EUROPEAN DAY OF LANGUAGES At Trinity, we celebrated the European Day of Languages on

26 September in style. We had a programme of events that all

students were involved in, including:

Sporting Celebrities - watching famous

sports people speaking about how important it has been to learn to speak a different

language within their career; a lesson on demographics of different European countries

within maths; learning a song in a different language in music; treasure hunts for Year 7 -

finding out what languages different teachers speak; a poster competition promoted

within textiles and art; Year 7 MFL students had a challenge

booklet with activities and challenges to complete during the

week; prayers in different languages were shared by our

students from Year 7 in assembly; the periodic table was

presented in Italian in Science; the

English department presented

information on the Story of Writing

and the canteen offered a

European themed menu.

Student Feedback:

“I enjoyed the prayers as it was nice to know the other countries of my classmates. I was impressed and very

surprised at how many prayers in different languages are known in Year 7.”

“I enjoyed the flags that were put up around the school as it represented the different languages that

students speak.”

“We had a competition, where you had to fill in the different languages teachers can speak. I spent a lot of

time on that, it was a lot of fun.”

AROUND THE WORLD IN 40 DAYS This half term all KS3 students have been involved in the ‘Around the World in 40

days’ Trinity challenge. Students have all been issued with a passport and have

had to travel around the world researching the History, Geography, Religion and

Languages of the countries that they have picked. All students are required to

complete a minimum of 5 visited countries but many have risen to the challenge

and have completed many more, even requiring passport

page extensions! The initiative has also been accompanied

by screenings at lunchtime of Michael Palin’s BBC

documentary and on completion of a country students bring

their passports to the ‘embassy’ to be stamped to recognise

their research. Forms are competing for the most countries

‘visited’ and once a student has completed a country it is

shaded on a large map of the world in their form rooms. Exceptional work and the best form

will be awarded come the close of the challenge after the Christmas break.

AUTUMN TERM 2019

TRINITY CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM, TEACHING AND LEARNING NEWSLETTER

OUTSIDE THE

CLASSROOM

LEARNING IN RE

On Friday 4 October, 43 Year

11 students spent the day at

the Jewish Museum in

Camden, enhancing their

understanding of Judaism. The workshop was based around ‘Mitzvot’.

Mitzvot means commandment and Jewish people have 613 mitzvot to

follow. Mitzvot is one of the themes studied at GCSE with questions such

as ‘Mitzvot are no longer relevant in today’s society’. Evaluate. Or ‘Explain

two reasons why Mitzvot are important to Jewish people today’.

Students enjoyed a series of workshops based on the Torah, Tzedekah

(charity) and rituals such as Sabbath. Artefacts were handled, Torah

quotes explored and items such as the Ark admired. The interactive

sessions included images in a

workroom, Q & A and artefact

handling in the classroom as well

as a tour of the museum.

Feedback from students include

the following:

“Seeing the topics from our GCSE

helped to create a better

understanding of it as a whole.”

“I really enjoyed the trip and it’s

an experience I’ll remember and

it will help me with my RE GCSE.”

THE POWER OF A SIMPLE GIFT

In preparation for the season of Advent Year 7 students are involved in

a project called ‘Operation Christmas Child’ which was set up by the

charity ‘The Samaritan’s Purse’.

Operation Christmas Child was started in the 1990s by a dad of four who

witnessed how children lived in Romania. He and his friend decided to

take a truck full of toys and gifts and drive to Romania with them.

Year 7 students wrap and pack a shoe box with suitable items such as

toys, school supplies, hygiene items and other items such as scarves,

jewellery and wind up torches. These will then be distributed to children

who are victims of war, poverty, famine, disease or natural disasters.

Countries that the boxes are sent to include Namibia, Moldova,

Zimbabwe, Serbia, Cambodia, Estonia,

Romania, Fiji, Zambia and Macedonia.

This year Year 7 students sent off 191 boxes.

YEAR 12

TEAM BUILDING AND

INDUCTION DAY We are very pleased to welcome our

Year 12 cohort. Some familiar faces

and quite a few unfamiliar ones but

with one thing in common: all new to

Trinity Sixth Form. To mark the start of

their journey we organised an

extremely enjoyable induction day.

