MVS Newsletter December 2020

Autumn term issue | December 2020
MVS NEWS
The newsletter of Maida Vale School
Anti-Bullying
Week…03
Norman
Conquest!…05
Christmas
Events…07
Sport
Update…11
In Science, Year 7 have been learning about metal reactivity and chemical reactions. They burned
magnesium, to compare its properties before and after. It makes for an exciting experiment as it
gives out a beautiful white light – as you can see, it is quite spectacular! More Science on page 10.
by Ms Grant-Stevenson, Head of Support For Learning and Teacher of Science
Maida Vale School is part of the

DECEMBER 2020
WELCOME
TO OUR
NEWSLETTER
What a first term it has been!
Since opening on 4th September, Maida Vale School has been
focused on the progress and achievement of our Pupils, many
of whom had not been in School for six months prior to the
start of this term due to the pandemic. We have now had the
opportunity to get to know one another and find out more
about our Pupils as individuals, including their gifts and talents.
There have been numerous highlights along the way including a
trip to GoApe during Activities week and a whole School Charity
Walk in Hampstead Heath which raised £950, our inaugural
International Languages Week Food Festival raising £500 for
the Sparkle Foundation, our first Head’s Celebration Assembly
which included the announcement of our first Headmaster’s
Commendations, the Tutor Group Merit and Effort Cups winners
and our Christmas Celebrations including the Performing Arts
Showcase, the Carol Service and Christmas Achievement Assembly.
I would like to thank our Pupils for all their hard work and for
setting such high standards for themselves; all our Staff for
everything they have done to ensure that the Pupils have had an
extraordinary term full of opportunities to achieve; and finally,
our Parents for all their support of our School and community.
Mr Steven Winter
Headmaster, Maida Vale School
Part of the
FEATURES
AUTUMN TERM HIGHLIGHTS
Anti-Bulling Week - by Mr Fisher, Deputy Head
Anti-Bullying Week at Maida Vale started with the Head’s assembly
from Mr Winter. He talked about the fact that this year, more than ever,
we have witnessed the positive power that society can have when we
come together to tackle a common challenge. Anti-Bullying Week is no different. Bullying has a long-lasting
effect on those who experience and witness it. But by channelling our collective power, through shared
efforts and shared ambitions, we can reduce bullying together. From parents to teachers and politicians, to
children and young people, we all have our part to play in coming together to make a difference.
We are all a piece in the puzzle, and together, we are united against bullying.
In Personal Tutor time, pupils have been reading case studies of potential bullying instances to help them
identify bullying, understand who they should report to and explore what they can to prevent bullying. They
also completed their Anti-Bullying pledges (below), which will be displayed in classrooms over the coming
weeks, so pupils have a constant reminder of the importance of this topic.
What do our pupils think?
Zebedee R, Year 7
“This week I have learned to always
be kind and helpful to others and
to treat others how you want to be
treated.”
Agnes B, Year 8
“My pledge is to always report bullying to a
member of staff. Even if it sounds like a joke
or ‘banter’ we must stand up for the other person
and tell a teacher because Maida Vale School is
like a big family and we all look out for each
other.”
Year 9 Afternoon Tea - by Mr Winter, Headmaster
On a cold December
afternoon, Year 9, the
oldest pupils of the
school were treated to
a delicious afternoon
tea to thank them for
their contribution to
the school community.
Here is Mr Winter and
Mrs Gardener serving
the pupils their tea,
sandwiches and scones!
Ava H, Year 8
“As someone who has experienced
bullying in the past, I feel
very happy and safe at Maida Vale
because the pupils have made me
feel welcome and we all support
each other.”
3

