st. joseph’s specialist school & college...

St. Joseph’s Specialist School & College Newsletter

Volume 1

Friday

10 October 2014

Letter from the Principal

Dear Families and Friends

After the wonderful September weather that allowed us to keep the swimming pool open far

longer than ever before, the wet and windy autumnal weather has arrived. This didn’t stop the

official opening of the Pavilion going ahead in a real

downpour (see page 10 for further details and pictures).

I am sure not many of you will have escaped from

hearing that Bishop Kieran Conry has resigned. His

willingness to support the school and engage fully with

our learners,

over very

many years,

has been

wonderful. I can recall many a happy occasion, not

least when he confirmed a number of our learners at

the Annual Fiestas, but also latterly his willingness to

take part in a number of our arts projects alongside the

learners. It is enormously sad to lose Kieran as our

Bishop, but we hope he will keep in touch with us as a

friend of the school and college for many years to

come.

It was great to see so many families at our recent Harvest Liturgies. If

you have yet to send in your contribution to the Horsham Night Shelter

there is still a week to go before the food items are sent.

I am sad to report that Jason Strange, who has

been a parent Governor for a number of years, has, due to personal

reasons, decided to step down, leaving two posts vacant for Parent

Governors. We only had two nominations for this role and therefore, Lizzie

Hurst and Rebecca Vickers have been duly appointed. In the next newsletter they will be telling

you a little about themselves and how you can contact them.

We are still asking for family members to put themselves forward to be part of the Family

Engagement in Learning Working Party, which will be ably led by Karen May our Head of

Therapies. Please get in touch with the school office if you would

like to be part of this.

With our prayers and best wishes,

Amlets Lane, Cranleigh, Surrey GU6 7DH

Tel: 01483 272449 Fax: 01483 276003

Email: [email protected]

Web: www.st-josephscranleigh.surrey.sch.uk


Contents

Page 2 Staff News: Change of Role and Leavers

Page 3 Staff Profile: Francesca Arocas

Page 4 Therapies News: OT Top Tips; Kindness Week Report

Page 5 App of the Week - Animal Maths

Page 6 St. Andrew’s Café launch; Visit to the British Library

Page 7 Visit to The Outlook; Interactive Whiteboard donation; Forest Schools

Page 8 National Fitness Day

Page 9 Harvest Liturgy; The Independent School Award Shortlisting

Page 10 Official Pavilion Opening; Grandparents Week; Macmillan Coffee Morning

Page 11 Pilgrimage to Rome; Notices

Page 12 Dates for the Diary - Autumn Term 2014

Rebecca Collier, right, is

transferring from Care to

Education as a TA.

Jeni Grafham, is transferring

from the Kitchen to Education as

a TA

Csaba Vas, Care Worker

Kate Trew, TA


What type of person are

you?

Describe yourself in five words: Calm, caring, creative, crazy, cuddly.

What’s top of your to-do list? Get the International School Accreditation

for St Joseph’s

What’s your favourite biscuit? I never eat biscuits!

What’s your top holiday destination? I often visit France and Spain but I’d love to go to India

What wouldn’t you do for £1 million? I wouldn’t go on a reality show

Who would play you in the film of your life?

Meg Ryan

Complete the following sentences

The celebrity I’d most like to have as a teacher at my school is:

Stephen Fry

As a child I wanted to grow up to be: A teacher!

My most embarrassing moment in school:

Coming last in a swimming race.

If I’ve learned one thing, it is: To keep calm and not rush.

I shouldn’t be telling you this, but …..

I need to set several alarms to get me out of bed in the morning!

Tell us your best joke

Why did the scarecrow win a prize? Because he was outstanding in his field! Boom boom!

‘Cesca Arocas KS 1Class Teacher


If your child is overactive, disorganised, flits from task to task, try simple rhythmic activities such as hand clapping and counting together and separately, or rocking backwards and forwards or sideways, breathing and getting in touch with the rhythmicity of the breath.

Internal rhythms are incredibly important and reflect an individual's internal state. What we would want to achieve is a functional arousal state. Using rhythm regularly can positively impact on our arousal states and set the body up for higher skill level learning.

