Last week saw the final day in school for our fantastic Year 11 students who depart Sandhill View after spending the last five years here.  They have been a real credit to themselves, parents and guardians as well as to our local community and we wish them the very best of luck, both for their examination results due this summer as well as for their futures.  We very much look forward to following their future successes too.  Many students are going on to continue their studies with us in September as they have opted to continue their learning within our Sixth Form at Southmoor Academy.  Coverage of their final day and the fitting send off they received by the whole Sandhill View community can be found below.
 
In this edition of the blog, we also catch up with how students in our feeder primary schools in Year’s 3, 4 and 5 performed in their Sports Day, hosted here at Sandhill View.  We gain an insight into the planning behind our World Challenge visit to Belize by students which takes place next year and see how well our new students coming in to the Academy in September found their induction event last week.  
 
Elsewhere, we share how our visitors from St John’s School in Tanzania, Africa, found their experience in the Academy and we also see how our students in Year 7 viewed both their recent trip to Newcastle University and found the food nutrition workshops which they took part in.
 
Mrs O’Donnell from the Attendance Team features in our regular ‘Staff in the Spotlight’ section and Miss Waine recounts her favourite childhood book.
 
We hope that you enjoy this edition of the blog.

Richard Carr
Head of School

Last Friday we said goodbye to Year 11 having released them from all but their remaining exam timetables.  Students have worked incredibly hard in revision sessions over the last few terms and will hopefully reap the rewards of their efforts in August!  They have been a fantastic year group and we all wish them the very best in their future endeavours. Pupils will soon be enjoying the Prom with many heading to the Sixth Form at Southmoor in September.

Last week, Sandhill View PE department hosted the Year 3, 4 5 and 6 sports days with the help of some of Year 10 Sport's Leaders.  Events ranged from 100m to 400m on the track, shot putt, javelin, discus on the field as well as football dribbling, egg and spoon and relays.  All students that took part were extremely hardworking, supportive and showed real teamwork and were a credit to their school.  The Year 10 leaders were committed, hardworking and showed strong attributes in their leadership.  Huge well done to all involved.

Members of our World Challenge Team have been preparing for their adventure by exploring the itinerary of their expedition, discussing fundraising, maintenance whilst in Belize in the jungle, travel arrangements and much, much more.  The group even practiced survival techniques, which involved knowing how to keep balance on a make-shift raft!

Last week we welcomed our latest group of Year 6 students who will be moving into Year 7 in September for their official enrolment into Sandhill View Academy.  The parents and pupils had the chance to meet their Head of Year, make new friends in their tutor groups, learn more about the school day as well as placing orders for that all important Sandhill View Academy uniform!  We look forward to welcoming back Year 6 students as part of transition week in a few weeks.

Not only have Year 11 worked hard to complete their exams, 32 Art and Photography students have been awarded their Bronze certificate in the Arts Award.  All students involved have had their work exhibited for a month at the Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle as well as working alongside artists and articulating their thoughts by planning presentations to deliver in workshops to Year 7.  We are extremely proud of their achievement and wish them all the best for the future!

This week Sandhill had a visit from our friends Grace and Festo. They travelled all of the way from our charity link school, St John's School in Tanzania, to meet our staff and students and to see the vast changes Sandhill has gone through since their previous visit.  Although their time at Sandhill was short, they saw a range of interesting and challenging lessons including the Year 6 sports day.  They also had lunch with a panel of students from each year group to compare the differences in our education systems.  They ended the day with a tour of our Sixth Form at Southmoor so they could fully grasp the transition stage from our feeder primary schools, right up to further education. 

Both Grace and Festo marvelled at the changes they could see since their first visit and also the creative teaching strategies they witnessed in each lesson, used to stretch and engage all students.  Sandhill has worked closely with St John's School this year and plans to broaden this connection further in the future.  

