Wilson Stuart School
Wilson Stuart SchoolSummer Term A Special Academy
Newsletter Summer 2013
W
ell, it is hard to believe we have come to the end of our school year. We have enjoyed an exciting and productive year, and it has been really nice to finish it off with some lovely sunny weather.
We are saying goodbye to four members of staff in July. We are losing three of our Teaching Assistants. Hassan Matin is leaving us to re-locate to Cumbria, Jumoke Richards is going off to travel the world and Natalie Standley is leaving to train as a Teacher. All three have been fantastic members of our team and we wish them well in their future careers. Barbara Hunter is retiring after over 30 years of service as a Teacher and Head of our Outreach Service. Barbara has enjoyed a long and outstanding career here and has always involved herself in every aspect of school life and activities. She has for many, many years served on the WSA and helped plan and organise the Garden Party and other fund-raising events. She really has epitomised what is a true “Wilson Stuart person”. We wish her well in her retirement. All of our staff have worked tremendously hard this year. We are very fortunate to have such an outstanding team, and at every level their commitment and dedication to the children and school is evident. I have been very pleased with the growing partnership and contribution from our parents; many have attended training events in order to support their child’s learning during the year. There is a great deal of evidence to show how important parental support is in helping children make progress, and we really value this contribution. Many of our families also attended the Garden Party on a beautiful day and we were delighted to have raised over £2900 for school fund. September will see the start of our new 19-25 student programme, with our partners, University College Birmingham. This is a tremendously exciting development and illustrates the desire of Wilson Stuart to continue to improve and develop what we can offer to our students. If we work together the sky is the limit, and on the subject of sky, whether you are flying away across the world, or relaxing at home in the sunshine, I hope you enjoy a great holiday.
Steve Hughes Head Teacher
Primary Residential
Bhangra Dance Workshops
On May 7th-10th, some Primary pupils went away on a residential visit to the Pioneer Centre in Cleobury Mortimer. Pupils stayed away for 3 nights and participated in a range of activities including a camp fire, an inflatable course, team games, bowling and a disco.
On Friday 19th April, all the students celebrated Vaisakhi, which represents a harvest celebration and the arrival of a New Year for our Sikh followers. We invited Jag and Anil from Dance Ansar into school to teach us a harvest themed dance. Everyone learnt the dance during workshops throughout the day and then the whole school performed the dance together in a special Baisakhi assembly at the end of the day led by some very enthusiastic staff members. We were joined by parents and relatives during the day and everyone involved learnt a lot about a new religious festival and also had a good physical workout while dancing the day away!
We also visited the Wyre Forest for a ranger led arts morning which the children really enjoyed. This year the Pioneer Centre have made some of their activities more wheelchair accessible and for the first time, the children were able to wheelchair abseil and climb with assistance. It was a fantastic experience for the children who loved every moment.
“...for the first time, the children were able to wheelchair abseil and climb with assistance.” www.wilsonstuart.co.uk
Wilson Stuart School
Summer Term
1 Voice Charity Fundraiser
YMCA Visit On Thursday 2nd May, 3.1 visited the YMCA Orchard in Erdington where they met the Manager Ed Lawrence, Support Worker Jamie Spence and resident Vishane Bent. The pupils asked questions they had prepared in advance and found the visit informative. The honest answers given by Vishane changed their perspective about homeless people and gave them an understanding of the issues that they face and the support available. The visit was part of an English project on the topic of homelessness. The group are currently reading a play version of ‘Stone Cold’ by Robert Swindells where the central character ‘Link’ finds himself homeless and tells of his experiences.
Pupils from the Communication group held a fund raising event in aid of 1 Voice charity. The students, who use hi tech communication aids, planned a coffee morning and raffle raising over £300. They worked on the publicity, guest list, nagged parents to make cakes, and decided who would do the washing up. The 1 Voice charity is close to their hearts because it promotes "A world where the voice of every child and adult, however they communicate, is listened to and heard".
Employability Day On Wednesday 24th April we had five employees come into Wilson Stuart to work with the year 14 students to improve their personal CV’s and then have an opportunity for an interview.
“...changed their perspective about homeless people.”
Black Country Museum
The employers who attended were from Cadburys, Aston Villa and Service Birmingham. All the students arrived at school dressed for the occasion with the boys in particular looking very much the part in their suits. The students were each able to work independently with an employee to identify their skills, qualities and experiences. Each student was then interviewed by three employees in a “real” interview situation. Following their interview each student was given feedback on their performance at interview. Both the employees and the students found the experience very rewarding.
