MICHAELA MATTERSKNOWLEDGE IS POWER

A Letter from the Headmistress

WELCOME TO MICHAELA'S FIRST

NEWSPAPER!

We are excited that our first term has

been such a success.

We have had significant achievements

in the classroom. Our pupils are quick-

ly becoming experts in Greek mytholo-

gy and Mesopotamia, dazzling visitors

with their knowledge on these topics.

In French, pupils are creating GCSE-

standard sentences despite only learn-

ing French for one term. I am regularly

impressed by how many pupils know

their difficult Science raps by heart.

And I am always delighted to see our

computer room packed ater school

with pupils, inspired by Ms Isaksen and

Ms Olaru, competing for the top scores

on their times tables. Pupils at

Michaela are clear that they have

learned more this term than ever be-

fore.

We have had many guest visitors and

all of them without exception have

been bowled over by the comportment

of our pupils, how polite they are, how

helpful and kind. A few guests have

even said that lunch with our pupils

has brought tears to their eyes. Family

lunch is a sight to behold. Families and

visitors are always welcome. The chil-

dren love welcoming guests at their ta-

bles to discuss the topic of the day, and

to share our family values with them.

At family lunch, pupils serve food to

each other, clean up ater each other

and learn how to put others before

themselves.

We are looking forward next term to a

special Spanish themed lunch, where

Ms Gregory will have her Spanish Club

pupils lead us all in appreciating the

food. Ms Stubbs and Ms Byrne have

done a wonderful job preparing snacks

and meals for us all term. Ms Stubbs

especially enjoyed putting up our

Christmas tree in the dining hall with

the help of our Future Leaders. Future

Leaders help every morning with the

set-up of the dining hall, the library

and with giving guided tours to visitors.

Well done to them for performing so

well at interview and for being ap-

pointed to this very important role.

Well done also to our chosen guides

who also do an excellent job of repre-

senting Michaela.

This term, pupils were inspired by talks

from journalists David Goodhart and

Jonathan Foreman as well as the writ-

er and youth mentor, Lindsay Johns.

We were also delighted to welcome the

MP for Tottenham, David Lammy, who

spoke excitedly about his bid to be the

next London Mayor. Other visitors have

included people from the Department

for Education, potential Year 6 families,

other educationalists and people from

as far as Australia!

As a school, we wore our poppies with

pride in November and learned so

much from Mr Porter’s assembly on the

devastation of war. We all understand

how much was sacrificed by those who

have come before us so that we can en-

joy the freedom we have to live and

learn at Michaela.

We are looking forward to our trip to

the Natural History Museum at the end

of term where we will also try our hand

at ice skating. Thank you to Ms Dyer for

organising this trip. Will our sporty

pupils excel at ice skating, I wonder? Mr

Smith has done an incredible job of or-

ganising our PE offer every week, and

Mr Kirby and Mr Allan simply love play-

ing football with our top-performing

pupils every Friday.

This term saw the opening of our li-

brary, run by Ms Rafferty, where we

have 1600 excellent quality books,

graded in level of difficulty. Ms Ashford

actually hand picked every book on

our shelves to ensure that our pupils

have access to appropriate reading

material. I am always impressed by the

number of pupils who are keen to get

into the library to look at new books

and to learn as much as they can.

Pupils are making good use of the new

picnic tables outside and they are

thrilled to be taking tours with Willmott

Dixon (our contractors) of the site, to

see all the wonderful work they are do-

ing to get the building ready. We look

forward to April next year when the

completed building will be handed

over to us.

Governors are delighted with our

progress and what they have observed

so far. It is heartening for them to see

Michaela up and running. A very big

thank you to them and in particular

our Chair, Suella Fernandes, for all of

their hard work towards the opening of

Michaela and now for their ongoing

support.

A very big thank you to our staff for

their commitment and hard work this

term. As we always remind the pupils,

staff never take days off, so neither

should they! Our staff are in over the

holidays and stay late into the

evenings, preparing fantastic lessons.

It is always a pleasure for me to visit

lessons to see how much our pupils

have learned from our dedicated staff.

Also, Ms Silvanian and Mr Miernik go

well beyond the call of duty to ensure

our school systems support our teach-

ers. And a very special thank you to Ms

Morley for making our school newspa-

per a reality.

May I take this opportunity to wish all

families a peaceful and restful Christ-

mas, and if you don’t celebrate Christ-

mas, may I wish you a lovely holiday.

Yours faithfully

Katharine Birbalsingh

Headmistress

2 Michaela Matters

Inspired: David Lammy with some of our pupils

MeritsLuqmann gives us the low-

down on the merit system at

Michaela.

"It was an honour

to have a man so

important come

to our school and

see the Michaela

family together."

Zuhaila, Zuhal and Amrutha

reflect on David Lammy's

inspiring visit to Michaela.

"Everybody in

Michaela was

pleased to have

him there giving

such an

inspirational

speech."

David Lammy MP Visits Michaela

"Steal your

teachers' brains!

The knowledge

inside is free."

"When he had

finished his

speech, our

assembly hall was

a sea of hands."

Luqmann Pandore

Merits are for always being helpful to

each other and always behaving well in

lessons. Furthermore, they are also for

being a great role model to others so

that people can look up to you and say

that you are a respectable person. On

the other hand, demerits are for not

paying attention in lessons and track-

ing the teachers. If you get two demer-

its in one lesson it could possibly lead

to a lunchtime or aterschool detention

in which you would have to write an

apology letter to the person you have

disrespected and treated badly.

Zuhal Faraheen

Mr Lammy took time out of his sched-

ule to visit our school. He was very im-

pressed by our behaviour and our high

standards of respect and manners.

During the London riots, that started in

Tottenham, Mr Lammy stood up to the

perpetrators and tried to talk to them

to get them to stop as they were hurt-

ing people. It was an honour to have a

man so important to come to our

school and see the Michaela family to-

gether.

Zuhaila Mohamed

On Monday 24th November, David

Lammy, the Member of Parliament

(MP) for Tottenham, spared time to at-

tend Michaela Community School and

talk to staff and pupils about his life

and work as a politician. Having David

Lammy MP come to our high school is

an unbelievable privilege, as politicians

– such as himself – are incredibly busy.

Lammy described his life as ‘very

tough’. Throughout his whole life ev-

eryone told him that he would not be

able to achieve what he wanted to.

