
has become almost obligatory. As the
years have gone by, more monuments
have been erected to record the previ-
ous unacknowledged sacrifices in war.
The war dead of India, Burma, Ireland
and other former nations of the Empire
are now acknowledged, as well as
women who participated in the war. Mr
Porter reminded us all of the sacrifices
made in wartime. Headmistress, Ms
Birbalsingh, described the assembly as
“informative, clever and very moving”
then added that it was the “best
November 11th assembly [she had]
ever seen”. The assembly was a
thought-provoking reminder about the
atrocities of war. With themes of loss,
love and conflict spreading across all
wars, the messages of Remembrance
Day still resonate with us, whatever we
choose to specifically remember.
10 Michaela Matters
Letting your heart rule your head?
A mammoth discovery
Science
Iliyah scientifically
investigates which works
harder: the head or the heart?
Takiela Francis-Williams
Science is a core subject at Michaela
Community School. We have four fun
hours of science every week, which is
taught by Ms Dyer - an extremely tal-
ented scientist who went to one of Lon-
don’s best universities, University Col-
lege London. Ms Dyer focussed on her
education and that is why she is in-
credibly intelligent.
Ms Dyer helps every single one of her
pupils to increase the power of their
knowledge. Our current subject areas
are biology, reproduction and move-
ment.
How do we learn science at Michaela?
Chants - Ms Dyer creates helpful
rhyming chants. They contain the key
information we need to know. By using
chants, the information will be in our
long term memory.
Weekly quizzes - We have weekly
quizzes because it is a fantastic way for
our hard-working teachers to record
how we are doing and how hard we
have been listening. If you work hard
you will be able to get 100%.
Staying ater school - this is optional
yet you find many eager students stay-
ing behind in order to get help if they
are stuck with something or just simply
to find out more. Science is not the eas-
iest subject to master, but with hard
and work and determination it is possi-
ble.
Iliyah Byron
Which works harder: your heart or
brain? This depends if you are busy ex-
ercising or busy thinking. Your heart
works up to three times harder during
exercise, but in the long run, your brain
probably wins. Even when you are sit-
ting still your brain uses twice as much
energy as your heart and it takes four
to five times more blood to feed it.
In order to function, your brain and
heart need glucose and oxygen, as do
all your organs. Blood is just the con-
veyor belt that delivers these to your
hungry cells, tissues and organs. Red
blood cells act like oxygen postmen -
they pick up oxygen molecules in the
lungs and carry them to the tissues
throughout the body.
Glucose, meanwhile, moves into your
bloodstream from the digestive
system, and simply dissolves into your
blood, making it slightly sweet and
sugary.
Whilst all your tissues use oxygen and
glucose, your muscles and brain are
perhaps the most greedy. At rest, your
muscles use around 15 percent of your
blood flow, while your brain uses
roughly 20 percent. Your heart, too,
needs about 4-5 percent of your blood
supply, just to keep pumping. Without
the constant movement of blood that
your heart provides, your tissues would
quickly become starved of oxygen and
glucose, and your brain would begin to
shut down. So your heart must work
hard throughout your entire life.
At an average rate of 5.2 litres per
minute. In one day (twenty four hours),
your heart pumps enough blood to fill
the water tanks of four full-sized fire
engines. Over a lifetime, the average
heart pumps 180 million litres of blood,
or enough to fill an ocean-going oil su-
per tanker!
During exercise, your muscles use up
oxygen and glucose much more
quickly. In this state, your muscles
need four or five times more blood
than they did at rest, so the heart has
to pump much harder and faster to
meet the demand for more blood.
When you are resting or sleeping, your
heart beats around sixty to a hundred
times per minute, but when you're
sprinting or swimming, your heart can
reach 200 beats per minute or more.
Does that mean that your heart has to
be working harder than your brain?
For a short burst, perhaps, yes. Most of
us, though, sleep for a third of our
lives, and spend very little time exercis-
ing this hard. Even for Olympic
athletes, it is pretty much impossible to
keep that level of exercise up for more
then thirty minutes, let alone all day.
So over the course of your lifetime your
brain works the hardest.
Davina Sidhpura
Recently scientists have discovered
what seems to be a whole woolly
mammoth. This creature was found in
Siberia. They have been trying to dis-
cover its murky past along with how
this fascinating creature died. The sci-
entists have decided to search the ani-
mal for at least one intact cell. With this
they will be able to clone this creature
a n d c r e a t e a w h o l e f l o c k o f
mammoths. They are certain that this
animal will have the power to fight
global warming. When these creatures
roamed the earth the vast majority of
the land was kept in a good condition.
