NewsG U M L E Y H O U S ES u m m e r 2 0 1 2

Specialist Schools & Academies TrustSSAT awards Gumley House an “outstanding attainment” award, placing us in the top 10% of comprehensive schools in the country

Chemistry Challenge Final Gumley Chemistry winners meet Professor Robert WinstonPhoebe Tupper, Eileen Igboanugo and Fiona Batchelor made Gumley very proud at the London Schools Chemistry Challenge Final. The three year 11 students beat almost 3000 students, to qualify for the live final, which was held at Imperial College London in May. The competition was very strong and mainly for older students so although we did not come 1st, it was an amazing achievement to make it to the final eight teams.

A Great Success for our Debating Club members!Eight Gumley students who regularly attend the Debating Club on Tuesdays took part in the London Debate Challenge on 14 June, which was organised by the English Speaking Union. The team beat hosts Rivers Academy to go into the finals where, despite confident performances our girls lost to Twyford School. But what courage, what talent!

Of our five team members, two were in Y8 and three in Y7, with Lydia O’Sullivan(8F) being the only one who had had previous interschool debating experience at secondary school level.

She, along with Alana Boles(8F) and Chantel Anumihe(7T), spoke convincingly and with great passion in opposing the motion

“This house would allow performance-enhancing drugs in Olympic events”. They went on to secure a place in the

finals speaking for the motion “This house would get rid of state funding for the arts”, against an older and more experienced Twyford team. Careful research and practice paid off as Alicia Hiney(7R), Zindzi Perkins(7R) and Lydia O’Sullivan highlighted the importance of freedom for the

artists and the need for prioritising in government spending.Having said all this, what was most impressive was the

assistance given to these girls by our supporters and Head Girl Helen Scott before and during the event; a reminder that Gumley

excels in sportsmanship and teamwork. Well done everyone!

Sr. Brenda’s messageAs this is the last Gumley House News that I will be signing off I would like to have a spot to say thank you and farewell. As always, the Newsletter gives you a flavour of the many and varied events, activities, trips and visiting speakers that contribute to an exciting learning environment in Gumley, where the formal curriculum is given a whole new dimension and the education of the whole person is made a reality.

It gives me an enormous sense of pride and joy to have had the privilege and the challenge of being the Head Teacher of such a wonderful school. I have been truly touched by so many of you – parents and students, both past and present – taking the trouble to tell me how much a Gumley education has influenced and enhanced your lives.

Let’s thank God together for His presence and His blessings down through the years and pray that we remain faithful in Gumley to our Founder Marie Madeleine’s inspiration and to our motto “Vive ut Vivas”.With a heart full of gratitude,

Sr. Brenda fcJ

Integrated Learning.Integrated Learning is a skills and competency led framework where students learn to focus on competencies such as managing information and situations, relating to people and citizenship, across eight subjects. The programme is built on a series of modules. Some students progress on to the Young Leader Awards for 11-12 year olds.

Team Trip to Bushey ParkGroup challenges that all pupils took part in included Jacobs Ladder, Crate Stack, Toxic Waste, Water and Block Retrieval and Water Carrier. Pupils had to use their problem solving skills, initiative and team work to complete the challenges. What was great to see was how the pupils supported each other physically in their attempt to solve problems. Pupils showed great determination and perseverance on the harder challenges; they developed their communication skills and were able to focus on specific team roles to complete the challenges. The record for ‘Crate stack’ was achieved by Louisa Albertini and Evie Bedford, stacking a huge 27 crates. A great day was had by all!

Year 13 student Rachel Walsh and Year 12 student Shauna Kavanagh embarked on an Italian work related journey earlier this year through a programme introduced by the school. Here’s Rachel’s account of her experience: Rachel Walsh: “In February this year I went to Ravenna on an A Level and post A level language one weeks’ work experience programme. I wanted to do this as I love Italian and wished to improve my skills and also to prepare for studying Italian at university in September. I worked in a nursery which was really rewarding though at first I found it difficult to understand the language, but as time went on I made up games

and played them with the children. Everyone was so friendly and the children by the end were saying my name and asking to play with me! We also experienced Italian restaurants, the cinema and shops! Going on this trip has been one of the best experiences of my life and I am so glad I did it. I made many new friends who will be friends for life and I am much more confident in my ability to speak Italian and have realised I can do it and people do understand!

I would recommend this programme to anyone who loves the language they study and wants to improve not only their speaking

skills but also their listening skills too. The most amazing trip of my life and I will never forget my time spent there”.

6th Form

European Work Experience:

Italian UCL e-Mentoring project: 6th form students

Chloe Cheshire & Shauna Kavanagh talk about

the benefits of this new mentoring programme.

