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Autumn Term

2017

www.testvalley.hants.sch.uk

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With best wishes from all the staff,

governors and pupils of Test Valley School

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Dear Parent

I do hope you enjoy this edition of our termly newsletter. As always it celebrates the many events,

activities and opportunities our pupils and staff have taken part in since September. It provides a

summary of the Autumn Term and complements our weekly blog on the school website. Please do

have a look at our school blog if you have not yet discovered it. This provides more details on the

activities happening in and out of the classroom every week.

This term has been another busy one, long in the number of weeks since September but with the days

seeming to fly by very quickly. We have enjoyed welcoming our new Year 7 pupils to the school from

September and welcoming back last year’s Year 11 pupils for our Annual Presentation Evening in

November.

As I write, the building works on our ROSLA Block are fully underway and, whilst these will continue for

much of this school year, we look forward to the finished results by next summer.

I am grateful as always to the staff for all their hard work and commitment this term.

Finally, I take this opportunity to send my best wishes and thank you for your ongoing support. I look

forward to next term.

Miss L Hiscock Headteacher

Headteacher’s Message

Christmas Gig 2017

This week saw the return of our annual Christmas Gig, and as always, it was a big success. Many staff and pupils got involved to help raise money for charity and bring the Christmas spirit to Test Valley. There were eight acts in total, including songs sung by Peter Arthur and Sophie Yates. There was also a cake and sweets stall to further raise money towards the chosen charity of Diabetes UK. Mr Willcox, who organised the gig, commented “It was a great event, all pupils enjoyed themselves and we saw some fantastic performances from all our pupils. Thank you to all that came to support this great event”.

Old £1.00 coins

Unfortunately, we can no longer accept the old £1.00 coins and will have to return any that are used for any payments.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

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Search for and download the

ePlatform app from your app

store

Find our library and log in using

your library ID

Browse and borrow an eBook to

read on your device

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Test Valley School Library is excited to announce that eBooks are now available to all pupils and staff. Just download the app or log on using the web address https://testvalley-hantssls.wheelers.co/. Pupils can log on using their current school email address and password – it’s as easy as that!

On Tuesday 26th September we celebrated European Day of Languages at Test Valley School. The pupils enjoyed greeting each other and their teachers in a different language whilst staff across the school were also very good at their greetings in a wide variety of different languages. Some even put their dates in a different language on the board! At lunchtime the pupils had the opportunity to create the tallest leaning tower of Jenga, as well as watch 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' in French. There was also an Italian lesson for pupils and they enjoyed learning a new language. We would like to thank all the staff and pupils for making the day such a success!

European Day of Languages

Tips

Use the search field on the top right of the screen to search by title or author.

Once you have found a book that you would like to read you can see how many copies are available and how many are on loan. The interest age and book

information is also displayed. Click on Borrow (the book will be on loan to you for 4 weeks and then

automatically return). You can now start reading by clicking on the left hand side of your screen to turn

the pages of your book.

If you have any other questions then please ask Miss Needs in the Library — or one of the pupil librarians.

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Hampshire Book Award

Pupils from Test Valley School

were invited to meet the

author Helen Dennis at an

exciting event held at

Winchester Guildhall on

Thursday 2nd November.

The event organised by the

Schools Library Service was

the climax of a busy few

months of reading. The

current Year 9 pupils, chosen

by Librarian Miss Needs, came

together when they were still

in Year 8 to take part in this

year’s Hampshire Book Award.

As a team the group read, digested and reviewed the six shortlisted books, meeting fortnightly to discuss

their views. Each book had something different to offer and some were enjoyed more than others.

In July schools from all over Hampshire met at Applemore College to discuss and vote on their favourite

book. After a tense wait ‘Genesis, River of Ink’ written by Helen Dennis was declared the winner.

At the final award ceremony at Winchester Guildhall the author took to the stage to talk about her book

in amazing, informative detail. She gripped the audience when talking about her writing technique,

process and characterisation. She then then took questions from the pupils followed by a book-signing

session.

