“I have come that you may have life and life to the full”

Message from the Principal

Dear Parents and Carers,

The summer is nearly upon us – and with it hopefully, a much needed spell of continued warm weather!

I trust that you will enjoy taking a few moments to read our end of term newsletter. It contains important information about our achievements and events that have taken place during the last six weeks. It also sets out the key details for the start of the 2019-20 academic year.

I have enjoyed meeting students this term and speaking with many of you personally. Although I have only been with the school for seven weeks, I feel very much part of the community already.

Thank you for your ongoing support in ensuring All Saints goes from strength to strength – together, we can achieve so much for our school, our community and your sons and daughters.

The pictures here are from our recent Sports Day and Student of the Week Principal rewards. In brief, they sum up something of what we are trying to achieve: dedication, resilience and a sense of achievement that can come from a personal or team contribution.

Wishing you every blessing for a restful and enjoyable summer break.

Mr J Cornish Principal

“I have come that you may have life and life to the full”

All Saints Church of England Academy

Further to the previous letter, All Saints is now part of Ambitions Academies Trust and as such will be known as All Saints Church of England Academy to reflect our official Department for Education name. If you are looking for official information about the school online, please use the updated school name.

Church school status: vision, ethos and collective worship

Our church school status remains unchanged and we are developing stronger links with the Salisbury Diocesan Board of Education. Some of the works of art displayed in the diocese head offices (below) and inspired by our Christian ethos and values are shown here. They demonstrate children’s unique, creative abilities:

In the new academic year, we will be working with staff, students, parents and carers to refresh our vision to ensure that it reflects the next stage of our journey of transformation. Our cornerstone purpose will always be to help students experience Jesus’ promise of “life in all its fullness” whilst deepening their understanding of the key principles of wisdom, community, hope and dignity.

We are keen to make sure that, as a whole community, we have all contributed to a uniquely personalised vision that lives and breathes our journey of improvement.

If you would like to read more about the Church of England’s vision for education, please visit:

Church of England Vision for Education

Staffing updates

At the end of an academic year, there will always be staffing change.

Therefore, we are pleased to welcoming Mr Prior to our Maths department, Mr Bezant to History, Mrs Frost to English and Mrs Heaton as a cover supervisor.

Following a spell as Acting Headteacher, we are also delighted to let you know that Mr Russell has been appointed as Vice Principal for Inclusion.

We have already said goodbye to Mr Docherty (English) and Miss Walder (Art) and now say the same to Mr Bell (Geography and Head of Year 10), Mrs Kidner (English), Miss Wright (Deputy Headteacher), Mr Heath (Deputy Headteacher) and Mr Watt (History). Between them they have given over a century’s worth of service to education so they will be missed! We are also pleased to see two of our teaching Assistants, Mr Bell and Miss Courage move onto initial teacher training placements.

Please join with us welcoming new colleagues and in wishing all of our staff leavers the very best for their next ventures.

I am pleased to let you know that next year, Miss Cousens will serve again as Head of Year 11 whilst Mr May will lead our new Year 7 students. School day timings 2019-20

Thank you to those of you who have contributed to the consultation about the timings of the school day. We understand that a change to the school day is always a potentially sensitive one. We have listened to your concerns about ensuring students have sufficient time to eat in the day and will be working with the canteen to make sure that this can happen in good time with two service spaces being developed to help shorten the queues.

We will be progressing with the proposed new time because we Activity Timings believe it will benefit learning and help students achieve better First bell 08.35 outcomes. This has certainly been the experience of other schools in Lesson 1 08.40 – 09.40 Ambitions Academies Trust who have adopted this model. Lesson 2 09.40 – 10.40 Tutor time 10.40 – 11.00 The changes to period 1 and tutor time mean that a renewed Break time 11.00 – 11.25 emphasis on punctuality will be important. Therefore, we thank you End of break bell 11.25 in advance for ensuring students are in by 8.35am each morning and Lesson 3 11.30 – 12.30 are ready to learn at 8.40am. Lesson 4 12.30 – 13.30 Lunchtime 13.30 – 13.55 The timings of the day are given here for your convenience: End of lunch bell 13.55 Lesson 5 14.00 – 15.00

Uniform and bags

Thank you for your support with uniform over the last seven weeks. We hope that you have found our approach to shoes (all black, all leather, no visible branding) a sensible one. Likewise, students have expressed their appreciation of our policy on leaving blazers at home during the hot weather.

