On Tuesday the 9th of March Normanhurst Art and Graphics GCSE pupils of Years 10 and 11 made a visit to the Tate Modern Gallery to seek inspiration and ideas for their coursework.

The pupils began by looking at a large installation piece by the artist Miroslaw Balka in which they entered a huge steel container that engulfs the viewer in total darkness. They then visited the galleries containing artwork on the themes of poetry, dreams and material gestures. Each room contained exciting and challenging artworks spanning a wide variety of media. Sadly due to industrial action the upper floor galleries were closed but the pupils still managed record lots of ideas and drawings in their sketchbooks. We began in the dark and left enlightened!
Mr Beint (Head of Art and Design)

Here are some of the pupil’s thoughts on their visit -

“I think it was a really good trip, it gave us the chance to explore things for ourselves, at points there were paintings which i didn’t like at all, such as the abstract ones because they look as if they were made incredibly easily and yet they’re worth a lot. However, I did the like the models that were made to resemble shadows by the artist Alberto Giocommetti and one other painting which had a bridge in it, it gave my own idea for a design. The best part was when i got the opportunity to draw the London skyline from the Tate Gallery Cafe balcony.”
Tom (Year 10 Art)
“I particularly liked the 3rd floor it had a big mixture of contemporary and old school paintings and sculptures which were very helpful to me because I feel sculpting is my strong point. I also did a lot of drawings in my sketch book of pieces that inspired me and this trip helped me find some artists for my final piece.”
Jovanne (Year 11 Art)
“I thought the trip was good. I liked some of the abstract paintings. When you first look at some the paintings they look like a load of random colours and shapes but when you look at them closely you start to understand the meaning in them.”
Natasha (Year 10 Art)
“I really liked the school trip to the Tate Modern. I especially enjoyed the piece on the bottom floor that was a project on darkness, although slightly obscure and hard to appreciate it helped me see that art can be more interactive and real than just a painting or portrait of someone.”
Mitchel (Year 11 Graphics)

The Oak-Tree Group Music and Dance Festival was held on Thursday 4th March 2010 at Chingford Assembly Hall, Station Road, Chingford at 6.45pm. This was the first ever co-ordinated music and dance event involving all three Oak-Tree Schools.

The programme included a variety of vocal and instrumental items, such as ‘Drop in the Ocean’ by Kashif/Stilgoe, ‘Do-re-mi’ from the Sound of Music and ‘I can see clearly now’ by Johnny Nash. A group of Normanhurst pupils performed a dance to ‘America’ from West Side Story, Coopersale entertained the audience with a country and western dance to ‘Cotton Eyed Joe’ and Oaklands performed their dramatic dance entry for the British Red Cross Dance for Life competition, to be held later in the summer term, to music by Michael Jackson. The second half brought all 3 schools together in a large choral arrangement of ‘Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat’.

The evening was a huge success, and great fun for both the participants and the audience.

On Friday 26th February, Year 2, Miss Leggett and Mrs Haslehurst went to the Natural History Museum in London.

We went on the train from Chingford station it was really exciting.  It took a long time to get there.

Finally we got to the museum and saw a big scary dinosaur with pointy teeth.  It was a diplodocus.  I am glad it didn't eat me for his tea! Miss Leggett gave us some worksheets to fill in and we discovered the answers around the museum.  We saw a Triceratops and other moving dinosaurs.  My favourite dinosaur was the T-Rex because it wagged its tail.

The museum was fantastic and we had a great time, but then we had to go home.  So we all got on the train back to school. It was very nice to visit the Natural History Museum and I would like to go again.

by Saleha, Year 2