26 May 2023
Headteacher’s Message
We have had a very enjoyable term since we returned from the Easter holidays. As always, some nicer weather has helped!
I would firstly like to say a huge ‘well done’ to the pupils who sat external exams this term. They responded extremely well and have done themselves proud with how they dealt with the process. Pupils have worked very hard to prepare and deserve the successes they achieve.
This half term, our theme was ‘Movement and Forces’. Our Discoverers pupils have been looking at how we move and how our bodies work and Enquirers classes have visited the Science Museum at Winchester, looking at language around pushing and pulling and how gravity works! Next term we will be looking at the theme of ‘Amazing Adventures’ and, once again, this will allow the children to go out and experience their surroundings across the local area.
As you may have seen, during the Easter break, we have had a new temporary office building installed in the car park. Please be mindful that this has severely restricted the amount of parking we now have available. In light of this, please could I ask all parents/cares to avoid parking on site unless absolutely necessary. In addition, please could I remind parents and carers that parking is not allowed at the entrance to school at any time. It can be very dangerous for the children if this occurs.
Whilst I have no further update about any planned building work, I am delighted to let you all know that we will be supporting a group of pupils at Broadstone Middle School from September. ‘The Upper Link’ is a classroom based at the school for children with SEND and we will be providing support and advice for the development of this provision. This provision will not have any impact on the pupils in any of our other settings but will soon be announced and I wanted you to hear it from me first!
As ever, I would like to thank you all for your continued support.
Finally, please be aware that school will be close for half-term on Friday 26th May 2023 and the pupils return on Monday 5th June 2023.
In the meantime, I hope you all have an enjoyable half term break.
Geoff Cherrill
Headteacher
Safeguarding and Participation Team
Are you worried about a child or young person?
If you're worried about the wellbeing of a child, want to report abuse or aren't sure what to do, please get in touch.
The Children's Service First Response Hub provides the public and professionals with advice, information and support for children who are vulnerable and at risk.
Children's First Response Hub can help if you:
- Are worried about a child or young person who is at risk of (or is being) hurt or abused
- Know of a child or young person who may be vulnerable without additional help and support
- Want to know more about services to support children, young people, and their families
- Need support to agree an Early Help offer
If you're concerned, but not sure a child is at risk? Discuss the circumstances with the Children’s First Team.
Contact Children's First Response Hub
If you are a member of the public please telephone or e-mail the team.
- 01202 123 334
- Email: [email protected]
The First Response Hub is open during the following hours:
Monday to Thursday, 8:30am to 5:15pm
Friday, 8.30am to 4.45pm
Urgent help out of hours
The ‘out of hours service’ offer emergency support for any child who is in crisis, needs urgent help or is at serious risk of significant harm. Their phone number is 01202 738 256.
In an emergency, or if you believe a child is at immediate danger or risk of harm, call the police on 999.
Internet Connected Devices
Many families have internet connected devices for their child or home. Internet connected devices are devices or toys that are connected to the internet via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or a physical connection like a USB cable. They can also be connected to each other.
Internet connected devices can send and receive data, respond to voice commands, and be controlled remotely using a smartphone app.
What are the risks of internet connected devices?
Internet connected devices can have similar risks to devices like smartphones and tablets. These can be more likely to happen if the devices aren't set up properly.
Some of the risks of using internet connected devices are:
- Other people might be able to access the device and content without you knowing such as a child’s GPS activity tracker;
- You may not be able to see that someone's connected to your device, but sometimes developers or hackers can see your content;
- Baby monitors, children's tablets and even remote-control helicopters or drone toys, can be hacked and used by people outside of your home;
- Internet connected devices can collect personal data, including audio and visual data.
The NSPCC has a range of resources and advice about internet connected devices or toys and how to keep your child safe.
My Family Coach
Sometimes it is hard to understand children’s behaviour and find the best ways to support them as they grow up. If you need support, are looking for advice, or have a parenting question, you’ll find everything you need at MyFamilyCoach.com
My Family Coach is a free website produced by experts in child behaviour, parenting, and education. They have over 20 years of experience working with schools to understand children’s behaviour. Their training is used in 5,000 schools and health and social care settings, training over 100,000 individuals each year.
The website is full of resources on popular parenting topics, such as screen time, bullying, and mental wellbeing. They have a wide range of blog posts, podcast episodes, and videos available, along with bookable 1:1 coaching, courses, and classes.
My Family Coach provides support when you need it most. It’s simple to sign up and completely free to register.
Emoji Dictionary
Emojis are becoming an increasingly common method of communication for everybody. Emojis are simple to understand, quick to type and can get the tone of the message across. Just as understanding the language that young people use can be important for safeguarding them, we think it is also useful to understand how emojis can be used.
The Children’s Society have put together a simple guide to how emojis. Please see below
Steps2Wellbeing
If you're feeling low, stressed, or anxious Steps 2 Wellbeing can help.
Steps 2 Wellbeing is a free, NHS mental health service for adults registered with a GP in Dorset and Southampton, including Poole and Bournemouth.
Steps2Wellbeing offer a range of talking therapies, online courses, and guided self-help to support people who are feeling:
- Down, low, depressed;
- Anxious, irritable;
- Trouble sleeping or eating;
- Lacking motivation or feeling tired all the time;
- Experiencing physical symptoms like an upset stomach or headaches.
These feelings are common when people are experiencing mental health challenges.
Mental Health and Well Being
Summer is the best season for mental health.
The increased sun exposure boosts our vitamin D levels, and can even improve mood, leading to better mental health. Spending time in the sun also helps your body produce more melatonin (sleep hormone) at night, allowing you to sleep better and overall feel better.
Increased physical activity boosts neuronal connections, blood oxygenation and a sense of well-being thanks to the production of serotonin, endorphin, and dopamine in the body.
Enjoy spending some time together outdoors enjoying the warmer longer days.
Have a fantastic and most importantly safe holiday.
Best wishes,
Adam, Jo, Abi, Kelly & James
Every Day in School Matters
Attendance below 95%?
Attendance below 95% is of concern to the school.
10 days unauthorised absences for holidays over the year mean you will only achieve 95% attendance. Sickness & medical appointments, although usually unavoidable & authorised, will add further to your child’s absence record.
If your child’s attendance is 90% it means your child has missed 4 weeks education throughout the year.
Have we heard from you?
If your child is absent from school with no reason provided the school office will attempt to contact parents and carers. If the school office is not able to make contact and we do not hear from you we will treat the absence as unauthorised.
If we do not have contact from you - either directly or answering our calls we will consider asking the Police or Children’s Social Care to carry out a welfare check in line with our safeguarding responsibilities.