Next year, we would be very grateful for your support with the following in particular:

- Black socks should be worn. White socks are not part of the uniform and should not be worn - Trousers must not be rolled up - Black jeans are not allowed and should not be worn - Tight / stretchy leggings or trousers should not be worn - Top buttons should be done up and ties worn smartly - Shirts must be tucked in - Skirts should be worn to knee length – some of these are too short at present.

The images below should be helpful in setting out what is appropriate in terms of shoes

Full details of our uniform can be found on our website. Please contact the academy if you need further information.

Due to Health and Safety reasons, our policy on bags remains unchanged – students need to leave these in their lockers and return to them during a break. In our school shop in September, we will stock durable plastic wallets at trade price. These can be carried around during lesson time and provide a good way for students to keep materials together.

Attendance

Please support us with your son or daughter’s attendance!

Our Vice Principal, Mr Russell, will be launching a new attendance strategy and policy in September to put a renewed focus on praise and rewards in place for good attendance – we recognise that this is needed and hope students will engage positively with our efforts to reward them more effectively.

Please do not ask for holidays during term time. These can only be granted for exceptional circumstances due to a special educational need or disability. This means that we will continue to work with Council to impose fines for holidays of five days or more.

Behaviour

We have made a number of changes to our behaviour system to support students. These include:

- Shortening same day detentions to 30 minutes - Adding in another level of same day detentions before progressing to Level 2 Supervision - Removing same day detentions in the vast majority of cases for Level 2 Supervision - Reducing Fixed Term Exclusions

Our shared priority must be “disruption free learning” because this is fair to all students. Please help us achieve this next year by talking with your son or daughter to ensure their part in helping our community take every opportunity to learn and progress.

Next year we will also be a renewed emphasis on rewards which we think students will enjoy and respond to with enthusiasm!

Summer site works

During the summer, please be aware that we are intending to make some changes to the use of spaces in school. We are hoping to move S5 above the dining room to create an Inclusion Base and re-locate the Supervision Room onto the English corridor. We will write with further details about this in the new academic year.

We are also looking to undertake re-decoration and flooring works in the Science corridor.

The academy, therefore, will be shut to visitors other than contracts for the duration of the holiday.

GCSE Results Day

The only exception to the site closures during the summer term will be when the academy opens to give Year 11 students their results.

Year 11 are able to collect their results from 9am on Thursday 22nd August.

Staff will be on hand to share in the experience and provide advice if necessary for progression to the next destination.

Parents are welcome to accompany students, but please be aware that we cannot give out results to anyone other than students themselves. If students are not able to collect their results, they must confirm to us in writing who they are nominating to collect their results. We must receive this in advance of the results day.

FASSA (Friends of All Saints School Association)

In September, we will be re-launching FASSA! We are keen to engage more proactively with our community in a variety of ways, whether that be community open days, social quiz evenings, musical festivals or seasonal parties!

If you would be interested in becoming part of the team, please contact Mr Cornish directly at school.

Website, Social Media - Facebook & Twitter

Thank you for following us on Facebook and Twitter – social media is such an important feature in our society for communicating positively with one another. We also use it in school to keep in touch with parents and carers. Please do follow us on each of the social media feeds to keep in touch!

In the new academic year, we will be overhauling our website also – watch this space! https://www.allsaints.dorset.sch.uk/wp-admin

Mobile Phones

Please remember that our policy is that mobiles are neither seen nor heard during the school day. If students do bring them in, they must be turned off and in bags during the day.

Transport to school

Following the May 2018 OFSTED report that raised concerns about student safety, we need to politely remind parents and carers that cars are not allowed on site during the school day unless by prior arrangement due to exceptional circumstances. This is to keep students and staff safe and we are grateful for your support in this matter.

Bike and Scooter Safety

We are pleased to see so many students riding and scooting to school to enjoy the fresh air and take part in physical activity. However, we do need to ask for your support in ensuring students have their helmets with them. Again, this is a safety precaution following a tragic accident last year. If students do not wear their helmets, they will not be allowed to bike or scoot to school.

Equipment for September

Please make sure that students arrive in September with a pencil case that contains black/blue/purple pens, a ruler, a pair of compasses, a scientific calculator, a protractor, eraser and sharpener, highlighters and colouring pencils. Some may wish to add extra items – this is welcome…but please do avoid expensive equipment! The items are available in our school shop in the LRC at break times.

