I would like to start this report by thanking students, parents, staff and governors for their on-going commitment to Grainville School. The months of January to March have been busy with key events such as the school production of ‘We Will Rock You’, the Valentine’s Meal for Senior Citizens, Year 9 Options evening and the Investors in People (IIP) assessment. Add to this the development of an exciting IT bid for our school has meant that the spring term at Grainville has certainly been an exciting and busy place to be.
New website: Our new look website will be launched within the next two weeks to celebrate 5 years of continued school improvement as we look to the future. New aspects of the website include improved access via different IT devices, smart phones, tablets as well as PCs. The website also allows text to be translated into different languages, e.g. French, Portuguese and Polish. We hope that parents, students and the wider community take a few minutes to navigate and explore the new website and let us know what they think.
Student Progress Students continue to make good progress towards their targets. Year 11 complete their BTEC courses on 2nd May and begin GCSE examinations on the 8th May, ending on 17th June. This year all Year 11 will sit the Cambridge International Certificate in English Language as well as the Edexcel GCSE English in May / June. For more details about examination timetables and support, please see our website. I would like to pass on our best wishes from all the staff and governors to Year 10/11 students taking examinations this summer. Please revise thoroughly and attend the school-based support sessions organised by teachers. http://www.grainville.sch.je/Curriculum/Guidanceon-GCSE-Revision/
E-Communication My sincere thanks to all the parents / carers for providing us with up-to-date contact details via our recent data sheet request. We aim to communicate electronically so school publications are sent via a hyperlink to emails and texts thus speeding up communication, making it more direct to you, and saving the cost of postage and reprographics. Let us know how we get on with this new development.
Teaching and Learning
Valentines Meal
Mrs Morris, Deputy Headteacher, has been filming teachers this half term to put together a training programme looking at moving from ‘good to outstanding’ lessons. The focus on judging the quality of learning and measuring progress remains central to reviews and lesson observations. We also continue to establish departmental links with leading schools in the UK as well as sharing best practice here within our own staff. To date nine Heads of department have been recently to visit schools in the UK.
Valentines meal: 34 years’ service to the senior citizens of our community. Year 11 and staff made this all possible. Invited guests enjoyed a 3 course meal, made by staff and students, served with confidence by Year 11 volunteers with an evening of entertainment performed by students and by the staff choir. I am always so impressed by our school at this very important event and am proud of our students. As usual, feedback in the community is simply outstanding.
Grainville has been awarded Investors in People 2041-17: Grainville was the first organisation in Jersey to be awarded the IIP in 1999. The external assessor interviewed 21 staff and reassigned the IIP status until 2017. Andrew Mackey, the external assessor said ‘The staff (including teachers, support and administrative staff) are dedicated and show a great deal of passion for what they do. There is a real sense that staff are keen to continue to develop and deliver a high quality experience for students and their parentsDD. There is a strong team ethic and strong sense of recognition and value from clear and positive recognition of their contribution to the success of the school’.
Year 9 Options Evening Staff used the annual Year 9 Options Evening to showcase their respective GCSE and BTEC subjects to over 300 parents and enthusiastic students. Option columns for the curriculum structure 2014-16 have now been created and students have selected three option subjects for next year.
School Production The school production ‘We Will Rock You’ was an amazing success and watched by nearly 1000 people. It was a shining example of ‘Inspire, Motivate and Challenge’.
During the five performances over the week, including two matinées to primary school children from our cluster schools, our students excelled and performed with great confidence. Several staff also supported this ambitious technical production. The long-standing ovation on the last night celebrated and capped what has been an inspiring journey from Grainville to the West End of London and back again. A special thank you and tribute must be paid to Miss Lucy Grist, Head of Drama for the inspiration she brought to this production and the manner in which she created teams of students, actors and back stage crew. First class! The after show party took place at the Grand Hotel two weeks later with an Oscar style premier viewing of the DVD of the amazing performance.
