GCSEs during COVID-19

Hi, I've decided to talk about what's happened with GCSE's due to the exams being cancelled and what we think about it because I feel not enough has been said about exams making many unsure about what to expect.

I'm one of many people who has had there exams cancelled due to this worldwide pandemic and like many others I didn't fully understand what was being done about it. After schools were temporarily closed and exams were cancelled my brother has been doing his home schooling and I've been sitting around unsure of what my results will be. For many the wait between the last exam and results day feels like a long one and for the people who have it this year it feels like forever with an extra 3 months waiting, no one you can visit, no little trips out or longer ones, and some that you can only go to when you're this age will never happen e.g. NCS. But in other ways I've found it easier, no stressing about the exams or revising for hours on end but at the same time it does feel like a milestone has been lost. Another thing which could be a positive is you know roughly what your results will be because you know what you got in your mocks and how good your coursework was although all that means is because I know I've failed my English I'm just waiting for it to be on paper.

Lots of things have been going around on the internet recently about what will happen with our results. The best place to look is on the government website. Which now says your results will be based off of many things such as past results from your school but the main two are your coursework and past tests/mocks. As well as this the government has said if you think your results don't reflect you think you should get then you can take a exam/resit on that subject either late this year or sometime next year. You could also ask to change your results which will only be changed by 3% for most but a possible 5% if your lucky, this though will only be accepted if your grade can be changed in this 3-5%.

I've spoken to some of my friends asking  what they think about the exams being cancelled and most of them said there annoyed they didn't know what would happen before our last mocks which for my the school was 2 weeks before schools were closed. Some also said that they didn't like the fact they're going off coursework that wasn't even considered coursework to anyone a month before. A few also said that they wanted to see what grade they got without much last minute revision in the last mocks to see which subjects they had to focus on.

I hope this helped anyone who also had there GCSEs cancelled and if you just came here to read what it's like I hope you now understand a bit more.

-Lily

Some positive stories

With so many updates and information being released about Coronavirus everyday, positive news stories are brushed under the carpet.But they are still there!

Here are some optimistic news stories from the past few weeks:

- In Venice the lock-down has caused a significant decline in pollution which has cleared the waterways and canals and made its aquatic life visible. Jellyfish and even dolphins have been spotted!

- Similarly, pollution levels have fallen.Whilst maybe not so visually noticeable air pollution(nitrogen dioxide readings) have reduced on many major roads including Vaughan way whose pollution level has halved since lock down began.

-In Australia dogs are being used in the recovery efforts after the devastating bush fires to seek out injured/ill koalas who's habitat can no longer support them.One dog alone has rescued over 100 koalas since January!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2L3isEfGpC8

-In Germany IKEA opened on of there car parks so Eid prayer to mark the end of Ramadan could take place whilst still social distancing.













-Costa Rica passed its same-sex law on May 26 and is the first country in Central America to recognise same sex marriage.The first same sex marriage in Costa Rica was broadcast on television.

-I have found these videos which may interest you by Dalai Lama https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKNSGQNrMmc
 and Pope Francis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQbP5o3894I  which offer a thought provoking and alternative look on the Coronavirus pandemic.


Stay positive

-Annabelle ☺️

Easy Baking

My household is full of avid bakers (well, mainly just my mum and I), therefore baking has always been my go-to method for relaxation. I enjoy cooking and prepping meals with my parents, as well as making ice cream in the summer with my dad! However, my favourite cake recipe is the one listed down below, which can be easily adapted (e.g. adding instant coffee to make it a coffee cake!)

Ingredients-

200g butter

200g sugar

4 eggs

200g self raising flour

1.       Turn your oven on to 160 or 180 degrees

2.       Cream together the butter and sugar

3.       Beat in the eggs

4.       Sift and gently fold in the flour

5.       Pour the mixture evenly into two cake tins

6.       Bake for 20-25 minutes

7.       Turn out onto a cooling rack and cool

8.       Ice and enjoy!

Thank you for reading!!

Take care and stay safe

-Lauren J

The Baking Bandwagon: vegan chocolate raspberry muffins

I thought I'd hop on the baking bandwagon and show you a recipe I've been rather enjoying recently. This recipe is vegan (so eggless and dairy free) and can be adapted to be gluten free if need be - just substitute the flour for a gluten free alternative. This recipe will make 12 muffins, or 13 if you're lucky!

