DGGS Times - Dartford Grammar School for Girls

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DGGS Times ISSUE NUMBER 27 FEBRUARY 2014

Dear Parents I hope that you enjoy reading about

the vast array of trips, activities and achievements of our students in this newsletter. This includes many sporting successes, for example an impressive 65 students who represented DGGS in the first round of the Kent Schools Trampolining Championships hosted at our school; many will now progress to the next round.

This week many members of our school community came to see the excellent Key Stage 4 production “Teechers”; the standard of performance was extremely high and showcased some of the great talent in the school. Very many congratulations to Miss Stanley and all students involved.

As we reach the end of Term 3, I am very pleased to confirm that the new Sixth Form Centre refurbishment is on track for completion and it should be available for Year 12 and 13 students at the start of Term 4. Sixth Form students will then be able to enjoy their own café throughout the day, serving Costa coffee as well as a range of snacks such as sandwiches and muffins. Very importantly the study facilities have been extended and improved significantly to enable students to work independently or collaboratively in three different areas.

During Term 3 members of the Senior Leadership Team have met with

Year 11 students and parents to discuss current progress towards GCSEs as well as career plans and A level choices, as part of our transition programme into post-16 study. We have also met with our highest number of potential new students from a range of other local secondary schools as demand for places in our Sixth Form continues to rise. Parents will be aware

that the DfE published the school performance tables recently. Whilst we are very pleased that the students’ outstanding GCSE and A level results are reflected very

positively in the tables, what is most important is that each student achieves the best possible set of results for them individually, to open doors for their future and that they leave the school as confident, well-rounded young people.

I would like to thank parents for your continued support of the school. If you have any comments, queries, feedback or would like any additional information about how to further support your daughter/son with their learning, please do not hesitate to contact the school.

I hope all our families have a restful and enjoyable break. We look forward to welcoming back all students on Monday 24th February.

Sharon Pritchard Headteacher

From the Headteacher I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E :

Textiles visit to the V&A Museum

2

The Sixth Form Pantomime

4

History Treasure Hunt a popular success!

5

New York! New York!

6

Sports Results 10

Dyson Engineering Box

11

My experience in the London Schools Symphony Orchestra

12

New chapter for Ightham House

14

RS Prefects get KS3 thinking philosophically!

12

Vocab Express 16

Cast from the KS4 Production “Teechers”

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Working together to achieve academic excellence and personal potential

Drawing by Lily Doan, 9K

Lily Doan, 9K dressed in costume from V&A

Textiles Visit to the V&A Museum

On Friday 24th January, our Year 9 Art and Design Textiles students enjoyed a visit to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. This provided an excellent opportunity for the girls to study exciting pieces in close-up, focusing on the Club to Catwalk Exhibition and the Theatre and Performance Galleries. A small number of sixth form students also went on the visit, collecting research for their projects. Throughout the day, I was impressed by the positive and polite behaviour of our students. I should like to thank them, Mrs Bartley and Miss Last for a very fruitful day, recounted in more detail below.

Julie Evans-Wild Curriculum Team Leader: Arts and Technology Faculty

I really enjoyed the theatre and performance galleries as they contain lots of wacky and inspiring outfits. There was also the chance to try some outfits on, which was a good laugh and the chance to take some funny photos. My favourite part of the galleries was the war horse puppet and the lion king costumes. I’ve always wanted to see the performance of war horse and it was a great chance for me to see the horse puppet up close. I thought that they got every detail of the horse’s body perfect with just a simple design. However, for me, the lion king costumes topped the whole trip. I remember seeing the performance as a kid but never got to appreciate the costumes enough. When I took a closer look at the head pieces I loved the way they conveyed the characters’ emotions. For example Sarabi (Simba’s mother) had a very kind and thoughtful look, whereas Scar had a very cold look. I really enjoyed the trip as it helped my knowledge and development, on stage and theatre. I would recommend this trip to anyone who aspires to be a costume designer or something to do with theatre as it gave me many ideas and inspiration.

Lucy Titmarsh, 9P

Towards the end of the Performance Gallery, there was a part that showed you how the staging and lighting works, and you could have a go at changing the direction and colour of the lights on a miniature stage. This was fun because it meant you could see how it works and how difficult it is! Finally we went back to the start of the gallery and we had a go at the dressing-up station; this was my favourite bit because we all dressed up and pretended we were in a play. It was also interesting because we got to feel the materials that they used and feel the weight of them which helped us understand what it was like for the actors. I found the trip very inspirational and it was good fun!

Maisie Cuthbert, 9K

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There was also a shop near the entrance, which was very bright and there were lots of glass and ceramic buttons and fabrics that also inspired me, because of how original they were. At the shop there was also unique and inventive jewellery that looked beautiful, but also something that people could wear out. I really enjoyed the trip to the V&A museum and hope that it will be taking place next year for the Year 9s.

