School News Group Thanet March 2016

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A platform allowing schools to broadcast all their hard work and achievements

Easter Edition 2016 | Thanet | Issue 32

SCHOOL NEWS

School News

Round-Up

My ‘What you call’ life

Thanet Wanderers

2 School News | Thanet | Issue 32 | Easter 2016

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contentsDrapers Mills 4

Newington 6

Royal Harbour Academy 8

Thanet Primary Cross Country9

Upton 10

St Peters 11

Dane Court 14

Chilton 15

Haddon Dene 16

St Ethelberts 16

St Georges 17

Chartfield 18

St Joseph’s 18

Kent Literacy Awards 19

Thanet Wanderers 20

My ‘What you Call’ Life 21

Welcome to the latest edition of school News.

I can see the sun trying to break through the clouds spring is definitely

on its way.

Corrections and clarificationsAn apology to Chatham and Clarendon Grammar School for the error in their

article heading in the last edition, where our design team misspelt

Grammar and this was missed by our proof reader. We apologise for any

upset this caused Chatham andClarendon Grammar school.

We hope you all have a fantastic spring break

and wish all our readers a Happy easter. Claire

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Drapers MillsRace For Life

Children at Drapers Mills Primary Academy recently joined up with Cancer Research UK to run the Race for Life.

All pupils took part in the event with varying distances completed, ranging from 350m for children in our Nursery up to 1.5km for children in years 5 and 6.In addition to running for a great cause, and receiving a lovely medal, the children completed an exciting maths investigation linked to the event. Pupils across the school spent the day investigating the statement that tall girls are the best runners. This enquiry lead pupils down many different learning paths.

Check out loads more stories from the schools around Thanet on our websitewww.schoolnewsgroup.co.uk

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NewingtonBook Day

As part of literacy week at the school, parents are also being encouraged to come into class and share a love of

storytelling with their children. There will also be a book swap session.Head Teacher Cliff Stokes said: “World Book Day is a big celebration for Newington when we look very closely at the work of authors, illustrators and books.“We are extremely proud of the work we do with literacy and year on year we record best ever performances in this important part of the curriculum.”The school has also been named as a Read Write Inc ‘model school’ as a result of excellent literacy teaching in the last 12 months.Newington has followed the read Write Inc

programme for the last four years, and Mr Stokes added: “It is central to all our school achievements in this time. If children can read they can successfully access all areas of the curriculum. “Our children learn to read at a much earlier age and we exceed all government targets for phonics tests in Year 1. Pupils are in groups according to their phonic ability from nursery through to Year 2 and the results are so positive and pleasing.“Communication skills are extremely important for our children and Read Write Inc is a cornerstone of our ongoing literacy drive.”Tracey Sandy, Newington’s Read Write Inc manager said: “The progress our pupils make is excellent.”Other schools regularly work with Newington as a literacy flagship school through the programme, and Mr Stokes added: “We are always happy and keen to share our best practice with others.”

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School News

Round-upRoyal Harbour Academy Ski Trip

A week of skiing was enjoyed by RHA students,the students benefitted from professional ski instruction. During the presentation evening the students were praised for their hard work, good behaviour and of course excellent skiing. As a group we were awarded one level 2 with distinction, four level 3s, one of which was with distinction, 5 level 4s, one with merit and four with distinction. Students spent each day outside learning and practising new skills

and techniques, and in the evenings they enjoyed a variety of activities and entertainment . Senior Leader, Ciaran Doyle, comments “Yet again the students mix it with the best on the slopes. For beginners and even more experienced skiers they made excellent

progress and they have the potential to do even more amazing tricks, bumps and jumps in the future. A fantastic trip and they did the school and their families proud. Thank you to the students who made this a trip of a lifetime for all involved

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Cross Country Thanet Primary Schools Cross Country

The second Thanet Primary Schools Cross Country event of the

year took place on Saturday at Quex. Once again weather conditions leading up to the event had been excellent making the ground ideal for running. The Year 3 Girls had 140 entries. Finishing first in 4m 48s was Jemima Topping of Upton, followed by Mairead McGrath from Palm Bay in 4m 58s. In third place was Holly Adams from St Saviours in 4m 58s. The Year 3 Boys had 139 entries which was won by Thomas Laskey from Palm Bay in 4m 34.26s. Finishing a really close second was Lucas Chapman from Upton in 4m 34.99s and in third place was Oscar Dobbs of St Saviours with 4m 39s.The Year 4 Girls race had 123 and finishing in first position was Natalia Austin of St

