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Number: 15  | 18 January 2021
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Year 12 photographers have been investigating the genre of photopoetry - combinations of poems and photographic images. They are thinking about how photographs often rely on context for their meanings: captions, newspaper articles, other photographs and literary texts, for example. They have made a very confident start to this project but will need to be persistent as they develop and refine their experiments. This sensitive example above is by Tomoe Duncan. She has understood that the poem and her photograph are independent but interdependent. Well done Tomoe!
In this newsletter
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Dear Tallis family
Thank you for your support again this week. We think that, under the terrible circumstances, things are going reasonably well. We’re pleased with the response of most of the children to their online learning and very glad to be handing out laptops to children who need them. Now all we need is a clear answer to the matter of testing, a rapid national vaccination programme, an alternative to the exams in the summer that trusts teachers and schools to re-open safely!
 
With my best wishes,
Carolyn Roberts, Head
Don't forget to read the latest blog post in Mrs Roberts writes, a regular column about school life.
This half term's Tallis Habits focus has been persistent. We'll be needing plenty of that in the months to come. Thank you for everything you are doing at home to support our work. We admire your persistence!
Year 11 Parents Evening
Dear Parents/Careers,
 
The second Year 11 Parents Evening will take place on 20 January 2021 via videocalls on SchoolCloud. The event will run from 15:45pm to 18:45pm.  Please keep a note of the date and times.
 
To book appointments, please visit  https://thomastallis.schoolcloud.co.uk/

A short guide on how to add appointments has been emailed out to Parents with their login details.
 
The bookings will close at 15:00pm on 20 January 2021, and you will receive reminders at 15:15pm for the appointments you have made. Please contact mfletcher@Thomastallis.org.uk if you have any issues login (please check spellings and details before login).
 
Michelle Fletcher, Cover Manager & Events Coordinator
Year 7 News
Two weeks ago, I launched some optional challenges for Year 7 students to take part in.  Lots of students have entered and I am delighted to announce the winners of the first 3 challenges:
Challenge 1: Build a house of cards (and photograph it)
The winner: Thalia Wyatt – congratulations and Leia Joyce is the runner up.  Well done both!
Challenge 2: recreate part of the school in Lego (or another building material)
The winner: Theadora Burke – for making a model of reception, the entrance way and the car park.  Congratulations!
Challenge 3: summarise your favourite film or book in 15 words or fewer
The winner: congratulations to Thomas Park for this summary of Jaws…

Shark eats swimmers. Sheriff hunts shark. Scared people screaming. Shark eats gas canister. SHARK BOOM!!!

Jo Rawlings, Head of Year 7

Persistence in MFL
One example of persistence in MFL so far this half term has been in using “collaborate boards” in lessons for practising writing. Students submit their contributions and act upon the oral feedback given. They then make any corrections based on this, and resubmit. Once their submission is perfect (sometimes it takes up to three rounds of tweaks), it is allowed up on the board! This has been particularly useful in our KS3 lessons, where the famously tricky concepts of word order and adjectival agreement have been points of focus. Students even recognise each other’s persistence with the “love” function on each contribution.

Alexandra Akehurst, Modern Foreign Languages
Speakers for Schools
Speakers for Schools is pleased to announce that we will continue to run our live broadcasts this year for young people learning online, at school and at home.
Here is next week’s schedule LIVE BROADCASTS SCHEDULE.
WEEK STARTING 18TH JANUARY:
HOW TO JOIN THE LIVE BROADCASTS
• Join 10 minutes before the broadcast to be ready
• You can join without needing an account. Click join now next to the speaker you wish to listen to.
Enjoy!

Erica Lymer, Lead Teacher for More Able Learners.
EtonX

Why take an EtonX Future Skills course?
Future skills are based around how we communicate, think and approach tasks. Highly sought after by employers, these essential skills help us to build strong relationships with others and work effectively. Eton College course directors and pedagogical experts have created a wealth of materials designed around practical objectives, specialising in communication, leadership and university and workplace preparation.

What is a self-study course?
Self-Study courses are flexible, allowing students to work through the content at their own pace. The course materials encourage students to reflect on their learning and to transfer their learning into their own lives. Students will gain access to 7-10 hours of highly engaging and interactive learning materials full of scenario-based decision tasks, video interviews with subject experts and interactive reading tasks.

