Website www.st-anthonys.kent.sch.uk Email admin@st-anthonys.kent.sch.uk

Phone 01843 292 015

July 2017 Newsletter

Sports Day

July 17th saw the return of a whole school sports

day for pupils after several years’ absence. Pupils

participated in a range of sporting events such as

sprints, relays and hopping to win points for their

school house. Pupils and staff had a wonderful

morning both participating and cheering on their

teammates. Well done to Craig, Catrina and Gill

and all the other staff who supported the event to

make it so successful.

The final House point totals for sports day are -

Green Giants 554.5

Blue Bulldogs 428

Red Rangers 400.5

Well done Green Giants on winning!

Staff Departures

The end of the summer term will see three well

liked members of staff leaving the school.

Jean Clelford who has been teaching English at the

school for the past three and a half years is

retiring. Jean has supported mainly KS4 pupils

with gaining their English GCSEs, Foundation Level

and Entry Level qualifications with much success.

Sarah Boost joined the school in Sept 2014 as a

learning support assistant in the primary

department. As a qualified dance teacher she

then taught dance to all primary pupils when she

realised that she wished to become a teacher.

Sarah has been working very hard to gain her

qualifications and she has secured a promotion

and so will be moving to another local school to

further her career.

Jodie Barham originally joined the school as part

of her training in Early Childhood Education at East

Kent College and worked with Abi’s class in 2013.

She officially joined the school Sept 2014 as a

learning support assistant in the primary

department. Since joining the school she has

married and had two children. Jodie will be

starting a teacher training course in late Sept so

will still be with us till then and knowing Jodie

when she completes her training will be back.

We wish them all well.

Website www.st-anthonys.kent.sch.uk Email admin@st-anthonys.kent.sch.uk

Phone 01843 292 015

School Fayre

Cheyenne at Hook-a-Duck

George having a go at the Coconut Toss.

This year’s Summer Fayre was held on June 16th

was an enjoyable event for pupils, families and

staff which raised just short of £500 for the school.

We had a pet’s corner with weird and wonderful

pets such as Tarantulas, Scorpions, Snakes and

Bearded Dragons for our students to look at and

hold. To compliment this we also had a Birds of

Prey tent which gave our students the chance to

get up, close and personal with Owls and Falcons.

Other traditional Summer Fair stalls were present

which added to the summer vibe and the candy

floss machine was a hit with the children and

adults. The Mayor of Margate, Cllr Mrs Rosamund

Dixon also attended. None of this wouldn't have

happened without the help from all the local

people and businesses that donated prizes, the

hard work of our PTFA and the time and effort

that St Anthony's staff contributed so I would like

to take this opportunity to say, "Thank you!"

Now to start planning for the Christmas Fair!

Mayor Margate, Cllr Mrs Rosamund Dixon

Donations for the Summer Fayre were received from the following local businesses – please support them:

1. Tesco Broadstairs 2. Tesco Cliftonville 3. Broadstairs Tandoori 4. Your Leisure 5. Bumble Beez 6. Captain Digby 7. Mark Michael’s Valet Service 8. Carlton Cinema 9. Hair Station Academy 10. Stagecoach 11. Huckleberry’s Tea Rooms 12. Mecca Bingo 13. Strokes Adventure Golf 14. Seaside Cake Parlour, Margate 15. Hornby 16. Cutting Lounge Broadstairs 17. Canterbury Tales 18. Sainsbury’s 19. 3 individuals who are friends of staff

Website www.st-anthonys.kent.sch.uk Email admin@st-anthonys.kent.sch.uk

Phone 01843 292 015

Globe Theatre Trip

On Tuesday July 11th a group of pupils and staff

visited the Globe Theatre in London. They had a

tour behind the scenes of the theatre, watched a dress

rehearsal of Much Ado About Nothing, took part in a

drama workshop and learnt about the difference

between clothing for the rich and poor in Elizabethan

England. The drama workshop focussed on the

character of Puck and The Mechanicals in A

Midsummer Night's Dream. Sandra who organised the

trip said the pupils had a wonderful time and

represented the school very well.

