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Issue 16 Winter 2016

Achieving Through Believing

A Magical
All the very latest news from Victoria

Award Double For VEC

Augmented Content

O.T. Week 2016

Why is O.T. so important at Victoria?

Achieving
Through
Believing

Apps

Explored

Welcome

Foreword
Hello and welcome to the latest edition of VEC Life. I cannot believe we
are already at the end of 2016, where does time go? We have had another
wonderful year at Victoria Education Centre. As usual there have been so
many fantastic events in the last twelve months, many of which have been
featured in previous VEC Life. This edition will focus on events since the end
of the summer.
Three of our students have had fantastic adventures which feature in this
episode; Joanne meeting the royals, Ebony becoming a television star on
the Rickshaw Challenge and Nathan paragliding rather him than me! There
are also features on the lots of interesting events that have taken place at
the school. These include; Merlins Magic Wand day, Children in Need day,
Anti-bullying week, the Christmas Fayre, O.T. week and various sporting
events. There are also stories about what all the classes have been up to,
including several shopping trips. What was odd was that all the students
returned from shopping trips saying how they had forgotten to get me a
present. Very strange!
Thats enough from me. I hope you enjoy the issue and a massive thank
you to all the people who have helped to put it together. I hope you have a
wonderful Christmas and a peaceful New Year.

Angus Collins

Assistant Headteacher

Connect to VEC
Phone: 01202 763697
Mail: vec@victoria.poole.sch.uk
Visit: www.victoria.poole.sch.uk
Follow us: Facebook/VictoriaEducationCentre.uk
Our address: 12 Lindsay Road, Branksome Park, Poole, Dorset. BH13 6AS
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Inside This Issue

News

Pages 4-12

Achieving Through Believing

VEC Awarded School Games Mark: Rights Respecting Recognition: Music Department Nominated
For Two Awards: John Lewis Funds Canopy And Equipment: Joannes Royal Appointment: Ebonys
Rickshaw Challenge: The Flight Fantastic: Foundation Refurbished Gym: Merlin Makes Our Day:
Stuarts Pedal Power: Salute To Adam: VEC Says No To Bullies: Thats Very Astute: Children In Need
Day 2016: All The Fun Of The Fayre: VEC Challenges the Heroes: ECO News: Operation Christmas
Child: Gunged For Gold: Alfie White, Space Explorer: Nature Watch Gallery.

Features

Pages 16-24

The Adverts: OT Week 2016 / Therapies Round-Up: The Staff Room: Apps Amazing: The Sports Report:
Creative Arts News-Round: Hilarys Lingo Lab: The Vibe.

Classroom

Pages 25-31

Explorers: A Visit To Santa. Class KW: Back To The Stone Age. Class JW: Autumn Term Fun. Class LB:
Ourselves. Rainbows: Our Autumn Term. Class CN: CN, The Tourists. Green Island: Improving The Local
Environment / In Other News. Class BE: BE News. Art: Accredited Art Courses. French: Hair Raising
French. Post 16: Hooray For History, The Norman Invasion of England, Shop Til We Drop, Living in a
Diverse Society.

Aurasma

This issues Augmented content can be found on:

Page 6: Ebonys Rickshaw Challenge
Page 7: Merlin Makes Our Day
Page 9: Children in Need Day 2016
Page 11: Gunged For Gold
Page 14: The O.T. Rap
Page 22: Bumper Harvest
Page 24: Hilarys Lingo Lab
And of course The history of Victoria School in 60 seconds below right.
Just look for the Photos with the Aurasma logo.

How to set up Aurasma on your device.....

1. Download the Aurasma app onto your device. The app is free for all
Android and Apple devices on Google Play and iTunes.
2. Open the app and swipe through the start-up information until you get
to a sign-up screen.
3. Fill in the details with a user name e-mail address and a password and
tap Join.
4. Next you need to follow our Aurasma channel. Tap the A at the bottom
of the screen to go to the Aurasma home page. Tap the spy glass icon
at the bottom of the page and type Victoria Education Centre into the
search window. Our channel should be the top result.
5. Select it and then tap follow. You are now following our channel.
6. Go back to the viewfinder by taping the square at the bottom of the
screen.
7. Frame a tagged image in the viewfinder and the image should come to
life.
8. Youre good to go! Use Aurasma to frame the tagged image opposite to
see a short Aura on our history.

VEClife

Latest news
VEC Awarded School Games Mark
We are very pleased to announce that
Victoria has been awarded the School Games
Mark (Silver). The School Games Mark is a
Government led awards scheme designed to
reward schools for their commitment to the
development of competition across their school
and into the community.
The scheme is administered by the Youth
Sport Trust and provides schools with the
opportunity to review and validate their school
sport offer against a set of criteria. The Mark is a
retrospective award which validates our success
over the last academic year. Ofsted use the Mark
award as part of their inspection framework and
schools can use it to aid the development of PE.
This is a fantastic achievement and the aim is
to move up to Gold level this year. To do this we
will maintain and increase levels of achievement
and participation in PE by further expanding the

range of activities offered; further develop

sport leaders and continue to engage students
in a wide range of activities that have a
positive impact on their overall wellbeing.
Very well done to the PE team and a big
thank you to all staff and volunteers who have
contributed to supporting PE and school sport
at VEC.

Rights Respecting Recognition

By Lisa Boyes
Victoria has successfully achieved the UNICEF
UK Recognition of Commitment (ROC) for our
rights respecting work. UNICEF works with
schools in the UK to create safe and inspiring
places to learn, where children are respected,
their talents are nurtured and they are able
to thrive. The next stage is to achieve level
1 by implementing our action plan and to
start embedding childrens rights in Victorias
practice.
So, at VEC we are going to learn more about
the United Nations Convention on the Rights of
the Child (UNCRC) and the articles which we
need to focus on every day.
We have chosen four Articles to highlight
which are:
Article 12 the right to give your opinion and
adults to listen and take it seriously.
Article 23 the right to special education and
care if you have a disability so you can live a
full life.
Article 28 the right to a good quality
education.
Article 31 the right to rest and play.
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Please join us and help us to embed the ethos

and values of RRSA throughout VEC. Our
Rights Respecting School Council and Eco
Committee will be helping us on this journey,
and keep an eye out for forthcoming events in
the Spring term linked to Water Aid and how to
help others.
We will also be putting some stories and
interviews on Mixcloud, so we will let you know
when you can listen in.
Join us on our journey!
If you would like to see more, then please see
www.unicef.org.uk

Music Department Nominated For Two Awards

The shortlist for the 2017 Music Teacher Awards
for Excellence has been revealed with Victoria
being nominated in two categories. Best School
Music Department, and Mike Whitlock has been
nominated for the Musicians Union Inspiration
Award for the second year running. Created to
celebrate excellence in music and performing
arts education, the awards will be presented
in 13 categories, covering new products and
resources as well as hubs, music departments
and individual contributions to the sector. The
winners will be announced on 9 February
2017 along with the winner of the Lifetime
Achievement Award and the Music Teacher
Magazine Editors Award in a gala ceremony at
the Sheraton Grand London Park Lane Hotel in
Mayfair.

Mike and Jenson working with Soundbeam

This years awards have seen a wide range
of extremely strong nominations, highlighting
some of the superb work being done by music
educators across the UK, said Alex Stevens,
editor of Music Teacher magazine and chair of
the awards judging panel. We are delighted
to reveal our shortlist and look forward to
celebrating the best of the music education
sector in February. Well done to Mike and the
music team for this well-deserved recognition.
We will be keeping our fingers crossed for
Mike and the team on the big night.