“The Near Peers program was an extremely valuable experience and was very helpful leading up to our AS Italian exams. We gained an understanding of what it means to study a language at university and we were encouraged to consider our own university prospects in the process. Also, we received really useful help when it came to preparing for our speaking exams, as our mentoring undergraduates were more than willing to assist us with grammar and correct our mistakes. As all of our emails were in Italian, it also meant that our general language skills improved considerably as we had a chance to practice on a frequent basis”

Extended Project Qualification – Helen YoungThe EPQ is a qualification that the top universities are looking for as an extra. Helen, another very keen and passionate student submitted her Extended Project this term. Well done Helen Young!

Griffin Park Learning Zone ProgramSome of our Year 11 students had the opportunity to participate in an enrichment program with the theme ‘Inspirational Women in Sport’. Through the programme they developed ICT skills including movie making and design, in addition to focusing on employability skills. Well Done!

From clockwise: Rachel and Shauna eating Heart Shaped Pizza’s for a Valentine’s meal!

Eton Summer School:Congratulations to

Shauna Kavanagh for achieving a place at Eton

for this very exciting and challenging 10 day

programme.

6th form student creates Spanish Website Vanessa Rocha explains her motivation and the use of the website for other students: “I created the GCSE Spanish Revision Website, for my A2 ICT coursework with the aim of helping GCSE students revise for their Spanish exams, but the website can be accessed by all year groups. It contains all the necessary information for the Spanish curriculum in Gumley.

The resources within the website are made by the teachers, the students and some were made by me particularly the videos. I thought students can have fun while they learn with this website, there’s a variety of information and links about the Spanish culture within the “Culture Section”. The GCSE student can also access materials made by the teachers within the “Topics Section” and if the students want to know more about the specific working behind the Spanish Grammar, they can use the “Grammar Section” for their revision.

Developing this project was a challenge, not only did I have a short deadline but I wanted to create it to the best of my abilities. Also it is reassuring to know that the students will be able to learn without searching the internet for hours for the right website to revise from”. Vanessa’s Website Link: U:\SPANISH\GCSE Spanish Revision Website - Made By Vanessa Rocha\Homepage.html

Project Kenya!Following on from the success of project India that took place in 2011 an exciting opportunity was launched last week to both current and prospective sixth form students. The sixth form team are offering students the chance to travel to Kenya for 3 weeks next Summer to help out building a classroom for a local village school based at the foot of Mount Kenya. Working in partnership once again with Adventure Lifesigns students will also have the opportunity to climb Mount Kenya and explore the local wildlife on a safari! Let the fundraising commence!

Charity WalkGumley House, St Marks and Gunnersbury sixth forms took part in the annual ‘charity consortium walk’ on Wednesday 4th July. Students walked around a local 12km route, which took in the beautiful sights of Syon House, the River Thames and the Grand Union Canal. Celebrations were held at the end of the walk in Gunnersbury with a well deserved BBQ! Congratulations to all who were involved and raised an excellent amount of money for fantastic causes.

Visit from Homerton College Cambridge – Year 12 A representative met with all of Year 12 to discuss applications to university, and applying to competitive universities. It was a great opportunity to discuss key aspects of university life, courses & being prepared for UCAS applications later this year.

Companies supporting our students’ work experience:We would like to thank CHP Consulting, Octink & HMRC for their continued support of our 6th form students. These top organisations have cumulatively provided 6 of our students with the chance of gaining relevant work related skills & knowledge. We will update on their experiences in our next newsletter.

Media StudiesMedia Studies students have been working extremely hard this year preparing for both written and practical exams. The department now has access to brand new technology in the shape of Macbook pros enabling the girls to produce some excellent, technically proficient, professional coursework. Products have ranged from websites focusing on alternative London to a short foreign language film.Did you know that research suggests that 70% of tablet and smartphone owners use their devices while watching TV and that by 2015 ownership of smart phones will have increased to 95%! A recent trip to Sky TV centered on the ways in which media audiences are changing the ways they consume media. We were fortunate enough to be given a tour of the Digital Media department and the girls were given first hand experience of presenting, editing programmes and an insight into the ways that Sky is enabling its subscribers to achieve “the best viewing experiences across the media platforms”!

The last eight weeks have seen two major events to mark the end of the Year 13s time at Gumley

On May 23rd Year 13s and staff celebrated with a moving and reflective Mass. The girls, led by Anna Kenton, worked hard to develop a liturgy based on the theme of Time and presented a time capsule of memorabilia and letters that was planted underneath a Japanese Maple, at the end of the service. The tree is flourishing in its spot on the lawn at the front of the school near the library thanks to our caretaker Joe’s loving care.

