As we near the end of the school year, I would like to reflect upon our incredibly busy and successful year at Stradbroke. Ofsted seems a long time ago now, but their support last September for the significant changes we made to the school staff and school infra structure last summer was hugely satisfying.

The Presentation Evening, Celebration Week and Enhanced Learning Days have also been highlights.

We now look ahead to September when we have two new members of staff joining us. Mrs O’Carroll will be our new Head of Science to replace Mr Axtell, who becomes Assistant Head Teacher. Mrs O’Carroll has considerable experience in successfully delivering Science at her current school, Hartismere.

Mr Peatfield, who, I understand, worked at Stradbroke a number of years ago before moving to Hartismere school, is retiring from his role as a School Sports Co-Ordinator.

We have therefore employed Miss Firbank to teach PE and work across our pyramid. We look forward to enhanced opportunities for our pupils and pyramid primary pupils to take part in sporting activities.

On behalf of staff and our governing body, I wish you a relaxing, safe and enjoyable summer holiday.

SB

EC

N

EW

S

JULY 2011

It is the end of another academic year and is a time for reflection on a busy year which has seen considerable, positive change at our school. Governors are delighted that the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme is now available to our pupils. This has recently been oversubscribed which demonstrates the over whelming success since its introduction last autumn. This excellent programme prepares pupils for life outside school, particularly when working as a team. I would like to thank all the volunteers who give up their time to run the scheme which includes weekend and evening events. The two garden leisure areas in the quadrangles have been completed and are proving popular. One area has been dedicated to the memory of our ex pupil James Grigg following a cricket match between the school and Stradbroke cricket team. The multi-use games area laid on the tennis courts, with financial help from the Parish Council and Mid Suffolk District Council, is also proving to be a popular venue for pupils and the wider community. This area is available for hire at weekends and evenings. Please contact the school office for more information. The number of school clubs available to pupils at lunchtimes and after school continue to increase; perhaps you saw the exhibition of the photographic club at Wingfield Barns. The recent ‘Celebration Week’ proved to be immensely popular and provided an opportunity to those who visited the school to witness the many changes which have been implemented this year. Events included a science day for Year 5 pupils. Year 6 pupils’ induction day, Key Stage 2 pupils’ music day, Bring a Grandparent to School Day and a visit by our local Women’s Institute. As you know Worlingworth Primary School and our school are joining together in a formal partnership. This will undoubtedly have benefits for both schools. Teaching expertise can be shared and the transition for the primary school pupils into high school can be seamless. This has taken a year of discussions between the two Governing Body to ensure a working model to which both have agreed. This leads onto the question of Academy status for Stradbroke. As you know, the Stradbroke pyramid of schools have been looking at applying collectively for Academy status although this decision is for each school’s Governing Body to take. The Governing Body of SBEC has been debating this for some months and will make a decision after this news letter has been published; a letter will be issued giving the outcome of this decision, before the end of term. This year we have been fortunate in welcoming new Governors to the school Governing Body who have brought expertise to the role which we hope will enable our fantastic school to improve yet further. We are at full strength in our numbers which shows the support that our school enjoys. However, vacancies do occur and these will be advertised on our website and in school newsletters as they occur. I would like to thank all the parents and carers for all the support given to our pupils and school during this year. As always, if you have any comments to make please do contact the school office or me, Chair of Governors [Governors@sbec.org.uk]. I can also be contacted through the school office I wish you all a good summer break. Best Wishes

Andrew Smith Chair of Governors

T h e S ch oo l L i b r a r y supported Celebration Week by inviting Carl Merry, ‘Tale Spinner’, to come and tell stories to years 7, 8 and 9. Car l enthral led each separate year group with his lively versions of folktales from many lands; some were based on well-loved fairy stories such as Cinderella, with a new twist and a moral to be pondered. This took place in the Drama Studio and for the whole morning you could have heard a pin drop as each tale unfolded. In the afternoon, Carl worked with 12 pupils from year 9 teaching them some of the skills of the storyteller, in readiness for them to tell their own stories to year 6 on Thursday afternoon and to parents at the Kaleidoscope Evening later the same day; they rose magnificently to the challenge. Oral storytelling is the basis of much of our history and is an ancient but dying art, so our storytellers should be congratulated, not only for having the courage to stand up and ‘Tale Spin’ in public, but also for becoming part of the oral history-making of our time. Mrs A Baldwin Librarian

All our pupils have made their choices for the two days and we hope to be joined by some pupils from Stradbroke Primary for t h e i n - s c h o o l activities. We are all looking forward to these two days of activities and I am sure it will be an enjoyable way to end the summer term. Mrs McKinna Extension Activities Coordinator

CELEBRATION WEEK STORYTELLING

Our last two enhanced learning days take place during the final week of term. On offer are a number of trips – we have two residential trips – an overnight taster expedition for Year 9 for the Duke of Edinburgh award and a chance for year 9 and 10 PE GCSE pupils to be assessed as part of their GCSE at a res ident ia l outdoor activity centre in Norfolk. There a number of day trips including a day out to Banham Zoo, a day trip to France, two days of fishing, a trip to London to see the musical Wicked, ice skating in Norwich and a trip to Jimmy’s Farm.

