VENTURE WEEK, WORK EXPERIENCE & ACTIVITY WEEK
This was a fantastic week. There were so many activities happening during this week. The students were all involved in a range of different learning styles and they were open to new ideas and conducted themselves around the campus and beyond with a real sense of purpose and maturity. They were great ambassadors for you and the school and we shall hear the individual stories as the months unfold. Well done to all of you.
30.07.05

SPORTS DEVELOPMENT AWARDS 2005
Mr Bowles and I were privileged to attend this award ceremony; where we had three students receiving public recognition.

Ricky Garcia received the Chairman's award in the National section; in fact he was the first student to be called up. This was for his swimming and triathlon.

Lucinda Harding also received an award in the National section as she has represented her sport; Baton Twirling, abroad.

Erica Francis received a County award for Shot Putt. The competition for these awards is very rigorous and tough and we were therefore delighted for all three students. Well done.
30.07.05

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
End of this term Wednesday 20 th July at 1pm

First day of term for Year 7 students Tuesday 6 th September 8.40am.

First day of term for Year 10 students Tuesday 6 th September 8.30am for Buddies, 9.40am the remainder.

First day of term for Year 8, 9 & 11 students Wednesday 7 th September 8.40am
30.07.05

STAFF WHO ARE LEAVING OR CHANGING ROLE

Phil Allen – we say goodbye to Mr Allen. He has been with the school since 1972 and has spent most of these years as a pastoral head. His dedication and commitment to his students has been steadfast throughout and I know he will be remembered very fondly by many students past and present. We will miss him for all of this but we also wish him well in his retirement.

Ian Butchers – Mr Butchers retires this year. He joined the teaching force a little later in his career and therefore arrived with a commitment and determination to really make a difference. He has never lost this drive and commitment to his subject, his department and to the students. He will be sorely missed by staff and students alike but we wish him luck in his retirement.

Mark Thornhill – We say goodbye to Mr Thornhill. He joined us as a supply teacher and has since become a solid member of staff we have all learned to rely on. We would like to thank Mr Thornhill for his dedication and commitment to us and we will miss him. Mr Thornhill goes on to work in a special school and we wish him well.

Liz Neville – Ms Neville leaves us as a qualified teacher. She has now successfully completed her GTP and will take her skills and her considerable expertise to a new post. Congratulations and good luck Ms Neville.

Paul Hurcombe – Mr Hurcombe has worked with us for two days per week as our Sports Coordinator and has managed to organise and arrange some very good programmes and links with our feeder primary schools.

We are most grateful for his work and know that what he has created will form the firm foundation for the next two years. Thank you Mr Hurcombe and we wish you well in your new venture.

Robert Kirby – Robert leaves us and will be missed by all those staff and students for whom he's offered such valuable support. Thank you Robert and good luck in your new post.

David Taubman – we say goodbye to Mr Taubman who has been with us for a one year contract. He filled a gap for music and we are very grateful. He joins The Grove School and we wish him well.

Ms Harman – Ms Harman will step down from her year head role. I would like to thank her for the clear direction provided to her students and for the support structure she has offered her students. She has provided them with a firm foundation for their years at ETC. She will continue with her responsibilities in the Maths department.

Vicky Stevens – returns to her lead role for the Arts Faculty. Her role with the Senior Management Team (SMT) has enabled her to influence and affect the whole school. Many grateful thanks for her ‘Assessment for Learning' work and also her contribution to SMT .
30.07.05

STAFFING FOR NEXT YEAR

We will welcome Mr Akers who will join the D&T department.

Ms Abdalla joins the PE department.

Mrs Farrell takes on the School Sports Coordinator role (vacated by Mr Hurcombe) and this will account of two days per week of her work.

Mr Roberts will lead two year groups; years 7 and 8 and will join SMT spending the year investigating and evaluation Advice and Guidance.

Mrs Edwards will be the Pastoral Support Officer for years 7 and 8. She will undertake to manage all of those ‘welfare' issues for these students.

Mr Jones joins SMT and will undertake the role to lead the New Technologies for two years.

Mr Pratt takes on the full year group and this will be year 9. He will be supported by Mrs Guyton.

Mrs Weston will support the year heads for year 11.
30.07.05

ACHIEVEMENT HEADLINES 2004 – 2005

•  Results improved by huge amounts both in KS3 and KS4. The most improved school in East Sussex. but not as much as we wanted.

•  Attendance showing improvement against last year week on week.

•  The focus on learning embedded in classroom practice via the protocols.

•  Girl/boy seating.

•  Good media coverage

•  Very good appointments in staff, LAT, JLI, GTA, GRE, FTA, DDR, JTO, LGU, CBE, VST, DTA, SBO, WPR, DHA, SPE, TBO

•  G&T partnership day at university

•  New assessment protocol

•  Successful introduction to AFL

•  Successful Poetry Day and events

•  Successful Business Day

•  New Intake Evening

•  Learning Styles training for ITT and NQTs

•  English theatre trip

•  Drama GCSE workshops

•  Bullying reduced

•  Range of extra curricular provision across the board

•  Induction of year 7

•  Peer mediation

•  Extra curricular music

•  Office staff taking on different responsibilities

•  BTEC engineering course

•  Assessment data inputting

•  Training room up and running

•  Creative partnership

•  Year 11 goodbye

•  Sports Day

•  Full house for Year 6 parents evening.

This year has been very full and so productive. All of our development and progress is down to the individual members of our school community pulling together and making their full contribution to the work of the school. Well done and many grateful thanks. Have a great break and I look forward to September with great excitement and enthusiasm.
30.07.05

PURCHASE OF SCHOOL UNIFORM

The school will be open for the sale of school uniform on the following dates:-

Friday 22 nd July - 9.00am to 1.00pm

VENTURE WEEK AND ACTIVITY WEEK
Next week is our Venture Week for years 7 & 8; Activity Week for year 9 and Work Experience Week for year 10.

All of this means that next week will be unlike any other school week but we know it provides students another form of learning. We wish our students well and trust they will have a set of experiences which will allow them to develop in a whole range of ways.
08.07.05

CELEBRATION OF ACHIEVEMENT
This evening is always the highlight of the school calendar and this year was just as good as ever. The students were absolutely fantastic; those that received their awards and those who performed for our distinguished guests. Very well done indeed to all students who contributed to this evening to make it so special.
Go here for the list of students and awards
08.07.05

NEW STUDENTS
Our new students and their parents came in to school this week. The day and the evening were packed with activities and information so that they are all ready for the September start.

