Library Blog

14th October 2019Mr T Gava

Lister Library has been busier than ever this term! From when we open at 7:30am to our closing time of 5:00pm we are full of students making use of the books, chromebooks and space to complete their homework. We’re delighted that the library staff is now a team of three, with Mr Panteli joining me and Ms Connell for three days a week. We have been working hard to make sure all our new students know how to use the library and are meeting the Lister expectations around reading. With all the wonderful new stock we’ve recently acquired, our students have literally thousands of books to choose from for their daily twenty minutes of reading homework. I always say to students that it’s the best homework they’ll ever get; what could be better than escaping to a story of your own choosing?

We provide plenty of reading opportunities within the school day too, including DEAR. Introduced last year, DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) has been going from strength to strength at Lister. These fortnightly lessons give staff and students the chance to read a little around their subject. Here in the library we love supporting DEAR with resource provision, finding books, magazines, news articles and websites on all sorts of subjects. It’s fantastic to then go and see these resources used in DEAR lessons in creative and exciting ways.

This month is of course Black History Month and we are marking this in the library with a large display of relevant books both fiction and non-fiction. We also have a reading list full of suggestions accessible on our catalogue which you can find here: https://uk.accessit.online:443/lst00?serviceId=ExternalEvent&rlSn=2&rlKey=1604555025

Furthermore, we were lucky enough to be invited to Plaistow Library for a talk by acclaimed YA author Patrice Lawrence. We took forty year 9 students for this treat of an event. Patrice is an advocate for increased BAME representation in literature and she spoke passionately about the importance of all young people being able to see themselves in the books they read. It was a really inspiring talk for all of us there.

Ms Welton

Deputy Librarian

Eco-friendly Lister

4th October 2019Mr T Gava

Lister students last term were tasked with making a difference to their local community by carrying out a social action project to raise awareness of environmental issues. Working with Groundwork UK and mentors from Avison Young, the students volunteered their time to focus on the issues of food wastage and how the environment around them can impact on mental health. Four students from the cohort were awarded a paid work experience

placement with Avison Young, a global real estate firm and their efforts were also picked up by Barclays, who came in and spoke to the students before creating a short film to show at their Green Frontiers 2019 Conference. Chaired by Barclays CEO Jes Staley and Michael Bloomberg, the conference highlighted the difference the business world can make to their environment on a large scale and it all begins with the small changes individuals can make at home.
Naima Cheniya, Year 11, Hawking ‘I decided to join the programme because I wanted to see how young people can help the environment. Living in Newham for my whole life showed me the terrible decisions people make on a daily basis and how that has affected the environment including issues such as fly tipping, recycling etc. It affects not just our environment but also the rest of the world as well.
Working together with other students, I could see the different views coming together to look at ways we could make a difference to our environment. We decided on the issue of food wastage and wanted to raise awareness of how the local community can reduce this. We learnt how to use leftover food such as fruits or vegetables to reduce wastage and spent time educating the local community on ways they too can use leftover food. 
I think Lister can also do a lot to make our environment greener again. By raising awareness of these issues, students and staff can be encouraged to go out and make a difference by carrying out even the smallest of acts such as litter picking or planting more greenery…it’s as simple as that!’ 

This term, Lister students are continuing to take the climate emergency seriously. This has already been the focus of one of our ‘Thought for the Week’ sessions, and Lister was beautifully represented by six of our students at the Mayor’s Youth Assembly on this issue last month. At the same time as recognising the importance of raising awareness and a global approach to this most crucial topic, Lister students are also keen to change their own behaviour. Therefore the following will be our school focuses for this term:

  • MAKING SURE WE RECYCLE 100% OF OUR PLASTICS AND PAPER;
  • MAKING THE CANTEEN PLASTICS-FREE BY PHASING OUT BOTTLED WATER AND PUTTING IN MORE WATER FOUNTAINS;
  • WORKING WITH THE CANTEEN TO GET OUR STUDENTS TO APPRECIATE VEGETARIAN OPTIONS AND THUS REDUCE THEIR CARBON FOOTPRINT (WE MAY LATER TRY TO REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF RED MEAT BEING SERVED)
  • EDUCATING OUR STUDENTS, STAFF AND FAMILIES ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND HOW WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE;
  • WORK WITH NEWHAM COUNCIL TO TRY TO IMPROVE THE TRAFFIC SITUATION AROUND SCHOOL, THUS IMPROVING AIR QUALITY.

