IntroductionWelcome to this edition of our Christmas newsletter.Listening to ‘White Christmas’ as I write, I have to admitthat Christmas is my favourite time of the year; a time ofpretty lights and gifts, but also a time of peace andpersonal reflection as we hope for the future lookingforward to a New Year and a new start.

As Coventry looks forward to being the ‘European City of Sport 2019’, so we look to play ourpart. We will be echoing the investment in sport that is currently taking place in the city. Withthe support of a variety of other people, plans are being drafted to create a sports park atthe school.It has been a busy term for our staff and students. We have continued to travel abroad withtrips to Shanghai and Geneva giving students a ‘once in a lifetime’ experience. OurRestorative Justice Program was presented to the RJ Forum in Coventry in November. It washumbling to hear many of you discussing the impact peace and reconciliation has had.Building on this work, we have just had our application approved to work with CoventryCathedral as an ‘International Cross of Nails’ (ICON) School. With ‘Birmingham 2022’approaching, our young people have already started to do their bit as part of thedevelopment committee for the Commonwealth Games. The first meeting with studentswas held last week. Some of you won the Royal Society of Biology’s ‘BioArtAttack’competition with your submission of ‘Hammerhead Bottle Shark’, a truly imaginative andthought provoking look at our use of plastic on marine life.With so much to be thankful for as we approach Christmas, it is easy to forget that somepeople have little to look forward to. Christmas can be a time of stress and disappointmentfor so many. So, as we make our holiday preparations, it is important we all take time toensure we share all that we have with those less fortunate than ourselves."Unless we make Christmas an occasion to share our blessings, all the snow in Alaska won'tmake it 'white'." (Bing Crosby)May you have a joyful and restful Christmas holiday period as we look to the future witheager anticipation of the New Year.

Mr Bishop

MandarinOur Finham Park Y7 MEP class had a great day meeting theircounterparts at Lyng Hall School recently for an OffCurriculum Day.  They enjoyed a carousel of cultural andlanguage activities, including writing Christmas greetings witha calligraphy brush, painting pandas and bamboo, learninga Chinese fan dance and also being introduced to Chinesetea culture.  They learnt lots of new vocabulary and weremade to feel very welcome by Mr Green and Mrs Priest (thankyou for the Christmassy breaktime snacks Mr Green!).

A big thank you to our team of Hanbanteachers, Miss Pei, Miss Zheng, Miss Xu andMrs Zhang for all their hard work in organisingand delivering the workshops, as well as MrsZhu and Mrs Priest for co-ordinating the day.We are looking forward to more days of thiskind in the New Year, across our other MEPschools FP2, West Coventry Academy andRugby Free School.  They are a greatopportunity to be immersed in Chineselanguage and culture, and to meet otherstudents across our schools who just startedlearning Mandarin in September.

In June/July this year 27 Y8 MEP students along with Mrs Lewis, Mr Ivanov (Lyng Hall) and MrsPettman set out for the ancient city of Chengdu in Sichuan, China.  They were hosted byteachers at Sichuan Shifan Daxue, a University in Chengdu, where each weekday they hadfive Mandarin lessons, followed by immersion activities such as travelling on public transport,visiting shopping streets and temples and meeting up with students at the local secondaryschool.At the weekend we were treated to a succession of tourist activities, including visiting theworld famous panda zoo, a 2,000 year old irrigation project called Dujiang Yan, and QingCheng Shan, a Daoist site of pilgrimage.During the two weeks we were helped every day by a team of undergraduate helpers,along with their supervisor “Mr Ben”, who worked tirelessly to accompany us and ensureeveryone had the best experience possible.  We all had plenty of opportunities to practiseour Mandarin and turned heads wherever we went with our red MEP hats.  A trulyunforgettable experience!

Year 10 A Christmas Carol TripAt the end of November, students from Year 10 visited the Crescent Theatre in Birminghamto attend a performance of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. This was to support thestudy of this core GCSE text. A fantastic time was had by all and the students felt watchingthe play had deepened their understanding of the text.

