Newsletter - SUMMER 13 (2) - Fronter

“Learning and Living Together” 

PARK WOOD HAL L SCHOOL N E WSLETTER 

Ch....Ch....Ch....Changes! 

Summer Edition 2013 

Parkwood Hall is always changing and adapting to the times. However, this is a period 

when we are going through rather more change than usual. 

First, we have 3 members of the teaching staff leaving: Steve Jefferys, who is retiring; 

Paul Robinson, who is taking a job nearer to his home in Folkestone and Madeline Metcalfe, 

who is moving back to the Bolton area for family reasons. We will miss all 3 of them and wish 

them well. We are also saying goodbye to Susan Howse, who is retiring, and about whom 

Sarah Hextall has written further on in this newsletter. 

We have created an additional class teacher post to enable Angela Hollands to focus more 

on Performing Arts and Science teaching—an unusual combination of subjects, but one which 

works well for her and us! 

So, we have had to fill a total of 4 teacher vacancies; 3 class teachers and 1 Assistant 

Headteacher. We have appointed Sarah Holliday, Suzanne Sear and Alex Hart as class 

teachers. Sarah has been working for us as a part-time REA but was previously a very 

successful young teacher at Kidbrooke School, where she developed her passion for working 

with children and young people with learning difficulties. 

Suzanne has worked at Woodside School Bexley; Charlton School, Greenwich and 

Malborough School, Bexley, so she has a great deal of experience of SEN. She also has an 

M.Ed. In Autism Studies from the University of Birmingham. 

Alex (short for Alexandra) is currently working as a SENCO at Morden Mount Primary 

School in Greenwich and has a strong track record as a teacher who is committed to working 

with students with learning difficulties. 

Finally, we have appointed Danielle Wellock as the new Assistant Headteacher for the 

Lower School. Danielle is currently Deputy Head at a local primary school and has experience in 

Early Years, ABA and as an advisory teacher and SENCO. 

We look forward to welcoming all the new members of staff and working with them in 

September. 

The change doesn’t end there! We have made a substantial change to the curriculum for 

the next academic year with the intention of making it more relevant, realistic and rewarding 

for all our students. The first significant difference that you will notice will be when you receive 

the end of year reports in July. 

I will be sending out a leaflet explaining the changes after Half-Term, but before I do that, 

I should like to talk to as many parents as possible about the thinking behind the changes and 

what the practical implications are. The date I have chosen for this is Tuesday 11th June. 

There is a Parents’ Forum scheduled for 10am on that day at which I will talk about the 

changes and I will also run an evening session on the same day, starting at 6.30pm. Please 

put this date in your diary. 

Have a good Half-Term break. 

Nick 

Parkwood Hall School, Beechenlea Lane, Swanley, Kent BR8 8DR Tel: 01322 664441 Fax: 01322 613163 

Principal: Nick White 

Email: info@parkwoodhall.rbkc.sch.uk

Parkwood Hall School Newsletter 


Hope you all had a good Easter, and the 

Easter Bunny was kind to you. 

There have been some staff and student 

changes on Knole House this term. We say 

farewell to Janet who has moved to Hyde/ 

Richmond House and welcome to Deborah 

who is a Key Worker who has moved down to 

Knole House from Hyde/Richmond House. 

There have also been some students who 

have moved down to Knole House from 

Danson, it is lovely to welcome Ashley, James 

and Reece to Knole House this term. 

Now the evenings are 

warmer the students have 

been busy gardening down at 

Knole, they have weeded the 

beds around the house and 

have also planted out some 

pots with spring plants and 

bulbs, as well as some herbs 

that Knole House can make 

use of when cooking. The outside furniture has 

also been taken out of winter storage and 

students are taking advantage 

of the warmer weather and 

eating outside. They are also 

games outside. 

taking advantage of the 

lighter evenings playing 

It was great to welcome back the 

students and staff to Danson House after the 

Easter break. 

The students settled back quickly and on 

our first day back we held a house meeting to 

discuss some changes. These included, 

some of our students had moved on to Knole 

House and we had some new students and 

staff on Danson. We had lots of positive 

feedback from the students who were all very 

excited. 

The students have been working very 

hard on their Pathways to Independence 

where more of our students have been actively 

doing their own laundry and we are exploring 

different modes of shopping for example not 

just going to one supermarket but exploring 

different supermarkets and local shops for 

budgeting. 

We are also making Wednesdays an 

active day where we play dodge ball, hockey, 

run outs etc and this gets all the students 

involved. 

The students are also being very 

proactive when suggesting their BEAM targets. 