Please see over for a quick reminder and don’t forget to send students in with a reading book.

Piercings

We recognise that students may wish to have their ears pierced during the summer. If this can be done as early in the holidays as possible, that would be much appreciated because this gives maximum healing time and avoids issues in September. We do not allow any other piercings other than one plain stud in each ear. Thank you for your understanding in this regard.

Please keep reading for a review of some of the Highlights from T6 below

Extra-curricular opportunities

Besuch aus Deutschland – visitors from Germany

On the 3rd and 4th of June students from Realschule Neubiberg in Munich came for their yearly visit. The students joined our Year 10 German students for lessons 4 and 5 and gave both parties the opportunity to practise their language skills as well as giving our German visitors the opportunity to experience, what school is like in the UK. Our year 10 students were eager to welcome them and form new international friendships. We are looking forward to their visit next year!

Year 11 Leaver’s Ball

We were blessed with a fantastic summer’s evening for the annual Year 11 Leavers Ball on Friday 28th June. Our thanks go to the ever enthusiastic Mr Sadler for an outstanding evening that served as a celebration of students’ time with us. Too many flash frocks and cool cars to count!

A Summer Evening of Music and Dance

This was a first for All Saints School, combining Music and Dance in this way and it allowed many pupils to showcase their talents.

From a Dance point of view the audience was wowed by a group of performers who demonstrated an immense sense of control and fluidity. Their dance pieces included very emotional, traditional Contemporary dances as well as a more light-hearted Charleston to ‘Do Your Thing’! Furthermore, the lifts and tricks were breath-taking.

From a Music point of view the musicians performed a wide variety of styles from Black Sabbath’s ‘Iron Man’, to George Gershwin’s ‘Someone To Watch Over Me’ to Edvard Grieg’s ‘Anitra’s Dance. For ‘The Demon Jetz’ and the Ukulele club it was their debut whereas some of the more familiar faces demonstrated their progress by performing solos or by participating in the Choir, and or, in the School Band. Lastly, the Staff Choir gave two very entertaining contrasting performances starting with a rather apt version of ‘I’m Still Standing’ complete with Elton John glasses!

Easton Methodist Church Variety Concert

On a very warm Saturday evening on 6th July, All Saints Music Department ‘small band’ performed two songs and three Folk pieces to help fundraise for Easton Methodist Church. The audience really enjoyed Ethan Skillman’s renditions of ‘Who’d Have Known’ (Lilly Allen) and ‘Dancing With Myself’ (Billy Idol) accompanied by Jo Orrell, Ella Manders, Camden Boucher and Miss Musgrove. It was most unfortunate that Joe Thorpe, our guitarist was unwell.

Orchestra Extravaganza

On Wednesday 10th July, 18 All Saints pupils travelled, with 12 pupils from Budmouth, to Bournemouth Pavilion to join other instrumentalists from various other schools in Dorset to perform five ‘BBC Ten Pieces’ arrangements of famous classical music. The rehearsal day was a great success culminating in a very entertaining Concert in the evening which included the audience being comforted by a version of Dvorak’s Symphony no.9 – Largo (the music from the old Hovis advert) before being ‘shaken’ by a very powerful rendition of Gustav Holst’s ‘Mars’. It was so lovely to be able to take such a mixture if ages and instruments to participate in such an inspiring experience!

Duke of Edinburgh

Our thanks go to Mr Butcher for leading our Duke of Edinburgh work.

We have had another very successful D of E season with another 100% Expedition pass rate!

This year we had a smaller group than usual, but certainly no less enthusiastic or capable than previous years. The students have been busy all year with a training session each week and planned walks, preparing for the Final Expedition. This however is only part of their commitment. They have also been working on three other elements in their own time on a regular basis over a three or six month period. These include a Physical activity, learning a Skill and Volunteering. June the 8th and 9th brought the culmination of nine months of training, planning and preparation, as the 2018/19 D of E Bronze group embarked on their Final Expedition. The terrain was mostly agricultural with some areas of plantation. They passed around picturesque Corfe Castle and ended the weekend on the beach in Studland. The weather was changeable on Day 1 with some showers but sunny in the afternoon. Day 2 was bright and sunny. Despite being very tired on the second day, they managed to finish their routes on time. So…the 100% Expedition pass rate has been maintained! In the week following their expedition, both teams gave presentations on their Expedition projects to family, friends, leaders and Mr Russell. These were both excellent. Congratulations to them all. They have been amazing.

