Farra News Issue 1 - Sunderland Learning Hub

FARRA NEWSIssue 1, July 2006WELCOME TO FARRAThe News team are:Sarah Gordon8DStephanie Smith 9KDemi Craig9JCharlotte Kennedy 10KRobyn Townsend 10JWelcome to FarringdonCommunity SportsCollege and to our firstnewsletter in which we’dlike to tell you a bit aboutour school and some of theexciting things that havehappened in the past 12months: sporting events,an Enterprise Day, anOscars Ceremony, ourYear 11 Prom, links withprimary schools, a schoolplay and so much more;not to mention academicAchievements!Farringdon is anoutstanding place to be.Rebecca BarnesDaniel ShipleyOwen Armstrong10J10G10GFundraisingDale Cuthbertson of7A raised over £50 inan Easter raffle. Thishas helped us to fundthe first edition of thenewsletter. Thankyou Dale!Latest event—Year 11 SchoolProm—see inside for more ...

Poland comes to VISIT!The Poland Day in SchoolBy Stephanie SmithTo celebrate the visit of 8 studentsand 2 teachers fromKrakow, Farringdon held a“Polish Day” to help everyonefind out a little bit more aboutthe country and what it is like.Many lessons gave us a tasteof ‘something’ Polish.In Maths, for example, studentswere learning to countto ten; in History, studentsfound out that when the Germansinvaded Poland on the1st September 1939, theyused something called“Blitzkreig” which means“Lightening War”.R.E taught us that 95% of Polishpeople were RomanCatholic. In music, studentsheard and found out that thefamous “Funeral March” waswritten by Fredrick Chopin.The English Departmentlooked at some poems, for exampleabout the Polish circus(Cyrk) Students were alsogiven a questionnaire to fill inas they went around theschool, finding answers intheir subjects and in signsstuck around the building.“It was a really interesting week; it’s great to see people ofdifferent cultures working together.”Ms SheridanPolskaOther Fun!Written by Charlotte KennedyDuring their time here our Polishvisitors visited many of theregions sights, including; theBaltic, The Sage, Keswick,The Stadium of Light and ofcourse, the ‘fantastic’ FarringdonSchool! The whole reasonthey were over in the UK wasbecause they are involved inthe Dreams + Teams council,and to make friends with thelovely JSLA (Junior SportsLeadership Award) girls! Itwasn’t all fun and games,there was a bit of work involved.Between them thevisitors and the JSLA studentshad to organize an‘International Sports Day’ for70 loud and easily excitable 8to 9 year olds.Everyone enjoyed the activitiesbut bless, the schools thathad to walk back—it was theday of ‘that downpour’ andbarbeque! All of the JSLAgirls miss the Polish visitorsand we really hope we canraise enough money to go outthere ourselves next year.

OFF ON OUR TRAVELSReported by Stephanie Smith35 Year 8 pupils will be travelling toRhineland in Germany between the21st—27th July. Mrs Leyson, MrsParker, Mr Fearon and Miss Dunnwill be travelling with the group.Although only ten pupils are pictured,some of the others told us theywere feeling, ‘excited but nervousabout going on the ferry and goingaway without their family, but theylooking forward to going away withtheir friends.’Some of the places they will visitfor entertainment are; a theme park,a water park, a chocolate factory aswell as going on a Rhine Cruise andshopping in Cologne.There will be a full report on our tripin the next edition of the newsletter.Yr 6 InductionWeek!From the 3rd to the 7th of July Year 6 pupils fromFarringdon Primary, New Silksworth, Mill Hill andEast Herrington Primary came to our school for theirinduction. During this time they took part in variouslessons, watched ‘Gel’ and had a sports day. We lookforward to seeing you here in September!!“Many thanks to all ourfriends from Farringdonwho sponsored us andhelped us raise so much”.TheGreatWomen’sRunThree of our support staff:Teresa Lowthian, Sue Watsonand Claire Whittingtonhave gone into trainingagain for next years run,after their fantastic time of1.31 this year. The trioraised almost £700 for cancercharities.The dedicated trio used our newgym and school field to jog andtrain for the event and will be doingso again this year, if you seethem in training give them acheer!All three have said the racewas an amazing experienceand their aim is to raise over£1000 next time and completetherace in lessthan anhour—goodluck!!

Year 7 Rugby LeagueOur Year 7 team won the Sunderland tournament and represented Sunderlandin the youth games winning the tournament beating teams from NorthTyneside, South Tyneside and Gateshead.Year 7 and 8 HockeyKate Bell, Year 7 team captain and KaitlynThompson, Year 8 captain were selected forthe Durham Academy and Sunderland YouthGames, their team went on to win the tournamenton Saturday 24 th June. Overall our Year8 team won the Sunderland schools hockeytournament and came 2 nd in the league.The Olympics Comes to Farra!By Charlotte KennedyAs a sports collage we obviously want the greatest sports men and women (to be) attending ourproud establishment! Those Fantastic JSLA girls were at it again, they set up an Olympic sportsfestival all by themselves (well, with a bit of help from Mrs. S!). The five feeder schools, EastHerrington, Mill Hill, Benedict Biscop, Silksworth Juniors and Farringdon Primary, all attendedwith 20 of their up and coming stars. Before they could show off their talent the JSLA girls had togo into each of the schools and teach the little “darlings” a thing or two!Once they’d been taught to run, jump and leap over hurdlesthey came to Farringdon to ‘show-off’ their skill! Eachschool was split into different countries: England, Germany,France, Italy and Australia. Sadly England came inlast, but Australia were victorious! After all the fun (and anafternoon off) everyone had to go home—and about timetoo!

