January 2008
New Age Kurling Tournament
Tuesday, January 15th 2008 - Graham Culpin
On Tuesday the 15th of January 2008 Mary Rose School hosted a New Age Kurling tournament.
There were three schools involved were Mary Rose, Admiral Lord Nelson and Milton Cross. Each school split into two teams so there were six teams altogether. There were two groups of 3 teams and each group played the best of three ends.
Then the winner of each group played in a final and second place of each group played in a 3rd/4th place play off.
Mary Rose were the winners of one of the...
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Happy New Year!
Friday, January 4th 2008
What a great start to our new term. We discovered a whole new meaning to the concept of the ‘pantomime’.
Staff decided to entertain the pupils on our first Friday back, by putting on our very own Mary Rose ‘X’ factor show. Hosting the show were PANTS AND SPECS, a lively pair of elves with a wicked sense of humour. Judging the contestants were Father Christmas, Mother Christmas and Rudolph the Reindeer. Rudolph came armed with a water spray, chocolate...
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Tudor Day (Discovery)
Tuesday, January 1st 2008 - Discovery
On Tuesday 15th January a group from the Mary Rose Trust came to our school. With the staff they dressed up in old fashioned clothes.
We played old Tudor games such as ‘Nine Men’s Morris’. Regan thought that was fun as well as bowls with Sir Francis Drake, ‘especially when we saw the Spanish Armada coming!’
Before lunch we cooked a Tudor banquet. Nathan and Josh both agreed they enjoyed this the most, Josh ‘cooked some kind of...
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December 2007
Christmas Through The Ages
Friday, December 14th 2007
Our first performance in our new building and it was great.
Pupils from Years 7 to 14 all got together to celebrate Christmas with family and friends. They were given 4 school days to work on their production and used the time really well to create a lively and exciting show.
The 6th form started off by looking into the future and their costumes were stunning in silver and blue. They were followed by Spinnaker and Wimbledon (Year 11/12) who looked back into the 70’s with Slade. Victory came up...
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The Five Senses Of Christmas
Thursday, December 13th 2007
Our first primary Christmas performance in our new school building and didn’t we have fun.
Each class focused on a different ‘sense’ and was given 4 school days to work on their production. They were very creative and came up with some superb, multi sensory performances with a good sprinkling of humour and mischief!
The production was based around the Christmas story. Mary and Joseph took their parts very seriously and spent most of the time ‘deciding’ who should be the...
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November 2007
Faith and Football Enterprise Education Initiative
Friday, November 16th 2007
Faith and Football is an interdenominational faith ministry. One of their projects is an enterprise challenge which is run jointly by Portsmouth and Southampton Football Clubs. Headed up by Linvoy Primus (Pompey Player) and Dave Merrington (Former Saints Manager) the project is designed to develop students entrepreneurial and work related learning skills. Our school has entered a team of 6 students from the Sixth Form who will design and run a business of their choice between November and April. We will be...
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The Big Swim with the David Lloyd Health and Leisure club
Sunday, November 4th 2007
Members of the David Lloyd Health and Leisure Club at Port Solent took part in a sponsored swim on Sunday, November 4th, to raise money for our school. The team of swimmers was led by one of our own pupils, Regan Laing who swam 10 lengths.
This was a marvellous occasion with a great feeling of team spirit. The swimmers ranged from 5 years old to well over 21 yrs! They were supported by the club’s general manager and their swimming coaches and lifeguards. Overall the combined...
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October 2007
We Can Do It!
Monday, October 29th 2007
Senior pupils took part in an inspirational workshop with the CandoCo, a dance company that seeks to inspire audiences and support participants to achieve their highest aspirations in line with the Company’s ethos that “dance is accessible to everyone”. Their focus is on dance not disability, professionalism not therapy.
A day of workshops was set up as a starting point for our Rock Challenge entry next April 2008. The idea was to show pupils and staff that ‘all things...
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Mary Rose School celebrates the Festival of Eid
Friday, October 19th 2007
The whole school took part in our Eid celebration this year. We held an assembly where pupils found out more about the festival and it’s meaning and some of the classes displayed the work they had been doing in their RE lessons. This included greetings cards, prayer mats, decorations and project work.
