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Stepney Green Maths, Computing & Science College

Date April 2013

Newsletter A Message from the Headteacher

Issue No. 52

Dear Parents / Carers,

I hope this Parents Newsletter finds you and your

family in good health.

Every year time just seems to fly by and already the

exams session is upon us. The end of the Spring term

was seen out by the achievement assembly, where the

attainment and progress made by a vast number of

students was celebrated.

The school wished the current Year 11s the very best for

their GCSE exams. Our Headboy, Shohid Miah, gave a

wonderful inspiring speech. I would like to take this

opportunity to thank Shohid, Abdul Qadim, Omar Jolil

and Zeeshan Arif (Deputy Headboys) and all the

prefects for their contribution to the school life.

School Prefects 2013 –14

The Easter holidays revision programme saw a record

number of Year 11s taking up the opportunity to

improve their grades. Thank you for supporting this on

-going initiative. The Year 11s need to remember that

time is extremely short and to continue their drive for

those high grades, which will ensure a pathway to

future success. The students who return to us on our

sixth form will benefit from the very best of teaching,

resources and tutoring. The school is excited by the

development and is very much ready for all the

challenges a Key Stage 5 brings. The focus will be for

100% of our sixth formers to go onto a university of

their choice.

For next year, I am pleased to inform you that the school

continues to be over-subscribed in parental choice.

There were 600 applications for the 180 places available,

there are also a number of appeals pending, which will

be heard soon. This is a testimony to the support you, as

parents, give to the students and the school. Thank you.

The Building programme continues and the whole

project is on schedule to be completed by September

2013. The new learning environment has certainly

delivered a wow factor, the school looks stunning, with

state of the art facilities built into the system. The

student to computer ratio now stands at 1:1. The

students have fed back their appreciation for the new

buildings, everyone has been most positive.

The building cannot deliver outstanding teaching and

learning. The drive for consistent outstanding teaching

will continue and I would like to thank you for ensuring

your child has that drive to reach the highest

achievement levels.

I would like to take this opportunity to request that you

ensure your child reads everyday and to records time

spent reading in their planner. Students should be

reading a book of fiction, of their choice, even after they

have completed their homework. As parents, it is good

practice to check that our children are reading, this will

ensure future success. If you need support to help your

child to read please feel free to contact me.

As always, I thank you for your continual support for

your child’s learning and the school.

Yours sincerely,

Mr P.S. Bhutta / Headteacher

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News from the Humanities Faculty

This term is always busy as we are preparing students for GCSE examinations in all three subjects.

Revision should be well underway and students should have been attending their intervention sessions.

GCSE dates for Humanities subjects:

RE year 11: 13th May 2013

Year 11 Resit : 4th June 2013

History Paper 1: 3rd June 2013

Paper 2 Resit: 10th June 2013

Geography 1 - 3: UNIT 1 – 4th June

UNIT 2 – 12th June

UNIT 3 – 17th June History has two papers for some students

Geography has three papers for some students.

RE intervention for year 11 continues

EVERY FRIDAY after school.

Year 9 Trip to St Dunstan’s Church

In February, on two afternoons, Reverend Christine

Hall, Reverend Chris Morgan and Sarah Smith,

Children’s and Community Worker hosted a visit for

all of Year 9 to St Dunstan’s church, just across the

road from the school.

We had been studying the places of worship in

Christianity, Islam and Judaism as part of our units on

the Abrahamic faiths and we appreciated being given

this great opportunity to build on what we had learnt

in our lessons.

The boys were able to look around the church, find

out more about the features we had studied and learn

about its history (including the fact that there has been

a church there for over a thousand years since around

952 AD.)

We then sat down to ask some more questions about

the church and about the teachings of Christianity

which all added to our knowledge and

understanding.

We enjoyed our time there and thank you to everyone

at St Dunstan’s for the warm welcome.

Ms J Letts and Ms L Specchia

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Finally, revising the night before will not allow

you to do your best. Your examinations are the

final part of two years work for some of you. You need

to be doing months of revision, not days or even hours!

DO NOT BURY YOU HEAD IN THE SAND!

