LACONiC newsletter@lacon-childe.org.uk Issue No. 22 12th April 2019

Diary Dates

April 12th End of Term/Easter holiday 29th Start of Summer Term

May 1st Start of Year 10 Exams 2nd Barcelona Parents’ Meeting 2nd Year 11 English Literature Quiz night 1st & 2nd D of E Supervised Walk 3.30-6.30

8th Arthog Parents’ Meeting

21st Year 8 Parents’ Evening

Head’s lines

Finally, we have arrived at our Easter break having had one of the longest Spring terms I can remember. In actual fact, the last time there was such a long term was way back in 2003, when we broke up on Wednesday 16th April. Back then I was working at Bournville School and 6th Form in Birmingham, very close to the Bournville Cadbury factory and major employer of many parents with children in school. The vast number of chocolate eggs received that year being one of the wonderful perks of the job.

As a result of the long term, we have our Year 11 students thoroughly well-prepared for their revision over the Easter break. There are a number of school-based sessions for them to attend if they wish. It is vital that they make the most of the next two weeks to recharge their batteries and put themselves in the best possible shape for the upcoming exams. With practical exams in PE, Food, Drama and Art out of the way, as well as French and German speaking exams, some of them have completed important exams already.

On 13th May, the sit down in the hall exams begin and then it is a month of GCSE papers for them to get through. It really is a stressful time both in and outside school. Those who continue to work hard will get the results their hard work and efforts deserve. Those who do nothing will, also, sadly get the results they deserve.

To all I wish you a very reflective, peaceful and joyous Easter.

Hallelujah, Praise the Lord

Level 3 School Games

March 2019

Lacon Childe School Year 7 Rugby Team won through to the county event at Wrekin College on Thursday 21st

March. Having been crowned South Shropshire Champions, seeing off the challenge of teams from Ludlow, Church

Stretton and Bishops Castle earlier in the year, the team headed off to Telford for the County Championships in a

confident mood. The team, boasting several wins since the regional event, have trained hard and developed their

individual and team play. Upon arriving at Wrekin, the team could see the size of the challenge they had - teams

from Bridgnorth Endowed, Charlton School (Telford) and the Marshes (Oswestry), all showed quality and advanced

skills in the warm ups as the team from Lacon weighed up the opposition. The format for the day was a little bizarre

with all teams playing each other twice in a league format. First up was the North Shropshire champions from

Oswestry. Lacon showed their superior skills all round - better in possession, tackling harder and creating chances

at will. It was simple things that Lacon needed to remember like placing the ball once they had crossed the try line.

Lacon ran out winners 3 tries to 1. Next up was the East Shropshire Champions from Bridgnorth. Lacon were slow to

start and quickly found themselves 2 tries down. A much-improved performance was to come. Rucking brilliantly

and quick ball in attack led to plenty of chances. Unfortunately, a narrow defeat prevailed and the boys had to win

every game from now on to stand a chance of winning overall. Final game in the first round was against the Telford

Champions from Charlton School. A big physical team but they had no answer for the technically superior team

from Lacon Childe. As hard as the victory was, it was a convincing win and Lacon Childe has their destiny in their

own hands. The second round of games was to follow the same format as the first. A comprehensive win against

the North and a tough, physical encounter with Charlton but, again a win for Lacon Childe. The Bridgnorth game

was a must win and the boys did not disappoint. An early try settled the nerves, an unusual handling error led to an

equaliser but the boys dug deep. Rucking brilliantly, running fantastic lines and linking up with some sublime

passing enabled Lacon to score and squeeze into the lead. Bridgnorth kept coming, phase after phase but the

resilience shown was amazing they just could not break the gain line. Lacon has gained revenge and beaten a very

strong Bridgnorth team. It was now down to tries scored. Unfortunately, Lacon Childe has not quite scored enough

and lost out to the team from Bridgnorth. Head held high and smiles on all the faces, the team had finished second

but, on the day, they truly were winners. The best rucking team, individuals with exceptional talent and some

newcomers, who have now realised they have a talent and can play the game. Exceptional performances, rucking

masterclass from Ellis, the benefits of evasive running from Henry, he goes left, he goes right and still they can’t

catch him! A great day and great performances by a great team who will be fantastic to watch as they grow over

the coming years.

