Coast: Issue 11
Welcome to the October issue of our COAST magazine.
Year 7
Year 7 have made a fantastic start to their secondary school career, and I am very proud of them and how they have settled into OAS.
Three of our students, Nancy Allen, Evie Rogers and Daniel Mooney were confident enough to speak during the Open Evening on 19th September 2023. They were able to explain what it is like to be a student in Year 7 here at Sholing to an audience of Year 5 and Year 6 students and their parents. The Year 7 students were amazing and an absolute credit to the year group – well done Nancy, Evie and Daniel!
Aidan Blake in Year 7 won the Solent open golf on Sunday 10th September 2023. Aidan brought along 4 of his trophies into school on Tuesday 12th September 2023 to show his tutor group and his tutor Mr Bowden. Well done Aidan!
Currently Year 7 are top of the school for attendance and for the number of positive reward points. I am very proud of the positive attitude to learning displayed by members of the year group during lessons and tutor sessions. The top ten Year 7 students with the most reward points are listed below.
1st Amelia Baird
2nd Molly Picken
3rd Katie Venn
4th Ellie-Mae Chalker
5th Maisie Howells
6th Hannah Ahmed
7th Freya Perkins
8th Archie Chapman
9th Gabriels Drups
10th Edward Richards
The Top Tutor Attendance for Year 7 are joint first 7TN and 7VS with 97%. Joint second are 7AN, 7IS and 7VN with 95%. Thank you to everyone for working so hard to make it into school on time this half-term. We appreciate all of your efforts and are very proud of you.
Since the start of term, students have been learning how to meet and greet people in their French and Spanish lessons. Students have also had the learning cycle explained to them so that they understand how their long-term memory works and how our lessons are chunked into sections to help them to learn more effectively.
As part of their Cultural Capital sessions, Year 7 students have been learning about what it means to be part of a community and how to be a good role model for others. The Police and Breaking the Chain, a Theatre Performance Group, have also visited and delivered assembly sessions about personal safety.
Last week all Year 7 students participated in an Anti-Bullying Assembly as part of Anti-Bullying week and each Year 7 tutor group has elected a Tutor Representative and an Anti-Bullying Ambassador. They were all very excited to accept their position of responsibility and they are incredibly keen to get started in their new roles. Our Tutor Representatives and Anti-Bullying Ambassadors are listed below.
Now that they are feeling more confident, I am hoping that Year 7 will take the opportunity to join some of the wide ranging free extracurricular clubs once the details of these are published. Please see the website for more information.
Well done Year 7. Keep up the good work!
Mrs Rolls, Head of Year 7
Year 8
Firstly, a very warm welcome to all parents of Year 8. I would like to say that so far, I have been so very impressed by the maturity and enthusiasm from our lovely year 8 students. I am a firm believer in keeping a strong, open line of communication between home and school to ensure that each student is the best they can be.
I would also like to add that I will be their permanent head of year until they leave in 2026, I know this seems a lifetime away, however, time really does fly when you are having fun 😊
If your child attends any after school activities, please do let me know and send me updates as I love to hear what they are doing outside of school. Recently Kai Lynch is now an under 14 British Champion (American Flag Football) such an amazing achievement. We hope to hear many stories just like this.
We had an amazing assembly by a theatre company introducing “Breaking the chain” it was so informative and looked at the dangers of knife crime, the students were especially engaged and were exemplary inn their behaviour.
Shout out to our Year 8s who were nominated by their tutor for outstanding tutee this academic half term. A fantastic effort and these young people are truly an inspiration, keep up the great work. 😊
I have also taken the opportunity to add a special award this half term, this is for Respect, and I will be handing out certificates each term with the Oasis 9 Habits in mind.
Outstanding students for Respect are: Fabian Carter & Molly Page
Every assembly we have held and whenever I have seen these students around school they have shown nothing but respect for myself but also to others, I am so very proud of them.
A massive shout out also to our new anti-bullying ambassadors who have volunteered to be spokespeople for their year group. They each received a new anti-bullying badge so everyone knows who they are.
Miss H Sydenham, Hear of Year 8
Year 9
What a whirlwind first half term it a has been! The Year 9’s have got off to a fantastic start this year, it has been lovely to see how they have matured over the holidays and come back ready to start their journey towards options. It was my honour to be Head of Year 8 last year and I’m proud to continue to take our students on through their years at Oasis Academy Sholing.
