See you in 2015

Michaelmas Term is over, and the Lent term ahead, when this blog will return.
Have a peaceful Christmas break...
Here's an image from Ronald Lampitt, one of my favourite illustrators...

World's deepest cave

Reading earlier about the Krubera-Voronya Cave.
It takes weeks to get to the bottom of it apparently...

Questia Library

As part of the school's provision for students, the Senior school now has access to Questia Library, which is intended to support access to documents and books for students working at a high level, who may also need to do some research and cite particular documents.

There is a large Geography library of over 4000 items...
These include journals, books and other items.
This is a great addition to geography studies.
Let me know if you find any particular great and useful resources.

Postcards from Antarctica

Antarctica attracts tourists in large numbers...
One of the places that tourists visit is Port Lockroy.
How does the arrival of so many people impact on the continent ?

Check out the work of the Antarctica Heritage Trust (AHT) in this area, in protecting special places.

Also on the Google Cultural Institute, there's a useful set of links to some of the places that are specially connected to the heroic age of Polar exploration, such as Scott and Shackleton's huts.

500 posts

I started this blog to support students, and also share some of the hard work that we are doing in the Geography department at King's Ely. It goes alongside the other work that we do to support students, with the Firefly pages: a growing resource now that the platform is able to offer a range of new interactive elements and allow us to share materials more flexibly.

We've now reached 500 posts as we move towards the end of the Michaelmas Term, which has been really busy and positive.

Thanks to all colleagues who have been involved in supporting the students, and also helping me settle into the school.

And also to Mrs. Pearce and our buddy groups for their excellent performance today of 'Frosty the Snowman' which helped us win the Xmas Factor Carol singing earlier today....

And thanks to you for visiting and reading...

King's Ely in the Independent

It was good to see a long piece on King's Ely in the Independent newspaper at the end of last week.
The report focussed on the school's use of technology, and said some very nice things about what we do, and mentioned some work done by specific teachers, including Mr. Marshall and Mrs. Oldham.

Read the report HERE.

Good to see some of my colleagues featuring in the article for their work on Good2Go and the International Schools Award.

A few quotes...

The King's School, Ely...is gaining a reputation as one of the leading exponents of using modern technology in the classroom – a mix of ancient and modern, if you like.

"Lots of schools teach children from three to 18 – but we have made it so the educational provision is just continuing all the way through. I have heard it said that sometimes schools can lose six months in progress in the transition between primary and secondary school. That won't happen here – we move seamlessly from one year to the next year."

And, it would seem, they also move just as seamlessly from the ancient world of academe to the new world of technology."

A flag for Cambridgeshire

Many counties have a flag, but Cambridgeshire currently doesn't have one.
We've been contacted to see if you want to vote for your favourite from the 6 designs that have been put forward.

Go here to cast the vote for your favourite...

Antarctica Day

December 1st is Antarctica Day.

Antarctica Day was inaugurated in 2010 to celebrate the 1^st December 1959 signature of the Antarctic Treaty, which was adopted "with the interests of science and the progress of all mankind." Antarctica Day was initiated by the Foundation for the Good Governance of International Spaces (www.ourspaces.org.uk) as an annual event to build global awareness of this landmark institution, celebrating this milestone of peace in our civilization with hope and inspiration for future generations.