Joseph’s in 4m 20s. Grace Cummings from Upton was a close second in 4m 22s followed by Eve Seery from Preston with 4m 23s. The Year 4 Boys had 137 entries and this was won by last year’s winner, Tadhg McGrath from Palm Bay with a time of 3m 59s followed by Thomas Andrew of St Saviours in second place with 4.0m and Riley Maisey of Upton in 4m 9s.The course was lengthened from 1k to 1.5k for the Years 5 & 6 races. Year 5 Girls mirrored last October’s race with Lola Sutton from St Joseph’s in first place with 6m 2s, Melissa Cardy from St Lawrence College in second with 6m 21s and Amy Topping from Upton third with 6m 25s. The Year 5 Boys race with 100 entries was won once again by Louie Procopi from Birchington in 5m 37s

followed by Brandon Law from Minster in 5m 56s and Liam Hamp from Christchurch in 5m 59s.For the Year 6 entrants this would be their last Primary School Cross Country event. The girls ran first and the top three once again mirrored last October’s race with Jenny Swancome from Preston first with 5m 44s followed by Tilly Garratt from Palm Bay in 5m 56s and Alice Coleman from Upton in 6m 6s. In the Year 6 Boys race Dylan Leach from Ramsgate Holy Trinity clinched the top spot by beating last year’s winner Sam Lister with a time of 5m 45s. Lister of Upton was a close second with 5m 47 followed by Jacob Andrew of St Saviours in 5m 55s.

Full report on our website www.schoolnewsgroup.co.uk


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Upton Junior SchoolThe Future Is Bright

Head teacher Michaela Lewis has been appointed Executive

Head teacher of Upton in Broadstairs, Chilton Primary in Ramsgate and the Ramsgate Free School.Mrs Lewis will take up overall leadership from the start of the new school year and at the moment is spending time each week getting to know staff and pupils at her new schools.She said: “Upton is an outstanding school – which was recognised by Ofsted - and it has been my privilege to lead this school forward and achieve the success it richly deserves. “The journey doesn’t stop there however, and as we face an ever-changing educational landscape we must ensure we build on our success, continue to move

forward and this must see us work collaboratively with other schools. “Upton’s future will see us sharing excellent practice across the three schools and ensuring at all times that our ethos ‘One Childhood, One Chance’– the mantra that drives every member of Team Upton - remains at the heart of everything we do.”Mrs Lewis assured parents and pupils that the move forward will, “see Upton strengthen and continue to improve.”She said her deputies Miss Arthur, Mr Walker and the dedicated team of Upton staff “wouldn’t have it any other way.”Mrs Lewis said: “Chilton and Ramsgate Free School will be sister schools to Upton

and we will share a common purpose to continue to deliver the best education possible for our children.“They are progressive schools and I am impressed at the level of care they show their pupils and the good standard of teaching and learning that they deliver across the board. They have enthusiastic and motivated professional staff and together our team will be a strong educational force.”


School News

Round-upSt Peters Book Week

Children at St Peter’s School enjoyed an exciting and fun-filled

Book Week.

Jasper Cooper author of The Kingdom of the Hidden Gems ran workshops for every class and presented prizes to the top writers in each class. 50 children, all wearingtheir onesies and pyjamas, cuddled up with duvets, bean bags and teddies, took part in a six hour Readathon! The star readers managed to read 15 books in total, everything from picture book, short stories and a novel, ‘The Amazing Story of

Adolphus Tips’ by Michael Morpurgo, which is over 180 pages long!The week finished with Book Character Day, an opportunity for children to dress-up as their favourite book character. There were some wonderful costumes, showing great imagination, including Lara Cleverley in Year 5 as Hogwarts and

Amaya Bodimeade in Year 3 who came as Bambi! Needless to say it was hard choosing just one winner per class, who all received a £5 book voucher.

