Swanwick Hall School Newsletter

Autumn 2 Edition December 2019

A few highlights from this term………………………………………

Foodbank The school would like

to thank all parents,

carers and students for

their kindness and

generosity for the

contributions to a local

foodbank. Together, we

have broken last year’s

record and have

collected 2094 items

overall. Thank you!!

Year 7 Chatsworth Visit On Wednesday 18th December, Year 7 students were taken on a journey around the world at Chatsworth House,

following in the footsteps of Phileas Fogg and Amelia Earhart. Students were treated to an array of breath-taking

Christmas decorations, opportunities to experience other cultures and a rather muddy walk around the

impressive gardens. Students had an incredibly enjoyable afternoon and we hope that it offered a pleasant

ending to a fantastic first term for them at Swanwick Hall School. Miss Owen, Mrs Grimmer and the Year 7 Tutor

Team would like to wish all of our Year 7 students a Merry Christmas and we hope that they have an enjoyable

holiday. We look forward to seeing them again in the New Year.

Year 8 Pantomime Visit – Peter Pan Written by Amy Faloon and Katie Stevens

At 12:00 we went down to the dining hall and

had lunch. At 12:35 we got onto the bus, for a

40 minute bus journey to the Velodrome, near

pride Park. We entered the velodrome

excitedly, and took our seats, while we

admired the scene on stage. After about a 10

minute wait, the pantomime began, and we

watched curiously, as the actors took to the

stage. They used lots of songs from the

Greatest Showman, and other famous movies.

The costumes were amazing, the Auntie’s

costumes in particular were creative and

funny. The Auntie also chose an audience

member called Mr Moon, and she always got

him to participate in the performance and kept

referencing him in the script. The pantomime

was very much like the movie and used lots of jokes and props, when they were flying, it looked really fun and

realistic. They threw out sweets and got us to sing along. At the interval, we got to go and get food. The prices

were quite expensive and the queues were fairly long, but we all got our food and sweets. The journey home

was quite long and the traffic was quite bad, but we all arrived safely. We like the character Auntie, because she

was very funny and kind . Her outfits were really funny and creative, and she performed the jokes well. The

backgrounds and set was really detailed and we think they put a lot of time into it. Overall, we really enjoyed it

and it was really fun and entertaining.

Swanwick Pensioners Luncheon Club On Tuesday 17th December, a number of students from Years 8, 9, 10 and 11 visited Swanwick Methodist Church

to perform Christmas music for the Luncheon Club's annual Christmas dinner. Both students and members of

the Luncheon Club had a great afternoon: it was a lovely way to celebrate this special time of year. A big thank

you to Matthew Dawes in Year 11 for his technical assistance during the performance!

Music Department Christmas Celebration Concert 2019 On the evening of Thursday 19th December students across all year groups performed to a very large audience

made up of family and friends. We heard performances from the Keyboard Club, Choir, Brass Ensemble, Concert

Band, Handbell group and the Sixth Form Band. As well as this, we heard some show stopping performances

from a number of soloists and duets. Thank you to all parents and staff who supported the concert and of course

well done to all performers! A fantastic evening had by all!

Year 9 VIY Over the last term the Year 9 VIY (Volunteer it

Yourself) group have been busy working on a range

of projects both in the classroom and also around the

wider school site. We initially started by looking at

ways we could enhance the school site. Initially

students manufactured a range of bug houses, and in

the spring term they will be mounting these in

various locations around school hoping that some of

our smaller friends take up residence!

Following this we were then lucky enough to be able

to reuse a large quantity of timber which had been

stored in school. From this, students decided that they would like to manufacture some large planters to place

on the main drive as you enter the top of the school. Students then set about designing and manufacturing

these, and currently two are in position, with a third to follow soon! As soon as the new terms begins we are

hoping to fill and plant them up. Look out for updated photos in the summer term.

To finish this term students have

then made wooden Christmas

decorations to take home. They

have spent time designing and

shaping these before either planing

them or leaving them as a natural

finish. Have a look at the pictures to

see what an excellent job they have

made of these.

After all this hard work students were definitely ready for a break, and so we went on a VIY trip to the Pantomime

in Nottingham to see Cinderella.

