Tamworth Blog

Christopher Pincher and Deputy Head Teacher Malcolm Arrowsmith with the INGOTS award

Two Rivers School in Amington was last week awarded the INGOTS Certificate of Excellence to staff and pupils by Tamworths Conservative Parliamentary Candidate, Christopher Pincher.

INGOTS is a recent but highly regarded technology qualification awarded which has been gained by Two Rivers which teaches special needs pupils throughout Tamworth at it’s sites in Amington (the old Quince Tree and Park Schools merger) and in the old Torc School complex,  for it’s excellent work with pupils.

Mr Pincher said:

“We spent nearly two hours touring the school and meeting staff and students. There is a tremendous amount going on which is a real credit to the staff. I was very impressed by Two Rivers School (TRS) Racing Team which has built its own green racing car and beat off about four hundred other teams to end up in ninth place at Greenpower National Final at Goodwood. Well done Two Rivers.”

Queen Elizabeth Mercian School

Today marks the final day of Anti Bullying Week 09, the theme of which has this year been ‘Stay Safe in Cyberspace’.
Anti Bullying Week is held every year in November and sends a clear and positive message that bullying in our schools and communities in not acceptable.

Cyberbullying focuses on the use of ICT, particularly mobile phones and the internet to deliberately upset someone. As these threats are sometimes made anonymously and can be indirect, this form of bullying is often not taken as seriously. This does not mean that it doesn’t cause harm, it can be extremely painful and be inescapable for the recipient.

Bullying UK is the award winning charity, founded in 1999 by journalist, Liz Carnell and her son John as a direct result of their experience of dealing with school bullying.

Liz has been researching and writing on school bullying issues for 14 years and identified the internet as the cheapest way to provide information and advice. With the focus on Cyberbullying this year it gives a good opportunity to give the message that modern technologies remain a positive and productive part of the lives of children and young people and they can be used safely and constructively.

Since the charity was founded it has replied to more than 52,000 emails, 8,500+ of them last year. More than 500,000 people a year visit the website.

Many Tamworth schools use this day to raise awareness of Anti Bullying Week. QEMS pupils have today (Friday November 20) been encouraged to wear blue to school to highlight Anti Bullying Week, a voluntary donation of £1 can be made which is being sent to Children in Need.

For further information about Bullying UK you can visit www.bullying.co.uk You will find advice on coping with bullying as well as ways to support the anti bullying campaign. There are links to social networking sites and opportunities to post your views together with a wealth of information and useful links.

Twilight Saga: New Moon

Another week and another chance for you to win TWO tickets to the film of your choice at Odeon Tamworth.  All you need to do for your chance to win is read the following review of the latest instalment of the Twilight Saga, New Moon and email in the answer to a simple question at the bottom of this post.

Who´s in it?
Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner

What´s the plot?
In ‘New Moon’, the hugely anticipated sequel to ‘Twilight’, Bella Swan is distraught by the sudden departure of her vampire love, Edward Cullen.

However, Bella’s spirits are lifted by her relationship with the irresistible Jacob Black. But now she finds her loyalties are put to the test, as she is drawn into a world of werewolves and old enemies of the vampires.

Competition

For a chance to win tickets for ODEON Tamworth just answer the following question

Why is Bella Swan distraught ?

To enter the competition, email odeoncompetition@tamworthblog.co.uk the correct answer and your name and address. The competition closes at midnight on Wednesday 25 November. Winners will be picked out of a hat and announced on the Tamworth Blog website.

Odeon Tamworth

The Film times for Odeon Tamworth this week. Films running from Friday November 20 through to Thursday November 26.

The Twlight Saga: New Moon (12A)
2hr35m Contains moderate fantasy violence and horror
No Guest Passes
Fri 13:40 14:40 16:40 17:40 19:40 20:40
Sat-Sun 10:40 11:40 13:40 14:40 16:40 17:40 19:40 20:40
Mon-Thu 13:40 14:40 15:10 16:40 17:40 19:40 20:40

2012 (12A)
3hr05m Contains sustained moderate threat and one use of strong language
Fri 14:00 15:30 16:30 17:30 19:00 20:00 21:00
Sat-Sun 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:30 16:30 17:30 19;00 20:00 21:00
Mon-Thu 14:00 15:30 16:30 17:30 19:00 20:00 21:00
Subtitled Screenings
Sun 14:00
Mon 17:30

