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victoriafriends@livability.org.uk

Thats What Friends Are For We have a major announcement to start off this edition of VECLife and that is the launch of Friends of Victoria and we need people just like you. We had a fantastic launch party and were royally entertained by the Bournemouth Jazz Orchestra "Unplugged". The B.J.O. led by Tony Waller presented a varied selection of Jazz, Swing and Blues arrangements featuring many top big band musicians from the Solent area. The event was attended by 120 people and the music was splendid with over 570 raised on the evening. Why not to join the Friends of Victoria and provide vital support to our students. All our students have physical disabilities or complex medical conditions and many have additional needs including communication difficulties, learning difficulties and sensory impairments. Getting involved is easy. Anyone can join the Friends and/or contribute by giving a donation, giving your time to fundraising activities, or by supporting any of our fundraising events.

08 Issue

2014 March

life VEC Inside This Issue

News In Brief A very big thank you to all that helped make the Bingo night go well on the 7th February and also to those who attended. A fun evening was had by everyone and a total of 275 was taken towards The Sparkle Appeal. A cake sale led by OTA Sarah Steer raised a fantastic 59.30 for the Ramp up the red event. We have been adopted by the Pirates of Poole as one of their supported charities this year and will be involved with "Harry Paye Day" on Saturday 21st June. Arrrgh Thank ye kindly our pirate friends! The improvements to Lindsay Road are going well the new crossing is almost complete. This will provide staff and visitors with much needed safe access to the school. Lead Nurse Billie Halls would like to thank everyone who contributed towards Epilepsy Awareness Day. 213.60 was raised and will be donated to the charity Young Epilepsy.

A Very Happy Easter Everyone!

Termly Newsletter of news and events for parents, our patrons and supporters. Achieving Through Believing

As a Friend you can be as active as you would like to be. Some of our Friends may prefer just to pay their

annual subscription to be kept in touch with the progress of the

fundraising work. However you would like to be involved you would be very welcome.

If you would like to join, the annual subscription is 5. You will receive updates about the activities of the Friends and news about how funds are spent.

Upcoming Friends Events

Saturday 17th May: Summer Fair. Sunday 18th May: Grand Shaftesbury Run (21k, 10k + 1k for children), Wimborne St Giles, Water Station Marshalls needed or you could run!! Saturday 21st June: Harry Paye Day Poole Quay Marshalls for the procession required. Sunday 22nd June: School Production The Little Mermaid. Monday 23rd June: Sponsored Walk a Mile for all staff and students in Poole Park.

News and Features 1 - 10 The Staff Room 6 E-Safety 8 Eye on Therapies 10 Resi Round-up 12 RFG and PPG 13 The Sports Report 16 Creative Arts News 17 Class Catch-up 1923 Ads and Events 24

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As Easter beckons...

VECLife Spring 2014

hope will become a regular event. At Victoria Education Centre we

continue to move forward with our use of new technology. Staff enjoyed an inspiring training day with Ian Bean to understand the full potential of the new ipads and make the most of a range of apps to promote skills across the curriculum. We also now have a TAPit Touch Accessible Platform which is a large height and tilt adjustable touch screen, usually based in the Art Room but can be moved anywhere round the school. It has some very fancy software which has been designed to recognize the difference between an arm resting upon the screen and a finger or assistive device intentionally tapping an image. Enjoy reading about all our achievements and adventures in this issue of VEC Life and hope that it continues to highlight the best of life at Victoria! Wishing you all a restful, relaxing and fun Easter break.

Foreword As the Spring term comes to an end, we can look back on a very busy and productive couple of months and look forward to the Easter break - and chocolate! The Seen But Seldom Heard poetry project con-tinues with the next generation of poets in Key Stage 4 and Post 16 writing about transition and next steps. We enjoyed a great performance of Rumbled by the English Touring Opera, celebrat-ed World Book Day in style and we now have Cre-ative Arts Week to look forward to next week, clos-ing the term with VECs Got Talent. We got in-volved in Sports Relief, and last Friday all students determinedly completed their Sports mile (or ap-proximate mile!) around the school. The Friends of Victoria had their first meeting and successfully launched with a performance by the brilliant Bournemouth Jazz Orchestra, followed closely by the first car boot sale, something we

By Kate Baldwin

Vice Principal

Important school Update

Starting after Easter, parents of students in Explorers and Classes, JW, JO & MC will now receive an email via Keep Kids Safe (KKS) service to let them know when their child will be presented with a Student Achievement Award in the Lower

School Achievement Assembly held on a Friday morning at 9.10 am. Parents are most welcome to come along to the assembly to see their child presented with his/her award. Please note some of the students in Class JW are horse-riding on a Friday morning and wont there-fore attend the assembly. It is vital that the school has your up-to-date email address for our records. You will receive the KKS message the day before in the afternoon and if you do not have an email address you will be phoned late afternoon.

New e-mail service and school

Letters information

General school letters will now be sent home via Keep Kids Safe service. For parents who do not have an email address, letters will still be sent home with a text message via KKS advising them that the letter has been sent. It is important that you check your emails regularly and if you change your email address please inform the school as soon as possible. School Website: www.victoria.poole.sch.uk Our school website contains a wealth of information which we are updating and adding to regularly. You can now view general school letters on our website. Please follow the link and click on Parents & Carers / Letters. There will be tabs listing General School Letters, Trips and Club Letters to choose from. If you require any guidance or help regarding this please do not hesitate to contact the school where we can arrange a short training ses-sion at your convenience. You can also keep up to date with all the news and events as it happens on our Facebook page here: www.facebook/victoriaeducationcentre.uk

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VIBE On Demand Service Announced

Continuing the development of our amazing radio resource the VIBE radio working group is pleased to announce plans for the introduction of a brand new VIBE on demand service. Work is already underway adapting our existing students intranet to accommodate the service. Playground, the students Intranet, is also having a complete make-over and will be released along side VIBE On Demand as Playground V2. Staff will be able to logon at their convenience in order to catch that mornings breakfast show or teachers will be able to access a library of radio stories. Each show will have its own home page and content will be regularly updated so staff and students will always have the convenience of listening when they want to. Current estimates are that this service will be rolled out with much fanfare halfway though next term.

