The Rednock Review ISSUE 4– 10.2.16

Dear Parents/Carers This term has seen the revision season get fully underway for those students taking examinations in the summer. I am impressed by the work rate of our students working hard in tandem with the staff who are committed to getting the best for the students. It is a tough time for everyone, not only for the students themselves but also for the staff and especially for the parents. If you, as a parent , can be there to support your children then that makes a great difference to the outcomes. Last year Rednock School was in the top 25% of all schools in England at GCSE – as it was in 2013 and the top 30% in 2014. I am justifiably proud of this trend of excellence. All of our students demonstrate excellent progress irrespective of where they live, where they came from and how wealthy they are. As our vision states “every child matters”.

As if to demonstrate the quality, our students played their part in the amazing performance in Gloucester Cathedral last week. I was privileged to witness an extraordinary concert jointly held with King’s School, Gloucester. Classical pieces were performed alongside modern music to the delight of all in attendance. Rednock students excelled – lighting up the Cathedral with their skills, enthusiasm and sheer enjoyment of performing. I think that Kings were a little daunted by the quality of our music – credit to Mr Andrews, Mr Wiggins and the students. It was a magical evening.

Yours sincerely

Dave Alexander

(Head Teacher)

Sporting Success

Art Corner

KEY DATES

Term 3

Tuesday 5th January- Friday 12th February

Term 4

Monday 22nd February– Thursday 24th March

INSET DAY- 11th April

Term 5 Tuesday 12th April- Friday 27th May BANK HOLIDAY– 2nd May

Term 6 Monday 6th June– Thursday 21st July INSET DAY– 22nd July Term 1 Monday 5th September- Wednesday 19th October Term 2 Monday 31st October- Firday 16th December

Just before the Christmas holidays, Rednock held Inter-Community Netball and Rugby

Competitions, illustrating how much athletic talent we have here. Well done to all, the

boys and girls, who represented their tutor groups and communities. There was some

great play and team work across all year groups and communities, resulting in no team

dominating; with honours being shared across all.

This term saw three boys from Rednock- Solo

Tomlinson, Finton Small and George Thomas-

enter the Gloucestershire Schools Individual

Table Tennis competition at Waterwells Sports Centre in Gloucester. All three

really enjoyed the experience; especially the challenging games against students of

a much higher level. The boys played three or four matches in their pool, of which,

George managed to win three and get through to the last round. Congratulations

to the boys.

This is the work of Chelsea Hopkins who is

currently in year 11.

Across 3. Brand behind the iPhone 5. Red or blue, for example 7. Square root of 64 8. Surname of red-haired singer/songwriter 9. Planet closest to the Sun 10. Title of Justin Bieber's most recent album 11. 'Hello' in Italian 12. Woodwind Instrument 13. Country in which Mount Everest is located

Down 1. Most popular sport throughout the world 2. Famous feminist organisation who won women the vote 3. Ocean that separates North America and Europe 4. Novel written by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley 6. Number of cards in a pack of cards 10. YouTube Channel with the most subscribers

TRY THIS TERM’S PUZZLE

Average Points Score per student

54.87

Total Points

15638

1st in Year 7

Inter-Community Netball

Average Points Score per student

48.11

Total Points

12268

Joint 2nd in Year 7

Inter-Community Netball

Average Points Score per student

52.00

Total Points

12948

1st in Year 8

Inter-Community Netball

Average Points Score per student

54.46

Total Points

13506

1st in Year 8

Inter-Community Rugby

WRITTEN BY THE PE DEPARTMENT

www.rednockschool.org.uk

On Thursday 4th February, Rednock took part in a very exciting concert performing Vivaldi’s Gloria with King’s School in Gloucester Cathedral. Kings School has been holding an annual Lent Term Concert for several years, however this year, the Rednock Music department liaised with them to create a joint concert that really showcased the musical talent in this area. The 2 hour performance consisted of both classical and more contemporary pieces with each school doing their own pieces

as well as combined performances. The first half was made up of orchestral pieces, choir and the string ensemble who played compositions from our very own, Mr Wiggins. It was also evident how vast the musical talent is in Gloucestershire when a piece named ‘Highland Cathedral’ was played that was led by a bagpipe player from Kings. Rednock students, Louise Graham & Rebecca Tearle, featured in a beautiful Corelli trio sonata playing the oboe. The second half was a lot more contemporary, with it starting off with the King’s Girls’ Choir performing songs like ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’. From then on, the Swing Band took centre stage. Both schools performed brilliantly and the audience thoroughly enjoyed tapping their feet along to the energetic pieces such as ‘Uptown Funk’ and ‘Moves like Jagger’.

