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NewsletterNewsletterNewsletterNewsletter December 2010

Issue 2Issue 2Issue 2Issue 2

‘Aiming for Excellence’Aiming for Excellence’Aiming for Excellence’Aiming for Excellence’

Big Bangs and Black Holes Professor Brian Cox visits Springfield School to reveal the secrets of the universe On Tuesday 16tth November 2010 the students of Springfield School, Portsmouth, were delighted to welcome celebrity scientist Professor Brian Cox to answer questions from curious students and teach a lesson on the cosmos and its begin-nings. Springfield had won a national competition for the Professor to deliver a lesson on the Big Bang and the Hadron Collider. Students posed a range of questions from: “Should we be worried about asteroids hitting Earth?” (the last one was in 1909) to: “What exactly is a black hole?” (the after effects of a collapsing star). Pupils Joe Eves (9S) and Stephanie Large (9D) were awestruck. “Professor Cox was a great teacher as he explained everything in detail,” said Joe. Stephanie enthused: “We saw images of particles colliding”. “It’s made me want to be a scientist” added Joe. Reported by Dan Godfrey (10L) and Chloe Dore (10F)

Surprise! Surprise! It was a complete surprise on an already exciting day when Stuart Ellins, the Chief Executive of ‘Young Engineers’ asked Brian Cox to present me with an invitation for Springfield to showcase its Engineering Science and Initiative Club at ‘The Big Bang: UK Young Scientists and Engi-neers Fair’ to be held at the Excel centre in London from 10th to 12th March 2011 (see photo left). Miss Jackson, one of our Science teachers, is to be con-gratulated for submitting the application which contributed to Springfield being one of only seventeen schools in the country to be selected to exhibit at this prestigious event. We intend to take groups of Year 8 and 9 pupils up to The Big Bang Fair on each of its three days and have booked them into headline shows including: Sky 1’s ‘Brainiac Live’; BBC’s ‘Bang Goes the Theory’ and the Lloyd’s Register Educational Trust’s ‘Alphabeat Show’. Look out for the letters which will be distributed at the beginning of next term with all the details as to how pupils can book a place to go to this event.

Mrs C A Kilgallon—Technology College Manager

Photos: Left: Year 7 Science students (left to right) Angel Longyear-Smith (7L) and Rosie Wilson (7D) are joined by Brian Cox in one of the Springfield labs. Below: The appreciative audience for the thought-provoking Big Bang lesson Bottom right: Fred McClintock (8S) and Laura Heathcote (8G) interview Professor Cox after his lecture

Pictured below (left to right): Professor Cox joins Dan Godfrey (10L), Chloe Dore (10F), Stephanie Large (9D) and Joe Eves (9S). In order to write an article to put on the school website, Media Studies pupils Dan and Chloe inter-viewed Stephanie and Joe, who had been present at the day's events

Site and Community Report As I write this piece - with snow lying on the ground - I am reminded of last January’s unprecedented weather which challenged even the best continuity plans. I am pleased to say that the way in which the school responded to the snowfall and the communication with parents was not found wanting and received praise from many quarters. Further cause for celebration at the start of the year was the opening of our refurbished Drama Studio which continues to demonstrate the benefits of that investment as it produces work of the highest quality. The school commitment to constantly improve learning opportunities has recently seen the addition of an IT suite not only used by Drama students but also our Year 11 at lunchtime. As well as improvements in equipment, the work to maintain Springfield as a high quality place to study is ongoing. Over the summer holidays our latest ‘loo’ makeover took place and now the girls’ toilets in B block have been brightened, with “cool taps” and “lovely tiles”. Even visitors from Drayton and Farlington Tea Dance have made very positive comments. The School and its pupils continue to play an active part in the life of the community, both close to and further away from the gates. The Tea Dance that I mention above, the Silver Surfers IT Club and the many swimming clubs are all examples of how the school engages with a wide spectrum of people enjoying our facilities. The mentoring offered by friends from local businesses is invaluable to our senior pupils and is yet another way that the bonds are strengthened with organisations outside the school community. We remain strong sup-porters of the local Community Improvement Partnership and the Governors must place on record their appreciation of the work carried out by Mrs Jo Derham as CIP Coordinator over the last few years. What a brilliant job she has done! Many young people living in the north east part of the city have been able to take advantage of activities and opportunities that, without Jo’s determination and character, they would not otherwise have been able to enjoy. Finally, a word or two about future plans for the school’s improvement in the light of the Government’s cancellation of Building Schools for the Future programme (BSF). Clearly to continue to offer a learning environment of the highest quality, the school buildings will need to be maintained, or even replaced, over a period of time. The Governors remain committed to looking at every opportunity that presents itself in order to make ongoing maintenance and refurbishment as affordable and practical as possible.

