Module 2 Newsletter

December 2022

Welcome from the Principal

Dear Families

We are really looking forward to our first Christmas as two colleges and especially more planned events to welcome families into Snowfields. Opening a school in the pandemic hasn’t always been easy and we are really looking forward to this opportunity to do so. We look forward to seeing some of you there.

It is a joy to see so many of our Year 7 students settling in so well at Snowfields and their families tell us how well they are doing at home as well as school. It is always lovely to hear the positive impact we have for so many students.

It has been especially nice that we are beginning to see some shared events for our two colleges with a recent football event, a future maths event and other opportunities for collaborative projects planned. The Christmas Showcases at both colleges have been wonderful and given many of our students a real chance to shine.

Christmas this year may be different for many of you, but whatever you have planned I hope you all have a safe, warm and happy Christmas with the people who are important to you.

With very best wishes,

Dee

Snowfields Academy - Update

Snowfields Christmas Showcase

The term ended with the Snowfields Christmas Showcase at both college sites. Many students took part either via live performance, or pre-recorded contributions. Acts varied from dance, theatre, poetry readings, instrumental pieces of music, and vocal performances.

The days were huge successes, and we look forward to potentially bringing Cranbrook and Bearsted together for an even larger extravaganza next year!

Snowfields Cross College Events

Students from Cranbrook were invited to attend a cross college football tournament at Bearsted College, also in attendance were students from Rowhill School. The tournament involved students playing twenty minute matches (sometimes one after the other) they all worked extremely hard and although very very tired thoroughly enjoyed challenges each game brought.

It was great to see the students mixing on and off of the pitch and supporting each other both verbally and sometimes physically (picking each other up).

Year 11s at Bearsted and Snowfields Post 16 - Pathfinder College Updates

This term Year 11s have had another opportunity to practise exam style assessments. This is a really important exercise for both students and the staff supporting them to utilise the skills needed to sit an exam and understand the timings and structures to formal examinations. We are always really proud of our students when they put their all into these assessments and we will be sharing the results in the New Year.

Plans for Pathfinder College are continuing to grow. Many of you have had your Annual Reviews and are looking at naming your next steps as part of that process. As Pathfinder progresses, we will continue to share information with but for now, we would like to introduce our newest team member… Max.

Max is a Westie and will be the Pathfinder wellbeing dog, he will be joining us in January and training to support students in class and out in the community. At the moment, Max is only two months old, so has a lot of growing to do.

Snowfields Squad

This term has seen the first cross campus squad meeting. The students were exceptional and had lots of wonderful ideas on how to make Snowfields Academy even better. These ideas range from lunchtime yoga and mindfulness sessions, to help manage stress and anxiety, to more student-led lunch activities such as a graphic novel book club.

The Squad have also been using their student voice to help staff stock the vending machines; this has seen an array of rewards from their very own Otis teddy, a mountain of Pokemon cards and a full range of fiddle toys.

Next term, we look forward to more student voice led activities and the introduction of some new clubs as suggested by the students.

Fundraising Events

We were thrilled to have raised money for a number of charities this term and I can confirm that the final totals were.....

Children in Need - £199

Save the Children Christmas Jumper Day - £37

Save Life Animal Rescue Shtip - £125

Thank you for helping us support these important charities.

Coffee Morning at Cranbrook College

We were delighted to welcome families for Cranbrook's first coffee morning. It was lovely to meet so many of you and chat about your young people. Some students had baked cupcakes for the occasion using eggs from our farm. Thanks to Cucina for the delicious spread! We will be having more of these events at both colleges throughout the year.

Update from the subjects

The Farm - Cranbrook

No two days are the same! As I write we have endured heat and drought, wind and rain and now snow and ice - a typical farming year.

The students have been exceptional in their willingness to help with projects on and around the farm. They have been planting tree and grass seed, working with the calves and sheep and even power washing the yards plus recording it all in their farm books. They have learnt a whole new vocabulary of farming terms. For example, gigot and heifer (if asked they should know what they mean!)

We have brought in new animals including two Rex rabbits, new calves and also decided to keep replacement ewe tegs and our best champion beef heifer to breed from.

We also had great success at the fatstock shows winning many prizes including Reserve champion pigs and best single pig, Reserve champion lambs and champion YFC beef, not bad for a very small team.

