TESTBOURNE COMMUNITY SCHOOL Micheldever Road Whitchurch Hants RG28 7JF NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY 2016 It has been a busy half term with so many interesting things going on. I do hope that you enjoy reading about some of the highlights this term. The term began welcoming two new members of staff to the team, Mrs Knab as Head of Geography and Mrs Vowles as Teacher of Dance. They have both made a positive impact to their areas of work. Congratulations also goes to Mr Archer who became a father a few weeks ago. Our good wishes go to Mr Archer and his partner as they begin their journey as parents to baby Harry. We are looking forward to hearing about the exploits of Team Uganda and we look forward to their safe return next week. There are a few things that I would like to make parents aware of. Firstly, following the successful sale of land we are beginning to plan for some new developments. Our new fitness gym opened on 18 th January and membership is already growing. During half term we will see the first phase of the redesign of the bus buy. The new design will provide us with a much safer bus bay with designated parking bays for each of our buses. The main work will be done over the Easter holidays and there may be some disruption caused by this. I will keep you informed about the progress of this project. I am also pleased to say that arrangements have been made to repair the swimming pool so that it will be available for school and community use in the summer term. I will also be sending out a survey during the next half term to capture parents views on a number of issues one of which will be about the use of mobile phones in school. It is nice to think that as we move into the next half term we can look forward to the possibility of some warmer weather and lighter evenings. I hope that everyone enjoys a restful half term break. R C Beasley, Headteacher DATES FOR YOUR DIARY Spring half term Monday 15th February Friday 19 th February SPRING TERM All students return 22 February 2016 Y8 Options Event Parents/students 23 February 2016 5.00pm-7.00pm Y8 condensed Day all students finish 2pm 2 March 2016 Mufti Day Sport Relief 18 March 2016 Y11 Parents Consultation Evening (invite only) 23 March 2016 Easter Holiday 25 March 10 th April 2016 SUMMER TERM All students return to school 11 April 2016 Y7 Parents Information Evening 14 April 2016 5pm-8pm Public Examinations start 16 May 2016 Summer half term Monday 30 May Friday 3 June Y9 Parents Consultation Evening 30 June 2016 Last day summer term 15 July 2016 INSET training school closed to students 18,19,20 July 2016
SCIENCE CLUB Science Club have been doing more experiments, including making cameras, investigating lenses and making glue. We meet every week 1 after school on Wednesday in room 48 or 49. Everyone is welcome to attend, and you don't have to come every week - find details about it on the Science noticeboard. CUBES IN SPACE AND STEMNET CHALLENGE Both of these clubs meet Monday lunchtime in Science room 43. The STEMnet Challenge is for students who want to enter a competition to design and build a Summer Fete Stall using Stem ideas. The Cubes in Space competition is to launch a Cube containing an experiment on a rocket later this year. For more information about either of these competitions please come and see Mrs Gray in Science on Monday lunchtime in room 43. CREST AWARDS Crest Awards meets every Thursday lunchtime in room 49. We have two students completing their Silver awards and around 8 have begun their Bronze awards so far this year. If any student would like to find out more about Crest Awards please see Mrs Gray in Science. We are also looking for a STEM ambassador to help out - if you are a scientist or engineer and you have a couple of hours a month to spare, please contact me on g.gray@testbourne.hants.sch.uk and you could help us mentor one or two students with their Crest award. We have a wonderful mentor for one of our Silver Crest students, but we are always on the look out for more help in Science. SCIENCE CLUBS IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS Mrs Gray has been very busy going into primary schools and is working on setting up Science Clubs - so far we have a club beginning at Whitchurch Primary, and some interest at Overton and St Mary Bourne. We have 3 year 11 students helping out at Whitchurch Primary, but it would be a fantastic opportunity for other students in the school to help out at their old Primary school! Please see Mrs Gray if interested in helping younger students take part in a science club. SCIENCE WEEK SCIENCE SHOW We had a great turn out at our Christmas Science Show, and in Science Week we are going to host an evening in our science labs. If you are interested in attending, please contact the Community Office on 01256 892 261 or p.bushell@testbourne.hants.sch.uk to get on our mailing list. We will be sending out information nearer the time.