Alan Cufley - Chair of Site and Community

Artistic Gymnastics: My name is Emily Goss and I am a National Level artistic gymnast. During the last six years, I have progressed from a pre-school gym class at Havant Leisure Centre to Ville Gymnastics Club, which is the most successful gymnastics club in the Southern Region. Women’s artistic gymnastics is a tough and demanding sport and requires a lot of training. In an average week I am in the gym for five days, for no less than four hours at a time. You have to be strong, flexible, brave, determined and dedicated to achieve good results. Can you imagine doing a cartwheel with no hands on a beam that is only 10cm wide and 1.25m off the ground? There are four separate disciplines in artistic gymnastics: bars, beam, floor and vault. So far, 2009 has been my most successful year. I won the Hampshire and Southern Region Grades and Levels and went on to represent the South at the National Elite Grades in Birmingham, where I was ranked eleventh in the country. This year, I am ranked sixteenth in the United Kingdom, having just competed in the National Level 2, which took place at Guildford. I was also a competitor at an international competition against Canada and South Africa at Aldershot. The competition standard is so high that many girls drop out and there are now only twenty-seven girls competing in my age group. I am very pleased that my hard work is paying off and I hope to build on this success in 2011. As well as working hard, I have a lot of fun and attend gymnastics camps and competitions around the country. I have made lots of friends from gymnastics clubs all over the United Kingdom. I hope to be able to represent England and Team GB at the Commonwealth Games—or even the Olympics. Some say that gymnasts train three times as hard as professional footballers! Emily Goss (7G)

Photos above and left: Year 7 pupil

Emily Goss hard at work in the gym—

see article right

PUPIL PERFORMANCE TARGETS—2012 The following targets were agreed between the teachers, governors and School Improvement Partner:

5+ A*-C including English and Maths: 68% Percentage of pupils making good or excellent progress from KS2-KS4 in English: 82%

Percentage of pupils making good or excellent progress from KS2-4 in Maths: 79% These outcomes will only be realised if pupils, parents and staff continue to work together. The 2010 target for 5+ A*-C grades including English and Maths (set in December 2008) was 64%. Our result of 63% was good and demonstrates that we set our targets high. Early indications for 2011 outcomes against their target of 65% 5+ A*-C grades (including Maths and English) are encouraging.

Mrs L Evans—Headteacher Mr D Good—Chair of Governors

Awards Evening 2010

Above left: The Lord Mayor of Portsmouth, Councillor Paula Riches, presents peripatetic music teacher Lawrence Dexter with his Award of Appreciation. Above: KS3 award win-ners display their certificates. Below: Headteacher Mrs Evans and Chair of Governors Derek Good join the Lord Mayor of Portsmouth in celebrating with KS4 winners, pictured with their awards

