BLOG WEEK ENDING 5TH JULY

At Stone Lodge we aim to provide all students with the opportunity to shine and showcase their strengths and talents, whether academic, creative, community or sporting.   Sports day is a celebration of our Stone Lodge athletes and a wonderful day for the whole school community to come together … as well as share a healthy bit of House competition!

Students took part in a host of track and field events demonstrating individual skill and technique as well as teamwork, leadership and sheer grit!

•              Shot Putt

•              Discus

•              Javelin

•              Frisbee Throw

•              Overhead Ball Throw

•              Tug of War

•              Speed Bounce

•              Standing Long Jump

•              100m Sprint

•              200m track event

•              400m track event

•              4 x 100m Relay

Congratulations to all our sporting competitors on what was a hugely enjoyable day of sporting endeavour and camaraderie.  Additional thanks to all staff and student cheering supporters and helpers!  The final scores are in ..

Year 7 Food and Nutrition students investigated the science of making the perfect meringues in this practical lesson!  When you whisk egg whites, you create foam by adding air, which creates bubbles. Due to the fact, the whisk cause some of the proteins to unravel. This is called denaturing. Denaturing can also happen chemically if you add an acid, like lemon juice or cream of tartar to the mixture or when you heat proteins.  Adding sugar to foamy egg whites creates a thick and glossy foam. This foam remains even after you stop whisking, making the bubbles even more stable. Make sure you do not over whisk. I can personally vouch for how delicious they were too!

Our Student Managers play a vital role in the recruitment process for key members of teaching and pastoral staff.  Students offer a unique perspective to the interview process and give insightful feed-back that can help enhance the Stone Lodge learning experience.  Students are also adept at putting candidates at their ease.  This Student Voice interview, panel Melody Year 7, Daisy C Year 9 and Hawanatu Year 8 were exemplary in their professionalism and in the quality of constructive feed-back they gave.

Year 9 mathematicians and computer science students enjoyed an exciting and fascinating trip to Bletchley Park, home of the code-breakers!  Students took part in hands-on demonstrations and activities. They were taken on a tour of genuine WW2 equipment, including the Enigma machine and a rebuild of the Bombe, the machine that Alan Turing created to help the code breakers crack the Enigma cipher! Some students were able to use the Enigma machine to write and decode messages in a similar way to how they would have been sent and received during WW2. All students were fortunate enough to be able to use the computers on site (which are over 40 years old) and the programming language BBC Basic to create their very own Snake game which proved to be a rewarding challenge for those students that were able to complete it and play the game. The visit took place in a refurbished wartime building and lessons were learnt that gave the students practical cyber security skills and prompted them to think critically about the ethics of modern computing and encouraged students to consider a career in information security.

Year 8 Musicians have been really enjoying composing their own track and lyrics!  Students used a music sequencing software called Cubase to develop their music production skills and create their own dance tracks.  A very popular topic!

SL6 Careers Update – Year 12 work experience.  This week our Sports students have been out working in local primary schools, football clubs and training companies.  As we have come to expect, Miss Bassant has received perfect feedback across the board, praising students for their professionalism, communications skills, presentation skills and general enthusiasm and a ‘can-do’ attitude.  Students working with Dartford FC in their sales and marketing team, went out to local businesses pitching sponsorship and partnership opportunities and successfully secured deals. Our SL6 student correspondent Harvey, is working as part of the media team at Charlton Athletic FC, writing blogs and social media content.  Elsewhere, students have been helping run sports days at Primaries, and coaching groups at JMF Allstars.  This invaluable business experience forms a key part of their ongoing careers programme of support.

Harvey our SL6 Student Correspondent added; “I worked with the Press and Communication officers at Charlton Athletic Community Trust to cover the media side of a refugee sports festival sponsored by Premier League Kicks. This festival was inclusive for individuals that are from displaced communities and gave them a chance to have a fun-filled day participating in Football, Boxing and Cricket with the help of members from Kent Cricket Club. This included conducting interviews, taking photos and videos for the Community Trust’s social media pages and websites.

Welling United first team were training next to the festival, and I was lucky enough to have an interview with their new right-back Myles Judd, and do the camera work for an interview with Rod Stringer, the Welling United manager. The report for this interview will be out on the Welling United website in the coming days.”

Primary school feed-back.  “Lewis has been amazing and everything you would have wanted him to be on a Work Experience Placement. He has been playing football and basketball with the children and has been inclusive and giving appropriate complements and comments. He is patient with the children. You would have thought he is a member of staff, and 25 rather than 16. They would happily have you back after you have completed your A levels.”

Charlton Athletic FC feed-back “Harvey has carried himself well and been asking interesting questions that show his interest in this field and is clearly eager to establish himself in this industry. He has been an absolute pleasure and will go far.”

What an achievement!  Manny B of Year 9 has had an incredible season with his football team Hayden Hawks.  Manny is an all-round sportsman and dedicated footballer who works and trains hard to play the best football he can.  At the end of a great season, Manny’s efforts were recognised with the trophy for both ‘Player of the Season and ‘Players Player of the Season’!  Congratulations Manny.

Please join me in congratulating Year 7 student Lenny L for his campaigning and fundraising on behalf of the Teenage Cancer Trust About us | Teenage Cancer Trust.  Lenny did 100 push-ups a day, for the whole of June, and has raised over £600 so far!  We are all incredibly proud of Lenny’s generosity, effort and his commitment to improving the lives of others!

Every day seven young people (aged 13-24) are diagnosed with cancer – the Teenage Cancer Trust is the only UK charity dedicated to supporting young people, so they don’t need to face cancer alone.  If you would like to find out more, or would like to make any donation please click here

Kent Teacher of the Year.  Congratulations to all staff who received nominations in the recent Kent Teacher of the Year, including the two below;

“Mrs Wenham is an absolutely outstanding member of the team at Stone Lodge. My son feels he can talk to her about anything and this is something he will normally struggle with. He has ASD. Mrs Wenham has supported him through a few struggles he has had since being in this academic year. She is always there for him and myself and will call me back if she is unable to talk when needed. I am 100% sure that going into a new year wouldn’t have been this easy without her” 

“Miss Deacon provides mental health support in as well as education and accepts everyone as they are.  When we were preparing for our mocks she gave extra individual revision after school. She truly believes in us and inspired us when we were filled with anxiety for our year 11 mocks.” 

Looking for a new career opportunity?  It is our firm belief that a motivated, supported and empowered staff are at the heart of our students’ achievements.  Endeavour MAT’s staff development programme offers our staff opportunities for career progression across our Trust schools for the next generation of exceptional teachers, support staff and leaders.  All our schools take pride in being warm, friendly and supportive workplaces.  You can be assured, regardless of your role, you will be working with people who enjoy their work, are proud to be here and who will want to welcome you to the team.  To view our current vacancies, please click here.

Forthcoming Dates;

LBC activity week – 8 – 12  July
Y7-9 Musical performance – 17 July
Year 7, 8 & 9 Reports home – 12 July
Peter Pan show – 16 July 5-7pm
Last Day of Term & Cultural Dress Day – 19 July 12 noon

Best wishes,

Gavin Barnett
Head Teacher