Women in Mathematics

On Friday 5th July a group of 10, Y9 and 10 girls travelled to to take part in a Celebration of women in mathematics organised by the Advanced Mathematics Support Programme (AMSP). The day was packed with interesting and inspiring talks and activities aimed at encouraging girls to continue their mathematics into higher education and opening their eyes to the many career opportunities having a mathematics qualification can bring. The talks ranged from Mechanical Engineering, Medicine to Mathematical modelling in computer animation. Each talk had an engaging activity connected to that field. There was also a Mathematical competition (which was I must say was very tricky) for the girls to work on during the breaks. I am pleased to say All Saints picked up both second and third places. So a good day all-round!

The girls came away enthused and excited about what they had experienced and the prospect of going to university.

Year 9 Careers College

From stonemasonry to hairdressing; from psychology to fashion; from paddle boarding to childcare… and everything in between!

Our Year 9 students enjoyed 2 days at Weymouth College with a chance to participate in a huge variety of taster sessions.

The sun shone; the students smiled (most of the time!) lunchtime burgers were consumed by many… and some early decisions may have been made about future career paths. Well done to all who made the most of the experience. Session leaders complimented your behaviour and good manners: you were a credit to the school.

Dorset Knob Throwing

A playful name, but a serious business! Thanks to Mrs Allen for organising another great opportunity involving food.

After a tough couple of weeks of exams, Year 10 Food and Nutrition pupils came up with an idea to celebrate, they successfully organised and ran a year team event with a difference.

Moore’s Biscuits of Morcombelake kindly sponsored the event donating enough Dorset knobs for each group of competitors plus one hungry seagull who stole the show. There was a knob and spoon race and knob throwing. Mr Wadley’s tutor group were the winners collecting fairy cakes made by Mrs Allen’s Food pupils.

Thanks go to: Bethany Firth, Kikki Callum, Lizzy Gant, Rhys Kellaway, Erin Lucus, Conner Reddy, Maisie Skinley, Alani Thompson, Kaleb Thorne, Travis Walden and Maja Trybala alongside assistance from Miss Cousins and Mr Rich.

Food Hygiene

We are proud to offer our congratulations to year 9, 10 and 11 Study Skills students and Mrs Pearce, who have been successful with their studies in Food Hygiene. The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health Certificate will ensure our pupils hold an advantage when making applications for employment!

Lyme Bay Fisheries visit

A huge thank you to Lyme Bay Fisheries and Conservation Reserve teacher Gavin for visiting All Saints and providing Year 9 students with the opportunity to explore the work the fisheries do to protect our fish stocks in our local area.

The structure for the session included aspects of the GCSE including:  Breeds of fish found in Lyme Bay - including two live specimens  Seasonality of fish  Methods of harvest  Species that have very different life cycles and seasonal patterns  Availability – good fish guide and interaction between fishermen and supermarkets/restaurant demand  The importance of sustainability – ecosystem and reef communities, species and their interdependence on one another

Gavin explained to the children about the work they carry out in Lyme Bay to promote sustainability and maintain a healthy ecosystem, he included ‘Reserve Seafood,’ Code of Conduct, fishing to avoid reef areas, size of pots/nets etc.

Year 9 found the lesson interesting and were happy to know efforts are being made to ensure the healthy life of the seas in our local area.

Media Arts University Bournemouth visit

Year 10 Media students took part in the Bournemouth Arts University ‘Summer Arts School’ – a fantastic opportunity to see where they could be heading in the future. They worked with visual effects tutors and industry specialists to create textures and effects on a 3D animated head. The equipment and software they used was industry standard; learning was challenging but engaging over the three days. The outcomes were very impressive and the students had a really good taste of university life and its demands. A truly invaluable experience for all those who went.

Mr May (Curriculum Lead Media Studies)

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT:

Tassomai – Personalised Learning e-Platform

The Science Department is delighted to announce that - after incredible usage and performance on Tassomai this year by our Year 11 pupils - we have been selected as a Tassomai Star School for 2019!

Star Schools are top Tassomai users and we have Star School status for the year 2019/20. This award comes with the opportunity to help improve and shape Tassomai resources and benefit from extended support in school.

