Curriculum Newsletter Summer 2015

MEADOWSIDE SCHOOL - CURRICULUM NEWSLETTER SUMMER 2015

Homework Dear Parents, Carers and Families, In order to ensure that learners, who have expressed interest, have access to homework at all times we will now be including some homework from a range of subjects within our Curriculum Newsletter every term.

Your son’s/daughter’s teaching group is listed in the

first column and the homework task is listed in the second column. If you are unsure of which group your son or daughter is in, Pastoral staff can give you this information. You may notice that some of the groups appear in more than one column. This means that the tasks have been differentiated and you will find some more challenging and some less challenging tasks.

We would love to hear your feedback on how well your son/daughter has managed the tasks; we can add this to his/her progress file. You can give us this information in the following ways: 

Notes in the Home-School book



Photographs, annotated where appropriate



Written notes completed by your child, where appropriate.

MATHS This term in Maths, learners in Post 16 will continue to follow the topics outlined in the Adult Numeracy Curriculum. We are finding that these topics allow us to develop our Maths skills in a range of real life scenarios and support our learning in other areas as well. This term, the topic is about using ICT in everyday situations. We will be looking at things like interpreting data from insurance comparison websites and using the information to answer questions; writing tweets for the school Twitter page, which conform to the rules about maximum number of characters, and using websites to work out cinema times and bus routes etc.

In Key Stages 3 and 4 and in the Fusion group, we will be learning about shape, space and measure by using a range of equipment to establish length, weight, height and time. Through this topic we will be able to develop our vocabulary, by learning lots of new Makaton signs and using comparison words such as ‘bigger’, ‘longest’, ‘heaviest’ etc.

Learners in the Flair group will be exploring our new Tacpac resource.

Homework Group

Task

16C,

Choose a specific destination from a holiday brochure and use the

4C,

brochure information to work out the cost of holidays for different

Acorn

numbers of people. Don’t forget flight and under occupancy supplements, different board basis and trip durations!

16V,

On a supermarket website or trip to the shops, find and list the prices of

4V, Acorn

a range of items on a shopping list. Find the total cost if you can.

16L,

Use a free leaflet or catalogue from a supermarket, find specified items

Acorn

and how much they cost if you can.

16S,

At the shops find, name, explore and feel different produce. Parents and

Fusion,

carers can help using instructions such as ‘smell the flowers’, ‘find me a

Flair

tomato’ etc.

Mrs Dunn

___________________________________________________________________ MFL Learners will be studying Games and Leisure. They will build their knowledge of French culture and customs, extending their vocabulary through role play and games.

Mrs Carr

ENGLISH Our Author Study will be Michael Morpurgo, children’s writer, poet and playwright.

He was the Children’s Laureate from 2003 to 2005 and his work is noted for its vivid settings and the characters’ relationships with nature. His book ‘Kensuke’s Kingdom’ is set on an island, so the theme of water will be explored, looking specifically at descriptive writing, poetry, non-fiction and vocabulary building.

The grammar focus will be on capital letters and full stops, identifying proper nouns such as names and places. Spelling and phonics will be based on letter digraphs and trigraphs, where appropriate, playing word games and letter building activities to reinforce the sounds and how they come together as words.

Homework Group

Task

16C, 16V

Reading books will be sent home weekly, where possible. Please support

4C, 4V

your son/daughter by reading together over the week, talking about the

Acorn

story or the text and asking questions, where appropriate. The orange homework books will include a short written task, matched to individual abilities. If you could send in a holiday brochure or page about a favourite destination, we will be making our own travel brochures using learners’ own experiences to add Trip Adviser style reviews.

Fusion

Sharing books, talking about characters, visiting the library.

Wirral waters- looking at boats and wildlife in lakes, rivers and the sea

16S, 16L

Visiting the waters of Wirral, particularly the coast. Feeling sand, water

Flair

and listening to the seagulls. Where possible, ride the ferry and talk about the boat journey.

Mrs Hughes MUSIC We are ‘Exploring Arrangements’, listening to different versions of the same song and looking at how accompaniments can change the style of a song. We will be looking at the music of the last four decades, in preparation for the school’s 40th Anniversary celebrations. Learners will

be singing and signing to some new songs. There is a music club available on Thursday lunchtimes for learners who especially enjoy singing and signing.

We will look in more detail at the music of Abba, identifying the band members, their popularity and musical style.

Mrs Hughes

CITIZENSHIP KS3 The Environment - the rainforest, global warming and recycling.

KS4 Human Rights & International Law. Human rights and wrongs. Lessons will include finding out about famous Human Rights campaigners and their achievements.

