2015

The Orchard Centre
This term…..Parents’ Evening in January was well
We introduced homework packs for all pupils in January.
The work in the packs links to the curriculum plan for the
term for each subject. Students should be bringing the
work back into school for marking as soon as each piece
is complete rather than leaving it all until the end of the
half term.
Students have been involved in Charity fund raising
events for Red Nose Day by making cakes, wearing red
and having their faces painted. £80 was raised on the
day.
Year 10 and 11 pupils have attended a skills seminar at
Dunstall Park as part of a careers / next steps focus.
Datesforyourdiary
Schoolcloses2.40pmFriday27thMarch2015
Schoolre-opensforstudentsfortheSummerTermon
Monday13thAprilattheusualtime.
Wednesday22ndApril2015ParentsEvening3:15–
5:30pm
Year 11 are preparing for the External Examinations next
term. Revision programmes should already be underway
and teaching staff are on hand to offer help, advice and
support.
BankHolidayMonday4thMaySchoolClosed
‘Rewards’ trips are taking place this week. Some pupils
are attending Cannon Raceway, some are watching a
film with ice cream and popcorn laid on, others are going
to the WM Safari Park and some pupils have chosen
High street vouchers.
SchoolopensMonday1stJune2015attheusualtime.
Whiteschoolshirtorwhitepoloshirt(withoutlogo).
SchoolClosesattheendofFriday22ndMay(HalfTerm
break)
Schoolcloses(EndofTerm)Monday20thJuly2015
UNIFORM REMINDER:
Blackschooltrousersorblackschoolskirt(knee-length).Notleggings,jeggingsorjeans.
Blackfootwear(nocolouredlaces,logosorcolouredsoles).
Blackcardiganorknittedjumperorschoolblazermaybewornindoors(fleecetopsareoutdoorwear.
Studentswillbeaskedtoremovetheminclass)Jewelleryshouldbeveryminimal.Earrings,ifworn,
mustbeclosefittingstuds,oneperear.
Nexttermwewillbehavingafocusonuniform.Pleaseensurethatyourchildiswearingtheright
uniformbeforesettingoutforschooleachday.Thiswillavoidushavingtocontactyoutoremedythe
problem.
The Orchard Centre
March 2015
Telephone:
E-mail:
01902 555 947
[email protected]
Important Messages
attended and we thank you for your feedback on this.
nd
Please note that the next Parents’ Evening will be on 22
April 2015 from 3:15 -5:30pm.
Studentsfromyears10and11weregiventhechancetovisitTheSkillsShowat
WolverhamptonRaceCourseDunstall.Thiswasajobsandcareerfair.Theywereableto
haveagoatarangeofwork-relatedactivitiestogivethematasteoftheskillstheywould
developindifferentindustries,includingtimedwheelchangeandcarpentrychallenges,
bricklaying,spraypainting,computergamestesting,musicsequencing,3D
modelling,neckmassages,nailartandcupcakedecoration.Severalstudentswonmedals
fortakingpartinawiderangeofactivities.Itwasanenjoyablemorningthatgotthem
thinkingabouttheirfuturecareers.
Wolverhampton360SubstanceMisuseServicehavebeenintotheCentre
totalktoallyear10and11pupilsaboutthedangersofarangeof
differentdrugsbothlegalandillegalandhowtoidentifyillegaldrugs.
Theyalsotoldthemabouttheirserviceand
whathelpandsupporttheycanoffer.
Year11shavebeenonvisitstoWolverhamptonandDudley
collegestogainanunderstandingofwhattheyofferand
howtoapplyforcourses.
National Citizen Service
We had some visitors who came to speak to year 11 about NCS. They spoke about an
opportunity that helpsyoungpeopletobuildtheirskillsforworkandlife,whiletakingon
newchallengesandmeetingnewfriends.Thisisonlyopenonceto16and17yearolds.It
involvesaresidential,learningnewskillsandthenacommunityproject.Avery
worthwhileopportunity.
All students had road safety talks by Paul Lever from
Wolverhampton Council to remind them about keeping safe
especially when distracted by friends and mobile
phones.
AllstudentshadtalksfromourlocalPCSOsonsocial
media,internetsafetyandchildexploitation.Theyshouldbeawarehowtousethem
safelyandappropriatelyandwhattodoifanyproblemsoccur.Theyweretoldtobe
carefulaboutanypersonalinformationandphotographstheyputonlineandtomake
sureallprofilesaresetonprivate.
