Mag4U Winter 2011

4U

Winter 2011 Youth Impor tance

And now for something com

pletely dif ferent...

In my day...

r young fo le p o e p g n u o y Produced by

people

Welcome to

Marden Bridge Middle School!

Hello, welcome to our edition of Mag4U. Our chosen topic for this issue is “Our Community – Our North Tyneside” and what this actually means.

We are Marden Bridge Middle School pupils and we are really proud of our school community. Our school’s community activities include school council, sports clubs, ICT club, music clubs, choirs and performing arts. Pupils from Marden Bridge are also involved in other groups in their community, such as Guides, School Council and the Youth Council.

It is really good here! Marden Bridge is a really friendly place and anyone who comes to the school receives a warm welcome and many invitations to join different groups.

Marden Bridge is made up of many different communities, but some people think differently to others about what the word community means. It also became very clear from speaking to pupils here that they are also involved with other groups in the community.

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Community might mean different things to different people. It might mean your school community, your friendship groups, sports teams, families or countries.

A community is made up of many different people, for example the school community is made up not just by the pupils and teachers, but by the parents, carers, office staff, dinner ladies and so on.

Think about it like a football team, without the coaches and physicians it just wouldn’t work. It is important to be part of a community so you can get out and meet new people. In our magazine we have a variety of articles. We have written about sports, houses, the school council, we even have a fun comic about a silly robbery.

We hope you enjoy reading our magazine, we certainly had fun making it.

This publication was produced by Marden Bridge Middle School Published by: Children, Young People and Learning Directorate, North Tyneside Council, Quadrant, The Silverlink North, Cobalt Business Park, North Tyneside NE27 0BY.

Contents Introduction to school

2

Introduction to theme

3

Our Whitley Bay community

4

Music makes our community happy

6

Rockcliff Rugby

7

Filipino Gathering

8 9

In my day…

‘Our future, our voice’

10

Our own bit of research

12

Girl Guiding

13

Youth Importance

What’s important?

14

Get involved in your community!

16

What can we do?

17

And now for something completely different…

18

School voice

20

Credits

20

15

North Tyneside Council wants to make it easier for you to get hold of the information it provides.

We are able to provide our documents in alternative formats including large print, audio and community languages.

We would love to hear from you about your ideas and suggestions about living in North Tyneside and future ideas for Mag4U. email: participation@northtyneside.gov.uk

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Our Whitley Bay This issue is all about ‘community’.

When we talked about what a ‘community’ is, we all had very different ideas.

Some of us thought it meant people and where we lived, others thought we had lots of different communities.

One community we all agreed existed was the community of ‘Whitley Bay’, which is the very special place where we live. We interviewed a couple of pupils in school to find out their views of their local town.

Firstly we interviewed Emily Adie, aged 11.

What does the word community mean to you?

The word “community” means people to me.

Do you think there is enough variety of activities in the community?

Yeah, there are plenty of activities for different ages.

4

What do you like about your What things do you read about in the papers about local community?

Whitley Bay? I really like the variety of shops in Whitley Bay.

I don’t read the paper.

Is there anything about your Are you excited about the local community you would changes that are taking like to change? place in Whitley Bay? There should be a Jack Wills shop!

Is there anything we could do to improve the environment in North Tyneside?

If there was more eco-friendly ways of getting water.

Do you feel safe in Whitley Bay? I sort of feel safe.

What sort of image does Whitley Bay have?

It gives off a mild, seaside town effect.

I don’t know about any changes in Whitley Bay.

! y t i n u Comm Next we interviewed Gabrielle Carr, aged 11.

What does the word community mean to you?

To me the word community means Whitley Bay, people and all the things around me

Do you think there is enough variety of activities in the community?

I do think that there is enough activities in Whitley Bay.

Is there anything we could do to improve the environment in North Tyneside? Â You could change the shops, as there have been the same shops for quite a while now.

Do you feel safe in Whitley Bay? Yes I do feel quite safe in Whitley Bay. Â What sort of image does Whitley Bay have?

