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Confidence in the Kitchen

A shining star! This term we have been delivering an exciting developing independence module with LG3. We have been focusing on developing cooking skills and kitchen competence by using a range of ingredients and cooking resources to make our own meals! One student in particular has really stood out as having the skills, drive and determination to become a really good cook! Shakil has shown a real enthusiasm and a good understanding of how to prepare food, he is working at a high level and developing his independence weekly, a real example to everyone. Well done Shakil and all of LG3!

National Careers Week 2020

National Careers Week took place last week with lots of new opportunities and activities to inspire students and open up their outlook for the future. Throughout the week students and staff have taken part in employer led talks, careers based class activities, off site visits, practical demonstrations and networking events.

Monday was the introductory day and kicked off with Andrew Harris from Northern Rail offering advice on the dangers of the railways and an insight into the roles and responsibilities and employment opportunities for young people in this growing work sector. Our KS4 students visited Aerozone at Manchester Airport to look at all the new building developments with Mr Barlow while a GMP Community Police Officer came in for a Q&A and to answer any questions on careers in the services for our KS3 pupils. Additionally Rosie Gill one of our careers advisors led a day of workshops with KS3 and KS4 pupils to look at their aspirations.

Tuesday welcomed visitors from Autotrader and a scientist from Astrazenica while KS5 pupils gave inspirational presentations to KS3 and KS4 about the work experiences they have accessed and the skills they have developed. Cory was particularly inspiring telling everyone about his work experience as a caretaker at Rushbrook Primary Academy. KS5 students travelled to HOME Theatre to experience a unique Hunt and Darton café event.  Performance artists Hunt and Darton have been hired this year to curate the award winning Barbican Box Project. This is the third year that Melland High School has been invited to join 7 other Manchester schools to make and perform an original piece of drama to be showcased in June at HOME. At the HOME café students were enticed to purchase and taste a range of fondant delicacies, try twisted drinks and sample art type happenings including: ‘poetry on the side’, ‘Not The Great British Bake Off’ and ‘you are the buffet’. Reactions changed from reality check and mute astonishment to full participation and shared laughter once the students were in on the joke. As part of the Barbican Box process Melland will be visited by an Artist Mentor to provide support and encouragement to create our own artistic dishes for you to sample.

On Wednesday KS3 and KS4 pupils accessed a collapsed timetable where all lessons were based around a variety of sectors including; construction, manufacturing, horticulture, creative media, graphics and hair/beauty. Students took part in a wide range of activities linked to these sectors learning new skills and gaining insights. KS5 students from LG2 visited community radio All FM where they accessed a presentation to tell us about the 100 active volunteers, the legacy of previous training projects, producing and presenting a range of shows. The students were then given a tour of the 2 studios and interviewed three members of the crew. They were lucky enough also to sit in on a live session up close and personal to see exactly how the shows are presented. All FM offered some great opportunities and will hopefully be working with Melland to set up a project with our young people and offering the skills to present and produce their very own radio show.

SLT shortlisted and held interviews for students to take part in a unique opportunity to work in school in a variety of roles. LG1 took part in discussions with James Gill from TFGM and found that they employ a number of our students, who had followed a pathway supported by James who manages 25 staff in a team of 500 revealed that employees with certain skills such as keen focus, an eye for detail and a passion for numbers are a valuable asset in logistical work and he would like to employ more of our students as they have proven to be hard working, reliable and popular with their colleagues.

Thursday was probably our busiest day for employer encounters as our Speed Networking event organised by our careers advisor Steve Leach took place with eight outside agencies available for quick fire questions. These included representatives from; Bruntwood, Digital Advantage, O2, Princes Foods, One Manchester, Manchester Community Central, Stroke Association, Lendlease and All FM. Students from all key stages took part and were joined by students from the Grange School.  The aim of the event was to broaden student horizons and to gain an insight into what employers are looking for. KS5 students were visited by staff from the Contact Theatre to discuss volunteering opportunities and to signpost students to their excellent weekly spoken word and drama workshops which are open for our students to access. In the afternoon LG1 and 2 enjoyed a demonstration of wood- turning with Andy Trevor and were given an opportunity to discuss career pathways into the construction industry for self-employed workers studying carpentry an dry wall construction techniques.

The Melland Pupil Media Crew had a short break from filming on Friday when they had a Q&A with both Skillset and Phil Wood, producer from Mersey TV.

Also Friday saw celebrations for all the hard work of the students from the whole week. Students received awards for developing and demonstrating employability skills, for communication, problem solving, team-work, confidence and employees of the week. Careers week was a huge success and a huge thank you again to the whole careers team and all staff and contributors for creating an amazing and inspiring experience for all our young people.

V Group’s Journey Around the World

This term, the V group are beginning their cultural encounters topic: The World Around Me.

As part of the newly developed Semi-Formal Curriculum; V group will be exploring various modes of transport and encountering different cultural celebrations and festivals.

