Leavers’ Ball at the Venue
Stanfield’s Road to Rio Carnival
Stanfield’s Road to Rio carnival took place on Friday 1st July 2016 as a way to celebrate the end of term and also the upcoming Olympic Games in Rio.
In the week leading up to the Carnival, the children found out interesting facts about the Olympics, researched the history of the Games and also located Brazil on the world map.
Each year group chose a country to represent in the Carnival and made a hat or headdress from that country. Reception children made their own crowns for team GB and Year 5 Laurel Wreaths for Greece. Year 2 made some fabulous matador hats for the Senors and the Senoritas wore fans in their hair. Year 1 children designed their own Statue of Liberty hats in red, white and blue to represent the USA. Year 4 girls had brightly coloured feathered headdresses for Mexico and Year 3 made traditional Australian cork hats.
On the day of the Carnival the weather was kind to us in the morning. The children had a variety of sporting activities outside. They had their faces painted, played parachute games and there were many craft activities happening thoughout the school.
A highlight of the day was the samba drumming workshop with Steve Rivers. The children experienced the different sounds of the drums and percussion instruments that would be heard in a traditional Rio Carnival. The children made a lot of noise!
All children had a dance workshop and learnt a dance to represent their chosen country. They only had 45 minutes to learn the dance but had lots of fun in the process.
Unfortunately it rained for our parade but it did not dampen our spirits. The children happily paraded down the playground, wearing their hats with big smiles on their faces. The parents greeted them with lots of cheers and clapping.
The year 4 girls opened our ceremony by performing a dance choreographed by Mrs Owen. Each year group in turn then performed their dance and sang a song.
Whilst we were all a little soggy by the end, it was a thoroughly enjoyable day and lovely to see the whole school perform together.
Alan Hunter (1940-48) – The Junior Training Corps
In Merchants’ Tales, summer 2015 edition, there is discussion on the Officers’ Training Corps (O.T.C.) and the Combined Cadet Force (C.C.F.) However, between the two was the Junior Training Corps (J.T.C.) From here I call on memories and all relies on the accuracy, or otherwise, of these memories.
The J.T.C. was formed in the early days of W.W.II, replacing the O.T.C. At the same time the 1914-type uniforms, including puttees, were superseded by battledress. Captain (‘Reggie’) Hargreaves was in charge, though he retired on the return, from war service, of Major Ken Bowman and ‘Twig’ Gribble. Jeanie Pattinson, Lt. Col. Gribble’s daughter, shared memories of her father in the summer 2015 edition.
It is my recollection that joining the Corps was not compulsory but the majority of pupils did so. Parades, the last part of Tuesday and Friday afternoons, ran on to 4.30pm: school normal finishing time was 4.10pm.
Mr Winhall was in stores and issued uniforms. We supplied our own boots. Mr Cooney ran the indoor rifle-range somewhere in Crosby. The •303 rifles had •22 bores. Firing with standard •303 rifles took place at Altcar Rifle Range. ‘Tug’ Wilson seemed to be in charge. I believe he was on the school ground staff, as was Mr Kito (‘Amos’) who was also involved with J.T.C.
Regular Army personnel examined us in Certificate A, parts I and II. I obtained the rank of Lance-Corporal and had ideas of an army career. I was advised against it; good advice for someone with short sight and well below average in sport.
When I first joined the J.T.C. we had Field Days: Annual Camps were only held after the war. The one I attended was at O.C.T.U. Eaton Hall, Cheshire. We were instructed by newly commissioned officers. In our hut I was Lance-Corporal to Sergeant (Gillie) Fisher). Our group included Alan Meadows. We met up a few years later when we worked at Coles Nurseries, Town Green, near Ormskirk. Alan had served in Kenya during the Mau Mau troubles.
