Community Newsletter December 2016 Introduction Dear Parents/Carers, As I approach the end of my time here at saltash.net, I would like to take this question when so much has happened during the time I’ve been here but I opportunity to thank you for all that you do to help make our school what it guess it does all come down to the idea of ‘legacy’ and this central belief that is. Without your ongoing support and involvement in your child or children’s anything is possible if we really believe it can happen; as one of our Heads of education we could not achieve half the things that we do. It has been a Year is very fond of saying ‘If you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re real privilege and pleasure over the years to get to know many of you on a right.’ I hope that the legacy I have left is that we have a thriving, happy, personal level, especially those of you who have had a number of children creative and innovative school which is ready to move on in the next stage of going through the school. its journey with Ms Littledyke at the helm. I know she will be a fantastic Head Teacher and I wish her all the very best with the next generation of students I would like to say a special thank you to those of you who find the time to at Saltash. write to us or call us to let us know when things have gone well as well as on the occasions when you have concerns or need an issue to be addressed. I definitely could not have done what I’ve done as Head Teacher over the Everybody here at saltash.net is committed to doing all that they possibly past fourteen years without the support, too, of my excellent teaching can to ensure our young people have the best possible learning journey and support staff colleagues, our hard working governors and Trust Board, throughout their time at the school so it is always lovely to be able to share the Friends of School, local community groups and organisations, our with colleagues positive feedback. partnership with Landulph Primary in SMART, our other partner primaries in Saltash, our partner secondary schools across South East Cornwall, and, of Over the past few weeks, we have certainly been receiving some outstanding course, my long suffering and ever supportive family! To all of them I owe a feedback, not just from you as parents and carers, but also from many massive thanks. members of our local community who have all been blown away by the talent which has been on display in our whole school production of ‘Billy I will, of course, miss all of my colleagues here at saltash.net, but words Elliot’. From start to finish, this show has been above and beyond anything we cannot express how much I will miss the daily interaction with our truly have attempted before and the outcomes have been stunning. wonderful young people. The saltash.net students are just the best. Over the years they have made me laugh and they’ve made me cry; they’ve taught There is an advert on television currently whose strapline states: ‘The me so much and they’ve inspired me constantly. I have the greatest respect moment only exists because of all that came before it’. I think this is for all of them, present and past, and I wish them all happy and successful absolutely true of this year’s performances of ‘Billy Elliot’. The legacy that futures. Mrs Loyn and Mrs Haighton started eight years ago with our production of ‘Grease’ has enabled us to take on an incredibly ambitious project this year Thank you again for all your support. I wish you a very Happy Christmas and and be successful. all the best for 2017. The momentum has built year after year with ‘Oliver’, ‘The Wizard of Oz’. ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, ‘Guys and Dolls’, ‘Oklahoma’ and ‘Annie’ all Yours faithfully, following on from ‘Grease’. Our grateful thanks go to our current performing arts department – Mr Oakes, Mr Bond, Ms Smart and Mr Procter for enabling the vision of ‘Billy Elliot’ to become a reality, and to all of the other staff and amazing students who so generously gave up hours and hours of their time over the last eight months. One of the main themes of ‘Billy Elliot’ is that of ‘Believing and Achieving’ – Mrs I Bryce the same motto which underpins all that we strive for here at saltash.net. Headteacher Someone asked me recently what I would like to be remembered for as I leave the school after fourteen years as Head Teacher. It’s a really hard 2 saltash.net community school saltash.net community school 3 Billy Elliot wows at saltash.net saltash.net’s performance of ‘Billy Elliot’ produced four fantastic evenings of entertainment, with tremendous performances from all cast members. Set