Dear Parents PARENTS’ NEWSLETTER – ISSUE 5 DECEMBER 2012 Please see the following important reminders at the end of this newsletter: Our closure notification system (including advice on winter footwear) plus a letter on the 200 Club. END OF TERM 2 ARRANGEMENTS - FRIDAY 21 DECEMBER 2012 We break up on Friday 21 December 2012. Registration and tutor time will be 12.00 pm – 12.15 pm. As Thamesdown will do an early pick up service this year we have been able to arrange that all our school buses will depart from school at 12.25 pm prompt. ie: Cricklade Buses S21, S25 Bradon Forest Swindon Buses: BE1, BE2, BE3, BE4, BE5, BE6 and B90 Thamesdown Swindon Buses B1 and B2 NB: At 12.15 pm Students should line up in the usual places ready for staff to organise boarding of the buses for a prompt departure at 12.25 pm. Purtonians or those students who do not use a bus can leave school at 12.15 pm. BEGINNING OF TERM 3 ARRANGEMENTS – MONDAY 7 JANUARY 2013 All students (all year groups) return to school for Term 3 on Monday 7 January 2013 at 8.45 am (normal timetable ie Week 2) Reminder: Bradon Forest Carol Concert at St Mary's Church, Purton Wednesday 19 December 2012 at 7.00 pm INTRODUCTION I would like to wish all students, parents, governors and friends of the school a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I hope that everyone enjoys the holiday season with their families and friends. Thank you to all staff, both teaching and support, for their continued hard work, support and professionalism over the last year. Bradon Forest has a staff team who work extremely hard in supporting all aspects of school life. We look forward to reporting on the many and varied activities and student achievements in newsletters during 2013. CHRISTMAS DINNER REMINDER KS4 : Tuesday 18 December KS3 : On Wednesday 19 December (Roast Turkey, Pigs in Blankets, Carrots/Broccoli, Stuffing Balls, Gravy /Quorn Loaf (V)/ Chocolate Fudge Cake) Price £2.00. Tickets available from the Canteen from Monday 10 December 2012 YEAR 9 FRENCH TRIP Ms Hunter reports: On Thursday 25 October 2012, 39 Year 9 students arrived at school to embark on a whistle stop sight-seeing tour to Paris. We arrived in Calais with enough time to watch a film before arriving at our hotel for tea. Due to rush hour traffic around the Parisian equivalent of the M25 we were delayed and had to microwave our tea. This proved to be quite a task with only two microwaves. The next morning we were on the bus at 8:45 ready for the sights of Paris. There was an audible gasp of WOW - look it's the Eiffel Tower as soon as one person spotted it from a distance. Students weren't allowed to take photos when they got off the bus as they were marched across to the best viewing spot. Several artistic photographers took pictures of them holding the tower and pushing it over. Then we went to the very top. Peer pressure kicked in and the entire group managed to make it to the top, despite the wind, fog and rain - they still managed to see a proposal at the top. We then made our way to the Louvre. Mrs Marsh did a superb job navigating around the Louvre to let us all see the Mona Lisa. Once more photographs were taken it was time to get away from the crowds and enjoy the Da Vinci moment outside by the Glass Pyramid. Shopping time was next. Many students managed to use their French at the local McDonalds and lots of pink mini Eiffel Towers were purchased. We still had plenty to see and went back to the Eiffel Tower for our evening cruise on the Seine. Magnificent views of Notre Dame and plenty of photographs later we made our way back to the hotel, hungry and tired. After tea we explored the local area and visited the local supermarket to use more French phrases and buy a sugary treat. The next morning was another early get up. Mr Parkes set up his lunch stop and students collected sandwiches, snacks and drinks before spending the day with Asterix and Obelix at Parc Asterix. Several students got quite soaked on the water rides and lots of students found the queues weren't very long on the new Egyptian rollercoaster ride. Mrs Atherall, Miss Daniel, Mr Parkes, Mrs Marsh and Ms Hunter made the most of the Halloween activities. Being chased by a chain-saw wielding henchman was too scary for some staff and there was a quick retreat to the dolphin show to reset stress levels. After such a busy day students then had to pack their suitcases and were told it would be an early start the next morning. Due to clocks changing they weren't given the precise wake up time. Some students found it quite difficult the next morning to wake up and we set off again for the last part of our