Head of School’s Blog – 4 March 2022

Written by Gemma Long on March 11, 2022. Posted in HoS Blog - MC, Medina College.

4 March 2022

Welcome to the first newsletter of the second spring half term.

Thank you for your support at the end of last term, which was brought abruptly to an end when Storm Eunice caused some disruption to our daily lives. We did sustain some damage to the buildings as a result of this, and repairs are either complete or in progress.

Year 9 parents/carers will have received a letter this week with details of the upcoming Pathways process, where students have the opportunity to discuss and show a preference in the subjects that they wish to study in Year 10 and 11. The in person Pathways Evening is on Wednesday 16 March and it is important that as many students/parents attend this evening, so they can explore the subjects on offer.

As you will be aware the Government changed the guidance in relation to COVID-19 over the half term break. The only change in relation to anyone displaying symptoms and testing positive is that it is now advice and not a legal requirement to isolate. The key areas that we are focusing on in school is maintaining good hand and respiratory hygiene as well as keeping spaces ventilated. The Government made the statement that ‘We don’t need laws to compel people to be considerate of others. We can rely on that sense of responsibility towards one another, providing practical advice in the knowledge that people will follow it to avoid infecting loved ones and others. So let us learn to live with this virus and continue protecting ourselves without restricting our freedoms.’ It is important that this is the sentiment we consider to help us all move forward.

We are aware that the international political landscape concerning the Ukraine is concerning some people. It is important that we focus on facts and not on conjecture or mis-information. Details of a collection for charities linked to Ukraine will be shared over the next week.

It is important that Year 11 remain focused on the time they have remaining before their exams. There will be revision sessions running over the Easter period, details will follow over the coming weeks. Focus, resilience and determination and key attributes that will help over the next few months.

Next week, I will be leading assemblies about Inspiration – the ‘I’ within our ASPIRE core values.

I hope you have a good weekend.

Astronomy and Climate Club Update

Written by Gemma Long on March 4, 2022. Posted in Medina College, News - MC.

Astronomy and Climate Club Update

Our dedicated team of astronomers is continuing to use the Faulkes telescope in Hawaii most Wednesdays when we meet, and we’ll soon be using the Faulkes observatory in Australia too, so we can get to see and image some of the objects in the Southern Sky, never visible here in the Northern Hemisphere. We are also doing a free online course ‘Astronomy With An Online Telescope’ as part of the Club sessions, which will provide access to the OU observatory in Tenerife.

We hope you enjoy the images below! And also please remember this is very much a work in progress… The learning curve is steep, but a lot of fun!

In other news, we are excited to have been awarded a grant of £600 from the Institute of Physics in order to purchase a GOTO telescope and imaging system for the Club and Science Department. Over the next month or so, we will be putting that together as we acquire all the components. Another project we’re looking at is designing and building a radio telescope – that will open up a whole lot of objects and ‘space stuff’ that are otherwise invisible to us, with the added massive advantage (especially in the UK) that you need neither night time nor clear skies to do radio astronomy!

Members (and your families and friends) please stay tuned for news of our first STAR PARTY. This will allow us to meet to do some ‘in person’ observing after sunset under the lovely Bortle 4 (1=darkest, 9=most light polluted) skies the Island has to offer. Possible locations are: the field next to the Vectis Astronomical Society’s observatory; sites in West Wight, for example Chale recreation ground, Whale Chine, the top part of Tennyson Down, the Jubilee car park near Brighstone. Students will be asked to come along accompanied by a responsible adult, as part of good safeguarding practice, although if this won’t be possible for any individual students, they are requested to discuss that with one of us (myself Mr Gray, Mrs Rowe, Mr Palmer or Dr Clarkson) so we can make sure they don’t miss out. Full details are to follow.

Finally, please also look out for weekly weather reports by our student meteorologists, using data and forecast models from our own weather station on the roof of Medina College. These will be published on our social media sites as well as the main IWEF website.

New members are welcome to join the club which meets every Wednesday, 3.10 – 4.30 pm in S1. You must have a signed consent form though which can be obtained from Mr Gray in Music or Mrs Rowe in Science.

World Book Day

Written by Gemma Long on March 4, 2022. Posted in Medina College, News - MC.

World Book Day

Thursday marked the 25th World Book Day. The aim of the day is to celebrate and encourage a love of reading for pleasure and to encourage opportunities for all children to have a book of their own that they love.

“Spending just 10 minutes a day reading and sharing stories with children can make a crucial difference to their future success and it’s fun for all involved.” – World Book Day founder, Baroness Gail Rebuck.

We celebrated this event at Medina College all day with a reading takeover! Every lesson began with a section of the story – The Case of Four and Twenty Blackbirds.

