VeritasSt Mark’s Catholic School No. 2 - Spring 2013

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International EveningSt Mark’s annual International Evening has been another hit this year. The event kicked off with a selection of scrumptious world foods, ranging from tasty samosas to classic Italian pizzas. Performers had gathered in the hall wearing beautiful cultural garments; there were boys in colourful Jamaican attire, girls in breath-taking saris, and groups of students in Irish colours with green shamrocks painted onto their faces! After enjoying the food everyone was ushered to their seats. There was an air of excitement as the audience waited for the curtains to open and the performances to begin.

The night opened with an elegant Indian dance where the girls lit up the stage with blue and pink as their saris followed their swift and enticing movements, providing a beautiful opening to the anticipated event. Up next was a lively and impressive group of students playing ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ followed by ‘I’m a Believer’ Hawaiian style, with the performers playing their ukeleles dressed in tropical T-shirts topped with a garland of bright flowers.

The audience was captivated by the steel pan performances, energetic Irish dancers, tin whistlers, fiddlers, guitarists and the beautiful singers. There were renditions of Lil Wayne’s ‘How to Love’ sung in a mixture of English and Spanish, as well as an energetic and fantastic Ukrainian performance that had the audience on their feet in cheers.

One of the highlights of the event was Anthony and Alice’s enticing Salsa dance where they took centre stage in their magnificent bright red ensembles, and showed off their moves while dancing passionately to ‘Abre Que Voy’.

The night was one to remember and it was evident that the audience enjoyed it just as much as the performers. The event had allowed students to show their individualism and to share their cultures through a joyful c o m b i n a t i o n of dance and music.

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Contributors

HeadLine

Welcome to the second edition of Veritas, our termly summary of the events and activities which make St. Mark’s School such a special community. This edition is digital only. Please do feel free to forward it on to anyone that you believe would be interested in reading it.

As you can see from these pages it has been a very busy and successful Spring term. In January we were delighted with the letter from David Laws, Minister of State for Education, congratulating the School on being among the top 100 performers in the country for progress up to GCSE. This month Ofsted’s data dashboard indicated that St. Mark’s was in the top 20% when compared to 60 schools with a very similar ability profile on intake. Congratulations once again to our students, and to the staff and parents who supported them.

St. Mark’s is first and foremost a Catholic School. We marked the beginning of Lent with the distribution of Ashes. There have been opportunities for students to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We have also conducted a Passion Play. On behalf of all the staff I wish you a joyful Easter break.

Thanks to our fantastic Sixth Form students for their determination, dedication and sheer hard work as reporters, photographers and editors. The Veritas team members are: Prescilla Boutros, Marion Didon, Edona Doci, Vanessa Donkoh, David Flaherty, Amy Gorton, Anna Hibberd, Funmi Odunewu, Alyssa Paala, Orianna Rosa Royle, Peter Rutzler and Natasha Sullivan.

“Science progresses best when observations force us to alter our preconceptions.”

Vera RubinPhotos: Mr Savage

Science Week

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The week started brilliantly, with our team of Year 7 and 8 students winning the Brain of Hounslow science quiz which was held at the Green School.

Tuesday saw a seven metre Astronomy Dome in school throughout the day with students looking up into a planetary system.

On Thursday and Friday the Science department hosted a Tropical Zoo where there was a collection of exotic animals from around the world (chameleons, pythons, big spiders…) for Year

7 students to interact with.

Bangs and Explosions also took place at lunchtime, including:• METHANE BUBBLES -

enormous balls of fire!• SCREAMING JELLY BABIES

- a screaming (really!) jelly baby leaves a boiling tube with some speed.

• VOLCANOES- looks exactly like a volcano expelling its debris.

What a week!

“Science progresses best when observations force us to alter our preconceptions.”

Vera Rubin

“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.”

Carl Sagan

Congratulations to Jay Readerking for winning the Science Week poster competition.

Inventions and Discovery

Faith in ActionEmpty Hanger

On Friday 1st February 2013, Year 12 students had the opportunity to take part in The Empty Hanger workshop which was developed by the London College of Fashion. Led by Reverend Joanna Jepson and Jennifer Sturrock, students were encouraged to consider the way that design and fashion convey emotional and spiritual significance. Students explored the Biblical characters of Eve, Rahab, Jacob, Joseph and Jesus, and had the opportunity to design and create clothing which expressed their spiritual beliefs.

Joanna Jepson commented on the workshop, “Even though these stories and characters are thousands of years old, the challenges they faced and how God turned their lives around still speak powerfully to us today”.

Made from acrylic and wood materials, a Sixth Form Faith in Action group have been working on a Design & Technology project making crosses that would be a nice addition to prayer corners. The project involved students designing and constructing crosses around the theme of thoughts, emotions, and words of inspiration such as ‘Trust’ and ‘Happiness’. The crosses have ribbons and clips with which to attach further prayers, intentions and thoughts. These can then be displayed or read.

Made from acrylic and wood materials, a Sixth Form Faith in Action group have been

working on a Design & Technology project making crosses that will be a nice addition to prayer corners. The project involved students designing and constructing crosses

around the theme of thoughts, e m o t i o n s , and words of inspiration such as ‘Trust’ and ‘ H a p p i n e s s ’ . The crosses have ribbons and clips with which to attach further prayers, intentions and thoughts. These can then be displayed or read.

