awhitefield cademy news · excellent christmas concerts, captured in photographs on pages 6 and 7...
TRANSCRIPT
Coming up… Dates for your diary.
Page 12
AcademyJoseph Clarke School Plans for a new training café put employability centre stage, plus our Mosaic roundels appear at Highams Park.
Pages 4-5
Goodbye to P-levels The way we measure and talk about pupil progress is beginning to change as we introduce our own measures.
Page 2
Festive displays The schools and local churches have been a-buzz with performances, fayres, and concerts.
Pages 6-7
Research Unlocked The sixth symposium focused on vision impairment education where understanding and technology is moving apace.
Page 11
News
Whitefield
For Whitefield and Joseph Clarke Schools Spring 2020
SEARCH update Some interesting new placements for our group of interns, plus the first new permanent job this year!
Page 9
Both Joseph Clarke and Whitefield Schools’ annual awards ceremonies were bigger than ever this year. Not only did both see great turn-out – thank you to everyone who came along – but we saw a record number of awards made too!
Joseph Clarke School saw 60 ASDANs, AQA and functional accreditations awarded – the largest proportion of students getting awards to-date. The school believes that the personalised curriculum system that has been introduced over the last few years is a major factor: every student now has an individually tailored pathway, based on their strengths and needs.
Niels Chapman School also had its largest awards evening to date. For the first year the school gave AQA awards for PE in science and as a result over 150 awards
were made, celebrating success for students across Maths, English, Science, PE and ASDAN.
A special thank-you to the wonderful musicians from both schools who entertained us. Our thanks, too, to Whitefield Academy Trust Chair Caroline Sheppard who presented the awards at Joseph Clarke School and to long-time member of Whitefield Development Trust, the newly knighted Sir Iain Duncan Smith who officiated at the Niels Chapman awards evening.
Our biggest award ceremonies yet!
Students show off their certificates at Joseph Clarke School (top) and Niels Chapman Secondary School (below) events
F A M I L Y S U P P O R T
Dear parents/carers and colleagues
At the start of a new decade, I wish you all a very Happy New Year.
In January we do tend to look back and plan for the future and at Whitefield Academy we have done just that.
In the last decade two schools, Whitefield Schools and Centre and Joseph Clarke came together to become a multi-academy Trust. Together as schools we have increased our size to offer more pupils the opportunity to have quality education. We have built and refurbished areas of Whitefield schools, increased the number of classrooms, refurbished the therapy pool and developed a
state-of-the-art sensory room to name just a few areas. The Research and Development Centre has been completely refurbished allowing the very best facilities for all staff to learn, research and share knowledge widely in the education community.
Thank you to our charitable friends Most of the refurbishment has been funded by the charity which supports Whitefield Schools and more latterly the Trust. The Whitefield Development Trust has been raising funds for over 30 years. Friends of Whitefield is a charity which directly supports pupils and families. They have raised funds for school outings, for example as well as buses and Christmas presents.
Joseph Clarke school underwent a major build and refurbishment programme, which was completed last year to make it a quality building for all students, in particular those with visual impairment. This was funded by the Department for Education. The school has been supported by its own charity – the Joseph Clarke School Trust – which has been extremely active in providing funding for residential visits and specialist equipment for pupils who are visually impaired.
In fact, all parts of the trust have benefitted from the dedication, kindness and
enthusiasm of all the schools’ charities who have supported the children and staff over long periods of time. I would like to say a big thank you to all those charities who have made a real difference to all our young peoples lives and enhanced their progress.
Looking forward to the next couple of years plans are developing to create a training Café on some land opposite Joseph Clarke School. The plans are heading for planning permission at the Local Authority right now. The Café will enhance the great opportunities we already have through Project SEARCH to train people for employment. We are ordering a new fleet of busses to continue our curriculum work outside of school.
The reception area for Whitefield is very busy so will be re-designed to offer more space and comfort for students, parents and visitors. We are repainting and refurbishing kitchens and bathrooms in certain parts of the school and upgrading outdoor spaces.
Exciting and busy times ahead ensuring the very best learning opportunities for all our young people.
— Elaine Colquhoun OBECEO, Whitefield Academy Trust
F A M I L Y S U P P O R T
It’s the time of year when snow is a possibility. We make every effort to keep the schools open. However, there may be times when we are not able to open a school without putting pupils or staff at risk and we may need, very reluctantly, to close for the day or to send pupils home early.
