The Headteacher's Blog
Archive: May 2011
- 27May
Year 11 say a sad farewell
Although year 11 pupils will be returning to school after half term, for their exams, we had their leaving celebrations this week. Our Leavers' Awards Evening was held on Tuesday 24th May. It was a great evening for pupils, staff, family and friends. We had performances from 'Whispers of Silence' - Ramiel Canlas, Megan Dormer, Eddy Tunio and Ruzzel Pescozo. The soloist for the evening was Irene Kattah. I would like to pay special tribute to Nicola Pirt who received her City Guilds Motor Vehicle Qualification. One of the first in the country to do so.
Today we had the traditional Year 11 shirt signing ceremony. Lots of tears, I knew they loved us really.
I also received a letter of thanks from the Royal College of Art.
Dear Mr Bradshaw
Just wanted to write and let you know that we had a wonderful Crafts Council workshop session with 15, Year 10 students yesterday in the art department. Your students were delightful to work with and a credit to themselves and your school. They engaged fully and had very thoughtful responses to the work we were doing. They were also incredibly welcoming, polite and open to us. Vanessa and I came away from yesterday's session feeling great and that we had just met some exceptional students.
A nice way to end the term.
Pupils return to school on Monday 6th June - in perfect uniform, please.
Posted at 15:37
- 20May
Olympic Torch Relay
There will be many opportunities for our pupils to be involved in the Olympic Torch Relay next year, and all of these will be promoted and advertised as part of the schools reward scheme.
The Olympic organisers are looking for 8000 Torchbearers, and over half of them will be aged 12-24 years. Of course, not everyone can carry the Flame as part of the Torch Relay, but there will be lots of other opportunities to get involved too. Later this year we will receive information on how our pupils can celebrate the Relay’s arrival in Newham, and we will be able to access materials to help the pupils learn about the Torch Relay in their lessons – from the history of the Flame to the science behind the cauldron.
Cumberland pupils have also been invited to test some one of the Olympic venues - follow the link below go to:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-13145356
This week I have been appointing some new members of staff for next September I am very pleased to say that we have been able to make some excellent appointments.
Posted at 13:58
- 13May
Exam season begins
This years exam 'season' began this week with our year 11 art pupils taking their ten hour practical exam. The work they produced and the behaviour of all the pupils was excellent
On Monday 9th May a group of year 7 pupils participated in a Money Skills Workshop organised by Barclay's Bank. All of the pupils enjoyed the event and were provided with an opportunity to create and present their ideas to finance professionals. The staff from Barclay's were impressed with the enthusiasm and creativity of the pupils.
Posted at 14:33
- 06May
Royal College of Art Exhibition
On Thursday 5 May I was very pleased to be invited to the Royal College of Art (RCA) to attend a private view of our pupils' work which they completed during the Spring Term. This partnership has been developed as part of the RCA's 'Reach Out' initiative. The Programme is called Revival and brings contemporary craft practice into the classroom.
Newham Catering Services recently invited a group of pupils to 'Come Dine with Me'. This gave a chance for our caterers to hear what the pupils think about the meals they receive in school and changes they would like to see.
During the past week we have welcomed Alastair Findlay to Cumberland School. Alastair has been delivering the 'Go-ride' programme to pupils from Y7 and Y8. This is part of the British Cycling National Development Programme. The programme is aimed at developing the next generation of great British cyclists.
Posted at 09:59