The World Challenge Team at saltash.net have set up an EasyGiving account, meaning that friends of the school can help raise funds without donating any money at all!

If you are shopping online, there is a chance that just by visiting the EasyGiving account you can help the team in their mission to raise funds for their trip to Morocco.

There are nearly 3,000 retailers on board ready to make a donation, including Amazon, John Lewis, Aviva, thetrainline and Sainsbury’s – it doesn’t cost you a penny extra but the team get a percentage of what you spend.

Joining is easy – simply head to https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/wcsaltash/ and sign up for free. Whenever you’re doing your online shopping, go to easyfundraising first, pick the retailer you want and start shopping.

After checking out, the retailer will make a donation to your good cause for no extra cost whatsoever!

The 16 students involved have to raise £2000 each towards the trip, and also recently held a bake sale at the Year 8 parent surgery to raise funds.

The trip will involve a community project, where the team will be building toilets in a school, and students will also trek into the Atlas Mountains.

saltash.net was delighted to receive a visit from two National Teaching Award judges on Thursday 28^th April after hearing that Head of Maths, Alan Hawthorne, had been shortlisted for the Outstanding use of ICT Award for 2016.

The judges, Tony Gray and Bob Twells, spent three hours at the school observing Alan teach a Year 13 A Level Maths lesson, as well as meeting with the school’s senior leadership team, members of the Maths department and other colleagues, students from across a range of year groups and parent representatives.

Deputy Headteacher, Dan Buckley, who nominated Alan for the prestigious award said, “The judges were really blown away by how Alan integrated his use of ICT so seamlessly into the lesson, using it as a tool to help the class understand really difficult ideas and at the same time enjoy the challenge.  It was really clear to them why the student council proposed Alan for the award and why so many students wanted to meet them and pass on their support.”

saltash.net wishes Mr Hawthorne all the very best and congratulates him on being shortlisted from thousands of entries across the South West of the UK.

A Level German students at saltash.net have been cooking up a storm, taking part in a German themed bake off challenge.

The hard fought competition was won by Year 13 student, Mark Hall, whose Deutscher käse- kuchen (German cheesecake) impressed the judging panel, which was formed from current students and staff.  Mark was rewarded with a £20 Waterstones gift voucher for his baking prowess.

Second place went to Year 13 student, Tim Pook, who had baked a Zitronen überaschung (a lemon surprise).

Rounding off the podium was Year 12’s Josh Wanless, who had prepared a Weiße Schokolade Crème brulé mit Baileys (White chocolate Crème brûlée with Baileys).

Tim and Josh received £10 and £5 Waterstones vouchers respectively.

Noteworthy mentions go to the other competitors, Marie Hall, Frau Carr and Frau Kramer, and Zac Hyams whose Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest cake) unfortunately collapsed.

As Zac could no longer win the competition, he was added to the judging panel, alongside fellow students Joe Day and Dan Frankland, and teachers Mr Killeya, Mr Rowe and Mr Budd.

After the competition, Head of Languages, Mr Rowe expressed how happy he was at the competition.

“I was delighted to see so many different cultures represented by such an obviously open-minded and intelligent group of people. I’m a sucker for cheesecake!” he said.

David Wilks (3rd in from the right) with his championship belt.

saltash.net student David Wilks has recently become a British Champion in Karate, taking Gold in the World Karate Union’s British Championships. The competition took place in Birmingham on the 30th April, and David, who is in Year 13, emerged victorious.

This win comes following a number of medal wins at national and international competitions in recent months, after David was selected to represent his country late last year.

David has been training in Karate for the last 10 years with the Bujinkai Karate Squad, who train each week at the Life Centre as well as in Saltash. David is currently a 2^nd Dan Black Belt, having gained 12 belts during his time in the sport.

Congratulations to David for this great achievement.

Sport at saltash.net is thriving on all fronts.  2015/2016 has seen another step up for our students as they continue to progress not just locally but nationally too.

Starting with football, where our reputation as a school that competes to a high level with a strong ethos of fair play continues.  Our u16 girls are once again County Champions after a hard fought battle against Richard Lander School.  The girls came out 3-1 winners on this occasion, following up their county championship at u14 level.  These girls have represented the school amazingly for the last 5 years and we wish them all the very best as they continue with their football careers outside of school.  Strong links are developing with Callington Ladies FC, with 5 of our current students making the step into the women’s game with them.

