We get knocked down, but we get up again

Hello Year 9,

I hope your week has got off to a good start and you're managing to keep on top of your home learning tasks being set by teachers. You may have noticed that we have responded to your feedback by staggering when tasks are set. It seemed a lot of you were feeling overwhelmed on a Monday, so if you found you didn't have much set yesterday, I promise (much to your dismay, I'm sure) that there'll be more throughout the week...after all, we wouldn't want you getting bored! I know some of you are also having issues with submitting work on SMHW, so please do let me know if this is the case and I'll get in touch with Miss Hanley so she can work her magic on this. If in doubt, I would also suggest emailing your teachers any tasks you have completed so they can see how hard you are working...after all, I want everyone to know that Year 9 are the best year group! 

I think it's safe to say that we are well and truly into lockdown 2K20 now and even as an adult, it's hard to keep yourself continuously motivated, particularly as things seem never-ending at times. However, we just have to remember that there is an end in sight and positives will come out of this situation even if it doesn't seem like it right now. If anything, it will make us all thankful for school to start again...which is something I bet you never thought you'd hear yourself say. You also need to believe me when I say that, when school eventually starts back, you'll be far better off returning knowing that you have done everything you can to stay on top of your learning- trust me on this one! No one wants to feel that anxious feeling that most get the night before school starts because you feel like you're going to be out of your depth. 

If you're someone that's struggling with keeping on top of things, or maybe have struggled to get into a routine with home learning, make sure you get in touch with me and together we can try to prioritise tasks that you've been set.

Remember, studying little and often is the key to success and it will help to keep you motivated. If all else fails, I also find cups of tea and biscuits are a good incentive too. 

Companionship 

Our theme of the week this week is 'Companionship' which seems ironic in a time when we are having to isolate from our friends. A gospel reading that gave me a boost, as it seemed to resonate with our current situation, is the following:

 “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair.  We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed”

Paul sends words of encouragement to his friends, in 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (NLT)

In this gospel story, it seems that even though the disciples didn't realise it at the time, Jesus had not abandoned them in their time of need. Similarly, God has not and never does, abandon us...even if we don’t always recognise His presence. In times of difficulty, as Christians, we are called to be beacons of hope (or lighthouses, as Mr Kibble often refers to). 

The challenge to you this week, Year 9,  is to think about how we can provide companionship (virtual or otherwise) to those who are in need of hope, comfort and support.

Reflections on companionship:

• Who needs you to accompany them this week?
• How might you do this if you can’t be physically present for them?
• Who accompanies you in good times and bad?
• How do you let your companions know how much you appreciate them?
• Which blessings in your life let you know that God hasn’t abandoned you?
• How might you allow God to accompany you this week?

Now, do you want to know a fun (pointless) fact that vaguely links to the gospel? Thought as much... 

The gospel is all about picking yourself up again if your belief falters, and if you've ever heard of the song lyrics "I get knocked down, but I get up again, you're never gonna get me down" then congratulations, you have a good taste in 80s music. You then might be interested to know that this song is called Tubthumping by a band called Chumbawambawa...weird name, I know! And that pointless, yet equally fun fact year 9, is what I learnt from my Saturday Night family quiz. You can thank me later when it comes up in a music round for a quiz that you will no doubt be a part of at some point during quarantine (although, maybe quizzes are just an adult thing to do...I hope that doesn't make me old). 

Imagine if...

We were experiencing lockdown in the early 90s (before you were even born). I certainly wouldn't be able to post this blog to you- it would be more along the lines of a weekly letter written on a typewriter with a hand-drawn picture, at best. 

That's right, one fantastic advantage that we have living in the 21st century is that we have technology to help us stay connected. With our theme of companionship this week, I thought it only right to celebrate those of you who are making full use of the video call apps to speak to friends whilst completing work. That's right, zoom meetings aren't just for parents and teachers! If you're not already, get a group of friends together and set a time to meet virtually to complete a piece of work. You'll find it's almost, yes almost, like being in the classroom again and much more interesting than doing it by yourself...just don't get too distracted like myself and Miss Long get when we call each other. 

Some of your parents have also been asking whether we are going to do more interactive lessons for you to access. We're in the process of trialing online seminars with Year 12 and Year 10, so watch this space as there may be something along the lines of online lessons for Year 9 in the not-so-distant future. In the meantime though, take a look at the Salesian School Youtube Channel to see some familiar faces. I've included a link to this week and last week's assembly and one for an English Language lesson by Miss McEvoy that will help you with comparison PEAs (I know you're all missing them!)

