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22/11/24

Last night we held our inaugural ARK Awards, celebrating achievement across the school. Well done to all those who received their awards, and thanks to our speaker, Matt Pinkett.#wearevalleypark pic.twitter.com/IT27dZXWcg— Valley Park School () November 22, 2024

19/11/24

Author Luke Palmer workshops with year 9 students, helping them create a ‘matrix of minor misdemeanours’. #creativewriting pic.twitter.com/WDTU61auIG— Valley Park School () November 19, 2024

19/11/24

Today we welcome author Luke Palmer to our school for a series of workshops with year 9. pic.twitter.com/JyHPJusjif— Valley Park School () November 19, 2024

17/11/24

There are many reasons why a student might struggle with attendance at school. Valley Park has a dedicated team to help & support you. To speak to someone, contact us by phone or email & a member of the attendance team will get back to you. pic.twitter.com/wMq7BUhR18— Valley Park School () November 17, 2024

15/11/24

Don't forget, applications for Sixth Form are now open on Kent Choices!#wearevalleypark#wearevalleyparksixthform— Valley Park School () November 15, 2024

15/11/24

Drama and Performing Arts students went to the Marlowe Theatre on Wednesday to watch the poignant musical production Come From Away. An incredibly clever and moving production, inspiring for us all to see. #wearevalleyparkperformingarts#weallcomefromaway pic.twitter.com/PStT4Dom9g— Valley Park School () November 15, 2024

14/11/24

We're looking forward to welcoming you to our Sixth Form Open Evening today, which starts at 5pm. pic.twitter.com/kbUKdAxY57— Valley Park School () November 14, 2024

12/11/24

Year 8 & 9 students joined a Cyber Security workshop led by Baasit Siddiqui from Gogglebox. They learned about cyber security events, threats, and the Cyber Explorers platform. Students enjoyed interactive quizzes and were eager to earn badges. pic.twitter.com/itGYCLfhwu— Valley Park School () November 12, 2024

12/11/24

This Black History Month, students at Valley Park paid homage to the Black unsung heroes of the ‘Wild Wild West’. Read more: https://t.co/ujfOCgICs2 pic.twitter.com/QX9byiX5Zh— Valley Park School () November 12, 2024

11/11/24

Valley Park remembers, lest we forget.#wearevalleypark pic.twitter.com/mSNEqu0n9O— Valley Park School () November 11, 2024

10/11/24

Don't forget to register your attendance for our Sixth Form Open Evening, which is on Thursday 14 November from 5pm. There are two speeches by the headteacher and his sixth form colleagues at 5.15pm and 6.15pm. https://t.co/hold7UCBA2 pic.twitter.com/dUIBkP6XtZ— Valley Park School () November 10, 2024

10/11/24

If a student’s attendance in Term 1 was below 90%, this means that they missed at least 3 days or 15 hours of learning across the school year. pic.twitter.com/KF0LtUP9cE— Valley Park School () November 10, 2024

08/11/24

On Tuesday, Sixth Form IT students attended a masterclass led by Canterbury Christchurch University lecturers. They discussed AI's societal impact, recent advancements, ethics & future possibilities, including the potential for AI to surpass human intelligence pic.twitter.com/08yMGA4D49— Valley Park School () November 8, 2024

07/11/24

Don't forget our Sixth Form Open Evening is on Thursday 14 November from 5pm. There are two speeches by the headteacher and his sixth form colleagues at 5.15pm and 6.15pm. Register your attendance on our website. https://t.co/hold7UC3Ku pic.twitter.com/yX7MnhElya— Valley Park School () November 7, 2024

04/11/24

We hosted the Dementia Action Alliance award event at Valley Park on Monday 21 October. What a wonderful day working with our community to raise awareness of Dementia!#wearevalleypark pic.twitter.com/Ftpxuw4B4q— Valley Park School () November 4, 2024

04/11/24

Our Sixth Form Open Evening is on Thursday 14 November 2024 from 5pm - 7.30pm. If you would like to attend, please register on our website: https://t.co/hold7UC3Ku pic.twitter.com/z7KyMHta9D— Valley Park School () November 4, 2024

17/10/24

Performing Arts Students went to the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury to watch &Juliet, which was absolutely brilliant. The students were so excited by the music, the story and just the sheer joy of the production. #&Juliet pic.twitter.com/t9Cg1IYeDb— Valley Park School () October 17, 2024

