A Message from the Headteacher

Dear Parents / Carers,

I am very pleased to have been appointed Acting Head at St Paul's Way Community School and appreciate the welcome and support I have received from students, staff and Governors.

The School is continuing to make improvements in the areas identified by HMI in June 2007, in particular in the use of data and whole school monitoring. In addition, I want to have greater engagement with parents/carers and encourage student voice within the school. I was very impressed by the Student Councillors when I attended their meeting and by the Year 10 students who interviewed me for the school magazine.

Our first priority, however, is to improve standards so that our students have a wider range of options open to them post 16. This is a particularly important term for Year 9 and Year 11 students as we begin the approach to the Key Stage 3 tests and GCSE exams. Parents/carers have an essential role in supporting the school and their son/daughter at this time and in particular we would ask that you ensure:

• Your child has breakfast in the morning to help them concentrate at school.

• Your child attends school every day and arrives on time.

• Your child has the correct equipment and uniform.

• Your child completes their homework every night.

• You talk to your child about their school work.

• You contact the school if you have any concerns regarding your child.

I would like to welcome the following colleagues to St Paul's Way Community School:

Paulina Gray - Head of Technology & Construction
Stuart Pearson - Science teacher
Noni Jenkyn-Jones - Food Technology teacher

I look forward to meeting parents/carers in the near future.

Kind Regards,

Ms. L. Page
Acting Headteacher

Up for a Challenge!

On the 15th and 17th January 2008, Year 8 participated in an Enterprise Challenge to create and market a campaign for their chosen charity. The event was organised by Ms Ahmed and presented by Mike Ireland from the Tower Hamlets Education Business Partnership.

During each three and a half hour event, students designed and created posters to advertise their chosen charity. While doing this, they also devised fund raising events planned for a six month period and worked out which members of the group would work on these.

The students then produced a balance sheet to show how much money each fund raising event would bring in, how much each event would cost to stage and how much profit was expected to be made for the charity.

Finally, to publicise their project, students were asked to present a sixty second news item for an early evening television news programme. Students wrote the presentations and delivered them on camera, in front of the EBP mentors, teachers and their fellow students.

Well done, Year 8!

Ms Ahmed, Head of Business Enterprise Education

The Power of Reading

From abandonment as a baby to children's homes, expulsions from school, crime, the Brixton riots, prison, loss, loneliness, reggae - to becoming an internationally known writer.

This was author Alex Wheatle's unusual journey to where he is today; and on the last Wednesday of term Alex came to SPWCS to talk to Year 10s and 11s about his life and how he got into writing.

The afternoon was a big success and Alex's life story was moving as well as funny at times. The students asked thoughtful questions and many left with signed copies of his books to read.

The big message that Alex had to students was that they should READ as much as they can. He said, "Reading was what turned my life around."

Alex's books are often autobiographical in nature, sharp edged and very gripping; his best sellers are 'Brixton Rock', 'East of Acre Lane' and 'Island Songs'. The library has copies of these to borrow and I have quite a few I can lend out too. Very well done to everyone who attended - you were fantastic. Apologies to those students who missed Alex - I'll try to get him back into school to talk to us again.

Ms Evans, English Department

Great Success at the 'Open Up' Awards

The 2007 Open Up Awards event celebrated and showcased students' work from the Open Up programme. Year 7 Art students visited a contemporary building as part of their curriculum and worked on design ideas for a local youth centre. Students went through their final ideas for their final model with a professional architect.

Shortlisted students were:

Layek Hussain (7T)

Jakaria Mohammed (7T)

Sakhawat Khan (7T)

Emmanul Miah (7U)

Samiul Hussain (7U)

Shahid Miah (7U)

Well done to Shahid Miah, 7U, who won the Young Designer of the Year Award!

Ms Hill, Head of Art & Design

Science Museum Visit

A group of Year 7 and 8 science students went on a Gifted and Talented trip to the Science Museum.

The students explored the exhibits and took part in various activities around the museum.

Here’s what two of the students said about the trip:

“We went to a simulator which was really fun. You sit on the seats and they move around like a ride and there was even a part where we got spat on by a dinosaur. After that, we went into a room and we were taught how we can save energy by using renewable materials. My favourite part was when we got to play lots of games about pollution and energy. When we went to the flight exhibit, we learnt a lot about planes and we saw a model of the first air transport, which was an air balloon. I really enjoyed going to the Science Museum. I had lots of fun and learnt lots of new things.” by Nasir, 7L

“On Wednesday, we went to the Science museum. It was fun because we played computer games and explored the museum on our own. My favourite part was when we went on a ride called the Simex simulator. It was moving like a rollercoaster and water got sprayed in our faces!” by Ahnaf, 7P

School Noticeboard

Special Mentions
An enormous thank you to the students of 7U1, 9T, Year 10 Media Studies and Ms Damms’ Year 11 English class for making my time at SPWCS so enjoyable. I have really enjoyed working with you and will miss you all.

Ms Waite

All the staff accompanying Ms Damms' and Mr Morton's Year 9 English classes to the production of 'The Tempest' at the Arts Theatre, Leicester Square, on January 10th were impressed by how well our students behaved in the theatre - they were by far the best behaved school party there. Thank you, Year 9s.

Ms Damms and Mr Morton

Canary Wharf Sports Awards
Very well done to Shojib Ali (9W), Ruhel Ahmed (9U) and Mamunur Rashid (9U), who were members of the unbeaten under-13 Tower Hamlets cricket team. They were presented with the team award at the recent Canary Wharf Sports Awards, a very prestigious event. Shojib also received an individual award for his outstanding contribution to the Tower Hamlets team, as captain. His best bowling figures were 6-1 and his highest batting score was 115.

Mr Williams, Assistant Headteacher

School 2008 Calendars
These calendars were produced last term in aid of the Bangladesh Cyclone Relief Fund. Ms Damms has a small number of these left. If you’d like one, just a make a donation of any kind. First come, first served!

Family Football
Family Football sessions are held on Saturday mornings (10am-12pm) and are run by Leyton Orient Football Club. Students involved work on their football and coaching skills and can see a match at Leyton Orient. They must be accompanied by a family member over 16 years of age. There are only 40 places, so they will be allocated on a strictly first come, first served basis. Please see Mr. Sokhal for details.

Parent and Student ICT Classes
This after-school class helps parents and students learn ICT skills that can improve and support the child’s educational progress. Classes run from 4-5pm every Monday and Thursday. Come and see us if you have any questions about using laptops or PCs. You can learn various applications such as Word, Powerpoint, Excel and email programs, plus how to manage databases and files. If you are interested, see Mr Ahmed (Room A403) or Mr Sokhal (Room A404).