Onwards - March 2012 - South Wilts Grammar School for Girls

ONWARDS
Year 13 A Level German Trip to Berlin
In February half term the A2 German set went to Berlin for five days to broaden our
understanding of the historical topic we have been studying this year (East Germany 1961-
1989). We have been looking at the Cold War and the fall of Communism in Europe, to which
the existence of the German Democratic Republic and the fall of the Berlin Wall were central.
We visited the Stasi Headquarters, the Reichstag Parliament Building (where we bumped
into the A Level History trip!), the Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie and the famous
East Side Gallery. We also went to a concert in the Berliner Dom at which we were all
presented with a rose, as it was the 14 th February. We would also recommend the
Fassbender & Rausch chocolate shop- there are models of the Television Tower, the
Reichstag and the Brandenburg Gate made entirely of chocolate!
Going to Berlin was such a wonderful experience because it made one of the most exciting
historical cities in the world really come alive, and it made everything we had learned seem
very relevant. We also had the chance to visit the Sachsenhausen concentration camp,
which, although harrowing, was a worthwhile and deeply moving
experience. The trip overall was a huge success and we all enjoyed
having the chance to practise speaking German with native
speakers. We would definitely recommend the trip to lower years, or
to anyone who wishes to find out more about one of the most
important periods of the twentieth century, not just for Germany, but
for the whole world. (Caroline Halls and Phoebe Walsh 13JVT)
Salisbury Schools’ Book Award 2012
Eighteen students from Year 7 to Sixth Form and Mrs Hall took part this year in reading the
six books nominated for this local annual book award. Meetings have taken place over the
last eight weeks to discuss the books and share our views on the characters, the plot and the
writing style of the different authors.
Twelve students were able to attend the award ceremony at St Joseph’s School, attended by
four local schools, on March 7 th . We listened to a very interesting presentation from Rachel
Ward the author of Numbers on how she writes her books.
There was the opportunity to ask questions and Alice Kiff
10E won a book prize for asking the most interesting
question of the session ‘What inspired you to kill off Spider in
the way that you did?’ Our favourite book was Time Riders
by Alex Scarrow, but the overall award winner was Numbers
by just 2 votes. The other nominated books we read were:
Boom, Mark Hadden, The Set-Up, Sophie McKenzie, My
Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece, Annabel Pitcher, The Silver
Sword, Ian Serraillier. (Mrs Wood, Librarian)
Scene Production Acting Company visit South Wilts
On Thursday 1st March Scene Productions came to SWGS to do a Drama workshop with our
AS, A level and even a few Year 11 Drama students.
The day started off with the actors prepping the students with physical/vocal warm ups,
leading into some practical work around one of the set Drama texts. The students
experimented with constructing a set as we are all developing key characterisation and
directing skills. This was all followed by a mesmerising performance of Berkoff’s
‘Metamorphosis’ in the afternoon which was beautifully performed by the actors,
demonstrating creative use of mask work, physical theatre and clever set construction. The
students thoroughly enjoyed the day and the actors commented how enthusiastic the
students were. (Mrs McLannahan)
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