Uppingham Community CollegeA Specialist Technology Academy

Newsletter: October 2012

In order to celebrate both the International Week of Languages and the arrival of the French Exchange Students, the Modern Languages Department organised a wide range of activities to help students get into the linguistic spirit. The culture and language of a different country was explored each day with German being the main language celebrated. At each morning registration, students were greeted with and asked to respond to their name being called out in the appropriate language: German, Arabic, Mandarin, Welsh and French. Throughout the week, every student in Years 7 to 11 and all staff, had the opportunity to take part in a variety of competitions with an international flavour. This included daily quizzes related to each of the country. Each form competed against each

other to see who would get the correct answer to our designated quiz master.

The Year 7’s challenge was to identify different scripts. The Year 8’s challenge was testing their knowledge of world flags and the Year 9’s challenge was to identify different languages being spoken. The Key Stage 4 and staff, all participated in a quiz about German culture and traditions.

On Monday, several UCC students were involved in activities learning about the German language and culture. The Year 9s studied the life and writings of the Grimm Brothers, before bringing their own interpretations of “Aschenputtel” (Cinderella) to life. This resulted in some excellent plays with the winning group

making full use of costumes and props to support their German storytelling. The Year 7 and 8s were treated to a German ‘It’s a Knockout’ style of show entitled “Speilen ohne Grenzen”. Four teams competed against each other using the German language in order to see who would take home the Champions title.

At break and lunchtime, a selection of German snacks and hot meals including Brezeln, Bratwurst, Kokoslinsen, Koenigsberger Klopse and Dampfnudeln were available in the College Dining Hall. Throughout the day in the College’s Exhibition Area, PowerPoints were running, giving all students and staff the opportunity to brush up their general knowledge on the importance of languages in today’s society of ever increasing globalisation.

InternatIonal Week of languages

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Dear Parents and Guardians,

Welcome to the new Autumn Term at Uppingham Community College. Once again it has been a busy start to the year - as you know, we were off to a great start with excellent GCSE results for the college with 84% A*/C. Further analysis shows that our A*/A grades - at 29% - went up this year, despite the national average going down to 22%. Our EBacc score is the highest for a non-selective state school across all 3 neighbouring counties, as well as Rutland, so well done to Year 11 2012. They will return to collect their certificates and prizes in November when our guest speaker will be Mr John Browett, Senior Vice President of Apple.

The new Year 7 students are settling in well and are already making a full and active contribution to College life. Mrs Perkins has returned from maternity leave and we welcome Mr White, a very experienced English teacher, who will be taking Mrs Duffy’s classes until she returns at Christmas. Also this term we welcome Miss Ballance, teacher of History, Miss Booth, teacher of MFL, Mr Bourne, our Director of Academy Sport and Mr Chambers, Lead Practitioner in ICT. Mrs McGregor also joins us as our new Head of Inclusion and SENCO. Mrs Spencer is our new Examinations Administrator.

We are continually striving to increase our communication with parents to strengthen our partnership and ensure collaborative strategies for the success of our students. One of these is the Parent Gateway, where you will be able to have a constant view of your child’s attendance and achievements in school. Details of how you will be able to log in to this will be issued after the holiday. Can I please ask that up to date details of your email and mobile numbers are with the College office as we send out a lot of information and alerts via email and text.

As a successful Technology College we have put a significant investment into our state of the art Design Technology facilities. The resources in this department are admired by many other schools and colleges and we often hosts visits form other establishments who want to emulate our provision. We now have a clear vision as to the next stage of our development as a centre of excellence in teaching and learning. This will involve exciting projects in Sport, Performing Arts and the STEM subjects [Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths] as well as a reconfiguration of the site to aid more independent learning. The governors and I would be delighted to have parental input into these developments and there will be a Future Vision presentation and parent

forum on 31st October. You will receive an invitation along with this newsletter.

A vacancy has arisen for a Parent Govenor. If you would be interested in finding

out more, please contact the College.

As always at this time of year, enjoy the half term break.

Regards,

Mrs TurnerPrincipal

VERY IMPORTANT“All envelopes sHould Be cleArlY mArked”

For security reasons, it is important that any payments being brought into College are deposited at Student Services at the start of the day. Payments should be placed in an envelope and CLEARLY MARKED with the Student’s name, Registration Group and payment details.

FREE SCHOOL MEALS“Are You elegiBle?”

It is important that all students who are entitled to free school meals are claiming them. The new cashless catering system makes this easier and more confidential for students. If your child has been eligible previously and it has lapsed or you think you may be entitled please contact Student Services for further details.