When he was at school he spoke of as-

piring to be a lawyer. People told him it

was impossible. He proved them wrong

when, in 1994, he became a barrister.

Despite people’s doubts, he went on to

become the first black Briton to study

at Harvard University.

When Mr Lammy was elected to be-

come the MP for Tottenham, he felt re-

warded despite wanting to continue

his legal career for a little longer. Mr

Lammy also spoke to Michaela Com-

munity School about his career before

studying law, including working at KFC

to support his family.

Mr Lammy also described the 2011 ri-

ots that began in Tottenham, where he

was from, and how he helped his area

endure the ater effects and helped

those that were in danger or jeopardy.

Mr Lammy believes that he could be-

come the next Mayor of London. Chil-

dren responded to that positively. One

responded: “I think that Mr Lammy

would be a great Mayor for London be-

cause he is very persuasive, convincing

and political as a person and a leader.”

Other children also added:"I think that

Mr Lammy should be the Mayor of Lon-

don because he is a strong leader. He

grew up in Tottenham which was a

poor area but still ended up becoming

a great politician to this very day." Mr

Lammy explained about the increasing

use of technology in different parts of

the world and how that has changed

the British civilisation that we live in

today. Everybody at Michaela was

pleased to have him there giving such

an inspirational speech.

Amrutha Vudathu

How many of you out there are football

fans of Tottenham? Well, have you ever

stopped and thought about the place

Tottenham? Have you ever thought

about the area that those footballers

train?

Michaela pupils were fortunate enough

to have the one and only David Lammy

visit our school. The MP for Tottenham

came and talked to us about the riots,

how he became a Member of Parlia-

ment, his childhood, and how he en-

dured the ups and downs of his life as a

child.

As a matter of fact, when he had fin-

ished his speech, our assembly hall

was a sea of hands; all the pupils were

eager to know more about the MP and

his story . As much as it was an excel-

lent experience for us all, it was also

very inspiring. We gave our guest, Mr

Lammy, a guided tour around our

school. The appreciation we gave for

him was truly deserved.

We especially liked it when Mr Lammy

told the pupils to: “Steal your teachers'

brains! The knowledge inside is free.”

We thank Mr Lammy for his visit and

wise words.

3Michaela Matters

Journalist: Jonathan Foreman

Journalist: David Goodhart

Willmott Dixon Tour

World-leading journalists visit the school

Pupil InspiredKeisi's essay describes why

she wants to venture into the

world of journalism.

"Is there a more satisfying

feeling than knowing that

something you composed was

worth something?"

Fiteen exemplary pupils

received an exciting tour of

the usually out of bounds

Willmott Dixon site

"It was extremely exciting to

see the result of Willmott

Dixon's hard work."

Ms Dyer

Ms Ashford, Ms Dyer and Mr Porter ac-

companied 15 pupils to visit the build-

ing site with Willmott Dixon staff, in-

cluding the project manager. These

pupils were selected for having not re-

ceived any demerits for the last half

term. It was extremely exciting to see

the result of Willmott Dixon's hard

work, as well as have the opportunity

to wear hard hats and high vis vests!

Ms Dyer was able to see the six new

state-of-the-art laboratories; we can-

not wait to relocate to have science

lessons there ater Easter! Another 15

pupils with very few demerits and a

high number of merits will be selected

in the following weeks to visit the rest

of the school. Keep on being kind and

working hard and you might just be

one of those pupils!

Zuhaila Mohamed

Approximately three weeks ago, two

very famous journalists came to visit

Michaela Community School to give a

speech about journalism and how they

each embarked upon this profession.

This happened during family lunch,

when at lunchtime all the teachers and

students come together to eat a

healthy and nutritious meal including

the two journalists, Mr Goodhart and

Mr Foreman. When the meal was com-

pletely demolished, the inspiring

speech was given by those future jour-

nalists and writers - to all of the pupils.

Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves

- listening and really understanding

how the profession works and what it

takes to be a journalist.

Keisi Krasniqi

Personally, I believe that English litera-

ture is one of the most beneficial sub-

jects to master in education. Under-

standing complex literacy can hand

you the keys to many closed doors, al-

though it is up to the person holding

them to decide which door to open. If I

were in that position, my profession of

choice would be journalism.

I can imagine putting in all I’ve learned

into a few beginning paragraphs, hop-

ing that one day I might read my name

plastered on the front cover of a news-

paper read by thousands, possibly mil-

lions of citizens. You may put your

heart and soul into an article and your

first article may not be anywhere to be

found at all, let alone on the first page.

Although this may be the case, from

that article you learned something!

Maybe it’s the amount of white lions

still in existence, or the rising accep-

tance rate of leading universities. If you

don’t learn anything from your job,

how will it benefit you?

Knowing that your article on the devas-

tating ISIS bombings and Britain’s slow

commencing victory may put the fami-

ly of an army recruit at ease, or per-

haps the entire United Kingdom as

they’re assured serenity for their coun-

try of residence. Is there a more satisfy-

ing feeling than knowing that some-

thing you composed was worth some-

thing? Perhaps one statistic you in-

clude in your article may be the answer

to a question, that one mark that can

hand somebody an invitation to

Oxford, Cambridge or Warwick in their

A-levels.

The public usually think that journal-

ists live a luxurious life, when in fact

their lifestyle is a façade to hard work;

challenging rival newspapers for the

most eye-catching story. Their deluxe

fate is all thanks to their love, passion

and dedication they possess for their

job.

Once I begin to produce a story I get

engrossed in it and treat it as if it’s trea-

sure! When I’m feeling bored I write bi-

ographies of characters and I dictate

stories. Once three of my character de-

scriptions (including extensive biogra-

phies) got deleted and it was as if I had

been thrown into an inferno in isola-

tion. Magically I managed to retrieve

them and it was as if it was Christmas

all over again. My love of English is one

I inherited from my mother. Because of

this she’s my inspiration.

To conclude, the reason I want to be-

come a journalist in the future is be-

cause what knowledge I gain and pub-

lish can be transferred into people’s

life, and through them, a change can

be made to society.

Mr Goodhart and Mr Foreman gener-

ously held an essay writing competi-

tion. The winners received a book

voucher. The entries were so good that

the two journalists could not choose.