Thursday 18th November saw Springfield’s annual Awards Evening and, once again, the opportunity to highlight the work and dedication of both Key Stage 3 and GCSE students. Special awards were made too to members of staff who have had a significant impact on school life. A special award was given to the Head of Solent Infant School, Mrs Sylvia Hunter. The presen-tation was met with great applause and a standing ovation from the audience. Following the Year 9 awards, the evening’s guest speaker, the Lord Mayor of Portsmouth commended the Headteacher, staff, parents and pupils for their continuous and outstanding support of the school, as well as praising the efforts of the award winners and encouraging them to strive for their best. Presentation of the GCSE awards then began with students being recognised for their achievements in terms of both individual subjects and their GCSE re-sults. Members of the local community and business sponsors attended to make the presentations. The evening concluded with speeches from the former senior prefects, recollecting their time at Springfield School. It is now up to this year’s Year 9 and 11 to see if they can live up to the very high standards set by their predecessors! Toby Prowting (11E)

We will remember them …

On Sunday 14th November, we went to the Guildhall Square to be part of the

Remembrance Sunday parade. We arrived at 10.30am and were shown to our

allocated area on the Guildhall steps. The weather was not on our side. How-

ever, as a mark of respect, no-one had their umbrella up.

Service men and women walked past and then we all stood for a two minute

silence at 11.00am. We laid a wreath on the cenotaph, along with representa-

tives from a few other schools in the area. It was an amazing experience and a

deeply emotional morning.

Sophie Cufley (11F) , Shaun Ewing (7L), James Cufley (7P), Charlotte Payne (11P) (pictured below)

Charities Support In these austere times it is good to report generous pupil support of charities who work with the school. The photo (above) shows a healthy number of nearly 100 shoe box presents packed by the Year 7 pupils for Operation Christmas Child, run by the Samaritan's Purse. Congratulations to Miss Newton (pictured with Georgia Follington) and her tutor group, who collected the most. The School Council has decided to contribute around £200 to each of these worthy charities: St John's Ambulance, Kware Handshake, Friends of the Earth, Air Ambulance and Barnados.

Mr J Lomas—Assistant Headteacher

More mentoring success

At the Business and Schools Awards Evening (for Portsmouth, Fareham and South East Hampshire) in November, I was delighted to witness Alison Slater of IBM winning the award for Mentoring. Another of our leading busi-ness mentors, Colin Young (Chairman of Cranleigh Freight—pictured left in photo right), was a worthy runner up. Stewart Legg of South West Trains (to the right in the photo) has won a national award from Stagecoach, the parent company of South West Trains. Those mentioned above are just some of the mentors from business and the local community giving their valuable time and expertise for the benefit of our pupils. Parents are reminded that a mentor is another adult, not a parent or teacher, to whom the pupil can turn to for advice and guidance. All our external mentors are, of course, CRB checked and receive mentor training from the school and other business agencies. They are carefully matched up by the Year Heads, who know their pupils well and then regularly liaise with the mentors. Quotes from parents whose children have benefited from business mentor-ing include: ‘If my son had any worries or problems he felt he could talk to (mentor name), whether they are about school or personal he always felt he could talk to him’ ‘(mentor name) seemed to have a lot of time for my daughter and was always there for her’. Detailed analysis of the GCSE results of those pupils who were mentored over the last four years reveals that the vast majority of them achieve their target grades or more. On behalf of the school and Governors, I would like to say a great big ‘thank you’ to a group of pro-fessionals working effectively behind the scenes to help make the school experience your child has a positive one. Their regional and national recognition is well deserved.

Mr J Lomas—Assistant Headteacher

The World of Work On 12th October, instead of going to our English lesson, we spent the time in the TCC, where we asked questions of the many different people gathered there from the world of work (see picture right). We could ask any questions that we wanted and I feel that I have learned a lot from this experi-ence. For example, I understand more about how important the spoken word is in the world of work, especially when people are selling a product. I also have a good knowledge of what qualifications I may need for my career. I spoke to a lady who was selling a new kind of plaster, a house designer , a journalist and a poet.

Taylah Sibley (10P)

Would you like ice with that?

On Tuesday 30th November, a group of Year 9 geographers were treated

to an insight into the continent of Antarctica. A representative from the

British Schools Exploring Society—a youth development charity that or-

ganises scientific expeditions to remote, wild environments—came to talk

to us during our Geography lesson about what it is like to visit a polar

climate like Antarctica.

