Welcome to the March 2024 issue of our COAST magazine.
Sholing's new state-of-the-art sports facility due to open this Summer!
An exciting new development at Oasis Academy Sholing is under way, which will provide the secondary school and wider community with a brand-new sports facility transforming the front of the academy.
The school commenced a programme of significant building work in May 2023, with work progressing well with an estimated finish date for August 2024. The New Build will include a new sports hall, together with a new reception area and office space.
Principal, Martin Brown said:
“We are thrilled to share our exciting news with you all that our new Sports Hall and reception area will be completed within the next few months. As members of our vibrant school community, we understand the importance of providing our students with exceptional opportunities for growth and development, both academically and physically. With the addition of this state-of-the-art facility, we are taking a significant step towards enhancing the overall educational experience for our children."
The sports hall will serve as a hub for a number of activities including badminton, tennis, gymnastics to indoor soccer. Not only will it provide a dedicated space for physical education classes, but it will also offer a venue for extracurricular sports programs, extended lunch facilities and competitions.
This means more opportunities for our students to stay active, develop their skills, and foster a sense of teamwork. Additionally, the new building will also serve as a versatile space for school events, assemblies, and community gatherings. Its multifunctional design will allow the academy to host a wide range of activities, promoting inclusivity and engagement among students, parents, and staff members alike.
Mr Brown continued to say:
"As parents, your support and involvement are invaluable to us, and we encourage you to share in our excitement as we embark on this new chapter together. We will keep you updated on the progress of the construction and look forward to celebrating the grand opening of our new sports hall with all of you in the near future.”
A special message of thanks was also passed on to the Capital Projects team at Oasis by Mr Brown:
"We would like to extend our gratitude to the capital projects team for smoothly managing day-to-day operations of our new sports building. Their expert advice, regular communication, and collaboration with us has been invaluable."
Year 7 Life at OAS
Year 7 are loving the new Shout Outs from staff, the Fab 4 tickets in lessons and the different opportunities for independent learning. Every time a student is nominated this leads to reward points and the possibility of prizes.
Students are also excited by the Sparx and Reading+ leaderboards. It is lovely to see members of Year 7 working hard to be top of the leaderboards each week and checking out the Year 7 noticeboard to see where they are. It has also been delightful to share this information in every assembly so that we can all celebrate Year 7 students’ positive attitude to learning.
Now that we have the Food rooms back, Year 7 have been enjoying their practical lessons in school, learning how to use the ovens, hobs, grills, hand blenders and whisks. Many of our budding Master Chefs have continued cooking at home and they have been busy sending me photos of their finished dishes. I have enjoyed receiving these emails and also displaying the photos during assembly and on our Year 7 notice board.
Our Year 7 Master Chefs so far are:
The competition to be the best has also led to our Year 7 Girls and Year 7 Boys Football teams winning in their matches against local schools. So far, the biggest win for the Girls Team has been 8 : 1 and the biggest win for the Boys Team has been 12 : 0. Ms Cave and the Girls Team have been continuing their run of not being beaten and I know that Mr Ranger and Mr Smart are desperate for the Boys Team to be promoted at the end of the season. The Boys Team is currently second in their league, so this could be a possibility!
Year 7 students have continued to make good progress in their language lessons. This term they have participated in Spanish week and I have had the pleasure of giving out language certificates during our recent assembly. Well done to our aspiring linguists!
Benjamin Allen, Alexandra Carr, Lily Hull, Isabel Page and Molly Picken
Looking towards the future, Year 7 have also had a careers assembly this half-term where they have been encouraged to think about what careers they would like to consider in the future. Ms Elliott, our Careers Lead, has also challenged Year 7 to participate in a ‘take your child to work day’ on Wednesday 22nd May 2024 to find out what the work place is like by going to work with a parent. Letters will be coming out to parents separately with more information about this.
I am very proud of the positive attitude to learning displayed by individual members of the year group during lessons, Sparx, Reading+ independent learning as well as during tutor sessions. The top ten Year 7 students with the most reward points in the previous week are listed below:
- Scarlett Smith
- Erin Budd
- Lily Hull
- Anna Popova
- Molly Badham
- Imogen Thorne
- Grace Stinchcombe
- Liam Lay
- Amellia Baird
- Isabel Page
The Top Tutor Attendance for Year 7 is 7IS with 95% and joint second are 7TN and 7VS with 93%. 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 Mrs Cull our Attendance Lead will be coming to a Year 7 assembly to hand out attendance prizes to our Year 7 winners as part of the whole school in it to win it attendance challenge.
