paws and tails - tmbss.files.wordpress.com · i’m not able to have a dog of my own at ......

8
T M B S S Newsletter Date S h r o p s h i r e C o u n c i l Newsletter Title A Word From the Acting Head of Service... It’s been a short but very busy term at TMBSS as you can see from the articles in the latest edition of our newsletter. I’m delighted to see the continued hard work from our Year 11 students as the GCSE exams loom ever closer. I’m pleased to report that TMBSS was judged as ‘Good’ in our re- cent Ofsted inspection and would like to thank you for your ongoing support. Have a good Easter! Greg Portman T M B S S March, 2018 Issue 8 Paws and Tails... Each Tuesday between 9:45 and 2:00 I go to my work experience placement with a dog sitter based in Chirk, a short drive from my home in Oswestry. Fiona runs this business and I started going about four weeks ago. Usually, Fiona and Max, the German Shepherd, collect me from my home and we go to collect Patrick, a French Bulldog and Dolly the Spaniel. We drive to Whittington where Fiona has arranged to take a Yorkshire Terrier for a walk. Patrick and Dolly stay in the car but Max comes with us on a walk around the castle. After half an hour we take Floss back to her owner, an el- derly lady with mobility problems, before driving to Chirk, where Fiona’s business is based. Yesterday, Fiona was running a bit late and after picking me up we went to buy Max a coat because it was raining heavily. We went back to Fiona’s, where six dogs were waiting for us. Between three of us, we took these seven dogs for a two hour walk around Chirk. Then it was back to Fiona’s for a tea break before I went home. I really enjoy my work experience because I love working with dogs. I’m not able to have a dog of my own at the moment although I’d really like one. In the future I would definitely like to work with dogs. S Williams (Year 11) KS4 students have the opportunity to com- plete regular work experience placements as part of their individual programmes

Upload: vudien

Post on 15-Dec-2018

213 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

T M B S S

A Word From the Head of Service

Newsletter Date S h r o p s h i r e C o u n c i l

Newsletter Title

A Word From the Acting Head of Service...

It’s been a short but very busy term at TMBSS as you can see from the articles in the latest edition

of our newsletter. I’m delighted to see the continued hard work from our Year 11 students as the

GCSE exams loom ever closer. I’m pleased to report that TMBSS was judged as ‘Good’ in our re-

cent Ofsted inspection and would like to thank you for your ongoing support.

Have a good Easter! Greg Portman

T M B S S

March, 2018

Issue 8

Paws and Tails...

Each Tuesday between 9:45 and 2:00 I go to my work experience

placement with a dog sitter based in Chirk, a short drive from my

home in Oswestry. Fiona runs this business and I started going

about four weeks ago.

Usually, Fiona and Max, the German Shepherd, collect me from my

home and we go to collect Patrick, a French Bulldog and Dolly the

Spaniel. We drive to Whittington where Fiona has arranged to take a

Yorkshire Terrier for a walk. Patrick and Dolly stay in the car but

Max comes with us on a walk around the castle. After half an hour we take Floss back to her owner, an el-

derly lady with mobility problems, before driving to Chirk, where Fiona’s business is based.

Yesterday, Fiona was running a bit late and after picking me up we went to buy Max a coat because it was

raining heavily. We went back to Fiona’s, where six dogs were waiting for us. Between three of us, we took

these seven dogs for a two hour walk around Chirk. Then it was back to Fiona’s for a tea break before I went

home.

I really enjoy my work experience because I love working with dogs. I’m not able to have a dog of my own at

the moment although I’d really like one. In the future I would definitely like to work with dogs.

S Williams (Year 11)

KS4 students have the opportunity to com-plete regular work experience placements as part of their individual programmes

Branching Out at Hook-A-Gate

The pupils at Hook-A-Gate centre recently had the opportunity to get

a little green-fingered when they planted a selection of trees at the

Shrewsbury site.

The trees were donated to us by Charles Woodford (Chair

of Governors) and the tree-planting took place in the area to the

side of Hook A Gate Centre in February.

Hook-A-Gate pupil , J Edwards (Year 11) who worked alongside

Mrs Rudge to carefully plant the saplings in their new home said

"On the Tree-Planting Day, we planted 10 trees. We named

each tree after a pupil. After that we all went inside and enjoyed

some lovely hotdogs"

This term, students at Bridgnorth Centre

were lucky enough to work with Mr Redknap

before he left TMBSS at February half term.

Even though it was a cold few weeks, the

students were regularly able to get out and

about to explore some of the lesser known

spots of stunning Shropshire on mountain-

bike.

Some students were particularly brave and willing to give a few

jumps a shot, and when the wintery weather really got the best of

us, they were able to get to grips with some bike maintenance too.

Off the Beaten Track...

