 Sherwood Foundation School
Weekly Newsletter
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News from Leadership Team
This week, Hill Campus celebrated Harvest Festival, with assemblies highlighting the importance of supporting those in need and the value of helping others. Post 16 students will be collecting the generously donated food items and will deliver them to Sutton Night Watch, a local homeless shelter. Thank you to all the families, students and staff who contributed.
Post 16 students have also been out in the community this week, visiting David Weir’s accessible cycling facility.
Sherwood Hill Autumn Term Events
Please note School Photos will be taking place on Thursday 22nd October at the Hill Campus Students
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Lower School News
 Mint Class students have engaged brilliantly with a range of play and learning activities this week. In Music, they explored the concepts of ‘fast and slow’ and enjoyed dancing to the different rhythms. Students demonstrated fantastic attention during daily Attention Autism buckets and enjoyed exploring props during the sensory retelling of The Wheels on the Bus. In Mathematics, the class built towers of three blocks while developing their number recognition and counting skills.
Olive Class has had a wonderful week, including a trip to Sainsbury’s to purchase items for the Harvest Festival celebrations. Students have also continued learning about the weather and seasons, creating beautiful rainbows using a range of paints and sponges.
Lime Class enjoyed lots of exciting sensory learning experiences this week. Students explored an autumn-themed sensory music tray, listening to the different sounds made by the objects. In Early Numeracy, the focus was on floating and sinking. Through sensory water play, students investigated a range of objects, discovering which floated and which sank.
Teal Class engaged in a therapy session exploring wet and dry textures. Students used their core boards to learn action words such as “scoop” and “pour”. In the Sensory Gym, students enjoyed exploring the Lycra swing, engaging their core muscles as they climbed in and out. They also practised waiting and taking turns with friends, as everyone was eager to have a go!
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Middle School News
 Capri Class enjoyed a fantastic trip to Stanley Park, making the most of the sunny weather and admiring the beautiful autumn leaves. In Literacy, students listened to the classic story 'We’re Going on a Bear Hunt' before designing and drawing pictures to illustrate different scenes. In Science, there was lots of excitement as students blew up balloons and watched them fly across the room. Using their core boards, students enthusiastically requested “more” of this activity!
Ocean Class enjoyed exploring a new story this week, 'Clive Is a Nurse'. Through role-play activities and playing with dolls, students explored different parts of the body in a fun and interactive way.
This week, Indigo Class took part in a Speech and Language Therapy Concepts Programme session, focusing on the concepts of ‘go’ and ‘stop’. Students explored these concepts through a range of engaging activities, including movement games, songs, videos and cause-and-effect play. Students practised starting and stopping actions, taking turns and anticipating what would happen next.
Iris Class has had a fantastic week, with students engaging really well in Literacy. Building on last week’s learning, they continued creating sentences about their favourite foods. It has also been a creative week filled with singing and dancing, with 'This is the Greatest Show' proving a particular favourite! Students thoroughly enjoyed Music Therapy and Sports Club, engaging enthusiastically with a range of activities.
Sapphire Class explored solids, liquids and gases through sensory trays and by investigating everyday objects around the classroom. Students also created beautiful stamped paintings, using a variety of objects to make pictures and patterns while developing their fine motor skills and communication. This week’s sensory story was a revisit of 'Supertato', which inspired students to create their own Supertato characters.
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Upper School News
 Violet Class warmly welcomed their new teacher, Richard, this week. The class got off to a flying start by exploring healthy eating, discussing which foods are good for us, which are best enjoyed in moderation and which foods they enjoy most. Students also investigated their environment, learning to identify living and non-living things and explore the differences between plants and animals. In addition, they learned about the people who help keep our communities safe and running smoothly, including nurses, doctors, police officers and firefighters. Students produced some fantastic written and creative work across these topics and had a very positive week.
As part of their preparations for the Autumn Festival, Lilac Class explored why people make donations and the importance of giving to others and supporting the community. The class also focused on independent living skills, with activities designed to develop greater independence in everyday routines. These included personal hygiene, folding clothes and general cleaning, helping students build confidence in looking after themselves and their surroundings.
Lavender Class has had a brilliant week! In Numeracy, students developed their fine motor skills by rescuing spiders from tangled webs and counting them. In Literacy, they explored the sensory story 'Stick Man' and created their own stick figures, adding arms, legs, faces and woolly jumpers. During Healthy Living, students practised choosing healthy groceries through shopping role-play. Everyone also engaged enthusiastically in the cooking lesson, following a recipe step by step to make delicious tomato and cheese pinwheels.
Thistle Class have been busy preparing for their enterprise project. All students have been involved in making autumn wreaths, demonstrating problem-solving skills while practising their cutting skills and using a stapler. They have also worked hard to create posters advertising their project. As a class, students discussed how much to sell the wreaths for, where to sell them and when, providing lovely opportunities to communicate, share ideas and work as a team. In Cooking this week, students made fish fingers, homemade chips and mushy peas. The chips were a firm favourite, although opinions on the mushy peas were mixed!
