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Communiqué 53

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Communiqué 53 July 2010
8
This time of year is always ‘action-packed’ and this half term has been no exception. The list of awards, events, activities, trips, theme days and opportunities has been endless. In everything we have attempted over the last few weeks, the common theme has been that the students have been superb ambassadors for de Ferrers. It has been really encouraging to note the number of parents who have joined us in a variety of activities. Thank you to those parents who have given their time in support of college events. This was particularly impor- tant to the success of our Technology Show and college performance of Copacabana. The soaring summer temperatures, particularly during the weekend rehearsals, certainly helped students absorb the tropical atmos- phere! All students taking examinations this year need to be congratulated on their level of attendance and behav- iour. I was particularly impressed with Year 11 in this regard. We now look forward to some excellent levels of achievement in external examina- tions. The Year 11 Prom and Sixth Form Ball have both been spectacular occa- sions. The variety of transport used at the Year 11 Prom was highly imagi- native! I am delighted to inform you that, as an Outstanding college, we are eligi- ble to be ‘fast-tracked’ to Academy Status. This is something we are seri- ously considering and as soon as Governors have more detail, on which to make an informed opinion, the col- lege will consult with all relevant stakeholders. De Ferrers has had another excellent year. Thank you, once again, for your support. Have a good break and we look forward to even more success this summer and during the course of the next academic year! sixth form session (final score was 2:1 to the staff!). Staff-Student cooking contests in front of a live audience (this year’s score was 5:3 to the staff) – we had a fantastically high quality of meals, ranging from tenderloin of pork and vegetable enchiladas to pear tartlets in caramel sauce. You can see some of the images in our spe- cial gallery: http://www.deferrerstv.com/techno logyshow/2010/articles/2010/06/2 5/photo-gallery-1/. A big thank you to all staff and students who took part and gave up their time. Parent cooking masterclasses and sessions in DT ‘ceramics’ and Science experiments, as part of ‘Bring a parent to college day’ – this year we had more than 60 parents Dear Parents principal@deferrers M A York Principal de Ferrers.COMmuniqué de Ferrers.COMmuniqué Number 053 Summer 2010 COMMUNICATING THROUGHOUT DE FERRERS SPECIALIST TECHNOLOGY COLLEGE CELEBRATE IN SIGN EVENING - SEE PAGE 7 www.deferrers.com DE FERRERS INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE SUCCESS Our first cohort of International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme stu- dents received their results on Monday 5th July. They were an excellent set of results which exceeded even our own expectations. Four students secured thirty six points which only 3.76% of IBDP candidates globally manage to achieve and six students achieved the top points score of seven in their individual subjects. Six of those sevens were in the studentsʼ higher level subjects which are recog- nised as higher than a grade A at A Level. The students have to study six subjects, three at higher level and three at standard level. They have to choose English, a foreign language, a social sci- ence, a science and a Maths subject. In addition to their aca- demic studies they complete an enrichment course entitled Creativity Action and Service which requires the students to complete over one hundred and fifty hours of work in the college and wider communities. They also study a course entitled Theory of Knowledge where they analyse ways of knowing; for this they have to complete an essay and a presentation. Finally they have to complete a four thousand word Extended Essay on a subject of their choice. It has been an extremely chal- lenging yet thoroughly reward- ing two years for our IBDP stu- dents but the preparation that the IBDP has given them has meant that they are well pre- pared for the next step in their lives at university. We are very proud of all our IBDP students and we wish them every suc- cess for the future. TENTH ANNUAL Technology Show BREAKING THE BOUNDARIES It's official - the 10th Annual Technology Show at de Ferrers was our biggest, busiest and best ever! The Technology Show is our chance to share with everyone how Technology College status has benefited our students and the local community. We had several hundred visitors to the show, including parents, gover- nors, primary students and teachers and lots of our own students, all taking part in workshops and activi- ties promoting our specialism as a Technology College. We also had visits from the Mayor and Andrew Griffiths MP. You can watch the interview with Andrew Griffiths MP on our very own de Ferrers TV channel: http://www.deferrerstv.com/ technologyshow/2010/articles /2010/06/29/green-screen- videos/ Some of the highlights this year included: Sessions for Year 10 students by Bromley Technologies, the design and engineering team that works on Formula 1 racing cars and Shelley Rudman’s Winter Olympic, Gold-medal winning skeleton bob- sleigh. Some of the students were able to try the Virtual Reality bob- sleigh rack and race each other in the design challenge, using the set- tings they selected as a team. Mr Orchard and Mr Brown even suffered ‘virtual’ injuries as they flew off the track! Luckily, they were both fine in the real world… Laser-tag contests, using the lat- est hi-tech Infra-Red simulator rifles that soldiers use to train themselves - we even had a staff- continues on page 2
Transcript
Page 1: Communiqué 53

This time of yearis always‘action-packed’and this halfterm has beenno exception.

The list of awards, events, activities,trips, theme days and opportunitieshas been endless. In everything wehave attempted over the last fewweeks, the common theme has beenthat the students have been superbambassadors for de Ferrers.

