Regents Review Winter 2021-22

REGENTS PARK COMMUNITY COLLEGE NEWSLETTER

WINTER 2021

CA & DT Student Team Page 22

Alysha Y9 Competition

PSHE Billy & Louie

Olly Y10 - Diving

Page 9

Page 3

Page 21

The Regents Review Winter 2021

WELCOME

Headteacher’s Welcome

Here at Regents Park we talk a great deal about our family ethos, the strength of our community and the warmth that you feel when you are part of the RPCC family. As a key ingredient to the magic of RPCC, we also refer to the #Green and Proud often sharing moments when we have felt proud of our staff, students or our wider community and this year our level of appreciation goes wider than ever before. The Pandemic has affected us all in different ways and as we enter the last week of the autumn term, it is clear that we have more challenges to face in 2022 but I know that the RPCC family will shine despite these challenges. I want to start with sharing how proud I am of every single student at RPCC. Learning keeps changing and expectations keep changing but their resilience and determination remains steadfast. Last week we celebrated with Year 11 as they attended their mock result day and although we had some smiles and some tears, what was most evident was their commitment to improve and move forward to do their best. This week we will celebrate with every year group in our reward assemblies and I am totally confident that the same positive messages will be apparent across the school. Staff form the other essential ingredient that makes RPCC so magical and this term they have been nothing less than heroic. At some points in the term we have had almost 20 staff off unwell, many with Covid and every day those off site have done their best to work from home and those on site have taken additional lessons and carried out additional duties. As a direct result of this support RPCC has carried on business as normal when it has been very much anything but normal, thank you to every member of staff, you are amazing. But it is not just within the school building that our community is amazing, the magic comes from many members of our community which is very obvious in our packed Christmas trolley appeal ready to share with some of our families over the

festive period. I would also like to thank you for all your wonderful messages of support that we received from our parent survey and linked to our other communication networks. We share as many as we can with staff and I can assure you it makes a huge difference. Sadly at this time of year we have to say farewell to some of our RPCC team as they move on to new challenges. Firstly, I would like to wish Mr Moth good luck in his new post as Assistant Headteacher at a school outside of the city, he has been part of RPCC for over five years as Curriculum Leader of Science. During this time he has led on the development of the curriculum and the improvement of the science labs along with the daily support of students and staff, he will be missed but we are extremely proud of his promotion. Mr Ashworth will be pursuing family commitments in the New Year and we wish him and his family well, he has taught generations both within RPCC and wider education and his knowledge will be missed from the teaching profession. Our Inclusion team will be wishing Mrs Wareham a fond farewell as she takes on a new role within the city and they will gain from her patience and creativity. In January we are excited to welcome our new SENCo, Ms Bundy, who joins us with a wealth of experience from a variety of educational establishments. During her initial planning visits this term she has shared her excitement and her knowledge and I know she will support the Inclusion team in moving from strength to strength. Finally, for me New Year resolutions have become more complex to predict in uncertain times and Christmas plans may need to change but what will remain the same no matter what, is our dedicated passion for a positive future for RPCC. Keep safe over the festive period and we look forward to welcoming you all back in January 2022. Mrs Barnes Headteacher

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The Regents Review Winter 2021

GENERAL NEWS

Kooth Wellbeing Kooth is an online chat and emotional well-being support service available to all children and young people in the area. Kooth is a completely safe and anonymous website where young people can go to gain advice and support, 365 days a year. https://www.kooth.com/

Olly Y10 - Diving A massive congratulations to Olly in Year 10, who attended a diving competition in Southampton (Southampton Invitational Diving Competition) on 23rd October, where he won the gold medal in the 14/15 year old category. This was a bit of a warm up for the biggest competition of his diving career to date which took place over 5 days in Plymouth over October half term - The British Junior Elite Diving Championships 2021. Olly finished as the top ranked diver in the UK of his age on platform and managed a very respectable 3rd place in the under 16s category in the prelims - finishing 4th in the finals. He also took part in the under 19s synchro event and brought home a bronze. Well done Olly! #greenandproud

Residents & Parking To ensure our student’s safety and show consideration to our residents when picking up or dropping off your child at school, we ask that you to follow the points below: • Please do not stop in the middle of the road • Please do not block resident’s driveways • Please do not park on the yellow keep clear zig zags • Please do not double park outside the school • Please do not park on private property Thank you for your cooperation and support in this matter.

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The Regents Review Winter 2021

GENERAL NEWS

Wellbeing

Did you know we have a page dedicated to wellbeing for our students on our website? This features recent NHS Mental Health newsletters, wellbeing Wednesday presentations, up to date information on our wellbeing award, wellbeing support portals and much more. For more information, please visit: https://www.regentsparkcollege.org.uk/home/ student-wellbeing/ Christmas Trolley Once again, Regents Park promote the Christmas trolley. We would like to thank everyone who has helped us support this.