The main purpose of the day was to

create a group identity, make

everyone feel welcomed into our

school community and form new

friendships. With this in mind, the

students gathered in the dining hall

and together with their teachers,

tried to complete a variety of

challenges. This session was rounded

off by a group dance of the

“Macarena” for bonus points…. and

a laugh! For the second session, the

students watched a short film based

on “Life in Sixth Form” which

encouraged discussions around the

topics of friendships & relationships /

success / money & work / drugs &

alcohol / school support. Lunchtime

was spent mixing with other students

and exploring the facilities. The

afternoon was then devoted to

providing all the students with

information about life in Trinity’s Sixth

Form. We first started by sharing the

success of our previous A Level

cohort and hoped for even better

and bigger things to come. There

were also talks to find out about the

extra-curricular activities available

ranging from the Luminaries to the

Duke of Edinburgh award. Finally, to

close the day prizes were given out

to the three best teams from the

morning’s team building session. All

ready for the next challenge…A

Levels!

GETTING INTO TOP UNIVERSITIES

An opportunity was arranged on 7 November for a

small group of Year 10 Ad Astra students to attend a

conference entitled, ‘Getting into the Top

Universities’ at Queen Mary University of London. The

conference featured guest speakers from Oxford

and Queen Mary and provided students with

information and tips on applying to some of the top

universities. ‘Getting into the top universities’ does

not necessarily mean just applying to Oxbridge and the other Russell Group universities. Even between them these

universities do not offer the full range of subjects available to take as degrees and some of the best specialist courses

may be offered elsewhere. This conference was designed to help students to start thinking about those decisions at

whichever is their personal ‘top’ choice.

Our students had the following to say:

"I found it very helpful and informative. Before I was a bit confused on how a lot of things work surrounding university’s

applications. It was also helpful to be able to speak to someone from Oxford."

"I really enjoyed the trip to Queen Mary University because it gave me the knowledge on how to get into a top university

that might give me an edge. It taught me vital information and talking to the students gave me an outlook into university

programmes. It was a very informative event. I would definitely recommend the trip to future Ad Astra students."

"I found it very useful and the speakers provided tips that I would have never even thought of. I have learnt that I must

consistently show both academic and personal LORIC skills and that I should keep a list of the key times I have done this,

and most importantly explain what I have learned as a result of this. LORIC helps you demonstrate that you have the key

skills to succeed and grow."

"The Queen Mary University trip gave me great insight into the dedication and motivation needed to get into some of

the top universities. I also now know what these universities look for in terms of work ethic and applications. I will now be

using 'LORIC' to help me in my studies going forward. I had a great time, thank you for the opportunity."

"The top universities lecture helped me understand more about the skills I need when I apply to Russell Group universities

and I now know what universities look for in students. It also gave me insight into how medicine is studied in Oxford and

Cambridge. Thank you for the experience."

BANNED BOOKS WEEK Banned Books Week is an event celebrating the freedom to read. It was launched in America in 1982 in response to a

sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. It highlights the value of free and

open access to information; it brings together the entire book community - librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists,

teachers, students, and readers of all types - in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those

some consider unorthodox or unpopular. This was the first time that we celebrated these texts at Trinity and we plan to

run this as an annual event following its success this year.

Excerpts from texts that have been challenged, censored or even banned in the past were shared with students across

the curriculum during the week of 23 to 27 September. We were able to share a wealth of information and literature with

our students during this event. Texts that were shared with students included: Why Harry Potter was banned in schools

across the world; Biko by Peter Gabriel - "arguably the most significant non South African anti-apartheid protest song”;

The font that escaped the Nazis and landed on the Moon: Futura; Why the Allied Forces banned the publication of

‘Grimm’s Fairy Tales’ following the liberation of Germany; How

Shakespeare altered his plays under the rule of James I; Google

Censorship: Free Speech vs Maintaining Social Cohesion.

Students commented that they found it enlightening to find that

texts that appear so harmless to them have been found to be so

offensive to others. Students also reflected on the extreme power

that words can have as a result of analysing these ‘banned’ texts.

GEOGRAPHY MASTERCLASS

Year 9 had an opportunity to attend

an after-school masterclass on

microplastics in the ocean organised

by the Geography department.

Students learned about what

microplastics are, how they get to

the sea and how microplastic is now

widely distributed throughout our

oceans. We looked at the impact

this is having on the food chain and

why it requires a global solution. Blue

Planet 2, and the work of David

Attenborough, have highlighted the

issue and students made interesting

observations on how ubiquitous

plastic is and what

actions we and society

can take to reduce our

use of plastic. Students

were surprised that

plastics are added to

products we use like

face wash and body

scrubs and that plastic

waste in the ocean is

not just plastic that has

been broken down by ocean

currents but includes tiny

microbeads from the cleansing

products we use. Students are more

informed about this global

environmental problem after the

masterclass.

