December 2017 Newsletter
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Barbara Priestman Academy December 2017 Inside the Issue Newsletter International Award 1 International Schools Award 2017 Thinking Schools 2 Shakespeare 3 Festival Sunderland Minster 3 Safeguarding 4 Work Discovery 5 Software City 5 Sainsbury’s 5 Macmillan 6 Ollie 6 Poppy Appeal 6 ‘Crisis’ Sleepover 7 Magistrates’ Court 7 Dramatic Enquiry 7 Children In Need 8 On Thursday 17th October we went to Newcastle Tyne Theatre to be presented with our International Schools Award. Christmas High Tea 8 Christmas Activity 9 Eleanor and Liam went up on stage and had it presented by the Mayor and award winning BBC presenter and writer, Will Mallard. Fergus 10 Festive Night 10 We were given the award because we have an established international program in school, including links with schools in other Christmas Activity 11 countries and an embedded international education across the whole Christmas Fair 11 curriculum. ‘International days’ are held annually in school, you can School Meals 112 find out what we get up to on our website. Diary Dates 12 A special thanks to Eleanor and Liam, who were fantastic representatives of our Academy on the day. Thinking Schools Barbara Priestman is now part of the Thinking Schools Hub; a selection of schools who are working together with Thinking Schools International (TSI) to promote thinking skills and share good practice. Friday 13th October 2017 saw the first regional Thinking Skills Conference hosted jointly by Barbara Priestman Academy and TSI. It was a thought provoking day, where the focus was on cognitive education and different thinking processes/ strategies that could be used in the classroom. Gordon Poad was our first keynote speaker. He shared with us his experience of working with some of the hardest to reach students and to consider why we do what we do in the classroom and the interventions that teachers use that really make a difference. His key message was to ‘be fully present and teach with your heart and your head.’ Feedback from participants was very positive: ‘Workshops were good as the information was relevant and transferrable to everyday teaching. Examples of how strategies could be used were useful and applicable to all school settings.’ ‘The day was well-paced with a huge amount of really useful content delivered in such a short time. P4C and thinking hats had an immediate effect on my planning. Keynote speaker was in- spiring; started the day perfectly.’ ‘It was really great to hear about how simple strategies can have such a huge impact on outcomes for young people.’ A On Tuesday 7th November, twenty two of our students performed 'A Midsummer Midsummer Night's Dream' at Northern Stage Theatre in Newcastle. Night’s The cast was made up of students from all Key Stages, including those who have performed many times, and some for whom it was their debut Dream performance. The play itself is a very complex story to tell, but our students brought the tale to life adding lots of humour during their own interpretation. They had the audience eating out of their hands and provided lots of comedic moments, so much so that William Shakespeare himself would have been proud! An audience member had this to say about the actors and their performance: "They were confident, funny, professional and gave a great performance." The students showed an amazing amount of focus and professionalism beyond their years and we are very proud of each and every one of them. Thank you to everyone involved, staff, students and parents. We couldn't do what we do without you. Sunderland Minster On Tuesday 12th December some of our students took part in a special concert at Sunderland Minster celebrating the talents of various young people throughout Sunderland. It was an evening full of song and dance where many special schools across Sunderland took to the stage to showcase their talents. Our dance group performed a Mariah Carey dance number and our Sixth Form band performed a song by Slade. It was a brilliant night and we were so proud of our students. All schools were fantastic and it was great to share the stage with them. We look forward to doing it again next year ! Safeguarding at Barbara Priestman Academy Barbara Priestman Academy is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our students and young people. We expect all staff and volunteers to share in this commitment. Safeguarding concerns are handled sensitively and professionally by appropriately trained, designated staff who are committed to supporting student well-being. The Safeguarding of our young people is of a paramount importance to us, particularly taking into consideration their ASD and additional needs. We recognise that although holidays is an opportunity for fun, rest and relaxation, this isn’t always the reality for all of our families. If you do need any additional support during the holidays and are unable to contact us at the academy, then please contact Children’s Services for support on (0191) 5205560. Our Safeguarding leads are: Rebecca Blyth Jodie Anderson Denise Murray Designated Designated Safeguarding Designated Safeguarding Safeguarding Lead Deputy Deputy We visited the Roker Hotel where we made Pizza and then had a tour. Then we visited the Hilton where we took part in activities such as banquet setting and Work guest check in, finishing off with a tour. Finally we visited the Marriot where we had a tour and then practiced some Discovery housekeeping tasks. Some of our students took part in the Go Reboot programme at Software City, which was an intensive six day work placement. Students got to visit employers and worked to a real live brief critiquing a website. They worked in teams to present their ideas. Software This was an amazing opportunity to learn about the different job opportunities within the sector. City Our students said : ‘ I now feel more confident about working in the tech industry.’ ‘ I have improved on skills such as working in a team and communication skills.’ ‘ I didn’t think I would be able to work well with strangers… I worked well with strangers’ ‘ I now have a better understanding of how to construct a CV independently’. On Friday 1st December, some of our fabulous sixth form Students visited Sainsbury’s where they helped shoppers pack their bags. Sainsbury’s This was to raise money for Grace House and we are proud to announce that altogether £206.05 was raised! Well done! For more information, search www.gracehouse.co.uk. On Monday 25th September, we held a coffee afternoon which was hosted by students in sixth form, who are working towards their Duke of Edinburgh awards. We were astonished at the excellent turn out, it was lovely to see old and new faces joining us for an MacMillan afternoon of delicious treats, games and a sponsored walk. We would like to take this opportunity to thank parents/carers and friends of our academy for the generous donations of cakes and raffle prizes. We managed to raise an outstanding £1716.22! The afternoon was such a success, we have decided to make this an annual event, in memory of our colleague and friend, Deb Binns. A huge thank you to all involved! Hi, My name is Ollie and I am absolutely loving visiting Barbara Priestman Academy every Ollie week. I am a very friendly, gentle Sprockapoo who loves to play football. Some of my friends here have described me as ‘a soft, cuddly, bundle of fun.’ When I am old enough I would like to be a Pets as Therapy (PAT) dog, as I love to snuggle up and listen to students. If you see me around, please say Hello and give me a gentle stroke. Ollie Poppy Appeal We raised £32.91 in school for the poppy appeal. Thank you for your support. Students and staff had a fabulous night at the 'Crisis' charity sleepover on Friday 1st December. We made over £170 which will ‘Crisis’ go to this worthy cause. Sleepover Students had a fish shop supper, then did some dry ice activities in the science lab before heading out into Forest School for camp fire and marsh mallows. We watched Christmas dvds before heading off to sleep in the hall. We were overwhelmed with the response this year so we had to organise another date for our year 7 and 8 students on 2nd March 2018. On Tuesday 5th December a group of sixth form students visited the Magistrates’ courts in Sunderland. We had a guided tour and learned about the different cases that take place and even had a trip to the cells! Magistrates’ This visit linked to citizenship as students have been learning about law Court and human rights. This term’s Dramatic Enquiry was around Making Choices and the impact that our choices can have on our lives. Dramatic We discussed the five key reasons for making choices linked to our survival, freedom, the need to feel loved and Enquiry that we belong, to have fun and for power. Students discussed the influence of external factors when making choices like peer and parental influence and also how instinct plays a part in our decision making and how we often need to stop and listen to our conscience. Along with making a choice, students recognised there is always a consequence; be it negative or positive. Some of the responses will be available to view on our website in the New Year. Children In Need day was held in school on Friday 17th November, we Children in enjoyed a range of activities Need including Cake Stall, Malteaser race, Cross Bar Challenge, Bounce the ball into the cup, Skittles, Board Games and Pudsey art.