Newsletter Spring 2012
Chilton Trinity

Dear Parents and Carers
The January to Easter period is always very busy for us at Chilton Trinity and this year has been no exception. Students in Year 11 are now in the last few weeks of their GCSE courses and are working hard for their examinations which begin on 14th May. All the Year 11 students have a study timetable to help them focus their efforts and we continue to offer revision support and subject workshops both at lunch time and after school across all subjects. In addition, we will once again be running an Easter Revision Conference in a range of subjects to support our students as they prepare for these important examinations. It goes without saying that I wish all our students the very best of luck and hope that they will be rewarded for all the hard work they have put in not only this term but also since they joined us in Year 7.
Students in Year 9 have now completed their Pathways choices for 2012-13. This is an exciting time not least because they are taking the first steps towards their future careers. You will be aware from the media that the Government has proposed a number of changes in terms of programmes of study at Key Stage 4 but I am delighted to say that we have been able to con- tinue to offer a wide range of qualifications for our students so that all of them can be supported towards positive destinations post-16.
As usual, our Easter Newsletter is packed with lots of exciting articles about all that has been happening in our school over the past term. We have also had some amazing whole-school events including Sport Relief on Friday. Throughout the week leading up to the main events, cake sales, activities and lots of fund-raising took place. Everyone took part in running or walking a mile with the aim of getting from Bridgwater to Athens. It is a testament to the way our school pulls together that we got there with 544 miles to spare!  By taking part in this way, our students are encouraged to look outwards beyond our immediate community and to think globally about young people in other parts of the world.
Once again, as we look forward, the Summer Term will be a busy one with lots of opportunities for our students to showcase their achievements. Aladdin will be staged by students in Year 7 and 8 next term, directed by Miss Tinker and dancers from across the whole school will be participating in the Twickenham event on May 26th. Students are putting a huge amount of work into both events and we are all really looking forward to the final performances. We also look forward to Celebration Evening in June when the progress and achievements of students across the school in every subject will be celebrated with their families.
Work continues at a rapid pace to construct our new school and the Pool linked to the Leisure Centre. It is fair to say that the loss of play space this year has been very challenging and I appreciate the way in which students, in the main, have tried hard to manage themselves responsibly, particularly during the winter months. We have taken a decision to open the field this week, several weeks earlier than usual, and I am sure that, providing the good weather holds, the extra space will be very welcome.
Unfortunately, we will be saying goodbye to Mr Hermiston this Easter. We wish him all the very best for the future. Mrs Elmont will also be leaving us to go on maternity leave. Her timetable will be covered by Mrs Sargeant and Ms Bray, both very experienced teachers. We wish Mrs Elmont all the very best for the forthcoming happy event.
Finally, I would like to wish you all a happy and peaceful Easter.

With best wishes

Pat Hollinghurst, Head

JESSIE JUMPS TO VICTORY!

Jessie Bartlett and her horse Meg competed at Stockland Lovell on 17 March, in an Inter- schools competition, run by Taunton School.
They competed in the 2'9 class and being the fastest with 0 faults were individually placed
1st, winning a cup, rosette and prize money in vouchers.
They were entered to compete in the 3' - 3'
3" as well but it was unfortunately cancelled for the individuals due to hail, thunder, rain and lack of light.

KILVE SPANISH RESIDENTIAL

On Friday the 3rd of February 2012, Donna Carpenter, Jordan Otley, Jessie Venning and Luke Davies, went to Kilve Court for a Gifted and Talented Spanish residential weekend course; it was, to describe it in one word, Great!

Even though I have been to Kilve before, I didn‘t expect it to be so different to the main town; our home for the weekend was set in a beautiful grand house with wonder- ful scenery, the inside was just as magnificent. However when Jordan got there he was very surprised, he had arrived first and is NEVER early! When we had all arrived the whole course group (alongside the History group that were also there) sat in the common room for a meeting about the staffs‘ standards and general rules. Then the thought of food hit us all when we found out that fish and chips were for tea. Yum! After indulging in lots of food we went to our first lesson of the weekend which was, as you would expect, just getting to know each other and our tutors Señora Britt and Señorita Hudson. You would think that something like that would be quite easy. Right? Wrong. Every single word was in Spanish. This was quite hard to follow, but if you tried - as we did - to pick up words we eventually understood. However we did feel a tiny bit daft because everyone else didn‘t seem to have that problem! After an hour of lessons we had hot chocolate and fell into bed happily.