COVID-19 Testing Please remember to carry out your twice-weekly COVID-19 lateral flow tests on Sunday evening and Wednesday evening and weekly saliva tests on Wednesday morning. We also recommend that you continue to test over the Christmas holiday period. The recent Department for Education guidance has asked that students are to complete a lateral flow test within school upon their return from the Christmas break - please see timetable for this below. Students will return to school on Thursday 6th January.

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The Regents Review Winter 2021

GENERAL NEWS

Armistice Day

staff and students throughout the week to support ‘The Royal British Legion’. Students were also invited to a hot chocolate morning with Mrs Barnes and received respect ethos badges for their support of our remembrance activities.

On the eleventh hour of Thursday 11th November, staff and students observed a two minute silence. Mr Barron played ‘The Last Post’ to mark the occasion. A group of students arrived to school dressed in their cadet uniforms and took on the role of selling poppies to

Library Old/rare Books Display

Research by the Regents Park librarians uncovered that only a few editions of this title contained what is know as a ‘ghost word’. This is a word that starts in a dictionary as a printing error, then is not picked up in subsequent editions, thereby becoming an actual word entry that survives! The ghost word in our copy is ‘dord’: meaning n. Physics & Chem. Density. (there is actually no such word!)

We have been very fortunate to have some very special old books donated to the Regents Park library by Mrs Heath’s mum. They are now housed, in the glass cabinet in the library. Our students have found them fascinating. Miss Bradley - Librarian, was talking to students about ‘Touch or tactile memory of an object’ and an interesting discussion ensued on whether students had ever seen / touched anything as old. Some said they had touched an older house, tree or even hugged a grandparent near 100 years old! One of the books, ‘Webster’s New International Dictionary, 1934 edition’, is an important copy of this well-printed dictionary.

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GENERAL NEWS

Wellbeing Books Section Mrs Highmore is the library lead on well-being and is continually adding to our well-used collection of books dealing with a range of well-being issues. The section is called ‘When a book may help’ and also includes a poster with details of where students can access help if needed. The recent visit by our wellbeing lead, included a student, Belle in Year 9 showing the visitor the well-being book section in the library, as well as the calm ‘purple chair’ area where students can study using our laptops in a nurturing environment if they are having a challenging day.

After School Clubs in the Library Here are just some of the activities that are run after school in our school library. Monday: Movie magic - watch movies based on books over two weeks and then discuss whether the movie is as successful or as good as the book. All are welcome. Tuesday: The library is host to a maths revision session run by Mr Selfe. Thursday: Quiz time with Mrs Highmore - win a small prize and test your general knowledge. Friday: The library is host to Year 11 science revision with the Regents Park science teachers.

The Regents Park library has been a real ‘Room of Requirement’ (you will remember that Neville first found this room in the Harry Potter Book series) this term and has been pleased to support so many school activities. It makes our library a lovely vibrant place to be. Some library statistics from September – December 2021 • 98 English / AR classes held in the library • About 500 students use the library outside of class times each week • We issue about 100 books a week • There are currently 167,411 items / books on our library catalogue • About 8 million = number of words read on Accelerated Reader (AR) • Other classes that have used the library include MFL, PE & DT

• Special events held in the library: Mr Winson’s Year 11 Careers Day & Year 7 PSHE day • Revision sessions & study support sessions held in the library: Year 11 Science (science teachers) and maths with Mr Selfe • The library has helped support ESL students • The library has been the centre for books on current topics, for example: well-being, disability and LGBTQ+ issues • The Regents Park library is a designated school well-being safe place Merry Christmas from the Regents Park library!

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The Regents Review Winter 2021

GENERAL NEWS

Our Apprentices!

Regents Park has recently employed two new apprentices to join the staffing team. We asked them how they’re finding their experience, and here is what they had to say:

“When I was at school I never thought I would go down the path of being an apprentice in PE teaching, especially not in a secondary school. When I joined Regents Park Community College it flipped that thought completely and I was more than happy I had. The staff have been and are more than welcoming, helping me find my way round or answering any questions that have come to me. Another reason I have felt more than welcome have been the students. When helping in lessons or just walking around the school I hear ‘Hey Miss G’ or ‘Good morning Miss G’. Just the feeling of the students acknowledging me being there and wanting to say hello to me or feeling like they can come and talk to me has been a very nice feeling. Thankyou Regents Park.” “After college, I was struggling to find what I wanted to do as a career. I kept learning new things from drawing to programming, but nothing got me excited as much as fixing and working on technology. That was what brought me to applying to work here at Regents Park in IT and I couldn’t be happier. Everyone I have met so far has been incredibly welcoming and easy to communicate with. I adore helping people and working to support people who need help with IT issues and it never fails to make me proud to have started my career here.”

Miss Grannum

Mr Castle

Preordering Lunch The new and improved SwiftQ preorder system is now up and running. If you have not yet signed up to the preorder system, please contact reception to be issued with a new letter. The link to access the preorder system is https://regentspark.swift- order.co.uk/. The set up process must be carried out using a computer or laptop. Once the set up is complete, you can then log in using a mobile. Please contact reception if you require any assistance with this.

