FOCUS
Spring 2014
on Moulsham High School
Spring 2014
Welcome to the Spring edition of Focus magazine
Gifted and
Talented
Page 19
s Page
o Citie
le of Tw
14
A Ta
Come
Duke of
Edinburgh Gold
Award Page 4
lu
th me
nch wi
Page 5
Healthy Scho
ol Award
Page 15
Careers
Convention
Page 10
Academy
Status
Specialising in English and Humanities
Moulsham High School
Spring 2014
Headteacher letter
Historians focus on King Henry VIII
Dear Parents,
I would like to wish everyone an enjoyable Easter break and look
forward to seeing all our students back, safe and sound, on Tuesday,
22nd April.
At the time of writing, the sun is shining and the trees and plants are
coming into bloom. I always think it makes such a difference when
hours of daylight lengthen and the temperature is kinder.
MR. FARMER, Headteacher
As part of quality assurance procedures, I have called upon the
services of other people to check on our progress with a ‘fresh’
pair of eyes. There have been a far greater number of visits from
Governors, all linked directly to an area of school improvement,
and I invited two trained Ofsted Inspectors to the school on
separate occasions to look at specific aspects of the school’s
working practices. The feedback has been very positive indeed and
we have also received some helpful advice on areas for further
improvement, all of which will inform our on-going self-review and
future SIP (School Improvement Plan).
Despite an early start to the day, it was definitely worthwhile.
Everyone really enjoyed the trip and it certainly provided the
context for our current area of study.
In January, both A-Level History classes were given the great
opportunity to travel to London by coach and visit the National
Portrait Gallery and The Tower of London. Both tours were
carefully tailored to our syllabus, focusing specifically on the Tudor
era and the reign of King Henry VIII.
By GENA RITCHIE, Year 12
We arrived at the National Portrait Gallery as the doors opened
at 10.00am, eager to begin the day. Our tour started with an
introductory talk from an expert in the field, who provided a
detailed analysis of the portraits we later had the chance to view
first hand. It was amazing to learn of the heavy symbolism featured
in each portrait and discover how each reflected events we’ve been
learning about in class that occurred at the time of Henry’s reign.
After the talk, we were divided into groups and were able to use
our new understanding of the portraits as we made presentations
to the general public. Although at first this was nerve wracking,
all of us soon became confident in our knowledge and being able
to teach other people what we’d learned soon became a fun and
enjoyable experience.
It has been wonderful to see the House system flourish this year
as students have embraced the large number of activities, events
and competitions offered by all departments. The House system
supports one of our core values – Enrich – and I would encourage
all students to become involved, on a regular basis, in clubs and
activities. Our statistics clearly show that those students who
have a high level of involvement in clubs/activities and high level of
attendance make very good progress in their academic subjects.
Conversely, the relatively small number of students who are clearly
not participating seem to have lower attendance and receive more
sanctions. If you feel there are any barriers that are preventing your
son/daughter from participating, please contact the school and we
will endeavour to find a solution.
Spellbound
On World Book Day, six of our top spellers in Year 7 met
at Hylands School for the first ever Chelmsford Inter-School
Spelling Competition. The team – comprising Amer Alic, Amy
Applegate, Louis Fisher, Caitlin Kemp, Charlie Robinson and
Abbie Wright – had to spell words of increasing difficulty over
the course of six tough rounds. The words ranged from five
letters in Round 1 to ten-letter words in Round 6.
Students are focussed both in lessons and around the site making
for a very pleasant learning environment. Year 7 students have
settled very well and have become a real part of High School life;
Year 8s are continuing to play a full and active part within school
and are making good progress;Year 9 students are currently facing a
difficult, but exciting, time as they choose their options;Year 10s are
making excellent progress in their examination courses and, with
the prospect of a further three years of ‘study’, have realised the
importance of gaining good grades in Year 11. For Years 11, 12 and
13, everyone is making a concerted effort to support the students
in a variety of ways – including one-to-one meetings and revision
sessions – as they prepare for their external exams.
Two of the rounds were team rounds where contestants had
to buzz in with the answer, and four of the rounds required
students from each team to go up to the microphone to
spell words individually. It was all rather nerve-wracking as
students performed on stage in front of a large audience of
parents and supporters from all three schools.
Unfortunately, Moulsham had a difficult start as their buzzer
didn’t work properly during the first round. However, in
subsequent rounds the team picked up and the quality of
performances went from strength to strength as the contest
progressed. In the end it was Great Baddow who were
crowned the winners, but Moulsham will be returning next
year determined to lift the trophy for the first time!
As already mentioned, the school is very calm and purposeful,
within a positive and safe environment, and support from parents is
always appreciated as it is key in helping the school move forward.
Teaching and Learning remains our primary focus and I hope you
will have seen for yourselves the improvement in the quality of
marking and feedback provided by the introduction of ‘blue stickers’
and the half-termly progress check sheets. Please encourage your
son/daughter to write a comment (it need only be one sentence!)
after the teacher’s feedback as this helps ensure that students have
read and understood the feedback and are able to plan what they
need to do to improve for next time.
Our thanks go to Hylands for organising the contest, to
Waterstones for the prizes, to Form Tutors for running weekly
Spelling Bees in Form time to help with the selection of the
team, and to our recently-retired Librarian, Mrs. Coupland,
who was there on the night to cheer our students on.
MR. BOUD, Head of Teaching & Learning
2
Mid-afternoon we set off to The Tower of London, where we were,
once again, welcomed with an interesting talk, this time on the
history of The Tower and the changes that Henry VIII made whilst
on the throne. We had an opportunity to see exactly where Anne
Boleyn was put on trial, as well as walk around where the King
kept his prisoners. Being at The Tower really helped us to gain an
appreciation of the significance of Henry’s reign that it is difficult to
fully grasp from the classroom experience alone.
From The Chair Of Governors…
It was my great privilege to be appointed to serve as Chair of
Governors last September, succeeding Dr. Richard Orton – a
hard act to follow!
but also the types of academic provision, buildings and facilities
that we wish to see in place in the coming years.
As I said above, the role of a Governor is voluntary and most
of our meetings are held in the early evening with occasional
visits to the school during the day. It is important that we match
Governor skills and expertise to the needs of the school and
over the next year or so a number of vacancies will exist for
new Governors. Maybe you or somebody you know might wish
to be considered as a Governor. We are particularly interested
in recruiting new Governors with legal, accounting/finance,
estates/architectural or education experience, but this is not an
exhaustive list.
I am sometimes asked who the Governors are and what they
do. The Governors are a team of community representatives,
parents and staff who, on a voluntary basis, work with the
Headteacher and his team to direct the school and, we hope, to
provide our students with an excellent experience that prepares
them for jobs, further study and life in general. Many of our
duties are laid down by statute, including setting the school’s
vision and aims, establishing and maintaining its ethos, setting its
plans and policies, and monitoring and evaluating performance.
While some of these occupy us at all of our meetings, we also
focus on other specific issues from time to time. Governors
are currently focussing on particular aspects of the School
Improvement Plan and developing a strategic plan that will
inform not only the future role of the school within Chelmsford,
If you would like to be considered for a vacancy on the Governing
Body please write to me at the school – I would be delighted to
hear from you.
MR. BENNETT, Chair of Governors
3
Moulsham High School
Spring 2014
Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award
At the beginning of March, the Gold Duke of Edinburgh 2014 cohort
of 18 began training at the Harlow Outdoors Centre ready for our
canoeing expedition in Scotland in July. On arrival we were shown
our kit, consisting of various waterproofs and fleece layers, and
taught which materials were good and which were bad. Following
this, we were taken to where we would be camping for the night
– a muddy, wet archery field that wasn’t particularly pleasant, but
all part of the experience! After setting up camp we changed into
our waterproof gear and went to our ‘open canoes’, which, unlike
kayaks, seated two of us with one at either end.
