The start of a new academic year and here in the Academy we have welcomed back our returning students in older year groups, as well as inducting our brand new learners in Year 7. I cannot emphasise enough just how well our newest year group has started the new year and also, praise just how smoothly they have adapted to their new surroundings and settled in. Attendance, punctuality and standards of student uniform have also been impressive so far and I hope that the remainder of this term sees a continuation of the high standards which our students have already set themselves.
In this first edition of the blog, we share the successes of last week’s Year 5 and Year 6 Open Evening event, find out how our students fared on their recent visit to Durham University and also how our MFL department are promoting European Languages Day. We re-launch our ‘Show My Homework’ application in order to support both students and their parents/guardians with on-line homework and we also get a taster of our brand new school menu, launched for the start of this term. Finally, the English department share their memories of the work taking place around the study of ‘Lord of the Flies’ and we have an update on the success of our recent Year 11 students who left us last year and who are now in the Sixth Form at Southmoor. We also meet the newest member of the maths department, Mr Jackson in our regular feature ‘Staff in the Spotlight’.
Students have returned after the summer break to many new and improved features on the school site and within the building. I have written to you with details of the proposed new biometric system which is planned to be installed over the up-coming October half-term holiday in order to improve the lunch period, as well as to allow parents to pay and monitor what our students are purchasing and eating whilst on the school site.
I would like to remind all parents and guardians to complete the consent form included with my recent letter and have your child return it back to school to their Head of Year so that students can be registered on the new system.
I hope that you enjoy this edition of the blog.
Richard Carr Head of School
A Night to Remember
On Monday 18th September we threw open our doors to all of our local children and community to give everyone a chance to taste our wonderful school. The event was a massive success with more people than ever joining us to sample what Sandhill View Academy is all about. With free goodies, fantastic prizes, biscuit bake offs, oodles of doodles, disasters to decode and plenty of fizzes, pops & bangs to enjoy along the way. Year 5 and 6’s solved The Black Death, earthquakes, made biscuits, sang, danced and bounced all evening long. There really was something for everyone and the atmosphere within the school was wonderful.
If any parents/carers have any questions about transition please contact Mrs Scott, our Transition Lead.
At Sandhill View we know just how keen you are to remain up to date with your child's progress and especially in supporting them with their homework. We have recently contacted you about our digital homework platform 'Show My Homework' and it appears that many of you have already logged in and are tracking the homework set by our staff and handed in by our pupils.
This is a fantastic way of supporting the work of the academy, as together, with your support, we can work to achieve the best possible education for your child.
Pupils were recently given a letter containing pin numbers, to bring home to parents/carers. If you need a replacement letter, please contact the academy immediately and ask for Mr Hughes and a replacement letter can be arranged.
A group of nineteen Year 11 pupils were invited to visit Durham University, with a view to gaining a better understanding of what studying for a degree involves. First, pupils attended a lecture, where they were given advice on how to research and plan responses to essay questions effectively. Following the lecture, pupils were given a guided tour of the Bill Bryson Library and had some free time to explore the facilities for themselves.
European Day of Languages
This Tuesday is European Day of Languages! To celebrate our Modern Foreign Languages Team are leading the rest of our staff in an initiative to flex their linguistic skills and impress our students with the variety of languages they know. Students can expect to hear anything from a simple ‘bonjour’ or ‘guten Tag’ as staff greet them in the corridor, or something more elaborate in their lessons to help celebrate the diversity of languages used across our continent.
Sandhill Students Meets Lord of the Flies
During their English lesson with Ms Hill, 8B1 students took part in an orienteering lesson in which they had to find clues around the school and explain why those things were essential to surviving on a desert island. The aim of this activity is to engage the students with the themes and ideas of the text ‘Lord of the Flies’ and it also allowed the students to empathise with the boys from the story when they were on the desert island. The students completely immersed themselves in the activity and found ‘hunting’ around the school thoroughly enjoyable. One student said that the activity ‘was amazing - the best lesson I’ve had all week’.
New Tasty Treats for Autumn
The new Autumn menu for the 'Global Adventures' meal theme has been launched in school this week. In addition to this we have introduced pasta pots, salad pots, fresh fruit and jelly just prior to the summer holidays, additions which continue to be popular amongst our students as we strive to improve the lunch menu at Sandhill View even further.
More Improvements for the School Building
Over the summer holiday our school facilities underwent a £250,000 renovation. This included a full re-decoration to our sports facilities and LED lighting being installed in the Leisure centre, the gym floor was replaced and the gymnasium was re-lined to give the entire area a much needed face lift. In addition to this we have also provided new seating to our dining hall and will soon be introducing a biometric payment system to make it easier for our students to purchase their lunches.
Fifteen former Year 11 pupils – now students at Southmoor Sixth Form – recently enjoyed a weekend visit to the Lake District. The visit was organised with the aim of helping pupils to settle comfortably into sixth form life. Whilst in the Lake District, our former pupils took part in a number of outdoor pursuits organised by Derwent Hill, including gorge walking, kayaking and a high rope challenge course. Evening time involved taking part in team building exercises, with the final activity being ghost stories around a camp fire. All former pupils left the Lake District having had a great deal of fun and with many new friends amongst their peers.
What do you do at Sandhill View? I'm Assistant Curriculum Leader in a great maths department.
Who was your favourite teacher at school and why? I used to enjoy technical drawing with Mr Lovett, he always had plenty to talk about. Also, my Geography teacher Mr Hodgson, who took our rugby team and introduced me to a fantastic team game, which I continued to play for years after.
What do you like to do in your spare time? I try to play golf at least once per week with friends, love all sorts of movies and drama series. I'm trying to read more also with varied success!
Who is your favourite musical artist or band? I have a wide range of musical tastes from heavy rock to classical music to eighties music (of course)! At the moment, Manic Street Preachers are my music of choice in the car.
What's the best thing about Sandhill View? After one month I feel very settled and enjoy talking to all the staff and lovely students. Everyone is very positive, supportive and there are many opportunities for everyone.
What's the one thing you could never be without? I'm told it's my phone. I cannot help googling every fact and figure I hear mentioned!
