saltash.net community school decided to challenge their high ability and high performance PE students by offering them an experience they would never have attempted before. A wheelchair basketball session was organised via Plymouth Storm Wheel Chair Basketball Club, with Aaron coaching all 44 students for an hour’s experience each. This was done to enable the students to experience what it is like to be challenged in sports, and thereby seeing it from the perspective of their peers, as well as gaining an appreciation of the high skill level that is required to be good at disability sport. They thoroughly enjoyed the experience and the school would like to thank Plymouth Storm for their assistance.

It was really brilliant to be able to present the first group of Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Awards for 2016 to 9 saltash.net students during assemblies in January. The year 11 students had worked really hard on a variety of activities in order to achieve their award. These included a skill, volunteering and a physical section. The students also went on an expedition where the team spirit and commitment shown when conducting the challenge was truly lovely to see. These 9 students should be really proud that they are the first of a much larger group of students to achieve their awards, not least because they have been doing the award alongside preparing for their GCSEs. This has shown excellent organisation and time management. saltash.net looks forward to seeing more awards being presented later in the year.

After presenting the certificates in assembly, Headteacher, Mrs Bryce, said, ‘I am very pleased that we have such a thriving Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme taking place at our school. The scheme is held in high regard by employers and is invaluable when applying for Higher Education. Thanks go to our D of E coordinator, Miss Higgs, and other staff members who help and support our students with the completion of their awards.’

Awardees:-

Lucy Addis
Danielle Burnard
Tori Carter
Lucy Chai
Siobhan Ellyatt
Lucy Green
Rowenna Hoskin
Amanie Keith
Cerys Powell

saltash.net community school was the proud host of the first round in the Rotary Youth Speaks Competition, a well-established and successful competition organised and promoted by Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland. The competition runs every year and gives students the chance to express their views on a significant topic that they wish to address. The competition is organised by local rotary clubs all around the country and culminates in a national final, giving students the platform and opportunity to develop their communication skills.

This year, the saltash.net Intermediate Team from year 8 presented a powerful speech on the topic of Homework, posing the question: is it really necessary? Mollie Willis introduced the saltash.net community school team and the topic of their speech, as chairperson for the team, in the most professional manner. Matt Thomas then eloquently delivered the main speech – arguing the case for schools to reconsider an outdated educational practice. Jasmine Leslie then gave an outstanding Vote of Thanks, summing up the team’s views, thanking their peers, Ellie Wanless and Jemima Budd, for their contributions, and rounding off a successful evening.

We wish the team the best of luck in the second round at Tavistock College on 9th February.

Stop Press: The team were victorious at Tavistock College and now progress to the third round of the competition.

In order to celebrate World Book Day students and staff are invited to join us at Hogash, on the 3rd March, for a day of mischievous magic and petrifying potions. Come as your favourite Harry Potter character, but beware Peeves  for he prowls and lurks the hallways and whatever you do, remember, at Hogash, there is a name, a most terrible name, that strikes fear into every soul, a name of pure evil and horror – this name must not be spoken!

During the day enjoy a magical lesson, take part in the costume competition where we will be judging the best and bravest Slytherins and Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws or even the odd house elf or two. There will be prizes for the winners you bet your bottom Galleon.

During the week you are encouraged to take part in the book swap. Bring a book in that you are happy to part with and exchange it for a coupon from Mr Coot in the library. Use your coupon to swap for another book and enjoy a new world of adventure. The swap table will be open over this half term, so if there isn’t anything there that you like the look of on the day make sure you check back another time.

We look forward to seeing you in your costumes and remember “Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can’t see where it keeps its brain.”

Professor Stirrup (Gryffindor House)

On World Book Day, 2016, saltash.net found itself transformed into a Harry Potter themed Hogash.net, thanks to the impassioned efforts of English teacher and Literacy Coordinator, Jono Stirrup.

Mr Stirrup led assemblies for students in years 7-11 in the lead up to the big day, emphasising the importance of reading as much as possible, and promoting the school’s excellent library provision as a ‘treasure chest’ of ideas.

Students and staff certainly got into the Hogash.net spirit on 3rd March, dressing up in a fabulous range of costumes which included Modern Languages teacher, Miss Yvinec as ‘the lady in the painting’!

