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Introduction

On Wednesday, Ms. O’Brien sent four yr7 students to me so that I could take a look at their homework. The homework task being to draw or make a “cell” in any way they like, using any materials they like. The outcomes of the endeavours of these four young children were outstanding, as you will see from the photographs below. The creative work of our four intrepid cell manufacturers (Luke Webb (7AY), Cameron Grewar (7AW), Daisy Georgeson-Bell (7AY) and Anna Hunt (7AW) – included the use of woods, stones, fabrics, jelly and various cake ingredients. They were brilliant!

This got me thinking about the whole concept of “homework”. For the duration of my career, and no doubt for the duration of the careers of many people before me, the issue of homework has always been a bone of contention for children, parents, teachers and indeed the education profession as a whole.

The concept of homework has long been debated within educational circles. There are those who believe that rigorous, regular and extensive homework on a daily basis for children of all ages is a crucial and central element if children are to maximise their educational potential. At the other end of the homework spectrum are those who believe that homework is neither necessary nor a contributory factor to the learning process for children. They believe that children should be allowed the opportunity to pursue individual interests, engage in family activities and have sufficient time to relax, socialise AND get plenty of sleep! I subscribe to neither ends of this spectrum but I fully recognise that this issue, pretty much like most in education, is both complex and with no absolute right or wrongs.

For children, the issue of homework is a little less complicated but no less contentious. For some, homework presents both an interest and a happy diversion for them. For others, it can be an annoyance, a bind, or sheer purgatory!

For parents, it can often be a frustration. Parents may take the view that the homework their children are receiving is either lacking in challenge, too challenging, too easy, too hard, too short, too long, lacking in relevance or too complex. Indeed I recall a moment in my first Headship where I conducted two parental interviews, one after the other, where one parent was complaining about her child not getting enough homework and the next parent complaining about their child getting too much homework. Superficially, this would not seem an uncommon occurrence but when I tell you that these parents had children who were in the same class, it gives you an indication of the complexity of this issue.

For teachers, there are no lesser frustrations. They have the challenge of perpetually having to prepare homework for the many classes they teach. They have to make it interesting, relevant, challenging and suitable for children of a wide range of abilities. After that they have the constant grind of ensuring homework is handed in, chasing up those who haven’t completed it whilst having to listen to the plethora of excuses for it not being completed. Then, they have to mark it. Week in, week out.

A complex issue for all concerned, and I could write at length on how there has to be balance, compromise and support from all parties involved in the process. In a nutshell, I believe that a good piece of homework should motivate, challenge, differentiate and extend the learning interests and abilities of the children for whom it is intended. Just as Ms. O’Brien’s “make a cell” homework did and the way in which those children responded.

Highlights of last week & Congratulations (and entered onto our Achievement wall)

• Congratulations to the following who competed in the Teddington junior open lawn tennis tournament over half-term. All the boys were congratulated on their commitment and positive sporting behaviour. They were;- Jamie Millbank, Zino Arbane, Jack Richards and Tom Mills.
• Congratulations to Amy Freeman, Molly Dickinson, Cheok Lok and Janneke Vennema-Osborne who were selected to play in the South Finals for the Richmond School Sports Partnership hockey team on Thursday.
• I am very pleased to announce that our most recent Jack Petchey award winner is Adam Pulford of 8AW. Jack was nominated for his being good at sport, always representing the school in a very positive way and always being pleasant and thoughtful to members of his tutor group. Another worthy winner, Adam is putting his £200 to buying some sports equipment for the PE Department.
• Ms. Harris writes below on two very interesting visits this week;-

“On Tuesday: 8 students attended a Hampton School collaborative event on Science, they were involved in a range of activities linked to developing their scientific knowledge: they were: Daniel Martin, Ben Capon, Christian de Podesta, Sarah Connolly, Alistair Brewin, Harry Bridge, Lily Vie, Tim Davidson and Cameron Hughes.

On Thursday, 15 students attended a Science in sport / GSK / London Olympics project where they did several practical activities linked to what happens to the body when drugs are used in sport (they administered adrenalin and beta blockers to water fleas), they met Graham Edmunds (twice gold medal paralympic athlete in swimming), did spot drug testing on urine samples, took part in lectures as well as a debate on prosecuting cheating athletes. The students who attended were Sarah Connolly, Alistair Brewin, Alice Wotton, Lily Vie, Christian de Podesta, Tim Davidson, Tom Ashley, Ashley Allen, Harry Bridge, Lara Johnson, Gracie Moss, Katie Ramsden, Lucie Iredale, Daniel Martin and Cameron Hughes. The Teddington students were ambassadors for the school, they were amazing in the debates: a real credit to the school.”

• To raise awareness of children in need, Chef Andy and the Cucina team have staged a “Foods of the world” theme this week. The food has been both very interesting and extremely tasty. I think it is excellent that Andy and his team are prepared to go to so much trouble to both educate and interest our students. The following video gives a flavour (no pun intended!) of the week.