Assemblies:

27/04:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8XJNtGeYjU&feature=youtu.be

20/04: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXmMciXENmg


English Language- Year 9 Comparison PEA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mN1kWYuJh7I&list=PLqrFnD-0xxQcFUia1pkprHOAZO9fCzLPG&index=2


Also, while we're on the topic of videos, don't forget about the Salesian 7 Challenge. Heads of Year have already been busy getting on with some of the tasks (see the link for videos: https://www.facebook.com/salesianschoolchertsey/). A particular favourite is of course the TikTok challenge, but I know for a fact you can do better than my attempt, so get to it Year 9!

When will I hear about my GCSE options?

This is a common question I have been getting from a lot of you, so it's about time I put you all out of your misery.

Either later this week, or the beginning of next, you will be sent a letter confirming whether you have secured your option choices. In the event that you have been given a reserve choice, I am going to send you a separate email direct to your school email address to tell you what you have been assigned instead to prepare you for when you receive the letter. 

The confirmation of these subjects should not mean that you stop working for your other subjects, but instead allow you to prioritise and start looking ahead to what your year will look like come September. 

If you are worried about any of this, please do drop me an email so I can help you with any concerns you may have. 

Enough about GCSEs, you want a puppy update? OK, only if I have to...

You'll be pleased to know, my week got off to a very good start as we got our puppy, Lola, back from the vets. She's well and truly on the mend now and whilst we might be a lot poorer after paying the hefty vet bill, we are extremely pleased to have her home. She's already disrupting the working from home routine by squeezing onto the sofa wherever she can...

I'm hoping she'll be well trained enough for me to try this with her soon too...

Aside from getting the pup back, we also made use of not having her around by making some gourmet home-made burgers. I can highly recommend it, but don't forget to put a gherkin on top...that's the crowning glory (or maybe not, as the case may be for all you non-gherkin lovers!) 

So, what's everyone else in the Year group been up to? 

Well, now that you ask, I've had a lot of positive news about how you've all been passing the time and I've been highly impressed at how much some of you have been helping out your local community. 

Here's Yasmin ironing some of the material that is being used to make scrubs for keyworkers in the NHS. It looks like she's done more ironing than I've done in the last few months, let alone in a day. Well done, Yasmin!

I've also heard through the grapevine that Lawrence Caird has been killing it with his running. Word on the street is that he's done 12km with his Dad! Mo Farah better watch his back. Keep up the amazing work, Lawrence.

Last but not least, Hannah-Bella has sent through a great example of DIRT for her recent English assessment. For those in doubt of how to send hand-written work, this is how. Simply take a picture and send it on to your teachers. It's great to see that Hannah Bella's silhouette crept in there too. 

Well done to the rest of you who have been working tirelessly behind the scenes. I know some of you are the retiring, modest type, who don't want to promote the work they've been doing, but please do remember that if you have done anything that you're particularly proud of, send it my way- I love reading your emails!

Enjoy the rest of the week, Year 9 and make sure you reach out to your companions...particularly God (don't forget about that guy). 

Saint John Bosco, Pray for us. 

Miss M x

New Term, Fresh Start

Welcome back Year 9, 

I hope that your Summer Term has got off to a good start today and you've come back feeling refreshed after the Easter break. I don't know about you, but the two weeks still flew by as they would any normal school holiday and I, like most of you I assume, found it a bit of a struggle having to get up this morning to start work. 

Thankfully, it seemed the weather was in our favour over the holiday period and everything seemed much more positive when the sun was shining. I hope that you all made the most of it and managed to get out and about to do your daily exercise. As well as celebrating the incredible efforts of 'Captain Tom Moore' the war veteran (who I thought could, or could not be, a distant relative), so many fantastic fundraisers were also going on over Easter within the Salesian community. To name but a few, Mr Thomas in DT got to work making face shields for the hospital staff and Mr Browne was busy organising a group of us staff members to get fundraising by accumulating all the distances we were covering on our daily walks, runs and bike rides. We managed to surpass our original distance of 350KM in 6 days (managing it in just 2 days alone), so we are now aiming to travel 1,250km (which is equivilent of the distance from Chertsey to Turin). At the moment we have raised £1,730 for the NHS, so we're hoping that we smash our £2,000 target. 

If you (or more likely your parents) are interested in donating, I've posted the link below...

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/salesian-staff?utm_source=whatsapp&utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=salesian-staff&utm_campaign=pfp-whatsapp&utm_term=d25722d31dda43aaa4c6ba58259ce505

Similarly, if you have been inspired by other fundraising events and have got involved yourselves, I'd love to hear about them! I know you all secretly want a mention on the next blog post!

