Redwood School

Redwood School

Welcome Back
Firstly a belated happy new year to all our parents, carers and families and I hope that you had a wonderful and peaceful break.

As we start the new year it is with immense sadness to inform you that one of our youngsters in key stage 3 passed away on Xmas Eve after a period of ill health. Clearly our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the young man. Students have been informed of this sad news and measures put into place to offer support where necessary. A special assembly to celebrate the life of Callum will be organized after the funeral has taken place.

Annual Reviews and My Plans meetings
A reminder to parents and carers that we have the `My Plan` meetings for Year 11 students taking place and one of the main outcomes of these meetings will be the post 16 destinations of our students for September 2015. Also Year 7 students will be taking part in their annual review meetings to reflect on the progress in their first term at Redwood.

Hydrotherapy Pool
I am delighted to report that the hydrotherapy pool is now back in working order for our youngsters to access their individual therapy programmes. Good news indeed to start the new year.

Student Council meeting
Our first council meeting of the year will be chaired for the first time by the newly elected Chair of the Council, James Pomroy and the Vice Chair Paul Diamond. A local councilor, Donna Martin, will be attending the meeting to meet our council members and take part in the meeting.

Extended School Provision
Our comprehensive after school and youth club provision will start again on Monday 12 January, and plans are being put into place for the February half term holiday club. Should you require any information on these please visit the school website www.redwood-school.com

KS3

As we start back after our Christmas break, the pupils have been talking about what they got for Christmas; lots got gaming devices, new clothes and lots of chocolate.
 
One of the students is looking to join the Army Cadets and is very excited about it.
 
On the last Thursday of term, Key Stage 3 hosted Redwoods Got Talent. All the students had a great time. Robert & Luke sang a song by Linkin Park - Castle of Glass & Corben sang a song from Minecraft.

KS4

On the 24 January we will be bag packing in Morrisons to raise money for Red-Aid (our charity that any Special Needs child within Rochdale can benefit from). A number of staff have already volunteered but it would be brilliant if the students and parents could come along to help too.
 
Bridging Year went to the Red Hot Buffet for their Christmas trip. They had a great time and tried foods from all around the world.
 
In art we working on our new project “ working with a material that is new to you to make something”

The new material we are exploring is called ’Foam and Mould’. It is a very sensory material, soft and pliable, that when left overnight sets to a firm foam. We have created a bird to start the project and we will be developing the project through learning the technique of marbling and producing leaves to add to the sculpture. All the students enjoyed the new experience and created some beautiful birds.
 
We are now collecting any unwanted Christmas gifts, or just gifts, to use for our Valentines Raffle. If you have anything to donate please send it into school.
 
KS5

It’s that time of year when we all start to think about how we can be better versions of ourselves. We asked some members of the 6th form if they had any New Year’s resolutions and shared them in the department.
 
Welcome back to Saj who has returned from her maternity leave. We hope you enjoy meeting all the new students and catching up with all the work we left for you.

5E held a coffee morning before the Christmas break and raised £55.60. They have decided to use the money they raised to make a donation to Unicef for the Ebola charity. Students worked well as a team, deciding what to make and shopping for ingredients. Well done.
 
The 6th form Enterprise Fair raised a whopping £408.97. Well done to everyone who worked hard and thank you to everyone who bought our products.