Headteacher, Tim Hunter-Whitehouse, said, “Reading is both a wonderful skill and an absolute joy –and skill and enjoyment was here for all to see at St Peter’s”


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Dane Court Oxford and Cambridge Offers

Three of Dane Court’s sixth form students have been offered a

place to study at Oxford and two at Cambridge. ‘Sincerest congratulations’ to these successful applicants has come from Executive head teacher Paul Luxmoore, who said: ‘These brilliant students have won offers against increasingly strong competition, both nationally and internationally, across a broad spectrum of subjects. This is continued evidence of the culture of rising aspirations in our school community and also in Thanet’Abi Baker has been offered an unconditional place to study Veterinary Science at Cambridge. James Howard has beensuccessful in his application to

study Geography at Oxford; a talented geographer who has excelled in his studies at Dane Court.Amy Napier has received an offer to study natural science at Cambridge: her passion is languages and her contribution to the life of the school in her role as Head Girl has been enormous.Alex Payne has been offered a place to further his study of Biological Sciences at Oxford and is looking forward to the

challenge of this demanding course. Alice Rawson has accepted an offer to study Biochemistry at Oxford: Alice is a gifted scientist and her lifetime scientific interest has been endorsed by the opportunity to study at one of the most prestigious universities in the world. Heads of Sixth Form, Annie Hale and Nilufa Razzaq said, ‘These students capture much of the spirit of Dane Court. They combine intellectual power and a terrific passion for learning with a broader enthusiasm and energy for life beyond the classroom. They have worked really hard, but their success is also a great testimony to the excellent teaching of our colleagues and to the high expectation that we have of all of our students’

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School News

Round-upChilton Primary Dementia Orchard

Chilton Primary, Ramsgate are running a competition to design a logo for a dementia friendly orchard in Ramsgate.

The school have been invited by Occupational Therapist Sam Dondi-Smith to design the logo which will be a central part of the signage around the new project which is based in Courtstairs Park on the Westcliff. The orchard is being developed to provide a dementia friendly space for people in the local

community which people can visit with their careers and help manage.

Chilton’s Eco Council have visited the space and are leading the Dementia Orchard’s promotion in the school and they hope in the future to be part of the maintenance of the space.


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Haddon DeneRising Star Makes His Mark

Haddon Dene are thrilled to announce that one of their pupils, Henry Elmore in Year 6, has made it through to the

Bonus Round of the Primary Maths Challenge with a Gold standard score of 21.The Primary Maths Challenge is aimed at primary school children in years 5 and 6. The test itself consists of 25 questions which need to be answered in 45 minutes. Answering the Primary Maths Challenge questions does not depend on mathematical ability alone, but on the ability to think things through, be logical and find ways to solve problems. It is designed to make pupils think outside the box.Only the top 1-2% of participants from the challenge move forward to the Bonus Round, making Henry (age 11) a very special young man indeed! Henry is the only child from a Thanet primary school to do this and his Bonus results will be available at the end of this month.

Mrs Rowe, Headmistress at the school said: ‘Our children have done brilliantly in the challenge. I am especially proud of Henry, who has shown exceptional ability in getting to the Bonus Round. He is the first child in the school’s history to do this. Our maths workshop teacher, Mrs Satish, is an outstanding practitioner. Her work has given our children the confidence to solve extremely complex problems.’

Kent County Cricket Club, Canterbury sent in James to work with Year 5 and Year 6 with their cricket skills. The aim

of this partnership, also involving Southern Water, is to motivate the girls and boys to take up cricket, enjoy watching cricket, to learn to understand cricket and finally to improve their skills. In the morning James showed them a video always respecting your coaches, team mates and your opponents. The children had a great afternoon in the sun, learning about teamwork, warm ups and they practiced bowling at a wicket.

St EthelbertsCricket Fun


School News

Round-upSt George’s Primary Phase

Thanet’s first all-through school offering educational provision

for students aged 4 – 19 is opening in September 2016. St George’s CofE Foundation School in Broadstairs is expanding to open a primary phase for students starting their school journey in Reception. There will also be places available for students in Year 1 and Year 2. From September 2017, the school will admit two further Reception classes onwards until the school reaches the

full capacity of a two- form entry. The school will have capacity for 420 pupils. All students will automatically transfer to the secondary provision in Year 7 although

all other options at this point will remain open to them.The building work for the new primary phase is progressing rapidly with the main construction work due to be complete by the end of April. Facilities in the new building will include a large school hall, an on-site kitchen for preparing meals, a covered outdoor learning area for Reception and large outdoor spaces for sports and learning for all year groups.