Pupils featured above include Grace Devey 9D, James Ashley 9N, Joseph Lovell 9N, Elizabeth Amos 9A, Eleanor Weatherburn 9D, Cerys Hotchkiss 9S, Ruby Snook 9S, Eve Wansboro 9A, Caspar Hawkes 9S and Alexander Davis 9D

First Class Honours at Oxford University for former Test Valley pupil

We are delighted to hear Eleanor Gravenor was awarded a

First Class Honours degree in Music from Oxford University

this year. Eleanor attended our school and was Head Girl in

her Year 11. She describes her time here as being ‘just

lovely’, speaking very highly of the friendly and caring

atmosphere with pupils known by all teachers and given the

support and help they needed. She also felt that it provided

an excellent bridge when moving from primary school. As

part of her course at Oxford she was involved in a ‘Music in

the Community’ project which involved working with

dementia sufferers and their carers. She is now studying at

York University for a MA in Music in the Community and we

wish her every success. Well done Eleanor!

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Annual Presentation Evening

November 30th saw the return of last year’s

Year 11 pupils with their families to collect

their GCSE certificates and celebrate their

achievements. It was an exciting evening as

there were 25 awards to be won, all kindly

sponsored by a wide range of local

individuals, parish councils and

organisations. We were delighted to have

Keith Abel, founder of Abel & Cole Ltd, as

our Guest of Honour to present our

certificates. He also delivered an

inspirational speech about the importance of hard work and persistence. It was lovely to see our past

pupils to hear about what they are doing now and their plans for the future. Test Valley wishes them all

every success in the future.

The second alliance is with the University of

Winchester and involves Applemore College, The

Cowplain School, Swanmore College and

Testbourne Community School. This partnership

covers many rural communities across the county

of Hampshire, whilst remaining accessible to the

key urban areas of Andover, Fareham,

Waterlooville, Winchester, Southampton and

Portsmouth.

Train to Teach Opportunities at Test Valley

Are you interested in training to become a secondary school teacher? Or do you know

someone who is?

Test Valley School is working in partnership with two

teaching training alliances. The first is with the

University of Southampton and this involves a

consortium of several other local schools, including

South Wilts Grammar School, St Edmund’s Girls

School and Bishop Wordsworth School to provide

school-led teacher training via a School Direct

route. This consortium is called SUPA (Southampton

University Partnership Alliance) Salisbury.

Both Alliances provide a training route that retains the academic rigour of university-led training. Successful

completion will result in a PCGE with QTS. We’re looking for people who have (or will have) a degree, have a

passion for teaching and want to inspire young people to fulfil their potential. More information about both

Alliances can be found on our school website.

General details about teacher training routes can be found at www.education.gov.uk/get-into-teaching.

Alternatively you can email SUPA@soton.ac.uk or info@ruralschoolsalliance.co.uk for more details or contact us

at school to discuss informally.

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Year 7 pupils had a day of team challenges and understanding how they learn. This included an activity making animals out of plasticine to represent how they think they learn. Declan from 7N thought he was a bit like ‘a bull in a china shop’ - charging into tasks without really thinking them through first. Pupils in Year 7 also had a range of team challenges, including who could build the tallest scarecrow out of newspaper and an obstacle course activity in the gym. Year 8 pupils’ activities were focused on how to keep safe. They carried out a range of workshops on anti-bullying, road safety, internet safety and we were fortunate to have PCSO Donna Whelan and Dave Kane visit us to deliver workshops on anti-social behaviour. Pupils also spent an hour learning first aid and how to do CPR on one of our 'Little Annie' dummies. Year 9 pupils participated in activities based on body image and discrimination. We were very pleased to welcome Alex Lewis who gave a fascinating talk to pupils who were captivated by his story. Pupils in

