Issue March 2017 DRUMBEAT SCHOOL. Weekly Newsletter. Take a look at our new website and let us know what you think!

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1 DRUMBEAT SCHOOL Weekly Newsletter Dear Parents and Carers I had the pleasure of viewing your children s work this week in the art exhibition. The quality and standard of the work was exceptional and I thank the pupils and staff for all their hard work. I was also able to join the Duke of Edinburgh class when our visitor came in to explain how they could organise their camping weekend. The pupils were very excited. It is such a great opportunity to achieve this prestigious award. Have a good weekend. Marie Neave Executive Headteacher Dates for the Diary. Thursday, 23 March Brockley Parents Evening from 5pm 7pm Friday, 24 March Special Mother s Day & Red Nose Day Assembly 10am at Brockley (see page 10 for details) Friday, 24 March Mothers Day Afternoon Tea from 1:45 at Downham (see page 3 for details) Wednesday, 29 March Downham Parents Evening from 5pm 7pm Friday, 31 March Last day of term school closes at 1pm Wednesday, 19 April Students back at school Please also see events by Key Stage Group further in the newsletter Take a look at our new website and let us know what you think! Drumbeat School & ASD Service 1

2 The Schools Forum have agreed that from the 1st May 2017, the cost of a school lunch will go up from 2.00 to 2.10 per day. This works out to per week. At 2.10 Lewisham meals will continue to provide all of the Government nutritional requirements and compare favourably with other local authorities. We believe the meal price continues to provide good value for money. Our two course daily menus vary throughout a three weekly cycle and the Council is constantly striving to improve the quality of the ingredients. Over 80% of the meals offered use fresh, quality products from sustainable sources. Thanks Seán Richings School Business Director Autism-friendly Performance Disney s ALADDIN will present its first dedicated Autism-friendly performance on Tuesday 29th August at 1.30pm at the Prince Edward Theatre, London. Drumbeat School & ASD Service 2

3 SCHOOL TERM AND HOLIDAY DATES 2017/2018 AUTUMN TERM 2017 AUTUMN TERM 1 HALF TERM HOLIDAY AUTUMN TERM 2 CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY MONDAY 4 SEPTEMBER - Students back at school FRIDAY 20 OCTOBER - Students last day of half term MONDAY 23 OCTOBER FRIDAY 3 NOVEMBER* MONDAY 6 NOVEMBER Students back at school WEDNESDAY 20 DECEMBER - Students last day of term** THURSDAY 21 DECEMBER MONDAY 1 JANUARY SPRING TERM 2018 SPRING TERM 1 HALF TERM HOLIDAY SPRING TERM 2 EASTER HOLIDAY TUESDAY 2 JANUARY Students back at school FRIDAY 9 FEBRUARY Students last day of half term MONDAY 12 FEBRUARY FRIDAY 16 FEBRUARY MONDAY 19 FEBRUARY Students back at school THURSDAY 29 MARCH - Students last day of term** FRIDAY 30 MARCH FRIDAY 13 APRIL SUMMER TERM 2018 SUMMER TERM 1 HALF TERM HOLIDAY SUMMER TERM 2 MONDAY 16 APRIL Students back at school FRIDAY 25 MAY Students last day of half term (MAY DAY PUBLIC HOLIDAY WILL BE TAKEN ON 7 MAY) MONDAY 28 MAY FRIDAY 1 JUNE MONDAY 4 JUNE Students back at school FRIDAY 20 JULY Students last day of term** *The half term holiday in October will be 2 weeks **The school will close at 1pm on the last day of the term Drumbeat School & ASD Service 3

4 PE Events coming up Date & Time Event & Venue Students Football 20 April South London Special League of their own 18 May South London Special League of their own 15 June South London Special League of their own TBC TBC TBC Parents/Carers are welcome to come to the football games but the other events are for students/staff only. EYFS & Primary events coming up Tuesday, 21 March Koalas bus trip (pm) Thursday, 23 March Zebra class trip to Tower Bridge exhibition Friday, 24 March Mother s Day Morning Tea Party in Kangaroo & Koala classes (10:00 11:00am) Friday, 24 March Kangaroo bus trip (pm) Drumbeat School & ASD Service 4