The year 7 boys have had an outstanding debut season. They beat Looe, Liskeard, Callington and Wadebridge on their way to becoming East Cornwall Champions, scoring 20 and conceding just 4 on the way.  Richard Lander evened things up by beating them in the County Final with the game finishing 4-2 after extra time.  They have shown great dedication, commitment and team work and a defeat in the county final will only spur them on to go and compete for it again next year.  It has been a tremendous team effort and they were led fantastically by Captain Kieran O’Melia whose goals have been so important.

The year 7 girls have had a great season too, and although they did not have a county cup competition to compete in, they were not only undefeated but they actually won all 8 of their fixtures.  It is exciting to think what these teams can be capable of in their next 5 years at saltash.net.

We have huge numbers of girls taking part in netball clubs with teaching staff and coaches from Plymouth and district netball league.  We have also had coaches lead lessons and clubs from Plymouth Argyle Hockey, Saltash Amateur Boxing club and St Mellion Golf and Country club coming.  We have real community links and this is providing fantastic opportunities for our students.  The development of our new climbing wall is further helping to enhance the range of activities that we can offer.

The summer term brings athletics season and it has already been an encouraging start.  We recently took 46 competitors to Brickfields for a super 8 athletics event and we could have probably taken another 46 on top of that such is the enthusiasm of the students.  Boys’ teams from year 7 and 10 have qualified to represent East Cornwall at the Cornwall School games in July.

A special mention must go to the year 7 girls’ team.  They have not yet done athletics in lessons but massive numbers are attending athletics club.  They performed exceptionally well but unfortunately just missed out on qualification.  Our ever present sports leaders were on hand to help run the event and, as always, did a fantastic job.

We run a ‘Sporting Achievement of the Month’ award to highlight some individual student success.  We are proud of all of our students and it’s been great to hear how well they have been doing locally, regionally and nationally.

This year’s winners have been Jasmine Leslie- Swimming, George Falconer- national gymnastics champion, Rhys Northcott- football, Alfie Walker- regional gymnastics champion, Sophie Marsh- GB Octopush representative, Henry Curtis- athletics, Keeley Jenkins- Ice skating, George Thompson- Rugby, and Morgan Boyd- 3^rd in National diving championships.

We heard today that David Wilks in year 13 is a national karate champion!  Amazing achievement.  Please let us know about your achievements and send all nominations to dbudd@saltashcloud.net.

There have been plenty of extra opportunities for our ‘high performing most able’ PE students this year.  Our successful year 7 boys and girls football teams were treated to a training session from Plymouth Argyle coach Micky and player Carl McHugh.  Our year 8 students have been working on a ‘Sky sports living for sport’ project with Olympic Athlete Heather Fell and students in years 9, 10 and 12 were taken to visit the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

One of the highlights of the school year is sports day and on 6^th July this year it is bound to be a bit special being an Olympic Year.  With every student encouraged to take part, this really is a day where participation can be celebrated.

Report by Dan Budd

We are pleased to announce that we are installing a new cashless system for the catering service at saltash.net community school which will be in operation from Monday 20^th June 2016. Our desire is to continue to provide and improve on the quality of the school meal service at the school.

A new cashless catering system will help us to deliver a more efficient, faster service.

From Monday 20^th June cash will no longer be accepted at the catering till points or at the vending machines within the school. All payments are to be made by using your online Parentpay account. If you are unable to use the online facility, please contact the school’s Finance office.

Any amount of money can be paid into your account held within the system. Money spent will be taken out of the system. You can check how much credit remains on the account by logging onto Parentpay, or by the student using the balance checking machines within the school.

The system allows a daily spend limit of £5.00. This can be increased or decreased for an individual student by making a written request to the school’s Finance office. It is important that student balances are regularly checked as there will be no ‘overdraft’ facility for students with insufficient credit.

Further details of how the cashless catering system will work can be found here along with a permission slip for the fingerprint recognition system.

If you have any questions regarding the implementation of the new cashless catering system, please do not hesitate to contact the school.

Year 11s’ ‘official’ last day is a rite of passage anticipated with a range of emotions by students and staff alike at saltash.net community school. The 12th May marked the end of Year 11s’ time at the school (apart from exams and an extensive revision programme!) and students were sent off in a way they would remember for years to come.

The last day for Year 11s at saltash.net isn’t like an ordinary leavers’ day. All members of Year 11 come in fancy dress, and instead of the usual sadness that accompanies a last day, there is a party atmosphere.

With outfits ranging from zombies and superheroes to Donald Trump and cheerleaders, students in fancy dress were treated to a buffet lunch in the gym, with students choosing the accompanying music.

Each student received an autograph book to record good luck wishes, and many spent the day getting friends and teachers to sign.