Holidays and Absence during term time
Absence will not be authorised during term time except in exceptional circumstances. It is very important that all parents and carers understand that children with unauthorised absences, including holidays, and unexplained absences are at risk of receiving a Fixed Penalty Notice.
Medical Appointments
We request that, where possible, routine medical and dentist appointments are arranged outside school hours as these appointments will affect your child’s percentage attendance.
We do understand that some appointments, such as hospital consultations, are not always possible to arrange outside of school hours. However, if the appointment time allows your child to come to school for registration and then leave, this will have a positive impact on their attendance figure.
Likewise, if they are able to be back into school for afternoon registration at 1pm, this will also have a positive impact.
The Legal Stuff
School attendance is important because the law requires it. As a parent you are legally responsible for making sure your child gets a full-time education. This means making sure they attend regularly.
Thank you for your support in helping to raise our school attendance. If you would like any support or advice on attendance or punctuality, please speak to your child’s class teacher or to Adam Bradford
Curriculum
This half term, our curriculum theme was a science topic ‘Movement and Forces’.
Pupils have been finding out about how they move themselves and how they can move ‘things’! This has involved some great opportunities for pupils to take part in science experiments and get ‘out and about’ to scientifically explore the local environment, developing their understand of what moves and how we can move it.
Discoverers classes have visited the local area to access and use different types of equipment to help understand how their body is moved by equipment and how they can control the equipment and their body, to create movements. Pupils have experienced different speeds, shapes and directions.
A number of our Enquirers classes enjoyed a trip to the Winchester Science Centre which, when we were there, felt a bit like letting our pupils loose in a sweet factory! All pupils thoroughly enjoyed the numerous practical learning opportunities which included finding out about the cause and effect they could experience, with a variety of objects to show force. The planetarium offered a wonderful experience to learn about the planets and immerse ourselves in the galaxy. Through STEAM, pupils have also been exploring and enquiring through a variety of experiments, to discover more about forces and their effects.
Pupils in Years 10 and above have demonstrated maturity and resilience as they entered their second exam window, to complete Functional Skills exams. It has been wonderful to hear about pupil achievements that demonstrate the progress they are making; this was particularly evident in English. Well done to all our pupils who have recently sat their exams.
Next half term, our theme is ‘Amazing Adventures’, which will undoubtedly have pupils off-site, exploring and engaging with their local community.
I hope you all have an enjoyable break; we look forward to welcoming your children back for the final half term of the school year.
Hannah Parry
Curriculum Lead
Medical
Sun Safety
Now we are experiencing warmer days, please can we remind you to provide adequate sun protection for your child.
Please ensure your child brings their sunhat and water to school with them every day. We also ask that all children wear sun cream to school which is applied in the morning before they come to school.
We would also like to ask that you provide an in date, high factor sun cream, which is FREE FROM NUTS, this must be clearly labelled with your child’s name.
Class teams will supervise those children who are capable of applying their own sun cream, whilst it may be necessary to apply cream or use the hand over hand approach with younger children.
Sun Safety Facts:
From March to October, the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays are strongest between 11am and 3pm.
To protect your skin from damage, make sure you:
- Spend time in the shade between 11am and 3pm
- Cover up with suitable clothes, hat and sunglasses (ideally, you should select glasses which offer UV400 or 100%UVA/UVB protection)
- Take extra care with children
- Use at least a SPF30 sunscreen and at least a 4-star UVA protection
Tips for applying sunscreen:
- Most people do not apply enough sunscreen - make sure you put enough on. If sunscreen is applied too thinly, the amount of protection it gives is reduced.
- Apply sunscreen evenly and thickly, even if it is a roll on or spray sunscreen.
- Sunscreen should be applied to all exposed skin, including the face, ears, feet and backs of hands.
- Sunscreen needs to be reapplied liberally and frequently throughout the day. Sunscreen can rub, sweat, and wash off, even if it is “water resistant”. It is recommended to reapply sunscreen every 2 hours, as the sun can dry it off your skin.
- Always remember to check the expiry date on your sunscreen before use. Look for a symbol ‘M’ and a number on the bottle/packaging; this shows the number of months that the sunscreen will last after opening.
Medical Email
Please use our medical email address [email protected] if you would like to discuss the following:
Request referrals - School Paediatrician, ID-CAMHS, Continence Team, Sleep Clinic, Community Dietician, Dental Service
General enquiry box - to be used for any other medical related issues other than listed above.
We aim to respond to all email enquiries the same day.
Dental Referrals
If you are having difficulties in finding a local NHS dentist, we can help to refer your child to the Somerset Specialist Community Dental Service. The service are very skilled at providing treatment to children with a range of learning difficulties and health needs.
If you require further information, please contact the Medical Team
REMINDER - Prescribed Medications
If your child requires medications during school time for a medical condition you must complete an M2 form, this is available in reception or on the school website to download.
Paracetamol – please be advised that we have a Medication Policy in place that states we can only administer prescribed medications which includes Paracetamol.
As always if the Medical Team can offer any support or advice, please contact us.
Best Wishes
Michelle & Jane
Therapy Team
Speech and Language Therapy
Jess W went to Harbour class this half term to check in with their Attention Autism, Jess ran a Stage 2 Attention Autism session and the pupils were really engaged - well done Harbour class for great progress in attention skills!
Jess P has been in to Jellyfish class to support a group of pupils with their spoken sentence structures using Shape Coding. Shape Coding is a visual system to teach sentence structure and grammar that is being used as part of our English curriculum.
Sea Turtles have been doing Lego Therapy groups within the classroom supported by Michelle from the Therapy Team. The class is split into groups of three, where each pupil takes on one of the Lego roles (either the Engineer, Builder or Supplier) and work collaboratively to build a Lego model. This works on a range of communication skills, such as turn-taking, descriptive language, joint attention, following instructions and repairing communication breakdown. A small group of pupils in Sea Lions are having a group Lego Therapy session with Michelle too.
Occupational Therapy
Jellyfish class have had Sensory Feeding Therapy sessions in class with Wendy and Emily from the Therapy Team to work on exploring a range of textures of foods. The pupils have engaged well in these sessions and have been keen to get stuck in and make a mess.
We have a new space in school for our Sensory Integration sessions with new equipment. Starfish pupils have been accessing this space for sessions with the Therapy Assistants to help pupils with their sensory regulation. The pupils really enjoy these sessions and are much calmer at the end and more regulated to help engage in learning.
Physiotherapy
Dolphins Class have been accessing a strength and conditioning group with the Therapy Team and PE Team this half term. The programme works on their strength and co-ordination. Here are some pupils putting their hands on their opposite knees to work on crossing midline!