It looks really pretty as a seaside town but loads of people are littering.

What things do you read about in the papers about Whitley Bay? In the paper I read about the good things about Whitley Bay and some of the bad things in Whitley Bay.

Are you excited about the changes in Whitley Bay? Yes I am excited for the changes in Whitley Bay.

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Music makes our community

happy

Something which is really well supported in our school is music.

The school really believes this is a talent held by many pupils and that it can be nurtured.

Music in the community can be a really fun thing to listen to or to get involved in yourself. I play the guitar in Whitley Bay and I have never enjoyed anything more. I’ve played guitar for about three years now and I am really enjoying it. I can play tunes like ‘Greensleeves’ and some tunes that Spanish mariachi bands play.

To people in the community, music can be a bit diverse in tastes. Some people like pop music such as Rihanna, One Direction and Cher Lloyd. Other people like rock music like Metallica and Black Veil Brides.

Some even like classical music like Katherine Jenkins and some opera music. Not everyone likes the same thing!

Music, like a community, is very individual and personal to people. Music and their instruments are beautiful things that can surround you with your favourite sounds that you could listen to forever.

We spoke to Neil Morton, a music teacher in our school, about music in the community.

Among his many roles, he directs many musical events in North Tyneside, as well as coordinating other musical 6

ensembles such as the Ashington Male Voice Choir.

He is also currently assembling a gospel choir in Whitley Bay. “Music has always played an important part in our community” believes Neil. “In the days before television or the Internet, people would gather to sing or listen to music. For many people it is an alternative to sport and helped create a sense of community. Villages still take pride in their choirs or bands.

“Music encompasses all ages. It crosses boundaries of ethnicity and is represented in every culture. Some types of music, such as the blues, can be traced back to people’s struggles. The blues originated on cotton plantations in the United States in the 19th Century. Its inventors were slaves, or the descendants of slaves - who sang as they toiled in the cotton and vegetable fields. From this music, many types of modern music evolved – from African spirituals to work songs.”

Neil also talked about opportunities to involve communities in music.

“MBMS is now launching an opportunity for members of the locality to come together as a choir. The Whitley Bay Community Choir will meet once a week in the school’s music suite and will tackle a varied but accessible selection of songs.

“The aim is to draw in members of the locality including staff, current pupils, parents and other relatives, future and past pupils, or indeed any person interested in joining. The emphasis is on participation and not ability, so all may attend.’’

For further information on the choir, please contact Neil Morton on (0191) 200 8831.

Rockcliff

Rockcliff Rugby Club has been part of the North Tyneside community for 125 years.

Situated in Whitley Bay, it runs mini, junior and senior teams involving more than 100 players.

Running a club of this size is no easy task and it requires the support of a number of volunteers who give up their time.

Over the years, one person has become known as “Mr Rockcliff” – this is Martin Page who joined the club as a player 30 years ago and has since performed roles such as secretary and president of the club. Martin’s role includes helping with the maintenance of the club, as well as helping with the preparation of the pitch. We spoke to Martin about the club

Rugby and the role it plays within the community.

He told us the following: “The club is heavily involved with the local community – as well as hosting a number of tournaments, it also hosts charity events, birthday parties and other

Martin’s voluntary work for the club is almost a full-time job and he helps organise tours. He is particularly proud of the successful Super 10’s competition which has drawn teams from all over the country to Whitley Bay and boosts the business of local hotels, restaurants and bars.

Although Martin does it because he enjoys it, his work has not gone unrecognized. In 2007 he was invited to a Buckingham Palace Garden Party.

celebrations.

It is not just for the lads, however, there are girls’ teams too and this month they are hosting a ‘retail therapy night’ which, as well as raising money for the club, is also giving some local businesses the chance to sell their wares.”

Martin believes the club provides excellent role models for youngsters in North Tyneside and has kept a number of youngsters on the straight and narrow.

He believes the club gives youngsters a sense of pride in belonging to a club, helps them develop a team spirit and encourages them to help others.

