Welcome from the Assistant Head of Centre Mr Warley
The Aconbury Centre
Autumn Term Newsletter
Welcome from the Assistant Head of Centre – Mr Warley
It has been another fantastic term at The Aconbury Centre. Students have enjoyed a rich and varied curriculum and have had the opportunity to work with an experienced and exciting author, TaranMatharu, visit Pizza Hut for a reward trip, access to the School Nurse, opportunity to raise money for Macmillan cancer support and Children in Need, enjoy a delicious Christmas meal and celebrate Christmas with the residents of South Gate Court residential home.
It has also been a time where the Head of Centre, Mrs Dixon has been unwell; The Centre will keep you informed when Mrs Dixon is set to return. I am sure that you will all join me in wishing her a speedy recovery.
Themes and Values
Our themes for the autumn term were,
- Respect
- Trust
- Perseverance
- Kindness
News and events
At the end of the October half term we said a sad farewell to Ann Warley. Ann had been with the service for over 15 years and we wish her all the best in herretirement.
In November we welcomed 2 new temporary members of staff to the team:
- Mr Lloyd – Humanities
- Mrs Hartfield-Receptionist/finance
Curriculum – English: Premier League Reading Stars
In 2011 the Aconbury Centre joined the National Literacy Trust’s Premier League Reading Stars programme. The programme is designed to encourage young people to enjoy reading independently and for pleasure. It uses football stars from the Premier League to inspire students with short videos describing their own experiences of reading and their favourite books. The programme has proved very successful and the Centre has contributed to its development with participation in research studies.
There are many rewards for achievement within this programme and this year we were lucky enough to have a successful Author, TaranMatharu, visit our school and talk to us. He explained how he achieved success and showed our students how to construct a story.
Taran also shared his current book, ‘The Novice’, with the students and told them about the development of the trilogy. His latest book will be released in May 2016.
We have also been lucky to have Mr Lloyd teaching Maths, Geography and Historyas short-term supply cover for 3 days a week. This has allowed the students to continue to enjoy a varied curriculum. He is also a published author! And is closing in on the sequel!
Aconbury in the community
MacMillan
In September, we took part in the World’s Greatest Coffee Morning to raise money for the MacMillan Cancer Charity.
Our students all helped to make cakes,take orders and develop their front of house skills! The students also helped deliver a very exciting raffle and offered a special birthday surprise for one of our neighbours.
It was lovely that our students’ families joined us, along with our neighbours from Southgate Court. The morning finished with a lovely game of football with some of our visitors joining in.
We raised a fantastic £142.85.
Children in Need
Again our students were keen to raise money for this event and came up with the idea of wear what they like, pool competition, quiz, and other games which they paid to enter. The staff and students raised £40.
For both events, our students were shown examples of how the money is put to use and the difference it can make to people’s lives.
Christmas at The Aconbury SHYPP (Supporting Homeless Young People Project)
Students have spent the last 3 weeks getting creative in anticipation for the visit of Southgate Court Residential home. Students worked hard making crafts and selling raffle tickets to raise money for SHYPP. The staff at The Aconbury also gave generously to a Christmas hamper which will be donated to SHYPP over the festive period.
Homework and Behaviour
The autumn half term has been an exceptional term for behaviour. Students have managed their behaviour very well, resulting in some record breaking weeks for behaviour scores. It is a credit to the students that they understand what good behaviour looks like and relish the challenge of improving their own individual behaviour. In addition to superb behaviour scores, the students have been getting very competitive in regards to homework! Students are set homework regularly and if they successfully bring the completed homework back, stickers are offered. Students are awarded certificates if they return 5, 10, 15 or 20 pieces of homework.
School Closures
Just in case!
- Parents will be informed via a text message so do make sure we have your latest mobile number.
- You can also listen to the local radio for updates or go to the website:
Next term
There will be lots of opportunities for students to be rewarded for good attendance and behaviour. We will be planning a reward trip at the end of February half term and a variety of enriched curriculum prospect, including, health and well-being group, indulge in their creative side with exciting new projects in woodwork, textiles, cooking and art.
A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all the staff at The Aconbury Centre