Jersey Student Business Challenge 2014 Update This is our second year of empowering students to set up and run their own business over a 10 week period. Students have made great progress, not quite Richard Branson and Lord Sugar yet, but impressing people they meet in school and in the community. Most importantly, they are learning and developing skills in accounting, marketing, people skills, and problem solving. The sales period has just ended and all 10 teams are about to present their achievements to the staff dragon’s den. The 10 teams will be reduced to 5 finalists, who together with 5 teams from JCG, present for one final time, this time to the CEOs of the corporate sponsors (E&Y, Barclays, Ogier and JT). To find out more visit the website www.studentbusinesschallenge.je
IT bid- update As a school we recognise the importance of technology in teaching and learning. Plans are now well developed to significantly improve our school network this summer and provide whole school Wi-Fi and the ability for students to use their own laptops and tablets in school (sorry but not phones). Bring Your Own Device (BOYD) will need to be carefully managed and students wishing to utilise the flexibility this offers will need to register their mobile device with the network manager here in order to gain access to our school network and resources. We have bid for funding to support the purchase of over 100 tablet devices, many new interactive whiteboards, digital cameras, data loggers for science and many more digital devices. Our bid was submitted under the ESC ‘Thinking Differently’ initiative and we wait for news of how successful our IT bid has been, more in the next newsletter.
Staff update
Ski Trip February 2014
We will be saying good bye to Miss Hoyle, maths teacher and examinations officer in July who is retiring after 38 years of dedicated service and commitment to our school community. She joined St. Helier Girl’s in 1976 before it became Grainville School on the site we know today. Miss Hoyle is highly regarded by all members of staff and will be dearly missed. We will also be saying goodbye at the end of May to Mrs Medder, school receptionist who will be leaving us to retire after 13 ½ years loyal service to the school. She is always so calm and welcoming and deals with visitors, staff and students with a warm smile and respect.
During February half term five boys joined the JSSf to ski in Risoul in the French Alps. Snow conditions throughout the week were excellent with four days of sunshine and two days when it snowed heavily. With the help of two excellent ski instructors, all made significant progress during the week. The students were a credit to their families and to Grainville School. A great time was had by all. Miss Hoyle
St John Ambulance First Aid Competition
We welcome Mrs Makin, the new School Medical Officer who joined our staff on 1st March. We have also appointed Mrs Sutton as an EAL teaching assistant who joins us in May. We wish all our students, staff, parents and governors an enjoyable Easter break. Have a happy Easter Mr McGuinness Head teacher
On Wednesday 19th March a group of students went to represent Grainville School in the local rounds of the St John Ambulance First Aid competition. It was a particularly tough competition this year with students having to deal with a range of scenarios including a patient with a heart attack as well as treat cuts, bumps and bruises! While the students involved came third this was truly an amazing experience for them and an opportunity to learn and use life long skills that can make a difference. A huge congratulations to the girls for competing and giving up their time to train: Mariana Pombo, Ciera Walsh, Bethan Isaac, Sasha Batchelor, Jessica Perestrelo, Breanna Matson Miss Alexander
Student Island Tennis Representative I recently have been away to represent the Channel Islands for under 18’s County Cup. The tournament was held in Sunderland with different groups, we were in a group with Durham and Cleveland, Isle of Man and Berkshire. The first day we played against Durham and Cleveland and we lost these matches 5-4 but it came down to the last match. I played in one of these matches and won 6-4, 7-5. I also got to play a doubles match against them and we won 6-3, 2-6, 10-7. After that close loss we needed a high winning score to have a chance for promotion and we succeeded with a 9-0 win against Isle of Man. I took part in the doubles for this and we just scraped a win 4-6, 6-4, 11-9. The last day brought a slim chance for promotion which the Channel Islands have only done once. I played one match against Berkshire and I lost it 6-3 6-2. We lost against Berkshire so we couldn’t get promoted but I will be aiming to go again next year. Dylan Buesnel
J.S.S.S.A (Jersey Secondary Schools Sports Association) Rugby Tour Guernsey 2014 On 3rd March , Mr Wood selected 5 Year 8 students to represent Grainville in this year’s J.S.S.S.A rugby tour. The J.S.S.S.A is all of the secondary schools from Jersey combined together to create one team. Our first selection training session was on Friday 7th March. All the students from Grainville trained hard and were selected, which was a great achievement by all the players. Our first match was against an English side on 15th March. We lost in the end but we did score one try. At the end of that match, Mr Livesey and Mr White (the coaches for the tour) selected 18 players to join the tour squad, my friends Deon Pallet, Marco Pestana and I played well enough to be selected. On Friday 21st March, we had a final training session and the coaches told us how to prepare and what to bring for the tour. Upon our arrival at Jersey