From Monday the 10th of February to Friday the 28th, Durrington High School hosted the SSLT’s newest challenge: Half a Million Minutes. Aiming to combine the hard work of every pupil and staff member in the school, we set out to meet the challenge of 500,00 minutes. This was done through hundreds of ways, ranging from baking with the family, running every morning and reading a book every week.
We are delighted to share that together Team Durrington smashed our target and achieved a whopping 1,248,289 minutes in total!
After lots of dedication and a fair amount of counting, we are thrilled to announce the winners of Half a Million Minutes as Malala House, with a special mention to staff member Sawyer who completed the most amount of teacher minutes.
House form group winners are Year 7 7HPa with 41,069, Angelou 11JOw with 53,860, Attenborough 8MLi with 56,307, Pele 9EIs with 31,054, Seacole 8RLa with 35,347, Turing 8ECo with 32,850, and Malala 9ACa with the highest amount of a huge 74,704!
Harry in year 7 completed 2550 minutes! He had recently fixed up an old bike that he had been given for free and spent time outdoors with friends cycling, instead of sitting inside playing games, and he also walked to school which takes an hour each way. Harry said it made him happy to contribute to the challenge.
Joe in year 7 completed 4500 minutes by doing a variety of different things including walking the dog and going out with family members. Joe said; “This challenge had an overall positive effect as it made me more involved with friends and family and gave me the opportunity to spend time with them that I wouldn’t have done otherwise.”
Caden in year 8 took part in extra rugby as well as dance and guitar lessons, and helping out at Cadets. Caden said; “These activities kept me entertained and busy and I got to meet a lot of people and work on myself.”
Rosalie in year 7 completed 3450 minutes by doing lots of extra reading and clubs like rugby. Rosalie said; “It gave me the chance to spend dedicated time doing the things that I wouldn’t be able to otherwise, and engaging with what I love.”
Isabella in year 8 has been exceptional in her achievements for this challenge and has taken on lots of extra opportunities including babysitting for her cousins, reading extra books, and learning new dance routines to name just a few. Isabella said; “The challenge made me write down what I wanted to do and motivated me to do more things, and perseverance and pride helped me achieve this. I liked doing it and it gave me more confidence in trying new things.”
Lourie in year 7 completed a total of 1170 minutes which included 90 minutes of donation time to 2 separate charities.
Matas in year 8 spent extra time helping his family around house and spending time with all his family. Matas said; “This challenge made me think and it was good to help a lot of people which helps you experience life not in front of the screen but more spend time with your relatives.”
Patrik in year 8 spend a total of 2110 minutes out riding his bike with his friends. Patrik said; “It was good to think about what I was doing and nice to be out with friends and have the opportunity to socialise whilst doing a physical activity, which benefits mental and physical health.”
Jade in year 8 contributed 565 minutes to the challenge by doing extra chores such as making her bed, organising her school bag and uniform. Jade said; “It helped to feel more grounded and more prepared coming back to school after half term and feel ready to learn.”
Eponine in year 8 spent every day dancing and said; “The challenge made me feel inspired to benefit myself in the future.”
Nara in year 11 has been boxing and training hard for several years, she is now coaching and inspiring younger children into the sport of boxing which helped her to raise aspirational minutes towards our challenge.
Ethan in year 11 took on the aspiration challenge by playing lots of extra sports as well as completing everything on the list.
The highest scoring tutor group across the whole school was 9ACa who between them achieved 74,704 minutes! Bailey-J spent extra time helping her mum, whilst Grace took the time to listen to audio books and Nomsa dedicated extra time to reading.
Wilfred in year 8 completed a first aid course, a rowing course, and a paddle sports course at his Sea Cadets club. Wilfred said; “The challenge made me tired due to all the activities, but I am grateful I had the opportunity to complete a range of activities that will help me in my future.”
Dexter in year 9 went along to watch extra football matches and also spent more time with his family. Dexter said he enjoyed taking part in the challenge and seeing how many minutes he could achieve.
Alfie in year 8 did babysitting to earn minutes for the challenge as well as playing extra games and walking to school. Alfie said; “The challenge made me more aspirational and encouraged me to do more in school and out of school too.”
We want to say a huge well done to everyone involved in making a positive contribution to our community. Brilliant work team Durrington!