This is the play we will be producing in the autumn

term at The Theatre Royal Margate in collaboration

with Shakespeare Schools Foundation.

Pupils and staff in the Globe theatre workshop.

Bewl Water Residential Trip

This term’s residential trip to Bewl Water in West

Kent on July 10th – 13th was a tremendous

success. The pupils and staff from Herons and

Pelicans were able to take part in canoeing, raft

building, team building challenges, rock climbing

and mountain biking.

All of them had personal successes, challenging

themselves in new ways and making new

friendships. We were well looked after by the staff

there and the food was amazing!

Phoenix Cake Sale!

On Friday 26th May, Phoenix held a cake sale for

both parents and students. The school also held a

non-uniform day, asking for donations from the

students to wear their own clothes. Both events

were held in order to try to raise money for our

school reward shop. Each week all students have

the opportunity to gain points for good work and

behaviour, then at the end of the week can trade

those points in for prizes at the reward shop! We

raised a whopping £131.27!!! We will be able to

buy some great prizes which all our students can

benefit from! Many thanks to all the parents and

students who baked and brought cakes in, and a

special thanks to our staff bakers; Charlotte,

Lesley, Jacquie B and Antony!

Website www.st-anthonys.kent.sch.uk Email admin@st-anthonys.kent.sch.uk

Phone 01843 292 015

Year 11 Leavers Assembly and Trip

Year 11s had their leavers’ assembly on June 29th in

which we celebrated their time at St Anthony’s. This

was followed the next day by an outing to Laser Tag

and lunch at Pizza Hut.

Functional Skills English Qualifications

We are proud to announce that it has been

another successful year for students passing

examinations in English. All of year eleven who

attended school regularly have achieved Entry

Level Functional Skills 3. Kieren R and Peter A have

also passed English Functional Skills 1, which is

equivalents to half a GCSE at a lower level. All of

Year 10.1 group have passed Functional Skills

Entry Level 3, with Henry M and Jack BB already

achieving Functional Skills 1, with Ewan S and

Reece C very close to passing.

Congratulations to all these pupils.

Forest School

The last term has been a busy term with the

development of our Forest School. Our Forest

Leader has had his final observation from his

trainers and he passed it in flying colours so he is

firmly on track to qualify in August which is

fantastic. We have also won £5000 from the Tesco

Bags for Help scheme which is an amazing

achievement as it shows that our local community

really support the development of our Forest

School right at the heart of their community.

Some vandalism on the site has been upsetting

but our Forest School Leader is meeting with

Thanet District Council next week to discuss ways

of making the site more secure so hopefully this

will be an issue of the past. All in all it has been a

very productive time and we are looking forward

to further developments over the summer.

PTFA

Our PTFA has really started to get off the ground

this term with a good turn out of school staff and

friends of the PTFA attending our last meeting.

Parent involvement has also increased via our new

Facebook page (Sas PTFA) which is fantastic news

moving forward. The PTFA also planned, prepared

and delivered a fantastic Summer Fair which

everybody at St Anthony's School can be really

proud of. Our running total of money raised since

our establishment in January is £19,750 and we

still have some outstanding bids to come back so

let’s all keep our fingers crossed they are

successful too. At our meeting we also discussed

and agreed to make 2 fresh bids for Lego Therapy

resources and After School PE/Fitness clubs so let

us hope they are successful too.