FEATURES
FEATURES
THIS TERM IN HUMANITIES
Black History Month - by Ms Begum, Head of Humanities
I was honoured to deliver an assembly on Black History
Month UK in October, and I was especially proud of Peggy
(Year 7), Ariadne, Eliana and Emeka (Year 9) who assisted
me. The presentation focused on the origins of BHM UK
and the achievements of ordinary black people including
Mary Seacole, John Kent, Frank Arthur Bailey and Lilian
Bader . Their courage in the face of threats along with their
resilience in the face of adversity inspired generations of
people to stand up for civil rights. We at MVS can certainly
learn lessons from their stories about the importance of
resilience, but also, remember that, “What we need it not
the history of selected races or nations but the history of
the world, void of national bias, race hate and religious
prejudice.” (Carter G. Woodson, the father of BHM.)
Remembrance Day - by Ms Ridley, Assistant Head and Head of English
Remembrance Day assembly was delivered by MrWinter, and allowed all members of the School community
to contemplate the unimaginable sacrifices people of the Armed Forces made for us and continue to make
for us. While there was ample contextualisation of World War 1 and 2, including poppies and John McCrae’s
In Flanders Fields, and the purpose and meaning of both the Reveille and The Last Post. Mr Winter’s assembly
made the significance of war even more poignant by explaining the tragic death of one of his schoolmates,
who was serving in Iraq, in 2007. Pupils were impressively attentive and respectful throughout the assembly,
and some continued the discussion of Remembrance Day into lunch and the rest of the school day. Some
pupils were able to deepen their knowledge of how the Great War was represented in art by analysing the
painting ‘Gassed’ by John Singer Sargent and others shared stories of a family member who fought in WWII.
The Norman Conquest
One of the highlights of the Autumn Term was the effort
of Year 7 History pupils applying their knowledge of
the Normans’ desire to build motte and bailey castles
in 12th century England to create their own model
castles. I am so proud of EVERY SINGLE pupil who said
that they very much enjoyed making their castles. They
said that their parents enjoyed making the castles, too!
by Ms Begum, Head of
Humanities
The Water Cycle Song
One of the joys of teaching for me is that pupils can be just as inspiring
as teachers. Zebedee (Year 7) contributed to his peers’ learning by
leading fellow geographers to create their own water cycle song.
Though some may have slightly mixed their evaporation with their
condensation, the important part of the activity was that pupils had fun
learning an aspect of geography which combines complex physical
geography with science. A lot of research has been undertaken about
how learners learn, with a particular emphasis on visual, auditory and
kinaesthetic learning. Both Year 7 Geography classes were excellent in
combining all three elements of learning to create their water cycle song.
Listen on Twitter!
@MaidaValeHuman
4 5

