Year 8 students in Design and Technology have been creating prototype MP3 players. Working through the design process students researched user opinions, set specifications and sketched ideas. Then through the process of CAD & CAM using the department’s laser cutter students created a 3D prototype of their MP3 design and generated a computer model. The project concluded with students “selling” their designs to the class and teacher in the style of Dragons Den.
Regional Ambassador for the Holocaust Educational Trust
Josef Feiven has been appointed as a Regional Ambassador for the Holocaust Educational Trust. This is following on from his visit to Auschwitz on the Lessons From Auschwitz programme and subsequently becoming an Ambassador.
As a Regional Ambassador he is now responsible for representing the West Midlands for 3 years by Encouraging ambassadors to further their knowledge about the Holocaust, organizing events and projects in the West Midlands, with survivors sharing their testimonies, Recording his experiences and representing the trust through blogs and articles and attending and supporting Holocaust Educational Trust events. He will also have the opportunity to visit Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance in Centre in Jerusalem, where he partake in an intense 5 day course of seminars and workshops with world-renown Holocaust experts.
This appointment is really exciting because it will enable him to try and help make a difference in the region, by spreading awareness of the horrific events that occurred during the Holocaust.
The year 7 basketball team had a fine victory on their first ever game defeating Smith’s Wood Sports College by 20-0.
The team led by Adrian Nyamongo who scored 10 points played in a very competitive but enjoyable game. The other scorers were, Is’haaq Maneer, Mo Fohpa, Rohan De, and Lovelle Small.
The squad was:
Adrain Nyamongo, Ishaaq Maneer, Rohan De, Keir Msuay, Ayyub Kesington, Rayan Akhtar, Lovelle Small, Mo Fohpa, Mustafa Ahmed, Kurun Kaushal, Sohaib Rehan and Gowshikan Gajadevan.
Congratulations to all of the boys involved.
Another talented group of sportsmen unearthed at HGS!!
This year saw our best athletic results for a number of years. We enter the King Edwards Invitational Athletics tournament each year and usually have one or two wins but this year we placed first in six events!
Daniel Olatundun in Year 7 won the 200m and Triple Jump. He beat his personal best in the 200m with a time of 25.7 seconds. He also easily won the Triple Jump with a distance of 10.02 metres, in fact his distance would have won the Year 8 competition too! Daniel is ranked Number 1 in the West Midlands in the Power of 10 rankings. If his 200m time was verified it would rank him Number 1 in the UK. This is a fantastic achievement.
In Year 8 Franciszek Czech came second in the 400m in 1.02 minutes and won the Shot Put with a distance of 10.39 metres. His shot put distance places him Number 1 in the West Midlands. Sam Grego won the 100m in a time of 12.3 seconds. If this was verified at an official event this would place him Number 1 in the West Midlands. Dominic Szkatula won the Triple Jump with a distance of 9.7 metres. These are all magnificent achievements.
This was a really good evening which showcased some of Handsworth Grammar School’s outstanding athletes. Franciszek, Daniel and Sam will be representing the North Birmingham District in the West Midlands Finals in June.
Mr Griffiths
Our Year 8 Young Sports Leaders did a fantastic job at the Handsworth Association of Schools Year 5 Cricket Festival. They umpired and scored the Kwik Cricket games with Westminster beating St. Augstines in an excellent final (looking akin to an IPL 20/20 game) to go through to a Level 3 City Final in July.
Our boys were great ambassadors for HGS in this important outreach work.
The Community-Apprentice Programme, run by Envision, is an extra-curricular activity that involves Sixth Form students from Birmingham, Bristol and London. Twenty-eight Year 12 students from HGS participated in the programme this year, which aims to develop projects within school and in the local community. For more information about Envision, please visit their website at www.envision.org.uk.
Following months of hard work, planning and implementation, both teams (Mentality and Concept) from HGS finally went head-to-head in the quarter finals round of the competition on April 11th, 2016. Each team played a 3-minute video documentary showcasing their achievements and the impact they made to the lives of the people they attempted to help. This was then followed by a live group presentation, during which they showcased the skills they developed and relied upon to help them overcome the many challenges they faced implementing their projects. Following intense deliberation, the judges namely Mr S Bird, Mr A Kafai and Mr F Ahmed decided that, whilst both teams had done a tremendous service to the local community, it was team Mentality that performed a better overall presentation, demonstrating the impact of their project.
Following their qualification to the semi-finals round of the competition, team Mentality was invited to compete against 10 other teams from schools across the city. The competition was hosted by the University of Birmingham at the beautifully crafted Aston Webb building. Each team (one from each school) was invited to play their video presentation followed by a 2 minutes live presentation to an audience of over 200 people and a panel of three judges from local businesses. All the presentations were of high quality. But more importantly, they, once again, proved that young people in Birmingham can be a force for good in society, despite the negative attitude towards young people in the media. Unfortunately, team Mentality did not qualify for the Final round of the competition.
On a more positive note, all competing teams have been invited to the Community Apprentice Awards 2016 at the Council House, Victoria Square on June 28th, 2016. The aim of the event is to recognise and celebrate the hard work of all young people in the city. A number of awards, including The Teamwork Award, The Leadership Award, and The Organisation Award, to name but a few, will be awarded to deserving teams. At the end of the ceremony, which will include speeches by local/national celebrities, and music by local bands, the Community Apprentice Winners of 2016 will be announced, and the evening drawn to a speedy conclusion.