Dear Headmaster I trust this email finds you well Hopefully you won’t mind me emailing you – but I just wanted to drop you a note to say that I met some of your young people at the Apprenticeship event at the ICC last Friday. People are very quick to damn the youth of today – so I am writing to you for the complete opposite reason! The boys I met were polite, engaging and engaged. They were well turned out and full of enthusiasm They are a credit to your school, their parents but to themselves as well, for acting with decorum and integrity It was a joy and pleasure to meet them and I wish them well in their chosen futures With kind regards, Karen Flowerdew - KPMG

Just wanted to update you on Charles Martin’s progress within his sport!

You may or may not know that Charles represented Lacon Childe on 17th March in London - Crystal

Palace!!! - in the British School Biathlon Finals!!!!

He blew us away yet again with his efforts!!! You can imagine all of the other competitors arriving with

their athletic coaches in all the kit! And our boy from the Hill turns up with the proudest parents and

smashing out PB’s in his swim.

And running!!! He is now ....

Number 1 in the West Midlands yet again and 15th in the country!

Nothing more we could ask for of Charles!! Absolutely no running coaching or training done - just a few

road miles up Clee Hill and he turns out a performance like this! Unbelievable!!!

We are now on the hunt for a running coach/ athletic club to take Charles on further!

Toby Lloyd and Emerson Love also represented Lacon and I could not be prouder of our boys

representing our school!

Hope you feel as proud as we do!

We had an absolute fabulous time in London and look forward to next year!

Flash Mob Dance for Comic Relief

Great fun was had on Comic Relief Day with the flash mob dance event featuring the Waka Waka. An impressive number of students participated and, by the end of lunch time, the Sports Hall was full of students and staff moving in unison to this track, alongside other great dance classics as well, such as the Macarena and Cha Cha slide. A special thank you must go to the group of Year 11 and 10 girls who took a leading role and set the standard for others to follow. Well done also to the form groups who really entered into the spirit of this and worked as a team to learn the routine. Staff star performance was definitely stolen by Mr Stinson, who really threw himself into those moves …

I went to my first Comic Con on the 21st March 2019. I heard about it weeks before and really wanted to experience it for

myself.

I got dressed up as Goku from Dragonballz and had my photo taken with pop culture characters Natsu and Koro Sensei.

There was a lot of photo opportunities with movie characters, Star Wars, Anime and well-known Cartoon Favourites to name a

few.

At the Comic Con there was amazing merchandise, video gaming experiences and live events.

It was everything I thought it would be and much much more - I can’t wait to go again. The next Comic Con is in November,

so if you’re into action heroes, gaming, comics and up for a new experience then you should try it too. I promise you will not

be disappointed. Luke Armour

Francesca Jones holding her book, ‘A Skin of a Dragon’ & with some of the students.

What’s on in the Centre?

Activities were held in the Centre during the week of World Book Day - Reading Chairs was the most enjoyed activity of them all (like musical chairs but with an audio book and no running), as was Literary Clue based on the famous board Game Cluedo. Ashleigh Clifford in Year 7 won the Bookmark Design Competition.

As part of World Book Day, we were visited by the local, self-published author Francesca Jones. Selected students from Year 7, 8 and 9 were invited by their English teachers to a workshop writing event, where Francesca shared her inspirations for writing with them, and the research she had to undertake to write her novel and tips for beginning a story. Students had the opportunity to share their own writing with her and were then given some positive feedback. Thanks so much to Francesca for giving us her time and for such an enjoyable experience.

Francesca Jones holding her book, ‘A Skin of a Dragon’ & with some of the students.

