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Bulletin Bulletin Bulletin Bulletin ---- May 2011May 2011May 2011May 2011 www.springfield.uk.net Issue 3Issue 3Issue 3Issue 3 ‘Aiming for Excellence’Aiming for Excellence’Aiming for Excellence’Aiming for Excellence’

The school garden/conservation area (see photo above) is at the back of the Drama studio. It contains eight planting beds, a pond and storage

for our equipment. ‘Trailblazers’ is a club that gets pupils involved with the planting and growing of their own fruit and vegetables, which has

increased in popularity due to the extra activities that are now running with the help of The Outdoor Education Unit (Integrated Youth Support

Service). The qualified outdoor instructor, who has been with us for the majority of this year so far, has provided us with tools and plants, as

well as expertise, to get the garden more fully established than it was last year. Fruit and vegetables that we are currently growing include:

strawberries, a range of onions, broad beans, garlic, potatoes, beetroot, pumpkin, broccoli, lettuce and carrots. We have also planted a range

of fruit bushes that will take a couple of years to begin producing their fruit. We have also cleared the pond area and planted trees and flowers.

In the winter months, we were busy clearing space for the new season and the Year 9 pupils were trained in using specialist equipment such as

strimmers. Club members have also had many opportunities to leave the school site and visit other conservation areas, for example, Portsdown

Hill, Queen Elizabeth Country Park, Farlington Marshes and the Sustainability Centre in Clanfield. They have taken part in a range of activities

such as: orienteering, low rope courses, cooking on outdoor cookers, den building and cooking on an open fire that they have made them-

selves. Pupils have also carried out weather studies by measuring rainfall and pH levels to analyse the conditions for various plants.

This club meets every Wednesday from 3.20pm until 5.00pm and more pupils are welcome to join us. (Please bring a change of clothes.) If you

would like to find out more, including how you can get involved, then speak to Miss Graham or Miss Jackson and pick up a Trailblazers letter.

Miss Graham and Miss Jackson

Calling all Year 6s and their parents: Please look on the school website (www.springfield.uk.net) for our brand new virtual school tour

Goodbye and Good Luck to all the Year 11 Students Friday 13th May was the current Year 11s’ last day in school before they left to go on Study Leave. They celebrated the occasion with a final assembly, where subject awards were presented to the Year 11 students who had worked particularly hard throughout the year. There were also some fun awards and a presentation by the Year Office, as well as a story to mark the occasion! On play-ing ‘The Graduation Song’ there were very few dry eyes in the house! We would like to wish all the Year 11s good luck in their forth-coming examinations and all the very best for the future.

Pictured above: Year 11 students together with year office staff and tutors

Photo left: ‘Trailblazer’ pupils (left to right)—see article below. Eldon Coote, Kayleigh Blundell, Rebecca Aldridge, Megan Hall, Farren Hartley, Alistair Sertin, Melissa Pass-more, Lauren Stevens, Poppy Fennell, Holly Parkes and Bethany Mac-Donald

Since December, five Year 9 pupils have been working really hard to design and make a careers website for IBM’s ‘Website Challenge’. During this time, Liam Morgan (9F), Lucy Emery (9F), Aaron Bryant-Howell (9S), Adam Lewis (9G) and Brooke Smedley (9L) have shown great commitment, getting together regularly at lunchtimes and after school to produce a very successful website called ‘Work Wizard’. Months of hard work finally came together when pupils visited IBM to present their website to a panel of specialist judges. Despite facing an auditorium of people and some tough questioning, the team delivered an excellent presentation and were selected to go through to the final. Here, the team produced yet another fine performance facing a full auditorium of finalists, parents, teachers, IBM representa-tives, EBP representatives and invited guests. The competition was extremely stiff with all three schools improving on their earlier performances. The judges retired to make the final decision and Horndean Technology College were chosen as worthy winners. Teachers Miss Pledger and Miss Hicks said: “Despite missing out in the final, we are so proud of the team for persevering with this challenging and demanding project. They all brought different skills to the task and worked really well together. What they managed to achieve between them was truly amazing. They are a credit to the school. We would also like to thank everyone else who contributed to the project and made it come together”. Miss Pledger and Miss Hicks