With Christmas and the winter solstice nearly here, we have decorated the barn to fit the season but I must admit I really am looking forward to the Spring.

For the farm, 2022 was completely different to any other year, overall it has been hard work but exciting. We intend to build on our experiences and give our students every opportunity to be hands on in 2023.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy Christmas and New Year.

Mr C

Art

Students in Year 7 have been introduced to the Arts at Snowfields, exploring the formal elements or building blocks of the subject. Students have been introduced to artists and practitioners across both Art and Music, creating personal responses to observed work.

In Year 8, students have begun to explore surrealism in Art, looking at hybrids and fusions through the lens of a number of contemporary artists. In Music, students have been introduced to Classical music, and begun to explore how instrumental composition can be used to construct narrative.

In Year 9, Art students have created work inspired by the Mexican Day of the Dead, opening the door to discussions about how people of different cultures and faiths negotiate complex issues of life and death. In Music, students have enjoyed looking at film music, a unit that has culminated in practical activities looking at foley and sound effects as used in moving image.

Suffolk -

This module students in Suffolk completed their sustained paintings of sweets/confectionery inspired by the work of British artist Sarah Graham. Students have demonstrated our core value of ‘work hard’ by developing and improving their paintings to include bold colours and a range of tone to make it look good enough to eat.

Individuals and Societies

Students in Year 7 have started two new topics: The Norman Conquest and Marvellous Maps! Students have learnt about the people living on the British Isles prior to 1066, and have just started learning about the three main contenders for the throne after Edward the Confessor’s death. In Geography, students are learning how to read maps, including Ordnance Survey Maps.

In Year 8, students have continued with their topics from Module 1: From Stability to Civil War and Back Again and Changing Populations. Students have had to decide whether or not Oliver Cromwell was a villain or a hero. While in Geography students have explored population pyramids, migration patterns, and the effects of urbanisation.

In Year 9, students have also continued with their topics from Module 1: Democracy in the UK and Introduction to the Economy. Students have explored the Peterloo Massacre and the impact of the Matchstick Girls. In Geography, students have focused on the impact of globalisation and how containerisation permanently changed global shipping.

At Cranbrook, we have set up an International Mindedness Club at lunch times where we have been learning more about the countries that qualified for the World Cup. The aim of this is to make students aware of different nations that they may not have heard about or haven’t had an opportunity to learn more about. We have been studying facts and statistics about each country, learning where in the world they are, their population and the average wage of each country. Once we have obtained the information from each country, we will be turning this information into a set of ‘Top Trumps Cards’ in which students can play with and compare and contrast different countries.

Physical Education

Students in each year group have been using their learning from module one (team building) and transferring their knowledge and skills across to invasion games in this module. They have experienced Basketball, Indoor Hockey, Football and Kinball. They have worked hard understanding how, where and when to move around to create space and scoring opportunities.

Students at Bearsted have been enjoying Net Games this Module. Students have been developing their skills and techniques in Badminton, Volleyball and Table Tennis. Students have had the opportunity to practise their skills further at Badminton club on a Wednesday lunchtime, it has been fantastic to see students engage so positively with physical activity.

Horticulture

The horticulture students have been very productive as always even in these colder months. Year 7 have been focused on growing herbs and their uses making herb oil and lavender bags.

This week students have had the opportunity to practise their floristry skills make winter table decorations all of which were totally stunning.

English

Students in English lessons have been working as diligently as ever. Year 7 have enjoyed writing their very own Christmas stories about their own traditions and experiences, while Year 8 have enjoyed exploring comedy within a variety of Shakespeare plays.

Year 9 are investigating Literary Heritage and looking at a diverse range of extracts over time, such as Sherlock Holmes and Jabberwocky, and linking these topics to our lives today. Students in Year 10 and 11 continue to build on their knowledge from the last term and are working hard towards their functional skills and GCSE qualifications.

ICT

Students in Year 7 have been learning how to navigate the different Google applications and use the various formatting tools.

Students in Year 8 are continuing working on their 3D printing unit and some have started to print their designs.

Students in Year 9 have been working on coding and algorithms in preparation for a formal assessment for a level one robotics qualification later in the year.

Students in Years 10 and 11 have been working on their functional skills qualifications.

