Spring 2011 Newsletter - Maidenhill School

More documents

Recommendations

Info

2 MAIDENHILL NEWS: SPRING 2011 Headteacher’s Update I am delighted to welcome you to another action-packed newsletter which demonstrates, once again, the pace of change at Maidenhill and the wide range of activities on offer. Our new sports and drama facilities are living up to all our expectations and I am delighted with the feedback we are getting from students, staff and members of the local community. I now have my sights firmly set on securing additional capital funding to improve the exterior of the school, notably the windows and other fundamental aspects of our infrastructure including our ICT network. I am confident that significant additional cash sums will be forthcoming to commence major works on the school before the end of this year and look forward to reporting to you in more detail in the Summer Newsletter. Year 11 students continue to make sustained progress towards their GCSEs under the capable leadership of Mrs Halliday. Once again, I expect last year’s record results to be surpassed as a result of the hard work of staff and students alike. I sense from walking around Year 8 students visit the new hall. Left to right: Beth Darley-Jones, Owen Tyror-Taylor, James Hannaford-Hill, Emily Chandler lessons that there is a sharpened focus and fresh determination now that the exam season is approaching. On a similar theme, Y10 students are making encouraging progress and many Year 9 students, under the expert direction of Ms Machers, have already gained an accredited qualification by way of the Arts Award. Year 9 students are also working successfully towards accredited courses in Design Technology for the first time this year. Planned admissions for the new Y7 in September are up on the previous year and several significant changes are planned between now and then. I have spoken to all the students about the introduction of vertical tutoring in September and in March explained the system and its rationale at a meeting for parents. Associated with this, will be a re-launch of our House system and a new uniform. I shall be writing to all parents in April in relation to the new uniform which, as you might expect, has prompted a wide range of responses from all stakeholders. Whilst there is never a good time to change uniform, I hope that with sufficient advance notice some purchasing decisions can be deferred until the new uniform becomes available. Mr Watson The New Sports Hall I am writing about the new sports hall which cost £2.5 million to build. It’s taken two years to complete; the foundations were started in May 2010. On June 10th we could see the building and by June 25th the floor was in. In September the main building was finished. The old sports hall was being turned into a Performing Arts area and we still couldn’t use it in the Autumn term because it wasn’t quite ready. The official opening was on February 16th. We are very pleased with our new sports hall and the drama studio. Mr Watson is delighted. I think it is a good building and all the students agree that there is more room and better equipment. I am pleased with the new hall and 8KBU are delighted to use it! By James Hannaford-Hill 8KBU Mr Watson talks to Year 7 students about the new hall.
New School Uniform I have chosen to do a report on a controversial debate within school: the introduction of a new uniform. The school uniform will be introduced in September. It is to consist of a v-neck jumper, a white shirt, tie and blazer. The trousers will remain the same. The only thing Mr Watson hasn’t decided on is the tie colour and design, although the tie is definitely included in the uniform and a decision will be made shortly. Students and parents have had the chance to state their opinions on the matter and, surprisingly to some, the majority of people say that they do want the uniform changed in some way. There are many reasons why the school uniform is changing. No-one can deny the fact that our uniform is very similar to that of local primary schools and some feel we need to stand out more as a secondary school. Another reason is that most other secondary schools have a blazer and tie and when we compete in activities against those schools we look less smart. Reasons for sticking with the uniform we have now are that it is comfortable and well-priced already and although we haven’t got the smartest school uniform in the county, that’s arguably what makes us defined as a school in the area. Although some welcome the new uniform with open arms, others are not so keen. Those who are unsure about the change believe that it is unfair to make us wear what is Welcome to . . . Miss Wainwright Miss Wainwright is our new Head of Humanities. She started after Christmas and is really enjoying her time here so far. Her first teaching job was in Wolverhampton at a school called Heath Park, where she stayed for four years. Since then she has worked at Vale of Berkeley College and after that she came here. Her job here involves checking that everything runs smoothly in humanities lessons which are RE, Geography and History. She teaches Geography mostly but once in a while also teaches Science. MAIDENHILL NEWS: SPRING 2011 effectively a suit to school, as this takes away any individuality we may want to express, especially if a blazer and tie are to be worn. Those who are keener for a new uniform believe that a tie and blazer will make us look much smarter and define us as a secondary school. I understand why school uniform is worn: it lowers the chances of anyone getting lost on trips out of school, makes us noticeable as a school and makes us all equal. However, I fail to understand why there is, for instance, a ban on any gloves, scarves, necklaces, etc that a child may want to wear alongside the uniform. I am very different when it comes to clothes outside of school. I hate the fact that everybody wears the same Nike trainers or Mackenzie top and I will never understand why they all want to dress the same. It seems obvious that a child is going to say they don’t want to wear school uniform, but I fail to see how they can argue the points against a uniform when they wear what is effectively a uniform out of school. I never wear the same clothes as anybody else I know because I want to stand out and make a statement with my appearance. However, regardless of my personal views on the matter, the uniform is going to change come September. Also, Mr Watson has suggested the possibility of a school second-hand uniform shop, to reduce the cost. I think this will convince a lot of people to side with the new uniform, as one of the main issues was cost. The new uniform will be available in time for the new school year. By Jamie Deane 8LBE She likes her job here at Maidenhill and says it is really rewarding and fun. “No day is the same. Ever!” She doesn’t have any immediate plans for the future but did say she wanted to get really established in her role here. She is really proud of getting to where she is in her career and also of achieving a degree in both Geography and Environmental Management. Most of her family lives in Wolverhampton but her boyfriend lives nearby. She has no children but would quite like to have some in the future. She has two goldfish called Starsky and Pistachio. She has just joined the gym and really enjoys swimming. One of her hobbies is baking. She is very proud of baking a carrot cake at the weekend! She also enjoys making cards and all kinds of crafts. She loves watching films and reading books. Her favourite book is “The Beach”. She enjoys culture and has been to many exotic places like Greece, Kenya, America and the Caribbean. Her favourite foods are Italian and Mexican; pizza, pasta and enchiladas. She really loves cheesy pop music and anything that she can sing out loud to. By Molly Wise and Rebecca Jones 9DWA 3
Page 1: N E W S Official Opening of Maidenh
Page 5 and 6: MR. MUSHNIK Janneke Bax-Pratt as Mr
Page 7 and 8: An A Level in Mathematics is a good
Page 9 and 10: Year 7 students enjoyed the “Movi
Page 11 and 12: Year 10 Football Team MAIDENHILL NE
Page 13 and 14: This term we elected a new school c
Page 15 and 16: Breakfast Treat On Tuesday 8th Febr
Page 17 and 18: For our Citizenship coursework we d
Page 19 and 20: BBC Musicians Masterclass Liam and

Spring 2011 Newsletter - Maidenhill School

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?