YEAR 11 BERLIN VISIT ~ DECEMBER 2015 At the end of the Autumn term 46 Year 11 students of German and History together with Mr Jones, Mrs Harrison, Miss Lord, Miss Boukari, Mrs Eagles, Mrs Chandarana and Mr Naylor set off for the Berlin Visit. The group travelled by plane from Gatwick to Berlin and spent four nights in the Acama Jugendhotel in Kreuzberg from where they explored this exciting city practising their German and bringing their history studies to life. During the stay the group visited the Olympic Stadium the setting for the 1936 Olympics, the Story of Berlin Museum (where they got an overview of the history of the city and a visit to a nuclear bunker), the Holocaust Memorial, Checkpoint Charlie the famous crossing point between the American and Soviet sectors during the Cold War, the TV tower on Alexanderplatz the Berlin Wall Memorial in Bernauer Straße and the Brandenburg Gate. Evening activities included bowling and a visit to the top of the glass dome in the Reichstag with its open roof. There was also some time for shopping on the Kudamm, Potsdammerplatz and in the many Christmas Markets. The morning of the final day was spent at Sachsenhausen with a sobering visit to this former concentration camp. The group left Berlin having learnt many new things and with new experiences which will help deepen their understanding not only of the history of the city but also that of the world in the twentieth century. Thank you to the accompanying members of staff without whom the visit would not have been possible. David Jones Head of MFL
I am a Testbourne parent and will be running the London Marathon in April to raise money and awareness for Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow trust. If you have any items you were thinking of donating to a charity shop, then look no further. I am taking over the Rotations Charity Shop in Whitchurch for a week commencing 24th March; with all the proceeds going to Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow trust. So over half term please have a look and see if there is anything you no longer need or use that you would like to donate. I am happy to collect from you wherever you are. Please do not leave anything at school. My contact number is 07476849004 or email carolineburson@yahoo.com Thank You. http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/carolineburson Here in the English Department we are taking part in the national reading competition Read for My School which is open to Years 7 and 8. The competition consists of a free online library of over 100 books. As part of the competition students will be able to read those books online either at home, at school or anywhere where they have internet access! The goal is simply to read as much as possible this term. Since we joined on 26 th January, Testbourne pupils have read an amazing 558 books, which averages 4.3 books per pupil! Top readers so far are: Ava Datta, Holly Gilmoure, Lucy Conneely, Khadiza Alam, Emile Ivonciute, Hurry up boys you have lots of catching up to do!
VISIT TO THE NATIONAL THEATRE On Thursday 4 th February 23 Year 7 and 8 pupils went to London for a tour of The Globe Theatre followed by an evening meal on the South Bank and then on to see a performance of Shakespeare s As you Like It at the National Theatre. The group mainly consisted of those who had taken part in the Shakespeare Schools Festival last term. That group performed a half hour version of the same play at The Lights Theatre, Andover last November. It was amazing to see what could be done with a large budget. The group got back to Basingstoke railway station at 11:35pm, tired but buzzing from the experience. DRAMA WORKSHOPS On Wednesday 10 th February 28 year 8 pupils took part in a workshop run by third year drama degree students from Winchester University. The workshop was designed to explore the themes of Power, Democracy and Economics using a range of drama techniques. The