Martin is also proud of the charity work the club carries out.

It recently raised £1,200 for the premature baby unit at the Freeman Hospital.

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Filipino

Gathering

Have you ever walked through your neighbourhood and witnessed lots of people from the Philippines flocking like birds to a certain house and laughing their heads off?

I have, because I am Filipino.

The reason is sometimes very simple… For fun!

For example, birthdays! Or maybe it is because someone is having a barbecue outside.

However, there is a different answer. One that is fascinating (and a little bit ghostly). Well, not very scary though. A ‘House Blessing’!

After food, the Priest blesses the house to ward of the evil spirits still lurking in the nooks and crannies of the house. We are brought up to believe there are spirits called ‘Duwende’ which bring good and bad luck.

The bad spirits bring bad luck and ‘multos’.

The multo is basically a ‘ghost with unfinished business on earth’. If an item was stolen they would say it was stolen by ‘Duwende’. There are many signs that a ‘multo’ is in the house. For example, a butterfly flying through your window or a door slamming shut on a windless night. Ghosts are taken very, very seriously in the Philippines.

There are also said to be ‘Duwende’ which bring good luck, though! (It’s not all scary!)

Back to the party!

House blessings involve families inviting friends over to your house and praying for your newly bought house. It is really used by those who practise Catholicism, and as most Filipino people are Catholic, this is one of the main reasons. It also has a kind of ghost story about it. This is the explanation (but simplified a bit!)

The celebration starts a couple days before the actual house blessing. Food typically eaten

by Filipino people is beginning to get cooked.

Longanisa (thick pork sausage), spring rolls (you know what they are!), and lots more! Then, on the day, the Priest prays for the food in Tagalog (which is our Filipino language – and even I don’t understand it!) Then we get on and eat!

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When the priest is finished, the group split into men, women, teenagers and children. The men would be drinking beer and telling jokes and the women would be talking about their everyday life. The children go upstairs to play while the teenagers do things outside of the house.

Sometimes they have a little sing song or ‘battle of the voice’ and this party goes on until way past midnight.

Even with the scary feel, I think it is about fun after all!

In my day...

What are your best memories from when you were little?

As our theme was about ‘communities’, we wanted to speak to other people who lived in our community of Whitley Bay and find out how they viewed it.

I enjoyed school. I did not like Maths but I did like Geography and English, but that was all before war started when I was 16. The school holidays were basically the same as today. Apart from the October half term, which was called the blackberry holiday when we went blackberry picking dawn till dusk. I also enjoyed going to the beach, but the down side was that we had to walk all the way from North Shields! We would also go to the outdoor pool at Tynemouth.

We went to an old people’s home called Tomlinson Court in Whitley Bay. We met a lady called Margaret Ellis (who lived in the home), and we asked her some questions on what North Tyneside was like when she was about 11 years old, so we could see how it had and hadn’t changed, and what it was like to be a young person in our community years ago!

What was your house like when you were 11 and what is it like now?

What do you do now?

I lived in North Shields on Grey Street with my four brothers and my mum and dad. Because I was the only girl, I got a room to myself. Our toilet was outside in the back yard so it wasn’t very nice to go in the winter!

Where I live there are coffee mornings, and some trips. Once we went to visit a friend who had moved to another Anchor scheme in North Shields. We have bingo two times a week and fish and chips are ordered every Friday. On birthdays there’s cake and cards. I’m active in all of these things and I also enjoy my television and radio.

What did you do after you left school?

I left school at 14. War started when I was 16.

I worked at Richard Irving’s on the fish quay, making fishing nets and camouflage nets for the war. I stayed there for 20 years. My father worked there too, as a stock keeper.

In 1946, after the war, I married my husband.

