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Bulletin Bulletin Bulletin Bulletin ---- February 2011February 2011February 2011February 2011 www.springfield.uk.net

Issue 2Issue 2Issue 2Issue 2 ‘Aiming for Excellence’Aiming for Excellence’Aiming for Excellence’Aiming for Excellence’

‘The Pajama Game’ ‘The Pajama Game’ ‘The Pajama Game’ ‘The Pajama Game’ ---- 16 16 16 16thththth to 18 to 18 to 18 to 18thththth February February February February ‘The Pajama Game’ is this year’s school production which is performed by students from all year groups. It is a musical, which was first shown on stage in 1954. ‘The Pajama Game’ takes place in a pyjama factory in which its workers fight for a seven and a half cent pay rise. When the three of us (Natasha Coote, Jessica Manns and Rachel Cox) first heard about the show, we knew that we had to audition – we really wanted to be involved. Our auditions went well and we each landed a part: Tasha Coote (Playing the part of ‘Poopsie’): When I was first given my role, I laughed at my character’s name; her personality is very different to mine. She is far more ‘girly’ than I am and this presented a challenge that I am enjoying. ‘The Pajama Game’ has given me a great opportunity to meet new people. Spending so much time in rehearsals has been a lot of fun and there has been a really social side to all the new learning experiences. Jessica Manns (‘Brenda’): When I got my part I was very excited and couldn’t wait until we started rehearsals. When I am on stage I give everything to my performance and always try to improve my acting, singing and dancing. My character was a ‘blank canvas’ when I was given it; all I had was a name and not really a clear outline of how she should be portrayed. So I looked at this as an opportunity to be creative. I love it when we’re all in mid song/dance; the room is full of such energy. The whole cast enjoys every second of our rehearsals. Mrs McAlister (our director) has done an amazing job. We are all so grateful for the amount of time she puts in to teach us and make this production what it is. Rachel Cox (‘Virginia’): I was very eager to start rehearsing for the play when I knew I had got a part. I think we have a very energetic cast. I love being part of such a lively bunch of people and I feel that I contribute a lot and try very hard to sustain my role throughout rehearsals. We all put so much time and effort into the production. It has all been worth it as we have created a very unique and individ-ual production and I have made friends with many new people along the way. From all the cast of ‘The Pajama Game’ we thank you so much for supporting us and we really want to encourage you to come and see the show on the 16th, 17th and 18th February at 7.00pm. We thank Mrs McAlister for all her hard work. We won’t let her down!

Jessica Manns (10P), Natasha Coote (10G) and Rachel Cox (10N)

Service Children in Education

The Government asks that schools record the number of Service children on their roll. This information allows them to research the impact that being a Service child has on their education. Please note, however, that no individual is identified in their data analysis. There is now extra funding: the Service Children Pupil Premium (SCPP), for schools to support pupils whose high mobility or particular family circumstances may mean they would benefit from additional help with learning and/or with specific emotional needs if and when they arise. We ask that all Service families are identified on our data base, but believe that some may not be recorded. In order to confirm our figures, we will email all those families on our data base recorded as Service families before 4th February. If you have not received an email and do qualify, please contact me at the school via admin@springfield-sec.portsmouth.sch.uk. The government advice is that a pupil must live with a parent, or person with parental responsibility, who is a current member of the regular armed forces in order to qualify.

Mrs Summers—Deputy Headteacher

Cast members pictured working hard in rehearsals (photos left to right): Photo 1: Maddie Stone-man, Jade Peddell, Rachel Cox, Natasha Coote, Amy Pimlott and Jessica Manns. Photo 2: Nick Saunders and Amy Pimlott. Photo 3: Harry Palmer

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In the swim ...

Can you imagine running for up to five minutes whilst performing acrobatics, holding your

breath, looking graceful and having to keep in time to the music with your fellow athletes?

Welcome to the world of synchronised swimming!

I take part in synchronised swimming with Portsmouth Victoria Swimming Club. I train four

times a week—around eight hours of non-stop activities. Right from the start you have to make

a commitment to your team and yourself. I have been practising my chosen sport for four

years now and have made great friends. Synchronised swimming is a very strenuous and skilful

sport; competitors need strength and flexibility to perform the routines, as well as rhythm and

flair to synchronise with and interpret the music. It builds great skill and confidence as our

team works together towards competitions. There is competition within my club itself to be

selected for the appropriate age group team, then achieve the required skill level. Once we

secure a place, we have to learn a three minute routine to millisecond precision, then compete

against other highly trained teams. My team was rewarded with two gold medals at the multi-

regionals held in Gloucester during October. The first weekend in December saw teams from

all over Britain compete at the British National Championships.

