Community Spirit 4 of our fantastic volunteer students went out with Mr Ryder yesterday to clear some of the local area of litter. Great work and amazing community spirit was demonstrated by all.

Last week our amazing Eco-School volunteers went out in the local area with Mr Ryder to remove any rubbish before spring takes hold and the areas become inaccessible. Also a great opportunity for them to learn about our eco-systems. Fantastic effort from all of those involved, especially given in these current cold conditions.

Year 11 Rugby Premiership Final Winners! Congratulations to our amazing year 11 rugby team who came home with the winners trophy after their matches in the final yesterday against Cornwallis School and St Augustine's School. A special mention goes to Will Watson who received the best player award. He was outstanding and showed fantastic leadership. The students came away from these finals with two performances of which they can be extremely proud. They were outstanding!

Year 12 Debating Society Success On Wednesday, 4 of our year 12 students competed in 'The Great Debate'; a nationally run competition run by the History Society. Students competed as a team, for the first time, to present arguments based on the theme 'Why history matters to me'. The competition took place in Cranbrook School, where they competed with 6 other schools. Incidentally, they were the only non-selective state school in the competition. It is also worth noting that our students have founded and run this society entirely by themselves. They also found the competition and learnt the rules themselves. We are delighted to say that TMS team: Holly Boozer, Toby Wood, Louise Gibbons and Jess Ritchie achieved a very close 2nd place and were commended by the judges as being extremely impressed with their abilities. Congratulations to our fabulous team! If your child would like to get involved in debating, the club runs on Thursday lunchtimes in T17 and is open to all year groups.

Sea Cadet Event Our Sea Cadet Unit will be holding a Bring a Friend Open Night on Monday 16th January from 1530-1730, meeting in the school canteen. This is an opportunity for our current cadets to show the pupils of TMS what skills they have achieved since our relaunch after Lock Down. There is no obligation to join, just a chance for students to see what they do. If they like what they see and want to be a part of it, they can discuss it further with Mr Hammell. If you would like further information, please contact Mr Hammell via email gary.hammell@themallingschool.kent.sch.uk

https://www.themallingschool.kent.sch.uk/page/?title=Gallery+of+Excellence+2022&pid=186

SCHOOL READY TO OPEN TOMORROW (13/12/22) Our site staff have done an amazing job getting our school ready to open tomorrow (Tuesday 13th December) However, as there will still be snow on the ground tomorrow, we want to ensure that all our pupils are warm and safe on the way to school, when walking around the school paths and on the way home. Because of this, if you want them to wear different footwear that is safer and warmer than their normal schools shoes, then please feel free to allow them to do so. The type of footwear they could wear (instead of their regular school shoes) would be walking boots, wellington boots or other outdoor type footwear. Normal trainers will not be a good idea as they will get wet and then their feet will become cold, and this will be very unpleasant for them during the day. Please make sure your child wears a warm jacket so that when they are outside, they do not get too cold or wet. We hope that your child(ren) have been completing the work set for them on Teams etc or participating in any live lesson that their teacher is delivering, and we look forward to seeing them all tomorrow.

We are disappointed to inform you that tonight's performance of Elf has been cancelled, but pleased to say it will be taking place on Wednesday 14th December instead. The cast that would have performed today will perform on Wednesday. Tuesday's cast will remain the same. Anyone who has bought tickets for tonight can use them for either performance instead. If you have bought tickets but haven't received them yet I will get them out to pupils first thing tomorrow morning but the people on the door will have a list as well. Alternatively if you would like a refund please see link to request a refund. https://www.themallingschool.kent.sch.uk/news/?pid=8&nid=1&storyid=54 Tickets are still available to buy through Scopay or can be purchased on the door.

School Closure 12/12/22 Due to the heavy downfall of snow this evening and the expected low temperatures overnight the decision has been made to for The Malling School to move to remote learning tomorrow. (Monday 12th December) This decision has been made following significant concerns on whether staff and pupils can get to school safely and ensure we have time to fully clear our site. Pupils will be set work from their teachers on Microsoft Teams and will start the day with a live remote briefing from their Pastoral Leader at 08:50. The link for the briefing will be sent to pupil emails. We aim to have a small number of staff onsite throughout the day to support a small number of pupils that need to be in school. Please contact reception if you require your son or daughter to attend this provision. The Malling School Mr J Vennart Read more here https://www.themallingschool.kent.sch.uk/news/?pid=8&nid=1&storyid=53

TMS Community Volunteers So far this academic year our fantastic KS3 student volunteers and Mr Ryder have collected over 50kg of litter from the local area and removed 5 wheelbarrows loads of weeds. This week they have been braving the wintery conditions, but are still smiling and whistling as they work!