Sadana Athukorala, 9P

Maisie Cuthbert, 9K and Lily Doan, 9K in costume

Drawing by Tors Adams, 9P

Drawing by Jessie Morter, 9L

For a few months the museum has been holding a ‘Club to Catwalk’ exhibition. This included a full display of all of the most outrageous costumes from the 1980’s which held everything from a blow-up hoodie, to a pillow case as a hat.

From the outside of the exhibition, some of the outfits looked normal; a silk dress with a simple flared bottom, a shiny jacket; however on closer inspection of that jacket, I found out that it was made of hair pins. So you can clearly see that the further in the exhibition we got, the stranger some of the outfits looked. I have to say that the most odd was the one worn by a singer in the late 80’s. It consisted of a type of jacket, I would imagine, based on one worn by a cow-girl with fringed edges. The jacket was paired with matching men’s Y-fronts. Now can you think of anyone capable of pulling that off?!

Tors Adams, 9P

Textiles Visit to the V&A Museum

(continued)

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Every Wednesday afternoon Sixth Form students take part in a variety of different extra-curricular activities . As part of the CAS programme, I worked with a group of Year 12 and 13 students (Seetha Thangarajah, Hollie Tang, Arina Garbuja, Jessica Mullard,Carla Clark, Katie Coster, Alice Rollinson, Caris Seal, Emma Goodall, Claire Starritt, Lauren Byrne, Maame Atuah, Lizzie Garwood , Jennifer Reynolds, Nancy Mawhood, Hannah Garry, Amy Garwood, Nancy Nightingale and Jonathan Thomson) who were given the huge task of writing, directing and performing a pantomime for a primary school audience. They started with nothing and had eleven weeks before an audience of noisy and excited Year 5’s and 6’s arrived, expecting to be entertained.

In our first session the group discussed what was expected from a pantomime: larger than life characters, colourful set and costumes, audience participation, music and lots of energy. At first the group were quite daunted by this task but once they had decided on Snow White and the Seven Dwaives (a spelling mistake made by one of the writers which stuck) the ideas started

The Sixth Form Pantomime

to flow. Once the story had been decided the group was split up into areas of interest: directing, writing, performing, set design, props, costume and music. Each group had their own area of responsibility, but it was essential that each group communicated with the others.

On Wednesday December 11th the cast and crew welcomed students from Our Lady’s Primary School to X11. Prior to the performance we had decorated the space with tinsel and snowflakes and

Christmas music was blaring out as they all arrived. The Sixth Form really wanted to make this a memorable afternoon for the year 5’s and 6’s. I don’t think that any of the cast and crew realised how much the audience would get involved in the storyline and the characters. The Wicked Queen was booed at every possible opportunity (except when The Narrator put a cream pie in her face) and the Dwaives were much loved and proved to be very entertaining. Once the audience had left, the cast and crew were buzzing, they wanted to do it all again! Maybe next year.

Anna-Maria Stanley Curriculum Area Leader: Drama

Congratulations to the Y13s. All students who have been interviewed so far have been successful in receiving offers at the following institutions for Degree courses in Fine Art, Games Art and Design and Interior Design:

Bedfordshire University Southampton Solent University Anglia Ruskin in Cambridge Plymouth College of Art Wolverhampton University Winchester University

Interviews for foundation diplomas are soon to take place. Good luck! Siobhan Campbell

Joint Curriculum Area Leader : Fine Art

Arts Faculty

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Saturday 7th December Northfleet School for Girls Christmas Fayre On Saturday 7th December, three Young

Enterprise companies went to Northfleet School for Girls and sold products we’ve been making in our Wednesday CAS sessions and after school. Each group had their own decorated stands and we had to entice customers to buy our products in order to break even or make a profit. Some of the products which were popular with the public were hampers, henna candles and temporary henna tattoos.

We began the day at 11:30 setting up the stands and waiting for the customers to arrive at 12:00. With all the groups ready to sell, we each began trading with customers, each company having to adopt different methods in order to attract people and make the final sale. We then spent the next three and a half hours selling the products to the people that came to the Fayre. Personally, the day helped me learn more about trading and how to successfully attract customers, which for me, allowed me to learn a lot about the career that I want to pursue.

We all really enjoyed the day and each learnt a lot about competition and working in our Young Enterprise company groups. This means that we are working harder and stronger today, and we all benefited from the experience. I am also glad to say that all groups made a profit from the day and everyone went home happy, and extremely worn out after being on their feet all day!

Taryn Service, 12G

Young Enterprise

Daniella Murphy, Eleanor Murray, Abigail Rosco, Chloe Shang, Sophie Scott, Simi Abe, Indya Dookhuran, Fabia Munim

As part of our programme to diversify students’ approach to history, a fun- filled lunchtime historical treasure hunt quiz was organised for the end of last term by the History Department and the Year 12 Prefects. Questions were placed around the school for students to find and return with the answers. There were ten history based questions in all and the winning teams were rewarded with a selection of edible prizes. Students from a range of year groups joined in enthusiastically and the lunchtime session was a great success with many sweets consumed!

