The end of a special half term As we come to the end of another half term, I’d like to thank everyone who has contributed over the last six

weeks to the work of fully re-opening our schools and bringing back some semblance of normality. Given the fact

that we have still had to cope with local outbreaks and isolated positive cases, it has been a huge achievement

for all schools to have resumed teaching and learning so successfully and to be delivering a full and rich

curriculum.

The pupils have done their bit, of course. For many, the disruption of the last year has been a huge hurdle to

overcome, and the uncertainty that has surrounded them has been very unsettling. However, the vast majority of

pupils have played their part in ensuring that schools are places of calm and positivity, and

that relationships continue to be strong. I think it has been particularly difficult for pupils coming to the end of their

time in their respective schools, whether that is in Year 6, Year 11 or Year 13. We continue to work with them to

ensure that they are as well-prepared as they possibly can be for the next steps in their educational journey.

Over the last few weeks, students in Years 11 and 13 at Alderman White and Bramcote College have been

carrying out a range of assessment activities to inform their Teacher Assessed Grades, and teachers have done

a phenomenal amount of additional work to make sure that all of the assessments are robust and well-

evidenced. Although we will see many of them for additional sessions and end of year events, today was the final

day at school for some, and we wish them the very best of luck in the future, whatever it may hold.

As you know, the last half term has been a very special one for our Trust as we have added two new schools to

the White Hills Park Trust family. Both Springbank Primary and John Clifford Primary have added a huge amount

to our team, and we look forward to building on this in the coming months and years.

Finally, as I reflect on the last half term, I’d like to

offer congratulations to the Florence Nightingale Academy who

have successfully gained the Bronze Global School Award –

this award is made by the Global Schools Alliance, a body that

works with schools across the world, and recognises the way

that the school engages with the wider global community, both through the curriculum and through enrichment

activities and events. Bringing a global dimension to the curriculum is something that is a real feature of the work

of our schools and so it is very good to see this celebrated.

During the coming half term, we look forward to continuing the gradual return to normal schooling. Although we

will always put the safety of pupils and staff first, we are eager to do the things that would normally mark this time

in school, and bring the year to a successful conclusion. Thank you to all of our parents and community for

your continuing support and involvement.

Newsletter The White Hills Park Trust

Friday 28th May 2021

Issue Number 288 A Culture of Excellence

Dr. Paul Heery Chief Executive Officer

https://www.globalschoolalliance.com/

Our Curriculum Statement At The Florence Nightingale Academy we carefully design, plan and implement a curriculum which

provides breadth and balance for every pupil:

When designing our curriculum careful analysis and discussions

about our pupils’ backgrounds, life experiences and culture has

taken place. It is underpinned with Five key priorities that we

believe our children need to focus on so that they are ready to

successfully meet the challenges of the next stage of their

education and become resilient, life -long learners.

Our curriculum drivers are:

1 - Community carers

2 - 21st century learners

3 - Global citizens

4 - Environmental activists

5 - Beautiful people

Our curriculum offers a range of experiences which contribute to every child receiving a full and rich curriculum. It

is relevant and purposeful, preparing children for the next stages of their lives. It is aspirational, encouraging

children to challenge themselves and follow their dreams. Teachers plan the curriculum based around the

children’s interests, they work together in highly effective innovation teams to ensure continuity and progression

and to provide children with unique learning opportunities. We strive to create future leaders and global citizens

who are equipped with critical thinking skills, respect for others, self-belief, empathy and integrity.

Within our curriculum we will focus on these 5 principles to enhance the children’s education and create

individuals that have the skills to become contributing citizens of the world.

Our curriculum is divided into subject areas. Learning is integrated where appropriate and curriculum planning

makes many curriculum links. We use Sounds-Write as our phonics and spelling programme and employ Phonic-

sequenced books, and Study Ladder as an online home learning resource.

We teach two languages Spanish and Mandarin and enrich children’s learning through educational visits both in

and out of school allowing all children to gain a greater depth of understanding with a knowledge-rich focus. We

focus on providing a language rich curriculum and we teach our children Oracy skills to become confident,

articulate learners.

https://www.sounds-write.co.uk/

Golden Book Assembly Well done to everyone who was chosen for the Golden Book Assembly this week!