On Wednesday 10th July, Monkey’s class went to the Black Country Museum for the day as part of our Victorian topic in History. The village was set out like Victorian times with a range of periodical shops to visit. The children learnt about Victorian life including what the homes were like and what the shops were like as well as taking part in a school lesson as it would have been in Victorian times. The children also watched the blacksmith making real chains and enjoyed every minute. Great Day! www.wilsonstuart.co.uk
Wilson Stuart School
Summer Term
Twycross Zoo Visit
Primary Makaton Fun Day
As part of their PSD entry level 1 course, “Making The Most of Leisure Time”, 5.3 headed off to Twycross Zoo on Monday 1st July. The sun was shining and it was an excited group of students who entered the zoo to be greeted by the lively chatter of the many monkeys homed there. Next we visited the elephants and camels before having the rather daunting experience of watching a pair of amorous giant tortoises!!! After that excitement we went to lunch and sat right next to the window where the snow leopard was also munching his way through a meaty feast. With lunch over we saw the bush dogs, penguins, flamingos and walked through the aviary. We then went on a Gorilla hunt and were amazed by the power and majesty of the creatures. All too soon it was time for a quick trip around the gift shop before loading back onto the bus. We all had a really lovely time.
Parents Numeracy Experience On Wednesday 5th June the Maths Faculty provided a training session for parents. The Parents Numeracy Experience was split into two sessions. The initial session was focused on how to use Numicom, which will be introduced into the school from September. The second session was focused on the parents joining their children in a lesson which demonstrated the use of Maths across the curriculum. Numicom is a set of practical materials which are used to support the children in many Maths activities helping them to understand numbers in a new way. The parents who attended either joined their child’s Primary Maths lesson or for the Secondary parents they either joined a Maths, Science or Food technology lesson which contained an element of maths.
On Thursday 11th July a Makaton Fun Day was arranged for the whole of the Primary Department by the Communication Team. The theme this year was holidays and everyone had the opportunity to learn lots of new signs. The children wrote their own script for a Puppet Show and performed for an audience in assembly, there was a Seaside Treasure Hunt in the grounds of the school. Some pupils made Candy Floss, Ice Cream or Popcorn (and sampled it)! And some people packed a case to go on holiday and designed and made their own Passports and postcards. We were all lucky enough to be joined by Alvis the Donkey and have a photograph taken with him. The only thing missing was a beach to laze on but at least we had the glorious sunshine to make the day fantastic. Twenty Five pupils from Storywood School also joined us and lots of fun and signing was had by all.
“And some people packed a case to go on holiday and designed and made there own Passports ...”
Local History On 5th July, The Birmingham Museums came to Wilson Stuart to tell us about two of Birmingham's famous people - Mathew Boulton and Thomas Holte. Pupils from Y9, 10 and 11 learnt about how they lived and what they did for Birmingham. The pupils dressed up in some of the clothes they would have worn at the time and learnt about the ghost of Aston Hall as well as how Sir Thomas Holte was supposed to have killed his own cook!! Many thanks to Lisa Williamson from the museum for an interesting day.
www.wilsonstuart.co.uk
Wilson Stuart School
Summer Term
Drayton Manor with Rotary Club
Bosworth Battle Bonanza
The children in the Early Years Department at Wilson Stuart School had a fantastic day out at Drayton Manor on Wednesday 12th June thanks to the members of Wylde Green Rotary Club. Volunteers from the Rotary Club even spent the day helping the children have a wonderful time by pushing the children in their chairs, sitting with them on the rides and most of all becoming best friends with them! The children managed to go on lots of rides and every single child had a great time. Even the weather was kind and rain stayed away until everyone was safely home. So thank you once again to Wylde Green Rotary Club for organising this day for us- we are already looking forward to next year!
On the 13th May, Columbus and Newton went to a sensational Tudor era day out to the Battle of Bosworth Heritage Centre and Country Park. Firstly we saw an owl called Hector, and a peregrine falcon called Oscar. The pupils held the birds of prey, whilst we learnt about how they hunted. Each bird weighed about the same as a pint of beer, and had razor sharp talons. We were shown Captain Mortimer who rallied the children round his tent and explained warfare during the period, demonstrating various weapons. Peasant farmers would still be expected to fight along side the most prestigious of knights. They would have to use pitchforks, bow & arrows, swords, maces, shields in order to win the battle. After lunch we went to the interactive exhibition which brought to life the story of the battle of Bosworth, which followed the journey of Richard and Henry as they fought for the throne of England.
Green Lane Mosque Visit
We would like to say a big thank you to the Bosworth Heritage centre for hosting such a great day out.
Dates for the Diary Sep
Oct
As part of their ASDAN course 4.4 Visited Green Lane Mosque, where they looked at the features and design elements of the mosque. They also had the opportunity to ask the Imam (priest) questions about Islam that they had discussed in lessons prior to the visit.
Nov
e. Visit news any tim re o m r fo e Go onlin k
Dec
t.co.u r a u t s n o s il www.w to read on
2 3 20 24-25 27 11 15-27 24 25 5 7 13 15 21 29 11 12 16 18 19 20
www.wilsonstuart.co.uk
Teacher training day Students return to school Jeans for Genes Day 14 Transition reviews McMillan Coffee Morning Harvest festival Y11 Transition reviews Students break for half-term Teacher Training Day Parent numeracy IMPACT training Whole school parents evening Parent literacy & PMLD experience Y11 & Y14 awards evening Open day Christmas Bazaar Primary Concert PFPA Christmas shop Mince pie morning Primary carol service Secondary concert Secondary carol service End of term - students leave 2pm