Fairlands Middle School Newsletter
December 2016
From The Headteacher
Firstly, I would like to thank you for all the tremendous support you have given to us this term. The children have worked well and I
believe they have enjoyed their learning. In addition to the work in school, it is the way they are prepared for school at home that has
set our pupils up to succeed before they start each day and each term.
Already we find ourselves at the end of the longest term. The excitement of the Christmas holiday will bring even more energy into
these last few days. I do hope the children enjoy the disco’s and their Christmas lunch, and of course, that they will continue to work
hard in each and every lesson until the holiday.
You will see many of the elements of our broad curriculum represented in this newsletter. It continues to be our main aim to keep the
children’s education as rounded as possible. The development of learning in English and mathematics is, of course, absolutely crucial
to continued academic success. In addition, it is the development of core skills within a wide context that lead us to believe we have
helped the whole child. At Fairlands we have resisted the drive to narrow the curriculum.
Thank you to everyone who supported the FPTA Christmas raffle which is held on the last day of term. Your support for the FPTA is
very much appreciated.
Finally, we talk with the children about road safety from time-to-time; please help us by having conversations at home about road
safety, especially in these months where the days are short.
I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and
look forward to seeing the children back at school on Tuesday 3 January.
Peter Elmy
Trip to the Battlefields
A non uniform day was held on Friday 18
November and £512.27 was raised for
Children In Need. Thank you for your
support.
Max, Esmee and I were lucky enough to have the opportunity to visit the Battlefields on a 4-day trip to
Ypres. We went on a number of visits to cemeteries, memorials and museums, focusing on the key idea of
‘Remembrance’; how and why should we remember those who lost their lives in WW1.
We walked in the footsteps of soldiers who were killed and explored the remains and replicas of real
trenches to understand what life was like for ordinary soldiers. We also learnt the personal stories of those
who had died. This included the heart-wrenching moment of finding the grave of fifteen-year-old Donald
Snaddon. As part of our investigation, we explored how the land was used to gain an advantage in battle
and thought about the progression and development of tactics, weaponry, equipment and medicine at this
time.
We had many emotional moments during the tour. This included finding Mrs Heard’s great great uncle,
Private William Fletcher, on the Menin Gate. Esmee was chosen to represent Fairlands and our tour group
by laying the wreath during the Last Post ceremony. Later in the trip, Max also found his great uncle,
Captain William Fletcher, on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing. On the last day, Max and Esmee
created clay models of a man bent over and crying; these will form part of the centenary celebrations next
year to commemorate those 600,000 who were killed in Flanders. Luckily, we also managed to squeeze in
time to do some chocolate shopping!
This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I am glad that I entered the competition. I finally understood how many people died, as
you see in the pictures, but you don’t really understand fully until you go” - Esmee.
I found my great great uncle on the Thiepval Memorial. I felt emotional and curious as I wanted to know more about what happened
to him” – Max.
We look forward to putting together our Legacy 110 project, aimed to educate 110 people in the local community about what we
learnt on the Battlefields trip. We hope to explain why it is important that we still remember those soldiers who lost their lives during
WW1.
Natalie Coles, Teacher of English
One Tree Per Child
In November the One Tree Per Child Project came to Fairlands to host an assembly. The aim of the
assembly was to get pupils fully engaged and interested in learning about their natural environment and
the importance of trees in all aspects of society; including medicines, products and oxygen production.
The One Tree Per Child Project kindly donated four fruit trees to Fairlands for the pupils to plant and
tend throughout the year. It was really interesting for the pupils to hear how trees are so important and
to receive the lovely trees.
Imogen Brewster, Teacher of Humanities
Safeguarding
The NSPCC are coming to Fairlands next term to work with all years during health week on keeping ourselves safe. Safeguarding
children is everyone’s responsibility. If any parents/carers have a safeguarding concern, please phone Helen Heffernan, Designated
Safeguarding Lead or Victoria Daintree, Designated Safeguarding Deputy on 01934 743186/7. Alternatively, when school is closed
please call Somerset Direct on 0300 123 2224 or email [email protected].
Helen Heffernan, Designated Safeguarding Lead
Page 2
Fairlands Middle School Newsletter
Curriculum News
ENGLISH
This term Years 7 and 8 received a visit from local author, Steve Voake. Pupils heard about the process of planning, writing and
re-drafting a novel and the publishing process. They also had the chance to ask questions and purchase signed copies of his books.
Following this, two mixed groups attended a writing workshop with Mr Voake, where they learnt descriptive writing techniques and
were encouraged to let their imaginations run wild!
