Headteacher’s Update

QE NEWS Autumn 2016

Delivering Academic Excellence

Dear Parents, Guardians, Friends and Supporters of Queen Elizabeth’s School

I find it hard to believe that I am sitting down introducing the last newsletter of the term with only

9 days of school left before Christmas! The term has flown by and I am continually amazed at the

energy and enthusiasm of our students and staff.

Once again, this edition is packed full of the amazing achievements and successes of both

students and staff in every conceivable field of learning. The newsletter quite brilliantly highlights

everything that is outstanding about Queen Elizabeth’s School. The students and staff work so

closely together that the already high level of talent is taken to new levels through effective

collaboration, co-operation and a desire to achieve.

I am sure that you will find much to enjoy in this newsletter but I would particularly like to draw

your attention to the amazing range of champions that currently study here at QE. World, County,

Boccia and beyond really demonstrates the incredible talent in our student community.

Perhaps my most favourite event of the whole term has been Project Edge of Space which quite

rightly gets a four page spread. If you haven’t seen the film please check out the link on the QE

website. Absolutely amazing!

I think that every faculty area is represented in this newsletter and after a very long term I am

continually impressed by the hard work, dedication and commitment of our students and staff

and I hope that everyone is able to enjoy a well-deserved rest over the Christmas break.

It only remains for me to wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a prosperous and peaceful New

Year.

Martin McLeman

Headteacher

Michael James Bursary Concert

Each year the Michael James Bursary Concert is held in the inspirational setting of Wimborne Minster. This year the concert was the greatest ever musical night in the history of QE. Mrs Margaret James, who set up the trust 35 years ago with her late husband Raymond James, thought it was the highest standard ever. “The talent displayed was quite overwhelming” she said. Over 20 students performed, several of these being Year 9 who performed for the first time at QE with confidence, panache and skill. It was a truly memorable evening with tears for many in the audience at the overwhelming joy of the performers. Students were supported by Head of Music, Mr Glover, and music teacher Mr Jose. Mr Goudie, who retired in July also returned to accompany the students.

Our incredible 2016 Bursary Winners this year: Philippa Almond: Flute Sophia Benton: Piano Rebecca Jenkins: Flute Joshua Eaton: Trombone (Peter Sheldon Brass Bursary Award)

Future Music at QE is indeed very bright.

If you were unable to attend this fantastic concert, don't panic! Recordings are now available here:

https://soundcloud.com/qeschoolmusic

Forthcoming Christmas Events

Carol Service at

Wimborne Minster

Monday 12th December 2016

7.00pm

All parents warmly welcome

Mince pies and refreshments will be available

following the service.

Remembrance Service

Queen Elizabeth’s School were proud to commemorate Remembrance Day with a service

based around our sculpture “Sign”. We were joined by personnel from Blandford Garrison who led

our student cadets out of the school to their positions in the most professional way. Other students

joined our guests, staff and members of the local community in a moving service led by one of our

Chaplains, Major Katrina Greetham. The last post was played perfectly by Year 9 student, Archie

Musselwhite.

We were especially delighted to be joined by our Guest of Honour, Dorothy Livesy who was

celebrating her 100th birthday on that exact day. Dorothy’s great grandson, Harry Holder who is in

Year 10 at QE assisted her in laying a wreath and we were also pleased to be joined by her daughter

and granddaughter thereby having four generations together in this special celebration.

The event was covered both by the local press and Meridian news.

QE Student wins First Prize in Art Competition

Year 11 student Hannah Graham was presented with £50 first prize for her winning entry in the first 4Dorset Front Cover Art competition for schools.

The brief, A Dorset Landmark, was given to local schools and Hannah's painting of Wimborne Minster not only captured the historic building in striking colours, but also used accurate perspective. It was published on the front cover of 4Dorset in August. At the presentation on 27th September, our Art Department also received a cheque for £100 from mags4dorset.

Hannah explained that she chose to paint the minster because she loves architecture and she explained that her experimentation with colours was inspired by Monet.

Judged by mags4dorset graphic design director Louis Pulford and local artist Daniel Byrne, the competition provoked inspiring results. Editor of 4Dorset, Janine Pulford said, “We were overwhelmed with the standard of the artwork and will be running this competition again. I would like to congratulate all the students who took part and inspired us with their entries.”

Martin McLeman, Headteacher of QE, thanked mags4dorset for sponsoring the competition and Clare Darley, Head of Art, added, “We will put the money towards new watercolours and brushes.”

Photo courtesy of mags4dorset

PRESS RELEASE

PROJECT EOS - LAUNCH! After several abortive attempts to launch the Intrepid Spaceman this year, the team

from Queen Elizabeth School Wimborne had Saturday the 15th October down as the last

date to make the attempt this year as cleared by the CAA.

www.intrepidsecurity.com

At T minus 20 minutes and counting, everybody in

position, the countdown was halted when the

Raspberry Pi computer communicating with the Hab

Hub tracker system switched off without warning.

Batteries were changed, connections checked but no

fault could be detected. Over an hour later the unit came back on line. IT teacher Mr Paul Calvert was very

concerned but decided to resume the countdown and go for launch!

Final checks were undertaken and Action man with the payload was released at precisely 12:21pm. The payload

and Action Mans capsule were ripped away by the prevailing southerly wind as the chase teams scrambled to

their vehicles for the pursuit.

Following the spacecraft on the Hab Hub tracker at base was Ben Barnes and IT teacher Mr Nigel Poulton. All was

going well; Action Man had just flown through 40,000ft travelling upwards at a rate of 6 metres per second. The

internal temperature of the payload was down to 0.2C, the batteries were showing a steady 5.9v everything

seemed to be going ‘A-okay’. Suddenly GPS contact with the payload was lost over Tidworth, west of Andover.

