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Dear Reader
It has been a very busy start to the new year, we
have welcomed a number of new staff and students
who are all settling in well. We continue to work hard
to plan for the new school with senior leaders at-
tending a high number of meetings looking at
different aspects of the build.
We are working hard on developing our curriculum this year, this
includes the introduction of Functional Skills at Key stage 4 and Post
16 and increasing our practical learning across the schools. We are
exploring our enterprise curriculum and ensuring pupils from across
the schools get involved in making products to sell. Money we raise
goes towards the enrichment and activity weeks throughout the
year. Last year all students had amazing experiences through activity
week which was heavily subsidised through the money students
raised through Angel Place and Fayres throughout the year.
I would like to remind all families about our uniform, it is important
that students are in uniform for school including off-site visits. We can
support families to provide uniform for those eligible for Free School
Meals, please ask in the office for more information.
We have a parent/carer vacancy on our Governing Body, the
Governors play an important part of the leadership of the school,
holding leaders to account for the work we do and helping and
supporting the school improve in all areas. If you are a parent or
carer and would like to be considered for this role, please contact
the Clerk to Governors - Nic Almond at Elmwood School.
We also have an active PTFA group who do a great job organising
school fayres and events. Sadly it is mainly staff from school who
support this and we really would like to see parents and carers
helping this group and supporting the good work it does. If you feel
you could offer a few hours now and then to support the school in
this way, please contact Nic Almond at Elmwood School who can
pass on your details to the Chair and Vice-Chair of the PTFA.
We are looking forward to Enrichment week before half term where
we will be exploring Global Citizenship and working towards our Gold
award for Right respecting schools.
Don’t forget we have an INSET day on Friday 25 October, staff will be
involved in specialist training during this non-pupil day. Look out for
invitation to parents evening after half term, we will be sharing the
latest plans and ideas for the new school and of course teachers will
be available to talk about your child’s learning and progress.
I look forward to welcoming you in to school soon.
Best wishes
Helen Farnell
Executive Head Teacher
Upcoming Events
Mon 14th Oct—Flu Vaccinations
at Penrose & Jean Rees
Mon 14th Oct—KS3 students to
Carymoor Environmental Centre
Tues 15th Oct—Rowan Class to
Dunster Castle
Tues 15th Oct—Flu Vac-
cinations at Elmwood School
Wed 16th Oct—Theatre Trip to
Lion King—The Musical at Bristol
Hippodrome
Fri 18th Oct—School Photogra-
pher at Elmwood & Jean Rees
Centre
Week comm. Mon 21st
Oct — E n r i c h m e n t
Wk—Global Citizens.
Tues 22nd Oct—Penrose students
Harvest Festival at Westfield
Church—10am
Thurs 24th Oct—Last day of half
term.
F r i 2 5 t h O c t — I n s e t
Day
Mon 28th Oct—Half Term Week
Mon 4th Nov—Back to School
Fri 20th Dec—Last day of Term
Mon 6th Jan—Back to school
Fri 14th Feb—Last day of half term
Mon 17th Feb—Half Term Week
www.penrose-school.org.uk www.elmwood-school.org.uk
Join us on twitter: elmwood_school penrose_school
Autumn Term 1 2019
Every child has a right to an education—Believe you can
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Believe You Can Autumn Term 1 2019
Believe You Can
Inset Days & School Closing
Please find below a list of inset days for 2019/20 for the Federation:
02.09.19 25.10.19
03.04.20 1.6.20 20.07.20
Pupils will be finishing at 2.00 pm on the following dates:
20.12.19 02.04.20 17.07.20
School will close at the usual time on all other dates.
We would like to remind parents/carers of the attendance guidelines as outlined in our
Attendance Policy:
To keep requests for their child to be absent to a minimum
To offer a valid reason for any period of absence, before the absence or on the first
day of absence
To ensure that their child arrives at school on time ready for a prompt start to the
school day. At all our sites this is at 08:55. Students can arrive from 08:45, were there
will be staff supervising.