Year 9 also carried out a work shop looking at how magazines use Photoshop to alter images and then created a campaign against a form of discrimination. Year 10 pupils’ activities were looking at the dangers of drugs, alcohol and unprotected/underage sex. Motive8 (a local drug awareness project) ran a workshop with pupils followed by a lesson allowing pupils to further explore issues around drugs. Pupils also had a session on the dangers of binge drinking and used the laptops to research the law for young people on sex, drugs and alcohol. Year 11 took part in ‘Futures Day’. They attended

the area careers fair at John Hanson school for Test Valley and other local secondary schools. As well as

the opportunity to talk to a range of representatives from a large number of career and educational

organisations pupils attended a presentation by Alan Bullock. He is an international careers consultant

and gave an inspiring talk about a wide range of opportunities for young people. He shared examples

of differing pathways to success and also talked about university fees, oversees opportunities and

everything there is to know about apprenticeships. It was very evident at the fair that apprenticeships

are becoming more popular with an increasing number of the employers. Apprenticeships are now

offered in a wide range of areas with different qualification levels starting at Level 2 and progressing up

to degree apprenticeships as an alternative to university.

Back in school pupils were shown how to produce a personal statement and given access to career

profiling programmes to increase their awareness of the wide range of opportunities to consider. The

day culminated in the completion of a careers portfolio enabling every pupil to identify the next steps

they need to take.

PSHE Day 1

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Children in Need Fundraising Day

We have a dedicated Year 11 Charity

Committee who have been working

really hard to raise as much money as

possible for Children in Need this year. Activities included a popular non-school

uniform day, a cake sale and, for something a little different, staff took part in a

‘lip sync battle’ for pupils to come and watch for a donation to the fundraising.

As you can imagine this is very popular with pupils. The staff too seemed

excited to get involved. The worthy winners were “Test Valley Spice”! This year

a record-breaking amount of £1,101.06 was raised by pupils and staff.

Mrs De Nitto and Ms March donned Wellington boots for a themed performance.

“Test Valley Spice” performed by: Mrs Stubbs, Miss Williams, Mr Hill, Mrs Leyman and Mrs Vaughan.

Mr Whatley, Mrs McAllister, Mrs Benn and Mrs Luckham demonstrated the Mathematics team’s “street smarts“.

Mr Allon did a solo performance.

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Youth Speaks Competition

Huge congratulations to the Year 9 team from Test Valley

School: Eve Wansboro, Cerys Hotchkiss and Keshni

Bhoodhoo who participated in the Andover round of the

Rotary organised Youth Speaks Competition.

Four local schools were competing: John Hanson, Winton

Academy, Rookwood School and Test Valley. Each team

comprises a chairperson, a vote of thanks and a main

speaker. The main speaker had to deliver a persuasive

speech on a topic of their choice lasting six minutes - when

you are standing in front of an audience six minutes can

feel like a very long time!

Test Valley’s speech was

entitled, “Just do it!”

and Eve delivered a

persuasive and

passionate speech extolling the virtue of exercise for all of us. Eve

reminded us of the benefits of exercise, gave us some examples of

what we could do and told us that, “a note from your mom” was not

an acceptable excuse!

Well done to Eve, Cerys and Keshni for stepping up to take on this

challenge – speaking in public is such an important life-skill and

these pupils displayed confidence, articulation and exceptional

teamwork.

Keshni was awarded the trophy for best vote of thanks on the

night – well done!

Cerys Hotchkiss, Eve Wansboro and Keshni Bhoodhoo

Congratulations! Isabel Henrys 10A recently passed her Grade 6 piano with a Merit and Sophie Yates, 11D, has passed her Grade 8 singing also with a Merit. A really significant achievement for both pupils!

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LifeLab Visit

As part of their science topic ‘Health

and Disease’, Year 9 pupils were given

the opportunity to visit LifeLab at

Southampton General Hospital. This is

a purpose-built facility that provides

an opportunity to bring science to life.

Pupils were able to use equipment

that would not be available to them at

school and were able to build up a

picture of their own health. Pupils

particularly enjoyed scanning their

carotid arteries, extracting their DNA

and competing to see who was the

most flexible or had the greatest grip strength – even the accompanying staff got a little competitive!

