Cranford Review 2011

The Spelling Bee is an
American invention which
came to the UK in 2008 and
Cranford was one of hundreds
of schools to take part. On the
28th of April 2011 a group of year 7
Cranford Pupils and Sixth Formers
went to Feltham Cineworld to take
part in the Times Spelling Bee.
The Thunder Bees; Nameerah,
Muhammad, Shafla and Sylvia were
chosen to compete against 10 other
schools from around the county
Middlesex. This was definitely a
nail-biting event. After 3 anxious hours
of the competition, Cranford came 5th
which was a great achievement. The Sixth
Formers and I had been training the year
7 students along with Mr Ladva and Ms
Gawali, since January and we were so
proud of how far the group had come.
I would definitely recommend taking part
in the Times spelling bee again next year
as it is an amazing opportunity.
By Karishma Lall (year 12)
We went to the Paul Robeson Theatre in Hounslow, to participate in the annual borough
wide Speed Read. There were about 30 or more students from different schools.
We were told to stand in a circle, and we did some warm up exercises with host Tony Dallas. We then had
to walk around and meet some of the students. Next we had to stand in a line alphabetically from the first
letter of our name and we had to communicate effectively with each other as there was a limited time to
complete the activity. Then we had to stand according to the month and date of our birthdays, it was fun.
After that we sat in two circles, facing each other. We had to talk to the person in front of us about the
book we chose. I was talking about Vampire Federation by ‘Sean McCabe’. The book is fast paced and its
easy reading.
After the 10 minute break we swapped so people were telling me about their book. Then we all had to
vote for the book we were most likely to read based on the talk we had. Although my book didn’t win, I
enjoyed it a lot and made a few new friends.
By Nathan Payne (year 9)
The Thunderbees
experience
When I was picked for the Times
Spelling Bee, I was told that I
had to stay after school 1 hour
every Thursday and Tuesday
but actually it was great fun
being taught by 6th formers
and playing various different
spelling games. I was nervous
about the big day but I wanted
to do a good job and try to help
my team win. I knew that it
would take a lot of work if we
wanted to win the competition.
On the day I was very nervous.
I was happy that I would not
have to wait any longer for the
competition. I was scared but
was determined to win.
While on stage it is very nervewracking
when you have to spell
a word. Everybody looks at you
and you feel a lot of pressure.
I liked the quick fire challenge
the best because I like trying to
spell hard words very fast.
By Muhammad Sarwar (year 7)
A Mentor’s Perspective
Joining “The Thunderbees” at the end of every Tuesday and Thursday
was always something to look forward to.
I, along with the other mentors, were extremely proud to see our
Bees try so hard, and do as well as they did in the Spelling Bee local
championship event.
Sylvia showcased her amazing calmness throughout; always supporting
her fellow team members, ready to offer one of her amazing smiles to
us all.
Nameerah was always a delight to talk to and work with. She is a girl
of many talents and I shall really miss plotting plans of mischief with
her.
Shafla brought great maturity to the table, always offering comfort and
encouragement to the others to help achieve full potential.
Melissa was a great laugh and a great contributor to The Thunderbees;
always full of team spirit and support for the others.
Muhammad - well the boy is a pure genius. He is smart, funny, and
always with a bag of crisps on him. Mohammed achieved great things
throughout his time with the Bees, but the biggest one I have to say, was
him finally learning how to spell “moose” correctly. Well done you.
My advice to those who want to mentor the Bees next year would be: do
what me and Nameerah planned to; bring a custard gun and soak anyone
who gets a spelling wrong.
By Sabahat Mahmood (year 12)
ednesday 20th July 2011 the LRC
On Worganised for an international
bestselling author MG Harris to visit our students in
Cranford. MG or Maria which is what the ‘M’ stands
for has been shortlisted for
several awards. Her
book series has sold
over 150,000 copies
and has been translated
into over 15 languages
worldwide.
Maria talked about her book series “The Joshua Files”
which briefly can be described as conspiracy-thriller
fiction. She also spoke about Mayan culture, end
of world prophecies and the importance of reading.
The students connected well with her due to her
personal stories. I particularly enjoyed the way she
explained belonging to two cultures and having the
opportunity to travel. She believed that her having a
Mexican background was a privilege and enabled her
to develop a better understanding of the world.
Maria also brilliantly described how one can have
different passions in your life and that if you are
brave enough you can have a go at anything.
Some students actually asked her for career advice
Cranford Review 2010/2011
28 Excellence in all areas 29
LRC Author event
-MG Harrisalongside
the autographs. In Maria’s case she
loved science and did a degree in biochemistry
and worked for the industry for several years.
All the time she had a lingering urge to write and
finally an accident led her to a new career and the
success she has achieved now. Maria explained
to the students what processes are involved
before getting published and even afterwards
when you need to continue to write. There was
great interaction between Maria and the students
during her audio visual presentation as students
were able to ask questions in-between watching
small film clips and photographs from Marias
visit to the Mexican jungle and the Swiss Alps
(all part of her research).
MG Harris said on her visit to Cranford:
“Thank you so much for making me so welcome at
Cranford! It was wonderful to meet such attentive,
enthusiastic people with such enquiring minds!
Lovely conversation afterwards too especially
with Nathan (conspiracy theory fan, just like
me) and Gaytri a
budding barrister!
Keep reading and
valuing books…!”
By Kiran Gawali
(LRC & Study
Centres Manager)