Easter Egg Hunt!

All year groups have had a great time joining in an Easter Egg Hunt today! 

It was great to see everyone having so much fun!

Wishing all the Polygon community a lovely Easter break!

 

St Giles Trust - County Lines and Knife Crime workshop

We were very fortunate at The Polygon yesterday to have 3 workshop ran by the St Giles Trust. St Giles helps young people learn about the grooming process that may lead to involvement in county line activity and offers peer-led diversion to those at risk. 

All pupils were very engaged throughout the workshops and asked insightful questions. The hard hitting stories and brutal truth was a fantastic tool to engage pupils and bring to life the consequences of gang involvement and knife crime. 

A huge thank you to Rachelle and Nathan for sharing their stories with our school community and we very much look forward to working with you again in the future!

Quotes from pupils and Staff:

"It was educational and they didn't speak down to us"

"Informative"

"Very engaging, took on misconceptions about glorifying drug running" 

"I thought it was informative and brought light onto a subject that's important"

"Good information and I learnt a lot of stuff"

"They spoke the truth and were real"

"Honest and I loved them"

Year 7 - Healthy Living

As part of their Healthy Living topic in PSHE Year 7 have been looking into the importance of a healthy diet and brushing their teeth. The school had a generous donation of tooth brushes and tooth paste so we were able to give all year 7 pupils a new set to practice with in class and take home! 

NHS tips on brushing your teeth!

* Brush your teeth with fluoride toothpaste twice a day for about 2 minutes to help keep your teeth and mouth healthy.

* Plaque is a film of bacteria that coats your teeth if you don't brush them properly. It contributes to gum disease and tooth decay.

* Tooth brushing stops plaque building up. Try to make sure you brush every surface of all your teeth.

* Remember to brush the inside surfaces, outside surfaces and the chewing surfaces of your teeth.

For more advice visit www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/how-to-keep-your-teeth-clean/  

Easter Cooking at The Polygon

Easter cooking at The Polygon.

 

We have been cooking Simnel Muffins which are a traditional Easter festive treat, they have marzipan in the middle and chocolate eggs on the top. Yummy!

AQA - PSHE Coursework

KS4 have been working hard to complete AQA coursework for PSHE. It's fantastic to see pupils so engaged and working so hard to complete extended writing tasks. Well done 4CM excellent examples of Level 2 writing with a PSHE focus!

How Sweet

How Sweet!

Lewis has been working on making a sweet dispenser this term.

A proud Lewis adds the finishing touches.

A simple yet effective design utilising Plywood, Perspex and plenty of sugar!

A very nice result.

Year 7 - PSHE Healthy Living

Year 7 had a fun PSHE lesson naming and trying new fruits as part of their healthy living topic. Fruit and vegetables are part of a healthy, balanced diet and can help you stay healthy. 

NHS Guide - 5 reasons for eating 5 a day

1. Fruit and vegetables are a good source of vitamins and minerals, including folate, vitamin C and potassium.

2. They're an excellent source of dietary fibre, which can help to maintain a healthy gut and prevent constipation and other digestion problems. A diet high in fibre can also reduce your risk of bowel cancer.

3. They can help to reduce your risk of heart disease, stroke and some types of cancer.

4. Fruit and vegetables contribute to a healthy, balanced diet.

5. Fruit and vegetables taste delicious and there's so much variety to choose from.

www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/why-5-a-day/  

This Easter as well as the chocolate why don't you try a new fruit? 

 

Maths Lesson after Lockdown

 Year 7 have settled back into learning well after lockdown. In math's, they are working really well together. We have been working on the properties of numbers.

The picture above is a great example of the year 7's working very hard! 

Mental Health and Well-Being: Headspace documentaries on Netflix!

"Headspace" is a popular and renowned website and app that promotes positive mental health and well- being via guided meditation, advice and science. Research tells us that practicing mindfulness can reduce stress, help with sleep and increase focus.

"Headspace" also has a short film on Netflix-Headspace: Guide to Meditation and is releasing another useful show on April 28th 2021:

Headspace Guide to Sleep

This new documentary aims to teach us about our relationship with sleep and healthy habits for a more restful nights sleep.

