de Stafford School Newsletter - May 2019

de news News and updates from de Stafford School

Summer Term 2018-19 Edition 1

IN THIS ISSUE GEOGRAPHY TRIP TO NAPLES DUKE OF EDINBURGH’S AWARD UPDATE ART GALLERY OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FOR DE STAFFORD STAFF MEMBER, MATT LEADBEATER

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS ‘THE WOMAN IN BLACK’ THEATRE TRIP LITERACY UPDATES PE NEWS

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY 27-31 MAY 2019

HALF TERM HOLIDAY

3 JUNE 2019

RETURN TO SCHOOL - WEEK 1 TIMETABLE

10 JUNE 2019

YR 7 EXAMS COMMENCE

13 JUNE 2019

YR 8 THAMES YOUNG MARINERS TRIP

17 JUNE 2019

YR 9 EXAMS COMMENCE

17 JUNE 2019

NORMAL SCHOOL TIMETABLE RESUMES

19 JUNE 2019

YR 11 GCSE EXAMS END

27 JUNE 2019

YR 11 PROM NIGHT

28 JUNE 2019

INSET DAY

2 & 3 JULY 2019

YR 6 INDUCTION DAYS

5 JULY 2019

CAREERS FAIR

8 JULY 2019

YR 7 FRYLANDS WOOD TRIP (1)

9 JULY 2019

YR 10 BUSINESS DAY

11 JULY 2019

YR 7 FRYLANDS WOOD TRIP (2)

12 JULY 2019

SPORTS DAY

15 - 18 JULY 2019

CELEBRATION ASSEMBLIES (SEE PAGE 7)

19 JULY 2019

LAST DAY OF TERM - 1:40PM FINISH

EDITION 1

CAREERS FAIR

SUMMER TERM

FROM THE HEADTEACHER’S DESK

FROM THE HEADTEACHER’S DESK Dear Parents/Carers This has been a particularly short half-term but lots of activities have still taken place in the 23 working days since we returned from the Easter break; I do hope you enjoy reading about them in our newsletter.

As we come towards the end of another academic year, our thoughts begin to turn towards 2019/20 and beyond to ensure we continue on our journey of school improvement. It certainly feels like an exciting time to be part of the de Stafford community. For the second year running, a record number of applications were made to join the school this September; we are oversubscribed with a lengthy waiting list despite increasing our admission number by 30 places. As part of phase 2 of our school expansion programme, work will continue on developing the site to ensure we have the facilities in place to meet the demand. An intensive period of summer works will commence, once the GCSE exams have finished, resulting in significant improvements to a number of areas, including brand new toilet facilities.

Whilst we will continually look to improve the school’s infrastructure, the most important focus is always on the children and the experience that they get day in, day out. It is reassuring to note from the feedback we receive from you, and them, that the vast majority of students here are happy, enjoy coming to school, feel well cared for and are making good progress. Personally, it has been a real pleasure to meet a number of students this halfterm who have achieved over 100 achievement points. It is great to hear them talk with such confidence and enthusiasm about their school experience. However, I am conscious that there may be occasions when you have concerns and it is important that these are addressed before they escalate. Please feel free to contact my PA, Anna Hughes (anna.hughes@destafford.org.uk) if ever you would like to meet with me in person to discuss a particular issue.

Sadly, at the end of this week we say goodbye to Mrs Singleton who has secured a new teaching role closer to home which will afford her more time to spend with her young family. Mrs Singleton joined de Stafford in 2008 and in the 11 years since her arrival she has played a full and active role in the life of the school. As Head of House, Head of Year and most recently Pupil Premium Coordinator she has worked tirelessly to ensure students pastoral wellbeing has been at the forefront of our provision, supporting some of our most vulnerable students with great care and compassion. I am sure you would like to join me in thanking Mrs Singleton for all her efforts over the years and wishing her all the very best for the future.

Enjoy the half-term break.

Jeremy Garner Headteacher

"I will not deny a degree of apprehension when tasked with taking 36 students to the Bay of Naples for 4 days. I was over the moon, therefore, to return with a very happy group, having had a thoroughly enjoyable and educational experience.

The respect, the integrity, the motivation, and the behaviour of these students blew me away from start to finish; - I cannot praise them enough for making the trip an outstanding experience for all. So, from me, a huge thanks to these wonderful young people and to Miss Bailey, Mrs Boffee and Mr Jones, without whom the trip could not have been the success it was. I must thank also the excellent administration team at de Stafford and the staff at "Discover the World" - one for the memory books! Over to Katie to describe the finer details to you - many thanks Katie!

Geography students visit

Bay of Bright and early on Thursday 4 April, 36 students from Years 9, 10 and 11 met at Gatwick airport’s departure lounge clutching over packed suitcases and boarding passes.