Last week we introduced Kindness Week to our learners for

the first time. During the week learners used a mixture of art

and crafts, stories, worksheets, and games as well as taking

part in poster, song and poetry competitions. On Tuesday many

of our learners took part in either drama or sensory based

workshops based around the theme of kindness. The learners had a great time in

the workshops exploring the story of The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde.

We also held Kindness Celebrations on the last day, to unveil the Whole School

Kindness Shield, which has been made up from creative activities from all the

school classes. This can now be found in the school hall (picture right). We will

also be displaying chain bunting around the school grounds which the learners

have created, which has been made in the official national antibullying week

colours in preparation for this November. Many learners were also awarded

Kindness Certificates for acts of kindness to others which had been noticed by

members of staff during the week.

We are very proud to have such a kind and thoughtful school, which was so clearly evident from the individual

and class activities that learners participated in during Kindness Week.


Animal Maths (free)

App of the Week from Kial Hounslow,

STA - Numeracy

Travel the world over from Bessie's Farm to the plains of Africa to the deepest reaches of outer space as you join math-explorer Emma through more than 100 fun math games on a quest to help her animal friends find a way home! Playable by kids of all ages with lots of positive encouragement, professional narration and catchy music. Cute characters include cows, chickens, lions, giraffes, kittens, puppies, robots and monsters! COUNTING & NUMBER RECOGNITION • To 100 by ones and by tens • Count forward beginning from a any number • Connect counting to numbers • Answer “How many?” questions • Compare two numbers ADDITION & SUBTRACTION • Addition and subtraction with objects • Addition and subtraction word problems • Fluently add and subtract within 5 • Compare more of, less of CATEGORIES AND GEOMETRY • Classify objects into given categories • Correctly name shapes • Analyse and compare shapes ADDITIONAL FEATURES: • Items, numbers and instructions are professionally narrated • Players are rewarded with positive encouragement • Parental controls: Turn off sounds, music, purchases and links


St Andrew’s Café - report by Harriet Agbenowu, class teacher

This Wednesday was the official opening ceremony of the St Andrew’s

Cafe’. Yippee... The learners in the class have worked very hard to pre-

pare for the opening of the Cafe’ which will be open every Wednesday

from 1pm to 2pm during term time.

This project is a part of our Literacy and Numeracy lessons and is aimed at

helping our learners develop their receptive and spoken language, social

integration skills, money handling skills and the development of some self help skills in food preparation. Our

menu features, toast, pop corn, waffles, biscuits, crisps, a drink and some yummy pancakes.

This may all be purchased for less than fifty pence or with tokens, stars or smiley faces which learners earn in

class as part of their reward system. All learners, staff, parents and friends of the school are welcome to join us

for our Cafe’ in St Andrews class every Wednesday from 1pm to 2pm for something yummy to eat, good music,

lovely company and some excellent service!

British Library Visit - report by Lauren Robins, STA Literacy &

Library

Last week a group of learners and staff attended a new SEN workshop at

the British Library, London.

The learners were encouraged to explore books in various sensory ways.

They were able to smell books and feel Braille books. They particularly

enjoyed the book that when opened had a small origami desk and chair

within its pages. They talked about what books are used for, from reading

a lovely story to propping up a bit of furniture.

As part of the workshop the learners were able to prepare and bind their own books using different techniques,

such as Long stitch binding. They were then encouraged to decorate their books and were able to take them

home.

Everyone had a fantastic time.


The Look Out Visit

Last week the whole of the school – key stages 1, 2 & 3 enjoyed a day at The Look Out Science park in Bracknell. Arriving just after 10.30 they were met by one of the employees who gave a welcome introduction to the learners outlining the various activities available as well as a health and safety briefing for the staff.

Activities were spread between three areas and over two floors, Learners had hands on experience of various physical effects and actions including: How to build up a static charge and launch a rocket, what effect a black hole has on space, how to launch a hot air balloon, how to create music by breaking light beams and learning about the human body.

Learners and staff also enjoyed the pre-booked sessions in the planetarium where they were shown the solar system and learnt how the planetary bodies move around the sun. They also learnt a little about the star formations and were

shown various constellations such as the bear and the plough as well as the signs of the zodiac.

The ‘Lookout’ is a great learning experience for all abilities! Planning is underway to take smaller groups in the future enabling more defined learning opportunities.

Interactive Whiteboard donation - report by Harriet Agbenowu

St Joseph’s has kindly donated the interactive Whiteboards that were being

replaced to a Special Needs School and Autism Foundation that is in the process

of being established in Ghana.

