& News from Elmwood & Penrose Federation / October 2016
On Stage at Somerset Conference
Our Federation was very proudly represented by staff and students from the Jean Rees
Centre who presented the amazing work our students do on the subject of Enterprise and
on their work experience placements. Becki Maddison ably supported by Jack, Charlene,
Josh and Laura stood on stage and presented to the audience a presentation. The
feedback from the attendees at the conference regarding our learners was extremely
positive, as was the work we do from Primary, through Secondary to Post 16 in order to
help develop our learners into the adult they will become.
A copy of their presentation can be found on the Federation’s
web site on the Teaching and Learning section under
Enterprise & Work Related Learning.
The students then enjoyed listening to others presenting (one of
those was DHL/Morrison’s telling everyone how great our
students are when they go to work experience in the canteen)
and they also enjoyed a nice lunch! The photo pictures them listening to a presentation.
Hello from the New Head Teacher
October 2016
Hello to all our Newsletter readers,
Firstly, I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone, students,
parents, carers, staff governors and our local partners for such a warm
welcome to the Federation.
It has been a very busy start to the term with lots of activity across the
Federation, staff and students working hard both in and outside the classroom. It has been
fantastic to see so many students making it into the Commendation book and getting a
mention at Celebration Assembly.
We have said hello to a number of new staff and students and it is great to see them all
settling in well.
A few special mentions, firstly a thank you to Helen at Penrose and the team for such a
fantastic Summer Fayre. Their hard work certainly paid off as it was a huge success.
Penrose blog
Elmwood blog
Jean Rees blog
Term Dates 2016/2017
Term 1—1 September—21 October 2016
Term 3—3 January - 10 February 2017
Term 4—20 February - 31 March 2017
Term 6—5 June—24 July 2017
Term 2—31 October—16 December 2016
Term 4—20 February—31 March 2017
Term 5—18 April—26 May 2017
A number of students were entered for Entry level and GCSE Art last year with great results.
Well done to the students but also thank you for the hard work of Kate and others making
this happen. A special mention to Becky at the Jean Rees Centre who, with a small team of
Post 16 students represented the Federation at a recent conference sharing our work on
Enterprise and Work related learning. The presentation is available to see on our websites.
It is a very busy term with lots of activities planned, students and staff are already thinking
about and preparing for the Christmas Fayre. Some excellent products are already being
produced.
I am looking forward to meeting you all over the coming months as you visit our schools.
Inset Days 2016/2017
The inset days for next year are as follows:
2016
Monday 21st November 2016
2017
Friday 10th February 2017
Friday 10th March 2017
Monday 5th June 2017
Monday 24th July 2017
Inset days give all staff opportunities to access high quality training which supports and
improves teaching and learning for all students.
www.elmwood-penrose-jeanrees.org.uk
Don't forget to look at our website www.elmwood-penrose-jeanrees.org.uk, it has lots of
useful information. If you have any questions, or can't find what you are looking for, please
contact the school office where staff will be happy to help.
Helen Farnell
Executive Head Teacher
New Starters
Helen Farnell—Executive Head Teacher for the Federation
Georgia Bedgood—LSA working in Pine Class
Caroline Dick—LSA working in Holly Class
Debbie Bastin—LSA working at the Jean Rees Centre
Amanda Wood—MDS working at Penrose
Emma West—Cleaner working at Penrose School
& News from Elmwood & Penrose Federation / October 2016
& News from Elmwood & Penrose Federation / October 2016
& More News
Celebrations and Festivals
Mentors
Key stage 3 have been focusing on the topic of celebrations and
festivals this term. We have learnt about different customs and
cultures from around the world. Students have visited places to
enhance their learning and
re-enacted traditional
celebrations.
School has a fabulous opportunity for anyone who may be considering their career
options with a view to returning to work, undertaking an subject-related course, or simply
wishing to take on a role that is not time-consuming but provides an opportunity to use
their skills and help to inspire the next generation of workers.
We have been on our own
pilgrimage up the tor after
learning about the Hajj, combined
science with religion when we
learnt about the equinox and
even learnt about a magic rabbit
who lives on the moon!
Do you have 2 spare hours per month to mentor a student? Working in conjunction with
the Bridgewater Education Trust, Careers South West Group arranges mentors for young
people in the five Bridgwater Secondary schools (Chilton Trinity, Elmwood, Robert Blake
Science College, Haygrove and Bridgwater College Academy). The students are mostly
Years 10 or 11 (14-16 year olds). The aims of the scheme are many, but the promotion of
employability skills and retention of talent in the local area are two of the main hoped for
outcomes.
Celebrations have included
Rosh Hashanah, the Chinese
Moon Festival, Durga Puja and
Gandhi Jayanti.
Training will be given and a DBS disclosure will be required and provided for this role.
A chance to help influence the local workforce of tomorrow!
If you are interested in becoming a mentor and feel you may be able to give around 2
hours of your time each month to help grow our local workforce, kindly email
[email protected] or feel free to telephone 07781 551322 for an informal chat.
