Campsmount

It’s that time of year again when examinations loom and levels of anxiety rise for students, staff and parents. The culmination of five years at secondary school suddenly becomes a finite reality as courses come to an end, revision sessions intensify and examinations begin. This is a difficult time for everyone involved as we approach the beginning of the end of GCSE and A level studies and it is a stressful one, too. Examinations are important, of course, they open doors to opportunity and I commend the students who have studied hard, regardless of ability, as they will reap the rewards of this endeavour when they receive those all important results in August.

We must remember, however, that this is just a stage in the learning journey, a signpost of skills and knowledge acquired but it is not an end point, nor is it definitive. It could be argued that the real measure of success is not the grades that are achieved in the summer but how far we have helped, as educators, to embed a love of learning in our students so that they will continue to be open to new experiences, actively seek out fresh challenges and be eager to develop both existing and yet to be discovered skills. If every student leaves with a determination to persist in the pursuit of knowledge, to continually question and search for meaning then we have succeeded in cultivating a sense of wonder in the world and its infinite possibilities. No GCSE grade or level of progress can measure a lasting legacy such as this. I hope that all of our students, as well as achieving examination success, take with them from Campsmount a life long love of learning. Best of luck and best wishes. Andy Sprakes.

Snow, sun, good hotel, good food, lots of fun and lots more snow.  That is how I like to sum up the ski trip.  This year we went back to Le Corbier in France.

Below are video clips and photos from this year’s very successful ski trip to Le Corbier, France.

The week was described by students as:

“Hard work, but really good fun”

“Best school trip ever”

“The hotel and food was much nicer than I expected”

“Brilliant”

ski photos 2013 from Campsmount on Vimeo.

advanced from Campsmount on Vimeo.

All the students in this video clip were on their first ski trip, look how much they have learnt in a few days

beginners from Campsmount on Vimeo.

middle group from Campsmount on Vimeo.

If you are interested in next year’s ski trip, all the information about dates and costs are in the information letter.  You can get a letter from Miss Levy, Mr Mckie or download from this post.

Please contact Miss Levy or Mr Mckie if you have any questions.

Initial ski letter 2014

On Friday 15 March, Campsmount will be supporting Red Nose Day by hosting a number of fund-raising activities in school. Accordingly, Friday will be a non-uniform day and students are encouraged to wear something red (please no extreme hair colours or make-up!). A voluntary contribution of £1 is requested to support this worthwhile charity and I hope students enjoy the day and some of the activities hosted by the Sixth Form at lunchtime. The only question that remains is….Will 10CLF be able to keep quiet for the day as part of their sponsored silence fund-raiser????

Design and Technology is fortunate to have been donated a 3D Printer by Dr John Murray of Lincoln University.

We are looking for aspiring designers from any year group to design the next awesome product. You can design ANYTHING as long as it fits into a 100 x 100 x 100mm cube. This design can then be “grown” on the 3D printer and will form part of our New Technologies display showing what we can do in Design and Technology.

One of the best pieces of software to use is Google Sketchup which you can get from here:

http://www.sketchup.com/intl/en/product/gsu.html

We also have ProDesktop on the school network which can be used to make any 3D CAD object.

The 3D printer we have is a RepRap model and is great for rapid prototypes.

If you want to take part download the software or come and see Mr Huntridge and he will show you how to use ProDesktop in school to make your 3D designs come to life.

Examples and ready made designs can be found at http://www.thingiverse.com/ so take a look and see what awesome designs can be made using what we have in Design and Technology.

Lets see what you can make. There is no limit to imagination!

We are open as usual today. Please take care on your way into school and as you move around the site. Thanks for your support.

Ex-Campsmount student, Andrew Wigglesworth, is currently embarking on missionary work in Uganda. Not only has Andrew found himself  teaching young people from the ages of 10 to 14, he has also been supporting local people in nearby community who often suffer from extreme poverty. He has also been involved in the running of a Children’s Club where in his own words, ‘ kids  can get out of their homes to a place where they can escape their daily worries and just have fun being children’. Andrew was always an impressive and inspirational young man and you can see why by reading his blog which gives more detail of his important work at http://www.all-saints-church.net/blog/category/uganda/ . Well done, Andrew and keep up the good work!