Despite the short length of this half term, the weeks that have passed, since our return in January, have been very busy.
The term started in a very positive way, especially for our Year 11 students who spent the day focusing on their upcoming exams and their future destinations during their 'You Can Do it!' day. For those who spent the day as Meden College student, it was a great opportunity to experience what it will be like in September. Studying as a Post 16 student is a very different experience and it offers students more flexibility with their study and the chance to increase their capacity for independent learning, something which is key in higher education. Students who spent the day at Thoresby Courtyard were equipped with so many useful tips and support to help with their mock exams and for their final exams in June. All students were privileged to experience a session with motivational speaker David Hyner, who is a remarkable and very inspiring person. Everyone leaves his sessions feeling more energised and truly focused.
Mock exams were the biggest challenge for our Year 11 and Year 13 students this half term, and I cannot begin to tell you how proud I am of them, for all their hard work and resilience throughout this time. Whatever the outcome, I know they worked so hard and that the experience, and what they take from the outcomes will only strengthen their position going forward. A big thank you to everyone at home who supported their young people throughout what I appreciate is a very stressful time.
Literacy, and reading continues to be a focus at Meden school and it is interesting to read about it in more detail in the article 'Reading Corner'. Staff work consistently hard to engage students and promote a love of reading to our students and the benefits can not be underestimated. Our Big Read and Big Conversation sessions, which happen each half term not only create opportunities for more reading in school, but also help us to talk with the students in a more interactive way about some challenging topics they may face in everyday life. This article will be a regular feature in each of our half termly newsletters.
Each term we continue to run a variety of trips, giving students the opportunity to spread their wings and experience more of the world outside of their local community. This half term saw the first of our overseas trips, which was a Meden College visit to Berlin. So much planning and organisation goes in to even the smallest of trips, but it is all worth it to see the student experiencing more. Berlin was amazing and you can view some of the wonderful places they visited on our website https://www.medenschool.co.uk/page.php?d=college&p=berlin. Please remember to ensure you have access to your child's SQUID account and that it is set up correctly. Trips appear to be very popular with our students and the opportunity can sometimes be missed as parents/carers are unable to access SQUID to reserve their place. If you need support please get in touch.
Congratulations to our sports teams and cross country runners who have competed in both friendly and competitive tournaments this half term. It is always pleasing to see so many of our students participating in activities outside of their educational studies. I know many students play sports and have other hobbies outside of school. Please share these with us so that we can both raise awareness of the opportunities out there and also celebrate your successes with you.
Finally I just wanted to say a heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped us raise money for The British Heart Foundation. I am always humbled by the generosity from our school community. All donations are yet to be counted but we will let you know the total amount when we return.
Thank you for your continued support throughout this term and beyond. Enjoy the remainder of the half term break!
Best wishes
Mr Jim Smith (Headteacher)
The return to school after the Christmas break began with a motivational day for our Year 11 students.
The day saw groups of students focusing on different things.
The first group of students who are considering Post 16 study were given the opportunity to spend the day as students at Meden College. Given the full reign of the College study hub, students were given the full experience of College life including A level taster lessons, studying in the hub and using all the facilities available for our Meden College students in their purpose built hub.
The second group of students were taken to Thoresby Courtyard where they enjoyed lunch and participated in some motivational seminars in Maths and English.
All students were fortunate to experience a motivational session with award winning speaker David Hyner who is no stranger to Meden School. In fact, we have worked with David for over 5 years and often welcome him in to school to talk to different groups of students. All students come out of these session with a greater sense of focus and motivated in what they want/need to do to achieve their goals. Nothing can describe these sessions and you really have to experience them to truly value their worth. He is amazing to watch and such an inspiration!
Year 11 students can continue to access a wide range of resources to support with exam revision on our specially designed Year 11 Success Hub section of our website.
WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING IN SPORT THIS HALF TERM?
Y7 Mixed Dodgeball
We choose students with great ATL in PE that haven't yet been on a fixture to compete in the Year 7 dodgeball match. Unfortunately, despite a very close game, we suffered a narrow defeat 77-72 to Samworth.
Key performances -All students played amazingly but a special mention to Dexter B and Erin D! Well done!
Y7 Netball - CHAMPIONS!
Friendly fixture, won against Brunts and Samworth
Team- Beau F, Emily W, Poppy J, Scarlett P, Ava C, Hannah B, Jasmine K, Hallie DG, Heidi S, Lexi D, Martha R
The Year 7 Netball Team were amazing and their performance was outstanding but a special mention to Emily W for scoring the majority of the points and to Martha R for her outstanding defending!
County Cross Country
The following students competed at the county event on Saturday 3rd Feb. It was an outstanding achievement to even be there, they qualified for being the best in Mansfield and competed against the best students across Notts.