Lots of classes have been continuing with using Storycises as part of their day as an opportunity for movement, the Therapy Team have popped in and seen Storycises this half term in Penguins, Coral, and Sea Turtles!
Ocean
Ocean class have had a great half term and have really enjoyed our theme of ‘Movement and Forces’. They have certainly been very active!
We have explored how our bodies work through crawling, jumping, walking backwards and forwards; and how we can use our bodies to create movement by building very big towers with bricks and pushing the tower over!
We have also explored how things move in water, down slopes, how tyres move in the garden, and how we can move ourselves along balancing equipment in the playground. The children have all enjoyed our thematic songs including ‘Wheels on the Bus’, ‘Head Shoulders Knees and Toes’, and ‘Ring a Roses’. We have recently started to play Musical Bumps with lots of laughter as the children have moved up and down.
Our book this term has been ‘Walking through the Jungle’ and some of the children have started to look at this during their self-engagement sessions. It has been lovely to see a few children in the book hut sharing this book. Additionally, the children look forward to the end of day independent reading sessions, alongside our ‘Let’s Choose a Rhyme’ with most of the children making a choice about which rhyme they would like to sing!
Our community visit to the beach is developing the children’s muscles as it is quite hard to walk on sand! We have been running on the sand including some races, in preparation for Sports Day next term. Additionally, our PE in the Park is very much enjoyed by both Ocean and Harbour class.
The children have continued to really enjoy their cooking lessons, they have been able to follow instructions well and some children have even enjoyed tasting the products of their hard work! They particularly enjoyed making fruit skewers, flatbread pizzas and jam thumbprint biscuits, and it’s been great to hear them independently using key words such as ‘mix’, ‘pour’ and ‘scoop’ during these lessons and in their play.
Next term our theme will be ‘Amazing Adventures’ and we are looking forward to having as many adventures as we can! Have a lovely half term, stay safe and enjoy, and see you in our final term.
Harbour
Harbour class have had a great half term following the Easter break, they have been enjoying our theme of ‘Forces’, particularly in relation to our learning and exploration of movement.
In linking with our theme, we have been copying and labelling different movements - we have done this through games like Simon Says, rolling a dice and copying the movements, dough disco, and using symbols to choose a movement and then watch themselves do it in a mirror. The children’s vocabulary has really expanded through these activities, they are now beginning to use more verbs in their day-to-day language which has been lovely to hear. Our book for this half term has been ‘The Enormous Turnip’, and the children have enjoyed acting out and exploring movements related to the story.
Our community visits this half term have been all about exploring different movements at different playgrounds. The children have loved exploring on the equipment at Upton Country Park and Poole Park, and it’s been wonderful to see them develop their play and sharing skills alongside this. Whilst out we have also been working on our PSHE skill this half term of sitting at a table to eat a snack and waiting for our friends to finish; it’s great to see them apply skills they have learnt in the classroom in new contexts.
Our Problem Solving lessons have focused around experimenting and working together, as well as developing their understanding of mathematical concepts around our topic. They have worked together to make ramps and slides for cars and balls, explored with making different sized paper aeroplanes, built tunnels, and discovered which heavy items they can pull. The children have also been working on applying their number skills at a more structured, table-based activity, which they have responded well to - they are doing brilliantly with following instructions in an adult led activity.
Harbour have continued to really enjoy their cooking lessons; they have been able to follow instructions well and some children have even enjoyed tasting the products of their hard work! They particularly enjoyed making fruit skewers, flatbread pizzas and jam thumbprint biscuits, and it’s been great to hear them independently using key words such as ‘mix’, ‘pour’ and ‘scoop’ during these lessons and in their play.
We look forward to exploring our final topic of the year, ‘Amazing Adventures’, next half term. We are excited to continue exploring new environments out in the community, and engage in lots of learning adventures! We hope you have a lovely half term.
Oyster
Hello Oysters. This half term has been quite a challenging one for the children, because of the bank holidays and disjointed weeks, but the children have coped very well and this is a huge credit to you all.
We have had the theme ‘Movement and Forces’ which we have being focusing on in many of our activities.
We have been reading the book ‘The Enormous Turnip’ by Irene Yates and all children have been allocated roles to play. Pupils have been working together to try and re-enact the story and, at the time of writing, we are ready to begin filming for a spectacular Oyster performance!
Oyster pupils have been on a few trips away from Old Town, including a trip to the main site to attend a whole school celebration for the King’s Coronation. Ahead of the day, the children chose their sandwiches, visited Aldi to find what we needed and buying the items, before making their sandwiches on the day. At the main site, we visited the café, were treated to an ice cream, met friends from other classes and made new friends, before heading back for a picnic lunch finished with coronation party games.
On our trips to Aldi, the children have been able to find out where the items which we needed, can be found in the shop. During some of our trips, if the children had their way, we might not have bought such healthy snacks! We have also been introduced to some favourite cereals, snacks and drinks on our shopping trips.
Following our food exploration, we have continued to explore more textures and children have used a blender to make a variety of healthy smoothies. As part of the preparation, we took the opportunity to cut the fruit with spreading knives, snipping jelly and cutting out masks and shapes. All pupils enjoyed some of the smoothies better than others and they did pull some funny faces when trying some of the more sour tasting fruits!
No movement topic would be complete without a visit to the Bournemouth Aviation Museum. During our visit, children had the opportunity to climb in the cockpits of a variety of planes, a helicopter and in the driver’s seat of a double decker bus. As the museum is located next to Bournemouth Airport, we were lucky enough to see some aeroplanes taking off and landing too!
We wish you an enjoyable half term and we will see you back for our final Summer Term.
Starfish
Starfish have come back brilliantly after the Easter Holidays! We have very much enjoyed and taken advantage of the better weather and been using the gardens much more which has been hugely beneficial for the children’s regulation, sensory input and overall learning experiences.
This half term the theme is ‘Forces’ and, as a Discoverers class, we have focused on movement. This has involved learning about recognising simple movement words and then following them when in a simple instruction. The children have engaged so well in this theme and all of them can now recognise a few of the basic symbols linking to the movement words. As part of learning these new words, we have been out and about around the community on the search for the best playgrounds! It has been wonderful watching the children’s confidence grow on different climbing equipment, trying new things that they wouldn’t have before, and recognising what they are doing or labelling it. When out on community visits we have been continuing to focus on safety in the community. This includes walking alongside an adult, stopping when asked and not running away. There has been so much progress shown in this area and watching the children walk safely with or near the adults and respond to key instructions is fantastic. We will continue to focus on this throughout the summer term.
The children are still accessing forest schools which they all love and are showing much more interest in the world around them as well as exploring new and unfamiliar objects or equipment and engaging with the adults.