HistoryBelgium Battlefields Trip 2018

At the start of October, the history department ran a trip for 24 Year 9s and6 Year 13’s to Belgium to see the First World War trenches. The trip wasarranged in order to commemorate the end of the war which was exactlyone hundred years ago.

During the trip students experienced what it was like forthe soldiers in the trenches. They saw where the soldierswent for their rest and relaxation, walked through trenchsystems and visited the commemorative sites.In Belgium we visited Tyne Cot which is the largestCommonwealth cemetery. Looking at the number ofgraves, particularly those which had no name and wereunidentified soldiers was extremely moving. The sheernumber of graves here really brought home how manymen died during the war.

We also visited Thiepval on the Somme, which is amemorial to the missing. Again the scale of this monumentand the number of names that covered it was astounding.One of the Year 9 students even found the name of oneof her relatives on the memorial.The most emotive moment was when we attended theMenin Gate ceremony in Ypres. This ceremony takes placeevery night at 8pm and is a moving tribute to the sacrificesthat the soldiers of the Great War made. The ceremonyincludes the last post being played and draws hundredsof people every night to stand in silence and rememberthose who lost their lives.

In addition to the cemeteries students walked through the trenches at Sanctuary Woodwhich, despite the lovely weather we were having were still muddy. It is hard to imagineafter being in these trenches for half an hour on a lovely sunny day in October how soldiersstayed in them day and night whilst on duty at the front.Overall, I think the students who went would agree that they really enjoyed the visit, it helpedthem to realise the huge sacrifices that were made by soldiers one hundred years ago andis something that they will remember for years to come.

Design and TechnologyTamoor Aziz: Visiting the Gordon Russell Design Museum was a captivatingexperience. As a designer, it was fascinating to learn about the history ofGordon Russell as a designer, and the global impact he had on thewoodworks industry. From his chairs to his tables, it could be clearly seenwhen looking at his products the pure creativity and innovative style he hadas a designer; creating beautiful and intricate designs.In addition to this, we looked at his sketches which wasamazing to see how detailed his drawings were. Hisdrawings showed his hard-working personality, drawingapproximately 1,000 drawings in just one year! Learningmore about Gordon Russell himself, we learnt about thetough progression route he went through; from being ahighly ranked officer in the army, he then eventuallybecame a world-renowned furniture designer. It wasemotional to learn about the history of Gordon Russell inindustry, having built a city full of factories inWorcestershire, to then having them brought out after hisdeath and being destroyed to be rebuilt as houses.Personally, this experience also helped me a lot for myrecent project, due to the transferable skills I acquired fromanalysing the manufacturing processes and intricatedesigns which would go into making the wood-basedchairs of Gordon Russell. To conclude, it was a greateducation into a pioneer of design, which will continuallyhelp me a lot in my studies in A-Level Product Design.

Victoria & Albert and The Design Museum Trip 2018The V&A and The Design Museum visit is an essential part of the A Level course as it helpsus understand as students the thought process of designers and helps to gain a truepassion for design. As the next generation of designers, it is important to look upon thepast and apply it to the present. This can only be done at the V&A museum as it holds aplethora of collections varying from furniture which we spent the most in as this is relevantto our current project and others such as Baroque and cast collection.

From our time at the V&A, we applied our theory knowledge learnt in lessons and put itinto practice. Most of us were able to name the iconic chairs such as the Wassily chairdesigned by Marcel Breuer back in 1925-1926 and this led to some of the staff at themuseum being heavily impressed. It was also nice to be in a museum where you have arange of people of different ages and can share your thoughts about the pieces. Whilst inthe museums, we had countless opportunities to take pictures and improve on oursketching skills.Notably, in The Design Museum we were able to interact more with the products such asthe Magis Spun Chair by Thomas Heatherwick which was quite fun as you’re literally justspinning round in a circle. All of us were fully interacting and engaged with the productsand learnt a lot outside our usual classroom environment.On the whole, the visit to the two museums was a useful and enjoyable day and itcouldn't have been without the organisation of the Product Design department andespecially without Mrs Conway and Mr Elliott’s brilliant help.Nazim Miah™

Physical EducationSo much has happened in a jam packed term. A record 85+ fixtures wouldhave been played once the term comes to an end in over 7 sports! 92students applied to go on the 2020 Italian ski trip. Cross country and netball& trampoline teams once again progressed to Regional finals. Students atthe school were chosen to have a voice on how the CommonwealthGames in 2022 will be accessible to children.