From Springfield, Robin Stanhope (7D) was part of the 12 and under team, together with

Hannah Murphy (7E), who won fourth place. Maddie Murphy (9F) - pictured bottom left in

photo above —and Ellie Holland (10P) - pictured second from right above — achieved third place

with the 13/14 year old group team.

Ellie Holland (10P)

Future School FundingFuture School FundingFuture School FundingFuture School Funding During the current budget planning period, governors have to take account of the changing financial environment. There are a number of budget streams which are being reduced at the same time as service costs increase. The Local Authority is also reducing some of the work they do in schools and this is impacting on school costs for maintaining the premises and providing services such as careers advice. In the post BSF (Building Schools for the Future) period, our budget to maintain and improve buildings has been cut by 80%. This means that we shall have an allocation of just £23,000 next year with which to respond to all maintenance work for the school, including work which would have been addressed by the new BSF buildings programme. During our budget review, we are rigorously examining every pound we spend to ensure that we continue to secure the very best value for this community. We have been good at this in the past and parents can now check this by going to the DFE website and comparing the education cost per pupil for every school in the country (School Spend Data on http://www.education.gov.uk) The outcome of our budget review will become known when the Local Authority releases the school budget figures for 2011/12. Some cuts and changes to provision will be necessary. Further details will be published in our April newsletter. Please be assured that our priority is to ensure that our pupils receive the best possible education while at Springfield School and to maintain our very good relationships between the school and our local community. Andy Minchin—Chair of Finance

FOOTBALL FEVER ... During the autumn term, ten pupils from Year 8 were lucky enough to visit Portsmouth Football Club’s stadium, Fratton Park. This educational trip complemented the work which the pupils had been undertaking during English lessons and after school football coaching sessions so as to boost their attainment through their enthusiasm for football. Immediately after the tour of the stadium, which all the pupils thoroughly enjoyed - especially visiting the chang-ing rooms - they created their own comic about their visit, using the Study Centre’s top of the range equipment.

To conclude the period of coaching and class work, the pupils attended an awards ceremony at the Victory Suite in Portsmouth in celebration of their achievements and consistent hard work and effort. They were awarded numer-ous prizes and certificates and were also lucky enough to meet the Ports-mouth player Michael Brown.

Miss Johnson—English

Pictured above at Fratton Park (Top row, left to right): Ryan Weeks, Jamie Gall, Joshua Ballingall, Yasmin Thorpe, Ruby-Rose Baillie. (Lower row, left to right): Spencer Ward, Thomas O’Mara, Callum Webster, Connor Stokes and Jake Jeavons

Uniform Price Increase—with effect from 28th February 2011

We are sorry to advise that, due to the change to VAT, it has become necessary to increase the cost of some of our school uniform: Previous New Price Price School Fleece £16.00 £17.00 Sports socks £ 3.50 £ 4.00 PE Polo Shirt £ 8.00 £ 8.50 Please also be aware that we have been advised by our suppliers that, due to an increase in cotton prices, high fuel costs and the 20% VAT rate, prices on new stock may also increase. Please be assured that we will try to keep any further price rises to a minimum.

Miss Thornton— Support Officer (Finance Office)

* - * - * Wicked! * - * - *

On Thursday 9th December, we left school at 4.05pm. Everyone was excited about our big night out. On the two and a half hour coach journey to see the London show ‘Wicked’ we listened to music and ate endless packets of sweets. As we arrived on the outskirts of London, the Christ-mas lights wowed us all. When we got to the Apollo Theatre we were all amazed and took pictures of the ‘Wicked’ signs. We gave in our tickets, found our seats and thought the view of the stage was breath-taking. When the show started at 7.30pm there was a quiet excitement amongst the crowd. After the first half, everyone in the theatre was overwhelmed by the singing and dancing. We liked the song ‘Defying Gravity’ in particular. The scenery and costumes were also amazing. Many girls were extremely excited when Lee Mead came on stage. We remember him from ‘Any Dream Will Do’. The wicked witch was played by Rachel Tucker, who first appeared in the programme ‘I’d Do Anything’. After the show, no-one wanted to leave. The cast were given a standing ovation; the special effects were very clever and everyone was great. The show was truly ‘wicked’! On the coach journey home, most people fell asleep—tired but happy.

