We've had an exciting week at Denmark Road High School as our third INVEST day of the year occurred on Tuesday 1st February. A wide range of enriching activities were held including a trip to Coventry Cathedral for Year 7, a visit to the Natural History Museum in London for Year 9, Science workshops for Year 11 and Mental Health and Wellbeing workshops for Year 10.

Wednesday saw Year 13 experience their 'Mock Results Day' with students, and their parents, given a taste of what August will feel like as they opened their envelopes.  

 

In this issue:

Global Action visit

INVEST Day 3: 

Year 7 trip to Coventry Cathedral

Year 8 creative workshops

Year 9 trip to Natural History Museum

Chinese New Year

World Read Aloud Day

Sporting news

LRC news

Lost property

Dates for your diary

 

Global Action

Geography students had the pleasure of spending their Monday lunchtime with Mark from Global Action.  He spoke about his personal experience working with some amazing people in Nepal and his experiences both prior to and in the aftermath of the 2015 Nepal earthquake. 

Our Year 11, 12 and 13 Geography students asked thought-provoking questions in an open Q&A session at the end. 

Miss Hodnett

 

INVEST Day 3

Year 7

Year 7 students partook in the Denmark Road High School Coventry Cathedral trip.  A wonderful chance to explore a site of Christian worship and a world renowned symbol of reconciliation.

Here are few of the many responses we had from them about the trip:

I found the story of the bombing in Coventry and what happened after interesting. The way the people of Coventry realised what had happened and had moved on with the hope of peace and freedom. Varshi Prabaharan 7M

What I was interested or fascinated about the Cathedral was how everything they did or had, had a meaning to it. For example the room which was slightly sloped showed unity and togetherness, the statue of St Michael’s Victory over the Devil shows St Michael's expression of how he was feeling forgiveness and guilt. I also enjoyed the way they designed the inside of the new cathedral with lots of stained-glass which was glorious. Sriharini Jeyaprakash 7M

I really liked learning about the tall stained-glass windows and was surprised to learn that they represented the stages of life, with babyhood actually being a bit plain and boring whereas childhood was bright and exciting. Lucy Cross 7Ba

Coventry Cathedral is a place where peace and unity still thrives and grows like one. Reconciliation is the word not hate. Coventry Cathedral has so many stories that has touched my heart but the significant one was the sad story of Sadako Sasaki and her dear paper cranes. Sadako Sasaki's tale affects us all and helps us understand that determination and resilience is the way to go to make the world a better place. I loved the experience of the trip and hope that the other Year 7s carry those stories with them and show peace and prosperity just like Sadako Sasaki. Nirukshi Prabaharan 7Ba

One thing I thought was interesting is that the Swastika (Nazi symbol) had once been a symbol of peace until the Nazi twisted it into a mark of death and horror. Isabella Acosta-Vega 7Ba

The glass with the angels / saints taught me something and what interested me was the room with the slanted floor. I was surprised that the old cathedral had been blown up and still looked as good as it did. Paloma Gillett-Adrodos 7H

I was surprised that the tapestry is the second-largest tapestry in the world and that it only took twelve people two years to make it. Verity Ryan 7BE

I really liked Coventry Cathedral because there were lots of statues and the meanings behind them were really fascinating. I found the background of the cathedral really interesting and the ruins of the old cathedral were really captivating. Lasvita Kari 7M

Year 8 

Year 8 students had the opportunity to participate in a variety of creative workshops across a wide range of subjects. They had a busy day exploring themes of diversity, equality and culture through Art, Art Textiles, Design, Drama, Music and Food workshops. 

In the Food workshop the students worked in pairs to make their chosen dish of loaded nachos or banana pancakes.

The loaded nachos were a huge success and the scents of Central America filled the corridors. The students were surprised to learn that the popular festival food is named after its inventor; Ignacio 'Nacho' Anaya who came from the small Mexican town of Piedras Negras. 

Everyone loves pancakes! It's true; pancakes are loved all across the world and feature in a variety of forms in many cultures; for example French crepes, Jewsih potato latkes, Irish boxy, Russian blini, Welsh crampog, Indian poor, Hungarian palacsinta and Dutch pannenkoeken. 

It turns out the fun of making pancakes is infectious - look who we caught having a flip at break time...