The multi sensory assembly included music and dancing and finished with everyone tasting and smelling the range of foods, herbs and traditional ingredients brought in for them to...
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Mary Rose School plays the Blues with the Oily Cart Theatre Company
Sunday, October 7th 2007
Oily Cart create theatre for young people with complex disabilities, using mutli-sensory techniques such as water and bubbles, paper fans, perfume sprays and ultra violet lighting. They claim to give every young person a unique experience and we can vouch fro that…..
When Oily Cart came to Mary Rose the moved into the school hall and prepared a set that was a train station waiting room. All the cast had a suitcase or trunk with them. All the pupils took a 'blues box or bag' with...
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The Royal Marine School of Music comes up trumps
Sunday, October 7th 2007
Members of the Royal Marines Band visited us to present a cheque towards our bid to become a Specialist Sports College.
We are the first Special School in Portsmouth to bid for Specialist College Status and to qualify from substantial government funding, we need to self-raise £20,000 from local businesses sponsors and from individual donations.
The Royal Marines raised over £2,000 from audiences at their concerts around the country. Colonel Chris Davis, the Principal Director of...
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Cook up a curry -and don�t forget that secret ingredient...
Sunday, October 7th 2007
A few days ago a Royal Marines Chef just happened to pop in a cook up a curry with some of our lucky pupils and staff. During the afternoon all 14 pupils made a chicken curry, learnt about healthy eating (especially breakfast) and found out how to live on rations. In fact not only did we see ration packs, we also cooked and tasted them – the baked beans went down a treat!
Supported by our chef and Mike and Ian from the Royal Marines everyone managed to make and taste their own curry...
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Harvest Festival, September 2007
Sunday, October 7th 2007
Mary Rose School and The New Horizon Special School in Accra, Ghana.
This year we supported New Horizon Special School in Ghana. It is a special school for young people with learning disabilities from the age of 2yrs to 40yrs. They do not receive any funding from the government and are entirely dependent on charitable donations. The children pay to go to school and have to be able to provide themselves with basic items in order to attend the school. Some of our class groups are setting...
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September 2007
Walking our way to health
Friday, September 21st 2007
What better way to get fit and raise money for our school at the same time? Mary Rose pupils, staff, parents and friends had a great morning walking round our school grounds wearing the most fantastic fancy dress costumes. Pupils and staff were all set the challenge to arrive dressed as a character from a favourite book, film or TV programme, and boy did they go to town. We had everything from Junglebook to our very own team of Pink Ladies, just take a look in our gallery if you would like...
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July 2007
Mary Rose Celebration Prom
Saturday, July 21st 2007
What a wonderful evening! The Mary Rose Celebration Prom was just fantastic, a really splendid occasion enjoyed by all. Just look at the smiling faces, the ‘posh’ clothes and of course the stretch limo ………… very cool Ian!
Students and their families from Year 11 upwards came along to celebrate their successes and to mark the next phase in their lives. Six students were saying good bye and another 15 were celebrating the completion of their Year 11...
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Mary Rose Sports Day
Wednesday, July 11th 2007
Well if it’s a Question of Sport then try Mary Rose Sports Day
It was a major organisational exercise but somehow we managed to move our whole school down the road to St James’s Hospital cricket pitch for what turned out to be a fantastic Sports Day. The week before it rained every and we had nearly given up hope – but then lo and behold, the sun came out on the Monday and by Tuesday the ground was dry and we were all set.
At 7.00 am staff and volunteers from the Royal Marines...
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Summer Show
Wednesday, July 4th 2007
Staff and pupils were presented with quite a challenge this term. They were given one week to produce a high quality, exciting and fun show involving all pupils in the school – the theme was Under the Sea. Being Mary Rose everyone of course rose to this challenge and produced a fantastic performance.
Our parents were invited and they really enjoyed seeing their children do so well and enjoy themselves to the full. I’ve never seen so many mermaids in one place and their...
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June 2007
Mary Rose School v Cedars School
Tuesday, June 26th 2007 - Michael Powell
On June 26th 2007 Mary Rose School participated in their first ever, football match against Cedars School in Southampton.
The game was played in a friendly manner, It was 20 minutes each way.
The game started off with Mary Rose School taking the lead, when William Palmer scored.
Then Cedars School equalised with a penalty just before half time, the end of the 1st half finished 1-1.
