NEWSLETTER George Green’sSchool

1Issue 11 - November 15th 2013

Principal’s WelcomeBeing a Principal of a big secondary school is a fantastic job. Although there are challenges, every day there are many moments of sheer joy when pupils do something that is inspiring or when they successfully take a step that represents real progress towards a difficult goal. There is so much to celebrate on a daily basis.

I want to mention five pupils in particular although there are many that are worthy of mention. These pupils inspired me and made me feel quite humble. They are Imtiyaz Choudhury, Sindy Wade, Taylor John-Lewis, Dannilea Murphy all in Year 11 and Tahmid Khan in Year 8.

Tahmid’s English teacher, Ms Dalling, stopped me in the corridor with an excited look on her face. ‘Read this’, she instructed. The class had been working on the stories of Roald Dahl. I read the most fantastic short story called ‘The Hairhanger’; the vocabulary was wide ranging and interesting; the sentences he used were beautifully crafted and the plot was intriguing. When I learned that Tahmid, the writer, was only in Year 8, I was amazed that someone so young could write so well and produce such an accomplished short story. I am looking forward to his first novel. George Green’s pupils are so talented!

A different kind of success but no less inspiring is that of Imtiyaz Choudhury. Imtiyaz has recently taken advantage of a work experience placement through the Think Forward scheme. We are very lucky at George Green’s to work with external partners; Barclays Bank pays for the Think Forward scheme which involves mentoring for young people during their time at school but also after they have left. The scheme also organises work experience placements and Imtiyaz took advantage of one of these; he worked in R.R. Donnelly and Sons during his half term holiday. The company works in IT and Imtiyaz maintained computers, sorted cables and mice out and did whatever he was asked to do to help. When Imtiyaz returned to school after the holiday, he talked so excitedly about his time with the company and had clearly learned a lot about computers but also about himself. It was so satisfying to see how he had matured and how much more confident he seemed. I am sure Imtiyaz would want to join me in thanking Barclays, his Think Forward coach, Charlene and the company R.R. Donnelly and Sons. It is great that these organisations support our pupils and the school in such a helpful way.

Finally, Sindy, Dannilea and Taylor showed great maturity and care for others who have served their country. They were concerned that the pupils were not taking Remembrance Day on November 11th as seriously as they should. So they came to my office on the day and announced the two minute silence and read the First World War poem ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ by Wilfred Owen over the tannoy. It was a very moving moment and showed that young people really do care.

So as you can see, my daily life is full of inspiration. No matter what, I always want to come to work. How many people can say that?

Jill Baker

Sindy Taylor Dannilea Tahmid

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MFL MentionsTop Merit Scorers this week in MFLAbid Islam(8P)Overall –By year groupSafwan Ahmed(7T)Abid Islam(8P)Shakila Akhtar(9P)Siayed Ali(10U)Geri Fisher(11P)Miss Di Fraia would like to mention Tony To from 9A for his hard work in SpanishJessica Collins 7D for her responsible attitude in Spanish and Martines Angeliev 7S for his extra work and enthusiasm in Spanish. ¡Qué estudiantes más buenos!Miss O’Malley would like to mention Sara Bainama for her excellent progress.Miss Hurley would like to say well done to Abid Islam 8P and Danielle McMahon 8M for teaching the French lessons on Wednesday, 2 teachers in the making!And good luck to FROPT2 for sitting their 4th controlled assessment this term on Monday.Miss Abdi would like to mention Ashley Curry in 8R for a massive improvement in French! I would also like to mention FROPT3 as they’ve been working super hard on their writing CA!

MAT CORNERThis week has brought some exciting news for MAT students. Last half term Year 9 students fought off fierce competition to secure a place on our Year 11 trip to Wadham College, Oxford University. It was extremely close, but I’m am pleased to announce that the following students will be visiting Oxford University later this month: Anika Noor, Tanvir Chowdhury, Brishti Sarkar, Tanzin Kamali and Tanzim Kamali. I very much am looking forward to spending the day with you and sharing in this wonderful opportunity.