DUKE OF EDINBURGH Eleven students in the Sixth Form have successfully completed the

navigation and campcraft sections of their Expedition Leader’s Award

at Maes Y Lade Outdoor Education Centre. The expedition also counts

towards their Gold Duke of Edinburgh practice expedition. Over 100

students in Year 9 have registered for the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh

Award and will start their training after Christmas.

MAES Y LADE OUTDOOR PURSUITS TRIP Thirty three Year 9 girls attended a week of outdoor activities in Wales

participating in caving, gorge walking, mountain biking, canoeing and

mountain walking. Teamwork and cooperation are vital for the

enjoyment and success of all activities. All students had an enjoyable

week challenging themselves both physically and mentally.

CROSS COUNTRY Autumn term is a busy term for all of our runners, with the Woodford Green

League, the District Cross Country and the Inter-form Fun Runs. We pride

ourselves at Trinity on the level of stamina of all of our students, winning

the Senior Boys and Girls in the Woodford Green League, and also

winning Year 7 Boys, Junior Girls and Boys and Inter Girls in the District

competition. The inter-form fun runs have been well attended and are

hugely successful. Well done to all who completed the course which was

just over 1 mile.

Gold Duke of Edinburgh Group on

Expedition in Wales

Year 7 Boys Cross Country Team

COLLECTIVE WORSHIP THROUGHOUT NOVEMBER – THE MONTH OF REMEMBRANCE

Throughout the month of November Liturgy Leaders

from across Years 10 and 11 led their respective form

groups in Morning Prayers each day. In addition to this, students took turns in

leading the whole school in 3pm Prayers as well as reciting the Requiem to honour

and to remember in faith all who have served, and continue serving in our armed

forces, especially those who have died and those wounded in battle. During

Advent students are also leading Prayers and Reflections at 3pm.

Please see below some examples of student

voice regarding student contributions:

“I have enjoyed reading the 3pm Prayer. This has extended my role as the Liturgy

Leader.”

“I have made an effective contribution to the Catholic life of the school and would

be happy to do this again in future.”

“My role as Liturgy Leader is an important part of my routine. I have actively read

the Morning Prayer during November but have also read the Requiem Prayer at

3pm in honour of all of those who died in the World Wars.”

“Reading the Prayers has improved my confidence.”

“I have had really positive feedback from my classmates following my involvement in the daily prayer. I feel like I have

made a positive contribution to the Catholic life of the school.”

BAME DIVERSITY FESTIVAL 2019

Microsoft Open Day in support of opportunities for

Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Groups

In October 2019, I was one of ten Sixth Form students from Trinity

who had the opportunity to participate in a Diversity Festival at

Microsoft. This amazing experience was planned in order to

celebrate Black History Month and the talent of students from

African, Caribbean and Asian Heritage. The day was brilliant and

jam packed with activities from meeting and working with new

people, to creating our very own educational app that was

available to download to our own phones. We also had the

opportunity to explore career opportunities at Microsoft and listen

to the panel of guests share their career journey. A warm lunch was provided as well as inspirational speeches to influence us

and motivate us to try hard in school and the fact that we can achieve anything

we want in life. At the beginning of the day they asked us a question, “How many

of you could see a future working at Microsoft”, not one hand was raised. At the

end of the day the same question was asked, almost everyone, including myself,

raised their hands. It truly was a day to remember. The app design part of the

day had a competitive element against students from other schools. Three

students from Trinity, Kiara Asinobi, Owa Alice Uso and I, were part of the winning

team who have now been invited back to Microsoft for a winners VIP experience

in December. William Maxwell (Year 12)

ELEVATE EDUCATION WORKSHOPS Time Management Session with Year 10 and 11 Students On Tuesday 15 October, students from Years 10 and 11 were involved in a

time management session that was held by Elevate Education. This was a

great success; in total, 33 students attended across both year groups. Mollie,

the guest speaker, provided a valuable insight into possible time

management strategies to support student approaches to exam preparation

and revision. The session provided specific information on prioritising, finding

time, reducing workload and procrastination. Please see below some

examples of student voice feedback:

'I learned a great deal about time management and making sure I start my

revision now.’

'I found the session really useful; it will help me deal with my stress levels too.'

'I learned that it is important to plan around your time and not your workload.'

'It was nice to hear from someone who has finished their studies and be able to talk about revision tips and strategies.'

‘It was helpful to learn how to make an effective study plan.'

'I learned to prioritise my tasks and not sacrifice my free time.'

'I very much enjoyed the session. It was beneficial and helped me to realise how to balance work and life.'

