Free School Meals P.4

A word from the Headteacher

w w w . o a k m e e d s . c o . u k@ O a k m e e d s 1

NSPCC Net Aware

Stay up to date and keep your child safe in today’s digital world with the help of the NSPCC.

Use the link below to access a guide to the social networks and apps your kids use.

http://www.net-aware.org.uk/

BH Bike Ride

Hundreds of cyclists set out on a gloriously sunny Sussex Sunday last week for the 23rd Burgess Hill Bike Ride. The event raised thousands of pounds for the Sussex Heart Charity and also smaller local good causes selected by the clubs. The organising committee thanked Oakmeeds for allowing the use of the Oakmeeds car park once again as the start and finish point.

Dear Parents/Carers,

Along with all the normal activities that happen during a College week we have had some significant additional events during the week just gone.

First, DEAR – Drop Everything and Read was planned in conjunction with our Locality partner primary schools and Woodlands Meed. This has gone well and students and staff have picked up their books and read at randomly selected times during the week. Authors and illustrators have visited and undertaken workshops with the students. The specific focus on DEAR this week supports and enhances the regular daily work we undertake to promote literacy.

Second, the whole of the English teaching team was planned to be out for a day working on revised schemes of work and preparing for the introduction of new GCSE courses for next September based upon the new 1 – 9 grading to replace the current A* - U system. This follows on from the day that the maths team had earlier in the year for similar purposes.

Third, the Geography team have had students on off-site activities on two of the days.

Given these disruptions already planned the icing on the cake was when one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors (on behalf of Ofsted) rang on Monday and told me he would be

undertaking the two day monitoring visit for this term on Tuesday and Wednesday with a team of other inspectors. We decided to allow the planned activities to continue, even given the implications for staffing, because we were confident that the Ofsted team would still see very good things. Their feedback at the end of the day was indeed very positive and shows the considerable progress that the College has made since January 2014. I will be provided with a draft report within five working days for comment and the final agreed version will be available soon afterwards. I will provide you all with a copy once it is in the public arena. I am sure you will be reassured and very pleased with the comments that the HMI made to us verbally yesterday afternoon.

In the meantime, please enjoy reading the latest positive news about other activities and events that have recently taken place.

Yours sincerely,

Colin TaylorHeadteacher

In this issue

Get Caught Reading Week P.2

Cracking Code Gir ls Course P.3

Cricket Season Success P.4

Marvel lous Marigolds P.5

Super 6’s athlet ics event P.5

e-newsletter52I S S U E

J U N E 2 0 1 5

Street Cricket

Fast and furious! Year 9 Oakmeeds boys enjoyed a great street cricket (6-a-side) tournament at The Weald on 9 June. Forest, Oathall, Oakmeeds, Tanbridge House and The Weald competed to see who would be crowned street cricket champion.Our first game against Forest we drummed up 35 runs from 20 overs - a good score. We fielded with speed and precision, getting the ball back to the wicket quickly and minimising runs scored, so Forest finished on 28.The next game proved more difficult, with The Weald needing two runs from the very last ball. The team bowled and fielded superbly to hold out and win by 1 run! Stand out catch from Joshua Hall, leaping like a salmon!Our final game was against Tanbridge who had also won their other games. The winner would be crowned overall winner. Oakmeeds batted first and got an impressive 28 against a good bowling/fielding attack. Tanbridge then managed to score 18 runs in the first 10 balls. Thanks to great leadership on Ryan Jackson’s behalf and excellent teamwork we managed to get several wickets so that Tanbridge needed just 1 run off of the last ball! Unfortunately, the ball was played just past a fielder and Tanbridge secured the run and won the tournament.An excellent effort from the Year 9 Oakmeeds team. Well done!

Throughout Get Caught Reading Week (6-12 June) a variety of great reading-related activities took place across Oakmeeds and beyond. The week began on Saturday in the town where books, balloons and bookmarks were given away to lots of families. On Tuesday, selected students from years 7, 8 and 9 took part in illustration workshops at Oakmeeds with children’s writer and illustrator Dave Shelton, whose book ‘A Boy and a Bear in a Boat’ was shortlisted for this year’s Burgess Hill’s Best Book award. Dave thoroughly enjoyed working with the students, saying they were “very responsive and engaged”.

