& News from Elmwood & Penrose Federation / July 2017

Term 1 - 6th September— 20th October Term 2 - 30th October—21st December

Term 3 - 8th January 2018 —9th February 2018 Term 4 - 19th February—23rd March

Term 5 - 9th April—25th May Term 6 - 4th June—24th July

Please remember that term time holiday will not be authorised unless there are exceptional

circumstances. Attendance at school is very important for progress and development.

Term Dates 2017

Penrose News Elmwood News Jean Rees News

Penrose Summer Fayre

I would like to say a massive thank you to everyone involved in the Penrose Summer Fayre,

we managed to raise an impressive £810 in total. We also held a non-school uniform across

the Federation on the day of the Fayre with the students and staff paying £1 to participate,

the funds raised from this event were donated to The Children's Tumour Trust.

We held a raffle with a first prize of Tickets to see Dream Girls in the Savoy Theatre London

with return tickets from Berry's Coaches, 2nd prize was £60 vouchers for Eric Purchase

Photography and 3rd prize a Family Rover ticket with West Somerset Railways. Donations

from local businesses were amazing and we would like to say a huge thank you to each

and every one of them.

We had many attractions including a Bouncy Castle, Tombola, Name the Tiger and How

many Sweets? A delicious cake and coffee stall, again thanks to all the staff and Parent

Carers who contributed towards this, the cakes went down very well (Marie Stuart!) and

Andrew got a soaking in the stocks, which was loved by the children! We also had a hot

dog & ice pole stall and even a visit from Peppa Pig!

Thanks again to all involved for all your help and support, it was really truly appreciated.

Helen (S)

Dear All,

As we draw the school year to a close, I wanted to write to you all to share some of

our highlights.

Starting at Elmwood & Penrose Federation in September was a huge change for

everyone in the school community, but I can honestly say how welcoming and

positive everyone has been. It has been a very exciting year with lots of change but

also a very exciting year as we have watched our learners across the schools grow and develop.

Learners have enjoyed a wide range of off-site visits where they have learnt new skills, developed

confidence and independence and enjoyed new experiences. These have included horse riding, visits to

the beach, Clifton and Minehead, Somerset Rural Youth Project, Bridgwater College, the local

community and even fishing. It has been great to hear positive comments about learners’ behaviour,

positive attitude and how well they have represented the schools. I have been very proud of all of our

learners.

During the Spring term we welcomed the Ofsted Inspectors in at Penrose, to share our good work and it

was testament to the hardworking staff, excellent engagement and behaviour and the overwhelming

support of our Penrose parents that they agreed with us all that we are a good school.

The year has flown by and over the last term the teaching staff have been working hard on reviewing

and developing the curriculum for next year. We are all very excited about what this will look like and the

opportunities for our learners to enjoy, develop and make progress.

Whilst a sad time, we came together on two occasions over the last month to celebrate and remember

the lives of two very special young people who we sadly lost last year, Aysha and Lexi. Learners and staff

came together with their families to release balloons and remember them.

I would like to say a huge goodbye and good luck to our Year 14 leavers, celebrating their time with us at

the Federation with a fantastic prom. What a way to say Goodbye! It has been a joy this year to see our

Post 16 learners develop, grow and mature into young adults. We wish our 3 leavers luck and best wishes

as they move on to their next steps. We will certainly miss you at The Jean Rees Centre.

I would also like to say goodbye to our Year 11 leavers. They enjoyed a wet day at Weston and an

excellent send-off at the Leavers’ Assembly. We look forward to welcoming a couple of these young

people back next year as they are joining us at The Jean Rees Centre, but also wish the rest luck as they

move on to college to start a new adventure. You have been a fantastic group of students at Elmwood

and it is great to see your maturity as you leave us.

I would like to thank the Governors of the Federation for their support over the last year, they have made

many of our developments possible and work tirelessly behind the scenes.

Finally, I would like to thank all the staff at Penrose, Elmwood and The Jean Rees Centre. I am very proud

of the hard work, passion and commitment they show through their work for all the learners of the

Federation. Supporting each other through tricky times and laughing together through the highs. An

excellent team who have already brought me many happy memories of my first year as Executive Head

Teacher.

I wish all of our families, staff and Governors a very happy summer break, enjoy the sunshine and stay

safe. I hope to see some of our families at the holiday activities and look forward to welcoming you all

back in September.

Helen Farnell

Executive Head Teacher

www.elmwood-penrose-jeanrees.org.uk

INSET Days

Term 1— Monday 4th and Tuesday 5th September 2017

Inset days give our staff opportunities to access high quality training which supports and

improves teaching and learning for all learners.

& News from Elmwood & Penrose Federation / July 2017 & News from Elmwood & Penrose Federation / July 2017

& More News

Crealy Trip Trip to SS Great Britain

Y6 Leavers

All the staff and children at Penrose School will be sad to say goodbye to

the leavers of 2017.

