Dear Parents and Carers

Here is our spring Newsletter. As the Easter break has fallen early this year, it doesn’t quite feel we have shaken winter off yet, but hopefully, when we re-turn on the 11

th April, it will be a little warmer and brighter! I do hope you enjoy

reading about and seeing just some of the excellent activities and learning op-portunities our pupils have experienced over the last two terms. Although each term since Christmas has been fairly short, I think you will agree that a lot of high quality learning has been packed into them.

As we approach the summer terms, many of our pupils and their families will be thinking ahead: For our year 11 this is a very important time. Our staff will be doing their very best to prepare them for exams, assessments and I hope as many pupils as possible continue to attend extra classes and also the Easter holiday revision / preparation days we are offering. If you are a parent or carer of a Year 11 pupil, please do contact our teachers if you would like any advice or information about how to help your child prepare. Please sup-port us by making sure they get plenty of sleep and a good breakfast every day during the examination and assessment season.

Thank you also to all of our parents and carers who have shown their support and enthusiasm for Saxon Mount in recent Annual Reviews and parent eve-nings; we had a very high attendance and received overwhelmingly positive feedback in our questionnaires. We are always very pleased to hear your views, so please do contact us if you have any concerns or worries about your child.

I wish everybody a safe and happy Easter holiday.

Mr Preece

Dear Parents and Carers,

I am very pleased to be contributing to this informative and entertaining news-

letter. The items are a reflection of just some of the varied and productive

learning activities in which pupils and staff at Saxon Mount School have par-

ticipated.

Year 11 students are busy preparing for their forthcoming examinations. They

are being very well supported by staff in ensuring they give of their best over

the coming weeks. Easter holiday GCSE booster classes have been planned

to give the students a little more confidence in approaching their examination

papers.

Just before the mid-term break, a group of 30 year 7 and 8 pupils were ac-

companied by seven members of staff on a residential trip to Carroty Wood,

an outdoor pursuits centre near Tonbridge, Kent. It is now the sixth year that

our students have enjoyed the challenge of three days of mainly outdoor ac-

tivities. Everyone responded really positively and gained in self-confidence.

We continue to make improvements to facilities in the school, so over the

Easter break the Food Technology room will be refurbished. This work is set

alongside a planned programme of redecoration and repairs which ensure

that everyone benefits from a clean, attractive and safe environment.

Our pupils like to show generosity towards other people at home and in Africa

who may be less fortunate than themselves. We recently raised a good sum

of money for “Sport Relief” and after completing the circuit and in doing so

provided us with the chance to enjoy tasty hot food served by members of the

year 11 Hospitality group.

The ‘Young Enterprise’ scheme once again captured the imaginations of a

group of year 11 pupils. Under the guidance of staff, they set up a company

and designed a product which they sold - very successfully - at an event in

Priory Meadow, Hastings and later at a Trade Fair at The Azur, St Leonards.

Younger students took part in the Tenner Challenge—you can read more

about both projects .within this newsletter

A number of our older students are benefiting from the Independent Travel

Training scheme. Successful completion of the training results in each student

receiving a bus pass which widens their social and educational opportunities.

By the time you receive this newsletter, parents’ evening will have occurred. I

hope that as many of you as possible came to the consultation. We attach

great importance to maintaining effective communication between school and

home and we know from your positive comments that recent texts sent out

with reminders and information continue to be well received.

I would like to remind you that term finishes on Thursday 24th March. Term 5

begins on Monday 11th April and ends on Friday 27th May. There is a Bank

Holiday on Monday 2nd May. Term 6 begins on Monday 6th June and there

are INSET days on Thursday 16th June and Friday 17th June 2016.

I should like to thank the staff for their continued hard work and commitment

which ensures that pupils at Saxon Mount benefit from a wide range of oppor-

tunities, both academic and social.

Lastly I would like to join Mr Preece in wishing all of you a happy and safe

Easter holiday.

Mrs E Gardner,

Head of School

English at

Saxon

Mount

School

Year 11 are studying a

variety of media texts and

writing a range of letters,

articles and speeches in

preparation for

their exams in

June. Year 7 - are studying

the story ‘The Warning’ about a tsunami in Japan and how, by a selfless act

of burning his own crops, a farmer called Gohei

saved the lives of all the other villagers by sending

them a warning.

Remember to Read!

At KS3, part of your child’s homework will

be to read at home at least once a week.