There are also lots of activities taking place in school, including: a two day art workshop; a master class in portraits; digital photography; a scrap heap challenge; some sport; a chance to make some truffles; cooking (and eating!) sausages and burgers as a follow on activity from Jimmy’s Farm; a treasure hunt and some craft activities.

ENHANCED LEARNING DAYS July 20

th and 21

st

On Monday 27th June, as part of Celebration Week, story teller Carl Merry came into SBEC. He based himself in the drama studio to tell Year 7, 8 and 9 stories, such as the Pied Piper and an unusual version of Cinderella. Everybody really enjoyed it and we felt we learnt a lots of useful techniques from him. In the afternoon a group of Year 9 pupils had a double lesson with him to learn how to tell a story. It was very hot but we all enjoyed learning various stories with topics ranging from leprechauns to mirrors. We all felt we gained a lot of confidence from this experience and it will be very useful in our future English lessons.

TELL US A STORY

On Thursday night at the Kaleidoscope evening some of us performed the stories we had learnt. Many of us were nervous but tried to tell the stories as best as we could, using techniques learnt from Carl Merry, such as: actions, sound effects and interpreting the story in our own way. The public really enjoyed it, as did the performers. We would like to say a huge ‘Thank You’ to Carl Merry for coming in and telling us these amazing stories. Jacob Cleverley and Ellie Howsen

During a hugely successful Celebration Week, more than twenty ladies from the Stradbroke and Worlingworth Women’s Institutes joined us for an accompanied tour of our school during lesson time, to see the pupils at work and to see all our superb facilities. The ladies were in awe of our top spec i f i ca t ion h igh techno logy equipment and of the pupils’ fabulous artwork that adorns every available space, not to mention the six tennis courts with the newly laid multi-use games surface. We really do have a great school and are very proud of it! Following the tour we all went to the music room and were greeted by the school choir and pupils serving non-alcoholic bubbly. Mr Williams tinkled on the ivories and everyone enjoyed a lovely cup of tea and wonderful cup cakes supplied by Mrs Cleverley of Cleverley Made Cakes. Overall, the afternoon was a great success! It was nice to meet local people who do not usually enter the school and to see their positive reactions towards all we have and all that we do. Next year we are planning an even bigger event, so that we can invite Women’s Institute members from around the region. Mrs K Cheyne Director of Learning

FINANCE RESULTS Year 10 took their final financial literacy exam this term and the results are outstanding. In the higher paper all pupils passed with 5 A* grades, 7 A grades, 8 B grades and 1 C grade. In the foundation paper there were 8 merits and 18 passes out of a total of 27 entries. Well done to all pupils. Now they will concentrate entirely on gaining a good GCSE Mathematics grade next summer.

UK MATHS CHALLENGE Year 8 recently took part in this nationwide competition and the results were excel lent. Gold certificates went to Sarah Eccles and Megan Garrod with Bronze certificates going to Callum Muttock, Ellis Abbott and Jessica Debenham. Well done to all those who took part. Mr R Wakelin Head of Maths

WOMEN’S INSTITUTE TOUR AND TEA

MATHS DEPARTMENT NEWS

We recently held a Celebration Week. On the Monday and Wednesday we invited parents in for learning walks, where parents went into lessons with Senior Staff to see at first hand learning taking place. Then on Tuesday we had ‘Bring your Grandparent to school and stay for lunch‘, this was a delightful day with fourteen Year 7 pupils proudly bringing their grandparents to school. Unlike the learning walks, this time grandparents sat alongside their grandchild and joined in the lessons. At the end of the morning we had the most wonderful comments from grandparents who had all clearly enjoyed the experience. Many reminisced about their school experiences and compared these to their grandchild! Comments included: “A fabulous morning, thank you for allowing us to come in, when can we come again? and “ I wish I could come in tomorrow and every day !”

We also enjoyed storytelling with Carl Merry – which Mrs Baldwin has written about in this newsletter! On Monday afternoon the SEN department had tea and limericks with parents, pupils and staff all joining in. On Tuesday we hosted the Stradbroke Pyramid Music Day with over 140 pupils from all six of our pyramid Primary schools. It was of course the hottest day of the year so far but, although very warm, pupils performed an amazing concert out in the sunshine at the end of a terrific day! Wednesday was Year 5 Science day, with 84 pupils joining us from across the pyramid for a range of activities that ranged from making bird boxes to forensic science! On Wednesday afternoon the Women’s Institute visited us and enjoyed a tour of the school, an informal concert, followed by afternoon tea! On Wednesday evening we held Year 7 parents evening, with 94% attendance from parents.