FEATURES
FEATURES
MUSIC NEWS
by Mr Fisher, Deputy Head and Teacher of Music
Ode to Joy!
This term, Year 7 have been learning to play Ode to Joy, by Beethoven,
on the piano with two hands. Pupils have relished this task, and some
have gone on to learn the more difficult piece, Fur Elise, by Beethoven.
Pupils perform at the end of each lesson to develop their performing
skills as well as their confidence and next term we will have some
performances in assembly. As part of this topic, pupils have also
developed their understanding of harmony, tonality and chords. Through
short composition tasks, pupils have composed their own songs using
major and minor chords and performed these in front of the class.
Year 9 study Star Wars
In Year 9, pupils have been developing their performance, composition
and listening skills. They have undertaken a second performance recital
and have used the GCSE performance assessment grids to assess
these. Pupils have started to explore some GCSE Set Works and have
started with Film Music as a genre. We have used John Williams’s classic
score from Star Wars as a starting point and next term will start looking
at music from musicals. Pupils have also developed their composition
skills and have mainly focused on using different forms and structures.
Pupils have been composing short pieces using binary, ternary and
rondo form and have started to experiment with Theme and Variations.
Music Features Programme
Year 8 pupils have been performing in small ensemble groups following the
Musical Futures programme. Pupils are developing their instrumental and
ensemble skills as they learn to perform the 12-bar blues for their end of
term assessment. Each ensemble is made up of a drummer, guitarist, bass
player and pianist and have even started experimenting with challenging
themes such as improvisation. Pupils perform and record their work every
week so it can be watched back the following lesson and each group
can use the success criteria to set themselves targets for improvement.
Join the club
In ‘Music Technology Club’, pupils have developed their composition
skills using Garageband. They have been learning to compose their own
instrumental parts without using pre-recorded loops and the results have
been excellent! They have also used the industry standard equipment
to plug guitars and bass guitars into the Apple Macs and record their
music directly into the software. Next term, pupils will be learning to
use Logic Pro, a recording software package that is used in some of the
world’s most famous music studios. They will be taking their composition
skills to the next level when they start composing music to a film clip!
Christmas events...
Christmas Concert: Pupils have been working hard
throughout November and December to prepare for
Maida Vale School’s inaugural Christmas concert and
it is fair to say it exceeded all expectations! The Year
7 choir opened the show under candlelight with a
beautiful rendition of ‘Away in a Manger’. Scene 1 of ‘A
Christmas Carol’ cleverly followed with pupils stepping
out of the choir into their acting roles. The play was split
into five scenes across the evening, and in between
we saw wonderful performances in music and dance.
Lucy and Peggy helped to get everyone in the
Christmas spirit with their version of ‘Walking in a
Winter Wonderland’ and Edoardo nearly brought
the audience to tears with his magical performance
of ‘Panis Angelicus’. Joseph performed ‘Feeling
Good’ on the piano, Year 8 sang a lovely version
of ‘Silent Night’ as a year group and Izzy, Peggy and
Lottie showed off their incredible dancing skills.
The actors in ‘A Christmas Carol’ stole the show with
stand-out performances from Diarmaid as Scrooge,
Izzy as Peter Cratchit, Kiki as the ghost of Christmas
past and Ellie as Fan and Mrs Cratchit. Lottie also
deserves a special mention for all her wonderful work
as stage manager as do Isaac, Coco and Violet who
did a superb job managing the sound and lighting.
Carol Concert: Following Mr Winter’s wonderful
celebration assembly and our first Christmas lunch, the
carol concert took place at the end of the day on the
final day of term and brought together the whole school
community to round off a hugely successful first term.
The concert opened with Edoardo’s beautiful solo
at the start of ‘Once in Royal David’s City’ followed
by readings from pupils and staff. Emma B (Year
8), Ellie C (Year 7), May and Eliana (Year 9), Miss
Ridley and Mr Fisher all helped to tell the story of
Christmas through a series of traditional readings.
One of the stand-out moments of the concert
was from the MVS Choir, who performed a
beautiful version of ‘Torches’ by John Joubert.
Our traditional take on a carol concert finished
with a powerful performance of ‘Hark! The
Heralds Angels Sing’, led by the choir and
supported by the rest of the school community.
6 7

FEATURES
FANTÁSTICO, FANTASTIQUE, EUGE!
Modern Languages wrap up
by Ms Trafford, Head of Modern Languages
We have had a very busy term full of opportunities and new adventures in the Modern Languages department.
One of the highlights has been connecting with our pen pals in Spain and sending our first handwritten
letter. We have made waves in the online community too, with our highest achievement on LanguageNut
ranking no. 98 in the world. Pupils have also worked brilliantly using retrieval practice to strength memory
skills- notably using our flashing disco grid which now has more than 1,200 views on Twitter! GCSE Pupils
have consolidated their grammar knowledge and made beautiful past tense cakes to help them remember
that as there are 3 layers to a cake, there are 3 parts to the past tense! Year 7 pupils are looking forward to an
introduction to French through studying the film Bienvenue à Marly-Gomont when they return in January.
FEATURES
Latin has been extremely popular with our pupils
Alex, Year 7: “I have learnt how to
recognize plural and singular verbs
and what declension a noun is. Latin
is useful as it is still used in jobs such
as a lawyer or doctor.”
Collaborative language work - pupils comparing their
translations of the story
Model pupil prep - pupils re-created Roman theatre masks
Pen pal writing in Spanish Recall disco grid Speaking activities
Devan & Peggy (Year 7) teaching the class about Roman numerals
by Ms Christou, Teacher of Latin
Year 8 tell us about their first term studying French and
Spanish
Pupils have learned much Latin vocabulary and many English
derivations, as well as new grammatical features, including
Emma: "In French and Spanish this year we have covered a wide range
Latin word order; noun cases and declensions; verb endings;
of complex vocabulary and grammar. I have made great progress in my
and the imperfect and perfect tenses. Pupils also got to know
tests results and enjoy learning very much. Ms Trafford and my peers
Caecilius and his family very well via our story translations
are helpful and supportive and we have a nice working environment to
and they learned about how the Romans used to live via
flourish in. I am looking forward to learning more in Languages!"
creative projects on a variety of cultural topics. These projects
included designing Roman dinner party invitations and Roman
Jonah: "I really love learning languages as it is very interesting and I am
villa adverts, and creating Roman theatre masks and visitors’
learning a new language from scratch. It is fascinating to learn about
guides to Pompeii. Pupils enjoyed opportunities to work
different countries, regions in Spain, foods and traditions."
independently, collaboratively, creatively and analytically,
using the CSCP website and the textbook. Pupils reflected on
Thomas: "In French and Spanish we have learnt a large amount of new
their own work to set Wreaths and Lamps, but also maturely
vocabulary and grammar. When I first joined Maida Vale I hadn't learnt
Spanish before but after a couple pf lessons I soon got to grips with it
and thoughtfully gave feedback to their peers. This term was
and made huge improvements. In French we have learnt about La Réunion
aimed at not only equipping pupils with the basics of the Latin
and how it is a volcanic island and what you can do there."
language, but also enabling them to gain an understanding
of the legacy of the Romans, as well as an appreciation for the
modern relevance and cross-curricular worth of studying Latin.
Active vocabulary learning using derivations & home-made
8
flashcards
9