Holiday intervention:

For all GCSE students please look at the holiday

timetable. Sessions will be offered for Geography,

History and RE (in both year 10 and 11). Students should

use this time as teachers are generously giving their

holidays up for them.

Other news:

In January 2011, Year 11 History students took their

paper 2 exam. The results were NOT very pleasing .

Well done to the students who got their desired grade.

Others will need to resit for these. Please do not leave

your revision too late!

Year 10 History trip to Berlin.

Thank you to the parents who have paid on time for the

trip. We will be taking the students to Berlin for six days

at the end of the Summer term.

Year 7 Humanities Trip

In the summer term the whole of year 7 will be going to

visit the Tower of London with the Humanities staff.

Mr Parker – Head of Humanities

Firstly, he needs a plan. Make a list of when

examinations are. Year 11 will notice that

they have so many examinations together.

Sometimes they even have exams on the

same day.

Now help him make a realistic timetable.

HIS REVISION SHOULD HAVE BEGUN. IF

IT HAS NOT THEN YOU NEED TO START

IT NOW. Make sure that in the holidays he

is revising for the whole day.

Think about the way that he revises.

READING IS NOT ENOUGH

ON ITS OWN.

He should be making maps, using mind

maps, revision cards, making tables,

podcasts. If he uses the internet then make

sure he is using useful websites like BBC

bitesize or more subject specific websites.

Make sure he uses his exercise books AND

his revision guides from the teachers as well.

How can you help your son to revise in

History, Geography and RE?

The Learning Support

Centre College Information and CV Writing

workshops

Earlier this year, the LSC staff has arranged two

workshops which were delivered at the LSC with

assistance from our Careers Adviser, Janice Swan,

and the ESOL Coordinator from Tower Hamlets

College.

The workshops were primarily targeted at the

year 11 pupils who are recent arrivals to this

country and are in need of guidance in choosing

and applying to colleges/trainings, and also

requires assistance in completing relevant

application forms and arranging interviews.

The representative of Tower Hamlets College

gave clear information about the ESOL courses

and spoke about the additional services available

at the college for EAL students.

The students have also received advice and

practical help from an external professional who

specialises in CV writing. With step-by-step

guidance to preparing different types and styles of

CV, all the participants were able to create their 1st

CV and understood the purpose and importance

of having a CV.

We hope that these workshops have helped the

young participants develop life skills which

would give them the confidence and motivation

to make informed choices and in turn increase

their chances of getting into colleges/trainings of

their choice.

Mr I Hussain (LSC Manager)

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Year 7 News Year 8 News

POS Name Form eBehaviour

Points

1 Md Raihan Miah 7K 890

2 Abdul Rakib 7K 734

3 Umar Gendoo 7W 684

4 Tazwarul Islam 7K 589

5 Md Abdul Basit 7T 585

Year 7 Educational Visits

The year 7s have had several educational visits which help

extend their learning and broaden their thinking. This term

various Year 7 pupils have taken part in the following trips;

· Aim Higher in Education Visit to Queen Mary

University – 35 pupils visited one of the best

universities in the world. Pupils took part in various

workshops. The purpose of the visit is to give pupils an

insight into university life and encourage them to aim

higher.

· Visit to Globe Theatre – The majority of year 7 pupils

went to the prestigious globe theatre to view a modern

day production of Romeo & Juliet as part of their

English studies.

· Gifted & Talented Visit to the Wallace Collection – 25

Pupils visited the Wallace collection, and took part in a

creative writing skills workshop. The feedback from the

facilitator running the workshop was extremely

positive.

Year 7 End of Year Exams

An important reminder for all parents and pupils, the Year

7 exams are due to begin after the Easter break. All pupils

should begin revising for their exams over the holidays and

parents are encouraged to ensure that their child is using

their holiday time to prepare for their exams.

Star Performers In Year 7

A fantastic performance from Mohammed Raihan Miah in

7K sees him at the top of the eBehaviour points table

towards the end of term 2, but there are a number of other

pupils, who are closely behind him, so well done to all the

top 5 pupils.

Parents can ensure their child recieves further recognition

for their achievements by encouraging them to be

punctual to school, attend everyday and behave

excellently in class.