response from participants was very positive indeed and the workshop providers commented on how keen and bright the group were. The second part of the workshop takes place on the morning of 24 th February.. TITANIC REFLOATED The year 9 Drama GCSE group have been learning about Brechtian Theatre and are in the process of devising a performance using Brechtian techniques using the story of RMS Titanic. The performance will be delivered to their parents and loved ones in the Theatre Hall on the evening of March 3 rd. The groups are incorporating extracts from the script Titanic the unsinkable dream which Testbourne performed at the Theatre Royal, Winchester in 2006, a show which Andrew Lloyd Webber came to watch. PROJECT WITH ICKNIELDSCHOOL During the summer term we will be involved in a joint project with Icknield School, Andover. Icknield is a special school for pupils with severe learning difficulties and we have worked with them on several projects in the past. The aim of the project is to improve the communication skills of all pupils involved. We will produce a short Soap Opera which will be filmed on location at Icknield School. Small groups from Testbourne will combine with groups from Icknield to produce scenes for the film. Some of the discussions and rehearsals will be conducted via Skype as well as face to face rehearsals with between participants. Our pupils will take on the roles of cast members in the Soap Opera and some will be in director roles taking responsibility for different scenes. One of our previous film collaborations with Icknield resulted in two of our pupils spending a week in Japan in 2010, all expenses paid by Panasonic. The film is still on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjtsklxizgc
MUSIC On Wednesday 3 rd February the Music Department took 95 students to see a rehearsal by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra at The Lighthouse Arts Centre in Poole. The students got an insight in to the rehearsal process and heard pieces from their current concert series, entitled Heroes and Aliens. The rehearsal featured music from films such as Apollo 13, Star Wars, E.T. and Superman. This was a fantastic opportunity for pupils to experience one of the UK s major orchestras and linked nicely to the work they have been doing in Music lessons on the orchestra, film music and heroes and villains. On Thursday 11 th February, 2 of our year 11 GCSE Music students competed in Andover Young Musician of the Year, at St. Mary s Church. Alistair Barahmeh entered the classical category and played an arrangement of a cello suite, by JS Bach, on the Alto Saxophone. Andrew White entered the popular category and played an arrangement of Too Close, by Alex Clare, on the piano. Both performed confidently and received high praise from the adjudicators, with Alistair winning his category. Congratulations to them both. After half term there will be a Year 8 Music club, on a Wednesday lunchtime, and a Year 7 Music club, on a Thursday lunchtime. These are for any student who would like to perform music, or produce their own music on the imacs, with the assistance of the Music teachers and KS4 students. DANCE On 13 th & 14 th January Year 10 & 11 BTEC dancers, alongside our Year 9s, Year 8 and Year 7 Dance companies, performed to family and friends in Testbourne s Theatre Hall. The BTEC performances were recorded as evidence to be graded for their coursework. Pupils performed a mixture of their own choreography as well as that taught to them by Mrs Starke. The Year 7s were choreographed and directed by 2 Year 11s, and they performed their first dance at Testbourne to the music from Mary Poppins. This was the last showcase for Mrs Starke, who has been our Dance teacher for more than 10 years and we wish her well in her new job at Dove House Academy. We welcome our new Dance teacher, Mrs Vowles, and look forward to her first Dance showcase in May.
