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Woodlands Academy Good sports! 2015 Special Schools’ Games In late November a group of students from our BTEC Sport Extended Diploma course spent the day at the Xcel Centre where they helped to organise and officiate at the 2015 Special Schools’ Games. Hundreds of staff and students from all over the West Midlands gathered to take part in a vast number of sports and games events. Our students were in charge of organising the games which included draughts, darts and Connect Four. Year 12 student Kris Roscoe said “Our main objective was to assist disabled children to participate in the various games. We had to help plan and organise the games, as well as taking the time to talk to and get to know the students. The feedback was that they really enjoyed themselves. This experience helped teach us patience and empathy and how to communicate with students with a range of needs. It also showed us how to adapt and to differentiate the way we played in order to accommodate all the students. We all gained positive experience from this and are grateful we got to help with the event. We had to deal with some difficult and sensitive situations and we are proud of the way that we represented the school. I think that we took away as much from this experience as the students who participated.” The group were accompanied by PE staff Mr Austin and Mr Williams who said “We think this experience reflects the sort of student we get at Woodlands Academy, and how they step up to the mark when they are asked to help others.” The staff also said they were proud of the students for their enthusiasm, care and patience. This was a fantastic experience for the students and will be a great addition to their personal CV’s or UCAS personal statements. The organisers have since been in touch to complement the group and award them certificates recognising their contribution. A helping hand at Christmas As well as fundraising for good causes, at Woodlands Academy we try to help people in other ways too. Before Christmas students and staff were asked to bring in any items they could that would be suitable to fit into a shoe box that could be given to a homeless person at Christmas. To help the Coventry Comfort Carers charity, who support homeless people, students filled shoe boxes with items suitable for different ages and genders and also wrote a Christmas card to put in each shoe box, which they then wrapped. The shoe boxes contained items such as scarves, gloves, warm socks as well as chocolate and toiletries. Representatives from the charity then came in to school to collect the shoe boxes so that they could distribute them to those most in need. Coventry Cyrenians, a Coventry based charity that support homeless and vulnerable people, benefitted from the generosity of the West Coventry Sixth Form before Christmas after they collected five large boxes full of food, toiletries, hats, gloves and scarves. The gift was gratefully received and John Sexton, the Quality Manager of Coventry Cyrenians, has since emailed us to say “Thank you to your Sixth Form students for the very generous donation of food and toiletries in support of our Christmas meal. These sort of gifts make a real difference to our residents and visitors so we really appreciate the gifts on their behalf. Thanks again for the continued support from students at Woodlands Academy and the WCSF.” Page 8
Issue 24 February 2016 Taking the right road In an exciting development to the WCSF PSHCE programme, we were able to bring in outside support to deliver part of the programme on personal awareness. We were fortunate to have West Midlands Fire Service and their various partner organisations in to talk to the students about different aspects of driving and personal safety. Students took part in a carousel of activities with the general consensus that it was an excellent and very valuable day. The AA provided a short session aimed at learner drivers and the pitfalls relating to choosing driving instructors, taking lessons, and sitting the awareness and driving tests. Students then had the opportunity to sit in the cab of a HGV lorry. This was to emphasise the difficulty for HGV drivers when looking down onto other motorists and pedestrians. Staff from Kwik Fit delivered a practical session on vehicle safety and maintenance including a lesson on checking tyre depths. The fire officers’ session was about making responsible choices as a driver and as a passenger. Some of the statistics relating to young people and accidents were horrifying and the stories really made our students think. The outdoor session simulating drink driving involved the students wearing a set of ‘beer goggles’ and simulating the sobriety or drink-driving tests used by many police forces to test a driver’s fitness to drive. The ‘best’ part of the day for many was the session where they were given the opportunity to sit in an electric go-kart and whizz around a track avoiding obstacles! They were then challenged to repeat the exercise wearing the ‘beer goggles’ to simulate drink or drug-driving and the associated dangers – it is fair to say the second laps were clearly not as impressive as the first! The day ended with a harrowing group-talk listening to similar aged youngsters explaining about how a girl caused a fatal accident as a result of texting whilst driving. Students worked in groups to discuss the moral and ethical issues around the girl’s actions and the consequences for all parties involved. At the end of the day the fire-fighter leading the session thanked everyone and praised the group as the easiest and most involved group he had worked with in over three years of delivering such sessions – excellent praise at the end of a really thought-provoking day. Sixth-Form Christmas Quiz After an absence last year, this popular whole sixth-form event found its way back onto the calendar, and it was great fun to see over 250 WCSF students from Woodlands Academy, Tile Hill Wood School and The Westwood Academy taking part. Quizmaster, Mr Griffin – or ‘Father Quizmas’ as he is known on the day – lead students through ten rounds of general knowledge, music, films and just general Christmas fun. An extra bonus was the donations added another £250 to the Christmas Jumper fundraiser. In controversial circumstances ‘Team Flumpman’ were declared Quiz Champions 2015. Team members included Nyle Patel, James Cooke, Danny Choudhury, Louis Scallon and Will Holloway. Mr Shelton was spotted offering assistance to the team but they claim his presence made no difference to their intellectual ability and winning streak! Page 9
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Page 3 and 4: Issue 24 February 2016 A message fr
Page 5 and 6: Issue 24 February 2016 Fundraising
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Page 11 and 12: Issue 24 February 2016 Year 7 Book
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