The chase cars could now only track the carrier signal of the spacecraft. The project team were assisted by people

on the Internet Relay Channel on Hab Hub who were also tracking the payload and had a good signal of the

spaceman’s descent at Sunningwell, South West of Oxford. Unfortunately, they could only get a lock on the carrier

but had no GPS information, so they didn’t know his exact position. The chase teams ditched the cars and carried

on tracking by foot. The team managed to (DF ‘direction find) the signal minutes before it stopped when Action

Man landed. He landed at 3.05pm having flown for 2 hours 34 minutes. In that time he had managed to reach a

height of 115,000feet!

Consequently on a sunny Saturday morning the team and their teachers assembled for the

launch in the school playing fields.

On the launch pad

Everyone assumed the payload had stopped transmitting because it had been damaged during the

landing and so after an hour’s fruitless searching, the teams retired to the Fox inn on Boars Hill to see if

they could get any news from the other trackers. No luck. However, the project team later learned that

the transmitter was still active and had they followed the exact direction of the last signal they would

have been able to reacquire the signal and home in on Action Man’s position. They also later found out

that they were following a direct path to the payload but were approximately three miles short of the

actual landing site.

Assuming Action Man and the payload were lost, the teams packed all the gear away and started to

drive home. They had only been on the road for twenty minutes when Mr Calvert received a call from

Mike Newman, near Brighthampton, to say he had found the spacecraft in his field! Mr Calvert raced

back to recover the spaceman and was greeted by some very curious adults and two very excited boys.

Mike Newman said they wouldn’t normally go into that field until April the following year and had gone

out that Saturday blackberry picking. Gemma his daughter in law and her two sons Max and Jacob

suggested they drive round the field before heading back home in their tractor/trailer. Mike said ‘It was

only from the slight height of my tractor seat could I see the bright gold covering of the spacecraft and

shortly after, the bright orange of the parachute.

Crash landing!

Recovery site

That’s our intrepid spaceman

Mr Calvert said ‘Mike very kindly invited us in for a cup of tea and explained what had happened.

It was then I discovered the payload electronics were still working and transmitting the lost carrier signal. Mike

and his family, Sue, Gemma and her sons, Max and Ted were fascinated by the project and I took the time to

explain how it worked. We have since kept in touch and have sent them pictures from the video of the flight.

They were truly amazed with the result.’

So ends an amazing adventure. There are many lessons to be learned and much to be re-examined and

evaluated, particularly the loss of GPS data. Hopefully the project team will take what they have learned and

apply it to the next exciting mission. We will be posting images and video clips of ActionMan’s Intrepid flight

during the next few weeks on Facebook and twitter.

The last word comes from Dr Gemma Newman, who sent this to Mr Calvert following the discovery:

Hi

I thought you'd like to see Max's adventure story in his learning log - they plan to talk about it to the class! A lot

of very happy five year olds!

Gemma x

Seems like the team at Queen Elizabeth have inspired some inquisitive minds......to infinity and beyond

Crash Landing! Crash Landing!

From left to right: Queen Elizabeth School IT teacher

Paul Calvert, Dr Gemma Newman, Max Newman,

Mike Newman, Ted Newman and Sue Newman.

The Intrepid Spaceman at115,000ft

Charlie Bonnington Chosen to Perform at Prestigious PiXL Event

in Westminster

Queen Elizabeth’s School were delighted when Sixth Form student, Charlie Bonnington was chosen to

perform at the above event. Charlie was one of only seven out of eighty school performers that

auditioned to play at this prestigious Success Evening in Central Hall, Westminster. He performed his

own rendition of “House of the Rising Sun” to an audience of around 1000 appreciative listeners. The

Event Director, David Evans confided to Charlie’s mother that his was the first name down on the final

sheet, he was that impressed by his audition. He wrote to Charlie following the event “your perfor-

mance was stunning and so well received by everyone in the audience. You so deserved the thunder-

ous applause of our award winners and their guests.”

Head of Music, Steve Glover, who was there to support Charlie, was equally impressed. “Charlie has

always been a gifted performer, expressive and authentic, but this was a massive high profile gig and

Charlie produced a staggering level of performance”. Charlie has been playing music in one form or

another since he was a toddler. Whilst capable of playing a variety of stringed instruments he mainly

accompanies his singing with guitar. Charlie is currently studying English, History, Sociology and Music

in the Sixth Form at Queen Elizabeth’s School.

PiXL (Partners in Excellence) is a collaboration of school leaders from over 1500 schools around the

Country that focuses on schools working together to achieve the highest outcomes for students and to

improve their life chances. PiXL is the largest partnership network of schools in England and Wales.

Each year PiXL hold a “Celebrating Success” event in Westminster and this year it was hosted by Sir John

Rowling with guest speaker Jo Rowsell Shand MBE, team member of the Rio Olympic cycling event.

Royal Marines Musician and Students working at Middle School

As part of QE's HYPE initiative to support students looking to forge a career in the Arts, we welcomed former student Domi-nic Buswell to talk to interested young musicians about working as a Royal Ma-rines Musician. Dominic explained how to apply, salaries, a typical working day, as well as details about all the extra-musical opportunities available. Our students were very attentive and asked very pertinent questions. At least one student, Joe, a guitarist, remarked afterwards that he was seriously considering it as a possible career path (subject to a drastic change of hairstyle). Mr Glover, Director of HYPE (www.qehype.com) would like to extend his gratitude to Dominic Buswell for making the trip over from Portsmouth, and hopes that further performing opportunities may result from this.

