Our School, Our News May 2022
Our School, Our News
In this issue:
Year 11 and Year 13 Leavers
Sporting Achievements
Food and Nutrition
Year 12 EDT Engineers
RAF Cosford Tasks
Textile Design
Library Refurbishment Reading Challenge
Music donation
Electric Bennetts
Kids Haven Collection
Road Closure
Job Opportunities for Young People
Year 11 and Year 13 Leavers
This month we have waved a fond farewell to our Year 11 and Year 13 students as they embarked on their period of study leave before their exams. We wish them all the best of luck and look forward to seeing them again soon.
If you'd like to see the wonderful photos of their celebration days taken by Mr Fitch, please view them on our Facebook page at the following links:
Year 11 Leavers' Day
Sporting achievements
County Champions
On Saturday 30th April two teams from DRHS competed in the U15 May Dent Netball Tournament in Cheltenham. They both did very well, with our 1st team winning, becoming County Champions. The last time DRHS won this was in 2008, so it is a brilliant achievement. The girls were absolutely fantastic - results are below.
Emily Brown, Katherine Frall, Molly Buckley, Emily Walls, Millie Baldwin, Zoe Saunders, Juliet Bye, Flo Hampton, Niamh Gillies.
Bella Hollingworth Y12
Marathon kayaking competitions:
After a long winter break, canoe marathon races resumed in May and Bella Hollingworth (Y12) returned home from Exeter on Sunday May 22nd with a bronze medal around her neck! She raced in division 9 in a single kayak (called K1) for 4 miles, which takes about 40 to 45 minutes.
Bella had also taken part in another race in Chippenham (Wiltshire) on May 15th where she came 4th out of 9 paddlers (mixed gender & age). Her coaches at Gloucester Canoe Club are extremely proud of her.
Last autumn & winter, Bella tried her very first 4 miles race during the Gloucester race on the canal (mid September) when she came 7th. Followed by a silver medal at Truro (Cornwall) for the Fowey race, in horrible stormy conditions which should have cancelled the race and forced several paddlers including her coaches to retire!
Finally, she won the last winter race at Saltford (near Bath) on November 21st overtaking several divison 9 paddlers (men, women & teenagers).
If her canoe club qualifies to race at the National finals (25th September 2022) Bella has already secured her place in that competition, since she has taken part into more than 3 races (minimum requirement).
Bella also likes to help coach younger or newer paddlers too amongst a group devoted to female-only kayakers. She is a true asset for the club’s junior development.
Bella’s races in division 9 – 4 miles – K1:
2021
Gloucester race on September 19th 2021 - Bella was 7th out of 10
Fowey race at Truro on October 31st 2021 - Bella was 2nd out of 4
Saltford race on November 21st 2021 - 1st out of 9
2022
Chippenham race (Wiltshire) on May 15th 4th out of 9
Exeter race on May 22nd 3rd out of 8
R: Bella with her medal
The club still has places for beginners to learn to kayak after school in June
ShePaddles new beginners group:
Tuesday 7th, 14th,21st, 28th – Meet and get ready at 4pm, for on the water from 4.30pm to 5.30pm
Minimum age 11 years old – must be able to swim 50m unaided in light clothing.
Booking is essential – contact Sophie Riley: secretary@gloucestercanoeclub.org.uk
Food and Nutrition
Year 7 and 8 have had a busy term in Food and Nutrition with tastes of Mexico and Spain:
We are in Mexico
The students made a chilli sauce and then filled flour tortillas to make enchiladas. Delicious served with sour cream, guacamole or a corn salad. They couldn't wait to eat them.
8SF cooking Spanish Magdalenas
Year 12 EDT Engineers
The Y12 EDT engineers have come to the end of their project working with Kohler Mira. Since November, they have been working alongside mentors from the company on a real life problem - "How can we encourage shower users to use less water to reduce the impact on climate change?" To do this, they produced a concept idea that linked shower use to an app that tracked the amount of water used, provided statistics to demonstrate the environmental impact, and linked it to playlists set to particular timings to encourage stress reduction, while also giving users a clear prompt for how long they have spent in the shower (when the playlist stops, it's time to get out).
They have shown incredible commitment, participating in weekly online mentoring sessions, two site visits, and multiple practise run-throughs of their presentation, before presenting to a panel of industry experts on Thursday 5th May (see photo). They were brilliant, and delivered a really assured presentation, answering questions confidently and clearly. They celebrated their achievements in an online graduation ceremony on Friday 6th May, during which they learned that they have been nominated for Most Innovative and Best Overall Project from the South of England (as well as achieving Gold Industrial Cadets awards). Well done everyone.
