Weekly Newsletter Issue 29 from Mrs T Sambrook

Woodlands Newsletter
At Woodlands we aim to become an outstanding school by INSPIRING and CHALLENGING
our pupils so that they ACHIEVE well and are able to enjoy successful and happy futures
ISSUE 29
13/05/16
A Message from our Head Teacher…
Dear Parents, Carers and Students,
With our fantastic senior prefect team soon to fly the nest our thoughts
have turned to appointing their successors.
As a school we talk daily about our strive to be GREATER. Student leadership
is a key aspect of that vision. The role of Head Boy and Head Girl, and in fact
the prefects in general, is a very significant one. They are the role models for
all other students and the voice of the student body to the leadership team.
They are crucial in helping the school become even stronger.
The highlight of my week this week has been reading the many applications
we have had for these leadership roles. The passion, commitment and
maturity demonstrated in the letters of applications have been humbling.
As part of our dedication to promote fundamental British Values, the
applicants for the top role will have to present to the students in assembly.
This will then lead to a democratic whole school vote for our new student
leaders through our well established Voting Voice system.
Year 11 Prom Fundraising
Last Saturday, 7th May, part of the prefect team ran a
stall at the Townhill Park Spring Community Day to
raise funds for their Year 11 Prom. They had Hook-aDuck, Pick-a-Lolly and also a cake sale and managed to
raise £74.00. A massive thanks to Mrs Sharples and
Miss Lawrence for supporting them on the day. A
great day was had by all.
We are all excited to see who will take over the lead from our current
excellent Head Boy, Charlie, and Head Girl, Emily.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank our current prefects for their
hard work this year. They have been excellent ambassadors for the
Woodlands community.
Best wishes,
Toni Sambrook
Upcoming Diary Dates
Inspiring
May
16th
Oxford University Trip
(Pictured above: Morgan Higgins, Caitlin Garrahan,
Casey Lewis, Lauren Paddick and Ashleigh Cole)
May
18th
Mayor Making Ceremony
Southampton Guildhall
May
27th
May
27th
Non-Uniform Day
Wear something yellow!
Break up for Half Term
At 2.40pm
Achieving
May
30th
Challenging
Half Term
From 30th May to 3rd June
“The National Childbirth
Trust are holding their
Nearly New Sale at
Woodlands this Saturday,
14th May”
@Woodlands_CC
Non Uniform
Day
Woodlands will be having
a non-uniform day on
Friday, 27th May to help
raise money for a plaque
and a bench in memory of
Beth Brading. We would like to raise around £800 to
do this so will be asking students and staff to make a
contribution of at least 50p each. Yellow was Beth’s
favourite colour and we are encouraging students and
staff to wear something yellow to mark this day.
Thank you in advance for your support with this.
Woodlands has social networking accounts on
Facebook & Twitter
Woodlands March out with the Saints
By Mr Keens, Woodlands Community Champion
Four of our lucky students; Daniel Bailey, Michael Clothier, Gino
Napolitano and Harry Chivers, were invited to attend a day out at
Southampton Football Club’s luxury training ground, Staplewood.
(Pictured above: Ronald Koeman leading pupils out on to the pitch for the game)
The pupils were rewarded for their attendance at community sessions run by Saints Foundation as well as their continued positive
attitude to learning in class. This reward saw pupils from six schools in Southampton treated to an exclusive training session lead by
Ronald Koeman and his coaching staff.
This was a fabulous opportunity for students to have a taste of what it would be like to be a professional footballer at Southampton
Football Club and experience the environment and atmosphere that the players work in on a day to day basis.
The pupils experienced a variety of training units which were directed at the
progression of skills required in the build up to a game. This involved pupils
participating in a co-ordination based warm up, followed by conditioning training,
before leading into a more competitive environment.
Sammy Lee thanked the pupils for coming, saying that he really enjoyed the training
session and was truly impressed with the willingness to learn and sportsmanship
shown across the six schools.
All pupils involved showed great enthusiasm and threw themselves at all the challenges set. With input from the Southampton
coaches, the games played on the day were executed to a high standard and it was obvious to see that all participants thoroughly
enjoyed their experience.
(Pictured left to right: Michael Clothier, Harry Chivers, Daniel Bailey and Gino Napolitano)
Ronald Koeman and the coaching staff were impressed by the attitude and determination of all participants to the extent that Mr
Koeman sent out a tweet (see below) regarding how impressed he was with the training session.
Well done Woodlands!
