Cakes, Poetry, Judo, Ethics and more cakes!
Now that is a recipe!
Macmillan coffee morning
In lessons Year 10 raised money for Macmillan coffee morning by making cupcakes and then donating their proceeds to this worthy cause.
The Design and Technology team were very proud of their efforts!
Life Education
As part of our Life Education Curriculum we hold a series of ‘Collapsed Sessions’ throughout the year. Tuesday saw the first of these sessions and the focus was Citizenship and Staying Safe (On and Offline).
Year 7 and 10 Tutor Groups were mixed so the students could work together on a series of activities designed by the Anti-Bullying Alliance. These activities complement the Year 7 Life Education programme where we look at positive and negative relationships.
The focus for Year 8 was Internet Safety looking particularly at the issue of Online Consent. Mr Rogers, our Head of ICT, also held an impromptu discussion about mobile phone technology and safety settings!
The aim of the Year 9 session was to raise awareness of people with learning disabilities and autism as part of our diverse society. Our students were also encouraged to explore ways to question, challenge and change discriminatory behaviour.
Finally, the Year 11 session was designed to help young people learn to stay safe from sexual exploitation. The resources used were produced by Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) in order to educate young people to identify features of an exploitative friendship and gave them clear information about how to report abuse and access support.
A selection of their work is shown below
Ethics and Philosphy in Cultures EPIC
The EPiC classes in year 9 are taking part in an exciting initiative that links in with our current programme of study looking at prejudice and discrimination. The students will experience different styles of teaching and take part in interactive workshops run by a variety of invited guests. We have been extremely lucky to continue this programme within our school, having secured the funding in order to have outside speakers in to help the students with their knowledge and understanding of issues within our community and the wider world.
The project in action is facilitated by Amber Initiatives which has a partnership approach of supporting schools and youth groups in tackling discrimination, intolerance, prejudice, and stereotypes in educational settings. It is done in such a way to build positive environments where all children and young people feel equal, empowered and can actively engage in community life. Through this collaboration we aim to:
– equip young people with appropriate capabilities- skills, knowledge, understanding and awareness, including practical tools and techniques for personal resilience.
– provide safe spaces for pupils to openly discuss issues that concern them including exploring their own identities and how these relate to the diversity of the society in which they live.
-reduce bullying, discrimination and racist incidents and encourage positive learning environments where all students feel equal, empowered and included in community life.
– increase critical thinking skills to appreciate different perspectives and come to their own view.
The skills that are developed here will support the students across the curriculum and will have a profound impact upon the students and for some, this will be eye – opening and will help them to see things from perspectives that they may not have previously considered.
We are very lucky as a school to have such a talented team of staff delivering this curriculum but also a whole host of external visitors. In particular Graeme Kirkup who has been a great friend to both Plymstock staff and students for many years in helping broaden and educate our students’ views and understanding of the society in which they live.
Thursday 3rd October was National Poetry Day (https://nationalpoetryday.co.uk )
Teachers were asked to share their favourite poems with their classes or to share a poem that is related to their subject area. You may be surprised to hear that there are many poems that are about Maths, PE, or aspects of Geography, for example. Hopefully, in sharing these poems, about all subjects, we have helped to open the idea of ‘poetry for all’.
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.
More poems will be published in the blog next week.
In the meantime, here are some poems from Year 7 and from an anthology of fabulous poetry produced by students who did the creative writing workshop during Challenge Week in the Summer.
Return to Fox Cove – Fox Cove comes to Plymstock School!
Following Year Seven’s recent successful trip to Fox Cove, we recreated some of the trip’s ‘Best Bits’ for students who were unable to make it the first time round.
Students were first tasked with building a secure shelter, as the weather threatened to be rather more rainy and windy than experienced back in September. Once successfully up, fire lighting skills were tested and a trout was prepared and cooked on a barbeque. Finally the team mastered some circus skills and finished off with some well-earned tuck. Thanks to Mr Taylor for recreating this wonderful experience for the students.
More Cakes!
I was invited along with a Year 9 class to take part in a tasting session for Mrs Worley’s Year 11 GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition group. The students were completing food investigations for a Non-Exam Assessment (NEA), this was a taster for their cakes and scones. They had experimented with varying amounts of bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and cream of tartar. It wasn’t as easy as it looks! The tastes for some of the cakes and scones were quite a challenge on your palette. Metallic is the word that I would use to best explain the taste! It was helping them understand the chemical processes behind cooking. It was a fantastic atmosphere and the students should be incredibly proud of their work, they were highly articulate and passionate about their course.
Results from Commonwealth Judo Championships
Bogdan and Jessica took part in the recent Commonwealth Championships, both fighting hard and coming away with 7th places, Bogdan beating two Scottish boys back to back.
Also two ex-students and Plymstock Alumni Max and Cordelia Gregory, took Gold and both became Commonwealth Champions.
We are very grateful to Ross Taylor their coach for keeping us informed and, like Ross, very proud of them. A fantastic set of achievements as I’m sure you will agree.
We now reach our student of the week section. Our winners include:
The Year 7 team have nominated Archie who has shown great resilience and commitment to studies since the start of the year and made fantastic progress this week with his reading.
Lloyd has been nominated by Mrs Harris Head of Year 10 for his incredible efforts in Science. He has impressed his teachers no end in lessons and has attended science intervention every week. Well done Lloyd you are showing real motivation and enthusiasm for your studies.
Alex completed the ‘Race for Life’ 5k run on Sunday, a fantastic achievement and the Year 11 team are really proud of him.
Charlie, not in the picture but also a student of the week…
Earlier this year, Charlie was part of the England Water Polo Academy team playing in Hungary against the Hungarian and Russian national teams. From his display in these matches Charlie was really pleased to find that he had made the selection and became part of the England team which played in the North Sea Cup on 14 September. The North Sea cup is played by teams from England, NI, Wales, Scotland and Norway. His local team is Devonport Royal and he’s being playing water polo since Year 7.
Not to be bored, Charlie is also a member of the Plymouth Rowing Club and is taking part along with Stanley B and Sam D in the British Indoor Rowing Championships, in London in November. We wish Charlie, Stanley and Sam all the very best of luck.
And finally…
The performing arts centre despite the rain seems to have suddenly reached new heights, with a second tier of blockwork.
