The number of Accelerated Reader quizzes taken by our students now total 1908.The standings in thecurrent House Competition (based on the quizzes taken, number of words read and the cumulative points scored) remain unchanged:

1: Austin (7,941,319 words read).

2: Tolkien (6,365,191 words read).

3: Boulton (3,639,053 words read).

In contrast, the names on the Students’ Accelerated Reader Points Leaderboard have been changing position on an almost weekly basis.At the end of this half-term our top three readers are:

1: Alex T. (Y7).

2: Cody D. (Y9).

3: George M. (Y9).

Well done to everyone whose name has featured on the Leaderboard during this half term.Special mention also to George M. (Y9) who has become our second ‘Word Millionaire’.

It's been pancake week at TGBS, with all Food, Hospitality and Catering groups taking part. Pupils have thoroughly enjoyed learning how to make pancakes and experiment with different fillings.  Some pupils were even skilled enough to successfully flip their pancakes.  Well done!

The Library is now open daily from 8.30 to 8.45am and also from 3:00 to 3:20pm for pupils to change their books. Pupils in Key Stage 3 are enjoying their timetabled Accelerated Reader Library lesson and are beginning to develop their reading stamina. Many pupils taking their AR Quizzes are achieving the target of 80% accuracy. As a result of this, a number of new names have found their way on to the Accelerated Reader Points Leaderboard. At the end of last term our top three readers were:

1: M. Peak (Y9).

2: G. Mackcracken (Y9).

3: T. Farrell (Y7).

Congratulations to them and everyone whose name has appeared on the Leaderboard during this half term. Please remember that pupils can read and then quiz at home by accessing the Accelerated Reader quizzes via their school log-in. At the end of this term, pupils have taken a total of 788 quizzes. The current House Competition positions (based on the quizzes taken, number of words read and the cumulative points scored) are:

1: Austin (3,757,678 words read).

2: Tolkien (2,087,821 words read).

3: Boulton (1,953,317 words read).

Don’t forget that the Library is open at Breaktimes for study and reading. Each Year Group has a specific day allocated to them.

Members of The Royal Navy came into school to work with our year 10 Hospitality and Catering groups. Pupils developed their cooking skills while working under timed conditions and with limited ingredients. Their challenge was to produce a two-course meal, with just a basic list of ingredients. As well as helping pupils develop skills necessary for their GCSE, it also provided an interesting insight into catering and other careers within the Royal Navy.

The winners of the group challenges were: Joshua H, Mason P, Max R, Lewis D, Jake E, Sidney M, Dominic S and Ellis M. Well done, boys!

As part of our year 10 Hospitality and Catering course, pupils had to plan and make an afternoon tea for the elderly neighbours in the community.

Originally this would have happened in school and we would have decorated the main hall with lots of festive decorations. Pupils would have then been waiters as well as cooking and preparing the food. However, due to the current Covid 19 situation, we had to adapt it to a take-away service in order to keep the elderly safe. This meant we had to deliver the food to our local community church for the elderly to collect.

Because we were offering this take away service, we had to decorate food boxes and gift bags these boxes were then packed full of delicious food. These could then be taken away and enjoyed by the elderly community of the church.

The year 10 pupils involved, found it an interesting, enjoyable and reward experience

“I enjoyed making the quiches because it helped me revise what I’ve done in the past and contributing to the local community” Elliot N

“I enjoyed making the cakes and decorating them with buttercream however it was challenging making them look the same” Tedi Z

“The thing I most enjoyed was getting the boxes prepared for our delicious food” Jayden F

We are so proud of the hard work and attention to detail the pupils put into the event. Well done year 10!

Matrix Academy Trust can proudly announce that we have been successful in two bids for the new Turing Scheme. We will therefore be able to offer experiences across all five Matrix secondary schools for 100 pupils to go abroad to experience life in Spain or Germany in 2022. The Turing Scheme replaces the Erasmus project, which, for many years, has supported pupils to travel, learn and study internationally.

We will shortly be opening applications for 10 Year 8 pupils to apply to go on the Turing Germany project and a further 10 Year 9 pupils to apply to go on the Turing Spain project. Our projects are planned to take place in Fulda near Frankfurt in Germany and the Costa Del Sol in Spain.

For the successful applicants this will be a life-changing opportunity: the chance to travel internationally, working alongside other pupils from the Matrix Academy Trust schools and meeting German or Spanish pupils. Pupils taking part will also take part in pre-mobility work between schools to learn about the host countries culture, language, food, schools and ways of life.

On Monday 13^th September, some year 11 pupils were able to get some first-hand advice and information about Army careers.  Members of the Army came into school and ran sessions about life in the Army, careers and training opportunities.  Pupils were also able to take part in team building, problem solving and awareness activities.

Jahziah

‘It was a really interesting day. I gained greater knowledge of what the army can offer and the careers it can lead to. It was also fun, I really enjoyed the air-soft shooting and target practice.’

Taylor

‘It was a fun day.  I really enjoyed the shooting range and measuring reaction times. It was also interesting to learn about the options available to you in the Army such as Engineering and Mechanics.  I also learned how you can get paid while you are learning.  It has definitely given me more options to consider when I leave school’

Callum

‘It was interesting to get to know the soldiers and their backgrounds, as well as their mentality and what it is like in the Army day to day.  I learned about their fitness routines as well as the career opportunities.  It has definitely turned my mind to consider the opportunities the Army has to offer.’

On Monday 13^th September, 26 Year 11 Prefects attended training at Ackers Trust.  Here, they undertook team building exercises.  They were put under pressure and had to make decisions in difficult situations. The Prefects were then tasked with Canoeing, something many had not done, they were paired with people that they will have to work with.   Here they had to work in tandem to ensure the Canoe turned the right way, went in the right direction, and most importantly did not sink (This cannot be said for all the boats). The pupils finished with tobogganing in the afternoon.  It appears very few fear speed nor heights.

The Prefects put these skills to work on Tuesday 14^th September in the schools open evening. The prefects toured parents around the School, answered questions from year 6 pupils as well as parents.

The prefects will now finish the rest of their training, they will be safeguard trained ready to start peer mentoring as well as paired reading with younger pupils.

First Day of Lessons

The first day of school when all pupils start lessons is Monday 6^th September. We will have a staggered start and pupils will line up on the playground as they have done all year. 

The table below explains the start times for each year group.

We are looking forward to welcoming you all back and kick starting the academic year!

You can access a wealth of Maths activities over the summer holidays using the links below:

https://hegartymaths.com/login/learner : Hegarty Maths

https://www.transum.org : Games, puzzles, times tables

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/secondary : Interactive activities for most topics

https://thirdspacelearning.com/blog/maths-games-ks3 : Family maths games

https://nrich.maths.org/9465 : Interactive games and challenges

https://uk.ixl.com : Maths quizzes by topic