A reason should be offered for any lateness. Persistent lateness will be addressed by
the school and maybe escalated to the EWO—Education Welfare Officers.
To work closely with the school and Education Welfare Officers (EWO) to resolve
problems that may impede a child’s attendance
To take family holidays during school holiday periods and be aware that requests for
holidays during term time will be unauthorised except where in exceptional
circumstances relating to that application. Where a family chooses to take a family
holiday during term time, the absence will be coded as unauthorised and a Penalty
Notice may be issued to each parent for each child.
To be aware of curriculum requirements and to do their utmost to demonstrate
respect for the learning that occurs at the Elmwood & Penrose Federation
To support their child and recognise their successes and achievements however
small.
Can we please also remind parents/carers that should your child miss the school
transport in a morning then it is your responsibility to get your child into school otherwise
it will be recorded as unauthorised absence.
Attendance Reminder
We are taking part in the Aldi UK Kit for
Schools from 6 September to 3 November
2019. Please send in any stickers for our
chance to win.
We Are Taking Part ...
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Autumn Term 1 2019 Believe You Can
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Autumn Term 1 2019 Believe You Can
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We are looking to develop careers related teaching and learning resources to be used across the
Federation for example, work uniforms from different industries, careers related stories, artefacts/
objects. Some examples: Builder/Contractor – hi-vis jacket, waistcoat, gloves, builders hat... Hairdresser – hairdressers practice heads, brushes, clips, combs, rollers... Firefighter – Hats, uniforms... Police Officer – Hats, uniforms... Beautician - Tunic... Shop Assistant – Uniform, badges... Pilot – Uniform, hat, badge... Care Worker - tunics... Post Worker - uniforms, delivery bag... Nurse/Doctor – Uniforms, stethoscope... Dentist - masks, uniforms... Farmer - Overalls... Mechanic - Overalls, barges, t-shirts. If you, your family or friends have any old identifiable uniforms, work badges or resources that you
think we could utilise, please send all donated items into school.
All donations will be gratefully received. Thank you
Items Wanted ...
Penrose pupils have been asked to take part in the carnival mask decoration event along with
other school in the local area. The theme this year is ‘Flight’, which fits in with our current theme of
transport. Bumblebee class have started things off, and each class will contribute to the
completed design. We will share an updated picture when the mask is complete and give details
of where you can see all the completed entries.
Carnival Mask Creativity
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Autumn Term 1 2019 Believe You Can
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Learning
Resources
Invitation Please do come along to
visit us at Elmwood Learn-
ing Support Centre we
have many new resources
to share with you. Please
c h e c k o u r w e b s i t e
h t t p : / / w w w . e l m w o o d -
school.org.uk/lsc for our
latest newsletter outlining all
the latest news and events
from the LSC.
Call Jeanette to make an
a p p o i n t m e n t 0 1 2 7 8
411211 or email:
Mon - CLOSED
Tues- 9 - 5pm
Weds- 9-
12pm
Thurs - By appointment only
Fri - 10—2pm
Article 23 (children with a disability) A child with a disability has the right to live a full and decent life with dignity and, as far as possible, inde-pendence and to play an active part in the com-munity. Governments must do all they can to support disabled children and their families.
Reminder - School meals now need be booked a week in advance on ParentPay, (even if you are entitled to Free School Meals). If you have not
yet activated your account please ask the office for a letter.
We Need Your Donations
We are looking to expand enterprise across the whole of the
Federation. We have enjoyed a huge success with our collaborative
pop-up shops last academic year as part of SEN.SE in Taunton,
Yeovil and Frome. On the build up to Christmas, we are hoping to
open another collaboration pop-up shop in Bridgwater!
We are seeking any unwanted craft materials. Perhaps you were an
avid card maker, knitter or craft maker or had a small enterprise and
now have lots of bits you no longer need... we’d love to take it off
your hands.
Some items we’d love to find:
- Round pieces of wood (or wood which we could cut up to make
rounds).
