Welcome to the Summer 2022 edition of the Meadowside Magazine. It has been wonderful to have a more usual term which has seen the return of popular features of Meadowside school life, such as Sports Day, the Summer Fair and the Year 7 and new pupils’ Residential. We have enjoyed welcoming parents, carers and families back into our school and hope to be able to do so again in September when we hope to hold a ‘Welcome Back Barbecue’, (date to be confirmed).
In September we will have 100+ pupils on roll, so over the summer holidays we will be decorating and re-flooring a large room at the rear of the school so it can be used as a classroom rather than a Design Technology workshop. We will also have an additional teacher from September so there will be 12 pastoral groups rather than 11 which provides us with a wider range of groups and options, particularly for Key Stage 4 and post 16 pupils. I hope you and your household enjoy a more normal summer holiday this year. I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that school re-opens for pupils in Key Stage 3, (Years 7, 8 and 9), on Monday 5th September and all other pupils on Wednesday 7th September. School Transport have been informed that pupils in group 4V, 4C, 16V, 16C, Fusion, Focus 14-19 and pupils in Flair group who are in years 10 or above will not be in school until Wednesday 7th September. Paula Wareing
Head Teacher
Some of our pupils represented Meadowside at the Everton in the Community ‘Olympic Legacy Event’ in Liverpool recently. A mixed aged/ability team competed in several events including archery, football, (sit down) volleyball, Kin-ball, Kurling, basketball and a differentiated relay race. All of the participants demonstrated fantastic attitudes and determination as they produced a brilliant team effort to help us finish in the top three places, supporting one another throughout the day”.
Mr Pemberton
Summer 2022
FUTURES WEEK
Careers Lead J Goalen
We started the week with a trip to Merseyrail to see how the drivers operate trains. Then we went on the disused railway line of the Wirral Way and finished with a picnic at Thurstaston. On our second day, a large group of pupils went to Manchester Airport whilst others stayed in school and made a train!
Summer 2022
FUTURES WEEK
Careers Lead J Goalen
Some pupils had a special visit to Wirral Transport Museum
Other pupils visited West Cheshire College, met ex pupils and learned about their Travel and Tourism class by role playing Cabin Crew in a real life plane!
Summer 2022
FUTURES WEEK
Careers Lead J Goalen
We visited Thornton Hall Hotel and learned all about jobs in hospitality.
We were lucky to have ex pupils, who are now at Wirral Met College doing supported internship and Preparation for Working Life Courses, who came to talk to us about their experiences.
Summer 2022
FUTURES WEEK
Careers Lead J Goalen
Pupils went to the Arriva bus depot on an Arriva bus and learned about all the jobs which keep our public transport system running.
On the last day of the week we looked at job vacancies under the theme of Travel, Transport and Leisure. Everyone chose, and applied for, a job then attended a mock interview with our Volunteer Governors and staff from the Merseyside Growth Platform and Careers Hub.
Summer 2022
CAREERS
Careers Lead J Goalen
In KS3 this term pupils have learned about many aspects of jobs and work in catering. They learned about famous Chefs like Jamie Oliver and also the jobs that our kitchen staff, Sharon our Head Cook and Michelle our Assistant Cook do every day.
In Work related learning pupils continued to develop the Community Café and this term we have invited pupils and staff from Foxfield school. Don't forget to come in the Autumn term on a Wednesday afternoon.
Pupils in KS4 and Post 16 have had a very hands-on term, choosing and applying for, jobs in the area that interest them. They use the Government’s Career website to gain a better knowledge of the different roles. Later on in the term lots of pupils took part in travel training and a visit to the Upton Job Centre .
Computing During the Summer Term, pupils learned about and experienced some Office software. They have enjoyed developing formatting skills to enhance their text and pictures, along with the use of animation and transitions in PowerPoint to make presentations more eye catching. Pupils have also been learning about ESafety, considering what is meant by Privacy and how we should also ask permission before we share pictures of other people. Pupils learnt to use transitions, animation effects and hyperlinks between slides., within their PowerPoint presentations. Some pupils wanted to deliver their Powerpoint presentations to the class and did an excellent job of controlling the presentation and speaking to the class.
Pupils used MS Word to create fact sheets with lovely graphics and formatting tools to make text clear and the page eye catching.
Mrs Charmley
Maths
Learning about direction, following pathways to identify the turns and changes in direction.
Pupils have covered a range of topics in Maths during the Summer term:. Key Stage 3: Multiplication, Position and Direction, Temperature, Time Key Stage 4&5: Fractions, Money, Weight, Capacity and Angles. Playing a variety of games based around telling the time, using dominoes, clock faces, snap cards and match up cards.
They used money to identify coins and their values, applying this knowledge to calculate totals for shopping.
Pupils worked in small groups to navigate one another to a hidden object, using directional language, considering the turn direction, angle and distances to travel.
It has been another busy term in Science, with pupils learning about reproduction, properties of materials and the weather. Semi-Formal learners linked their topic of ‘Food Glorious Food’ to some of these themes, by growing plants from seed, looking for seeds inside fruit and veg, and planning a picnic. Discover group has worked really hard to learn new Makaton signs relating to the weather, hopefully they won’t need the sign for ‘rain’ very much over the holidays! Pupils in Aspire made rain gauges and placed them in the Edible Playground. Pupils were very patient trying to measure rainfall during what felt like a very dry month! We learnt about the different equipment used for measuring the weather and in 4L and Discover, pupils made ‘windometers’ which they used to establish the direction the wind was blowing, they seemed to enjoy this task very much. Mrs Dunn
Some of our pupils visited Birkenhead Park to see the Knife Angel. The Angel is made up of 100,000 confiscated knives from 43 Police Forces across the UK. The sculpture was created to highlight the negative effects of violent behaviour.
A small group of pupils also participated in a Police day at the park and they were able to meet up with Police Officers and their dogs. They also had the opportunity to try on Police vests and handcuffs and learn more about being a part of the force. Jenny Wright
Fusion
The pupils in Fusion have had another busy term! We have really embraced our topic ‘Food Glorious Food’ and have been able to make and taste a wide range of foods and drinks. We have particularly enjoyed making different foods that you might eat at a picnic including sausage rolls, sandwiches and biscuits.
We have continued to develop our understanding of number and how it relates to the real world. We have started to turn our snack time into a shop where we exchange coins for the snack that we want and then use symbols to request them. In creative lessons we have been creating a range of Aboriginal art pieces.
We have been really enjoying our weekly swimming lessons as well as participating in the ‘come and try’ event for sports day. We have continued to develop our relationships with the wider school community including celebrating events such as birthdays and the Queen’s Jubilee.
The highlight of our term has been going to the Wirral Transport Museum as part of Futures Week. We were able to travel on an old fashioned tram and then explore the museum. Well done Fusion for having a really positive and successful school year. Have a safe and enjoyable summer!
Mrs O’Connor
Media This term the media group has been looking at social media. We learned about how to stay safe whilst using social media and completed accreditation around e safety. We looked at the style, tone and format of social media posts. Then we wrote our own social media posts based on a range of news stories. In the second half of the term we reviewed advertising campaigns before designing our own. The group have worked incredibly hard and come up with some really creative ideas.
We reported on Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee by writing social media posts, newspaper reports and recording a newsroom report. Miss Hudson
Health and Wellbeing The wellbeing group has had an excellent Summer term. We have focused on developing emotional resilience and particularly enjoyed learning about ‘The Power of Positivity’. Each week we listen to a different category of music and discuss how it makes us feel. Our challenge this term has been to work well with others and to develop this skill we have taken part in a range of team activities including boccia, board games and golf. Miss Hudson
Photography It has been a productive term for the photography group. We have been developing our photo editing skills using a range of software. The pupils have learned to enhance and change images. In particular we enjoyed using a digital camera to take photographs. Miss Hudson
Pre-Formal Curriculum In Flair the pupils have welcomed in the Summer term with our topic Perfect Picnic Fun. Pupils have enjoyed using our Immersive Theatre to take ‘trips’ to the beach. They have made ‘sensory’ cocktails and used the Queen’s Jubilee to enjoy a fantastic ‘Picnic Party’ outside in our edible garden. They have even travelled on a train to the beach as part of our careers week! As part of our Perfect Picnic Fun topic, Flair group prepared a beach themed picnic. They recreated windy beaches by using hairdryers (that they control through switches), applied sun cream on their bodies using their senses to explore, discovered stones and shells in the sand, played ball on the beach and made food for their picnics! Across the term, pupils have engaged in sensory activities linked with class stories. The children loved to squelch in the mud and feel the long grass during ’Going on a Bear Hunt’. Another firm favourite is the ’Cat in the Hole’, where the children have to pull on the rope to save the poor kitten!
It’s been a pleasure to see the children of Flair develop bonds with staff and peers this term, progress with their swimming, improve in physiotherapy sessions and enjoy the sensory environment in our classroom and garden. Mr Brown
We have enjoyed working towards several performances this term: the Merseyside Music Festival, held in Bluebell Park School, Liverpool and the Summer Signalong, held at Meadowside. All of the pupils performed with confidence and had a great time singing and signing, with a little bit of dancing thrown in. It was amazing to be able to all be together at such events, after missing them for two years. We have also been singing songs for enjoyment, playing instruments to accompany the music. Mrs Hughes
Jubilee Celebrations
We had a wonderful celebration for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, with an outdoor ‘street party’ style lunch. Our thanks go to Sharon and Michelle who made the food. Pupils enjoyed an outdoor disco, with everyone dressed in red, white and blue!
Citizenship Pupils in Aspire looked at ways to reduce waste. They decided that a clothes swap would help, with pupils bringing in an unwanted item and taking a different item home.
Pupils in Enquire have looked at sustainability in terms of fashion and the environment. They read the story of the ‘ The man who planted all the trees’ and reflected on their own experience of planting trees in the local area. They talked about how caring for and planting trees will ensure future generations have access to green spaces and nature.
Pupils across the school have been finding ways to reduce, recycle and reuse.
Mrs Hughes
RE Formal Curriculum Key Stage 3 Pupils have been learning about charities who they help and what do they do and why some of the charities are linked to different religious and nonreligious beliefs. Pupils have had stories, watched charity adverts and the emotions involved when watching them. KS4 & Post 16 The topic this year was Festivals. Pupils found out about some of the festivals associated with the main religions by watching videos, research and discussions. This also included learning about Humanists and their beliefs. Semi-Formal Learning about religions is part of The World Around Me (TWAM ) area of the Semi-Formal Curriculum. This term lessons have included music, stories, craft and food related to different festivals that have included Buddha Day and Diwali. Mrs Jones
Life Skills KS3 pupils have been learning about household cleaning and recycling. This term there has been germ experiments and pupils learning about germs by growing bacteria on bread and seeing how good the pupils are at handwashing by checking hands with an ultraviolet light. Lessons have involved cleaning activities such as washing windows, floors and vacuuming. Lessons on recycling have involved learning from videos, making craft with recycled items and pizza with leftover ingredients.
KS4 pupils have made many different food items to develop their practical skills and hygiene when cleaning up. They have also sold some cakes and biscuits to make some money to go to charity.
Post 16 Post 16 made lots of different food items using basic ingredients such as pasta, rice and tinned foods. This has given pupils the opportunity to make and try both familiar and new food items many pupils have asked for the recipes to make them at home.
14-19 Options: Cookery Snacks Strawberry cakes, cookies, pizza, stir fry, biscuits and potato snacks are some of the foods pupils have made and enjoyed this term. Mrs Jones
PSHE Key Stage 3
Key Stage 3 pupils have been learning about puberty and body image. They have explored what happens both physically and emotionally when you go through puberty, the differences and similarities between male and female puberty, how the body changing affects your mental health, body image and some eating disorders.
Key Stage 4 and Post 16 (14-19) Key Stage 4 and Post 16 pupils have been learning about Relationships and Sex Education. Covering healthy and unhealthy relationships, consent, sexually transmitted infections, contraception and teen pregnancy. The Brook Centre came into school for the first 3 weeks of term to deliver 3 sessions for 14-19 groups around the themes of the term. Pupils were able to discuss ideas and look at different contraception options. Mr Stubbs
After School Clubs
Pupils have been able to take part in various After School Clubs, including fit to dance, edible garden, football and small animal care. Mr Stubbs
‘MeadOlympics’ Sports Day This year’s ‘MeadOlympic’ Sports Day was held on the 5th July. Pupils had an amazing afternoon taking part in various physical and sporting activities outside and in the hall. It was wonderful to see so many parents in attendance after the challenges of the last couple of years.
Pupils took part in Archery where they developed their fine motor skills by holding and releasing the arrow, using a bow.
Pupils took part in Athletics, were able to participate in the standing long jump and the speed bounce to score points for their team.
Pupils taking part in target throw game, threw Velcro balls at a target for accuracy
Well done to the winning team on the day—’TEAMWORK’ Mr Stubbs
Pupils taking part MATP (motor training activity programme) ‘come and try’ events for pupils in for pre and semi formal groups.
In Hockey pupils had to dribble with the ball and then shoot into the net.
To finish the afternoon pupils took part in a whole school dance to the ‘EveryBodyMoves’ dance routine of can’t stop the feeling.
This term during English we have been studying the play Romeo and Juliet. The pupils have watched and read parts of the play. We have had lots of fun acting out the scenes, particularly the fighting scenes. Pupils have been educated on the danger of knives by studying, the ‘No More Knives’ Campaign, set up by Merseyside police. To emphasise the danger of knives, they have visited the Knife Angel Moment, stationed in Birkenhead Park. During the visit, they managed to talk to the community police and learn about the knife amnesty campaign. The campaign encouraged the local community to drop off knives without any consequences.
Enquire, re-enacting the play Romeo and Juliet. The Prince Esculas, punishes Romeo for killing Tybalt and banishes him from Verona.
Aspire re-enacting Romeo and Juliet. They are practising the scene were Juliet wakes up out of a deep sleep.
This term during Drama, the group have been studying voice control whilst on the stage. The pupils moved around to see how their voices projected to the audience. The group have also been watching and studying the play Romeo and Juliet. The group have had lots of fun re-enacting and rehearsing their version of Romeo and Juliet.
The group are practising the ball scene held by the Capulets. The characters being played from left to right are Juliet, Tybalt and Lady Capulet.
The group are practising the fight scene between Mercutio and Tybalt. Mrs Roberts
MFL This term during French we have been learning about hobbies and what we like to play in our spare time. The class have been practising their vocabulary whist playing lots of different games and singing. The class learned how to play hopscotch outside, whilst using their French number skills. Mrs Roberts
D&T
In D&T, pupils have worked on a number of different topics this term. Producing very high standards of work & using their imagination. They have enjoyed the different tasks put in front of them & have shown off their skills making different models.
Ms Hoffmann
Art — Aboriginal Memorial Poles
In Art, pupils worked very hard making Aboriginal memorial poles. Traditionally, memorial poles were used to house the bones of the deceased. Pupils decorated their individual work with some beautiful designs. Ms Hoffmann
Residential at Barnstondale Pupil took part in this year’s Residential at Barnstondale Activity Centre from Wednesday 13th July to Friday 15th July 2022. Pupils had the opportunity to stay overnight for one night and take part in 1 and 1/2 days of exciting activities. Pupils taking part in Archery where they developed their fine motor skills by holding and releasing the arrow, using a bow. Pupils could try and pop the balloon.
Pupils took part in cannonball run, where they had to transport the cannon parts from one part of the centre to the other, then reassemble it all while being timed.
Pupils taking part in the wild wood experience learnt to build a shelter and also fire lighting using flint and steel. All pupils had great fun in this activity.
Pupils taking part in a camp fire in the evening. They had a lovely time chatting to each other while being safe. They were able to safely place a piece of wood onto the fire to keep it going for longer
Pupils taking part in orienteering, where they had to find markers around Barnstondale centre to complete their challenge. Pupils could work as a group having different roles within the activity.
Staffing News Ms Hudson will be leaving us at the end of this term. Staff and pupils will be very sorry to see her go but we wish her luck in her new school. We will be welcoming several new staff to school in September; Ms Boyle and Ms Wilson are both experienced teachers of children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and they will be joining us as Specialist Classroom Teachers. James will be joining us from a school in Chester, he will be a member of our TA3 team together with Jack as he continues with his TA3 apprenticeship. Tracy is also taking on a TA3 role next term and we say farewell to Jordan and Sue. During the holidays Chelsea and Heather will be undertaking a Level 2 Swim Teachers Award to enhance the school’s swimming teaching team. We wish them luck on their course.
Thank you We are extremely grateful to Bryan Douglas-Dala who is stepping down after 8 years as a Governor at our school, during which time he has also been our Chair of Governors. Our Governors give their time and expertise to support and challenge the school, and we would like to take this opportunity to thank them all.
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