It has been really encouraging tonote the number of parents who havejoined us in a variety of activities.Thank you to those parents who havegiven their time in support of collegeevents. This was particularly impor-tant to the success of our TechnologyShow and college performance ofCopacabana. The soaring summertemperatures, particularly during theweekend rehearsals, certainly helpedstudents absorb the tropical atmos-phere!

All students taking examinations thisyear need to be congratulated ontheir level of attendance and behav-iour. I was particularly impressed withYear 11 in this regard. We now lookforward to some excellent levels ofachievement in external examina-tions.

The Year 11 Prom and Sixth Form Ballhave both been spectacular occa-sions. The variety of transport usedat the Year 11 Prom was highly imagi-native!

I am delighted to inform you that, asan Outstanding college, we are eligi-ble to be ‘fast-tracked’ to AcademyStatus. This is something we are seri-ously considering and as soon asGovernors have more detail, on whichto make an informed opinion, the col-lege will consult with all relevantstakeholders.

De Ferrers has had another excellentyear. Thank you, once again, foryour support. Have a good breakand we look forward to even moresuccess this summer and during thecourse of the next academic year!

sixth form session (final score was2:1 to the staff!).� Staff-Student cooking contests infront of a live audience (this year’sscore was 5:3 to the staff) – we hada fantastically high quality of meals,ranging from tenderloin of pork andvegetable enchiladas to peartartlets in caramel sauce. You cansee some of the images in our spe-cial gallery:http://www.deferrerstv.com/technologyshow/2010/articles/2010/06/25/photo-gallery-1/. A big thank youto all staff and students who tookpart and gave up their time.� Parent cooking masterclasses andsessions in DT ‘ceramics’ andScience experiments, as part of‘Bring a parent to college day’ – thisyear we had more than 60 parents

DearParents

principal@deferrers

M A YorkPrincipal

de Ferrers.COMmuniquéde Ferrers.COMmuniquéNumber 053 Summer 2010

COMMUNICATING THROUGHOUT DE FERRERS SPECIALIST TECHNOLOGY COLLEGE

C E L E B R A T E I N S I G N E V E N I N G - S E E P A G E 7

www.deferrers.com

DE FERRERSINTERNATIONALBACCALAUREATESUCCESSOur first cohort ofInternational BaccalaureateDiploma Programme stu-dents received their resultson Monday 5th July. Theywere an excellent set ofresults which exceededeven our own expectations.Four students secured thirtysix points which only 3.76%of IBDP candidates globallymanage to achieve and sixstudents achieved the toppoints score of seven intheir individual subjects.Six of those sevens were inthe students ̓higher levelsubjects which are recog-nised as higher than a gradeA at A Level.The students have to study sixsubjects, three at higher leveland three at standard level.They have to choose English, aforeign language, a social sci-ence, a science and a Mathssubject. In addition to their aca-demic studies they complete anenrichment course entitledCreativity Action and Servicewhich requires the students tocomplete over one hundred andfifty hours of work in the collegeand wider communities. Theyalso study a course entitledTheory of Knowledge wherethey analyse ways of knowing;for this they have to completean essay and a presentation.Finally they have to complete afour thousand word ExtendedEssay on a subject of theirchoice.It has been an extremely chal-lenging yet thoroughly reward-ing two years for our IBDP stu-dents but the preparation thatthe IBDP has given them hasmeant that they are well pre-pared for the next step in theirlives at university.We are veryproud of all ourIBDP studentsand we wishthem every suc-cess for thefuture.

TENTH ANNUALTechnology ShowBR EAK ING T H E BOUNDAR I E SIt's official - the 10th Annual Technology Show at de Ferrers wasour biggest, busiest and best ever! The Technology Show is ourchance to share with everyone how Technology College status hasbenefited our students and the local community.

We had several hundred visitors tothe show, including parents, gover-nors, primary students and teachersand lots of our own students, alltaking part in workshops and activi-ties promoting our specialism as aTechnology College. We also hadvisits from the Mayor and AndrewGriffiths MP.You can watch the interview withAndrew Griffiths MP on our veryown de Ferrers TV channel: hhttttpp::////wwwwww..ddeeffeerrrreerrssttvv..ccoomm//tteecchhnnoollooggyysshhooww//22001100//aarrttiicclleess//22001100//0066//2299//ggrreeeenn--ssccrreeeenn--vviiddeeooss//Some of the highlights this yearincluded:� Sessions for Year 10 students byBromley Technologies, the designand engineering team that workson Formula 1 racing cars andShelley Rudman’s Winter Olympic,Gold-medal winning skeleton bob-sleigh. Some of the students wereable to try the Virtual Reality bob-sleigh rack and race each other inthe design challenge, using the set-tings they selected as a team. MrOrchard and Mr Brown even suffered‘virtual’ injuries as they flew off thetrack! Luckily, they were both finein the real world…� Laser-tag contests, using the lat-est hi-tech Infra-Red simulatorrifles that soldiers use to trainthemselves - we even had a staff- continues on page 2

Page 2: Communiqué 53

Communiqué

On Saturday 12th June Mrs Isaacs, Miss Woods, MrSmith, Mr Griffiths and Mr Tyson took part in theWaterAid Munro Challenge. They climbed Y Garn, 984metres, in the Ogwen Valley, North Wales. Around£300 was raised to help provide clean drinking waterand sanitation in Africa and Asia.

