Term 4
April
2014
School Magazine
World Book Day at TMS
Students were surprised to find they
favourite book covers. Tydeman
were being taught by Snow White,
students even had a go at making
Cinderella, Mr Tickle or Robinson
their own books and Key Stage 3
Crusoe as well as a lot of other book
students were treated to a visit by
characters as the teachers dressed up
the children’s author John Brindley.
as their favourites to celebrate World
Book Day. The day was a great
opportunity to talk about books and to
discuss reading choices. In the weeks
running up to World Book Day the
students had been thinking about the
books that have made them smile,
laugh, cry or changed the way they
think. From this list a TMS Top 20 Best
Reads was compiled and the book titles
were announced on World Book Day.
The students also worked on book
reviews, book marks and redesigned
Quotes from students
following our World Book Day
reading survey. Question: ‘why
do people read?’.....
‘To improve their vocabulary
and also because it is fun to
read’
‘To learn new things and
widen their imagination’
‘To make sure they do well in
their GCSEs and having good
GCSEs means a better job’
Inside this issue:
Our Specialism
2
The Principal
3
Our Community
4
New This Term
5
For Parents
6
Student Page
7
Sports News
8
Page 2
Our sports science specialism
An inter view with Danny Hogben
So lawn bowls came naturally to you. How
did the opportunity of representing your
county occur?
I entered a county U18 and U25 competition.
Throughout the tournament I played very well
and finished runner up in both competitions.
During the tournament I was spotted by a
talent scout who invited me to play for Kent.
This was a huge privilege of which I am
extremely proud of.
Just recently you had the opportunity of
trials for England, tell me more?
Danny Hogben year 12 (above) has been
playing lawn bowls competitively since he was
10 years old. The year 12 sixth form student
has progressed steadily over the last 6 years
and is now regularly representing Kent. Danny
has recently had trials to represent his country
and has high aspirations for the future. We
took some time during the school day to ask
Danny about his achievements in lawn bowls.
How did you get into lawn bowls?
As a 9 year old I went to watch my grandfather
play. I enjoyed spectating and was inspired by
my grandfather to play. My nan inherited a set
of bowls from a friend of the family and gave
them to me as a gift. I began playing and found
I liked the game and promptly joined the West
Malling Bowls Club.
How did you progress in your early years?
At 10 years old I competed in my first club
tournament. I entered the Singles and the
Pairs. I did extremely well, beating my
grandfather in the finals of the Singles 11-2
and winning the Pairs as well! Following my
success I joined the West Kent League which I
still compete in today.
I was playing for Kent against Essex. I was
aware that one of the England scouts was
watching the game. I had a very good game
and was invited to national trials. Throughout
the process I was shortlisted several times
but unfortunately just missed out on the
opportunity of representing my country.
Nevertheless, it was a huge honour.
You are still only 16, what are your
aspirations in your chosen sport?
I have a realistic goal of representing my
country by the age of 18. I believe I will
achieve this if I continue practising and
representing Kent.
I have no doubt you will achieve this goal.
Thank you so much for your time Danny. All
of us at The Malling School wish you every
success in your forthcoming competitions.
A message from the Principal
Page 3
A war m welcome to new Year 7 students
I would like to say a warm
and parents better over the next
welcome to next year’s Year 7
few months and to welcoming
pupils, many of whom will be
them properly to our school. Those
reading this magazine for the first
of you with children already in the
time. For those who have not read
school will know that we create
our magazine before, we produce
plenty of opportunities to meet our
it six times a year and it serves as
new pupils and their families in the
Mr Carl Roberts
a summary of some of the things
run up to September and this year
Term 4 is an important one for
we have done together during the
is no different. That work has
Year 11 as their GCSE
term. Much of it is written by
already begun and we are
examinations are only just around
students and we enjoy celebrating
currently busy visiting primary
the corner. They have been
with them all of their achievements
schools and having individual
working incredibly hard over the
over the term.
parent consultation meetings.
past few weeks to complete
Parents and children tell us this
coursework, revise for exams and
really helps them settle in.
will continue to do so throughout
at the school this year and as a
Although we are only just past the
the exam season. Many will be
result we are due to grow again in
half way mark in the year, term 4 is
coming in for Easter revision
September. It is also interesting
when we do much of our planning
sessions over the holidays and I
how many parents have contacted
for the following year. The Year 8s
thank teachers for giving up their
us since being given a different
and Year 9s have chosen their
time to support the students. Year
school to see if we can offer their
options and in some cases have
11 have just finished their Pre
child a place and I am pleased to
already started on their GCSE
Public Examinations and will be
say that it looks as though we will
courses. The curriculum for next
receiving the results early in term
be able to offer additional places to
year has been reorganised and
5. We have been pleased with
those who have changed their
improved and we have already
their attitude during their exams
minds since applying for a
started thinking about the
and we hope that their hard work
secondary school in October of last
timetable. We are currently
pays off for them.
year. We are pleased to be
recruiting two new teachers as part
Finally, congratulations and well
growing but are conscious that
of our expansion and we are
done to all the students featured in
parents like the fact we are a small
pleased with the quality of
this magazine. You can see it has
school and we remain committed
candidates applying to us. As a
been another busy term and we
to managing growth in a sensible
result we are sure that we can
look forward to doing more of the
way. I am looking forward to
further strengthen our excellent
same next term.
getting to know our new children
team of existing teachers.
