cramlington learning village - discover easter 2015

DiscoverEaster 2015

EXPERIENCE WEEK

Students design their own timetable and experience new challenges

EVERYBODY CUT LOOSE!

CLV students put on an amazing performance of Footloose

OVER £3000 FOR CHARITIES

Year 10 fundraise for local charities

OUR ENRICHING SIXTH FORMSixth Form students embrace new activities

CRAMLINGTON LEARNING VILLAGE

if we could print our own money?’ and ‘What if vampires really existed?’ These thought-provoking questions made our students exceptionally curious and it was a delight to watch

them do their research. Only last week our Music and Theatre Company

showcased a production of Footloose. The cast and crew pulled together an amazing

performance which was much appreciated by audiences over three evenings. For years 11 and 13 this is an exceptionally busy time as they are only weeks away from critical exams. We wish them well and thank them for all their

hard work.

Have a good Easter Holiday.

Wendy Heslop - Headteacher

W elcome to our Easter edition of Discover. Once again this magazine is an exciting update on what has

been going on at school since Christmas.This term we are particularly proud of our year 10 students who raised over £3,000 for charity doing a range of activities from sponsored swims and bake sales to sporting tournaments. This is a fantastic achievement by our students and shows a real understanding of community service. Our Experience Week activities were well received by our students. Some of them were able to create their own timetable, making learning relevant and engaging. The Experience Week workshops were themed around ‘What if….?’ key questions and some exciting questions were addressed by our students: ‘What

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Year 10 students raise over £3000 for charityEverybody cut loose...FootlooseBooks, books, booksSports round upSound of MusicWhat If...You Could Create Your Own Timetable?University - Is it for me?

Joining Sixth Form in September?Enriching activities in the Sixth FormCountdown!Working With FamiliesICT AwareFocus on NumeracyFocus on Literacy

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YEAR 10 STUDENTS RAISE OVER £3000 FOR CHARITY

Images courtesy of

The Evening Chronicle

4 DISCOVER CRAMLINGTON LEARNING VILLAGE

O ver 330 students in year 10 have

spent the last few months using their own time and ingenuity to complete their charity project work for three local charities chosen by the students themselves: Ward 4 Children’s North Hospital RVI, Jessica’s Sarcoma Awareness charity and Newcastle Cat and Dog shelter.Jessica’s Sarcoma Awareness is a charity that really matters to us here at CLV, as it was set up by the family of a former student we lost to cancer in May 2014, Jessica Robson. We have been supporting this charity throughout the year and were delighted that pleased to say that Jessica’s parents were able to attend the presentation assembly.The students were exceptionally passionate about fundraising for Ward 4 as we currently have a year 10 student undergoing treatment there for leukaemia. Students were extremely enthusiastic about helping raise money for their friend, taking part in everything from sponsored runs to cake sales in his name. The money they have raised will be put to good use buying toys and numerous extra comforts for all of the children receiving care in Ward 4, something all of the year group feel great pride and joy in knowing. All of year 10 very much looked

forward to seeing their friend again at the presentation assembly together with his parents and representatives from the hospital.Newcastle Cat and Dog Shelter has also been a focus of the students’ fundraising efforts, with raffles and head shaving being dedicated to this very worthy cause. Many year 10 students have their own loving pets at home, a few even adopted recently from the shelter, so the effort put into helping this charity was truly astounding. We particularly looked forward to welcoming this charity to the assembly as they sent some of their furry residents to thank CLV students personally.

In total, we raised in excess of £3000 across the three charities. Our presentation assembly was held on Thursday 15th January with all of our year 10 students, many teachers and charity representatives attending. When we handed over the hard earned money some of our students spoke about the highlights and challenges of their fundraising efforts such as organising sponsored swims, 100 mile run challenge, walks, bake and cake sales around school, five-a-side and dodgeball tournaments, raffles, adoption of pets, a particularly popular ‘Selfies With Santa’ event and numerous other innovative activities. The representatives from our three chosen charities were all delighted and extremely grateful for the donations we were able to make.

DISCOVER 5CRAMLINGTON LEARNING VILLAGE

EVERYBODY CUT LOOSE...FOOTLOOSE

T his year the Music & Theatre Productions (MTP) team decided to tackle one of the toughest musicals

yet and took a neon-driven journey back to the 80s for their own rendition of the hit musical, Footloose. From some incredible group songs that got the audience bopping in their seats, to the heartfelt songs delivering realisation of the characters and tracks that pulled on the heart strings of the audience with beautiful duets, this year’s show proved why we, as the staff of CLV, swell with pride and happiness at this time every year. We have such a talented group of students in this youth theatre, each year they amaze and wow us.


The professionalism demonstrated by this year’s cast was truly exceptional and this was most evident when dealing with audio technical issues on the opening night. Despite this the cast excelled, stayed focused and showed true camaraderie every step of the way. This year also saw our students delivering a matinee show for the local community and, like last year, this was an immense success with local Care Homes joining us, members of the Music Service and the Reverend Wilkinson from St Nicholas’ Church.The Footloose band were a true sensation, consisting of Dan Newberry, Kieran Falcus, Sophie Purvis and Jason Ying supported by Miss Watson and musically directed by the fabulous Mr Rigby, belting out tunes that took us back to the fashion-disaster days of the 1980s. From Holding out for a

Hero to Let’s Hear it for the Boy these guys never missed a beat and showed that talented students are literally exuding out of the Create Department. The range of lead performers this year included some new faces and some old (not literally), with Robson Scott starring as Ren after a few years break from Music & Theatre Productions (he was last on stage in Joseph as a wee-brother 4 years ago!!) but this didn’t stop him storming the stage with the flair and commitment of a professional actor, busting some fancy footwork and even bravely receiving a real slap on stage, without a flinch! Joelle Leech (her MTP

debut) starred alongside Robson as Ariel Shaw who is transformed by Ren’s feisty footloose ways. She not only delivered this role with passion and commitment but was able to belt out her solos with true Bonnie Tyler

finesse. Alongside these guys were the incredibly talented ‘mates’ played by Charlotte Hindle, Sophie Butler and Charlotte Small who delivered Somebody’s Eyes with technical accuracy and amazing harmonies. Moments of humour were interjected remarkably by Luke Davies (another MTP returnee after a 2 year absence) who played Willard and provided exceptionally brilliant comic timing with his solo Mama Says which Luke’s poor mum endured, with a follow spot on her, for opening night!Our amazing Chorus members and fancy-footed Advanced Dancers were what truly held this production together. We had loads of new faces this year, especially from KS3, and hope they stick with us for years to come.

