JULY 2012
TALLISNews
Cath Barton celebrates her last TTRA ceremony with members of our departing Year 13.
ANOTHER YEAR OF EXCELLENCE THROUGH CREATIVITY A message from our Executive Head Teacher I am very proud to present our Summer NewsleJer, packed as it is with the tremendous achievements of our students throughout the year. This was epitomised in the recent celebraCon assemblies for Year 11 and Year 13. It really was a privilege to see our young people receiving their awards and accolades. For the past year I have been most impressed by the manner in which all in our community have risen to the challenges and exceeded our expectaCons. I have been parCcularly impressed with the sheer number of extra-‐curricular events which you will
read about herein. Looking back over an excepConally busy year I am proud to be part of a school that saw us gain a very good report from the Local Authority Review and one that is looking forward to a great set of results in public examinaCons. Our moJo, Excellence through Crea0vity, has really shone through and I have been impressed at the resilience displayed by all during our momentous move to our new buildings. The new school year will bring with it many challenges but we are confident that we will conCnue to see our students exceed all of our expectaCons. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all colleagues, teaching and associate staff for their magnificent efforts this year. In addiCon, I would like to thank all
parents and carers for the encouragement you have given us this year; we couldn’t possibly achieve what we have without your support. Moreover, I would like to extend my hearYelt thanks to the governors for their Creless and voluntary hard work over the year. I wish everyone a resYul summer break. Byron Parker
Mr Roy Preston Mr Roy Preston sadly passed away unexpectedly at the end of June. Roy was a governor at the school for over 20 years and his son, Nick, aJended Tallis. On behalf of governors and staff we would like to pass on our sincere condolences to Roy’s family.
Dates for the Diary Tuesday 4 September Wednesday 5 September Thursday 6 September
INSET Day (staff only) Incoming Year 7 students and Year 12 inducCon School commences for all students except Year 12
Staff Appointments I would like to warmly welcome the following staff who will join us in September. Paul Avery Deputy Head Teacher, Pastoral Lindsey Rayner Deputy Head Teacher, Curriculum Ashley Tomlin Deputy Head Teacher, Post 16 Francesca Kamei Assistant Head Teacher, Inclusion Keith Matheson-‐McLaughlin Curriculum Leader Science JulieIe Robinson Curriculum Leader MFL Sam Sheedy Head of Geography Dale Smith Head of Social Science Diana Minnicucci Art & Design Teacher Victoria UIley Art & Design Teacher James Rogers Business Teacher Robin Morgan Design & Technology Teacher Lindsay Shaw Drama Teacher Martha Campbell-‐Irving English Teacher Claire Runci English Teacher Craig Catlin HumaniCes Teacher Robert Fredrick HumaniCes Teacher Sylvia Myers Maths Teacher Tina Wallace Maths Teacher Rabia Zeshan Maths Teacher Charline Gradowicz MFL Teacher Ryan Partridge Trainee Teacher PE KaSe Tomczynska Music Teacher Edith Agboola Science Teacher Ben Doerner Science Teacher Martyn Ray Science Teacher Zara Shaikh AST Science Kate Swannack Science Teacher Remi Opelaye Wellbeing Teacher Jane Thomas Director of Deaf Support Centre Lorna PaIon CommunicaCon support worker Mary Mulrenan Dyslexia support Joey Williams Learning Support Assistant Shilo Yoger Learning Support Assistant Rebecca Tunricliffe Learning Support Assistant Reborah Wythe Learning Support Assistant Dermot Cullen Learning Support Assistant
Uniform From September all students will be expected to wear the new school uniform. Details can be found on the website but the important details are: • All students will have to wear the new turquoise polo shirt and cannot wear the old royal blue polo. • All students will have to wear the new knitwear. • The colour of uniform trousers and skirts has been changed back to BLACK. The school shop will be open at the following Cmes during the holidays: 28, 29 and 30 August 2012 from 10:00 – 14:00.