We will navigate our cultural journey alongside the classic story: Around the World in 80 Days.

V group started our worldly adventure just in time for the Chinese New Year. We celebrated with a tea party and traditional Chinese treats. We also explored various Chinese artefacts and enjoyed traditional Chinese music.

We look forward to a new term of joy and prosperity as we navigate the world around me. 

Global Scholars – 3E

As part of the Global Scholars Program we are studying the topic of ‘Nature in our Cities’. We are looking at the different Flora and Fauna that can be found in our city. Some major world cities such as New York and London have huge public parks in the centre of them.

We in Manchester have a few small parks. Therefore, the students decided they would like to visit St John’s Gardens in central Manchester. They took photos and discussed the different types of flora found in the park.

They were intrigued to find out that it was previously occupied by St John’s Church and its graveyard whose tombstones have been covered over by 18 inches of soil except for that of John Owens, founder of Owen’s College, which later became Manchester University.

The garden was awarded a Green Flag in 2012 and is part of the St John Street conservation area.

G1 group’s social Interaction programme

As part of their social interaction programme two students from the G1 group visited the 6th form café this week. As you can see by the delighted look on their faces, they were both very excited to be there!  After looking at the menu on the tabletop, they both chose something appetising to investigate further before settling themselves at a table to await the arrival of more students. They are looking forward to visiting the café again next week and to further developing their social interaction skills.

Christmas Hampers for the Elderly

As part of PSHCE the students and staff collected food items so that they could make up Christmas Hampers for ‘Age UK’ based on Mount Rd , Gorton. We do this every year and a select group of students are chosen to go and deliver the hampers.

Mr Gleeson, Mr Morgan, Mr Beddows and Miss O’Brien took 13 students to the day centre. Whilst there, they sang lots of Christmas carols and got to meet the older ladies and gentlemen from the community who were absolutely over the moon by the generous donation and the performance of the students. The students thoroughly enjoyed the whole visit too and we look forward to doing the same again next year!

Merry Christmas from the PHSCE Choir!

Melland FIFA 20 Tournament

FIFA 20 Tournament

Over the past 3 months students at Melland High School have been competing in a FIFA 20 tournament on the PS4. The format was similar to the world cup with player being drawn into groups and needing to come 1st or 2nd in their respective group to advance.

Then it was down to the knockout stages, last 16, quarter final, semi-final and then final. Over the course of the competition 65 matches were played and over 230 goals scored.

It wasn’t always clear who would get through to the final but in the end it came down to two sixth form students, Azman and Baazi. The friends had a very competitive match and the final result was 3-1 to Azman.

A huge thank you to all the staff that went out of their way to support the tournament, especially Mr Morgan and Mr Saddoo for letting us use the multimedia studio and the lunchtime organisers for being so flexible.

Melland Goes Global

As part of Citizenship lessons this year Melland students will take part in a programme run by The Global Scholars network. Throughout the Global Scholars programme, students will be able to communicate directly in e-classrooms with other students across the globe. Multimedia projects invite Global Scholars to explore connections between each year’s global topic and their own cities. Students advance in digital literacy, language communication, and other key learning outcomes  while showing us the world through their eyes.

The Melland students will be investigating “Nature in Our Cities” They will learn about different topics and share their results with their peers across the globe. This will also give them the opportunity to see how nature flourishes in our city and in other cities throughout the world. At the start of the programme they will make a video introducing themselves, their school and where they live. The project will culminate in them carrying out a ‘Community Project’ of their choice relating to nature in our city.

The Global Scholars programme covers 25 countries and 51 cities, including 13 cities in the U.S. and 38 vibrant international cities.

Students Join the Protest for Climate Change

Friday 20th September a group of our sixth formers took to the streets in protest, joining millions of students all over the world to be part of ‘climate strike day’ in what will go down as a historic day of action in support of the climate change agenda.

Armed with homemade placards, loud voices and determination, our students marched through Manchester to join thousands of others gathered in St Peters Square to make their voices heard.

The Sixth Formers represented Melland fantastically throughout the morning and took the crowds and noise in their stride as well as making some noise themselves. Not only did they impress us but they also made their mark on the protest by attracting attention from the local media and giving an interview to the BBC. Special mention to Marshall Collins who spoke to the camera with such enthusiasm and confidence about the issues that young people face. Watch this space for the interview piece!

 

LG4 Cafe Reopens

LG4 will be relaunching their café on WEDNESDAY mornings this term, it will then run every Wednesday from 10.45am to 11.30am.

 This Wednesday 18th september will be a Macmillan coffee morning, we will be serving lots and lots of yummy cakes and biscuits as well as our usual toast, cheese on toast, crumpets etc. All money raised will be donated to the Macmillan charity.

If anyone would like to donate any cakes or biscuits that would be wonderful, you can drop them off in sixth form.

Proud to part of the Bright Futures Education Trust
Melland High School
Gorton Education Village
50 Wembley Road, Gorton, Manchester, M18 7DT
Ofsted CEOP