This term, though short has been a very busy one for students and staff.
An important term for our Year 11 and Year 13 students as they work hard on their revision strategies for the exams in the Summer months. The term began on a positive note for our Year11 students who experienced a day of inspirational and motivational sessions based around building their confidence during the 'You can do it' day. it is always a pleasure to invite David Hyner into school to talk to our young people. David, who has visited Meden many times has a special way of reaching out to young people and they always leave feeling more energised and more focused.
The mock exams went well and i was truly proud of the way students conducted themselves at what can be a very stressful time. I can see how hard they have worked and my thanks go to you at home for being a great support to our young people during this time. The support we give in school will continue; please visit our Y11 Success Hub for a wide range of extra resources and support.
As a school we are always looking to support our students at every opportunity, and we are constantly exploring new ways in which we can achieve this. It has been a pleasure to be able to welcome Bow, our therapy dog, into school to help small groups of students with confidence, resilience and self regulation. With the support of the Mental Health Support Team we have been able to organise drop in sessions on Tuesday lunch times every month, allowing students to seek any support they need. The amazing work we continue to do in Personal Development sessions and through dedicated assemblies, ensures that even the most difficult of subjects is discussed with our young people. In doing all this, we can ensure that our young people leave us as well rounded individuals equipped to face the world outside of school.
The most enjoyable part of coming to the end of a half term is being able to look back and see what our students have achieved whether through their academic learning, through sport or through their extra-curricular activities. Meden students are amazing and as a proud Headteacher it is wonderful to see them enjoying their end of term rewards; to see them in assemblies receiving awards; to see them being recognised for their consistent hard work and good attendance. When you consider that as a school we give out on average over 3000 ATL points every day it is remarkable! The reward activity 'Last Man Standing' looked great fun and I was thrilled to see so many students taking part. Long may it continue!
Finally I just want to express my thanks to you for your kind donations to support our chosen charity, The British Heart Foundation. I am always humbled by your support and i appreciate it isn't always easy. I know they really appreciate any donations made and the money will go towards some of the amazing research into heart disease and circulatory conditions that carry out.
Thank you! Enjoy the rest of your half term!
Best Wishes
Mr Jim Smith - Headteacher
The return after half term started in a very positive way for our Year 11 students who are at a very important stage in their school career.
The 'You can do it ' day saw students split in to 2 different cohorts.
Students in the first cohort were taken to Thoresby Hall where they experienced an inspiration session with David Hyner a world renowned speaker who has proven very popular and successful with previous cohorts of students,
David who has a unique way of reaching out to young people, demonstrates practical strategies for improving memory and overcoming barriers to achievement in exams. His sessions are insightful and really motivate the students.
Following the session with David, students were engaged in sessions on how to pass English and Maths and also how to revise successfully.
Students expressing an interest in further education after their GCSE studies were invited to spend the day at Meden College, our Post 16 dedicated provision to sample life as a Post 16 student.
Students attended A Level lessons and were able to experience the independence and flexibility of being a Post 16 student. giving them a taste of what the 'step up' to College feels like. Students were given careers advice and enjoyed a motivational session with David Hyner.
The purpose of the day was to inspire and motivate our students at this pivotal point in their education to generate self belief and help them to believe that they can be successful in whatever they chose to do after their GCSE exams. It was a great success!
YEAR 11 SUCCESS HUB
To further support our Year 11 students, we have created a dedicated section of our website called the Year 11 Success Hub and it can be accessed by following the link below
On this page of the website, students and parents/carers can access a multitude of extra resources and support to help with planning and revision in the lead up to the summer exams. The web page is regularly updated with new resources.
Teachers of Year 11 students have just created a 10 week plan for each subject which can be found on this web page. These plans are an essential tool for all students and break thee weeks down in to different categories identifying the materials they need to learn and where to find additional resources.
If you have any further questions relating to Year 11, please contact Mr Hyatt, who is the Curriculum Leader for Year 11 (Miss Singleton is on maternity leave). shyatt@medenschool.co.uk
Our weekly Excellence Exhibitions is something we always look forward to, It gives students the opportunity to be proud of the work they do and to receive recognition from us for the hard work they do on a daily basis.
Here is an example of some of the amazing work produced by our students.
Every student that shows us a piece of their work is awarded a Headteacher Excellence postcard worth 5 ATL points and a positive text home. Well done to all students receiving recognition for their hard work. Keep up the good work!
SPANISH CHALLENGES
Our Year 7 Spanish students have been completing some Spanish challenges set by the British Council as detailed here.
Well done to Chloe, Cora, Poppy and Anna who have already completed 3 challenges and Lily and Emelia who have completed them all.
The challenges are a fantastic way for students to embrace the learning of a language.
TOM'S TALKS
On the last day of half term we were fortunate to have welcomed Tom's Talks into Meden School to deliver special assemblies to students in Years 9, 10, 12 and 13.
Tom Dickinson lost his brother to suicide in 2015 and since then, has dedicated his time to 'sharing a personal journey to support people with their mental health.'