- Seashells
- hessian material
- cellophane and cellophane bags
- card making materials
- old scrabble board letters
- old picture frames
- Hama beads
Anything we can make into products to sell
All money raised through enterprise will be going towards our
playground equipment and sensory room fundraising appeal.
Thank you so much .
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Polden Bower School
The new school is moving on, the ground is being worked on in preparation for laying the
first block. The design is now complete and we are hoping to share this at our parents
evenings later in the term.
We are busy working on playground equipment and sensory solutions and the Junior
Leadership team have been thinking about these areas. The next job on the list is to start
thinking about the school logo. Once we have this finalised in terms of colours we can then
think about uniform, website and internal colours. Please see the black and white logo
below and if your child wants to have a go at colouring it in - please have a go and return
to Nic Almond at Elmwood School clearly stating your childs name and class.
Name ___________________________________________ Class _____________________
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Autumn Term 1 2019 Believe You Can
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Ladybirds Enjoy Their Books This half term Ladybird Class have been working hard in
English and have enjoyed sitting together to explore a variety of
books . The pupils focus is reading and each pupil has enjoyed
looking and reading books alongside staff and each other.
Caterpillar class had fun making cakes for pupils, staff, parents and carers at stay and play. We
made strawberry fairy cakes and cheesy biscuits. Lots of cakes were donated too so there was
something for everyone! We had coffee and walnut cake, tiffin and victoria sponge sandwich
amongst other things, which were all very popular. We were raising funds for the MacMillan coffee
and cake campaign. We were very pleased to have visitors from other classes and it was a busy but
fun morning. Many thanks to all who donated - so far we have raised approximately £60 with a few
more donations to come in.
Stay & Play Success
Article 31 (leisure, play and culture)
Every child has the right to relax, play and take part in a
wide range of cultural and artistic
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Caterpillars Enjoy the Fun of the Fair
Caterpillar students put on their raincoats and wellies to visit the fair on Wednesday 25th September. They
enjoyed experiencing all of the sights, sounds and smells of the fair, they all had a ride to look out for and
had fun walking around trying to spot them! The students especially liked the cuddly toy stalls and seeing
the ponies and when we got back to class everyone enjoyed a traditional Welsh Cake!
Reminder ... Can we please remind all parents/carers to return the Data Collection
Sheets that were sent home recently along with the Parental Consent sheets
to ensure that we have the correct details on our system.
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We are experiencing issues
with parking at our Elmwood
site.
In order to free up spaces and
also allow access for
emergency vehicles we
would like to suggest that
parents may like to join the
taxi circle to drop off and pick
up your child in the mornings
and the afternoons.
W e a p p r e c i a t e y o u r
co-operation in this matter.
Parking Problems
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Art at The Jean Rees Centre
This term the Art group at Jean Rees have
been looking at different artists every
month, so far we have been studying
Kandinsky. The students have been learn-
ing about his life and the different styles
in which he would paint. They have then
been recreating his famous painting,
Colour Study: Squares with Concentric
Circles and from there they have been
inspired to create their own designs.
This month we are looking at Mark
Rothko again the students have been
finding out lots of information about
Rothko and studying his paintings. The
students have really loved looking at his
work so far and we are so impressed with
how well the students have understood
his work and already recreating his
paintings.
We would like to welcome the following members of staff to the Federation:
Assistant Head Teacher—Shane Baker
Teachers— Kirsty Minifie, Merrin Gerry, Emily Bird
ICT Senior Technician—Rob Noble
Teaching Assistants—Lottie Sharkey, Claire Weller, Joanne Prowse, Yasmin Luke, Nikki Tancock , Bethany
Page, Amanda Wood, Demi Webber, Kristelle Champion.
Sports Coach—Claire Williams
Midday Supervisors—Lisa Parfitt, Rebecca Trentham, Amber Roberts
Admin — Sue Ramsay, Helen Gittins
We would like to say farewell and good luck to:
Vicky McCarthy
Caroline Litchfield
Julie Smith
Matt Henderson
Cath Byles
Marie Stuart
Gemma Bellringer
Gill Britton
We wish all our leavers well in their new ventures and thank them for their work at the Federation.