Parental Revision Session at Year 11 Cheese & Wine Evening On Friday 1 November, parents of Year 11 students attended a revision

session held by Elevate Education. The purpose of the event was to provide

valuable insight into revision tips and strategies that could further support

students in preparation for the mock and final GCSE examinations. Parents

commented about the benefits of the session; they found it a useful event

which provided examples of revision techniques which can be used to

further support exam preparation. Parent voice was gathered relating to

the effectiveness of this provision and this is summarised below:

‘100% of parents either strongly agreed or agreed that the session was well-

delivered.’

‘100% of parents either strongly agreed or agreed that they were able to

identify useful and meaningful revision strategies that could be used to

support their son/daughter with revision.’

‘100% of parents either strongly agreed or agreed that they will use the strategies identified to support their son/daughter

with revision.’

UCAS PROCESS AT TRINITY Throughout the autumn term, the majority of our Year 13 students have been engaged with the UCAS process. Our

early applicants to Oxbridge/ Medicine/ Veterinary Science/ Dentistry sent their applications by the deadline of 15

October. The rest of the year group that wish to apply have been sending their applications on an ongoing basis,

which will continue to the end of term. Students have been given expert guidance through the PSD programme and

assemblies from Mr McGrory. Students have also received a great deal of guidance with regard their personal

statements from the Sixth Form team. Hopefully, the majority of our students will have sent their applications by the

time the term ends.

PROSPECTIVE OXBRIDGE STUDENTS INTERVIEW PREPARATION On Tuesday 19 November Mr McGrory, Head of Year 13, attended a PiXL6 conference at the Oval Cricket Ground.

There was a number of interesting presentations throughout the day. The most useful was a seminar on preparing

prospective Oxbridge students for their interviews. The seminar went through how the interviews take place at Oxford

and Cambridge. There were also a wealth of materials that those present were directed to that were extremely

useful for our students. Mr McGrory has forwarded students these materials to help them prepare for their interviews.

Dr. Doherty also undertook a series of meetings with the students to help them prepare for the interviews.

DRAMA MASTERCLASS MUSIC VISIT TO THE SOUTH BANKIn November, Drama students from

Years 9-11 took part in a physical

theatre masterclass with a

practitioner from one of the leading

contemporary theatre companies

in the country, Frantic Assembly.

In November, 24 students went to

watch the London Philharmonic

Orchestra at the Festival Hall. The

concert programme consisted of

two Beethoven pieces which

inspired students from the GCSE

and A level classes who analyse this

composer’s music in their course.

Other students who attended

the concert were musicians from

extra-curricular clubs. The

evening was a very positive

experience and for most, this

was their first experience

watching a live professional

orchestra.

YEAR 10 ASSEMBLIES During November, Year 10 Drama students

have been supporting the religious readings in both the All Souls and Advent

assemblies. Diocesan Advisers for Secondary Religious Education, John Adams

and Catherine McKenna observed the drama performances and were so

impressed that they have recommended this approach be used as an example

of model practice for training within the diocese.

A LEVEL HISTORY VISIT TO AUSCHWITZ

Every autumn, courtesy of the Holocaust Education Trust, the History

department sends between two and four Year 13 students to Auschwitz-

Birkenau in order to visit the site of some of the worst horrors of Nazi racial

warfare in the Second World War. Here at Auschwitz over a million Jews

(and other ‘undesirables’ such as Russian POWs and those rounded up

from gypsy communities) were murdered with industrial efficiency –

many thousands each day, seven days a week for over two years.

Despite these facts, composed of hard historical evidence being fully and easily available, there is much ‘fake news’,

particularly on social media that seeks to distort or deny this evidence. Students are susceptible to conspiracy theories

from websites hostile to Jews and western interests and we have a duty as history teachers to rebut these anti-Semitic

and anti-democratic views when they arise.

This is the context behind Trinity’s association with this important educational experience. We also try to attend

Redbridge’s Holocaust memorial service every January, as well as the associated commemorative activities

undertaken in King Solomon High School. The Holocaust is remembered at Trinity with a two minute silence on

Holocaust Memorial Day.

Our students are usually quite moved by the experience and even though much of the Auschwitz site is an authentic

reconstruction, they are generally unaware that the death camp site (and indeed all death camps) and its

surroundings have human ash embedded into the soil permanently.

MEDIA TRIP TO HOLLYWOOD

A busy term in Media and Film studies was capped off with a trip to L.A.!

The Hollywood trip was a wonderful success and experience of a lifetime for 50 students in Year 12 and 13, all of whom

developed a real insight into the inside workings of the Hollywood studios and how they go to such extreme lengths to

create reality on set. Staff and students had much fun, attempting to recreate famous scenes in well-known locations.