VECLife Spring 2014

New Technologies Near Launch

Our new technologies initiative is very near a roll out date. You may remember through reading previous issues or following us on Facebook that we raised an incredible 9000 in our recent iPad challenge. We have now acquired 18 iPads and a very futuristic looking sync and charge trolley. Using a handy utility called Apple configurator the ipads have been set up for general use with an array of Apps. The last link in the chain is setting up network capability so that work created on the iPads can be saved and backed up, and with the advent of total Wi-Fi coverage here at VEC this should be very soon. For our INSET day training we welcomed Ian Bean to Victoria. Ian is a former teacher and ICT coordinator at Priory Woods School, Inclusive Technology's Consultancy and Training Manager and is now an Independent Special Needs ICT consultant and trainer specialising in the use of ICT and assistive technology to support learners of all

Our New iPad resource

ages with severe and complex additional needs. We had a very fun and informative day in which Ian showed us how to effectively use this technology in the classroom. See our eSafe article on page 8

Variety Wheelchair Programme

Childrens charity Varietys wheelchair programme has already made dreams come true for thousands of children and young people by providing mobility and independence. Going to press they dont currently have a waiting list for wheelchair applications so If you are thinking of applying or would like to know more about the scheme use the address below. The site also has a video featuring Ceri Vosper, VEC Student Sophie Pritchett and former student Jagdev Singh. https://www.variety.org.uk/what-we-do/wheelchairs

Events in Planning

Plans are underway for Victoria to hold a Spring Fayre this coming May 17th. One of Victorias Friends Kelly Westerby tells us that lots of fun activities and stalls are planned and there may be pirates involved. Please keep this date clear in your diaries. Also in the planning stage is a Victoria

Complete a Mile Challenge. The event is sketched in to take place in Poole Park on 23rd June with volunteers asked to run/ drive/ cycle a mile for Victoria (roughly three laps of the cricket pitch.) More info to follow.

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petes Marathon update

*Stop*Press*Stop*Press*Stop*Press*Stop*Press*Stop*Press*Stop

Pete Goes Extra Mile For Livability

VECLife Spring 2014

Running the London Marathon and flying the flag for Livability and Victoria School this year is Pete Sammons son of former Head of Nursing and Therapy Carol Sammons. Pete has written a short introduction as follows Hello I am the younger son of Carol Sammons, who some of you will remember as Head of Therapy and Nursing at VEC for 24 years until she retired in 2006. I am 36 years old, live in Salisbury and am a Chartered Surveyor. I am running the London Marathon on April 13th this year for Livability and am hoping to raise as much money as possible for this charity. This will be my first full marathon although I have run a half marathon before. I started training before Christmas and despite the atrocious weather it is going as planned. It will be a real challenge but hopefully with lots of support from my colleagues, family and friends and of course everyone who shares my admiration for the tremendous work done by Livability both at VEC and their various other establishments, I will be successful. Pete dropped in to our school's VIBE radio studios and was interviewed by Harry, Connor and Ebony about his motivations. As well as raising awareness of Pete's undertaking this was also useful experience for our students who are studying GCSE's in media studies. If you would

like to support Pete in his endeavours you can visit his Virgin money giving page here:

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/

PeterSammons

If you would like to watch Petes VIBE radio

interview in full you can access this by typing in this:

http://youtu.be/0EylBnhJS9I

Pete Sammons is in training for London 2014

This just in. an update about the London Marathon preparations of Pete Sammons, who is running for us and Livability. With only four weeks to go Petes training is going really well. He mentioned in his interview with Harry, Ebony and Connor that he hoped to go under one and a half hours in the Bath Half Marathon. Well the race was held on March 2nd and he managed a fantastic one hour twenty seven minutes on a cold and rainy day! Well done Pete! Fundraising for Victoria is going well but more sponsorship would be greatly appreciated. Well done Pete!

On course! Pete runs in Bath.

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VECLife Spring 2014

School Wed Like, Pets@VEC Back in November Carolyn Nelms, Jen Williams and myself put together an entry for the School wed like competition. This competition is run by The Guardian and Zurich Municipal and is an opportunity for students and staff to work together to win 5,000 to Improve an area of their school. We selected the school pets corner and were very fortunate to be selected as Regional finalists which meant that we were one of the final 3 entries for the south of the UK. In January Carolyn, Jen, Abbie Graham, Jacob Glen-Davis and myself went to London to present our entry to a Dragons Den style panel. This involved a 10 minute presentation, including a video which many students had contributed to, and then a further 10 minutes of questions from the panel, which was made up of authors, businessmen and journalists. Abbie and Jacob did a fantastic job presenting

to the panel. Abbie spoke really clearly and Jacob used the iPad to introduce the team and tell the panel a bit about our school. Our idea was to improve accessibility for our pets corner and we hoped that we would be able to improve the area for our students. Unfortunately we didnt get through to the final round but we were all happy with our presentation and felt that we had tried our best and all had a lovely day out in London! We received the following feedback from the judges: A lovely presentation and video. Our judges were really impressed with Jacob and Abbies collabora-tion in the pitch. This was a very tough category and judges felt that although the benefits would be strong other entries scored more highly for Innovation. We hope that, although we didnt win the competition, we will still be able to achieve our plans at some point in the not-to-distant future.

Jacob impressed the judges

The team make their presentation

By Amy Hunt

The TAPit platform is a Touch Accessible Platform for Interactive Technology. It is the first assistive, learning center using "intended touch". Intended touch technology enables students of varying abilities to interact with the screen TAPit is an interactive learning station designed to recognize the difference between an arm resting upon the screen and a finger or assistive device intentionally tapping an image. The TAPit platform is fully accessible

with easy adjustments that adapt to individualized student needs. This term we have used it to create sculptures to

be made on the 3D printer, manipulated

photographs for accredited courses, used it for

drawing and for cause and effect activities

Tapping in To Access

By Alison Calcutt

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VECLife Spring 2014

Starting this editions staff round-up the Creative Arts team and Victoria would like to welcome back Nicky Hewitt . Nicky has been on maternity leave and takes up the mantle of Drama Teacher from Annie. Speaking about maternity, Nurse Maria Palmer gave birth to a bouncing baby boy on the 18th March. William weighed 7Ib 130z and both mother and baby are doing well. Congrats to Maria and Husband Rob Our very own Gemma Steele and Eddie Milne are tying the knot! Eddie popped the question during a day out at Durdle Door. Sarah Steer is on Bridesmaid duty along with Kellys daughter Molly while Best Man duties go to Sean Mogg. The big day is on 20th December and they have a honey-moon booked in Canada and then on to Disneyland Florida. Our congrats go to you both. Another staff member got engaged over half term, Sean Gallagher. Sean is engaged to Rachel and they hope to marry at the end of the year also. Another engagement to announce this time among the nurses. Jenna Pengelly announced her engagement to boyfriend Rob on the 17th March. Leaving us at the end of this term is drama teacher Laura Eastwood. Laura has been standing in while Nicky Hewitt was away on maternity leave. Laura did an amazing job and we wish her all the very best for the future. Sports Staffer Katherine Birtwell is taking part in a sponsored bike ride from London to Brighton. The entire route is 56 miles long! Its all for The British Heart Foundation and takes place on the 15th June. If you would like to sponsor Kat please log on to the link below. http://www.justgiving.com/Katherine-Birtwell

Introducing.. Please welcome Tom Buddell to the Victoria ICT team. He will be working with Andy and Brendan under a government apprenticeship scheme which includes a total of 12 weeks offsite training in Reading each year through QA training provider. With the extra pair of hands and knowledge that he brings they hope to provide an even better service for the school. Ps he likes tea and biscuits so fits right in!

