JOHN SMEATON COMMUNITY COLLEGE
ry r e M as m t s Chri rnors Head Teacher and Chair of Gove Hello, we are the radio team at John Smeaton Community College. The team consists of six FM students from the Sixth A N Form: Kyle Gillatt, NA Oliver Iaquinandi, Elliott Moon, Hardy Nkole, Alex We a v e r a n d Kenny Chinembir.
We have enjoyed another fruitful start to the academic year and we are looking forward to further successes in the New Year. Our Music department has recently received a boost after a visit from HMI and we continue to support the city by promoting the achievements we have made over recent times.
The students have organised NANA FM as part of their weekly Enrichment Course.
The New Year will see the start of the next round of Governors meetings and an opportunity for the Governors to participate in discussions with regards to the many varied topics which are part of school life. Governors will continue to do their very best for the benefit of our students, their health, safety and welfare. Their future is always at the forefront of our minds. The college continues to grow in popularity and as a result there are more applications than there are places available! “Christmas would not be Christmas but for the happy interchange of greetings”, so said Charles Dickens. This is a sentiment we endeavour to achieve all year round at the college. With this in mind, the staff and Governors would like to wish everyone associated with the college a very happy Christmas and prosperous New Year.
al Children In Need Appe In order to raise money for Children In Need the school had a Non Uniform Day. Individual students and staff also raised money with other activities. To date we have raised over £542
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The radio is used not only for broadcasting music but for advertising events such as Grease The Musical, The Children In Need Appeal and the sports teams results. Be sure to listen to NANA FM and if you have any comments or suggestions please see a member of the Radio Team in the Post 16 Common Room.
Job Vacancy BEHAVIOUR SUPPORT WORKER PERMANENT POST TERM TIME + 5 DAYS Post Available from January 2009 For more information, visit our web site on:
www.johnsmeaton.leeds.sch.uk or contact the college on; 0113 3368363 During the Christmas break the Application Forms/Job Description/ Person Specification are available on the web site
Closing Date: January 5th 2009 ton . Smea olle ge nity C u m m o eaton C John Sm
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. Leeds . LS15 8TA
JOHN SMEATON COMMUNITY COLLEGE Attendance Matters Reaching their potential Research has shown that attendance below 95% (9 days absence) can have a detrimental impact on a student's results. Not only can poor attendance affect exam results, it also affects the student's chances of a place at college or in employment. How does it affect my child? It can affect exam results.
It can affect exam choices. They may not get a place at college or in employment.
TAKING HOLIDAYS IN TERM TIME WILL MEAN THAT YOUR CHILD IS UNLIKELY TO ACHIEVE THEIR POTENTIAL. IN THE FUTURE WE WILL NOT AUTHORISE ANY HOLIDAYS TAKEN IN TERM TIME. In order to support us with attendance: Please arrange holidays out of term time. Please inform us if you are planning to take your child out
of school for a holiday. Contact the Year Office on the first day of absence. Encourage your child to catch up with missed work by: (a) (b) (c)
Seeing the class teacher. Copying notes from a friend. Logging onto KS3/GCSE Bitesize.
Check and discuss with them their individual attendance.
target. What is Persistent Absence? Students whose attendance is below 80% (a target set by the DCSF) at given points throughout the year are classed as Persistent Absence (PA) students. The school has to report the number of and the names of these students to Education Leeds and the Government. It doesn't matter whether the absence is authorised – all absences count. If your child is a PAstudent you will be notified by your child's year office. “Monsters” created by CLD Students Jordon Honey Amy Willimason David Yarrington Andrew Hewitt
REMEMBER The greater the attendance, the greater the achievement. Thanks for your support. Please contact Ms Agnew if you require more information.
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JOHN SMEATON COMMUNITY COLLEGE Literacy Initiative As part of the Literacy Initiative in Year 7, the whole of the Stand Down Day was dedicated to LiteracyActivities for students in Year 7. It began with all the Year 7 students receiving their free book from the Department For Children, Schools and Families. The students had been able to choose a book from a list of twelve books.
Just a few of the students from Year 7 receiving their free books from Mr J Daulby
The author James Nash completed a series of workshops where objects were used to promote ideas prior to students writing their own poems.
James Nash working with students
“A great day with young people. The poems produced were excellent and everyone wrote something of which they could be proud. The school was a warm and welcoming place to be in.” James Nash
Readathon th
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During the week the 19 - 26 November Miss Geldard and a group of Year 7 students began a Readathon which was kicked started during Stand Down Day when the focus for Year 7 was Literacy. Many students were extremely keen and more than Students with Miss Geldard taking part in the Readathon willing to take part which was great to see! The money raised by Readathon is currently donated equally to CLIC Sargent and The Roald Dahl Foundation, who between them spend it primarily caring for children and young people in the UK suffering from cancer, Hodgkin's disease, leukaemia, epilepsy, blood disorders or acquired brain injury. As well as raising money for these very worthy charities Readathon was also a brilliant way to get our students motivated about reading and excited about new books. So far we have raised over £314.03 which is absolutely fantastic!
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Abig well done to everyone who has helped.