Many were heard discussing their relocation plans as excursions were under way!

The visits to Universal Studios, Warner Brother’s Studios and bumping into Lucifer star, Tom Ellis were amongst the

highlights. Needless to say, the students conducted themselves with the utmost dignity and represented the school in

a very positive manner. Of course, there

was much educational value to the trip

and since our return many students have

seen the value of new camera

techniques or the framing of shots, which

I am sure will bear fruit in their NEA units of

work!

The staff on the trip (Mr Vinnicombe, Mr

Prior, Ms Homer, Miss Gorman and Mr

Shepherd) really added to the overall

experience and were organised, diligent

and made the experience all the more

enjoyable for staff and student alike.

MFL ENRICHMENT

Arabic Taster Classes On Tuesday 24 September Year

8 and 9 students had an Arabic Taster Class delivered by a

Language Ambassador from SOAS. During the sessions the

Language Ambassador talked about the importance of

learning languages and her experiences of languages at

university. Afterwards students had the opportunity to learn

some key phrases in Arabic. The students also learned

some interesting facts, for example, there are 10 different

words in Arabic for camel and there are 22 countries where

Arabic is spoken.

Year 7 Spelling Bee Students in Year 7 are preparing for a Spelling Bee in French and Spanish. Students have to translate

the words from English and spell them in the target language, in doing so they are able to practise and improve their

vocabulary, spelling and memory skills. The competition

has 4 stages and this term we are focusing on the class

competition.

Year 8 and 9 Spanish Gifted and Talented

Workshops Students in Year 8 and 9 attend Gifted and Talented

workshops each week with the Language Assistants.

During these sessions the students practise their language

skills as well as develop their cultural knowledge through

a range of activities, games and quizzes.

LITERACY AMBASSADORS AND

‘READ ALOUD’ PROGRAMME

At the start of this half term, a 'Read Aloud' intervention programme was

launched to support Year 7 students with their reading skills. Year 13 volunteers

lead this programme having attended a bespoke training session. Over the

past half term, these sixth formers have given up one of their lunch hours each

week to read with our Year 7 students; we are already seeing impressive

results in the strides being made by our Year 7 students.

In order to thank the Year 13 students for

their commitment to both the reading

programme and to the vision of the

school, Dr Doherty officially commissioned

the Year 13 students as 'Literacy

Ambassadors' in the Bethan Library. They

were awarded with special pin badges, which they will wear with pride. The Year 7

students, whom the Sixth Formers assist, were also part of the commissioning

ceremony and they watched their Sixth Form mentors be awarded with this special

honour. Dr Doherty also congratulated the Year 7 readers with a personalised

certificate, a bookmark and plenty of sweet treats.

One Year 7 student thanked the Year 13 students on behalf of her friends and said

“Thank you so much for your positivity and for helping us to read. You are our

reading angels”.

PAREIDOLIA AND ANTHROPOMORPHISM

Have you ever seen a face in a cloud, or seen a face burned into your toast? Pareidolia is a psychological

phenomenon that causes people to see patterns in a random stimulus. This often leads to people

assigning human characteristics to objects. Usually this is simplified to people seeing faces in

objects where there is not one. A famous example is The Man in the Moon. Psychologists think

that the phenomenon of Pareidolia was advantageous to our ancestors as it enabled them to

react quickly to perceived threats, being hard-wired to see faces probably saved one of your

ancestors from being a sabre tooth tiger’s dinner.

In Year 9, DT teachers are teaching students how this phenomenon is being used by designers

to create anthropomorphic products.

As humans, we tend to be drawn to forms and patterns that are anthropomorphic, or exhibit human-like traits.

Designers have used this innate emotional attraction to humanoid characteristics to get attention for products,

create positive interactions and relationships, and convey subtle messages. Examples include car front designs

that are created purposely to impart personalities; sports cars have big chins and strong lines over their

headlights for brows, whereas family cars contain rounder friendlier, looking eyes. (The BMW 5 series was seen

as the most powerful looking car and the Toyota Prius as the friendliest).

Packaging such as bottles are often modelled on different human forms, the Coca-

Cola or “Mae West” bottle was designed to have feminine proportions, the Listerine

mouthwash bottle was created to resemble a male with a strong, broad torso and the

Method soaps bottle has a baby-like geometry that conveys comfort, safety and

honesty.

So next time you randomly buy a product or start thinking of your phone or car as a

person it may be down to some very clever designing based on a very old

phenomenon.

