Maddy A in Year 9, travelled 230 miles last weekend, to the City of Sunderland Boxing show and boxed last years National finalist, beating her comfortably gaining a unanimous decision win.
Maddy was competed in the 65 – 67 kg category, boxing the hosting clubs own boxer as well last year’s national finalist. Congratulations Maddy!
The following pupils have been working incredibly hard since October, preparing for this year’s ‘Mock Trial’ competition, at Redditch Magistrates Court. Pupils are presented with a fictitious court case and our pupils had to analyse the statements, memorise them for their individual roles, ask questions, write entire speeches to deliver in front of a large number of spectators, as well as learn how an actual court case runs so they can ‘act out’ a mock trial against pupils from other schools.
Well done to:
Misba M
Joe A
Lara B
Alice P
Phoebe Y
Lily T
Bella B
Jacob B
Ruby S
Brandon B
Jacob T
Before half term, the group went to Redditch Magistrates Court with Miss Massey and their magistrate coach, who has been working with them at school. They have watched a real case in action, spoken to witness protection teams, and have been to the cells!
They’ve come an incredibly long way since starting their preparations, especially in the last couple of weeks.
Their big day will be the 7th March – for the finals, we all wish them the best of luck!
We are excited to report that Grace L in Year 7, will be performing in ‘Annie’, at The Core Theatre, Solihull next month as the star role – ANNIE!
Grace will be taking the stage from 10th – 14th March.
It has seen numerous productions in many countries, as well as national tours and won the Tony Award for Best Musical. The musical’s songs ‘Tomorrow’ and ‘It’s the Hard Knock Life’ are among its most popular musical numbers. Knowle Musical Society are looking foward to bring this classic show to Solihull’s Core Theatre.
https://www.thecoretheatresolihull.co.uk/whats-on/all-shows/annie/22360
Good luck Grace!
Congratulations to Ashleigh G!
Sh recently swam at the Worcester County Championships 2020, swimming for Bromsgrove SC. She swam in eleven events gaining:
6 Gold
3 Silver
1 Bronze
One 4th place
Of her 6 golds, 2 of them were:
100m IM County Junior Champion
200m IM County Junior Champion
(Junior Champion is based up to age 15yrs)
Overall swimmer 50m backstroke gaining a bronze
Well done Ashleigh,what an incredible outcome!
Last week, Year 9 and 10 Performing Arts pupils travelled to the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry to watch the professional touring version of ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat’.
Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is one of the world’s most beloved family musicals. Released as a concept album in 1969, this multi award winning show has been performed hundreds of thousands of times including multiple runs in the West End and on Broadway, international tours and productions in over 80 countries!
The original Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice collaboration, the show continues to delight huge audiences annually, performed by amateur and schools groups and professionally in concert halls, arenas and theatres around the world.
Told entirely through song with the help of the Narrator, the show follows the story of Jacob’s favourite son Joseph and his eleven brothers. After being sold into slavery by the brothers, he ingratiates himself with Egyptian noble Potiphar, but ends up in jail after refusing the advances of Potiphar’s wife.
While imprisoned, Joseph discovers his ability to interpret dreams, and he soon finds himself in front of the mighty but troubled showman, the Pharaoh. As Joseph strives to resolve Egypt’s famine, he becomes Pharaoh’s right-hand man and eventually reunites with his family.
Exerpt from www.josephthemusical.com
Pupils learned about the musical during lessons and Year 10 students are studying Andrew Lloyd Webber as part of their BTEC work.
I thought that this version of Joseph was a very strong performance. Being a ‘sung-through’ musical, it is very important to have super vocalists and dancers and that was definitely the case here. Joseph was played by BGT 2019 finalist Mark McMullan, who was brilliant in this role. The narrator was played by Charlotte Kate Warren, who was an understudy but nobody could tell as she was so professional and note perfect. The set, lighting, stage design and live orchestra all helped to make the show brilliant to watch. There was an encore at the end with an opportunity to join in, and some of the audience even gave a standing ovation.
I would really recommend Joseph for anyone who enjoys musical theatre. It’s so good to see a live performance rather than a filmed one because of the live music and set it really comes to life.
