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www.oasisacademymayfield.org

Welcome from our Principal Claire Taylor

As the Winter term comes to a close, with its dark nights and dismal weather, what better way to brighten your day, than reading the good news stories contained in this edition of our newsletter.

What a fantastic term this has been! I am so proud of our Academy, from the exceptional learning that happens in our classrooms every day, to the wide range of events that enrich our student's lives. Some of what we celebrate is marked by impressive public events such as our Festival of Achievement Awards and the INSPIRE event of Remembrance, but others are just the day-to-day incredible opportunities open to our young people.

There are two particularly personal end of term highlights. First, our inaugural Team Mayfield Christmas lunch. As you know, we treated the entire school community by inviting them to share a traditional Christmas lunch served by our staff. This was an opportunity for all students and staff to sit down with each other, share a meal, talk together and build relationships. The festive spirit was topped off by the Christmas Show. It was so wonderful to see the confidence of our young people flourish as they immersed themselves in drama, dance and music and all of that to a crowded theatre! Of course, none of this term’s wonderful events would have happened without your support or the dedication of our students and staff, for which I am truly grateful.

On behalf of all the staff at Oasis Academy Mayfield, I wish you all a very joyful Christmas and a peaceful New Year.

I look forward to seeing all of our students refreshed and ready for learning on Monday 7th January.

This half term has been one of the busiest in 2018!

Oasis Academy Mayfield's Festival of Achievement Awards Evening 2018

This annual event is one of the biggest highlights of the academy calendar, bringing together not only our ex Year 11 students who left us in the Summer, but our current students from Years 7-11 for an evening of awards and celebration.

During the ceremony we honoured a number of students for their amazing academic achievements in 2017-2018 and gave out some special awards for students’ commitment to the community and academy life. Alongside these we celebrated the phenomenal start made by students in our new Year 7 and the GCSE achievements of our ex Year 11s.

This year, our special guest speaker was Philippa Tuttiett, who gave an inspiring speech about her early life and amazing career to date. She was also on hand to help present a number of accolades to students with the Principal and staff leaders from our academy.

It was a wonderful night which will hold special memories. Read the full story on our website, by clicking the link below.

Science For Life!

At Mayfield, Science isn’t just a core subject taught as a part of the curriculum. It supports other areas of academy life, including wellbeing and health & fitness through projects like the LifeLab, specialist events with scientists and doctors like the COPD awareness event, plus it promotes team building, problem solving and communication skills as with the brilliant IET Faraday Challenge.

This year more than ever, Science has encouraged greater career aspirations through the Learn with US ‘Mapping Your Future’ sessions at Southampton University. These masterclasses happen throughout the year, and are a good way for students to develop an understanding of what university life has to offer and the career paths higher education could lead to.

Well done to students who impressed during a recent visit to the university, when they were tasked to come up with App ideas to help students make future pathway choices. After thorough investigation and analysis, they delivered a Dragon’s Den style presentation of their ideas – they were excellent! The university commended the students work which will also be used to help to develop future sessions.

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IET Faraday Challenge

No sooner back in the Academy after half term and Year 8 were ready to take on the fantastic IET Faraday Challenge. Students became real-life engineers for a day when they had to research, design and produce solutions to real engineering problems as part of the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s Faraday Challenge Day at Mayfield.

A total of 176 events took place across the UK as part of the 2018-19 IET Faraday Challenge programme. Up to six teams of students per school competed at each event to find the best solution to an engineering-related quest. Each team member in the winning group was awarded a prize and a trophy for their school. The top five teams from across the UK will receive an all-expenses paid trip to the national final at The Royal Observatory Edinburgh in 2019, to compete for a cash prize of up to £1,000 for their school.

This year’s challenge was in association with the James Webb Space Telescope. Teams had to race against the clock to solve a real-life issue, putting their Science, Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM) knowledge to the test using creativity, innovation and problem-solving skills.

Natalie Clerke, IET Faraday Education Manager, said: “Students who took part in the Faraday Challenge Days this year experienced working as an engineer through hands-on practical engagement with real-life challenges relating to the James Webb Space Telescope.”

“There is huge demand for new engineers and technicians and we provide these Challenge Days to inspire young people to consider what a career in engineering can offer and just how exciting and creative engineering is.”

Our Year 8 students worked really hard on the challenge they were given. They all produced high quality solutions and their final presentations were outstanding. The project leader from IET Faraday working with the students at Mayfield commented how difficult he'd found it to choose the winning team and eventually awarded Team 3 the prize. WELL DONE Maizie, Luke, Adam, Angel, Harry and Kyle!

