On 31st October Graduate Ambassadors from Newcastle University treated our Year 7 pupils to a hands-on workshop where they extracted the DNA from a strawberry. The session complemented pupils’ study of cells, tissues and organs and allowed pupils to apply knowledge of cell structure and DNA to practical applications.
Newminster pupils, with Morpeth’s Mayor, Nic Best and Head of Newminster Middle School, Mrs Elizabeth Kinninment.
Year 7 Newminster pupils are currently delving into Morpeth’s past, as part of their DLE programme of study.
To support their research, pupils were invited to meet Morpeth’s Mayor Nic Best, who took them on a V.I.P tour of Morpeth’s Town Hall. This included a visit to the Mayor’s Parlour and the Council Chambers.
A fabulous afternoon was had by all.
On Monday 9th October, 16 members of the Newminster Student Voice went along to the Council Chambers as part of Local Democracy Week. During the course of the day the Student Voice deepened their understanding of youth democracy opportunities such as the Youth Cabinet, Youth Parliament, and the national youth consultation – ‘Make Your Mark’. All the students passionately campaigned about issues which they cared about.
Many of the students prepared questions to pitch to the local Councillors Dodd, Thorne, Murray, Dunbar and Moore.
Abbie and Tom proudly received a certificate of participation at the end of the day. The visit was followed up by workshops for our KS2 students on Thursday 12th October.
We are delighted to be able to tell you that Newminster and Chantry Middle Schools have been 2 of the 4 schools in Northumberland to be awarded the prestigious Platinum Arts Mark, accredited by Arts Council England. A huge thank you to Ms Jones and all the staff who have worked so hard to provide the opportunities for our students. It goes without saying that the engagement, enthusiasm and commitment of the students is what allows all of the Creative Arts events to be such a success and continue to go from strength to strength.
This is what Artsmark said about Newminster:
The panel were impressed by your school’s range of provision, the wealth of ‘popular’ as well as classical arts opportunities, the very clear management and development of provision and the focus on evidencing inclusion and quality. It is clear that the school is deeply committed to the arts, both in terms of their intrinsic value and in terms of the wider benefits to the wellbeing, confidence and soft skills of pupils that the arts can bring. The panel recognised how your school has used your Artsmark journey to strengthen your collaboration with other schools, the degree of focus on understanding impact and effect, and the willingness to share and debate that knowledge with a range of local schools.
Future development might focus on developing your CPD offer more widely, sharing and disseminating best practice further afield and using pupils as ambassadors for CPD. The panel looks forward to seeing how you continue to develop your leadership role and advocacy for arts and culture with other schools.
As a Platinum Artsmark school Arts Council England celebrates your commitment to arts and cultural education at a governing body level, the opportunities established across your provision and the leadership you are demonstrating in this area. Your children and young people are offered equal opportunity to influence, lead, experience and evaluate a diverse range of high-quality arts and cultural activities across a broad range of media and you are able to contribute to development opportunities in these areas for both your own staff and others. You have strong partnerships with arts and cultural organisations and can evidence the positive impact of this collaboration. Your children and young people have an opportunity to continually develop their knowledge, skills and understanding of arts and culture and you are working to further develop the leadership role you have established.
We were invited by Northumberland County Council to participate in Local Democracy Week (9 – 15 October) this year. The children took part in one of two workshops which involved making posters, banners and leaflets either about a campaign they are passionate about or about Emily Davidson and her work as a suffragette. Posters included: the number of houses being built in Morpeth, litter, parking, Morpeth’s skatepark, Brexit and more.
The day also included a panel of county and town councillors which pupils were able to fire questions at.
Some quesions included:
- What is the difference between a town councillor, county councillor and MP?
- What interested you in the first instance to become a councillor?
- Could you give us any helpful tips and advice on how we can run our student parliament successfully?
- What is the hardest decision within your job you’ve ever had to make?
- What are the future plans for empty local shops and why are so many businesses struggling in the area?
- What is your best memory or proudest moment as a councillor?
Lee, Cameron, Alfie and Lewis handed over a hand written letter to County Councillor D. Bawn about their concerns with Morpeth’s skatepark. He said he would take this to the next town council meeting. Well done boys! At the end of the session, our School Parliament representatives received a certificate to recognise the school’s participation in Local Democracy Week. *see photo in folder*
This is our 7th year of running the Arts Awards at Newminster and Chantry Middle Schools.
Some pupils in Year 8 are taking part in the Bronze Award which encourages you to try new things and reflect upon your progress in creativity, communication, leadership and an arts form development. It is a nationally recognised award and you will achieve a Level 1 National Certificate on completion.
Doing your Bronze Award means you will:
- Take part in an arts activity (working with an artist, designing a backdrop, developing a personal challenge) .
- Go to an Arts event.
- Find an Arts inspiration, research their story and discover how they got to where they are today.
- Share your skills by helping to run a workshop or by giving a demonstration to others.
Pupils taking the art Bronze Arts Awards will be involved in a project called ARTiculate with the Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle.
The Explore Arts Award is being run for students in Year 6 and is also a nationally recognised award and you will achieve an Entry Level 3 qualification on the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) certificate on completion. As their main project they are embarking on a project to create wall art for the steel pan room.
The pupils from Chantry and Newminster Middle Schools were invited to participate in a Heritage Lottery funded drama based on a book written by Bridget Gubbins called ‘The Conquest of Morpeth’. They have been attending drama club on Tuesday’s after school and working really hard this term. Students have examined different drama techniques including freeze frames, script writing, prop making, costume design, movement, music and shadow puppetry.
They will be staging a performance of their own devised work based on ‘The Conquest of Morpeth’ on Thursday 23rd November 2017 at 2pm in the Chantry Hall. There will be no charge for tickets for this production however there will be a collection tin for donations to the Creative Arts fund in the school foyer.
The children’s book, ‘The Conquest of Morpeth’ by Bridget Gubbins, will be on sale at the event.
Northumberland County Council would like to hear your views to help them shape specialist services and support for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities in Northumberland. Dates and times of drop-in events are attached. All parents are welcome to attend any session.