All those that entered impressed Mr

Goodhart and Mr Foreman so much

they all received a book token. Con-

gratulations to all the winners. Here is

Keisi's:

4 Michaela Matters

Pupils enjoy learning

"I am proud to

say I go to

Michaela."

"Work hard, be kind!"

"Good,

better,

best!"

Pupils reflect on what makes Michaela

Community School unique.

What makes Michaela different?

Chardonnay summarises the

Michaela experience.

Fabia explains why Michaela

was the right choice for her.

Jermaine describes how

Catch-up makes Michaela

different

Fabia Ferreira-Capela

I believe that Michaela is different to

other schools and all children should

consider coming to Michaela.

One reason why is because of the

teachers. At Michaela the teachers are

really supportive of our learning; they

stay ater school to help us become

clearer in our knowledge, giving us

more power. Teachers also challenge

us when it comes to learning by asking

us more complex questions that make

us really think. At Michaela we are en-

couraged to use ambitious vocabulary

to deepen our understanding.

One other thing that is different about

Michaela is lunch time. At Michaela we

call lunch time ‘Family Lunch’. Family

Lunch is different to other schools be-

cause we all eat with each other. We

also have our own jobs to do. We also

wait for everybody to have their food

before everybody can begin; this shows

respect to everyone around us.

The strict rules at Michaela also make

the school different from others. At

Michaela we always have to be on time

and even if we are a minute late we go

to detention. We also use a lot

acronyms such as SLANT, (S is for Sit up

straight, L is for Listen, A is for Articu-

late, N is for Never Interrupt and T is for

Track the teacher.) We also have some-

thing called merits, which is a good

consequence and demerits, a bad con-

sequence. If you receive two demerits

in one lesson you will be in detention.

Detention helps us to understand and

to see what we cannot do.

To conclude I think children should

come to Michaela because it can

change children. I am an example of

this. Before, in primary school I always

used to get distracted. However, at

Michaela I have become more focused

and have gained more knowledge. I be-

lieve that children should come to

Michaela because it encourages people

to change and become better people. I

believe that every child should have

come to Michaela, and I am proud to

say I go to Michaela.

Berlyn Jensen-Wallace

At Michaela we have amazing teachers

who are very passionate about our

learning which is why every student

must come to school every day other-

wise they miss eight hours of precious

learning time. Our headmistress, Ms.

Birbalsingh, is strict and that is a good

thing because if we were allowed to

slouch, talk or shout out in lessons no-

body would learn to their full potential.

Michaela is no ordinary school; we be-

have like a private school but without

the price. We are lucky to be able to

grasp all of the knowledge our teachers

pack into their minds. Knowledge is

power and we know this because our

teachers have shown us that they

could have chosen many career paths

but they chose to teach us. They all

went to university and tried their best.

This gave them many options in life.

Reading is incredibly important when it

comes to education. We learned this

from all the teachers whose inspira-

tional words resonated not only with

me but many other students. We have

been shown the benefits of reading

and how it can change our lives. In the

opinion of other children I have spoken

to, they have told me how, if they could

not read a book, it would be such a dif-

ferent world to them.

At Michaela manners are very impor-

tant. If a person has generously given

you something you thank them

politely. If an adult issues you a demer-

it you apologise, not protest and rudely

talk back to them. Some schools may

allow that but not at Michaela because

that is not who we are. Michaela is

named ater an extraordinary teacher

and the way we behave ensures she

has let behind a positive legacy.

Jermaine Adewale

Michaela Community School is differ-

ent for a lot of reasons. Unlike other

schools, we make sure that everyone is

comfortable with their work and if they

are not, we will do as much as we can

to get our pupils all on the same level.

At Michaela, we encourage our children

to do some extra work before and ater

the school day. Every pupil has to do a

reading log every night ater twenty

minutes of reading a Michaela school

library book. If the logs are not on time,

accurate, neat and complete, the pupil

will be sent to homework catch-up to

re-write the log in a green pen to cor-

rect their mistakes. Homework catch-

up is not a punishment, but a friendly

learning environment where teachers

are there to tell the pupils where they

went wrong. If a pupil works hard, they

will be rewarded to acknowledge how

hard they have worked to be the best

they can be.

Chardonnay McFarlane-Smith

If someone asked me to describe

Michaela in a couple of sentences I

would say: Michaela is a place to suc-

ceed in life and Michaela helps you to

be a better person. The school motto is

'work hard, be kind' and that is a life

lesson to learn from now and for the fu-

ture.

Aycan Farzadneia-Citci

Michaela is a community school. We

are a huge family of one hundred and

twenty pupils as well as members of

staff. If something goes wrong we help

each other. We have an award system

of merits and those are for the good

choices we make, but not just good –

the best. During primary school I was

useless at everything but ever since I

came to Michaela I feel like a better

person. By concentrating hard, I have

taken in every single word that has

been said in each subject. Spread the

word about Michaela!

The school is named ater a lady

named Michaela. She was a woman

who died from cancer and who was a

teacher. She was our headmistress’

special friend whose legacy continues

to inspire education.

5Michaela Matters

Michaela MasteryKysha and Joshua unpack the

mystery behind mastery at

Michaela.

"Michaela has a

private school

ethos with very

high

standards."

"We strive to

become better."

Pupil brims with pride for his school

"All pupils are

expected to get

100%"

Joshua Adewale

Michaela is the best school in England

because the mind-set of the school is

mastery. Mastery is vital because it

means the knowledge you have

learned will go into your long term

memory. For example, if you had an

English lesson and you still remember

it in five years, then that is mastery.

In order to help us master concepts,

Michaela has a very strict behaviour

policy using merits and demerits. Mer-

its are used to recognise acts of kind-

ness in addition to how well you have

been working. Demerits help us ac-

knowledge that bad choices lead to

bad consequences. If you get two de-

merits in one lesson you receive a de-

tention. This is because you should

learn your lesson rather than ruin the

education of other people who want to

learn. At Michaela there is no choice to

opt out and make excuses; we strive to

become better and aim to be the best

that we can be.

Michaela has a private school ethos

with very high standards; they treat

you like a private school would. The

teachers are highly educated and the

universities they attended consist of:

Cambridge, Warwick, University Col-

lege of London and Oxford University.

The teachers do not come to watch you

mess around, they come to see you

work harder than them. Michaela is the

best educated state school in England.