Airport, Mr White and Mr Livesey gave all of us a jumper with J.S.S.S.A on it so that the locals in Guernsey will know that we are from a different place to them. After checking through customs, we all had a jacket potato, great energy food ! Our first match of the tour was a 26-20 win and after the match we checked-in at the hotel then went out to eat at a restaurant called The Beach. The evening finished with a game of ten pin bowling with a few turns on the games machines. The next day, we played our second match of the tour against the Guernsey Island team, unfortunately we lost 25-5. After the game we watched Guernsey beat Tring (a team from England) 23-15. All too soon it was time for us to leave so we quickly collected our kit and returned to the airport where some of us won prizes for our efforts throughout the tour. Once we arrived in Jersey, everyone wanted to go back to Guernsey and play more Rugby! Edited article written by James Ferreira (8E)
‘Taylormade Squash’ On the 7th of Febuary, I travelled to Manchester to play the fairways Lodge Junior open Under 13 Girls, an England squash sanctioned event. It was my first tournament at under 13’s level and I wasn’t scared but faced some tough opponents. My current ranking is 81 in the UK but to get that ranking up, I need to play more tournaments offisland which is sometimes quite difficult living in Jersey! My first match was against Marialena Lacouides, who was the no 1 seed. She is also ranked 25 in the UK. I was really nervous but played really well and fortunately won 3-1! My next match was against Zoë North, who is ranked 38th in the UK. I knew I had to focus and get my tactical head on. I guess it worked because I won 3-0! I was in the final and made sure I prepared well. The girl I was playing was called Bridie Tenant who is ranked 28th in the UK. This match was a tough one. I started off badly losing the first game and the second wasn’t any better. I was 2-0 down, I knew I was going to loose. My mum gave me advice to calm down, relax and enjoy itDI relaxed and thought tactically andD I came back and WON! 3-2! I won the Fairways Lodge Junior open u13 2014.
Squash Inter Insular Jersey v Guernsey 8th March 2014 Guernsey brought over 2 teams, Under 15 and Under 17 team. I played in Jersey Under 13 team, playing at no.1 seed. My opponent was Danielle Parr. I had never played her before and I did feel quite nervous but didn’t want to let the team down. I had to focus and get stuck in. I had lots of support from my Jersey team and I won 30 quite comfortably. Guernsey won 18-17, so we narrowly lost. I also played for the ladies at no.4. I knew this match would be tough, so I had to get focused and prepared. My opponent was called Poppy Baker, an 18 year old! I started off really well getting a good length and serving well, I was 2-0 up in the 3rd game and seemed to go wrong and lost concentration. I got a good start in the 4th game and won 3-1. A good start to the team’s score. The team won 3-2. The overall score wasD JERSEY BEAT GUERNSEY 22 – 8! Edited Articles written by Olivia Taylor Swimarathon 2014 For the 17th year, Grainville school filled Les Quennevais pool with 8 teams from Years 7,8 and 9 to take part in the Lion’s Club of Jersey Swimarathon event. 48 students swam in teams of 6, taking turns for 55mins, to raise money for local charities. In total the students swam 383 lengths, with Grainville Mixed Team 2 swimming the most lengths at 55. Altogether the school raised £942.51 in sponsor money. The team that raised the most was Grainville Mixed team 1 with £181.70, with a Year 7 student, Luis Andrade raising the highest individual amount at £81.70. Many thanks to all who supported, donated and took part in the event. Mrs Bradbury
Year 7 Rugby Diary On Saturday 25th January the Grainville Year 7 rugby team played their first match against Les Quennevais. It was a twelve aside match and was played at Les Quennevais on a football pitch due to a waterlogged rugby pitch. Due to the team’s inexperience the final score was 40-10 to Les Quennevais, Grainville’s two tries were scored by William Mahrer. The team still needed to work on their scrums as we frequently lost the ball in this crucial aspect of the game. Generally, the team played well and against a more experienced side and a lot was learnt by all the team. Our 2nd match of the season was on Tuesday 4th February against Le Rocquier. Unfortunately we suffered another defeat, again due to weak scrums and poorly-timed tackling. However there were many signs of improvement and team spirit remain high. Despite two early tries from William Mahrer, the final score was 55-10 to Le Rocquier. On Thursday 20th February we won our first match of the season against Haute Vallèe. Our tackling and scrimmage were greatly improved and the final result was a 60-15 victory. The try scorers were Connor Hatton (1) JeanPaul Ferreira (2) Anthony Howe (3) Joao Correia (1) Joao Rodrigues (1) William Mahrer (3) Jacob Ready (1) A fantastic effort by all the team but we knew we still hard to work hard for all the games ahead. Our next match was also a fantastic victory with a 60-25 win at Victoria College, the try scorers were: Adam (2) Anthony (1) Diogo (3) William (4) Jean-Paul (1) Isaac (1). The last fixture of the Year 7 rugby season was a round robin tournament in which we finished 4th out of 7 teams. Our first match was against Haute Vallee and we won 4-0. Then we had a narrow losses to St.Michaels (2-1) and Victoria College (3-2). We then went on to beat Le Rocquier 3-1, which was a massive improvement from the previous loss against them. Les Quennevais then beat us 2-1 before we won our last game against De La Salle 2-1.
