On Thursday 17^th October Year 7 took part in their first House Competition. Over 3 mini competitions, students worked in their houses to overcome a variety of challenges against their peers. They started in English where they worked together to create gods, before trying to persuade ‘Zeus’ to take them on to Mount Olympus. Next, the students had to work together to build a paper tower and suspend a chocolate bar above the ground. After lunch, students took part in a mass ‘Nuk’em tournament down in PE. Points were awarded for each mini competition and winners were announced in assembly this week. The students had a fantastic time, making new friends and working together in their houses in a friendly competitive environment.

Next half term, Year 8 will be taking part in a similar event, details to follow…

Well Done Year 7!

To raise awareness of World Mental Health Day on 10^th October, St Mary’s encouraged students to visit ‘The Sandbox’, which is a free interactive digital service for children and young people. The Sandbox offers a wealth of support for emotional mental health and wellbeing especially directed towards children and young people. This includes information, local services, resources, livestreaming and therapy, both group and 1-1. On World Mental Health Day, they held a livestream event, where young people could directly ask a therapist any question about mental health, while playing the game ‘Animal Crossing’. These are popular events and to find out more about any future events, go to https://thesandbox.mindler.co.uk/

Also, during this day another celebrated visit by Godfrey, the Therapy Dog, was arranged.  These visits too, are always successful and well attended. Therapy Dogs Nationwide, are a national charity where volunteers bring their own dogs to various establishments to provide comfort, distraction, and stimulation. These volunteers have the unique privilege of working with their temperament-tested therapy dogs. Studies have extensively documented the benefits of Animal Assisted Therapies, which include improvements in general health and wellbeing, increased confidence levels, and enhanced communication skills. Therapy Dogs Nationwide is becoming increasingly involved in stress-relief and general wellbeing initiatives within large corporations through one-off visits.

Geography students have reviewed their learning for the first few weeks of term and produced some amazing pieces in a variety of formats. We are very proud of the way students have embraced their learning and are focusing on moving their learning to their long term memory.

On the 27^th September Year 11 Geography students conducted their human geography fieldwork in east London. Here students investigated how quality of life varied across three sites. Students carried out an environmental quality survey, fieldwork sketches, questionnaire and traffic survey. Although the weather was wet, students showed exemplary behaviour and were a credit to the school. In lessons, students will use the data collected to present their data, analyse results, draw conclusions and evaluate methodologies.