Tassomai is an intelligent learning program that works at a personalised level to challenge pupils on their own route through GCSE Sciences. We are thrilled to announce that Ambitions Academy Trust have purchased this exciting programme for every single member of the school in 2019/20 so that all pupils can benefit from individualised learning at home.

Silver Mark STEM Bid

The Science Department has also completed an eighteen month long review of our work as part of our bid for the Silver Mark STEM award, in recognition of all areas of our work. All the team have been involved in this practice review and we look forward to the results in September.

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) Networks

This year we have built up a fantastic support network with other schools and networks to share strategies, resources and ideas. We are pleased to announce on-going support through next year from STEM and from the “Stimulating Physics Network.” In spring we were also able to link with Southampton University Phd students to plan cross-curricular Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths work, investigating music software production. These classes have now begun, with two groups of Year 8 pupils working enthusiastically with the programme.

Areas of focus have been “Light and Sound.” Sessions have included the students using software to code their own music with the opportunity to enter a national competition, solving lighting problems using resistors and LEDs as well as logic puzzles and lasers for communication. The experiences have been focussed on how STEM activities work to solve real world problems and an insight in to the next generation technologies which will be made available to us in our homes.

The sessions have been engaging and inclusive of all abilities through the year classes used for the trial.

As a result of the positive experiences from the summer term the staff are looking to expand the programme next year to allow more students to have the opportunity to see where STEM activities can lead as careers.

Mr J Stradling, Curriculum Area Leader – Science

Year 11 Art Exhibition

On Tuesday 18th June, Year 11 celebrated their success in art with a superb exhibition of their vibrant paintings and drawings. Parents, grandparents and friends accompanied the students on a tour of the art rooms where the magnificent pictures were on display. All agreed with Brian Smith, Curriculum Leader for Art, that “This was a special year!” Further comments acknowledged the unique and individual nature of the exhibition.

Carnegie Medal Shadowing

On the 18th of June, an avid group of All Saints readers waited with baited breath for the outcome of this highly contested Young People’s book award. Now in its 83rd year, the Carnegie Medal celebrates a wide range of books written for teens and young adults. For the past three months they have been busily reading the eight shortlisted books, digesting, discussing and reviewing them on the school’s shadowing portal (link on the school website). Unusually this year, three of the books were written completely in verse or poetic form, which led to a great deal of discussion about structure and narrative. Even considering this, the students agreed the choice was diverse – there was something for everyone to engage with.

This year’s shortlisted books were:

1. The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo 2. Rebound by Kwame Alexander 3. The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson 4. Bone Talk by Candy Gourlay 5. A Skinful of Shadows by Frances Hardinge 6. Things A Bright Girl Can Do by Sally Nicholls 7. Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds, 8. The Land of Neverendings by Kate Saunders

Many thanks to all those who took part and special congratulations to Elliot and Jaydon who read all eight books.

Thanks also to Mrs Symes our librarian. The shortlisted books are now available from the LRC – why not take one for your summer reading?

Keen Reader? Come and join us next year!

Happy Reading  Ms Deas

PSHE: Safer Schools and Communities Team

Year 10 took part in ACT NOW in July. In these workshops run by the Police SSCT team, they worked in groups to solve crime and debate sensitive issues of extremism in communities. 6 volunteers played the part of Police Commissioners at a press conference and coped very well with having questions fired at them from journalists.

PSHE: First Aid

13 Year 9 and 11 Year 10 students volunteered to take part in CPR and basic FIRST AID during PSHE in July. Mr Jennings and Mr Butcher led the training using resources provided by the British Heart Foundation. We hope to train every pupil in Years 7-10 in basic First Aid and CPR by this time next year.

World Challenge

The coach says it all – “adventure this way!”

We look forward with anticipation to seeing how our students have fared in Belize. It proves to be an outstanding opportunity.

PGL – Devon

Something closer to home but still such a fantastic opportunity for students to develop team work, develop resilience and ensure they can keep a head for heights (below!)

There has been so much more also!

This is just a small sample of the events that go on in our school, day in and day out! In our next edition, we will review the World Challenge visit, the PGL visit and many more!

To keep up to date, please follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook https://twitter.com/AllSaints_Wyke https://www.facebook.com/AllSaintsChurchofEnglandSchool/

Finally…Calendar Dates 2019 - 20

Finally, please see below for our term dates for 2019-20, noting in particular the change to the 8th May for the May Bank Holiday.

Thank you for reading our newsletter.

We look forward to seeing you in September