Plymstock School – Plymstock, Plymouth, Devon

Friday 27th November 2020

Sixth Form Charity Week

This week the opening part of our blog has been written and edited by our Student Column Team of Anna, Destine and Abbie with some extracts from this week’s edition.

Last week saw our annual Sixth Form Charity Week but not in its usual form. Nonetheless, the senate team creatively overcame this with virtual competitions to try and raise some money for their two chosen charities (Cancer Research UK and Children’s Hospice South West). We have raised over £100 so far and are still counting, so thank you for all your kind donations and entry fees.

Plymstock’s Got Talent – Virtual Competition

1st place – Matthew D (Year 7) – for his wonderful singing
2nd place- Ocean G and Daisy B (Year 8) – fabulous duet
3rd place – Danielle C (Year 9) – Fantastic dance performance

A special mention to Mr Bellamy for effort and inventiveness :D!

Best Pet – Multiple Categories

Best Trick: Isobel C (Year 7)

Coolest Pet: Miss Fairhead

Best Dressed Pet: Anna McFarlane (Year 12)

Cutest Pet: Olivia G (Year 11)

Most Tutor Entries 7LHD

Face Masks

1st: Ava S ( Year 8)
2nd: Keira G (Year 7)
3rd: Grace W (Year 7) and Dylan B (Year 7)

Guess the Teacher

Students had lots of fun guessing who the staff photos belonged to – some amazing pictures through the ages of our staff! Winners will be announced next week due to illness.

We are working on our creative piece – thank you for the donations and 1ps and 2ps

Prizes will be delivered to pastoral hubs over the course of the next few days.

TEACHER OF THE MONTH:

Below you will find this week’s nominations for teacher of the week, which includes our hard working premises and cleaning team who came into the school last weekend. We really appreciate them doing this so we could all return on Monday.

In addition we would like to give a special award, starting with this man who teaches us all.

This week saw us draw the first “Teacher of the Month” winner. The way it works is that any teacher who is nominated for Teacher of the Week in a month gets put into a hat and a name is drawn. This staff member gets the honour of being Teacher of the Month and wins a special Student Column trophy! All of this month’s winners were put into a hat and the winner was: MR SPRENKEL! Well done to him.

Needless to say he was his usual modest self and was somewhat reluctant to be photographed and overwhelmed by his prize.

Thank you for reading this week’s Student Column! Have a great weekend.

Remembrance Competition

The winning poster for the Remembrance Competition is outstanding in both design and execution.

It’s the picture above. A huge well done goes to Destine our winner. A special mention to all our students who entered – some of the other entries are pictured below; they are all creative ,thoughtful and moving.

Thank you for the effort and time you put into this work.

Mrs Wilkins

Bread Making

Year 7 have been amazing at taking up the challenge of bread making. They have been studying the 5 main ingredients in bread and what their functions are. They have learnt about leavened and unleavened bread and the practical task last week was to make a batch of bread rolls.

The recipe they used had extra sugar added and this generates more energy for the yeast to react and cuts down the proving time. They were also given the option of making soda bread from scratch, which is unleavened bread.

Many took up the challenge and the results can be seen in the images.

I couldn’t add them all but we are so proud of all their efforts and the results that they have achieved.

Ms Pring

Year 11 Mock Time

We’d like this week to pay a special tribute to all our Year 11’s undertaking their study for their mocks which started on Monday.

Some of our Year 11’s are self-isolating and Mrs Harris wanted to give them a special mention. She was impressed to learn from a parent that there is a Zoom study group going and at 4.30pm every day they all link up and discuss what they’ve learnt and help each other out with any difficulties they’re having.

Well done to all of Year 11 on their conduct this week, simply outstanding students.

Mrs Harris and Mrs Smith also want to give an additional special shout out to Mr Bellamy whose been helping out with Year 11 over the last week and with other Year groups as we’ve managed staff absence. He’s been invaluable to all of us, a real positive force and an Absolute Plymstock legend!

Virtual Parents’ Evening

On Wednesday evening, we saw another Plymstock School first and we made Plymstock history!

Thank you to all our staff, students and parents/carers who took part in making our virtual parents’ evening such a success.