Year 9 at The LifeLab

This term Year 9 have been taking part in the LifeLab project run by Southampton University and University Hospital Southampton.

During lessons in September and October students started to explore health and the inner workings of the body, focusing on the circulatory system, non-communicable diseases and their risk factors. They also found out about cutting edge research taking place at both the University and the General Hospital.

In the second half of this term, each class visited the LifeLab itself and participated in a number of scientific tests and activities that assess health and fitness. They also carried out gel electrophoresis and got to spend time chatting with some working scientists to pick their brains!

Click below for more information about our LifeLab partnership:

New for this academic year, students in Year 8 are now getting involved in early research to establish a longer timeline for baseline data collection on health, diet, exercise, eating and nutrition. Each-B visited Mayfield and Lord’s Hill to start the questionnaires and will visit again in 4 months to assess any changes.

Year 7 COPD Awareness Visit

Year 7 students at both Mayfield and Lord’s Hill had a special lesson learning about the effects of smoking and COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), marking World COPD Awareness Month which runs throughout November.

A Respiratory Team comprising of doctors, scientists and patients visited both academies to show the impact that COPD can have on overall health and the lungs in particular. There was a major focus on not starting smoking, as this addictive behaviour is very damaging and extremely difficult to give up. The team also set up a variety of interactive tables to help students futher understand the health risks associated with smoking.

At the end of the event, there was a question and answer session, plus older students and Mayfield staff were able to talk with the hospital representatives for advice on how to stop smoking for themselves and other family members.

Click below for more information on the visit and where to get health support:

Saints Foundation at Mayfield

The Saints partnership led by Eddie Anderson our Saints Foundation Community Champion (SFCC) at Mayfield, has continued to support students this term with some amazing results and rewards.

The Year 7 students who have been involved with the Enterprise (Education) Challenge had their celebration lesson at St Mary’s Stadium this week. They were praised for their hard work and the significant progress made in English and Maths over the last 10 weeks. Well done to all of them.

We are also thrilled to announce our recent success in the Premier League Enterprise (Business) Challenge. Our team of Year 8 students worked together and presented their idea on improving the attendance of 18-23 year olds at Premier League games, and were judged the best in the region out of 8 schools who participated!

They have since been lucky enough to work with the commercial team at St Mary’s on their next round presentation and will go on to represent Southampton on the 29th January at the Brighton Stadium. We have all been blown away by how brilliant they are as a team and how well they have handled themselves. Look out for an update at the end of January – #TeamMayfield all the way!

Congratulations also go to our Girls Football Team for their efforts this term and their unwavering commitment to training and being the best they can be. As a reward, Saints Foundation provided a UV glow party which the girls thoroughly enjoyed!

Alongside the sporting and curriculum opportunities provided by the Foundation, they also support our students with projects that can impact the community locally as well as nationally. Over the last month, two of our students have been working with Saints and the Big Issue magazine. Watch this space for more details next year.

Following on from our last update, the newly formed Mayfield Youth Council have attended their first Southampton Youth Forum to discuss the current issues of concern for young people as part of the Make Your Mark campaign. This included knife crime and homelessness in the city, both important to the families of our community. Thank you to the students involved, plus both Eddie and Paul Woodman for their assistance with the forum visit. More news next term as the Youth debate continues.

On a related note, Mr Woodman has been heavily involved with the city this year tackling the issue of rough sleeping and destitution, having spearheaded the Southampton Conference on Homelessness at the start of 2018. He has tirelessly continued his efforts with the following initiative. Please feel free to support in any way if you are able:

Finally, congratulations to Eddie on his Saints Foundation nomination to the Ugo Ehiogu Ones to Watch List awarded at the prestigious Black List event in London at the beginning of November. It’s in recognition for everything he has done here at Mayfield and his bright future ahead. Huge well done Eddie, so deserved!

Paralympian Joy Visits Mayfield

At the beginning of November we were lucky enough to receive a special visit by Paralympian Joy Haizelden, when she joined students in assemblies and PE lessons over a couple of days.

Fresh back from winning a gold medal as GB Junior Women’s Team Captain at the Under 24 European Wheelchair Basketball Championships, Joy (19) was able to share her story, starting as a student who wasn’t sporty or accessing much PE at school, through to finding a love of basketball becoming a successful sportswoman.