Welcome & Farewell
Hockney and Warhol in the Community
Article 23 (children with a disability) A child with a disability has the right to live a full and decent life with dignity and, as far as possible, independence and to play an active part in
the community. Governments must do all they can to support disabled children and their families.
As part of community engagement, this term Hockney and Warhol class have been
visiting different cafes around Bridgwater.
The students have been going to the Café at 1610 at Chilton and The Purple Spoon Café.
During our visits to the cafes, the students have been practicing their money skills, socialis-
ing and using the menu to make choices.
It has been brilliant to see the students socialising in these different environments,
improving their money skills and enjoying the different sites and sounds available….and of
course not forgetting CAKE!!!
We are looking forward to visiting more places in our community over the next half term.
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Crickets Learn About Transport
This half term, Cricket class learning has been
around our theme Transport. We have
experienced hot air ballooning in our sensory
workouts, our Sensory story Emergency! has been
all about emergency vehicles, sirens and different
textures and smells relating to these and we have
made our own tractor in art lessons for Harvest, as
well as our usual programmes of rebound thera-
py, hydrotherapy and TACPAC.
We also visited the market during fair week. The
children loved the smells and sounds coming
from the stalls. They had lots of interaction with
stallholders and especially loved watching the
bubbles coming from one of the stalls.
PE
My name is Claire Williams and I started at Elmwood in
September in my new role as PE Lead.
I am now based in Penrose & Elmwood and I am very
much looking forward to working with our pupils and
delivering a positive experience throughout their ac-
ademic year.
I will be covering a wide range of activities for our pu-
pils which includes multi skills, gymnastics, dance, strik-
ing and fielding, team building and other oppor-
tunities such as tournaments that I will organise for our
pupils.
However I would love to encourage all pupils to have
the appropriate clothing so they can fully utilise the ses-
sions being delivered throughout the year.
If your child could bring the following into school it will
really benefit them throughout the year; T shirt, shorts,
joggers/jumper (colder months), trainers or daps.
Any questions please feel free to ask.
Secret World Release
The KS4 Secret World group released some
Harvest Mice back into the wild last week, it
was an experience that doesn't happen
very often and its the smallest species
Secret World have had in a very long time.
Exciting News
We are very pleased to announce that due to the
success of our collaborative pop-up shops
with other special schools in Taunton, Yeovil and
Frome, we will be opening another in Bridgwater
in the lead up to Christmas.
This will be in Angel Place and more information
will be sent in the near future.
Pupils across the Federation are currently busy
developing their enterprise products. We
look forward to welcoming you to our new shop
soon!”
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Lion King Was a Roaring Success
Some Penrose pupils were lucky enough to go and watch the award winning musical ‘The Lion King’
at the Bristol Hippodrome.
All pupils were a credit to the Federation and really enjoyed the amazing show.
Thank you Leonie for booking the tickets, to all the staff who supported this event and to parent/carers
for collecting pupils at 7pm- I hope you all agree it was well worth it. What a fabulous experience!
World Mental Health
Awareness Day
To recognise the World Mental Health
Awareness Day ‘Wear Something Yellow
Campaign’, Caterpillar Class made silly yellow
glasses! They put a smile on everyone’s face.
Somerset Careers Fair 2019
On Wednesday 9th October 2019 students from KS4 and post 16 visited the Somerset careers fair
at Taunton County Cricket Ground.
There were over 30 stands that offered our students the opportunity to explore their futures. The
students experienced ‘virtual reality technology with the Army along with taking part in reaction
tests. There was also the opportunity to talk to colleges and other educational settings. This
experience is invaluable in supporting the students to make the right choices for their future.
If parents would like to attend future career events then the next one planned is at the Air Fleet
Museum in Yeovilton on Tuesday 12th November 2019.