Year 7 have now completed their second term at OAS and it has been a pleasure to watch them grow even more confident as they settle further into their secondary school education. Many of our Year 7 students are getting excited about their upcoming role with supporting the new Year 6 students during the July Transition Days and they are also looking forward to the end of year trip to Paultons Park.
Well done Year 7. Keep up the good work!
Mrs Rolls, Head of Year 7
Year 8
As another term goes quickly by Team Year 8 are flourishing. In my previous role as Head of Year 11 our slogan was “Simply the Best” so after lots of thought I have decided that our slogan will be……… “We are the Champions” extremely apt as we most certainly are 😊 Imagine the song that we will play at Prom! I can see it now.
I wanted to give a shout out to my lovely parents who have been nothing but supportive towards me these last few months and by teaching their children responsibility and core values this has been invaluable and crucial in building relations with our families and the local community.
I have recently started a parental engagement group also with some Year 8 parents which is wonderful as we engage in conversations on how we can improve the school from a parent’s perspective and what is working well. Parents have noticed a real buzz when their children come home talking about all the rewards here at school. Our recent launch of SFX Rewards – Striving for Excellence has been phenomenal, and our parents are feeling super positive about this and have noticed a big change! If you would like to join our parental meetings, please do email me at helen.sydenham@oasissholing.org I would love to meet more parents and the more the merrier.
Our new reward system has so much to offer our Year 8s. All of them have been demonstrating excellent attitude in lessons and making fantastic progress in school. Here are a few of the rewards on offer:
Wow Work = 3 points
Fab 4 = 4 points (students also get a raffle ticket)
Sustained good work = 5 points
Our latest is SFX shout out worth a whooping 10 points!
All students who receive a Fab 4 also receive a ticket which is then entered into a draw with lots of amazing prizes, Year 8 are super focused and trying hard to get as many tickets as possible. Winners to be announced shortly, fingers crossed Year 8.
Year 8 Notice Board
This is updated each week celebrating our year group with achievements in school and the wider community.
Fab four raffle box!
You can see how many tickets are in there already, all of them hoping to win a prize.
We also held a Spanish week which was very exciting for the students. We had tortilla making, Spanish dancing, Maths in Spanish, and lots of activities plus some awesome Spanish decorations. Spanish music was playing all week in the canteen with sone delicious Spanish goodies on sale also. Year 8 especially enjoyed taking part and learnt lots. It was lovely to have such cultural diversity in the school.
We have had an amazing response for our end of year trip to Chessington world of adventures! Over 165 students have signed up which is fantastic. I cannot wait to take everyone and have a thoroughly great day as they and the tutors deserve this awesome reward. Mr Harrison in 8IN has already downloaded a map and what rides he is going on. 😊 More to follow shortly.
Success in the community
Not only do we as a year group celebrate success in school but also in our local community and international community, here are a few highlights.
Kai Lynch
Kai is now an under 14 British Champion (American Flag Football) The team competed all day from nine until seven thirty. Kai won every game and now he is a British Champion.
🏈🏈🏈
Zachariah Johnson
Zach Johnson flew all the way to Quebec to compete in an international hockey tournament!
They finished 3rd in a world tournament and Zach scored 2 goals for England.
Hannah Cummings
Hannah recently submitted a short story, and her entry was so amazing she received the honour of highly commended. Excellent achievement Hannah!
Fabian Carter
Fabian took part in the Southampton Women v Reading on 17th March 2024. Fabian shadowed the grounds team and received two complimentary tickets for the game. Fabian helped the grounds team to prepare the pitch at St Mary’s prior to the game! Fabian was so excited and really did himself and the school proud. Well done.
Shout outs…
HOY Award - Jacob Baki
Year Group Mentor Award - Fabian Carter
Tutor Stars Half Term
Tom G, Ciera M, Sophia C, Jacob P, Sofia K, Taylor J, Jenson S, Harmony C-A, Amelia D, Charlotte S, Mitchell R, Ethan Mc, Harley D-D, Dylan S
Subject Rewards
ART - Stephan B, HISTORY - Chloe C, PE - Joe C, ENGLISH - Sophie K, RE - Xavier N, SCIENCE - Clay D, MATHS - Eponine P
Attendance Rewards
All of these students achieved 100% during Spring Term! Wow amazing achievement!