WaterAid Munro Challenge

New Menu at de Fer rersAt de Ferrers we spend alot of time sourcing local,fresh produce and we areproud to promote ourBritish meatballs,sausage and Red TractorFarm Assured roastchicken. Our best selling item isʻTheoʼs Chicken Wrapsʼ -over seventeen flavours ofHalal chicken, with up tothree per day served in awheat flour tortilla with afresh salad base toppedwith the chicken of yourchoice and then a squirt ofup to three sauces, at acost of £1.50 and 95% fatfree. New items to encourage ahealthier choice are alwaysbeing added to the list, withweekly promotions beingdisplayed in and around thecanteen and college.At de Ferrers we have avery friendly catering teamthat is always happy to helpanyone with their ques-tions.

Morning Break Menu(Hot Breakfast itemschange daily)Toast 2 halves - 20pToasted tea cake - 30pCrumpets - 30pWhole Fruit - 30pBacon sandwich - £1.20Vegetarian, Breakfast sandwich - £1.20

Lunch Menu(A selection of these isavailable)Meal Deal Option from£2.20 for main course andsweetJacket Potato and fillings from £1.50Baguettes hot + cold -£1.60Sandwiches - £1.30Salads from - £1.50Plain Pizza, SpecialityPizza, Paninis, TortillaWraps, French Sticks andmuch more.Fruit, Jelly, Mousses andBiscuits.A selection of sandwiches,baguettes and wraps from

£1.30 - £1.60.Keep looking inour termlynewsletter for newand exciting prod-ucts that will keepour catering freshand changing allyear round.

visit the Technology Show! Manythanks to everyone who wereinvolved in our best ever turn-out.� Faraday DT Challenge for Y8 stu-dents: they had to design, build andtest a machine to pick objects upthat the operator could not see!� Space Science sessions for Y7 inStarLab, the inflatable planetarium,giving them a guide on what to lookout for in the night sky. � Our first Science lecture. Dr DavidEvans, who works at CERN and theUniversity of Birmingham ParticlePhysics group, talked about particlephysics and the search for thesmallest structures in the Universe.We were even treated to severalexperiments using liquid nitrogen! . � Year 10 and Year 12 Physics stu-dents got a rare chance to link uplive to the Large Hadron Collider atCERN, Geneva, and discuss particlephysics with Dr Mick Storr. We areextremely grateful to Dr Storr forgiving up his time to answer their

questions – a great pilot for our newHD video-conferencing equipment.� Visits by hundreds of primary stu-dents from our local schools.In addition, we had workshops runby Science, Psychology & SocialSciences, ICT and Enterprise, MFL,the Duke of Edinburgh team, PE andour blue-screen newsroom, as wellas the climbing wall, Photoshopworkshops and a visit from the localfire-service!

We were also very pleased to wel-come the Mayor to our show andgive him a guided tour of this year’sevents – he even took the opportu-nity to present our winning skeletonbobsleigh team with the ChallengeCup.

RReemmeemmbbeerr tthhaatt yyoouu ccaann ff iinndd oouuttmmoorree aanndd ppoosstt ccoommmmeennttss oonn oouurrddeeddiiccaatteedd TTeecchh SShhooww wweebbssiittee::wwwwww..ddeeffeerrrreerrssttvv..ccoomm//tteecchhsshhooww

continued from page 1

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For the past nine months staff andstudents at the college have beenworking incredibly hard on theannual college production of the'Copacabana'.From Wednesday 14th July - Saturday17th July, Dove campus was trans-formed into a tropical paradise ofdancing, palm trees and cocktails. Thecast of one hundred students betweenthe ages of eleven to eighteen put ona spectacular show and performed toa full house almost every evening.Congratulations to all studentsinvolved! Their hard work and deter-mination was appreciated by all the

audiences and they should all be very proud of themselves for what theyhave achieved. It has been a great pleasure for the staff to work with such atalented, friendly and hardworking cast.Finally thank you to all staff who gave up their time in order to assist with theproduction and to all those parents/carers for supporting the students withtransport, costumes and tickets.Watch this space for information on future productions!

It's been another success-ful year for our Duke ofEdinburgh Award candi-dates and the biggestchallenge ever for theleaders!Bronzes (95) have attended theirTraining and Practice weekends in

Communiqué

PLAY DATEAs part of the ChildDevelopment Curriculum,the students are requiredto undertake a substan-tial piece of courseworklooking in detail at thedevelopment of a child.We rely on the supportand guidance of localfamilies, friends and set-tings, in order for the stu-dents to have access toexperiential learning, tocomplete their course-work.As a thank you for theirpatience and understanding weinvited them to our ʻplay dateʼon Tuesday 11th May. The stu-dents were required to planfundraising activities and tosupport the event. Theseincluded dressing up as bookcharacters and dancing compe-titions, to name but two. Weraised over £100, and the stu-dents prepared, planned anddelivered an exciting sessionfor the children, along with ahealthy snack, and drink.