There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and

lets the future in. Graham Greene

“”


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Chartfield SchoolAt Dover Castle

Form 1 from Chartfield School visited Dover Castle. This term in English, Form 1 have been learning about castles

and looking at the Iron Age. Dover Castle is a fabulous place to visit for the children to experience life in a castle and look at the Roman lighthouse, which dates back to the Iron Age. The children were able to spend the day exploring the castle grounds, even climbing to the top of the Caste and appreciating the breath-taking view of the Port of Dover. The medieval tunnels were a fantastic place for the children to think about how the tunnels were deigned to protect the castle and surprise their enemies when being invaded.

The children really enjoyed their school trip and embraced their day at Dover Castle.

Congratulations are in order for Lola Sutton in year 5 who has been asked to run for Kent at the forthcoming National Cross Country Finals.

Held at Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire, this prestigious event is an opportunity for the top 10 year 5 girls in Kent to showcase their running skills at a national level.

A strong competitor with a fierce determination, we are confident that Lola will enjoy this opportunity to race for her county. Good luck Lola !

St Joseph’sCounty Runner

Hempstead House, the beautiful country house hotel, will be the venue for the Kent Literacy Awards.

Trumpeting skills vital to the next generation The Kent Literacy Awards will highlight best practice in schools for initiatives to develop reading, writing, speaking and listening skills. These vital skills are developed through a wide variety of cross-curricular topics, including arts and drama.

We need your nominations to showcase initiatives that make a real difference to the success of your school. The aim is to celebrate what works well in the classroom and help spread that best practice across the county.

Help us by submitting a nomination today. Whether it is the best home reading initiative, most engaging writing topic, most effective use of IT to develop listening skills or best use of art or drama – we want to hear what you are doing in your school.

A summary of all of the winning submissions will be published and circulated to every school in Kent, Medway and Bexley.

Nominating an initiative or scheme for the Kent Literacy Awards is easy – just complete the simple online form at www.kmcharityteam.co.uk and click on the Schools and Kent Literacy Awards link. The closing date for nominations is noon on 1 May.

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The list of categories in full:

• Best Circle Time

• Best home reading initiative

• Most engaging writing topic

• Most effective use of IT to enhance writing

• Most effective use of IT to enhance reading

• Best initiative to encourage speaking and listening skills

• Best use of drama to promote writing, speaking and listening skills

• Best use of art or poetry

• Most successful programme for engaging pupils with English as second language

• Most engaging writing competition or theme

• Best use of cross-curricular reading opportunities

• Best use of cross-curricular writing

• Best promotion of reading for pleasure

• Best school library

• Most inspiring book corner

• Most engaging book week theme

• Best reward scheme

• Best speaking competition or debating club

If you have an initiative that does not fit into one of the above categories we still want to hear about it.


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Bubbles, bells, pirates, puppets, silks, chiffon, Sammy Snake – babies are introduced to a world of experiences, textures, smells, sights and sounds. The programme is open to all – babies of all abilities thrive in the developmental atmosphere, as do parents. People with severe postnatal depression, learning difficulties, different abilities, have all found Baby Sensory a great way to bond and grow with their babies.Once babies graduate from Baby Sensory, they can join the Toddler Sense crew – where life becomes a true adventure! Climbing snowy mountains, catching (paper) butterflies, sitting in the bubble rain are just part of the exciting activities. Parents love seeing their little ones grow and become more confident through exploratory play. Play, learn, grow with Baby Sensory and

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School News

blogMy ‘What you call’ Life!Mother, Governor, Business Woman.....