We will keep you posted with their efforts!

Maths News – October issue of The Möbius Strip out now! 

3rd October 2019Miss T Hall

October issue of The Möbius Strip out now!   Lister’s very own Mathematics newsletter.

Puzzles, Pythagoras’ theory explained, Why I love Maths, Mathematician Andrew Wiles, Fermat’s Last Theorem and more.

Please click on the links to see current and previous editions of the Mobius Strip

Current edition

July edition

June edition

**Every month a new newsletter will be published. We hope to fill it with mathematics news, tales from maths lessons, puzzles, problems to solve, interesting and beautiful facts from the maths world, useful mathematical tips, history of maths and the odd competition too.

Lister Students are Aiming ‘Higher’

27th September 2019Mr T Gava

The Scholars Programme at Lister Community School aims to close the gap between the opportunities given to high ability students from state schools like ours and their privately educated peers. We want to ensure that they are given experiences which will give them a competitive edge when pursuing further education and careers, and we want to provide them with the freedom to broaden their cultural capital and explore their own interests.

The ‘Higher Project’ is a fantastic opportunity for our students to expand their knowledge and skills. The Project requires students to complete a research project on a topic of their choice, this could take the form of an essay, an exhibition, a case study etc. Though students have a subject specific mentor to support them, the Project is largely independent and gives them the opportunity to complete a university-style assignment and engage with primary and secondary sources. The Higher Project is also the equivalent of a GCSE, which allows them to gain an additional qualification.

Topics can vary and this means that students can explore niche areas of interest. The Projects that are currently being completed range from the History of Art to changing attitudes towards Mental Health and the evolution of the NHS.

A year 10 student, currently in the middle of her project on the ‘History of Art’ has said ‘In general, the Higher Project is a great opportunity. It allows people to get a GCSE qualification out of a topic that they enjoy as well as helping them gain new skills that will help them in the future. For example, the Higher Project has helped me become more independent and allowed me to become more efficient.’

Students are excited and engaged by the research and eager to complete their Projects to the highest standard. On top of the research skills gained, students also improve their time management and work ethic. Students that have taken part in the Higher Project have also  been seen excelling in their classwork, proving that the Higher Project really does help our students to aim ‘higher’.

Tennis Triumphs

16th July 2019Mr T Gava
Tennis has been in full swing this summer at Lister. At the beginning of June our year 7’s and 8’s finished in 1st place in the London Youth Games U14’s indoor tennis event. This was a fantastic achievement as they were competing against the top placed schools from each borough of London. June also saw the conclusion of our annual Road to Wimbledon tennis competition. The standard was great and we had more entries than any previous year. Congratulations to Shanae and Abubakar for winning the trophies and qualifying for the Essex finals.
The Greenhouse Sports Tennis awards took place at the end of June. This is an annual event held to celebrate the successes of our participants over the past year. The event was held at the Greenhouse Sports Centre in  Westminister and our young people received a surprise treat when they got to meet a professional tennis player who is competing at this years Wimbledon! July has been just as busy. At the beginning of July a group of our most committed year 7’s went on a rewards trip to Wimbledon. We had fantastic seats on Court 1 and were lucky to get to watch Brit Heather Watson and recent Queens champion Feliciano Lopez. On July 4th a group of our aspiring tennis leaders helped umpire at the LYG primary schools tennis event. Our young people worked tirelessly and are well on their way to receiving their LTA tennis leader certifications. Finally July saw the inaugural staff & student mixed doubles tournament. The event was a great success with over 30 participants. Congratulations to Shanae, Darbaz, Mr T and Mr Mullard for winning the trophies and to team Shelley for being the top scoring House.

Music Reflections

16th July 2019Mr T Gava

This term has been busy as ever for the music team.

