The Cannon - December 2011 - Fort Pitt Grammar School

THE CANNONHAPPY CHRISTMAS AND A FOND FAREWELLDECEMBER 2011I am sure you will enjoyreading the term’s newsletterwhich is full of details of themany and varied activities thathave involved our students. Itis always a busy part of theyear, not just because itinvolves the two specialoccasions, Harvest andChristmas, but also because ofmock examinations, CarolService, Christmas Concertand a myriad of charityfundraising….and lessons!!This is the 8 th Christmasnewsletter I’ve done sincejoining the staff at Fort Pitt, andas you know, it is my last.Although I am leaving asHeadteacher, I will, of course,still be working for the Fort PittAcademy Trust and it will beexciting working with Mrs Winnas she moves the school evenfurther forward. It has been aprivilege to work with MrsWinn, who is an outstandingeducator and whose passionfor Fort Pitt is unrivalled. I knowthat the school will continue itsrelentless drive forimprovement. In addition I amlook forward to working withthe head teachers at GlencoeJunior School and The RobertNapier School, who are beingsupported by the trust, in theirmoves to become academies.The schools face differentchallenges to Fort Pitt, but inboth schools the governingbodies, the head teachers andthe staff are determined toimprove the learningexperience for their students. Iam very honoured to havebeen given this opportunity bythe Fort Pitt Academy Trustand although it’s a very steeplearning curve for me I amlooking forward to thechallenge.I wanted to take thisopportunity to thank all of theparents, carers, staff,governors and students at FortPitt for their support over thelast seven and a bit years.What has been so wonderful isthe improvement in academicperformance, the Ofsted“outstanding” and the school’simproved popularity have comeabout whilst we have stillmaintained our sense ofcommunity. The support forothers and the strongrelationships between all in theschool are things that areadmired and commented on bymany of our visitors. Fort Pitt isa very, very special place and Iam going to miss it.Thank you one and all and mybest wishes to you all forChristmas, 2012 and thefuture.Julia BellHeadteacherF O R T PITT GRAM M A R S C H O OLS CIE N CE & M A THE M ATICS CO LLE GEF O R T PITT HILL , C H A T H AMKE N TM E 4 6 TJTE L: 0 1 6 34 84 2 35 9 F A X : 0 1 63 4 81 7 38 6H TTP//:WWW .F O R TPITT .M E D WAY .S C H .U K

THE CANNONNATIONAL TRIATHLON CHAMPIONSHIPS 2011On Saturday the 29 th ofOctober, I travelled up toSolihull, near Birmingham, forthe National Triathlon Final. Iqualified for this, on the 25 th ofSeptember, which I previouslywrote about. It was the qualifierfor the Nationals, and it was outof the South-East, in which Ihad come 2 nd.I train for Modern Pentathlon,which is: Fencing, Swimming, Horse Riding and CombinedEvent-Which is a Shoot and a run (but at my age these eventsare still separated.) For the Triathlon, I only had to do 3 of the 5events. These were: Running, Swimming and Shooting.However, after reaching Solihull, we had to wait about an hourbefore we could go into the ‘Holiday Inn’ in which me and mydad would stay the night in. I had a bit of time to unpack, andthen it was time to go and have a Shoot Practice at the leisurecentre in which I would compete at.Page 2had lost my stamina. I was caught in the middle of the girlleading, and the pack behind. As I got more tired, the peoplebehind began to gain on me. I managed to hold them all of untilthe last 100m- where I had nothing left for that final sprint(Which in better form I would’ve been able to do.) I wasdisappointed by the result, as I knew if I was in better fitness, Iwould’ve done better. Because I was ranked in sixth after therun, if I had done my PB, I would have been in 2 nd place.Next was the Swim. I was feeling a bit down after the run, and Ireally needed to pull myself together! My Dad boosted back myconfidence and told me to basically go for it in the swim, and totry to get a PB. I tried to focus on the swim now, and forgetabout the run. I got changed in to my racing costume, and Icompletely changed my attitude into determination, instead ofdwelling over something I couldn’t change. I was in the last heatfor my age, and I was in a race with strong swimmers, my mainaim was to stay with them- and then to hopefully get a goodtime. As it was 50m (2 lengths) I just had to go flat out. My PBbefore the race from the qualifier was 33:71, and my time forthe race, ended up to be 33:79! It was just off my PB- but Iwasn’t disappointed, because after that time off training, Iexpected to be about a second slower, and I had a much morepositive attitude.We got to the Leisure Centre and started having some time topractice the shoot, to have an idea of what the setup etc wouldfeel like tomorrow - I also had to borrow an airgun from myshooting coach, as unlike most competitors for Pentathlon, I donot have my own gun as in itself, the gun is roughly around£2000! After I’d done a few targets, we headed back to thehotel.Kerrie Johnson was also competing the next day, so it was niceto have a friend there with me. We enjoyed the pool in the hotel,and went out for a meal with a few others from my club (NorthKent MPC) - which I and my dad rarely do back home! Later onwe also watched a film, which was a nice way to take my mindof the next day…It was Sunday 30 th of October, the day of the competition! Itwas unusually late starting, and meant I got a good amount ofrest. As I don’t really like to eat much before my competition, Imostly had fruit, with a bit of bread and croissants, as I didn’texactly like the idea of having a big breakfast before my run!After we had packed up, we headed for the Leisure Centre.It was the run first. I had quite a bit of time to warm up, whichwas good, as I like to feel prepared.Recently between this time, and thequalifier, I had not been in best form,as I had to have Antibiotics and wasreally