Year 7 – Parental Survey
Thank you to all the parents who responded to the Year 7 parental survey. Over the following weeks I will be sharing the results with
you.
We are happy to see that in the majority of cases you feel we are
supporting your child’s progress (see right). Please remember to contact
your child’s teacher or the appropriate subject leader if you have an
subject specific questions.
The new 1-9 grading system is something that is new to all of us and it is
reassuring that so many of you feel informed about this (see left). We are
aware that further information will be required before this is fully
understood and will ensure that this is shared with you when
appropriate.
Homework forms an essential part of your child’s learning so it is good to
see that this is challenging your children (see right). If you have any
questions regarding homework please contact your child’s teacher.
School Uniform
With the weather becoming warmer, we have
seen an increase in inappropriate school
skirts. If your child wishes to wear a school
skirt, please can we remind you that they
need to be an appropriate length, just above the knee and
should not be Lycra. Students who do not comply with the
uniform policy will be asked to change or will be isolated until
this is rectified.
Thank you for
your support.
Woodlands Voting Voice
Should we all pay more tax?
Yes because it will help to contribute to improved
public services such as the education system and
the NHS (67 votes).
Yes because some people have a genuine need for
support for the government and should be entitled
to receive financial help (92 votes).
Miss Iverson,
Assistant Head
Teacher
No because money should go to the people who
earn it not the government (226 votes)
Healthy Schools
By Mr Keens,
Woodlands Community
Champion
On Friday, 29th April, Woodlands
took their new cohort of Healthy
Schools pupils to St. Mary’s Stadium where they engaged in an activity based session held by Saints Foundation Health and Wellbeing
Project Officers, Paul Hedges and Marion Gealer. The pupils were a credit to Woodlands being fantastically behaved all day and
worked hard in the tasks provided. Two students from Woodlands were rewarded by the Foundation for their hard work throughout
the day by being presented with Jordy Clasie (Southampton first team player) football boots. Congratulations to Harrison Shrimpton
and Ella Corbett! Woodlands looks forward to hearing your input of how to live a healthier lifestyle. Pictured above right are Ella
Corbett, Mckenzie Tarrant, Riley Burke, Harrison Shrimpton, Matthew Wood, Olivia Ayles and Shannon Sutton.
Accelerated Reading
A celebratory party lunch, held on Friday, 6th May, was tinged with
sadness as it was held to bid farewell to our valued Senior
Librarians and Library Prefects. Chelsea Westwood, Emily Edwards,
Bethany-Rose Thomas and Sophie Ruddell (pictured left) have been
the backbone of student support, giving generously of their time
and experience to provide a valuable service and, more recently, to nurture younger students into
these vital roles. A timely warmest day of the year enabled us to enjoy a buffet lunch on the
balcony and delicious cakes generously supplied by Chelsea's Mum.
We thank them and wish them well in their future careers.
Being a student librarian is a demanding commitment but it is also a great opportunity to build
skills, work in a team and demonstrate responsibility. Although we have a full complement of
librarians at present, we are always pleased to hear from students who are interested and we will keep
their names on file for the future.
Our ** Reading Star of the Week ** is Tiffany Arnold-Gibb from Year 7.
One of the greatest secrets to success in reading (perhaps in life itself!) is realising what you really enjoy and
selecting wisely. So Tiffany's success in exceeding all her targets so far this term is largely attributable to her
choice of books that portray real life situations and deal with real life issues that truly engage her. Tiffany has
already passed 4 quizzes this term. To achieve this she has read not only in DEAR sessions (Monday to
Thursday) and her library lesson but also regularly at home. Like any student there are a myriad of other
demands on her time and certainly plenty of other things that she enjoys doing, but it is all a matter of time management: when asked
when she finds the time to read Tiffany replied, "when my phone is charging". As she is succeeding so well Tiffany has also been
selected to become a Library Lesson Class Monitor. Congratulations!
Nearly all students have taken at least one quiz this summer term and statistics reveal their fantastic effort and competence. With 580
quizzes taken and well over 12 million words read between them, the average pass rate is a highly commendable 89.2% (a pass rate
between 85% and 95% is a good indicator that a student is reading purposefully and at a suitably demanding level). Currently readers
in SHACKLETON house are excelling with an average pass rate of 90.3%.