Their vocal skills when transitioning in the opening sequence from Footloose to On Any Sunday was done with seamless effort whilst their grasp of an incredible four part harmony was outstanding and no easy feat to close Act 1. Mr Rigby couldn’t have been prouder! Our amazing cast and crew have endured the schedule of a professional company; dedicating their Tuesday and Thursday extra-curricular time, two Sundays and late night technical runs all for the good of this performance and by gosh does it show!Music & Theatre Productions have excelled beyond our expectations once again and we hope they all return next year to take on a new musical, a new challenge and prepare to be embraced by a new family of friends.

‘FOOTLOOSE WAS FANTASTIC! IT WAS WONDERFUL TO SEE THE STUDENTS SHINE – I SMILED FROM START TO FINISH!’

WELL DONE ON A GREAT SHOW LAST NIGHT! CAN’T BEGIN TO IMAGINE THE AMOUNT OF HARD WORK THAT EVERYONE WILL HAVE PUT INTO IT.


Harry Potter Book NightOn 5th February the UK saw the launch of the first ever Harry Potter Book Night – a chance for libraries, bookshops and schools around the country to get involved and host their own celebrations of Harry and all things magical. In the JLV, the English department really looked the part as they all came in dressed as Hogwarts students. There were lots of interactive magical elements in lessons, too, as students took part in wand work and competitions, word searches and quizzes throughout the day. Quotations from the books were also spotted around the JLV, as were house banners containing members of staff ’s favourite book, film, character and which house they would be sorted into. The most popular house turned out to be Hufflepuff (dedication, hard work, patience and tolerance being key Hufflepuff characteristics), with Gryffindor and Ravenclaw following. We’re pleased to say no Slytherins managed to sneak in. After school students were given the opportunity to relax and watch Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in the

Hub, whilst parties across the country began to take place, celebrating the world’s most popular wizard. To continue with the enthusiasm created for Harry Potter Book Night, the JLV took part in another Drop Everything and Read the following day. For the last twenty minutes of the lesson, the entire JLV stopped what they were doing and took some time out to enjoy a good book or some Harry Potter extracts read aloud. The perfect way to end a very busy, but fantastic, week!

North East Teen Book AwardAs well as being Harry Potter Book Night, February 5th saw another important literary event – the North East Teen Book Award. Each year, the best in UK teen fiction is shortlisted for teenagers from schools across the North East to read, discuss and ultimately vote on to decide the overall winner.As over 300 students from across the North East gathered at the Centre for Life, there was real excitement about who would win. Our student judges were lucky enough to meet shortlisted authors Keren David, James Dawson, Matthew Crow and Faye Bird, all of whom talked about their inspirations, the reasons why they chose to write their books and why they wanted to become writers. This year’s NETBA winner was James Dawson, current Queen of Teen and master of horror, for his terrifying retelling of the Bloody Mary tale.

Young Adult Book PrizeThis year sees the launch of the very first national book prize created solely for young adult fiction and our SLV Book Club has been lucky enough to be chosen as a panel to read, discuss and review the books in advance of the winner being announced. A fantastically broad range of books have been chosen, numbering ten in total and covering all kinds of issues and styles of writing. The shortlist includes established writers and debut authors, including three authors and two books from our own North East Teen Book Award. Such a varied shortlist has made for some lively discussions and has had the SLV Book Club fired up about what makes a book attractive and readable, what makes a prizeworthy book and who the overall winner should be.Having read and discussed the books over the past few weeks, our students forwarded their views to the national judging panel to take into account in deciding the ultimate winner.

BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS


BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKSShane Hegarty Visits the JLVYear 7 North students and year 6 students from Eastlea, Shanklea and Cragside Primary Schools were lucky enough to meet debut author, Shane Hegarty, when he visited the JLV as part of his national tour to promote his brand new book, Darkmouth.Darkmouth, a small town in Ireland, is the only place where monsters, or Legends as they are correctly known, still roam dangerously free. Finn, as the latest in a long line of Legend Hunters, is expected to take over from his Dad when he retires and continue to fight the Legends and keep the townspeople of Darkmouth safe. However, there is quite a big problem with this: Finn is a terrible Legend Hunter. Possibly the worst there has ever been. How can he possibly live up to his father’s expectations and save the town before the Legends take over? Speaking in front of his biggest audience to date, Shane discussed

where he got the idea for Darkmouth from and how he wanted a normal, everyday hero to be the main character for his book. He didn’t want someone like Superman, who always emerges victorious and the reader knows from the start that this will happen. He also talked about his working day (there seemed to be quite a lot of cake and snacks involved) and what it is really like to be a writer.Shane then allowed time for questions and answers and then moved on to a book signing in the Biome where students could buy a copy of the book from Seven Stories and then have it signed by Shane, as well as picking up a special Darkmouth badge and pencil. The students involved were brilliant throughout the event, and all agreed it was an excellent session. Many of them bought the book, too, and could be seen later that day engrossed in their new read. We can’t wait to hear what they thought of it!