This meant Grainville finished with a final position of 4th and completed their season on a real high after some fantastic team rugby in the tournament- well done guys. Edited report by William Mahrer Netball The netball season has once again provided some fantastic results and excellent examples of individual performance and team work. Over 60 girls each week have been representing the school playing fixtures against their counterparts from the other secondary schools. Each year group team has also had a tournament. The effort, enthusiasm and performance shown by all the girls was outstanding. Congratulations to the following girls have been given the player of the year award for netball this year: Year 7A: Chloé Fosse and Catia Pestana Year 7B: Ellie Pessego and Libby Hopwood Year 8A: Juliette Cullinane Year 8B: Caitlin Fitzsimmons Year 9A: Louise Crossley Year 9B: Ashyanna Cooper Year 10: Courtney Page Year 11: Kelly Le Brocq Table Tennis A big congratulations to Caitlin Fitzsimmons who is both the U15 and U18 Island Table Tennis Champion. A fantastic achievement especially considering she is only 12! Grainville Green Mile Once again students and staff members in the school completed their mile in aid of Sport Relief in March. It was a fantastic day in terms of weather, the atmosphere and the enthusiasm shown by all the students. In addition, we have once again raised in excess of £1000. So well done to everyone for collecting the sponsor money. There were some fantastic performances on the day with 2 new year group records set. The winners from each year group were:
* New Record Miss Quenault Teacher of PE
School Production- We Will Rock You It was an absolute delight to see students taking part in this year’s school production of “We Will Rock You” on Tuesday 18th, Wednesday the 19th and Thursday the 20th. We are of no doubt that “We Are The Champions” or at least the 40+ strong cast and crew were as they performed to such an amazingly high standard for 5 shows over the course of 3 days. The audience were amazed, thrilled, enthused throughout the two hour performance and joined us in our “One Vision” that both the students and staff produced yet again another fantastic production showing our range of wealth and talent available in the school. The whole process from both staff and students has been “A Kind of Magic” with students working first hand both in London’s West End with professional musicians, dancers and actors who then visited us here at school in January.
Primary School Workshops and Matinee We were thrilled this year to offer a chance for our Feeder Primary Schools to work with us on getting to know the school production. In total over 12 hours were spent enthusing students with a range of character workshops. We then had over 300 students and staff join us for a one-off free primary school matinee, where glow sticks were waved, songs were sung along to and fun was had by all! All the students were so well behaved and we can’t wait to see them involved in future productions!
West-End Experience Scholarship One lucky member of the cast also received a Scholarship as a result of their outstanding performance. Kelly Freitas was chosen by West End Professionals to receive a scholarship for “The West End Experience” this summer, where she will receive singing, dancing and acting workshops with west end professionals when they visit Jersey in the summer! Well done Kelly! We are all so proud of you!
After Show Party
Gifted and Talented Update
The cast were certainly “Under Pressure” this year as we took on such a mammoth task. With such a gruelling schedule of rehearsals and workshops it’s safe to say “I Want it All” became my mantra and there were comments that I had turned into a “Killer Queen” myself in the process. So we decided the cast and crew deserved something extra special to recognise their achievements this year. On the 12th March we held a red carpet event at The Grand Hotel so we could watch our filmed final performance. Students enjoyed being photographed on the red carpet followed by eating copious amounts of popcorn whilst they sang along to their final performance.