not feeling my best in the period Iwas ill. I had luckily just recovered forthe competition, but wasn’t at my fittestpotential (as due to being ill, I had nothad as much training as I would’vedone.)Before my race, I was very nervous.This standard of competition really isquite nerve wracking! Because of amixture of nerves, and the hanging onof my cold, I was sick. I recoveredbefore my race, but I was still nervous.But eventually, it was time for my firstevent: the 1000m run- the officialscalled us over and we waited on thestart line. The race began, I was on the outside of the track, so Ihad to cut over, and I set in my pace behind a girl who wasleading the race. After about the first 200m she began to pullaway from the rest of us, and I went with her. It stayed this wayuntil the weeks of not training was having an effect on me, as IAfter the Swim, before my Shoot, I had time to look at theresults; thankfully I had maintained 6 th place. Although I hadn’timproved my position, I was happy with this result, because theswim is one of my weaker events.It was now time to register for gun control. This is when youhave to take your gun, in my case the gun you are using for thecompetition, to be checked to make sure it is fair and safe/legal.Then I went through to where I would shoot. The Shoot is oneof the events I enjoy most, and my dad told me mostimportantly to enjoy myself.We set ourselves up, and then we were allowed to ‘dry fire.’This is when our guns are on safe and not loaded, and it is justto warm-up. After we had a practice target on command- this isjust to get a practice before hand, and to check your sights areright, and to see if you’re aiming right. (It’s self beneficial.) Mypistol was fine, so I had time to prepare myself while someadjusted their sights. The girl next to me was having a lot ofproblems with her gun though - but I didn’t let it put me off.Eventually when we started, she kept on having problems, andlots of the officials were trying to sort out her gun. We were inthe middle of the shoot, and it was distracting people aroundme- but I remained focused, and I wasn’t letting it distract me.Eventually we were able to continue. An official commanded usthrough ten shots and we changed targets after five. None ofmy shots went out of the black centre-which was a good sign.After we had finished, I was pleased as it was the calmest I hadbeen in a competition. (This was partly due to me enjoying theshoot!)Due to things going wrong, it was quite adelay until we got the results. As we cameback inside about half an hour later, ourtargets had already been given back out,someone gave it to me and people from myclub were saying I had got 91points! It wasthe best result I had got from my shoot- intraining, and in competition! I wasabsolutely pleased with my score and now Ijust had to wait in anticipation for theresults…The top six people had got medals, and from the shoot, I knew Iwould’ve kept 6 th place and this was all I had wanted! But Iwaited for the results sheet. As it finally came up, lots of peoplewere crowding around trying to look; and as it came up I

THE CANNONPage 3couldn’t believe it- My Shoot had put me into 2 nd place from 6 th -I had gone up four places! And it had enabled my team fromNorth Kent MPC to get 1 st place asa team too!my age group:2 nd in Great BritainThe Best Shoot in Great BritainAnd the best Modern Triathlon team!I had a smile stuck on my face aswe waited for the awards ceremony.As eventually I went up, they gaveme my 2 nd place, and I had got the‘Best Shoot’!The final result from the day, in theend was more than I expected! InIn the end it turned out to be a great day, and I was verypleasedwith the finalresult-and it was agreatexperience tohave.MEDWAY SECONDARY SCHOOL GAMESCROSS COUNTRY COMPETITIONThis took place on Thursday Dec 1 st at a very wet andmuddy course at Rochester Maths School.We were able to enter 2teams , the Year 7 girlsevent and the Junior Girlsevent for Yrs 8/9.In a field of 44 girls ouryear 7s did extremely wellwith Faye Conisbeeplaced 12 th , her sisterAnna placed 14 th , GeorgiaTrythall placed 15 th ,Year 7Katherine Verbern placed23 rd and special thanks to Grace King who kindly steppedin at the last minute tocomplete our team andwas placed 27 th .Darcey BarhamKENT CHAMPIONSHIPS BIATHLON REPORTOn Sunday 20 thNovember students fromYears 7,8 and 9 took partin the KENT BiathlonChampionships atMedway Park.A biathlon consists ofvarying running andswimming distancesaccording to ages.The competition includedevents from Year 5 through to 6th form and teachers. It wasalso divided into various prize giving categories as followsIndividual 1 st to 6 th for either best runor best swim,Best Team 1 st -3 rd places andBest Secondary school with thehighest average score37 year 7 girls took part and our year 7team consisted of Daisy Stewart who wasfinally placed 15 th , Charlotte Ford 17 thand Lydia Allum 22 nd and overall coming avery commendable 4 th place in the teamevent in front of Rochester Grammar!Well done Yr 7!In a field of 40 girls ourJunior Girls team didextremely well withmedals being won byJacinta Barhamsprinting in for 2 nd placeand Darcey Barham for3 rd Years 8 & 9place.Kerrie Johnson came 5 th Eleanor Harrington came 6 thand special thanks to Natasha Munday, who alsostepped in at the last minute to complete the team andcame a very creditable 10 th . Well done! With all theseexcellent individual results they came 1 st overall in theteam event and won a shield for the school.Congratulations to everyone for their amazing effort andgreat team spirit.Mrs Bird15 girls took part in the yr 8 section andspecial congratulations go to DarcyBarham as she was our only Year 8 in thecompetition and was 2 nd in both the runand swim events.12 girls took part in the Yr 9 section andour team consisted of Jacinta Barham who was placed 1 stoverall, Eleanor Harrington placed 6 th and Cara Gear placed 9 th .