Post 16 Human Rights & I - Learning about Human Rights.

What are my rights? Exploring the rights of individuals and groups in society.

Mrs Jones

__________________________________________________________________ PSHE KS3 & Fusion: Diversity & Prejudice. Respecting differences and the preferences of others, with activities exploring likes, dislikes, religious beliefs and customs. Lessons will focus upon accepting and respecting differences and learning about prejudices that may be directed towards an individual or group of people in society.

Music, stories, food and dress will also feature in these lessons.

KS4: The Media: newspapers, magazines, TV, movies and games are the focus this term.

Lessons will explore stereotyping, body image, behaviour, equal opportunities and truth and lies associated with media and cyberbullying.

Post 16: The Media. Lessons in Post 16 will relate to the work to be covered in Key Stage 4 with learners also learning about the Law regarding discrimination. We will also discuss the idea of accepting our differences and how they may impact on our lives.

This term we will also have either additional PSHE sessions or a specific event to enable Post 16 learners who have reduced lessons, due to attending off site activities, develop their PSHE understanding.

Mrs Jones

__________________________________________________________________ Life Skills: ILS, DLS & Life Skills KS3 & Fusion: ILS

Helping Others & Myself. Activities will be related to helping others,

participating in a fundraising event and personal well-being through relaxation techniques.

ILS lessons also include developing personal independence and social skills.

4V: DLS

Helping Others: Fair Trade

DLS lessons will involve learning about Fair Trade: What is Fair Trade and how it helps others. Fair Trade information and related food products will be incorporated into lessons. Learners will also make various snack food products that will be sold in the Maroon CafĂŠ that will raise money for kitchen equipment.

Post 16: Life Skills Helping Others: Fair Trade. Learners will build upon their prior learning about Fair Trade. They will learn about the charities and companies that support it. They will support Fair Trade by buying related products and also locally produced products whenever possible, to make a range of meals or food items that can be sold in the Maroon Café. Profits raised from the sale of food items will be used towards the purchase of kitchen equipment this term.

Mrs Jones Forthcoming event: 16C is organising a 1970’s disco on Friday 22nd May. This will begin the celebrations for Meadowside’s 40 Year Anniversary. (The main event will be on Tuesday 30th June.) There will

be music from the 1970’s and snack foods available. Learners and staff can dress in clothes inspired by the fashion of the decade, or a famous person such as a 70’s pop star. What will your style be??

Hippie? Punk?

Glam rock? Disco?

Mrs Jones

Homework: ILS/DLS/Life Skills Groups

Homework Activities

16C

Cookery: Recipe research to find a baking recipe (e.g. biscuit) then shop for the ingredients. Use money skills to budget, use a self-service check to pay and follow the recipe instructions to make the food product.

Cleaning: Changing the bed. Remove dirty bedding, wash the bedding (washing machine) and put on clean bedding. Sort clothes for washing by colours and temperature instructions and put on a machine wash. Hang washing on the line to dry/use tumble dryer. Develop ironing skills.

Acorn,

Cookery: Make a recipe book using the computer or by sticking recipes on paper or in an

16L

magazines). Name it & design a front cover.

4V, 16V, exercise book with recipes found on the internet or magazines (free supermarket

Naming basic equipment and stating its

purpose. Make a hot drink hot snack such as cheese on toast/beans on toast (under supervision).

Cleaning: Helping with washing e.g. clothes, sorting colours and using washing machine.

Hanging clothes on a washing line. Washing, drying and putting away the dishes.

4V, Flair, Cookery: Make a cold drink and/or make a sandwich/spread butter onto toast.

Fusion, 16S

Cleaning: Helping with cleaning jobs at home e.g. dusting, washing and drying a dish they have used. Sorting clothing into groups e.g. underwear, jumpers/matching socks into pairs.

Sensory- smelling food items such as herbs and spices and recording reactions. Washing hands & hand massage.

Related Stories: The Enormous Turnip, The Tiger Who Came to Tea, Pumpkin Soup.

Mrs Jones

SCIENCE In Science this half term, all groups will be learning about rocks and soils. We are hoping to enjoy some offsite learning relating to this. Although it seems that the nearest caves are a very long way away, Fusion group has already been looking at the fossils in the museum in Liverpool. We will be looking at rocks and soils in our local environment and the different ways that humans use these natural resources. If anybody has any interesting fireplaces, walls or work tops at home we would love to see your pictures.

In the second half of the term we will be working hard to improve our Scientific Enquiry skills by completing a range of investigations and experiments. We expect this to be a lot of fun and perhaps a little bit messy!