Kysha Lee

At Michaela Community School we

strongly believe in mastery. By mas-

tery we mean that the pupils will know

a subject so well that we will know it

like the back of our hands. Once they

have mastered a subject, pupils will

take a subject quiz. All pupils are ex-

pected to get 100%. Once we have

achieved 100%, we know we have truly

mastered that topic and we are now

ready to move on to the next one. Here,

at Michaela, if you miss a day you sure-

ly cannot master that unit because the

amount we learn in a day is approxi-

mately the amount we learned in a

week at primary school. Our lessons

are very comprehensive so we learn a

lot. If you miss a day you will fall be-

hind the rest of your classmates. All

this mastery is to ensure exceptional

GCSE grades for each pupil.

At Michaela we have a self-quizzing

book so each child is able to test them-

selves on the unit subject they are

learning. In Science (taught by Ms

Dyer), we have mastered both the re-

productive and digestive systems,

muscles, plant and animal cells, tissues

and have even studied some alimenta-

ry organs. In Humanities (taught by Mr

Porter) we have mastered both the

civilisation of Mesopotamia and An-

cient Egypt. In English (taught by Mr

Kirby and Ms Ashford) we have mas-

tered many Ancient Greek myths and

legends and the concepts of hubris and

nemesis. We have even read an

abridged version of the entire Odyssey

and the journey of Odysseus. In Mathe-

matics, (taught by Ms Isaksen) we have

mastered squaring numbers, multipli-

cation and division, scaling by powers

of 2 and 10 and multiplying decimals.

Finally, in French (taught by Mr Smith)

we have managed to master some

GCSE level French already!

Lamar Cornwall

Michaela is a free school which means

we are allowed to make our own deci-

sions. Michaela is a school that is being

built right now. Michaela is going to be

finished by April, and this is a com-

pletely different school compared to

the others. I know Michaela is different

because in this school we have lunch

altogether like a family. When our

school is completed it will look a lot

better.

At school the uniform policy is unbe-

lievably strict. You need to wear the

correct uniform otherwise you had bet-

ter beg for mercy, because your par-

ents will be called and you could be

sent home. One reason why the policy

is very strict is because in other schools

children get severely bullied.

All our teachers are qualified; they

went to world-class universities. They

are all wonderful teachers and they

teach spectacularly well; we are really

proud of them and they are proud of us

too. Our headmistress is a well-man-

nered lady and had a really good edu-

cation. Ms Birbalsingh went to Oxford

University and studied French and phi-

losophy. We are proud, we are

Michaela.

6 Michaela Matters

Readers become leaders

"This event has

caused an immense

amount of excitement

throughout the

school."

Get your skates on!Keisi explains how pupils are

whipped into a festive frenzy

as end-of-term celebrations

are revealed.

Library unveiled

Tackling Bullying

Zuhal describes her

experience as a Michaela

guide.

Guide the way

"Bullying happens

everywhere, not only

to children but adults

too."

Mya Peart

Two or three weeks ago, the new li-

brary opened. Poseidon was the first

form to see the library and the first to

choose a book, for example about

Greek myths and much more. Some of

the books have stars on; the stars rep-

resent the books you can learn from.

Some children have donated books

that they don’t need. For example, Lilly

from Poseidon donated a big bag of

books that are going to be in the

library.

Vinuki Gungomu Vidanage

Bullying happens everywhere, not only

to children but adults too. Around the

world the amount of people getting

bullied is based on their differences: re-

ligion, height, personality, race,

strength or ability to do something.

Many children have to face bullying on

their own as they are nervous about

telling an adult to help them. Children

think that if they tell an adult the news

will get back to the bully; they get

afraid that the bully might torment

them more. To be honest, if that hap-

pens, the person who is being bullied

should tell again. Situations become

even worse if an adult is not told and

there are devastating instances when

the person being bullied gets fed up

and commits suicide. An example of

this is Amanda Todd, a girl who com-

mitted suicide at the age of fiteen by

drinking bleach. Children at ten,

eleven, twelve, thirteen and even older

may not inform anybody about their

situation. Unfortunately about 20-30 %

tell an adult about how they feel and

the rest deal with it in great grief and

depression.

Children will put on a happy face to

show their parents so they will not be

worried or feel sorry for them, but deep

inside of the child swirls a breeze of de-

pression, anger, confusion and more. In

many different schools children get

bullied by one person but then a whole

gang and even if the child tells a teach-

er not a single thing is done. At schools

like Michaela Community School not a

single child is bullied, they are looked

ater by others and feel more confident

towards others. Other schools' pupils

train themselves to hold their business

for the whole day as they have anxiety

about going to the toilet because they

might find trouble waiting for them

there. Normally when a person wants

to be popular they will pick on the

weakest link and then it will build their

popularity. Unfortunately some people

just bully others for fun and do not

have a kind heart. Because the toilets

at Michaela have teachers standing

outside, we are safe from bullying.

Not everyone has to face bullying

alone. Children are usually quiet so ask

them: “Is anything bothering you?” If

they deny it, ask again to make sure

and tell them why. Or you can ask

them: “How was your day at school,

was everything okay?'' or if they have

been bullied before and they have not

mentioned it, ask them: “Did the bully-

ing stop? How did it go?” Sometimes if

you feel they are lying ask again just to

make sure. And friends if you feel like

your friend is feeling bullied stick up

for them, tell the bullies off, tell them

what they are doing wrong. And if you

are being bullied, stay strong. Bullies

get power from your sadness and de-

pression but do not let them.

They might have a flaw that you don't

so show them that you also can do

things that they can't do. Always tell an

adult and just be yourself because you

should not change for other people.

Just be who you are and be proud of

who you are, be proud of what you

have and be proud of your personality

because that is what makes you, you.

And if you are bullying someone and

you know it, STOP. You do not know

how it feels and if you did you would

wish this was not your life. So respect

others because they are in a situation

where they have to stay strong and

deal with a hard life. We can all stop

bullying and we can a do it together.

Keisi Krasniqi

Michaela Community School has been

open since 15th of September and it

will be ending its first 3 months with

end of term celebrations. Ms Dyer, Sci-

ence teacher, has organised, undoubt-

edly with other staff, a trip to the Natu-

ral History Museum, accompanied with

a session of ice skating outside the

building in central London. This event

has caused an immense amount of ex-

citement throughout the school.