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Christian Aid

The Death of a Righteous ManHoly Week has seen the Passion Play The Death of a Righteous Man performed to all students during extended assembly time.

Students were asked, ‘Imagine you were there, think about your part in all of it and wonder what you could have done differently’. This story was told from the perspective of the Roman Centurion, played by Max Bartrip, who returns home from work after a ‘horrid day’ – that of the crucifixion - no

As part of the Year 12 Faith in Action programme, a group of students have taken part in a project to raise awareness about the work of Christian Aid. Christian Aid is an organisation that works towards tackling poverty. It provides urgent, practical and effective assistance where the need is great, and tackles the effects of poverty as well as its root causes.

Within the first two weeks, students wrote letters to David Cameron regarding Christian Aid’s Campaign for Tax Justice. In addition to this, the group organised a lower-school assembly to raise awareness for Christian Aid and the work that they do. In the final week of the project, the group set up a prayer session with the lower school during lunch to raise awareness and provide students with some time to reflect. Students were able to offer up their intentions as well as take part in prayers and singing as a group.

longer wanting to be a centurion. His wife, played by Angelica Aleksander, sympathetically says, “You have done loads of crucifixions, darling. Why was this one any different?” He then describes to her the unusual events that had occurred. He was amazed and moved by the grace and dignity of Jesus on the cross, and touched by his spirit of forgiveness. The play ended with the Centurion, when asked what he made of it all saying, “Truly…this man was the Son of God”.

Year 12 student Rimel Rajiv commented, “I thought the Passion Play was very entertaining, and found the acting very thought provoking, I also thought the choir sang beautifully - great selection of songs,” whilst Angelica enthused, “It was just brilliant! I am so happy to be a part of it.”

A big thank you to The Director Ms Howting for her help and support and also to Mr Martin, Ms Jackson and Ms Matus.

Frances Soiza – Chaplain

The project was an overall success as it both raised awareness of the work of Christian Aid and also gave students the opportunity to participate and reflect upon their faith.

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HouseArt Competition

Well done to all that took part in the House Art Competition. This year’s theme was, ‘What inspires you?’ and the entries ranged from paintings of Justin Bieber to abstract landscape scenes.

Congratulations to the winners:

Year 7 – Emily in Pole

Year 8 – Klaudia in Fisher

Year 9 – Ciaran in Clitherow

Year 10 – Harry in Beckett

Year 11 – Jessica and Paulina in Pole

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CompetitionsQuiz

Congratulations to: Lower school: 1st – Fisher (who were also the overall winners after a tense tie break with members of their upper school team) 2nd – Campion 3rd – Beckett

Upper school:1st - Fisher 2nd – More 3rd – Beckett

On the 12th March, all Year groups piled into the hall forming six separate and very competitive teams. All Houses had great attendance, some so large extra seats had to be added. Having revised everything they could the night before and without the help of Google, the quiz began with a round about the news. Next, a round on food (did you know that Novak Djokovic owns the largest supply of donkey milk?), then general knowledge, animals and geography. However, the round that proved

to be the hardest was guessing which baby photo belonged to which celebrity with Rihanna proving to be the only obvious picture.

Thank-you to all those that competed, to the teachers, to House Captains and to the scorers.

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Ypres Trip

World Book Day

On the 8th February, 85 students in Year 9 visited the First World War trenches and battlefields at Ypres in Belgium. It provided them with an opportunity to have a glimpse of the World War 1 site and the preserved trenches, which not only gives background support for studies in History but is also of great value for their wider social and personal development.

During the one day trip, students were able to visit Ypres Square and the Cloth Hall which has been rebuilt after being destroyed in World War 1, and the Flanders Field Museum where artefacts are displayed. They were also able to attend a memorial at the Menin Gate dedicated to over 55,000 British and Commonwealth servicemen who died at Ypres. Other places visited included the Tyne Cot Cemetery which is the largest British military cemetery in the world, the Langemarck

Cemetery which is the only German cemetery at Ypres, and finally the Sanctuary Wood which is a preserved network of trenches.

This trip offered students a sobering insight into what the First World War was really like, and has been a great learning experience.

soon put a stop to this, encouraging them not to, “Hide your greatness!”.

We heard stories of the “goblins” that one boy greets

on his way to school, and of the girl who sees her house as

“one big library”. Many of the stories focused upon the students’ daily lives at

school, though the bleak descriptive imagery may be a less than subtle hint of their feelings towards it. Each piece of writing we heard was extremely impressive, the session ending with Dallas informing the students that he will be choosing the best three and that these will be put up on his website. We’ll assume that in first place will be the work that contained Dallas’ favourite line, “I wonder how things grow and how birds fly”.

*Did you guess the answer? Sherlock Holmes!

In the afternoon, a small group of Year Seven students took part in a writing workshop run by storyteller and writer Tony Dallas. The session began with the students working in teams to solve the answers to a book quiz. The cryptic clues were challenging: pictures of Cher, a padlock and a bunch of houses, indicating the title of a classical novel?*

For the main part of this session, however, the students were to write their own story and share these with each other. Dallas instructed each of them to write, within five minutes, a stream of consciousness based on the title, ‘If you could see the world through my eyes’. The previously hard to muffle room became mute as each student tried their hardest to produce a successful piece of writing.