World Book Day and the Biggest Book Show Thursday 5th March saw another great celebration of books and reading in the JLV with students receiving their World Book Day vouchers. Many students chose to exchange these vouchers for a special World Book Day book during the break time book swap in the Knowledge Cafe with the brand new Dork Diaries, Geek Girl and Dennis the Menace titles proving particularly popular. The Drop Everything and Read time later that day gave everyone the chance to settle down with their new books as well as hear what their teachers enjoy reading and why.The following day forty of our highest achieving Accelerated Readers, those who have read more than a million words since September, joined over 1000 other students from around the region at Newcastle City Hall to take part in The Biggest Book Show on Earth - a brilliant, live show to celebrate World Book Day which travels around the UK allowing students to meet some of the best authors and illustrators. The Newcastle show starred Steven Butler, David Almond, Cathy Cassidy, David Roberts and Chris Riddell who all talked about their work, why reading is important and why we can’t live without books. Although World Book Day is over for another year the enthusiasm for books and reading in the JLV will be sure to continue!


SPORTS ROUND UP

Northumberland School Games Level 3 Indoor RowingJemima Furness, Olivia Furness, Carly Ferguson, Cameron Wilson,Cameron Taylor, Scott Robson, Jacob Robinson took part in this event with Jemima placing first, Olivia and Jacob placing second and Carly third in their divisions. These students will go on to the next round of the competition.

Emma Wilson Becomes No.1 U18s Tennis PlayerSeventeen year old Emma Wilson has become the number one tennis player in Great Britain for U18 girls. It follows her recent triumph in the prestigious Grade 1 Nike Invitational Winter National Tour Finals. The event was held at the National Tennis Centre, Roehampton, and was contested by the top 16 girls on the Winter National Tour leaderboard.Wilson went into the competition seeded number three and took the title without dropping a set. In the semi-final she defeated the previous British number two, Louie McLellend, from the north of Scotland, 6-2, 6-2. In the final, Wilson overcame the holder and previous British number one, Sophie Drakeford-Lewis, from Berkshire, 7-5, 6-2, to take the title.Wilson is a member of the Cramlington Community Tennis Programme (CCTP) and trains at Alexandra Park in Cramlington.Over the Christmas and New Year period she won a Winter National Tour U18 tournament at Bolton and

retained her girls’ U18 title in the Scottish Junior Indoor Championships in Glasgow. She has been coached by the CCTP Head Coach, Phil Barron, since the age of six.He said, “I’m extremely proud of Emma’s performances in the last few months. She has worked really hard to achieve the number one ranking and deserves this success. We’ve worked together successfully for over ten years and she still wants to improve, which shows she has an outstanding attitude and great ability”. Wilson also represented Northumberland Ladies since the age of 14. Last summer she spent time in Croatia being coached by 2001 Wimbledon Men’s Singles Champion, Goran Ivanisevic. Wilson applied for a tennis scholarship in Autumn 2014 and had dozens of offers, eventually deciding on Fresno University in California, so she will be jetting off to the USA in August to play the college circuit and try and get onto the full tour.

Northumberland School Games Badminton Tournament In February sixteen Cramlington Learning Village students were taken to the Northumberland School Games at Blyth Sports Centre. Overall, Cramlington students performed very well with the Key Stage 3 girls finishing 2nd in their group, winning and losing the same number of games as the winners but, as they lost their head-to-head game, they finished 2nd. Key Stage 3 boys finished 3rd in their group. Key Stage 4 girls finished 4th in their group but were tied with 3rd, again losing their head-to-head in the last match, which finished 21-20. Key Stage 4 boys won their group in comprehensive style, winning all 5 of their games and only losing 25 points in total. The next stage is the regional round at Tyneside Badminton Centre and we wish them luck in their next matches.


Students Represent U18 County Squad

Joel Wingell, Andy Anderson and Jack Gray represented the U18 County squad in a 2-1 victory over local rivals Durham in mid-February. After the match, the manager contacted the school to say that all three boys were a credit to themselves and CLV. They all played extremely well and made a real difference to the side. Joel scored both goals for Northumberland whilst being marked by a defender who has been involved in the national set-up.

U16 NetballIn October 2014, the Under 16 netball team took part in the Northumberland Schools’ County Tournament. They were unbeaten throughout their pool matches and then went on to win their semi-finals and final games. As a result they were crowned Northumberland Champions and went on to represent the County in the Regional Tournament held at Sport Central, Northumbria University in January this year. The girls did very well, coming up against some really strong competition to finish 5th overall. We look forward to continued success in the Northumberland League.

Football

U13s progress well in both league and cup

The year 8 girls’ team are unbeaten in the group stages of the Malcolm Berry Cup beaten teams such as Ponteland Middle School 4-0 and Kenton School 7-0! The girls go into the finals as group winners. The squad also reached the fifth round of the English Schools National Cup competition, getting down to the last 16 of over 300 teams. If there are any year 7 girls who would like to join the squad training sessions are Mondays after school, 3:15 - 4:15pm. The U13 boys’ team play Ovingham Middle School in the semi-final of the County Cup after beating NCEA in the quarter finals. The year 8 team also top the East Northumberland Schools’ FA League, winning all of their games so far.

U14s Football

The year 9 team have enjoyed a lot of success so far this year. They have represented the school in the National Cup and an outstanding effort saw them reach the final 32 of 644 teams. The team are also doing very well in the Morgan County Cup. Having received a bye in the first round they beat Astley and RGS in rounds 2 and 3 respectively. The team play their semi-final fixture against Walker.