We were delighted to see the hall crammed with people (standing room only) indicating once again the high level of support and interest by our parents. We are looking forward to welcoming this new intake into our school.
08.07.05

NEW AWARD
For the first time this year we have entered students for the Asdan Award for Prince Trust. This has spanned two years, taught by Neil Martin, and a group of students have taken their tasks, portfolios and learning extremely seriously. We were therefore delighted to learn that they had all reached either their bronze or silver. Particular mention however needs to be made about Sam Ring. He not only achieved the Gold (an equivalent A* - C GCSE); his portfolio was copied as an example of good practice and will be used for training purposes. Well done to all those students and a particular WELL DONE for Sam.
08.07.05

THE STOP SMOKING TEAM!
The Health Education Team have asked schools to advertise a service for all people who are keen to stop smoking – this service is open to adults as well as young people. There will be a Drop in to Quit Clinic on Saturdays 9 th July – 6 th August from 11am – 2pm at the Frenchgate Centre, Frenchgate Road, Hampden Park. You can expect to be with the team for 20 minutes and will walk away with a quit pack, a CO level and a prescription for your desired product. If clients stay abstinent for that week they can return the following week to collect another prescription.
08.07.05

VENTURE WEEK AND ACTIVITY WEEK MEETINGS
We have had to change the date for the Venture Week and Activity Week Meetings. It will now be on Wednesday 6 th July. All students in years 7 and 8 will attend their Venture Week meeting at 2pm. Year 9 will attend their Activity Week meeting at 2pm and year 10 will attend their meetings on Work Experience. Students will still be dismissed from school at the same time so I trust this change will not cause any inconvenience.
01.07.05

SPORTS DAY
Many thanks to the PE staff team for making our Sports Day such a memorable occasion. Our students were superb; not just in their competitive spirit in doing their very best in their individual events but also those who were supporting their team mates. Well done all.
01.07.05

CHEF OF THE YEAR 2005
(10 TH ANNIVERSARY)
If you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen! This would have been totally appropriate on Wednesday 22 nd July - but fortunately, none of them did, as it was the school heats for the annual Chef of the Year Competition. One and a half hours of pure sweat – resulted in some amazing dishes - Once again leaving the Judges with a difficult job on their hands.

Eventually Joel Thompson emerged as the winner of the Junior Section and Liz French won the Senior section. Both will go on to compete against the other local schools at the Finals at Sussex Downs College on July 5 th . Can we do the Double Whammy again?

Runners up were Heather Kemp for the Juniors and Jamie Cook for the Seniors.

Congratulations also go to Liam Conway, Peter Lambert and Jay Williams who were the other competitors.
01.07.05

YEAR 11
We finally say our proper goodbyes to our year 11 students today. They will celebrate tonight at their Dinner Dance and then return on August 25th to collect their examination results.

I would however, like to pay particular attention to two students who have achieved 100% attendance throughout their whole school life at Hampden Park then ETC. Trudi Shearer and Megan Field have not had a day off during their entire time at school and I think this is worthy of a special mention. Well done girls!
24.06.05

VENTURE WEEK AND ACTIVITY WEEK MEETINGS
All students in years 7 and 8 will attend their Venture Week meeting at 2pm on Wednesday 29th June. Year 9 will attend their Activity Week meeting at 2pm and year 10 will attend their meetings on Work Experience.
24.06.05

ART EXHIBITION
Our Art Exhibition is now open for viewing. The official opening was on Thursday 23rd June and the display provides an insight into the artistic talents of our many students. Many thanks to Mr Bell and Mrs Cummings for organising the exhibition and nurturing such fantastic talent.
24.06.05

Future Dates
Sports Day is on Thursday 30th June.
Celebration of Achievement Monday 4th July
Academic Review Day Tuesday 5th July
24.06.05

A FEW DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Friday 24th June - Next Friday we say our formal goodbye to our year 11. They have soldiered on through this examination period with a fine spirit; turning up to the revision classes, arriving at the exams, on time and prepared, and then rushing off again to prepare for the next.

We will have a final assembly and in the evening they will all dress up in their finery for their Leavers Dinner Dance. This is an evening we all look forward to and the photographs will be available for all to see – and they will be worth seeing.

Thursday 30th June is our sports day and information relating to this is in this Newsletter.

Monday 4th July is our Celebration of Achievement Evening where we invite prize winners and their guests from years 7 – 10 to attend for this evening. Another evening we look forward to.

Tuesday 5th July is our Academic Review Day. You and your child will be in to see the tutor to discuss your child’s progress. This is the only part of the day your child needs to attend.

Thursday 7th July is the last Headteacher’s diploma event.

11th July is the start of Venture Week for years 7 and 8, Activity Week for year 9 and Work Experience Week for year 10.

We will provide further details for all of these as they approach.
17.06.05

ADULT LEARNERS WEEK
Adult Learners Week was 21st - 27th May (the week before half term). East Sussex celebrated good practice and achievements and presented awards to various adults. Caroline Belchem organises our Adult Learner Activities and she received an award for her work. We were particularly proud of Caroline as it is most unusual for a provider to receive an award, (the awards usually go to those studying and attending classes). Caroline had obviously impressed the judges in her relentless drive to provide for our own parents and community. Well done Caroline!
10.06.05

THE CANTEEN
We were very sad to say goodbye to Mrs Neville, our Canteen manager. She left at the end of half term. We will be meeting our new manager shortly and I will keep you informed.

I need to remind students that we have a cashless canteen system and students should put their money on their cards at the machines. These are now all working and the computer has been fixed.

Students will not be allowed to bring cash to the counter to pay for food – it needs to go on their cards. Students needing a new card need to see Mrs Smith in the school office and she will provide a replacement for £2.

Thank you.
10.06.05

YEAR 11 STUDENTS
Our year 11 students start their revision and examination programme at the end of this week. We would like to wish them well for their exams. We are extremely proud of our year 11 students as they have steadily gained in common sense and grown in maturity. There is a real sense of caring among the year group as they ‘look out for each other’ and I hope this translates to their future circles of friends and colleagues. Our students have now been provided with all we can offer and we have to let go and watch them fly. We have always reassured our students that we will continue to support them through their revision programme and in their transition to their next phase. We look forward to seeing them in school on August 26th when they will receive their results. Good luck year 11 and keep focused.
20.05.05

MOBILE PHONES IN SCHOOL
Students are expected to switch their mobile phones off during lesson time. They are therefore unable to receive any calls from parents. I would ask that parents do not ask their children to ring them during lesson times as this is a distraction to the whole class. If you have an urgent message which needs to reach your child then please telephone the school reception 01323 514900 and they will ensure your child is informed.
20.05.05

KNITTING CLUB
Two year 7 students, Carly Mitchell and Charlene McLaughlin, are keen to start a knitting club. Details of when and where will follow but they would appreciate as many donations as possible in terms of wool, knitting needles and patterns. They ask that you raid any cupboards and long forgotten knitting baskets and pass any contributions to Ms Harman who will be supervising this club.
20.05.05

YEAR 11

The students in year 11 are soon to start an intensive revision programme. Their timetable will finish on Friday 20 th May (next Friday) and they will commence a revision programme on Monday 23 rd . The programme is included in the paper Newsletter. This programme is designed to focus them on each exam as it approaches.