John Lewis Funds Canopy and Equipment

Staff from John Lewis, Branksome paid us
a visit in November to see for themselves
where a donation of nearly 8,000 has been
spent. The money was donated through a
grant awarded by the John Lewis Divisional
Community Investment Committee.
A fantastic and much needed Umbrella
canopy made from colourful glass reinforced
plastic was installed for young students in our
Early Years garden.
John Lewis Branch Manager Emma Greendale
said Victoria Education Centre is a charity
close to our hearts. As a student I worked
alongside children with profound needs and
it is very humbling to watch those who have
such struggles on a day to day basis, be so
positive. The students faces lit up when they
first saw the Umbrella Canopy and we are
thrilled to be able to support the school in this
way. Early Years Teacher Gill Tuttiett said It
is important for the students to enjoy outside
space, especially in the summer where they
can relax in peaceful surroundings. This

canopy offers the perfect amount of shade

where our students can sit or lay whilst
enjoying movements and sounds around
them. Headteacher Simon Brown said, This
is a wonderful gift from John Lewis and we
want to thank all the staff from the Branksome
store for choosing us as their charity. They
have supported us on numerous occasions
and we are very grateful for that.
1

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Joannes Royal Appointment

Class Arnes Joanne Sibley travelled up to
London in October to meet the Duke and
Duchess of Cambridge at a special event to
mark World Mental Health Day. This years
theme for World Mental Health Day focused on
the importance of psychological and mental
health first aid for all. Mental health first aid
means getting in there early to support people,
before what theyre going through becomes more
serious or even clinical. At a special reception,
their Royal Highnesses heard first-hand about
this type of support and thanked people from
across the UK who have provided mental health

Joanne with the Prince

first aid. Joanne, who is passionate about
raising awareness for mental health amongst
young people had an amazing day and said it
was a real honour meeting the royal couple.

Ebonys Rickshaw Challenge

As you may have seen on the television,Victoria
Student Ebony Robinson took part in this years
BBC Children in Need Rickshaw Challenge. The
intrepid team of six, who have all been previously
supported by Children in Need, covered the 470
mile journey in an incredible 8 days. The team
set off from Jedburgh in Scotland on the 11th
November crossing the finish line in London on
the 18th. The route not only tested their peddle
power as along the way they delivered speeches
to live audiences to raise awareness of the real
difference being made to disadvantaged children
and young peoples lives across the UK thanks
to the Charity. Ebony had a little time to rest
and catch her breath but on returning to school
reflected on her experience Overall it was hard
and there were many ups and downs along the
way. The team were like a big family and we
worked for each other and also relied on each
other for support. One of the best memories for
me was bonding with the team and giving them
nicknames. It wasnt only a physical challenge
it was a mental one too as we had to make

appeals and speeches which I found quite

nerve-wracking. Crossing the finishing line
felt good, I had a sense of relief that we had
finished, but also it was a good feeling knowing
we had done something good and for the
benefit of others. I will miss the good friends I
made but plan on keeping in touch with all of
them.
We are extremely proud of Ebony who, by
completing this challenge, has demonstrated
perfectly the qualities that Victoria aspires to for
our students.

The Flight Fantastic

Class Rainbows student Nathan Wolffe had an amazing

experience paragliding while on holiday over half term.
Mum Tracey was very proud of him and shared some
amazing photos with us. Tracey described it as his
Greatest ever achievement and experience. He really
loved the experience and was giggling in the air above
the flying fish and turquoise sea. It was also great that as
Nathan is in Class Rainbows he was flying from a rainbow
parachute. Well done Nathan!
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Foundation Refurbishes Gym

Tony Bernard, Director

of The Steve Bernard
Foundation and the
Mayor of Poole,
Councillor Xena Dion
visited Victoria to open
our newly refurbished
fitness gym. The
Foundation was set up
in memory of Steve Bernard who was tragically
killed in a car accident. It raises money to
support sporting projects in his memory as he
loved sport. The Foundation supports projects
based across Bournemouth, Dorset and the
South Coast. The fitness facility upgrade
included state of the art gym equipment and
a redesign of the layout and was completed
with the help of G.R. Westbuild Building
Contractors.

Our newly refurbished Gym

The team who made it all possible

A large percentage of the money needed to
complete the refurbishment was raised by a
dedicated group of fundraisers who took on
the arduous challenge of cycling from Poole to
Rome. They raised in excess of 20,000 whilst
cycling the gruelling journey through Italy,
touching on the French Alps and returning
to Poole. This fantastic facility will enable
students with disabilities to access the gym
and benefit from using it. Our students are very
excited about being able to use their new gym
and we are extremely grateful to everyone
involved in this tremendous event.

Merlin Makes Our Day

Our friends and supporters Merlins Magic

Wand sprinkled their magic dust over Victoria
when they came to visit in September. They
set up their fun festival in the sports hall and
treated our students to a fun packed day of
activities. Superstar Lego movie character
Emmet was on hand to meet students and
staff and was happy to pose for a few photos.
Emmet was joined by Millie Magic Wand and
we were treated to an impromptu dance by the
pair. Dan White from the Department of Ability
drew some brilliant depictions of our students
as superheroes. Dan is the author/creator
of the Born to be different, Born to save the
world superheroes comics. Also adding to
the fun we had professional face painters,
storytelling, colouring and free play areas
where the students got to grips with some
serious building with a Duplo set of bricks
which Merlin kindly donated to us afterwards.

Merlins Fun Festival

A truly magical day all round with special thanks
to Emily Griffiths from Merlins Magic Wand for
organising it. Huge thanks also go to Sychelle
Walles our awesome face painter, the Lego
therapy team and our own Belinda Ellicott.

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Stuarts Pedal Power

We were delighted to welcome Stuart Holt to

Victoria on the 7th September as he visited
us to officially hand over some great new
equipment for our physiotherapy department.
Headteacher Simon Brown along with Physios
Stuart Robertson, Ellen Van Lamoen and Head of
Therapies, Ceri Vosper were on hand to thank him
personally. Physiotherapy is centrally important
to our students ongoing physical well-being at
Victoria and we strive to provide the best possible
care. Stuart has gone a long way in helping
us to achieve that by very kindly funding some
much needed equipment. As well as the Rifton
Trike seen in the photo, he has kindly provided
a specialist sleeping system as well as extra
slings for our hoists. Stuart runs a recruitment
company in Bournemouth, Holt Recruitment, and
came to hear about us through Snow Kuhne,

who is a physiotherapy assistant. On behalf of

everyone at Victoria, thank you Stuart for making
a positive difference to our students and for your
continued support in making Victoria your chosen
charity. Head of Therapy Ceri Vosper said - The
tricycle is designed for students above the age
of 10-12 years but it does depend on their size.
It is used for students to enjoy an alternative

Salute To Adam

Stuart presented the trike himself

mobility experience allowing them some
independence and the opportunity to feel the
changes in speed and freedom that standard
cycling offers.
We have a number of students using the
tricycle but in particular a couple of students
come to mind. One has Muscular Dystrophy
which is a deteriorating condition and as
such he is no longer able to walk but the
tricycle enables him to move freely under
his own limb power rather than passive
sitting in a powered chair. The other student
who suffers from Cerebral Palsy had
not experienced the sensation of speed
previously. Although very well supported
the concept of free movement is incredibly
exciting for students who have very limited
physical abilities.
The tricycle is very adaptable so is able to
assist students with a wide range of physical
difficulties and offers all students not only
a movement opportunity and the sense of
varying speeds but most importantly fun!
The tricycle was donated to VEC as the
Physio assistant who works here had a link
externally with one of the directors of the
company who was keen to help and support
our youngsters following a visit to the site.
He wanted to be able to purchase items that
were above and beyond the normal funding
bracket. We are all really appreciative of his
interest and help.

Victoria would like to say a heartfelt Thank You to Adam Clay who has done a tremendous
amount for us over the past few months. Adam contacted us to see how he could support VEC
as he has links with a parent of one of our students. We are always looking for storage space and
suggested he might like to fund somewhere where we could keep some of the equipment that we
use on a daily basis. Not only did he agree to fund the storagebut also, along with some friends,
build it too. Adam is a train driver and works nights so it is not always easy to get here. Despite
this, the shed was built in good time, and is a big help to us. Thank you Adam!
8 VEClife

VEC Says NO to Bullies

Anti-Bullying Week took place nationally in
November with Friendship being the key theme
this year. Along with Lilliput Infant School and
Longfleet Primary School we planned some
themed activities reinforcing our Respecting
Charter. Our Anti-Bullying Champion Sally
Darby set up a Friendship Tree in school and
commented Everyone had a great week and our
friendship tree was a great success with messages
of positive encouragement from students and staff.
We held themed assemblies and read stories to
spread the message that bullying isnt cool. Our
Post 16 students are currently working on an antibullying video which we will post as soon as its
Sally with our successful Friendship Tree
ready.