Come Lunch With Me….
them achieve more, both at school and
in the future.
Members of the school’s Year 10 Prince’s Trust xl Club - JamieLouise Davis, Helena Hammond, Georgia Andrews and Tyler Haynes
– put their culinary skills to the test when they prepared a 2-course
lunch for five members of staff. Lunch guests had a choice of 2
main courses – Homemade Cornish Pasty served with Homemade
Chips and Salad, or Pasta served with a Tomato Sauce, Garlic Bread
and Salad – and 2 desserts – Meringue Nest filled with Fresh Fruit
and Cream, or Chocolate Brownie served with Custard.
the dreaded capsize. We were divided into groups of three canoes
and different boats were assigned to different jobs – one group
was required to help empty the water-filled boat, another to rescue
those in the water, and the final group was the one actually in the
cold winter water.
Having been shown how to move the canoes appropriately and
having collected our paddles, we were ready to cast off and were
soon in the water. Firstly, we engaged in several balance-based
activities, such as standing up while the boat was being wobbled and
switching positions while in the canoe. Having already seen a pair
of canoeists fall in the cold water while they passed each other side
by side, my partner and I came up with the sensible idea of passing
one over the other and this seemed to work. The remainder of the
day was spent learning specific strokes, how best to paddle and who
was best suited to which end of the boat, with only a short break
for lunch around 4.00pm! We then spent the evening as a group
cooking and chatting before turning in early.
Much to my partner’s displeasure, I nominated us to go in the water
first! Although not as cold as might have been expected, breathing
was still close to impossible as we hit the water. However, after
catching our breath, we managed to move back into our now empty
boat. The same exercise was repeated until the entire group had
completed each role. The ‘all in’ capsize then followed (which is
pretty self-explanatory) and, although this proved to be a bit of
a shambles, it had to be done. We were then allowed to shower,
get into some fresh clothes and, after a quick debrief from our
assessors, said goodbye to our boat, which we had named ‘The
Sinking Dutchman’, and headed home.
The following day began at 7.00am and we all awoke with a sense
of dread as this was the day when we would be asked to capsize
and recover our boats! After de-camping, we were equipped and
on the water by around 10.30am and began paddling down river to
a lock. Having traversed this lock, we continued to the next one
where we stopped for lunch before returning back the way we had
come. Unfortunately, instead of the glorious sunshine of the day
before, we found ourselves subject to a cold wind as we paddled
and, once we had made it back to the Centre, we also had to face
Our next training weekend will, no doubt, be just as enjoyable –
provided that no-one falls in – and should be good experience to
prepare us for the assessed expedition. Canoeing is definitely more
fun than walking!
Feedback from staff who attended the
lunch:
“Really enjoyed the food;, the main course
was really tasty. Good teamwork”.
“A really lovely lunch; really good to see
the students working together and helping
each other”.
The students had to plan the two-course meal, go shopping to buy
the ingredients, lay the table, prepare and cook the food, serve the
food to the members of staff, and then wash up and clear up at
the end. The cooking took place in one of the Food Technology
rooms and the lunch was served in the Student Support Centre. The students thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience and staff
were pleased with the quality of the food that was cooked. “A very pleasant experience – well done!”
MRS. FERNANDEZ
Behaviour Support Assistant
MR. SMITH, Deputy Student Support Manager
The Come Dine With Me Theme was part of the ‘Using Cooking
Skills in a Domestic Kitchen’ unit that the students were working
on and the lunch would not have been possible without a financial
contribution for the ingredients from The Prince’s Trust.
Prince’s Trust xl clubs support young people by developing their
skills and the confidence needed to progress into a positive future.
The xl programme promotes a flexible approach, using relevant,
experiential learning to help young people to achieve a range of
personal and employability skills and gain qualifications. Students
work together as a group on practical learning projects designed to
boost their confidence and improve self-esteem and, ultimately, help
By Henry Cooper, Year 13
4
5
Moulsham High School
Spring 2014
The Blue Beats Compete In Regional Finals
was very swish! We rushed inside and had an opportunity to watch
the end of the primary school performances before setting off in
search of our dressing room, which was amazing and just like you
would imagine it with lights down the sides of the mirrors.
The school’s dance troupe The Blue Beats qualified for a place in
the Regional Finals of ‘The Great Big Dance Off’ in February at The
New Wimbledon Theatre in London. Ruby Creak, Abby Early, Poppy
Goodin, Alice Haynes, Chloe Ing, Emily Lawrence, Elloria Lesford and
Ruby Smith (in Years 7 and 8) competed to try and win a place in
the National Finals. The girls worked extremely hard in the lead up
to competition day, putting in extra hours of rehearsal and planning
their costumes.
We quickly got changed and, as we were not performing until the
middle section, went to watch the first section of the secondary
school competition. They were all fantastic and we saw so many
different styles of dance. We then went back to the dressing room
where we had a few final practices… and then we were on!
It was a great experience for the troupe, most of whom had never
performed in such a large and beautiful theatre before, and I was
extremely proud of their performance on the night – they were a
credit to Moulsham High School.
Although we made a few mistakes, as we were all really nervous,
our performance went pretty well and, when we had finished we
collected our belongings and went back into the audience to watch
the third and final section before returning to the minibus and
heading home. The next morning we were so tired that we nearly
fell asleep in our cereal!
MISS CLARKE, Learning Support Assistant
Competition Day:
“When we woke up on the day of the competition we were so
excited! We got dressed so fast it was like a big tornado was coming
and we had to prepare for it!
Unfortunately, we did not make it into the National Finals, but it it
was an incredible experience and we will never forget how much
fun we had on this amazing trip. We all hope that we will qualify
again next year.”
Our group met Miss Clarke at the gymnasium at lunchtime for a
final rehearsal before boarding the minibus to travel to London for
our competition. We were very excited. It took us around two
hours to get to the theatre and when we did we were amazed – it
By ALICE HAYNES and ABBY EARLY, Year 7
Armistice Day
To commemorate Armistice Day, and to enrich students’
knowledge and understanding of World War One as part of their
studies, all Year 9 students were invited to attend an exciting
‘hands-on’ Great War History Day.
objects, ranging from a light machine gun (Lewis gun) to a Bible
that prevented a bullet reaching the heart. Some items were
very useful for the soldiers – for example a pick axe, shovel and
stick in one – and some were very interesting – for example
the doctors’ tools. Some of the artefacts were so delicate that
we could not touch them as they may have been damaged in
the process; however, even just looking at them was a whole
education in itself. It was a great experience and will help me
a lot in imagining what soldiers went through in a time of war.”
The event involved the use of real artefacts that immersed the
students in history as it came alive, as well as challenging their
emotions. Knowledge of the front line during the First World
War was enhanced as several hundred original objects from the
trenches of the Great War were presented and discussed in the
context of a soldier’s life on the front line. The experience was
heightened even further for a handful of Year 9 students who
were lucky enough to be selected to participate in a handling
session later on in the day.
MISS SANDERSON, History
This is what Fergus Malmose O’Connor had to say about the
event:
“A group of Year 9s had the amazing chance to handle some
of the unique items that were used throughout WWI. During
the first part of the day, all of Year 9 attended a presentation by
a representative of Skylark (Andrew) and then a small group
of us had an opportunity to take a look at some further items
and handle some of them. There were many different types of
Whistlestop Tour of Berlin
Dienstag (Tuesday): by David Eastham, Year 12
the Brandenburg Gate, where we took photos and marvelled at
the enormous and beautifully decorated Christmas tree on Unter
den Linden.
An early start: 4.30am at Stansted Airport ready for a 6.30am flight
to Berlin Schönefeld. Arriving in Germany at 8.55am, we were
taken to our hotel and, after dumping our bags in our rooms, headed
downstairs for a typical German breakfast – rolls, pumpernickel
bread, meats galore, cheese,Wurst and cereals (and even pizza from
a magic vending machine!). We then left the Aletto Jugendhotel and
took the U-Bahn to Yorck Straße, and the S-Bahn to Oranienburg.
