13.07.20

Hello Year 7!

We are nearly there! This week is the last full week of school and our final day Wednesday 22^nd July finishes at 12:50. The ending to this academic year has been strange to say the least and I am hoping our return as Year 8 will be a lot smoother. I have been so impressed by how the vast majority of you have been working since March when we were directed to close the gates to most of you. If you haven’t been able to keep up with the work, please don’t panic but it may be a good idea to see if you can catch up on some of the pieces that you haven’t completed during the holiday. If you have done it all and still want to keep your skills up I suggest reading and perhaps using learning websites such as SAM Learning, My Maths, BBC Bitesize or any other link from our website.

I spent a lot of last week in school in meetings, teaching or preparing for your return in September but when I wasn’t I made time to try and relax, and switch off.  I love reading and have a constant pile of books that I add to – I’m getting through quite a few at the moment! If you have any recommendations I’d love to hear them. I have also watched a few dance performances online and look forward to when theatres can reopen. As always I’ve spent as much time as I can in the garden and am waiting for the baby blackbirds I have nesting there to make an appearance. It’s good to see some sport back and enjoyed the watching the motor racing on TV at the weekend.

This is the final reminder that the challenge at the moment is to collect as many points and badges as you can until the end of the day Friday. Who will get in to the top 20% Who will win top student? And who will win the Form Group Cup? I know your tutors can’t wait to find out!!!

Look after yourselves and remember if you want to talk to someone in school you can message your tutor on SMHW/ Satchel or email admin@wavell.hants.sch.uk and ask for a specific teacher to give you a call about the work or for me to talk to you.

Have a good week

Miss McKie

06.07.20

Hi Year 7!

Hope this finds you all well and having enjoyed the weekend. I’m looking out onto a rather patchy grey sky and hoping the sun comes out again soon!

I’ve heard from a number of you about the Teams lessons that are now being provided for some subjects. I’m really pleased you are enjoying them, so if you haven’t yet joined one of these and are able to, give it a go! It gives you a chance to see your teacher, go through the work and ask questions and I know for some of you this has really helped you not only complete the work, but also with motivation levels too.

Remember the challenge for the remainder of the term is to collect as many points and badges on SMHW as possible. Who will get into the top 20%? Who will get the most out of our year group? And which tutor group will win the Year 7 House Point Cup? Looking forward to finding out!

Take care

Miss McKie

30.06.20

Hello Year 7!

Hope you enjoyed the long weekend!  I managed to have a socially distanced afternoon with some family which was absolutely lovely. And, despite my oven breaking, I managed to bake some cookies and gave half to the lovely person who’s oven they cooked in. A while back I sent some pictures of loads of seeds, well the results of some of them are in the photos – very happy with my efforts. What also made my weekend though was the beautiful rainbow that appeared across the road – did any of you see it too?

Well, this week would have been your very first Sports Day so our challenge to you this week is to create your own sports day, either in your back garden, a park or indoors (especially if today’s weather is anything to go by). You could create a single event, or combine several and get your family involved to take part. I can’t wait to see photos!

Also, as you know teachers have been awarding ‘Behaviour Points’ and Badges on SMHW, not only for submitting work but also the quality of it and effort you have put in. These points are really ‘Achievement’ points and are currently being converted to house points and will be rewarded when we return to school. However, from today until the end of term in just over 3 weeks, we are running a competition to see who can get the most Points and the most Badges. So, keep working hard and collect as many as you can – who can get in to the top 20% of the year group and who can be the one who gets the very most? The challenge is on!

Good luck!

Miss McKie

Morning everyone!

Hope you are well and that you are ready for the week of learning ahead. Some of you may take part in face-to-face online teaching via Teams this week. I know History are offering slots for all Year 7 based on if you are in P or Q band. Teachers will send you details if they are offering slots.  If you haven't yet accessed your school email, follow the instructions so you can join Teams in advance of lessons.

I really enjoyed seeing some excellent Alphabet Challenges that came in via SMHW, and love seeing your posts in response to the challenges so keep them coming in!

This week's challenge is something that I think you'll all be great at looking at the pictures of your previous bakes. Mrs Smith shared this recipe  with us from This Morning's Alison Hammond. It's based on the delicious Pret a manger cookies. Give it a go!

This week looks set be a scorcher so stay cool!

Take care

Miss McKie

15.06.20

Hello Year 7!

I’m hoping this finds you all well and having had a good weekend. I managed to do quite a bit of gardening, do a few DIY jobs around the house and had some lovely chats with friends.