Thats Very Astute

Paul Woods, Managing Director of Astute.com

came in to personally hand over another generous
donation on behalf of his company. The donation
means that Astute.com have now given in excess
of 1500 to Victoria.This is the third year running
that the company has supported our schools
creative arts production, having previously been
kind enough to support the music department
too. We would like to say a huge thank you to
both Paul and Shaun Woods the directors and all
their staff who contributed towards this through
MUFTI day collections and other events. Also in
attendance at the presentation were Headteacher
Simon Brown, School Governor Jean Woods and

Three years of support from Astute.com

students Joanne and Connor who have both
had starring roles in previous creative arts
productions.

Children in Need Day 2016

Our staff and students love Children in Need
Day and not just because there are lots of
cakes available. We had a great day this year
raising money for this worthy cause, with some
spotacular activities including a cake baking
contest for staff. The entries were judged by
our own Mary Berrys, Viv and Carol and it was
a virtually impossible choice as they were so
beautifully made. Someone had to win though
and this years cake of the year title went to
Laura Perkins for her lovely spotty blueberry
cake. Thanks to all staff that made the cakes
which were then sold off and raised 88.47.
This years total, including the cake sales, was
a record breaking 282.48.
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All the Fun of the Fayre

The Christmas season was officially declared
open at this years Victoria Christmas Fayre
which kicked off the festivities in grand style.
It was an amazing day with lots of supporters
turning up to visit the many stalls we had on
offer this year. As the brass band played carols,
shoppers snapped up gifts and sampled the
delights of the cake stall, while others made
bids for the special items on the bidding wall
and visited Santa. We are very grateful to
everyone who made it such a special day and
our thanks go out to everyone who helped
in any way, from donating items, setting up,
helping on the day and clearing away. It was
great to receive some fantastic comments from
people that visited, all of which commented

on the wonderful atmosphere. The grand total

raised was over 5000 which will all go to the
continued support of our students. Photos

courtesy of Caitlin Marsh and Sue Hurd.

VEC Challenges the Heroes

Four soldiers, who are currently undertaking
a programme of sports recovery at Tedworth
House in Wiltshire, were our guests for the
day on the 28th September. Tedworth House
is one of four recovery centres run by Help
for Heroes which form part of the Defence
Recovery Capability. The veterans were
invited to take part in two different wheelchair
based team sport challenges, Hockey and
Powerchair Football. They were fiercely
competitive but fortunately there were no
injuries! Both sports encourage players to
work together, developing teamwork and
developing their skills throughout the day.
Ian McClune, Sports Development Coach
from Tedworth House Recovery Centre
commented: The work carried out at the
Centre provides support to injured serving
and veteran members of the Armed Forces
encouraging them to take part in adaptive
sports. Coming to Victoria has helped them to
be more focused and motivated.

The soldiers were welcomed by Simon Brown

and VEC students Connor Ferris, Tom Truong
and Robert Ewins. Our students then led
sessions in Zone Hockey and Powerchair
Football. The visit was a follow on from a
previous trip to Tedworth House where our
students took the sport of Powerchair Football
to them for an introductory session. The day
10 VEClife

A day of sporting
opportunities

was a great success, with soldiers and students

alike thoroughly enjoying the opportunities
that the day presented. Thanks to the VEC
Sport team and our Help for Heroes friends.
Our students are looking forward to a return
fixture to Tedworth House where they will be
introduced to new sports like Lacrosse and
hope to be victorious.

News

By Jen Williams
We have begun the year with lots of new
members on the eco-committee.
We have had two meetings this term and we
have decided that this years growing event will
be a collaboration rather than a competition,
with each class choosing to grow a vegetable.
On the 29th June we will combine what weve
grown to make some delicious and healthy
salad and soup. We have also decided to run
a Green Challenge next term for classes. The
eco-committee have thought of lots of ideas to
include in the challenge such as getting outside,

Theres a lot to explore at Victoria

growing plants and finding out about the animals
in the school grounds. Please remember to
turn off projectors, lights and computers when
not needed. Have a Merry Christmas and dont
forget that we will have a box for recycling
Christmas cards in the New Year.

Operation Christmas Child

This years Samaritans Purse shoe box appeal in Victoria,

which is run every year by Ingrid McCallum, was one of
the most successful yet with a brilliant 128 shoe boxes
collected. Operation Christmas Child is organised by
Samaritans Purse which is an international relief and
development organisation that works through local
churches. Those that wish to participate pack a shoe box
with toys, school supplies, clothing or even a toothbrush
and soap. Ingrid collects the boxes and this is then sent to
the neediest children around the world. Thanks to Ingrid and
the generous souls who contributed this year. The childrens delight is evident should you
wish to have a look at the Samaritans Purse website here:
https://www.samaritans-purse.org.uk/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child/

Gunged for Gold

Visitors to our Christmas Fayre may have seen

the stall highlighting the Duke of Edinburgh
award scheme and the hard work and
organisation our PE Team puts in. The team
were out in force on the day promoting the
Gold D of E challenge that will be taking place
next summer. Visitors voted for which member
of the PE team they wanted to see gunged by
placing coins into the respective bottles. The
team member with the highest level of coins by
1:30pm would be gunged!
It turned out to be a draw between Head of PE
Hannah Parry and Senior PE Assistant Martin
Cook, who were both gunged in front of an
excited and enthusiastic crowd. Many thanks
to all who donated, we raised 180 and the
proceeds will go towards sending five of our
students to NASA in Florida, for their D of E

Martin and Hannah take one for the team

Gold award expedition. Also thanks to Hannah
and to Martin for being great sports and for
taking one for the team. If you missed the
moment you can see it in all its gory glory by
visiting our Youtube channel
https://youtu.be/s_7jBVr2YG4
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Alfie White, Space Explorer

By Annie Cheer
In November we had a visit from Tall Stories
Theatre Company who brought to us their
production of Alfie White, Space Explorer.
We enjoyed the performance and had lots of
thoughts to share with each other after the
experience. Here are class LBs reflections on
what they saw.
James said he thought the story was brilliant
and was keen to tell us that it was about a boy
and space and that there was a rocket.
Deniz said that there was a lot of talking and
was able to tell us the whole story!
Lucas enjoyed the sounds
Nikola liked the actors, she thought they were
great!
Jacob asked lots of questions about the play
during the performance and told us that he
particularly liked the part where the actors
became dancing puppets.
Holly thought there was a lot of talking but she
enjoyed the excellent acting, the music and the

movement.
We talked about how we thought the show could
be improved.
Deniz said that there should be more singing and
that there should be a rocket on a string with a
person in it going up in the air.
Jacob said that it would be good to have children
in the play.

Nature Watch

Gallery

During this terms LEAP sessions

Victorias Chris Packham Mike
Whitlock has been running a nature
watch activity. Students have been encouraged to look at the natural
world that surrounds Victoria and to capture it in photography. As you
can see we have some very talented snappers.

12 VEClife

The Adverts

Shop at Victoria Horticulture

For all your Winter Garden Needs

Open Monday to Friday 8.30 to 3.30

Our shop is set up and maintained by young

adults who are supported by the team at Victoria.
All plants on sale are cared for and grown
by the young people themselves alongside
our wide range of gifts and produce. The
shop is our unique way of interacting with our
community and many of our customers return
again and again to access this valuable local
resource. Why not pop in and pick up a bargain
knowing every penny you spend goes back into
supporting the young people at Victoria.
Seasonal plants and items including
Please note that we are closed from the 15th December
shrubs and perennials.
but are back in business on 3rd January.
VEClife 13

Features

Therapies Round-Up

O.T. Week 2016

By Kelly Westerby

It was National OT week 7-11th November. We

couldnt miss this opportunity to promote our
Occupational Therapy roles at VEC and many
hours were spent planning the week with lots of
fantastic activities for all!
It was really great to see how
the department has grown.