This was a really good evening enhanced by the French Café, serving a range of delicious French refreshments, organised by pupils. Wednesday evening was also Prom Night for our Year 11 pupils. Wow did they look great! We have the most fabulous set of photographs of the Year 11s having a fabulous time. The weather was perfect and our thanks go to a generous local business man for providing us with an amazing venue for the evening. Thursday was Intake Day for Year 6 pupils. They followed a timetable just as they will in September which included French, Drama, RE, Science, Art and PE. On the evening Year 6 came back into school with their parents to meet form tutors and to join in with our Kaleidoscope Evening.

CELEBRATION WEEK - What a fantastic week!

The evening started with a formal Music concert, including solos, the Pyramid Band, ensembles, vocal groups and the Orchestra with the hall bursting at the seems as more and more of our community joined us; this provided a lively and popular start to the evening and was followed by informal performances in the quads and even impromptu pieces in the corridors. Visitors then moved on to golf challenges, Shakespearean insults in the Drama Studio, a presentation on ‘E’ safety for parents, Maths smart board demonstrations, science lessons for parents, story telling in the Library, control technology in the Graphics Studio, and ‘Alternative Energy’ in the Business room. As the heavens opened and the rain poured down many stood and enjoyed the rainbow that formed over the quad, a lovely end to a fantastic evening.

On Friday we held our end of year Award Ceremonies for Years 7, 8 and 9. It was a delight to congratulate so many pupils on their achievements this year. Awards included academic achievement, contribution to the life of the school, effort and attendance. During the day we also enjoyed having Year 3, 4, 5, and 6 pupils join us from Worlingworth Primary School for French lessons with pancakes and ice cream followed by summer landscape collages in Art. Throughout the week we also had our annual Art Exhibition, which included work from the photography group and local Primary schools. The Humanities department displayed amazing work from their Past, Present and Future projects, along with a display of work from our Gifted and Talented pupils.

Year 10 pupils who were on work experience all week were all congratulated on the incredibly positive and complimentary feedback they received from employers. As you can see it was a fantastic week with over 500 visitors to the school. A huge thank you goes to all pupils for their energy, enthusiasm and commitment during the week. Thanks also to staff for their hard work in this very busy week! Finally, a huge thank you to all of the parents and members of our community who joined in our week of celebrations. Mrs Phillips Deputy Head teacher

more…. CELEBRATION WEEK

S T R A D B R O K E PYRAMID MUSIC DAY

On Tuesday 28th June over 140 pupils from our feeder primary schools were welcomed into the High School to participate in and enjoy a packed day of music making. In the morning, pupils from years 3, 4, 5 and 6 took part in a variety of instrumental and vocal workshops, which cu lm i na t ed i n t h e afternoon with an informal performance of a song by the massed chorus, as well as an outside instrumental performance with pupils playing a combination of brass, woodwind and percussion. The enthusiasm, talent and skill of all the pupils involved was wonderful to witness. Special thanks go to Janet Koralambe, Anna Drake, Ruth Ryan, Sue Simmington and Head of Music, Jonathan Williams for their contribution to a highly successful day.

Many members of the community over the course of our celebration w e e k t o o k t h e opportunity to come in and see the school at work. One such group was the Stradbroke and Worlingworth WI. As part of their tour, the ladies w e r e t r e a t e d t o afternoon tea and a performance by the SBEC Junior Vocal Group. The girls thoroughly enjoyed singing to the WI, and performed with real c o n f i d e n c e a n d expression. At the end, they took the chance to chat informally with the ladies about life at SBEC, and also partake in the occasional cake too! On the evening of Thursday 30th June, the musicians of SBEC put on a Kaleidoscope Concert. A large appreciative audience of parents, friends and members of the community filled the main hall for a formal ‘mini’ concert. Groups taking part included the Stradbroke Pyramid Beginners Band, the Senior Band, the Junior Voca l Group, the Drumming Group, the Amplifier Group and the Orchestra.

Following the final concert i tem, the a u d i e n c e w a s encouraged to tour the school and see a variety of subject areas at work. Informal solo and ensemble performances took place in both newly restored school quads. Even a deluge of rain was not enough to dampen proceedings, with the musicians continuing to play in the foyer, corridors and music room. SBEC was truly filled with the sound of music! Well done to everyone who took part and contributed to such a wonderful evening.