From there, we walked to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp,
which was both an eye-opening and upsetting experience. We
learnt that Sachsenhausen was the first camp in Germany and
beforehand had been a Nazi brewery for the SS.
We arrived at the Reichstag at about 8.00pm for a tour of the
German government building. Highlights included being shown the
door of Angela Merkel’s office and the graffiti left by Soviet soldiers
during the occupation in 1945. The tour culminated in us climbing
to the top of the Reichstag’s glass dome, where we were rewarded
with a magical view of Berlin’s skyline at night.
Donnerstag (Thursday): by Sarah Cashman, Year 13
Being the second trip to the city for the Year 13s, we were prepared
for fast pace of our tour of the city and Frau Stovell-Milligan’s love
of running up stairs! One of the high points of the trip was visiting
what is claimed to be ‘the best Christmas market in Berlin’ where
we discovered Potato House (the home of some of the world’s best
chips) followed by delicious German waffles covered with whipped
cream and chocolate sauce. Later in the day we shared couples
seats whilst watching Fack ju Göhte, a German romcom with an
excellent soundtrack.
We left the camp after a few hours and walked back to the station,
passing typical East German architecture, a gun shop and the odd
Trabant (East Germany’s answer to the VW Beetle!). At the station
we bought food from the bakeries and waited for the S1 to take us
back to Schöneberg. A visit to the local Penny Markt to get some
sustenance whilst waiting for our typisch deutsche Pizzas to arrive
then followed before we returned to our rooms with full stomachs
and settled in to watch German programmes and the news. By
midnight all was quiet after our tiring 20-hour day!
Freitag (Friday): by Juliette Mortimer and Amy Suttle,
Year 12
Mittwoch (Wednesday): by Niamh McCarthy, Year 12
After finally adjusting the alarm to German time, we actually woke
on time ready to pack and then head down for our final meal of
bread rolls, a hundred varieties of cheese and salami, remembering
that YOU MUST WEAR SHOES IN THE LOBBY! (we were
reprimanded by a stern woman from the kitchen speaking scary
German on the first morning!). Frau Stovell-Milligan organised a
pop quiz during breakfast on all things Berlinified, before we got
ourselves ready to hit the famous Ka de We, the German equivalent
of Harrods, before our flight back.
On our first full day in Berlin, we headed straight to the KaiserWilhelm-Gedächtniskirche (memorial church) for a look at
the impressive architecture, before spending some time at our
first Christmas market of the trip where we sampled numerous
German delicacies, including Currywurst, Glühwein and Maronen,
which were delicious and certainly comforting in the chilly weather.
The market provided us with an excellent opportunity to practise
our German, though we soon discovered, to our annoyance, that
the stall holders’ English was just as good as ours! The stalls also
offered plenty of choice for Christmas presents and souvenirs –
everything from the traditional gingerbread hearts and Christmas
tree decorations to unusual animal hats.
We took the scenic route to Wittenbergplatz, admiring the
architecture and sausage dogs on the way, as well as three Buddy
Bears (an integral part of Berlin’s cityscape) who greeted us on
Tauentziehnstraße. Once inside Ka De We, we split up on a hunt
for chocolates and Christmas presents for our families, a taste of
German McDonalds or steak in a roll, a debate on the purchase of
a toy walrus, or to play Scaletrix.
Finally, we headed back to the
hotel to grab our bags and repack bulging suitcases to fit
new purchases. We waved a
fond farewell to the hotel from
the coach (Gulliver’s Reisen)
and made our way back to the
airport. With only a few minor
issues concerning bag weights,
nail clippers and a third frisk for
Josh, we made it safely onto the
plane and back to the UK!
After checking times at Alexanderplatz on the famous World Clock
that tells the time in every country in the world, we took a tram to
the East Side Gallery where the last remaining 1.3 kilometres of the
Berlin Wall is situated. The wall is now covered in work by different
commissioned artists and graffiti that ranges from powerful political
messages to downright odd paintings. Although writing on The Wall
is technically illegal, a few of us still gave it a go before walking to the
top of the Berlin Wall Memorial at Bernauerstraße and watching
two short films about the history of the Wall, one in German and
one in English.
By now we were all starving, so we visited Potsdamer Platz, home
of the Berlinale Film Festival and the first traffic light in Europe, for
dinner at another Christmas Market, savouring sausage and chips
German style followed by typically-German Schneebälle (pastry
snowballs). Then, en route to the Reichstag, we walked through
6
7
Moulsham High School
Spring 2014
Cue Zone into Schools
Cross Country
Championships
Moulsham High School is one of only 12 schools in the Country to
have been selected for Cue Zone Into Schools, a project that aims
to develop the game of snooker within schools at the same time
as increasing participation in sport and supporting the learning of
English and Maths. As a consequence, the school now has its very
own 6-foot snooker tables and has been running a very successful
Snooker Club, overseen by qualified coaches.
Owing to the atrocious weather conditions of late, the Essex
Schools Cross Country Championships were in jeopardy this
year and on three occasions the event had to be postponed.
If it had not been for a school in Benfleet willing to run the
competition near to them it would not have gone ahead at all.
In the end, each district was limited to only four competitors
in each race and Moulsham’s representatives were whittled
down from eight to three.
To help celebrate the success of Cue Zone Into Schools, Steve
Davis, World and UK Snooker Champion, will be visiting the
school to deliver a coaching master class in the art of snooker. On
the day, the Hall will be transformed into a Crucible-style arena,
complete with a championship 12-foot table (as seen on TV) and
ten 6-foot foldaway tables together with stands, a full PA system,
and a sound engineer. Events will include a 15/15 snooker knockout competition, a range of Literacy and Numeracy challenges, and
a snooker relay.
On the day, the course was a sea of mud in conditions that
were cold, wet and windy and our three students knew that
the going would be very tough. They were aware, however,
of the need to put in a good performance as the top eight in
each race would be picked for the County team to race in
Leicestershire in the English Schools Competition.
The day will be very much about fun and using snooker to develop
English and Maths skills. Whilst the knock-out competition is
taking place, Steve will play against up to 30 competitors on the
match table. He will also take on the role of commentator for the
event finals before rounding off the day with a demonstration of
trick shots.
Rachel Broome was first to race in the Junior Girls and her
focus was to qualify for the County team, something she had
achieved the previous year, but had then been unable to run
in the final. With this in mind, she set off and knew that if she
ran as well as she had so far this season she should gain her
well-deserved place. Rachel finished in a very commendable
7th position.
We were delighted to be selected to take part in the Cue Zone Into
Schools project and even more excited when we learnt that Steve
Davis himself would be visiting the school and helping a group of
lucky students develop the skills necessary for a professional-style
snooker tournament. Our Snooker Club has been a great success
and through normal snooker and Functional Snooker its members
have been able to enhance their skills in English and Maths. We
are looking forward to seeing for ourselves a World Snooker
Champion and World Trick Shot Champion in action.
Emma Perks was next to go and performed well against girls
a year older than her to finish in 11th place. She just missed
out on qualification for the next round, but recognised that
this time next year she should be in with a chance for a place
in the team.
MR. BUNN, Head of Teaching & Learning
Last to race, when conditions were at their very worst, was
Callum Charleston. By this stage, a number of athletes had
dropped out as a result of both the quality of the course and
the weather. However, Callum produced another outstanding
and consistent run (as he does whenever he represents the
school) to finish in Bronze position and qualify, yet again, for
the Essex team.
All our athletes, including those who found themselves unable
to represent Mid-Essex on the day, have performed admirably
in what has been a very wet and difficult season and they
should all be very proud of themselves.
LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS
The Best School Production in Years!