Across the school, departments offered all sorts of themed activities: Latin spells in Languages, Magic in Maths, incantations in English and robotic quidditch in Design Technology. In addition, year groups were split into appropriately Harry Potter themed Houses with year 7 as Gryffindor, year 8 as Hufflepuff, year 9 as Slytherin and year 10 as Ravenclaw. Year 11 were appropriately absorbed into the House of Dobby for the purposes of the day!

Speaking after a hugely successful day, Mr Stirrup said, “I’ve always been pestered by students about why I haven’t read Harry Potter, ‘after all you’re an English teacher’, they would say. I took it upon myself to trawl through, what I always assumed were just books about magic and wizards, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. Harry Potter is an absolute treasure chest. One year 7 pupil told the assembled year 7s and 8s, on Tuesday morning, that it was about friendship and the resilience of friendship. I really couldn’t have put it better myself and, as such, a wonderful theme to use for saltash.net where the ideals of resilience and comradery are strong and explicit in our day to day lives. Students who took time to dress up became part of something very special. There were notable highlights and surprises: a dragon, two Hagrids, a dashing Professor Lockhart, a Dobby, Mrs Norris the cat with Hermiones and Harrys galore! Thank you to all who dressed up, but also to all those teachers who created a lesson themed around Harry Potter. Children had an utterly wonderful time and I’m sure next year is already in their sights.”

The students who dressed up were invited to make a donation towards ‘Books to Africa’, an organisation providing educational aid to areas of Africa in severe need.

With not one, but four ‘official’ school dogs, saltash.net’s reputation for valuing the role of animals in our society is never really in doubt, so when two Year 11 students, Issy Knight-Foster and Faith Rogers, requested that a day of fundraising be devoted to the Gables Cats and Dogs Home, based in Plymouth, the answer was a resounding yes!

Following assemblies at the start of the Spring Term which highlighted the invaluable work of shelters such as Gables, an appeal went out to the school community for students and staff to show their support for the excellent work undertaken by this local charity.

On Friday 12th February, the school held a non-uniform day and a cake sale and also asked for donations towards a collection of items to support the care that Gables gives to its ‘rescued’ animals. Not only did the school community raise over £650 for a monetary donation, it also gathered together the most incredible range of pet food, treats, bedding and washing powder to help make the lives of the abandoned or unwanted pets more comfortable and enjoyable.

Speaking at the end of the day, Headteacher Mrs Bryce said, ‘It never ceases to amaze me just what a caring, compassionate and generous community we have in the town of Saltash. I would like to thank everyone who gave to this excellent cause and we look forward to welcoming a representative from Gables to receive a cheque in the near future.’

On Wednesday 10th February, the annual celebration recognising the volunteering efforts of young people from across South East Cornwall took place at St Mellion International Resort. The Community Action through Sport (CATS) Award Scheme has been running for eight years now and remains an excellent opportunity to recognise and reward students from both saltash.net community school and Callington Community College for their commitment to helping and supporting others, not just within their schools but within their local communities too.

Over 140 young people were presented with certificates at the Awards Ceremony by a range of sporting celebrities: Olympic Rower, Ed Goode, Mountaineer, Ed Buckingham, Plymouth Albion team members and 13 year old Slalom Skier, Eva Pascoe.

The overall CATS volunteer of the year for the senior section was Milliesha Vanstone, currently in year 10 at saltash.net. PE teacher and sports coordinator for saltash.net, Michelle Cooke, said of Milliesha’s achievements, “She is an incredible young lady who has given up so much of her time to support others, particularly younger children in Saltash, with a variety of organisations. She willing gives up much of her own time and thoroughly deserved this recognition.”

Congratulations go to all Award winners.

You can now download the latest school newsletter

by following the link below;

• Click to download the Spring Term Newsletter

Saltash.net World Book Day 2016 – what a fun day we had!

You can now download the latest school newsletter.

• Interim Newsletter – April ’16

In an effort to make this year’s Mother’s Day extra special for some of saltash.net’s year 7 students, Parental Engagement Coordinator and teacher of RE, Miss Lucy Sayer, organised a ‘Cream Tea with a difference’ event after school on Thursday 10^th March.