WISEPAYMaking payments to the College is now quick and efficient without having to find cash or write cheques, from any location with web access. Wisepay accepts payments by all major credit and debit cards. This is a secure online payment portal. All online payments go directly to the College account in real-time, so the payment will be credited to your account instantly. Neither WisePay nor the College can see or has access to any card details. Your card details are never stored by WisePay. To access your College Wisepay account, visit the College website and click on the Wisepay link. If you have lost your ID or password, please email finance@ucc.rutland.sch.uk

PHYSICS PARALYMPIAN 2012by Dr Major

At the end of last term we were the hosts for ‘The Physics Paralympian 2012’. Teams of four students arrived from all over the East Midlands to take part in this event. The students completed a number of physics investigations and then made and presented posters centred on their most awesome experiment. The day ended with a lecture and presentations with all participating students receiving certificates and prizes. It proved to be a very stimulating and enjoyable day for all the participants.

CAMBRIDGE BOTANIC GARDENSby Mr Clack

On Tuesday 2nd October, 44 GCSE Art students descended upon the Botanic Gardens in Cambridge to gain valuable first source material for their forthcoming Mock Exam unit. The day was a success and the students worked hard and were greatly inspired by the ambience and calm of the urban oasis.

During the day, students were able to enhance their photographic and sketching skills and their general understanding of the structure of natural forms. There are a number of well-stocked glasshouses and the students were able to see rare species of plant that would not be available under normal circumstances. We will now develop the work in the studio using a wide range of different processes in the build up to the Mock Exam in December.

FRENCH ExCHANGEby Fay Wilkins 9ED

Wow! When you think of the French Exchange I never thought that one week could involve so much fun and excitement. Getting to meet your pen pal and inviting them into your home was just the start… exploring Alton Towers with air defying drops and turns kicked the week off to a great high (literally). Phew! On Sunday, we had a day of rest, I didn’t realize how important the concept of rest was until now.

On Monday the weather was typically British

to introduce our French friends to the glorious city of London and the rebuilt Globe Theatre. Getting to see Edwardian dress and lifestyle was pretty amazing and put a lot of smiles on everybody’s faces.

The tour down the river Thames seeing the famous landmarks meant a lot of photographs and waving at passing boats and on the bridges (for good luck).

On Tuesday the French students really got to have a taste of what UCC has to offer in lessons and the teachers along with it. Many comments I received were ‘your school is so big compared to ours’. We will have to do the comparison when we go over to them next year in May.

Wednesday was just like normal for UCC students but luckily for

our French Exchange students they got to go to Cambridge to take a look around the universities and see a bit more history about British Education along with some well organised brass rubbing.

Thursday our Exchange students visited the Leicester Space Centre along with a trip to the Sikh temple showing the cultural side to the nearby city of Leicester. Then of course the time we had all been waiting for… the Disco! Loud music, dancing/raving students and teachers struck the dance floor along with flashing lights and smoke machines that filled our drama studio with the word PARTY!

Friday meant it was now time for us to wave goodbye and say ‘Bon voyage’ to our French friends as they made their way back home to their families who I’m sure were happy to see them. None of this week would have happened without parents and of course the teachers who organisd everything for us. I’m sure we can all agree in saying that it has been an amazing lifetime experience for us all.

NORTH NORFOLK COASTby Mr Redmond

On Friday 21st September the Year 11 Geography Students took a fieldtrip to the North Norfolk Coast to collect data for their GCSE Geography Controlled Assessment. The day involved a whistle-stop tour to West Runton and Cley-next-the-Sea. The students collected beach data and took photographs of the main coastal processes at these locations; and the coastal defences that have been built over the years.

The day began with a long journey east. Quite worryingly we could see from the coach that Norfolk was clearly under slate grey skies. West Runton was warm, windy and rain-free; and even allowed some impromptu kite-flying. Here, the students investigated the geology and sea defences of this rapidly eroding coastline. Once we arrived at Cley the weather had taken a turn for the worse and after a few data gathering dashes we retired to the lovely Cley Marshes Café before the long journey home. It was an interesting day that enabled us to complete our Geography work; and the students enjoyed seeing the North Norfolk Coast. The students had a very successful day and they are currently writing up their findings in Geography lessons.

YEAR 8 TRIP TO

by Mr Anderson

On Wednesday 26th September, Year 8 travelled to The Natural History Museum. Highlights of the day were the ‘real’ T-Rex in the Dinosaur Gallery. The Ecology Gallery; with the re-constructed barn to show the food webs. The bendy mirrors and the observation test to spot the criminal in the Human Biology Section. The Blue Whale in the Mammal Gallery “that’s not how big they really are, is it?”. And last of all, the Earthquake Simulator. It was a really great day and everyone saw plenty to be amazed by.

YUM YUMby Mrs Post

Year 7 and Year 8 students enjoy “Culinary Delights” each Wednesday after College. Here they are displaying their delicious cakes. All students make and create a different recipe each week which is cooked in an hour.

