Guthlaxton College in the News
In the January edition of the newsletter we were delighted to share with you stories that had made the news.
This edition we are able to share with you news from BBC Midlands which resulted in TV cameras visiting the College to report upon the successful “Roses for Valentines Day.” Tutor group HLD under the guardianship of Miss Lockwood made and sold roses for “Valentines.” Carol Hinds from the BBC filmed the tutor group in action and we are delighted that the activity resulted in £300 being raised for Marie Curie Cancer Care. Well done to HLD. In addition we have been delighted to read the recent flurry of letters regarding our recent show “Grease.” These include:
Fantastic show
I was lucky enough to attend a production of Grease at Guthlaxton School, in Wigston, on Thursday. The show was fantastic and the pupils' performance was outstanding. Congratulations to everyone involved in making it such an enjoyable evening for all.
Councillor Linda Broadley, Deputy Mayor of Oadby & Wigston.
What a show!
I was fortunate enough to see the students of Guthlaxton College perform the musical Grease on their opening night on March 9 – fortunate as the tickets were like gold dust and sold out immediately! The college has a reputation for putting on a good show and they did not disappoint. At times it was hard to remember that this was an amateur production, as the performances were so powerful.
The singing, dancing, and acting was superb and the orchestra first class. The whole cast (aged 15 to 18) were fantastic. Although Charlotte Parker did rather steal the show, with her hilarious interpretation of the highly geeky, incredibly annoying Patti it was a hugely impressive performance. The night was a great success, so very well done to all those who made this possible.
Mrs L R Dobrijevic, Wigston.
Hit performance
I would like to congratulate the Performing arts students at Guthlaxton College for their absolutely superb production of Grease, the West End musical. It was, indeed, worthy of being performed by them on a West End stage. Their dedication and enthusiasm shone throughout each performance.
Their acting dancing and singing was so professional – it was such an uplifting show, you left the auditorium wanting to see more. Each and everyone of the cast played their own part to a very high standard of acting. Well done to all the cast, teachers, musicians and backstage, sound and lighting staff for all the time and effort that you must have put in to make this performance such a hit.
The college should be so proud of these very talented students who are a credit to it.
Sandie Podgers, Wigston.
Our thanks to members of the audience who took the time to write in to the Leicester Mercury on our behalf. We are delighted by our audience response and wish pay tribute to the cast and teachers who wowed us by such a wonderful production once again this year.
There was one other letter that took my eye from 13 year old Safia who wrote so well expressing her feelings about the impact of the austerity measures and I am sure that this summarises the views of many of you regarding the recent cuts which are impacting upon our young people. Her poem is:
These cuts will not be nice
Dancing, music, drama and more
If these all go my life will be a bore
If clubs like this go so will our fun
And all arts clubs will be over and done
I'm speaking on behalf of the kids I know
We don't want the funds to ever, ever go!
The government has changed so you see
And that will affect all my friends and me
The cuts to the funds means a lot less to do
Like free under-16 swimming for me and maybe you!
More kids will start to hang out in the park
Causing more trouble, even way after dark!
I've said it once and I've said it twice,
The cuts to Leicestershire arts will not be nice!
Safia Lamrani
Year 9 pupil, Bushloe High School, Wigston.
We know here at Guthlaxton College that many of our young people will be bereft of opportunities that have been afforded to them. We hope we are able in our small way to continue to offer challenge and adventure in the arts, sports, extended services and many other activities.
Reading Week
National Reading Week took place during the week commencing 28 February. With the recent opening of our Learning Resource Centre it was a great time for our students to visit the area and choose a book to read. There is a huge range of new and old titles with displays of reading material to entice even the reluctant reader.
This year World Book Day, the biggest annual celebration of books and reading for children in the UK and Ireland took place on Thursday 3rd March. Guthlaxton College celebrated this event, as in previous years, by distributing the official £1 World Book Day tokens. Students exchanged their token in participating bookshops for one of six specially published £1 books or redeemed against the cost of one of the thousands of other books available.
To find out more about World Book Day, other related organisations, and the many planned reading activities, please visit the official website at www.worldbookday.com.
Teen readers were able to enter exciting competitions and book reviews at www.digi-tale.co
The College ran the World Book Day design a bookmark competition, offering students the chance to win National Book Tokens. Students needed to design the front of a book themed bookmark. Full competition details and entry box were available in the College Learning Resource Centre.
Students and staff in addition celebrated reading by joining the successful College reading group, MOLES. The group meets regularly in the Learning Resource Centre to recommend and discuss reading. Local author Bali Rai’s City of Ghosts has been discussed. If you want to learn about the inspiration behind some of our most read writers visit the collection of interviews at the BBC archive: www.bbc.co.uk/archive/writers/.
Please encourage your son/daughter to engage in reading.... it is a skill which accesses so much.
“Hope” Poetry Competition
The local charity “Hope Against Cancer,” which raises funding for internships and scholarships for graduates at Leicester University to do medical research into cancer, ran a poetry competition in the Autumn Term. It was wonderful that a number of Guthlaxton College students entered the competition writing some wonderful poems.
