As part of our pastoral curriculum, students are graded on the skills and qualities they can demonstrate in school and beyond, this is known as MSM Aspire. At the end of each year students have to write a summary of these skills and qualities and how they have demonstrated them in school, the family home and the local community, embracing our school motto ‘Quid Retribuam’ which means ‘how can I repay the Lord?’ or in student language, ‘what can I do to give back?’
These skills, qualities and experiences are delivered to our students through registration time, our PSHCE programme and year team focused MSM Aspire challenges. As a school we strive to provide opportunities for our students to ‘give back’ to the communities we serve and this is another event allowing for this exposure.
The aim is to fund raise for three Leeds based charities, allowing students to experience the value of giving their time for others, which we truly believe is as valuable as the money that they will raise. The three charities that are linked to each year group specifically support many of our students and their families, past and present, as well as the communities in which they live. The charities are:
Leeds Irish Health and Homes, St Gemma’s Hospice and Leeds United Foundation.
Once our students have participated in this event, they can then add this experience to their portfolio of evidence which they need to present towards the end of the year, if they are to graduate into the following year, and gain a good or outstanding grade. This is one of many events that our students will have the opportunity to participate in that are all geared towards ‘giving back’, as this is at the heart of everything we do.
The day involved Year 7, 8 + 9 putting on market style stalls in the main hall, selling everything from hot chocolate to face painting and apple bobbing. Students were encouraged to spend what they could and any money raised by that year group went towards the total for their charity. We also had the Leeds United Foundation working with some of our students and staff in the sports hall, facilitating a penalty competition. Students paid £1 to take 7 shots, one at each of our school goal keepers in Years 9, 10 + 11, one at our staff goal keeper Mr Lawton, one at the Leeds United mascot, one at a speed gun to see how hard students could hit the ball and finally, they had one attempt to see if they could land the ball inside a toilet!
The toilet attempt was aimed at promoting the fund raising a Year 11 student Weza has been doing with Toilet Twinning, which aims to build toilets in areas of the world that don’t have safe places for vulnerable people, including girls, to go to the toilet. Only one student managed to get the ball in the toilet all day!
Over the course of the day, students in Years 7 and 9, who had received less than three negative points via class charts, were invited to spend 40 minutes in the sports hall having several attempts at each of the challenges. All thoroughly enjoyed their time, with many having several attempts at beating Mr Lawton, the staff goal keeper!
On the day the students managed to raise £1,336.00, which is an astonishing amount. This has been added to our total fundraising amount for the term Sept-Dec and brings the total amount raised to : £4,510.
Please could I take this opportunity to thank all the staff and students from MSM, as well as those staff from each of the charities, for all their efforts in making this such a special day.