We also had the opportunity to speak with scientists and health professionals from the hospital to gain

insight into their work and hopefully to inspire some of our own scientists of the future! This has been

a fantastic opportunity for pupils to gain hands-on experience of real-life science and to gain

understanding of how lifestyle choices can impact not only their own health, but that of any future

children too.

This event was organised and run by the school’s PTA on

Friday 3rd November. There was a great turnout with lots

of fun. The pumpkin competition saw some creative work

with runner up Kacey Cavill producing a carefully carved

cat. The winning pumpkin by Lucy Wileman was carved

and bandaged, and included added eyeballs to create a

particularly scary product.

Costumes and make-up dominated the scene during the

disco with a vast array of visual creativity.

The fancy dress competition was a tough challenge for the judges who eventually decided on the runner-up to be Jonathan Hyncica with his Edward Scissorhands take-off and in first place was Amber Penfound dressed and made up to shock and surprise. We are thankful to the PTA for their time and hard work with all the administration, catering, tuckshop running and staffing of this very successful event.

Year 7 & 8 Spooky Disco

Kacey Cavill’s carefully carved cat and Lucy Wileman’s winning

pumpkin with eyeballs amongst other creative carvings!

The handmade fox head which earned Amber Court a special award.

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The prefects have had a busy start to their

new role as pupil leaders at Test Valley.

They were divided into four committees

and they have all been working hard to

complete all of the tasks associated with

their committee.

The Yearbook Committee have been busy

selecting a company to provide yearbooks

and hoodies and they have a strict deadline

to meet before the end of this term. They

have been gathering comments from

pupils, photos, award nominations, quotes

and confessions in an aim to create a lovely

keepsake for the pupils to leave Test Valley with.

The Charity Committee have already completed

two successful events. They took on the shoebox

appeal this year and were determined to beat

last year’s total which they did, collecting 156

boxes. This was no mean feat as it meant

constant appeals in assemblies and during tutor

time. They were overwhelmed by the support for

this cause shown by the rest of the school and in

particular were extremely impressed with Year 9

who again managed to provide the most

shoeboxes in all five years. We hope they

continue to be as generous in their remaining

two years. I’m sure if Mr Hill, their Head of Year,

has anything to do with it, they certainly will.

Once this was finished, they had to quickly turn

their minds to Children in Need where they were

looking for something new to do after numerous

charity netball matches. I suggested a Lip Sync

Battle and they quickly sprang into action,

organising staff acts to compete at lunchtime.

This event was a great success and they raised

over £1,000 for Children in Need, another record

at Test Valley. It was extremely well attended and

the pupils really enjoyed seeing their teachers

humiliate themselves for charity! The charity

committee are now looking forward to their next

events with enthusiasm.

The Prom Committee have selected a venue and

will be organising the key elements needed for

this in the new year. The Prom is a wonderful

event marking the end of an important era for

our pupils and the committee is really focused on

making it the best they can.

The Events Committee are currently working on

organising the Christmas gig, getting auditions

and rehearsals arranged and making sure the

event runs smoothly on the day. They will then

be instrumental in organising Stockfest, a key

event in the Test Valley calendar.

All of the prefects have also given tours to

prospective parents and staff and have provided

a wonderful role model around school. I am very

pleased with the difficult decisions I had to make

during prefect selection but have also been

impressed with a candidate who did not initially

become a prefect. Sophie Henry has impressed

me with her positive attitude and hard work as a

Sports Leader and I have decided to make her a

prefect this term. She will join the Yearbook

Team and has already been useful in this area.

I am sure that the prefects will continue to work

hard and see all of their projects through to

completion. Thanks for all the hard work!

Mrs C Stubbs Year 11 Co-ordinator

Year 11 Prefects

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It has been a busy start to the term for Year 11.

They have been hard at work revising for their

mock exams, which they had last month, and

looking ahead to their futures with college

applications being made. We have had many

visitors from the local colleges in assemblies and I

have been pleased with the mature attitude that

the pupils have shown in these sessions. We also

had a Futures Day with a visit to John Hanson for a

careers fair. The pupils used the time wisely,

having conversations with all of the various

providers who were there and I know many of the

pupils came away from that event with a clearer

picture of their future aspirations. I know it is

difficult for them to think about what they want

to do with their lives, as it seems so far away.