The mass marked the start of their study leave and exam period. The Tara Copthorne Hotel in Kensington hosted the prom for year 13’s on Friday 29th June. The hotel in

all its glamour however was outshone by the amazing and elegant outfits worn by staff and students alike. The array of colour and gravity defying shoes was breathtaking to see. A big thank you goes to Georgina, Scarlett

and Michaela for all the time and effort they spent in organising the event. We cannot forget the DJ, Mr Kelly who had everyone up and dancing the night away. A fitting end to their two years of hard work and exams.We will miss all the girls and wish them well in their future endeavours.

2012 Year 13 bid farewell

Year 10’s phone the Tourist Offfice

Year 10 students at Don Fernando’s

Languages & International

Spanish Exchange: On the 21st March 2012 we welcomed 18 young students from the Zurbaran High School in Badajoz to Gumley. On June 1st Isabella Battle, Tara Boon, Emily Bouwman, Eimear Burke, Tamera Celeste, Precious Coloquhoun-Mills, Louisa Dewey, Eleanor Duce, Emma Eastmond, Ellie Hier, Rosanna Hodgkinson, Jessica Hogan-Araujo, Lizzie Laffoy, Monika Lukomska, Sophie Ryder, Jennifer Sealy, Poppy Sheehan, Alice Smith, Mrs Lallana and Mrs Lee set off on our journey to Extremadura. The girls had a weekend with their Spanish families totally immersed in Spanish, then a few days at the High School taking part in lessons, dance classes and a quiz that took them off round the centre of Badajoz – all in Spanish of course! They also had a fantastic day visiting the ancient Roman city of Merida and water sports on a lake. Some firm friendships have been made and hopefully the girls will return to this very welcoming part of the world.

Here are some quotes from the students:

British Museum Supports Year 8 Students Learning ChineseIn May James Trapp, Education Officer of the British Museum, gave a talk to our Year 8 students on the Chinese Admiral Zheng He. They learnt that Zheng He is as famous in China for his wide-ranging voyages in the fifteenth century as Christopher Columbus is in the West - and Zheng He’s ships and crews were far larger than those of Columbus too! Y8 were studying ‘journeys’ as part of a cross-curricular project with English and Drama.

China Trip Autumn 201220 students are very excited to be going to China for two weeks in the autumn. They will be spending a few days in Beijing, seeing such famous sites as the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. They will spend most of their time based in a school in Xiamen on the coast in south-east China, where they will learn more about Chinese language and culture and also visit nearby tourist attractions. All the students will be in Years 10 and 11, studying Chinese for GCSE. It will no doubt be a fantastic experience, not only for improving their Mandarin, but also for experiencing a culture so very different from their own.

Spanish Tourist Office AssignmentGirls in year 10 researched a holiday destination in our Language Lab, getting phone numbers for the local tourist office. They then rang Spain and had a conversation with the tourist office getting more information on hotels and activities for young people in the area. Student Siobhan Cabble 10M said “It was a great experience being able to talk to a real Spanish person – but also quite scary!”

Curriculum Extension Week:Students were able to further practise their language skills and have some additional fun too in a number of local eateries. Different trips were organised to French, Italian, Spanish and Chinese restaurants reflecting all the languages taught at our school. The girls ordered their food in the language and participated on a fact finding mission with the staff working there. Many of these restaurants have supported this initiative each year for our students and at Don Fernandos in Richmond, Manager Gioia Gray and Head Waiter Nacho Lopez said “This is a great way for students to get an insight into other cultures and it’s also nice for them to try different things in life”.

French Exchange

Year 9 students: A view from student Sophie Gohlan...”My trip to

France is something I will never forget. I had a

very positive experience, the trips out were great

and I met a lot of new friends. When I got on the

Eurostar I was so nervous because I’ve never been

away from my family for a whole week before

so it was all a very new experience for me. My

exchange was Shahnez, who was very nice and we

became good friends. We went out on some nights

including to an acrobat show, which was thrilling! I

enjoyed all the day trips; they were wonderful, as

well as very educational. I loved the exchange and

I’m really glad I decided to go on it!!”

The Dux Award scheme run by the Department for Education recognises and rewards high performing pupils in Year 9. It aims to encourage students by inviting them to visit a Russell Group university. On 12th June Niamh Broderick and Rosanna Hodgkinson represented Gumley at an event held at Southampton University. During the day they were able to take part in a range of activities which showcased the exciting opportunities university can offer. At the end of the day Niamh and Rosanna attended a closing ceremony and were presented certificates by the Vice-Chancellor of the University.Dux is the Latin word for leaders

Dux Awards 2012

Year 11 Leavers Mass

Year 11 completed their GCSE examinations and ended their year at Gumley with an inspiring and beautiful Mass of Thanksgiving. It was a wonderful evening in which the girls were joined by their families to celebrate their experiences and memories in a very moving and personal way. Afterwards the girls and their families joined staff for refreshments and it was a very happy occasion. We wish Year 11 every success with their results in August and look forward to seeing many of them back in Sixth Form in September.