Joy spoke to students giving encouragement for those who might feel that ill health or disability could limit their opportunities, urging them to be determined and to fulfil their potential. For Joy, wheelchair basketball was a sport she discovered giving her the opportunity to excel. Earlier this year, Joy also won a silver medal in the world championships.

Interviewing Joy, Paul Woodman, asked her “which was the best team in the world?” Joy, with a bold resolution to be the best, replied, “Netherlands…at the moment!”

The visit concluded with Joy shooting some hoops with students in the PE department, supported by Mayfield’s Saints Foundation Community Champion Eddie Anderson.

Principal, Claire Taylor, said; “Joy is an inspiration to us all. We were encouraged by her story which gives real hope to our students, particularly those living with disabilities.”

Thank you Joy, come back again soon.

Mayfield Remembers

November 2018 marked the 100 year anniversary of the end of World War One. Local communities, students and staff across Oasis UK commemorated this important occasion by coming together in various regions to participate in a number of INSPIRE Remembrance events.

Oasis South Coast held their regional INSPIRE event at Central Hall in Southampton. It was a moving celebration attended by students, parents and staff from Oasis Mayfield, Lord’s Hill and Sholing, and joined by guests from the city. There were fantastic performances of music, dance and drama and a poignant poem written and read by Year 7 student Rubie.

Click here for more information about INSPIRE and the Oasis South Coast regional event at Central Hall.

Also during the week leading up to Remembrance Sunday, other Mayfield students were involved in Remembrance activities. Through our History department, Sam and Millie won a 3-day trip to Ypres, visiting the Menin Gate Memorial, In Flanders Fields Museum and Tyne Cot Cemetery. There was a lot to take in, but both Sam and Millie really enjoyed it and were grateful to have had the opportunity to go.

We are also very proud of Archy, who travelled with 3 other school students and the Saints Foundation Education team to visit Ypres. They took part in a special commemoration service remembering those who had fallen in WW1, in particular, ex-Saints player Fred Costello. They travelled on to Berlin where the boys wrote a piece of work which was read out at the German Parliament attended by such dignitaries as Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron. Archy represented himself, Saints and the academy with dignity and professionalism. Well done to all.

Finishing the week on Sunday 11th November, two of our Prefects Serizan Demirci (Head Girl) and Abigail West, accompanied Mr Woodman and Mrs Dawkins to the Cenotaph in Southampton, laying a wreath and reading a prayer with those gathered for 11am. They were part of the Mayor’s procession for the service, marking the centenary of the end of the First World War. We are extremely proud of how they handled themselves and would like to thank them, Mr Woodman and Mrs Dawkins again for attending on behalf of Mayfield.

Sporting Round-up

Firstly, congratulations to Ben Tudor (Year 11) who won Gold in the Taekwondo Championships this term. He is now the British Champion under 63kg at Class B!

The U14 & U16 Boys Basketball League started this half term and it has been great to see this sport go from strength to strength again this year. Also particularly impressive is the number of Year 7 boys representing the school in the U14 age group. We look forward to the remaining fixtures and the start of the U14 Girls Basketball season.

The Year 9, 10 & 11 Netball Teams completed their fixtures in the Southampton Schools League – we had 27 girls represent the academy at the Outdoor Sports Centre this term! We look forward to the Year 7 & 8 Netball League starting early next year.

The Year 7 Boys Football Team have continued their impressive start to football at Mayfield by becoming Southampton Schools County 5-a-Side Champions! They will now go on to play in the Southern Regional Final for the ESFA Indoor U12 5-a-Side event in Eastleigh after the Christmas break.

Dance has also featured heavily this term with a Dance competition held at the beginning of November and the start up of a brand new boys only dance project call Zoielogic. This was a huge success even though a lot of the boys had not danced before. They have had the opportunity to perform at our recent Festival of Achievement and be a part of the Manmade project at the Nuffield – very inspiring to see what can be achieved by hard work in a short space of time #BeDetermined #TheMayfieldWay

The Dance Competion was a captivating event which again demonstrated how much dance talent there is in the academy. The audience was wowed by competing students and the array of choreography performed. After a difficult deliberation, judges awarded the following:

  • Winner of year 7: Kandice Gailor
  • Winner of year 8: Lola Whitehead
  • Winner of year 9: Maddison Dalipe
  • Winner of year 10: Courtney Barnes and Holly Goble
  • Overall winner: Abigail Hall and Ellie Hawkins

Congratulations to the winners who will now be a part of the new Elevate Dance Company. Look out for more on this next term.