The second half started with Cedars School taking the lead, then 4 minutes from time Michael...
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May 2007
Ready Steady Cook with Sharks and Dolphins (Sharks)
Sunday, May 20th 2007
On Monday afternoons some of Sharks and Dolphins join up to take part in their Food Studies lessons. The group have been enjoying the brand new Food Studies room which has fantastic equipment and lots of space.
For the first few weeks we have been learning about all the equipment we have and how to use it safely. We have made lots of tasty dishes such as milk shakes, open sandwiches, fruit salad and dips and dippers. We have learnt which foods are healthy and we have sorted foods into categories...
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Ready Steady Cook with Sharks and Dolphins (Discovery)
Sunday, May 20th 2007
On Monday afternoons some of Sharks and Dolphins join up to take part in their Food Studies lessons. The group have been enjoying the brand new Food Studies room which has fantastic equipment and lots of space.
For the first few weeks we have been learning about all the equipment we have and how to use it safely. We have made lots of tasty dishes such as milk shakes, open sandwiches, fruit salad and dips and dippers. We have learnt which foods are healthy and we have sorted foods into categories...
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'We Are Sailing'
Sunday, May 20th 2007
The keystage 4 Sport and Leisure Group invited Alison to go along on their boat trip on the River Hamble. This excursion formed part of their regular keystage 4 options and also linked to The Gateway Award, which in some ways is comparable to the Duke of Edinburgh Award.
The group regularly visits the Hamble Outdoor Centre and participates in a wide range of adventurous outdoor activities ranging from archery, climbing/abseiling, boating, using the zip wire and lots more. On this particular trip the...
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'We Can Do Anything'
Saturday, May 19th 2007
On Tuesday May 8th we all sang this song to Ade Adepitan at our official opening ceremony, surrounded by balloons, flowers, colleagues, parents and friends...
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Rock Challenge 2007
Sunday, May 13th 2007
Rock Challenge is a performing arts event which promotes a positive and healthy lifestyle message.
Mary Rose School invited all students from Key stage 4 and 6th form to take part in the very first entry. The students were involved in choosing the theme for the school and selecting the music to be used. The Spinnaker Centre helped us by painting the scenery in their Art lessons, which gave us a wonderful backdrop for our performance.
Weekly practising begun after Christmas, but serious rehearsals...
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April 2007
Ade Adepitan to Formally Open Mary Rose School
Saturday, April 14th 2007
Ade Adepitan is formally opening Mary Rose School on Tuesday May 8th 2007. We are delighted that he has agreed to perform this ceremony and pupils and staff are looking forward to meeting him. He is a great role model for us all and as an aspiring special
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Springfield School Design Technology Project
Tuesday, April 3rd 2007
Year 9 pupils from Springfield School took part in a project which required them to make a game that would make one of our school books more accessible for our pupils.
The project started with Alison, our headteacher making a presentation to the pupils in a Springfield School assembly – describing the kinds of difficulties that pupils at Mary Rose School face when it comes to reading. She also talked about the ways that children learn and the need to ensure that the game was stimulating and...
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The end of the voyage and the beginning of the journey�
Tuesday, April 3rd 2007
The Mary Rose School Artwork was unveiled this week as pupils, staff and parents sang sea shanties and waved flags to commemorate the end of our voyage to the new building.
David Halliwell, the artist who has worked with us since last October was there to ensure that the 15 metre long display of boats entered port safely. As everyone sang sea shanties the enormous length of cloth covering our work of art was gently lowered to reveal the magnificent display of over 300 boats.
The project was designed...
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March 2007
Bikers by the hundred!
Monday, March 26th 2007
Yes they came to see us again. Hundreds of folk dressed in leather and riding fantastic, shiny motorbikes drove into Mary Rose School on Saturday March 24th.
At least 158 motorbikes joined the procession from the centre of Portsmouth to join the Mary Rose Charity ride. The cavalcade was welcomed by pupils and staff from the school and served with hot cross buns and a hot drink. They all brought Easter eggs for the pupils and as if that was not enough they poured all their small change into...