In other maternity news the Pigeons outside of the sports hall have had another clutch of chicks. The staff and students of Class CN are keeping an eye on them and report that mother and chicks are doing well so far aaaah!

Doing well. The Sports Hall Pigeon and chick

A warm welcome to VEC to the following new staff and a welcome back to James after his travels. Kirsty Hopson, Residential Support Worker (Brownsea), Hannah Powis Physical Activities Assistant, Glynne Delvin Residential Support Worker (Post 19) James Rideout Residential Support Worker (Sandbanks) Hannah White Residential Support Worker (Post 19 Bank Staff: James Colton (Bank Education Support Worker) and last but by no means least Jo Allen Teacher.

And welcome to.

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Great pic taken on our recent book day

of Phil dressed as the BFG. Captions anybody?

Top Of The Phots...

By Mike Whitlock and Lisa Frett

Pedal Power On Its Way!

Head of care Sharon Nix has decided to move on after a decade of sterling service at VEC

overseeing the successes of our residential units. Here is a message from Sharon who leaves

us at Easter.

After ten happy years at Victoria, I have decided it is time for me to move on and try new things, so as I come to the end of my working life at Victoria , I would like to thank you all for your continued support over the years, and I know you will continue to support my successor. I have enjoyed my time working at the centre and learn new things every day. I am taking with me so many memories, some happy, but also some sad, but memories just the same. Your children and young people are a credit to you and I am grateful to have been allowed to be part of their lives. Wishing all the staff and students continued success, keep up the great work you do, I am not sure you realise how valued you all are. I will miss you all.

Wishing you all a happy holiday

VECLife Spring 2014

On Behalf of everyone at VEC Sharon, Id like to thank you for your hard work and dedication to Victoria. We wish you all the

very best for your future endeavours.

The eco committee are pleased to announce that RinkyDink, a group of artists who recycle unwanted bicycles and scrap metal into brightly coloured creations that come alive with music and lights when powered by people pedalling. Among their many creations are speakers shaped like giant shells, a complete stage including everything needed for a band to perform on and a train of bicycles which when pedalled by a few people powers a sound system which is towed behind it. RinkyDink have been working with major festivals like Glastonbury for nearly two decades and never fail to amaze all that see it and now they are coming to Victoria on 20th May on Green Day. Come along, have a pedal and learn about alternative energy at the same time! Other eco news our compost bin has arrived! We are just finalising where it should go, and are go-ing to decorate it so any budding artists out there let us know your ideas! We would also like to welcome our newest eco rangers to the eco committee, Tyler Powell,

William Sabine, Chelsea Bolton and Charlotte Ol-ive. Keep up the good work Chelsea with your active emails! Lastly after the success of our last Switch Off

Fortnight we are planning another one soon after

Easter, so remember if youre not using it

PLEASE SWITCH IT OFF!

The Victoria ECO Schools Committee

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E-Safety, Be Aware and Take Care

VECLife Spring 2014

Did You Know? eSafety

Children who are educated in the importance of online safety are more likely to take steps to keep themselves safe online than Children who arent. One out of five teenagers use their mobile phones to go online.

Of those who do, one out of five say their

parents dont know that they do this. One half of all teenagers post their real age on social networking sites. Two out of five post the name of the town where they live. While 25% of 13- to 15-year-olds think its unsafe to post personal information online, only 14% of 16- to 18-year-olds feel the same way.

The internet is brilliant right? What an

incredible resource to have at your finger tips, whether you want to know how to boil an egg or are looking for advanced information on

particle physics the internet has it. An amazing research, educational and entertainment

facility all in one. If used responsibly.

The 11th February this year was the official safer internet day highlighting the need for

parents and carers to be aware of the

safeguarding issues surrounding the safe use of the internet at home and school.

At Victoria we have a comprehensive safety policy for both upper and lower school

because we believe that learning about staying safe online is very important. We make sure all our students are aware of some of the risks to safety that are online and what to do to stay

Keep safe by being careful not to give out personal information such as your full name, email address, phone number, home address, photos or school name to people you are chatting with online.

Meeting someone you have only been in touch with online can be dangerous. Only do so with your parents or carers permission and even then only when they can be present.

Accepting emails, IM messages, or opening files, pictures or texts from people you dont know or trust can lead to problems they may contain viruses or nasty messages!

Information you find on the internet may not be true, or someone online may be lying about who they are.

Tell your parent, carer or a trusted adult if someone or something makes you feel uncomfortable or worried, or if you or someone you know is being bullied online. You can report online abuse to the police at www.thinkuknow.co.uk

Strong message: A recent Police campaign poster

safe. Every student, parent and or carer signs our acceptable use of ICT and Internet form to make sure they understand how to use the equipment and stay safe online.

As a reminder here are some of the main points to keep ourselves and our children safe when using the internet.

eSafety Links and more info:

Find out more about internet safety on the following websites: Keep safe online with Wes - http://wes.networcs.net/ Childnet - http://www.childnet-int.org/ Beat Bullying - http://www.cybermentors.org.uk/ Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) - http://www.ceop.police.uk/ Think U Know - http://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/

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Befrienders Wanted By Christine Faulder

VECLife Spring 2014

Book Day Fun

World Book Day was on the 6th March this year and Victoria went book crazy for the day. The fun started at 8.30 when Jon and Harry presented a Book Day special edition of the Full English Breakfast Show on VIBE radio, our schools own radio station and a special radio adaptation by Tony Rudd of the Flat Stanley story was also broadcast. The students spent the day with off timetable activities which promoted reading and books. Hunt the book, story time, swimming activities linked to famous books, music classes linked to stories and much much more. As always staff and students have thrown themselves in wholeheartedly with some awesome fancy dress themed on famous literary and book characters. The day was a tremendous success due in no small part to the efforts of Belinda Ellicott. Thanks Belinda! A Thumbs up from the cat with a hat!