Here are where they finished!
Y7 Football Quarter Final away at All Saints
Unfortunately, lost 2-1, but the lads put in a great effort.
“Firm foundations in reading are critical to breaking the cycle of educational inequality – and to improving the wider life chances of the poorest and most disadvantaged children.” - Read On. Get On Report
WORLD BOOK DAY IS BACK!
Thursday 7th March.
Keep your eyes peeled for information and events that will be taking place on this day!
THE BIG READ
This term students in all year groups have taken part in their termly BIG READ.
During the big read sessions students have the opportunity to read and listen to staff read, whilst following the text.
Students are then given the opportunity, via the big read sessions, to explore the big ideas in the text and learn more about what it can teach us about the world.
KS3 continued to read their fiction books, trialling different reading strategies such as choral reading.
KS4 read and discussed recent news articles focused on the topic of misogyny and sexism.
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DID YOU KNOW????
A child that reads for 30 minutes a day at home reads for an extra 10,950 minutes a year.
Over the course of their secondary school education that amounts to 54,750 minutes.
Compare this to a child that doesn’t read at home at all.
This means a child that reads at home will become A more confident, mature and successful individual.
So, what can be done at home to support this?
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Here is also a link to the National Literacy Trust website to helpful tips and information https://literacytrust.org.uk/
RECOMMENDED READ FROM MISS WILSON
Each term, staff from each subject will recommend books that will support students with their studies and that we believe students will enjoy.
This term English Teacher and Reading Lead Miss Wilson has given her recommendation: .png)
The Refugee Boy by Benjamin Zephaniah explores the experiences of the protagonist Alem whose life is dangerous.
His father is Ethiopian and his mother Eritrean and their countries are both at war - Alem is no longer welcome in either place.
Alem is excited to go away with his father to London until he realises his father is gone and he is left in a strange country to look after himself...
This book gives perspective on the difficulties refugees face when moving to England.
However, it also highlights the advantages we often take for granted such as no wars, free education and the NHS.
LIBRARY LEARNING ZONE
Scanners
This half term we have had a number of students experiencing what it is like to be a librarian scanning out books. Students chosen to scan books out have shown excellent engagement in their library lessons and promoted a love of reading to the rest of the class.
Interviews
Students have been attending interviews to be part of the library association this term. They have been applying for roles such as; Fiction monitors, subject champions and events coordinators.
This academic year we have been in a fortunate position to be able to offer our students, in all year groups, opportunities to go on trips.
This half term has been no exception.
January 12th some of our Year 9 Linguists were given the opportunity to visit the University of Sheffield to find out about life at university and how they could study languages with the aim of raising aspirations
During the day, students got to go on a tour of the university before experienced workshops including how google translate can create some funny scenarios! Students immersed themselves in different languages including German, Catalan and Japanese.
The day was an excellent opportunity to experience university first hand and to also discuss in more details where languages fit in to different careers.
A great day was had by all students and provided those looking to pursue a career involving languages some good advice and guidance.
MEDEN COLLEGE TOURS BERLIN
February 7th was an early start for our group of Meden College students who set off on their tour of Berlin accompanied by Mr Salway, Miss Wild, Mr Byrne and Mrs Jones.
The itinerary was jam packed full each day!
Day 1 Wednesday 7th Feb
1:30pm 3 hour walking guided tour of Berlin
5pm Group to arrive at the Reichstag Building for a visit to the dome and rooftop terrace
7:30pm Evening meal at A&O Berlin Hauptbahnhof (Hostel)
Day 2 Thursday 8th Feb
9.30am Berlin War memorial
11:30am Visit to East Side Gallery
12:30pm Group arrives at Alexanderplatz - Within easy walking distance from Alexanderplatz you will find the Alexa shopping centre, the MarxEngels Forum, Neptune Fountain, Rotes Rathaus, the World Clock and Berlin TV Tower.
2:30pm Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
4:30pm Topography of Terror Museum
6:30pm Evening Meal at the Hostel
7:30pm Bowling
Day 3 Friday 9th Feb
7am Breakfast at the Hostel
9am Palace of Tears Museum terrace
11:30am Tour of House of the Wannsee Conference
2:50pm Sachsenhausen Memorial and Museum Visit
7pm Evening Meal at the Hostel
Day 4 Saturday 10th Feb
7.30am Breakfast at the Hostel
10am Visit to German Resistance Memorial Centre
11:30am Potsdamer Platz for Lunch & some free time
1:30pm Jewish Museum visit
4:30pm Return to hostel to pick up luggage
8:55pm Flight back to Manchester Airport – lands at 10pm
The group had an amazing time and though they were thoroughly exhausted, they still managed to smile when they were met with a delay at the airport coming home.