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GENERAL NEWS

Poppy Appeal Regents Park is proud to announce that we have raised a total of £163.57 towards the Poppy Appeal.

Year 11 PSHE Day Year 11 had a real good opportunity to engage in relevant sessions as part of our PSHE Day back in October. They rotated around the following 6 sessions during the day. • Summary of Level 2 & 3 college/apprenticeship pathways led by Solent University • Time to research their possible pathways, investigate/apply to colleges • Session with Solent Mind covering mental health and exam stress • Session with Yellow Door covering the dangers of pornography • Online finance session covering debt, risk planning & scams • Fertility/pregnancy and the factors that can affect it led by Mr Moth from science recent increase in concerns regarding common childhood infections. Infections are now being seen in larger numbers and also among a wider age range. For more information & guidance on this, please visit our website: https://www.regentsparkcollege.org.uk/home/ parents/news/poorly-child-advice/ Poorly Child? Advice... The Health Protection Team have seen a

Year 7 PSHE day Year 7 had their first taste of a full day of PSHE in November. They really embraced the challenges and sessions delivered during the day: • Session on healthy activities with Mr Gates • Examining antisocial behaviour and the causes/ prevention with Miss Fison • Session with Solent Mind covering mental health and wellbeing • Session with Yellow Door covering what makes up healthy relationships • Healthy bodies session covering smoking & vaping amongst other topics led by Miss Rendell • Developing their leadership organisation, resilience, initiative & communication (LORIC) skills with Mr Pine & Mrs Reed

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GENERAL NEWS

Year 8 & 9 Session with Billy & Louie We ran a bonus event for both Year 8 & 9 this term courtesy of Billy and Louie who have previously performed on “Little Mix - The Search”. They were able to play some of their songs before engaging our students in a really good discussion covering the topics of wellbeing, body image and social media issues. This made for a fantastic session that both year groups were able to take part in. We are now nearing the end of our first term at Regents Park and I am so proud of what the year group have achieved over the last 14 weeks. The students have transitioned seemlessly in to the Regents Park community and have shown they perfectly fit our ethos. It has been lovely attending Year 7 lessons and seeing the amazing work they have put in to their studies and it has also been a pleasure celebrating the achievements of students every Friday in assembly. The students have put so much effort in to their work and the results of these efforts are staggering proving the talents of the students in Year 7. Year 7

A huge shout out to the following for being in the top 10 of our conduct league:

Year 7 currently sit far at the top of attendance and conduct points in school and I challenge students to keep this up throughout their time at Regents Park, to prove we are the best year group in the school. I am very excited about further celebrating the achievements of our Year 7 students and thank you all at home for supporting the students in their first term at Regents Park. I wish you all an amazing Christmas and look forward to seeing all the students refreshed, recharged and ready to go in 2022. Mr Gates Head of Year 7

Alicja Dawid Enis James Jasmine Jessica Maja Mateusz Safi

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GENERAL NEWS

Year 8 Year 8 has made a real positive start to the year, and I have seen a real maturity and a desire to achieve in lessons. I regularly visit Year 8 classes and it makes me proud to see that students are fully engaged and enjoying lessons. This is an important year as student consider their options for Year 9. This year will shape the final 3 years at Regents Park. Although it may seem a little daunting, I believe it will further sharpen their academic focus in Year 8 moving into Year 9. There is an options evening on Thursday 17th February 2022, which will highlight and explain the three- year KS4 curriculum and the choices that your child can opt for. Throughout this year so far, I am so pleased to have made positive phone calls home at the end of each

week for the fantastic work students have done. We have had so many Year 8 students rewarded each week some more than once. Well done to the following students who have been amazing in the first term. Ava, Jessica, Luca, Lola, Ruby, Sophie, Taisia, Gayathri, Nelly, Eleftheria, Izzy, Mae, James, Julia, Resham, Alana, Miqdad, Umar, Kiera, Antonia, Faith, Priya, Rayan, Archie, Daisy, Rayyan, Krishanth and Fin I would like to take this opportunity to wish you an enjoyable Christmas break and I look forward to working with all students in Year 8 as they consider their option pathways later in 2022. Mr S Sinclair Head of Year 8

Year 9 As the first term and year draws to a close, it is nice to reflect on how well Year 9 have settled into their GCSE options. Feedback from staff reflect the hard work that the year group are putting into their studies and moving at a fast pace towards their GCSE’s. In September, it was lovely to see you all for the GCSE welcome evening - seeing faces, rather than hearing voices on the telephone. At Christmas, it is always great to praise students who are working hard throughout their studies. We have had the wonderful Hot 50 return once more, students thoroughly enjoyed their celebration.