On Wednesday of the last week of term

there will be a Christmas dinner lunch,

where Ms Stubbs and Ms Fitzgerald will

be catering for the entire school, and

hopefully, like Halloween, they'll be

decorating the lunch hall to get us all in

the Christmas spirit.

We will be watching Akeelah and the

Bee, a movie where Akeelah partici-

pates in many spelling bees, but no

more spoilers just yet, although it will

definitely be exciting.

A reward event will additionally be

held in the same week, where badges

and certificates will be awarded to

pupils who have 100% attendance,

100% punctuality and outstanding be-

haviour, effort and kindness.

I personally, am immensely eager for

the last week of term, but definitely not

because it is the end of term, I love

school in itself, and the action that will

be commencing on that week will be a

very memorable one. This will be the

first Christmas in Michaela history, and

hopefully it will be the best one!

Zuhal Faraheen

I have been a guide before and it was

kind of daunting at first, but all the

guides got used to it eventually. In-

stead of teachers showing parents or

guests around the school, the guides

do. The guides sometimes go in pairs

to show them around, but most of the

time we go on our own. We show them

around on opening nights or mornings

to parents and guests. For instance, the

MP for Tottenham came to visit us and

talked to us and two people showed

him around. The guides hope they do

not make any mistakes while they are

talking. We talk about the teachers, for

example, we tell guests which universi-

ty they went to. So really, guides are

people who show parents or guests

around the school and talk about the

school.

7Michaela Matters

Do not judge Michaela from

the outside. Joseph explains

why.

"The only

acceptable

percentage at

Michaela is

100%."

Reece explains life at Michaela

and why 100% is the only

acceptable percentage.

100% is the only percentage that matters

"Missing a day of

school means a

child is missing

around eight

hours of

education."

"All the teachers

care so much

about our

education and

success."

Joseph Babatunde

Michaela Community School is not fin-

ished yet, so some people when they

go past the school get the wrong idea.

But when you actually go inside the

school you forget everything you said

when you saw the outside of the school

because it looks so beautiful on the in-

side. Not only that, but all you have to

do is look at a Michaela pupil to see

how smart they are and how they show

so much integrity.

We really try to be different from other

secondary schools. One of the mottos

we have at Michaela is "work hard, be

kind" and that is what we try to do at

all times. This motto is a really good

motto because it sets you up for life in

the future. When you are at university

or have a job, it is important that you

work hard at what you are doing and

be kind because nobody likes a person

that is not kind at all and nobody likes

a person that will not even give 100%.

To add to that, Michaela has anther

motto and that is: "Knowledge is pow-

er". The more knowledgeable you are

the more choices you will have in the

future . So at Micheala the only per-

centage that matters is 100%. Michaela

wants every child to have 100% atten-

dance and have a 100% punctuality

record because it is vital that the chil-

dren get all the education that they can

get. Missing a day of school means a

child is missing around eight hours of

education. And that is a lot!

Reece Smith

Michaela Community School is located

in Wembley Park, just opposite the

Wembley Park tube station. Michaela is

different from other schools. The

teachers stay ater school so we can

stay ater school if we want to talk to

them if we do not understand some-

thing. At Michaela, it is a very early

start at 7:55 am. We also finish later

than many other secondary schools.

From Monday to Wednesday we finish

at 4:00 pm. On Thursday we finish at

3:45 pm and Friday is an earlier finish

at 3:00 pm. Unlike other schools, here

at Michaela, we do not tolerate the

slightest amount of bullying.

All the teachers care so much about

our education and success. Ms Isaksen,

who has a first class degree from the

University of Cambridge, cares so

much about our success that she stays

ater school to run an ater school club

so that we can get help with anything

maths related.

At Michaela, we enjoy the experience of

a family lunch, where we all sit down at

a table of seven: there are six pupils

and one adult at every table. Every day

the teachers change the table they sit

at. Every day, all the Future Leaders

come in early in the morning to get the

cutlery ready for lunch.

Every Tuesday and Thursday we have

an assembly. The Guides set up the as-

sembly hall the evening before, ready

for the next day.

We have four forms: Athena (the god-

dess of wisdom), Poseidon (the god of

the sea), Zeus (the king of the gods)

and Demeter (the goddess of the har-

vest). This is because we have recently

learned about the Greek gods and god-

desses in English.

Michaela is different to other schools

b e c a u s e w e h a v e a m a s t e r y

curriculum, which means that the

teachers teach us a topic until the class

as a whole has mastered it. The teach-

ers are able to teach us things that

pupils at other schools will not learn

about until Year 12.

We do not have lots of homework like

other schools. We do a reading log for

30 minutes at home and practice IXL,

which is a maths website.

We quiz ourselves every week on what

we have learned. We have a self-

quizzing book, divided into all the dif-

ferent subjects, so we can test

ourselves. We do these quizzes to see if

there is anything we need to work on.

For example, in English we are studying

Greek Mythology and our quizzes in-

clude questions about the wooden

horse of Troy and Odysseus.

The only acceptable percentage at

Michaela is 100%, be that for atten-

dance, punctuality or in the weekly

quizzes. We do not settle for second

best. We want to be first and we do not

like losing agasint the other forms. At

Michaela, we do not like other students

being late as this will bring down our

class percentage. We learn so much at

Michaela. If we want to learn as much

as possible in that day we have to be

on time everyday.

8 Michaela Matters

Role 1: Fetch and serve the food

Michaela takes a different

approach to lunchtime. Muna

describes pupils' roles of

responsibility and how a

family feeling is fostered.

Lunch at Michaela - it's a family affair

"Michaela aims to bring students

together as a family."

What does each role of

responsibility entail? Zuhal

succinctly explains."We like family

lunch because we

make new

friends."

"Two claps on

two: one, two."

Muna Sabriye

Michaela Community School, a magnif-

icent school producing intellectual

pupils, takes a different route towards

lunch. As you may acknowledge, many

schools in the area of Brent allow

pupils to consume their lunches inde-

pendently, whereas Michaela aims to

bring students together as a family.

Family Lunch provides an opportunity

for this to occur.

First and foremost, roles are compulso-

ry for the process to take place. For ex-

ample, role one is to fetch and serve

the nutritious meal. There are six differ-

ent roles altogether giving pupils the

chance to work as a team.