The school production returned with a bang this year as the
Performing Arts faculty and staff from across the school
collaborated to bring the cult comedy musical Little Shop of Horrors
to the West Hall. With an extremely strong cast, a dedicated and
highly professional backstage team, and a succession of increasingly
intimidating puppet plants, the show provided a great night out and
a terrific learning experience for all involved … but don’t take my
word for it, here’s what the students had to say.
As the Assistant Stage Manager (ASM) I had to plan what everyone
was going to do and ran ‘The Book’ where we recorded all the cues,
scene changes, tab drops and so on. Each night there were elements
of excitement and panic, but it all came together. Being backstage was
a lot of fun, but, when it came down to it, we remained serious and
focussed on what we had to do.
As we approached the last performance, everyone relaxed a little, but, at
the same time, no-one wanted the experience to end. Everyone worked
so hard to entertain our audience and show that the Moulsham High
School students really have got so much talent.
“Being in the school production was such a great experience. Who
would turn down the opportunity to be in a production with a group of
people as great as the ones that I was with? The many rehearsals and
great directing from Mrs. Rhodes added up to make one of the greatest
performances I’ve ever been involved in! I can’t wait to be in the next
one!” Ed Bonney,Year 9 (Seymour)
All of the teachers who were involved in Little Shop of Horrors made
the experience such a pleasure and I would like to say a big thank you
to all of them. I would also like to mention the great cast and musicians
who were extremely professional, and the crew who were really friendly
and hardworking. I wish we could do it all over again and I will definitely
be joining in with the next school production because I had so much fun
and I know everyone else did as well.” Blaise Tapner,Year 9, (Assistant
Stage Manager)
“During my week on Little Shop Of Horrors I was up in the new
lighting and sound box, in charge of the actors’ microphones and
balancing the sound. At first it was terrifying! All the buttons and faders,
the daunting challenge of turning up the microphone at the right time
and even dealing with a microphone falling off! I didn’t know how it was
going to turn out, but soon the answer was clear – it was time for the first
show and I was seated in the box ready to go! The show was spectacular
and went perfectly (you can imagine my relief!) and I was proud to be a
part of something so brilliant. Being in the sound box was tough, but I
really enjoyed it and I am so grateful for the experience and want to say
a huge well done to all the actors, crew, orchestra and teachers! Thanks
for the wonderful time!” Molly Foskett,Year 8 (Sound Engineer)
Congratulations to the team this year – Mrs. Rhodes (Director),
Miss Ibbotson (Musical Director), Mrs. Higgins, Mr. Mack, Miss
Parrott (Wardrobe) and the many other staff and helpers who
made it all possible, including Sarah Weald and her terrific hair
styling! A selection of fantastic photographs by Barry White-Miller
can be viewed on the school website. See you next year!
“I was quite nervous when I was first asked to take on the role of keyboard
player as, although I have been in many concerts and performed solos
during my musical life, I have never taken part in a production of this sort.
The pressure was on to learn a huge amount in a relatively short space
of time and I almost didn’t do it; however, I am a Moulsham student and
so I persevered. As the youngest member of the musical section taking
part in the production, it was a great opportunity to learn from the
more experienced players and I thoroughly enjoyed being involved – the
atmosphere was great on all four nights. I learnt so much and if you
are ever offered the same opportunity I would definitely advise you to go
through with it. In addition, it has given me another boost towards doing
well in my GCSE and possibly pursuing a career in music.” Matt Foster,
Year 8 (Keyboard Player)
MR. WILSON, Head of Drama
“There was a lot to do backstage, but once we got the hang of things
everyone did their bit really well to ensure a great performance.
Sometimes people think working backstage is easy, but that’s because
they don’t really know what it’s like. Being backstage was difficult at
times and the backstage crew realised that they had to work really hard
– which they did every night. I have to say, however, that without the help
of the amazing teachers we would have been clueless at times.
MRS. WHITMARSH, PE
8
9
Moulsham High School
Spring 2014
Careers Convention
In November, the school held its annual Careers Convention.
Having invited exhibitors from local colleges, universities, industry,
and companies offering apprenticeships, Upper School students and
Sixth Formers were spoilt for choice as they visited a variety of
displays – ranging from Lawyers, to Youth Workers, to members of
the Royal Navy – to gather information on relevant courses and the
opportunities available to them post-16 and post-18.
This year saw yet even more establishments represented as they
promoted their courses and provided advice. The flour-producing
company Zeelandia, which featured in the Morrisons’ Christmas
advert, proved to be particularly popular on the night and its
representative, Andrew Taylor, provided an array of breads and
panettones for everyone to try at the same time as giving students
an insight into the business. Andrew started his working life at Tesco
and is a prime example of how determination and creativity as an
entrepreneur have allowed him to further his career. He provided
much needed motivation and opened the students’ eyes to what
they can achieve if they really want something.
Moulsham also welcomed visitors from Capita Education and
Directions, who provide careers advice and prepare students for
Further Education; the centre in Moulsham Street provides free
Internet and telephone access for anyone aged 13-19 who needs
guidance on gaining qualifications and developing a career. With an
array of local college prospectuses and opportunity leaflets available,
the Essex Youth Service is the place to go to for all your career
worries.
We would like to thank
all the exhibitors who
attended the event and
the school for arranging
such an informative
evening.
Girls Football Alive
and Kickin
This year, Moulsham’s girls have had an impressive football season
with amazing results and performances across the board in all age
groups.
Currently, the Under-16 team is leading the way in terms of success,
having played in the English Schools Cup, Essex Cup and MESSSA
league. The team is unbeaten in the MESSSA league competition
and has, for the second time, reached the final of the Essex Cup.
The girls will face King John School in the Essex Cup Final and are
hoping for victory over the team that knocked them out of the
English School Cup in the fifth round.
However, it is not just about the competition when it comes
to the Under-16 team – it is also about their commitment to
football within the school. A large number of the girls have been
involved in training younger students and refereeing games and I
would particularly like to commend Imogen Riches, Hannah Mold,
Mia Brisley, Louise Taylor and Beth Gurney on their exceptional
dedication to, and assistance with, this sport.
Proving that they too have talent, the Under-13 and Under-14
teams both qualified for the Essex Cup Semi-Finals. Unfortunately,
the Under-13 team lost 4-0 to Shenfield High School, but as most
of the team will be in the same age group next year they are already
looking forward to improving on this achievement next season. At
the time of writing, the Under-14 team still has to play its semi-final
match, also against Shenfield High School.
The younger age groups are all performing well in the MESSSA
league, especially Year 7 who remain undefeated having scored an
impressive 48 goals and only letting in one in their five games. The
depth of field amongst the Year 7s is particularly strong and all
indications are that they will achieve some excellent results if they
continue with the commendable commitment and attitude they
currently show. We are looking forward to seeing them perform in
the English Schools 9-A-Side competition.
By Katy James,
Publicity Officer,
Year 13
Drama exam triumph! Students Help Decorate
Santa’s Grotto
Each autumn term our Year 13 Drama students create their
final piece of performance work and the Unit 3 Exam for
Drama & Theatre Studies requires them to work almost entirely
independently of teachers to research, explore, devise and present
a performance. The students are expected to draw upon their six
years of experience of Drama at Moulsham to create work of the
highest possible standard and I am delighted to report that the
current Year 13s surpassed all our expectations.
As we all know, Christmas is a special time of year for young children
and Year 12s were delighted when they were asked at the end of last
term if they would help with Moulsham Infant School’s Christmas
Market and to decorate Santa’s Grotto.
First stop was the Christmas Market and all the children, some
wearing cute reindeer antlers, seemed really excited. It was great
to see their beaming smiles and help them decide on thoughtful
gifts for their family members. With £2.50 to spend and a list of
who to buy presents for, we showed the children how to shop by
exchanging their money for gifts and they seemed to really enjoy the
experience. Refreshed with a cup of squash and a cake, the children
then took their gifts to the classrooms ready for us to wrap. In
total, throughout the day, we had 1,350 presents that needed to be
wrapped up, but we willingly faced up to the task as the joy on the
faces of the young children was priceless.