We are very proud and pleased with our year 11 students and know they will rise to this change and challenge. Good luck year 11.
13.05.05

PRINCE'S TRUST

Several of our year 11 have been following a programme for the Princes Trust. This is the first time we have undertaken this qualification and we are therefore very pleased to announce that the following students have gained the Bronze Award:

Gemma Drake

Sarah Jane Stanley

Joanne Hallett

Ben Shanta

Rana Begum

Sam Ring

Duke Broderick

Well done Year 9
Our Year 9 students have been very busy this week with their SATs. We are very pleased to report how well they have tackled the papers and their whole attitude towards these exams has been exemplary. In fact I was so impressed I had to go into their exam rooms to praise them and congratulate them. We look forward to their results in the Summer. It will be summer too – this year the results will not reach us until the Summer Holidays. In the past the results arrived close to the end of term but we have been informed that this year, they are likely to arrive during August. I will inform you as to how we will make these accessible to you.

I am also very pleased to report that attendance has been extremely high with very few exceptions to a full attendance. There was only one student who had arranged a holiday at this time and this is a great shame as the opportunity is missed.
05.05.05

ILLNESS AT SCHOOL
We have had some students who are sent to school with a genuine illness. Whilst we applaud our students’ resolve to ‘rise above it’ there are some illnesses that cannot be ignored and diarrhoea and sickness is one of them. Please make a considered decision if your child has been ill over night or over the weekend and let us know that your child will be absent.
05.05.05

CREATIVE PARTNERSHIPS
We are delighted to have been successful in a bid to encourage creativity across the school. East Sussex is in receipt of between £2 – 3,000,000 and we are one of 15 partnerships to receive some of this funding. Creative Partnerships is funded by DFES (Department for Education and Skills) and DCMS (Department for Culture, Media and Sport) and ETC has been selected as one of only 3 secondary schools to receive funding. We will keep you informed on the work and how we will engage and involve your children. This is a very exciting project which will enable all students to unleash their creative potential.
29.04.05

YEAR 9 SATS
This is a very important time for our year 9. They begin their SATs next week. They have been working extremely hard over the past few weeks in preparation - we all wish them every success. I would also like to thank you for your support in enabling your child to ‘get into the right frame of mind’ for such an important set of tests. Good luck to all of year 9 – we know you will do your very best.
29.04.05

BANK HOLIDAY MONDAY
I am sure you won’t need reminding – but just in case. We are closed on Monday 2nd May as this is a Bank Holiday. We will see you all on Tuesday – the start of the SATs.
29.04.05

Year 10 Exams
Our year 10 students have been involved in their Mock GCSE exams throughout this week. We have been very pleased with their approach and attitude towards them. It is important that they are provided with as realistic an experience as possible so that they are fully and properly prepared for the final exams next year. Well done and we look forward to their results.
UNIFORM
Many thanks to parents for supporting this drive to maintain the dress code of the uniform. Our students are mostly in full school uniform and we are looking to continue with this throughout the summer term.
22.04.05

HEALTHY EATING AT ETC
This is very much in the News. In fact, ETC has spearheaded this particular item; first in the Argos on Monday and then on the Southern FM on Tuesday. The articles were about our approach to the canteen and the use of the dinner card. These were deemed newsworthy and seemed to be at the forefront of new initiatives.
It was encouraging to note that we have ‘lived’ with this technology for some considerable time.
22.04.05

A NEW DIRECTOR OF CHILDREN’S SERVICES
You will probably know that Denise Stokoe, our current Director of Education will be leaving the service at the end of this year. The Director post will be changed from next year in that it will lead both Education and Social Services in order to put Children at the heart of the agenda; hence the title “Director of Children’s Services”.
We heard this week that the new Director of Children’s Services will be Matt Dunkley. He has worked in the Education sector of the LEA for some years and can therefore bring a wealth of knowledge, experience and expertise to the post. We, at ETC wish him well and look forward to working with him.
22.04.05

STAFF CHANGES
We were very sorry to say goodbye to Mr Jarrett at the end of the Spring Term. He has moved into a new role with CfBT, an organisation which supports schools; so hopefully we won’t lose touch completely.
We are very pleased to announce that Ms Webster will be leading the ICT department within the school and we will be making a new appointment for her team as soon as possible. I will keep you posted.
15.04.04

COMIC RELIEF
This seems some time ago now but we have now collected all of the monies which were promised and we are delighted that we are able to forward £612.16 to Comic Relief. It was a very good day where all members of the school entered into the spirit of ‘giving’ and thinking of others less fortunate than themselves. The tutor groups were all involved and particular thanks to 9JWE, 9LFA, 11DST, 9JTH, 8FCH, 9FCU, 9ZDE and 9RCO who raised more than was expected. A particular mention must go to Mr Stewart and Mr Taylor who raised a highly respectable £80.70 when they had their legs waxed.

Our English department and their book characters raised £67.16. We had our very own and very popular Little Britain team who raised a worthy £52.10 and Mr Roberts and his team raised £54.71. Well done to all who participated!
15.04.04

UNIFORM FOR THE SUMMER TERM
We are approaching the heat of the summer (wishful thinking perhaps considering this week) and I felt it might be useful to remind our students of our expectations regarding uniform etc.

If a student wishes to take the sweatshirt off due to the hot weather the student must be wearing a white polo shirt with the ETC logo on. These are available from our school office.
Plain black trousers and plain black shoes continue to form the basis of the rest of the uniform.
I would also remind students and parents about jewellery. We do not accept any form of piercing apart from one stud in each ear. If your child wishes to have a piercing then I would advise you wait until the summer holiday so that it can heal well enough to be removed for school in September.

Jewellery needs to be simple and the following is allowed; one simple necklace, ring and a bracelet. Belts, for keeping trousers up, are also to be simple and not worn as a fashion accessory. There is a growing tendency for decorative belts and jewellery to be worn and these need to be kept at home for outside school wear. It is not appropriate for school.

Students are also bringing in expensive mobile phones and MP3 players. We have not banned these but would insist on the following. These are kept safe and you must recognise that the school cannot accept any responsibility should they be lost, damaged or stolen. Students must also ensure they are removed and switched off before entering a classroom. When a student enters a classroom s/he is ready to learn.

Thank you for your support in these matters. A strong consistent policy enables everybody to know exactly where they are and to concentrate on the task in hand – to learn.
15.04.04

EASTBOURNE ACHIEVERS
The award ceremony, sponsored by The Eastbourne Herald, was on Tuesday evening at The Winter Gardens and the occasion celebrated the achievement of individuals across Eastbourne. We were very well represented. Ricky Garzia won the ‘Young Sportsperson of the Year’. Erica Francis was a runner up in two categories ‘Young Sportsperson of the Year’ and, as a member of ‘Young Team of the Year’. It was so rewarding to be in the audience to see these two youngsters battle against severe opposition to be receive such a high accolade. Well done Ricky and Erica.
I was there as I also received an award. It was for services to education and I was immensely proud to be recognised in such a formal and public way. Whilst I was named and identified I am able to say in this Newsletter how it wouldn’t have happened without the very professional work of such a dedicated team of staff, a very fine student body, a committed group of parents and a very supportive governing body. I just have the real privilege of pulling all of this together. Many thanks to each and every one of you for making this happen.
15.04.04

YEAR 9 SATS INFORMATION
Parents have been given leaflets with the dates of the SATS exams in them. Please note they are wrong, they are last years exam dates.

