d’Overbroeck’s

A co-educational independent school in Oxford for students aged 11-18

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* * * International Talent Show & Disco! * * *

Last night our International School students put on an astonishing display of talent, featuring such exotic offerings as a Persian piano recital, a Mongolian vocal performance and a Turkish drum solo.  After the excitement of the performances, several members of staff became carried away and were seen heading towards the dance floor wearing loud shirts (only to be return shortly afterwards muttering something about the beats being ‘too fast’).  But at least the students enjoyed the disco, which roared on to the very late hour of 9pm.

Something for everyone at our Yrs 7-11 Winter Concert

Where to begin? Well, I suppose, at the beginning – it is, after all, a very good place to start. Our Orchestra (known in the Music Department as ‘super-orchestra’ because it draws on students from Year 7-13 and is the largest ever assembled (at d’Overbroeck’s, that is)) got us straight into the Christmas mood with a wonderful performance of Leroy Anderson’s Sleigh Ride, featuring not just sleigh bells but the crack of the driver’s whip, courtesy of Tamir in the percussion section! But where to go from there?

There were amazing solo performances and a feast of ensemble pieces; there was classical music, pop, rock, jazz, Christmas carolling, African drums, Argentinian Tango, Latin and Disco. Quite literally, something for everyone. Picking highlights is nearly impossible, but the ‘Feelin’ Good’ as performed by Romany, Emmie, Omri and Nieve, with Archie on drums and Kit on bass was something that will linger in the memory for a long time. One of the real delights was seeing all of the students, from Year 7 to 11, perform with confidence and style, happy in what they were doing and giving pleasure to everyone there. Special thanks go to the Sixth Form students who came down to perform in the orchestra and with our Gaudeamus choir, to Anne-Marie Jones who accompanied Dan, Bea and Thomas on her cello in their performance of Pachelbel’s evergreen Canon in D, to Archie and Kit for helping out whenever required, to Leah Howard and the catering team for organising the lovely interval refreshments and to my wonderful colleagues in the Music Department- incredibly talented and a joy to work with. Here is an email from one of our audience that sums it all up:

 “Just to say that I loved being at last night’s concert – and I suspect that this went for everyone else there. Everything about it was heartwarming – the quality and range of the music and of the performances, [and] the self-assured enthusiasm…..”

Richard Poyser, Director of Music

Youth vs Experience – oh yes, it’s the Staff vs Students annual footie match!

For the second year running, staff proved they were superior with a crushing 3-1 victory at Oxford City on Tuesday evening. (At which point does it become clear that this piece has been written by a staff member?)

Students started the game with high energy creating numerous opportunities early on but nothing to worry goalkeeper, Ben Martin. Tired legs from the staff ten minutes in were relieved when they got a foothold in the game, holding onto possession a lot more frequently. The game would get its first goal half way through the first half, when after some scintillating build up play, Tom Weedon threaded Paul Richards through to slot home, 1-0. The lead lasted only 5 minutes after some nice play from Upper Sixth student Sam on the right; he found Lower Sixther Jaume who placed the ball into the far corner, 1-1. With 2 minutes to play staff whipped a corner in which students failed to clear. The ball fell to Tom Weedon who had the simplest of jobs prodding the ball home. The first half was a battle of the midfields, but with the Students defence opening up and Staff fitness lowering, the second half was sure to be more open.

Students again started the half well with Greg (U6) missing a golden opportunity for the students to take the lead. A show of experience at the back from Martin Proctor and Johny Richards was key in stopping the student team from breaking forward regularly. Frustration was beginning to show on the students, with a wild challenge from James (U6) on Johny Richards, gaining the game’s first yellow card. When a loose ball was lumped forward, Rob Barker latched onto it and superbly lobbed the ball over the keeper, only for Referee Oli (L6) to flag him offside. This was becoming a regular occurrence with flag-happy Oli proving to be the best defender for students. With time ticking the students were pushing hard, searching for an equaliser. However, when the impressive Alex Newton picked up the ball and released Tom Weedon, curtains were calling. He squared the ball to an equally impressive Rob Barker who got a well-deserved goal, leaving the match with a final score of Staff 3-1 Students.

