May 2008 Issue No. 5

Eggar‛s celebrate with Year 11

Tuesday 13th May 2008 will stay in the memory of many at Eggar‛s as this was the last day in school for Year 11. After many months of preparation for their GCSE‛s which finish in June, the Year 11 were able to celebrate their final day with a Leavers Assembly. With Senior Staff, Tutors and Teachers in attendance, this special

gathering reflected on the many achievements by Year 11 at Eggar‛s, which brought lots of laughter and a few tears to many. We wish Year 11 the best of luck in their exams and look forward to seeing them at their Leavers Dinner on Thursday 3rd July and celebrating their exam results in August.

It is always nice to experience something new and for me this happened twice in one day! As not only did I accompany the Y-half of Year 7 on a school trip for the first time, but also made my first visit, and hope not last, to Kew Gardens. Despite the appalling weather, which didn‛t dampen our spirits, we arrived at Kew Gardens to visit two of the glasshouses. The purpose of this trip was to enable the students to gather information about eco-systems for their Geography studies and also have the opportunity of drawing some of the many plants for their Art lessons. Our morning was spent in the Palm House,

which is a very impressive and beautiful glasshouse built in 1844-48 and is classed as the world‛s most i m p o r t a n t s u r v i v i n g Victorian glass and iron structure.

We were quite pleased to escape the wet, grey weather outside and enter the warm and humid atmosphere in this glasshouse. The Year 7‛s immediately started their Geography work to study the many different palm species, which would normally be found in tropical rainforests and plants of great economic significance which included rubber, banana, mango, coconut, Ylang Ylang, pepper and cocoa to name just a few.

The students looked at the properties of these species many of which produce timber, fruits, s p i c e s , f i b r e s , p e r f u m e s a n d medicines. Th i s magn i f i cen t glasshouse houses some enormous palms which now reach the top of the roof, which we were able to view from a roof top walkway reached via an iron spiral staircase. A second spiral staircase takes you to the basement which houses four important marine habitats, complete with fish, crabs, corals and marine plants. After a busy morning, lunchtime soon arrived and we joined the rest of the Year 7 groups for a quick break. After lunch we swapped topics and venues with the rest of the year group and visited the Princess of Wales Conservatory. This glasshouse commemorates both Diana, Princess of Wales, and one of her predecessors, Princess Augusta, the mother of George III, who founded the botantic gardens at Kew in 1759. Within this new house there are ten different environmental zones. Here, under the guidance of Art Teacher, Mr Colburn- Jackson, our Year 7‛s had the opportunity to study and choose where and what they wished to draw using oil pastels. There wer e many displays to choose from i n c l u d i n g b r i g h t l y c o l o u r e d orchids, cactus against desert backdrops, waterfalls and huge lily pads.

The students produced some wonderful artwork with many Kew visitors stopping to admire and comment on how good they were.

Unfortunately the afternoon went all too quickly and we were soon on our way back to school. I have to say this day was made all the more enjoyable due to my group of George Burton, Joshua Cockram, William Chong, Ben Hannon, Madeleine Anderson and Carmella Faithfull of 7JM, as they were really good company and their behaviour was excellent throughout the day.

Mrs N Headleand School Secretary

We have had another really successful few weeks in school with Year 7, and the brilliant weather recently bringing out the best in everyone! I hope it lasts… I‛m still chuffed to bits with the enthusiasm and motivation Year 7 are showing across the whole school, which will be of great importance with next year‛s new Year 7 coming to visit us very soon. I am very excited at the prospect of us becoming the ‘new‛ Year 8 and the new challenges this will bring. Year 11 are currently sitting their GCSE exam, so I would appreciate students continuing to move around the Hall area and other designated exam areas as quietly as possible at this important time. It won‛t be too long before you are sitting in those seats, which is a scary thought! Parents and pupils will now have received their Year 7 Reports, which will give you a good indication of the progress being made at school. We would like to invite you to Parent‛s Evening to discuss these reports further on Thursday 5th June, where you will get the chance to meet your child‛s teachers. Parent‛s Evenings are incredibly important and I would urge that you attend to ensure that staff, parents and pupils can work together to maximise the progress of every child at the school. You will shortly receive a letter home with details of this evening and your child will have the opportunity to make individual appointments on your behalf with their teachers from 4pm until 7pm. Year 7 are still achieving a great attendance of 95% but I would love to see this improve and finish the year with 100% - remember, you cannot learn unless you are in school!