Once they were finished, they shared their work with their groups and each table voted for the best piece of writing to be shared with the rest of the class. Several students were reluctant to share a personal piece of work with others, but Dallas

On 7th March World Book Day took

place within St Mark’s; a day set aside every year to celebrate

reading, books, authors and illustrators across the world. A key aim of World Book Day is to give every child in the UK access to great books. This year there were eight books produced exclusively for the occasion, including ‘Hang In There Bozo’ by Lauren

Child, and ‘The Chocolate Box Girls: Bittersweet’ by Cathy

Cassidy.

Celebration of Achievement Assemblies

National Holocaust Memorial Day

This is a time when the fantastic progress and outstanding achievement of our students in all subject areas is recognised and celebrated. The nominees are voted for by individual subject teachers across the whole year group. These are then put before subject leaders who have to make the much harder final decision on who to award this term.

Winners are announced in main assemblies and students are often very surprised to find themselves walking up to the front to be awarded

St Mark’s School were invited by the Mayor of Hounslow Cllr Pritam Grewal to attend a civic event to mark the occasion of the 2013 National Holocaust Memorial Day on Tuesday 29th January. The national theme for 2013 was “Communities Together: Build a Bridge.” We were invited to attend this event to mark a community commitment to tolerance, peace and understanding.

The aims of Holocaust Memorial Day were:• to raise awareness and understanding of the events of the Holocaust itself• to learn more about the effects of genocide and persecution that continue to affect many people today• to ensure that such horrendous crimes are not forgotten or repeated• to promote a democratic and tolerant society • to highlight the values of dignity and equal rights for all.

The guest speaker was Mr John Dobai, a Holocaust survivor born in Hungary and now living in Kew. Following Nazi occupation his father obtained “schutz passes” from the Swedish Embassy, and through this the family were able to survive.

There then followed a memorial prayer for the victims of the Holocaust, and an opportunity for the students to ask Mr. Dobai and other guests questions.

This was a very moving event.

Frances Soiza – Lay Chaplain

their certificate, with some students walking away with more than one!

The aim of the awards is to not only congratulate students on their hard work and progress, but to also share this experience with the whole school.

Congratulations to all the winners for their hard work and achievements this term.

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Choir &The annual St Mark’s Choir Festival, which took place on the 6th of February lived up to and exceeded expectations of this annual event. St Mark’s and local Primary schools showed off their talent to the local community of Hounslow that had gathered to enjoy a spectacular evening, with song after song that just lightened the heart on a cold winter’s night.

As tradition dictates, St Michael’s and St Martin’s Primary School started the evening with angelic sounds from their School Choir. After some classic religious songs from various countries, we were treated to some pop songs adapted for choirs to sing, including Viva La Vida by

Cold Play, What Makes You Beautiful by One Direction and a performance of Roquiem by the St Mark’s Choir.

To conclude, all of the Primary Schools and St Mark’s joined together to perform Jesus Christ Superstar. At this point, the perfectly co-ordinated sound of the St Mark’s orchestra rang out with violins, trumpets, piccolos, pianos and guitars lifting the Choir to perform the last number that left the audience speechless.

When asking the Deputy Head Teacher, Mr Alexander, what he thought of the evening, he replied, “The choir festival is one of my favourite events in the school

calendar. It brings out the spirit and

community of the local schools all coming together under one roof to create a real sense of community. Everyone involved should be very proud of what they have achieved.”

St Mark’s School would like to thank St Michael’s and St Martin’s, Mount Carmel, St Edmund’s, St James’ and The Rosary Primary Schools for all their hard work and dedication to the evening, with an extra big thank you to St James’ Primary School for joining the festival this year. We hope to see more of you in future years.

Special thanks to Mr Martin, Ms Oldbury, Mr Alexander and all the Primary Schools’ Choir Directors.

Choir Festival

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Music

St Mark’s pupils made a significant contribution to the ‘Hounslow As One’ event at the Royal Festival Hall. This event, held in the wonderful surroundings of the Royal Festival Hall on the Southbank, was a great opportunity for pupils to show their musical talents.

St Mark’s pupils contributed to strings, brass, woodwind and the Senior choir. It was fantastic to see all the hard work of the pupils and Hounslow Music Service in such a sumptuous venue. The pupils enjoyed the whole experience which was well attended by parents. The highlight for the pupils was the use of a dressing room backstage, even though they had no costume changes to make!

An audience of over 300 enjoyed the Spring Concert which featured students from Years 7 to 11. The performances were excellent and very varied, ranging from Chopin to Tracy Chapman.

A highlight of the evening of the award of prizes in Music. The Denys Baptiste Award for Musical Excellence was presented to Hannah Burke (Year 12) and the St Cecilia’s Award for Vocal Excellence to Veronica Tembo (Year 11).

Congratulations to the award winners and all of the performers at the concert.

St Mark’s at the Royal Festival Hall

Spring Concert

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Theatre

Founded in 2007, Ten Ten theatre is one of the largest organisations in the UK to support the pastoral educational life of catholic schools. It has actors from a diverse range of backgrounds, including Tara Dowd, who was in fact a former sixth form student of St Mark’s.

The St Mark’s community was grateful to have the opportunity yet again to work with Ten Ten theatre who performed to Years 8, 9 and 10 in January.