In addition to the annual camp, one year we were offered week-courses with various units. I chose to join the Royal Engineers (R.E.) at Merebrook Camp near Malvern. Hearing the R.E. March recently, I found myself joining in: “We’re marching back to Merebrook Camp, to Merebrook Camp, to Merebrook Camp, where they don’t know tea from tissue paper, tissue paper, marmalade or jam ….” Cadets came from units all over; one from South Wales was stopped by the Military Police. He hadn’t Cadet Corps flashes up. In those days we wore uniform to and from camp and on parade days. At Merebrook we were involved with such things as Bailey Bridges, explosives of various kinds, making temporary and permanent roads and airstrips.
Another Course was at Longmoor Military Railway, which, to my regret, I wasn’t able to attend. C.C.F. started in 1948, about the time I left MTBS to work in commercial horticulture. I assumed I would be called up in due course, for National Service. However, at that time, two years in agriculture/horticulture was counted as the equivalent. I did twenty years!
Reception Careers Day 2016
Reception have been reflecting on their first year in school and getting ready for moving into Year 1. They didn’t stop there though… they even planned their future careers! From doctors to zoo keepers, a fabulous day was had by all!
Table Tennis England (TTE) U10-U13 Championships 2016
Table Tennis England (TTE) U10-U13 Championships 2016
On the weekend of the 25th June, Rhys Davies took part in the National Table Tennis Championships held at UCLAN, Preston. Rhys began on the Saturday competing with the Under 13s, he delivered three very mature performances to win all three matches enabling him to progress onto the knockout phases, dropping only one set. Unfortunately, he lost his next match in a five set battle and was knocked out of the Under 13’s tournament. However, this meant that Rhys was able to get some rest before the U12’s tournament on the Sunday, where he was seeded 3rd.
Rhys dominated his group, winning all three matches and due to his seeding secured him a place in the last 16, with the advantage of watching his prospective opponents. Rhys’s last 16 match was against the 12th seed, a player from Yorkshire, with the game being streamed live by TTE. Rhys stepped up putting on a spectacular performance against a difficult opponent to win 3-0.
The quarter final was against the 5th seed, a player from Cambridgeshire, who had beaten Rhys in their last encounter. Rhys again dominated his opponent in the first two sets, before unexpectedly dropping the third. However, Rhys showed utter determination, bouncing back to win the fourth set 11-2 and secure a place in the semi-final.
The semi-final was again streamed live by TTE and Rhys was up against the red hot favourite of the competition, and silver medal holder in the Under 13’s category, Jamie Liu. Jamie took the first state 11-5 before Rhys bounced back taking the second sent 11-7 with an array of attacking shots. The third set was crucial and was tied at 9-9, before Jamie took the next two points to claim the set, before finishing off the 4th set and taking the game. Rhys put on a fantastic fight pushing all the way, reaping the rewards with an impressive bronze medal finish.
Next step for Rhys is the England Training Camp in August, whose Head Coach was at the competition. He provided Rhys with feedback and suggestions for improvements.
World Ju-Jitsu Federation Kinenbi 2016 – 14th May 2016
World Ju-Jitsu Federation Kinenbi 2016
The World Ju-Jitsu Federation marked their 40th anniversary celebrations here at the Ian Robinson Sports Centre on the 14th May. The celebration featured demonstrations of unique and fascinating techniques from international instructors to an eager crowd, of young and old.
Liverpool Model Railway Society’s Exhibition April 2016
Liverpool Model Railway Society’s Exhibition 2016
The Ian Robinson Sports Centre had the pleasure of hosting the Model Railway Exhibition in April 2016. The exhibition showcased some of the highest model railway standards, as well as providing the opportunity for everyone to learn from established model railway enthusiasts from around the North West.
“A friendly, family orientated model railway show for all members of the public. Good, simple fun in wonderful surroundings.” Chris Hewitt
Merseyside Science and Technology Challenge Day
This week 12 boys from Year 8 were selected to represent MTBS in the Merseyside Science and Technology Challenge Day at Liverpool John Moores University.
