24th October, 2012

Cheltenham Literature Festival Trip

The Creative Writing Club of 2011/2012 was invited on a trip to Cheltenham Literature Festival which took place on Sunday October 14th and a fabulous day it was too! Ten children accompanied Mrs Gooch and myself on a thoroughly enjoyable adventure. We saw a number of writers who talked to us about their books and the inspiration behind them. We saw Tony Robinson from the Time Team (some of you might know him as Baldrick) who has a series of books out with Macmillan called the Weird World of Wonders. Both Seren Clayton and Mrs Gooch joined him on stage where Seren died rather convincingly and Mrs Gooch told him off and threatened to call the police more than once. Next we saw Derek Landy who writes the Skulduggery Pleasant books. He was amusing and he answered a myriad of questions including one from Aditi about why all of his crime detective writing is about dead people. He explained that he was influenced by the writing of authors such as Stephen King and books such as Dracula by Bram Stoker. Tom fished further and discovered that the only place where he can write is at home with his cats (one on his chest and one digging its claws in on his lap) and his old dog. We then went to see a very famous scientist and doctor called Robert Winston, who explained that life has been on this planet for four billion years but humans have only been here for about one hundred thousand of those. He let us take a look at his fantastic new, colourful book called Thats Life and it is crammed full of great explanations and photographs. Finally, we went to see Helen Dunmore who writes fantasy books called The Ingo Chronicles. She helped us to understand how reading is a creative thing and a reader becomes a creator no matter what they read. So get reading theres a wealth of books waiting for you in the library take a couple home with you for the October break! And, if you think you would like to become a writer, join us on a Tuesday night from 6.30 to 7.30 for cake and creativity! Ms Case

FOTM News
Many thanks to all those who worked so hard to make the Friends Quiz Night on Saturday 20th October the resounding success it was. We raised a very respectable 672 at this first Friends event of the school year and I am truly grateful to everyone who helped make this very sociable evening the enjoyable gathering it was. A special thank you to Mr Spratling, the quiz master and Mrs Spratling who marked the papers, for all their great effort. Anita Williamson

Lost Property
Please check lost property if you are missing something. We have a fair bit of lost property which will be given to charity, if it remains unclaimed.

24th October, 2012

Look @ My Work Assembly

On Tuesday we had our first Look @ My Work assembly with Mr Edwards who came in to school to talk to Years R to 7 about becoming a brain surgeon. Mr Edwards described how a career in neurosurgery begins with hard work at school until the age of 18 and three other very important things : teamwork; playing an instrument to improve the coordination of your hands; and getting on well with people. After school, brain surgeons go to university for many years of study and do a number of work placements to gain experience, practice and more knowledge. Once qualified, the learning does not end, as Mr Edwards is now involved with pioneering and experimenting with new technology. His job sounded fascinating, as he described all of the cool things he gets to use in his day to day life. But the best thing of all in his job is that he helps people who are very unwell to get better. Mr Edwards helped us to understand his work with a great power point and we were able to see inside a human brain with a video clip which took us down the tubes. Both staff and pupils were in awe of the fabulous work which Mr Edwards does and the amazing stamina and resilience required to get to his position. We thoroughly enjoyed this first talk in the series and look forward to our next visitor in February.

Handwriting & Presentation Competition

Last Friday in prep all of the children from Years 3 to 8 took part in a Handwriting and Presentation Competition. Years 3 and 4 copied a poem in their best handwriting while Years 5 to 8 wrote to the author, Cathy Farr, who visited our school at the end of last month. Their letters were fantastic, newsy and engaging and I am sure Cathy Farr and Finn, her dog, will enjoy receiving them through the post when I send them at the end of the week. It was not quite so enjoyable having to select winners from each year group because there were so many really good efforts. However, the winners are : Year 3 Carmen Rey-Jones Year 4 Tabitha Huby Year 5 Bellayia Lazarides Year 6 Olivia Campbell Year 7 Harvey Jones Year 8 Daniel Bertomeu The winners each received a book voucher so that they can buy a book of their choice from the bookshop. They also received a certificate to commend their efforts.

Jakes Fun Run

Jake Wakeling took part in the Cardiff Fun Run on Sunday 14th October. He came 7th overall and ran 1 mile in 9 minutes and 53 seconds. Well done!

24th October, 2012

Olivia at Wycliffe Orchestral Festival

On Sunday 14th October Olivia Campbell took part in Wycliffe College's orchestral festival for young musicians (of grade 2 and above) led by director of music Mr Ed Jenkins. They played excerpts from Star Wars, the Grand March from Verdi's Aida and an Abba medley. It was full and exhausting day but a great experience for Livvy, the orchestra achieving so much in a short space of time.