13/10/24

In 2019, secondary school pupils who didn’t achieve grade 9 to 4 in English and Maths missed 10 or more days on average during key stage 4 than those who achieved grade 9 to 5 in both English and Maths. pic.twitter.com/gJ78WA9z3c— Valley Park School () October 13, 2024

10/10/24

We look forward to welcoming Year 5 and 6 Students, together with their families, to visit our amazing school today. pic.twitter.com/10oSEnPmvd— Valley Park School () October 10, 2024

09/10/24

Remember, students finish school at 1.20pm on Thursday 10th October pic.twitter.com/X1zv2mcIQ6— Valley Park School () October 9, 2024

07/10/24

Have you booked your place at our Year 5 and Year 6 Open Evening? Book here: https://t.co/hjtqJfXztJ— Valley Park School () October 7, 2024

07/10/24

After a thorough selection process, we're pleased to announce our Student Executive Team for 2024/25: Head Students (L-R) Tom, Maisy, Oliver & Finley. Congratulations to them and all applicants for their hard work and dedication. . pic.twitter.com/tHoZKRmgND— Valley Park School () October 7, 2024

06/10/24

There are many reasons why a student might struggle with attendance at school. Valley Park has a dedicated team to help & support you. To speak to someone, contact us by phone or email & a member of the attendance team will get back to you. pic.twitter.com/Z5lqcknAy3— Valley Park School () October 6, 2024

04/10/24

Valley Park Cascade Dance Company 2024 has been launched! Students from Year 7s to 11 are participating in weekly specialist dance training…watch out for upcoming performances and showcases! pic.twitter.com/MUfxXZPKgF— Valley Park School () October 4, 2024

03/10/24

We have the following vacancies on our website:Teacher of EnglishHead of PEHead of MFL To apply, please go to https://t.co/TzTpHcFgLy pic.twitter.com/Zfj1A3yIi8— Valley Park School () October 3, 2024

Blog

Posted on: April 2nd 2020

Filling the Silence

As the world shuts down and people turn to film, television, music, podcasts and books for entertainment and comfort and sanity, I hope most take note that we do, in fact need the Arts.

@EliseMichaela

After reading this quote on Twitter, I couldn’t help but think how much we’re relying on the Arts right now. Whether it’s listening to the radio to help fill the silence in our offices at home, having the TV on in the background during the day, or signing up to the new Disney+ streaming service - because what better way could there be than to spend the weekend watching Disney films? - we need the arts now, more than ever.

I’ve also noticed that in adapting to ‘home learning’ it’s often the creative tasks that are keeping families working together and having fun, whilst also allowing them to develop new skills. It made me realise how much I miss the practical aspect of my teaching.

When colleagues from other disciplines step into one of the busy studios in the Arts Centre, they’re often greeted by noise: It could be thirty students collaborating on their next Oscar winning performance, music playing a soundtrack to their rehearsals, or even 20 chairs being used as various props, planes, cars or boats. Or all of the above. They often ask ‘How do you cope with the noise in here?’ to which I reply, ‘I’m used to it. I love it!’

The truth is, I miss it more than ever as I teach in my silent home office. 

Teaching over the internet is tough for myself and my colleagues, but we’re definitely rising to the challenge. For me, adapting from a practical subject to mostly theory-based work has been very hard. 

I miss the noise of the studio and the laughter. The laughter the most. 

At least once a day I genuinely cry with laughter at the creativity of our students and their natural comedic abilities: I miss how they try to justify using a tenth chair from the Gallery because they simply ‘Must have a limo in the scene otherwise it ruins the whole piece’; I miss shouting ‘Andy’s coming!’ (from Toy Story) and the students all dropping to the floor pretending to be a toy (because in Drama-land this means ‘Shh! Miss needs to talk!’); but mostly I miss watching students perform in front of the class, gaining confidence each time they do so, and I miss hearing the whoops and applause they receive from their classmates. 

I hope our students are staying creative; performing, dancing and singing. 

I hope our students are continuing to get whoops and applause for the work they’re doing at home.

But even if they’re not, know this: we’re applauding them all for their courage, resilience and hard work.

It helps fill the silence in our offices at home.

 

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