After lunch, a farewell assembly was held, with awards handed out by each of the year’s tutors and a number of musical performances. Shannon Paris, Aeryn Sedgwick, and the duos of Hollie Kiely and Catherine Williams and Lucy Kevern and Tiegan Aire, performed in front of their peers, bringing many to tears. All of the performers were surrounded by friends after they had finished, and there were a number of standing ovations.

Following the performances, Headteacher, Mrs Bryce, commended the class of 2016, praising all they had accomplished at the school and wishing them the best for the summer and their futures beyond it.

Although a day of farewells, the year group will be coming together again for their prom which will be held at Boringdon Park Golf Club on the 1^st July, and many will also be returning to study for A Levels in the 6^th Form with Induction Days taking place at the end of June.

The following information is provided as a guide for those parents, carers and students considering saltash.net community school either for admission into Year 7 or into the 6th Form in September 2016 and September 2017.

Year 5/6 Open Evenings 2016: These are scheduled for Wednesday October 5^th 2016 and Thursday October 6^th 2016 commencing at 6.30pm. There will be an introductory talk in the main hall by Headteacher, Isobel Bryce, Head Students and Head of Year 7, Grant Taylor, followed by student-led tours of the school.

If you would like to make an appointment to visit the school during the day, then please contact the main school office on 01752 843715 or email the Head of Year 7/Head of Transition, Grant Taylor gtaylor@saltashcloud.net .

Monday 31st October: Deadline for the Local Authority to receive applications for secondary education. For further details on admissions to Cornish secondary schools, please visit www.cornwall.gov.uk

6th Form Information Evening 2016: This will be held on Wednesday 9^th November 2016 at 6.00pm. Talk by Head of 6th Form, Adam Killeya, in main school hall, followed by an opportunity for parents and students to attend subject presentations providing information about post-16 courses. Friday 16^th December 2016 is the deadline for applications to saltash.net 6th Form.

Spring Term

Year 4/5 Information Evenings will be held in all partner primary schools during the Spring Term 2017. A team of senior staff, will be visiting all schools to provide further information about the primary/secondary transfer process.

Year 5 Theme Day: This will be taking place on Friday 1^st July 2016 at saltash.net community school for all children currently in Year 5 at our partner primary schools.

The 2017 Year 5 Theme Day is currently scheduled for Friday 30^th June 2017

Year 6 ‘Taster’ Days: Will take place on Wednesday 15^th June and Tuesday 21^st June at saltash.net.  There is an additional Year 6 ‘Taster Day’ for students coming to saltash.net from out of the catchment area which will take place on Wednesday 25^th May 2016.

The 2017 Year 6 ‘Taster Days’ are currently scheduled for Tuesday 13^th June 2017 and Friday 23^rd June 2017.  The 2017 out of catchment ‘Taster Day’ is currently scheduled for Wednesday 17^th May 2017

Year 13 students from saltash.net community school enjoyed their ‘red carpet’ moment as they arrived for the annual May Ball held in the grand surroundings of the Duke of Cornwall Hotel on Friday 13^th May.  Although unlucky for some, the date did not in any way affect the success of the occasion:  the sun was shining, the meal was excellent and the dancing and socialising were enjoyed by all who attended.

Headteacher, Mrs Bryce, said, ‘It was great that not only were most of Year 13 in attendance, but also a number of students who left at the end of Year 13 to take up apprenticeships and college courses.  It was brilliant to be able to catch up with all their news and reassure them that they will always be part of the saltash.net community!

I would like to thank the 6^th Form team – Mr Killeya, Miss Wilkinson and Mrs Briggs, as well as the 6^th Form Council for all that they did to organise such a successful event.  Thanks also go to DT technician, Mr Darren McDonald, for being our official photographer for the evening!’

A number of students at saltash.net were commended last week for their abilities in PE. Gifted and Talented awards were handed out to recognise students’ excellence in individual sports, and to those who excel in all subject areas of the PE curriculum. Mrs Bryce was on hand to present the awards and praised the students for their hard work.

After handing out the awards, Teacher of P.E, Mr. Budd, said:

“As you will have seen from the other sports reports, the current year 7 are a very strong sporting cohort.  Throughout this year we have been identifying students to join the ‘High Performing and Most Able’ register for PE.

High performers are students who demonstrate a talent, ability or skill, which falls outside of what is being currently assessed in their subjects while the most able students are those achieving the highest levels in the subject.

With many students identified and others to follow, we began distributing the badges awarded to these students so they can be recognised for their sporting ability.

Being on the high performance and most able register brings enrichment opportunities as we support their development in sport.  The current year 8 has been working with Olympic Athlete, Heather Fell, while the high performers in years 9 and 10 had the opportunity to visit the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London.

