Ezine Spring Term 2011-12.pdf - The Belvedere Academy

Miss Palin launched National Science andEngineering Week with an inspiring assemblythat explored the link between ‘Our Worldin Motion’ and the Olympics. The assemblyrecognised the achievements of the inspirational athlete Oscar Pistoruis - thefirst athlete to run in both the Paralympics and the able-bodied events.Monday – Brave participators were challenged to build the most effective Water Wheel from aselection of materials. After twenty minutes each team was given 1 litre of water and asked to seehow many revolutions their Water Wheel could do. Some of the designs were highly successful,some not quite as much, but we all had a lot of fun!Wednesday – This involved designing a Hovercraft using a CD, a bottle top and a balloon. Thecompetitive streaks of girls were very obvious from their cheers as their design glided down a plankof wood to the finish line.Friday - The task was to design and build a bridge tocover a gap of 20cm, which would hold the heaviestload. Some very interesting feats of engineeringwere uncovered during this session!Leading up to NSEW a group of girls from Year 9 and 10worked very hard on a project of their choice designedaround the theme for NSEW ‘Our World in Motion’. Oncompletion they were presented with a Bronze awardfrom the National Science Association. Congratulations toEleri Gaffey-Cosslett, Sara Milani, Josephine Zuzan, DanaHo, Dominique Harper, Leah Young, Monica Dearden,Bupe Chanda, Bethan Muirhead, Rachael Noon and OliviaCraven.Alongside interesting assemblies, including someincorporating cheer leading with molecule structures;forms were busy completing quizzes and activities aimed at‘Our World in Motion’. When not taking part in the activitiesgirls were able to watch informative DVDs exploring thefamous Hadron Collider, the world’s largest and highestenergyparticle accelerator.Overall, National Science and Engineering Week was afantastic success and would not have been possible withoutthe hard-work from our Science technicians Joan, Lauraand James, who spent many hours developing resourcesfor the activities. The Science Department would like tothank all the girls and staff that got involved in NSEW.First of allwe went on the bus to the ferrywhich was very bumpy (fortunately no-one wassick) when we got to spaceport we did a range ofactivities that were all excellent.Everyoneliked the exhibitions but the best oneby far was the Wallace and Gromit exhibition. Therewas lots of interesting activities to do like play games, talkto Wallace in outer space and design rockets.On the15th of March due Year 7 went ona fantastic trip to spaceport. Spaceport is an excitingplace, we got to learn about space and astronauts, also wegot to take part in lots of fun activities like making rockets, goingon the simulator and seeing exhibitions. Altogether it was a veryfun enjoyable trip that everyone liked. Nicole in year 7said that it was the best trip she’d been onwith school.

I.E.T. CompetitionOn Friday 23rd March six Year 8 girls completed an intense (IET) engineering challenge event which washosted by the Liverpool University Department of Electrical Engineering. They were: Sarah Whelan,Sabina Rhaman, Lydia Brady, Katie Lou Holland, Charlie Davies and Anna Nicholson Krakiewicz.The girls had to compete as a team and go through a number of stages before testing out their deviceto see if it could perform the given task which was to fill a plastic drinks cup with a specified amountof water and then move the cup through a distance of 20cm across a surface. The girls worked verywell as a team and were commended for their excellent initial stages of design and also for theirability to work as a team.The girls were excellent ambassadors of The Belvedere Academy in every way and were commendedby members of staff from other schools present for their excellent behaviour.The girls finished third in the competition this year with a total of 129 points out of a possible 150.The top score was 131.Mr CaulfieldBelvedere is a school rich in history and is now over onehundred and thirty years old. So when Professors MareleneF. Rayner-Canham and Geoff W. Rayner-Canham camefrom Canada to do some research into Belvedere’s archiveslast week, I was particularly excited to go and meet themand see what it was they hoped to find in our school. Theybegan by aiming to write an article on “Forgotten Womenin Science” in the late nineteenth to mid-twentieth century,based upon research in British girls’ schools, in whichscience has been being taught for centuries, despite thegeneral acceptance that females did not learn science, in particular chemistry, until the 1950s at thevery earliest. However, when they found significantly more evidence than they had expected across anumber of GDST schools (amongst others), they decided, instead, to write a book on the topic.As they searched through the archives at Belvedere, they discovered that, although the importanceof women in science had reduced in the 1920s and 30s as men had returned from the first World Warand women were now needed as housewives. Belvedere had been teaching chemistry from as earlyas 1896, in which the subject, completely new for females, was taught in a normal classroom,rather than a lab, with “rubber tubing”attached to gas pipes in substitute ofactual gas taps.On Saturday 9th March at the start of National Science & Engineering week, the prestigious MerseysideYoung Analyst competition was held in the Chemistry Department at the University of Liverpool.Three Year 12 students entered from the Belvedere Academy; Stephanie Macilwee, Alex Hall andNiamh Forde.They completed challenging chemical analyses to determine the composition of Coca-Cola and wereassessed against other schools from Merseyside and further afield.During the afternoon there was a lecture on the importance of analytical chemistry in stopping theuse of performance-enhancing drugs during the Olympics and their damaging effects on the humanbody.The day helped the girls experience chemistry at university and was a fascinating insight into theworld of chemical and forensic analysis.Soon, Belvedere got its first real chemistrylab, used by students from 1904 onwards,while other information shows thatour school had, unusually, two scienceclubs in the 1920s, which were able totake advantage of exploring the manyindustries involving science in Liverpool(including the customary trip to thegas works!). Belvedere even had anastronomy club in the 1890s, somethingI’m sure many current Belvedere girlswould have been eager to get involved in.Professors Marelene F. Rayner-Canhamand Geoff W. Rayner-Canham’s book willbe published in around two years andI’m sure Belvedere pupils will be excitedto see what they say. It’s exciting to seehow Belvedere has, even since the 1800s,been a pioneer of female education andscience.By Chloe Nelson 13MWOMENIN SCIENCE