Yet when they let and became extinct,
the land became hard and very unsuit-
able for any living animal of the earth.
This particular specimen was found in
2013, packed and stored in the ice.
The basic drat of her death is as fol-
lows:
The mammoth seems to be stuck in a
swamp. The sticky features of the
swamp are restricting this animal from
moving. It has its front half kneeling
down, whereas its hind is up high. Ater
this strange turn of events a huge pack
of hungry animals (supposedly wolves)
start to tear and eat this animal alive
(resulting from the tears in the animals
bones).
Scientists have no other idea of what
had happened next as the ice may
have protruded later on. Scientists
have discovered exactly that this speci-
men died c.39,000 years ago. Its age is
also around 50-60 years old. Scientists
could tell about this as each ring
around the horns states one year of the
mammoth's life. These scientists are
completely baffled by the idea of the
mammoth being preserved so well. In
fact the animal has traces of fur and ice
cold flesh. The remarkable fact about
this is that the flesh is like it has come
from an animal that has just recently
died. The animal also contains high
levels of blood (one of the biggest
amounts of blood found from any
mammoth to this day).
11Michaela Matters
Remarkie reports on sport at
Michaela Community School.
he Battle of Britain
Crash causes chaos
“I really enjoy working in
the school because you
are so polite."
Sport
Clean up your act
Budding journalist?
Remarkie Scott
At Michaela, whenever we do sports we
go to the amazing Powerleague which
is very far but at least we get the exer-
cise. Some of the children that do
some jogging get out of breath when
we cross the road. On Thursday ater-
noon at approximately 13.20 we leave
the dinner hall to get ready and when
we are fully changed into our PE kits
we line up in the yard in our correct
group. When we arrive at Powerleague
the coaches are very strict but nice at
the same time. Mr David, for example,
is very strict - when somebody does
something wrong the whole class gets
into trouble, but if the whole class be-
haves then he will give us a treat like
playing Bulldogs and other extremely
fun activities. This term in PE, there are
two types of sports on offer: there is
handball that some children do with
Ms Morley and there is football that
some boys and girls do with different
coaches. Mr Smith, Mr Allan and Mr Kir-
by organise the sports so that we can
have enjoyable laughs and a good time
in sport.
We have learnt that by doing sports we
can build our personality and it makes
us stronger on the inside as well as the
outside. We have learnt how to have
teamwork and if one of us spoils it then
the rest of us can not carry on and en-
joy it. The best thing about football is
instead of us going straight into a
match we make sure we warm up and
practice our drills and skills. By doing
this, it increases our speed, accuracy,
teamwork and agility. Mr. David is a
very fun coach because he is a teacher
to us - we learn all about the muscles.
The biceps, quadriceps, hamstring and
triceps are just a few that we have
learnt. In football, the pitches are the
right size so it makes it easier to prac-
tice our skills in a real match. Everyone
is filled with happiness to do sport.
Scotland 1 - 3 England
On Tuesday 18th November, at 20:00,
the battle of Britain was upon us as
England readied themselves to play
Scotland at Celtic Park. If there was
any year in which Scotland could beat
England - this was it. Scotland were
hoping to inflict defeat and build on
their triumph from the Euro 2016 quali-
fying win against the Republic of Ire-
land. Unfortunately, their plans were
hampered by the English team. Win-
ning was as important as immortal glo-
ry for Ancient Greek heroes. The final
score was 3-1 to England, with Rooney
scoring two of the goals for England.
It was a tremendous night for England,
Lina Thamin El Bakkali
On Friday 7 November 2014 there was
a car accident in Forty Lane. This colli-
sion caused major traffic congestion; it
was taking the buses and cars ages to
get through, which meant that pupils
were delayed getting home. From Forty
Lane the traffic went all the way to
Asda. Passengers wanted to find out
what was going on. On the bus, every-
one was shouting to get out. Every-
body looked astonished. Nobody knew
how it happened. A policeman at the
scene said that it happened by two
cars colliding. One man was not wear-
ing his seatbelt. This is a reminder for
us all to always wear a seatbelt.
Tayvia Watson
Every day, before and ater school,
cleaners help to make our school a
cleaner environment. When I stay be-
hind ater school, I see them hard at
work and having to clean the toilets ev-
ery day! It is important to appreciate
those that make a difference to our
school community and environment,
even if we do not see them. When
asked about working here, one cleaner
commented: “I really enjoy working in
the school because you are so polite”.