ENRICHMENT IN ENGLISH

Performance Poet Visit:

Adisa the Verbaliser

On 14 November, performance

poet Adisa the Verbaliser

wowed 80 KS3 students with a

performance of his poetry

followed by poetry writing

workshops. The resulting poetry written and performed by students was

extremely impressive. Students were pleasantly surprised to discover

such an engaging and alternative approach to traditional poetry.

Spelling Bee

On 20 November, Year 8 students, Christian Labella and Noah Lewis, attended Bancroft School’s Spelling Bee

competition. They demonstrated an impressive array of sophisticated spellings and achieved third place in the

competition.

Year 11 Theatre Trip: An Inspector Calls

On 29 and 30 November, the English department had the wonderful experience of

taking approximately a hundred Year 11 students to see Stephen Daldry’s multi-

award winning production of An Inspector Calls. Daldry’s visionary, radical,

challenging version of JB Priestley’s classic thriller, hailed as the theatrical event of its

generation, has been seen by more than four million people worldwide. Therefore, it

was viewed as the perfect opportunity for students to see an exam text come to life

on stage and help them to develop a confident understanding of the play through seeing a live performance. The play

begins when Inspector Goole arrives unexpectedly at the prosperous Birling family home, their peaceful dinner party

is shattered by his investigations into the death of a young woman. His startling revelations shake the very foundations

of their lives and challenge us all to examine our consciences. Students enjoyed being given the opportunity to attend

this trip and found the performance incredibly beneficial as they all felt that it provided them with a deeper and more

sophisticated understanding of the play in preparation for their GCSEs.

‘I enjoyed going to see An Inspector Calls at the theatre because it helped me to understand the play as it brought

the events to life which I think will be beneficial when writing my exam responses.’

‘I really enjoyed seeing An Inspector Calls as it brought the characters to life and therefore, gave me greater

understanding of the message of the play.’

‘I found the trip extremely helpful for my English Literature exam as it is much easier to see how the audience reacts to

certain elements of the plot. Moreover, whilst the stage directions help you visualise how the play will look – it is much

clearer if you see it through your own eyes.’

A Level Literature Othello Lecture Day "The robb'd that smiles steals something from the thief; he robs himself that

spends a bootless grief."

On 25 November Year 12 English Literature students had the pleasure of

attending a full day of lectures on one of their set texts, Othello. Lectures

were delivered by professors from some of the top universities along with

examiners from AQA. Students thoroughly enjoyed the day and secured

a wealth of knowledge on one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies.

SUCCESS FOR THE LITERARY SOCIETY On 27 November, Miss Gorman attended the Jack Petchey

award ceremony at Redbridge Town Hall to receive a

leadership award for the Literary Society. A grant was

awarded to the school which will be used to fund future

activities and performances.

The Literary Society has organised two December theatre

trips: a range of students from across all key stages will be

attending Dark Night on Thursday 5 December - an evening

of ghost stories from the past, chilling tales from the present,

and unnerving real-life accounts of our haunted London. A

range of KS4 and KS5 students will be attending Swive

[Elizabeth] on Thursday 19 December; this new play created

by award-winning writer Ella Hickson and director Natalie

Abrahami will shine

candlelight on the ways and means by which women in power negotiate

patriarchal pressure in order to get their way. Both productions are being staged

at the candlelit Sam Wanamaker playhouse within The Globe.

In addition, Year 8 have studied Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’ this term. A

range of Year 8 students will be attending a theatre production of this much loved

novel on Tuesday 10 December at The Old Vic Theatre. Year 9 have been studying

Susan Hill’s ‘The Woman in Black’ and 50 students will be attending a theatre

production of this gothic tale at the Fortune Theatre on Tuesday 17 December.

MATTHEW HARROLD MET WITH

TRINITY’S TALENTED FOOTBALLERS On 18 September, students across Years 7-13 met with current Leyton Orient footballer and ex Trinity

student, Matthew Harrold. Each of these students is currently undertaking a football scholarship or apprenticeship

programme or has aspirations to be a professional footballer in the future. Matthew talked about his own experiences

of juggling school work along with his training schedule. He also discussed the importance of finding an agent that

would look out for a person’s best interest as well as taking an active role in supporting their careers. One of the most

interesting things that Matthew mentioned to students was the importance of developing mental strength and resilience

- “it is often the players that are most successful who demonstrate the right mentality and ability to overcome criticism”.

Some examples of student voice are shown below:

"I found the session really interesting. Matt talked about his own

career and offered me guidance that I think will help me."

"Matt was very honest and spoke about why it was important to

be represented by an agent who has your best interests at

heart."

"I now realise that my education is more important than my

footballing ability. It is important to have something to fall back

on if I wasn't to be successful and good grades will help me to

achieve that."