Hanna Harry Hong Isaac Isabella Jack James Jasmine Joshua

I look forward to seeing you in the new year and hope you have a happy, healthy holidays. Mrs E Bishop Head of Year 9 It is incredible to see so many students with 100% attendance:

Julia Leah Lilla Lillie Lilly Lola Lucy

Afsar Alan Alysha Belle Ben Casey Dastan Dylan Erins Ezra Georgia

Maillie Marcus Mateusz Maya

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The Regents Review Winter 2021

GENERAL NEWS

Natalia Neil Oscar Ruby Sophie Tyler We have a lot of students who are Zero Heroes this term:

Georgia Grace Grace Hanna Harry Harry Harvey Haydn Heera Helena Hong India Isabella

Natalia Oliwia Oliwia Oscar Oscar Oskar Owen Remmi Robert Robyn

Adarsh Adrian Afsar

Ruby Ruby Ryan Salvo Sean

Alex Alfie

Jack Jack

Alysha Amelia Archie Arjun Austina Ayisha Belle Ben Benjamin

James Jamie Jinx Josh Julia Junior Leo Lewis Lewis Lilla Liwia Lola Lottie Luke

Sophia Sophie Stanley Suheera Tom Tyler Whitlee Willow Zahira The top 10 of the year group for achievement points are:

Bradley Charlie Connie Daisy Daniel Daniel Danny Declan

Stanley Darcey Ernest Jack James Julia

Mahdi Mailie Manjeet Marcus Mateusz Maya Megan Millie Milosz Mina Nadia

Dylan Eddie Eren Ethan Eve Ezra Faith Gabe

Lilla Lola Lucy Ruby

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GENERAL NEWS

Year 10 Year 10 have had a very positive and productive start to the year. Over these past few months we have been supporting their transition into Year 10 expectations and work ethic. Through the use of tutor academic mentoring, PSHE sessions, CORE subject intervention groups and continuous monitoring and evaluation. They have been an integral part of developing the whole school anti-bullying alliance through becoming ambassadors and agreeing to be a part of a Regents Park school training day later next year. Alongside this, students have been attending a wide range of extra-curricular clubs including: dance productions, drama productions, girls and boys football and much more.

I am very proud and impressed of the continuous hard work that Year 10 have put into this first term through all of their subjects. They are showing resilience and a fantastic mature attitude towards their upcoming GCSE mocks. Please see below the top achievers for Year 10:

Charlie Chloe Freya Millie Rosie

Head of Year 10 Mr A Stone

Year 11 As always, our wonderful year group have settled back in to the swing of things with a positive mindset and even though this year is going to be full of new challenges and exciting adventures, I am certain that the students will step up to the challenge and flourish. We have already had a wide variety of fantastic events and reasons to celebrate in the short time we have been back to school this academic year. Firstly, the Year 11 cohort displayed maturity and conducted themselves well throughout the two weeks of their ‘mock exams’. It was evident that all students wanted to do their best and they were given the opportunity to experience a mock results day to showcase all of their hard work. In support of the mocks and in the lead up to their final GCSE

exams, all students have been invited to seminar sessions with Ms Reed (Assistant Headteacher), to help with important skills relating to revision. These have been such a success that we are currently in the process of organising more sessions, both subject-based and general revision to ensure that all students feel well prepared for their exams. As you are aware, students will be well underway with college and apprenticeship applications and will hopefully be showcasing their talents, interests and career aspirations for each of the colleges that they have applied to. Detailed below are key dates for two of the local colleges: Barton Peveril – Applications close on 18th February 2022

City College – Applications close end of March 2022 As well as exams, mocks and revision, we have had numerous other reasons to celebrate this term. For example, we have opened the ‘Nightingale Station’, as a safe space for students and staff to have restorative practice conversations. The winner of the competition to name the room was Ernie in Year 11 – a very ‘green and proud’ moment. Wishing you all a very restful break and we look forward to welcoming back Year 11 in January for their final full term here at Regents Park. Miss E Grassie Head of Year 11 Turn over for the top 20 Achievement Points.

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GENERAL NEWS

Allia Anna Chloe Daniel Eashan Emily Erin Harry Harvey Jack Josh Kareena Katie Kimi Liam Matus Mckenzie Nathan Wanessa

Charlie Chloe Craig Daniel Denisa Dia Diego Dimitar Dylan Eashan Ella Ellie Finnian George Harry Hayden Henry Holly Ibrahim James Jamie Jessica Joseph Joseph Joseph Josh Joshua Joy Kaitlyn Jack Jack Jack Elnta Emily Erin Erin Faith

Kimi Kira Leyla Lisa Maddison Malee Mariana Martin Matus Megan Megan Michael Mikolaj Molly Natan Nathan Nicole Oscar Poppy Raaed Rihana Rio Rory Samid Samuel Sarah Simone Sophia Sophie Stacy Summer Tamim Tom Vernessa Vivian Wanessa William Yanni Yussuf

Zero Heroes

Abigail Adrian Alex

Alice Alisa Allia Amandeep Andrea Ani Anna Archie Ben

Bethan Bradley Caitlin Callum Carl Cassie

Katie Kayla

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Mathematics DEPARTMENTAL NEWS Barvember In the Regents Park maths department, November has a slightly different name - Barvember. Barvember is a national scheme in maths that creates new problems for students to tackle every single day using a mathematical representation – ‘The Bar Model’. The Bar Model is renowned for making tricky wordy problems easier to understand and solve, by putting the information into a pictorial format. For example:

Times Table Rock Stars This autumn, we will start ‘Times Table Rock Stars’ with our current Year 7 cohort to give them the opportunity to practice their mental numeracy and calculation fluency. When it comes to time tables, speed & accuracy is important – the more facts you remember, the easier it is for your brain to do harder calculations. How it works… • We will have a baseline test for 5 minutes to see how good our Year 7s are at the moment. • We will then practice times tables to rock music for 3 minutes each lesson. • After 100 lessons, we will take the baseline test again to see the progress and improvements made throughout the year. • We will then collate all results and organise • All Year 7 students will need to practise their times tables at home using online games and using their logon details given to them by their teacher. • There are six main game types at the heart of TT Rock Stars: single player or multiplayer • Frequency of practice is key with learning. It’s more effective to practice three minutes a day at least four times a week than practising for the same total duration once a week • Game Types: Single player games - garage/gig (Auto or teacher-set questions, best for practice and earning coins), studio (questions up to 12 × 12, earn rock speed and status), soundcheck (25 questions, 6 second limit per question) • Game types: multi-player games - festival (questions up to 12 × 12, take on the world), arena (auto or teacher-set questions, compete against your class mates), rockslam (questions up to 12 × 12, head to head against another member of the school) a celebration assembly in the summer, where students will be rewarded for their improvements in their times table.

There is quite a lot of information in the word question, but only one number to pick out. However, when drawn as a bar, the information takes on an easier structure to follow. During Barvember, this structure becomes more engrained into the students, and builds a new technique to tackle problems.

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DEPARTMENTAL NEWS

Foundry Lane In maths, we are trying to make sure Year 6 students have a smooth transition into Year 7, by offering some maths support to local primary schools. Miss Birch has been visiting Foundry Lane to run some problem-solving sessions, where students work on tricky maths problems. Each session is based on a different area of the curriculum that the groups are currently working on in lessons, and the aim is to help build up their resilience. Students are finding these sessions very useful, and we look forward to having these students join us next September. Statistics This September, statistics was introduced as an option subject at Regents Park. Statistics is an extension to the maths curriculum focusing on data handling. Students take part and design different investigations, then use a range of skills to analyse their results. So far this half term, we have completed an investigation of the human brain (testing reaction times and memory skills), carried out product research for a new chocolate bar, estimated the population of grasshoppers in a field and much more! Statistics aims to support and prepare students for their maths GCSE, as well as give students another GCSE to impress colleges with. This subject is perfect for students wanting to complete an A Level in maths, as statistics is one of the units in the A level curriculum. It is also great for students that want a future in a range of careers, from accounting to marketing. We look forward to having more students join this course next September.

Further Maths Since the start of the autumn term, the maths department have been offering a further maths class by invite only, attended by a group of Year 10 students. This class provides challenge beyond the content of our normal KS4 maths lessons, edging towards A-Level maths topics. Recently, we focused on a standard GCSE topic: functions. A function tells us what happens to an ‘input’ – in the left image, we double any input. We quickly moved on to some GCSE questions – the answer is in bold for the example below.

In the same session, we took it even further and finished with a question more challenging than any you would get in a higher GCSE paper. Take a look at it below if you dare…

Maths Puzzle

Why not give our Christmas-themed maths puzzle a go?

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DEPARTMENTAL NEWS

Maths Role Models Following on from our whole-school ‘Innovative Teaching Week’, a new feature of some maths lessons is ‘Role Model of the Week’. Here is a snap-shot of the role models featured so far…

expectancy of 2 years. He died aged 76 (in 2018). Ada Lovelace – English mathematician referred to as “the first computer programmer”

for writing an algorithm for a computing machine in the mid- 1800s. Her mum insisted tutors taught her mathematics and science (not standard for women at the time) as her mother believed that engaging in rigorous

Katherine Johnson – worked for NASA for over 30 years, her maths helped send astronauts into orbit around the Earth and to the moon and back. She was one of the first black students to attend West Virginia University when it integrated the graduate school.

studies would prevent Lovelace from developing her father’s moody and unpredictable temperament.

Mayim Bialik - Bialik most famously played Amy Farrah

Fowler on the show, The Big Bang Theory. Bialik didn’t know where to list her PhD in neuroscience on her acting resume – so she listed it under ‘miscellaneous’ (extras). The executive producer of The Big Bang Theory made her character a neuroscientist so she could check the show was factually correct.

Stephen Hawking – a rare ‘celebrity scientist’, Hawking was part of a group of theoretical physicists searching for a ‘theory of everything’. He spent the majority of his life waiting to die, diagnosed with motor-neurone disease at 21 and given a life

Y11 Revision Sessions This autumn we will start our Year 11 in-class revision session on a targeted, invitation only, GCSE maths intervention programme, with the aim of encouraging every child to achieve their progress measure grades. This will be a valuable opportunity for invited students to gain additional GCSE maths support and guided revision prior to their final exams. There will also be an online provision for the rest of Year 11 cohort, so as to ensure that all students are well catered for before their final exams. These online sessions will be recorded and shared with all students for reference during personal revision. The selection process is based on careful monitoring and evaluation of students’ expected GCSE progress measure grades and the likelihood of achieving these. We are aiming to hold the sessions once a week on Wednesdays, straight after school, for an hour, with the online provision at 3.15pm on the same day.

