July 2022
It’s a been a term of journeys and adventures for the Owls.
First our KS2 children made an epic trip to Brighton to visit Hamilton Lodge School for the Deaf. It was amazing to meet deaf children and teachers who use BSL as their first language. Pupils come home at weekends but sleep in houses near the school during the week so it was exciting to see how different (yet equally welcoming) school can be.
Next, the Owls class visited Adventure Wonderland with funding from the charity Chloe and Sophie’s Special Ears Fund. This was a reward for our huge team effort in creating a base from scratch and a chance to develop links between our deaf children who are spread across different year groups in the school. We were also joined by our linked Speech and Language Therapist who spent the day ticking off targets achieved when the children chattered about their experiences. It was one hot but very happy day.
Meanwhile, the Resource Base journey continues in September when we will officially OPEN. Two children will be moving into Year 3 from Tanners Brook, where the provision ends this term. We also welcome Mrs Pascoe as a full time Teacher of the Deaf in training. This means we now have nine children and a team of seven adults – with more joining very soon.
Please note the transport times for the Resource Base children starting from Monday 5th September; 8.20am drop-off to breakfast club and 3.00pm collection from the Owls gate.
I’d like to end this update with some feedback from a recent visitor to Owls. I couldn’t be prouder of what Team Newlands has achieved so far. Thank you!
“I was blown away by the depth of humanity, compassion, respect and patience you and the team show the students. And the amount of people using BSL. They are sooooo good. It was all outstanding.”