His powerful sessions tell of his first hand experiences of battling with his own mental health, following the trauma of losing his brother and he shares the strong message that it 'is Ok not to be Ok'.
Small groups of students attended some additional motivational workshops during his visit to school. Though a very difficult subject that is often not talked about, Tom's experience has helped to raise awareness and show our young people that reaching out for help and support when things are difficult can make all the difference.
Special thanks to Paul’s Pit Stop, a local charity who have been raising for mental health awareness for covering as they covered the cost of Tom's visit to Meden. If you would like to know more about Paul’s Pit Stop you can find them on social media.
For anyone needing further support with mental health, please access our website for further links and agencies who can help https://www.medenschool.co.uk/page.php?p=mindful
This Valentine's Day students were raising awareness and donations for The British Heart Foundation in several ways.
Throughout the final week of term, students were given the chance to purchase a rose for someone in their life that they care about. For a £1 donation students wrote a message an a special tag which was then attached to a rose and delivered either to the student (if taking home) or to the recipient on Thursday/Friday.
All roses were sold and £60 was raised for the British Heart Foundation.
To go along with this donation, students contributed a donation to wear school uniform on Friday.
Donations are still being counted and we will be able to announce the total amount raised, after half term. Thank you for your support with this.
To help raise awareness of the important work that the charity do, a small group of students were given the opportunity to complete the BHF RevivR course.
17 students completed the course across all year groups to become Meden's next potential life savers. They are now trained to save a life and will receive a BHS certificate.
If you are interesting in learning more about how to save a life use the link below to access to a short training session. This will equip you with the skills to become a life saver by demonstrating how to perform CPR and how to use a defibrillator.
In just 15 minutes you could learn how to save a life.
Every half term we celebrate students will excellent Culture Code scores.
As a reminder, the Culture Code for each student is made up of a combination of positive culture events, minus negative conduct events and a score for attendance and average ATL - see below.
This half term the reward was to take part in the inflatable 'Last Man Standing' and over 180 students were able to participate, which is amazing! Here are a few pictures of the students having a great time.
CULTURE CARDS
Our Culture Cards continue to be a positive aspect of our school culture; 77% of the cards being logged were for 2 x positive marks on the card when students have demonstrated being kind,polite or responsible. This is in comparison to the 23% for 2 x negatives, when students haven't had the correct uniform or equipment or have displayed unacceptable behaviour during lunch or break time.
Here is a list of students receiving 10 or more positive cards this half term;
Well Done!
HOUSE POINTS
Our students continue to do amazingly well inside and outside of lessons. 106, 238 ATL points were awarded last half term. which when you consider there were 29 school days, works out at over 3600 points every single school day, which is phenomenal !!
Clipstone continue to lead with the highest number of ATL points being awarded to them last half term and overall.
Interestingly when we take in to account the number of students in each house, it is Welbeck who have the least number of students in their house, that have the highest average number of house points per student.
As our House system becomes embedded in to the culture of the school students will enjoy more inter-house competitions and the chances for students to gain more ATL will grow. We look forward to that!
Well done to all our students who continue to be amazing every single day!
YEAR 10 FOOTBALLERS
On Monday 20th Jan, Y10 Boys played in a football tournament at Sutton Lawn.
Other schools attending the tournament included; Ashfield School, All Saints Academy, Joseph Whitaker school, Dukeries Academy and us. (Brunts Academy and Queen Elizabeth's Academy sadly dropped out last minute)
Historically; Ashfield School, All Saints Academy, Joseph Whitaker school are very strong teams and usually reach the semi-finals and finals of any football related competitions- so we expected a very tough evening!
Despite this, our lads battled so hard for each other in every single game, showing great sportsmanship.
In the end we drew all 4 games 0-0, which is actually a fantastic achievement and in the odd game- we actually had the chance to snatch a winner!
The highlight of the evening was drawing with Ashfield School as we were the only school not to get beaten by them!
Congratulations to the students involved:
************************************************************************************************************************************************
YEAR 9 FOOTBALL TEAM
On Monday 3rd Feb, some of our Year 9 boys football team attended a tournament at Sutton Lawn.
Other schools in the competition included; Sutton Community Academy A & B Team, Quarrydale Academy and Selston High School.
The boys had a very successful evening.......
Meden School 3 -0 Sutton Community Academy A Team
Meden School 2-0 Sutton Community Academy B Team
Meden School 2-0 Selston High School
Meden School 0 - 0 Quarrydale Academy (currently area champions, who we also face in the 11 v 11 semi-final game to be played soon).
These amazing results mean they now qualify for a finals night later in the year!
Well done to the following students:
************************************************************************************************************************************************
GIRLS BADMINTON
On Wednesday 29th Jan, some Year 9 & 10 girls attended a Badminton tournament at Sutton Academy. Other schools in the competition included Outwood Academy Kirkby A & B Team, Sutton Community Academy A & B Team, Quarrydale Academy A & B Team and Ashfield School.
Two students played in separate singles games and 2 students combined for a doubles game against each school.
All students represented the school superbly in the KS3 event (for Y7-9 students) and in the KS4 event (for Y10-11 students).