Northumberland School Games: Sportshall Athletics FinalsThe year 7 & 8 Boys’ teams, along with the year 8 Girls’ teams, competed at the finals of the Sportshall Athletics, held at Morpeth’s Riverside Leisure Centre. Having won the previous round of the competition, students earned the right to compete against teams from the eight other qualifying schools. The standard of competition was incredible and although there were several individual and team successes, our teams finished just outside the top three. Highlights from the day include some excellent runs by Josh Fiddaman and the year 7 boys’ obstacle relay team. As a result of the performances on the day, several pupils attracted the interest of local running and athletics club coaching staff and were asked to train on a regular basis.

French Delight for Lucy Beecroft!Lucy Beecroft travelled to Lille in France to try and regain her French Junior Open Girls’ U19 title. Lucy had previously won this tournament but was unable to defend her title last year due to injury. What makes her achievement even more impressive is that this was Lucy’s first major competition after being off the court for over a year after suffering a back injury. To cap this fantastic win, Lucy has recently been selected to represent England in the European Championships in Finland in March. We are all extremely proud of her and wish her the best of luck for her forthcoming Squash commitments!


SOUND OF MUSIC

Year 9 Hub ShowcaseThe year 9 Secure Music classes were involved in a fantastic evening where sixty students performed in front of a sell-out audience in the Hub. Students had been practising for just a few weeks in their Music lessons. They formed their own bands amongst friendship groups, chose their own songs, learnt the parts and rehearsed as a band with very little input from their teachers.Students liked how professional the evening felt, all of the equipment was set-up, they had a sound check, a sound engineer and professional stage-lighting. The students were also very professional in the way they prepared before their slot, approached the stage and conducted themselves while performing.The standard of performances was high and both Mr Rigby and Miss Watson are extremely proud of both classes. This was the students’ first time performing in front of such a large audience in the Hub but everybody rose to the challenge. The bravery and talent shown on the night prepares students well for the Music GCSE. Mr Rigby and Miss Watson both very much look forward to working with such an impressive cohort. The evening was a great success and the students should feel very proud of themselves.

Wansbeck Music Festival A huge congratulations goes to our very talented Cramlington students who competed in the Wansbeck Music Festival. The Music department entered a number of categories and were very successful. All of the students involved did a wonderful job representing the school in this prestigious competition. I especially thank those students who sang for the school in the ‘Hymn’ category and ‘Choral’ category as we won a trophy for both! Their hard work paid off and the adjudicators agreed by awarding us first place for both categories.Our singing ensemble, led by Miss Gray our singing teacher, wentered the under 18 categories and sang Parting Glass and A Traditional African Hymn. The CLV Singing Group entered the Under 16 categories and sang You Raise Me Up, Say Something I’m Giving Up On You and Wade In The Water. The adjudicators were very impressed with all performances and complimented our students on their professional attitude.Daniel Newbury single-handedly represented the school in the guitar category and Judene Carr in the vocal solo category too. Both students should feel very proud to have competed alone with such conviction and self-assurance. The visit to the Wansbeck Music Festival was a very memorable event and I could not have imagined competing without such a dedicated and talented group of Cramlington students.

Music Dates for Your DiaryTuesday 9th June - Primary Play Day

Tuesday 14th July - Year 10d Solo Performance Showcase Thursday 16th July - Year 10c Solo Performance Showcase


D uring January years 7, 8 and 9 took part in their third and most successful Experience Week so far. Experience Week is so-called because we

want students to have an experience that is different to the usual lessons they have in school. The week gives all students time to immerse themselves in topics of interest and gives them an opportunity to use the learning skills, or 5Rs, of responsibility, resourcefulness, reasoning, reflection and resilience that they have been developing in school. In advance of the week all students had the chance to create their own timetable for part of the week from Monday and Wednesday. Each subject department plans workshops around

WHAT IF...YOU COULD CREATE YOUR OWN TIMETABLE?


the themes of Living Cities (for years 7 and 8) and ‘What if…?’ (for year 9) culminating in two days where pupils craft their final product to demonstrate their learning.

Standing on the shoulders of giants‘If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants’. Sir Isaac Newton.

Experience Weeks in years 7 and 8 saw students immersed in studying the world by developing their understanding of what cities are and examining how they work. Motivated by choice, students created their own timetables choosing from around 60 different workshop titles. For the first three days, students attended these workshops, designed by each department, about the topic. These ranged from ecological study of peregrine falcons-who have begun to find new homes in our cities-to studying the French origins of the sport parkour, or free-running, an athletic, gymnastic street sport. In

addition, each and every workshop included an opportunity to understand the concepts through a lens of numeracy or statistics.After three days, it was clear that the students had learned lots and taken many of the issues to heart. They were now ready to create work that demonstrated their learning and shone with quality. Over the final two days of the week, the students returned to the base camp of their tutor groups and began creating two-sided tiles about an idea of their choice: one side was to be an artistic representation of the main ideas and to include the use of data or statistics, while the other was to be a piece of academic writing summarising the main ideas learned. As students toiled and created, it became apparent that students were doing much more than repeat what had been taught in the workshops and had begun researching and questioning the ideas. A splendid example came from Josh in year 8, who had become animated about the scaremongering of the media over the current Ebola outbreak. Josh explained his opinion eloquently stating, “I don’t think it’s fair that the media say that Ebola is deadly- but two thirds of the people survive”. Clearly a budding

epidemiologist, taking an idea and making it his own. This was year 7’s first exposure to intensive project-based learning and they quickly recognised the pattern of work, critique and re-drafting we use to produce work of quality and pride. Year 8 are more used to these procedures and adapted quickly to the new challenge. One student was described by their learning guide as having “done more draft than Lionel Messi has scored goals!” Students supported one another through these days by providing feedback and encouragement, by sharing resources, ideas and questioning and, ultimately, through motivating one another through the hard work of drafting. The result of these efforts is apparent with artwork that is vibrant, clever and uses a variety of styles to give some stunning impressions. Overall, the work went above and beyond the initial input from the workshops and showed the students truly standing on the shoulders of giants.