When deciding whether to open the school, we look at:
• current weather conditions and the local weather forecast• road reports and reports on public transport (so that we can judge
whether pupils and staff will be able to attend school)• whether home-school transport is running• whether it is safe to drive onto the school site• whether it is safe to move around the school site
The CEO will make her decision by 7.00 a.m. at the latest and earlier if possible. Parents will receive a text message if the school is closed to pupils. Information will also be posted on the school website and Twitter feed.
On snowy or icy days when the school is open, we may close early or allow transport to leave site early so that everyone can get home
safely and in good time. Parents will be informed by the transport providers or by text from the school.
Snow and school closures We make every effort to keep the schools open. If the school will be closed, we will send you a text message by 7am.
Looking back on a decade of change – with more to come
We’re always interested in hearing your views
There is a lot to look forward to this term. However I am going to sneak in one look back with a huge thank you to staff and a huge ‘well done’ to pupils for December’s excellent Christmas concerts, captured in photographs on pages 6 and 7 Were they the best concerts ever? I think so.
The focus of Whitefield Schools’ School Improvement Plan is the development of curriculum and assessment. Lesson observations show that children and young people enjoy their activities but we need to keep asking ourselves whether we are
teaching them the skills they need and capturing in our assessment the progress they make. This term we are prioritising literacy in all its forms – sharing stories, understanding symbols, reading words, learning letter sounds and making sense of written information. There will be a guidance document on our website soon and a workshop for parents and we are investing in new reading materials. In recent years special schools have been obliged to use ‘P-levels’ to measure progress. Now we are allowed to develop our own approaches – see the article below.
Curriculum week this term has a green theme. Classes will be growing plants in and around the school and on our allotment and taking part in other activities linked to the green agenda. The adults are making a contribution too, with each of our services working towards a green commitment such as using less paper and investing in energy saving equipment.
As a school we really want to hear parents’ views. For the last few years we have sent out a questionnaire to parents but it seems
the impact of this is wearing off as the number of responses is dropping. We are trying a new approach this year by including a short questionnaire with invitations to PCRs and asking parents to bring their completed forms to the meeting. In this way we hope to capture views from more of you. Of course, you don’t have to wait for a PCR to share your thoughts, ideas, praise or suggestions or to raise any concerns – feel free to contact your child’s teacher, the Family Support Team or the Head of School at any part of the year.
Help keep our pupils safe Finally, a request for your help. If you have been on site recently you will have seen a renewed focus on security. We await plans for a new design for the front of the school which will make it even more secure. In the meantime, please can I ask all visitors to the site to be vigilant in keeping the children and young people safe by making sure you wait for gates to shut behind you before walking or driving on.
— Laura Pease Principal, Whitefield Schools
Saying goodbye to P-Levels and hello to milestonesThe next time you’re discussing your child’s progress with their teacher, you may notice that the way we measure how they are doing is beginning to change.
Up until now, special schools across the country have measured progress using “P-levels”; a set of standards linked to the National Curriculum. The problem with P-levels is that they weren’t a great way of actually assessing how young people with special needs were progressing – and they were also closely linked to National Curriculum levels – which no longer exist.
The government is now phasing them out and opening the way for schools to create better systems that match the needs of their pupils more closely.
Whitefield and Joseph Clarke Schools are replacing P-levels with our own system of ‘milestones’. It will take a while to completely change since we
need to create a system of milestones for each curriculum area. However we have finished the first area, Communication, and these milestones are now in use at Whitefield Schools. Joseph Clarke School is tweaking them a little to more closely reflect how learners with vision impairment communicate, and will be introducing them soon.
The Communication milestones are divided into two groups – “Receptive milestones”, that look at a student’s ability to understand, and “Expressive Milestones” that mark their ability to make themselves understood. They are designed to be easy to understand and simple to use.
You can find the full list of Communication milestones at www.whitefield.org.uk/milestones
We will be adding the milestones for reading very shortly., followed by maths.
Thank you to everyone at both Whitefield and Joseph Clarke Schools who baked, iced, bought and ate cakes at our MacMillan coffee morning events last term. Together, we raised
£544 for a very good cause.
