News from Mr Grady
Hello Everyone,
Over the past two weeks, I’ve had the enormous pleasure of popping in to the Food Room, (and alongside Miss Holland, who has worked tirelessly to ensure students could complete this aspect of their course) watching the Year 11 students dish up their final presentation dishes. It has been a melancholic sort of pleasure, as normally, much like Joey Tribbiani from Friends, I would arrive with my own fork, and eagerly ask “what are we eating here..?” It was not a day when I would bring my own sandwiches, but instead when I would get to savour a range of culinary pleasures in wide variety of styles and covering many continents.
This year, due of course to Covid-measures, I can’t move freely around the tables of delicious looking food, nor can I dip my fork into the dishes and sample the students’ work. It is a great shame, as the meals produced have been wonderful – it’s like MasterChef and the Bake off rolled into one – wonderfully aromatic dishes, with herbs and spices from across the globe, delicate pastries, skilfully produced breads and artfully presented menus complimenting each other have been a joy to see, but frustratingly only available to my sight and smell. Tasting, was simply not an option.
And that’s why I say it’s a melancholic pleasure – as it’s a reminder of that most sociable of activities of preparing and sharing a meal, and how we have had to adapt, and I for one have missed gathering of friends and family, the planning, preparation and eating of a meal, with all the chat and interaction that entails.
I am sure the same is true for those of you observing Ramadan at the moment, where the breaking of your fast is not the fully sociable activity it might have been in previous years, and that most wonderful of pleasures, sociable sharing of food has been perhaps a little more curtailed than you would usually like.
Once again, on the horizon, (but not quite here yet) I think we can all see the chance for more sociable gatherings, and the breaking of bread with friends and family, something I am sure we all have all sorely missed over the past year. It is something that I cannot wait to do – the chance to sit around a table, share food, stories and lives with family and friends in a whimsical and unconcerned way.
For now, I shall have to put up with the potential of wonderful food – the Year 11 menus, their mouth-watering smells, and vivid colours will have to sustain me until a little later in the year!
With very best wishes, stay well and safe everyone,
Mr Grady
It has been thoroughly enjoyable to discover more about the Suffragettes in creative ways such as songs, short movie clips and PowerPoint learning. Looking at the movement from a different perspective we have been able to actively contribute and take an opposing opinion on the topic. We were able to debate in class and take our learning out of the class and consider it after the lesson ends. We were debating about whether the Suffragettes were terrorists - which covered racism, sexism and human rights in early 20th century England. It was an extremely interesting topic which made me want to find out more.
With everything going on, stress levels have risen, not just for me, but for many people around me too. Yoga has really helped that worry and stress levels to go down again. Having yoga first period on Wednesday, helps clear your head in the middle of the week, before the rest of the school day. The instructors are lovely and make the lesson exciting and engaging. They taught us how to control our emotions and channel them into focusing for our next lesson. I am extremely grateful for this yoga opportunity and I know my friends are too.
Obviously since lockdown it has been extremely difficult to properly do the lessons and topics we were meant to do, but we have been using different techniques and ways to express theatre without physical contact. The topic was physical theatre, but since the lockdown rules did not allow us to touch, we had to find a way to express the subject with a touch of our own. We went through several stages to be able to complete our final project. Our teacher Mrs Jessop was a huge part in our understanding of drama and she helped us progress even through the struggles of lockdown. Overall, this topic was very enjoyable and I feel as though we were able to express ourselves.
Want to keep in touch?