SAMBA GROUP The newly created SBEC Samba Group will be a u d i t i o n i n g f o r performers in September. In line with the school’s ethos of encouraging senior Pupils to take on wider responsibilities, Zac Askew and Sam Newson will lead the group. We look forward to hearing from this ensemble at a future concert. Mr J. Williams Head of Music

MUSIC DEPARTMENT NEWS CELEBRATION WEEK AND KALEIDOSCOPE EVENING

At the end of the spring term I successfully completed my Basic Food Hygiene Certificate. This is my first year of GCSE Food Technology and this certificate has really helped me understand the benefits of food hygiene. I have also set up a facility so that I can now sell coffee, tea and hot chocolate to the public/pupils/teachers. It was necessary for me to have this certificate so that I could do so legally. Obtaining the certificate is through an online facility provided by Creative Learning Solutions. It consists of 10 sections:

1. Food

Contamination 2. Bacteria 3. Bacterial Growth 4. Food Poisoning

EHO 5. Purchase to

storage 6. Preparation to

service 7. Personal hygiene 8. Cleaning 9. Pest Control 10. Kitchen Design

To achieve each of these you have to listen to 6 video tutorials and then complete a multiple choice questionnaire which pops up at the end of each module. There is a test on all of the sections once you have achieved 70% or more in each module, and then there is a final test at the end. The current year 10s who are studying Food Technology are also working on passing this assessment. Progress is coming along well and everybody should finish the course with a high mark. They are likely to finish by the end of this summer term when they will all collect their certificates! Marc Aalders-Dunthorne

FOOD TECHNOLOGY

We are hoping to hold some Faith Awareness seminars with visiting speakers from both the Muslim and Jewish traditions. We would like the sessions to be open to teachers, governors, older pupils, parents and others with a particular interest in increasing their understanding and building good community relations. We plan to hold these seminars as twilight sessions around 4 pm and our provisional dates are the 29th September and 1st December 2011. These seminars would be a fantastic opportunity to learn more about other faiths and traditions and help to raise awareness of different cultures. If you are interested please contact the school office for more details.

As part of our Celebration Week the Humanities department combined together and all year 7, 8, and 9 pupils took part in a project called ‘Past, Present and Future’. We left the subject matter completely up to the pupils and the only requirement was that they had to show how their subject related to History, Geography and Philosophy, Religion and Ethics. We gave the classes a week to prepare and plan and then they had two weeks to produce their projects.

The results were outstanding. Topics were wide-ranging and included War, Fashion, Fossils, Television, Farming and Inventions. Some pupils chose to present their projects in many different forms including scrapbooks and models. This was a project that was enjoyed by all pupils and gave them an opportunity to take responsibility for their own learning. They all enjoyed the freedom of being able to choose their own topic and how to present their work. Some had to be very creative in making links between, for example, fashion and Philosophy, Religion and Ethics!

We also invited some pupils from Stradbroke Primary School to get involved and we had a fantastic response with some beautiful work that we could also put on display.

The week ended with a display at our Kaleidoscope evening where many of the pupils were present to show off their work to visitors.

Some quotes from pupils include: “It was fun to create the battlefield”, “I enjoyed working with a friend”, “It was a great laugh”, “It was fun and we learnt a lot”, “I think it was good because we got to do what we wanted and something that we like” “I liked it because we got to do a project with different subjects”.

Mrs R Hurren

Head of R.E.

FAITH AWARENESS SEMINARS HUMANITIES PROJECT WEEK

With an uncertain weather forecast hanging over us we decided to go ahead with the morning events, but with heavy showers forecast for our scheduled afternoon start time of 1pm things weren’t looking to promising. With the help of the sports captains, past and present, pupils had the opportunity to try their hands at a number of sporting challenges ranging from golf to ten pin bowling, during break and lunchtime, with prizes available to pupils in each year group. As 1pm approached the clouds again gathered over the back of the sports hall, but with fingers and toes all crossed we decided to take a risk. The track and field events started on time in blustery but dry conditions and pupils got into the spirit of the day by waving their banners in support of their tutor groups. The events continued with a number of outstanding performance being produced, especially considering the almost gale force winds greeting the runners as they entered the home straight. The afternoon concluded with the old favourite of pupils versus staff relay, although an administrative error means that unfortunately I am unable to announce the result. A big thank you to everyone that helped out with the organisation that went into the day. Mr Adams Head of PE