Mr F Patel – Year 7 Pastoral Team Leader

29 students from year 8 attended a two day

ASSIST programme in January. The

students were coached how to be student

mentors focusing on anti-smoking. The 29

boys will now advise others in year 8 about

the dangers of smoking and ways of saying

no if they feel pressured by peers. Well

done to the boys on this course as they

represented the school very well over the

two days.

There have been a number of sporting

successes in year 8 especially with indoor

athletics. 8K were the inter-tutor group

champions of the rooftop lunch time

football tournament. It is also great to see so

many year 8 students taking advantage of

all our great new sporting facilities at break

times and after school.

All year 8 students should be preparing for

their year 8 exams that start straight after

the Easter holidays. The results of these

exams will go some way to determining

what GCSE options you will take at the end

of the summer term. Next term is an

important term for all year 8 students as

they will all be deciding what GCSE options

to take. Good luck to all students in the

upcoming exams.

T. Clouston—Year 8 Pastoral Team Leader

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POS Name Form eBehaviour

Points

1 Nayeem Ahmed 9M 436

2 Burhan Uddin 9T 414

3 Emad Eimon 9T 402

4 Abul Hasnat 9T 399

5 Yahya Ahmed 9M 392

Year 9 News

Well done to year 9s who successfully completed

their mock exam in February. The students

approached these exams in a mature manner and

conducted themselves very well throughout their

examinations.

Year 9 Parents Evening

The year 9 parents’ evening will take place at the

end of March, parents will have the opportunity to

discuss their sons progress in the relevant subjects

areas.

Trips in year 9

Wallace Collection

The Wallace Collection is a museum in London,

with a world-famous range of fine and decorative

arts from the 15th to the 19th centuries with large

holdings of French 18th-century paintings,

furniture, arms & armour and porcelain.

‘’The paintings were amazing and most included minor

details, we were taught to study the pictures in detail

and see a story behind each picture. The most

inspirational part for me was the battle portrait which

told a story of the British war against the Dutch on the

boats. The paintings told us about life at the time and

how much children suffered, this made me very grateful

for what I have in life’

Abdul Mussadik 9W

Queen Mary University

The aim of this trip was to give students a taster of

university life both academic and social. Students

participated in workshops and were give a tour

around the university. They were also given the

opportunity to ask questions regarding university

life.

Star performers in Year 9

Congratulations to Nayeem Ahmed 9T for his

outstanding ebehaviour points, he has achieved a

total of 436 points. Nayeem has demonstrated

commitment and dedication this term and has set

high standards for the rest of the year to follow.

Also well done to all the students who have

continued to work hard this term.

Year 10 News

The year 10’s spent a lot of last term

d e v e l o p i n g t h e i r s k i l l s f o r

employability. The advice and feedback

given to them and everyone involved

were hugely impressed however all

that remained was work experience...

Work experience

All this preparation (getting ahead,

head to head interviews and etc.) is to

aid our students in work experience

which took place from the 4th February

to the 15th February 2013. Each year 10

student spent two weeks at a work

placement where they got a taste of life

in an employment situation.

All the students were very excited and nervous before starting.

During their placement they learnt new skills, Key skills and

Employability skills; that will help them in their future and they

soon realised that not all work is interesting, but necessary.

They also learnt how to work with older people, overcome

difficult tasks, being responsible, being patient, being treated

like an adult, dealing with the public and working alone; just to

name a few new experiences.

The employers/supervisors were hugely

impressed with the Year 10’s. The manner in

which they conducted themselves, the way

they approached each task and the attitude

towards their job was very mature. I had a lot

of positive feedback from many of the

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employers however I am only able to share these two on this

occasion:

As mentioned above, there were many more great experiences

that I have come across however, I am only able to share just

these two this time round and hope I get an opportunity to

share more in the future.

Business Mentoring

A number of students have been continuing to meet their

business professional mentor (from the same organisations

mentioned in previous newsletters) who guides them through

their education as well as life after school. They provide

students with valuable insight on how to succeed after they

leave school and what skills are linked to success. The also

prepare them for Work-experience, CV’s and other

employment related tasks. All the students involved have

made a good impression on their mentors and hope the good

work continues.