They just need to think carefully about what their

next step in their journey is and what they need to

do to achieve that.

The pupils have just received their mock exam

results and I know that in some cases they are a

little disappointed. It is important to remember

that the mocks are there to help pupils see how

they are currently doing and what to focus on for

future revision. They have 6 months left at Test

Valley and they will be able to make good

progress if they put the work and effort into their

lessons and revision at home. They must

remember to keep an even work/life balance and

find time to revise but also for other pursuits to

help them stay relaxed. When revising, little and

often will always work better than trying to study

hard at the last minute. Do not forget that there

are revision classes running after school on most

days so pupils can always get some extra help if

they ask for it.

As this term comes to a close, I know that many

pupils are working incredibly hard. Those that did

not do as well as they liked in their mocks due to a

lack of effort, still have time left to make some

changes. Stay positive and determined to do your

best. That is all that can be asked of you.

Mrs C Stubbs Year 11 Co-ordinator

Year 11 News

Come along to

...in the LIBRARY

Tuesday & Thursday

3:30— 4:30pm

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On Friday 1st December Year 8 pupils took part in a series of workshops entitled ‘Dream Day’. These were designed to explore lifestyle aspirations and career explorations. The first part of the event enabled pupils to build a dream cloud containing images of their future such as the house, car, pony, yacht, holiday home they may like to own. These were then all costed and followed up by being given an example of a job with details setting out the salary, working hours, holidays, qualifications needed and a day in the life. A range of activities including finding eight other pupils in the room who work more/less hours, have more/less holiday time, receive higher/lower rates of pay and need higher/lower qualifications. The morning session culminated in exploring the costings of their lifestyle choices and contrasting whether they could afford them with the job details they had. A team from Andover College arrived at midday with ambassadors who shared their journeys with

Year 8 pupils before supporting them in the afternoon workshop called ‘Making it Real’. This enabled pupil to drill down and explore their own aspirations before putting together as a presentation of their choosing. Mr Langdown (Year 8 Co-ordinator/Careers Co-ordinator) said: ‘I really enjoyed celebrating the year group’s ambitions and I was very impressed with their high aspirations and massive range of careers ideas. Their ideas included Stockbroker, Bank Manager, Accountant, Forensic Scientist, Biologist, Royal Navy Officer, Animal Therapist, Police Office, Teacher and Play Therapist. I did not find a single pupil who did not have a career idea. This level of high aspiration, whether fully explored at this stage or not, provides pupils with the motivation to aim high in their learning within the classroom and can only create a win-win situation for everyone’.

A group of 45 Year 10 and Year 11 pupils travelled to London on Friday 24th November to visit St Paul’s Cathedral. After a short break at Covent Garden to have lunch, pupils walked to St Paul’s and were shown around the Cathedral by members of the Education Team. Pupils were engaged throughout and asked a number of interesting questions. These included how the impact of terrorism has affected the Cathedral and how Christians are viewed. Before leaving the Cathedral pupils had the opportunity to climb to the Whispering Gallery, although due to renovations pupils were unable to ascend to the top of the dome.

RE trip to St Pauls Cathedral, London

Movember is the only charity tackling men’s health on

a global scale, year round. They are addressing some of

the biggest health issues faced by men: prostate cancer,

testicular cancer and mental health & suicide prevention.

To raise awareness of this many get involved by growing

a moustache for November. A number of staff at Test

Valley School wanted to get involved to raise awareness

with our pupils. Well done to all who took part and

helped to raise money for this charity.

Year 8 High Aspirations

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On Friday 1st December the normal timetable of lessons was collapsed for all year groups and they were involved in a wide range of activities as part of a Personal, Social, Health (Careers) Education Day. We were also delighted to welcome a large number of visitors who kindly gave their time to support and run some of our workshops. Year 7 pupils experienced a multicultural day focusing on India. Their workshops included making sand mandalas, creating batik patterns, looking at the differences in living conditions between rural and urban living and they also had a workshop with a Bollywood dancer.

