Excellence Programme

House Photography Competition

All pupils and staff are invited to enter the annual House Photography Competition, with works being featured in an online gallery.

Submission:
You can submit anything you wish; the brief is open! However, this work must be your own.

Please submit your photograph (a maximum of 3 entries per pupil) to a folder named ‘Students entries’ within the ‘Photography Competition 2020’ folder. To access this folder, go to the P: Drive, then scroll down to ‘Photography Competition 2020’ (P:\Photography Competition 2020).

Please ensure that you save your entry file in the following way: your Name, Year Group and the House that you have been assigned to i.e. JohnSmithYear7HouseMoore.

Year Groups:
All years and staff.

Prize:
1st prize winner – £50 cash and 15 house points
2nd prize winner – £30 cash and 10 house points
3rd prize winner – £15 cash and 5 house points

Deadline for entry:
12.00pm, Friday 13th November

Maths Department Design a Clock Competition

Pupils in Year 7 and Year 8 are challenged to design a mathematics themed clock, that can be made into a real working clock to be put in all the maths classrooms.

We are looking for designs which incorporate a pupil’s favourite aspect of Mathematics. The numbers 1 -12 could be created by using sums or equations, or with mathematical symbols. The entries with be judged by the Head of Mathematics. Best entries will have appealing design and excellent mathematical creativity.

Submission:
Entries to be submitted on A4 paper. Entries to be submitted to any Maths teacher. They can either be printed or emailed digitally. Hand drawn or digitally created is fine.

Year Groups:
All Year 7 and Year 8 pupils

Prize:
The winning entry will be made into real working clocks, that will hang in all of the maths classrooms.

Deadline for entry:
Monday 2nd November

Guest Speaker — Dr Martijn van der Spoel

Dr Martijn van der Spoel, director of Glia Learning, is an Educational Psychologist. Yearly he teaches more than 10,000 students of various levels, as well as parents and teachers. He is passionate about the psychology of studying – explaining not only the ‘how’ but also the ‘why’ of successful learning.

Tuesday 1st December

Years 7-9 session – ‘Care to Lead’
When we look at the way our brains function is it very clear that you are for yourself ‘Teacher no. 1’. The manner in which you ‘lead’ your brain is clearly linked to your ability to study well. The students will leave this session with a clear understanding how they can make a constructive and significant difference to their learning by using tried and tested study techniques.

Years 10-11 Session – ‘Activate your memory’
This session is particularly looking at how you can get the best out of your memory as you prepare for your GCSE exams. Please bring a pen and paper because this is a session were the emphasis lays on active learning. The students will leave this session with very clear strategies to prepare themselves well for their upcoming exams.

Sixth Form Session – ‘Pace your independent study’
Many psychological studies in schools, universities and the workplace show that using your time wisely is a key ingredient for achievement. This session will ask the question how this can be done best and examines the motivation to keep it going. The students will leave this session with a greater awareness of their individual responsibility and how they can drive this process through easy to implement strategies for change.

Creative Writing Workshop — Jon Robinson

Jon Robinson will be speaking to boys in Y7-U6 in separate talks about his journey to becoming a published author.

Tuesday 17th November

Jon will refer to his own writing as a child which hopefully will help inspire budding young writers. An introduction to the concept of a novel and the themes in his novel including the psychology of imprisonment, labelling, peer pressure, brainwashing and memory will also be discussed.

Mathematical Magic — Zoe Griffiths

Zoe Griffiths from ThinkMaths talks to Year 7 and 8 pupils about Mathematical Magic

Thursday 8th October, 11.15am

After completing a degree in Mathematics, Zoe trained as a secondary Maths teacher with the University of Oxford. It was in these initial experiences of teaching that she first developed her love for maths communication. After teaching for four years Zoe took up a position at the Royal Institution and then began her work with ThinkMaths in April 2017.