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*Stars of the Week*
Mint: Amir for fantastic engagement and interaction with staff during Music, demonstrating his dance moves and enjoying the ‘fast and slow’ rhythms.
Olive: Anabia for using her beautiful singing voice to join in with counting songs and rhymes, and for making great progress in swimming this term.
Teal: Kyla-Rae for fantastic turn-taking in the Sensory Gym.
Lime: Aadia for settling into her new class so well and engaging in a range of activities throughout the week.
Indigo: Jackson for his positive attitude and demonstrating fantastic skills in mark-making, preparing a jam sandwich and planting seeds.
Iris: Kiki for fantastic engagement in Literacy and initiating interactions during play and leisure activities.
Sapphire: Apiram for showing kindness and teamwork by helping to sweep and tidy after messy play.
Capri: Anish for working incredibly hard, engaging in all lessons, contributing to group work and enjoying time with his classmates in the Sensory Gym.
Ocean: Izaan for excelling in Mathematics and showing fantastic hard work and achievement.
Violet: Nana for settling into his new class brilliantly, building relationships with classmates and maintaining his regulation.
Lilac: Tobey for making great progress in accessing the Sixth Form common area, spending time with classmates and participating in daily clubs, developing his independence and social connections.
Lavender: Ethan for fantastic engagement in lessons and growing independence, including making his own drink and helping during circle time.
Thistle: Eugene for confidently communicating which bikes he wanted to try during inclusive cycling and working hard as he rode around the track with a classmate.
Wellbeing: Tobey for accessing the Post-16 area all week. Tobey has been able to manage his regulation while exploring the communal area and working alongside his classmates.
Therapy: Keshvi for settling into routines and working hard to maintain his regulation throughout the day.
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News from the Leadership Team
It has been a relatively quiet week, with students and staff getting on with the familiar routines of school life. Across the campus, students have continued to work on their individual learning goals, develop their independence and build their confidence in different activities and situations. It has also been lovely to see the positive relationships between students and staff across the school. The patience, encouragement and understanding that our staff demonstrate every day make a real difference, particularly when students are working through challenges or trying something that they find difficult.
With half-term approaching, we are looking forward to making the most of the final week before the break. As always, thank you for your continued support and for working alongside us to help our young people achieve their very best.
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Lower School News
 Hebe Class's highlight of the week was the unseasonably warm weather, which meant that everyone was still able to enjoy outdoor play in our playground. All students in Sunflower Class worked well this week, engaging nicely with their different sessions. The highlights were building towers and castles using big cardboard boxes and communicating about our actions, as well as messy play, where they made shapes from handmade moon sand.
In Bluebell Class, the highlights were cooking flapjacks as part of their "medieval meals and snacks" theme and visiting Sam’s Space. In Orchid Class, the highlights this week were using Eyegaze, a fun and energetic dance lesson, music therapy, a new student joining us for the first time and some great responses to shared reading.
Many students in the Lower School also had the opportunity to go to the hall and take part in the cake sale organised by Marigold Class, where they practiced choice-making and buying cakes.
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Middle School News
 It has been a very busy week in Middle School! Poppy Class enjoyed cookery sessions and learned about farmers harvesting their crops. In Art, students explored creating patterns using coloured blocks and got creative during messy sensory play with glitter. Tulip Class continued their topic on ‘Superheroes’, following instructions to make superhero cupcakes.
In Daffodil Class, students continued practising core words and exploring a regulation strategy of the week to help them understand the different ways they can regulate. A particular highlight was seeing most students engage with a rhythm-based shared story, which inspired further opportunities for shared play in the playground.
This week, Lily Class have been continuing with their Building Words programme – exploring the different initial sounds in a range of familiar onset and rime words. Students have also started a Superheroes Sensory TacPac to reinforce their learning for their Sensory Story Writing competition. Next week, everyone will be focusing on a range of Autumn Activities in preparation for the Autumn Festival and Halloween Disco.
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Upper School News
 Daisy Class has had another busy and exciting week! Students visited ASDA to buy ingredients for cooking and snack time, making excellent use of their visual shopping list. In Geography, students explored different types of weather through sensory activities. They also investigated the wind by holding ribbons on sticks in front of a fan and watching them blow. In Cooking, students made a delicious quiche, exploring and tasting a variety of vegetables and herbs before adding them to their creation.
Marigold Class has had a fantastic week! Some students went shopping to buy ingredients for cakes for their class cake sale. Students and staff worked together to create a wonderful selection of treats, and the sale was such a success that additional cakes were needed the following day! Thank you to everyone who bought or donated cakes, and to those who generously shared their time and skills. The class also delivered an amazing assembly for Black History Month, sharing interesting facts, music and crafts with the school.