The students were greeted with a very different looking school when they arrived in September, with some very exciting changes coming our way. This has not phased them in the least, as they continue to present themselves as great examples for the younger years to follow. It seems our turbulent weather at the beginning of term has settled and we are moving into shorter days of autumn and winter, so I am sure we will all return from the half term break wrapped up nice and warm!
One of the new additions to Oasis Sholing are the cooking rooms – which are looking very high end indeed. I believe their first foray into cooking this year will be a delicious sweet and sour chicken, and I am sure you will be enjoying the fruits of their labours at home (assuming these dishes have not been eaten on the way!). I am personally looking forward to popping in smelling all those scrumptious creations!
We have a long roll call of students who have maintained 100% attendance so far this term, and long may it continue! We strive to maintain a high attendance rate to support our students with their progress and achievements, and this is a key focus point for our tutor sessions.
Our Year 9’s have been collecting Reward Points at a rapid rate this half term, showing us just how fantastic they are and what great examples of our community (both in and out of school) they can be. Below are some of top scores so far this year (with over 100 positive reward point).
I wish all our families a relaxing half term, and look forward to our return after half term – and to the many opportunities for celebration leading up to the holidays!
Mr MacDonald, Head of Year 9
Year 11
Year 11 will be beginning their mock examinations after the half term break and have received their timetables and revision booklets for these examinations already. It is important that they attend every examination. Students will receive the results of these mocks in December.
I want to say a big congratulations to the sixty students in the year group who have maintained 100% attendance this term. We are aware that illness may mean that a student may not be able to attend on a particular day however it is important that they minimise absences. Research from the Department for Education has shown that a student with 100% attendance achieves about 1 grade higher in each subject at GCSE than a student with 90% attendance relative to their predicted grades. Good attendance at school is a condition for attendance at Prom which has been arranged for Thursday 4th July.
If you have got any questions please do contact your child’s tutor or email year11@oasissholing.org
Mr Wilkinson, Head of Year 11
The new Year 7s' transition and induction has been a top priority for the prefects this term. Despite the fact that it has been a significant shift, they are now settling into lessons and a routine. The students in Year 10 have just chosen their GCSE options and are starting to learn the exam material, while those in Year 11 are working hard to get ready for mock exams that will be held after the half-term. The prefects in the mental health and well-being team are busy developing new ideas to implement in the forthcoming year, while the prefects in the charity and events team are also working on many new fundraising concepts.
Best wishes – Student Communications Team
In KS3, we have begun the year with a variety of interesting texts. In Year 7, we have started our ‘Heroes’ year with Greek Myths. This has been a new and exciting start to Year 7 as we introduce them to some of the most infamous heroes and villains in history. Year 8 and Year 9 have started to explore new Shakespeare plays—a familiar era and style of writing for our students. Year 8 are exploring conflict in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ through our tragic heroes; Year 9 are learning how ‘Othello’ addresses societal issues such as racism and sexism.
We’d like to say a huge well-done to our fantastic Key Stage Three students.
Year 7
Oscar Sutton-Smith—for his enthusiasm and dedication to learning.
Lily Walsh—she has shown great improvement in her studies and contribution to lessons.
Year 8
Sophia Kant—for always being on task, contributing to lessons and demonstrating excellent reading skills.
Jenson Lowrey—for showing resilience and great attitude to his learning. He is now contributing so much more in lesson which is great to see.
Year 9
Nathan Milner—great attitude to his work; he has taken on all challenges including learning lots of new and challenging vocab.
Zara Clouder—for showing resilience and being keen to improve and develop her writing.
At KS4, our students have been studying or revising our rigorous GCSE texts. Year 10 have just been introduced to Macbeth—this is their third Shakespeare play since beginning their English studies at Oasis Academy Sholing. This is another opportunity to build upon previous knowledge and stretch their understanding of Jacobean context.
Year 11 are continuing to study new content for the poetry section of their English Literature exam. As mocks begin after October half term, we are also spending time revising key quotes, concepts, and exam techniques. Good luck to our Year 11 students on their first set of assessments this academic year.
We’d like to say a huge well-done to our fantastic Key Stage Four students.
Year 10
Liam Andrews—he has come back with a fantastic attitude to his work and is helping other students in lesson. Well done!