For any staff who are interested in a "Headspace" subscription, it is free to all school educators!

https://www.headspace.com/educators

Giving Thanks Poem

 

Polygon School have been working with the Mayflower 400 programme and SCC on different projects

Giving Thanks is a campaign to create digital memories that bring the people of Southampton together in a shared celebration of the city and its communities. It is being delivered as part of the ongoing city-wide Mayflower 400 programme and is funded by the Barker-Mill Foundation.

As part of their art learning the boys were invited to contribute towards the whole school poem, in respect of Covid, lockdown and their personal thoughts and feelings. Here is the poem created by their responses. Below is the  link to the Celebration Facebook page 

GIVING THANKS

POLYGON SCHOOL POEM

 

I am thankful for…

Family and friends being so supportive during the stressful pandemic

People being nicer in person

The well-being of my loved ones during the pandemic

So much that there isn’t enough room on this paper

My leisurewear

Being healthy

Having my parents and my sister

The amazing world of screens

Teams

Animals

Life

 

I am missing…

Hugs

Hugs and the apple store

Socialising with friends

Holidays

Pets

School

Sunlight 

 

I am looking forward to…

Better days ahead

Turning the page on this chapter

School again, every bit of it is cool and the practices are even better

Riding my bike

 

I am noticing…

The galaxy expanding

I am a small speckle of paint on this broad canvas called life

https://www.facebook.com/110030017038596/posts/473274674047460/?sfnsn=scwspmo

 

Pupil Voice

Three of our boys have recently participated in a pupil voice consultation as part of Southampton's City of Culture Bid. They did an excellent job of representing The Polygon School, with imaginative and thoughtful ideas discussed at a meeting with an artist from Solent Showcase gallery. Well done to Ryan, Jaiden and Sean, and look out for the second consultation!

World Book Day Challenge Winners

World Book Day Challenge Winners

 For World Book Day all pupils were given the opportunity to take part in our English challenge, which was to draw/paint/create or describe your favourite book character. 

All entries were put on display to be judged by Mrs Hendon-John and Mr Penfold. 

KS3 Winner - Well done Alfie

KS4 Winner - Well done Jaiden

There were so many amazing entries that the following boys all got a runners up prize. Great work Dean, Ethan, Cameron, Callum and Linkin. 

A Mother's Day Surprise

 A Mother's Day Surprise

Tashinga wanted to make his mum a nice surprise for Mother's Day.

He cut the shape with a Fret Saw.

He sanded the shape to take the edges off.

Painted and dried the base coat.

Voila! A few nice flowers and the project is complete.  You can't beat something that's made by yourself.

A Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers this Sunday.

Polygon School Attendance

 

      Polygon School Attendance 

Stats for the schools attendance for week ending 11/03 compared to 04/03 

Reg Name:	w/e Thursday 04/03/2021	w/e Thursday 11/3/2021	Plus/Minus
HI	48%	74%	26%  UP
PR	70%	87%	17%  UP
SK	39%	61%	22%  UP
AW	97%	90%	7% DOWN
CM	24%	73%	49% UP
JB	74%	94%	20% UP
LB	100%	100%	-
KP	73%	90%	16% UP
EPMH	91%	70%	21% DOWN
School	68%	84%	16% UP

       

Readathon Champions 

                    Most Improved Attendance 

Best Attendance

               Additional Learning Champions

World Book Day at The Polygon School

World Book Day 2021

The pupils in school today have been having fun taking part in a range of activities to celebrate world book day. 

All year groups took part in a Scavenger Hunt looking for pictures of book covers hidden in the school grounds. They had to use letters and corresponding numbers written at the back of the cards to create the word IMAGINATION.

Everyone who took part in this activity and completed the word puzzle was able to choose one of the books below as a reward.

During English lessons, students were making their own book marks and re-creating their favourite book/TV characters. They absolutely loved experimenting with air drying clay!

We also implemented cross-curricular learning in other lessons to celebrate World Book Day. In Art the pupils were using watercolour pictures of popular children books as an inspiration to make their own paintings. In Citizenship everyone had an opportunity to do a quiz. 

Special thanks to English department and all staff involved!