Daisy Calloway, Casey Shore and Lucy Emery (Year 9)

What do controlled assessments look like in Drama? A student expresses her love for someone (or is it some thing?) and others sit around a table discussing with animation how they are going to fine-tune their adaptation of ‘Romeo and Juliet’. The class of Year 8s remain focused and energetic as I speak to Mr Rowland, the Head of Drama. He tells me of the changes in Key Stage 4 assessment within Drama. Gone are the days of assessments completed in class and at home, then being marked and annotated, handed back, corrected, written up neatly and handed back in for final assessment. Instead, the GCSE students now have a fixed framework they use to work upon their written assess-ments, with much tighter control. For Paper 1, the students look at texts and music emerging from the Irish Famine. I am told of a haunting piece of music that is played by those left behind to ‘bury’ their countrymen as they left the shores of Ireland. The students compare this emigra-tion with modern people who emigrate for financial reasons and generate ideas within theatrical terms. The second paper focuses on a particular text. The department currently uses ‘Blood Brothers’ and students are asked to evaluate a piece of live theatre. To prepare for the written assign-ments, the students have six hours of practical exploration. The final part of the GCSE is the practical. Students can gather in groups of any size and in the final presentation they are judged on the basis of five minutes per person. So if a group of four performed, they could perform for thirty-two minutes but would only be assessed on the first twenty minutes. The studio is given over to the students for this six week preparation period. By this time in our discussion, a group of Year 7s had arrived and they were held spellbound as the Anglo Saxon story of ‘Beowulf’ was told, before splitting into groups to create their own monsters and peasants and warriors. Simon Ford – Link Governor (Drama)

Parent Governor Appointments In a previous issue of the Springfield News we ‘advertised’ for parents to express an inter-est in becoming parent gover-nors of the school. I am pleased to say that request was met by four parents who have volun-teered to join the governing body. They are: Dr Atiqul Baree, Mr Ian Boxall, Mrs Gail Edginton and Miss Samantha Martin. All have now attended their first meeting, been assigned mentors and allocated committees to begin their contri-bution. They will bring fresh ideas to a successful governing body and we both congratulate them on their appointment and welcome them to their new role. Derek Good Chair of Governors

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

HALF TERM SATURDAY 18TH FEBRUARY – SUNDAY 27TH FEBRUARY

CALENDAR *

CHANGE OF DATE - TUESDAY 26TH APRIL: PROFESSIONAL CLOSURE DAY PLEASE NOTE: THIS CLOSURE DAY HAS NOW MOVED TO

FRIDAY 8TH APRIL 2011 (DUE TO THE ROYAL WEDDING) FEBRUARY

WED 16TH TO FRI 18TH 7.00PM SCHOOL PRODUCTION—’THE PAJAMA GAME’

FRIDAY 18TH NON-UNIFORM DAY (CANCER SUPPORT—WEAR RED)

FRIDAY 18TH YEAR 9 PROGRESS REVIEW AND OPTIONS PACK TO BE ISSUED

SAT 18TH—SUN 27TH FEBRUARY— HALF TERM

SATURDAY CLUB AND SPRINGBOARD CLUB : 5TH MARCH UNTIL 2ND APRIL (9.30AM—11.30AM)

MARCH

TUESDAY 1ST LITERACY EVENT DAY (IN SCHOOL)