The card is likely to be of most benefit to those who access

the community independently but could be helpful for those

who usually have the support of a carer or parent

ll a

The Autism Alert Card has been designed to alert the Police and other emergency services to the fact that the holder has an Autism Spectrum Condition. The card alerts the emergency services that the holder may have difficulty communicating and may appear anxious in unfamiliar surroundings or exhibit behaviour which, to the unaware may seem strange and could be misinterpreted. The card is likely to be most benefit to those who access the community independently but could be helpful for those who usually have the support of a carer or parent particularly if they are lost. It is available to all ages. Lesley Gray has application forms in school but alternatively you can telephone The Kent Autistic Trust on 01634 405168

Kent Autistic Trust

Website www.st-anthonys.kent.sch.uk Email admin@st-anthonys.kent.sch.uk

Phone 01843 292 015

Sports News

It was another busy term for sports. Pupils have had

the opportunity to participate in a variety of sporting

fixtures including tag rugby, beach volleyball, beach

tennis, athletics and the Panathlon.

Nine pupils attended the Kent Challenger Games at the

Julie Rose Stadium in Ashford on July 14th. Pupils

completed various activities including: a blindfolded

stretcher race, a command challenge, handball, boccia

and a slalom race.

As always all of the pupils participated with exemplary

behaviour and outstanding sportsmanship.

Please Help

Please will you name your child’s school uniform

ready for September. It is such a shame when

unnamed items are found because we have no

idea who to give them back to.

Addaction

Kim Cottington and Tom Debono from Addaction

were invited to provide an informal session for

parents and carers to raise awareness of

substance misuse by young people. Lots of

information was shared and there was plenty of

opportunity to ask questions.

If you have any suggestions for future

parent/carer sessions please let Lesley Gray know

and she will try to arrange a suitable speaker.

Hampton Court Visit on the 3rd July 2017

St Anthony’s entered the Royal Horticultural Society Scarecrow Competition at Hampton Court Flower Show and we were shortlisted. On the 3rd

July we arrived at Hampton Court Leo, Colin and Fran set up the Scarecrow and Deanna, Ellie and Liz made the final touches deciding he would look good with his leg in the air. We looked around the show and watched the Hairy Bikers cooking, saw lots of famous people and had our photo taken with Ben Shepherd. We went into the Butterfly Dome and saw loads of beautiful butterflies. We have a level 5 award for Horticulture through the RHS, there are only 2% of all schools involved with the RHS that have this.

Website www.st-anthonys.kent.sch.uk Email admin@st-anthonys.kent.sch.uk

Phone 01843 292 015

Attendance

We came very close to achieving our school attendance target of 85% this year but missed by just over 1.5%. There are 365 days in the calendar year. 190 are school days which means 175 are non-school days (so if you can use this time to go on holiday, or attend appointments, etc.)

0 days absent = 190 days of education = 100% attendance

9 days absent = 181 days of education = 95% attendance

Good attendance means being at school 95% of the time. Please give your child the best chance of success by ensuring they have good attendance.

School Holidays

We have put together some tips for Parents and Carers to plan, structure, and balance activities and downtime for the summer in advance of the holidays.

1. Plan for a mix of high tempo and low tempo days wherever possible. i.e. one activity day, one chilled day.

2. Create countdown calendars and make sure your child understands they won’t be seeing their school friends and teachers during the holidays.

3. Try and prepare for holidays and days out by picking destinations with lots of information and photos you can show to your child in advance.

4. Take favourite foods pillow cases from home and transition toys when going away.

5. If you are flying, check with airports in advance about whether they have any materials or guides for people on the spectrum.

6. Create a timetable of what will be happening on your holiday or day out to show your child so they know what to expect.

7. Holidaying in small apartment complexes rather than big hotels. Think small and friendly.

Tips taken from Ambitious about Autism article 'Tips for an

Autism Friendly Summer’

School Dates

Thurs July 20th Pupils Last Day

Fri July 21st EHCP review day

Sept 4th Staff Training Day

Tues Sept 5th Pupils First Day of the new school year.

Thank you to all of the parents/carers and staff who supported the pupils to have a successful school year.

Have a safe and wonderful summer.

Keep safe and we look forward to seeing you in September.

Mr. Robert Page – Headteacher