Year 10 St Ives Art trip

On Monday Plymstock Art Department went to St Ives on our annual Y10 Art trip. As usual it was a really interesting day, with students showing a great sense of engagement with all the different artwork on display. We went to Tate St Ives and saw a broad mix of modern and contemporary art work, as well as visiting Barbara Hepworth’s home and garden which have now been made into a museum. As always the students were impeccably behaved and the accompanying staff were incredibly complimentary about them.

Ethics and Philosphy in Cultures EPIC – Experiences of Apartheid

Geraldine Bromfield has been back again this year visiting our Year 9 students to tell them about her experiences of Apartheid (the system of racial segregation in South Africa 1948–1994). She told the students about the way the system worked, what it meant for her and her family, how she and other students demonstrated against Apartheid, and the role of Nelson Mandela as a figurehead of the Apartheid protests. She was, as always, outstanding. She was delighted by our students’ interest, their questions and their wisdom.

Criminology

Last week Year 12 criminology students were lucky enough to have a talk by a familiar face, Mr Chivers. He is currently an Assistant Head of Year but previously worked for the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary. Mr Chivers spoke to the students about policing structures and the different roles within the force. Students learnt about the different focuses there have been in community policing and how government budgets and policies have dictated the way that the police have been able to perform their roles. The students found the talk incredibly useful and we thank Mr Chivers for his time.

As promised last week more poems from Year 7 as part of National Poetry Day

This year’s theme is ‘Truth’ and some poems from the National Poetry Day resources have linked perfectly with the recent workshops we have done with ‘Protection Approaches’, and themes in our Life Education collapsed sessions – exploring the idea of feeling marginalised by society and how expressing yourself through poetry can be a powerful tool. KS3 English classes spent time exploring their own ideas and perspectives of truth and composed poems either on their own or as part of a group.

With some additional poems from students in Year 8 and 9.

and finally…

We now reach our student of the week section. Our winners include:

Amelia took part in a dance competition from Friday 4th October to Monday 7th. Her and her group came 5th overall in a competition which included people from all across the UK. She did brilliantly!

Louis has shown real commitment in his subjects, working especially hard on his homework. We are so impressed with his attitude – keep it up!

Becca has been nominated by her Head of Year for her constantly cheerful and helpful personality.

Neave is a student who really typifies our Plymstock values. She works hard, she goes the extra mile, she is a great friend, and she always has a smile on her face and is showing remarkable resilience at present. Mrs Harris and Ms Offer are so impressed with her maturity and positive outlook.

Destine – she works so hard, she volunteers to help whenever she can; she doesn’t “blow her own trumpet” but contributes so much to our school. I am incredibly proud of her.