WEDNESDAY 2ND MORNING YEAR 10 SCIENCE MODULAR EXAM

THURSDAY 3RD 7.00PM YEAR 9 OPTIONS EVENING

FRIDAY 4TH YEAR 10 GEOGRAPHY BEACH PROFILING TRIP—SOUTHSEA COASTLINE

FRIDAY 4TH YEAR 11 ROA TO BE ISSUED

SATURDAY 5TH 9.30AM—12 NOON CYBER CAFÉ: HEALTH AND SAFETY

WEDNESDAY 9TH 4.30PM—6.30PM YEAR 9 PARENTS’ EVENING

THURSDAY 10TH YEAR 10 FOCUS DAY—THEME: TEEN HEALTH

THURS 10TH—SAT 12TH YEAR 8S & YEAR 9S SCIENCE TRIP TO ‘B IG BANG FAIR’ IN LONDON

SATURDAY 12TH 9.30AM—12 NOON CYBER CAFÉ: FILE FORMATS

TUESDAY 15TH YEAR 8 ENGLISH VISIT FROM THE NUFFIELD THEATRE COMPANY

WED 16TH TO SUN 20TH YEAR 10—HISTORY BATTLEFIELDS TRIP TO BELGIUM AND FRANCE

SATURDAY 19TH 9.30AM—12 NOON CYBER CAFÉ: CLOUD COMPUTING

WEDNESDAY 23RD YEAR 9 FOCUS DAY: CULTURAL DIVERSITY

SATURDAY 26TH 9.30AM—12 NOON CYBER CAFÉ: TABLET COMPUTERS

MONDAY 28TH MARCH — FRIDAY 1ST APRIL SWIMMING GALA WEEK

THURSDAY 31ST GCSE ART EXAMS

APRIL

FRIDAY 1ST GCSE ART EXAMS

FRIDAY 1ST—MONDAY 4TH YEARS 8 AND 9—MFL TRIP TO NORMANDY

SATURDAY 2ND 9.30AM—12 NOON CYBER CAFÉ: RECAP OF TOPICS COVERED IN TERM 2

MONDAY 4TH—THURSDAY 7TH GCSE ART EXAMS

TUESDAY 5TH YEAR 7 FOCUS DAY—ANTI-BULLYING

WEDNESDAY 6TH YEAR 7 GEOGRAPHY TRIP—MEON VALLEY RIVER

THURSDAY 7TH 4.00PM—6.00PM ALL YEARS - MOVEMENT TO MUSIC COMPETITION

THURSDAY 7TH YEAR 8 SCIENCE TRIP TO SALTERS FESTIVAL OF CHEMISTRY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON

SAT 9TH APRIL—MON 25TH APRIL—EASTER HOLIDAY

FRIDAY 8TH PROFESSIONAL CLOSURE DAY FOR GCSE MODERATION WORK

*Please note these dates are correct at publication, but could be subject to change. Please check the website, future news-letters and your child’s study planner

Springfield School

Specialist Technology College

Central Road, Drayton, Portsmouth, PO6 1QY Telephone: (023) 9237 9119 Facsimile: (023) 9238 8784 E-mail: admin@springfield-sec.portsmouth.sch.uk Website: www.springfield.uk.net

Headteacher: Mrs L E Evans, B.Sc.

17th February 2011 Dear Parents The Springfield Governing Body is taking the unusual step of writing directly to all parents to support the school staff in their efforts to maintain a focused learning environment. Recently, lessons and daily routines have regularly been disrupted by use and misuse of mobile ‘phones, Blackberry devices and i-phones. Pupils too often are distracted from carefully planned activities by receiving text messages or emails. Their desire to constantly be “in touch” with one another means they cannot fully focus on expanding the skills, knowledge and understanding which should be developing during the five hours of lessons each day. The problem is particularly evident during Year 10 and 11. Throughout GCSE courses, pupils must now complete “controlled assessments” in closely prescribed examination conditions. These specifically preclude use of or access to any electronic communication devices. On a weekly basis, staff are having to reprimand pupils who are found to have mobile ‘phones at the start of such assessments. Sometimes they are actually switched on when discovered. We must inform parents that any visiting examination inspector would formally report the school if such “oversights” were discovered and the result would be that all pupils in the examination in question would be at risk of having their marks withheld. The governors’ view is that any candidate whose device disturbs an assessment or examination, after warning has been given, will be excluded from that examination. Governors are also extremely unhappy to see evidence of video footage taken by pupils, very obviously without the permission of their peers, mounted on social networking sites. This unwelcome behaviour both intimidates and could potentially compromise the safety of pupils in school. The governors seek to represent the views of parents wherever possible. The full governing body discussed at length the issues raised above and recognise the safety benefits of carrying a mobile ‘phone. We have, therefore, decided that we will update the school policy on mobile ‘phones. Pupils will henceforth be permitted to carry a mobile ‘phone in school on the absolute understanding that it is switched off completely from 8.35am until 3.35pm or until they leave the school site. Governors and staff accept no liability for loss or damage to such devices. Where a pupil does not follow this clear policy, the ‘phone will be confiscated and held in the school safe until the Friday of the following week. Every parent who seeks “exemption” from the entirely avoidable sanction for misuse of a mobile ‘phone in school is, often unintentionally, undermining the efforts of all staff to maintain high standards of behaviour.

“Aiming for Excellence”