1BS Exploring our Natural Environment

Group 1BS have been spending some time outside the classroom this week in order to find inspiration for their work and explore the natural environment. They have been using nature to give them ideas about using comparisons for their simile poems in English. This has allowed them to collect all their ideas and produce a group poem.

During the Farm lesson they located an active fox den and watched clips from a time lapse video which captured the fox, a pheasant and a magpie. They also cleaned and fed the animals in the farm and took the goats for their daily walk around the woods.

3B Have Come Back with A Bang!

Group 3B have had an amazing start to the new half-term in their first week back at school.

We have enjoyed carving pumpkins to celebrate Halloween. We designed our pumpkins and brought them to life using Quiver on our ipads. Everyone engaged really well as we created our amazing designs, adding a flickering led tealight for the final spooky touch.

In outdoor education this week we were all very excited to go swimming at Doncaster Dome. We had an amazing time on the excellent slides; the snake slide being our favourite and we also enjoyed being outside in the Wild Waters.

Back in school we started our new topic, inventions. We had a go at inventing our own snack delivery zip wire, and worked well together as a team, sharing ideas and helping each other. We have also started reading George’s Marvellous Medicine and will be thinking about the story of George’s crazy invention over the half term.

In maths, we have been working on the properties of shapes and will continue with this work over the next few weeks, looking at real life shape problems.

We have had lots to celebrate this week. On Friday, we had celebration breakfast as a reward for our behaviour and excellent uniform this week. 3 of our boys reached 1500 WOW points this week, and received a prize and a certificate each to celebrate this. Well done boys, we are all really proud of you!

We hope you all have a happy and safe bonfire night. 

Magic and Mystery

This might all seem like a bit of gruesome fun but dressing up in costumes is actually an important type of play that every child needs to experience as part of their development.  While some children seek it out naturally, other children are reluctant to dress up as pirates, superheroes or lords and ladies.  So, once a year, our staff team show the pupils exactly how it's done and we're really pleased that more and more of them are joining in!  

Here are just some of the benefits of playing with costumes:

• Dressing up play fosters the imagination
• Dressing up lets children explore themselves
• Dressing up strengthens relationships and helps children to understand other people's feelings
• Dressing up improves communication and gives children the chance to practice words and phrases they wouldn't normally use

Harvest Time on the Farm

As we enter a cold wet and windy Autumn on the Joseph Norton farm we're as busy as ever!

After a fantastic first harvest we managed to supply the school kitchens with onions, potatoes, carrots, tomatoes and peppers. The land has now been cleared for winter and our thoughts have moved to improving the site and helping our local wildlife. Toads, frogs and squirrels have all benefited from our recent habitat creation around the pond. The pig pen is being cleared and grass sown as we prepare for a our curly tailed visitors in the new year.

It's not all work though as Gordon and Billy have had many walks around school and the woods. They particularly enjoyed eating the fallen oak leaves and brambles as we hunt for fungus, wildlife and conkers!

Look How Busy Group 7 Have Been

Group 7 have had a fantastic start to KS4 and the new academic year. We have been working hard in preparation for the new specifications for GCSE English and maths. We have been focusing on punctuation and grammar; reading; the 4 operations and BIDMAS.  In science we have been looking at different forms of energy, circuits and electricity.

We have also been attending BUMPY and learning how to ride bikes alongside studying for our Level 1 Bike Maintenance qualification.

In Outdoor Education, we have been working on our ASDAN Adventure and Residential Short Course and have been learning new skills like ice skating, kite flying and working as a team at Laser Quest.

During our afternoon sessions, we have been learning about the effects and dangers of legal and illegal drugs, working together completing jigsaws and focusing on our art work. 

Group 4's New Areas

Hello! We are glad to be back at school and are enjoying our new classroom! Over the summer break we were lucky enough to have our corridor revamped and a new breakout space with a small group work room made for us.  We have made great use of this new space to spread out and learn in different ways. We have hit the ground running after our transition last year and have really got stuck into our English work. We are all focusing on our presentation skills and challenging ourselves to broaden our vocabulary in all our written work. We are all happy with our efforts and are proud of how we are developing our skills. In maths we have learnt new ways of working and learnt skills that will help us in day to day life such as rounding large numbers and measurement skills. Science is always a favourite especially when we can complete practicals. Last week we investigated states of matter in the kitchen, who knew science can taste so good! This week we were all exited to receive an iPad each! We have made good use of these already and have used them to be quizzed on our learning, play interactive learning games and record our learning. We have also opened the group 4 restoration workshop. We work together to restore items back into something useful. We have recently completed a scooter restoration and have started bike restorations this week.