Year 13 students from QE's BTEC Music course visited Cranborne Middle School to work with their amazing young choir and musicians this week. In just an hour and a half the choir was rehearsed and coached expertly by Bella Wyatt, James Butler, Lydia Newton and Charlotte Bond and ex- Cranborne student Hannah Nash, with Charlie Bonnington mentoring two excellent young Cranborne guitarists. Culminating in a fabulous rendition of In The Bleak Midwinter, the session was thoroughly enjoyed by all involved. Cranborne music teacher Miss Jennings really appreciated the input of QE's musicians, and QE's Head of Music Steve Glover was equally impressed: " Our BTEC students are not only very skilled musicians in their own right, but increasingly are showing a real confi-dence in coaching others. The young singers loved having them there to re-hearse with, and hopefully we've had a small part to play in helping this tre-mendous choir improve even further. We wish Cranborne's choir well as they begin their Carol season, and hopefully we can come back again, it was really fantastic to hear them!"

Mamma Mia West End Performer comes to QE

Hamlet at the Lighthouse

On Tuesday 11th October students at Queen

Elizabeth’s School, Wimborne, were visited by local

West End Performer, Dan Partridge, who has just

finished a year-long run in Mamma Mia at the

Novello Theatre, London.

Dan hosted a Q&A Session on the life of a working

actor, followed by an energetic dance workshop that gave the students an insight into the

demands of a professional performer. Students from Queen Elizabeth’s specialist in-house

creative academy HYPE were thrilled: “It was great to be able to speak directly to a real profes-

sional”; “Dan was really inspirational and I learnt a lot about the working world of acting”. HYPE

looks forward to working with Dan on future projects.

On the 20th of October, Queen Elizabeth School’s Year 13 A-level English

class visited the Lighthouse Theatre in Poole to watch a production of

Hamlet from Black Theatre Live. Whilst including elements of the traditional

play, the group also included modern twists that kept the audience engaged

and surprised. Furthermore, there were aspects of the play which integrated

African culture into the typical Shakespearean narrative.

In our opinion, the most impressive aspect of the play was the way in which

the actors embodied their characters. Raphael Sowole, who portrayed

Hamlet, made his character’s madness and sorrow plausible; the way other

characters interacted with him also reinforced these traits. In addition, we

felt the incorporation of African culture helped bring home the individuality

of this rendition of Hamlet – as well as the modern aspects making it more

relatable.

Natalie Atkinson—Year 13 Stage Set Up

Christmas Lights

QE’s amazing jazz band, JOQE, were delighted to be asked to be involved in the annual Christmas

Lighting Event in Wimborne Town Square again this year.

On a freezing Saturday afternoon a massive crowd gathered to hear the band play for over an

hour and student, James Butler, led the crowd in a rousing rendition of “Let It Snow”. A great

way to start off the Christmas season.

Wimborne Minster Town Council have thanked the band for performing and have already

booked them for a longer spot next year!

Cllr Mrs Sue Cook, Wimborne Town Mayor has written to thank the Band and said “you all

performed wonderfully and the standard of your playing was exceptional.”

Recordings can be found at: https://

soundcloud.com/qeschoolmusic

Photography Visits Art and Photography ‘A’ Level students had a fantastic trip to Pallant House Gallery and

Goodwood Sculpture Park, Chichester in September. The opportunity to start the year with

the chance to view art from first hand was brilliant.

Pallant House Gallery has a permanent collection of Modern Art whereas The Cass

Sculpture Foundation at Goodwood Sculpture Park is an internationally recognised home

of 21st century British Sculpture.

Both venues provided students with quite different experiences from viewing Art in a

traditional gallery setting compared thought provoking and monumental sculptures

nestled within the natural environment. Staff at both venues were extremely helpful and

welcoming and as always students were fantastic ambassadors of QE School.

During the day students were encouraged to sketch, take notes and photograph their

experiences which have since been documented back in school. Inspiration from the day

will be realised in the form of student outcomes.

Whilst on the trip we ran a photography competition which the staff at Goodwood

Sculpture Park kindly judged our entries commenting on a great variety of shots and the

creativity of our students. The winning entry was taken by Kate Miller-Sparkes. Her unusual

and close up perspective must have impressed the judges. Well done Kate!

Student feedback

from the trip.

“It was a really inspiring

trip, I especially

enjoyed the sculpture

park and found both

the venue and the

actual sculptures

exceptionally beautiful

and eye catching.” Hannah Probyn-

Duncan

We are now very much

looking forward in

planning our next Art &

Photography trip.

World Champion Karter

Year 11 student Hugo Ellis came 1st in the X30 World Championships in Le Mans

recently. He qualified for this competition after coming third in Europe.

Hugo is now on TOP OF THE WORLD and we congratulate him on this wonderful

achievement.

Well done Hugo!

Dance Success

After last year’s success in Dance it appears that this year is set to top that!

Already in the first half term we have had more than 30 Year 9 students become members of the

Junior Dance Company – many of whom performed at open evening and all of whom have been

invited to take part in a Workshop with the exciting 2Faced Dance Company later this month.

Our Year 10 Dancers were fortunate enough to work alongside dancers from the James Wilton Dance

company, many also took the opportunity to visit Pavilion Dance to watch the company’s breath-

taking performance of Leviathan. Staff and students left the performance feeling inspired by the

originality of the choreography.

Year 10 and year 9 dancers alongside James

Wilton Dancers – September 2016

Post 16 Dancers were invited to attend a Dance Careers Fair at PDSW. The day involved

students working with professionals in different practical settings including audition

preparation and choreographic tasks as well as hearing from Higher Education institutions

about the vast array of career opportunities which dance can lead to.