There had been concerns initially that, for a number of reasons, the
group, which had dropped to only two students, would not be able
to complete the unit. However, Team Drama came to the rescue
as Polly Grieve Russell and Natasha Hill called upon the support of
students from the Year 9 and 10 Drama Club and colleagues from
Year 12, effectively giving them a ready-made company of actors to
work with.
I would like to express my enormous thanks and respect to the
students who came on board and gave up a lot of their own time
to work with Polly and Natasha outside of school hours and, in
particular, Katie Morton who happily gave up some of her free
periods to also attend the Year 13 lessons.
We also had the pleasure of transforming the Infant School’s library
into their very own Santa’s Grotto ready for Santa to drop by and
deliver presents to each year group. We transformed the room
with a Christmas-themed backdrop (courtesy of Year 13s), a row
of presents under a white Christmas tree, and, of course, Santa’s
seat from where he read the children a Christmas story until he
was bombarded (after just 2 minutes) with questions from eager,
excited listeners! One child
in particular asked “Where is
your sleigh parked Santa?” and
a very quick-thinking Santa
replied “Oakland’s Park”.
The students worked tirelessly and showed incredible creativity,
professionalism and commitment to create what the Drama
department staff agree is one of the most accomplished pieces of
devised theatre that they have witnessed at Moulsham – an ‘A’ grade
for the devising process was capped by an ‘A’ grade performance by
Polly and Natasha. In addition, I am confident that the experience
of acting up into Year 13 offered the students involved from lower
down the school an invaluable insight into the working practices of
our most experienced practitioners.
Each child then received his/her
very own ticket to meet Father
Christmas and, accompanied by
much giggling and excitement,
we could not stop some of
them from getting in their lastminute requests for presents –
ranging from iPads, to teenage
ninja turtles, and even a fan for
one child who stated that it was
too hot at night times! Of course, Santa told each child to go to bed
early on Christmas Eve to make it easy for their worn out mums
and dads.
MR. WILSON, Head of Drama
Well done to all our teams and we wish the girls every success in
their upcoming competitions.
MRS. WHITMARSH, PE
Carol Singers Raise Money For Charity
The girls visited fellow Form groups and 8MG’s talented singers – Amber Stacey,Vikki Sanderson, Zoe Clarke, Angel Chipato, Molly
Fox, Megan Langridge and Melissa Zulu – would like to thank the teachers and students of the Forms they visited for their generous
donations.
Chelsey Hulbert, Emily Millen, Nula Hind, Steph Archer, Beth RoseHorne, Chloe Woollard, Ellie Butler, Shamiso Javangwe, Lena Chakir,
Faye Landa-Arrese, Elle Bradford, Sophia Deighton, Lola Adegboye,
Sophie Brooks, Rebecca James, Georgia Mitchell, Claudia Allen all
thoroughly enjoyed helping with Moulsham Infants’ festive lead up
to Christmas.
MRS. Bradley, Form Tutor
By CHELSEY HULBERT and EMILY MILLEN, Year 12
Last term, members of Form 8MG decided to raise money for the Salvation Army Christmas Appeal by carol singing within the
school. Everyone was in agreement with Molly Fox’s suggestion to support this charity as it was very pertinent to the time of year.
10
11
Moulsham High School
Spring 2014
Wbd Giant Bookmark
A story in just
Six Words
To celebrate World Book Day, students
helped create a world-record-sized
bookmark (well, record-sized for the
school library, anyway). Books such as
The Hobbit, characters such as Harry
Potter and authors Jacqueline Wilson and
Anthony Horowitz all feature on the
GIANT design and were picked out by
students as their favourites.
The English department’s first House competition was a Six Word
Story and we were delighted with the quality and quantity of entries.
Staff in the department deliberated long and hard as they sifted
through over 500 entries and are proud to announce the four
winners:
1st Place
Tyler Judd,Year 7 (Marconi)
Dad’s name found! Carved into stone.
Joint Runners Up
Jack Brown,Year 9 (Strutt)
A horse went to Tescos, unlucky!
Stanley West,Year 9 (Knight)
Reward for whoever finds my happiness.
3rd Place
Ellie Williams,Year 7 (Tindal)
She existed, but she never lived.
The bookmark, which is more than five
feet tall, will be on display in the library
until the Easter holidays.
MRS. DAVIS, MRS. HALES AND
MRS. WHEATER, School Librarians
Penpals
The standard was very high and we would like to congratulate all
entrants who took the time to enter and earn points for their House.
The Thriftwood Party
Everyone at Moulsham knows what the Thriftwood Fundraiser is
about, but far fewer are aware of what the money goes towards:
namely, the Thriftwood Christmas Party.
The final part of the day was reserved for more games and an
opportunity for everyone to visit Santa’s Grotto. Santa’s gifts were
all perfect (we had been privy to some inside information!) and all of
the children were pleased. As we saw our visitors off, the Thriftwood
staff said that this was the best party they’d ever been to and that
we’d set the bar very high for next year’s Year 13s.
The Thriftwood Pary is organised by Sixth Formers and held in their
Common Room for two hours for the sole purpose of entertaining
students from the Thriftwood School. These students are of a very
young age and have varying degrees of learning difficulties, making it
a challenging, yet rewarding, experience for the organisers.
For some students, their learning difficulties can cause problems at
home and they may be less fortunate at Christmas than most of us
and this is why Sixth Formers host this event every year and it is
really appreciated by everyone who comes along. Two hours may
not seem like a long time, but young children can be very challenging,
especially if they have severe special needs.
At 12 noon on 12th December 2013 the Thriftwood students
arrived and immediately got into the party spirit by participating in
a number of games, ranging from Pin the Nose on Rudolph to various
arts and crafts activities, as well as a game that simply became known
as Carrie’s Sock Game!
Although it is a long, exhausting day it is one of the most rewarding
experiences you can get and I strongly encourage the current Year
12s to get involved next year when it is their turn.
After rotating through the games and activities on offer, the party
goers moved into the Small Common Room for lunch while some
of the Sixth Formers prepared themselves for the Pantomime – a
tale of Snow White told entirely in rhyme! The show was full of
terrible puns, such as Snow White saying she “used to work for the
elf service”, but the kids seemed to enjoy it regardless.
By Henry Cooper, Publicity Officer
With help from their teacher, 7G1 have been making new friends
as they correspond with students at Collège Moulin Blanc in SaintAmand-les-Eaux in France. MRS. HEMMINGS, English
The students have exchanged letters, talking about themselves and
Chelmsford in French and then, in English, explaining some of their
Christmas traditions and what they really think about school. The
students will soon be moving over to e-mail communication to help
speed up their written exchanges and make them more frequent. Winning Strokes
All schools were invited to enter a Medley and a Freestyle
Relay Team in the District swimming championships and, this
year, the majority of Moulsham’s teams qualified for at least
one final.
This is what the students have to say…
“We write to a school in France called Collège Moulin Blanc. We all have
a penpal and write a letter every half term. We write one paragraph in
French about what we have been learning about, and then one paragraph
in English. Writing letters has helped me learn better use of French
accents and feminine and masculine words.” Lottie Orley
The Year 8 Girls and Year 10 Boys both finished in 5th position,
and the Senior Boys finished in 4th position. However, on
the day, it was our Year 10/11 Girls team - Rachel Donovan,
Louise Donovan, Alex Norman, Bethany Harrington, Kate
Spencer and Emma Perks – and our Year 9 Boys team – Harry
Walker, Alex Hulme, Ryan Mogford, Aaron Haley and Charlie
Wren – that really stood out.