The history prefects would like to thank Miss Haydon for all her efforts in helping to put the event in place and Mr McGinty for his first aid skills which were thankfully not required. Finally thank you to those who took part; we hope to organise more events like this in the future.

History Treasure Hunt a popular success!

The Year 12 History Prefect Team ‘Last term the History department organised a

Treasure Hunt which we entered. We went all around the school searching the classrooms and corridors for questions; they were outside rooms like the Sports Hall and ML0. Some of the questions were easier but others we really had to use our brains for. One of the questions was about the Queen’s coronation and we guessed Diamond Jubilee and got it right. We had to take the answers back to Miss Haydon and the sixth formers and when we finished we won a bag of sweets each because we came first! By the end we were shattered but we really enjoyed our experience and wish to do more activities like it!’

Emily Beauchamp, Jenna Crowle, Riesha Gill, Emma Pitcher, Libby Platt and Sophie Riley, 7I

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A massive thank you to all staff and students for making the trip a huge success! Students were bright eyed and bushy tailed ready and prepped for the day ahead, despite the de-layed flight. After a huge American breakfast we headed out on the Staten Island Ferry to see panoramic views and land marks of the city. Travelling towards Times Square it was time to eat again, where we had large slices of pizza and salad. As

full as we were, the delectable cheesecake could not be ig-nored! Each day was packed with as many galleries, as much shopping time and food consumption as we could squeeze in. Following are some of the students’ personal accounts.

Siobhan Campbell Joint Curriculum Area Leader: Fine Art

New York! New York!

Favourite Art Moment… It was an amazing experience! As well as being able to see the vast city and Central Park (where I got to take a great range of photos for my project), we got to visit art galleries, holding some of the most well-known art works from some of the most well-known

artists, in some of the most prestigious galleries in the world, including: The Brooklyn Museum, The museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. In the Brooklyn Museum I visited Wangechi Mutu’s exhibition, which was a collection of collaged based works. The pieces had an extraordinary finish. Famous faces such as Will Smith and Beyoncé’s sister had been to visit the exhibition earlier in the week. We were told that we had missed the actual artist herself by half an hour! It was also the gallery that held feminist artist, Judy

Chicago’s ‘ The Dinner Party’, a renowned piece from the 70s which celebrates 39 mythical and historical women. All of the galleries were so inspiring! I have taken a lot away from the visit and will incorporate some of the techniques I have seen into my own art work for my projects.

Nancy Nightingale, 13E

Alice Spinola, Nichole Yuen, Layla Parvez, Holly Smith,

Nancy Nightingale

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Learning about the Fashion Industry It was fascinating to learn how different people get into the fashion

industry, and the paths they take. The man we saw at a workshop has always had a passion for fashion, and decided to go to college in Canada. He searched around for jobs nearby and came across this workshop. In the last 10 years, business has been booming there. They had made garments for Britney Spears, the Broadway shows and even specialising in Victoria

Secret angel’s wings. The construction and detail on the wings were amazing. The workshop was so friendly, even Rebecca Willis, Leah Gray, Ella Burch

From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk The Jean Paul Gaultier exhibition was a fantastic

opportunity to see garments that I’ve only previously been able to look at in books in the classroom. The openness of the

exhibition meant that we could really look at the detail of the outfits, analysing the techniques and materials used, as well as taking our own photographs to use in our projects. The exhibition was made up of items from a variety of Jean Paul Gaultier shows and seasons, showing his expansion and diversity as a designer over the period he has been working. The variety of pieces meant that there was the opportunity for everybody to find pieces relating to their projects, and I’m sure this will be reflected in everyone’s projects in the next few terms! This was a fantastic opportunity that has definitely inspired me, and will continue to do so as I move forward through my A-levels and prepare for university.

Rebecca Willis, 13F

Best friendship moment… During the trip to New York City, I made many new friends which

formed into long companionships which made the whole experience more enjoyable. These trips help you mix with other people and make new friends. A few students who attended the trip I had never spoken to before, but now are close friends of mine!

Poem Barber, 10I

having a dog roaming around trying to find a nice piece of material to curl up and go to sleep in. The people who worked there were so talented and hilarious, so eccentric, it has really broadened my career choices in later life. An unforgettable experience.

Penny Jarvis, 11H

On the streets of New York… I experienced many new moments during this exhilarating trip.

One of these was going to the top of the Rockefeller centre and taking in the mesmerising view of the city at night. Another moment which was unforgettable was walking through Times Square and taking in the atmosphere. Finally one of the best moments was experiencing a Broadway show: Annie.