Year 10 Students visit The British MuseumFor those Year 10 students studying Mandarin, their West End trip before their Chinese lunch included the British Museum to view the collection of Chinese ceramics, part of the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art. The Collection consists of some 1,700 pieces of Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing porcelain from the 10th to the 18th centuries

“It was really fun!! It really helped me speak Spanish and listen to it too.” Sophie Ryder

“My family were lovely and really welcoming. They took me to new and interesting places.” Ellie Hier

“It was a really enjoyable trip and we got to experience a different culture and way of life.” Elizabeth Laffoy

Jack Petchey: Award Ceremony at the Paul Robeson TheatreThe Jack Petchey Foundation was established in 1999 to support programmes and projects that benefit young people. Jack Petchey was born in the East End of London in 1925 and is one of the most successful entrepreneurs in Britain today.This April a number of our students from year 7 through to 6th form were presented with a special award by the local mayor at the Paul Robeson Theatre.

This is an annual event and each year students who have demonstrated consistently high levels of effort and progress over a period of time or demonstrated particular achievement in a subject or have made a significant contribution to the school community are nominated for a Jack Petchey Award. They can be put forward

by other students, members of staff, governors or parents. Congratulations to: Carla Ecca; Lara Goodhand; Jacqueline Harrington Rachele Howes; Helen Scott; Tara Murphy; Anne Omotola; Vnisha Vaghela and Meredith Webb.

Additionally, staff members too can be nominated by students so a special mention to Fiona Russell, Curriculum Co-ordinator Key Stage 3, Integrated Learning, P.E. and Best for the Leadership Award. Year 10 students Elena Garcia & Annabelle Wieland were chosen to perform as part of the evening’s entertainment.

Jubilee River Pageant40 tickets for a place on Battersea Bridge were allocated to year 7 families. Though the day was cold and wet we received reports to say that it was a great experience and the view of the whole river pageant was the very best. A story of the day will no doubt be recounted to many grandchildren in the future!

Be the Best you can Be…The Be the Best you can Be programme for year 8s was developed to inspire, engage and empower young people to recognise and fulfil their potential. David Hemery CBE and Olympic Gold medallist is the founder of 21st Century Legacy which promotes this initiative. Two of our year 8 students tell us how the programme has been for them.

CommunityEco Club & Osterley Garden CentreIn June, Gumley’s eco-club had the opportunity of visiting the Osterley Garden Centre and speaking to the Planteria Manager, Peter Fisher. The group of Year 8s learnt tips and tricks from how to grow the perfect strawberries to learning about sustainable resources and alternatives to water shortage in plants. All of which will be very useful when the club makes its long term plans a reality by planting an eco garden in school to produce fruit, vegetables and herbs for the cafeteria. The girls also enjoyed a lovely tea that was put on by the Centre. Much positive feedback was received from the students after the trip.

BBQ BonanzaThe BBQ Bonanza held in the Gumley grounds on 1st July was a huge success all round. The event brought together hundreds of Gumley families past and present for entertainment of many different kinds, food and drink, chances to win prizes and the delight of experiencing the ‘hard sell’ techniques of some of our entrepreneurial year 7s and 8s!

The Parents Association and the House Teams certainly gave us a day to remember. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

2012 London Olympics. Our school has been part of the 2012 London Olympics Get Set Network for 3 years now where we constantly update and highlight Gumley’s Olympic themed initiatives though most subjects.As a result our students have been rewarded with free tickets for events from Basketball and Paralympic athletics at the Olympic Park to Football at Wembley, Judo at the Excel Centre and Volleyball at Earls Court. Students were able to enter competitions for tickets including the “Great Gumley Bake Off” with Olympic themed cakes and biscuits and a T-Shirt design project too, embedding the Olympic values plus some students that have contributed to sport in the school as well as in various external sporting competitions were also nominated for tickets.Here are some of the winning baking designs showcased at Gumley’s Barbeque Bonanza on 1st July.

Be The Best That You Can Be By Molly Gurney and Louise BateBe the best that you can be That is what this book has taught me; To be of help to others in need, To be a role model to youngsters, to lead.To work my hardest day in, day out. To act responsibly when out and about. To work towards challenging goals That help me climb up life’s slippery poles.

Being the best that I can be Is now very important to me; For this book has taught me lots On about how to not be a fuss pot! If I’m ever unsure of what path to take, Or if I wake up with a back ache, Or if I’m just struggling with a big mistake, I’ll refer to my book, which is a keepsake!