The students explored the influence of henna in Art using a variety of materials. They created stunning, intricate bookmarks that they could keep. 

In Design, they investigated potential designs for an articulated lamp and explored ways of decorating it to celebrate either diversity or an element of culture.

In Art Textiles the students explored rope and cord, taking influence from countries of Africa and turning them into baskets or coasters. Basket making is an ancient skill that has survived to this day, not only does it continue to play an integral part in modern community life but in some countries, it has evolved to a highly expressive contemporary art form. Our students did fantastically well with their basket making.

For Music, students learnt a song from the musical 'Six' which is a modern retelling of the story of Henry VIII's wives.  They all had fun singing the final song from the musical as well as learning to play some chords on the ukulele. 

"I found it extremely immersing in our historic culture.  I can't wait to go and watch Six' - Iris 

"This has been an incredible insightful experience and I enjoyed learning about the women who changed history" - Katie

"It was AMAZING and I loved learning ukulele and singing 'Six' songs' - Year 8 student.

Year 9

On Tuesday, Year 9 went to the Natural History Museum in London. First, we headed to the Red Zone, where we learnt about tectonic plates, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Something interesting we learnt was that when Mount Krakatoa in Indonesia erupted in 1883, the eruption was more powerful than a thousand atomic bombs. We were also able to have a turn in a realistic earthquake simulator, which replicated the 1995 earthquake in Kobe, Japan.

Next, we visited the new Broken Planet Exhibition, which showed some of our planet’s issues and some solutions to these problems. These included:

• the blue blood of the horseshoe crab is a vital ingredient in the Covid-19 vaccination

• 60% of our mammal population is livestock, 36% being human and only 4% being wild mammals

• in the future, jellyfish may be a common component of worldwide meals due to how they are thriving in the recently warming oceans.

After the students were given free time to explore any additional areas of the museum. These included the Blue Zone, where many aquatic specimens were displayed. The Vault, where an abundance of priceless gemstones and minerals were shown and, of course, taking some time to marvel at the huge blue whale skeleton located in the centre of the museum. 

Our favourite parts of the trip was visiting the Vault and having the chance to touch a real meteorite, which is the closest anyone will get to touching the centre of the Earth.  

Bridie Osborne and Esme Crompton 9K

Chinese New Year

Our Year 12 Mandarin class have been making and eating Chinese dumplings this week to celebrate Chinese New Year.  Many Chinese households love to 包饺子 (bāo jiaozi / wrap dumplings ) at this time of year – a great social activity as well as being very tasty to eat, especially when shallow fried to make into 锅贴 (guōtiē / potstickers)!  Wishing you a very Happy Chinese New Year 新年快乐 (xīn nián kuài lè)!

Mrs Wang

     

Above L-R Em Evans, Dan Hicks and Hannah Goddard making their dumplings.

World Read Aloud Day

Thursday 3rd February was World Read Aloud Day and 7M used their DEAR time to read to the class their favourite passages from the books they were reading. We had extracts from The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, Midnight Library, a graphic comic, a South Korean book based on anime tv series, and several others. We all got a taste of genres which we might not otherwise consider.  We all really enjoyed the experience.

Ms Turner

 

Sporting News 

U15 cricketers through to District playoff

After the U15 B team went so close against King’s on Monday, Friday 28th was the turn of the U15 A team in their first round of the National indoor cricket competition. They travelled to Newent to take on Dene Magna and Newent in a round-robin.

Game one saw our batters rack up an impressive 89-4 from their seven overs, with Millie Wrathmell (15), Amelia Moore (11) and Amy Rowan (16) all retiring or not out. After a wicket from the first ball of the reply from Sim Dubb, Amy and Amelia followed their batting exploits with an incredible two overs in which Amy took 3 wickets for 4 runs and Amelia 2 wickets without conceding, aided by some excellent catching by Bea Whitelock and Abbie Kinder. It meant Dene Magna were bowled out for 25 in just 4.1 overs, leaving us as the victors by 64 runs. 

The second match saw our batters do even better, as we scored a fantastic 105 runs in the innings, with nobody being dismissed. Sim Dubb, Izzy Henderson, Gabby Russell, Bea Whitelock and Amelia Moore were all retired after passing 15. In our bowling effort, the girls again bowled tightly, restricting Newent to just 38-5 and earning a 67 run win. Star bowler in the second game was Sim with 3 wickets for 2 runs in her over.