S E Q U O I A C L U B
As part of Borough of Culture events, students visited the ‘Arboria Luminarium’ in Loyds Park. On the outside a massive inflatable, inside a labyrinth of brightly coloured tunnels
Happy New Year everyone! 2020 has arrived and we are looking forward to the opportunities ahead. Spring time is a lovely time of year and a period of growth, where we see new life all around us. This term we will continue working with Organiclea, which is a community food project based in the Lea Valley and our students enjoy learning about horticulture. We also hope to reap the benefits of our students’ hard work growing a range of vegetables in our own greenhouse here at Joseph Clarke School.
In January we have been invited to the annual Price Cooper Waterhouse pantomime at the Peacock Theatre in London. Our students have again been invited to a ‘Touch Tour’ prior to the show where they will have the opportunity to meet the characters and explore the props that will be used in the performance. This is always an enjoyable experience for staff and students alike.
Following the success of the swimming lessons with one of our primary classes, one of our secondary groups will begin lessons this term. The primary class will continue with lessons this term and build on the skills developed last term. We are delighted to see so many of our young people taking those first independent strokes and learning to swim.
We will be running two parent workshops this term. One will be led by our Habilitation team focus on mobility skills in the outside environment. The other will focus on our Positive Behaviour Support approach.
An opera company will be visiting us in March and our students will be watching ‘The Extraordinary Adventures of You and Me’. They will meet the hero, Mackenzie, and will go on an exciting adventure through time and space with him.
Some of our students will be taking part in an 8 week breakdancing course, where they will be exploring body movement through sound effects and will be improving their spatial awareness.
Our students will also continue to create and develop their own pre-recorded radio shows with DJ Spoon. Feedback from the students has been very positive and they are enjoying the creative and independent element of the sessions..
— Chadia Filali-Moutei Acting Headteacher, Joseph Clarke School
J O S E P H C L A R K E S C H O O L
From mobility skills to learning breakdance
A big thank you to everyone who joined us on the Joseph Clarke School Trust ‘Owl Walk’ – we raised nearly £300 and had a lot of fun.
Story teller John Kirk visited last term, telling a story that bought a walk through Walthamstow market alive through its sounds, smells, textures - and the sights too, by clever use of tactile photos.
Our under-16 boys’ team enjoyed taking part in a tournament last term arranged by Tottenham Hotspur Foundation against other schools.
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P E T E R T U R N E R P R I M A R Y S C H O O L
J O S E P H C L A R K E S C H O O L
If you travel through Highams Park mainline station, you can’t help notice two new mosaic ‘roundels’ – one on the platform, the other on an outside wall.
The pieces were created by students from Joseph Clarke School with finishing touches by members of the public all guided by artist Maud Milton and her team of volunteers. Students painted the individual mosaic pieces early last year
and then these were taken away for firing.
Last term the students - and staff - carefully chose titles and made them into the finished design by gluing them to a mesh backing. Members of the public also got involved, choosing and placing the last of the tiles in an open session in the station itself.
Once the glue had dried Maud’s team fixed them to the walls and grouted them in. The result are true works of art and should last for decades.
The mosaics were commissioned as part of the London Borough of Culture events programme. You can see Maud’s photos of the process - and some videos at:
www.instagram.com/maudmilton
Whitefield Academy Trust will submit plans for a new community training café to the council later this month. If accepted and if consultation with local residents goes well – construction of the new café in the park opposite Joseph Clarke School could begin this summer.
The project is designed to provide real work experience and community engagement for Joseph Clarke and Whitefield Schools students –
both those interested in the catering and hospitality sector, and also those who would like to practice more general work skills in a supportive environment.
It will also give the whole community somewhere nice to sit and have a cuppa. It’s expected that its toilets will also be open to the public as part of the Council’s Community Toilet Scheme, which will be particularly welcome to parents of young
children using the playground. The café replaces an old building that was used as a toilet block years ago. At the start the café will have modest opening hours during weekdays and be managed as a non-profit business by a professional catering tutor.
The scheme is part of the school and Academy Trust’s commitment to giving its students the best possible opportunity to enter into full-time paid employment and complements its work with Project SEARCH.
Research suggests that only 1 in 10 people with poor functional vision are in paid employment, we want to do everything we can to improve upon that.
New plans for training cafe unveiled Offering refreshment to the public, it will let students develop workplace skills
A computer rendition shows an early impression of what the cafe would look like. The details of the design are still being tweaked.
