Hall Mead School

Volume 6

Welcome We are OUTSTANDING!!

Hor

osco

pes.

..

ZUMBA!!

By the pupils, for the pupils

Director’s note: Sorry Megan couldn’t do the usual editor’s note but she is on work experience, we hope she is doing well!!! This issue of IMPACT is a comic relief special! We have all your favourite stories and pages giving you updates on trends and more about the horse meat scandal! We’re bringing you coverage on the Grease production, your latest horoscopes and about how ‘OUTSTANDING’ all of us Hall Mead students are. Remember to give us feedback and views on the stories covered in this issue Hope you love this edition. See you next time! Eloise Standage (Director)

Contents PAGE1: Front Page PAGE2: Contents and Editor’s note PAGE3:Hall Mead– WE’RE OUT-STANDING! PAGE4: Exchange Students from Berlin PAGE5: Grease production PAGE6: Literacy and Maths Day PAGE7: Waltham’s ‘The Harlem Shake’ PAGE8: Sports page PAGE9: Wall of Fame PAGE10:Inter House Quiz PAGE11: Having a rant! PAGE12:review of 21 Jump Street PAGE13:Transfer window PAGE14: Is violence increasing in schools? PAGE15: Film review: The Watch PAGE16: PC reviews PAGE17:X-BOX reviews PAGE18:Animal testing PAGE19:Film review PAGE20: Fashion Page PAGE21:Pupils voice PAGE22:Horse Meat Scandal PAGE23:Horoscopes PAGE24:The Impact Team

We are OUTSTANDING!!

We always knew it– and now it’s a

fact!

Making Hall Mead PROUD! Our Jack Petchy

Winners!!

Hannah Jessica

Recently we had an Ofsted visit and we are proud to announce that we were recognised as “outstanding” in all areas. Mr London has been announcing this in recent assemblies so you all know! The one thing that really stuck out was how amazing we were as pupils and our behaviour was excellent. I know all the teachers are proud and so are we. This is going to open more doors for us in the future so watch this space.

WELL DONE HALL MEAD!!

Paulsen students We have recently said goodbye to the exchange students from Paulsen school in Berlin, Germany. For those of you who don’t know, they arrive, as a class, every year and join the forms of year 9. They follow them around for two weeks and travel London at the weekends. They also live at the homes of other students and friends of Hall Mead. We got a chance to speak to some of them and they said “ Hall Mead is so different to our school”. One declared “it’s really cool here!” which tells us they really enjoyed their stay. It was good to have them here and a lot of us were amazed at how good their English was. I know some year 9s will be staying in touch via Face Book and Skype– so keep us updated! Thanks for coming and see you next year!

Recently the whole school came together and produced the ground breaking production with astonishing performances and a truly im-pressive cast. The amazing result was because of the blood, sweat and tears put in by Miss Garred. From Monday 11th February 2013 to Thursday 14th February 2013, Hall Mead presented an all-time favourite musical “Grease”. The many talented students produced one of the most humorous, professional school productions I have ever seen. With James Smith as Danny Zuko, and Jessica Hickey as Sandy Dumbrowski, the songs and solos were incredible! I am amazed at how professional they were– it’s made me want to go to the theatre more often and as a result I can’t wait for next year’s production. Miss Garred has obviously worked EXTREMELY hard and the crew members said how brilliant she was to work with. We interviewed Noah, who was part of the singing and dancing group

and he said “ It was a very magical experience and I am privileged to be part of such a good production ”. Miss Garred would also like to praise the commitment of the cast and for spending 6 long months perfecting the show– and it was PERFECT!

Back stage crew

A thanks to the back stage workers who also worked just as hard. Mrs Sharma who went to watch the early bird show with her children said “I was utterly impressed and delighted with the show. I can’t believe we have so much talent in our school” . Well done to all that took part...you were truly EPIC! By Lucy and Andrew

WORLD LIT-ERAC

WORLD MATHS DAY

The world lit-eracy was easy and fun. It was fun to compete against others. Most of the students got to play games on literacy. We were under pressure as it was timed.