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JOHN SMEATON COMMUNITY COLLEGE
STAND DOWN DAY Pedal Power Whilst cyclist fatalities fell from 146 to 136 in 2007, a government report shows total cyclist casualties were at the same level as 2006 at 16,195. More worryingly there were 2,428 seriously injured cyclists, six percent higher than in 2006. It is therefore even more important that our young people receive training for our busy roads. Dave Briton and Dave Sloman (Leeds City Council Road Safety Team) delivered Level 11 Cycle Training to a group of students on our Stand Down day. The course covered basic road safety, cycling skills and an “on road” exercise. The students were excellent and listened well. Many new safety skills were learnt and took place in a safe, relaxed and fun atmosphere.
Careers Group Work The students at John Smeaton Community College have a wealth of experience to offer prospective employers both in their work, volunteering and personal activities. In order to help student focus on their aims and to aspire to the right level a number of career talks have been organised to support students. These talks have been aimed at the most popular areas such as: Business and Finance, Health and Social Care, Construction, Sport, Leisure and Tourism and Hair and Beauty The photograph shows Careers Adviser Sheila Murphy and students who are interested in the construction industry finding out about the different levels they can aspire such as craft, technical and professional level. The session have taken place during registration and illustrates student commitment to focus on and working towards their career goals
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JOHN SMEATON COMMUNITY COLLEGE
E - Safety Guide
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JOHN SMEATON COMMUNITY COLLEGE Author Richard McCann
Richard McCann presenting an Assembly and talking to Year 9 students about his life experiences and choices.
Grease The Musical The cast of Grease continue to work hard to produce John Smeaton’s First School Musical.The music department and pupils enjoyed a day of rehearsals for the up and coming school production of Grease The Musical. Pupils worked from 9am through to 6pm. Cast members learning new dance routines which included complicated lifts and using new and exciting props (Brum Brum!!!!)! This was also first opportunity to try on some of the costumes. The day was great fun and the cast which ranges from Year 7 to 11 have now named themselves the Grease Family! Tickets went on sale during the last week of November and have already sold out for Thursday 15th January. If you would like tickets for the remaining 2 nights (Tuesday 13th Jan or Wednesday 14th Jan) please contact Miss White on 01133368363 (ext 60919). Tickets cost £3 each (under 5's £1), doors open at 6.30pm and the show begins at 7pm.
Images around the college
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JOHN SMEATON COMMUNITY COLLEGE Everest Expedition Part 2 - Adam Thomas It was another day's walk to Kala Patthar, but it was an amazing sight, from here we could see the peak of Mount Everest and other mountains including Nuptse (7861 m asl) and Lhotse (8414 m asl). About half way up Kala Patthar which is about 5550 m asl, the oxygen levels were about 50%, so it was like breathing with one lung, I felt really bad but just pushed on to the top. Everyone was glad to reach the summit, feeling a real sense of achievement, we could see miles and miles of mountain glaciers. After taking literally hundreds of photos we trekked down the mountain to join the others at the lodge. We were happy to be together again and had returned with samples of rocks from the summit as they hadn't been able to collect any for themselves. We had to walk to the airport at Lukla, it had one runway, and the planes were not much to look at but they would get us back to Kathmandu. Here we heard the bad news, the weather was so bad that the planes couldn't fly out. We had to stay in the lodge for a week before starting a walk back to Jiri which would take us about 3-5 days depending on how fast we travelled. Eventually we arrived in Junbesi where we had an hour for lunch before we starting a walk south to another airport. It took us about three hours but it was worth it, everyone was happy to see the runway, but then more bad news : we could not fly until the next morning. As morning came we had to wait around before being told that our plane was setting off from the main airport in Kathmandu, and would arrive in about forty minutes. We could not believe our eyes as the plane landed, it looked so small. The flight to the capital was OK, a bit of turbulence and as a result of sitting next to the engine I couldn't hear out of my right ear for a week. That night in Kathmandu we went out for a meal. Everyone who had completed a trek or climbed mountains would eat here, and we had to write our names on a “wooden yeti foot” to say where we had been. There was a wooden yeti foot in a glass cabinet which belonged to Sir Edmund Hillary. The expedition was a real experience for me and the others and will remain so for the rest our lives. I would like to thank all the people who made this trip possible for me including my family, friends, the Army Cadets, Raine & Horne for sponsoring me but especially my mum and dad. The expedition should have lasted from 1st August to the 29th August but due to the bad weather it lasted until 5th September.
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JOHN SMEATON COMMUNITY COLLEGE DR RO OY ND AN Y SA S FANCY DRESS OPENING TIMES MON, TUES,FRI 10 - 6
OPENING TIMES WED & SAT 10 - 5
OPENING TIMES THURS 10 - 7
OPENING TIMES SUNDAY 11-3
Manufactures of high quality costumes 72-74 Crossgates Road Crossgates Leeds LS15 7NN
Tel: 0113 2328123 E-mail:
[email protected] www.sandroy.co.uk
DISCLAIMER “John Smeaton Community College displays adverts from local organisations who have supported the publication of this Newsletter. This should not be interpreted as an endorsement by the college of any of the services or providers who are advertised herein.”
We would like to thank those local business who have supported our Newsletter.
Coming Soon
Dates For Your Diary 19th December: School Closes at 12.30 5th January:
School Opens
5th February:
Year 9 Parents Evening
Awards Evening Grease The Musical (13th-15th January)
13th February: Training Day (School closed for students) John Smeaton Commu nity
Work Experience Visits
College . Smea ton
Approa
ch . Le eds . LS 15 8TA