The activity provided us with anexcellent forum for revising allaspects of the curriculum on apractical level, and enabled usto thank all those involved inthe application of learning, mak-ing the day a great success.

the Peak District. They willset off in September for theAssessment Expedition.Silvers (43) have allpassed the Assessmentand have spent an eveningwith leaders presentingtheir project work.Golds (50) will travel toWales during the next fewweeks to embark on theirfive day AssessmentExpedition.An Open Evening forprospective Bronzes andtheir parents will be held inOctober for Year 9 stu-dents.

THE SKIES THELIMIT FOR DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY A LEVEL STUDENTSThe current Year 12 Textileand Product Design studentshave been expanding theirhorizons this term with severalvisits to universities andindustrial companies.Year 12 Textile students haveattended a three day summerschool course in fashion andtextiles at Derby University.Here, students were given theopportunity to develop andproduce their own concepts indegree studios as well asexhibiting their work in anexhibition which was open tothe public at the end of thethree day course….well done,ladies!Year 12 Product Design stu-dents attended LoughboroughUniversity Third YearTechnology degree show andhave visited Yamazaki MazakUK Ltd. This company housesthe UK Technology Centreand has the UK's largest andmost expert team of engi-neers, with vast experience inmachine tool applications foralmost every industry sector.

de FerrersSpecialist Technology College

P R E S E N T S

ww ii tt hh SS pp ee cc ii aa ll TT hh aa nn kk ss tt oo JJ oo ss ee ff WW ee ii nn bb ee rr gg ee rr LL ii mm ii tt ee dd

7.30pm

Wednesday 14th July -

Saturday 17th July 2010

The Hall, Dove Campus,

Harehedge Lane,

Burton upon Trent

Tickets - £7.00 (Concessions £5.00)

Licenced Themed Cocktail Bar

Tickets available from both

Campus Receptions

Wednesday 14th July -

Saturday 17th July 2010

The Hall, Dove Campus,

Harehedge Lane,

Burton upon Trent

Tickets - £7.00(Concessions £5.00)

Licenced Themed Cocktail Bar

Tickets available from both

Campus Receptions

MEDICAL MATTERSParents/Guardians haveprime responsibility fortheir child’s health andshould ensure that theyare well enough to attend

college.The College Nurse is

unable to offer a consul-tation service at the start

of the day but supports students who

become unwell or have anaccident during the day.

It is theParent/Guardian’s

responsibility to collectstudents if they are

unwell and need to returnhome.

Could you becomea Governor of deFerrers SpecialistTechnologyCollege?In September we will beholding elections for parentrepresentatives on theGoverning Body of the col-lege. Parents / guardians ofall students are entitled tostand for election, or tonominate others. You donot need to have any quali-fications to be a Governor,but you do need to be com-mitted to the role, and beavailable to attend eveningmeetings. A letter will besent home with yourson/daughter in the firstweek of term, giving moreinformation and asking fornominations.

Page 4: Communiqué 53

The departure date is finally here! On the 19th ofJuly Team Tanzania departed for the three weekchallenge to Africa. After a long process of plan-ning, fundraising and training, the team is readyto embark upon the experience of a lifetime.

Communiqué

PSFATeam TanzaniaHappy Hens….HappyStudents! Twenty Design andTechnology Year 8 stu-dents visited Happy HensFarm, Monday 29th June,situated within the beau-tiful South Derbyshirecountryside as part of aStaffordshire CountyCouncil competition.Pupils got up close andpersonal with several ani-mals in The Chick Shed,The Pygmy GoatEnclosure, The AnimalTunnel, The Animal Barnand The Open ChickenShed! Students also learnt abouthow sheep are preparedand selected for market,how eggs are collected,and evaluated and dis-cussed the quality of life ofboth roaming and barnreared chickens. This trip was great fun anda superb opportunity toprepare for the GreatStaffordshire Picnic compe-tition on the 14th July.

IBDP Biology and Geography FieldtripFourteen IBDP Biology & Geography Students along witheight A Level Geographers recently spent a day in Edaleconducting fieldwork investigations as part of theircoursework requirements. They studied the physical fea-tures of different upland river habitats and then identifiedthe animals present to examine how the physical environ-ment impacts upon the different animals and plants thatlive there.

Here are just some of theevents the PSFA has inmind for the comingyear: � Year 7 Bingo Night

� Murder MysteryMayhem

� Christmas Fair

� Fashion and Pre-Prom Extravaganza

� Quiz Night

� Duck Raceto name but a few!

And it all starts next Autumnterm on Monday 13thSeptember, 7pm, on Dovecampus with our PSFA Wineand Nibbles Night where youare welcome to come along fora chat, a glass of somethingand snacks to help start ournew college year. Should youwish to stay longer, our AGMwill be taking place at 7.45pm;this will be a short, quiteinformal meeting with anopportunity to find out moreabout how the money raised bythe PSFA has been spent andshare any ideas or thoughts onthe role of the PSFA in theCollege.