We were pleased with the number
of families who applied for a place
Our community
Page 4
Drama workshops by EastEnders actor
On Thursday 6th March students
from Year 7 right up to the 6th form
took part in a performing arts
workshop led by Cheryl Fergison.
The workshop was a way of
promoting Easter Holiday sessions
organised by Cheryl Fergison’s
School of Creative Arts. Cheryl,
best known for her role as the
loveable Heather Trott in
EastEnders will be running the
course during the Easter holidays
on the school site. This will involve
a team of professionals teaching
students aged 5-16 different
aspects of the performing arts
including drama, dance, music,
singing, scenery and prop-making.
This will lead to a performance on
the final day. Many of our students
have already signed up for places on
the workshop. Mr Roberts has
supported this by offering subsidised
places for selected students.
The performing arts department are
very keen to continue this
partnership with Cheryl and hope
that she will be willing to share her
expertise with us and the Malling
School students in the future.
Cheryl Fergison working
with students to promote the
Easter workshops
Cakes all round
Miss Herring, Ms Buckle and
Mrs Cook took the 9Y ASDAN
class to the café at Cupcake
Heart in Larkfield to decorate
cupcakes and design an apron.
‘’When we went into the café
and took it in turns to wash our
hands we were all feeling
excited because we couldn’t
wait to design our cupcakes.
We went through to a secret
garden where there was a
wooden building with bowls,
dishes, rolling pins and piping
bags laid out for everyone. The
ladies at the café showed us
how to use the equipment. We
put icing sugar on our boards
and got a piece of icing to roll
out and make nice and flat like a
little pancake. They had lots of
different cutters like teddy bears,
flowers, butterflies and letters
and they even had a Lego
mould! We used the cutters to
make decorations for our cakes.
We were given a choice of
colours that we stirred into our
icing. When it was the perfect
colour, we put it into a bag. We had
to twist it and hold it really tight then
swirled the icing onto our cakes.
Next, we put our decorations onto
our cakes. The cakes looked
excellent and tasted yummy –
some of them didn’t survive until
lunchtime! The trip was amazing.
We enjoyed it very much.’’ Alfie
Newick 9Y
GCSE Food Technology:
Food for a celebration.
Harrison Kellaway designed
and made this amazing baby
dinosaur cake for a child’s
birthday party, along with a
selection of dino pizzas,
shortbread and sausage
patties.
9X are looking forward to their visit
to Cupcake Heart on Tuesday the
18th with Miss Corbyn.
Above, Harrison Kellaway’s
dinosaur cake and left 9Y
decorating their cup cakes at Cup
Cake Heart
New this term
Page 5
Something to waffle about
When we were faced with choosing
a challenge for our Enterprise project
we had a hard time deciding what to
do. Eventually we decided to
provide healthy, but delicious, fresh
fruit smoothies and tasty, toasted
waffles with various toppings for 50p
each. Charlie-Anne was in charge
of finances and Hollyrose went
around school during lunch time to
drum up customers. Others helped
to cook the waffles and pour out the
smoothies and clear up afterwards.
Mr Whitehead and members of the
Radio Club came up with the idea of
providing live music, courtesy of
Beth Thomas playing her guitar and
singing. Members of “ The 2
Show” Josh Burt, Tone Blakesley
and Bailey Abson, interviewed staff
and pupils running the event and the
people who bought our delicious
snacks. The programme is available
to listen to from the Unit Radio
website: www.unitradio.co.uk. We
were very busy and many people
came back for seconds! Waffles with
chocolate spread and fresh cream
was the most popular choice with
golden syrup a close second. The
mixed berry smoothie was the most
popular being a healthy, but
indulgent treat! We raised £25.50
for our chosen charity, Cancer
Research. Thanks to all who
supported us!
Look out for our next episode of
Waffle Factory – coming soon!
Students promoting the waffle
factory
A Visit from Major Jack Union
On Wednesday 5th February 2014
9X English class were visited by
Steampunk author, Kit Cox
decked out in Victorian attire as his
alter ego, Major Jack Union.
Major Jack read an extract from his
book, “How to Bag a Jabberwock:
A practical Guide to Monster
Hunting” and talked about the
inspiration behind it.
thought-out questions
As well as visiting 9X, Kit also
took time to take part in an
interview with the school’s radio
2 Show team: Josh Burt,
Bailey Abson, Connor Seales
and Tone Blakesley. This
fascinating interview can be
heard by going to
www.unitradio.co.uk and by
clicking on the link for The 2
Show Series 3.
In preparation for their meeting
with Major Jack, the students had
all designed their own monster,
writing a description so that Major
Jack could come up with a
practical way of defeating it.