The team progress to the District playoff, where they will be strengthened further by the return of Flo Hampton, who is currently part of a winter training programme with the Gloucestershire County Girls Elite Player Pathway. Well done all!

Mrs Davidson
 

 

U15 A team (L-R): Millie Wrathmell, Sim Dubb, Abbie Kinder, Gabby Russell, Amelia Moore, Amy Rowan, Izzy Henderson, Bea Whitelock.

Celebration – Netball

Well done to Laura Blair Year 8 who has been recently accepted in the Gloucestershire Netball County Development Academy. A super achievement; we are really proud of you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celebration – Rugby

Lizzie Davey, Aaliyah Yussuf and Eden Gough are part of Cheltenham North U15’s Rugby team. At the weekend, they played in the last 16 match of the National Cup against Gosford All Blacks and beat them 26-5, which is fantastic news. They played really well displaying excellent team work. To make it through to the top 8 in the country is super. Well done.

Cheltenham North now progress to the National Cup quarter-finals against Eton Manor and we wish you lots of luck.

 

 

 

 

Celebration - Shooting

Miriam Holmes Year 11 represented DRHS at the South West Senior Schools Pistol Shooting Finals, achieving an impressive second place out of a competitive field of twenty. We are delighted that Miriam will be representing us again at the National Finals in a few weeks time. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celebration - Rowing

Well done to Hannah Maughfling Year 10 and Arabella Jones Year 9 of AB Severn Boat Club, who took part in the Stourport Rowing Club Winter Head (time trial) this weekend and both came away as winners.

Arabella and her crew members beat some tough competition in the J14 category, whilst Hannah and her crew members triumphed in both the J16 & J17 categories (beating competitors up to 2 years older). 

 

 

 

 

 

LRC News

This week is the Spring Festival, or Chinese New Year.  The LRC holds many books written by, or telling the story of, people of Chinese origin, and about Chinese culture.  You will find below a small selection of books students may borrow by reserving them on Click and Collect or by visiting the LRC:

                               

Plans for Book Week 2022 are progressing, with, of course, the highlight being World Book Day itself, when students and staff can dress as book characters if they wish.  There will be reading promotion activities and events taking place throughout the week too. For details of resources to enrich your World Book Day, take a look here: https://www.worldbookday.com/.

The World Book Day vouchers have now arrived and will be distributed via form tutors during Book Week.  They can be exchanged for the £1 World Book Day Books at many bookshops, WH Smith, and various supermarkets.  Students may want to keep hold of them to take £1 off books delivered for the Scholastic Book Fair, scheduled for 16 March to 22 March.  Further details will be sent out nearer the time. 

The next Scholastic Book Club deadline is Friday 11 February.  Here’s the link: https://shop.scholastic.co.uk/schools/denmark-road. 

Please remember NOT to tick the box which asks if you work at the school, as it means it’s more difficult for DRHS to receive the Scholastic Credit.  Many thanks for your support.

Please contact me if you, your daughter or your son have any questions about joining your local library, further reading around academic subjects, reading for pleasure, or finding reliable information for school work; I am always happy to help.

Ms Carol Cordall, School Librarian

Follow the LRC on Twitter   @DRHS_LRC and Instagram   drhs_lrc

E-mail: library@denmarkroad.org

 

Lost Property

We have a number of unnamed coats in our Lost Property, if you recognise yours please find Mrs Williams or come to Reception to claim it. Any that remain unclaimed by the end of this term will be donated to charity. 

 

Dates for the Diary

8^th February – Back with a Band! School Concert 7-9pm

Tickets are selling fast for our come back concert. As the Orchestra and Jazz Band return to perform live for the first time in over two years, join us for what will no doubt be a spectacular night! Tickets available via the online shop. 

10th February - Securing Excllence Evening

16^th February – Year 7 Excellence Evening and Early Closure 2:30pm

18^th February – End of Term 3

28^th February – INSET Day

1^st March – Return to School

4th March - PS&A Quiz Night

Follow me @DenmarkRoad365

Please follow me on Instagram at drhshead and Twitter @denmarkroad365.  You will see a snapshot into DenmarkRoad365 and the life of a Headteacher at one of the most amazing schools in the country.  - Claire Giblin