SPORTS DAY 2011 Wednesday 15th June a group of five teachers and eleven pupils went to watch the Twenty 20 cricket match between Essex and Somerset. We arrived at the ground at around 6pm, to find it full of excitement. We were waiting for the game to start when two officials from the club came around the ground, looking for youngsters to lead the teams on to the pitch. Christopher Brown and Nathan Bruce were selected out of the crowd to lead the team on. The boys were very excited and could not wait to get on to the pitch and represent their school. Somerset were put into bat by Essex, going on to score 225 for the loss of 2 wickets. With ex-England International Marcus Tresecothick smashing 108 off 61 balls, including a huge 6 over our heads and then over the flats behind the ground. In reply, Essex never really got going with only England batsman Ravi Bopara scoring freely. Essex were eventually out for 82, suffering the heaviest defeat in nine seasons of English Twenty 20 cricket. The boys were a credit to SBEC. They were extremely well behaved and were a pleasure to take on the trip. A big thank you to Mr Adams who drove the mini bus and the other members of staff who helped make this trip such a success. Mr J Lincoln PE Department

TWENTY 20 CRICKET

I am now recruiting participants for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme for the coming year. The Award consists of 4 elements at Bronze level: Volunteering, Skill, Physical Recreation and Expedition. The Bronze Expedition is a two day expedition, with one night spent camping. There should be six hours minimum of activity planned each day, with at least three of these hours journeying. This replaces the old distance requirements for expeditions, but is in reality approximately the same. If you are interested in taking part in this exciting challenge, please see Mrs Baldwin in the Library for more details and an application form. Mrs A Baldwin DoE Award Leader

On Monday 4th July four Year 9 pupils took part in a competition held in Ipswich, organised by the Institute of Physics. Twenty six schools took part, ten scientific tests, all very different and all very challenging. We then had to complete a 45 minute investigation. After lunch, there was a brilliant Physics demonstration. The top three schools then did a presentation to decide the winner. The day ended with awards. Everyone had a great day. Josh Lewis, Jacob Cleverley, Charlotte Pierce-Saunderson, Rachel Gibbs

PHYSICS DECATHLON

On Saturday 9 July we organised the first Classic Car Event at the school. The idea was to try something different to bring different groups from the community into the school and to create opportunities for our pupils to engage with them. It was a great success from many standpoints. First, we had a strong response from the local community who brought their magnificent vehicles onto the field and showed them off. The range was huge, from the 24 ton military crane (thanks to Mark Peacock) to a display of vintage pedal bikes. The ‘super’ cars, whose collective value must have been close to the national debt, were the most popular. How much for a GT40 or a works Mini Cooper S, not to mention the fabulous Corvette and of course, a Lamborghini, a stunning E-type (thanks Nick - my dentist) an Aston Martin and a few odd Porsche. The comprehensive collection included more modest but equally interesting machines; several Morris Minors, MGs, Minis and even a Morris Marina - all in showroom condition. In the school hall there were stalls selling interesting things – all did well including the pupil-run sweet stall (thank you, Mo) and our teas and coffees made a decent profit, thanks to pupils, ex-pupils and Donna Oakes. Outside, FOSBEC sold all of their ‘barbie’ burgers and hot dogs and so, along with the licensed bar, our hard-working school ‘friends’ have once again added significantly to our coffers. The second success point – the music. Jack James, our home-grown impresario, arranged for Florence and Emily, Jacob and Zac to entertain throughout the day…and they did. How else can we judge the success? Loads of people came and enjoyed the day. The other pupil stars of the day, were ofcourse, Amber Hack and Abbie Frost who painstakingly took photographs of all the cars and as many of the owners as possible. Some of their work appears in this newsletter. But all will be printed and sent to the owners as a thank you for bringing their vehicles to the show. Thanks to all that helped organise the event, but especially Linda James and of course Richard Clarke of Paint and Beyond who pulled in most of the exhibiting cars - favours from his client list. A great day – we may even do it again… Mr L. Hammond

THE CLASSIC CAR EVENT

ORIGINAL WRITING – A GOTHIC STORY

In Limbo - A Story of Gothic Proportions

All I could hear was my heavy and labouring breathing, resonating through my head with each frantically clumsy step I took, trying to avoid the roots and vines that densely covered the ground and were clasping, clutching, cutting at every inch of skin on my bare feet and ankles. The huge plumes of steam that my breath created and the mist that had already shrouded her cloak over the dark, moonless night obscured my sight so much that I had to put my arms out in front of me, feeling my way forward- from gnarled tree to gnarled tree- each embracing me in their cruel grasp as I stumbled into them. Running, running, not daring to look back for fear of what was behind me; I could hear it advancing at the most rapid pace, with each fierce gallop and snort. My skirts kept tumbling around my ankles, trapping my feet like a net catching fish, making me fall again and again. But I kept running. I had to keep running. Suddenly, the ground below my feet disappeared. I fell forward at a hurtling pace. It felt as if half of my body had been left, stuck to the ground and I was being stretched out like a huge elastic band by the wind’s hands, as my hair and clothes were being ripped behind me. All I could see and all I could hear was darkness. All had gone silent; I knew that there should have been some noise somewhere, but I couldn’t hear it. Not even the whooossshhhhh of air as it rushed past me was comprehendible.

