Another School year is nearly over and with just a few more weeks till the

summer holidays, we hope you enjoy reading all the latest news from The

Blandford School.

J U N E 2 0 1 4

Newsletter

History Trip to Portsmouth

On Thursday 5th June Year 7 and 8 students

travelled to Portsmouth to visit HMS Victory and the new Mary Rose exhibition. It was a beautiful day and the students gained valuable knowledge and understanding of British History across the Ages. We also attended a workshop based on the Slave Trade and had the opportunity to discuss and handle artefacts from the 18

th Century.

This trip helped the pupils’ understanding of events at the Battle of Trafalgar and Nelson’s death. The day also promoted curiosity and debate about Henry VIII flag ship and why it sank! The students will now produce a wall display of their photographs and information gained from the visit.

Blandford Food Bank

The Blandford School JUSTis Group has been running a competition across all

years to see which tutor group can bring in the most items to donate to the

Blandford Food bank. As you can see the response from everyone has been

fantastic, but the winning tutor group was Miss Buchanan’s year 7 class who

donated over 100 items between them. The prize will be film with popcorn

thrown in!. Although the competition here has now ended, the Food Bank

always needs donation which can be left at various sites including Tesco’s and

Blandford Forum Methodist Church, or for more information please contact the

Food bank on 01258 456093.

Dates for your

Diary

Wednesday 2nd July

School Transfer Day

Wednesday 2nd July

Transfer Evening

5pm - 6.30pm

Thursday 10th July

Sports Day - 1.30pm

Monday 14th July

KS3 Awards

5.30pm - 7pm

Friday 18th July

Last Day of Term

TBS student highly commended in writing competition.

New Horizons is run by the Dorset Public and School Library Services and

aims to encourage young people to explore some of the best fiction by

exciting new authors. This biennial award promotes the work of recently

published, debut authors for 9 to 13 year olds and features a creative writing

competition. The aim of the award is to motivate young people to move away

from tried and tested authors and try something new. Our very own Y9 student Akira Lane was shortlisted for the

awards along with Young people from , Clayesmore Prep , Ferndown Middle, Highcliffe St Mark's Primary, Poole

Grammer School, Shaftesbury School and Trent Young's Endowed Primary. The winners were announced at a

celebratory event held at the Exchange, Sturminster Newton on Wednesday 21 May 2014. The event was hosted by

professional storyteller, Marcus Alexander, author of the exciting fantasy series "Keeper of the Realms" and local

author, Rebecca Westcott, whose first novel "Dandelion Clocks" has recently been published, talked about their

work, answered questions and signed copies of their books. Although Akira didn’t win his story was highly

commended and judge Gill Lewis said ‘A very original idea for a story. Part thriller, part mystery, it is fast-paced and

exciting. Akira maintains suspense throughout. I'm intrigued to know the secrets behind the follower’. Akira was also

presented with a certificate and signed books from the authors who were present .

WW1 Art Swap Two year 7 classes are sharing their art work with a

school in Bideford and another in Merseyside. The work is sent in an individual envelope and the other school's artists make a response to it. The work completed is on the theme 'structures' of WW1. The Blandford School students have been using magnified imagery of bacteria that could be caught in the trenches, drawing it onto a polytile and printing it onto the envelopes using a range of inventive means. One Year 8 class will be working with some Year 9's in Merseyside, completing their initial work using collage, based on the Vorticist style of work made around

WW1. We are eagerly awaiting their responses to our work . Next we will be working on the Bideford envelopes based on famous French landmarks that were around in WW1. We are thinking of developing their envelopes by using imagery from the trenches in WW1.

Les Misérables School Edition: An update

It has been a very busy month for the cast and crew of Les Misérables School

Edition. Our twilight rehearsal on 11th June saw wardrobe in action for the first

time and I am pleased to say that almost all characters are now costumed. Our

magnificent barricades have been constructed (and look incredible!) and our

programme is in design, ready to be sent to print at the beginning of July. We have

now blocked the majority of the dramatic action and the cast are doing well memorising the libretto.

If you haven’t already purchased your tickets to see Les Misérables School Edition on 15th-17th July there are still

some tickets left; hurry to avoid disappointment! You can book tickets by calling The Tivoli Box Office on 01202

885566.

Work Related Learning Week

23rd to 27th June

From 23rd to 27th June our Year 10 students were off timetable and taking part in a wide variety of activities which informed them about the world of work, and the skills and attributes that they will require in the modern workplace. It gave them an insight into careers that interest them and broaden their horizons to other careers. Activities included talks, workshops, employability skills, team-building, enterprise events, problem-solving sessions and trips out to local universities and businesses. Our Work Related Learning week was supported by a variety of organisations both local, national and international businesses and our students’ parents who kindly gave up their time to take part. We would like to take this opportunity to extend our warm thanks and appreciation to all those who supported us. If you would like to offer your support for next year’s Work Related Learning Week, please get in touch with Paula Taylor, ptaylor@blandfordschool.org.uk

Sporting News County Player TBS Year 9

Student Charlotte Legg has just been selected to play netball for county. She will now train every Wednesday down in Bournemouth. Charlotte is a versatile player and her favourite position is Goal Attack. She is a keen member of the Year 9 school team and plays regularly for North Dorset Netball Club in the Blandford Netball League.

Gymnastics Star Year 7 student Caitlin

Churcher was selected to represent the UK at the Autism’s

Got Talent 2014 in London at the Mermaid Theatre. Caitlin

performed a gymnastic routine that she had first showcased

at her regional competition as a member of Blandford Forum

Gymnastics Kanga Club. Caitlin found her love of the sport

when she was just three years old and now trains several

times a week. She takes part in many competitions across

the southwest and has won several medals, and hope that

she will make it to the national in the future.

Caitlin also competes for The Blandford

Schools own gymnastics team, as well as

performing in assembles and at school events.

We would like to say well done to Year 9 student Rory Shafford, who came 2

nd in South West Schools

Athletics Long Jump. He jumped 5m 65cm and was leading until the last round of jumps.

We are pleased to announce that The Blandford School has organised a textile collection with Bag2School in order to raise funds to help our students.

As well as raising vitally needed funds for our school, it also helps the environment by helping to divert unwanted textiles away from landfill. A recent DEFRA report has shown that textile collection schemes are helping to reduce the volume of textiles discarded as municipal solid waste. However it is a fact that as a nation we still send 1,081,000 tonnes of textiles to landfill every year.

By getting involved in our Bag2School collection, you have an opportunity to sort through your cupboards and wardrobes and donate unwanted textiles in the bag provided – this

can include adults’ and children’s clothes, shoes (tied together please), hats, belts, bags, soft toys. Please note bedding, curtains, and household linen cannot be accepted. We will receive £500 per tonne or £0.50/kg which will be a great boost for our fundraising. In addition it will also raise awareness amongst the children of the benefits of recycling and reuse. Plastic blue collection bags are available from Reception or alternatively you can use bag bin bags, so don’t forget to ask grandparents, friends and neighbours to have a sort out as well!

Bag2School will be collecting from our school on Tuesday 8th

July. Please bring your bag (or bags!) to Reception and help us have a really good collection.

Many thanks indeed for helping us with this unique fundraising opportunity.