Ingredients:

For the muffins:
200 g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
A pinch of salt
40 g cocoa powder + 1/2 tsp for the buttercream
40 ml olive oil
110 g brown sugar
200 ml water
30 g vegan dark chocolate chunks - optional

For the buttercream:
225 g caster sugar
1 tbsp cornflour
1 tbsp dairy-free butter

Decorations:
Punnet of raspberries
Mint leaves

Method:

1) Preheat the oven to 180℃.

2) Sift the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder into a bowl. Then, add the salt and brown sugar.

3) Pour the olive oil into the bowl and gently mix all the ingredients together.

4) Slowly add the water and continue to mix until the ingredients are just combined and you have a smooth batter.

5) Divide the batter between the muffin cases until they are half full. If you like, you can press a chunk of dark chocolate into the centre of each case. Top up the case until it is 3/4 full.

6) Bake the muffins for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.

7) Remove the muffin tin from the oven, and allow to cool slightly before individually placing each muffin on a cooling rack.

8) Allow to cool completely. In the meantime, prepare the buttercream. If you have egg free icing sugar already, then skip step 9.

9) Add the caster sugar and cornflour together, and mix in a blender for several minutes. If your blender isn't very powerful or you aren't sure, blend it in thirty second bursts to prevent the blender from breaking, and keep checking the consistency of the icing sugar. It should be a fine powder.

10) Make the buttercream by beating together 2 tbsp of the icing sugar, cocoa powder and butter until smooth.

11) By now, the muffins should be completely cool. Chop the raspberries in half. Decorate by fixing three raspberry halves to the muffins with buttercream. You can either add a mint leaf to the centre, dust with icing sugar or be creative and decorate how you like!

My recipe was a mash up of these two:
https://www.thepetitecook.com/vegan-chocolate-muffins/
https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/how-to-make-powdered-sugar/

Happy baking!

- Kayley

The Sun is Shining

It's no secret that this virus has disrupted every aspect of life. If life had gone on as normal, I would be facing very different situations right now. I should be sitting my exams! Instead I am at home sitting in glorious sunshine most days. Not sitting exams for me, may actually help me just as much as it's hurt me.

I have managed to take some much needed time to myself these last couple months and explore new areas around my house on many, many walks. I have made the most of the sun as much as humanly possible under these circumstances (and have a pretty good tan from it). The smell of sun cream is hauntingly beautiful too. By that I mean I love it because it means the sun is shining but also loathe it because it brings back all the memories of holidays gone by. I am determined to go on holiday next year, I will make a list of everywhere I want to go, and I will go.

I feel sorry for anyone who can't make the most of this weather but I am grateful I'm sitting in the garden and not an exam hall. The sun always lifts my spirits, so if you're feeling down just look up at the clear blue skies or the blossoming and blooming flowers and trees . Let your spirits be lifted too.

Try to find the good in all the bad,
Emily :)

Just some fruit and veg

Hi, its's Emily again.

Since lockdown started, I've found that I have had loads more time to go in the garden and grow some fruit, veg, and plants. I have always liked helping my mum in the garden (she knows everything about plants - even the fancy named ones that sound like Harry Potter spells - like 'aquilegia' and 'trifolium incarnatum') however I never really used to have time in the spring to actually plant anything.

I have a bit of a track record for killing small house plants, so things like veg and plants that are a bit more resilient are more up my street.

Also having your own fruit and veg from the garden is so great as it is a way of being self sufficient and also it can taste better than shop brought produce.

This spring I have had a lot of free time and have been able to grow some fruit and veg from seed such as:

Raspberries

 Tomatoes

 Peppers

Runner beans and sweetcorn (I rebuilt the border for this vegetable patch myself in the second week of lockdown!)

 Blackberries (which doesn't really count because brambles are basically a weed - but they take absolutely no effort to grow and also taste nice, so its a win win situation)

 and finally, strawberries

So hopefully that's some inspiration to spend some time growing plants or fruit and veg. Take some time outside in the warm weather we're having at the moment, even if it is just watering a bramble once in a while.

thanks for reading and good luck with any gardening endeavors you take.

- Emily

Happy Days!

Hi,

It's Emily again!

Today, my family and  I went to help my Granny on her allotment. A great thing to do during these crazy times with a loved one as you can be together and social distance in the fresh air at the same time.The weather was glorious!  I forked out some weeds, helped to put some netting up over the redcurrants and blackcurrants and assisted my dad with making two teepees for broad beans to climb up.

 Being in nature and the outside world, improves your mental well being and physical health. A hormone called endorphins, make you feel happy and warm inside. My Granny (of World War 2 sock doll fame) is a very keen gardener and has always been. She has recently given my sister, Ruby and I some more giant sunflowers to grow and take care of again this year - which we planted out this afternoon on our return from the allotment. She also kindly gave my Dad some raspberry canes to plant in our garden - so watch this space!