He had been called up to join the army when he was 18. His mother got a message that he was ‘missing’ at Dunkirk, but luckily he was picked up by a collier and shipped home. Later he fought in the desert and in Sicily. He never talked much about his wartime experiences, but my husband passed away two years ago.

al studies special thanks to the loc We would like to give a earching and res s Library for their help in service at North Shield pliment the s of our borough to com providing old photograph article.

e regular dies service yourself. Th You can use the local stu December has sed, but from the 12th of library is temporarily clo siness Centre mer North Tyneside Bu been relocated to the for on Saville Street. it r local library please vis Alternatively to find you uk www.northtyneside.gov.

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On Saturday, the 8th October we went to Quadrant with lots d of other children an our young people to give opinions on the Core Strategy.

Our future,

The Core Strategy is about growth and businesses in North Tyneside. Things like how many houses should be built, where they should be built (greenfield or brownfield), and things that would be affected like existing and new businesses, schools and health services.

Greenfield land

Land that hasn’t been touched or built on. It is not always green!

Brownfield land

Wasteland that can be built on but isn’t being used for anything at the moment.

The council had been asking residents for a month about which of the ideas they prefer and they wanted to ask young people their views, as we would be the ones buying houses and living in North Tyneside in 15 years. A lot of it was to do with what we wanted the council to do in 15 years time.

We played some games and got to know the other young people there first. Human Bingo was great, you had to find people who didn’t like chocolate, and who had been to the Rising Sun. So we learnt names through this.

In the morning we went on each of three tables, one with each option for future building.

Option One

was lots of growth.

This is the option where there will be a big increase in houses and places for businesses.

Therefore, North Tyneside will become bigger in population and more people will be able to access jobs easily. Also, if there are more houses then they will be cheaper so you will be more likely to be able to buy one. There will still be greenfields, and we will use up lots of brown land. It would be easier to get a job, and to buy a house, so you will be able to stay in North Tyneside when you are older (because there will be more houses). But it might mean then schools change, and there will be more traffic.

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Option Two

was average growth.

In this option, half of the new buildings will be built on brownfield land and half on green land.

The council will build on brownfield land so that more people will come and live here, and in new houses. They have estimated 9,580 new homes in the next 17 years! About a quarter of them will be affordable homes. Some of the down sides are that some of the greenfield land will go, but not all of it.

Option Three was less growth.

This is the option for a small amount of growth.

All the new homes will be built on brownfield land. There will be no greenfield land built on.

This is a good option for people who support the environment as once greenfield land is gone, it will never come back. Lots of the brownfield land is unpleasant looking and has nothing on it, so building houses would actually make it look better.

If we built on greenfield land then it would impact on the animals living there.

On the other hand, however, the council think that there will be too many people, and not enough homes, so some people might see this option as not having enough growth. A lack of homes could lead to less economic growth. With a poor economy we won’t have jobs and more people will be made homeless.

On each table there were two planning officers who explained each option.

One planning officer then argued ‘for’ the option, and the other planning officer argued ‘against’ the option. They debated with each other to explain their different views on the different options (by the way, they didn’t really have these views, they were just acting so we could understand the different arguments).

Then, once we heard the three options, we were put on one option and we had to do a presentation

our voice to fight for that option. I was lucky to have option three, because that was the option I actually wanted so it was easy!

These are the presentations we made…

Since that day we found out what the outcome was. Option One received support of 3%, Option Two support of 66% and Option Three support of 31%. Most of those who chose Option Two said that it was a “good balance”, “the realistic options” and meant there were more houses without losing lots of greenfield land. Most of the reasons of those selecting Option Three were about “limited impact on the environment”, “because building on brownfield land is better for the environment” and “you will live longer”.

The Planners who have been involved in the consultation on the Core Strategy (and who led our really fun day) say; “We would like to really thank all the young people who took part in this consultation. The feedback we received will be very useful in developing our plans. It is interesting and revealing to read the young people’s perceptions of the options they were presented with.

“The youth event was part of wider consultation we undertook in October with more than 660 people from North Tyneside providing views on their preferred option.

“After similar consultation last year we were aware that we struggled to communicate with young people. The youth event was a brilliant way to get them involved. Hopefully with events like this, young people who take part can help get more young people interested and involved in plans for the borough.”

