Autumn Newsletter 2018

Dear Parents/Carers,

It has been a very interesting term at STARS in my new post as Headteacher. I was delighted to welcome the Ofsted team in September, following the short inspection in March that recommended a full inspection. As I am sure you are aware, the team judged the provision as outstanding.

So again, I would like to say ‘Thank You’ to all of the STARS community, including yourselves and your children, for the level of commitment and hard work needed to ensure pupils who are referred to STARS, either through their school or who receive education within the hospitals in the borough, are able to benefit from a top quality education.

One of the most important and effective ways in which you as parents/carers can support your child to access the fantastic opportunities they have to make progress and achieve their goals, is to ensure regular attendance. Every day matters and each day missed hinders progress. There is a lot of support available through STARS should you be experiencing difficulties with your child’s attendance, so please ask.

In terms of supporting learning, please refer to the subject information sent to you at the beginning of term or available on the website, which will give you topics or texts being studied. The ability to read well is essential for progress across all of the curriculum and subject areas so you can also support your child by encouraging them to read at home. Again, staff here are happy to help or give advice: please don’t hesitate to ask. We have a library of books and would be willing to loan books if that helps.

As part of our continual drive to maintain high standards and pride in our service, your support is essential and in particular, I would ask that pupils wear their full school uniform at all times. If you need to check uniform rules, information is available in this newsletter.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your family:

Best Wishes,

Beverley Williamson

Key Dates for your diary:

Term dates for academic year 2019

Spring Term 2019

First day : Monday 7th January 2019

INSET Day: Monday 28th January 2019 (School closed for pupils)

Half-term: 18th February to 22nd February 2019

Last day: Friday 5th April 2019

Note: Good Friday is on 19th April and Easter Monday is on 22nd April 2019

Summer Term 2019

First day : Tuesday 23rd April 2019

Half-term: 27th May to 31st May 2019

Last day : Tuesday 23rd July 2019

These dates can also be found on the STARS website:

www.starservice.org.uk

Autumn Term Hospital Schoolroom

This autumn term we have been very busy in the Schoolroom at The Royal Marsden learning about The Seaside, Shapes and The Earth. We have been learning about different festivals that happen in autumn such as Halloween, Firework Night, Remembrance, Thanksgiving, Christmas and the Hindu celebration of Diwali.

Some lovely pictures were made using tangrams. shape topic

Whilst learning about the seaside some of the pupils made portholes using paper. plates

We have learnt about the celebration of Diwali and have designed some Mehndi patterns which are painted onto hands.

Also we have learned all about the famous author Roald Dhal; about him and his life and all the wonderful stories and poems he has written.

We have been continuing our garden project and have now grown and harvested

some potatoes and onions and are hoping for more growing success next year.

Over the autumn term we have been busy with visitors such as SES Water, Team Imagineers, Zoolab, Windsor Castle, The Museum of Childhood, The Wallace Collection, Gary Mason Drumming Wandle Trust and The City Bells Quartet.

Competition Winners

Tom Brake MP runs a Christmas card competition every year and many pupils across Carshalton and Wallington enter.  We were delighted that

this year Angel's entry was chosen as a Runner Up.  Her picture was of Santa coming down the chimney.  

Genesis won a prize in the National Young Writer's Poetry Competition for her poem about the Spirit of Christmas.

ScienceKey Stage 3

This term the Key Stage 3 group have been studying Cell Biology. They have been fantastic biologists in demonstrating their competent practical skills at preparing and analysing animal and plant cells. Understanding why cancer develops and the importance of stem cells in scientific research and medical treatments challenged pupils’ knowledge and understanding of cell division, function and differentiation.

Year 10

One of the units studied this term was Electricity. Pupils had fun setting up electrical circuits and measuring the resistance of different circuit components such as diodes, thermistors and LDR’s.

Year 11

Our year 11 pupils have been busy chemists this term, from making salts in the laboratory to extracting pure copper metal by electrolysis.

Examples of pupil work are shown below.

EnrichmentBig Cat Sanctuary

On the 21st of September, we visited the Big Cat Sanctuary which is a conservation charity, home to over 50 big and small cats across 16 different species. It houses the most diverse collection in the UK, from the largest, to the smallest, to the most endangered in the world, hidden away in the Kent countryside. During our time there we looked at various Big Cats and enjoyed learning all about their habits. This wonderful insight gave us an understanding

of their life span and emotions. STARS pupils thoroughly enjoyed this trip and were calm and relaxed throughout the day.

Electrolysis of copper sulphate solutionSodium chloride Copper sulphate crystals

Banstead Woods

On 5th October a trip was organised to Banstead Woods. We walked around to discover lots of exciting and interesting sculptures based on the book, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. We made wigwams using fallen branches and twigs from around the woods. Banstead Woods is a beautiful

Public Transport Training

During this autumn term we have been very fortunate and completed many school trips. The purpose of these trips is to encourage our pupils to travel independently.

We boarded a bus to Carshalton so that pupils could

Sutton Night Watch is a charity set up to support and raise awareness for the homeless people within the London Borough of Sutton and surrounding areas. A group of volunteers give up their time to run a soup kitchen, food bank and give out clothes, blankets, sleeping bags, food, toiletries etc.

Public Transport Training

During this autumn term we have been very fortunate and completed many school trips. The purpose of these trips is to encourage our pupils to travel independently.

We boarded a bus to Carshalton so that pupils could

Thank you to everyone who has donated to our annual shoe box appeal this term. Additional boxes will be made up and delivered to the Sutton Night Watch team in the coming weeks for distribution to the homeless in Sutton. For further information on Sutton Night Watch and the wonderful work they do in the local community please see their website.

http://suttonnightwatch.com/