Macey Cherry—she has shown such resilience to her learning and work. She has produced some phenomenal analytical writing.
Year 11
Owen Bergg—his dedication to his studies has shown some real improvement in his work. We are very proud.
Heidi Barrett—her high-quality work and dedication to her studies has been outstanding. Well-done!
Extra-curriculars
The department runs a Debate Club every week to challenge and stretch our students. This is a wonderful opportunity for our learners to practise their fluency and articulacy. It allows them to share their viewpoint and learn about other people’s viewpoints in a constructive manner. Students also have a lot of autonomy in this club and so it is also instilling independence in all members.
As a department, we will be entering the Rotary Club’s Young Writer Competition and Youth Speaks Competition for another year. We have had some success at a regional and district level over the past few years. We look forward to this next writing and debate challenge.
Our librarian has been busy collecting in students’ Bookbuzz favourites in readiness to place the school’s largest order yet!
Year 7s and Year 8s have been able to choose from 16 titles suitable for students aged 11 to 13 and chosen by a panel of school librarians and children’s reading advocates. Your child’s book, purchased by Oasis Academy Sholing, will be theirs to keep and with them in plenty of time for Christmas. Why not ask your child which book they have chosen and why?
Mrs Ridley welcomed all the wonderful Year 7 tutor groups to the library this half term to peruse our amazing book collection. Students can borrow 2 books for up to 2 weeks. In addition, they can also access e-books and audio books via e-Platform on their iPads.
With Hallowe’en just around the corner, what could be better than to curl up with than a sinister Victorian gothic novel?
Newly married, newly widowed Elsie is sent to see out her pregnancy at her late husband’s crumbling country estate. With her new servants resentful and the local villagers actively hostile, Elise only has her husband’s awkward cousin for company. Or so she thinks. For inside her new home lies a mysterious wooden figure – a Silent Companion—that bears an unsettling resemblance to Elise herself.
The Silent Companions, by Laura Purcell, is creepy, weird and full of things that go bump in the night! This chilling story is perfectly set and has a slow, gradual build up that keeps you turning the pages until the very end.
Board Game Club
Do you love playing boardgames? Would you like to meet other students with similar interests to you? Fancy finishing the week with some fun and laughter?
Then pop to the library from 3-4pm on Fridays and join in the fun.
Book Club
If you enjoy reading, then pop along to the library at 12pm on Fridays. No sign up is required, just bring yourself and your lunch!
We are currently reading The Woman in Black by Susan Hill.
Year 7
Over the last few weeks we have welcomed our new Year 7 cohort who have settled well into their Maths lessons. This half term we have been busy recapping our number knowledge from primary school. We have looked at the four operations and ensured we are confident using column addition and subtraction, for multiplication we have introduced a different method called Napiers bones. We have been looking at telling the time and using timetables to help us with planning journeys.
We have also been investigating different types of numbers such as square and prime, as well as consolidating the difference between factors and multiples.
Year 8
Year 8 have started the new year off with a deeper look at algebra, they have been applying their understanding of position to term rules to find the nth term for a given sequence. As the half term has moved on they have looked at solving equations in more depth, developing their skills by applying their understanding to forming equations in a variety of different contexts, including finding the unknown on both sides.
Year 9
Year 9 started the year off recapping co-ordinates in all 4 quadrants. They moved on to combining their understanding of algebra and co-ordinates together to investigate straight line graphs and their equations. As the half term has progressed they have looked at proportion and how it is used in everyday life such as conversion graphs.
Year 10
Year 10 have started their GCSE course, we follow the AQA specification and students will be following either Higher tier or Foundation tier. The year has started off with a focus on number, with all students looking at key ideas such as squares and cubes. This developed into working index laws and later applying his understanding to standard form. The higher tier also looked at surds and how we can use them to express irrational numbers. We have also be calculating with them.
Year 11
In Maths, Year 11 have been looking at geometry topics. This started with a look at column vectors and how they are used to show a direction and magnitude. The higher tier then looked at vector geometry which requires mathematical reasoning and problem solving. We the moved onto angles reasoning and bearings, looking at how angles can be used to describe a direction. Finally we got to practise some practical skills using compasses and protractors to perform a variety of different triangle constructions and bisectors. Foundation tier have been looking at different ways to represent data and scale factors.
