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Month: November 2022

Year 8 Science Challenge

Year 8 Science Challenge

Year 8 students have recently been looking at composite materials and their uses in real world applications.

They were set a challenge to build the strongest bricks using nothing but flour, water, and different types of pasta/cereal. They then tested their designs by hanging weights from their bricks. The designs were incredible and some were so strong Mr Spence had to go on the hunt for extra weights!

The students were very engaged and had a lot of fun designing, building, and testing their own composite materials!

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Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP)

Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP)

We are pleased to announce the implementation of the Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) programme at Medina College. The MVP project is an exciting peer-led leadership and bystander programme. MVP trains students as mentors and equips them with the confidence, knowledge and skills to identify and speak out against bullying, abusive behaviour and violence. It aims to tackle the beliefs, attitudes and culture which can give the message that some violence is acceptable.

We share a vision for Medina College to be a place where all students can attend school free from violence and the fear of violence in all its forms. The MVP mission is to achieve ‘prevention through connection’. Our team of mentors are focused on driving the change required within our community to successfully tackle the acceptance and consequences of violence.

The Year 10 mentors successfully completed their training and, last week, delivered their first MVP session to the Year 7 cohort. The mentors did a fantastic job and the Year 7 tutor groups engaged well with the mentors and the lesson themes. The mentors will deliver further sessions across the year, passionately driving the MVP message to support the safe and healthy environment that enables our community to thrive. Well done mentors.

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Head of School’s Blog – 25 November 2022

25 November 2022

Dear Students, Parents and Carers,

On Friday the 25th November we held taster lessons for current Year 11 students, next year’s Year 12. Students from Medina College, Carisbrooke College, The Bay and The Island Free School attended, over 300 in total. It was really nice to see so many having a positive experience and enjoying what we had to offer. I asked them to remember to get their applications in by Easter, so that we can make decisions based on their subject choices. Applications can still come in after Easter and by then we will have finalised our subject offer and options grid.

Thank you to Year 12 for making our guest students feel welcome, and for your understanding for the slight disruption to the odd Year 12 lesson.

Year 13 exams are still on going but you will get the Upper common room and Library back before the end of the week.

Gym inductions have started and training for Year 12 Reading mentors for Medina and Carisbrooke will be held on December 2nd. If you’re interested in either of these opportunities, you can sign up in Student Services.

In December we will be collecting items for the local food bank. If you are able to support, donations can be handed in at our Main Reception.

Have a great weekend.

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Head of School’s Blog – 25 November 2022

25 November 2022

Our post 16 provision, The Island VI Form, opened its doors to Year 11 students from across the Island today, providing an opportunity for the young people to have a selection of ‘Taster’ lessons from the wide variety of subjects that we have on offer. It was very well attended and the students appeared to enjoy the wealth of experiences that they were able to take part in. It is important that students have the chance to see why they are working and revising hard. This will have given many students a new drive to ensure they give themselves the best opportunities for the future, by working hard to achieve their potential in their exams in the summer. The trial exams which are w/c 9 January are another week closer, so please support your child by making sure they are making the most of every lesson and learning opportunity. Revision session information will be shared during next week.

Next Wednesday we will be welcoming a couple of our Governors into school. They will be talking to students at break and/or lunchtime to gain an understanding of how they feel about their learning, their progress and their school experiences. They will be seeking the views of parents/carers over the coming weeks.

Our students who were involved in the ‘Student Takeover’ last Saturday at Independent Arts in Newport had a fantastically successful day. The gallery was buzzing all day with visitors taking part in activities and viewing the exhibition. Thank you to everyone who made this such a success.

Please see our website for useful information on how to keep up to date with your child’s achievement points, behaviour points and attendance on our new parent portal.

I hope you have a great weekend.

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Head of Schools Blog – 25 November 2022

25 November 2022

Today, year 11 students either went to the Isle of Wight College or attended the Island VI Form to get a first hand experience of the opportunities available post year 11. At the VI Form they had the opportunity to experience lessons from the wide variety of subjects that are on offer at A level. I popped down to see them and feedback from them was that they enjoyed the lessons and found it very informative. Hopefully, it will give them the motivation to work hard and achieve their targets in the summer exams so that all opportunities are available to them.

The trial exams for year 11 start 9 January – the students need to be making the most of every lesson and learning opportunity. Tutors are going through weekly revision tips with them. Information on revision sessions during and after school will be shared next week.

On Thursday, a group of year 8 students went to Southampton University for them to experience ‘A day in the life of a student’ at a university. The students thoroughly enjoyed the day and said it was interesting to see how it is being a student at University.

Next Wednesday we will be welcoming a couple of our Governors into school. They will be talking to students at break and/or lunchtime to gain an understanding of how they feel about their learning, their progress and their school experiences. They will be seeking the views of parents/carers over the coming weeks.

On Saturday we had seven brave students from Carisbrooke and Medina take on the task of running Independent Arts in Newport town centre. It was a jam packed day and our students worked incredibly hard, standing in as the Managers, Hub Co-ordinators and Workshop Practitioners. They managed to beat the Hub’s previous footfall for one day by 200+ people, welcoming 453 members of the public through the doors. They raised money for the charity and organised superb musical performances from our fab VI Form students. Well done to Toby and Lily in year 11 and Louis and Mia in year 9. I thought I would share some of the feedback we received:

Your students are an absolute credit to you all. I was so touched by how they supported one another and worked so well together, they were a great team. To see their friends and families come along to champion their day was an added joy and I am really so impressed by the values the Federation instill in their pupils and the ethos of encouragement.

