SHENLEY BROOK END SCHOOL

SCHOOL NEWS Vol 18 Issue 12 : 18 May 2017

Diary Dates

18-20 May DofE Silver Award Expedition

23 May Years 7 to 13 Solos Concert, Theatre, 7.00pm

24 May Year 10 Drama Trip to Oxford

22-26 May Years 11, 12, 13 Exams in Sports Hall

26 May Year 7 Drama Trip to Derngate Theatre Northampton

26 May School Closes for half term

5 June School Re-Opens for Summer Term

5-9 June Year 8 Languages Residential Trip to Longrigg

5-9 June Years 11, 12, 13 Exams in Sports Hall

Welcome

The exam season is now well under way. I trust that if you have a child sitting any external

exams that they (and you) are managing the situation well. Good luck.

Within this newsletter you get a good feel of the different events that the school organises

to help students plan for their futures. This happens directly, with careers talks and

activities, and exam revision; as well as indirectly in improving confidence through presenting

at debates or getting involved in volunteering.

I wish you all an enjoyable (and for those doing exams, a productive) half-term break.

Mr G Martin

Headteacher

Debating in the Library

We’ve always had equal representation in our Sixth

Form and Lower School Debating Clubs, with strong

male and female speakers. Two recent debates,

however, were exclusively female.

Sixth form students, Holly Medley and Viv

Lapushner, both first-time debaters, tackled the

thorny issue of whether major cities in the UK

should have armed police. Viv proposed the motion

and won the majority of the votes from the floor and the committee. However, Holly had

stepped in at the last minute, and was only three votes behind,

showing what a closely contested motion it was.

Ella Taylor and Abi Moore, in Year 7, took on the highly

contentious subject of whether mobile phones should be

banned in schools. The girls had not debated before but

had clearly researched and practised their speeches,

barely looking at their notes, as they confidently addressed

the audience of staff, lower school and sixth form students.

Ella proposed the motion and discussed how phones are a distraction in lessons.

She argued how they reduce face-to-face interaction during social time to the detriment of

students’ social skills and how phones can be misused to cyber-bully or take photos without

people’s consent. She went on to suggest they allow students to rely on parents too much and

do not encourage independence and personal responsibility and organisation.

Abi disagreed with the motion and said that whilst some students abused their right to use

their phones, generally they were a benefit to students, allowing them to access e-readers,

homework and research quickly and easily. Abi went on to say that there could be stricter

consequences for those who used their phones inappropriately, but that a blanket ban could

actually cause more anxiety for those who might want to contact home for reassurance, or to

let parents know they might be late home and so forth.

Our sixth form students were so impressed by the girls’ performance; they gave them a

standing ovation! The majority of students abstained as they could not choose the stronger

speaker, but, when pressed, the committee came down in favour of Ella.

What do you think? Should mobile phones be banned in schools?

Matthew Bardsley and Andrew Smith spoke in our latest

Sixth Form debate, This House supports David Cameron’s

statement that ‘there should be no communication we cannot read’. They looked at cyber security and privacy laws, relating to social media and other forms of

communication, in the light of encrypted messages on

WhatsApp, sent prior to recent terrorist attacks.

Matthew suggested there were cost-effective ways to infiltrate communications from

terrorists, saving lives, without compromising personal data for ordinary civilians. Andrew

felt that criminals would take advantage of any initiatives to make data more accessible to

the government and that total cyber-security was not possible. He argued that some

personal privacy should be protected and believed money could be better spent saving more

lives through funding the NHS, for example.

When Andrew, in his closing speech, suggested there were nine

ways to defend against a knife attack, and no effective ways to

defend against a cyber-attack, naturally, the audience were keen

to learn of these nine methods! At the end of the debate, Mrs

Spurrell and Andrew, both experienced martial arts students

demonstrated these defences, in slow-motion. Andrew won the

most votes from the audience, over-turning the motion.

Carnegie Champions

Our eight Carnegie Champions are on course to read eight shortlisted books in eight weeks,

prior to the official announcement of the winner of the Carnegie Gold Medal, on 19 June.

So far, the reception for the chosen titles has been positive. Here are reviews of six of the

featured books, written by some of our Champions:

On Rail Head by Philip Reeve: “Very fast-paced and detailed. I liked the moral within the story; the writing style was unusual…”

On Sputnik’s Guide to Life on Earth by Frank Cottrell Boyce: “The book touched on profound topics without losing humour…”

On The Bone Sparrow by Zana Fraillon: “This Young Adult fiction shows how horrible and cruel we can be towards refugees and asylum seekers...”

On Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys: “I liked how the point of view changes and gives accounts of the same events but from different people. This is my second favourite book of

all time...”

On Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk: “This book has

a lot of unexpected moments and you thing

something is going to happen but something

else happens. It is full of suspense…”

On Beck by Mal Peet: “The book described the

characters and setting beautifully, with so

much detail, you could picture it clearly…”

Forthcoming Events in the Library

Current Affairs Quiz Friday 26 May 1pm (Sign-up Sheet available)

Books R Us/Carnegie Champions Meeting Tuesday 6 June at 1pm

Election Debate Thursday 8 June at 1pm

Media Studies Reported by Mr Quinn The Media Department were glad to celebrate the wonderful work of our Year 11 students.

As part of their coursework, Year 11s completed a production unit and worked on an

extended project to create DVD covers for a film.

The quality of the work was extremely high this year. The Department were proud to display

their work and present students who attended with a certificate for their achievements on

the course. Some work is now on display for other students to see outside our main Media

teaching room EN4 in phase 2. Well done to all our students for their excellent work so far

and good luck in the coming exams.

LOST PROPERTY!

We have coats, blazers, trousers, shirts, ties,

shoes, PE Kits, trainers and much more in our

lost property bins!

Some items may belong to your child and will be displayed on tables in the street from Thursday 18

May until the school closes for half term on 26 May. Please encourage your child to look on the

tables. Parents are welcome to come into school to look, at the end of the day please.

Any items remaining at the close of school on Friday 26 May will be recycled.

Items of value, eg mobile phones, jewellery, keys, money are locked away in the front office and

enquiries should be made to one of our receptionists.

Work Related Learning News

Year 11 Extended Placements

Year 11 students who have been attending extended placements throughout their two-year

Business course are recently invited to a breakfast meeting in the LTC to celebrate their

achievements.

They will be receiving certificates and letters of recommendations based on their employer

reports, which will serve as valuable references in their future career paths.

All employers commented favourably on regular attendance, maximum effort and commitment

to the job, as well as highlighting the successes of the students in terms of outstanding

teamwork and improved self-confidence.

The students have gained an incredible amount of experience in these work placements, along

with acquiring specific skills and knowledge relating to their particular sector of work and we

congratulate them on their hard work.

We would also like to extend our thanks to the parents and employers who have supported

this extremely valuable initiative.

Work Related Learning Team

Careers within Technology Trip

Thursday 22 June 2017, 8.35am – 3.45pm

Interested in a career working with Emerging Technologies?

Catapult Transport Systems are currently holding an all-day

event which gives students the opportunity to find out about

emerging technologies and job roles within the industry. Any

student in Year 8 or 9 who is interested in finding out more about

this career sector is welcome to attend.

The activity will begin at 9.00am where students will have an

opportunity to listen to a talk from Catapult Transport

Systems about their new project such as the self-driving car

that is currently to be trialled in Milton Keynes! After this

student will then have the chance to take part in “have a go”

activities in areas including Virtual Reality and interact with the car itself.

If you would like to attend the event above, please see Miss Pearson in the Careers Office

(opposite Art 1) to book your place by the Thursday 25 May 2017 Miss Pearson

GIV Project Update

The school is now in its third year of running the Get Involved in Volunteering (GI-V) project

which is a project that includes students in Years 7-9 plus some

really helpful sixth form mentors.

The aim of the project is to give back to the community whilst

developing personal skills as volunteers. This year’s project is in

collaboration with Ousedale School, and our aim is to deliver 50

good deeds to mark the 50th Anniversary of Milton Keynes.

So far we have donated to the MK Winter Night Shelter, sold

pancakes to raise money and promote Fairtrade, carried out

gardening work with MK Snap and carried out survey work and

litter picking for the Parks Trust.

We are also encouraging students to do their own small

good deeds such as helping an elderly neighbour. We

have given our volunteers the chance to team build and

have taken park in some great activities, such as a trip

to the Caldecotte Xperience where we tried climbing

and canoeing! Watch this space for more good deeds!

Engineering Opportunities A group of students from Years 9 to 12 who are interested in engineering recently attended

a lunchtime lecture by Professor John David from the University of Sheffield.

Professor David talked about the vast range of opportunities and possible courses available

and gave an insight into qualifications, employers and pay structure. The professor answered

questions at the end of his presentation.

Joleyon, a Year 9 student, informed me that he had discovered 'a wide range of universities

and courses that he can plan for.'

Morgan who is in Year 12 studying A levels in DT, computing, physics and maths said the

professor’s talk was 'eye-opening into the broader possibilities in engineering. It was good

to see how various areas of engineering are interconnected'.

One key point made by the professor was that if students are planning to go into engineering

they will definitely need a good grasp of physics and maths.