Science

Students in Year 7 have been learning fundamentals of biology, from cells through to multicellular organisms, followed by an exploration of the particle model and how this explains states of matter.

Students in Year 8 have been enjoying a deep dive into the Periodic Table of Elements, and learning about the reactivity trends of various elemental groups.

Students in Year 9 have been enjoying their inquiry based Fireworks project, which accesses a range of concepts from the fields of chemistry, physics and technology.

The Year 10 GCSE students have learned core knowledge about waves, how to navigate the Periodic Table, and quantitative chemistry.

The Year 11 GCSE students have studied electrical circuits, and then progressed to a focus on chemical transformations involving acids and alkalis.

Maths

Due to the icy conditions, we have unfortunately had to postpone our first key stage 3 inter-college Maths tournament, which we enjoyed preparing for. We are currently working on rescheduling the tournament and will provide updated information as soon as it is available.

Snowfields’ Mathematicians have been incredibly busy during module 2. In Year 7, students have studied positive and negative numbers, as well as algebra, laying the foundation for more advanced topics in module 3.

In Year 8, students have continued to build on this foundation by studying algebra in more depth.

Year 9 students have also focused on algebra, further developing their understanding of this important mathematical concept.

In Year 10, GCSE students have shifted their focus to data handling, learning how to collect, analyse, and interpret data. Functional skills students have continued to study the use of numbers and the number system.

Year 11 GCSE students have studied data handling and graphs, applying the skills they have learned to solve real-world problems. Functional skills students have focused on the use of measure, shape, and space, gaining a better understanding of geometry and spatial reasoning.

Library

Christmas has come to Bearsted and Cranbrook libraries! We have a Christmas Grotto at Bearsted College, and have created Christmas displays at both colleges. Christmas books are on display in the libraries and in classrooms that link to the pupils’ English work, with lots of information about traditions and festivities across the world.

This term the library focus has been to link our resources to the topics that the pupils are learning in their various subjects. Many of our classrooms now have posters with book suggestions to aid learning in their subject, including English, Science, ICT, I&S, Life Skills, Communication, and more.

In the New Year, our feature display ‘Our Farm’ at Cranbrook College will be replaced with ‘Me and My Community’. This will showcase books about Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome, improving mental health and combating stress, celebrating diversity, growing up, and building friendships.

Life Skills

Snowfields Year 7 & 8 students have been working hard this term to create winter decorations as part of their Winter Enterprise project.

The Year 7 students have taken inspiration from their own Christmas traditions, creating various Christmas crafts and adding their own personal touch to them.

The Year 8 students have taken inspiration from other countries; they selected a country to research, explored their Christmas traditions and took inspiration from this to create their own unique decorations.

These decorations will be on sale for parents/carers to purchase via our catalogue (which has been sent out virtually to parents/carers of Year 7 & 8 students).

Food Technology

During module two we have been getting in the festive spirit and cooking up some traditional Christmas treats. Over at Bearsted the Year 8 students have been investigating mince pies and the Year 9s have worked on their gingerbread making skills.

At Cranbrook the students worked together to create a mixture of snacks for the Christmas Show, including sausage rolls, mince pies and vegan friendly items.

Communication

Our Year 7s have been focusing on Emotional Regulation with the Zones of Regulation being a key focus. They enjoyed making their own Zones keyrings with their personalised strategies.

Anxiety was the focus for Year 8s and we have been really impressed by how open and honest many of them have been. Students learnt a lot about different types of anxiety and some strategies to try.

Our tech savvy Year 9s have spent the term focusing on Online Communication- looking at boundaries, how online differs to in person communication and the impact of online communication on our wellbeing.

Student celebration assemblies and shout outs

Cranbrook

We have continued to enjoy our Celebration Assemblies every Friday morning as part of our ‘Be Happy’ core value. These are a wonderful opportunity to reflect on what our pupils have been up to in the past week, as well as celebrate their achievements. This module, we have added new awards to our weekly certificates. These now include ‘Young Farmer’; ‘Sports Personality’; ‘Cultural Ambassador’ and ‘Reader of the Week’.

Bearsted

At Bearsted we have been utilising technology to celebrate the outstanding work and efforts of our students and staff. Each week we produce a large ‘Snowfields Shoutouts’ display outside of James’ office, filled with comments and celebrations written by our staff. Students and staff have taken great pride in stopping by to look at it and read their own and their peers Shoutouts. Next Module we will continue with our Snowfields Shoutouts, and also be looking to introduce Celebration Assemblies for Key Stage 3.