THE CANNONPage 4Gliding ScholarshipI have been a member of the Royal Air Force Air Cadetsfor 3 years and during that time I have completed myDuke of Edinburgh’s Bronze award, attended two weeklong camps at Cranwell RAF Officer Training School,learnt new skills such as first aid and radiocommunications, taken part in many fund raisingactivities and am currently working towards a BTEC inAviation Studies.In October this year,I was given theopportunity to gainmy Silver Wings forgliding through aGliding Scholarship.The course was tobe run at 615 VGS(Volunteer GlidingSchool) based atPre flight checks before my solo.RAF Kenley in Surrey and I travelled there late oneFriday afternoon, feeling very apprehensive at what thenext nine days had in store for me. Although I hadqualified to apply for the Gliding Scholarship byattending a weekend camp and passing the threepreliminary levels of tests which had included glidingwith a trainer pilot, this week would hopefully culminatein me flying solo!The weather during the time I was at Kenley was notgreat. Although some days I did as many as 12launches, other days were spent waiting for the rain toclear, the clouds to pass and the wind to drop. By FridayI had achieved my Blue Wings meaning I had doneeverything needed to be able to attempt my first soloflight. My nerves had left me and I was very excited as Ifelt I was fully prepared to be able to fly solo. As soon asI had taken off I was able to relax and enjoy theexperience which was over far too quickly. I came backdown to earth with a bump (two to be exact) and felthigh on adrenalin for the rest of the afternoon. I waspresented with my Silver Wings at my Squadron’sAnnual Inspection on Sunday 6 th November. I feel it hasbeen one of my greatest achievements so far. I havenow applied to return to 615 VGS RAF Kenley as part ofthe team, as a Flight Staff Cadet, to support and helpteach other cadets to enable them to be able to enjoythe thrill of gliding as much as I do.Air Cadets is very much part of my life now and I wouldrecommend it to anyone. It is not just about flying as Ihave had many and varied opportunities with them thatwould not normally have come my way. If you would liketo know more about Air Cadets please come and findme for a chat or come along to 1404 (Chatham)Squadron at Boundary Road on a Tuesday or Thursdayevening between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Visit the Royal AirForce Air Cadets website http://www.raf.mod.uk/aircadets/Being presented with my wings.Fort Pitt Cemetery VisitOn 11 th November 2011 8L4, as part of their studieson World War One went on a visit to Fort Pittcemetery to commemorate the lives lost in the thiswar and other wars since.Mrs Bruschan registered us 8L4 ten minutes beforelunch was due to end as the students of the class had toleave the premises early to walk to Fort Pitt cemetery onCity Way.After twenty minutes of walkingto the cemetery the class hadarrived. “The atmosphere wasjust too overwhelming” said oneof the students. The class thenmade their way to the memorialcross to lay a wreath on behalfof the School and to recitesome poems about war.After the small service hadfinished the teacher then gaveall of the class time to pay ourrespects as we looked at the graves of the soldiers thatgave their lives for their country.“It is absolutely devastating to see the amount of youngpeople who died.” said another student.Most of the soldiers were aged between 16-30 years ofage when they died in the First World War, althoughsome soldiers were older.The loss of life in that short period of time should beremembered throughout the world and not just in ourown country as everybody was affected.Megan Eves Year 8Sergeant Rebecca Helm

THE CANNONPage 5GIFTED AND TALENTED CONFERENCEOn Friday the 11 th November gifted and talentedstudents from years 10 and 11 went on a trip to Londonto a conference. As we were walking through LeicesterSquare we could see people getting ready for theremembrance service later that day.We arrived at the conference and found that there weremany other schools in the Odeon cinema. The peoplelecturing us were a forensic psychologist and a seniorlecturer in Psychology. The topics of discussion were;are we born to kill? It’s a man’s world; What if we livedforever? And, Forensic Psychology, ‘the real Cracker’.‘Living forever’ told us that it is likely that, very soon, wewill be living for about 400 years. ‘Are we born to kill’focused on the debate of are some of us born killers?And what causes this? We looked into DNA evidence todo with the matter and discussed this. ‘ForensicPsychology, ‘the real Cracker’’ was about psychology ontelevision and how it differs from forensic psychology inreal life; and ‘It’s a man’s world’ was discussing feminismand how women were sexualised in the mediathroughout the years. We enjoyed the trip to LeicesterSquare, and learned a lot from the experience.Charlotte Donald and Mary GreenPSYCHOLOGY CONFERENCEOn Friday 25 th November Fort Pitt’s A Level Psychologystudents left for a Psychology Conference in London entitled‘Science and Pseudoscience’, we were all apprehensive ofwhat to expect and it certainly exceeded our expectations.The day begun with a Psychology song on the coach and onarrival at the Friends Meeting House we all had a break toexplore Euston Station before the conference. After arrivingback we found our seats, in the middle near the front whichallowed us to experience the whole day up close. We had abrief introduction to the conference and then the firstspeaker was Phil Banyard, a professor at Nottingham TrentUniversity whom taught us to be sceptical about everythingand anything including media health claims, he showed useight statements which were either true or false and the onlyone that was proven true with evidence is that cows likelistening to the song ‘Perfect Day’!The next speaker was Richard Wiseman, previously aprofessional magician and now one of the UK’s most wellknown Psychologists, having been on Richard and Judy andthe American equivalent. He used magic tricks and eventaught us one which we will probably all be practicing for thenext month! He taught us all about his experiment on whysome people are lucky and others unlucky which was