“In French we have been learning about lots of things, including writing to
our penpals. Recently, we wrote them a Christmas card as well as a letter
that was all about our hobbies and asking them about themselves. It’s
really nice to be able to write to a foreign country as it gives a continental
slant to learning.” Annabel Craig-Butler
An excellent performance by the Year 10/11 Girls saw them
reach both finals and finish in 2nd position overall, and the
strong Year 9 Boys team, who, again, qualified for both finals,
took 1st and 2nd places respectively to earn them the title of
District Champions – the first win the school has had in this
sport for some time.
Well done to everyone who took part and, particularly our
Year 9 District Champions and Year 10/11 Runners Up.
MRS. WHITMARSH, PE
School Facilities Available For Hire
Classrooms
The school has many facilities that are available to hire outside
of school hours. These include:
3G Football Pitch (Full Pitch or Thirds )
Sports Hall that has markings for Badminton, 5-A-Side, Basketball and Volleyball
“My penpal is called Theo. I sent a letter and a Christmas card and I have
learnt what Theo likes to do at breaktime. I have discovered that French
handwriting is hard to read!” Beth Hill-Sanders
Gymnasium with Sprung Floor
Specialist Classrooms – Drama, Food Technology, Music
“Writing to our penpals is really fun because we are learning more about
France and making new friends. I have learnt about the lives of French
people and how to pronounce and spell words in French. We are setting
up e-mail so that we will have a quicker way of communicating.” Millie
Barnes
Meeting Room/Conference Area
To check availability of any of the facilities listed above go to the
school’s website (www.moulshamhigh.org), click on the Contact
Us tab and then follow the link for School Facilities for Hire. For
further information and details about booking any of the school’s
facilities please e-mail [email protected] or telephone
Matt Kimber on 01245 504511/Barry Poulteney on 01245 504533.
School Hall
Outdoor Tennis and Netball Courts
Seasonal Grass Pitches/Athletics
20m Swimming Pool MISS REYNOLDS, Modern Foreign Languages
12
13
Moulsham High School
Spring 2014
A Tale of Two Cities
Healthy School Award
Four Year 10 girls recently represented the school at the Healthy
School Award Ceremony where they were presented with a
certificate to acknowledge that Moulsham is still meeting all the
original Healthy School standards in addition to the requirements
for Enhanced Status gained last year. This is quite an achievement
for the school and one that reflects our on-going commitment to
supporting and improving the health and well-being of all members
of the school community through a wide range of activities both in
and out of the classroom.
During February half-term, a group of Year 11 and Year 13 students
jetted off to the States for a 5-day trip packed full of city sights,
memorial visits and, of course, a few short snippets of retail therapy.
On Sunday, 16th February, bright and early, we headed off to
Heathrow to start our exciting adventure. Although some of
the Year 13s had visited The Big Apple before with the school,
excitement still ran high throughout all the students. We spent
8 hours and 30 minutes flying across the North Atlantic Ocean
before landing in Washington DC to be met by cold temperatures
and around 1 to 2 feet of snow. We checked in at our hotel before
heading off for a short walk around the night-lit streets to get a feel
for our surroundings.
as passing Ellis Island before docking back in the harbour. Hopping
back onto the subway we made our way to the last item on our
to-do list – the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) where we had
an opportunity to explore all 6 floors housing extremely diverse
works of art, photography, sculpture and architecture.
The next day consisted of a walking tour of the city, venturing to
the world famous White House, the Lincoln memorial,Vietnam and
WW2 memorial sights, and the Martin Luther King Jr and FDR
memorial centres. After grabbing some much needed lunch, we
then spent some time looking around the National Gallery of
Art where there was a wide variety of exhibitions open for us to
visit. In the evening we headed over to the world-renowned Hard
Rock Café where we enjoyed lots of great music and good food
in the company of fun waiters as we celebrated our last night in
Washington.
The coach arrived at the hotel at 6.00pm to take us to JFK airport,
where we had a couple of hours to finish off our shopping, grab
some souvenirs and family presents before boarding the plane for
our 6½-hour flight home.
The trip was filled with incredible sights and gave us memories
that will stay with us for a long time to come, as well as helping
to provide photographs, artists, history and information that will
support our school work, and benefitting each of us personally.
Tuesday was the day of the big coach journey toThe Big Apple.
En route we managed a short break in Philadelphia to see the
Liberty Bell and to learn about the history behind this landmark.
After another couple hours on the coach, we finally caught our
first glimpse of New York City and its iconic skyline.
By BECKY CHIVERS, Year 13
To kick start our time in New York, we visited Bubba Gump
Shrimp Co, a restaurant based around the film Forrest Gump, and,
after a well-earned dinner, we walked along Fifth Avenue until we
arrived at the Empire State Building. As we took the lift to the
86th floor, the clock turned 10.00pm and we stepped out onto
the observatory floor to breathtaking views of ‘the city that never
sleeps’ – an incredible sight that I don’t think any of us will forget
for a very long time.
Megan Wallis, Megan Baker, Abbie Bauckham and Holly Richmond
were chosen as the school’s representatives in recognition of the
work they have completed as Youth Health Champions and, in
particular, their successful campaign about self-harm that included
running an information stall at lunchtimes, selling wristbands and
creating an information display.
MRS. LANE, Citizenship
Essex Book Awards
Reading a book is one thing - meeting the author is quite another. In
January, a group of Moulsham students, along with representatives
from several other schools, was lucky enough to have a chance to
meet the authors of two amazing books – Nigel McDowell, author
of Tall Tales of Pitch End, and Alex Gutteridge, author of Last Chance
Angel. Not just anybody could go along – to be invited you had to
be part of the Essex Book Awards reading group that meets every
two weeks before school on a Thursday to review and discuss the
books we have been reading.
The best part about meeting the actual authors was having an
opportunity to ask questions about their books. One of the
questions asked was “Would you ever consider writing a book
together?” and we were delighted to find out the answer was “Yes”!
Another question was “What were the three greatest books of all
time?” Alex answered: “Winnie the Pooh, The Bible and The Dictionary
– Where would we be without the dictionary?” Nigel’s answer was
more controversial as he answered: “The Hobbit, Northern Lights and
The Witches”.
Day three entailed another city tour, this time with a very
entertaining guide who took us to see some more incredible sights
and monuments. Whilst on the tour we visited the Freedom Tower,
Ground Zero and the World Trade Centre as well as seeing the
legendary Grand Central Station and, whilst on the coach, we drove
past areas such as China Town, Little Italy, the Brooklyn Bridge and
many other iconic New York landmarks. After the tour, we visited
the Guggenheim Art Museum and, even though only half was open,
we were able to see for ourselves the incredible architecture of
the building itself and visit a small selection of the exhibitions.
During the day, we also split into two groups – one worked on
planning a story with Alex and the other was divided into smaller
groups to put together a newspaper to review the books. At
the end we all joined forces to create one newspaper with some
students writing about what had happened, some writing stories,
and others checking everything was going as planned.
Our last day was hectic as we tried to fit in as much as we could
before we travelled back to the UK. We began by taking the subway
to catch the Liberty Island Ferry that took us past the iconic Statue
of Liberty in all her glory standing tall against the city scape, as well
The experience was fantastic and I would definitely do it again.
By Stephanie McCartney, Year 8
14
Those involved with the Essex Book Awards (EBA) were also lucky
enough to be invited to BBC Essex radio station for an interview
that would later go live on air for thousands of listeners to hear.
Moulsham was represented by Stephanie McCartney and me and
we were joined at the BBC Essex building by representatives from
the many other schools taking part in the EBA.
Everyone was led down a series of corridors to a room where we
would later be interviewed. The room was filled with microphones,
lots of complicated equipment, blinking lights and headphones that
were much too large. Each person was allocated one of the six EBA
books – Last Chance Angel, After Tomorrow, Silver, Whale Boy, Tall Tales
from Pitch End, and Waiting for Gonzo. I was given After Tomorrow, a
book that I’d enjoyed reading so I knew I would be able to give a
positive review. The DJ, Mark Punter, then came in and sat down,
said hello, and we quickly began.