GCSE Performing Arts ShowPalm House, Sefton ParkAfter months of hard work and rehearsals Miss O’Shea’s GCSE Performing Arts class combined theirnumerous talents in dancing, singing and acting and took centre stage in the impressive surroundingsof Sefton Park’s Palm House for an evening of entertainment as part of their GCSE examination. Anexternal examiner was there to watch the whole event and grade the girls on their performances.Anxious parents, friends and family came to support but their worry soon turned to wonder at theprofessional and thrilling event which far surpassed expectations. Congratulations to Miss O’Sheafor an incredible event and good luck girls when the results are revealed!Performing Arts ShowcaseOn Wednesday 28th and Thursday 29th March Belvedere Academy was host to our brightest andbest actors, singers, dancers, musicians and gymnasts in an evening of entertainment. The choirsang wonderfully, the orchestra played superbly, the soloists dazzled and the range of talent wasremarkable. Monologues, duologues, comic sketches and melodramas all contributed to therange of amusing scenes and were interspersed with talented dance routines and an impressivegymnastics display.Congratulations to all who took part and well done for the enormous effort that went into therehearsals leading up to the event.

A BooktasticBelvedere day!On 3 February Belvedere’s library opened as a cafeselling tea and biscuits to celebrate National LibrariesDay 2012. Many students enjoyed the event andsigned up to their local Liverpool library. There werealso many quizzes to take part in including questionsabout different books and authors. Anyone who got ascore of 10/10 was entered into a prize draw with thechance to win a variety of books.By Natasha Bramall and Melissa MulcahyTrip to meetCathy HopkinsOn the 9 March, Year 7 travelled to Crosby CivicHall to meet and greet Cathy Hopkins, the geniusbehind the ‘Mates and Dates’ series. She haswritten an amazing fifty-five books so far. It wasvery inspirational to hear Cathy’s story, and thetale behind her wonderful talent. She told us aboutthe many different jobs before she wanted to be awriter.After the event Year 7 girls were positivelycommenting about their wonderful day. We wouldlike to thank Cathy for giving us a memorablemorning and for being a brilliant role model forthe future generation.Soroptimist CompetitionYear 8 students Chloe Moran and Jiordan Haddely took part in apublic speaking competition organised by Soroptimist International,an organisation which works to improve the status of women.Students have to speak for three minutes on a specificsubject at the annual competition, held at Bellerive FCJCatholic College. Chloe and Jiordan chose to answerthe question “Is the £9,000 per year Universityfee worth the money?” Below is a descriptionof how they coped with the competition.Jiordan: “I was very nervous, my speechtook me several weeks to completeand it took even longer to memorise.Chloe did her speech to an amazingstandard and came in the top four!I knew that she would!”Chloe: Even though I competedin the Soroptimist internationalPublic Speaking contest a yearago, receiving second place, Iwas extremely nervous. Walkinginto the hall I saw many peoplefrom different schools, I took aseat and the competition began.Jiordan was first up and herspeech was great! My heart wasracing faster and before I knew ita woman was calling my name. Istarted to read my speech and it wasall over in a daze! When the resultscame I was happy that I came into thetop four! I can’t wait for next year.”By Melissa Mulcahy and Sophie Rennie