Corin Mynett (Year 13) reflects on the concert:

‘Having been involved in the music department all my Rednock life, I was really excited to go and see this special performance . The talent and enthusiasm the students have seems to be getting better and better and it was lovely to see Rednock students play and work so well with King’s School. I especially enjoyed the swing band as I felt like it really showcased the love that Rednock students have for music. Overall, it was a very proud moment!’

Mr Alexander ( Head Teacher) also comments on the night:

‘I am so proud of all of the students and staff. They were absolutely outstanding . They excelled in the hallowed surroundings of Gloucester Cathedral; playing as though they were inspired by the atmosphere and the occasion. The programme of classical music and modern pieces worked so well. Individual excellence shone through, but it was the team ethos of the two schools working together which was significant.’

A huge well done to all the students who took part in the concert who displayed fantastic playing despite only having rehearsals with King’s the week of the concert. Also, thank you to Mr Andrews, Mr Wiggins and Ms Merchant, without whom the concert would not have happen.

Music to Our Ears Students Saving Lives

Last term there was a Christmas Card Competition that was run by the Language Ambassadors at Rednock. Primary

school students were encouraged to create cards that portray how different cultures and countries celebrate around

December. The results were a huge range of different designs that the language department were very impressed with.

Well done to the following pupils:

1st – Oliver Browning-Smailes (Stone with Woodford)

2nd – Bianca Fry (Stone with Woodford)

3rd – Jessica Packer (Stone with Woodford) and Dylan Lewis

(Slimbridge)

On behalf of Mrs

Wytchard and the rest

of the languages

department, we would

like to thank all the

Primary School pupils for taking part and all the language ambassadors

at Rednock who did a great job of running the whole competition. Those

Rednock students have completely adopted their– relatively new– role

within the school and we look forward to hearing about new

competitions soon.

Training tailored specifically for students took place in school on Inset Day after a number of students had expressed an

interest in learning basic first aid.

The training was delivered by St John Ambulance and covered core skills first aid –

asthma, choking, communication and casualty care, fainting, first aid kit, primary

survey, recovery position – ensuring students are equipped with the skills needed

in a first aid emergency.

All students will receive a certificate to say they have attended the training

session: Cassie Browning, Joe Chappell, Jasper Clarke, Holly Easthope, Emily

Green, Vicky Grimshaw, Emily Hallam, Georgia Hallam, Sophie Hayward, Joeley

Heeps, Alyx Herbert, Grace Jenkins, Francesa Lidgett, Nadia Mellerup, Erin

Robinson, Daniel Taylor and Kate Underdown.

Thank you to the St John Ambulance team for supporting us with this.

Diversity and Language

Over the last term, it has become evident that Rednock really is a school where students understand the importance of reading for pleasure.

In December we were lucky enough to be selected to hold a Scholastic book fair. Students enjoyed browsing and buying a range of books. This proved to be so

popular that the school earned a massive £60 commission. This can now be spent on buying more books and resources for the LRC for both students and teachers to enjoy.

Furthermore, recently, Sixth Form students have been volunteering to help the lower school to widen their reading skills. As a result of this, more students are now able to enjoy the benefits of the fantastic literary

WRITTEN BY VICTORIA GRIMSHAW

(YEAR 13)

Book Fair for Book Worms ‘GCSEPOD’ is a great learning resource that Rednock has recently started using. The school has invested in this revision support tool to support students across the school with the preparation for exams and class learning. GCSEPOD gives the students access to over 4000 audio visual podcasts specific to subject and exam board. This makes it a very useful tool, as illustrated by the fact that Rednock students have used over 1200 downloads/streams to date.

Most year 10/11 students are now registered for ‘GCSEPOD’ and we will continue to encourage the use of it throughout the year.

For more information, visit www.gcsepod.com or speak to Mrs Madden or Mr Cheeseman.

REDNOCK STUDENTS ONBOARD WITH THE

Rednock Student Aiming High

Leading Aviation charity, ‘fly2help’, work together with Gloucestershire Airport in Staverton to create an annual ‘Aim

High’ Scholarship. This scholarship introduces young people aged 14-18 who are interested in a career in aviation, to

the various pathways available. Scholars participate in exciting company visits, activities, talks and demonstrations.

Rebecca Sparrow Year 11 applied and attended the interviews for this amazing opportunity. She was one of over 70

candidates. The interviewers were very impressed with Rebecca and she was successful in being awarded a place. We

look forward to hearing about how she gets on.