A Christmas Carol 3D (PG)
2hr00m
Fri 15:50 18:05 20:20
Sat-Sun 13:30 15:50 18:05 20:20
Mon-Thu 15:50 18:05 20:20

A Christmas Carol 2D (PG)
2hr00m
Sat-Sun 12:00

Harry Brown (18)
2hr05m
Fri-Thu 15:00 18:30 21:20

Michael Jackson’s This is It (PG)
2hr15m
Fri-Thu 20:30

Paranormal Activity (15)
1hr50m
Advanced Screenings
Wed-Thu 14:10 16:20 18:40 21:20

The Fantastic Mr Fox (PG)
1hr50m
Fri 13:50 16:10
Sat-Sun 11:10 13:50 16:10
Mon-Thu 13:50 16:10

More times on the next page (more…)

Tamworth Pupils on the Dancemats

Tamworth pupils are being encouraged to dance their way to a healthier life by the Tamworth School Sports Partnership, by doing something they enjoy, using the dancemats.

As part of the new government initiative, the PE and Sport Strategy for Young People (PESSYP) which aims to create a new ‘five hour offer’ for 5-16 year olds, two hours of PE at school and a further 3 hours after school each week. Tamworth Sports Partnership are leading the way after joining forces with FitnessGaming, offering students an activity that will excite all of them.

The dance mats which allow the pupils to wireless record their performance and compete against friends and other schools, have been supplied to the five high schools throughout Tamworth, with the feeder primary schools able to use them when they want too.  They will be used in PE lessons, after school clubs and interschool competitions.

Ben Bulleyment, Partnership Development Manager of Tamworth School Sport Partnership, said:

“We are introducing the Cobalt Flux Just for Schools dance mats in our schools to engage those pupils who do not currently enjoy PE. Feedback from pupils has often been that they don’t like the activities in PE, or that they don’t like being directed by a teacher, so we needed an activity where they could feel more in control and something which is more in line with their out-of-school interests. They will also help to achieve the PE and Sport Strategy target of more pupils doing more sport by providing an alternative activity for disengaged students, particularly adolescent girls.

“The dance systems are ideal because they enabled me to provide a system for each secondary school within my budget and they keep the pupils active while they have fun – for them it’s just a game and they are getting fit by default. We’ll be using the wireless system to host inter-school competitions across Tamworth which the pupils are all really excited about.”

Duncan Black, Director at fitnessgaming, said:

“A key part of involving all young people in sport and PE is engaging with those who do not currently want to take part in traditional physical activities, such as cross-country, hockey or netball. Sport needs to move with the times and embrace activities that are more suited to today’s youth, making sport and fitness something they enjoy and not something to be avoided.

“Although advances in technology and computer games are often blamed for children staying indoors and avoiding exercise, there are new and innovative ways of using this technology to engage children in sporting activities. This type of activity is perfect for School Sports Partnerships because it crosses all ages and genders, there is no discrimination so all pupils can play against each other regardless of their abilities.”

The dancemats which can be used with either the Playstation 2 or Wii make them easy to setup.  For those with special needs, there is also a three-sided frame mat and a hand-controlled mat, allowing the whole class to get involved.

The tag being trialed at Twycross

Twycross Zoo penguins are set to help out with further research into the movements of their wild counterparts.

The Macaroni Penguins at the Zoo will be fitted with new data logging rings developed by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) for tracking the winter movements of the wild birds stay at sea, capable of travelling thousands of miles with their colonies but making them difficult to track.

The small data logger is designed to track the birds movements for up to three years, giving researchers a better view of their winter movements.  Fitting them to the birds though has proved difficult as traditional rings cause cuts or sores on the birds legs, whilst those fitted to flippers cause higher rates of mortality.  However, the BAS have developed a new rubber ring which is hoped will cause the birds no harm.

Twycross Zoo have fitted the data logger to their Macaroni Penguins with the new rubber rings to test these.   Of course, during the test in a zoo environment, keepers can watch for any difficulties and remove the ring if that occurs.

If the trial is successful, BAS will use them to track the over-winter movements of wild macaroni penguins from the colony at Bird Island, South Georgia during 2010.

The winner of this weeks Odeon Competition is Charlotte Morrison from Austrey who answered last weeks questions correctly.  The Question was:

Who predicted the world would end?

The answer was The Mayans.