School Blog
April 2011
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Week Ending 29th April 2011 April ended with a very special week in Boston Spa. For the second year we held events to "Celebrate our Community".
Last year the focus was on the heritage of all those in our community and we shared stories of our family histories. This year we celebrated the diversity of our community in school and beyond.
The week was launched by assemblies which featured music and dance from many different cultures. We also saw some hard hitting drama devised and performed by year 10 students exploring discrimination of all kinds.
Never one to miss out, our statue joined in once more, decorated in material recognising our African and Afro Caribbean students, our Indian and Pakistani heritage students and the Union Jack marking the unity of our community.
We explored the gypsy and traveler culture through a gypsy encampment complete with 2 “caravans”; Year 10 students led a workshop on sexuality for younger students; a fair was organized by Year 9 students offering homemade foods from a range of cultural backgrounds, a henna tattoo workshop, an exhibition of traditional dress and how to wear it and some music with dance. We also took note of the events in Japan with fund raising activities including origami. There was Bollywood dancing and folk dancing; the food in the dining rooms reflected the focus and in all their subject areas Key Stage 3 students explored the theme of Celebrating our Community in a variety of ways. We finished the week with an event to which our local community was invited.
I have been proud to be associated with it all; we had a real sense of excitement and celebration. |
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Week Ending 22nd April 2011
This was our second of four consecutive ‘short’ weeks. In the run up to exams it is crucial that although short, these weeks are also effective for our young people. I spend an hour each day being welcomed into classes, usually on a Monday it is all of period 2. With only a short week, I wanted to make sure the climate was right for learning, and that expectations were appropriate, so I walked the corridors for both periods 1 and 2. I found the school purposeful and working.
Later in the week we welcomed young people from local Primary schools for a Maths Club, where they did decision making Maths, based around problem solving, reasoning and logical thinking. They looked at the Bridges of Königsberg problem - a large river runs through this Prussian city leaving cutting it into four sections that are joined by seven bridges as in the diagram. After discovering that there is no solution (the easy bit!) they analysed how they could alter the problem to create a solution, thinking about where the bridges should be placed and why there may be no viable solution in Königsberg. They did find a solution - but I won't spoil the challenge by posting it here!
Building on the success of last year’s balloon launch, Mr. Hugill has entered the school into the UK Rocketry Challenge for 2011. After numerous flights, and many hours work through the half term holiday the team of David Kilburn, Marcus Chipp, Sam Kidd, and Alex Hull have won through to the national finals. Their challenge is to lift (and return) an egg in a rocket as close to 750 feet as possible. We managed 763 feet with our highest rocket reaching 917 feet, measured by a self contained micro altimeter placed in the nose cone of the rocket. The team did really well and now compete nationally in Leicester next month, where the prize is a trip to America!
Watch the video here of their efforts...Rocket Launch
It was good this week to welcome Lee Jackson to speak to Year 11 in assembly. Lee is a musician and writer who is an inspiration to listen to.
He spoke of the ‘bag of tricks for success’ drawing on examples as diverse as Neil Armstrong’s moon landing and Susan Boyle’s first appearance on X Factor. His key message to Year 11 was to do the best you can, not to compare yourself with others and to make sure you can look forward to GCSE results day in the knowledge that you have given your all in preparation and in the exams themselves. He quoted top basket ball coach John Wooden:
"Success is … peace of mind … in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming”.
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Week Ending 15th April 2011
It has seemed a very long wait, and at times it appeared there were so many barriers to us succeeding, but this week we are delighted to have taken possession of the Tennis Centre!
It is a brilliant facility that will enrich our curriculum, our primary schools and our community. Mr. Harper saw the potential and had the vision some time ago, but we seemed to hit every barrier and opposition possible. During the last few years we have secured over half a million pounds of funding to bring the project to life; it has taken some steadfast determination in such economically difficult times to build a facility such as this one, particularly as we have managed it without the cost of a single pound to our school budget.
It contains two full sized tennis courts, undercover, and is situated at the south end of the existing tennis courts. During the day it will a fantastic, and huge, indoor teaching space for our PE team. After school, during evenings, weekends and our holidays we will lead a tennis development programme for the young, while at other times letting courts to clubs, associations and our community. If you are involved with a group who might want to use the facility please email info@bostonspa.leeds.sch.uk with the subject marked 'Tennis Centre Enquiry'.
Our first classes will be using it straight after the Easter break, and we will also shortly be holding a formal opening ceremony, news of which will follow later.
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Week Ending 6th April 2011
Although the school holiday had started, for some the learning continued, as 71 young people and 9 staff set off from school for our regular visit to Berlin.
Leaving from the John Lennon airport, they took in the sights, sounds and history of Berlin and then joined 71,000 Berliners to watch Hertha Berlin beat SFC Paderborn in a promotion chasing battle at the same Olympic Stadium where Jesse Owens won his 4 gold medals in 1936.
They also visited the Jewish Museum, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews, Checkpoint Charlie, the TV tower, a former Stasi prison, the Story of Berlin Museum, the Pergamon museums, Berlin Zoo and the East Side Gallery - the longest remaining stretch of the Berlin Wall.
Few city visits involving teenagers can avoid shopping expeditions, and this was no exception, taking in Ku-Damm in the West at Alexanderplatz and Friedrichstrasse in the East.
As well as the sight seeing and there were plenty opportunities to practise their German speaking skills by interviewing Berliners, shopping in a local Market and asking directions to navigate around the city.
The visit ended with a challenging, thought-provoking and poignant visit to Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp.
A fantastic time was had by all, I am grateful to all the staff who made it happen, especially Mr Brennan and Miss Sweeney; we can be so proud of the young people who were a credit to us all.
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Week Ending 1st April 2011
Monday evening saw the annual Leeds AMP Awards, orgnised by our Business Partnership Coordinator in conjunction with Leeds Schools', centred around a ‘battle of the bands’ format; we attended with great expectation, having won the Business Award in 2010.
There was real delight when our band, The Gonzo’s, won the competition held at the Leeds O2 Academy. Congratulations are due to Adam Smith, Lee Newman, Tom Hinchcliffe and Harry Sutherland.
As the Leeds AMP Awards Band Winners, they win £350 of music equipment for the school and get to headline next year’s AMP Awards Finals in Leeds and Harrogate.
On Tuesday I attended the monthly meeting of our local secondary Headteachers. The usual debate is around inclusion or curriculum development, but on this occasion all the early conversation was on the quality of the The Gonzo’s!
On Thursday Mrs Sadeghian invited Peter Whittaker in to work with some of our young people on the theme of diversity. Peter’s life’s work has been in developing prosthetic limbs, and a brilliant session was had by all. He was an inspiring and engaging visitor.
Friday is a training day, where most of the staff are moderating GCSE and A Level course work. It is a hard day, but a rewarding opportunity to reflect on the achievements of our young people. We also have some staff updating their Child Protection Training. The safety of our young people is so important to us, and having all of our colleagues up to date with the latest guidance is very important; something reflected in Governors’ decision to set aside last night’s meeting to update their Child Protection training.
Staff and young people have worked hard and have earned a break, but as ever the Headteacher hopes and expects the young people to use the time well … those summer exams are getting really close right now!