With her love of dance and music, Justine Jerrold of 7JM, is setting her sights high. Justine excels in Ballroom and Latin dance and her ambition is to become a professional dancer or instructor and perhaps one day performing on the television show ‘Strict ly Come Dancing.’ Luckily, her new dance partner Bradley Evans (aged 12) has the same passion and commitment when it comes to dancing, and this is certainly shown in the distance they have to travel to practice, as Bradley lives in Crewe and a t t en d s a d an ce sch o o l i n Wolverhampton! This dancing duo are currently training hard for their first competition ‘Stars of the Future’ which will be held at Brentwood, Essex on 7th June. These talented dancers also have the ‘North of England’ competition to compete in too. We wish Justine the very best of luck and look forward to hearing about the competitions.

To finish, I would like to congratulate the following pupils on achieving some outstanding merit totals – Alice Ilsley and

Bill Baker of 7NS, Lydia Wang, Rebecca Hawkes and Sam Wood of 7JM, Alex Holmes and Stan Burrows of 7SD, Doug Lowe, Alissa Kirkwood and Tyrone Girling- Florio 7CMc. Very well done Year 7 – have a great final term!

Mr Wordsworth Year Leader, Year 7

As we still occasionally have queries from parents as to how and where they can purchase school uniform, we would confirm our current school uniform supplier is 1st Grade and we have order forms available from the School Office. To place your order please return the completed form to the school office with your payment by cheque to ‘1st Grade‛. All orders are collected on a Friday and if the item is in stock, they will be delivered to the school office the following Friday for collection. If you wish to order by credit card please telephone 1st Grade direct on 01252 795559. As we are sure you will appreciate, with the new intake of Year 7 in September, 1st Grade is inundated with uniform orders during July. We would advise our current parents to order any uniform before the end of term to avoid the rush and allow the supplier to have plenty of size options in stock .

It has been brought to our attention that many students are not bringing a drink to school with them each day. It is very important that all students have plenty to drink throughout the day and following sports

activities. There are water dispensers in school for use during break and lunch times.

June Open Mornings for Years 3, 4 and 5

Once again this Summer we open our doors to welcome parents and pupils of our primary feeder schools to come and visit our school. We are always happy and proud to show visitors the excellent facilities and opportunities on offer at Eggar’s School. Please come along between 9.00am and 12.00pm on either Tuesday 24th or Wednesday 25th June.

TESCO COMPUTERS FOR SCHOOLS If you have any ‘Computer for Schools’ vouchers at home, then please bring to school as this scheme has now finished. Thank you for your support.

We have recently received complaints regarding the dropping­off of children at the school entrance with the driver then turning around in the entrance to depart, or drivers coming into the front car parking area and not pulling over to the left handside, instead they are stopping in the middle and therefore blocking through­traffic. We would appreciate all drivers having consideration for other drivers and pedestrians. Please use the school entrance and exit from the Holybourne Road junction – this will ensure the safety of all drivers and pedestrians.

During the week of 12th May, Year 8 attended a residential activity centre at Fairthorne Manor near Botley, Southampton. This trip was an excellent success and all of the students who went had a great time. For some of the students, it was their first time sleeping in a tent. After the first night, many of them understood the importance of wearing many layers! Fairthorne Manor has many organised activities on offer, ranging from kayaking to orienteering, from climbing to an aerial runway. These activities gave students the opportunity to try something new, take on their fears such as heights and perhaps even spark an interest in a new interest/hobby. The trip was blessed with great weather, particularly at the start of the week. Even

though the sun was out, the water was still cold especially for those students who capsized. I am still trying to work out how Alice Easton,

Chloe Chandler, Izzy Dymock and Lauren Connor capsized their four person canoe!!?? After a very busy and rewarding week, I would like to thank the school staff who accompanied the students to Fairthorne, as without them it would not have been possible. Congratulations to all the students. The Fairthorne staff were impressed with their attitude, effort and behaviour. A more detailed report by students and photographs will appear in the next newsletter.

The Year 8 homework project is now in full flow, and as you are reading this newsletter, the History project deadline has just been passed. To re-emphasise, the Year 8 students should use the projects as an opportunity to sharpen up their organisational skills, arranging their time management and to show off their knowledge. The Humanities and Art staff are really looking forward to seeing the completed projects.

Our congratulations go to Emily Bailey of 8PJ for her recent success at the Hampshire Schools Swimming Championships 2008. Emily took part in the Girls Junior 100m and 200m Butterfly and came in fourth and first place!! In the Girls Junior 200m Individual Medley Emily came sixth and in the 100m Freestyle she came in eighth place.

Keep up the good work Year 8, I look forward to seeing your completed projects over the next few weeks. Have good half term break!