Mums came into school to work alongside their children, making a batch of scones, which, among other ingredients, used eggs that had been laid by the school’s own hens, before sitting down to a delicious Cream Tea together, accompanied by members of staff from the year 7, Design Technology and PD departments.  Head of PD, Mrs Wadsworth, very kindly supplied all of the homemade blackcurrant jam, some of which was used for the tea itself and some as presents for the mums to take away with them.

Speaking after the event, Miss Sayer said, “I was thrilled that so many of our students and mums were able to attend this evening. The debate over which is the correct way to eat a cream tea was most entertaining – cream or jam on top of the scone? Thank you to all staff involved, the mums and children and of course the hens for their vital contribution!”

Year 10 GCSE catering students were treated to an extra special afternoon tea recently, thanks to the generosity and support of St Mellion International Golf and Country Club.

Teacher of Design and Technology, Rachel Noble, approached the staff at St Mellion to see if it would be possible for her catering classes to have first-hand experience of an afternoon tea in an exclusive environment, as they would be preparing their own tea as part of their coursework requirements.

Speaking after the event, Miss Noble, said, “We had such a good time being waited on in one of the function rooms overlooking the golf course and were spoilt with all the lovely foods which came out on tiered china plates. There was so much food we ended up taking doggy bags home. The chef, Mark Brankin, gave a talk to the students about the hotel and their afternoon teas and we had a guided tour around all the kitchens and hotel facilities. I cannot thank Mark and his team enough for all that they did to help make the experience so special for our young people.”

The Pathways Project for year 8 students, funded by a grant from the big Lottery Fund, has proved incredibly successful so far this school year.  Organised by Head of Year, Mr Matt Oakes, with the support of his pastoral team, students have been able to engage in a whole raft of enrichment opportunities, including forest clearance, health and fitness promotion, environmental projects, rock climbing, theatre visits and workshops and much, much more!

One unexpected ‘enrichment’ opportunity occurred when a group of students participating in a visit to Mount Edgcumbe, suddenly found themselves the audience of an impromptu display by the Royal Marines!

Commenting on the success of this Pathways Project, Mr Oakes said, ‘The Pathways were set up to allow our young people the opportunity to experience things they might not have done on their own. We wanted to challenge them, to work together, to get things wrong and work out why, and realise that when you set your mind on something, you can achieve. The students working on the six different Pathways have worked hard and have represented the school, and the year group, brilliantly. We are just in the process of planning the next twelve months.’

For further information, please visit our Vacancies section.

saltash.net received a visit from anti-bullying singer-songwriter, Lottee Brown, who sang for students from Year 8 to 11. Lottee and her mum travel the country, visiting schools and talking about the impact bullying can have on young people.

Lottee, who is just 15 and raises money for charity, sang her own song, ‘Stronger’, and reduced members of the watching assembly to tears. Lottee and her mum hailed the work done by anti-bullying charity Bullying UK, and Lottee later tweeted that saltash.net was the best school she has visited on the tour!

The school was also visited by Cheese, a rescue dog from Gables Farm Dogs and Cats home, to receive a cheque worth £651.36.

This money was raised by holding a cake sale in the school’s main hall in February and a non-uniform day.  Staff and students also donated food, bowls, blankets and other produce to Gables Farm. Students Isabelle Knight-Foster and Faith Rogers were present to hand over the cheque, having organised and helped with the fundraising effort.

Cheese was very relaxed throughout the visit, and was happy to pose for photos with Gables Farm staff member Carrie and a number of students.

On Thursday 21^st April over 220 children from the Saltash partnership primary schools, including St German’s, Sir Robert Geffery’s, St Stephens, Landulph and Burraton, attended the aptly named Olympic themed sports festival held at saltash.net community school. It was a dry but rather cold April day but this did not deter the enthusiasm of both the participants and sports leaders who ran the event.

It was the responsibility of the year 13 Higher Sports Leaders to organise and deliver this event with the help of the year 12 Community Sports Leaders.

The fun activities were based on throwing, running and jumping representing the main Olympic athletic events. The teams comprised children from different schools and they competed, each representing a different country, with China achieving the gold medal position. Events included a wellie throw, water race and obstacle course. It was a very well organised event which ran smoothly with the children experiencing competition within a positive Olympic atmosphere.