Mum made us all a curried chicken pasta salad for our picnic lunch and while we ate it, a gorgeous blue coloured dragonfly flew around us. Did you know they bite?! Luckily he wasn't peckish at the time but another gem of knowledge from Granny as she once had been bitten by one.

Take time to go out and appreciate the great outdoors as it is a vital tool for mental health (and take some pasta salad with you! Yummy!)

Take care of yourselves,

Emily B xxxxxx

lockdown pancakes :)

Hi! It's Lottie here , sorry I haven't posted recently, I have been struggling with my motivation so writing a post felt too tricky for me when I was not even feeling up to doing my school work. I have enjoyed cooking simple meals at lunchtimes recently, here is my favourite anytime banana pancakes recipe, perfect for when you can't get any flour. 

Easy banana pancakes: (original recipe from bbc good food) 

One banana

Two large eggs

A pinch of baking powder

A splash of vanilla extract 

Method: 

1. Mash up the banana
2. Mix in the two beaten eggs, vanilla extract and the baking powder
3. Heat up a pan, melt butter and cook the pancake batter for 1-2 mins each side. 
4. Serve with toppings of your choice, I like golden syrup on mine! 

Hope you enjoy trying these lovely light pancakes for lunch or breakfast! Thank you for reading, I hope you have a good day .

A Small Selection of Girlguiding Symbols of Movement

Or, as they’re more formally called, the symbols of WAGGGS (World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, for anyone wondering) and the Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting Movement. 



I’m going to take you through only a few of my favourite ones, so enjoy! 


Before we get started, it should be noted that these were introduced by Lord Robert Baden-Powell himself and have been adapted over the years in order to stay relevant. He is pictured below:

World Trefoil

Let’s start with the Trefoil as seen on the World Badge. It’s classed as a unifying symbol of WAGGGS.

As you might already know, each part of the design of it has meaning:

·        Golden Trefoil on a blue background – represents the sun shining over the children of the globe

·        Three leaves – represent the three-fold Promise

·        Stalk base – represents the flame of the love of humanity

·        Upward pointing vein through the Trefoil – represents a compass needle pointing the way

·        Two stars – represent the Promise and the Law

The Motto

Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting have a motto – “Be Prepared.” which serves as a reminder of the education purposes the two can offer. You may also notice that the motto shares the same initials as ‘Baden-Powell’, our founder!

The Left Handshake

While Lord Baden-Powell was in West Africa, he heard a legend that inspired him to create the Left Handshake as a way to recognise other members of the Movement.



“Two hostile, neighbouring communities decided to try to live together in peace, and so they flung down their shields, which were carried on the left arm, and advanced, unprotected, to greet each other with their left hands extended in trust and friendship.”



The Left Handshake is still widely used today among Girl Guides and Girl Scouts. 

Good Turn

As a way to symbolise the service given by all members of the Movement, younger girls think of ways they can do a good turn on the daily, and older girls tend to take this idea further into service projects at local, national, and sometimes international levels. 


Good turns are exactly what we need right now!


So, there we have a few of my favourite Symbols of Movement. I hope you enjoyed it!


Go and check out the other posts from our girls!



-Grace 😊

Lockdown cooking: quick pickles

With all the war time talk, I decided to have ago at making a quick pickle. Pickles are a great way to preserve foods, as well as being delicious!

I chose to pickle my radishes, which are a great place to start if you'd like to have a go at growing vegetables. They're easy to grow, hardy and take just 6 weeks from seed to plant. One of the problems with radishes is they need to be eaten fresh or they loose their flavour fairly quickly. The solution of course, is to pickle them!

You will need:

•  Some Radishes (or any other vegetable you fancy) 
• 200ml white vinegar
• 200ml water
• 100g Sugar
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper
• A glass jam jar 

Spices- most of these are optional, whatever you can find in the cupboard will do

• 1 bay leaf
• Teaspoon Coriander seeds
• Teaspoon Mustard seeds
• Red pepper flakes 

Step 1: sterilising your jars 
Before you can put pickle in the jars, you must first sterilise your jars. Place the jars upside down on a baking tray, along with the lids and place in an oven at 180 fan/ gas mark 4 for ten minutes. Don't turn the jars over until you're ready to add the pickle.


Step 2: preparing your veggies

This variety is known as a 'French Breakfast Radish'

Clean your vegetables and slice them as thinly as possible. This is key to the quick pickle as it helps make sure the pickling liquid is absorbed fast.

