Blog week ending 22nd September

Our full programme of extracurricular lunchtime and after school Clubs has been launched!  Students can sign up to a huge range of fun and stimulating activities including street dance, choir, debate club, manga, football, first aid and cheerleading to name but a few! 

Please do encourage your child/children to choose at least one activity that interests them, there are plenty to choose from! 

Introducing new teacher of PE Mr Field, who is pictured below working with Year 11 student members of Fitness Club which runs every Tuesday lunchtime.  We have a strong ethos of health and wellbeing here at Stone Lodge, caring for our physical and mental health through a variety of activities during lessons and in special dedicated spaces and clubs out of class.  In addition to Fitness Club students can also come along to Calm Club, Drama, Netball and Art Club to support wellbeing, feed creativity and provide opportunities to have fun with fellow students with similar interests.  “I am excited to be joining Stone Lodge at a time where you can see so much potential! I am really looking forward to growing the provision that we offer at KS3 and offering my previous experience not just to the department but to all the students at Stone Lodge. I already feel very welcome around the school and look forward to getting to know more of you as we move through the year”

Introducing Miss Gardner, new teacher of PE.  Miss Gardner is a huge advocate of providing students with plenty of opportunities to enjoy sporting activities during lunchtime and afterschool clubs, such as badminton club which is pictured below (every Thursday lunchtime) "I am already enjoying being here at Stone Lodge and getting to know so many of you already. I have always had a passion for sport in particular,  Cheerleading, and hope that I am able to share and build that passion with the students throughout the year, both through lessons but also extra-curricular activities. As the school is growing, I am excited to explore new opportunities and grow with the school."

Introducing Miss Ho, Head of Year 9 and Teacher of English.

"I am a teacher of English and have had experience working in both primary and secondary settings over the past 6 years. I aim to bridge the gap in learning between KS2 and KS3 to ensure a smooth transition to secondary school through the key stages.  I am really excited to be Head of Year 9 at Stone Lodge School. My vision for Year 9 is to shape and guide the students into being resilient and open-minded young people, who will go above and beyond, and even break barriers in order to excel in their future successes. I strive to inspire the students to aim for excellence, which will eventually encourage them to give back positively to our community. I endeavour for our Year 9 team, (both students and staff included) to work together as a family, and as a team to support our students to reach their full potential. I believe that every child deserves an equal opportunity for them to succeed, and I am passionate in supporting the students through their journey by setting them up as compassionate, respectful and honourable individuals at Stone Lodge School." 

Pictured below, Miss Ho with her Year 9 English Literature students.

Mr Matthews, Head of Geography has provided the below account of Year 11 GCSE Geographers Fieldwork Trip.

“Tuesday morning dawned as every morning has since time began with the sun rising slow over the horizon spreading its warming light across the land. Sadly, this was followed by strong winds which stole the heat from off your skin making jackets a necessity of the day.

Gathering the students together in the canteen to discuss the day, we set the expectations, revisited our intended learning, and set off for the North Kent Coast. More precisely, the village of Reculver.  New building work was spotted around Reculver. Houses going up at a fast pace, catering for those who commuted to work and dreamed of a life near the coast. Just not too near as this coastline is subject to some quite rapid erosion.

Disembarking and climbing the small hill to the ruined Church of St Mary, now shrouded in scaffold, we observed the landscape both near and far. To our right, covered in the last of the summer’s grass and flowers were the remains of the Roman Fort and before us stretched the Saxon Shore line leading to Whitstable.

Along this section of coastline, a wide shingle beach is maintained by a variety of coastal management strategies; Rock Groynes, RipRap, Revetments and a Sea Wall. The students, under the tutelage of Mr Matthews, Mr Osborne and Miss Wenham, tackled the task of measuring a beach profile using ranging poles and clinometers.

After successfully mapping this, they moved on to measuring the speed of Longshore Drift. Using a measured distance, a stopwatch and a float, the pupils tracked the speed at which sediment could be moved along the coastline (around 12cm/s). Cries of “Watch the Bourbon Biscuit'' could be heard echoing across the shingle, startling the gulls, and giving the odd crab a bit of shock.  (Experience teaches us that Bourbon Biscuits and Custard Creams make for the most durable of sea floats for this experiment. TESCO’s was out of Custard Creams).

On the eastern shore of Reculver there is little coastal management so the beach is narrow, with recumbent lumps of tabular sandstone laying like seals basking in the sunshine (the sun was not actually shining) along the shore. Seaweed clings to the stones and a thin layer of sand covers the Wave Cut Platform. Students measured, once again, the Beach Profile and were given a short lecture on the cliff line and erosion.