First of all, we had a the debut of Spider! The Musical. This is an original musical which tells the story of the misunderstood spiders, inspired by our experiences here at Lister. The performance featured the Yr7 Theatre School and Music School. It was a humorous, engaging, fun musical, performed with skill and obvious enjoyment. It was great to see so many parents, staff and students enjoying it too!

The award winning community opera ‘Full Circle’ was performed at the Southbank Centre as part of ‘Refugee Week’ at the end of June. It was a stunning setting with a huge crowd in the audience! A choir of 80 students sang while a group of drama students acted scenes linking the narrative of the songs fantastically. Next step, the Royal Albert Hall in November!

Half of our year 7 took part in a Newham Harmony Singing Day hosted by Newham Music Hub in preparation for the Albert Hall performance. The massed performance as part of the Music for Youth Prom will feature over 700 students from across the borough. At Yr11 Graduation there were some fantastic performances from our talented Yr11 students at this year’s graduation. It was such a delightful way to end the year with them and the quality of their performances really added to the occasion.

A fantastic end to the summer term was given when all 18 entries for the summer period external ABRSM Grades passed. There were 3 Distinctions and 11 Merits within those results and the number of students taking the higher exams is also increasing year on year with six grade 5 entries this summer.

And finally, the annual Music in Secondary Schools Trust residential always marks the end of the academic year. It takes place in the beautiful grounds of Radley College and involves several days of wonderful music making alongside students from other MiSST trusts. 16 Students from Lister joined with the other schools to rehearse in an 80 piece orchestra.

The Higher Project at Lister

20th June 2019Mr T Gava

Having so many young people that show huge potential academically at Lister means that we are consistently looking for ways to challenge them, broaden their skills and experience and really work to support them in developing as a well rounded individuals that will be a credit to any college, university and workplace. As part of this we decided to trial the Higher Project with a group of year 9 students in order to challenge them academically, build their research skills and give them the chance to explore an area that they are really interested in, and passionate about.

AQA’s Higher Project runs as an extension of a student’s study and allows them to gain the equivalent of a GCSE. Students are asked to research a topic area of their choice and independently complete a research project, reflecting on the process of this as they do. Students engage in taught sessions which develop skills such as time management, referencing, report writing, critical thinking, problem solving, research….the list is endless- all of which are used within college, university and the workplace. Through completing the project, it is hoped that student’s personal aspirations for future study are developed. Furthermore, the reflective based project log helps students to understand the importance of each stage of the project development process and select and use their learnt skills, helping them to develop their metacognitive awareness.

Our year 9 students have developed some really interesting ideas from the evolution of languages, to the history of medicine and an painting project exploring different artistic styles. We are also lucky to have such dedicated and clever teachers at Lister who offer support to these students through tailored supervision sessions.

The project will run until January 2020, so do look out for the final pieces then! If you are a student who is interested in doing the Higher Project next year please come and see Ms. Voisey.

A visit from NYC

30th April 2019Mr T Gava

Lister hosted some visitors from New York City last week as twenty-five students (and their teachers) from the Bronx Center for Science and Math spent a day with us during their visit to Paris and London, investigating attitudes to immigration and education, supported by PDT Partners.

BCSM students began the day with a ‘Making Music’ session, led my Mr. Morgan and Ms. Brown.  Within minutes, they were all body-drumming in unison and singing songs from Lister’s community opera, ‘Full Circle’.  They then had a tour of the school, dropping in on some English and Science lessons, before completing a History lesson on Elizabethan economy with Mr. Beck… they’ll remember MUSHPIE for life!

Teachers and students from BCSM both commented on the wide range of subjects and activities offered to Lister students.  The American system, they told us, was much more proscriptive, with less opportunity for students to choose the subjects they studied, and no music during curriculum time at all!  They were also really impressed with how challenging the work being completed by Lister students was!

The day concluded with a panel discussion – an opportunity for BCSM students to ask our students about life and education in London, and for Lister students to find out about living in New York City.  As it turns out, both sets of students had a lot in common… both groups complained about homework and school lunches, both groups though of their teachers as extended family, and all had very similar tastes in fashion, food and music!

It was a fantastic day for all involved, and we are hoping to be able to arrange a visit for some Lister students to BCSM in the not too distant future!