• A small group of Year 9 students attended a ‘Your Voice’ event organised by the Police Counter Terrorism Focus Desk. Speakers described life changing experiences in the Armed services, Police, Fire Service, Sports and Religion, and included Johnson Beharry VC who described the events that led to his being awarded the Victoria Cross.
• And so to the madness that is “Children in need” day. As ever, our students entered into the spirit of the day, dressing up, arranging events and competitions (although I cared not a jot for the “teachers eat jungle food” à la “I’m a celebrity” – I will spare you the details!), having fun and, most importantly, raising lots of Money for Children in Need. When I have the total I will let you know what it is. For now though, enjoy the following video to get a flavour (bad choice of phrase for me today!) of the fun of the day.

Results – last week

Date	Year	Gender	Sport	Opponents	Venue	Competition	Result
Tuesday  15th Nov	7/8/9	Boys	Badminton	Various	Grey Court	Borough Tournament	2nd in Pool
Tuesday  15th Nov	10/11	Boys	Badminton	Various	Grey Court	Borough Tournament	3rd in Pool
Tuesday  15th Nov	8	Boys	Rugby Union	The Heathland	The Heathland	Friendly	WON 34-0
Wednesday  16th Nov	7	Boys	Indoor Athletics	Various	Grey Court	Borough League	Unconfirmed
Wednesday  16th Nov	7	Girls	Indoor Athletics	Various	Grey Court	Borough League	Unconfirmed
Friday 18th Nov	7/8	Girls	Indoor Cricket	Various	St. Mary’s Uni.	Borough Tournament	WINNERS
Friday 18th Nov	10/11	Boys	Rugby Union	Orleans Park	The Rec	Friendly	LOST 0-17

 

Fixtures – this week

Date	Year	Gender	Sport	Opponents	Venue	Competition	Time
Wednesday  23rd  Nov	7/8/9	Girls	Badminton	Various	Twickenham Academy	Borough Tournament	Leave: 3.20pm Approx return: 6.20pm
Wednesday  23rd  Nov	10/11	Girls	Badminton	Various	Twickenham Academy	Borough Tournament	Leave: 3.20pm Approx return: 6.20pm
Tuesday 22nd Nov	10	Boys	Rugby Union	Enfield GS	Home	Middlesex Knockout Cup Semi-final	2.30pm
Thursday 24th Nov	10	Boys	Rugby Union	TBC	Old Millhillians	Middlesex Knockout Cup Final	TBC
Thursday 24th Nov	11	Boys	Rugby Union	Isleworth & Syon	Away	Middlesex Knockout Cup Semi-final	Leave: 1.30pm Approx. return: 4.30pm

What’s on this week (for those involved)

• Yr11 mock exams continue
• Tuesday – School Council meeting – pm
• Wednesday- Curriculum Enhancement Day
• Thursday – 2011 Leavers GCSE Certificate Presentation Evening 5.30pm – Atrium

Theme for the week – Philosophy & TEDxTeddington.  This is an interesting weekly section. Both the Theme for the week and “In the news” can be accessed by the “Student News” link on the school website home page.

Last week’s student vote topic was – ‘What types of bullying do you consider to be the worst?’ The votes were -

Verbal (name calling) 91 (18 %)

Cyber (texting) 69 (14%)

Physical (hitting) 206 (41%)

Emotional (ignoring someone) 75 (15%)

Social website bullying (Facebook) 51 (10%)

A record number of 492 votes were cast. This week’s student vote topic – Managing Litter. The videos of these discussion/voting topics can be viewed at our Teddschool Youtube channel

In the news – Selected this week by 10AW

General

I draw your attention to the letter I sent last week regarding the possible Industrial Action planned for the 30th November. The text is also on the front page of the school website. As soon as I have some concrete information I will let parents know. I apologise for the disruption that this may cause you.

Thank you to all the parents of yr7 children who completed our school questionnaire at the parents evening last week. This feedback is important to us in order to gauge where we need to direct our development efforts. Once your written feedback is collated I will put it on the web-site along with indications as to how we can respond to your issues. I was, however, that in the main your feedback was very positive. Thank you.

What made me smile this week

A personal “smile” for me was the fact that children somehow found out that it was my birthday and lots of children wishede me a happy birthday, and I even got a couple of cakes from some students and even a birthday card. That was really nice.

However, Mr. Watling, who recounted the following story to me on Thursday certainly made me smile hugely, as I am sure it will you, unless, of course, you are the parent who might have to pick up a shoe repair bill! He writes;-

“I stopped a Year 7 boy in trainers at break time and asked him where his shoes were. He pointed out that he had PE yesterday P6 and when he got home he found that he had two left shoes. He had brought the shoes in and was going to go to PE to sort the issue out.”

Literally thirty seconds later I stopped a boy who was hobbling and also wearing trainers. “What’s the problem?” I enquired.

“ I had PE yesterday” he said. “I put my shoes on and came to school this morning – it was agony” he added “ I discovered I was wearing two right shoes”, “ I had to take them off because it was so painful, so I had to put my trainers on”.

I gently led him to the other boy in the playground. “ I think you two need to talk” said I….”

Priceless.

Have a good week.

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