POS Name Form eBehaviour

Points

1 Uddin Md Shala 10W 302

2 Ahmed Md Jubayer 10T 292

3 Uddin Niyaz 10Q 250

4 Hussain Shahid 10H 233

5 Miah Asad 10H 231

Star performers in Year 10

Congratulations to Md Shala Uddin in

10W for his outstanding achievement.

He has obtained 302 eBehaviour

points.

His determination and hard work has

seen him achieve the highest in the

year and he is an example of an

outstanding student. His achievement

has set high standards for the rest of

the year to follow.

However, we have close competitors

who have to work extremely hard to

overtake him, good luck to all for the

next term.

Here are the best five ebehaviour

points so far:

Abdul Samad 10K, spent two weeks in a

media & marketing company in the City. His

ability, charisma and drive for success

impressed the supervisor so much that they

asked him to contribute towards their

products. All the initial ideas were then

submitted to the client who, without knowing

who the designers were, chose Samad’s from a

range of products. His supervisors and the rest

of the staff in their company were hugely

impressed. They also want him to work there

during his spare time!

Raihan Rahman 10K, spent two weeks as a nursery staff member where he was in constant interaction with young children. His approach towards the children & adults impressed all the staff. They felt it to be necessary for them to write to me personally to say what a ‘privilege’ it was to have Raihan there for work experience not only for his hard work but for the joy he brought with him to the work place. They wanted us to recognise his achievement! Pupils, teachers and parents need to

work together to ensure outstanding

progress and achievement is achieved

and our current results show how

much support we are getting from

parents. I will like to take this oppor-

tunity to thank all the parents for your

support and hope you keep support-

ing us to achieve higher.

Best wishes for the Easter Holidays.

Mr Z. Chowdhury, Head of Year 10

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Year 11 News

For our Year 11 students the next few

months will be the most important time of

their school careers so far. After eleven

years of education and learning they will

be tested this summer in their GCSE examinations.

The Year eleven students have had a very busy

term with several demands being placed upon

them. Immediately after the Christmas holidays

their was a whole series of modular examinations

in January that needed to be revised for. There

were a number of coursework deadlines that

needed to be met in various subjects and a also

controlled assessments were being sat. Added to

this our students have been applying to various

Colleges and Sixth Forms in preparation for their

post sixteen pathways. Students by now should

have been attending interviews in an attempt to

secure a place on the courses they are interested in

studying.

On top of this the school has provided free tuition

for all Year 11 students every Monday, Wednesday

and Thursday in intervention classes. Well done to

all students who have been making the effort to

attend the extra sessions taking advantage of this

invaluable resource. Let's hope this effort will be

rewarded with particularly high grades.

The reward for all our Year 11 students hard

work and efforts will be well worth it in August

when the GCSE results are published. Those

students who have worked consistently hard

putting in a great deal of effort will enjoy a day of

celebration on results day and those students who

have not worked with the desired commitment

and determination will have a disappointing day.

Let's hope its smiles all round on that big day in

August !

It is also very important that families

work in partnership with the school and

their sons to form a strong team going

into the final few months. Remember

we are all in this together !

Mr Jessop – Head of Year 11

Community News

Strengthening Families Strengthening Communities:

Bringing up children in today’s challenging society today is

no easy task. Professionals and employees are regularly

trained to keep up to date with skills but parents don’t

often get the same opportunity.

Our second Strengthening Families programme started at

the end of March. If you feel that you would like join us,

please contact me at the school. The 13, weekly sessions

are on Mondays, 10.15 – 12.45.

The aim is to discuss issues such as truancy, crime, poor

behaviour, anger management and other aspects of

community and family relationships. The overall objective

is to support individuals and families.

We will not take on any new parents after 22nd April, so

please get in touch with me if you would like to join. There

is a lot to learn and you will have loads of fun!

Parents Association:

Three sessions have already taken place covering topics

such as healthy eating and internet safety. The next

sessions are on Wednesday 8th May and Thursday 20th June

at 10.00am. Topics covered will include Drug Abuse, in

May, and the Importance of Reading, in June. All

welcome, please come along.

Fun Day;

Our annual Community Fun Day will take place on

Thursday 27th June, 3.30-6.00pm. We want you to come

and enjoy yourselves as a family. Make a note of the date,

and if you would like to be involved with the planning and

delivery, then please get in touch with me.