Elliot B, Faye C, Alfie C, Amelia F, Max B, Rosie C, Phoebe C, Joe C, Tyler C-O, Clay D, Winston H, Testimony L, Zach J, Emily J, Harpreet K, Aiden M, Lia M, Moyinoluwa O, Liam P, Abi-Grace P, Kunj P, Sam P, Jack R, Evie R
Neurodiversity, what does it mean?
Neurodiversity includes: ADHD Autism DLD Dyscalculia Dyslexia Dyspraxia Tourette’s and many more. Every neurodivergent young person has strengths and challenges. It is important to build upon confidence and self-esteem.
Students should be given the opportunity to flourish in their day to day lives.
More importantly it emphasises that everyone mind works differently. Students have different interests, skills, and strengths. This difference should be recognised, understood, respected, and celebrated.
I would like to add how hard some of our students are working when faced with challenges that they cannot always control. Their determination and resilience are astounding and a true testament to their strong-willed approach not only towards school but their own lives and the struggles they endure.
Can you imagine a life where everyone was the same! How monotonous would that be.
Embrace all differences.
Happy Easter
Mrs Sydenham, Head of Year 8
Year 9
Spring time is upon us! Blossoms festoon the trees and flowers are sprouting out, I think the warm weather is finally on the horizon! Our Year 9’s are heading into their final term before they become Year 10, time is certainly coming along at a pace. As ever, they have been continuing to strive forward to success and making great progress academically and maturing into responsible, considerate and thoughtful young adults.
I happened to walk past the new cooking rooms this week, and was delighted to see some incredible cheffing. Focaccia was on the menu – and a slight bias as this is one of my favourite breads – and the aromas were amazing! Hopefully you have had the opportunity to get to try some as they looked perfect. In Science club, some great chemistry has been investigated, producing some brilliant acid/alkali reactions to generate the whole pH scale – this takes some very precise pipetting, demonstrating excellent techniques. Passing through the art department, there are definitely going to be beautiful and exciting pieces coming through as the Year 9’s are creating Mexican inspired art works – which I’m sure will be inspired from our recent Spanish Week.
One of my personal favourites so far this year, has been our trip to LifeLab. I was fortunate enough to be able to take my Year 9 science class, and we had the most amazing time – and of course, accompanied by our new koala mascot! The students were amazing delegates for the school and really embodied the Oasis ethos, respectful, engaged and inquisitive, and the staff were very complimentary. The students had the opportunity to work in a laboratory and practise a wide range of techniques to monitor health.
We continue to support attendance for our year group. Research shows us how strongly this can influence the progress of students. The more students are in school, the greater their experience of education and so the more they can learn. We had a great rewards breakfast last half term, with a hot chocolate and pastry treat to celebrate those that had maintained high attendance across a four week period – a brilliant celebration to get Friday going! A massive congratulations, and an impressive feat indeed, to our students that are still maintaining 100% attendance (listed below). The list is getting a little smaller unfortunately, but I am pleased to say there are still 135 students with attendance above 90%.
Joshua A 9TS, Charlie D 9TS, Ryan G 9IS, Amee H 9IS, Oliver H 9IN, Hayden H 9TN, Michael M 9IN, Jack M 9VS, Ruvimbo M 9IS, Neeya P 9VS, Wiktoria R 9IS, Maleesha R 9IS, Evie W 9IS, Jared W 9VN
Reward points have had an overhaul this term, as we continue to develop ClassCharts. Students have many opportunities to receive reward points for all of their excellent work and positive behaviours. They will soon be able to cash in their reward points for a range of prizes and experiences. We are also encouraging students to support their education by working independently, above their homework, to improve their progress and prepare them for their future education journeys. Below are the students who currently have at least 400 positive reward points, with our top scorer at over 630 point! As a year group, we have reached over 50400 positive points so far – a wondeful achievement!