Sports News in short

- Massive breadth of enrichment has taken place in 12 different sports, includinggymnastics & fencing.

- 30+ students have signed up for archery lessons.- For the fourth successive year the school held its annual year 7 & 8 rugby competi-

tions.- Finham PE ran the cross country league and picked up 4 out of 6 age group titles.- The department have started GCSE PE for the first time in year 9.- We lost the 18th Running of the ‘Derby’ against Bishop Ullathorne.- 44 students went to watch Japan v England at Twickenham in rugby.- 30 year 10 students will be heading to the Olympic Velodrome track for lessons in

track cycling and BMX.- We sent the biggest team to the Regional qualifiers on Sunday 2nd December in

Trampolining, with year 7/8 girls & 9/10 qualifying for the Regional Finals- We have a new look Year 10 curriculum with the aim of all students learning new

leadership, first aid and fitness concepts.- Department involved in initial discussions for Coventry City of Sport 2019.- Wasps rugby coming in to help enrichment rugby.- Year 9 & 10 girl’s netball teams unbeaten in Coventry league netball teams.- Year 7 football team have only lost one game in seven.- Several students were picked to present Coventry Schools at the West Midland

Cross Country Championships.- Year 7 & 9 are into the fourth round of the English Schools National Cup in Football.- KS4 basketball have not lost a game this year.- 20 year 10’s are starting their Junior Sports Leadership Award, leading various activi-

ties in year KS3.- 24 students have had the opportunity to play for the school badminton teams.- Year 7/8 girls finish 10th in the Cross Country Regional finals whilst the year 9/10 first

finish 7th in Shropshire.- 40+ students have had the opportunity to lead activities at Coventry school primary

athletics events.- KS3 girls have taken part in two football competitions.- The department worked with a group of students in Battle of the rap poetry event.- We now have 260 followers on the Finham PE twitter account- 12 Y11-13 have been involved in a gifted & talented sports programme – TASS run

by Coventry University.- Many students signed up for a PGL netball and football Easter tour.- The department continues fund raising activities to buy new team kit.- A great start has been made by the Carl Baker Football Academy.

Sports Leaders running events at Primary School indoor athletics

Year 7 football team Year 9 football team

Year 7 football team Year 9 football team

Twickenham Rugby trip towatch England v Japan

Year 7/8 girls qualify for theRegional trampolining finals

Finham Park Media ArtsAfter a summer of Outstanding results at GCSE and A Level, it’s been back to thegrindstone for another eventful term in the Media Arts Department at Finham Park thisAutumn, where we have provided some more great experiences for our students.Our students at Radio FPS are now seeing their daily shows streamed on the schoolwebsite (http://finhampark.com/radio/), enhancing their reach, and motivating them tocreate even more entertaining shows.Several professional level film projects have been conducted through the departmentalready this term, giving our students yet more opportunities to add to their professionalCVs. Miss Clarke’s presentation at the National Restorative Justice Conference inCoventry was accompanied by a video on RJ which was devised, shot and edited by ourown students, under the leadership of Head Boy Vinesh and Head Girl Marysia. Similarly,the school’s Sixth Form marketing video and the Media Department’s promo videos wereall produced to an incredibly high standard by our own students, Jack Brazil and KittyEaton-Kent, despite very tight deadlines.The professional links we have with industry were further enhanced last week with anexcellent Q&A session with freelance film concept artist Bob Cheshire (pictured), freshfrom his work on Dr Strange, Avengers: Infinity War and the latest Star Wars films. The talkwas attended by staff from the Media and Art departments and 30 students from allyears, who asked some excellent searching questions about the industry, how to get intoit, and the work Bob has done already. While Non-Disclosure Agreements prevented himtalking about anything he is currently working on, we may have badgered him enough toget Premiere tickets if they ever become available! Not onlythat, but Mr Cheshire has confirmed that he will be our firstguest judge at next year’s Finham Film Festival on May 10th, sostudents will have to work hard to impress him.Finally, on Tuesday 4th December, we will be hosting membersof the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022 organisingcommittee in school for a workshop with Media, Drama, PEand Art students. They will be devising ideas for the Gamesand their marketing. It’s all very secret, but we will be one ofthe only schools outside of Birmingham who have been askedto participate in this, so let’s see what we come up with!Did we mention we’d been quite busy?

