Community Community News December 2006

SALTLEY SCHOOL AND SPECIALIST SCIENCE COLLEGE

Dear Parents and Friends

Congratulations to Year 11 on their excellent approach to their important ‘mock’ examination. There will be a ‘mock’ Result Day in January – with subject grades delivered in brown envelopes. This will be a practice run for the big day in August!

We are confi dent that the GCSE/GNVQ results 2007 will be as successful and exciting as in 2006 when all records were broken and 60% achieved 5 or more A*-C grades.

Congratulations also to the School Council who are doing a fantastic job. They recently gave an excellent presentation to Governors.

It’s been a really busy term ending as usual with the popular Talent Show. I hope everyone will return refreshed after the holiday ready to learn and achieve in 2007.

Christmas good wishes and Eid Mubarak.Best wishes.

Saltley soars to even greater success 60% of pupilsachieve 5 A-C Grades

Saltley’s year 11 pupils obtained their best GCSE/GNVQ grades yet. We beat all records with 60% of pupils achieving

5 or more A-Cs grades, 96% gaining 5 A-Es and 99% gaining at least one qualifi cation. The secret of our success is parents,

pupils and staff working together. All the most successful pupils have attendance of 95% or higher.

Our top three achievers are:

School Council gets creative with Building School Council gets creative with Building Schools for the Future ProjectSchools for the Future Project

Shining Star AwardsLorraine Jordan a year 11 pupil from last year’s Chrysalis Group along with Maria Bant (advisor of Chrysalis Group) received a Shining Star Award from Dame Tanni Grey Thompson – Disabled Olympic Gold Medalist for their innovative Broadway Project with Alderman Bowen and Bordesley Green day Centre.

Mozam Hussain

English A* Double Science A*A* Maths A* History A* RE A* Literature APE A* Leisure & Tourism AA Urdu A* IT Distinction

Aminah Sheikh

Art A Double Science AA English A Maths A Geography B History BLiterature A PE BRE A IT Merit

Mohammed Aqeel

Urdu A Double Science AEnglish A Maths AHistory A Technology CLiterature A PE ARE A

Andrew Rens Cheryl Damms

Jessica Shah

Craig Newis

Keely Phillips Lee Taplin

Nasser Ali

Rebecca Hodgson

Steven Dalai

Violet Zvidi

And congratulations too, to 103 other puplis who achieved 5 or more higher level GCSE’s. Here are some of them

Saltley School pupils attended an Author EveNovember. The event was organised by Mrs Hal

Author and storyteller Graham Langley was invtelling. The following pupils attended the event h

Luke Batcheltor 8NSH Naira Nasim 8JMC Javeyareyah Shafi 8DOM Leanne Powell 8DOM Lauren Preece 10LHU

The pupils were involved in workshops with Graattended Rob Gee, Steve Carroll and Ben Kingsbrand of poetry, which was physical and loud bworkshops and then all pupils had to perform thThe pupils enjoyed all aspects of the day andby either the author or a poet.

Primary and Specialist School Science investigationsThe Science department has worked with a number of local primary schools and Calthorpe Specialist School and Sports College during the Autumn Term and this work will continue throughout the school year. We have been inviting pupils into Saltley School to conduct scientifi c experiments and investigations.

Mr Hadi began working with Year 5 Shaw Hill Primary School pupils on Monday 6th November. The pupils completed a cells and microscope experiment.

Mr Khan began working with Year 5 Bordesley Green Primary School pupils on Thursday 12th October investigating different types of soils and rocks.

Bordesley Green pupils investigating different rock types.

Bordesley Green pupil testing the properties of a rock using new equipment, such as hydrochloric acid.

Pupils investigating the properties of soil.

Bordesley Green pupils working on soil experiment.

Mr Khan talking to Bordesley Green pupils about the results of their experiment.

Mr Hadi explains to Shaw Hill pupils how to use a microscope and what they will do during the experiment.

Mr Hadi demonstrates to two Shaw Hill pupils how to adjust the objective lens on a microscope.

Our continuing work with Calthorpe Specialist School and Sports College started on Wednesday 22nd November. We invited a group of 12 pupils to work with Miss Awan and 7C in science lessons.

Miss Awan observing Saltley and Calthorpe pupils investigating acids and alkalis.