A formal invitation will be sentout in the first week of theAutumn term but please putthe date in your diary now!

Can I say a big THANK YOU toall the PSFA committee mem-bers and also staff memberswho have helped with ourfundraising effort during thelast year – you all give of yourfree time willingly and enthu-siastically and that reallymakes all the difference!

So, good luck to all of youwho are awaiting examresults in August and have agood summer!

Anita McleanChair

As you are aware, when teammembers arrive in Tanzania,they will climb Mount Meru(over 4500m) and learn aboutthe local cultures, but mainlythey will be focusing on theproject phase of the chal-lenge. This is where the teamwill get ʻhands onʼ in a com-munity by firstly building anobstacle course for the chil-dren at a local school. Toenable them to successfullycomplete this project, theteam has been learning newskills with the help of deFerrersʼ own Mr Taylor andplans and designs havealready been drawn up. Inaddition to this, the team willalso be helping to paint a din-ing room, and will build chairsand desks to contribute toschool equipment. Whilst the team members areaway, you can follow theirprogress at www.deferrerstv.com/tanzaniaKeep up to date with blogsand diaries, track the develop-ment of the project and viewpictures that the team willpost on the site. It is clear that without the con-tinued support and contribu-tions given, the team would

never have reached this point.Team Tanzania would like totake the opportunity to thankthe college, the communityand the parents involved forall the support they havegiven. Over the past year thissupport has been so importantto the teamʼs members, andhas successfully enabledthem reach their goal. For thissupport, the team cannotthank you enough. They will be hosting aShowcase evening early nextterm in order to share some oftheir achievements and expe-riences – they hope to seeyou there!

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JUST LIKE THE OSCARS!On the 22nd May, two Year 10Product Design students represent-ed de Ferrers at the ʻPrintIT! ̓awardceremony at the NEC and received

awards for theirdesign work based onfair trade products.Falaq Raheel andMitchel Taylor werenominated in the ʻBestOverall Presentationʼcategory in thisnational competition aimed atinspiring students to explore theworld of printing. Their prize forreaching the finals was a VIP tour ofthe International printing exhibitionand a compact digital camera each.

Top Designers in Year 8Year 8 Design & Technologystudents demonstrated theirexcellent Design skills whenthe college took part in anIET Faraday Challenge Dayon Tuesday run by MarySouthall and Kevin Jonesfrom Attainment Partnership.thirty six students brushed uptheir Design and Technology,Science and Maths skills to

KEY STAGE 3THEME DAYSFollowing the success ofthis learning experience lastyear we decided to onceagain change the timetablefor our Years 7, 8 and 9 stu-dents. The Years 7 and 8completed a trip around theworld over three days.

Each year group took part in sixdifferent activities all of whichplaced different demands on thestudents. To support the stu-dents in the learning processover the days each area had towork to the 6Rs, something thestudents are very familiar withwithin lessons. Every studentwas given a passport whichthey took with them on eachstage of the journey. A competi-tion was held for the best pass-ports in each year group andthe winning students will berewarded with a trip out of col-lege.

The activities this year included:Bhangra Dance from Asia,Salsa Dance from Cuba;research and film making aboutAfrica; cookery and Batik workfrom Asia; snow making inAntartica; car production andjingles from America, AboriginalArt from Australasia and TotemPole manufacturing from NorthAmerica and famous landmarksfrom Europe and EuropeanMathematical challenges. Thedays saw us bring several visi-

tors into the college to work withthe students and once againthey could not praise the stu-dents highly enough. We wantto thank the Staffordshire YouthService for doing the “TeamChallenge” tasks with us andMrs Hulburt and the SixthFormers for giving the studentsa brief insight into the Duke ofEdinburgh Award Scheme.

The Year 9 students followed adifferent programme that tookplace on Trent Campus. Theywere involved in three very dif-ferent events. On Wednesdaythey took part in a “ManagingFutures” programme of work.Guest speakers worked with thestudents and they completedassociated activities. OnThursday the students, withtheir tutors, completed a projecton “Eco-Footprints”. This wasmanaged by Mr Tyson and MrsLongmore, who complimentedthe students on the quality ofwork produced. Finally Friday saw yet anotherchange of event with all stu-dents taking part in a Multi-Sports Day. The tutor groupswere divided into various teamsincluding Cricket, Rounders,Tennis, Football andTrampolining/Gymnastics. Thestudents competed to a goodstandard and the day concludedwith Finals being played in eachevent.The three days were a greatsuccess and it is something thatwe hope to build on even morein the future.

design, develop and manu-facture a mechanical devicethat could simulate a roboticarm. The students weremarked throughout the dayat every stage of develop-ment. On the day, team two,which comprised ofJonathan, Liam, Danielle,Lucy, Natalie and Scott justbeat the runners up by fourpoints with a superb160/200. This was a greatfun day for everyoneinvolved.