Our new mosaics brighten up the station
An early impression of the café’s interior
N I E L S C H A P M A N S C H O O L & S E A R C H
Niels Chapman Secondary School’s Christmas production of Oliver featured not just music and dance, but a splendid painted backdrop
Kalique hard at work
The festive season at Whitef
Joseph Clarke Christmas concerts were musical treats and every Primary parent received a personalised programme, featuring their child’s artwork.
Christmas crafts made by students on sale at the Friends of Whitefield Christmas Fayre
Joseph Clarke School’s hall was adorned with a large mural of flying reindeer
S E Q U O I A C L U B
St. Gabriel’s Church hosted several of our school’s carol concerts this year
ield and Joseph Clarke SchoolsMargret Brearley School’s Christmas event in the sports hall was a lively affair!
Peter Turner Primary’s concert featured many little angelsChristmas started with Margaret
Brearley School’s Christingle
Father Christmas visited children at Whitefield
N I E L S C H A P M A N S C H O O L & S E A R C H
A big thank you to all the parents who attended our wonderful Christmas play making it a great success. Secondly, we would like to welcome Melanie Hall who will be leading our Post 16 team.
This term our KS3 Stepping-On classes are learning about shapes and creating beautiful patterns in maths and art. We are also learning about the environment and the importance of light, sound and electricity in our lives. Meanwhile, our KS4 Stepping On classes will be going bowling as part of their ASDAN activities and there will be a trip to the Planetarium
at the Royal Museum Greenwich. Several KS3& 4 Stepping On classes will be visiting Lloyds Park in Walthamstow for guided birdwatching sessions.
The Climbing-Up classes are focusing on their favourite stories. Some classes are looking at stories by Roald Dahl. We will be visiting the local library and engaging with books more. In Maths we will be collecting and sorting data and information. As the weather gets warmer we will all be focusing on getting out and about more; becoming as independent as we can using transport.
In science our students will be studying Electricity and Magnetism. We will be making circuits, exploring magnets and seeing what we can do to save electricity. We will also be getting duckling eggs to hatch in March to help us get in the Easter mood!
Students in Taking Off are completing the ASDAN unit Sport and Leisure this term,
with a focus across the curriculum on making choices about sport and leisure activities as well as trying new activities and equipment. There will also be opportunities to travel to different venues to watch sporting activities.
Our year 14 students are undertaking work experience at a Harvester restaurant while some of our students will also be exploring potential next steps with groups visiting Project SEARCH (see below).
Finally, even through the winter the allotment group has continued to work hard. The major project has been building compost heaps and raised beds in an unused part of the allotment. In the upcoming curriculum week, students from across the school will have the chance to contribute to this new green space.
— Nikos Tzenas, Head of School, Niels Chapman Secondary School
Last few weeks to see our exhibition at The Mill... and for a £10 donation one of the artworks can be yours
Last term, our friends at The Mill – Walthamstow’s community centre-come-arts centre set us a challenge - create a series of art works based around the theme of ‘Mexico’.
There are many ways that Mexican culture can be explored through art, be it through an exploration of traditional crafts such as weaving, repeated geometric patterns, Mayan glyphs or iconography from the day of the dead celebrations.
Our pupils rose to the challenge manificently and you can see the results until February 7th. They are also selling the artworks for a donation.
The Mill 7-11 Coppermill Lane, Walthamstow, London E17 7HA. Open 9.30am - 6.00pm Tue-Fri. 10.00am - 2.00pm Sat-Sun
G R E E N F I N G E R S
As the new terms starts we are raring to go and looking forward to a busy term with exciting activities and events happening. This term classes in Margaret Brearley will focus on the topic of Healthy Lifestyles both inside and outside of the classroom.
Classes are looking at healthy options when preparing snacks during cookery sessions, making healthy choices when shopping and how to look after our bodies. In Yellow, pupils will participate in dance activities during PE to develop co-ordination and movement skills whilst pupils in Purple will explore the sensory aspects of planting and growing vegetables and flowers to go into our Spring garden.
Towards the end of the term we are planning a visit from some ‘furry friends’. Pupils will have the opportunity to meet and interact with a range of different animals ranging from soft and fluffy rabbits to a few reptiles for the stronger of heart.