Parental Support Programme
We are very proud of every student involved in the show, and as teachers “These Are The Days Of Our Lives” and we are all quite sad that it’s over. We would like to say a huge thank you to all of the parents and carers in the audience, without the support you have shown proving that you’re “Somebody to Love”, the show would not have been possible.
On Thursday 8th May a Parental Support Session will be taking place entitled ‘Supporting your gifted and talented child’. If your child has been identified as ‘gifted’ and/or ‘talented’ then this session will give you an opportunity to understand what ‘gifted’ and ‘talented’ really means, how the school identifies students and what support is being provided for your child. In addition, parents will be given some handy tips and advice on how you can support your child at home with their learning and development. Student Tip of the Term: Try to watch the news at least once a day – this will keep you up to date on current affairs and what is happening around the world. Even better if you can pick up a newspaper or look at one online too!
Miss Grist – Director
"I always knew I was a star. And now, the rest of the world seems to agree with me." Freddie Mercury
Let us know: If you have a particular talent outside of school and achieve something special such as an award or win a competition please do come and let Miss Quenault know so we can recognise and celebrate your success. Miss Quenault – Gifted and Talented Coordinator
World Autism Awareness Day
Craft and Lifestyle Fair The Design Technology Department organising a Craft and Lifestyle Fair
are
World Autism Awareness day was on nd April 2 and to highlight the event, assemblies for all year groups were held by Mrs Brignall. Jo Thorpe from Autism Jersey was invited in to speak with the Year 10s and 11s about how they can help people with autism by volunteering to become a befriender. Grainville students have access to Peer Support and Advanced Peer Support programmes which aim to give young people the confidence and skills to promote social inclusion for everyone. The Befriending Scheme run by Autism Jersey could be a natural progression for any 16 year olds who have an interest in this area.
We are hoping to include a range of stalls offering a variety of products by local craft workers including different food products, art work, jewellery, books and cards, items made from fabric, wood, ceramics and glass. We would also like to include opportunities to provide an insight into alternative lifestyles and therapies. The gifted and talented students in Design Technology have been working very hard and have made a range of craft products that they will be selling on their own stall This will take place on Saturday 17th May from 9am to 4pm. Pitches will be ÂŁ15 We have facilities for indoor and out depending on the weather. If you would be interested in a pitch and would like further details please email m.lloydedwards@grainville.sch.je Mrs Lloyd Edwards - Head of Design Technology
Any student or parent who might be interested in learning more about the Befriending Scheme or Peer Support Programmes can contact Mrs Brignall or Mrs Pygott in the Communication Centre in the first instance. Mrs Brignall - Communications Centre Manager
Year 10 Update During this half term Year 10 students have been busy making final preparations for their Trident work experience placements that will take place over a period of three weeks in the term ahead. Year 10 students are reminded that they need to make arrangements for an interview with their employer as soon as they know where they will be working. Also this half term, I am delighted to report that over sixty Year 10 students have taken the bold step in applying to be a Prefect for the year ahead. Interviews for these key posts of responsibility in the school will take place in the first week back after Easter and with only 30 or so Prefect positions up for grabs, candidates will face stiff competition. I am certain that choosing our next cohort of Prefects is going to be very difficult indeed as every one of the students that have applied is a very worthy candidate. Inevitably, some students will not be successful in their bid to become a Prefect and these individuals will undoubtedly be disappointed. However, those fortunate enough to be appointed Prefects can look forward to starting the role (and receiving the privileges that come with the role) from the beginning of June 2014. Mr N Selby – Head of Year 10
The Grainville Exchange The summer term sees the launch of the new key stage three rewards system, “The Grainville Exchange”. Year 7, 8 and 9 students will have the opportunity to earn 5GP for:
Four students took part in the UKMT Mathematics Team Challenge on Monday 24th March. Chris Milon and Shelley Abreu from Year 9, and Caitlin Fitzsimmons and Charlotte McFarland from Year 8, spent the day at St. Helier Town Hall, battling with teams from 13 other schools from Jersey and Guernsey. Four different challenges were set, the first being a group completion where the team answers as many questions as possible in a set time. This is followed by a cross-number competition where the team worked in pairs to solve clues to fill up a crossword style grid, then a shuttle round, where the team stayed in pairs and compete against the clock.