The next morning we were rudely awakened by the morning bell at 7:45. We had time to shower, get dressed and tidy our rooms before breakfast; for some a full English! Not only did we have hard lessons, but we also had to dance ZUMBA style. It was very hard to try and take photos and dance at the same time. Then we had lessons until 11 learning then a short break before returning to lessons. Lunch was at 1:30 then just as in school we were split into groups to do some more work.

We began to learn about the carnival, our topic for the course, and it was such challenging work (it felt hard but now we realise how much it helped us). Later, we had din- ner then went over to the arts building to make some masks that would show our true carnival spirit. After that we had some fun time before bed.

During the weekend, we learnt about adjectives, worked on regular verbs, completed Spanish poems and then translat- ed them into English. We then wrote our own songs and poems, finding out the history of carnival - starting before Christ.

To help us write our final pieces we were taken to visit to Kilve beach, even though it had been snowing! We had to try and imagine that we were on a float and comment on what we could touch, see, feel, hear, smell and notice... we tried hard but we had too much fun walking through the ice and slush and pretending to climb up the icicles; how- ever, the Kilve carnival thinking was short lived as about 6 of us ended up falling over and getting soaking wet! The carnivals we managed to describe were very different from our trip to the beach. Nevertheless we had a great trip, even if we had to wear 3 pairs of jeans and jogging bot- toms!

On the final day we showed our parents the work that we had done, and also worked in a group to perform our final pieces; Jordan, Jessie, Luke, Alice (a new friend we had made) and I decided that we would say our poems togeth- er and it turned out really well. We had a really great time over the weekend and learnt lots, and we also heard a lot of stories from Señorita Hudson about Miss Perrow (our Spanish teacher) from when they were at university together. 

YEAR 8 SOMERSET WILDLIFE GROUP

Mondays for many Year 8 students this year have been very different. Sue Habgood from the Somerset Wildlife Trust and I have taken them to a variety of local wildlife habitats. They have helped clear and burn brash on the Somerset levels using tools commonly used for conserva- tion work. They have learnt basic bushcraft skills such as small knife skills, fire lighting and shelter building, with the final week of the 5 week course being cooking marshmal- lows over a fire built by themselves. Also included have been visits to Bridgwater Bay to a bird hide at Steart and Kilve beach. Recently the group were walking on the Quan- tocks where they met the local stag hunt which did make for a dramatic morning there. The years 8‘s have all been brilliant while they have been out and a pleasure to take

with me.

Mrs S French

OPPORTUNITY FOR YEAR 11’s THIS SUMMER

A fantastic personal development opportunity
for our Year 11 students is on offer, called
‗National Citizen Service‘. School leavers from across Somerset are invited to get involved in an amazing summer of free activities with their friends after they finish their exams. Following on from the success of National Citizen Service in 2011, Somerset Ru- ral Youth Project are offering places to students of Chilton Trinity Tech- nology College.
Described by one student as ‗the best thing I‘ve ever done‘, this is not only a fun, once in a life time opportunity, it also offers experiences and qualifications that can put the participants ahead in job or univer- sity interviews. Some have even called it the UK version of ‗Camp America‘.
Taking part means going away on a week‘s activity holiday – which might involve kayaking, coasteering, hiking, surfing, caving, climbing, sailing, and other outdoor challenges. There is another week away where participants get the chance to find out about what makes their communities tick – meeting charities, businesses, MPs and Councillors, and receive training and develop their skills.
It‘s also good news for parents who can have a couple of weeks rest
during the summer!
After the two weeks away, the lucky teens get stuck in to doing some- thing they are really passionate about – which might be an environ- mental project, a live music or drama tour, a campaign to improve transport, a sports project, a media project, a faith project, or a project around helping other teenagers live healthier lives. There are also plans for an Olympic themed challenge across the South West.
The places are free with a small amount of fundraising required by participants to cover some costs.
To find out more, and register interest, keen teens or their parents can visit www.sryp.org.uk, call 01278 722100 or
email ncs@sryp.org.uk. The NCS link for Chilton Trinity Technology College is Annie Diffey who can be contacted on 01278 722100 /
07800 708861

YEAR 9 NEWS

This term has been a very busy but successful one for year 9‘s and here are a few of the highlights:- we took 58 students to Bristol Uni- versity where they got the chance to find out about life at University from students at the University and they were fantastic ambassa- dors for our school. The EDF day involved all year 9 students work- ing collaboratively with each other to solve an Engineering dilemma. The visitors from EDF said our students were brilliant and they en- joyed working with them. Following on from that day, 15 students have been successful in gaining a place on an Engineering residential course at Exeter University – I‘m looking forward to hearing all about it. With the Learning Pathways Interviews almost complete can I thank you all for your support. Mr Poole commented on how im- pressed he was with their grades, their Attitude to Learning and how they have applied themselves to thinking about their future. I look forward to next term and working with the students in what will be their final hurdle before transition to KS4. Students are applying to be Ambassadors and I look forward to seeing them take on their new responsibilities with pride. Happy Easter!
Mrs Ruth Henderson PTL Year 9