All five will be moving on to Elmwood School in September. They have all

contributed in their individual way to the life of Penrose School and we will

miss them but we are happy that they are growing up and moving on to

the next stage in their lives.

We wish them all the very best of luck and look

forward to seeing them again at Federation events.

This term Holly class had a fantastic visit to the SS Great Britain to support their history topic

learning about Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

The students thoroughly enjoyed the interactive, multi-sensory attraction and took part in a

range of activities including scrubbing the decks, steering the ship and trying out the third

class cabin facilities. They also enjoyed learning about the ghostly history of the ship and

completed some great descriptive writing on their return to school.

On Tuesday 11th July, Holly, Hawthorn, Oak and Olive had a

GREAT if rather soggy end of term trip to Crealy. The only day of

that week where rain was forecast and boy did it rain! This didn't

put anyone off. We all had chance to enjoy the Maximus

rollercoaster, waterslides, pirate ships and much more. Some of us

even braved the water gun boats - after

all we were already wet.

It was so good to see everyone in their groups enjoying the

activities at Crealy and having fun with staff and peers. It was a real

pleasure to be part of such a fun filled day - I'm sure the pictures

show that.

Homes in Sedgemoor

Pupils in Butterfly class won main prizes in

the ‘Homes in Sedgemoor’ school art

competition.

This was open to local schools and was

split into age categories.

Pupils were asked to draw, paint or collage their

idea of ‘home’. One pupil came 3rd in his category

overall and won a £20 voucher and another came

2nd in her category and won a £30 voucher. Two

further pupils were also recognised and received

£10 vouchers.

The main prize winners have had their art work framed and this will be

exhibited at The Engine Room, 50-52 High Street, Bridgwater from

Friday 21st July for 2 weeks. It would be great if you could pop along to

see the hard work that has gone into all of the entries.

Congratulations to all!

This year’s Y6 leavers were treated to an outing to

Hollywood Bowl and a meal at McDonald’s. We all

had a great time and it was a fun way to celebrate

the end of KS2.

Governors Elmwood & Penrose Federation currently has vacancies on their Board of Governors for a

Parent Governor and a Co-Opted Governor. If you are interested in becoming a Governor

or would like more information, please contact Helen Farnell or Nicola Almond, Clerk to the

Governors on 01278 411222 or email elmwoodfinance@educ.somerset.gov.uk

Fishing at Summerhayes This past couple of terms, students from KS3 have been fishing at

Summerhayes fisheries in Bridgwater every week. Over the course

of our fishing sessions, students have gained their level 1 angling

certificates and have worked towards level 2.

They have learnt how to keep safe whilst fishing, making sure they

have appropriate personal protection equipment. They have

been encouraged to make different choices about where to fish,

what equipment to use to suit types and size of fish and above all

to become independent fishers. It has been great to see their

progress over time.

Well done to them all!

& News from Elmwood & Penrose Federation / July 2017

The JRC prom was a great success. Special thank you needs to go to Becky, Derek, Mandy

and Debby for all their hard work organising a memorable evening. Also to our guest

speaker Jenny Sharman, who is the daughter of Jean Rees and to Vicki McCarthy for the

smooth running of the presentation.

The cakes, strawberries and nibbles went down a treat and were thoroughly enjoyed by all.

We were lucky to have leftovers which we used the following day during the Y14’s

celebration assembly. The prom celebrated the achievement and educational journey of

the 3 young people we said goodbye to. It was a privilege to share it with family, friends

and staff across the federation.

We wish them all the best on their new adventures.

Trip to Minehead

Online Safety – Family Agreements and Parent Guides

& News from Elmwood & Penrose Federation / July 2017

With the summer holiday coming up, is now a good time to have a

family agreement about the use of technology? A family agreement is a

great way to start a conversation with your whole family about how you

all use the internet and discuss together how to behave in a positive

way when online at home, at school or at a friend’s house. A good

example is the Childnet Family Agreement which can be found here:

http://www.childnet.com/resources/family-agreement

Parentzone have recently released new

parent guides to different apps and websites, which can

help support families to understand lots of technology including

social media like Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram. They are

great conversation starters and are also useful if your child/young

person starts using something you are unfamiliar with. You can view

the different categories here:

https://parentzone.org.uk/advice/parent-guides

JRC Prom

Caterpillar class had a trip to Minehead as an

opportunity to experience and enjoy the seaside, as

part of our topic work.

We had a great time

eating chips on the beach

(with added sand!),

digging holes and making

sandcastles, burying our

feet and just having fun! It

was the hottest day of the

year but the weather on the beach was just perfect, with a

cool breeze. To add to the fun of the day we travelled back

by steam train all the way to Bishop’s Lydeard, where we were

met by the minibus. Everyone agreed it was a lovely day out.