PECS is still at the forefront of communication in Starfish Class but we have started to branch out this term and introduce choosing boards and Let’s Chat Boards. This is allowing the children to choose things that they wouldn’t normally choose and therefore is not in their PECS book, as well as being able to start commenting on the world around them. This next step is really important for the development of their language and so far it has been extremely successful.
The Starfish Team
Jellyfish
What a FANTASTIC Summer 1 Term we have had! This term’s theme was “Forces and Motion” and the class have been brilliant at learning new key vocabulary as well as engaging in many different aspects of their learning.
In My Communication, we have been looking at different stories to do with movement including the story of The Tortoise and The Hare. In Problem Solving, the pupils have learnt used their new vocabulary and explored different aspects of this using wind-up toys. They participated in toy races whilst estimating who would win as well as measuring how far each participant went.
This theme has allowed for plenty of learning out in the community. We went to a variety of parks to explore different movement on swings and slides. We were very lucky to be able to go on a big day out to Winchester Science Centre. Here we explored different experiments and learning opportunities. My favourite part was the discombobulation chamber which was lovely and calming for both adults and children! One morning we went to Bournemouth. We walked through the gardens, along to the Big Wheel and had fun in the arcades. Our last Fab Finish trip of this term, we went to Swanage (our favourite place)! We looked at the motion of the waves, the push and pull of the slot machines and the movement of the Chain Ferry! Obviously, we could not go to Swanage without having fish and chips – yummy!
This Half Term, we celebrated Our Majesty, King Charles III, with a whole school drop-day. The pupils thoroughly enjoyed participating in the whole school Art project, celebrating British Values, making crowns, and referring to everyone as Kings and Queens! The class have been working on keeping themselves safe in PSHE and getting ready for Sports Day in PE. Throughout all our learning, we have practiced following instructions in a variety of ways and making sure our ‘listening ears’ are on – adults included! The pupils have really enjoyed using their imaginations to create different characters in Art and giving them their own personalities. SALT have been supporting us during Food Therapy and we have explored different textures, tastes and smells! Fun has been had by all during these sessions, even when the “play” turned more into a food fight with the dried cereal!
Next Half Term’s theme will be ‘Amazing Adventures’ when we look forward to lots more exploration of places and learning! Myself and the class team wish you a lovely, and hopefully sunny, May Half Term and we look forward to the adventures that await us in the final term of this academic year!
“May the force be with you!”
Miss Naomi and the Jellyfish Class Team; Miss Jo, Miss Laura, Miss Ali and Mr Paul
Dolphin
Dolphin Class have had a great half term and we have really enjoyed our ‘Movement and Forces’ topic.
In My Communication, we have followed recipes and instructions, focusing on our Words First, phonics, reading, speaking and listening skills. The class has listened to stories about Thor and the Giants with pupils learning how to describe characters and settings.
In My Problem Solving, pupils explored forces and movement, doing lots of experiments, including the infamous Coke and Mentos experiment to make volcanoes! Pupils also made gloop and slime, which they loved! Other things pupils made included domino and marble runs, aeroplanes, and parachutes. The class also made boats to find out about floating and sinking and pupils have been following and then sequencing instructions.
In My Creative, pupils have made their own beats and found out about garage bands on the class iPads. In art, we have made split pin moving characters, including birds and dolphins and we were also involved in making lots of crafts for the coronation, including bunting, crowns and Union Jack windmills.
In My Physical and Sensory, Dolphin class have taken part in a weekly physiotherapy programme to help develop their gross motor, balance and coordination skills. Pupils have also been practising sports day activities including the egg and spoon race, relay and running races. We have also used bikes and explored in a variety of parks on our community visits.
In My World, pupils have been very busy and cooked doughnuts, sausage rolls, pizzas, cheese toasties and bacon & sausage baps. In PSHE, we have run a ‘Toast and Fruit Café’, making different drinks, including our own lemonade. For our community visits, we visited Whitecliff Park, where pupils loved moving in different ways around the play equipment. In addition, we went to Poole Park, and enjoyed having a ride on the train! We finished the half term with a visit to the Bournemouth Aviation Museum.
We hope you have a lovely half term holiday and we look forward to seeing you in the second half of the summer term.
Paula, Tina and Kirsty
Dolphin Class Team
Octopus
Hello Octopus Parents and Carers,
This half term we have been exploring ‘Forces’ with particular emphasis on ‘movement’; learning all about the different ways we can move our bodies. In our community visits we have been walking to the local park, where Octopus Class have been exploring the play area, and thinking outside the box when it comes to moving around the play equipment.
During our weekly story lessons, we have been reading the book ‘How to Catch a Star’ by Oliver Jeffers, which has inspired our imaginations and led us to explore with paint, using different movements and techniques to create our own stars!
Forest School has still been a weekly adventure for us, we have been using our communication aids so we can communicate our preferred item and snacks while there. The area is changing so much with all the sunny weather!
Some of the children have enjoyed going horse riding and have done very well listening to instructions and waiting.
This half term has been wonderful, with the pupils taking the topic of ‘movement’ and putting there all into each activity, making every day as special as the last.
The Octopus Team
Coral
We have had a great half term in Coral class learning all about our topic ‘Movement and Forces’! All pupils have worked so hard and we are so proud of them!
We have enjoyed exploring our theme and learning about movement in the environment with a focus on developing our own confidence in movements. Some of us used ‘shape coding’ to support us with the structure of how to say a sentence about pictures that show different movements. We loved exploring Poole Park and developing our motor skills when playing on the new challenge at the park.
In My Communication, we have been reading the story ‘Supertato’, (the world's greatest potato superhero!) and made our own puppets to retell the story using a story map. The children did a fabulous job of retelling the story both on their own and with their peers. We used adjectives to talk about Supertato and wrote captions for oil pastel representational drawings we created. Our work was so good, we created a beautiful display to show off the work, which we are really proud of.
In Art, we used mixed media to create our own moving puppets and used a potato to make a real-life Supertato of our own. We drew pictures of people and animals making different movements. The pupils concentrated hard on this and produced some careful artwork, with each of them choosing the tools they wanted to use. At Forest School, we made nature prints using flowers and leaves. We were so proud of our artwork that we created frames using sticks, measuring, and sawing them to length to hang our prints on and created another fantastic display of our work.
In My Problem Solving, we have revisited and recapped on our times of the day and months of the year. With a focus on ‘yesterday’ and ‘tomorrow’ and using a calendar to answer word problems. The pupils have used Numicon confidently to explore different ways of making numbers up to 10, 20 and 50; using symbols to add and take away. We have also been learning about shapes, and have produced some thoughtful pictures using shapes for purpose and explaining what we have made. We have looked at measuring, where we had car races, and moving toys and measured which ones were the winners. We also made decisions on which measuring tools to use to measure toys and how tall we have grown.