Geography Trip

Natural History Museum

Culinary DelightsFrench Exchange

Physics Paralympian

DANCE LEADERSHIPby Mr Duffin

Thirteen Year 11 girls have successfully completed their Dance Leadership Level 1 Award. They studied for 30 hours as an Extra-Curricular Activity on Friday afternoons. Well done!

JUNIOR FOOTBALL LEADERSby Mr Lewin

On Saturday 15th September the College hosted a Junior Football Leaders course which was attended by 14 students from Year 10 and 11. These students received training in coaching, organising tournaments and refereeing and are now helping to deliver the Rutland Primary Schools Football Leagues. The Girls tournament is already completed with Brooke Hill Academy winning the overall league.

ExTRA-CURRICULAR CLUBSby Mr Lewin

The College’s after school club programme has proved really popular with high attendance levels at all activities. On Mondays the Climbing Club have now split their sessions into beginners (3.00pm-3.45pm) and advanced (3.45pm-4.30pm) to cater for the high number of students. Oakham Rugby Club had such good numbers to their Monday sessions that we have now entered teams into the U13 and U14 County Cup competition. Futsal Club continues to be a popular training session for our Footballers.

We have the Girls Inter School Futsal Tournaments coming up after half term and the boys after Christmas, so it’s a great opportunity to develop your Futsal skills (3.00pm-4.15pm every Monday). Every Friday our new Handball and Netball Clubs are training with nearly fifty students attending each week. The extra Netball training has helped the girls teams record some fantastic results and we are looking to enter teams into local and regional Handball tournaments in

the coming months. Mr Sharpe also continues to run his Fencing coaching after school on Fridays and Mrs Bell also offers her Dance Classes every Thursday after school.

If you want to try any of these activities see Mr Lewin for further details or email lewin_r@ucc.rutland.sch.uk

LEICESTERSHIRE COUNTY ExCEL NETBALL ACADEMY

by Elise Whearity

Gracie Kirton, Lydia Grice and I had the opportunity to trial for the Leicestershire County Excel Netball Academy and we’re delighted to be told we had been picked. I’ve previously played for the county squad so had a good understanding of what to expect. Gracie and Lydia however were thrown in at the deep end but did exceptionally well to get into the squad. For the first set of trials, which took place at Loughborough University, there were about 120 girls all wishing to be part of the squad. At the second lot of trials (which again took place at Loughborough University), 120 girls got whittled down to just 40. At the last lot of trials (which the last years county squad attended) 20 girls were

disappointed with the other 20 celebrating their place in the county team. It’s a great achievement for me and the girls and we would highly recommend any keen netball players to trial next year.

BOYS FOOTBALL FIxTURESby Mr Lewin

Our Boys teams have also had a busy start to the term with League and Cup Football Fixtures. After some heavy early league defeats, the Year 7 team pulled off a surprise win in the County Cup with a 4 v 3 win against Roundhill College, thanks to four goals from Ben Whittenbury. The Year 8 have won twice and lost once in the league but couldn’t progress in either of their cup games. Our Year 9 team has progressed through to the second round of both County and National Cup competitions after both their opponents withdrew. Two wins and a loss in the league means they are still in contention for the title as are the Year 8s. The Year 10 boys are hoping to retain their

League title after three wins, thanks to Jordan Neill’s goals, but suffered a penalty shoot-out loss in the National Cup to Jack Hunt Academy. The Year 11 boys were also unfortunate to go out of the National Cup after an extra time loss away to Montsaye.

PAULINE QUIRKE ACADEMYPQA Rutland is a weekend performing arts academy aimed at children aged 4-18 years, headed up by actress Pauline Quirke. Based at Uppingham Community College on Saturday mornings, classes at PQA include Comedy and Drama, Musical Theatre and, uniquely to us, Film and Television. Our students take part in regular specialist Masterclasses, have the opportunity to perform in a world famous West End theatre, and to walk up the red carpet at a glitzy local cinema screening of their Film and TV projects!

We are currently offering free taster sessions at PQA Rutland, in which potential students can take part in a full academy session without obligation. Please contact Principal Karen Stevens on 07850 468141 to book a place, or email Karen.stevens@pqacademy.com. Please note that places are strictly

limited, and will be offered on a first come, first served basis. PQA Rutland is based at Uppingham Community College on Saturdays from 9.45am-1pm, and you can find out more online at www.pqacademy.com

CONGRATULATIONS TO DAVID DALBY

by Mr Lewin

He took part in the Tiska National Karate Championships at Kettering Leisure Centre over the summer. He came 3rd in the Team Kata and also 3rd in the Individual Kata.David Dalby

Dance Leadership Award

Netball Academy