After a brief delay, and, for many, a well needed trip to Starbucks, we were on the plane and ready to go. With a considerably bumpy landing, we arrived at Naples airport where we were met by our guide, Nicoletta.

A short coach ride later, we reached the site of our underground Naples tour, where we had the opportunity to walk through historic tunnel systems, containing artefacts from WW2 and evidence of usage dating back hundreds of years. Next on the agenda was a tour around Herculaneum, an ancient Roman town which was buried in ash and rock after Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. This gave us a real sense of how destructive the eruption was, with approximately 20 metres of volcanic rock burying the town before excavation began.

The following day saw us back on the coach and journeying up Mount Vesuvius, which we were assured was not going to erupt for at least 100 years - probably! After a short trek to the top, we received a talk from Mr Starke about the formation and eruption of a volcano. From here we could see Naples from above and understand the enormous distance that a pyroclastic flow can travel.

the enchanting

Naples From Vesuvius, we drove to Pompeii. Much like Herculaneum, Pompeii was devastated by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. Whilst at the site, we saw some of the famous casts of those killed by the eruption, the very impressive amphitheatre, some beautiful frescos and some very old olives!

Our third day in Italy was spent predominantly in Capri, the famous island off the coast of Sorrento, where we were taken on a boat tour by our very enthusiastic guide, Diego. On the tour, we were able to see the landforms that make up Capri. Later in the day, some of the group decided to journey to the highest point of Capri (Anacapri), via a chair lift. Anacapri is approximately 600m above sea-level therefore had some incredible views.

After our ferry trip back, we visited a lemon and orange grove which evidenced the products of the Italian climate. We were given tasters of some of the grove’s produce and a talk on the production of many of them, including their lemon jam and, of course, their Limoncello.

On our final day in Italy, we spent the morning exploring Sorrento. The teachers provided a relaxed tour of some of the city’s most historic landmarks. Before long, it was time to head to the airport and soon we were on our way back to the slightly less exotic West Sussex.

Katie Spurgin (Year 11)

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @destaffordDofE

D of E teams complete successful practice expedition A Friday off school sounds great fun...except when you add the words ‘walking’ ‘heavy rucksack’ ‘wet weather’ behind it.

This year’s Duke of Edinburgh teams had their practice expedition, walking from the top of Box Hill to the Royal Alexandra and Albert School, and back to school on 17 and 18 May. The first day was very successful. Despite the cold and wet weather, all groups met the check points in good time and managed to set up camp and eat before 7pm! The longer daylight hours saw many students play football, have wheel barrow races and play cards. Soon the teachers got involved and everyone had a game of pass the ball – with Miss Benjafield providing some excellent karaoke style music!

The second day brought a 6am wake up call, with breakfast consisting of porridge or bacon sandwiches! Students were packed and ready to go by 7.30am...on a Saturday! All groups set off and endured the struggle of getting back to school. Again, all students made good time and took the necessary water stops/skittle refuelling to carry on the journey. The arrival at school was met with joy and pain – largely due to aching feet and shoulders.

Well done to the pigs, snails and llamas on completing your practice expedition – only the real one to go!

ART GALLERY @destaffordart

YEAR 7 CERAMICS

LtoR: Faith Humphrey, Karma Samuels, Kayleigh Wilson, Lloyd Huggins-Woolcock, Nellie-Malone Legg, Summer Pepper

YEAR 8 ILLUMINATED LETTERS

LtoR: Belissa Bundun, Cara Kelly, Danielle Taylor-Bone, Jessica Hoey, Mark Axford

YEAR 9 SURREALISM

LtoR: Celia White, Layla-Sue Randall, Lily Ferguson, Megan Thomas, Olivia Cox

de Stafford’s Matt Leadbeater to receive an Outstanding Achievement award Matt Leadbeater commenced his employment with de Stafford School as a Cleaner in October 2018, supported by the Surrey Choices EmployAbility team. The EmployAbility team assists many young people with support needs, to overcome employment barriers and achieve volunteering placements, internships, work experience and paid work.

In recognition of his achievements whilst at de Stafford, Matt will be presented with an award for Outstanding Achievement at the annual Surrey Choices Making a Difference ceremony in June 2019, which celebrates the hard work of individuals like Matt and their employers.

Headeacher, Jeremy Garner commented, “we are very proud of Matt: he is an incredibly hard worker and his fellow colleagues have nothing but praise for his work at de Stafford.”

PA R E N T S A N D C A R E R S A R E I N V I T E D T O J O I N U S AT O U R

Celebration Assemblies Year 7 - Monday 15 July Year 8 - Tuesday 16 July Year 10 - Wednesday 17 July Year 9 - Thursday 18 July Please arrive at 8:45am in the Main Hall

RSVP via email to amanda.robinson@destafford.org.uk by 28 June 2019.

Please include details of how many seats your require and for which assembly.