Bob Cheshire - Film Concept Artist

EnglishDads N Lads event

In October we held a Dads N Lads event. We invited Gary Toward, an authorand motivational speaker, to present. He inspired the audience with his talkabout his latest novel The Magpie which is an adventure story set in WW1.The parents and students were especially interested in the WW1 artefacts –such as grenades and shells and even a fierce looking bayonet – which theywere able to handle. The highlight of the evening though was the barbecueand camp fire around which we invited the boys and their male role modelsto share scary stories. This was a well-attended and enjoyable evening. Thefeedback was very positive and we hope to run it again next year.

ArtExciting times in the art department with the upcoming Amsterdam and New York trips.Congratulations to all the GCSE and A level students on their exam results, we did very well.

Dreadlock AlienThe World Of Words project was launchedin the second week of term. This is thesecond time we have run this crosscurricular literacy project for the whole ofthe year 7 cohort. After the initial launch inwhich performance poet, Dreadlock Alieninspired the students to write raps about thesubjects they like best, students have beentasked with gathering the new vocabularythey come across in all their subjects.

At the end of this term we will welcome Dreadlock alien back to host the year 7inter-departmental poetry slam as a fun way to reinforce the vocabulary learned and tocelebrate their successes in their first term at Finham Park. Teams from almost everydepartment have been busily rehearsing and will compete against one another to performthe raps they have written to embed the 300+ words they have already learned this year!

Finham Challenge and essay writing successOur top sets in year 9 and 10 were invited to submit an essay to the World Class Schools’essay writing competition. This year’s title was: ‘How do the experiences of young peopleat school affect how healthy a lifestyle they adopt?’. Three students had their work selectedto be sent to the judging and Patrick Dale in Year 9 has been shortlisted for the finals. Thejudges remarked that “the quality and standard of all submissions was exceptional, andultimately could not shorten the list to any less than eleven. Every essay submission was ofa World Class standard, and they should be extraordinarily proud of themselves.” Patrickhas been invited to the Awards Ceremony which takes place at Governors’ Hall St Thomas’Hospital in London on December 6th, where the winners will be announced.This year’s annual whole school essay competition The Finham Challenge will be launchedin January, the title this year is “Who has been the most influential figure in history?”

Sixth form Othello trip40 Sixth form students from both our Literature andLanguage and Literature courses attended athought provoking performance of Othello atWarwick Arts Centre at the start of November. Wealso participated in the pre-show talk where studentswere able to question the director and members ofthe company about choices they had made in theperformance. This was extremely useful as Othello isa set text for both courses. It is always beneficial forstudents to see the text in performance and therehave been some very interesting discussions inlessons as a result of the trip.

RE DepartmentCoventry CathedralThis term the RE department welcomed Geoff Wilcox from Coventry Cathedral. He delivereda lesson to Year 10 students on the theme of “Peace and Reconciliation”. The highlights ofthe talk included a brief history of the Cathedral and the work that the Cathedral now doesaround the world in war torn countries. Geoff highlighted the cross of nails initiative anddiscussed with students the concept of peace and the importance of forgiveness. It was athought provoking talk which was invaluable for students to hear. We look forward towelcoming Geoff back in the New Year for further sessions with other students.