Post 16 Students in an ‘Audition-styled’

workshop at the Pavilion Dance Theatre –

Careers Fair – September 2016

Dance Success

And all year groups have already started rehearsals for this year’s Rock Challenge event – which will take place on Friday 24th February 2017 at Bournemouth Pavilion. More details of how you can support QE in this event will be shared with you in early 2017.

First Rock Challenge meeting. Post 16 students shar-

ing ideas with Years 9 to 11 students

Whilst these exciting opportunities have been taking place other dance experiences have been

planned including; workshop with Rambert, previously known as Rambert Dance Company, trips to

see touring companies including the world famous choreographer Matthew Bourne and his AMP

dancers, an excursion to Roche Court for Btec Dancers to create a sculpture inspired piece which will

be shared at PDSW later in the year and many more.

In September QE became an Associate School with Pavilion Dance South West and it is partly due to

this partnership that we are now able to offer the numerous benefits and opportunities to our talent-

ed and creative dance students. In addition to parents contributions we must also thank the Cherries

Community Fund at AFC Bournemouth for contributing so generously. Their donation will certainly

help us to continue to allow as many students as possible to benefit from all that dance has to offer.

Personal Finance and Planning

Good Debt?

Good debt and what does it mean for me and investing in my future was the key point that many Post

16 students were discussing as they left a very informative and enlightening talk on personal finance

and planning by Gary Neild, Managing Director of Blue Sky Financial Planning.

The presentation included examining key considerations about personal finance – expenditure,

budgets, debt, borrowing, savings, investments, pensions, insurance tax and benefits. This was all

within the context of economic factors including exchange rates, interest rates and inflation. The

consistent themes throughout was the need to plan finances.

The top tip for young people starting to earn was to have three accounts:

Savings and investments,

Bills

Fun

All the advice was encouraging students to invest in themselves, work hard and follow their passions.

Do encourage your Post 16 students to visit the website below and use the MyFuture app to model a

variety of financial futures to reinforce and develop the ideas presented in the talk. Please mention QE

when applying for a login.

Blue Sky Financial Planning Live the life you want

Website: www.blueskyfp.co.uk

Student Investor Challenge

The Student Investor Challenge, the UKs premier investment competition, is open for registration; for

those of you who have not taken part before, the winners of the national challenge receive an

all-expenses paid educational trip to New York, £2000 for QE and £200 for each team member. There

are also a number of other prizes up for grabs during the competition. This year thanks to sponsorship

from Blue Sky Financial Planning there is a QE only additional prize with the top QE House teams

winning a trip to London.

The competition is an online share trading game played in teams of four. Teams have £100,000 of

virtual money to invest in the stock market. By reading and forecasting data provided online, teams can

identify shares and make judgements of when to buy and sell in order to make a profit. All teams will

be given tips along the way of how they can manage their shares for success.

If you would like to take part in the challenge this year please hand the name of four students and your

team name to Mrs Brenton. You must have four team members all from the same House to qualify for

the House Prizes. Final registrations for this year’s competition are: 18 November 2016.

Congratulations and extra House Points go to the top three QE teams who registered early and

participated in the practice round which finished 14th October 2016.

More information can be found on http://www.studentinvestor.org/ .

Enterprising Business Students at Wimborne’s Queen Elizabeth’s School are taking part for the third year running in the

‘Tycoon in Schools’ business challenge run by Dragon’s Den star Peter Jones.

Five teams of students, who have been given a total of £3,000 start-up funding for their new business plans, have to

research and develop their ideas and produce, promote and sell their products and services in order to make a profit.

Queen Elizabeth’s newly formed Enterprise Club, run by Year 13 students who went through the process last year, will

mentor this year’s students.

To assist them in their endeavours, the school’s PTA, QE Family, has organised for Enterprise students to sell their products

alongside established local professionals at Queen Elizabeth’s Christmas Craft & Enterprise Fair on Wednesday 16th

November from 4pm-7pm. This will not only be a great opportunity for the public to shop for unique Christmas gifts, but it

will also give students a chance to meet with people already running successful businesses.

As part of a strategy to encourage all of its students to develop their entrepreneurial skills, Queen Elizabeth’s School has

also signed up to Dorset’s ‘Young Chamber’, an initiative which facilitates partnerships between business and education

and provides careers guidance and hands-on workplace experience with Dorset-based businesses.

Bob Richardson, Head of the Business said “We are delighted to be involved with any initiative that encourages Education

and Business to work more closely together to improve mutual understanding. Dynamic projects like these help us provide

students with the right skills set to prosper in their future careers, whatever they choose to do.”

Some of Queen Elizabeth’s Year 13 Enterprise students with their teacher Steve Collins, Will Montgomery from Dorset’s

Young Chamber and Ian Girling, Chief Executive of DCCI

Queen Elizabeth’s Students Are

The Business

GCSE Geography Students Impress at Dorset

Geographical Association Worldwise Quiz

On Tuesday 18th October, three year 11 students represented QE School in the Worldwise Geography Quiz, organized by the Dorset Geographical association.

In the weeks running up to the quiz, all 16 teams from around Dorset were given a website to revise from. The quiz was hosted by St Edwards School in Poole, and soon the quiz was underway, with the QE team taking the lead in the first few rounds. The rounds were a mixture of capital cities, image destinations to recognize, specific topic quizzes, map work and specific statistics questions.

The questions were harder than expected, and despite stiff competition from private schools such as Bryanston, (who, in previously had won the title 5 years in a row), QE achieved joint second place with two other schools in the last tense round. A tiebreaker round found the QE team claiming third prize over all.

Written by Asha Ambasna (Year 11)

Congratulations to the students involved: Asha Ambasna, Charlie Holt and Anna Parnum

New Forest Polo Club

Students from QE with Mrs Ashby experienced the excitement and thrill of playing Polo at an indoor

event held by the New Forest Polo Club.