Thankfully, the whole thing was being recorded in advance so if there
were any mishaps they could be edited to ensure the discussion ran
smoothly when aired. The Head of EBA, Allison, spoke first and
introduced the idea behind the scheme, referring to the opening
day held a few weeks before. Mark slowly introduced everybody
and the books and one by one people went up to the microphone
and spoke. Some were very confident, but others less so. When
it came to my turn I felt very nervous, but once I started talking I
couldn’t stop! It was almost a disappointment when it ended, but
others needed their turn and it couldn’t last forever.
When each of us had had our turn, Allison was interviewed again
to bring the recording to an end. Everyone was very happy with the
outcome and it sounded great on air! Overall it was a wonderful
experience and, although at times it was nerve-wrecking, it was
great fun.
By JADE PRINCE, Year 8
15
Moulsham High School
Spring 2014
House News….
Title
Team Drama Steal Christmas
This year has already seen a huge variety of House events taking
place and students have really enjoyed the competitions.
•
•
Years 7 and 8 were awarded an amazing number of House points
for their SUMDOG challenges over the summer holiday and
Mr. Bunn was very pleased to see so many students improving
their Maths skills and earning points for their Houses at the
same time. Keep going!
•
The ‘Speak Out’ Challenge, organised by the English department,
is a really challenging public speaking event for which students are
judged on the speech they have prepared and then delivered as
confidently as they can. This year’s winners were:
As reported in the Winter edition of Focus, The Water Aid
Poetry competition, run by the English department, produced
some fantastic work and the Christmas Card competition, run
by the Art department, proved to be very popular with over
220 entries – all of an incredibly high standard.
Students have also been keeping fit and enjoying their House sport.
•
•
•
The rugby season started well and the Year 11 competition
was won by CROMPTON, the Year 9 competition was a draw
between CROMPTON and STRUTT, and KNIGHT won both
the Year 7 and 8 matches.
The Year 8 competition was won by Catriona Gladman for
TINDAL with her design of a series of Christmas trees
that tasted delicious. 2nd place went to Jake Browning for
CROMPTON and 3rd place to Olivia Adams for KNIGHT.
2nd place: Shiv Patel for TINDAL
3rd place: Ollie Grint for CROMPTON
4th place: Wylie Queenan for KNIGHT
5th place: Nadir Ahmed for KNIGHT
STRUTT in the Year 9 Geography Quiz.
STRUTT in the English department’s Spelling Bee.
CROMPTON in the Science Department’s ‘Guess the Photo?’
competition – overall winner was George Mayo (CROMPTON)
with Darcie Hansell (CROMPTON) in 2nd place and Oliver
Shepheard (TINDAL) in 3rd place.
The Christmas Cookie Competition, run by the FT department,
was a huge success with the judges bowled over by the stunning
and creative designs. Needless to say the tastings were a highlight
and the students produced some amazing biscuits.
•
Amy Pearson for CROMPTON
TINDAL in the Year 7 MFL Halloween competition.
This term saw the start of the Inter-House Football competition
for boys and girls.
In Year 7, 1st place went to Ewan Cloake for MARCONI for his
stack of biscuits made to look like a Christmas tree, 2nd place
went to Henry Lander for KNIGHT, and 3rd place to Megan
Reed for TINDAL.
1st place: Other winners of House events include:
In netball the honours were shared between STRUTT who
won in Year 10, CROMPTON who won in Year 9 and KNIGHT
who won in Year 8.
•
InYear 9, 1st place was awarded to Lily Farquharson, MARCONI,
for her biscuits made into Christmas tree decorations that
were presented on a small Christmas tree. Emily Hall was 2nd
for MARCONI, with Holly Wingham in 3rd place for TINDAL.
MARCONI (8SG) in the Year 8 ‘Learn to Learn’ Day.
1st place in the Geography department’s photo competition went
to Maya Morgan for CROMPTON, 2nd place to Alex Clarke for
STRUTT and 3rd Place to Madeleine Archer for KNIGHT – take a
look at the excellent winning entries, with their meaningful captions,
by visiting the House Events page of the school website.
….. Many congratulations to all the winners and to everyone who
took part!
MRS. FINNEGAN, Deputy Headteacher
Screen Writers Club
We are proud to announce that the pilot episode of The X Centre, Moulsham’s very first soap opera, is now complete. Set in a
Californian guidance centre for troubled teens, a gripping plot line has been developed and a wealth of characters has been brought
to life by our team of talented writers.
Budding actors/directors/film makers are encouraged to get involved and help us decide the best way to air the show for the
whole school to watch – this would provide a fantastic opportunity for Drama and Media students to hone their skills and become
involved in an exciting new project.
On two afternoons in the final week of the autumn term, members
of the combined Year 9 and 10 Drama Club, Bring It!, entertained Year
3 and 4 students at Moulsham Junior School with their adaptation
of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The clubbers had been working
on the production throughout the half term and, directed by Maisie
Welch, Year 10, the students brought the Dr. Seuss story to life
using physical theatre, over-the-top characterisation, and a wealth
of props and costumes, including many made by Blaise Tapner, Year
9.
supportive Team Drama were as they waded into a multitude of
small people, put groups together and taught the younger students
some drama terms and skills used at ‘big school’!
MR. WILSON, Head of Drama
It was a pleasure to watch our students at MJS. They behaved in
a highly professional manner, sorting out the performance space
and making last-minute touches to Sam Taylor’s impressive Grinch
make up.
After each performance we ran a short drama workshop with
the junior school children. It was great to see how confident and
Wings Over Light….using Photoshop to
enhance an image
Have you ever looked at a picture, or several pictures, that you
have taken and thought to yourself that you could enhance
the images to create something new and original? Well, having
studied a module in ICT that taught me how to use Photoshop
to enhance images, that is exactly what I did!
I enjoy taking photographs that capture moments in time or
images of objects that I am looking at. I noticed the way the
light shone through and around two images that I had recently
taken – one of a model of a floating butterfly and one of stained
glass windows. I thought that the stained glass windows would
provide a good background to make a brighter, more exciting
and complex image.
I was aware that the edges of the stained glass windows featured
a black frame that emphasised the brightness of the glass and
that the dark outer edges of the glass had the effect of drawing
the eye towards the brighter centre of the glass. I was keen
to retain the effect of the brightness of the central part of the
stained glass so chose the image of a floating butterfly that was
bright and colourful to emphasise the original colours and create
a new and puzzling image using both light and dark.
I really like both images and when amalgamating them decided
that they both needed light to shine through them to show their
beauty. By putting both images into Photoshop and layering
them one on top of the other I could choose how I wanted
the new image to look so that it conveyed a sense of mystery
whilst still showing the original two images disturbing the light. I
believe I have achieved this – what do you think?
By ELEANOR RANDALL, Year 8
MRS. HEMMINGS, English
16
17
Moulsham High School
Spring 2014
Jack Petchey
Gifted and Talented…
Award winners
The Jack Petchey Achievement Award recognises achievement
both in and outside school. Moulsham allocates nine awards each
academic year and the winners are chosen by a student committee.
Each winner receives £200 to spend in school as he/she chooses
and this year the PE, Media Studies and Physics departments have
benefited from the Award.
September:
Megan Wallis,Year 10, for her work as a Youth Health Champion.
October:
Cameron James,Year 11, for his achievements in Football.
November:
Josh Leeder,Year 12, for his role as a volunteer and mentor in the Student Support Centre.
Speak out challenge
Once again, it’s the time of year when Moulsham students have
been involved in the Jack Petchey Speak Out Challenge and have
been hoping to be chosen for the regional final competition against
other local schools. This year, 36 students took part in the challenge
that both helps to build up the confidence of those who may not
like to speak from the front of the class as well as those who are
seeking to develop their speaking skills further.
January:
Ellie Wakeling,Year 7, for her achievements in ice hockey.