Weekly Coffee Mornings;

A small group of parents meet every week on Thursday,

from 09.15-10.30. Come along and join them for a bit of

chit chat and handcrafts. Interested? Meet us in reception.

Exercise Sessions;

We have a fantastic new Sports Centre and many staff

members are making good use of the facilities. A women

only exercise session is planned for Fridays, from 4.30-5.30,

starting 19th April. Open to all women. Come and join us.

Parent Questionnaires;

The annual Parent Questionnaires have been completed.

Please watch this space and contact me if there are any

particular issues that you want to raise.

Charity Work;

As part of our Community Cohesion programme, we have

had a range of charity activities in school this year. We

have raised money for BBC Children in Need, Interpal, and

Islamic Relief’s Water for Life Campaign and Comic Relief.

A huge thank you to everyone for supporting this and well

done to pupils involved!

For further information about any of these activities, or to

get involved, please contact Ms. Miah.

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250,000m come to Mr Smith to collect your certificate

and badge.

FOOTBALL:

Well done to all boys who have been consistently

representing the school in the Hackney and Tower

Hamlets football league after school and on Saturday

mornings. This season is now coming to close. We wish

all our teams the best of luck in their final matches.

VOLLEYBALL:

Congratulations to the Under 15 Volleyball team who

won the Tower Hamlets Championships. They will now

go on to represent Tower Hamlets in the London Youth

Games.

HSBC OUTWARD BOUND RESIDENTIAL:

After the holidays applications will open for this years 5

day residential at Ullswater in the Lake District from

3rd to 7th June. This will give 24 students in year 8 and

9 the opportunity to experience a wide range of outdoor

adventurous activities in the one of the most beautiful

landscapes in the country

HSBC FUNDED TALLSHIPS VENTURE:

We have been successful in gaining a full bursary for 20,

current year 10 students to attend a 9 day Tallships

sailing voyage in September. This will be an incredible

opportunity which will finish with the boat sailing up

the Thames and under Tower Bridge. Applications will

open after the Easter holidays.

WOMEN ONLY FITNESS SESSIONS:

In partnership with London Tigers we are still hosting a

women’s only fitness session on Saturday mornings

from 10am till 12 noon. This session is run by women

instructors and is strictly for women only. At the

moment over 30 ladies are regularly attending. It is

FREE and OPEN TO ALL. For more information call

Asma 07551235488.

PARENTAL VOLUNTARY SPORTING INVOLVEMENT:

If you would like to help as a volunteer with a

sport of your choice we would be very grateful.

Please contact Mr Smith on the school number if

you feel you could offer just a few hours a week

to work within our PE programme.

Finally many thanks to all boys for your patience during

the construction of our new facilities. I Hope you all

have a healthy and active holiday.

Mr M. Smith (Head of PE)

PE Department News

After 18months of construction our new sports centre

was opened to the students at the start of term. This has

transformed the opportunities that we offer students.

We are now able to offer all of our traditional sports on

a much larger scale, plus a range of new sports

including Judo, trampolining and the fitness suite.

Please continue to encourage your son to participate in

at least one additional hour of physical activity per

week. This will help their health, academic studies and

give them the opportunity to enjoy sport in a new,

modern facility.

ATHLETICS:

Congratulations to all boys who have trained

throughout the winter. The first competition of the year

was the year 7 and 8 Sports Hall athletics competition.

Our team was particularly determined to prove that

they were the best in the Borough and were victorious

and are now Borough champions.

The second competition was the Tower Hamlets Indoor

Athletics Championships at the incredible Lea Valley

Indoor Athletics Arena. We came 2nd out of the 10

schools that attended. Many thanks to all boys who

helped us to run this event for the other schools in the

Borough. This was a great example of what Stepney

Green can achieve when we all work together. The new

term will bring a series of major Athletics Competitions.

Everybody will be involved in Athletics next term.

CRICKET:

Well done to all boys who have been involved in our

cricket programme this term. The new Cricket nets have

given our students an opportunity to refine their skills

before the outdoor Cricket season begins after Easter.

Congratulations go to the U13 team who competed in

the London Indoor Cricket final. If you would like your

son to be involved in Cricket training is on a

Wednesday and Friday after school.