After an initial training lesson, chukkas were played and the student enthusiasm to create a school

team was born.

Polo is an equestrian sport that along with show jumping, eventing and dressage Mrs Ashby would

like to promote. Polo is unlike the other equestrian disciplines, students who do not have their own

horses can take part, as a trained polo

pony is key to competition.

If there are any parents who are

interested in sponsoring this inclusive

activity, or who have children who are

interested in taking part, then please

contact Mrs Ashby

(kashby@qe.dorset.sch.uk)

Written by Buster Cassin (Year 13)

Candidates running for the presidency of today must exist in the social media network in order to tap into the millennial market. However it can be difficult for a longstanding political figure to become an icon of modernity and to fit convincingly into the 21st century mind-set.

When running for president, it is not the stuffy men in ‘smoky back rooms’ you can rely on to get things done, it is the public, with its large percentage of cynical, judgemental and perceptive young adults who own the social media platform. The generation can see through your false skin and it means a lot of politicians must evolve with the times or die trying, these days you cannot win an election without its help. However the addition of this new form of media not only excludes some politicians it also allows ideological soul mates all across the US to coordinate and attack, it is one of the greatest weapons in a campaigns arsenal, its quality of mediation is so sporadic, random and volatile and its reach is infinitely vast that a candidate’s integrity can be dissolved with the click of a button, but equally a cornucopia of support can be rallied by a well organised social media presence.

Following the 2014 mid-term elections, 16 percent of registered voters followed candidates for office, political par-ties or elected officials on social media, up 10 percent since 2010 (according to a report from Pew Research Centre.) This figure may seem small but it is constantly moving up as interconnectivity and access gets easier and easier. The Obama campaign in 2008 reached 5 million supporters on 15 different social Networks over the course of campaign season; by November 2008, Obama had approximately 2.5 million (some sources say as many as 3.2 million) Face-book supporters, 115,000 Twitter followers, and 50 million viewers of his YouTube channel.

In 2008 and 2012 John McCain and Mitt Romney were disastrously behind in social media coverage, notoriously the GOP have had issues with adapting, but now they have a candidate they can use, Donald Trump was able to dominate social media and wield it so effectively unlike any candidate before him and he had no real opposition in Hillary Clinton, with her lack of legitimacy and the Clinton dynasty baggage she carries with her. Trump did not have political experience but he has experience in being popular, he doesn’t follow the same rules as other politicians and is no stranger to pandering. He understands that offering people their wildest desires is more effective than offering people the facts and figures, he taps into the working classes trust of their employer and recognises people do not trust politicians but they do trust the man with the money, and social media is the best way to get this idea across.

Trump has amassed over 10.7 million followers and sent over 32,000 tweets. That’s 25% more followers than Hillary’s 8.1 million and more than four times her number of tweets. On Facebook Hillary Clinton has received 5.4 million total page likes, which is slightly more than half of Donald Trump’s 10.2 million. We can speculate that social media was a defining factor in the outcome of the US general election, but without any doubt can confirm that politics has undergone a revolution.

Only in the last three presidential elections has the social media beast reared its ugly head so its significance is not truly known to us at this moment, right now, we only see a trend. The candidate that is able to capture the attention of the mass audience, whether that be good attention or bad, is able to take the presidency. In some ways the election is just a popularity contest but when someone can get people listening just by being controversial then the system needs to re-evaluate what it actually means to win.

Significance of New Media

on Voting

Careers Fair This year’s Careers Fair was the biggest QE School has had

so far with over 60 organisations exhibiting, covering a

wide range of business sectors, universities, apprentice-

ship and further education providers, providing

information to a large number of students and parents.

The feedback we have received from parents, students,

and organisations indicates that everyone found the even-

ing worthwhile. Becky Thomas from QinetiQ said ‘the Ca-

reers Fair was really valuable, there was a very high at-

tendance and the quality of conversation we had with the

students was really high’. ‘Very well organised event and

interesting to meet enthusiastic students’ were the com-

ments from Richard Mcwilliam from The Royal Bourne-

mouth Hospital. Meanwhile Sophie from Land & Wave

said ‘Brilliant, best one yet! Well organised and busy’.

Enormous thanks go to the following organisations:

A One Insurance, AECC, AFC Bournemouth Community Sports Trust, Aish Technologies, Army, Arts Uni Bmth, Bath Spa, BH

Live, Bournemouth & Poole College, Bournemouth University, Cardiff Met, Cardiff University, Caterpillar Marine Power UK

ltd, Chartered Association of Building Engineers, Christchurch & East Dorset Council, Coles Miller, Damory Veterinary

Practice, Deep South Media, DMWA Architects, Dorset Police, Dorset School of Acting, Exeter University, Francesco Group,

Godsell Arnold Partnership, Hall & Woodhouse, Hays Travel, Ibd Business Adviser, Inspire Professional Services Limited, Itec

Connect ltd, JP Morgan, Kingston Maurward, Land & Wave, Marden Edwards, Merlin Entertainments, National Citizenship

Service, Paragon Skills, Partners in Care, Plymouth University, QE Sixth Form, QinetiQ, RAF , Rockley Watersports, Royal

Agricultural University, Royal Bournemouth Hospital & Poole Hospital, Rund Partnership, South West Shared Apprenticeship

Co, Southampton Solent University, Southampton Uni, Spectrum Property Care, Steele Raymond LLP Solicitors, STEM,

Superior Ltd, The University of Bristol, Ultra Electronics, University of Bath, University of Portsmouth, University of South

Wales, University of the West of England, Wessex Water, WG Jones, Winchester University, Young Vocations.