Throughout the intervention process, we would regularly seek students’ feedback to make them feel more involved in the process and help to keep them engaged. There will be no charge for these sessions, but students will be expected to attend classes once they have accepted the place, as this will be to their benefit. Please see below some pointers for planning and undertaking home revision sessions. • Short focused revision sessions are much more effective than longer less focused ones. • Spend most of your time testing yourself and show full workings-out. • Learning will be slow at first, but the more you learn the faster you learn in future, so start now! • You will forget material if you don’t go over it after a day/ week/ month. Try to start each session by briefly looking back. • When you are revising, record what you have done – it will reassure you how hard you are working.

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DEPARTMENTAL NEWS

Tassomai Top Performers

MathsWatch & Tassomai Our students have continued to use MathsWatch and Tassomai for their homework this term. Tassomai is used by our students in Years 7 to 9 giving them multiple choice and short answer questions. They should be completing 3 daily goals a week. MathsWatch is used by all year groups for their main homework task. Homework is set via the MathsWatch website on Fridays and students have a week to complete the homework. Homeworks will consist of a range of videos to watch followed by

some interactive questions to complete. Students can return to the video at any point if they are struggling. Students have all been given their usernames and passwords, however their class teachers can reset passwords if required. Students have access to computers and a teacher for help during our maths homework club on Tuesday evenings in the library. We have seen great progress from students who use these programs consistently as it helps to embed their learning and gives them a chance to practice outside of class. Students have also said they like that they can watch the videos many times over before attempting the question.

Abdul Belle Bradley Eliza Fadl Fatimah Jawad Joanna Leah Lewis Lola Mailie Olivia Reece Vincent

MathsWatch Top Performers

Angel Bradley Charan Craig Daniel Eashan Elias Erika Fatimah

Gayathri Hong James Leo Luyanda Megan Michael Mya Oliwia

Puja Samid

Simone Stanley Victoria Victoria Vincent

Science The autumn term is always a busy one and this year has been no different. The science department has lots to share so we hope you enjoy. At the end of September, we were really fortunate to have The Royal Institution visit Regents Park to give an exciting demonstration packed science show to Years 9 and 10. The students were

treated to an amazing journey through the stores of energy that surround us. From elastic to gravitational, kinetic to chemical, they saw some fiery and explosive demonstrations of what energy is and how it affects our lives. We all particularly enjoyed the banana being stored at a radioactive material and propane bubble burning is always good fun. Remember this is not to

be tried at home! Regents Park would like to thank the Royal Institution for their generous bursary, without this financial contribution we would not have been able to enjoy the show.

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DEPARTMENTAL NEWS

primary school and you would like to borrow some science equipment, please get in touch to discuss how we can help. Since the lifting of lock down, practical science has very much been on the agenda for students and staff at Regents Park. We all know that sometimes the best way to learn science is by ‘doing’, so here are some examples of the practical work we have been undertaking this term, taking full advantage of our amazing new science labs.

Investigating CO2 in ice samples The end of this term will bring some staff changes to the science department. Mr Muller will be returning full time to the team as of January 2022 and we know that students will be pleased to see him. Mr Ashworth will be leaving Regents Park at the end of this term, and the science department would like to thank him for his hard work and service to the school. We wish him well with all his future endeavours. Finally, this will be my last science Regents Review. I too, will be leaving Regents Park at the end of December. I’m incredibly proud of what has been achieved during my time as Curriculum Leader and I wish the department and the school all the future success. All that is left for me to say is thank you and have a wonderful Christmas when we get there. Mr Moth & The Science Department

The department was fortunate enough to be awarded a bursary for the Biological and Medicinal Chemistry Sector of the Royal Society of Chemistry. They are dedicated to furthering interests of those involved in pursuit and understanding of bioactive molecules. As a result of their kind donation, we were able to purchase a new heating mantel and distillation kit. The equipment has already been put to good use, inspiring our Year 7 students during their science lessons.

Ion testing

Growing microbial cultures

Mrs O’Donoghue, a key member of the science department’s prep room team, has created Regents Park’s very first science equipment lending service! This will give Regents Park’s science department an exciting opportunity to support science teaching across all of Southampton, so if are a local

Investigating osmosis

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DEPARTMENTAL NEWS English & Media Student of the Fortnight A massive well done and congratulations once again to all of our ‘Student of the Fortnight’ winners. You continue to astound us with your hard work, dedication and downright brilliantness! I can tell you that these selections were incredibly hard, as each of us teachers have had so many fabulous students to choose from. Good luck to all the winners in the the big upcoming draw - it could be you!

Accelerated Reader

Words read = over 8 million Well done to the following students who are the top Ten quizzers this term!