‘What if…?’Some of the workshops really grabbed year 9’s imaginations… here’s a brief


sample of what was on offer:• What if we could print our own

money?• What if we could travel at the

speed of light?• What if vampires really existed?• What if the Cuban Missile Crisis

had escalated?Behind these exciting questions there is some serious learning going on. For example, learning about standard form in maths to help understand the large numbers involved in speed of light calculations; learning about creative writing techniques in the vampires workshop and honing our students’ historical skills as they investigate the decisions faced by John F. Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis.Students tell us that they love the variety of experience and the way the theme of the week brings relevance to their learning. It brings a crucial opportunity to develop a culture of drafting and critique and highlights the importance of quality work. Another key feature of the success of the week is that students have the chance to choose their lessons and create their own personalised timetable. For many of our students this is a novel way of gaining deeper insight into the subjects they are keen

to take through into GCSE and is also a chance to meet new teachers and work alongside different students.Literacy and writing skills are a crucial part of our curriculum here at Cramlington Learning Village and we know that students really begin to improve their writing skills when they are faced with purposeful challenges which involve the whole community. In 2015 the focus of the week was

the ‘Big Write’ with students in year 9 challenged to create a unique piece of writing based on their favourite workshop. An important part of our school culture is using the structured feedback from students in the class to make sustained improvements in pieces of work. This critique process is a really important part of Experience week and students rely on the helpful and specific feedback they get from each other to make their work the very best that it can be.All our students spent two full days crafting and sweating over the fine details of their final written piece, often going through many drafts because they know that the whole community will see their work. Each home group has produced a printed book, containing quality work from each student, which will be published and a copy distributed to each household. Overall, the whole week was a great success for our students and once again showed the high standards of work of which they are capable.


UNIVERSITY - IS IT FOR ME?

T he final decision about whether to go to university or not is

usually made by Sixth Form students towards the end of their first year of A levels when the application procedure starts but the experience of university life often starts much lower down the school. Our local universities, Newcastle and Northumbria, are proactive in offering school students the opportunity to visit the university campus and work with current university students or they are happy to come into a school and work here with us. CLV takes advantage of such opportunities with a range of year groups from year 7 through to year 11.If someone in the family has been to university or is currently studying there, then our younger students can gain an understanding of what higher education is all about and where it could lead in terms of careers. But what if no one has experienced higher education in a family? The activities organised by Newcastle and Northumbria can give our students an insight into this as a future pathway and encourage them to aim high in life.One of our Challenge Wednesday activities in the Junior Learning Village is Planet Science and, once each half term, students from the STEM Outreach team at Newcastle University come in and deliver an interactive session with year 7 and 8 students entitled Chemistry in Your Shopping Basket, looking at how Science is all around us.In February a group of 30 year 8 students were involved in the Star Student game with Northumbria University students. This involved

playing a giant floor game with a large dice and introduced students to the concept of higher education, covering a range of subjects from courses to social life to finance.Also in February a group of 24 year 9 students attended the Higher Education Focus event at Northumbria University. They worked in small groups with university students throughout the day on a range of activities to find out more about university life and the courses on offer including a guided tour of the campus and facilities. One of our groups won the campus tour competition by being the first group back with all the correct answers – beating the 2 other schools also involved in the event!A new venture for us this year is the MaD Day at Newcastle University exploring Medicine and Dentistry courses. These days are offered to a very small group of year 9 students interested in these careers in the future and involve lectures and practical sessions in both subjects. Look out for a report on this in a future edition of Discover magazine.In March we are taking a larger group

of year 10 students to an ACE Day at Newcastle University. They will be working with current university students looking at what life is really like including what courses are on offer, what careers they could lead to, what a typical day looks like for the average student and the social life on offer. Our students will also have a ‘campus crawl’ including the opportunity to go into one of the many cafes on site and have lunch! A group of year 9 students are attending a science club on Thursdays after school where they are learning how to teach younger students about science. They will eventually go into a local primary school and try out their skills with real pupils! By encouraging our younger students to get involved in activities with our local universities, it is hoped that they will be better prepared to make the all important decision in Sixth Form as to whether to go to university or not. Even if they decide higher education is not for them, students will be making a more informed decision and will hopefully have had some fun experiences along the way.


We are looking forward to our new Year 12 in 2015. We offer all our students an interview to help advise and support them as they make their Sixth Form choices. These meetings take a little bit of time but are a great opportunity to discuss future plans and begin to design programmes. We are able to provide advice about courses and explain a little of the great enrichment programme we provide. Our senior students have been on hand during the whole process to discuss their experiences and give the student perspective on courses and enrichment. They were able to discuss the world challenge to Ghana and Summer Schools in Cambridge. We have thoroughly enjoyed meeting our Year 11 students and are now interviewing the students who hope to join us from other schools. It’s an exciting time!

JOINING SIXTH FORM IN SEPTEMBER?

Find Out More

We know how hard it is to make some decisions so we invite our new Year 12 students to join us on our In2Sixth Form course in July. As well as getting to know the Sixth Form, this is a great opportunity to find out more about the courses and enrichment on offer and to pick up some work for the Summer!

Make sure you stand out

We encourage all our Sixth Form students to take advantage of the enrichment opportunities. This will be different for each student. A student interested in studying law in the future may get involved in Debating Matters competition. They may visit the European Youth Parliament and take part in the Politics trip. They will certainly get involved in the law master class and they may secure an internship. Interested in nursing, dentistry or medicine? Most students sign up for the Mini Medical School and attend master classes. There are lots of opportunities to work on charity events and some students have helped organise some excellent community events. There are plenty of opportunities! The main thing is to get to know what is available and get involved.


