Waverley School Newsletter Winter 2011

Newsletter WINTER 2011

Dear Parents Students, Governors and Staff

BUILDING SCHOOLS FOR THE FUTURE

Over the summer holidays we completed contract close for our new building. Works started on our new building in September and you can see the steel framework going up on the Yardley Green site for our new school.

Work is progressing well and is three weeks ahead of schedule due to the good weather we have had. We are hoping to move into the new building in April 2013.

September saw the start of our new Sixth Form. We will be recruiting for our next cohort of students in the spring term. On the old Belchers Lane playing fields, we have developed a senior level cricket pitch and FA size football pitch. Work has now been completed which has been partly sponsored by the English Cricket Board. The site should be ready for play in September 2012.

Preparation is under way for our Reception intake in September 2012, if you have a child aged four who is starting reception in September please be advised that your application form needs to be in as soon as possible.

This summer we achieved our best results ever, 100% of students achieved 5 A*-C passes at GCSE and 66% including English and Maths, a 17% improvement on last year. Students taking early entry ‘A’ and ‘AS’ Level exams achieved a 100% pass rate. This is a fantastic achievement and I would like to thank all students, parents, staff and governors for their support in this outstanding achievement.

You will see that many activities have taken place this term that enhance the experiences of our students.

I would like to wish all those celebrating a Merry Christmas and wish you all Seasons Greetings and a Happy New Year.

Thank you for your continued support in making Waverley a success for all our students.

Yours sincerely Kamal Hanif Head Teacher

Building work at Yardley Green Road is coming on at a pace. It is an exciting time for the school and the community as we begin to see the building rising from the ground. As our old school crumbles the new building provides us all with hope and the promise of an exciting future in our new purpose built school.

Work on the new school building began in August 2011. The foundations for the new school have now been completed together with retaining walls which deal with the change in levels on the site. The steel work has also now arrived and by Christmas the steel structure will be complete. By this stage we will all be able to get a feel for the scale of the school.

The site is exceptional as it is a green oasis in the middle of urban Birmingham. The views on the site are fabulous as we back onto the allotments and we will, I am sure, enjoy the green site when we move across.

Ann Andersen Deputy Head Teacher

Food Technology Let’s Get Cooking - Year 8 The following students participated in a six week session of Let’s Get Cooking: Wajid Zaman, Faryaal Aziz, Hifsaa Sagir, Ashima Begum, Sumaiya Bashir, Fatima Rangzabe, Zoya Idreis, Helena Begum, Mariya Khan, Maryam Ishaq, Rukhsar Saleem, Nazia Khanum, Saima Begum, Aisha Mahmood, Hasnain Ali, Mariam Bibi, Rafa Hussain, Arbaz Khan.

Sessions were attended after school from 3:00-4:30pm. Students made a variety of products and displayed a range of skills. As part of their Celebration session students held a Muffin Morning where they made a range of muffins which were sold to staff.

was raised in the Muffin Morning and contributions were sent to Marie Curie Cancer Research.

Well done to the group on this achievement!

Miss Reddy Head of Technology Department

MATHS

Children’s Centre

This year in the Mathematics Faculty we have introduced two new courses for Year 11 pupils; GCSE Statistics and the Free Standing Additional Mathematics Qualification.

These are allowing pupils to leave Waverley School with up to three Mathematics qualifications as well as introducing some pupils to work normally covered within A-Level Mathematics.

Our fabulous Sensory room is now finished and we are taking bookings form external agencies, parents are welcome to come and look at this valuable resource to meet the specific learning needs of their children. Our Toy and Book library has started and has gained a lot of interest from both parents and children alike.

In the New Year pupils from Years 7 and 8 will once again be competing against other pupils from around the country in the national UK Junior Mathematics Challenge. We are hoping to beat last year’s record of ten bronze and one silver award winner!

Mrs Pooni Deputy Headteacher

With keeping healthy in mind we have started the swimming and walking sessions which are gaining in popularity. For further information come into the Children’s Centre and our friendly staff are happy to help.

Miss Isaacs Maths Department

PRIMARY SCHOOL The first reception cohort will start at Waverley in September 2012.

We already have many children who have opted for us as a first choice on the preference forms. If you would like you child to join the Waverley team from Reception age remember the final date for submitting the applications form will be 16th January.