The Sport Relief Lap of Honour

Our students and staff have been going the extra mile for Sport Relief this year with some sporty fund raising activities. The PE staff led a warm up aerobic session in the sports hall to get everyone limbered up and then, resplendent in red to mark the day, everyone took part in walking a mile for sport relief on a specially laid out track around the grounds. Everyone joined in with as little or as much as they could manage to raise money for this worthy cause. Some went even further with Torin completing two miles! The students ran a combined 268 laps which equates to a total of 67 miles. On the big day there was also a cake sale (which always goes down well) with a total of 107.24

spread over 8 weeks and a commitment to attend befriender support meetings every 6 weeks. Please feel free to contact me at the office on 01202 855105 for a chat, or post your interest here. Look forward to hearing from you x ps Dad's particularly welcome!

I am once again on the lookout for parents/carers who would like to volunteer as a Face2Face befriender. Face2Face is one of the services offered by CHAOS and we pro-vide a listening ear, signposting/information to families at the time of diagnosis or at any other time when they feel overwhelmed with issues around their family's situation. To be eligible to train as a befriender, you have to be at least two years on from your own experience of diagnosis/recognition of your child's condition, coping well in your own life and have some time to volunteer. There will be a training course, 40 hours in all

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VECLife Spring 2014

By Aaron Gregory

Music staffer Aaron Gregory has written a review of the

concert mentioned on the front page to mark the launch of Friends of Victoria. The article was originally written for the Dorset Forum but I thought it would make an in-teresting read for anyone who didnt attend the concert.

I am not always one to write reviews of shows that I witness. For starters with the sheer amount of bands I come across on a daily basis, it would be almost

impossible to devote time to writing about the music that I come across. Why then am I writing a review now I hear you ask? Well!, in all honesty I felt

compelled to because I saw an outstanding show by possibly what some may consider an unfashionable genre of music last Monday and I had to tell you about it . On Monday 10th of March through inside contacts and exceptional generosity the Dorset Jazz Orchestra

appeared in full outfit in the Sports Hall of The Victoria Education Centre in Branksome for completely free. This ensemble of almost 15 strong exceptional

musicians featured members of the BSO and

musicians who are accustomed to playing the huge concert halls of the Southwest. Therefore you might imagine that they would take the set easily and enjoy a fundraiser for a great cause (The Sparkle Appeal). Not so the Orchestra of mainly experienced players with an average age over 50 performed a set with

tremendous gusto and charisma like it was to be their last ever show. As a performer myself this was highly refreshing to see, the band had the crowd in the palm of their hands as they tightly rattled through some exceptional classics. Though I can't confess to knowing too much about Jazz, I knows what I likes and I was certainly encapsulated in their mesmeris-ing showmanship that could put bands half their age to shame. With Saxophonist players shaking their limbs like Jagger and a polite and considered yet highly active conductor, every sense was covered, every corner something to pick apart individually and watch. With so much to take in they are definitely worth a second, third or even tenth watch and by the time their set is finished a highly receptive crowd beg for an encore. The encore comes to crown a set of over an hour and a half. The time flew though they could easily have played 2 hours longer and the crowd would not have minded. Now the reason such an event took place was in aid of a fantastic charity set up to develop a new

swimming pool and physiotherapy centre at The

Victoria Education Centre in Branksome. As a last word Dorset Jazz orchestra was a great night and the band perform regularly so keep an eye on local gig listings.

And All That Jazz..

Several years ago Stuart Robertson set up a gentle form of relaxing Yoga for the students at VEC, culminating in the Worlds Special School Yoga day back in March 2013.On

the back of this, he and Kate Fleetwood (clinical psychologist) will be piloting a mindfulness course with some of the students in the summer term. As you may or

may not be aware mindfulness is a discipline that is on the rise in the community as a whole, as well as in schools. John Kabat-Zinn( the developer of mindfulness in the

modern era) describes mindfulness in the following way...

'Mindfulness involves attending to relevant aspects of experience in a non-judgmental manner. Historically a Buddhist practice, mindfulness can be considered a universal human capacity proposed to foster clear thinking and open- heartedness. As such, this form of meditation requires no particular religious or cultural belief system. The goal of mindfulness is to maintain awareness moment by moment, disengaging oneself from strong attachment to beliefs, thoughts, or emotions, thereby developing a greater sense of emotional balance and well-being.' The purpose of the pilot scheme at VEC is to give our students some tools that they can use in a world of ever

increasing stress. It is hoped that the course will help build students emotional resilience in dealing with the challenges that they face, not just now but in the future. Mindfulness has a substantial body of research behind it both with adults and children, for decreasing depression, reducing anxiety and chronic pain. Research suggests that children and young people with learning disabilities are at greater risk of developing mental health problems as compared with their peers. So to be able to give our students some sort of clinically proven programme, that will help them deal more effectively with the challenges that disability can bring will hopefully lead to a brighter and positive outlook not just in the future , but in the here and now. Stuart would love to hear from parents that would be interested in experiencing a mindfulness session for themselves. For further information on mindfulness then punch in the following search 'mindfulness in schools'

Mindfulness Eye on Therapies

By Stuart Robertson and introduced by Ceri Vosper

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VECLife Spring 2014

Completed in September 2013 our state of the art pool is a unique resource in Dorset. Designed to provide a stimulating sensory swimming experience whilst still having the capacity to offer a swimming programme in

warmer than average water temperature.

The new pool boasts: Jacuzzi water effects, changeable lighting environments, large film presentation, varying music options above and below the water. All these activities are supported by fully accessible changing, shower and hoisting facilities.