I remember being in year eleven, and the whole year buzzed with questions about what sixth-formto go to; what A-Levels to choose; what qualifications we needed for our future ambitions. Thisterm at the Academy Sixth-Form Open Evening floods of potential pupils visited each department.They spent time talking with staff from all of their subjects of interest, getting to know what differentA-Level courses involve to help them decide what subjects would suit them best.A short talk detailing how Belvedere’s sixth-form functions - the excellent pastoral support, academicrigour, and pupils’ high aspirations - gave potential Belvedere girls an idea of just what they’d begetting if they chose our sixth-form. Great new opportunities in the sixth-form were also revealed viathe new promotional film. We learnt that the Academy was broadening their subject appeal, withpersonalised teaching methods and stimulating new courses on offer. The Academy came acrossbrilliantly and external pupils were genuinely enthusiastic at the possibility of joining the Belvederecommunity. Many questions and uncertainties were resolved, and I’m confident that everyone wentaway feeling a little more comfortable about their exciting future journey into higher education.By Chloe Nelson Y13Girls involved in the KPMG Entrepreneurial Teamare supporting the Oliver King Foundation by making handmade ‘OK’bracelets for £2. To promote sales in the Academy, all those who buy a bracelet will beentered into a prize draw to win a Thomas Sabo bracelet; additional prize draw tickets are £1.Chloe Carter, Roisin Vanes, Georgina Partington and Emily RankinOn Wednesday 21st March, six Year 12Girls headed to Liverpool University tocompete in the Institute of CharteredAccountants National Business Game. Thegirls were faced with a difficult challenge.They had to study a case text and decide onrecommendations for that business. Despitetough competition from lots of other NorthWest schools the girls managed to make itinto the final. Their second presentationwas in front of hundreds of students,entrepreneurs, accountants and teachersand was very nerve-wracking. The girls wereconfident and delivered their informationadmirably but were narrowly beaten andwere runners up.Well done girls!

Trip toJaguarMiss O’Shea and her form 90 organised a charity event based on the popular television series Dragon’sDen in aid of people with cystic fibrosis. The teachers involved were Mr Marshall, Mr Woolley, MrsMansfield, Mrs Cox and Mr McGovern. We asked them before the event what kind of inventions theywould like to be presented. Mr McGovern said; “Any inventions that allow students to speak Frenchand Spanish fluently and not make any mistakes.” We also asked Mr McGovern why he thoughtDragons Den was a good idea, his reply was, “It allows the girls who are going to compete to becreative and innovative. Also, it allows the girls to confidently show off their ideas.”The event itself was a huge success. The lucky winners were Holly Furlong and Lydia Lenord with theircharity box idea to help children in third world countries. After the competition we asked Miss O’Sheawhy she thought Dragon’s Den was a success, “The teachers were hilariously funny. The girls wereexcellent; they sold tickets outside the canteen at lunchtimes and managed to raise a lot of money.”Congratulations to everybody who took part in the event which raised £127 for charity. We hope thatwe can have another one like this next year!Spanish StudentsRemember last year when the girls were put into frenzy when 30Spanish students from Valencia visited The Belvedere Academy fora day? And the fact that most of them were boys! Since it was ahighly enjoyed event, this year the same thing happened on the23rd March!“It was very popular with all the girls especiallybecause most of the students were boys! TheSpanish students liked the experience very much.The students said that coming to The BelvedereAcademy was the best part about their one weekstay in Liverpool,” said Mr. Pickford.The Spanish students were in the Academyfor a whole day. They accompanied theirbuddies (pupils in KS3) around the schooland into their lessons.“It’s a fantastic experience andI think Belvedere is great,” saida Spanish student.On our trip to Jaguar with Miss Foster and Mrs Brown, we learnt a lot about car manufacturing. Wesaw cars being made on our tour of the factory floor and noticed how ICT is used at every stage tocontrol the manufacturing of the cars.We loved seeing the robots in action, they are programmed to do different jobs which are dangerousfor humans . Barcodes are used to identify the cars requirements for the customer, and they holdthe exact information of the car.There were four sections in the factory, the first two included moulding and assembling, the third onewas painting and the last one was adding the finishing touches.It was a very interesting trip and learnt a lot about car manufacture.By Courtney Fitzgibbon and Samar Behzadi 9M

