NEVER FORGET: one year on

It's May 16th (really, look at the date above this post's title!). Know what happened a year ago today? That's right - the great chlorine leak. Without that blunder, we writers would write less, the students would be only informed by newsletters and sporadic Tempo issues and the teacher staff might not worry about every wrong action being mercilessly ripped to pieces in public. In short, without the gas leak, you wouldn't be reading this blog.

But instead of looking back by 365 days (or 366, this year is a leap year, isn't it?), let's look back a whole lot longer - to the time of expert of prediction, Michel de Nostredame, commonly known as Nostradamus.

In the mid sixteenth century, Nostradamus wrote this:

And lo, in the Templar school,
In seven and thousands two,
Under a new man's rule,
In air, death will blow through.

Quatrain 47, Nostradamus

Did Nostradamus predict the chlorine leak? Did the staff ignore the blatant clues? Did everyone at BSF forget swimming pools use chlorine? Has the government covered up students' deaths? Is the new building a way to shamelessly hide Temple Moor's terrible past? Did that idea backfire stunningly? The answer to all of these is a clear and definite yes.

Bin and gone...

That is an atrociously bad pun for a title - I know. It's alike a red-top tabloid (there's a plan! Newspaper serialisation, anyone?).

Anyway, our beloved Titler bin has vanished! It seems the bin with the cleverly-rearranged letters has been banished. Why is this? There's numerous reasons why. Has the school realised it sounds a bit like "Hitler"? Do they now see it could be seen as an indicator that the school is fascist?
What doesn't make any sense, though, is swapping a big blue bin with Temple Moor branding for a generic square brown bin. Why do it? If we're honest, branded bins are quite professional - it's not cheap to stick your name on a bin (even if they are just letters with sticky backing).

Rumours of Titler moving to Poland are greatly exaggerated.

Winners: not so rare at TMHS

Sorry for the lack of posts for about ten days, we've been busy. But we've got some very good news: even in places fraught with disaster (and chlorine gas), the good will always flourish. So before the school starts bragging, allow Templar Truths to award unofficial congratulations to Electric Umbrella.

"Uh...who?" I can almost hear you ask (if you don't already know). Made of three Templars (who we hear like this blog), this "funk/rock" band have recently won an award: winners of Intake High School's Battle of the Bands. They were up against five others in their category and were picked by three judges as the winners.

Because we like them at TT, here's the trio performing a cover version of The Undertones' Teenage Kicks:

In conclusion, well done not only to the talents of Electric Umbrella, but also to Temple Moor's Music department for supporting the band.

Monthly Roundup

It's not been a particularly busy month, but the National Union of Teachers, Classroom Assistants and Sex Educators (NUTCASE*) strike provided plenty to talk about. Here's the small bits of news we haven't mentioned:

• Our latest poll has closed and it turns out that opinion is quite divided. We asked how the builders are doing and there's an equal split between "Yes - leave them alone!" and "Help, I'm choking". However, the overall majority has more negative votes than positive.
  
• The social area had one its windows smashed.
  
• Not really an exclusive or anything, but have a look at Temple Moor's staff having a football match against some Sixth Formers:
  
  
• Good luck to Years 9, 11, 12 and 13 with their upcoming exams.
• Year 11 have their prom tomorrow (that's Friday 2 May)

*Not actual name of the striking union.

All about the house system

This week sees more house assemblies as house leaders either congratulate their houses or tell them to hurry up and beat the current leaders. Since the system's appearance last year, we've wondered why and wondered exactly what it means for Temple Moor.

Already we have forms, so the house system wasn't implemented to group students together. What it does do, though, is provide easier competition throughout the school by a simple segmenting into quarters - never mind the eight forms and seven years, this method gives competitions an extra incentive and a simpler breakdown.

But what of the names? Clearly TMHS ditched the old house names - Manston, Scargill, Dunstan and DeLacy - for science-themed ones, because of the Science College status. The current houses - as you're no doubt aware - are Rigel, Capella, Sirius and Vega. Alright, so they're all named after stars - but why these ones? They are not the brightest stars in the sky (barring the Sun, Sirius is the brightest, followed by Canopus then Arcturus) and they're definitely not the closest (Alpha Centauri is a bit of a silly house name, though). So why these four random stars, two of which are technically binary systems*?

The colours are (according to Wikipedia) the same four as used in the old house system. However, this was botched this year by ties that are different shades of the colours - mostly looking hideous.

There's not a lot more to say about the house system - except last year's winners were Sirius. It's not another horrendous scheme, thank God, and it actually seems to be a good idea for competition, if nothing else. Let's hear what some students think:

• "I don't think it really makes a difference to be honest"
• "It's sh*t...we were fine before. If it's not broke. Don't fix it"
• "hasn't really made any form of impact"
• "Completly Rediculous And Pointless"
• "pointless"

If you disagree with this post, or think those pupils' quotes are wrong, leave a comment or email us.

*Binary systems have two stars in them. For example, there's Capella A and Capella B. Sirius appears to be one star, but is actually two - imaginatively called Sirius A and Sirius B.

Welcome to our future.

It's safe to say that for a while many people have said the world is going to pot, the older generation seem to reiterate this more frequently that some of us young 'uns do. Although you may just laugh off the 'When I was a wee lass' and 'Back in the good old days' surely you have noticed the underlying truths that they mention. It then begs the question, what is happening to us? Where are we going? and all other meaning of life esque questions.

Being only in the middle stages of my teenage years, it may be safe to say that I my life stretches out before me (touch wood, and by wood I mean a huge oak tree) that should be reassuring however, is it? Is it really? Can you squash the claims that inner city flats will not turn into crime ridden slums? Can you ignore the horrifying stories splattered across the papers, robbing, rape, murder? Can you say that there will be no more terrorism? Can you say you will be safe?

So being on the verge of the rest of my life, first GCSE exam on friday and having had a bumpy ride through school, i'd like to point this out.


I'm scared.

More P.E?

It's something that the PE staff never fail to remind us a regular basis; PE is important. It's not everyone's favourite lesson, but I'm willing to bet that quite a lot of students would prefer PE to, for example, Maths. It's not the worst lesson out there no matter what spin you try to put on it. It's a break from the mind-numbing tirade of spouted nonsense that irrefutably descends upon almost all other subjects, and there isn't a doubt in anyone's mind that it's good for you.

And it's also been reiterated by the same staff many, many times in the past school year that they are fighting tooth and nail to get more weekly PE time. It's one of the more popular subjects (to a lot of people), it's a great way to keep in shape, and it'd surely prove we are the "healthy school" we claim to be. Healthier school meals alone surely isn't going to keep you fit - you should also be excercising. So the point of my slightly incoherent ramblings is thus. Why does the school not increase weekly (or fortnightly) PE lessons?

Alright, it'd mean one other unlucky subject may fall an hour behind every week or fortnight, but PE should take priority. Your health is something you'll have to keep in check all of your life. But who cares, 20 years down the line, if your Art skills aren't perfect? Or whether you can remember a list of obscure enzymes or cloning techniques? Or that you can't recall how to calculate bizarre, highly advanced mathematical equations?

I know that none of those things are likely to effect me again in my life, and the same applies to most people. But fitness... that's something you can't ignore. You need to stay in shape, forbid you find yourself waking up one fateful morning, 50 years old, 25 stone, with a morbid odour and a foot blistering with gangreen. (Okay, slightly unlikely scenario, but plausible none the less.) It'd require some careful planning and discussion (put the kettle on and find your thinking caps people), but it'd be worth it in the long run. Especially if you ever find yourself running away from Chlorine Gas.