Year 11 pupils at Ludlow Centre have been working towards the final stages of

their GCSE Food Technology practical controlled assessment. The new GCSEs

require students to investigate recipe development and so their assessment has

involved them asking staff and other pupils to taste test their products and ana-

lyse the dishes’ sensory appeal.

M McNinch developed a tricky choux pastry recipe to create a batch of

delicious profiteroles for her assessment. She refined her design, using

orange juice and zest to flavour the whipped cream and chocolate top-

ping. Very YUMMYYY.

M Giles also worked hard to develop a version of a Margherita pizza

making the dough from scratch and using fresh basil to enhance the

flavours. He hasn’t been short of volunteers to help out with his analy-

sis either. Let’s be honest, who doesn’t like eating pizza?

Cooking Up A Storm in GCSE Food Technology

Perfect, Perfect Pancakes Students at Bridgnorth teamed up to create a pancake feast on

Shrove Tuesday earlier this term which fell on 13th February this year.

Most students had the opportunity to make batter and fillings before

honing their pancake flipping skills. A few

turned out a little ‘wonky’ and a few ended up

on the floor, but

we discovered

that some stu-

dents had a real

talent for it.

Shame it’s only

once a year!

Students throughout KS4 have been developing their creative writing skills in preparation for their GCSE English Language exam.

A piece of writing inspired by an image in a school encouraging students to read...

The corridor was filled with books. Navigating it was like a slalom,

with pages on every side. The corridor was dimly lit, with grey walls that were hardly visible between

walls of bookshelves, all filled to the brim. Books that were not contained in the shelves lay haphaz-

ardly along the floor, in towering stacks. At the end of that corridor was an intersection, leading to

corridor upon corridor of the same scenario. Floorboards lay brown and bare, only covered by the

books and a singular mangy, brown rug that lay at the door.

From the outside, the building was deceiving. It appeared stately, with a large driveway and an an-

gelic fountain that stoically stood outside. Ornate railing and stairs twisted around the house, but

disappeared from view soon after. From the outside, it certainly wasn’t as dilapidated as the interior

would suggest. It stood eerily on its own, not

even disturbed by the wind and the weather, as if

they too chose to give it a wide berth.

However, the figure didn’t care about the house.

He didn’t pause at the fountain, and simply

pushed his way through the large oak door as if

he had known it’d be open. He didn’t stop to

close the door behind him, just continued to

stride purposely into the residence. He didn’t flinch as the door slammed shut behind him, the noise

reverberating around the house. He didn’t acknowledge the flickering lights. Most of all, he didn’t

notice the light footsteps on the floorboards behind him, and how the door had slammed shut when

there was no wind.

He was looking for a book. Yet as he strode past tower after tower of them, he didn’t break his

stride. He knew exactly what he was looking for, and exactly where in the annals of time it was lost,

because nothing was ever lost in this house, only forgotten. That was the same for people too.

A Little Imagination...

Forgotten M Hinton (Y11)

The sapphire sea stood still and silent in the dark night

sky.

The man’s eyes painted a portrait and wrote a thousand words, tattooing the sky with his desper-

ation. He stared blankly into the abyss listening to the faint drip, drip coming from his teardrops

landing in the sea. He sat in a brown, handmade boat; its reflection littered the water. A blue tur-

tle’s shell covered his hair, that seemed to be hiding from the world, and it sloped down to just

above his thick, caterpillar like eyebrows. He was a man of many years and this truth was dis-

played across his worn and weathered face. His face was an art exhibition but no one had looked

at it for a long time, there was never any company in the middle of the sea.

For most of his numbered days he would stare

blankly ahead as if he was watching his own

thoughts, motionless and then he would spin

back into reality and stretch out his long, spindly

arms to row further into the nothingness ahead.

The oars danced in the sea, as the hull of the

boat ran across the vast waters. Below, a group

of fish had gathered to watch; and with every

stroke that the tired man took they jumped for

joy, leaping out of the water in a flurry of excite-

ment. As the man rested, the fish rested too.

The man’s diamond stare reached down to the water and he focused on the underwater kingdom

below the sea; he had large, round, knowledgeable eyes that held the key to a long and disturbed

past.

The fish began to bob above the tranquil, cold sea and they lit up, illuminating the water like a set

of multi-coloured glow sticks. As the temperature dropped his nose snuffled like a canon explod-

ing into the sky like a flare calling for help.

A Fisherman’s Choice

J Barton (Y11)

On the 13/02/2018 as part of our outdoor education, some students and members

of staff and Dora the Dog, took a trip to Sycharth, the remains of Owain Glyndwr’s home outside Oswestry.

When we got there it was very muddy which should have been a fore-

warning of what was about to happen. As Dora the dog bounced

around the cars we prepared to brave the mud. There was a ladder

leading over into the field where the Motte and Bailey was, but on the

other side of the ladder there was a pit of mud this would only be the

beginning.

