Following the disruption caused to the Academy due to the recent heavy snowfall it is good to report that the normal daily routines have returned back to normal and students have responded very well indeed in making up for the three days of learning lost due to the adverse conditions. Decisions to close the school are not taken lightly, but due to the problems the UK faced arising from the storm, the correct decision was taken in the interests of ensuring the safety and well-being of everyone associated with Sandhill View.
Welcome to another jam-packed edition of the blog in which we uncover how one of our highly talented Year 8 students, Finlay Anderson ventured when he covered proceedings recently at the Stadium of Light, we find out about how students from our four main primary feeder schools found their visit to the Academy to have a taste of some lessons and we update you on the success of our ‘Show My Homework’ app. Elsewhere, students feedback on their recent attendance to the Paris Digital Conference, where they also sampled the sights of Disneyland, we are proud to introduce you to our newly launched Careers Zone section of the website and we share with you the student experience of the recent visitor presentations on diet and healthy eating.
We round of this edition with some numeracy based puzzles, information about our improved school nurse ‘drop-in’ facility and we launch our Easter Attendance Eggstravaganza competition, whilst Miss Jenkyns features in our regular ‘Staff in the Spotlight’ segment.
I hope that you enjoy this edition of the blog.
Richard Carr Head of School
Finlay Reporting from Sunderland AFC
Last month, Year 8 pupil, Finlay Anderson, was invited to be a match reporter for the day by Sunderland AFC for their match against Brentford FC. He spent a fabulous day learning more about Sports Journalism, a career which Finlay is passionate about pursuing, as well as having the chance to interview SAFC staff & players, record reports and watch the game from the reporter’s box at the Stadium.
You can watch a video all about Finlay's day by clicking the link below.
Since the start of the year we have been inviting groups of Year 5 & 6 pupils from our feeder primary schools in the local area into the Academy for a selection of fun taster sessions. These sessions are designed to give younger students an idea about the kind of topics they will study at secondary school as well as to better familiarise themselves with our school and their future teachers. Pupils found themselves enjoying subjects including Biology, Photography, Performing Arts, Trampolining and expanded lessons in Numeracy & Literacy. Our prospective students have had a great time visiting us and we hope to see many of them in the next few years. A special thank you must go to our staff for hosting the sessions and our primary feeder schools for allowing their students to visit us and have fun.
Show My Homework is Making the Difference!
In September, the Academy officially launched the 'Show My Homework' platform which is designed to make the whole process of staff setting homework, pupils accessing homework and parents/carers monitoring homework, a lot more transparent.
Since the launch, over 93% of our pupils have accessed the platform, allowing them to manage the homework that they are set, check deadlines, pose questions to staff where needed and view the marks given for their effort and achievement.
We have also been delighted with the great response from parents/carers, as statistics show a large number are regularly accessing the platform to monitor the homework set and submitted by pupils. This triangulated engagement in pupil learning, between parents/carers, staff and pupils will greatly enhance the learning experience and achievement of our pupils.
If you are a parent/carer and are yet to access the show my homework platform, then you can retrieve your pin number from your child's Head of Year by contacting the school via telephone or email. If you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to get in touch with Mr Hughes at the Academy.
Going Digital at Disneyland
Last month, Year 8 & 9 IT pupils attended the 'Computing Live 2018!’ conference in Disneyland, Paris. We visited the Eiffel Tower and cruised along the River Seine in freezing temperatures, on route to the seminar.
Our staff and students stayed at the Cheyenne Hotel which had been recently refurbished and displayed a cowboy theme. The conference, was the main focus of the visit and covered: Cyber Criminals, Animation, STEM and general IT development. Each pupil worked through an IT workbook, completing activities throughout the day using the rides and graphics within the Disneyland park itself. This coupled with attendance at the conference, allows them all to achieve an ICT Certificate as part of their studies.
Disneyland was also celebrating its 25th anniversary and its success was reflected through its amazing parades and fireworks, enjoyed by our students during their visit. Our pupils had a fantastic time on a very productive and enjoyable visit which was a huge success and hopefully to be repeated in 2019!
Welcome to the Careers Zone
Last week we launched a brand new section to our website entirely dedicated to Careers Guidance at SHV; ‘The Career Zone’. These new pages are absolutely crammed with useful information for students, as well as our CEIAG (Careers Education, Information, Advice & Guidance) curriculum, information on past and upcoming careers events, links, resources and all sorts of advice and information about training opportunities.