Mrs. Fulgoni has led us through And I’m sure that she has enjoyed it too. We have had demanding tasks to undertake And we have all had to partake.So all-in-all we’ve had a good time Although it has been a challenging climb But now we have a primarily important aim.. To go enjoy, support and celebrate the Olympic Games!

“We learnt a lot and will definitely put all of his advice into action straight away as well as use the kind gifts of planting equipment and instruction guide to plant things successfully.” Lucy Miller

“Our goals for the future are to expand our eco garden and to introduce new members to the club.” Maya Gilbert

“Thank you very much for the brilliant time we have had. I have learnt so much about the different ways we can make our garden more environmentally friendly.” Lucy Evans

“We had really nice time learning all about how we can make our garden really nice and new ideas about it.” Emma Foster

“Thank you to the wonderful staff!” Beatrice Del Rosario

Youth Philanthropy Initiative In early July The Youth Philanthropy Institute invited representatives from each winning charity together with the winning student team from each London School to a formal evening event held at Porchester Hall in Bayswater. The purpose of the event was to present the £3000 cheque to each charitable

organisation and we would like to congratulate our Year 9 student team: Josie Chadband, Olivia Cardosa, Lara Goodhand Gabriella Kitto and Amalia Martinez-Botas for their winning presentation that achieved £3000 for Richmond Aid.

Good Shepherd MassOn a beautiful day at the end of May, a group of Yr 8s travelled to Westminster Cathedral to attend the annual Good Shepherd Mass, organised by the Catholic Children’s Society. We travelled with Ms Moylan and Celia, our School Chaplain.

The mass was a very special occasion, celebrated by Archbishop Nichols, who told us that similar to the Easter Flame and the Olympic Flame, we too are lights for the world.

Caitlin Hogan represented Gumley and read the first reading. Louise Bate and Emily Farrow presented our hand-made Gumley Torch and a cheque for £1208.94, during the offertory procession. The torch symbolised the light of Christ at Gumley and the money had been raised at one of our charity days.

It was a very special day for all of us and we enjoyed the whole occasion immensely.

The Garden at Gumley

Career & financial skills: As part of the summer timetable Year 9 students participated in “Learn to Earn”, a young Enterprise course helping students to examine career choices, their personal skills and talents, recruitment and job interviews, salaries and financial planning. Working in small teams students were supported by external business volunteers from Accenture, Shell, ZS Associates & IP Group.

Maths

A&E Networks/Sky careers talk:A& E Networks UK a joint venture with BSkyB invited a group of our Year 10 students to their Women’s day at the Sky Building. Students participated in one part of this day to hear specifically from four top female executives discussing their careers paths and how they overcame various challenges. The Speakers were Fiona Perry, Director Commercial Rights Projects, Anna Priest, VP Marketing & Communications, Hollie Mann Senior H.R. Director and Christina Foley VP Distribution.

Business & Enterprise ChallengeEight Yr 7 stalls worked extremely hard to make a profit for the school at the recent ‘Barbeque Bonanza’. There collective profit was over £1100. They displayed superb commitment. How proud we are of them. Congratulations also to our Yr 8 ‘Little Lush’ company who once again supported the event. Their profit of £600 was the biggest to date.

Gumley Young Leaders AwardAll yr 7s have completed this award by leading young children from our local primary schools through indoor and outdoor activities, based on “The Olympics”. Our primary school colleagues were very impressed with the great organisational skills, energy and leadership seen from the Yr 7s.

Business & Enterprise

Maths ChallengeMany congratulations to all of the students who took part in the Maths Challenge this year. Special congratulations go to Bianca Gazzingan 7J, gold medal winner and Best in Year.

Year 10/11 Study Skills program – Kingston CollegeAll of Year 10 & 11 students participated in a revision skills session at school designed to encourage the development of the skills required for independent learning. Sessions covered topics such as: Time Management, Memory Skills, Preparation for Revision, Revision Techniques, Exam Techniques and Academic Writing

AccessHE EXPO – Year 9/10In June, 15 Year 9/10 students attended a university Expo at University of London where they learned about studying at university and took part in short taster sessions in different subject areas delivered by staff and student ambassadors from four different universities.