A huge thanks to all the staff and students that took part, giving up their own time to play in a what can only be described as a competitive contest.

Man of the Match – A collective team effort from the staff proving that experience beats youth!

Curious Incident showcases Year 10 drama talent

Last week saw a group of year ten students perform a stage adaptation of Mark Haddon’s well-known and loved novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time.  The book is titled after a line in a Sherlock Holmes story, and begins with the mysterious murder of a pet dog.  Christopher Boone, a young man of considerable mathematical ability but little empathy, decides to investigate the crime, leading him to uncover some unhappy family truths in the process…

I saw the final performance on Friday night and was so impressed with the nine students who were involved.  They worked brilliantly as a team and created a slick and engaging show in the intimate confines of the Drama Studio.  The play deals with family breakdown and all the students played their roles with maturity, sensitivity and humour.

As Christopher’s father and mother, Giuliano and Tom really captured both the frustration and tenderness provoked by raising a child with challenging behaviour, whilst Simon T did a fine job of portraying Christopher himself, showing great empathy.  Leo was very memorable as the concerned elderly neighbour Mrs Alexander, inhabiting the role both physically and emotionally. Torin, David and Simon RF played a range of minor characters with real wit and precision whilst Lara and Ester took on the leading female roles with great vocal confidence.  All in all I was struck by the flexibility of the cast and the strong feeling of mutual support amongst them.

Being a Year 10 tutor this year, I know how hard the students worked to achieve this production: they have had to stay after school on two nights a week in order to rehearse.  I know they are all very grateful to Imran Mirza, an actor and theatre practitioner who directed the piece so skilfully and to d’Overbroeck’s Director of Drama Joe Swarbrick for his support on the night with the lighting and staging.  The range of theatrical techniques used meant that the piece was fast-paced and visually interesting to watch.

Thank you for a wonderful performance and I look forward to seeing the next d’Overbroeck’s drama production in the shape of the upcoming ‘Legally Blonde’ in the new year.

Rachel Thanassoulis, Head Of English, Years 7-11

Natasha’s artwork in print

Year 10 student Natasha has had her illustrations published in a new children’s book, ‘Marija and the Nightingale – A Moonlight Journey’.  The book is an English/Montenegrin bilingual publication written by Angela Kecojevic (who is also our Sixth Form Librarian) for the Marija Kotri Foundation in Montenegro.

Marija was only thirteen years old when she tragically lost her life in a train accident in Niksic, Montenegro.  The Foundation visits schools raising track awareness and promoting creative arts. Natasha created her amazing artwork with the help of Wendy Rawding, Art teacher at d’Overbroeck’s Years 7-11. All proceeds from the book will go to the Foundation. We are very proud and excited of Natasha’s achievement!

The images above and below show Angela presenting Natasha with a copy of the finished book, some plates of her artwork and her work on display at the book launch in Montenegro recently.

Creative Writing competition winners awarded

This year the d’Overbroeck’s creative writing competition took ‘Journeys’ as its theme.  We were very pleased to have received over 75 entries once again, from Year 7 right up to Year 13.  Stories and poems were submitted on a wide range of subjects and from a variety of perspectives, from moving house as seen from the comic perspective of a family pet to Barack Obama’s journey to the Whitehouse. d’Overbroeck’s Principal, Emma-Kate, and external judges from BBC Radio Oxford, OX County magazine, The Oxford Times and The Story Museum were joined by Rachel Thanassoulis (Head of English years 7-11) and Angela Kecojevic (Sixth Form Librarian and children’s author) in the unenviable task of whittling down the entries.

First prize was awarded to Joseph in Year 10 for ‘Starman’, a very well-formed and sinister story set on a space station.

Second prize went to Leonie in Year 8 for an ambitious and imaginative short story about the relationship between a young boy and his grandfather.

Joseph and Leonie are pictured above with Sophie Grubb from the Oxford Times who was one of the judges.

The Third prize was won by Giuliano in Year 10 for a piece inspired by his grandmother’s immigration from Italy to Canada many years ago.

Nine other pieces, by the following students, were highly commended: Malek and Matilda (Year 7), Tabby (Year 9), Rebecca and Helena (Year 10), Anna and Vasco (Year 11), Skye, Mia and Gus (Year 12) and Maya (Year 13).

