at Dowdales

In the

Spotlight...

October 2011 Issue 6

Welcome Year 7! Your Guide to Your School This booklet was designed with students at the forefront of my mind. I began Dowdales in 1996 as a timid member of 7W, afraid of the thirteenth step in Ashburner House and of wicked rumours that older students had told me! I remember the worry of getting lost and not knowing every teacher in the school unlike the comfort of my small Primary School that had gone before. With these memories fresh in my mind, I set about dispelling any myths or anxieties that our new students might have about starting secondary school. I hope that they will find their new guide bright, helpful, and inspiring as they begin their journey with us at being the best they can be. Miss Donnelly

Activity Days In the last week of the summer term the school was alive with feverish activity set around our now traditional activity days. This year the theme was based on sustainability. Students could choose

from a wide range of experiences ranging from Poetry to Beach Ecology. Every student had the opportunity to choose three different experiences from a wide range of options which included, making animal homes, gardening, a bug project, media reports, performing arts and many others. Despite terrible weather on the first day staff and students entered into the various tasks enthusiastically. The event culminated on the Wednesday with the sustainability assembly where each group shared what they had achieved and learned during the three days.

What a Team! Welcome to the latest edition of ‘Spotlight’ featuring a selection of the activities that students have been involved in this first half term and a few carrying over from the summer. What a team we have in our Head Girl, Hannah Stanway and Head Boy, Reuben Allonby and their deputies Katie Sturgeon, Jake Brown, Lucie Moore and Matthew Belsey. It was with great pleasure that I handed

them their ties last week. I know for certain that they will step up to their r o les w i t h con f i dence and enthusiasm, working with our one hundred and thirty Year 11 senior students, alongside the staff to ensure the smooth running of the school.

Julie D O’Connor

Rambert Dance Trip O n W e d n e s d a y 2 1 s t September, the GCSE and A level dance groups visited the Lowry to see Rambert Dance Company perform their latest work. As I had never been to the theatre before, this was a very exciting experience with live music and fantastic dancers. The performances were of an excellent standard, reflecting the ability and creativity of the company. The evening was split into three sections. The first piece, The Art of Touch, was amazing to watch. The strength of the dancers was astounding! The world premiere of Seven for a Secret was next. This was a playful and inspiring piece, which outlined the magical moments of childhood. The last piece of the evening was A Linha Curva. This Samba-inspired routine was spectacular. It was extremely fun, colourful and very entertaining. From the dancers to the live orchestra, the show was a beautifully-crafted performance and a must-see for all! Gemma Henley

Dancers gain Advanced Training We are delighted that two year 10 students have achieved places at The Centre for Advanced Training at The Lowry. This training scheme supports talented dancers and musicians across the country, giving them access to high quality training and careers advice. This helps them to access the best vocational schools and conservatoires when they leave school. Maya Yoncali has gained one of only 25 full places on the CAT scheme and travels to the Lowry twice a week. She attends classes in contemporary technique, ballet and professional repertoire as well as sessions on body conditioning and diet and nutrition. Ebony Miles, an associate member, has ballet and contemporary classes one evening a week. As well as regular training, the dancers are able to see dance performances at The Lowry and attend workshops with professional companies in the holidays. Both students are members of Dowdales Youth Dance Group. They are excited at their new venture and relishing the opportunities on offer. “The CAT training has been a great experience so far and I’m looking forward to studying there in the years ahead. I have made lots of friends while I’ve been there and the teachers are all demanding but lovely. I know I’ll extend my dance knowledge which will help me for the future.” Maya Yoncali

Student Services This year sees the addition of two extra people to our Pastoral team. Mrs Johnson and Mrs Scott are working along side Mrs Mallinson our Attendance Officer to ensure that our students are fully supported in their day to day school life. They have a permanent base opposite the Learning Resource Centre and next to the Head of Upper and Lower School office to ensure that the students know where they can find support. Students will use Student Services for a variety of reasons including signing in and out of school for appointments, first aid and many other general queries.

Latin The MFL Department is pleased to be able to offer a second year’s study to a small group of excellent linguists. They are working towards certification from the Cambridge Latin Course, and are coping well with the intricacies of Latin grammar!

Money week competition success During the week of 27th June – 1st July the Maths department ran a range of activities as part of ‘My Money Week’ to encourage students to learn how to handle their personal finances to avoid debt and money mismanagement in the future.