highlyinteresting and certainly changed my perspective on events.carrying out Psychological research using real lifeexamples.It was then time for lunch and we all scattered aroundEuston Station, many of us searching for a McDonaldswhich we eventually figured wasn’t even there! After eating,we all found each other back at the conference and awaitedRichard Wiseman’s second presentation on illusions whichtaught us all about how the mind actually views imagesinitially whilst making us laugh too. He also showed us anexperiment which he arranged to be carried out ontelevision where a group of people believed that if theymeditated they could build a protective field aroundthemselves and that is why they could walk on coals of firesafely, Richard Wiseman proved this to be incorrect andscience really did overcome the paranormal.Mike Cardwell, another author of Psychology textbookspresented us with Nice Guys Finish Last and the evidencefor and against it which proved very interesting andinformative. He also taught us more about conformity andobedience which expanded on our knowledge from what wehad learnt at school.Finally, it was the turn of Andrew Newton, a hypnotist ofwhom we were all unsure of what to expect but as soon ashe started we were amazed, astonished and crying withtears of laughter. He showed us the power of suggestionand fooled us with a trick which I have since used and foundvery effective! He then questioned us on our views of whathypnotism is and then took volunteers. At first he did simpleimagination exercises in which he spoke to the volunteers,giving them visual imagery in their heads for example onehand being weighed down and the other being attached to aballoon, we soon found that the volunteers arms had movedaccording to what he had said. This was not the full extentof Andrew Newton’s demonstration for then he put thevolunteers into a trance-like state in which if he said sleepthey actually appeared as if they were asleep and he couldget them stuck in a position just by talking to them. He evensuggested that he was invisible and the volunteers actuallycould not see him, even though we could! At the end he hadto bring all of the volunteers out of the hypnotism so theywere exactly how they were before and they couldremember what had happened to them but felt like they hadno control of their actions, we also got to ask questions andfound out more about hypnotism.We then left for school and encountered a mass of trafficthroughout the journey back, however we were all ravingabout how amazing the hypnotism and the otherpresentations were, the whole conference made us lovePsychology more seeing it first hand and we would definitelylove to go again.Thank you to Miss Hillman and Mrs Tompson for theopportunity, it was definitely worth it!Lucy Ann SmithCara Flanagan, an author of many Psychology textbooksthen carried out a presentation on Good Science and BadScience, an informative presentation on the ethics of

THE CANNONPage 6In the first week of half-term, 47 girls and 4 members of staffflew to Southern California to visit the home of the US filmindustry,Hollywood. Here are some of the thoughts of the girlson their return.The flight on the way to California took so long; it was a shock!After watching most of the films and television programmesthere were about 3 hours left to sleep which was nearimpossible in an aircraft seat! The flight there took around 11hours and on the way back it took 9 hours – the wind wasbehind us. The flight back appeared to be more eventful thanthe way there. About 7 or 8 girls were ill – they put it down tothe Macdonalds meals they had at LAX – ‘There was so much!’The hotel was called “Sportsmen’s Lodge” in Studio City andwas opposite Ralphs hypermarket. This was where manypeople met Matt Lanter, Liam from “90210”. It was only 15minutes drive from Hollywood Boulevard and Beverly Hills andonly 3 miles from Universal Studios. Each room had an ironingboard, coffee machine, balcony, hairdryer and bath/showerthings. The only thing it didn’t have was an ice bucket so weresorted to filling the bin up with ice to put our milk in forbreakfasts. The hotel came with a pool and a Jacuzzi and acafé area. The hotel staff were extremely friendly and werealways there to help. The lobby had a fire heater in the middleand it also had a hair salon on the other side of the lobby; it alsooffered room service which was very popular.Sarah WoodsWe spent Sunday settling-in and exploring LA by bus. Eventhough the Walk of the Fame was the very first day, for me itwas easily one of the best days throughout the whole trip. Thecombination of it being the first day and seeing the stars on theWalk of Fame made me excited for what else was ahead.From putting my hand in Marilyn Monroe’s handprint to puttingmy foot in the Harry Potter cast’s footprints, the day was anoverwhelming experience. The Walk of Fame was also the veryplace where we caught the first glimpse of the Hollywood sign; itwas also very good place for souvenir shopping.Nikkita VilasOur guide, Evan, then took us on a tour of Beverley Hills andRodeo Drive; we had our photos taken on the steps besideTiffany’s and outside the Beverley Wilshire Hotel, which waswhere President Obama stayed two days later. After saying asad farewell to Evan – the best tour guide ever – we made ourway to the Farmer’s Market. The smell of the food in the marketwas mouth-watering, and there was such a wide range of food.Not only was there a Farmer’s Market, we got our first taste ofreal American shopping; shops ranging from small sunglassesstalls to Abercrombie and Fitch. This was the most popularshop, not just for the four levels of clothes, but for the gorgeousmale model willing to have photographs with us as we entered.I’m sure this made everyone want to go there!Shani NegusWe were up early next morning to visit Paramount Ranch, anold film set situated in the Agoura Hills, just outside of thecentre of Hollywood. Due to its setting, it made the idealbackdrop for many western films from the 1920s onwards, suchas 'Paleface' and tv series like ‘Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman’. Itwas difficult for Hollywood film studios to re-create the wideopen spaces needed for cowboy films, so utilizing