Leading on towards the end of our

amazing lunch, we conclude with a

humble time to give appreciations to

people. We like to appreciate acts of

kindness. As well as feeling proud, the

person also feels appreciated. Al-

though family lunch is a great time to

give or receive appreciations, one-to-

one appreciations are equally as con-

siderate.

Teachers and adults are welcomed to

the table to also enjoy the amazing

lunch alongside the pupils. No matter

who you are, you are always accepted

as part of the Michaela family. Why

should it only be the children that get

to sit in the hall and enjoy their lunch?

During lunch, many great questions are

asked to teachers and we all share the

same topic of conversation. An exam-

ple of a conversation topic was: “If you

could visit one country in the world,

where would it be?”

Michaela pupils are always showing

great table manners. We lay the table

correctly and always remember to say

please and thank you. As Michaela

pupils grow up with these habits en-

grained, they will become instanta-

neous actions in their everyday lives.

In conclusion, Michaela Community

School grants life-changing opportuni-

ties. Michaela pupils demonstrate

qualities that are vital to success, such

as: integrity, efficiency and kindness.

Do you know any other school in Lon-

don that eats together as a family?

Michaela will lead many great people

into a successful life.

Every day, pupils at Michaela are given

a topic to talk about around the lunch

table. All pupils participate in the stim-

ulating conversation. Examples of con-

versations that have already taken

place include:

• Patience

• Integrity

• Embarrassing moment

• Favourite book and why

• Time travel

It is great to hear everybody's views on

these topics. Michaela pupils are all

willing to contribute to the conversa-

tion - even when the topic is your most

embarrassing moment!

Ater lunch, pupils appreciate one an-

other. A pupil will stand up and say

who they would like to appreciate and

give a specific reason why. The whole

school will then clap twice in unison to

recognise and give thanks to the indi-

vidual. It is lovely to see acts of kind-

ness being genuinely appreciated ev-

ery day.

Zuhal Faraheen

Family lunch is where six people (in-

cluding an adult) sit together and have

lunch like a family. The six pupils have

a role to do. For example role one gets

the food from the front, role two pours

the water for everyone, role three

clears the plates, role four takes the

plates and brings the dessert , role five

takes the dessert back and finally role

six takes the water back and cleans the

table. We like family lunch because we

make new friends.

9Michaela Matters

"Remembrance Day is a day of

sympathy, a day to remember

soldiers who put their lives on

the line sacrificing themselves

just to make our world a

better place."

En français

100 years ater the 'war to end

all wars' we still remember.

Hayley reflects on

Remembrance Day.

he chefs don't miss a beet

Ms Stubbs and Ms Byrne share

one of their favourite recipes.

What did you remember?

We commemorate a war that

began over a century ago

whilst also remembering the

wars that continue to rage

across the globe today.

Hayley Jones

Remembrance Day is a day of sympa-

thy, a day to remember soldiers who

put their lives on the line sacrificing

themselves just to make our world a

better place. We remember the re-

markable life-changing soldiers on the

11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th

month, when World War One ended.

This day is a day to think about others.

Would you be alive right now? Would

you have food to eat every day? Would

you be in the same conditions as you

are now if they did not give their lives

away, to give us what they did not

have? Imagine going to fight in a war

where you know you would not come

back leaving your family and friends

forever. With heavy hearts we wait a

moment in silence to think about how

lucky we are. Also to commemorate

this occasion, many people choose to

wear a poppy to remember each sol-

dier who died to save and protect our

country.

The chefs divulge their secret recipes

for you to try at home.

Chocolate & Beetroot Muffin

Serves 12

Ingredients

• 75g reduced fat cocoa powder

• 180g plain flour

• 2 tsp baking powder

• 250g caster sugar

• 250g grated cooked beetroot

• 3 free range eggs

• 200 ml vegetable oil

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C.

2. Beat the eggs, oil and beetroot

together.

3. Carefully fold in the flour, cocoa,

sugar and baking powder.

4. Pour equal amounts into 12 muf-

fin cases. Bake in the oven for 30 min-

utes until golden and risen. Allow to

cool before serving.

5. Enjoy with chocolate custard.

Dev Shaileshkumar

I like French because it makes me feel

like a teacher. In nine weeks, I feel like I

have learnt a lot and mastered the con-

tent. It is possible to get 100% in the

French quiz if you practice. In French

we learn about countries and sen-

tences.

Here are some useful French phrases to

help you start off:

Bonjour: Hello.

Je voudrais aller: I would like to go

Je vais aller: I am going to go

en Allemagne: to Germany

The difference in learning French com-

pared to English is that French has ac-

cents. They are easy to learn if you

practise. There are three different

types of accents: grave, aigu, circon-

flexe. They change the way the words

are pronounced.

In English we say I would like to go but

in French we say: Je voudrais aller, in

English we say I am going to go but in

French we say: Je vais aller. So that is a

short introduction on how French

works. If you work hard, you will find it

easy!

On 11th November, Mr Porter gave an

extraordinary Remembrance Day as-

sembly. He asked the staff and pupils

to question what they will choose to fo-

cus on and remember when observing

the silence at 11a.m.

Remembrance Day is the time when

the grateful British nation pays tribute

to its war dead. This has become a sig-

nificant date in our national calendar.

We commemorate a war that began

over a century ago whilst also remem-

bering the wars that continue to rage

across the globe today. Mr Porter re-

minded the community of Michaela

that wars affect those in the past and

present, men and women, and mem-

bers of all religious factions.

Remembrance Day is widely observed

with great solemnity. Buying a poppy

has become almost obligatory. As the

years have gone by, more monuments

have been erected to record the previ-

ous unacknowledged sacrifices in war.

The war dead of India, Burma, Ireland

and other former nations of the Empire

are now acknowledged, as well as

women who participated in the war. Mr

Porter reminded us all of the sacrifices

made in wartime. Headmistress, Ms

Birbalsingh, described the assembly as

“informative, clever and very moving”

then added that it was the “best

November 11th assembly [she had]

ever seen”. The assembly was a

thought-provoking reminder about the

atrocities of war. With themes of loss,

love and conflict spreading across all

wars, the messages of Remembrance

Day still resonate with us, whatever we

choose to specifically remember.

10 Michaela Matters

Letting your heart rule your head?

A mammoth discovery

Science

Iliyah scientifically

investigates which works

harder: the head or the heart?

