Friday 3 July 2020

Virtual New Year 7 Families Transition Evening (Via Google Meet)

on Tuesday 7 July, 6.00pm - 7.00pm.

I t has been a real pleasure to speak with so many of our new Year 7 Families over the last few weeks.

We are very excited to hold our Virtual New Year 7 Families Transition Evening (via Google Meet) on

Tuesday 7 July, 6.00pm - 7.00pm. We will send our new Year 7 Families an invitation via email in advance

of the evening so that you can confirm your attendance.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Virtual Families Forum

Following the success of our last

Virtual Families Forum, we will be

holding our next meeting on:

Wednesday 15 July: 6.00pm—7.00pm.

More details to follow in our next

school news!

The Elmgreen School

Virtual Sports Day

Monday 13 July 2020

6 Challenges via Google Classroom

Individual Medals to be Won

Special College Prize

Click picture for video

The Power of Norwood High Street

Congratulations to:

Year 7—Alexandra, Franklyn, Jacob

Year 8—Erin, Grace, James

Year 9—Hannah, Raphael, Patrick, Olivia

These Key Stage 3 students all completed a Virtual

SketchUp Google Meet workshop, Saturday morning

session. The session was led by A Small Studio which

is an architecture, planning & landscape practice

based in Dulwich.

The London Festival of Architecture runs throughout

June, and A Small Studio is working with Station to

Station (the Business Improvement District for Tulse

Hill and West Norwood), to consult the community,

including secondary school age pupils, on

their visions for Norwood High Street.

Students learnt basic model-making and

explored ‘blue-sky-thinking’ ideas of what a

public space should or could be.

Special commendations go to:

Jacob - Year 7

Patrick - Year 9

Olivia - Year 9

Their designs were used as part of The Power of

Norwood High Street virtual exhibition.

You can have a look at the project here:

http://asmallstudio.co.uk/project/landscape-

exhibition/

Thank-you to A Small Studio in conjunction

with Station to Station for giving our students

the opportunity to work with architects and

acquire new skills!

Phoenix Book Award Winner Announced

Students from Lambeth schools have voted, the votes have been counted, and the winner

of the 2020 Lambeth Phoenix Book Prize is Girl in The Window, the magnificent thriller

by Penny Jolson. Participating schools were not able to gather as usual to celebrate the

winner announcement.

In place of the usual finale, our

very own Mr Margerison (what

about that hat and those

goggles?!) hosted an online quiz

to celebrate the shortlist and the

winning book.

A big thank you to all Elmgreen students who

participated in the prize this year.

Click here for the winner announcement video

Read with Pride

J une marked Pride month, a time to celebrate and reflect on LGBTQ+ lives and history. This year, with no parades

and parties, Pride looked a little different. But it’s not too late to connect with the LGBTQ community by reading a

great selection of YA books that celebrate a whole range of diverse experiences.

Hideous Beauty by William Hussey

Dylan is forced to come out after his secret relationship with Ellis is exposed on social media, but to his

surprise, everyone is really supportive – or appears to be. But Dylan’s and El’s happiness is short-

lived, and following a tragic accident, Dylan begins to realize how little he knows about the boy he

loves or those closest to him. Described by The Guardian as a ‘tender, poignant evocation of first love

that is warm and profoundly thought-provoking.’

Black Flamingo by Dean Atta

Michael waits in the stage wings, wearing a pink wig, pink fluffy coat and black heels. One more step

will see him illuminated by spotlight. He has been on a journey of bravery to get here and he is almost

ready to show himself to the world in bold colours. Can he emerge as The Black Flamingo? Shortlisted

for the CILIP Carnegie medal 2020 this book is not about being ready, or being fierce, or fearless. It’s

about being free.

Read with Pride by Lucy Powrie

Olivia Santos is excited for her last year at secondary school. But when a parent complains about the

LGBTQ content in one of the books in the library, and the books are threatened with being withdrawn,

she is distraught. From personal experience, she knows how important it is for all readers to see

themselves represented. Luckily, she is the mastermind behind The Paper and Hearts Society book

club and she sets out to change the policy for good. Perfect for fans of Holly Smale.