World Literacy Day is a day where people around the world value and cherish literacy by competing and taking part in games and ac-

tivities that are literacy based. It was a fun day and a break from the normal class room. I’m really glad I took part. By Daisy

On Friday the 8th of March 2013, it was World Maths Day. Many schools across the globe took part in maths challenges. During maths lessons pupils went to ICT rooms so they could participate in world maths day. Each pupil logged on to a computer and logged onto World Maths Day. The aim of World Maths Day was to compete against pupils from around the world to raise their points. To gain points you needed to answer different mathematical questions, the more questions you got correct the more points you achieved. It was very exciting and everyone really enjoyed it. It became fairly competitive as everyone wanted to be top in the Hall Mead leader board. The challenges were fun, and everyone is looking forward to doing it again next year. By John-Michael

Harlem shake!!! Waltham’s Comic Relief charity day!

On Tuesday 12th March 2013, Waltham House Dressed in red to celebrate Comic Relief's Red Nose Day. Many of Waltham’s students got to-gether to help raise money the ‘Harlem Shake’ style. With every participant contributing £1 each we raised a marvellous amount for young dying chil-dren all over the world. We had one student doing a solo and Mr Khwaja filmed the whole thing– with a few re-takes! It was so much fun to watch and everyone got into it– with style!! Watch the clip NOW on the Hall Mead website. By Lucy

Sports Page

ZUMBA! We were lucky to have a zumba session in PE!

The Boccia Team: You did us proud. Well done.

Nathan says this experience was “epic and amazing”. The

whole team cannot wait to get to the game and if they

win they will be heading to the championships!

Good luck guys! Let us know how you get on!

Boys’ badminton team

Girls cheerleading team

Cross country runners!

Braving the hilly con-

course!

The Essex Cross Country was a hard slog and “difficult’ says Eliza, 11. It was muddy and tough to run on. When it finished they were delighted at the end but were disappointed for not getting to the next level and representing Essex. We’ll get them next time

The girls have had a great year with all of their football success! How-ever the season is nearly over. The girls take time and effort to train every Thursday lunch, and it has paid off wining nearly all of their games!

Girls’ football team

By Eliza

Wall Of fame

Olivia Weaver and Karisma Ram – 8Q: Both of these fantastic girls completed an out-standing independent project about Oliver Cromwell in History class. Their work was in-credibly detailed, thoroughly researched and presented in an extremely organised fash-ion. All in all, an exceptional effort in History class. Well done from Mr Hughes Year 10 for the following elements demonstrated in Miss Bartlett’s class Danny Smithers - Effort Jordan Elgie - Design work is exceptional Ebubechi Chesa - Hard work and quality work Louis Halpin - Effort Tom Mead - Excellent design work Kunal Patel - Effort and hard work Zak Forster - Excellent design work Ellis Crow - Effort, hard work and exceptional standard Holly Welsh - Effort, hard work and excellent quality work Brooke Grainger - Effort, hard work and excellent quality work Rosie Jone - Hard work Year 11 Natalie Keeling - Excellent effort and quality May Wright - Effort, high standard Well done to the Boccia and curling team! From Miss Tucker Megan Blyth - Megan had a chorus role in the school production. She gave 100% effort to everything that she did and truly lit up the stage. She proved that you didn't need a lead role to shine!

Well done from Miss Garred

Well done to Harry Baillie in year 8 who has been superb this term. His effort is impres-sive and he has produced his best work yet in English. Well Done Harry and keep it up!

Mrs Sharma

A big well done to Lucy Elkin in year 7who works really hard in English. Your ideas are al-ways impressive and original. Mrs Sharma

INTER- HOUSE QUIZ!

On 8th March 2013, Hall Mead held a house quiz in the library. Mr Maher and Mr Swan were the quiz masters and these were the team captains: Chapman: Miss Dockril Talbot: Mrs King Waltham: Miss Bailey Dickens: Mrs Hallet The whole quiz was very exciting and the teams were very close, the round of charades was very funny because the teachers got very excited. Right towards the end Talbot and Dickens were ty-ing but the very last question was the tie breaker and....... Talbot won! Sam took the title by an-swering that the largest organ of the body is the SKIN! (who knew?) Dickens came 2nd, Waltham 3rd and Chapman 4th! Looking forward to next year!