You may have heard that Year 10 are returning to school today; they will be in small groups and attend on a rota system for one day a week. School looks different to when you last saw it, with 2 metre markers to maintain a safe social distance between us all. I really look forward to when we can welcome you all back to school too! In the meantime, we are looking at making some of your lessons a bit more interactive and more detail will follow.

So many of you have been working so very hard and clocking up huge numbers of ‘Behaviour Points’ on  SMHW – remember, this is what SMHW calls them, but really they are ‘Achievement Points’ and will be converted to House Points by Miss Cossburn and her team. We may not be able to have Sports Day this year, or be in school for the other house events but the House Competition is very much ON! So keep up all your hard work on SMHW and help get your house to the top!

So, to this week’s challenge – The Alphabet Challenge! For this you need to write down the 26 letters of the alphabet as a list. Then, aim to find a word starting with each of the different letters. I did this recently and made my list of things from nature that I spotted whilst out on my walks – sounds easy but X,Y and Z got tricky!  It could be a list of things you’ve been doing to keep busy over the past few months, or a list of feelings/emotions you’ve experienced during that time. Good luck!

Have a good week and take care

Miss McKie

Some fantastic entries in the D&T 'Product in a tin' Competition...

It's OK to worry about coronavirus.

This resource was designed to support your emotional wellbeing. It will show you ways you can keep your body and mind healthy. We're all still here to help you.

08.06.20

Hello Year 7!

Hope you are all well. It's been really nice to hear about all the wonderful things you have been up to at home through the Facebook page and also to hear from your teachers about the work you have been doing. I am very impressed by the number of points and badges being collected on SMHW and Miss Cossburn is currently working behind the scenes to get House Totals for May out as soon as possible. Keep working hard and adding to those points!

This week I have tried to look after the garden and my seedlings, many of which have now been planted into the garden and are growing nicely although keeping the slugs away is an effort!  The garden all looks a bit battered at the moment from the wind and rain so when its perked up a bit I will send photos.

This week's challenge is over to you.... by this I mean I would like you to become the Taskmaster and set a challenge for your friends and family. Please do share your ideas with me and perhaps I could set them for the whole year group or if they are truly amazing I could share them with the other Directors of Students to share with their Year Groups as well. Get creative and have fun!

Take care

Miss McKie

01.06.20

Morning Year 7!

Hope you had a lovely half term and welcome ‘back’ to the final half term of the year. How quickly your first year has gone! It’s been a very strange few months and I miss seeing you. I've tried to make the most of the sunshine and get into the garden or go for walks, as well as a bit of baking, reading and keeping in touch with friends. Remember that your tutors and I are still here for you. You can message your tutors on SMHW or, if you want me to call, just ask via the admin email address. Don’t forget that over the past weeks the DSs have been setting challenges including links to places where you can get support if you need it. I know it is said a lot but looking after your mental and physical health at this time is really important. As the weather is so nice it’s great to get outside for a walk, run or cycle (I know lots of you do this) and if you do, don’t forget to log those KMs on the PE Wavell –Tokyo – Wavell challenge!

So to this week’s challenge we are back to the Taskmaster book and the random one selected is number 43. Give it a go and upload a picture of the outcome. Good luck - enjoy!

Miss McKie

Feeling bored? Why not have a go at this fantastic game on probability designed by Erin in Year 7 for her Maths task. Great work Erin. Full instructions here... 🎲🦆https://www.wavellschool.org.uk/docs/News/ProbabilityGame.pdf

18.05.20

Hello Year 7!

I hope you are all well and beginning to enjoy the benefits of the slight easing of lockdown. With weather set to be good this week, try to make the most of the unlimited outings outside but please remember to keep your distance – 2m minimum. Perhaps try marking it out somewhere so you can see it – it’s much further than you think.

This week I have been cooking quite a bit and gardening as much as possible – my little seedlings are growing into healthy plants but I got a bit carried away and planted more than I realised so I’ll soon have to give some away as my garden isn’t that big!  I have also been trying to do a few things to help keep me healthy mentally and physically. In addition to the walks I have tried some mindfulness colouring, lots of reading and of course keeping in touch with friends and family members, even when sometimes I’m not in a really chatty mood (being a good listener is just as good!) Each conversation, no matter how short, leaves me smiling. This week is Mental Health Awareness Week and the theme this year is kindness.

More information and resources for supporting good mental health can be found here: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/ So this week’s challenge is to take a look at the video and the website and see if there is something you could do to help you, a friend or a family member. It’s really important that we look out for each other. Please know that even though I am not seeing you every day I am still thinking about you all. If you need a call from me or your tutor just email admin@wavell.hants.sch.uk and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

Stay safe, be kind, and keep trying to complete your work.

