19 December 2017

Welcome to my last blog of 2017. 
In these last few days there are still plenty of events that are keeping us busy.  Last night was the A Level Presentation Evening where we invited last year's Year 13 to return to school to receive their A Level certificates.  About 60 students of the year group, accompanied by their families, joined us for a drink and a few nibbles whilst enjoying catching up with each other before I presented them with their certificates.  It is always pleasing to see Old Maidstonians return to their school.
Tonight is the MGS Carol Service which takes place at All Saints Church at 7.30pm.  The Service will follow a traditional format: hearing lessons and singing carols, before we all enjoy a mince pie and glass of mulled wine.  If you are free then please do come along.
Tomorrow is the end of term and so I will be delivering the usual Christmas assembly to the entire school before finishing around 2pm.  Following this the staff will be gathering together for a moment to say goodbye to Mr Goddard and Mr Darby who are leaving the MGS community.  We wish them well in their new futures.
Finally I would like to wish you all a wonderful Christmas and peaceful New Year.  See you in 2018.

 

 

Tuesday 12 December 2017

I hope you all enjoyed the first snowfall of the year at the weekend.  Fortunately there was no need to shut the school!  Sadly, due to the inclement weather at the weekend all of the rugby matches against Judd were cancelled, which is a shame as many of the players look forward to the fixture.  Despite the cold weather the CCF Recruit Camp still too place.  Thank you to the members of staff and other volunteers who gave up their weekend to support the cadets.  I hope everyone was able to stay warm and dry.

Yesterday The Salvation Army Toy Appeal ended with all of the gifts being placed under the MGS Christmas tree before being delivered to the charity later in the afternoon.  Thank you so much to everyone who donated a present; once again we have been overwhelmed with the response.  As I mention this I also wish to thank Corpus Christi House for staging the Charity Day on Friday.  The total amount raised is still to be calculated, but many students and members of staff were getting involved throughout the day donating money.

With Christmas fast approaching there are a number of events coming up this week and next before we finish next Wednesday.  Last night the Parents' Association ran the annual wreath making event, which was again well attended.  Tonight the SLT enjoy a festive meal together after work, which will be followed by two days of Christmas lunches on Wednesday and Thursday served by Independent Catering.  And next Tuesday is the annual MGS Carol Service at All Saints Church starting at 7.30pm.  If you fancy singing a few carols and enjoying a mince pie and a glass of mulled wine then please do come along.

Also this week I held a Parent Forum meeting on Monday; parents of year 8 students will be invited in on Thursday to attend the Year 8 Information Evening to hear about the GCSE options process which begins straight after the Christmas holiday, and linked to this on Thursday and Friday Year 8 take part in their Careers Day where they begin to consider what kinds of things they would like to do after leaving school.

And on Friday we invite students and staff to wear their Christmas jumpers to raise money for Save The Children.  This has become an annual event in the MGS calendar which coincides with the national campaign to wear your Christmas jumpers to work.  Let's hope many join in.

 

 

Tuesday 5 December 2017

Firstly I would like to send out a huge thank you to everyone involved in last week's school production of School of Rock.  Cast, crew and musicians should all be very proud of themselves.  There were so many positive comments each morning following the night's performances, and these, plus the size of the audiences, were testament to the quality of the production.  This was the best school production in recent years.  A massive thank you to the members of staff, led by Mrs Brooks, who have supported the students over the last three months; to the Parents' Association who supplied refreshments each night, and to all the prefects who acted as ushers.  Well done everyone. Last week the U16 football squad won the 5^th round of the National Cup beating Heathside Academy in Weybridge 1-0.  This puts them through as one of the last 16 teams in the competition. They performed brilliantly and did the school proud. The U15B squad is also through to the last 16 of their National Cup competition.  They beat Plume Academy from Chelmsford 3-1 yesterday afternoon.  Well done boys.  The U14 team also have the same opportunity today, so good luck to them. Yesterday we welcomed over 30 visiting headteachers, senior staff and bursars who attended a training session here looking at the new data protection regulations which will come into force next May.  Please look out for any changes we make in how we collect and store data over the coming months. Tonight is the first parents' evening of the year.  We welcome parents of year 12 students to hear from subject staff about how their children are progressing with their A Level studies.  We hope it is an informative evening. Tomorrow is a busy day. Mr Ferguson and I are attending a course at Dartford Girls Grammar School looking at how schools develop thinking in the classroom; Year 11 students will be receiving their mock exam results just as they would on results day in August; and another reminder that the MGS choir will be performing a few Christmas carols in town supporting the Demelza House Carolathon.  Friday is the second House Charity Day and this time it is Corpus Christi’s.  The usual non-uniform and fun activities will be taking place during the day, but it is at this charity day where we also ask for food items to be donated to support the local homeless charity.  It is also the day when The Salvation Army comes into school to collect the many toys and presents that have been donated by you.  Once again the response from you all has been incredible. And finally there are two Parents’ Association events this weekend.  On Friday night there is the MGS PA Race Night and on Saturday is an already planned trip to Lille.  Thank you to the Parents’ Association for arranging these two events and if you would like to come along on Friday night to the race evening, then please do.