It was beautiful as the sun slowly went behind the clouds. We were

left with a hill and a moat with historical value. Walking up it was very

interesting as the dog had more speed and energy then all of us put

together, but getting down would prove to be more of a problem.

As I was taking a lovely stroll down the hill I could feel a slight push of

gravity edging me forward and the adrenaline junkie I am, I went with

the flow.

However this would be my downfall. As I neared the bottom, I felt my foot go down about 30cm into the ground. I

screamed being not only an adrenaline junkie but a drama queen apparently. I pulled my foot out to reveal a muddy

hell. My leg was covered from my shoes to just below the knee. My trainers were ruined and my mum was going to kill

me.

Although it was an amazing trip the mud was awful and if I ever go back I will be sure to wear appropriate footwear.

Thank you to all the staff who organized the trip and thank you Mr. Parkinson for the face wipes for my shoes.

By M Chetah

Stories from Sycharth Oswestry pupils took a trip to Sycharth Castle in February - home of Owain Glyndwr

"Building earthquake proof tow-ers and water dams was good fun. We won the earthquake challenge!" TC

"The waterfall at Pystll Rhaeader was really im-pressive and the natural arch was incredible" TC

Getting Out of the Classroom A number of students from Sundorne

Centre have also been out and about

completing fieldwork to help bring the

theory from the classroom to life as part

of the requirements for the ne GCSE Ge-

ography specification.

They completed some work on Ironbridge

for the human geography elements of

the course and waterfalls and rivers as

part of physical geography.

A Day in the Life... Jake is a Worcester Warriors Academy player who is hoping to go to study at Hartpury Col-

lege after his GCSEs before becoming a professional Rugby player. On Tuesday 14th of

February he went for a taster day. This is his account of the experience.

I woke up at six. I’d got all of my stuff out the night before. Got dressed and went downstairs

where I ate a big bowl of Crunchy Nut Cornflakes.

My dad and I left the house at half six. It was still dark outside and very cold. We drove for two

and a half hours to Hartpury in Gloucester and got there just after nine.

After brief introductions, I joined the over a hundred budding rugby players for the training session. I

was surprised to find out that many of the others were also Academy Level players. My dad joined the

other parents for a talk about the rugby program at Hartpury College.

We did a twenty minute warm up session and then an hour of fitness work. This included fifty metre

sprints, laps of the pitch, bear crawls and broncos (where you have to run forwards to the five metre

line and then backwards before running forwards again to a fifteen metre line and repeat to ever in-

creasing distances). I found this quite hard.

After this we did an hour and a half of skills: basic handling drills, tackle techniques, scrummaging and

line-outs. This was followed by an hour for lunch; I’d had to take my own pasta.

After lunch we did an hour of “conditioned games”. For example after a tackle the tackler

has to drop to the floor and do three press ups before he can re-join the game. We fin-

ished at one.

Tuesday is also my Worcester Warriors Academy training day, so I was due to be there at

half five. My dad decided that we should probably go home and feed the dog. This meant

a further drive of two and a half hours. But first a second lunch of a Grand Big Mac!

After sorting out the dog it was back into the car for an hour and forty minute drive to

Worcester and my two hour training session. That finished at half seven just in time for

another hour and forty minute drive back home. Traffic was bad so we didn’t get home

until ten o’clock. Time to eat. I had a shower while dad made a massive heap of pancakes, it was Pancake Day after all.

J Entwistle (Y11)

Having a Heart to Heart

Y10 students from Bridgnorth Centre have been learning about organ donation and some of

the issues surrounding

this emotive topic.

They have explored some of the reasons

that people choose to become organ do-

nors and the ethics relating to medical

treatment.

Most recently they have analysed language

in a variety of texts written about organ

donation and have experimented with writ-

ing some persuasive and powerful exam-

ples of their own.

Useful Websites

http://www.getmyfirstjob.co.uk

https://www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship

Every year, more and more students are choosing to complete apprenticeships as their post-16 option. Offering a bridge between employment and further education, apprenticeships are often seen as the ‘best of both worlds’ and the range of ap-prenticeships available is growing all the time.

This year The Apprenticeship Show returned to The International

Centre in Telford for the 3rd year. Last year, more than 3500 del-

egates visited the show , meeting 75 exhibitors, including employ-

ers and training providers from across Telford, Shropshire and the

rest of the West Midlands.

Our students had the opportunity to find out about the different

careers available through apprenticeships as well as the local

companies that are offering them. There was even the chance to

get stuck in with some hands-on activities too. A group of our year 11 students

took part in a successful trip to

the show this month. Students

learned about apprentice oppor-

tunities and gained a valuable

insight into different types of

jobs/careers. All students came

back with information packs and

ideas that will give them food for

thought when thinking about their

future careers. Students really

valued this visit and were en-

thused when talking about it.