A complete sensory Experience: Our new pool

Aqua Fit An aerobics session in the pool incorporating dance, exercise and toning to music. Designed to improve and maintain strength, stamina and suppleness as well as increase cardiovascular fitness. Aqua Fit provides a low impact exercise with the cushioning effect of the water protecting joints in the spine, ankle, knee and hips. It is suitable for people of all ages and abilities. Availability - Tuesdays 4pm - 5pm* Thursday 7.45pm - 8.45pm* Half termly booking required Cost 5 per person * pre -booking essential

Family Swim Families and disabled people can access our new Hydro heated pool with specialist changing and hoisting equipment, all in a relaxing fun way.* Availability - Saturday 12pm - 2pm Cost Adult 3.50 Child 2.90 2.90 disabled person** 10 family (2 adults 2 children) 4.50 parent and baby * 6 weekly or weekly booking available * pre -booking essential ** carer free of charge

Adult Only Swim Utilising the warm water, sensory lighting and music this session is the perfect way to wind down while keeping the body active and healthy. Availability - Wednesday 6.00pm - 7.00pm

(includes changing time) Cost

4.00 per person per week or 21.00 per person for 6 week booking. * pre -booking essential

Teaching water confidence is a vital part of every child's development. Using state of the art sensory lighting and music our specially trained teachers will help you and your child in this new and innovative ap-proach to teaching water confidence and early basic swimming skills. Availability - Friday 12.15pm - 12.45pm Cost 10.00 per parent & baby per session Duration- 5 week course starting on Friday 25th April 2014

Parent and Baby Swim

Our pool offers a unique opportunity for fun and exciting parties. Party time in the pool includes music, party lights,big screen projection adding up to fun fun fun! Availability - Saturday 4pm - 5.30pm (includes changing time) Cost 75.00 A maximum of 15 children per party. Please enquire for dates available.

Party Time

For more information on any of these exciting

sessions please contact Beverley Morris here:

bmorris@victoria.poole.sch.uk

Or telephone 01202 763697

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In February Philip Henderson joined our unit, Philip is a very bubbly, cheerful young man with a great sense of humour and a love of music. Philip has enjoyed lots of our afterschool clubs especially the Vibe radio club with Mike on a Thursday afternoon. With his love of fun and his ability to use lots of different voices he has shone at this club and indeed on our unit , overcoming his apprehension of meeting new people . Philip has also enjoyed cooking and art club and has faced all challenges put in front of him. Philip has grown in confidence and settled in well, WELCOME PHILIP!

Residential Round-up

VECLife Spring 2014

Get Set For the Weekend!

By Hazel Noyon

Weekends and school holidays on the Residential Units are times for the students to enjoy activities and trips that theres usually not enough time for during the school week.

Our lovely school grounds are appreciated as and when the weather permits, and even in

personally-created rain gear on occasions!

Depending on the age and preferences of the

students, favourites have been pub lunches, the

Sea-Life Centre (tickets kindly donated to us by the charity Merlins Magic Wand), Moors Valley Country Park, Poole Quay, Longleat and West Quay.

In-house activities include messy-play, swimming, cooking, arts and crafts and treasure hunts, like the making of the Spring Journey Sticks.

Purbeck Welcomes Philip

By Julie Greening

Jess enjoys swimming Monday

By Ewelina, Lisa and Jana

Brownsea Unit is taking advantage of our new swimming pool and if you look for us on Monday evenings thats where we are in the.. water . Scott Howlett can be found doing hand stands at the bottom of the pool . Jessica Feltham has been showing us how independently she can move in the water splashing and diving. James Bradley likes to take things a little easier and uses his time to relax in the Jacuzzi. Amy likes to float around, listening to music and watching the light display . Patrick continues his dedication to Sport .

We all enjoy watching him practise really hard trying to beat his record swimming the length in the pool . We would like to say a big Thank You to Jason for being our Life Guard and for supervising the safety when we are swimming. We also would like to invite other units to join us every Monday at 6pm. We would also like to take the opportunity to thank Sharon Nix for all her hard work and Support over the past years and to wish her all the best for the future. Lastly we also would like to wish Amy and Rhys a Happy Birthday.

Brownseas Wet Mondays

The weekend fun starts here!

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Residential Faith Group is held every Wednesday from 6pm-7pm. Students attending are encouraged to share their opinions and experiences on a wide range of topics always

with lots of singing, signing and laughter.

With Hazel Noyon

R.F.G. Residential Faith Group

VECLife Spring 2014

PPG News letter With Nicky Greenway

Hi Parents and Carers,

I am in the long recovery stage of the journey of my daughters scoliosis operation and thankfully Hatty and I are back to school! Over the following two pages you can read the full information on the Children and Families Bill due to come into operation in September 2014. As this will directly affect many of you this is a good opportunity to get informed. Our next PPG meeting will be on TUESDAY 29

th APRIL at 2pm and all parents are welcome. I shall

feedback from the Dorset Parent Carer Event being held on March 18th about any new developments

and will be happy at any time to try and answer any queries or concerns as this Bill will affect all of you and your children. Happy Easter and long lovely light evenings!

The sun has at last reappeared and Faith Group students have turned into poets, but not quite in the style of Wordsworth and his daffodils! Heres our Ode to Spring Sky looks blue and the sun is yellow, Primroses grow and the mood is mellow! Rainbows are rolling and bunnies are jumping, I am happy that the rain stops thumping! Nights get shorter and the days Get longer, God gives us Spring and we all feel younger!!

(.well, some of us do!) The year began with us thinking about One more step along the world we go, and in the succeeding weeks topics have

Ben Celebrates Chinese New Year

covered the winter festivals of other cultures, Australia Day ( when we sang Tie me kangaroo down in a live link to the Ballet twins, who are now back home safely), Chinese New Year of the Horse, Candlemas, Holi, Lent, and the Jewish festival of Purim. One week we considered Our school the best bits and the worst bits. It was great to hear from students that the staff feature as one of the best bits! We continue to enjoy the singing and signing, and creative chaos that can sometimes take over! Its been good to welcome back Lucy, Max, James and Stuart from the post-19 unit, who are able to once again be part of the very happy, supportive Faith Group family.

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The Department for Education are proposing a radical shake up of how children with SEN and their families are supported. Some of the key proposals include: Replacing the statement of SEN with a broader 0-25years, Education, Health and Care Plan Giving parents and young people the option of a personal budget to buy specialist support Requiring local authorities to set out a local offer of what support they normally provide to children with SEN Changing the SEN Code of Practice. Q. Will the definition of SEN change? A. There will be no significant changes to the definition of SEN. It will continue to be largely be defined as those who: Have a greater difficulty in learning than the majority of other children Have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of the educational facilities generally provided in the area. The main change is around terminology for young people over 16. Currently, they are described as having learning difficulties and disabilities and subject to a different framework. However, under the new proposals, they will be regarded as having special educational needs in the same way they would if they were under 16.

THE LOCAL OFFER

Every Local Authority will have to

publish information about services

expected to be available in their area

for children and young people from

birth to 25, with special educational

needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

This will be known as the Local

Offer. National services and those

beyond the Local Authority

boundaries will also be listed. The

Local Offer will put all the information

about education, health and care

services, leisure activities and

support groups in one place.

It has two purposes:

1) To provide clear, comprehensive

and accessible information about the

support and opportunities that are

available; and

2) To make provision more

Responsive to local needs and

aspirations of parents and young

people who live in Dorset.