Year 7 Stars
Harrison E Smith, Eleanor Brindley, Laurah Carter-Bundy, Lara Elliott, Dani Biggs, Riley Carter, James Stewart & Jack White
Year 8 Stars
Amalie Ransley, Jack Rastrick, Ben Smith-Waite, Lillie Wilson, Oliver Connis, Fabian Carter, Lilly Harris & Oliver Mackinnon
Year 9 Stars
Lillian Brindley, Amber Cannon, Neo Hadzidimitriou, Megan Cotton, Selina Tse, Eli Brown, Faith McHugh & Hollie Middlewick
Year 10 Stars
Jack Venn, Archie Whiting, Ella-Mae Anderson, Alexander Koperski, Laila Bonney, Ellie-Mai Fisher, William Jones & Aidan Nutburn
Year 11 Stars
Daisy Medley, Kiaran Shotter, Jack Bowers, Lydia Court, Jack Baldwin, Julia Fairclough, Megan Hewes & Taya Saunders
Maths Homework Club
Need help with your homework? Maths homework club will be starting in earnest after the half term in M3 on a Monday after school.
Sparx Homework
This year we are continuing to use the Sparx homework platform.
Sparx is an adaptive learning platform and adjusts to meet each students mathematical ability over time.
Homework is key to helping students consistently recall knowledge which in turn helps students remember more long term.
Sparx has videos that directly link to each questions to support students when they get stuck. If they continue to find it difficult they can speak to their class teacher.
Maths Puzzles
Science Capital
Science this year are offering a range of additional opportunities to students again this year. This half-term Year 7 celebrated Space week by learning about the moon. They built cardboard rockets to protect their eggs on their return journey from the “moon”. The featured egg in the images was called Eggbert by some students and survived the return to Earth from the moon!
Year 8 has had an exciting half term of opportunities. We first visited the JOIDES Resolution, the deep sea drilling programme research ship. They were drilling sediment off the coast of Greenland when Year 8 joined them for a Zoom call. The most fun fact we learnt was that if you were sea sick you used your helmet to throw up in!
Recently students had a visit from the University of Southampton Astrodome. Year 8 spent time learning about our galaxy in the Milky Way, and how the aurora work. This was really exciting and the first time in a planetarium for many students.
Please keep an eye out for lots of other opportunities for all students. There are currently a few Science trips advertised and open for student sign up, plus the whole of Year 9 will get the chance to visit Southampton General Hospital later in the year!
Excitingly, Science club continues this year, being run by Miss Waller, Miss Archer, and Mr Harrison every Thursday after school for years 7, 8 and 9. It has been lovely to welcome back some previous members and some new ones! So far this term the group have done heart and eye dissections, rockets, extracting DNA from fruit and looking at it under the microscope, and lots of science magic tricks such as can crushing, and flying tea bags! Anyone who would like to join the club please go and see Miss Waller in S3.
What have our students been learning so far this year?
Year 7
What are substances?
Students began the year with an introduction the most central concept in chemistry – ‘the substance’. Establishing that most materials are not ‘chemically pure’ but mixtures of substances. Students moved on to how changes of state and the observable properties of matter in different states can be explained using the particle model. The unit further explored further evidence for the particle model by developing students’ knowledge of filtration.
Year 8
Where are we in space?
We began the year with the fascinating topic of space and our place in the solar system, the motion of Earth and our place in our galaxy and the universe.
Why do things move and change?
More recently, students moved onto studying how motion is affected by forces, developing descriptions of speed and acceleration enabling students to describe motion and changes to motion accurately in a range of situations. We developed students understanding of distance - time graphs creating them ‘live’ using moving objects and our new data logging equipment.
Year 9
What are substances?
Revisiting the particle model as our means for explaining the described properties of solids, liquids, and gases, the unit then extended this model to explain why we classify substances as elements, compounds, and mixtures. Students developed their practical skills and knowledge of the practical equipment that scientists use to separate useful substances from their mixtures.
Students then learnt the history of the development of our model of the atom, following the discoveries by scientists following the Scientific Method over hundreds of years.
What gives substances their properties?
Then, students studied the history of the development of the periodic table and the scientific principles behind its construction and layout, and then applied this learning to explain the properties and trends of three critical groups of the table, namely groups 1, 7 and 0.