The main aim of the week was to promote the

department throughout the school and to our
students wonderful parents. We really wanted
parents, staff and students to be given the
opportunity to find out more about Occupational
Therapy and what we offer as well as having
fun during our special week! It was evident that
not everyone knew the full extent of what we
offer to our students and the week proved to be
extremely successful in showing everyone how
else we can help.

with parents. We also organised two staff OT

information sessions which were held after
school. Again, we were overwhelmed by the
responses from our wonderful colleagues. The
session aimed to demonstrate all the diversity
of our roles and how our resources, particularly
the FMS library and sensory story library, can
be used within the classroom setting. They were
fantastic practical sessions where the staff got
to be really hands on and see everything we
have to offer.
A superb department, great ideas
to transfer to home.

We organised two parent information sessions,

and we were so pleased with the response.
We wanted it to be an informal opportunity for
parents to see what we do and how we have
developed the service over the last year.

Nice to see all that O.T. can offer

my child.

The response was overwhelmingly positive

with great feedback and comments. It also
highlighted to us some ways in which we
could improve our approach in some aspects
of OT and how to improve communication

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A consistent comment was that staff would

like more training from the OTs. This could
include time to share ideas on how to tackle
subjects for particular classes, time to see
the resources being used with the students to

improve understanding and perhaps yearly OT

information and resource sharing session.
We are delighted that staff have already
started to borrow from the FMS library and
sensory story library and are finding the
resources extremely helpful. We feel that we
have opened the lines of communication even
more with the education team and plan on
building on that in the future.
Everyone is so enthusiastic
and there are some wonderful
resources.

Finally we premiered the Oh Tea Caf where

the students prepared and severed hot and cold
drinks, a variety of delicious cakes and also
worked the till with as much independence as
they could! It was so lovely to see the students
taking pride in what they were doing.
We are planning on making it a monthly event
with different students from KS4 and P16 helping
each time. We must say a massive thank you to
all our customers who helped us to raise 65 to
go to the Friends of Victoria Education Centre.
With everything that we achieved on our special

OT week, what will be remembered by all

is the OT rap it is amazing what you can
produce in half an hour! Massive thanks to
Jon Godber for all his help! It is still available
to view on the schools YouTube page if you
havent had the chance to watch it yet!
We had a fantastic week celebrating what we
all love so much, OT at VEC! It is only made
possible by the fantastic staff we get to work
with every day and the wonderful students.
So, we must end by saying a massive THANK
YOU to you all. We really could not do it
without you! We hope you all have a fantastic
Christmas holiday time and get all the special
treats you all deserve from Father Christmas
because WE know that you are all definitely on
the nice list!

Jelly Makers Group

By Ceri Vosper
Every Friday morning our Jelly Makers group meets in
physio, it is probably the noisiest physio group of the
week! The boys go through their normal exercises but
also when possible they try something new often facing
new challenges. All the boys have the condition Muscular
Dystrophy and at times they can be very reluctant to push
those physical boundaries but they do! All achievements
are supported by the boys themselves though their
encouragement to each other.There is a lot of laughter and
jokes but most importantly there is a lot of hard work!
The picture of Ryan proves just what can be done....
Fantastic work!

Thank You Billie and Eloise

Well done to Nurse Liz Lee who

has completed 15 years service at
Victoria.

By Jo Roberts
A small gathering was held to say goodbye
and thank you to Billie Halls and Eloise Long
who have moved on to other ventures. We will
miss them here at Victoria and wish them all
the best for the future. We may still see them
about as they have bank contracts here.

VEClife 15

The Staff Room

News with a Staff Perspective
A View From The Chair

of the youngest in the school

he has adapted excellently and
now attends four full days per
week.

A very happy Christmas and peaceful

new year to all students, parents and
staff at VEC from all the governors.
Coffee morning
This has been a busy term for governors
26th January 9.30-11.30.
from attending the training days at the
By Keith Mitchell
Governors have been keen
Chair of Governors
start of the term to our various committee
to engage more with parents
meetings during the term and attending the
and we thought it would a
various Christmas events at the end of the
good opportunity to meet over coffee at the
term. We also had a governors conference at
school. Just in case the thought of meeting
Livabilitys National Office in October where
the school governors was not exciting enough
we met up with governors from Nash College,
we have arranged to spend some time in our
Livabilitys other educational establishment.
amazing sports department:
Some other events attended include: various
learning walks in school, student council
9.30 meet in the sports hall to observe a lesson
meetings, parents and carers coffee morning,
Christmas fayre, FoVEC carol Service, end
9.40 meet members of the school sports council
of term assemblies and end of term church
service.
9.50 questions and answers.
As many of you know we have been trying to
get another parent governor for some time
10.00 ish go for coffee for a short talk from
now and I am extremely pleased to report that
Keith and chat to governors. As an added
we have another parent Emily Sutton who has
incentive Governors have been asked to make
recently joined us. She will be joining Clair
tasty cakes for the occasion!!
Dibblin who you will all know and has been
Peter Moody one of our governors has
doing a great job on the governing body for
unfortunately had to stand down due to a big
several years now.
increase in his work commitments. Peter has
Emily graduated from the
played a very active part in governor life at the
University of Nottingham
school since his appointment nearly two years
with a degree in Physics,
ago and he will be greatly missed.
and now works as a
principal auditor to NHS
I would like to end with recognising how
Trusts throughout Dorset
impressed I have been with the dedication and
and beyond. Her work
caring attitude shown by all staff at the school.
involves evaluating
I have never met such a great group of people
Trusts financial and
who seem to be so involved with their work love
budgetary controls, and
what they are doing so much. A big thank you
appraising clinical and
to all staff from the school governors.
corporate
governance
Emily Sutton
frameworks, liaising with
clinical and non-clinical staff at all levels and
Thank you to all those who attended the
delivering written reports and improvement
Christmas fun night this year. It was well
plans to internal Committees and Boards.
attended by staff who also brought friends and
Emilys son Jenson started in class Explorers
family. Everyone had fun and raised 763.18 for
in September this year, and despite being one
the FoVEC coffers.

Fun Night

16 VEClife

Good Luck Den

Maintenance stalwart Dennis Green retired at the end

of term after 22 years service. Dennis started in June
1994 and was involved with all aspects of keeping the
school up and running. Despite always being busy he
was always willing to help staff out with all of those
unforseen day to day issues that cropped up. He would
also go the extra mile and sometimes stop whatever he
was doing at the time to help out. Den was also very
popular with students and was dubbed Dennis the
Menace cant play tennis. The whole of Victoria wishes
him well for the future and somehow Victoria wont be
quite the same without him.

A Students Carol

By Hazel Noyon
Most people enjoy traditional carols, they
are part of the fabric, nostalgia of Christmas.
How about incorporating a new one into your
repertoire?! Two years ago, I was taught an
invaluable lesson into never underestimating
the capacity of our non-verbal students to
communicate. I sat watching Jess with a thin
polythene envelope! She hummed to it, cradled
it and never stopped smiling. This carol is for her
and all our other, past and present, non-verbal
yet extremely communicative students.

Well Done Hannah

By Jess Edney
Huge congratulations to Hannah Hallas in class
KW for graduating last month from Winchester
University, well done! Hannah was presented
with her certificate by none other then Alan
Titchmarsh! What a great achievement, great job
Hannah!