Jared W 9VN, Jack P 9VN, Stephanie N 9VN, Brooke P 9VN, Genevieve G 9VN, Jennifer P 9VN, Emily P 9VN, Finn F 9VN, Sukhmani K 9IS, Megan E 9TN, Petra T 9VN, Sofie L 9IN, Ruby K 9VS, Stanley S 9IN, Melissa B 9TN, Beau H 9IN, Eva E 9VN, Junior G 9IN, Dua E 9IN, Olivia S 9IN, Jaden A 9IN, Taylor P 9IS, Layton W 9TN, Lillie B 9VN, Rafael G-S 9IN, Emily S 9IN, Archie T 9TN, Sofie P 9IS, Jack H 9IN
The Options period is almost over, and I must say I have been really proud to see how much thought the Year 9’s have put into their choices. There has been great consideration of what they have a passion for and what they might wish to do in the future for their careers. I have had some excellent feedback from the careers advisor with engagement the students have been having for their Options meetings, so I have no doubt they will make the right choice for them.
I hope you all have a restful and enjoyable Easter break, with our student returning raring to go for their final term.
Until the next instalment,
Mr Macdonald
Year 10
The Year 10 students have continued to impress us with their progress and engagement in learning this term. They enjoy being celebrated each week in assembly and can see the difference their effort is making.
With the Year 11’s approaching the end of their time at Oasis Sholing and soon to start exams we’ve launched the application process for students to apply for a place on the new student leadership team. I’ve been hugely impressed with the quality of applications we’ve received so far which show huge passion and commitment to the school. We will be interviewing the applicants at Itchen College and appointing students to roles including Head Boy/Girl and senior prefects with responsibility for areas such as mental health, antibullying, charities and events and subject representatives.
We’ve had a lot of students return the forms for their Work Experience placement which will take place in the week beginning 8th July, and the careers team are ready to help students who do need support with finding a placement – your child can speak to Mrs Elliot directly or ask their tutors to make an appointment for them if they need support. The deadline for completed forms is Thursday 28th March to secure your placement.
On 15th March we had a fantastic trip to Marwell Zoo. The student’s behaviour was exemplary, and we were extremely proud of them!
I’m pleased to say we’ve arranged a reward trip to Thorpe Park on Monday 22nd July for the students with the highest number of house points, and best attendance and behaviour. Letters will start going out to students invited on this trip after the Easter Holiday.
At the moment, the students below have the highest number of house points in the year group – so it’s a big well done to them, but also it’s not too late for others to catch up!
Ellie-Mai F, Sanjog R, Whitney W, Taylan H, Shiya S, Emily K, Olivia F, Ella R, Darcey J, Ethan J
If you do have any questions regarding your child’s education please do not hesitate to contact their tutor or email year10@oasissholing.org
Year 11
Year 11 are now busy preparing for their GCSEs examinations having completed their mock exams and received feedback on these from their teachers. I have been so pleased to see the number of students attending after school revision and the interventions organised by teachers during the school day. Our Year 11 parents evening took place on Wednesday 27 March. This was a wonderful opportunity to discuss how students can prepare for their exams and get the best results.
We had a fantastic turn out for February half term revision, all the students once again showing considerable maturity and dedication to learning. We will be offering revision over the Easter holidays too – the calendar for the sessions we are offering is below:
As always it is imperative that Year 11 continue to attend weekly revision sessions after school based on evidence this will not only give them confidence, moreover, the necessary skills to succeed. Along with this, attendance at school is critical for all Year 11 students in the coming weeks. All lessons will be focused on the exams with tutor time and assemblies to support students as they approach their final GCSEs.
On Wednesday 27th March we held a fundraising day to raise money for Prom. This included a cake sale, an Easter raffle and the much anticipated staff v students Dodgeball game. A massive shout out to Mrs Broady and Miss Dejoie for organising the raffle. We’d encourage students to bring some spare change to school for the raffle and cake sale, and will be giving parents the opportunity to get raffle tickets at the parents evening.
We’re aware that the run up to exams can be a stressful time for students, so we have been working to help them with strategies to manage the stress that they may well be feeling. Kate Vasey our Chartered Clinical Psychologist held two special assemblies to give students strategies to cope with the stress and hosted a parent afternoon to support families with coping with their anxious teens. This has been a wonderful opportunity for Year 11 students to gain the skills to be able to flourish in their GCSEs whilst taking care of their own wellbeing. Kate has lots of support techniques in place for our students and we welcome her expertise and experience.
