Issue 3

This magazine was published thanks to the generosity of Andrew Douglas, owner of Newhall Publications, which includes Candis, one of Britain’s highest selling magazines.

Meadowside School Pool Lane Woodchurch Wirral CH49 5LA Tel 0151 6787711 www.meadowsideschool.com

Local Businesses - would you like to sponsor the next edition of the

Meadowside Magazine? An advertisement this size would cost £40; one half this size would cost £20.

Contact the Editor - Mrs Hughes - or the school office.

A warm welcome to the third edition of our Meadowside

Magazine. Inside you will find interesting information and fantastic photographs which illustrate some of the many exciting events involving our young people in the Spring Term 2014.

Activities highlighted include:

Special Achievements Fundraising



Crosby Lakeside Watersports Centre

During Half Term we took part



Theatre visits to see “We Will Rock You” at the Echo

in a bag pack at Morrisons, New

Arena and “Barmy Britain” at the Floral Pavilion

Brighton, to raise money for



Bag-packing at Morrisons to raise funds

school. It was a huge success



Residential visit to Barnstondale Activity Centre

And last but by no means least our 4th Annual WorkRelated Learning Skills Week. The week was a resounding success with activities both on and off-site; we had a visit from staff from Barclays Bank, we went to Claremont Farm, Hillbark Hotel and West Wirral Works, to name but

and after much hard work we raised

£455.00!

All

staff,

parents and pupils who came along had a brilliant day! Thank you to all who took part and the staff at Morrisons for making

a few.

us feel welcome.

In addition, we held a Craft Fair, involving members of our

Loren Miller

local community and we hosted (and cooked) a meal for a very few of our many community friends including members

We were very pleased to make the shortlist for the Shine A Light

of the Governing Body and Work Experience providers.

Awards this year. Shine A Light celebrates excellent practice in

Ingredients for the meal were locally sourced and the meal

supporting communication development in children and young people.

was extremely well received by all!

I hope you enjoy reading about our exciting life at Meadowside School. I am already looking forward to the next edition of the Meadowside Magazine!

Bag Books is a UK-wide charity that provides tactile

Warmest Regards

and multi-sensory books. A storyteller - Fiona, from Bag

Christine Vickers - Acting Head Teacher

Books came to school for the day.

Some of the stories were scary; she brought fluffy spiders to feel. Other stories included music or sound effects when a button was pushed.

The boards and props brought the stories to life; everyone really enjoyed them.

Art

Art, craft and design embody some of the highest forms of human creativity. A high-quality art and design

After School Clubs

education should engage, inspire and challenge pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experi-

This term we have had five different clubs on

ment, invent and create their own works of art, craft

offer: football, Lego, sewing, swimming and

and design.

Boxercise. The learners enjoy staying after

Alastair has a particular interest in animals; a lot of his

school to do activities they may not have had

work includes studies of animals.

opportunities to access during the school day.

Lia is looking at images of marine life, for starting points for her art work .

Taylor’s design is based on a picture of a sunset, which he downloaded from his computer at home.

Mrs Carr

Enterprise We were especially busy this term, spending a whole day in the

Arrowe Park Hospital restaurant, selling craft items. We also put on a Craft Fair, as part of Skills Week, working with

Woodchurch C of E primary school children. The Craft Fair was a great success.

Artwork is on display around the school, celebrating our hard work and creative ideas.

Crosby Lakeside The Respect Group has been travelling to Crosby in Liverpool to complete accredited modules in Team Activities and Outdoor Pursuits at the Water Sports Centre. The group has so far enjoyed Bellboating, Canoeing and Team Building activities, which have included building a raft from barrels and logs before testing its sea-worthiness. Let’s just say there were a few wet feet!

During Skills Week, a different group went to Crosby for a taster session. The learners worked well as a team and helped to lash three canoes together and managed to cross the lake without even rowing! Because of the high wind, the group was able to use the paddles as sails, and sailed from one side of the lake to the other!

Mrs Dunn

Humanities Acorn and Beech groups went to the Floral Pavilion Theatre to see the Horrible Histories show,

Ba r m y

Britain.

Everyone had a really good time.

Puzzle Page

We have been so busy this term that we couldn’t possibly fit all we have done into this magazine. The wordsearch below is hiding some of the additional work experience and offsite visits and community-focused activities we have enjoyed.

B D G H W M U S E U M S Y A T T D H S Z

C X B H O Y Z N M V T U T E C H Y X C E

E A B O Y R X U Q D W W B Y N G B D R Q

J D V R T W T J R K T E J Y P I F E T C

S J Q R R U A I E F S M I L E L L G D J

K E Q I H Q C C C T Q S E F K N C U M B

T R E B V A J K B U C W W H F U R R Q I

E C E L I L D I S M L G P F V S F L P Q

W F N E T E T I D H M T D H Q T F Y K N

J T F H M E L M E L O A U Z N R T J J S

U R C I S W T C C C F P Q R N O D C Y A

O A U S E L A S E K A C C Z E P U U V I

H T C T H F T Q F N X P H B G S R F Q N

Best Bites Cake Sale Horrible Histories Horticulture Museums PE Technician Port Sunlight Sainsbury’s Tuck Shop Valentine’s Disco

P S P O B J R Q H L R Y Y D A B Z B J S

Y S R R L Z D C H Y U U M M Y W R W O B

A Q Y I Z W C T D P N E R R V X T G U U

M Z C E F C N J V J M T J R Z T L V T R

H U H S I B D W H G W X M H Z F X G F Y

B O C S I D S E N I T N E L A V Q I L S

P E T E C H N I C I A N X H S V F Y T S

Student Council In January, Gordon Caddy, Environment Officer for the Rotary Club, encouraged us to apply

Accreditation

for a Love Wirral Grant to buy gardening equipment for our Kitchen Garden project. We applied for £350 and in March we found out that we had been successful, which was fantastic news. Thank you to everybody who voted for us.

We received a cheque for £88 for December’s Bag2School collection. This will go towards our Water Aid donation.

Our next Bag2School pick up is on Thursday 15th May. Please send in your unwanted, clean clothes and textiles.

In February half term, Jenny Schwarz, from the Rotary Club took a collection of small equipment - pens, pencils, colours etc., for the children in India. Thank

Learners in 16L played board games as part of their work on an accredited unit called ‘Getting About Safely’.

you to the Meadowside families and staff who sent items in.

During Environment Week in March, the D of E group very bravely tackled the weather, to litter-pick at Thurstaston.

Unfortunately, due to the very high tide, they were unable to access the beach but they still managed to fill an amazing 12 bags from the surrounding area, which was very impressive.

We have obtained 30 saplings from the Woodland Trust, 10 each

Learners in 4C are working on a unit called ‘Accessing

of Rowan, Cherry and Silver Birch. We will be planting these at

Helping Services’. They practised using the telephone

Queen’s Park in Hoylake after Easter with Gordon and other

to call different services but found it difficult to

Rotarians.

keep a straight face!

Pauline Freeman

They also made a key tag and a safety poster for an Entry Level Certificate in Product Design, focusing on Health & Safety.

R.E. In R.E. we have used jigsaws to learn about different religious families. 16L has put together a dramatisation of the Easter Story.

English

This term we were lucky enough to be given tickets to a performance of ‘We Will Rock You’ by students from the Liverpool Media Academy. It was the largest school visit for many years and it was thoroughly

This term we have been using measuring equipment to create different products. We made salt dough using cups, measuring jugs and weighing scales to measure out the ingredients - salt, flour and water.

We were able to use the dough to explore halves and quarters and make shapes and letters. The learners found this a useful and practical way of completing the tasks and were able to grasp the concepts through a ‘hands on’ approach.

enjoyed by students and staff alike. We set off for the Echo Arena Auditorium in a three bus convoy which included a double decker, kindly paid for by the HSA. We were greeted at the venue by a group of musicians, playing a combination of modern and older familiar songs before heading into the theatre. We soon settled into our seats and the performance began; it was being streamed live on the internet and had over 28 000 viewers worldwide!

Miss Hartgrave

The performers from the Liverpool Media Academy did a wonderful job; Helena danced so hard her shoe fell off! Jaymie tapped out the beat to all of the songs and sat perfectly still every time the music stopped.

‘Amazing!’’ - Holly R ‘The girls were my favourite’. - Jonathan ‘It was great.’ - Luke W

Science CRAZY CHEMISTRY!!!

We have been studying reactions this term. Mr Farrelly did some exciting experiments with Key Stage 3 which involved launching our very own rockets (very safely of course)! We all wore our safety goggles and made sure that we kept right back! Mr Farrelly made his very own rocket fuel, just using items from the kitchen. Maddison said the launch made her jump but it “was very exciting”. As can be seen from our pictures, one of the launches nearly hit Mr Farrelly on “re-entry”. Caleb said there was a loud “pop” but it was still “really good”.

Well done Meadowside’s own Rocketeers!

Mr Farrelly

This year’s World Book Day celebration was based on the work we have been doing in English on Myths and Legends.

All of the students have been learning about the types of characters and the features of different British Myths and Legends, and spent World Book Day creating their own stories.

Mrs Dunn

Fusion This term, Fusion group has been working towards trying

P.S.H.E.

We have looked at toiletries and medicines, identifying where and how they are used on our bodies. We discussed smells and enjoyed a sensory story with some interesting scents. Mrs Jones

new things and extending experiences. Kimberley ate haggis as part of our Burns Night celebrations, Sean tried Marmalade Flap Jacks and found that he really enjoyed them and everybody accessed a range of new lessons as part of the Skills Week programme. Mr Farrelly has been taking Fusion to Port Sunlight and everybody

now

knows

the

rule, ‘Don’t touch in museums’.

Mrs

Dunn

enjoyed with

has

especially

visiting

Vale Park

Fusion

group,

where

everyone

has

been

experimenting

on

range

playground

of

a

wider

equipment.

We have been very busy in the

Kitchen

Garden

this

year. Learners have worked hard at weeding, preparing

Mrs Dunn

Flair Learners

in

Flair

have

continued to benefit from a multi-sensory approach to the curriculum, using materials to stimulate

Life Skills

different

senses.

Flair continues to work with the Acorn Group on Mondays for the African Drumming workshops.

Mrs Hughes

the

soil

and

planting

vegetables and fruit trees.

Since September, we have planted herbs, red and white onions, garlic, potatoes, rhubarb and raspberry canes, along with apple and pear trees. We are hoping for lots of sunshine and some occasional rain to help them grow. We have also been successful with Meadowside’s bid for council funding and we are hoping to sell some flowers and plants to raise money to fund our new project further.

14-19 groups continue to develop skills in shopping for ingredients, paying for food and making a range of food items.

They bought ingredients to make a meal to celebrate Chinese New Year. Lots of other foods have been made including making Pizza bases and Calzone Pizzas, cookies, cakes and stir-fry.

Mrs Jones

I.C.T .

This term we have explored some exciting innovations - the Makey Mak ey a nd th e Lea pMo tion controller. Both gadgets allow alternative access to a computer.

We made a guitar out of card and coins, and moved onscreen images with just a sweep of a hand. We have also upgraded all of our ICT room computers to new convertible laptop/tablets.

The iPads continue to be a great success and we have a huge range of Apps that are both educational and fun.

Mrs Hughes

The Signing Singers sang and signed for the Skills Week gala Meal. They enjoyed and did it so well that we have been booked to sing again this year at the Church Luncheon Club. Music lessons have become much louder since we purchased some real orchestral instruments. We have, amongst others, a French horn, a quarter sized cello and a flute.

Mrs Hughes

This year, nine learners attended the residential visit in March 2014 at Barnstondale Activity Centre in Wirral. Six learners stayed overnight for four nights and three learners attended the daytime activities

on

the

Tuesday,

Wednesday

and

Thursday. Staying at Barnstondale offered a wide range of adventurous activities including rifle shooting, team building/problem solving, climbing and abseiling, archery, orienteering, barbecue, campfire, cinema time and P.E. games. The fully trained instructors at Barnstondale, who were professional and friendly, made our stay a great success.

All learners involved had a fantastic time and enjoyed their week away with staff, reinforcing lifelong lasting relationships within school.

Mr Stubbs

D&T Learners

in

Acorn

group

completed their project,

have

P.E.

“Design

and Make a Cushion” based on birds. They all did really well, using pins to join fabric together, cutting out using fabric scissors and using the sewing machine safely.

Learners in Beech Group tried

In P.E., pupils have been taking part in outdoor adventurous activities, gymnastics, yoga,

flying kites they had designed but

skateboarding, rebound therapy and dance.

we picked a day that was not very

Post 16 pupils have created a special ‘Chick-hop’ dance for our Easter performance.

windy! We did get one to fly though.

Learners in Fusion built dens in outdoor adventurous activities.

Acorn group worked together in skateboarding activities.

In January, a mixed group of learners from Key Stages 3 and 4 and Post 16 competed for the second time this year in the Merseyside

Special

Schools

Football

Tournament, where they came very close runners-up after losing on penalties.

Mr Stubbs We bought a new Construction Kit to make a giant water run.

It promotes positive teamwork skills, working together to figure out how it works. We can’t wait to take it outside and run water down it!

Ms Hoffmann

M.F.L. This term we have been learning the French words for parts of the body. We have been learning to read, write and say the words in French.

Mrs Carr

This year’s theme was Business and Enterprise. Learners in Key Stage 4 and in Post 16 were engaged for the week in a wide range of activities designed to give them a taste of the skills needed in everyday life, and in working life, when they eventually leave Meadowside School. Highlights of the week include the following: 

A visit to Hillbark Hotel to learn about jobs available in the hotel industry and to learn how to lay a table for a formal meal



Working on an allotment to develop an understanding of the link between plants and food



Visiting The Vocational College and Wirral Metropolitan College to enjoy a taster of the Retail and Catering industries



Making many beautiful craft items and selling them at Arrowe Park Hospital and at our Craft Fair



Cooking a very special, locally sourced Gala Lunch for our business

partners,

waiting

on

tables

and

clearing

up

afterwards 

Making beautiful placemats at West Wirral Works, showing Wirral scenes, for the Gala Lunch



The regular Mock Interviews, in which interviewers were extremely impressed with the presentation and confidence of our young people

I could go on and on and on, but I have run out of space. Suffice it to say that the relaxation sessions on Friday afternoon were well deserved!

Mrs Vickers