The PTA is continuing to work with Bags to School to raise funds by recycling old textiles donated by you in bags which will be circulated by school. The last collection raised £240 which is all thanks to your support. Please collect:

Men’s, Ladies and Children’s clothing Paired shoes (tied together or elastic band around) Handbags Hats Bags Scarves and ties Jewellery Lingerie Belts Soft toys

Here in the English Department at Lacon, we place great importance on the value of reading

and the benefits it brings. Not only are confident, avid readers more likely to have excellent

reading skills, we often see more ambitious vocabulary and enhanced writing skills from our

bookworms! In order to promote and encourage reading for pleasure at Lacon and offer to

support to readers in the Trust’s primary schools, over the past few months, boys from Year

8 and 9 have been visiting Clee Hill Academy to read with Year 5 and 6 boys. The afternoon

sessions have involved Clee Hill pupils reading their current books to Lacon boys as well as

some shared reading activities, a few games and, of course, hot chocolate and biscuits! It has

been fantastic to see the boys make new friendships and act as positive role models. The

Revolutionary Readers project will be visiting Cleobury Primary after Easter.

On 9th March 2019, Lacon Childe competed in the Worcester heat of the Mock Trials Competition. The competition consists of 8 schools who perform a pretend court trial in front of a panel of judges. In previous years, Lacon Childe School has come first and second place and this year we hoped to continue this legacy of success.

So, what is a mock trial? Well, the mock trials are an annual national competition, which has 3 rounds (county, regional and national), and, if you win a round, you move onto the next round. Lacon’s team consisted of pupils from both Year 8 and 9 and each school has a prosecution

team (representative of the victim) and a defence team (representative of the defendant). In a prosecution team, you have 2 lawyers, a victim, any witness to back up the victim and a legal adviser (someone who starts and finishes the trial as well as giving any advice to the bench). In a defence team, you have a defendant, 2 lawyers, any witness to back up the defendant, and an usher (someone who directs people around the court). The team also has 3 magistrates who decide on the final verdict. Our school was given a case to work on and present against other schools a few months later. To prepare for the competition, Lacon Childe has practised every Monday and Wednesday lunchtime since the start of January and the team have even done a few afterschool practices. The charge in our case was as follows: on the 1st February 2019 Miss Alex Young rode her moped up to the bus stop on Globe Street, Summerton, and stole an iPhone X belonging to Miss Vic McCarthy. For the trial, Alex Young pleaded not guilty. The prosecution team said that Alex Young did commit the crime because the moped driven by the thief was registered to her. On the other hand, the two people that witnessed the theft (Vic McCarthy and Misha Novak) could not give corresponding descriptions of the moped rider and, for that reason, the evidence cannot be properly valid. Convicting Alex Young of theft without concrete evidence would be unreasonable. The defence team said that Alex Young could not have committed the crime because she was on the messaging app Snapchat around the time the incident occurred with her boss (Pip Romano). However, they have no proof of these messages as Snapchat messages delete instantly. Hence, it was quite an easy case for the defence as no clear description of the moped rider could be given. The verdict of the magistrates in both the trials we performed found the defendant ‘not guilty’. The outcome of the trials does not actually affect the results and winners of the competition. Instead you are judged on how well each student performs and how the school performs as a whole. The prosecution team consisted of:

Amy Smith – Legal adviser

Hannah Crook-Stanley – 1st Prosecution lawyer

Maddie Chassar-Hesketh – 2nd Prosecution lawyer

Jessica Tennant – 1st Prosecution witness, playing Vik McCarthy

Evie Davies – 2nd Prosecution witness, playing Misha Novak The defence team consisted of:

Annie Howells – Usher

Billy Auger – 1st Defence Lawyer

Sian Llewellyn-John – 2nd Defence Lawyer

Peggy Griffiths – Defendant, playing Alex Young

Lara Starkey – 2nd Defence witness, playing Pip Romano Other members of our team were:

Grace Forrester – Magistrate

Martha Howells – Magistrate

Freya Kelly – Magistrate

Ellie Runicles – Court Artist

Ellie Withers – Court Reporter Other honorary mentions go to:

Mrs Britton – Team Leader, we wouldn’t have won without her!