MRS. BACON, Jack Petchey Coordinator
It was a busy and entertaining day that provided plenty of
opportunities for our participants to present their interests in a
way that would engage, inform and entertain an audience. The
speeches throughout the day covered a wide variety of topics
including “The Beauty of Steaks”, “Why Shakespeare is Utterly
Irrelevant to Modern Day Society”, and how “One Should Always
be Wary of Sun Loungers!”
Once the confident and enthralling speeches had all been delivered,
and after much deliberation, the decision was made that the two
students going forward to the regional finals to represent Moulsham
would be Amy Pearson for her emotive discussion of depression,
and Shiv Patel, in reserve, with his family-orientated speech. I am
sure you will join with me in wishing them good luck in the regional
final round.
MISS REYNOLDS, English
Winners Of Animation Competition
Luke Irven, Year 7, submitted a wonderful entry inspired
by the 1960’s American Pop Artist Roy Lichtenstein. Luke
used his skills in Flash software to make a plane crash and
explode.
•
Billy Mace, Year 8, was also inspired by Roy Lichtenstein
and used his skills in Flash to make an aeroplane disappear
into a WHAAM.
•
Oscar Newman, Year 8, used imagination and impressive
creative skills in Pivot software to create battle scenes of
various kinds, some of which reflected the work of Ray
Harryhausen.
… Geographers
Lucy French, Year 10, is
studying GCSE Fine Art and
it has been evident that she
is working way beyond her
target grade. As a result of
her impressive achievements,
Lucy was placed on the
Gifted and Talented Register
in Art. This has meant that
she has been entrusted with
greater creative freedom and
independence to explore
her personal ideas, such as
her piece on the theme of
Surrealism for which she was
given free reign to use her
knowledge of the Surrealist
style and the materials used.
The result speaks for itself.
Last term, the Geography Gifted and Talented students showed
their creative sides when they were set the challenge of taking
part in a photography competition with the theme of Where Do
I Belong? The photographs, with accompanying captions, had to
portray each student’s place in the world.
Students entered a vast array of thoughtful photographs, ranging
from scenic images to pictures of their future aspirations, and
House points were awarded to all entrants. The winning entry was
a stunning photograph taken by Maya Morgan (Year 9) of family and
friends playing in the surf at sunset at The Cuddy, Porthcothan Bay,
Cornwall. In 2nd place was Alex Clarke (Year 11) with a photograph
of herself in an anaesthetist mask, symbolising her future ambition,
and in 3rd place was Maddie Archer (Year 8) with a picture of the
Olympic stadium, representing her sporting goals. Congratulations
to everyone who took part.
This term, students have been writing poems to fit the theme of
Fairtrade and have been asked to focus on cocoa farmers in Ghana
and what it would be like to meet them. The poems will also be
entered into a national competition run by Christian Aid and we
wish all our students good luck!
MR. HIGGINS, Head of Art
MISS FREISLICH, Geography
This term, Year 9s were set the task of creating a piece of artwork
inspired by their favourite artist and incorporating his/her style
into their own unique piece of work. We started by looking at
the amazing artwork of Year 10 students to gather ideas and get
inspiration for our design. We then chose our artist and carried out
research to include in our final design.
I chose Jeffery Fulvimari, an illustrator well known for his work
in The English Roses written by Madonna. I looked through the
book and at the way the artist had presented his illustrations and
borders. I used a combination of
these to give me a base to my work
and created a border reflecting
his style by incorporating small
birds, roses and other various
flowers. I then sketched out one
of Jeffrey Fulvimari’s portraits of
a girl with her hair blowing in the
breeze. Part of our task was also
to include details of the research
that had informed our work so I
decided to make the writing flow
round the portrait.
The ICT department is pleased to announce the winners of
Animation House Competition!
•
… Artists
Well done to our 3 winners and everyone who entered – the
ICT department was very impressed with all the submissions.
I enjoyed creating this piece of
work as it gave me the chance to
explore other artists and added to
my ideas for future pieces.
MISS PRICE, ICT
18
By Grace Levey, Year 9
19
Moulsham
High School
Spring 2014
The Headteacher’s Book
One of the highest commendations at Moulsham High School is an invitation to sign the Headteacher’s Book for achievement in and out of school.
The following students received this honour during the autumn term. Well done to:
Name
Reason for signing:
Katie McCarthy
For outstanding effort in both class work and homework in English
Rebecca Pegg
For excellent progress during the first half term in English
Sam Flanagan
For willingly helping a younger student who had fallen off a bike and showing impressive first aid skills
Rachel Broome
For becoming District Cross Country Champion
Phoebe Walsh
For outstanding written work, effort and a particularly impressive piece of writing based on the topic of music
in German
Holly Richmond
For her outstanding contribution as a Youth Ambassador
Megan Wallis
For her outstanding contribution as a Youth Ambassador
Hannah Collin
For her outstanding illustrated stories for children, written in German and completed in her own time as part of
enrichment
Molly Higgins
For her outstanding illustrated stories for children, written in German and completed in her own time as part of
enrichment
Cameron James
For winning the Jack Petchey Award in recognition of gaining a scholarship with Colchester United FC a year early and receiving a call up to the U21 squad
Anna Singer
For progress in BTEC Performing Arts and dedication to the Year 8 Drama group
Joel Teahon
For his outstanding illustrated stories for children, written in German and completed in his own time as part of
enrichment
Callum Charleston
For becoming District Cross Country Champion
Ben Hulme
For achieving the Gold standard in the UK Mathematics Trust Senior Challenge
For being selected to represent Mid-Essex in the Essex Schools Cross Country Competition: Rachel Broome, Kate Etheridge,
Ryan Mogford, Callum Charleston, Molly Bryan
Winners of the District U13 Football Championships: Alice Bauckham, Charlotte Fleming, Chloe Gee, Catherine Powell, Tillie Probert,
Madeline Archer, Chloe Butler, Allisha Harwood, Izzy Radford
For representing Moulsham in the Regional Cross Country Finals: Alice Bauckham, Lottie Mogford, Madeline Archer, Jessica Collopy,
Mollie Mills, Emily Mowatt
Winning Team in the Mid-Essex District Cross Country Championships: Madeleine Archer, Rachel Broome, Kate Etheridge, Alice Ronn
Inter Boys Team that Finished 11th in the Regional Cross Country Finals: Andrew Cockrell, Aaron Haley, Thorfinn Laagus, Ryan
Mogford, Joe Scott, Jordan Denyer
Inter Girls Team that finished 7th in the Regional Cross Country Finals: Rachel Broome, Holly Eaton, Kate Etheridge, Emma Perks,
Alice Ronn, Bethany Harrington
For organising a lunchtime cake sale that raised a magnificent £238 for Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research: Lola Adegboye,
Maisy Budgen, Lena Chakir, Phoebe Honour, Shamiso Javangwe, Chloe Woollard
Moulsham High School Senior Sixth 2013/2014:
Ryan Schweitzer (Head Boy), Hatty Jeffrey (Head Girl), Matt Hopkins (Deputy Head Boy), Georgina Salmons
(Deputy Head Girl), Laura Scott (Deputy Head Girl), Emily Brown (Charities Coordinator), Lucy Card (Charities
Coordinator), Natasha Hill (Charities Coordinator), Emma Joslin (Charities Coordinator), Sarah Cashman (Leader
of the Student Council), Tom Iskander (Leader of the Student Council), Callum Riley (Sports Captain), Ellie Beazeley (Sports Captain), Wiktor Delimat (Liaison Officer), Rebeca Elwell (Liaison Officer), Henry Cooper (Publicity
Officer), Katy James (Publicity Officer), Amy Buchanan (SEN Ambassador)
Head of House – Boys: Will Morrell, Tim Shannon, Ravin Patel,Vihaar Patel, Martin Hiskey
Head of House – Girls: Issy Fairchild, Molly Bryan, Rosie Atack, Carrie Young, Emily Eisenberg
20