T he Spring term is a very busy period for enrichment in CLV Sixth Form. We have a wide range of activities on offer to suit all

of our students. No matter what their chosen pathway after Sixth form, whether university or the workplace, we have activities to help prepare students for their next steps. February has already seen a successful Medical Master Class take place, where students from our Sixth Form were able to gain an insight into life as a medic. This follows on from the Mini Medical School which ran earlier in the year hosted by Newcastle University. The Mini Medical School is a series of six interactive lectures which explore the world of Medical Sciences. Feedback from our students was hugely positive. They particularly enjoyed the “day in the life” sessions and found them useful to help inform their future university and career routes.Sticking with the medical theme, we have offered hugely successful first aid courses this year, with the next one scheduled for March. These are led by an external provider who comes into school and teaches our students essential first aid; everything from basic everyday skills to coping with emergencies. These sessions have been very popular with students considering a medical or care related route after Sixth Form, as well as those who would just like to be a bit more confident in how to cope with a

ENRICHING ACTIVITIES IN THE SIXTH FORM

first aid situation.As we head towards the Government elections this year, we have our own chance to voice our opinions at the European Youth Parliament (EYP) regional forum this March. The EYP has been a forum for discussion and reflection for European youth on European policies for more than twenty years. Our students will gain new skills in debating and public speaking, as well as education around key issues in British and European politics. The Regional Forum will take place over one day and is made up of a General Assembly, with each school Committee making a Proposition speech, Defence Speech and Attack Speech. This follows our success earlier this year in the Debating Matters competition, where our students won their first round of debates. We will participate in the Northern round of the finals later in the year.For the first time this year, we are participating in GirlsGetSET. This is an exciting scheme aimed at showing girls what Science, Engineering and Technology (or SET for


short) are all about. In Britain today, 39% of businesses are struggling to recruit workers with advanced SET skills. To help address this issue, GirlsGetSET aims to excite students about what it is really like to work in high-tech industries such as aviation, health or energy, highlighting the massive opportunities open to them if they consider a future career in SET. This could be anything from designing the fastest rollercoaster to finding an alternative energy source. The programme is provided by GE volunteers who deliver a combination of projects, events and workshops. These focus not only on developing technical skills but also on sharing GE learning materials to improve softer skills such as negotiating with and influencing others.Our popular ESH employability programme comes to an end this term. Students signed up to this opportunity back in September and have attended five workshops across the year so far, with the final session taking place in March. This programme is particularly suited to students who want to enter the workplace after Sixth Form. It covers everything from creating a CV and knowing how to market yourself through to how to

prepare thoroughly for an interview. Once the workshops have finished, the final stage of the programme will see our students heading out to real businesses for mock interviews. Students will receive feedback on their performance and hopefully build their confidence before they head out for real interviews in the future. As we head into the summer term we have two main focuses in terms of enrichment. The first is work experience which takes place in the first two weeks of June, followed by the two week community projects. The purpose of these projects is to give something back and make a difference, as well as providing students with the opportunity to work with people they may not ordinarily encounter. Last year we saw students volunteering at The Bay Foodbank and The People’s Kitchen,

spending time in joint projects with young people with learning difficulties and disabilities, arranging activity days for residents in sheltered accommodation, contributing to the Cramlington in Bloom submission by creating a floral display in a mining cart sculpture built from scratch and organising the Northumberland Student Games, in which primary students from across the county assembled here at CLV. We are very much looking forward to see what this year brings!


COUNTDOWN!

L ast year saw the launch of our first ever Countdown week. This exciting new project aims to ease the transition process for our year

6 students through a series of fun, family-oriented activities and trips as well as boosting literacy and numeracy skills. Feedback on the week was overwhelmingly positive with all the families taking part saying they’d highly recommend it. As a result a series of follow-up Countdown days was organised throughout the year. The first of these took place during October half term. Students and their families enjoyed a trip to the Kielder Bird of Prey Centre where they had the opportunity to handle a variety of birds including owls, hawks and kestrels. Head Keeper, Ray, showed students some of the gorier aspects of handling these birds, such as feeding them with bits of baby chicks – and allowed the less squeamish members of the group to have a go themselves!The aim of the day was to collect enough information to create leaflets for visitors to the Kielder Birds of Prey Centre and students worked hard researching, writing and illustrating to create a product they can be proud of. The students were so impressed by their visit they also took part in a sponsored read during November to raise money to adopt an owl at the Centre. Countdown to Cooking took place over two days during February half term. The first day saw a visit to a local cheese farm to see how cheese is made and packaged then served and sold in the cafe and shop. Day two involved turning the JLV Knowledge Cafe into a tea-room! After learning the ins and outs of a professional kitchen from Head Chef, James, our

year 7 students had just three hours to work in teams to plan and prepare afternoon tea for their families, creating everything from quiche to chocolate brownies - from scratch. Students greeted parents, took drinks orders, handed out menus, place cards and recipes and served up some very tasty treats, experiencing for themselves just how important literacy, communication skills and numeracy are in the real world. Staff were particularly impressed with the way students put just as much effort into their written work and number skills as into the cooking and presentation of the dishes. Everyone worked exceptionally hard to ensure that the tea was outstanding and the comments from the families - and the empty plates - proved this was definitely the case!All the students and their families who have completed the Countdown activities will be going to Seven Stories, the National Centre for Children’s Books, in Newcastle during the Easter holidays for a final celebration of their achievements. Invitations to take part in next year’s Countdown programme will be going out to year 6 students very soon.


COUNTDOWN!