THE WORKING WORK!!Owen Armstrong, Andrew McGuire, David McGhin(pictured far right) and James Rush (pictured right) astoundedstaff at T-Mobile in Doxford with their hardwork, manners and honesty. Andrew, James and Owenwere allowed to work for a second week which doesn’thappen very regularly. In addition to the end of placementsheet that has to be filled in, Community Co-Coordinator, Geraldine Hope commented via e-mail, “ Ican honestly say the boys are the best students we haveever had. I had no hesitation in enabling a second week.It was a real pleasure to have these students on site”.For his second week David went to Development and Regeneration,again his employers were delighted and saidhe had a, “mature approach, was keen and interested in everything,was an ‘absolute joy’ to have around and a real credit tohis school and parents”.Megan Middlemiss was placed atSilksworth Sports Complex, theassistant manager of the companysaid, “Megan was excellentthroughout the placement she builtup excellent relationships withstaff and was very keen to listenand get involved.”Sunderland Housing Group employedStavros Padapoudakis who‘conducted himself really well, wasquick to learn and very helpful at alltimes’. His employers said they believethat if he were offered an apprenticeshipwith the company he’d‘sail through it’.Stacey Armstrong (pictured below)spent her time working in the humanitiesdepartment of our schooland was described as “a great assetto the department”.Dalton Butler worked with Chester – Le – Street DistrictCouncil. His employers said that he was “A very popular andkeen young man with really goodcommunication skills.”Toni Louise Smith(pictured left) made a great impression on her workmates at MKOne who were impressed with how polite and keen she was. Theysaid she was “an absolute pleasure to work with”.This article was written by SarahGordon / designed by RobynTownsend

GOODBYE AND GOODLUCKA NUMBER OF STAFF WILL BE LEAVING US THIS SUMMER, SOME MOVING ONTO PASTURES NEW, SOMETAKING WELL EARNED RETIREMENT. HERE ARE A FEW FINAL WORDS:When I leave Farringdon I really don't know what I will be doing. The world is my oyster and I plan on tasting asmany new (and relaxing) things as I can, as well as making my home and garden the way I have never had time tomake them. As I have said for years, Farringdon is the best - both teachers and students -I will think of you all often.Carolyn RobinsonAfter 33 years of teaching 32 of which have been at Farringdon ( yes I am that old!), I have, after two lengthy periodsof illness decided, after much deliberation to take voluntary redundancy. During my time at Farringdon I have beenblessed to have worked with wonderful people; staff and students and parents who have left "footprints on myheart". I will miss school, however, I want now to reassess and to take life at a slower pace. Dorothy LeeA small goodbye! I’ve had a great time at Farringdon. I’m moving into a school called Sacred Heart, I will miss thepupils here dearly. I also have to say a big thank you to Mrs Lackenby for all her support and patience. Lisa NewallI’ve really enjoyed my time at Farringdon and would like to wish all the staff and students the best for the future.Maureen WilkinsTime for a well earned rest I think. Lots of DIY jobs to catch up on. Plenty of time to reflect on all the wonderfulyoung adults that I have met over the years. Mega apologies to my tutor group—I wish you all the best in your finalyear and I will see you at the prom! Gordon UrwinHaving worked at the school for 22 years it will be difficult to leave. However, I am a great believer that when on edoor closes another one will open which gives a focus that could be exciting. I wish staff and pupils alike every successin their future lives and careers. Bob HetheringtonI wish staff and students all the best for the future. It is with mixed feelings that I leave Farringdon but I am sure thatYear 8 will go from strength to strength. Marjorie StoddardAfter 13 years at Farringdon in various roles I would like to take this opportunity to wish both the students and thestaff all the very best for the future. At present I have no set plans for my retirement however I am sure my ‘betterhalf’ will find sufficient jobs to keep me busy. I’m looking forward to having the odd holiday out of season (schoolhols) and just maybe getting a good deal for a change. Keith WatsonThanks to all for a wonderful couple of years at Farringdon. I will miss staff and students and will think of you regularlywhen I am sat in an outdoor café sipping wine with the Beckhams—yes I’m off to teach in sunny Madrid!Nicola AshtonAll the very best to all staff and students, particularly my tutor group and Year 10 GCSE group—I will miss you.Thinking now of doing other things—God Bless. Jack Coates

New Term ArrangementsWe will return to school on Monday 4 th September.Year 7’s will start their day at 9am; the rest of the schoolwill begin registration at 11.05am.Training Days for 2006/7 are as follows:• Friday 6 th October 2006• Wednesday 24 th January 2007• Monday 23 rd April 2007• Friday 6 th July 2007

Girls Football BadmintonDance Club NetballReading Clubs andChallengesSchool NewspaperFarringdon & SandhillDramaBasketballGirls Football TennisGolf ChoirOutdoor and IndoorHockeyImpact MusicAstronomy Club BandBasketball Boys FootballRugby league Various GCSE RevisionClassesWhat More does Farringdon Have?Did you know there are loads of clubs and opportunities at Farringdon, Have a lookat the list above:YOU CAN FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT TIMES AND DATES—AND MORE CLUBS ALSO ON OUR SCHOOL WEBSITE:www.farringdonschool.co.ukThe website has also recently been reworked and now contains informationon every aspect of school life and recent events as well asuseful revision links—why not have a look!