FEATURES
SPORTS
Science highlights
by Mr Forman, Head of Science
SPORT UPDATE
by Mr Marriott, Director of Sport
Despite the restrictions on how sports can run and what facilities are available to use, it has been a
great start to sport at MVS. The co-curricular clubs have been very well attended throughout the term
and provided a competitive outlet for pupils. The provision was even expanded due to the demand.
In games, the football group developed immensely over the team. Both in terms of footballing skills
and the way have learned to work with each other. The netball group can be equally proud of their
commitment and progress throughout the term. We hope to be able to kick start next term with
some competitive fixture and enable the pupils to have their first chance at representing the school.
Is it a metal or not? Year 7 investigating the properties
of various different materials and deciding what
properties define a metal.
In Physics, here are Year 8 pupils investigating Hooke's
Law and writing their own method.
Year 9 complete their electronic fan project in DT
by Ms Banks, Teacher of DT
Student Spotlight
Year 9 pupils have completed an ambitious, electronic fan project, engaging
with a range of workshop processes including using the vacuum former, pillar
drill and jig saw as well as soldering. Pupils learned about various electronic
components and then went on to create a circuit that automatically triggered
as a response to temperature change. Those who completed the task
early went on to add an external switch which proved a popular additional
challenge. Every pupil involved made a working fan using a range of materials
and demonstrated an excellent problem-solving approach along the way,
despite a lack of familiarity with the materials and equipment provided.
Lucy R and May L, Year 9,
were senior artists of the
week for their watercolour
paintings of sealife
creatures. Well done!
Awards for games this term went to:
U14 Netballer of the Term - Eliana
U14 Footballer of the Term - Emeka
U14 Most Improved Netballer - Coco
U14 Most Improved Footballer - Marcus
U13 Netballer of the Term - Agnes
U13 Footballer of the Term - Lyndon
Cross Country run:
At the end of term we had our inaugural inter-PT group cross country
run at regent’s park. All the pupils can be proud of the endeavour
and resilience they showed in the chilly conditions. Congratulations
to Ms. Proctor’s tutor group who came out on top with some fantastic
runs amongst her tutees.
1st place went to :
Year 7 Boys - Franklin
Year 7 Girls - Ellie
U13 Most Improved Netballer - Ava
U13 Most Improved Footballer - Rudi
Year 8 Boys - Thomas
Year 8 Girls - Emma
U12 Netballer of the Term - Kiki
U12 Footballer of the Term - Franklin
Year 9 Boys - Marcus
Year 9 Girls - May
U12 Most Improved Netballer - Alix
U12 Most Improved Footballer - Edoardo
Well done to all who
were involved!
10 11

MAIDA VALE SCHOOL'S FIRST CHRISTMAS
To help decorate our Christmas trees, pupils took some time to reflect on things they feel thankful
and grateful for this year.
Maida Vale School, 18 Saltram Crescent, London W9 3HR
A co-educational, independent senior school for 11-18 year olds
W: www.maidavaleschool.com T: 020 3196 1860 E: admissions@maidavaleschool.com
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