WORKING WITH FAMILIESFamily LearningChildren spend only 15% of their time at school and 85% at home therefore Cramlington Learning Village provides an ongoing programme of activities for families during the school holidays which are open to all ages, including children in Primary Schools, to support continuous learning.Children attend with an adult to take part in fun activities which have included Cooking, Badminton, Circus Skills and Birds of Prey. We have also provided themed events celebrating Chinese New Year, Easter, Christmas and Halloween. Fliers are given out to our students but just in case they get lost at the bottom of a bag you can also get all the information you need from Cramlington Learning Village website in the section for Parents.Sometimes students are invited to attend specific Family Learning events such as our Countdown to Summer programme which has been running for some of our Year 7 students who recently joined us from Primary Schools. This exciting programme has continued every holiday and has involved the students, their parents and siblings having fun on trips, cooking, drawing, music production and learning new skills to help them with their transition from Primary to Secondary School.

Parent SupportWhen asked what she did for a living one lady replied, “I’m just a parent”. Being a parent is a full time job with no pay and no holidays. You are a parent, nurse, bank, entertainer, rule enforcer, taxi driver, cleaner, laundrette, cook, mediator, teacher, time keeper, planner, counsellor, story teller and much more.We know that sometimes family life can be challenging and difficult but that parents and carers want to do the best that they can for their children. Cramlington Learning Village Parent Support Worker, Jill, is available to support parents on a one-to-one basis. Jill works with parents to identify other support available, identify strengths and support families with any worries or concerns. Although Jill doesn’t have all the answers she can help parents to work out some solutions. Jill also delivers group support. Understanding Teens are Lottery funded workshops which will be running every half term until Summer. The workshops will run on a Wednesday afternoon, 1-3pm, at Cramlington Learning Village and are delivered in an informal way over a hot drink and a biscuit. They will cover strategies for dealing with behaviour and support from other parents.Parents who have attended the workshops in the past have said that before attending they felt isolated, lonely and stressed. After they attended for six weeks they said they would recommend the workshops to other people and said they gained confidence, support, friends, coping strategies and an improved understanding of their children.If you would like to know more or book a place you can contact Jill for an informal chat or to meet up with you before the workshops.

‘I’M LOVING THE CLV TRIPS AND ACTIVITIES YOU’RE PLANNING AND CAN’T WAIT FOR THE EASTER EVENTS’

Email Jill Milburn

Contact UsContact Jill Milburn, Parent Support, for more information on Family Learning or Parent Support:

Tel: 07966123030


mailto:jmilburn%40cramlingtonlv.co.uk%20?subject=Infomation%20on%20Family%20Learning

technology across Europe and to influence its direction.The results of the study will soon be publicly available along with CPD materials for schools across Europe based on the best practice identified across all schools involved.If you are interested in taking part in the accompanying course you can find more information here.

Parental survey

In addition to the results above we would also welcome your thoughts on e-safety. We have designed a questionnaire to help us find out what you feel about this topic and would appreciate your taking the time to fill this in.

CLV e-Learning Award

We are pleased to announce that our school has been designated Regional e-Learning Champion. This award recognises the work we do with technology and takes into account our online provision, VLE offering, use of Google Apps for Education and our 1:1 initiatives. The award also places us in a position to offer our expertise to other schools in the region to help other schools improve their own e-learning provision.

Cramlington leading the way in the EUN Creative Classroom

This month we come to the end of a two year study we have been involved in run by European Schoolnet. The EUN Creative Classroom project has seen us involved as the lead school for the UK and has afforded us the chance to work with leading schools from across nine different European countries. We are proud to have been selected as the lead school for the UK. The project has helped us to stay abreast of the best work being carried out with

Visit European Schoolsnet Website

Open the Survey

ICT AWARE


http://www.europeanschoolnetacademy.eu/web/tablets-in-schools

http://cramlv.co.uk/?134

e-Safety AdviceWe would like to take this opportunity to remind you that there is a useful and comprehensive e-safety section on Frog. We would encourage you to look at this section so you are fully informed about how to keep your child safe online. We have recently updated our e-safety section and there are a whole range of videos which provide advice. Another useful resource is www.thinkuknow.co.uk.Please also take a moment to view the animation made by Lucy Beesley in year 7 which was the winning entry of our recent e-safety competition. The animation provides 8 steps to staying safe online.

Online Safety

We have recently been involved in research carried out by the organisations Family, Kids and Youth and Tablets 4 Schools. This research was aimed at finding out about the online habits of school age children. As part of the research our school has received results for our own students and we would like to bring your attention to the online habits of our children and provide some advice on what this may mean for you as a parent. The videos summarise the results of this survey and highlight the things we think you will be most interested in as parents. You can also see the full set of results on the e-safety section of Frog.

Watch the Animation

Watch the video

Parent PortalIn September we upgraded our Virtual Learning Environment (Frog). This has already made our teachers’ lives easier, combining online lesson plans with the best of Google apps. As part of the upgrade we also switched our students’ email to Gmail, enabling smoother communication, in turn empowering collaboration. It has also been a hit with parents and we have seen the number of parent portal logins almost double this year, as parents seize the opportunity to be part of their child’s learning. Part of the success is our new username and password system. Parents can now be emailed their login details should they forget. There is a link to a form on the Frog login page, where you can enter your email address, registered with the school, and your parent portal login details, will be automatically emailed to you. In addition, when logged into the portal, you can update your contact details (by using the SMS and Email tab).By linking the parent portal to an email addresses, it is not just parents who benefits. This year, CLV invested in a new communication system that allows us to email most of our information rather than posting. This is making substantial savings in stamps alone and the money saved is being reinvested back into our classrooms.


http://cramlv.co.uk/?69b

http://cramlv.co.uk/?9c2

FOCUS ON NUMERACYCan algebra make you rich?What is the point of algebra? Why is it important? When will I ever use it in real life? All of these questions are being explored by year 7 as they make links between challenging algebraic concepts and the relevance these have to everyday situations. Year 7 students have used finding the nth term to support Arthur Pickett with his business plan, straight line graphs for comparing mobile phone tariffs and solving equations to assist a clumsy waitress. In Been Places, year 7 have been investigating exchange rates and conversions between different currencies.