On Friday 5th March we welcomed to the College Professor Ian Lauder, retired Dean of the Medical School at the University of Leicester. He, with the help of Professor Gordon Campbell, Head of the English Faculty at Leicester University, judged the entries. We were delighted that two of the winners of the competition were Guthlaxton College students.
Ian Lauder spoke of the charity and applauded our ‘A’ team students who wrote the competition entries. He acknowledged the quality of the poems paying particular tribute to Gina Bishopp of 13WRE who won 3rd prize in the 16-18 year category, writing under the pseudonym Francesca Rose, winning £25.00, and Jamie Adams of 11HRD who received a special commendation in the 14-16 category.
The winning poems are published here and will form part of a book which is being collated to raise funds for “Hope.” Our congratulations to everyone involved and to Simon Rees and Sharon Eales of the English Faculty for their work and support
All I Can Ever Hope For
A Smile:
All I can hope for is to one day see your smile
Your Kiss:
All I can hope for is to one day taste your kiss
A Song:
All I can hope for is to one day hear your song
Your Embrace:
All I can hope for is to one day feel your embrace
Your Heart:
All I can hope for is to one day become the missing part of your heart
Gina Bishopp writing under the pseudonym of Francesca Rose
Hope
When Pandora opened the box
And evils were set free
One thing remained at the end
For all the world to see
Among one thousand shadows
Hope provides a light
For us to see when all is lost
Behind the pain and fright
No one person can escape
An emotion so sublime
The good, the bad and all the rest
We hope from time to time
No matter how the world has changed
There will always be hope
For without such a powerful feeling
The world could never cope
Jamie Adams
E-Safety
Once again I express concerns about e-safety and especially the effects social networking sites and inappropriate texting are having upon our young people. Every week we are faced with a number of issues that develop as a result of out of College internet and mobile telephone social networking. This is happening because:
- this form of communication whether it be by text, email, facebook, Xbox live or similar is much easier than saying something face to face;
- it is more public which results in others becoming involved and so the problem escalates;
- it is easy to retaliate which further exacerbates the matter; and
- it is easy for others including adults to become involved and so there are further inappropriate exchanges.
As parents/carers you can help us and be the key to solving this 21st century problem especially since our College system does not allow access to such sites. Our aim is to try to stop problems arising by being proactive rather than reactive when the problems have arisen. As parents/carers you should be e-safety aware as it is your responsibility to safeguard and protect your son/daughter. The strategies I am sharing with you have been in previous editions of our newsletter. These include:
- time limited use of PCs, mobile phones
- adult supervision of social networking sites
- adult monitoring of activity including texts and removal if it is a problem
- access to social networking in family areas only
- managing problems in the home.
Please be vigilant, support your son/daughter so that we can support our young people in becoming good citizens of the future.
Sainsbury’s Active Kids 2011
Sainsbury’s Active Kids 2011 has arrived. Once again we will be collecting vouchers in Reception for sport, dance and food technology equipment. The vouchers will be available from Sainsbury’s stores, petrol stations and now through online grocery shopping between 9th February 2011 and 31st May 2011. Please collect these on behalf of the College.....they will benefit the subject departments and ultimately your son/daughter.
Also, it is time for the Tesco for Schools and Clubs vouchers. These are available from Tesco stores, filling stations and Tesco Express. Please donate these vouchers by placing them in the boxes in reception.
Wigston Family of Schools Scholarship “Platform”
The launch of the Wigston Family of Schools Scholarship took place on Thursday 17th February with “The Platform” acoustic evening. It was a brilliant evening which exemplified the talent of young people in Wigston and beyond. The Wigston Family of Schools Scholarship is supported by the Rotary Club of Blaby and the Leicester based arts company “Citizen598” who will provide a scholarship for an outstanding individual or group during the academic year 2011/12.
Applications for the scholarship are being prepared and it offers an individual or group who may excel in one particular area of study, looking for an opportunity to further develop their skills, attributes and talents, whether this be in the form of helping towards the cost of a course or through paying for travel or equipment – it really depends on the individual or group, a chance of a lifetime.
The Wigston Family of Schools Scholarship has its second event on Thursday 14th July at Guthlaxton College from 7.00pm. This second event is being organised by students and this unique approach is a testament to the creativity and commitment of young people determined to make a difference for themselves and their community. We hope you will encourage your child to apply for this £1500 scholarship and put the date of 14th July in your diary for an evening of entertainment.
The Wigston Arts Festival
There is ongoing news of the Wigston Arts Federation Festival which is being co-ordinated for 20th June – 15th July 2011. It is building upon the success of the inaugural festival last year and will include activities across the Wigston Family of Schools. The month long event is attracting a number of events and opportunities including a Wigston Family of Schools Summer Concert; Get Doing Dance Festival; Two Spires Film Festival; Literacy Festival; Visual Art exhibition and much much more. Watch this space.