By far the most exciting thing I did over the break was to get our new puppy, Lola. (See obligatory puppy photos below). She started to settle in very well into her new home, but then she got a bit poorly. She's currently being very well looked after by our vet and we can't wait to have her home and back to her usual puppy-self- I'm sure she can't wait to start causing all sorts of chaos too!

I've had some great emails from some of your parents telling me of some exciting things that you've been up to as well. I am extremely pleased to see that some of you are taking on the challenge of mastering a new skill. A huge shout out to Marco and Louis for their efforts in baking and hairdressing! Prizes will be coming your way as soon as we're back at school.

Marco: This week's 'Star Baker'.

Louis's Barbers open for business

If anyone else reckons they can top the boys' efforts with new skills, or creativity, then don't delay in getting in touch (or get your parents to do it for you if you can't quite face emailing me yourselves!)

You'll also be pleased to know that all of the staff at school are now slowly becoming professionals with technology to ensure that you are getting the best deal for your home learning. I know a few of you found the work slightly overwhelming last term and your parents told us how you were trying to stick to your normal school day structure as much as possible. I applaud those of you who kept up with the workload and were submitting work to your teachers at the end of each week. On the other hand, if you're someone who struggled to get motivated last term, the best thing about it is that it's not too late to start! It is now more crucial than ever that you are becoming independent with your learning, particularly as you're getting closer to your GCSE courses starting (and because I'm sure you don't want your parents looking over your shoulder every 5 minutes to check on you!)

Even though we're not at school, there are still lots of things in the pipeline this Summer Term, so keep your eyes peeled for the Salesian 7 Challenge (which may or may not include a TikTok attempt from staff) and other exciting opportunities on the various subject instagram pages. I've already seen some fantastic student work displayed on the DT, Drama and Art pages so if you haven't seen those, I can highly recommend it.  

For now, stay strong, stay safe and keep up the good work. 

Miss M x

Saint John Bosco, pray for us (and Lola, our little pup!) 

Looking to the Future

We’re into Week 3 of lockdown and if you haven’t sat on your sofa for a whole day completing Netflix, then you’re a better human than I am. I’ve learnt a lot about Hasidic Jewish communities, can tell you exactly how and where football originated, laughed at ‘The Big Cat’ craze in America (Tiger King lovers, you know what I mean) and solved far too many crime documentaries than you can imagine- all without lifting a finger. Getting up and getting dressed before 9 have become an achievement in my eyes and I’ve become all too good at neighbourhood watch through my front window. 

I don’t know about you, but the Easter break has also provided me with some reflection time of all the things we take for granted. I had two trips planned for this Easter that have sadly had to be postponed: one to visit my partner’s relatives in Poland and another to see some of my family in France. It’s been hard knowing that we might not be able to travel for a fair while longer and the thought of not seeing my family has started to take its toll. However, when you hear of all the tragedy happening around us and those that are living in hardship, or self-isolating by themselves with no access to technology, it makes you thankful for what you do have. A roof over your head, people who love you, food on the table and most importantly of all, access to free health care and education. 

I know I say it a lot, but we are so lucky to be part of the Salesian community and it’s times like this that make you realise it more than ever. Last Friday, I got to see almost 100 staff members on a video call where Mr Kibble awarded virtual prizes to celebrate the end of term. I found myself not only incredibly happy to see so many friendly faces, but also truly thankful to be able to work in such an incredibly supportive and loving school. 

“What about our end of term prizes?” I hear you ask...

I’m well aware that we never got to award our final Moore’s Top Four, or give out prizes for outstanding success and effort. Fear not, I’ll be sure to make up for this when we’re back, so you best be on top form Year 9! 

Moore's Top Four

There are so many of you already impressing me with your resilience, independence and kindness over the last few weeks. I’ve heard so many positive things from your tutors, teachers and directly from your parents- so make sure you get a well-deserved rest this holiday so that you can come back rejuvenated and ready for next term- it promises to be the strangest Summer Term I think we will all ever experience. 

Time to reminisce...

It seems that at the moment, instead of looking to the future, a lot of my friends are posting old photos of themselves on social media, or remembering places they’ve visited around the world. I then thought of how many of our school trips and events had to be cancelled this term and again realised how lucky you all are to have so many opportunities available to you at school. Staff really do work tirelessly to provide you with as many opportunities as they can, to build relationships and ensure you all end up as well-rounded individuals.

Just in my time as your Head of Year, I’ve had the pleasure of taking some of you to amazing places like La Fosca (pictured below) and The Eden Project. After dipping in the school photo store, I was tempted to post some pictures on here of you all to reminisce over, but I then thought I’d save them for when I make your Year book in Year 11. There are some particularly embarrassing ones that I can’t wait for you to look back on when the time comes- Ryan Beavis getting his make up done by the girls is a particular favourite of mine, but I’ll spare him the embarrassment for now.