Students can be added at any time so we encourage parents to let us know of all endeavours out of school hours.  We hope the students identified will wear their badges with pride and act as role models for PE and sport.”

The Year 7 recipients were as follows:

Most able in subject

Individual sport awards

You can now download the latest school newsletter.

Interim Newsletter – May ’16

Sixth Formers at saltash.net community school, along with several interested members of staff, were this week encouraged to register and use their vote in the EU referendum on 23^rd June.

The plea to use their vote followed an interesting and wide-ranging debate between representatives of both the ‘Remain’ and ‘Leave’ camps, as part of the school Year 13 General Studies programme.

David Chalmers, who is Northern Devon Campaign Co-ordinator for StrongerIN as well as a Regional Officer of the Lib Dems, spoke in favour of the UK remaining in the EU, stressed the economic arguments for remaining and argued that Britain was more globally influential as a member of the EU.

In response, David Lucas, speaking in favour of the UK leaving the EU, emphasised the importance of the UK taking controls of its own laws, as well as the direct and indirect costs of the UK’s EU membership. Lucas is currently County Chairman of UKIP, and is a former RAF fighter pilot and staff officer in NATO and the Ministry of Defence.

Following their introductory remarks, both speakers took questions from the audience covering a wide ranging of issues including defence, trade, human rights, the impact on Cornwall, the implications for students, and the EU’s long term plans.

After the speakers had concluded their arguments Head of Sixth Form Adam Killeya encouraged all students to use their vote, regardless of whether it was to remain or to leave, and to register to vote if they had not already done so using https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.

Summing up the debate Mr Killeya said, “We had a high quality and very civilised debate with both speakers doing a strong job of making their case. saltash.net strongly believes that part of our job is to prepare students for their future as citizens and this referendum, whatever the result, will have a massive impact on that.”

Sixth Form student Georgina Curtis who will be 18 just before the vote said “I went in to the debate with an open mind and it was good to hear both sides of the issue. I will definitely be using my vote on the 23^rd June”.

Gillian led workshops with two different groups on 27 May, with students from Years 7, 8 and 9 taking part.

Gillian was invited to the school by library manager, Matt Coot, who, along with the English department, chose students who had shown a particular interest in reading and creative writing to take part in the event.

Students were asked to help Gillian create a story focusing on a “Demon Headmistress”, who controlled children at school, as the title character of her famous books did.

Gillian later tweeted how impressed she was with the students and their efforts.

She said: “I enjoyed working with the students. There were some great monster Headmistress stories!”

Local bookshop, The Bookshelf, was invited to sell copies of Gillian’s books in the library at lunch time, and the author was on hand to sign and talk about the books with the eager customers (both students and staff!).

Mr. Coot was delighted at how successful the event was.

He said: “When I was growing up, I loved reading the Demon Headmaster and Gillian inspired me to become a writer. Meeting her at the Kernow Youth Book Awards (KYBA) last year seemed like a perfect opportunity to invite her into the school to inspire a new generation of writers at saltash.net.

The event was superb! Gillian used our current situation of Mrs Bryce retiring to inspire the students into creating their own ideas of a Monster Headteacher taking over the school – not that we’re expecting that to happen in reality! It was a fantastic event enjoyed by the students and a few members of staff, who grew up loving Gillian’s books.”

The new cashless catering system at saltash.net community school will be in operation from Monday 20^th June 2016 . From this date cash will no longer be accepted in the school canteen or in the vending machines.

Please ensure that you have put money onto your child’s Parentpay account. If you cannot use Parentpay and require a barcode, please contact the school’s Finance Office as soon as possible.

Finance Office contacts:-

Email: finance@saltashcloud.net

Telephone: 01752 843715

saltash.net’s reputation for providing the highest quality teaching and learning opportunities for its students was further strengthened today as teacher of Maths, Mr Alan Hawthorne, was named the National Teaching Awards’ Regional Winner for the Outstanding Use of Technology in Education.

Nominated by the students through their School Council, Mr Alan Hawthorne received a visit from two National Teaching Award judges at the end of April. Mr. Hawthorne had been put forward for the 2016 Pearson Teaching Awards by the student council, who then worked with Deputy Headteacher, Mr. Buckley, on writing the official nomination.

The judges, Tony Gray and Bob Twells, spent three hours at the school observing Alan teach a Year 13 A Level Maths lesson, and also met with the school’s senior leadership team, members of the Maths department and other colleagues, students from across a range of year groups and parent representatives.

