Dear Parents/Guardians
Whilst many of our students thrived academically during national lockdowns we were always conscious of the opportunities that we were unable to offer due to the restrictions associated with the pandemic. Since returning to the school site in the Spring term, staff have been planning opportunities for our students so that they can safely engage in our creative curriculum. As a result, we were active participants in the online Arts Festival #EduArtsFest where we showcased our students’ artistic achievements on Twitter using the hashtag #EduArtsFest. The Festival of School and College Arts was a joint initiative between ASCL and the Association of Colleges (AoC), Confederation of School Trusts (CST), the Independent Schools Council (ISC), National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), the NASUWT teachers’ union, National Education Union (NEU), the National Governance Association (NGA), and the Sixth Form Colleges Association (SFCA). The festival was also supported by the Cultural Learning Alliance which champions a right to arts and culture for every child. If you have not had the opportunity to see our contributions, I do recommend looking at our Twitter account @StMichaels_SE16.
Our Enrichment and Arts week took place last week. In the meantime, I would like to share creative yet enriching opportunities that families or individuals can partake in during the weekends and / or summer holidays. Please see below and enjoy mapping out the summer break!
Kind regards
Kathleen Faherty
Vice Principal
| Some visual arts activities that Mr Lomax has recommended:
Sculpture in the City is an annual sculpture park that uses the financial heart of London as an outdoor gallery space. The exhibition is completely free and is accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days week. Explore the 19 artworks animating the Square Mile in this year’s edition by taking in part in the activities listed here: https://www.sculptureinthecity.org.uk/educationtype/children-families/ The Serpentine Pavilion (located in Hyde Park) is an annual architectural commission showcasing new temporary buildings by international architects. Open annually from June–October, the Pavilion hosts live programmes and events, including Park Nights. Check out the website to see what’s on for families: https://www.serpentinegalleries.org/ Leake Street Tunnels. Admire the ever-changing street art as you walk through Leake Street Tunnel, the longest graffiti gallery in the capital. This free, open space allows artists to show-off their skills and creations – some of which last for months, days, or even only a couple of hours. Address: Leake Street Tunnel, Leake Street, Waterloo, SE1 7NN National Portrait Gallery in London is currently closed until 2023 for major redevelopment works but there are plenty of activities that children can still take part in listed here: https://www.npg.org.uk/learning/families/ Visit History of Bombs at the Imperial War Museum. Be immersed in this site-specific artwork, as the atrium is given in its entirety to an artist for the first time in the history of the building. Internationally renowned artist, Ai Weiwei’s exhibition History of Bombs draws on the artist’s ongoing investigation into politics and power. https://www.iwm.org.uk/events/ai-weiwei-history-of-bombs |
| Some Musical activities that Mr Laurence has recommended:
https://www.gsmd.ac.uk/youth_adult_learning/junior_guildhall/ https://www.horniman.ac.uk/event/dance-cant-nice-exploring-londons-black-music-spaces/ |
| Some creative activities that Ms Davies recommended:
The V&A museum is the world’s leading museum of art, design and performance. Museum entry is still free but you’ll now need to pre-book a timed ticket online. Over seven miles of inspiring galleries are waiting for you. If you can’t get to the museum yourself you can view the online collection, from ancient Chinese ceramics to Alexander McQueen evening dresses, take an incredible journey through 5000 years of human creativity. https://www.vam.ac.uk/collections?type=featured The Design Museum – Online pre-booking is needed to access the building including free and paid exhibitions.Get on board the temporary displays featuring fascinating work by iconic designer Margaret Calvert and the story of Ai-Da, the world’s first humanoid robot capable of creating artworks. If you can’t make it to the museum you can enjoy a family Create and Make workshop at home. Colour, cut and build to create your own design project. https://designmuseum.org/whats-on/families/create-and-make/create-and-make-at-home |
| Some culinary opportunities recommended by Mr Lewis:
Taste London Discover a tantalising selection of London’s top restaurants at the Taste of London festival in Regent’s Park. Each summer, the park in central London is transformed into a foodie wonderland as London’s best restaurants gather to show off the hottest dishes from their extensive menus.Watch live cooking demonstrations, meet some of the capital’s leading chefs, participate in masterclasses and shop at the food and drink stalls. https://london.tastefestivals.com/ Visit Borough Market Borough Markets rich heritage – around 1,000 years of history – is part and parcel of its appeal, but our focus is very much on the here and now. The Market, which is run by a charitable trust for the benefit of our community, has never stopped evolving. A few decades ago, it was a wholesale market serving the greengrocers of south London; now it acts as a beacon for sustainable food production, short supply chains and social connection, drawing visitors from far and wide. Visit one of London’s street food markets (Time Out) London’s food markets are back. There have been a few casualties (bye, Dinerama and Hawker House…). Still, there’s plenty of choice out there, plus some big new names, like the enormous Eataly at Liverpool Street. On this list you’ll find food-focused markets and food halls (ie, places where you can find something to eat right there and then, not just produce to take home and cook). Whether it’s a quick coffee, lunch-on-the-go or actual proper dinner you’re after, you’ll find it here. https://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/londons-best-street-food-markets-and-food-h |
| Some physical activities that Mr Gavin recommended:
https://www.runthings.co.uk/events/run-around-the-world-2021/?s=08 https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/couch-to-5k-week-by-week/ |
| Some Geographical recommendations from Ms Roberts:
-Free exhibition at the Natural History Museum – Our Broken Planet – https://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/our-broken-planet.html#free-display -Royal Parks of London walking challenge – With a challenging marathon distance of 42km to cover, this challenge is a fantastic test of your stamina and will leave you with an incredible sense of achievement. Starting with Bushy Park and Richmond park, cross the River Thames and head into Chelsea. Little known Brompton Cemetery is our next Royal Park before we reach Victoria Tower Gardens in the heart of Westminster. Following on through St James’s Park and Green Park we reach the iconic Buckingham Palace, before continuing to Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. The route then turns north and goes through Regent’s Park before reaching Primrose Hill, our ninth Royal Park with excellent views of the London skyline. We follow Regent’s Canal east before crossing the River Thames to reach our final Royal Park – Greenwich Park. By the end of the challenge you will have visited each of the 10 ‘Royal Parks’. If you don’t want to do it in a day, try to visit each one over the holiday! Take a photograph at each to prove you did it!
Climate Change – The Facts – BBC https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00049b1 ● On Netflix: |
| Some well-being activities recommended by Ms Chabaud:
The London Borough of Southwark offers a mix of activities for young people in the borough, please see the following link: The London Borough of Tower Hamlet also offers a mixed range of activities for young people, please see the following link: https://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/News_events/Events/Events.aspx Check out the following link for the best parks in London: https://www.timeout.com/london/things-to-do/londons-major-parks Farms: – Mudchute Park & Farm: Pier Street, Isle of Dogs, London E14 3HP. Set in 32 acres of countryside in the heart of East London, the Mudchute is a community charity, with a working farm, stables, and a wide range of educational activities. It is open every day, free of charge. – Surrey Dock Farm: ideal for younger children: Rotherhithe St, South Wharf, London SE16 5ET. A community farm with livestock and crop plants that is open to visitors for free, 7 days a week. London’s best outdoor swimming pools and lidos: – London Royal Docks Open Water Swimming: Dock Rd, London E16 1AH – Parliament Hill Fields Lido: Parliament Hill Fields, London NW5 1LT – Charlton Lido: Hornfair Park, Shooters Hill Rd, London SE18 4LX: https://www.better.org.uk/leisure-centre/london/greenwich/charlton-lido – Brockwell Lido: Brockwell Park, Dulwich Rd, London SE24 0PA – The Serpentine Lido (Hyde Park): https://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/hyde-park/things-to-see-and-do/sports-and-leisure/serpentine-lido More information on: https://www.standard.co.uk/reveller/attractions/london-best-outdoor-swimming-pools-lidos-lockdown-open-a4457736.html Southwark and Tower Hamlet libraries: Southwark libraries are opened throughout the summer break. If your child is into Art, check out the Southwark Libraries Graphic Art Competition 2021: more information on:https://www.southwark.gov.uk/events-culture-and-heritage/36444/14342/southwark-libraries-graphic-art-competition-2021?c=76. Extra activities for young people aged 16 years and over: The National Citizen Service (NCS) Summer Programme: the NCS is designed for 16- and 17-year olds or 15-year-olds who will turn 16 on or by 31 August 2021. Team building activities, learning life skills, doing community action projects. It costs £50 and bursaries are available. For more information on, visit: Becoming a Southwark Young Advisor: https://youngadvisors.org.uk/southwark/