As the weather starts to change we will celebrate our Spring Festival and hope to share with you the winners of our ‘Pledge a Veg’ competition. Following the success of our Gardening project last year, classes are experimenting with the best vegetables to grow and fierce competition is to be expected for the biggest vegetable, largest harvest or the longest runner bean. More news and progress to follow shortly.
We look forward to an adventurous term filled with celebration as our pupils learn and progress.
— Marize Lawson Head of School, Margaret Brearley School
We are starting a new year in 2020 with a spring in our step, the thirteen interns in our seventh cohort have successfully completed their first placements and our focus is on finding paid employment and developing new skills.
Former Whitefield student Frankie’s new placement has him working as Food Catering Operative, preparing food pots for the patients. In the
afternoon he will be working in the busy Outpatients areas offering patients hot drinks to brighten their day. Frankie is growing in confidence and is getting well known across Whipps Cross site for his welcoming and helpful manner.
Former Joseph Clarke students Hamzah, Ibraar and Camila have been learning new skills. Hamzah’s first placement was picking and packing food items in boxes for lunch and then delivering the boxes to many of the wards across the hospital. His second placement sees him move to being a a Main Stores Porter delivering parcels across the hospital. Ibraar’s first placement was in the Medical Engineering Department where he learnt how to service different types of complex equipment.
Ibraar is keen to do his second placement in Outpatients reception where he can enhance his great customer service skills whilst also using the computer system to book and change patient appointments.
Camila has been busy in the Plane Tree Day Centre where she is combining forms into a pack which then goes into the patient’s notes. More than 50 of
these packs are required daily. Camila is an inspiration to many people around the hospital., her motto is “Nothing is impossible for a blind person”
Jobs We are very happy to announce our first Cohort 7 Job Outcome. Fatema has been offered a Bank Partners role as a Medical Laboratory Assistant in Pathology. This is a great achievement.
Recent Highlights Whipps Cross CEO Alan Gurney invited Spurs fan Frankie to join him in welcoming the Tottenham players who were visiting the childrens’ ward and delivering Christmas presents to them. Frankie was able to get the players signatures and came dressed with the Tottenham Hotspur scarf and hat.
The interns were also kept busy during the Christmas workshop week by wrapping over one hundred and sixty presents donated by Barts Charity. The interns helped to distribute the presents to the ward managers to keep for Christmas Day so that many of the elderly patients would be able to have something to open.
Project SEARCH is a programme for young people in their last year of full-time education, designed to find them full-time, permanent employment through a series of work placements. The local Project SEARCH programme based across the Barts Health NHS Trust — and coordinated by Whitefield — launched in September 2013.
Its working well at Project SEARCH this year
Ibraar in Medical Engineering Camila organising forms Hamzah delivering lunch Frankie meets a Mr Kane of Tottenham
M A R G A R E T B R E A R L E Y S C H O O L
Peter Turner Primary will be a busy and exciting place to be this Spring term.
Pupils are already working on their new topics and preparing the corridor displays about ‘Planets and Space’, ‘Fruits and Vegetables’, ‘Our Community’ and ‘Mini Beasts’. Next time you come to our school prepare to be amazed by their excellent work.
With Spring comes sunny and longer days (fingers crossed) so our going out trips increase promoting the study of the environment and of our community. Our
pupils will carry on accessing some of their favourite spaces like the library, different shops, markets, the allotment and parks.
Classes will continue working collaboratively within the Key Stages in what we call Triads of Classes. Classes will carry on working on their Reading skills, but we also decided to do it with Physical Education lessons. The triads offer pupils the opportunity to work with colleagues and teachers from different classes within their Key Stage. This allows pupils and teachers to know each other better, access to different and positive experiences and promotes progress in different areas.
Peter Turner will join all the other schools to celebrate World Water Day and The World Book Day. There will be activities and lessons focusing on these topics promoting pupils’ imagination and participation.
Some Year 5 and 6 pupils started this week a partnership project with Gwyn Jones school. They are exploring the topic World War II in different areas. By the end of the term an Assembly with both schools will showcase the impressive work they developed.
Some of our students will also work collaboratively with a school in Turkey and a school in Spain using the eTwinning platform to facilitate their communication and to share their work.
Keeping up with the success of last term activities, we are already planning for our end of term assemblies. All pupils and classes will work actively in preparing activities to mark the end of such an exciting term. Parents and carers will obviously be invited to join and celebrate achievement in all areas.