We need you to tell us how to make

this work effectively for you!

VECLife Spring 2014

What Is Proposed?

The Children and Families Bill

EDUCATION, HEALTH & CARE PLANS

Q. What is an Education, Health and Care Plan? A. The Plan is a legal document to replace the statement of SEN and will set out the support a child needs, in the same kind of way. It is expected the EHC Plan will have a greater focus on how health and social care services can help to meet a childs educational needs. Like a statement, the focus of the new Plans will be on education and must include information on the views and aspirations of the child and their parents. Under the new proposals, children or young people up to the age of 19 can have a Plan, providing they remain in education or training (including apprenticeships). In some cases, this can be extended up to 25. Q. My Child currently has a Statement of SEN. A. Starting September 2014, all

children/young people who currently have a Statement of SEN will have this converted to an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. The current assessment process, which shapes a State-ment of SEN for a child/young person, focuses primarily on educational needs. The new EHC plan will be

the result of a coordinated assessment, shaped by parents, Professionals and, where relevant, the young person. The plan will focus on positive outcomes that will Support the family in their daily life. Q. How will this affect my family? A. EHC plans come into effect from September 2014. Until then your child/young persons Statement of SEN will not change. It is a legal document and it will continue to be maintained by the Local Authority. Any amendments must be made in accordance with the law as set out in the Code of Practice. From September 2014, no new statements will be issued and any children and young people being assessed for the first time will be provided with an Education, Health and Care Plan.

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VECLife Spring 2014

Q. Do I need to do anything? A. Not yet; we are awaiting more guidance on how existing SEN statements will be transferred into Education Health & Care Plans. Q. My Child has help at school and is currently on School Action/School Action Plus. A. These two categories will be combined into a single category called SEN Support. All schools have budget money to support children within this catego-ry, and those that have statements/EHC plans, to fulfil their outcomes. From September 2014, all schools & college will have to demonstrate how they support children/young people with SEND as part of their own Local Offer. Q. How will this affect my family? A. From September 2014 you should be better informed as to how your mainstream school is supporting your child and you should have the opportunity to discuss and develop how school resources are used for children with SEND. TRANSITION TO ADULTHOOD. Local Authorities nationally, are currently formulating the best approaches for transition to adulthood. Q. How will this affect my family? A. From September 2014, if the young person has an EHC plan, which has an educational element to it (an educational spine), their plan will remain in effect as long as they are in an educational setting or Further Education (FE) college. We are unsure at this stage if duties will be extended to apprenticeships

etc.PERSONAL BUDGETS The new EHC plans may come with an option of a Personal Budget for some families based on criteria to be formalised. A Personal Budget can give your family flexibility on how you use the money for your child/young person, but it will also require extra responsibility and may not be for everyone. It will be optional and you can still use your Direct Payments (if you have them) and these will not stop. Q. What is a personal budget? A. A personal budget is where parents (or a young people them-selves if over 16 yrs) are given funding to purchase the services or support that their EHC Plan says they need. We understand that funding can be given as direct payments where parents and young people are given funding directly to spend. Or it can be given as a notional budget where parents and young people do not handle any funding, but can direct the local authority as to how they want the money spent. Q.Who can have a personal budget? A. Under current proposals, only where an Education, Health and Care Plan is in place will a parent or young people be able to have a personal budget. It is likely that certain safeguards will be in put into place to ensure that the Personal Budget Is being used appropriately and that whoever takes control of the Personal Budget does not waste the money. Q. Will I have to take on a Personal budget?

A. No it will be entirely optional. Q. What will I be able to buy with a personal budget? A. This is still uncertain. It can only be used to purchase support beyond that which is normally available but what this means is not clear. e.g. it isnt clear if a parent could use a Personal Budget to purchase support from a Teaching Assistant in their childs school. Where provision is being purchased for use within a school, the Department has stated that the consent of the schools Head Teachers is needed first. It has also been said that Personal Budgets cannot be used to purchase a place at a particular school. Q. Can my child have a Personal Budget themselves? A. If your child is over 16, in theory, yes. It is very likely that safeguards will be in put into place to ensure that the personal budget is used appropriately and the young person is supported in making use of it. We understand that a young person will need the consent of their college if they wish to use direct payments in this context. Q. Will I receive any help in spending a personal budget? A. We understand that families will be supported by someone to help them decide what to buy with their personal budget. This person is sometimes known as a key worker or a navigator. It is unclear yet who this person will be and details of their precise role.

I would like to introduce myself to you all, I am Paula Ford and I manage the Midday Supervisor team. If you have any questions concerning what your child is eating, the meal tickets sent home, menus that are sent home, portion sizes or any other dining room issues please feel free to contact me via E-mail pford@victoria.poole.sch.uk where I will be happy to help or we can arrange to meet for a chat.

Ask Paula

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Report

The

With Katherine Birtwell

U19 Team Boccia

On the 4th February we took Liam, Alex, Spencer and

Akira to the team competition that they qualified for in Exeter. They started the competition with a hard

component which ended up with the teams drawing. After that they dominated the matches winning the rest of the games. Unfortunately they didnt get through to the final, as although we had the same number of points as the other team, they had more balls scored. They played for the 3

rd and 4

th place and they played

well but didnt manage to win so finished overall 4th, well done team.

VECLife Spring 2014

On the 1st February we took Ramon, Alex, Liam, Abi,

Akira and Sophie to the regional boccia competition in Exeter. Sophie played really well and she was beating Dave at one stage of her match, she kept the pressure on against some team GB players. Abi and Alex played all their games with confidence and they both qualified for the Nationals. Liam won overall also qualifying for the Nationals. Ramon got through his group to the semi finals and he was up against a GB player, it was a close match but unfortunately Ray didnt win but qualified to the National as his opponent wasnt from this region. Akira did really well in all his games. Good Luck to Ramon, Alex, Abi and Liam for the Nationals in March.

Over the moon! Abi celebrates.

Liam on target.

On 23rd

February we had 8 teams compete at table

cricket to get to the regionals in Exeter in May. Our

team did really well in all the games and we won

them all. Liam was great at his first competitive

competition as a captain. We came first in our

group and qualified for the regionals in Exeter on

the 15th May.

Table Cricket Heroes

17

Many Thanks Laura, and now over to Nicky...