BreakfastatMcDonaldswasa
rewardforallstudentwhoreturnedhomework
lasthalfterm.
ForRedNosedaywedressedinredormadeour
facefunny!Wehadacakesaleandaguessthe
staffcompetition.Wehadrednosecakesandguessthesweetsinthejar.Wemanagedto
raise£80.Welldonetoeveryonewhocontributed.
Rewardsforpointscollectedforwork,behaviourandrespecthavebeenspentonaTrack
ExperienceatCannonRaceway,atouroftheSealifeCentreinBirmingham,theexperience
ofWestMidlandsSafariPark,havingnailspainted,afilminthecentrewithpopcornand
ice-cream,playingcomputergamesandgiftcards.Themorepointscollectedthemore
theyhadtospend.Waitandseewhatisonoffernextterm!
AtthebeginningoftheSpringterm
weintroducedourBreakfastClub.
Wewantedtoensurethatallpupils
hadaccesstoahealthybreakfastso
thattheyarereadytolearn.Weare
fortunatetobesupportedbytheMagicBreakfast–acharitywhichhasprovided
cereals,bagelsandfruitjuicefreeofchargeforallpupils.
Thesuccessofthebreakfastclubhasgonefromstrengthtostrength.Students
canenjoyatoastedbagelorcerealswhentheyarriveatschool.Wearealso
nowofferingbagelsatbreaktime.Wehavepurchasedanewtoasterand
needtoraise£50tocoverthecost.Wearerafflingachocolatebouquetto
raisethemoney–50paticket.Pleasesupportusbybuyingaticket.
Keepupthegoodwork!
Ourstudentsreallyvaluetheirlearningandmakeeveryefforttocometoschooleveniftheyare
feelingabitundertheweather.Sofarattendanceisaboutaveragecomparedtowhatitwaslast
academicyearbutitishopedthiswillincreasenextterm.
Headlinenews…
KaylumHunt,LaurenGutteridgeandBonyChumber,haveachieved100%attendanceforthewhole
ofthisterminTheCentre.
DanielWright,JasleenSidhu,HussainAli,RileyBrittain,arealsotopattendershavingachieved
above97%attendanceforthisterm.
Eachtermstudentswhoachieveabove95%attendancetoschoolreceiveareward,andtheform
withthebestattendanceeachweekalsogetsacertificateandtheattendancetrophy.Thebest
formsforattendancethistermhavebeen,Group3and10CC.
Ifyouaresurethatyourchildisunfittoattendschool,oryouhaveamedicalappointmenttoattend,
youmustcontacttheAttendanceOfficerandletherknow.Youcanleaveamessageonthe
AttendanceHotlineatanytime.Thetelephonenumberis01902555947or01902558559tospeak
totheAttendanceOfficerdirect.Ifyoureceiveatextmessageaboutyourchild’sabsenceplease
replytothisassoonaspossibleinordertoinformschoolofthereasonforabsence.
HappyEasterfromNewCrossHospitalSchoolroom
Ithasbeenabusytermintheschoolroom.Mrs
Hardwickhasenjoyedworkingatthehospitalsiteand
hasbeenwelcomedbyhospitalstaffandpatients
alike.Shecontinuestomakeapositivecontributionto
thelifeoftheschoolroom.ThankyouMrsHardwickfor
yourhardworkthisterm.
Duringthelastweekoftermthefocusforworkhas
beenEastertraditionsandFatherCraig,thehospital
chaplain,visitedtheschoolroomtotalkaboutPalmSundayandtoshowushowtomakepalm
crossesoutofdriedpalmleaves.Someoftheartworkproducedintheschoolroomwillbeinon
displayinthechapelattheNewCrosssiteandatCannockhospital.
TheOrchardCentrehashostedtwoinformationsessionsthisterm,ledbypaediatricconsultants
fromNewCrossandtheGemCentre.InJanuarythefocuswasdiabetesanditsimpactoneducation
andinMarchthesessionwasaboutdyspraxia.Bothsessionswerewellattendedbyeducation
professionalsfromawiderangeofWolverhamptonschoolsandagencies.
Goodbye:AttheendofthistermwesayfarewelltoMrsAnnWhitlock.MrsWhitlock
hastaughtstudentsinExternalServicesforthelasttenyearsandwehavevaluedand
appreciatedherskill,patienceandenthusiasm.Weallsendherourbestwishesuponher
retirement.