Amy E, Year 10
Last week, eighty students went to see the spectacular adaptation of David Walliams’ The Boy in the Dress.
The Boy in the Dress tells the story of a 12-year-old Dennis, the star striker of the school football team, who feels different. “It is a story about celebrating difference and hopefully that speaks to everyone,” said Walliams. “It is very heartwarming and at the moment it feels like everyone is just shouting at each other all the time. It is quite nice to have something where people can just come out feeling happy.”
The Guardian, November 2019
The whole atmosphere in the theatre was electrifying from the first to the last song. The music and lyrics for the musical had been written by none other than, award winning singer/song writer, Robbie Williams.
The stage set was incredible as it all moved, and the cast interacted with it all the time.
I thought that the Boy in the Dress play at the RSC was amazing. I loved the performance and the effort that went in was great; there were so many talented singers and actors. ~ Alice Potts
I really enjoyed the performance of Boy in the Dress because they really brought the storyline to life. I also loved how it was staged and the way everything moved around as the scenes changed. -Chloe Kearney
Pupils thoroughly enjoyed the performance and agreed that the best and most rousing song was one entitled: ‘Disco Symphony’, where the whole ensemble turned into black and silver androgynes!
This week, pupils participated in the second Personal Development day of the academic year.
The school was buzzing with activity and each year group focused on an important life theme.
Year 7 were treated to an upcoming pop sensation ‘NoNative‘ who delivered a powerful message about resilience, hard work and being a global citizen through his performance. Accompanying his message students got to take part and enjoy his performances alongside signing autographs and speaking to the other band members.
Students learned about health, disease, exercise, diet and some produced healthy food snacks for visitors and staff at the school.
Year 8 spent the day learning about relationships, self esteem and online internet safety. They also welcomed Brook representatives who delivered sessions on various issues around relationships, sexting and grooming.
Year 9 took part in “Surviving Dutsely Island!”. An interactive team building exercise that puts students in groups to complete tasks and win challenges based around being stranded on an island.
Year 10 explored the complexities of justice and the law, both in the UK and internationally.
Year 11 received sessions from Warwickshire Health Team on abusive relationships. The National Citizenship Service representatives also supported with revision strategies, James Tranter from the Charity ‘Life’ came in to talk to students around the issues of pregnancy and abortion. All students undertook a mock interview supported by over 20 representatives from local colleges and businesses.
This weekend, Ella Rose G competed in the West Midlands Acro and Tumbling Competition.
Level 1 disability pairs section with her partner Reuben B from Henley High school. The result was Bronze and she is off to represent West Midlands at the Nationals in May.
Also Ella Rose came second in the tumbling Under 14 girls section, gaining a place to represent West Midlands at the Nationals in May.
Head Coach, Mrs Garratt:
This was a great competition and we are now looking forward to the Nationals in March and May where Studley High School students will represent a high level of gymnastics for West Midlands.
Good luck gymnasts!
Mrs Vaughan would like any interested budding Year 7 cooks and chefs to have a look at this opportunity!
You have until 7th February to apply to be a contestant on the next season of ‘Step Up to the Plate’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0007lkj
All the details are here
You’ll need the support of your parent or carer to send your application.
Monday the 27th of January 2020 is an important day, as it marks 75 years since the liberation of Auschwitz. It is a day where we remember those who have lost their lives to tyranny, intolerance and persecution, and we vow that as a global community we will never let a tragedy like the holocaust happen again.
It is a deeply personal issue for me, and last week I delivered assemblies to all Studley High pupils about holocaust memorial day and why it still matters that we remember the victims, so long after the event. It matters to me because the holocaust is the story of my family. A family that was torn apart by injustice and cruelty.
75 years ago, Auschwitz was not the only camp to be liberated. There were 20 concentration camps in total; and whilst Auschwitz is the most famous, it is not alone in it’s brutality. I know this because on May 5th 1945, American troops arrived in Austria and liberated Mauthausen, and amongst the people freed that day was my grandfather. This is his story.
Kazimierz Blazak was born in 1906 and grew up in a Szubin, a small village in the North of Poland. He had four brothers and three sisters, and after completing a university degree in horticulture, he returned to Szubin and became manager of the local dairy farm.