It’s great for them to be involved and for them 

to make suggestions. All in all, it’s great to be 

back, so welcome back Danson. 

Richmond welcomed two new students to 

their house with both Albert and Leo joining. 

Jack has now moved to Danson House and we 

wish him well. 

We started the term by going to see Jack 

the Giant Slayer at the cinema. This was funded 

by the students saving half of their pocket 

monies over the previous two terms. All of the 

students did really well with this. The students 

are continuing to save money and 

are already planning how to spend 

the next lot of savings. 

The next big event the 

house is looking forward to is the 

Hawaiian Disco at the end of term. 

This term the students started saving for a 

treat. This will help with teaching them to budget 

as this is part of their future independence. With 

the money saved the students went to the cinema 

and we continue saving for another treat before 

the end of the academic year. 

Now that the good weather is here we are 

taking advantage of this and we are doing more 

activities outside of our house and also we are 

going to start travel training. This will be done 

during our shopping trip on Thursday night. 

After Easter we had some movement of staff 

and students and this made the house more lively 

and fun. Some of our students will start a 

programme of cooking their own tea, this is part of 

the Pathway to Independence programme. Some 

of these students already showed great skills in 

cooking. 

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you 

have any queries or to book a visit if you wish to 

visit us.



Chris Allan and Chris Prisk run a ‘surgery’ for parents to discuss any 

problems. Sessions can be arranged to suit parents. 

Please contact Chris Allan or Chris Prisk to book an appointment: 

Chris Allan—direct dial—01322 618025 

Chris Prisk—direct dial—01322 618024 

ARENTS’ ’ FORUMF 

PARENTS 

ORUM 

Tuesday 11th June 

10am—12noon and 6.30pm—8.30pm 

Nick White to explain the changes to the 

curriculum 

For further information please contact 

Chris Allan or Chris Prisk 

TreeTops kicked off its day provision in the Easter Holidays 

offering fun activities at Knole House and around the school 

grounds. With Spring arriving later than ever, there were a few 

more indoor activities than normal, but who doesn't enjoy 

building robots from egg boxes or baking oat and raisin cookies? 

When the sun did come out we were able to create our own 

throwing games, visit the horses, play football, plant 

strawberries and take some nice walks. 

We are already busy planning the next sessions and 

looking forward to some better weather. 

For further information please contact Jake Fisher on 01322 618058



Ahoy my hearties… Welcome to 

the pirate ship Maple. You join us 

on a voyage of discovery learning about maps, 

directions and things that sink and float. We are 

designing a fearsome pirate galleon and singing 

sea shanties to warm the cockles of your heart. 

As you may have guessed our theme for 

this term is pirates. We have already enjoyed 

treasure hunts in which we have been learning 

about mapping skills and have begun to write a 

pirate rap based upon sea shanties. The class 

have begun a scientific investigation into the 

properties of different materials and whether 

they sink or float and are going to use this 

information to help to design a pirate lifejacket. 

We shall also be exploring some of the 

myths and legends associated with pirates and 

will use them to inspire some of our own. I am 

looking forward to exploring this really exciting 

theme and all of the learning opportunities that it 

will provide. 

We also have some eggs that are currently 

being incubated at my home (the incubator is 

too noisy for the classroom) and shall be 

exploring the lifecycle of a chicken as well as 

having the opportunity to hold some baby chicks. 

I am sure you will agree that this will be a 

term of contrasts including the excitement 

offered by sports day & the camping trip. 

This term, five of Palm class 

went away on the school journey to 

Leiston Abbey where they had a 

fantastic time taking part in various 

Performing Arts Activities. 

Palm class students have all been 

involved in tidying various areas around 

the school, planting seeds, shrubs and 

trees and learning other horticultural 

skills. 

We have recently been on a class 

trip to Pizza Express where students 

learnt how to prepare their own pizzas, 

cook and then eat them! After this we 

visited a local park to burn off some of 

the calories. We then went to Biggin Hill 

Airfield. Here the students had a good 

look at the Hurricane and Spitfire and 

also visited the Pilots Chapel where a 

local historian answered many of their 

questions. It was a very busy but 

enjoyable day out. 

Congratulations to our recent winners! 

www.jackpetcheyfoundation.org.uk



It’s a goodbye from him and a 

goodbye from me... 

Blackthorn class has been very 

busy since the last newsletter. 

Preparing for public exams in English, Maths and 

ICT, to be faced in June. Completing their various 

performing arts projects, tackling work experience 

and undertaking advanced travel training. At the 

end of this term there will be two leavers from 

Blackthorn Class. Marlon has gained a place at 

college to study for a BTEC course in sports. We 

wish him good luck with the move to Further 

Education and hope he’ll find the time to visit 

school in the future. I shall be retiring from 

teaching after 35 years in the profession and just 

over 4 years at Parkwood. Some of the most 

enjoyable years in my career. 