Have a good week.

Miss McKie

11.05.20

Hello Year 7!

I hope you all enjoyed the long weekend and managed to celebrate VE day in some way. I love the bunting that I see on my daily walks and along with all the rainbows really makes the streets look cheerful! I'm also enjoying the silly videos friends keep sending me - have you seen the one of the loo roll challenge that Mrs Coombes put together of Wavell staff?  A bit daft but made people smile!

Well, this week the challenge has been set by Miss Cossburn to reflect the silliness of that video the teachers created. So for a bit of context: there is a  TV programme Miss Cossburn enjoys on Dave called Taskmaster and for Christmas Miss Kinch bought her the challenge book that goes with it. She has flicked through the book and stopped randomly on task #63. I'd love to see your attempts and I will award House Points on SMHW to the top 3 entries. You could play as a family or share your photos with friends as well. The Taskmaster is the person in charge so their rules must be followed. Have fun!
    
Take care, keep smiling

Miss McKie

04.05.20

Hello Year 7!

Hope you are all ok and managed to have a good week last week, despite the weather. Well I completed one of the challenges I set last week - some colouring of the posters which I found very relaxing and ever so slightly addictive! 

I also mentioned in a previous post that I had been gardening and planted loads of seeds - they are gradually appearing! Hopefully the sun will return this week  and give them a boost. So, onto this week's challenge. A really kind thing for you to do would be to cook dinner for your family one night this week, with whatever ingredients you have available in the cupboard. I'm sure you will get creative in the kitchen and I look forward to seeing evidence of your delicious meals!

Take care

Miss McKie

27.04.20

Hello Year 7!

Hope you had a good week and could enjoy some of the lovely sunshine!  Well, your challenge last week was to upcycle something and here are my efforts – this was a lampshade hanging in my hallway that I took down and replaced recently but, I love stars and was reluctant to get rid of it. So, I added some wires and a tealight holder and hey presto, now it’s a garden lantern!

So, to this week’s challenge that centres around kindness. Before the Easter holiday I shared the British Red Cross’ Kindness Calendar  and I have loved hearing about what you have been doing to support your family and community. So this week I challenge you to have a go at something from the calendar and record your effort in some way. This could be writing it down, filming yourself, creating something. One thing you could do, if you haven't already, is make a window display of a rainbow or message of thanks/encouragement that others can see on their way to work or on their daily exercise. You could use the following link that takes you to some images you could colour https://giftshop.redcross.org.uk/pages/downloadable-limited-edition-prints.

If you like, ask your parents to share pictures of them via the Facebook Group for me or alternatively email them to me via admin@wavell.hants.sch.uk  so that we can make a montage of all of your messages and artwork!

Get creative, stay safe and be kind.

Miss McKie

Fantastic Year 7 Home Learning Artwork!- Well done!

20.04.20

Hello Year 7!     

I really hope you all had a lovely Easter break and are ready to get back to work again. Firstly I want to say how much I miss seeing you all and your smiley faces but hope that you are all keeping yourselves safe, healthy and positive. Secondly, thank you to your parents for sharing your pictures and messages to the FaceBook Group for us to see. I have been very impressed with your baking efforts and clearly we have a number of chefs in the making! Keep your pictures coming in, they really do bring lots of cheer. Don't forget either to let us know of your acts of kindness - I want to reward these with House Points when we return and to create a beautiful display, showing what Year 7 have been doing during these weeks when 'school' has been very different.

In my last message to you, I had made some Rocky Roads - they didn't last long! But over Easter I've been so grateful for my little garden and made the most of the sunshine. I've spruced up some decking by giving it a new coat of paint and planted lots of seeds so hopefully soon I will have some pretty flowers I can show you. I've also been clapping every Thursday for keyworkers and each week more and more people have come out to show their thanks - we have neighbour over the road who bangs a saucepan, another rattling a tambourine and a few doors down someone plays the drums - LOUDLY!

So, to this week's challenge! This has been set by Mr Mills and it is to see if you could upcycle something. What does that mean? It means taking something you already have that perhaps you'd not use in the state it is and turning it into something you might. For example an old T-Shirt being turned into a bag, a toilet roll inner being used as a plant pot for seeds, decorating an item to change its appearance or perhaps an inventive way of using old plastic bottles... There are loads of ideas online. Get creative and see what you can do. I can't wait to see the results.

Take care

Miss McKie