Zoe’s work in maths communication has seen her give talks and deliver workshops for students, families and teachers: in schools both in the UK and internationally, in the Royal Institution world-famous lecture theatre, at science festivals and teacher conferences. Zoe’s favourite number is i and she has been known to bake mathematical cakes.

JLx — Autumn Term 2020 Programme

JLx is a series of 15-minute highly informative sessions each run by a different department, which aim to share with pupils some exciting aspects of their disciplines.

Locations of talks will be confirmed in advance of the talks and will take place to allow all year groups to attend while maintaining their year group bubble.

Date	Department	Talk title
Monday 14th September, 1.15pm	Politics	Is there a UK Constitution?
Tuesday 29th September, 1.15pm	Art	Motivation – the key to success
Wednesday 14th October, 1.15pm	Biology	The Art of Biology – The importance of illustration.
Thursday 12th November, 1.15pm	RSP	‘The One or The Many?’ Ethical Priorities
Monday 23rd November, 1.15pm	English	The American Dream- A Journey to Disappointment
Tuesday 8th December, 1.15pm	Economics	Thinking about Zuboff’s Age of Surveillance Capitalism

English Department Flash Fiction Competition

Pupils should write a short story or description with a central character, who has a demanding and traumatic job. Ideas in War Photographer by Carol Ann Duffy can be used for inspiration.

Flash Fiction submissions should be no longer than 200 words.

Masterclass on writing Flash Fiction led by Mrs Trafford, for all those interested in entering the competition on Tuesday 10th November at 4.00pm via MS Teams.

For further information email MLT@johnlyon.org

Drama Department Monologue Writing Challenge

Pupils are challenged to write an original monologue with a view to it being performed on stage. The monologue can be about anything at all and can be presented in any style or form.

Submission:
The monologue must be written in the first person, be typed onto one side of A4 with a maximum font size of 12. In addition, students may also record themselves performing their monologue or submit a voice recording in the style of a podcast. The recording must be between two and four minutes. n.b. The recording does not have to be the same student who wrote the monologue, it can be anyone they choose, although they may of course choose to perform it themselves.

Winning criteria:
Prizes will be awarded based on creativity, characterisation and content

Categories:
One prize for each of the following categories: Year 7 – Year 9; Year 10 and Year 11; Sixth Form

Submissions need to be sent electronically to Mr Felgate at LHF@johnlyon.org

STEAM Christmas Competition 2020

Rudolf Balloon Race

This year’s winter challenge is to design a balloon that will travel as far and as fast as possible along a string. A bonus will be given for making the balloon festive looking.

Entries:
Design a balloon which is as aerodynamic as possible. and can be released to travel along a string

Guidance:
Think about making the balloon as aerodynamic as possible by adding items on it such as wings. Make sure the balloon can be unsealed easily, ready for the race

Submissions:
You need to build three models of your balloon, so that we can make sure the race results are reliable

Racing: The race will take place in the Boyd Campbell Hall, and we will time how long it takes the balloon to travel across the Hall, and what the maximum distance it can travel. Further details of the race will be emailed nearer the time, to make sure we comply to updated Covid regulations.

Deadline for submissions – Monday 7th December.

House Art Competition 2020

This year our House Art Competition is based on a work of Art which reflects “Memories of Recent Times”

Entries:
Need to be visual — Drawing, Painting, Print or Photography.

Guidance:
Consider issues which are personal, local or global.

Submissions:
Need to be linked to the theme and your interpretations of it. Please submit a high-resolution photograph of your entry to the Art Department by the deadline.

Deadline for submissions – Tuesday 3rd November
For further information please visit the Art Department

Excellence Programme Competitions and Events

JLx Lunchtime Lectures

Monologue Writing Challenge

Design a Maths Department Clock Competition

House Art Competition

House Photography Competition

Creative Writing Workshop: Jon Robinson

Guest Speaker — Dr Martijn van der Spoel

Flash Fiction Competition

Excellence Programme Guest Speakers

Talks-on-the-Hill

1876 Reading Room

Excellence Programme Newsletters