If you have any questions about any issues to do with More Able and Talented provision at George Green’s please contact Miriam Wright on mwright@georgegreens.com Oxford University

ANIMAL CLUB!Animal club had a lovely party to say thank you to all the wonderful pupils that attend and help to look after and learn about the science department’s reptiles. Thank you to everyone that attends!

All pupils are welcome to join animal club -see Esther in

science for a permission slip.

Animal club is held in lab 8 after school on Tuesday and Friday.

Come and join the

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LRC CORNERWe hope your week has been good. By the amount of books we have been issuing and returning, we know you have all been very busy reading.

The new books we mentioned in last week’s Newsletter, have been literally flying off the shelves, especially the David Walliam ones and the Saga of Darren Shan back to front books – yes, the books have to be read back to front.

Keep up all this lovely reading, it is a real pleasure having so many of you coming into the library.

This week’s special mentions are:-

As usual a special mention goes to Mr Harris’s 8.4 Accelerated Reading class. The whole class are STILL absolutely fantastic. Well done. The boy verses girl battle between Mohima Begum and Mizan Mohammed is so, so close, with Mizan just in front by 1 extra quiz.

A Special mention once again for Ms Dann’s 8.6 Accelerated Reading class who are all continuing to make fantastic progress too. Well Done. Keep it up, your quizzing scores are steadily catching up to Mr Harris’s class!

Sadly, we do not have a book review for you this week.

Please remember, anyone can have a book review printed in the Newsletter. All you have to do is write one out and give it to Pat before Wednesday and she will put it in for you. Go on, give it a try, everyone likes to read book reviews; they often encourage people to read books they would not normally choose!

That is it for this week. Have a lovely weekend and remember…read, read, read…….book reviews, book reviews, book reviews.

Pat, Martine and Syed

PARENT GOVERNOR WANTEDWould you like to be more involved in your child/children’s education?Would you like to have more understanding of how George Green’s School makes those all important decisions?Do you have a few hours in the evening you could spare once or twice a term?YES……..Then being a Parent Governor could be just for you.The Governing Body currently have three Parent Governor Vacancies, as three of our much appreciated Parent Governors have reached the end of their terms.If you would be interested in being involved and would like more information, please contact Mrs Pat Jones – Support Staff Governor – Direct Line 7001 9418 – e-mail address – pjones@georgegreens.com Please do not hesitate to get in touch with Pat. Pat has been on the school’s Governing Body for many years and she will be more than happy to explain what is involved and make you feel very welcome.

The GCSE Sociology Class went on a trip to Greenwich University last week to see what life as a Sociology student would be like. We went to a first year Inequality lecture and then had a seminar with the course leader where the pupils discussed what they had learned in the lecture. I was so impressed with the level of knowledge these pupils have. We were also given a tour of the university and had our lunch in the university cafeteria. The course leader and lecturers were so impressed with George Green’s pupils that they have asked us to come back and would like to make a link with us. (If you think you would like to study GCSE Sociology next year come and speak to Mrs Bowman in 711) Well done!

4 All different, all equal, learn today, succeed tomorrow

Barclays Volunteers Getting Green in the Garden Last week George Green’s School Community Team organised for seven enthusiastic volunteers from Barclays at Canary Wharf to give up a day of their valuable time to volunteer here at George Green’s School.

They were guided by our fantastic One Small Step gardeners Tess and Ozzie and helped by George Green’s student, Jordan and TA Vicky to have a great team building day clearing a very wild and overgrown area at the back of the Community House Garden. They worked all day and really enjoyed themselves. They gave us some great feedback: Lucy said it was “Very nice to meet you all and great to get our hands dirty!”

The volunteers hard work means that an area of the garden has now been cleared to make space for a poly tunnel where students will be able to do some hands-on horticulture. They also cleared a patch of ground which can be planted with wild flowers in the spring to keep our bees happy.