ROWING:

Well done to all boys who have Rowed this year.

Congratulations to the school team who were runners

up in the Tower Hamlets Rowing championships.

Particular congratulations go to the team that then went

on to the National Rowing championships on March

23rd. We now have 3 boys ranked in the top 50 in

England. This is outstanding.

Remember, the Rowing machines are available to train

every day before school, at lunchtime and after school.

When you achieve your 10,000m, 50,000m, 100,000m or

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News from the Science department

First of all I would like to begin by again congratulating all of our pupils for

the hard work they have put in throughout this term. With module tests

and coursework to do, it has been a challenging term.

Since the last newsletter lots more good things

have been happening. We are still hoping to be

able to run a trip which involves a visit to Kings

College University. The trip will introduce pupils

to clinical skills, which are the basic skills of a

medical doctor. Pupils will have the chance to

carry out a range of tasks, such as; taking blood

pressure readings, blood sampling, removing

blockages from airwaves etc. The pupils will also

have the opportunity to meet medical students and

discuss university life. This trip ran last year and

was a success. I believe our boys will be inspired

by the experience.

Several trips to the centre of the cell in

Whitechapel have already taken place. This

trip is for our year 10 boys. On the visit our

boys had the opportunity to look at cutting

edge technology involving cells. The trips

were thoroughly enjoyed by the boys and staff.

We have put on more science taster lessons for

primary school children. The lessons include fun

experiments involving flame tests and the

extraction of salt.

Our intervention classes have

also been running for our year

10’s and year 11’s. These classes

are a good way to help boost

your sons’ grades and I hope

you will continue to encourage

you sons to attend next term.

Several of our pupils have been attending the

Physics & English classes at City of London School

for Boys.

Last year a few successfully gained admissions

to City of London School for Boys.

There have been a few trips to Cambridge

University. The purpose of these trips is to further

inspire our boys

The Science results for last year were excellent and

I am hoping that this year’s results will be

comparable. As always our boys have worked hard

and deserve the best. Our success could not have

been achieved without the hard work of the boys,

the staff and your support. Many thanks again.

Best Wishes

Lester Willer (Head of Science)

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Notice for Years 7-11

A reminder to all students that maths teachers are

available for support every morning before school at

8.00am onwards. These are drop-in sessions where

students can have help with homework tasks or class

work and are open to students in all year groups.

Ocean Maths Workshops:

The Maths Department is running a number of

parents/pupils workshops through the year for KS3

Maths’ groups. These sessions aim to increase parental

involvement in helping boys with their mathematics

homework and have proved very successful. We are

extremely impressed with the parents’ contribution

and enthusiasm in these sessions.

Year 10:

There are intervention classes every Monday from

3.35pm to 4.35pm. Please ensure your son is

attending these classes regularly as they will

improve their final GCSE grade.

YEAR 11

Year 11and some year 10 students sat their GCSE

Maths on Thursday, 4th March. The results will be

available for students on Tuesday,16th April. The

students were well prepared for the exam and we are

confident they will achieve excellent results. A re-sit

will take place on 7th, June. Practice papers and

revision guides have been issued to students. Could

parents please make sure your son does practice past

paper questions during Easter holiday.

UKMT Intermediate Challenge

40 students from years 9 and 11 have taken part in the

UKMT intermediate Maths Challenge this year. These

students have received their certificates as a formal

recognition of their achievements. In particular we

would like to congratulate Omar Jolil in 11H who

achieved Gold and the best in school and Mubinoor

Chowdhury in 11T who also achieved gold certificate.

Students will be presented with certificates at the end

of term Achievement Assembly.

The Junior Challenge will take place on Thursday,

25th April.

News from the

Mathematics Faculty

Stepney Partnership

Events

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Mosaic Enterprise Challenge

During the spring term 40 year 9&10 students took

part in this Challenge. They had the opportunity to

meet mentors from the world of finance and

business.

Well done to all the boys who took part in the

competition at the end of the project.

Stepney Partnership

Last month our school started a new collaboration with

some primary schools in Tower hamlets. A group of

year 6 pupils attended special maths lessons at Stepney

Green. The effort and enthusiasm shown in these

sessions were impressive.