Mr A Wheeler Year Leader, Year 8

Some of our Year 9 and 10 students were selected to represent Eggar’s at the District Athletics, Basingstoke on Wednesday 21st May. Our sporting students should be congratulated on their achievement against 14 other schools from across Hampshire.

Year 9 Girls Student Event Position Megan Aitchinson 200m 1st

Long Jump 2nd Beth Burns High Jump 2nd Year 9 Boys Antony Beard 400m 1st James Bevis Long Jump 4th Mark Linegar Shot 5th Year 10 Girls Jess Hoare 100m 2nd Amira Saharoui 200m 4th

High Jump 4th Hannah Gray Long Jump 6th Beth Dickinson Long Jump 2nd Year 10 Boys Sean Smith Shot 4th Ollie Jenner Shot 6th

Well done everyone! Mr S Laycock

PE Curriculum Leader

USE OF THE

INTERNET FOR HOMEWORK

We are becoming increasingly concerned about the use of the internet for homework.

Although we support the use of the internet for research and in helping the understanding of concepts, we are increasingly finding that the internet is being used as a short cut in the production of homework across all year groups.

As I am sure you will agree printed internet pages do not promote good learning and are not themselves acceptable for school homework, just as it would not be acceptable for college or university work. This type of response gives no indication of a student’s progress in the subject apart from the fact that they are able to locate an informative web site.

In the Upper School the use of the internet to research information is entirely acceptable and recommended. However, plagiarism is not acceptable and no credit can be given by the Examination Board for any part of the work directly copied from the internet.

Please can you remind your child about this issue.

Thank you for your continued support.

Anthony Beard 9AS and Megan Aitchinison 9REo pictured with their medals

School Calendar 2008 ­ Dates for your diary

May 26 ­30 HALF­TERM June 2 Return to school

5 Y7 Parents Evening from 16:00 in the hall 6 Y10 Drama exams 9 Y9 Field studies all week

Y10 Leisure & Tourism students visit to Guildford Spectrum Y10 Health & Social Care students visit to Treloars College this week

10 Y7 Art experience 13 Y10 Imperial War Museum trip 16 Y9 Field Studies

Y9 Non core exam week 18 Y10 Reports to parents 19 Y6 Induction Evening 20 Y10 Drama exams 21 Eggar’s School Fete 24 09:15 Open morning for Ys 3­5 25 09:15 Open morning for Ys 3­5 26 Y10 Parents evening from 16:00 in the hall 27 Evening with the Big Band from 19:30 in the hall 30 Y10 Modular Science exams

July 1 Y11 Repeat module Science exams 2 Sports Day

Current Y8 Information Evening for September 2008 Y9 Sicily Trip at 19:30 in the hall

3 Y11 Leaver’s Dinner at The Grange Hotel 7 Y7 X­half Geography/History trip to Winchester — date change 8 Y7 Y­half Geography/History trip to Winchester — date change 9 Holocaust Survivor visiting Y9 10 Awards Evening from 18:30 in the hall 11 Y9 History trip to Ypres, Belgium

Y6 Induction Day Reserve Sports Day

16 6th Great Music Challenge from 19:00 in the hall 22 Y9 Reports to parents 23 Last Day of Term

Autumn Term September 3 Inset Day

4 Y7 + Prefects in school only 5 Y7 Bonding Day

Y8 to Y11 return to school Some dates are subject to change, please check by visiting out website at

www.eggars.net/calendar or by contacting the school office on 01420 541194

On Thursday 24 th April we took 50 students to London to see the award winning show The Lion King at the Lyceum theatre. Luckily our seats had a really good view of the stage. We all thoroughly enjoyed the performance and were particularly impressed with the costume designs and the 232 puppets which included rod puppets, shadow puppets and full sized puppets. Apparently it took 37,000 hours to build the many masks and puppets.

At one point in the performance a whole procession of animals came down the aisles which allowed us to see the costumes up close. The music included some popular songs from the original Disney film as well as some new for the musical. The choreography was lively and enthusiastically performed with precision. A fun time was had by all and we look forward to experiencing another musical again soon. Perhaps Hairspray, Billy Elliot or We Will Rock You? We are spoilt for choice!

Mr N Smith Music Teacher

Friday 27th June at 7.30pm This has become the annual showcase event for the Big Band to host an entire evening of musical entertainment. The audience is encouraged to bring a picnic to enjoy whilst the band provide the music. No need to worry about washing up as plastic plates and cutlery will be available! Tickets will be on sale from the school

office shortly.