This half term we have continued with our cooking, making sandwiches, shortbread cookies with cream and fruit, an exotic fruit salad and baked our own bread – all were yummy! We ordered the cooking instructions and used word mats to say ‘I like’ ‘I don’t like’, as well as using describing words in conversational language about our food.
We have also been finding different ways to relax, including yoga, and have really enjoyed voting for the story we wanted, from a choice, and enjoying these stories together.
We are looking forward to seeing the pupils enjoy next half term, learning all about ‘Amazing Adventures’.
Have a lovely Half Term!
Coral class team
Penguins
The first half of the Summer Term has been very busy and exciting for the children and adults in Penguin Class.
We have really enjoyed learning more about forces in our topic ‘Movement and Forces’
In Maths, we have been learning about prepositions, directions and turns. We have been playing ‘Simon Says’ and thinking about left, right, up, down, half turns and full turns. We have also been naming and sorting 2D and 3D shapes, thinking about how many edges and corners each shape has.
In English, we have been reading books all about space and forces. Our first book was called ‘Space Tortoise’ by Ross Montgomery. We found prepositions that were used in the story, like next to, under and behind. We then looked at the different settings in the story and thought of some clever adjectives to describe what we could see for example; sunny, colourful, hot, broken, and empty. We wrote some excellent sentences using prepositions and adjectives! We moved onto ‘The Way Back Home’ written by Oliver Jeffers, where we used moving pictures to retell the story. We then designed our own aliens and wrote excellent character descriptions of them.
Our My World lessons this half term have involved forces, playing with magnets and some thoroughly enjoyable trips. First, we visited the Bournemouth Aviation Museum near Hurn Airport. We had the opportunity to climb inside and sit inside the cock pits of many different aeroplanes and helicopters. We even got the chance to explore a double decker bus and a fire engine! We could try on costumes and watch the aeroplanes take off from Hurn airport.
Our second trip was to the Winchester Science Museum and Planetarium. We designed and tested our own rocket ships using forces, we then launched them to see how fast they would travel! We also watched a brilliant planetarium show all about the different planets in our Solar System. It was absolutely amazing and we felt like we were floating in space! We also had the chance to play with all the different exhibits around the Science Museum, including trying on a real space suit!
In Art, we have been continuing our learning about forces by designing and making our own colourful moving characters using split pins. We started by making simple birds and then developed our ideas into more complicated alien designs based on our English book, ‘The Way Back Home.’
Our RE lessons this half term have been all about Viking gods and goddesses and their Pagan beliefs. We learnt about Thor and his hammer and listened to stories about his life.
Penguin Class have thoroughly enjoyed swimming this half term and we are looking forward to this continuing next half term.
In our PSHE lessons, we have been practicing washing up, labelling the equipment needed and making sure that we know how to wash up plates and cups properly - so don’t forget to ask for some help at home with this!
Our final topic for this year will be ‘Amazing Adventures!’ We will be learning all about the names and locations of the different oceans on planet Earth. We will explore the different forms of marine life in our oceans and investigate the damage humans are doing to the ocean through pollution and waste.
As always, thank you for your continued support.
The Penguin Class Team
Sea Lions
Wow… this half term has flown by! We have had so many bank holidays. A definite highlight has been visiting the Winchester Science Centre! We made rockets and thought about the aerodynamics as well as how friction could slow the rocket down.
This half term, our theme has been all about “Movement and Forces”. We have made great links between our Maths, My World and STEAM sessions using our theme. Sea Lions have focused on what a force is, mainly push and pull. We also explored what friction is and how it can affect a car’s movement. We found that the rougher the surface, the higher the ramp needed to be to move the car. We have also explored push and pull within a range of contexts, as well as categorising objects where we have to use a push or pull movement to make it move. We have also started to explore magnets and how they work! STEAM has been about using this knowledge and applying it to practical experiments, we have made boats, marshmallow shooters and magnetic slime.
Maths has included plenty of opportunity for practical learning. We have worked on our understanding of fractions using Oreo’s, measuring weight in grams and kilograms through our PSHE, as well as working on our adding and subtracting skills by using more formal methods. Sea Lions have also used ICT to cover statistics, where we have been using Purple Mash apps to create pictograms and graphs based on the data we have collected. This has been a new app to the class, but we agreed making graphs on the computer was a lot easier than drawing them ourselves. Sea Lions have also been working on their shape knowledge towards the end of the half term.
In English, we have been reading ‘Boot: Small Robot, Big Adventure’ by Shane Hegarty - a lovely story about Boot the robot who finds himself in a scrapyard. Sea Lions have been developing their retelling skills by using moving pictures, as well as discussing characters and how they feel in each chapter. The class have worked hard on keeping track of the story, as this is a bigger book than we are used to! We have also been developing our listening skills when being given spoken instructions and recounting what we did at the Winchester Science Centre!
In RE we have been learning about Viking Gods! Namely, Thor, Loki and Odin… which are Marvel characters too! The class have explored the messages in each story and what the values are within Norse Mythology.
In PSHE, we have been developing our table manners and skills such as pouring cereal and drinks. We have made cornflake cakes, cheesecake and milkshakes in class which we have enjoyed in the afternoon after a long day of learning! Sea Lions have shown great resilience when doing this and have continuously shown they can follow instructions and take turns when waiting for friends.
Our theme for Summer Term 2 is ‘Amazing Adventures’ - lots of adventures and memories to be made!
Have a wonderful half term and we look forward to seeing Sea Lions for the final half term of this academic year!
Miss Ciara, Miss Alanna, Miss Lois, Miss Sarah and Miss Paris
Sea Turtles
What a fantastic half term we have had in Sea Turtles!
We had a great day on Friday 5 May to celebrate the King’s Coronation. We visited the main Winchelsea site and enjoyed joining in with a variety of arts, cooking and games and we were even treated to an ice cream! Staff were very impressed with the beautiful behaviour of Sea Turtles class.
This half term has seen the return of the Sea Turtles café. We have focused on our table manners, such as waiting for our friends to finish before leaving the table and turn taking serving each other. Each lesson, we have had a chef in charge of making food, and two waiters in charge of serving food. Pupils were dedicated to their job roles, showing great attention to the needs of their friends in the café. Children recalled our rules well, waiting for their friends to finish before they ordered more food.
The children have been taking part in many STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) experiments this half term and pupils were particularly impressed by the egg drop experiment. We challenged pupils to make a parachute that would help to prevent an egg from breaking when we dropped it. The class team were amazed when the majority of our eggs survived without breaking! Well done Sea Turtles! Pupils also had great fun creating their own lava lamps. We used oil, water, and salt to create the base of our lamps and went on to experiment with different colours and even glitter to see how it changed the lamps, with amazing results!