Year 10
Students started this term by linking their knowledge of animal, plant, and bacterial cells to new knowledge around how those cells release energy for life processes through a process called respiration. They then went on to develop a comprehensive understanding of the anatomy and physiology of human organs including those in the digestive, circulatory, and respiratory systems. They learnt about the impact of coronary heart disease, and other non-communicable diseases, on health. Students got hands on in their study by completing a dissection of a heart!
For the rest of this half term students will continue to develop their understanding of organs and organ systems by understanding the role of specific enzymes in digestion and carrying out a number of practical’s to investigate how enzyme function can be impacted by environmental changes and how to test foods for certain food groups.
Year 11
This year, our year 11’s have made a great start to their GCSE year! They are showing a fantastic amount of dedication to their learning through working hard in their lessons, engaging with their homework and already attending after school intervention.
In lessons, they started the term by learning about how different factors can affect the rate of chemical reactions. This was a fantastic opportunity for our students to experience the natural phenomena of science with a number of scientific demonstrations and a required practical.
This topic was followed by students learning about the early earth and how our atmosphere has changed over time. We used this knowledge to discuss how our world is changing and the impact that global warming is having on our planet.
We are now preparing our students to sit their first round of year 11 mock exams so, please keep an eye on your emails for information about what they need to revise, the exam preparation guide, and how as a parent/guardian you can support. Intervention for all students continues every Monday after-school with their class teacher.
Year 7
Year 7 have spent this half term learning to navigate a computers and being introduced to the Oasis Horizons project, this means that when students receive their own iPad to support their learning in and outside of school they will know how to use if effectively. More recently students have learnt about e-safety and cyberbullying finishing the half-term by producing presentations on cyberbullying using the knowledge and skills they have learnt this term.
Year 8
Year 8 have continued to develop their programming skills this half-term, using Scratch. This has included students designing and programming their own computer game.
Year 9
Year 9 have learnt how computers store data, using a system called binary. This includes how numbers, text, images, and sound can be stored.
Year 10
Year 10 Computer Science students have developed their programming knowledge further, using python. Secondly students have developed their understanding of computer systems including the purpose and running of CPU, RAM, and secondary storage elements.
Year 11
Year 11 Computer Science students started the term learning the three main programming constructs: Sequence, Selection and Iteration including implementing these. Secondly they have developed their understanding of both Boolean and arithmetic operators.
The Geography department would like to share the future planned trips being offered to support learning outside the classroom.
- Current Year 7 and 8 Iceland 7 – 11th April 2025
- Year 10 Compulsory Highcliffe fieldwork - 7th, 8th, 9th May 2024
- Year 8 trip to Hengistbury Head - Thursday 23rd May
- Year 7 trip to Burley - Tuesday 2nd July
Digimaps – Ordnance Survey online mapping tool
All students at Oasis Sholing have access to the Ordnance Survey online mapping platform, allowing access to Ordnance Survey Maps past and present across the United Kingdom.
Username: SO198PH / Password: thaths7754
Year 11 RS GCSE students are preparing for their mock exams in November. We want to inspire them and make their revision come to life, by taking them to places of worship and meeting with religious believers. We visited the Hindu Vedic Temple in Southampton, this October.
All students were extremely respectful and they asked some interesting questions.
Our RS stars for Autumn 1, who have an amazing attitude to learning and produce exceptional work are:
Year 11 - Daisy Medley and Juliet Uzoekwe
Year 10 - Olivia Pearce and Shiya Patel
Year 9 - Selina Tse and Ashley Matthews
Year 8 - Lia Majeed and Elliot Burton
Year 7 - Nancy Allen and Jayden Hall
Our RS Vision: 1. Promoting tolerance; 2. Being a good role model & 3. Facilitating social mobility
On Thursday 12th October, we took 9 talented Year 10 students to iConstruct, a Construction Careers event with a difference at Fareham College.
In four different groups, the students interviewed professionals from a local construction companies, they visited interactive activities such as bricklaying and robotics, and finally prepared and presented their findings to a panel of judges.
The feedback from professionals at the event showed that our student asked well thought out questions and came across extremely well.
Mrs Elliot said; "It was brilliant to see how well they stepped up to the task and really worked hard to impress the judges."
We will not know if the students have won any prizes for their presentations until after half term, but we are hopeful that all their hard work will reap some reward.
Finally, as we reach the end of this half term we would like to take this opportunity to update you our our exciting building work. As you can see in the photos, the new areas are really starting to come together.