I felt as though I was in Limbo.

All sense of movement and space had gone; I couldn’t even feel gravity pulling me down with her long, bony fingers. And then, in ‘the distance,’ - because I didn’t know what was near or far any more - I heard that same tremendous, frightful galloping, that same tremendous, frightful snorting. It was getting closer and closer, out in front it was pacing towards me, with every thump of its hooves ripping at the air as they dug into it to find purchase, to propel its body along. Closer and closer and closer and louder and louder and LOUDER.

I couldn’t move. It was as if every limb on my body had become unstuck and I had no contact with them anymore; it was the most horrible, helpless feeling. I felt as though my body had been ripped away from me and my soul was all I had left. My utter sense of helplessness was magnified when the galloping stopped: I didn’t know whether to be relieved or afraid, there was silence, and that silence was killing me. And then, the most blood curdling, nail tearing, bone shredding scream emitted from the darkness. The galloping started again, this time faster, until I could hear the jangling and clanking of armour. It slowed to a canter, and then a trot, and then a walk...

WWWWHHHHHHOOOOOOOSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHH THUMP. The agony was unbearable. Every single one of my ribs had snapped, like a child breaking twigs, I was gasping for breath, a fish out of water, my lungs desperate to regain the air that had been forced out of them. I cried out, called out, shrieked, screamed, for someone to come, for the pain to go; I was delirious with it, it had taken over every fibre of my being, I couldn’t shake it off. My body was screaming at me, punishing me for ever having doubted its existence. It was only when I started to become numb with the pain that my other senses started to work again. I had fallen, or, what seemed more likely- but highly improbable at the same time- been dropped from a great height and landed on a patch of cold, damp moss and grass. Face down; the smell invaded my nostrils like flies on a carcass, it was so overpowering it made me choke, I could almost taste the sweet, earthy soil. The comfort it gave me to be able to feel the solid ground again was enough to make me laugh and cry at the same time. I lifted my head, ignoring the screams of protest that my neck made, to look around me. The night’s cloak was still shrouding the sun, but the moon’s bright, round face shone down coolly, lighting my surroundings. Mist was lingering close to the ground, and around stumps, sticking up angularly out of the earth. They cast long, haunting shadows that stretched and crept towards me, tempting me to come closer, leading me towards a large, almost rectangular shape. The owls laughed and chatted in response to my moans and groans of pain as I pushed myself up and stumbled over to where the shadows were pointing their sinewy fingers. Roots were weaving their limbs over, under, through the gravestones and along my path. One grabbed my foot from underneath me and I fell flat on my face. As I lifted my head up, I realised that I had reached the large rectangular shape.

But it wasn’t a rectangle, or a tomb; it was a black, granite horse.