Jules Brown, Teacher of English and Drama
MFL
During the second half of this term, Year 6 pupils have been making Christmas cards to send to their German Pen Pals who atte nd
the school we are visiting next July. Three will be judged as the best by the German School, which is quite a challenge as there are
67 cards!
We have been raising more money this half term for our partner Kenyan school with the help of Mrs Virgin, Miss Nixon and her Year 8
helpers. The talent show, International Languages Day and quiz raised more than £900, which will help the pupils from the Maji Safi
projects. Linda Greenland, who runs the charity, is coming to talk to Year 8 next term when they will ask what she would like the
money raised to be spent on for the pupils in Mombasa. Finally, we have received definite confirmation from the GA that the
application for a Kenyan teacher has been accepted. Mr Tumaini will be visiting next April.
Happy Christmas! Fröhliche Weihnachten! Joyeux Noël! Feliz Navidad!
Sarah Aysnley, Curriculum Leader for MFL
PE
Due to the poor conditions, there have not been as many fixtures during this half term, however the Years 7 and 8 girls more than
made up for it at the Hockey County Cup qualifiers. The Year 7 team played well, winning the whole tournament and progressing to
the Winter Games alongside the boys teams. The Year 8 team played equally well winning their pool, but just missed progressing to
the Winter Games after defeat to Wells Blue in the final.
Observing the boys rugby this half term has been a pleasure. Their enthusiasm and determination is something they should be p roud
of. The Years 5 and 6 boys played extremely well keeping Hugh Sexey to a 15-all draw, while the Year 7 boys were unlucky to lose to
Wells Blue.
The boys hockey team has also been in action beating Hugh Sexey 2-0. Unfortunately, the Year 8 boys football team were not so
lucky losing in the third round of the National Cup. Well done to the boys Years 5 and 6 cross country team winning the next round of
their competition.
Sportshall athletics - a small number of Years 5 and 6 pupils visited Strode College to compete in the annual sportshall athletics.
The team were up against 8 other schools in a number of different events, many of which the pupils had never experienced before.
The team should be proud of their achievements gaining third position overall.
Well done and thank you to all the pupils that took part in the house matches over the last half term. It has been fantastic to see so
many of you on the field enjoying yourselves.
Finally, thank you to all the parents that support the pupils during and after the games.
Vicky Evans, Curriculum Leader for PE
SCIENCE
Enrichment Day
Thursday 2 November saw the whole
school embark on its second science
enrichment day. The theme for the day
was “hands on science” which meant that
pupils and staff spent all five lessons
enjoying carrying out experiments and
investigations in biology, chemistry and
physics.
Pretty Curious
On Wednesday 9 November, 14 Year 8 girls were selected
to go to Bristol for the EDF Energy ‘Pretty Curious’ event,
which was to promote female careers in science. We learnt
about how maths and engineering can be part of science
careers.
Year 5 investigating clock pendulums
Year 5 panned river silt for gold, investigated clock pendulums, tried
to lift weights with pulleys, measured the bones of their skeleton and
entered the world of virtual science. Year 6 worked as forensic
scientists, hunted for invertebrates in leaf litter, built towers of
spaghetti, attempted to carry water with a piece of paper and tried to
work out why polar bears are so large.
Year 7 made some ink, tested the theories of Robert Hooke,
investigated the pigments found in plants, measured the strength of
bones and attempted to launch a plastic bottle into space. Year 8
tested some science simulation software, built electronic quiz boards,
investigated the flexibility of their ankles, discovered what happens
when you dive to the bottom of the ocean and found out about shark
attacks.
Particular highlights of the day were when Mrs Naden found out what
static electricity does to hair, as well as Mr Cooling finding out what
happens when you sit under a balloon filled with water. We’re already
looking forward to the next one.
John Virgin, Curriculum Leader for Science
While we were there, we were put into three groups and did
challenges, including a small electronic board. After that, we
explored different careers in science - wearable technology,
coding and household technology.
After all of this, we went on to the final challenge which
lasted about two hours. What we had to do was to design
and create some sort of piece of technology using an
electronics board, some craft materials and our imaginations.
Our groups made ingenious inventions, but unfortunately
none of us won the competition. We got close!
When we had finished our inventions, we played with some
virtual reality technology. We had to see which group could
build a nuclear reactor in the shortest amount of time. Some
of us even got on the leader board for it. We found the
wearable technology really interesting. There were rings that
connected to your phone using Bluetooth so that you can be
notified by a vibration when you get messages.
Overall we had lots of fun, learnt lots and it has made us
consider careers in science.
Rachel Mackenzie, Abbie Stephens, Isobelle Webster and
Jemma West, 8Q