against the backdrop of the 1984/85 Miners’ Strike in North Eastern England, the play tells the story of young Billy, who pursues his dream of becoming a ballet dancer, despite the obstacles he faces. Assuming the role of Billy was Year 7’s Spencer Dunne, who performed with skill and talent beyond his years. Performing central roles were Bradley Sweet, who played Billy’s best friend Michael, and Richard Tolman, playing Billy’s Dad. Performing other key roles were Tommy Williams, as Billy’s brother Tony, Emily Lambert as Billy’s supportive dance teacher Mrs Wilkinson, Chloe Lynch as Grandma, and Sophie Watson as Debbie. Also deserving of mention are the two understudies, who shadowed the parts of Billy and Michael - Jack Mills and George Edge, as well as Megan Kelly who performed as Mother and Drew Brett who took on the role of George. The full cast together numbered 65 students, with 10 students helping to work behind the scenes to ensure the production was a success. One of the huge challenges facing the Performing Arts department was the iconic dream ballet scene, which required a huge degree of work and was performed fantastically. Refreshments at the performances were provided in the canteen by the Friends of Saltash and World Challenge team. With the performing rights for ‘Billy Elliot’ only released in January 2016, saltash.net’s Performing Arts department lost little time securing a license, becoming one of the first schools to gain performing rights. saltash.net’s links with ‘Billy Elliot’ go back many years, as ex-student, Josh Fedrick, performed the lead role of Billy in the West End production during 2008- 9. Head of Performing Arts, Matt Oakes, expressed his delight at the success of the performance. He said: “It’s been a long project but worth every minute. It’s taken about 8 months to get the show ready due to the high level of technical demand in choreography and allowing our young talented actors to absorb themselves in the show. The whole company have been fantastic to work with and we’ve had a lot of fun. “We were overwhelmed with the number of people who came to watch the shows with record numbers each night, in fact, we had to have a standby queue each night to try and fit them all in. Thank you to everyone who has supported the production, including members of our community, we honestly couldn’t have done it without your support.” Homework Club award We were delighted to award Amber Olver, Year 8, with the first Homework Club sweatshirt in November. Mrs Bryce was present to hand the sweatshirt to Amber for her fantastic commitment to Homework Club, and all the help she provides to make sure the club runs smoothly every day. Well done Amber! Love in a Box 2016 Generous students and staff at saltash.net have donated an incredible 127 boxes for this year’s Love in a Box. The boxes were collected by Head Students Bronwen Hall, Rosie Thompson, Gabby Adams and Rachel Price, and were picked up from school on Monday 14 November. Love in a Box, an initiative from the Mustard Seed Relief Mission, seeks to help under privileged children in Eastern Europe. saltash.net community school 7 John Griffin Memorial Shield Jonah Rich Academic Achievement Award Harry Lockley Tori Carter GCSE Presentation Evening Academic Achievement - Highly Commended James Lancaster Niamh Cameron Academic Achievement - Commended Charlotte Berry, George Duff, Matthew Higgins, Rowenna Hoskin, Lucy Kevern, Kari Summers, Joshua Tennant, Eleanore Williams Academic Endeavour Award Kari Summers Rosie-May Young Academic Endeavour - Highly Commended Joshua Tennant Keith Harrison Special Award for Endeavour Charlotte Barriball Sporting Achievement Award Siobhan Ellyatt Ben Holter Reece Kyffin The annual GCSE Presentation Evening took place on 17 November, Sport Achievement - Highly Commended Sophie Marsh celebrating last year’s GCSE group and all of their brilliant achievements. Cornwall College Progress Award Alisha Richardson GCSE certificates were handed out to all students in attendance, as well as a number of special individual awards recognising students’ success in certain subjects or disciplines. Guest for the evening was Olympian Heather Fell, who spoke of her journey to winning a Silver medal in the Modern Pentathlon at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Despite a number of setbacks, most notably losing her funding from UK Sport, Heather persevered, continuing to work incredibly hard and reaching her goal. After introductory speeches by Headteacher Isobel Bryce and Chair of Governors Kate Waghorn, those in attendance were treated to an amazing performance of Etta James’ ‘At Last’ by Emily Horsham.