We are growing well as a group and are pleased to have good friends both old and new in our class. We are also keen to work well with others outside our group and have used fantastic Friday time to host games competitions! This week we are holding the first UNO world/ school championships! Spirits are high and we are using skills learnt in maths such as ratio and probability to give group 4 a winning edge! We are looking forward to forming a class rock band next week and bring lots of music into our lessons!

Professional Development

Last Friday, staff at Joseph Norton were extremely proud to host an event lead by Dr Margot Sunderland at the Textile Centre in Huddersfield.

Dr Margot Sunderland is Director of Education and Training at The Centre for Child Mental Health London, Honorary Visiting Fellow at London Metropolitan University, Senior Associate Member of the Royal College of Medicine, and Child Psychotherapist with over twenty years experience of working with children and families.

Throughout the day, Dr Sunderland shared her expertise and taught attendees how to recognise signs and symptoms of trauma in children and how to respond to them. Staff members also learnt key tools and techniques for connecting with children who experience the world as threatening and hostile and how to move them from trauma to emotional well-being.

The team at Joseph Norton were joined by colleagues from across the Trust as well as SENCOs, Educational Psychologists and Clinical Psychologists from across Kirklees. Dena Roering, Director of SEN at Wellspring tweeted 'Absolutely speechless! Expert #MargotSunderland presented amazing content @josephnorton001 #TraumaInformedSchools.'

Legacy

Although the photo is a bit blurry, we were really pleased to welcome the great, great, granddaughter of Joseph Norton to our school last week.

Although his last remaining relatives live in America, Joseph Norton, was born in Scissett on 6th July 1800.  Joseph was an entrepreneur and a philanthropist who used his passions and abilities to establish the thriving, principled textile industry for which the area is known.  Joseph embodied the values of our school demonstrating perseverance and cooperation when building his business and respect and responsibility for the many people he supported and employed.  

When Joseph left his family home, he chose to outline a deed of trust that specified that the six acres of land on which our Academy now stands could only be used for educational and community purposes.

Welcome to 2017-2018

Dear parents and carers,

Welcome to 2017-2018!
 
It has been great to welcome so many smiling faces back to school this week.  Attendance so far has been fantastic and we hope to break our attendance record again this year!  

While our pupils have been away, there has been lots of exciting work happening at school.  We have decorated three different areas, built a new carpark and have converted an under-used part of the building into a new Therapy Centre.  The centre will offer pupils the opportunity to access play, sport and art therapy as part of their personalised timetables.  If you or your friends or family have any unwanted toys that could be used here at school, please send them in or let us know so we can some and collect them.

As we increase the services we offer, we find we have less and less space for onsite meetings.  For this reason, we are now renting additional premises at Nortonthorpe Mills.  This space is a 10 minute walk from the school – or two minutes in a car.  All annual review and parents meetings will take place at this new address.  You can find a map of the venue in the Parent/Carer Zone.

Please be aware that our meeting rooms are on the first floor of this building and there is no lift.  If you are unable to use the stairs, please make us aware so we can make alternative arrangements.

We are excited to introduce new members of staff to our growing team.  New teachers include Karen and Michelle who are working with groups 3a and 3b.  New pastoral leaders include Bradie at KS2 and Michael who is supporting Darryl with KS3. 

Group staff will be in touch over the coming weeks to update Self-Regulation Plans and share information about timetables etc.  Please remember that pupils should be in full uniform including black trainers or shoes.  We ask that pupils do not bring mobile phones to school.  However, if they do, they must hand them in at the school gate.   

Please remember to inform group staff of any important changes that have taken place over the summer.  It is important, for example, that we have up-to-date information about your address, contact details and your child’s medication. 

Dates for this year area as follows can be found under School Information.