All the students in Blackthorn have built up 

folders of literacy and numeracy work that are 

bulging at the seams! They have been using their 

school e-mail to tackle ICT activities requiring a 

range of skills. Students will be preparing for the 

Functional Skills Entry Level exams and some will 

tackle the Level 1 exam in Functional Skills Maths. 

We wish them good luck with those. 

The class have been really busy on the 

Performing Arts front. Two students went to 

Leiston Abbey in March for the residential 

workshop where they worked towards a 

performance of Shrek. They have also been 

preparing short videos or performances on a topic 

of their choice. Titanic, 2Fast, 2Furious and Harry 

Potter are three ‘shorts’. Other students have 

been working on projects that explore the way 

music is used to enhance the drama in films. The 

majority of students are members of the Steel 

Band and have been performing regularly. Often 

forgotten is the work that has to go into preparing 

for a performance. There is a lot of careful 

packing and unpacking of equipment and 

instruments. The job often falls to members of 

Blackthorn class who have acquired a real 

expertise. Kaine in particular knows how the 

trailer needs to be packed. 

Currently many of the students are involved 

in work experience. While some work in school, 

assisting in class or the office others are working 

in a nursery and school where they are assisting 

the teaching staff. Another student is working in 

Swanley library cafe. 

Reece has led a number of expeditions in recent 

months. These are opportunities to practice 

making complex journeys using bus, mainline 

and underground trains in London. Reece has 

been required to research and plan the journeys 

so that they can be undertaken in a school day. 

Accompanied by a member of staff and 

students from the class Reece has been to the 

Science Museum, explored along the Thames by 

Tower Bridge and HMS Belfast as well as 

Greenwich to see the Cutty Sark and Maritime 

Museum. 

The term will only become busier as 

exams, the summer production, steel band 

engagements and OCN coursework all vie for 

attention. 

Steve Jefferys 

It was lovely to see everyone returning 

after the Easter break. Last term our theme was 

‘Once Upon a Time’ and we did a wide variety 

of activities based around this theme. This 

included reading lots of fairy tales and 

traditional tales from other cultures. We made 

our own Jack and The Beanstalk castle and a 

large over-hanging beanstalk across the 

classroom. We learnt some facts about real 

castles in the UK. We made a large class book 

of Jack and The Beanstalk and learnt to sign to 

the story. We made stick puppets and retold the 

story changing the ending. We chose our 

favourite part of the story to write for 

the ‘Writers’ Gallery’. 

Our topic for the term is 

‘Pirates’. So far we 

have created our 

own pirate puzzles, 

done lots of pirate 

number work, learnt 

pirate songs and poems. Our 

favourite song can be found on 

You Tube called ‘Red Beard, Blue 

Beard and Black Beard’. We have 

continued to work on our OCN 

modules including ‘making choices’. 

Mr Hollands is taking the class on a 

Thursday for ‘One Pot’ cookinglessons 

focusing on cooking easily 

prepared meals. We look forward to another 

busy term with lots of sports and performing 

arts activities due to take place and the summer 

holidays!



Friday 14th June 2013—St Margarets, Lee 

Friday 5th July 2013—Barnsole School 

Saturday 13th July 2013—West Wickham 

For further information, please call either 

Angela Hollands or Kayleigh Barnard 

(Performing Arts Administrator). 

The Panathlon multi-sports tournament went very 

well with individual and team success. Everyone came 

home with at least one medal and some students had as 

many as three! Robert and Jake won the New Age 

Kurling; Leo and Mia won the shot put; and Oke and 

Alex won the javelin to name a few. We came third 

overall – a great success as we don’t have the range of 

disabilities needed to compete in some events. 

On 18 th April we had an adapted sports day here in 

school. Most of the students had the opportunity to try 

New Age Kurling, boccia, table cricket and polybat under 

the supervision of a professional coach. The students 

had great fun and enjoyed all the sports. Polybat was 

particular popular and I will look to buy some polybat 

equipment. 

The boys are still attending the South London 

Special League. They are getting 

used to the competition and are 

now much more competitive. 

An important date for later 

in the term is Sport Day. This will 

be on the afternoon of 

Wednesday 10 th July and will be 

a pirate themed event to fit in with 

our Lower School topic. Come 

dressed as a pirate if you wish! 