Shelley Stentaford

Fitness fanatic Shelley Stentaford who is a teaching assistant at

Penrose, completed her first triathlon on 1st July, which is something

she has always wanted to do. The distances were 200m swim, 15km

bike ride and then a 3km run. "It was the hardest challenge I have ever

done" Shelley said. “1:30 was the time I wanted to do the event in and

my official time was 1:12:36:00. A great achievement, as I trained for

months to complete this.”

New Teachers we welcome from September 2017 are Leanda Gage at Penrose and Andy

Pounds and Gemma Eyles at Elmwood.

New Teaching Assistants are Liz Western, Cathy Byles, Ellisha Miles,

Maria Bone, Daisy Sykes, and Maisie White, with Nicola Henderson

and Ella Noble covering maternity leave. We are pleased to say that

Debbie Bastin, Beth Ryder and Monika Alayimo will be continuing to

work for the federation on new permanent contracts.

New Staff

& News from Elmwood & Penrose Federation / July 2017 & News from Elmwood & Penrose Federation / July 2017

Jean Rees Centre’s trip to Weston-Super-Mare

Balloons Released for Lexi

Goodbye and Good Luck Year of 2017

On Thursday 22nd of June, the students and staff of The Jean Rees Centre went on a day trip

to Weston-Super-Mare. Luckily, the intense heat of the beginning of the week had reduced

and everyone was able to enjoy being outside in the sunshine. The only downside was that

it was a bit windy on the seafront and our hats kept blowing off our heads.

The young people split into two groups, one went on the Grand Pier and

enjoyed playing on the arcade games especially the driving games and

the 2p slot machines. Learners played air hockey and tried to win prizes.

The other group travelled the length of the sea front on the Land Train,

saw the donkeys on the beach and then went of the beautiful carousel,

twice. The learners then all met up for a bit of shopping. They enjoyed

spending their money on a variety of things including necklaces,

temporary tattoos, ice cream and rocky road fudge.

Staff and young people were then welcomed at Pizza Hut where

everyone could help themselves to salad and drinks. Our whole group

really enjoyed their tasty pizzas with a choice of toppings. Staff at Pizza Hut were really

impressed by the learners’ maturity and excellent manners.

The young people were fantastically behaved all day and were brilliant ambassadors for

the Federation. Everyone at The Jean Rees Centre had an amazing day and thoroughly

enjoyed themselves.

On the 30th June 2016 Lexi Taylor, then a year 6 pupil at Penrose, sadly passed away. A year

on and we still remember her cheeky smile and colourful personality. On the first

anniversary we marked the occasion with a lovely balloon release involving Lexi’s family

and the pupils and staff of Penrose. It was a lovely opportunity for us all to think about Lexi

and her family as we watched the balloons float away.

It’s that time of year again, unfortunately, when we say goodbye

to our year 11 group. Year 11 2017 have been an exceptional

group of young adults who will be sorely missed by all of us.

In their usual hands on approach, they wanted to be fully

included in the planning of their leavers’ events.

On Thursday 29th we all had a great day out at the Grand Pier in

Weston- Super- Mare. The weather was glorious but we all stayed

inside the pier enjoying all the attractions on offer. The most

popular area was the go-kart track, where scarily the year 11s were speedier and more

calculating about how to overtake than the staff! We were lapped a few times! Whilst many

spent a lot of time on the track others enjoyed the mazes, simulators and bumper cars. We

then enjoyed a fish and chip lunch opposite the pier followed by ice-cream before heading

back to Elmwood.

The last day was one of happiness tinged with a few farewell

tears, especially during their final assembly – which again the

year 11s were as included as they could be (we didn’t want to

spoil some surprises). It was a lovely event where we could

share some funny, tear jerking and fond memories of students

who have been with us, in some cases, for many years. During

the assembly, they were presented with their leavers’ hoodies

and certificates including their most recent ASDAN awards.

Every student in the year received at least one ASDAN Personal

Progress certificate at Entry Level one and some received and

ASDAN Personal and Social Development certificate at Entry

Level 2. They have all worked hard in recent months to ensure they received the best award

possible. After assembly we were able to say a our final goodbyes over a buffet lunch

prepared by year 10s who slaved away the day before making scones while the year 11s

were having fun in Weston- Super- Mare!

We are sad to see them go and wish them good luck in their future adventures.

Learning Support Centre

To all our members of Elmwood Learning Support Centre, Friday 21st July is the last day to

return any loans before the school holidays, if you have resources please return or renew by

this date.

Tel 01278 411211or email jhumphries@educ.somerset.gov.uk

We would like to remind you - Elmwood Learning Support centre is only open during Term Time, we re-open Wednesday 6th September 2017

Enjoy a great summer - Jeanette Humphries