We would like to take this opportunity to wish both of our teams the best of luck in winning an award this year for their hard work and dedication despite the challenges they faced.
Mr Ahmed
On March 17th 2016, twenty-one Year 12 students who participate in Envision went to meet their mentors from Interserve at their, currently under construction, £100 million Headquarters near Birmingham International Airport. The aim of the session was for individual students to engage in one-to-one discussions with their mentors about their learning journey while working on their team project. In particular, they focused on the challenges they faced both individually and as part of the team. More importantly, the discussions centred on the skills they used to resolve their issues. The mentors used this opportunity to record the students’ experiences and produced a personalised ‘Competency Reference’ for each student, which they can take with them to future potential employers.
The students were housed in connected mobile rooms at the construction site. The aim of this was to give the students a real-life insight into what real-world construction projects look like at ‘site zero’ and what their project planning and meeting rooms on site look like. Interserve staff were very keen on allowing the students to immerse themselves in the experience and develop their skills further.
The success of this evening was, in no small part, down to the efforts of the staff from Envision, Interserve and HGS who collaborated and created an invaluable experience for all the students involved.
Mr Ahmed
The annual trip to the Whitemoor Lakes Activity Centre near Alrewas, Staffordshire, took place between the 9th and the 11th May. The vast majority of Year 7 students participated, together with a dozen staff.
Hamza Mir writes:
“I have been on many residentials but the Whitemoor Lakes trip so far has stood out. There were many activities which I enjoyed ranging from high ropes to raft-building. There wasn’t anything I could fault; in fact even the food was great! The instructors went the extra mile to help us; they encouraged everyone to do something. They were very cheerful during the whole stay and the on-site store was awesome. They kept us all entertained and were understanding if someone did not feel well. The activity which I enjoyed the most was the zip wire as I was upside down doing the famous ‘Dab’ dance. I hope to go again to this amazing facility.“
Mahdi Chowdhury writes:
“We arrived at Whitemoor Lakes at about 11:00am and were soon given a tour of the site by the instructors. After the tour, we were told to make our beds. We had our lunch at 1:00pm and then went back into our dorms to get ready for our first activity. My group’s first activity was fencing. We had a great instructor who taught us the basics and then had a 30 minute break to get changed for our next activity, climbing. Climbing was fun for a lot of us except those afraid of heights! After climbing we had dinner which was pizza and chips, delicious! We had time to play pool, table tennis or air hockey or relax in our dorms before canoeing. Fortunately, I didn’t fall into the water. By 10:00pm we had to be in our rooms getting ready to go to bed.
The next day we had 4 activities. First, we had archery which everyone enjoyed, then raft-building, the worst bit being getting wet. We then had high ropes including the dreaded leap of faith. Finally, we abseiled and rode the zip wire. Evening meal was curly fries and chicken. We were supposed to have a camp fire after dinner but, because of the rain, had a disco and a five-a-side football tournament instead, which my team sadly didn’t win.
We felt a little sad on our last day at Whitemoor Lakes. We had one activity (problem-solving) which everyone enjoyed. It included playing blindfolded football, which was really funny. We had to use a lot of teamwork and collaboration skills.
I would love to go to Whitemoor Lakes again and I would highly recommend the trip to others. It was an exceptional place to go to and I would like to thank all the teachers and instructors who had made this trip possible. It has been the best trip I’ve been to at Handsworth Grammar School so far….”
Please note that the school will be moving over to Schoolcomms/School Gateway for lunch money payments from Monday 6th June. To facilitate this, our current system for lunch money payments; ParentPay; will be disconnected on Thursday 26th May. Please ensure that your son/daughter has enough money in their account to last them the rest of the week. Please note that all money that has been transferred via ParentPay will also be available on Schoolcomms.
From Monday 6th June you will be able to manage your child’s account using the School Gateway App to view the account balance and make payments when necessary. Over the next few months, we will also begin to take payments for trips and other activities through the School Gateway app.
The School Gateway and App will greatly improve our School/Home communications providing you with current and up-to-date information regarding your child. The system is updated twice daily and provides you access to your child’s school record including reports, behaviour and achievement points, timetables and so on.
Over the next year, we will be taking an eco-friendlier approach with School/Home communication, so letters and reports will be sent to you electronically via Schoolcomms and e-mail rather than via your child or through the post. This will also ensure that communication gets to you directly and promptly.
If you have not signed up to the School Gateway yet, you can do so by using the following instructions:
The free app for your phone can be downloaded by following these instructions:
The set-up process is simple and will take no more than a couple of minutes:
Also, you can sign up through the website by doing the following:
If you are unable to register your account, please confirm your email address and mobile number with us by emailing schoolcomms@handsworth.bham.sch.uk with your child’s name and form, and your name, email address and mobile telephone number.
Thursday 14th July 2016
6:00pm
An evening of music
at
Handsworth Grammar School
Tickets available from Finance Office
£3.00 adult
£1.00 child