Peony Class has enjoyed a lovely week, making the most of Monday’s fantastic weather with a trip to the park for work experience to complete litter picking. Students also went shopping to buy ingredients for cooking and snack time while continuing to develop their understanding of money and its value. They enjoyed visiting the Marigold Class cake sale and paying for cakes. In Literacy, students practised answering questions through shared reading, responding to questions about the seasons. They also read a book about the black mamba and discovered interesting facts about its habitat, diet and appearance.
Dahlia Class has had a lovely week, enjoying a range of activities including home living skills, sensory stories linked to their current country of study, Ireland, Physical Education and physiotherapy. Students also enjoyed visiting the cake sale organised by Marigold Class. Alongside these activities, they have been busy preparing jacket potatoes for their own class enterprise.
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*Stars of the Week*
Orchid: Sebby for fantastic engagement during his Eyegaze session, enjoying games and music programmes.
Hebe: Archie for working hard to stay regulated all week.
Bluebell: Aaron for fantastic engagement in Cooking, following instructions, measuring and mixing ingredients, using the microwave safely, and showing great teamwork by helping to wash up and tidy away.
Lily: Freddie for fantastic work in Phonics, using finger isolation to identify the initial sound of his name and focusing brilliantly while staff modelled initial sounds from the ‘-og’ word family.
Sunflower: Sebastian for fantastic engagement during Circle Time, greeting everyone, identifying classmates using their photos and names, and trying out different equipment during PE.
Marigold: Anisa for being enthusiastic and helpful during the class cake sale, including collecting money.
Tulip: Joshua for his fantastic progress in class, independently writing his name and working hard on counting and number recognition.
Daffodil: Alan for engaging so well in his learning and working alongside others.
Poppy: Yousef for fantastic engagement, creating patterns with coloured blocks and using his PODD book to ask questions and make comments during stories.
Daisy: Leo for his work in Geography, exploring the weather and always bringing smiles and laughter to the class.
Peony: Ruby for consistently wearing her cochlear devices throughout the day and communicating when she needs a quieter environment, helping her to hear and communicate more effectively.
Dahlia: Liam for his hard work and excellent focus during the Eyegaze clinic, exploring a range of games and using Grid on his Eyegaze device.
Therapy: Aurora for fantastic engagement in the Playdough group, exploring wet and dry textures, helping to make different coloured Playdough, demonstrating creativity and communicating throughout the activity.
Wellbeing: Henry for showing real confidence during a joint Wellbeing and Speech and Language session, actively interacting with a new high-tech AAC system.
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News from the Leadership Team
 Happy Friday everyone! This week students have continued to learn about saving our planet. In their art lesson, Kestrel Class made some earth model displays using recycled scrunched material and recycled plastics. Students have been making persuasive posters to remind people to put their rubbish in the bin and not to litter. Students have continued to read 'Wild Wild Wood', finding out about animals trying to save their habitat.
Some students have celebrated National Dessert Day making strawberry trifles. It was delicious and some students even made some discoveries about other foods that they like. They have learnt that desserts are a combination of fats, sugar and salt and are mainly in the fats food group.
Please note School Photos will be taking place on Friday 23rd October at the Manor Campus
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*Stars of the Week*
Albatross: Walid for fantastic focus and engagement in learning, expressing himself verbally and increasingly using his core board to communicate.
Robin: Sylvester for engaging brilliantly with his new Theraputic Listening is techniques to help manage transitions in a more regulated way.
Cardinal: Sean for excellent engagement across a range of activities throughout the week.
Kingfisher: Sathurja for practising her writing skills and taking her time to produce neat work.
Kite: James for fantastic engagement during the nature walk at Beddington Park and helping a classmate find leaves of different colours.
Hawk: Oliver for brilliant Literacy work, writing and typing on the computer to create excellent rhyming sentences.
Kestrel: Narjis for transitioning into the classroom in the morning and joining in with classwork and activities.
Falcon: Madhav for growing engagement in lessons throughout the week, showing a particular interest in Art and sensory activities.
Goshawk: Sanjay for choosing a regulation strategy and communicating his choice clearly using his AAC device.
Therapy: Madhav for joining the in-class interoception group and exploring his different senses.
Wellbeing: Farhan for fantastic engagement and bravery during a sensory session in the gym with Speech and Language Therapy, exploring different movements, following instructions and enthusiastically joining in with games.
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Sherwood Foundation Charity | |
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SWLSTG Education Wellbeing Service
The Education Wellbeing Service is offering lunchtime and evening webinars throughout the year to support parents and carers with their child’s wellbeing and mental health. Details of the webinars, including dates and topics, can be found on the links below:
Early Years Webinar schedule 26/27
Primary Webinar schedule 26/27
Secondary Webinar schedule 26/27
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Preparing for Adulthood Hub
More information and bookings can be found Events & Bookings | Sutton Libraries and searching ‘Preparation for Adulthood’.
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