Newsletter autumn 2015

Wilson Stuart School

Wilson Stuart SchoolAutumn Term A Special Academy

Newsletter Autumn 2015

D

ear Parents,

Our new building is now complete after 8 long months! The result has been a dramatic change and a tremendous improvement - if you have seen it I am sure you will agree. The development has created a real buzz in school and everyone seems very appreciative of these wonderful new facilities. It will be officially opened during our Open Day on January 21st. which Jack Dromey MP and Colin Diamond, Birmingham’s Director of Education will be attending.

We have had a very festive run up to Christmas and a lot of fun in school. Our Christmas Bazaar raised an amazing £2240 for school fund – thank you to so many parents who supported the event. Everybody at Wilson Stuart, both pupils and staff, have worked very hard this term and really do deserve a well-earned break. I hope you enjoy a happy and peaceful Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

SteveHughes - Head Teacher

Sir Mike Tomlinson’s Visit

PMLD’s magical visit to the Theatre

In November we were honoured by a visit from Sir Mike Tomlinson, Birmingham's Commissioner of Education. He came to talk to us about our challenges and to see our successes. He stayed at school for two hours and following the visit sent us this message:

Galileo and Chaplin visited the Birmingham Repertory Theatre to watch The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.

“Wilson Stuart is an outstanding and inspiring school, working very hard to provide the best possible education for all its students. The HIVE, offering a vocational pathway to students aged 19 to 26, is particularly innovative and greatly appreciated by the students I met.

The staff are to be congratulated for their hard work and commitment, supported by the outstanding leadership offered by the Head Teacher and his senior management team.”

We should all feel very proud of that!!!!

The production included amazing set design of the land of Narnia with a snowy landscape. We felt like we had been transported into the kingdom as the characters walked through the magical wardrobe. Our favourite part was when Aslan the lion appeared on stage towering over the audience controlled by puppeteers.

We were so lucky to meet the cast and congratulate them on their fantastic performance. Mr Tummnus was lovely and told us about how they brought the story of Narnia alive during rehearsals. He was very excited to hear how we had made our own Narnia at school during sensory story time.

We all had a brilliant time and can’t wait to visit again.

Keep up to date with news on our website: www.wilsonstuart.co.uk

Wilson Stuart School

TV celebrity gardener visits students

A popular TV celebrity gardener recently visited Wilson Stuart Special School to help launch a new horticultural area and hear about plans for the creation of a sensory garden.

Alan Gardner from Channel 4′s The Autistic Gardener, met with a group of the school’s 19 – 25 year old students, who all do practical horticultural activities as part of their course work. He started the day by officially opening a new replacement poly tunnel, now renamed as the Tube, which will be used to cultivate a range of plants and seasonal vegetables as well as producing hanging baskets for sale. ”It was a real pleasure to meet the students and see how enthusiastic they are about horticulture. In my television programme I was keen to spread the message that it is all about ability not disability so it’s great to see facilities like this being used to develop new skills and knowledge.” said Alan.

A question and answer session closed the day with students keen to find out what it was like to be a TV celebrity and why Alan had decided to dye his hair red!

Celebrating Guru Nanak’s Birthday We celebrated Guru Nanak's Birthday at the end of November, and learned about his life and the Sikh religion during a special celebration day.

Students across school attended workshops to learn about the 5 Ks, the Sikh flag and how to tie a turban.

In the Punjabi tradition, we also had bhangra dancing, and cooked and ate some spicy delights.

Autumn Term

MacMillan Coffee Morning On 25th September the school hosted its annual MacMillan Coffee Morning to raise money for the fabulous charity that does so much to support families affected by Cancer. It’s proven to be a great success in the past and this year was no exception, as we raised our highest total ever! As well as scrumptious cakes and sweet treats, we also included a savoury stall and a raffle. Visitors could guess how many calories were in a display of chocolate bars and also guess how many spots were on a cake. Staff and students worked incredibly hard making tea and serving cakes to bus guides, parents and members of the public. The highlight of the day was Teaching Assistant Ed completing a ‘Bruce Bogtrotter’ challenge of eating a whole chocolate cake in assembly. A great time was had by all over £900 was raised! Thank you to all who supported us

Prince’s Trust Students Teach Their Peers!

On Monday 9th November and Thursday 12th November, students from 5.1 and 5.2 studying for the Prince’s Trust Award taught fellow sixth formers in 5.4 as part of their “Teamwork” unit.

The students were divided into 4 teams who were then responsible for devising, planning, resourcing and delivering either a numeracy or literacy lesson to 5.4. They even had to make sure that they directed the staff!

This task pushed our 5.1 and 5.2 students out of their comfort zone and made them really consider all aspects of working in a team. They did incredibly well and 5.4 responded to their lessons with enthusiasm.

Keep up to date with news on our website: www.wilsonstuart.co.uk

Wilson Stuart School

6th form residential to Hereward College

On Wednesday 14th October, 11 Year 13 students and 8 members of staff headed off to Coventry for the first ever 6th Form residential!

We were based at “The Lodge” which is a selfcatering facility run by Hereward College and the focus throughout was Life Skills and giving our students the chance to do things for themselves.