Science MasterclassesMasterclassesOur high achieving Year 11 pupils started after school science masterclasses on Wednesday 8th November at Saltley School, with lecturers from Joseph Chamberlain College. There will be a total of 18 classes: 6 each of Biology, Chemistry and Physics and each class will cover a different topic.

Maggie Perry, Head of Science at Joseph Chamberlain College explains kidney ultrafi ltration during a Biology masterclass session at Saltley School. Maggie discusses answers to questions using interactive whiteboard software, Boardworks.

Gifted and TalentedMiss Brown and 11 Gifted and Talented pupils from Saltley School participated in a Forensic Science workshop on Wednesday 1st November at St. Albans Secondary School. Other secondary schools within the local area took part. The pupils were presented with a real life forensic murder case study and using the evidence provided, they had to solve the crime!

Saltley’s Perfo

Year 11 Visit to Places of Worship.Year 11 Visit to Places Year 11 RE GCSE students spent the day visitinFirst of all we visited the Central Jamia Mosqueteacher Mr Akram. From there we visited Corputhen Yardley Old Church in the afternoon. The vall agreed that the information collected will pro

On Monday 6th November the School Bank opened for Year 7 pupils. This was a great success. We have taken on new members of staff this term to run the school bank, Year 9 pupils Amir Nassar and Brooklyn Coates. They are doing a fantastic job!

School BankSchool Bank

Saltley and Calthorpe pupils working together during an experiment.

Year 8 Visit to CovAs part of their studies on forgiveness and reconciliCathedral. We were shown around the ruins of the o

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and the new cathedral which is a world centre for reconciliation throughout the world. Everyone enjoyed their visit and very impressed by the beautiful architecture of the new cathedral.

vent at Moseley School on Wednesday 8th all who runs the LRC.

invited to discuss with pupil the art of story t held at Moseley School:

Kieran Fenney 8SAWDaniel Preece 8DOMHannah McDonnell 8DOMAndrew Hall 8NSH

raham Langley and three performance poets gston. The poets performed their own unique but very entertaining. Each group attended

their own work in front of the audience.and each one received a certifi cate signed

orming Poets

Roald Dahl’s “Yellow” Day!Wednesday 13th September saw Saltley School transformed into a tribute to Roald Dahl. Yellow was Roald Dahl’s favourite colour so the LRC become a sea of yellow for the day, to celebrate his 90th Birthday. Pupils joined in quizzes and competitions, the prize winners each received copies of some of Roald

Dahl’s most memorable books.

We love reading in the LRCAs part of the National Children’s Book Week, Mrs Hall in the LRC invited all Saltley staff to remember their favourite book. Librarians Sophina Bano year 10, Lauren Preece year 10 and Thomas O’Donnell year 11 were the senior librarians who read the books and selected their favourite.

The Godfather – Mario Puzu (Fiction) This is based upon an Italian family who controlled New York through a range of illegal activities in the fi rst half of the 20th century. Mr O’Mahoney read this book in school when he was in year 9.

Danny the Champion of the World – Roald Dahl (Fiction) “I love this book because it is a ‘make me feel good’ book. It cheers me up every time I read it. It tells the story of Danny and all the great times he had with his father. Danny’s dad sounds like the best father in the world” Miss Shaheen

A big thank you goes to all the staff who joined in including the kitchen staff who presented a piece of work . These are their choices:

Ms Elger – The Chalet School Series Mrs Morris – Mallery Tavers Series Ms Whittle – Anne of Green Gables Mrs Malton – The Little Lost Angel Ms Croft – Jane Eyre Miss Oak – The Swish of the Curtain Mr Alcott – 1984 by George Orwell Mr Ollerenshaw – Jennings Books Ms Gilchrist – The Owl who was afraid of the dark

Saltley School pupils will be helping choose the winners of the Birmingham Book Awards. The awards, run by the School’s Library Service and based on the theme “Imagine”, will be running in 81 schools in Birmingham. Each pupil taking part in the awards will have the chance to vote for their favourite books on an interactive website. The book with the fewest votes will be eliminated just like Big Brother! The group meets once a week in the LRC to change their books and discuss their reading with Mrs Woolley or Ms Hall. All of the reading group members are eager to have the chance to contribute to the award scheme. Many thanks to Ms Hall and the pupil librarians in the LRC for their help and enthusiasm.