Baxter in Year 9 was inspired by classmates and real world events to write a poem.

Written from an African person’s point of view:

In the Night They Came

In the night they came, with their ships and their chains;

Strength was in their interest, not brains.

They came with malicious intent

And worked us to our extent.

In the night they came with their burning crosses and hoods

And in their hearts, their souls, we saw no good.

They hanged us, shot us and yes, we cared

But we all saw a future: one that was fair.

In the day they came, in blue, with badges and guns

And when we needed protecting, there was no one.

Previously saviours, friends and family

Are now the hosts of inequality.

Empathy Day Poem Inspired by We Real Cool by Gwendolyn Brooks

We stand tall. We stand strong.

We stand tall. Don't tell us we are wrong!

We are innocent. You are too.

We are all the same. There is no difference and no need to change.

Black Lives Matter! And that's good to say.

We stand tall. We stand strong.

We stand tall. Don't tell us we are wrong.

YOU'RE in the wrong. Why target us?

We are fair to you so be fair to us.

We need to make a change so it doesn't hurt us.

Black Lives MATTER!

Year 8 Black Lives Matter Classwork

Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals

Winners of the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals, the UK’s oldest book awards for children and young

people, were revealed last week.

Lark, by Anthony McGowan, was awarded the Carnegie Medal for writing. It marks the first medal win for the

independent, dyslexia-friendly publisher, Barrington Stoke. Lark tells the story of two brothers, Nicky and

Kenny, as they set out on an adventure in the North Yorkshire Moors. What should have been a laugh, a lark,

turns deadly when the weather changes and the boys are caught in a blizzard. Throughout the book, the brothers,

one with special needs, display a deep respect and understanding of nature, which ultimately grants them

consolation as they wait to be rescued. The Carnegie judges praised Lark’s “clear, simple storytelling; combining

authentic characters and realistic situations in pared-down prose with blunt humour, genuine tension and moments of pure

poetry as fleeting and transcendent as birdsong”.

Tales from the Inner City, written and illustrated by Shaun Tan, scooped the Kate Greenaway prize for

illustration. Tales from the Inner City is an beautifully illustrated collection of surreal short stories. In them, Tan

explores the troubled relationship between humans and animals. In his dream-like city setting, office managers

turn into frogs and actually enjoy their new lives! Tan referred to the book as “a strange book for strange times”.

He believes that many of the problems we face today may have something to do with our distance from nature,

especially within urban spaces. Throughout the book, he reminds readers that we are all interconnected with

nature. Not only a talented artist and writer, Tan has worked as an animator on the film WALL-E, and won an

Academy Award for directing the short film The Lost Thing. He is the first BAME illustrator to win the

Greenaway Medal.

Chair of judges Julia Hale commented: "During challenging times, librarians believe books for children and young

people are more important than ever. The best books provide adventure, solace, inspiration, comfort, escape, rich

experiences and sheer enjoyment; they are a port in a storm, a reflective mirror and an entry to new worlds. In an

unprecedented year for all of us, we are delighted to reveal the two extraordinary winners of the CILIP Carnegie

and Kate Greenaway Medals that highlight our connection and co-dependency with the natural world.

Shadowing activities for the Carnegie medal have been extended until the end of October to give our students the

opportunity to read the shortlist and vote for their favourite.

Future Stories Writing Competition

F uture Stories is part of

Utopia Now, a research

project based at Kings

College London. The

researchers want to find out

more about the kind of

society young people want

to live in. They want to

know about your hopes and

concerns, and your thoughts

on the role health and

medicine might play in our

future society.

To enter the competition,

imagine it is 50 years from

now, in 2070. Write about

how someone (or

something!) spends the day

in this future place. What

will the world look like?

Who lives there? Who do

they meet? Do they get in

trouble trying to save the

day?

Write in whatever style you

like – a short story, script,

rap, poem, graphic novel –

as long as it is inspired by

the future and no longer

than 1000 words.

To kick start some ideas,

visit the 7-day story starter

challenge at www.utopianow.co.uk/story-starter