When we arrived students created their own Life Skills goals sheet and then got to work on achieving them! One of the first challenges was organising and cooking a roast dinner for 11 people. Shawn Brittle in 5.1 took charge and as a group they produced a fantastic meal showing real independence and teamwork. The students were highly motivated to do as much for themselves as they could – such as: making hot drinks, preparing their own food, brushing their own teeth and hair, putting their own splints on, choosing their own clothes and dressing themselves – the list could go on and on!

Other activities included a great sports afternoon run by Ben Virgo and a film and pizza night as well as sessions looking at challenges, decision making, and facing our fears. It was lovely to see students from 4 different classes come together to form closer friendships and help each other achieve their goals. Their support for each other was truly impressive.

Autumn Term

4.2 see the pre-launch Movie On 4th November, 4.2 went to the cinema at the Midlands Art Centre as part of the “Into Film Festival” to see the prelaunch of the documentary-film “He Named Me Malala” This film is an intimate portrait of Malala Yousafzai, who was wounded when Taliban gunmen opened fire on her and her friends’ school bus in Pakistan’s Swat Valley. The then 15-year-old teenager, who had been targeted for speaking out on behalf of girls’ education in her region of Swat Valley in Pakistan, was shot in the head, sparking international media outrage. She was flown to Britain for specialist medical treatment at the QE Hospital in Birmingham and has remained in the city to complete her GCSE and A Level studies. An educational activist in Pakistan, Yousafzai has since emerged as a leading campaigner for the rights of children worldwide and in December 2014, became the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.

4.2 learnt a lot about how in some parts of the world, not everybody are allowed to enjoy a fulfilling education and in some cases like Malala, they are putting themselves in danger by even going to school! At the end of the film there was a live link-up to Malala’s school in Birmingham, where she was interviewed by the actress Emma Watson.

CBSO Sound and Ability workshop On the 19th November, 2 string players and a Clarinettist led a 2 hour “Music and Ability Workshop” with group 3.4.

They had a lovely afternoon listening to our visiting musicians and then trying out their instruments.

There was a double bass, a clarinet and a violin player. But the pupils went on to explore lots of other sounds, linking the sounds to shape and colour, using tactile resources as a way of creating soundscapes and sound effects for a short story. 3.4 were able to tap into lots of transferable skills in such a fun way.

All our CBSO friends were so complimentary about our school, but particularly about our pupils.

It may have only been for a couple of nights but this residential showed students just what they were capable of and the staff were immensely proud of their attitude when faced with new challenges and experiences.

Keep up to date with news on our website: www.wilsonstuart.co.uk

Wilson Stuart School

Autumn Term

PMLD Join The Carnival Band On Monday the 23rd November the PMLD department had the Big Top Music Company come in to deliver a multisensory musical workshop in the Les Hayes Hall. They delivered a thematic Carnival experience to enhance our exploration of our theme of winter and celebrations.

Chaplin, Galileo, Turtles and Ladybirds all had their own individual sessions where each pupil had a different roles to play in the production.

All the pupils had an opportunity to join the parade to prepare for the carnival, dress up, join the band and explore the sounds of the samba among other things.

Some of the parents joined us on the sensory journey we travelled on and took away different possibilities in engaging their children with music at home.

4.3 Visit holiday superstore On Tuesday 1st December, 4.3 travelled to Thomson Holiday Superstore at The Fort Shopping Centre as part of their geography coursework to learn about features of tourism. Everyone was super excited to ask the travel agents our questions and go on a tour around the superstore!

On arrival, we were greeted with an extremely warm welcome from the Thomson team. During the tour, led by the deputy manager, we learned about short haul and long haul destinations including new destinations such as Costa Rica and Sri Lanka – we were amazed! Following that, we browsed through several brochures in search of our perfect holiday destination then used a huge interactive map to locate them.

Next, we were able to interview the travel agents to gain insightful and informative information for our coursework. Before we left, we also had the chance to explore currencies used in different countries.

Giraffes local history tour of Perry Common Giraffes and pupils from Storywood and St Margret Mary's Primary schools have been involved with a local history project to discover the history of Perry Common. The project started with the 2 schools coming to Wilson Stuart on 18th November for a morning to learn about local history. Then we all went on a local tour of the area on November 26th to investigate the housing developments, road developments and green space developments in Perry Common. Development started in 1995 to replace the old concrete boot houses that had developed cracks and were becoming unsafe to live in.

The redevelopment has continued for 20 years and is now almost complete. The local community have been involved in the planning of the new estates and much thought has gone into road safety, house design and open space provision. Linda Hinds led the tour today with Patrice Johnson from Perry Common and Me, proving support.

Unfortunately it was a bit wet, but we all had a good time.

After Christmas we will be visiting the other 2 primary schools to compare what history has been learnt and to finish off with a tea dance involving the local community in February.

Dates for the Diary Jan

Feb

Mar

04 05 05-22 14 21 25 27 01-12 02 11 12 12 15-19 22 29 03 7-11 18 24

Teacher Training Day Pupils Return to School Mock Exams Young Voices Concert Open Day Parents Maths Workshop PMLD Parents Morning Y13 & Y14 Work Placements Parents English Workshop Parents eSafety Workshop 19-25 Parents Breakfast PFPA Valentine’s Disco Half Term Break Teacher Training Day PFPA Guest Speaker School Photographer KS4 & KS5 Parent’s Evening Bendirgg Lodge Residential Sports Relief Term Ends - pupils leave at 2pm

Keep up to date with news on our website: www.wilsonstuart.co.uk