The correct dates are:-
Tuesday 3rd May 2005
Wednesday 4th May 2005
Thursday 5th May 2005
Friday 6th May 2005

Monday 2nd May is a bank holiday.
15.04.04

Reflections on this half-term

This is the last Newsletter before Easter. We finish school on Wednesday at 3pm. We will return on Monday 11th April. Whilst this has been a short term we seem to have crammed it with an astonishing number of activities and events. I wish you all a peaceful break and look forward to the Summer Term when the examination season will be in full flow.
18.03.05

ACHIEVEMENT HEADLINES FOR SECOND HALF OF SPRING TERM
We had many visitors this half term. We are being seen as a centre of good practice for different areas, hence the visits. The first was Ofsted HMI who reported extremely positively on our Design and Technology Department.
The following day we received a visit from Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) who sought our views on vocational qualifications.
We then had a visit from DFES to seek our views on NVQs.
The School Council carried out the research to formulate our Travel Plan. This will result in safer travel to and from school.

We had a whole week of activities linked to the Book Week, including a visiting poet and fancy dress.
We experienced a superb evening for the Finals of the Arts Festival where our students were able to show their very fine talents.
Last week we had the Headteacher diploma with a growing number of students who gained Governor and LEA awards.
18.03.05

PARENTS’ OPINION ON THEIR CHILD’S EXPERIENCE AT ETC
You may remember that, at the last Academic Review in January, you completed a questionnaire, seeking your opinion on your child’s experience. The results are printed in the paper version of the Newsletter. Your opinions are important to us. This questionnaire tells us that we have to put work into providing you with more access and information to the activities in the classroom. You would appear to be satisfied with most aspects of your child’s experience but we are always keen to hear how we can continue to improve. Thank you.
18.03.05

SCHOOL COUNCIL
Our school council is forging ahead with a whole new set of ideas. They would like to form an Eco Group which will look specifically at the environment. They will tackle issues of recycling and other ways of supporting the environment.

If you would like to join this group then pass your name to Mrs Lynch. It will also provide you with an opportunity to make new friends and become part of a lively and proactive group.

Student news – the school council also wants to produce a regular news sheet. Any budding journalists please pass your name to Mrs Lynch to join the editorial team.
18.03.05

PARENTS GATEWAY
This piece of Software on our system is now gaining more and more recognition and coverage in the Media. The Daily Telegraph have already interviewed us and Southern Counties Radio interviewed me on our views this week. Parents Gateway is used by a growing number of parents who want to know how and what their child is doing. All you need is your password and user id. This was provided at the beginning of the year but please contact Mr Richard Barnicoat at school if you need a replacement. We are committed to this system in order for you to play the crucial part in our partnership.
18.03.05

RED NOSE DAY As a whole school we supported Red Nose Day with a variety of events. Here is a report from Year 11.

YEAR 11 COMIC RELIEF FUNDRAISING
As part of the College’s Comic Relief activities Year 11’s took part in an auction of promises during one of their assemblies and raised £62.00.

These are some of the ‘bids’ that were successful:-

- Gemma Drake and Jo Hallet paid £3.10 for Mr Roberts to cook them breakfast.

- Chitney Diaz paid £5.00 for Mr Kilding to do her Maths homework for one week.

- Aimee Relf paid £3.52 for Terri Sierwald to supply her coffee and chocolate biscuits AND she paid £26 for a copy of our 2000-2005 Year book.

- Scott Thatcher paid £8.00 for 2 red roses and Marc Ansell paid £5.21 for Miss Kemp to do his English homework.

- On Comic Relief Day 2 groups of Year 11’s toured the school in fancy dress and collected over £50 from students, teachers and support staff.
18.03.05


ARTS FESTIVAL FINALS
A huge success. Thank you so much for your support in this important event. It was wonderful to see so many of our students overcoming their nerves and performing their own pieces with such skill and quality. Well done to all of the performers. It was an incredibly entertaining evening and so enjoyable. Many thanks to Paul Roberts who pulled the whole thing together. It was also made possible by his team of helpers, both staff and students.

The winners of the two sections will be asked to perform at an Eastbourne wide schools Arts event. Many congratulations therefore to:

Lower School
Savanna Richards 9FCU and Neville Moorton 10RSA

Upper School
Daniel Simmons 11DPR, Jake Feek
11CKE, Dean Williams 11MWA,
James Houlton 11DPR and Dean Allchin 11CKE

A BUSY WEEK
We celebrated Book week last week and there are reports available to you in this bulletin. We have had students working on a Newsday Competition and there will be more to come on this. Students have been rehearsing all week for the Arts Festival – so the whole campus has felt very lively and very busy.

YEAR 11 STUDY SKILLS EVENING – WEDNESDAY 17TH MARCH 05
Year 11 and their parents are invited to next Wednesday evening’s Study Skills Evening. This is a very popular evening and provides students and parents with essential help for the GCSEs. It is also the opportunity for parents to meet with subject staff. An appointment system is in place and we expect students to make these appointments with staff on behalf of their parents.
We look forward to meeting with you.

HMI OFSTED VISIT TO DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY
Steffi Penny, an Ofsted HMI, spent the whole day with the D&T department; observing lessons, scrutinising systems and interviewing students. The visit was arranged as a result of the school being identified as having good practice and the department didn’t let us down. The visit was an enormous success. Many thanks to all colleagues in the department. The thorough preparation and attention to detail paid off handsomely. All teaching was judged to be very good or better with one of the lessons deemed outstanding - the highest grade possible. We will receive a letter as the report and the findings can be used as we feel appropriate.
04.03.05

STUDENTS’ PARTICIPATION IN SCHOOL LIFE
Our students are participating in so many events and we are trying to keep you informed of them. Last week our students represented us at Chailey School for a languages conference. They were superb ambassadors for us.
04.03.05

Eastbourne and Hailsham Secondary Schools Councils
We also enclose a report from students who represented us at the joint Eastbourne and Hailsham Secondary Schools Councils meeting. We are looking to work together to support the Tsunami appeal. We have had a week of activities around Book Week. Both staff and students were taking part in a fund raising activity in being in costume for the day. It was good fun and full of good spirit.