Some of our students entered a national competition which required them to create a piece of artwork in response to the question – 2040 vision: what will money look like in the future? The competition was fun and really brought out the creative side of our students.

We are delighted to report that George Brown of Y9 has scooped the North West Regional Prize for the 11-14 age group, beating almost 4000 entrants. Five regional winners in each age group have been invited to an exhibition of their work at the Science Museum in London in October. Each winner will receive a digital camera, a goody bag of art materials and £30 in gift vouchers, as well as £500 in cash for the School. The overall winner in each age category will also be announced at the Exhibition and will receive either a Nintendo 3DS or an iPad2 and a further £500 for their school.

Open Evening Over four hundred parents and children from local schools throughout Furness attended our Open Evening on 28th September. The evening began with a performance from the Chamber Choir and a short talk from Julie O’Connor, Headteacher. Parents then visited areas of the school to see performances in Music, Dance and Drama; take part in experiments in science; see students working in art; try out trampolining and Tai Kwon Do and activities in modern languages and humanities. As usual our teachers and students were on hand to talk about what they like about Dowdales and what makes us so successful. The evening concluded with a performance of Shakespeare prepared as part of our partnership with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Clarence House Cupcake Competition At the end of the summer term all students in KS3 were invited to enter a cupcake competition organised by Clarence House. Students were asked to produce design ideas for four cupcakes. Those with the best entries were chosen to come along to a series of afterschool sessions where they learnt to bake their cupcakes and then learnt methods of decorating the cakes. During the final session the students baked and decorated their own cupcake design which was then judged by the Head Chef from Clarence House. Anna Merrell in Year 7 was chosen as the Dowdales winner. She won a ‘Sugar and Spice’ afternoon tea at Clarence House with four of her friends. The girls enjoyed a full afternoon tea with lots of exciting cakes and sandwiches. At the end of the afternoon Anna came up against competition from a host of other local secondary schools. Her design

was judged to be the best and she won the overall Clarence House Cupcake Competition.

Dowdales School Telephone: 01229 897911 Dalton in Furness Email: office@dowdales.cumbria.sch.uk Cumbria LA15 8AH Website: www.dowdalesschool.co.uk

French Trip On 16th July 2011, we set off on our long journey to France from Dowdales; Miss Gatherar, Mr Parkinson, Mrs Richardson and Miss Kahli together with 30 Year 8 pupils. We set off on Sunday night to catch our ferry early on Monday morning. We were staying in a fab centre called Residence Club Cote Picarde which was located very close to the beach – lucky for us! During our three day stay in France, near Boulogne, we visited the

Nausicca Sea Life Centre which is a big aquarium and we learned lots about marine life. We also visited Parc Bagatelle which was a great theme park with some excellent water rides, as well as visiting the beach and local shops! After three wonderful, but quite rainy days in North West France, we made the long journey back to Dalton on Wednesday 20th July – very tired, but having had a fabulous time.

Community Primary Dance Saturday morning dance classes have got off to a lively start this term with Mini Movers and Jumpstarts, both led by dance teacher Lauren Marwood. Mini Movers is aimed at primary school pupils aged 4-7 and is designed to build dance skills, develop creativity and team spirit! It runs from 10.30-11.30am each Saturday. Jumpstarts is for pupils aged 8 -11 who want to learn a variety of dance

styles, as well as developing creativity and team-working skills. Jumpstarts runs from 11.30am – 12.30pm. Both classes have made a promising start and dancers are working towards a sharing at the end of the sessions. We hope to be able to continue the classes throughout the year. Places are still available, so if your child would like to kick-start their weekend with a fun and energetic session, please contact Mrs D. Brown at Dowdales or simply come to the Muse on Saturday morning. Classes cost £20 for a ten-week course.

Mentoring at Dowdales “Mentoring is about making high expectations a reality for each student. To achieve this, there must be somebody who knows, motivates, supports and encourages every child to reflect, challenge and deepen their learning.” Our philosophy is that every child in school is entitled to a learning mentor, a member of staff who, through a learning conversation, will support and challenge them and help them to achieve their potential. This year sees some changes to the logistics behind the mentoring system to enhance what we have in place and ensure that students spend more time with their mentors in order to get the best from that relationship. From September the Form Teacher is the students’ mentor, in most cases, enabling the more frequent contact needed to have deep and meaningful conversations that enable students to move forward. In addition, every form group will be supported by a Progress Mentor who will also act as the primary mentor for some students in the form group. Early indications are that the new system is working well, the aim being that all students receive outstanding support.