On Wednesday, hugely popular author Dan Freedman gave two fascinating talks to both

year 7 and 8 about his life as a sports journalist turned children’s book writer. His talks highlighted the importance of reading for pleasure in terms of expanding vocabulary, exercising imagination and just pure enjoyment; and he spoke about how he – from once being a reluctant reader – came to make his career out of books. He shared the pleasure he feels when his books are published across the world and showed students what can be achieved if they choose to follow their dreams. The talks ended with question and answer sessions at which Dan gave out prizes for the best thought-out questions.

Thursday saw students from ‘Oakreads’ Book Club joining children from the local primary schools for

a sun-filled afternoon of reading in the park – an occasion which is much anticipated throughout the year. Then on Friday, author Eve Ainsworth came to the LRC to provide writing workshops for selected students in years 9 and 10, several of whom had previously bought and read her debut novel ‘7 Days’.

‘Drop Everything and Read’ also took place each day to allow students and staff to spend ten minutes enjoying a book of their choice. Mrs Barrett, LRC Manager at Oakmeeds, said “This is my second Get Caught Reading Week here and once again it has been a pleasure to be involved in the running of such a fantastic celebration of reading and to hear the positive comments from students about the different events”.

Get Caught Reading WeekA week of having fun with

reading

Page 2

15 Year 8 girls from Oakmeeds have enjoyed a five week course aimed at developing their interest in technology. Students Faye Funnel and Lauren Greatorex report on the final week of the Code Girls course.

On the last week we were told that we were going to be taking apart computer towers and laptops (the bad news was that we have to put them back together again!). There were two assistant technicians there to assist us if anything went wrong. Before we started Simon Gregg from IT First spoke to us for a while, then helped us.

To dismantle the computer towers and laptop we had to sit in pairs at two different tables. On our tables we had a selection of screwdrivers.

All excited, we grabbed the screwdrivers and in our pairs started attempting to take apart the computer towers and the laptops. We were all able to very quickly figure out what areas would be best to take out first. After a short while most of us had got all the main parts out, such as the fan and motherboard. By the half way point pretty much all of us had taken apart our computer towers or our laptops. One pair went too far into the taking apart their laptop and had it completely destroyed. Sadly, we were told to try and put the computer towers and the laptops back together. Many of us were unsuccessful at this job!

All of us who took the opportunity of going to the Amex stadium to do the IT course enjoyed ourselves.

We would all highly recommend it to the next lot of students who have the chance. Going to the Amex gave us many interesting facts and information about technology in the world of today and has inspired us to think about taking IT as a one of our options in Year 9. Not only did we have the opportunity to go to the Amex stadium in Brighton, but also go to both of the American Express buildings and learn about the IT jobs there.

4th Trophy for Oakmeeds’ Chess Team!

Congratulations to the Oakmeeds’ chess team who recently won their fourth trophy of the year! The team took part in the Sussex Junior Chess Academy event at Birchwood Grove Primary School on Friday 29 May 2015.

Eight schools entered and the boys played 6 games each, with 1 point awarded for each win. Our team beat Birchwood Grove, Northease Manor School, Patcham High School, Tavistock & Summerhill Prep School, Downlands, St Paul’s Catholic College, London Meed Primary and Wivelsfield Primary to come first, bringing another trophy back to Oakmeeds.

The winning team were: Jude Harcourt, Thomas Lawrence, Thomas Midmer, Thomas Rousell, Ben Sansom and Benjamin Sturgis. Well done!

Alumni Update

Congratulations to past student, Stephanie Somerville, who has just gained a 2:1 in her Maths and Statistics degree!