Results were as follows:
KS3 Event
Meden School won Quarrydale Academy B Team, Kirkby School A & B Teams, Sutton Community Academy A & B Teams.
Meden School lost against Quarrydale Academy A Team.
KS3 team- finished 3rd in their competition - well done to...
KS4 Event
Mixed results but the doubles team won 3 out for 4 games.
Well done to the KS4 Team...
************************************************************************************************************************************************
YEAR 7 & 8 GIRLS FOOTBALL TEAM
Our Year 7&8 girls football team attended a tournament at Joseph Whitaker school on Tuesday afternoon (4th Feb).
Other schools in the competition included; Joseph Whitaker, Quarrydale Academy, Sutton Community Academy, The Minster School, Brunts Academy, Selston High School and us.
Split into 2 groups of 4; the top 2 in each group would play in the Gold Medal match and runners up in each group would play for the Bronze medal.
GROUP RESULTS
Meden School 1 - 0 Joseph Whitaker School
Meden School 0- 0 Brunts Academy
Meden School 1-0 Selston High School
This meant that the girls won their group and went through to the final against The Minster School.
*Minster had won all 3 of their group games by at least 3-0 or more!!
The final was extremely tight. Minster were the better team but the Meden girls battled so hard!
We took the lead with about 2 minutes to go but unfortunately Minster equalised in the remaining time.
So, the final went to penalties which we lost 2-1. The girls played their hearts out and were thoroughly delighted with their silver medals.
Congratulations to ...
************************************************************************************************************************************************
DISTRICT CROSS COUNTRY
After finishing in the Top 12 runners at a Mansfield cross country event just before Christmas 2024 at Sherwood Pines, several Meden students qualified for the District cross country team (representing all Mansfield school) is a county wide event held at Worksop College.
On Saturday 3rd Feb, 5 students ran in various races covering between 3K and 6K.
Against very strong fields, all students ran excellent races and finished in strong positions
YEAR 8 & 9 GIRLS RACE
YEAR 10 & 11 GIRLS RACE
YEAR 10 & 11 BOYS RACE
Massive well done to all students taking part.
************************************************************************************************************************************************
Y9&10 GIRLS FOOTBALL TEAM STORM INTO SEMI-FINALS
On Monday 10th Feb, our Y9&10 girls football team played a magnificent game against Samworth Academy.
In freezing conditions, the girls played amazingly and controlled the game from start to finish. The game finished 4-0 but could have easily been double that in all honesty.
The win now sends them through to the semi-finals (v's either All Saints or Selston Academy).
One more win would see the girls play in the Cup final at Mansfield Town Football ground in May.
Congratulations to the team!
Year 9's
Year 10's
“A book is a gift you can open again and again.” - Garrison Keillor
BIG READ
Each half term, students take part in the Big Read. The big read sessions allow students to have the opportunity to read and listen to staff read while they follow the text. They will then be 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.
This half terms big read focus was on racism - specifically how we can be up standers to racism and challenge misconceptions.
The students had some discussions about how they can challenge injustice in the world.
Did you know?
Not reading at the expected level puts children at an increased risk of experiencing unemployment and poor health as adults. Discover more in our report on Literacy and life expectancy.
Technology can provide a route into reading for traditionally reluctant less engaged readers.
Strong reading skills have been shown to improve children’s academic attainment across a range of subjects, including English, maths and science.
Here is also a link to the Book trust website for helpful tips and information https://literacytrust.org.uk/
RECOMMENDED FEBRUARY HALF TERM READ
Half term is the perfect time to cosy up with a good book. Here is some books we recommend to link to the students English Curriculum this half term:
Year 7 - Poetry - Can you see me?
Year 8 - Gothic - A Monster Calls
Year 9 - Of Mice and Men - To Kill a Mocking Bird
Year 10 - A Christmas Carol - Oliver Twist
Year 11 - Be Resilient
Once you have read these books you can even watch the films!
A BIG WELCOME TO BOW
We are delighted to welcome Bow into school as part of our work with Pets as Therapy.
Pets As Therapy (PAT) is a national charity that enhances the health and well-being of thousands of people in communities across the UK. Now that Meden School has successfully registered with the charity, we will be visited weekly by Bow and her handler to offer a small number of students the opportunity of working with her and getting to know her better.
Bow is a delight and welcomed by all the students and staff in school that meet her. It is hoped that she can help students with their confidence, self regulation and sense of well-being through the work that she does with them.
Isn't she beautiful?
It is hard to keep up with the achievements of Y12 Meden College student, Freya Percival as every month sees another amazing success.
Needless to say Freya and her beloved horse Happy have been working very hard these last few months and i am delighted to be able to share with you a few of their recent successes.
British Dressage C+ Rider League winner and the highest placed mark attaining the Patty Shield Jan 2025
Regional Championships UK - 31st Jan to 1st Feb 2025 at Arena UK
They won their Golden ticket to the Nationals
Congratulations to Freya and Happy who continue to work hard both in and out of school. We are very proud of you and look forward to hearing more of your competitions and achievements.
Meden School
Train to teach with the Nottinghamshire Torch SCITT