Key ClubKieran Stone and DanLee of Year 9 are two ofthe students who haveattended Key Club forover one hundred lunchtime sessions sinceSeptember 2009. Otherstudents who havereached their century areSam Cooper and JamieCooper, also in Year 9and Rowena Neal in Year 7.

Fantasy Football LeagueCongratulations to Mr Wakeon winning this year'sFantasy Football League withhis team Bayer Neverlusen.Mr Hawker was runner-up inthe Staff League. Top studentwas Nicole Wright of 10.6. Mr Wake receives a wonder-ful trophy and a gold medal.

Page 6: Communiqué 53

Communiqué

SpookyPerformanceKey Stage 3 Drama Clubput on an excellent andspooky performance ofRoald Dahl's 'The Witches'.The performance went out

Mathematically InspiredOn Thursday 25th March, at Nottingham Playhouse, four-teen Sixth Formers were inspired…by maths. The mathsbehind Guitars, Olympic Stadiums and Psychology wasripped apart and re-assembled in ways that could challengeeven the most advanced minds. Three speakers showed usthat the logistics behind building an Olympic stadium canalter the elements of nature, that magicians are always cun-ning mathematicians and that guitars donʼt just makemusic, music makes the universe. Rather than reality teach-ing us maths, maths has showed us the reality of what sur-rounds us. Suzie Menzies

Gifted and Talented Art GroupOne year ago theGifted and Talented Artstudents from KS3were invited to join alunchtime group. From Year 9 the students are:India GouldHannah FreeHayley ClarkFawn ClementsNaomi FrostAbbey WatsonWeronika Stepien

Fom Year 8 the students are:Charlotte BasbyBecky BrownJames PickeringMeg Poxon Ellie MilnesAfter several drawings andcompositions, the final designwas decided. It has taken sev-eral months of dedication andskill to create a beautifullypainted mural in DB26.Congratulations to the studentson such a fabulous piece of Art!

THE GAMBIAAPPEALAs part of our ongoing com-mitment to raise awarenessabout global issues, we aredelighted to once again reporton the success of our Year 7students in raising funds tosupport the teaching of hear-ing impaired children in theGambia. We are grateful to DrMalcolm Gardner who came

A Level Biology FieldtripThirty two A Level Biology students recently spent fourdays in Aberystwyth conducting fieldwork investigations aspart of their coursework requirements. They learnt howecologists collect data to understand how and why differentthings live where they do. They also examined how naturereserves are used to manage the needs of man whilst pro-viding an environment where wildlife can prosper.

Young Teen Fiction Awards 2010 On Tuesday 6th July, members of the de Ferrers Dove ReadingClub went to the Staffordshire Show Grounds for the Young TeenFiction Awards. Eight students went along with Mrs Etheringtonand Mrs Massey. Everyone had a brilliant day, meeting authorAlan Gibbons and storyteller Peter Chand. Also they saw six fan-tastic presentations of the six books they had to read includingʻVampiratesʼ which was performed by themselves. In third placewas the book ʻGrassʼ by Cathy Macphail, second was ʻAngelCakeʼ by Cathy Cassidy and finally the winning ʻBrigands MCʼ byRobert Muchamore. Overall it was a brilliant experience for theeight students who were lucky enough to go. By Thomas Staddon and William Morrell.

into college to speak to thestudents and give them anupdate on the work that iscurrently going on. During arecent assembly we were ableto present a cheque for over£1400 to him. He was over-whelmed by the generosity ofthe students and their familiesand has asked us to pass onhis thanks to them. A copy ofthe letter that he sent to thecollege is available to view onthe College Website.

to an audience filled withlocal primary school chil-dren and to parents in theevening. A big thank you tothose involved with theDrama Club and also tothe cast's friends and fami-ly who came and support-ed them during the show!

Page 7: Communiqué 53

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IIssllaammiiccCCaalllliiggrraapphhyyWWoorrkksshhooppIslamic Calligrapher,Razwan Ul-Haq, joined stu-dents from Years 7 to 12 toshare his culture and artform. Razwan worked withstudents from the Urdugroup in Year 10 and aselection of Gifted andTalented Art students.Razwanʼs art work usesIslamic Calligraphy in imagi-native and contemporarydesigns. This inspired thestudents as they attemptedto create their own interpre-tation of significant Islamic

KEY STAGE 3TRIPSDuring this term the Year 7students had a very enjoy-able evening at the “Aqua-Disco” at Waterworld inStoke. The Year 9 studentsonce again had their annualtrip to Alton Towers. Thetrips will finish with our endof year venture to “Tenpin”at Derby. The fun-filledevening on the last Mondayof term give the studentsthe chance to show off theirbowling skills as well assome creative dance movesas the “Tenpin” staff createa party atmosphere. We aimto fill the venue which catersfor one hundred sixty peoplebowling. There are stillplaces available to Years 7,8 and 9 and letters can becollected from theAchievement and Guidanceoffices.