How can you show a man turning into a beetle and make it convincing? Well the theatre group Frantic Assembly did this in the performance of Kafka’s Metamorphosis which the Year 13 drama students went to see at the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith.

The play focuses on a young man Gregor Samson who overnight turns into a speechless insect. The movement of the main actor was effective and powerful, a perfect example of physical theatre. The set design was influential in conveying the illusion that Gregor was crawling up the walls, and the split stage also showed the increasing segregation between Gregor and his family.

A fantastic performance enjoyed by all. Totally “wicked”! Students from St Mark’s gave the cast a thoroughly deserved standing ovation at the end and many stated they can’t wait to see it again!

The programme tackled relationship education and the issues facing young people today through drama at an age-appropriate level using a modern perspective which is faithful to the teaching of the church. The issues approached were topics such as sex, alcohol, abortion, marriage and family. Each session included a performance of a play, a discussion based workshop, prayer and self-reflection and material linked to RE and PSHCE.

An example of one of the pieces was The Girl Next Door, which is a story about faith, friendship, relationships, new beginnings, bullying, aspirations, marriage and the impact of divorce. It is aimed at helping young people to see their true value through the eyes of God. Other performances were Chased, a piece which explores the pressure of relationships, the use of alcohol and maintaining of virtue. Year 10 watched the drama piece Babies, which covers the topic of teenage pregnancy and abortion.

The name “Ten Ten” is derived from the scripture passage John 10:10, “I have come that you may have life, life to the full”. Through all of its work the goal of Ten Ten Theatre is to empower participants to live life to the full.

MetamorphosisWicked

& Drama

Lunchtimes in March saw the Drama room inundated with pupils who came to see the Drama Festival. This was a great opportunity for the Year 10 GCSE Drama students to showcase their talent and recent work.

Juvy was performed on the first day and demonstrated the professionalism and talent of the students. They played the roles of victims in a detention centre and covered a range of serious topics such as bullying, prostitution and alcohol. Thus

the show was both a pleasure to watch yet at the same

time thought-provoking and educational. The audience really enjoyed the inspirational performance.

Drama Festival

Richmond Theatre is the setting for an excited yet nervous group of Year 7 students who are going to see The Woman in Black. The play is based on a short ghost story written by Susan Hill, and has been playing in the West End theatre for over 25 years. It is now equally well known for the film version starring Daniel Radcliffe.

The Woman in Black has an eerie plot which depicts a young lawyer who travels to a remote village where he discovers the vengeful ghost of a scorned woman, terrorizing the locals. Despite its horror-filled reputation, many of the students are eager to see the play in theatre, stating that they are looking forward to the, “spooky atmosphere”, “jumpy scenes”, and are curious as to how the play will come about with only three actors ever being present on stage.

Let’s hope they survive the spooky experience!

The Woman in Black

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New BuildThere has recently been a development of two new classrooms at St Mark’s. Construction started in January and is due to finish by the end of April; just in time for the May exams. This new building will be a great addition to the school as it will provide some much needed space.

The project has been funded by an LCVAP bid. However the school is required to contribute 10% towards the costs of this Capital Build. This will be covered by the School Fund donations of parents. Thank you to all those parents who make this annual donation.

Amour

Romeo and Juliet Orange Tree Theatre Workshop

Year 12 and 13 students studying French were given the great opportunity to go to Brentford Watermans to watch two films in French, Les Intouchables and Amour.

Les Intouchables is a 2011 comedy-drama film starring François Cluzet playing a rich

quadriplegic and Omar Sy as his caregiver. I really enjoyed the humour in this film because it represents how having a good friend who treats you equally and offers good moral support can make each day much more enjoyable. Also, there is a happy ending!

The workshop was interesting for lots of different reasons. There were only two actors who play different characters in extracts from scenes. Sometimes they asked volunteers to read other parts. There was no stage but a square of chairs, so the actors performed ‘in the round’ as it’s called when the audience surrounds the action. There were no props or costumes. It was left to the audience to imagine the surroundings, making the audience very much a part of the action rather than just a spectator. Secondly the format would have been very similar to how the play was performed in the Globe Theatre in Shakespeare’s time.

The workshop also helped us to understand some of the language in the play. When the actors had performed a scene the director would then ask questions and explain some of the words spoken, and ask the actors questions in role or get them to repeat certain words and phrases. Through this we found out about the images Shakespeare used, and the rhyming scheme found in his lines of the play.

It certainly inspired us to think about the play not just from an acting perspective, but also about a more literary perspective. The experience was thoroughly enjoyable and also educational.

Giuliano Oggioni Year 9

17Amour is a 2012 drama starring Jean-Louis Trintignant, Isabelle Hupert and Emmanuelle Riva (who was the oldest leading actress to be nominated for an Oscar for this role). The narrative focuses on an elderly couple Anne and Georges who are retired music teachers and how they cope once Anne has a stroke. I think this film is very heart-warming as it highlights the love and support between the couple. I couldn’t help but feel devastated that there wasn’t really a cure for Anne after all.

Fareen Baloch Year 12

Hounslow Borough has one of the largest numbers of participants undertaking the Duke of Edinburgh award in London. With so many schools, clubs and open awards centres in Hounslow the Awards Ceremony spanned over two consecutive nights. St Mark’s were invited to the first night on Tuesday 12th February at Heston School.