Salters’ Chemistry Competition On Thursday 7th April 2011, four students (Megan Hall 8N, Bethany Hicks 8D, Zak Price 8G and Liam Fleet 8D) represented Springfield School at the Salters’ Festival of Chemistry at Southampton University. There were eighteen schools there hoping that their science knowledge and practical skills were enough to impress the judges and win a prize in one of the two challenges. We were up early in the morning and arrived at Cosham station at 7.45am to meet Miss Newton and catch the train. When we arrived at the university, we were greeted and briefed about the challenges we would face throughout the day. After climbing five flights of stairs, we arrived at the chemistry labs. They were amazingly hi-tech and gave us a real insight into what university life could be like. Wearing an apron and goggles we set off on our challenge, which was based around a mock murder. We needed to match the white powder on the corpse with the powder the suspects were using at the time of the crime, using flame tests and chemical reac-tions. The judges checked our work and wrote down our scores, though we were told that we wouldn’t know if we had done enough to win a prize until the end of the day at the prize giving ceremony. After lunch, we took a look at a ‘market’ which included a couple of inter-esting stalls, such as a fish stall—so we packed a bit of biology into the trip as well! Once all the schools were back together, we started the next challenge. This time we had a number of different chemicals and had to make lots of different coloured liquids and powders that were described on a task sheet. We did very well and finished quickly, demonstrating strong teamwork, and so progressed to the extension task. We were given coloured liquids and had to find out which was the most and least dense. Again, we were judged during the challenge and not told our scores. Then some of our helpers carried out a demonstration using liquid nitro-gen, apples, dry ice and roses. Afterwards we were given a fantastic talk on fireworks, which included demonstrations on designing a firework; lift, colour, light and bang. It was both engaging and fascinating. Finally we got to find out our fate! The prizes were awarded (first, second and third) for both challenges. First was the Salters’ Challenge. Our name wasn’t called out but on the second challenge – the University Challenge - we were given a lot of positive feedback and awarded our third place prize which consisted of a certificate, a clock and some Salters’ science goodies.

Overall it was a great day out and I felt we had been on a fabulous learn-ing curve! Megan Hall (8N)

Photo right: The ‘website wizards’ with part of their website displayed behind them - see article above. Left to right: Lucy Emery, Adam Lewis, Aaron Bryant-Howell, Brooke Smedley and Liam Morgan

Website wizards work their magic!

Model United Nations According to the United Nations Charter, two of its main objec-tives are to develop friendly relations among nations and achieve international cooperation in solving international problems. Both of these were being clearly achieved on Friday 8th and Saturday 9th April when delegates from Springfield School attended Portsmouth Grammar School and joined pupils from there and St Edmunds School in representing fifteen countries at the Third Annual Model United Nations. Every delegation is split into six sub-committees forthis event, each with a specific interest, ranging from Human Rights to Science and Technology. The task of each delegate is to get their resolution discussed, debated and passed. In order to be successful, delegates had to study the country they were representing so as to be able to respond accurately to items on any given topic within their specific area. For some of our Year 11 students, this was their third time attend-ing the Model United Nations, though for the Year 9s it was their first. Not that you would have guessed since they lobbied with ease and debated with those older and more experienced in a confident manner. At the end, many of our delegates came away with “Best Dele-gate” or “Best Newcomer” certificates. All took home a keener interest in international politics as well as a better understanding of the role played by the United Nations in the world. Springfield pupils taking part were: Year 11: Alice Fitzgerald, Megan Golding, Liz Hobday, Rachel Norman, Emily Palmer, Evie Robertson. Year 9: Gemma Ford, Megan Ford, Lewis Parsons, Alistair Sertin

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The Governors’ Curriculum Committee