Step 3: Making the pickling liquid 

For my pickling liquid i used coriander seeds and a bay leaf 

Add all your ingredients to a saucepan and bring to the boil, then simmer for a few minutes.

Step 4: Combining everything together

Add your sliced radishes to the jar, then pour the hot pickling liquid over the top. Let the pickle cool for a few moments, then place the lid on the jar. Tighten the lid so it is 'finger tip tight' which means you could easily undo the lid (otherwise the lid can get stuck). Leave your pickle in the fridge and it'll be ready to eat in 48 hours.

I wish you luck in your cooking endeavours and hope you have a lovely day!

Eleanor

Industrial Placement + Covid = An Interesting CV

Hi all,

Welcome to my first contribution to the blog! My name is Sarah and I'm another of the unit's leaders.

Like Kirsty, I am still working through this lockdown period, however, as an office worker, I am fortunate enough to be able to do so from home. I am actually a university student nearing the end of a 12-month industrial placement to gain workplace experience that will complement my maths degree. I have completed the first two years of my course and will be returning to university next academic year to complete my degree.

My placement is with a well known company in the financial services and has been a fantastic, enriching experience. While for many industries work has ground to a halt or slowed to a minimum during lockdown, the financial services are working overtime. Hundreds of thousands of people are applying for payment holidays on mortgages and credit cards etc. Banks need to ensure they are assisting the general pubic at a time of need whilst being responsible and not providing lending that a customer is unlikely to be able to repay. The pandemic is such a dynamic, ever-changing event and it is certainly keeping us busy and on our toes.

Stressful as it may be at times, it is a valuable experience from the perspective of a placement student and an opportunity to make the most of my year in industry. I will have experienced something very out of the ordinary and gained so much more insight into the company. I will have learnt how to be so much more adaptable in the way that I work and I will have learnt how to work to much tighter deadlines.

Even without the extra experience of seeing how the company deals with a pandemic, the placement has been incredibly valuable. To anyone looking to go to university: I cannot recommend industrial placements enough. You will gain a wealth of experience that will help you stick out from other grads, and you'll enjoy yourself in the process.

Being a Key Worker

Hi I'm Kirsty and I'm actually one of the leaders of 1st Birstall Rangers. I thought I would write about my experience during lock down. 

I am a teaching assistant so my work hasn't stopped throughout this time. I work for a trust and within the village all the schools have joined together for those children who are still in school. It has been really strange getting to know a new routine with new children and different staff each week. It's also been stressful because of this virus we can't see could be spreading around without us knowing.

Our routine in school has changed beyond belief children aren't able to play together, they have to keep 2m apart and have to constantly wash their hands. The classes are mixed from different year groups, so teachers are spending more time being creative in the way they are teaching.

I am there to support the children who need extra help, who don't understand social distancing, who need you to hold their hand or give them a place to be in a moment of crisis. And in that moment, I can't socially distance from the child who needs me, I can't stay 2m away from them because it would ruin trust we had built and the relationship with have. So, it is hard for me to do my job and stay away from the children - almost impossible.

Then I have to go home and support my children in their home learning, which is really hard because I’m based with 4-5-year olds and their work is completely different to what I am used to. I have to tell them why even though they miss their friends they can't go see them and we have to think of new ways of keeping in touch with other people. I have to justify to them that even though the neighbours might be having a BBQ with others why we can't.

For these reasons I am glad I have a getaway, a place that is good for my mental health and wellbeing. I am loving the zoom meetings we are having with our Guides and Rangers. I love how even though we are apart we can still be together. Our Guides have been doing interest badges - which we as leaders have always struggled to get them involved in. Our Rangers are the ones to remind us that on a Thursday at 8pm we need to go show our support for the NHS. Then the leaders have a chat after the meetings to debrief and just have a catch up, and the laughs we've had in our moments of silliness. I mean the list could go on, but I think this is enough.

I have loved seeing photos of girls camping for our LEAPover with the whole of Leicestershire, and not just camping and putting a tent up in the garden, they have been creative and imaginative building dens and forts in their homes. One of our Rangers wasn't even going to participate until she heard there was a badge and bead available, then was straight into the garden with her sister.

I have actually enjoyed writing this as it's reminded me that even in the bad moments, the moments that I feel like everything is against me and I can't do anything right. That there are good moments we need to reflect on and hold dear. Moments we can cherish not just in lock down, but when we go back to normal when we can finally meet face to face.

So, remember stay safe.