tour. Sacre-Coeur and Montmartre was our last visit of the trip. We had a quick look in the cathedral and spent a final hour purchasing presents in the artists' square. A very enjoyable trip was had by all and it was such a success that Mrs Marsh and Mr Stiles have agreed to take another group of students in October 2013. Current Year 8 French students will be able to go on the next trip. ENGLISH NEWS Bradon Forest 2nd Annual Poetry Slam 28 November 2012 Mrs McIver reports: Yet again the talented students of Bradon Forest have excelled themselves at this year's much anticipated poetry competition. After many weeks of preparation and rehearsal we were very proud to present the coveted Poetry Slam trophy to The Ziggy Zaggy Whooshes for their fantastic poem 'Rollercoaster'. Students in Year 7 studied the creative art of performance poetry in their English lessons during Term 1. Whilst studying more traditional poetic forms and techniques, they were introduced to expressive devices such as voice tone, gesture, facial expression and body language and they analysed examples of performance poetry by artists such as Ash Dickinson, Benjamin Zephaniah and Michael Rosen. Once inspired, they were set loose to write and perform their own poems during an extended workshop on a deep learning day in October. The results of this activity were shared and enjoyed in class. Twelve groups were then invited to compete in this year's Poetry Slam, with seven making it through to the semi finals last week. The standard was incredibly high and the subjects of the poems were even more varied than last year's! Eventually the English team judged three groups to perform in the Year 7 assembly: The Conundrums (Meghan and Charlotte, 7S), Reflex (Anita, Ella-May, Rebecca and Emily-Jo, 7P) and The Ziggy Zaggy Whooshes (Kyra and Alex, 7Q). Year 7 students raised the roof in support of the three finalists’ performances and were also treated to a reprise of last year's winning performance by The Lionesses, whilst our very special judges, Mr Stiles, Ms Hunter, Mr Winward and Miss Wilkinson, had the unenviable task of choosing the best performance of the day. In true X- factor style, the judges had to be pressed for a decision by our very own Dermot O'Leary, Mrs Rees, whilst Mrs McIver and Miss Harding gauged the audience response from an excitable demonstration of applause, whistles and feet stamping. Well done to all who took part, and particularly to this year’s winners The Ziggy Zaggy Whooshes. Their performance was a true demonstration of the excellence that can be achieved through hard work, commitment and just a tiny dash of nerves. We very much look forward to next year's event. LITERACY Ms Hunter and Mrs Chappell (Assistant Headteachers) report: Our recent Teacher Training Day (TDD Friday 30 November 2012) was used for Teaching and Learning Strategies, Literacy in Writing, Spelling Techniques and Literacy Marking. The session on Literacy Marking looked at a useful literacy marking summary chart with agreed notation. This has been adopted for use by all staff across the curriculum. (A copy of this has been given to every student and they have pasted this into their planners for reference.) In line with the guidance from the LA Advisers, when staff are marking students’ work in their subject, they will also ‘mark for literacy’ the first paragraph/section of each piece of work using the notations in the chart. This whole school consistent approach to marking for literacy will be monitored and we will provide updates on its effectiveness in future newsletters. LITERACY MARKING How to understand your teacher’s marking. Literacy errors will be circled and commented on in the margin. Use these wall posters to understand the marking. SP T Spelling Tense ^ ? Missing word Does not make sense // the New paragraph Needs a capital letter WW The Wrong word Needs a lower case letter P N.A.S. Punctuation Not a full sentence Check English Check DRAMA/THEATRE NEWS BLACK’S MAGIC: Wednesday 5 December 2012 to Friday 7 December 2012 Black’s Magic was devised and written by Fleur Calder and developed with additional material from the cast. It was largely directed, during workshops by the cast themselves with mentoring and guidance by Dominic Waldron. This production involved students across both Key Stages and included: Cast: Stephen Hoy, Anna Witka, Lydia Clayton, Sophie Harflett, Sophie Martin, Kirsten Harris, Bradley Williams, James Coupland, Fleur Calder, Freyja Stevens, James Medcroft, Oliver Curtis, James McGlone-Fry, Lydia Geronikolos, Genna Dell, Luke Neves, Georgia Cotton Stage Management: Genevieve Thorpe, Verity Ellison, Sky-Anne Haley.