Headlines

April 2004

The Humanities Specialist School Bid

Our bid to become a Humanities College will be submitted this Autumn. We are in the process of meeting with a number of different agencies to plan the strategies that will improve the relevance of the curriculum and the achievement of our students. The priority now is to raise the £50,000 sponsorship that will enable us to obtain nearly half a million pounds in additional funding over the next four years. Please help us if you can - any donation of £5 or above will be gratefully received. If you know any ex-students or business people who could help, please let us know - the details are in the flyer, which should be ready in a couple of weeks' time.

Investors in People Award

You may have seen in the Stop Press of the last Headlines, that we have achieved Investors in People status via the fast track route. We decided that it was about time that our investment in staff was recognised, and we are delighted to have been awarded the status with no actions required. The external assessor notes in the report:-
"I found SJS to be a happy school with a very positive atmosphere. In spite of the difficulties it faces as a result of its geographical isolation, it is an outward looking school, keen to collaborate with others.
Particular strengths include:
* The positive outlook and buzz of enthusiasm for learning among the staff
* A creative approach to tailoring development opportunities to people's specific needs
* An effective performance management system, with realistic but challenging targets
* The willingness to listen to people's points of view and act on their suggestions * The friendly atmosphere and lack of barriers between teaching and support staff" (There were lots more in this vein! … and some very complimentary remarks about the leadership, management and governance of the school.)
We shall now be working towards the "Investors in Careers" award. This will mean gathering a portfolio of evidence from staff, students, governors, and community representatives to be in a position for judging in the autumn. We shall also be updating our self evaluation priorities, including an analysis of a student questionnaire. This will be undertaken by all students on Friday 7 May - it takes about 10 minutes.

The new school year…

We know that the new school year usually starts in September but there are disadvantages in the long gap of the summer holiday that offset the advantages of the fresh start. We have decided to introduce most elements of the new September timetable after half term. This should give a new impetus to the Summer term. So, from Monday 7 June, all students will "move up", their teachers may change and they will start work on new courses. The timetable will change completely. There may still have to be one or two changes in September if any staff leave at the end of this term. We hope that this will be particularly beneficial for Year 9 - who will not have to continue with non-core subjects unless they have chosen them as options - and Year 10 and 12. We shall evaluate this change carefully to see if it is a model for the future.

Year 9 SATS

The Year 9 tests are in the week beginning Tuesday 4 May (Monday 3 May is a Bank Holiday). Year 9 parents will have received a letter giving details of the SATs. Over the following three weeks, Year 9 will have an enhanced curriculum, focussing on creativity and literacy. Activities will include workshops on presentation skills, organisation of work, and learning styles. There will be visitors running workshops on writing - for the web, for the press, for songwriting, for radio….. there will be work leading up to and following a visit. The special literacy work will be presented in a folder and there will be prizes for the best content, best presentation and best effort. The aim is to prepare Year 9 for the change to the GCSE courses, which will begin after half term.

Year 8

The Global Village For three weeks between Monday 10 and Friday 28 May all Year 8 pupils will be taking part in an exciting cross-curricular initiative, co-ordinated by Wendy Birkbeck in the Humanities Department. Teachers from all departments have put together a programme of work enabling pupils to learn subject requirements through the medium of Africa. For example, in the Art department pupils will acquire design skills through making African masks. In Food Technology pupils will have the opportunity to prepare and cook African dishes. In addition to their usual lessons, part of the timetable will be collapsed for pupils to benefit from a variety of outside visitors. For example, the science department have organised for Newquay Zoo to bring in some African animals and talk to the pupils about African habitats. Frititi, an African band, will be in school for four days teaching pupils traditional dancing. Fairgame Theatre will also be putting on a performance about the darker side of cocoa plantations. A lot is going on! The reasoning behind this venture is two-fold: (1) to provide pupils with new opportunities and a particular focus they can spend time really getting their teeth into and (2) a chance for teachers to work together, share ideas, and promote the similarities rather than the differences between our subject areas. Watch this space!

The French Exchange

On 31 March, thirty-four students from SJS and Wadebridge School travelled to Aix Les Bains (French Alps) to visit 'Collège le Marlioz' our partner school. They had the chance to attend lessons in the school but other activities were also organised by both staff and French families: they included ten pin bowling, a disco, ice skating, a boat trip on Lac du Bourget and of course skiing. The snow was fresh and enjoyable. We are very grateful to our partner school and the French families for their hospitality. We will certainly not forget the band in the car park that came and played 'God Save the Queen' to say goodbye to the group on the last day. We now look forward to the visit of the French group due to arrive on 7 May.

JSLA (Junior Sports Leader Award Achievements) 2004

* Weekly running lunchtime sports activities at Camelford CP School.
* Weekly running netball sessions at Tintagel CP School.
* Twenty taking and passing a tag rugby introduction course.
* Tag rugby taster sessions for St Teath, St Breward, Camelford and Otterham CP Schools.
* Running festivals for 8 local primary schools - football, basketball, netball and tag rugby.
* Helping at the primary schools swimming gala. * Running the SJS swimming gala.

It is worth remembering that many of these students are having problems in other areas of their school life - including the occasional PE lesson! - but it is very pleasing to watch them in action.

Forthcoming dates

Friday 30 April Leaving Day for Terry Burden, John Griffiths and Stuart Patterson
Monday 3 May May Day Bank Holiday
Tuesday 4 - Friday 7 May Year 9 SAT tests
Tuesday 4 May Year 11 PROM party
Friday 7 May School Evaluation questionnaires
Tuesday 11 May Year 7 Parents' Evening
Friday 14 May Specialist School Breakfast launch for potential sponsors Year 9 visit to Alton Towers
Friday 21 May Year 11 Record of Achievement presentation
Monday 24 May Year 11 Study Leave begins. Written GCSEs begin this week.
Friday 28 May Study Leave begins for Year 13
Monday 31 May to Friday 4 June HALF TERM
Monday 7 June Year 13 study leave begins 2004/2005 timetable begins 
Sunday 20 June SJS 'Midsummer Merriment' (Launch of artificial cricket pitch - see next 'Headlines')
Tuesday 22 June Year 8 Parents' Evening
Monday 28 June to Friday 2 July Year 10 internal examinations
Monday 5 to Friday 16 July Year 10 Work Experience
Friday 23 July  Term ends

NO TRESPASSERS - please would all parents/carers remind students that the school grounds and buildings are PRIVATE PROPERTY and that they should not be here on the evenings or weekends.

Angela Perlmutter
(Headteacher)