Gold Award and Best in SchoolJoanna Lada – Year 10

Silver AwardPhoebe Tupper – Year 11Anna Szumielewicz – Year 10Rebecca Killip – Year 10Tania Sarsam – Year 10Alexandra Fraser – Year 9Eleanor Duce – Year 9

Bronze AwardChristina Paish – Year 11Orla Green – Year 11Eileen Igboanugo – Year 11Emily Peacock – Year 11Jane O’Sullivan – Year 10Sabrina Libid – Year 10Anna O’Gorman – Year 10Bianca Thompson – Year 10Julia Gray – Year 10Patricia Gala – Year 10 Orla Batchelor – Year 9Lara Goodhand – Year 9Elena Garitta – Year 9Alice Smith – Year 9Juliet Stevens – Year 9Hannah McGovern – Year 9

AccessHE 10:10 group PLUS SOASTen year 10 students have been working with a student Ambassador from City University London as part of the AccessHE 10:10 programme designed to develop students awareness and aspirations for university. Key topics included: Goal setting, Preparing for University, Applying to University – personal statements, Life at University, Preparing a presentation based on research into Higher Education, Developing presentation skills. As part of the program, students had the opportunity to visit SOAS which included a campus visit and taster session.

Aspirations Day – Murray Edwards CollegeFifteen of our KS4 students attended an ‘Aspirations Day’ at Murray Edwards College Cambridge in July. The day was a great opportunity to meet current students and lecturers, visit a range of Cambridge Colleges, attend a taster session and consider a wide range of courses!

14-19 Curriculum The Numb8r My5steries

– Marcus du SautoyA group of year 11 and 12 maths students attended the Prince’s Teaching Institute Summer School Lecture by Professor Marcus du Sautoy, the popular maths TV celebrity and were treated to an inspirational and intriguing lecture on the magic of prime numbers, number patterns and the mystery of the 4 year suicide cycle of the lemming.

Royal Institute Mathematics Masterclasses Josie Chadband, Stephanie Lawrynowicz, Nicole Adeleye, Kaija Trend (Year 9) have completed a series of Saturday morning masterclasses at the Royal Institute.

Learn to Earn Y9 Summer CE days

A group of Yr 9 girls recently took part in the CILIP Carnegie Medal ‘shadowing’ group. The Carnegie Medal is an annual award that is presented to an outstanding children’s book. The Kate Greenaway Medal goes to the best illustrator of a children’s book. The girls all read the Carnegie shortlist of eight books, and then voted for their favourite, which was ‘Between Shades of Grey’, by Ruta Sepetys. This year’s Carnegie Medal winner was ‘A Monster Calls’, by Patrick Ness, who was last year’s winner. The book, illustrated by Jim Kay, also won the 2012 CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal. A big thank you to Aoife Tobin, Hannah Tobin,

Alexandra Brandon, Carolina Atkinson, Ellie Hier, Charlotte Hatherley and Nicole Adeleye. The Library has been getting ready for the London 2012 Olympics, with an interesting display and Recommended Olympic Reads of both fiction and non fiction.

We are also running an Olympic Quiz, open to the whole school, with a winner from each year group. All the winners will be announced in the Autumn newsletter, and their prize will be a free book of their choice.

We would like to thank the LibraryCommittee members for their suggestions this term. Several ideas are being considered for the Library for next term, including a Plasma screen to show live streaming of authors, BBC news, and to publicise Library news and events. Another idea being considered is for another comfortable and relaxing seating area to read. Manga Club meets everytuesday after school in the Library, and is led by Kimberley Ubendran, 10F. It is a very popular club for all year groups, and we look forward to seeing everyone next year! The girls have been creating their own Manga story, with three teams of writers, graphic designers, and artists. To celebrate a

successful year, the girls are having an end-of-year party. They will watch Anime, discuss their own stories, and try some Japanese food, such as sushi. All of the Reading Clubs, led by Sixth Form students, were very well attended throughout the year. The girls had the opportunity to read and discuss books, whilst making new friends. This provided inspiration for new and interesting books to read. One of the books that the girls read was the award-winning ‘Coram Boy’, by Jamila Gavin. We look forward to seeing you next year. Thank you to everyone who attended the clubs, and the Sixth Form leaders for their commitment.

Congratulations to Charlena Ng, in 10J, who has recently completed her voluntary Library service for her Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award

One show ends and another begins. This was the last week of the Spring Term for the Drama department as the curtain came down on the Isleworth Community Play on 24th March, and auditions were held for Gumley’s annual school production, on 26th March.

This year’s show is the Pulitzer Prize winning musical, Guys and Dolls. The show is a realisation of Damon Runyon’s picaresque tales from New York of the 1930s, transposed by Frank Loesser to the 1950s and made famous when Hollywood bought the rights and Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra and Jean Simmons immortalised Runyonland on the big screen.

The show is approaching production week as I write and will only be alive in our memories by the time you read this. I hope you were able to catch it, and I hope you enjoyed it. It gives the Drama and Music department much pleasure to work with your daughters to put these shows on and we know your daughter’s gain a life and learning experience they will never forget.