Have yourself a crinkly, scrunchy Christmas,

Listen, touch and see
Just how wonderful so many things can be;
Have yourself a crinkly, scrunchy Christmas,
Wrap each moment in
All that makes you want to laugh and dance and
sing;
Christmas smells like cinnamon,
And like pine trees and burned logs,
Christmas feels like snowflakes,
Cosy jumpers and warm hugs;
Have yourself a crinkly, scrunchy Christmas,
See the frost, stars, lights,
Christmas is a time for lovely sounds and sights,
So have yourself some crinkly, scrunchy days and
nights.
Have yourself a crinkly, scrunchy Christmas,
Know this with your hands,
From now on your eyes and ears will understand,
Have yourself a crinkly, scrunchy Christmas,
Hear the sounds you make,
Touch the textures of a fruity Christmas cake;
Christmas is such a shining time,
Lovely things to taste and see,
Candles, smiles and the twinkling lights
Of a spiky Christmas tree.
Have yourself a crinkly, scrunchy Christmas,
Make a memory through
All the awesome things you get to share and do,
And have yourself a crinkly, scrunchy New Year
too!

Sheilas Big Day

School cleaner Sheila Marsh had an amazing

day out at AFC Bournemouth in September.
Sheila was the 12th Woman at the Bournemouth
verses Everton match. She had a shirt made for
her and met the big man, Eddie Howe himself.
According to Sean Mogg who accompanied
her for the day They all knew Sheila and they
were very welcoming to both of us. We had
an excellent day topped off with the Cherries
winning 1-0.

Sheila with Eddie Howe

VEClife 17

Apps Amazing!
Your guide to Apple apps with SEN in mind.
Welcome to Apps Amazing. Christmas is once
again around the corner and as the nights draw
in, parents, carers and students alike might find
they have a little more time to use their iPads
during the long evenings. As it is the season
to be jolly, in this issues Apps Amazing we are
putting the learning aside and bringing out the
fun! (well ok there is some learning involved).
Here you will find seven apps with seasonal fun
activities to not only while away some of those
dark hours but also bring some Christmas cheer
and get us in the mood for the upcoming holiday.
As always there is a diverse range to choose
from that should appeal to those with all levels of
ability. Have fun and Merry Christmas.

123 Christmas Tree

By RosMedia

79p

A very simple app in which you decorate your

christmas tree with a huge assortment of
ornaments. There are six christmas trees to
choose from and 130 ornaments grouped into
categories including: gingerbread men, lights,
glitter, stars and a few more seasonal treats.
You can also customise some of the hanging
decorations which can be made with photos
of your friends and family. You also have the
option of writing personalised messages across
your christmas tree to make original christmas
cards. All features and game play were
designed with children in mind so there are no
confusing menus or navigation. Its easy to use,
bright and colourful with engaging graphics.
Your experience is also enhanced with some
nice christmassy sound effects. Its a fairly
nice rounded app that wont hold the attention
forever but is quite atmospheric.
Compatibility: Requires iOS 6.0 or later.
Compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

How The Grinch Stole Christmas

Oceanhouse Media

2.99

Join the bitter and grouchy Grinch in this

interactive book app classic from Dr. Seuss
as he attempts to keep Christmas from
coming to the warm-hearted land of Whoville.
18 VEClife

s
a
m
t
s
i
r
h
C
apps

Explore pictures, learn new vocabulary, and

follow along with three fun ways to read.
The reproduction of the original artwork
is faultless and the voice work/narration
is excellent. Interactivity, via touching
objects to have them read aloud, is also
well done. This is not only a fun Christmas
book but also a really entertaining way to
encourage literacy skills with its highlighted
narration and touch for the word facility.
Whoops! sorry switched into learning mode
for a second. An engaging realisation of
the world
of Dr Seuss,
app is highly
A line-up
of topthis
talent!
recommended.
Compatibility: Requires iOS 8.0 or later.
Compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPodTouch.

Gingerbread Doodle
By Shoe The Goose.

79p

Dont have the time (or patience) to make

a gingerbread house from scratch? But
still want the fun of decorating one? Then
Gingerbread Doodle is the app for you.
Choose your favourite style, mix your
dough, build your house and decorate it
with a huge collection of frostings, candies
and decorations. You can even decorate
gingerbread cookies and add it to your
wintry scene. There are eight house styles
and 56 pre-made frosting colours, plus a
colour wheel to mix your own colours. You
can design your own house with more than
a dozen designer house parts, including
doors and windows. Once your masterpiece
is built there are 3 frosting textures, 6
frosting tips in three sizes and more than
150 candies, sprinkles and decorations.
Gingerbread Doodle makes it easy to create
a good-looking gingerbread house. And with
over 150 design options, the possibilities are
endless. When youre done decorating, you
can take a photo and then watch your cake
disappear by tapping eat button. Then start
again!
Compatibility: Requires iOS 4.3 or later.
Compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPodTouch.

I Spy a Reindeer
By Visuals Work

Free

This free e-book focuses on commenting skills

centered around the personal pronoun I.
I is used repeatedly throughout the book with a
special page designed to teach the relationship
between the pronouns I and me. In addition,
the story is structured in such a way that it
can be used to help teach children to identify,
label, and categorise words and concepts, by
commenting on the text and pictures. Ok, thats
the boring learning stuff out of the way! On
with the Christmas fun. This is a colourful and
engaging app for younger users which has an
interactive themed story. Users can have the
sentences read to them by touching them and
you can also personalise the I spy a reindeer
and me page with the camera or photo library.
The graphics are fairly simplistic but there are
some really nice subtle effects which add to the
atmosphere which can all be adjusted in the
easy to use menu system. This free app is aimed
at younger users but is a lot of fun.
Compatibility: Requires iOS 4.3 or later.
Compatible with iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch.

More Holiday Dinner

By Maverick Software LLC

1.49

Lets face it, Christmas just wouldnt be

Christmas without Christmas dinner. Well, now
you can rustle up your own festive dishes with
this app from Maverick Software. Cook a choice
of meats and mix stuffing, stuff your turkey, roast
it and carve it. Peel potatoes, boil them and then
mash them right on the screen or make some
green bean casserole or macaroni & cheese. All
your favourite sides, breads, desserts and salads
are here, with fun interactive mixing, shaking,
and swiping to bake. You can even add gravy.
After youve made the perfect meal, head from
the kitchen to the dining room to serve up a
plate. Add as much or as little as you want, then
share your plate on Facebook or via email, or
eat it by taking virtual bites. Practically speaking
there is a useful life skills element involved here
demonstrating the processes involved with
cooking and following instructions. As well as the
standard interface there is also support included
for VoiceOver for the visually impaired.
Compatibility: Requires iOS 7.0 or later.
Compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPodTouch.

Make A Scene: Christmas

By Innivo Ltd
2.99
Make A Scene Christmas is a fun interactive
game that sets out to engage young
peoples natural sense of creativity. It is
aimed primarily at pre-school age children,
but is equally fun for all ages. Make a
Scene Christmas uses drag and drop
interactions, descriptive audio, fun sound
effects and engaging animations to create
an entertaining and sometimes educational
platform. The game features typical items
from the festive period such as Christmas
characters, decorations, presents, toys
and much more. By dragging and dropping
these digital, animated stickers onto the
different backgrounds available, you can
create a large number of unique scenes. A
clear voice-over reads the name of each item
aloud, and is accompanied by fun animations
and sound effects where possible. Once
your masterpiece is ready, at the click of a
button, you can share it with friends & family
via Facebook, Twitter, email, or simply save
a snapshot to your device. There are over 90
stickers with 7 animated backgrounds and
5 animated foregrounds so this should last
your budding Leonardos for while.
Compatibility: Requires iOS 4.3 or later.
Compatible with iPad.