Mrs Pooni Deputy Headteacher

Parents/carers who have a child who was born between 1 September 2007 and 31 August 2008 need to make an application for their child to start Reception Class in September 2012 by no later than Monday 16 January 2012. The quickest and easiest way to make an application is online at:

www.birmingham.gov.uk/ schooladmissions or by contacting a member of the School Admissions and Pupil Placements Service on 0121 675 0555.

The Year 9 GCSE Textiles pupils have been developing their skills in ‘designing and making’, focussing on creativity, developing design skills, working independently, in pairs and in groups.

All the projects have been looking at ways of recycling or using less conventional materials as a key part of their Year 10 Controlled Assessment and Exam.

The projects have included making bags from recycled jeans, hats from old newspapers and magazines and dresses from bin bags. The Bin Bag Dresses were made in one double lesson. Pupils worked in groups and they were allowed to bring in additional items from home to add decoration. The dresses were judged by Ms Hutchinson and Ms Hurley and the designers of the winning dress won chocolate cakes.

Ms Neep Textiles

Inclusion

East Network Mentoring Event Waverley was in the lime light this term at the East Network Mentoring Event held at Quality Hotel. Our Three Mentees in YR 10 Sohail Kamal , Jemima Khan and Bilal Hussain were nominated for best mentee award for their achievements in their targets. They attended this event with their Mentor N.Syed where they promoted our good practices and celebrated the awards with Mentees from other schools in the network.

Mrs Syed Inclusion Manager

SIXTH FORM In September 2011 Waverley School opened its brand new Sixth Form.

Our Sixth Form offers vocational courses providing new routes into employment, training and Higher Education. Courses include Level 2 Sports Science etc etc Current students have said that the Sixth Form has provided them with many new opportunities. One student said:

“I am loving the 6th Form. I am inspired by being here and I have been helped to make the right decisions for the future” Others have commented that it is ‘Incredible’, fantastic’ and, ‘It is absolutely great!

They have the best facilities, I am getting the best education here and it is brilliant!’

BTEC Childcare Course Information The BTEC Childcare Course is ideal for students who wish to work in an early years setting. After completing the Level 3 Childcare Course, students are able to find employment in the following careers: Nursery Supervisor, Pre-School Leader, Special Education Needs Supporter, Nursery Nurse, Nanny, Child Minder, Children’s Representative on a Cruise Liner or Holiday Resort or Teaching Assistant.

Cooking activity Sixth form students enjoyed carrying out a cooking activity as part of their BTEC Childcare Course.

They were focusing on: ‘presentation of food’. The students were required to design a sandwich and a fruit salad which could be enjoyed by primary aged children.

The pictures show how the students used their skills to make the food look fun and interesting for younger children.

Student quotes Asrar: ‘I really enjoyed doing the food activity; I made a smiley face sandwich and a colourful fruit salad, I’m sure all the children at my placement would love it!’

Saima: ‘I enjoy doing childcare; I especially enjoy my work placement! I have learnt a lot of skills in my lessons and on placement!’

Presentations Level 3 Childcare students were required to carry out a presentation as part of their coursework. Each student researched a topic and presented the information to the class.

Student quotes Eramh: ‘My presentation was about the ‘Patterns of Development in children aged 0-16’. It was an interesting topic to research. Carrying out the presentation made me feel confident.’

Asrar: ‘I really enjoyed carrying out my presentation, I liked standing at the front of the class and explaining my work, I felt like a teacher!’

Miss Bi BTEC Childcare

CAREERS Year 10 students visited local Police Stations as part of their career awareness and IAG learning.

They spent 2 hours in the ‘Closed Cells’ (not in operation) at Digbeth Police Station.

They were taken through the arrest/ interview/legal procedures as well as learning about different offences, officer’s equipment and working arrangements, and all had fingerprints taken! On the second day they heard from Victim Support at Stechford Police Station then went to Steelhouse Lane Police Station to see the ‘Comms Room’, where they process all 999/other calls and allocate jobs to officers. We were also shown how the 8000 or so CCTV cameras across the city are controlled.