At Herne Bay, after a hearty lunch, students traipsed along the sea front examining and recording the Land Use, looking for patterns and assessing the environment at regular intervals. For once, no seagulls, those cunning thieves of chips, sandwiches, and donuts which plague the summer months, made an appearance.

Staring out to sea at the end of the day, taking in the waves capped with white foam, the wind turbines turning fast, and on the horizon the Maunsell Forts of World War II, the abandoned pier and its more recent, but shorter, replacement, we took one last breath of sea air and boarded the coach for home.”

Miss Deacon’s Year 7 Scientists have been introduced to dissection methods in this practical lesson.  Students safely followed step by step instructions to investigate joints and muscle tissue – this dissection is a great opportunity to observe antagonistic muscle action (muscles that work in pairs) and then record their findings.

A Knowledge Organiser is a document, no more than two sides of A4, that contains key facts and information that students need to have a basic knowledge and understanding of a topic and develops over weeks creating a comprehensive revision tool to equip students for their assessments in week 8 of every assessment cycle.  

The main benefit of knowledge organisers is that they give students and teachers the ‘bigger picture’ of a topic or subject area. Some topics can be complicated, so having the essential knowledge, clear diagrams, explanations and key terms on one document can be very helpful.  To read more – and should you need to download a replacement please click here

Students have been voting to decide which musical to work on for the next school drama production!  Mr Bailey has shortlisted two potential choices; School of Rock and Matilda – as soon as we know the results of the vote Mr Bailey will post details for students to sign up to audition.  The production will mean roles for budding singers, actors, stagehands, director, and production teams.

Introducing our Sixth Form SL6 correspondant Olivia Demetriou-Shaw who will be reporting on news and events from our SL6 Department.  “I am in Year 13, currently studying the BTEC Level 3 extend diploma in sport science here at Stone Lodge. Throughout my time here I have learned many amazing different skills and have been given the most amazing opportunities including delivering classes to younger years or going out to primary schools to teach PE.  The sport course I am taking has really helped guide what I would like to accomplish in the future and to understand the range of potential pathways open to me. My ambition is to go into marketing and work on sporting and entertainment events – including brand advertising and the evaluation of the impact of multimedia campaigns.  Through my Blog entries, I aim to provide an insight into our SL6 Department, to highlight not just the Sports course, but the department as a whole – including accounts of trips, workshops and student life!”

This week the Year 13s took part in an Apprenticeship experience with Apprentice Nation at Amazon Fulfilment centre.  The content was relevant to students Studying Level 3 Courses and considering apprenticeships with a focus on knowledge and core skills development during the day. The trip ended with a free concert for the students to enjoy and we were all given a free wireless charger!

Students saw demonstrations of the robots and specialist machinery in different areas of the business and spoke with the staff responsible for the teams that manage the technology.

Year 11 student Ava W has contributed the following item. 

“In February this year my world completely turned upside down when my best friend, Issy was diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma (A rare type of bone and soft tissue cancer).

I used to scroll past things like this and feel pity for the people in the situation, but I’ve now realised how important listening to people’s stories and helping people is. Issy is more than just a sad story, she’s a friend, a daughter, a sister, a student. She loves music, concerts, calling her friends, going out - anything a normal 16-year-old would. Over the past months I’ve seen Issy completely ‘own’ having cancer, she takes every single positive out of it that she possibly can and it’s inspired me to be more confident and to stop worrying about the little things that don’t matter.

Issy has been having intense Chemotherapy and six weeks of Radiotherapy, ending in late October/early November. She was given a 20-30% chance of surviving yet she’s managed to complete her treatment in less than a year, also having one of the most successful treatments ever for this type of Cancer. My friend Autumn and I have been constantly searching for something to really show we care and we’ve both agreed that raising money for a charity Issy holds very close to her heart is the way to go. 

So many people at Teenage Cancer Trust have changed Issy’s entire experience and for that we are so grateful. To raise this money I will be walking to every station the circle line in London during October half term, I want to show Issy how proud I really am of her and how much she means to me. 

I understand that different people have different circumstances, anything counts no matter how little it is. if you can’t donate but still want to help sharing on social media or with friends would be appreciated. https://www.justgiving.com/page/proudofissy

Thank you so much to anyone who donates or shares, I feel so grateful I get to give back to the people that saved my best friend and will go on to save many more teenagers.”

Forthcoming Dates;

Year 11 – Preparing for Mocks – student & parents/carers evening – 28^th September

Year 10 Art Trip – 29^th September

Year 13 – Grade Reports Home – 20^th October

Last Day of Term – 20^th October

Year 11 Career Interviews – till 14^th November

Best wishes,

Mr Gavin Barnett

Head Teacher