5 Mother s Day Afternoon Tea We are inviting all Mothers to an afternoon tea on Friday March 24th at 1.45pm at Downham There will be tea and cake available that has been prepared by the children. Some of our older students will be offering pamper treatments. Please come along for a chill and chat! EYFS & Primary Annual Reviews Annual Reviews and EHCP meetings have started. Thank you to all parents/carers who have attended the meetings. When you receive your letter of appointment, please complete the form and return it to the school as soon as possible. We encourage parents/carers to please try and attend on the allocated dates & times due to teaching staff availability. If, however, you are unable to attend the meeting please let Hendrina Smith know so the meeting can be rescheduled for later in the summer term. Drumbeat School & ASD Service 5

6 Key stage 2 and 3 football tournament. The Drumbeat football team took part in the South London Special League football tournament at Long Lane football club. It was a beautiful spring day and there were 5 other teams in our league. We all played really well and enjoyed a great day out. We won our league and were all given medals for our hard work. The results were: Drumbeat: 3 v Foxfield B: 0 Goals from Junior, Jemiah and Tyrell. There was also a great save from Jonathan in this game. Drumbeat:2 v Foxfield A: 0 Goals from Tyrell and Tyrese. Drumbeat: 2 v Rowhill: 0 2 goals from Tyrell. Drumbeat: 2 v Munthan House: 2 2 goals from Tyrell. Drumbeat: 2 v Ifield: 1 2 Goals from Tyrell. Drumbeat School & ASD Service 6

7 Primary Department Arts Week Last week the Primary department held their very own Arts Week. Under the theme of Journeys, they took part in a week-long programme packed full of various Arts and Performance Arts activities. Journeys by sea Classes took part in art to music sessions. They were visited by Lee, our music teacher, who played seathemed music as the pupils did a mixture of free art and creating specific sea-themed art pieces using sea inspired paint and materials. The pupils really enjoyed the combination of art and music and some excellent pieces were produced. Journeys across land Julia, our dance/drama HLTA, developed two dance projects to create two music videos; one by KS1/ EYFS called Sunset Ya Cat - a song written by Ian Ware from Lion Class, and one by KS2 called 500 Miles by The Proclaimers. Classes had a lot of fun dancing together and were very excited to be filmed and show off their moves. Making of videos were shown to pupils at the assembly on Friday. The final edits of both dance videos will premiere at Parents Evening later this month. Drumbeat School & ASD Service 7

8 Journeys by air We were very lucky to have a visiting artist, Angela, from the National Portrait Gallery come to Drumbeat and spend two days with the Primary Department. Angela lead workshops for each class creating art work that represented journeys by air. Hot air balloons, aeroplanes, butterflies and birds were made and her sessions were greatly enjoyed by all. A big thank you to Angela for taking part in our Arts week. Journeys into Space Angela and Lesley visited classes throughout the week and delivered space journey themed art workshops. These workshops included an attention autism trip to the moon session, rocket and spaceship building, paint spinning to create planets, and making alien headbands, playdough aliens and space dust sensory bottles. The pupils had so much fun in these workshops and lots of fantastic art was made for Drumbeat School & ASD Service 8

9 Arts week exhibition and assembly On Friday, all the work done throughout the week came together and was displayed in an exhibition that filled both the Art room and the corridor outside. It was a great way for pupils to see all their work displayed together and go on a journey through sea, land, air and space as they walked around. A special Arts Week Assembly ended the day by looking back on the week and celebrating all the art created. It was great to see parents attending the exhibition and assembly. Parents were so impressed with the quality of the work produced and the creativity and imagination behind each arts project. A big well done to all the pupils and staff in the Primary Department for making Arts week such a success. Drumbeat School & ASD Service 9