Cough, Cough, Sniffle, Sniffle……. Don’t forget to buy more tissues. This has been my house since what feels like

Christmas, all the children cold after cold, sniffle after sniffle,… is it never ending? It seems that my family is not the only family to be going through this, everyone I speak to is ill, I have never known so much illness to be going around. So being the diligent reporter I am I did some research there are over 200 different cold/flu strains so the chances are it’s not the same cold again and again it’s a new one after the other, Great, so what’s the answer? Well the sun is shining so my hope is that spring is on the way, swiftly followed by a beautiful hot summer, well one can dream can’t they? This change in season would hopefully signal the end of the endless need for tissues. In the meantime, how can we prevent getting sick? These days’ no one can afford time off, from the child who covets the 100% certificate, to the parent who just cannot take time off work. Well apparently there are common themes that help, Heathy eating, exercise, sleep, and disinfecting. So healthy eating ok, I can get that one, bit of fruit on breakfast cereal, healthy snack after school, sneak the vegetables into dinner, although my family can hunt out a mushroom in a lasagne at 100 feet. Fresh juice – tick, warm milk before bed – tick. Yeah think I have the healthy eating covered. Exercise, yep as soon as the sun is out, ‘Can

we go in the garden?’ ‘Can we go to the park?’ if it’s raining ‘Can we go swimming?’ ‘Indoor play area? (plenty available in and around the area.) yes we are a pretty active family, rugby, cricket, football, swimming. Plus, the good old staple Walk to School. Right so that’s exercise covered. Sleep – Ah my nemesis, why do my children feel they don’t need to sleep. “I need to sleep therefore they need to sleep!” I have the ‘all-knowing’ teenager, or so he thinks sleep? I don’t need sleep, sleep is for wimps, the preteen who reads until unearthly hours, the ever energetic 7-year-old, and the toddler who goes wandering in the middle of the night! Bedtime AKA battle time in my house. Nope not got the Sleep covered, think I may need to revisit the How to… get your child to go to bed! Disinfecting, defiantly got this one covered especially when the children clear up after dinner you could swim in the disinfectant on the dinner table. Note to self – must take out shares in Dettol (other brands are available) the amount we go through. Right then I have the answer, everyone in my house needs to sleep for a week, yes that ought to do it. By then it will be spring and we can start a new battle……. Ah spring cleaning – Think I will hire a cleaner! While you go get that Dettol out (other well-known brands are available!) I’m off to hunt down the child who got 100% attendance across her whole school years, find out what her secret is to keeping healthy.


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THANET WANDERERSYouth Round up.

With some great performances and real determination,

the U12 boys ended the tournament as East Kent Plate Winners.

In all of the games the boys worked hard and there were many stand out performances. The performance in the final game against Folkestone was outstanding. Everybody did their job and the Focus, Desire and Belief was amazing. To turn round the defeat in the group stage was very satisfying for players and coaches. It shows this squad has real ability and when we get to play on larger pitches the techniques they are learning week in week out will reap real rewards. To win our first trophy at East Kent level is a real achievement the boys should be very proud of themselves.

There were so many standout players on the day so the coaches decided to award the player of the week to the whole squad as everybody contributed

Under 11s Vikings and Warriors took part in the EastKent Festival. 2 x squads of 11 braved the cold conditions supported by a hardy group of mums on Mothering Sunday. The Vikings had a great start and finished 2nd in the group and entered the Plate Semi Final. This was played against a Tough team. 0-0 at the end of full time resulted in extra

time, then with the last move of the game with the clock running out Ashford managed to break the resolute Vikings defence and score in the corner for a 1-0 win.The Warriors had a tough group with very tough

matches but the boys didn’t let this get them down and the boys played exceptionally well despite the results and worked really well as a team against some very strong sides.Both teams now look forward to improving on these results

The U10s made the quarter finals of the Cup competition and were beaten by a very good Medway side. Overall a very good performance by the team.

James Wilford has so much passion, care and pride in Theatre Trips Kent, part of the very successful YMS Group that even all the coaches have names, Florence (pictured, right), Matilda, Daisy and Goliath.From the moment you board the coach you are greeted like one of the family (which is what YMS is, a Family) welcomed and looked after. The coaches are clean and comfortable and a hot drink is always available. Information is shared especially the all-important question of which coach are we travelling on

today. The drivers are friendly and cautious making the passengers their top priority. If you are lucky enough to be bound for a Disney event, then there is plenty of Disney songs to sing along to. Once in London, sites and landmarks are pointed out and a delivery outside the theatre sets you up nicely for a quick bite to eat, James can recommend some fantastic eateries and then onto the show! perfect collection outside the door for the return leg and guided safely home.

After 13 years of London bound Theatre trips you would expect a well-honed experience and that is exactly what you get.So what are you waiting for? Get booking your theatre trip, I wonder which coach you will travel in?

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School News Group Thanet March 2016

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