Our School, Our Week - 1st April 2022
Our School, Our Week
In this issue:
Lansdown Road Pedestrian Gate
Science Live Trip
Food and Nutrition
Worcester Competitive Arts Festival
10X Challenge
Sociology
DofE Practice Expeditions - Bronze and Silver
Music
Art
Swim for Diabetes
Come and Sing
Art Textiles
Kayaking Course
LRC News
Goodbye
Cleaning Vacancy
Dates for Diary
Useful Information
Work for us
Lansdown Road Pedestrian Gate
Please note the Lansdown Road Pedestrian gate will not be available for access in or out of the school site from Monday 4th April until further notice.
Science Live Trip
Report written by Amelia Hayman:
On Tuesday 22nd March Year 11 went to the Symphony Hall, Birmingham to ScienceLive. We had talks from several scientists including: Professor Alice Roberts - an anatomist and biological anthropologist, Dr Maggie Aderin-Povock - a physicist who has worked on the James Webb Telescope which was launched around Christmas last year, Professor Lord Robert Winston - a biologist who established the Institure of Reproductive and Development Biology, Professon Andrea Sella - a synthetic chemist and Sim Al-Khalili - a theoretical physicist who went into depth about the possibility of time travel. All of these scientists gave fascinating lectures about the area they specialise in which were inspiring to listen to.
We also had two shorter lectures on exam technique for the upcoming GCSEs which although were very helpful, I would definitely recommend for the year 10s to get that one step ahead.
Food and Nutrition
This week, Year 7 and 8 students have been busy making Easter Biscuits. These are an English tradition from Somerset and are still popular in the South West. They were made with Cassia Oil, an extract of cinnamon, which was used to anoint the body of Christ. They are often given as gifts.
Worcester Competitive Arts Festival
Huge congratulations to Arya Acharya who performed at the Worcester Competitive Arts Festival last weekend winning first place/ trophies for sight-reading and prepared prose reading (Checkmate by Malorie Blackman).
10X Challenge
Year 8 students taking part in the 10x Challenge have been selling their products in the hall at lunchtimes last week. Teams have demonstrated their entrepreneurial skills by producing a wide variety of high quality products for students and staff in the school to purchase.
Sociology
10B Sociology have been presenting their research projects. Rachel Evans' report was incredibly in depth and informative on the impacts of sleep deprivation on social behaviour. She showed a tremendous amount of skill in research, evaluation and detailed analysis. She found that one in four people she studied did not get enough sleep and it was negatively impacting on their lives.
DofE Practice Expeditions - Bronze and Silver
One hundred and sixty-three DofE participants successfully completed their Bronze or Silver Practice Expedition last weekend in the area near the Uffington White Horse and Lambourn. The participants enjoyed walking through some stunning countryside during the early part of their expedition before enduring very cold evenings at camp and then navigating a very misty day to finish. Many members of the public commented on how polite and eloquent the students were, as well as being very impressed with their determination to succeed. We now look forward to the Qualifying Expedition in early May.
Music
Keith Nutland Award
A big congratulations to Alice Candish and Evie Perfect (Year 13) for performing in the annual Keith Nutland competition on Saturday at Bethesda Church in Cheltenham. Both students had positive feedback from the judges and we were very proud of them.
Carducci Young Composer Competition
Another amazing achievement is from Maisie Pearce (Year 11) who entered the Carducci Young Composers' composition. The Carducci quartet were really impressed with Maisie's entry and it will now be workshopped with a professional composer, and it has been shortlisted for a Junior category prize. We are hoping that it will be performed in the near future.
G15
The Year 9 Glee choir performed at the G15 concert this week. The concert has taken place "virtually" for the past two years, so it was a joy to return to Gloucester Cathedral once again and represent DRHS with a solo item and also joining with the other 14 educational settings for the upbeat finale. The group are a fantastic collection of singers and friends, and even with a last minute change of accompanist, did not falter and performed once again with confidence, maturity and musicality.
Leavers' Concert Tuesday April 5th - 7pm in the School Hall
Please buy your tickets for the last chance to hear our wonderful Year 13 students.
Tickets are now available on ParentPay.
Carducci Festival 20th-22nd May
https://carducciquartet.com/festivals/
Most of these concerts are free for under 26's!!
Art
We have been extremely impressed by Year 9's hard work this term - they have been busy creating their own Barbara Hepworth inspired sculptures!
Swim for Diabetes
Lilly Willmott and a small team is raising money for Diabetes UK by swimming the distance of the English Channel and back over the next 3 months. Find out more and sponsor her here:
https://swim22.diabetes.org.uk/fundraising/lilly973#share-page
Come and Sing
The Saint Cecilia Singers are holding a Come & Sing day on Saturday 2nd April in the beautiful chapel of Cheltenham College. They will be rehearsing and performing Stainer’s classic Crucifixion under the baton of our Artistic Director Jonathan Hope. In the morning from 10am they have vocal masterclasses led by three wonderful workshop leaders: Chris Wardle from Voces8; Deryck Webb – singing teacher and Gloucester Cathedral Lay Clerk; and David McKee, Director of Music at Cheltenham College and Gloucester Cathedral Lay Clerk.
You can come just for the afternoon rehearsal at 1pm and performance at 4pm and there is the option of joining the choir for lunch in Cheltenham College Dining Hall.
You can book via the link below:
https://www.saintceciliasingers.org/tickets.html
Art Textiles
A-level pieces:
Junk Kouture
A group of year 10 GCSE Art Textiles students have taken on the challenge of the Junk Kouture International competition. The theme of recycling was fundamental to their outcome. Their design was based on women flying high over the patriarchal society. Choosing to design and create a suit, rather than a dress; breaking that stereotype of females predominantly wearing dresses and skirts with men wearing the suits. As young women, they felt it necessary to encourage younger generations to move away from the norm of 'womenswear' and what this looks like in society. Women should be able to wear what they want to wear. Additionally, the wings were added to enhance the outcome and beliefs that all women should, and can fly high. They believe that women should be seen as equal to men, men are not the superior gender.
The costume was created from quality street wrappers, providing the vibrancy of colour whilst capturing the light beautifully. Napkins were used as a base for the corset, and the wings are made from a combination of recycled clothing, plastic bags and tea bag paper.
If you wish to view the garment in action please view: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMLHTvfP7/
Kayaking Course
LRC News
I would like to draw your attention to some of the other awards given to books for young people. Of course, we shadow the Carnegie Medal and run our own Denner Best Book Award, but there are many more out there, if you are looking for inspiration for your son’s or daughter’s next read.
The Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2022 includes Amari and the Night Brothers by B B Alston, which we have in stock and I’ve seen it reviewed as the new Harry Potter! Manjeet Mann’s The Crossing is also in the running for the Carnegie Medal. Namina Forna’s The Gilded Ones has been a firm favourite in the LRC since Ms Halliday kindly donated it! Take a look here for details and a list of previous winners, such as Angie Thomas’ The Hate U Give and Kiran Millwood Hargreaves’ The Girl of Ink and Stars: https://www.waterstones.com/the-waterstones-childrens-book-prize.
I would like to thank the Year 12 and Year 13 Library Prefect teams for really stepping up over the last couple of weeks with their support for the LRC, returning and shelving books and performing many other tasks to keep everything going. I truly appreciate their help!
This week our 2022 Battle of the Books House Teams have collected their books, ready to read for a House Quiz in the summer term! The key thing is to be organised so that as many of the team as possible read the set books.
The teams will be assigned a library prefect to ensure everyone is reading and that any challenges are dealt with. There’s a House Cup (currently in the care of 8M!), house points and glory to be had with this activity, as well as an opportunity to read some titles students might not yet have tried.
I am also currently recruiting a Year 9 team for the Denner Best Book Award, our in-house book award. Please encourage your daughter to participate – particularly if she takes a leading role, there are volunteer hours to be gained for DofE, as well as gaining transferable skills, such as working in a team, using initiative, creativity, presentation skills, etc. The books they will be championing to the rest of the school are a mix of contemporary authors and some children’s classics.
Year 9 students will be reading, discussing and promoting these books ready for a school-wide vote during Book Week in July.
The Carnegie Medal shortlisted books, generously funded by our Parent/Staff Association, are being catalogued at present and will soon be available to interested readers – please encourage your son or daughter (Year 9 and above) to get involved in our DRHS Shadowers group. We aim to read and discuss all the books by mid-June, when the winner is announced – and we can vote for the national student award too.
The LRC is undergoing a revamp over the next few weeks, which unfortunately means that many of the resources will have to be packed away for the duration. Most of the ordinary fiction will still be located in E3 and I will be stationed not too far away, so most loans and renewals are fine. However, the fiction for older students, Millennium Classics, Biographies and non-fiction will not be available for the next few weeks. I am therefore encouraging students to borrow as much as they want (no limits) from all areas of the LRC with a return date in May, so they won’t miss out on reading and information. The less that is left on the shelves at the end of the week the better, as it saves having to pack it away. It will be very exciting to see the new setting when it is finished.
Our Read for Good Readathon has now come to a close. Thank you and your children for participating! Please bank any online payments (the information was provided to your daughters) as soon as possible, remembering to Gift Aid what you can, and if there is any cash or cheques to submit, please get it all to school before the end of term. So far I can see that there’s been £100 donated online, so I am looking forward to finding out the final total. We are helping children from around the county who are in hospital or whose families use food banks, as well as the LRC which receives Scholastic vouchers to enrich our students’ reading resources.
Please contact me if you have any questions about libraries, books, reading and
research – 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
Goodbye
A huge thank you and goodbye to Mr Baker our Assistant Site Manager as he moves on to pastures new. We will miss you!
Cleaning Vacancies
ServiceMaster have the following cleaning vacancies at the school:
Morning cleaner from 6am – 8am, Monday to Friday
Evening cleaner from 4pm – 6pm, Monday to Friday
All candidates must be willing to be DBS checked
If you are interested please telephone 01635 38100 during office hours and ask for further details or send your CV to personnel@servicemasternewbury.co.uk.
Dates for the Diary
5th April - Year 13 Leavers' Concert
Useful Information
If your child is absent from school please email absence@denmarkroad.org.
If your child requires a medical/non-medical form please fill in via our website: Denmark Road High School - Forms These forms can be emailed to absence@denmarkroad.org or your child can give them in to the Well-being Centre.
When you come to pick up your child from reception please do not park outside the school gates or on any road markings which state you must not, on road junctions, or in front of private driveways. Please park sensibly opposite the school. If your child is ill and is unable to walk far, or you have problems with mobility, you may ring the bell on the gate and bring your car into the front car park. Thank you for your consideration.
Please let us know when you change your home address, mobile number or email address. We cannot keep in touch with you if we do not have your correct details. Please email changes to office@denmarkroad.org
Work With Us
If you or someone you know would like to work with us please have a look at our current vacancies:
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