10 Kangaroo Class On Wednesday, 8 th March, Kangaroo Class travelled to South Kensington in London to visit the Natural History Museum. It took a while to get there but all the children had a great time looking and listening to the sights and sounds on our journey. When we arrived at the museum our first port of call were the toilets. This was a huge challenge for the class as a whole as the toilets had very sensitive and loud hand dryers. Some children refused to go in whilst others needed support in the toilet in order to use it. The staff were all very proud as to how well the children coped with such a challenging sensory experience. At lunchtime we joined the other school groups in the large hall. Destiny used one of the communication boards we brought with us to indicate that she wanted help to peel her banana. Continue on next page Drumbeat School & ASD Service 10

11 We looked around the very busy museum and then had a run around in the gated outside area chasing pigeons! It was definitely a very busy day and all children and staff should feel very proud of our achievements on this day. Well done to Kangaroos, big and small. Drumbeat School & ASD Service 11

12 Kangaroo Class On Wednesday, 15 th March, Kangaroo Class had their 7 th Stay and Play session of the year. It was a very special day as we also had a new member join us, Kayden, and his mum Jennifer. Welcome to Kangaroo Class. We had lots of fun with toys to share and children interacting with their parents as well as their classmate s parents. The most popular activity on this morning were bubbles as well as the trampette in our class outside play area. I would like to thank all our parents for continuing to join Kangaroo class and supporting their children during our monthly stay and play sessions. It was a very enjoyable and beneficial morning. See you all in April. Continue on next page Drumbeat School & ASD Service 12

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14 Koala Class at Horniman Museum Koalas Class had a very successful trip to Horniman Museum and Gardens to learn more about animals. The day began with a lovely bus trip, which of course was very exciting especially looking at the houses and cars along the road. We arrived at the Museum and everyone enjoyed the impressive animals on exhibition and we were thrilled to have the chance to touch some of them. We had a lovely lunch outside in the garden, before we went for a walk around the outside area and the sensory garden. Drumbeat School & ASD Service Continue on next page 14

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16 Zebra Class Zebra class have been enjoying their topic on Journeys. Two weeks ago we visited The Golden Hinde ship, with some of the students form Panda class, where all the children participated in a workshop during which they steered the ship and pulled up the anchor by turning a huge capstan on deck. We had to climb up and down ladders and crawl along the lower decks where we listened to the actor telling us about life at sea and the children took it in turns to re-load and to mock-fire the minion canon. A trip to the London Transport museum is coming up this week where we will look at and climb on transport old and more recent. Later this term we will be travelling to Tower Bridge where we will have the opportunity to explore the Towers and walkways and visit the Victorian engine rooms. Last week was Arts week during which Zebra class created lots of different artworks around the theme of journeys. We made fish, boats and sea scenes in class and roller painted a huge sea background using different shades of blue and green paint whilst Lee played his guitar. The children also made kites in class and hot air balloons in a workshop run by a visiting artist from the National Portrait Gallery, Angela. On the Thursday of that week we focussed on journeys on land; we printed wheels in class using poly block tiles and printing ink and made a roadway. Continued on next page Drumbeat School & ASD Service 16

17 We have also been out and about locally enjoying the milder weather. Last week we walked to the local Nature reserve and looked for signs of Spring. The Zebras have also been horse riding weekly; all the students have enjoyed going and have been walking and even trotting around the arena, listening carefully to instructions Drumbeat School & ASD Service 17

18 We are inviting all KS4 and Sixth Form Parents & Carers to join us for a special Mother s Day and Red Nose Day Assembly on Friday, 24 March from 10am at Brockley. There will be tea, coffee and cake available after the assembly. Drumbeat School & ASD Service 18