CREST BRONZE AWARD

The Science department have spent some time working in conjunction with EDF to help all of Year
9 gain a CREST bronze award. Each student had
preparation work in Science before researching aerodynamics and crumple zones before having a day of competing in teams. Their challenge was to design a vehicle that could move nuclear waste safely. We were lucky to have Engineering ap- prentices from EDF to mentor teams, giving our students the opportunity to work with people ap- plying engineering principles in real employment situations. Over the 2 days some really innovative ideas were designed and every student completed the criteria for their Crest award.
Miss Spence and Mrs Evans designed a similar event for year 7. The theme for this was a carbon free vehicle. Teams came up with some innova- tive ideas mainly using balloons and elastic bands for propulsion devices. As with the Year 9 event, many students used ideas from their Science les- sons to solve a problem. They were engineers in action!

CRUNCHING NUMBERS WITH THE RAF

For 3 days, Sergeant Rob Jon worked with tutor groups throughout Year 8 in a fun and challenging workshop. Each workshop comprised a number of tasks to be solved using functional mathematical skills. Many lanyards and pens were given as priz- es as the various teams competed in such events as getting the most equipment in a Hercules cargo hold and working out how long it would take to patrol the perimeter of an RAF camp. The activity saw the entire year group working in small teams and they certainly came up trumps. Sergeant Jon was very impressed with both the behaviour and team work of all of his groups.

BLUE MO’DAY

Having had a successful first year which UNICEF recognised as a unique event nationally, Blue Mo‘ Day 2012 was held in the week before half term. There were 23 participating organisations who all wore blue and did various activities based around the themes of Water, sanitation and, for Olympic year, International Inspiration. Students did various activities to raise money from wearing blue to washing cars, being silent for a day, cooking and selling cakes. The house event for the week was the challenge of making the biggest letter out of loose change. After 1 and a half days of frantic coin counting this was seen to be a great success. All the schools who participated have helped this learning community to raise £10,700 for UNICEF work in Mozambique. It is a great feeling to be part of a community that has worked together to really change the lives of people in a country that just doesn‘t have anywhere near the opportunities we do.

CHILTON 2012 – NEW SCHOOL INFORMATION

Building Progress

Construction is well underway and on time. During this term we have seen the main Hall, Drama Studio and activity studio construction. Internally the walls are being constructed and in some areas heating is functional and painting is taking place.

In addition to this, construction of the swimming pool continues with steelwork being erected and footings put in place. Digging out of the pool will be starting quite soon.

Our new footbridge to access the playing fields is now open and in September we will have use of the addition to our current playing fields.

80 students have recently worked with animators to produce a film linking the current school with our new school

Another group of students have finalised their work with the landscape architects by developing a planting scheme for the garden areas.

School Opening

In a previous newsletter parents were informed that we would be extending our Half Term in October/November to facilitate the move into the new school. The dates are:

Thursday 25th October – School Closed

(Yr 11 revision sessions for students taking Maths exam in November) Friday 26th October – School Closed

(Yr 11 revision sessions for students taking Maths exam in November) Monday 29th October – Friday 2nd November – normal Half term Holiday

Monday 5th November – School Closed

(Yr 11 revision sessions for students taking Maths exam in November) Tuesday 6th November – School Closed

(Yr 11 revision sessions for students taking Maths exam in November) Wednesday 7th November – School Closed

(Yr 11 revision sessions for students taking Maths exam in November) Thursday 8th November – Years 7, 9 & 11 in school (Not Years 8 & 10)

Friday 9th November – Years 8, 10 &11 in school (Not Years 7 & 9)

Rights Respecting Schools Award (RRSA)

MUSIC NEWS

YEAR 7 FOOTBALL

YEAR 10 FOOTBALL

YEAR 11 FOOTBALL

YEAR 9 GIRLS FOOTBALL

YEAR 10/11 GIRLS FOOTBALL

YEAR 10 GIRLS CRICKET

HOCKEY

YEAR 11 GIRLS GET EXERCISING WITH 1610!!!