English

at Saxon

Mount

School

Year 10 - A Christmas Carol by

Charles Dickens or

Animal Farm by

George Orwell are being

read as part of the stu-

dents’ study of classic

English

Litera-Year 8 - are studying

‘Journey to Jo’burg’

a story of two children who set out on a journey to find their mother. The story, set in South Africa, examines discrimination and the apartheid system.

Year 9 - are studying Greek theatre whilst reading a dramatic

play called ‘The Laby-rinth’ based on the

story of ‘Theseus and the Minotaur’, set on the island of Crete.

Pupils in TAS have recently been

studying the book ‘The Twits’ by Roald Dahl. We have been learn-

ing about Roald Dahl’s life and how he wrote his stories on yellow

paper in a shed at the bottom of his garden. The pupils have acted

out parts of the story, written about the characters, and created

some fantastic diary entries imagining themselves as the charac-

ter Mugglewump! The topic has

also been included in the art cur-

riculum where the pupils have

drawn illustrations in the style of

Quentin Blake. Pupils in TAS

have made the staff so proud of

their hard work and enthusiasm

for learning.

Mathematics

Year 8 have been looking at reflective and rotational sym-

metry this term. They have come up with some of their own

designs by looking at other examples.

Pupils also carried out reflective symmetry patterns on the

interactive whiteboard.

Year 10 pupils have recently been

working on calculating the perimeter

of rectilinear shapes using geometrical

properties to find missing sides.

They have also looked at calculating

the circumference of a circle using the

formula C = π d

Some of our GCSE Year 11 pupils have recently begun at-

tending after school revision classes in preparation for the

approaching examinations. Well done for making the extra

effort!

Salt

Students in year 11 have been investigating how different

chemicals are made and used. We think of salt as a

substance that we have on our food, but

we found out it is a much more widely

used substance.

Did you know it is put on roads in the

winter to lower the melting point of ice?

In class the students made

a concentrated salt solution

(brine) by dissolving table

salt into hot water. We then

passed an electric current

through the brine solution

to make some different

products.

At one end of the U-tube,

chlorine gas was made and we could smell swimming

pools. The gas made is used in many bleaches and

household cleaners. At the other side of the tube we used

an amount of universal indicator liquid to show

the solution turned into an alkali. This liquid

sodium hydroxide is used in

making soap. Hydrogen gas

was also made, but we

couldn't catch any to test!

Art & Design

Year 9 Art students have

been continuing with their

Arts Award studies. This

has allowed them to ex-

plore lots of different types

of Art and share their fa-

vourite artists with the

group.

Our BTEC Art students have been ex-

ploring ‘Structures’ as a theme for this

term’s project. They have been looking

closely at both animal and human bones

and making studies of them using differ-

ent materials such as charcoal, pencils,

paint and even soap!

They have been studying Henry Moore and

looking carefully at his smooth structures.

They did a fantastic job at carving these

sculptures - this wasn't easy with butter

knives and spoons!

Carroty Wood 2016

Just before half term a group of 30

Year 7 and 8 pupils made the

journey to Rock UK’s Carroty

Wood Residential Centre in

Tonbridge, Kent.

It was a very busy 3 days with

pupils taking part in archery,

climbing, team development tasks,

swimming,

‘The Great Escape’, ‘The Maze’, bridge

building and ‘Mission Impossible’.

For some pupils it was their first time

away from home on a school trip so it

was good to see that everyone had a

great time. Although it was very cold,

everyone pushed themselves beyond

their limits in all the activities. All the students enjoyed a very

sociable few days with good food and good company.

On behalf of the pupils we would like to thank Mr Gooch, Mr

Clarke, Mrs Harrington, Miss Thompson and Miss Dory for

making it a successful and enjoyable trip.

The Big Vote

Election

Year 11 students Gina Goddin and Ben Wilfort represented Saxon

Mount School to collect our ‘Gold Award’ to recognise the school’s

achievement in supporting youth democracy through our

involvement in the ‘Big Vote Election’. The event was

hosted by Nus Ghani MP for Wealden at Portcullis

House, Westminster.

We had an early start to the day, arriving at Westminster by 9.50

ready for our security checks and tour . Ben was

‘ace’ in answering all the history questions and

Gina behaved like a ‘Baroness’ in the House of

Lords. Winning the ’Gold Award’ was a great

achievement for all the students.

Ben Gina

The ‘Tenner

Challenge’

As part of their Citizenship studies, the Year 7s and 8s have participated in

the ‘Tenner Challenge’, an enterprise activity in which they were pledged £10

in order to start a business and challenged to make a profit. They are

learning to think like an entrepreneur.