Mrs Dunn

_______________________________________________________________ ART This term the Art dept. will run a whole school project to commemorate our 40th Anniversary. Each learner will make a ceramic flower which will be sold on our celebration day.

Learners will further develop skills already learned, and the project is appropriate for all levels of understanding and learning. It is hoped that this project will enhance learners’ understanding of, and enjoyment of, commemorating and celebrating an event. Mrs Carr __________________________________________________________________ GEOGRAPHY Learners will be studying Rainforests and Deserts. They will learn about animals and people indigenous to these areas, farming and lifestyles. They will find out about the importance of the rainforest in maintaining climates suitable for life on Earth and how they can play their part in helping to preserve these regions.

Mrs Carr

___________________________________________________________________ HISTORY Learners will study Great Events and Disasters. The focus of this course will be pupil led and will involve research skills on the internet.

Mrs Carr __________________________________________________________________

COMPUTING We will be developing our Digital Literacy, through learning blogs on Kidblog.org. Links to these are on the webpage but are password protected, with individual pupil passwords. We will focus on esafety, equipping learners with the skills to keep safe when online, covering topics such as Facebook, blogging, password security and internet browsing. Purple Mash has a range of activities to support this and learners are supported to save their work to the secure online space. Parents/carers can look on the school website for the Pupil Work section, which includes recent work published by some of the learners.

We will continue to develop basic skills, such as typing text, saving work and locating printers. Learners will use laptops and iPads to carry out similar tasks, identifying which equipment is more suited to certain tasks than others.

Mrs Hughes

__________________________________________________________________ DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY Flair: learners will be experiencing the sensory properties of materials and resources that are inspired by Mechanisms Clocks, winding toys and buzzers.

Fusion: will be using clay and different materials

to

make

garden

windchimes.

Learners

will

also

be

making/preparing resources for Enterprise, enabling them to practise a variety of fine motor skills.

Acorn: will be designing and making a wooden Push Along Toy. Group 4C: is continuing to build on units of work for the Entry Level Certificate in Product Design. Learners are currently completing a clock using acrylic sheet (Perspex).

Group 4V: is continuing to build on skills using the sewing machine.

Learners will make printed table runners, enhancing them with machine embroidery techniques.

Ms Hoffmann Request to all Parents/Carers: I would be grateful for donations of broken jewellery, colourful, shiny, attractive, eye catching accessories (e.g. small toys, trinkets, hair slides etc.), things that you keep meaning to fix but never get round to fixing, anything too nice/good to throw away. Thank you all in anticipation.

Ms Hoffmann

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION Flair: Colours: Patterns, Camouflage. We will be using sensory objects and materials which represent the Earth and animals, to explore a topic called The World Around You. Fusion learners will be experiencing and exploring the theme Festivals Around the World and how they are celebrated.

Acorn: The topic for the Summer Term is to develop an understanding of the beliefs and practices of the Sikh religion and be able to make some basic comparisons with religions previously explored.

Groups 4C & 4L: are continuing working towards an Open Awards Accreditation on ‘Relationships’. They will focus on different scenarios and role plays. They will be encouraged to discuss and share their views and feelings about them.

Post 16 Post 16S: To develop a better understanding of the ways religious people express their beliefs; develop a sense of belonging as part of different communities; develop an awareness of different celebrations.

Post 16L:

Reinforce past learning of the beliefs and practices of Islam and Buddhism,

making comparisons between them.

Post 16V: To continue to complete the ‘Big Book’ on ‘MAKING CHOICES’.

Post 16C: Continuing to complete the accredited work on Beliefs and Practices of different religious groups.

Ms Hoffmann __________________________________________________________________ Careers Key Stage 3 Learners in Acorn group will be focusing on their All About Me booklets and their One Page Profiles, with support from staff and families, to enable them to participate as effectively as they can in their Annual Review meetings. They will also be learning about the emergency service professions e.g. people who work in hospitals, fire stations, the coastguard service, the police etc. If any parents are employed in one of these occupations in any way, learners would really benefit from hearing about your day to day experiences. If you would like to come in to chat with the group, please let me know by contacting the school office.

Key Stage 4 This term, learners will be following up on the very successful WorkRelated Learning Skills Week by finding out about performance and mediarelated occupations in the first half term. If any parents are employed in one of these occupations in any way, learners would really benefit from hearing about your day to day experiences. If you would like to come in to chat with a group, please let me know by contacting the school office.