In Maths, Sea Turtles have shown great engagement. At the beginning, we started with positional and directional language, with the focus being able to use words such as left right, forwards, and backwards in an instruction. Pupils were outstanding with their language and were able to direct their friends from different points in the classroom to a given space. Pupils were even able to listen to more than one instruction given at the same time!
In English, we have been reading a wonderful book called ‘The Space Tortoise’ by Ross Montgomery. It is a wonderful story about a tortoise who goes in search of new friends and we have used the book to inspire our own writing. Our focus has been ‘where’ and describing words. We have been particularly inspired by the describing words for our story and very impressed with the words used by the pupils to describe our clock, for example, broken, lonely and frustrated.
As part of our My World topic ‘Movement and Forces’, pupils have been exploring push and pull as a force. We have experimented with different objects we can push and pull, and have identified which objects can have both forces applied to them. In RE, we have been exploring Vikings and their gods and have learnt about Thor, Loki and Odin. We have also explored the long ships that Vikings used to travel the world.
Our theme for the next half term will be ‘Amazing Adventures’ and we are looking forward to exploring different places with Sea Turtles class.
Wishing you all a lovely half term break and we look forward to seeing everyone after half term.
Regards,
Miss Nancy, Miss Jennifer, Miss Katie, and Miss Heather
Lobsters
Lobsters have had a great half term. We have really enjoyed carrying out a lot of experiments linked to our termly focus of ‘Movement and Forces’.
In My World and STEAM lessons we have been investigating forces. Lobsters were the proud winners of the domino sparkly starter challenge. During our trip to Poole Park the class were able to identify how push and pull are used in the park and on the gym equipment around the lake. Through this they were also able to talk about how gravity helps us to go on swings and on the slide. We have also looked at friction. Lobsters have investigated how the texture of a surface can affect how far a toy car can go and the amount of friction produced. We have also learnt about how forces are measured in Newtons. Lobsters had a great time at Winchester Science Museum, where they were able to explore a wide range of science concepts in a hands-on way. They all really enjoyed making space rockets!
Lobster class have been using the results of the investigations they have done to support their ICT lessons. This half term they have been introduced to Excel. During lessons they have been developing their skills of inputting data and have started to use the graph options to create graphs. We have been really impressed with how they are using their knowledge of Word to help them.
In English we have been looking at a book called ‘Space Ace’ by Eric Brown. Through this we have researched using a range of methods, looking at the planets of the solar system and producing fact files about them. We have also investigated the relationship between the main characters and made predictions about what we think would happen.
Lobster class have been using their Mathematical knowledge a lot this half term. Throughout our My World and STEAM lessons they have been practising their measuring skills, ensuring that their results are accurate. Using Excel, they have been developing their understanding of graphs and have been refining the skills needed to read and interpret data. Whilst cooking our flat breads, the class has shown an increased confidence and accuracy when measuring out the ingredients. As well as all this in our maths lessons we have been looking at shapes and how they can be identified by their properties. I am very proud of how they have been embracing the use of more technical language linked to this.
In Home cooking, Lobster class have been making flat bread. This has linked well with the work we have been doing in PSHE about making sandwiches. The class have had the opportunity to make flat breads and experiment what happens if they use different types of flour. Home cooking lessons have also given the class a good opportunity to practice their washing up skills which we have been working on in PSHE. I hope they are demonstrating these skills at home as well.
I really enjoy writing these newsletters as it gives me the opportunity to look back at all the amazing learning that Lobsters have done over the half term and see how the whole class have risen to the challenges that we continually set them.
We hope that you all enjoy the half term and look forward to seeing what the final half term of this school year has to offer.
Laura, Sammy and Ellie
Seahorses
Wow, what a busy half term we have had in Seahorses!
The term began with Functional Skills exams in Reading, Writing, Maths and Speaking & Listening for a number of pupils. The pupils all tried their hardest, so should be very proud of themselves! We look forward to sharing the results with you when they have been confirmed and moderated. As well as exams, the pupils have been working hard to finish off accreditation work in a range of subjects, including their Wednesday options lessons.
During exam fortnight, a team from Seahorses took part in the South West Regional Table Cricket competition, held in Exeter. Despite the early start and problems with traffic, resulting in a little late arrival, the team did amazingly well and came second! The staff accompanying the pupils were very impressed by the pupils’ sportsmanship and how well they represented the school.
Seahorses continue to work with a variety of teachers across the school for specialist subjects including Forest School, Creative Arts, Home Cooking, English and Maths. The class have enjoyed having Mr Saunders back teaching some of their lessons this term and we have welcomed Mr Dennis to the class team.
Our theme this half term has been ‘Movement and Forces’. In English, the pupils have been working on experiments linked to the theme, including making parachutes and experimenting with magnets. In addition, we went to the Winchester Science Centre with a number of other classes. The planetarium was a highlight of the visit!
Another special event this half term was our Coronation celebrations; the class made some amazing scones which they enjoyed with cream and jam at our indoor picnic.
Next half term we are looking forward to the theme ‘Amazing Adventures’, with many adventures of our own including: Sports week, Ferny Crofts residential trip, the Duke of Edinburgh Award expeditions, leavers events and preparing our Year 11 pupils for their next step to Post 16!
We hope you have an enjoyable half term.
The Seahorses Class Team
Magna Seals
Wow, one more term to go until the end of the year, we can’t believe how quickly time has gone!
In English, we have continued reading ‘Bloom – The Surprising Seeds of Sorrel Fallowfield’ by Nicola Skinner and are enjoying the magical aspect of the story. The pupils have learnt all about personification and were fabulous at acting out activities that humans can do; some of them were very detailed!
In Maths, pupils have worked hard, doing a lot of practical maths, focusing on 2D and 3D shapes and using the mathematical vocabulary, for example: face, vertices, edges and faces. The class had an amazing trip to Poole Park to identify 2D and 3D shapes and enjoyed the play park and all had a go on the various items of play equipment. We were also lucky enough to see a mother swan with her baby cygnets, when lots of “Awwws” could be heard!
Our ‘Wake and Shake’ has been different this half term as we are lucky enough to be trialling a new strength, stability challenge! Each day the children roll out their yoga mats and are taught four new muscle strengthening activities. Some of the activities need extra practice - touching each finger to your thumb is trickier than it sounds (especially with your eyes shut!) It’s fantastic to see how all pupils have really thrown themselves into the challenges and are showing real resilience and determination!
We ended the half term with a class trip to the ‘Spire Café’ in Poole High Street. All pupils practised their social skills by ordering their own snack and drink, and their independence using public transport!