October Totally Tennis Programme Coombe Dingle Courses Booked on a Daily Basis Fri 26th October - Fri 2nd November
Course A: Reception Year 29.30am-11am Course B: Year 3 Year 7 9.30am 12.30pm Course C: OLDER BEGINNER / IMPROVERS Year 7 Year 11 ONLY Thursday 1st Nov Day 2 & Day 6 1.30pm 3.30pm

Programme

To Book 0117 9626718 (option 1) Peter Bendall House Rugby Boarders Zoo Visit
On Sunday 14th October the boarders went to the zoo with Miss Chard and Mr Glanville. They had a great time looking at the animals, feeding the lorikeets, finding out fun facts and posing for lots of funny photos. They particularly enjoyed having the seals swimming around their heads in the underwater tunnel! On Saturday 13th October, the annual House Rugby tournament took place, with the three houses battling it out for the Cymric Cup! Winners: Cunningham 4pts Second: Alexander 2 pts Third: Churchill 0 pts Player of the tournament: Larry Williamson Top Scorer: Antonio Clemente Best Players: Alexander Blackwell, Harvey Jones, Elliott Orchard, Alexander Grocott, Tom Edwards.

24th October, 2012

Cross Country
Error very sorry! - in last weeks issue it stated that Antonio Clemente was the first U13 athlete home in the meeting @ Cotswold Farm Park. He did well, but Elliott Orchard, our Number 1 runner this term, was the first one back! JJ

Next FOTM Event

Our next evening of entertainment will be on Friday 9th November when we will host a family bonfire night and disco starting at 6.30pm. The fire will be lit at 6.45pm. We will be selling sweets, glow stick novelties and hot chocolate. There will also be a barbecue and bar. Hope to see you there!

Parents Coffee Morning in the Library

Parents are invited to a coffee morning in the Library on Tuesday 13th November at 8.30am. Please come and have a complimentary coffee, a chat (and maybe a biscuit) and browse through our wonderful collection of books....if one takes your fancy you can borrow it!

Year 7 Trip to Apple Store, Cabot Circus

On Monday 22nd October, Year 7 visited the Apple Store at Cabot Circus. The aim was for the children to discover how the iMovie app can be used to edit and add sound, words etc. to a video captured on the schools iPads.

Colts Rugby v Colstons

In very tough conditions at Colstons, where the heavens opened as we kicked off, tries from Max Curtis (2), Ollie Shutt and Alex Grocott gave the Colts an excellent 24-7 lead at half time. At the interval, Colstons strengthened their team, but the boys battled very hard and held on for a deserved 24-24 draw. MOM: Hamish Gardner.

Visit from Nurse Becky

Year 2 had a visit from Nurse Becky this week. As part of our Science topic Health and Growth , we have been learning that medicines are useful but drugs are not foods and can be dangerous. Nurse Becky asked the children to distinguish between sweets and pills with interesting results.

24th October, 2012

Advice to Parents on Trampoline Safety

One of the injuries Mr Edwards (brain surgeon) frequently sees in his clinic at Frenchay is a broken neck caused by multiples of children bouncing on trampolines at the same time. We felt that, as trampolines are very popular at the moment, it would be worth passing on his concern about using them safely. Do keep an eye on your children when they play on trampolines and try to limit the number of children using them all at once.

Wakelingabout Circuit of Activities

A fun-filled Autumn afternoon of hockey hitting and flicking, football target kicking, throwing, running and relays was enjoyed by all the pupils who took part on Saturday 20th October. Congratulations to Olivers Army, captained by Oliver Harris, who won with a total of 102 points. The winning team comprised of Oliver, Lauren Clark, Alexander Gooch, Oliver Shutt, Henry AllanJones and Helena Brain.

Lower School Harvest Goats!

Well done to the Lower School and their parents for a fantastic Harvest Festival last week. We have managed to raise 165 which is enough for 7.5 goats! I have contacted Patricia Parker MBE, the founder of KidsforKids and she was absolutely delighted and said that ' the childrens' efforts had moved her to tears'. Patricia is making a key note speech at the Rotary International Peace Conference this weekend and wants to mention the children from the Lower School at Tockington Manor School for their amazing efforts.

Strictly Mrs Howard-Robinson!

Mrs Howard-Robinson has been dancing for 20 years, just a few hours a week. She says it is great fun and a good way to keep very fit, something everyone will have seen with the Strictly shows. The photo below was taken in Belgium and the World 10 Dance Championships, where she came 32nd out of 68. Her next competition is the British Closed at Blackpool in November.

A Reminder about Poppy Appeal

Poppies are available at school for a minimum 1 donation. Please use the envelopes as much as possible so that gift aid can be claimed for any donation.

Save the date for...

The Friends of TMS & Old Tockingtonian Society

A Night with the Stars'

Ball
on Saturday 13th July 2013

to celebrate Richard and Jane's retirement.

Watch this space...more details to follow!"