By Zoe

Having a Rant Can’t be BOTHERED? Call me irritating. But the thing that winds me up is people who can’t be bothered to work at school. Okay, I don’t mind it when they make a joke; in fact I am the one who normally is still laughing when everyone else has stopped. But normally the people who make the jokes aren’t all that witty, that is about all they say during the lesson, (aside from private conversations whilst the teacher writes on the board), they don’t contribute anything, but when asked a question they sit there gormless, unable to answer. The reason why they can’t answer? Because they haven’t listened to a word that the teacher has said. They let only the people who can be bothered to learn, answer the questions directed at them. I am a tolerant person, but this is the one thing, (besides homework and people that wear socks with sandals) that really winds me up. What is the point in going to school for 10 years if you learn nothing? At times I have asked myself, what is the point in the Government, letting anyone who is not willing to learn and attend school? To be honest I think that the majority of these people would do better leav-ing school at sixteen and going straight in to the working world, because they are clearly NOT academic. Or maybe they should give the whole education idea a miss? They don’t deserve a good education, if they are going to waste it. I would even go as far as saying, that I feel sorry for the teachers! They are the ones who have got the difficult task of trying to engage the unengaged. How are they meant to do their job properly, if certain members of their class persist to be so ada-mant against the idea of learning? The main reason why people like this really irritate me comes through when the class is split into groups. Normally the pupils who try are mixed in with those who don’t, just to get a ‘fair balance’ in the group. The end result is that the whole group gets the credit for the work, work that only the few that have tried, have done. Peo-ple like this, I regret to say, are normally the sort to make snide comments, and nasty remarks aimed at others. They probably have nothing better to do. Sometimes I wish that these people would just give learning a try. It’s something every other member of their class, their school has to do. Perhaps it’s a ludicrous suggestion but they might even enjoy it! Some children would give anything just to go to school, so we should think ourselves lucky. Education is important. We have time at lunch and break to have our conversations.

By Megan

overall 8

Action 7

Comedy 9

This film is an action comedy based on the original series with Johnny Depp. If you are unaware of the plot it’s about two rookie cops who get sent undercover to a high school to uncover a drugs operation.

Even though there aren't many action scenes in the movie, the amount of the outrageous comedy moments make up for it.

This film is absolutely hilarious in every sense because of how outrageous it is. This is one of the only recent comedy films that is so unpredictable. This has got to be one of the best comedies I've ever seen!

The biggest transfers so far for January is probably Demba Ba, Chamakh and Daniel Sturridge. I am a West Ham fan and I

was more than pleased with our signings, including: Joe Cole, Marouane Chamakh, Wellington, Paulister and Emanuel Pogatez.

Biggest transfer Mario Balotelli (Manchester city-A.C Milan) Fee-19million

By Billy

Recently a lot of people including myself have noticed that violence is increasing in and around our London Schools. What is to blame for these conflicts? Is it a natural occur-rence? Whatever is to blame? What measures need to be taken to stop it?

What could we do as students? As students we could tell teachers when we see one of these conflicts. Is that too un-reasonable? If not, why don’t conflicts get stopped? Al-though most of them are stopped immediately there are still a large percentage that get unnoticed. Some conflicts are brought on by people stirring a small incident. Then it builds and is spurred on by a crowd like at a sports match. Then the people who have spurred them on seem to get away with it. When the real victims are the ones who are fighting. Do you think violence is increasing in our schools? Let me know what you think. By Andrew

9 Overall:

Overall; The Watch is a very funny action comedy with Ben Stiller. The plot borders on a sci-fi one. The comedy differs from hilarious one liners to funny situations but never fails to entertain.

Plot: 8

The plot is about Ben Stiller who is proud of his quiet town and after one of his friends gets mur-dered he decides to start a neighbourhood watch club. So they join and they discover that an alien invasion is going on and it’s up to them to stop the invasion.

