New Head Student Team 2013-14 ALLESTREE WOODLANDS SCHOOL January 2015 Dear Parents/Carers, Colleagues and Governors, It has been a very busy January here at school. The Sixth Form have completed their practice exams and Year 11 are completing their GCSE Controlled assessments. All these students are preparing for their final exams in May and June. If your child is in Year 11 you can also access their annual report via the SIMS Learning Gateway on the school’s website. As I write excitement is mounting for the school’s sell out show ‘Les Misérables’ which takes place next week. We wish all those involved the very best. Many congratulations to all those mentioned and featured in this magazine. Yours Sincerely, Headteacher AWS MONTHLY MAGAZINE Fantastic works of art from students which now adorn the Sixth Form Hall. AWS MONTHLY MAGAZINE CanSat A group of 5 Allestree Woodlands School year 13 students (Jake Hutchinson, Rob Hyde, Ali Noon, Sophie Hutchinson and Luke Stanmore) are competing in a national completion to build a working satellite - in a soft drinks can. The satellite is going to measure many types of pollution in the atmosphere. The team are planning on using pressure, temperature, carbon monoxide and methane sensors to measure air pollution. They also intend to include cameras to create a light pollution map. The project reaches its conclusion in March when the team will spend three days at York University competing against other teams from across the UK. The winning team will secure a place at the European championships in Norway. As part of this project the team has had to learn how to write computer programs, however due to the team’s lack of knowledge in this area they have had to attend an Arduino masterclass to learn the basics. The team have learnt a lot of valuable skills during this project including managing our finances due to the £400 limit on the CanSat project. Therefore the team have had to apply for funding through companies such as Rolls Royce and the Institute of Physics. Fortunately they have secured money through the Rolls Royce STEM initiative, as well as a mentor to guide us through the project. Before March the team still has a lot to complete including assembling the CanSat, testing it and building a successful parachute. With the help of Mr Turner and their mentor Moustafa Kenawy from Rolls Royce, they are well on their way to meet their deadline and compete in March. #AWSCanSat AWS MONTHLY MAGAZINE The English Department will be running World Book Day events across the school during the week beginning Monday 2nd March 2015. In addition to our usual ‘Readathon’ reading marathon and specific English events in lessons and the library, staff will be taking part by dressing as their favourite literary character and bringing in their favourite books as “show and tell”. Premier League 4 Sport Tennis Scheme. The School has, since April 2014, been working in conjunction with Derby County and Woodlands Tennis centre, to host a Premier League 4 Sport Tennis scheme. The club is open to students in Year 9-13, and is inclusive to all levels of ability, though students in the GCSE cohort who may use Tennis as an option, should seriously consider attending to develop their skills, as the club is led by qualified Lawn Tennis Association approved coaches, and runs throughout term time and holidays, (subject to coach availability). It has been organised that the new Tennis club will have the use of indoor facilities during the winter months, to avoid weather conditions which will make use of the outdoor courts dangerous, before returning to the outside facilities during the summer. The current block of Woodlands Tennis Club coaching began at Allestree Woodlands school on Tuesday 6th. If this club interests you please see me at any time in the PE office to gain an information letter. Please see Mr Swift for further details. 2014 GCSE and A level Certificates from last summer’s exams are now available for collection from reception during normal school hours. These certificates are official documents and need to be kept safe. They will also have to be signed for. AWS MONTHLY MAGAZINE ! ds e W & u Th rs LD O S T U O AWS MONTHLY MAGAZINE Learning Gateway Allestree Woodlands School’s portal for parents and carers is called Learning Gateway. This will provide secure online access to the latest student information about your child including their school report. Information also available on the Learning Gateway includes Attendance, Behaviour and Achievement, Timetables, Lesson Times, Contact and Medical Details, School Announcements and Homework. Should you wish to access your child's details using the Learning Gateway please register and agree to the Learning Gateway Acceptable Use Policy. Please go to the school website ‘’Parents and Carers’’ tab and click ‘’Learning Gateway’’ for links to registration. If you experience any problems using Learning Gateway or have any questions please E-Mail: [email protected] WANTED! – SCHOOL UNIFORM and/or SCHOOL PE KIT If you have any unwanted school uniform or school PE kit in good condition, then please donate it to the school. We can put it to very good use. Please bring it to reception. Free School Meals It is really important for the school to know who all of the Free School Meal (FSM) students are. Whatever information we receive from parents or carers is confidential and students who take free school meals are not identified in any way as all meals are monitored using the ‘finger machine'. No cash is exchanged. If you think your child could be entitled to Free School Meals, please contact the school in any way that you feel is most comfortable for you. We are really keen that parents take up this entitlement so please do not hesitate to contact us. Dates for your diary Tuesday 3rd February Tuesday 3rd Wednesday 4th February Thursday 5th February Friday 6th February Monday 16th February Uniform purchase available in school 3.30-5pm Les Misérables (Schools Edition) 6.30pm Les Misérables (Schools Edition) 6.30pm Les Misérables (Schools Edition) 6.30pm Gala Evening Year 9 Options IN End of first half term Start of the second half term AWS MONTHLY MAGAZINE Building work underway – Over the Christmas holidays some work has taken place to prepare the school site for the start of building work. Some trees and hedgerows have been cleared. Minor alterations to other parts of the school will start next week with the major building works getting underway at half term. We will keep you as up to date as we possibly can as the work on our new school buildings starts. AWS MONTHLY MAGAZINE PFTA Parents, Friends, Teachers Association You can reach the new PFTA Chair Gill Black on email: [email protected] We’d like to thank those of you who already support the PFTA. We are always in need of more parental support, so please contact me if you are interested in joining in the fun ways of helping to enrich your child’s quality of life in school. This year through our various activities, we raised enough funds to be able to purchase these special items for your child’s use at Woodlands School: two ‘visualizers’ for use in Maths an all-weather table tennis table A Drum kit for the Theatre an iPad Air for use in the Hub three new picnic tables Apple TV’s for Technology We have several new requests for funding this term and endeavour to accommodate them with the following fundraising dates: Dates for your diary Les Miserables ~ ~ AWS MONTHLY MAGAZINE First Annual “Biology Bake Off” £22.60 raised for charity Year 12 Student Sam Rayner getting his legs waxed in support of this year’s Sixth Form Charities—Air Ambulance and Dementia UK. AWS MONTHLY MAGAZINE AWS MONTHLY MAGAZINE St Johns Church Devonshire Drive Mickleover Wednesday 18th February 2015 at 7:15pm Tickets - £5.00 including refreshments For tickets call: Helen 07805157612