Blog week ending 15th December

What a magical way to end the school term, with not one, but two glorious Christmas Concerts!  And what made it particularly special was to be able to share the experience with so many of our families.  Thank you to all student performers and contributors … you were all wonderful!

Our Year 7 Carol Service was held at our local parish church, Stone St Mary’s.  Students performed some of their own songs as well as joining with the church choir for a special performance.  Reverend Kenneth Clark spoke to students about the history of the area and specifically the church which is the oldest building in stone at over 800 years old.  The students represented the school beautifully!  Thank you, Reverend Kenneth Clark, for such an enjoyable and uplifting service.

 

A very special congratulations to all those students who earned a place on our rather festive Head Teacher Rewards Breakfast, and as you can see it was quite a feast!   All those present had demonstrated our RIDES values through action and achievement and I was proud to be to be able to congratulate them all personally for their outstanding contribution to the development of their own studies and their wider contributions to our school community.

I would like to thank our excellent catering team for providing such a worthy and delicious celebratory breakfast!

Ms Lesage is delighted to announce the news that we are launching the Bronze and Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) for this academic year.  

Why do DofE?   Doing their DofE is a brilliant way for your young person to discover just how much they are capable of. It gives young people the chance to make new friends, follow their passions, learn new skills and make a difference in our community. Achieving a DofE Award is a great way to impress employers too.  It helps young people to see themselves differently and gain a new level of confidence.  The DofE is non-competitive and a powerful way for every young person to build belief in themselves, whatever their background, interests and abilities.   

How it works   There are three levels of DofE Award – Bronze, Silver and Gold. To achieve their Award, your young person will need to complete four sections – Volunteering, Physical, Skills, and the Expedition.  

Young people can choose what they would like to do for the first three sections, and we will provide all the guidance and support they need. The Expedition involves spending two days and one night in the countryside for Bronze, three days and two nights in the countryside for Silver. We provide comprehensive training beforehand to ensure everyone is fully prepared and has the best possible experience. Further information can be obtained from the DofE website: www.dofe.org  

On Thursday 30 Year 5 students from Stone St Mary’s Primary School joined Stone Lodge School to participate in a music workshop. The workshop looked to enhance students keyboard playing skills as well as teach them about the Blues. Students participated in a range of activities and by the end of the lesson students were able to play the 12 bar blues chord progression along with a blues style melody, based on the blues scale. Students were supported by 9 of our Year 8 students who have just completed a Blues project as part of cycle A. This opportunity enabled our students to teach the children from Stone St Mary’s Primary School what they had learnt so far this year in music. Children from Stone St Mary’s Primary School were also treated to a short tour around the school by the Year 8 students.  Well done to all the children involved!

Careers and Employability Skills.  Year 9 students took part in a “Make it Make Sense” Programme delivered by specialist trainers at Charlton Trust to support students as they make their subject choices and consider their potential future pathways.  In partnership with the University of Greenwich, Charlton Athletic Community Trust have created a programme focusing on raising aspirations, preparing, and empowering young people for their next steps, as well as building skills and confidence for life after school. In this session “Qualifications and Personal Development”, students considered skills and attributes that employers would value in an interview scenario.  Students showed a good awareness of the value of ‘soft skills’ such as good communication skills and punctuality as well as appropriate qualifications.  Students discussed the transferable skills and experience that participation in activities such as the Duke of Edinburgh scheme and work experience to convey their experiences and unique personalities in applications and interviews. Well done everyone!

Introducing Mrs Gordon-Keyes, who has joined our Science department and is a highly skilled teacher of Science with a specialism in Biology as well as Environmental Science.  “I am thoroughly enjoying working with our students and in particular, the high level of engagement and development of our students’ learning that our many practical lessons provide.”

Year 9 students’ current module is Respiratory Diseases and in the below lesson have been exploring the potential dangers of smoking.  With the help of her display assistant ‘Smokey Sue’ Mrs Gordon-Keyes was able to demonstrate the tar deposits that taken into the lungs when tobacco smoke is inhaled.  The demonstration was a powerful lesson on how tar and tobacco smoke damages the lungs.  Smokey Sue’s collection tube was passed round for students to observe, and smell(!) the resulting tar build-up.

Mrs Tiddy, Head of SL6, and her team were delighted to share news of our new and increased range of course options for our sixth form (SL6) during our recent Open Event.  Our digital SL6 Curriculum Booklet outlines all available courses and their entry requirements as well as additional useful information to help our students decide upon their next steps.

Please click here to read our SL6 Curriculum Booklet SL6 - Curriculum Booklet 24/25 (fliphtml5.com)

Our SL6 application form can be completed by clicking here Stone Lodge School (applicaa.com)

Mrs Finch has showcased her healthcare classroom (pictures below).  The Health and Social Care SL6 course being offered for Year 12 next year is a BTEC, equivalent to one A Level.  Students don't need to have studied Health and Social Care in Years 10 and 11 to be able to choose it in sixth form.  The course can be studied alongside other BTEC or A Level subjects.

Free tickets to top local match.  London City Lionesses scooped a convincing 6-0 win against Billericay Town in the FA Cup gaining them a place in the fourth round.  Thanks to the generosity of the London City Lionesses, 73 of our students (and quite a few of our staff!) were there to watch the match.  It was a brilliant opportunity to see women play in a professional game and we will all be cheering them on in the next round!

I am very much enjoying the Stone Lodge Elf’s antics!  Today’s Elf was spotted scrambling to keep off of the floor .. as the sign tells us ‘the floor is lava!’ and thank you to our festive science technicians for their decorated windows overlooking the quad!

Merry Christmas everyone from us all!

Miss Anderson, Head of Year 10 will be running the Marathon next year for the Mind Charity who assist young people with their mental health all across Kent. Miss Anderson has set aa ambitious target of £2,000 to raise, if you are able to help and donate – all contributions are appreciated no matter how small!  Please click this link to find out more and to donate.  

Forthcoming Dates:

Last Day of Term 2 – December 20^th 12 noon

Non-uniform day £2 PTFA – December 20^th

First Day of Term 3 – 4^th January

Grades home Year 9, 10 & 12 – Friday 5^th January

Year 11 one-to-one Career Interviews – 8^th – 1^st Feb

Year 11 Parents’ Evening – 25^th January

Year 11 written reports home – 12^th January

Year 7 Parents’ Evening (A-D) – 1st February

Year 7 Parents’ Evening (E-H) – 8^st February

Wishing all our students, parents, carers and staff a wonderful Christmas break!

Gavin Barnett

Head Teacher