As part of our citizenship agenda we held elections in school for the UK Youth Parliament Elections. Our students listened to the candidates and voted. The successful candidates are Jamie Findon and his deputy is Oliver Windsor. Well done.
04.03.05

SNOW
I am sure you recognised the need to close the school this week. However, some staff were able to make it in and we were all so pleased that the year 10 and 11 turned up for their exam. They were very focused and we wish them luck in their results. Well done for showing such determination to get into school – we will assume the snow ball play was part of your revision!

Having closed on Wednesday we decided to re-open on Thursday. There is always a delicate balance between ensuring our students are safe and maintaining continuity in their education. Our site staff worked extremely hard to ensure the buildings and site were safe; the areas were gritted, salted and cleared. All the students were informed about how to move between buildings whenever it was necessary. The playgrounds were declared out of bounds at break times. Despite this hardship, our students behaved exceptionally well. Our systems for coping with adverse weather seem to have proved successful – let’s hope we don’t have to use them too often
04.03.05

ACHIEVEMENTS OF OUR STUDENTS
Our students have been involved in so many activities over the past few weeks, some of which have been reported in this issue of the Newsletter.

We are very proud of our students achieving the finals of the Young Consumer of the Year competition. We are also very pleased with the work of our school council; working on our Travel Plan and working with other school councils to organise an Eastbourne response to the Tsunami appeal. We will keep you posted.
25.02.05

CONGRATULATIONS FROM THE SPECIALIST SCHOOLS TRUST
This body awarded our Specialist Schools Status back in 2000. They have recently written to us to offer their congratulations.

“We were delighted to see Eastbourne Technology College amongst the specialist schools which have made significant improvement in the attainment of GCSE 5A*-C over the past 3 years in the recently published Education

Outcomes and Value Added by Specialist School 2004 report.

We would like to congratulate you on your continued drive and determination to raise the hopes, aspirations and achievement of your students, year on year.

Please pass on our congratulations to the students, staff, parents and governors who have worked together to enable your continuing success. We wish you all the best for continued success this year.”
25.02.05

NON UNIFORM DAY FOR THE TSUNAMI APPEAL
We followed the guidance of the UK Youth Parliament and held our non uniform day on Friday 28th January to support the Tsunami Appeal. We raised a magnificent £601.31. Very well done to the whole school. This will be presented to the Mustard Seed Relief Mission Tsunami Appeal. Many thanks to all students and staff who supported this appeal so generously.
11.02.05

LEADING ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
You will be as pleased as we are with our English department. They have continued to push their students in pursuit of increasingly good results in English and we are very pleased that the LEA has recognised the expertise and quality in the department and has informed us that the department should be known as a Leading English Department which will share its good practice across the county. Well done!
11.02.05

YOUNG CONSUMERS OF THE YEAR COMPETITION
We are delighted that our team of Young Consumers; Megan Field, Aimee Wynne, Hannah Slater, Stephanie Smith and Rebecca Lay reached the final of this competition. They performed magnificently against some extremely good opposition of much older students.

We were therefore very proud of them to learn that they came 4th out of 27 other schools. Heartfelt congratulations and very well done indeed.
11.02.05

INSET DAY & HALF TERM
Students will not be at school on Friday 11th February as it will be an INSET day. Half term is next week and we look forward to seeing our students again on Monday 21st February. Have a good week!
11.02.05

ACHIEVEMENTS FOR FIRST HALF OF THE SPRING TERM
Despite the very short term we still continue to strive to achieve and are very pleased to reflect on the following:

Our staff shared our expertise on Assessment with other schools.
Our students were excellent ambassadors when participating in a poetry event.
A moving and important series of events to commemorate the Holocaust
An increased attendance for our year 9 parents at the parents evening
Recognition of our English Department as a Leading English Department.
11.02.05

YEAR 9 PARENTS
Many thanks for such a wonderful attendance at the Year 9 Preparation for SATs evening. Your comments indicated that you found the presentations extremely helpful and informative. You will be canvassed on your opinion on the new style parent consultation. The evening was extremely busy and hopefully provided you with enough information to ensure a smooth transition into Key Stage 4.

Good luck to all year 9 in their Mock SATs which start on Monday.
04.02.05

SUCCESS AT ETC
“Now real progress is being made in secondary schools, too. Eastbourne Technology College made a huge leap forward with double the number of pupils achieving A* - C grades at GCSE compared to 2003”
This quote can be found on page 10 of Your County, a free paper delivered to all East Sussex residents. We are always glad to hear of our progress and improvements from other sources.

Copyright ESCC 2005
04.02.05

HALF TERM
We have one more week at school and then half term. Half term starts on Monday 14th February and students return on Monday 21st February.
04.02.05

INSET DAY
On Friday 11th February we have an INSET day; therefore students will not be required to attend school unless specifically asked to.
04.02.05

HOLOCAUST DAY
Our year 9 students spent time on Wednesday reflecting and considering the events surrounding the Holocaust. Our students excelled themselves in their ability to empathise and listen to our visitors and they proved themselves to be superb ambassadors, not just for ETC but for their generation. I am sure they would want me to thank the Humanities team for providing them with such a thought provoking and stimulating day.
28.01.05

TSUNAMI APPEAL
Two of our students Hannah Davies and Stuart Woods met with other school council representatives yesterday to discuss a joint approach from all Eastbourne and Hailsham Schools. The discussion was extremely useful and will be reported in the next Newsletter. Many thanks to Hannah and Stuart for representing us so well.
28.01.05

YEAR 9 PARENTS
Reminder of the Year 9 event on Wednesday 2nd February.

5.30pm – 6.30pm
- Presentation of SATs and how to revise for them.
Options for KS4

6.30pm – 8.00pm Appointments with subject staff

This is a new arrangement for our year 9 parents and we will be seeking your views on its value.
28.01.05

PUNCTUALITY
As you know we expect our students to be in their first lesson for 8.40am. If a student is late s/he will receive a late mark and will be expected to serve a detention at break time for 15 minutes. If they fail to turn up to this they will serve a lunch time detention for 20 minutes. If they fail to turn up to this they will have to serve a school detention. Parents will receive a letter informing them of the date of the after school detention.
28.01.05

Holocaust Memorial Day

This Year Eastbourne Technology College will again be making an original and memorable contribution to International Holocaust Memorial Day.

Our aim is to not only enable students to deepen their understanding of the horror and tragedy of the Nazi-organised genocide of 1941-45, but also to enable them to understand its contemporary relevance.

Our event takes place on the day before on Wednesday 26th January.

Previous events at ETC:
2004
2003
2002

Year 9 web site 2004

TSUNAMI APPEAL
Our students have been arranging a series of fund raising activities in support of the Tsunami Appeal. Our school council will be sending two members to join the school council reps from all Eastbourne and Hailsham schools to discuss a more long term strategy to support the affected area.

