Tuesday 18 October 2016

On Thursday last week, 10 CCF Army Cadets attended the finale of Sapper 300, the 300th Anniversary of the Corps of Royal Engineers. The event at Brompton Barracks was attended by Her Majesty The Queen, Colonel-in-Chief, Corps of Royal Engineers and a number of CCF Army Cadets from different CCF Contingents.  Congratulations to the cadets who were selected to attend, and thank you Maj. Highway and Mr Rai for accompanying them.
On Sunday the MGS rowing squad took part in the Medway Rowing Club Head, a 5km race downstream on the river Medway in Rochester.  Out of 21 entries from different rowing clubs across Kent we came 5^th, rowing the distance in 15 mins and 51 seconds; I think the boys surprised themselves with their performance.  Well done boys.
This week is probably the busiest week of the school year so far.  Last night I attended the Parents' Association AGM.  I must say a huge thank you to the Parents' Association Committee and the many parents who have attended a number of events in the last 12 months.  Last year the Parents' Association raised over £24,000 and were able to support a number of important projects in school that make a big difference, such as buying us a new minibus, for which we are extremely grateful.  Thank you ever so much.
Today is the second Open Morning where we invite future Maidstonians into the school to see if they would like to come here next year.  The first one last week was very well attended and there were many positive comments made about the school.  We look forward to today.  Following this I am heading into London to attend a Grammar School Heads' Association afternoon seminar, followed by a drinks reception at the House of Commons.  Grammar schools have been in the news recently and so I expect a number of MPs will be joining us.
On Wednesday we are having an additional non-uniform day to raise money for the people of Haiti following the recent hurricane.  The community of MGS always respond positively to such events, so let us hope we raise a substantial amount of money to make some real difference.  That evening I will be attending the Old Maidstonian Society Quiznight.  I will be joining parents, staff, friends of the school, and current and former students in an enjoyable but challenging evening.  Thank you to the Old Maidstonian Society for organising the event.
And on Thursday, before we all enjoy a well-deserved half term break, the most important school event takes place: our Year 6 Open Evening. Following the two Open Mornings on Tuesday and last Friday we open our doors once again to hundreds of potential Maidstonians and their parents to see why MGS is so special.  It is the busiest school event of the year involving all members of staff and many hundreds of current students.  Our students are a credit to the school and are certainly the best people to sell MGS to others.  Thank you so much to everyone for all of the organisation that has gone on prior to the day and best wishes to everyone for a fantastic evening.

11 October 2016

Firstly can I thank Challenger and Churchill Houses for organising the first school charity day of the year.  There were a number of events going on around the school, including a massive sponsored silence by many students from the two Houses.  I expect their teachers enjoyed the peace and quiet!  We are still receiving money, but early estimates indicate that we have raised about £2000 for the two charities: Syrian Refugees and the Italian Earthquake Appeal.  Well done and thank you.

As mentioned in last week’s Blog, I attended the Kent Association of Headteachers’ Annual Conference on Thursday and listened to a number of very good keynote speakers.  The main speaker was Professor Lord Robert Winston who spoke about how we can excite people about learning.  He spoke for over an hour and was incredibly engaging and though provoking.  Despite us all being in the business of learning, it was really good to hear from someone outside of education, and who could inspire us to reflect on how we ourselves inspire young people to love their own learning.  

Tonight we welcome parents of Year 7 boys to attend the Year 7 Welcome Evening.  It is an opportunity for parents to meet their son’s form tutor and other members of staff, see where their sons learn in the different subjects around the school, and enjoy a burger and a cuppa with each other prepared by the Parents’ Association.  We look forward to welcoming them later.

Friday this week is a busy day at school.  It is our first Year 6 Open Morning where we welcome many young boys hoping to become Maidstonians next year.  They, along with their parents, will enjoy a tour of the school from a current student and hopefully see what a wonderful place Maidstone Grammar School is.  Also on Friday evening it is the first rock band event of the year where we see a number of musicians perform in front of their friends and family.  Thank you to everyone who is taking part and to the members of staff who will be arranging the event. 

Finally congratulations to the 1^st XI Football Squad who beat Borden Grammar School 3 – 2 on Friday afternoon last week.  It was a close match, but we finally brought home the victory.  Well done boys and thank you to the many 6^th Form students who came out to support.