• Quality pieces of homework where students have met or exceeded expectations • Quality work where students have met or surpassed their target level • Showing consistent effort in lessons • Showing consistent effort and/or support in form • Showing commitment to a subject outside of lesson
Once students they have collected a full page of “Grainville Pence” in their planner, they can cash them in for £1 voucher to spend in the canteen.
Each subsequent question was dependent on the previous answer. The final round was a relay race, with the pairs in different parts of the room solving problems and running to the question masters to get a new problem. A hugely enjoyable day ended with the Grainville team coming 9th out of 14.
Also a huge congratulations goes to Alex Turner and Thomas Vernon of 7O whose designs have been adapted to create “The Grainville Pence”!
Mr Cheeseborough- Head of Mathematics
Year 8 Science – I’m a Conservationist Project
Miss Jackson - Senior Teacher
All five Year 8 classes have been taking part in the second ‘I’m a conservationist – send the money here’ project in science during the last two weeks of term. The project is already engaging students who have had the chance to Skype with four Durrell conservationists around the world. Grainville are the only school to run this project in association with Durrell and Natwest which gives the Year 8s the opportunity to blog with the conservationists in St. Lucia, Madagascar and Montserrat and Mauritius after their Skype session. The conservationists then post frequent updates on their blogs, including photographs and responses to our students’ questions before the students decide which project they want to award the £500 prize money to. All of the animals involved are at risk of becoming extinct and this is a unique opportunity for our students to discover in greater depth the links Jersey has with helping these species. Miss Crowe – Teacher of Science
Year 8 Update The biggest news of this term has been the outcome of the Year 8 Charity Week. Each year group within the school supports a charity, this year, our charity was Sports Relief. This is a well known and popular charity that aims to help vulnerable people facing incredibly tough lives both at home in the UK and in the world’s poorest countries.
The theme of Sports Relief ‘week’ is to raise money by taking part in sporting activities and or getting active in some way. At school, each form group was given a ‘day’ to raise money-this was mainly achieved through ‘Challenge the Teacher’ at a sporting activity. The following sports took place throughout the week: rowing, table tennis, netball, badminton, volleyball and a penalty shoot out. Although the teachers made a strong start to the week, it transpires that the students won the overall challenge (something they were very happy about!). There was a great atmosphere in the Sports Hall every lunch time and I would like to say an enormous thank you to the PE Department for all their hard work, use of the sporting equipment/facilities and tolerating the disruption of their lunchtimes! In total, we raised £1157.19! This is an outstanding accomplishment-well done Year 8 and thank you to all for your support. Ms Ash Head of Year 8
Literacy is the key that opens the door to all subject areas. Literate students are students that achieve. We have recently compiled a Promoting Literacy booklet aimed at parents and carers. This booklet is packed with useful information and ways in which you can support the development of Literacy skills in your child. The booklet will be given out at Parent’s Evenings from now on. We will be adding this booklet, and other Literacy focused resources, to our website in the near future so keep an eye open for those.
In assemblies recently students took part in an informal Spelling Bee to celebrate good levels of Literacy. We want to make these competitions a regular event with great prizes for the winners. Students will be informed through their Form Tutors of dates to come. Get practising! Mrs Robinson, the Librarian, has recently taken entries for a Bookmark Competition linked to World Book Day and will be announcing the winners after the Easter Holidays. Students were given their World Book Day tokens in form time so hopefully they have some new, interesting reading material to get to grips with over Easter. Mr Perrier Literacy coordinator
Jersey Student Business Challenge The last 10 weeks has been a busy time for all of the students involved in the Jersey Student Business Challenge. Upon completion of the 10week selling phase, all 10 businesses were required to present their progress to a school panel. All teams have shown fantastic effort, motivation, team work and of course entrepreneurial skills. Eventually, after much deliberation and further investigation from the panel members (Mr McGuinness, Mr Johnson and myself) 5 successful teams were selected for the next phase of the competition and will now have the opportunity to present to the 4 corporate judges (Barclays, JT Global, Ernst & Young & Ogier) on Wednesday 7th May.
Year 11 Update Once again it’s all been go, go, go for Year 11 this term. The majority of the year group took part in another hugely successful valentine’s meal as waiters and waitresses. They were simply stunning and the senior citizens that attended were full of praise for the way they all conducted themselves on the night. They were a real credit to the school.