We would like to thank Kohler Mira, and in particular Holly Radbourne and James Bourne, for their support and help all year.
(L-R): Eleanor Steele, Elizabeth Sahada, Amelia Salazar, Sadiyah Kala, Phong Yan Guan
RAF Cosford tasks
Between February half-term and Easter, two teams of Y9 students worked on a variety of tasks set by RAF Cosford covering a whole range of related areas from aerospace engineering, through CAD design of a plane, to reconnaissance analysis.
The teams submitted work that was assessed by VIP judges at RAF Cosford and I am delighted to say that as a school, the students work was judged to be one of the top four submissions they received.
That meant that one of our teams would be invited to a five-day residential in July (similar to the one that our current Y10s attended in February half-term this year), and of our two teams, Team 1 was judged the overall winner from Denmark Road.
Well done to all the students who took part.
Team 1: Ellie Flaxman, Isabelle Marriott, Katherine Kelly, Matilda Bradley, Olalla Richards, Rosie Caton, Sophia Bellot, Zara Reyes-Goddard
Team 2: Alice Upton, Betsie Dixon-Gough, Charlotte Marsh, Emily George, Emma Burrell, Jasmine Ravishankar, Lucy Morgan, Lydia Wang, Nia Rodway, Simran Dubb
Textile Design
See below for some examples of our incredible A level work in Textile Design:
Library Refurbishment Reading Challenge
You may remember that before the LRC started its refurbishment, I asked you all to take up the Refurbishment Reading Challenge - to borrow and read as many books as possible, as most books would not be available for a while.
It has taken a while, but I've now totted up the number of books borrowed on that basis...
The winning tutor group is 7H, with 104 books issued for the challenge - well done.
The winning student is Mihika Pandey of 8H - an amazing mix of fiction and non-fiction, too.
The winning member of staff is Mrs Shaw - I know how much you love reading.
You are reminded that much of the fiction collection is still available in E3 and can be borrowed using the sign out sheet taped to the desk by the door if I am not there. You can still use the Click and Collect system and if the books are in storage, I can keep your reservation on file until everything is back on the shelves. Here's the link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1E3TvtCBlb50EU-GiNOinXiyp7gcb0v7O-XDPtlE69mg/edit
Please ask Ms Cordall if you have any questions about the LRC and its resources.
Music donations
Pictured is Lauren with a lovely new bass guitar for the music department. Lauren's family had an old double bass at home, which they kindly sold and gave the profits to the music department. We have bought another bass guitar, which will be a valuable resource for our co-curricular groups as well as for student use in lessons.
Lauren Harrop (Year 9)
We have also received a very kind donation of two clarinets from a previous student, Jenny Ward. Our Music department is very grateful for her generosity.
'Electric' Bennetts Bus Service
I am delighted to let you know that the coach being used on today’s (Friday 27th May) DR8 route is a very special coach as it is the first, fully electric, coach to be trialled in Gloucestershire – a 50-seater Yutong TC12E. We are lucky enough to have this £350,000 vehicle on loan to us for a week.
Please look out for the new vehicle when it arrives at the school today as it is currently in plain white livery with no Bennetts Coaches signwriting on the side. The vehicle registration is YD22 BYP.
We hope all the children enjoy their journey to and from school today being on the electric vehicle and what could be the future of our industry.
Kids Haven Collection
A big thank you to parents and students for their contributions of clothes for Kids Haven. One of our students is going to South Africa over half-term and volunteering for the charity. They will be helping with food preparation and sorting clothes. Kids Haven supports vulnerable children and gives them a home, they work with 150 children aged from 3 to 18 years.
Road Closure
Please note that A38 Estcourt Road, Eastbound side only will be closed between 7th - 24th June during the hours 19:00 to 7:00.
Pedestrian and emergency access (blue light services) will be maintained at all times.
Job Opportunities for Young People
Jubilee hospitality have part-time and temporary opportunities working in hospitably at certain events such as weddings and charity events, or at sports venues such as Kingsholm Gloucester Rugby and Cheltenham Racecourse, as well as in pubs and restaurants around Gloucestershire. If you're interested in a no-pressure role that can be flexible, please contact them via the QR code below.
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