After half term, groups will be making a positive contribution to the community. Learners in 4C will be researching the roles of charities and fundraising for a charity of their choice.

Learners in 4V will be looking at the outside learning areas of Meadowside School and developing and completing a plan to improve an area of their choice.

Post 16 Learners in Post 16 will also be following up on our recent WorkRelated Learning Skills Week by focusing in the first half term on improving their own communication skills, in areas such as verbal skills, signing, the Picture Exchange Communication System, body language, presentation (including appropriate clothing for various situations), writing letters and completing simple CVs. (Phew!) In the second half term, learners will focus on economic well-being and the need for money and how we use money, including the different ways we can shop e.g. in person or on the internet.

Flair and Fusion Learners in these groups will follow the topics of their peers in the wider body of the school. In Flair Group, learners will have a multi-sensory focus e.g. exploring the sensory garden and developing their communication skills.

In Fusion Group, learners will continue to follow their highly individualised timetables, including working on one aspect of the sensory garden and developing it and extending their experiences of shopping in the local community by visiting a wider range of shops.

Mrs Vickers

PHYSICAL EDUCATION Key Stage 3 learners will be taking part in the Athletics Unit 2, developing their throwing, jumping and running techniques and learning about the history and rules of each activity.

4V learners will be

taking part in the Athletics Unit 1, looking

at exploring their

range of movement, throwing and jumping.

They will look at

developing skills learnt and applying them in

competition

situations.

4C learners will be

taking part in Yoga

relaxation,

different poses and learning two routines

Unit

2 looking at

which they can complete themselves. They will also be looking at their independent work preparing for the transition into Post 16.

Post 16 16S will be taking part in a 5 week Dance course, with staff from Tranmere Rovers F.C. They will be exploring different types of dance and what it means to be active.

They will also be taking part in Striking and Fielding Games Unit 1, working on hitting a ball in golf and aiming for a target.

16L will be taking part in Yoga Unit 1, looking at relaxation and learning a routine from ‘Yoga for Schools’ in which they will be shown how to control their own breathing, relax and move into different positions.

16V will be taking part in Gymnastics Unit 2, looking at developing different movement into a more complex routine with a partner in unison or cannon.

16C will be taking part in Outdoor and Adventurous Activities Unit 3, looking at using more complex maps and reading them, team building games and den/shelter building.

Leisure Option groups will be taking part in swimming, tennis and horse riding on Tuesday afternoons

Flair group will be taking part in Rebound Therapy, developing individual actions/movements on the trampoline, being bounced/rolled and moving body parts with support.

Fusion group will be taking part in Net and Wall Unit 1, looking at seated volleyball. They will be using different equipment, throwing to a partner, scoring and playing games. They will develop skills such as dig, set and smash and movement around the court.

Swimming Each group in Key stage 3 and 4 will be taking part in two swimming lessons per week, focusing on stroke technique, breathing technique, survival, swimming games and water safety.

OSHL (Out of School Hours Learning) We are hoping to have a Multi-Sports Club, Swimming, Wii and Dance Clubs in the Summer Term.

Special Events As part of our ongoing commitment to Sainsbury’s School Games Award we are hoping to take part in the Merseyside Special inter-Schools’ football tournament in Liverpool, and the Merseyside Olympic Legacy Event at Archbishop Beck tennis centre and there will also be School Sport Games Intra School Level 1 events in cricket, boccia, archery and golf.

Don’t forget the ‘Meadolympics’ Sports Day and Special Feeder School Sports Day run by the ‘Young Leaders’ of Meadowside School.

Mr Stubbs

School will close at the end of the day on Friday 1st May and re-open on Tuesday 5th May 2015.

Staff at Meadowside are fully aware of the hazards associated with exposure to sunlight and given that our learners spend the hottest part of the day (lunchtime) in the playground, every effort is made to protect them from harmful rays.

We do however encourage parents and carers to take responsibility for the prevention of sunburn by applying sunscreen before sending learners to school, or by sending in sunscreen (named) for application during short exposure to the sun in breaktimes, lunchtimes and PE lessons.

Please note that school does not hold any stock of

sunscreen.

There are also anticipated longer exposures to the sun in cross country running, Sports Day etc. Staff will encourage learners to apply their own sunscreen or, if support is needed, staff will apply named sunscreen to students, unless parents write to refuse to grant permission. Sunscreen will only be applied to the face, neck, arms and lower legs of learners by staff.

In all cases of anticipated exposure to the sun, Meadowside encourages the use of long sleeved clothing and wide brimmed hats and recommends a sunscreen with SPF of no less than 30.

Thank you for your support.

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