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Red Nose Day � The Big One at Mary Rose
Sunday, March 25th 2007
So what if we had only been open for 3 weeks – that was not going to stop us from raising money for Comic Relief and having a jolly good time as well. On Friday March 16th all our pupils and staff got dressed up, wore red noses and set up a range of fun activities for the whole school. These varied from having your photograph taken and framed to decorating red nose cakes, singing the theme tune and playing games.
Parents came and joined the fun, calling into the 6th form for coffee on the way. We...
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February 2007
Mary Rose Enters Special Olympics and puts up a fight!
Monday, February 19th 2007 - Michael Powell, Goodwood Class
Before I start, just a comment from some of the event staff there this past Saturday, apparently we were the noisiest group there - whether that is true or not I don’t know, but we were excellent supporters!This past Saturday the 10th of February Mary Rose School entered its inaugural special Olympics event held at the Mountbatten Centre in Portsmouth. Below is a synopsis of our performance in the events:Event: Obstacle RelayWilliam Palmer & Bradley Ryder put up a great fight in this race...
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We�re In!!!!!!
Monday, February 19th 2007
On Monday February 19th, 70 staff arrived at Mary Rose North and South with their sleeves rolled up, ready for action. Within 7 hours all the classroom were packed up into boxes and everything was being loaded onto the removals lorries. Staff spent the next 4 days unpacking the 500 boxes and zillions of crates. Each day we met together to discuss important whole school issues such as Health and Safety, Fire Drills, curriculum planning. Each day we also had lunch together and got to know each other...
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New beginnings. Meeting up with our new friends.
Monday, February 12th 2007
During the week beginning February 5th all our new class groups met up with their new staff in their new classrooms. Staff had prepared all kinds of activities to help everyone get to know each other better. They also had a snack (very important) and then went outside and around the school to explore.Everyone really enjoyed their visits and it especially helped those who were feeling a little bit nervous; to relax and feel confident. Every pupil has a transition file with photographs of...
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Pack up your treasures in your new school bag!
Friday, February 9th 2007
On Friday February 9th, Mary Rose School pupils packed their new school bags with all their school things and one special thing of their choice from their old school classrooms.It was a day of excitement and celebration, a day of endings and beginnings and the final stage of our transformation into Mary Rose School.During the day the classes organised class parties, shared breakfasts and had fun choosing that one special thing that they could take with them – and of course this treasure did have to...
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January 2007
Such excitement: Mary Rose pupils visit their new school
Monday, January 29th 2007
Last week a constant stream of pupils went down to their new school for their first visit since virtual completion. Their responses were all you could have hoped for. There were smiling faces, expressions of awe and wonder and we heard phrases like: � t
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December 2006
Mary Rose School, Primary Christmas Rainbow Performance
Tuesday, December 19th 2006
On December 19th 2006, all our pupils in the primary area of the school got together on the North site to perform for our visitors and friends. As with the secondary performance, this was the first time that we had all been together in this way and it was a very special occasion.All our classes from the nursery upwards chose a colour as a theme and either sang or acted out a short piece of drama. The performances were linked together through songs and music supported by the school choir. ...
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Royal Marines Quintet
Monday, December 18th 2006
A group from the Royal Marines School of Music visited Mary Rose School pupils on December 18th. The morning’s concert will live on for a long time with both pupils and staff. The standard of playing was very high indeed and Corporal Long’s presentation of each piece was pitched at just the right level for the audience. After performing and playing some Christmas Carols, showing how each brass instrument sounds, the musicians then mingled with the pupils and encouraged...
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Mary Rose Staff visit our new school
Monday, December 18th 2006
On December 18th 2006, the whole staff went on their visit to the new school together. Over 60 of us were shown round the new building by the architects and other PCC staff who have been closely involved with the project. Staff were quite overwhelmed by the sheer size and the wide range of facilities and resources in the new school building. The highlights on this first visit were the sensory theatre, the soft play room and the hydrotherapy pool. They also enjoyed seeing the...
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MAG Run
Sunday, December 17th 2006
At 2pm on Saturday December 16th there was sudden roar heard all the way up the Eastern Road. A group of excited staff, parents and pupils shared the most incredible moment as 165+ shiny motorbikes, covered with Christmas decorations, drove into the car park on the south site. Many of the bikers and their passengers were dressed as Father Christmas and they all brought gifts for our pupils.The bikers parked up and then came in for coffee and mince pies. Bikers in leather jackets and santa...