Miss Nawaz Work Related Advisor

‘Look into the Past, See the Future’ A group of Year 7 history pupils worked with Miss McLeish and Miss Tromans in completing the resources for this exciting project with Focus Enterprises, formerly known as Birmingham Institute for the Blind. Waverley School was the lead school in this project and worked alongside Lordswood Girls’ School and Priestly Smith Special School. The pupils produced teaching and learning resources that have contributed to an exhibition as well as a website and a Key Stage 3 Education Pack that has been sent to schools nationally to support visual disability awareness-raising and give an insight into the history of Alexander School for the Blind since the 1840’s. Waverley staff and pupils attended the exhibition launch event on 19th September in the presence of the Lord Mayor of Birmingham, who praised the contribution of Waverley School.

Heritage Lottery Funded Project ‘Children’s Lives’ Waverley School and Four Dwellings School have been invited by Birmingham Central Library, Museum and Art Gallery to contribute to a national Heritage Lottery Funded project called ‘Children’s Lives’. The work that the schools produce will contribute to a permanent archive in the new Central Library from 2013 and will form part of a large exhibition that will take place in spring 2012 at The Birmingham Art and Museum Exhibition Hall. The project aims to enable our pupils to record, research and communicate the histories and experiences of children and young people in Britain in 2011. The archive and exhibition will include oral histories, film, photographs, artwork and other documentary material as well as draw attention to other material within the collections of the city.

Comenius Project

‘Myths, Legends and Storytelling’ 65 pupils from Germany, France, The Czech Republic and England are participating in an EU Comenius Project: Myths, Legends and Storytelling’. Fifteen Year 10 pupils spent a week in The Czech Republic in October 2011 planning the first part of the project, the outcome of which will be a publication. The next planning visit will take place at Waverley School in March 2011. Whole School Diversity Day activities in March 2012 will be dedicated to the project theme.

The Forgotten Soldiers Project Presentation 25th November Military Historian Jahan Mahmood gave a presentation to seventy Year 8 and 10 pupils about the contribution of Moslem Soldiers from Asian and Africa to the Second World War. Pupils learnt how their ancestors contributed significantly to the wins of the Allied Forces in Italy and Africa, which altered the course of the war in the Allies favour. Pupils also got to see some of the weapons used by their ancestors during combat.

Anti-gun and knife talk 2nd December 2011 PC Rob Pudley from West Midlands Fire Arms Squad gave a very thoughtprovoking and hard hitting presentation about the tragic effects of knife and gun crime to the whole of Year 10. Guest speaker Marcia Shakespeare, whose daughter was shot dead in Aston in 2003, spoke movingly to the pupils about the consequences of gun crime and its tragic effects on her family. The key messages of the presentation were to explain the law to Year 10, to encourage them to think carefully about the dangers of

carrying an offensive weapon and gang culture as well as giving them advice about how to live their lives as safe and lawful citizens.

Miss McLeish Assistant Headteacher

Student Teachers

Youth Panel

This term the Youth Panel have been extremely busy electing new members and continuing to work with Noel and Rachel Blakeman to create sculptures for the grounds of the new school building. They have also begun consultation work with the architects about what the graphics and interior design of the school might look like.

This has involved discussions about how to make each area of the school feel unique and special, how to show that Waverley is a school that values and learns through diversity and even how to make the toilet signs in the new building more interesting! Watch this space and follow their progress in a blog which should be up and running after Christmas.

Year 7

Year 8

The Year 7’s have been working on an exciting cross curricular project between History and Art entitled ‘Who Am I?’ In art, each student has explored their identity through the visual elements of line, colour, shape and texture to design and create a tiny fabric square. All the designs are being stitched together to make a gigantic quilt which will be displayed in the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery as part of an exhibition about children. More details to follow close to when the exhibition opens!

Year 8’s have been taking part in a cross curricular project between Art and History about the Forgotten Soldiers of the First and Second World Wars.

In art, students have produced art work for a memorial exhibition for the soldiers. Once the exhibition is finished it will form part of an archive at the new Birmingham Library.

Mrs Joubert Head of Art and Youth Panel Coordinator

This year, Waverley School has been host to many trainee teachers from several Universities and Colleges. The continuing success we have had in helping talented individuals into the teaching profession was summed up by a Science student from Birmingham University. He said:

“I could not have asked for a better school to learn how to teach Science than in Waverley Secondary School. The teachers are outstanding in their delivery of every single lesson. The pupils are very fortunate to have teachers who operate at such a high level. There is clearly a strong relationship between the pupils and teachers, which creates a great atmosphere for learning.