YEAR 7 AND YEAR 8 GIRLS NETBALL What a fantastic half term we have had with year 7 and 8 netball. We were put into a pool with Winton, Test Valley and Rookwood. First game of the season is always a tense one, especially for year 7's who have never played together before, other than at training. Year 8's are now more accustomed to playing with one another and especially after they finished last season as area tournament winners. Our first game was against Winton and some very slick shooting by Abi Noakes and Mya Doherty saw year 7's triumphant with a 10-3 win. Year 8's won so convincingly that they all changed out of position in the last quarter with shooting from Ruby McIntrye, Jazzie Ramton, Taree Taylor and Emma Wincot ensuring a 17-1 win! Our next game saw us playing Test Valley whom both teams beat again but with a slightly less convincing win of 9-4 (year 7) and 15-4 (year 8)!!! Our last game this half term was against Rookwood whereby the year 8's came up against a stronger opposition but still winning 7-4 and the 7's continued to score well winning 7-0. Well done to all girls who have played this half termand trained at lunchtime and we look forward to our next 3 games after half term in the upper pool and also the end of season tournament. KIT STANDARDS Just a reminder of the standards that are expected of students regarding their kit: Jewellery Students are expected to remove ALL jewellery (including earrings) prior to the start of their lesson in order to keep themselves and others free from harm. We would recommend that ears are pierced at the start of the summer holiday, giving the ears enough time to heal to allow earrings to be removed for physical activity. KS3 All students should wear: Yellow Testbourne polo shirt (and rugby shirt for outdoor lessons), Blue shorts Blue socks Footwear that is appropriate for the activity trainers for indoor activities, or football/rugby boots for outdoors. The PE Department is happy for students to bring additional layers (black or navy blue tracksuit bottoms, plus a hoodie or jacket) if the weather is cold and/or wet, as long as these items are in addition to the standard Testbourne kit, not instead of. This is at the teacher s discretion. We also have a number of pairs of second-hand football/rugby boots for sale for 4 please come and see us if you would like to buy a pair. KS4 Students are allowed to wear their own kit, within reason; we suggest a t-shirt/top (one that is appropriate in which to undertake physical activity), tracksuit bottoms or shorts (any colour), plus suitable footwear. If you son or daughter is in any doubt as to the suitability of their kit, please get them to see their teacher for clarification.
GIRLS RUGBY TEAM INVITED TO TWICKENHAM We were very fortunate to be invited to the open training session of the England Rugby Team on Friday 29 th January. This gave the girls the opportunity to watch the team put through their paces by the new England Coaching Team headed up by the newly appointed England Coach, Eddie Jones. As you can see from the pictures the girls had a great time! GIRLS RUBY FESTIVALS This half term has seen the second round of the Basingstoke Rugby Club s Girls Rugby Festivals. The first of which was for our year 9 girls which took place on an extremely wet and cold day! The girls excelled themselves despite the conditions, winning all of their games! Great preparation for the County Tournament coming up in March!
The year 8 s festival followed on Wednesday 3 February, thankfully the conditions were much more conducive to playing rugby. As with the other festivals the afternoon started with a carousel of coaching sessions which focussed on building the girls confidence in the contact situation as well as offloading the ball and support play. This was followed by a series of games against the other schools attending and again the Year 8 s won all their games! This week it was the turn of the year 7 s, who were super keen to keep up Testbourne s winning streak! With over 100 girls from 11 schools this was by far the biggest festival and the girls enthusiasm for the contact game was clearly evident. Unfortunately the Year 7 s were caught off guard in their first game against a strong Brighton Hill side and lost their first game. However, with a little reinforcement and a renewed determination the 7 s finished strongly winning all of their remaining games. Well done to all who took part we now look forward to the County Tournament on Thursday 3 rd March! Training in preparation for this competition will take place on Tuesday 23 rd February and Tuesday 1 st March between 3.30pm 4.30pm. Teams for the County Tournament will be selected from those at these training sessions. GIRLS FOOTBALL This half term has also seen the girls competing on a number of football tournaments. The first of these was on Monday 18 th January and saw our year 8 team finishing 5 th and our year 9 s narrowly missing out on the title; losing only one game to Aldworth in the Final! Next was the Andover Schools competition. This time our year 7 s came a creditable 4 th and the Year 9 s again with only one loss, finishing in 2 nd place. This week, the year 8 s and year 9 s played in the second leg of the Basingstoke competition. Despite their enthusiasm, the year 8 s lost their first game 1-0 to Cranbourne. Their second game saw a well organised Costello Team defeat them 2-0. However the Year 8 team kept fighting and recording a draw in their third game against Bishop Challoner and a win against Aldworth however this meant they didn t have enough points to progress any further in the tournament. The Year 9 s were determined to break their disappointment of being placed 2 nd in the previous 2 tournaments. As a result they were impressive in their determination and beating Brighton Hill in their first game 3-0 set the tone for the rest of their tournament. They went on to record a 5-0 win over the Costello B Team, 3-0 over Bishop Challoner and Everest putting them in first place at the end of the pool games and earning them a place in the final against Cranbourne. The next 8 minutes saw the Testbourne girls with the majority of the possession and they hit the crossbar twice. But the game ended as a 0-0 draw, which meant penalties!! Due to it being small sided games only 3 players from each team were required to step up to take the penalties. First for Testbourne was Abbie Sarginson who powered a goal into one of the corners. It was then Cranbourne s turn and a very brave Olivia Picton managed to save their first attempt! Then came Molly Wateridge who made the keeper make an incredible save, followed by an equally strong penalty from Cranbourne! Another penalty scored by Evie Davies, gave Testbourne the lead with only the Cranbourne goalkeeper left to take her penalty. Despite her nerves Olivia Picton stood on the line with confidence and managed to save the final penalty meaning Testbourne were overall winner with a 2-1 win on penalties. A great spectacle to watch and I was very proud of the girls determination, communication and teamwork!