Takiela Francis-Williams

Science is a core subject at Michaela

Community School. We have four fun

hours of science every week, which is

taught by Ms Dyer - an extremely tal-

ented scientist who went to one of Lon-

don’s best universities, University Col-

lege London. Ms Dyer focussed on her

education and that is why she is in-

credibly intelligent.

Ms Dyer helps every single one of her

pupils to increase the power of their

knowledge. Our current subject areas

are biology, reproduction and move-

ment.

How do we learn science at Michaela?

Chants - Ms Dyer creates helpful

rhyming chants. They contain the key

information we need to know. By using

chants, the information will be in our

long term memory.

Weekly quizzes - We have weekly

quizzes because it is a fantastic way for

our hard-working teachers to record

how we are doing and how hard we

have been listening. If you work hard

you will be able to get 100%.

Staying ater school - this is optional

yet you find many eager students stay-

ing behind in order to get help if they

are stuck with something or just simply

to find out more. Science is not the eas-

iest subject to master, but with hard

and work and determination it is possi-

ble.

Iliyah Byron

Which works harder: your heart or

brain? This depends if you are busy ex-

ercising or busy thinking. Your heart

works up to three times harder during

exercise, but in the long run, your brain

probably wins. Even when you are sit-

ting still your brain uses twice as much

energy as your heart and it takes four

to five times more blood to feed it.

In order to function, your brain and

heart need glucose and oxygen, as do

all your organs. Blood is just the con-

veyor belt that delivers these to your

hungry cells, tissues and organs. Red

blood cells act like oxygen postmen -

they pick up oxygen molecules in the

lungs and carry them to the tissues

throughout the body.

Glucose, meanwhile, moves into your

bloodstream from the digestive

system, and simply dissolves into your

blood, making it slightly sweet and

sugary.

Whilst all your tissues use oxygen and

glucose, your muscles and brain are

perhaps the most greedy. At rest, your

muscles use around 15 percent of your

blood flow, while your brain uses

roughly 20 percent. Your heart, too,

needs about 4-5 percent of your blood

supply, just to keep pumping. Without

the constant movement of blood that

your heart provides, your tissues would

quickly become starved of oxygen and

glucose, and your brain would begin to

shut down. So your heart must work

hard throughout your entire life.

At an average rate of 5.2 litres per

minute. In one day (twenty four hours),

your heart pumps enough blood to fill

the water tanks of four full-sized fire

engines. Over a lifetime, the average

heart pumps 180 million litres of blood,

or enough to fill an ocean-going oil su-

per tanker!

During exercise, your muscles use up

oxygen and glucose much more

quickly. In this state, your muscles

need four or five times more blood

than they did at rest, so the heart has

to pump much harder and faster to

meet the demand for more blood.

When you are resting or sleeping, your

heart beats around sixty to a hundred

times per minute, but when you're

sprinting or swimming, your heart can

reach 200 beats per minute or more.

Does that mean that your heart has to

be working harder than your brain?

For a short burst, perhaps, yes. Most of

us, though, sleep for a third of our

lives, and spend very little time exercis-

ing this hard. Even for Olympic

athletes, it is pretty much impossible to

keep that level of exercise up for more

then thirty minutes, let alone all day.

So over the course of your lifetime your

brain works the hardest.

Davina Sidhpura

Recently scientists have discovered

what seems to be a whole woolly

mammoth. This creature was found in

Siberia. They have been trying to dis-

cover its murky past along with how

this fascinating creature died. The sci-

entists have decided to search the ani-

mal for at least one intact cell. With this

they will be able to clone this creature

a n d c r e a t e a w h o l e f l o c k o f

mammoths. They are certain that this

animal will have the power to fight

global warming. When these creatures

roamed the earth the vast majority of

the land was kept in a good condition.

Yet when they let and became extinct,

the land became hard and very unsuit-

able for any living animal of the earth.

This particular specimen was found in

2013, packed and stored in the ice.

The basic drat of her death is as fol-

lows:

The mammoth seems to be stuck in a

swamp. The sticky features of the

swamp are restricting this animal from

moving. It has its front half kneeling

down, whereas its hind is up high. Ater

this strange turn of events a huge pack

of hungry animals (supposedly wolves)

start to tear and eat this animal alive

(resulting from the tears in the animals

bones).

Scientists have no other idea of what

had happened next as the ice may

have protruded later on. Scientists

have discovered exactly that this speci-

men died c.39,000 years ago. Its age is

also around 50-60 years old. Scientists

could tell about this as each ring

around the horns states one year of the

mammoth's life. These scientists are

completely baffled by the idea of the

mammoth being preserved so well. In

fact the animal has traces of fur and ice

cold flesh. The remarkable fact about

this is that the flesh is like it has come

from an animal that has just recently

died. The animal also contains high

levels of blood (one of the biggest

amounts of blood found from any

mammoth to this day).

11Michaela Matters

Remarkie reports on sport at

Michaela Community School.

he Battle of Britain

Crash causes chaos

“I really enjoy working in

the school because you

are so polite."

Sport

Clean up your act

Budding journalist?

Remarkie Scott

At Michaela, whenever we do sports we

go to the amazing Powerleague which

is very far but at least we get the exer-

cise. Some of the children that do

some jogging get out of breath when

we cross the road. On Thursday ater-

noon at approximately 13.20 we leave

the dinner hall to get ready and when

we are fully changed into our PE kits

we line up in the yard in our correct

group. When we arrive at Powerleague

the coaches are very strict but nice at

the same time. Mr David, for example,

is very strict - when somebody does

something wrong the whole class gets

into trouble, but if the whole class be-

haves then he will give us a treat like

playing Bulldogs and other extremely

fun activities. This term in PE, there are

two types of sports on offer: there is

handball that some children do with

Ms Morley and there is football that

some boys and girls do with different

coaches. Mr Smith, Mr Allan and Mr Kir-

by organise the sports so that we can

have enjoyable laughs and a good time

in sport.

We have learnt that by doing sports we

can build our personality and it makes

us stronger on the inside as well as the

outside. We have learnt how to have

teamwork and if one of us spoils it then

the rest of us can not carry on and en-

joy it. The best thing about football is

instead of us going straight into a

match we make sure we warm up and

practice our drills and skills. By doing

this, it increases our speed, accuracy,

teamwork and agility. Mr. David is a

very fun coach because he is a teacher

to us - we learn all about the muscles.