They were required to work on four practical applied science and technology related challenges, and faced strong competition from other regional schools.
During the day, our students were able to experience working in a university setting and proved themselves highly adept at fostering teamwork when required to work with students from other schools.
Our students took part in a robotics coding task, where they had to program a robot to navigate an obstacle course. They also attempted an E-fit task, using advanced software to recreate a suspects’ image after a simulated crime. They were required to engage with a highly technical medical diagnosis task, and later charged with designing and constructing their own vehicles to take part in a race.
We are proud to announce that an MTBS team came first in the robotics coding challenge!
What to do with the rest of your life – Stuart Macdonald
In the last edition of Merchants’ Tales, Stuart Macdonald shared some information about his career path since leaving school which has culminated in him becoming a qualified International Mountain Guide. He lives in France but on a recent trip back to the UK, he included a visit to school. As well as taking a look around and sharing some of his memories with staff, he addressed the pupils in an assembly and then joined in teaching sessions on the basic techniques of climbing with small groups of boys using the climbing wall attached to the Schools’ Sports Centre.
The focus of Stuart’s talk in assembly was ‘What to do with the rest of your life’ and he made reference to some of the decisions he had made about his career. Very early on he realised how much he enjoyed outdoor life, travel and adventure. His involvement with CCF gave opportunities for him to explore these and, when it came to him making a decision about a career, the army seemed to give him the chance to pursue them further. He took the step to move on from the army when his responsibilities were taking him away from the things that he loved most and being replaced by desk duties involving more paperwork! This was the time to rethink, get out and do something different. He emphasised that it is never too late to change direction.
He chose to redirect his career towards mountain climbing having enjoyed doing this in the past. To gain the qualifications to be an International Mountain Guide meant personal sacrifice for three years, living very simply and using his savings, but he now has a job that he loves and a lifestyle that gives him a lot of space for other priorities in his life.
In summary, he referred to the illustration of the Jar of Life given by motivational speakers. By filling a jar with firstly large pebbles (representing the most important things in your life – such as happiness, health, family), then medium sized pebbles (the additional things that carry significance for you – your work, hobbies) and then sand (the extras that carry least importance – social media, video games, etc) which will fill all the tiny spaces that are left, your life can be well balanced and fulfilled. If you fill your life with large amounts of the extras first, then there will not be enough room to include all the more important things in life.
People are motivated by different things. Life is finite, just like the capacity of the jar. Stuart asked ‘What are your priorities in life?’
Juniors’ Science Day at MTGS
Juniors’ Science Day at MTGS
This term Junior classes have visited the Physics department to extend their learning on the topics of Light, Forces and Electricity.
Both Year 3 classes spent an afternoon at MTGS for a ‘light and shadows’ lesson. The girls had a great a time comparing and describing different materials and their reflectiveness. They then observed how mirrors worked and had a go at mirror writing. Finally, they learned about the reverse images created by concave surfaces such as table spoons, completing complex diagrams and labeling them with scientific vocabulary. They learned a lot and enjoyed the experience too.
Year 5 enhanced their work this term on Forces. They carried out a range of different investigations learning about simple machines and using levers, pulleys, cogs and gears. The girls also rose to the challenge to create posters about the forces at work in a machine and had lots of fun comparing the effect of pushing doors near the hinges then near the handles.
Year 6 classes enjoyed an electricity lesson where they learned the scientific symbols for components in a circuit. They constructed various challenging circuits containing bulbs and switches and observed the effect on the light of a bulb when more were added to the circuit; the girls discovered the light grew dimmer. Their challenge then was to keep the number of batteries the same but add extra bulbs without the light from each bulb dimming. After mastering a simple circuit they progressed to constructing parallel circuits and successfully completed the challenge. The session ended with a lively game of electric bingo, giving the girls the chance to show off their new scientific vocabulary and knowledge of the topic and symbols.
Year 6 – Electricity
Year 5 – Forces
Year 4 – Shadow and Light