From looking at some of the equipment needed to explore Antarctica we

learnt that, whilst it is a beautiful, enthralling and remote continent, it is

also very hostile due to the climate and terrain. I think we all now realise

why a school trip to Antarctica is out of the question!

Speaking to someone who has actually visited Antarctica really helped us

to understand what an interesting and remarkable place Antarctica is and

that it must be respected and protected as a place of scientific interest.

We are all now very excited about our forthcoming Geography

lessons on the world’s last great wilderness. Simon Edwards (9D), Joshua Pountney (9L), Rosie Hall (9L), Ben Pickup (9L), Lara Jones (9E) - pictured left

Above: Year 9 geographers—see article right

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Year 9 Focus Day: Make a Difference Day Wednesday 10th November 2010 saw the whole of Year 9 take part in our annual Make a Difference Day. Mr Cunningham organised nine locally based charitable organisations to come into school and work with the tutor groups. The aim of the day was to raise the pupils’ awareness of the organisations involved, the work they do and, most importantly, realise that, through their own actions, the pupils can make a positive difference to the lives of others in the community. The whole day was a tremendous success. The atmosphere was calm and purposeful; the pupils were totally engaged and focussed on the tasks in hand. They took part in a variety of practical activities and the day was followed up by representatives from each of the tutor groups giving a short presentation about “their” organisation and its work to the rest of the year group during morning assemblies. Our thanks go to the following organisations for their help and support: St Johns Ambulance, Cosham Baptist Church, Portsmouth Association for the Blind, Relate, Kware Handshake, The Beneficial Foundation, Friends of the Earth, Hampshire and IOW Air Ambulance, The Philippine Community Fund.

Mrs S Cobb – Connexions Advisor

‘Investors in Careers’ News

The school is very pleased to be applying for reaccreditation of the quality standard ‘Investors in Careers’ this month. This helps us to ensure that the information, advice and guidance given to your sons and daughters is the best it can be when measured against national standards. The Governors take a keen interest in this process and parents are reminded that there are a series of links to on-line advice which can be accessed by clicking on the ‘My Future in Portsmouth’ icon on the left hand side of the school’s website (www.springfield.uk.net)

Mr Lomas—Assistant Headteacher

What is the new Functional Maths Curriculum? According to the Department for Education: “Functional Skills qualifications determine whether students can reproduce what they have learned (in English, Mathematics and ICT) but also how well they can extrapolate from what they have learned and apply that in novel settings and contexts”. Recently there have been several changes in the way Maths is taught but the latest is the most exciting because it makes Maths more relevant to everyday life. The current Year 10 pupils are studying the Functional Maths GCSE curriculum for their GCSE exams in June 2012. The structure of the course is based on how Maths is used in everyday life such as in calculating Income Tax, National Insurance, holiday costs and exchange rates. Gone are the days of Maths questions which led from one answer to another. Now the questions need a more open minded problem solving approach and the examiners are expecting students to be able to demonstrate a quality of communication in their answers where marks are given for justification of answers and not just for the answers them-selves. The transition to the Functional Maths curriculum has meant that all pupils from Year 7 onwards have to be taught in a different way so that they are ready for the new curriculum at Key Stage 4. Regular monitoring of pupil progress allows action to be taken, when needed, to support any child who is not achieving in accordance with expectations. Homework classes, revi-sion classes and now even additional parent sessions are just some examples of the sup-port provided. You can be sure that at Springfield everything that can be done is done to help each and every child achieve the best that they can during their time at the school. All that is needed is for every child to work hard, supported by parents and teachers, and the best possible results will be achieved. Andy Minchin - Maths is Fun - Link Governor

Below: Lucy Emery, Charlotte Dean, Fawn Ellis, Acacia Shore and Lucy Fitzgerald brain storming. Right: Josh Pountney and Saul Barrett hard at work creating saleable goods from recycled items as demon-strated by representatives from the Philippines Community Fund