"As a professional footballer it is not just about your footballing

ability - your punctuality, attendance and work ethic are things

that also make a real difference."

MATHS STRATEGY GAMES CLUB

Now running in its fifth successful year, the club is primarily targeted at KS3 students but open to

all and runs every Thursday lunchtime. Simplified versions of the games’ rules have been

produced which introduces the students to strategy board games. Students appreciate the

time to come and learn new games along with classics like Chess and have the space and

time to play them. There has been a mix of boys and girls attending; students tend to play with

peers from their own year group and this helps to build their friendship bonds. Comments from

students included "Games club is really fun. We learn and play a variety of games. I would

recommend it to everyone". "I feel that the Strategy Games club is a great way to clear your

head and to occupy your time. It is great fun and, if possible, I will come here until the end of

my time at Trinity". Another student said she liked coming because “it lets you have a go at

playing different board games that are fun

whilst developing your social skills”. There has been a dedicated

group of Year 11 students, in particular, boys who have been

attending every week since the club started, way back when they

were in Year 7. The quality of discussion from playing these games has

improved the quality of discussion of proof in the mathematics

classroom.

YEAR 11 STUDENTS WORKING SMARTER AT TRINITY Trinity mathematics department has partnered with PinPoint Learning to transform the quality of feedback for students

after their maths mock exams. The personalised booklets and re-tests are superb. The teacher and pupil matrix are

incredibly invaluable tools and extremely user friendly. Progress is tracked in each GCSE topic over time using data

from real past exam papers. Trinity students can login to see their consistent weaknesses from several tests as well as

their consistent strengths and where they have improved. Students can hover over

the marks to see the actual question they got wrong, try it again and see if they

can do it again. And much, much more...

PinPoint learning is by far the best new resource we have and we have used it with all abilities in Year 11 this year.

MR LIVERMORE - TRINITY MATHS

MASTERY SPECIALIST

Mastery Specialists are classroom practitioners who develop expertise in the

mastery approach to teaching maths. In recent years the mathematics GCSE has become far more challenging,

stretching students further than ever before. Procedural approaches harbouring, at best, only a superficial knowledge

of the subject are now a thing of the past. In order to raise standards, enhancing the career prospects and ultimately

the lives of our young people at Trinity, an alternative teaching philosophy is required.

Mastery is that exciting alternative. Originating from China; a World leader in mathematical excellence, the essential

idea is that all children need a deep understanding of the mathematics they are studying so that future mathematical

learning is built on solid foundations which do not need to be re-taught. This improved knowledge will ensure that over

time, gaps in attainment are narrowed whilst the attainment of all is raised in our school.

As Mastery Specialist, I believe that students should be urged to think outside the box investigating for themselves why

mathematics works in the way that it does by observing the quaint mathematical patterns and relationships that

appear naturally in our universe. Mastery will also help them to understand that any given problem can be solved in

more than one way with each method having advantages and disadvantages. Consequently, students must be

encouraged to embrace different interpretations of the same idea since this will make learning mathematics less rigid

as well as providing strong links between different mathematical concepts that were once considered, by the student,

to be completely independent and therefore unrelated.

SEA CADETS VISIT TRINITY

During November, the Sea Cadets came into school to deliver a

Marine Engineering Workshop to Year 8 in their Science and

Technology lessons. This was part of the school’s STEM enrichment

programme.

Students learned through practical activities about buoyancy,

displacement, density, Newton’s Third Law of Motion and Archimedes

Principle. In teams, they were tasked with designing and building a

ship which was stable in water while carrying as much cargo as

possible without sinking. This practical task concluded in the students

testing their ships and discovering which team succeeded in carrying

the most cargo whilst

staying afloat.

The workshop also included information about the earning potential in

marine engineering careers and further education pathways. Students

were informed of extra-curricular activities they could take part in outside

of school to really make their university applications stand out.

The students found this workshop both educational and enjoyable.

AUTISTIC SPECTRUM DISORDER

Did you know that:-

“1% of children have some form of Autistic Spectrum Disorder

(ASD). This means 1 out of 3 - 4 classes in school will have a

student with substantial, inherent difficulties with the

understanding of abstract concepts, empathy, interpretation

of different opinions, group work and imaginative writing”

and that “78% of young people with autism think people

outside of their family don’t know enough about the

condition.”

Year 9 form groups have been taking part in a presentation to

develop their knowledge and understanding of Autistic

Spectrum Disorder (ASD). During the course of the

presentation on ASD, Year 9 students evaluated their prior

knowledge of ASD, experienced a little bit of what it might be

like to have ASD and then explained how they could best support one another both inside and outside of the classroom.