What is the writing skills course aims?
With the writing skills course, students will follow the four key stages of researching, planning, drafting and finalising to improve their essay writing skills.  This course will help all students to produce their best work no matter what the essay question and will equip them with the techniques and practice they need to make essay writing less daunting and more enjoyable.
 
Email Miss Lymer if you wish to take part.
elymer@thomastallis.org.uk

Lockdown Challenge
At Tallis we know our students have a thirst for knowledge and will often go over and above what is asked of them. We always want our students to immerse themselves in their studies and engage fully and widely to develop their breadth of understanding. We have created the Lockdown Challenge to help students think about their learning beyond the classroom. The activities have been put together to suggest ways in which students can explore in greater depth. We would encourage all to be inquisitive and get involved. If you feel you have watched or completed something additional not on the challenge, please still email Miss Lymer. You will be awarded PARS points when you email your work or a review of what you done. Enjoy!

Erica Lymer, Lead Teacher for More Able Learners
Food Newsletter
Please enjoy this Food Newsletter with advice about simple and quick recipes for Lockdown family cooking, kitchen skills and healthy eating.

Carlene King, Design & Technology
Excellent English Work
Well done to Nikita Grobler and Isabel Penny in 7HB who have produced very emotional poems in response to our climate change unit this half term. You can view Nikita's poem here and Isabel's poem here.

Well done to Polly Ward, Jenn Lewis and Amelia Duong from 8HA who wrote inspiring ballad poems about famous people from history. You can view Polly's ballad poem here, Jenn's ballad poem here and Amelie's here.
Word of the Week
Word of the Week – Half
This week, we are focusing on words for half: ‘hemi’ in Greek and ‘semi’ in Latin. How many words can you think of that include ‘hemi’ and ‘semi?’ Try and use them in different subject areas and outside of school. Remember you can get positive points for using vocabulary in your lessons and in the work you send to your teachers.
Spring Reading Challenge
All students have been sent home a reading challenge to complete during the school closure. You can include books, e-books (make sure you have downloaded our school reading app Sora) and audiobooks when completing the challenge. There will be prizes for students who complete a line or the whole grid. Email evidence of completing the challenge to Ms. Church on echurch@thomastallis.org.uk. Good luck!
National Literacy Trust Survey
This half term, we are asking all students in Year 7-13 to complete a National Literacy Trust survey about their reading, writing and oracy habits, with a particular focus on how this may have been impacted by school closures. The survey takes about 20 minutes and the link is here: http://research.literacytrust.org.uk/s/ALS21_ThomasTallis/

It will be so useful for us to look at our school data following the survey. The deadline for completion is February half term. Thanks in advance for your support.

Elizabeth Church, English
Library News
Greenwich Literature Quiz
Unfortunately, due to the school closure, we have had to postpone Greenwich Secondary Schools Literature quiz. Once we know more about the long term plan, we will keep you informed.  A big Thank You to all the enthusiastic Year 7 and Year 8 students who came for the try-outs.

The Day Home
The Day Home is a daily newsletter which is free of charge during the lockdown. It is sent out early in the morning every school day and contains one key story from the news, written to stimulate reading and discovery, with a glossary and follow-up projects. Also included are three inspiring topical activities, covering all ages, that can be done at home. The form for signing up is here.

The Library Recommends….
Over the next few weeks we will be posting eBooks and audiobooks recommendations to help you continue your reading journey while at home. We subscribe to eBooks and Audiobooks which can be accessed on your browser or on your device using an app called SORA.

  1. Download the SORA app (for free) or go to https://soraapp.com/library/uksecondary
  2. Select "Thomas Tallis School"​
  3. Use your School email address and password to log in​
  4. Find a book, borrow and read! (or listen!)​

Our recommendations for this week are:

Don’t forget, you can email us at library@thomastallis.org.uk  or go to the library website TALLIS LIBRARY - Home (weebly.com) for reading recommendations and other resources to help you find your next read. Happy Reading!

Gayle Viegas & Charles Harvey, Library
Copyright © 2021 Thomas Tallis School, All rights reserved.


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