After multiple point turns in the car park and negotiated double-parking due to the number of attendees that night the audience was entertained by participants who had completed the award this year. The Crystal Whites, an alternative rock band comprising of Adam Ferguson, James Ferguson, Joe Spragg and Nick Buck performed three of their songs to the packed hall. Their music went down a storm and they were complimented by the Madam Deputy Mayor for the talent that they demonstrated.

In the last 12 months 61 students received their Bronze award (a St Mark’s record) and 15 their Silver Award. Though not all participants

could attend the award, each recipient was acknowledged on the roll call.

The DofE team (Ms Adams, Ms Stewart, Mr Jivan and Mr Savage) would like to take this opportunity to thank parents for their support and the staff for their time. This has allowed the DofE award scheme to be so successful at St Mark’s. We are confident that this year’s groups, who will go out on their expedition in the summer term will enjoy the experience and find it a challenging yet rewarding one.

On Saturday 2nd February, participants in the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award met bright and early in the middle of the cold, muddy yet sunny, Richmond Park. They embarked on a practice expedition, and by using the skills they had been taught in previous lessons, were able to navigate themselves around Richmond Park.

Students began the journey at Pembroke Lodge, then separated into groups and walked in a 12 kilometre loop, using their newly acquired ability to read maps and understand how to use compasses to bring them back to Pembroke Lodge in the afternoon. This practice walk was definitely an interesting and exciting experience, and taught a lot about what the D of E Award is really all about. Participants are looking forward to the many more memories that will be made on the expeditions that are yet to come!

Recently the Year 12 Duke of Edinburgh group embarked on an orienteering expedition in Wendover Woods. They arrived early on a cold and misty Saturday morning, ready to take on the challenge that the Duke of Edinburgh leaders had given them; finding 20 points in the lush forest of Wendover Woods.

The expedition did not start off positively, with the majority of the group taking a wrong turn, causing them to walk blindly in a random direction. However this was soon rectified as the once large group of ten split into five pairs that were then able to find their way through the wild undergrowth of Wendover.

The purpose of this day walk was to develop the navigational skills in preparation for the longer expedition ahead, learning how to relate their physical surroundings to what was seen on the map. All in all it was not the winning but the taking part that mattered, which helped to end the day on a high for all of the Duke of Edinburgh participants.

Duke of EdinburghAwards Night

Bronze Award Silver Award

This year, 58 students participated in the School’s annual ski trip to the Ziller Valley, Austria during February half term.

All packed and ready to go, the group set off on Friday 15th February and made good time sorting out the ski hire before lunch on the Saturday! Sunday arrived and the group set off to Fugen, where the beginners found their skies on the nursery slope and the pros headed up the gondola for a great first day in the sun on groomed pistes glistening in the bright light.

The evening came and half the group headed off to nine-pin bowling, with the rest remaining (hopefully!) vertical on the ice rink before reversing activities later in the week.

The group were back on the slopes the following days going to a mix of the resorts of Kaltenbach and Mayrhofen for the remainder of the week.

Fantastic ski conditions all week allowed everyone to make great progress, gaining Level 2 to Level 5 Snowlife Awards, in spite of the odd fall here and there…

There were many moments of hilarity, such as Luka’s impression of a skeleton

bob - minus any equipment. And how, exactly, did you break that ski Haley? The evenings brought a traditional Austrian evening of entertainment, and all too soon the last night disco was upon us.

Thanks to all the ski instructors and the brave St Mark’s staff of Mr Yiu, Mr Taylor, Ms Reid and Ms

Doherty who made it all work so well.

Same time, same place, next year!

Mr Greensmith

Ski Trip

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Year 12 and 13 Media Students have been working to a very tight deadline in order to enter a Young Filmmakers’ Competition which has as a prize the opportunity to produce a short film.

The competition has been organised by Spark!, the Education and Business partnership, in conjunction with the London Borough of Hounslow, Sky and West Thames College. This opportunity to develop local talent in the creative industries is part of an initiative celebrating 50 years of the London Borough of Hounslow. The competition involves pitching an idea for a short film for one of Hounslow’s charities or small businesses. The

winning pitch for each charity will get to produce their film with the help of independent production company, Picnic Films.

A Sky Skills Studio session was the first stage of this process. Students were put to work in groups to write, produce and edit their own news bulletin. Working to allocated roles of director, editor, camera operator and presenter the news story had to cover the issue of how celebrity culture has impacted society. It was interesting to see how a news story is constructed in individual suites by different teams whose work eventually comes together to form a news bulletin. Students were given an hour to write scripts, film footage (which involved many re-takes!) and then edit the piece. At the end students were able to watch each group’s work put together just as a news bulletin would appear, and it’s fair to say they definitely felt the pressure of the news team and how much time and effort goes into producing a three minute bulletin.

Students were also taken on a tour of the Sky site including production rooms and live sets where the news and programmes we watch are constructed. Students were amazed at the time and effort that goes into making each set for programmes, and also at how the news we watch is produced.

Teams are now busily preparing their five minute pitches for their proposed films which will be presented to a panel of media experts – a nerve-wracking prospect!

++ Stop Press ++The Year 13 team won their pitch and will make their film for the Musical Museum in the Easter holidays. Well done and good luck to Natasha and Orianna!