Pupils in Year 8 took part in their Dream Day event. More details are given separately. Year 9 pupils undertook their 'Change for a Tenner' challenge. This is an enterprise based day where pupils work in small teams or companies to come up with a money making idea. Each team is given £10 and on the day they have to change their £10 into as much profit as possible.

During the course of the morning pupils took on different roles within the company and had to write a business plan, a finance plan and work out how to best market their product. During lunchtime pupils then sell their wares to the rest of the school. As well as a lot of neatly packaged cakes and sweets on sale, there were also glitter tattoos, keyrings and nail painting. This year pupils raised an amazing £2,011.42 which will be going to the Alex Lewis Trust. Pupils in Year 10 were fortunate to have a whole range of visitors for the day. Their workshops focused on homelessness, budgeting and anti-social behaviour. The

homelessness presentation not only provided information on causes, effects and legal aspects but also linked discussions to physical, mental and social well-being. The sessions will contribute to preparing pupils for the adult world and help them become more aware of the community around them. Year 11 pupils undertook an enterprise based day entitled Millinery Magic. Pupils worked in teams as the managers of a business. The purpose of the day was for pupils to gain an understanding and appreciation of how businesses have to work within a competitive and collaborative market. As the title suggest the chosen business revolved around the fashion industry and involved transforming existing hats into more creative, attractive and fashionable headgear. The day cumulated with a fashion parade to promote their companies’ products.

PSHE Day 2

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This term seems to have gone very quickly. Many of the year

group enjoyed a science trip to Southampton University earlier

on in the term. They have also recently had the opportunity to

participate in a workshop with a Holocaust survivor. Sporting

activities have continued, the football team and netball team are

starting to take good shape as well as the boys’ basketball team.

They are set for the playoffs, currently sitting second in the

Southampton District League (I hope I have not spoken to soon).

In these final weeks some of the year group are involved in rehearsals for a production which I am sure

will be a great success. A special mention to the Youth Speaks team, Cerys Hotchkiss, Kevani Bhoodhoo

and Eve Wansboro who took part in the local speaking competition. There were a number of awards

given out, Kevani’s speech was voted “best speech of thanks”. I would also like to congratulate all the

Year 9 pupils who took part in the annual Carol Concert at St. Peter’s Church.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the parents of Year 9 pupils, supporting the pupils in the

“Change for a Tenner” PSHE day where the pupils were divided into teams and each team was given £10

and on the day they had to change their £10 into as much profit as possible. Year 9 made over a 70%

profit. All the money raised went to the Alex Lewis Trust. I would also like to thank the parents for the

support of the shoe box appeal. Year 9 had an impressive total of 81 shoe boxes and that total could not

have been made possible without the support of the parents, so thank you.

I am proud to be leading this year group, their reports showed that progress and attitude across the year

group as a whole was pleasing. It is clear there is a lot to celebrate in Year 9 this term and I hope this

continues into the new year.

I hope that both you and your family have a lovely Christmas break and that they return to us rested and

ready, in full school uniform, for another busy term in January.

Mr A Hill Year 9 Co-ordinator

Year 9 Update

Catering Assistant Vacancy

12 hours per week

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

Contact Mrs A Edge for further details:

01264 812 007 or edga@testvalley.hants.sch.uk

We now have some items of second hand school uni-

form available in exchange for a donation to school

funds.

If interested please contact the school office by email on

office@testvalley.hants.sch.uk

with the uniform items you require for your child

(including size) and we will check if there is anything

suitable we can offer.

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Pupils from Year 9 have been busy shortlisting books for the Hampshire Book

Award 2018. We have been meeting fortnightly to vote on our

favourite paperback fiction book published for the first time in the UK from 1st September 2016

to 31st August 2017. As a group we have been scoring the titles out of 10 based on the front

cover, the blurb on the back cover and the first page. It has been a lively discussion with much

debate and thoughtful suggestions. Test Valley School's list of six titles will be ready to submit

to School Library Service in January ready for the new team of Year 8 pupils - chosen by Miss

Needs - to take part in the Hampshire Book Award again next year.