Beatrix Potter class: Eliza Michael Rosen class: Nathaniel

Dina Asher Smith class: Malachi Leonardo Da Vinci class: Samuel

Billie Jean King class: Daniel Ellie Simmonds class: Kyanne

Evelyn Glennie class: Dexter Greta Thunberg class: Emma

Nina Simone class: Lucy Ada Lovelace: Archie

David Attenborough class: Erica Martin Luther King class: Evie Sanna Marin class: Khadijah

Barack Obama class: Tommy Michelle Obama class: Zak Joseph Rowntree class: Olivia

PE at Florence Many of the classes have been taking part in athletics this half term and have been enjoying running, jumping

and throwing. They have practiced many different athletics events from sprinting on the track, pacing and longer

distanced runs, javelin throw and year 6’s have even been learning the triple jump using the crash mat.

Year 5 have really engaged well in rugby where they have been learning the rules of a COVID modified tag

game. They have learnt how to run and carry the ball, how to pass correctly and key attacking and defending

skills. They have then put these skills into action in small sided games.

Year 4’s took part in a multi-event competition in their Houses including a sprint, standing long jump, javelin throw

and 2 lap challenges. The showed great George the Grit star to take part in all of the events.

Year 3’s, who should have been swimming, have been enjoying some basic PE and Taylor Teamwork skills unit

including throwing, jumping, leadership skills and challenges. They finished the unit with some fun parachute

games, working in teams together.

Here are some fabulous pictures of the children in action, all taken by children in the school:

Learning outside of the classroom At The Florence Nightingale Academy we are fortunate to have lots of space in and around our school. Each day

the teachers plan at least one part of a lesson using an alternative classroom environment. Here are some of the

ways in which we have used our spaces this week.

Our topic of ‘woodland animals’ in Reception has introduced the children to what it means

to be ‘nocturnal’. We have learnt about the different clues that animals might leave behind:

droppings, feathers, footprints, scratches (from claws), teeth marks so we know that they

have been there.

Year 1 gathered resources from

outside to create a striking display of ‘leaf art’

In maths, Year 1 organised themselves into ‘greater than’

and ‘less than’ groups by moving around the playground.

Year 2 following

in the footsteps

of Captain Cook

on his first

journey aboard

the Endeavour.

Year 6 made spring rolls from scratch with Mrs Jin in the

bungalow kitchen. They tasted absolutely delicious.

Year 5 and Year 6 had a Dragon Boat Race this week for our

Southeast Asian Culture Lesson.

In Michelle Obama class we have been practicing our

year 6 spellings through practical activities and games.

Here we are using a hopscotch game to learn our

spellings this week.

In their Commando Joe session Reception class learnt

about how a fire is made. They went onto the field and

collected sticks of different sizes – Commando Joe then

used them to make a fire! They loved toasting

marshmallows… but the best bit was eating them! Yum!!

Year 3 have been investigating

where the high and low ground of

our school area is. They used

topographical maps and marked

the areas using a key. They then

compared this to looking at OS

maps and identifying high and low

ground on a much larger scale.

To follow on from the success of the space days we ran a few weeks ago, Y3 have continued to build up their

scientific skills and trial different ways of scientific working which we hope to roll out to the rest of school.

Y3 carried out a range of scientific experiments to help with their understanding. They dissected plants and

explored their different parts and structures. They carried out an experiment to prove that transpiration

(movement of water) takes place in a plant. Dye was used to observe water travelling up the plant, it was clear to

all that the flowers’ petals had changed colour. Making their own results table from the experiments really helped

Y3 discussions so that a conclusion could be agreed. Yes, water does move through a plant and it is vital for the

plant to live and thrive.

Light is also something Y3 explored. Different light sources were examined, and all children shared knowledge to

generate their own questions for investigation. The questions were then used to plan Y3 learning. They studied

reflection, the eye and discovered how rainbows are formed. The shadow experiment involved using a torch to

discover patterns with light and shadow, to back this up we observed how the shadows changed throughout the

school day in the playground. Y3 concluded that the shortest shadow was at midday when the sun is at its

highest point. Y3 then did one final experiment in the phiz lab where they created their own periscopes.

The children have all worked incredibly hard and I am excited to see their growth as scientists. Time to roll this

out to other year groups…

Emma Leonard

Hooks and Fascinators Part 2 We’re still trialling exciting ways in Y4 so that we are hooked into our learning.

Making connections. Before a Geography lesson, the children used their senses

to closely examine a broken clay pipe stem and a piece of coprolite - What’s the

connection? we asked ourselves.