ROAD SAFETYON

DOVE SITEWe are well aware that

there are problemswith traffic on

Harehedge Lane at thestart and end of the

college day, which ismaking it difficult forparents to deliver andcollect their children.In order to ensure thesafety of our students,we do not allow par-ents to drive onto the

site, and we would askall parents not to dropoff or collect studentsfrom the entrance tothe de Ferrers and

Outwoods site, whichneeds to be kept clearat all times. Thank youfor your co-operation.

words. The work producedwas outstanding and as wellas developing new skills, allof the students gained newperspectives on culture,religion and identity.

Celebratein SignEveningA unique event wasenjoyed by an enthralledand captivated audienceof around one hundredand thirty at de FerrersSpecialist TechnologyCollege on 1st July. TheCollege culminated itssupport of National DeafAwareness Week (28June – 4 July) with anevening of entertainmentthat contained a mixtureof song, dance anddrama with sign lan-guage support.De Ferrers has never been afraid ofpushing boundaries and beinginvolved in new ideas andʻCelebrate in Signʼ was an eveningthat certainly did that; it combinedthe talents of its own students withthose of special guests fromStaffordshire ASSIST and the RoyalSchool for the Deaf in Derby whosesigning mesmerised the audience –so much so that a standing ovationfollowed the closing bars of theirfinal number.

De Ferrers Sign Language ClubChoir (dFSLCC) has had a busyyear with several performancesboth in and out of college. It, there-fore, featured strongly throughoutthe evening but were also joined bydance groups from the college andthe East Staffordshire DanceCollective and guest interpretersfrom Staffordshire ASSIST. The col-legeʼs Drama Group were also inattendance in a collaborative per-formance of a scene from RoaldDahlʼs ʻThe Witchesʼ.

Mr Tucker and Miss Edwards joinedthe choir for two vibrant perform-

ances either side of the interval –ʻTime of My Lifeʼ from ʻDirtyDancingʼ and ʻTogetherʼ from HighSchool Musical; one member of theaudience stated that he will neverforget the “Dirty Dancing duet!” Mrs Tunstall has been working withdFSLCC over the last few weeks ona project based on the John Lennonclassic “Imagine”. They were joinedby members of the staff sign lan-guage group who bravely took tothe stage to sign alongside thechoir. This was a beautiful perform-ance and there were many wet tis-sues in the audience at the end ofthe number.The audience then had their chanceto shine – throughout the eveningMr Tucker and Miss Edwards hadbeen teaching them sign languagewith the aim of all joining in a per-formance of Sing a Rainbow. Thattime arrived and by now the audi-ence was really motivated– theyreally entered into the spirit of theevening and joined in with enthusi-asm – brilliant!The closing number of the showwas ʻThe Climbʼ which is now a firmfavourite with dFSLCC and this wasperformed with passion and realfeeling. The inevitable question that peopleask is – was the evening all in signlanguage? Was it all silent? Well,yes, the evening was interpretedand all but three performances weresupported and/or featured sign lan-guage. But, no, it was notsilent…far from it! Indeed, the sec-ond half had the audience joining inand having a great time – a realparty atmosphere. This was arelaxed and enjoyable evening, withthe audience seated around tables.There were many moments of puremagic and at times the tissues werebeing passed around quite freely.

Plans are already being made forʻCelebrate in Sign 2011ʼ and if allgoes well it should be equally asexciting and captivating. When tick-ets go on sale next year, be sure toget yours as they are likely to goquite quickly. In the meantime,watch out for information about thechoir and its performances on theSign Language website on the VLE.

Page 8: Communiqué 53

Communiqué

Trent CampusSt Mary’s DriveBurton upon TrentDE13 0LLTelephone: 01283 239936Fax: 01283 239950

e-mail: [email protected] www.deferrers.com

Dove CampusHarehedge LaneBurton upon TrentDE13 0ASTelephone: 01283 239961Fax: 01283 239971

de FerrersSpecialist Technology CollegePrincipal: Mr M A York BA (Hons) BEd MBA

SPORT

YEAR 8 NETBALLOnce again the Year 8 studentsfinished the season in goodstyle and won the Burton andDistrict Netball League. Thisstrong squad of players hasworked hard since joining thecollege and during this seasonwas undefeated. The squad consists of the fol-lowing students:Courtney BarlowHelen CookZara ThompsonMillie DawkinsTamikah CampbellFaye BrooksHolly WebsterDanielle ColtmanMegan PoxonLuisa WoodhallGuiliana WoodhallChloe BeckettMillie BoweringSophie Richardson

DANCEDance continues to be popularwithin the college and thisSeptember will see the first oftwo groups beginning to studyGCSE Dance. Dance continuesto be offered as an extra-curric-ular club and during this termthe students at Key Stage 3have been working towardspieces for the Sign LanguageConcert. It is good to see inter-est developing in the youngerstudents and we have a strongfoundation on which to continuethis tradition. One of the highlights of thisterm was the performance ofthe Year 7 boys in“Ghostbusters”. After muchrehearsal, over manylunchtimes, the boys took to thestage fully geared up to rid usof any ghosts in the neighbour-hood. Equally other outstandingperformances were given by:Eleana OʼHare and DanielleLunn in a dramatic duet; the sixYear 7 girls who performed withthe Sign Language Choir andthe East Staffs DanceCollective Group who practiseon Friday evening.Congratulations also to IsabelleFisher, Raida Ali and MackaiDaji who have successfullyauditioned for the District GCSEDance course.The dancers have been fullyinvolved in rehearsals for thecollege show ʻCopacobana.ʼ

ROUNDERSThe rounders season is nearlycomplete and the Year 8 girlshave played exceptionally well.They have remained undefeat-ed in their league games andneed to win their final matchagainst Paget to secure theleague.