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Secondary Carol Concert
Sunday, December 17th 2006
A Mary Rose School first. Staff and pupils from the secondary areas of the school got together for a Christmas celebration with parents and friends on Friday December 15th. This was quite a challenge as we had never met together in such numbers before. About 85 pupils and at least 70 visitors joined together to sing carols and listen to Christmas poems and mini plays. Every pupil was involved and some ventured into a large scale gathering like this for the first time. It was a really emotional...
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Mary Rose Artworks
Tuesday, December 12th 2006
The project brings together the merging schools of Mary Rose School North and South Sites, giving the staff and pupils the opportunity to participate in a large-scale artwork which will be sited on the walls of the main corridor in their new building. The work seeks to not only give the new space a relevant identity but also will serve as a preparation for the schools moving and celebrates their arrival at a new beginning. It is hoped that all pupils and staff will want to take part in the making of this...
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November 2006
Children In Need
Friday, November 17th 2006
Mary Rose School came up trumps on Children in Need Day on November 17th. We raised an amazing £520 and had a good time as well. Pupils on the South Site, led by our very own 6th Form students, organised a range of fundraising activities which took place in the school hall. Everyone had to wear silly socks or pay a fine if they wore boring old plain ones. Parents and friends were invited along and we were delighted with the turn out.Pupils and staff at Mary Rose North were all...
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October 2006
Progress Report
Friday, October 20th 2006
Progress Report on the new building and our plans for moving (highlights from the October Newsletter)
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An Autumn experience for Blue Class North
Friday, October 20th 2006
Blue class wanted to share their autumn project with all our friends who are following the story of the creation of our new school.
This half term Blue Class have experienced autumn in a multi sensory way. We have picked autumn fruits and tasted blackberries – in fact not only have we tasted blackberries but we have squeezed them, painted with them, turned them into smoothies and rubbed them all over our faces!
We have felt the wind blowing across our faces and ruffling our hair and when it...
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Meeting With The Architects
Friday, October 20th 2006
A group of pupils from the North site met with our school architects, Andrew and Ross, to discuss progress with the building. Michael opened the questions, asking how the architects are making sure that our school is properly built – he had heard about the problem with the flooring.A strong debate followed and all the pupils asked lots of searching questions. Josh and Sean were very interested in the plans and identified where their classrooms would be.Andrew and Ross brought lots of photographs...
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C.O.P.S (Council of Portsmouth students)
Wednesday, October 11th 2006
Council of Portsmouth students (C.O.P.S) is a group of students from each secondary school that meet up once or twice a term.
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Allotment Visit for Key Stage 4
Wednesday, October 11th 2006
A group of students who are studying the KS4 Life Management course visited the Radio Solent Gardener Brian Kidd at his allotment in Waterlooville. This term’s course is focusing on fruits and vegetables and is called “Where does our food come from?”We saw many fruits and vegetables growing and tasted strawberries, raspberries, grapes, tomatoes and runner beans – all home grown of course. We also saw hundreds of woodlice enjoying the warmth of the compost heap.
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July 2006
OPENING UP COLLECTIONS � A joint project with The Mary Rose Trust
Thursday, July 27th 2006
You may remember from a previous article that The Mary Rose Trust has obtained a grant to help them to make their collection more accessible to people with learning disabilities. This is a great opportunity for staff from Mary Rose School to work with staff at the Trust to develop some original and innovative ideas.
Work began on July 12th when a group of staff from Mary Rose school, members of the Mary Rose Trust and representatives from Dynavox and Possum Controls got together to draw up an initial...
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Memory Wall Hanging Almost Complete
Sunday, July 9th 2006
The happy band of quilters, have spent two days joining all the squares that pupils, staff and friends have contributed to the wall hanging. The final piece will measure about 10 feet by 8 feet and is truly magnificent - as you can see in the photographs.The memory wall hanging is a significant and unique representation of all that is special about the two schools. This will take pride of place in the new Mary Rose building, displayed for all to see. It will be accompanied by a special book that...
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May 2006
Timing Of The School Day (Updated)
Tuesday, May 23rd 2006
With the opening of a new school we have the opportunity to consider an innovative and creative approach to the timing of the school day -with a focus on the promotion of high quality learning experiences for our pupils and the provision of quality planni
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