Everyone wins on a day like this. Our corporate volunteers provide us with their valuable time and labour for free and at the same time they have a fun day getting muddy and giving something back to the community. George said it was “Nice getting out of the office for the day because it’s a lovely garden and it’s great helping out in the community”

YEAR 7 NEWSYear 7 Form of the weekThis week form of the week is 7 Snow leopard. They have had the incredible week of attendance, the best year 7 have ever seen!Well done 7S!

The Merits CupThe merits have been the closest they have ever been. It looks like it’s going to be a really close competition this half term. 7D were top last week but this week they don’t make the top 3. 7H and 7R maintain a top 3 position with 7P new to the top 3 this half term.

Results for the week1st 7H2nd 7P3rd 7R

Results for this half term so far1st 7H2nd 7P3rd 7RWell done 7H!

Attendance cup

An absolutely amazing effort by 7S from Thursday last week to Wednesday this week they have had 100% attendance! If they get 100% for a full week. From Monday to Friday the whole form will get a non-uniform pass for 1 day next week.7S 100%7O 98.8%7P 98.4%

Well done 7S excellent attendance.

Special mentionsMiss Akhtar and Miss Di Fraia would like to mention Naimah for her good heart and caring attitude, Nishat and Nuha for always doing the right thing.

I am sure we will be able to mention many more in the next weeks. Go 7D!

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Calling all Parents & Carers

Anti-Bullying Coffee Morning!

As part of Anti-Bullying week we would like to invite you to our Coffee Morning where Parent/Carers can feel reassured that here at George Green’s we take every step to ensure your child is kept safe from Bullies. There will be a presentation on cyber-

bullying and a discussion afterwards. Please come along and share your views and ideas.

Date: Thursday 21st NovemberTime: 9.15am-11.15am

Venue: George Green’s School If you would like any information call your parent support partner

Charlotte on: 0207 987 6032 EXT 519

The ICT/Computing department will be delivering assemblies throughout the week to explain the importance of ensuring they are protecting

themselves online and ensuring self-respect is preserved.

The department are also going to be planning sessions as part of PSHEday following on from the assembly to ensure pupils are aware of

the risks when posting details/pictures online.

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Drama Department News Half Moon Trip

Well done to all Drama and Performing Arts pupils who attended a trip to Half Moon Theatre on Wednesday 13th November.

What a productive and entertaining day you had working with Central Foundation Girls’ school.

Excellent work from the following students; Teddy Simpson 11S, Kieran Wall 11R, Dean Bowman 9R, Alvaro Sadowski 9H, Elizabeth Bellinger 9AC Chelsey Dowler 11S, Nazia Aktar 10U, Kack Barker 10AC, George Sturt 10S, all of your tutors spoke highly of you and said you would do well in the professional world of theatre.

Great job guys.

Drama Special MentionsMr Vanstone would like to say well done to everyone in Drama year 7 and 8. A special mention goes out to the following pupils for outstanding work and effort this week. WELL DONE AND KEEP IT UP. Year 8Millie Wade, Deanna Korotkova, Emily Jones, Kalam Chowdhury, Shannon Burt, Kirsty Goodwin, Sara Bainiama, Maria Miah, Cynthia Chiundra Vasquez, Tahmid Khan, Luiza Almeida, Al Amin Haque, Sahel Hussain. Year 7 Billie Bohle, Kye Menzies, Kainat Shah, Andrew Barrett, Jake Williams, Loren Kelly, Tommy Dowler, Chloe Young, Safwan Ahmed, Zaynah Khan, Meherab Chowdhury, Ruhel Uddin.