19 Key Stage 4 & 5 Regional Panathlon Final Brockley Campus students who had previously qualified at the local schools Panathlon, took part in the Regional Finals Plate Competition. It was a long day and students had to wait for their particular event, but everyone coped really well with the waiting and supported their fellow students in their events. We were part of the Lewisham team and did events jointly as teams with students from Brent Knoll & Greenvale. We won Gold in every team event entered except one. This means we have gone through to the final at Copper box arena in June. Well done Lewisham Team! Standing Long Jump Brendan & Jordan Gold Seated Shot Putt Otugoma & Raeshaun Gold Javelin Trevanie Gold Table Cricket Traivonn, Levi & Blessing Gold New Age Curling Pareise & Donte Gold Relay Jordan, Traivonn, Blessing & Brendan Gold Poly Bat Agratha 4 th Place Drumbeat School & ASD Service 19

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21 Duke of Edinburgh Award Training Students from Drumbeat have been taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh expedition training with Indie, an outside Duke of Edinburgh provider, to prepare them for a real expedition out in the countryside in June. Students have been learning how to erect a tent using pegs, which essential camping gear to take, how to pack a rucksack correctly, what food items are best to take and how to cook on a stove. They have also had the opportunity to use maps and navigate around the local area as well as learn basic first aid. Students are on course to achieve their first Bronze Duke of Edinburgh award at Drumbeat by the end of the year. Drumbeat School & ASD Service 21

22 KS4 and 6 th form Inter School Swimming Gala KS4 and 6 th form competed in the annual swimming gala at West Croft Leisure Centre, Carshalton and got the opportunity to practise their swimming skills and race against other schools. Drumbeat school did exceptionally well and won the following medals: Jordan won two gold medals in the free style and backstroke 50 metre races. Otugoma won a gold medal in the width aided race. Veni won one gold medal and one silver medal both in the width freestyle and width backstroke races. Oswaldo won gold in the freestyle 25 metre race. Ibby won silver in the width aided race. Ademola won bronze in the width freestyle race. Certificates and medals will be awarded to students in the Brockley whole school assembly next Wednesday to take home. Drumbeat School & ASD Service 22

23 Djembe Class Spring is here and Djembe Class have been learning about the change of season, from Winter to Spring, and observed new Spring growth in school and the local community. They have visited a garden centre, identified and bought bulbs. Students have learnt about planting and watering seeds, bulbs and plants and the need for sunshine and light to help them grow. Our daffodils are now in full bloom and the pansies are beginning to flower. The cress and herbs seeds are all growing at different stages. Everyone planted different herb seeds and had the opportunity to touch, tear, smell and taste some different fresh herbs including basil, coriander and chives. Leo enjoyed tasting chives. On a walk to the local community garden, pupils used a visual Spring hunt checklist to identify blossoms, buds, flowers, birds and insects. We looked in the pond for any signs of frogs spawn or tadpoles. We are now looking forward to our trip to Surrey Docks Farm and hope to see some baby animals. Drumbeat School & ASD Service 23

24 Dear parents, We re taking part in Sainsbury s Active Kids This means that from 25 January 2 May you can collect vouchers at Sainsbury s and donate them to the school. We can then exchange these vouchers for new cooking and sports equipment, and experiences for our kids. The closing date for this is 30 June. How to collect vouchers: 25 January 2 May You will get one voucher for every 5 you spend at any Sainsbury s Local Store. Every time you shop at a Sainsbury s Supermarket, you ll be given one voucher for every 10 you spend. If you shop online at sainsburys.co.uk, you will receive the equivalent of one voucher for every 10 you spend, but they will be printed on one piece of paper up to the value of 50 vouchers so make sure you keep it safe. How to donate vouchers Simply bring your vouchers into school and drop them in our collection box in reception. We will need all your voucher donations by 30 June. Spread the word Active Kids is a great way for our community to join together to help our kids eat well, move well and live well. Please ask all of your neighbours, friends and family to help collect vouchers too. Let s get more kids active. Kind regards, Richard Gillings 6F3 Class Teacher & Brockley PE lead. Drumbeat School & ASD Service 24