Fantastic individualsporting achievementsfor studentsA number of students havereceived individual recogni-tion over the course of thisterm for their continued per-formance at an outstandinglevel in a range of differentsports. James Ward (Year 12)was selected to representEngland Under 18ʼs TableTennis Team in the HomeNations International inLimerick, Ireland. James,along with Charles Sketchley(Year 10), have both beenselected to compete in the UKSchool Games in Gatesheadin September. This is a mini-Olympic style competitioninvolving 1,600 competitorsacross ten sports over fourdays. A big event!

The college traditional strengthin athletics has continued with afantastic fifty one students beingselected to represent the BurtonDistrict in the CountyChampionships across all agegroups. From the County cham-pionships, Shannon Golaub(Triple Jump – Year 11), LeeBelcher (Long Jump – Year 10),Mackai Daji (Javelin – Year 9),Dan Wildman (200m & Javelin –Year 8), James Tunnicliffe(Triple Jump & Long Jump –Year 8) and Eliza McAuliffe(Long Jump – Year 7) were allselected to representStaffordshire based on fantasticperformances at the CountyChampionships. A special con-gratulations must go to James

CRICKET CRUSADERSThe Year 8 Cricket team hashada tremendous season this year.In the league the boys have pro-duced a fantastic six out of sixwins, by beating Granville,Robert Sutton, William Allitt,Pingle, Oldfields and AbbotBeyne. De Ferrers 85-2, Granville alloutDe Ferrers 88-2, Robert Sutton50-2De Ferrers 69-0, William Allitt68-7De Ferrers 85-7, Pingle 54 alloutDe Ferrers 109-7, Oldfield 108-6De Ferrers V Abbot Beyne wonby default

They made the StaffordshireCounty Cup U13 Final away at

IBDP STUDENTS EXAMINE WIND,WASTE AND STUDENT POWERYear12 IBDP students spent two days working in teamslooking at energy sustainability in de Ferrers as part of theirinternal assessment in the Science subjects. Students werejudged on their teamwork, motivational and reflective skills.The teams examined a variety of ways energy could be har-nessed, ranging from building their own wind turbine, pro-ducing methane fromwaste from the collegekitchen to working outhow many students itwould take to power aclassroom if they werecoupled up to bikeswith a generator. Theproject was roundedoff with the studentspresenting their find-ings to an audience ofIBDP staff and stu-dents.

Denstone College. The teamcoached by Mr Baxter, earnedtheir place in the final by beatingKingsmead College. De Ferrers190-1, Kingsmead 66-6 with anoutstanding team display andDan Wildman achieving 120 notout. They then went on to beatWolverhampton GrammarSchool. De Ferrers 121-5,Wolverhampton Grammar 91-8.Oldfields was the next team tobe faced, this being the semi-final with de Ferrers beatingthem. De Ferrers 109-7,Oldfields 108-6 With confidencerunning high and some out-standing displays of batting,bowling and fielding by thewhole team, they got them-selves to the final; de Ferrers vDenstone College. Despite thematch not quite going deFerrersʼ way, they still held theirheads high and produced apromising performance, endingthe match as runners up in theU13 Staffordshire County Cup,losing by eight wickets.Many thanks to Mr Baxter forwhat has been a remarkableseason for deferrers Year 8cricket team.Team: Daniel Wildman (C),Daniel Featherstone, LiamGoode, Lewis McQuillan, SimonBillings, Jake Fearn, WillBeesley, Joel Stanley, JonathanHunt, Charlie Tunstall and OliverJones.Well done, boys!

Tunnicliffe who won both of hiscompetitions to become doubleCounty Champion and toShannon Golaub who becamethe first de Ferrers student in anumber of years to be selectedto represent Staffordshire in theEnglish Schools NationalChampionships in Birmingham.The event is being televised liveon Sky Sports!

In cricket, a number of studentshave represented district sidesand Andrew Cooper (Derbyshire– Year 11) and DastgeerNaukhez (Staffordshire – Year7) have been selected to repre-sent their County sides. DanWildman (Year 8) is also hope-ing for Derbyshire County selec-tion after scoring 120 not out forthe Year 8 college team in theCounty Cup on their way to theFinal, along with a second cen-tury this year for the districtside.

The Year 8 and Year 7Rounders players took part in anew format tournament earlierin the term. They played verywell and both teams were unfor-tunate not to make it into thefinals. However, they enjoyedthe experience and high levelsof skill and teamwork weredemonstrated.


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