Thursday 27 November 2014

Sue Hampton visits Townsend

Author Sue Hampton came to visit Year 7 and 9 students at Townsend C of E school today.  Sue began with a workshop for Year 9 students, which involved reading through the first chapter of her new book "Thinner than Water" whilst annotating the use of language and writing within the segment.  Sue then spoke to all of year 7, showing them her brand new website and explaining the different books she has written and how she began writing.  The talk was followed by a book signing at lunchtime, where Sue chatted to students form all years about writing and her books. 

Sue will be our author of the month for December, so keep an eye out for more details in the Discovery Centre next week!














 
 
If you would like to get involved with Sue's blog or purchase signed books please visit her new website www.suehamptonauthor.co.uk

Wednesday 19 November 2014

Year 7 Castle competition

The History department set a "build a castle"castle competition for all Year 7 students as homework (they had a month to build it) as they have been learning about the Norman Conquest and how William the Conqueror used castles to control the Anglo-Saxons.
 
They learned about different types of castles: motte and bailey, stone keep and concentric castles.
 
Mrs Bailey created the competition as this would motivate students to build their best their best castle possible and get everyone else in the school involved in the voting process.
 
The results were astonishing and everyone was absolutely amazed at what the year 7's could produce. We look forward to setting the same challenge for other KS3 year groups this year!
 
 
 


Friday 14 November 2014

Children in Need

Our head student team, Haidan , Annie , William and Megan have just finished their charity event this week for Children In Need. The events included a chocolate hunt, huge bake sale, a volleyball rematch and a big "challenges" event in the hall! It followed a "teachers vs. students" theme, and all events raised a total of £384.24! Thank you so much to everyone who got involved and supported the events!  Keep donating tonight while the TV show is on!

YOPEY Awards Final

Last night our Head Girl, Annie Osborne was a finalist for Hertfordshire Young Person of the year award 2014, held at Moor Park Golf Club, Rickmansworth. The event was also attended by numerous majors across the county, as well as various sponsors and a representative of the Queen!
Annie was a close runner up in the competition and said " I was honoured to be put in the same category as some of the finalists!". "Everyone had done so much for their charities and communities and I was honoured to be a finalist too". "YOPEY is a fantastic organisation and I hope to be involved in the events next year"....

Big congratulations to Annie!







Monday 10 November 2014

Year 8 trip to the Black Country Museum

Last Thursday all year 8 students visited the Black Country Living History Museum in Dudley, Birmingham.  The trip was to compliment the students' learning; currently they are learning about the Industrial Revolution especially the living and working conditions of the time.

The students had a tour down a coal mine to view the working conditions of the time, with shafts and baulks.  They also had a lesson in a 19th Century school room, where Mr Buckland was unfortunately badly behaved and got the cane to the hand - a typical punishment of the times.  The students practised writing in a Victorian Style, using copper plate writing and hooks and hangers.  They also wrote on slate.

Another section visited was the chain maker (a big industry at the time) along with an old fashioned chemist, sweet shop, bakery and hard wear store.

The houses of the time were also visited (along with outside privvys!), some houses were crooked due to the mining industry underground.  These houses were reinforced using metal braces.

Students also got the chance to ride in a double decker bus through the museum, as well as experiencing a Victorian Fairground.  Lunch was old fashioned fish and chips.

Throughout the day the guides were dressed in authentic costume from the time.  The students finally got to see a replica of the Newcomen steam engine in working condition.

The students all thoroughly enjoyed themselves on the trip and learnt a lot about the living and working conditions during the industrial revolution which will help them with their studies!!


Friday 7 November 2014

Author of the month - David Walliams

Following on from October's Author of the month, Roald Dahl, our November author is David Walliams.

David has written lots of children's books over the past few years, with the same comedy and humorous tone as Roald Dahl, with his brand new book "Awful Auntie" being launched recently.

Some display material is on show in the English block and in the Discovery Centre, along with all of David's books to borrow, the posters are also shown below, with an extract from Awful Auntie as well!