Students really enjoyed the visit
and were buzzing with questions
for Major Jack, finding out about
the process of writing a book and
picking up some excellent writing
tips through detailed and well
From left Bailey Abson, Connor Seales, Kit Cox, Josh Burt and
Tone Blakesley
Page 6
Parent page
Calling all parents
Reading with students
At TMS we are working hard to encourage
every child to raise their reading age. If you
have an hour or two to spare, are happy to go
through CRB checking and would like to help us
by listening to a child read, please contact Miss
Brewer. (Vice Principal – Holmes)
[email protected]
Your opinion matters.
Renaissance ‘Home Connect’ allows parents
and carers to log on to a website and view
their child’s reading practice and progress
towards targets. If you have been sent your
child’s log in details (years 7, 8 and 9) please
log in to follow their progress. You will be
able to see how well your child is progressing
with their reading target, what they are
reading and how many books they have read.
We welcome feedback on all areas of your
child’s education. Our newly established Parent
Forum meets regularly to discuss what we are
doing well as a school and in what areas we
need to improve. You are very welcome to join
us.
In addition, parents can specify email
addresses to receive automatic updates on
their child’s reading progress. For further
details or problems with logging in please
contact Mrs Sherry at the TMS library
If you would like more information about reading
with students or the Parent Forum please
contact Miss Brewer (Vice Principal – Holmes)
kent.sch.uk
corinne.sherry@themallingschool.
[email protected]
Hairdressing salon now open to clients
Year 10 and 6th form level 2
hairdressing students are now
working commercially in the new
school salon achieving practical
assessments on clients and school
staff. We are currently offering,
shampoo and conditioning
treatments, blow dry, setting, hair up,
plaiting and twisting and basic cuts.
If you are interested in treating
yourself and would like to visit our
training salon please contact. Mrs
Baker on 01732 840995 ext: 224
[email protected]
.uk
Year 8 Heath Day
On Wednesday 12th March year 8 students had their Health Day. Guest presenters included PC
Brooker who spoke about internet safety, The Kenward Trust had information about smoking and
cannabis abuse and the Fire Brigade discussed the problem of arson. Magistrates spoke about the
court system and discussed issues around cyberbullying.
Page 7
Student page
Author John Brindley’s visit to TMS
We were privileged to have
children’s author John Brindley
visit our school and speak to
students as part of our World
Book Day celebrations. The
author of ‘Amy Peppercorn’ and
‘Rule of Claw’ has had thirteen
books published in the UK and
also some in the USA. He ran a
question and answer session
with the students and covered
topics from what inspired him to
become a writer to the ideas for
his latest novel and what life is
like as a published author. After
the visit, Mr Brindley’s books
flew off the library shelves and
many have been reserved by
students.
Author visit reviews by
Michael Middleton and Josh
Read year 7
When my teacher said that an
author was coming in, excitement
filled me and a giant smile spread
across my face. One day I hope
to be a famous author and I
would like to get as many tips as
possible before fulfilling this
dream. As soon as he arrived I
knew right away things were
about to get exciting, just as I
wanted. He gave us many great
tips and he told us about how he
came to write some of his books.
I hope I get to talk to another
author because we don’t really
get these opportunities often.
This experience, summed up was
amazing. Michael Middleton
I thought that the author coming
in was really exciting. He told us
how to become a famous writer
and how hard it is to get people
to notice your books when you
publish them. I also liked it when
he told us about his books and
how they were for boys and girlsdespite the cover of one book
which looked as though it was
just for girls. I hope that I get to
see another amazing author like
him again soon. Josh Read.
Picture above, John Brindley reading
from his book
‘Starry Eyed and Screaming’
Students get caught
reading
Students have been winning prizes and getting extra reward
points for ‘getting caught reading’ out of the classrooms! Why
not see if you can get caught reading your book and win a
prize too?
Sports news
The back page
Another good result for Karrianne
Karrianne Bell competed
wish her every bit of
in the Inter Counties
success in future
Cross Country event in
competitions.
Southampton. She
finished in 43rd place (out
of 120 competitors) in a
time of 11minutes 16
seconds. Her time at the
Maidstone schools event
was 13.01 so she has
improved her time
dramatically. Karrianne
continues to make rapid
Karrianne is now waiting
to see if she has been
selected for the English
Schools squad. She
continues to make
progress in her athletic
career and recently
received her Kent Schools
Athletics Association
jumper.
improvement in her
athletics career and we
Karrianne Bell wearing her KSAA jumper
Girls netball results
Congratulations to the year 7 and 8 netball teams who
came 3rd out of 9 schools in the district netball
tournament. The girls played some excellent netball
and finished 2nd in their group. This meant going on to
play Invicta Grammar School in the 3rd/4th place play
off final which they won 3-1. The girls are also
undefeated in the league this season with 3 wins and a
draw. Well done girls, keep up the good work!
The Malling School
Beech Road
East Malling
Kent ME19 6DH
Tel 01732 840995
Email:
[email protected]
You can now
follow the PE
department on
Twitter
@TMS_PE
If you have any stories, comments or would
like to publicise your community event, please
contact the editor:
[email protected]
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