The biceps, quadriceps, hamstring and

triceps are just a few that we have

learnt. In football, the pitches are the

right size so it makes it easier to prac-

tice our skills in a real match. Everyone

is filled with happiness to do sport.

Scotland 1 - 3 England

On Tuesday 18th November, at 20:00,

the battle of Britain was upon us as

England readied themselves to play

Scotland at Celtic Park. If there was

any year in which Scotland could beat

England - this was it. Scotland were

hoping to inflict defeat and build on

their triumph from the Euro 2016 quali-

fying win against the Republic of Ire-

land. Unfortunately, their plans were

hampered by the English team. Win-

ning was as important as immortal glo-

ry for Ancient Greek heroes. The final

score was 3-1 to England, with Rooney

scoring two of the goals for England.

It was a tremendous night for England,

Lina Thamin El Bakkali

On Friday 7 November 2014 there was

a car accident in Forty Lane. This colli-

sion caused major traffic congestion; it

was taking the buses and cars ages to

get through, which meant that pupils

were delayed getting home. From Forty

Lane the traffic went all the way to

Asda. Passengers wanted to find out

what was going on. On the bus, every-

one was shouting to get out. Every-

body looked astonished. Nobody knew

how it happened. A policeman at the

scene said that it happened by two

cars colliding. One man was not wear-

ing his seatbelt. This is a reminder for

us all to always wear a seatbelt.

Tayvia Watson

Every day, before and ater school,

cleaners help to make our school a

cleaner environment. When I stay be-

hind ater school, I see them hard at

work and having to clean the toilets ev-

ery day! It is important to appreciate

those that make a difference to our

school community and environment,

even if we do not see them. When

asked about working here, one cleaner

commented: “I really enjoy working in

the school because you are so polite”.

Some pupils help out the cleaners by

volunteering to stay ater school and

make teachers’ classrooms clean. You

may think that this is done as if by

magic, but it is not! It is your school

cleaners and some of your fellow

pupils doing an excellent job keeping

your school clean.

Remember to respect those that are

doing a fantastic job contributing to

the Michaela community.

Our cleaners do so much for us and

they cannot be appreciated enough. I

hope you notice what brilliant school

cleaners we have, I hope you are polite

and thank them and wish them a good

day when you see them.

Would you like to see your name and

article feature in the next edition of

Michaela Matters? Many journalists

started out writing for their school or

university newspaper. It is a great op-

portunity for you to harness your jour-

nalistic flair and practise writing for a

potentially very large audience. There

is a unique sense of achievement

gained from seeing your name in print

alongside your published article.

Topics for articles can include things

that people want or need to know

about. People might want to know the

sport news, but they might need to

know about health and education mat-

ters, conflicts around the world, or sim-

ply what is going on at school. To be in

the next edition of Michaela Matters, e-

mail your thought-provoking articles to

Ms Morley: rmorley@mcsbrent.co.uk.

12 Michaela Matters

Tragedy: Hughes died playing the

sport he loved.

Cricketer Phillip Hughes Dies

"It really is a brilliant

atmosphere and a

great way to end a

week of hard-work."

Liverpool unable to shake curse

Are you in the running?

"He was loved, admired and

respected by his team mates

and by legions of cricket fans."

"For a young life to be cut

short playing our national

game seems a shocking

aberration."

Mr Allan

Friday football is a chance to reward in-

credible effort and kindness through-

out the week. Twenty-one pupils get

the chance to play matches against

each other (as well as against myself

and Mr. Kirby). It really is a brilliant at-

mosphere and a great way to end a

week of hard-work. But how can you

have the chance to join us? The key is

to make sure you are in the running! If

you ticked the box saying you were in-

terested in Friday football at the begin-

ning of term then you are in the run-

ning. Unsure if this is you? Not to worry

- anyone can be added or removed

from the running at any time. Once you

are in the running, the rest is down to

you! The twenty-one people with the

best merit balance from the previous

week are selected from the running

and placed on 'The List' and will be in-

vited to join us to play on Friday. So get

in the running, earn your merits, get on

the list and join us for a brilliant way to

end the week!

who are trying to rebuild their confi-

dence ater their early exit from the

World Cup in Brazil.

Priyen Pillay

Crystal Palace 3 - 1 Liverpool

On Sunday 23rd November 2014 I was

honoured to watch history unfold

when Crystal Palace, a little football

club located in the London Borough of

Croydon beat a big team that is world

famous, especially in Malaysia, Liver-

pool FC. This match was magnificent as

the pride of Croydon kept the curse of

Liverpool going on. Liverpool had nev-

er beaten Crystal Palace away at Sel-

hurst Park. The match was tense and

with Liverpool scoring ater 90 seconds

they looked destined to break the

curse. With Crystal Palace knowing

their expectations, they delivered. One

goal last season was by star Crystal

Palace striker Dwight Gayle. And now

another goal by Dwight Gayle! To finish

Liverpool off, Aussie Skipper Mike Jedi-

nak scored a magnificent free kick.

That was a match to remember for

generations to come.

Uzayr Sohail

On Wednesday November 25, in a do-

mestic match in Sydney, a young crick-

eter, Phillip Hughes, dropped uncon-

scious ater being struck in the neck

with a bouncer from Sean Abbott.

Just ater getting hit, Hughes waved

precariously and suddenly plummeted

to the ground. Doctors rushed to his

aid on the pitch and he was carried off

on a stretcher The 25 year old died two

days ater being struck. He was treated

in St Vincent’s hospital, where doctors

say he never regained consciousness.

Doctors say his vertebral artery split,

causing a massive bleed into his brain.

In the atermath of the tragic news, his

parents have been struck with grief

and desolation. The world of cricket

has since paid tribute to the young

cricketer. Kevin Pietersen told Sky

News that “cricket has lost a born en-

tertainer” and that Hughes “will be

sorely missed”. Australian Prime Minis-

ter, Tony Abbott, led a flood of tributes

for Hughes. "His death is a very sad day

for cricket and a heartbreaking day for

his family. What happened has touched

millions of Australians. For a young life

to be cut short playing our national

game seems a shocking aberration. He

was loved, admired and respected by

his team mates and by legions of crick-

et fans," Abbott said in a statement.