The books in the fi nal 14 are:

The Book of Everything by Gus Kuijer The Divide by Elizabeth KayPrivate Peaceful by Michael MorpurgoCentury by Sarah SingletonThe Night Hunter by Alan GibbonsElsewhere by Gabrielle ZevinWorm in the Blood by Thomas BloorThe Howling Tower by Michael Coleman

The winners were:

1st Aidan Fenney Year 72nd Joshua Emmerson Year 73rd Steven Adkins Year 8Joint 3rd Lee Chapman Year 8

A special prize went to Armaghan Shahid for his enthusiasm in joining in all the events.All of the pupils who joined in the fun were given a yellow ribbon. A very special thank you must go to Miss Woolley for all her hard work in making the day a great success, also to the English Dept for their help. All the pupils had a great time. So please remember to read Roald Dahl!

Sabriel by Garth NixLife of Pi by Yann MartelThe Merrybegot by Julie HearnCrow Girl by Kate CannNoughts and Crosses by Malorie BlackmanNorthern Lights by Phillip Pullman

Safety If you park on yellow lines outside the school you are endangering pupils’ lives. Your car will block the road for other drivers and more importantly your children cannot see the traffi c on the road when they leave school.

Exercise Are your children getting enough exercise? Could they walk to and from school with you?

Water Is your child drinking enough water? Your child needs to drink 8 to 10 cups a day to help to keep a healthy body and mind. Remember your child can drink water from a bottle in lessons.

Diet Your child should be eating 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day to be healthy and be able to learn effectively. Reminder:

- fruit is now reduced to 15p in the dining hall.

- pupils are entitled to a free vegetable portion every day.

Sleep Your child needs 8 or 9 hours sleep if they are to feel rested, full of energy and working as hard as they can

Please help us to help you –your child matters!

LifeLife is trouble, easy to solve

No more tension, no more roleJust try to live cold

You never ever look oldEvery part as shiny as gold

Speak truth life never be bold Please not ignore try to behold

National Poetry Day was held on Thursday 5th October. Pupils were asked to choose their favourite poems and perform them in front of a selected audience. Lots of pupils attended and with help from Ms Bond, the event was a huge success. One of our pupils felt that her contribution should go that one step further and she entered the Birmingham Young Poet Laureate competition.

Fatima entered 4 poems with a theme of Identity, below is am example of just one of them.

She was rewarded for her efforts by receiving a certifi cateWell done to Fatima Khalid 11H

Parents – how you can help your child to make more progress !

Do you know that you do not have to understand your child’s work to help them to make more progress? They keys to your child’s success could be your interest, confi dence and questions. You can make a big difference to your child’s success by asking them about their day at school and what they have learnt. Do not be put off by your child telling you that you would not understand! Ask your child to make you understand – explain it, describe it, draw a diagram. You will be surprised what you and your child can learn together.One of the best ways for your child to learn, remember and revise any subjects, topic or idea is to talk it through for few minutes each day. Your child studies 5 subjects a day – 10 minutes discussing your childs day could improve their memory and confi dence. Please try it, what have you got to lose?

You can ask to see their exercise books and then ask them to tell you:

- fi ve key facts about a piece of work- what the work is about in one, two,

three or four sentences- what they found hard and easy

about this piece of work

Every Child Matters and so does yours!

Year 11 Visit to Places of Worship.es of Worship.iting places of worship in Birmingham. ue and were shown around by an ex pus Christi Roman Catholic Church and

e visits were enjoyed by everyone and we rove invaluable for their GCSE studies.

School Bank

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ventry Cathedralciliation, 55 year 8 pupils visited Coventry e old cathedral bombed during World War 2,

what’s happening in the Learning Resource Centre

Year 7 Parent Evening

Strongly agree Agree disagree strongly disagree Don’t knowThe School Prospectus was helpful in choosing my child’s new secondary school 29% 65% 3% 0% 3%The Open Evening was helpful in choosing my child’s new school 29% 63% 2% 0% 6%The pupils at Open Evening were polite and helpful 36% 60% 0% 0% 4%The Parents’ Welcome Booklet contained the information I needed 36% 61% 0% 0% 3%I found Parents’ Induction Evening to be informative 32% 63% 0% 1% 4%My child enjoyed the Induction Day and found it informative 44% 53% 1% 1% 1%My child has settled well into Saltley School 54% 44% 1% 1% 0%The School makes a real effort to help children settle into the school 47% 51% 2% 0% 0%My child enjoys school 47% 51% 1% 0% 1%My child is making good progress because the teaching is good at school 42% 52% 6% 0% 0%I feel that my child is safe and well cared for at school 38% 53% 3% 2% 4%Behaviour in school is good 35% 50% 10% 2% 3%I am happy with the level of homework my child receives 41% 47% 10% 1% 1%My child’s Progress Report informs me of how my child is doing 44% 55% 0% 0% 1%I have found this Parents’ Evening useful 42% 57% 1% 0% 0%