Author Visit Inspires Budding Writers

We love books at Mayfield and last month Year 7 were lucky enough to meet popular writer Sarah Driver, author of the fantasy adventure trilogy The Huntress.

In the spellbinding series we join Mouse and her friends, who are on a quest to find the precious storm opals before they fall into evil hands. In the world of Trianukka, terrodyls plague the skies, and the sea crawls with savage gulpers and merwraiths. Thirteen-year-old Mouse lives aboard The Huntress, a trading galley ship captained by her one-eyed grandma. Ever since Ma died, giving birth to Mouse’s sickly brother Sparrow, she has looked after him as she promised, dreaming of her destiny as the future captain of her ship. But now Da’s gone missing, Sparrow’s in danger and a deathly cold is creeping across the world…

After hearing more about the books and Sarah’s real-life adventures researching the series, students had the chance to ask lots and lots of questions, from ‘how does Sarah come up with plot ideas', to 'how tired was she at the end of writing each story' and everything in between! Students had a great time and finished with photographs and getting their books signed.

Festive Fun in Germany

A group of students from Years 8-10 have recently returned from an action-packed four day trip to Germany, taking in the popular Cologne Christmas Markets and Phantasialand – one of Europe’s biggest theme parks.

Following an unusually rough crossing, the group enjoyed sightseeing, shopping, ice skating and thrilling rides. It was a fantastic opportunity to immerse themselves in a different culture and try out their language skills at such a festive time of year.

They also visited the spectacular Cologne Cathedral and took some fantastic photos en route. Travelling back, the group stopped off at a Belgium Chocolate Factory for some last minute Christmas presents and arrived home tired but having thoroughly enjoyed the trip. Thank you to Mrs Dawkins, Mr Woodman, Mrs Harris and Mr Salzman who helped make the visit possible and also dressed up in funny hats to amuse the students!

Guide Dogs UK: Abby Pup-date

Guide Dog in Training!

Following our amazing fundraising efforts last year, we are thrilled to bring you the first photo of our sponsored puppy named Abby. She is now just over 9 weeks old and doing really well with her puppy walker. She has lots of learning ahead of her but also lots of fun too. We hope to meet her in the Summer when she is a little older and more confident, but we will receive regular pup-dates in the meantime.

We have added the puppy progress information we’ve just received from Guide Dogs UK to the GDUK Fundraising Report 2017-18 we published at the end of the Summer term in July.

#PuppyPower!

Talented Artists

Last Month Year 10 Fine Art students created some great work supported by visiting printmaking artist Vanessa Collingridge. The workshop was arranged as part of their GCSE course. The students really enjoyed it and produced fanastic results.

Our English Literature students have also produced some outstanding artistic work this month, based on their reading project about Sherlock Holmes and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A special well done to Jordan Jackson for his Sherlock Holmes model head. We think he could work in the special effects department on Hollywood movies judging by this!

Oasis Academy Sholing Joins the Family!

Oasis Academy Sholing held their official opening last month and became the 51st academy to join Oasis Community Learning.

Oasis Founder Steve Chalke MBE, joined Sholing students and Principal Martin Brown to cut the ribbon as part of the ceremony, and formally welcomed local supporters and dignitaries to the special event.

Steve Chalke said; “What a privilege and an honour it has been to be a part today’s proceedings."

Martin Brown added; “Today is an exciting day for our school community, students and teachers as we move forward with huge enthusiasm, towards the future development of our academy."

Oasis Academy Sholing now forms part of Oasis South Coast, alongside Oasis Academy Mayfield and Oasis Academy Lord’s Hill under Regional Director Phil Humphreys.

We've gone Christmas Crackers!

We finished the Autumn term with two of our favourite things; a fabulous Christmas Show and Christmas Jumper Day with lunch.

Students and staff wanted to do a little something different for the Christmas Show this year and put on an amazing performance of dance, drama and music inspired by the Nightmare before Christmas. The students excelled themselves and wowed the audience - thank you to all involved.

As Mrs Taylor mentioned at the beginning of this newsletter, this year all students and staff were invited to have a free Christmas roast dinner as a thank you for everyone's hard work and an opportunity to sit together and share some Christmas cheer!

One student summed it up; "I don't really want the sprouts but they are Christmas and the dinner was really really nice".

A very special thank you to Amanda and the Sodexo Dining Team for their wonderful preparation and serving over 900 dinners for Mayfield!

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