Thanks for reading my silly thoughts. Kirsty

The history about Guinea-pigs

Hi, it's me again and after talking a bit about the pets my family own in my last post I thought I'll talk about where Guinea-pigs came from as well as my own experiences with them.

So the Guinea-pig originated from South America Puru and often lived in burrows either dug by themselves or other wild animals. They were bred for food in 2000bc and possibly started as a pet from the children there. They became a popular present at weddings and for guests, they typically lived in the kitchen where they could roam around freely. They were also considered an evil spirit collector who when rubbed around the body if squealed had detected an illness (Black Guinea-pigs were considered the best). In the 1700's they came to England where Queen Elizabeth 1 owned one which then caused them to become very popular like they are today.

As for my own experiences with them, just less than two years ago my mum decided to get 5 female Guinea-pigs which we decided to name them all after chocolates, but after about a month we noticed that Bounty was acting very dominant. Then the next day we saw it, as we went to say goodmorning to them we noticed Bounty was having a piggy back! It was at that very moment we knew it was too late but we put him in a separate space and took him to the vets so no more mistakes were made. Sexing Guinea-pigs is famously hard as we were about to find out so it wasn't the breeders fault that we ended up with 4 pregnant females and a male. It usually takes Guinea-pigs 59-72 days to give birth which unlucky for them was December/January. While we were waiting for many tiny feet running around we noticed that all 4 of the females were over double there normal size and then when the day finally came there was 15 of these tiny little things running all over the place. Guinea-pigs often give birth at once and the baby's have fur, can run and see perfectly all so they have a better chance of surviving in the wild. Once they reached about 3 weeks we had to seperate them (to stop anymore of these experiences) and sex them which took up the whole of that day. Once we'd found homes for them all from my teachers to my brothers friends we were left with the original 5 and two new members which have been welcomed into the family.

I hope you enjoyed reading about how Guinea-pigs came to this country as well as my own experiences with them and some final things to say about having a pet Guinea-pig is they honestly don't need much in order to look after some, as long as they have space, food, water and company anyone can own one.

-Lily

The Girl guides contribution to the war effort

Girl guides ( and scouts!) certainly played a significant part in the war effort, both in World war 1 and 2. From knitting socks for soldiers,fundraising, being trained in mechanics,first aid and signalling to name a few. Girl guides were a skilled group of volunteers who were a very valuable asset in wartime.

• The book 'Something for the girls' was published the centenary year of Girl guiding being formed.It includes information on girl-guiding both through war and peace time.

Guides in WW1

• As well as collecting fruit stones and nut shells for the production of gas masks (these contain potash which is believed to absorb poison gas) , Guides also collected waste paper, newspapers and books to be sold on to fund-raise for various causes like the Prisoners of war fund.

• Guides put there sewing skills to use making swabs for hospitals and were also encourage to make or collect clothes. Guides also helped with laundry and cooking in other institutions.
• Some guides had the privileged job working at MI5 mainly as messengers but also assisting in cooking,cleaning (orderlies) and admin, a role that was previously allocated to scouts but was later allocated to Girl guides as they were found to be more mature and trusted!
• Guides could earn The War Service badge which involved either partaking in at least 21 days special service for a hospital, nursing institution, society etc. , making at least 15 articles of clothing or 21 days of service for a business working in connection to the war or 'war service for women' initiatives such as poultry farming, farm work, brush making etc. Additionally, this service was unpaid work.

Guides in WW2:

• Reflecting the government message of 'make do and mend' girl guiding adopted there own initiative : 'Save all supplies' aimed at reusing and recycling items, increasing food stock and raise money for equipment like air ambulances through the sale of unwanted items.

 

• Then Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret were active members of girl guiding during the war. In the photo on the left they send a thinking day message by pigeon. 

• Collecting scrap metal to be recycled for production of aeroplanes, tanks etc.
• With rationing and international food supply's ground to halt growing vegetables was important to help feed the local community.Guides helped with growing in garden and allotments.

• Throughout WW2 the Guides had many fundraising drives to raise money for the purchase of  equipment for the armed services and to help keep vital services like the red cross operating.In 1940 Girl Guides were asked to raise money to buy two air ambulances, guides were asked to sacrifice half a days wage or any pocket money they could spare to raise this money. It was penned- Guide gift week. The initial target was to raise £20,000 but the total raised at the end of the week was over £50,000!
• Similar to the service award offered to guides in WW1, the second world war service badge required Guides to complete a certain number of hours of service.For the badge to be awarded a Guide had to complete at least 96 hours of voluntary war service and have passed her second class test.