School Blog, week ending 27th March
Message from Charlie Guthrie, CEO Endeavour MAT. A career in education has taught me many things, most important of which is, never, ever, underestimate the abilities and ambition of our young people. At Endeavour MAT we strive to energise that ambition and to support the work-ethic of our students to succeed. We work closely with the Student Leaders from across our schools to ensure our student body has an active say in their education and the running of their schools. I am incredibly proud of the positive input from Stone Lodge Student Leaders – never shying away from difficult conversations, always maintaining ambition for us all. Last week, students had the opportunity to meet applicants to become our new Headteacher – candidates delivered whole-year assemblies, took lessons and were interviewed by a Student Leader panel. I am delighted to be able to inform you that we have appointed Dr Catherine Cusick to be the Headteacher at Stone Lodge School. She will be joining us early next term, on 1st May.
Dr Cusick impressed everyone, and she brings a wealth of leadership experience to Stone Lodge. You will all get a chance to meet her very soon.
Following her appointment she said: “I feel very privileged to have been given this opportunity to lead Stone Lodge School in the next stage of its journey. I was really impressed with the warm welcome I received when I visited, and I am really looking forward to getting to know and working with all the students, staff, parents and carers to ensure that every student receives an excellent education.”
As CEO of Endeavour MAT, I have worked with our Stone Lodge staff and students since we first opened, including teaching GCSE Spanish for an academic year. I have seen first-hand the ambition of our bright, funny and talented student body and am proud of all we have achieved as a school community.
Flourish, one of our Head Students has been working with Student Leaders and our Senior Leadership Team as part of an ongoing collaborative school approach. Student Leaders attend and contribute to SLT meetings, ensuring that the students remain at the centre of discussion and new plans.
Flourish : “One thing I would say about Stone Lodge School is that the teachers and Senior Leadership Team truly listen to our voices and make sure we feel heard. They hold regular meetings with the Students Council where students can share their thoughts, concerns, and ideas, and it’s clear that they genuinely care about what we have to say. But it’s not just about listening – they actually act on our feedback and make real changes based on it. It’s refreshing to know that our opinions matter, and the school is committed to creating a positive environment for everyone.
What I really appreciate about Stone Lodge is that the staff doesn’t just focus on our academic success, but also on preparing us for life beyond school. They support us in every aspect of our development, from personal growth to future career opportunities. I love being part of a school where the teachers and SLT genuinely want the best for each and every one of us, treating us as individuals and giving us the tools to thrive both now and in the future.”
Student Council Meeting – chaired by Mrs Pickard. This meeting, students reviewed recent changes to the allocated Year group spaces for lunchbreaks. Overall, feed-back students had from their forms was positive, however they feel it would be useful to add more lunchtime opportunities and extra spaces in addition to current allocation. Next meeting is scheduled for first week back after the Easter break. We will progress ideas and see how our PFA might be able to fund new ideas will happen first week back after Easter break. A small example of the student comments are;
Michelle : “more outside seating would be beneficial for those who just want to chill rather than play football etc or go to clubs”
Finn : “more clubs available in outside spaces would be good and to make sure that all students are aware of what clubs are available would help too”
Bailey : “Could we have more supervised quiet spaces during lunch?”
Link to our current Clubs and Extra-Curriculum schedule Learning – Stone Lodge School
Peer Mentoring. Our SL6 Students have undergone coaching training, providing additional transferable skills for their own professional development as well as a valuable and relatable resource for younger students. Our Mentors provide coaching, and support to the younger year groups. Mentors are picked for their sensibility, confidence, social skills and reliability. Year 12 Mentor,
Frankie C Commented “I offer support to a Year 7 student, we meet once a week, and have built up a good foundation and rapport which enables me to provide practical advice which she can relate to and is confident to act upon” For me personally, the Peer Mentoring is a rewarding programme developing my leadership skills and critical thinking, but mostly, I genuinely enjoy supporting students in their own development”
Year 7 student Jess, who works with Frankie added “it’s really useful to get one-to-one support with Frankie as he’s helping me with my Maths every Tuesday Form time. I’m not missing any learning in Form time and my Tutor wouldn’t be able to give me extra tuition in Form, so working with Frankie means I use the time productively and am getting more confident with my maths.”
Mr Adenekan, Assistant Head Teacher’s Year 10 GCSE students have been working on a practical investigation “Separating Salt Crystals from Rock Salt”. In this experiment, students were separating a solid from its solution to make salt crystals.