Afterwards, we got to vote secretly which one we preferred.

(The article that’s written here was written by children and young people who attended the consultation event, and so this is their views of what happened on the day. If you would like to find out more, further information on the emerging Core Strategy can be found at: www.northtyneside.gov.uk/planning or by calling the Planning team on: (0191) 643 2310).

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You may be aware of e ‘Core something called th plan for Strategy’ which is a orth houses and jobs in N .

Tyneside the future the Every single area in ve one country needs to ha including ours.

Our bit of

Research

At our school we carried out a survey to find out what young people thought about this.. 118 Marden Bridge Middle School pupils filled in the form on Google docs, which asked questions like - Are you aware of the plans? - How much growth do you want? – What facilities do you think are important?

The first question we asked was “Do you think you will be looking into buying a house in North Tyneside in 15 years time?”

The response to this was 69% said yes, but 31% said no. Only 27% of children thought there would be enough houses for young people to buy, 14% thought there wouldn’t be, but a whopping 55% didn’t know. The vast majority of children, 74%, weren’t aware that the council needs to have a plan for building houses in the borough. This brings the question of why these children didn’t know about the plans. 69 out of 118 thought that not enough had been done to inform young people of the matter.

Of the people we asked, 69% think that it is important that young people should be consulted on the matter. It is indeed the borough’s young people who will buying these houses in 15 years time. Another 23% think it is a high priority and “very important”. Our next question was “Do you think that building more houses and business in North Tyneside is a good thing?” The feedback we got from this was just over half, 51%, thought this was a good thing. However, 36% weren’t sure and 14% think new houses and business is a bad thing.

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Our survey then came to the question of whether large numbers of people moving into the area from other places is a good thing. The response to this was many people are unsure, answering they didn’t know, 36% saying no and 21% yes.

New people moving into the area can boost the local economy, but will also make it a busier and more cramped area; it seems that the most likely option will be a happy medium between the two. The council’s preferred option is to have a medium amount of growth.

One of the final questions we asked was “Which of the following do you think are important?”

Overall, the most important, according to today’s young people is communal areas and parks, places where people can go to relax and play.

Coming close to this was shops, missing the top spot by about 5 people. Leisure facilities and transport i.e. buses, trains etc, came equally as the third most important thing that should be considered when the council design new areas.

Bear in mind that people could tick as many as they think are important, with no ordering, so these results are based on how many people ticked the box, not personal ordering. Security measures and libraries were the two next most important items on the list. Voted the least important was building as many houses as possible, obviously not very popular with about 19 out of 118 ticking it.

We hope that this article has given you an idea of what young people’s views are at this point and that you voice your own views, as they are very important and could make a difference.

Girl Guiding Within our ‘Whitley Bay community’ are lots of little communities. There will be groups and ‘families’ you will be part of, which are like a community to you.

For some, being part of a church is like another family. Having faith and believing in something together. For others, being part of a football team or a youth club makes them part of a unique community.

For me, a community I am part of is the Girl Guides. I asked my Guide Leader some questions about our community:

What does the word community mean to you? ing in together. Our My local area. People join ce to be in and has a pla y ndl frie community is a safe environment.

Are there any charit ies or local groups you know that work in Whitley Bay? There is a range of cha groups that run in Whitlerities/churches and local y Bay such as Girl Guiding and Scouts.

What sort of image does Whitley Bay have?

different. The first is a Two, and they are very for drinking. The second ned ow ren tourist place, seaside resort. is a shopping area and

Is there anything we could do to improve the environment in North Tyneside?

Improve run down areas/ road

surfaces.

Is there anything about your local community you wou ld like to change?

More community spirit.

t What made you wan to run Girl Guiding in Whitley Bay? myself. When I heard I used to go to the unit er to stop that from it was closing, I took ov happening.

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Youth Importance On Saturday 15th October, I went to training for young mayor and youth council at the Rising Sun Country Park.

Former Young Mayor Rebecca Leighton came along to run for youth council and see the event.

