Newsletter Wk37 - Thomas Tallis School

WEEK 37 3 JULY 2015
Calendar
6 July -­‐ 10 July
Week B
Monday 6 July
• Gothic Masterclass Reading University
Tuesday 7 July
•
•
•
•
AM Reg -­‐ Year 12 Assembly PM Reg -­‐ Year 13 Assembly
Year 9 GCSE Dance Year 7 NaMonal Gallery Trip
Dear Parents and Carers
We have had a lovely week at Tallis with our celebraMons for leavers and Headstart Day for Year 6. Trips and visits conMnue apace and the Art ExhibiMon took place on Thursday which looked wonderful. I hope you all have the Tallis FesMval in your diaries: I look forward to seeing you then! Carolyn Roberts, Headteacher
Wednesday 8 July
• AM Reg -­‐ Year 9 Assembly
• PM Reg -­‐ Year 7 Assembly
• Year 7 NaMonal Gallery Trip
Thursday 9 July
• AM Reg -­‐ Year 10 Assembly
• Year 7 NaMonal Gallery Trip
• Recital Evening
Friday 10 July
• PM Reg -­‐ Year 8 Assembly
• Year 8 GCSE Dance
• Year 10 Trip LaMn American Restaurant
facebook.com/creaMvetallis
twi[er.com/creaMvetallis
flickr.com/photos/tallisphoto
Tallis Character
Over the course of this year we have been developing the idea of Tallis Character and have carried out a number of acMviMes, training sessions and consultaMons to arrive at what we think are the traits that we value most at Thomas Tallis School. The five traits that have been the most supported are:
Kidbrooke Village Summer Fete
On Saturday 18 July Kidbrooke Village will be hosMng its annual summer fete. Building on the success of last year, the family friendly event will be taking place in Cator Park and a stage will provide the placorm for a number of live local music acts on the day, including Tim De Grauuw and Band, Linda Em, and Mitch Emery.
A number of arts and crads stalls, fairgrounds rides and acMviMes will also be on hand to keep the crowds entertained from 10.00 am unMl 6.00 pm.
Kindness
Fairness
Respect
Honesty
Op8mism
We discussed these traits at length on our most recent Community Day and students presented their learning and understanding of these to other year groups. A selecMon of the work can be seen on the Community Day blog h[p://talliscommunity.tumblr.com/ I would love to hear from all members of the s c h o o l c o m m u n i t y a b o u t w h a t t h e i r understanding is of these traits or any experiences or stories that people would like to share that illustrate the traits. Please feel free to comment on the blog or to email your thoughts and stories to Michelle Springer, Head of Guidance, [email protected]
Michelle Springer, Head of Guidance
Computer Science – Crea;ng an Android Phone App
In Computer Science this week students were busy creaMng an android phone app. They used MIT app inventor to create a drawing app. They named it Paintpot and it let them draw on their phone screen in different colours. They were also able to poke the screen to make a dot, drag finger along the screen to draw a line and wipe the screen clean using a clear bu[on. Apart from tesMng the app in emulator, they used a QR reader to download and run their completed app on their mobile phones. Find below some pictures of the Paintpot app created by Crystal Hoang from 7RM. Rabia Zeshan, Computer Science
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Summer Term In The Library with ‘Meet the Author’ Sessions
This final term of a very busy year in the Library sees the arrival of some wonderful new books, many of which are requests from our students.
On Thursday 2 July we had the pleasure of welcoming the very talented new author Holly Smale, who has wri[en the Geek Girl series. You may have seen our younger students avidly reading these books. The author enthralled a very large group of our Year 7 students with extracts from her books and advice on wriMng and reading for pleasure.
In celebraMon of the warmer weather and fantasMc new authors and books, Ma[hew Wainwright (our resident author of The Endless Circle series) will be in the Library at LunchMme on Thursday 9 July. Mr Wainwright will be reading from his book ‘Steel & Stone,’ which will be followed by a QuesMon & Answer session. Please encourage our young people to a[end. They will not be disappointed!
Entry will come on first come, first served basis
Defini8on of a Geek
geek/gi:k/h noun informal, cheifly N. Amer.
1 an unfashionalbe or socially inept person.
2 an obsessive enthusiast.
3 a person who feels the need to look up the word ‘geek’ in the dicMonary
DerivaMves of geeky adjecMve.
Origin from the related English dialect word geck “fool”
The Library
IMPORTANT INFORMATION - 1ST JULY
Kidbrooke Station
CHANGE TO ACCESS
Important changes will be taking place from the 1st
July to pedestrian and vehicular access.
In preparation for the construction of the new Village Centre, vital
changes need to be made to improve the road layout near the
station which will facilitate the infrastructure required.
Various pedestrian diversions will be in place until 2018 when the new
Kidbrooke Village Centre is opened. Local bus stops will not be affected.
The new Village Centre will feature a new train station, cafes, shops,
restaurants, a bar, supermarket and doctors surgery. Without these changes
the next phases of the Kidbrooke development would not be possible
Please see overleaf for full details and map.
IF YOU HAVE
ANY QUERIES,
PLEASE
CONTACT US:
Contact: Chris Poynton (Communications Officer)
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 020 8331 3200
Web: kidbrookeregeneration.info
www.kidbrookeregeneration.info
Year 7 Crumble Project
WriMng programs. The led hand one flashes a Sparkle (light) if a switch is p r e s s e d . T h e centre one is a for using a counter and the right hand o n e fl a s h e s a s p a r k l e m a n y different colours.
Thomas Tallis is very lucky to have been selected to be a tester school for a flagship Design And Technology AssociaMon (DATA) scheme invesMng in new technology packs for schools. Two Year 7 groups have been using a class set of Crumbles donated by DATA.