Shaqira Gill, 10L Ellie Peake, Molly Cumming, Olivia Amura, Shaqira Gill, Annie Noonan, Mia Sackville-Adjei, Isabelle Cooper.

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Seeing is believing… It’s not everyday someone gets the opportunity

to venture into the concrete jungle of New York City but having been given the chance to, I enjoyed every moment! I saw places I’d dreamed of seeing for so long and walked the very same streets as some of the biggest names that have ever lived. The most treasurable moment that I experienced was the journey on the ferry at Staten Island to view the Statue of Liberty. It’s one thing seeing it on TV, in magazines and books but it’s a whole other world seeing it up close and personal. It was truly exceptional!

Lara Akala, 10H

Shop ‘til You Drop This was definitely one of the highlights simply because of the size and variety of goods and consumer products. I spent a little more than I should have but the wide range of clothes and makeup was just too difficult to resist! The sight of the store was mesmerizing; the Christmas decorations were sparkling on the ceiling and it finally felt like Christmas. The opportunity to have a big end of year spending spree was the cherry on top!

Beth Anderson, 11L

New York! New York! continued

Sweets Galore! One of the many

highlights of our trip to New York was the visit to the sweet shop in Harlem. When we first walked in we couldn’t believe how many different types of sweets there were from Laffy Taffy and Twizzlers to M&Ms and Reese’s. I think it’s fair to say that we wanted to try almost everything. The sweet shop definitely got good business out of all of us as we spent a grand total of $1,500.00 = £915! This was at 10 o’clock in the morning! Overall I think that the sweet shop gave us a real taste of America that we won’t forget.

Mia Sackville-Adjei, 10H

Shaqira Gill, Mia Sackville-Adjei, Robyn Findlay, Ellie Peake, Katie Staines, Florence Oakley-Dow, Annie Noonan, Isabelle Cooper,

Molly Cumming, Kate Johnson, Olivia Amura, Megan Graham

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Something New From start to finish we enjoyed typical

American food ranging from the classic New York cheesecake to a jumbo hotdog. Throughout the trip everyone embraced the mesmerizing views and outstanding art work. I will remember this trip forever as it was great seeing new places with your friends.

Isha Chhatwal, 10P

Breath taking views… It was an incredible experience to be in New York itself, as the whole time I felt as if I was someone

else in a film – it did not feel real. However, my favourite moment was when we went to the top of The Rockefeller Centre. In groups we squeezed into a lift and as we started to travel up it all went dark

and on the glass ceiling a video started to play on the history of The Rockefeller. It was very interesting, but it was hard to concentrate when my ears were popping because we were up so high! When we stepped out onto the roof the view was breath-taking. It was so cold that night, but watching twinkling city lights for as far as I could see was the best feeling. At one point I had to pinch myself and say, “I’m in New York!” It was crazy! I will definitely remember the whole trip forever, but this moment especially was unforgettable.

Francesca Avery, 10P

The Textile students in Central Park Megan Jones, Penny Jarvis, Beth Anderson, Lauren Foad, Kira Bonthron,

Hannah Daniels, Charlotte Storey, Rebecca Willis, Ellie Bissett, Josie Doherty, Zhi Cheng Wong, Alice Heron, Florence Oakley Dow, Olivia Amura, Leah Gray,

Alice Middlemiss, Ella Birch, Rachel Holloway, Molly Cumming, Megan Graham

Uptown and Upbeat On our last day, having raced back across Central Park, all art students were stood on the platform for

their final subway journey headed uptown. To the surprise of locals, the platform came alive as the group of staff and students alike erupted with several rounds of Billy Joel’s ‘Uptown Girl’. There was such a mixture of emotions from excitement and amazement to missing home. The liveliness of the crooning crowd really summed up what a success the visit had been. All staff were overwhelmed by the commitment and support of the students. They were fantastic. We thank them for their company and look forward to seeing influences of New York in their future projects. Well done, girls!

Siobhan Campbell Joint Curriculum Area Leader: Fine Art

Mrs Oliver, Nancy Nightingale, Nicole Yuen, Charlotte Storey, Hannah Daniels, Layla Parvez,

Holly Smith, Alice Spinola.

Charlotte Storey, Nicole Yuen, Hannah Daniels, Alice Spinola, Holly

Smith, Nancy Nightingale, Layla Parvez.

A Merry Farewell Thank you Sixth Formers for being

your wonderful, supportive, creative and hilarious selves! You are always a joy to be around. We hope we have given you a memory of DGGS to keep in your hearts forever!