As always, the class team are super proud of them all!
We wish you all a wonderful May half term and see you on the other side!
Kind regards and best wishes,
Miss Nic, Miss Lorraine & Miss Jane
Magna Manatees
It feels incredible that I am writing yet another end of half-term newsletter – time has simply flown by. And what a half-term it has been!
Manatees pupils absolutely relished this term’s topic, embracing the hands-on nature of exploring ‘Movement and Forces’. Pupils harnessed static electricity in STEAM lessons, making pencils rotate on the surface of water and making each other’s hair stand on end. The class explored how centrifugal force allows water to defy gravity, when you spin it fast enough in a cup and investigated how magnetic force can be used to push and pull objects, to extraordinary effect.
This term culminated in an ‘electrifying’ trip to the Winchester Science Centre, where pupils spent the whole day pushing buttons to make things gyrate, rotate, bubble and explode. The look of awe on their faces during the workshop on rockets, was something truly spectacular to behold. During the experiment, ‘Ollie’ our scientist for the session explained how rockets could be launched into the atmosphere through controlled explosions. He transformed liquid methane into vapour, before setting light to it - with magical effect. The pupils loved the results so much, that they persuaded Ollie to complete the experiment a second time at the end of the session!
We have continued our shared reading of the text ‘Bloom - The Surprising Seeds of Sorrel Fallowfield’ by Nicola Skinner. We are now twenty chapters in, and have just discovered that Sorrel has made the ‘surprising decision’ to sow her magical seeds…on her head! We cannot wait until next half-term, to discover what the outcome of this decision might be!
In Maths, pupils have made superb progress with their understanding of 2D and 3D shapes, and have been able to spot these shapes all around us in their everyday environments. Why not quiz them to find some for you, when you next sit down to dinner?
Further excitement came in the form of our lovely new pupil ‘Amelie’ joining us in Manatees class. I have been so proud to see how well the class have welcomed Amelie, showing fantastic social skills and empathy for how she might be feeling, getting to know new people and new routines. It has been particularly impressive listening to them explain what the Winchelsea Zones are and show her their tool kits. It really reflects the mature individuals that they are becoming.
I cannot sign off this newsletter, without mentioning the extraordinary success of our weekly swimming lessons. Despite our swift start on Wednesday mornings, Manatees pupils have shown a great sense of adventure and resilience to their early morning dip. In just five weeks, we have pupils who have moved from anxious splashing, to putting their faces in the water as they complete their strokes, and removing their armbands through choice! I am very impressed and proud of the brilliant life skills that these young people are developing - not just in terms of their swimming ability, but also in terms of their independence and determined attitudes.
Next half-term we will be exploring the topic ‘Amazing Adventures’ and look forward to telling you all about them through our bulletins and weekly photos.
Have a wonderful half-term break.
Best wishes, Verity, Megan and all the Class Team
Manta
This half term, we have been enjoying exploring ‘Movement and Forces’. This topic has had an exciting Science focus and has allowed us to predict, investigate and review lots of practical tasks.
In English, we have been learning about some different scientists including Sir Isaac Newton and Galileo. We learnt about their discoveries and tried some experiments of our own. We investigated friction and the impact of it by making a series of ramps out of different materials and dropping cars down them. We also learnt about air resistance and designed and made three different types of parachutes to find out what made the best one. The best parachute was the one that created the most air resistance and our groups gathered results before coming to their conclusions.
In PSHE this half term, we have been learning about medication. We have spent time talking about different medications that we might have to take and how we can ensure that we are taking them safely.
Our cooking lessons have also incorporated some PSHE life skills. We have learnt about how we would order food when out and about and, in some lessons, we have set up a restaurant where, not only do the children have to cook, but they also have to serve each other. This half term, we have made our own pizzas, scones and cookies.
Some of the pupils in class have signed up to take part in the Duke of Edinburgh challenge this year. They have been working extremely hard on planning events and collecting evidence for the different skills elements that they need to cover. As well as this, they have completed their expedition where they spent two days and one night in the Wareham Forest. During the expedition, they were responsible for cooking their own meals, carrying their own equipment and setting up their own tents. I know that it was extremely tough for the, but it was a fantastic experience and really challenged them and tested lots of life skills and skills in independence.
We all enjoyed a fantastic school trip to Winchester Science Centre. We travelled to Winchester with six other classes and had the best day learning and exploring. We spent a session exploring lots of equipment that demonstrated different forces and then another session exploring the ‘Space’ area where the pupils could see what Earth looks like from Space and try on a space suit. We attended a fantastic workshop, where we made rockets and launched them across the room by lighting the gas from mentholated spirit. We finished our day with a mesmerizing visit to the planetarium where we were shown the different constellations and visited the different planets in the solar system. It was a fantastic trip!
We are all looking forward to a great Summer 2 term where our topic will be ‘Amazing Adventures’. The second half of the term will also include ‘sports week’ and a residential trip to Ferny Crofts Activity Centre.
Have a fantastic half term!
Manta team
Orca
This half term has been dominated by our new topic ‘Movement and Forces’ and exams! All pupils in Orca have completed exams this half term including a number of them sitting Level 1 exams. They have impressed us all with the level of maturity they have demonstrated when coping with these exams and regardless of the results they should be as proud of themselves as we are of them.
“The exams were not too bad but still a bit stressful. I tried not to overthink and just take one step at a time.” Djamel
English and Maths this half term has had a huge drive towards the pupils’ exams, practicing all the skills they needed to make sure they felt prepared for them. In amongst this, Orca have completed their work on George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’ in English, which they have done incredibly well with.
“It has been fantastic learning about the politics behind the book and how Orwell was trying to criticize some dictators through his book” Mikey
During this half term’s cooking lessons pupils have had the opportunity to serve and make food for each other. They had to take orders, lay a place setting and make a pizza for the person they were working with. All pupils worked brilliantly with their partners. Over the course of this year, Orca’s skills in the kitchen have really developed which has been lovely to see. It would be wonderful for them to practice at home!
“Cooking has been ok, I have seen some of the class show amazing patience when working in partners.” Seth
In RE, Orca have been learning about Norse mythology and actually discovered they knew more about it than they realized thanks to their love of the marvel films! They have been able to expand on their initial knowledge and delve far deeper into the finer details of Norse mythology.
“It’s really interesting to learn about other religions and cultures.”
This half term Winchelsea have had the chance to celebrate King Charles’ Coronation. We had a day to celebrate as a school with activities and a picnic on the field. Orca were given a budget in their Maths lesson to plan some food that they can share as a class. They had to stick within a tight budget and consider dietary and allergy needs. It was wonderful to be able to celebrate as a school.