Monday 22 June 2015Post 16 Taster Day

Thursday 25 June 2015, 7.30pmSummer Sounds concert

Friday 26 June 2015Year 11 Leavers’ Ball

Monday 29 June 2015, 8.30am - 4.30pmWomen in Maths

INSET DAY - Friday 26 June 2015

SUMMER TERM ENDS Tuesday 21 July 2015

College dates for your diary - full list at www.oakmeeds.co.uk

Page 3

Cracking Code Girls Course

www.oakmeeds.co.uk

An Insight into Higher Education at King’s College

In May, Oakmeeds were lucky enough to be awarded a DfE funded trip to King’s College, one of the prestigious Russell Group universities. So, on the 13 May, Ms Stanton and Ms Turrell accompanied Year 9 students, Emma Midmer, Hasti Mostofi, Kyron Baker, Lee Smith and Jack Pink to London. The weather was beautifully sunny and warm, which was just as well because we had a long walk from London Bridge to the Strand campus of King’s.There were talks on higher education, funding your studies and a taster lecture on parasitic worms, which made us all squirm; leaving us feeling very glad we lived in a country with organised sanitation!As a result of the trip we have an invitation from King’s to take a small party to their Natural Science Faculties Christmas Lecture, Ms Leaney and Ms Turrell will be planning for this trip in September.

18 students were invited to a Celebratory Lunch on 10 June with Mr Taylor and Ms Stanton. This special lunch recognises consistently high ATL (Attitude to Learning) scores recorded after the most recent Progress Point (Progress Point 5). During the lunch Mr Taylor and Ms Stanton were able to personally congratulate students on their consistent high level of effort made in all subjects. 5 students in the Platinum category also received certificates from Mr Taylor.

Students who have attended 3 out of the 5 of these celebratory events, throughout this academic year, have been invited to

attend a larger celebratory meal at the end of the summer term in a local restaurant to recognise their fantastic attitude to learning.

The students were:Year 7 – Megan PlankYear 8 - Madeleine Burton, Vishva MunasingheYear 9 - Jack Cooper, Abbie DorganYear 10 - Marjana Ahmed, Jessica Campion, Justina Giles, Fiona Goring, Emily Goss, Rose Groom, Timmy Hawes, Emily Hayward, Thomas Jones, Edward Poole, Ethan Roberts, Nathan Speck, Alex Wotton.

The right attitude - Celebrating student success

Year 8 boys success v The Weald

Page 4

www.oakmeeds.co.uk

Station RoadBurgess Hill

West Sussex RH15 9EA

Marvellous Marigolds

Mrs King, Student Support Mentor, has been working with some of our Year 7 and 10 students to grow marigolds from seed. The Oakmeeds’ marigolds will be entered into the Flower Show at Cyprus Hall on Saturday 27 June. 5 local schools are entering pots of marigolds grown from seed with the aim of winning ‘Best in Show’! Mrs King said: “We’d love people to come along and vote!”

PTA Update

The Oakmeeds Association is proud to announce that we will be sponsoring the Volunteer of the Year award at the annual College awards ceremony. We are looking forward to reading the nominations at our next meeting. On 25 June, the Oakmeeds Association will be at the Summer Sounds concert with a raffle and will be selling drinks. See you there!

Disclaimer - We accept no responsibility or liability with respect to any of the products, information, material or services offered or provided by other organisations listed in this newsletter, nor do we endorse any of those organisations or any of their products or services. Should you decide to contract with any of these organisations, the contract will be directly between you and the relevant organisation. We will have no contractual involvement, and will not be liable in contract or otherwise for any products, information, materials or services provided to you by any of these organisations.

On 3 June, Oakmeeds hosted the district Year 7 Athletics tournament known as the ‘super 6’s’. Mr Butcher, PE Teacher at Oakmeeds, reports on the event.

This competition was run entirely by Oakmeeds Sports Leaders (over 35 Year 8 & 9 students) with Mr Franks in overall charge. The Sports Leaders were a real credit to the College, having sole responsibility for officiating, timing and inputting data for Long Jump, Shot Put, Javelin and track events. The event went smoothly with 6 schools in attendance:

Downlands, Oathall, Oakmeeds, Sackville, St Paul’s and Warden Park.