The dairy farm was the biggest employer in Szubin and when the Nazis invaded Poland, he was arrested along with 4 other high profile figures in the village (the doctor, the dentist, the teacher and the solicitor) and they were put on trial. The crime they were accused of was “breeding cattle that would attack Germans but leave Polish people alone”, and they were all convicted on the testimony of one witness who was told exactly what to say. The result of the trial was determined before they ever stepped inside the courtroom.
They were sentenced to imprisonment in Mauthausen, a concentration camp that had a reputation of being more violent and inhumane than Auschwitz. It was nicknamed “The Bone Mill” by the Nazi soldiers. Mass starvation, 16 hours of forced labour every day carrying heavy blocks of stone up a staircase of over 100 steps, only to be sent straight back down to do it again, and all of this whilst the guards were taking shots with their pistols and murdering people at random as they went past.
190,000 people walked through the gates of Mauthausen but only 90,000 came back out alive. There were various ways you could be tortured or killed in the camp. My grandfather had a nail hammered into his stomach, puncturing a lung and was fortunate to survive Tuberculosis with no treatment. He didn’t even miss a day of work, because prisoners who were too sick to work, were taken outside, stripped, hosed down and then left to freeze to death.
Mauthausen also had gas chambers, where huge numbers of people were murdered, and a camp doctor who was one of the top three on the FBI’s most wanted war criminals list after the war ended. His name was Aribert Heim and his crimes included experimenting with injecting petrol and orange juice into people’s hearts to see which one killed them fastest, operations to remove internal organs (for no medical reason) with no anaesthetic and “patients” left to die on the table and numerous other atrocities. When the American soldiers liberated the camp, they found his office was decorated with lampshades and cushion covers made of human skin. He had even turned the skin of the prisoners into car seat covers and similar items and given them as gifts to other high ranking SS officers.
After the liberation of Mauthausen, Kazimierz spent some time running a camp for wounded allied servicemen, served in the American army (who presumably he felt he owed a debt to, for liberating him from Mauthausen) before settling in the UK. He was one of the first non-Jewish people in the world to successfully sue the german government for compensation for the horrors he had faced. He died peacefully, of natural causes in 1971.
His family had been decimated by the holocaust. His father and one of his four brothers were murdered six days after the Nazi invasion of Poland. The resistance in the village had blown up a Nazi car with three officers inside. The Nazis did not know who was responsible so took 33 innocent men, totally at random, led them to the town square and made them dig their own graves in front of the entire village before executing them one by one.
Another brother had been part of the resistance and was caught and executed in a similar manner two months later. Six months after that a third brother was killed, he was a Polish soldier and was massacred by Soviet forces at Katyn. The final brother was neither killed nor imprisoned, and was cut off by the family. Nobody has ever really spoken of it, but it seems to be fairly clear that he was actually feeding information to the Nazis and collaborating with them.
A family of ten people. Two parents, five brothers and three sisters. Every single male in the family had either been murdered, tortured or exiled from the family within a few years. A close family, all living in the same village, totally destroyed. Ripped apart at the seams by the violence and terror of the holocaust.
But that is just the story of one family. My family. There were 11 million victims of the holocaust. 11 million families decimated just like mine. 6 million of the victims murdered because of their Jewish faith, and 5 million more for their political beliefs, sexuality, disability or a number of other reasons.
The liberation of the concentration camps was not the end of the holocaust. The survivors lived with what they had seen every single day of their lives, and there have been several instances of genocide since the second world war ended.
30 years after Auschwitz and the other camps were liberated, the Khmer Rouge murdered 3 million innocent people in Cambodia. In 1991 800,000 people lost their lives as a result of being born into the wrong tribe in Rwanda. Since 2003, 500,000 people have been murdered in Darfur in another genocide.
The story of the holocaust is horrific, but it is not the only story that needs to be heard. On Monday, we will gather to remember all those who have lost their lives to genocide across the world, and make a renewed vow that this will never happen again.
https://www.mauthausen-memorial.org/en/History/The-Mauthausen-Concentration-Camp-19381945 for more info.
Mr T Blazak
Geography