All photographs are available on our website https://www.medenschool.co.uk/page.php?d=college&p=berlin
With Valentine's Day just around the corner, this half term we decided to raise money for the British Heart Foundation who fund around £100 million of research each year in to circulatory diseases and what causes them.
Valentine's Day is the ideal opportunity to show those people closest you just how much you care. For as little as £1, Students were offered the opportunity to buy a rose and write a message for someone special in their life where at home or in school. Roses were then taken home or delivered in school. The cost of the roses was covered by Mrs Kinney who gave this as part of her donation to this worthwhile charity.
To add to the money raised by selling roses , we had a non uniform day on Friday where students were asked to donate if they could and to wear non uniform for the day. All donations will be counted over half term and the final total announced.
Raising money was only part of the reason for raising awareness for the British Heart Foundation. In Personal Development students learned about AEDs (automated external defibrillator), what they are used for and how they can save lives. A group of our Meden Ambassadors also took part in some CPR training .
They are now fully qualified Life Savers!
Thank you all so very much for your kind donations. Both Meden and the British Heart Foundation truly appreciated your support!
Recognising and rewarding student achievement is so important and it is wonderful to continue to reward so many students with ATL points and Golden Tickets. Each time a golden ticket is logged, you will receive a text alert. You may even receive these texts on a weekend or during the holidays but please don't be alarmed as this is merely staff ensuring that all tickets are logged effectively when there aren't enough hours in the day.
At the end of each half term students are given an ATL score by each of their subjects. Here is a summary of the criteria staff use to award an ATL score ATL REFLECTION CRITERIA
Students receiving an average score of 1 or who have improved the most since the last data point then are put forward for rewards. Special Year group assemblies are held during the last week of term and students receive certificates and rewards for all their hard work.
This half term students who were invited on the rewards trip, visited Mansfield Superbowl for a game of bowling and some social time with friends before heading back to school via McDonalds.
A further group of students were invited to attend a movie afternoon on Thursday 8th February; unfortunately, school prematurely closed due to the snowfall so this will be rearranged.
Zero Heroes and Attendance Achievers
You may also have noticed each week we reward students who achieve 100% attendance for the week and those who have had no behaviour point and the most ATL points. 1 student per year group receives a golden ticket and a chocolate treat and then 1 student is awarded the zero heroes box of treats. You will also receive a text message home. All winners are celebrated on social media and on the screens in school.
Well done to all our prize winners and those enjoying rewards for their outstanding ATL!
Are you aware of the competition currently running in Spanish thanks to Language Nut?
There are lots of language games to complete on Language nut where they can gain points per activity.
Who can earn the greatest number of points?
Well done to Amy C, Jay K and Megan B who are currently top 3 in the school.
Meden is 5th in the nations rankings!!!!!!
Well done to all the students taking part. Keep going, closing date is 18th February (details on your student portal)
If you haven't yet signed up and want to participate, please ask your teacher for a login.
SAFEGUARDING AT MEDEN SCHOOL
At Meden School all staff and leaders are committed to safeguarding and promoting our students' welfare, safety, mental and physical health and guidance. Our students' welfare is of paramount importance. Our school fully recognises the contribution it can make to protect and support students by fostering an honest, open, caring and supportive climate.
We follow the procedures set out by the Nottinghamshire Safeguarding Children Board (NSCB) and take account of guidance issued by the DfE. Meden School adopts the definition used Keeping Children Safe in Education 2020. This can be summarised as:
At Meden School safeguarding is more than protecting students from deliberate harm. It relates to a number of aspects of school life that include health and safety, the use of reasonable force, meeting the needs of students and staff with medical or additional needs, first aid, educational visits, intimate care, internet and online safety and school security.
There are 3 main elements to our Safeguarding and Child Protection culture:
To ensure our Child Protection Culture is maintained we have a dedicated safeguarding team made up of:
COMING UP - IMPORTANT DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
National NO Smoking Day - 13th March
https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/publications/smoking/understanding-smoking
International Transgender Day of Visibility 31 March - Celebrating trans and non-binary people and aiming to raise awareness of discrimination faced by trans and non-binary people worldwide.
World Autism Acceptance Week - 25-31 March 2024
An opportunity to get involved in helping to create a society that supports autistic people.
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination 21 March
On that day, in 1960, police opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration in Sharpeville, South Africa, against the apartheid pass laws.
Neuro Diversity week 18th - 24th March
Neurodiversity Celebration Week is a worldwide initiative that challenges stereotypes and misconceptions about neurological differences
https://www.neurodiversityweek.com/
Stress awareness month - April
Meden School
Train to teach with the Nottinghamshire Torch SCITT