Abdul Ayush

Stanley Michal

Umberto

Cliffe Maria

Enis

Umar

Ayesha

English Abi 8GZ Alisa 11BX Ashleigh 8GX Boris 8GZ Brenda 8BX Brooke 7BZ Carla 8BZ Chloe 7BZ CJ 7GX CLiff Lam 7BZ Collins 9BZ Dawid 7GY Deimile 9GX

Kacper 11Bs Khalid 11BW Lewis 11GX Liam 11GX Lily 8BW Lily 8GY Molly 11BW Oliwia 10BZ Rayyan 8GY Sean 9BY Simone 11Bs Simone 11GY Theo 10BX Tom 10BX William 10GX Mae 8BX Maja 7GZ

English Enrichment English Enrichment have been up to a whole range of things this term! The most interesting sessions have been those filled with rich discussion and debate and a wide selection of topics from LBQTQ+ issues to prison systems. We have also discussed philosophical ideas such as pondering whether or not we would plug in to Robert Nozick’s hypothetical experience machine and live the perfect but virtual life! Excitingly, students have been volunteering to plan their own sessions and have been arriving to enrichment bursting with things to discuss!

Ella 11BW Erin 11GZ Ethan 9BY Faith 8BZ

Media Harry 9W Chloe 10W Harry 10W Helena 9W Hong 9W

Fatimah 7GY Harvey 11GZ Humza 10BY James 8GX Josh 10GZ Julia 9BX

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The Regents Review Winter 2021

DEPARTMENTAL NEWS Media Studies

Year 10 have enthusiastically continued their study of set products for their GCSE in Media Studies. This term, we’ve covered lots so far: Quality Street, This Girl Can, The Archers and Fortnite. We have come to terms with the tricky exam questions but also explored some complicated and mature ideas. We’ve also had a go at practising with our green screen in order to subvert the heteronormativity presented in the Quality Street advert from the 50s.

Our Year 9 cohort have made an excellent start to their study of media language and media industry. We have studied and created film posters, and conducted a close study into the TV industry, with a focus on game shows.

Creative Arts & DT

donated materials they created sculptures of marine wildlife to weave, shape and form their sculptures with wonderful results.

Ghost Nets Year 10 have completed a project about Marine Conservation. They have explored ghost nets which have been found and recovered in and around the British shoreline. The ghost nets have a devastating impact upon marine wildlife and the environment as animals and fish get trapped within them. The charity Ghost Fishing UK have kindly donated salvaged ghost nets from the ocean so that our students can use them in their art work. Ghost Fishing UK are a group of volunteer scuba divers who work tirelessly to survey and remove debris, equipment and nets from the marine environment. They also work in an educational capacity to raise awareness of the impact discarded nets and equipment has on pollution in our seas. For more information visit www.ghostfishing.co.uk As a starting point the students researched what ghost nets are and how this impacts the environment. They also looked at other local artists who are working in a similar way. Using the

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The Regents Review Winter 2021

DEPARTMENTAL NEWS Southampton Hospitals Charity Art

Alysha in Year 9 has been chosen as one of the winners. Alysha’s artwork will be displayed in one of the Children’s wards. Her work will be re-judged when all of the work is together and could win another prize. Well done Alysha, we are all very proud of your achievement. Mrs Selfe

Competition ‘Bringing the outside in’

During the summer term we entered some of our students into an art competition, run by Southampton Hospital Charity. We are thrilled to announce that

Music RPCC’s Got Talent

What’s Coming Up? Rising Stars Concert

Once again, on the 9th December, the school put on the annual evening of musical celebration that focuses on the achievement and progress of Regents Park students in their musical endeavours. This evening demonstrated the very best musical talent that Regents Park has to offer. For many students from Years 10 and 11 some of the performances were used as GCSE recorded coursework. The entertainment included a variety of both solo and ensemble performances including vocal, piano, guitar and percussion soloists. The ensemble groups were from both Years 10 and 11 who performed a range of hit songs including ‘Viva La Vida’, ‘Dancing in the Moonlight’, ‘She’s Electric’ and ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’.

The last day of autumn term 1 became a celebration of the range of diverse talents we have within all years at Regents Park as the first ever RPCC’s Got Talent contest took place on the Thursday evening to kick off the start of the students half term break. Parents, family members and students from the school arrived to view a range of acts from Years 8, 9, 10 and 11 of the school. The performances were diverse in their content include vocal, piano, guitar and trombone solo’s, a dance troop as well as a live magic act but ultimately it was Charlie who won with her mash up of two classic songs ‘Sweet Dreams’ and ‘Seven Nation Army’ that won the audiences vote to claim the winning slot. Thank you so much to everyone who participated in the success of the event and also to everyone who took the time to support this fantastic evening of celebration.

Textiles Year 8 Weaving

Year 8 Textiles have been busy weaving this term. They have learned about the history of weaving and the different between hand vs machine looms. Each student has made their own cardboard loom and have been busy using a range of material and wool to create their own piece of woven fabric.