98% of year 7 parents say their child has settled well into Saltley98% of year 7 parents say their child enjoys schoolYear 11 parents we would be delighted to print the results of your questionnaires but we need more questionnaries returned. We are always willing to listen to your comments and concerns.

For more information about how you can help your child please contact Mr Bussey or Mrs Burton on 0121 464 1807.

PARENTS CORNERPARENTS CORNER

SALTLEY SCHOOL AND SPECIALIST SCIENCE COLLEGE

AttendanceThe school and ESW service began a SPOTLIGHT initiative in November. It focuses on a target group of 20 -25 pupils with the highest rates of unauthorised absences.

Spotlight fast tracks these pupils and families through the legal process of fi nes and court action within weeks rather than months as previously happened.

Most parents have had a letter outlining the scheme. The parents of the identifi ed group have also been informed.

The good news is that 174 pupils have attended every day so far this term. Well done to everyone who has achieved 100% attendance.

Photography SessionsPhotography SessionsThis was a short project provided by Parkview City Learning Centre based on digital photography.

It involved three sessions at Saltley School.All pupils were working with individual digital cameras and a laptop each to create their piece of work.The last session which will take place at Parkview City Learning Centre will involve the pupils printing wall hangings for their display back at Saltley School. They will also create an African headdress using Photoshop Elements.Parkview CLC would like to thank Mrs Deol and also to all the pupils who took part in this project. Well Done to: Naeem, Hasrath, Qadeer, Kita & Kirsty

On Tuesday 17th October twelve pupils from the Gifted and Talented dance club visited Broadway Day Care to join in with their Diwali celebration. They performed 6 different dance pieces that demonstrated a wide variety of dance styles and they ended their performance by joining in with the staff from the centre in their Asian Dance piece.The staff at the centre commented on Saltley pupil’s superb performance and behaviour. Pupils were congratulated on being a credit to Saltley School.As this was such a success, the Midlands Asian Day Care Centre invited the dancers to join in with their Diwali celebration on 1st November.Both Centres have asked the dancers to return for their Christmas celebration in December. Well done!

Dancing with Professional Dancing with Professional On the 21st and 22nd of November six of our most talented dancers were given the fabulous opportunity to work with professional dance artists at The Dance Exchange, Hippodrome. The pupils worked with dance artists in residence and 19 other pupils from across the city. They then choreographed a dance, which they performed in an evening performance at the ‘Dance Exchange’. Well done to Robyn Bell, Jessica Clarke, Kimberly Cope, Charmaine Islam, Cassie Cowan, and Leanne Powell.

Saltley keeps on dancing…Saltley keeps on dancing… celebrating Diwali and then Christmascelebrating Diwali and then Christmas

Lottery Win!Lottery Win!Small Heath Cricket Club was formed twelve months ago to give our pupils and other children from the community a chance to play cricket. In its fi rst season the club won the under 15s Portman Cup, defeating along the way many well established clubs. In order to obtain a ground and to develop it for cricket for the forthcoming season, various ways of raising money were investigated. The old MEB ground behind Netto supermarket Bordesley Green was secured on Tuesday 14th November 2006. Central News visited Saltley school and announced on TV that our bid for £50.000 had been successful and had beaten a project from Walsall. Fantastic news for all Saltley School pupils and the local community! We are now waiting for the ground work to go ahead and looking forward to the new cricket season.