There were the inevitable glitches but the overwhelming feedback has been positive, thank you for your resilience and the way you embraced this new technology.

This comment is typical of many we have received:

Just dropping you a quick line to say thanks to you and the Year 10 team for the inaugural online parents evening – we managed to see all of the teachers with only a couple of screen freezes and just one conversation cut off in its prime! It’s great to see the school adapting to the strange circumstances that 2020 has thrown up and we appreciate all the effort that has gone into maintaining business as (almost) usual for our children.”

It was a little different, slightly like goggle box! I’m sure we will get used to it but one positive; it does seem to have helped us reflect on the normal rush from work to home and the struggle for our on-site and limited parking. Whilst we all miss the face-to-face experience, it may have created a positive on how we work and interact together on evenings in the future.

Thank you to all who took part.

Democracy and British Values at Plymstock School

Democracy and an appreciation of voting is an important British Value and Citizenship skill and we are encouraging all Plymstock School students to vote as part of the Mark Your Mark campaign and Parliament Week.

For example, Life Education students have been set the task to vote as part of their homework. Students need to vote on one local and one national priority and this will help the UK Youth Parliament decide on their key priorities for the year ahead. The closing date for votes to be counted is 30th November.

The link to the voting page for anyone aged between 11-18 to vote is: https://www.ukparliamentweek.org/en/make-your-mark/

The Golden Ticket

Each week this event brings real excitement. Please find this week’s winners below:

We’d also like to give a special mention to Sue Bettison one of our many hard working TAs. Sue has been creatively adding the inter year rivalry on the ticket collection boxes. Pictured below is the transition of the Year 10 box. Thank you Sue

Golden Ticket Winners for last week were:

Year 7 – Poppy S
Year 8 – Emily P
Year 9 – Holly T
Year 10 – draw to happen – watch this space for the update
Year 11 – Caitlin B
6th form – Joy O

A massive well done to these students

Students of the week – Lots of nominations this week!

Well done to all and an absolute delight to meet you and present your certificates

All our winners have demonstrated Endeavour, Resilience and Empathy; Plymstock School students striving to “Be the best you can be”

Our winners include:

In Year 7

Luke nominated by Mrs Matthews as he has shown kindness, compassion and empathy to other students this week; these are top qualities and we are super proud of him.
Design & Technology: Miss Pring has nominated the following for their hard work and star baker quality in their food lessons: Jayleigh, Charles, Hermione, Tristan and Courtney
Ondrei has been nominated by Mrs Withey for writing an outstanding GCSE style History essay on ‘Who was most to blame for the sinking of the Titanic’. Additionally, not only did he achieve the highest level possible, but he volunteered to coach another student who missed some of the previous lesson (in a Covid secure way). His positivity is infectious and his work ethic is exemplary.
The following have been nominated by Mrs Hawker for super work in music: Rebecca, Lily, Blake and Josh.

In Year 8

Grace has been nominated by Mr Davies for working really hard in the career lessons and having such a determined mindset!
Joel has been nominated by Mr Davies for some great answers and interactions in Computing lessons this week!
Darcey has been nominated by Mr Davies for her determination and research skills during careers sessions to find out more about a future in Japan!
Daisy B has been nominated by Mr Davies for her researching skills and engagement when looking at future careers
Mrs Hawker has nominated the following for grasping some difficult rhythms in their Samba lessons. Well done Mahi, Travis and Lilia.

In Year 9

Jessica has been nominated by Mrs Slade for her amazing and thoughtful piece of creative work on the topic of grief. It’s pictured below.
Keenan has been nominated by Miss Davis and Mr Wookey for his resilience and empathy this week at break and lunchtime
Mrs Hawker has nominated the following for super work in Music. Well done to: Robyn, Maya, Tia and Alisha.