We have flu vaccinations for students in years 7 – 9 on Tuesday 6 December. A link to the consent form has been sent out previously. If you haven’t completed this and would like your child to receive the vaccination, please do so.

Please see our website for useful information on how to keep up to date with your child’s achievement points, behaviour points and attendance on our new Parent Portals.

Have a lovely weekend.

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 Young Enterprise Company Programme

Young Enterprise Company Programme

On Tuesday 15th November, the Young Enterprise Company Programme teams from both Carisbrooke College and Medina College attended a Dragon’s Den style presentation.

The presentation took place at One Holyrood in Newport where the Dragon’s were enlisted to listen to the teams speak about their business ideas.

Carisbrooke College students, also known as Wicks of Wight (Mia G, Sophie B and Jo M) presented their aesthetically pleasing, aromatic candles with a focus on environmentally friendly packaging and ingredients. The team explained that their next step was to design the packaging in the style of a cereal box.

Medina College students (Ruby H, Dillon D and Elsie May P) impressed the Dragons with their original app idea ‘Open Up’; aimed at teenagers and young adults who might struggle with mental wellbeing. The app takes the form of a game, which is designed to provide positive vibes for the user.

Both teams secured a well deserved investment injection of £50 from the Dragons who were impressed with the organisation and hard work both teams had shown. The Dragons were particularly impressed at how confident the students were.

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 Young Enterprise Company Programme

Young Enterprise Company Programme

On Tuesday 15th November, the Young Enterprise Company Programme teams from both Carisbrooke College and Medina College attended a Dragon’s Den style presentation.

The presentation took place at One Holyrood in Newport where the Dragon’s were enlisted to listen to the teams speak about their business ideas.

Carisbrooke College students, also known as Wicks of Wight (Mia G, Sophie B and Jo M) presented their aesthetically pleasing, aromatic candles with a focus on environmentally friendly packaging and ingredients. The team explained that their next step was to design the packaging in the style of a cereal box.

Medina College students (Ruby H, Dillon D and Elsie May P) impressed the Dragons with their original app idea ‘Open Up’; aimed at teenagers and young adults who might struggle with mental wellbeing. The app takes the form of a game, which is designed to provide positive vibes for the user.

Both teams secured a well deserved investment injection of £50 from the Dragons who were impressed with the organisation and hard work both teams had shown. The Dragons were particularly impressed at how confident the students were.

Continue reading

Students ‘Takeover’ at Independent Arts

Students ‘Takeover’ at Independent Arts

On Saturday 19 November, seven students from Carisbrooke and Medina College organised and facilitated the most amazing Takeover Day at Independent Arts.

Our determined team rose to the challenge and took on the responsibilities of Hub Manager, Workshop Coordinators, Fundraisers and Hub Coordinators all in response to our incredible Biosphere project. They managed to organise some fantastic workshops, sell a range of merchandise and organise some fabulous live music, courtesy of our wonderful VI Form music students.

They were joined on the day by a group of incredibly talented fashion students, from The Island VI Form, who set up a pop-up shop displaying the most beautiful handmade tote bags.  They were also joined by Island Artist Pete Bradley who very kindly gifted us his time by creating a wonderful window display that members of the public were able to join in with.

The Hub saw 459 people through the door on Saturday, a new record for the local charity! 

We are so very proud of all the students involved and we cannot wait to work with Independent Arts again.

Continue reading

Students ‘Takeover’ at Independent Arts

Students ‘Takeover’ at Independent Arts

On Saturday 19 November, seven students from Carisbrooke and Medina College organised and facilitated the most amazing Takeover Day at Independent Arts.

Our determined team rose to the challenge and took on the responsibilities of Hub Manager, Workshop Coordinators, Fundraisers and Hub Coordinators all in response to our incredible Biosphere project. They managed to organise some fantastic workshops, sell a range of merchandise and organise some fabulous live music, courtesy of our wonderful VI Form music students.

They were joined on the day by a group of incredibly talented fashion students, from The Island VI Form, who set up a pop-up shop displaying the most beautiful handmade tote bags.  They were also joined by Island Artist Pete Bradley who very kindly gifted us his time by creating a wonderful window display that members of the public were able to join in with.

The Hub saw 459 people through the door on Saturday, a new record for the local charity! 

We are so very proud of all the students involved and we cannot wait to work with Independent Arts again.

Continue reading

Students ‘Takeover’ at Independent Arts

Students ‘Takeover’ at Independent Arts

On Saturday 19 November, seven students from Carisbrooke and Medina College organised and facilitated the most amazing Takeover Day at Independent Arts.

Our determined team rose to the challenge and took on the responsibilities of Hub Manager, Workshop Coordinators, Fundraisers and Hub Coordinators all in response to our incredible Biosphere project. They managed to organise some fantastic workshops, sell a range of merchandise and organise some fabulous live music, courtesy of our wonderful VI Form music students.

They were joined on the day by a group of incredibly talented fashion students, from The Island VI Form, who set up a pop-up shop displaying the most beautiful handmade tote bags.  They were also joined by Island Artist Pete Bradley who very kindly gifted us his time by creating a wonderful window display that members of the public were able to join in with.

The Hub saw 459 people through the door on Saturday, a new record for the local charity! 

We are so very proud of all the students involved and we cannot wait to work with Independent Arts again.

Continue reading