The Year 7s made Easter cakes and the Year 8s

made Easter cards to sell. Profits are still to be

calculated. All proceeds from this enterprise

activity will be going to support ‘Sport Relief’. Well

done teams!

3D Easter Pops created by 8EH

Buy our cards because ‘Pop Up brings Easter to Life!’

The Cool Cards Company created by 8RA

Buy our cards because ‘Googly eyes, Easter

surprise!’

Happy Easter Cakes by 7JS

Buy our cakes because they are

‘Cute, fluffy and delicious!’

Awesome Chocolate Surprise by 7MC

Buy our cakes because when you ‘Take your first

delightful bite your taste buds will come alive like

they have never done before!’

Great entrepreneurship!

Happy Easter, from Ms Abrahams

Knowing how to program

machines and devices is

becoming more and more

important. At home, household

devices like washing machines,

microwaves, TVs and

computers often need us to tell

them what to do.

Students in year 7 and 8 have

been learning how to program,

what an algorithm is and how

to de-bug their sequence when

it doesn't work properly.

To test their programming skills in different

situations, the students have been programming

an on-screen simulator to

make the

‘mimic’

complete a

series of

actions. Year 8

students have

been creating shapes using code

and then combining the code to show a finished

image.

Students in year 7

have used a jewellery

company as inspiration

for their own designs.

They have cut and fin-

ished key rings and

bracelets made from

layered acrylic.

Year 8 have been fo-

cusing on making a

product accurately.

They cut cross halv-

ing joints for the

frame and used dif-

ferent techniques

and plastics for the

front and back.

In year 9 the students have been

learning about mechanisms and

constructed a robot moving toy. To

make it work required them to be

precise in the cutting and joining.

Year 9 have also been learning

about bread types. They have

made their own and are in the pro-

cess of designing something new.

Year 7 have been looking at Les Couleurs - Colours

C’est de quelle couleur? C’est rouge

C’est de quelle couleur? C’est bleu

C’est de quelle couleur? C’est vert

C’est de quelle couleur? C’est jaune

C’est de quelle couleur? C’est noir

C’est de quelle couleur? C’est blanc

J’aime les couleurs

I like colours

In their Geography lessons, pupils in AS3 have been

learning about what makes up a country’s identity. We

talked about landmarks, currency and languages, as well

as food!

Pupils then created their very own countries — they gave

them names and designed their flags, landmarks and

landscapes.

History at Saxon Mount

Academy

The Treaty Of Versailles

‘The Treaty of Versailles’ was examined by

Year 9 and they were able to discuss whether

they thought that it con-

tributed to Germany’s

humiliation. Next term

we will be looking at

the consequences...

Year 7 have just finished looking at the Intrepid Viking explorers

and at how the sailors discovered ‘Vineland’ (Newfoundland) in

1000 AD.

Tudor life was very different and Year 8 have learnt with

horror that if they had been alive then, they would have had

to live without sugar, potatoes, tomatoes and — horror of hor-

rors — CHOCOLATE!

The Tudors

The

Vikings

The BTEC Construction group

have worked exceptionally

well to make a stool using

cross halving and tenon

joints. They chose to attempt

a design which required a

great deal of patience and

skill. They are rightly proud

of the excellent results.

The BTEC Hospitality group have been learning about all

aspects of serving food

and drink. In the pictures

they are serving

customers at two separate

events. The first is a

French café and the

second an all-day café.

This practical experience

has taught them how to

set up for service, give a good

customer service and clean down

the work areas, making sure

everything is hygienic and safe.

The all-day café was especially

hard work but fun and rewarding

at the same time. They have

learned a great deal.

Geography

The Year 7s have been ‘Rocking

Geographers’ this term and have

been learning how rocks are

made. They even had a go at

making their own volcanoes!

Year 8 have been learning about different climates, bi-

omes and ecosystems.

Year 9 have been learning about renewable and non re-

newable energy, making the most fantastic presentations

explaining the different types of energy sources.

GCSE Geography

The students have been working

like superstars studying the topic

‘Water on the Land and Coast’.

GCSE History

These students have just completed their module on

‘The American West’. The students have been very ma-

ture in their attitude towards a topic that has at times

been sad.

Next term we shall begin looking at ‘Medicine through

Time.’

RE

Year 11 have been considering the knotty question ‘If God

is good why is there suffering in the world?’ They have

worked very hard and made some interesting observa-

tions.

Year 10 have been learning about what it means to be

British and living with lots of different faiths and cultures.

Year 9 have been working hard on learning about Human

Rights and the 10 Commandments and considering

whether these rules and rights are relevant for today’s

world.