Our Year 7’s worked hard as a boys’ and girls’ team and finished overall 4th, narrowly missing out on 3rd place on points. The teams included: Boys - Liam Fairhall, Oliver Johnson, Jacob Kilkelly, Sameer Motin, Joe Ridley and Connor Weir. Girls - Jess Brigden, Jade Creek, Kelly Fuller, Sophie Hooper, Frances Jones, Grace Pordage and Brooke Reynolds.

Brooke Reynolds did brilliantly to come first in her 100m race, Connor Weir

threw a fantastic 23m in the Javelin finishing 2nd and Sophie Hooper performed well in the Long Jump coming 3rd and also coming 2nd in her 800m race.

An excellent effort from all of our Year 7 competitors - well done!

Mr Butcher continued: As a PE department we are very proud of the Sports Leaders and all of their hard work over this past year, it has definitely paid off! A special thanks to Mr Franks and all of the time and effort he has put into making them excellent leaders.

Super 6’s Athletics Tournament

Succeeding Together

Do you receive Job Seeker’s Allowance?

If so, your children will probably qualify for Free School Meals.

If you’re thinking Free School Meals (FSM) means stigma and humiliation for your child,

please think again. This might have been the truth 20 years ago but the world has moved on.

The cashless system used at Café Oakmeeds means that nobody (other than the computer)

knows whether the student at the checkout is having a meal that is paid for privately or paid

for by the state.

If you are thinking Free School Meals means lumpy mashed potato and boiled cabbage,

please come and have a look. Again this is something that might have been true 20 years

ago, but not anymore. The FSM allowance covers the cost of a nutritionally balanced hot

meal and a dessert, if your son or daughter does not like that then there is plenty of choice.

We have Pizza, Jacket Potatoes, Bagels, Wraps, Chilli, Curry and home-made cakes and

cookies. All the food sold in Café Oakmeeds is home-made and tastes great! It is easy to

see why Café Oakmeeds is so popular.

If you would like to apply for Free School Meals, there are application forms at Oakmeeds

Reception. You can also apply online at:

https://www.westsussex.gov.uk/education-children-and-families/schools-and-colleges/free-

school-meals/

Or, if you would rather speak to someone not connected with the College then the Citizens

Advice Bureau (38 Church Road, Burgess Hill) offer benefits advice and can help you apply.

17th June ‘15

Broadwater Campus, Northbrook College, Worthing • Time: 5.00 – 8.00pm

Everything you need to kick start your career in Adur and Worthing.

FREE admissionRegister online for news and information or register on the day.

✓ 40+ employer stands✓ Career advice and course opportunities✓ Help with job applications✓ Apprenticeship advice and job vacancies✓ Top tips to help you get into your ideal career✓ Workshops to prepare for work.

Tel: 01903 273114e-mail: business.solutions@nbcol.ac.ukwww.northbrook.ac.uk

Broadwater Campus, Northbrook College, Worthing Wednesday 17th June 2015 • Time: 5.00 – 8.00pm

40+ employer standsCome along and speak with employers about careers in their businesses, what the rewards and challenges are, and what a career in a range of industry sectors is really like. Some of the employers will have job vacancies to apply for.

Career advice and course opportunitiesSpecialist staff will be on hand to talk to you about your next step after leaving school - and to provide information and advice on the different routes to getting started on the career ladder – whether on a full-time course at College or an apprenticeship.

Help with job applicationsThere will be opportunities to update your CV to really get you noticed and to receive information and advice about how to successfully apply for jobs.

Apprenticeship adviceStaff from the Apprenticeship Team will be available to talk to you about the benefits of being an apprentice. You will be able to register on the National Apprenticeship Service vacancy system to search for job vacancies and perhaps even apply for them.

Workshops to help inspire youThere will be a programme of short workshops which will be repeated throughout the Careers Fair.

Tel: 01903 273114e-mail: business.solutions@nbcol.ac.ukwww.northbrook.ac.uk

17th June ‘15

Broadwater Campus, Northbrook College, Worthing • Time: 5.00 – 8.00pm

FREE admissionRegister online for news and information or register on the day.