Throughout the day, murders were revealed, suspects interviews and, eventually, a resolution achieved. There was a real buzz around the school as the story unfolded and both staff and students really enjoyed it!

Here are some quotes from staff and students:

“LOVING THIS! Can we do it every week?”

“Going really well so far!! Loving it. But have no idea who dunnit…”

“Love it – they are enthralled”

Rowing Championships

Written by Gemma Long on March 3, 2022. Posted in Medina College, News - MC.

Rowing Championships

The Thursday before Half Term, we took a team to the Isle of Wight Indoor Rowing Championships. The team performed admirably throughout the competition with everyone giving their best and also showing great teamwork and sportsmanship. We ended up coming 5th overall. Big shout out to Aaron G in year 8 for winning both of his individual races! Full results are below.

Treasure Island Tickets

Written by Gemma Long on March 3, 2022. Posted in Medina College, News - MC.

Treasure Island Tickets

We are excited to announce that our performance of Treasure Island has been rescheduled to take place on Thursday 31 March 2022. Don’t miss out, purchase your tickets on School Gateway from Monday 7 March! Tickets are priced at £5 per person.

Amazing Review of Medina’s Twelfth Night

Written by Gemma Long on February 18, 2022. Posted in Medina College, News - MC.

Amazing Review of Medina’s Twelfth Night

Medina College students recently performed and recorded their interpretation of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night for the Shakespeare Schools Film Festival. The performance has received the most incredible review and Mrs Shorrock is extremely proud of all of the students involved.

“Adapting Shakespeare for the screen takes a great deal of creativity, ingenuity and dedication and you demonstrated this in abundance! You should all be feeling extremely proud of your achievements”

You can watch the performance and read the full review below.

Sports Hall Athletics Championships

Written by Gemma Long on February 18, 2022. Posted in Medina College, News - MC.

Sports Hall Athletics Championships

On Wednesday we hosted the Island Schools’ Sports Hall Athletics Championships.
6 of the other high schools came to compete against our year 8 team. The competition was fierce and our team were unlucky in a few events, meaning we finished in 7th place. Congratulations to team for representing Team Medina. A special well done to our group of amazing year 10 sports leaders who, after having led the primary school compeitions for 2 previous events, showed great skills to officiate this event and were again an absolute credit to Medina!

The Girls’ Network – Mentoring Opportunity

Written by Gemma Long on February 17, 2022. Posted in Medina College, News - MC.

The Girls’ Network – Mentoring Opportunity

The Girls’ Network are a charity for girls, shaped by women. They believe that no girl should have their future limited by their gender, background or parental income. Every year they support more than 1200 girls across the country.

The Girls’ Network have chosen Medina College to offer a pilot online mentoring programme to. This is a fantastic opportunity and is completely free. Students who take part will be introduced to a mentor and a network of role models who are women.

Take a look at their website to find out more: The Girls’ Network

Application Deadline Extended

Students wishing to take part should complete this form by Thursday 5 May 2022.

Head of School’s Blog – 11 February 2022

Written by Gemma Long on February 11, 2022. Posted in HoS Blog - MC, Medina College.

11 February 2022

We are extremely pleased that we are able to offer so many extracurricular activities at the moment in a variety of interests and hobby areas. These are particularly important as they give students the opportunity to broaden their social circle / friendships. Spending time with other students enjoying the same interest is a very valuable and positive experience. The staff also very much enjoy being able to provide these enriching clubs.

A reminder to Year 11 parents/carers that it is Parents’ Evening next week, where virtual online meetings are available with your child’s subject teachers. Please make sure you have booked appointments to discuss their recent trial results and what they need to do in these last few months to still make a difference. There is still time! (To make appointments and for them to make a difference!)

Next week we will be holding celebration assemblies for each of our year groups. This is a great way to end the term and the students and staff do enjoy success being shared. Next Thursday, 17 February, also marks ‘National Random Acts of Kindness Day’ – What can you do as a random act of kindness to make someone else’s day better?

Although the political message around COVID-19 is beginning to change, it is important that we continue to follow the current guidance. Anyone with symptoms needs to isolate and arrange a PCR test. Anyone who tests positive on an Asymptomatic LFD test also need to isolate and follow the Government guidance. Good hand and respiratory hygiene continue to be important.

I hope you have a lovely weekend.

University of Southampton Visit

Written by Gemma Long on February 11, 2022. Posted in Medina College, News - MC.

University of Southampton Visit

25 students from Medina College attended their first University visit on the Learn with Us programme. The University of Southampton were super excited to have us!

We had a great day learning about University life, touring the campus and looking at the different courses available. Students created a poster and presented it to the rest of the group, followed by a game of ‘The Chase’ which was an interactive game, answering questions on what they had learnt throughout their visit.

The students had a fantastic day, making memories and starting to think about what their futures could look like.