Our theme this term is ‘Pirates’ and 

we are learning about who pirates were and what 

they did. It is a great opportunity to learn a few 

sea shanty songs and we are hoping to act out a 

poem for an assembly. We are also building a 

pirate ship to rival our spectacular castle last 

term! 

As well as this work, we have started work 

outside in the sensory garden. Elm Class decided 

to opt for a colour theme and have planted lots of 

lovely flowers in our raised bed and in all the 

window boxes too. The outdoor classroom and 

the garden are being used far more now that the 

good weather has finally arrived and the class are 

enjoying lots of fresh air at the moment! 

As it is National Walking Month, we are 

taking the class on walks around the school whilst 

at the same time mapping the ground floor of the 

building. The map work is a preliminary activity 

to drawing a treasure map for our pirate work! It 

is our intention to take the class out into the 

immediate locale and put their recent road safety 

awareness training into use. 

We have welcomed Albert into our class 

and he is getting used to the way we work and 

gradually getting to know the staff and students.



The students in Beech class made a good 

start to the new term after a well deserved 

break at Easter. 

Since returning to school they have been 

organising their folders and preparing their work for 

the OCN units; Accessing Leisure Services, Getting 

About Safely and Health and Fitness, which will be 

assessed in the summer. The students in Beech class 

are also busy preparing for their OCR assessments in 

English, Maths and ICT that will take place later this 

term. 

For some students in Beech class the new term 

has given them the opportunity to take their learning 

outside the classroom, in the form of a work 

experience placement. Each of the eligible students 

has spent one day a week at work, but will get the 

opportunity to spend a whole week at their placement, 

in order to gain further experience. So far the 

students taking part in work experience have reported 

that they have learned a great deal about others, 

themselves and about independence and staying safe. 

Since the beginning of the school year all in 

Beech class have made some good progress in 

working as a team and in supporting each other. The 

class has continued to work at creating a friendly 

atmosphere for learning, and each student has 

achieved some personal goals and has met a number 

of learning objectives. 

What a term for celebrations! In one 

week alone, we celebrated the 

beginning of Chinese New Year (the 

Year of the Snake) Shrove Tuesday and St Valentine’s 

Day and all provided an opportunity to investigate the 

origins and customs associated with each. 

As part of our Performing Arts activities we 

spent a number of weeks focussing on Chinese 

Opera and in early March, Juniper joined with other 

classes to put on a special Assembly to showcase 

Chinese acting, story-telling and dancing. In Chinese 

costume, we danced along to a modern Chinese boy 

singer with choreography devised by Catherine Jarvie 

and Hannah-Jean. 

Students then re-enacted the story of how the 

animals were chosen for the Chinese Calendar, 

using animal silhouettes behind the stage screen. 

The students also performed a play, re-telling a 

Chinese legend of kindness being rewarded. 

Over 60 rice-paper Chinese masks and kites were 

stuck around the Gym with Chinese lanterns on 

stage to provide atmosphere. 

We went to London by train (good travel 

training) to see the really feel-good show, 

“Spamalot” at the Playhouse Theatre and we’re 

all still quoting from it! “Classical Spectacular” at 

the Royal Albert Hall once again lived up to our 

expectations—we oooeed and aaahhed at the 

laser light show and some of us still jumped when 

the cannon and muskets boomed! 

We have one “Good bye” and one “Hello” to 

make. Juniper students and staff want to say a 

big thank you and give all best wishes to Lynne 

Groves in her new role in the Lower School. In 

mid-April, Tracey Carter joined the staff team in 

Juniper. We hope she has felt warmly welcomed 

into the class and will enjoy working as part of 

the Parkwood family. 

We are working hard in Oak class with our 

topics of getting about safely and healthy eating. 

We have also been planning and working on our 

planter. We have planted some seeds and are 

looking forward to seeing them growing.



20 th May 

to 24 th May 

The project for the week is Myself the 

work produced will be displayed at 

Packwood Hall’s Art Exhibition on 3 rd and 

4 th July - for more details contact Lynne 

Groves 

Banyan class have worked hard on getting 

their spring assembly together, with different 

groups researching and putting together a 

PowerPoint presentation about animals born in 

spring, St George's Day, and Shakespeare, as his 

birthday falls on our saint's day. The group 

discovered that St George was Turkish, and that 

Shakespeare found the birdsong set his teeth on 

edge so much that he needed to drink some ale! 

We also enjoyed Book Week, with the prize 

for best costume being won by Gandalf, setting 

the tone for our efforts with The Hobbit as our 

book in a box. Many of the group have been 

practicing hard for the Step into Dance 

performance, a lovely group effort from the girls, 

and the boys have been doing their cycling 

proficiency out on the roads around school, with 

three getting the level two certificate. Some of 

the class are in the steel band and have 

represented the school in trips to other schools too. 

