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Bulletin Bulletin Bulletin Bulletin –––– October 2011October 2011October 2011October 2011 www.springfield.uk.net Issue 1Issue 1Issue 1Issue 1 ‘Aiming for Excellence’Aiming for Excellence’Aiming for Excellence’Aiming for Excellence’

75% of the 220 pupils in Year 11 2011 gained the

“Gold Standard” of at least five A*-C grades

including English Language and

Mathematics at GCSE; the best results by a long way that Springfield has ever had. All but three pupils gained five A*-G

grades including English Language and

Mathematics. 120 pupils earned at least ten A*-C grades with the top boy and girl securing 21 A*s

and 5 As between them.

We also celebrate the

results of all pupils who achieved their target grades and are now starting their chosen

college courses.

This really sets a high challenge for the new

Year 11 to beat!

Pictured above: students from last year’s Year 10 display their awards

The award winners from last year’s Year 10 were presented with their certificates at Awards Assembly on Friday 9th September (see photo above). Congratulations to everyone on their achievement.

Mr A Wallace—Head of Year

Jack Rivington Art Alexander Judd Music Alice Brown Child Development Jessica Manns Drama Sandra Coombes French Ellen McNulty German Lauren Willis Textiles Rachel Lewis PE Lawrence Long Resistant Materials Patrick Shaw History Jessica Western Food Maddison Hall Hospitality & Catering Andrew Woodroffe Mathematics Karen Heathcote Statistics Peter Harris Geography

Lewis Hazzard Systems & Control Jack Matthews Vocational Jake Stoneman CIDA Rachel Cox IT James Burnham Social Sciences Ryan Godfrey Science Olivia Williams Media Maddison Parker-Whalley English Faith Chesley Religious Education Jeremy Mackey Graphics Joshua Ricketts Applied Art Alia Denman Photography Thomas Follington Technology in the Community Mason Mitchell Head of Year Eleanor Plane Governor Jessica Allington Headteacher

Inspiration for Year 10 students on Focus Day

It was a pleasure to welcome Steve Cunningham “The fastest blind man on the planet” to launch the Year 10 Focus Day on Tuesday 27th September. Steve has been described as: “The most inspirational man alive.” He took the Year 10 pupils on his journey from despair to success and left them inspired to break their own barriers to achieve their ambitions. He was the main talking point of a day facilitated by Havant College and the University of Ports-mouth (and not forgetting the supporting roles of Mr Walters and the Year 11 pupils) on which the Year 10s were motivated to move towards success in their GCSE studies. Mr J Lomas Assistant Headteacher

Photo: Students (left to right) Jessica Tuck (10P), Stephanie Large (10D) and Gemma Ford (10E) pictured with Steve Cunningham and his dog, who visited Springfield to give a motivational talk (see article right)

Calling all Parents:

Please ask your child to log on to the school website (www.springfield.uk.net) so that you can access our new VLE (Virtual Learning Environment) and view the range of subject linked resources and information available. Mr Marsden Subject Leader ICT

‘Bake Club’ pupils cook up a treat!

‘Bake Club’ is a weekly club for Year 7 and 8 pupils which runs from 3.40pm-5.00pm every Wednesday. The children are learning new skills by baking something different in each ses-sion as well as having fun. The club is proving very popular and sessions have had to be staggered fortnightly to accom-modate all those who are keen to take part. Some of the students who have joined the ‘Bake Club’ are also getting involved in 'Bake A Difference'. This is a charitable event which will run from 17th to 21st October. To support a good cause we will be baking a selection of delicious treats, including: toffee apple cake, swirly lemon fingers, Halloween cupcakes and Christmas cake. The pupils behave very profes-sionally when working in the kitchen and their skills are already impressive. Miss Davey—Design Technology Above: Pupils pictured with Miss Davey who demonstrates part of the process

involved in making gooey chocolate brownies! (left to right: George Holmes (8E), Rosie Fitzgibbons (7F) and Courtney Oldland (7D)

Admissions & Attendance Each year the Chair of the Admissions and Attendance sub committee writes in the school newsletter about the workings of this group of Governors and staff who meet twice a term. We emphasise every year the importance of ensuring your child misses as little school as possible. Yes, there will be occasions when they are ill and must stay away and, as we have seen over the last couple of years, the weather has forced the school to close on safety grounds. However, Springfield School’s policy is to stay open whenever possible. In this respect, can I commend the staff on the excellent work they have done in minimising these peri-ods of closure, so if you are a parent/guardian do not assume the school is closed just because it’s snowing! Please check the school website for the latest news and updates. When it comes to pupils missing school for other reasons, including term time holidays, the school policy is very clear and permis-sion will only be given in exceptional circumstances, which usually are non holiday related. That said, can I congratulate you all on your efforts during the last year. Our attendance figures remain good and above the national average. In fact, the number of pupils taking holidays during term time fell last year. It would be very positive for our pupils if those figures were to be even lower this year. Springfield remains a very popular school with requests for admission to Year 7 again exceeding the number of places available. We are asked: “If you are so popular, why don’t you increase the number of places available?” The simple answer is limited space. During the year the Local Authority did review this with regards to current practices and confirmed each year’s intake will remain at 220. This is very important when it comes to using Science and Technology labs, for example, which could present health and safety issues were they to become overcrowded. While the Admissions Policy set by the Local Authority governs admissions, it is the clear aim of Springfield to be - and to remain - a school that provides a high standard of education to the children of families in its local community.

