This week’s blog definitely has a celebratory feel in as much as the focus is almost all on what our amazing students have been up to at the Learning Centre this week as part of our ‘Recovery Curriculum’ programme.

I thought I’d share a useful resource which many of our staff have been using and feel is helpful around enhancing emotional wellbeing and which supports the recovery curriculum.

The easy-to-use tools provide an excellent means of developing a whole school culture of support and nurture as young people transition back into college after what, for many, may have been a stressful period of lockdown. They provide strategies to build good mental health and develop the resilience needed to move on from stressful situations and trauma, including those related to the Coronavirus pandemic. The activities are divided into three key trauma recovery approaches:

• Self-Regulate for Wellbeing
• Get Moving Mentally and Physically for Wellbeing
• Connect for Wellbeing

Continuing the theme of wellbeing, I was lucky enough to be able to join Mrs Keane’s Year 12 class for their outdoor Thai Chi session. All the students took it really seriously and as one student commented, “It’s so lovely, I feel all relaxed!” I have to say I totally agreed with her. I hope students will take some of what they have learnt and continue to practise some of the techniques at home.

Mrs Keane is keen to share what else Year 12 have been up to..

12AKE are really enjoying the time we have outside and we have been blessed with fine weather. We have talked about how being outside and gardening is good for our mental health and wellbeing. We are exercising, communicating with each other and working together as a team to look after our environment.

This week during our gardening sessions we have found lots of different creatures. We talked about what they were called, what they felt like, what they might eat and where they lived. We also talked about being kind and caring towards small creatures and we put them carefully back on the ground in a safe place. The students are braver than me when it comes to picking up creepy crawlies!

We have done some mindful listening and listened to different birdsong and the rain falling on the trees. The information and pictures we are collecting will be used in our English lessons over the next few weeks.

This week saw the beginning of Autumn and in English we wrote some acrostic poems about Autumn..

 

Well done to all Year 12, great work!!

The Nurture Group have also been extremely busy over the last couple of weeks. Here’s a report from Miss Kindon..

The Nurture Group have been working hard on their own happiness shields to illustrate all the things, people, thoughts and feelings that we have which can help us to effectively manage stress, anxiety and adversity. Students visualise their shields giving them protection. It was nice to show our work to other students in assembly last week. Here are some pictures..

• Adam M.

• Ryan

• Malcolm

• Aimee

• Chantelle

• Daniel G.

We have also been creating a tribal classroom, tapping into students’ innate primitive social instincts. This helps students to feel that they are part of a team and part of a family within the classroom. We have focused on the word inclusivity and the practice or policy of including people who might otherwise be excluded or marginalised such as those who have physical or mental disabilities or members of minority groups. We looked at the ethos of Team GB and the Olympics. So now we have Team NG.

Well done to all the Nurture group students, what a wonderful display.

What has become apparent over the last few months is how much technology can help us stay in contact and enable us to communicate with those we may not be able to see. Mr. Newport has helped some old friends reunite (albeit virtually!)..

This week Mr Newport’s IB1 group met with IB2 at the school site over teams in our ICT lesson. This was both Hajjra’s and Aniqa’s old class and they had a lovely time chatting and waving to each other. We are all looking forward to next Wednesday’ s ICT lesson after break when we have arranged to meet up virtually again.

Our E-Base students have been equally busy this week and have settled really well, as Mrs McDonald explains:

In EBase 2 the students have enjoyed being back with all their friends and staff, they have settled really well back into their routine. They have enjoyed practising their fine motor skills, making masks relating to the story “The Gingerbread Man” and also using the interactive tv to colour in a gingerbread man. They all really enjoyed decorating their own gingerbread men using icing and sprinkles, after which as you can imagine the classroom looked like candy land..

EBase2 have also enjoyed completing a daily mile today with Mr Smith. Wany enjoyed the assault course where he climbed on top of the beams and jumped off with support from staff.

I have to finish with another report from Mr Blackman and his very industrious Year 14 group..

Another blinking polytunnel to weed? We will do it in a flash! said the Year 14 task force and that is exactly what they did – in a record time of only two lessons! Brilliant effort, what an amazing team I have this year!

Here are the obligatory before and after pictures..

I’m thinking of starting a Learning Centre gardening business, they’ll make us a fortune!

This week all families should have received information on how to sign up to our new ‘Parent Connect’ app. We will be using this app as our primary method of communication with families. You will find useful links to our brand-new site-specific social media page, our website, our weekly blogs, school calendar and ParentPay. Over the next few weeks you will also hear from your child’s teachers who will begin to use the app to update you on your child’s learning and experiences here at the Learning Centre. You can view the Parentapps Guide here and if you have any questions, need any support using the app or you have not yet received your invitation, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us on Monday.

Have a nice weekend,

Dawn

Click here for this week’s news from Graham

You can find Gavin’s blog for the school site here

For news on our Key Stage 5 pathway groups at Medtia Square please click here

You can find my previous blog posts here