Miss Gazard – she helped us practise speeches, gave us advice and was a really great supporter of our team

Christine Short - the magistrate that has been tied to our team for a long time; she came in a few times and really gave us a boost! Thank you very much for your help and also for coming to the actual trials to support us.

Gerald – our rainbow llama and team mascot that appears in many of our photos on the day, without whom we would not have had the motivation needed to win. Thank you so much Gerald!

At the end of the day, we walked over to Worcester Crown Court, where the results were announced. We were very nervous. 3, 2, 1…we won! We all cheered with joy, and we were so excited! Our whole team went and collected our trophy, had lots of photos with a real Crown Court judge, and rode home on the bus whilst singing to music together. Now, we’re moving onto round two, the regional heats for the West Midlands. Wish us luck, and thank you so much for all the support! Whether it be parents, friends or teachers, we have had so much motivation and inspiration from the people around us, so thank you so much. Let’s hope we have as much success in round two! Written by Grace Forrester, Lara Starkey and Amy Smith

Big Bang Trip review

On the 15th March, a group of students in Year 9 went to the NEC in Birmingham to explore different opportunities at the Big Bang Science Fair. There were lots of opportunities to try out different activities and experiments, such as controlling cars to move around a certain pathway; designing train lines; breaking codes; holding insects; and looking at different medical treatments. There was also many stage shows which we could see, such as seeing your future self and a show by the Royal Society on the main National Geographic stage. Throughout the day we also got the chance to collect free gifts and activity stickers from completing set challenges at the different workshops.

Overall, it was a really interesting day with lots to do. I would like to thank Mrs Gilder and Mr Houghton for taking us.

Millie Jones 9M

It is a busy time in the Art Department at Lacon Childe; the Year 11s have their GCSE Art exam Thursdy and Friday before Easter and the Year 10 GCSE pupils have their mock exam after the break. KS3 pupils have been just as busy and here is a selection of some of the outstanding work they have been creating:

1. Lana White 7M - Conch shell drawing. Year 7 have been studying observational drawing techniques for their 'under the sea' project.

2. Adele Clifford 8MSt - Ed Sheeran drawing. Year 8 are working on developing their skills at drawing individual facial features, then half faces and then their own self-portraits.

3. Ellie Withers 9W - a final piece inspired by the work of the artists Andrea Joseph and Christine Berrie. Pupils have been creating unique final pieces in a variety of materials after looking at these artists.

Good luck to Year 10 student

Holly Bailey who is representing

Lacon Childe and Shropshire

County at the NSEA County

Show Jumping Championships

at Bury Farm, Bedfordshire

during the Easter holidays! Go

Holly!

Congratulations to Jack Banford

What a fantastic achievement Jack to be chosen for

the U17 North Midland Rugby Squad.

Jack Edwards Family Fun Day take place on 12th May at Cleobury Mortimer Sports and

Social Club. The new date and venue has been chosen to mark Jack’s 10th birthday. Donations

of tombola and raffle prizes would be most gratefully received. For details or collection, please

contact Chrissie – 07890795053 or Vanessa Woodhouse at Lacon Childe School (01299

270312)

The personnel on the group photos from left to right are: Back row (Cast): Thomas Mumford, Joel Shepherd-Hughes, Harry Little, Adam McSorley, Madeleine Powell, Amelia Jones, Matilda Weaver, Harriet Evans. Front row (Band): Madeleine Chassar-Hesketh, Ailsa Smith, Konnie Albert, Samuel Chassar-Hesketh, Olivia Smith, Annie Kinsey, Ethan Peters, Abigail Blyth. Action photos are: 1: Joel Shepherd-Hughes and Madeleine Powell. 2: Madeleine Powell, Matilda Weaver, Harriet Evans, Amelia Jones, Adam McSorley, Thomas Evans, Joel Shepherd-Hughes, Harry Little. 3: (Upstage) Matilda Weaver, Joel Shepherd-Hughes, (Downstage) Madeleine Powell, Adam McSorley.