Well done!! 

The end of the school year is arriving very quickly and it is usually a very busy time for 

everyone at the school. 

The end of year BBQ is on Tuesday 23 rd of July and the leavers’ lunch is on Wednesday 

24 th . The BBQ normally attracts a large crowd and we will serve approximately 350 people . It 

is a great event ! 

The leavers’ lunch menu will be chosen by the students leaving us this year, but I can 

predict it will involve chips and chocolate (hopefully not together). 

At the end of May, Barabara Donnelly, one of the kitchen assistants, will retire. She is 

one of our longest serving team members, she has been working at the school for over 16 

years. We wish her all the best. 

We are currently advertising for a replacement, and by the time the next newsletter 

comes out, I am hoping to be in a position to introduce a new member to the catering team. 

We will also be involved with the Parkwood Hall summer ball which takes place on 

Saturday the 13 th of July. Don’t forget to book your tickets as it is a great evening. If you are 

unable to attend the ball itself, you can always come and help us make it a great event.



We welcomed Christopher who 

joined our class in April. 

Redwood class enjoyed the 

topic on Romans and learnt a great deal 

about Roman life. We explored the lives of 

different people including soldiers, women 

and children. The students cooked Roman 

food with Mr Hollands and at the end of term 

we held a Roman banquet with Banyan and 

Maple. The students dressed up and enjoyed 

a Roman feast. Redwood class also 

presented an assembly to show the rest of 

the school our work for the half term. This 

ended with a Roman song that Lower School 

had learnt with Mrs Hollands in their music 

lessons. 

We then worked on ‘Once Upon a Time’. 

Due to the short time frame we focussed on 

ourselves and looked at how we had changed 

since we were babies. We learnt about life 

cycles and are still looking in the pond to see 

the frogs’ development. The students 

enjoyed looking at photos of each other when 

they were young and talking about memories 

they had of their younger years. 

It’s been busy, busy, 

busy in Cherry class again. 

We have been working hard on making 

the sensory garden look nice, planting 

seeds and flowers to brighten it up, and 

make it look and smell lovely. We had to 

go to several shops to find just the right 

plants and flowers that we liked. 

We are learning how to make and 

read maps at the moment, as part of our 

topic on pirates. We have designed a 

map of the inside of the school building 

using photographs, and are doing the 

same thing for part of the grounds. We 

are reading pirate stories and writing a 

pirate rap in music! 

The big event recently has been 

Cherry class’s participation in the BBC 

Open Orchestra project. This has 

involved working with musicians from the 

BBC project, making music using 

instruments, switches and iPads, and 

working with 5 other schools to create a 

piece of music together. We have 

worked directly with one other school 

when they have visited us here at 

Parkwood, and met the other 4 recently 

at a full rehearsal. The exciting 

culmination of this was on the 22 nd of 

May in London with a full performance of 

the piece to an audience. Everyone was 

excited about this and looked forward to 

it, even though we were a bit nervous! 

Supermarket Vouchers 

Could parents/carers please note that 

the school is again collecting 

supermarket vouchers. 

Please send in via reception. Any 

vouchers would be gratefully accepted!



Dance 

We had a wonderful experience 

at Ravenswood School, Bromley on 

April 30th for our Step Into Dance 

performance. We were warmly 

welcomed by The Royal Academy of 

Dance representatives. Our theme 

was travel and the piece was choreographed by 

the staff and students alike. Our performance was 

w e l l r e c e i v e d b y t h e e n t h u s i a s t i c 

audience. Well done to all who participated. I am 

very proud of you - I know you were scared but 

you did it anyway...!!! You looked fantastic and as 

we always say at Parkwood Hall - it doesn't have 

to be perfect to be good! 

We have a new and enthusiastic ballet 

group on a Monday lunchtime. We have been 

performing pirouettes, leaps and ballet exercises 

and enjoying executing these new moves and 

dancing to a new genre of music. 

Our Starlight Players Summer show 'Mary 

Poppins' is developing well - our favourite dances 

being 'Let's Go Fly A Kite', 'Chim Chim Cher Ee' and 

'Step In Time'. We love rehearsing these dances 

because they are energetic and fun and make us 

feel happy. We are looking forward to performing 

our show to you in July. 

The Upper School girls have learnt a lyrical 

contemporary dance using the theme music to 

Titanic. We will perform this dance in assembly to 

the whole school soon and I know this will be a 

huge confidence builder. The boys have been 

shaken, not stirred, in their endeavour to deliver a 

powerful performance using a medley of James 

Bond theme tunes - Friday mornings have been 

exciting this term! 