Library News by Miss E Needs – Librarian

Ruby Snook, Conner Wheeler-Perera, Alex Davis, Elizabeth Amos, Cerys Hotchkiss, Eve Wansboro and Joseph Lovell

This week our Year 7 pupils enjoyed a whole day taking part in

“Race for the Line”. This involves them working in teams of

four to design, shape and

build a model rocket car.

Following this on 27th

February they will take

part in a launch day in

school with timed runs.

The day was thoroughly

enjoyed by the pupils and

enabled them to use and develop a wide range of STEM skills

(Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

Race for the Line

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On Thursday 7th December, pupils from Year 9 and 10 had a memorable testimony by Holocaust Survivor, Walter Kammerling. He shared his wonderful story, not just about him, but also about his family and friends.

Walter was born 1923 in Vienna. He was 14 when Nazi Germany occupied Austria in the Anschluss in March 1938. Walter witnessed the Kristallnacht pogrom on the nights of 9th and 10th November 1938 when Jewish synagogues, shops, businesses and homes were attacked and destroyed across Germany and Austria. In Vienna, hundreds of Jewish men were arrested following the pogrom and sent to Dachau concentration camp. Walter’s parents decided to send him to Britain on the Kindertransport.

On Friday 8th December, there was a workshop for Year 9 pupils given by one of the people who was from the Holocaust Education Trust that Walter is involved in. Each of the teaching groups, Cobb, Hill, Oates and Russ, had an hour-long workshop during lessons 1-4. This gave a different view of the Holocaust and we learnt about topics such as the things Jews were denied and the conditions of the work and death camps. We heard the story of the people who herded the prisoners into the showers and one who wrote a diary and buried it in the ground. Years later it was dug up and read by historians; this uncovered lots more about what we know about the Holocaust today.

It was very moving and has improved our understanding of this event and we thank Walter very much for coming to speak to us.

Year 9 and 10: Visit by Holocaust survivor by Joe Lovell 9N

On the 27th November Year 7 went to visit the Living Rainforest in Newbury.

Once we had all got off the bus we went inside, sat down and had a snack. A lady came to talk to us and then we were allowed free time. During free time, we went around with the adults in our group and were allowed to walk around the centre. There were many interesting things to look at, including: Monkeys, Pythons, Tarantulas, Birds, Tortoises, Turtles, Frogs, Insects, Fish, Sting-Wray, Butterflies, Cinnamon the Sloth, Yellow Trumpet Flowers, Rosy Periwinkle (the plant that holds a chemical to help cure childhood Leukaemia), Pitcher plants and more.

Next we waited until a tour guide came to take us around the centre. Our first tour was on ‘adaptation’. We learnt many new educational facts about amazing plants and animals. We were also told some interesting stories about the different plants and animals that were around.

After our lunch we went on our second tour, which was on ‘sustainability’. We learnt all about how people were destroying rainforests to plant things like Cocoa Trees. When I heard this news I was shocked that people would do this to such a beautiful area of land, and I think many others were as well.

This trip was a wonderful educational opportunity for everyone on it. I have found it very useful for our school work on Rainforests, and I now know more than some of the others in my class.

Year 7: The Living Rainforest by Amy Henry 7A

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The Autumn Term has been a busy one for Year 10 pupils as they make a start on their GCSEs. As

attendance is such an important consideration for pupils and contributes towards high attainment, each

month the Year 10 tutor group with the highest attendance has been recognised and awarded. The

following tutor groups have had the highest attendance each month.

There have been two successful PSHE days, one in October and a second at the start of December. These

days have covered issues of drugs and alcohol abuse, homelessness, budgeting and anti-social behaviour.