Matilda Heydon

ORIGINAL WRITING – A GOTHIC STORY

No one at the Window The man stood poised, surveying out of the third storey open window in to the dark of the ancient country manor. However, it was no longer the grand house it once had been, hosting balls and parties; the master bedroom that the man currently stood in, emitted the same putrid odour as the rest of the house, of damp, decay and mould. The wall paper hung torn and limp on the walls revealing the rotting panels of mahogany wood underneath. The smooth marble of the once magnificent fire place lay smashed into shards on the floor, next to the remains of singed charcoal and embers from a long ago roaring fire, and the splintered floorboards creaked noisily with the slightest wind or movement. Scattered around the room lay numerous books, left in the positions they had been flung, torn apart from their covers; furniture sat uncomfortably upturned and crippled; and finally - out of place - freshly created footprints made from crusting mud, and leading to the man standing at the window, as he watched intently, the slowing car on the road leading to the manor. A smirk sat on his face. As the car came to a slow and stuttering stop, his chapped lips pulled back tightly over a few yellowed rotten teeth, in an expression which could have been considered a grimace. Until he let out a single, deep snigger… ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The young woman, who was driving home from work, looked once again at the second hand of the clock on the dash board of her car, as she was sure it was speeding up. Tiredly, she gave an exasperated sigh, as it was becoming increasingly late, and with no one else on the roads she should have been home in no time, but the engine was giving off a distinctly smoky smell, and was making a sound like that of water chugging down the plug hole. That, and the puffs of grey emanating from the back of the car and drifting across the empty road, seemed to signal to her that something was wrong. Badly wrong. With its last, final dying breaths, the car made a final groaning noise, rolled to a halt and left her surrounded in silence. Heavy with fatigue, she took one last look at the clock. It read 11:42. The clocks sickly fluorescent green light spread across her face. In her peripherals, she snatched a glimpse of the inhuman shadows it formed around her. She dragged her drained body out of the car before standing up, and looking around. The bitter breeze stung painfully on her skin after the warmth and protection of her car. Also, since she no longer had the gentle glow of the car’s headlights to lead her way, she relied solely upon a dim, flickering street lamp on the other side of the road. As quietly as she could - feeling an unnecessary need to preserve the silence that enclosed her - she walked hesitantly across the desolate road to stand beneath the street lamp. However, before reaching the street lamp, she stopped abruptly and turned deliberately around to face the car once more. For what reasoning she wasn't sure, but there was a feeling deep within the pit of her stomach that made her nervous, and she couldn't stop thinking of the little clock within her car, ticking away - the 'tick-tock-tick-tock’. Continuously. Counting. Suddenly, as she reached the street lamp, a sharp gust of wind whipped against her. She secured the thin trench coat she was wearing more tightly around her and turning her back on the wind, stumbled to face the dim street lamp. But between the darkness within the car, and of the stretch of the dark indigo clouded sky above, her eyes had become accustomed to dark. So turning round, the harsh artificial yellow light blinded her eyes and forced them shut. With her eyes clamped tightly shut, the feeling in her stomach intensified ten-fold. She had the acute gut-wrenching feeling of being watched. Frantic, her eyes snapped open. As she did so, the street lamp, like the car that had abandoned her, flickered once more, and died. She was left alone. Utterly alone. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Angrily, the wind raged past the open window. It was cool on the man’s skin. The moth eaten curtains fluttered against his arms and the rough texture of it scratched at his hardened skin. But he noticed nothing. Behind him, the strong wind gushing in through the window frantically blew the torn pages of books around in the dark room, only lit by a single candle. But he barely registered it. His focus lay on the young woman under the street lamp. He watched it flicker, and die. Only the moonlight illuminated her small silhouette now. He watched as she looked helplessly around her. For help, safety or security, he wasn’t sure; but he knew it would not come. And he watched as - in the pitch black - she took slow and unsure steps down the road, where she reached the driveway to a house. This house. She would be here soon. He caught a glimpse of his own face in the open window; the skin hanging limply to his skull, the deep set eyes, his matted hair. Sharply, he averted his eyes and shook his head. Slowly and steadily, with a contorted smile on his sallow face, he walked with a rather contrasting air of assertiveness. As he picked up the candle and exited the room, he made his way down the steep spiral staircase. His bare feet made little noise on the rough floorboards.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After a few minutes of striding purposely away from her car, down the road, the woman finally reached a driveway. There was no sign to signify the name of the house, and there were thick, dense trees either side of the little track, so the only indication of a house was a small lantern to the left of the drive and a light in the distance. Anything else she might have otherwise seen was obscured by the trees. What the young woman failed to see was the small wooden plaque, haphazardly nailed to a tree on her other side. There was only one single word carved ineptly upon it. The word read:

BEWARE

She carefully collected the old-fashioned lantern, and began to walk. From what little of the dark sky she could see out of the smothering canopy of green around her, it confirmed that the wind was picking up. And fast. The gut feeling she had had earlier had returned; she pushed it away. The painful stinging of the wind that assaulted her ears increased too. And the damp, earthy smell of the woodland was not homely at all, compared to her little apartment in the city. The smell seemed like it was invading its way into her head, like it would linger there if she was to ever make it away from here. Only adding to her worry, the track seemed to be narrowing to more of a pathway. She stopped walking for a moment leaning up against one of the ancient, giant-like trees, which she was sure were now purposely blocking her path. She ran her hand over the smooth, cool metal of the lantern handle waiting for her heart, which was jumping violently out of her chest, to steady. She could feel its steady beat. Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum. From head. To foot. Just as she began to walk again, she registered the fall of tiny water droplets, splashing against her delicate skin, over-heated from the walk and her worry. Suddenly, the steady beating of her heart sped up. Her pace increased. As did her panic. Heavy rain shot down to the ground like bullets and plastered her long brown hair to her skin. It obscured her vision and deafened her. Prickling and sharp, goose bumps rose on her arms. So lowering her head to the wind, she began to run. Abruptly, there was a crash. She felt herself fall heavily to the ground. Her head began to throb painfully and her palms burnt from landing on the rock and debris of the driveway. Laying still for a second she let her breathing steady, and wiped her forehead, which had formed a sheen of sweat. As she stood up, and untangled herself from whatever she had crashed into, she felt something more vicious than the rain, rolling and creating a crevice that traversed across her forehead, and slid down her temple. Until, drip. Blood. Her head was bleeding from the fall. But she paid little attention as something significant dawned upon her. She was in light. She had reached the house. Was this truly the right thing to do? Decisively, she told herself it was too late to doubt, too late to turn back - she would continue. However, as she walked up the steps and stood, her hand poised to pick up the knocker of the front door, she looked at the house. Truly looked at the house. The stone was eroded; the rich wood of the windows and doors decayed; and as she peered in through the window next to her, it looked like it had not been lived in for years. And yet, no wax dripped from the candles in the porch way. Freshly lit, she thought. This alerted her and broke her reverie. It made her distinctly aware of the icy feeling seeping into her bones, whether it was from the manor, or her sodden work clothes, now clinging weightily to her petite frame. She could trudge back through the shadows of the ancient trees – which looked to be struggling to escape the binds that the roots held upon them in the wind, reaching with their long gnarled arms to hold her captive. In the vague hope of finding some fortification or solace? Or… She looked at her hand, still poised above the heavy steel knocker on the door. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- He watched from the second floor landing as the woman scrambled to her feet and ran up the porch to knock on the door. As she paused, then indecisively turned back to face the door, she inhaled deeply. Her hand reached for the heavy knocker. His hand reached for the window pane. Razor sharp inhuman nails, belonging to him, were forced down the aged glass. It made a screech like nails down a blackboard. Or, perhaps, like a scream… ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prior to the scream, she had twisted her head to look at the movement at the window on the second floor. But there was no one at the window. Emily Self