RUGBY UNION RESULTSOn a hot day in Wigan, Belvedere Academyoverturned the form book to record a fantasticperformance in the Regional Championships.Despite being a Rugby League team, our girlscompeted in the North West Rugby Uniontournament for the best 27 teams in the region.In the group stages, we were drawn in the“group of death” with some of the top sides.Every single player gave her all and we scoredsome scintillating tries, winning 2 matchesand losing just 1 to Fallibroome Academy ofManchester, the eventual champions.In the 2nd place play offs, we drew our first gamebut finished the day with a comprehensive5-1 victory against arch-rivals Bankfield, ofWidnes. Special mention must go to OliviaJohnson, Phoebe Rhodes and Olivia Martin-Quirk for their relentless efforts.Katarina Johnson Thompson visited the Belvedere Academy on 28thMarch 2012. In 2009 Katarina was crowned World Youth HeptahlonChampion. The Heptathlon involves mastering 7 events which are100m hurdles, High jump, Shot putt, 200m, Long jump, Javelin throwand 800m. She is striving to qualify for London 2012 Olympics and issaid to be significantly better than Jessica Ennis at the same age. Shehas recently gained many Personal Bests and is the top 6 in the UKin the Long and High Jumps. Key Stage 3 pupils completed questionand answer sessions and sprinting workshops with Katarina. Thepupils really enjoyed the day and were inspired to become futureyoung athletes and support Katarina in her career.NETBALL CITY CHAMPIONSThe Year 7 Belvedere netball squad scoredtheir victory in the Liverpool girls netballtournament. The Belvedere Academy’s Teamconsisted of 10 players; Tia Morris (captain)Eva Donaldson, Grace Burke, Molly Hughes,Jazmin Mooney, Martha Potter, Lia Sung, KatieRussell and Phoebe Rhodes.We played Broughton Hall, Bluecoat, StEdwards, King David, Archbishop Blanch,St John Bosco and St Julies. After winningall seven matches we made it to the final toplay Calderstones for the title. It was a tightlycontested match, but we nudged ahead in thesecond half to take the victory!Andrew Adoniswrote an articlefor the NewStatesman inwhich he quotedthe BelvedereAcademy saying:“The BelvedereAcademy inLiverpool, up there with Mossbourneamong the most inspirational all-abilitycomprehensives in England, is a free school.It was the first independent school to comeinto the state sector under the academiesprogramme (in 2007), dropping all fees andthe eleven-plus and becoming a communitycomprehensive in admissions while retainingits independent governance. It was a catalystfor a string of other excellent private schoolsto become academies, which all also droppedselection and fees.....”YEAR 9 OPTIONSAt Belvedere girls are very lucky, as theyhave the opportunity to choose from roughlyeighteen subjects from which they can picktwo or three to take for their GCSEs as wellas English Maths, Science and a language.Belvedere girls have an advantage comparedto other students in other schools becausemost schools do not run subjects such asGraphics, Performing Arts, Food Technology,Textiles and Media Studies.Congratulations to Miss Bell who was marriedon Easter Monday, her new name is MrsMcAnespy.Advertising In The BelvedereAcademy News EzineThe Belvedere Academy News Ezine is published five times ayear, in September, November, January, April and June. 1500electronic copies are widely distributed among parents,local businesses, nurseries, churches and primary schools.Advertising with us will reach a large target audiencethroughout Liverpool.All revenue is put back into the production of the magazine.The advertising rates and advert dimensions are:• FULL PAGE COLOUR £250Inside front or back cover 180x265mm• FULL PAGE A4 BLACK & WHITE £200180X265mm• ½ PAGE COLOUR OR BLACK & WHITE £60(landscape) 180x130mm• ¼ PAGE COLOUR OR BLACK & WHITE £40(portrait) 90x130mmTo place an advertisement, please contact Abi Cox on 0151471 1845. Advertisements should be submitted as JPEG orPDF files on CD or emailed to a.cox@belvedereacademy.netCheques should be made payable to GDST Academy Trust.All copies and payments need to be received one monthbefore publication.Congratulations to the News Team from Belvedere’stalented Journalism Enrichment. They are:Nicole Sullivan 7B, Hannah McComfs 7B, Aimee Doolan 7B,Olivia Currie 7K, Esme Skinner 7D, Mia Chung 7B, MercyOpaole 8J, Chloe Nelson Y13, Phoebe Doolan 8J, SophiaSaleh 8J, Vicky Hughes 10C, Georgia Jameson 10A, HannahMelia 10Y. Miss Keating and Mrs Cox.Many thanks to teaching staff who have also contributedarticles and photographs. For more news please visitwww.belvedereacademy.netIf you have any comments or suggestions for the magazinethen please contact Abi Cox: a.cox@belvedereacademy.netThe Belvedere Academy17 Belvedere RoadPrinces ParkLiverpoolL8 3TF0151 727 1284Email: info@belvedereacademy.netWebsite: www.belvedereacademy.net