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Sports Results

Netball

Year 8 DGGS A (7) vs. (7) Blackheath High A DGGS A (9) vs. (0) Mayfield Grammar DGGS A (9) vs. (0) The Leigh DGGS A (5) vs. (0) St Georges DGGS B (0) vs. (1) Mayfield Grammar B DGGS B (2) vs. (1) Longfield Academy DGGS B (3) vs. (3) Thamesview DGGS B (4) vs. (5) Crayford Academy

Year 9 DGGS (10) vs. (18) Blackheath High Year 10 DGGS A (11) vs. Blackheath High (3) DGGS B (1) vs. Blackheath High (11) DGGS B (8) vs. Crayford Academy (2)

U14 Hockey DGGS (0) vs. (1) Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School

Trampolining Congratulations to the following students who took part in the Kent Trampolining Championship first round: Angela Akanbi-Sadiq, Mojan Akhavan, Oyindamola Akinyebo, Samantha Ansong, Nabiha Bashiruddin, Zarina Bashiruddin, Saskia Campbell, Isabella Castro, Ellie Coulton, Susannah Dziamara, Abigail Firmager, Jessica Goodwin, Darcy Hall, Maisie Hawker, Katie Hopkins, Talitha Jones, Alice Kubanski, Abbie McMillan, Leah Oaten, Fejiro Okagbare, Deborah Olowu, Rachel Owa, Krushi Pandya, Emily Parker-Humphreys, Samada Rangineni, Myah Shokar, Monique Soor, Leanna Strange, Faye Bastable, Chan Tuohy, Zoe Dorton, Annabel Goodwin, Caitlin Lewington, Eve Moseby, Niamh Pratt, Lysandra Fryer-Petridis, Jade Smith, Ashleigh Tyrell, Paige Whitcombe, Emily Wright, Nicole Xu, Heidi Wright, Josie Doherty, Zoe McGregor, Emily Stone, Kristen Payne, Amber Callard, Maya Carney, Georgia Ellis, Ellena Evans, Aliyah Knight, Riannon Mato, Megan McAllister, Jessica Mulroy, Claudia Rudrakumar, Hollie Thornton, Hannah Carroll, Taylor Ellis, Vanessa Elver, Robyn Findlay, Brooke Heywood, Daisy Moody, Megan Thornton, Rachel Willis, Brooke Norman. The following students finished in the top 3 positions for their category:

Individuals:

U13 Novice 2nd Jessica Goodwin , 3rd Isabella Castro

U15 Novice 2nd Niamh Pratt, 3rd Ashleigh Tyrell

U18 Novice 3rd Zoe McGregor

Team:

U13 Novice 1st – Angela Akanbi-Sadiq, Fejiro Okagbare, Samantha Ansong 2nd – Isabella Castro, Jessica Goodwin, Saskia Campbell 3rd – Ellie Coulton, Emily Parker-Humphreys, Zarina Bashiruddin

U15 Novice 1st – Annabel Goodwin, Ashleigh Tyrell, Niamh Pratt 2nd – Caitlin Lewington, Jade Smith, Zoe Dorton 3rd – Emily Wright, Eve Moseby, Nicole Xu

U18 Novice 1st – Emily Stone, Josie Doherty, Zoe McGregor

U13 Intermediate 1st – Amber Callard, Ellena Evans, Georgia Ellis 2nd – Aliyah Knight, Hollie Thornton, Megan McAllister 3rd – Claudia Rudrakumar, Jessica Mulroy, Maya Carney

U15 Intermediate 1st – Brooke Heywood, Daisy Moody, Taylor Ellis 2nd – Hannah Carroll, Robyn Findlay, Vanessa Elver

U13 Intermediate 1st Georgia Ellis, 2nd Ellena Evans, 3rd Amber Callard

U15 intermediate 1st Taylor Ellis, 3rd Robyn Findlay

U18 Elite 1st Brooke Norman

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For the past month, our class have been discovering the designing and making process of a Dyson vacuum cleaner. We started off with the design process: the brief and specification (did you know the Dyson DC22 is smaller than an A3 piece of paper?); the modelling process: Computer Aided Drawing models and cardboard models, even creating our own cardboard models of a product then finally the manufacturing of the vacuum cleaner. We spent a whole lesson taking apart the Dyson which helped us to understand how the company have met their user needs. Overall we feel this experience has really enlightened us as we now have a broad knowledge about what goes into designing and manufacturing a product.

Jessica Last Design and Technology Teacher

Dyson Engineering Box

Kent Schools Cross Country

Year 7 Girls (116 competitors) Camille Cerely – 24th Amelia Ray – 25th Clio Bacon – 47th Jodie Alao – 68th Emma Power-Avery – 81st

Junior Girls (104 competitors) Rebecca Burford – 22nd Claudia Bates – 58th

Intermediate Girls (61 competitors) Vanessa Elver-39th Brooke Heywood – 52nd

Kent Swimming Championship

Junior 100m Butterfly- Charlotte Spells 7H 3rd in heat, 20th overall out of 35 swimmers.