Drama and Creative Arts at VEC Curtain Call

By Laura Eastwood and Nicky Hewitt

VECLife Spring 2014

Our festival celebrations have turned into Party Mondays. It has been a great way to start the week with the students leading movements to the Celebrate song. So far we have celebrated festivities from around the world with Chinese New Year, Diwali, May Day and Carnival. We have also participated in our own Winter Olympics and celebrated Birthdays too, even making cakes and giving gifts. Most recently with the improved weather, we have held our own VEC Fest celebrating all things music festival style, including glow sticks, face painting and pitching a tent! We are looking forward to sharing St Patricks Day with the Irish and finishing off the term celebrating Easter with some very eggciting activities!!! This is my last term at VEC covering Nickys maternity leave. She would like to say a fond farewell and a big Thank You to all the staff and students that have made her feel so welcome. I have loved my time at Victoria and will take away some great memories.

Drama Arts Award Group

Seen But Seldom Heard The poetry project has been very thought provoking and motivational this term. The students have been exploring their goals for the future and working on poems to get your attention and get our messages across. There will be a performance at Bournemouth University on 10

th June The Cliff Edge.

The Drama Arts Award students have been exploring the art of mime this year. Looking at the history of mime and having a go at recreating Charlie Chaplin style mimes and silent movies, like those by Laurel and Hardy. Most recently, they have been learning about Physical Theatre and are preparing an adaption of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, to be performed at VECs Got Talent!

Holly in Drama

Poetry in motion: Abi P

Seen But Seldom Heard

18

The Snowman And The War Horse

A closer look at what some of our Classes have been doing!

VECLife Spring 2014

Performance and Dance at VEC. With Belinda Ellicott

Body Language

A Hogwarts Christmas

ETO Rumble Back To VEC

After the amazing project we completed in

September with the English Touring Opera, we were delighted to welcome the company back on National Sing Up Day (Friday 14

th March) to perform their

opera Rumbled based on the story of

Rumplestiltskin. The whole school attended the

interactive performance and really enjoyed being part of another wonderful experience by a top class

company.

Brandon-Lee Lends the ETO a Helping Hand

We decided to link with one of our LEAP activities in December ending the term with a whole school party on December 19

th jointly organized by the

Events Management students and the Creative Arts Team. All students were invited by Professor Dumbledore to attend and there were games of Quidditch, Pass the Parcel, decorating owls and lots of delicious snow cones and treats, as well as Giant Rabbits and some amazing projection map-ping. Everyone had a lovely time and the indoor snow stayed away!

Danielle at the face painting stall

As part of their Creative Arts studies of Celebration

dances Class EC visited the Mayflower to watch the Snowman. They had a great time and came back to class

remembering all the different movements that the

snowmen, penguins and Father Christmas performed in their party dance.

Class KB also attended a performance of War Horse at the Mayflower Theatre. The show was as spectacular as we had all been told and the puppets were so believable that we almost forgot they werent real horses. We were also fortunate that Beth knew one of the actors and so came to meet us all after the show along with two of his fellow cast members so we could all ask questions

about the show.

Dance Clubbers Shine

During last Christmass Sparkle Carol Concert, dance club students showed their amazing skills becoming Christmas angels and dancing to Enyas Journey of the Angels while the Signing choir performed the words. The students were beautiful and very professional

despite having no rehearsal in the church before their performance.

Class EC enjoying the show

Our Dancing Angels!

19

As written by Danielle Crowe

A closer look at what some of our Classes have been doing!

JO JW

CN NH

MC

KB Explorers

KWE

Post 16

Classro

om

Catch-u

p

VECLife Spring 2014

Oh! when the Saints.

CLsss cn we faf ben learnig about our Saints Days.

They are St.George orf Enhland.st.Patrick of

Ireland.St. Andrew of Scotland and st. David or

weles. Danielle and Akira did St David, and made

Welsh Rarebit, Sam and Luke gave us scones, jam

and cream for St George Day.

To be sure. Its St Patricks Day!

Jacob and Brandon told us all about St. Patrick

and how he becan Me patron saint of Ireland. We

had a taste of soda breadf and botato cakes.

Then for St Andrews day we had Jaz and

Ryan ,they told us all about St. Andrew of

Scotland. We even tried a little bit of haggis.

We even made our oqwn tartan.

Ryan and Jaz told us about

St Andrew

Akira made Welsh Rarebit

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Whats brown, furry and very cute? Its only Class JWs new addition and he/she answers to the name of Bobbi Bear! Bobbi was born at Build a Bear in Bournemouth at the end of 2013 and has been welcomed with open arms by all the students. On Fridays Bobbi goes home with our Student of the Week to sleep over at their house and spend the weekend with them and their family. Bobbi has done everything from going to the beach to disco dancing, from walks in the forest to car boot sales. Hes a busy bear indeed. At the beginning of March it was Bobbis birthday (3 months = 1 bear year by the way).

Bobbis birthday bash

By Sally Thornley

VECLife Spring 2014

Staff and students in Class JW went on a trip to Peeks in Christchurch to purchase party goods and then to Tesco's to buy the all-important party food. The party included party music, musical statues (won by Holly Morris) and a very competitive dancing competition where there was clearly no way of deciding between the Tyler Slide and Jacobs Mashed Potato! Everyone had worked extremely hard on their topic work of Festivals and Celebrations and the party was definitely the icing on the cake. Can you spot Class JWs guest of honour?

Another celebration that we have looked at has been the Scottish Hogmanay where New Year brings traditions such as cleaning the house (You missed a bit Tyler!) The students got dusters, cloths and brushes out to help demonstrate this and I must say did a marvellous job in doing so. Alfie joined in by dressing up and helping to make it a very Scottish occasion, showing that he could easily pass as a Scotsman. What do you think?

One of the other highlights of this term for us has been the two SCITT students that came in March and helped our class for 10 glorious days. Sam and Louise were brilliant with the children and got involved in most aspects of the school day, including a couple of trips out and horse riding in the New Forest. They werent afraid of getting messy and involved which actually happened quite a few times whilst in food tech and art. We all miss them but wish them the best for the future, hoping that time Class JW has given them the experience they needand more! Och Aye! Alfie Celebrates Hogmanay

Tyler does a spot of dusting

The man himself!

Class JW Celebrating Their Hearts Out For Topics Sake

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VECLife Spring 2014

KWEs Visit To The Synagogue By Debbie Calcutt

In class KWE this term we have been learning about

different religions and the festivals they celebrate.

To find out more about Judaism we visited Bournemouth Reform Synagogue. We met Rabbi David who showed us around the synagogue. The men had to wear a

Kipper, which is a special hat. We got to watch as David and Gary (our bus driver) removed the Torah from the ark and then we took the Torah on a procession around the synagogue. David then helped us to undress the

Torah and let us have a go at reading it. David also showed us some special rams horns, we had a go trying to make a sound with them it was very hard!