The successful teams are:-
Artistry
Bitesize
Cookie Crumble
Jersey Treats
The 3 Pencils These 5 teams will now be busy preparing for the next stage of the challenge. However this is not the end of the challenge for the other teams as we will all be invited to the Awards Ceremony on Wednesday 14 May at the Radisson Hotel where all teams will be given the opportunity to present their efforts. Look out for the next article in the Summer ! Thank you to all who have supported the challenge this year. Mrs Scott – School Business Manager
It is nearing the end of their journey here at Grainville School but the last few weeks will be as hectic as ever. Most of the pupils have now attended their 16+ interviews, completed and signed off their BTEC courses and it’s now time for them to get their heads in the revision books. Important dates for the diary: 6th May - Individual revision timetables begin 12th May – Yearbook for sale in Year centre at lunchtime! 21st May – Leavers assembly and last day at Grainville, apart from examinations! Enjoy your Easter break but all Year 11’s must use the holiday time wisely and do all they can to be as best prepared for their up and coming GCSE examinations. Happy Easter! Mr Scott Head of Year 11
My Table Tennis Fitzsimmons
Career
by
Caitlin
I haven't quite yet been playing two years, and am currently a double island title holder. I started after I'd been to a couple of fun kids sessions at Langford, and when I mentioned it to my Uncle (a former President of the Jersey Table Tennis Association.) he was very keen and offered to take me to play. After a couple of sessions I really took to the game and played really well. Not long after I started the Appleby Training Academy twice a week and with additional help from my Uncle’s I was starting to spend quite a lot of time the table.
As for tournaments, last year (not long after I started playing) I was the Girls Island Under 15 Champion, which meant I had to play against my ranked equivalent from Guernsey . She was a far more experienced player than I was, so I sadly didn't take home the Channel Island Trophy. Next time will be different though, as she is now too old for the Under 15's, and after some snooping through the Guernsey website and looking at some League stats, I am very hopeful about this year’s Channel Island Championships Under 15 match. Last year I was also put into the Inter-insular Under 18 girls team event (certain categories aren't played in team events, hence no U15). We were the winning team, and contributed towards the final Aggregate score of 63-47 to Jersey. It was only the fourth time Jersey have won in 30 years! This year I also hold the Jersey U18 Girl title, and so have to play two singles matches against Guernsey. Sadly, we could not field an under 18 team this year as we had some people who were forced to pull out. As matches are played alternately across the islands, this year's event will be hosted by Guernsey and I will be playing on Friday the 16th of May.
Soon, my training increased even further when another coach offered to train me once a week in addition to my already busy training programme. All this training meant I was playing six days a week for a while. Eventually everyone realised that was too much, so things were cut back a bit. In September 2012, having only been playing for 4 months, I signed for Victoria Table Tennis Club, of which my Uncle is a founder member and started playing in the Island league Division 3. In September 2013, my uncle came out of retirement to form a team with myself and Alfie Kelly and we moved up to Division 2. It was a far higher standard of play but I enjoyed the challenge and my game has improved a lot for playing these better players.
It is a shame about the date of the matches as I have had a very kind offer from a very experienced player. After he comes back from the World Tournament (being held in Japan this year, also in May) Eugene Ellis is going to train me weekly. This is a great honour as he has been to many a prestigious tournament, including the Island Games, the Commonwealth Games and the World Championships, not to mention the dozens of others, all over the world. Lastly, this year, as well as playing in the mixed doubles for the first time, I also entered the women's doubles with my friend Emily Robins, reaching the finals. We were playing some top level Division 1 players, so we didn't win - but we had a great fun during the match, and did a lot better than anyone expected.
Year 9 Update
Pride of Grainville XII
Year 9 has had another busy term this spring. The term started with the University of Portsmouth carrying out motivational workshops; in keeping with the Careers work students were undertaking in PSHE sessions. The purpose of this was to help students beginning making decisions about future goals prior to the Options process beginning. All students have now selected their final choices for their GCSE and BTEC courses for Year 10 and 11 and we are in the process of planning the timetables for September. There was a huge range of courses on offer this year and it was really pleasing to see how seriously students took the process of deciding their future study.
The 12th annual Pride of Grainville Awards took place on Thursday 13th March. One of my key roles as Assistant Head is to oversee inclusion within the school and The Pride of Grainville Awards Evening signifies the importance of inclusion for all, allowing all students the opportunity to achieve and it is an absolute pleasure to be part of this very special event.
