Newsletter Autumn Term 2012

Bents Green School

Welcome to Year 7 pupils and to staff members who joined us in

September

What a busy start to the school year we have had!

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all new pupils, parents and staff to Bents Green.

We have 20 pupils who started in Year 7 in September and they are settling well in to Bents

Green; staff and parents are getting to know each other so that we can all work

together to support the children.

We have also appointed some new staff, teachers and support assistants, in to school this

September and we will be appointing more new staff before Christmas too, so there have been

lots of changes! Heather Partington, KS3 Deputy Headteacher

GIBSON HOUSE

Gibson House is now offering short breaks at weekends and during school holidays. The last six weeks have been a fantastic start to the year, as we have even more young people access-ing the service. They are supported by a committed, enthusiastic and caring staff team, many

of whom are new to Bents Green and are settling in really well.

Some of the activities the young people have experienced include bowling, adventure golf, swimming and even dog walking. The young people tell us that they really enjoy their week-ends at Gibson House as they have chance to do things they wouldn't normally get to do. We are all looking forward to the October holiday, as we are hoping to have lots of Halloween fun

and may even see some of you at 'Fright Night'. We are already planning wonderful things to do at Christmas and want to thank all of the young people for such a brilliant start to the

year.

Gibson House Staff Team

Dear Parents/Carers

Adapting the words of Monty Python - ―No-one expects the OfSTED Inquisition‖. However, actually we do. After the half term break you will receive the feedback from our recent inspection which is very different in content and style from previous inspections. All pupils were wonderful ambassadors for the school, and we were congratulated on their politeness and courtesy. The latest framework clearly identifies successes and targets for development with much less description about what inspectors saw.

As we grow and develop as a school there will be many changes, which we will require you to play an active part in. Our main focus will always be the students and making sure they have all

the skills needed for adult life. Jan Wiggins, Headteacher

Over the Summer a team of volunteers

came from Sheffield University and

helped us to lay a new wooden floor in

what will be an outdoor learning

space. If you could offer some regular

help with general garden maintenance

we‟d love to hear from you! Please

contact Emily Whiteley at school.

Bents Green Post 16‟s international programme continued in June 2012 with a week‟s visit to Malta as part of a 3 country exchange including Malta, Sheffield and Bochum (Sheffield‟s twin

city in Germany)

Students enjoyed a full programme of activities including trips to the Capital, Valletta and the

old walled city of Medina as well as a ferry trip to Malta‟s sister island, Gozo.

Seven students and 3 staff from each country stayed in an old church “Retreat” in the fishing

village of Marsaxlokk .

Activities throughout the week included visits to Maltese schools, residential houses and train-ing centres and the young people were able to participate in a programme which helped them

learn about Malta and its culture.

Free time together also enabled students to make friends with young people from the other two

countries and even practice some words in another language.

Bents Green students entered into all aspects of the programme with great enthusiasm and

were a credit to the school and Sheffield.

The trip was organised by Bents Green Post 16 staff member Roger Simmons and was supported by funding from the European Union’s “Youth in Action” Programme.

Land Based

Learning Update

Bents Green Post 16 in Malta

Bents Green students together with staff members Roger Simmons, Karen Oates and Adam Leathwood, enjoying a break on the beach in Mar-

saxlokk and enjoying the sights of Victoria on Gozo.

We started the year off in splendid fashion! The current Y10 /

Y11 Bronze Arts Award first ‗Arts‘ outing together was to the

world famous RSC theatre company in Stratford –upon- Avon.

We saw Shakespeare‘s play ‗The Comedy of Errors‘ which is a

story about mistaken identity between two sets of twin brothers.

It was VERY funny and we laughed out loud all the way through.

Judith Ennis, Art Award Tutor

Year 10 & 11 Bronze Arts Award

Year 9 enjoyed a ‗Getting Around‘ session in

Castleton recently. We visited the Tourist

Information Centre and learned about the mineral

‗Blue John‘. We also called into the local fudge

shop and watched Peter Williams make and pour

fudge and we got to try out some for free! Peter

even phoned the school to tell Mrs Wiggins how

polite we were and how well we watched and

listened to his demonstration. We might go back at

Christmas time to look at his famous fudge

puddings!

BENTS GREEN

SCHOOL COUNCIL

Meets every Monday—Key Stage 3 one week and

Key Stage 4 the next. The agenda is generated by

the School Councillors themselves (one or two

Councillors per class group) and the minutes are

posted on the Managed Learning Environment

(MLE) for all pupils to read. The minutes are also

sent to the Core Leadership Team for information

and action if necessary. School dinners, the ad-

venture playground and break time activities are often high on the agenda and last term we wrote to

the Sheffield City Council about the fact that there are no signs on Ringinglow Road warning people

to slow down near our school. We had a letter back from Julie Dore, Leader of Sheffield City Council

saying she would look into it. Julie Crookes, School Council Coordinator

Getting Around—Year 9 visit to Castleton

BENTS GREEN SCHOOL Friends of Bents Green

„Friends of Bents Green‟ is a registered charity run by parent volunteers who have children

attending Bents Green School. The school is for 11-19 years old who have Autistic

Spectrum Disorders, Communication and /or Learning Disabilities.

We are dedicated to raising funds to support the valuable work done at our school. Over the

past few years our fundraising has helped to purchase equipment such as the new play-

ground and extra resources for classrooms and individual pupils. If you would like to help

with our fundraising you will be made very welcome at our monthly meetings which are held

in school. We discuss fundraising events and also take time to have coffee and a chat. If

you cannot attend due to work or other commitments but would like to help please contact

Anne Gaydon.

You can also organise your own fundraising schemes and donate proceeds to Friends of

Bents Green. Or if you know of any companies/businesses who sponsor charities, please

put our organisation forward.

Please make donations to „Friends of Bents Green‟. We would be very grateful for any help

or donations received.

Contacts

Chairperson: Anne Gaydon - Mobile: 07740780081

Secretary: Sue Rose - Mobile: 07899834915

School contact: Karen Taylor - 0114 2363545

Dates 2012

Friday 16th November 12.45pm meeting

Wednesday 21st November 7.00pm Fashion Show

Friday 14th December 12.45pm meeting

The Fashion Show will take place on 21st November 2012 at 7.00pm in school. Tick-ets are £5 each if you pay on the door or for advance sales you can purchase two tickets for £8. Please contact Karen Taylor. FOBG collect Rags all year round: clothing, shoes, bags, bedding, curtains, and soft toys; put items into a sturdy plastic bag and bring into school at any time. We would also be grateful for good quality raffle prizes which can be brought in throughout the year.

CHARITY NO 1092143

BENTS GREEN SCHOOL

Ringinglow Road, Sheffield S11 7TB www.bentsgreen.co.uk

Tel: 0114 2363545 Fax: 0114 2356229 Email: enquiries@bentsgreen.sheffield.sch.uk