Above: Sonny Jones, Joe Western and Harry Fisher in 9D - applying St John’s Ambulance First Aid training

FARNBOROUGH AIR SHOW

Four Year 9 pupils, accom-panied by Mr Elliott, left school at 8.00am on the first Saturday of the sum-mer holidays and arrived in Farnborough at about 10.00am. It was a short walk up to the Lockheed Martin building and, when we got there, we were briefed on what would be happening throughout the day. We met the pilot of the new Thrust SSC, Andy Green, and he explained the Thrust SSC and the engineering feats it has achieved.

Our first activity was a visit to the F-35 Lighting II simulator. It was extremely realistic and had all the controls of the actual plane. Next, we went on to make a paper aeroplane and see how far we could get it to fly. After that, we took a look at the army training program on a PC. It was really good and I got the chance to drive a tank! We moved on to the Thrust SSC stall, where we had to make a Thrust SSC model and see how far we could get it to travel using only balloons, which we attached and deflated to propel the model along. After lunch, we watched the air show for a little while (and had another sneaky go on the simulator)! Then it was time to drive home. In conclusion I had a thoroughly good time and would very much like to do it again. Our thanks to Lockheed Martin for an excellent day at their Farnborough Air Show Hospitality Suite. Theo Harper (10E)

Pupil wins glider trip On Thursday 11th November, sixteen Year 9 pupils, accompanied by Mr Tryon, were invited to attend a Science and Engineering Challenge, held at Gosport’s HMS Sultan. The aim of the event was to show pupils how important engineering could be as a life time career opportunity. The day was organised by EBP (Education Business Partnership). Many schools attended this activity with pupils from a wide range of age groups taking part in practical tasks linked to engineering. We all had to complete some answer sheets after the practical work to show our understanding of the tasks that had been set. Some children from our year group gave us their opinions of the trip. They reported that it was a brilliant day out, that they learned how to work as a team to complete the challenges and also learned things that they had not known beforehand. After this great day, a prize was awarded to the child who demonstrated the most understanding of the tasks and gave really good answers to the written questions. The prize winner was Kirbie Harman 9L, who won a trip on a glider which flew 2,000 feet up across the Isle of Wight. After this day many of us walked away with a much fuller understanding of engineering opportunities - and smiles on our faces!

Kirbie Harman (9L) and Ellie Brent (9L)

Smallpeice Trust October’s Physics with Engineering Course On Monday 25 th October five Year 9 Springfield students made thei r way to Reeds School in Surrey. When we got there we were all shocked by the size of Reeds School - it was about three times the size of Springfield School. We were then directed to the assembly hall and were in troduced to all the different companies and the people in our team. In an icebreaker exercise, we learned more about each other and our individual strengths. Each team was given a supervisor and some teams were allocate d student helpers to give help and advice for our projects. On the Tuesday morning we had a master class from J im Al khalili. This was about time travel, Black holes and Wormholes. It w as very interesting. Then we received a brief for our design and make project . We were told which companies we were going to work with and what we we re going to make. This project lasted until the end of the four day r esidential course. One com-pany was the NNL National Nuclear Laboratories. Th ey told us a bit about their organisation and what they did. Then they ex plained our brief. We had to create a nuclear transportation device which did not leak nuclear waste.

At the end of the three days we tested our trains a nd did a short presenta-tion of what we had discovered over the three days. Unfortunately, our train did not work. However, we were pleased that we made a strong prsentation. Victoria Roe (9E)

On Tuesday 28th September, all our

Year 8 students were fortunate enough to take part in a special event at school in which they had the opportunity to ask questions of a range of people who use science, technology and engineering in their work. The pupils also saw first hand a range of equipment used in the workplace, such as heart rate monitors, X-ray images and they even touched a £1,000,000 talisman, an unmanned underwater vehicle, brought in by BAE Systems. The pupils’ feedback was very positive: “A fantastic day. It inspired me to become an engineer or a spacecraft builder” Matthew Chambers (8N)