Pupils were given the opportunity to discuss issues and looked at the wider issues linked to them. One of

the school governors commented that:

‘The Homelessness presentation not only provided information on causes, effects (physical and

psychological), legal aspects and resolutions but linked it to the individuals’ aspects of life that ensured

physical, mental and social well-being.’

Just over half of Year 10 pupils are participating in the Duke of Edinburgh Award

with many already starting their Volunteering, Physical and Skills activities. Those

participating have also undertaken a day walk to help them understand the

Countryside Code and improve their map-reading skills.

Over the course of the term pupils have been gathering achievement points in lessons for good work,

attitude and home learning tasks. The points have all been added up and the winning tutor group is 10A.

As a reward for their hard work throughout the term 10A will received one hour of ‘golden’ time during

the last week of term. Well done 10A!

During their celebration assembly, which took place on Thursday 14th December, pupils who had shown

outstanding behaviour and attitude to their learning

received certificates and pupils who had ‘zero’ behaviour

points were also congratulated.

Wishing everyone a happy and safe Christmas and New

Year.

Mrs N Osborne Year 10 Co-ordinator

Year 10 News

September 10D

October 10S

November 10A

December 10D and 10N jointly

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The Cross Country was the first Sports Leaders event in the calendar for the primary schools this

academic year. The weather was perfect and the scene was set for a challenging competition. The

Sports Leaders were all in place helping to marshal and control the event.

Last year’s winners Wherwell where keen to repeat

their performance and definitely won the

cheerleading competition as they encouraged their

participants all the way around. They had to accept

the 2nd place position this year with Wallop

achieving first place honours.

Year 8 Young Leaders and Year 10 Sports Leaders joined in with the races and led the runners around

the new course so there was no confusion about the route. Some Leaders helped the pupils to warm

up prior to their event and focus on their individual performance inspiring the competitors to do their

best. Well done to all the Leaders on a very successful event.

Primary Schools’ Cross Country 2017

Cross Country Team Winners 2017 – Wallop School

Overall Team Placing 2017

1st Wallop

2nd Wherwell

3rd Broughton

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Wallop continued their winning streak with the Indoor

Sports Hall Athletics held on Monday 16th October.

They worked hard on the activity stations and managed

to reach Gold medal status and will now attend the

second round in March.

Indoor Sports Hall Athletics 2017

Winners Wallop Sports Hall Athletics 2017

Coaches from Personal Best Educa-

tion set up seven field events which

included the target throw, long jump,

and chest push stations.

The Sports Leaders watched and recorded

the results for each school encouraging all

the competitors to do the best that they

could on each of the athletic disciplines.

The Sports Leaders presented the gold and

silver medal winners to the competitors and

congratulated them for doing so well.

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Did you know that whenever you buy anything online, from your weekly shop to your annual holiday, you could be raising a free donation to our school? There are nearly 3000 retailers (including Amazon, John Lewis, Aviva, Trainline and Sainsbury’s) who will donate a percentage of the amount you spend to our school to say thank you for shopping with them. It’s really simple, does not cost you anything and there are no hidden charges for you. It does, however, provide a fantastic opportunity for the school to raise additional funds we can use to buy vital resources and equipment to support your child’s learning in school.

http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/testvalleyschool/?v=a&u=1NI8RY

Join here:

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Another wonderful Christmas celebration at Stockbridge church. I always enjoy being part of the music department for this event. It’s a pleasure to be invited down to the church to help with the rehearsals and play with our very talented pupils. Mrs Leyman and the pupils work incredibly hard to put together such a wonderful performance. We have so many talented pupils (and some staff) and it is so lovely to be able to hear them perform.

All pupils were real ambassadors for the school during the day and evening. I always think it’s time to start feeling really Christmassy after the Christmas concert!

A Celebration of Christmas by Miss R Williams

We were delighted to recently be able to replace the fencing around our goats’ home and also the pond area. This was due to receiving a significant contribution towards these works from Specsavers of Fareham (thanks to Simon Wain) and a further contribution from Frances Wain. The goats are very pleased with their upgraded area and we would like to say a huge thank you for this generous funding to make this possible.

A thank you from our goats!

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