The Tales of the Brothers Grimm On Tuesday 17th December, the Year 10 Performing Arts students staged a retelling of 5 stories from the

Brothers Grimm. The students collaborated brilliantly to perform the stories that they had been rehearsing as

part of their course and used their mask-making skills to bring 'The hare and hedgehog', 'Hansel and Gretel',

'The Table, the Donkey and the Cudgel', 'Rumplestiltskin' and 'Ashputtal' to life. The group had responsibility of

all production areas, so transformed the hall into a 'Theatre-in-the-Round', costumed each of the characters and

created a mask each that used the skills they had learnt within the November mask-making workshops.

The students demonstrated commitment, creativity and determination and were rewarded with a strong and

successful performance!

Performing Arts students perform for Swanwick Primary School 60 Year 3 pupils from Swanwick Primary School joined the Drama students for their first run through of 'The

Tales of the Brothers Grimm' On Friday 13 December. It was a pleasure to welcome them to the Drama studio

and we look forward to further collaborations with them in the New Year.

Drama Club Lunch Performances The Drama club were able to stage two devised performances during lunchtime on Thursday 19th December.

It's been a busy week for the Drama department and the students did themselves proud performing their work

to a large audience of appreciative students. Look out for further performances in the New Year.

Senior Maths Team Challenge Four students, Ben Jones, Kiliian Maiberger-Higgins, Niamh Worthy and Benedict McNicholas represented the

school in the regional finals of the Senior Maths Team Challenge at the University of Derby. They completed

three rounds of gruellingly complex mathematical problems and did fantastically well to finish 13th in

Derbyshire.

In the Senior Maths Challenge for individual students which sees pupils have to tackle 25 fiendishly difficult

maths problems, Connor Taylor, Joshua Hemstock and Killian Maiberger Higgins were the top performers in Year

13 whilst Benedict McNicholas, Samuel West and Gabe Bowbanks were our top Year 12 performers.

Congratulations to all who took part.

Sporting Fixtures

Ben Wain: Junior European Open

Ben Wain, Year 12 competed at the end of November in the 27th Junior European Open Champions Week

Finals at Alcaidesa Golf Resort, Spain. He played 5 rounds, making the cut for the final day. This was a wonderful

opportunity for him to compete abroad, after having qualified in the UK in July. He finished in the top third of

the field, competing against other boys from Europe. The event was covered by Sky Sports and aired on TV

earlier this month.

Football:

Congratulations to all of our Futsal Teams who competed in the Amber Valley Futsal Championships last week.

The Year 11s won on Monday playing 5 matches and winning all 5! Only 3 goals conceded and 17 goals

scored. The Year 8/9’s won on Tuesday. They beat Ecclesbourne in the Semi-final and Aldercar 3-2 in extra time

in the final. The Year 7’s competed against Heanor Gate, Ecclesbourne, David Nieper and Aldercar with great

enthusiasm with every encounter a very close-fought game. Well done to all of the boys who represented

Swanwick Hall School so brilliantly!

U15 Boys - Won their 1st round county cup match 4-2 against Heritage

U18 Boys - Lost their 2nd round county cup game 7-1 against Dronfield

U13 Girls - Lost their 2nd round county cup game 5-0 against Chapel

Toyota visit Written by Amelia Maltby 8AD and Lucy-Ann Drake 8NK

On Tuesday 5th November we were

lucky enough to be chosen to go to

Toyota with other Year 8 students to

look at how their business works and

what they do at their plant in

Burnaston. Whilst we were at the plant

we got to learn about Toyota as a

company, including how it was first

started, and what their vision is today.

We got to look at the Toyota Training

Academy, and there we saw inside of

the facilities where people go to do

work experience, and also be trained to

work in Toyota all across the UK. We

then had the opportunity to have a

train ride through the factory, and we

got to see how the different cars were designed and made.

After learning all about the production systems and seeing cars actually being built, we were allowed to look

inside some cars and Alex Evans was lucky enough to get the chance of sitting in an incredibly expensive Lexus,

which he has now set his heart on buying in the future!

To end the fantastic day we then listened to a talk about careers and apprenticeships both inside and outside

Toyota, and to watch some really informative videos and eat some free biscuits!

Thank you to Mandy Evans for the great opportunity.

Message from the Headteacher……………………………………… It’s the end of the longest term of the school year, which coincides with the shortest day of the calendar year.

Despite the dark mornings and evenings, there are many shining lights at Swanwick Hall School to reflect on and

celebrate. This evening, I have had the pleasure of watching many of our students perform in the Christmas

concert and was delighted to see the quality of performance, the confidence, the energy and the sheer joy that

each performer took from the experience.