La Fosca 2018

Now, my next question goes to the boys: 

How is that hair looking? 

Sides looking messy? Skin-fade slowly disappearing? Top getting out of control? 

It's crazy to think that some of you won't have had a proper haircut for a few months by the time the barber shops open up again and I dread to think of what some of the home hacks might be. Here's a video below of what I imagine could happen if you assign the wrong person the razor in your house. 

Thankfully for my partner, his hair was spared as we managed to live stream an instagram chat with his barber and together we managed to achieve a pretty decent first attempt at a fade. Had to improvise on the water sprayer- an empty dettol bottle came in handy for that. 

Before 

After

It might have taken over an hour, but I was fairly impressed with the result. I've actually seriously contemplated giving up teaching to become a barber. So lads, if you're ever in need of a quick (or lengthy as the case may be) trim you can come to HOY Barbers and there might be a small discount.

A Tik Tok Generation

It seems that Tik Tok is one of the most popular ways to spend quarantine at the moment. Parents and Celebs are all getting involved, so it seemed rude not to give it a go. That's right, you heard it- I downloaded Tik Tok. However, I'm a bit lost of how to use it properly, so I've not actually posted anything on there. I'm spending a lot of time watching all the videos and wondering if I'll ever be able to nail one of the viral routines. Mr and Mrs Matthews certainly did though, so if you're interested check out the blog Mr Matthews is writing for his Year 12s and you'll find it on there... https://mrmatthewsworkingfromhome.blogspot.com/

Despite not knowing the renegade, I do happen to think that dancing is a great way to exercise and relieve stress. So when you're next in an open field- or just in your kitchen- whack some good music on and have a dance. Yes, even you boys! 

Here's some inspiration to get you started...although it's not quite as good as a Tik Tok!  

It was great to hear from your parents how you're all attempting to keep in shape. Some of you are being really inventive. For those of you with a trampoline, it seems there are a few things you can be doing to challenge yourself. Here's Carraghan's new work-out that she's been practising. 

Also, while we're on the topic of exercise, I know you've all been wondering how the slack-line skills have been progressing. Let's just say the picture below sums it up nicely. 

Still haven't mastered moving forward 

I'm confident that after all this is over I'll at least be able to put one foot in front of the other. 

So when will it all be over? 

Good question. One that I still don't have an answer for. What I do know is that I found a lot of promise in a message that Mr Kibble forwarded to all staff a couple of weeks ago from a friend of his who has experienced the same in China. Maybe some of you will take comfort from this too...

“We are just finishing our 7th week of E-Learning, seven weeks of being mainly housebound and seven weeks of uncertainty. We are healthy, we are happy, and we are humbled.

We are allowed to move around freely now with a green QR code that we show when we get our temperature taken. You get your temperature taken everywhere, and it's just become part of the routine. Most restaurants and shopping centres are now open, and life is coming back to our city.  

As we watch the rest of the world begin their time inside; here are some of my reflections on the last seven weeks:

1. Accept that you have no control over the situation. Let go of any thoughts of trying to plan too much for the next month or two. Things change so fast. Don't be angry and annoyed at the system. Anxiety goes down, and you make the best of the situation - whatever that might be for you. Accept that this is what it is and things will get easier.

2. Try not to listen to/read/watch too much media. It WILL drive you crazy. There is a thing as too much!

3. The sense of community I have felt during this time is incredible. I could choose who I wanted to spend my energy on - who I wanted to call, message and connect with and found the quality of my relationships has improved.

4. Appreciate this enforced downtime. When do you ever have time like this? I will miss it when we go back to the fast-paced speed of the 'real world'.

5. Time goes fast. I still haven't picked up the ukelele I planned to learn, and there are box set TV shows I haven't watched yet.

6. As a teacher, the relationships I have built with my students have only continued to grow. I have loved seeing how independent they are; filming themselves to respond to tasks while also learning essential life skills such as balance, risk-taking and problem-solving, that even we as adults are still learning.

7. You learn to appreciate the little things; sunshine through the window, flowers blossoming and being able to enjoy a coffee in a cafe.

To those just beginning this journey, You will get through it. Listen to what you are told, follow the rules and look out for each other. There is light at the end of the tunnel.”

So, Year 9, stay strong. Keep the faith and remember to keep looking to the future, because we have a lot of good things in store for us. 

I hope you all enjoy a appy and peaceful Easter weekend at home with your families. Just remember to stay safe!

Saint Don Bosco, pray for us. 

Miss M x