Sparklers Specialist School in Accra, Ghana, will be catering for children with a

variety of special education needs and moderate to severe learning difficulties.

The foundation is being founded by a group of parents of children with special

needs and some professional support on a voluntary basis. The project is being started from scratch and would

appreciate any support in the form of suitable resources. For further information please contact me at:

[email protected]

On Wednesday 8th October Leeha Watney (HLTA KS1 & 2) & I donned our wellies and

waterproofs to accompany local nursery school Barn Kids in Chiddingfold on their daily Forest

School session.

We had a fantastic morning and learnt a lot about how to progress with Forest Schools for

younger learners. We saw mud pits, dino dens, fairy circles and a sleeping mud giant. Its a

great privilege to be able to collaborate with such an experienced well established Forest

School and we are looking forward to working together in the future.

Report by ‘Cesca Arocas, KS 1 Teacher


National Fitness Day

On Friday 26th September staff and learners took on the challenge of the “Power Half Hour”. The meadow at the front of the school grounds was filled with the sounds of fun and laughter as staff and learners completed a circuit of the meadow either running or power walking.

Event organiser Fairley Alan, Head of Key Stage 4 and PE co-ordinator, reported “Regular exercise is important for everyone and even better when outside in the fresh air. It was fantastic to see so many learners and staff taking part in this event, and we hope it will become another St Joseph’s annual tradition.”


In the last few weeks we have heard that St. Joseph’s has been shortlisted for its work with the tenants of our Supported Living house in Cranleigh.

The Independent Schools Awards celebrates excellence in the strategic and financial management of independent schools in the UK.

We have been shortlisted for the Special Needs Initiative of the Year category for its work in find-ing and maintaining work opportunities for young adults with learning disabilities. Alan Day, Head of Residential Learning said “Our aim is for young people to live in the community and build a life in the community. We have worked closely with local organisations and the local parish council to secure work placements within the local community including gardening, leaflet dropping and weeding the cemetery.”

Harvest Festival—report by John Wright, Chaplain

A big thank you to everyone who brought in food to donate to this year’s

Harvest collection! We have collected lots of food to donate to ‘The Ark’

charity in Horsham, and there is still time if you would like to add anything to

our collection, but be quick!

This year’s Harvest Festival was a great success. Our chapel was full of food,

singing and people saying a big thank you to God. Our learners brought all

the collected food up to the alter as a way of saying thank you to God for

providing us with so much, and also as a way of giving it away to help those

who are hungry. There was so much food that it didn’t all fit on the alter! We

also spent some time thinking about the parable of the Good Samaritan, and

how important it is to help those in need.

We finished our celebrations with our Harvest disco in the school hall. It was a brilliant way to celebrate this

special time of year, where we remember how important it is to say thank you and how important it is to

share. Now we are getting ready for the Our Lady Procession, which is our next celebration. So watch this

space...


Opening of the Pavilion - report by Carol Davey, Head of Facilities & Capital Projects

The official opening of our new 52 week residential Pavilion building took place on 6th October. Brian Cheesman, Vice Chairman of the Cranleigh Parish Council, cut the inaugural ribbon and declared the building open. He then planted a flowering cherry tree next to the building to commemorate the opening. The ceremony was followed by tea and coffee and a special cake baked by the catering team. All the learners enjoyed a piece of the cake at lunchtime.

The building will provide accommodation for up to three learners who will live there all year round. Prior to its new use, the building was our disused sports Pavilion which was reduced to a shell and then sympathetically renovated and extended – you will have seen the before and after pictures in the previous newsletter.

It is very gratifying to see a building transformed and providing such a lovely home for our learners particularly as it has such a wonderful location with beautiful views.

The event was marked by staff, learners, Governors and a few Friends of St. Joseph’s.

Grandparents Week

As part of Brighton & Arundel’s Diocesan Grandparents

Week, we were delighted to invite Grandparents and

Supportive Adults to join us for an afternoon last week. It

was great to have 6 families accept the invitation across 3

afternoons.

Visitors were met at the reception by representatives from

their young person’s classroom and the afternoon got

underway with a shared lunch followed by timetabled

activities which varied between classes and key stages.

Thank you to all those who were able to join us and we look forward

to sharing the afternoon with you all again soon.