Sammy (pictured below left), Y10 student explained “I enjoy the practical aspect of the topic because as I’m doing it myself, I can see the chemical changes happening and developing through the different stages which brings the learning to life”
GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition students have learned the skills required to joint a chicken. In addition to practising the skills required to joint the chicken they will also create recipes suited to each element. It’s often more expensive to buy two ready-prepared chicken breasts than a whole chicken. From a whole chicken you’ll get two breasts, two thighs, two drumsticks, plus a carcass and wings for making simple stock. Despite their initial reservations, students completed the task brilliantly!
George (pictured above) said “I chose Food Preparations and Nutrition at GCSE as it’s a great subject to support my future independence with valuable life skills, while also providing a strong GCSE qualification .. and my mum is always very pleased when I cook at home!”
Ms Roberts’ Year 8 students made spaghetti bolognaise in their Food Preparation and Nutrition lesson this week. As you can see from the below, this proved to be an exceptionally popular recipe choice!
Students commented (from left to right in first photo)
Damilola : “my favourite lessons have been berry pie and spag bol .. I made the berry pie at home and my mum was impressed!”
Oliver : “I enjoy these lessons, I find it really relaxing to cook”
Damilola (speaking about Oliver) : “we’ve got a mini Jamie Oliver in the school!”
Alex : “now I know how easy spag bol is to make, I’m definitely going to make this at home”
Year 9 Drama students have been working on adding tension to a performance as part of their Woman in Black unit. Mr Bailey, Head of Drama and Year 9 set the scene .. two people are walking in the marshes, one falls in and starts to get sucked into the bog. Students devised a piece where the tension builds to a climax!
Students added;
Tom : “I really like Drama as it’s a safe space where I can express myself. I always look forward to Drama lessons”
Isabelle : “I like to be creative and work with others, Drama allows me to express myself in ways I can’t elsewhere. I’ve put GCSE Drama down as an option for next year as I enjoy it and it helps with my confidence as well as having long term benefits”
Miss Haynes’ Year 7 English students have been exploring Characterisation Arcs as part of their creative writing topic to map a character’s journey from the start to end of a story. In this lesson, students responded to the characterisation arc ‘Character – Obstacle – Goal’ planning their creative writing piece.
Harry T : “I like how this topic gives me the freedom to write what I want, using my ideas”
Shoryaveer : “Miss Haynes has taught us about character which helps us build a story, and help us be imaginative”
Beau : “the structure Miss Haynes has taught us makes the task clear and I’m enjoying it”
Student Form Representatives were out in action last week as part of The Great Dartford Schools’ Litter Pick as part of our ongoing commitment to caring for our local community. Students worked their way along Stone Road following a route along London Road. Thank you to all those people who stopped to support and thank our students as they collected litter. As you can see form the very full bags, students did a wonderful job of helping to keep our local community looking its best!
A huge ‘well done’ to our Stone Lodge competitors of the Kent Schools Trampoline Championships. Congratulations to Y8 Yasmine who was placed an impressive 18 out of 83 competitors, Y10 Robyn was placed 5th out of 42, Skyla Y8 placed 17 out of 36 and Year 7 Elayna C who won Gold in her event! (Pictured left)
Year 7 Elayna’s a committed trampolinist who attends out of school clubs in addition to in-school lessons
Elayna added : “I really enjoyed being part of the competition, especially as I won Gold! Miss Rutt is so supportive, she’s our biggest cheer leader!”
Lost Property. Message from the office team! We have a HUGE number of lost/unclaimed items of uniform, coats and other items which we will put out on the last week of Term from Monday 31st March (subject to weather!) for parents/carers to recover your children’s belonging.
As part of our ongoing efforts to ensure that all students can easily recover any lost belongings, we kindly ask for your support in labelling your child’s personal items. Clothing, lunch boxes, water bottles, and pencil cases are more likely to find their way back to their owners if they are clearly marked with a name. Unidentified items that remain unclaimed will eventually be donated to our PFA or other charities.
By taking a few moments to label your child’s belongings, you help us to reunite possessions with their owners and maintain an organised environment for all students. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.
Additionally, now the sun is finally shining, please can you ensure that your child brings a water bottle into school.
Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact the school office.
Knowledge Organisers & Homework information including links to the Sparx Maths and Science platforms can be found on our website here Learning – Stone Lodge School
Forthcoming Dates;
Year 8 Parents’ Evening – 27 March (this evening)
Year 9 Careers Session – 31 March
Year 9 Careers MIMS Workshop – 1 & 2 April
Awards Evening – 3 April 6.30-8pm
Year 10 Grades sent home – 4 April
Last Day of Term 4 – 4 April 12.10pm finish
First Day of Term 5 – Tuesday 22 April
Year 10 Parents’ Evening – 24 April
Best wishes,
Gavin Barnett and Charlie Guthrie
Headteacher & CEO