The PE department have been running a project alongside the staff from 1610 to encourage more of our Year 11 girls to get active! Instructors from 1610 have been providing weekly tast- er sessions for the girls in their PE lessons in different activities than they would normally have the opportunity to do in PE and activities which they may well like to continue with after they leave school! The girls have had sessions in spinning, body combat, yoga, boxercise, boot camp, circuit training and still have aerobics and Zumba to come! The project has proved to be a real success with all the girls showing a new enthusiasm towards physical activity and PE as well as many girls becom- ing members of 1610 and carrying on with these fitness clas- ses after school! Thanks so much to the 1610 instructors who have been brilliant!
SPORT RELIEF!
We have had another very successful week of fundraising for Sport Relief 2012. The target was for our school community to run enough miles to take us from Bridgwater to Athens! Every student ran at least 1 mile in their PE lessons and there were some fantastic efforts by certain students who ran even more in their PE lessons! On Friday 23rd, we had a House Sport Relief Mile Challenge where all were invited to come along and run / walk / skip a mile. We ran over 2846 miles in the week!

In addition, alongside a non
-uniform day, the Student Leadership Team and team of Staff Chefs cooked up
220 delicious cupcakes which sold out in 3 days; there was Staff Vs Students badminton and netball (needless to say staff were victorious on all counts!!!!) and all who took part in the week had a fantastic time! We raised over £1200! Well done everyone!

PRINCESS DIANA AWARD

Chilton Trinity is delighted to announce that one of its students, Gha-Wing Li has been publicly honoured with the Diana
Courageous Citizen Award.
The Diana Award was established in 1999 as a lasting legacy to Diana, Princess of Wales‘ belief that young people have the
power to change the world.
The Award exists to celebrate young people who support others and strive to improve their communities. 36,000 inspira- tional young people have received the Diana Award for demonstrating the qualities associated with the late Princess – com- passion and a selfless commitment to improving the lives of others.
Gha-Wing Li received the Diana Courageous Citizen Award for his courageous approach to life, which makes a direct impact on the lives of others.
Head teacher Mrs Pat Hollinghurst described him as ―A teenager who sees problems, faces them and tries, with help and support, to fix them‖, whilst his Pastoral Team Leader, Mrs Brenda Smith commented that ―Gha-Wing is a friend to all and someone who brightens every day by his presence.‖ His Tutor, Simon Bament described Gha-Wing as ―a credit to his school, year group and peers: I never cease to be amazed by his humour, curiosity and enthusiasm for life‖.
Chair of Governors, Mrs Eileen Tipper in her presentation speech commented how extremely proud she and indeed the whole school community is of Gha-Wing, for his long term commitment to be positively involved in its aspirations and af- fairs. She hoped the award would not only encourage him to continue his work, but that it would hopefully inspire others to follow his example. Gha-Wing was delighted to receive the award, which recognised his positive attitude to life and learning with no self-pity; his qualities of perseverance, courage and determination to live as normal a life as possible, and his continual joy and enthusiasm, which radiates a delightful sense of humour with an infectious laugh and grin to all he meets.

Once Award Holders receive the award they join the Diana Network, a programme offering young people the opportunity to volunteer, gain valuable life skills and put these into practice
with internships and work placements in the UK.
Young people can also join the Anti-Bullying Ambassadors Pro- gramme, the ideal opportunity to speak up and become the voice of anti-bullying in their communities.
Maggie Turner OBE and Chief Executive of the Diana Award said: ―This highly prestigious award gives young people, of all abilities, circumstances and cultures, recognition at a time when their future is still ahead of them, enabling them to make a real positive difference to their communities. With a growing net- work of 36,000 Award Holders, we are building a force of young people who are committed to take social action and improve our communities.‖
For more information on the Diana Award or to make a nomina- tion please visit – www.diana-award.org.uk
Gha-Wing being congratulated on his award by Chair of Governors Mrs E Tipper

YEAR 9 GIRLS FOOTBALL—LATEST

The Year 9 Girls Football team bowed out at the semi-final stage against a strong Backwell School who had lots of pace and power. After a slow start Chilton began to show glimpses of the ability that has led to them having a suc- cessful season. Evie Williams, Jemima Turner and Laura Gibson were excellent in defence with Phoebe Rayson and Delenn Cross always an attacking threat. Backwell scored to make it 1-0 and dominated from there after, the pace of the opposition forwards took its toll as Chilton toiled in the heat. Two late goals secured the win for the visitors who will be very difficult opponents in the future.

Well done to the whole squad:

Millie Richards, Beth Manchip, Laura Gibson, Jemima Turner, Evie Williams, Jessie Venning, Demi Webber, Kayleigh

Allan, Rhiannon Coleman, Delenn Cross, Phoebe Rayson, Charlie Gilbert, Tillie Milburn.

TEXTILES

If you have any old remnants of fabric that you no longer need, please donate them to the Textiles Department—we can always make use of them. Thank you.