Matthew examines the Torah

MC Experience Kenya

In our culture sessions this term, class MC have been making a weekly journey to Kenya to experience a range of sights, sounds and smells. Weve had great fun dressing up as Masai warriors in red blanket cloaks and beads even our French puppet friend, Jacques, has joined in with his own custom made outfit.

African drums have been very popular in our sessions, with George Norris always ready to make the loudest noise possible! Kenyan coffee beans have filled the classroom with a very tempting aroma and weve had a go at counting in Swahili! The class has once again been putting their artistic skills to good use.

We have also made and painted our own drums and then experimented with two different types of cover (firstly recycled plastic bags and then two layers of greaseproof paper with dry rice in between the layers) to investigate which noise we preferred.

Finally, we painted a selection of wonderfully colourful elephants and zebras, having been inspired by the

story of Elmer the elephant. Amabel enjoyed selecting the colours and Asher made it clear that he didnt want a blue, green and red tummy like Elmer! Every week we have started the session by saying habari (Swahili for hello) to each other as well as asante (thank you), accompanied by Makaton signs. Sadly we didnt get to go on safari but perhaps next time!

By Hilary Stewart

Frankie checks out the Elephant

Hilary with Asher

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By Beth Kay

By Hilary Stewart

Animal Magic

VECLife Spring 2014

Class students from Classes ACO and PT have

studied Pet Care during the spring term, covering

issues such as feeding, handling and exercising pets, pet health and equipment. We had great fun looking round Pets At Home, researching the huge range of pet products for sale and also watching the cute

rabbits and guinea pigs. Alec made us all laugh when he tried on the protective dog collar- he looked so good in it, we nearly bought one!

We were amazed at some of the products, such as the dog nappies, and also the variety of foods and

accessories sold.

As part of the Pet Care unit, my dog, Kai, has made a number of visits to school where she has made lots of new friends. All the students have shown a real

interest in her and have also shared lots of stories about their own pets, which have been really

interesting. It has been fascinating to observe the calming and therapeutic effects of an animal on our students and now I appreciate even more the value of the work done by working dogs (guide, assistance, companion) and their trainers. Im glad to say that Kai behaved impeccably and due to popular request, she will be making more visits in the future.

Every student should have one (ed)

Stewart makes a new friend

By Phil Thompson

PTs Cakes and Science

Deana and Sue have been working on Life Skills and Cooking skills with a number of our students. On Sport Relief Day (21

st March) they made some

lovely Easter cakes to sell around the school. They made nearly 14 which was added to our school total. In Science some Post 16 students from Class PT-with the help of Jordan in ACO have been making structures using different materials.

Science lesson in Class PT

The GCSE English group recently took a trip to the Lighthouse Theatre Poole to watch a Box Clever production of Romeo and Juliet. Ebony Robinson, Connor Ferris, Patrick Asher-Relf, Liam Drummond and Harry Bassett arrived at the theatre in plenty of time for the matinee performance (or should we say in enough time for everyone to eat through Harrys bag of goodies!). The performance captured everyones atten-tion as Box Clever well and truly brought Shakespeare into the 21

st Century, with a

combination of DJs mixing, attitude, inner city

life and hoodies! The abridged version kept us on our toes for an hour, giving us a whistle-stop tour of the play. To quote Liam, it was a very clever how they only used three actors. It was a really good modern take on a classic play. Now the students are back to lessons and studying a combination of the full Romeo and Juliet text and Baz Lurhmanns film version in order to complete their GCSE Drama controlled test, and may I add doing extremely well!

Where for art thou Romeo?

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VECLife Spring 2014

Food Glorious Food!

Post 16 Life Skills By Hilary Stewart

As part of our work in Post 16 Life Skills lessons this term,

students in classes PT and ACO have completed a unit of

work entitled Eating Out. This has encompassed all aspects

of going out for a snack or full meal from identifying different

types of eating establishments to selecting and ordering from

a menu and then paying for a meal. We have also had the

chance to look at setting the table and choosing the correct

cutlery to use. As a very enjoyable part of our work, we were

able to practise our skills on an Eating Out trip at the

Libertine in Westbourne. Everyone found something they

liked on the extensive menu and even the torrential rain on

the day of ACOs visit didnt spoil our enjoyment.

Jamie makes sure Rachel sets the table properly

Here are some of the comments from Class PT students reviews of our experience

There was lots of room for us all. The doors were lovely and wide for my wheelchair to get through. John Hannant The staff were polite, helpful and nice. Alec Ross

My meal was delicious. James Sargent The staff were happy, friendly and helped us. Jamie Gilbert The restaurant looked perfectthe food was fantastic! Stuart Blundell

As you can tell from the comments, the trip was very successful-our students were brilliant ambassadors for VEC with hearty appetites and great table

manners. In fact, we have decided that it would be great to have a return visit in the summer to mark the end of the school year and sharpen up our skills before the summer holidays. I must take this opportunity to thank and recommend the

Libertine restaurant (which has a disabled toilet facility) for its delicious food, modern surroundings and great service. We were made to feel very welcome.

James ate all of his Pizza

Scott enjoyed his meal

Jordan parts with his cash. Clean plates all round.

PTs Cakes and Science

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Compiled written and edited by Jon Godber unless otherwise stated. Victoria School, Spring MMXIV

Victoria Horticulture Opening Hours

Monday-Friday 9.00am 3.30pm

Summer Bedding Available soon order early to ensure

A COLOURFUL Summer display!

Baskets and Tubs planted to order

or bring your own containers!

Do come for a look round to see our wonderful range of plants.

Five a Side Football

Coming this way in May

Parent/ Carer Swim

and

Stay tuned to Facebook and our website

For more information

Is now available online

Logon to: www.victoria.poole.sch.uk

School Uniform

Via the school website!

VECLife

Issue 08

Wed 23rd April St Georges Day Mon 28th April Bournemouth University Art workshops Mon 5th May May Day Bank Holiday Mon 12th May Tues 24th June Examinations Mon 26th May - Friday 30th May H A L F T E R M Sun 8th & 15th June School Production rehearsals Mon 16th June Work Experience Week (KS4 & Post 16) Sun 22nd June School Production Mon 23rd June Sports Week (to be confirmed) Frid 4th July Reports to parents Thurs 10th July Parents Afternoon and Family BBQ / Mini Fayre Wed 16th July Sports Day Mon 14th July Leavers Summer Ball (Evening) (to be confirmed) Thurs 17th July Sports Assembly Frid 18th July End of Year Assembly School closes