On Thursday of last week, we held a tea party for the winners at which they got to meet some of the judges and the First, Second and Third prize entries were read out.  All these students will also be offered the opportunity to develop their submitted pieces with Rachel and Angela in the new year at an editorial workshop.  The edited and polished pieces will be published later on in the year in an anthology: so watch this space!   Congratulations to all who won, thank you to all who entered, and keep writing…

Last week on the pitches…

Hockey vs Kingham Hill (5-5)
Wednesday 28 November 2018

An interesting fixture took place on Wednesday for the Year 8 and 9 Hockey Girls. Due to a miscommunication with Kingham the girls ended up playing a Year 11-13 team. As a way of making up for their error Kingham donated 4 members of their team to make it an 11 a side game.

The match started off very well with Milly H and Emily having some fantastic touches and pushing the ball up into the Kingham half. With Daisy in midfield and Minnie and Ciara in defence Kingham struggled to get the ball through, but got the first goal in. Cassidy and Millie P brought the ball through and managed to counter the score, with the first half ending in a narrow 4-3 to Kingham.

With some encouraging and supportive feedback from the Kingham players the girls were feeling strong going back into second half. However, the match was halted due to a torrential rainstorm with the final score a remarkable 5-5.  All the girls played incredibly well, working together as a team and showing true grit and determination, especially considering the soaking they got!

Thanks go to Kingham Hill for hosting our last hockey fixture of the season. Lots of netball fixtures are in the calendar for next term so we are looking forward to many more exciting games.

Year 10 Rugby v Sibford School
Thursday 29 November

After a slow start by the d’Overbroeck’s Year 10 Rugby Team where they allowed Sibford to score twice easily in the first few minutes of the game, the boys really had to gather their wits and start to play a more controlled game of rugby. Firstly, Fionn scored in the corner after a fabulous scrum and passing along the backs. Simon completed one of his now trademark sprints the length of the pitch to score under the posts. The team were up against a very strong and skilful opposition, however, they never gave up the fight and continued to battle away at the opposition with strong tackles and wonderful running onto the ball to break through the opposition’s defence. Further tries by: Fionn; Adam (2); Simon and Kit finished off excellent work by the other players; our scrummaging was especially powerful.

This resilient effort was just not quite enough to beat the opposition, however, we believe their fighting spirit and ‘never give up’ attitude, was the best seen at d’Overbroeck’s… d’Overbroeck’s scored 7 tries; Sibford scored 9 tries and 3 conversions. Well done boys!

Year 7 Rugby v Sibford School
Tuesday 26 November

Yet again the weather gods were against us as we took the field against Sibford School last Tuesday. The combined elements of heavy rain, strong winds and bracing cold would have had Bear Grylls running for cover and a hot chocolate! The boys participated in the match with great fortitude and effort in the inclement conditions which made ball handling a problem. I must congratulate all the boys for their perseverance and I hope our next match will take place in calmer conditions. A special mention must go to all relatives who braved the weather to support the boys. Well done.

Hannah’s pre-med work experience

Upper Sixth student Hannah Krakolining is now in her second year at d’Overbroeck’s Sixth Form.  One of her goals during this academic year is to secure the offer of a place studying Medicine at one of the UK’s top universities.  To this end, she undertook both a medical training project in London over the summer break as well as securing work experience at the John Radcliffe Hospital.

Hannah applied to d’Overbroeck’s Sixth Form already knowing that she wanted to go on to study Medicine and become a Doctor.  Work experience being one of the key criteria for application to medical school, Hannah started applying early.  She met all the given deadlines for applications and was therefore surprised to find she was receiving replies saying that the hospital or department was already oversubscribed.  She says that her Director of Studies, Jaimie Tarrell, has been extremely helpful in advising and supporting her through her first year of A Levels. However, Hannah points out that, hospitals don’t accept applications via schools, only directly from students, so although teachers can advise on who and how to approach, the enquiry has to come from the student themselves.