I have felt so welcome within the school. This is down to not just the helpfulness of the staff but the pupils as well. I will be sure to spread the word of how good Waverley’s Science department is, and the school in general for that matter. I am very much looking forward to watching the talent on offer at the end of term Waverley’s Got Talent show.”

Mr Kay (Science PGDipEd)

Black History Month Celebrating Somalia

h g u o r h t g n i n r Lea Diversity

Ms. Taitt did an assembly on looking at Somalia as part of Black History Month.

Ms. Taitt told staff and students that:

‘Most of the generation of young Somalis currently in British schools were born and raised in the UK but many of their parents arrived as refugees, in flight from the long civil war and continued instability of their country. In making a new life in Britain, Somali people have worked hard to build their communities and sustain their cultural traditions.’

She talked about Somalia’s history, heritage and culture. She particularly wanted the students to see how much Somali people have had to go through and are still going through so that the students can all have and use the opportunity given to them so they are truly successful and are ‘Heroes of Equality and Responsibility’, just like Somalia’s most famous people.

The students also had a number of lessons and assemblies to celebrate Black History Month. The final assembly was taken by Mr. Dowe, who stated the fact that he is a Rastaman who celebrates the ‘homeland’ as Ethiopia, Africa. He explained the importance of His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie in his life, his faith, his language, his dreadlocks and his music. The students enjoyed the assembly and stated how much they had learnt and how this truly reflects the school’s motto ‘Learning through Diversity’

Jamaican Visit Yvonne McLeod, Charmaine Gooden-Monteith and Arnaldo Allen are members of the Jamaican Ministry for Education, Region 5. The Jamaican Education’s motto is ‘Every child must learn, every child can learn’.

The three delegates came to England in November 2011 following an invitation from the charity ‘Jamaica 2000’ coordinated by Liz Millman. At a welcoming party, Mr. Dowe and Ms. Taitt met the members and exchanged pleasantries about the ‘homeland’ and what was their first impression of England (apart from being cold!).

The project of “Widening Horizons” is being developed by the charity JAMAICA 2000, with support from the Jamaican Ministry of Education, in collaboration with

schools in the UK and Jamaica. JAMAICA 2000 has active links with the British Council’s ‘Global Schools Partnership’ and many other organisations involved in innovative educational approaches.

The Widening Horizons Project will play an important role in the celebrations of the Jamaican 50th Anniversary of Independence, with an emphasis on our shared history and to celebrate sporting activity in the 2012 Olympics.

Waverley School is proud to announce that it will be working collaboratively with

The Winston Jones School in Mandeville, and will work on an assignment based on global and social issues. We believe that both schools will be learning together and learning from each other and want to maintain the partnership.

National Maritime Museum Trip 21st November 2011 ‘Miss, when I stand on this line I am in the east and west zone of the world, how can that be?’

Year 11 and Year 12 Business Studies students visited the National Maritime Museum.

The students could see a real business and how the Customer Services and Marketing Department operated. These topics were delivered by Rebecca Swann with her colleagues so the students had the opportunity to be able to complete their coursework assignments with some help from the experts. It was an enjoyable day had by all and was completed when the students stood on the line marking the GMT time zone.

Staff: Mr. Mirza Head of ICT Department, Ms. Taitt Head of Business Studies, Ms. Khanom Business Studies Teacher, Mrs. Bassi (Assistant Headteacher ICTAC) and Mr. Kamara (Assistant Headteacher Pastoral Care and Guidance)

Institute of Asian Businesses Award Ceremony at the Hilton Hotel Birmingham 26th November 2011

The Head invited colleagues and Year 12 Level 3 Business Studies students to the Institute of Asian Businesses annual Awards Ceremony. This opportunity allowed the students to see what they can achieve if they work hard and have the highest aspirations.

It was a very enjoyable evening and one that the students will never forget as they met so many professionals who were an inspiration to them. Students remarked that, ‘It was wonderful and we got the feel of what it is like to be successful businessmen. It was great being a part of this environment’, and asked, ‘Can we go again next year?’

ICT From Left: Mrs Sohal, Mr Healey, Mr Kamara, Qais Altaf, Zak Hanif, Mr Hanif (Head Teacher), Sarosh Hanif, Yasser Ishaque, Hassan Razive, Mrs Taitt

The ICT department are delivering a project in collaboration with our partner schools in Pakistan with Year 7s1.