Keep up the good work my lovely students, 

Catherine x 

SALT 

Hello from 

Andrew, Emma and Tina. 

By the time you read this it is likely that you 

have received a Communication Profile for your 

child. This is very much a ‘working document’ and 

we would really appreciate your thoughts on what 

helps your child to communicate. If you haven’t 

received one, please let me know. 

We are looking forward to moving into our 

new room in the next few weeks which will help to 

accommodate the expanding therapy team within 

school. With the Summer Holidays looming on the 

horizon, please contact us if you require any ideas 

for language/speech games to fill the 6 weeks with. 

Any holidays or trips which might require a Social 

Story or symbol support then let us know and we 

can help create something for you. 

Useful Website: 

http://www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/ 

Information on a range of speech, language and 

communication campaigns and resources. 

Student Admin 

Please can you make sure that school has up to date contact information at all times and at 

least one other emergency contact. This includes new mobile numbers/email addresses so that we 

can update SchoolsComms. 

I will be using SchoolsComms to contact parents/carers more regularly in the future with 

paperwork etc so please check emails regularly. For further information please contact me on 

01322 618010. 

Susan Howse—Student Administrator.



Steel Band 

The Steel Band have been practicing hard for their busy summer events. We really enjoyed going to 

Broadstairs to see Mrs Dando, the previous Head Teacher at Parkwood Hall School. She was so excited to 

see us and said she would love to start a Steel Band at her school. 

We are playing at the reception of a fundraising dinner at The Savoy Hotel for the Dennis Wise in the 

Community event and are hoping we may spot some celebrities. 

Dance 

A group of students have danced at Ravenswood School along with other schools in the area as part 

of the Step into Dance event. All of the dancers had to work hard to learn the routine and gave a 

wonderful performance. 

BBC/Drake Open Orchestra Project 

Cherry, Maple and some of Banyan class have been working with members of the BBC Orchestra to 

make a composition about space and perform it with them and five other schools at a concert on 22nd May. 

This has been very exciting especially as we have used iPads and sound pads in our composition. 

Leiston Abbey 

The group of students who went to Leiston had an amazing week and put on a great performance of 

Shrek which we then performed in school. 

Starlight Players 

We will be putting on performances of Mary Poppins in July. We have been working hard working out 

dances and learning lines. Please come and watch us, details will be sent home soon. 

Occupational Therapy 

Becoming more sensory smart 

Now that Spring is finally here, I’m sure you’ll agree that moods have lifted and there 

is a new lease on life! I have certainly become aware of my senses again: the brighter light, 

vibrant colours, scented blossom, birdsong, bees buzzing, grass on my bare feet and the 

warmth of the sun on my skin. It feels good. 

Not everything in our environments make us feel good and sometimes in certain 

environments it is difficult to maintain an acceptable level of behaviour. When we know we are going into 

difficult situations most of us have strategies that we use which may include a strong coffee, a walk in the 

fresh air or listening to music. I mention a few. It is therefore important to remember this when taking your 

children into stressful environments. Here is a useful strategy to remember: Alert Organise Calm. (this is 

the principle also used in the sensory circuit). Alerting activities include: jumping on a trampoline, spinning 

and running. Organising activities include: walking heel-toe- on a line, riding a bicycle, counting while 

catching ball and stacking or sorting objects. Calming activities include: bear hugs, hand massage, playing 

with theraputty or a koosh ball and walking outdoors. So the next time you are going somewhere you know 

is difficult for your child, try doing one activity from each section. If anyone would like more information on 

these activities or for more ideas, please contact OT at school. 

A few members of staff on house are being trained as Sensory Champions to be able to implement 

sensory strategies to students who need this input and to identify sensory related behaviours. I will be 

supporting them through this journey. 

A few students love their theraputty, if you would like to get some for home, I recommend purchasing 

the medium strength one through Amazon. A small tub is usually enough. Amazon also sell chewy tubes. 

I hope that over the next few weeks, you will enjoy your new found senses and be able to use these 

sensory smart strategies.



Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday 

W 

e 

e 

k 

1 

D 

i 

n 

n 

e 

r 

Vegetable and Pulse 

Curry with Basmati Rice 

Apple and Sultanas 

Cornflake Crumble 

Mexican or Vegetarian 

Cottage Pie with 

Plantain and Peas 

Jumbo Fish Fingers or 

Veggie Burger with 

Chips and Green 

Beans 

Apricot Slice 

Minced Pork with 

Pearl Barley or 

Vegetarian Chilli 

Pasta 

Roast Turkey or 

Stuffed Peppers with 

Roast Potatoes and 

Carrots 

Chocolate Cookies 

T 

e 

a 

Corned Beef or 

Vegetarian Pasties 

Chicken or 

Vegetable Nuggets 

with Baked Beans 

Tagliatelle 

Carbonara or 

without Bacon for 

Vegetarian option 

Coronation 

Chicken or 

Vegetarian option 

with Jacket Potato 

W 

e 

e 

k 

2 

D 

i 

n 

n 

e 

r 

Vegetable and Pulse 

Tagine with Couscous 

Apple and Plum Pudding 

Meatballs in Tomato 

Sauce or Vegetarian 

Bolognaise Pasta and 

Broccoli 

Thai Fish Cakes or 

Spanish Omelette 

with Potato Wedges 

and Green Beans 

Pear and Cinnamon 

Strudel 

Roast Pork and Apple 

Sauce or Mushroom 

Roast with Roast 

Potatoes and Carrots 

Chicken or Vegetarian 

Colombo with Rice 

and Peas 

Banana Milkshake 

T 

e 

a 

Scotch Eggs with 

Baked Beans 

Pizza 

Keema or 

Vegetarian Loaf 

with Baked Beans 

Chicken or Veggie 

Burger in a Bun 

W 

e 

e 

k 

3 

D 

i 

n 

n 

e 

r 

Butternut Squash and 

Bean Risotto 

Anzac Biscuits 

Beef and Carrot Stew 

or Vegetarian Stew 

with Pommes 

Boulangeres 

Breaded Fish or 

Vegetarian Lasagne 

with New Potatoes 

and Mushy Peas 

Welsh Amber Pudding 

Pork and Butter Bean 

Crumble or Pulse 

Crumble with Penne 

Pasta and Cabbage 

Chicken and Leek or 

Vegetarian Pie with 

Mashed Potato 

Fruit Cheesecake 

T 

e 

a 

Toad in the Hole 

Cheese Whirls with 

Spaghetti Hoops in 

Tomato Sauce 

BBQ Chicken or 

Quorn with Rice 

Chilli Beef or 

Vegetarian Chilli 

and Rice Burrito 

Salad menu available



Parents and Carers are warmly welcome to join the meetings to 

discuss plans and ideas for the events programme at Parkwood 

Hall School. If you can’t make the meeting but would be able to 

give a few hours of your time helping at events please contact 

Martha McEwen on 01322 664441. If you would like to be 

informed of meeting dates please speak to Sharon Wright, the 

School Secretary. Our next meeting is 10.30am on Tuesday 18th 

June. 

The Auction of Promises 

raised £2,016 

Gentle reminder……. 

When sending money into school, please remember: 

• Put money into an envelope marked clearly with the student’s name 

• Write on each envelope what the money is for, e.g. class, house, trip, etc 

• Please send money for different purposes/activities in separate envelopes 

• Only send cash for class or house pocket money (this money belongs to the 

student—not the school!) 

• Cheques can be sent for trips, etc if stated on the letter



SCHOOL NURSE—Ro Collett 

Was last weekend our summer? I do hope not. I am determined to get 

some wear out of my summer clothes but I am afraid to say, I have already 

had to dip back in to the winter jumpers again! I am however being optimistic 

and looking forward to a good summer. 

Please remember the sun cream even on cloudy days if you are out and about 

because you can still get burnt. 

Last year I wrote to you about the age your child stops being eligible for free 

treatment. I thought I would remind you again as the next round of students reach the age 

of 19. Even if your child is still at school or college at the age of 19 they are not 

automatically entitled to free prescriptions, eye tests, dental treatment or other NHS 

treatments. 

There is a form called a HC1 which you can complete on behalf of your child to claim 

for help with their health costs which you can obtain from Jobcentre offices, some NHS 

practitioners or by visiting www.dh.gov.uk/helpwithhealthcosts. The length of time the 

exception certificate will last can be from a few months to five years depending on their 

circumstances. 

If you child has ongoing health issues and needs regular medication you will need to 

apply for a prescription charge exemption certificate. FP92A is the form that you will need 

and can be obtained from your doctor’s surgery. This needs to be re-applied for every 5 

years. 

I hope you have found this information of some help but please do not hesitate in 

contacting me if you need further help. Remember you are applying on behalf of your child 

so there is a good chance they could be entitled to some help. 

Finally, I will be sending out new, homely remedy consent forms at the end of June 

for you to complete and return to me for the start of the new school year. 

I think that is all for now so back to getting things ready for the camping trip in June. 

Here’s my list: medication charts, tick, sleeping bag, tick. Now where did I put my 

wellies?........................... 

Reminder—day students are to be collected at 5pm—doors 

will not be opened before this time. 

Due to health and safety issues, please do not park on the 

roundabout but use the main car park.



Hello, my name is Tracey Carter. I have recently joined the school as a Senior 

Teaching Assistant in Upper School. Previously, I worked at Helen Allison School in 

Meopham for 6 years. I should like to thank everyone for a warm welcome and am 

looking forward to working in my new role. 

A warm Parkwood welcome to both Sally McEwen and Bruno 

Andre Marcelino de Oliveira who have joined the residential 

team. 

After four years and one term at Parkwood Hall, Steve Jefferys is finally retiring from the 

classroom. He has been working with the older students in the school and has, amongst 

other things, introduced driving lessons and was pivotal in setting up ‘Hot off the Press’ 

which is our in-house printing business. We wish him all the very best for a peaceful and 

relaxing retirement. 

Susan Howse is leaving Parkwood Hall School at the end of the summer term after working at the 

school since 1989. 

During those 24 years Susan has worked in four different roles; starting as a teaching assistant in 

class, she then moved out of class to take on responsibility for all of the resources, in 2005 Susan 

took on the role that most of you probably know her best as: Student Administrator. Throughout 

her time at the school Susan has always been involved in training our students to swim, qualifying 

as a swimming teacher in 1996. 

During the time that Mrs Howse has been at the school she has worked with over 360 students. 

Susan will be greatly missed by her fellow staff and the students who come to her with a huge 

range of needs and queries. I know that she is the first person that many of the families and 

carers will call as Susan is the link between home, transport, school and beyond. 

What many people may not realise is that as well as fitting in the two jobs of Student 

Administrator and Swimming Teacher, being a mother, a grandmother and a caring daughter 

Susan has also passed two degrees; a BA (Hons) and an MA in History. 

Barbara Donnelly is leaving Parkwood Hall School this term after working as a Kitchen Assistant 

at Parkwood Hall School for over 16 years. 

Barbara is a reliable and hardworking member of the catering team who have persevered 

through some difficult situations to continue to provide students and staff with nutritious hot 

meals every lunch time. At times they have worked without running water and a year ago had 

a fortnight without gas. Barbara has always struggled through the snow to get to work. 

Since starting in 1997 Barbara has worked with three different Head Teachers/Principals and 

seen some significant changes to how meals are cooked and served, she has a calm and 

patient approach to our students and always has time for them and for colleagues. 

Madeline (Maddie) Metcalfe and Paul Robinson are both leaving us and 

doing so for family reasons. Paul has a young family and lives in 

Folkestone, and has had enough of the long drive to Swanley! Maddie has 

very strong family ties which are pulling her back to Bolton. Their 

contributions to Parkwood life will be missed as much as their sense of 

humour!



Events Committee 

If you are interested in joining the 

committee or can spare time to help at 

events, please call Martha on 01322 

664441. 

Meetings are held regularly. Feel free 

to come along and see what is 

involved—call the above number to find 

out the date of our next meeting. 

House telephone numbers 

Danson 

—Office 01322 618027 

Payphone 01322 618074 

Hyde —Office 01322 618026 

Payphone 01322 618072 

Richmond —Office 

Payphone 

01322 618028 


Knole 

—Office 

Payphone 



Date 

Monday 3rd June 2013 

Tuesday 11th June 2013 

Friday 14th June 2013 

Event 

Staff and Students return 

10am to12noon: Parents’ Forum (Nick White on the New Curriculum) 

6.30 to 8.30pm: Parents’ Forum (Nick White on the New Curriculum) 

Steel Band to St Margarets, Lee 

Monday 24th—Friday 28th June 2013 Camp at Carroty Wood 

Monday 1st and Tuesday 2nd July 

2013 

Wednesday 3rd and Thursday 4th July 

2013 

Friday 5th July 2013 

Wednesday 10th July 2013 

Thursday 11th July 2013 

Saturday 13th July 2013 

Thursday 18th July 2013 

Tuesday 23rd July 2013 

Wednesday 24th July 2013 

Book Fair 

Art Exhibition in Gym 

Steel Band to Barnsole School 

Sports afternoon 

Sports afternoon (reserve date) 

Summer Ball 

Starlight Players present Mary Poppins 

BBQ and Parents Evening 

Leavers lunch and assembly 

Last day of term

Newsletter - SUMMER 13 (2) - Fronter

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