The minutes from our last PTA meeting can be found here.
The date of our next meeting is Tuesday 21st January 2020 at 7pm.
School reports for Autumn 2019 will be sent out tomorrow along with a letter regarding our up and coming Parents’ Evenings.
On Monday 11th November, Chantry Middle School marked the Armistice in our annual Remembrance Service assembly. We would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to Val (from the Mustard Tree Trust) for taking the time to lead our assembly, to Paul (Chair of the board for the Cheviot Learning Trust) for sharing details about his fatherās involvement during WW2 and to all the pupils who participated in this event. It was wonderful to hear the school choir sing as part of the assembly, to hear the poems written and read out by Eva and Katie (from year 8) and to see all the wonderful poppies created by the pupils to mark this event. We would like to offer our final thanks to every member of our school community for helping to ensure Chantry acknowledges this occasion with the dignity and respect it deserves and for supporting the RoyalĀ British Legion by selling, buying or wearing the Remembrance Day Poppy.
The MFL department is delighted to welcome a new addition to the team.Ā Emily is a final year degree student at Newcastle University studying French, and has chosen to spend some of her time with us at Chantry. Ā Y8 Language Ambassadors Jack and Ben took the time to sit down with her and find out a little bit more.
What languages are you studying at University and why?
I primarily chose to study French as I found it really interesting at school and was rather good at it too.Ā I like the idea of travelling and working abroad later in life so it will definitely be really useful. I have also picked up Italian as I think the more languages I know, the better!
Do you find learning languages difficult?
I would say that learning a new language is always hard to begin with but the more you put into it, the more you get out of it. Ā Practise definitely makes perfect.
How important do you think languages are?
I believe that they are very important.Ā There are so many different cultures around the world and it is great to have more awareness of what is going on around us. Ā It is so easy for us in the UK to say āEveryone speaks English so we donāt need to learn another languageā but sharing in the way of life of other countries is something you can become fully immersed in if you can talk to them in their own tongue.
Would you like to go and visit Paris, and see the culture for yourself?
I have already been, but would love to go back. As part of my degree I had to spend time in Paris, and was in France for four months working there too. I was also in Guadeloupe in the Caribbean, which is a French speaking island, for four months too. A lot of people donāt realise that it is not just France where French is spoken and I would love to visit as many of those countries as I can.
What made you want to come to Chantry and help in our lessons?
It is a really interesting module offered by the University and I definitely want to encourage languages in schools. I also would like to see if teaching is something I might consider as a career.Ā I am really looking forward to my time with you all here at Chantry and meeting as many students as possible.
Don’t forget our next PTA meeting is Tuesday 26th November at 5.30 pm.
We hope to see you there!
Chantry has been lucky enough to be chosen as one of a few schools in the country to participate in a European Christmas decoration exchange.Ā Pupils have been putting their creative talents into practise and making some delightful mini Christmas trees. These are being sent to 30 different schools around Europe.Ā In return, we shall be receiving 30 bespoke decorations to hang on our own tree in the MFL block. They will be coming from all across Europe – from France to Romania, from Italy to Bulgaria, from Greece to Lithuania.Ā We canāt wait to see what the postman will be delivering over the next few weeks and will share every addition to our tree with you on Twitter.
āI am really looking forward to getting our European decorations.Ā I wonder if they will be things that we donāt normally put on our trees!āĀ Amy, Y6
āWe are also sending information on our British Christmas traditions, such as the Queenās speech or Brussel sprouts.Ā I am interested to see what traditions other countries have and how they compare to ours.ā Gabby, Y8
āThis is a great project to be involved in and is something quite unique for Chantry to be part of.āĀ Oscar, Y6
Interested in a great opportunity to volunteer in your local area?
The Three Rivers Learning Trust is looking to recruit Academy
Councillors to the governance of its schools.
Please click here for further information.
Kidsā Lit Quiz 2019
This yearās regional heat of the annual literary competition was a fiercely fought contest with every round finishing on a tie breaker. With rounds as obscure as Newspapers, Umbrellas, Archery and Confectionery, it was hard to anticipate our strengths. Ā
In recent years, this contest has tended to interpret the term ābookā ever more loosely and questions can skip from Norse mythology and comic strips via the classics to film and TV ā a real mixed bagĀ – all in one round! It really keeps us on our toes!
In its valedictory year, however, the Narnia and Harry Potter series featured prominently as did books published more than half a century ago.Ā This put us at something of a disadvantage as we like to read books hot off the press, but we rose to the challenge as you will see.
This will be the last time the founder of the Kidsā Lit Quiz competition, Wayne Mills, will conduct theĀ British competition, although he will continue in his native New Zealand and other antipodean countries.
Our Y8 teams feel privileged to have met him and have thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.Ā
Well done to:
Ethan, Ruby, Rachel and Izzy
Eva, Sophie F, Charlotte and Sophie C.
who maintained their concentration and enthusiasm throughout to achieve Chantryās highest scores to date!
Chantry AĀ Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Chantry B
Chantry B participating in one of the many tie-breaks – the competition was fierce!
Following our successes with the French Spelling Bee over the past few years, we are challenging Y7 to participate in the Spanish version.Ā It is the first time Chantry will have ever competed in this language, so it is history in the making. The 1st round will take place in the last week of term and participants will have to spell as many words as possible in a minute using the Spanish alphabet.
3 of our Y8 pupils who competed in the regional and national heats last year helped deliver an assembly to tell Y7 what it was all about.
āAt first, I didnāt know much about the Spelling Bee but I was determined to do well.Ā As so many people took part in the first round, I thought my chances of getting through were slim, but to my surprise I made it!Ā You have to be dedicated if you want to succeed but everyone encourages each other to do well which was helpful.ā Ben
āCompeting in the Spelling Bee was an amazing and rewarding experience, although a little daunting.Ā Standing in front of people may seem a terrifying prospect but after you do it, you feel so accomplished and it is worth the effort.Ā I definitely feel like I have gained confidence from this and I am looking forward to taking up new languages after I leave school.ā Izzy
āI really enjoyed Round 3 as we got to compete against other schools.Ā I learnt how to spell more complex words and improve my vocabulary whilst under pressure.Ā The experience was scary but it was fun to compete. I would definitely do it again if given the opportunity.Ā It does take a lot of practise and effort to complete each round, but performing in front of people is a great way to improve your public speaking and memory skills.Ā It has inspired me to continue with languages at High School.ā Eva
Morpeth Methodist Church is hosting a Nativity Festival on the second
weekend in December and would like toĀ invite some of your young people to
sing / perform at the festival on Saturday 14th December.Ā They are hoping
to provide short sets of live music or anĀ Ā āopen mikeā session (adults or children)Ā to sing or perform a short Christmassy piece.
If you are interested in taking part please call Lorrie Bronsema on 01670 516390 orĀ 07754401485.