Comedy: 9

It starts off mildly amusing and twenty – thirty minutes in it turns into what you hoped it would be; a hilarious action comedy. The standout mo-ment is when they hit something in their car and try and figure out what it was. They then come up with some hilarious situations.

Film Review

By Andrew

Storyline: 9 /10 Let me just say. This game is amazing! The game is based on the comics and television series about a zombie apocalypse. You play as a convicted criminal called Lee, fighting with others to survive. You go through lots of different epic cut scenes and plot twists. So far, the game has come to an end but the developers are creating more of the game as we speak.

Overall Rating: 9.1/10

Gameplay: 8/10 The game play is very unique. You have to choose decisions which will change the out-come of the game. It is a third-person role playing game with a very good storyline and characters. To be honest, the ending made me cry :-(.

Extra stuff: N/A No extras, but the storyline is amazing enough.

BY NOAH

9.5 Overall rating:

The 5 sports are very good and there is some-thing great for every member of the family. Per-sonally, my favourite is soccer, but there is also table tennis, bowling, volleyball and boxing.

The graphics are not that good, but that doesn’t matter too much on this game as there is not an adventure in the game and just some sports. It doesn’t affect the game play or the fun of the game.

There is a party mode where you do different challenges in all the different sports. You can play with your friends or family as different mascots. I didn’t enjoy it much, but someone younger would enjoy it a lot more.

Sports: 9.4

Game play: 8.1

Extra bits: 7.5

By Zach

Animal testing ban

Recently, ALL animal tested products have been

banned from being sold in the EU, no matter where in the world

the animal testing has taken place.

The 27 EU countries have had a ban on such tests in place since

2009. But the EU Commission is now asking the EU's trading part-

ners to do the same.

You may have been using animal tested products, and didn't

even know about it. Popular brands such as Garnier, Dove, Avon

and Clinique have been alleged to have tested their products on

animals. This proves that you may never know what product

you have used have been tested on animals. This is obviously

something that only heartless human beings would attempt.

Can you imagine the irritation animals may have had to have

gone through to make everyday products available to us?

The moral thing to do is to check, before you buy.

You may never know if that simple daily product such as sham-

poo has been used on an innocent animal. So please check your

products when buying, and check no ani-

mal has died for you to use that product! Reported by Sophie

Over- 8

Action 8

The plot in this film is simple and barely used. It’s basically the simplest revenge plot where Stallone and a police officer team up, after their partners are killed by the same per-son.

The action in this film is ok and the highlight sequence is the axe fight which is coinci-dently the last sequence in the film.

Overall 9

This is a modern day western in which Arnold Schwarzenegger was a LA cop working in the narcotics division. But as he nears retirement he moves back to his old town to spend his last years prior to retirement in the quiet town. But a drug lord escapes jail and brings his army to try and get across the border into Mexico but he has to go through Arnold Schwarzenegger’s town.

Action 9 The action in this film is good but Arnold seems to enter the sequences later than his co- stars but it is still is pretty awesome.

BY ANDREW

The Grammy Award’s Fashion!

This beautiful dress suits Rihanna perfectly, I'm surprised she didn't win an award for her dress. Chris Brown must be pleased they’re back together.  Also, her hair looks great along with the dress. It fits her perfectly; it’s like she was made for this dress.  Jenifer Lopez looks stunning in this long, black classic design. The only thing is, it is not very colourful but she still pulls it off. It’s lovely and flows elegantly. I love the one shoulder thing‐ it looks great! Her hair looks great tied up so  you can  see her  neck  a lot more. Moreover, her shoes are so cute I love the high ankle strap; it looks like she can pull anything off.  Some people say this dress is revealing, I know it is but it still looks fabulous on the singer Kelly Rowland  The patterns accentu‐ate her hour‐glass figure and she carries it off with style. Her shoulders frame the dress nicely and if you’re brave then I think this dress can be worn at any formal event. Good choice Kelly!   THATS MY OPINION, WHATS YOURS ? By Lily