SHOUT OUTS
Well done to the following students who were in the top 10% for progress in the year group in their mocks and received Amazon vouchers as a reward in assembly this week:
Jack Baldwin, Luke Groen, Sayeeda Shahin, Alfie O'Toole, Lisa Nicholls, Julia Fairclough, Mia Trudgeon, Eddie Lin, Layton Gillette, Jakub Neter, Joshua Denham, Holly Farmer, Zuzanna Libicka, George Hayward, Faith Leight, Brook Heath, Lydia Court, Owen Batchelor, Samuel Jackson, Millie Moreno-Zumaquero, Dale Leach
I hope you have a restful Easter holiday and as always, if you do have any questions please do not hesitate to get in touch with either your child’s tutor or myself.
Nick Wilkinson, Head of Year 11
English
Year 7
Year 7 began the term by diving into the world of Folk Tales from a wide range of countries and cultures. They consolidated their learning by creating their own fairytales with morals and messages they wanted their readers to learn. To end the term, Year 7 have read 'Beowulf', an epic poem about heroes and the battle between good and evil. They have developed their creativity through writing accounts of fictional fantastical journeys.
Year 8
Year 8 have been studying poetry this term, beginning with the Romantic poetry of William Blake and ending on Samuel Coleridge's epic poem: 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner'. The students have been writing their own poems and, more recently, have been developing their narrative voice through letter writing.
Year 9
Year 9 have been exploring the Harlem Renaissance through a collection of short stories and poetry. They have been reading texts by diverse writers and examining the experience of being in marginalised groups in early 20th century North America. The students have been practising and developing their creativity by writing their own poetry.
Year 10 and 11
At KS4, our students have been studying or revising our rigorous GCSE texts. Year 10 have been studying Jekyll and Hyde this term; this has been another opportunity for our students to return to a Victorian text and embed their knowledge of the Victorian era. We have been discussing the idea of repression and the negative consequences, what it means to be a ‘gentleman’ and the Victorian fear of science.
This term, Year 11 have been sitting their final mock exams in English and have been preparing for the real GCSE papers (the first for English being May 13th.) In class, students have been revising the key characters from ‘An Inspector Calls’ and practising the key skills for Language Paper 1. They have also been working on their approaches to unseen poems, focussing on how to analyse a poem in depth.
With the exams so close, we are hoping to see all Year 11s at English revision on Thursdays – and hoping many will be completing the past papers available on the Year 11 Teams channel!
Extra-curriculars
As a department, we have entered the Rotary Club’s Young Writer Competition for another year. We have had some success at a regional and district level over the past few years. This year, Hannah Cummings’ work was ‘highly commended’ by the judge, and author, Claire Gradidge. We congratulate all of our entrants and look forward to entering next year.
On a Monday after school, Miss Griffiths runs a creative writing club which has been a great success. It has been a wonderful opportunity for our students to extend their creative capabilities and have autonomy over their creative pursuits. Students are currently preparing work for future writing competitions; we look forward to seeing what they create.
Holocaust Memorial Event
To commemorate International Holocaust Memorial Day, Year 9 students participated in a National Literacy Trust Live event with the librarian. Students read “This is not a story” by author Tom Palmer and then joined a live streamed discussion between the author and Mala Tribich – a holocaust survivor. Students finished the session writing their own articles to tell the school community about what they had learnt about Mala Tribich’s story and why it’s important for these stories to be told.
Today when we met Mala it felt very intriguing to learn about what she went through and how she felt. We learnt that she was so happy to find out that her brother is alive. She also knew that her mum and little sister didn’t make it. Later, after the war she got a visa to go live with her brother in England after writing letters and sending photos back and forth. When she got to England, she saw her dad didn’t make it and died in the war. She felt very relieved to be with her brother again, but she misses her home and her family. Many years later she is still alive and well and she’s been going round the country explaining her story to others and young people. She gave some advice at the end of the meeting to never be a bystander and stick up for people who can’t do it themselves.
Written by Holly
The story of Mala and Ben are very important ones that should be remembered and learned from. It tells the experiences of the siblings during the Holocaust in World War II and the truly awful conditions they were wrongfully placed in. But it also tells the story of their liberation and the support they received. It is important to continue to tell these stories to the generations now and to come and teach them the lessons they wish to teach people: To stand up to discrimination and to help others suffering.