Thirty three candidates ran for young mayor this year and only four will go through to the ballot papers.

At the time of writing, the 33 hopefuls were being voted for online to whittle them down to four.

On the day we played ice breaker games to get to know each other. We had to put a fact on a balloon and then throw it so someone else caught it. They read it out loud and you had to tell everyone else more about it.

My fact was that I play guitar, so I told everyone how long I have been playing and also learnt about others who played other instruments. We We also could form a learnt about band! the youth council

and young mayor, and we gave facts about ourselves. Anne also told us about things the youth council has done before and what would be expected of us (such as meetings and events).

Every school is given one space on the youth council to represent their school.

I am the school link to the youth council so I will definitely have a place for the next year.

Some of the people at training were putting themselves up for election, 14

NORTH EAST (Whitley Bay, Ba ckworth, Earsdo n, Shiremoor, W Allotment, Wel est lfield, Monksea ton, West Mon kseaton)

SOUTH EAST

(North Shields, Cullercoats, Ty nemouth, East Chirton, Percy Howdon, Main, New York )

NORTH WEST

(Benton, Dudle y, Wideopen, Se aton Burn, Long Holystone, Haz benton, lerigg, Forest H al l, Camperdown, Killingworth)

SOUTH WEST

(Battle Hill, Had rian Park, How don, Wallsend, Northumberlan Riverside, d)

meaning they would have to be voted for to get a place.

There are 50 places on the youth council. Each ‘locality’ (check out the box for information on which locality you fall into) has 10 spaces between their schools and ‘community’ and there are 10 ‘boroughwide’ places – mainly for young people who use local services (disabled, living in care etc).

I enjoyed the day and I am really looking forward to the next year as youth councillor for Marden Bridge Middle School!

Stop the press

We now have our newly elected Young Mayor…

Jade Hope!

What’s

important?

Following on from our consultation on the core strategy (after we had eaten, of course!), we were put into smaller groups and put on one of six tables.

This was to show our opinions on where we think the council should put money (which services we thought needed it the most) and which services we would prioritise over others.

We discussed how things should be done with services in North Tyneside. For example, whether we think they should be stopped, stay the same or be done differently.

We gave ideas for how we thought they could change or improve.

Some of the services we didn’t know much about so it was difficult to give an opinion. Services which were to do with offices, care facilities for the elderly or those with disabilities, were hard for us to give opinions on as we didn’t know about them.

However, some of the services we knew a lot about like leisure facilities, education and schools. So it was worthwhile us being there – it was good they wanted to get the opinions of other children and young people.

On some of the services we were undecided, so put them in the middle of the different options.

We moved around tables so all the different groups got to give opinions on the different services.

This consultation was done with adults across North Tyneside as well.

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Get involved in your

! y t i n u m Com

Mr Phillips has coached the North Tyneside ‘under-11s’ football team for 27 years!

He has taken part in lots of community projects and is really keen to get children and young people involved in making their community special. We took some time out to look at how he works to make our communities greater!

What role do you play in the development of young football players in North Tyneside?

I am the coach of the North Tyneside Schools club FA, and have been for the last twenty odd years. We chose the best player in Year 6 from all of our primary and middle schools.

Mr Phillips receiving an award for his contribution to the community.

How much of a positive impact do you think the club has on those who attend?

You would have to ask the parents but those involved in the past still talk of the great times they had with the North Tyneside Under-11s.

Do the clubs go on any trips?

We have an annual tour to Scarborough. We have several days out at Berwick and an overnight stay at Carlisle. Depending on progress in the National 7-a-side competition, in the past this has also meant trips away.

How long have you been performing this How many young people do you train? role? Does anybody help you?

When and where?

I have done this for 26 years, initially helping Stan Jackson before taking over myself. I get help from Mr. Doug Lesley whose children I taught at Marden Bridge. I get help in selecting this term from various staff and also in our visits from Mr. Paul Cullen (a teacher from Marden Bridge).

Do you receive any payment for doing this role?