The Curriculum Committee meets once each term to monitor and review all aspects of the curriculum and its delivery. The committee continues to play an active role in the process of shaping the teaching and learning which takes place at Springfield, acting within of the framework of the School Improvement Plan and the cycle of policy reviews. During the past year, the committee has reviewed policies concerning Citizenship, Differen-tiation, Literacy and Oracy. The committee also receives regular visits from department heads and lead staff to keep governors up to speed on curriculum innovations, which this year have included Functional Skills, Con-trolled Assessments and Unit Testing. Inspection reports are also reviewed and, where follow up actions are required, the committee monitors the actions to ensure the maximum benefit is gained from the expertise of the professional advisors retained by the school. The committee also has the pleasure of reviewing the examination results each year and once again was able to note, with great satisfaction, the exceptional achievements of the class of 2010. The school has consistently produced superb examination results during the past ten years or more and this reflects great credit on the whole school community. We are very much aware however, that exam results do not paint the full picture of the achievements at Springfield. Our extra-curricular activities continue to thrive and expand, despite increas-ing time constraints on our staff and the squeeze on budgets in all departments. Not for the first time, I would like to use this opportunity to pay tribute to all the members of the team at Springfield for the efforts they make to ensure all pupils and other members of the local community have the widest possible choice of activities available to them – we hope this will continue and that all concerned will make the most of all these opportuni-ties! The committee has recently discussed ways in which email can be used appropriately as a channel of commu-nication between school and home. It is something we are keen to encourage but must be done in an appro-priate and well managed way – watch this space for further developments. In the mean time, I invite all par-ents and members of the local community to write to me, care of the school, with any feedback on matters relating to the curriculum. Education is not a one way street, we value your thoughts, input and the support you give to pupils as they progress through the school and we are always keen to receive constructive criticism where appropriate – and the odd word of encouragement is always appreciated, of course!

Steve Cook—Chairman of Curriculum Committee

STEM Activities On Monday 28th and Tuesday 29th March a number of Year 8s took part in a STEM activity. Workers from the Smallpeice Trust organisation came to our school to host this event. The Smallpeice Trust visits schools across the country to promote Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM). The activity in which we were involved was creating a wind turbine. These are used to harness wind power, which is an alternative energy source. As the world runs out of fossil fuels, such as coal and oil, we will need alternative energies to gener-ate electricity. Pupils had a limited number of resources with which to make these wind turbines. All the finished projects were hooked up to a generator and tested to see how much electricity would be produced.

Luke Perman (8N)

See right for quotes from other pupils involved in this event

Photo right: Team work in action as pupils from 8G construct their wind turbine—see article right. Pupils are (left to right): Aaron Thane, Yasmin Thorpe and Jessica McNie

Transforming Design and Technology Springfield School has always made a strong offer in D&T subjects to its pupils and with the realisation of new premises under the Building Schools for the Future programme, a new Technology block was to be very much part of those opportunities. Unfortunately, those plans, together with ongoing Specialist Schools Funding facilitating the whole school offer as a ‘technology college’, have been swept away by the changes in Government funding policy. This has meant that financial alloca-tions are markedly reduced and our aspirations for a new building lost. However, that does not mean the Governors’ ambitions to provide the best educational experience they can, within the resources available, are in any way diminished. Recognising the need to transform the D&T offer, with the subject back alongside the non core subjects at KS4 from September 2011, it was necessary to take a key decision on the existing facilities. I am extremely pleased to announce that the Governors have supported the Headteacher’s recommendation for a complete refurbish-ment of both the Resistant Materials workshops. They have taken a bold decision to invest up to £75,000 of their limited capital funds in this exciting project. Over the next few months, brand new study furniture will be installed in the existing woodwork studio allowing a state of the art teaching facility for pupils and staff alike. In this newly fitted out facility, with new windows and other much needed improvements to the rooms’ infrastructure and decoration, pupils will learn about design, study the various properties of resistant materials and then create ideas for products and projects that translate that knowledge into reality. From the ‘Design’ classroom pupils will be able to transfer safely and freely to the other studio, the ‘Realisation’ suite, where, in a well designed accessible work space, they will be able to realise their design and turn their accumulated knowledge into a product. With this substantial investment in the old classrooms as well as other material improvements across other classrooms used for Design and Technology, the School is making an important statement about how essential these practical subjects are to the school curriculum and that they remain a priority. In addition to this work, I am pleased to confirm that Governors have approved further works to the interior of the school’s swimming pool during the summer months. The internal roof beams will be stripped and resealed to extend the life of the roof structure. Governors have commissioned a detailed report about the long-term future of the Springfield pool and are taking advice from the local authority on their capacity to invest in this costly resource. All of the above works, undertaken by specialist contractors, sit alongside our ongoing and routine maintenance carried out by the School caretaking staff. Their often unseen work, performed without fuss or fanfare, is essential to continue to keep our premises in fine fettle. Without their hard work and dedication the school would be a very different place. Thank you to Richard and the team. Keep up the good work! If you have any site or community issues that you would like to bring to my attention, please let me know c/o of the Headteacher, Mrs Evans. Alan Cufley—Chair, Site and Community Committee

