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If you are looking for a computer game to be designed combining aesthetically impressive landscapes and mandarin text, where do you turn? And what if you require a beautifully written article about marine biology to be presented to parliament? Well, you need look no further than Mossbourne’s very own Gifted and Talented cohort.
Saturday 13th March was host to the second Gifted and Talented workshop day this academic year. In an attempt to broaden the scope of the day, activities were not arranged around curriculum subjects. Activities ranged from journalism to marine biology, steel pans master classes to Mandarin lessons. The school was a hive of activity.
Perhaps it is more accurate to claim that the school was a collection of bee hives, each with its unique character. The activities taking place were many and various. Several members of year 7 prepared to save the world from alien invasion using their powers of calculation. (Please see Miss Walford should you fear imminent invasion; she will provide you with a list of potential heroes.) Meanwhile the artists (disobeying strict instructions to come dressed appropriately) proved that even without a beret one can create masterpieces. The work that the students produced during an intense day of photography, painting and printing is stunning and will imminently be on display. Hipsters from across the year groups produced an arts magazine with the help of a Times journalist, potential politicians debated, creative technicians designed games and linguists practiced mandarin, calligraphy and even wrestled with chopsticks. It truly was a diverse and industrious day.
This exhausting list is not all; certain hives were migratory. Whilst the journalists scribbled, the artists illustrated and the alien invasion team kept their nerve our marine biologists were at the London Aquarium and our budding entrepreneurs were on a business tour of the city. The effortlessly cool music department also took groups of students to learn steel pans at a local primary school.
The day was a huge success thanks to the commitment of staff and the gifts and talents of our incredible students. Some students had so much fun that they came back for more; two multi-talented year 9 students designed games in the morning and played the steel pans in the afternoon.
So remember, you know who to call for that Chinese arts magazine…
Morocco trip By Ted Levermore & Martha Levi-Smythe
The excitement was evident, the group chattered about the week to come. And boasted to our fellow students (whilst striding around in our normal clothes) about the week and the fact we were missing half of the last day of term; we didn’t seem to notice the hike across London to the airport. Arriving in Morocco and being greeted by warm air, along with a change in driving style, you suddenly felt you were in a another world, a millions miles away from where we had started that morning in London. This feeling never really left any of us until we were back in England under a grey and dismal sky.
Day by day, the landscape and the people changed. We set off from a village in the morning of the first proper day of hiking; we didn’t see that many people again, in one place, for at least another four days. Only a scattering of the brown and white tents of the nomads, and small berber children selling trinkets and crystals. This detachment from civilisation was a relief from the mental stresses of the hustle and bustle of a city. Suddenly there were no houses or cars to pollute your vision, only the sound of your breathing, somebody laughing and a friend’s footsteps coming to join you on top of the world. Every time you made a glance up around the landscape, having been concentrating on where to put your foot next, the terrain had changed since the last glimpse. The awesome sight of Ali’s Gate of the imposing sight of the Sahara was too surreal to try and understand, and perhaps that was the beauty of it.
In the middle of these bewildering sights we eventually got to a small village with a school, full of children eager to set eyes on British students, we exchanged a song and brought them gifts of paper and stationary, things we give little notice to, but things they would treasure for a long time to come. As we sat with them and handed out pencils and paper, it seemed as if they didn’t realise this was all for them. Half of the things we had brought they had never seen before, scissors for example – a whole lesson was devised to teach them how to even hold them. Then all of a sudden a rush of excitement filled this one roomed school and hours of cutting and sticking passed in a flash. While we ate, that evening, it was evident we had all gained a sense of accomplishment and joy that we had done something to help these children.
Back in London you are immersed once more in the fraught nature of city life and it’s easy to forget that you were ever away. But in a quiet moment a hazy image of the mountains, of the blue sky, of a smiling child, returns and puts you back in your boots (that were just a little too small) and all the excitement of that week is as vivid as ever.
Over the last few weeks five aspiring medics have been working with patients at St Joseph’s Hospice in Hackney. They’ve been taking part in a project in conjunction with the Dying Matters coalition led by National Council for Palliative Care to promote public awareness around death, dying and bereavement. Each student has been partnered up with a day care patient and meet once a week to ‘get to know’ their patients on a level that most doctors simply don’t have the opportunity to do. The patients have shared photos and stories of when they were seventeen years old. Shedah has been particularly impressed with the project “We’re privileged to have this kind of experience and opportunity. When we tell people we are going to a hospice they looked shocked at the thought. It’s difficult to explain. Its such an enjoyable experience.”
The project has so far involved a trip to City Hall to participate in a conference led by the Dying Matters coalition, with a video in the pipeline and a website underway, this project is quickly gaining some real weight behind it. Sam Turner, Development Manager at the NCPC has been astounded by our sixth formers, “the project is a win-win for all involved, the patients really value the opportunity to reminisce and pass on any gained wisdom to the students, the hospice staff enjoy having younger people around and the students get an understanding of what’s important to people who are dying; this is particularly pertinent for this group of students who want to pursue a career in medicine and for me the key to being a great doctor is seeing the person rather than the disease”.
The students have been recording their thoughts and stories from their patients. These will be posted on a website being developed by Jaycen Tuitt as part of his ICT A-Level coursework. Students involved in the project are Michael Ha, Barney Perkins, Bhuket Gundogan, Jade Kemp and Shedah Javadzadeh.
For more information on coalition see www.dyingmatters.org
Miss A. Augier
A recent trip to the Cambridge University Schools Debating Competition was very successful with all Mossbourne teams entered making it through to the next round.
From a total of twenty teams at the competition, only five teams would progress to the next round. Mossbourne took a total of three teams and all made it through.
Congratulations to all those who took part.
Starlit Children’s Literature Festival in Hoxton October 2009
Students from the year 7-9 Book Club extensions attended the first Starlit festival of Children’s Literature, held in Hoxton Square 5th – 9th October. The festival brought together many of the very best children’s authors with students who had been reading their books. All students were also invited to choose a free book from the festival bookshop, run by Victoria Park Books.
One Mossbourne group had been reading Dirty Angels by Andrew Glover. The author, who is also an actor, entertained everyone during his energetic performance. He also answered questions and signed his books afterwards.
The other group had been reading The White Darkness by renowned children’s author Geraldine McCaughrean. In her event she talked about her inspiration for writing a novel based on the story of Captain Scott and Titus Oates and their ill-fated polar expedition. Geraldine also quizzed us on our polar knowledge with the help of one student dressed up as Titus Oates.
Both groups really enjoyed Starlit and we very much hope that the festival will continue next year!
"Starlit was a lot of fun. I loved Geraldine's talk and the bookshop had a really wide range. I was spoilt for choice! I loved reading "The white darkness". It made me laugh and cry. And Geraldine is a really nice person; I look forward to reading more of her books."
Year 8 pupil
"I think the festival was a great experience and it would be great to do it again. The bit I enjoyed most was meeting the author and getting her autograph. Also getting our free book. It was very fun!"
Year 8 pupil