naturalterrain in the nearby mountains was a perfect and moneysaving idea! At the ranch, we were allowed to explore inside thesets which included cowboy saloons and a Sheriff's office. Wealso took pictures of the teachers in jail!Clarissa ClarkAt Santa Monica there was a lot to do. We all enjoyed the arrayof shopping and the beautiful scenery by the sea. The pier,famous for scenes in 'The Hills' and 'Cloverfield', had a selectionof rides and more shops with a beautiful view at the end, whichwas also the end of the famous Route 66.Emma ChongUniversal Studios was one of the most enjoyable days duringthe trip, as it allowed us to spend a day in one place and justhave fun.When we arrived at the park we were given our meeting placefor the end of the day and then taken by Mr Salmon to thestudio tour. The tour here took on a more entertainment-themedapproach as we experienced several different Universal films.From nearly being eaten by Jaws, having Norman Bates runtowards us with a knife and seeing the square famous for somany early horror films we were able to see Universal throughthe years. After the tour we were able to go off to see the manypark attractions such as the Simpsons and Jurassic Park rides.During the day, many of the group met up to watch the‘Waterworld’ show which consisted of action stunts and even aplane crashing through the wall accompanied by a largeexplosion! Some of us dared to sit in the splash zone – it shouldhave been called the soak zone!After the show we had some more hours to spend at the parkand a great deal of this was spent with the actors who dress upas several different characters. The most notable had to beDracula, who chased many of the group around, even causingone to fall into tables and chairs. Towards the end of the day, afew of us went to watch a show about special effects, whichshowed the differences between old effects and newer ones,such as CGI. We got excited when we realised one of thepresenters was an actor we recognised, one of the charactersin Hannah Montana. The show was really interesting and hadus laughing throughout. After the show Emma, Christine and Ihad a picture with Jerry, one of the men in the show and thecomic character. The day at Universal was extremely fun anddinner at Bubba Gump’safterwards was a nice wayto finish.Liberty DuvallBubba Gump was afantastic restaurant! Thedecor looked very muchlike how you would imagineit to be based on the filmand they also had ForestGump props e.g. "RunForest , run" signs on the tables when you didn't needassistance. After our meal we saw Universal Citywalk at itsbest. The black night sky drew our attention to the array of lightssurrounding us. It looked beautiful.Anna SafferyDay four was the trip to the Warner Brother’s studios which wasone of the most anticipated visits of the week, as it was Mr

THE CANNONPage 7Salmon’s favourite place in Los Angeles. Also, as film studiesstudents, we were particularly interested in seeing a workingfilm studio. We were fortunate to have a VIP tour which tookus onto sets and showed us information and footage fromfilms from the opening of Warner Brothers back in 1923.We were taken on a two and a half hour tour around the backlots and stages to see working films and sets which are nowleft in place specifically for the tours. We drove down the set ofLMFAO’s Party Rock Anthem music video; sat on the Friendssofa at Central Perk, saw the back stage animated productionfor Happy Feet 2, and saw sets from famous films such as Sexand the City and Spiderman. Another highlight was themuseum where there were props and costumes, mainly fromthe Harry Potter films but also from TV shows such as GossipGirl, The Mentalist and Supernatural. This trip was everythingwe expected it to be and it turned out to be our favouritehighlight of the entire trip.Bethan Jarrett, Louise Campbell and Zoe TaylorOur last day was spent at the Getty Centre, the famous artgallery. From there, we revisited Santa Monica, for some lastminuteshopping, then on to Venice Beach – a very interestingarea. There were many wackily-dressed people skating andcycling around and there was even a group of men that lookedlike they were out of “Lost Boys”. This is the home of musclebeach,where many people, including women, show off theirbody-building exercises. When waiting to leave the beach, asmall man in a tiny red thong came waltzing over. It was onlywhen he came closer we saw that he had two horns stuck tohis head. After smiling at all of us he clocked eyes on MrsHolden who, after he winked at her, decided to wink back!And then it was off to LAX for the flight home.Thank you, guides Evan and James, bus driver Raymondo,and the staff who looked after us, Mrs Bambling, Mrs Brown,Mrs Holden and Mr Salmon.Sarah WoodsWhen we arrived at the Paramount Studios, we were split upin to several tour groups. My group went into the coffee andgift shop first. When we were queuing, I turned around andCory Monteith from Glee was standing behind me. We all tookthis as a good omen for the rest of the day. We had a lookinside some of the stages, which were extremely large, andour tour guide told us that one of the stages was haunted.Around the studio were various glass cabinets full of pictures.We saw several famous faces in these cabinets, the mostrecognisable was Audrey Hepburn. Paramount Studios is notjust where films are made, we also went on t.v. stages – butnot Glee – they were working that day.Sarah TaylorWe moved on to our tour of the Kodak Theatre, where theOscar ceremony takes place every year. It was veryglamorous. After leaving the Kodak Theatre and the Walk ofFame, we made our way to one of my favourite places fromthe trip, the Beverly Centre, to do one of my, and many othergirls on the trip's favourite things, shop. With over 160 shopsspread out over 8 floors and brands ranging from Victoria’sSecret to Prada there was definitely something for everyone,and it seemed to some our two hour stop would not be longenough. By sprinting between shops and making a number ofquick impulse purchases, we managed to see most of whatthe centre had to offer and we left, arms full of shopping, notcompletely certain that it would all fit in our suitcases for thejourney home.Sophia PatelOn Thursday afternoon, we