Well-being and Therapy

Mental Health Updates

Mental Health awareness is really important to us at Snowfields. This term all staff completed National Online Safety training on Understanding Mental Health and 8 of our TAs trained to become Youth Mental Health Champions. The wellbeing room is now set up at Cranbrook college and is a cosy place for students to access counselling and resources. We have new Mental Health display boards up at both colleges to make information easy to access.

Max

We are thrilled to introduce Max our new Pathfinder wellbeing dog. Max is a Westie and will be joining us in January and training to support students in class and out in the community. At the moment, Max is only two months old, so has a lot of growing to do!

Otis

Our students have been so warm and welcoming towards Otis and he has really started to come out of his shell. He loves all of the student drawings and paintings of him which are proudly displayed in Jack’s office.

Willow

Willow recently had a haircut and is loving her new look. She has really appreciated all of the students who have come by to take her for a little walk and movement break.

Advertising mental health agencies

Safeguarding

NOS articles

Snowfields has access to National Online safety for all students, staff and families. There are a range of guides for families to access. Click the link for further information.

Designated Safeguarding Team

Goodbye Kate Billingham

Student Service Manager

Kate Billingham has been with us at Snowfields Academy since we opened in September 2020, first as a Teaching Assistant and most recently as our Student Service Manager. Kate will be greatly missed for her determination to get the best possible outcomes for our students, as well as for her resilience and kindness. We wish Kate well as she moves on to a similar role in another LAT Academy. We welcome two new Student Services Managers in January at Snowfields Bearsted; Abby Savage who has been promoted from her current role as Year 10 TA, and Tracey Christofi who joins us from a local primary school. Tracey will become Student Services manager for Key Stage 3, and Abby in the same role for Key Stage 4. Snowfields Cranbrook will recruit a SSM in September as numbers increase.

In other news

Attendance news

Just a reminder that families should please use the office email address to report student absence: info@snowfieldsacademy.org.uk.

The office staff will then pass these messages on to form tutors. Please do not use the class email or individual staff email addresses.

At Snowfields we strive and aspire for all student attendance to be above 90% - well done to everyone who has achieved this since September. There are 29 students at Cranbrook and 67 at Bearsted whose attendance is 90% or above. Congratulations to everyone, keep up the great work!

Snowfields attendance chart -

where are you on this?

PC Chloe Wade

We were very sorry to say goodbye to PC Chloe Wade. Sadly Kent Police made the decision to remove the PCs attached to schools and redirect their services. Chloe had been an exceptional support for staff and students in her time working with us at Snowfields; she will be greatly missed.

Dee Pickerill

Dates for the diary

HPV Vaccinations Year 8, 9, 10, 11 - Bearsted - 31st January 2023 - information to be issued shortly.

HPV Vaccinations Year 8 & 9 - Cranbrook - 1st February 2023 - information to be issued shortly.

Family Coffee morning at Bearsted- 26th January 2023 - 10am - 10.30am

Educational Psychologist Parent workshop - 26th January 2023 - please contact the school to book a place

Celebrating the great

(feedback from families)

"He has bloomed since going to you. For the first time in 11 years, he wants to learn and wants to do homework. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. "

"I was taken around at the open event this evening and just wanted to say a huge thank you for taking the time to show me everything. I was absolutely blown away and really hope that my son will be accepted with you as I think it's just incredible for autistic children. Thank you so much again."

"I visited Snowfields last year and think it’s a perfect fit for my son... I was blown away by your regulation rooms and your attitude in this area as we’ve really struggled to make his mainstream primary understand the importance. He is bright but struggles with writing and spelling and so your more individualised approach to learning is also amazing. Finally he requires a small environment with consistent adults which you also understand the importance of. We have named you as our first preference for secondary... The understanding I witnessed on my tour was really a revelation..."

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Infinity Cafe

Infinity Cafe is open for bookings 9.30-2.30 Monday to Friday Term Times only

Call 01622 250050 or email info@infinitycafe.org.uk or pop in for a take-away if you are passing. Your custom will give our students excellent opportunities to develop transferable skills for employment

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