The UK Youth Parliament has asked that all school students join a fund raising Non School Uniform day on Friday 28th January (next Friday). They ask that all students donate £1 for being in ‘mufti’ for the day. We would like to support this and will designate next Friday 28th January as a Non Uniform Day. If students choose to wear their own clothes for the day they should hand their £1 to their tutor. We look forward to supporting this venture and show unanimity with the UK Youth Parliament and school students across the country.
21.01.05

YEAR 9 PARENTS
Reminder of the Year 9 event on Wednesday 2nd February. You will have received the initial booking sheet and we look forward to meeting you.
21.01.05

HOLIDAYS IN TERM TIME
I felt I needed to remind you of the position Eastbourne Schools have adopted over holidays in term time. All secondary schools are not authorising holidays in term time. We have signed up to this agreement and are therefore not able to authorise absence for a holiday, in line with other schools. This doesn’t mean I am able to prevent you going on holiday it means that the absence will be recorded as unauthorised. An authorised absence will be considered in exceptional circumstances.
21.01.05

BEGINNING OF TERM
Our students have returned in good form and they seem to be ready for the many challenges which lie ahead. This is a very short term with so much to cover but we have every confidence that they will rise to those challenges.
14.01.05

TSUNAMI APPEAL
The three minute silence for The UK and Europe was on Wednesday 5th January. We decided not to join the three minute silence on that day. It was the students’ first day back at school and some students may not recognise the importance or the reason for the silence. We have presented the events via assemblies. This has allowed us to put the true horror and trauma in a context and has allowed each child to reflect on the event itself and how the communities will rebuild when the areas have been cleared. Years 10 and 11 had their assembly on Thursday and years 7, 8 and 9 on the following Monday.

Enabling our students to recognise the full extent of the devastation is only the first stage, how we support for a sustainable future is the next and we will therefore return to our longer term efforts during the month of January.
14.01.05

PARENTS' GATEWAY
This is a service which allows a parent/carer to view their child’s information. It allows you to go on-line and look at your child’s time table, attendance, behaviour record, assessments etc.

You will need your user name and password as it is a secure site to this service allowing only the authorised user (the parent/carer only) to access their child’s file.

If you don’t have a user name or password or you require more information regarding this service please email r.barnicoat@eastbourne-tech-coll.e-sussex.sch.uk requesting the information.

It is an excellent way of keeping you informed and a part of your child’s education.
14.01.05

HAPPY CHRISTMAS
May I take this opportunity to wish each and every one of you a very merry Christmas and a peaceful new year. This term is the longest and the most arduous in many ways but our students have worked extremely well throughout and we are very proud of them.
17.12.04

ACHIEVEMENT HEADLINES FOR ETC
This half term has been just as busy and as full as ever. To reflect on some of the highlights of the second half term:

· The formation of a Choir. They were well rehearsed and produced a very good song, which they took to the Barbican, London.
· Launch of the Engineering Club for Eastbourne
· Year 11 students returned to receive their certificates.
· Year 8 trips to Southall
· Drama trips to the theatre
· Headteachers presentation for lower school with a very high attendance of parents..
· Christmas Concert
· Youth Speaks Event including every year 7, 8, 9 and 10.
· Pantos (our Drama students) were taken to our primary schools
17.12.04

AWARDS FOR SCHOOLS
You may have heard that there is a type of ‘Oscar Ceremony’ for people who work in schools. If you feel that any member of our staff is worth a mention – teachers, reception staff, technicians, teaching assistants, support staff …… then log on to www.teachingawards.com
17.12.04

ACADEMIC REVIEW DAY FRIDAY 7TH JANUARY
This day is set aside for you to meet with your child’s tutor. Appointment letters have been sent to you via your child. You will have 20 minutes to discuss your child’s progress in all subjects and in their general approach to their learning. I would expect every parent to arrange a meeting time with the tutor. The appointments are also available after school. If you haven’t received our invitation then please raid your child’s bag or ask your child to ensure they bring another home.
17.12.04

TOILETS
We will have brand new toilets available to students in the ground floor of D Block in January. They will be designated as year 10/11 toilets during breaks and lunch times. They will also be open and available should any student need them during lesson time. They are specially designed to enable students to feel completely confident in using the facility.
17.12.04

School meals' prices and free school meals
The cost of a school meal will increase in January from £1.39 to £1.41. The free meal entitlement will automatically be increased. This newsletter has the latest menu guide.
10.12.04

School meals again
I would urge parents to apply for the free school meal entitlement if you fulfil any of the following categories:

- If you are on income support
- If you receive child tax credit and/or earn less than £13,480
- It you receive Job seekers allowance.

Whether your child decides to have the meal or not it is very important to the school that you register and apply. Simply present the evidence; your family income support book, your to the front office. They will take it from there.

A free school meal entitlement is completely without stigma. All children’s dinner cards are exactly the same. The free school meal entitlement is automatically allocated to your child’s card and they are free to spend to that limit every day.

(The office will need to see the most up to date letter from Benefits Office (under 3 months) if money paid into bank or up to date letter for Child Tax Credit). Please apply if you are entitled. Thank you.
1 0.12.04

CHRISTMAS CONCERT
On Monday we had our Christmas concert. It was a wonderful mix of poetry, drama, singing and dancing. A huge thank you to our students who had worked so hard in rehearsing and committing their time to their pieces. I would also like to thank the staff for working tirelessly alongside our students, encouraging and supporting them.
1 0.12.04

ACADEMIC REVIEW DAY
FRIDAY 7TH JANUARY
This day is set aside for you to meet with your child’s tutor. Appointment letters have been sent to you via your child. You will have 20 minutes to discuss your child’s progress in all subjects and in their general approach to their learning. I would expect every parent to arrange a meeting time with the tutor. The appointments are also available after school. If you haven’t received our invitation then please raid your child’s bag or ask your child to ensure they bring another home.
1 0.12.04

CHRISTMAS DINNER
Just a reminder – now we’re in December perhaps it is legitimate to mention Christmas. A short reminder about our Christmas dinner. It will be on Wednesday 15th December and will be, once again, a pre ordered meal. It is a fun occasion so don’t forget to reserve yours.
03.12.04

HEADTEACHER DIPLOMA
What a fantastic occasion. So many parents arrived to celebrate their children’s success at the Headteacher Diploma Ceremony. We are so proud of our students who work so hard and are delighted to reward so many with their certificates. A huge Well Done to all students who gained the awards and a very big thank you to our parents for sharing this with us.
03.12.04

CHRISTMAS CONCERT
On Monday we have our Christmas concert and we welcome you all to join our students in their presentations and performances. It will be a full programme with a wide variety. I look forward to seeing you there.
Thank you.
03.12.04

HEADTEACHER DIPLOMA
Many parents will be receiving letters inviting them to the Headteacher’s Diploma Ceremony on Thursday 2nd December. This is always an event which we all look forward to and I look forward to meeting you for this.