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The Regents Review Winter 2021

DEPARTMENTAL NEWS KS3 Textiles Club

We have been busy preparing decorations for Christmas, students have been making their very own felt balls and making Christmas baubles. Next, they are making colourful tassels.

Bronze Arts Award Updates Year 10 are on track to completing two of the four units for the award. So far, they have researched and presented work on their ‘arts inspiration’ work from textile artists to the actor Tom Felton

‘Sister Act Jr’ Rehearsals have moved onto the stage and we are now beginning to piece together all the music, acting and set. Keep up the good work folks – March 2022 will be awesome!

They have shared their individual ‘artist’ skill with each other – creating their own choreography, cake decorating, hand-sewing, photography, the list goes on! Well done Year 10, some amazing work being produced.

Student Leadership Team Creative Arts & DT

Please welcome our new student leadership team for Creative Arts & DT. They are already making their mark, organising and helping to run the two music evenings this term and also being part of the musical, ‘Sister Act Jr’. Congratulations Team #green & proud

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The Regents Review Winter 2021

DEPARTMENTAL NEWS Business & ICT ICT – KS3 In the first half term, both year groups were taught the importance of e-safety and how to be safe online. Year 7 produced informative presentations, while Year 8 created interactive websites. Year 7 moved on to festival celebration, with themes like Christmas grotto or other religious/non-religious themes of their choice. They have been using a range of skills with software creating different Office-based tasks like desk top publishing and spreadsheets. Year 8 have developed their knowledge from last year about hardware specifications in computers and making decisions about how to construct an appropriate computer, e.g. how much ram, what processor speed etc. They have also completed mini assessments along with their end of unit exams on peripherals, components and storage devices. Computer Science – KS4 Year 11 have just completed their mock exams, and we have spent the last week going through the mark scheme to examine areas for improvements. After school revision is ongoing on Thursdays and is open for any student that would like extra support in practising exam style questions. This will help to develop core knowledge to support with final exams in May / June. Year 10 started practising their skills in programming using Python, the NEA project is no longer required to be submitted to the exam board, but students still need to make up 20 hours of coding and we have already been working towards completing this. Year 9 have also started practising their coding skills using mini challenges and the opportunity to move on to a programming project if they wish.

Cyber Ambassadors Our cyber ambassadors have been supporting events school-wise this term, as part of open evening they ran an information stand for parents and students covering knowledge of e-safety issues and testing our visitors for the evening on their knowledge. Next half term they will be ramping up their activities for the forthcoming Safer Internet Day on Tuesday 8th February 2022, where they will be hosting assemblies and events for the school. ICT Creative iMedia – KS4 As part of iMedia, students undertake several controlled assessments covering different topics within IT. Year 11 students have been completing one of these controlled assessments, which is creating an interactive website to promote the local area to tourists. This will be submitted to the exam board in January for final assessment. They have recently been practising their exam skills ready to sit the real one in January after completing the mock exam this half term. After school sessions are taking place for those needing to improve their previous piece of work or improve their knowledge of exam topics on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Year 10 have just finished a controlled assessment, which was to produce a digital book cover for a science fiction book, documenting the techniques and assets that they used. They will be starting their next assessment on websites when they return in January. Year 9 have been spending time on a selection of mini projects testing their digital editing skills ensuring they cover the key skills to prepare them for the assessment process in Year 10.

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The Regents Review Winter 2021

DEPARTMENTAL NEWS

Business Studies

on enterprise and marketing concepts. Business Studies has been a popular choice for our current Year 9 and we have two full classes, one class is doing GCSE Business Studies and the other class is doing the new OCR Enterprise and Marketing course. The Enterprise and Marketing class have been studying Marketing and producing a new product and had a fun lesson testing two types of ice cream to examine if they could differentiate between a real Ben & Jerry compared to shop own brand.

Year 11 have completed their mock exams and will have spent the last week going through the mark scheme to examine areas for improvements. We have introduced another business course, OCR Enterprise and Marketing for the current Year 9. This is coursework based and students will need to complete two controlled assessments, the first one is design a business proposal and the second, market and pitch a business proposal. They will also be required to sit an exam

Social Sciences This has been a busy term for the social sciences department! Firstly, we would like to extend a big shout out to Year 7 who have settled in really well to their studies in history and geography. Mr Sadler was really impressed by their map skills recently when they worked in teams to investigate their local area using Ordnance Survey maps. As the photos show, they had a great time and showed off some excellent skills!

Mrs Blake was privileged to be invited to the Southampton Black History Month event up at Hollybrook Cemetery. It was such a moving experience to learn about the contributions of local men to the Great War. This was then shared with students through the assemblies that Mrs Blake delivered to all year groups to commemorate Armistice Day. Students were also surprised that we had such a special place on our doorstep and enjoyed hearing more from Mrs Blake in their lessons.

Miss Harrison’s Year 7 class have been writing pen pal letters to a school in Kenya, The Walk Centre. They have been sharing their experiences of school here and look forward to getting responses to learn about schools in Kenya. The students have enjoyed the experience and it is a great way to make international links!

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