EAST DORSET LEADERSHIP SUMMIT

It has been a busy half term for QE students undertaking exciting sports leadership opportunities. The

first meeting with our new year 9 students was well attended and over 45 students have already signed

up to be part of this year’s fantastic leadership events.

The first opportunity was the East Dorset Leadership summit which was hosted at QE and run by

Mrs Cole; 19 of our year 9 students were invited to attend along with 6 other visiting schools. This sum-

mit involved a range of practical sessions helping to develop their leadership skills in sport. The practical

workshops were led by the Young Sport Award Leaders who are our current year 13 students. They set

the standard high as great role models for our year 9 students to aspire to become ambassadors

representing QE sports leadership.

INTRODUCTION TO TAG RUGBY OFFICIATING

Eleven boys were selected for an afternoon training at Wimborne Rugby Club where they undertook an

officiating course focusing on referring tag rugby. After an intense afternoon the boys then used their

training to referee the Year 6 East Dorset School Games Tag Rugby Tournament. The boys did a good job

applying the rules of the game and demonstrating fair play throughout the tournament. The following

four schools qualified to go to the Dorset Winter School Games Final: St Michaels, Allenbourn, Lockyers

and Lychett Matravers. We wish them good luck!

Dorset School Games Boccia Competition

In preparation for this Paralympic sporting event, 23 of our year 11 students spent four hours learning

the rules and regulations of Boccia . This included how to umpire and score the game accurately.

Following this, 13 students were selected to be the official young leader umpires at the Dorset School

games competition hosted here at QE and which had a fantastic 23 teams taking part. The students

competing ranged from age 8 years to 18 and the atmosphere in the sports hall was incredible with lots

of fun but intense focus on beating each other also. The young leaders did a superb job and 6 have been

chosen by Boccia England to officiate at the Regional Event in Exeter later in the year. These students

are: Josh Eaton, Taylor Sawyer, James Waterworth, Ella Harris, Anna Parnum and Lauren Salt.

Well done to all our young leaders so far, a great start to the year. Mrs Bailey

Sports Leadership

The following students are to be congratulated on their success representing the school at the Dorset Lord Taverner’s Boccia Championships. It was quite a tense and thrilling (exhausting!) day with lots of highlights along the way, ending in a triple QE presence in the semi-finals and QE v QE final!

Team C – GOLD medal winners

Asher Bassford

Bella Burbidge

Leo Scurfield

Team A – SILVER medal winners

Zoe Cluley

Paul Sowry-House

Rebecca Jamieson

Team B – (The only team to win all their matches in the first rounds, but beaten in the SEMI FINAL by our Team C )

Brendan Carey

Joe Best

Josh Pugh

It now means that Team A and Team C will go on to represent Dorset in the South West Regional final, held in Exeter in March.

Staff were so proud of how they all behaved. Special mention needs to go to Leo Scurfield and Bella Burbidge – Leo for being so amazingly disciplined, focused, really taking the matches seriously and pulling some impressive shots out of the bag under pressure (his last ball on 3 occasions rolled in to sit right next to the jack) and Bella for being so over the moon and pleased with herself for, not only doing it in the first place, but winning it as well! AND she then found out she’d won the Pumpkin competition! Her smile couldn’t get any bigger!

Boccia Championships

U16 Dorset Schools County Netball Champions

We are delighted to report that Queen Elizabeth's under 16 netball squad are proud County Champions.

The team played in the first round of the National Schools competition in early October

and were highly successful with the following results:

Vs Poole High won 22-1

Vs Ferndown won 21-0

Vs St Edwards won 19-0

Vs Parkstone Girls won 15-2

Vs Corfe Hills won 17-2

Vs Canford won 10-7

These outstanding results meant that they played in the County finals and again played

brilliantly to bring back the County Champions Trophy.

Our winning squad were:

Ellie Stark (Captain) Lauren White Holly Fall

Lani Jones Summer Hillyer Dani Till

Hannah Craig Amber Slate Lauren Salt

Amy Keay Hannah Slater

Student Creative Writing Published

The English Department had huge success last year with students entering Creative Writing Competitions. Several students won competitions and were published in real books! One of our published writers has reflected on the impact of taking part and having her writing published.

Becca Legg

Re: Recent Publication in 2016’s Spine Chillers and 2016 Shake Up Shakespeare

I decided to enter both of these competitions because I love to create vivid imagery of scenes in the read-

er’s head, capturing their imagination, and taking the reader to another place. The Spine Chillers

competition is always good, because you’re only given 100 words, so everything must be concise,

however, you want to add in lots of scary details and description. I chose the topic of spiders, because I’m

not a massive fan of them myself, and I had a spooky encounter with a rather large spider, late at night in

my kitchen, with no one around to help me! The idea came to me quite quickly – if you really hate spiders,

then the worst thing you can do is think about them when you’re laying in bed – your skin always itches

and crawls, making you paranoid, and thus my story unfolded.

The Shakespeare competition was completely different to any other competition I’ve entered before – I’m

used to creating characters, so I had free reign of choosing the personalities and viewpoints, but here I

had to choose a Shakespeare character to form the main plotline of my poem. I’ve studied Macbeth in

school since Year 9, as many of you have, so I knew the plot well. A character that had always intrigued

me was Lady Macbeth – it’s incredible how quickly madness sets in when you become obsessed with a

certain idea. Obsession has led to many people becoming ill, but to see Lady Macbeth become insane and

delirious over the course of the scenes is rare. I have an interest in musical theatre, and there’s always

that joke where if anything goes wrong, the first thing someone says is: “Okay, who said Macbeth?” The

name has become a synonym of a curse itself, which shows the strong beliefs of the play in the Jacobean

times, and how the tradition has passed on to modern times. My poem ‘Forbidden Name’ makes

references to all of these things, and includes links to the script itself.