Yes it’s back, ‘the’ talent show open to any live music act.

Do you have the talent, skill, presence, confidence

and ‘WOW’ factor?

Auditions will be held during the first 2 weeks back

after half term.

Good luck!

The successful acts will perform on Wednesday 16th July from 7.00pm

Tickets on sale soon!

Music For Youth 2008 Earlier in the year the Big Band, Chamber Choir and percussion ensemble ‘The Rhythmatists‛ travelled to Southampton to compete in the Regional Festival of Music For Youth. We received some excellent feedback from the judges on the day and have been awaiting news as to whether any of the groups had progressed to the National Finals in July. Unfortunately, we were not selected this time and will just have to try again next year!

Mr M Farris Music Curriculum Leader

On the evening of Thursday 1st May we were entertained by Year 11 GCSE Music students. This was the second Eggar‛s Showcase evening and was attended by an enthusiastic audience. The evening was dedicated to the work of the students who performed compositions and pieces which they had prepared for their coursework. The evening was hosted by the students involved and as they stepped forward, they shared with the audience the reasons for their choice of piece, or the brief to which they had composed to. Memorable performances came from Katie Brook 11SL with a powerful performance of the Eva Cassidy classic ‘Wade In The Water‛, Emily Denton 11SKi singing ‘Realise‛ and Mike Ashmore 11SKi and his band performing a rendition of ‘Hunting for Witches‛ by Bloc Party. As with last year, a good number of Year 10 music students attended the concert to hear the standard expected of them and have already been informed that it will be their turn next year! Thank you to everyone who attended and supported our students.

Mr M Farris and Mr N Smith Music Department

ABRSM SUCCESS! Congratulations to the following pupils for passing their recent Associated Board Music Exams:

Florence Clarke 7SD Grade 3 Flute with Merit

Chris Capper 10HR Grade 4 Alto Saxophone

Henry Harrison 8JH Grade 1 Piano

Rosanna Stewart 7NS Grade 2 Piano

Rebecca Hawkes 7JM Grade 2 Piano with Distinction

Nick Love 10DW Grade 3 Trumpet

Andrew Townsend 10AV Grade 3 Cornet with Merit

Michael Bissett 10HR Grade 3 Cornet

Eggar‛s Big Band have been chosen to represent the South East Area at the Artsmark Awards ceremony which will take place at the Corn Exchange Brighton on Friday 20th June. This is a very prestigious event as it showcases the very best in the South East area. The band will be performing in front of representatives from hundreds of schools in the area. Eggar‛s won the Artsmark Silver award for the previous year.

Saturday 21st June 2008 1.00pm­4.00pm

Come along and enjoy the fun of the fete! Stalls, competitions, sports, beer tent, BBQ and

much more…

Information on how you can be involved will follow after half-term.

Just after Christmas, Year 9 entered into a SamLearning competition to help them prepare for their SATs. The idea was that the Tutor Group with the most collective hours on SamLearning would win a prize of a tin of chocolates - how‛s that for motivation! So they started in earnest and over the last two terms gradually built up their hours. The result is that at the close of the competition, the cohort as a whole had amassed over 1200 hours - roughly 7 hours per student. Some of course did more and some a bit less, but overall it is a stunning achievement.

The winning Tutor Group was 9AN with 250 hours between them and a very well deserved tin, two tins in fact, of chocolates was handed over to their Form Captain at a recent assembly. I would like to congratulate them all for their hard work and excellent mature attitude towards their studies and preparation for the SATs. By the time you read this they will have completed the SATs and I am confident that they will have done themselves proud. The two weeks prior to half-term also brought added responsibility to Year 9, as it is a time for them to experience being the senior year group in school. With our Year 10 attending their two week work experience placements and Year 11 leaving school for study leave prior to their GCSEs, it has given Year 9 an insight of what will be expected of them in September when they return as Year 10.

Mr J Foley Year Leader, Year 9

For this Newsletter, we decided to try something a little different! We have visited all the Year 7 Tutor Groups and collected data on the types of music that the Year Group prefers. We asked four multiple choice questions which were:­

1. What is your favourite type of music?

A. Pop B. Rock C. Urban/rap D. Classical

Overall ‘Rock’ was the most popular choice with 50 votes.

2. Which of the following male artists do you prefer?

A. Robbie Williams B. Ronan Keating C. Justin Timberlake D. Other

Overall we got ‘Other’ as the most popular choice

3. Which of the following female artists do you prefer?

A. Britany Spears B. Rhianna C. Madonna D. Other

Overall the result was ‘Other’ as most popular

4. What is your favourite song?

A. Flo­rider B. Now You’re Gone C. Mercy D. Other

Overall ‘Flo­rider won with 33 votes.