Charity WorkThis half term the RE department has been involving in supporting two separate charities.Firstly “Carriers of Hope”, a local charity which puts together Christmas boxes which supportrefugees living in Coventry. Secondly, the department, along with Sixth Formers and staffcollected unwanted bras to support the Scottish based charity “Smalls for All”. The charitycollects and distributes underwear to help women and children in Africa. They help thoseliving in orphanages, slums, IDP (internally displaced persons) camps and schools, as wellas those in hospitals suffering from medical conditions like obstetric fistula.

Amnesty InternationalSixth Formers have delivered college assemblies this half term to relaunch the AmnestyInternational group. The assembly highlighted the importance of human rights andcampaigns that Amnesty International are involved in, such as the unethical use of childlabour in the production of palm oil and the unfair detainment of political activists. Thegroup will meet regularly this academic year and all students are welcome to attend, toexamine further some of the current campaigns Amnesty are involved in.

Finham Park Theatre TripDrama students from year 9, 10, 12 and 13joined Mrs Spokes and Miss Hall on a trip toWarwick Arts centre in October to seeKneehigh’s new production, FUP.The innovative theatre company broughttheir fable-style performance to life usingsinging, dancing, live music, audienceparticipation and puppetry. The group had a fantastic time laughing andsinging along and our sixth formers even had the opportunity to speak to thedirector and cast afterwards in the post-show talk. A great theatre trip for all!

Mrs Spokes

Colleges

Season’s greetings! It has been anexciting first term for four Colleges; ourinter-College competition is well underway! We have been incredibly impressedwith the number of students participatingin College Events during Activity Week,clearly demonstrating a real enthusiasmto gain as many points as possible for theirindividual colleges.At each Activity Week there has beenover 200 participants, which isphenomenal. We thank students for beingso positive about the range of activities

that are offered. From the ‘Floor is Lava’ to the nail biting ‘Chess’ competition, there reallyis a lot on offer for students to recognise their talents and enjoy their time at Finham ParkSchool. A particular favourite this year has been the Mario Kart competition. Mr Elliott’s roomwas absolutely packed and there were roars of excitement.As part of our drive for Children in Need, our second Activity Week was themed on theexcellent fundraising the charity does. This year’s theme was to recognise each andeveryone’s talents, providing us with an excellent opportunity to celebrate students’ talentsduring Activity Week. As in previous years, we held a special Children in Need Finham BakeOff; students decorated their cakes under the pressure of the clock and then donated theircakes to the cake sale on Friday. The cake sale was very popular indeed… the demandwas high and the staff dished out the delicious delights as quickly as possible, raising moneyfor the charity. As well as this, the Sixth Form developed the atmosphere around the schoolwith a Flash Mob and students were able to wear their own clothes, donating a pound toChildren in Need. Through our fundraising, we raised £1249.00 for Children in Need.With all this excitement, it is important to share with you our current standings. So withoutfurther ado, in last place is, certainly not the Bestgate this year, Westgate with 40 points, with4 extra points we have a surprising 3rd place for our Eager Eastgate, in second place wehave our Sensational Southgate with 49 points and finally top of the board by a long shotis our Northern Stars. Northgate is currently leading with a massive 63 points! (Boo! Hiss!) Thingscould and have all changed in contrast to previous years so it is important students keepcoming to help out their Colleges!Finally, Activity Week could not be the success it is without the students who continue tosupport us each half term. Well done to the following students who will all be receiving acollege badge for their excellent attendance and participation in our inter-collegecompetition:Kye David, Priyanka Harsha, Joshua Tait, Lucy Tait, Owen Wilson and Aiden Brown. Well Done!

Year 9 Author visitAt the start of December we welcomed American author Neal Shustermanwho spoke to year 9 students from across the MAT about his newest bookSythe. It was very interesting to hear about his inspirations and get great tipsfor writing. Neal kindly signed copies of his book, which is nominated for theCoventry Inspiration Book Awards, for students after the presentation.