Young Filmmakers’ Competition

Year 7 Small Business Week 2013 was a record-breaking success. The annual charity fundraiser has raised £948, a £200 increase on last year’s superb total.

Small Business Week is a key part of the Learning for Learning curriculum. All students in Year 7 are faced with the challenge of devising, planning and running a charity event, with the money raised being divided between three charities: The Sierra Leone Poverty Relief Fund, Noreen’s Kids and the Sixth Form Lourdes’ Fund which aims at financing Sixth Formers to act as Red Caps on a pilgrimage to Lourdes in July. Every Year 7 student votes on who their share of the funds should go to and their individual share of the total is sent to the charity they wish to support.

This year saw a range of businesses that depended upon and celebrated the talents of the students, from Shoot-a-Hoop to Cup Cake heaven, to Guessing the Celebrity and the hugely anticipated Krispy Kreme Donut Delivery!

The Year 7s, who ran 38 businesses between them, are to be congratulated on their enthusiasm and commitment to raising money for very worthy causes. Furthermore, the generosity of every customer ensured Small Business Week was a mighty success. Year 7 and their teachers should be very proud of their record-breaking achievements. A huge thank you also to the many parents who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to support the students’ success.

Small Business Week21

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Monday 18th March marked the start of Charities Week, an annual St Mark’s tradition, whereby all Year groups participate to raise money for charity. This year’s activities proved to be an undoubted success, with the whole school joining together to raise money for two extremely worthy charities. The first of these is ‘Noreen’s Kids’, a charity that supports poor and sick children and families living with AIDS or other serious illness in South East Romania. The second charity is ‘Sierra Leone Poverty Relief’ which is dedicated to helping alleviate poverty and severe deprivation in Sierra Leone by encouraging and helping more children to get into secondary school education.

For five consecutive days, students at St Mark’s from all Year groups took part in a number of different events. These included a Year 8 basketball match, numerous cake sales, a Year 12 vs. Staff basketball match, a sponsored silence, a Sixth Form vs. Staff Quiz, and a Year 12 vs. Staff Dodgeball game.

The Year 12 vs. Staff basketball match proved to be a real success with excellent attendance. The teachers won the match 14-12, surprising many of us!

Staff blushes were spared in the Sixth Form vs.

Staff Quiz, with the result being 38 to 30.5 to the Staff.

The Sixth Form managed to salvage some pride at the end of the week, beating the Staff 4 games to 3 in Dodgeball.

The week finished with the usual Non-Uniform Day on Friday 22nd.

The outstanding attendance at each event from pupils of every Year group demonstrated the real closeness and community spirit within the school.

Charities’ Week

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In January a small group of Year 9 students were given the opportunity to take part in a Forensic Science Workshop. A former crime investigator and forensic science expert came in and explained everything we needed to know, starting off with exploring fingerprints. We were taught how to do a successful fingerprint, starting at one side of the finger and rolling round the ink and continuing the roll on to the paper. Then we identified what sort of fingerprints we had, whether it be an arch, a tentarch, a loop, a whorl, a mix or an accidental - which was the least common type, hence the name.

Secondly, we were taught how to find fingerprints on an object using a very simple but effective technique called fingerprint dusting. The dust was made up of graphite, charcoal, lampblack, photocopier toners and anthrocene which is a magnetic substance. We then stuck a magnetic stick in to the dust and lightly brushed it across

the object until the fingerprints appeared. This was interesting and everyone got involved.

We were then given our cases which required us to think of a variety of scenarios which would lead to the solving of the case. We scattered the evidence which consisted of written accounts from people last associated with the deceased, and then analysed them to see what we could discover. We were also given objects which we had to fingerprint dust; finding the fingerprints made the task very rewarding! We were able to inspect strands of hair which held vital evidence, and discovered how to extract any blood from a pair of shoes. It was great fun

as many people had the chance to dress up in old fashioned high-heels and old shoes which everyone was entertained by. This was a wonderful activity which developed our teamwork skills and allowed us to take up different roles within the group.

At the end each team was scored on different criteria with a tie-breaker needed to find the overall winning team who were awarded a certificate! Finally, everyone printed their fingerprints onto a small sheet of paper and it was made into a key ring.

Altogether the day gave us a feel for many things which go on within forensic science. I am very happy that I took part.

Allyson Benjamin Year 9

Forensics Challenge

The annual journey down the M4, M5 and A38 to Slapton Ley via Kingsbridge took place in February. 15 intrepid explorers, two members of staff, one minibus and the trailer arrived safely in Devonshire following an uneventful five hour drive in, surprisingly, lovely weather. It stayed fine for the entire trip, meaning that for once we didn’t need the waterproofs and wellies, although it did get cold: just ask Miss Doherty! We had a day’s urban fieldwork in Plymouth (where we bumped

Lost in Plymouth

Robbie Sleep Walking

The Whole Gang at Start Point

A Piece of History

All Together Now

Battle of Agincourt (England 1 - France 0)

Luke Investigates

Boys on the Rocks

Jumping for Joy

The Cider Press

Spot the Lighthouse

“When you’ve gotta go”

Bump into Strangers The Lads

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into a blast from the past), a day’s work investigating rural rebranding around trendy Totnes and a full day on the coast in some gloriously cold, windy weather. The students worked hard and collected some great data, the food was delicious, the rooms snug and warm, the tutor Hannah was brilliant and everybody was returned to the London Borough of Hounslow in one piece and on time: Claire even got to her orthodontist appointment!! A perfect field trip!!