Testbourne Fitness Gym is now open and offering memberships to the community. The gym has 18 stations of cardiovascular, resistance and free weight equipment to give you the complete workout. Fitness Instructors are on hand to guide and assist you to help achieve your goals. Opening hours are Mon- Fri- 06.45-22.00 and Sat 09.00-14.00 We do have some limited PE use during the day which is advertised in the gym and a vehicular restriction is in place between school drop off and collection times. Joining fee is 10 and a number of options are available: Standard- Monthly Direct Debit 26.00 or Annual 280 Joint Standard- Monthly Direct debit 45 or annual 480 Concession- Monthly Direct Debit 20 or annual 210 Joint Concession- Monthly Direct Debit 37 or annual 405 Casual Monthly ( 30 days) 33. To book an induction contact the Community Office on 01256 892261 or email p.bushell@testbourne.hants.sch.uk DROPPING/PICKING UP STUDENTS For the health and safety of our students please do not park or drop off students outside the main entrance or around the bus bay area. Thank you for your cooperation.
JOB VACANCIES AT TESTBOURNE Required March 2016 Part Time Welfare Assistant, Fixed Term Contract Hours: 30 hours per week term time only Grade B1 14,586 (pro-rata) Actual: 10,375 per annum We are looking to appoint a Welfare Assistant part time 30 hours per week (hours to be arranged) to ensure effective and efficient provision of first aid and welfare support to the students of the school. The role would involve assessing student s medical needs and administration of front-line first aid and other remedies/action and if necessary refer onward assessment and treatment to other medical practitioners. You will also be responsible for administration of approved prescribed medication, and maintaining accurate records and reports including those for statutory requirements alongside general administration associated within the role. You would also be responsible for making arrangements to ensure students have access to pastoral care. Required for April 2016 Part Time Teaching Assistant Fixed Term Contract Hours: 22 hours per week term time only Grade B1 14,586 (pro-rata) Actual: 7,608 fixed term per annum We are looking to appoint a part time Teaching Assistant to work as part of our friendly and highly effective Learning Support Team, providing learning support for pupils with a range of needs. You will need to relate well to pupils of secondary age and have a good general education with sound literacy and numeracy skills. Previous experience would be an advantage. Initially a one year contract with effect from April 2016 to 31 August 2016 when the contract will be reviewed accordingly. Closing Date for Applications: Friday 4 March 2016 Experience in a similar role would be an advantage along with relevant first aid qualifications, although this could be provided for the right candidate. Initially a fixed term contract with effect from March to 31 August 2016 when the contract will be reviewed accordingly. Closing Date for Applications: Monday 29 th February 2016 (noon) Application forms and further details are available from Sue Burton, PA to the Headteacher by phone: 01256 890215 email: s.burton@testbourne.hants.sch.uk or the school website: www.testbourne.hants.sch.uk. Please also complete the Equalities Monitoring Form when you submit your application form. Testbourne Community School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We will ensure that all our recruitment and selection practices reflect this commitment. All successful candidates will be subject to an Enhanced DBS and other relevant employment checks.