I have never been paid anything for this role, it was a labour of love.

How often does the team meet and where?

We meet once a week on Fridays at Marden Bridge and we play our games on Saturday mornings.

Do you think that North Tyneside Under-11 football team is an important part of the community?

I think that it does a great job as ambassador of the borough and the many visiting teams are given a real taste of local hospitality. It’s also a good advert for the borough.

Do the players represent the community in any other way?

We host a festival of football at Easter which is well attended by other authorities.

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We train every Friday, 4.45 to 6pm at Marden Bridge, using the Astroturf. If the weather is bad we train indoors. We have a squad of 18.

Over the years, how many players have you trained?

This is my 27th year, on average we have 18 players in a squad, but in previous years we have had two teams, so we have about 600 children.

What can we do?

These activities are for people aged about 5 - 16. Which age range do you think attends the most?

Ages 5-10 attend the most sessions.

Which activities are the most popular?

Dawn Harvey is an activities organiser for the holiday programme at Whitley Bay High School and professional coaches come in to work with children aged 5 – 16.

This interview is about what goes on there and how easy it is for you to get involved.

Cookery sessions are very popular, so are trampolining and urban sports. Jewellery classes in the past have been popular and I will run more of these.

How do you feel the participants benefit from your activities?

The young people get to meet other children from different schools and areas. The workshops are fun, educational and give young people the chance to try something new. Some activities are sporty and get young people out being active and getting fit. Most of the workshops involve teamwork, which can help build confidence.

Do you enjoy helping to organise the holiday activities?

Yes, I love helping to organise activities, I love working with young people and meeting their parents.

On average, how many people do you think come to these activities?

About75 young people attend activities during one week.

Can you give me an example of some of the activities? Are there any charges?

We do FREE Family Learning days which an adult has to attend with a child. This October Half term we ran a Halloween Surprise Family Learning Day. Examples of other activities include action & adventure, trampolining and Greek cookery. On average, these workshops cost ÂŁ12 for the full day (10am-3pm).

I know that you give out evaluation forms at the end of each activity. Can you tell me what the comments are like on them?

Comments are always lovely to read and very positive.

A lot of young people write that they had great fun and enjoyed making new friends. The evaluation form is also a great way for me to get ideas for new workshops to run in the future.

17

Now for something completely

different

Ah, the bank!

Where all the important stuff is kept safe and sound… MONEY!

Hey! It was a fact!

Oh? I’d better be off then!

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What the heck!

It’s mine !!!

Wait a minute! You’re just trying to trick me!

So long, suckers!

Excuse me. Robbery taking place. Out of my way!

or t up you u h S t sho o gun. l l ’ I this w ith

That’s a water pistol!

Hey, Pally!

Go on! PAY UP!

Gimme all o’ the money.

ALL OF IT!

Er… sir? The money’s over here. By the way, it’s more efficient to burgle during the night.

Here’s your wonga!

YOU’RE NICKED

Darn it!

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voice School

Within our school is a school council which I was part of for two years.

The school council consists of two pupils from each class, coming together every two weeks and discussing points that need to be improved in school. Then they discuss with their class the things they talked about in school council.

The school council works on making the school better and helping to decide what would improve the school experience for the pupils.

So far, it has helped create the bike sheds, organised charity events and a lot more.

North Tyneside Council would like to thank the fabulous editorial team from Marden Bridge Middle School.

Kate Mcgregor, Connie Gerono, Joe Turner, G’ven Gonzales, Evan Ward, Niamh Henderson, Jude Sowter and Hannah Lundy were amazing editors and worked really hard throughout the whole project.

Thanks go to Emily Adie, Gabrielle Carr, Dawn Harvey, Neil Morton, Martin Page, North Tyneside Youth Council, Margaret Ellis, the Planning team in North Tyneside Council, the Policy and Partnerships team, and finally to Dianne Leggett and the Local Studies Centre at North Shields Library.

The group would like to thank Mr Turner for his continual support throughout the project.

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