— Paulo Da Silva Miguel, Head of School, Peter Turner Primary School
Whitefield Schools has been fortunate to have been chosen by the Barbican Centre to take part in its Associate Schools Programme – an initiative designed to help harness the power and value of creativity within teaching
Whitefield is already known for the way it builds arts and music into all aspects of its curriculum. The Barbican’s three-year partnership should help strengthen this even further.
Last term the programme kicked off with two trips to the Barbican’s Pit theatre. Both Primary and Secondary took part in, workshops and a performance of ‘To the Moon and Back ‘, a colourful and imaginative show based around the Moon
landings and that was described by the staff and students who went along as “immersive, brilliant and inspiring”.
Teachers were also invited to the Barbican for training on how everyday objects can be turned into innovative props and scenes that spark creative play
The Barbican team are returning to Whitefied in February to visit pupils in class and the and watch some arts activities that we will be putting on.
The whole project will culminate in in a jointly created show which will grow from collaborative work between the Barbican, students and school staff. Something to look forward to.
Whitefield and The Barbican are working together
G R E E N F I N G E R S
A fascinating afternoon of research stories at Whitefield Research and Development Centre began with Ifigeneia Manitsa, a PhD Researcher at Kingston University, who is working with young people from Joseph Clarke School and others to explore the factors that effect how the self-esteem of pupils with vision impairment - and how it can be maximised. Her research continues, so we wait for the next steps with eagerness.
Self esteem and confidence was also a feature of the next talk,. with our own Jessica Crisp – a teacher at
Joseph Clarke School, reflecting on the educational needs of pupils with the twin challenges of vision impairment and autism. Jessica considered the important part the senses play in planning activities to help these pupils progress as part of her Master’s research. “It is a matter of using strategies to help a child focus on her communication skills and develop them further… giving them (the students) the sense of security and improving their self-
confidence.”
When sighted people want to learn something new, the tendency is to ‘Google it.’ When young people with vision impairment want to do this, they cannot see what others see, so how then do we translate these visual 3-D images into reality? One answer lies in haptic technology, an innovative use of sensors which translate the visual image to the sense of touch. State of the art technology was tried out by Nikoleta Giannoutsou in
Joseph Clarke School earlier this year and the results were presented by Lorraine
Boyse. Joseph Clarke School was fortunate in being awarded a grant from the Royal Society for further research in partnership with the UCL Institute of Education. For the forefront of technology, watch this space!
Erasmus+ partnership at Whitefield Schools Further partnerships within an Erasmus project, funded by the British Council, were discussed by Jo Fitzsimons, the Deputy Head of Margaret Brearley School, in Whitefield Schools. Professionals from Greece, Romania, Cyprus and the UK have been
considering the differing approaches to vision impairment and are currently piloting a tool to showcase training material through an e-platform. We await the final results of the project.
Jo continued with another presentation involving her own PhD research on the role and importance of smell in supporting the education of pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties. This intriguing work required patience and advanced observation skills to attempt to show improved pupil awareness, attention and recognition. Further consideration of how this information can be used for teaching and learning strategies was made with a reflection on how individual the responses might be.
A concentration on improving lives was maintained by the two lecturers from The London College of Fashion, Tiff Radley and Julia Crew. They presented the collaborative partnership between Niels Chapman Secondary School in Whitefield Academy and some of the Masters students from the College. A video shown included how informative their students found this project to be in their understanding of autism and inclusion.
A final presentation, with a twinkle in his eye, came from Philip Agbozo, a teacher in Niels Chapman Secondary School at Whitefield Academy as part of his studies for his M.A in Education. Yes, with a twinkle in his eye, and TWINKL in his teaching, Philip is able to use this tool to help his students improve their understanding of what is being taught. See for yourself on www.twinkl.co.uk.
‘A Vision of the Future’ – and indeed it was Whitefield’s sixth research symposium focussed on innovation education for students with vision impairment
Research Unlocked is an initiative driven by the Whitefield Research &
Development Centre which attempts to find ways to make
academic research in the areas of special educational needs accessible to schools,
education professionals and parents.
Congratulations to Maria Papazoglou our talented PE teacher/coordinator who continues to collect nearly as many trophies as the sports teams she coaches. Last term she won Waltham Forest’s Inclusive Sports Award at the town hall. Earlier last year she was named London Sports Teacher for the second year in a row.