A group of 12 pupils were involved in shadowing the national Carnegie Children’s Book Award this year. They read the titles in the shortlist which had been compiled by the national judging panel and discussed those titles during the lunchtime meetings. On the day that the national winner was announced we had our own votes for the SBEC winner. As usual, the pupil choice (White Crow by Marcus Sedgwick) was different from the national one (Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness). This caused heated discussions as to why the national winner is chosen by adults and not children!

The voting was followed by a celebratory lunch which had been prepared by other pupils. The lunch was attended by Andrew Smith, Chair of Governors and Maureen John, manager of the Stradbroke Library and culminated in the Balloon Launch. Each reader had written a card to attach to the balloon detailing their own favourite shortlist title and urging anyone who found the balloon to go along to their local Library, read all the titles and decide for themselves who the worthy winner should have been! A good time and much cake eating was had by all. Mrs Baldwin Librarian

CARNEGIE SHADOWING 2011

ENGLISH : Bronze Jo Capp Ewan Kellett Harry Hayball Chloe Perkins Lucy Maskery Charlie Rogers Imogen Stringer Rebecca Foster-Clarke Francesca Sands Elizabeth Sands

ENGLISH : Silver Stuart Codling Caitlin Webb Rebecca Bevan Jake Harvey Chloe Perkins Francesca Sands Elizabeth Sands

MATHS : Bronze Matthew Herd Kelly Dunn Katie Buckingham

MATHS : Silver Matthew Herd Kelly Dunn Katie Buckingham

SUBJECT CERTIFICATES

DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY Bronze Phoebe Robson India Bishop Michael Queralto Laura Barton Jack Whatling Daisy Atkinson Dylan Taylor Imogen Stringer DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY Silver Chloe Perkins Amelia Catling Rebecca Bevan Charlie Rogers Aimee McDonald

SCIENCE : Bronze Elizabeth Wilcox Sven Cummings

SCIENCE : Silver Andrew Hall

ART : Bronze Peter Oakes

MUSIC : Bronze Jack Gionis Eleanor Wragg Joshua Sach Andrew Hall Aaron Kegge Cameron Hopkinson George Hunt Anthony Redwood Thomas Heath Caitlyn Lewis India Bishop Saskia Ransome Holly Mallinson-Beedie Rhea Thomson Sasha Shaw Jessica Debenham Sarah Eccles Jack Whatling Holly Read Amelia Catling

TERM DATES FOR THE ACADEMIC YEAR 2011 – 2012 AUTUMN TERM 2011 Monday 5th September 2011 to Friday 16th December 2011 (Half Term: week commencing Monday 24th October 2011) NON PUPIL DAY: Monday 5th September 2011 NON PUPIL DAY: Tuesday 6th September 2011 SPRING TERM 2012 Tuesday 3rd January 2012 to Friday 30th March 2012 (Half Term: week commencing Monday 13th February 2012) NON PUPIL DAY: TUESDAY 3rd January 2012 SUMMER TERM 2012 Monday 16th April 2012 to Monday 23rd July 2012 (Half Term week commencing Monday 4th June 2012) NON PUPIL DAY: MONDAY 16th April 2012 NON PUPIL DAY: MONDAY 23rd July 2012

AUTUMN TERM 2011 Autumn term starts for pupils on Wednesday 7th September. Pupils will be required to wear winter uniform.

DINNER MONEY As from September, the office will no longer lend dinner money to pupils. This is due to the large amount outstanding, and pupils’ failure to return monies borrowed.

Please acknowledge receipt of this Newsletter by signing your child’s Planner on the SBEC News page. Thank you.