This week, I have spent a lot of time congratulating students from all year groups on a range of achievements.

We have had trips to pantomimes, Chatsworth, sports fixtures and a drama performance. Last week, our

students showed great maturity in examining the manifestos of the main political parties, learning about our

democratic processes and then casting their votes in a mock election. We had visitors in school who looked at

students’ work, spoke to some groups and visited lessons and fed back very positively on many of the things

that our students are doing. Year 11 have been receiving the results of their mock exams and reflecting on the

next steps in their learning in order to be ready for their GCSEs in a few months. There has been much to

celebrate within these results.

That’s all just in the last few days of a long and tiring term, and it’s been like that week after week throughout

the four months of this term. Alongside this, we’ve been reviewing how we reward students and have received

feedback from every tutor group, outlining their views on what they like about the many things that we already

do and making mature and perceptive suggestions about how we can develop this further.

We will be introducing our updated procedures in January, and these include improved systems for allowing

parents to access and track how their children are doing. We will be communicating this during January, with

further support and guidance at our annual Progress Review Day at the end of the second week of term. With

students engaged in so many great things, it is only right that we find as many opportunities as possible to

recognise this and reward them. We look forward to seeing parents and carers at Progress Review Day and to

some positive and celebratory discussions about the work of your children.

Another exciting piece of news is the planning for a new block which will ultimately provide up to 26 new

classrooms and which will sit between the IT/library block and the sports hall. Built in two phases, we hope to

move into the first phase of ten rooms in January 2021 and the second phase at the start of 2022. There is much

to do between now and completion, but planning and exploratory works are already underway. We are very

grateful to Trustees for recognising the need for new buildings on our site and for committing the significant

sums of money to achieve these plans.

So, another highly successful term ends and another one will start shortly with the promise of much more to

come. Thank you for all of your continued support in ensuring that we can work together to secure successes

for all of our students. We wish you all a very Happy Christmas and New Year and look forward to meeting you

all and discussing your children’s work at our Progress Review Day/Evening in the spring term and several

parents’ evenings.

Sixth Form………………………………………

This half term has been very busy in Sixth form. It is an exciting time for Year 13 students who have worked very

hard applying to UCAS for University; support for students who are pursuing other routes is ongoing.

Enactus Project Update The Enactus team are a small group of Year 12 students who are leading a project to benefit the local community.

Supported by the Next Generation Leaders Team in Nottingham students have chosen to tackle Elderly Social

Isolation in Swanwick. The team of students have secured a local care home as a project partner and are busy

planning their opening event to take place in the New Year; they are currently planning 17 sessions to run

throughout next year including a tea dance and arts and crafts events.

The project will allow students to learn a range of skills including team work, leadership, budgeting, planning

and communication. The Enactus Team also visited Enterprise Rent A Car in Nottingham and received support

from mentors with their project.

Mock Exams Year 13 students will have their Mock exams week commencing 13th January. Subjects include History,

Geography, Further Maths, Spanish, Physics, Psychology, Maths, Philosophy and Ethics, Chemistry, Food Tech,

Product Design, English, Business Studies, Computing, Biology and Art. Students have already received their

timetables.

Fundraising Update Sixth Form have also raised money for World Aids Day and embraced Christmas Jumper Day to raise money for

Save the Children and on the last day of term they participated in the annual Dutch Auction to raise money for

Mind.

Looking Ahead ………………………………………

Progress Reports The first progress reports for this academic year will be published on Parent Portal on Wednesday 8th January.

Students will receive a copy of their report during their PSHE lesson that day and will spend time reviewing their

progress and preparing their pitches for Progress Review Day.

Progress Review Day Progress Review Day will take place in the new term on Friday 17th January and Progress Review Evening after

school on Monday 20th January.

Progress Review Day is an important event on the school calendar, as it provides the opportunity to review your

child’s progress and discuss ways we can further develop learning.

Students in Years 7-10 will meet with their form tutor and begin with a progress pitch, offering them the

opportunity to talk about the work they are proud of and how they feel they could develop further.

Appointments for Year 11 students will take a slightly different format, as they will meet with their English and

maths teachers in order to discuss the key strengths and areas for development based on their performance in

the mock exams. Further details, including when and how to book appointments, will follow in January. We look

forward to seeing you in the new year.