Other news from Drama this term In April, Senior Drama Club took a trip to the Unicorn Theatre to see a production of DNA, a hard-hitting play specially written for young people by Dennis Kelly that examines what happens when teenage group dynamics spin out of control.

Year 11 GCSE students ended a particularly fruitful practical exam period with workshops delivered by undergraduate drama students on gender issues. Past student Helen Maxfield led the workshops which were enjoyed by all.

On 19th June, the company of Guys and Dolls went to the theatre looking for inspiration for their coming performance. We found it in the award winning Matilda the Musical. The show was fantastic and highly recommended. The girls were fired-up and delighted and the staff came away with lots of ideas for future shows. A good night was had by all.

On the 22nd June, Year 10 GCSE Drama students performed their own devised piece about the London Riots at the 25th anniversary Hounslow Youth Counselling Service AGM. The gathered dignitaries included the Mayor and

Deputy Mayor of Hounslow, the Assistant Director of Children’s Services and Lifelong Learning, the Director of Youth Access. The large audience remarked on the relevance of the piece and how slick, powerful and moving it was.

We said goodbye to our Year 13 Drama students at the Leavers Ball last Friday. They are the third cohort to have come through their seven years at Gumley having had the opportunity to take part in the annual productions which are in their ninth year. Four of the past seven Head Girls have been in our productions.

It is not the only goodbye we are saying this term. The Drama department would like to say a special goodbye to Sr Brenda and to thank her for the support she has given to us, not least by enabling the annual school productions to happen, that really enrich and make a difference to the lives of everyone involved. We thank her for seeing the value in this and we wish her well with all her future plans.

Drama LibraryM

usi

c As the academic year comes to a close I can truly say that Music at Gumley has been buzzing and that

I have been deeply impressed by the talent and hard work of Gumley girls.

Gumley’s regular ensembles continued to thrive in 2011-2012: Gumley Sinfonia, Chamber Choir and the Gospel Choir contributed to a range of concerts and

events. We also enjoyed our annual Music Festival in March which saw some highly impressive performances from students. In addition, various initiatives were set up: the hugely popular Gumley Glee was launched in September and went on to perform in the Christmas and Spring Concerts (but has not rehearsed this term due to preparations for Guys & Dolls). Dalcroze classes were offered to Year 7s from January onwards and a small but loyal group has attended weekly sessions. An enthusiastic Staff Choir was formed and gave its debut at the first Gumley Spring Concert. The policy of marrying curriculum music and Gumley’s musical events programmes has seen students perform pieces in many of our regular concerts. At Christmas most of Year 7 sang in several concert items and the audience heard Club Dance from Year 9, a minimalist

piece from Year 8 and a popular song from Year 7s groups. At the Spring Concert we heard more popular songs performed by Year 7s and a beautiful composition based on the story of Peter’s Denial by Year 8s. Finally a year 7 group performed their own song at the induction day and both impressed and inspired September’s new students!

This year the department has seen a range of material improvements with the introduction of Mac computers, purchase of new percussion instruments, installation of new display boards and hooks for guitars which have also recently been renovated. In a drive to further upgrade the department’s equipment the stringed instruments are also due to be ‘set up’ using money kindly donated by one of our talented students, Rachele Howes, who won the Jack Petchey award earlier this year.

Instrumental lessons have continued to be provided by Hounslow Music Service and numbers of students taking instrumental lesson have increased during the year. However, there are several instruments under-represented at Gumley and it is intended that such ‘rare’ instruments as French horn, trombone, oboe and bassoon will be promoted in autumn.

The summer term has seen another series of varied and successful extra-curricular musical events. May… It started with performances by Gumley Sinfonia & Chamber Choir at the Richmond May Fair where the girls were complimented on their excellent intonation and professionalism. At the end of May Gumley

held its last Cake Concert of the year and the department was delighted at how popular the event had become. The concert included both popular and classical performances from

students in KS3 and afterwards audience and performers enjoyed a fantastic array of cakes, biscuits, tea & coffee.June… A few weeks later the Gospel Choir, led by Sherlyn Sutherland-Foster,

performed at a charity concert in Ealing and many members of the audience were impressed by their strong sound and musical commitment.

Ms Barker also performed the ‘Bach Double’ with fellow musician Helen Davies and solo arias were performed by a Gumley parent, Catherine Davies! Over £300 was raised for Breast Cancer Campaign.July… as I write Gumley musicians are rehearsing intensively alongside several of Hounslow’s peripatetic teachers ready for the summer production of Guys & Dolls. It should be a rousing and professional sounding band to accompany the high theatrical standards on stage!