Our ** Book of the Week ** is by Rosie Rushton:
“Fall Out”
Book Level 3.4: Points 1.0
This short story tells the story of Jemma and her changing and challenging relationships. Rosie Rushton writes
from a teenage perspective about matters of the heart. She is not a writer in an ivory tower; as well as having
written over 40 books she has also run creative writing workshops for students, been a youth officer and a
school governor so she really knows the teenage psyche and has a passion for communicating with her reader.
As a Guardian review put it, "She juggles humour and heartache with an easy balance of wit and sympathy.
Out of Hours Study and Revision Timetable
for KS4 students
Effective from: Monday, 16th May, 2016
Monday
Year 11
Weeks A & B
Science
Tuesday
Option X
Spanish
French
Catering (2yr)
Resistant Materials
ICT Cambridge Nationals
CPLD
Wednesday
Option W
Construction
Geography
History
Art – 2 Year
English
Year 10
Weeks A & B
Personal
Development Day
During PD day we had a mock
election on deciding who the
next captain should be of the
England football team. Only Year
7 students were voting and their
tutors had to try and gain as
many votes. A special thank you
to Mr Keens for organising the
event.
The results were:-
Thursday
Maths
Friday
Option Y
Dance
Travel & Tourism
Art
Computer Science
Drama
Music
PE
Photography
Textiles
iMedia
Further Additional Science
Option Y
Dance
Travel & Tourism
Art
Computer Science
Drama
Music
PE
Photography
Textiles
iMedia
Further Additional Science
Charity Abseil
On Saturday 30th April,
Leon Edwards, one of
the Interserve
caretakers here at
Woodlands, and
Adrian Tolley, the
Interserve Manager,
otherwise known as “Team Dopes on Ropes”, abseiled 100
metres down the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth in order to
raise money for Autism Hampshire. So far they have managed
to raise £1,200 but you can still sponsor their efforts by visiting
the Virgin Money Giving site which will remain open for
donations until 30th June 2016 at:
http://
uk.virginmoneygiving.com/
team/DopesonRopes
Numeracy Across
the Curriculum
This Friday, pupils spent 20 minutes learning about the scoring
of the Eurovision Song Contest.
During this time, pupils learnt how different scoring systems
have been used throughout the years. They saw how combining
the judges’ and public’s votes differently affects the final
outcomes. They also looked at how fair, or unbiased, different
voting systems have been.
The numeracy challenge this week is to create a Eurovision
Song Contest score card.
Science News
**5 Days - Core Science
New species of
hairy weevil
named after
Chewbacca…
44 days - Additional Science
until the Science GCSE exams begin**
Tips for Effective Revision
Use revision guides and stick revision notes all around your house.
Also, your child should prepare themselves drinks and snacks so they
don't make excuses to stop every 10 minutes.
Homework
Remember, your child’s Science teacher will set homework at the
beginning of every week. This must be completed by the following Friday.
**Please note that STEM Club is not running this half
term**
Eco Zone
Every year we
produce about 3%
more waste than the
year before. This might not
sound much but, if we carry on
at this rate, it means that we will
double the amount of waste we
produce every 25 years.
In a galaxy far, far away, Chewbacca is a 7.5-foottall Wookiee. On Earth, he’s a small furry beetle.
Four previously undiscovered beetles have been
found on an island off Papua New Guinea one of
which has been named after the lofty Star
Wars character. Trigonopterus chewbacca is a
black, flightless beetle about 3mm long that
thrives in the tropical forests of New Britain.
Although Trigonopterus chewbacca doesn’t
resemble its namesake in size, the dense hair like
scales covering its head and legs reminded the
researchers of Chewbacca’s fur.
Resistant Materials
Pictured are some
examples of final
products from GCSE
Resistant Materials.
Futsal
Tournament
A group of Year 9 pupils
represented Woodlands in
the first ever held ‘Saints
Futsal Cup’, against opposing
teams of Year 10’s. After a
slow start to the tournament the boys began to show more
composure and determination leading to a number of wins. All
competitors throughout the day were nothing less than
outstanding, which lead to a very close table at the mid-point.
After the lunch break it was Cantell and Oasis Lordshill schools
that prevailed to face each other in the final. Woodlands did,
however, finish in a very respectable 4th place, which was
admirable considering the age difference. Excellent performance
Woodlands and a good foundation to build on for future
tournaments.
Woodlands team players
were: Sina Sharifpour, Leon
Lambert, Phillip Gilbert, Tyler
Butler, Christopher Charlton,
Liam Hosgood and Daniel
Bailey.
Mr Keens,
Woodlands Community
Champion