Sports Leaders AwardA number of year 10 pupils have started working towards their Sports leaders Award level 1. This is an external qualifi cation where pupils develop their leadership, organisational and communication skills. The pupils will be given the opportunity to work with primary children, teaching them a range of physical activities, there is still time for other pupils to join and get some invaluable experience!L

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Dubai Cricket Tour 2006The tour is due to left on December 10th.. We have been very fortunate this year as we have some big names going on tour. We have been joined by Mohammed Sheikh of Derbyshire C.C.C, Kadeer Ali of Gloucestershire C.C.C and Moeen Ali current U19 England Captain. A big thank you to all three of them who have taken time out from their cricketing commitments to help support Saltley School cricketers.

Success MakerSuccess MakerOn Thursday 2nd November, we held a SuccessMaker and Earlybirds parents evening, which was highly successful. As a result, SuccessMaker sessions have got off to a great start this Autumn Term; our Year 7 pupils went live on Monday 6th November and Year 8 pupils have begun their second year.

Well done to Year 10 mentorsCongratulations to all the pupils from the year 10 who have attended the Peer Mentor training sessions and received their certifi cates and Peer Mentor badges. Well done to:Dean Chapman Laura Selby Sabah Hussain Dexter Moore Shazia Hussain Rahima Begum Frank Colder Amy Hall Lauren Preece Megan Lowe Luke While (reserve) Fazia Malik Hina Sehrish Masqood Suriyah Bi Cassie Cowan Rebecca Cooper (reserve) Emma Felton (reserve) Leanda Lawrence

All these pupils are now working with Year 7 forms; they are helping and guiding Year 7 pupils.

A big thank you to Year 11 pupils who worked with Year 7 last year:

Laura Farley Natasha Clarke Yasser Shah Barrie Colder Stephanie James James Brooks

Mr Pyke Peer Mentor Coordinator

Sad goodbyes Ted Rhodes retired during the summer holidays, after working at Saltley for 16 years. We would all like to thank him for his contributions to the smooth running of the Science department and for his advice to the staff about practical work. We wish him well in his retirement. Sadly Sidrah Awan and Bushra Hameed are leaving Saltley after working in the Science department for 4 terms. They will be greatly missed and we wish them every success in the future.Juliana Osei,an agency teacher in the Maths Department, also leaves in December. We thank her for all her hard work.

Hello to Shehzadi Majid who joins the Science Department along with Mujibur Jaigirdar in Technology and Arfaan Hanif in Maths. S

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Drama ClubThe group is continuing to develop monologue and duologue performances and perfecting their acting skills. The work includes a moving scene telling the story of a young girl to be reunited with her estranged birth-mother and some comic improvised work. Two very ambitious and talented Drama clubbers are working on speeches from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and lady Macbeth. Welcome to all new members. Performance details to be announced!* Budding actors come and join us!Drama club meets every Thursday lunch time at 12.30pm in room 7

Stars in the making – Stars in the making – moving on!moving on!Ex Saltley pupils; Suzanna Lawrence, Neo Mthimkulu (last year’s talent show winner!) and Stephen Wood gave fl awless performances in their production of devised work entitled ‘Boxers and Bras’ at Matthew Boulton College. The drama piece used physical theatre, song, voice work and dance to explore issues of gender. The performance was part of the students’ BTEC National Diploma in Performing Arts: all three students who achieved great grades in GCSE Drama last year are excelling at college. What a great advertisement for Saltley School – keep up the good work, we are very proud of you!

Technology News

Left to right: Shujehan Beg, Sammer Hussain, Rafaqat Ali, Mohammed Qasim, Rahal Alam, Sameer Raja, Paul Kenna and Awas Mohammed.

Miss Mohsin demonstrated to a parent and Saltley pupil how the SuccessMaker programme works.

Dates for Diary Friday 22nd December 2006 End of TermMonday 8th January 2007 Term Starts Thursday 18th January 2007 Year 12 Presentation Evening Monday 12th February 2007 Half Term Monday 19th February 2007 Term Starts Monday 19th March 2007 Year 10 Work Experience (2 weeks) Friday 30th March 2007 End of Term

Girls PE… Girls PE…

This year’s Summer Scheme What a load of Non-sense!!!

Year 10 pupils Amy Hall and Laura Selby

This year’s summer school which explored the idea of non-sense and self-expression through Poetry and Drama was a resounding success. Students improved their understanding of poetry and gave brilliant performances through-out the three day event. The scheme even saw Mr. Hadi in full costume and character asa mad European Scientist!Well done to all for a memorable and rewarding experience!

Year 8 pupils Curtis Brown and Siana Lawrence