In Year 10

Thomas has been nominated by Miss Pring for his mature attitude and positive work ethic in every Design & Technology lesson. He is a model student and not only works hard for himself but is prepared to help others.
Zach has been nominated by Miss Pring for his consistency in his BTEC Construction lessons. He has shown a very mature attitude to his studies and is showing great understanding.
Imogen has been nominated by Mr Davies for trying really hard to be the best she can be in business lessons.
Jessica has been nominated by Mr Davies for surprising herself with the amount of things she knew in business and has been doing well.
Evie has been nominated by Mr Davies for always gets on with the task in hand and for consistently putting in a huge amount of effort.
Emma has been nominated by Mr Davies for never being afraid to ask questions to improve her work!
Lauren has been nominated by Mr Davies for never being afraid to ask questions to improve her work!
Jasmine has been nominated by Mr Dott for the impressive feat of receiving three Golden Tickets across the first four lessons of one day! A sign of great commitment across her curriculum.
Isabelle has been nominated by Miss Bettison for her constant hard work and always trying her best
Mrs Swan has nominated two students for consistent effort in Computer Science and a superb Mini Mock test score. Well done to both Callum and Owen – some impressive scores!

In Year 11

Ollie and Kye have been nominated by Mr Davies for putting in an immense amount of effort into improving their coursework during after school sessions and attending consistently! Well done to: Ollie, and Kye
Kye has in addition been nominated by Miss Pring in D&T for making amazing progress in his theory knowledge; he scored particularly well in a recent test.
Mia has been nominated by Mrs Tendell for her commitment to preparation for her mock exam in RS.
Harry has been nominated by Mrs Smith as he has been an absolute pleasure this week and we are particularly proud of his attitude towards his exams.

Post 16 nominations

In Year 12:

Applied Science: Beth H for keeping up to date with her work whilst isolating!
History: Abi C for excellent effort on an essay entitled ‘The reasons for the creation of the NHS’
MKC Heroes and Mrs Wilkins: Destine B for the winning poster for the Remembrance Competition – outstanding in both design and execution. A huge well done goes to Destine. Thank you for the effort and time you put into this work. I also praise you for all you are doing on the Student Bulletin. You really are a model Plymstock School Student.
Sixth Form Senate team: For their planning and execution of the virtual Charity Week – not an easy task having to come up with new inventive (Covid safe) ideas for fundraising

Well done to Ed B, Holly B, Abi C, Erin M, Tegan T, Anna McF and Destine B – simply outstanding, thank you to all of you for making the impossible, possible.

In Year 13:

RS: Eva N for being proactive in asking for work even when she is not feeling well. She always makes sure that she is up to date with work and ensures that she works to the best of her ability.
History: for their excellent effort on coursework: Dan P, Charlotte P, Ruth F-E, Dan R and Lauren B
Physics: Harriet R for persevering in Physics and making great improvements since returning to school in September
German: Maddie C for being proactive in applying for and being accepted onto the Youth Webinar Series on Sustainability for German.
Health & Social Care: Mrs Dover has nominated the whole group for their positive attitude and maintaining a sense of humour in these challenging times. Mrs D says “They are also working pretty well too!” Congratulations goes to: Chloe, Tabitha, Ebony, Summer, Nakyta, Zoe, Alex, Freya, Grace, Lucy, Millie , Olivia, Robyn, Sasha, Aliya and Jas
Sixth Form Senate team: For their planning and execution of the virtual Charity Week – not an easy task having to come up with new inventive (Covid safe) ideas for fundraising.

Well done to Kate S, Ed B, Emma F, Shannalea R and Holly T.

This week’s TEACHERS OF THE WEEK:

Mrs Smith was nominated by a student in year 11 who said she “really deserves the teacher of the week. She managed the situation of students having to isolate really well and has been very kind to me when I felt a bit overwhelmed.”
Mr Farrant was nominated by Finley and Lillie in year 8 “For being a nice teacher.”
Mr Wallace – He’s a fun maths teacher – From Finley in Year 8
Mr Withey – For being a good teacher – From Lillie in Year 8
Mr Hutchens – He’s a legend – From Year 8
Mrs Slade – For being nice and Generous – From Cacey and Jaiden in Year 8
Mr Chick was nominated by three students in his year 12 drama class for the amazing lesson introducting them to expressionism. They really enjoyed it.
Mrs Crookston, the Premises team and the Cleaners were nominated by Mrs Tendell. She said “They are all working incredibly hard to allow us a safe and comfortable learning environment.”