Clothes Recycling Collection Point Is your wardrobe full of things that you never wear? Please remember that there is a clothes recycling point in

the bottom car park by the fence. On a school day, you can access the bin before 8.55 am or after 3.30 pm.

This raises funds in a joint initiative between Valley CIDS and Swanwick Hall School . All those unwanted items

will either be re-sold in their charity shops or will be recycled as rags, so nothing is wasted.

Paracetamol From Monday 6th January 2020 Swanwick Hall School will adopt the Trust’s Supporting Students with Medical

Needs Policy. In line with the policy we will no longer provide paracetamol to students via verbal consent for

minor pain relief. We are however able to store paracetamols supplied by parents for known medical conditions

and the appropriate paperwork will require completing. If you need to put this in place for your child, please

telephone 01773 602106 and speak to Mrs Parkin or Mrs Vladimirovs.

Uniform reminders It is a condition of attending Swanwick Hall School that all students conform to the school dress requirements.

A reminder of the school uniform is below and can also be found on the school website.

• Swanwick Hall School sweatshirt or Swanwick Hall School cardigan

• Plain Black traditional formal school type trousers or skirt of a suitable length for school (from knee to

mid-calf length). Trousers must be loose fitting and must not be chinos, jeans, leggings; no fashion zips,

buckles or studs.

• A plain black belt if required. Wide ‘fashion belts’ and belts with studs are not allowed.

• Swanwick Hall School polo shirt or any plain white school type shirt with a collar. PE polo shirts should only

be worn for PE lessons.

• Plain black school type polishable shoes or plain black polishable ankle boots which must be worn to and

from school as well as in school. Trousers are not to be tucked into ankle boots.

• For safety and security reasons no jewellery (including rings, wrist and neck bands etc.) is allowed other

than one watch (not Smart watch), one small stud per ear and a small nose stud.

• Caps, hats and any other type of head covering should only be worn in either cold or sunny weather for

relevant protection, not as fashion items and never inside any buildings

Year 10 Exams Year 10 students will have their first series of mock exams for their GCSE subjects, starting on Monday 13th

January. Students will have exams in:

• English Literature

• Maths

• Biology

• Chemistry

• Physics

Students have been provided with their exam timetables and exam preparation homework in their subjects for

the Christmas holidays.

The purpose of these exams is to provide experience of formal examinations and to help them to develop their

exam preparation skills, as well as to provide staff and students with useful assessment information.

The next set of Year 10 mock exams will take place in June when students will have mocks in all of their

subjects.

Key dates for next half term………………………………………

Monday 6th January Students return to school

Progress Reports published this week via Parent Portal

Monday 13th January Year 10 mock exams (English, Maths, Science) all week

Year 13 mock exams all week

Friday 17th January Progress Review Day

Monday 20th January Progress Review Evening 4pm-6.15pm

Tuesday 11th February Spanish Trip (to 14.2.20)

Wednesday 12th February Year 12/13 Parents’ Evening 4pm-6.15pm

Friday 14th February Students break up for February half term

Monday 24th February Students return to school

Additional Updates

ClassCharts has arrived! We are always exploring ways in which we can keep you informed about what is happening in school and to give

you a good overview of the behaviour, positive and negative, of your child.

In January, we will be launching ClassCharts, an app for parents and students which will allow us to significantly

improve communication and provide you with (almost!) live updates around performance in school.

I have provided some screenshots below of some of the features of the app, but to summarise, parents will be

able to

• See an up to date behaviour log, clearly stating where behaviours, positive and negative, have happened

• Look at your son or daughter’s timetable each day

• Receive announcements/notifications from school

• Look at an up to date view of the attendance of your child

This term, students have been contributing to the creation of an enhanced reward system too – students,

through their version of the app, will be able to use their points to ‘buy’ a reward of their choice from a list.

Parents will be receiving more details about the app, how to download it, how to log on and get the specific

details for their child(ren) and how to get the most out of it during the Progress Review events held on Friday

17th and Monday 20th January.

At those events, I will be running workshops where parents can come along and hear some ideas about the types

of conversation the new enhanced picture might create at home as well as an understanding of the process we

are working through to ensure that parents (and perhaps most importantly students) have a clear view of the

overall picture at any particular point in time.

(samples only)

Mr S Worrall, Deputy Headteacher