Character Days 2022 – Blog The purpose of our #CharacterDays is to develop our students as well-rounded people, nurturing them to become kind, caring and empathetic young adults who are ready to make a positive impact on the world when they leave Penrice. Below is a timeline/blog providing you with updates across the two days (Thursday and Friday). Body Image Workshop with Brook 15:00pm, Friday 18 November 2022 For our final featured workshop of our Character Days, we headed to the Assembly Hall this afternoon to visit Brook Sexual Health leading a session on Body Image with our Year 8 students. There was plenty of positive, constructive and open discussion with Brook paying close attention to how social media can negatively affect our perception of our own body image. Dental Health Workshop 14:30pm, Friday 18 November 2022 Year 7 students have been learning all about Dental Health including good oral hygiene, dental health and how to access NHS services, the impact of diet and substance use on dental health, and the differences between dentistry for health and cosmetic purposes. A massive thank you to Noah’s Ark Dental (Fowey) for providing free teeth cleaning kits to all students who took part. Applications of STEM Subjects 11:00am, Friday 18 November 2022 A big thank you to Fran and Susi who performed to Year 8 yesterday afternoon with their STEM show on magnets and electromagnets as part of our Character Days. There was plenty of audience participation including cheers and light-hearted (and encouraged) pantomime boos! The whole of Year 8 gave the on-stage duo a rapturous applause at the end of the show. Sponsored by BAE Systems, the Royal Navy and the RAF, the roadshow explored how STEM subjects are applied to careers within the three organisations. For example, did you know that the RAF are developing a technology to launch and land jet planes using electromagnets?! Healthy Choices Workshop 14:30pm, Thursday 17 November 2022 All tutor groups from Year 7 to Year 10 will take part in a Healthy Choices workshop as part of our Character Days. We dropped in on some Year 7 classes this afternoon where there was plenty of engagement and questions from the students. During today’s Healthy Choices sessions, students have explored: What does ‘healthier’ mean? What might make someone more or less ‘healthy’? What choices might they make? How does someone know if they are making ‘healthier’ choices or not? Mini-Medics for Year 7 12:30pm, Thursday 17 November 2022 Our Year 7s have been busy learning how to save a life in Mini-Medics. Taught by Penrice Academy’s First Aid Instructor, Mrs Donna McGrath, the Mini-Medics workshop covers basic first aid with practical, hands-on activities including learning CPR, how to use Defibrillators, and how to perform the Heimlich Manoeuvre. It is the aim that every Year 7 student will have completed the Mini-Medics workshop by the end of their first academic year at Penrice. Last year’s Mini-Medics programme was particularly important when Finlay (now in Year 8) collapsed unexpectedly in lesson. His friends quickly recognised the severity of the situation, raised the alarm and Mrs McGrath was then able to deliver life-saving CPR, successfully using school’s Defibrillator. Careers Talk for Year 9 12:00pm, Thursday 17 November 2022 A big thank you to the course leaders and current students from Cornwall College Group who visited Penrice this morning to talk to our Year 9 students about Post-16 Options as part of our Character Days. From public services to outdoor education and farming to media courses, information was shared on a huge variety of career pathways available to students ahead of when they leave us in Year 11. We are go! 10:45am, Thursday 17 November 2022 Our Character Days for Years 7 – 10 have begun! We dropped in on our Year 7 Anti-Bullying workshops this morning where there was time to reflect and have plenty of deep discussions on the understanding of bullying. There was also an important teaching for students that they don’t need to be the one being bullied in order to report incidents.