Mr Rogers

Geography Field Trip

The enrichment programme launched a 12 week Latin course on Monday after School. Ms Ball, a specialist Latin teacher, has been employed to teach the course. Pupils from Years 7 to 9 and Year 12 were invited to join. The 30 pupils are following the Cambridge Latin course. One pupil, Mark Anthony, certainly has the right name to be a successful Latin student.

The text we study for AS Classical Civilisation is The Odyssey by Homer. This tells the story of Odysseus’ efforts to get home after ten years fighting at Troy. It actually takes him yet another ten years of adventures with beautiful women and monsters and a trip to the Land of the Dead before he reaches home. He then has to deal with 108 suitors and disloyal servants.

On 5 March the Year 12 group attended a day of lectures by university professors on topics such as ‘Odysseus the Hero’, ‘Women in The Odyssey’ and ‘Deceit and Disguise in The Odyssey’. Some of the lectures were excellent; one was not very helpful. Students especially enjoyed the focus on the role and representation of women in the text, and the links made to modern society.

Fortunately we completed our travels in a day and did not have to face any monsters.

On Saturday 16th February five Year 12 students went to Somerville College at Oxford University for a Study Day. Ella Whiddett and Peter Rutzler had an insight into the English course, Joshua Thomas and Alex Bandarian took part in a Maths class whilst Nathalie Châteauneuf looked at a Harry Potter translation in her French session. The five were also given a tour of the picturesque City as well as a taking part in a Questions and Answers session on Oxford admissions. The group found the day very insightful and also an enjoyable experience, providing them with the knowledge of what it is like and what it takes to be an undergraduate at one of the world’s leading Universities.

Over 200 Pupils in Years 9, 10 and 11 took part in the UK Intermediate Maths Challenge on Thursday 7th February, putting their mathematical nous to the test! 27 students achieved the Bronze award, 14 achieved Silver whilst 6 achieved the much coveted Gold award. Particular congratulations went to Markian Panas O’Brien, who received the accolade of “Best in School” for his score. An honourable mention is also merited to the 20 students who only just missed out on the Bronze award by only one mark! Congratulations to all who took part from Mr Gold

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Classical Civilisation Study Day

Oxford Study Day

Latin

Maths Challenge

The second round of Debate Mate was held at St Mark’s and we managed to win all the debates! After the first round we were 41st nationally, let’s hope we have risen up the table after Round 2.

Debate Mate

In February, members of the Liturgy Music Group were offered the chance of a cinema trip as a reward for their dedication and hard work. We went to Cineworld in Feltham to see Les Misérables, the much hyped Oscar award winning film starring a multitude of actors including Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway.

This trip was both entertaining and appropriate in terms of the musical genre of the film and left many members of the choir inspired and keen to learn the songs from the film.

All students enjoyed the film, and spent the journey home singing happily, discussing the key themes of the film and some even expressed a new found interest in musical theatre which had been sparked by the film. They found the trip very interesting and would like to do something similar later in the school year.

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Les Misérables

The Liturgy

Music Group is a fun, welcoming and talented

group of students who sing and play at the school mass every

Thursday.

This group is perfect for any student who enjoys singing or

playing instruments and who wants to share their gifts

and talents.

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Triumphant Rugby Win Over Gunnersbury!

SportRugby

This St Mark’s rugby season has started with one of the most impressive victories the school has ever seen. It is with pride that we are pleased to announce that the St Mark’s 1st XV (Sixth Form) Rugby Team beat Gunnersbury, with an impressive score of 19 -15.

In a close and exciting match the St Mark’s team managed to edge their way past the Gunnersbury players to grasp their first win against their arch rivals. The match was initially in question due to the frozen pitch conditions, but after a thorough inspection from the referee the game was given the go ahead and play was set to begin.

When the game started both teams looked on form and big hits came in from both sides. St Mark’s used their strength to overcome the Gunnersbury attacking force. Despite the valiant efforts from the

St Mark’s team Gunnersbury were on

The Year 8 Rugby Team won the Plate Competition at the recent Isleworth 7’s tournament. In a closely fought competition, they managed to beat Orleans Park school in the final with notable performances from Tom Stitson and leading try scorer Tristan Odeotei-Cabrera. Well played boys!

The Year 9 Rugby Team also have been playing well, beating Heathlands in their last fixture. It is hoped that they will go from strength to strength and continue to improve in Year 10.

top at half time - something the team needed to think seriously about during the break.

The boys then regrouped on the field with an impressive sense of steely determination and went on to dominate the second half. The Gunnersbury team had several breaks, but the St Mark’s players shut them down instantly and the try line of the St Mark’s half became a defensive fortress.

St Mark’s went on to score an array of successive scores and had the strength and motivation to hang onto their lead when they had taken it, something which is essential for any team. St Mark’s managed to control the game right up to the hard-fought end with the final whistle seeming to take an eternity to come for the nail-bitten spectators. Finally they were able to claim the first St Mark’s First XV victory over Gunnersbury. Congratulations to the team!

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Football

Rowing

The Year 11 Football Team suffered semi-final heartbreak in the Middlesex Cup losing 4-3. The team has represented the school marvellously over the last five years and should be really proud of their efforts. Darryl Sanders and Joshua Debayo shared the goals.