Thank you to everyone who contributed to this year’s Children in Need Appeal. As always Pusdey visited the classrooms around Whitefield Schools and together we raised £347
Ifigeneia kicks off proceedings
S E Q U O I A C L U B
Spring term events
E V E N T S & N O T I C E S
Events at Whitefield Schools
January24th – 10am Whitefield Parents’ Group25th – 5pm Friends of Whitefield meeting
February6th – 9.45am Parents working with children28th – 10am Whitefield Parents' Group
March5th World Book Day19th – 9.45am Parents working with children20th – 10am Whitefield Parents’ Group20th – Sports Relief20th – 10am MBS Spring Festival25th – 2pm PTP Early Years Easter Assembly26th – 10am PTP Years 3&4 Easter Assembly26th – 2.15pm PTP Years 5&6 Easter Assembly27th – 10am PTP Years 1&2 Easter Assembly27th – 10am MBS Spring Festival31st – 10am NCS ‘Stepping On’ Easter AssemblyApril1st– 2.30pm NCS ‘Climbing Up’ Easter Assembly2nd – 11am NCS Post 16 Easter Assembly
3rd – 1.30pm MBS Disco3rd – 2pm NCS Spring Fair
Events at Joseph Clarke School
March5th World Book Day18th English Touring Opera –
The Extraordinary Adventures of You and Me
26th Spring Crafts Afternoon
We are running two parent workshops this term, dates Workshop 1 -– mobility skillsWorkshop 2 – Positive Behaviour SupportDates to be decided.
Project SEARCH 6th February Recruitment Open Day at Whipps Cross Hospital 3:30 – 5 pm
R&D Centre 6th Feb Foundation Degree Open Day 4:30pm - 6:30pm. Drop in session. 13th Feb School Direct Open Day 4:30pm - 6pm. Drop-in session.
Fortnightly themes this term Throughout the term both Whitefield Schools and Joseph Clarke School run a series of themes around which activities are planned. Each theme is accompanied by three elements ‘that we are thinking about’ here are the themes that are planned for the autumn term:
January2nd–13th
HowdoIcommunicate?๏ Musicalcommunication๏ Signs&symbols๏ Languages/Braille
September20th–31st
ChineseCelebrations๏ Sightssmellsandcolours๏ Storiesandmusic๏ Chinesecooking
February3rd–14th
Wellbeing๏ Relaxationandmassage๏ Feelingsafe๏ Beingsafeonline
Halfterm
March2th–6th
MyGarden๏ Sensorygardens๏ Wildlifeandbirds๏ DTMakingeco-friendlyhabitats
March9th–20th
Spring๏ Sensorystories๏ Newlife๏ Watersustains
March23th–April3rd
Easter๏ TheEasterstory๏ EasterCookery๏ PassionPlays
Term Dates Spring term 2020 Term starts: Tue 7th Jan Half term: Mon 17th Feb — Fri 21st FebTerm ends: Friday 3rd Apr
Summer term 2020 Term starts: Tue 21st Apr Bank Holiday: Friday 8th May (changed)Half term: Mon 25th May — Fri 29th MayTerm ends: Fri 17th Jul
Autumn term 2020 Term starts: Mon 7th SepHalf term: Mon 26th Oct — Fri 30th OctTerm ends: Friday 18th Dec
Spring term 2021 Term starts: Mon 4th JanHalf term: Mon 15th Feb — Fri 19th FebTerm ends: Thu 1st April
Summer term 2021 Term starts: Mon 19th Apr Bank Holiday: Monday 3rd MayHalf term: Mon 31st May — Fri 4th JunTerm ends: Thu 22nd Jul
Contact information Whitefield Schools ✆ 020 8531 3426✉ [email protected]
Macdonald RoadWalthamstow London, E17 4AZ
Joseph Clarke School✆ 020 8523 4833✉ [email protected]
Vincent Road, Highams Park, London, E4 9PP
Safeguarding concerns✉ [email protected] ✉ [email protected]
Follow us on TwitterWhole Trust: @WhitefieldNewsJoseph Clarke School: @JCSchoolNewsWhitefield Schools: @WhitefieldSchlsR&D Centre: @WhitefieldRandD
Raise funds for us www.easyfundraising.org.uk/fowschool –Friends of Whitefield
www.easyfundraising.org.uk/josephclarke – Joseph Clarke School Trust