Visit from author, Mark Lowery

Today we were delighted to have a visit by Mark Lowery, author of 'Socks Are Not Enough' and its sequel 'Pants Are Everything'.  He gave a presentation to Year 8 in the hall followed by a book signing of copies of his books.

Mark then gave two writing workshops in the library for Year 8 students.  

Mark's visit was inspirational and stimulating and the workshops were really effective with some creative and imaginative writing being produced by the students.  

'Socks Are Not Enough' was one of the short-listed books for the Southern Schools Book Award in 2012 and is a great favourite of Chailey students and the English department.

Interform Celebration Day

7 Firle, 8 Ashdown and 9 Ditchling enjoying their Interform Celebration Day on Friday 26th June.  The Sports Hall was filled with games and a giant inflatable assault course; the Drama Studio was turned into a cinema for the day, the library became a chilled out space for students to relax and play board games and various sports were played out on the field.

Good news from Jasmine Frape, a Year 11 student who has just left Chailey

An e mail from Jasmine, informing us of her apprenticeship:

It's Jasmine Frape, and I just want to say thank you for all your help with finding an apprenticeship. I don't know if you know this but I was able to find a place with Newman & Burtenshaw at the top of Lewes High Street. Once I had written a few emails we agreed for a date for me to go in for an interview. During the Interview they explained everything I would be doing if I was to join them. Once the interview was finished they asked me to go in for trial which I agreed to. After my trial they said they would be in contact with me in a few weeks.  They then called me a couple of days later asking me when I could start. Which leads me to today.   I have been with them for a week and 3 days now and loving it! I'm extremely grateful to Dan Vernon, from the Youth Employability Trust,  for his help and wouldn't have  been able to do it without you! 

Kind Regards

Jasmine

Pallant House visit

A group of 30 key stage 3 students were taken on a trip to Pallant House, Chichester, in February. The students were taken on a tour of the gallery, looked at a collection of self-portraits and the work of Peter Blake. From this, students then devised their own version of a self-portrait, which will be on display until Friday 26^th June.

Here is a selection of their work in more detail

The English Civil War comes to Chailey

In our History lesson today we did something a little bit different…

We used our unique artistic talents to make costumes of Royalist and Parliamentarian soldiers in the English Civil War.

We used paper, card, glue, staples and scissors to create fantastic costumes. We modelled our costumes and described what we were wearing and then wrote down our opinions about who we thought was the best soldier in the Civil War.

Here are some pictures of our amazing costumes.

Thank you to Mrs Michica de Oliveira for teaching this lesson!

By Aislinn, Felix, Tom and Scott 7CA

The Summer Show in rehearsal

Photographs were not allowed to be taken during the Summer Show so here are some of the performers during rehearsal

More on the DT Chailey Young Designers trip to Brighton University

Ed Hilton, Year 10, writes:

This year the DT trip for the Chailey Young Designers was to the University of Brighton Art and Design department to look at all the exhibitions and view work that has been produced at the University. The day was full of interesting things and also some fascinating demonstrations to see.

When we arrived we were taken into the architecture exhibition to look at some very detailed drawings but also lots of models of new and interesting buildings with some designs that haven’t been seen before. As well as making models of houses, some people had also made things using new ideas such as water mills built around a marina to make more than one use of energy. They all had one thing in common and that is that they all help the environment one way or another.

The other exhibition that I enjoyed looking at the most was the resin bike. This was a bike made purely of a resin based mix that is lightweight and also good for the environment. To produce this resin it only takes a minimal amount of the plant you get the resin from to make the bike. In fact if you harvest one field of this plant it is enough to build at least 1000 bikes from it. Again this is a very eco-friendly idea that can help our environment and not produce so many emissions by using metal.

After lunch we had some demonstrations in the pottery department, went and looked at the waste house and also went and had a demonstration in the forge. They showed us how they use the tools to make interesting creative designs. Then they asked if one of us wanted to have a go and so I got to have a go at using the forge. I bent the metal into an S shape and then rounded off the end to make a handle. Then I got to cut a bit off the end with a BIG hammer and take the bit home I cut off. This was such a fun experience as I learnt lots of new skills but it also gave me ideas for future projects.

All in all I had a very inspiring day that will help me in future with new and inventive ideas for my GCSE next year and will help me make new and original ideas. This visit was fabulous and the students and staff at the University were really helpful if we needed or wanted to know anything throughout the day.

Arts Award

At the end of the Summer Show last night, Mrs Young was pleased to present certificates to all the students who have successfully completed the Bronze level 1 of the Arts Award.  To achieve this level students explored and developed their skills across a wide range of creative disciplines including Art, Dance, Drama, Music and more.

The Summer Show

'These are the Days of Our Lives' was the theme of this year's Summer Show which took place last night.  It was a happy and light-hearted evening of song, dance, music and drama and the hall was full with an appreciative and delighted audience.

Well done to the staff and students who worked so hard to produce the show and to the performers who made it such a success.

The cast, orchestra and choir being thanked by Mrs Young at the end of the show

Chailey Young Designer trip to Brighton University

Barney Morris, Year 7, writes:

Friday 12^th June was a fantastic visit to the University of Brighton. High achieving students who have shown a strong liking and possibility to becoming great designers were invited. The University kindly sponsored this visit. We were lucky enough to view some incredible designs first thing, before moving into the actual building. From that, ideas and inspirations sprang into our minds and questions about ideas and exploring our creativeness. Inside the main art department we first visited a room full of creative and inventive ideas such as fun food and many others. Next was the fabric department which was not as popular with the boys; nonetheless it was still interesting.  Many other activities followed, such as visiting a waste house heavy metal room and ceramics. Over all it was an amazing trip.  

Year 8 Sculptures

Once again, Year 8 have surpassed expectations with their creative and imaginative sculptures based on the work of Pop Artist Claes Oldenburg.  For this Art project the students choose an object and change the scale.  The photos show objects of great diversity including a giant cheese grater, an enormous fried egg and a tiny deckchair.

Well done to Year 8 for working so hard and creating this impressive display.