Who dunnit… On the 26th of September a group of potential ‘high performance’ year 6’s, came to Queen Elizabeth School and took on the role as detectives to try and discover the mystery of the missing ruby earrings. With the house captains as chief inspectors, the detectives set off, to find out which horrific criminal stole the famous singer’s earrings.

The day led by Mrs Wright was to show that QE is the next step in their education, as well as being the best place to come to support their academic abilities. The year 13 drama group starred as the suspects – Sally Strings (Bella Brown), Lipstick Lucy (Cerys Dyson), Jack Flash (James Butler), Tommy the Tooth (Ben Eldridge), Private Izzak (Alex Whitmarsh), Razza Mattaz (Hannah Nash), Fay Slift (Poppy Jenkinson) and lastly Krystelle (Livi Beale).

So… the day began with an introduction to the crime and what the detectives needed to do in order to find out the culprit. The chief inspectors gave the detectives a tour around the school

before getting into 8 groups to begin the investigation. There were 4 different tasks that the detectives had to do to find out the evidence. The Year 6’s interviewed the suspects, saw CCTV evidence from when the crime was taken place, they read different reports of what the suspects had written about where they were at the time, and furthermore inspected the crime scene and inspected the mirror for finger prints.

There were fingers pointing at all different suspects, such as Razza Mattaz. The chief inspectors overheard the conversations between the detectives stating that ‘Razza hates Krystelle and is jealous of her having all the attention… it’s definitely her’. Another group were arguing about the suspect being Krystelle, ‘it’s all a setup, she wants money from the insurance of her earrings… her career is failing… her boyfriend no longer loves her’. The year 13s definitely deserve recognition as they never broke character.

Once everyone had collected their evidence and had a culprit in mind, each group presented a PowerPoint presentation to show which suspect they thought it was. Each group did a fantastic presentation and clearly showed evidence of why they thought it was that particular suspect. After a lot of thought and discussion, the winning group of the day who suspected the correct culprit (Jack Flash) and presented the clearest presentation was group 6! A massive congratulations!

I hope all the year 6’s thoroughly enjoyed their day at QE, and I know that Team QE especially cannot wait for them to join in Autumn 2019!

Reported by Maddie Williams (YEAR 13)

Jewish Museum Trip

Last Tuesday, I travelled up to London, with a group of other year nines, to visit The Jewish Museum.

We all had an amazing day full of excitement and learning about the Jewish faith and culture. From

interesting facts about food rules to discovering more about the tragic events of the holocaust, I felt like

we were all able to broaden our knowledge in a fun, interactive way! We were able to taste the special

foods used to celebrate festivals as well as wander about the museum and gather our own facts. The

day enabled us to gather knowledge to help with our

GCSEs and just as importantly get to know the people in

our new year group.

Martha Tribe (Year 9)

I also went on the trip last week with Year 9. One of my

favourite parts of the day was the Faith and the

Holocaust workshop, where we learnt about Leon

Greenman an Auschwitz survivor. Interestingly, he gave

all his possessions from the war to the museum including

his Medal of Honour before he died. I enjoyed the trip as it was interesting and historical.

Elliot Shepherd (Year 9)

Teacher Training at Queen Elizabeth’s School

Queen Elizabeth’s School have been allocated even more places for September 2017 to train to teach.

The increase in their allocation is over 100% on the previous year and is based on the success of their

current programme. QE have been recognised as delivering very high quality training for their own and

other trainees with a 100% employment track record.

The training programme is run in conjunction with the University of Exeter, an Ofsted Outstanding

provider, but is entirely school based and distance learning online. This year the Department for

Education made decisions as to how many places providers could be allocated across all subjects and the

school have been awarded 28 places in 15 subjects. Tim Farrer, Senior Deputy Head, said ‘We are

thrilled that the school have been recognised for their quality of provision and success in ensuring our

trainees find employment at the end of the year. High quality on-the-job training is vital if we are to

manage the concerns currently held regarding teacher recruitment, particularly in shortage subjects like

Maths and Chemistry. We are really proud to be able to serve the locality in providing resilient,

professional teachers.’

If you are interested in becoming a teacher and would like more details about the QE training

programme, please contact Tim Farrer at Queen Elizabeth’s School (01202 885233).

Staff at Queen Elizabeth’s School gave The Great British Bake Off contestants

a run for their money, when they baked a delicious range of cakes and treats

for a Macmillan Coffee Morning recently.

The fund raising was initiated by PE Teacher, Rachel Bailey in memory of our

colleague Susan Sinfield and other friends and loved ones that we have lost

too early.

Nearly £200 was raised and staff were well fed!

Macmillan Coffee Morning

What is the 50/50 Club?

It’s a fundraising club for parents and staff. But you don’t just pay in – it pays out cash prizes too!

How does it work?

Everyone in the club pays £8 three times a year. Cash prizes are paid each term to our lucky winners.

Half the money raised is paid as prizes, and the other half goes to QE Family PTA funds. That’s why it’s

called the 50/50 Club.

Where does the money go?

The money that is not paid in cash prizes goes towards extra facilities and amenities for students at QE.

How much does it cost?

Membership costs £8 per term (£24 per year), paid by Standing Order from your bank account.

Who decides who wins?

When you join the 50/50 Club, you are allocated a number. Every month, three numbers are drawn at

random, so three members win cash prizes. The prize money is paid directly into the winners’ bank ac-

counts.

How to join

Simply contact Mark Willis (mwillis@qe.dorset.sch.uk) and we will send you an application form. The

more members there are, the bigger the cash prizes!

