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Power Day - Social and Global Awareness
Mrs Day sent this report:
On Thursday, 1 February we launched our new Power Day around the theme of ‘Social and Global Awareness’, it was a fantastic day filled with an array of different activities allowing students to explore and raise awareness of social and global issues surrounding them in the wider world today.
Year 7 began the day with a ‘Road Safety’ session delivered by KCC which raised awareness of how to travel safely around the roads, this included avoiding distractions like mobile phones and groups of friends, students took part in this interactive session and it proved extremely informative and useful. Year 7 then moved on to working on researching different Spanish and French themes and finished the day with the amazing Eurovicta, which was a huge success, students showcased great talent and had an enjoyable afternoon.
Year 8 took part in a number of different activities, they researched global issues around the world, took part in creating a ‘Sustainable City’ where they addressed different environmental, social and economic aspects allowing them to explore different renewable energy, waste management, green spaces and social inclusivity. They took part in sessions with the business and economics departments exploring new subjects and how they linked to the need to be social and globally aware. Students also explored geography field based studies to give them a taster of how to conduct field studies within this subject.
Year 9 had an important and valuable day learning about the Holocaust. Students built on their Year 8 learning of the Holocaust. They considered ideas of blame and perpetration, looking at case studies and real experiences. They then sought to understood the role of resistance and the ways in which Jewish people were able to resist. The day culminated by listening to survivor testimony from Holocaust survivor, Ivan Shaw. Students listened and asked questions before returning to their rooms and reflecting on their experience of the day. The feedback from staff and students has been amazing, they were very moved by our guest speaker and they took a lot away from the day.
Year 10 had the exciting challenge of creating a music festival themed around the famous charity ‘War Child’. The objective was to raise awareness of global and social events, they were tasked with researching the charity ‘War Child’ looking into what the charity stands for and linking this to how they were hoping to raise awareness of global issues, and how they wanted to change societies views and actions. All students were engaged in the task and the displays and presentations they created alongside merchandise was amazing! A thought provoking challenge which enabled them to explore real life events that are affecting children of their age and younger.
Year 11 took part in a number of sessions, firstly we welcomed back Once Chance and DBA Project who spoke frankly to students around the issues associated with County Lines, following on from that we welcomed Zara back from Panda Anti Racism who led an interactive session exploring racism that exists around the world today. Students took part in a session researching and presenting their findings on an array of different global issues that surround the world. They were also introduced to Psychology where they took part in an activity called ‘The Baron’s Tale’ followed by a food and nutrition session where they took part in making healthy flapjacks, a session enjoyed by all!
Year 12 took part in a number of externally led sessions, we welcomed ‘Diversity Role Models’ to the school for the first time, a session which raised awareness of embedding ‘inclusion and empathy’ the workshop focused on hearing from an LGBTQ+ role model about their lived experiences to celebrate difference. Schools Consent Project returned to the school to lead small sessions surrounding consent and raising awareness of the issues surrounding consent. We also welcomed back the MSC midwives who again led brilliant small sessions, informing students about a variety of different aspects from contraception to pregnancy choices, students have met the midwives several times now, and it is lovely to see the rapport they are building within our school community, they are experienced, approachable and informative.
Year 13 students had a meaningful session about ‘suicide’ which consisted of a talk around the topic followed by breakout rooms, where students could talk about this difficult topic in smaller groups. Once Chance and DBA delivered a session to Year 13, the programme aims to dispel myths and present factual information about exploitation, allowing students to make more informed decision if needed, it support students in being able to identify if they are being groomed and where and how to seek support. We welcomed back ‘The Up Front Theatre’ group who delivered a session on ‘Sexual Harassment’ an extremely topical issue today and one that we thought was vital to explore with students before they embarked on either the world of work or a university life, this interactive session told different stories of sexual harassment and enabled students to gain a deeper understanding of the issues and how to seek support if it was ever needed. Year 13 also took part in the Panda Anti Racism workshop that concentrated on specific issues; impact vs intent, stereotypes, mental health, biases, resilience and assertiveness, this session had been tailored to this age group and allowed for interaction amongst the students and presenter.