Year 8 TRIUMPHsOverall Top Merit Scorers of the week is Eren Ceyhan in 8H, the second winner from 8H in a row.Number of positive merit slips for the last 7 days Total Average per pupil Top Merit Scorer Lates Attendance8T 2505 109 Aurora Zymberi 8 97%8R 3191 133 Fang Ling Zheng 3 96% 8I 2934 122 Sakil Uddin 7 96%8U 1905 76 Kamran Uddin (2nd time) 12 94%8M 2181 91 Nishita Tahsin 10 93% 8P 2124 92 Emad Uddin 10 96%8H 3890 162 Hamsa Ali 3 95%

Which form will have the highest average by Friday ? Results will be announced in assembly next week.Year 8 motto - “A dream will always triumph over reality, once it is given the chance.”Stanislaw Lem Exciting news - Ms Cientanni announced today that any form achieving 100% attendance in a week, will have a non-uniform day for the whole form class. Special Mentions this weekMiss Hurley and Miss LeoMiss Hurley and Miss Hurley were seriously impressed by how may “excellents” there were on BW this week for year 8.Miss Abdi and Miss Orton Would like to mention Wafa Mohbubul, the highest merit scorer and zero negative slips!Mr Remita Would like to mention Kirsty and Sara for always being pleasant and helpful and Lauren O who has improved her attitude so much.

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Years 7 & 8

in Room 221

Study Hall

Years 9, 10 & 11

in Room 412

Everyday 3:15 – 5:15

Years 12 & 13

in Room 504

Volunteering at the FarmTommy Downey and Ben Davey spent their half term volunteering at Mudchute Farm. They were working with Malcolm on the new Woodwork Workshop. As a result of their hard work they went Go-karting at Mile End on the Friday of half term. Well done to Ben and Tommy! Miss Moore

Customer Service skills at Halloween!In October Year 12 and 13 students hosted a Halloween Party at The Tower Project. This was part of their employability course where they get to practice all their works skills before getting a job. Our students had to meet and greet the clients, run party games and organise a feedback session. Well done to everyone that participate in making it a well run scary party! A big thank you to Jamie Crouch for working so hard with us all!

Miss Moore & Mr Orton

DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY - Star of the week for Graphics : Fang ling Zheng (8R)

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POSITIVE ON CALLMs Whiting is extremely proud of her Year 9 Pathway 2 class. They are incredibly organised,mature and full of smart ideas. They have been working really hard to get to grips with some difficult independent learning skills. Here you can see them interviewing each other to find out what their target audience wants from a horror film. They have been note taking, summarising and deciding on the organisational structure of their writing. Ms Whiting wants to thank them for being so fabulous !

GEORGE GREEN’S SCHOOL PARENT FORUM

Our Parent Forum is a chance for you to come and tell us how things are

going here at school with your children. We have been running for over five years now, and as a small group working together with the school have been

able change different things over the years. We meet roughly every 6 weeks on a Saturday morning where we share our

ideas and concerns over a cup of tea/coffee and biscuits. Last September, some of our Parent Forum members who had been with us since the beginning, have sadly left our little group as their children have

moved on. This means we need new Parent/Carers to carry on this valuable and worthwhile group. We especially need our New Year 7 Parents/Carers to come along and join us for the next few years that their children are in school. Our group is very welcoming and you will be made to feel part of the group

straight away.

Our next meeting will be on :-

Saturday 23rd November 10am-12pm

To go on our mailing list please contact Pat Jones at: pjones@georgegreens.com

Fundraising for the Storm Victims in the PhilippinesWednesday 20 November will be a non-uniform day Just £1 could make such a difference to someoneWe have all seen many disturbing images on our screens of the terrible tragedy that has happened in the Philippines. In school, we have children and staff whose families are there. We all want to do something to help. So we will be holding a non-uniform day to raise money to send valuable aid to the victims of the recent storms in the Philippines. As I am sure you are aware, families are trying to survive where there is a lack of even the most basic supplies. If all pupils pay £1 and staff pay £2 to wear casual clothes for the day, we could send more than £1000.Please ensure your child attends school on this day with £1 to donate. Let’s see if we can beat all records for raising money on this day. Every little bit will make a difference to someone’s life.Thank you in advance for your generosity.Jill BakerPrincipal