Examinations Our congratulaCons to all the students who have worked incredibly hard and have coped with the pressures of sikng so many exams. Thank you also to all staff involved in preparing the students and the admin team for ensuring that everything ran so smoothly. We look forward to the results days in August: Years 11 and 10 -‐ 23 August; Post 16 -‐ 16 August.
Departing colleagues The following staff will be leaving Thomas Tallis at the end of the Summer Term: Jill Moon Deputy Head Speech & Language (reCring) Denise Field Deputy SENCo Nigel Anderson Individual Support Teacher SEN Leila Clarke Individual Support Teacher SEN Julia Renouf Individual Support Teacher SEN Ian Williams Business/ICT Teacher Daniel Talbot English Teacher Caroline Nolan HumaniCes Teacher Danny Brown Maths Teacher Andrew Cayless Maths Teacher Linda Steel MFL/Advanced Skills Teacher Elizabeth Capener Head of Music Delarry Sawyer Science Teacher Kate Hawkins Art & Design Teacher Sophie HeweI Art & Design Teacher Ross O’Brien Art & Design Teacher I would like to thank them all for their contribuCon to the school and wish them well for the future. Assistant Headteachers, Cath Barton, Siobhan McCauley and Soren Hawes, are leaving Tallis to take careers breaks. Cath has taught Dance and Drama at the school since 1981 (31 years). She became a member of the leadership team in 2001 as Head of our Post 16 Centre and has played an integral part in the building of a successful and thriving 6th Form. Cath has seen countless students progress and achieve success before they have lee to join the world of work or move on to further educaCon. Siobhan has been a teacher of English at Tallis for the past 23 years. During her Cme at the school, Siobhan has been an effecCve pastoral leader and, in the past year, she has been a member of our leadership team as Assistant Headteacher responsible for Inclusion. Siobhan has created a cohesive inclusion team and has supported the school in maintaining a high aJendance rate. Soren has been aJached to Tallis since 1999 as part of our English faculty, our Deaf Support Centre and has, for the past few years, been involved in Tallis Lab. Soren has been the Assistant Headteacher for Learning & CreaCvity for the past few years and has played an integral role in organising the ICT structure for the new school. We would like to thank all staff leaving for the support they have given to students and colleagues at Tallis and we wish everyone the very best for the future.
English Update
KS3 Book Group: The KS3 book group has been a huge success this year. Students from across the key stage have approached discussion with maturity and enthusiasm, responding, listening and discussing with passion and interest. So far we have read and discussed How I live Now by Meg Rosoff, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and The Hound of the Baskervilles by Conan Doyle. We will be meeCng in the last week of term to discuss our last book of year, Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salmon Rushdie. Central to the success of the group has been the student-‐led blog. Aeer each meeCng students have used laptops to write their own brief review of the novels we have read. Another area of success has been the involvement of a year 11 G and T student who has helped prompt and extend discussion. KS5 Reading Group: The Thomas Tallis KS5 Reading Group has gone from strength to strength this year. It has aJracted a great range of students who have been enthusiasCcally choosing books. So far we have had animated discussions about Room by Emma Donohue, The Diving Bell And The BuDerfly by Jean Dominique Bauby, Under The Skin by Michel Faber and, our favourite so far, Morvern Callar by Alan Warner. This summer we are reading two very different books -‐ In Cold Blood (Truman Capote), and A Room With A View (EM Forster). Central to the group have been the year 13 students who were instrumental in sekng it up, but now that they are off to university and art college, we need some new blood. It has been a great opportunity for students who enjoy reading to talk about books outside of a classroom sekng and to encourage them to widen their reading. Our Facebook group already has 33 members! So, if you are in Years 10, 11, 12 or 13, come and see us in the English Office for your copies of this summer's books! Yorkshire Trip: AS/A2 English Literature students have been enjoying a three day trip to Yorkshire to help them to prepare for their A2 course on ‘Elements of the Gothic’. Amongst other things, students have enjoyed a trip to the Bronte Parsonage, eaten fish and chips in Whitby (where they were looking out for Dracula), and have taken a compulsory long walk across the moors. Although the wet weather lee much to be desired, the cold and occasional thundery showers at least served the purpose of creaCng the perfect Gothic atmosphere. If you’re interested in finding out a liJle more about the trip then check out the tweets on TwiJer! #A2LitTrip The English department have worked relentlessly to potenCally achieve exceedingly strong results with Year 11-‐ 76% of students are projected to achieve A*-‐C grade. We have also achieved the best results at Key Stage 3 with 80% of students in Year 9 gaining Level 5 or above, 55% achieving Level 6 or above and more students than ever before making good progress. These achievement bear testament to the hard work and dedicaCon of the staff and students alike.
Sane Black Dog Clifford Chance asked Thomas Tallis Year 8 Art students to design a coat for the SANE Black Dog campaign. The campaign is helping to reduce the sCgma surrounding mental illness. Mental illness is an increasingly common condiCon, with anxiety and depression the most common forms. One in four of the populaCon are likely to suffer from a mental health problem at some point in their lives. The Black Dog has been used as a metaphor for depression from anCquity to the present day. To bring the campaign to life SANE have designed visually striking Black Dog statues. The physical presence of a Black Dog would help people to define their experience of the ‘invisible’ condiCon, which characterises mental illness, as well as promoCng more open discussion, understanding and acceptance. The students and teacher Gina Braden, discussed the issue and decided that it was important that the designs were colourful and bright to aJract aJenCon of the public and to alleviate any negaCve connotaCons of being dark and depressive. They also thought about symbols for mental health this is where some students came up with ideas of quesCon marks or cogs in their composiCons. At the unveiling ceremony on Tuesday 17 July, all the winning students received book tokens and the winning design, by Harvey Cantrill-‐Baker, was printed onto the statue. Winner: Harvey Cantrill-‐Baker 1st runner ups: Libby Stuart and KaSe Allen 2nd runner up: Ryan Galler
Maths Update The mathemaCcs faculty are set to achieve record breaking results at all 3 key stages. Year 9 have achieved the best end of key stage levels in the school's history, with 90% of students reaching a level 5 or higher and 68% a level 6 or higher. This will set them up to do very well for GCSE mathemaCcs. We are going to break the 70% A*-‐C barrier for the first with Year 11 in the summer, and year 10 will beJer this in 12 months Cme! More students than ever before will also leave Tallis with AS and A level mathemaCcs qualificaCons, with many going on to study the subject at university. However, it's not all about results! The maths department are delivering mathemaCcs in and out of the classroom in a fun and engaging way. In the classroom there has been lots of mathemaCcal learning going on which hopefully moCvates and encourages our students to enjoy maths. This has included some creaCve lessons allowing students to build 3D shapes and record the process. They could then edit these to speed up the images using soeware on our iPads. Outside of the classroom there have been mathemaCcal trips to QMW university and the Greenwich Observatory and Planetarium. We've also been down to the Technology department and completed another year of cross-‐ curricular maths with them -‐ have a look in recepCon next Cme you're there!
Science Update This year has been an enjoyable and vibrant year in the science department. We are set to achieve the best results at GCSE the department has ever achieved with 72% of students achieving 2 Science GCSEs at C grade or above. At Key Stage 3 students in Year 9 have also achieved the best results ever with 95% of students gaining Level 5 or above, 70% of students gaining Level 6 or above, and the levels of progress that the students have made since Year 7 far exceeding any previous year group. We are very proud of these achievements, not least because they set the students up for success as they embark on the next stage of their educaCon. The department have been involved in lots of interesCng projects with Year 8 students parCcipaCng in an iScienCst project with Beau LoJo at the Science Museum where they built and designed their own experiments and with Year 12 students aJending a series of lectures from word famous astronomers at the Royal Observatory. The department also entered into partnership with Eltham College in a SHINE project aimed at increasing the profile of science amongst some of our feeder primary schools. This was a huge success with staff working with students on Saturday mornings for several months. There were always beaming smiles from students and staff! Science at Tallis conCnues to move from strength to strength and is expanding in 2012-‐13 with several new staff joining an established and successful team.
PASTORAL LEADER REPORTS YEAR 7
The year 7 cohort has had a busy year. Like the whole school community we have moved into the new school building; however unlike most of the school community this was their second move of schools in less than a year. They have managed these moves with aplomb. We have had a number of successes throughout the year. The vast majority of the cohort are making good (and very good) progress as measured by their NaConal Curriculum levels. This is testament to the dedicaCon and hard work of staff and students alike. Students from the year have represented the school at the very successful performances of ‘So You Think You’re a Superhero?’ which was performed at the Soho and NaConal Theatres. 42 students made their way to Wales and back for a week’s residenCal, surviving torrenCal rain and mud (some even made it back with a tan – something that many of us stuck in London couldn’t muster!) This trip will be running again in year 8. Ruby Dollner has represented the school on the Greenwich Youth Council (as well as being on the School Council). During her tenure there she was helping design programmes for youth in Greenwich. Chester Chambers (our other year 7 school council representaCve) was also nominated to carry the Olympic Torch and will be doing so on 21 July. Chester was interviewed by the BBC and the Greenwich Times. Ben Macdonald YEAR 8
Our Year 8 boys football team won the league and Blackheath Cup, just narrowly losing out by one goal in the London Cup Final but a fantasCc achievement nonetheless. Charlie Pearton from 8BD competed in the London mini marathon in April and came first in the U13 category for Greenwich Borough and 41st overall in the country. The ASDAN group have parCcipated in two learning away days at Wrotham and the Climbing Wall Centre in Woolwich. They have also been doing project work in school as part of their ASDAN qualificaCon. Videos are available from the climbing wall. The girls group also produced a song from scratch which was played in assembly to celebrate their achievement. Year 8 students have acted as ambassadors for the school when showing visitors around; their feedback has been excellent and they are a massive credit to the year group and the school. Year 8 G&T students have been taking part in projects with Ms Fyfe showing off their ability and creaCvity which has been a huge success Year 8 boys literacy group. 15 reluctant readers undertook a weekly reading lesson and have all improved their reading ages as a result. A great year for Year 8. Well done everyone! Damien Quigg
YEAR 9
A good year has been had by all with many successful trips including Tyn Y Berth and the Business Enterprise Course. The Year 9 Band has been entertaining both in and out of school and have been more professional in their approach than the stars! Finally, congratulaCons to the whole year group for their fantasCc results at the end of Key Stage 3, which are the best results the school has seen. A great year and our expectaCons are even higher for the forthcoming year. Denise Armstrong YEAR 10
40 Year 10s have already achieved grade C in Maths aeer taking the GCSE examinaCon in March and over 100 more also sat this exam in the first week aeer half term. It is the first year ever that Year 10 students have taken GCSE Maths. The majority of the year group have been involved in English and science exams and we are hoping for some encouraging results in the summer. Year 10 BTEC musicians and dance students have taken part in public performances, which were both very well received. In preparaCon for this, the musicians raised funds for the TTRA next summer by performing at lunchCme to other students. A large group of Year 10s are now school ambassadors, covering break and lunch Cme duCes. A few lucky ambassadors were guides for the guests who aJended the official opening of the new school building. Feedback from the visitors was that they were very impressed by the ambassadors they met. Thanks to all the year group who have supported the designing, producCon and selling of our bespoke mugs to raise money for their TTRA next year. This has been a great year for Year 10. JeaneIe Harding YEAR 11
The deparCng class of 2007-‐2012 have had to cope with tremendous change at such a criCcal juncture in their educaCon, dealing with things with amazing maturity and incredible resilience. This involved moving from the old site to the new during Year 11 and gekng used to a completely different environment, all at the same Cme as their first early entry maths examinaCon. Year 11 have totally focused on being the very best they could be and proving beyond any doubt their resoluCon to succeeding and making us all very proud of them. We have had nothing but admiraCon for their willingness to engage with the numerous intervenCons in order to secure the grades they needed to progress to the next stage of their educaCon. They will achieve the best grades the school has ever seen, which they thoroughly deserve. In addiCon, Year 11 have demonstrated their strong community idenCty, a real feature of the year which has always been in evidence during their Cme here at Tallis. They have looked aeer each other and helped one another wherever the situaCon demanded. They have been amazing role models and proved, quite simply, a complete pleasure to work with for anyone and all concerned. It is with opCmism that we were able to bid them best wishes in their endeavours beyond Year 11, either conCnuing their journey here or elsewhere. They leave behind a genuinely posiCve legacy and will be sincerely missed. We wish them every success and all our love and best wishes. Robert Walsh
POST 16 Year 12 take to the boards with a stunning set of AS plays. The AS Drama students presented their examined performances of “Enron”by Lucy Prebble and “Love of the NighCngale” by Timberlake Wertenbaker. Both pieces were ensemble and physicalized in style enabling students to mulC role and really capture the essence of the characters being portrayed. Both pieces were directed by Shona Carter and Kerri West. The pace and standard of performance and Cght ensemble work was outstanding. The Year 13 Fashion Show was a real treat, led by Ande Zeka with Mel Mustafa and Flo HodneJ forming part of the creaCve team. They brought together Year 11 and Post 16 students from across three schools in the Greenwich. Two of the collecCons had a middle Eastern influence with a modern day twist and were provocaCve in challenging tradiCon. The other collecCon had more of an urban feel and Nehmi rapped, as the models, sultry in their disposiCon, took to the cat walk.The main hall was full to bursCng with an appreciaCve audience made up of family, fellow students, teachers and friends. The aestheCcs and intelligence of the show were stunning but what really impressed was Ande and her team’s ability to bring so many parts of the community together. We were glowing with pride. This year looks set to be a very successful one for students studying A-‐levels and BTECs in the Sixth Form at Tallis. We are predicCng an A/ A* pass rate of around 30%, and an A*-‐C pass rate of 86%. The average points score per student is also set to rise considerably to over 700 points. All these figures represent a fantasCc achievement, a significant improvement on last year and are a product of the hard work and dedicaCon of the staff and students at Thomas Tallis. With many students anCcipaCng results that will get them into Higher EducaCon courses or onto the next step of their working career, we are very much looking forward to results day on 16th August when results will be made available from 10.00. A key part of the success of the Sixth Form at Tallis is the excellence achieved in subject areas and exams, combined with the wider opportuniCes available to Sixth Form students and the major contribuCon they make to the whole school community. Cath Barton & Jon Bradshaw
Food Technology It has been a fantasCc year in food technology with the new faciliCes. Pupils in Years 7 -‐ 9 have made a whole range of products including soups, fresh bread, pizzas, risoJos and curries. We have looked at healthy eaCng models, Fairtrade products and recipes, as well as exploring a range of cultural foods. The re-‐introducCon of food technology at GCSE level is going to be very exciCng for pupils in the year ahead.
Graphics The graphics department would like to celebrate the following students for securing themselves places at Ravensbourne University starCng a FoundaCon Coure in September: Jesssica Bird, Alex Golin, Lisa Ly, Nayim Rahman and Aivaras Sakalauskas (3 Year Degree in Web Design). All of these students did excepConally well in their AS and A2 courses. They have been dedicated and have worked hard in and out of lessons and deserve all the success that they will achieve in the future. The GCSE students have also performed excepConally well this year and many of them will be joining the A2 course this coming September. Many of these gave up their lunch Cmes on numerous occasions to show how dedicated they were to the course and their own success.
Business/ICT “During the Business ApprenCce trip we completed three different tasks in groups over three days. From this we have developed our business skills further and will hopefully help me in the future. On the first day in groups we had to create a calendar for 2013 of London. We went round London taking pictures to make a calendar and once we were finished we had to present our calendar in front of the other groups. On the second day we had to brand our own water and encourage more people to drink it. This was our favourite task because we completed market research in Camden. On the last day we had to try and rebrand Woolwich and aJract tourists. This is a very tough task knowing that Woolwich tends not to be seen as a tradiConal tourist aJracCon, so we had to work well together to come up with some great ideas. We had to give a presentaCon at the end of each day for each task. Overall this trip benefited us a lot; it improved our business perspecCve and team working, presentaCon and communicaCon skills. We are now a lot more confident when speaking in front of people which is a very good skill to develop.” Jeremy Steel & Kabir Dhaliwal, Year 13
PE We have had a busy year in PE with teams playing friendly and compeCCve fixtures in Football, Volleyball, Basketball, AthleCcs and X-‐Country. The highlights are listed below:
Cross-country Year 7 Boys 5th Year 7 Girls 1st Year 8 Boys 1st Year 8 Girls 3rd Year 9 Boys 3rd Year 9 Girls 1st Football Year 7 Boys -‐ League Winners & Blackheath cup Finalists Year 8 Boys -‐ League Winners, Blackheath cup Winners & London cup Finalists Year 9 Boys -‐ League Runners-‐up Year 10 Boys -‐ League Winners Year 11 Boys -‐ League Winners Indoor Athletics: Year 7 Boys -‐ Greenwich Schools Winners, South London Winners & London Schools Winners Year 7 Girls -‐ Greenwich schools Winners & South London Schools Runners-‐up
Athletics Year 7 Girls -‐ Greenwich Schools Championship Winners Year 8 Girls -‐ Greenwich Schools Championship 3rd place Year 9 Girls -‐ Greenwich Schools Championship Winners Year 10 Girls -‐ Greenwich Schools Championship 4th place Year 7, 8, 9 and 10 Boys 2nd place in Greenwich Schools Championships. Year 8 Boys were the World Sports Day AthleCcs Championship Winners. We have also had a number of students selected at both district and county level in Football, AthleCcs and cross-‐ country.
Richard Ankah, Head of PE
Art & Design
Thomas Tallis Career Academy
Our year 10 Art and Design class were entered into the M.A.D.E in East London design project. They worked hard to design and make a 3D model of a sustainable and accessible design soluCon for a public space within the context of the Olympic Park. The aim was to make a posiCve use of the space long aeer the Olympics have gone, with a 1st prize of the students design actually being made for the public to use. The Year 10 students went for the final event where they were compeCng against 10 other East London schools. Our students had to present their designs in front of different judges for over an hour, arCculaCng themselves perfectly and enthusiasCcally. We faced really tough compeCCon from the other schools but we came 3rd! The students were ecstaCc especially as one of the judges was comedian Sean Lock and they have won the class a trip on the London Eye. Well done to all.
Thomas Tallis School has been running a successful Career Academy for the last 7 years. Part of the programme includes an internship at a business organisaCon. In the past, the students have been offered internships at The Bank of England, JP Morgan, CiCgroup etc. We had 8 students on internship at Morgan Stanley, Barclays Wealth, McGraw Hill and Lloyds Banking. The internship ran from the 25 June for 6 weeks and it offered the students a paid work placement, based on a standard working hour week in a real operaCng environment, aiming to use the skills and knowledge the student has learned in school.
Learning Resources Centre The School Library supports students in their learning, offering a wide range of resources relevant to the curriculum. As well as providing vital support for school work, the Library is a place of enjoyment, for private reading, browsing and relaxing, a key source of informaCon and a place to develop individual interests. Our most popular books this term have been the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, the Hunger Games series and our new collecCon of Manga books. As part of our World Book Day celebraCons a wordsearch compeCCon was run in the Library and the winners were drawn from all correct entries by Ken Jones, our Head of School. CongratulaCons to: Confidence Nkem-‐Okorie 7GN and Travis CoJerell 9RA. In our Year 7 Library lessons this term, the students have been using iPads to produce a comic leaflet for the incoming year 7 pupils in September. This has enabled them to share the knowledge and skills they have gained in accessing informaCon and making use of the library faciliCes. The addiCon of bean bags to extend our range of library furniture and enhance the welcoming atmosphere of the Library has proved to be popular with our avid readers. Similarly, the introducCon of chess during some lunchCme breaks has brought out the quiet compeCCve spirit in some of our students as they enjoying not only taking part but teaching novices the finer skills. World Book Day As part of our World Book Day celebraCons a wordsearch compeCCon was run in the Library and the winners were drawn from all correct entries. CongratulaCons to: Confidence Nkem-‐Okorie 7GN and Travis CoJerell 9RA. Thanks to the Library team for organising yet another successful event.
Debating The school has hosted a debaCng compeCCon. Our students who took part were Huck McKenna, Joe Powley, Robin Paton-‐Copley (Year 9), Esther Bukoye, and Sam Spence (Year 10). They did fantasCcally and won in their debate against Darrick Wood. Two teams from Woolwich Poly, a team from Eltham College and a team from St Columba's also aJended. It was a very successful event.
Rep London Represent London is a three year employability and volunteering programme which will leave a legacy of young people, who will thrive in educaCon and employment through the development of key skills, raised aspiraCons and the acquisiCon of community/business skills. The culminaCon of the project is the volunteering opportunity as a London Ambassador, over the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Six of our 6th form students will be London Ambassadors at the games. They are: Daan Deol, Zabit Salman, Jimmy Nguyen, Sang Nguyen, Emma BuJ and Jade Benge.
In recogniCon for her work within the Rep London's Ambassadors Project, Daan Deol was invited for a RecepCon at Number 10 which was hosCng a London 2012 legacy launch, with the emphasis being on young people benefiCng from the London 2012 Games. She was also invited to the official London Ambassadors programme launch where the students were offered the chance to be the first people to wear the official uniform and meet the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson.
School Journeys Our students have been out an about on many school trips/ journeys over the past term. We have some feedback for parents on some of the fantasCc opportuniCes that our students have been offered.
Humanities Trip to Cheddar Gorge How did you spend the jubilee? For a mixed group off year 77 G&T and year 8 students who have made excellent progress this year, their jubilee weekend 4th-‐6th of June was spent in Somerset exploring Cheddar Gorge, its caves and the history of the area including its use by cannibals!
with a specialist technician to set up the lighCng, sound or visuals for the conference, which began thee following day. They worked all day alongside Harmony's professional technicians, under the watchful gaze of the company director and a representaCve from AT&T, unloading lorries, laying cables and sekng up equipment, troubleshooCng issues regarding the site and health and safety, sekng up the central conference room and several breakout workshop spaces too the client's specificaCons. It was an amazing opportunity for them to learn from experienced professionals in a real world sekng and the people and thanked the school and its students publicly via the company's social networking promoCon sites. We received extremely posiCve feedback from Chris Irwin, Harmony’s managing director, who commended our students for being self-‐moCvated, proacCve and independent.
World Sports Day – 25 June A team of Year 7 students took part in World Sports Day at Eltham College on Monday 25 June. Thomas Tallis came first and brought home the cup! Well done to all students and thanks to Mr Ankah for taking Cme out of his paternity leave to organise the students.
This joint geography and history residenCal aimed at helping students to understand how thee gorge and caves were formed and how man has used them since prehistoric Cmes (including maturing Cheddar cheese inn the caves.) We then looked at the impact people have had on the area and what is being done to preserve it for future generaCons. Touring the caves (and shops) gave us re spite from thee rain and the photo above shows the students even stayed posiCve for thee two-‐mile climb to the top of the gorge.
Visit to the Houses of Parliament Students from Years 9, 10 and 12 received Cckets for a V.I.P. tour of parliament and a workshop on ‘Your Voice’ as a special treat for all their hard work in class.
Working with Harmony Audio-Visual As a result of publishing the Annual Fashion Show live edit footage online we were contacted by Harmony Audio Visual, an audio visual company specialising in providing thee mulCmedia coverage for live events, conferences, concerts, who were so imp pressed with what the media students had created that they offered us some real world AVV events work experience, which we of course gladly accepted. The KS5 Btec Media students were given all the planning, pre-‐ producCon and safety paperwork to study prior to the event in order to be able to contribute to the planning and installaCon of all the media equipment for an ATT&T conference at The Thistle Hotel in Marble Arch. On 14 May their working day started with an 8am briefing in central London where all the paperwork and the plans for the day were discussed. The students then worked in teams of 2
Accompanied by Pendragon Special School, all the students had a super Cme recording a short, educaConal film (on iPads) about parliament and took photos of the sights of London. Thank you to the SEN department for organising this successful day.
Opal Coast Trip
Commemorative Coins
On Tuesday 26 June Mr Hier, Ms Shelley, Mr Hordern and I took 40 students to France for the day. It was a cross-‐ curricular trip for History and French students in years nine and ten. We departed from Thomas Tallis at 5:30am and made our way to the Euro Tunnel. Many of the students had never been on the shuJle before and so even the journey became an exciCng event! Our first visit was to the Second World War Museum in Ambleteuse. It was very interesCng to look around this charming museum. We were also shown a film about the D-‐Day landings. Our lovely coach drivers then found us a beauCful beach where we enjoyed our picnic and an ice cream. We were very fortunate with the weather so some of the students had a paddle in the sea. We then went to a tradiConal style Boulangerie where the children learnt how bread is made and they had a go at making croissants. Our last stop was Boulogne-‐Sur-‐ Mer’s old town: a forCfied town with a lot of character. We all had some food and some of the children even ordered snails! It was a fantasCc day out which I intend to repeat next year. The students behaved immaculately and we all wished we could have stayed longer. Ms Crocker
The outgoing Mayor of Greenwich, Cllr Gillman visited the school at the end of June to aJend a special assembly to distribute commemoraCve coins to a selecCon of our students. All students received a coin during their assemblies on 18 July. The coins are from Greenwich Council to celebrate that we have become a Royal Borough.
Superheroes CongratulaCons to those involved in the play which opened the NT ConnecCons FesCval at the CoJesloe Theatre in June having already played to a sell out crowd at the Soho Theatre. This was yet another high quality performance to a packed house. Thanks also to all those who were able to aJend and support our students.
Speak Out National Finals On Monday 2 July, Esther Bukoye took part in the naConal finals of Speak Out at Southbank. Esther did extremely well to reach the finals and we are very proud of her achievement. Well done, Esther.
Art Preview Many thanks to the art department for pukng on a fantasCc display of our students AS and A2 artwork. We held a viewing on 5 July. We have many talented students at Tallis.
Tuscany Trip 17 students of Italian from year 9 and 2 teachers spent 5 days in Tuscany. Based in Florence, it was an inauspicious start with the aeershocks of the earthquake sCll being felt strongly in the region. However, aeer a health and safety talk on what to do in case of an earthquake, the students embraced the Italian experience and as they say, travel is the best form of educaCon… • an introducCon to the classics – interpreCng the classical myths in art; • a comparaCve look at medieval versus renaissance art and architecture • history – learning about the Medici family • Italian gastronomy -‐balsamic vinegar tasCng, ‘proper’ pizza, ‘real’ ice cream, the food market; • maths and budgeCng – each student had 10 euros a day and had to buy their own lunch; • sport -‐ visit of the Ferrari museum (?) • geology -‐basic explanaCon of plate tectonics • personal and social skills -‐haggling at the leather market, enjoying the art of conversaCon at the dinner table and of course Italian: being exposed to the wriJen and spoken form of Italian.
The students had to write a diary each evening in the language. Impact: a noCceable improvement in confidence in their Italian lesson, a desire to return to Florence (and some cases to go and live there) and a greater sense of independence. Thoroughly enjoyed by all. Ms Crook