Eventually, Hannah secured 5 days of work experience in the Obstetrics and Gynaecology department at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. In fact the JR had already turned her down for a work placement when she met a consultant from the Obstetrics and Fetal Medicine team at d’Overbroeck’s Careers Evening in June. After chatting with Hannah, the consultant encouraged her to apply again, which she did – following up with calls and emails – and towards the end of the summer holidays she finally heard that she’d been accepted (she later learned that she was the first work experience student they’d taken into that unit).

During her time with the Fetal Medicine Unit, Hannah was able to observe a number of ultrasound scans on expectant mothers with high-risk pregnancies. She also witnessed an in-utero fetal blood transfusion (a procedure which is only carried out around 25 times a year at the JR) and attended consultations in the diabetes clinic for women whose babies had developed gestational diabetes. She says she was struck by the way the doctors were able to talk with empathy to patients and then switch to clinical focus when carrying out a procedure, as well as how calm they were able to appear in high-stress situations.

Earlier in the summer, Hannah had also attended a week-long course with The London Medical Project which helps prepare students of Sixth Form age for medical applications. She and other students in her group spent time in the teaching departments of several London hospitals, including King’s Hospital and Imperial College. They worked in teams in simulation suites where they could question a dummy ‘patient’ to establish a medical profile and their instructor, operating the dummy remotely, would respond as the ‘patient’. They also learned about interpreting cardiograms and X-rays as well as aspects of mental health and ethics. Throughout the week they were accompanied by a Junior Doctor and they also met with medical students from UCL and an Army Doctor who talked to them about alternative routes to pursue Medicine within the Armed Forces.

Back at d’Overbroeck’s, Hannah is continuing to work on her Extended Project which is entitled “Will uterine transplantation replace surrogacy as a treatment for MRKH syndrome? She has decided to apply in particular to universities offering systems-based medical courses (where systems in the body, such as the circulatory system, are studied in terms of the anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, pharmacology, pathology, all at once).

Jaimie Tarrell says, “Hannah is one of our top students. The application process for medical courses is always tough but judging by Hannah’s performance in the large number of practice interviews we have been conducting, she should impress at the up-coming interviews that she been invited to.”

“* Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome

Historic highlights and dancing on ice in Winchester

Students from the International School at d’Overbroeck’s took a day trip to Winchester last Saturday to see the wonderful medieval cathedral, do a bit of shopping at the annual Christmas market and take advantage of the seasonal outdoor ice rink.

Those who didn’t fancy a lesson from our champion ice hockey player, Drive Jorjaroenruk, chose instead to take in the sartorial delights of ‘I Do’ – Winchester Art Gallery’s temporary exhibition of wedding dresses.

  

English Speaking Union Debate Competition

On Monday 26 November, two Sixth Form members of d’Overbroeck’s Debating Club, Alice Summerfield (left) and Anna-Maria Woodrow (right), represented d’Overbroeck’s in the first round of the annual English Speaking Union Debating Competition.

Held at Oxford Spires Academy,  there were six teams debating in total, representing schools with excellent history in this competition such as Cheney School, Abingdon School and Headington School. There were three debates in total, and the Judges would choose the three best teams overall to progress to the next round in January 2019.  In the first two debates, the teams from Abingdon and Headington stood out as being tough competition. The Abingdon boys in particular were not lacking in confidence in their delivery; whilst the girls from Headington were tenacious and well-prepared debaters.

Our team, representing d’Overbroeck’s in the ESU competition for the first time, were in the final debate of the evening, and had a tricky motion to argue; that “This house would weight votes such that the younger the voter, the more powerful their vote”. Their opponents, Cheney School, have a strong pedigree in this competition and, as expected, put forward an accomplished case for the opposition. Yet our two warmed up nicely during their speeches, giving excellent points of information, and reacting very well to the points raised by the opposition and the floor.

As the Judges retired to consider their verdict, it is perhaps fair to say that Alice and Anna-Maria were not feeling hugely confident. After an agonising wait, the judges finally returned and the verdict was announced:

“The three teams to progress to Round 2 of the ESU Competition, 2018-2019 are: Cheney School…. Headington School… and…. d’Overbroeck’s!”

Massive congratulations to Alice and Anna-Maria! An amazing performance. Next stop, Round 2!

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