“I enjoyed the learning about the missile and mine disposal because I did not know much about them. I also enjoyed learning where our water comes from.” Grant Lucas (8S)

“I enjoyed seeing the x-rays and speaking to the people from the NHS who took our blood pressure.“ Marshall Mitchell (8P)

“I liked the recycle activity because I really got involved and I learned a lot.” Katie Duffield (8P)

“Out with the old and in with the new”

If you are replacing any old games consoles, MP3 players or similar electronic gadgets over the Christmas period, we would be pleased to use them in Graphics lessons, where they will be dismantled, so can-not be returned. The items do not have to be in working order. If you think you have something we could use, please send a message to Miss Hicks via your child. Many thanks. Miss Hicks Design Technology

Pictured in photo left: Fred McClintock (8S) and Luke Perman (8N) holding meteor fragments during their visit to the Intech Museum at Winchester—see article left. Photo below: Rebecca Aldridge, Clare McConnachie and Sarah Morey (all in 7S) enjoying the chance to meet with a movie star!

On Sunday 10th October, we went to the Intech Museum. As the visit took

place as part of Space Week, there were lots of people there.

The best part of our visit was meeting all the people who had links with space in

some way, including a star from the Star Wars films (see photo below right).

We also watched a planetarium show, held a meteor (see photo above right) and

even went into space! There was a company who had a camera at the museum

which sent one signal directly into space to a satellite and one to a TV screen.

You had to work out which picture was the one that had been sent into space.

The image that took longer to load was the one sent into space and back.

I learnt a lot and it was fun. I am glad that I went.

Sarah Morey (7S)

If you would like to take part in future Astronomy Club trips or visits,

please see Miss Bryant in Lab 3

Mary Rose Trust Trip—Friday 12th November I went on the Mary Rose school trip and had a great time in the lab that was there. In the first activity we excavated a cannon ball covered in mud, using a toothbrush and water. We also excavated a gold coin from amongst different types of coins made from different materials. We put another coin that was attached to a crocodile clip into a machine which gave us a reading. With that reading we could find out from what metal the coin was made. We had the chance to make our own coins too. To do this, we flattened a piece of metal and put it between two other pieces of metal, then hit it with a hammer. Hey presto! We got a coin! Another activity was all about seeing how heavy coins are underwater and how heavy they are when out of the water. It was a fun day. We learned a bit about Science and a bit about the history of coins. Andrew Claringbould (9D)

On court at Wimbledon On Thursday 11th November, sixteen pupils from Year 9 went on a trip to Wimbledon tennis stadium for a presentation by ‘Future Engineers’ to discover how the new retractable roof works. The minibus left the school grounds at 8.30am and when we arrived at Wimbledon main stadium we were ushered into the actual press room, along with pupils from five other schools. The presentation, ‘Construction and the Built Environment Taster Event’, consisted of 274 slides on all of the different engineering aspects of the roof’s design and how it worked. These were explained by six different people and their teams, who discussed the aspects of the making of the roof with which they were involved. By the end of the presentation we were all more educated in exactly how much work went into the roof that now covers Centre Court. Sports and house lighting, the relation between function, form and aesthetics and the project management tools and techniques were all part of the subjects that we learnt about from the presentation. Once the presentation was over, we were allowed to visit Centre Court and stay there while they operated the roof, which gave us a great chance to see how everything worked and all the parts we saw on the presenta-tion fitted together. Overall, all of the sixteen pupils who went on the trip thoroughly enjoyed the whole day and leant a lot about all of the hard work that engineers put in to produce the many items we use and/or see around us today. Jill Stevens (9D) and Victoria Roe (9E)

Below: Pupils enjoy a court-side view of the new Wimbledon roof—see article left

Mr K Elliott—Assistant Technology College Manager a nd ESI Co-ordinator

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

LAST DAY OF AUTUMN TERM—FRIDAY 17TH DECEMBER—2.20PM F INISH

FIRST DAY OF SPRING TERM—TUESDAY 4TH JANUARY 2011

PROFESSIONAL CLOSURE DAY—THURSDAY 27TH JANUARY

CALENDAR *

Please mark these dates on your calendar NOW!