The page can be found by clicking the banner above. We encourage you to explore and share the pages so that our students can find out more about the different things we provide towards careers development and aspirations at the Academy.
Ready, Steady, Cook Returns!
Staff and students swapped textbooks for cookery books recently, when they took part in their own version of 'Ready Steady Cook'. Special guests from the Chartwells’ ‘Putting Fun back into Food’ programme, came to Sandhill View to set students the challenge of making two healthy meals in less than 15 minutes using only fresh ingredients.
The competition heated up quickly as the two selected groups of students with the Red Team led by Mr Summers going up against the Green Team captained by Miss Greener. The competition was tough, with our guest judges Mrs Scott and Mrs Johnston doing the taste testing before our audience of Year 7 students voted for the best dish. The red team narrowly edged their way to victory and were crowned the tasty treat champions of ‘Ready Steady, Cook!’. Well done to everyone who took part.
Easter Eggstravaganza has Begun!
Our Easter Eggstravaganza prize draw has begun! All pupils who attend every single day for the next two weeks will be entered in to a daily £10 draw with two winners each day this time!
There is also bumper prize draw on 29th March with 2 x £10 vouchers, 1 x £100 voucher and one mini iPad to be won. Remember, you’ve got to be in to have a chance to win!
Happy Easter from the attendance team!
School Nurse Drop Ins
As part of our dedication to the health and wellbeing of our students, we continue to offer free and confidential health and advice to our students on a regular basis via drop-in sessions with our school nurse, Mrs. Hamilton. The sessions are open to students to talk in confidence and private about any problems they may have, including sexual and relationship advice via our ‘C-Card’ participation. Dates for our drop-in sessions can be found below. More information on the ‘C-Card’ initiative can be found here.
School Nurse Drop in clinics.
Thursday’s 12:40pm - 1:20pm (Medical Room)
C-Card Drop in dates; 19th April 2018 , 3rd May 2018, 17th May 2018, 7th June 2018, 21st June 2018, 5th July 2018, 19th July 2018
General Health Drop in dates; 22nd March 2018, 29th March 2018, 26th April 2018, 10th May 2018, 24th May 2018, 14th June 2018, 28th June 2018, 12th July 2018.
SHV Numeracy Puzzler
As part of our Numeracy initiatives at the Academy, we are giving you the chance to test out your own mathematical skill by challenging yourself to our Numeracy Puzzler Challenge. The conundrums can be found below. Participants who have managed to solve all five problems correctly will be entered into a prize draw! To enter click the button at the end of this article and fill in the form on our Academy website.
A worm is at the bottom of a forty-meter hole. It can crawl upwards at a rate of four meters in a day, but at night, it slips back three meters. At this rate, how long will it take the worm to crawl out of the hole?
If the first day of the year (other than a leap year) was a Friday, then what day is the last day of the year?
At the end of last month, Year 9 & 10 students participated in lessons presented by special guest volunteers from ‘Show Racism the Red Card’. Show Racism The Red Card is an anti-racism educational charity that aims to combat racism through enabling role models, who are predominately but not exclusively footballers, to present an anti-racist message to young people and others. Our students took part in a debate about the roles of minorities within our community as well as participating in fun team-work activities with a football theme. Thank you to members of the charity who visited us to engage our students in this important issue.
What do you do at Sandhill View? I am a office administrator in the main school office.
Who was your favourite teacher at school and why? My favourite teacher would be my old form tutor and science teacher Mr. Watkins. He made every lesson fun and practical.
What do you like to do in your spare time? In my spare time, I love to go out to eat and find new restaurants to show my friends. I love to treat myself with new make-up, handbags, trainers and clothes. I also love to sit and scroll though social media and find out the latest gossip on all the celebrities.
Who is your favourite musical artist or band? I don’t have just one favourite artist ,I love them all and my taste of music depends on the day and the mood I’m in. One minute it could be Taylor Swift before turning to Eminem, there is no in-between.
What's the best thing about Sandhill View? I haven’t been at Sandhill View long as I was based over at Southmoor Academy but the staff are so lovely and welcoming and pupils are friendly when passing them in the corridor.
What's the one thing you could never be without? I could never live without my family and my phone. I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if I lost one of them!