Last week, a group of our Year 7 pupils attended Newcastle University.  The day was arranged to give our students a taste of 'uni life' and consisted of team building activities ranging from biology through to engineering.  One of our groups even won the engineering challenge which was to build a free-standing bridge made from lolly sticks.  The pupils were a credit to both themselves and the school and their conduct was mature and respectful.

The Sixth Form at Southmoor is delighted to be able to offer a unique opportunity – a scholarship to the value of up to £2600 per year of Sixth Form study available for up to 5 students on low household incomes or in other challenging circumstances.  Applicants must be academic, ambitious & willing to work hard.

The fund is open to students in Year 11 from across the Southmoor Multi Academy Trust, which includes those attending Sandhill View & Southmoor Academies.

If you think you would qualify as a good candidate for the fund, then please download the application form from our website and return it to the Southmoor Academy school office or alternatively email it to southmoor6th@southmoormat.co.uk.

Please also feel free to contact us with any further questions you might have about the fund.

Just before half term we were proud to once again host a ‘Race for Life’ with help from our local primary schools.  Every two minutes someone in the UK is diagnosed with cancer, events like Race for Life is what helps charities like Cancer Research UK continue their ground-breaking work to see more people surviving the disease.  It was great to see so many pupils enthusiastic about taking part in sport and raising money for such an excellent cause.  Thank you to all of our primary feeder schools who took part to make it such a fantastic event.

Next week we will be hosting an afternoon of free access to professional advice on teen issues including: health & hygiene, behaviour, sexual health, puberty, life skills, drug abuse, mental well being and much more with the help of local charities and organisations.  Whilst Sandhill View students will have exclusive access to the event for its morning sessions, we are throwing open our doors for parents in our community, including those from other schools and primaries, to come and have a chat about guiding children through their teenage years. 

The event is open from 1:30pm to 4:30pm on Wednesday 27th June in the school theatre.  Everyone is welcome.

Thank you to all of the Year 7 parents who joined us for the year group's first ever progress evening on Monday.  This was a great chance for our parents and pupils to receive valuable feedback on their first academic year as well as discuss with tutors further progression as our pupils make the move into Year 8 in September.

The cast of our annual musical show are getting ready for the big production with final preparations underway for the show to go live in front of our primary school visitors in a few weeks time.  The show itself opens to the public and parents on Thursday 12th and Monday 16th July at 6pm.  Tickets are available at main reception for £2 per adult and £1 for concession.  We hope to see you there!

Students in Year 7 have recently had the chance to take part in a workshops centred around the importance of good nutrition.  Pupils were informed about the importance of eating choices as part of a healthy lifestyle before being given the chance to get hands on and make their own healthy snack bar.

My favourite childhood book is Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. I think everything about this book is amazing; from the strong family values and standing by one another through thick and thin to the independent differences of each character.  I see a little bit of myself in each and every one of the girls, but my favourite has to be Jo.  She is strong-willed, determined and exceptionally clever while also being passionate, outspoken and kind.  I love it because we are all the authors of our own life stories and we can all achieve wonderful things.

My favourite invention was the set of the Masai Mara for the recent school production of The Lion King.  I loved our life size puppets of an elephant and two giraffes.  It was really exciting creating them with the students and watching it all come together!

What do you do at Sandhill View?
I am employed as the Senior Attendance Officer and Designated Safeguarding Lead.

Who was your favourite teacher at school and why?
I didn’t have a favourite teacher at school as I loved my time at school and found the whole experience very enjoyable.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
I like to go to the gym, go on holiday and visit nice restaurants with my family & friends.

Who is your favourite musical artist or band?
I love a bit of Beyoncé or Whitney in the car or chart music whilst doing the housework.

What's the best thing about Sandhill View?
We have fabulous pupils at Sandhill View and I am extremely proud to have supported many pupils and their families in times of need whilst working at Sandhill View for the last 14 years. The staff are also excellent at supporting each other and working as a brilliant team.

What's the one thing you could never be without?
My family, friends and of course...my car!