Junior 100m Breaststroke- Clio Bacon 7i 1st in heat, 10th overall out of 46 swimmers.

Junior 100m Breaststroke- Georgia Burdett 9L 1st in heat, 6th overall out of 46 swimmers. This put her through to the final where she came 5th.

Junior 100m Backstroke- Madeline Wesley 7H 3rd in heat, 19th overall out of 38 swimmers.

Junior 200m Medley Team (Clio Bacon, Georgia Burdett, Madeline Wesley and Rebecca Burford)- 8th overall out of 22 schools.

Junior 200m Freestyle Team (Clio Bacon, Georgia Burdett, Madeline Wesley and Rebecca Burford)- 6th overall out of 22 schools.

U14 Basketball DGGS (2) vs The Leigh (0) DGGS (10) vs Oasis Academy (0) DGGS (6) vs MGSG (2)

Year 7 Football

U15 Football DGGS 1 (0) vs MGSG (0) DGGS 1 (0) vs DGGS 2 (2) DGGS 1 (1) vs NFSG (0) DGGS 1 (0) vs WGSG (1) DGGS 2 (1) vs MGSG (1) DGGS 2 (2) vs DGGS 1 (0) DGGS 2 (2) vs NFSG (0) DGGS 2 (0) vs WGSG (0) Overall – DGGS 1 = 4th DGGS 2 = 1st

Sports Results continued

The James Dyson Foundation was kind enough to donate a state of the art DC22 vacuum cleaner to our Design and Technology department. Our Year 9 Graphic class has spent the past month learning to dissect a Dyson machine and understand how engineers design and build machines. Engineering is one of the most diverse and exciting careers and just one of the many career paths available to our girls if they study Design and Technology.

Here is what some of the students had to say about the past few lessons:

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On 7th January, I performed as a clarinettist in the London Schools Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican Hall in London. The LSSO is London’s number one based youth orchestra which performs at the Barbican Centre three times a year and you have to pass a very thorough audition to be considered to join. The orchestra performs a wide range of repertoire throughout the year, and has played with many distinguished soloists and conductors in the past.

In January, we performed a varied repertoire: Tchaikovsky’s 5th Symphony, Barber’s Second Essay and Venezuelan composer Oscher’s Mestizo, alongside virtuosic trumpeter, Pacho Flores. The rehearsals for the January concert took place during the Christmas holidays and they were really intensive but rewarding, as they allowed young musicians like myself to experience working with esteemed professionals.

The next LSSO concert is on Tuesday 29th April at 7.30pm and will feature works by the French Impressionist / Neo-classical composer Maurice Ravel. Being a member of the LSSO is a brilliant opportunity for young musicians to further develop their musicianship at a very high level and I am very excited about performing at the Barbican again at Easter.

Emily Prisk, 13F

For the past 4 years I have played alto saxophone in Phoenix Jazz and Improvisation Bands, and just before Christmas, we were once again invited to entertain shoppers at Bluewater Shopping Centre as part of their School’s Stage Christmas Event.

Phoenix play a variety of jazz music from big band sounds to jazz funk music, and this year our set included, among others, Isaac Hayes’ ‘Theme from Shaft’, Ides of March’s ‘Vehicle’ and Gershwin’s ‘Strike up the Band’. All of the different instrumentalists are given the opportunity to do solo improvisations and this performance featured solos from guitar, saxophone, trumpet,

My experience in the London

Schools Symphony Orchestra

Free tickets for the next LSSO concert at the Barbican can be obtained through DGGS Music Department if you would be interested in supporting Emily and experi-encing the chance to listen to London’s premier youth orchestra for free ! This will be Emily’s final LSSO appearance before she goes to study music at Surrey (first choice). Good luck Emily !!!

The LSSO will audition anyone who is grade VII or above on any of the orchestral instruments. Please contact Mr Dowsett if you would like further information for your son / daughter. CYM musicians always have a very good chance of successfully auditioning for the LSSO.

James Dowsett Curriculum Area Leader: Music

Phoenix at Bluewater

trombone and drums. Improvisation Group play well known pop/rock songs, such as Queen’s ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ and Cee Lo Green’s ‘Forget You’, and feature year 11 student Grace Drake on vocals.

Performing at Bluewater is always great fun as people who wouldn’t normally see us, stop, listen and hopefully, enjoy our music, and the acoustics of the shopping centre really compliment our sound.

Phoenix Jazz and Improvisation Group are part of Darent Valley Youth Music and we welcome new players.

www.darentvalleyyouthmusic.org Sarah Allen, 9I

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On 12th December 2013, DGGS was proud to host yet another fantastic Christmas Concert featuring students from Years 7 to 13. It was an incredible evening with great feedback from both teachers and parents and both Mr and Mrs Dowsett worked extremely hard with all the students to make the night the success it was.

