Middle School Newsletter

To our Middle School Community, 

The term is flying by and we are rapidly approaching the half way mark through the year! Please read through the messages below and all about the fantastic things our Middle School crew have been up to lately. 

We hope to see you at our next film night which will be taking place THIS FRIDAY 1st February!

Chewing Gum
Chewing gum is not permitted at school as it ends up under tables, on the carpet and stuck to clothes. Students have had this message clearly during assemblies and from their class teachers. Those found chewing gum at school will complete service during lunchtimes. Service includes supporting in the dinner hall during lunch.

Phone Watches
Parents please note that, like mobile phones, smart watches with telephone capabilities are not allowed to be used through the day due to safeguarding guidelines. If your child has one of these devices, we understand and support the need for easy communication with your child, especially if they travel to and from school alone. If students are bringing smart watches to school teachers will keep these locked away during the day and will return them at the end of the day. If students are found using these at school, they will be confiscated and parents will need to collect these from the office as is the procedure with confiscated phones. 

Toilets
Students are reminded frequently about using the toilets at break and lunch times to minimise the impact on learning that leaving class has. Teachers understand however, that there will be times when students genuinely need to go to the toilet during lesson time. We always exercise professional judgement in these occasions as there are times when students use the toilets inappropriately. Their safety and learning during the day are our top priorities. If your child has any kind of medical condition that may require them to visit the toilet more often, please see your child's coach regarding this. A doctor's note is much appreciated in these instances. 

Acrylic Nails
A final reminder that acrylic nails and bright nail polish is not permitted at school. Please ensure these are removed by Monday if worn on weekends! 

We appreciate all of your support on these issues and are always open to feedback and suggestions from our parent / carer community.  

Dates For Your Diary 

Wednesday 30th January: INSET Day (School closed for students)

Wednesday 30th January: Primary + some Y5/6 Young Voices performance at the O2 (Mr Start will send home details)

Thursday 31st January: Above and Beyond Out and About trip for January at Cafe 19 (rescheduled!) 

Friday 1st February: Family Film Night - 5:30pm to 7:30pm 'The Pursuit of Happyness' starring Will Smith. £1 for entry, crisps and drink (bring tissues)

Monday 4th February - Friday 8th February:  Online Safety Week

Thursday 7th February: Parent's information sessions - Y6 residential (8:45 - 9:15am and 5:30 - 6:15pm)

Tuesday 12th February: EvoGAMES 21.2 Sports Day 8:30 - 15:00

Wednesday 13th February: Invited students at Table Tennis Tournament (15:00 - 18:00) 

Thursday 14th February: Family Maths Evening (letter sent home soon)

Monday 25h February - 1st March: British Science Week

Friday 1st March: Drugs awareness and safety workshop (Years 7 & 8)

Friday 1st March: Y8 Theatre trip (Mr Thomas' project group) meet 6:45pm meeting time at the school gates - 10:00pm collection

Wednesday 27th, Thursday 28th February & Friday 1st March: Hairspray Musical performances 18:00- 20:00

Thursday 7th March: World Book Day 

Friday 8th March: Y8 Lantern Project team & Y6 'Night Walk' fundraiser - Olympic Park 4:30 - 6:30pm. 

Tuesday 12th March & Wednesday 13th March: Parent's Evenings 15:30 - 17:30

Half term break - Monday 19th February - Friday 23rd February

Monday 25th February - Friday 29th February: Book Fair

W/B/ Monday 18th March: Middle School Bring a Parent to School week (TBC)

Thursday 28th March: Great Oracy Exhibition (school closed)

Friday 5th April: Last day of term - school finishes at 13:00

Attendance Winners - week beginning 21/1/19

Year 5 - Machu Picchu - 95.6%

Year 6 - Kosciuszko - 98.4%

Year 7 - Ben Nevis - 96.8%

Year 8 - Olympus - 96.4%

Copperbox Sports Showdown

Yesterday, representatives from Years 5 and 6 went to an athletics competition held at the Copperbox Arena in the Olympic Park! Our athletes competed in a number of events over the afternoon, demonstrating sportsman(and woman!)ship, rising to each challenge. Well done for representing our school, team! 

Ben Nevis Book Designers

Last week Ben Nevis were creating original book covers in their lessons. Grace and Marcia designed this beautiful example for their class novel 'The Wolf Wilder' by Katherine Rundell. 

'Once upon a time, one hundred years ago, there was a dark and stormy girl. Her name was Feodora. This is her story.'  

Congratulations Marcia and Grace!