50/50 Club

50/50 Club Rules

1. The Club shall be known as the QE Family PTA 50/50Club.

2. Prizes will be unfixed. 50% of the monthly income shall be distributed as prize money, 50% will be used to

benefit the school and its students.

3. A Prize draw shall be made each month. (With the exception of the August draw which will take place the first

week of September).

4. Members shall be required to pay a year’s subscription (per number) in the form of three standing order pay-

ments or 1 cheque post dated to 1st June 2016. Any member who falls into arrears shall forfeit their member-

ship and shall not be eligible for the prize draw.

5. Notice of each month’s winner will appear in the School Newsletter.

6. The decisions of the QE Family PTA shall be final on any matter requiring adjudication. The Friends shall have

the power to amend these rules at their discretion.

7. Each member shall be given a number on joining and will be entered into each termly draw (so long as the

fees are paid).

8. The draw shall be made in the presence of at least two members of the PTA committee and will be drawn at

an event if possible.

Collect FREE donations for QE FAMILY every time you shop online.

Join here:

easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/qefamily

COMMUNITY NEWS

Verwood Pantomime Society are presenting Treasure Island at the

Hub in Verwood next January. They have held auditions and rehearsals

are now underway.

Tickets are available now and they are a non profit making society.

The Reef Youth Club is now open for all students on the following nights:

Wed - 7.15-9.30pm FOR Year 10 + (Door entry £2)

Thurs - 7.15-9.00 FOR Year 9 (Door entry £2)

This is a great service and facility for young people to access with lots of opportunities to receive support on issues that effect them and a safe place to meet their friends and socialise.

With kind regards

Mrs Melanie Ogden (Youth Worker in Charge)

REEF YOUTH CLUB

IN COLEHILL

VERWOOD PANTOMINE

ADVICE FOR PARENTS/CARERS

Please see the latest Share Aware cam-paign from the NSPCC giving advice for par-ents and carers on helping your child stay safe on social networks, apps and games:

https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/share-aware

REQUEST FOR PARENTS DRIVING STUDENTS TO AND

FROM SCHOOL

We have had a request from residents of The Broads

that parents be respectful of the fact that they have

difficulty getting in and out of their road at busy times

of the school day.

We have also received a request from the community

that parents are respectful when parking in the layby

by the cemetery when there is a funeral taking place..

We would very much appreciate your consideration.

Parents’ Notices Term Dates:

Thursday 15th December Last day of term – early finish at

12.50pm with buses leaving at 1.00pm

Friday 16th December Staff Training Day

Monday 19th December to Monday 2nd January 2017 Christmas Holiday

Spring Term 2017

Tuesday 3rd January First day of term

Monday 13th February to Friday 17th February HALF TERM

Thursday 6th April Last day of term – normal finish time

Friday 7th April Staff Training Day

Monday 10th April to Friday 21st April Easter Holiday

Summer Term 2017

Monday 24th April First Day of Term

Monday 1st May Bank Holiday

Monday 29th May to Friday 2nd June HALF TERM

Friday 21st July Last day of Term - early finish at

12.50pm with buses leaving at 1.00pm

Raising a resilient child

All parents want their children to be happy and able to cope with whatever life throws at them. But we all know

that it isn’t that straightforward. The latest Unicef report (2013) ranks the life satisfaction of children in the UK as

16th out of 29 countries and according to a report by Young Minds in 2014, 1 in 10 of our young people experience

mental health difficulties. We can’t protect our children from the pressures and troubles of life but we may be able

to help them cope with those pressures better, learn from setbacks and grab opportunities.

This 6 session programme aims to empower parents to be able to help children through difficult times and every

day challenges.

What the programme will cover:

The programme will cover key factors that can have an impact on resilience and some of the myths that parents

and children may have about what it means to be resilient.

It will explore the important role that parents can play as role models and teachers as they experience setbacks for

themselves and for their children. Participants will be introduced to some practical ideas about what parents can

do to develop resilient thinking habits over time.

Sessions will consider how to apply the principles to your children, whatever their age.

Those who attend:

Will learn what factors increase children’s resilience and be able to identify ways in which they can influence

these through their parenting.

Will be invited to consider how to ‘model’ or teach resilience in everyday situations.

Will learn to develop ways of talking to children about life’s setbacks, in ways that increase opportunities for

them to be resilient.

Will explore how to maintain effective relationships with their child as they grow.

Will consider how their strengths as a parent and how to use them to best effect

Who is this for?

The topics covered are particularly suitable for parents of children who are old enough to ‘think about their think-

ing’-say Year 5 upwards. It is not suitable for parents of children who are currently in crisis, as there will be limited

time for discussion regarding individual children.

Participants will never be asked to share information that they don’t wish to, but an open mind and a willingness to

try new approaches will be useful. In a safe, non-judgemental environment, you can explore the skills that allow

parents and children to cope with setbacks, learn from mistakes and bounce back from adversity.

6 sessions of 2.5 hours-6.30pm-9pm. Commencing 17/1/17-28/2/17 at QE School

£99 per person, £150 per couple.

Places are limited. To book a place, or for further information contact: Diane Laird-07871 505382/

diane@dianelaird.co.uk please contact Diane Laird

Biography:

Diane is a freelance trainer with over 20 years experience working with parents and children. She is a member of

the UK How to Thrive training team. How to Thrive deliver training to teachers to use the Penn Resilience Pro-

gramme in schools across the UK, as part of the national Healthy Minds project; to improve the well-being and

emotional health of students. She is also a mother of 3 and well understands the pressures, joys and challenges of

being a parent!

Queen Elizabeth’s School

Wimborne

Dorset

BH21 4DT

Tel: 01202 885233

Email: office@qe.dorset.sch.uk

Website: www.qe.dorset.sch.uk