Written by Archie
Scholastic Book Fair
The library proudly hosted the Scholastic Book Fair this term. KS3 English classes visited the fair during their lessons and our students were able to browse the collections during breaks, lunchtime and after school. With 200 book titles on show, many students were inspired to try new and familiar authors. We had 119 students purchase books with an average spend of £6 per student, totalling £724 in sales. It was fantastic to see so much energy and engagement with the fair – there was a real buzz in the air! And that buzz translated into £293 of free books for our library. We couldn’t be prouder of our amazing school community and have a date in the diary already for next year
World Book Day 2024
It was a bumper year for Team Sholing with well over 50 members of staff and students getting into the literary spirit and dressing as their favourite book characters! Our Art technician, Mrs Fox, displayed her amazing make up skills, prowling the corridors as the Cowardly Lion from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz; Mrs Fowles went above and beyond teaching Maths all day as Dr Seuss’ Cat in the Hat and the Humanities department toiled hard as characters from the well-loved fairy story, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Students also dressed up with main characters from Harry Potter being a firm favourite. Fun activities were scattered throughout the day. Students were encouraged to start their day with 6 minutes of reading during registration to help reduce their stress levels, a guess the teacher photo competition ran at tutor time and students were invited to listen to staff reading extracts from their favourite books in the library. Modern Foreign Languages joined in too, dishing out chocolate eggs to students who correctly identified their Spanish Little Miss names! Lastly, here’s big thank you to everyone for their generous donations to the Oasis Community Hub too.
Reading for Rewards
The library is pleased to announce its Rewards for Reading programme.
Tech Free Tuesdays and Thursdays
Our introduction of Tech Free Tuesdays and Thursdays has been a huge success this half term. Rather than sitting in a group, playing games on their iPads and barely communicating with each other, students are now choosing to read or selecting from a wide range of board and card games to play with each other. The feel in the library is friendlier and more relaxed. It’s a delight to see students bonding together, learning new skills and sharing ideas.
Maths
Year 7
This half term Year 7 have been looking at coordinates and finding areas of both simple and compound shapes. They have been building on their work on coordinates at primary school and used their understanding from previous units, such as negative numbers, problem solving and knowledge of shapes. This knowledge has helped to find midpoints of a line as well as solve worded problems to find area.
Year 7 Stars
Hayden-Elliot Swain, Hannah Knight, Alexandra Carr, Jarnail Singh, Evie West, Anna Popova, Malakai Gray and Amelia Baird
Year 8
Year 8 have been looking at different types of data and the importance of collecting data that is relevant, whether this be primary or secondary. They have been looking at writing effective questionnaires and ensuring that there is no bias in their questions or where they ask people to answer the questions.
Year 8 have also been looking at showing the data they have found in appropriate charts and graphs that are appropriately labelled in order for others to see the relevance.
Year 8 Stars
Lillie Wilson, Bianka Bacskai, Rebecca Salvagain, Charlotte Stranathan, Xavier Nanson, James McIntyre, Fabian Carter and Emily Jones
Year 9
Year 9 have been looking at the differences between expressions, equations and identities. They have then been using these differences to help solve both linear equations and inequalities. They are able to solve equations with the unknown on one side or on both.
Once confident solving linear equations students have been looking at solving simultaneous equations—solving two unknowns in two equations at the same time!
Year 9 Stars
Caleb Groom, Megan Elton, Michael Macmanus, Connor Wright, Ruby Kent, Hayden Hunt, Eva Roper and Lucy Venn
Maths Homework Club
Need help with your homework? Maths Homework club is on every Tuesday after school in the Library.
Year 10
This half term Year 10 have been working on their algebra skills, working with algebraic fractions, factorising quadratics and drawing quadratic curves. Once confident with quadratics we have revisited simultaneous equations, however, this year, higher sets have also been looking at solving simultaneous equations that include quadratics.
Next term we will move on to transformations and looking at some more complex volumes volumes and surface area such as those of spheres and cones.
Year 10 Stars
Sophie Miller, Jake Curtis, Daniel Jackson, Summer Ballingall, Chloe Medus, Benny Burt, Poppy Rochester and Ella Benfold
Year 11
Year 11 foundation are now spending time revising. From analysing the mock papers students have been informed which topics they will be revising each lesson over the coming weeks. They are practicing past papers and looking at different GCSE questions. Students have been given individually tailored pinpoint booklets to work on the quick wins.
Year 11 higher students have now finished the course and are completing revision lessons. Like the foundation students they have been given pinpoint booklets to help and are practicing past papers in class once a week.
Revision sessions are continuing on a Wednesday after school. These will be increasingly important as we are approaching the summer exams..