Important dates for this half term include the following:

• Parent Coffee Morning - Friday 15th September
• INSET day - Friday 29th September
• Fancy Dress: Magic and Mystery -  Friday 20th October

Message from our Chair of Governors

Dear parents

The governors of Joseph Norton Academy send a warm welcome to parents, families and young people at the start of the new school year.  I would like to take this opportunity to tell you a little bit about what the governors actually do and who they are.

The governors are responsible for making sure that the school helps every young person to make the best possible progress in line with the school vision and values.  The governors meet every half term to find out from the Head and her team of staff how well the school is doing.  We ask questions about everything - events, activities, exam results, behaviour…..  We check how the school budget is being spent and how all the teaching and learning is progressing.  We find out about all the successes and help to plan any improvements needed.  Notes are kept of all our meetings and copies are available from the school.

There are up to 12 governors dedicated to Joseph Norton Academy.  They include the Head and two members of staff as well as local people with an interest in education, who are appointed by the Wellspring Trust.  There are two places reserved for parents.  At the moment, there is a vacancy for a parent governor and the governors would like to encourage any parent to seriously think about becoming a governor.  If you are interested, then Sarah can give you details.  There is also more information about the governors on the Joseph Norton Academy website.

The governors look forward to meeting you at school events.

Warwick Firmin, Chair of governors

Finally, we'd like to extend a huge well done and thank you to Stephen, our hospitality and catering instructor, and the boys who helped to organised our first home-grown, home-cooked school dinners last week. We are extremely proud that our pupils are now in charge of our school farm and our school kitchen and are working together to grow, plan, prepare, cook and serve their own meals. This is a fantastic opportunity for everyone and the food tastes amazing!  

We look forward to seeing you soon.

Joseph Norton Academy Awarded the RSQM

As the year draws to a close, we are pleased to announce that Joseph Norton Academy has been awarded the Restorative Service Quality Mark (RSQM).  The RSQM is a badge of quality that guarantees that a service provides safe, high quality restorative practice that meets the six Restorative Service Standards.  Joseph Norton Academy joins other RSQM awardees – in sectors ranging from criminal justice through education to care – delivering high quality restorative processes.

Jon Collins, the RJC’s chief executive, said: “I would like to offer my congratulations to the whole team at Joseph Norton Academy on this fantastic achievement. By successfully completing the RSQM, it has demonstrated its commitment to providing the highest standards in restorative practice.”

Sarah Wilson, Headteacher at Joseph Norton Academy said, 'I am extremely proud of the staff team for all the work they have undertaken to achieve the award but, more importantly, for the ongoing work they undertake with our children as they use restorative practice to help them build and repair bridges after experiencing conflict or crisis.  Particular thanks goes to our Pastoral and Restorative Practice teams and to Darryl Jones, who led them through this process.' 

More information and the article that was published on the Restorative Justice Council website can be found here:

Examiner Schools Awards

We are really proud to report that two members of staff at Joseph Norton Academy were recently nominated for Examiner Schools Awards. Abigail, was nominated for Support Staff member of the year and Sarah was nominated for Headteacher of the Year.

The awards ceremony took place at Kirklees College and was hosted by Harry Gration from Look North.  Aidan and Dominic were chosen to attend the event and represent our pupils. Kate, Sarah, Ruth and Abi went on behalf of the staff team.

A 10 page pull-out will be available in the Huddersfield Examiner next Thursday in which you will be able to read about the event but... and we can't wait to tell you... Abi was a winner and Sarah was a runner up!!! We are extremely proud of them both. Dominic and Aidan have already decided which awards we should go for next year.  Check out the pictures below:

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Next Steps for our Year 11s

Last Friday we said a final goodbye to our year eleven leavers. Parents, carers and staff were invited to join the event where we embarrassed the group with lots of old photos, reflected on everything they have achieved and wished them the very best of luck for the future.

The group have lots of exciting plans for the future. Their destinations include Project Challenge in Halifax, Groundworks in Morely, ICT and Hospitality and Catering at Kirklees College. First, however, as Cameron explained, they are going to have a really good rest!

Every year, the school identifies one pupil, who has made exceptional progress to receive the Pauline Stones award.  This year, we are pleased to announce that the trophy was awarded to Lewis from Group 7.  Heather Green, his group leader, explained, 'Lewis has made tremendous progress this year and we are really proud of him.'  Lewis' name will be added to the new trophy, which will be proudly displayed in the school's trophy cabinet for years to come.