Bumblebee Class Weekly Visit to Pets At Home
This term Bumblebee class are learning about all the different pets that people keep. To
help with our learning we have been visiting Pets at Home where we have had the chance
to feed and handle some of the animals that they keep in
the store.
The pupils have been walking around the store finding out
all about the things you need to keep a pet healthy, clean
and safe. During the visits the pupils have been helping
some of the other customers find things they need and later
on in the term they will be visiting the veterinary clinic and
grooming parlour.
The pupils have really
enjoyed getting hands
on with the pets and
helping customers.
Don’t forget to check out our website where you can find out all about our learning, read
important documents and learn more about the federation.
www.elmwood-penrose-jeanrees.org.uk
A big thanks to the staff
at Pets at Home for
helping our pupils with
their learning.
& News from Elmwood & Penrose Federation / October 2016
& News from Elmwood & Penrose Federation / October 2016
& More News
Market Place @Angel Place
Pineapple Challenge
Hawthorn class completed the pineapple challenge this
term. The instructions were to get it on to the balcony
without it breaking and with the equipment in the box –
string, cups, scissors, sellotape, a cardboard box, a bottle
of water and a cuddly toy. They found this easy at first,
wrapping it in the string, but then they were told no
string could touch the pineapple. Students worked
together to come up with different solutions and testing
them out, with a few snapped strings and unravelling
boxes. The lesson taught
them about pulleys and teamwork and at the end we
went to the kitchen and worked out how to eat a
pineapple – it was delicious!
We are about to embark on a very exciting venture as the Federation is starting to run a
stall at Angel Place in Bridgwater. Students will be working hard, selling products they
have made through Enterprise activities.
We aim to:
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Improve communication skills
Improve money recognition and maths skills
Breakdown barriers between the public and our students
Increase our students’ presence in the community
Raise awareness of our Federation in the community
Increase employability skills
Develop an understanding of how business works
Team work
Increase enthusiasm by creating clear purpose for learning
Increase self-confidence
Develop a willingness to take responsibility and show initiative
Develop time management
Build on their effective work and social skills
Some of the items on sale are:
Hand Made Cards
Candy Cane Sleighs
Bags
Literacy Intervention
At Penrose we have recently introduced Literacy intervention.
These are 1:2:1 individualised sessions that support many of
our pupils with their reading and writing skills.
Although this is a new Initiative,
fantastic progress is already
being made,
Tea Towels
Pot Pourri
Sweet Trees
Father Christmas Sweet Canes
Christmas Dog Biscuits
Christmas Rabbit Food
Keep up the good work!
We hope you will come down on Wednesday between 10.00am-12.00noon to Angel
Place to support our Enterprise project.
& News from Elmwood & Penrose Federation / October 2016
& News from Elmwood & Penrose Federation / October 2016
& More News
Celebrating the Enterprising Federation
The Federation has been invited to present
at a County wide conference to celebrate
how enterprising our students are.
Over the last year all three sites developed
a number of products they made and sold
at various events throughout the year. This
included the Winter Fayre at the Jean Rees Centre, The Spring Fayre at Elmwood and
the Summer Fayre at Penrose.
Online Safety Update: Appropriate and Responsible
Gaming
Many of our learners enjoy digital gaming on consoles, computers,
tablets and phones. We now know that these sorts of games are not
only fun for young people but can also offer great learning opportunities
and help develop creativity, imagination and social skills. However it is
important to remember that not all the games they love may be
appropriate for them to play. Remember that most games come with a minimum age
recommendation and to look for reviews about their content when buying.
We are really proud of the high quality products that the
students make.
Pan-European Games Information or PEGI ratings help indicate who the game is
appropriate for, not just who can buy it. When buying for a young person, the game you
purchase should have an age rating of their age or younger. You can find more
information on this at http://www.pegi.info/
The conference was
very successful and
everyone was really
impressed at our
productivity.
For reviews and guidance, visit Common Sense Media, who not only
cover games but also films, TV, books, apps and websites. You can also
look up suitable content based on the young person’s age
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/
KS3 MacMillan Coffee Morning
Controls and restrictions will also help keep gamers of all ages safer while they enjoy themselves. Parental controls and restrictions on what content can be accessed
can be applied by whoever supplies your internet connection, as well as on
each device that will access it. While on federation sites, there are filters in
place to block content, which report back to staff to inform them of
inappropriate searches.
For advice about gaming and how to help everyone in the family be safe
and sensible, try visiting Ask About Games http://www.askaboutgames.com/
Key Stage 3 would like to say a huge ‘Thank You!’ to everyone who supported them with
their Macmillan Coffee Morning. By making cakes in food
technology and through generous donations from staff, parents and friends, we managed
to raise an amazing £180.00!
Coffee Mornings
Thursday 20th October 2016 “Coffee Morning”, 10.00am —12.00noon at Coffee#1,
Bridgwater
Thursday 24th November 10.00am – 12.00noon, “Coffee, cake and
Christmas” making Christmas items/crafts to sell at the Christmas school
events to be held at Elmwood Learning Resource Centre.
Don’t forget to contact the Family Team to find out about other activities, important dates
and holiday activities.