With the Union Jack flying proudly outside the school, students and staff at saltash.net did their bit to help celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s 90^th birthday.

Appropriately patriotic cakes and biscuits were on sale at breaktime in the canteen and the Trematon Zone students organised their own special birthday party for the afternoon of Thursday April 21^st.

In addition, students are being encouraged to participate in the Radio Times’ competition to design a birthday card for our monarch as the winning design will be appearing on the front page of a future edition of the magazine.

Students can download further details from the saltash.net App store.  http://saltash.net/appstore/

Despite saltash.net’s geographical distance from London, opportunities for students and staff to visit the nation’s capital are frequent.  Recent enrichment activities have included all of Year 10 undertaking a Theme Day journey in March either to the Tate Modern and Tate Britain or to the Natural History and Science museums in Kensington.

During the month of April, Head of PE, Mr Rob Hawkins, and teacher of PE, Mr Dan Budd also travelled to London with a group of forty five gifted and talented students from across years 10 to 12.  The purpose of their visit was to see first-hand the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

Blessed with good weather, the students spent the day exploring the Velodrome, Copper Box arena, stadium and Aquatic centre.  Led by London’s Blue Badge Guides, the highlight of the tour was a trip to the top of the ArcelorMittal Orbit, the largest sculpture in the UK with a height of 115 metres.

Speaking after the visit, Mr Budd, said:

‘As well as an enrichment opportunity for some of our most able students, this trip will benefit the studies of our GCSE and AS Level students.  I’m sure for everyone involved it will have been a day to remember – the views from the top of the Orbit really were spectacular!’

Mr Budd returned to London last weekend to run in the Marathon, the ninth time he has competed in such an event, with a personal best of 2 hours 57 minutes.  Mr Budd was raising money for the Brain Tumour charity through his involvement in the event.

saltash.net student Jack Phelan collecting his award at Mayfair

saltash.net student, Jack Phelan, was awarded at this year’s May Fair as the Saltash Young Citizen of the Year, for his inspirational work  highlighting areas of safety concerns in the local community.

Saltash Mayor, Bill Phillips, was on hand to honour Jack at the opening event in Longstone Park.

Jack, who is in Year 9, is currently trying to raise £3,000 to install a public access iPAD SP1 Defibrillator in Saltash, to be located outside the fire station. So far Jack has raised £968, part of which came from a Christmas raffle that Jack and other students arranged at saltash.net.

Jack is a Fire Cadet at Saltash with Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service and uses his Twitter account to raise awareness and campaign for community safety.

The May Fair’s opening event also saw the Mayor’s Best Performance Cup for 2015-16 be awarded to the amazing cast and crew of saltash.net’s ‘Annie’.

Mollie Willis, who played the role of Annie, and Molly Banks, who played Miss Hannigan, received the cup from the Mayor on behalf of everyone at saltash.net.

Congratulations to cast and crew of ‘Annie’ – winners of ‘Best Performance Cup’ at Saltash May Fair @praisesaltash pic.twitter.com/WO9rtpn8xR

— Isobel Bryce (@issybryce10) April 30, 2016

Team A and B before departing for Ten Tors

A huge congratulations to the two teams of saltash.net students who successfully completed the Ten Tors Challenge this past weekend. Both teams were made of six students, and completed the 35 mile route.

Unfortunately, team B member Seb Frost left the group on Saturday night due to a leg injury, with Seb himself deciding to withdraw rather than slow the group down.

Seb left the group at the Postbridge Safety Checkpoint, around 15 miles into the challenge.

The two teams were as follows:

saltash.net Team A – James Randall, Charlie Potts, Zak Newell, George Seymour, Megan Seymour and Ethan Cox.

saltash.net Team B – Danny Snook, William Oatey, Jack Pritchard, Seb Frost, Michael Larkin and Harry Pascoe.

Headteacher Mrs Bryce congratulated the teams and praised the work of staff members Graham Drewery, Gareth Jones and Kirsty Newberry, who trained and prepared the students for the challenge.

The challenge was the culmination of seven months of training, as the students started to prepare last October.

Once again, well done to all involved, both staff and students, on a successful Ten Tors Challenge.