Dance Matters

19th March 2019Mr T Gava

The Dance Department has given the students fabulous enrichment opportunities and activities to support the curriculum this term.As well as our extensive dance clubs we organised a range of activities including workshops with Seagoney Lowe-Vidal and ex-Lister student Joseph Toonga from Just Us Dance Theatre. in January our Year 10 dancers competed in the Annual Dance Borough Competition at NewVic where they performed their ResTec piece called TranS-MYT based on the support that a person that suffers HIV and AIDs needs; they performed brilliantly and secured second place.

The Dance Department have been working hard on getting our Year 11 GCSE candidates ready for their exam next month.  This involves Intervention sessions after school and some Saturdays, meaning that they got the opportunity to work with some of our Lister Dance alumni including Alex Jarrett and Lianca Murphy (Class of 2016), Angelo Martins (class of 2017) and Prisca Ntumba (class of 2018).  Year 10s and Year 11s had a great lyrical workshop with another ex-Lister dancer Tanyel Hassan who is currently teaching dance at Curwen primary and at the Deborah Day Theatre School Trust.  We also recently found out that Lola Adaja, another Lister alumnus, has secured a role in the acclaimed Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in the WestEnd.

Lister dancers were on show at the Vital Stages Dance Platform in Barking and Dagenham; they weren’t dancing, featured in images displayed in a month long exhibition of dance.  The images chosen were from the Boys Do It Better Dance session, a workshop with Tanyel Hassan, ex-student Rakeem Murray-Martin and our own Ms Coke ‘on pointe’ with the caption ‘she wasn’t sure if she still could, she tried and she did!’

We are also pleased to announce that our partnership with UEL is going from strength to strength as we have attended a fantastic Open Day at the Stratford Campus where our students had a tour of all the facilities including the music recording studio, editing suites, the radio station, dance studios and then had some amazing master classes.
Forthcoming events include:-

  • A trip to the renowned Pineapple Dance Studio to do a commercial street dance class with Josephine Tarquinio-Singh aka ‘Lil J’
  • An evening of ‘krump’ called 3 Rounds of Amp at the London School of Contemporary Dance
  • The lunchtime dance show, Dance Episodes

Dance Department

Stressed?

7th March 2019Mr T Gava

Here’s what to do…

Stress is your body’s response to things getting too much. Everyone feels it at one time or another. We can’t stop it happening, but we can understand it and know what to do about it.

What we feel when we’re stressed is primal, cave-man stuff – that fight, flight or freeze feeling, when we can’t handle a situation, or our brain perceives we’re in danger or under threat. We feel it when there is an actual danger or threat, but also when there’s just too much to do, or we don’t feel able to do something. In this state, our bodies produce adrenaline and cortisol to help us get through the situation. And when this happens, the parts of our brain that help us think, shut down, so we can focus on survival. That’s why it’s impossible to concentrate, or think clearly, or learn, when we’re stressed.

If we experience too much stress, or we are in a constant state of underlying stress, it can cause further problems, like not being able to sleep, eating too much or too little, not being able to focus or feeling anxious all the time.

So what can we do about it?

  • Know the triggers: what kind of thing makes you stressed? Is there a pattern? Is there any way to avoid it, or approach it differently? Is there someone that could help you with it?
  • Be realistic about what you can do: often stress is a result of feeling overwhelmed and this can be because we’ve over-committed or taken on a task that we don’t feel able to do. We can’t do anything well when we’re stressed, so it’s best to be be realistic and ask for help or say no to things we can’t manage.
  • Look after yourself: sometimes, all we need to do is get more sleep and/or eat better. Stress can make us eat more, or not eat enough. It can also make us crave the wrong kind of foods, like those high in sugar and fat, which end up making us feel worse. The healthier we are the better we are able to cope with stress.
  • Get into your body, not your head! Endorphins, released by our bodies when we exercise, improve the quality of our sleep and reduce stress. We can even produce endorphins by breathing deeply, which is why relaxation and meditation can help too.

If you would like to talk to someone about a worry or anything else, you could speak to your Tutor, Pastoral Manager or Anti-bullying Ambassador, make an appointment with Place2Be (via your House) or use the online anonymous counselling service Kooth.com.

Elizabeth Denton