#Church #furniture #Altar New Hall School Newsletter

Just received a really nice email from Mrs Jacqué McGlynn HEAD OF MIDDLE SCHOOL GIRLS, LAY CHAPLAIN PREPARATORY DIVISION and SACRISTAN @NewHallSchool

Jacque sent me what she wrote for the newsletter:

New Altar for the Preparatory Divisions

We are pleased to inform you that we have a new bespoke Altar in the Preparatory Divisions Hall, now known as the Denford Hall.

The Altar was designed by Mr Joe Early, a former member of staff who taught DT at New Hall. Mr Early also made the bespoke Processional Crosses and stands, used in both the St Francis Chapel and the main Chapel in the Senior Divisions building, as well as the unique Baptismal Font in the main Chapel.

Everything that Mr Early creates has a story and meaning; for example, if you look closely at the Altar, you will see that he has designed the front to represent Jesus’ arms outstretched on the Cross. We are very grateful to Mr Early, who understands our ethos, and feel privileged that in respect of this, he produces items that are distinctive to New Hall.

 

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#altar

If we weren't all consumed by Brexit

If we weren't all consumed by Brexit

we could be...

Building a better future,

and helping refugees.

Protecting the environment from Donald Trump

and growing far more trees.

Planning for AI,

By regulating I.T.

Fixing divisions in society,

caused by austerity.

Bringing hope to sink estates,

in cycles of poverty.

Taxing big business

and support creativity,

by helping entrepreneurs

provide job security.

 

If we weren't all consumed by Brexit

We could be...

Building houses for Millennials,

without burden of the past.

Tackling directors pay,

sailing at full mast.

Fixing public services, the NHS

education and fast.

Instead we struggle with negotiations,

looking likely we'll come last.

 

For now I look on at Mrs May

and think why breakaway

from several decades of union,

that is still serving us today?

 

#Mexican #Standoff

I am working on a new piece of #wallart about the Mexican Standoff with #NorthKorea. #missile #japan #peacock 

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#Eclipse #signed #artwork

 #Eclipse limited edition #oak #wallart #sculpture on sale now. #Eclipse2017 @SaatchiArt

https://www.saatchiart.com/art/Sculpture-Eclipse-limited-edition/1014298/3764940/view

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#White #Vinyl #option

We now have an option for white vinyl in addition to our black vinyl numbers and letters on our #house #signs.

 

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Eclipse

Conspiracy theorists predict that the 2017 eclipse could bring about an apocalypse. Should we be more concerned by nature or ourselves at the moment?

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It has been 10 years since the financial crisis began. The events of this year have been quite extraordinary, evidence and reason have been ignored and emotion has governed the response. 

In the long term sea levels are rising, erratic weather conditions continue, crops are suffering and some areas of the world will reach unliveable temperatures in the next 20 years. Environmental issues continue to be the biggest threat to mankind and yet they have slipped off the agenda. 

Trump's disregard for the Paris Climate Agreement represents a towering ego with no respect for the forces of nature. His inflammatory words to North Korea demonstrates a total disregard for diplomacy. Europe's delayed response to the refugee crisis highlighted a worrying lack of compassion. The UK's bury your head in the sand focus on vintage nostalgia and a Royal Britannia ruling the waves sound bite message have all shown a concerning diversion away from the bigger long term picture. 

The focus has been inward looking and self preservation has prevailed.

Will the eclipse next month offer fresh perspective?

It's time to wake up, leave the hangover behind, stop building walls to protect the past and start building for the future. 

#Madetomeasure #shelving

We make #oak #hall #shelves for #trophies, #ornaments, #photographs or #flowers and can adapt shape and #dimension to your requirements.  

 

 

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#Eclipse shelf 

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#Swan song shelf 

#Madetomeasure #bed

We #tailor make #furniture to your sizes. This #bed #frame was made to fit this space over a staircase to make this space more useable. 

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Combined with a specific sizes memory foam mattress and a set of steps to climb up, it has transformed this small room.

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Breathe Coffee table

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#Breathe #oak #Coffee #table come on sale on our www.earthome.co.uk at the end of this week.  

A simplified version of a #lung shape, #breathe is a symbolic reminder to take time out and take stock. In the craziness of the #modern #world I sometimes need reminding.

It can be purchased as a single table or a pair of tables. It is very versatile for modern living, it can create several arrangements as a coffee table or can be separated as side tables.

Design Development

At Earthome we also offer a #design #development #service where we can create a #3Dvisualization #model and or #prototype your ideas.

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Our 1st workshop

I found this image yesterday of our first workshop a 3m by 3m log cabin that I constructed one summer. It was at the end of our garden in Fingringhoe near Colchester. This is where it began back in 2010, and a lot of our initial range of products were dreamed up and made in there. I have fond memories of being full of hope and big dreams. 

#workshop #logcabin #startups 

Concerned by the drop in number of students taking Creative subjects in Schools. I thought I would write to my local MP.

Tuesday 27 June 2017

Dear Priti Patel,

EBacc is toxic for the creative subjects in schools. This was a big mistake by Michael Gove and needs to be rectified. I was disappointed to read this article in the TES and see the facts of the impact of EBacc and the unhelpful comments made by Mrs Morgan when she was education secretary that has led to a reduction in the number of students taking the creative subjects for the second year running.

https://www.tes.com/news/school-news/breaking-views/governments-squalid-targets-have-forced-arts-retreat-schools

In the light of the future that we face where artificial intelligence and more immediately the retreat from the single market will change the shape of the job market in this country in ways that we don't know about yet. AI has already started changing the insurance business in Japan as computers do more to decide the impact of claims. Now more than ever before we need students who are resilient, flexible, creative and sociable in order to enter an uncertain job market. All schools today face great challenges to cope with the rapid pace of change and the huge amount of information that is created. How do governments decide what is important, how do exam boards decide what is relevant for all pupils to learn, and how do schools adapt? The current government’s approach seems to be more of a nostalgia approach to education and moving schools away from the very thing that students will require in the future. The reduction in numbers of students taking the creative subjects and Modern Languages must be reversed and as soon as possible. These subjects are incredibly valuable for not only broadening students perspective of the world but developing us as unique individuals. If we are to compete with robots we need to be different to computers, our USP is our humanity, our individuality and our ability to connect with people. As educators along with developing the core skills we should continue to nurture the soul, feed the imagination, the individuality, encourage empathy and teach students how to decide for themselves whether information is relevant and from a trustworthy source. Especially in the light of fake news and this new wave of populism.

As a teacher of Design and as a designer in my own right. I would appreciate it if you could air my frustrations in parliament to your colleagues in the education department. Can you try to get them to see the damage they are doing to students by reducing opportunity. These students will need to draw on these broader skills and experiences in their future. They could also be potential talent to enter the fastest growing sector in the UK's economy, the creative industries.

Yours Sincerely

Joe Earley

Designer and teacher of design

 

The patronising political response (below) I received was incredibly frustrating, and has left me feeling even more concerned. As an industry it is our duty to make more noise about this...

 

Dear Mr Earley,

4 July 2017 Thank you for your email dated the 27 June 2017 regarding the EBacc qualification and the creative industries.

I recognise how the creative industries play a vital role in upholding Britain’s cultural and economic health. Employing upwards of 1.7 million people and adding in the region of £77 billion to the UK economy, the creative industries have outpaced growth and job creation in many other industries. Only a few years ago, almost 9% of Britain’s service exports were from the creative industries, and according to the consultancy firm Portland Communications, the UK ranks number 1 in the world for foreign diplomacy through cultural influence, known as ‘soft power’.

The concern that the EBacc will drive pupils away from creative subjects at GCSE has been made vocally by the media, but proven to be unfounded. As you know, the EBacc covers a core set of 5 subject blocks - English, maths, science, humanities and languages - but this allows most pupils to choose a number of additional GCSE options.

Since the EBacc measure was introduced in 2010, total entries for arts GCSEs have actually increased over that period despite a small decline in year group population, and the percentage of pupils entered for at least 1 arts GCSE has also increased. While the EBacc rightly focuses on the core academic skills that employers and higher education institutions value, pupils will still study a broad curriculum - the EBacc doesn't exclude or undermine other subjects such as arts.

Every child should have access to the best opportunities in Britain, and this means having access to study the key subjects that provide the knowledge and skills young people need to succeed and leave school ready for life in modern Britain. I am very pleased that Ministers want to see 90 per cent of children who started secondary school this year study these core subjects to GCSE level as part of the EBacc.

The proportion of pupils in state-funded schools entering at least one GCSE in an arts subject has increased since the EBacc was first introduced, rising from 45.8 per cent in 2011 to 49.6 per cent in 2015. In addition, key skills from the core subjects are important for broader study - for example, history and maths underpin economics; and the study of English links to drama.

Once again, thank you for taking the time to contact me and I trust that this letter will reassure you of our commitment to drive up standards in education for every pupil. If I can be of any further assistance to you on this matter, or any other, please do not hesitate to contact me again.

Yours sincerely,

Rt Hon Priti Patel Member of Parliament for Witham

Essential Creativity

https://gsa.uk.com/2017/01/creativity-essential-students-curriculum-robot-revolution/

15% off Xmas discount

We are offering a Christmas discount of 15% when you place an order over £20 on our website, www.earthome.co.uk
Just use XMAS 2016 as the code when you checkout. This offer will run out on the 26th December 2016.

Vote Labour

 

Vote labour to establish fairness in society, bring a reality check to education, to save the NHS and encouragement for creative industries