The evening started with whole school choir made up of students from every year. The first songs were traditional African pieces called ‘Banua’ and ‘Shosholoza’ sung in harmony with a solo performed by Charlotte Salter, Year 13. She sung exceptionally well and the rest of the choir responded with enthusiastic singing which certainly put a smile on everyone’s faces. Next was a song called ‘True Colours’ by Billy Steinburg, with a solo performance from Esme Mace, who performed confidently and led everyone into a three part harmony which was met with great applause. Finally, the choir sang ‘Electricity’ written by Elton John for the musical Billy Elliot. Despite the flaws in rehearsal when everyone kept singing the wrong rhythms in verse 2, the choir managed to pull it off and give a great ending to the first part of the concert.

Guitar group, run by a group of Year 11’s, also performed exceptionally well as usual. They performed two songs: the first was ‘Wonderwall’ by Oasis which got a warm reception. This was followed by ‘Last Christmas’ by Wham which was very fun filled and festive and much credit goes to the students who run this club: Megan Brown, Helen Senior and Eve Sales.

Camerata Insiemble, a group of higher string players, performed three pieces with the aid of some dedicated ex-students who came to help out on the night. The pieces included ‘Op 33 no. 2 movement IV ‘the Emperor’’ by Haydn and ‘Bourrée’; by Bach, and although there may have been a slight delay in actually starting one of the pieces (!!!), all the other pieces were played to an exceptionally good standard.

Orchestra was the same old squash on stage as there are now over 60 students attending. They too performed very strong performances of ‘Dance of the tumblers’ by Rimsky-Korsakov, ‘Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring’ by Bach and ‘The Great Gate of Kiev’ by Mussorsky, which, although they were challenging (especially for the 1st violins!), were hits with the audience. ‘Jesu Joy’ also contained a solo from Amy Metson, Year 11, who performed beautifully with a well balanced judge of subtlety and a strong leading voice.

Senior Choir performed a range of pieces, starting with a sweet, jazzy song called ‘Lullaby of Birdland’, by George Shearing, which was sung in a two part harmony. Next, they sang ‘Gloria’, ‘Domine Deus’, ‘Laudamus Te’, ‘Gratias Agimus Tibi’ and ‘Quoniam Tu Solus Sanctus’ all by from Vivaldi’s Gloria, accompanied by the string players of Camerata Insiemble, who were playing an extremely difficult accompaniment. Thank goodness for the piano. The balance of voices was amazing to listen to and they managed to make the piece interesting by incorporating solos from Gemma Turnball, Year 12, and a duet between Hannah Graham, Year 13, and Helena Booer, Year 13.

Christmas Concert 2013 Ukulele Orchestra, another student run club (Tuesday

lunchtimes, 1:30…just in case you were interested) made its second performance ever at a Christmas Concert, having only been founded last year. The entire combined group was made up of a range of students from Years 7 to 13, and they performed ‘Friends (I’ll Be There For You)’ by The Rembrandts. In spite of some ‘unmentionable’ rehearsals, they performed very well and we (the leaders) are very proud of them all. Next, as just us, we performed a Christmas Medley featuring songs such as ‘Baby it’s Cold Outside’ and ‘Deck the Halls’ which was immense fun and a relief to get out of the way, having only finished putting it together about half an hour before the concert began!

Wind Ensemble played ‘L’Arlésienne Prelude’ by Bizet and the ‘Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy’ by Tchaikovsky. These were both confidently played by all the wind players and this showed off their virtuosic skill.

There were many solos on the night ranging from an excellent vocal solo from Jessica Wright, Year 11, who sang ‘A Change In Me’ by Alan Menken, a stunning rendition of ‘Halleluiah’ by Leonard Cohen from Ellie Homer, Year 11, a spectacular clarinet solo by Emily Prisk who played ‘Clarinet Concerto Movement 1’ by Weber and an incredibly jazzy, fun-filled saxophone solo from Sarah Allen, Year 10, who performed ‘Billy’s Bounce’ by Charlie Parker. There was a duet between Nancy Badu-Kusi and Temi Adeyemi performing the ‘Drake Medley’ which was fantastic. Also, a duet of movement 1 of the ‘Double Cello Concerto’ by Vivaldi from two of the school’s best cellists, Helena Booer, Year 13, and Anna Crawford, Year 9, was of a very high standard. Helena also performed an incredible vocal solo called ‘The Time of Snow’ by Bob Chilcott which really showed off her impressive vocal range and skill. Mr Dowsett really helped improve all their performances by teaching them all how to do a theatrical bow at the end.

Motet Cantoribus was a beautiful blend of voices of more senior singers. They sang three traditional carols, ‘Away in a Manger’, ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas’ and ‘In Dulci Jubilo’ which were all successes. Being only in its second year, Motet has been a triumph already and we were pleased to be invited to join the group having seen it do so well last year.