Year 8 have been studying the inspirational people Malala

and Martin Luther King.

Year 7 have been learning about

Pilgrimage and Easter.

BTEC Land Based Studies

This term we have been busy

with lambing. We have

learned how to prepare and

maintain accommodation for

ewes who are about to lamb.

We have been involved in

checking the health of the

ewes and looking for signs of

lambing.

Lots of lambs have been born and we have

learned how to check their health, tag their

ears and dock their tails.

Once the lambs had grown a bit we moved

them out to the field to allow them to graze

with their mothers in a more natural

environment.

We recently rounded up last year’s lambs

from the field, checking their size and loading them onto

trailers for transport to another farm.

Next term we are looking

forward to some warmer

weather as it has been very

muddy, cold and wet this term.

As part of their ‘Life and Living Skills’ course,

students in AS4 visited various supermarkets in

the area. Over a period of time they planned their

trip and identified specific items that they would

buy from each supermarket. Thank you to Mrs

Bourner and Mr Leigh for

leading the trip.

AS4 have been working very hard in their PE

lessons. This term they have been

taking part in a variety of sport

circuits to help improve their health

and fitness. Pupils worked together

in pairs and recorded each other's

scores. Well

done to all of

AS4 for their

hard work in

PE this term.

School Council Reports..

A major part of our role this year will have been to support the transition of the

year 6 pupils from Torfield to becoming year 7s at Saxon Mount. This week we

visited the year 6 class to do a ‘virtual tour’ of Saxon Mount School ,followed by

a question and answer session. The year 6s were well prepared and asked a

wide range of questions about what life was like at Saxon Mount, our trips and

visits, extra clubs on offer etc. Our School Council members answered the

questions really confidently and clearly. Torfield students also asked about mak-

ing friends and how they would get on with others and were reassured that we

would be very welcoming and they would feel very safe!

The School Council members

have been back in action over

the last two terms. In term 3

we convened a special meeting

with Dorinda from the school

catering company. We shared

ideas brought from each class

about the range of food choices

on offer. As a result, a few

subtle changes to the menu

were made that have been

greatly appreciated.

Young Enterprise

The Young Enterprise group in year 11 have made a

fantastic start to their business. They have designed

and made their own motifs for hessian bags which

were then made using different printing techniques.

They have also attended two

trade fairs which were a great

opportunity to sell their bags to

the public.

The students have also been

given an award for ‘Best Trade

Stand,’ a great achievement as

they were competing against

three other schools in the local

area.

Each week, staff meet to decide our Saxon Mount School

‘Worker of the Week’. Any child or young person can be consid-

ered for this award and staff make nominations for those pupils

who have shown examples of particular determination, effort,

friendship and participation in school activities, or who have pro-

duced outstanding work.

This is a very popular award and Mrs Gardner presents it each

Friday during our reward assembly. After the assembly, the win-

ning pupil receives a choice of prizes as well as a certificate and

a special badge.

From this edition of our newsletter, we plan to include the names

of all the winners of the ‘Worker of the Week’ award for terms

three and four. Here are the winners:

Cara Gutsell, Phoebe Sitton, Kiah

Sternberg, Lewis Blue-Hallett, Harry

Gallagher, Ben Wilfort, Sam Baker, An-

tonio Hand, Jack Dudley and Matilda

Wilkins.

Torfield and Saxon Mount Academy Trust

Governing Body

As usual, governors have been active during the spring terms. As well as our regular meet-ing schedule and External Advisor programme, which this term focussed on teaching, learn-ing and assessment as well as pupil development, behaviour and wellbeing, governors have participated in E- safety training, visits to the Early Years Centre, meetings with our senior staff to find out about our assessment arrangements and to hear about our preparations for National Autistic Society re-accreditation.

Further information about the governing body can be found on the school website.

The directors of the trust are:

Jenny Smith (Chair)

Richard Preece

Sue Taylor

Mike Saunders

Jean Haigh

Mike Clarke

The advisory board for Torfield and Saxon Mount are:

Sue Taylor (director)

Mike Saunders (director)

Richard Preece (director)

David Wharton (parent)

Carol Dobson (staff)

Tracey Nottage (staff)

Natalie Shuttleworth (Head of School, Torfield)

Elaine Gardner (Head of School, Saxon Mount)

Daffodils by William Wordsworth

I wander'd lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd, A host of golden daffodils,

Beside the lake, beneath the trees Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the milky way,

They stretch'd in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: -

A poet could not but be gay In such a jocund company!

I gazed - and gazed - but little thought What wealth the show to me had brought.

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills

And dances with the daffodils

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