The key word for the evening was ‘celebration’ and these awards are a celebration of perseverance, it is a celebration of those students who are successful in education despite personal barriers and it is a celebration of those students who strive to contribute to the whole school community and help others. For many students in the Year group, January also saw the start of their GCSE courses in English and Maths, with all students starting work on GCSE level work in English. The opportunity to start these courses early gives everyone an opportunity to develop their skills at a pace that suits their individual needs. For some, it also gives an opportunity to sit additional qualifications such as the IGCSE (International GCSE) in Statistics and in English. More information on these can be sought from Mrs Orr, Head of English, and Mr Cheeseborough, Head of Maths.
All of the students nominated for an award were done so by a member of staff who, on the evening, spoke with passion and emotion about why each young person deserved recognition. This award evening makes me proud to be a member of a school where such personal achievements are so highly acclaimed.
With the process of Options now complete, Year 9 will now begin to look towards their Trident Work Experience programme for Year 10. Traditionally, this has always taken place in May of Year 10, however, for our current Year 9 students, their placement will be in February of Year 10. The choosing process for work placements is a fairly long one; including Health & Safety in the Work Place and Interview Preparation sessions. As a result of the change, Year 9 will begin the process in the Summer term of this year. Further information will be given to students and parents next term.
We would like to invite you to attend one of the following PSP support sessions on Thursday 8th May 2014
The Year 9 Form Tutors and I would like to wish all students a happy and safe Easter break. Mrs Hobson
Mrs Polglase Assistant Headteacher for Inclusion
Parental Support Evening (PSP)
1. 2. 3.
Supporting the gifted and/or talented child (all years) Parenting in the Digital Age (All years) Read Write Inc (for Year 7, 8 and 9)
If you would like to discuss PSP further or have any suggestions of topics you would like covered in future please contact Mrs Day – Participation Coordinator. Telephone 822936 or email v.day@grainville.sch.je To find out this event in more detail visit our school website.
April 2014
June 2014
Staff INSET Monday 28th April
Year 10 History Trip Thursday 5th June
Start of Summer Term Tuesday 29th April
Year 10 Geography Field Trip Tuesday 10th June
May 2014
Year 8 Parents Evenings (2 evenings) Wednesday 11th June Thursday 12th June
Charity Day 5 - Red Cross Friday 2nd May
Year 8 French Trip Friday 13th June
May Day Bank Holiday Monday 5th May
Annual Awards Evening Thursday 19th June
Trident Work Experience Tuesday 6th May
Prince’s Trust School Walk Friday 20th June
Liberation Day Bank Holiday Friday 9th May
Year 7 Durrell Visit Wednesday 25th June
Year 7 Parents Evening (2 evenings) Wednesday 14th May Thursday 15th May
Year 5 Ed Fest (2 days) Wednesday 25th June
Key Stage 3 Exams Week Beginning Monday 19th May Year 11 Last Day and Buffet Wednesday 21st May
Year 11 Leavers Prom Friday 27th June Year 5 / 6 Science Fair Monday 30th June
Sports Day (Year7-9) Thursday 22nd May
July 2014
2nd Challenge Day Friday 23rd May
Year 6 Induction Days (2 Days) Thursday 3rd July Friday 4th July
End of Half Term Friday 23rd May
Year 6 Induction Parents Evening Thursday 3rd July Activities Week Monday 14th July End of Summer Term Friday 18th July
COMPETITION Capsicum Catering & Grainville School We invite you to enter a competition to name the New School Canteen. Imagine the honour of being the student who names the new canteen which will stay for years to come. All you have to do is cut out and fill in the slip below and post it into the ‘entry box’ in the school reception. The Closing date is Friday 16th May 2014. • •
The winning canteen name will be announced by Friday 23rd May The WINNER will receive a Celebration table for 6 friends in the newly named canteen and the honour of attending the unveiling the new canteen sign.
GOOD LUCK!!! COMPETITION ENTRY FORM – NEW CANTEEN NAME STUDENT NAMEDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD..FORMDDDDDDDDD SUGGESTED NEW CANTEEN NAME DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD REASON FOR NAME (if required) DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD. DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD. DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD. DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD. DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD.