Iceland here we come...

Found this just to get people excited about the trip of a lifetime....



Hopefully this will inspire the lucky explorers to think about ways in which we will record our journey whilst there. We are looking for creative ideas, if you want to suggest anything that you think we should do to create a way of remembering those amazing landscapes, please drop in to speak to any of us in the department.

Mr J.

Humanities uniting....

Following a quick read of Friday's free digital edition of metro, I stumbled upon this article about a new mapping website looking at where the German bombs landed during the blitz. It is a clear combination of both History and Geography... who said there was a divide? It's amazing to see just the scale of the aerial attacks, lest we forget.....

Taken from bombsite.org, an interactive GIS map highlighting where all the German WWII bombs landed, can you guess this city?

The Geography Camp Dec '12

The Geography Camp Dec '12, a set on Flickr.

Mr J's Photos

The Problem Solving Equation...

Y8; into next year Miss Whetstone launches her Geography Challenge which is a superb chance to solve current issues within the world. This year we will encourage you to solve problems using this equation;

Just have a think about this for now, and try to come up with some geographical issues that you and your peers could solve with a little thought...

The Geography Collective 1

Thanks Alan Parkinson for this review below:

I worked my way up through the southern edge of the Peak District, and then crunched my way through the ice to Gradbach, which was just below Flash: the highest village in Britain, and home to the famous primary school where there was an apocryphal story about the height of the school meaning that staff members would need a mountain leadership certificate to supervise the playground.

We had the whole of the mill to ourselves, so I got settled into my room and set up some of the communal spaces. We had around 30 people booked in, and I welcomed the first arrivals and we got settled in for a weekend of exploration. Dan's arrival with all the food for the weekend, and a packed car load full of props and equipment sparked a few hours of activity as we set up the creative spaces, and put up the calendar for the main days. There were boxes of Mission:Explore Food books - a copy was included in the fee for the weekend, costumes and wigs, board games, mustaches, inky pens and stamps and various other geography goodness.

Menah started on the soups for the evening meal, and the venue filled up. Conversations were starting quickly, and it was clear that we had assembled a wonderfully varied mix of people: therapists, artists, geographers, teachers, educators, PhD students etc.

The venue was out of mobile phone range and there was no WiFi which helped everyone to 'switch off' and tune in to the events that were planned.

The first evening was mostly about socialising and meeting people and starting to make connections. There were some excellent soups first of all, with crusty bread, and the wine and beer was flowing nicely.

There was a classroom space with a theatre-like ambiance and we set that up for a first meeting and introductions, and a pub quiz, which my team won of course ;)

I went for a walk up the frozen hillside to find a signal to phone home, and the grass was frozen and sparkling under a full moon. Watched planes on the approach to Manchester airport, and took a few photos. Really pleased with how some of them turned out....

I then went back to the Mill to drink and chat until the early hours, before heading for my top-bunk bed...

The Geography Camp....

Well what an all round awesome weekend, full of philosophizing, debating, creating, drawing, searching, hiding, seeking, singing, dancing, painting, laughing, presenting, walking, slipping, freezing, exploring and a little bit of sleeping. For my class who thought I was "bunking off," school; this event is hopefully the first of many where geographers get together and discuss the future of the subject.

I will give you a run down on what other people thought about the event, using some pictures and general comments knocking around on the interweb. The majority of the information is from a geography hero called Alan Parkinson, Alan previously worked for the GA (Geographical Association) and he gave a presentation based on the new curriculum for KS3. This review will be pivotal for the future of the subject, and we need your comments and opinions on what you think should be taught within school. If you want to reply, feel free to write a comment below....

Mr J.

Utilise the Library

You will start hearing Humanities teachers soon becoming expert English teachers, and demanding that we work on something that is know as "SPaG," Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar. This is because the government has recently introduced new examinations with additional focus on our ability to use the written word. However it is also a whole school target, and we as staff are brushing up on "crossing our T's and dotting our I's," in order to promote literacy within all subjects.

Why is this important for Geography? Well marks are now given in all GCSE examinations and the idea of synoticity in A-Level is a key issue, therefore it should be at the forefront of all teaching and learning. Following personal experiences at school, the best way (only my opinion, others may vary) is to READ more.

Yes guys it really is as boring as that, but reading opens up the mind. Unlike lessons where you must sit and listen to us droning on and on....you can decide what to read. So put down that Nuts magazine, throw away the Hello and explore the library. One of my biggest regrets is not using the school library, and The Hayfield has one of the best in the business, especially the journals. Sometimes you find things that are not even from our subject...