Year 11 Stars
Miley Sutherland, Taylor Riste, Bailey Spencer, Lucie Rooke, Evie Ward, Charlie Lambert, Evan Baker and Charlie Pont
Sparx Homework
Most students are continuing to engage with their Sparx homework. Many are watching videos and all are welcome to attend Maths club on a Tuesday after school in the Library.
Each year group is given a week to complete homework and homework is set on the same day each week.
Year 7—Tuesday Year 8—Monday Year 9—Friday Year 10—Friday Year 11—Wednesday
Maths Puzzles
Using the numbers from 1-4, complete the grid
The numbers in each heavily outlined set of squares must combine, in any order, to produce the target number in the top corner using the mathematic operation indicated (+,-,x,÷)
- Use each number only once per row and once per column.
- Cages with just one square should be filled in with the target number in the top corner.
- A number can be repeated within a cage as long as it is not in the same row or column.
Science
Year 7
Students have spent this half-term deepening their understanding of organs and organ systems in the human body. Students have learnt about the role of the lungs and the digestive system in getting oxygen and glucose into the blood. These two substances are vital for all living things as they are needed for respiration which releases energy. More recently students have been learning about why we all look different and what causes this variation including investigating the link between shoe size and height.
Year 8
This half-term students have been developing their knowledge of chemical reactions. They have learnt that energy is transferred to and from the surroundings during chemical change and seen lots of examples of reactions including some explosive ones! Students have started to understand what an acid is and how they can react with alkali’s and metals. This has included students starting to measure substances and identify their acidity using the pH scale. Students are now finishing the term by using this understanding to explain weathering of rocks over time by rain.
Year 9
The term started with students building on their understanding of forces, including calculating the overall resultant force acting on an object. Students then moved on to studying how forces affect motion of an object including how journeys can be plotted on both distance-time and velocity-time graphs. The term will finish with students applying this knowledge to stopping including looking at how both reaction time and the condition of a vehicle can affect the distance it takes to stop. This links to our laws on drink driving, yearly MOTs, and why motorways have chevrons to help road users leave suitable gaps in front of them.
Year 10
This half-term students have learnt about electricity. This has included learning how basic circuits work and how resistance impacts a circuit. Students have learnt about how light dependent resistors and thermistors work. They can no explain how street lights switch off automatically in the day time and how cars provide the driver with feedback that their engine is overheating. Students finish this half-term by applying this knowledge to the national grid, explaining how electricity reaches our homes safely and then how it reaches our appliances, this will include learning and practising the skill of wiring a plug.
Year 11
After completing their mock exams, our Year 11s have finished the last few lessons of the curriculum. This included learning about how contraceptive methods work including both hormonal (like the contraceptive pill or implant) and non-hormonal methods (such as the condom) work to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Students then learnt about how science can be used to increase the chance of successful pregnancy including the process of IVF treatment. More recently we have returned to learning about waves looking at two methods of measuring the speed of a water and sound wave.
For the next 6 weeks in the run up to their exams students will be using lesson time to go back over key topics and concepts, this will be supplemented by daily home learning afterschool, Saturday, and holiday intervention. More information is to be sent to all year 11 students and parents so they have access to everything they need to prepare for their exams.
Science Capital
We have had an abundance of opportunities for students this half-term.
Students from Year 10 visited Oxford and attended Science Live. They learnt about cutting edge research from the scientists themselves including Professor Alice Roberts, Dr Hazel Czerski and Professor Dave Cliff. There was also an exam technique workshop thrown in as a bonus!
On Thursday 14th March some of our Year 8 and 9 students travelled up to the Emmanuel centre in London to listen to 5 of the UK’s top 100 scientists discuss their routes into science and the paths their fields have taken them down. Students were shown how shark skins had influenced today’s swimming costumes, how short chain vs long chain hydrocarbons influence energy performance, how Alzheimer’s disease advancements are deepening our understanding of its treatment and allowing scientists to now predict chances of inheritance, and students even watched another student’s brain waves live on the big screen. Schools had the chance to ask famous scientist Robert Winston any weird and whacky biology questions, whilst having the chance to listen to him discuss his thoughts on cloning (not in favour). Finally, students were able to come home with pointers to help with feelings of imposter syndrome that even the most successful scientists experience from time to time – find a community, ask for help even if it seems silly, and always have fun. A truly lovely day with a fantastic group of budding scientists!