4 October 2016

Thank you to the 30 or so parents who visited the School and joined our MacMillan Coffee Morning on Friday.  It was a pleasure having them in school enjoying each other's company over a cuppa and a piece of cake.  Whilst present they were able to witness the many hundreds of students who came along at break time to join in on the occasion.  Thank you to the members of staff and students who organised the event and thank you to everyone who supported it; in total the School raised over £600 for MacMillan.

Over the weekend a handful of Maidstonians took part in the Maidstone Small Boats Head organised by Maidstone Invicta Rowing Club.  They raced along the River Medway over a distance of 2500m in a variety of boats from Allington Marina to the town centre.  A few boys from Year 10 rowed for the club itself along with four Year 13 students who rowed for the School.  Stephen Mackie, Sam Bashford, James Doran and Dan Jones all of Year 13  rowed in a Quad, followed by Dan and Stephen rowing again in a Pair.  Well done to all of those boys, as well as the boys from Year 10 who competed well for their local club; a good weekend of rowing. On Wednesday this week we welcome Year 10 parents to attend the Year 10 Information Evening to hear from key staff about the up-and-coming year and what can be expected.  Year 10 boys are the second year group of students who are experiencing the new GCSEs and so it is vital that everyone understands what all of this means.

On Thursday I am attending the Kent Association of Headteachers annual conference.  It is a chance to hear from key speakers about a variety of matters, and a chance to network with colleagues from other schools.  Guest speakers this year include Dominic Herrington, Regional Schools Commissioner for South East England and South London & Estelle Morris, who is currently working at the Institute of Effective Education and Richard Burnett, co-founder and director of Mindfulness in Schools.

Friday is the first Charity Day of the year.  Challenger and Churchill Houses will be responsible for the day organising a number of events to raise money and awareness for the charity they are supporting which is the Italian Earthquake appeal and Syrian refugees. Students are not required to wear uniform on that day and in doing so contribute a £1 to help support the charity.  Thank you to Challenger and Churchill staff and students for overseeing the day.  Finally, congratulations to Ben Ward (9CR) who recently competed in the ASA Summer Nationals Swimming competition in Sheffield.  Ben reached the final of the 50m breaststroke and gained an excellent 7th place at only 13 years old.   He also reached 11th place in the 100m and 200m breaststroke.  Well done Ben.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4 October 2016

Thank you to the 30 or so parents who visited the School and joined our MacMillan Coffee Morning on Friday.  It was a pleasure having them in school enjoying each other's company over a cuppa and a piece of cake.  Whilst present they were able to witness the many hundreds of students who came along at break time to join in on the occasion.  Thank you to the members of staff and students who organised the event and thank you to everyone who supported it; in total the School raised over £600 for MacMillan.

Over the weekend a handful of Maidstonians took part in the Maidstone Small Boats Head organised by Maidstone Invicta Rowing Club.  They raced along the River Medway over a distance of 2500m in a variety of boats from Allington Marina to the town centre.  A few boys from Year 10 rowed for the club itself along with four Year 13 students who rowed for the School.  Stephen Mackie, Sam Bashford, James Doran and Dan Jones all of Year 13  rowed in a Quad, followed by Dan and Stephen rowing again in a Pair.  Well done to all of those boys, as well as the boys from Year 10 who competed well for their local club; a good weekend of rowing. On Wednesday this week we welcome Year 10 parents to attend the Year 10 Information Evening to hear from key staff about the up-and-coming year and what can be expected.  Year 10 boys are the second year group of students who are experiencing the new GCSEs and so it is vital that everyone understands what all of this means.

On Thursday I am attending the Kent Association of Headteachers annual conference.  It is a chance to hear from key speakers about a variety of matters, and a chance to network with colleagues from other schools.  Guest speakers this year include Dominic Herrington, Regional Schools Commissioner for South East England and South London & Estelle Morris, who is currently working at the Institute of Effective Education and Richard Burnett, co-founder and director of Mindfulness in Schools.

Friday is the first Charity Day of the year.  Challenger and Churchill Houses will be responsible for the day organising a number of events to raise money and awareness for the charity they are supporting which is the Italian Earthquake appeal and Syrian refugees. Students are not required to wear uniform on that day and in doing so contribute a £1 to help support the charity.  Thank you to Challenger and Churchill staff and students for overseeing the day.  Finally, congratulations to Ben Ward (9CR) who recently competed in the ASA Summer Nationals Swimming competition in Sheffield.  Ben reached the final of the 50m breaststroke and gained an excellent 7th place at only 13 years old.   He also reached 11th place in the 100m and 200m breaststroke.  Well done Ben.