Erasmus Adventure in Portugal

10 Y8 adventurers journeyed to a town in Portugal named Coimbra for the week on the second leg of our Erasmus exchange program. The students all stayed with host families, learning about the culture, customs and daily life of the Portuguese. They attended Colegio Sao Jose for the week, completing a project on games in history and visiting the town's university (where some of Harry Potter was filmed!), museums and ancient Roman ruins. It was a fantastic week for both the students and staff. All 10 of our adventurers represented School 21 impressively - there have been lots of invites back in summer! 

A video montage of the week is available by clicking here. 

The next adventure will be happening in May to Dublin, Ireland where will be taking 8 students. Please email your applications to Miss Kyrk by the end of the week!
 

Now Press Play at Emirates Stadium!

Last term the Y6 classes created some incredible interactive audio experiences to use with the 'Now Press Play' wireless headphone system in their project. They investigated the theme of exploration, learning about discovery in South America, the Antarctic and the moon. The Now Press Play staff were so impressed by the quality of the Y6's work, they invited some representatives to present the experiences at the Islington Celebration of Technology. The even was held inside the Emirates Stadium which made the Arsenal fans in the group very happy! Well done to all the Y6 reps for their professionalism and poise throughout the event. 

Lantern Project Night Walk

Currently a group of Y8 students and the whole of Y6 are working on a project with the essential question 'How can we bring light to those who need it?'. The students are using their geometry skills to design and create 3D lanterns. These will be used in a 'Night Walk' fundraiser which students will participate in one evening in March. Sponsorship will be sought out for the walk with the funds raised going towards projects of the students' choice from www.lanternprojects.org. Keep an eye out for more information regarding this event which will be sent out next week.  

Our next Family Film Night... 

We will be holding our next Family Film Night - Friday, 1st FEBRUARY (sorry for last week's misprint!!) from 5:30pm - 7:30pm. This time around we will be watching The Pursuit of Happyness starring Will Smith and his son Jayden. We ask for a £1 donation for everyone who wishes to attend which includes popcorn and squash! Bring along a pillow and snuggle up to watch this uplifting film with us! (Rated 12+ - by sending your child you give permission for them to watch) More information on the film is available here: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/the-pursuit-of-happyness 

Recognition last week 

Last week saw our recognition board full of names! Well done to all the students who have gone above and beyond upholding our 3 Commitments for Choosing Kind, Stepping Up and being In the Zone. 

This Week's Lunch Menu is Week 1!

Council to discuss 2019/20 budget proposals with residents at People’s Budget Forums

The People’s Budget Forums will be held on 16 January, 21 January and 24 January, giving residents a chance to speak with the Mayor of Newham, Cabinet members and officers about the budget proposals.

The proposals, which have been influenced by what residents have said during Citizens’ Assemblies, include investing:

•  £3m to pay our care staff the London Living Wage;

•  £1.4m into youth services to keep our young people safe;

•  £6.3m so that primary school children continue to eat for free;

•  £10.6m into Children’s Services;

•  £1.3m to support children with Special Educational Needs;

•  £1.4m to support 19,000 lowest income households by cutting the cost of their Council Tax;

•  £390,000 for free bulky waste collections;

•  An additional £500,000 to accelerate social housing delivery;

•  £250,000 to ensure residents are at the heart of our decision-making process.

In order to pay for this, a 2.9% increase in Council Tax is proposed alongside an Adult Social Care Precept of 2%. This additional payment of just 89p per week, for a Band D property, for the Newham element of Council Tax, alongside a planned programme of savings, will help fund new and improved services.

The Mayor of Newham, Rokhsana Fiaz, said: “These budget forums are another example of how we are continuing to put residents at the heart of everything we do.

“Setting the budget for 2019/20 is an important step for this administration and we want our residents to be informed about the process.

“I’m encouraging everyone to get involved, including young people, to come along to these People’s Budget Forums to find out more about how we’ll spend money as a council in the next financial year and learn more about what we do.”

The forums are part of a series of platforms created by the council to enhance governance and transparency; and ensure that Newham residents are more involved with decision-making. They will provide an opportunity to discuss how the council is funded, its 2019/20 budget proposals, and how residents can be involved in future budget decisions.

Newham People’s Budget Forums 

​Stratford & West Ham

​Thursday 24 January

​10.30am- 1pm

​Old Town Hall, Stratford, 29 The Broadway, Stratford, E15 4BQ

To register for your place, visit www.newham.gov.uk/PeoplesBudgetForum or email any comments to Peoples.Budget@newham.gov.uk​  

During our first rehearsal of the term, the community choir were designing protest slogans in preparation for our involvement in the school musical, ‘Hairspray’. Come and join us for community choir over the next few weeks for the chance to get involved! Next rehearsal this Friday 4.15pm. All welcome