This led to many questions and discussions within class and many possible

different answers I hadn’t thought of. The answer I had in mind was ‘poo’! The pipe

stem had been tossed down an outside privy over 100 years ago, before being

collected by slurry men and spread across a farmer’s field. The coprolite is part of a

fossilised dinosaur dropping and is over 140 million years old!

After the initial shock and disgust, the children were completely hooked and

engaged in their learning. Since this great learning, I have had to stop many

archaeological digs happening during break times and have a box of rare finds

discovered by the children in their gardens and on family walks. Great way to learn!

Which is the odd one out?

Activities like ‘What’s in the Box?’ are also brilliant hooks for the ‘dabbling’ part of

our writing sequence, where opportunities are planned for children to rehearse

ideas before writing: they experiment, choose, practise and play with the language

features. This results in great writing.

I am really excited about using the buboes we will make when I launch our plague

topic…

An image

As Henrik Ibsen stated, ‘A picture is worth a thousand words.’ Reading images and related discussion activities such

as Hide and Seek activities inspire our children and stimulate deep thought and questioning. If you want to do more

reading images with your children just download Pobble 365; there are some excellent examples on there. Have fun!

Short or section of film

We have an annual programme of short films for all classes. I think these are fascinating, lead to memorable

learning and so child friendly (especially Beowulf when the text wasn’t easily accessible for the child at school or at

home). It is great if the children listen to the film before watching and predict what is happening from what they hear.

Percy Jackson and other clips e.g. Clash of the Titans and Jason and the Argonauts hooked our Year 6 children and

Horrible Histories inspired the Year 3 children to create and promote their own Stone Age health and beauty range,

including swallow poo shampoo (I promise no more poo references).

The film clip that has had the greatest impact so far this year was a simple news report

regarding deforestation in Brazil. The children were outraged and have insisted I post

their persuasive letters to Jair Bolsonaro, the Brazilian President. On my way to the

post office now!

Next year, we will be continuing to build Springbank’s film library to support the

teaching of our new curriculum. YouTube, BBCTeach/Bitesize, Horrible Histories,

Vimeo and The Literacy Shed continue to be a source of quality material. A fun way to

learn and gain ‘sticky knowledge’.

Goodbye Year 11 Today is a landmark occasion for Year 11 at Alderman White; it’s their last day of school. Wow, what a journey they have had. We say goodbye to 124 wonderful young people who have had 2 head teachers, 2 progress leaders, 9 tutors, 2 prime ministers and 3 lockdowns! It’s phenomenal how well they have all coped, in fact, thrived during their time here. As a fitting end to a turbulent time, year 11 produced some rainbows in a test tube during this week’s science lessons. To quote Miss Crabtree, 'We've survived the rain.... now it's time for rainbows.'

It has been an absolute pleasure to be a part of your journey. All of us at Alderman White will miss you but more importantly, we wish you all the best in the future. Remember, be whoever you want to be! We are proud of who you are and even more proud of what you will become.

Mr Allsopp

https://www.facebook.com/aldermanwhite1https://twitter.com/aldermanwhitehttps://www.instagram.com/aldermanwhite_school/https://www.youtube.com/aldermanwhiteschool

BBC Young Composer of the Year Q: What do you get if you cross David Bowie with Blur and Queen?

A: Ricky Jamaraz!

Otherwise known as our very own Year 8 student Tom Ison.

Listen to his entry to the BBC Young Composer of the Year competition here.

Bus Changes Trent Barton Buses have contacted us to let us know that the boundary for city bus services has been changed by Nottingham City Council.

Students who travel to school from the city using a Robin Hood bus pass / daily ticket must now get off the bus at Cow Lane rather than the Sherwin Arms as this is now the last stop at which these tickets are valid.

Showcasing Science Photos of flower dissections carried out by Year 7 as part of the Reproduction topic, and Year 8 work on Circuits

https://www.facebook.com/bramcotecoll/https://twitter.com/BramcoteCollhttps://www.instagram.com/bramcotecollegehttps://youtu.be/SM61iTcFUA8https://youtu.be/SM61iTcFUA8

Reflecting on School in English lessons As we wave goodbye to Year 11 and wish them well for the future, we've spent some time in English reflecting on "Education" and their experiences.

Our Year 11 students were looking at writing to explain and this is just one of a wide range of excellent examples of inspiring speeches.

Mrs E Lee