Tuesday 27 March 2018

Can I firstly congratulate and thank all the rowers and runners who took part in last week's Sport Relief Charity a Day.  The 24 Hour Rowathon in itself raised over £2500 and rowed a distance of over 2.1 million metres.  The Sport Relief mile at lunch saw many runners and walkers enjoy a lap of the field being cheered on by the rest of the school.  Well done everyone; it was a great day for the School.

Also on Friday over 80 Old Maidstonians enjoyed an evening of memories and catch up at the Old Maidstonian Supper.  Sam Coppard (OM 2012), the President of the Society, presided over the event with guest of honour, Robert Lednisky (OM 2012) who is the only Maidstonian to have ever achieved a place at the prestigious Harvard University.  Thank you to the Old Maidstonian Committee who organised the event.

This week is the last week of term before we break up for the Easter holiday.  A number of students leave today for the classics trip to Greece, and tomorrow we welcome back more Old Maidstonians who will be playing in the OM vs. MGS rugby and football matches.  Kick offs are at 2.30pm.  Do come along.

Congratulations to Hamish Reilly of Corpus Christi House who finished 3^rd in the British Schools Biathlon Championships last weekend.  On Sunday Hamish also competed at the British Duathlon Championships for Elite Youths.  It was a very close and exciting race, and Hamish was delighted to finish in 3rd place again.  He recorded the 3rd fastest run and the fastest bike segment, and is looking forward to taking this result into the next event of the British Triathlon Super Series at Llanelli in May. Well done Hamish.

Finally, can I take this opportunity to wish everyone a restful couple of weeks.

20 March 2018

A huge thank you to the Parents' Association, the sixth form students and the students from Years 7 and 8 who all helped to support the MGSPA Spring Fair on Saturday.  Despite the extreme weather over the weekend the event went ahead and ended up being very successful.  Thank you to the many families who braved the cold temperatures and spent a few hours enjoying the many stalls on offer. 
This week is a busy one for the school.  Tonight we welcome the parents of Year 11 to attend the Year 11 Parents' Evening: a chance to hear from subject staff how the students are performing and what final preparations need to be made before the summer examinations.
On Thursday the Sport Relief 24 Hour Rowathon begins which has now attracted over 60 students, members of staff and Old Maidstonians wishing to play their part.  Thank you to everyone who has offered to row during the day, and thank you to the many of you who have already sponsored the event.  It you would like to show your support then please visit http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/MGS24HourRowathon  and follow the instructions.
And Friday is the Sport Relief Charity Day where we will see the completion of the rowathon but also see many more students take part in the Sport Relief Mile at lunchtime.  Non-uniform accompanied by the usual contribution of £1 will take place, but it is hoped that much more money can be raised during the day when students cheer on their peers in both sporting events.  
Also on Friday the Old Maidstonian Supper takes place in the evening.  A number of former students of the school will return to their old school to reminisce and catch up with old friends.  It always proves to be a wonderful occasion.
And finally, good luck to the rugby players from Year 10 to 13 who are playing in the Rosslyn Park National Sevens Tournament this week.  The Rosslyn Park Tournament is extremely prestigious which will hopefully encourage the players to step up and raise their game.

 

Tuesday 13 March 2018

The CCF Army section entered a team of eight cadets in the 11 Infantry Brigade military skills competition over the weekend 9-11^th March.  Each of the 13 stands tested a different area of the cadet syllabus; weapon handling, military knowledge, first aid, obstacle course, map reading, shooting and section attacks. Weather conditions were challenging and the fog, heavy rain and mud added an extra dimension to the competition. The section finished 5^th overall, against teams from the ACF and CCF from all over the South East of England. The team now has six weeks to prepare itself for the Cadet Cambrian Patrol, the ultimate Army cadet competition taking place in the Brecon Beacons.

Yesterday I was out of school as I was renewing my emergency first aid qualification.  Every three years I refresh my first aid skills to ensure I have the basic elements just in case I need to attend to an emergency.  I am now good for another three years.

Tonight after school I am leading a presentation to all staff looking at what we have achieved this year, what we still need to do, and what we wish to aspire to achieve over the next few years.  We have achieved a lot already, but there is still work to be done to ensure that all of our students reach their potential.  Tomorrow after school I will be making a very similar presentation to governors at the postponed Full Governors Meeting.

On Friday the entire Senior Leadership Team are away from school to give us time to discuss what our priorities are for the rest of the year and beyond.  These 'away days' are really helpful as they provide undisturbed opportunities to discuss a number of matters.

Saturday the Parents' Association Spring Fair takes place.  It starts at 10.30am and there will be many fair-style stalls to enjoy, music and art, refreshments, raffle draw and much draw.  If you have a few hours on Saturday please do come along.  Thank you to everyone who supported the non-uniform day last Friday which generated many items to the Fair.  It also raised over £800 for the Association, which will ultimately be directed back to school in support of a project.

Congratulations to Sam Ghinn of Barton House who competed in the British Gymnastics Competition at the weekend. won the bronze medal for Floor, was 4th on pommel (missing a medal position by 0.75) and came 7th overall in the U16 age group. Well done Sam.

 And finally, please remember to sponsor the 24 Hour Rowathon which is taking place from next Thursday 22 March for Sport Relief.  Many students and staff and already signed up to do their bit, and thank you to those who have offered to make some food for the rowers.  If you would like to sponsor the rowathon please visit:

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/MGS24HourRowathon 

Tuesday 6 March 2018

It is good to be back to normality.  Last week's disruption due to the bad weather is fortunately rare, but when it happens, it causes problems.  As well as students missing lessons a number of events and meetings had to be cancelled and now need to be rescheduled.  Sadly lessons cannot be rescheduled, so I hope students were able to do what they could at home.  Thank you for your understanding during last week, and thank you to the many who made it in on Thursday.  I also again wish to thank the members of staff who helped clear the school site on Wednesday to allow us to open.

 

Sadly the weather did not improve enough to allow yesterday's CCF Biennial Inspection to take place.  60 cadets accompanied by members of staff and volunteers were due to take part providing an opportunity for our cadets to demonstrate to the inspecting officer how proud we are of our CCF.  We hope to reschedule. 

 

Thursday we invite parents of year 13 students into school to attend the Year 13 Parents' Evening.  It is the last opportunity parents will hear out their child's progress before final preparations are made for the summer examinations.  A busy few months ahead.

 

And on Friday the rescheduled Parents' Association Non-Uniform Day takes place to raise funds and generate items to support the MGS PA Spring Fair on Saturday 17 March.  Please do refer to a previous ParentMail to understand how you can support.