The Year 9 Football Team are looking forward to the now annual football tour to Valencia at Easter. They will be playing four games against Spanish opposition, taking part in training sessions with Valencia FC coaches and going to see Levante vs. Sevilla in La Liga. A full report will appear in the next issue of Veritas.

The Year 8 Football Team lost their County Cup quarter final 5-2 to a very strong Enfield team. They were drawing 1-1 at half time and put in a really good performance. Nii-okie Evans and Charlie Sumpter were the goal scorers.

The Year 7 Football Team lost a closely fought Middlesex Cup quarter final against Alexandra Park 4-3 in terrible conditions. However, they have reached the Hounslow Cup final which will be played after the Easter holidays. Their place was secured with the A team beating Gunnersbury 4-3 and the B Team winning 3-2. Both goalkeepers, Callum De Greef and Kamil Zechlowski impressed with some crucial saves.

The Year 7 girls represented St Mark’s in the annual Borough Rally. The standard was high, possibly the best turnout to date and the girls rose to the challenge. Girls’ football is one of the fastest growing sports in the world, and looking at the overall standard in this age group it is easy to see why. The passing and movement was outstanding throughout with a few excellent shots on goal for good measure! The team spirit in both St Mark’s teams was second to none, and although not crowned champions on the day, the girls gave a good account of themselves and showed that they are certainly contenders for the future - watch this space!

We have been working in close partnership with London Youth Rowing to provide new and exciting rowing opportunities for our students. Both of our GCSE PE groups have had the opportunity to experience indoor and outdoor rowing and we will now be extending this opportunity to Year 9 during the summer term. We will also be looking to develop a rowing club at school and who knows, we might be able to take part in our first rowing regatta soon!

BasketballWe have had impressive numbers at basketball training for all age groups this year. All of our basketball teams are now in the top Hounslow leagues and it is hoped that this progress can be sustained next year.

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Year 8 NetballThe annual Year 8 Netball Rally took place at Brentford School for Girls in January. The number of girls from Year 8 turning up for practice this year has been really impressive, and as a result, St Mark’s were able to enter two teams into the tournament.

There was a large turn out, with all the schools in the Borough represented.

Throughout the tournament, our teams demonstrated fantastic team spirit and determination. The St Mark’s second team battled well and played some really great netball, narrowly missing out on coming out of the league stages by a matter of goal d i f f e r e n c e . The first team finished top of their league and faced a semi-final battle with Chiswick School.

The semi-final was fiercely contested and action went from one

end of the court to the other. It was fast and furious and the teams were evenly matched. At full-time the score stood at 1-1. Three minutes of extra time was to be played to find the winner. The final countdown came at the end of the three minutes of extra time and the score was still poised at 1-1! Both teams had their chances to score, but the tense atmosphere had taken its toll.

Two minutes of extra, extra time followed. The game continued to be well matched, with

both teams fighting for every ball and playing some fast and

controlled netball. The St Mark’s defence worked

tirelessly and the attacking members of

the team continually got the ball into the two shooters. However, in the dying seconds of the game the Chiswick team broke past the St Mark’s defence and, sadly for us, scored the goal

that would take them into the final.

Both St Mark’s teams should be commended on

their team spirit, determination and the outstanding netball that

they played. Well done to all!

Indoor AthleticsBoth the Year 7 and 8 boys and girls teams entered the Hounslow Indoor Athletics tournaments. Indoor Athletics is designed to provide an introduction to athletics at secondary school with events designed to prepare students for the upcoming outdoor athletics season.

All the teams that entered did fantastically well. The girls’ team finished 3rd overall, the boys’ team 2nd overall and the Year 8 boys’ team won their age group and were asked to represent Hounslow in the West London final!

Well done to all those that took part.

Girls’ RugbyGirls’ rugby took a step into the unknown this year, with the introduction of contact rugby.

There was immediate interest from the Year 7 and Year 8 girls, though this was mixed with a little anxiety as up until this point the girls had only ever played tag rugby, and had been very successful in this.

The girls received ten weeks of expert coaching by Louise Meadows from the RFU. They literally threw themselves into the contact drills, and Louise commented upon how impressive and fearless the girls were from the outset.

The first contact tournament took place at Staines RFU; it consisted of an hour of coaching and then tournament games. The teams came from across London, and provided the first real opportunity for the girls to practise what they had been learning and demonstrate how well they had taken to contact rugby. The girls showed great determination and all of them participated fully in the coaching drills. Then came the games; their commitment to the tackles was impressive,and time after time our

girls chased and tackled and brought down the opposition. The passing and movement was also superb and the team equipped themselves incredibly well.

At the end of the tournament the girls were muddy and tired, but the day was enjoyed by all. The St Mark’s girls’ rugby team are going to go from strength to strength, and are certainly a team to watch for the future!

Well done to all!

Ms Davies, Mr Taylor, Ms Thomas

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Young Filmmakers’ Competition

Pupils in the Snow

Students Working in the LRC

Inaugural Hawaii Five-0 Meeting, Next Meeting on 1st April

Rose Stephens, Art of Pathology Competition Winner

Holocaust Memorial Day

Year 7 Make Crosses in RE

GCSE Food Technology Students Celebrated Culture Week