The student voice is working

countless hours to make the school a better place for everyone. Here are some of the things that we are talking about in our meetings: You may have noticed some work being done on the school. That is because we are working on a project that will move the music studio and the library. We will make a new drama block and make a new room on top of the drama block next to the stage. Also, due to requests from students, we are looking into different skirts for the girls, or even trousers in winter. So far we have not taken much of it into consideration but we need to know if you are on board with the idea. Another thing is that we are opening a anti-bullying club soon and we would like to know if you have any problems or want help. Lastly, we have been getting complaints that the canteen prices are too high. We have not done much right now but we need to make sure Mr London is informed. If you have any complaints or problems, come and see MR Hughes or Miss Pennock.

Working hard for you!

By Noah

In January, traces of horse meat were found to be in burgers being sold at many high profile supermarkets; including Tesco and Iceland, just to name a couple. The story made huge news headlines and raised concerns about what is in our food and whether we know what we’re eating. Many people, including myself would have thought that was the end of the horse meat scandal. Then horse meat was found in a numerous amount of ready meals made by Findus, Birds Eye and more recently, Tesco. A couple of the contaminated ready meals were Spaghetti Bolognese and Beef Lasagne. This whole scandal has led to

an investigation in to the suppliers. This meant many abattoirs across Europe being investigated. The scan-dal has been seemingly endless, but I think the scandal has reached an end. The horse meat scandal has raised a lot of concerns about what is in our food. You don't have to be worried about being poisoned or getting ill by eating horse meat; in other countries, such as France they eat horse meat and there is nothing wrong with them. Many peo-

ple believe that horse meat should be available as well as beef products, so we have a choice. Many English farmers have been af-fected by this scandal and have tried to encourage us to buy British meat, even though it’s more expensive than most foreign meats. What do you think about this? Does it really matter to you? I’d love to hear your thoughts, so tell me your opinion, by writing in to the newspaper. By Zach

Horoscopes... Don't worry, Aries. Your

natural born season of

spring is on its way. But for

now, embrace what you

have. Aries - 21st March

- 19th April

Having the characteristics of a

Libra is good. You are caring,

kind, and gentle. Someone

around you may be in need of

your help. Libra-23rd Sept-22nd

Oct

For now, you may have to think

out of the box, as people will

approach you with ideas that

you may not agree with. Fight

for your rights, but don't hurt

any feelings. Taurus - 20th April -

20th May

Take a breath away from life, Scor-

pio. The people around you may be

pressurising you into something

you do not want to do. Be aware.

Scorpio 23rd

Oct-22nd Nov

Gemini 21st May-

21st June

You need to stop hiding away

from your limelight, Gemini.

There are many opportunities

waiting for you to reach out.

As your symbols is the arrow,

there are many arrows point-

ing your way through life. Make

sure to keep on path.

Sagittarius 23rd

Nov-20th Dec

Cancer-June 22nd

-July 22nd

There may be a disease un-

der your name, but your life

is pretty clear right now.

Embrace it whist it lasts.

Leo, named after the lion,

you are fierce and know

how to fight your own bat-

tles. A battle is on the hori-

zon, but you need not get

involved.

Capricorn 22nd

Dec-20th Jan

You have talent from the top of

your head to the sole of your

shoe, now is the time to embrace

the opportunities to use it in a

positive way.

Your birthday has recently passed,

but don't fret because you still have

good things to come in your life this

year.

Leo - August

22nd-24th Sep-

tember

Pisces –20th Feb-

20th March

Sophie Lake

Katharine : Assis-

tant Editor and Wall of Fame Andrew : Assistant Director and Film reviewer Lucy: Reporter Louise: Reporter

Impact Team

Zoe: Reporter

Georgina : Fashion page

Hannah Wood: Assistant Editor and Reporter

Editor: Megan

Billy : Comic

Jess : cyber mentor and reporter

Sophie : Reporter

Daisy Asante: reporter

Noah: Expert Gamer and story writer

Sam: reporter

Eloise : Director, reporter and re-viewer

Amy : News Page Eliza: sports page Ross: Gaming reporter Lily: Fashion page

Zach: Game Reviewer