By Lettie Buxton, Alissa Kirkwood and Rebecca Drury of 7CMc

Imprisoned by my own mind Depression sweeps over me

Holding me captive I feel the last decrepit defences of my brain

collapsing Bound in a thick black veil of pain and

misery But wait… Light

Pulsating, shimmering, glowing Cutting a path through the veil of anguish

Then I see something beautiful I see hope I see you

By Charlie Groves 11CB

Although this has been a short half term, our Year 10 students have certainly been very busy! Firstly, many were organising the final arrangements for work experience placements and attending their interviews, and of course they had their Year 10 exams. I was extremely pleased with the focus on revision and I am looking forward to the full results, which I know will be good. An important stage in the lives of Year 10 students at this time of year is the opportunity for them to apply for prefect positions in Year 11. I would personally like to congratulate all of the applicants and the now nominated prefects. It was a very difficult process in trying to create a senior team as we had over 60 applications. The standard of the letters was amazing and if I were an employer I would have given them all a job! I very much look forward to seeing the prefects develop their roles and responsibilities. Our sincere congratulations go to go to our new Head Boy, Taliesin Burkitt-Jones and Head Girl, Eleanor Boardman both of 10HR, Deputy Head Boy, Cameron Alexander 10DW and Deputy Head Girl Jenny Happell 10HR. As we approach our final half term, there will be lots of energy going into coursework as it is important this is completed by the end of Year 10, which takes the pressure off Year 11. I will however, be organising a coursework catch up week following the half term break which will take place after school. These sessions will be compulsory for all students that have not met the coursework deadlines. I hope you have all enjoyed your work experience placements and experiences and wish you a good half term break.

Mr R Eost Year Leader, Year 10

Many congratulations to four Year 11 students who have all completed a two year course at Sparsholt College and on Wednesday 14th May received their certificate of attendance from the Vice Principal to an audience of Parents and Tutors.

Building Craft Operation City & Guilds Level 2 awarded to:

Ed Barney 11SW Jake Barney 11SW Dan Bollman 11SL

NVQ2 awarded to: Chris Hiscock 11KM

We wish you every success in the future.

Mrs C Priddle Learning Support

I think Club Mundo is the best club in the school! You may think Geography is boring but it isn’t, and it is something to do on a Friday afternoon as well! In Club Mundo you learn a lot about all of the countries and animals in the world. We have also sponsored a mountain gorilla and have called it MUNDO!

Miss Whiting makes up lots of quizzes for us to enjoy. We even do presentations to help us learn more about the world and share the places we have been with our friends. So that is pretty much it, but the best part is when we get biscuits and drinks but it is loads of fun, so come along and join our club!

By Amy Whiley and Bethany Fellows 7HW

Club Mundo is a really cool club and is the best Geography club that you could go to and no, it is not only for smart people as you call them (geeks) it is for all years and it is for normal people as well! When you go to Club Mundo you get to chat to your friends and test your knowledge in quizzes and you can win a prize. Club Mundo is a really fun club which runs every Friday after school in G2.

By Emily Button 7KG

At the moment we are adopting a Virunga mountain gorilla called Mundo, the club is named after him. Since we adopted him the population has increased from 230 to 250. We are saving Mundo and many others. It all started when Jamie Hannah 7NS became a member of the The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, which is a UK registered charity founded in 1989. Its overall mission is to secure the survival of gorillas in their natural habitats within Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

By Gemma Boylan and Jamie Hannah 7NS

On Monday 21st April, the Year 10 GCSE Geography students set off for a three day trip to Calshot Field Centre (part of the Calshot Activities Centre) as part of their Geography GCSE Coursework.

Although the weather was changeable we were well equipped for our ‘fieldwork‛, which involved working on and learning about the New Forest area and riverbeds at Ocknell Plain; one of the highest points of the New Forest and the source of the River Lymington.

During the day the students set about collecting data on the river including velocity, depth, width and wetted perimeter. They were then able to use the start of the evenings to collate the results and work on cross-sectional profiles of the river.

Once the coursework had been completed we were able to use the remaining time to relax and take part in some of the many activities available at Calshot some of w h i ch i n c l u d e d archery, climbing and dry slope skiing.

This proved an extremely useful visit providing students with plenty of data for use in their coursework on return to school. All the students were exceptionally well behaved and were a credit to themselves and Eggar‛s school.

Mrs A Sutehall Geography Curriculum Leader