Broadwater Campus, Northbrook College, Worthing • Wednesday 17th June 2015 • Time: 5.00 – 8.00pm

For young people aged 11 – 18 years old KICK START A HEALTHIER LIFESTYLE!

Are you worried about your weight?

Want to get healthier? Fitter? For Free? Come to AnK activity and nutrition workshops

for young people like you!

Every Tuesday Rider Hall, St Andrews, Burgess Hill Call today to start the journey to a fit

& healthy lifestyle!

Sessions running for all ages! Call our team for more information on:

0300 123 0892 or email

rebecca@wmc.uk.com

@ANK_WESTSUSSEX

Residents’ Services Transport Bureau Jo Kenworthy Information Officer 03302 225442 email: jo.kenworthy@westsussex.gov.uk www.your3in1.co.uk

County Hall West Street Chichester West Sussex PO19 1RQ

H2556

8th June 2015

Dear Colleague, 3in1 card – bus fare discount scheme Please be advised that we are now taking applications for the 3in1 card scheme for the next academic year.

Any pupils wishing to apply for a 3in1 card should do so ideally before the summer holiday. We have written to all existing cardholders to remind them to renew their cards soon, if they wish to remain in the scheme.

Please note that application forms may be signed by a referee at your school, even if the pupil is moving on to a new school or college from next term.

Applicants can print a form at www.your3in1.co.uk or call 01243 777330 to request a form in the post.

Travel information and journey planning advice for young people can also be found at www.yourspacewestsussex.co.uk/travel

I should be grateful if you could pass on the information to staff and parents as appropriate. Yours sincerely JO KENWORTHY Information Officer Transport Co-ordination

For action For information

Meeting

To: Headteachers of all schools √ √

We are a group of parents with children and young adults who have special educational needs/disabilities and we would

like to invite you to a

Parent/Carer Social Evening

On Thursday 2nd July, 7.30 – 9.30pm At the Friars Oak Pub, Hassocks

• Meet other parents of children and young adults with SEN /disabilities

• Talk to agencies offering support

• An opportunity to relax and have a chat in an informal relaxed environment

This event is sponsored by the meeds SEND alliance , supporting children and parents in the Burgess Hill, Hassocks,

Hurstpierpoint and Albourne area.

RSVP to sendalliance@woodlandsmeed.co.uk

SUPPORT YOUR SCHOOL!

Come to the Flower Show at the

CYPRUS HALL on

Saturday 27th June 1:30 pm to 3:45 pm

The Schools taking part are:

Manor Field Primary School Southway Junior School

Oakmeeds Community College St Wilfrid's Catholic Primary School

London Meed Primary School This competition is being organised by

BURGESS HILL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY Enquiries: 01444 232769 bhhs@talktalk.net

PLUMPTON COLLEGE

A Landbased College of Further and Higher Education

www.plumpton.ac.uk Tel: 01273 890454

Information Afternoon and

Evening for Courses and Careers

(At Plumpton College BN7 3AE)

Thursday 25th June 2015

3.00pm – 7.30pm

DIRECTIONS TO THE COLLEGE

http://www.plumpton.ac.uk/page/contact-us/how-to-find-us-directions/45

COLLEGE BURSARY & GRANTS (Replacement for EMA)

http://www.plumpton.ac.uk/page/study-here/finances-and-fees/54

This is a very popular event. No booking needed. It is an informal

occasion for discussing careers and course options. Prospective

students will be able to meet tutors and staff to plan the next step on

a career ladder in the wide range of courses that the land-based

sector offers. Campus and Departmental Tours of the facilities will be

available.

The College is situated in the centre of a 900 hectare countryside estate, close

to Brighton, Lewes and London. There are excellent practical and

demonstration facilities for students in their chosen area of study. Student

residential accommodation is available, both on-campus along with a range of

local lodgings. The tuition is of a high standard both academically and

vocationally, with a very high rate of either employment or progression to

Higher Education.

The college has a range of bursaries to support students at all levels with the

cost of attending college and being a student.