Some pupils help out the cleaners by
volunteering to stay ater school and
make teachers’ classrooms clean. You
may think that this is done as if by
magic, but it is not! It is your school
cleaners and some of your fellow
pupils doing an excellent job keeping
your school clean.
Remember to respect those that are
doing a fantastic job contributing to
the Michaela community.
Our cleaners do so much for us and
they cannot be appreciated enough. I
hope you notice what brilliant school
cleaners we have, I hope you are polite
and thank them and wish them a good
day when you see them.
Would you like to see your name and
article feature in the next edition of
Michaela Matters? Many journalists
started out writing for their school or
university newspaper. It is a great op-
portunity for you to harness your jour-
nalistic flair and practise writing for a
potentially very large audience. There
is a unique sense of achievement
gained from seeing your name in print
alongside your published article.
Topics for articles can include things
that people want or need to know
about. People might want to know the
sport news, but they might need to
know about health and education mat-
ters, conflicts around the world, or sim-
ply what is going on at school. To be in
the next edition of Michaela Matters, e-
mail your thought-provoking articles to
Ms Morley: [email protected].
12 Michaela Matters
Tragedy: Hughes died playing the
sport he loved.
Cricketer Phillip Hughes Dies
"It really is a brilliant
atmosphere and a
great way to end a
week of hard-work."
Liverpool unable to shake curse
Are you in the running?
"He was loved, admired and
respected by his team mates
and by legions of cricket fans."
"For a young life to be cut
short playing our national
game seems a shocking
aberration."
Mr Allan
Friday football is a chance to reward in-
credible effort and kindness through-
out the week. Twenty-one pupils get
the chance to play matches against
each other (as well as against myself
and Mr. Kirby). It really is a brilliant at-
mosphere and a great way to end a
week of hard-work. But how can you
have the chance to join us? The key is
to make sure you are in the running! If
you ticked the box saying you were in-
terested in Friday football at the begin-
ning of term then you are in the run-
ning. Unsure if this is you? Not to worry
- anyone can be added or removed
from the running at any time. Once you
are in the running, the rest is down to
you! The twenty-one people with the
best merit balance from the previous
week are selected from the running
and placed on 'The List' and will be in-
vited to join us to play on Friday. So get
in the running, earn your merits, get on
the list and join us for a brilliant way to
end the week!
who are trying to rebuild their confi-
dence ater their early exit from the
World Cup in Brazil.
Priyen Pillay
Crystal Palace 3 - 1 Liverpool
On Sunday 23rd November 2014 I was
honoured to watch history unfold
when Crystal Palace, a little football
club located in the London Borough of
Croydon beat a big team that is world
famous, especially in Malaysia, Liver-
pool FC. This match was magnificent as
the pride of Croydon kept the curse of
Liverpool going on. Liverpool had nev-
er beaten Crystal Palace away at Sel-
hurst Park. The match was tense and
with Liverpool scoring ater 90 seconds
they looked destined to break the
curse. With Crystal Palace knowing
their expectations, they delivered. One
goal last season was by star Crystal
Palace striker Dwight Gayle. And now
another goal by Dwight Gayle! To finish
Liverpool off, Aussie Skipper Mike Jedi-
nak scored a magnificent free kick.
That was a match to remember for
generations to come.
Uzayr Sohail
On Wednesday November 25, in a do-
mestic match in Sydney, a young crick-
eter, Phillip Hughes, dropped uncon-
scious ater being struck in the neck
with a bouncer from Sean Abbott.
Just ater getting hit, Hughes waved
precariously and suddenly plummeted
to the ground. Doctors rushed to his
aid on the pitch and he was carried off
on a stretcher The 25 year old died two
days ater being struck. He was treated
in St Vincent’s hospital, where doctors
say he never regained consciousness.
Doctors say his vertebral artery split,
causing a massive bleed into his brain.
In the atermath of the tragic news, his
parents have been struck with grief
and desolation. The world of cricket
has since paid tribute to the young
cricketer. Kevin Pietersen told Sky
News that “cricket has lost a born en-
tertainer” and that Hughes “will be
sorely missed”. Australian Prime Minis-
ter, Tony Abbott, led a flood of tributes
for Hughes. "His death is a very sad day
for cricket and a heartbreaking day for
his family. What happened has touched
millions of Australians. For a young life
to be cut short playing our national
game seems a shocking aberration. He
was loved, admired and respected by
his team mates and by legions of crick-
et fans," Abbott said in a statement.