Springfield pupils enjoyed a very successful Olympic themed Sports Day. The event was a spectacular showing of thirty-six nations and their flags, beautifully recreated and proudly dis-played by each tutor group ‘nation’ in our Springfield Olympics opening ceremony. This year’s event also saw an Olympic style medal podium on which all the day’s gold, silver and bronze medals were pre-sented to the triumphant athletes. Once again, some excellent performances were seen, with yet more records being broken: George Blades broke his fifth school record by the end of the day and now holds the most records of any individual, beating the previous holders ex-pupils Rosy Murray and Claire Sadden, who still hold four records each. Noteworthy successes came from Hannah Goddard, George Blades, Harry Mack and Ebonie Jones. However, the Exceptional Performance Award this year went to George Bateman in recognition of the four gold medals he won during Sports Day. Mr Snook—Subject Leader PE

Teacher takes to the skies to raise money for charity

Miss Burford (pictured above in white T-shirt) would like to say a huge thank you to all the pupils and staff at Spring-field School who raised £200 towards her 10,000ft sky dive. She raised £600 in total. All donations will be going to ‘Clic Sargent’, a children's cancer charity.

Special Educational Needs at Springfield School Springfield School’s motto ‘Aiming for Excellence’ is reflected in the school’s approach to enabling each pupil to achieve their highest potential in all aspects of school life. The pro-gress of all pupils is monitored carefully by all teachers and, where necessary, additional support is provided by the Curriculum Support Department. This department, led by the SENCO (Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinator) Miriam Rooks, provides a wide range of activities where pupils identified with Special Educational Needs (SEN) can learn outside the classroom as well as in it. Clubs before and after school and at lunchtime provide opportu-nities for sometimes vulnerable pupils to develop their social skills as well as their learning. Where it is possible to provide them, skilled and experienced Learning Support Assistants (LSAs) provide invaluable support in classes. It becomes more difficult each year to meet the needs of children with SEN at Springfield as resources from the LA are reduced and the demands on the school budget become ever greater. However, we continue to do our very best to make scarce resources stretch as far as we can and ensure that the learning needs of each pupil are met as best we can. It is vitally important that the Curriculum Support team works with other departments in the school - particularly English and Maths - and there are systems in place to ensure that this happens. In addition, the staff at Springfield School are very talented at devising exciting and innovative approaches to teaching and learning for all ages and abilities. The SEN Code of Practice of 2001details how children with Special Educational Needs should be identified through a variety of means including tests, information from feeder schools and evidence from parents or subject teachers. They are entered on a SEN register so their progress can be carefully monitored. Individual Education Plans (IEPs) are developed for those pupils who are required to have them. These IEPs set specific targets for the pupils to achieve and they are reviewed regularly. Springfield School has an SEN policy which is reviewed annually. Springfield School believes in partnerships. We ensure that we have good relationships with a wide range of other agencies across Portsmouth so that we can best meet the needs of all our pupils. Above all, Springfield School believes it is crucial that parents are closely involved in helping and encouraging their children to develop learning and social skills throughout their time at school. This may be as simple as hearing your child read every evening. It may mean encouraging them to attend school clubs in order to improve their reading or arith-metic in a fun way; it may mean attending parent-teacher meetings to discuss the progress of your child. By working together we can all be ‘Aiming for Excellence’. Oonagh Palmer - SEN Governor

AIMING HIGH

On Friday 14th October a group of Year 11 students had an early start before we headed off to Oxford University (see photo above). On arrival we were

greeted by Matt, a current third year student, in St Edmunds College - one of the many that make up Oxford University. We began our day with a guided tour

of St Edmunds College, which included the statue of St Edmund in the ‘graveyard’, the library as well as the informal and formal dining halls. Next, we

were shown to the student bar where we listened to a talk about applying to Oxford and how to get the best out of our ‘A’ level choices. The tutor also

highlighted the importance of our GCSE results and how they are constantly reflected on in the future, especially when applying to the top universities. To

complete our day trip we visited the Pitt Rivers Museum.

We all found this trip a really valuable insight into what university life would be like.