First Words Christmas

By Learning Touch LLC

1.49

To round off this issues look at the fun side

of Christmas apps we are returning to the
educational side with First Words Christmas.
First Words Christmas has 40 illustrated
christmas words and matching holiday
sounds, from Bell to Toys, Cookies to Stars,
and all of the favourite Christmas words
are here.The app is designed for early
years learners and its interface reflects
this with bold graphics and easy to see and
manupulate objects. More than just a game,
First Words can also be used as a learning
tool to engage, encourage exploration, and
the relationships between letters and words.
A variety of options allows you to adjust the
difficulty level to match the abilities of the
user.
Compatibility: Requires iOS 6.0 or later.
Compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.
VEClife 19

The Sports

Report With
Hannah Parry

A Big Thank You to Can-Am Cars

The Victoria PE team were delighted to welcome
The Can-Am Car Club to our Boccia Club who
then presented a cheque for 1000, generously
fundraised by the club members. The money has
paid for a new Boccia Ramp for the club to help
students that are unable to play independently.
The new Boccia ramp will enable students to
play more successfully in higher level Boccia
tournaments as well as helping students in PE
lessons to improve their performance. We are
extremely grateful to the club. Members from the
club enjoyed an evening of Boccia Golf, a fun
variation of the game and then joined in a match
with the students, learning the rules and tactics of
the game. A huge thank you to The Can-Am Car
Club, it would be fantastic to have a repeat match
against you sometime soon.

The new ramp will help students in tournaments

and lessons

Going for Gold

Our Gold Stars

The Duke of Edinburghs Award will be running

Bronze as well as reaching the new dizzy
heights of Gold this year for the first time ever at
Victoria. The students who achieved Silver last
summer are busy raising money and completing
sections of their Gold Award in preparation for
next summers expedition and trip to NASA in
America which will fulfill the residential section
of their award. Recent fund-raising for the trip at
the Christmas Fayre caused much excitement as
many people bid for a member of the PE team to
be gunged; Hannah and Martin were the lucky
recipients - all in a good cause! Watch this space
for the next fundraising event!

The Games: Stoke Mandeville 2016

Our students had another successful trip to
Stoke Mandeville this year, enjoying a range of
sport from archery and rifle shooting to hockey
(a favourite), slalom and Boccia, to name but
a few. Connor Ferris and Rob Ewins worked
well together in their first year of captaincy! An
exhausting and exhilarating week for all which
saw our students bring home several medals from
different events. The week was topped off with
a lively disco where students danced the night
away. Well done to all our students!
20 VEClife

Thank You John Lewis

We would like to say a huge thank you to John Lewis who

have purchased extra snorkels for us.Some of our students
have found they do not even need their buoyancy aids when
they are wearing the snorkels and they are having great fun
tracking the underwater lights around the pool.Those students
who are unable to take to water have found that they too are
now able to join in the underwater games we play.The masks
are making a huge difference to the experiences the students
are having in the pool.

England Vs South Africa

Tom, Brandon, Josh and Matthew set out for

Twickenham on Saturday the 12thNovember. The
noise grew as the ground filled, with everyone singing
the national anthem.
During the tense game we all became hoarse from
shouting. Tom was very pleased to catch a shirt. Then
from the crowd a young boy kindly donated his shirt to
Brandon! The students thoroughly enjoyed watching
England win this exciting game and being very close
to watching England score tries was the highlight!

Boccia Vs St. Edwards

Leaders Play Host

On Friday 28th November Hamworthy Juniors

joined us at Victoria. The day began with our
Friday class playing the guests at Boccia in
a round robin tournament. Our team, Chase,
Esther and Heather won all their games, much to
their delight. Class Arne led a variety of disability
games for the primary students to experience.
This was well received and an enjoyable
morning was had by all.

In our first fixture of the year on Thursday 1st

December St. Edwards joined us to play Boccia.
We played a round-robin tournament so that all
teams played each other. There were some close
matches between both schools demonstrating
skillful play. At the end of the matches Victoria
teams had both drawn a game and lost a game.
St Edwards nominated Tyler Powell as player of
the day for a fantastic last shot, sticking his ball to
the jack. Well done to all our players.

Boccia School Games

Victoria took two teams to the School Games Event in October to play a round-robin of games.
The six students played well, winning many of their games and playing some exciting matches.
Unfortunately Victorias B team were beaten in a close match against Bourne Academy and a
local derby match against Victoria A resulted in them taking home a well deserved Bronze medal.
Victoria A team played some skillful matches, winning all of their games and taking home the
Gold Medal. Well done to all our players.Team A: Rob Ewins (capt.), Ryan Skinner and Ebony
Robinson.Team B: Brandon-lee Real (capt.), Sam Bird and Monty Welstead.
VEClife 21

Sing, Dance, Act, Play.

Creative
News-Round

Arts

With Belinda Ellicott

What A Beauty!

This years school production of Beauty and

the Beast had its world premiere on Sunday
3rd July at Hangar Farm Arts Centre. This year,
a number of scenes were filmed on location
at Giles House. We would like to thank Lord
Shaftesbury and his very hospitable team for
making us feel so welcome and allowing us
the use of his lovely stately home and also for
attending the premiere and drawing the raffle.
Another great achievement by the talented
students and sponsored once again by local
company Astute.com.

On location at Giles House

The Change Makers

Conductor James Rose

This year the BSO once again are committed

to working with VEC to promote integration and
opportunities in music and have named VEC as their
education partner for the Change Makers project. As
part of this exciting project we will be meeting and
working with a young conductor James Rose as part
of his professional development. We are hoping that
James will inspire all our students to fulfil their full
potential, whatever their dream, as he gets to know
us and vice versa. Watch this space! Find out more
here: http://www.bsolive.com/change-makers/

Bumper Harvest

This year saw another wonderful harvest

festival with contributions from all classes
within the school showing a real variety of
different themes and approaches. We had
films about going outside, songs and poems
about harvests and a presentation and rap
about refugees that resonated very strongly
with current events around the world. The
students and staff were fantastic at bringing
in food for those less fortunate than ourselves
and we were able to deliver a very large parcel
to The Poole Food Bank.
22 VEClife

Charlie spoke on the meaning of harvest time

MontFest 2016

Sam B plays MontFest

Project SEEDA

Last year we were contacted by Nathan

Thomas about the possibility of him coming
into VEC to work with some of our students to
write songs. After 4 very successful workshops
as part of Creative Arts Week some amazing
songs were produced and we are excited to
say that this link with Nathan, a professional
songwriter, producer and musician continues
this year as he helps some of the Arts
Award students create songs for our school
production. Nathan has also been working with
ex students of VEC too. To find out more about
the whole project please visit the link. https://
youtu.be/GhzLQbU3y-k

To develop links with VEC and Montacute

School, some of our students were invited to
perform at their end of term celebration in July
MontFest. Four of our amazing students
performed at the event. Sam Bird shared his
eyegaze skills, William Sabine performed on
the soundbeam and both Ben Povey and Philip
Henderson exercised their vocal talent with
performances of Corrina, Corrina and Nelly the
Elephant respectively. All were accompanied
and supported by our award nominated Mike
Whitlock and ex superstar student Harry
Bassett. The students bowled the audience
over and showed how amazingly professional
and talented our students are.

A Qualified Success

What a talented and hard working bunch our

students are! This summer saw students gain
an amazing range of qualifications across the
arts. Congratulations to all 45 of the Discover,
Explore, Bronze and Silver Arts Award
students, all 8 of the ASDAN students, all 15 of
the NCFE students and all 11 of the Entry level
and GCSE students. Amazing achievements
and what a lot of creativity!

Wind in the Willows

As part of their Creative Arts studies towards their Explore Arts Award, Class CN visited the
Mayflower to watch Wind in the Willows. The show was fantastic with very clever scenery and
even involved squirrels making a car on stage, a rowing boat, barge and a huge steam train. All
the students had different favourite characters for different reasons, but agreed it was great fun.
Poop Poop!

Summer Ball Fun

This years Leavers Ball had a flavour of the

Caribbean and James Bond films, with many
of the attendees sporting tuxedos and holiday
attire. We had a fantastic ice sculpture
provided by Crystal Ice Sculptures featuring
the famous 007 logo and an amazing live
performance from the ska band The Guns of
Navaronne. There were the usual features:
the presentation and slideshows of our
leavers and the vote for the Prom King and
Queen this year Liam and Hanna, a disco
and Ben and Connor treated us to their
performance of We Will Rock You. Thanks
also to all the amazing super car owners
linked to The Sporting Bears, who brought

Queen of the ball! Hanna is crowned

a touch of glamour to a great fun evening and
a lovely way to celebrate our students end to
their school life at VEC.
VEClife 23

Hilarys

Christmas

Lingo Lab

With Hilary Stewart

Welcome to the Nol edition of Lingo Lab.
Jacques is keen to know what everyone will
be doing at Christmas and very happy to see
that the weather is turning very seasonal!
Christmas in France means a big family meal
called Reveillon and present opening on
Christmas Eve, whilst in Germany, Santas
mischievous helper, der Knecht Ruprecht,
puts leaves and twigs instead of presents in

A seasonal message fom Hilary and Jacques

your shoes if youve been naughty. Whatever,
you do this Christmas, Jacques and I wish you
Joyeux Nol et Bonne Anne!