How did Maths help win WWII?What is the maximum volume of a Red Cross parcel? How does the volume change as the dimensions of the cuboid change? How did the forces use bearings to ascertain the precise location of the enemy? This half term our year 8 students have been looking in depth at World War II through the eyes of of a mathematician. Whether it was using trial and improvement to test the bouncing bomb, or sequences to model formations, or even loci to plan the best position to put an air raid shelter, Maths truly was responsible for helping to win World War II.

Living Cities 2015: More than facts and figuresWho knew that the decimal 1.1, multiplication and the volume of a lemon can be so powerful that they can power an electric car? The ratio of toilets to people in Mumbai is represented by the ratio 1:1500, whilst Christ the Redeemer oversees the 1,000,000 people living in favelas. This is just a snapshot of some of the powerful statistics unpacked by some of our young mathematicians throughout Experience Week. Students not only demonstrated their mathematical literacy, but also began to understand the role that Mathematics plays in helping us understand the world around us. As part of the next round of student-led conferences, students will be showcasing their Living Cities tile, explaining what their powerful statistic shows, how their artwork illustrates this and why they are proud of their work.

AfterMath Enrichment - Get Involved!A big well done to all of our Gifted and Talented students who decided to take up the Newcastle University Junior Maths challenge. Their enthusiasm, mathematical reasoning and collaborative approach has led to some impressive entries. A big well done to Owen Yellowley who, by attending the after school sessions, has improved his competencies score from 6 to a whopping 15! Hard work really does pay off.

Maths Enrichment TimetableMilestone preparation Tuesday - milestone assessment support with Mr Bowman in Explore 4

AfterMath Club Thursday - Home Learning and MyMaths support with Miss Shanks, Miss Collingwood and Mr Carmichael in Explore 1 & 2

MyMaths Catch Up Friday - Homework/MyMaths support and classroom catch up with Mrs Ruddick in Explore 4

Year 7 Gifted and Talented Club Tuesday - with Mr WelchYear 8 Gifted and Talented Club Tuesday - with Mr Nichols

Don’t forget to collect those Baccalaureate enrichment points!


Escalator Update - Moving On Up!Another term brings more success for our year 7 and 8 mathematicians. A phenomenal 80 students in year 7 have escalated, while 35 students in year 8 have improved and managed to secure promotion to a higher set.

Catch-Up MathsA big shout out to the 23 students who attended our summer school programme for making at least one sublevel of progress in Maths (so far!). This is a fantastic achievement, well done!

Maths website of the term Use your chromebook or pc to explore beautiful graphs with

What’s the same and what is different about the graphs

x2+y2 = 4 and x2+y2 = 25?

Maths Tip of the TermHundreds of jobs require you to be able to convert between metric units from doctors calculating medication doses to an architect making a scale drawing.

Remember ‘kilo’ means thousand and ‘centi’ means a hundredth, e.g. 4.5kg = 4500g375cm = 3.75m

In construction and engineering the unit of choice is millimetres. Use the visual above to convert 375cm to mm.

www.desmos.com


www.desmos.com

FOCUS ON LITERACY

C ramlington Learning Village places great emphasis on the

importance of equipping our students with the necessary skills required for their future; good literacy skills are a key requirement for any person in the 21st century. As research conducted by the Literacy Trust indicates, people with good literacy skills are more likely to have higher self-esteem, better health, better jobs and higher wages than those with poor literacy skills. We are committed to ensuring that each and every child is fully supported in their literacy development to enable them to make the progress of which they are capable.

The Literacy Tracker: What is it?The Literacy Tracker, mentioned in the previous issue of Discover, is being successfully trialled by English, Humanities and Create for year 7 students. The Humanities department are also using it with year 8 students. The staff from these departments are adding data from pieces of work that have been marked for literacy, as well as setting personalised targets for each student. This system provides links to relevant videos and websites in relation to each area of development. Students should be utilising this information, available via the English subject page, when they are completing any extended writing. Over the next term, Learning Guides in the JLV will begin to use the Tracker in Learning Reviews and will have a conversation about the progress students are making in their writing skills.


The Literacy Toolkit: How can it help my child?The Literacy Toolkit can be found on the FROG home page, under the Learning Toolkits link. This continues to be an excellent resource for students to help support their progress. The Literacy Toolkit has six sections:

What can I do to help?Any additional time spent on literacy will be hugely beneficial to your child. Some suggested activities to promote literacy include:• Discuss the purpose, audience and form of a text or a piece of writing your child completes (more info can

be found in the the Literacy Toolkit). The student should be aware of why they are writing (for example, to persuade or to inform), the intended audience and what the final text should look like

• Encourage reading, both fiction and non-fiction texts• Read together or discuss a variety of texts including magazines, comics and newspapers as well as books• Let your child see you reading regularly - magazines and newspapers are fine• Introduce and define new vocabulary, trying to use the words in different contexts• Encourage proofreading of work, using the literacy mat (available on the writing section of the Literacy Toolkit)

and focusing on capital letters for proper nouns and at the start of sentences and full stops for the end of sentences

• Visit the local library and literacy-centred venues such as Seven Stories in Newcastle• Play word games such as Scrabble, Boggle or Bananagrams• Complete crosswords or word searches.

• Writing• Reading• Speaking and

Listening

• Reading for Pleasure• Literacy Skills and

Resources• News and Updates

The Speaking and Listening section has been developed since the start of the year and includes a document called Four Strands of Oracy. This encourages students to consider four key aspects to help improve the way they express themselves verbally. We are looking to continually add new resources to each section and it is well worth a look through, especially when helping your child with their home learning. In the near future, we are looking to include resources such as spelling strategies as well as common errors found in students’ work which can be used to aid proofreading.


cramlington learning village - discover easter 2015

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