There’s Still time to sign-up for our

careers fair

More than 30 companies have already signed-up to take part in our fantastic Careers Fair later in the summer.

A range of career options from apprenticeships to the armed forces will be showcased at the event on July 5 - but there is still room at this popular event, particularly for companies in the professional service sector, such as architects and engineers, to book a stand.

Please contact organiser, Taygan Paxton on 01403 333 841 for details.

CONGRATULATIONS

Platinum Award Winners

Huge congratulations to our first three recipients of a Governor's Platinum award. The award is given to Year 7 students who have gained over 120 achievement points.

Robert, Sophie and Noah are pictured here with Vice Chair, Rowan Spurgin, who spent time speaking with them about their experience at de Stafford so far and then presented their prizes.

Our congratulations also go to another group of Year 7 students who have earned their Gold award in recognition of gaining over 100 achievement points this year. After having the opportunity to speak with Mr Garner, each of the students received a certificate, a letter home and a Love to Shop voucher.

Gold Award Winners

ESSAY WRITING WINNERS

We are very proud of Odin, Lucy and Katie, who were award winners in the Rotary Club’s annual Prix de la Paix essay writing competition. The chosen topic this year was ‘War’ and the students were tasked with writing an essay entirely in Spanish! They can be seen here receiving their prizes from the Rotary Club’s Geraint Jenkins and Dr. David Beckitt.

On 30 April, the Year 11 GCSE Drama students went to see a performance of ‘The Woman in Black’ in London’s Fortune Theatre.

The show delivered the much anticipated screams and jump scares expected from the long running ghost story.

The students now prepare notes in order to review the show looking at acting, lighting, sound, staging and set. They will then answer a live review question in their final written exam on the 17 May. It was a pleasure to accompany such a mature and pleasant group. We wish them all the best in the final exam and we will be very sad to see you go!

Mrs Streeter-Staniford and Mrs Boffee

YEAR 7 STUDENT COMPLETES ‘16 BEFORE 16’ READING CHALLENGE Noah (pictured with Headteacher, Mr Garner), is our first Year 7 student to complete the ‘16 before 16’ classic novel reading challenge this year! Noah has enjoyed reading novels such as the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Hobbit, Lord of the Flies, Animal Farm and Tom Sawyer. This is an amazing achievement for someone of just 11 years old. Keep up the great reading, Noah!

‘ WORD MILLIONAIRES’

At its heart, Accelerated Reader is simple.

A student reads a book, takes an online quiz, and receives immediate feedback.

Students respond to regular feedback and are motivated to make progress with their reading skills.

Number of books read by Y7/8 students in 2018-19 (to date): 4,840 Number of words read in 2018/19 (to date): 111,370,271

LITERACY UPDATES

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR LATEST

DISTRICT SPORTS AT K2, CRAWLEY On 10 May, de Stafford took 3 teams to compete in District Sports at K2 Crawley.

Students from Year 9 to Year 11 made up the Junior Boys, Junior Girls and Intermediate Boys categories. It was a fantastic day out, and our students were great ambassadors for the school. A number achieved personal bests in their events, and there were notable performers who made the top 5 on the day! Special mention to Ammon Read who won the Junior Boys 100m, Drew Burridge who won the Intermediate Boys 400m, Shara Richards who came 4th in Junior Girls discus, and the Intermediate Boys team who placed 4th in the Junior Boys 4x100m relay. It is no coincidence that a number of our top performers are regular attendees at Ath-

letics club. The club runs on a Monday after school, and will continue after the half term break. All students of all abilities are welcome!

SIX WEEKS OF SUMMER As we continue to work closely with our local Rugby Club, Old Caterhamians RFC, we have an exciting opportunity for you to continue your rugby into the summer for FREE! This is a fantastic chance to further develop your skills, meet new people and most importantly get outside and have some fun! Come and see us in PE for more information!

PhysiFUN Spor ts Leader s Event It was fantastic to receive such positive feedback from Fulham FC representatives following our recent Sports Leaders event.

Our students were fantastic ambassadors for the school and were a great support to all the primary school students. I was really impressed with the way our Sports Leaders engaged in all of the activities and actively promoted the School Games values of:Teamwork - Determination - Honesty - Selfbelief - Passion -Respect Well done to our Year 9 Sports Leaders: Megan Thomas, Katie Conway, Lottie – Cooper Beirne, Amelia Boreman, Mia Watmore, Lucy Spurgin, Sophie Shaw, Neave Blake, James Guntrip, Callum Fayle, Josh Cowan, Josh Murphy, Tom Forde, Ollie Moroney, Joel Dabin and Joe Arnold

Headteacher: Jeremy Garner Burntwood Lane, Caterham, Surrey CR3 5YX 01883 347818 admin@destafford.org.uk www.destafford.org.uk @deStafford