If your child has achieved 100 credits or even 200, they will be awarded a certificate recognising their achievement.
26.11.04

VENTURE WEEK
Our venture Week is during the week of July 11th 2005. Year 11 will have completed their exams. Year 10 will be at work for the week – for work experience. Year 9 will be following a programme of cross curricular events. Years 7 & 8 will be following a Venture Week programme.

The programme will be explained to years 7 & 8 on Friday (today) and they will shortly receive the booklet. This week is part of the curriculum and designed to fulfil areas of our curriculum which we can cover in a variety of different ways outside the confines of a classroom. I would ask you to support your child in taking a full and active part in Venture Week so that they can gain the maximum benefit from the activities.

Thank you.
26.11.04

Head Teacher's noticeboard

CERTIFICATE EVENING FOR YEAR 11 STUDENTS (03-04)
Our former year 11 students attended their Certificate evening last night. It was a joyous occasion with a huge turnout. It was great to see so many students and to hear of their successes. It was also our opportunity to congratulate them personally on their achievements. The last time we had the chance they had only just opened their envelopes and they had so many other things to concentrate on. Now, a few months later they have settled into their new careers and pathways and we were able to get their full attention. It was a pleasure to wish them continued success.
19.10.04

ASSESSMENT 1
Assessment 1 has been given to students in year 10, year 9 and some of year 11. The remainder of the assessments will be going out to all other students very shortly. Assessment 1 is the first of 5 assessments parents and students will receive this year.

The assessment will show how well your child is doing. Each student will be judged against their own personal target.
GREEN = on track to reach their target, have reached their target, exceeded their target.
AMBER = not yet achieving target or not yet on track to reach their target.

If, however, the grade is too far below and therefore an indicator of underachievement the grade will be colour coded RED. This provides an ‘at a glance’ reference to your child’s progress. You will be able to collect all 5 throughout the year and will therefore be able to assess your own child’s progress. We will still continue to have the Academic Review days and you will want to bring your assessments to these so that you can set targets based on the information on your child’s subjects.
This is a new system for you even though we have been collecting data for some time on your child. We are now able to use the data to ensure your child is making progress. Please keep us informed of how useful this is for you.
Thank you.
19.10.04

Visits to the College
Once again we have had many visitors to the college this week; Ofsted spent a day with us to look at how our Initial Trainee Teachers are supported and the University tutor visited us to find out how we managed our training of their trainees and both of these visits reported very favourably.
12.11.04

CERTIFICATE EVENING FOR YEAR 11 STUDENTS (03-04)
Our former year 11 students will return next Thursday (18th November) to receive their GCSE certificates. We are particularly proud of this year group and therefore are looking forward to meeting up with them to formally congratulate them on their fine results. It is also the opportunity for them to meet up and catch up with news from former class mates. This is an evening staff look forward to as the informal atmosphere enables us to share with them our recognition of their success and to discover their future plans.
12.11.04

A BUSY WEEK
Our first week back and an extremely busy one. On Monday we were prepared and ready for the press when our students performed their Song “Amen in the darkness”. There are plans to release this as a single in aid of the NSPCC charity, watch this space. We had a mayoral visit and the launch of the Engineering Club. All of these items are included in this newsletter. What a pace to set for the next half term!

ATTENDANCE
We are shortly going to use a colour code system to encourage the improvement in attendance. You will receive notification explaining how it works.

However, we are delighted to see our figures for attendance improve and were therefore very pleased to receive a letter from Denise Stokoe, the Director of Education stating

“I was delighted to note that Eastbourne Technology College far exceeded the average secondary school rate of improvement in attendance with 1.7% increase, compared to 0.93% overall.”

A very big thank you to our parents and students for making this possible. Keep it up!
Thank you.
04.11.04

ENGINEERING CLUB LAUNCH
This marked a very important occasion for the town of Eastbourne. As you may know there is a desperate need for engineers in the UK. Eastbourne decided to do something about it and have galvanised the support of Engineering Companies, the Eastbourne Business Partnership, the Chamber of Commerce and schools in a committed drive to address the problem. The secondary schools sent students to ETC on Wednesday evening to enter a challenge – to make a sand yacht in a limited time with limited materials. The results were truly innovative and exciting. ETC is committed to supporting the drive for Engineering in our own development of the BTEC Engineering course (currently in year 10). A big thank you to the staff at ETC for organising the evening. It was a great success.
04.11.04

A MAYORAL VISIT
On Wednesday we received a visit from the Mayor, Councillor Barbara Goodall. She was invited in to be interviewed by Frankie Simmons, Hannah Townsend and Leanne Attwood for our slot on Eastbourne Youth Radio.

The students conducted the interview in a thoroughly professional way. The mayor then toured the school and popped into classes to gain a glimpse of ETC at work. It was a very enjoyable morning for all involved.
04.11.04

END OF HALF TERM REVIEW
We all look forward to the break next week. This half term has been a very rewarding one - if a tiring one. Our students deserve the break. They have worked hard and we have pushed them hard. Their efforts however, have been rewarded.

Looking back over the half term it is worth highlighting those events and issues we feel have made this start to the year so meaningful:

We started of course with a brilliant set of results behind us which gave everybody the lift and determination to do even better.
Attendance is improved – against every week last year we are doing better. Well done!
We now have learning embedded in our students’ practice. This makes the focus even more successful.
The girl/boy seating is proving to enhance concentration and this is from the students.
We have had very good media coverage over our many successes.
We have made some extremely good appointments for the start of the year and we are all benefiting from their experience, expertise and enthusiasm.
A group of gifted and talented students joined others at Sussex University for a day’s event.
Our students gained such a great deal from the visiting poets.
Our students also spent the day with business men and women to learn about the ‘real world’ of business.
Our new parents evening was extremely successful.
Our students went to the theatre for a production of Journeys End to support them in their GCSE
Our GCSE drama students participated in an exacting workshop which provided huge benefits to them.
Our bullying is reduced.
Our year 7 have settled extremely well and look to be a well motivated and high achieving group.
We have introduced another method of supporting our students through Peer Mediation.
Extra curricular music is on the scene with a vengeance.
Our BTEC engineers have made a fantastic start with employers and the college.
Our new facility of a training room is proving to be a very valuable asset.

All of this is a tremendous credit to staff and students. Wherever our students have been involved in the community they have been such a credit to us. Well done and let’s see even greater achievement through the next half term.
22.11.04

IF YOU NEED TO SEE A MEMBER OF STAFF
May I remind parents that we are not always immediately available for your convenience. We are always keen to meet with you but you are asked to make an appointment rather than arrive at the school in order to see a member of staff. All staff teach and need to see parents outside of teaching commitments. Our teaching commitment is sacrosanct and will not be interrupted.
Thank you.
22.11.04

12TH OCTOBER 2004 - OPEN EVENING
This evening was a tremendous success. We had double the numbers walking through our doors this year and these prospective parents were all very interested in what we do and how we do it.
The greatest ambassadors for our school are our students who were a real credit to us and to you, their parents on this evening. Students were showing parents around, taking part in various activities and events throughout the subject areas, performing in various ways. It was a vibrant affair and many thanks to all who were involved.
15.10.04

DAK HUGHES
You may have read the front page of the local paper on Wednesday about the tragic death of Dak. He left here two years ago and we were all stunned and shocked at hearing the news of his death. We remember him as a wonderful young man. He contributed in so many ways to the school. He was well liked, conscientious, helpful, kind and keen to do well.