https://www.lovereading4schools.co.uk/
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| Mathematics opportunity recommended by Ms Hayward:
The best enrichment resource for maths is nrich, it has lots of resources but the best for parents maybe the features page. This is where they publish problems for pupils to try and send in their solution. The current focus is to plan strategically, however this changes across the year. |
| Some religious opportunities recommended by Ms Hagan:
https://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en/collezioni/musei/tour-virtuali-elenco.html – virtual vatican tours https://www.westminstercathedral.org.uk/tour.php – Westminster Cathedral virtual tour https://cafod.org.uk/Education/For-young-people/Campaigning-for-young-people – CAFOD environmental campaign https://www.svp.org.uk/light-candle – Light a virtual candle for someone https://www.thefriars.org.uk – visit Alysford Priory for the day |
| Some dramatic opportunities recommended by Ms Main:
West End shows will be opening back up and they can make the most of the day tickets or lottery tickets where they can get a seat in the stalls for £20. Every show varies so please check the website for details and prices. National Theatre Login: https://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/custom-browse?docid=nationalTheatreCollection Username: HXHGYJ Password: VKFFDD Regents Park Open air theatre – https://openairtheatre.com/ Netflix – Shrek the musical live on stage Disney+ – Newsies the Broadway Musical, Hamilton, One day at Disney (looks at the different roles of the people that work for the Disney corporation) |
| Some additional opportunities recommended by Mr Williams:
Crystal Palace Park – SE19 2GA https://www.bromley.gov.uk/crystalpalacepark London’s greatest park, a free open space full of historical quirks to explore. The site of the Victorian Great Exhibition, which burnt down in 1936. You can see the stone remains of Sphinx’s and the old Crystal Palaces foundations at the top of the park. The park includes a challenging Maze. There are a number of life size dinosaurs created in the 1850’s based on the limited fossil records they had at the time, partly with the help of Charles Darwin. How accurate are these compared to what we know today? The Crystal Palace Bowl, a natural Amphitheatre where large open-air summer concerts were held for nearly 60 years, including Pink Floyd, Elton John, Eric Clapton and the Beach Boys. The Bowl hosted Bob Marley’s largest and last ever concert in London on 7th June 1980. This site contains the National Sports Centre, previously a football stadium that hosted the FA Cup Final from 1895 to 1914 as well as Crystal Palace F.C. ‘s matches from their formation in 1905 until the club was forced to relocate during the First World War. Tower Hamlets Cemetery Nature Reserve – E3 4PX https://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/lgnl/leisure_and_culture/parks_and_open_spaces/cemetery_park.aspx Once a Cemetery, meaning people from any religion could be buried here, for East Londoners. Burials stopped in 1966. Since then, the old graves have been overtaken by trees and wildlife. The park is now a nature reserve where you can observe a range of wildlife. The slightly spooky site has been used to film scenes in lots of films and tv series such as Sherlock. Greenwich Royal Parks SE10 8QY https://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/greenwich-park A large Beautiful park to explore London’s Royal past. The meridian line in Greenwich represents the Prime Meridian of the world, Longitude Zero (0° 0′ 0″). Every place on the Earth is measured in terms of its angle east or west from this line. Since 1884, the Prime Meridian has served as the reference point for Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). There are Roman remains by Maze Hill Gate. Anglo-Saxon Barrow Cemetery is an ancient burial ground which dates back to the 6-7th century. It is located at Croom’s Hill, south of The Avenue and west of the Meridian Line. Henry VI seized the estate; it became a popular leisure ground of Tudor Monarchs. The Famous Observatory on top of the Hill was designed by Christopher Wren. In 1850 the park became open to the public, In the 1940s the park had a number of anti-aircraft weapons stationed within it to help protect London from the Luftwaffe. You can see the whole of London’s most important Business district , Canary Wharf, from the top of the hill. The park also includes the amazing Greenwich Maritime Museum, worth visiting when open. Museum of Docklands – E14 4AL https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/museum-london-docklands The closest museum to our school and possibly London’s best museum. There’s an exploration of local history ranging from working life on the docks of Bermondsey to the transformation of Canary Wharf. Parts of old London’s dangerous streets are recreated for you to walk through. London’s links to slavery are not left out as they are in some museums with exhibitions of sugar and the East India Company examining the treatment of people under British rule. Visit the museum’s website to book free tickets. |