Junaid Rahman, Hamza Ahmed and Hamza Wahid undertook independent research to learn more about our partner schools.

A press conference was held with Mr Mirza and Mr Healey Also, a video conference was set up to communicate with pupils from Pakistan.

Mr Mirza and several students from Year 7, Zoya Amar, Maria Ali and Salma Jehangir communicated with the pupils from Pakistan. Some Year 11’s were also involved.

Sahmira Suleman ICT Teacher

PE

There has been a busy and productive term in the PE Department, with extracurricular clubs proving to be very successful. A wide variety of clubs are available for pupils, which are organised and run by PE teachers within the Department.

Other football teams have played lots of games, without as much success.

However, the participation at football clubs has been fantastic across all year groups and hopefully it is just a matter of time until results start to improve!

The Year 7 football team have arguably been the most successful of all teams, coached by Mr Lloyd. They are currently near the top of their league, having defeated many opponents since September.

Each year group has played approximately four games each and players are enjoying representing Waverley School on a regular basis.

An indoor football tournament on Wednesday 7th December may be a chance for Years 10 and 11 to taste success, in a tournament at the NIA, against other from across the city. It is a 6 a side tournament.

Girls Netball has also been very popular, coached by Mrs Palmer. They have played two games so far and have another game coming up against Yardleys School. The club has been especially popular with Year 9 girls.

A table tennis tournament at Golden Hillock School saw Abdallah DaSilva win ‘Player of the Tournament’. Years 9, 10

Girls’ Netball

come l ’l e w e m i t t x Ne rophy back with a t

and 11 were represented and all players did very well throughout the competition.

Mr Ebanks and Mr Lloyd have also hosted and organised whole-school table tennis tournament within Waverley, in the hall after schools. The KS3 and KS4 tournament were very popular.

A PE Year 8 trip to the NIA saw 15 pupils rewarded for working hard in their lessons.

The pupils had a chance to watch The World Trampolining Championships, which proved immensely popular and gave pupils a chance to meet athletes and citizens from across the world, as well as seeing some elite performances.

Mr Andrews will also be starting a Boxing Club in the New Year Mr Sturmey Head of PE Department

Waverley Cricket Academy In September 2011, the Waverley Cricket Academy, opened in partnership with Warwickshire County Cricket Club began taking in students.

16-19 year old students with a talent for the sport, either batting, bowling, fielding or umpiring are being given the chance to become first class cricketers with the best coaching and support possible.

On Thursday 20th October, the Waverley School Netball Team, consisting of:

Jakia Chaudhury, Zakiyah Farhat, Saima Khan, Haneen Al- Hadad, Tasnima Akhtar and Zam Zam Ali, attended a Netball Tournament hosted by Bordesley Green School.

The team all left the school in a cheerful, optimistic mood and soon arrived after an entertaining sing song in the minibus.

1-0 up against Bordesley Green but in a sudden turn…Bordesley Green equalized and the game ended in a draw.

The team said, ‘We arrived and started training straight away with ‘Coach Palmer’ shouting her tactics at us…….’ The game had begun!

The final game was against Small Heath.

Waverley totally dominated the game but time was running out and we just couldn’t get the final shot. The only consolation was that we won this game!

The first game against Golden Hillock ended in 1-0 loss after a very physical, close game. In the second game the team had learnt from their mistake and were

The team left pleased and said, ‘Next time we’ll come back with a trophy’.

WAVERLEY SCHOOL - THE FIRST PURPOSE BUILT ALL THROUGH SCHOOL IN BIRMINGHAM Hob Moor Road, Small Heath, Birmingham B10 9BT E: enquiry@waverley.bham.sch.uk 0 - 19 ‘Serving Children, Young People and Families’

Tel: 0121 464 1780 www.waverley@bham.sch.uk Designed and produced by WavePrint 0121 454 9441 info@waveprint.co.uk

The students will follow a personalised programme and will train to develop their professional skills, complete coaching, umpiring and groundsmanship qualifications all endorsed by Edgbaston Cricket Ground and the Institute of Groundsmanship. Students will also act as Ambassadors working with local primary and secondary schools The Cricket Academy will also link with the local community and raise the aspirations of all the young people in the area to become world class competitors, whatever their sport.