The

With Tony Rudd

This term VIBE Radio has been buzzing! Its
probably a loose connection somewhere but
never mind about that!! Indeed this term has
seen quite an upsurge in the usage of the
Radio Station with lots of new classes getting
involved and making their own shows.
KW FM broadcasts on Mondays with DJ Tyler
at the helm! Class Furzey have their own
slot as does Bring it ARNE with the ANGUS
DONT BE LATE SHOW. PERGINS have
the Terrible Trio and Rob Ewins is our great
new presenter in the morning to complete the
class line-up.
Many students have produced their ARTS
AWARDS shows in VIBE! Class BE have
voiced, produced and made sound effects for
their story PAPER DOLLS. LB have written
and produced a story BOB THE ELF and CN
have been making jingles, stories and their
own DESERT ISLAND DISCS with Daniel
and Charlotte.
The OTs invaded and hosted their own show,
a cross between Jeremy Kyle and Loose
Women!
Pergins have been making shows, Jingles,
stories and features for their Radio Certificate.
Charles McKechnie has made a great series
24 VEClife

Its da OT Crew!!!!!!!
of features called PETS IN THE NEWS!
Shows continue to be uploaded to the
Mixcloud website, please tune in and listen.
THE WEEKLY ROUND UP has had up to 60
listens! Monty Welstead is proving to be a
great asset in Radio too so keep up the good
work Monty! With Ryan and Lennon trying
out their new voices on THE IMPRESSIONS
SHOW its a very exciting time for VIBE!

Pic of the Term

Alison Calcutt wins the Pic of the Term for this issue.
Alisons dog, Rebel, visits us on Friday afternoons as a Pets
as Therapy dog. Saad clearly enjoys his company.

ssroom
ClaCatch-up
om activities
ro
s
s
la
c
s
rm
at this te
A look back
rs to Pergins
from Explore

This issue

Explorers
Class KW Post 16 Class CN
Class JW
Class BE
Green Island French
s
Class LB
Rainbow
Art

Explorers
A Visit to Santa

By Gill Tuttiett
Explorers had lots of fun on their trip to see
Father Christmas at Stewarts .We really
enjoyed the Christmas grotto with all the
beautiful snow covered trees and looking for all
the animals hiding in them.
Father Christmas was so pleased to see us
& told us we had to be very good (including
Gary)! We had a drink in the restaurant
and looked at all the beautiful Christmas
decorations for sale in the shop.

We had lots of fun.

Happy Christmas to Everyone from Explorers.
XX

Class KW
Back to The Stone Age

In class KW we have had a wonderful Autumn/

Winter term! As a brand new class we have
been settling into our classroom and getting to
know each other over the last couple of months.
We have been having such great fun and it has
been lovely to see the students communicating
and forming new friendships.
We are hugely proud of how well all of our
students have been doing and how positive
and enthusiastic they are, especially our new
arrivals to the school Katherine and Laura, who
have settled in really well and are an asset to
class KW!
We have been looking at the Stone Age this half
term, which has been super interesting and fun.
We made a fantastic cave in our classroom,
which we have decorated with cave paintings,
and tell Stone Age stories in there and we sing
songs around the campfire. We even have our

Songs around the camp fire

own pet mammoth! We want to say a huge
thank you to everyone who has supported us
and worked with us to make Class KW the
fantastic new class it is!
Special thanks to our teacher Kathryn who
has worked really hard to provide us with such
lovely lessons and for her enthusiasm. THANK
YOU!
We are looking forward to the New Year and
wish everyone a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!
VEClife 25

Class JW
Autumn Term Fun
By Louise Card

We have had a great start to the year in Class JW. Our topic this term is Homes and we have been
learning all about different types of houses and homes. We have made some fantastic houses
out of shoeboxes, built our own animal homes and had great fun doing lots of outside learning.
Weve enjoyed going on colour walks in the school grounds, sand and water play and Autumn leaf
collections which we have made into sun catchers. We have made weekly trips to Tesco & Lidl to
buy the fruit of the week. Strawberries seem to be the class favourite.

We have also enjoyed some great trips this term.

Our first trip was to Hengistbury Head to fly our
kites that we had made in class. It was a lovely
windy day so perfect weather for kite flying and
on the way back to school on the bus Bobby &
Sebastian sang a lovely version of lets go fly a
kite

Our next trip was to Moors Valley. In the morning we

learnt what we needed to made an animal shelter and
then we got to make our very own animal shelter with
sticks, twigs, moss and leaves. In the afternoon we
made dens out of rope and ponchos for us all to sit
under.
Next we visited Ikea in Southampton to look at all the different rooms that you find in a house. We
have two more trips to look forward to before the end of term: Christmas shopping in Poole and a
visit to see Father Christmas at Stewarts plus we have lots of Christmas activities to look forward
to. From all of Class JW, we wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Class LB
Ourselves

By Lisa Boyes
This term, Class LB have had a wonderful
time when exploring the topic of Ourselves.
Some of our favourite sessions have been
during Science. We have looked at the
human body, how we digest our food, skeletons
and exoskeletons and also how our muscles
and joints work. The whole class has worked
incredibly hard and we have been really
impressed with their knowledge of anatomy!
26 VEClife

Rainbows
Our Autumn Term

By Beth Kay
Well we have had another busy term in Class Rainbows and the students have done some
brilliant work linked to the Ourselves topic. We have had great fun compiling our class cookery
book of foods that make us happy. Some of the recipes include; Victoria sponge, coconut ice
cream, strawberry frozen yoghurt, rice pudding, bread, pizza, curry and many more! Our cookery
book will go on sale in the New Year with all proceeds going to Water Aid.

Sensory Tiny Room

Our Tiny room is finally up and running and the students are able to
enjoy time on the Resonance Board, use the Sound beam, vibrating
beanbag, pod, UV carpet, bubble- light and moon flower light. This
is a lovely, relaxing space that is used for lesson activities and as a
place for down time. Rainbows have spent time making their own
personal UV lollipops (inedible!) to play with under the UV light in
the Tiny Room.

Boscombe Gardens

We have had two lovely trips out this term. We

enjoyed the last of the warm weather during our visit
to the water park at Boscombe Gardens.The students
in Rainbows liked seeing the staff working hard to fill
up the different water troughs.The students enjoyed
time on the giant swing and see-saw. Lunch was
eaten in the sunshine by the sea. What a perfect day!

Wriggly Nativity
Bournemouth Collegiate School kindly invited students
from VEC to go and watch their Wriggly Nativity
so Rainbows jumped at the chance. The students
from BCS were great at looking after us all and we
thoroughly enjoyed the show.
The final adventure for Rainbows this term involves a visit to Upton Country Park to walk along
the board walk, see some wildlife and pay a very important visit to see Father Christmas. Staff and
students alike are very much looking forward to this trip.
Happy Christmas from everyone in Rainbows.

Class CN
CN, The Tourists
By Carolyn Nelms

In Class CN we have been studying settlements

this term. We have been out and about thinking
about life in a large, busy town and comparing it
to a quieter way of living in the countryside. Our
project took us to Bournemouth Tourist Office
where we asked questions and collected leaflets
telling us about things that are going on in the
town.
Then we went to Hyde village in the New Forest.
It was much quieter here. There didnt seem to
be much going on. Elliot and Amar conducted a

traffic survey and found that there were more

cows and donkeys in the road than cars! Next
we used ideas from this geography work in our
own stories based on The Town and Country
Mouse. Above is a scene from Charlottes story
showing the Town Mouse being frightened by
an enormous cow. At the end of the project,
all the class agreed that they are happy to be
living in a town.
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Green Island
Improving The Local Environment
By Margaret Humphries

Not that
impressed with the
amazing compost!