What are Crumbles? Crumbles are credit card sized computers that are programmed using a visual language that closely resembles Scratch, which many primary schools are now using to teach video game programming. The difference between Scratch and the Crumble is that Scratch is done enMrely on a computer, but the Crumble h a s a s e p a r a t e c i r c u i t b o a r d that can easily connect to the real world. It works with switches, motors, lights and sensors and is very easy to connect to. It also remembers its program even ader the school computer has been disconnected, and runs it as soon as it is switched on, so it can be put into real designs students have made, including clothing.
In three weeks the Year 7s have gone from Crumble novices to wriMng programmes in pairs to control the brightness and colours of lights (called Sparkles), gerng them to flash, wiring in switches and then purng the whole lot together to program a robot buggy to roam around a room. In week four we hope to have a race to see who can program a robot to find its own way around an obstacle course in the fastest Mme.
The students have had a great Mme with the Crumbles, showing great imaginaMon, persistence a n d c o l l a b o r a M o n t o w r i t e s o m e t r u l y creaMve programs. Last week they got to meet and thank Stephen Jones from DATA who provided the Crumbles, and had dropped in to see how the project was progressing.
If you are interested in the Crumble, sodware can b e d o w n l o a d e d f o r f r e e f r o m h [ p : / /
redfernelectronics.co.uk/crumble-­‐sodware/
Wiring it all up. The Crumble is on the led, a Sparkle (programmable coloured light) is in the middle and the switch is on the right.
Changing the colour and brightness of a Sparkle.
TesMng the program. The program is sent to the Crumble down a USB lead.
Crumble raring to go at the heart of the robot buggy.
Robin Morgan, Design and Technology
Year 7 Transi;on
Friday 26 June welcomed the second of this year’s SEN TransiMon Days here at Thomas Tallis. TransiMon Days are an opportunity for our more vulnerable Year 6 students joining in September to experience a typical morning at Thomas Tallis School and a chance for visiMng parents and carers to find out more about the support available to them and their child.
The day was terrific from start to finish. Many visitors filled the room and were greeted warmly by members inclusion team as well as outside agency staff, and it wasn’t long before eager Year 6s were introduced and paired off with their Year 7 “buddies”. While their children enthusiasMcally ventured into a veritable variety of subjects, parents and carers enjoyed a tea and biscuit fuelled morning of welcomes, introducMons, and oodles of informaMon. The session included a welcome from the Head of Year 7, a Q&A with the SENCo and a personal welcome from the Head Teacher, Carolyn Roberts. Importantly, parents and carers were given a space to meet one another and speak to agency and in-­‐house staff at their own pace.
It is true to say that Mmes of change in a child’s life brings with it a degree of uncertainty, and (as conversaMons on the day suggested) this uncertainty and anxiety is oden felt tenfold by the parent or carer. Therefore, as well as being as informaMve as possible, we wanted the emphasis of the day to be one of reassurance and celebraMon. And who be[er to reassure our new cohort; who be[er to celebrate the character and achievements of Year 7 than the Year 7s themselves. We were pleased to be able to give parents and carers a taster of what it is like to be a Year 7 student here at Thomas Tallis in the showing of a short film, Day In The Life Of A Year 7. The star of which was Joby Bond 7MB who had a[ended last year’s TransiMon Day himself as a Year 6 visitor. Parents and carers were immersed totally lesson-­‐
by-­‐lesson in Joby’s enthusiasm, openness and natural flare in front of camera. The idea was not only to reassure parents and carers, but to showcase the achievements of one of many current Year 7s who are se[led and now thriving. As Joby explains in his film, he was iniMally apprehensive about joining such a large school but quickly made friends and began to excel in a number of subjects (not to menMon singing solo in front of a hundred parents and carers in this year’s Fashion Show!)
We must also celebrate those Year 7s who volunteered to be the “buddies” of our new Year 6 students. Without hesitaMon, these individuals eagerly jumped at the opportunity to share their newly acquired experience and serve as a guide for their soon-­‐to-­‐be peers. Due to the sheer number of volunteers, some Year 7s were even able to lead a series of informaMve tours for parents later in the day. It is safe to say the day was relaxed, informaMve and enjoyable for all involved. We hope the i n f o r m a M o n imparted by in-­‐
h o u s e a n d v i s i M n g s t a ff s e r v e d t o e m p o w e r p a r e n t s a n d carers. We also hope that the overwhelming maturity and kindness demonstrated by our current Year 7s reassures parents, carers and their children that in Thomas Tallis they are joining a posiMve, welcoming and exciMng community, one that encourages but thrives on inclusion.
Kyle Davison, SEN Transi8on Team Lead
Tallis
Festival
Celebrating Creativity in our Community
Thursday 16th July 2015
3.10pm—6.30pm
Come and join in! There is lots to do, see, and eat at the Tallis Festival
On Tuesday 30 June, ten Year 12 students a[ended the “Adventures of Molecular Science” event at UCL. The day started off with two short lectures about some of the research that is taking place at UCL. One was about studying the chemistry of the ‘origin of life’. This was about finding plausible mechanisms of how chemicals such as amino acids, which are vital for life, began. The second lecture was about how we get solar energy from organic material. This sparked an interest, especially in Kaisun; on ways we can reduce global warming to make solar energy more viable in the UK. Aderwards, the Year 12 got to experience ‘lab’ like real undergraduates. They all carried out nitraMon of methyl benzoate and tested their final product using IR to see if they got the right peaks to indicate if their products have formed, and that they are pure. It was an insighcul day, which gave them lots to think about for their UCAS applicaMons to university.
Aysha Karim, Science