JANUARY

FRIDAY 7TH YEAR 8 ‘CATCH UP’ HPV VACCINATION

SATURDAY 8TH 9.30AM—12 NOON CYBER CAFÉ—DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY

THURSDAY 13TH MORNING YEAR 11 BIOLOGY MODULAR EXAMINATION

SATURDAY 15TH 9.30AM—12 NOON CYBER CAFÉ—EDITING PHOTOS

15TH 10.00AM—12.30PM YEAR 11 HISTORY REVISION WORKSHOPS—FOR ALL YEAR 11 STUDENTS TAKING THE GCSE MODULAR TEST IN JANUARY

MONDAY 17TH MORNING YEAR 11 PHYSICS MODULAR EXAMINATION

FRIDAY 21ST MORNING YEAR 11 GCSE HISTORY EXAMINATION

SATURDAY 22ND 9.30AM—12 NOON CYBER CAFÉ—SOCIAL NETWORKING

THURSDAY 27TH PROFESSIONAL CLOSURE DAY—SCHOOL CLOSED

SATURDAY 29TH 9.30AM—12 NOON CYBER CAFÉ—HOW TO USE SEARCH ENGINES

FEBRUARY

SATURDAY 5TH 9.30AM—12 NOON CYBER CAFÉ—CHOOSING YOUR COMPUTER

SATURDAY 12TH 9.30AM—12 NOON CYBER CAFÉ—OPERATING SYSTEMS

SATURDAY 18TH TO SUNDAY 27TH FEBRUARY—HALF TERM

FUTURE TERM DATES WEDNESDAY 16TH TO FRIDAY 18TH FEBRUARY (7.00PM) FRIDAY 18TH FEBRUARY FRIDAY 1ST APRIL TO MONDAY 4TH APRIL WEDNESDAY 16TH MARCH TO SUNDY 20TH MARCH WEDNESDAY 6TH APRIL SATURDAY 9TH APRIL TO MONDAY 25TH APRIL THURSDAY 28TH APRIL

SCHOOL PRODUCTION ‘THE PAJAMA GAME’ NON UNIFORM DAY (THEME: “W EAR RED—CANCER SUPPORT”) MFL TRIP TO NORMANDY (YEARS 8 AND 9) HISTORY BATTLEFIELDS TRIP (YEAR 10) GEOGRAPHY—MEON VALLEY RIVER TRIP (YEAR 7) EASTER HOLIDAYS DESIGN TECHNOLOGY—QINETIC SCHOOL POWERBOAT CHALLENGE

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

Should my child go to school today? Think Twice: Every Day Counts

As part of the local authority’s campaign to improve school attendance across the city, the North

East Community Improvement Project has funded information booklets to hand out to all families

in this area. The booklet contains advice on common childhood ailments and attendance at school.

This invaluable mini document is attached to a magnet—so you can stick it on the fridge for easy

reference!

Charlotte Gomez, our school nurse, has talked to all pupils in assemblies about treating and coping

with minor illnesses and still offers advice and support at her regular Tuesday drop in sessions.

Parents are also welcome to see Charlotte when she is in and should contact School Reception to

make an appointment.

The fridge magnets were handed out in assemblies, so please look in your children’s school bags if

you have not received one or contact me at the school and I will send one to you.

If you would like further guidance and advice on whether your child is well enough to come into

school, then the school nurses run a morning attendance ‘phone service between 8.30am – 9.30 am

on 07917594719 to answer any queries or reassure you about concerns you may have. Of course,

you can still contact the Welfare Office or your child’s tutor or Head of Year in the usual way.

Mrs Summers—Deputy Headteacher