visited the Griffith Observatory.This was situated high up in Los Angeles Griffith Park. Oncewe arrived, we bought tickets for the ‘Centred in the Universe’talk, which was a virtual vision of the different theories of theuniverse. Using a projection on the domed ceiling we couldlook out on to the night skies from the comfort of our ownseats, which was something none of us had ever experiencedbefore. As the observatory was so high up, the view wasamazing and it was lucky that it was such a clear, beautifulday. It was the closest we got to the world-famous Hollywoodsign and had breath taking views of L.A itself.GERMAN TRIP ACCOUNTWhen we set off on the journey to Germany, I was quiteexcited. I sat next to all my friends and chatted awayduring the whole journey there, taking lots of pictures onthe way.When we got to Aachen, I really enjoyed gazing at allthe Christmas lights and the wide variety of gifts onoffer; such as stollen, nut crackers, and all differenttypes of souvenirs.To be honest, the hostel was really nice, and so werethe rooms (which were all en-suite). The food was ok atthe hostel but I suppose I would give it a better review ifI was used to European food.The Chocolate Museum was mouth-watering! You got tosee how chocolate is made, the history and even a freesample. Plus there were a lot of chocolates to buy.Many of us went up to the top tower of the cathedral inCologne which was an amazing 533 steps! We wentaround some more Christmas markets on Sundayevening for about an hour.Getting back home on Monday, we went through Franceand Holland. Making a stop in one of France’s shoppingcentres. When I got back home, all I wanted to do wassleep. But it was an amazing experience overall.Toni Ojo (Year 8)The observatory has been a featured building in many filmsand TV shows, and was most recognisable to us as a partyvenue from 90210. Inside the observatory were some amazingexhibits, including the development of the telescope and hugemodels of the planets in our solar systems. The Griffithobservatory was more than I had expected it to be; Ithoroughly enjoyed it, and it had the best views of a city thatwe all loved so much. That week was the best of my life andas the iconic T-shirt says 'I LA'Rachel Macintosh and Angela Wright

THE CANNONPage 8NUMBER DAY 2011On the 2 nd of December, Fort Pittcelebrated Number Day. Teacherswore numbers which students noteddown and used to answer a quiz intheir forms, and some studentsplayed maths games in their class. Intotal, £176 was raised for theNSPCC. Here are what somestudents from 8L1 said about theday:“I enjoyed having a fun maths lessonand being able to be in a team for thegames was fun.”“I thought Number Day was good andwas a very fun way of doing maths.”“We played ‘Who Wants to be aMathionaire?’ which was really goodbecause we worked as a team.”“I thought number day was really funand I did learn too!”Jennifer WhiteMy Winning Experience!In the summer holidays I ran theMedway Mile. My brothers wererunning the mass race so I decided tovisit the ‘Stop Smoking’ stall. I wasasked to draw a design for play areasto tell adults to not smoke there. Istarted to draw and my designobviously turned out pretty well! I putmy details on it and gave my finaldrawing in.A few months later I was cominghome from school and my Mum toldme that I had won a competition. Iwas quite surprised as I didn’t knowwhat competition I had won. I hadforgotten about the design I created. Ikept guessing until I gave up and mymum told me. Suddenly Iremembered what I did earlier in theyear and it all made sense. Mumgave me all of the details whilst I wasbouncing in my seat! I really couldn’tbelieve it when I found out that mydesign would be put up in parks allover Medway!At the beginning of November thisyear I received a big parcel. As it wasmy birthday I presumed it was abirthday present. When I had rippedaway the silver paper a whiteenvelope flew out. I opened it to finda letter from Medway council andPercy the Penguin. I then realisedthat the parcel was my prize. It wassuch a coincidence that it was mybirthday too! I received a beautifulReeves art set and a Sprayza pen kit.Our school won a prize too whichwas presented in assembly byCouncillor Pat Cooper. It was achemistry kitshowing thedangerouschemicalsfound incigarettes.An apron,gloves,goggles andmask cameas well. So Itried themon. Boy did Ifeel silly! The kit is now with MissLewis for use in PSHE lessons forYear 8.I would like to say thank you toMedway council; they are the peoplewho set the whole thing up! I hopeyou all see my picture in the localparks and displayed around school.Molly MorelHomework Club arrivesat Fort Pitt!We are very aware that there aretimes when you might like a littlemore help with your homework, orwith your learning in general.Equally, sometimes there is not themost up to date ICT technology athome or the environment at home isnot always conducive to a quiet andfocussed approach to completingyour homework.There are lunchtime clubs andsurgeries in specific subjects forthose who need guidance, but untilnow there has been no support after-school if you want to stay and getsome work done before you gohome.From January 10 th 2012, C9 will beopen after school from 3.15 to 4.15,and will be supervised by a memberof staff. The supervisor may not bean expert in the subject you arestudying but will know how to helpyou to find the right information onthe Internet or in the library. Ofcourse, you might not need any helpbut just want a nice warm, quietplace to study, in which case, stillcome along.The club will run on Tuesdays andThursdays and will be open tostudents in all age groups – there isno need to book and everyone iswelcome!C8 will still be open until 4pm tostudents who want to use ICTfacilities – that’s the ‘down time’area. If you want to work, wesuggest you use the supervisedroom, C9.After 4.15, you can still choose towork in the library but must move tothe foyer by 5pm and then leaveschool by 5.30 pm at the latest. Weneed you to be in these areas so thatthe outer buildings can be lockedand, more importantly, so that asenior member of staff can superviseyou.The homework club is anotherway of offering support foryour learning! Please make useof it. We hope to see youthere!