It has been a busy yet exciting year in the Music department and the future is promising. Thank you to Sr Brenda for all her support and thank you to all the students and their parents/carers for making it such an enjoyable first year for me.

K Barker (Head of Music)

Thank you to all our pupil librarians and volunteers for your help throughout the year! We have enjoyed working with you all.

Your assistance has made an invaluable contribution to the Library. Sally Richardson, Librarian, Gumley House Convent School

Drawn by Catherine O’Rourke Yr 12

AthleticsYr 7 Team• Captained by Emily Magill (Erin Shevlin,

Evie Harwood, Aoife Heather, Maddie Gorrie, Lara Farrell, Laurice Ngang, Anna Keefe, Gaby Foley, Ellie Buckmaster, Holly Henderson, Julia Ostrowska, Millie Tupper, Lucy Elliman)

• Won Borough X Country Championships

• Won Borough Sports Hall Athletics Championships

• Won West London Sports Hall Athletics Championships

• 6th London Finals Sports Hall Athletics Championships

• Won Borough Athletics Championships

• Year8Team Captained by Anne Omotola (Haibatu Seyboe-Tejan, Crystal Mitchell, Katie Boylan, Emily Kowalska, Miah Robinson, Maeve Lane, Lana Hendy, Anya Gill, Isabel Clarke, Francesca Clarke)

• Won Borough X Country Championships

• Won Borough Sports Hall Athletics Championships

• Won West London Sports Hall Athletics Championships

• 4th London Finals Sports Hall Athletics Championships

• Won Borough Athletics Championships

• Special mention to Maeve Lane who is leaving us for a year – she has been an outstanding middle distance runner over the past two years; winning Borough X country, 1500m

and Borough 5k runs over past two years. We all wish her every good luck next year and look forward to seeing her back in 2013.

Rebecca Killip (Year 10) • 2nd in Middlesex X Country Championships

• Winner of Middlesex 1500m

• Came 5th in the English Schools Championships for Under 17’s – and she is only 15!

RoundersYr 10 Team • Won all league games and finished 2nd

in the rally. Team- Imogen Jennings (C), Ellie Parsonage, Megan Magill, Leah Shevlin, Rachel Scott, Zara Querino, Maria Bright, Helen Fenton, Colleen McSweeney, Rhiannon Folen, Megan Elliman.

Yr 9 Team

• Won 2 and lost 3 league games and finished 4th in a very close fought rally. Team- Pheobe Comer (C), Bethany Wigmore, Carolina Atkinson, Louise Stevenson, Jasmine Pereira, Claudia Rodrigues-Campo, Emily Bouwman, Kate Yeomans, Karolina Cichonska, Louise Gibbons, Hannah Tobin, Aoife Tobin

Yr8Team• Have won all league games, but unfortunately

the rally was lost to the weather! Team- Christiane Gerges, Francesca Clarke (C), Isabel Clarke, Shalini Rupasinghe, Emily Kowalska, Angela Matthews, Daphne Antwi, Anysha Keshwala, Cheyenne Burian, Chantal O’Toole, Hannah Morrison.

Yr 7 Team• Have won all league games. The rally is still

to play at the time of going to print! Team- Alis Sejourne (C), Victoria Caswell, Chantel Anumihe, Rebecca O Neill, Gaby Foley, Lara Farrell, Emily Bish, Gemma Hill, Laurice Ngang, Erin Shevlin, Kitty Edwards, Orla Humphries, Jessica Woodhead, Anna Keefe, Emily Powell, Millie Tupper, Erin Coleman, Alana Green, Eleanor Igboanugo, Lucy Farmer.

Duke of Edinburgh’s Award 2011/12• This year 49 Gumley

girls trekked around trekked around Shere in Guildford for their practice weekend during one of the hottest weekends we have seen in Britain this year! They then spent their assessed weekend in the beautiful surroundings of Henley, where the girls had to endure challenging weather conditions. The groups were impeccably behaved over the course of the weekends and have learnt many new skills and qualities that they didn’t know they had!! A definite life learning time was had by all!

Student is selected for the London Basketball Squad!• Congratulations to Year 8 student Anne

Omotola who has just been selected for the London Basketball under 13’s squad. She regularly trains in east London

and will be going for the England trials for the under 15’s England Development Team this autumn too. Anne is an all-round sports girl with many high achieving wins in athletics as well as games. We wish her lots of good luck for the next trials.

Gumley House Convent sCHoolst JoHn’s Road, IslewoRtH. mIddlesex tw7 6xFtel: 020 8568 8692 Fax: 020 8758 2674emaIl: GeneRal@Gumley.Hounslow.sCH.uk www.Gumley.Hounslow.sCH.uk

Sport

What a year!

Yr 7 Team Yr 10 Team