STEM Activities—Pupil Quotes

‘I enjoyed this and would like to do this sort of thing again’. Robert Panter (8S)

‘I enjoyed working with other people who I do not normally work with. It was great fun.’ Adam Boxall (8N)

‘I enjoyed making the wind turbine and thought it was a good experience to work with other people. I found this rewarding.’ Sam Fitzgibbons (8G)

‘I thought the STEM activity was good. It was a lot of fun working in a team.’ Jenna Wickham (8D)

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

HALF TERM SATURDAY 28TH MAY TO SUNDAY 5TH JUNE

LAST DAY OF SUMMER TERM - WEDNESDAY 27TH JULY

CALENDAR *

Please mark these dates on your calendar NOW!

JUNE

FRIDAY 3RD—TUESDAY 7TH YEAR 10 GEOGRAPHY TRIP TO THE BAY OF NAPLES , ITALY

WEDNESDAY 8TH MORNING YEAR 10 GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE EXAMINATION

MONDAY 13TH MORNING YEAR 10 GCSE GEOGRAPHY EXAMINATION

WEDNESDAY 15TH AFTERNOON YEAR 10 GCSE SOCIOLOGY EXAMINATION

THURSDAY 16TH MORNING YEAR 10 GCSE BUSINESS & COMMUNICATIONS EXAMINATION

MONDAY 20TH—FRIDAY 24TH JUNE YEAR 9 THEME WEEK

WEDNESDAY 22ND MORNING YEAR 10 GCSE TEXTILES EXAMINATION

WEDNESDAY 22ND AFTERNOON YEAR 10 GCSE HISTORY EXAMINATION

THURSDAY 23RD AFTERNOON YEAR 10 GCSE FOOD TECHNOLOGY EXAMINATION

MONDAY YEAR 10 GCSE STATISTICS EXAMINATION

YEAR 7 ECO CHALLENGE TRIP

TUESDAY 28TH MORNING YEAR 10 GCSE SCIENCE EXAMINATION

TUESDAY 28TH AFTERNOON YEAR 7 IN TO YEAR 8 INDUCTION

WEDNESDAY 29TH YEAR 10 FOCUS DAY (RBS ENTERPRISE)

THURSDAY 30TH 1:1 REVIEW DAY—INDIVIDUAL APPOINTMENTS

THURSDAY 30TH YEAR 10 TASTER DAY (PORTSMOUTH COLLEGE)

JULY

FRIDAY 1ST JULY—PROFESSIONAL CLOSURE DAY (SCHOOL CLOSED) YEAR 10 TASTER DAY (SOUTH DOWNS COLLEGE); YEAR 11 PROM—7.00PM

MONDAY 4TH YEAR 6 INDUCTION DAY—ARRIVE AT 8.35AM

WEDNESDAY 6TH YEAR 6 INDUCTION EVENING

MONDAY 11TH YEAR 7 HISTORY TRIP TO PORCHESTER CASTLE

MON 11TH TO FRI 15TH YEAR 10 WORK EXPERIENCE—FIRST WEEK

TUESDAY 12TH YEAR 7 STEM ACTIVITIES DAY

THURSDAY 14TH YEAR 9 FOCUS DAY—MARY ROSE SCHOOL

THURSDAY 14TH TO SUNDAY 17TH YEAR 11 PREFECTS’ EURODISNEY TRIP

FRIDAY 15TH ACTIVITIES DAY

MONDAY 18TH TO FRIDAY 22ND YEAR 10 WORK EXPERIENCE—SECOND WEEK

TUESDAY 19TH YEARS 7-9 ENGLISH TRIP TO THE GLOBE THEATRE

TUESDAY 19TH TO THURSDAY 21ST AWARDS ASSEMBLIES—YEAR 7 (19TH), YEAR 8 (20TH) & YEAR 9 (21ST)

THURSDAY 21ST YEAR 7 SCIENCE TRIP TO MARWELL ZOO

SATURDAY ACTIVITIES:

11TH, 18TH AND 25TH JUNE; 2ND JULY

1:1 TUITION SESSIONS SPRINGBOARD CLUB SATURDAY CLUB

MONDAY 27TH & TUESDAY 28TH

27TH

STOP PRESS: U14 girls have been successful in securing a place in the Hampshire County Football Final. The game is to be played against Toynbee. Watch this space for the result!