Mr Clarke

GoCode Academy Visit

At Shenley Brook End School we pride ourselves on

preparing students for the future, and to take this a

step further we have invited GoCode Academy, the

award-winning coding academy, to run a FREE after-

school session on Thursday 25 May 3.45pm. GoCode

academy run a number of after-school clubs and

holiday camps where students are able to learn

programming languages (Scratch and Python), build websites, games

and mobile apps.

GoCode are part of Natwest's Entrepreneurial Spark programme backed by DELL, KPMG and

Pinsent Masons. During the session, the students will get an understanding of programming

and find out more about a career in Technology. Spaces are limited and will be allocated on a

first-come first-served basis. Miss Pearson from our Careers department will be able to

provide more information and take bookings. Please check out the website for more

information www.gocode.academy/kids

We are pleased to invite your students to a Careers themed Open We are pleased to invite your students to a Careers themed Open We are pleased to invite your students to a Careers themed Open We are pleased to invite your students to a Careers themed Open

Morning at Niftylift’s world headquarters in Shenley Wood.Morning at Niftylift’s world headquarters in Shenley Wood.Morning at Niftylift’s world headquarters in Shenley Wood.Morning at Niftylift’s world headquarters in Shenley Wood.

The morning will run from 9am until 11am and will offer students a

chance to find out about our Engineering Apprenticeship and

Undergraduate opportunities, and some of the other career paths

available with a globally recognised design, engineering and

manufacturing company.

For all students interested in attending, please speak to Miss Pearson in

the Careers Office by Friday 19 May

Charlie’s RAFA Charity Jump

Charlie Lynham, 13CYC is taking part in a parachute jump for charity on 9 July. She will be

free falling at 120kmh from 10,000 feet. Charlie is the youngest

member of an organisation known as Lumpy Jumpers with 75

members, and has been invited to take part with the other ladies

who have served or are serving in the RAF. The charity supports

all within the RAF family in their hours of need and those who

have lost loved ones. Charlie is hoping to raise £500 and if you

would like to support her and the charity please follow the link

below. Thank you

https://mydonate.by.com/fundraisers/charlotteltnham

Food Preparation and Nutrition Mock Exam – reported by Mrs Freeman and Mrs Simmons

Congratulations to Year 10 students who recently

completed their mock practical as part of the new

course.

Excellent feedback from staff who kindly sampled

and evaluated each student’s three dishes which had

to be produced within a three-hour cooking time.

Joint Economics Masterclass

Shenley Brook End school and Hazeley

Thursday 11 May 2017

Do you know what Marginal Gains is?

In any subject it is very hard to make massive gains in attainment as that requires learning a

lot in a short space of time. However, it is much more achievable to make smaller gains over a

longer period of time. The best grades come from students who make these “marginal gains”

by doing all the little things right throughout the year leading to a big change overall at the

end of Year 13. Think about when you are learning how to drive a car. You start off and keep

stalling the engine of the car but, when you have had lessons over a longer period of time,

you get a lot better. You make little gains over that time getting better all of the time

resulting in you passing the test (hopefully first time).

Using this idea of Marginal Gains, the Business and

Economics teams from the The Hazeley Academy

and Shenley Brook End School planned a joint

Economics masterclass for both of their Year 13

Economics groups.

There were 17 students from Hazeley and 19 students

from Shenley Brook End. These were all of the students that will be sitting their exams in a

few weeks.

Throughout the two years of this course students have been learning about various economic

theories and principles so the aim of this day was to bring it all together in a day where the

Business and Economic teams used their vast experience to deliver a masterclass on exam

technique.

The three teachers leading this day from Shenley Brook End and Hazeley are all experienced

examiners for various Economics papers at AS and A level and so were able to deliver this

masterclass.

WHAT DID THE TEACHER AND STUDENTS DO THEN?

Through a mix of discussion, written student responses and exemplar answers:

1) Teachers looked at a range of different exam questions

2) Teachers used their recent examiner training to pass on valuable top tips on how to

BEST answer questions of differing values

3) All students at the start of the class were given post-it notes so they could write down what concerns them the most about their exams. During the day these questions

were addressed by the team.

Both sets of students were professional and responded very well to the day and all students

were engaged in the learning – that is outstanding.

Here are a few student quotes of the day:

“I am glad we did this as we were getting worries about the exam but this has improved our confidence a great deal” “I am glad we did this as I sometimes get confused as to what to put into various answers” “I will be using these tips in my exams in the next few weeks” “I now have a better idea of what to expect as the teachers used their examiner training to guide us through the final paper 3”

This is an excellent example of how Business and Economics teams work very closely

together and will continue to do so into the future.

The Business and Economics teams from The Hazeley Academy and Shenley Brook End School

Swimming Success for Holly

Congratulations to Holly Showler on successfully obtaining her Bronze medal recently in the

200m backstroke at the South East England Regional Championships.

Well Done Holly!