“We decorated biscuits, made boxes and did drawing on the floor in the hall. It was nice to celebrate the King’s coronation.” John
As part of our topic ‘Movement and Forces’, Orca took part in a trip to Winchester Science Centre with Manta, Seahorses, Lobsters and Magna Satellite. Pupils had a timetable of activities that they followed for the day. This included exploring some of the exhibits, such as the weight of a can of baked beans on every planet, an optical illusion room and sonic rockets amongst many others. The second activity was a workshop about rockets given by some of the staff from the science centre Oli and Dan. Pupils had the chance to design their own rockets, working in teams of 3, they had two chances, which gave them the opportunity to improve on the previous attempt. The final activity was the Planetarium where the pupils explored space and learnt about different constellations and planets.
“I really enjoyed the science centre, it was so much fun exploring all the science.” Djamel
“It was pretty good because it provided information in a fun way!” Brandon
Next half term our topic is ‘Amazing Adventures’ and will also be the last half term of this academic year! We have a lot of fun to pack in including Sports Week and the KS4 residential. We hope you all have a fantastic (and hopefully sunny) half term break.
Sam, Alison and Sarah
Post 16
Where has this half term gone! It has flown by!
Post 16 have been lucky enough to have an additional classroom to use and within the class room a new common room area to relax in. Some of the pupils went to Ikea in Southampton to buy cushions, rugs, and plants to decorate their area. They enjoyed picking out different cushions to brighten up the place.
This term, most of our students have had Functional Skills Exams in Speaking and Listening, Reading, Writing and Maths. As well as exams, the pupils have been working hard on their Laser Awards units, including their Wednesday options lesson.
Post 16 continue to work with a variety of teachers across the school for specialist subjects including PHSE, Creative Arts, Vocational Studies, Options and Music.
Our Topic this term has been ‘Movement and Forces’. In English some of the pupils have been reading “The Wild Robot” by Peter Brown or “How to Catch a Star” by Oliver Jeffers. They have enjoyed reading this half term and this will continue into Summer Term 2. Pupils have been looking at what a blurb is and where it appears in a book, they have also sounded out words to help them read some of the more difficult words.
In Vocational Skills, Post 16 have been cleaning up the flower beds, putting new soil in, making the wooden beds up and painting the sheds to make the garden area ready for the World War 2 re-enactment.
Post 16 have also been cooking for the café, making brownies, cakes, bacon rolls, sausage baps, cheese toasties and nachos. They have also been making different fillings for sandwiches, making bread and many other meals/snacks using different ingredients to continue developing their skills in the kitchen.
This half term as a school we celebrated the Kings Coronation. Post 16 opened the café to parents, pupils, and staff. They made some amazing crown biscuits and cakes which they decorated, sold in the café and really enjoyed eating them too!
Next half term we are looking forward to the theme ‘Amazing Adventures’, with many adventures of our own including: Sports week, World War 2 re-enactment, Leavers Assembly, Moors Valley Country Park and possibly a trip to Monkey World!
Have a lovely half term and we will see you all next half term.
Best wishes
Post 16 Team
Creative Arts
Art
Moving and Shaking
This half term has been very busy and we have been focusing on developing our fine motor skills, as well as our imagination skills! The pupils have been drawing, cutting, and assembling their own split pin figures. This has been quite tricky and fiddly for some of our young people but, in true Winchelsea style, we have persevered and the results are fabulous!
Canford
The pupils at CHJS have decided they would like to make a ‘split pin zoo’! and we have been discussing how we could put several animal characteristics together to create hybrids (their idea!) We have also spent time discussing habitats. We have looked at stop start animation and watched several episodes of ‘Morph’ which they loved! Next half term we hope to start making our own stop star films…watch this space!
Teenager Teams
Orca, Manta and Seahorses have been enjoying a series of ‘mini projects.’ These short units are a bite size look into artists that they would not normally come across. The students have been working in teams to create and innovate their own interpretations of works by artists such as, Bob and Roberta Smith, Alexander Calder and Yayoi Kusama. It has been great to see students working collaboratively in mixed ability groups. As usual, they never fail to impress me with their ability to think out the box. I have really enjoyed teaching these units.
Can You Help?
Do you have an artistic skill that you could offer to demonstrate to our children?
Do you play an instrument or have contacts who can?
Do you have a creative job or work in an industry that may inspire our young people?
If so, please contact Miss Tash at the school.
Music
Marvellous Music
This term, pupils have been looking into the wonderful world of music technology. Pupils have been focusing on using an app-based music programme - GarageBand! As well as learning how to use the app, and working out what buttons do what - they have also created their own rhythms using beat sequencers, instrument loops to create a piece of music, and recording virtual instruments! This has led to them creating both individual pieces of music and working as an ensemble to create whole class compositions.
Pupils have also explored tech-based instruments such as OddBalls, where they can create sounds, rhythms, and melodies in different ways such as passing, tapping, or even rolling the balls. When using these they have been thinking about rhythms using TA/TETE/TIKITIKI and composing their own rhythms to play on these unusual instruments.
One of our stretch and challenge groups have been delving into music theory! They have started to learn about time signatures, key signatures and how you write music on a stave. The group have been composing their own melodies and harmonies using the information they have learnt and playing these on the glockenspiels and xylophones.
PE
A great start to the summer term in the PE department and we are all very thankful that the weather seems to have turned and we can get outside for our PE lessons.
Our Discoverers have been practicing some key events for our sports day coming up in the middle of July. Here are Dolphin class practising some different relays.
We have also been focussing on the importance of warming up and warming down after our PE lessons.
“It is good for you, it’s fun and it stretches your muscles” Tommy - Dolphins Class
Our Enquirers’ pupils have been practicing their athletics and field events getting ready for sports day. We have particularly been focussing on techniques of the different events. How to hold and throw a javelin for example.
Our accreditation pupils have been working hard on their cricket/boccia/fitness and football skills this half term and we have a moderator coming in to look at our year 11 scores soon.
Year 11’s practising their fitness circuits
We have also played a long-awaited 2nd fixture against the Lion Works School. This time Winchelsea were the victors winning 4-2 in a well-played competitive match.
This is what some of our players said about the game. John "It was a great game because we were passing and had great communication"
Mikey "It was cool, I played well. It felt great when we won"
Josh "Both teams played well, Winchelsea won and I think this is because we had better attack and put the other team under pressure."
And lastly, a huge congratulations to pupils from Seahorses class whom represented Winchelsea in Exeter in the regional Table Cricket finals and went all the way to the final narrowly missing out on winning the competition. Well done to all involved!
Here is our captain for the competition Billy receiving the group certificates.