THE CANNONPage 9‘The Woman in Black’ theatre tripOn the 15 th of November, Year Nine and Ten Drama studentsexpectantly filled into the small Fortune Theatre to watchthe seriously haunting ‘Woman in Black’. The play was originally a novel, written by Susan Hill. It wasadapted into a stage play by Stephen Mallatratt. Thisversion was directed by Robin Herford. It starred DavidActon as Arthur Kipps and Ben Deery as The Actor.Our experience:As the dim lights went down, and the stage lights went on,the air was filled with sudden anticipation. The small,crowded theatre was suddenly transformed into an emptytheatre, with an elderly man standing on the stage, timidlyreading lines from a script. We remember the anticipationgrowing as we watched the first scene.The first scene was captivating! The elderly man, Mr Kipps,was inviting us into his story, his haunting memories. MrKipps was sharing his horrific tale of the Woman in Black.Little did we know that it was to be a story filled with outright terror. The first act ended on anexciting, yet chilling, cliff-hanger. As GCSE Drama students we had learned new techniques, suchas the use of the fourth wall; using the audience area as part of your stage. Also, there was theeffective use of a gauze curtain, which when backlit, revealed a spooky graveyard and later a secretroom.In addition, the playwright used many special effects and minimalistic props, which meant that weneeded our overactive imaginations to make the whole experience all the more frightening. A fogmachine was used to create the traditional ghost story moors setting. With the use of oursuspension of disbelief we did not see a stage lit with gloomy fog, but we saw the ghostly anddangerous moors, with a lone house in the background.By the end of the play, our ears were hurting because there had been so much screaming. For mostof the duration, therefore, our hearts had been pulsing quickly from fear. The whole experience wasdeadly scary, but terrifically brilliant!(Camryn Williams and Chloe Detmar: Year 9)

THE CANNONPage 10Dates for Your DiaryFriday 16 December End of Term 2F O R T PI T T G R AMM AR SC HO O LS C IE N CE & M AT HE M AT IC SC OL LEGEF O R T PI T T H I LL C H AT H AMTE L: 0 1634 8423 590 1634 8173 86F AX:E - M AI L:O F F I CE@FOR T P IT T .M E DWAY .SC H.U KHeadteacher: Mrs Julia M Bell, BA(Hons)Aiming for the FourExcellents:AcademicAppearanceEnvironmentCommunityTuesday 3 January Start of Term 3Thursday 5 January Last Year’s Year 13 Presentationevening from 7pmMonday 9 January Year 8 Option and InformationeveningMonday 16 January Sixth Form Parents’ evening 3.15-7pmThursday 26 January Year 8 Parents’ EveningTuesday 7 February Year 9 Parents’ EveningWednesday 8 FebruaryFriday 10 February End of Term 3Monday 20 February Start of Term 4Masterclass ‘Italian for beginners’Thursday 23 February Masterclass ‘Mexican Cooking’Monday 27 February Year 11 Parents’ Evening - 3.45-6.15pmRESOURCES REQUESTSWe are in need of second hand Ipod or mobile phones that can take up 8mbmemory. If you can spare any please could they be passed on to MrsMillward in the library.We’re on the Webwww.fortpitt.medway.sch.ukThe Art Department are always in need of white linen (old sheets/dustsheets), nails and screws. These should be passed to Mr Rayfield in the Artblock.STUDENT CONTACTINFORMATIONIt is important that, in case we shouldneed to contact a parent or carer, wehave up to date contact information.Please could parents/carerstherefore provide us with any changeof circumstances (address/telephonenumber, email etc), either byemail/letter or telephone.Thank youMrs Parle, ReceptionSCHOOL ABSENCESPROCEDURE REMINDERShould your daughter unexpectedly be unable to attend school please could parents/carers remember to telephone the school on the first day of absence. The absencethen needs to be followed up with a letter addressed to the Form Tutor as soon as shereturns to school. This also applies to students in sixth form.From September parents/carers will be able to submit their daughter’s absence via theschool website. You will find a link to the form on the Parent Portal. All submissionsmust be from the email address that is registered with the school. You will receive aconfirmation email and a follow up phone call from the attendance officer.If students are late for school and miss registration they should sign in the late book atreception.Thank you‘NEARLY NEW’ SCHOOL UNIFORMWe have several items of nearly new uniform available from 50p forPE shorts to £2.50 for blazers. Please check at reception foravailability and sizes.