We are so sad to hear of his death and extend our sympathies to his family at this very difficult time. We are trying to come to terms with this too.
15.10.04

PARKING OUTSIDE THE SCHOOL
May I request that parents do not park directly outside the school gates at the end of the school day. It is causing severe congestion but more importantly is becoming dangerous for our students who have to cross the road. I would ask that parents heed the yellow lines and arrange to pick their children up along the road.
Thank you.
15.10.04

EARLY CLOSURE - FRIDAY 22ND OCTOBER
Students will be dismissed from school at 1.20pm on Friday 22nd October. This is the last day of this half term. Half term is for the whole week and we look forward to the second half of this term which starts on Monday 1st November.
15.10.04

REPORT ON JEANS FOR GENES
We had a very good response to the Jeans for Genes day last Friday. We raised a £313.41. We try to support charities in a range of ways. Each year group supports their own charity and as a whole school we support one per term. This term has traditionally been Jeans for Genes and we are very pleased that we are able to contribute in any way we can to such worthy causes.
11.10.04

OPEN EVENING
12TH OCTOBER 2004
Advance notice that we will be closed for the afternoon of Tuesday 12th October. The students will be dismissed at 1.20pm. Any student entitled to a free school meal will collect their lunch from the canteen at break time.
11.10.04

HOMEWORK
We believe firmly that Homework is an important part of your child’s curriculum. Homework serves several purposes but the main ones are:
q that it teaches children the skill of independent learning. This is essential for young people in later life.
q It also encourages children to become better organised and self disciplined.

We would like your help in ensuring your children complete and hand their homework in on time.

From Monday 4th October we will be taking note of students who miss the deadline for homework in any one week period. If a student misses a deadline on 3 or more occasions they will be identified and you will be informed.
If the situation continues you will be called in to try to resolve the issue. For the vast majority of our students this will not apply as they already recognise the important part that homework plays in their learning – we are hoping to extend this to the whole student body.
05.10.04

INSET DAY TUESDAY 5TH OCTOBER
You have already received notice of this in the calendar. This is just a reminder. The school will be open to staff and students who owe detentions. All other students need not attend.
05.10.04

OPEN EVENING 12TH OCTOBER 2004
Advance notice that we will be closed for the afternoon of Tuesday 12th October. The students will be dismissed at 1.20pm. Any student entitled to a free school meal will collect their lunch from the canteen at break time.

A REFLECTION ON THE FIRST FEW WEEKS OF THE NEW YEAR.
Whether it is the result of good exam results, whether it is the result of good holidays enjoyed by all, the school has returned on a very positive footing. The student body has returned with the right attitude; the year 11 students particularly are already focusing their energies on their future exams. The year 7 students have settled remarkably well and we are very pleased with their keen and enthusiastic approach to their learning. Incidents of misbehaviour are fewer, exclusions are drastically reduced. All in all we are looking towards a very bright future. Many thanks for your support in playing your part in all of this. I will continue to update you at points throughout the year.
05.10.04

Mrs Stevens
Mrs Stevens has changed her role for this academic year. She will join the Senior Management Team; leading a project on Assessment for Learning. She will continue with her role as leader of the Arts Faculty but will have a more central and whole school role as a member of Senior Management. We wish her well in this new venture.
24.09.04

CALENDAR
This issue of the Newsletter contains an overview of the calendar for the year. This provides parents with advance warning of the major events throughout this year. However, we will continue to remind parents of forthcoming events throughout the year.
17.09.04

STUDENTS SUPPORTING STUDENTS
We also include information about some of the support our students offer each other. We believe that our students are capable of supporting and caring for each other extremely well. We provide them with training; enabling them to feel that they are really making a difference to their fellow students. We are very proud of our students’ mature and tactful approach to their role and recognise how special this particular form of support is.
17.09.04

OUR M.P. VISITS
We have received quite a splash in the newspaper this week and we are very grateful to Nigel Waterson MP for visiting us last Friday to congratulate us on our examination success. Our students deserve this recognition and we hope they are all carrying on in their positive attitudes in their post 16 studies.
17.09.04

THE NEW TERM
Our students are settling very well into this new term and new year. Uniform is being adhered to, students seem to have returned from their summer break refreshed and with the right attitude. Many thanks to parents for supporting your child in all of this and in the huge reduction in requests for holidays in term time. Parents are recognising how much their children miss when out of school.

Unfortunately, the curriculum is so full that we haven’t the time to go over topics again for an absent student.

A change we have introduced this year is that we have seating plans for our classes and in Key Stage 3; years 7 – 9. The students sit boy/girl/boy/girl. Educational research tells us that this seating arrangement supports students’ learning and improves concentration. We will review this throughout the year and keep you informed.
10.09.03

ANNUAL PARENTS MEETING
The school will shortly be sending home to parents a copy of the Governing Body’s Annual Report.

Please could you state in writing by Monday 20th September whether you wish the governing body to hold an annual meeting this year.

Please forward any response to:-
Mrs L Kirk, Clerk to the Governing Body at the school.
10.09.03

WELCOME BACK TO ALL

I hope you have all had a good break and that our youngsters are ready to return full of enthusiasm and resolve. The school has been given a spring clean (or should it be summer clean?) and looks very bright and welcoming. We are all looking forward to a successful year ahead.

GCSE RESULTS
It is official! We are the most improved school in East Sussex. We are absolutely delighted with the results of our year 11 students this year. They worked so hard throughout the year. They applied themselves wholeheartedly and, with the constant ‘pushing’ of our staff, they remained focused until the bitter end. We are so proud of them. They achieved a magnificent 43% A* - C. This means we have moved from 26% to 43% in one year (65% improvement) and are determined to build on this.

Every year the examination boards identify the top 5 students in each subject for the whole country. This year we are extremely proud to announce that we have two students who have received such recognition.

Sam Yoshua was one of the top 5 in Humanities and Marta Mendes one of the top 5 for Spanish.

This change in results has vindicated our belief that we (students and staff) can do it. We look forward to your support in helping your child realise their full potential to be equally rewarded in their final year.

NEW STAFF
We are pleased to welcome our new staff:

Luke Atkinson- Science Teacher
Steven Board - Systems Manager
Tom Booth - D&T/Art Technician
Zoe Delgado – Languages Teacher
Donna Dreeling – Faculty Assistant
Paul Hurcombe – Sports Co-ordinator
Julie Light – Humanities Teacher
David Taubman – Music Teacher
Grant Taylor- Science Teacher

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