Specialist Schools and Academies Trust
We welcomed to Guthlaxton College Richard Jones (Music Advisor) and Malcolm Groves (Community Engagement Advisor) from the SSAT. The purpose of the visits was to share good practice and enable us as a College to continue to build upon the strong traditions of our work in music and the community. We thank the SSAT for their continued involvement and support.
Young Americans 2012
The Young Americans returned to Leicester on Thursday 17th – Sunday 20th March running their workshops at Sir Jonathan North Community College. A number of Guthlaxton students participated in this opportunity once again and I was delighted to visit the school and share in the performing arts extravaganza that took place. The exciting news to share with you is....we have secured a date for the Young Americans when they will be at the College for the weekend of 16th – 18th March 2012. Watch this space as details evolve of their visit. For more information, please visit the Young Americans website www.youngamericans.org
Year 10/12 Annual Reviews
It was a pleasure to attend the recent annual reviews of a number of students in Years 10/12. Outside agencies, parents, students and teachers participated in these meetings which demonstrated positive outcomes for our students. A huge thank you to everyone involved in securing progression and achievement of our young people.
Primary School Links
We are proud to have been working with our feeder Primary schools on two exciting projects.
The first is sponsored by EMI/Music Sound Foundation, our Performing Arts Business Partner, who have donated funding to support Key Stage 1 Music Development. Will Smith has been working with music teachers in the Primary Schools in Wigston to deliver this programme.
Secondly, Parkland, Thythorn Field and Water Leys have received a SEAL grant which has led to the growth of an amazing composition project with Will Smith and students. The purpose is to raise aspirations with the writing of a song and music, This has now come to fruition and was performed on Wednesday 30th March at Guthlaxton College. An evening which provided lots of wonderful memories.
Lord Lieutenants Award
Our best wishes go to Jack Vardy who has reached the final three of the Lord Lieutenants Award. The evening of celebration will take place on Thursday 31st March at County Hall.
Woodlands Project
A group of students have enjoyed an opportunity throughout this term to be engaged in developing an area of woodland at Scraptoft. This experience has been offered to support team building and social skill development, whilst encouraging them to become aware of their natural surroundings. They have built campfires and used them to cook delightful lunches including stir fries, pizza and lots more; built camps using only resources found in the wood, carved implements such as spoons and forks and seats from wood and lots more. It has been a successful project and we hope others can benefit from it in the future.
Fashion Show
Once again the LEBC have sponsored a Leicestershire Schools Fashion Show which took place at Athena on Thursday 24th March. The Sixth Form Textile students exhibited their hard work in a great performance. The evening was a huge success with schools and colleges from across the City and County participating in the event. Our thanks to the students, Jane Gill for directing, Rachel Sawyer and Michayla Argyle for their support in ensuring that Guthlaxton College was once again represented at the event.
The Art of Brilliance
The student consultants are working with Andy Cope and Tony Seymour to develop a programme to support our young people in striving to become brilliant. It is an exciting initiative in which pupils at South Wigston High School have been involved. We are looking forward to the Summer Term with the rolling out of the project.
Geography Field Visit
Year 12 Geography students as part of their studies visited North West Leicestershire to see the impact of rebranding upon the area. They visited Snibston Discovery Park; Ashby de la Zouch; Measham; Conkers; a land fill site; Moira Furnace and other sites. It was a packed visit which we hope will help them in their examinations.
Two Spires Film Festival
Ken Loach and Shane Meadows both hail from the East Midlands....who will be next? With advances in technology it is now easier than ever to film and edit your own short films. This film festival aims to provide a platform for young people aged 14-19 to showcase their filmmaking talents and enthusiasm in front of an audience.
“Two Spires Short Film Festival” is aimed at 14-19 year olds across Leicestershire and will be an open competition to showcase the best talent in the County. The main competition is the Two Spires Prize, which will award prizes for achievement in different technical categories as well as for performers. For this competition there will be a criteria of what to include – such as a title or a prop. There will also be an “open” category competition for any type of film you may have made.
The festival is inviting young people from across the county to submit their work, whether it is something they have made school or college or a project they have done in their own time. The festival will take place on Thursday 7th July at Guthlaxton College and everyone is welcome to attend and see the shortlisted films and be there for the announcement of the winners. This festival will be part of the Wigston Family of Schools Arts Festival. The deadline for submission is Friday 10th June, 5pm.
Media and Film Studies Support Jacobs
This term has seen a successful partnership between Year 13 Film Studies students and local industry, Jacobs of South Wigston. The Media Department was approached by the management team of the biscuit factory to produce a 10 minute film documenting their general manufacturing processes and improvements in output at the factory.
Our Year 13 students have successfully produced the short film to be shown at the United Biscuits conference held at the South Wigston factory this term and have gained invaluable practical experience in the process. The Film Studies group professionally pitched ideas to the factory management, before planning, filming and interviewing staff for a day on location at Jacobs in South Wigston. With the film now edited by Jon Musson it has been handed over to Jacobs to be shown at the gala event.
Well done to everyone involved in this project and our thanks to James Campbell and Ann Jones for their invaluable support.
Sally Cox
Deputy Principal
Published on Thursday 31st March 2011 at 09:00