The concert ended with a tremendous sound from the Jazz Band, playing old favourites such as ‘The Muppets Christmas Special’ and ‘Instant Concert’ much to the delight of many of the students. New additions included ‘Bossa Nova Holiday’ by Calvin Huber, ‘Nutcracker Suite Elves’ Dance’ and ‘Little Brown Jug’ by Paul Cook which were performed with equal gusto and enjoyment by everyone involved and this proved to be a fantastic finale to an impressive and entertaining evening.

Thanks so much to the Dowsetts and everyone else involved for making the Christmas concert 2013 at DGGS one of the best and most memorable ever!

Emily Behague-11L, Grace Drake-11P, Ciara O’Hare-11L Alice Rollinson -Year 12H

P A G E 1 4

F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4

ISSUE NUMBER 27


FINAL WORDS “I personally think that Ightham has the potential to be one of the best houses. From my time working with the younger students, I can see that our house has some wonderful, hard-working, and dedicated people who

New chapter for Ightham House

ABOUT IGHTHAM HOUSE o Ightham has been running for 8 years o It is the youngest house at DGGS

o Its colour is orange

o Its Mascot is Tigger OUR CHARITY

Our Charity is Foal Farm, which rescues animals including dogs, cats, horses, donkeys, rabbits, and farm animals

We raised £485 during our Charity

week with our cake sales, Year 7s’

book marks and writing pads and

other wonderful ways of raising

money such as dressing up as

animals. Thank you to everyone

who contributed.

GOODBYE MR JONES At Christmas we sadly said goodbye to Mr Jones after

all his many valuable contributions to the House. Now we welcome Mrs Kleywegt, our new Senior House

Leader who was, when she first joined the school 5 years ago, 11I ´s tutor – “The Originals”, as they used to call themselves i.e. the first 7I tutor group.

We would like to change the perspective of Ightham, “Bounce back like Tigger” and make it more distinctive, dynamic and positive!

This will be done with new competitions throughout the year within the House and across the Houses hopefully next year!

OUR FIRST COMPETITION

Our first competition is to design a logo and a motto for Ightham House

There will be prizes (Bluewater vouchers and chocolates) for our top 3 places.

Our aim is to sell the badges so that we all wear our house badge with pride and with a sense of community

We want to make Tigger a bigger part of Ightham’s image and incorporate him into our ethos

RESULTS OF OUR SURVEY

In our latest house assembly we have asked

for your suggestions on how to improve the

House. The response was amazing and we

now have some great examples of things we

could with your most popular suggestions

which were to…

Have more House trips for all years

Have more House fun days

Have more House events

Have more competitions and tournaments

(Sporting and non-sporting ones)

Improve our community spirit, raising

more money and mixing with all years

REMINDERS

We will be announcing the winners of our competitions for our badge and motto in our next House assembly on the 4th March. We will also let you know what fun activities we have lined up for you until the end of the academic year.

The Ightham House Leadership Team Lou Hall 13C – Ightham Head House Captain Jenny Gunning 13D– KS3 House Captain Rachel Holloway 13A– KS4 House Captain Lizzy Garwood 13C– KS5 House Captain

strengthen the house and work as a team to be successful as a form. I hope that with a new Senior Head of House and a new calendar year, we can move forward and develop as a house to create a greater sense of community spirit, not only within the forms, but throughout the house so that all members from year 7 up to Sixth Form can feel included and valued. As a team we hope to start more house events solely in Ightham that all the Year groups can take part in to build a greater sense of house pride. When I started at this school in Year 7, Ightham was a small house with only two tutor groups. Now we are a full house, and I hope that in this new “Era” we will continue to grow and take pride in our identity as a house and as a community.”

Rachel Holloway, 13A

P A G E 1 5


As part of the Humanities club, I recently attended a session run by the Religious Studies prefects. They helped us to consider some ethical scenarios and the session provided a brilliant opportunity to think about some of the choices that people make, and whether the right thing is always what we initially think it is. We evaluated these choices by watching snippets of different films and discussed what we thought was the right action. This way of presenting the scenarios was really interesting as it helped us to look at the situation from all points of view, and see why different people make different choices.

The first situation we considered was whether you should erase someone from your memory if you have a

RS prefects get KS3 thinking

philosophically!

tragic relationship. It was thought provoking to consider if in fact doing so would actually cause more pain because you cannot take it back. In the second scenario we were considering that if you had a choice, whether you prefer that you die or someone else. I found this most interesting because the example used to start the discussion was that of a person deciding whether to give up their own life over a criminal’s life. This lead to some lively and passionate debate about what was the correct thing to do.

In conclusion, this club is a fantastic way to explore paths and ways of thinking that you probably never would have before; I’m already looking forward to the next one!

Aliyah Knight, 7C

International Mother Language Day

21 February 2014

DGGS Times - Dartford Grammar School for Girls

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