Excitingly, two of our students, Layton from Year 9 and Darcey from Year 10, won a place on LifeLab/University of Southampton prestigious Young Researchers Training programme. They are two of 12 young people across Southampton who will be trained to work and conduct research in the area of health sciences. We are very proud of these two young people and are looking forward to reading and hearing about their research and its impact.
Recently it was British Science Week, where students learnt about different scientists and potential careers as part of their cultural capital programme. Year 7 students became civil engineers for the day and built some impressive bridges.
In Science club this half term students have tried their hands at a large portion of biology. There has been testicle dissections, kidney dissections, and mould cultivation! What you see on the photo below is Mr Hooper’s dirty sink – think twice before you decide which sink to use in S4! We have also completed food tests, circuit boards, and cartisan drivers!
Remember, for each session attended students also earn independent learning reward points. We love hearing your scientific questions and how you’ve been interacting with science outside of school. And remember, if there’s something you’ve wanted to try, but don’t have the materials or know-how, speak to Miss Waller or Mr Harrison – we might be able to offer it in science club!
Opportunities
Are you a Scientist and an artist? How about combining your skills and take part in BioArtAttack 2024 run by the Royal Society of Biology. Deadline is 30th June. Information can be found below.
For any students in Year 9-11 who may be interested in the Life Sciences, Lifelab are running a summer school in July. There are bursary places available.
History
In History, Year 10 had the exciting opportunity to experience a University workshop arranged by Mr Smart. The workshop consisted of Mr Smart talking about what University is like and about the advantages and opportunities of going to University. The workshop was then taken over by Dr Scott Keefer, Senior Lecturer of History, at Bournemouth University. He provided our Year 10s an opportunity to experience what a History lecture is like with the subject focus of looking at how different historical sources potrayed the Blitz in World War Two. Our Year 10 historians witnessed radio recordings, film and video clips and posters showing what it was like experiencing the German bombing raids in 1940/41. Dr Keefer finished off the workshop discussing where a History degree can take you and what careers you could go into. It was great to see so many of our Historians taking a real interest in their futures and starting to think about where they want to go in the next few years beyond Sholing.
Religious Studies
Our RS Vision
1. Promoting tolerance; 2. Being a good role model & 3. Facilitating social mobility
RS GCSE students visited Winchester Cathedral. We had a tour around the Cathedral and then took part in two workshops. In both cases Cannon Andy went through the ceremonies and some students volunteered to be involved. It was a very informative and enriching visit.
We were priviliaged to have a speaker from the UK’s biggest Animal Rights pressure group, Animal Aid. The information linked directly to the topics in religion and life which include; using animals for food; work; clothing and the use of animals in experiments.
Our RS stars for Spring 2, who have an amazing attitude to learning and produce exceptional work are:
Year 11: Karandeep Singh and Jack Baldwin
Year 10: Sophie Lee and Ella Rowe
Year 9: Emma Marshall and Thomas Philips
Year 8: Kaci Brodie and Ciaran Miller
Year 7: Charlotte Knight and Jack Tomkies
U14 basketball
The U14 Basketball team have enjoyed a fantastic season and have reached the playoff semi final after finishing 4th in the league.
The team have some notable results this season including a fantastic 52 – 25 win against Bitterne Park. The following players in particular have put in some outstanding performances to push the team on: Junior Grant, Michael McManus and Rafael Saboia
A big well done to the following member of the U14 basketball team
Junior Grant, Rafael Saboia, Michael McManus, Riley Caldecutt, Endeavour Poore, Finlay Sumaili, Benji Cohen, Max Butcher, Zach Johnson, Kai Lynch, Tom Stephens, Oliver Connis, Ford Gatehouse
Year 7 workshop with the University of Southampton
We were pleased to welcome representatives from the University of Southampton in to school to run an Introduction to University workshop with some of our Year 7 students. The workshop was aimed at inspiring the students to think about university. They took part in activities designed to give them an insight into what a university is like, some of the courses on offer and to hear from current students what being at university is like. Our students ended the workshop by designing their own university.
Take Your Child to Work Day
As part of the Careers Curriculum this year, we are offering students an exciting opportunity to spend a day in their parents/carers shoes, as employees of local organisations.
The aim of this day is to help the young people appreciate the relevance of their education to their future career, as well as having a very different day, mixing with people of all ages, working various hours and learning to accept some adult responsibilities