On Thursday 26^th October, we welcomed representatives from the British Army to deliver a team building and leadership workshop with Year 10. Pupils got involved in a range of different tasks/activities which were specifically designed to develop their team building and leadership skills. Sgt. Haynes, a former pupil of Turves Green Boys’ School, led the day overall and presented key information to pupils about future career options in the army, as well as reinforcing the importance of team building and leadership skills. Overall, pupils thoroughly enjoyed the sessions and our visitors were complimentary of how our pupils conducted themselves and approached the tasks.

Two of our year 10 classes were visited by local battery scientist Dr Driscoll from the University of Birmingham this week. She talked to us about her work developing new lithium batteries such as the ones we use in our phones and electric vehicles. We then “acted out” being electrons and made our own batteries using lemons. Students figured out how to write up their own lemon battery and generate a potential difference, they then joined them together to increase the voltage in their circuit.

Dr Driscoll showed us what batteries were made of and what they look like after they are shredded. Students then had the opportunity to ask her questions and we were able to learn how she used X-rays to study the structure of battery materials.

Many thanks to Dr Driscoll for her visit.

This half term every student in year 7 and year 8 have been improving their singing skills. Each week they have warmed up their voices using a range of technical exercises and songs, including their favourite “Poppa’s got a head like a ping pong ball”. The boys have then worked on different styles of music to showcase their understanding of musical elements. In the first singing lesson, they learnt how to sing in a round, they amazingly learnt three songs and were able to split into groups to perform these at the same time. We learnt “Consider Yourself!” from the musical ‘Oliver!’, in this they experimented with different dynamics (volumes) and we also learnt “Somewhere over the rainbow” from the ‘Wizard of Oz’, in which we looked at different tempos (speeds).

The boys have been absolutely incredible this half term and have become much more confident singers and this was reflected in their end of unit assessment.

On Thursday 19^th October, the year 8 football team began their campaign in the WMCSFA U13 Cup. The team travelled to Moreton School in Wolverhampton to start their journey towards winning some silverware.

Moreton are a familiar foe as a similar fixture in the same round of the same cup only a year ago finished in an 8-1 win for TGBS. As the rain poured down, the whistle blew to start the game and Moreton spurned an early chance putting the ball narrowly wide. This galvanised a TGBS side who were looking for their first win of the season. A 10-minute flurry of excitement saw Demario H, Tamsir C and Lewis T smash goals in to give TGBS a 3-0 lead at half time.

The second half brought more of the same with two more goals being scored. A second for Demario H and the pick of the bunch from Connor J who struck a low driven shot from outside the area into the bottom right hand corner. A comfortable 5-0 win.

The team look forward to their next fixture in the cup but before then, Bishop Challoner awaits…

On Thursday 19th October, we welcomed the National Apprenticeships Team into school to deliver an introduction assembly to Year 11 about the work that they do. As a school, we have been working closely with the National Apprenticeships Team over the last few years to support our pupils who are interested in apprenticeships with their next steps after Year 11. On Thursday, the Team showcased the different types of apprenticeships on offer and the requirements to access these. Over the next two school terms, the National Apprenticeships Team will be visiting us again to provide support to those pupils who are keen to apply for apprenticeships.

On Wednesday 18^th October, we welcomed the Next Gen team in to showcase virtual work experience for pupils in Years 8, 9 and 10. Our pupils were provided with a virtual insight to see what it is like to be an apprentice in a manufacturing setting. They had chance to hear from the Next Gen team about what they do and how to access apprenticeships in the future. We will be continuing to work with the Next Gen team in the future and hopefully will be providing some in person work experience too!

Come along and meet Katie and Lisa from the Communication and Autism Team (CAT).

This is an opportunity for you to:

• Meet other parent/carers with autistic children and young people
• Find out a bit more about autism
• Ask questions
• Have some time to reflect and recharge

The sessions will be delivered face to face termly at the following venue and time:

Please note: we do not have any childcare facilities at the venue.

If you have any questions, please contact us.

Just turn up on the day – there is no need to book. We look forward to seeing you there!

Katie Price & Lisa Walmsley

CATParentEnquiries@birmingham.gov.uk

Allies Club: Understanding Bullying and Spreading Kindness

In an effort to continue to promote a safe and inclusive school environment, the Allies Club dedicated this week to deepening our understanding of bullying and exploring ways to combat it. During our insightful session, we delved into the core definition of bullying, uncovering its various forms and effects. This helped us to highlight the importance of fostering empathy and kindness within our school community. Through our collaborative discussions we emphasised the importance of a safe space within the club and the recognising the impact that bullying can have on mental health and academic performance.

To end the session on a positive note, we engaged in an interactive activity where the pupils crafted ‘kindness tokens’ as small reminders to spread compassion and understanding throughout our school community. The act of making these tokens not only reinforced the significance of kindness but to remember to be respectful to all, reiterating our commitment to the Turves Values and to create a supportive environment for all pupils. Please see the photos of the messages we wanted to share.

Year 11s this week have begun their final preparations for their maths mock exams starting next week. Each student will sit a full set of GCSE style papers under the same conditions they will sit them at the end of the year.

To support them with their revision all students have received a Complete Revision and Practise book and Exam Practise Workbook that cover every part of the exam specification. The two books work alongside each other so students can practise a topic in their workbook by answering past exam paper questions, using the revision book to help them if they get stuck as every topic is mirrored between the two books. Also in the books are full exam papers which students can use for revision in their own time.

In school we are supplementing the year 11s curriculum this week with revision sessions targeting the 4 broad areas of maths; Algebra, Shape and Space, Number Ratio and Proportion and Data Handling. Also in the run up to the exams, each class has taken part in two Lead Lesson delivered by Mrs Love and Mrs Hambrook to give them key revision techniques and exam routines to make the most out of the time they are given in the exam hall.

This week in Warhammer Alliance we had our first painting competition. Each student was given 1 week to finish painting any model ready to present at the club. They were formed into two categories; veterans who have been playing Warhammer in school for over a year and recruits who is anyone who has joined this year and are looking at painting their first models.

Each entry was judged by guest judges Mr Till, Miss Harrison, Mr Brabbin, Mr Woodall and Miss Brooker. In the recruits category first place went to P. Curnew in 7B1 who painted a fantastic Cronomancer for his Necron army. In the veterans category, first place was taken by an amazing Primaris Captain painted by S.Scott in 9A1. Each student then got to take a lucky draw pick from a selection of mystery models provided by Warhammer Birmingham.

Our runners up were J. Allabush 7A1 and W.Bates 8T1 who won a voucher and along with all the competitors will get fast passes to use at lunch time.

Congratulations to all our winners! We will have more painting competitions in the future, but painting is just one part of the Warhammer hobby. Students now will be encouraged to build up their armies and then start learning to play the game in preparations for a gaming tournament closer towards Christmas where again, mystery models will be up for grabs.