Aspire Act Achieve

Once again, the Year 10 Hospitality and Catering students were treated to a visit from Taste of Game and BASC South East, with the focus on creating an awareness of where our food comes from and the use of game in cooking. Michelle Nudds joined us with a brace of pheasants and a wonderful demonstration was had on how to pluck and prepare the birds for cooking. The students were quite intrigued, with the demonstration and a couple of students even came up and had a go at plucking. The students then portioned out the pheasant and cooked the meat to make tasty, fresh Pheasant Fajitas.

This year Christmas Cookery took a slightly different slant and the club was run by invitation only. This proved to be very successful and the student enjoyed making the dishes and obviously sharing them with others too. Recipes like Shortbread, mince pies and reindeer biscuits were made, and students seemed to really enjoy the informal relaxed environment that was offered.

Look out in the bulletin for a possible Easter cookery club coming up.

Recently, a group of approximately 40 year 8 boys and girls – selected by one of their performing arts teachers – took part in our second Enrichment Day. Led by Ms Lisby (drama), Mr Cull (music), Ms Fenner (dance), the students rehearsed and performed an extract from 'Grease’ which involved the famous song ‘Summer Loving’. It was an busy, frenetic! but ultimately rewarding day which culminated – after much choreography, acting and a singing practise – with a presentation to a group of parents in the drama studio. Although the students had only had a limited time to prepare, the performance was fantastic and very impressive, highlighting what these Enrichment Days are designed for.

A big thank you to the students for taking part and responding in such an enthusiastic way, and to Ms Lisby, Mr Cull and Ms Fenner for giving up their time to make the day such a success.

Mr Chance

Some weeks ago our GCSE Year 10 Photography students enjoyed an evening at Gunwharf Quays. Our Grand Finale was the opportunity to take some light painting experiments in front of and around the Spinnaker Tower from the Spice Island.

Amy arranged the group beautifully to undertake a light painting group shot. The outcome of which is attached. Our students were fantastic company and they had a great time making the most of any opportunity to get that perfect photograph from just the right viewpoint. The photo is a very positive reflection of our trip and is a good news story to share on our website or via twitter.

We had a similarly successful trip to London too. Students visited The Barbican; St Pauls Cathedral; City Hall; the Millennium Bridge and The London Eye to take photos in response to ‘Structures and Unusual Viewpoints’.

Both these trips had the same ‘focus’ and that is to build-up a portfolio of high-quality and thoughtfully considered photographs that they can use in this and future projects.

On the 14th November year 8 pupils took part in a Spanish enrichment experience held at Sarisbury Junior School. They worked in carousel groups where they learnt about various aspects of Spanish culture. One rotation consisted of flamenco dancing lessons led by a professional flamenco dancer, with an aim to create a production to perform to parents later in the day. Pupils also had the opportunity to enhance their vocabulary on Mexican foods by creating some homemade guacamole from scratch and then the took part in a role play, in which our year 8 pupils acted as waiters to the year 6 “customers”, practising a vital skill for their speaking exams and any future visits to Spain. Finally, students participated in abstract art lessons using oil pastels to create their own Picasso-inspired masterpieces.

Some of the comments from the pupils on the day include:

The visit to Sarisbury was an incredible experience as, not only were our pupils treated to an enjoyable and educational day, but it also gave the year 6 pupils a chance to meet some of our year 8 pupils so they will already know some friendly faces upon arrival into year 7. Hopefully this will make the transition a little less daunting for them and they will be inspired to continue their Spanish studies throughout their time at Brookfield.

On the 30th November 2018, Year 10 Hospitality and Catering students ran Brookfield’s second Pop-Up Restaurant. This was the culmination of hours of planning, which involved working out a menu, writing time plans, advertising, costing and working out the nutrients and allergens of the meal.

The basis of the menu was the butternut squash and the giant pumpkin grown in our very own garden by the Dig-It crew. The students made roasted butternut squash and pumpkin soup served with a homemade crusty bread roll and to finish, a festive gingerbread reindeer biscuit.

Students were split in to 3 teams with a head chef in charge of producing each of the three courses. On the day they all worked incredibly hard to ensure the food was cooked and ready on time for service. Students also ran a delivery and take-out service for staff on duty.

20 staff attended the event and it was invaluable for our students to get a small taste of what it is like to work in a commercial kitchen and to serve customers. We raised an amazing £60 profit from the event which will be used to maintain the school garden.

Well done Year 10 and a massive thanks to all the staff that attended, including Mrs Sandford who came in on her day off!

Ms Sinclair.

On the 19th October and the 2nd November we took two groups of Year 10 students to Eastleigh College. Our students had a tour of the college to see the facilities on offer to them when they leave school. Students were then involved in a practical cooking lesson making use of one of the college's industrial kitchens – students were tasked with making a strawberry mille feuille.

We were then treated to a delicious three course meal in the college restaurant – East Avenue.

Many thanks to Mr Scott and Mrs Barron for accompanying us on the trip.

Ms Sinclair

To mark the Remembrance Centenary, the students of Tutor Groups B01 and P01, along with students from the Dig-It club, and with assistance from Mrs Sandford, Ms Sinclair, Mrs Smith and Mrs Sinclair, created a display of one hundred poppies constructed from used plastic bottles & planted them out in front of the School Reception.

They gave their today so we could have our tomorrow. Lest we forget.

Recently, a selected group of over 40 year 7 students engaged in an Enrichment Day where they explored the Mexican custom of 'Dia de los Muertos' or 'The Day of the Dead'. This was planned and delivered by both Mr Webb and Miss Wiltshire and housed in our new Minerva suite.

For our new year 7s, the day began with an exploration of the customs and traditions involved in the Mexican festival, followed by an introduction to the beauty of the Spanish language. Students then experimented with the creation of their own 'ofrendas' and completed the day with presentations and reflections on this learning experience.

Overall, it proved to be a thoroughly enjoyable and informative enrichment event for all concerned.

Mr Chance