Students were also introduced to the many strengths that an individual with ASD can demonstrate and some of the

famous people with ASD who have achieved great things in the world e.g. Greta Thunberg. Students engaged in a

lively Question and Answer session in which they demonstrated their understanding of ASD by completing a True or False

activity. The need to support each other within the context of the teaching of the Catholic Church by learning practical

strategies to help show understanding to others particularly within the school community was a strong theme that ran

through the presentation.

Student comments have included: I now know… “how to help someone with Autism make friends and be better friends

with them” and “the importance of treating everyone equally.”

CAREERS DEPARTMENT NEWS

This term the Careers department’s focus has been on KS4 and after

Christmas we have a range of activities planned for Years 7-9.

Year 10 students have seen the beginning of the Year 10 Work Experience

Programme. They will be out of school on their placements from 8 -19 June

2020. A meeting for parents took place on 18 November and was very well

attended. Debbie Fleming from

BEP gave a presentation which

covered all the information parents

need and this was followed by a

question and answer session.

Although most of our Year 11 students

stay at Trinity to study A Levels it is

important that they know what other

options are available to them. This can

be confusing and to try and help

navigate all the various routes Year 11 parents were invited to a presentation from

our independent careers advisor on 2 December. Melrose Gray gave a very

informative presentation and parents were extremely appreciative.

Following on from this a Careers Fair took place in the morning of Friday 6

December. A range of employers and colleges came to give students

information about the range of courses and qualifications they offer. All Year 11 students attended across the morning

and they, as always, made a very good impression!

PROSPECTIVE YEAR 12 OPEN EVENING

On Wednesday 4 December the Sixth Form team organised a Prospective Year

12 Open Evening. The event was very busy with hundreds of prospective students

visiting our Upper Site. Our current Year 11/12 students acted as guides for the

parents and students who visited us from other establishments. Each department

had members of staff and displays that were constructed so that the prospective

students could find out more about the subject areas they were interested in.

Miss Keegan, Director of Sixth Form, held two talks throughout the evening on life

in our Sixth Form. Dr Doherty finished the event with an address to prospective

students and their parents.

DAME KELLY HOLMES TRUST MENTORING

Four of our Year 9 students, Sacha Williams, Maya-Lily Baptiste, Evie Francis and Kanan Barrett, have

been chosen to participate in a fantastic mentoring programme run through the Dame Kelly Holmes

Trust, “AQA Unlocking Potential programme”. Only 80 students across the UK were chosen to participate

(after being nominated by their teachers) and we believe that the benefits are truly life changing.

Throughout the year, the group will receive monthly mentoring from Claire Bennett, a former Great British

international fencer and an individual Bronze and team Gold medal winning Commonwealth Games athlete. The

sessions which begin from 17 December, are designed to build student confidence, self-belief and motivation as well

as develop their networking opportunities. The programme culminates in students running and delivering a social

action project, designed to have a positive local impact. The skills and experience the group will gain in planning and

arranging this project will have a positive impact on their aspirations and expectations on future life goals.

ART CAREER PATHWAYS AND MORE…

The Art department continue to work with galleries and museums. This term Year 12/ 13 Art and Photography students

have already visited the Tate Galleries and the Royal Academy of Arts as part of their courses.

We had another excellent session for Year 12 and 13 on career

pathways and applications for University / Foundation, delivered

by the University of the Arts.

Students transformed both sites with their contributions looking

back to Remembrance Day and looking forward to Christmas.

BEBRAS NATIONAL LOGIC PUZZLE COMPETITION

In November, Year 10 GCSE and Year 12 A Level Computer Science students,

as well as some Year 8 students took part in the Bebras national logic puzzle

competition, trying to solve eighteen logic puzzles in 40 minutes. Seven Year 8 students (Julianna Zajda,

Ciara Hornsey, Aleksander Durak, Nate Harding, Ciaran Brooks, Maya Bethelmie, Alex De Lima Santos)

achieved exceptional results and have qualified for a computing challenge run by Oxford University. Below is an

example of one of the easier puzzles. Can you solve it?

Beaver Daniel received a chest of gold that is locked with an electronic lock. The lock can be opened by entering a code of 9 digits. Daniel has received the following hints about the code:

The only digits in the code are 2, 6, 7 and 9

The digit with the highest value is used the lowest number of times in the code.

The digit with the lowest value is used the highest number of times in the code.

The code looks the same in reverse.

All consecutive digits are different.

The last digit entered in odd.

Question: With the information above can you determine the pass code?