Macmillan Coffee Morning

From Wednesday 24th to Friday 26

th September, St Joseph’s school was inundated with

cake, fruit and coffee, to raise money for the National Macmillan coffee morning.

Lots of staff showed off their baking skills by making delicious cakes to share

with colleagues. We had nothing left at the end of each day, so we clearly

have some Star Bakers in our midst. Thank You to all the staff who donated,

in total we made over £150!!

Also, many thanks to all the staff who donated cakes and fruit for this special

cause. Finally, a massive Thank You to the staff who helped organise this

fantastic event – Nickie Fraser, Mick Feury, Dawn Elkins, Chris Short and

Kerry Bonham!


Pilgrimage to Rome - report by Mary Fawcett

Our Director Of Education, Mary Reynolds and Bishop Kieran led the Pilgrimage

with the help of Dom Stephen Ortiger, Father John Hull, both Trustees of St.

Joseph’s and Bernadette Conner, our RE Advisor. There were talks leading to

reflection and discussions on how we witness the joy of the Gospel as Catholic

leaders to those in our schools.

We stayed in a simple hotel within 5 minutes walk of St. Peter’s Basilica. Our visits

included the Basilicas di Santa Maria Maggiore, a Papal Audience in St. Peter’s

Square, Tea at the British Ambassadors’ to the Holy See’s Residence, Vatican Radio, the Venerable English

College and the Catacombs. On the last day there was even a little time for some shopping!

Surrey residents are being asked to recycle one more plastic bottle a week as part of a national drive to boost

plastics recycling. Bottles from every room in the home can be recycled, from drinks and cooking oil to domestic

bleach and shampoo bottles.

This recycled plastic can then be turned into new items including toys, phone covers and even football shirts.

Get involved today by pledging your support at pledge4plastics.co.uk or on twitter using #pledge4plastics.

By pledging to recycle just one extra plastic bottle a week, you could be in with a chance of winning one of 1,000

limited edition phone covers, created by renowned designer Abigail Ahern and made from 80% recycled plastic.

The National Autistic Society Christmas Carol Concert

With Christmas just around the corner, it’s time to save 10 December 2014 in your diaries

and join the NAS for a very festive performance from the EC4 Music Choir.

Beginning at 7pm and taking place in the wonderful surroundings of St Clement Danes Church on the Strand,

London WC2, you’ll be treated to a host of your favourite Christmas carols, performed by one of the UK’s

leading amateur choirs.

There will be plenty of opportunity for you to join the choir for a sing-along, and there may even be a special guest

reading or two!

Tickets start at just £10. There are also a limited number of tickets available for a post-concert drinks reception,

being held just down the road from the church at Ye Olde Cock Tavern. Here you can mingle with the choir and will

have the opportunity to bid on and win some fabulous prizes. Tickets are £5 and include a free glass of mulled

wine! To reserve your tickets please visit the NAS website - http://www.autism.org.uk/


The next newsletter will be published

on 24th October 2014

Dates for the Diary

Autumn Term 13th October 9.45-10.15am KS 1/2/3 - Our Lady Liturgy & Procession

15th October 10.30 am - 12.00 noon - Family Learning Coffee Morning - Forest Schools

Theme

2.15-2.45pm KS 4/5 - Our Lady Liturgy & Procession

18th October 10am – 2pm (lunch at 1.00pm) - Grounds Day - flyer sent out last week,

please remember to let us know if you are attending.

w/c 20th October “Express Yourself” Arts Week Celebrations - including St. Joseph’s Oscars -

programme to be sent out next week

24th October Last day of term - learners finish at 1.00pm

w/c 27th October HALF TERM

5th November Learners return to School between 10.15 am - 10.30 am

14th November Children in Need

w/c 17th November Road Safety Week

Anti-Bullying Week

19th November 10.30 am - 12.00 noon - Family Learning Coffee Morning - guest speaker,

Helen Fox, from Surrey Parent Partnership

20th November 7.00pm - Full Governing Body Meeting

21st November Learner Take Over Day

1st December 9.45-10.15am KS 1/2/3 - Advent & Christingle Celebration

3rd December 2.45-3.15pm KS 4/5 - Advent & Christingle Celebration

5th December 10.00am - 12.00 noon - Christmas Fayre

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