Rachel Cox (11N) and Sarah Harris (11F)

Summer site improvements

We are pleased to report that all refurbishment and redecoration work planned for this year has been completed or is on schedule. The Technology block has had a major refurbishment which now provides the space and the resources for the developing tech-nology curriculum in response to the ever changing technological world. Food Technology rooms have also been updated and many classrooms refreshed with paint and new lighting. Essential works have been completed on the swimming pool to ensure it is safe and operational. The school site has been in-spected and, with minor repainting, is still safe and accessible for our visually impaired pupils.

Mrs Summers—Deputy Headteacher

School blazers Some schools across the city have adopted a blazer as part of their school uniform. At Induction Evening in July 2011, we canvassed Year 7 parents to find out their views on blazers being introduced at Springfield. Parents expressed a range of views, both for and against adopting a Springfield School blazer. Although some felt that blazers are smart and create a positive impression, the expense and the rate at which children grow - necessitating buying at least two blazers over the five years – were stronger arguments against. As a parent governor I feel personally that the jumpers wash well and keep their colour, pupils promote the school identity and teachers ensure that uniform standards are maintained. It may be more difficult to insist on our high standards as blazers wear out and pupils outgrow them. I have also had the benefit of visiting other schools in the city whose pupils already wear blazers. This has done nothing to allay my fears. It may be that, as parents, we are not the right people to address this issue. It is the pupils who wear the uniform: it would be interesting to hear what they think.

Mrs S Martin (Parent Governor)

How to become an “eighth Mon” !

I have been practising judo for five years now. I got into it by chance when I saw a poster advertising local classes and I am currently an eighth Mon,

which means I have won the right to wear an orange belt with two white stripes.

I have been taking part in competitions for three

years and I compete now in the over 12s and under 16s category. Last year, I came second in the

British Judo Kata Championships along with my brother. Recently we have been to Kendal in the

Lake District to compete again and I came first with my new partner, Zoe.

Judo is a world-wide sport and in our club we have

two girls who are ranked seventh in the world in their age groups. I think judo provides you with a great

opportunity to travel and meet new people who share the same passion for the sport as I do.

Kirsty Edginton (9P)

IMPORTANT INFORMATION HALF TERM

SATURDAY 22ND OCTOBER—SUNDAY 30TH OCTOBER

LAST DAY OF AUTUMN TERM - FRIDAY 16TH DECEMBER SCHOOL CLOSES AT 2.20PM

CALENDAR NOVEMBER

WEDNESDAY 2ND 4.30PM—6.30PM EX YEAR 11 CERTIFICATE EVENING

TUESDAY 8TH MODULAR MATHS EXAMINATION—UNIT 1 (FOR 11X MODULAR PUPILS)

TUESDAY 8TH YEAR 8 GIRLS—HPV VACCINATIONS (SECOND DOSE)

WED 9TH—FRI 11TH NOV 7.00PM SCHOOL PRODUCTION—’TROJAN WOMEN’ (SUITABLE FOR AGE 12+)

FRIDAY 11TH ISSUE YEAR 11 PROGRESS REVIEW

MONDAY 14TH MODULAR MATHS EXAMINATION—UNIT 2 (FOR 11Y MODULAR PUPILS)

WEDNESDAY 16TH 7.30PM AWARDS EVENING

WEDNESDAY 23RD 4.30PM—6.30PM YEAR 11 PARENTS’ EVENING

FRIDAY 25TH ISSUE YEAR 7 PROGRESS REVIEW

DECEMBER

THURSDAY 1ST STAKEHOLDERS ’ LUNCHEON

MONDAY 5TH 7.00PM YEAR 11 STUDY SKILLS —PARENTS’ INFORMATION EVENING

THURSAY 8TH 4.00PM—6.00PM YEAR 7 PARENT/TUTOR EVENING

FRIDAY 9TH NON UNIFORM DAY

MON 12TH—FRI 16TH YEAR 11 GCSE MOCK EXAMINATIONS WEEK

TUESDAY 13TH 1.30PM TO 2.00PM START

ELDERLY NEIGHBOURS’ CHRISTMAS PARTY

WEDNESDAY 14TH YEAR 8 GIRLS—HPV VACCINATIONS—’CATCH UP DOSE’

FRIDAY 16TH ISSUE YEAR 8 PROGRESS REVIEW

SATURDAY 5TH NOVEMBER TO 26TH NOVEMBER –YEAR 6 SATURDAY CLUB

YEAR 11 MATHEMATICS WORKSHOPS

SATURDAY 5TH NOVEMBER (FOR ‘X’ HALF OF YEAR GROUP) - 9.30AM TO 12 NOON SATURDAY 12TH NOVEMBER (FOR ‘Y’ HALF OF YEAR GROUP) - 9.30AM TO 12 NOON

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