A very special ‘surprise’ assembly event was held on the morning of Friday 17^th June, the official ‘Thank a Teacher Day’. After a discussion about the upcoming EU referendum chaired by Mr. Killeya, Mayor of Saltash, Mrs Hillary Frank, was invited to say a few words about democracy, before handing over to Mrs Bryce.

Mrs Bryce announced to the school community that Mr Hawthorne had won a Silver Teaching Award, making him eligible for the National Finals due to take place in October, as well as a prestigious visit to the House of Commons later this month.

Chair of Governors, Kate Waghorn, and the Saltash Observer’s Martin Lister were also in attendance for the awards presentation.

saltash.net Headteacher Mrs Bryce said:

‘This is a remarkable achievement, not just for Alan and the Maths department, but also for the school, as it is the second time in two years that saltash.net has had a Regional National Teaching Awards winner in the Outstanding Use of Technology Award category.

“Alan is a truly inspirational teacher. The A Level lesson that the judges observed was deemed to be outstanding for the way in which technology was used ‘seamlessly’ to both engage the students and ensure maximum progress was made. Alan is a truly worthy winner and we all wish him well with the national final in the Autumn.’

saltash.net’s Year 7 Girls’ Football team were awarded during assembly last week, following their fantastic victory in the East Cornwall U12 league and the team’s success at the Caradon youth games tournament.

The league was played at Callington over the course of four January evenings, and saltash.net emerged victorious from each fixture, scoring over 20 goals and keeping four clean sheets. This was followed by the team’s success at the Caradon youth games tournament in March.

After presenting the girls with their individual medals and certificates, teacher of PE and Team Coach Mrs Gue said: “These girls have been super this year, turning up to training regularly and in large numbers. A record number of girls have been involved and have represented the school amazingly well. I am super proud of them all and very grateful for their efforts.”

The league winning squad is listed below. Congratulations to all of them!

In the build up to this week’s EU referendum, teachers at saltash.net have been keen to give students at the school a voice, holding assemblies on the subject and asking them to cast their vote.

The vote, organised by Mrs Metters, Miss Halliday and Mr. Killeya, aimed to engage those who can’t vote and raise awareness of the important issues at hand.

Years 7 to 10, as well as Year 12, were asked during assembly whether they favoured remaining in the European Union, or leaving it, having watched a short video laying out the general arguments for both.

The official count was finished during Friday lunchtime, with Remain emerging victorious with 59% of the vote.

The breakdown of the vote was as follows:

The voting comes following a recent debate on the EU referendum, attended by Sixth Formers and saltash.net staff, and chaired by Head of Sixth Form Mr Killeya.

David Chalmers, who is Northern Devon Campaign Co-ordinator for StrongerIN as well as a Regional Officer of the Lib Dems, represented the Remain campaign, whilst David Lucas, County Chairman of UKIP spoke in favour of leaving the EU.

History teacher, Miss Halliday, said:

“It is vital that students engage in politics if we hope to increase participation when they turn 18.  It was great fun and a brilliant atmosphere during the assemblies and counting the votes.  Hopefully this will encourage students to take part in the issues affecting their country.”

Politics teacher and head of Sixth Form, Mr Killeya, said:

“Our students may not be able to vote in the referendum on the 23rd, but whatever the result it will have a massive impact in their future jobs, opportunities and lives.

“That’s why we thought it so important to raise their awareness of the arguments on both sides and give them a chance to vote.”

Become a Home Start Volunteer and help a local family

Screaming toddlers, sleepless nights, juggling children for the school run, piles of washing and no time to yourself. Sound familiar? If you can remember how tough it can be with young children and would like to support other parents then we would like to hear from you.

Home-Start Kernow is seeking volunteers for their home-visiting service. Volunteers visit families with young children, who are experiencing difficulties for a couple of hours a week.

Whether you are looking to gain experience or a qualification (accreditation options available) or just to make new friends and use your skills, this could be the opportunity for you. Volunteers undertake an initial 40 hours of training over 10 weeks and once matched to a family receive regular supervision.

Travel to and from training and home visits will be paid at 45p a mile.

Home-Start will undertake an enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service check on all potential volunteers.

So, if you have parenting experience and can spare a few hours a week we would love to hear from you at info@homestartkernow.org.uk or on 01209 214490. Alternatively you can email David McKie, at dMcKie@saltashcloud.net for more information.

Below is a letter from Chair of Governors Kate Waghorn to parents/carers, regarding the appointment of a new Headteacher at saltash.net.

The Sixth Form induction day trip to Mount Edgcumbe is STILL GOING AHEAD, despite recent poor weather.

Students should meet in the Canteen by 0845, and should make sure that they are appropriately dressed for poor weather.