Green Island Class explored the compost we have been making from all our food tech waste and
fruit peelings from morning snacks. We sieved it and used it to replenish our outdoor pots.
We investigated which plants had dead flowers and had produced seeds after the summer.
We cut these off and pulled up any dead plants.
We then planted new primula plants and some different bulbs so we have some flowers now and
will grow some new plants in spring.

Hope chose from two different colours

In Other News

Tiago liked the scrunchy packets of

anemones

Green Island are very grateful to three members

of staff who treated us to a sensory taste of
what Christmas was like for them as children
in their countries of birth. Ingrid, Natalia and
Zeni are respectively from Germany, Portugal
and the Philippines. We tried carol singing
in German, dancing to Portuguese music,
sampled a range of cakes, cheese and savoury
treats and enjoyed twinkling lights and some
traditional decorations. The most unusual dish
was a pudding made of purple yam. It looked
like play doh, but tasted much nicer!

Traditional Carols and Stollen

28 VEClife

Cameron preferred to use a trowel to

keep his hands clean

We were very sad to

say goodbye to Alison
Richardson at half term,
after more than 15 years
of dedicated service to the
school and to Livability.
Alison was the Senior
Teaching Assistant in Green
Island for many years, and
we said goodbye with an open house coffee
morning and then a presentation in assembly.
The class enjoyed dressing as rock stars to
record a video of a doctored version of Rod
Stewarts Have I told you lately that I love
you? Ali has since enjoyed a well earned
holiday, but we hope she comes back to visit
soon!
Meanwhile, welcome to Ed Milne, who has
taken over as Senior Teaching Assistant. He
has already proven his keenness by dressing
up in various festive outfits and costumes,
and is about to debut as class film director.
Spielberg is trembling in his boots

Class BE
BE News

By Charlie Street
Class BE were asked to decorate a Christmas
tree at St Aldhems Church again this year.
This years theme was creation. The class
went with the idea of the Circle of Life from the
Lion King. All the students enjoyed making the
decorations, especially adding the feathers and
glitter! It was lovely to go over and decorate
our tree and see the other trees in the church.
Class BE hope you get to admire their tree at
the end of term church service.
Also this term in Class BE we had the
opportunity to brush up on our tennis skills.

Art
Accredited Art Courses

Our circle of life tree

Two lovely gentlemen from Southbourne Tennis
club, Dave Sanger and Zoltan, came in to help
us. We learnt some new tennis skills and had
lots of fun! We really enjoyed the chance to try a
different sport.

By Alison Calcutt
Students have produced wonderful creative work in art this
year. Reece, Danielle, Akira, Joel, Sam B and Jacob W
achieved Entry Level Certificate in Art and Design and Liam,
Charles McKechnie, Charlie W and Ebony achieved a GCSE
Art and Design: Photography.

French
Hair Raising French

By Hilary Stewart
In Key Stage 2 and 3 French lessons this term
our topics have included ourselves, our pets and
describing people.
Class KW had a really fun time playing a game
to collect animal cards while hearing and
practising numbers and animal vocabulary in
French. Saad was fantastic at saying un, deux,
trois when moving his snail around the board
and Laura loved meeting the cuddly animals.
The whole class, especially Harrison, has
enjoyed singing our animal song and practising
signing the key animal words.
Classes LB and CN have joined in the fun,
describing our hair whilst wearing crazy wigs!
Both classes have worked very hard on building
their knowledge of family vocabulary and some
students in class CN have been able to deliver
mini speeches about their own or imaginary
families in French, including connectives and
relative clauses (language teachers speak for
amazing!) Well done, Abbie & Elliot. Class LB
went out and about in school, conducting a
survey on staff pets. James, Deniz and Nikola

Ebonys GCSE designs

Hollys new look

did an amazing job, asking a question
in French with a switch if necessary and
coping with understanding a huge range
of answers. (Thank you to the VEC staff
for their efforts!) As well as the expected
selection of dogs, cats and rabbits, we
found not one but two snake owners, which
delighted Jacob Glen-Davis.
We still have a few weeks before the end
of term so plenty more fun to come and
perhaps the chance for more dressing up!
(Who doesnt love a wig!)
Joyeux Nol et Bonne Anne!
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Post 16
Hooray For History

By Hilary Stewart
History is back on the Post 16 curriculum as an
option this year and a small group of budding
historians have taken up the challenge of
discovering more about British history through
the stories of past kings and queens.
This term, our theme has been Warrior Kings.
We have studied King Arthur and learned more
about the myths and legends surrounding his
story. We had a go at creating our own Excalibur
swords and had fun wielding them in mock
battle. King Alfred was next on the agenda and
we made and baked scones to recreate the story
of Alfred burning the cakes. Ours however, were
cooked to perfection and definitely not burnt!
Students have also learned about Alfreds wars
with the Viking invaders. More recently, we have
been finding out about William the Conqueror,
the last successful invader of Britain 950 years

King Charles Wielding Excalibur_

ago. Next term, we move on to Heroes or
Villains including King John, Richard III and
Henry VIII so lots more swords, armour and
plotting cant wait!

The Norman Invasion of England

By Mitchel Harvey

As part of his work in history, Mitchel has provided captions for six scenes from the Bayeux
Tapestry, giving us the story in cartoon format, which we hope you will enjoy.
We think hes done a fantastic job well done Mitch!

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Shop til We Drop

By Hilary Stewart and Vicky Slingsby

How are you getting on with your Christmas
shopping? Nearly all done or struggling for
ideas? If you need a personal shopper, look no
further than some of our Post 16 students who
went to Bournemouth recently as part of our
work in Life Skills.

Sophie and Tom at the German Market

Class Arne & Class Pergins both braved two of
the coldest days of the year to visit the German
Christmas market as part of our Diversity work
and to do some very important Christmas
shopping. Some students were clearly already
professionals in this field, coming prepared
with detailed lists of products and ideas and

Ebony browses the stalls

staying focused to complete their mission.
Reece Collins and Mitchel Harvey in Arne were
both very successful, whereas other students
such as Sophie Young displayed excellent skills
to communicate with shop staff and cope with
challenging situations. The journey to and from
town was also an important part of our day and

Great lunch!
an opportunity to practise travel knowledge
and communication skills. Nearly all of the
drivers and shop staff we encountered were
very helpful but less positive experiences gave
us the chance to talk through how to deal
with difficult situations with students, thereby
extending their learning and understanding.
We all enjoyed browsing the stalls in the
market and it was lovely to have a very
sociable communal lunchtime break in
McDonalds. All the students were wonderful

Danielle wraps up warm

ambassadors for VEC whilst we were in
Bournemouth, with many impressing fellow
passengers with their skilful manoeuvring
into position on the bus. I hope that all the
purchases made on the two days prove to be
perfect gifts all were certainly selected with
great care and lots of love!

Mitch looks around

Living in a Diverse Society

By Hilary Stewart
Students in Post 16 have been thinking about Diversity in Life Skills lessons this term. As part of
the topic, students have taken part in discussions about race, religion, disability, gender, sexuality,
culture and age. I have been consistently impressed by our students growing maturity when
discussing these challenging issues and also the fantastic respect for difference. Schools have
a duty to promote British values and we have seen examples of the best of these in students
tolerance and respect for those of different culture and race, religion and sexuality. These issues
are much in the news at present and hopefully students now have a greater awareness of them
and can start to formulate their own opinions and views.
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Phone: 01202 763697

Mail: vec@victoria.poole.sch.uk
Visit: www.victoria.poole.sch.uk
Follow us: Facebook/VictoriaEducationCentre.uk

life Issue 16 Winter 2016

Compiled, written and edited by Jon Godber unless otherwise stated. Victoria School, Winter MMXVI