As promised, our Springboard staff are taking turns to introduce themselves in our blog, starting with Mr Ward..

Hi there, I am Mr. Ward, the Maths teacher at the Springboard Project. I joined the team at the Springboard Project in September and it has been a very good first term so far, the team has been fantastic to work with.

This week has been another great week for all the students at Springboard, they have been experiencing learning in a variety of different ways.

In Maths the students have continued to develop their skills with division and working with fractions. They have been making use of the different resources available to them and looking at problems in a variety of ways. It has been amazing to watch these students grow in confidence (already) with their own Maths abilities..

In English, the students have been examining the difference between formal and informal language and working on how they would reply in different situations.

In the PSHE lessons, they have been looking at differing relationships within the family. In Citizenship the students have been developing their communication skills, looking at the positive and negative effects of communication, analysing videos and taking part in a lip reading task. 

In ICT students have been working on their e-portfolios and getting to grips with the new editing software available to them. They cannot wait to get using the new green screen that has now been set up!

Next week the blog duties will be handed over to our English teacher, Miss Fraser. So, until next time, I will bid you all a good day.

The part of my job which is so rewarding is watching brilliant learning and outstanding teaching. This week, Mr Pidlyskyj and I have had the pleasure of seeing both. At this time of year, we observe what’s going on in classrooms and it’s been amazing to see – decimals in Maths, how families are made up in PSCHE, what is formal and informal language in English and the issues around copyright in ICT.

The work that Springboard students are completing in all these lessons (and many more) makes me proud and I am sure parents and carers will feel exactly the same. Well done to Mr Ward, Mrs Burrows, Mrs Fraser and Mr Wilkes, not forgetting our amazing support of Mr Daly, Miss Taylor, Miss Caines and Mrs Roberts.

The learning doesn’t end in the classroom though – this week saw Levi and Connor begin their work experience at the Atrium café, as Job Coach Tisha explains..

We have 2 new students Levi and Connor from the Springboard Project who have now started their new work experience placement at the Atrium. I am very pleased to say… they did very well and completed all tasks required!

Here they are writing out labels for the meals served to students and young people at our Medtia site. Connor and Levi didn’t feel confident to begin with but displayed quick writing skills..

They then dished out the meals for the whole of the Medtia site, they worked quickly and served the right portion size. Levi dished out the tuna pasta bakes and made the sandwiches..

Connor dished out the sweet chilli chicken and rice and the fish, chips and peas..

After that task they visited the kitchenette areas on the different floors of the First Choice Homes building refilling the tea, coffee sugar and milk supplies..

..before heading back to the cafe to complete more tasks..

Levi proved to be a dab hand at making gravy – a future chef, maybe..

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This is the feedback they received from the girls in the cafe ~ “Levi, you were enthusiastic and you both did a bit of everything. You’ve been brill and thank you – well done lads!

Thanks to the job coach Tisha for both the pictures and also for making the experience really positive. I am sure we are going to be seeing a lot more hard work from these 2 fellas.

As we near the end of this first half term, we are still working towards the main college rules of Springboard:

• to be ready to learn (on time and attending), wear uniform and hand in any phones etc.
• to be safe – we work in the middle of a busy community
• to respect everyone

These rules, or values, are getting all our young people ready for life and work in the outside world.

That’s it from me and thanks to Mr Ward and Tisha for their contributions towards this week’s blog. It’s Grand Final weekend and I am off to Old Trafford with Mr T. to watch St Helens play Salford. No doubt at some point I will bump into Activat8 who are also there!

Have a great week,

Mrs Tootill
Head of Springboard Project

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