6 th Form NewsFRESH START…On my first day of joining Fort Pitt’s Sixth Form I felt like a year 7on their first day of school all over again; I was nervous, I got lostcountless times and didn’t know anybody. The first week was the most challenging forthe new members of Fort Pitt Sixth Form, ‘The new environment and lessons, took somegetting used to.’ However after the second week we all felt much more at home in ournew school, ‘We all made friends easily and stopped getting lost’. This was just as wellconsidering there was an open day, for potential new students to next year’s year 7, whowe had to show around. We all enjoyed this as it made us feel a part of the Fort Pittcommunity as we were able to represent our new school.It was a big change for most of the new students considering we had come from a mixedgender school, however they were all ‘relieved to have a fresh start.’ The new subjectstaken at AS were mainly different from ones taken at GCSE, making the new lessonshighly interesting and we were all eager to start learning.Joining the Fort Pitt community in the Sixth Form was made a joyful experience thanksto the welcoming and approachable students that already attend, and the helpfulteachers that took time to make sure we were settling in with our subjects and offeredextra help when needed; making the jump from GCSE to AS more manageable.by Jessica Pease, Year 12 (6 th Form Journalist)(Joined Fort Pitt in September 2012 from St John’s Catholic School, Gravesend)THE UNIVERSITY APPLICATION PROCESS EXPLAINED… By Chantelle Kaaria (6 thForm Journalist)Every year of school life there always seems a process to be undergone, each one seeminglymore important than the one than the next, with adults never failing to remind us of the lifechanging capability of each one. From GCSE options to exams then on to choosing A levelsand exams etc etc. On top of this comes the highly challenging skill of balancing this all withhomework, socialising, part time jobs and family life almost an inhuman task even with thegift of multi-tasking bestowed upon the evidently superior sex!However, all pales in comparison to the penultimate University option/UCAS applicationprocess - Well at least for now! All Year 13’s reading this would agree and every year belowtake heed. So much work is to be invested beforehand to truly make your application standout from the rest and so many factors go into selecting the right university for you, thingsyou wouldn’t even consider. Fear not, I say this not to frighten you, well maybe just a tad sothat you can get those feet in motion, but more to make you aware. If I said you could blagyour way through this one I’d be lying: trust me I tried!

Looking at the process in its entirety can be very daunting but the best thing is to break itdown into easy bite size chunks. Below I’ve created a checklist including some personalexperiences to help you along just because here at the Cannon we like to give a helpinghand:1. You’re never too old to start researching and any preparations made beforehand makesthe workload easier when the rubber hits the road. What’s that I hear? Don’t know whatyou want to do? Don’t use that as an excuse silly! Pick your favourite subject have a lookat different universities and what the differences are in the courses they offer for that. Ortry it the other way round. Pick a place anywhere you like and check out the universitiesin that area. Don’t be afraid to be adventurous. Try abroad, after all its better to know allyour choices and then make an informed decision than to make a choice on limitedoptions.2. Wuraola Obadahun (Year 13, applying to study Medicine): “Knowing what course Iwanted to pursue I used leagues tables for universities that offer that course. Then I wenton their websites and checked out their prospectuses from that I was able to pick out myfavourites and attend their open days which allowed me to confirm my choices.”3. I think all Year 13’s will agree, where the focus of all daunting prospects lie is in “THEPERSONAL STATEMENT” everyone wonders how I’m I supposed to write about all theamazing/mysterious/glamorous/weird and wacky events of my 17/18 years. Howeverladies this is not the point of a personal statement. Instead of writing about the life andtimes of you, write about aspects of your life that would be appealing to a lecturer.Convincing them of why you would be the perfect student. Hobbies, Part Time Jobs aswell as academic achievements all are vital elements that go into making your statementstand out from the rest. Rosie Goddard (Year 13, applying to study HealthcareScience) : “I found reading other people’s personal statements very useful. Writing your fullfirst statement first, as rubbish as you may think it is, is a better starting point than doing itbit by bit. Also give your statement to as many teachers to check as possible; you can neverhave too many drafts!”4. The ACTUAL application form. This is the boring but vitally important part. Filling outpersonal details and exam grades has to be inputted as precisely as possible so takingyour time with this section is advised, going through the information over and over again.Christine Ho (Year 13, applying to study Sociology): “Filling the details was prettyeasy with the help of teachers, especially Miss Harkness, as she has a wealth ofknowledge and is always there to correct any error.”5. Offers and interviews: When all is said and done hereafter comes the nail biting,anticipating, excruciating wait for offers. As impossible as it may seem not thinking aboutit is the best option and time will fly by. Depending on the course for which you apply,interviews may follow first…here are a few top tips from Nikita on how she managed tosurvive hers…Nikita Vilas (Year 13 applying to study Pharmacy) “Reading your personal statementbefore you go always helps as this is how they base their questions. Look on the internet forpossible questions that might be asked and don’t panic if you’re asked a difficult questionyou don’t have to give an answer straight away, you have time to think through it”.

UNIVERSITY NEWS“SORTING OUT YOUR FINANCES?”For those of us looking to go to University in the coming year,and the forthcoming students paying the University fees seemextremely daunting; as most of us know most Universities arelooking to charge between £6000 - £9000 a year. However, hereare a few simple facts on student finance: Tuition fee loans are paid back when you are earning over £21,000 a year,meaning lower repayments – so those earning above the £21,000 threshold willhave £540-a-year more in their pockets than now. You repay your loans back at a rate of nine per cent of your income over £21,000.So if your salary is £25,000 a year, you pay nine per cent of £4,000, which is£6.92 a week. For full-time students, interest is charged at the rate of inflation (RPI – Retail PriceIndex) plus three per cent from the date you take out your loan to April 2016 afteryou’ve finished studying. It will take longer to repay the loan, however after 30 years this loan will becompletely wiped out and you will no longer have this debt. Many will never pay itback. One of the important questions which parents have asked is also whether theseloans will affect their child’s ability to get a mortgage, but The Council forMortgage Lenders has stated “A student loan is very unlikely to impact materiallyon an individual's ability to get a mortgage but the amount of mortgage availablemay depend on net income.”Useful Websites:http://studentfinance-yourfuture.direct.gov.uk/- This website has information on the basics of student finance, but also provides apage which helps calculate your repayments.http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/students/student-loans-tuition-fees-changes#7- This is an extremely useful website in finding more information in detail.