It is always rewarding to see young pupils enjoying

maths and aiming higher and higher every day! Well

done to all these pupils s and we hope to see them at

Stepney Green next September!

Adults GCSE Maths Classes:

The school is running an Adult GCSE Maths class on

Mondays, from 5.00 to 8.00 pm. Last year’s results

were excellent. The classes are run by Mr M. Donolato

My Maths:

As you know the Maths department is subscribed to

My Maths learning Website, a top quality e-learning

service that has been proven to improve student’s

achievement through online revision and exam

practice. We would be very keen to receive feedback to

ensure that we are providing the right online resources

to support learning at home and if there is any

frustration at not being able to access the resource.

A reminder to all students that they have access to my

maths Learning Website which is on:

www.mymaths.co.uk

As ever, everyone in the Maths Faculty is working very

hard to create success for our students. Please ensure

that your son is taking full advantage of all additional

support that he is being offered

Homework is a vital aspect of learning, encouraging

independent learning and affording opportunities for

considerably extending pupils’ knowledge. Please look

carefully at your son’s student planner to ensure he is

recording and completing his homework consistently.

Finally, I would like to say well done to our boys who

worked extremely well this term and thank the parents

and carers for their continued support. If you have any

concerns regarding your son’s Maths education, please

do not hesitate to contact me, I am available on

Thursday, from 3.35pm to 4.15pm, but please phone the

school to make an appointment.

Mr Amellal (Head of Mathematics)

12

Stepney Green Maths, Computing & Science College

Half Term Trip to the Imagine

Festival on the Southbank.

Students who attended the festival heard

Anthony Horowitz discuss his latest novel

Oblivion and what inspired him into

becoming a children’s author. Below is an

image of Anthony Horowitz reading the

opening paragraph from his new novel, which

is due for release later this year. The boys

were equally surprised and excited to hear

the unheard material from such a famous

writer

Library News

Alan Gibbons visits the Library

On Tuesday 14th February the

library was hosting a

‘Reluctant Reader Workshop’

with the award-winning

author Alan Gibbons. Formerly

a teacher, Alan is now a full-

time author and independent

Educational Consultant. He travels the World visiting schools

and libraries. In 2010/11 he campaigned strongly against the

closure of Public and School Libraries organizing many

events all over the UK. He is a great advocate for ‘Reading for

Pleasure’.

The ‘Reluctant Reader Workshop’ was for a selection of Year

7 students who take little interest in reading and books. Alan

spoke about his experiences in Liverpool and narrated his

anecdotes with drama and humour. The students were very

enthusiastic and the questions and answers gave us a good

insight into creative writing and the themes and ideas behind

his books. Students and staff felt honoured and inspired by

his visit and we hope he will come again to speak to other

year groups.

World Book Day 2013

On Thursday 7th March the library celebrated World Book Day

2013. Three members of staff dressed up as well-known book

characters. There was Oompa-Loompa from Roald Dahl’s

‘Charlie and the Chocolate factory’, ‘Wally’ from ‘Where is

Wally?’ and ‘The Queen of Hearts’ from Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice in

Wonderland’.

During lunch break the Library invited students and staff to

the annual ‘Around the world in 40 minutes’ Book Quiz. Over 40

students and 7 staff members answered questions about

classic and popular contemporary books and the ‘Freud’ team

won with a score of 19.5 points. It was a very noisy but happy

event which all participants seemed to enjoy.

International Women’s Day 2013

In support of International Women’s Day 2013 the library

collected money on Thursday 5th and Friday 6th March for

the ‘Because I am a Girl’ Campaign to aid Education for

girls in Asia and Africa. The Library raised £127.50 in

support of this important cause and we like to thank

students and staff for their generous donations.

Considering the life of other, less fortunate people raises

awareness about a great number of issues but it also

makes me realize how much we take granted.

At lunch break issues such as premature marriage, the

maltreatment of girls and women, their long struggle for

fair treatment, their right to and need for education and a

fulfilling career was discussed in a small group of students

and staff in the library. The students’ response, insight and

compassion were remarkable and I felt honoured to work

with such amazing young people.

Mareke Martens (School Librarian)